Tracking the Trail

As the sun sets into the sea, the crimson clouds on the horizon gradually fade, and night falls.

The Half-Elf who had been protesting at the port had all dispersed, although the fishing boats moored at the Shallow Water Pier had not left the port.

But the Fish Market at the dock was lit up with lights...

Each light represents a stall.

Although the Half-Elf caused a ruckus all day, everyone still needed food, and fruit and fish were essential.

The Half-Elf in the Lower District of Castleton prefer to eat fish, not only because fish is cheap, but also because eating fish gives the elves who do manual labor more energy.

The Fish Market is closed during the day.

In the evening, the fishmongers set up their stalls, attracting many elves to the Fish Market.

Each fish stall in the Fish Market had a Carbide Lamp hanging on it, and these Carbide Lamp formed a lively ribbon of light on the port dock.

Some medium-sized fishing boats, which were once moored on the shore, have become the backdrop for the Fish Market.

A horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the Goddess of Freedom Temple.

Roy was waiting in the gatehouse early on. When he saw a carriage with the name of the Elf Academy parked at the gate, he immediately ran out.

The carriage door was pushed open from the inside, and Instructor Nora poked her head out of the carriage. She saw Roy running out of the gatehouse outside the temple gate, and jumped off the carriage first.

She was light and agile, carrying Battle Shortbow and a longsword on her back. She stood by the carriage door, turning her head to talk to her companions inside the carriage.

Following Instructor Nora's gaze, Roy noticed that several instructors from the Elf Academy were also sitting in the carriage.

They followed Instructor Nora as they filed off the carriage.

There were three instructors who stepped off the carriage with Instructor Nora.

The instructor following closely behind Instructor Nora was carrying a combat longbow. Roy often saw him at the archery Training Ground, but he didn't know his name.

The other two instructors Roy, had met at Checkpoint Two in the Malaga Jungle.

"Roy, some of my friends heard that Captain Relf has appeared in Castleton Harbour and they are willing to come and help!"

Instructor Nora said smugly.

"This is Instructor Gru, skilled in archery; this is Instructor Eleanor, skilled in jungle reconnaissance and tracking; and this is Instructor Virgil, skilled in swordsmanship."

"Thank you all for coming to help, instructors!"

Roy quickly thanked the other instructors repeatedly.

"Roy, is Relf still on that ship?" Instructor Nora asked Roy.

"I don't know yet. I'm sorry, Instructor Nora, I can't keep an eye on them all the time..." Roy said.

Instructor Nora glanced at the other three instructors before speaking:

"In that case, take us to that ship and let Elinore go on board to check it out."

Another carriage stopped at the temple gate, and an elven female mage dressed in a dark green magic robe stepped out of the carriage. She was holding a thick magic book in her hands, with a chain attached to the book and connected to her wide belt.

Once the Silver Moon Elf reach adulthood, it becomes difficult to determine their exact age.

However, the magicians who frequently conduct research in the Magic Tower are obviously much better at skin care than Instructor Nora.

"Sorry I'm late."

Her voice was clear and melodious, and after she finished speaking, she carefully looked Roy over.

"Scarlett, don't you have a magic experiment to do tonight?" Instructor Nora asked, puzzled.

The female magician smiled nonchalantly and said:

"It's paused! I heard that bastard Relf has reappeared. I don't want to miss this opportunity. His bounty has been hanging in the Adventurers Guild for who knows how many years!"

Seeing the situation at the temple entrance, Jasper also invited High Priest Reed out.

Upon seeing the High Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple appear at the temple entrance, the instructors from the Elf Academy immediately became serious.

Roy quickly introduced himself to everyone:

"This is the High Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple — High Priest Reed, and this is the Novice Priest Jasper..."

After pausing briefly at the temple entrance, the group headed to the West Beach of Castleton Harbour.

Castleton Harbour is relatively quiet, with few pedestrians, except for the bustling Fish Market.

The Great Sea Ship docked at the Deep Water Dock will not be allowed to leave the port normally until tomorrow morning, and Carbide Lamp are hanging on the decks of all the Great Sea Ship.

The Shallow Water Pier was filled with small fishing boats of all kinds, lined up so densely that they seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see under the night sky.

Not only had the Half-Elf protesting at the port and docks dispersed, but even the Half-Elf who had been sitting in the small square had left, leaving behind only a pile of trash.

Captain Simpson stood in the small square with several Elven Guard, looking somewhat desolate.

When there are no balls being held at the Seaside Castle, it is almost always dark, and looking out over the cliffs, all you can see is darkness.

At this time, apart from some gardeners and Elven Guard who took care of the castle, there were no Elven Nobles living in the castle.

Roy led Instructor Nora and High Priest Reed to the small square to meet up with Captain Simpson.

Captain Simpson then realized that in addition to several instructors from the Elf Academy, the team also included High Priest Reed from the Goddess of Freedom Temple.

The Black Pearl, stranded on the beach west of the pier, was also hidden in the night.

"Roy, when did you find out that Captain Relf was on that ship?" Captain Simpson asked Roy.

Roy immediately said, "It was last night, and I can confirm that Captain Relf and Madam Yidula have been staying on the ship for the last two nights."

Captain Simpson frowned but said nothing.

He led everyone directly to a sentry post near the West Beach. This area was still within the boundaries of the Seaside Castle, but from here, they could monitor the Great Sea Ship on the shallows.

Captain Simpson asked the three Elven Guard at the outpost, "Any findings?"

"Reporting to the captain, so far, no target has been detected approaching the Great Sea Ship, and there are no signs of activity on board."

One of the Elven Guard answered.

"Understood." Captain Simpson, nodded.

Captain Simpson assigned the Elven Guard to monitor the Black Pearl, but they found nothing.

At this point, Roy was also a little dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Captain Relf and Madam Yidula to be so cunning, staying on the Great Sea Ship for three days straight and then leaving without a word...

Instructor Nora whispered to Instructor Eleanor beside her, "Elinore, go check on the ship."

"Good!"

Instructor Eleanor readily agreed.

Then he leaped forward like a Night Blade Leopard, his body as agile as a Night Blade Leopard's. Roy only saw a blur before he disappeared into the night.

Roy waited at the sentry post for about 15 minutes when Instructor Eleanor, dressed in black tight-fitting leather armor, appeared at the post and addressed the group:

"Captain Relf was not found on the ship, but I found evidence that Captain Relf spent the night in the captain's cabin."

Instructor Nora then asked, "Did you ask the surrounding plants?"

Instructor Eleanor nodded and said:

"There was not much vegetation around the ship, so I could only run to the jungle near the rock face next to the Great Sea Ship to investigate. One of the vines left me with information that someone had indeed sneaked into the cliff the night before, and I also found some traces of climbing upwards."

Captain Simpson looked somewhat serious...

The night before last, Princess Ophelia happened to be holding a ball at the Seaside Castle.

If the castle hadn't been so heavily guarded, it might have given Captain Relf an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"I'll organize the Elven Guard and have them search along the beach."

Since the operation was targeting Princess Ophelia, Captain Simpson decided to continue the investigation.

Then, Captain Simpson turned to the Elven Guard beside him and ordered, "Go and gather everyone together..."

"Yes, Captain!" the Elven Guard replied.

High Priest Reed Roy knew Captain Relf lived on a ship, so he turned to look at Jasper.

Jasper shook his head slightly. After the rally ended yesterday, Roy said something to him and then left. He didn't know anything about it.

"Roy, how did you know yesterday that Captain Relf was staying on the ship?" High Priest Reed asked Roy.

Roy replied tactfully, "I asked a friend for help last night. It's good at stealth and tracking, but if you want it to help, you'll have to offer it some benefits..."

At this point, Roy suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "That's right. Although Captain Relf isn't on board, I can ask it to help track down Captain Relf whereabouts. It lives not too far away. I'll go find it, but I need to prepare. You guys wait here for me for a while."

After saying that, Roy walked out of the guard post.

Instructor Nora was worried about his safety going out alone, since they didn't know where Captain Relf was hiding.

Instructor Nora glanced at the other instructors, gesturing for them to wait there, and then went after them alone, asking, "Roy, do you need any help?"

Roy stopped and said to Instructor Nora with heartfelt gratitude:

"OK!"

The two walked along the edge of the small square toward the port. Instructor Nora asked tactfully, "Roy, does your friend always ask for something in return for helping you?"

Roy thought for a moment before saying:

"Yeah, pretty much, it cares about that."

As Roy walked towards the dock, Instructor Nora asked, "Where are you going?"

Roy casually remarked:

" At the Fish Market, I need to buy two fish. It seems no fishing boats are out at sea today, and I don't know if I can find any fresh fish!"

He planned to buy some Blue Mackerel at the Fish Market, fry a few fish for grilling, and then ask Night Blade Leopard to find Captain Relf by following his scent...

Instructor Nora accompanied Roy to the Fish Market at the dock. The fish smelled strongly, and sewage flowed everywhere on the ground.

The port is right next to the Fish Market.

Some ships were docked at the shore, and Half-Elf were unloading fish from fishing boats. Many of the fish boxes were covered with thick blocks of ice.