108: Find crocodiles

Chapter 107: Finding the Crocodile

A fork in the road appeared ahead, with a lone, crooked signpost at the intersection.

The carriage slowly stopped. Arthur leaned over to check, confirming the direction to Mudcrab Marsh.

“My Lord, are we not going to Mist Town?” Flora’s voice came from beside him.

Arthur turned around and replied, “We are, but not now. First, to the marsh; I have something to do there.”

So, the carriage turned onto the road to the right and drove on.

Not long after, the road came to an end. Beyond that lay the perilous marshland.

Arthur had Flora stop the carriage, then he was the first to jump down. Drax and Old Joe also stepped out of the carriage one after another.

It was already dusk, and the sky began to darken. Thick, heavy clouds rolled continuously across the horizon.

Old Joe’s gaze was quickly drawn to the bubbles rising from the water’s surface.

When those bubbles burst, they released a light brown, murky gas.

Even though they were still some distance from the marsh, the foul stench had already drifted over in wisps.

“That gas is poisonous,” the alchemist said, “but it’s also an excellent alchemical material.”

“My Lord, what are we here to do?”

Arthur didn’t answer directly but instead asked Flora, who was still on the carriage, “Are there any other paths we can take?”

Flora stood up, looked around, then pointed southwest: “That way should be passable on foot.”

“Good, find a place to park the carriage, and we’ll proceed on foot.” Arthur nodded, then turned to Old Joe, “Can you collect this gas?”

“Now?”

“No, later.”

“Of course, I can. All I need is a gas mask and some glass bottles.”

“Is this stuff valuable?” Arthur pressed.

Old Joe pondered for a moment: “That depends on what it’s used to make.”

“If it’s for poison gas bombs, the profit is mediocre; but if it’s made into Ethereal Perception Gas, then it’s valuable.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at that: “This stuff can let people enter the Ethereal Plane?”

“No, no, of course not.” The alchemist seemed a bit excited, having a rare opportunity to expound on his field of knowledge. “These gases, after purification and weakening of their toxicity, can allow the inhaler to see the Ethereal Plane.”

In DND settings, seeing the Ethereal Plane, simply put, means being able to see ghosts.

Many undead creatures, especially incorporeal phantoms, can become ethereal.

That is, they hide in the Ethereal Plane, and can only be detected through special means.

“Very good, we can try to produce this gas in the future.”

Old Joe was more concerned about why Arthur chose to come here.

Perhaps seeing through his thoughts, Arthur immediately explained, “We’re going to find a crocodile.”

“Ah?” This made Old Joe even more confused.

In the evening, a carriage drove into Lookout Fort.

Lucas, who was hawking on the street, immediately noticed it.

He nodded slightly to his companion not far away, and the child immediately followed it.

Seeing the carriage drive into the Black Goat Caravan’s residence, the child hurried to a dark alley nearby.

Godwin hadn’t expected the Black Goat Caravan to clear out the vendors hawking at their front and back gates today.

The children had no choice but to guard the two gates of Lookout Fort.

Once they spotted suspicious vehicles or pedestrians entering or exiting, they would send someone to track and observe.

After confirming that the party was heading towards the Black Goat Caravan, they would continue to follow.

The child told Isabella, who was hiding in the dark alley, everything he had discovered, and the girl quickly wrote it down in her notebook.

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon, and the sky grew increasingly dim.

Philip, who was guarding nearby, could no longer make out the handwriting in the notebook.

But for Isabella, being a half-elf, this much light was enough for her to read and write.

“That carriage is a bit different from the others,” said Jamie, the halfling child who came to report. “It’s the best one that entered the fort today.”

“Is that so?” Isabella frowned slightly. “Did you see it enter the residence?”

“Yes, and it used the back door.”

Isabella looked at Philip. Even a fool could tell that this carriage must be problematic.

“Should we find someone to report to Lord Godwin?” Isabella asked.

Since she had never shadowed anyone before, she could only ask Philip about such matters.

The pirate waved his hand: “Wait a bit longer, let’s see how long this carriage stays.

If it doesn’t come out, it’s not too late to report it then.

I’ve arranged for people to stake out both the front and back gates’ main thoroughfares. No matter which direction that carriage goes, it won’t escape our eyes.”

Isabella nodded.

The sturdy coachman pulled open the carriage door, and three people dressed in hooded robes stepped out.

Ilay and Jonah, who had been waiting nearby, quickly went to greet them.

Ilay bowed solicitously and asked, “My Lords, the banquet is ready. We can discuss while we eat.”

“How can such matters be discussed while eating?” one of the hooded figures reprimanded. “Food can wait. Let’s discuss the important business first.”

Ilay repeatedly assented, leading the three toward the conference room.

Once in the conference room, the three took off their robes, revealing their true appearances.

The person in the middle was the youngest, with thick brown hair and a beard, looking very heroic.

The person who had reprimanded earlier was in his forties, tall and thin, also with a thick beard on his chin.

The last person wore a mask, his figure hunched as if even standing was a problem.

After everyone was seated, Ilay began the introductions: “Lord Alfred, this is Jonah, the Black Goat Caravan’s Person in charge here.”

Jonah stood up and bowed deeply to the young man: “It is an honor to meet the Son of the Falcon.”

Alfred raised his hand slightly: “No need for formalities, Captain.”

Ilay continued to introduce the other two.

When he mentioned that the masked person was an ambassador sent by Henry, the Son of the Wolf, Jonah’s expression visibly changed.

He hadn’t expected the Falcon and the Wolf, these ancient rivals, to cooperate.

However, looking at the current situation, it wasn’t too surprising.

“Enough small talk,” the elder named Isaiah said. “Ilay, I found that things are completely different from what you said.

You said Lookout Fort was plagued by internal and external troubles, and the soldiers’ resentment was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment, making Jafar’s abdication as easy as pie.

But as we traveled here, that’s not how it was at all.”

Ilay tried to maintain his composure: “There were some unexpected developments—”

“Unexpected developments?” Isaiah snorted. “You say that so lightly.

Don’t forget the great risks we took to come here? If the Bull Family and the Calimshan people knew that Lord Alfred was here, it could trigger a political crisis.

They would view our actions as espionage.”

“I understand. If the situation wasn’t that serious, I wouldn’t have risked inviting my Lord here.”

Isaiah wanted to say something more, but the young Son of the Falcon raised his hand to interrupt him.

“What exactly happened here?” the Son of the Falcon asked. “What I saw were not hungry, resentful soldiers, but a group of well-fed, content, and hopeful soldiers.”

“It’s all that Son of the Wolf’s fault!” Jonah couldn’t help but interject.