240 Bait Biting (1/2)
After the magic apprentice gave the old parchment to Dalton, Dalton had to consider if the whole thing was real even though he was not fully convinced.
The parchment was apparently ancient, and the words on it awed Dalton as they were written in Ancient Elvish.
Only three people in all of Hollevin knew Ancient Elvish.
Two of them were elsewhere, and only the last was in the capital.
Touching the parchment, Dalton said to the magic apprentice excitedly, ”Come to Master Irwin's manor with me.”
The magic apprentice was delighted. ”As you wish.”
Getting into the carriage with some simple but considerate gifts, Dalton visited Master Irwin.
Irwin was not a professional, but he was one of the nobles.
In this dark feudal society, only the offspring of the nobles and the big merchants were qualified to learn how to read.
Not everybody could pay a tuition fee of one gold coin for a hundred words.
Arriving at a mid-sized manor in the rich neighborhood in the north of the city, Dalton got off and informed the guard of who he was.
The guard soon returned with the butler.
Politely, the middle-aged butler invited Dalton and the magic apprentice into the manor.
Then, Dalton met an old man with a white beard in a side room at the manor.
This side room was essentially Irwin's study. It was rather big, but it was nearly filled with shelves that were laden with books.
Some of the books were in parchment, some in papyrus, and some were even in the white paper of the elves.
As a result, the room smelled funny.
But Dalton did not really care. Nobody would.
For them, it was the fragrance of knowledge.
Irwin was studying something in front of a big desk where an assortment of books and paper had been piled.
Noticing the presence of newcomers, he raised his head. His long beard seemed disproportionate to his slim body.
”Welcome to my study, Mr. Dalton.” Irwin rose and slightly bowed. ”How may I help you?”
Dalton smiled. ”I'm just here to have a chat with you, Mr. Irwin.”
Irwin was naturally unconvinced.
As a minor noble, he was only appreciated by the grand nobles for his extraordinary knowledge, but not very much.
Unless they encountered something they couldn't understand, those grand nobles would barely visit his study that was filled with a weird stink.
After all, few of them had even invited him to dinner.
”Sorry, Mr. Dalton, but I have important studies to work on, so I'm afraid I don't have time for chit-chat.”
Looking at the skinny Irwin, Dalton smiled and said, ”I'm indeed here for something. Here's an elvish book that my man found, I'm hoping that you could translate it for us.”
Irwin seemed delighted. ”A book of the elves? Give it to me.”
He was very excited.
Irwin opened it quickly, his eyes glittering.
”It's indeed Ancient Elvish, but there are a lot of uncommon words that I don't recognize.”
”This is the biography of a female general named Cocoyala. Well… I think I saw the name somewhere before.”
”Wait, the content of the book changed.”
As he turned the pages, Irwin's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
”The latter half of the book is about the life of an elven captain who was promoted to be a ranger commander.”
”Hiss. Magic equipment with special powerful abilities?”
”A necklace?”
”I think I've read it somewhere before.”
Irwin scratched his head hard. ”The uncommon words are really a headache, Mr. Dalton. Can I have the book for a while and give it back to you when it's fully translated?”
”Not a problem.” Dalton nodded and was about to leave.
He was already half convinced.
”Wait! I remember it now!”
Irwin slapped his thigh and jumped to his feet. He ran to a bookshelf and found another parchment book.
This book looked quite ancient too.
Irwin opened it softly. It was written in Ancient Elvish too.
”In this book, a female general named Cocoyala gave the Mind-Calming Necklace, her favorite magic equipment, to a ranger commander. It seems that those two books are connected. Mr. Dalton, can I keep your book to crosscheck them?”
”Not a problem.”
Dalton nodded and left with the magic apprentice.
Irwin studied the newly-acquired Ancient Elvish book in fascination until midnight.
He had some snacks and returned to his bedroom. He found a young man in a black robe sitting inside.
Irwin was not scared or nervous at all. He slowly sat down in front of the young man.
”You are a good actor, sir.”