The person who walked out was indeed an aunt, but she was a bit square in appearance.
He is not tall, about fifty or sixty years old. He has a strong waist and a strong back, and his arms are thicker than Sion's. At first glance, people think he is a king of the hill.
The King of the Hill is the name given by the dwarves to the strong ones in the clan. He is one size larger than the normal dwarves.
Of course, it is impossible for a hill king to sneak into the city of Gardinanras, which is personally garrisoned by the Griffin Legion. Perhaps this Aunt Hera has dwarf blood.
"Two distinguished guests, do you want to eat or stay?"
Aunt Hera was very enthusiastic, smiling so hard that she greeted Chris and the two of them.
Without waiting for the slightly stunned two people to reply, they turned and shouted into the tavern, "Damn old man, why don't you get out and take care of the guests' horses!"
Well, the winter bird on the roof was startled again...
"Um, Auntie Hera, how do you charge here?"
The question was from Chris.
Thanks to his overreaction to Jack just now, Zion decided to let him negotiate in advance and come forward when he was unsure. The purpose was naturally to help him get familiar with the outside world faster.
"Hey, little red-haired kid with a pretty face, don't worry, I have the most reasonable price in the entire city of Gardenanlas!"
Aunt Hera was still smiling. She praised her first, then stretched out her fingers to break them off one by one and explained, "It costs five silver coins a day to live in a room, and one silver coin for two horses. The dead old man feeds them with grain. I can't owe you anything."
! Eat two meals a day, just one silver coin for two people. I cooked it myself, with meat, enough food, and a glass of rye! If you think it doesn’t suit your taste, you can go eat elsewhere by yourself."
Her palms are very big, and there are thick calluses on the fingertips and the tiger's mouth.
At a glance, you can tell that they are the marks left by wielding weapons for many years, rather than the calluses that a cook who runs a tavern should have.
Could it be that Jack, who had just been upset by us, had a desire for revenge, so he brought us here to kill people and steal goods?
Chris felt a little chilled in his heart and turned his head to look at Sion inquiringly.
However, Xian not only turned a blind eye to this, but also directly made the decision to stay here, "Give us two rooms, prepare hot water first, and we will have dinner later."
Isn’t it said that you should be careful when going out?
We can all see that this aunt is no ordinary person, so why do she continue to live here?
Chris was very puzzled.
"okay!"
Aunt Hera smiled even more happily, and when inviting them into the room, she kindly reminded them, "But, two distinguished guests, my room here is quite big, you can just squeeze into one room! Go out.
You should save some money while you are away, everything in this city costs money, and everything is expensive!"
Hearing this, Chris, who was about to enter the house, paused slightly.
How can a tavern owner, who has no money to make, take the initiative to persuade guests to use one less room?
They advised us to crowd into the same room, maybe in order to kill both of us at once, right?
"Okay, let's just have a room."
Xion still responded with a smile, and even Aunt Hera's eyes suddenly lit up when she saw the huge mace on his back. She was unaware of it.
The interior of the pub is also very simple.
Several huge oak barrels are next to the counter, four or five small round tables are placed against the wall, wooden pillars are used as seats, and the wooden stairs leading to the second floor are semi-curved, but there is nothing else. Stairs
It is very strong. Chris and the strong Sion walked up without making any sound. If someone touches the second floor in the middle of the night, even if the guests have not fallen asleep, they will not be alert.
Moreover, it was almost dusk at this time, and there was still not a single customer in the tavern having a drink.
These findings made Chris increasingly uneasy.
After Aunt Hera brought hot water downstairs, Chris entered the room and quickly closed the door. He listed all the suspicious signs to Sion one by one, and then expressed his guess.
At this time, Sion had already soaked in his own wooden bucket, closing his eyes and feeling the comfort of the hot water soothing the fatigue of the journey. In response to Chris' doubts, he responded with a perfunctory "hmm" and "oh"
, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"Zion!"
Chris was a little annoyed and slightly aggravated his tone.
"Haha~~"
Sion finally opened his eyes. He first smiled and motioned for Chris to quickly take a bath, and then said in a leisurely voice, "It's a good thing to be vigilant, but Chris, Aunt Hera is not an ordinary person. What does this have to do with us?"
What? This tavern seems to be quite old, which means that she has lived in this city for many years and is familiar with the city's prohibitions. She cannot afford to risk being hunted by the Griffin Legion to deal with someone who has nothing to do with her.
We have no grievances. The most important thing is..."
At this point, Xian paused for a moment, "The most important thing is that as long as she is not a strong person, I have the power to fight her. Even if she has evil intentions, we don't need to worry."
Uh~
What if she is strong?
This thought popped into Chris' mind.
But as soon as the idea came up, he killed it himself.
There are only so many strong men in the world, how could we meet them so easily!
What's more, how could a strong man boil water and cook for them just for a few silver coins?!
Taking a hot bath is a good way to relieve fatigue.
The two of them washed away their fatigue and returned to the first floor refreshed. Aunt Hera had already placed a large pot of hot stew and two glasses of rye wine on the dining table.
Large pieces of meat, offal and some unknown roots were stewed together, and the aroma was overflowing.
This kind of food cannot be served on the tables of nobles, but for Chris and the two who have been eating dry food for more than a month, it is a delicious food that makes people's fingers twitch. Put the hot meat into your mouth and bite it gently, and the juice will flow.
Overflowing in your mouth, the salty taste of salt and the slightly spicy lumpy roots play with your taste buds. At this time, you take a sip of the refreshing rye, and a sense of satisfaction arises spontaneously.
"My lords, are you satisfied with the food?"
Jack, who had already eaten, sat at the adjacent table with a glass of rye wine in his hand, and said with a flattering look to the two people who were feasting, "Well, now we are in the tavern. The two adults have taken a bath.
I’ve also started using it. Is my commission..."
"Not urgent."
Xian chewed the piece of meat and said in a muffled voice, "You will take me around the city later."
"All right."
Jack pursed his lips and lay helplessly on the dining seat.
Chris raised his head in surprise, "Are you going out later? It's getting dark soon."
"Well, let's replenish some dry food and sundries for the road." Xian nodded and said in a low voice, "It won't take too long, I can go alone."
Dingxin~~
At this time, the bell hanging on the door of the tavern rang, and an old man with a ridged face and a messy curly beard pushed open the door and left. Before he could sit down, he shouted loudly, "Hera, have a glass of rye."
!”
"knew!"
Accompanying his voice was Aunt Hera's answer.
Jack, who was lying on the dining table, turned his back like a corpse and moved out secretly.
Um?
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, the old man quickly walked over and grabbed Jack's collar, cursing and beating him, "You bastard! You idle around all day long. Even if you don't help with the blacksmithing, you dare to come to the tavern to drink on credit."
!”
"Uncle, I don't have credit, I am..."
Jack shrunk and was about to defend, but was interrupted by another slap from the old man, "How dare you say no! Where did you get the money to drink! Believe it or not, I will beat you to death today!"
Chris, who was about to ask Zion to take him out at night, was interrupted by this farce.
"You old immortal Charlie, go home and beat the baby. I still have guests here!"
The one who came to the rescue was Aunt Hera's loud voice, "Little Jack doesn't have credit. He brought guests here. I bought him the wine. Come quickly and get your rye."
Old Charlie stopped his hand angrily.
He turned around and smiled sheepishly at Chris and the other two.
But when his eyes fell on the mace that Sion put on the ground, his eyes immediately burst out with a gleam of light, and he blurted out, "Yo! The mace made by the dwarf master!"
And he walked over quickly, as if he wanted to touch it.
Xion reacted very quickly. He stood up and held the hammer in both hands across his chest, which was a posture ready for attack.
Chris on the side also put his hand on the handle of the knife.
"Oh, don't get excited, two guests! This old immortal Charlie is from the blacksmith shop in front of you. You should have seen it when you came here. He has no ill intentions, he is just happy to see him. Besides, he was blown away by a gust of wind.
What can you do with your body!"
It was Aunt Hera who came to the rescue again. She pulled old Charlie to the counter and explained to the two people.
Old Charlie didn't appreciate it.
He sat down, picked up the rye, took a sip, and then retorted, "Blowed away by a gust of wind? Am I that weak? Back then, I could lift a fifty-pound hammer and swing it for a whole day without taking a breath! Humph, Hera!
Don’t laugh at me because I’m so thin. You can’t even shake the roar of a giant dragon with your body, right? I don’t know how your old man can stand you!”
"Old immortal, do you want to be beaten?"
"Afraid of you?"
"Either shut up! Or get out, I won't sell you any more wine!"
"I....."
Old Charlie opened his mouth, then raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, slamming the wooden wine glass on the table, "Give me another drink!"
Pfft~~
Chris, who had been paying attention, couldn't help laughing.
Xian was also a little dumbfounded, so he put down his guard and sat down again.
Maybe he felt shameless. When old Charlie took the second glass of rye without taking a sip, he said to himself slowly, "It seems that there are no robbers outside the city of Gardinanlas now. That's right."
Even travelers who come to rest can show off the weapons crafted by the dwarf master."
Hearing this, Chris's smile disappeared.
When I cast my gaze on Xian, I found that he tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrows, as if he was thinking about something.
"Sion."
Chris warned in a low voice and kicked him lightly from under the table.
Their reflections did not escape old Charlie's voyeuristic eyes, and he continued to mutter to himself very proudly, "Hey! If someone invites me to drink a few more glasses of rye today, and I feel better, I might teach him.
Disguise the weapon. Just a few glasses of wine and one gold coin is enough. This is much more cost-effective than being worried about by thieves along the way!"
It's just that he forgot that Aunt Hera was still around.
"You old man, don't talk nonsense! I can drink five hundred glasses of rye wine for one gold coin!"
"No one will think you are dumb if you don't speak! Why won't I keep it if I can't finish the drink? I helped you sell a few more glasses of wine and have you wronged me?"
"Get out! I can't stand people like you!"
"What's wrong with me? Isn't my craft worth a gold coin?"
.......
Well, the two of them started arguing again.
Sion gave Chris a calm look, took off the leather wine bag at his waist, walked over to Old Charlie, pulled out the stopper and quickly closed it.
Suddenly, a strong aroma of wine filled the air.
It also made old Charlie work hard to open and close his nose, greedily capturing the aroma of the wine, "This is the strong liquor from the north! Are you two from the north?"
Sean didn't answer.
Instead, he took out a gold coin from his pocket and placed it on the counter, "If you are willing to help us, we will give you this wine bag, and we will also help you store a gold coin of rye."
"make a deal!"
Old Charlie grabbed the wine bag, took a sip and smacked his lips several times, exclaiming with joy, "It's so good! I haven't had such a strong drink for a long time!" After a while, he got up and walked out, "Follow me."
Um?
Xian was stunned for a moment, "Where are you going?"
"Can it be tempered in the tavern? My iron shop, of course."
Old Charlie kept walking and didn't forget to drag Jack back when he was about to go out.
The iron shop was not far from Hera's tavern. It was also renovated from a house, with people living on the second floor and a stove on the first floor. It was so full of all kinds of sundries that it was too crowded for four people to walk in.
"Get out, get out, wait outside."
Old Charlie, who was busy heating the stove, waved his hand away and said, "You red-haired boy with a pretty face, please stay and help. Your weapons are too heavy, and it will only be bad for Jack to take action."
Sion didn't refute, he handed the mace directly to Chris and pulled Jack further away from the iron shop.
This also made Jack a little happy and asked, "Sir Sir, should we go to the city now?"
He is thinking about the unearned commission!
"I'm not going tonight."
Xian shook his head, counted out five silver coins from his purse and handed it to him. He lowered his voice and said, "I know that many bandits outside the city will bribe brokers in the city to help them find caravans with valuable goods or single passers-by.
People. You have been a broker for many years, so you should know some of them, right? Well, I am asking about the kind who want to be silenced after robbing them."
"The God of Light is above!"
Jack's eyes widened and he was so shocked that he almost dropped the silver coins in his hand. "Sir Sir, I am an upright broker! I have never interacted with those villains, let alone colluded with bandits to rob customers."
Something! If you don’t believe it, you can ask anyone in the city, but anyone who knows me can prove it.”
Xian raised his eyebrows, his face full of disbelief, "I don't know him, but he should know it, right?"
"By the God of Light, I swear in the name of Uncle Charlie!"
Jack stood up straight, put his hands on his chest, and said solemnly, "Sir Sir, I really don't know or know about those thugs!"
Sion nodded, took out a gold coin from his purse, and flicked it up with his thumb under Jack's gaze, making it make a pleasant crisp sound, and finally fell steadily into Jack's hand.
"This is the deposit."
"The entire reward is ten gold coins."
"So, Jack, I think if you think about it carefully, you can find the person I need."