Fortunately, the paladin Henk did not go too far in hiding the things, nor did he hide them too far or too far away. Therefore, after experiencing the troubles caused by the brain-eating monster, the few of them were safe and sound.
Without encountering any more monsters or dangers, they arrived at their destination—the ruins of the hanging city of Dorumbude.
However, although the underground city here does not have as many monsters and residents in the previous area, the environment is much more dangerous than the previous city where the brain-eating monsters lived!
Everyone looked around and saw the dark red lava everywhere underneath, slowly rolling in the canyon like an underground river, exuding a burning breath and the smell of sulfur, which made people want to vomit from the smell.
The poisonous gas filled the hot air, making several people feel as if they were going to suffocate immediately.
Coupled with the pain caused by the high temperature, almost the moment they arrived here, they felt beads of sweat dripping from their bodies, and they almost didn't want to stay any longer.
Moreover, in addition to the high temperature, poisonous gas and terrible lava, those huge chains were also hanging motionless on the top wall of the huge cave, and the suspended islands were like huge boxes, covered by that
Countless chains were connected to each other, just hanging on the magma, and everyone who had never seen such a sight was dumbfounded.
Because, in that case, if the chain is suddenly broken, or there is some small problem at a certain connection point, I am afraid that all the people staying on the suspended islands will definitely fall and be burned alive.
Bar?
Anyway!
Edkin, Holgay and Simon made a rough estimate. Considering the terrifying temperature of the magma below, if they fell, they could only last for three seconds at most, and really couldn't go any longer.
"Everyone!"
"This is the Hanging City of Dorumbude, the destination of our trip."
"You must have all seen it..."
"In this underground world, life is fragile, and every wrong step may lead to extremely fatal consequences!"
"At the same time, in this endless dark world, life is also tenacious. Some life forms have adapted to this environment. They live among caves and rivers for many years, obtaining energy and food from lava."
"They have the ability to survive poisonous gas and high temperatures, and have mastered the smelting technology of making chains. They also use the chains to connect suspended islands and other tribes, thus forming such a huge suspended transportation network."
"These suspended islands are one of their proudest achievements."
"Each of these islands was once an independent community. They connected the islands with chains and even connected each other with magic bridges, forming a unique cultural and economic system."
"However……"
"Due to various reasons, this city with a splendid civilization eventually perished, leaving only such a lamentable ruin."
Having said this, Paladin Henk couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Because, he remembered their Serbian country.
Now, his hometown has become a dead land. The Ser people have been destroyed by Sazastan. The people and his relatives have all turned into a group of immortal monsters. They are no longer the people who gave birth to and raised him.
Such a beautiful land.
"okay!"
"We are not here to listen to your stories, nor are we here to go sightseeing!"
"Where's the helmet?"
"Where are you hiding?"
Now that he had successfully arrived at his destination, Edkin hurriedly urged him thinking of the monsters he had seen along the way, not wanting to stay any longer.
"there!"
"We'll be there just after crossing this bridge, not far away."
"I hid it in a shrine in the ruins of the suspended island on the far side of this fissure canyon."
It seemed that he was already accustomed to Edkin's attitude, so the paladin didn't care anymore. Instead, he walked to the bridge connecting the suspended islands and pointed to a large suspended island with iron cables visible in the distance.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Let's go!"
After taking a look and realizing that it was indeed not far away, Edkin was ready to be the first to set off.
"stop!"
"If you go up like this, you will die."
However, before Edkin officially stepped onto the bridge, he was frightened by the cold words of the paladin Henk. Then, he had to stop and slowly turned around stiffly, using strange and
Angry eyes glared over.
"Don't you see anything wrong with this bridge?"
"There is an ancient goblin trap above it. You can only get through it with the right method."
"otherwise……"
"You will fall with the bridge!"
Paladin Henk didn't mind Edkin's eyes and just spoke calmly.
"Mechanism trap?"
"interesting!"
"I feel that there is indeed some ancient magic left above..."
“It’s amazing!”
"It's almost a permanent enchantment!"
"Maybe some mechanical and engineering knowledge mixed in?"
Hearing that a bridge was so magical, Simon was of course the first to step forward and study it in amazement.
"what way?"
"Say it!"
Edkin became impatient and urged directly.
“It’s easy!”
"Did you see the symbols on the stones on the bridge deck? It's a number. We have to start from the center stone to get on the bridge, and we have to step on odd-numbered stones!"
"One step forward at a time!"
"Every five steps you take, you must move laterally, either left or right, as long as the next step is equidistant from the previous step."
"If you continue after that, you can only step on odd-numbered blocks!"
"but……"
"When we reach the middle of the bridge, we have to immediately switch to even-numbered blocks, the same as the previous pattern, but we have to move sideways on the fourth step until we reach the third block..."
Click!
However, something happened that made everyone including Paladins Henk, Edkin, Holgai and Doric stunned: before the long-winded Henk explained the rules of the bridge clearly, Simon, the chief warlock in the team,
I accidentally stepped on a stone brick in front of the bridge.
Then……
Rumble, rumble...
The long mechanical magic stone bridge, estimated to be about 100 meters, collapsed instantly while they were stunned.
"that……"
"I thought it only started when we got to the bridge..."
"I think……"
"Its structure and rules are somewhat unreasonable?"
"Is there any other way to get there?"
After seeing that a bridge that was in good condition all fell into the scorching lava lake below in an instant, and it was definitely impossible to salvage it, Simon was also a little dumbfounded. It took a long time to look at the Paladin Henry who showed an angry look for the first time with some embarrassment.
Kepin asked.
But there is no doubt that there is no other way, otherwise, Henk would not choose such a suspended ruins as a storage place for the helmet.
What he is interested in is this bridge that will lead to death if he takes the wrong step!
But fortunately, in the end, when everyone was at a loss and thinking of various ways, Simon finally made up for it and found a cane that Holgay took out from his bag, which was called "Maralamine".
The "cane" thing is actually a rare teleportation staff that Holgai stole from a wizard in Gray Peak Mountain before?
Because the barbarian female warrior Horgai didn't know the goods, neither did the halfling Malamin, so it remained in the dust until the two broke up.
So, the next thing becomes simple.
Although Simon destroyed the bridge and blocked everyone's path, after he activated the teleportation staff and created two teleportation gates at one end and the other of the bridge, he instantly changed from a sinner to a great hero!
because……
Edkin, Doric and Holgai all admitted afterward that if Simon had not destroyed the bridge, they would have used the tongue-twister-like rules and methods mentioned by the paladin Henk.
The IQ that is rejected by the brain-eating monster is definitely incomprehensible.
"etc!"
"What about Annie?"
"look!"
"She's still over there, sleeping on that bear's shoulder!"
Soon, when everyone successfully passed the portal and reached the other side of the bridge in the blink of an eye, and was about to move on, Edkin suddenly noticed that something seemed to be missing behind him, so he hurriedly called out to everyone and pointed to the other side of the collapsed bridge.
A giant bear standing stupidly on the edge of a cliff.
"Can't we just let it come over?"
Holgai also saw it, and then walked directly to the edge of the cliff and shouted loudly with all his strength, pointing to the portal and prompting:
"Hey!"
"Tibbers!"
"Come here quickly!"
"From that portal!"
She believed that with the bear's IQ, he would be able to understand what she meant.
(…)
(●￣￣●)
The bear opposite obviously saw the portal, but it did not act immediately. Instead, it looked at the circular portal, then at the people opposite, and then continued to stand indifferently with a look of helplessness on its face.
over there.
"What does it mean?"
"Doric?"
As a last resort, after exchanging glances with Edkin, Holgai had no choice but to look at the druid girl Doric, hoping for an explanation.
Because the other party once showed off that he could understand about 80% of the bear's body movements and facial expressions?
"Well……"
"it mean……"
"Its body is too big, and the portal is too small, so it can't get through?"
Doric said uncertainly.
In fact, it was so far away, so how could she know what Tibbers meant specifically? She just guessed, and felt that it should be close to ten.
"It's easy!"
Hearing what was going on, Edkin nodded suddenly, then walked straight to the edge of the cliff, waved his hands and shouted loudly:
"Hey!"
"Tibbers!"
"Wake up your master, and then ask Annie to make you smaller, and then come over together?"
That’s right!
In Edkin's view, the portal was indeed a bit small. A certain bear couldn't get through it because of its huge body, but that didn't mean little Annie couldn't either.
(…)
(lll￢￢)
Unfortunately, the giant bear Tibbers opposite him ignored him and turned his head away.
"??"
"Hey!"
"Doric?"
Seeing this, Edkin felt suspicious. He didn't know what was going on with the bear, so he turned to the Druid translator to ask.
"Well……"
"It's not happy!"
"it says……"
"Wait until its owner wakes up on his own?"
Doric blinked and tried to see Tibbers's expression clearly before guessing.
Although, there might be some differences in what the other party really meant, but anyway, that was probably the meaning, and that was enough. She didn't want to get too entangled at this time.
"Have we discussed it yet?"
"What are you going to do?"
Not far away, Paladin Henk looked at several people with his arms folded and urged them with some dissatisfaction.
After all, although this place is in ruins, it is also a bit unsafe. It would not be a good idea to stay here for too long, because he is not sure whether other things or creatures will pass by here.
"Simon!"
"Can you make that portal bigger?"
With no other choice, Edkin had no choice but to ask Simon, the team's chief warlock, to see if he could compromise and be accommodating to the stubborn bear.
"no!"
"This is the result of the teleportation wand. I can only activate and use it, but I can't change its size!"
"That's fixed!"
"I can't teleport spells, I can't mediate it, and it was only designed to be this big!"
"I guess the wizard who made it just wanted it to be convenient for people to use. He must not have thought that he would need to take care of such a big bear?"
After looking at Tibbers' size and then at the portal that was only as big as a small round table, Simon had no choice but to spread his hands and express that Edkin had taken care of it and there was nothing he could do anyway.
"Is that so?"
"That……"
Edkin paused, thought hard again, and then quickly thought of a new idea and asked:
"Can you keep the portal here?"
"if that is the case……"
"Will she come by herself when she wakes up?"
Seeing that his plan failed, Edkin thought of another way.
"no!"
"As soon as I stay away from here, or when its magic power is exhausted, it will collapse and disappear on its own!"
However, Simon shook his head again.
"!!"
"Simon!"
"Are you so useless?"
This won't work, and that won't work either. Edkin was a little annoyed.
"I don't know how to teleport!"
"I'm just a rookie warlock, and I happen to have this teleportation staff. I input my magic power and it provides a teleportation gate. What else do you want from me?"
"I really don't know how to teleport. It is a very profound spell. It requires at least a mage of the archmage level who is proficient in space rules!"
Simon was also a little annoyed, and he refuted it rudely.
After all, everyone knows that Simon is a rookie surgeon, but the other party just thinks that he is omnipotent, and has always been as capable as a great mage or even a mage of the level of his ancestor Elminster Omar.
If you come to ask him, you are really looking down on him.
"Hey!"
"Don't make any noise first!"
"I have a solution!"
Seeing that the distance was too far, shouting probably wouldn't work, so after stopping the quarrel between Edkin and Simon, Holgai simply possessed himself and picked up a stone from the ground.
then……
Whoosh~!
The stone flew towards the opposite side of the bridge at high speed and hit the giant bear's feet accurately, successfully attracting its glare.
(…)
(*｀)
"Ha ha!"
"It's too far, it's hard to be accurate..."
Upon seeing this, Holguy, who realized that he had missed the target, could only smile awkwardly, and then immediately looked at the druid girl Doric and the slingshot wrapped around Doric's left arm.
"Doric!"
"You come!"
With that said, Horgai picked up a pebble again and threw it into Doric's hand.
"Come!"
"Would you like to wake that little guy up?"
Then she quickly signaled to the other party to take action quickly.
After all, she still remembered that on the front line of the scorched forest where the Wood Elves and the City of Neverwinter were fighting, Doric used his slingshot to hit the target within tens of meters, causing Fuch's soldiers to flee.
, and now, although the distance is more than 100 meters, she believes that there will be no problem in letting the other party wake up a sleepy little kid.
"good idea!"
"hurry up!"
"Doric, please!"
Hearing this, Edkin's eyes also lit up, and he quickly urged.
"ah?"
Unexpectedly, Holgay thought this. Although Doric hesitated a little, he subconsciously took the stone and looked across the broken bridge.
"etc!"
At this time, the paladin Henk couldn't stand it any longer. He walked over and pointed at the two still-existing portals and asked everyone with a strange look on his face:
"I do not understand……"
"Why don't you go through the portal, wake her up, and then come back together?"
Yes, Henk couldn't figure it out. Why did these people turn a blind eye to such a simple method?
"Well..."
"Theoretically it's possible, but..."
"Well……"
"Ahem!"
However, it was better that Henk didn't ask. When he asked, Edkin, Holgay and Simon were hesitant and hesitant. They all looked secretive, and they didn't know what they were afraid of or worried about.
.
"All right!"
"It's very simple. If we dare to do that, the bear will definitely tear us apart!"
"Protecting its owner while sleeping is its first duty, and it is very dangerous now!"
"But it doesn't matter if you wake up the little one here, because as soon as she wakes up, she will restrain that terrible giant bear?"
Edkin sighed and explained truthfully.
After walking with Annie for so many days, they had already figured out what they could do and what would incur the hostility and attack of the giant bear, and they would not make themselves uncomfortable.
"That……"
"Shout through the door?"
Thinking about the terrible method of the bear smashing several brain-eating monsters with one claw, the paladin Henk nodded, indicating that he understood the concerns of several people, and then continued to look at the portal, finding that the location and direction of the door were different.
After throwing stones at the little girl on the bear, he then suggested this.
"No way!"
"When Annie is sleeping, she usually performs some kind of soundproofing trick. Shouting will definitely be useless, otherwise she would have woken up all the way here!"
Simon, the chief warlock, saw that he had reached his area of ​​expertise again, and quickly explained without waiting for others to speak.
"I see."
"Then continue!"
"I have no doubts."
He didn't expect it to be so troublesome. Although Paladin Henk was still a little confused, he basically reluctantly accepted the somewhat unreasonable behavior of several people.
"..."
Doric took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the cliff.
This kind of distance is really not a problem for Doric. After all, her slingshot skills are top-notch, otherwise it would not be specially installed on her arm as one of the auxiliary weapons.
So, amid hesitation and Holgay's urging, she finally put the stone on the slingshot and slowly pulled it away, aiming at the little girl on the shoulder of the giant bear in the distance.
(…)
"!!"
"no!"
But...
After aiming for less than three seconds, Doric immediately gave up after seeing the terrifying expression on Tibbers opposite her. She hurriedly threw away the stone and re-wrapped her slingshot.
"what happened again?"
Holgai was puzzled.
"Tibbers 'said'!"
"If I dare to do that, it will definitely kill me!"
"And you?"
Druid translator Doric explained honestly, expressing that he did not want to participate in such dangerous actions.
"What should we do?"
Seeing this, Holgai was completely at his wits end.
Anyway, although she, a savage, has no brains, she would never dare to go over and push Annie to wake up in front of the bear.
Because that bear can really fall out, and the last offense, when it hung them in a tree for a long time, is still fresh in their memory!
"Let's go!"
"That place is not far from here, right?"
"Walk!"
"Let's get the helmet first!"
"Let her wait on the other side and pick her up when she comes back?"
Edkin became impatient, thinking that with the protection of the giant bear, nothing would happen to that bad little guy, so he said this to the paladin Henk.
"you sure?"
In this regard, Paladin Henk was a little hesitant.
After all, abandoning a little girl without authorization in such a dangerous environment would be in serious conflict with certain beliefs and ideas of their Paladins.
"Do not worry!"
"fine!"
"Anne is the most, most, most, most, most, most, most... the most powerful arcane mage. She will not be in danger!"
"What's more, that bear is stronger than the five of us combined!"
Of course, Holgay agreed with Edkin's proposal, so while teasing her, she took the lead and walked forward, gesturing for Henk to continue leading the way.
"..."
I looked at the troubled little girl opposite who was still sleeping soundly on the giant bear's shoulder, then looked at the four people in front of me who all looked unworried, and then I remembered that the giant bear had killed several brain-eating monsters.
As well as the scene at the Mobilian Shield dock where the little girl knocked out an adult reef toothfish with a stick and dragged it away very fast, Paladin Henk finally compromised after weighing it over and over again.
"All right!"
"Then let's go!"
"Anyway, it's not far from here. If we move quickly, maybe she won't wake up when we come back?"
Then, while comforting himself, he motioned to the four of them to quickly follow him to the place where he kept the 'Dharma Breaking Helmet'.
Just like that, on the opposite side of the broken bridge, under the watch of a certain bear Tibbers, the five people directly abandoned it and its bad little master, and quickly disappeared into the distance, without knowing where it was.
Which floating island did he run to?
(…)
(●￣￣●)
(Of course Tibbers, who was standing by the cliff, didn't mind! After all, the world is big, and the troublesome little master of Uncle Bear's house had the most sleep, and he felt that it was not an important thing anyway, so he just kept waiting!
Although, it can get by with just one jump, but it doesn't want to do that now. Because it is always easier to stand still than to follow the troublesome group of low-IQ humans on the opposite side! What's more,
They just went to pick up something, I believe they will be back soon, just in time for it to be lazy for a while?)
————————
Chapter completed!