Eldon suddenly walked out of the room and knocked on the doors of the nearby rooms. As he knocked, he said, "I'm Eldon. Come to my room."
Soon, everyone was gathered in Eldon's room.
Elton first told everyone about the news that Ruthven had sent back. Then he said, "Black Fist Mark, have you heard of it anywhere else?"
"Black Fist?" Brand repeated. He seemed to have a feeling about this and frowned in thought.
Some of the others were confused, but some were like Brand. They were familiar with this term.
After a few seconds, Philip suddenly looked up at Eldon. "Black Fist Symbol, could it be … Avon Lake …"
Hearing the words' Elven Lake ', Wizard Brand raised his head abruptly with a look of realization. "That's right, Headmaster Pei Di once mentioned that the ogre priests had the symbol of Black Fist on their robes!
Could it be …! "
"I don't know if there's a connection between the two. I think what we need to do now is to find out if there's a connection between the two. I'll take Tulu to support Ruthven and the others. We'll do our best to find out where those humans came from. After I leave, Philip will take over command of this place."
When the ogres of Avon Lake were mentioned, everyone in the room understood the importance of this matter. They did not try to persuade Eldon to take the risk.
Philip nodded, but he thought for a moment and shook his head. "If this matter is related to the ogres of Avon Lake, then your investigation will be very dangerous. I think we should work together. I'll bring the others to meet you at the entrance of Gnoll Valley."
Eldon thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I agree with you … Oh, right, there was the sound of a carriage coming from the north of the town. I sent people to investigate and found that there was a group of 13 heavy carriages coming from the east. They went to the north gate of the town and left from there. I looked at the map and the civilian area is northeast of the town. The only place where the carriages could be is the granary at the northeast corner of the town."
"Granary?"
Wizard Brand could not help but repeat his words. He pondered for a moment and muttered, "I think I understand a little …"
Breaking out of his thoughts, Wizard Brand saw that everyone's eyes were focused on his face. He explained, "If the group of humans wearing priest robes with the mark of the black fist is related to the ogre bandit group by Lake Elvin, then is it possible that the missing ogre bandit group is hiding in the north of Veron Ridge?
If the ogres are really hiding in the north of Veron Ridge, then they'll have to face a problem. We all know that the ogres' appetites are five to six times that of humans. To feed so many ogres, hunting and gathering in the forest is far from enough. They need a source of food, and the only source of food around here is Amborite! "
Eldon said, "You're saying that Baron Amborite might be in cahoots with the ogres?" His tone was calm, and there was no sign of shock. He had obviously thought of this point.
Quite a few people were shocked. Colluding with other races and killing nobles, let alone a small Baron, even if it was Count Antalya who was proven to have done such a thing, he would at least be killed, and at worst, his entire family would be implicated. Although this conjecture was logical, it was still hard to believe.
Wizard Brand shook his head and said, "There's only this possibility. According to the information obtained by the Wizard Academy, the tracks of the Ogre Bandit Gang disappeared into the Cologne Mountains. From the map, from the place where the Ogres disappeared to the east along the foot of the Cologne Mountains, one would only need to travel a little more than a hundred kilometers to reach the north of Veron Ridge. Moreover, there's a wide expanse of flat land between the two places without any obstacles. At least from a geographical point of view, there's no problem with this hypothesis.
When Eldon heard this, he took out another map from his backpack and spread it out in front of the table.
The previous map on the table was a detailed map of Amborite. This time, he spread out a map of Antalya County.
This map had Antalya City as the center. Avon Lake was located to the north and west of Antalya City. A wide mountain range was drawn in the north of the entire map.
Amborite was located to the northeast of Antalya. From the scale, the distance between the two places was close to two hundred kilometers.
In the northeast of Amborite, a smaller mountain range branched off from the Cologne Mountains and extended to the southwest. This small mountain range was Veron Ridge. When it was combined with the Cologne Mountains, it looked a little like a prostrate Chinese character. Veron Ridge was a point on the Chinese character.
Eldon's finger pointed at the north shore of Avon Lake on the map and moved north. About sixty to seventy kilometers away was the Cologne Mountains. His finger followed the foot of the Cologne Mountains all the way to the east. After sixty to seventy kilometers, he reached the entrance of the prostrate Chinese character formed by the Cologne Mountains and Veron Ridge. Following the narrow plains between the two mountains for another sixty to seventy kilometers, he reached the north of Amborite.
Sure enough, this road was completely flat, without any obstructions.
Eldon looked up from the map and took a deep breath. "Wizard Brand's speculation is very likely correct. If this speculation is correct, then the Ogre Bandits that the count is looking for might be hiding on the other side of the Gnoll Valley. If we really find them, then we …"
Eldon didn't finish his sentence, but the atmosphere in the room was already heated up. Everyone knew what the count's bounty on the Gnoll Bandits meant.
Even Wizard Brand, who had always maintained his pride as a mage, showed a hint of eagerness.
Not only did Baron Amborite put an astronomical bounty on the Ogre Bandits, but Headmaster Pei Di also put an astronomical bounty on the Gnoll Bandits.
Eldon looked around. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go. Tulu and I will follow the caravan. The rest of you stay two kilometers behind us.
If the caravan enters the Gnoll Valley, Tulu and I will continue to follow it. Philip and the others will wait for us at the entrance of the valley. If the caravan doesn't enter the valley, then Tulu will follow it. I will enter the Gnoll Valley and meet up with Ruthven. Philip will lead the others to the entrance of the valley. "
At this point, Eldon looked at one of the warriors. It was a level 8 warrior and level 4 rogue. "Willy, you and Wizard Brand stay here. Keep an eye on Baron Amborite's castle for me."
"Why me?" Willy was annoyed.
Eldon frowned. "Don't worry. If we really find the Ogre Bandits, you will have your share of the bounty."
With Eldon's assurance, Willy shrugged. "Alright, as you wish."
Compared to Willy, Wizard Brand had no objections to staying behind. Tracking at night was not something that a wizard should do.
Besides, even if he didn't go, Headmaster Pei Di's bounty would still belong to him.
"After we leave, you and the low-level members of the caravan won't be able to fight against Baron Amborite and his knights. You should be careful."
Willy nodded. "I will."
Wizard Brand nodded to show that he understood.