Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 750 - 15: Peaceful Night_1

Chapter 750: Chapter 15: Peaceful Night_1

The radiance of Lady Azure, Luscia, outshone the brilliance of the other two moons. The date was nearing the full moon phase of Lady Azure, the Azure Moon began to radiate a subtle and mysterious magical fluctuation. In a few more days, the monthly night of mystery would descend. Under the canopy of the sky, the pale moonlight spilled onto the boundless lake surface, accompanied by a hazy and mystical moonlight. The clear lake water rippled in the breeze, the sound of splashing water resonating in the quiet night, like a tranquil nocturne, softly, tenderly, like a mother’s gentle pat beside a childhood cradle.

On the bank of the Tear of the Gods, due to the character of the suguwood, a part of the tree network, woven from the branches at the top, extended over the lake, forming an aerial structure of dozens of meters thick. On this tree network, a small campsite was positioned not far from the edge of the network, providing a bird’s eye view of the clear lake water. The campsite was unusual, beneath it, a lattice of vines and branches were tightly woven, and a layer of special clay taken from the marshy ground covered densely over it. The clay dried quickly, hardening like the ground after ten or so minutes exposed to the upper world of the tree canopy. However, once it rained, the clay would swiftly transform back into mud, carried back to the ground with the rainwater. After the clay application, it appeared as if a solid ground had emerged above the tree canopy. Although walking on it would still feel undulating and elastic, there would be no risk of slipping or falling. Once adapted to this elasticity, one wouldn’t feel discomfort moving on this artificial ground.

A bonfire was lit in the center of the artificial ground. Due to the damp environment of the marsh, even if a fire-attribute Mage intentionally set a fire, a widespread fire could not be created, let alone a typical bonfire. Hence, even while at the top of the trees, one could freely use fire. The dancing flame expelled the omnipresent damp air of the marsh and expelled the darkness of the night. As the fire burned, a slightly pungent smell emanated from it. Catherine had specially found a plant that, when burned, effectively repelled the mosquitoes in the marshes, safeguarding the girls from the nuisance of these blood-sucking creatures.

There were no tents beside the bonfire in this region, even at night, it was still warm and didn’t necessitate a tent. Therefore, surrounding the bonfire in their camp were only seven tree shelters. These slanting tree canopies, also made from the branches and leaves of the suguwood, effectively blocked the everpresent breeze from the lake surface, to prevent waking up the next morning feeling too dry after a night of being blown by the wind.

A metal pot was set up over the bonfire, a roasting rack and grilling slab were placed nearby, this was the inevitable food during an adventure. Other cooking methods weren’t suitable for small teams going out on adventures, after all, who would bother carrying a huge boiling pot on an adventure? Therefore, easily disassembled roasting racks and grilling slabs became the preferred option for food, complemented with a small pot of simmering meat soup, fully meeting the daily food needs of adventurers. All cooking utensils were now empty though. Pannis’ culinary skills still won admiration, four fresh wild ducks transformed into a pot of fragrant meat soup, a marsh deer that could move through water and land became grilled deer steak. The steak coated in honey and sauce exuded a strong meaty aroma, attracting a number of carnivorous magical beasts to loiter below the camp. However, they were unable to detect the camp atop the trees due to the Concealment Array. Forty to fifty meters in height also prevented them from scaling up the tree. They could only howl in vain under the tree, regretfully leaving after a while.

The girls sat in a row facing the direction of the bonfire, enjoying the beautiful lakescape from the camp’s edge. The lake surface, dyed blue by Lady Azure, was like a clear mirror. It reflected not only the stars in the sky but also the three differently colored moons. On the visible lake shore, glowing insects swirled around drooping tree branches in swarms. The intermittent brightness mixed with the starlight reflected on the lake surface, making it impossible to distinguish the insects from the stars.

"The night breeze is so cool. It feels so good." Vivian lay on the synthetic ground, resting her head on Lina’s leg, looking up at the indigo blue sky. The bright stars seemed close enough to touch, just within her grasp. But the young Mage wasn’t foolish enough to try such a thing. Instead, she lay there lazily like a kitten, murmuring, "The feel of the breeze on my skin is so nice, I almost forgot how soothing nights by the water could be."

"Be careful not to catch a cold." Lina, who was sitting at the edge of the campsite, dangled her legs down, through a gap in the Tree Network. She sat comfortably, holding a book in her lap though she wasn’t reading. Perhaps it was the presence of the unfamiliar Galantis; this time, the Young Priestess showed a gentle character. Those who knew her well could tell it was the demeanor of Catheria, the High Priestess of the Light. Lina gently patted Vivian’s forehead and gently warned, "The warmer the environment, the easier it is to catch a cold from the night air. Even though we’re professionals with resilient bodies, we should still be cautious."

"Yeah, I got it." Vivian didn’t argue with Lina this time, instead, savouring the care from her family member, she nodded her head slightly supported by the thigh and said quietly, "I’ll be careful when I sleep at night."

"What I’m worried about is, what if the bonfire weakens during the night." As a princess, Freya truly loved to enjoy life. In non-threatening situations, she would prefer to be more comfortable. Like now, she spent one minute combining some parts around her and surprisingly managed to create a metal reclining chair. Although the metal chair was hard, it became soft and comfortable once she layered it with thick Suguwood leaves. The beautiful princess comfortably leaned back in her chair, her already human-like body stretched out, but her voice conveyed anxiety: "We’re comfortable now because we have insect-repelling plants burning in the bonfire. If the fire weakens at night, the effects of those plants will diminish. But keeping the fire going will be difficult; dry firewood isn’t easy to find in the damp marshland. Our plan is to head for colder regions, and we didn’t bring any insect repellent powder. I’m afraid we’ll be struggling with mosquitos late into the night."

"Don’t worry, that will never happen." Vivian lazily waved her hand, and several bottles appeared suddenly from the pockets of her work skirt, floating in mid-air. Some potion ingredients also began to float, combining in mid-air to form a potion. As she was controlling these substances, Vivian explained: "This isn’t Puppet Control Spell, it’s for the sake of getting used to this method for experiments. That’s why I’m practicing this way."

"No need to explain, we can tell what you’re doing." Catherine shook her head and sighed with a helpless smile: "You’re just being lazy. But at least you have a good reason for it, so we’ll let it slide, especially considering how much you’ve been moving these past few days. It’s only fair to let you rest a bit."

"Hiss, is Vivian very unwell?" Galantis didn’t understand the specifics and found the girls’ conversation strange. "If she’s sick, my mother can help treat her. Hiss, when I was little and felt ill, it was always my mom who personally fetched medicinal herbs for me. She is very talented."

"Thank you very much, but her illness has already healed," Catherine replied, then asked, "Is Alcmene also a potion maker?"

"Hiss, every High Priest has been a Potion Maker," Gaylantis explained. "Or rather, in each tribe of the swamp, every tribe’s priests are potion makers. Hiss, one of the jobs of the priest is to treat the ill members of the tribe. Hiss, I reckon it’s the same in the outside world."

"Yes, the outside world is somewhat similar," Lina nodded. "Though not every priest and bishop from other churches are potion makers, and they might have different treatment methods, essentially, it’s similar. They are all responsible for treating diseases."

"Hiss, I knew it," the lizard lady often appeared happy over small matters, her tongue flicking as she spoke, "After spending two years outside, I began to realise just how amazing my mother was. Hiss, she was able to concoct so many different potions, and even created many strange magical items. There’s still a lot that she taught me that I can’t grasp. Hiss, once I’ve seen enough of the outside world, I want to come back and learn everything my mother has to teach me. Hiss, it’s a shame that she says I don’t have the talent to be a priest. Otherwise, I would really want to learn the Dance of the Hunt from her."

"Even though you can’t learn the Dance of the Hunt, you’ve learned much that we don’t understand," Catherine gently consoled, skillfully changing the subject, "for example, the method of setting up this camp. If not for you, we would never have known how to do it, let alone being able to build a camp in the trees. However, I am curious, the floor is made of mud, what if it starts to rain?"

"Hiss, don’t worry about it, our race is very sensitive to the weather," Galantis confidently replied. "Our prediction for whether it will rain or not, hiss, has over a 95% accuracy, we hardly ever get it wrong. Even if it does rain, it doesn’t matter. We wouldn’t fall down, even without this layer of mud. The worst that would happen is our movements would be impeded. Hiss, if the rain is too heavy, we could always move the camp to the ground. There are other methods. Hiss, that uncle of yours should know all this. Eh, speaking of which, where is he?"

"Him?" Catherine replied, "He said earlier that he wanted to go night fishing, so I guess he’s probably fishing on one of the lower levels."

"Fishing again?" Galantis exclaimed in surprise, "Every time he fishes, he almost..."

"Oh, for the love of... why is it you again? Do I owe you a grudge or something? You always bite my hook," Before Galantis finished, Pannis’s voice echoed accusingly from below, followed by a big splash.

"Hiss, see, this is always the result whenever he goes fishing." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider supporting me on qidian.com with your votes and ratings. Your support is my biggest motivation. For mobile users, please access m.qidian.com.)