The road heading east from the sentry tower is relatively easy.
There is no broomstick at the moment, and there is no Thestral carriage. Lin Ze can only walk little by little with Sela. Fortunately, Sela went back to retrieve his pony. Lin Ze used "Unraveling" to reach the easternmost part of the guard tower.
The pony walked slowly in front, carrying two leather bags on its back and flicking its tail to shoo away flies.
Saira is obviously in a lighter mood than when he came here, and he occasionally hums a few lines of songs that he can't hear the tune of.
"What are you humming?"
"It was sung by the patrol when they were marching. There were no serious words, it was just a rhythm."
Lin Ze followed and hummed a few lines. The tune is simple and you can learn it once you learn it.
The voices of the two people floated far away on the empty grassy slope, startling a group of sparrows.
On the third day, the terrain began to change.
The grassy slopes became narrower and narrower, the ridges on both sides converged toward the middle, and the road squeezed through a gap between the ridges.
There is a stream at the bottom of the valley. The water is not deep and it is easy to cross by stepping on the rocks.
Saira squatted down by the stream and filled the water bag. "After passing the mountain pass in front, we will reach the East."
"The East also has its own patrol team?"
"Yes, but the situation there is a bit special. Although there is a patrol there, the people there actually only listen to their own clan leaders."
"Eastern Tribe?"
"Yes, they claim to be the descendants of the ancient true gods. It is said that many people in those tribes can control the wind and rain, and they are very powerful."
"Wizard?" Lin Ze raised his eyebrows.
"That's not clear. I've never been there before when I grew up."
The two climbed over the mountain pass, and the landscape of the East was completely different from that of the North.
The mountains are steeper and the trees are denser. Abandoned stone houses can be seen at intervals along the road, with wild vines growing on their foundations.
"Why are these rooms empty?" Lin Ze asked.
"The East There used to be more people living there than now. After a few battles, people were running to the death, and there were only a few villages left."
In the evening, the two of them rested in an abandoned village.
The walls of the stone house are still there, but most of the roof has collapsed. Saira used a machete to cut a few branches and put them on the wall, barely covering the roof.
Lin Ze lit a fire in the house, roasted the last bacon, cut it into thin slices and put it in the cake.
Saira squatted beside the fire, holding the piece of meat with the tip of the knife and swaying it over the flame to ensure that the piece of meat would not be burned.
"Where did you learn this skill?" Lin Ze asked.
"What?"
"The hand that grills meat with the tip of the knife."
"The veterans in the patrol taught me that although we live in the open all year round, we still eat some delicious food." Saira said, turning the meat slices over with the tip of his fingernail.
Lin Ze smiled.
Saira handed him a piece of roasted meat and took a bite himself.
"What about you? What was it like when you were studying in your hometown?" she asked.
"Children from ordinary families go to school, do homework, and take exams. There is nothing special."
"Going to school? Is that the magic school you mentioned?"
"Earlier than that, it was a school for ordinary people, similar to yours. One teacher taught a group of children, teaching literacy and arithmetic."
Saira tilted his head and imagined Lin Ze sitting in the classroom studying when he was a child. He found it difficult to put together the picture of the wizard in front of him who could blow up a forest with just a raise of his hand.
"Then when did you know you were a wizard?"
"When I was eleven years old, I received a notice. An old professor came to explain to my parents that I had a talent for magic and was going to a school."
"Then how did your parents react?"
Lin Ze was silent for a moment, his expression a little strange.
"You seem quite happy?"
His tone was calm, Saira glanced at him and didn't ask any more questions.
The wood in the fire crackled and sparks jumped up twice.
Early the next morning, the two continued on the road.
In the East villages, you can see a settlement every ten miles or so.
Saira did not choose to enter the village, but just walked around far away.
"Why don't you go into the village and ask for directions?" Lin Ze asked.
"Go on your own. I heard from the old man in the team that Eastern Tribe doesn't welcome strangers very much, especially the North people. People can tell that I'm from the North just by looking at my face, but your appearance is somewhat similar to them."
Lin Ze nodded and walked toward the village ahead alone.
The village is not big, with about twenty mud houses surrounding a well in the middle.
A few children were playing around by the well. When they saw a stranger coming, they stopped and stared at him.
A middle-aged woman poked her head out of the yard and shouted into the house, and then an elderly man walked out of the house.
"A foreigner?" The old man looked Lin Ze up and down.
"Yes, I was passing by here and wanted to ask you for directions."
"Where to go?"
"To the east, I heard that there is a place where tribes live."
The old man's eyes moved slightly. "What are you doing with those tribes?"
"Inquiring about some old things, about... Morgana." Lin Ze hesitated for a moment, but still said the name.
The old man was silent for a while, turned back and said something to the yard, and then waved to Lin Ze: "Come in and sit down."
The yard is not big, with a straw shed set up in the corner and a few wooden benches under the shed.
The old man asked Lin Ze to sit down, and he picked up a clay pot and poured two bowls of water.
"Where are you from?"
"The North."
"People from the patrol?"
"No." Lin Ze shook his head with a calm expression.
The old man stared at Lin Ze for a while and nodded. "That's good, we don't want to see people from the patrol team."
The old man put the pottery pot on the table and pulled up a wooden stool to sit down.
"Not many people outside know the name Morgana now."
The old man rubbed the handle of the pot with his fingers. "You are from the North. If you know this name, it means you have specifically asked about it."
"That's right." Lin Ze nodded.
The old man picked up the bowl and took a sip, then put the bowl down.
"The East, people from the older generation will occasionally mention her, but after mentioning it, not many people really dare to go to her side."
"Her side?"
"Go east for another five days, and after passing through Blackstone Flats, there is a canyon, which the locals call Crow Valley."
The old man traced a direction on the table with his finger, "That place used to be a holy land for a tribe. Later, the tribe disappeared and the holy land became deserted. People of the older generation said that Morgana lived there."
Lin Ze noted this location.
"Why doesn't that tribe exist?"
The old man shook his head. "I don't know, that was more than a hundred years ago. Old people are saying that Crow Valley has Morgana's old residence, so don't go there."
"Since you have heard of Morgana, do you know the name Merlin?" Lin Ze asked.
"Merlin?" The old man thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don't know, I haven't heard of it."
"Then do you know what kind of person Morgana is?"
The old man thought for a while, "I heard my father mention that she was a very powerful witch who could talk to the dead."