Chapter 78 4. Scoje
Daxus called Admiral Dastan Coldeye to discuss the raid on Skogi.
Dastan Coldeye was very surprised because he knew the level of himself and the soldiers on the Harbinger of Despair. Before he became the captain of the plunder ship that transported spies between Naggaroth and Ulthuan, he was Dulias's adjutant. After he became an adult, he followed Dulias to participate in four raids. Although he learned a lot, he never had the opportunity to operate and command on his own.
As for the soldiers, they were a pure mob that had not been well-coordinated. Except for some recruits given by Newker, the others were all newly recruited. Many of the sorceresses and animal trainers on board the Herald of Despair were hired at one time, so these soldiers also needed some rough training.
The Black Ark Pioneer of Despair is still sailing in the underground sea.
Darkeus summoned Chupakoko to the chart room to learn about Skogi's situation and gather information for the raid. Chupakokoko didn't care about the Norse Yankees; instead, he hated every hot-blooded person in the port. He knew that if he hadn't met Darkeus, he would have returned to the Old Ones' arms long ago.
The only people in the chart room were the two Druzis, Darkuth and Dastan Coldeye, and the Skink Chupakoko.
Daquus acted as the translator. He couldn't stand Chupakoko's Lustrian-accented Elvish. Most importantly, Chupakoko only knew the daily expressions and swear words of the Duruchi-ized Elvish.
Dastan Lengyan only knew that this skin lizard was special before, but now he discovered that the special one seemed to be Daquus?
Chupakoko spoke in a crackling voice, while Daquus spoke in Elvish, telling Dastan Cold Eyes the key and necessary information.
From the conversation, we can roughly understand the origin, existence and approximate city defense deployment of Skogi.
In 888 IC, the legendary Norse captain Rostlinkson landed on the coast of Lustria. After going through untold hardships, he discovered an abandoned temple city. He spent a day finding some insignificant gold and successfully returned to Norsca.
Rostlinkson's expedition wasn't the first time Norsemen had ventured into the seas surrounding Lustria; his was simply the first to succeed. Other adventurers had followed the coast of Naggaroth towards the unknown land of Lustria. These expeditions all failed, and no one survived to tell their tales, so they don't appear in any Norse legends. He gained fame for discovering Lustria and bringing back its gold.
Rostlinkson then ordered the construction of numerous ships, and under his command, they sailed south, carrying not only the Norse pioneers but also their wives, children, and farm animals. After a long and arduous voyage, and with the loss of several ships, the fleet reached Lustria. He sailed along the coast and found the cairn they had erected at their landing site. The landing site was surrounded by timber, and soon a full-fledged Norse settlement was established. It was named Skogi in honor of his daughter, the first Norse child born in Lustria.
At first, Rostlinkson forbad any Norscans to enter the jungles. This was a great annoyance to the young Norscan warriors, eager for wealth, and soon many Norscans disobeyed him. Small groups went their separate ways, and most of these Norscans never returned. However, one or two bands found fortune and returned to Norsca, spurring even more Norscans to travel to Lustria. Every monsoon thereafter, scores of Norscans arrived in Skeggi by ship. Within a decade, Skeggi became a prosperous town, a gateway to the New World.
Unfortunately, a reckless group of Norscans stumbled upon a temple-city inhabited by Lizardmen, seized some valuable treasure, and managed to escape. Following Mazdamundi's orders, Chupakoko and Pichipochi led the Skinks in a siege, pelting Skogi with javelins and poison darts until Rostlinkson ordered all of Skogi's treasure to be thrown outside the walls. Pichipochi then called off the attack, and Chupakoko, accompanied by several crowned Skinks, searched for the treasure. They finally found the golden tablet, but the remaining gold was nothing more than insignificant rubbish. The two generals then fled with the Skinks, disappearing into the jungle without a second glance.
Thus, Skogey survived and prospered, becoming a thriving port in the twelve centuries since its founding, thanks to its residents' enforced tithe on all who passed through. But it was also a lawless place, where petty chieftains ruled, roving adventurers flourished, and the town was filled with taverns, brothels, and slave markets.
After listening to Chupakoko's story, Daxus was puzzled that Mazdamudi had always known about Skogi's existence, so why didn't he shoot the town underground?
The streets of Skogi seemed to have only two directions: one was for those who had just landed after a arduous voyage across the vast ocean, eager to search the jungle for their riches. The other was for those who had just returned from the jungle, often with unspeakable expressions, having either witnessed their companions helpless or returned empty-handed. Only a few returned with countless treasures, their faces furtively hidden behind stinking rags. But more often it was the former, as the saying goes, people die for wealth, and birds die for food.
Dacus and Dastan Lengyan exchanged bewilderment. Dacus was more surprised that this shabby place had existed for so long without a raid. Dastan Lengyan was similarly surprised; he was even more curious about the lack of any documentation regarding this shabby place.
In Hexota, the observatory at the top of the Southern Star Pyramid, the Slann Mage Priest Lord Mazdamundi seemed to have received some kind of omen and slowly woke up again from a short meditation.
Lord Mazdamundi recovered after a while, wondering what the omen was. Why had he awakened again after just two years? He looked down and saw that only Pichipochi was there, still waiting beside him, and he had prepared his favorite dried insects.
"Where's Chupa Coco?"
Regardless of the generation, Shilan is just a general term. Each Shilan is an independent individual with its own meaning. Just like numbers, although each number is just a number, each number has its own unique meaning.
The first generation Kroka might be 1, the second generation Lord Mazdamuddi might be 5? The second generation Lord Huini Aitankui who moved to the misty city of Slanwupek might be 6?
The Slann aboard their carts could speak, but usually not, only whispering and mumbling, fragments of sentences that might hold the most profound meaning. When they spoke, it was usually a sign of something catastrophic, like a spell that would cause the earth to collapse and the mountains to split. Before the Elves split, during the reign of Barshanar, the second Phoenix King, an Asur explorer visited Lustria. After much difficulty, they reached Pahkos. Lord Hunni'aitankui was there. He spoke a single word, and then nothing more. Only the captain and a few Asur fled back to their ship.
(Skin Lizards were introduced in the Pichi Pichi chapter, so I won't mention them here.)
But the Skinks weren't so capable. Pichipochi bowed his head and hissed respectfully, "Your Mazdamundi, Chupakoko disappeared two years ago. I sent Skinks to search for her, but they couldn't find her." Hesitating for a moment, he said, "Your Mazdamundi, could you please contact him?"
Mazdamuddi nodded slowly, nimbly extended his long tongue, tasted a few dried insects, swallowed them without chewing, and then began to use magic, making a mental call.
Chupakoko, who was still arguing and making great moves in the chart room, stopped on the spot, and Daquus looked at him in surprise.
"What's wrong? Is the CPU overloaded and frozen?"
After a long while, Chupakoko came back to his senses and said excitedly, "The respected Lord Mazdamuddi finally contacted me! He hasn't forgotten me."
Daxu stared blankly at Chupakoko who was spinning in circles excitedly. What could he say at this moment?
Congratulations?
Scorgi is the one next to Master Ma at the beginning. I have refined the background and only talked about the necessary things, without copying them throughout the whole story. _(:з」∠)_
