This Lich Requests More Remuneration-Chapter 210 - 194 The Forgetfulness Brought by Time
Chapter 210: Chapter 194: The Forgetfulness Brought by Time
Chapter 210 -194: The Forgetfulness Brought by Time
Amberser was merely looking for an excuse to hang around the Druids and avoid the dark power surging towards him. Who would have thought that a name he randomly mentioned from his memory would have a familial connection with Saress.
Saress stared at Amberser and asked, “Where exactly did you hear that name?”
No wonder Saress found it strange; the grandmother Alina Sunda had been deceased for three hundred years. If not for the relatives in the same lineage who had made contributions to the tribes, Saress might not even remember her name.
Asking about a Druid who died over three hundred years ago in the middle of the night, something definitely seemed off about this Child of the Storm.
Amberser could only reply, “One of my ancestors mentioned this name before. He lived for many years, and his memories have long become muddled. There weren’t many names he remembered before he died, and Alina Sunda was one of them, so I took this opportunity to inquire.”
At least half of that statement was true. Amberser had met too many people, but there were only a few whose names he could remember. Under the erosion of time, many people could only leave a vague impression, becoming dust in the corner of his memory.
“Choosing to ask this in the dead of night?” Saress appeared unconvinced.
“During the day, I am an envoy for the kingdom, and this is a personal matter, so I had to wait until evening to ask. Naturally, one must keep public and private concerns separate. Of course, I’m sorry for the disturbance at this late hour, here’s a little gift as an apology.”
Amberser took out a small cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Saress.
Saress initially wanted to refuse, as material wealth meant little to Druids. There wasn’t much gold in the Emerald Dream Forest. Druids were mostly self-sufficient, the forest providing everything they needed for life. On the rare occasions when they needed to trade, they mostly bartered goods.
This wasn’t because the Druid society was backward, but because they didn’t need to “buy” anything for their clothing, food, shelter, and transportation.
Lacking this basis for material valuation, and with the Emerald Dream Forest relatively isolated and seldom communicating with the outside world, the value of gold became somewhat “unstable” for the Druids.
If something was unnecessary, it naturally didn’t intrigue the Druids.
But once Saress took the cloth bag, he realized it didn’t contain hard, clinking Gold Coins.
Opening it, he found many seeds of different shapes.
Amberser said, “These are seeds from some native plants of our kingdom, which I believe the Druids will find quite interesting.”
Saress was indeed very interested. Most Druids liked collecting different animals and plants, so the Druid Tribes resembled a natural wildlife park. The Fury Tide Kingdom was part of an island environment, with many plants unlike those in the Emerald Dream Forest. These seeds might not be pricey, but they were more useful than gold.
Before setting out, Amberser had the Fury Tide Kingdom prepare many such little things.
Thankful for these rare seeds, Saress’s expression softened a bit, and said to Amberser, “What would you like to ask?”
“Maybe we could find a place to sit and talk?” Amberser suggested.
Although that dark power had disappeared, it still seemed safer to chat all night with a Druid.
Saress closed his front door and pointed casually outside, where a bunch of vines automatically grew into the shape of tables and chairs.
The natural magic of the Druids was quite convenient.
Once they were seated, Amberser began to inquire, “Did Alina… uh, how did the old lady fare in the Emerald Dream Forest?”
Saress kept looking at Amberser with a strange expression; such questions hardly seemed appropriate for their younger generation to ask. But it was no secret, so Saress said to Amberser, “It’s been too long, I’m not very clear on the details, but my great-grandmother was quite renowned in the tribe; otherwise, I wouldn’t remember the name.”
In Saress’s memory, Alina Sunda was once a Tribal Elder, and seemed to be just shy of becoming a council member. During her time, the tribe had conflicts with goblins, and she had transformed into an owl bear, mashing several dozen goblin bears into pulp, which terrified the goblins into a frantic escape.
It was this record of bravery that made Alina Sunda well-known within the tribe, with people still remembering her name even after three hundred years.
As for her life, well, the Emerald Dream Forest was a paradise for Druids, where no worries about food and drink existed, so she couldn’t have had a hard life.
“It’s just a pity that the great-grandmother never married in her lifetime.”
Saress’s last words caught Amberser by surprise. He quickly pressed, “Never married in her lifetime? Why is that?”
“Who knows? There was even a Grand Druid who proposed to her, and she refused him. Many speculated that she must have met someone she liked during her adventures; others said she might not like men at all, suggesting that a female friend who was often by her side was actually her lover. However, it’s been so long, no one knows the specifics.”
“She didn’t fancy women,” Amberser sighed.
“How do you know that?” Saress asked. “Did your ancestor tell you? Wait, the ‘ancestor’ you mentioned, isn’t he the man that great-grandmother met on her adventures?”
Amberser smiled and then said, “Who knows, it’s been three hundred years.”
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.
Saress stared at Amberser, feeling that there was something off about this Child of the Storm, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Indeed, over three hundred years had passed, and although Alina Sunda was recorded in the tribe’s history, to the Druids of the Emerald Dream Forest, she was just an ordinary name, not worth pining over for three hundred years, surely.
Amberser showed no change in expression, but deep within his soul, there was a trace of melancholy.
Amberser was not some inexperienced young man, virgin to the ways of the world for centuries; he’d had a girlfriend before he even traversed the dimensions, and after crossing over, he had indulged in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.
As an Adventurer who gambled with his life in the great unknown, he subscribed to the philosophy of living for the pleasures of the present, not worrying about what might come tomorrow.
Thus, in the first half of his life, he had shared many fleeting romances, the sort that ended as quickly as they began, soon to be forgotten.
Among these women, there were not many whose names Amberser remembered, but Alina was one of them.
However, it seems he only remembered the name, as the details of their time together had blurred into obscurity. Amberser couldn’t even recall his own age. Was he three hundred, or four hundred, or maybe even older? It seemed that he’d have to delve into the history books and synchronize significant events to retrieve the corresponding memories.
Why had they parted ways in the first place?
It seemed to have been an argument, but he had forgotten what they had fought about. Was it an uneven splitting of loot? A clash of fundamental beliefs? Or perhaps it was just some trivial matter?
Amberser originally thought that Alina, like the others who drifted in and out of his life, was just another passerby. He never expected that she would remain unmarried all her life because of him.
“Did I really have such charm back then, to make a woman remember me for a lifetime?” Amberser was somewhat bewildered. A mediocre Mage in this world could only be considered an inconspicuous passerby. “It’s best not to flatter myself though. Perhaps after she left me, Alina found another man who touched her heart deeply.”
Although hearing the news of an old acquaintance brought some despondence, Amberser was only slightly sentimental. The past was gone, and he believed in living in the present. Oh, and the same went for being a Lich.
After some idle chitchat, Saress gradually lowered his guard around Amberser.
In the eyes of this old man, Amberser did not appear to be one of those reckless and rude Children of the Storm, nor did he display the arrogance and immaturity of youth. Instead, he found they had much in common, both liking to view everything from the perspective of “someone who has been there.”
Saress even forgot that this person appeared to be only in his forties and almost called him “brother.”
Seeing that the atmosphere was well set, Amberser cleverly steered the conversation towards the topic of the Dream Entering Ceremony.
“The name ‘Emerald Dream Forest’ seems to have been passed down for many years. I can understand everything else, but this ‘dream’—it surely doesn’t just refer to the Dreamweave Barrier, right? I’ve heard rumors that you Druids have a ceremony related to dreams. The stories outside are quite far-fetched though, claiming that a bunch of Druids dream together and do indecent things in their dreams…”
Saress angrily said, “Where did these rumors come from? This ceremony is very sacred. Who dares to defame it like this!”
“Who else but the Laine People. In their eyes, all other races are evil, and any humans who don’t worship the Lord of the Dawn are heretics. To them, Druids are no different from cultists. Our Fury Tide Kingdom has been treated the same by the Laine, being hunted down as cultists.”
Regardless of the details, it was Laine’s fault in the end.
Saress suddenly felt a sense of solidarity, as the entire Emerald Dream Forest was sealed off precisely because of Laine’s expansionist policies. Those Laine People are extremely xenophobic, almost making them the enemy of the entire continent.
Amberser, seizing the moment, continued, “But it’s not surprising that outsiders believe the rumors, given how secluded the Emerald Dream Forest is. Everyone outside can only speculate. I myself have no clue about this ceremony and have no other choice but to believe the rumors.”
“That’s slander! The Dream Entering Ceremony is a sacred ritual for Grand Druids to commune with nature. The dreams everyone enters are unique, and they are not interconnected at all,” Saress explained.
Amberser curiously asked, “If that’s the case, then who knows what these Druids are dreaming about? Elder Saress, have you tried this Dream Entering Ceremony?”
Saress hurriedly said, “Of course, I have. Every Druid gets the chance to dream. Within, there are only pure dreams blessed by the Father of the Oak, with nothing impure.”
However, Amberser said, “Elder Saress, isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? There are so many Druids in the Emerald Dream Forest; how could it be possible for everyone to dream? Surely this ceremony is exclusive to the Grand Druids. You don’t need to boast—it’s rather embarrassing if you haven’t actually experienced it.”
Saress’s old face turned red with agitation as he said loudly, “Who says it’s not possible? The Dream Entering Ceremony happens once every five years, and it covers the entire Emerald Dream Forest. All Druids can enter the blessed dreams through prayers to the Father of the Oak. If you don’t believe me, stay here for two years, and I’ll show you if I’m qualified.”
The next Dream Entering Ceremony is still two years away… This news disappointed Amberser.
Even if Naomi managed to secure a spot in the ceremony, he couldn’t possibly wait here for two years.
Still, Saress mentioned that the Dream Entering Ceremony covered the entire Emerald Dream Forest, and so did the Dreamweave Barrier; both caused people to sleep—could there be some connection between the two?
Suddenly, Amberser had an idea: he wanted to try sleeping in this forest.
