Chapter 30.2. Welcome to Clarkalond
Dacus put down the monocular and returned it to Dastan Lengyan. Looking at his eager expression, he comforted him, "Don't worry, there will be something."
After passing Caronde Karl, the ship sailed for three days. There were ships in front and behind, all heading back. If it was a few days later, the Sea of Evil Resentment would be frozen, and the maintenance cost of staying in Caronde Karl for a winter would be too high.
Those captains liked to go to Clarkalond after selling slaves. There was a large trading market there and they could recruit good people. They could sell the looted things in one winter and get a good price. The cost of maintaining the ship was also cheap.
That day, Alyssa found Dacus and said that she had a strange dream last night, which seemed like some kind of omen, but she couldn't explain it clearly.
Dacus said your fate has changed. Where did this omen come from? Was it a new calculation? It's probably Lilith's fault. If you have a similar omen again, come to me and I'll interpret it for you. It's also possible that Alyssa was just looking for an excuse to talk nonsense with him.
The ship sailed for another two days before arriving at the Dark Light Tower. Looking at the 15-kilometer-long strait, Daquus's mind was filled with questions.
How did Eltharion get in? By sailing on dry land? Were the guards on the Darklight Tower blind? Did Lilith obscure him with fog? Or did he sneak in using Druzil's ship and equipment?
Don't think about it, it has nothing to do with him.
Daxus was inflated. These days, he had nothing to do and was studying the Lustria slab with Chupakoko. The two smart guys studied it over and over but couldn't find anything out. He only knew that the slab was made of obsidian and was quite old.
What is Happy Planet? No, what is the big plan?
Daxus gave Ryan a glorious and difficult task, which was to teach Chupakoko to speak Elvish. He originally planned to do it himself, but he found that this cunning skink could speak Imperial language with a Lustrian accent because Chupakoko had dealt with humans in the port many times before.
If Chupakoko was to be taken out of Clar Karonde, the Skink had to speak Elvish, to appear normal. If Dakwus had acted like that before, the Druzi would have noticed his unusualness, and wouldn't that have caused trouble for him? He couldn't possibly speak Imperial, could he?
Daxus ordered Chupakoko to learn it, otherwise he would find a place to lock him up. It was hard to say how long he would be locked up there, maybe a few years, maybe hundreds of years.
Kaleen was devastated. All the cold lizards he had brought with him were killed and no longer needed his care. The three Pegasus and Warhorse trainers could handle them well, so he didn't need to worry about it.
He now spent the entire day in his room, glaring at Chupakoko. It was so noisy, and he couldn't whip Chupakoko with his dragon whip; if he could, he'd whip the skin lizard to death. Except for mealtimes, he had to stay in the room every day. Once, when he wasn't paying attention, Chupakoko leaned too far out and got stuck in the window, requiring him to pull it back with great effort.
As the weather grew colder and the Chupacocoa died down, Calien thought his good days were coming. But then Rain came back, and he wished he could go deaf.
Ryan was also upset because he couldn't understand the Empire's Lustrian dialect.
Chupakoko was even more upset. He felt that the stupid, chattering, dancing elf in front of him was even dumber than a monitor lizard.
Torture!
Two weeks later the ship arrived at Clar Kalond, a bitterly cold wind blowing from the northwest.
Darkeus stood on the deck of the ship, his arms resting on the railing, watching Clarkalond approach. Strands of black hair blew in the wind, dancing in the air. The cold wind caressed his face, making him shiver, even though he was already fully clothed.
Did it feel like victory? No, Dacius wasn't particularly competitive, but the cabin still had a bit too much treasure. That was fine, though; no one in power would pay too much attention to him. As long as his cousin was in the spotlight, that was enough.
Dastan Lengyan walked over, looked at the black ark in the noble dock area and said, "Master, the Soul Claw has returned from Zhendan."
Darkus nodded and said, "If you were the Admiral of the Black Ark, what would you call it?"
"Master, I can't even imagine the Black Ark Admiral."
Daxus rolled his eyes when he heard this. You didn’t say that before.
"I hope it's called the Herald of Despair."
Dacus was too lazy to pay attention to him and told him to get out.
He could hear the waves crashing against the shore. He continued to gaze at the towering Tower of Doom and countless other spires, remembering the city before him. It was the second largest city in Naggaroth. "City of Ships" and "Tower of Doom" were both nicknames for Clar Karond. The city lay on the plains at the edge of the Blackspine Mountains, with the Red Poison River winding through it and flowing north into the Sea of Malice.
The city has expanded outward countless times over the past five thousand years, with countless spires springing up like bamboo shoots after the spring rain. The buildings are mostly black and purple in color, exuding a gloomy, weird, mysterious and terrifying atmosphere.
The Tower of Destruction still stands on the west coast as a symbol of the Hellish Family. Deep underground, all kinds of wild beasts are kept in captivity and studied.
The docks, shipyards, markets, taverns, inns, menageries, warehouses and slave quarters occupied the east bank of the Red Poison River estuary, while the Black Ark docking area and the noble docks occupied the west bank of the estuary. The city's walls, arena, noble manors and narrow civilian streets extended westward. Three bridges made of black marble and black steel on the Red Poison River connected the east and west of the city. They were hard and wide enough to accommodate the passage of war hydras.
The middle-class nobles of Clar Karond hired thugs, rogues, and mercenaries to extort "Red Poison River Sightseeing Fees" from civilians traveling east and west on the bridge, and the city guards were completely unaware of this.
These city guards were recruited from the common people, with centurions being minor nobles. A squad consisted of ten soldiers plus a captain. Five men wielded repeating crossbows, and five wielded spears, forming the garrison. Clar Karonde's city guard numbered over six thousand men, capable of marching out of the city for battle when necessary. They were led by Newker, the young master of the Hellbane family.
To sum it up in one sentence: it is the Duruchi version of the shield-bearing Triton.
The interiors of the civilian quarters of every Druzian city are largely identical, with streets crisscrossing like a maze, sometimes so cramped that three people can barely walk side by side. Each home is a self-contained castle, its narrow windows slits gazing out at passersby, wary of intruders and their neighbors. Some dilapidated buildings crumble onto the roads, blocking entire avenues. Many streets and alleys lead to dead ends, awaiting the unfortunate with traps or toxic sewers.
There are two gates in the city. The Howling Gate on the south side of the Red Poison River leads to the Venomous Forest, while the Despair Gate on the north leads to the far north. There is a gravel road about ten kilometers long, with large aristocratic manors and plantations on the roadside.
At the end of the road, several roads branch off to the north and west. Once there, continue north to begin a journey that will take several weeks. With luck, you can reach Hag Graves via the Dark Road, a road usually taken by no one. A wiser Druki would choose the Undersea. Going west requires traversing the Shadow Forest to reach the town of Storg Cole.
The ship belonged to the Hell's Disaster family, flying the red flag of the War Hydra. It entered the noble dock area directly without inspection.
“It feels so good to be home.”