Ice Crypt

Glocara took Jorgen to an inconspicuous little boat that seemed to have been out of the sea for a long time. There were no sails, no ropes, no fishing nets, and most of the hull was covered with black canvas. Its location was also very remote, requiring stepping over several floating boards covering the water behind cargo boxes to find it.

"The guards will come for regular inspections, so hurry up." She said.

They came to the lower cabin and saw an old man of about eighty sitting quietly at the door. An icy white mist flowed out of the room, enveloping the old man's whole body, making him look like a mud statue with frosted eyebrows.

"He has been guarding here for ten years. He sits motionless for eighteen hours a day. It seems he's asleep now, step in carefully from the side."

The two stepped over the right half of the old man's body and entered the room. Jorgen went in first, followed closely by Glocara, but before she fully entered the door, she screamed. Jorgen turned around and found the old man's bony hand grasping her ankle.

"Who?" His hoarse voice sounded like ice shards slowly cracking in an ice cave.

"It's Glocara, do you remember? Mr. Seghi, you were awake, please let go."

But the old man made no sound. Jorgen took his hand off Glocara's ankle and placed it back on his knee, but the old man still did not move.

"Asleep again." Glocara said.

"Now let's get down to business."

This large room was converted from a sailor's cabin. There were nearly fifty numbered beds, some obviously containing corpses covered in white cloth. On each side of each corpse were neatly cut square ice blocks.

"They are all here," Glocara said. "Those who made a name for themselves in Booty Bay but had no relatives to claim them after death. For example, those who won a fleet overnight at the casino but then lost it, the sole survivors of shipwrecks at sea, seven-time fishing contest champions, etc. If Vossuva is not here, then I can't help you."

"What does Silversnap keep them for?"

"I heard he plans to open a wax museum at sea, make wax figures of these people and tour the world under the title of 'Booty Bay Historical Figures' or something. Heaven knows where he got this idea from."

Historical figures? Silversnap, you claim to have created paradise, so what should be exhibited as exhibits in paradise should be saints, not figures. "I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to open a human specimen museum instead of a wax museum," Jorgen said.

"Silversnap brags that the permafrost ice blocks are from Northrend, I don't believe it, but he does save these ice blocks for ordinary corpses. Be careful not to touch them, they can cause frostbite."

The intense cold made Jorgen's skin sting. He looked at Glocara, who seemed completely unmoved.

"Aren't you cold?"

"I'm used to it."

"That's good," Jorgen nodded. "Now let's split up and look for Vossuva's corpse. I'll start from the left, you from the right..."

"Wait, Jorgen. You have to do this yourself. I'll just watch here."

"What?"

"How would I know what Vossuva looks like?"

"Haven't you seen him?"

"You know, I don't have the leisure or heart to watch gladiatorial games."

"Then let me tell you: first of all, he is an ogre, with red hair and a missing tooth on the right. You start from the right and tell me the bed numbers of all the corpses that match these features. How about that? I believe you won't find too many. "

"I really don't understand how you have the nerve to order around someone who dislikes you."

"That's easy to understand, Glocara. When I was in the academy, there was an important course called 'Investigative Collaboration', which summarized how to order people around, especially uncooperative ones. Now let's finish this quickly, I remember you said the guards will come patrol."

Glocara walked to the far right of the room without a word. Jorgen watched her back. Glocara, I will surely apologize and make amends for the trouble I have brought you, but not now while busy. He turned around and walked to the left.

Jorgen examined the beds one by one, repeating the procedure of lifting and lowering the shrouds. The corpses came from various races, none with large areas of damage. Jorgen was very surprised to see a nobleman's illegitimate son he had once pursued. Hiding his identity, the son obtained an important position in the army and was then exposed and demoted by his biological father, forcing him to become a criminal. There was also a Goblin who started a fire in Kharanos because he was dissatisfied with the results of a drinking contest. Jorgen couldn't help but wonder what achievements these people had made in Booty Bay to enter this "Hall of Fame" in the ice cave. He thought that if Idoli had had an intact body, he would also have been eligible to enter here, with the title: "The fraudster refused boarding by all gnomes."

"Jorgen, come and see." Glocara said, stepping away from where she was. Jorgen walked over to her.

Lying in bed 37 was Vossuva. His eyes were closed so tightly they were almost invisible, his protruding lower lip was pressed hard against the outer edge of his upper lip, and his stiff hair and beard were frosted. The broken surface of his broken tooth showed a crystalline color. When he met in Silversnap's room, Jorgen remembered that Vossuva had a face full of malice and urgency, as if every word uttered would cause his facial muscles to twitch ominously, and the poison was impatient to seep out from every pore. The Vossuva now still had the tension in his face, but looked like a soldier tasting the bitter fruit alone after a defeat.

"That's right, it's this guy. Thanks, Glocara." He lifted the shroud down to the abdomen.

There were no obvious wounds on the body. Within Jorgen's knowledge, there were no signs of death by poisoning. As Elin had said, the cut Brego made on his neck was very shallow, although the wound was long, it was still some distance from the artery. When Keener and his blowing arrow appeared in Jorgen's brain, he placed his left and right hands on both sides of the corpse's neck, enduring the cold, and slowly stroked the skin. Glocara stood silently behind him watching.

"There are other wounds." Jorgen said.

"What?" As Glocara leaned over for a closer look, a sharp voice Jorgen was familiar with came from the doorway.

"Oh, I really don't understand you two, why date in a place like this? Outside is a bright and warm beach!" Jorgen, cover the shroud, slowly, be very very careful not to damage my collection. You can't afford it."

They turned around and saw Silversnap standing at the door with Livigaz, and three guards, all with guns except the tycoon.

"No matter how many times I come, I still feel terribly cold here," Silversnap rubbed his hands, "how can you two stay warm while staying with corpses in here? Jorgen, don't touch your weapon. Even though I don't think you can threaten my four best gunners with a dagger from this distance, I still advise you to move your hand away and put it down."

"The best? Don't you always claim that every item you sell is the best? I believe the fool whose spine I severed the other day was also one of your 'best'."

"You're really eager to try, aren't you, investigator? Always feeling your situation isn't dangerous enough. Forget it. Miss Glocara, would you mind explaining? I know you should be talking about marriage, but why stick with a man like this? Believe me, living with such a rigid man who knows nothing about romance and taste, you won't be happy."

"I was just helping him find something..."

"Oh, don't hurry to defend yourself. Let's put it this way, after I deal with him, I'll consider whether to assign the corpse disposal work allocated to you to someone else. If you don't want that, just watch and don't interrupt."

Silversnap cleared his throat. "Alright, Mr. Jorgen, let's get to the point. I've been too busy these days to deal with your affairs, I apologize. Before the game, I gave you two choices and waited for you to make a satisfactory answer with my sincere trust in you. But you betrayed my trust by killing two of my men in the arena. Oh, those corpses... Miss Glocara, if you could witness how brutal this man is with your own eyes, you would surely doubt your taste in choosing a partner. He made two poor gnomes' mothers grieve beyond comfort. After doing this, you sneaked in here to covet my precious collection - that was Vossuva's bed, wasn't it? Can you explain what you're doing? I've heard that ogre curses can even befall those who desecrate their corpses after death, Jorgen, do you want to suffer such a misfortune?"

"No, I don't. But I think Vossuva cares more about how he died than about his corpse, far more."

"Ah, typical investigator paranoia! Irritating! I've had enough. As for the two choices I gave you, it seems this is your answer. You were too careless, Jorgen. Livigaz, aim at his head."

"But," Livigaz said, "that would damage the integrity of the face. Didn't you say you wanted to put him in the wax museum too?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. You won't enter the 'Hall of Fame', Jorgen. I'll set up another exhibit area for villains who hinder Booty Bay's development. Livigaz, what kind of title should I give Mr. Jorgen?"

"How about 'Investigator Jorgen, whose mind is deluded and who spurns the generous assistance of tycoon Silversnap'?"

"Very good! Livigaz, what would I do without an assistant like you? But this time, I've changed my mind," Silversnap narrowed his eyes, "rather than turn into wax figures... I think Miss Bossia needs a gift more. Jorgen, what color ribbon do you want the gift box with your head in it tied with?"

"Glocara, get down." As soon as Jorgen finished speaking, he crouched under the bed. Glocara still stood there at a loss. Jorgen had to grab her wrist and pull her down. Bullets ricocheted off the smooth ice blocks, punching holes in the walls.

Glocara felt her hand gripped as if in pincers, painfully crying out. "Let go of me quickly." At this moment, she saw in Jorgen's face an anger that made her heart tremble. Silversnap uttered a name she couldn't understand, perhaps it was this name that aroused his anger. Jorgen turned around and held her in his arms, leaning her crouching body forward, then grabbed the edge of the bed and shook it until the ice blocks slid down. The loud crash of the falling ice made her body shudder violently.

"Hide behind the ice if you don't want to die." After leaving these words, Jorgen rushed out from the side. Glocara closed her eyes tightly, her arms wrapped around her head, and the sound of bullets flying everywhere made her temples throb. She dared not move, but her forward-leaning body was so stiff that her back ached, so she tried to lean back a little. When her back touched the ice block, the intense cold stinging pain made her curl up again. Her mind was in chaos, like countless needles had suddenly dropped into her thoughts.

Jorgen pressed his body as low as possible, dodged to another bed, and pulled the corpse down. Taking advantage of the gnomes reloading, he kicked out fiercely at the corner of the nearest bed until another corpse and ice block slid down. A bullet hit the corpse Jorgen was leaning against in the head, shooting out from the eye socket and narrowly missing his cheek. He knocked down four or five corpses and the accompanying ice blocks in succession, using them as cover as he advanced step by step toward the door.

"Tycoon, this won't work," Livigaz said after firing for a while. "Jorgen is using ice blocks and corpses as shields to get close to us. To hit him, your collection may..."

"What if he gets close? You four, get to the front! He only has one dagger. "

"But it's not worth it, tycoon. To kill one man..."

"Ah, Livigaz, when did you become so wordy? Go call the guards! Call fifty, all armed and ready for close combat. Hurry up! The rest of you, don't fire unless Jorgen appears!"

"Yes, sir." Livigaz threw down his gun and ran out of the cabin. Just as he was about to climb the stairs to the deck, a foot kicked down from the ladder, hitting him in the face and sending him tumbling to the ground.

Hearing the commotion, Silversnap turned his head to see a man walking down the ladder. He immediately had a guard aim his gun at the man.

"Who are you?"

"Tell your men to put down their guns and leave. Kill Jorgen and you won't even have time to regret it."

Jorgen recognized Elin's voice from inside the room.

"So there's an accomplice too... But you can't save him or yourself." Silversnap said.

"Do you want Brego to know about this? Tell him you killed his human friend? I heard he's coming to see you tomorrow night to discuss something very important. Do you want him to come in a good mood or with a sad look on his face because his friend was killed? You know, this orc is not someone to mess with. "

"What's going on here? A strange human suddenly claiming to be Brego's friend! Jorgen, can you explain what the hell you humans are up to? Ah... I've said so much, my tongue is about to freeze off... Whoever you are, why should I believe your words?"

"You can choose not to believe them," Elin raised his voice, "'Goblin merchant, navigator, naturalist, gourmet, and playwright Silversnap.' Brego said he didn't like your handwriting. - Who's that old man sleeping over there? Hey, are you still alive?"

"Tsk... Forget it. Jorgen, I'll give you one last chance to choose. Miss Glocara, if you want to live, you really have to be careful who you associate with. We'll meet again soon." He left the room with the guards, climbing the stairs. Livigaz got up, followed a few steps and turned back into the room, retrieved his discarded gun, and then hurried up the stairs.

Jorgen stood up and moved around, only to find that his hands and waist were frozen from direct contact with the ice blocks, making some movements difficult. Glocara also stood up, her hands sliding down from around her head to rest on her cheeks.

Jorgen nodded at Elin, then walked over to Glocara. "You're not hurt, are you?"

He found Glocara staring straight at Vossuva's corpse on the ground.

"I've seen him before." Glocara's voice was very soft.

"What?"

"I saw this ogre the night before Idoli left. I saw him arguing with an ogre behind the house... At first I thought it was Tusa. No, it wasn't Tusa. It was him, Vossuva."