Pillars of Ita

Sergios put away the trifles on the desk and took a last look at the house he had lived in. The sun shone through the window into the empty living room, and the memories of living with Netalie seemed to remain in this room - he sat near the fireplace, holding a roll of drawings, Netalie was reading a book "Biography of Perlachwen", and the laughter and joy still stayed in the past, as if nothing had changed.

Finally, he picked up his notebook and pushed the door open. The Courier was still moored at Pier 13, and everything was ready. He called a carriage. The driver was an acquaintance. He held the reins in his hand and turned back to ask him, "Mr. Gios, are you going out to sea again?"

"It's a routine patrol. The House wants to open up another route. This time we're going to go around Cape Bonne to take a look."

"I heard that the last fleet encountered a storm."

Ser Gios nodded, fortunately the loss was not great, he stroked the cover of the notebook, on which the orbits of the twelve stars were recorded. This time the House of Representatives had made full preparations, they would definitely be able to go further, the elves must have left a route when they left, so was there a new route behind the fog?

"May the goddess of salt and storm bless you and wish you good luck," the driver took off his hat and saluted him. "Please get on, Mr. Gios, I won't charge you any money."

"the same as you."

He boarded the carriage, the ruts of the wheels printed on the stone slabs, the carriage rocked gently, and the street scenery rapidly receded.

The carriage arrived at the port soon, and Gios got off the carriage, leaving enough money on his seat before getting off. Almost everyone in the port knew him and greeted him:

"Mr. Gios, the wind and waves are light today, suitable for going out to sea."

"It's a good sign. I hope the goddess of salt and storm will favor you this time."

"I wish you all the best."

Ser Gios nodded in response one by one. He was known for being taciturn in front of outsiders and could only say a few words in front of Netali.

He looked towards the port. A row of dried corpses were hanging on the gallows. Blood was flowing from copper pipes, and had long since solidified into a dry black color. Those were captured pirates and felons, and they did not deserve sympathy.

The Messenger was in that direction, and along with four other ships of the same class built with it, the fleet had been ready to set off three days ago.

If all goes well, they will bring back good news this time.

……

"This is Sergios, the greatest explorer in the history of the Gulf Alliance. It is said that he was the one who left that notebook. Later, when the Age of Exploration arrived, people found the way to the Continental Bridge based on that notebook, opened the Gate of Heaven, and established a route to the New World—"

"But he lived in a long time ago, about six centuries ago. At that time, the Gulf Alliance had just been established. The Bronze Bell Council was eager to find another route to Silverwind Harbor, so they appointed Ser Gios and his fleet. At that time, astrologers generally believed that there was a route hidden in the south of Giant Tree Hill, and they named it the 'Far South Route'."

"But later it was proved that there is indeed a route in the turbulent belt, but it does not lead to the east of the continent."

The tall statue stands at the crossroads in the center of Thousand Pillars Harbor, on a square paved with stone slabs, behind the central fountain, and facing the former site of the Bronze Bell Council.

The basalt statue's gaze is directed toward the port area, as if it were watching the fleet anchored there, just as it did on the day the fleet set out.

Perlachven was shrouded in a drizzle, and Alice held an umbrella to introduce the statue's life to everyone. In fact, the brass plaque at its foot was engraved with that history:

Sergios (543-581), discoverer of the Celestial Route and founder of the New Gulf Alliance.

He did not bring back the news that the Bronze Bell Council was expecting. By some strange coincidence, he and his fleet sailed into the turbulent zone and escaped after a life-and-death experience.

The shipwreck resulted in the loss of two-thirds of the fleet, and the six days that the Messenger was missing in the storm became an eternal mystery. Although Ser Gios himself and the first mate and sailors on the ship always insisted that they had not left the fleet, the Bronze Bell Council still sentenced all the crew members of the Messenger to death for collusion and dereliction of duty.

Sergios himself was exiled, and legend has it that he later boarded a ship and once again set out into the Rapids, from which he was never seen again.

It was not until four centuries later that this unsolved case was solved again. Fang He remembered that period of history, when the Summoners of the Second Division, Lopard, Haven, and the priest Pierre of the Seven Amber Temple discovered a strange chain of tasks and found the notes of Ser Gios himself.

They deciphered the guidance of the twelve stars on the notebook and found a lost route leading to the turbulent zone. That route went through three generations, and twenty-seven years later, the continental bridge finally saw the light of day.

Thirty-four years later, the door to heaven opened.

At this point, Ser Gios was restored to prominence, but it had been four hundred and fifty years since his death. During these four hundred years, even the Bronze Bell Council that had tried him had long since ceased to exist. The New Gulf Alliance was established, and it was announced to the world that this great adventurer was the founder of the spirit of the new alliance.

However, the establishment of the New Alliance was three centuries apart from the time of Sergios. It is unknown whether this great explorer had any influence on the Gulf Alliance three hundred years later. However, the new route does support the economic prosperity of the Gulf region to this day.

Tianlan sighed as she listened, while Luo Hao explained to Marigold and the others what the "capital punishment" of the Bronze Bell Council era was.

That was a punishment from the old days in the Gulf, inherited from the custom of pirates. It required inserting copper tubes into the lungs. Believers believed that God would recycle souls as currency through the copper tubes.

The soul flows out with the blood, which is called "blood tax". The alliance in the old Gulf era believed in the goddess of salt and storm. According to modern research, it should actually be Narsu's mother, the mother of storms.

"People at the time called this punishment 'iron lungs,'" Luo Hao said. "There were still many bad practices in the Gulf region at the time, such as the gill punishment, which required cutting open the victim's jaw and then sinking him into the water."

“There is even a tradition called the Salt Wife, where a virgin is tied to an intertidal rock in the early spring. If she is not swallowed by the sea within three days, it is considered a symbol of fertility and the family is granted ten years of tax exemption.”

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Now, not to mention the Bronze Bell Council, even Narsu'er herself had been reduced to ashes, and she was reborn as the god of Youbulaya.

The goddess of salt and storms had long been lost, and now the Gulf Alliance worships the Lady of Scales. In just a few hundred years, it feels like things have changed and people have changed.

However, it was impossible for them to ask Youbulaya whether all this had happened in the past. The Lady of Shadows did not like them very much and only spoke a few words to Sylvie occasionally.

"Since the Chosen Ones entered this area, those barbaric punishments have been abolished one by one. And with the establishment of new shipping routes, economic prosperity has also brought a new look to the Gulf region."

Alice explained to everyone while holding an umbrella.

In fact, since it did not actually experience the Gray Plague, Perlachven now seems to have recovered better than Silverwind Port. Economic activities in the market are booming, and supplies and merchants can be seen everywhere.

"But there is actually another version of the legend about Sergios."

Alice looked through the rain to the other side of the square, where was the former site of the Bronze Bell Council, and now is the location of the Chamber of Commerce of the Seven Amber Temple.

Generally speaking, the temple and the Chamber of Commerce have nothing to do with each other, but the priests of the Temple of Seven Ambers believe in gold coins and scales and are followers of Roman.

That Chamber of Commerce now controls the commercial trade of the entire Gulf region and manages the hub leading to the new route. The Saltbone Fleet was established to protect the prosperity of this route.

"During the six days he was missing, he landed on an island and discovered the secret of the Twelve Stars Prophecy on that island."

"All the prophecies about the twelve stars that are circulating now come from this. In the past, people really found the route to the second world based on that note—"

"Where's the note?" Marigold asked.

"Lost."

"Lost?" Tianlan repeated exaggeratedly. How could such an important thing be lost?

"Because the island discovered by Ser Gios is very likely our target today, the thing that the locals in the Gulf call the Evidence of Overlord."

Elisa took over her sister's words, "The Temple of Seven Ambers once sent people to search for the whereabouts of this island, but most of them found nothing. Until a shipwreck one hundred and thirty years ago, the notebook was also lost."

"Is there no rubbing of the notebook?" asked the poet lady.

"I don't know why the Seven Amber Temple took the original manuscript out to sea," Alyssa shook her head, "but there are indeed some rubbings of the notebook, and almost all of them are in the hands of the alliance and the Seven Amber Temple."

“But it is said that there are some secrets hidden in the legend. Later, the temple sent people out to sea again, but the results were not as good as before. Over time, they gave up this activity.”

Tianlan couldn't help but look at the female pirate leader beside her, but Catherine shook her head, "The legend of Silver Chain Island is not like this. Legend has it that a pirate king once landed on that island and ruled that port. He established immortal achievements in that era and became the king of the sky and sea who ruled all the seas. The saying of the proof of hegemony also came from this."

"But with the death of the pirate king, the mysterious airport once again disappeared into history. Even the history of that legend also disappeared. People don't even remember the name of the pirate king. Only some scattered legends are left."

What a mysterious island, Fang He couldn't help thinking. The mysterious floating port was elusive, moving almost in a fixed trajectory between the Giant Tree Hill and the empty sea of ​​Korin-Ishurian. When it approached the Giant Tree Hill, it was close to the bay.

As we got closer to Corin-Ishurian, related legends began to circulate along the Scepter Coast. Presumably, there were also many legends about this floating port in the ancient countries along the Scepter Coast.

Most of the time, it roams the seas outside the Silver Chain. The legend of the pirate king was left behind in that era, after it disappeared for the last time in the Candlelight Sea three hundred years ago.

"But according to my research," Elisa said, "the legend of the pirate king of Silver Chain Island actually happened after the notebook of the Seven Amber Temple disappeared. If the related legend is true, maybe the notebook fell into the hands of a pirate king, and based on the notebook, he found the floating port."

"But that was what happened during his lifetime. Since the death of this mysterious pirate king, everything related to it, whether it was the notebook or the floating port itself, the truth has long been buried under the dust of history."

"Then what should we do?" Tian Lan couldn't help asking again, "It is said that the port only appears for two or three months each time. It has been more than a month since we got the news and rushed here. In the remaining two months, are we going to look for a needle in a haystack in this bay?"

"There is no better way. Let's try our luck in the sea area mentioned in the news. If possible, we'd better get a copy of the notebook."

Fang He had an indifferent attitude towards finding this port. On the one hand, he came here because of his promise to Catherine, and on the other hand, if they could really get such a port, it would be great news for the Seven Seas Brigade.

As for the military's mission, it was also based on the premise that the target was found. However, the Gulf Alliance had launched many search activities in history, and at most even sent out several fleets, but still found nothing.

The records about the pirate king are even more mysterious. There are even very few records about whether there was such a pirate group roaming the Silver Chain Sea more than a hundred years ago, not to mention the even more vague rumors behind it.

"The Seven Seas Storm will be ready to go out to sea again in about two days."

Catherine answered.

She turned back and stared at the statue in the rain. If the rumors were true, the last time this great explorer went out to sea was probably to find this island.

He firmly believed that he had discovered the new route and made relevant records in his notebook, but he was not sure whether the notebook was from after he boarded the airport for the second time.

Outsiders will not know.

She just saw her father and grandfather in this statue, the equally cold-blooded pirate king who sailed into the storm with the same persistence.

He even abandoned his own fleet, his subordinates, and his own flesh and blood, and landed on the island without hesitation. There has been no news of him since then.

Just like this great explorer.

Time flies by.

Storm No. 7 was ready to sail two days later than expected.

It wasn't that Catherine made a wrong judgment, but there was a small disturbance in the port.

"Go inform the guests. There's news from the Port Authority," the boss' voice came from the yard. "Hurry up. Those living upstairs are all important people."

The middle-aged man came out of the boiler room cursing. The alliance blocked the port area, and he had been going back and forth to get information for the past two days. He didn't have time to catch his breath before he was ordered around again.

However, he also knew that he could not afford to offend the guests living upstairs. It was said that they were sent personally by the Gulf Alliance, and the young man in the lead was an alchemist of high status.

Just because of this identity, he didn't dare to take it lightly. The hateful fat man was afraid of getting into trouble, so he caught him to take the blame at this time.

"That damn patient."

He looked back at the next room. If the other servant hadn't been sick, he wouldn't have been needed to do this job.

The sunlight in the yard was a little dazzling, and the middle-aged man couldn't help but block the light with his hands. It was only the beginning of February, and it had rained a few days ago. The temperature during this period was really abnormal.

But just as he raised his hand, he felt an unbearable pain in his wrist. He subconsciously wanted to scream, but a dizziness came over him.

The middle-aged man only felt darkness in front of his eyes, fell down headfirst, and heard terrible screams coming from all around before he closed his eyes.

He was even wondering, what did those people see?

Fang He was calculating the time in the room. The Gulf Alliance had blocked the port not long ago, and it should be reopened today.

For the past two days they had to stay in a hotel in the port, which was arranged for them by their allies themselves. If it weren't for this incident, they should have already left Qianzhu Port.

As he thought, he packed up the items in the room and stopped to check if there was anything missing. After confirming that everything was correct, he pushed the door open again and walked down the stairs to the hall.

However, he had just arrived here when he saw Tianlan running in from outside in a hurry, and said to him breathlessly: "Brother Ed, come quickly, something happened outside!"

Fang He frowned slightly, immediately went down the stairs and followed Tian Lan out of the hotel, only to find that there were already several circles of people gathered on the street outside.

"Please make way," Tianlan called out, pushing the crowd apart. Fang He followed her to the innermost layer, only to find that Mei had already been waiting there.

Miss Knight was half-kneeling on the ground. In front of her lay a middle-aged man with a pale face and covered in blood.

May put her hand on his neck, but the blood still gushed out from his mouth and nose like a fountain. In a short time, he looked like he was going to die.

The third one.

Fang He couldn't help but frown as he watched this scene. They had experienced such a situation in the port before. A worker suddenly fell ill and fell to the ground, then vomited blood.

It took only a few moments for him to lose his life, but fortunately this "evil disease" would not take away the starlight, and soon the worker was resurrected again in the temple.

But the ensuing disease began to spread throughout the city. I heard that the lower city had already become the hardest-hit area, with hundreds of new cases overnight, and most of them would not see the sun the next day.

The Temple of Seven Ambers is overcrowded, and the source of the infectious disease is spreading around the resurrection point. Holy water and prayers are of no use, and the plague is getting worse.

Many people thought of the gray disaster not long ago, but in Fang He's opinion, this sudden infectious disease had nothing to do with the gray disaster, and the two had very different manifestations.

"Brother Ed, what should we do?" Tianlan looked at the scene anxiously and turned to look at him.

She was not worried about what would happen to May. At least so far the plague seemed to have no effect on the Chosen Ones. It almost only appeared on the natives.

And according to their investigation of another case the day before, they found that the patient was not suffering from any disease. At least May had used three different detection spells to identify it, and it was neither a disease nor a plague, and it was not even related to magic.

There is no pathogen, neither bacteria nor fungi. The patients’ symptoms seem to be isolated cases, but how could isolated cases occur in so many people at the same time?

Currently, the alliance has blocked the news and temporarily controlled the scope of its spread. In the area where they are, this is the second patient besides the one yesterday.

But at that time May judged that this was not an infectious disease, but she did not expect an accident to happen the next day.

She has confirmed that the sick middle-aged man came from the room adjacent to yesterday's patient.

May frowned, turned around and said to Fang Plover in a serious tone, "Mr. Ed, the most urgent thing is to evacuate the crowd immediately to prevent the situation from getting out of control."

Although she judged that this was not a disease, the facts were more important than anything else at the moment.

Before they can identify the problem, they must prevent it from getting worse.

...(End of chapter)