Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 238 People with Insomnia

The flame in the mirror receded, and the majestic figure gradually disappeared into the darkness, but the mysterious symbol that Captain Duncan showed to himself still remained clearly in his mind.

Morris left the utility room, glanced at his sleeping wife, and came to the writing desk under the window. He took out a pen and paper, and with the cool night light outside the window, while his memory was still clear, he described the mysterious and weird The symbols are depicted.

Afterwards, the well-informed old scholar frowned and looked at the pattern on the paper and fell into a short thought.

Even a scholar who can pass the most rigorous exam of the Academy of Truth is at a loss when he sees this symbol - the only thing he can be sure of is that this thing is definitely not a symbol used by any city gang, church or official organization , nor conform to the rune specification in occult symbolism.

According to the captain, this is the emblem carried by several ascetics who visited the Lost Homeland 100 years ago, and now he suddenly became interested in this emblem.

As the captain's "family member", Morris did not intend to pry into the captain's secrets, but he became very curious about those mysterious ascetics - what kind of "person" would carry such a weird talisman , and can suddenly attract Captain Duncan's attention today 100 years later?
After thinking for a long time, Morris breathed a sigh of relief, folded the paper properly, put it in the drawer of the desk and locked it carefully.

He is going to wait for the sun to rise tomorrow before going to the study to read the classics about ancient city-states and secret societies. Although the God of Wisdom has bestowed his followers with excellent memory, no matter how good the memory is, there may be loopholes. Is there a record of this symbol in your own book collection?
If you can't find any clues in your book collection... Then go to several large libraries in the city-state and the archives of the University in the upper city to investigate. Although I have left the university for many years, the original contacts and influence are still there. However, it is not a problem to borrow some precious classics.

If there is no record of this in the whole of Prand, then I can only write letters and send telegrams to old friends in Lunsa and other places - there are a few old guys who have researched in the field of history and occultism Maybe they can help, even if they can't help, the universities and research institutions behind them can also help.

Anyway, this was the first task the captain assigned to him—he gave the miracle of resurrection from the dead, and now he finally had a chance to help.

Morris thought silently in his mind, and his irritated mood due to insomnia calmed down completely unconsciously. He seemed to have found the exuberant feeling of being full of fighting spirit for a certain goal when he first entered the school, and with this Fighting spirit surged up together...

There is also long-lost sleepiness.

……

Tirian had been tossing and turning in bed for hours, still not sleepy.

He can't remember how many years he has had such severe insomnia. As the commander of the Sea Fog Fleet and the captain of the Sea Fog, he has always had strong self-control and a good schedule. He can fall asleep and wake up easily. Be as precise and controlled as a machine—except today.

All kinds of thoughts and pictures kept rising and falling in his mind, mixed with countless yellowed and trivial memories, the flames emerging in the mirror, the gloomy and majestic father, the ship that once set sail amidst cheers and praises. The expedition ship, the shadow of the ship returning from the subspace...

There is even the encounter between the Frost Offshore and the Lost Home, and what the Frost Queen said to herself at the beginning of the "Abyss Project"——

"There are horrible things under the deep sea, but there must also be answers to everything under the deep sea."

Tyrian rolled over and sat up in bed.

He looked at the wall not far away. The mirror that was originally hung on the wall had been taken off, and it was still quietly turned upside down on the table next to it, leaving an oval mark with a slightly lighter color on the wall. , put the suitcase for the crystal ball and the lens set at the end of the bed, and re-lock it, and cover the rest of the room with mirrors or smooth mirrors.

But those white cloths covering the mirrors made the room look even more eerie and eerie. Under the cold light of the creation of the world, the room looked like a gathering place for ghosts.

But Tirian is not afraid of ghosts. He has a ship of undead sailors, a cursed living warship, and several secret bases where weird and terrifying visions appear all the year round——compared to his father, ghosts are nothing. Nothing terrible.

After pacing back and forth in the quiet and gloomy room for a few minutes, Tirian's eyes fell on the suitcase at the end of the bed, hesitating slightly, and he picked it up.

Poli had already flown back to the ship to report his safety. As the captain, he couldn't go to the next room to wake up his subordinates to play cards with him to amuse himself. He might as well see what Lucrezia was doing.

Maybe the other party is suffering from insomnia just like myself.

Turn on the light, put the box on the table, open the lid, and a crystal ball surrounded by complex lens groups and curved connecting arms appears in front of you. Tirian stretches out his hand, but before he activates the lens, the device buzzes The buzzing sounded, and the crystal ball in the center was quickly lit up.

But after a while, Lucrezia's figure appeared in the crystal ball.

Wearing a gauze skirt, a black-haired shawl, and a mysterious temperament, the "Sea Witch" looked at her elder brother with a tired expression.

"Brother, I have insomnia."

"If you have insomnia, you can find your dolls to amuse yourself, or do your magic experiment," Tirian said with a serious face, "I am working on the follow-up development plan of the Sea Mist Fleet..."

"But your hair is messed up like you've been rolling on the pillow for four hours," Lucrezia said lightly, "Is this a new posture when making a development plan?"

"..."

Tirian was silent for a few seconds, with a tired look on his face: "Do you have any good advice for treating insomnia? Use your ingenuity as a 'witch'... Forget it, pretend I didn't ask."

The two brothers and sisters fell into a moment of awkward silence, and then they each chatted a few words, but they both intentionally or unintentionally avoided some key points, but gradually, the topic inevitably began to move closer to a certain direction.

"...I made some 'changes' to Luni just now," said Lucrezia, "I strengthened her joint protection, and added a small container for storing holy oil and Protection rune."

"Do you think this can stop your father from contacting you through 'Nilu' next time?"

"No, but maybe it will prevent Luni from getting stuck next time," Lucrezia said with a hint of helplessness in her tone, "In fact, she also has lingering fears about the last time she got stuck, and we had a serious discussion about it just now. some."

Tirian was a little curious: "Communication? What did you communicate with your puppet?"

"She advised me not to be nervous, and I advised her to think about it."

Tirian: "..."

There was another silence between them, but this time it didn't last long, and Tirian suddenly said, "Actually, I was thinking about something just now."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Do you still remember what father said at the end today?" Tirian said slowly, "He said he found Luni's sister 'Nilu', and he mentioned that the doll has never been sold..."

Lucrezia's eyes changed slightly: "You mean..."

"This means that the store is still there—do you remember where the doll store is?" Tirian's expression became serious. "I just remember it's in the city of Prand."

Lucrezia frowned slightly and fell into the memory, while Tirian continued to say slowly: "If father really 'bought' Neil from that doll shop, then this reveals a very important point. Information: He had already set foot on this city-state in some way before Purand encountered historical pollution, and even acted here openly..."

"Have you ever thought that this is the clue that father deliberately revealed to us?" Lucrezia said suddenly, "Now that you think about it, maybe this is what father deliberately wanted you to investigate."

Tirian was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "I have considered this possibility—but even so, you know I will not let this lead go."

"...I only vaguely remember the location of that store," Lucrezia said, "It should be on the edge of the upper city, near a certain intersection in the southern lower city. The owner of the store is an elf lady... a century ago When I saw her, I felt very old, but considering the lifespan of the elves, she should be the owner of the shop now."

Tirian nodded slightly, and silently took down the information Lucrecia provided.

……

There was some wind and waves on the sea, and the Lost Home was shaking slightly in the wind and waves. Duncan sat at the navigation table, studying the foggy sea chart in front of him a little bored.

His body in the Puland city-state has already fallen asleep, but this "body" on the Lost Country hardly needs to rest, so the night voyage has become a rather boring time , especially the double restriction that it is not suitable to read at night or at sea, and he can't bring the recreational books he bought in Prand here to relieve boredom, and this sense of boredom is even worse.

After all, he couldn't take exploring this ship as a pleasure every day - no matter how big the Lost Home was, there was no end to exploring it.

"I kind of want to walk around the spirit world and knock on the glass, so I can invite Fanna and Tirian to play cards." Duncan sighed in boredom, and raised his eyelids to look at the goat's head. "It's hard to say about Fanna, Tirian won't be able to sleep for the most part tonight..."

"If you really do this, he will also suffer from insomnia tomorrow night," said the goat head immediately, "but frankly speaking, your idea is really attractive, with full thrilling effect and entertainment effect-you plan to start Knock who?"

"That's all I'm saying," Duncan glanced at the goat's head, and glanced at the chart again, but suddenly, as if he remembered something, he suddenly raised his head, "How long is it until sunrise?"

"...There are still three hours," the goat's head roughly estimated, "if it rises on time today."

(End of this chapter)