Caw...
Suddenly, a crisp crow's cry interrupted their gaze. Lynn, somewhat regretfully, redirected his attention and looked in the direction of the sound. There, a palm-sized gray crow stood on the counter, staring intently at him.
The owner of the "Drunken Spirit" tavern was a true Gewet merchant, exuding a shrewd and pragmatic air. Upon hearing the crow's cry, he momentarily paused in wiping a glass and grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth, and warmly greeted Lynn.
"A rare face indeed. Welcome to the 'Drunken Spirit' tavern. Is there something you need, my guest?"
"I'll have a glass of ancient Roh wine, four vintages if I'm not mistaken. It should be seventeen Seccas copper coins," Lynn walked straight up to the counter and placed the copper coins neatly in stacks of five and seven on the table.
The tavern owner scrutinized Lynn, and his gaze lingered for a moment on the longsword at Lynn's waist, but his expression remained unchanged. "That was last year's rate. Now it's... twenty-one copper!"
Lynn hesitated for a moment, yet before he could respond, a stunning female patron at the bar pursed her lips and playfully said, "Old Hawk, are you trying to fool the newcomer? I don't recall Roh wine suddenly getting more expensive here."
As she spoke, the young woman looked with curiosity at Lynn. Seventeen copper coins for a glass of ancient Roh wine, while not extravagantly priced, was indeed a generous order for the "Drunken Spirit" tavern. Especially coming from a young and handsome man with a well-built physique, he didn't seem like the type to spend lavishly for no reason.
Old Hawk paid no mind to the woman's interjection and grinned, "Two ships capsized in the harbor this year, and the ingredients for Roh wine are scarce. It's only natural the price goes up."
Lynn furrowed his brow and said, "But I only have seventeen Seccas copper coins."
The young female patron's interest in Lynn suddenly waned. It seemed he was just another pauper spending his savings for a taste of good wine.
"In that case, I suggest you change your taste..." Old Hawk shrugged, "Of course, if you're interested in earning some extra money, I can help you with that. Lame Laut is currently in need of someone to do private jobs for him. He's always generous with his payments."
Lame Laut? Lynn raised an eyebrow. During his time investigating in Urn Town, he had heard that name more than once.
The rumors about him weren't flattering...
"Very well, I'm in need of suitable work," Lynn said after a moment of thought and nodded in agreement.
Old Hawk swept the copper coins on the table into his pocket, asked one of the tavern's servers to temporarily take over his duties, and then turned to Lynn, speaking once more.
"Follow me. Your Roh wine is stored in the cellar. I'll take it and then bring you to meet him."
As Lynn followed Old Hawk without any suspicion, the onlookers in the tavern couldn't help but display a smug smile.
Everyone in Urn Town knew that while Lame Laut was generous with his payments, he was also known for his ruthlessness. Many people who worked for him mysteriously disappeared, sometimes not even leaving a corpse behind.
You could have money but not life...
In the meantime, as the tavern patrons watched with amusement, Old Hawk led Lynn through the kitchen and into a storage room filled with flour and barrels. He stopped in front of a dirty, massive wine barrel.
Click...
Old Hawk pressed down on the lid of the barrel, and with a rush of liquid, the barrel slowly rotated, revealing a half-person tall secret passage beneath it.
"Follow this path. The person you want to meet is inside," Old Hawk whispered, lowering his voice. He handed the lit candlestick to Lynn and impatiently warned, "Be careful on your own. Don't cause trouble for me!"
Lynn expressed his thanks, picked up the oil lamp, and proceeded into the dark passage. As soon as he stepped in, the massive barrels stained with wine once again rotated back into place, and the sound of the liquid being refilled echoed.
The faint light from outside vanished, and the passage was plunged into darkness. Lynn could only see a dim path ahead, and the air still carried the scent of inferior-quality wine.
Lynn continued down the dim corridor, his guard up and his mind constantly reviewing information about several fellow apprentices.
Due to his mentor, Coru, who had been constantly on the move over the years, there was no fixed place for him to stay, and he wouldn't keep all the apprentices close by.
After all, having too many unfamiliar faces suddenly appearing in a city would draw unwanted attention and hinder their ability to conceal their identities.
So, the original Karl's knowledge of these individuals was quite limited. He had only met them a few times and knew their names and faces to some extent.
The only one he was somewhat familiar with was Jonny, who had sent him letters before.
Of course, this familiarity was one-sided.
To put it simply, the original Karl had some teenage infatuation towards Jonny.
As one of Coru's most promising students with high magical talent, Jonny was just one step away from becoming a full-fledged wizard. After Coru's death, he had become the de facto leader of their group of apprentices.
However, this one-sided infatuation wasn't likely to be of any help to Karl.
As Lynn continued to ponder, the narrow dark passage ahead gradually widened. With the dim candlelight, Lynn suddenly realized that this dark passage was leading to a dense forest outside Urn Town.
Even though it was deep into the night, the sky wasn't as dark as expected. Silver moonlight filtered through the leaves of the forest, casting a soft glow on the solid earth, making it appear as though it was covered with a sheer veil. Lynn felt the magic within him become more active.
This must be a Monday, he thought.
Through the dense trees, Lynn could faintly see the sparkling stars in the sky and the massive moon. According to Karl's memories, this unique celestial event occurred only once a year and lasted for about three to five days.
But Karl's memories didn't mention that moonlight could affect magic.
That made sense; Karl had only become a wizard six months ago.
As Lynn was thinking about this, a series of hurried noises suddenly echoed through the area. More than a dozen solidified Magic Missiles shot out from the dense trees surrounding him, blocking his escape routes.
A trap?
That thought immediately crossed Lynn's mind. In the next moment, he reacted swiftly. With his left hand free, he flipped it over, and a gray powder fell into his palm. It was the remaining material for his spell, the Ember of Red Flame!
Lynn threw it with force, and the tiny particles ignited instantly, creating a scorching wall of fire in front of him.
However, his hastily used spell, the Lesser Fire Wall, couldn't withstand the combined effort of several apprentice wizards. The Magic Missiles almost instantly penetrated the wall of fire.
But Lynn had already achieved his goal. The heat and chaos caused by the fire disrupted their aim, and their Magic Missiles scattered, striking the trees and the earth behind him.
Seeing four figures in dark robes closing in on him in a semicircle, Lynn silently drew his longsword, while simultaneously opening a pouch containing phosphorus. He was ready for a fight.
His preparation for battle involved using a small amount of phosphorus, and he didn't have much of it, but now wasn't the time to hold back.
However, before Lynn could make a move, a cold voice spoke ahead of him.
"Karl, why did you betray us?"
...
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