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 hulls away from the lake shore, sliding heavily towards the lake, and sailing 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 the fish is thrown into an unpredictable and strange realm.
The lighthouse shrinks to the size of a hole behind it, loses the position of the ship and then pulls up, swaying blindly from side to side.
Until the light source that guided the return journey also became a flickering noise, and finally the contrasting object that could be used to judge the position disappeared, and they began to have the illusion of paddling in the water.
I kept stirring the water waves, but I felt that the boat was stuck in place, no closer to the outlines of the lake, and no further away from the light spot of the lighthouse.
Green stopped the rowers who were speeding up their movements unconsciously 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 perception along with the lake shore, leaving only the slight stirring of the paddle, and the occasional sound coming from very 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 to a minimum.
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 is silent.
"Have you told them about the possibility?" Kraft asked in a voice that was almost a whisper.
"These are all experienced people." Green looked into each 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." With 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 to some extent. 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 notification process was not that smooth, and Father Green is not a completely temperless saint.
There seemed to be a faint laugh, but perhaps it was associated with his own uncertain fate, and it disappeared as if it had never appeared.
The ship continues to move forward.
The time was already long, and the two oarsmen felt their arms sore, 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 stick out of the boat to observe the water and things beyond.
The constant sailing changed the sense of time and distance. When I suddenly looked up, the silhouettes with only black shadows seemed to have suddenly become closer without realizing it, becoming visually larger and incredible.
As long as they don't change direction, they should just pass 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. The parts that look like 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 distance approached, the ship entered shallower waters, and the lake bed moved closer to the water, lifting the rocks out of the water.
Stones of different shapes pierce the fog and suddenly appear in unexpected locations. Sometimes they are heading straight ahead and almost hit them head-on.
The team had to light torches to increase the visibility. The thickened ship should be able to withstand the impact, but they didn't want to actually try it.
After passing by it several times, most people found that the stone took on a shape they had never seen or heard 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 is easy to think of the dense hexagonal pattern carved in the sewer, reminding them that they are in 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 I must have seen it now.
He passed the stone around to others and asked them to observe its cracked surface, which was no different from ordinary cracked and weathered stones.
"Some scholars believe that this requires the rapid cooling of magma when it encounters water, which is the same as the formation of fire 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 comforted, and their awe of the unknown turned into a sense of novelty.
They seemed to have not thought about it 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 vanished ancestors who 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 it should also depict what they witnessed? For example, some kind of grotesque creature that was 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 and 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 prostrates at the foot of the giant pillar, collapsed and decadent, as deformed and twisted as its builders.
Thick fog freely moves in and out between the doors and windows of the empty buildings. There are no inhabitants, or even any signs of life, like the shells on the beach after low tide, the contents have been abandoned.