my age of magic

Chapter 29 30. The so-called first encounter
The caravan walked eastward along the solid hard soil layer on the edge of the grassland for two days before arriving at the initial entrance of the mountains at the northern foot of the Pai Plateau, where the dwarves who love to drink cider and live in caves and Pai The orcs nomadic on the plateau collectively call it the Salt Railway.

From here, after crossing the rolling New Siakis Mountains to the west, you can reach the dwarf country rich in refined iron ingots. It is also from here to climb the death road full of cliffs, and you will reach the rich magic antelope and various primary Herbs of the Pai Plateau.Every year, the orcs exchange a large amount of magic antelopes for a large amount of refined iron from the dwarves, so this place is called the Sheep Railway, but it was homophonic over time and changed its name to the Salt Railway.

Originally, the biggest obstacle to merchants here was the almost natural and difficult mountain road.

There is an abyss on one side, and cliffs on the other side. There is only a winding mountain road with a width of four or five meters between the two, which meanders through the mountains at the northern foot of the mountain.

It's not a big deal if it's just that, but here you can reach the ice and snow tundra by walking a few hundred miles north. As long as the north wind blows, the biting cold wind on the ice and snow tundra will blow all the way south along the Xinghu grassland, to At the foot of the Pai Plateau, it is blocked by the mountains of the entire Pai Plateau.

And only on this salt railway, the cold wind from the north will go retrograde along the mountain road. In strong convective weather, rain, snow and hail will turn the entire Salt Railway into a giant ice sculpture that stretches for thousands of miles.

At this time, the caravans trapped on the Salt Railway cannot change their formation and retreat. Giant land beasts and huge magic transport vehicles have almost no way to turn around on such a narrow mountain road. They can only temporarily avoid natural disasters or headwinds. Move forward, so this place has gradually become a road of death.

Despite this, there are still people who are willing to risk their lives to walk between this commercial road, but the situation changed more than ten years ago. A group of elusive and very powerful robber gangs appeared on this salt railway. In the territory of the Black Iron King, the seven kings of the dwarves, everyone is a dwarf prisoner who was exiled for serious crimes, as well as some dwarf civilians who cannot live and dwarf slaves who escaped from the dwarf kingdom. They hide in the northern foothills of the Pai Plateau. In the mountains, avoiding the pursuit of the dwarf king, gradually formed a force of their own, they called themselves gray dwarves.

They are born robbers, they occupied a mine lode on the salt railway, and settled down there, most of them usually rely on robbery for a living.This is the notorious duergar bandit bandit.

They live in the cracks between the powerful dwarf kingdom and the orc tribe. The dwarves will never step into the Pai Plateau according to the agreement they made with the beast king, and the orc tribe at this time is more like a mess.

The friction between the tribes made them all tired of coping, and it was even more troublesome for these dwarves who were good at digging holes. Once they found that the situation was not good, the gray dwarves would immediately abandon their companions and hide in the mines.

The orc army has been encircling and suppressing it several times, but nothing has worked. In this way, the power of the gray dwarves has gradually grown stronger and stronger like a snowball.

Many small business groups are afraid of the gray dwarf robbers in the mountains at the northern foot of the Pai Plateau, and fewer and fewer caravans take this salt railway. In contrast, the benefits gained have doubled. The ten thunder rhinos carried more than [-] tons of refined iron ingots on their backs. Once they are successfully transported back to Green Emperor Capital, they can get at least five times the profit, but before that, they need a little bit of luck, such as the road to death in front of them.

Leipas has made a lot of preparations. Almost every thunder rhino has a crossbow. In addition, the thunder rhino itself is a fierce land beast, and it will be unmatched when it charges into battle. This has always reached seventy. Lei Tingxi's caravan is by no means something that a small group of gray dwarves can eat. In addition, there are two adventure groups that can act as a deterrent and the caravan engraved with magic circles as a follow-up response. It is also very powerful. powerful.

After entering the salt railway, the caravan walked along the winding mountain road paved with countless gravel.

When the sun rises, we start preparing for dinner, and when we see the first ray of sunshine, we have to officially set off.The early frost sprinkled on the mountains, turning a dazzling white, I really dare not look at the mountains, for fear of hurting my eyes.Standing on the cliff is a wild goat that can walk on the top of mountains and rivers as if walking on flat ground. It seems to be looking at us with pity. Too comfortable to part with, only willing to expose a face outside and greedily breathe the dry and cool air.

Kuz squatted next to me, nibbling a smoked rabbit head in one hand, and prepared one for me in the other hand, but I didn't want to eat it.Perhaps the entire caravan was the only one where Kuz had a happier life. Kuz could always manage to get some special game, like these two rex rabbits, which Kuz brought back last night, and he didn't have time to cook them.

We have to be careful throughout the day whether there will be rolling stones falling from the cliff. As long as I stretch out my head casually, I can see the bottomless mountain stream on the other side. Upset.My heart is like a taut string, and I will only let it go when I rest at night, so I cherish the rest time very much.

It is precisely because I don’t have time to take care of the two rex rabbits, so I thought of the laziest method. Of course, there are lazier ones if I can get yellow mud, but there are only gravels a few meters wide between the cliffs. On the way, he huddled with Lei Tingxi to rest.

There was no loess at all, so the only choice was to smoke the two rex rabbits. The method was simple. Twist the wicks of the ten-strand oil lamp together, throw them into a large bowl filled with meat oil, set a copper plate on top, and prepare Throw a good piece of pine wood on it, just light the wick of the oil lamp in the big bowl, and the oil lamp will be roasted in a short time. The good rex rabbits are placed on a plate set aside, and they are all dunked into the pot with a big iron pot. You only need to sleep comfortably and beautifully for a night, and when you wake up in the morning, you can eat the fragrant smoked rabbit.

At this time, the morning sun had not yet burst out from the mountains, and we were all waiting for the horn to set off.I simply chose another piece of smoked rabbit head and a leg, and asked Kurz to send the other bacon to old Kuru and Uncle Fred.Kurtz put what was left of me in a wooden tray by my side, and went to old Kuru and Fred like a treasure offering.

At this time, Uncle Fred needed to sort out the supplies carried by Thunder Rhino. He was very busy every morning and night. He hadn’t gone to Singer for several days and stayed here at the caravan camp. To last a long time.It is likely to continue until the safe crossing of the Beilu Mountains.

Every morning, Old Kuru would be asked by Leipas to survey the terrain ahead. As an experienced old orc, every suggestion of Old Kuru might have saved someone's life.

I drank a bowl of warm cornmeal, and was about to get up to taste the smoked rabbit head from last night, but when I glanced at the plate, I realized that the rabbit leg on the plate had disappeared.The cold mountain wind in the early morning made me wake up a lot. I curled up and put on the cotton underwear quickly. The cotton coat is light and warm. Kurz said that I am more and more human. up.

"Bah!" The skin of this rabbit's head smells a bit smoky, and if it is smoked all night, it will take too long. It seems that the oil should be controlled and reduced appropriately.But the taste is very strong. I tore off two shredded meat and threw it into my mouth. I jumped off Lei Tingxi’s back and walked around the narrow mountain road. I didn’t find anyone suspicious. I thought it was strange. , can this rabbit leg grow wings and fly?

It's okay to eat my food, but I have to be a fool.

I forced myself to be quiet, because my ears unexpectedly heard the sound of soft chewing, and there was a crisp sound of bone gnawing in the middle, creaking like a mouse on a beam at night biting a wooden rafter.The voice was very subtle. If it wasn't for the fact that my five senses have become much sharper than normal people due to my recently strengthened magical perception, it would really not be easy to find this tiny clue.

Following the sound, I turned around and looked for it, and saw a thin figure hiding in the shadow between the two thick hind legs under Lei Tingxi's stomach, the slender back resting on the inside of the calf bone of Lei Tingxi's warm hind legs , absent-mindedly scratching Lei Tingxi's itch, while nibbling on the rabbit's leg quickly, secretly trying to take a look outside with his big eyes that look extraordinarily eerie.

She was wearing an off-white wool skirt and an off-white coat. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail. As she turned her head and swung flexibly, her body leaned forward slightly, her eyes seemed to be looking for something.

I stood behind her curiously, followed her gaze and looked over there, but I could only see unpacked pots scattered in the empty field.At this time, she seemed to be aware of someone behind her, and suddenly she turned her head and saw me, her thin face turned pale with fright, as if she had seen a ghost, she pointed at me and stammered, "You...how did you found mine?"

Very cute, this is my first impression of her, she is very funny when she is frightened like a fawn.

This girl is about fifteen or sixteen years old, more than half a meter taller than me, but she has a thin body, flat chest, and flat buttocks.

But the second feeling for me is that she is very demon. There is a smear of black pot bottom ash on her white and flawless face, and those bright eyes like autumn water seem to be able to talk. I don't even need to open her mouth to know her. Now I must say again: How did you find out that my aunt and grandma belonged to me?It actually turned around behind me and frightened me, but I haven't noticed yet...

In fact, I really wanted to cover her mouth, but my hands couldn't reach her mouth, and she kept avoiding me.

Sneaking around in the caravan is taboo. If someone finds out that a beating would be light, I think this little girl must have sneaked over from the dance troupe. There are no women in the caravan. When I came here to steal things from the caravan, I thought it might be because she couldn't get enough to eat at the dance troupe, so she was forced to steal something to fill her stomach.Perhaps a lowly little slave.

I quickly waved my hand to signal her to stop talking, then I grabbed her hand and pulled her to hide in the shadow of Lei Tingxi's hind legs. Just as she realized that she was about to struggle, she looked like she was about to question me about the clothes in her eyes.At this time, Uncle Fred hurried past with a bundle of thick hemp ropes in his arms. She was still alert and held her breath at a critical moment, and we escaped by chance.

She wanted to talk to me again, so I quickly stuffed the unfinished rabbit head into her hand, and said to her softly: "There is no time, the caravan is leaving immediately, if you don't want to be discovered, take advantage of it." Time to go back quickly."

She stared at me in disbelief with her big bright eyes. I thought she was petrified by the sudden change. Before leaving, I scratched my head helplessly and said to her, "Hey, let me tell you!"

She had already gone out, but when I called her, she looked back.

"If you really don't have enough to eat, then come early tomorrow!" I whispered to her.

The horn of departure has already been heard in the distance, and she no longer hesitates to run back against the edge of the wall on the inner side of the mountain path, her brisk figure is like a deer in the forest.The off-white sweater dress actually added a layer of protection to her, and the Thunder Rhinoceros I was with was also the third last one in the caravan Thunder Rhinoceros team. It was really close to the caravan, and her figure just passed by in a flash. After turning the big bend in the mountain road ahead, it disappeared.

At this time, Uncle Fred's calling came from Thunder Rhino's back, and I quickly agreed!Seeing me squatting under Lei Ting Rhino's belly, he quickly jumped down and hugged me out of Lei Ting Rhino's belly, lifted me up in the air with both hands, and said to me with his face up: "You don't want to live anymore? Drilling into the Rhino's belly Bottom, aren't you afraid of being trampled to death?"

I didn't make any excuses, I just smirked at Uncle Fred, and he could only helplessly hug me and climb up the Thunder Rhino, and then said to me: "Don't run around, the departure number has been blown twice!"

"Well!" I agreed.

I was thinking that no matter where the bottom people are, they will be the most oppressed group of people, just like the original me, I was ordered to do this and that, pick up cow dung, and scrub leather goods before I was taller than those men’s waists , Running errands to deliver letters.But the old Kuru only confided to Leipas a little bit: Oh, look, this is the little apprentice I just accepted!Learn to decoct medicine.Not even Master Reipas said a word, except that no one ever put me to work, except of course Uncle Fred.I thought that the little girl who was hungry and ran out secretly to look for food just now might be like me.

Subconsciously imprinted a brand in her heart that is connected with fate, and then guessed her poor fate, maybe she was sold when she was very young!In the end, it was natural to feel that we were fellow travelers, heh! We should take care of her!I think so.

(End of this chapter)