Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1103 - 216: Traces of the Forerunners

Chapter 1103: Chapter 216: Traces of the Forerunners

"Boom," the rolling thunder came faintly from the horizon, the sky was split in two by dark clouds, on one side was the blue sky, touched by the setting sun with fiery colors, while on the other, it was densely clouded, and the downpour started without any warning.

The moment the girls stepped out of the hesitant woods, they were stunned by the view before them. Beyond the woods lay a lake as vast as the sea, its size unknown to anyone. In the mystical Forbidden Land of Living Souls, very few had ever truly seen it, let alone measured it. The rain poured heartily into the lake, creating large bubbles on the surface, yet at the other end, the water remained as calm as a mirror, reflecting the splendid sunset in a golden radiance.

"Welcome everyone to the Lake of Termination," Pannis announced as he stepped out of the woods, arms wide open, speaking loudly in a tone akin to a lament: "Welcome to the most dazzling gem of the Forest of Death, of course, I’ve never actually been here myself."

The seven members of the expedition, draped in cloak-like waterproof tarpaulins, moved silently through the rainy woods, the rain sliding off the tarpaulins like tiny waterfalls. In the gloomy and oppressive woods, the six people and one beast walked in a line, heads hung low, not saying a word, pressing forward on the muddy ground at a brisk pace, almost like seven ghosts. It was not until they emerged from the woods, and a vast lake suddenly appeared before them, that the seven ghosts seemed to come to life.

"I..." Catherine lifted her head and was just about to speak when she was met with a faceful of rainwater, earning a stifled chuckle from Pannis. Although he had made grand gestures while speaking, he maintained a lowered head to avoid the rain, which clearly didn’t affect him. However, he had disguised this posture well, obviously misleading on purpose. Catherine, alternating between laughing and crying, poked him a few times with her finger and mimicked his posture with her head hung low, saying with a mixture of frustration and amusement, "You, always messing around at a time like this. I don’t know much about the Forbidden Land of Living Souls, what do we do now? It’s getting dark, and in theory, we should quickly find a place to take shelter and camp for the night, but is that possible in the Forbidden Land? Or should we keep moving to avoid those Twisted Souls finding us?"

"Camp," Pannis said. "You seem to have forgotten the characteristics of Twisted Souls again. As long as we’re not within their range of perception, they won’t have the instinct to actively search for us. They just wander according to a certain pattern at a very slow pace, so camping is no problem."

"Alright, I get it. Now to find a spot for camping; by the lake is definitely out of the question, too dangerous," Catherine nodded, looking around for a while before slapping her forehead with annoyance, "Damn, I forgot again, this is the Forbidden Land of Living Souls, there are no magical beasts coming to drink from the lake, so camping by the lake might actually be nice, not much to clear away."

"No, not here," Pannis said urgently, grabbing Catherine, and pointing towards the distance, "Do you see that mountain by the lake over there? Let’s camp on that mountain."

"Hm, the rain is too heavy, I haven’t even noticed that place," Catherine murmured with a wry smile, "Let’s take a half hour’s detour to go there, and we’ll stay there for the night."

"That mountain?" Freya leaned in to look at the location Pannis had pointed out and asked with curiosity, "But that’s just a barren rocky mountain, isn’t it? What’s so special about it? Why would we go there?"

"First, the torrential rain will make the Naramia River upstream of Lake of Termination swell dramatically; no one can predict how high the water in Lake of Termination will rise," Catherine patiently explained, knowing that although Freya had some experience with adventure, hers fell far short compared to the other girls: "Second, it’s a mountain, and a rocky one at that. So there’s a high probability it has caves. Seeing as there are no magical beasts, caves make for the best camping spots, especially in a downpour. Caves protect us from the wind, keep us warm and have high defensive qualities—and most importantly, it’s much more comfortable to stay in a dry cave than on rain-soaked, damp ground. It’s just that in other places, because of the threat of magical beasts, caves are generally not chosen as shelters."

"Alright, being dry enough really is the best reason," Freya sighed, "I’m starting to understand the feelings of that notebook’s owner. Just one rainstorm has made me feel so uncomfortable; I’d probably go insane if the weather were like this every day."

The barren hill by the lake didn’t seem far, but once they actually started walking, they realized it would take a long time to reach. Although Catherine had tried to overestimate the time required, when they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain, fifty minutes had already passed and the skies were gradually darkening. One consolation was that the storm clouds had moved on to the part of the sky that had previously been bright with sunset. At the expedition’s location, the rain had already essentially stopped.

This nameless barren hill by the lake couldn’t be considered utterly barren. Even though the main body was rock, which prevented the growth of trees, the gaps in the rocks were tenaciously filled with wild grasses, adding a touch of greenery to the barren hill. Although the rain had stopped, accumulations of water still formed streams trickling from the top of the mountain down through the cracks in the rocks. This was one of the greatest advantages of a rocky hill—they didn’t need to worry about the danger of flash floods and could settle on it with peace of mind.

"Let’s stay here," Pannis, who walked at the front, suddenly stopped, scrutinizing a crevice in the mountain wall for a moment before nodding, "Inside there should be a cave that’s very suitable as a campsite for a small team, and its height is just right."

"So certain?" The girls knew Pannis had strong exploration skills, but to declare the inside suitable before even entering—after just looking from the outside—was more than a matter of exploration prowess. Besides, he had admitted that he’d never been to such depths of the Forbidden Land of Living Souls before. Thus, Catherine glanced at Pannis with some doubt and approached the crevice, observing from the spot where Pannis had been just moments earlier. After a few minutes, the knight girl suddenly rose to her feet, eyes wide, and said to Pannis, "So that’s it, you saw this too, didn’t you?"

"What is it, big sister?" Lina asked curiously, "What did you see?"

"Traces, traces left by intelligent beings," Catherine responded, "In such an environment, one wouldn’t expect signs of activity to last long. Even if this spot is sheltered from the rain, it would be hard to preserve them for over a hundred years in the dampness, implying these must have been made by someone here within the last century. Then the most likely person... no wonder you mentioned a possibility a few hours ago. And no wonder you insisted on setting up camp here."