Mag smiled. “I heard golden scale deer are not very aggressive, but they’re really fast, and they can also use illusion magic to confuse predators and help them escape. It would be very difficult for Amy and me to catch it alone. If we catch it, I want the pair of antlers and half the money fetched by its pelt.”
Evan was displeased. “You’re asking for too much considering we’ll do all the work. The antlers alone are worth at least 50,000 copper coins. Talk about being greedy.”
“Are you sure you don’t need our help?” Mag asked, smiling.
Evan felt uneasy under Mag’s intense stare. He remembered their last meeting, his face flushing red in embarrassment. He snorted and looked away, clenching his fists.
The atmosphere became a little awkward. Evan could be arrogant sometimes, admittedly, but he was not very difficult to get along with; however, he and Mag never saw eye to eye with each other.
“Two antlers and half the money from the pelt. Deal,” said Sivir.
Mag nodded with a smile. “I’m sure we’ll have a good time working together.” There was no way Mag would go back with nothing. He was not a man to do bad deals.
Everyone treated Mag with respect, except for arrogant Evan and brainless Eva. Two hours later, a huge canyon appeared in the distance. It looked as if the massive mountain had been split in the middle by a big axe. The upper part of the mountain was hidden in the clouds. Spectacular was the word for the Giant Canyon.
From time to time, a mercenary group would pass by. They could not help but turn to look at Amy.
They had never seen anyone so little in the wild. With magical beasts lurking around, it was no place for children. They believed the girl’s parents were doing a lousy job.
Amy leaned on Mag’s shoulder and looked around curiously. Although this was not her first time out of the city, she still found everything interesting. Fortunately, Mag’s travel companions were veteran mercenaries who had been wandering through the wilderness for years. They could help Mag answer Amy’s seemingly endless questions.
After passing by the Giant Canyon, they drove on for another five or six kilometers until they reached a basin. Without magical beasts or herbs, few mercenaries would come here, and no one had ever thought to give a name to such an unpopular place.
The basin was the final destination of their trip.
It was a place chosen by Mag: a place near the Giant Canyon where many mercenaries liked, a place safe enough for any mercenary group to be willing to come with him.
Mag had planned to look for a weak group with an elf to partner up with, but the Rose Mercenary Squad had saved him the trouble.
He wouldn’t look on while elves were being hunted. It was not his style.
He had warned them to leave the elves alone. Clearly they were taking his warning lightly. He was here to make sure they would never the same mistake again.
The basin was as good a place as any for the killers to ambush them. Two elves with only several weak-looking people around. The killers surely couldn’t resist such an easy target, so they would definitely come to him.
He was using himself as bait. It was risky, to be sure, but it was the easiest way.
After another 10 minutes or so, the basin appeared before them. The carriage pulled over by the edge, and Mag lifted Amy off.
The basin was about 700 meters deep and surrounded by rocky cliffs which were almost vertical. There were dark caves in the cliffs. The bottom of the basin was about 1,000 meters in diameter and barely invisible. In the center was a forest of black stones in all forms and sizes. Near the cliffs stood many small patches of coniferous trees. Now and then, Mag could hear the sounds of birds chirping and animals howling echoing off the cliffs, but no one was in sight as far as he could see.
“Wow, such a huge bowl!” Amy exclaimed happily as she looked over the edge. She then extended her arms and was about to jump down.
Thanks to Mag’s quick eyes and hands, he caught her just in time. The pope had given her wings to fly, but Mag wanted her to keep this a secret. Only Krassu and Urien and a handful of other people knew about this ability of hers.
Mag didn’t want his new companions to find out what they were capable of yet.
A gust of wind came up from the basin, carrying chilly moisture.
Despite himself, Evan shivered. “Why would golden scale deer want to come to this sh*thole? Don’t they like places warm and dry and full of sunshine?”
“I’ve come here twice and never found anything valuable,” said Sam. “But the basin does have sunlight every day, albeit for no more than half an hour around noon.”
Mag thought a moment. “Maybe that’s when the golden scale deer will appear.”
They nodded. It was worth a shot.
“Only one way to find out,” Sivir said. “Come on, guys, let’s search the basin first.” She tied the horses and started to descend carefully along a narrow road.
Mag looked around. His eyes stopped on a stone mountain. He smiled thinly and followed Sivir down with Amy in his arms.
…
In a dense forest, there was a house hidden well by trees. A demon rushed into the door excitedly. “Boss, good news! A small mercenary group has just entered the basin near the Giant Canyon. Our watchman saw two elves; one was a male, the other a little girl. The girl is top grade. She might be worth more than all the elves we have caught these days combined.”
The ghost lights demon who was molesting a naked female elf stood up right away. He tossed his plaything aside while excitedly asking, “No kidding?”
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