To survive in the wild environment, shelter is extremely important.
Some sworn novels and biographies always describe how a certain arrogant hero lived in the wilderness for a long time without carrying any supplies, but the reality has never been as beautiful as described in literary works.
In real survival, even the most top survival experts like Henry will try their best to avoid falling into such a state.
Survival is no child's play, and it certainly doesn't seem exciting or interesting. A person can survive for three weeks without food, three days without water, and can only last up to three hours without shelter.
These extreme states refer to storms, snow, or various other crisis situations. But even on the sunny plains of Ecasta, trying to find a good shelter when you have to spend the night in the wild is what most people with a right mind would do.
The only people who think it's fun to survive in the wild without bringing anything are only those noble ladies and young men who treat it as a picnic. People like the white-haired Luoan girl who actually went to sleep in a tree for two nights will understand that even if Compared with the wooden beds in cheap hotels that are full of weird smells, it would be like heaven.
The words return to their original place. It is certain that the castle is the place to spend the night, but it remains to be proven whether it is safe inside the castle, which seems to have been deserted for many years.
The area of the Protasia Forest is quite vast. From the center of the Ecasta Plain, you go south along the Garriel River, passing through several Avenella city-states and many small villages, to the southern border of the kingdom. In front of the Dange Canyon, which is closely connected to the Tambur Mountains, the dense forest on the left that you see belongs to Protasia.
And right here in Dange Canyon, a large part of this forest borders the forest at the foot of Mount Tambur.
This has also led to a considerable number of wild beasts and magical beasts migrating to the Protasia Forest, perhaps to escape natural enemies or find food for a while, or perhaps forever.
Because the area is so vast and quite lush, no traveler would know what kind of creatures they might encounter in the forest. Therefore, being cautious at all times is common sense that everyone traveling in the Ecasta Plains should have - Henry and the others are no exception.
Night has fallen, but the homemade lighting tools are not a problem for these experienced adventurers. The best torch material you can find in the Protasia forest is the bark of the Aika black pine. Just peel off the bark full of flammable rosin and wrap it in several layers with hay and dry pine needles to fix it tightly. , a torch that can burn for quite some time was made.
The group spent more than half an hour making many torches, and then Henry took out the flint and lit them. The gradually lowering temperature at night and the rest along the way allowed Mira to regain some energy. She looked at the soldiers next to her and took out the same flints as Henry, and then realized that she was the only one who didn't know this.
The girl grabbed the trumpet torch specially made for her by Henry and followed the sage. The two of them slowly approached the entrance of the castle.
The city gate is quite large, and horses can be led directly in.
It was so dark inside that the faint moonlight was blocked by the branches and leaves of various tree species. Even the light from the torches in everyone's hands could not shine through.
The second bright moon exudes not-so-bright moonlight, and the entire world is covered in cold blue.
Standing at the entrance of the cave, listening to the whistling autumn wind, Mira shrank. The warm orange color from the torch could only illuminate such a small area in front of them. Other than that, the front looked like it would remain unchanged forever. As terrifying as eternal darkness.
Henry took a step, and the girl followed him closely.
Then others came in with their horses. They moved forward slowly. Although there were no other traces on the ground except for the vines and damp soil crawling everywhere, everyone still tried to be as careful as possible.
The archers put away their bows and stood closely with their companions holding torches. Three ladies also dismounted from their horses and stayed in the protective circle.
The team of thirteen people was divided into two parts, looking after the front and rear sections of the cavalry respectively.
Several shield warriors held shields and looked around with vigilant eyes. There was no shortage of terrifying rumors about this ancient castle no matter where they were. They moved forward slowly, one step at a time.
The entrance passage is quite wide, with a horse, two people, and room for one person standing, but walking near the wall there is a cold and clammy atmosphere that makes people feel very uncomfortable.
The "neighing" horses also showed similar emotions. There seemed to be something uneasy about them. But these excellent war horses showed good qualities. They obediently followed the guidance of their masters and walked slowly inside.
The clammy walls and somewhat musty air made several ladies take out handkerchiefs and cover their noses. The sound of footsteps echoed inside the empty and silent castle, making some people with poor psychological quality want to turn around and flee this place immediately. .
Mira pulled Henry's clothes, but the sage did not respond. He was carefully observing the internal structure of the castle and the weathering on the surface.
The mercenaries behind him may be worried about what monsters or even ghosts live here, but Henry himself is more concerned about whether the structure of the castle is still intact after so many years.
He didn't want his group's sudden visit to inadvertently touch a fragile link and cause the entire castle to collapse.
The sage looked around, while the team leader behind him looked at him solemnly.
"What are you looking at?" He asked Henry in a questioning tone. Obviously, it was impossible for him to completely let go of his doubts after half a day - and Henry turned his head, just glanced at him and turned again go back.
People who are mercenaries and adventurers are often superstitious about some weird things, because they are generally illiterate. However, when doing this kind of work, they always encounter some unexplainable things. In order to believe it, there are some such as: "Ghosts guide passers-by." They firmly believe the rumor that "entering the dense forest castle and never coming back" is very suitable for the moment.
"..." Henry didn't reply, which made the team leader a little nervous. When he contacted this man's inexplicable things, he was almost convinced that this passage was actually the devil's mouth and they were heading all the way to hell - but at this moment, Henry spoke.
"This is a Baroque castle." The sage put his hand on the higher wall's gray-white cold surface, which was not covered with moss.
"If you are not familiar with it, let me put it another way: it is a castle in the most popular style of Sivalier two hundred years ago." Henry turned back to look at the people behind him, his light blue eyes reflecting the swaying firelight Looking at the truth is like a ghost leading death, and the sage continued.
"The typical characteristics of Baroque castles are the appearance and interior, which are square and regular and not too tall. They continue the custom of the Sivalier people and they make the details simple and beautiful."
"Avenella was still using this style of architecture for half a century after its founding. It was not until the birth of the outstanding architect Philip Goethe that Avenella first had those commendable and wonderful flying buildings. Arches and spires of churches and castles.”
Henri shrugged: "Even if it's ironic that this so-called Avenella feature was created by an architect who was half Civalier, it's a remarkable achievement."
Henry said this, and the team leader frowned: "I can hear that you know something about the castle, but what does this have to do with us staying here for the night?"
He said this, and everyone else - including Mira - nodded in sympathy.
Henry held his forehead helplessly. It was terrible to be uneducated. He thought so and said, "It does matter, of course it does."
"After figuring out the type of this castle and taking into account the degree of weathering and the damage to the stone pillars outside the city gate, as well as its distance from Ashenil, I can be sure that it is the city of Ashenil in the past -" Henry After a pause: "The legendary castle that was destroyed by the dragon."
"Dragon!" There was an exclamation from behind, and then the young lady covered her mouth again and blushed.
"Don't worry, madam, even if it is a dragon that has experienced two hundred years, it should only have a skeleton left, not to mention that I don't believe this legend at all." Henry shrugged, and the team leader once again picked Eyebrows asked: "How can you see it?"
"Traces." Henry imitated the other person's raised eyebrows and replied: "The damage marks outside look more like those caused by catapults than a flying dragon with fangs and sharp teeth that can spit fire. If I had to guess, Ashniel should have had a conflict with the people from Sivalier."
"It's like this now, and Avenella, who was newly born and fragile, buried this matter for the sake of the relationship between the two countries. This is probably why people now don't know that in the dense forest only 70 kilometers away, The reason why such a castle exists in Zhonghui." The sage said, and the leader of the team nodded.
"I admire you very much." He said in a tone without any admiration: "But how will it help us now?"
"It helps, it helps a lot." Henry shrugged, then walked through this section of the aisle first and entered a hall.
"Knowing that it is Ashenil, we can systematically try to find its rest room and other places that are well enclosed and probably not damaged. Well, a typical Baroque castle should Place the weapons depot in the room on the left and diagonally opposite..." Henry turned the torch to the other side. In the hall covered with moss and grass, there was a tightly closed rotten wooden door that had turned into dark black. clear and distinct.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap" the sage walked over, and Mira followed him closely.
"Here, help me get it." Henry handed his torch to the girl, because some Mira Shen could only hold it. She stood there like other people who walked into the hall later, looking at Henry and wondering what he thought. What to do, and the next second, the former turned in front of the wooden door and turned his back to it.
Then he raised his right foot like a horse and kicked hard on the blackened wooden door surface with his heel.
"Bang - hula -"
The wooden door, which had rotted away over the years, easily fell apart, and countless bugs hiding inside fled in panic and got into the small cracks that the firelight could not reach.
"Come." Henry took the torch from Mira's hand. He stretched it forward and the torch illuminated the square lounge.
"That's not bad." Henry smiled, and the leader of the team on the side put away his weapon and walked over with only a torch.
The lounge is neither big nor small, and seems just right for a dozen or so people to rest.
In addition to some square openings on the sides and top that look like ventilation, the boxy building also has six stone beds also made of gray and white stones - the beds are large enough to sleep two people. To the three people, although there is some moss, they are only kept at the base position below.
The high stone bed keeps people away from the moisture on the ground. If a fire is lit, there will be enough warmth in the relatively closed space to spend a peaceful night.
"It's really good." The leader of the team finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the relaxed expressions on their faces. Then he stretched out his hand towards Henry: "Bernie Cleveland." Bernie, who was solidly built. He said this to Henry, and the sage shook his hand in return and said his name.
The act of shaking hands represents the other party's recognition and friendliness to him to a considerable extent. Henry's goal has been achieved. For the time being, these people should be on the same side as them - he turned his head and looked at Mira, who could find such a person The girl looked relieved that she could still get some sleep.
Several mercenaries took out the torches they had prepared earlier from their horses and some firewood they had picked up while it was still dark. If they lit a fire directly in the wild, it would attract unnecessary attention, but here they can light a fire with peace of mind. Warm yourself and grill hot food.
Night has completely fallen, the horses are placed in the hall outside, and a group of people have a place to stay in the lounge with a bonfire.
Henry's mouth slowly curled up as he watched this peaceful scene, but then he inadvertently turned his head and out of the corner of his eye saw something moving outside in the darkness.
The black figure was lurking in the corner, staring at them with its eyes reflecting the firelight. Even Henry couldn't help but shudder. He grabbed the short knife and stood up while warning everyone.
"Be careful, I think we're not the only ones here"
He said this, and because the sage's words suddenly fell into the quiet darkness, only the cold breath and the rustling voice that became clear at some point echoed alone.
