Cthulhu Gonfalons

Chapter 7

Sui Xiong was very patient. Or, more likely, after traveling through space to this strange world, wandering the vast ocean, and absorbing magic in the ice trench, he had perfected the skill of patience.

So he spent five days next to a strange empty space, watching. During these five days, he rarely moved and always observed his surroundings carefully. Through observation, he was able to summarize the magic laws in the forest — it was actually quite simple: the magic was weakest during the day and most powerful in the middle of the night, and this cycle went on endlessly.

Moreover, he finally understood why there was green plant life in the forest and few animals and insects. Each night, a thick magical force kills many animals and insects, and their carcasses slowly seep into the earth. Perhaps the black skull and skeleton were actually accumulated debris.

The thick magic late at night had no effect on Sui Xiong. His body had long since accumulated ice magic with such a shocking concentration that it had reached its limit. It even got to the point that his body continued to lose magic as he produced more every day. Since it could no longer be condensed and stored, it had to be removed from its body.

Only this concentrated ice magic was comparable to the magic fog in the forest at night, and only the black fog (which became thicker above the black empty space) would be stronger than the magic dissolved by it.

He also discovers something: the black skeleton seems to hate all creatures except plants. Once an insect or animal approaches them at night, they will attack wildly, kicking, scratching and biting, intending to kill them. But they closed their eyes to Sui Xiong, who was quite close to them, as if he did not exist. Maybe this is because the body where he is is actually already “mati”.

After observing for several days in a row, Sui Xiong felt that he had gathered enough information and ended up choosing one day during the day to dig under the black empty space as the sun shone so beautifully. What he saw met his expectations: a bunch of dark black bones as he only dug a little on the surface. They were not complete skeletons, but various bone fragments.

“It looks like the skeleton piled up temporarily in the evening.” Sui Xiong watched the bones slowly fade from dark black to light gray in the sun, and he nodded silently. He did not move the bones, nor did he fill the hole until the next night.

As he had expected, the faded bones did not turn into skeletons that night, although the magical power of the forest was still attached to empty space. The bones were just shaking all night.

The next day was bright again. The bones were getting faded in the sun, and they trembled in an even weaker voice at night. So Sui Xiong was almost fully understood now. He no longer observed and left.

He walked alone in the black forest, moved during the day and rested at night. Along the way he, from time to time, was able to see the black empty space that he had suspected of having a skeleton buried underneath. He also tried to attack the black skeletons and found that they were extremely weak. He could destroy them by sweeping them, without using magic.

“This is a good thing,” Sui Xiong smiled and said to himself after destroying the other group of black skeletons. “Looks like this world is not too dangerous.” So after walking for another five or six days, he finally saw the traces of the long-awaited person.

It was a small village built on a vast open space. This space is clearly the result of man-made deforestation, as it is surrounded by many stumps. Many traces of deforestation in the stumps are new, and some villagers are working hard to cut down the black forest and expand open spaces to survive.

It is a small village, with small huts forming a circle around a much taller stone house surrounded by wells. A strange cross-shaped statue was erected on the roof of the stone house, which was formed by a horizontal dagger and vertical eyes. The strange statue made Sui feel somewhat uncomfortable. It was not a feeling of danger, but pure disgust. It was a feeling similar to Hindus seeing fried steak, or Muslims seeing rice with pork, or food lovers seeing dinner in the microwave, he said, or an animal activist sees someone eating live shrimp .. This statue is really cursed, and she doesn't like it!

The village looked perfectly normal except for a disappointing sculpture. The village was surrounded by a large wooden fence and was as tall as a great wall. The stone house was rather crudely built, but it used enough material so that people knew it was strong when they saw it. Also, the villagers who were walking around were wearing rather seedy clothes. Apparently, they are not very rich.

The entire village only had one exit, guarded by a tall and powerful bald man. Although the man was not wearing any armor, he was carrying a large axe that seemed to be heavy. He looks pretty strong. He was on guard and never left his post. He seems to be a very responsible person.

Farmland surrounds the village. The farmland was planted with some kind of unknown vine Sui Xiong. The vines have no flowers or fruits, only pieces of grayish-green leaves. Looking closely, he discovered that the leaves had faint golden veins, which emitted a slightly golden color when reflecting sunlight.

There are also farmers who work on the farm. They are mainly women and children doing odd jobs: they do not plow or fertilize the soil or weed or catch insects, but carefully sprinkle a spoonful of water on the leaves of the vines. From time to time, they will take water from wooden barrels, large or small, which they carry on their backs or arms and sprinkle onto vines.

The spoon they use is quite small. Ten or more spoons of water is about the same as a sip of ordinary people's water. It is clear that they appreciate water when taking it from a wooden barrel, as they often notice it for a while before watering the vines. The origin of the water was extraordinary, and the water needed to be obtained through special rituals.

More than once, Sui Xiong tried to see what they would do with the pot after it inside. But something in his soul prevented him from entering the stone house, as if the tough beast skin stopped him.

He only knew that the next day, the villagers got a bucket of well water when the moon rose and put it in the moonlight for one night before sending it to the stone house before sunrise. Some unknown processes will occur, and on the third day, the water used for the vines is available in the stone house.

Sui Xiong speculated that there should be some kind of apothecary or magician living inside the stone house instructing the little girls to cast magic on the well water so that it has special powers to promote growth vines. Of course, perhaps the man who had never left the stone house was actually a secluded chef who had mastered the essence of thousands of years old cooking techniques. Perhaps he could create an incredible taste when boiling a pot of chicken blood, and even vines could sense this and grow.

Sui Xiong felt that in this magical world, anything was possible. After all, he had to taste this chicken blood soup!

In addition to the special water used for vines, the villagers of course also draw water from the well for daily use. Sui Xiong noticed that although there was a small river not far from the village, no one went to the river to use the water. Everyone drank, cooked, and used well water.

Perhaps this was related to the chaotic and murky magic everywhere in the forest. According to his observations, the closer a place was to the village, the weaker the turbulent magic in the forest. But a rather uncomfortable atmosphere will remain in the village. Perhaps it was this atmosphere that bothered him that allowed the villagers to resist the magical chaos surrounding the black forest and avoid the danger.

But this defensive effect seems limited. Every afternoon, the lumberjacks and peasants rushed back to the village and locked the doors, and a group of young men with hammers or axes came to the cabins on two sides of the main gate and took turns just in case.

During this time, the overwhelming atmosphere in the center of the village would become stronger, enveloping the entire village. The vines in the fields would also emit a hint of golden light. It was very different from the atmosphere, resisting the chaotic magic inherent in the black forest. The two complement each other, guarding this small village.

Sui Xiong, hiding in the depths of the forest tens of miles away, sensed from afar the difficulty of the village weighing on his soul. He found that the main job of the villagers, in addition to logging and farming, was raising chickens. They never eat chicken. The chickens are pure sacrifice. He also studied vines, and strangely, vines echoed an uncomfortable atmosphere. But when he touched the vines with his soul, he did not feel any disgusting power. They just look like ordinary vines.

Obviously, something mysterious happened. Unfortunately, he was unable to communicate with the villagers due to the language barrier. He had to hide his doubts in his mind and intended to ask for details only after they had established a friendship.

Sui Xiong was in no hurry to make contact with the villagers and instead chose to observe their lives from afar. He had been observing for a long time and finally made sure that the lives of the villagers were rather dull. Rarely did he see anything in the way of entertainment or recreation. Every day they do not cut down, they farm, live a life without pleasure.

Strange people in this world seem to live a difficult life! Day after day, they repeat simple tasks that are exhausting and never rest. Like a group of diligent ants, they try to run their own small territory without laziness or relaxation. Sui Xiong silently watched them, waiting for the right opportunity to approach them.

He did not want to rush into contact with these people. For one thing, he did not know the language of these people, so they could not communicate; for another, his appearance was terrible, he said, and he was afraid that when he appeared he would scare these people to death. Perhaps they would surround him and conduct a desperate fight.

He knew nothing about the habits and practices of this world. However, by putting himself in their shoes, he knew that a normal person, when faced with a huge monster that spoke a different language, would try to escape or fight. If there was a person rash enough to befriend the monster, that person would be the protagonist full of love and courage as in fairy tales, or the god of cartoons. Either way, there was no one in this village who looked like a type.

After a while, the vines in the fields grew thicker and the golden veins on the leaves became clearer. When the villagers saw them, their faces often smiled, perhaps with hopeful joy for an abundant harvest. But it was strange that they often showed fear and uneasiness as well, which Sui Xiong said was quite surprising.

After a certain period of time, they stop logging. Guided by a bald janitor, all young adults, men, and women begin combat training, improving their skills with axes and hammers. Many others were busy making shields with wood as if they were preparing to fight. Sui Xiong curiously observed them and could not understand what was causing their worries or with whom they were trying to fight a war.

But he was a little happy — judging from the preparations of the villagers, it could be expected that the upcoming battle would be very dangerous. As long as he appeared as a friendly party, he would not be treated as an unwelcome enemy.

This was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for!