Part 3 The Traveler Chapter 243 Early Morning
Watching the messenger lady disappear, Klein thought about which other demigods he could contact in a short period of time, only to find that there were none left, so he had to turn his attention back to the question of what to do next:
”The citywide ‘broadcast’ just now will surely cause ‘Sea King’ Yarn Courtman to do his best to search for the ‘Sea God’ and its believers, and going out in the middle of the night would easily be noticed, so one could only remain here and wait for dawn.
”We can’t take that boat tomorrow, if we meet an attack on the way, we’re likely to involve a boatload of people, and it’s not stealthy enough on its own.
”Well …… summon the undersea creatures and leave by whale-boat, arriving at the next harbor with the help of the deserted islands and reefs along the way for rest and change …… since ‘Orange Light ‘ says that one must be in close proximity in order to perceive that trait, then even if the ‘Mother Tree of Desire’s’ sensing accomplished by relying on rituals or devotees were magnified a bit, it wouldn’t be more than a city, or maybe even a single block, which would explain why I didn’t encounter the trap until I reached Oravi.
”As long as I leave Bayam, I should be free from the ‘watching’ ……”
As Klein’s thoughts were becoming clearer, the radio receiver suddenly listened in on another signal!
He was busy leaning over, recording it quickly, and then translating it into the appropriate letters in order to form words with the help of a codebook.
It was not long before the contents of that telegraphic signal were presented on paper, in deep black ink:
”I see you.”
I see you …… Klein read the sentence with a sudden chill rising in his heart.
……
Byam, not far from the Governor’s Palace, inside an ordinary residential building.
In the spacious basement, a single candle burned quietly, shedding its dim light all around.
”Silver Coin Viper” Odell had already taken off the hooded robe, and looked at the middle-aged man across from him with a slight shudder, his voice unsteady:
”Lord Seniol, I also don’t know why Hermosuin’s true hiding place is known.”
Wearing an outdated three-cornered hat, with deep-set eye sockets and a frighteningly pale face that resembled a malevolent spirit more than a human, Seniol raised his hand and wiped the two black whiskers on his lips, and his light brown eyes swept coldly across Odell’s face, causing the reputed adventurer to lower his head without being able to help it.
After a few seconds of staring at the other man in silence, “General Blood”, wearing a pair of white pants and a red jacket, spoke in a low voice:
”Less than three minutes after that telegram, there was a message that spread throughout the city, and the content was part of the telegram.
”I suspect that another power has begun to pay attention to the radio, and has got our code-books at Old Quinn’s.”
”Yes, yes, that must be it!” “Silver Coin Viper” O’Dell was too busy to agree, hoping that “General Above Blood” wouldn’t think that it was his incompetence that had caused the loss of the Great Scientist Helmuthuin.
He was well aware of the pirate general’s cruelty towards his subordinates who had done him wrong!
Seniol swept his eyes at Odell and sneered:
”But no matter what, you have failed.
”If you, and your mistress, hadn’t given me so much pleasure, I would have made you yank your own guts out!
”Go and shoot a telegram telling the eavesdropper, who may or may not exist, that I saw him, and let him spend to-night in fear and trepidation, which is the only thing you can do at present.”
Odell breathed a silent sigh of relief at the words, and, with a wince, glancing at the Admiral of Blood and the bloody altar on the table behind him, replied respectfully:
”Yes, Lord Seignior!”
He had just thought he was going to be part of the sacrifice.
When Odell exited the basement, “General on Blood” Seniol turned his head to look at the altar covered in heads, guts, limbs, and blood, and said with even more respect than Odell had faced him with:
”Lord Jax, has the ceremony succeeded?”
”Successful, just waiting for the god to respond.” A cold, emotionless voice came out from the curtain that hung down around the altar.
Then, as if the curtain had the power of life, the left and right sides rolled up backwards, smoothly tying themselves into a knot and landing in the center of the altar.
A slightly transparent silhouette surfaced next to the altar at some point, his skin color was brownish, the wrinkles on his face formed deep grooves, and his white hair was as sparse as autumn leaves, as if he had lived for many, many years.
He looked humbly into the flame of the candle, his brown eyes motionless.
”General above the Blood” Seniol dared not speak again, and stood next to Lord Jax, waiting for the altar to change.
Suddenly, the candle’s flame was tinted with a variety of colors, each seeming to correspond to a different desire of the gazer.
The heads, entrails, limbs, and blood on the altar moved without wind, stacking layer after layer and assuming a candle-melting-like state.
Before long, they formed a modest tree of flesh and blood, with an uneven surface that resembled the shell of a pecan.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Inside that Tree of Flesh and Blood, there seemed to be a heart beating, strong and powerful.
By the time Seniole could barely stand the noise, the Tree of Flesh and Blood withered at once, rotting into rotten mud and spreading out.
Where it had originally existed, a small, flesh-colored, wet, sticky ball remained.
Soon, the little ball grew limbs and a head, turning into a palm-sized humanoid creature.
Its face had no eyes, no nose, no ears, only a hole-like mouth.
Inside that mouth, gray mist spat out and retracted, many times in a row, without stopping.
The old man called Jacks chanted the “Mother Tree of Desire” many times with reverence and fervor, and reached out and grabbed the strange little man.
Noiselessly, the candlelight was extinguished, but for the “spirits” with night vision, this did not affect their ability to see.
”Above the blood will be,” Seniol gazed at Jax and heard the lord say in a low voice:
”We have been preparing for this ritual for far too long, and the Gift of the Gods helps us to sense the presence of our targets over a wide area.
”Then we can locate him precisely with the glasses made by the members of the School of Life!”
As he spoke, Jax took out a monocle from within his inner coat pocket, which looked no different from normal, but shone with a glistening white luster in the darkness.
”Lord Jax, what do we do next?” Seniol asked respectfully.
The deeply wrinkled Jax thought for a few seconds and said:
”After sunrise, go find the target.
”If he has a powerful helper, we monitor him to keep him out of sensory range, then wait patiently for Lord S’Eua to arrive.
”If he has no protectors and is weak himself, then we will strike directly.”
When he heard the word S’Eua, the forehead of “Admiral above the Blood” Seignior visibly twitched, as if that lord’s name alone could make people fear him.
He drew in a slow breath and said:
”Yes, Lord Jax!”
After answering, Seniol instinctively touched the necklace that hung down on his chest.
The necklace seemed to be made of sterling silver, and the pendants were ancient looking coins.
……
Frightened by the telegram, Klein didn’t sleep much the rest of the night and waited until first light to sacrifice his suitcase, wallet, and the vast majority of his cash to the gray mist above.
After disposing of the traces and going to the front desk of the hotel to settle his bill, he took a carriage straight to the edge of Byam, out of the city and up the hill, seemingly heading for the cemetery that had been set aside for the local natives.
Halfway through the trip, he suddenly turned within the woods, intending to take a straight line to the edge of the cliffs, where a massive undersea creature was already waiting below!
Inside the woods, birds chirped and insects crawled, and small beasts scurried by from time to time, as Klein stepped on the humus-laden ground and walked very quickly.
Along the way, he could see mushrooms growing after the rain, rags and other garbage left behind by certain citizens of Bayam from their picnics, everything was so peaceful and accompanied by the fresh air of the morning.
A leaf drifted down, and Klein dodged past it easily without stopping his feet.
Just then, the leaf’s speed increased steeply, and it even made a strange turn and stuck between his mouth and nose.
It was like the palm of an adult’s hand, firmly covering Klein’s nose and mouth, making it completely impossible for him to breathe.
Whoosh!
Branches from trees in all directions fell off and shot at Klein like sharp arrows.
The fragments and papers left over from the picnic also took on a life of their own, joining together and turning into an impenetrable web of weirdness that “swooped” over at once!