Walking inside the cave, as you get farther away from the waterfall, the ground becomes dry and the traces of artificial excavation become more and more obvious.
The stone surface of the natural cave formed by running water is smooth, and there are small-scale raised stalactite groups in some places. Under the light of torches and candles, the reflections cast look like some kind of creature spreading its teeth and claws.
The artificially carved cave walls are smoother and rougher, with traces left one after another in many places, forming a clear dividing line with the smooth surface of the natural cave.
Only here do the real traces of life begin to appear. A row of stoves for cooking are attached to the cave wall and are connected to multiple flues leading to the outside. The narrow flues turn left and right and the final exit is hidden in the leeward to prevent the smoke from being noticed. As if even this was not enough, the group also found a large amount of charcoal in the bamboo basket nearby. Apparently, they used charcoal that did not easily produce a lot of smoke as a heat source rather than an open flame.
This area looks like the kitchen of the Earth Spider Clan that originally lived here, simple but practical. The blackened earthenware pot and the iron pot with rusty holes were still placed beside it. Some kind of food that had been inside spilled out, leaving only a black puddle that was completely dry and covered with dust under the firelight. Stains.
The pickled food in the overturned pickle jar that should have been preserved for a long time also solidified under the influence of time. Mira curiously poked it with her hand and found that it was as hard as a stone.
"Going in a hurry." Henry could come to this conclusion just by shining a torch around.
The supplies are all still there, and even the food has not been taken away. The people who once lived here did not move away in an orderly manner. Combined with the remains of the samurai seen earlier - if it can be counted without bones - this should be a very urgent and sudden evacuation, most likely due to a sudden attack by Kazuto's troops.
Although there is a doubt in thinking this way - the mechanisms used to resist intruders near the exit near the samurai were not triggered, and they maintained a tense posture until they failed under the influence of time. Returning to the original point, the group did not know how many people managed to escape during the sudden incident. It's just that this scene that happened suddenly hundreds of years ago seems to be preserved forever.
Hemp rope, grappling hook, rope ladder. Since he was a person who lived in caves on the mountain and was a member of the earth spider clan who were famous for traveling in secret, it was not surprising that he would have these tools.
Walking a short distance further, there are piles of these usable supplies piled in the corner. It's just that they retain the appearance of how they were originally stored, but their interiors have long since decayed under the influence of time.
With the idea of trying her luck, our Luoan girl picked up a piece of hemp rope. But as soon as she got it, she knew something was wrong, because it didn't have the soft and elastic texture of a rope. It kept a stiff posture like a snake, and when she tried to straighten it with a little force, it "teared" like dry and rotten wood. "A broken sound.
"I knew it." Mira rolled her eyes. Although she had guessed it, she was short of ropes now, so she still wanted to give it a try.
"This way." Henry, who was a few steps away, made a quick inspection and discovered a stone door. Its iron hinges, which were about 15 centimeters thick, had long been rusted to death. The stone door that could not be completely closed only revealed a gap of about 5 centimeters wide.
"Uh-" Joshua and Narumi, two young and middle-aged men, tried their best but remained motionless.
"I'll do it." The sage said calmly, stepped forward and kicked him.
"Boom——!!" The dust that had accumulated for three centuries rose up, and the thick stone door opened directly with his kick and hit the cave wall behind.
"Ahem, cough, cough, tell me, teacher." The white-haired girl who happened to come over glared at the sage with dissatisfaction. Others moved away, but she accidentally inhaled the dust and coughed very uncomfortablely.
"..." Henry shrugged wordlessly, and the doctor lady next to him noticed something under the light of the torch in his hand. She suddenly jumped up, and then was frightened again when she saw what it was. Sitting on the ground.
"Human, human hands." The scholar's curious nature and unaccustomedness to this kind of thing meant that although she could generally remain calm, she could not immediately come forward like she was when studying other things.
Relatively speaking, our Mr. Sage and the Luoan girl, who have seen more dead people, do not have this problem. While Galeva came forward to care about Ling, they walked over and inspected the smooth one that looked like it had been carefully sculptor cleans the bones of the palm.
"Half of the palm is connected to the forearm. There is no broken sword, the radius is still there, but the ulna is missing." Henry judged that there are two bones in the human forearm, but only one is left here. The old pharmacist from behind came up and took a look, and immediately took a breath: "Hiss - this is torn apart alive."
"It probably got stuck in the gap of the stone door and fell down just when the door was opened." Henry, Mira, and Joshua, who were adventurers, were still able to remain calm, but the warriors saw increasingly weird things as they went deeper into the cave. After this scene, he became a little discouraged, not to mention the old pharmacist.
"Old man, can you go back first?" He originally planned to make a fortune from Torataro, but at this moment he was afraid that he would lose his life and make a fortune.
But this opening aroused the emotions of Torataro, who was already under a lot of mental pressure due to various things. The Chinese young man from Pingshan County immediately cursed and vented his emotions hysterically, and was quite incoherent.
Everyone listened quietly to him yelling over there, his words ranging from "Don't any of you care about Ah Hui" in one second to "I tell you, it is not a pity for people like you to die." ”, the mood swings up and down so much that the sound of his yelling insults is enough to echo in the cave.
Including Narumi's old Joe Yajiro, people who were also samurai did not speak. They just watched Torataro hysterically accusing them of not working hard enough and caring enough. Mira and Henry met their eyes, and the latter's expression did not change and he just shrugged.
Why did I wait for so long to accept the mission to pick up Margaret in Parnilla? To a large extent, the mercenaries in the world of Rigar do not like the tasks issued by the noble master very much.
Most of the tasks that civilians turn to mercenaries for help are small tasks that are relatively easy to solve, suitable for small teams that are just starting out or novice lone rangers; while those that go up to larger scales and can make more money are caravans, especially merchants. A type of escort mission issued by the guild.
The tasks issued by the nobles are nicknamed "fool's gold" among adventurers - you think it is gold and you are full of joy, but then you find out after a lot of effort that it is worthless.
Most people who become adventurers find it difficult to live a normal life. Like our Mr. Sage and the girl from Luoan, all the nobles in the world of Rigar recognize them as rarer than unicorns. Class barriers have caused them to have incorrect expectations for aristocrats, thinking that aristocratic masters will be as generous as big businessmen.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
One of the reasons why mercenary guilds can gain a foothold in major cities is that they have signed contracts with local nobles and royal families. Under certain conditions, mercenaries affiliated with the mercenary guild can be recruited to join the country's combat force. of war. This condition allows many countries to allow private armed forces like guilds to exist. However, in order to avoid abuse, this condition is set quite harshly. Most of the time, an official document signed by the local supreme lord can be transferred. And the guild is not stupid either. Usually the ones sent out will be some newcomers instead of precious core combat forces.
In addition, many nobles actually have their own private soldiers, so when the guild issues tasks, they often use mercenaries to do some shameful work.
Nobles always have secrets, and those who can keep them best.
Someone who will never speak again.
This is one of the reasons. Another reason is that although aristocratic gentlemen are often rich in assets, they are not necessarily tied to lavish spending.
reason?
——You can understand it if you look at Torataro who looks exactly the same as an aristocrat in a country that speaks different languages and even has different races across a vast ocean.
Those who are above others do not need to be grateful.
All contributions from those in lower positions are taken for granted in their eyes, and even the due remuneration is a gift for which you should be grateful and shed tears.
He was full of joy, thinking that he would be able to make a fortune by accepting a task from a wealthy nobleman that no one noticed, and even dreamed of being able to establish a relationship with the nobleman. Such novice adventurers will end up covered in scars, killed or disabled in high-risk missions that are deceived and deceived into saying that the difficulty is very low. And even sacrificing one's own life is considered a matter of course by those in high positions. If you return alive, you will not receive much salary, and will be deducted for various reasons such as "not working hard enough" and "the task was not completed well".
Torataro hadn't even given the old pharmacist money yet, but now he was yelling at him, thinking that he gave up halfway and had no energy, etc. He was raining curses and threats on him.
But the old man didn't open his mouth to refute. This is the proper attitude in Heren society.
The people do not fight with the officials.
It’s not that I don’t want to fight, it’s that I can’t. He could only endure it and wait quietly for Torataro to finish scolding him. Others could not speak in support, as any words they spoke would only make the old pharmacist's situation worse in the future.
After losing his temper, he left. When the noble gentleman finished losing his temper, he left.
They cannot resist. If they resist, they will be angry longer and the pain will last longer.
Accepting hardship is to shorten the time of pain.
"Ha-ha-you, spineless old thing." Torataro continued speaking breathlessly after being tired of scolding. He and the old pharmacist only met today. This kind of hysterical anger was actually more because the young man was powerless to deal with the current situation.
In the past few hours, he had encountered too many incredible things that were beyond his ability. In addition, his beloved maid was taken away and she did not know whether she was alive or dead. He was anxious to rescue her but he did not have the ability, so he could only rely on others. But one of the people in the group said he wanted to go back.
So he got angry, like many people who are incompetent. At this time, only loudly accusing others of not doing enough can keep him from going insane.
"I am still good and perfect. The only faults are those who deserve to be reviled and are unclean themselves!"
The deep-rooted class differences fueled Torataro's arrogance. The Luoan girl and the sage originally agreed to participate in one because they thought he was a good nobleman because he cared so much for a commoner's maid, and the other was because Torataro had given a lot of funds in advance.
Now after this incident, the only reason left is money.
"Caring for a person and having a good character as a whole are two different things, it seems." Mira sighed, thinking about Ah Hui's affairs in a hurry and with concern, even though she had encountered incomprehensible danger and terror, her companions retreated. , Torataro who still insisted on moving forward looked exactly like the one who cursed viciously when facing the old pharmacist.
He finally got tired of scolding, and the sage went up to pay some money to the quiet old pharmacist and bought some ointment from him.
The old man glanced at the tall foreigner, nodded slightly, then took the lantern and began to slowly climb toward the exit behind him.
After the interlude, the team became even more silent. The mission was still a mission after all. After one member was missing, they turned around and took the time to cross the stone gate.
Keep going down.
