Chapter 261 Mahakam’s Dragon
Dwarf’s tavern was filled with people.
The rules and regulations of life in Mahakam are very strict, and the young dwarves do not understand the great elder; although the adult dwarves who have returned from traveling understand the great elder, most of them still cannot stand the itchy rules, so they are more willing to Choose to leave the city and engage in work such as mining, hunting, and construction in the mountains.
Therefore, the business of the tavern in this gathering place is very good. Although it is only halfway up the mountain, there are more customers than the tavern in the capital of a large country.
The dwarves gathered together, drank, chatted, discussed work, and complained about the great elder. Some dwarves gathered in the corner to play their national characteristic "barrel card"; some also directly used a wine barrel as a stage and started arm wrestling. The loser must give the winner a cup of Mahakam ale.
At this moment, half of the people in the tavern were surrounding the arm wrestling duel, because there was a brave man who had won dozens of games in a row and drank dozens of glasses of Mahakam ale.
But as the game continued, the brave man became stronger and stronger. It seemed that the people he had just defeated were just children, and they could not lose any of her physical strength.
Even after drinking dozens of glasses of Mahakam ale, her expression remained unchanged, as if all she had just drank was mountain spring water.
There was an unconvinced dwarf who was not far away from her. Every time the brave man drank a glass of ale, the dwarf also drank a glass. Now the dwarf was so drunk that he got under the table.
He is stronger than a dwarf and has a greater drinking capacity than a dwarf.
Incredibly, she is still a woman.
What's even more incredible is that she is human - or at least looks like one.
"Saskia! Saskia!"
The dwarves who were watching spontaneously began to cheer for the winner. Strong strength and a large drinking capacity are the traits that are most likely to be recognized by dwarves. If you add good card skills, you might be able to become a big player immediately. The elder's guest.
Saskia, who was surrounded by cheers, knocked down a dwarf again. By this time, the dwarves were no longer pursuing victory. They were more interested in experiencing this woman's strange power with a mentality of checking in at attractions. After losing, they were willing to give her a glass of ale, and then watched helplessly. Saskia drank it all in one gulp.
"Haha, another drink!" Saskia drank a glass of ale and smashed the wooden wine glass on the ground. Then the dwarves burst into even more enthusiastic cheers.
The owner of the bar also joined the carnival crowd of dwarves. He didn't feel any distress about Saskia's action of smashing the wine glass. Instead, he started to prepare the next glass of wine enthusiastically.
"Saskia! Saskia!"
In the cheers, the trap door of the tavern was opened. Every dwarf moved roughly, so the movement went unnoticed.
But then the dwarf's voice came in: "Then we'll see you again in a few days, Lan!"
The tavern was extremely noisy, and Yarpan's voice was barely audible.
Only Saskia's ears suddenly moved twice, and then her eyes lit up like a dwarf's fire.
"Lan?"
She turned around.
The dwarf holding the money bag was stepping into the tavern excitedly, and the trap door was still shaking.
A figure of a knight wearing majestic silver-black armor loomed behind the constantly opening and closing wooden boards. Beside him was a horse that was two heads taller than him.
"Blonde hair! Lion eyes! Great gryphon cloak! Lann Lannister Leanne!"
...
Yalpen held on to the wall, touched his arms and found that the money bag was still there, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, the dwarf felt a gray gust of wind blowing in front of his eyes, and then he flew out as if he was hit by a horse.
"Ah... I'm sorry."
Yarpan also heard a faint voice apologizing. The person who bumped into him seemed to be quite polite.
Then there was an undeniable force that pulled him up from the ground. After confirming that he was not injured, the gray wind blew again and flew away from him.
There was a "bang" and the wooden door of the tavern groaned.
Yarpan scratched his head and looked into the tavern, and found that all the dwarves were looking at him for some reason.
Yarpan, who likes to be the center of attention, immediately put the accident behind him, raised his fist and shouted: "Hey, Yarpan, the dragon slayer is back!"... The
attendants
all pulled out their weapons, thinking They wanted to step forward to stop the woman who had just appeared, but Lan waved them to calm down.
The person who rushed out of the tavern like a strong wind looked so much like an assassin that, not to mention the attendants, even Lan himself was shocked.
With his current physical condition, he almost didn't react. It wasn't until the person in front of him stopped that he could barely see his face clearly.
This is an extremely tall woman with half-long golden brown hair.
Lan's height is now close to 1.9 meters, but at this moment he can only look at her level; she is wearing a light brown traveler's jacket and leather suit, and the slightly tight design wraps up her strong muscle lines. It can be seen that the person in front of him has extraordinary skills.
She wore a hairband on her forehead, and her hair was simply braided and hung around her neck. The bridge of the nose is high, the lips are slightly thick, and the skin is not delicate but has a smooth look.
This appearance, which was slightly different from that of southerners and northerners, made Geralt at the back of the team mutter to himself: "Zerikan?"
After the woman rushed out of the tavern, she immediately locked onto Lann, and she revealed With a look of joy, he adjusted his appearance five steps away and then stepped forward and introduced himself:
"Hello, Lann Lannister Leanne, my name is Saskia."
...
This name, paired with this With her clothing and appearance vaguely familiar to Lann, Lann instantly determined the identity of the woman who suddenly appeared.
Even with Lan En's current identity and the power he had mastered, he felt that he was surrounded by surprises at this moment. This character's name is very familiar to Lann.
Saskia comes from Zerikan, a country that worships dragons and uses dragons as totems. She doesn't know who her biological father is, but she has a great and powerful adoptive father.
If Lann remembered correctly, Saskia, who inherited her adoptive father's ideals of equality and priceless freedom for all, left Zerikan and traveled in the north. During the later period of the Civil War, when most of the northern territory was captured by Nilfgaard, Saskia would also raise a group of troops in Aedirn, which was on the verge of subjugation, and was known as the "Virgin of Aedirn" in an attempt to establish a harmonious society among all races. The kingdom of life. Even Iorveth, the leader of the Scoia'tael that Lann had come into contact with before, would be impressed by her and willing to be driven.
[...Wait, all races live in harmony? This kind of slogan seems to have been shouted out at some time. When was it? ]
Lann thought for a while and finally gave up. If you can't remember it, it means it's not important.
All in all, Saskia is a high-level military talent who is highly consistent with the concepts proposed by Lann - at least the concepts that have been publicized to the outside world.
What Lann valued even more was another point - Saskia's powerful combat power.
The tall, heroic woman in front of her is not actually a human being, her appearance is a disguise made by magic. If she were to reveal her true form and have a fight with Lan's ace, the Ice Giant, it would be hard to say who would win.
However, Saskia did not take the initiative to reveal her identity at this moment, and Lan didn't reveal it even after thinking about it. Seeing the girl's expression of long-awaited communication, she really shouldn't be too easy to deceive.
Lann preferred to keep this secret first, and then use it as a bargaining chip to achieve greater effectiveness.
...
At this moment, seeing the vigilant Cintra attendants, Saskia seemed to realize how rude her behavior seemed.
"I'm sorry, Lannister... Your Majesty the Duke, I'm just so excited, because I've admired you... for a long time, and I just got to see you in person today, so I can't help myself." With that, Saskia said
. Lan En bowed slightly.
Saskia's temperament is very calm, but she paradoxically has an abrupt feeling of "communicating with people for the first time". It's like the kind of ivory tower student who has learned a lot of knowledge and comes to a social situation for the first time. His mind is full of etiquette rules, but he doesn't know which one to use at the scene, which seems confusing.
However, she did not have the shyness of those students who had little social experience. Instead, she exuded a sense of confidence from the inside out.
After seeing Lann's calm gesture, the attendants put away their weapons, but their right hands were still tightly grasped on the hilts of their swords.
After following Lan for so long, the attendants also have good eyesight. The appearance of this woman's appearance shows that she is extraordinary. They could even faintly sense an aura from each other that could only be felt when facing a ferocious beast.
"Have you been looking for me? Are you ready to take refuge with me? How did a human come to the dwarf's territory?" Lan asked deliberately.
Saskia was delighted to see Lan En willing to communicate with her. After hearing Lan En's inquiry, she immediately started chatting.
"I heard your name in the Pontal Valley. At that time, I heard that your country accommodates multiple races, and they can all live in peace and respect each other." "I have learned the
concept of racial equality since I was a child . , but I have never seen it in any country. So when I heard the rumors about you, I was very excited."
Saskia's eyes were blue, like a clear spring: "From the time I heard the news, At that time, I wished I could witness it with my own eyes. It happened that I met the local Scoia'tael, and they... had a friendly exchange with me and told me the location of Sintra."
Lan's expression remained unchanged, but he was muttering in his heart. : Could it be that Pontar's Scoia'tael happened to be Iorveth's group? The Saskia in front of me has a human appearance, and the Scoia'tael extremely hate humans... How did they communicate?
Saskia continued: "I looked at the map and found the path to Sintra, so I came all the way and passed the Mahakam Mountains." "
As for why I am in the territory of the dwarves... it is because I am tired from the journey. I plan to take a rest for a while. I happened to hear that there are dragons here, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to see a dragon, so I plan to rest here temporarily, and then find an opportunity to go to Sintra." Lann silently drew a picture from Pang in his
mind On the road map from Taal to Sintra, it seems that Saskia is taking a straight line, intending to cross the Mahakam Mountains. Normal people would not take this route. For example, when Lan attended the Northern Conference, he took Temeria and Redania and made a big detour.
Lann's thinking was seen by others. Saskia stared at Lann motionlessly, with expectation in her eyes.
Seeing this, Gabo took the initiative to come forward and explain: "Sakia has indeed been in Mahakam for a while, and we all know her. It's just that we never knew that her destination was Sintra - maybe this is Destiny guides me, hahaha."
Gabo deliberately laughed a few times to lighten the atmosphere.
Heilela frowned from behind and questioned: "But how can a traveler climb the Mahakam Mountains? She is not a messenger like us, or a lead ring of friendship." Gabo waved his hand and explained
. : "Mahakam holds an Ale Festival every twenty-five years, and even the great elders will agree to open the door to welcome travelers from all directions - Layla probably didn't know you were born yet at the last Ale Festival, so she doesn't know. "It's just
that Due to the well-known Scoia'tael reasons, not many people were willing to attend this Ale Festival. Saskia was the first person to climb the Mahakam Mountains and the only one so far.
"I can't promise you anything, Lord Lannister, but Saskia is not a villain or an assassin. " We dwarves are very good at judging people, and she is a good person. Lann
glanced at Gabo and then at Saskia. He naturally knew that Saskia was not a bad person. He was
surprised that Saskia could gain the recognition of the dwarves so easily, and even let a person as prestigious as Gabo The dwarf guaranteed her during the diplomatic mission.
As expected of her.
After pondering for a moment, Lan pointed to the tavern and motioned to his team: "As you can see, my current team has Humans and dwarves, we are willing to trust each other with our backs and lives. "
"In my country, there are also dryads, elves, and other races that are difficult to mention but are very rare. Cintra welcomes every like-minded human or non-human to join. If you are willing, you can return to Sintra with us later, see and think with your own eyes, and examine whether the scene there meets your ideals. "
Saskia breathed a sigh of relief.
She first showed a grateful smile towards Gabo, then bowed her head slightly towards Lan, thought for a while and then saluted: "Thank you for your recognition, this is my honor, Duke grown ups. "
...
The atmosphere in Lann's team began to relax. Now that the Duke has accepted this new female warrior, the attendants no longer have any reason to openly guard against each other. But Kolgrim, after listening to Saskia's
words His eyes lit up slightly, he looked around and came closer to Layla, and asked in a low voice: "Mahakam still has a dragon? Layla
glanced at the similar amber vertical pupils of Kolgrim and Geralt, thought for a while and nodded before replying: "There is a red dragon here, called Kelturis." "
According to legend, it was the last red dragon between the ocean and the Farri Mountains. It came to Mahakam to nest hundreds of years ago, and then a century-long conflict broke out with the dwarves." Later, the dragon got tired of fighting and the dwarves realized that the red dragon was not going anywhere, so the two sides reached an agreement. It doesn't bother the dwarf, and the dwarf tries to satisfy its needs. "
Leila spoke loudly, so that Gabo, who was not far away, heard it. He snorted coldly: "It's not 'we meet its needs', we reached an agreement with the big lizard. We provide food and shelter, and it no longer kills our compatriots, but also helps us fight against nearby monsters. This is an employment relationship! "
...
Gabo seemed to want to explain in detail the current relationship between the Mahakam dwarf and the red dragon Kelturis. But the next second he was speechless.
Because in this topic, apart from the dwarf, there are other A protagonist appeared on the stage.
——A high-pitched roar resounded through the sky.
At that moment, it was as if a bronze horn was playing in everyone's ears. Apart from it, people could hear no other sound.
"Howl—— "
Lan quickly looked up and saw a huge shadow sweeping over his head, like a brick-red fortress swimming in the air.
A beautiful creature spread its wings and flew lightly deep into the Mahakam Mountains.
Only one word came to everyone's mind - dragon!
...
The deafening roar of the beast still echoed in Gabo's ears. He shrank his neck, smiled at the Cintra people's amazed eyes, and greeted them with an extra loud voice, as if he wanted to disperse them. The shock that the red dragon had just brought.
"Amazing, right? That's Kelturis, the red dragon of Mahakam."
He seemed to regard the red dragon as a tourist attraction and introduced it to everyone: "I know that Yarpan once killed an albino red dragon in Quartz Mountain. Dragon, but Kelturis is much bigger and more difficult to deal with than that one. Only us dwarves can stabilize it." "
Fortunately, there is only this dragon in the entire mountain range. If there is another dragon, maybe Maha I can't hold it anymore."
"But don't worry, although the power of this big lizard is scary, it won't hurt people - at least not in the past hundred years."
The eyes of the demon hunters who followed Lan were revealed. A look of longing, especially for Cohn. The pride of the Griffin School is the legendary demon hunter George who slayed a dragon alone. There is even a portrait of George slaying a dragon in Kaer Morhen of the Wolf School.
However, demon hunters know better how to act within their capabilities. They are all pragmatists and will never deal with opponents that they cannot win 100% for the sake of glory or wealth.
But before everyone could react to Gabo's words, a second trumpet-like roar suddenly came from the sky.
"Ouch!!"
In the crowd, Saskia's expression suddenly changed.
The demon hunters also became suspicious, and their pupils began to shrink. They first looked at the roaring dragon in the distance, and then suddenly began to look at the surrounding environment, the snow and the rocks.
"Gabor, no offense intended." Geralt said coldly, "Although I can't communicate with the dragon, you know what we demon hunters do for a living - the emotions conveyed in the beast's roar can be heard no matter how you listen. It's not like the kind of creature that 'doesn't hurt people' would pass it on."
Kolgrim's snake eyes also began to shrink: "Instead, it seems like he's looking for something to beat, tear, or burn. Feeling."
Lann's head shook, he looked at Cohen, and suddenly pulled out the sword from behind.
"Its mission of 'helping the dwarves resist monsters' doesn't seem to have been completed very well - be careful, something is coming!" The cold wind howled between the mountain peaks
, and in response to it, there was nothing but the roar of the dragon far away in the horizon. In addition, there were more neighing sounds brought to everyone's ears.
Rock-like figures tumbled out from behind the rocks. They seemed to be disturbed by the movement of the dragon, and they rushed towards the defense line of the gathering place in a hurry.
The dwarves in the tavern had already ran out.
After watching the dragon flying through the sky and the monster attacking, a small group of dwarves immediately ran back to the tavern. After a while, they brought out a bunch of hammers and axes, distributed them to their partners, and stood ready.
Obviously the dwarves are already very experienced in such scenes. In addition to being residents, miners, and bar owners, they can transform into experienced ax hands and hammer hands at any time.
Gabo spat on the palm of his hand and moved his arms that were stiff in the wind and snow.
"It's not the ice trolls, it's the Sharmas... Damn it, this year's 'spring cleaning' has clearly cleared out a lot, why are there still such a large group now? You know, I almost had an arm torn off by them! ”
(End of chapter)