Chapter 128 Joke from Hell (4th update, please subscribe)
Without a doubt.
For Bernard, who wanted to return to Ascaltra by land, the news brought by the cavalry captain could definitely be regarded as bad news.
This caused him to fall into a state of taciturnity for several hours.
It wasn’t until I passed through the city gate and officially entered the fortress city of Manon that I felt a little better.
After arriving at the market, the first thing Bernard did was to systematically sell all the camels to merchants who were eager to cross the desert to Port Calim.
And the noble and commoner families who were afraid that the red dragon would continue to move south after capturing Mailatma and chose to move their families to Calim Port.
Since war mobilization has begun.
Most of the ships in the port have either been requisitioned, or they have been filled with people and sailed to Port Carlin early, and no idle ships can be found at all.
Therefore, the value of the camel, the only one that could help them cross the Kalin Desert, naturally increased with the tide.
At this moment, it has increased to seven times the usual level.
Coupled with the malicious hoarding and speculation by unscrupulous businessmen, they deliberately spread all kinds of gossip that can cause people to panic.
Some nobles and rich people who are eager to escape are even willing to offer ten times the outrageous price.
The heavy packhorses from the northern Kingdom of Tethyr, which were originally worth 150 gold coins each, dropped directly to 50 gold coins.
In addition, the price of a four-wheeled horse-drawn wagon has also dropped from 100 gold coins to 30 gold coins, and a two-wheeled one only costs 4 gold coins.
In less than two hours, Bernard sold all the more than a thousand camels in the caravan.
Replaced with more than 300 strong heavy-duty draft horses, as well as 80 four-wheeled wagons that required two horses to pull, and 140 two-wheeled wagons that only one horse could pull.
As for the goods carried by the caravan, he chose to sell all the weapons and secondary magic items that could be used in the battle to defend the city to the Manon City Government, which was preparing for the war.
At the same time, all the price differences just earned will be used to purchase antiques, artworks, handicrafts, jewelry, and a large number of valuable ancient books that the fleeing families are selling at low prices. and magic items.
In short, except for real estate that cannot be taken away, anything with enough profit margin is always welcome.
After finishing everything and dragging his exhausted body to the door of the hotel rented by the caravan, Bernard immediately heard a burst of laughter coming from inside.
When he walked in, he was shocked to see everyone sitting around the stage laughing their heads off.
Even the paladin Eloline, who had always been serious and unsmiling, was covering her mouth and shaking slightly uncontrollably.
Only Zuo Si, who was sitting in the center, still maintained his usual calm posture, eating the food on the plate very slowly.
Out of curiosity, Bernard walked straight up and asked the mercenary leader: "What are you laughing at?"
The latter smiled and shook his head and explained: "Your Excellency Soth just told a very interesting joke, which successfully made everyone laugh."
"Oh? What kind of joke is it?"
Bernard sat down on the chair next to him, and at the same time waved to the beautiful waitress to give him a glass of the best wine in the store.
He is now eager to drink some alcoholic beverages to relieve fatigue and stress.
Soon, the waitress brought a glass of high-quality wine that was as dark red as blood to this businessman, who looked dusty on the outside, but his clothes and decorations were quite luxurious.
Not only that!
She also deliberately pulled the neckline of the skirt very low, revealing the two rather alluring hemispheres, and at the same time gave Bernard a flirtatious look that was full of reverie.
You know without asking that this is an invitation signal.
As long as the latter is willing, he can go to the guest room upstairs at any time to do some enjoyable adult exercises with the young and beautiful waitress.
After all, if you can hook up with a wealthy businessman, it means you can get rid of your current poor and embarrassing life.
It doesn’t matter if you become the other person’s wife or mistress.
Anyway, it is a hundred times better than being a hotel waitress who is teased and taken advantage of by rude men almost every day.
No matter what happens, you can still get a large and generous tip through a one-night stand. In short, wealthy businessmen and nobles are always more favored by these waitresses than those adventurers and mercenaries who lick blood.
But unfortunately, Bernard, who was full of worry, had no such thoughts at all. He directly ignored the waitress's secret glances, picked up the cup and took a sip.
The mercenary captain on the side smiled and repeated the joke just now.
The general content is that the younger brother of a knight was killed by his enemy.
At this time, his teammates stood up one after another to express their support for his revenge.
Warrior: I will chop off the head of your brother's murderer with my sword.
Ranger: My bow will shoot through the heart of the murderer.
Pastor: I will use the power God has given me to find the murderer and make him pay for his actions.
The Necromancer pointed at the corpse that had just been awakened by magic and said: "Don't bother! Your brother will personally strangle the bastard who killed him."
Bernard After listening to it, I couldn't help laughing on the spot.
Obviously, this is a typical "hell joke".
Because in Faerun, normally killed corpses can actually be resurrected by spending a large sum of money to find a priest with a high enough level to help resurrect them.
But if it is a corpse that has been desecrated by necromancy magic, the cost and difficulty of resurrection will be instantly increased by dozens or even dozens of times.
If he were this knight, he would probably be able to pull out his sword and hack down this unhelpful Necromancer teammate.
But soon, the businessman stopped laughing, lowered his voice and asked Zuo Si, who was eating: "Your Excellency Soth, you don't seem to be nervous at all about what happened in Mailatma?"
"Nervous? Why should I be nervous?" Zuo Si asked with a chuckle. "It's just an adult red dragon and thousands of monsters that lack organization and discipline. If we really collide, I don't mind being a dragon-slaying warrior."
"Dragon-slaying?!"
Eloline's eyes lit up slightly.
You must know that killing the evil and cruel red dragon is a huge challenge and the highest honor for any paladin.
Zuo Si nodded seriously: "Yes! If it is an old red dragon or an ancient dragon, it may be very troublesome to deal with. But if it is just an adult dragon or a mature dragon, as long as you are prepared, you can solve it. It shouldn’t be too difficult to get up.”
“So you decided to deal with this red dragon and its evil army?”
Elloline clenched her fists in excitement.
If she hadn't carried the mission and the oath, she would have wanted to go to Mailatma alone.
Imitate the pure, powerful, and fearless paladin in those stories, single-handedly kill the source of evil that causes war and strife, and bring peace and hope to those who are suffering.
“No, no, no.
What I mean is, if you encounter it, then solve it easily.
If you don’t encounter it, then there is one more thing It's better to have one less thing.
Of course, I wouldn't mind making some extra money if the lord of Mylatma could offer a sufficient bounty. ”
Zuo Si clearly expressed his position.
Although he does not mind helping others when he can, he will not be like the "righteous people" in this world. "Altruism" is a kind of responsibility and obligation.
On the contrary!
If possible, Zuo Si would not want to be associated with any messy organization.
He just wants to arrive at Ascaltra as soon as possible, first help Bernard regain the Chamber of Commerce, and then bring enough money to Candlekeep to collect all the precious books in it into the [Thinking Library].
(End of this chapter)