Act II: The Travelers to the North (5)

Even though he was just sitting in the corner of the tavern and sipping quietly, Frick found himself drinking a little too much unconsciously. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The pomegranate wine tasted like it wasn't good, but the quantity and intensity were enough to break Frick's unsoaked nerves. The spark caused by the "Source of Ten Thousand Medicines" dyed red gradually spread throughout his brain, making his thinking a little blurry.

"You know, the goddess of opportunity is always stingy with her affection. ”

He remembered hearing Dean talk about their adventures in the North before his mind got confused: "It was so much trouble when I first arrived, you know—there were so many people who came to the North at all times, and the valuable work was always taken away by the famous squads. ”

Alcohol has been used a lot by alchemists a long time ago, as if this small glass of colorless and transparent liquid like water has the power to dispel the darkness and confusion on the road ahead, and make the harsh side of this world a little softer in a short period of time.

Even if he doesn't like these things, Frick has to admit that they have the effect of clearing the mind and articulate like the "incense" widely used by wizards, and they can even stimulate the mind of the drinker and enrich the conversation.

Of course, that is under the premise of "moderation", and if accidentally consumed in excess, the toxicity latent in these drugs will slowly erode the nerves. Frick had seen the drunks scurrying out of the tavern more than once, and he wasn't interested in being one of them.

But he couldn't remember why he was walking here, and the best explanation might be that he said goodbye to Dean at the tavern after getting drunk, and then made his way back to his dorm. It was also due to the fact that he didn't drink too much alcohol himself, so he was sober as soon as the cold wind blew.

The only problem is that he doesn't have any memories associated with these "explanations", and even if they may work, they can't really fill in the gaps. Frick now had no way of determining the time, and he didn't know exactly what his nerves were paralyzed by alcohol, so much so that he fell into an inexplicable confusion.

If memory is a page of paper filled with words, then these pieces of paper stacked together form an entire book called "self". It's impossible for most people to remember every word in this book, but it's uncomfortable to have blank spaces in the last few pages.

"What a nuisance...... That's why I hate alcohol. ”

In a trance, he tried to find something that could tell the time, but he didn't have a pocket watch, and he couldn't see the clock tower next to the town hall from his current position. The cold wind blowing from the direction of the White River carried a slight rancid smell, which was a complex mixture of life and industry.

The uncomfortable smell made Frick regain some composure, but he was able to make sure he was walking along the breakwater of the White River in the direction of the Great Library. If you look at it from afar, you can see the bright lights in the direction of Junkitanomon Station in the distance.

The upper reaches of the river are located in the mountains further north, and the exact location has not yet been fully determined, and the part that flows through the Gate of the North is already in the middle reaches. The river leading to the south is lined with barges loaded with all kinds of goods, driving slowly on the White River.

Before the railroad was built, the ships on the White River were the city's main means of communication with the rest of the empire, and were used to transport goods to and from various places. The boatmen sailed along the river, past Merry and Harding in the middle of the empire, and then to the southern Marsh and Dikahel, which was washed by the tides of the West Sea.

At that point, the magic contained in the water of the White River has been diluted by the natural water of many river systems, and it is no different from the water in other regions. And the river has become wide and dirty because of the sewage produced in the city and factories.

As for the source of the White River, which only exists in legends, many adventure parties have set out for it, but I have not heard of anyone who has successfully investigated and returned. In the upper reaches of the river, where ships are difficult to navigate, there are not only lofty mountains and mountains that are difficult for humans to set foot on, but also dangerous monsters.

As a result, the story of the upper reaches of the White River became a strange story that people told to each other, and it became more and more bizarre as it was retold over and over again. Legend has it that there are terrifying things that mortals cannot face or overcome, quietly lurking beneath the white northern earth.

According to the legends of some of the Northland natives, there was a highly developed civilization there at the time of the Age of Mythology, but it was destroyed with the end of the Age of Mythology. Kings and priests, even laborers and slaves have left the land where they once lived, leaving only the remnants of their former wealth beneath the snow.

Undoubtedly, this legend is also widely spread among adventurers.

"If all those legends are true...... Even if it's only one percent, it's enough to make the upper reaches of the White River and the end of the north a place that can arouse the blood of adventurers. Frick stood on the riverbank and looked out over the White River, looking slightly past the boats to the river that connected to the north.

It was only then that Frick noticed a strange situation, the rare disappearance of the workers who were supposed to be busy working day and night on the docks along the White River. There were several ships parked at the nearest dock, but there were no people who were supposed to load or unload their cargo there.

The road was a little scary, not only was there no one on the road, but even the surrounding buildings could not feel the breath of life. It was as if everything in this world had fallen asleep peacefully, and all that remained on the street was the inhuman stuff except Flick.

I don't know if there is something wrong with the nerves under the influence of alcohol, but he inexplicably feels as if something unseen is peeking secretly. An indescribable timidity welled up in his heart, and he fell into an ambiguous sense of fear of this unfamiliar city.

If alcohol really has a motivating or enlightening effect, then he doesn't think he should be intimidated by the fact that it's just a street with no people. But he can be sure that there is indeed some irrepressible restlessness in his chest, which makes it difficult for him to settle down.

It is not only the excessive intake of alcohol, but also the "incense" that is inhaled today as an experiment with William Coulter. When these two things rush into the bloodstream and flow into the brain, what kind of hallucinations you see may be an understandable side effect.

Driven by this inexplicable feeling, he couldn't help but speed up his pace, and it was almost late at night, and the waxy moon had risen to the middle of the sky at some point. It wasn't long before the white dome of the main library building glittered in the moonlight and the trees in the courtyard came into view.

When I finally got back here, all I had to do was walk into the dorm room, where I could sleep well in my bed and leave all the alcohol and incense that was disturbing my thoughts behind. He really couldn't understand why he would do so many strange things today, and let those things that were not good for his body oppress his soul.

It was only the beginning of his thoughts, and when he had only walked a few steps into the courtyard of the Great Library, he stopped because of a strange feeling.

It is difficult to describe in words, and a certain sense of loneliness that makes people tremble in the bottom of my heart rises from the boundless tranquility, and coats the well-paved street in front of me with a layer of vicissitudes. Under the light of the white moon as clean as pure silver, the orderly buildings on the streets looked like ancient tombs that had been silent for centuries, and the dim shadows cast by the buildings covered most of the courtyard, and the thin dark shadows were full of ominous and mysterious.

A soul-rending headache struck him again, and in an instant, the scenery in front of him, which had just recently become familiar, began to be dyed with unnatural colors. The trees that had been specially pruned by the gardener were growing at an unusual rate, and the buildings were beginning to be covered in eerie apparitions.

He had never seen a tree of this size, nor had he ever seen a building that had decayed to the point of collapse. In a trance, it seemed as if several epochs had passed, and the giant trees and the creeping plants that entwined around them intertwined, revealing a vast and endless labyrinth in front of him.

The sick plants were pale as corpses in the moonlight, and the granite bricks laid on the ground were unrelenting in their expansion, revealing crevices that were difficult to walk on. Between the ancient plants and the squeezed stone bricks, the remains of what was once a large library can be seen.

Visual hallucinations.

Some magicians see this as a talent, believing that seeing things that cannot be seen through normal means is a mystical revelation of some kind. However, regardless of what those guys think, Flick thinks that this kind of "ability" that will hinder normal life is better than good.

So he covered his head, trying to get the strange sight out of his mind - he even wondered if he had inadvertently ingested "poisonous weeds" to see such a surreal scene. And no, these are actually the side effects of that spell experiment.

Similar to when he used the Moonstone Fragment to launch the Illusion Book beyond his ability, his power inadvertently disappeared, and the person fell to his knees with a "click". In a trance, he seemed to see countless indistinguishable figures walking by—they came from a distance and disappeared into the distance, while Frick, who sat in the middle of the road, seemed unnoticed, and several figures even passed through his body.

If you keep looking at this surreal thing, I'm afraid that it won't be long before people with visual illusions will not be able to return to their normal lives. Fortunately, the strange vision did not last long, and in less than a minute, the grotesque scene and figure disappeared.

"Ahhh......h Alcohol is a real nuisance. ”

Looking at the scene that had returned to peace, he struggled to get to his feet, and at the same time couldn't help but complain again, but what appeared in the hallucination made him unforgettable.

Especially at the end, the silver gate only appeared for a moment.