The Black Iron Glory
Night duty

Chapter 32

Night duty

Claude believed that he would never forget tonight. When Welikro's weapons rumbled, the entire forest calmed down. Apart from the sound of wind and running water, he only heard the sound of deer running back into the forest. All Claude could see was a deer that pulsed slightly while lying in the river.

The four of them walked towards the deer with their torches. Welikro refilled his weapon and handed it to Claude, letting the other three stand guard while he skinned and cut the deer.

"We can't take this deer back to our camp to dissect. It would cause the camp to smell like blood and attract other ferocious beasts in the mountains. It will not end well for us. Most likely, we should keep our eyes open and our weapons loaded all night if that's the case and we won't have the energy to climb again tomorrow. "

When Welikro lectured, he skinned the deer in a practiced manner. "For a hunter, the best thing to do after a murder is to skin it because the meat is still flexible and it is easy to separate the skin and meat quickly. Animals die for a long time will be difficult throughout, so skinning them will become much more difficult and if one is not careful, it will be difficult, the fur will be destroyed and we will not be able to get perfect peace. My father taught me all this. "

The moon shone into a stream in the distance, causing it to sparkle and sparkle. The torch that was pierced into the ground gave off a red glow around it. Claude, Borkal and Eriksson looked at the desolate forest with weapons in hand and returned to the busy Welikro while listening to the lecture, while blood was carried along with the endless stream.

In just half an hour, Welikro had cut the deer into four large chunks. The head, nails, tail, and innards were all discarded. After washing the skin of the deer and the four chunks in the river, he tied it up with two vines and said with satisfaction, "Let's go back."

The deer is not big. Once cut, each chunk weighs only about 20 catties. When they returned to the camp, Claude washed their iron pots briefly, cut the left back leg into small pieces and burned them in a pot on the fire. Three other large chunks were prepared to be cut into pieces and sucked into jerky, which they could take home if they could not finish everything. After all, it was the first prey that the four of them hunted, the deer there. Letting their families feel their catch is a subtle, but effective way of bragging.

Welikro on the other hand cuts off some branches to make shelves for hanging leather. After which, he used a small knife to clean the skin of the blood vessels and the remaining pieces of flesh before applying a layer of charcoal ash on it.

Borkal and Eriksson have lost the desire to sleep for a long time. Eriksson looked at the skin of the deer and said. "Wero, your shot is absolutely accurate! His shot pierced through the head without damaging the skin at all. I bet you could sell this for silver at the Whitestag."

"That's not all," said Borkal, shaking his head, "It's deer skin. All hunters know that deer are the most agile animals. They were like forest elves. They are also really easy to surprise and they run as they detect the slightest presence. Hunting them is not easy.I don't think that we'd be so lucky to get a deer with its fur so well-groomed. Next to the leather shops, I bet the tailor would fight over it. We wouldn't sell it if we didn't get at least one thale and five riyases. "

"Wero, why don't we camp on the river tomorrow night too? We may be able to get another deer" suggested Eriksson with a light in his eyes. In his mind, the deer that ran in the forest was none other than a living silver thale.

"No, I doubt there will be a deer stopping there for a drink," Welikro said as he shook his head without slowing down his hands, "You all know that deer are cowardly creatures. But their memories are pretty good too." "Because we killed that deer near the river, they definitely won't go back there for a drink for a while. They'll remember that they've lost a friend there."

After finishing the venison soup, Borkal and Eriksson went to bed. As if camped out their first night, Welikro felt that it would be better for him to take a nighttime duty with Claude so that they could help each other. They'll wake Eriksson and Borkal in three or four hours to change.

The shelf with the pelt has been moved near the fire by Welikro. He would bake it for a while to dry it. As he did so, he cut out a few pieces of venison and roasted them on the fire. The oil that fell into the fire caused it to hiss.

Seeing Claude hanging a few pieces of meat over the fire to smoke, Welikro pointed at the salted venison nearby and asked, "Do you want to hang this too?"

"no need. We'll use it to make a slice of venison tomorrow morning. Didn't we bring butter and pans? It would be perfect to make breakfast together. This meat won't break overnight, will it?" ask Claude.

"no need. We'll use it to make a slice of venison tomorrow morning. Didn't we bring butter and pans? It would be perfect to make breakfast together. This meat won't break overnight, will it?" ask Claude.

"No, they won't," said Welikro with certainty, "Tonight is not hot. It's going to get cold fast. You also added salt, so I doubt it will break down anytime soon."

Claude hung up the meat he wanted to smoke and sat down. "Wero, are we really going to the magic tower ruins tomorrow and camp there?"

"What's wrong? Feeling scared?"

"No, I was just wondering if the ruins of the tower were really as big as you said. Looking at those walls, I really wonder how the ancient magi could have used such a huge stone to build a tower."

"Well, the surprise is only there when you see it for the first time. Most of it was just a wall destroyed. There was nothing really interesting about it," Welikro stuffed a piece of venison into his mouth before spitting it out. Maybe it hasn't been roasted well enough.

"Then, is there a basement in the ruins?" Claude asked, "Since the top of the magic tower is gone, I wonder if there is a basement-like basement in our house."

Three entrances to the bottom? I wonder if the steps all lead to the same space below or if they separate rooms, with each step only leading to one of them?

Welikro said that he had never been there and did not know how it was. After some thought, Claude decided that he would search behind each stone step to see if the things mentioned in the Landes diary were there.

Welikro said that he had never been there and did not know how it was. After some thought, Claude decided that he would search behind each stone step to see if the things mentioned in the Landes diary were there.

"What's wrong? Think anything?" welikro asked as he looked at Claude staring at the fire in bewilderment.

"It's nothing" Claude whispered as he gazed into the flames, "I was just thinking why the magi built the magic tower in Egret. Oh, and Wero, almost all the books I read call magi evil, but they don't have to bother mentioning the reason. Do you know the reason? "

"I don't know either" Welikro said apologetically, "You know that I never liked to read and was not at all interested in history. My father taught me to only care about living my life like this. What's the point of caring so much? That big shot will deal with bigger things than us. It has nothing to do with people like us. "

"Hahaha," Claude laughed and said, "Your father is right. All we have to do is live our own lives and not poke this conspiracy. We are just small farmers. All we have to do is think of a way to gain a status of dignity when we grow up. "

The forest in the distance began to recover the previous bustle. All sorts of sounds could be heard once again. A loud roar rang out in the distance and Welikro made a raucous gesture with his finger and listened attentively.

Soon, Welikro returned to normal. "Don't worry. It was a lynx howl. Maybe find the remains of the deer we left in the river and start fighting over it. The call was their battle cry which they used to threaten their enemies and to assert their dominance over the region. They fear humans and do not threaten us. "

Nothing happened apart from that little interlude. When the jerky was sucked properly, it was four in the morning. So, they woke up Borkal and Eriksson and handed them their torches before sleeping in their tents.

This was his first hunting trip and they got a deer right off the bat. They will also go to the ruins of the magic tower tomorrow. Claude felt somewhat excited about it and could not sleep no matter how he threw it. After a while, he heard Welikro snoring a little as well as Eriksson and Borkal whispers before finally falling asleep.

By the time he regained consciousness, it was already bright outside. The sunlight caused his tent to look somewhat transparent. Through the stitches in the tent gap, he noticed that three of his friends had already started dismantling the other tent.

"What time is it?" Claude came out of the tent and squirmed.

By the time he regained consciousness, it was already bright outside. The sunlight caused his tent to look somewhat transparent. Through the stitches in the tent gap, he noticed that three of his friends had already started dismantling the other tent.

"What time is it?" Claude came out of the tent and squirmed.

"It's almost nine o'clock" replied Borkal after he saw his crystal sand glass. He took her to keep time. It should be flipped once every six hours so that the sand on one side can start flowing to the other to keep track of the time.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier? It's been this late" complained Claude.

"Wero said that you were busy smoking meat last night, so you might be really tired. We didn't wake you up to make you sleep more. Now that you wake up, make us breakfast. We are hungry, "said Eriksson with a smile.

Ah, they're hungry. Claude noticed that the rest of the meat soup last night in the pot had been used up by them. He quickly bathed, gargled, and walked to the extinguished bonfire. He put a few pieces of firewood inside, lit it up and put his pot on the shelf to start grilling slices of venison.

After breakfast, the four of them stored the camping gear and stored whatever they had on board. They carry what they need in their backpacks. Since they would camp for only one night in the ruins, they did not need to carry too many items. According to Welikro's schedule, they would arrive at the ruins by noon. They will have the rest of the afternoon to hunt to try their luck at other games. At night, they would camp in the ruins to polish their courage.

As they walk along a broken cobblestone path, Claude realizes that Welikro is right. Only a Magi could build such a thing. A normal human being would be far from being able to do so with pure work alone. The stones at the beginning of the path are broken down by the roots of the plant, so it is not visible at first. But as they climbed higher, he realized that he was not walking on the stairs like construction. Instead, it was a long road that revolved along a hill. The road could allow the train to go straight to the magic tower at the top of the hill when it was still in good condition.

Borkal and Eriksson were also quite fascinated by the stone path. The long journey causes them to start talking about the scary stories they heard about Egret. They had been talking about all sorts of rumors commonly heard in the Whitestag about this place for a while, some of which Claude had never heard of. Eriksson was the one who knew the most about these stories probably because he often listened to the stories the sailors told on the docks. Many of the rumors about Egret were nothing but the ravings of drunken sailors.

Welikro on the other hand did not appear in the slightest. Ever since his father took him to Egret to hunt and camp in the ruins during the winter, he no longer believed in the rumors.

After two hours of strange walking, Welikro pointed forward and said, "We are here. Look, the ruins."