Chương 187

"You want to go where?" Mr. Stone asked, his usually jovial face tightening with concern as he patted the neck of the lead Pegasus.

"The Horned Lake," Orion repeated softly, keeping his voice low to avoid drawing attention from passersby in the busy landing area.

"Specifically, the peaks overlooking the fishing village on its shores." Mr. Stone took off his hat, wringing it in his hands.

"Young Master, that's... that's wild country. Not the nice kind of wild, either. The winds coming off the frozen lakes there are treacherous, and the beasts nesting in the cliffs aren't fond of visitors. Your mother wouldn't want me to take you to such a dangerous place." Orion moved closer, shedding the authoritative mask he had worn in the Guild and adopting a more conspiratorial tone.

He's very respectful of the Sanctum's hierarchy and rules, but if I've read him right, he takes even greater pride in being part of our circle, no matter how far from its core.

"I know, Mr. Stone," Orion said, placing a hand on the carriage door.

"But we received intelligence from the Guild. A fellow student is in danger out there. If we go back to get our brooms or wait for others to notice, we might be too late." He looked the coachman in the eye.

"I need a pilot who can handle the shear winds without throwing us into the rocks, and taking our brooms would be even more dangerous. I trust you and your boys to see us through anything." It was definitely flattery, but it was also genuine. Stone's chest slightly puffed out as the compliment to his skill and loyalty worked like a charm. Orion cheerfully ignored the half-amazed, half-deadpan stares drilling into his back.

His friends would have to get used to such things if they wanted to come along on his adventures.

"A student in danger," Stone muttered, putting his hat back on and adjusting the brim. He glanced at Pauline, who gave him a silent nod, and that was seemingly enough.

"Well. We can't have that, can we? But I'm keeping the altitude high, and I'm not landing on the beach. I'll put you down on the bluff, but I'm keeping away from the caves, and if anything big comes out of the water, I'm pulling you out."

"That is all I ask," Orion smiled.

"Get in, then!" Stone barked, climbing back onto the driver's bench with renewed energy.

"And hold onto your stomachs. We're going to have to do this a bit faster than usual if we want to get there and back before nightfall." The flight to the Horned Lake was rougher than the journey from the Belt, mainly because they were flying perpendicular to the prevailing winds. The carriage rattled and shook despite its enchantments, but Stone handled the reins skillfully, guiding the team of Pegasi through the turbulent air currents. Orion looked out the window.

Below, the sparse forest in the Sanctum's valley gave way to rocky scrubland, then to a mix of steel-gray and white-capped peaks, though some in the distance rose even higher than their current altitude.

"There," Orion pointed. Nestled in a cove protected by a hook-shaped mountain was Horned Lake, a saltwater body trapped by the geography, fed by the tides through underwater tunnels. Beside it sat a small cluster of houses. It was a fishing hamlet, according to Red Mane, barely big enough to be marked on a map.

"Set us down on the ridge," Orion called up to Stone. The carriage descended, with the Pegasi flaring their wings to brake against the updraft. They touched down on a flat stretch of rock overlooking the hamlet, the wheels skidding slightly on the loose gravel.

"I'll wait for you here," Stone said, already getting out of his seat to hand out snacks to the animals.

"You have a couple of hours before the sun starts setting, and I need to be back."

"We'll do our best to stick to that timeline," Orion reassured him. Once everyone had climbed out of the carriage, they stopped for a moment to observe the village below. Being so close to Silverpeak, yet at the same time so distant, Orion expected its population to be a strange mix of people. However, the cluster of houses surpassed his expectations, especially with how mismatched their colors were.

"I didn't know such places existed so close to the Sanctum," Luna murmured. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Many people prefer to stay away from large centers, often because they wouldn't be accepted," Pauline explained in a strange tone. Orion gave her a curious glance, but for now, she didn't seem willing to explain what she meant, so he shrugged.

"Let's move," he said, leading the way down the goat path that led to the village.

"Keep your eyes open for anything strange." As they traveled, he noticed the absence of boats on the lake, even though it was mostly known for its crabs and eels. No elders sat on the pier mending nets, as was common in Last Thaw, and no children played around the houses. It was eerie enough that he checked the Field to make sure he wasn't missing anything important, but [Hypotheticism] reported nothing unusual.

The concentration of mana here was more focused on earth and water than light, especially with the cave so close, but since this was near the Sanctum, there was more than enough light mana for him not to worry about casting trouble. As they approached the hamlet, the feeling of unease grew stronger. Orion paused by a drying rack near the shore. He reached out and touched the netting hanging over the wood. That's not hemp. It's not the spider silk the witches sometimes use, but it is much better than natural fibers.

An alchemical polymer of some kind? Something was wrong, that much was certain now, but he still couldn't identify the nature of the problem.

"Those huts are certainly kept very well," Dorian noted. The roofs of the shacks had been recently patched with high-quality timber that still smelled of resin. This was wood from deep forests, not the rougher kind usually found in the mountains.

"They aren't poor," Orion realized.

"Or at least, they haven't been for the last few months."

"Smuggling?" Luna suggested.

"That, or hush money," Orion agreed grimly.

"Someone is paying them very well either way." He looked at the windows of the closest house. The shutters were shut tight, but he saw a brief flicker of movement behind the slats. Someone was watching them.

"We should ignore them for now, since they seem so intent on not being bothered," Orion decided.

"I doubt they'd tell us what's going on anyway." They left the silent village behind, heading down to the rocky beach. The entrance to Blind Man's Bluff was a wide opening in the rocky cliff, partly submerged by the high tide. The water at the entrance was dark and oily, filled with floating seaweed. Orion paused to look at the shapes hiding in the murky depths of the lake, but nothing really caught his eye.

"Let's go in," he said. Almost in unison, all four summoned picture-perfect [Torchlights], setting them to hover around them. The cave's air was humid, and the howling wind outside was muffled, replaced by the drip of water and the echo of their footsteps on the slick stone path that traced along the side of the submerged channel.

"Get ready," Pauline whispered. Orion quickly activated [Light Exoskeleton], eager to avoid a repeat of his last fight.

"Monsters?" Luna asked, drawing her wand. A moment later, the water in the channel started to churn as if answering her question. A swarm of creatures burst out of the water, scrambling onto the rocky path, and for once, Orion had no trouble identifying them without resorting to his glasses. They were Giant Mud-Crabs, creatures the size of ponies with chitinous shells covered in barnacles, and they were a common part of the local diet, much like red meat, thanks to their succulent claws.

Orion raised his hand, preparing a spell, but hesitated. The crabs didn't seem ready to attack. In fact, they didn't even acknowledge the humans. They scuttled past them, clattering over the stones in a disorganized stampede toward the cave exit. One of them almost ran over Orion's boot in its haste, completely ignoring him.

"What the hell is going on?" Luna muttered, watching the parade of fleeing monsters with confusion.

"They are running from something," Pauline said firmly. She had been staying in the background during the whole trip, but now that they were inside the cave, she seemed prepared to take charge. Shadows danced at her feet, flickering under the [Torchlights], and reacting to every noise, seeming ready to materialize.

"Do you think something has pushed them out?" He asked, and she gave a thoughtful nod. Orion considered turning back to handle the crabs before they reached the lake, but the villagers were probably more than capable of dealing with tier-one creatures like that, especially with all their shiny gear. They pressed further in, and soon, the tunnel grew taller, with the ceiling disappearing into the darkness.

The water here was deep enough that the light couldn't reach all the way through, and it was sometimes broken by stalagmites that rose up like fangs. Minor monsters, like more Mud Crabs, occasionally appeared, but they were weak enough that Dorian and Luna could handle them easily on their own. Meanwhile, Orion focused on trying to figure out what was causing that strange sensation he was feeling.

It felt like something had just moved through where he was standing, something much larger than he was, but he couldn't find any such signs in the ambient mana. And even though he had relaxed his standards enough to acknowledge the mystery of magic, that didn't mean he was ready to accept such strange sensations. Eventually, the tunnel began to widen, and the water collected into a pool of sorts, roughly two hundred feet across and considerably longer.

"Stop," Orion ordered, raising a hand and pointing to a sandbar on the far side of the underground lake. Lying on the sand was a massive shape, large enough to scrape against the walls of the tunnel they had just walked through. It was so big, in fact, that it probably didn't come from the lake on the surface, which suggested the waterways went much deeper into the mountains. Maybe even up to the sea? Though that would be hundreds of miles. But then again, it wouldn't be the weirdest geographical feature I've seen.

Walking carefully, they approached the beast and found it was completely still. After a closer look, Orion realized it was probably an Abyssal Eel, or at least a local relative, though he couldn't claim to have read anything about them in a place like this. The local eels were much smaller. Abyssal Eels were top predators of coastal caves, solitary hunters that could reach forty feet in length. Their skin was so tough it could deflect steel, and their jaws could crush plate armor.

They were solid Tier Two monsters, bordering on Tier Three in their own element and with enough time to grow. This creature wasn't at the top of its species, but it wasn't a runt either. It was a beast that even Orion would have had to be careful to face. And it was clearly dead, given the hole in its skull.

"By the Mother," Dorian breathed as they approached the corpse. Surprisingly, there were no signs of a struggle. Such a large creature would usually have destroyed its surroundings in its final throes, but based on the evidence, this one seemed to have died without even realizing it was in danger. There was a perfectly circular wound on its skull, and the flesh around the edges had been cauterized in a single blast. The skull bones had also been vitrified, turned into smooth, black glass by intense, focused heat.

It was the result of light magic.

"Selene did this," he said, narrowing his eyes.