MTL - The Law of the Silent Gentleman-Chapter 69 Mausoleum Island
Giuliano jumped into the knee-deep water, shivering from the freezing water. Pirate ships are moored in the harbor behind, hidden by natural cliffs. The days of drifting at sea are not easy for anyone. The sailors should be overjoyed to be able to step on land for a while, but this time most people would rather stay on the ship, as if there is something ominous on the island in front of them. Like evil. So Barsano went ashore in a small boat with some of his most loyal and reliable subordinates, including Giuliano and his party.
They were paddling, and a sampan was dragged behind the boat, on which Fernando's body and the elf with the broken arm were placed. The elf lay on a simple stretcher. It is a miracle that he has survived for so many days without dying. The old doctor on board was amazed, as if he wanted to dissect him on the spot for research. Fernando's body was wrapped in a canvas, fastened tightly with cables. Giuliano didn't understand why they would go to such lengths to drag a body ashore, but Barsano insisted.
When they were about thirty paces from the beach the boat ran aground, and they got down and dragged the boat on. After some trekking, finally went ashore. Barsano directed his men to hide the boat in the nearby bushes, and then unloaded Fernando's body from the sampan.
"You, come and lift it with me." Barsano said to the pirates, "You guys lift that elf."
His subordinates looked at each other in blank dismay, everyone shrunk their necks, not daring to take a step forward. They were the bravest pirates on the ship, and they obeyed Barsano's orders, even if the captain told them to take off their clothes and jump into the sea, they would absolutely obey, but when they landed on this small island, they all trembled, as if they were frightened Bad fawn.
"What are you still doing?" Barsano raised his voice, "Do you want me to ask you to move your lord?"
None of the pirates dared to answer, you pushed me, I poked you, and finally silently elected a representative—the giant man as burly as an iron tower—to present his feelings to the captain. The giant man grabbed his clothes with both hands, and his old boldness was gone forever. Like a timid child, he said in a voice not much louder than a mosquito: "Captain, we... It's not that we deliberately disobeyed your orders, but this island... really Evil door!"
"What's so evil! Mausoleum Island is one of our supply ports, how many times have we been here!"
"But before we just rested on the coast, replenished fresh water and food, or traded with other ships, and never went deep into the island. You know, there is a witch living on the island, if you disturb her..."
"Damn! How many times have we been short of medical care and medicine, and we all went to ask that witch! Why didn't I see you twitching like women back then?!"
The giant man faltered: "That...at that time...it was different..."
Barsano jumped forward and slapped the giant man across the face. The giant man drooped his head, not daring to say a word.
"Have your **** been eaten by fish! Useless coward! Get out of my sight!"
The giant man and the other pirates hurried to the beach, wishing they could stay as far away from the center of the island as possible. Barsano shooed them away, then turned to Giuliano and said viciously: "You come with me!"
"No!" cried Antoine, "the witch looks terrible, I don't want to go!"
"It's okay if you don't go, I'll turn around and go back immediately, the three of you can stay on this lonely island."
"Don't you want to find out the real culprit?"
"Anyway, I believe that you are the real culprits, and your death on the island has fulfilled my wish."
Antoine hid behind Giuliano and Enzo in a panic, grabbed their clothes, used them as shields, and muttered, "I don't want to see the witch, but I don't want to die on a desert island..."
Enzo pulled his hand away calmly: "There is no way, let's just go. I want to see what kind of witch is so powerful that it can even deal with the poison that no one can cure."
Barsano sneered: "I hope you never go back."
Since the pirates refused to follow, the two dead bodies had to be carried by four people who dared to walk. Antoine and Enzo carried the Elf's stretcher ahead, while Giuliano and the pirate leader carried Fernando's body behind. Barsano went last because he was afraid of being attacked from behind.
The four entered the jungle on the island. This island is located in the south of the Yod coast. The climate is warmer than that of Giuliano's hometown, Vanessa City. The plants on the island have broad leaves, and they are still blooming brightly in winter. Many trees are Giuliano never seen. From time to time overhead, brightly feathered birds flew by, and Giuliano looked at them and thought they looked a bit like parrots, but much larger than he had ever seen before. Antoine was curious about the yellow fruit on a tree, and stared at it for a long time, until a large multi-legged worm suddenly appeared behind the fruit. He screamed in fright, and almost threw the stretcher out. After that, he stared at his feet all the way, and never dared to look around again.
This jungle has probably not been visited by anyone, and it is in the most primitive state of isolation. It is understandable that the pirates use it as a stronghold, but what kind of people will live here for a long time? Looking at the green vines hanging above his head, Giuliano couldn't help asking: "Why is this island called 'Mausoleum Island'? Is there anyone's tomb on the island?"
Originally, he didn't expect Barsano to answer, but the pirate leader was probably in a good mood, and he opened his mouth mercifully: "There is a lake in the center of this island, and there is a strange building in the lake, which is said to be the tomb of the ancients, but I don't know who is sleeping in it."
"What about the witch? You said she is the witch who guards the tomb, and she is guarding the tomb?"
"She said so herself."
"Have you seen her?"
"No. Sometimes the pirates are injured, but lack of medical treatment, they will go to the lake to pray to the witch for elixir. At that time, a boat will float out of the building in the lake. Although there is no one to drive the boat, it can Accurately arrived at the shore, there are medicinal materials and notes on the boat, which are written on the usage of the drugs and her warning: leave quickly, do not disturb the long sleep of the dead. As long as you take the medicinal materials and notes, the boat will automatically float back. It is said that she I never show up, but I know everything that happened within a radius of 3,000 rounds around the island. Don’t you think it’s evil?”
Giuliano disagreed: "It's nothing evil. It must be the effect of magic. I have seen mystics set fire to people. It must be easy for them to manipulate a small boat."
"Well, there are even worse ones. The old doctor on my boat went to the lake to ask the witch for medicine when he was young, and he heard about witches from his teacher, who did the same thing when he was young. How long do you think the witch lived? Ordinary people can’t live that long. The witch must have mastered the secret method of prolonging life.” As he spoke, Barsano looked sadly at the corpse tightly wrapped in canvas, “Maybe She has a way of resurrecting Fernando."
"If she can resurrect the dead, why would she guard the tomb here? It's totally illogical."
"Hmph, she said she kept the mausoleum herself. Maybe it was an excuse. In fact, there is no mausoleum on the island at all."
"You... Forget it, you can believe it if you want to."
They continued to travel deeper into the island. The trees grew denser, with drooping leaves and vines overhead, new obstacles at every step, and dimmer light, unable to penetrate such dense vegetation to reach the ground. I don't know when, the jungle suddenly became terribly quiet, no birdsong or insects could be heard anymore, only the gurgling sound of running water in the silence. They followed the sound of the water to find a small stream, and walked upstream along the stream for about an hour. Finally, it suddenly became clear to them that they had arrived at the lake that Barsano had mentioned.
The lake was much bigger than Giuliano imagined. He thought it was just a small pool, but in fact the lake was bigger than Vanessa's famous "Plaza of Glory". No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like a naturally formed cliff embracing the lake. In the center of the cliff stands a strange white building. It is built against the mountain. The white corridor, roof and columns extend from the mountain to the lake. Part of it is submerged under the lake, and only a corner of it is exposed above the water. Its shape is a bit like a temple. Standing by the lake, you can see the magnificent gate at the front of the building, and there is a wide step walk in front of the gate. If you walk all the way up that trail, you will definitely have a sense of awe of "climbing to the sky" while working hard. Plants are growing unscrupulously everywhere in the white building, and the eaves and columns are also damaged. It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a ruin. I don't know how many years this building has stood quietly in the lake. If there were not four big living people standing by the lake, otherwise everything would be like a picture scroll, as if time stopped here and never passed.
The only way to reach the white building is by wading, as the cliffs appear to be unclimbable. However, there were no boats on the lake. A group of people put down the stretcher and stared at the lake.
"Do you think that building looks like the ancient ruins on Mount Chevignon?" Enzo asked with narrowed eyes.
Giuliano set up a pergola with his hands and looked into the distance: "Listen to you...it's a bit similar, especially the synagogue where the statue is enshrined."
"But this building is much more refined than the remains of the Cheverignon Hill." Antoine added.
Barsano ignored their conversation, walked alone to the lake, and put his feet in the water. He pulled out the waist knife, held the blade with his left hand, and wiped it hard, leaving a deep scar on the palm of his hand. He hissed in pain, then opened his hand, letting the blood drip into the lake.
"Witch guarding the mausoleum, I am Barsano Bonfati, the captain of the 'Owl'! I take the liberty of disturbing your meditation, and I just want to ask you to give me a life-saving elixir! Someone here has been poisoned by a strange poison. Medicine cannot cure him, so I can only ask you to lend a helping hand!"
After speaking, he dipped his cut palm into the lake water.
When he raised his hand, Giuliano was surprised to find that the scar on his palm disappeared!
At the same time, a small boat floated out from somewhere in the white building. The two ends of the boat are turned up like a crescent moon, similar to the gondolas in the Yoder area. The hull is as white as snow, reflecting the sun like the finest bone china. There was no wind on the lake at the moment, and the surface of the lake was as smooth as a mirror. The boat crossed the water, leaving a thin trail of water behind it.
Before the boat touched the shore, Barsano rushed to meet it, grabbed the bow of the boat, and dragged the boat ashore. Giuliano leaned over curiously, wanting to see what the witch's elixir looked like, but found that the boat was empty and there was nothing there.
"Uh...how about the medicine?"
Barsano was also stunned. "Why is there no medicine? No! It wasn't like this before! There used to be medicine bottles and notes on the boat...Hey! What are you doing! Come down!"
Enzo boarded the boat amidst his angry reprimands, and even jumped twice to confirm the carrying capacity of the boat.
"This boat is not bad. It is more than enough for six or seven people. I think the witch's intention is not to bring the medicine, but to let us go there."
