Claudia. Auditoredu was unhappy with the fight in which he had no time to intervene - pouting like a young girl who had been robbed of a lollipop.

After removing the threat, Barrett put the spear in his hand, turned around and patted Claudia. Auditore's shoulder: "Alright! Your eldest lady is not a little girl anymore, can you use it like this? Know that our underground journey has just begun, and there will be opportunities for you to perform in the future. ”

"The big man is right! We're only in the first half of this trip, and the safety is still high. As we go deeper and deeper into the dark regions, so does the chance of accidents happening. When the time comes, don't be afraid that you little girl don't have time to rest. The dwarf on the side let go of his palm on the saber and laughed twice.

Of course, in terms of age, the dwarf in front of him is called Claudia. There's nothing wrong with Auditore being a little girl. After all, dwarfs are also a long-lived race compared to humans. The rite of passage is usually held at the age of 40, and they naturally have a sense of superiority in that regard. And the dwarf escort in front of him is obviously not a 'hairy boy' who has just come of age, and the other party who has participated in at least 10 underground trips is already a mature elder.

At the same time, Barrett also turned his gaze to the dwarf: "It's been so long, and I haven't asked this gentleman for your name?" ”

"You can call me Talkative Funcklin! That's what my friends call me. The dwarf in front of him began to introduce himself without even thinking about it, and that talkative title was really not wrong at all.

In that case, Barrett is a fool not to know how to fight a snake and stick it: "So Mr. Funklin can you tell us about what kind of adventures you have had in this underground world before?" ”

"I'll have to think about it. After all, the earliest memories have been baptized for ten years. It's not easy to dig them out of the depths of your brain. You'll have to give me some time. Mr. Fonglin, who said this, ran his hand into his mustache with his hand. He was still satisfied with the performance of Barrett and his party.

And with this talkative senior, the players' underground journey has become less boring than it was at the beginning. The other party's story doesn't just grab the attention of the players. At the same time, it was also an eye-opener for players to learn about a lot of unexpected situations that can only be encountered in the underground world, and how to deal with those accidents.

As time passed, the party went deeper and deeper into the dark areas, hesitating without the sun as an indication, and the team was only able to determine whether it was day or night through special oddities. Finally, at the time when the sun rises on the surface, a tall lighthouse appears in front of the players' eyes.

The lighthouse stood beneath the high rock dome, and the bright light dispelled the entire cavern. The long spire rock drew a longer shadow and spread out around the lighthouse. Looking down the lighthouse that brought light, a small fortress appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

These three transit points in the Dark Regions. How many of the surviving camps were built by the adventurers (the rest were often destroyed by geographical movements). When this passage first appeared, the Principality was clearly happy to see that happen.

Because at that time, having a fixed base indicates that the human beings on the surface have extended their tentacles into areas that have not been touched before. As more and more adventurers poured into the Dark Regions, the materials obtained from the underground brought economic prosperity and harvested a lot of scarce materials for the Duchy of Norhan at that time.

The key thing is that there are more people here, and there will be more adventurers hunting all kinds of creatures in the dark regions, or digging and gathering resources to get all kinds of useful things and materials. The Principality of Nohan, which has a dominant position here, is naturally close to the water.

Later, with the promotion of the Duchy of Norhan to a kingdom, they finally had the opportunity to project their power into the deep underground. Along with the establishment of the forward fortress, there were three 'transit centers' established under the guidance of the dwarves. The kingdom of Norhan is a gateway to this dark land. It is precisely the establishment of a not too stable administrative jurisdiction.

The fortress in front of you may seem a little plain, but the thick walls are more than 2.5 meters. To say that the dark region lacks everything. There is no shortage of stones. As long as there is enough manpower, it is completely possible to build a strong fortress with a hidden arrow. Of course, there is no way to build it out of bluestone or even obsidian. Instead, the bricks are made of nearby stones, and of course, the middle of the two-story stone wall is inevitably made of a gravel wall similar to that of the three-layer soil solidified with plaster. This structure is also the way most castles in the world are built, and it is relatively cheap and convenient.

As the procession approached, Barrett saw that the castle gate in front of him was 25 feet tall. Two 30-foot-tall towers flank the gates, guarding the main entrance to the camp. At the same time, there was a 40-foot-deep trench in front of the camp gate, and the drawbridge across the trench was usually raised on weekdays.

Above the towers and gates, guards are on guard at all times. Visitors must state their names and occupation for the purpose of their visit in order to be allowed to enter. And in addition to the towers on both sides of the gate, there are 7 other towers that surround the castle. Four of them are connected to the inner castle and are guarded by soldiers under the command of the royal family.

As the annual transport brigade of the dwarves and gnomes, Mr. Barrant was obviously an acquaintance of the transit station in front of him. After confirming their identity, they were quickly granted access. A civilian warehouse that can be seen at a glance when you enter the city gates, where caravans that come to trade will store their goods temporarily.

The players' party was soon placed on the eastern side of the fortress, where there were separate stables where visitors kept their horses or mules and other livestock. Although sometimes it has to be used exclusively for the army, the daily copper plate income in leisure time is better than nothing.

As he went, Barrett figured out the general structure of the fortress. It is roughly divided into two parts, the eastern part is called the Inner City. Personal area as a high-ranking officer. At the same time, it is also the last line of defense of the fortress. And the part on the west side of the fortress. It was used as a common area for soldiers and servants in the castle, and was often referred to as the Outer City. At the same time, for the convenience of those who are adventurous, there are many buildings such as taverns, inns, banks, etc.

On the top floor of the 20-foot-tall tower in the center, it was used by guards to guard the area outside the castle. At the same time, on the first floor, there is a blacksmith shop. There is a clever blacksmith specially dispatched by the Norhan dwarven clan. From ordinary iron tools to weapons and shields, these rotating craftsmen are adept.

As one of the support of the dwarves, the forging of each craftsman on duty can already be called an art. Rumors have it that if they were given enough magical materials, they could even craft real magical weapons - and it doesn't seem like nothing if you think of the Virtue Warhammer in the hands of the Anvil.

The blacksmith is next to the exchange, and most of the various transactions between the transit center and nearby adventurers are handled. Foreign caravans and transactions within the fortress must also be carried out here. However, the items sold to adventurers here often have a toothache increase over the normal price.

After all, the defenders here have special baggage teams in the kingdom to supply the fortress. But the adventurers can only rely on the merchants who are eager to drain their marrow. In order to survive, they had to sell strange things they had brought out of the depths of the dark realms here. Then use the gold to heal their injuries or enjoy food and wine - there is no fixed logistical system, so most people will have to choose to trade on the spot.

Although I know it's here. There will be huge spreads made by those cunning merchants. However, the time taken to make the round trip and the price problem caused by the lack of shipping channels are also the problem. As a result, adventurers found that it was more realistic for them to spend such time exploring underground.

In the face of such a vested interest group, most of the weak adventurers are powerless to resist. Fortunately, the merchants were also afraid of forcing the adventurers into a hurry, and a fish would die - barefoot and not afraid to wear shoes. So more or less, it will still leave those low-level adventurers with some surplus wealth.

Of course, it is not that these merchants are inherently benevolent, but that they are warned by the blood that they must not do too much. In such a world where the flow of information is not smooth, the businessmen who are killed by righteous indignation basically die in vain. Because if the killers are not caught in the first place, trying to find them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

And the lords often don't spend a lot of manpower and material resources to search for the attacker for the sake of a profiteer. Although the high bounties offered by the family and the comptoir can attract a large number of bounty hunters, whether or not the murderer can be caught in the end depends on luck. Besides, compared to life, in most cases, money is just something outside the body. For the sake of their own net worth, most businessmen don't dare to push those characters who lick blood too hard.

Once the team is arranged, players are given a free time to recuperate. However, the scope of activity is limited to the fortress. Because the entire transfer station occupies a small area, Barrett almost touched everything in a circle.

On the edge of the eastern city wall is a row of apartments. Each junior apartment consists of a bedroom, a living room, and a storage room. There are also two larger apartments with 3 bedrooms, 2 storage rooms and a kitchen. This is for those who have a certain status.

The banks in the West City are also money lenders, and the 'Goddess of Wealth and Commerce' is the biggest money lender. Anyone can borrow more than 200 gold coins from the church at a rate of 5% per week. At the same time, the borrower is required to provide collateral equivalent to 150% of the value of the borrowed funds. Seriously, this kind of borrowing can be said to be a safe bet - but it is strange that the Church of the Goddess of Wealth and Commerce does not have a temple here.

To the northwest of the fortress is a small square. In normal times, it is a market for small traders to buy and sell, a place for wandering poets to play and sing adventure tales, and a good place for adventurers to exchange materials and items obtained in the dark regions or to recruit companions - although it is not very useful to reduce the exploitation of merchants.

Near the square is a historic inn. According to the reception, there are 5 private rooms that can sleep 4 people in each room. There is also a common living room that can accommodate up to 12 people. However, most adventurers still choose to camp in the open areas of the transit station. It's not just about the price, it's about the fact that there's so little space to offer.

Compared to the narrow Traveler's Inn, the tavern in the transit field is the social center of the entire fortress. However, all soldiers serving in the inner city were not allowed to enter the tavern without the direct permission of a superior officer, to prevent them from indulging too much in alcohol. Of course, this doesn't work for the large number of dwarven warriors in the army. Almost every one of them hangs out at the tavern at least once a week. At the same time, I will talk about all the topics that interest me.

Upon entering the tavern, Barrett immediately saw a comically dressed halfling performing a burlesque show. The gnomes' machine-gun-like quick mouths uttered jokes one after another, causing the adventurers at the wine table to burst into laughter. It seems to dilute a lot of the boredom of living underground

However, watching the dwarf's performance, Barrett touched his chin with a little curiosity: "Consciously, it's actually a "trickster." It's a dark region that is in danger at any time! ”

"Tricksters" are a system of troubadours peculiar to gnomes. They regard humor as the highest form of art, and pranks as the highest form of humor. In addition to cheering up your friends with light-hearted little farce. The Trickster can also use his wit and almost cruel humor to gratify his enemies, and then make them incapacitated with a series of witty phrases. So don't look at the clown-like amusement in front of you, but when you encounter the enemy, you can be regarded as a reliable combat force.

Suddenly, Barrett's eyes were drawn to a figure in the tavern - because the player's logo was unabashedly displayed on the other's head. (To be continued......)

PS: Modify the wording. Thanks to "Little GEnd" for the big tip.