Part 3 The Traveler Chapter 25 Banshee Harbor in the Wind
Donna’s body jerked back, her pupils constricted, her mouth half-opened, and a scream reached her lips.
If she hadn’t seen the Messenger before, she would have lost control of herself and stumbled to her feet in terror, not caring if the tables and chairs toppled over.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the same little girl who had no idea what was going on at sea when she first boarded the White Onyx, and her voice only sharpened slightly as she pointed out the window and stammered:
”There are, there are walkers!
”Headless walkers!”
She used the most common walker in folklore to describe the gruesome thing she had just seen.
Cecil bristled to his feet and took two steps to Donna’s side, looking suspiciously out the gusty window and scrutinizing it for a few seconds.
”Nothing.” She said truthfully.
Donna shrank back, gathered her courage, and cautiously leaned forward to close in, only to see trees swaying and debris flying around outside, and not a single pedestrian in sight.
”Just now, just now there was really, he, he was wearing a black cloak, no head, and his neck was bleeding!” Donna gestured as she spoke, trying to convince the adults in the room to believe her.
Her father, Uldi Blanche, stood up bracing himself on the table and walked over to the window and gazed at the road for a while:
”Donna, no more reading of that collection of Vancian horror novels tonight!”
”But but ……,” Donna commiserated, trying to plead her case.
Just then, Creevis came up to the second floor, leaned in and said:
”What happened?”
”Donna said she saw walkers outside, headless walkers.” Tigre, the other bodyguard, explained with a soft laugh.
Krivis was silent for two seconds and nodded to Donna:
”It’s okay, it’ll pass.
”It’s windy and more dangerous out there, we’ll leave when it calms down.”
In Donna’s eyes, Uncle Krivis’s words showed that he believed in himself and chose the safest solution, while in the eyes of Uldi, Tigre and the others, it was a poor trick to comfort a child.
Seeing that Donna was still a little nervous and that her real employer wasn’t too happy about it, Krivis said calmly as he pulled back his chair and sat down:
”There is a peculiar custom in Banshee Harbor not to leave the house or answer any knocks on a night when the weather is changing drastically.”
”And if you open the door, you will be captured by that walker?” Denton, who had seen the White Bone Messenger with his sister, asked indistinctly.
”It can be interpreted that way.” Krivis picked up the white water and took a sip.
It turned out to be so …… Donna settled down, believing that as long as she didn’t leave the restaurant, she wouldn’t encounter the horrible walker from earlier.
Until this time, she didn’t realize that the diners around her had already cast their eyes over due to the commotion over here.
Being gazed at by a line of eyes, Donna only felt uncomfortable all over, and instinctively wanted to bury her head down and hide from everything.
I didn’t do anything wrong! I really saw it! Donna stubbornly straightened her neck and looked around the room.
She saw a gentleman in a tuxedo formal dress and a beautifully dressed lady withdraw their eyes, saw them lower their heads, pick up their spoons, and ladle into their mouths the dark red blood clots that had been spiced with several spices in their porcelain bowls.
The contrast between their lips, which were tinged with a blood red color, and their faces, which looked rather pale in the light of the crystal chandelier’s glow, caused Donna to somehow feel more of an emotion called panic.
She was too busy turning her head right, waiting up for dinner and secretly praying to the goddess that the gale would stop soon.
……
Banshee Harbor Telegraph Office.
Aeran and his first mate had just finished filming their intelligence for the Navy when they realized that the wind was howling outside, pulling and clanging nearby doors and windows.
”Really, the weather here is always so unstable.” Aeran sighed and laughed as he put on his ship’s cap.
His first mate, Harris, gave a chuckle:
”How else would we get the title ‘Weather Museum’?”
”You’d better, don’t go out there, legend has it that you’ll lose your heads over it.” The telegraph office staff, a lady with curly brown hair, warned in slow tones.
”I know, but I’ve tried a couple times and nothing happens.” Harris was about to pull the door shut and leave without a care in the world.
Aeran stopped him, thinking briefly:
”It’s all right to go to the church next door, isn’t it?
”Your telegraph office is supposed to be closing, right?”
”No problem.” The curly brown haired lady still had that slow, methodical look about her.
Aeran nodded and pulled open the door to the telegraph office, trudging against a gale that could have swept up a childlike gust of wind toward the Storm Church a few dozen meters away.
First Mate Harris pressed his hat and followed the Captain as if to express the idea that he could just dash back to the White Onyx.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, a gust of wind poured into it and all sound was gagged back miserably.
After stammering for a while, he wisely shut his mouth and refrained from making any more apparently unrealistic propositions.
It was a quarter of an hour before seven o’clock, which could only be considered evening, and the doors of the Storm Chapel were still open, facing the faithful.
The gale had become much softer by its arrival, and at least Aeran and Harris no longer needed to worry that their hats might desert them at any moment.
After entering the church and walking down the dark and gloomy aisles, the two men stepped into the large prayer hall and saw a man in a dark blue priest’s robe sitting in the front row, quietly staring at the huge “Storm Emblem” on the altar, which was made up of symbols of winds, waves, and thunder.
Erland smiled and leaned over, tapping the familiar figure on the shoulder:
”Jace, where is your bishop?”
After being tapped, the priest’s head wobbled significantly.
Then, it fell forward and dropped to the ground with a thud, making continuous rolls.
At the priest’s neck, blood gushed out like a fountain, drenching Ayrton’s face.
The cold and wet sensation reached his heart, and the bright red intense color blinded Aeran’s eyes.
In his line of sight, only a blood-colored world remained, as well as the head that finally stopped rolling, both eyes blankly facing upwards.
……
At 7:15, Kline and Danez, who had emerged from the first-class dining room, realized that the gale that had rocked the ship moments before had calmed down considerably.
After a couple seconds of thought, Klein walked all the way to the cabin entrance and asked the crewman who was guarding it:
”Who else hasn’t returned?”
The crewman, who had seen this passenger enjoying the delicious fish and human meat with the captain, made no secret of it and said:
”Except for the Blanche family, who went to the Lime Restaurant, and the DiMerdo family, all the other passengers returned before the wind picked up, heh, it’s farther away and takes longer to dine.
”Ah yes, the captain and first mate went to the telegraph office and haven’t returned yet either.”
Klein nodded slightly and returned to room 312 in silence.
He stood by the window, looking at a wave blown by the wind, even if he did not go to the mysterious space above the gray fog to divine, just by his own spiritual intuition, he could vaguely notice that something bad was brewing and happening.
After another five minutes of waiting, he still hadn’t seen Captain Erland or the Donna family return.
Klein shot a sideways glance at Danez, causing the well-known pirate, who was lounging in his easy chair, to sit up straight for a moment.
Klein withdrew his gaze, said nothing, and walked into the lavatory.
He skillfully closed the door, drew the paper man, made his disguise, and came above the gray mist, ready to do another divination.
Before, he was considering the potential risk to Banshee Harbor, and now, after the wind had picked up, he intended to confirm the current level of danger.
”Banshee Harbor is in danger.”
Klein held the Spirit Pendulum and whispered the statement.
After over and over again, he opened his eyes and realized that the citrine pendant was doing a clockwise rotation, but it was not large or fast.
There is a danger, but it falls within the acceptable range …… This contradicts the previous revelation ah …… Klein supported his elbows on the edge of the long bronze table and muttered to himself in doubt.
He quickly thought of the possibility that the current danger was not equal to the latent risk, unless something was triggered or something was investigated deeply enough to present the iceberg hidden under the sea level.
This latent risk may have existed for three or four hundred years, or even longer, not because of my arrival …… Well, the current danger may not even have anything to do with the latent risk at all, but unfortunately, there is a lack of necessary information to do a divination on this speculation …… After doing his reading, Klein quickly returned to the real world, left the lavatory, and found a chair to sit in.
He was silent, hesitant, and did not make a move for a long time, which made “Flame” Danez inexplicably feel uneasy.
Ever since Germaine Sparrow had spoken of the dangers lurking in Bansi Harbor, the well-known pirate had been a little worried.
The danger that could make this monster change his mind and not go to the Lime Restaurant must be very scary …… Why is this vacation so miserable for me? Simply doom and gloom! Daniz couldn’t really sit still by the nearly frozen atmosphere, so he stood up and paced back and forth.
It was at this moment that he saw the monster that was Germaine Sparrow suddenly rise, buttoning up his long double-breasted gown as he walked toward the coat rack by the door.
Removing his half-height silk bowler hat, Klein looked toward The Blaze and said without expression:
”You’re free.”
”Huh?” Danitz only felt that this was not real at all.
He suddenly realized what the other man was trying to do, and said offhandedly in shock:
”You’re going to save that captain, and the commoners?
”You, yourself, said it was dangerous out there!”
Klein put on his half-height silk bowler hat, picked up his black hardwood cane, and responded flatly as he twisted the doorknob:
”They worked with me.
”They have kept secrets for me.
”He has treated me to fish-man meat.
”He helped me pay for the loss of the ‘White Shark’.”
…… Danez didn’t respond for a moment and subconsciously asked:
”How much compensation?”
”A few Soule.” Klein opened the door to his room and walked out.
Crazy! This guy was utterly insane! Whether to others, or to himself, he was insane! Daniz’s mouth was half-open, and it was difficult to form words.
Luckily, I’m a sane person! I’ll stay where it’s safe! Daniz retracted his eyes, half mocking, half pleasuring himself with the thought.
No sooner had his thoughts left his mind than the gale came back, creaking the glass windows and causing the glow of the candles in the room to waver.
As he watched the dimly surging scene, a sudden thought occurred to Danez:
This ship is anchored in the harbor, which is part of Banshee Harbor, and it is not safe, nor is it likely to take risks!
I might as well stay here by myself as follow that monster, at least, at least he’s powerful! Faster in body than in mind, Danez stomped out of room 312, finally catching up with Klein before he left the cabin.
Klein gave him a sideways glance, and although he didn’t say anything, the question was already very obvious.
Danitz was busy laughing:
”Choosing to retreat from just such a small danger, I will be laughed at by all the pirates on the Sunia Sea!”
The excuse …… Klein did not poke at it and borrowed a horse lamp from the crew at the door.
Carrying the dusky horse lamp and holding a hardwood cane, dressed in a long black gown, he made his way down the side of the ship and into the dimly lit harbor.
Daniz lamented as he followed firmly beside him.