Open Your Quest Log

Chapter 23: firs in the forest

The foggy forest at night is another scene - not dark, but rather bright.

Many plants, flowers, and mushrooms that look inconspicuous during the day will emit a faint glow in the dark and dense night, giving the entire forest a mysterious and ethereal atmosphere. The cold light is either purple, green, or blue, and even a little like the bright eyes of a sweetheart, flickering flickering.

A sweetheart's bright eyes? Why do I use such a sour metaphor? Barrett was puzzled by this.

He chose the campsite beside a fallen fir tree. This fallen 'giant' can cover the backs of Barrett and his party with its strong remnant. Whether it is night vigilance or a real accident, this broken tree can greatly reduce the area they need to defend.

The tree's break was not far from the camp, and one end of the treetop was hidden in the fog, with no head in sight.

At this time, Barrett was adding dry wood to the bonfire. The bonfire was crackling, and a dark soup pot was bubbling on the top. Some jerky, turnips, and a few ferns were simmering in the pot, and a quail-sized, plucked bird was rolling up and down in the pot.

It was a **** with a ring of white feathers on the edge of its wings. Compared to its peers, it looks extra plump and doesn't know what to eat all winter.

For some unknown purpose, this white-feathered **** fluttered its wings, and flew towards the ogre with a fierce expression and fast speed, which really frightened the big man Moglock. But the next moment, the **** was shot down with a dagger by the dwarf on the shoulder of the ogre, and Barrett stewed the **** into the pot with the principle of not wasting food.

There were also several sharpened branches slanted beside the bonfire, two of which were strung with a frog that was bigger than an ogre's slap, while others were strung with some mushrooms and unknown things. Tubers of plants.

A slightly pungent smell wafted out of the hot steam from the soup pot and dispersed in the air, that was because the soup was added with tear sedge. When this grass is heated, it will emit a bad smell. The sharper the sense of smell, the stronger the pungent smell, including Barrett.

But our barbarian adventurers are accustomed to this. If you want to eat hot food during the adventure in the foggy forest, but you are worried that the aroma of the food will attract some uninvited guests, you have to add a little of this plant called "tear sedge" to the food.

Although the food made in this way doesn't smell very friendly, at least it doesn't matter when you eat it.

Old Will stood at the collapsed section of the fir tree, as if he was studying something. However, in Barrett's eyes, Old Will's appearance is not like a mage studying something that ordinary people can't figure out, but more like a lumberjack after felling a tree and tasting his axe skills.

The fallen fir tree was so large that even seven Barrets could not surround it holding hands, if we had so many Barrets. But it is not special, because almost all the fir trees in the entire forest are so thick.

In Barrett's impression, he had never seen a sapling of a fir tree, or a normal fir tree with the thickness of a person and no difference from ordinary trees. The fir trees as far as the eye can see are like giants that lift the sky, straight into the sky-like fog.

"The age of this tree is really surprising." Old Will's tone was full of admiration. "Guess how old it is?"

Guess the age of the tree? Is there anything more boring than this? Barrett was speechless. But at least it was better than the burgundy-haired girl talking about her story with the miller.

I don't know what happened to Ray. The girl in the light blue dress, the carcass shining in the river, these images suddenly appeared in Barrett's mind, but then he forced himself to put them out of his mind.

Barrett turned around and sneezed, the tear sedge seemed to be a little too much, he thought.

"Trust me, you must have guessed wrong!" The mage's tone was full of confidence.

200 years old, like you, Manzi said in his heart, but he knew it was impossible. Because in Nord, outside the village and town of his hometown, there is a nearly 500-year-old locust tree.

The black locust tree was called "Fiose" by the residents of the town, which means "holy tree" in Nord. The Nords of the town bury their dead relatives around the locust, hoping that the deceased will be blessed and rest in peace.

As long as Barrett can remember, there are dense graves around the locust tree. Although he was very naughty and courageous as a child, he never dared to play near the locust tree.

The Nords are all of barbarian origin, and they are generally stubborn. Although Nord has been promoting the common language officially, Nord is still used very frequently among the people.

Moreover, on the mainland today, only Nords and a few city-states continue to have the custom of burial, while the other six kingdoms and most of the city-states practice cremation.

Cremation is a tradition carried over from the time of the Magic Empire, because the wizards of the Empire did not allow people to be buried. I heard that the magic tide of that period seemed to be particularly surging. When it passed by, there would always be some unwilling corpses who would "wake up" from their rest, search for the memories in their souls, and visit their relatives... ...

In Barrett's memory, even the nearly 500-year-old locust tree had a trunk less than half the thickness of this fir.

"In the elf holy land 'Los Lorin', trees like this must be at least a thousand years old." Half-elf Estelle said, and then he added, "I mean those that grow normally. Trees, not druids spawned by natural forces."

When Estelle said the last sentence, there was a little disdain in her tone.

Barrett glanced at the half-elf, everyone has some past and secrets, he thought.

"But this tree should only be about a hundred years old!" Old Will was amazed. "Looking at its annual rings, it seems that it is less than a hundred years old, that is to say, its age is not half my age!"

Less than a hundred years old? Barrett was amazed by this. The entire misty forest can be said to be made up of these tall fir trees. Although he has been here countless times, gathering, fighting, revenge, and adventure here, he has never really observed these trees that can be seen carefully.

"It can grow so thick in a hundred years?" Estelle's tone was also full of surprise, "I vaguely remember that the trees I saw along the way seemed to have the same thickness. This tree is not too much. Are those trees only a hundred years old?" He pointed around.

"Impossible!" Barrett denied, "According to the records of the Mist Castle, this forest already existed in the early days of the establishment of the Griffin Kingdom. In this way, the forest is at least 700 years old. There are even many legends. Point out that this forest has existed since the days of the Magic Empire."

"Isn't it planted after the Griffin Empire fell it?" the half-elf asked.

"No one will come to the foggy forest to cut down trees. It doesn't make any sense. Even if they can be felled, it will be difficult to transport them out. There are many valuable things in the forest, but they will never include these firs that can be seen everywhere." Barrett said, "Although the Golden Clover Knights will cut down a little, it is limited to the area around the Mist Fort, and its purpose is just to make the fort's vision wider."

"You mean, during the Magic Empire period, there were adventurers who came here to take risks?" Old Will walked over, Shi Shiran sat on the ground beside the bonfire, and the tan with pale gold patterns The robe did not seem to be stained with a wisp of dust.

"I don't know." Barret hesitated, "but I don't think there should be. At that time, the Cavis Mountains was still a complete mountain range, and there was no gap in the Mist Castle, so no one should come here." In addition to the mage, he silently added a sentence in his heart.

At this moment, the ogre who was dozing off against the fir tree trunk suddenly woke up, it wiped the corner of its mouth, "Is dinner ready yet?" It stared at the **** in the pot and asked in a loud voice.

"It's never too late for a delicious meal," Barrett replied.

......