……
“So, you intend to help him?” Mar Tokat frowned, “A remnant of the Church?”
After escorting Joe away, the Captain of the Guard immediately summoned the envoy from Glow City and recounted the entire affair from beginning to end – he wasn't worried that the Three Great Families would covet the treasure, as no one knew its true purpose. If it truly was a rare treasure possessing great power, it wouldn't have drifted away from Dawn in the first place.
“Whether to help or not isn't up to me,” Sean said nonchalantly, “My orders are to find the treasure's whereabouts as much as possible. Now that we finally have a seemingly credible lead, we naturally have to confirm it further. As for what action to take afterwards, His Majesty will decide.” He paused, looking at the other party, “So, do you have any good plans, Envoy?”
While the First Army was undoubtedly unmatched, it still needed an enemy. Searching for hidden spies wasn't the warriors' forte; it would undoubtedly be more appropriate to leave such matters to the Three Great Families.
“Honestly, I wish I'd never heard of this,” Mar shrugged, “If it weren't for the Church, Quinn would never have been driven out of Dawn. Maybe she would be my elder brother's wife by now… ahem, but since you've asked, I can only assist to the end. Although many people have come to town recently, it's not difficult to find a specific group.”
“Specific group?”
“That's right. Since Cage Mountain is impassable, the closest route from Wolfheart to here is by sea – the harbor city northeast of Thorns Town, Coral Bay.” Mar counted on his fingers, “A group from the east, numbering ten to fifteen, possibly with a Wolfheart accent or style of dress... Screening according to these conditions can narrow the target to two or three groups – at most, no more than five.”
“Because the only large city to the east… is Coral Bay?” Sean said thoughtfully. People coming to Neverwinter from the east could be from all over Graycastle, but those arriving in Neverwinter from the west were basically only devils. “After finding these people, we'll detain them all and interrogate them?”
“That's the idea.” Mar nodded, “And the spies you're looking for are most likely among them.”
“The question is, who will do this?”
“Are there any local rats who know the town's situation better? Problems that can be solved with money are usually not problems.” Mar smiled and stroked his chest. “To show the sincerity of the Three Great Families, these expenses will be borne by the Tokat family.”
……
Inside a house on the outskirts of Thorns Town, Heger, the butler of the Earl of Great Duke Island, was impatiently swatting away the mosquitoes around him.
This damn broken place, he couldn't even find a breathable tent, he thought angrily. Summer hasn't even arrived and insects are already everywhere. In two months, won't it be impossible to stay here?
However, until now, there was still no clue as to why the Festival Cube was glowing.
He wasn't even sure if the King of Graycastle was really after the treasures in the Cursed Temple.
Look at what the other party has done during this period.
According to the information collected by his subordinates, the Graycastle Exploration Team arrived in Thorns Town two months ago. After that, they opened mountains and built roads, and recruited death row prisoners, acting as if they were afraid the world wouldn't know. The temple on the hillside was also dug upside down by them, and bricks were transported down the mountain every day and placed on an open space that was guarded at all times.
If all of this was to find possible buried treasures, it would still be understandable, but the fact is that the Graycastle side seemed to treat the stones with more enthusiasm than the treasures. He had observed the open space from afar. After the bricks transported from the temple were evenly dried, they would be loaded onto carriages and sent to Coral Bay in the east.
Heger really couldn't understand what use the King of Graycastle had for these black stones.
He also tried every means to steal a few temple stones from the port and bring them back to Earl Lorenzo, but the result was the same as he expected. The Festival Cube did not regain the power of legends as a result.
The key thing that triggered the ancient treasure's reaction must be something else.
“Sir, the person you're looking for has been brought here,”
Suddenly, a subordinate lifted the curtain and reported to him.
“Let him in,” Heger quickly tightened the knot of his collar and sat up straight.
“Yes!”
Then a villager-like man was pushed into the room. He knelt on the ground and carefully raised his head, “Sir, my name is Nav. Are you looking for a mountain? As long as it doesn't cross the peak line, I can take you anywhere –”
“I heard that you were the guide that the Graycastle people hired when they first went to Cage Mountain?” Heger interrupted.
“Yes, yes… Sir.”
“Pa.”
Heger directly threw a small cloth bag in front of him, “This contains twenty gold dragons. As long as you can say something that interests me, it's yours.”
“Of course, sir, I will definitely say everything!” Nav responded excitedly.
“First, tell me about the situation at that time in full detail. Don't miss any details.” Heger glanced contemptuously at the person at his feet and leaned back in his chair.
When Nav recounted the story of the group climbing Cage Mountain, he suddenly opened his eyes, “Wait, what did you just say?”
“That witch named Aqima xiaojie –”
“No, the sentence after that!”
“Uh, she held up a coin and said, 'Go this way.'”
“Coin?” Heger asked, pressing. “What kind of coin?”
“It looked very ordinary. It wasn't like a silver wolf or a copper eagle.” Nav thought for a moment. “Also, there weren't even any patterns on it. It seemed to be just a polished thin piece.”
“Did that witch hold it up all the time?” Heger felt that he had vaguely grasped the key.
“Most of the time.” The guide suddenly realized, “Now that you mention it, I also remember that that team's direction of travel was mainly guided by the witch. And every time they turned, the witch would put the coin in front of her eyes, as if she was staring at something.”
Damn it, it really is related to this group of aliens!
Heger clenched his fist, “Where is that witch named Aqima now?”
“I, I don't know,” Nav shook his head repeatedly. “She left Thorns Town a few days ago. Maybe… she went back to Graycastle?”
If it was only a few days, then the other party must have already left Cage Mountain before he set off, but the Festival Cube's reaction hadn't stopped. In other words… the coin was left here? Heger quickly calculated in his mind that it was probably not a coin at all, but a "key" that the King of Graycastle had found from other ruins. Since it was extraordinary, then the keeper must be the head of the exploration team.
He had already found out this information. The two people with the highest status in the Graycastle team were the commander-in-chief Sean and Mar, the envoy of the Three Great Families.
Compared to the second son from a noble family, a royal guard seemed easier to be tempted – the most castles in the world were often conquered from the inside.
How many gold dragons would he have to prepare to find a breakthrough with him?
Five hundred… or a thousand?
However, Heger knew that no matter how much it was, the Earl would definitely be happy to pay for the secret of the cube.
As long as he could connect with him, he would probably be close to the answer.
Heger couldn't help but get excited.
If he obtained that key "key", he would definitely be highly appreciated by Earl Lorenzo, and even go a step further, the position of lord was not impossible? After all, no one stipulated that only the lord could use the cube.
While he was envisioning a wonderful future, rapid footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
“Wait, who are you –”
“Ah!”
Then there was a clattering sound of smashing. Before Heger could recover, the door was rudely kicked open, and a group of uninvited guests dressed in patrol uniforms rushed into the room and pressed him to the ground.
Heger struggled to straighten his collar, “I, I am a legitimate merchant. You can't treat me like this! If you want money, I will definitely cooperate as much as possible –”
“The lord of Thorns Town suspects that your caravan is hiding remnants of the Church and needs to be investigated immediately,” the other party remained unmoved, “Save anything you want to say for when you get back to the lord!”