The City of Marronligar

Author has something to say: RiverofLife - Pawel Blaszczak

No city can prosper forever, and no deity can sustain the worship of believers forever.In the era when the Lightless Ones brought panic, the religious order was once the sustenance and shelter of believers; and when the Lightless Ones were wiped out, it became dispensable, so that when the omen of catastrophe reappeared, people's first The first reaction was not to seek help from the church.In some areas, there are even "doomsday beliefs" that advocate abandoning everything and embracing death.

Before this catastrophe came, the area of ​​influence of the order had shrunk by two-thirds compared to its heyday, and the city of Marunliga was the largest and most affluent of its few remaining parishes.The temple completed during the city's founding period still stands in the center of the city-state, opening its doors to accept souls fluctuating in the waves of the times, but it can no longer reproduce the glory of centuries ago.

——Miscellaneous Notes of Silver Bay Tower: The Rise and Fall of the Order

The candle flames flickered, and out-of-shape figures were reflected on the two walls, inadvertently outlining the completely different moods of Hagrid and Samuel.

Hagrid crossed his arms and waited for Samuel's explanation with a cold face; while Samuel was always sideways to him, never turning around, as if avoiding something.

"If it's not good for the Order, or the Diocese of Marenliga—" Hagrid's deep voice was threatening.

"No." Samuel retorted immediately.The voice is very soft, mixed with the tiredness and powerlessness after a busy day.

Samuel sighed, and slowly turned to Hagrid who was sitting behind the desk, his brows were slightly frowned, and the soft light swayed in the depths of those green eyes.That's not cowardice and fear, but something more complicated.

Hagrid snorted, stood up with the help of the table, "It won't be a good thing anyway." He walked to the table, blocking most of the candlelight that should have been cast on Samuel.

Samuel looked away again: "...The elders of the family plan to take advantage of the gap between you and me leaving Marenliga, and support Adrian to replace Sophia and me. They have always looked at me disliked; Adrian did not The background is as clean as a blank sheet of paper. If he stays at the Heshan Manor, he will sooner or later become a puppet of the elders. I can only transfer him here before that. Moreover, Torresso really needs help with his affairs in Marenliga. "

"In this way, he can become your puppet, can't he?" Under the shadow of the backlight, Hagrid's half-smiling expression was very permeating.He took a few steps, reached out without warning and grabbed Samuel's neck, pushing him against the cold wall. "What you want is power, power that no one else can question."

Hagrid, who was a police officer, did not spare his physical strength, and only gave the opponent a little room to breathe and speak.Samuel's back hit the solid stone wall firmly, and the heels of his boots pressed against the corner tightly, unable to move away even a step.But he didn't struggle, and he didn't show resistance or disgust on his face, and his lowered eyes trembled slightly.

Whatever Hagrid did to him, Samuel wasn't about to fight back.This unrecognized twisted relationship is a "legacy of history", a consequence of Samuel's own making - and he has a guilty conscience.This has been the case in the past, and it will probably not change in the future.

Hagrid made a secret effort in his hands, forcing Samuel to raise his head: "Besides that, you have other ideas." Hagrid used declarative sentences, and he was quite sure of this.

With the manacled palms still on his neck, Samuel nodded with difficulty: "Adrian...he will help me maintain the relationship between Luis and the Torresso family, and at the same time monitor the movements of the Bounty Hunter Association. This pair We... are all good."

"I hope so." Hagrid knew that Samuel had already confessed—even if he wasn't rough, Samuel would tell the truth, but Hagrid was used to this kind of "dialogue".He let go of his hand, took half a step back, and watched Samuel leaning against the wall coldly, touching his throat to adjust his breathing. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Samuel took a deep breath and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his neck, but his voice was still unsteady: "The number of people sent by the Governor's Mansion to watch near the Flying Lion Mansion has increased, and I guess the situation on the side of the temple is the same. "

Hagrid frowned, and nodded slightly: "I know, they are monitoring your movements. And it's not just the Governor's Palace, but also the Association. They're also eyeing the Hallows."

"Louis and the association are no longer the same people."

"As long as he hinders the church, he is my enemy, and it has nothing to do with his position."

The words of the Inquisitor were always sharp and straightforward, and Samuel didn't expect Hagrid to be gentle with anyone.

After a moment of silence, Samuel said again: "The people I sent to the Logmar area to investigate the ruins of the ancient temple will return to Marunliga in a week. If there is any gain, I will notify you immediately."

Hagrid knew that Samuel would not hide any information from him, but this was not the same as trust, and it didn't mean he would show kindness to Samuel because of this—this poisonous snake that had bitten people was not worth it.But hurting Samuel in various ways didn't bring Hagrid any kind of pleasure, leaving a void that was harder to fill.

How could any qualified pious believer deviate from the teachings and treat others so roughly—the "teacher" in Hagrid's heart was also torturing himself like this.

Just like the "accidents" that happened more than once in the past, Hagrid forcibly ignored those repeated self-criticisms, and put himself on the same moral level as the "heresy" who should be judged.

"Take off your clothes."

This time it was in a commanding tone.Hagrid stared at the snake-shaped pendant on Samuel's chest, thinking it was as obtrusive as Samuel himself.

Before Patriarch Torreso's hand stretched out obediently, Hagrid grabbed his black hair and pulled it aside, forcing Samuel to expose the side of his neck in front of him.From the corner of the mouth, the Adam's apple to the collarbone, the scorching breath and merciless biting left watery red spots of different shades on Samuel's pale skin, which couldn't be seen clearly in the shadows.

It wasn't a kiss, it wasn't a caress, and it didn't mean any tenderness, it was just the venting of old grievances.

Samuel accepted all this in silence, swallowing all the pain that Hagrid imposed on himself with hatred.

- I deserve it.

He was comforting himself, and Hagrid as well.

— This is what we deserve.

The night in Marenlica is silent.

The zigzag coastline of Silver Bay outlines the seaside boundary of Marenliga City, and the harbor area close to the main city is dotted with wharves, shipyards and exchanges for long-distance merchant ships.On the other side of the fish market in the "transition zone", there are fishing villages far away from the center, sandwiched between the city wall and the suburban cliffs.

In addition to fishermen and net weavers, some residents also make a living by drying salt.The salt field beach pool is spread along the beach, and it looks like a white flower from a distance. When it is full of sea water, it will be like a row of huge mirrors, holding every bird that flies across the sky.It was noon, and the salt-drying workers were sitting under a pergola built with coconut leaves, leaning against wooden posts soaked in sea salt and taking a nap.

The low-slung bungalows and the courtyard surrounded by fences accommodate the poor life of the common people, facing the same sea, the same sky and the burden of survival in front of them all day long, and the noisy and flashy inside the city wall seem to be two worlds.

When Adrian arrived at the road sign at the entrance of the fishing village, Louis was already waiting under a nearby tree.Adrian took a few steps and came to him.

"Master." He greeted in a moderate voice, not wanting to break the silence at noon.

Louis didn't say anything, just waved his hand to signal Adrian to follow.

There have been more than one cases of people without light wounding or even killing people in the Marunliga area.Both nobles and civilians will panic about this, but in the final analysis, long-term panic requires capital.For the poor who have been in trouble, they have to choose food and clothing instead of unattainable safety, and use the explanation of "wild beasts cannibalism" to comfort themselves.Even if family members, neighbors, and friends die at the hands of the Lightless, they can only regard the pain as part of their destiny and live quietly in this sea-smelling land.

This time there were three victims.One is a fisherman returning late, the other is a net weaver living in a corner of the village, and the other is an old pastor stationed in an old church.The killings took place on the same night that all three bodies were scattered around the chapel not far from the beach.

The fishermen and female workers have family members. When the guards came to clean up the scene, they cried and put away the broken bodies of their relatives, planning to use their little savings to prepare for the funeral; the single old pastor was not so lucky, because he had no relatives or descendants, The work of dealing with funeral affairs can only be done by other priests of the order.That church was temporarily vacant, and no one would dare to approach it in the short term.

The statues of gods standing in the church for hundreds of years failed to protect these three lives after all.Today, they are far from suffering.

When Louis and Adrian approached the scene, they found a person not far from the church, squatting on the edge of the bushes, looking down for something.The man was wearing light armor with a red background and white patterns, a helmet, and a long sword hanging from his waist. It was the standard attire of the city guards in Marenliga.It stands to reason that the work of the guards has been completed, and it is indeed strange for a person to run to the scene of the crime.

While Adrian was still guessing what the other party wanted to do, Louis had already walked towards the strange guard.He coughed twice, and the other party immediately turned around and stood up slowly.The guard was also holding something that Adrian recognized from a distance as a fragment of clothing.

Louis looked each other up and down, with a friendly smile on his face: "I didn't expect there to be guards here."

The guard obviously recognized the honorary president of the Bounty Hunter Association in front of him.He nodded politely before answering, "I'm Cynthia, and I belong to the [-]nd Infantry Battalion of Marenliga."

The guard armor and knight helmet blocked the body lines and face. Cynthia's voice was low and hoarse, and Adrian almost didn't realize that the other party was a woman.Cynthia took off one glove and offered to shake hands with Louis.Adrian, who had excellent vision, immediately noticed that the female guard's hands were much thicker and stronger than ordinary city women, and her palms were covered with calluses from holding swords for a long time.

After shaking hands, Louis explained his intentions: "I'm here to track down that lightless man." He pointed to Adrian behind him. "This guy is with me too."

Cynthia glanced at Adrian through the narrow observation port of the helmet, and preliminarily judged that he was from the Torreso family.

"Hello." Cynthia greeted briefly with vigilance and respect behind it.

Although he didn't stay in Maren Liga for a long time, Adrian had already begun to understand the attitude of outsiders towards Torresso.He also responded politely.

Louis interrupted the game and suspicion at the right time.He knelt down by the outer wall of the church and looked down at the bloodstains left there: "I thought the guards didn't care about these things anymore. 'Beast cannibalism', isn't that the end of it, the rest can be left to us professionals. "

The sarcasm in the words was too strong, and Adrian felt that it was a bit too much, so he explained to Cynthia with a little apology: "Master Cormac has received a related commission, and we will deal with it next." He hoped that this would make the other party feel better Some.

Cynthia shook her head helplessly.She didn't leave right away, but insisted: "It is a helpless move to treat these cases as 'accidents'. But personally, I still want to find out the murderers who killed civilians."

"The Lightless have lost their human consciousness, and laws and punishments are only meaningful to those who know what pain and crime are. 'Bring to justice' may not apply to them." Louis said meaningfully.

"Maybe, I don't even know if death is a relief for the Lightless." Cynthia sighed. "But at least it can eliminate some dangers and ensure the safety of citizens."

She turned her head and looked at the salt workers beside the salt field from a distance.

"They are also citizens of Marenliga." The female guard said softly.

She showed Louis what was in her hand—it was a piece of broken, old, and smelly cloth, because it was soaked in coagulated human blood and tissue fluid, and the original color could no longer be seen. "This doesn't match the clothes on the bodies of the dead. It should have been scraped off by the branches when the Lightless passed through the bushes."

Louis smiled, acquiescing to Cynthia's action with them: "It seems that this city is not rotten yet."

Cynthia's determination gave Louis a rare confidence.He took Adrian's arm and led the Torresso young man into the clearing between the church and the bushes.There was the center of the crime scene, roughly the same distance from the corpses.Although the corpse had been taken away, the blood seeping into the soil was still visible, and a few brown and black spots were stained on the ground where the short grass grew.

Louis stood behind Adrian, put his hands on the young man's shoulders, and his deep voice sounded very close to Adrian's ear: "We 'see' the same thing. You stand here, Don't think about anything. Close your eyes and use your other senses to find what happened here and what the Lightless left behind. Smell, temperature, sound, anything."

Following Louis' instructions, Adrian took a deep breath and closed his eyes.