Chapter 56: The Cursed Dwarf

Lurik harshly scolded the dwarves of this outpost, specifically targeting the dwarf captain in charge.

Enduring the verbal onslaught, the two dwarves did not dare to utter a single word until Luric added, "For now, I am cutting your beer rations in half."

"What! You can't do that, Yatta!"

The captain's voice even carried a hint of terror, as if he were afraid to imagine what life would be like from then on.

"No negotiations. We'll see how you perform from here on out."

Aliris and George found this somewhat incomprehensible. Was a half-ration of beer really such a heavy punishment?

Noticing Aliris's confused expression, Karna explained with a smile from the side, "To a dwarf, beer is the blood in their veins. Within dwarf territories, beer is a strategic resource."

Aliris nodded, half-understanding.

Since it was late, the group was assigned to rooms to rest for the night.

However, being dwarf quarters, they didn't rest very well and woke up early the next morning.

Outside, Luric and the others were already prepared.

When they arrived outside the watchtower, a group of goats equipped with saddles had appeared at some unknown point.

"You're awake. We have to hurry to the Flattop Peak Watchtower, so we'll ride these war-goats."

As the group looked at the goats, only Karna wore a smile, even reaching out to pet one.

The others, including Bobot, looked utterly bewildered.

George seemed to catch the implication; an expression of disbelief crossed his face as he pointed at the goats. "You don't mean... you don't mean we're supposed to ride these things?"

"Hahaha, don't worry, they're all sturdy young lads!" Gethari laughed loudly from the side, mounting the goat next to him to give them a demonstration.

George looked at the dwarves, then looked at himself; he really wanted to point out that he was much taller than them.

Karna, standing nearby, said with a smile, "Don't worry. Although there is a size difference between dwarves and us, their weight is actually heavier than most normal humans. Therefore, these war-goats can handle our weight; it will just be a bit bumpy."

A dwarf's weight is roughly 1.5 times that of a human, and they are often in full plate armor. Even so, the war-goats could carry them as they raced through the mountains.

Having said that, Karna mounted the war-goat in front of him. Aside from being a bit awkward, it was manageable.

"Alright, friends, hop on! Time waits for no one!" Gethari urged.

The others climbed onto the goats one after another, though most were quite clumsy. Riding a goat was, after all, a first for them.

"Onward!"

Lurik took the lead, charging out on his war-goat, with the other goats following close behind.

The humans riding the goats immediately began to sway back and forth; their disproportionate heights made the ride significantly more jolting.

However, it was much better than expected. Leaning forward and trying to stay close to the goat's body made it even more bearable.

The goats ran and leaped incessantly across the mountains; the rugged paths were like flat ground to them, even while carrying loads of a hundred or two hundred pounds.

By around noon, they could see a large watchtower standing on a mountain plateau in the distance. It looked like a small fortress.

It wasn't much different from how it appeared in the game.

From a distance, dwarves could be seen waving at them, pulling up the stone gate in the mountains to let them through.

The moment the war-goats stopped, George immediately jumped down and collapsed to his knees, his face pale, looking as if he were about to vomit.

Even Aliris's complexion was poor. For the two of them, the experience of riding a war-goat was certainly not a pleasant one.

"Yatta? What brings you here?" A heavily armored dwarf walked over. Interestingly, the weapon this dwarf carried was a sword.

After speaking, he looked toward Karna, the others, and Bobot; the group was indeed eye-catching.

Humans and Skaven.

"Take me to the isolation ward first," Luric said directly.

The fully armored dwarf with the brownish-yellow beard nodded and led the group toward the interior of the watchtower, eventually arriving before a set of wooden partitions that were clearly temporary.

He glanced at Karna and the others.

"Don't worry, they are friends I've brought along."

"If that's the case, then fine."

He opened the wooden door, and a not-so-mild stench wafted out—the exact same smell they had encountered in the mountain cave shortcut.

In addition to the stench, there was a faint hint of alcohol mixed in.

Lurik walked inside, and the others followed.

The area was relatively spacious with ventilated windows, and beds lined the walls on both sides.

Dwarves were lying on the beds, and some were walking around the ward. Without exception, every dwarf had pustules on their faces, some of which had already burst. Many were still holding beer bottles, looking extremely despondent.

Among dwarves, there was almost no such thing as being too sick to drink; in fact, they rarely fell ill at all.

"Yatta?"

"Yatta!"

As Luric entered, the dwarves became agitated, standing up to greet him.

"You've worked hard, my brothers."

Erik walked in and headed straight for a specific bed. A dwarf was lying there; upon closer inspection, although dwarves all looked similar, this one bore a striking resemblance to Erik.

"Erik? Don't come over here, you might catch it."

"This isn't contagious. Didn't you hear? You idiot."

"Is that so? Perhaps I was drunk before."

Observing the situation, Luric looked at the dwarf who had brought them here. "Rittank, is the situation here any better?"

The dwarf named Rittank shook his head and sighed. "No, it's the same as before. Some dwarves' conditions have even worsened; they've started talking nonsense."

As he spoke, he led them toward the innermost section. Near the corner, there were several beds. The dwarves there were almost all lying unconscious, with pustules covering every exposed part of their arms and faces. Even their skin had begun to take on a slight greenish tint. One dwarf was mumbling something, but it was unintelligible.

Karna watched this scene with a serious expression. "The depth of the curse's corruption is increasing. If this drags on much longer, they might undergo forced corruption."

Dwarves naturally had strong resistance to such things, but since it had reached this stage, it was unknown how long they had been suffering.

"These should be the first batch to be infected, right?"

Lurik could only nod and sigh. "Correct. Their issues were only discovered two weeks ago, but even before that, they already had red spots and pustules."

That was indeed extreme. If it dragged on, it might have been nearly a month. To withstand a corruption curse like this for a month was quite an achievement.

Beside them, Rittank frowned as he looked at Karna. "And this is?"

"This is Karna, our friend. I've brought him to help resolve this plague curse," Lurik introduced him simply.

"Curse?" Rittank asked, his brow furrowed.

Until just now, it had only been referred to as a disease.

"Yes, a curse from some powerful entity."

Lurik began to briefly explain the situation he knew about, as well as everything they had experienced and seen in the mountain cave shortcut on their way up from the foot of the mountain.

After listening, Rittank looked at Karna with a frown, his eyes filled with vigilance.

"So, human, how is it that you know all this?"