4 Lighthouses

The map given by the wind chimes, drawn on a piece of brown paper, presents an image of a certain coast, the desert and the sea are clearly depicted, especially the winding coastline, which is clearly outlined in the scale presented by the map, and it is easy to correspond to the outline on the regular map. On the edge of the coast is a small highlighted circle with the word "Lighthouse" written next to it, which is the only text on the map. In the image of the sea, there is a thick arrow pointing to a small circle, perpendicular to the direction of the coast, as if to suggest that people must land on the beach in this direction. There are no directions on the map, but the only deserts in this world near the sea are desperate deserts, so it's easy to find the direction.

"The Shores of the Supplicants." Captain Alan blurted out when he first saw the map.

"Does this place have a name?" Milo and the others are very strange.

"Some daring explorers have sailed close to the east coast of the Splitter Empire, deliberately drawing the outline of the coastline on the east coast of the desperate desert, otherwise our map would not be complete today." Captain Allen explained, "Some places are named so that seafarers can communicate with each other, but they don't write on other maps because they don't work, and no one will go there." ”

Nightfinch was curious about the name "The Hoper", and Alan replied, "There is a huge stone pillar on that shore, which looks very abrupt from a distance, and some people say that it was made by someone who got lost in the desert and prayed for someone to come and save him, so this place is called 'The Shore of the Hopeful'." It's a very common way to name it, and it's normal for you not to know if you're not working on a ship. ”

"This 'lighthouse' can't be that stone pillar, right?" Nightsparrow gets to the bottom of it.

Captain Alan told the truth: "Seriously, I don't know, I can't know until I get there." Of course, if we could actually get there through the dust and fog......"

On the afternoon of April 11, the people on the steamship will soon see the true appearance of the "stone pillar".

"I didn't think we were actually in." "Yes, I was trembling when I saw the sand and dust close at hand......" "It seems that this place is not affected by the dust, but there is still sand and dust on both sides of us." ……

The sailors, the guards and the soldiers were talking lively, and now that they were very close to the shore, they would soon be able to lower the dinghy and go ashore.

Captain Alan munched on his tobacco leaves, acting calmly, as if he had just ventured through the sand and dust into the sea and only crossed a small ditch. But Milo, Kolan, and the others, who were closer to him, noticed that Captain Alan was sweating and his fingers were shaking as he walked through the dust—in fact, they themselves were the same. It was only briefly swallowed up by sand and dust, and then a clear space suddenly opened up, there was no sand and no fog, and even the shore facing the bow of the ship seemed much clearer.

"It seems that there is no sand and dust in this area, and we are safe." Nightfinch said.

"It's only this narrow section, look at both sides," the captain motioned to her, "and it's the real dust, and I don't know if it's safe or not." "On the surface of the sea not far from both sides of the ship, the sand and dust are still drifting, exuding an aura of terror.

"Anyway, at least the view here is good, and the landing can be smooth." Just on the shore facing the bow of the ship, Milo said, stands a tall "stone pillar."

"Lighthouse!" Nightsparrow reminded others loudly.

"That's right! Lighthouse. Captain Allen said too, and then said to the sailors beside him, "Let them slow down, we are almost there, and then go and get the ......dinghy ready," and the captain and sailors prepared as they went; Milo and the others also checked their equipment and prepared to land; The soldiers of the Guard were already on standby, ready to disembark and accompany them.

The steamer stopped and lowered the three dinghys, and Melo supported Erin, along with the Night Sparrow and three sailors, the other with four guards and two sailors, and the third with food, fresh water and other supplies and two sailors. Three dinghys headed towards the shore, and the "stone pillars" were getting closer and closer to them......

Soon, the dinghy washed up on the beach, the Guards began to carry supplies, and the sailors rowed the empty dinghy back to the steamship to transport a new batch of men and supplies.

"Erin, how are you feeling?" Melo asked with concern, at this time Erin was half-kneeling on the beach, leaning on Milo's body, not caring that the sea water wet the red skirt, she inhaled heavily, and finally eased up a little.

"Well, it's much better." Erin replied, her spirit was much better than before, and with Milo's support, she stood up and walked a few steps slowly, nodding vigorously to reassure the people around her.

Seeing that Erin was fine, Milo began to observe the surrounding scenery - sand, endless sand, yellow sand occupied more than half of the field of vision, and most of the other half was also occupied by the sand and dust that filled the air. The monotonous golden yellow extends to the place where the sky and the earth meet: the yellow sand in the near distance, the yellow sand in the distance, and the rolling sand dunes in the distance, which are still made of yellow sand, presumably on the other side of the dunes, are also endless yellow sand...... This is a world of yellow sand, and there is no end in sight.

"Not even a tree." "There are no seagulls." "There are no fish in the sea either...... "the guards soldiers talked, and here - there is only sand, not even life.

"Breath of Death...... Irene whispered, frowning as she looked around and came to a conclusion about the Desperate Desert.

Just then, the dinghy washed up on the beach again, carrying men and supplies, as well as Kolan. Since the steamship entered the clear sea just now, Milo had not seen Kolan, and at that time everyone was sighing and glad that he had not been completely engulfed by the sand, while Kolan returned to his cabin and changed his robe into a cooler suit - the upper body of the clothes was short-sleeved civilian clothes and light gauze tunics, and the lower body was a simple white long skirt, which looked dignified and elegant, like the goddess officials working in the Wanyuan Sect. There were not many ornaments and patterns on her clothes, and the overall curves of her body were well accentuated, and she amazed the sailors and male guards around her.

"Okay, okay, an eighty-year-old lady doesn't deserve such admiration." Kelan also noticed the gaze of the men around him, so he responded humorously, and slightly eased the tension of the sand and dust and landing just now. Fortunately, Milo arranged for some female soldiers to be added to the guards who came with her, so that Erin and Kran did not have to look so embarrassed on the ship. (There is no culture of "no women on board" in this world, otherwise Captain Allen will be mad)

After going ashore, Kolan asked about Erin's physical condition with concern, and she was very happy to learn that the other party had recovered his spirits.

"What's next? Which direction to go, these are not marked on the map. Nightfinch asked, slightly uneasy.

"Let's take a look around, we can camp by the beach tonight." Milo looked around and said that he saw several guards exploring in the direction of the stone pillar.

The dinghy washed up onto the beach again, and the assembled parts of the improvised tent and cart were laid down, and the men skillfully assembled the cart and tent and placed the supplies. After the busy day, the sun was already in the west, and after a brief dinner, the guards who had gone to explore the stone pillars also returned.

"It's not a stone pillar, it's a man-made structure, and it might be a lighthouse from the outside."

After listening to the report of the guards soldiers, Milo and the others didn't care about eating and drinking, and hurried to the lighthouse to find out. When I got close to it, I found that the "stone pillar" was actually a cylindrical building made of bricks, and there was a small door open underneath, but because the building had broken from the middle to the top, all the broken bricks and tiles collapsed into the building, blocking the space inside, and the door was in ruins and could not be entered.

"It looks like I can't get in." Erin said.

"From the outside, it's really a lighthouse, and we've come to the right place." Milo held the map to confirm.

"If there is a lighthouse, it means that there was a port here." Erin's speculation was justified.

"Look there!" Kolan pointed to the sandy field not far away, which was clearly paved with long stone slabs, one at intervals, forming a rudimentary "stone road" that stretched deep into the desert.

"Well, it looks like that's the way." Nightfinch hurriedly came to a conclusion. There is no problem with everyone, because there are really no other obvious "roads" around, and in the desert where there is no clear direction and road guidance, walking far away at will means getting lost and dying.

"Let's go back to the landing site first, and we'll set off when everything is ready." Kelan said.

At this time, Captain Allen also washed up on the beach in a dinghy, just in time to meet the people who had just returned to the beach.

"This sand is the softest I've ever seen, and if you're not careful, it's going to sink deep, so be careful." The captain didn't even say hello, and directly reminded everyone not to get stuck in the sand, "Here, here I am!" He motioned to the sailors to hand over a pair of boots to Milo and the others, "These are sand boots, which are specially used by people who explore in the desert, and they are not afraid of getting hot or sand into their shoes." ”

"Thank you, Captain!" Several people took the boots and put them on immediately. As the captain said, the brim of the boot was high, and women wore it almost up to the knees. As Milo took the boots, she suddenly remembered that she had worn a leather boot when she had reunited with Heidi Trister in Windtown, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity and sadness came over her...... However, he adjusted his expression in time and did not let the people around him notice.

"When are you going to go?" The captain asked, "It is getting dark now, and it is not advisable to travel in the desert at night, it is very dangerous." Just rest for a while and leave tomorrow morning. After saying that, he looked at Erin, because the face of the seasick girl was very unsightly. The people agreed with the captain's words and set up a makeshift camp with the others.

Captain Allen also went to see the remains of the lighthouse, and when he returned, he said that it was indeed a lighthouse, but he could not tell which style it was, and he could not deduce what era or country people built it. "Judging from the traces of corrosion and weathering on it, there must have been at least six or seven hundred years." When a few people heard this point in time, they couldn't help but ponder, this lighthouse is older than the age of the wind chimes, so can the secrets in the desert still be preserved?

As night falls, the waves crash rhythmically against the sand. There was no wind on the beach, the air was warm, and everyone felt a sense of comfort that they had never felt since they went out to sea.

"You have to hurry." After most of the people had fallen asleep, Captain Allen approached Milo and the others, "The ship's supplies are only enough for us to stay here for ten days. ”

"Ten days? So little? Milo was a little surprised, because the steamship carried a lot of supplies, and even if a boatload of people drifted at sea for two months, there would be no problem. But the night sparrow and Kelan beside him didn't look so surprised, and nodded in agreement.

"Boy, you don't have much experience in expeditions," the captain said very seriously, putting away his usual mocking tone, "It's fine if you go somewhere else, but here is the desert, and the consumption rate of food and fresh water is doubled, and there will be a lot of loss when transporting it halfway, and it often happens that ten days consume a month's supply." This is a matter of life and death for a boatload of people, and I dare not slack off. ”

"It's the same with expeditions to places like the Snowy Mountains," added Nightfinch, "remember why the Viscount insisted on using big ships? I am afraid that the materials I carry will run out in advance. ”

Kelan also took over: "Hey, the captain just asked the sailors to dig a hole in the sand not far away, and there was no groundwater after digging a long time, so it can be seen that the possibility of an oasis in this desert is very small." ”

"I see...... Sorry for underestimating the sleepiness of this trip. Milo said apologetically.

The captain patted him on the shoulder and comforted: "For exploration, it is not terrible to give up and run away, but the most terrible thing is not knowing your own strength, and despising the difficulties caused by nature." You also learn more, and you will have to take good care of other girls in the future. He glanced at Erin, who was sleeping soundly beside him. Milo gestured his gratitude, heartily thanking and admiring the captain.

Due to fatigue, everyone also fell asleep quickly, and Kelan was in charge of the night. The secluded beach fell silent, and you could faintly see the oil lights on the steamships on the sea......

The ruined lighthouse is not far away, and once upon a time, it was here that it also released the light of pilotage.