As Alan crossed the patio and forecourt, he could see that the interior of the blacksmith was just like any other. The same display cases, the exact placement; Same checkout counter, same leaning in. He looked so cold and lonely that he did not even light a candle.
The large room is filled with the usual lampstands, candles, wooden tables, and chairs, and there is nothing related to alchemy. Moros is very shy about his identity as an alchemist. The decor is retro, and arcane art has developed so rapidly over the past two decades that even ordinary people can touch it to some degree. Still, Moros's shop looks precisely as it did many years ago, revealing a stale vibe. Moros, at least from the watch house, seemed to Alan to be an old-fashioned, common blacksmith but not entirely of the same size.
Had it not been for Nova's introduction and his own admission, Alan felt he could not have identified Moros as an alchemist.
"Is anyone there?" Alan called again, and his voice echoed through the empty shop.
After a long silence, Alan lit a candle and proceeded by it. Over the counter should be the blacksmith's rest, but unexpectedly placed a forging table in the middle of the room, as if the blacksmith does not forget to work during the rest.
"Mr. Moros?
Again, no answer.
Alan had a bad feeling of foreboding and had to go in, scolding himself why he had not brought a dagger to defend himself. It is wise to rely only partially on arcane art now!
Bypassing the forge, Alan found a narrow passage by the bookcase, and by the light of the candle, he saw a staircase that led deep into the earth.
"Why Saki all has basements!" 'muttered Alan, touching the wall and going down. Alan soon realized that he was in a place he should not have known. The months had passed, and Alan was no longer the new man to be hammered and had become more or less aware of the grey business that went on all over the islands. Like Nova's safe house, there's always a hiding place for the black market, so the space under the blacksmith's shop should be Moros's safe house!
But for some reason the secret door to the back room was open!
Logic saw that the darkness was not long, and Alan was in the cellar a few turns later. After changing the retro style of the watch house, the basement looks much more adaptable, with the alchemist lighting fixtures faintly lit and some other alchemist appliances neatly placed. The Saki Islands do not produce any arcane materials, and it is unknown how hard Moros worked to collect them. Alan could only imagine how much difficulty Moros had in managing it. After all, the lack of energy was evident in the dim light.
"Or no one?" Alan did not realize that the door to the safe house was open, but the owner was not there.
A long sword hanging on the wall caught the eye of the Arcane. It was the only weapon in the room, and in the style of hilt and sheath, like that of Insolari North, so out of place with everything around it!
The longsword is spotless, even as clean as new, and Moros would have been taking care of it. Looking closer, Alan looked at the pattern on the sheath, which seemed to be part of the family seal, like the embroidery on Deco's Arcane robes.
Of course, Alan did not know the same family crest. But two words were printed in the hilt thread, which looked like a name. Alan did not know what language he was using, but at least it needed to be more knowledgeable than the Mycelial language.
"It's kind of like... Roggbosch?" Alan scanned the unfamiliar cursive text and found a parallel. Most of the letters were closely related to the Rogbosch language spoken in the north-west of the archipelago, and the pronunciation was shared, but Alan could only guess where it was. If not in Rogbosch's dialect, it must have been in Lusgue to the present day of the Civil War.
Alan tried to pronounce the two words in Rogbosch: 'Paggio... Pammont?"
Peggy Pemont? Paggio Pemont?
Wait! I thought Moros was Paggio!
"What's your name?"
"Moros, Moros Paggio."
The words of Moros's introduction were still in my ears. The Pagio was still on the door of the forge! Why is Paggio here all of a sudden a name...
So Moros's real name would be Paggio, and his real last name would be this Piemonte. And this, even Nova did not know, he had always called Paggio Moros, never suspected!
Alan looked at the longsword again. It was a very unusual ornamented pattern. It must have been a nobleman somewhere! And Rogbosch is a federal country. There is no traditional aristocracy, only before the civil War, used to be the imperial Ruthie!
Moros was a Rustic? Alan found it hard to believe that Ruthg had been locked out of the Empire's waters for more than ten years, from the nobles to the common people, and had little contact with the rest of the world. It was an act of necessity. Unlike Levitzk, the intensity of the battle in Rusg would have been deserted if the port had not been closed. The states of the Lusgues provided that anyone caught trying to leave the islands would be executed, regardless of their status. But even so, hundreds, if not thousands, of Rusgos have escaped over the years, most of whom have perished, and only a few have been able to flee to other countries. But all in all, it was almost impossible to escape from this war-torn island!
According to Nova, Moros is only 17 years old and arrived in Saki only a few years ago. How on earth did he get out of the strict seclusion of Rusg?
And... Change your name?
Other countries have been very tolerant of the occasional Rusg refugee who does escape the fighting, and rarely send them back to the island. And Rusg is too busy with civil war to control the people who have fled. If you can get out of Rusg, you can safely settle down somewhere else and escape the misery of war. Most of the people who need to be incognito are the ones who will be extradited if their identity is exposed. These people are either guilty or influential!
"Pammont..." Alan whispered that he had never heard of the name and had no idea what the family was like back in Rusg. But now he was feeling nostalgic for the Sovid boy, who knew everything from the Levitskian ballad to the Pennant family. And the family background was undoubtedly enough to answer Alan's question!
"Cut -!"
Alan, still thinking, was suddenly hit in the chest by Chuck in his arms and then heard a sharp mushroom cry! Returning suddenly, Alan saw a dagger thrust out of the shadows, straight at the Arcane's face!
The attack was fierce. Although it was not as inevitable and tricky as Luan Zhuo's short knife, Alan did not have such a sharp weapon against metal as the fungus liquid knife this time! Alan didn't get a good look at the attacker's face, so he had to dodge. But Alan's movements were rusty, even stiff, and the dagger passed across Alan's neck. If Kaka's soft Arcane armor had not blocked the blade from its original path, the Arcane would have been splattered with blood!
And in that precious half a second, Alan was not idle. The ice arrows were gathered at hand and fired at the assailants with incredible speed! Helpless at this moment, in this situation, his attack has been soft armor to dissolve if he does not retreat, even if only greedy one knife, will be hit by the ice sword. That would put self-preservation in question, not to mention further attacks!
Retreating, now sparing no means of attack, he kicked off on Alan's waist and rolled backward. The ice arrow passed right in front of the assassin's face but missed him for half a minute. It hit the basement roof, and a field of ice formed near its landing point.
The assassin rolled over, crouched down, and looked at his right hand, where he was holding the knife, and saw that two ice flowers had formed on it at some point. And it is this little temperature inadaptation, so that should have been a knife, but stabbed the soft armor, rather than the neck. When I looked up, I saw that the soft armor had been stitched together with Arcane repair and that the imminent surprise attack had been a complete failure.
When is the ice arrow?
He had just dodged the ice arrow, and Alan had no time for a second spell! I thought the movement of turning over was now perfect, and the ice arrow could touch no place, but the ice flowers and the cold breath on my right wrist could not be deceiving! It only shows that the Arcane is a bit of a man and that the ice arrows of the other side must be guarded against other effects!
Alan, who had been kicked hard, took several steps back until he reached the wall. The pain was still aching in my waist, and the soft armor did much to protect me from the blow, but it was like hammering a chainmail with a Warhammer. Only the man in the armor knew what it felt like!
Alan still has a chance to feel the pain, still has a chance to breathe, purely because of his lifesaving cryogenics!
This almost time-consuming spell slows down the attack again! And hidden with the use of an ice arrow, so that this small spell becomes very hidden, the opponent has no defense!
Alan wanted to rest for a while, but it was clear that the assassin would not give him a chance. It was a kill. It didn't work, but it was clear that the Arcane had lost a lot in the first exchange, and if he didn't take the opportunity to attack again, what better time!
Then, before Alan had gained his footing, he saw the assassin's lunging backhand!