Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 219 Old Friends

"Hey, hello, hello, Golden Mask, can you hear me? You old bastard, you led me all the way to Shanhaiguan and then disappeared, that's really underhanded!"

Geb muttered to the communication stone. He wasn't using the stone's magic; he was just talking to it and venting his frustrations.

With two days to go until the Séance, the Golden Mask remains silent, whether through proactive contact or passive waiting.

Gebu clutched the bottle of poison he had kept hidden for so long, wondering to himself: Does this stuff still have any effect?

A gust of cold wind drifted in through the crack in the window, making the hairs on Gebu's neck stand on end. Early winter was approaching, Dulin said; after the Séance of the Gods festival, the weather would quickly turn cold. Although winter in Shanhaiguan was warmer than in the north, the damp and gloomy seaside was quite uncomfortable.

Gebu walked to the window, placed the communication stone on the windowsill, closed the window, and leaned against the window, gazing listlessly at the boundless East Sea.

"Ideally, we should get through before winter arrives and head east. It's better to be colder than to be exposed to the damp sea breeze every day—my armpits will get moldy."

Just then, the communication stone suddenly rang. Gebu jumped up from the windowsill with a start, grabbed the stone, and put it to his ear.

"The Kiss of the King," from Giant's Hill, at the Altom Shrine, grants you a treasure worthy of ascending to the Ring.

""

"Magnubier's ass! What's that place? Aren't you in Port Queens? I said—"

Geb replied hastily, only to find that he had exceeded the character limit for the messaging spell.

Tsk! This magic is so outdated! What can you do with just 25 characters!

However, the message from the man in the golden mask did get through. This guy really isn't afraid of making a fuss; he's moved himself to yet another new place.

Is it still possible for him to make it back in time for the Séance ceremony?

Geb quickly took out the Book of Sand and searched for "Giant Hill".

The Book of Sand flipped through the floating golden text for a moment, revealing only fragmentary records and no map.

"————After thousands of years of battles and migrations, the giants were finally driven out of the Giant Mountains by the dwarf kingdom."

These savage tribes, who worshipped the volcano god Altom, established their last settlement on the hills bordering the Eastern Sea. They eked out a living there for centuries, sacrificing their sickly infants to their cruel deity in exchange for protection.

"This is the origin of the name Giant Hill. This uncivilized remnant tribe was destroyed by wizards during the old Akenopha Empire: the wizards tried to negotiate with these huge barbarians and study the primitive and powerful magic they possessed, but were met with cruel revenge from the giants."

"When the wizards saw the humanoid cured meat drying on Giant's Hill, they abandoned their attempts to negotiate with these savage humanoids. To conquer the savages, they needed even stronger savages. They used land-reshaping magic to completely flatten Giant's Hill, and the earth cracked open, swallowing their settlement like a god representing the wrath of nature, which the giants worshipped. From then on, Giant's Hill became a flat area between mountains and sea—the east and west sides of the continent were opened up, and later empires set up checkpoints here, which was the predecessor of Shanhaiguan."

So, Giant's Hill was near Shanhaiguan—or below it. The name no longer exists, and where is that Altom shrine buried now?

Ugh—headache. Do I have to go do archaeology again?

Gebu thought for a moment. This kind of thing couldn't be found in books, but perhaps he could get some clues from the locals. For example, whether there were any ancient ruins or strange caves.

However, time is really running out. Today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow is the Séance of the Gods. We must get it done as soon as possible.

Coincidentally, Gebu had arranged to meet with Father Helan this morning for the handover before the ceremony. Gebu thought he could ask Father Helan if he had heard of this place.

In the open-air theater, Father Helan was surrounded by the children, chattering away – a scene that seemed very familiar.

Geb, Dulin, and the Swordswoman joined them from the side. Seeing the halflings arrive, the children swarmed around them.

"Uncle Yang Gaowan! It's Uncle Yang Gaowan!"

The children shouted excitedly.

"It's Gebu—you children are so hard to learn good things, but you all go astray so easily. Here, take five silver coins and go buy some candy."

Sister Jiayun, standing to the side, smiled with narrowed eyes and gritted her teeth, saying, "You really spoil them—may Opak bless your whole family."

Father Helan gave the nun a wink, and the woman shooed the children away like rabbits, leaving Gebu and the others in the center of the open-air theater. Seeing that no one was around, the priest led the group to a corner backstage and cautiously asked, "What you said—"

Geb gave Dulin a wink. Dulin untied the bundle on his back, pulled off the cloth, and revealed a large tin wine jug with intricate figures and patterns in relief.

"————A perfect replica. I specifically reduced the thickness of the pot walls to lower the weight, in order to balance the mechanisms we added."

"

Dulin introduced with a hint of pride, "The craftsmanship of the Jinkra family is truly exceptional. Even if an ordinary person splits this pot in half, they wouldn't notice anything amiss; it's just an ordinary wine pot. However, if you put your hand here and cover this hidden vent..."

Dulin placed his finger on the top of the jug and made a tilting motion, and the previously empty jug poured out wine.

Father Helan stared in astonishment at the red liquid pouring from the spout of the jug.

"Is this magic? You know, the ceremonial objects, especially the royal tableware, would definitely have been examined by the Inquisition using magic detection and poison magic. If there were any traces of magic on the items—"

"I'm betting the honor of the Zincqua family that there's no magic in this flask; it's purely a physical mechanism!"

Dulin, puffing out his beard and glaring, shouted, then realized he was being too loud and quickly lowered his voice to explain: "—The secret lies in the interlayer within the pot's wall: the solid metal has been made hollow, connecting to the spout. By manipulating the vent, the person pouring can choose to pour out the liquid inside the pot, or the liquid in the interlayer. Of course, to fool outsiders, the person pouring needs considerable skill."

Helan was impressed by Dulin's skill. She examined the wine pot carefully, stroked it, and said, "Don't worry, the waiter who pours the wine at the celebration is someone I carefully arranged. There will definitely be no problem."

"How are the other arrangements going?"

Geb joined the conversation and asked.

"Everything is ready. The mechanisms at the water conservancy hub are prepared; we just need to place a reliable person there on standby," Father Helan said. "However, it's important to note that Shanhaiguan will increase security and patrols before the ceremony. For safety reasons, we should seal off the underground entrance. This way, it won't be noticeable from the outside. This means the person operating the mechanism will need to go in beforehand and stay in the tower for a day and a night."

"I designed the mechanism, so naturally I'll go!"

Dulin volunteered.

Gebu glanced at him: "You're trying to sneak a drink, aren't you—don't mess things up!"

"Nonsense! How could I possibly mess things up?"

Dulin muttered several phrases about gold and glory, and Gebu let him finish venting before saying, "This mission is still somewhat risky. Are you sure you want to go?"

"You all risked your lives, and I'm just sitting around doing nothing? How could I?" Dulin's face flushed with excitement. "I can't let anyone say that Dulin of the Zinc Kra family is a coward!"

"Alright, alright, I admire you, you're a real man. Father Helan, you'd better make sure someone comes to meet Dulin after it's all done, I can't sell out my dwarf family."

Helan nodded immediately.

"That's for sure. As soon as the ceremony begins, I'll send someone to distract the guards, so Dulin can escape at any time. Besides, your friends from the Gray Raven Society will be there to help him, won't they?"

"Don't count on those guys. You have to personally ensure Dulin's safety, understand?"

""

Geb stopped joking and stared seriously at Father Helan.

"We are helping Tissant and the Thousand Lakes Church. Tissant assured me that, regardless of success or failure, she would ensure my people's safe escape, and I will not let my guard down on that."

Helan paused for a moment, a touch of color returning to his frail face. Moved by Gebu's attitude, he also said solemnly, "By Obak, I assure you, I have arranged a way for everyone to escape. If things are exposed, only I will be punished."

The woman with the sword glanced at Gebu, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

"You're starting to sound like a leader now. Don't worry, we all know the risks of this plan. If anything goes wrong, it's not your fault. But," the woman changed the subject, "let me get Chloe out of here first."

"Don't worry. I wouldn't dare keep that girl around any longer. I hired a fast boat to take her back to the San Vandu Monastery. By the time the celebration starts, she'll be at sea, so if anything happens, it won't affect her."

The swordswoman breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then I'll go deliver it, if you don't need me in the next couple of days."

"Miss Rose Knight, if you don't mind, would you like to travel with us tomorrow?" Helan asked somewhat abruptly.

The woman with the sword replied in surprise, "What do you want me to do? Who do you want to kill? Or is someone going to kill you?"

"No—no one will be cut down." Helan was startled by the swordswoman's strange statement and quickly explained, "In the plan, you are to play the role of a leader in the discourse at the ceremony. During this time, I have sent people from the Thousand Lakes Church to spread your glorious deeds everywhere. The choir has even composed a hymn in praise of you. I think that on the day closer to the ceremony, you can personally appear at the celebration event we organized, so that everyone can remember your face and gain more support at the ceremony."

Upon hearing these words, the swordswoman turned her face away, her pale cheeks flushing slightly.

"This—I'm not very good at these things."

"You did a great job in Chifang Town. You'd be perfect as a hero, Swordswoman," Gebu said, half-jokingly and half-encouragingly. "Be generous, you're our company's mascot—you're really just a board, aren't you?"

"Are you asking for another groin scrape?"

The woman with the sword retorted angrily.

Although she appeared angry, Gebu's words made her relax a bit, and she became less reserved. After thinking for a moment, she agreed to Helan's request.

"I'm going to keep my sister company today. After I see her off, we'll meet here tomorrow morning."

After everything was arranged, Gebu, Dao Nu, and Dulin said goodbye in advance. After finishing their work today, they would go their separate ways to do their own things, and they would probably not be able to reunite until after the ceremony.

Watching the group turn and leave, Gebu suddenly remembered something and turned to the priest, saying, "By the way, Helan, have you ever heard of a place called Giant Hill? It's said to be near Shanhaiguan. It's an old place name."

Helan pondered for a moment and said, "No, I'm from Qianhu, and I'm not that familiar with the area around Queen's Port and Shanhaiguan."

"Tsk, what a pity."

"However, I have an old friend who is quite knowledgeable about the country's history, and he might be able to help you."

Gebu's eyes lit up.

"Is my old friend still in town?"

"In fact, he even tried to catch up with me this morning. Unfortunately, our plans were too important for me, so I declined his offer—he doesn't live far away, just in the hotel north of this open-air theater square; we can find him just around the corner."

After speaking, Helan led Gebu towards the inn. As they walked, Gebu asked, "What kind of person is your old friend?"

Helan hesitated for a long time, and after much deliberation, she swallowed the words back: "—He is a very unique person, that's all I can say."

"So mysterious."

"You'll understand when you meet him. Although he has a somewhat eccentric personality, he is a very kind person. Meeting him for the first time feels like meeting an old friend."

"Heh, that's quite interesting," Gebu thought. "He's naturally outgoing."

The two walked through the streets and alleys and arrived at the entrance of the hotel. The window on the second floor of the hotel was half open, and a head could be vaguely seen inside.

Helan waved to the person in the window, then politely called out, "Good morning, Mr. Donkey!"

Geb snorted. This guy's name is too outrageous. Mr. Donkey is alright.

The window slowly opened, revealing the person's face. Hey, you have to admit, it really did give off the feeling of an old acquaintance.

Curly hair, black sunglasses, pointed ears, and a subtly irritating smile—

Wait a minute, isn't this—

A strange, mischievous uncle?!