Arcane Journey

Chapter 86 The City of Blades
The orange fire light gradually became brighter with the louder and louder metal echoes.

Brian stood at the bow, looking at the rows of huge stone pillars illuminated by the fire.

These lights come from the various buildings that built the city along the stone pillars.

The bright light made it possible to feel the cold air of the Underdark warming even from a considerable distance.

As the keel boat sailed, he gradually saw the various piers on the shore of the dark lake.

They are made of zek wood, stone, and flat reefs, and extend out to the lake along the edge of the huge cavern.

"Relax, don't be so nervous, everyone, we have arrived at Yuehu Fortress." The haggard gray dwarf Weitz touched his shiny bald head and said to everyone:
"Its main function is to always be alert to visible threats coming from the dark lake and provide security for the dark lake dock."

Brian glanced at the gray dwarves who were approaching, and looked towards the water gate of the fortress that was approaching.

At this time, on the big ship, except for the Kou Tao murloc monk who suddenly left the team halfway, there were only five people, Hesaiah, Goblin Copper Nugget, Dillo Dwarf Jeep and Weitz.

He was not surprised by the monks who left the team.

Because the labyrinth of various tunnels, pathways, and pools in the dark lake is a kind of meditation for the Kou Tao murlocs.

They believe that if they walk through this maze long enough, it will not only be a spiritual journey, but also a great enlightenment to their fellow man.

Therefore, this Kou Tao murloc monk whose name Bryan didn't even know was about to arrive at his destination, greeted him, jumped, and disappeared into the depths of the dark lake.

Looking at the battlements of Yuehu Fortress, rows of blue and white light sources flashed regularly like street lamps. He was about to check the source of the light--the complex magical carvings on the city wall, when a narrow tunnel suddenly appeared on the stone wall of the tunnel. seam.

"Stop for me!"

A rude voice came from the gap, stopping the sailing keelboat.

"Hey! It's you, hurry up and report your name and purpose of visit!" The voice ordered in a deep dwarf language.

Immediately afterwards, several similar gaps opened simultaneously on the stone wall near the gate, and more than a dozen loaded crossbow bolts emerged.

Following a soft metallic sound, a dozen heavy gray dwarves leaped from the two-meter-high battlements onto the deck, erected solid metal shields, and raised their long swords to confront everyone.

Brian took a casual glance and found that the Dillo dwarf Jeep looked a little flustered when he saw the gray dwarf guards.

Thinking of the conflict between the gray dwarves and the dwarves of Dillo, this made him secretly keep an eye on it.

With his eyes, he signaled the sword mage beside him not to be nervous.

As for the copper block, this cowardly goblin had already hid in the shadows in advance, so he didn't have to worry about his safety at all.

Because even if the copper block didn't activate any hiding skills, just standing in the shadows, if he didn't observe carefully, he wouldn't even be able to see his outline.

"See clearly, Gogglark."

Weitz, who was dressed in rags, took a step forward, motioned him to look at the emblem on his ragged clothes, and said to the leader of the gray dwarf warrior, "I am Weitz Fireman of the Furnace Clan, do you want to detain me here?" the boat?"

The gray dwarf blew his beard and stared at the guard leader, pointing to his empty keel boat.

"Hey! I'm sorry, it's Weitz."

The leader of the guard took off his metal helmet, scratched his long gray beard, and walked over with a familiar gray dwarf face, saying to him:

"It turned out to be Weitz of the Furnace Clan, my dear friend, welcome back to the city of Aldus. It can be seen that you must have made a lot of money in Sloboduo. Seeing that you are living so well, I Don't worry, hahahaha."

The gray dwarf leader's eyes and smile were full of cunning. He glanced at Brian and the others, then lowered his voice and said to Weitz:
"However... Although you brought back a few interesting slaves, I am very sorry that none of your crew and entourage came back alive. Now, we must seize your ships and people, and then report to the King of the Deep. This matter has been investigated.”

"They are not slaves, they are all my friends."

Weitz looked at the guard leader and said through gritted teeth, "Guglark, regarding the investigation, if my mind hadn't been knocked out by the Kuo Tao murloc's stick, I think it's still under the management of the Merchant Council. Your arms are stretched too far."

"Really? Actually, my hands are not long at all, it depends on how you express it." The gray dwarf guard smiled and rubbed his hands deliberately, full of hints.

He leaned close to Weitz's ear and whispered, "Hey, then I won't help you keep the secret of your private arms sales."

"You" Weitz tugged at his long beard angrily, but didn't know what to do.

After all, his belongings were robbed by the Kou Tao murlocs, so he was extremely poor.

Brian on the side looked at the thick palms of the gray dwarf guard in surprise, and he found a small bump protruding strangely near the thumbs of the other's hands, as if something was about to grow.

"Captain Gogglark, right?"

Seeing the embarrassing dwarf, he walked up to the guard leader, smiled and threw two azurite gems at him, and said to him, "We are adventurers from the surface. My heart is not respectful, please take care of me in the future."

"Hey! Boy, what do you take me for?"

The guard leader greedily stared at the gem that Brian handed over, then quickly threw it back, looked up at him, and rebuked righteously:

"You are insulting my profession, my personality, and the laws of our gray dwarves. Don't try to bribe me, and don't try to touch my bottom line. I don't like that."

"Actually, seeing these two gems, I suddenly remembered that I have a friend Sauron who lives in the pier of the dark lake, and he just needs two such gems." After the gray dwarf guard vented his declaration of justice, Then he said to Brian with a smile on his face:
"I can let you go, but after my shift is over, I have to see some surprises from my friends. Otherwise, I will notify the guards at the dock that you have kidnapped Weitz and robbed him. Goods, when the time comes, you will be wanted by the whole city."

"Don't worry, since your friend just needs it, I'll give it to him as a favor."

Out of his understanding of the gray dwarf's personality, Brian smiled nonchalantly with the mentality that one thing more is worse than one thing less. He handed the two gems worth 50 gold coins to Weitz, the gray dwarf next to him, and asked him to do it for him. hand over.

"It's a wise choice." The guard leader looked towards the gate and shouted, "Boys, open the city gate and let them in!"

Ship docked.

After the gray dwarf Weitz cursed and handed the gem to the gray dwarf Sauron mentioned by the guard leader, he came to Brian and said to him:
"I know Goglak. He was never like this before. How come he hasn't seen him for half a month, and he has changed so much."

Hearing the gray dwarf's casual complaint, everyone didn't take it seriously, but Brian looked thoughtful.

He vaguely felt that the dwarf might have been influenced by another demon lord to become what he is now.

Although he knew that the chaos in the city of Aldus was related to the abyssal demons, he still didn't know which demon lord it was.

Then he recalled the abnormality in the palm of the guard leader, and he faintly felt that he already had an answer in his heart.

Under the leadership of Weitz, they quickly passed through the sparsely populated pier and came to the dark lake area.

The dark lake area is adjacent to the dock and is an open trading area.

The streets here are very wide and the density of stalagmite buildings is low to allow merchant carts and carriages to pass smoothly.

On the other hand, the dark lake flows quietly under the chaotic urban buildings and streets, reflecting the hollowed-out stone pillars and stalagmites in the city, as well as the countless fires shining from inside.

The moment Brian stepped into the dark lake area, he clearly felt a heat wave suddenly rushing towards him.

The acrid smoke rose, and he was caught off guard, almost choking all the air in his lungs.

The streets were a bit crowded, but that didn't stop them from moving among the crowds of buyers, merchants, and slaves.

They are not the only outsiders here. Drow, Snebli, Tauren, Earth Elemental, Dilro Dwarves, Orcs and other races appeared in groups.

Unlike the eerie silence of dark elf cities and drow patrols that float by like ghosts.

The bustling dark lake area was occupied by all kinds of shouts mixed with the sound of hammering iron from a distance, forming a rhythmic hustle and bustle.

Following in the footsteps of the gray dwarf Weitz, they didn't miss the excitement here too much.

Brian passed through the dense crowd, and subconsciously looked up into the city.

He saw countless rooms dug out of huge stalagmites and stalactites being used as smelting workshops. From a distance, they looked like the mouth of a giant beast full of fangs.

This reminded him of some information about this gray dwarf city.

Aldus King City is a solid bastion of commercial culture in the Underdark, and it is also a ruthless commercial city.

It is located on the wall of a large cave on the southwestern bank of the dark lake. It is a political, economic and cultural center governed by the "Deep King" beloved by the gray dwarves.

The city is close to the open shoreline of the dark lake, and the land road connects several caves and passages.

It is through these passages that the city of Aldus connects with other parts of the Underdark and facilitates travel and trade between these cities.

In this city, the most intuitive feeling is the heat wave and the pungent air.

And in the distance, there are pieces of dazzling red light like rage, like the dimly lit areas in hell, as if guiding the tourists who come here to every corner of the city.

In fact, all these red lights come from the red-hot steel forged by the gray dwarf blacksmiths,
It is because of the continuous supply of iron from the never-ending furnaces that the brilliance continues. As for the places where the red light cannot be found, it is the dark road area.

It is this unique scene, coupled with the continuous sound of hammers and irons and the sound of grinding machinery, that constitutes the pulsating steel heart of this industrial city.

Brian also knew that the power of the furnace in the whole city came from an adult red dragon, which was famous as a 'dragon blacksmith'.

The red dragon provides the fire source for the furnaces of the entire city, and countless duergar blacksmiths work day and night with the rhythm of the city, producing the best weapons and armor in the entire Underdark.

Therefore, the city of Odus is also called by the merchants: the city of sharp edges.

(End of this chapter)