MTLNOVEL Chapter 02: Dragon Valley (2)
"Honored Lord Lich King, welcome to your arrival. My name is Archil Norman Golden Power." A burly Dragon Clan man in a white robe bowed respectfully to Gray, glanced behind him, and said softly, "This is the temporary accommodation we have prepared for you. Additionally, we have prepared a banquet for you. Our chief elder and other members will not attend; it will be a banquet just for your own people. As for the formal meeting, it is arranged for tomorrow, after the guests from afar have fully rested. During your stay in Dragon Valley, I will be your Internal Affairs Officer. If you need anything, please tell me at any time, and I will do my utmost to satisfy you. Just in case you forget, please allow me to introduce myself again: my name is Archil Norman Golden Power. Golden Power is my surname."
"Honored Lord Lich King, greetings. My name is Evelysia Silver Dream." A delicate-looking girl beside him also respectfully bowed to Gray, smiling and saying, "During your stay in Dragon Valley, I will assist Archil Norman in attending to your daily needs. If you cannot find him, you can look for me. I will also do my best to satisfy your needs. Of course, the other people here will do the same."
"Welcome, honored Lord Lich King." The other dozen or so Dragon Clan members lined up also bowed respectfully to Gray.
"Thank you." Gray dismounted, placed his hand over his heart, and responded politely.
Others also dismounted one by one.
*Richie craned his neck, curiously looking around.*
Archil Norman moved aside to open a path and said softly, "Now, please let us take you to the room prepared for you."
...
This was a very distinctive two-story building, at least something Gray had never lived in before. The entire structure was made of piled stones, covered in mural sculptures. Inside and outside, there wasn't a trace of paint. The gaps in the floor were sometimes as wide as a finger.
With the outside wrapped tightly in vine plants, it looked more like a relic prepared for the delegation rather than temporary accommodation. If you didn't look closely, you might even miss it, as it blends completely into the surroundings.
However, looking across Dragon Valley, there didn't seem to be any other buildings.
It was quite large; the first floor had a row of 150 rooms, the second floor slightly smaller with 70 rooms. Gray was assigned the room in the middle, the only one with a balcony.
The walls were rough and uneven, the stone floors rough and uneven, and there was even sand on the ground as if no one had ever cleaned it.
However, every room had complete furniture and clean bedding. Though simple, each item looked new, seemingly prepared specifically to welcome the delegation.
"I guess this place originally had no people living in it; they only tidied it up when they knew we were coming," Richie whispered.
"Yes, you're right," Abraham smiled and replied, "The last time someone lived here was over four thousand eight hundred years ago when the Elf Queen visited. The time before that dates back to more than ten thousand years ago in the era of Krimasha. In fact, this place was initially prepared for the Krimasha Mage Alliance delegation."
"See, I guessed it right. Hahaha." Richie cheered, raising his axe as he walked down the corridor.
"Lord of Lich King, the banquet is in the courtyard," Archil Norman bowed respectfully and said, "Please rest for now, we will send someone to notify you later. If you need anything, please call me anytime; I will be around you."
"Alright, thank you." Gray responded politely.
The Dragon Clan people left, but not too far, staying in the courtyard.
Calling it a courtyard was really just the open space in front of the building, a flat ground covered in weeds without tiles or cement. They were preparing for the upcoming banquet.
Since Gray brought so many people, they had to set out three long tables, each one covered with clean cloth. A dozen Dragon Clan members were placing various foods on them.
*Gray stood on the balcony, silently watching.*
"Phew, it's scorching hot! Just now it was freezing cold, and now it's scorching hot!" The Black Cat flipped open Gray's mask and jumped out.
Catherine appeared beside Gray with her arms folded, and Vivian stood on Gray's other side.
"Don't you find it weird?" Vivian craned her neck to look at the Dragon Clan members preparing the banquet in the courtyard, pouting and saying, "Using a banquet to welcome the Lich King. Before everyone knew you were a Lich, using a banquet to welcome you was normal. But now... "
"Perhaps it's just some kind of ceremony," Gray answered lightly, "And we have many dwarves in our team."
"But we didn't tell them we would bring dwarves."
"We should not speculate too much about the other side,* Gray cautioned* otherwise, we might cause unnecessary misunderstandings and thereby lose a potential ally and gain an extra enemy.*"
*"But some people are destined to be our enemies from the beginning. Black Cat, don't you think I'm right?" Vivian looked at the Black Cat beside her.*
"Um..." The Black Cat hesitated, "Actually, I support Gray's view. So far, we haven't had a single reliable ally, which puts us at a significant disadvantage. We need allies, and the Golden Dragon Clan might be a good ally. At least for now, they seem like the only potentially strong enough force we might form an alliance with.*"