Winter City, on a bustling street near the business district in the lower city.

"It's here." Nolan, the paladin in silver-white plate armor, pointed to a striking golden sign to the half-elf and sorceress behind him.

"Half-goat tavern? Could it be that the owner of this tavern is a half-goat?"

Thorne looked up at the door of the tavern, with the elegant words "Half-goat Tavern" written in the common language of the mainland, and next to it was a beautiful sign with a panpipe musical instrument and a bubbling beer mug.

"Yes, let's go in." Nolan smiled at the two of them and walked in first.

Thorne and Andrina looked at each other, then followed in the footsteps of the paladin.

Although he stayed in Winter City for half a year, this was the first time he came to this tavern, and he could see from Anderina's eyes that the other party was the same as himself.

In the Goat Tavern, the dim lighting creates a warm atmosphere, but it's not murky and unsettling.

Smoking kerosene lamps hang from the ceiling, and at the end of the bar, the flames dance merrily, which is used as a makeshift stage.

Cold eyes are hidden like jewels

Cold eyes occasionally become tender

The heavy white blade is also cruel and ruthless

The greedy red lips are as delicate as poisonous flowers

…

At this time, a slender pure-blooded elf was playing on a yangqin. With his fingers flying, he hit the metal strings with a small wooden hammer, playing a melodious tune.

Thorne's attention, however, was not on the elf player.

Because he found a little black cat lying there on the iron frame above the fireplace.

This little black cat seems to know how to appreciate music very much. It lies there and dangles its tail to the rhythm of the music. It stares at the performer below with a pair of big blue eyes with interest, and nods its arrogant little head from time to time.

"This little black cat is the mascot of this pub, and its name is: Indigo." Nolan immediately introduced him to him when he noticed Thorne's gaze elsewhere.

"Indigo? What a strange name." Andrina also noticed the little black cat who knew how to appreciate music.

"If you look closely, you can find that this kitten's fur is so black and blue, that's how it got its name." Nolan pointed to the little black cat and told Andersina with a smile.

Andrina took a closer look, revealing an expression that was as expected.

At this time, the little black cat called 'Indigo' seemed to sense the gazes of the two of them, and immediately arched its back, bared its teeth and grinned angrily at the paladin. Those fierce and cute eyes seemed to say that the two were disturbing It likes music.

Thorne glanced at the kitten lightly, and the roaring Indigo shrank his head back in fright.

"Well, is it similar to the pet cat you raised?" Nolan joked to Thorne beside him.

"The one I had was much more tame than it was." Thorne replied casually.

"So tame, how did you lose it." Andrina continued with a smile.

Paladin Nolan glanced at Andrina in surprise, then kept silent.

"...It was just an accident," Thorne replied vaguely, then surveyed his surroundings.

The bar and ten tables were filled with cheerful patrons, all intently admiring the bard's performance, clapping heartily as he finished and bowed to the curtain.

Most of the guests in the tavern seemed to be harmless civilians, maybe one or two of them were big men who looked like thugs, but they were unarmed except for table knives.

Of course, among these customers are a small number of players who survived the disaster in Winterfell.

At the same time, Thorne also noticed a human player sitting on his right. He looked very thin and could not be a melee professional, but he was full of confidence in his gestures.

"Is it a wizard?" Thorne whispered to himself, following the paladin's footsteps and walking towards the empty table.

"Oh, the incarnation of justice, the valiant paladin, the beautiful Ms. Nolan, welcome you again." The three sat down for a while, one wearing a red vest and holding a glass of bubbling beer in his hand. The half-goat man greeted him with a smile:

"Three guests, what do you want? The strongest wine, the most fragrant spice, or the most dazzling dance and the most beautiful sound?"

Thorne glanced calmly at the half-goat man, with short curly brown hair, a pair of curved goat horns protruding from the top of his head, and his lower limbs were covered with downy goat cloven hooves.

The half-goat, a race of humanoids known as the 'hedonistic prodigal son'.

"Well...let me think about it..." Nolan thought about it carefully, and then ordered: "Give me three glasses of empty sighs."

"Sigh in the air, alright! The three guests, please wait a moment." The half-sheep man walked towards the counter with a cheerful pace with his two furry goat hooves.

Vaguely, Thorne also heard the merry poem whispered in his mouth:

The tree man breaks the branches and slowly harvests its leaves,

The happy girl has already loosened her clothes.

My song lifts up like a breeze in summer nights,

Don't wait for an instant to sigh.

…

"Just tell me if you have anything." The three of them were obviously not chatty people, so Thorne took the lead to break the silence, looking at the paladin sitting opposite and asking straight to the point.

Andrina glanced at Thorne, remained silent, then looked at the paladin of the suffering **** with interest.

Just like last time, her appearance has not changed much. Although she does not have the color of the country and the city, she now looks very beautiful and strong. Under the dim light, the whole person is vaguely covered with a faint layer. of divine breath.

The only difference is that her long black hair that was loose had already been cut into short ear-length hair by her, which was a little less dignified, but added a lot of sassiness.

In this world, long and beautiful long hair is extremely rare, because it is a symbol of a woman's status and status, representing that the owner of the long hair is a free woman who belongs only to herself, and also represents that she is an unusual person. woman.

That's why Andrina keeps her hairstyle like this all the time.

Because ordinary girls among the original residents would have their hair braided. Ordinary married women cover their hair with a millinery or turban. Women of noble birth, including queens and queens, would have their hair rolled in various styles, while female warriors would have their hair cut short like the paladins in front of them.

Only women in the caster system keep their hairstyles natural, emphasizing their independence.

"Although I don't know how the two of you entered Winter City, I think you should have felt the strange phenomenon that happened in this city recently." Nolan shook the light blue liquid in the cup casually, looking said seriously.

"I know that Winter City is closed, and no one is allowed to enter, but there are no restrictions on who can go out." Thorne glanced at a dwarf who was quarreling with a halfling not far away, and said truthfully.

"Just yesterday, the Temple of Knowledge in the Temple District suddenly abandoned Winter City and prepared to evacuate." The paladin was silent and said slowly.

"There is such a thing." Thorne and Anderina looked at each other, both showing incredible colors.

What does the temple evacuation mean?

It means that the Temple of Knowledge has abandoned the faith of the city.

From this, it can be seen that there is definitely something major happening in this city.

Ogma, the **** of knowledge, is a **** of great power, and if he so desires, it is easy to predict certain fragments of the future.

Moreover, as the archbishop of the temple, it is impossible to decide the fate of a temple without authorization, that is to say, the archbishop is likely to receive the oracle.

"Six months ago, Winter City suffered the arrival of the incarnation of the King of Gnolls and the opening of the abyss. The absolutely neutral Temple of Knowledge not only did not give up, but also dispatched the Temple Knights to assist the army of Winter City to clean up the enemy, but now they choose directly. Running away." Paladin Nolan looked at the wine in the glass, and suddenly felt a sense of dullness.

"What do you mean?" Thorne asked quietly.

He seemed to have guessed what the paladin was really looking for.

If it is as he guessed, he is thinking about how to refuse, and then let her give up this stupid idea.

However, he thought about it and found that he had no way to convince her at all, because she was a paladin, that's all.

"I want to evacuate from Winter City with the civilians in the lower city and slums." Paladin Nolan looked around, looked at the full audience, and expressed his true thoughts.

"Do you think anyone will listen? What do you expect? Your honorable paladin status?"

Thorne looked around at the guests below the stage who were cheering wildly for the bard, and the bard who bowed to thank him, and struck coldly.

Andrina, who was sitting beside her, was startled when she heard Thorne's tone, and looked at his cold expression in confusion.

Because this look made her recall the scene when the two had not yet met.

In short, she didn't like Thorne's indifference to everything.

"It's their business whether to listen or not. At least many people in the slum are willing to follow me." The paladin didn't care about the ranger's blow, and looked at him seriously.

"And then? Where are you going with a group of unarmed civilians? To be eaten by humanoids in the Emerald Fields, to be rations for the ferocious animals in the Black Pearl Forest, or to be sacrificed to the devil sahuagin in the deep sea." Thorne once again struck the innocent paladin expressionlessly, speaking in a colder tone than before.

Andrina looked at him worriedly, while holding one of his hands under the table.

When she noticed that the back of her hand was gently tapped by another hand, Andrina instantly understood what he meant, so she immediately kept silent.

"So I need your help, Thorne." Paladin Nolan looked at Thorne and explained to him: "Originally, I was going to find the believers of the Passion God of Deep Rock City and the monks of the White Rose Monastery to help me put The civilians of Winter City were escorted to the Silverpine Plain, but the distance is too far to go back and forth, and when Deep Rock City receives the news, I am afraid that it will be too late."

"Then you were hunted down by the Thieves Guild because of this?" Andrina couldn't help but asked.

"That's right, I originally planned to use their channels to help me deliver news to Deep Stone City. Who would have thought that these people were not at ease." Nolan said with a look of joy: "However, what I didn't expect was that they would encounter to you."

Hearing the paladin's narration, Thorne's expression softened a lot.

In order to save these civilians, as a paladin, she would not hesitate to join the thieves' union, which was something he never expected.

If it is the naive dragonborn paladin Peo, I am afraid that it is not a detective evil, and it will be thrown to the ground in the Thieves Guild.

"You mean to let me **** these commoners to the Emerald Fields with you, right." Thorne thoughtfully guessed what the paladin was really thinking.

"Yes, that's what I meant, I hope you can..." Nolan nodded vigorously.

"It's impossible, don't be delusional!" Thorne interrupted her directly, and then turned his attention to Andrina beside him.

"The five towns established by our compatriots in the Emerald Fields have already issued a decisive battle against the Hulk Hobgoblin in the Serenity Forest, so it is impossible for us, and we have no time to **** these civilians out of the city with you." Anderina Immediately understood what Thorne meant, and explained to the paladin softly.

"That's it..." Paladin Nolan's clear and flawless eyes dimmed a little, and obvious disappointment appeared on his pretty face.

"Nolan, don't be stupid, come with us to the town of waterfalls, you can't save anyone here with your strength." Andrina saw the meaning in Thorne's eyes again, and immediately took advantage of the situation to the paladin. Persuaded: "Here, you will only lose your life in vain, you have to do what you can."

"I am a paladin who has been inspired by fate." Paladin Nolan said slowly.

For a moment, Thorne and Andrina seemed to see that the divine light around her suddenly brightened a bit.

"It is my duty to protect women, children and commoners. Besides, I am a paladin of Ilmat, the **** of suffering. It is an honor for me to die for the sake of right belief, no matter what kind of pain and suffering. Dangerous, I must stick to the correct principles and unswervingly.”

The paladin Nolan held a silver holy emblem engraved with the pattern of 'pale hands bound by red rope' in his hand, and said with a firm expression.

"Forget it." Thorne stopped Andrina, who wanted to continue to dissuade him, and shook his head gently.

Then he got up from the chair and looked at the confident paladin Nolan, his expression softened a lot: "I'm very sorry, what I said just now was a little too impulsive."

"It's okay, I don't care at all. Since you have your own business to do, I won't bother you."

Nolan got up and smiled at Thorne, then put the holy emblem in his hand on his chest, and sincerely blessed: "May the God of Suffering protect you and provide you with the courage and strength to support you."

"Thank you for your blessing." Thorne bowed back earnestly, pondered for a moment, and said, "I will notify the lord of Twilight Town who is closest to Winter City, and try to persuade him to send someone here to meet you, I hope... I can make it in time. ."

After finishing speaking, he glanced at the familiar paladin girl again, and led Anderina out of the tavern without looking back.

Paladins have three weapons: passion for the best, the will to uphold the law, and the power to fight evil.

Without faith and justice, they will soon fall.

Facing this persistent paladin, Thorne had no way of persuading her to leave.

They are a great bunch of people and a sad bunch.

Because there is no evil in their eyes, but evil is part of the world.

...