140 Fogtown (1/2)

Chapter 140: Fogtown

Translator: Kris_LiuEditor: Vermillion

Although Fogtown was not very far away from that fork in the road, the bumpiness of the road made Lucien feel very nauseous. When he was just about to get off the coach to walk on his own, they could see the small town in the distance, where there were only two main streets intersecting with each other.

The guards sensed a bit of creepiness when they went deep into the woods heading for Fogtown, not to mention the people in the coach. Even Lucien, a sorcerer who was used to dealing with so many kinds of creepy experiments, could easily notice the changes happening around them. The common oaks and birches were gradually replaced by dark gray cedars, and the cedars were so tall and thick that Lucien almost felt that he was now back in Melzer Black Forest.

Even though they were not far away from the town now, the guards didn’t dare to lower their alertness, especially because the trees around them were thick and tall, which were perfect for an ambush.

The roots and the knots of the big trees looked almost like ghost faces. Betty subconsciously grabbed her bow and arrow tighter, and stayed a bit closer to Lucien’s coach.

”Wilfred tree…”

Through the window of the coach, Lucien recognized this tree. In fact, nothing else was really special about it except its shape, which was often creepy. It was not named Wilfred at the very beginning, but since the famous necromancer with that name had a special affection for them and planted the trees widely in the Demiplane where his Magic Tower existed, the tree was later directly named Wilfred, after the necromancer, and turned into a symbol of viciousness.

Furthermore, it was precisely because of these dark gray trees that the town looked as if it was covered with a layer of fog, and that was how the small town gained its name.

When the coach entered the town, Lucien saw a bunch of lumbermen heading home after work. Their faces were expressionless and their eyes were dim and glazed, as if all of their passion was erased by their repeated labor day after day.

”I’d rather die if my future was like that.” Betty looked back at the lumbermen and murmured to herself in an alert way.

As soon as the coach stopped in front of the only inn of Fogtown, Wise, who had been silent for quite a while, hurriedly jumped out of the coach and started to vomit.

”Are you alright, Mr. Wise?” asked Betty concernedly, ”Maybe you can walk with us tomorrow. The coach must be very bumpy.”

”I’m okay.” Wise straightened his back a bit, ”Thanks for asking, Betty.”

On the other side, Joanna was helping Lena and her baby get off the coach. She turned to Lucien and said, ”You look fine, Mr. Evans.” Joanna smiled, ”You’re actually stronger than I thought.”

”I was trying to sleep.” Lucien was not feeling really good as well. He was trying to analyze some magic structures to distract himself.

And when Joanna went past Lucien, she said to him in a low voice sweetly, ”I’m not only talking about the trip. Thank you, Mr. Evans, for forgiving Betty’s negligence.”

Lucien was quite surprised, but then he nodded, ”I know Betty tried her best.”

Simon, who was standing on the other side, also came over and said to Lucien in a low voice, ”We wouldn’t even be able to know that you killed Chris if Betty did not cry out.”

Lucien shrugged casually and thought that Betty would definitely learn her lesson after they fulfilled the commission.

Lena, carrying the sleeping baby, walked to Lucien and handed him a Nar, ”Thank you, Mr. Evans, for sharing the coach with me.”

”You’re welcome.” Lucien took the coin.

Lena smiled, ”I’ll remember your kindness, Mr. Evans. I’m leaving to visit my cousin Kaelyn now.”

”May god be with you.” Lucien was now used to the phrases used in that world.

Lena slightly bent her knees and turned around. Lucien did not see that, when she turned her back to him, her face suddenly became a bit gloomy.

The direction which Lena was heading for with the baby led to a stone bridge, and behind the bridge there was a tall and big black castle. Its cross vault, pinnacle, and its solemn architectural style instantly revealed itself as a castle built in the later period of the War of Dawn.

”That is the castle of Baron Habearo. He’s the lord of Fogtown and the other villages and towns in this area.” Simon pointed at the castle and explained to Lucien, having no idea that Lucien might know more than him about the background of the place, ”He was an outstanding knight when he was young, and he was known for his heroic deeds of wiping out some notorious robbers and joining the civil war among the lords in Gusta Empire. Lots of stories narrated by bards are based on his true stories, stories of a true hero.

”Unfortunately, Baron Habearo failed to make the breakthrough to become a grand knight, and his health condition declined in his early sixties. After his son left the town to travel, Baron Habearo now rarely leaves his castle. Sometimes he invites some musicians to visit the castle since I heard that he has quite an affection for music.”

”Well, heroes also get old.” Wise released a sigh, ”Except for God, nothing can last forever in this world.”

”Maybe music can last long as well,” Lucien commented. In his mind, while Betty was a bit upset with Wise’s words, Lucien was not affected by the true fact much, after all, if he could become a senior rank mage, Lucien could live way longer than common people.

”Well… does anyone else knows that Mrs. Kaelyn, Lena’s cousin, is actually the wife of Baron Habearo’s steward? Wow…” Joanna switched the topic.

In Joanna and the other adventurers’ eyes, even the steward of a baron was still someone important.

...

Entering the inn, the woman standing behind the counter looked rather cold, and her eyes were also glazed, ”Please register your name and date of birth if you want to stay here for the night.”

”Mrs. Branka, what happened? We’ve stayed here before, a couple of months ago. You don’t remember us?” asked Joanna, ”You don’t look good.”

The last time when Joanna and Simon were here, Betty was not present, since she hid herself and squandered her commission in Korsor.

”Roy’s dead, because of illness,” Branka murmured. ”He was only ten. He was summoned by God.”