Crown of Chaos

Early the next morning, Aaron went out with his uncle Lothair. His uncle was going to work at the stables, and Aaron was going to the royal library in Sussaire to check out information about spellcasters.

Breakfast is hot goat's milk, bacon and omelette sandwiches, and two sausages. The baker at home got up earlier than Aaron and others. He had to bake today's bread early.

As soon as he came out of the house, Aaron noticed the mansion next door to their home. The main door of the Woolf family was wide open, and some people were moving furniture from inside.

Hurry, time is money, my friend.

Don't worry, don't break things!

Oh, please be gentle and careful, you idiot.

Sir, Gond, these are all good things.

People were noisy, and pieces of furniture were moved out of the Woolf House. A young aristocrat, about twenty-five or six years old, with a pale face and a sluggish expression, wearing a shirt and robes, and a big bald head, stood at the door. , watching in a daze as pieces of furniture and souvenirs were being moved out and loaded into cars.

That's... Yaro? Aaron recognized his neighbor at a glance. The Viscount frowned and asked his uncle: He is still divorced from his wife?

Yes, his wife must divorce him, and... you know, Aaron, Yaro, they... have a bad reputation now, and the royal family is not willing to offend the Mysterious Lady Church. Therefore, unlike you, the royal family He is only allowed to keep one knighthood. Lothair sighed: Yaro decided to sell this house, leave Susar, and return to live in the knight's fiefdom in the countryside.

The two chatted for a while, and the man standing at the next door also noticed the uncle and nephew. He smiled and waved hello, and then continued to focus on his own affairs.

Yarrow Woolf, a child of Baron Woolf, a paladin of the Church of Helm, the God of Guardians.

Yes, Yarrow is a paladin.

The paladin is a rather special profession. This profession is a bit like a priest, but the power of the paladin comes more from the belief in his own oath rather than the god. This profession is a bit like a warrior, but the paladin is more powerful than a warrior. He also has a certain amount of spellcasting ability.

The vast majority of paladins swore to uphold justice and justice, to fight with all the good in the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt all the evil that lurks everywhere.

Therefore, the paladin should be a profession with considerable status and respect in the country's society.

But that's not the case.

It is said that there is a noble lady in Baldur's Gate who likes the paladin very much. Her daily job is to write articles praising the paladin. On Saturdays, she goes to the Temple of the Three Gods of Justice to participate in the oath-taking ceremony of the paladin organized by the priest, and even has her own afternoon tea. I spent all my time chatting about paladin stories with other noble ladies.

When the paladin in the suburbs found out, he didn't even have time to change his armor, so he took a carriage to the uptown area, stuck his head through the fence of the manor and looked around: Dear lady, your paladin is here!

When the noble lady saw the paladin, she was very contemptuous and immediately asked her servants to drive him away.

The paladin left sadly. From this point of view, the noble lady did not really like the paladin. What she liked was just the paladin described in her mouth.

————National Joke

This joke can reflect the embarrassing status of paladins in the country: people respect them and respect them, but they don't want to be them.

Just like the noble lady, she likes a paladin, but she will never marry a paladin.

According to authoritative data from Candlekeep scholars, the last thing a country woman wants to marry is a paladin.

The Salian family and the Woolf family are family friends, otherwise the two boys would not have names so close to each other as Aaron and Yarrow. However, after the elders of both sides died in battle, they received completely different treatment.

Yarrow also failed to inherit his father's baronetcy because, as a paladin of the Church of Helm, he participated in a special military operation to suppress the riots during the Holy Catastrophe.

The targets of his suppression were the war mages of Cormyr who rioted due to the death of the goddess of magic.

This is completely different from Aaron's father dying for his country.

Moreover, he had fights with the followers of the Goddess of Magic on the street more than once, and the two parties originally hated each other because of the fall of the second generation of the Goddess of Magic. Therefore, when Assan IV took pity on Aaron's father's loyalty and granted the title of Viscount to be passed down to one more generation. , but the Woolf family only retained one knighthood despite repeated appeals from the Church of the Goddess of Magic and the collective opposition of more than half of the nobles and almost all war mages.

What's even more terrible is that his wife also filed for divorce at this time - the two parties originally got married on the premise that Yarrow could inherit his father's baron title.

What a miserable man, Aaron smiled bitterly and shook his head.

This also explains the current embarrassing situation of the Church of Heim. Due to the death of the goddess of magic, the relationship between Heim and the good gods has reached its lowest point.

Heim, a cold stone, had few friends to begin with.

Therefore, choosing the right BOSS is very important, so choosing a mate is even more critical.

Aaron was thinking about his own affairs and walked to the corner of the street. He said goodbye to his uncle and went to the royal library alone.

After experiencing the catastrophe of the saints and the death of Asan IV in the Goblin War, Susal was obviously not as prosperous as it used to be. When the city of Arabelle, the gate to the north of the kingdom, fell to the hands of the orcs under the command of the ancient red dragon, Arabelle People can only come to Susar to find a living. Perhaps the nobles can find some decent places to live, while the refugees can only stay in hotels and streets.

But this is also the normal state of the people in the country. When Aaron saw someone coming up to beg for him, he held the hilt of his sword and motioned for the other person to get out of the way, because he knew that every coin he gave out would only be exchanged for this man. A tool for drinking, he doesn't do such stupid things.

If he wanted to give charity, he would do it through the Church of Our Lady of Silver, just like he gave a large box of spices to the pastor. Eleanor at least used that box of spices to provide food and accommodation for dozens of people.

But even in a relatively chaotic situation, Susar, and even Cormyr as a whole, is still a fairly wealthy country.

Among other things, when Aaron passed by the market, he paid special attention to the prices of several key items in the market.

Wheat costs 1 copper coin per pound, edible coarse salt costs 5 copper coins per pound, barley wine costs 4 copper coins per pound, and pork ribs cost 3 silver coins per pound.

The fact that prices in the market have always been stable and sufficient supply shows that Cormyr still has strong vitality, the country just needs some time to recover from the catastrophe.

The former Aaron was very dissatisfied with the Queen Regent Alice Ser-Obeszil. The reason is not difficult to explain: when the Obeszil lackeys (referring to the Queen's Blade) could arrest, investigate and interrogate a person at will. At that time, any normal person would feel dissatisfied, let alone Aaron was still a noble.

And from what happened between him and Yaro next door, it can be seen that the royal family is consciously taking advantage of a series of catastrophes to reclaim noble titles. This is certainly not good news.

But now Aaron feels that the regent princess may not be so hateful after all.

When the country's principles and discipline are in tatters, doesn't it require a strong leader like the Princess Regent?

After the death of Assan IV, if the Iron Queen hadn't decisively taken over the power and put Cormyr under martial law, Aaron would not dare to imagine what kind of chaos it would be now, let alone the 1 copper coin on the market. A pound of wheat and a pound of coarse salt cost 5 copper coins.

It's just that I still can't confirm what Alice Sayer thinks of me?

Aaron was thinking as he walked, and not long after, the royal library arrived.

The royal library located at the other end of the palace is still majestic and eye-catching. Unlike the buildings in the city that are arbitrarily raised, the royal library was designed strictly in accordance with the design drawings given by the elves. Each building that makes up the library is engraved with a mysterious magic circle. One by one, the power of magic permeates the library, and every corner shows the past glory of the Elf Empire and the current glory of Cormyr.

In the corridors, courtyards, and gardens, monuments tell the story of the great achievements of the predecessors. The statues standing among the violet flowers are all the protagonists of the legendary epics in Cormyr's history. There is a noble family on every wall. The coat of arms of Cormyr, which is famous throughout the country, regards the library as its holy place. After the war mages have left the battlefield due to their age, they will always continuously donate wealth, books, and knowledge here.

Many war mages are eager to leave their names in a corner of the royal library, but this honor is destined to only be awarded to outstanding people, and only those heroes of the kingdom have left their own rich and colorful mark in the history of Cormyr. Only famous figures are entitled to have their own statues.

Hero, immortal!

Aaron silently saluted the statue. Heroes should always be respected.

Who doesn’t have a dream to erect a statue in his hometown?

The magnificent library is located in the center of the complex, next to the War Mage Academy. It is decorated with laurel wreaths, purple dragons and the coat of arms of the Obeszil royal family everywhere, watching over the distance.

A retired war mage was sitting at the door. Judging from his age, he must have been quite old. He already had white hair on his temples. A crutch was placed in his hand. His attention was almost focused on the large book in front of him. On the head.

Sir, I want to check out books on spellcasting. Aaron interrupted his thoughts: This is my proof.

The battle mage impatiently raised his head from the tome and saw a very handsome and beautiful young nobleman. He couldn't help but feel a little good in his heart. Aaron was very polite, so he reached out and took the parchment roll, casually He took a look and said: On the second floor, the bookshelves on the right are for free browsing. You cannot take them away. If you have any books you can't find and want to read, come and ask me again.

Thank you, what about the gods? Aaron then asked.

On the left hand side of the third floor, those bookshelves that turn right at the end...oh, it turns out they are the children of the Salian family. The war mage tilted his head downwards and looked at Ya with his upper eye line from above the thick spectacles. Lun, I wonder if this boy was so handsome before?

Take this, you don't need to show proof next time you come in. The war mage didn't move, and a card made of special materials flew out of the cabinet drawer behind him and landed in front of Aaron.

The magic hand is convenient, Aaron thought as he took the card.

Thank you. Aaron took the card and wanted to leave.

Just read the book carefully, and don't imitate those guys over there. Maybe the War Mage really liked Aaron, and he added another sentence: I get annoyed when I see them.

There were several young people chatting not far away on the only way up the stairs. As Aaron got closer, the sound of their conversations reached Aaron's ears.

Yes, yes, Sharp, well done, you deserve this honor.

Let those guys understand that they didn't pick the right guy.

You're awesome, brother. The Lord of War must have noticed your prowess!

Let's do it again, man, do it better, we can do it.

The leader is a man with a short cut hair, taller than Aaron, with strong arms, a pair of round eyes and a very unique flat and big nose.

Hey, isn't this the last living member of the Salian family? Brother, are you okay? The man winked at several of his men, and they immediately dispersed, blocking Aaron's way upstairs.

It's just so so, brother, how are you? Aaron didn't want to talk nonsense to this man, time is money.

This man's name is Sharp, and he looks like a Purple Dragon Knight companion to Aaron, but he does not have a noble title, only a knight title. He has been dissatisfied with Aaron's annual salary of 800 gold lion coins for a long time.

I feel great, buddy, the Lord of War is blessing me! Sharp continued to stop Aaron from letting him pass: We were discussing recent events, such as the fact that I completed the mission and you failed miserably. .

Hahahaha~

Oh stop it, Sharp, if you keep talking, our Salian brother will cry.

Oh, oh, oh, dad~mom, why did you leave me?

Can you share your experience with us? Mr. Salian, how did you escape back to Susar in a state of complete ruin under the enemy's big stick?

Several people around Sharp cheered together.

You're so interesting, my dear. Aaron raised his eyebrows: But I'm not free now. See you later, buddy.

Hey~ don't go! Sharp took a step sideways to stop Aaron. He grabbed Aaron's arm: We are talking to you, buddy, is this how your family teaches you etiquette? Huh? Ignore my sincere inquiry. ?”

Oh my God, my God, how can you be so arrogant without the control of your parents? Sharp exaggeratedly shouted to the people around him: Look, he is bullying me!

This is why we don't like you, Mr. Salian, you are so annoying~

Give him some color, Sharp~

Let's make some noise, let's make some noise~

Several followers followed Sharp behind him, but they refused to let Aaron go up.

Okay, Sir Salian, we are not unreasonable people, just tell me. Sharp took Aaron's arm very enthusiastically and asked with a sincere expression: You sacrificed your biological parents , is it really safe to use the 800 golden lion coins every year that your aunt earned by rolling around at the gate of the royal court?

Aaron smiled when he heard this. He glanced around and stretched out his hand to motion for Sharp to follow him to the table a few steps away: Want to listen? Come on, come on, stick your head over here, and I'll tell you.

Sharpe immediately put his head over.

Aaron, who kept smiling, saw that the distance was almost there. He picked up the glass wine bottle on the table and slammed it on Sharp's head!

Bang!

There was an explosion, the glass bottle was smashed to pieces, and cider liquid mixed with blood dripped down the board-inch head.

Covering his head, Purple Dragon Knight Sharp let out a terrible scream.

Ah ah ah ah ah!

Yes, yes, just stick your head over and you’ll see!