Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 311 Giant Steps
In a silent tacit understanding, the people took their seats one after another and grasped the side of the ship.

As if it was the start of some kind of tacit competition, the oarsmen of the two teams exerted their strength almost simultaneously, slowly pushing the hull away from the lake shore, sliding heavily towards the lake, and heading in different directions.

The shape of the opponent's ship blurred and disappeared in the thick fog, and the sound of the oars cutting through the water also disappeared.

Although the normal relationship is not much better, this feeling of isolation is still quite uncomfortable, as if the only connection with human society has been cut off, and the line is cut off and thrown into an unpredictable and strange realm.

The lighthouse shrunk to the size of a hole behind it. After losing the position of the ship, it pulled upwards and swayed blindly from side to side.

Until the light source that guided the return journey became a flickering noise, and finally the contrast object that could be used to determine the position disappeared, they began to have the illusion of paddling in the water.

The water waves kept stirring, but it felt like the boat was stuck in place, no closer to the outlines of the lake, and no further away from the light spots of the lighthouse.

Green stopped the paddlers, who were speeding up their movements involuntarily, and pointed to the clear, dark water of the lake—it was best for them not to attract any attention.

Even the shuddering sound of the waves disappeared from the perception along with the lake shore, leaving only the slight stirring of the paddle, and the occasional sound from far away, which sounded like loose stalactites falling from the cave roof, or something entering the water. The sound of silence.

Lighting was also severely restricted, with all open flames extinguished before departure except for an oil lamp that kept the light minimal.

Tense faces, restless faces, expressionless faces, gathered in the light that was not enough to illuminate the bow and stern of the hull at the same time, waiting for the lake's answer to the explorer.

The lake was silent.

"Have you told them about the possibility?" Kraft asked in a voice close to a whisper.

"There are experienced people here." Green looked into every pair of eyes. He was quite satisfied with the current situation. It was good to be able to keep quiet while knowing what he might have to face.

Fear is not a problem. Appropriate fear will stimulate the spirit and keep people in a relatively excited state, which is the same as being nervous before an exam.

"No, I'm not talking about that." Based on Kraft's memory, he certainly remembered that the people on the Qingqing ship were all old faces from before. "I mean over there, that Theodore, do they know the situation?"

The priest's attitude was very calm: "I have informed you of the situation here, including anything that is necessary to know and preparations that need to be made."

"As I said before, Father Theodore is a smart man and can listen more or less. As for the rest, faith and wisdom will help him overcome difficulties, just like we did. I have done my duty. ”

It sounds like the informing process was not that smooth, and Father Green was not a completely temperamental saint.

There seemed to be a low laughter, but perhaps it was associated with his own uncertain fate, and it disappeared as if it had never appeared.

The ship moved on.

Time had passed, and the two oarsmen felt their arms aching, so they handed over their positions to others and retracted into the belly of the boat.

The waters were calmer than expected, and they gradually became accustomed to traveling in the fog, and began to dare to lean out of the boat to observe the water and things beyond.

The constant sailing changes the sense of time and distance. When you suddenly look up, those silhouettes with only black shadows seem to have suddenly become closer without knowing it, becoming visually larger and more incredible.

As long as they don't change direction, they should pass right by one of them.

They are roughly in the shape of a column that is slightly thinner in the middle, perhaps holding up the top of the underground world. The base at the lower end is broad and strong, almost like an island rising from the bottom of the lake. Parts that look like many artificial features are also concentrated here, like termites in an abandoned area. A mud nest built under the huge pillars of the temple.

As the ship got closer, the boat entered shallower water, and the lake bed moved closer to the water, lifting the reef out of the water. Stones of different shapes pierced the fog and suddenly appeared in unexpected places. Sometimes they were heading straight ahead and almost collided head-on.

The team had to light torches to increase their visibility. The thickened ship should be able to withstand the impact, but they didn't want to actually try.

After passing by it several times, most people found that the stone took on a form they had never seen or heard of before, which did not appear in nature they knew and could not be explained by human creation.

These reefs are composed of rough-shaped prisms that fit closely together. They are like being inserted into the water one by one and broken at different heights. The cross-sections all have hexagonal edges.

It’s easy to think of the dense hexagonal patterns carved into the sewers, reminding them that they are in the midst of its incomprehensible archetype, close to the source of the nightmare.

"It's just a special landform." When passing by again, the professor quickly grabbed a loose piece and broke it off.

"It is indeed rare. It only exists in some places where there have been volcanic activities. A friend of mine who is in the maritime business said that he was lucky enough to see this kind of terrain near the coastal volcano in the ice field."

I don’t know if Captain William has ever seen it, but he must have seen it now.

He passed the stone around so that they could examine its cracked surface, which was no different from an ordinary cracked, weathered stone.

"Some scholars believe that this requires the rapid cooling of magma when it encounters water, which is the same as the process of burning and splashing water on gravel, but the cracking is more regular due to special conditions."

Explanation, an explanation that sounds reasonable.

The monks were somewhat reassured, and their awe of the unknown turned into a sense of novelty.

They didn't seem to understand for the time being. Knowing the principle of formation did not change the situation. On the contrary, it further explained that those who used sharp tools to carve patterns in the sewers might have seen exactly this kind of scene before falling into madness.

High temperature, melting, solidification.

Sometimes it's not just geological movements that can cause this effect, it's more like the content in the murals of royal tombs. Falling objects fall from the sky, and wherever they go, the earth melts and collapses, turning into a sea of ​​fire.

【This all makes sense】

The ruins are so large that they look like a reflection of the city, and the deep-seated activity is so intense that it can cause earthquakes.

But there are still some questions, why does it have to be a hexagon? He can understand those ancestors who disappeared and used the naturally formed crack patterns on the rocks where they fell as symbols of divine revelation and new totems.

But why are those who have returned so obsessed with depicting such large geometric patterns, just because they have witnessed what they have arrived here?
Then we should also describe what they witnessed, right? For example, some kind of grotesque creature twisted by moon bones or black liquid.

Kraft still had doubts, but his thinking didn't last long.

The rocks ahead are getting denser and denser, which affects the minds of everyone on the boat. The oarsmen controlling the boat are nervous, trying to slow down and avoid the oncoming obstacles.

From time to time, there is a rough scratching feeling coming from below, which means that the shore is very close. You can look down through the clear water and see the underwater scene.

Countless closely spliced ​​hexagonal jointed rocks rose upward layer by layer like steps until they were above the lake, holding up an unfamiliar building complex in front of them.

It lay prostrate at the foot of the pillar, crumbling and decaying, as misshapen and twisted as its builders.

Thick fog moves freely in and out of the empty building doors and windows. There was no sign of any inhabitants or even life, like a shell on the beach at low tide, its contents abandoned.