Mage Joan

"Golden Trout Tavern" is famous in Delin Town.

You can't eat the golden trout that is a specialty of Delin River this season, but the secret barbecue of the tavernkeeper Uncle Baker also occupies a place in Qiao'an's childhood memories.

Qiao Ann walked into the tavern and immediately heard fierce arguments. Seven or eight pub regulars gathered together and had two glasses of ale. This kind of bragging and arguing scene was normal, and it did not deserve his attention.

Qiao Ann bypassed the quarreling crowd, sat down in front of the tavern bar, and ordered a roasted rabbit leg with mashed potatoes and garlic butter bread.

In the tavern, a boy of 13 or 14 years old asked Qiaoan what to drink.

Qiao An shook his head, thinking that when he left home, Uncle Baker's son was still a runny kid, it's not surprising that he couldn't recognize himself.

Waiting for the free time for the meal, Qiao An accidentally discovered that the guy who quarreled the most was the guard named Turner that he met at the entrance of the town this morning.

The people around Turner are also the town's militiamen. They can neither start work nor train in the snowy weather, so they brag and waste time in the tavern.

The topic that Turner quarreled with his companions was precisely related to Joan.

Turner said that when he was on duty, he met "the master mage from this town" and had the honor to have a few words with him. And his companions, perhaps because Turner always likes to brag, they didn’t say these things to him. Don't believe it very much.

Turner really didn’t brag this time. He felt wronged. He yelled to bet against all those who questioned him. If he lost the bet, he would invite everyone to drink, otherwise everyone sitting would give him two silver dukas. ...

Qiao Ann was amused and wanted to know how Turner was going to prove to his friends that what he said was true, so he casually used a "disguise", slightly changed his dress and appearance, and watched the show while eating. .

Turner’s friends thought that if Master Vinda really returned to his hometown, it would be a big happy event, and the town would have to celebrate with lights and festivities. It is unlikely that only Turner would know.

It is actually very easy to verify Turner's bragging rights. Let's go to the big house north of the town, which is the former residence of Master Vinda, and try to knock on the door. If the owner is home, he will open the door and answer.

Turner first admitted that this method worked, but he didn't dare to go, worrying about disturbing Master Master for such boring trivial matters. If he angered the other party, the consequences would be disastrous.

His words cannot be said to be unreasonable, but in the eyes of others, there is a guilty conscience to escape, and it is even more suspect that Turner is bragging.

Just when the two sides were in a quarrel, the door of the tavern was pushed open, and a dwarf with a strong beard walked in.

"Hey! What are you arguing about, so lively!"

"Mr. Tom! You came just right, and the boy Turner is bragging again..."

Someone immediately told the ins and outs of this dispute to the town's blacksmith and militia captain Tom Anvil.

"Did you really see Joan coming back?!" The dwarf grabbed Turner's arm, excited and unable to hold himself.

"It's true, Mr. Tom, I dare to swear by my father's name!"

"Excellent! I'm going to find him now!" The dwarf was so excited that he couldn't even bother drinking.

"Mr. Tom! You are not afraid to disturb Master Master, make him angry, and cast you into a mouse, rabbit or something?" Turner asked anxiously.

The dwarf shook his head and laughed: "Don't worry, Joan is not the kind of bad-tempered mage! He is a little weird, but not bad. On the contrary, he is the kindest-hearted person I have ever seen in my life. !"

"You know Master Vinda well?"

"Nonsense! Joan is my old friend!" the dwarf said grimly, "Qiaoan and I, as well as the two sons of the mayor's family, participated in the war against the lizardmen. It was five years ago. It’s a matter of fact, at that time you were either kiddies or you haven’t moved to Delin Town to settle down. It’s normal if you don’t know!"

"Mr. Tom, they all said I love to brag, I think you brag much better than me!" Turner said grimly.

"Why, don't you believe me?" Tom flushed with anger, "Well, go find Joan with me, I'll prove it to you!"

"No need to look for it, I'm right here."

A familiar laugh came from the bar.

The dwarf trembled, and quickly turned his head to look over, his eyes overflowing with surprise.

Joanne had lifted his spell disguise, took off his hood with his backhand, and nodded and smiled at Tom the Dwarf.

"Old friend, long time no see, how are you?"

"Wow! Joan, it's really you!"

Excitedly, the dwarf almost shed tears on the spot, kicked over the stool and rushed over, embracing the young wizard forcefully.

Turner saw this long-awaited reunion scene, and had to admit that Mr. Dwarf was really not bragging, he was indeed a good friend of Master Mage.

But he didn't feel ashamed for too long, and soon became happy, slapped the slap again on the wine table, looked around at the guys who had just bet with him, with a smug face.

"Now you know that I didn't brag, right? The man is going to admit defeat! You alone owe us silver coins, stop talking nonsense, and quickly pay back!"

Qiao An still underestimated the efficiency of Aunt Barbara's publicity. With such a short meal, the news of his return home spread all over Delin Town.

Many people came to the tavern to see him, as if he was a strange species. Later, even the old dwarf Flint and Mayor Tyndall came to join in the fun.

Qiao An has never liked being the focus of the crowd, but after leaving his hometown for so many years, his social skills have improved a lot, and he can barely cope with this situation.

When chatting with the villagers, Qiao An noticed that Mr. Mayor was sad, so he took the initiative to ask if there was something upsetting.

Mayor Tyndall was figuring out how to ask the young mage for help. When Qiao An asked, he pushed the boat along the water and told him the trouble that was embarrassing him.

"Joan, you may not know yet. Last spring, our town moved to a new house. The old man named Archibald was also in the timber business."

"Old Archibald and his son, Young Archibald, jointly run a logging farm. The site is located on the upper reaches of the Delin River, about forty or fifty miles from our town."

Qiao An nodded, thinking that the mayor's house was also in a wood processing business. This Archibald, who had just moved in to grab business with the mayor, seemed to be nothing good.

Mr. Tyndall took a sip of wine and then said: "Although old Archibald and I are in the same company, our two families have not had any conflicts. The town of Delin is very large, and the influx of new immigrants in recent years The larger the population, the more the population has surpassed 4000, which can accommodate two logging yards. Even the old Archibald wanted to run for the town councilor, whether publicly or privately, my attitude is the same-good luck to him ."