Chapter 369 219. The less extreme Norscan
Darkus stood on the wind-eroded city, sometimes staring at the fire spreading in the town of Ormscolo, sometimes looking at the light of the double moons in the cold waters Flashing. At this time, he was...fishing, fishing in a double sense. Everyone else had gone to work or have fun, but he was idle, and he had a piece from Lustria in his hand. A golden idol of a certain kind of fish and frog creature from the mainland.
Although the fish frog is a frog and not a fish, doesn’t it still carry fish? ...nothing wrong.
As for what kind of fish frog it is? have no idea. Even Ren, who is very knowledgeable about the Lustria continent, said he didn't know, but it didn't matter. Darkus liked it very much. The fish-frog idol showed an alien style, and the emblem on it meant that it was from the ancient holy water god sect. The belongings can be placed on the tea table and used as tea pets, although he does not drink tea.
After the sinking of the Black Coffin, the fleet crossed the Dark Shipwreck Sea and reached the shores of the Bjorlin Tribe, which is located in the far west region of Norsca, where the Sea of Chaos meets the Sea of Claws, but is as mountainous as other northern lands. It is uninhabitable, with towering waves and harsh weather washing the coast.
In line with the principle of being poor and willing to change, relying on the mountains to rely on the mountains, and relying on the sea to rely on the sea, the Bjorlin tribe became a loose alliance of Norscan clans known for trade and exploration.
To Darkus, the Bjorlin tribe is very, very interesting... just weird....
You must know that the North dwarves are absolutely not allowed to openly worship Chaos, but they are also very flexible, probably because they need to survive. When the North dwarves were in a long-term low-intensity war with the Norscan tribes of Beltholin, Sally, Gaelin, Skellin, Wagg and Aislin, they only signed a few treaties with the Bjorin tribe. Trade and non-hostility treaties. And Harkon Vikramson, the North dwarf who would succeed the king of Karak Crow Roost City in the future, disappeared on the way to the Bjorlin tribe with his fleet and merchant ships.
Judging from the behavior of the North dwarves, the Bjorlin tribe is extraordinary.
The fleet arrived at Skojold, the largest coastal town of the Bjorlin tribe. The main settlements of this town are located on the top of the cliffs on the edge of Elda Green Bay. It is obviously not the place that Darkus saw in his dream. , the steps dug out of the cliff lead to the water, and the town dock is located below the cliff.
To Darkus, Skojold was simple but very cosmopolitan. He saw merchants from Marienburg, Erengrad, Le Angoulen and Nordland bargaining on the seaside, as the saying goes. Wealth is sought in danger. He saw that every merchant was surrounded by a large number of armed mercenaries and guards. Perhaps as long as they kept their brains and weapons close to their bodies, the southern merchants could safely leave here and return to their hometown in most cases. 's port.
Moreover, there are not only southern merchants in Skjold, but also Norscans, Norse dwarves and ogre mercenaries from other tribes outside Gaelling, as well as... from Nagaroth Kalond Kal Druchi mercenaries.
At first, the Druchi mercenaries almost got into a fight with Darkus' fleet. After all, the Druchi mercenaries did not know the true identity of the fleet. It was not until the leader of the mercenaries saw the leader of the fleet that Darkeus Misunderstanding resolved.
The mercenary leader saw the look and meaning in Darkus's eyes. He did not directly bow to him, but gave his men a very subtle wink to ask them to retreat. It was not until night when no one was around that he finally Go and meet Darkus.
After seeing that nothing happened, the southern businessmen came over one after another. After all, it is not yet a hundred years later, and the appearance of high elves in the old world is still too rare. There is only one fleet of high elves currently anchored in Marienburg. As for appearing in the port of the Norscans, this is even more incredible and unheard of. , they came over to get a share of the pie, and Darkus got their wish.
Maranur presented himself with some gold and jewelry from Lustria in exchange for something, as if he was really here to do business.
Darkus seemed to have met the mercenary leader before. If I remember correctly, it was the battle of Grond? I saw it when I marched from Naggarond to Grond. As a result, the mercenary leader was kind enough to report his family name, and I did see him before. He admired and admired the mercenary leader's conduct. While the mercenary leader was attentive and smooth, he never asked him any inexplicable questions. Instead, he followed his questions and kept introducing various tribes in Norsca.
The mercenary leader told many interesting things, such as his activities in the Sea of Claws.
The Gaerling troops living in the Sea of Chaos are more extreme than the Bjorling tribe. The dispute between the two is a typical southerner and Yankee dispute, and they dislike each other.
The Bjorlings hate their northern neighbors and view the Gaelings as beasts dominated by Chaos, groveling almost unconsciously to the Dark Gods. The Gaelings pose a constant threat to their coastal villages and the entire Hellcrest Mountains.
Moreover, there is some maritime competition between the two. Although the Bjorlings sail faster than the Gaelings, they lack ships with weird shapes but terrifying combat capabilities like the Gaelings. They are a bit like a One talent point is in navigation, and one talent point is in shipbuilding.
The Gaerlings would drive these ships to plunder and massacre the Bjorlings in their territory, so the mercenary leader came to live. According to his story, he has been here for more than ten years, and the war has been going on. He has made a lot of money from the war between the Gaerlings and the Bjorlings alone. Thanks to his plundering ships and mercenaries, The soldier has great strength, and the High King of the Bjorling tribe will give him generous rewards. After successful naval battles and land raids, he will also obtain Gaelling slaves.
Then comes the more interesting thing. In addition to using the remuneration as some necessary expenses, the mercenary leader will make the remaining remuneration flow back to Skjod through various methods, such as donations, trade or taxes. It flowed back into the hands of the Supreme King, which is why he was able to hang out here safely for more than ten years. Otherwise, the High King would have found an opportunity to trick him. Now he maintains a good personal friendship with the High King. As long as he is in Skjold, the High King will call him when he has banquets with guests.
Although the mercenary leader's reward flowed back to Skjold, he also obtained many fine Norscan slaves. He would regularly transport these slaves back to Kalondkar, and then rest in Krakarond. In the winter, exchange for some trade goods needed by Skjörd at the market in Krakarond, and return to Skjörd in the spring of the following year.
Darkus was really impressed after hearing this. He sometimes thought about what would happen if he was not a powerful man, but an old sea dog wandering on the sea. Can he reach the heights of this mercenary leader? A dance on a knife's edge between the various forces.
After all, the Bjorlings, although not quite as extreme, were also Norscans, trading with the Skelling and Sali tribes to the east, and sometimes joining these two tribes in their raids southward.
For example, in the year 765 of the Imperial Calendar, the barons of the Westland of the Empire at that time signed the Treaty of Karaktaxi with the kings and chiefs of the Bjorling, Skelling, and Sali tribes, pledging to end attacks on each other.
In 1109 of the Imperial Calendar, the three Norscan tribes located in the Sea of Claws resumed their attacks on the Westland of the Empire. Marienburg was also occupied, but three years later the Norscans voluntarily gave up. Marienburg, because at that time the empire was suffering from the Black Death of the Skaven...
In 1850 of the Imperial Calendar, Marienburg was sacked again by these three Norscan tribes.
Darkus asked if the mercenary leader had done what he had been doing for 33 years, but the mercenary leader flatly denied it. The sorceresses next to him also found no signs that the mercenary leader was lying.
The Claw Sea is a very magical sea area, at least for Druch.
In the year 1267 of the Imperial Calendar, the Black Ark of Pain and Ecstasy destroyed the army of the Colonian Kingdom at that time and took away countless prisoners. However, when it landed in the Nord Territory, it encountered stubborn resistance. In the end, the Baron of the Nord Territory brought back a piece of The huge black marble shot down by the wild mages under his command, and with the help of Bretonnian captives, became a wall on the west wall of Sesonmund, the capital of the Nordland.
The Black Ark Soul Cutting was attacked by the Osterland Imperial Navy in the Sea of Claws. As a result, both parties perished together. No one knows what happened in the end. Interestingly, after the Soul Cutting sank, there were reports about sea monsters attacking imperial towns. There are endless reports, it is very likely that during the sinking of the Black Ark, an Abyss Siren escaped.
Of course, there were not only these two black arks that sank in the Sea of Claws, but also a third one...
In the year 2483 of the Imperial Calendar, Loxia Fallen Heart and Dastan Cold Eyes made a bet and engaged in a plundering competition. . Each of them chose a province of the empire, Locksiat chose the Oster Territory, and Dastan chose the Nord Territory. They wanted to capture as much loot as possible within a year.
Dastan quickly gained the lead as his fleet plundered an Imperial ship filled with treasure stolen from the Nehekhara Desert.
Loxia did not admit defeat, however, and sent his fleet to plunder every town in the Osterland. However, at the end of the year, he was still in a backward position, so he did what every Druchi had done. What he would do in this situation: cheat!
Loxia delivered the news to a king of Nehekhara that there was stolen treasure on Dastan's ship. Soon after, Dastan's Black Ark fleet was hunted down, harassed and eventually sunk by the Tomb King's fleet...
However, press In the timeline where Darkus is, maybe these good gamblers will not make this kind of bet again? After all, apart from his relationship with the Stormweaver Order, these two admirals have also collaborated on many occasions, such as transporting the lizardman army from Chapeiyu to Zetland? Who knows what happens next? After all, he wasn't really a prophet.
The reason why Darkus asked about the year 33 was that a coastal town in Nordland was in ruins, and the skinned corpses of the residents were nailed to nearby rocks. But he just asked casually, after all, where was Druchi's moral standard, and he thought that he himself was not a good person. He was not qualified to point fingers from the commanding heights of morality. As for what will happen in the future... talk about it later.
However, as a strange spirit, the mercenary captain heard what Darkus said. He immediately said that he only came to this sea area more than ten years ago. The reason was that two black arks were sunk here. Druchi often moves in the Bretonnian waters bounded by Albion Island, but rarely appears in these waters, and he does not go deep into the Sea of Claws to plunder the merchant ships of Norse dwarves and southern humans. Although plundering the North dwarves will bring huge rewards, the mercenary captain only operates in the sea area between the Sea of Claws and the Sea of Chaos. Moreover, he maintains a very delicate relationship with the Norse dwarves and southern humans in Skjold. He maintains a good relationship with the Norse merchant Hornberg stationed in Skjold.
In the mercenary captain's impression, Hornberger does not have the stereotype of a dwarf. He is incredibly friendly, lively and cheerful. And the general store of the Norse dwarves is full of strange and fascinating drifting and abandoned goods, such as narwhal tusks, ship bells with stories or a Kislev naval ax, etc. He and his crew would buy some interesting items from the general store before returning to Naggaroth, and then take them back to the market in Krakarond to sell them, or sell the strange items they picked up from the market on their return. Hornberger.
Darkus immediately decided to let the mercenary captain participate in his next robbery in the name of employment. As for keeping the information confidential...how to say? He knew that Morathi must be causing trouble for him, but there was no need to be so troublesome, because Morathi was still a prophet, just like Malus' mother, it was annoying.
The fleet only stayed in Skjold for two days, and Darkus did not go to Skjold's King's Hall to feast, share stories, boast of his heroic deeds, and show off his spoils.
According to the mercenary captain, the High King of Bjorlin usually appears in the King's Hall at night and spends the night in the smoke-filled mead hall to receive merchants and explorers who stay in the town.
The High King always welcomes those who have good stories to share, and important visitors will be allowed to stay in the King's Hall with his favor, staying in simple houses, but even simple ones are better than the longhouses and inns outside the fence. .
However, Darkus expressed no interest and the bunk beds in his cabin were just fine. Moreover, the High King of Bjorlin was not in Skjold at this time, but went to a hilly island called Branir to worship his ancestors.
Kaldor Lotharson did not stay on board the Falcon, but lived in Hornberger's general store. Darkus paid a visit the next morning under the leadership of the mercenary leader. The actual situation of the grocery store was even more exaggerated than what the mercenary leader said. The grocery store was built with the hulls of several ships turned upside down. , the largest hull is used to store traditional navigation supplies, while the other hulls are filled with drifting and abandoned cargo.
Under Hornberg's hospitality, Darkus spent the whole morning in the grocery store. During this period, tourists from various races and kingdoms kept coming and going, some for shopping, some for sightseeing, some for shopping, and some for shopping. Replacement, some are pawns. He felt that the Norse dwarf's general store was the most visited place in Skjold.
Before Darkus left, Hornberger gave him a bearskin jacket made of orange fur. It is said that this sleeveless jacket is famous for its ability to regulate the wearer's body temperature. Whether high in the Norscan mountains or deep in the Lustrian rainforest, the wearer will never feel overly cold or overheated, allowing the wearer's body temperature to remain constant. He accepted the jacket as a gift for saving Kaldor and as a symbol of the friendship of the North dwarves. In his opinion, it was a good thing. Although he could not use it, he could understand the mechanism of freezing the island of Albion. It's worn by a dog-like lizard man.
During lunch, the mercenary leader introduced many of the customs and customs he knew to Dacus, because he found that Dacus liked to hear these things.
For example, the Bjorlings relied on trade, fishing, hunting, and plundering, but the specific choices were adjusted according to the time, each High King, the environment, and the interests of the Dark Gods. In times of hardship or when the forces of Chaos become stronger in the north, they will become warlike and begin to despise those who are weak in the south. But usually, they adopted a pragmatic attitude, doing business with southern merchants and growing their wealth through trade.
Moreover, the Bjorlings are the best sailors in Norse. They like to go to sea and have a penchant for traveling. In the year 888 of the Imperial Calendar, Rostlinkson crossed the vast ocean and became the first Old Worlder and Norscan to land in Lustria, and established the well-known town Skogi on the Isthmus of Lustria. The Yolin tribe still maintains control over Skogi. Their longships currently travel regularly along the trade routes, but this may not be the case in the future. After all, the mercenary leader can live for centuries, and neither can Skjold's work. Keep doing it.
Darkos is going to give the mercenary leader a task next, such as figuring out the secret of the round-trip route between Skjold and Skoggi towns.
In addition to discovering the continent of Lustria, Rostlinkson also traveled through the mists of Albion Island several times when he was young and drew the first rudimentary coastline maps. However, I mentioned before that the Isle of Obion is still a mysterious place in the eyes of Norsca. Occasionally, one can penetrate the fog, land on the island and bring back slaves, but the longship lost in the fog is far better than the longship lost in the fog. More will be returned.
Rostlinkson's father, Erik the Lost, is also a legendary figure among the Norscans. He once sailed south to the vicinity of Bretonnia and Estalia, and then sailed east into the Central Sea to explore Ara. Than the Badlands, and finally headed towards the vast ocean in the direction of Ulthuan and Naggaroth. After a circle from there, I finally found my way home.
Later, more explorers and voyagers from the Bjorling tribe circled the Southland and reached Indy, Cathay and Nibon.
Darkus asked the mercenary leader a few more questions, such as whether there is a man named Ulfric in Norsca now. He knew about this Norse legend, but he didn’t know the specific deeds, such as when he was born. After all, Blessed by the blessings of Chaos, Chaos warriors can live for centuries.
As a result, the mercenary leader told Darkus that there are currently two people named Ulfric in Norsca. One is Ulfric, the High King of the Bjorlin tribe, and the other is the Sali tribe who has recently become famous and has long hair. Ulfric the Tongue Champion.
As soon as he heard the bird-tongued Darkos, he knew which Ulfric he wanted to know, and knew that Ulfric was at the destination of his trip, but he didn't care, or was afraid. Then he asked for another name: Salt Resentment.
The mercenary leader expressed his confusion, and Darkus suggested that he was a mutant, but he still hadn't heard of it. He knew that High King Ulfric's queen was pregnant, but he didn't think about it. After all, he didn't know how to predict or think about it.
Maybe he wasn’t born yet at this time? Who knows?
But the mercenary leader told Darkus about the relationship between the Bjorlings and Chaos. He was still full of pragmatism. Although he believed in the gods of Chaos, it was not that obvious. The worshiped pantheon includes many gods borrowed from other lands explored over the centuries, but some have been twisted into something more savage.
When calling the Chaos Gods, the Bjorlings also call Uric and Tal. Their religion is very strict, but their view of the Chaos Gods is that they are inevitable and helpless, rather than loving. this. They hate physical mutations, and deformed babies are sentenced to death and thrown from cliffs into the sea.
Arinasa Salty is a deformed child born in the Bjorlin tribe. She was rescued by the waves after being thrown down, and was raised by other mutants in a secluded cove on the coast. Then her legendary story began, but she was not born yet...
When the tide was low in the afternoon, Darkus went to the Seaman's Temple under the leadership of the mercenary leader. Like the Bjorlings, he He also has wanderlust and a strange collecting habit. Whenever he goes to a place and does not visit the scenic spots, he feels that something is missing and feels empty.
With its wide entrance covered with barnacles and seaweed, Echo Sea Cave is where the Bjorlings pay homage to numerous sea gods, many borrowed from other cultures, and one never knows which god will. Help when you need help.
The statue of Mannann was snatched from the Bjorlings when they invaded Marienburg in the early years. In addition, there are many strange things, such as the heretical shark god Sturmfel and the strange Mo Mei. Dus is said to be the evil side of Mannann, the blood-skeletal Medusa who was once a Bjorlin warrior and has now been transformed into the demon prince of Khorne. It is said that there is enough blood to summon this thing to help in the battle. A man named Or Priest Mannann of Dral, a curious man (more on that later), a silver reliquary looted from Marienburg contained his withered nose shell, a rotting scarecrow covered in seaweed, It represents an obscure, forgotten ocean spirit, whose exact identity even the female shaman who cares for the Seaman Temple cannot tell.
To Dakoos, this female shaman was like the sea, fickle and moody, a complete lunatic. The female shaman said that there were omens on him. As for what the omens were, he handed over rich food. After marrying the gold, the female shaman hesitated and couldn't explain clearly. Anyway, it was an omen.
Before the tide came in, when the water was about to be submerged to waist high, Darkus left. According to the mercenary leader, there were witches selling wind in Skoyod's shacks and caves. The wind was put in bottles or bags and stood there. Releasing at the stern would allow the wind to push the boat, but could also create gusts, complete dead zones, or strange weather effects. After all, Witch was notoriously unreliable. He declined, saying he was not interested. In his opinion, the wind was selling. No matter how outrageous it was, it wasn't as outrageous as Beloda's liquid nitrogen acceleration.
The fleet did not stay in Skjold and set off at two o'clock in the middle of the night. According to Belloda, the high priest of the Storm Weaver Order, this was an auspicious time to set off for a smooth sailing. Dark As the champion of the Lord of the Abyss, Us doesn't know why he sets out in the middle of the night every time he goes to sea.
Kaldor recruited four North dwarf masters from Hornberg. The mercenary leader recruited by Darkus had a plunder ship and more than a hundred Druch. The four ships set off at midnight. .
By the way, there is a mysterious Lustria idol in the Sailor's Temple. The female shaman hesitated and said nothing, but Darkus paid her! Wren and Genevieve took advantage of the night and high tide to bring the idol out.
This is the fish frog that Darkus is holding in his hands now. He is still a little frightened when he sees the fire spreading in the town of Ormskro, because the omen of the female shaman came true during the journey...
I declared that the whole operation failed. Originally, I wanted to write less preface and directly transition to Ormskro, but I found that a paragraph was still missing
(end of chapter)