Chapter 337: Island Mystery (2) - Lake Runes

Arthur did not panic at first, as drunk people could fall asleep in the oddest places, like peeing or sleeping behind a bush or a tree. Instead, he wandered around the shore and in the nearby vegetation, utilizing his incredible senses to look for anyone who might be hiding, yet there was no one.

One by one, the crew members woke up, recovering from the drinking spree of last night, and when they got better or could speak adequately, Arthur asked questions about the missing person, and at that moment, they all realized someone had indeed vanished.

Panic came but went fast, with Arthur saying he would find whoever went missing and that they should not worry about it. Arthur knew a beast could not have done it, as people would scream, and the beast would probably make a lot of noise.

It was a human, or at least something similar to it, capable of kidnapping someone from a tent without no one realizing it. Not even Arthur sensed anything, which meant whoever it was behind it was good.

"As a safety measure, you can stay here on the shore, but at night you all sleep inside the ship. It has a magical formation, and one of the strongest there is, so nothing can go inside after we activate it!"

The sentence made most of the crew relax, but what was more important was to answer Arthur's questions about what happened last night. It was not easy to ask about a night when everyone was drunk.

Arthur was losing hope until someone approached him. It was the man with a wooden leg and the bird which was always with him, on his shoulders.

"Captain, I did not drink last night," he said, making everyone surprised.

After they tried their best to remember the wooden leg man, they knew he was speaking the truth and did not drink a single cup of beer.

"What can you tell me?" Arthur asked.

"Well, the missing person is a girl named Samara, and she left the camp; maybe that's why she got taken away."

"What? Left the camp? What do you mean?"

"I was in that state of almost falling asleep, and then I saw her leaving the camp, going toward that direction," the man said, pointing toward a part of the forest, "that's what I remember. But, as I said, I fell asleep right after that, and with his wooden leg here, I was not feeling like going after her to ask. Also, what if she was peeing? I would turn into a pervert..."

What the man said made sense, and although it was not that much information, it was still something for Arthur to use to try to find her. So he decided to leave the camp and explore the direction Samara took to see if he could find something.

Sybille wanted to go with him again, and he did not find a reason to say no. Wisa and Jane were the strongest, so it was good for them to stay there and protect the rest of the crew if something happened.

"Let's go," Arthur said to Sybille as they left the shore.

They had no idea what could be behind the attack, so all precaution was welcome, so they kept their attention at the maximum level, looking for anything suspicious.

Just like the man said, Arthur quickly found a path of footprints when he went in the said direction, and the footprints led to a bush where Samara probably peed. But, for some reason, after peeing there, she walked further into the woods, and after a few more steps, she was gone.

The trail ended suddenly as if a giant bird snatched her out of the ground, flying away to its nest. But of course, Arthur did not believe that was the case, but he knew someone had taken her, and that's why the footprints ended.

"If I was someone trying to kidnap her, how would I do it?" Arthur thought, looking around to seek inspiration.

If he was the person behind it, he could jump from a tree, attack her on the back of the head, making her unconscious, grab her, and return to the trees, jumping from one to another, not leaving any footprints behind.

Arthur looked up and saw a small tree branch, broken in half as if someone had stepped on it, and it snapped.

Whoever did the kidnapping was skilled, but no one could commit a perfect crime. Maybe if it were an average person looking for clues, they would find nothing, but Arthur had his draconic body and Emperor Eye.

Of course, his Emperor Eye, how did Arthur not think about it sooner?

When he activated it, Arthur saw remnants of an aura, indicating someone had been there and was likely to be the kidnapper.

He felt dumb for not trying the Emperor Eye before, but during the thrill of the chase, he completely forgot about it.

"I got his trace, Sybille; follow me closely," Arthur said.

She wanted to ask him how he had done it but decided to do so after the situation was over. They kept going deeper into the forest, with Arthur chasing a blue-colored aura. He had no idea where it would lead him or if it would be a dangerous place, but if he wished to find Samara, Arthur would have to take the risk.

The trail led them to a waterfall with a lake beneath it. Based on the aura, the kidnapper jumped inside that pool of water, bringing Samara along.

"Why did you stop? Don't tell me Samara's body is beneath the water?" Sybille asked.

She hoped it was not the case, but Arthur had no way of giving her an answer. If someone jumped with Samara into that lake, then it could only mean it drowned her.<novelnext> </novelnext>

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Arthur did not want to jump to conclusions, so he said, "I'll go inside and take a look. Wait here."

Sybille nodded and waited near the lake's edge, believing Arthur would find the girl alive.

Water splashed as Arthur jumped inside the lake. It was dark down there, but with the help of his Emperor Eye, seeing was not that much of a problem.

The blue aura was down there too, and Arthur followed it, just like he did on the surface. He kept going until he arrived at a strange rock with some runes.

Arthur looked at them and thought they looked similar to something he had seen before. After a few seconds of thinking, he remembered it.

"The runes beneath the lake in Wind Lake-town. But why are those things here?"

It was the same runes, everything, even their sequence. Arthur could not find an answer as to why these runes were there, but more importantly, he could not read them at all, just like before.

"One thing I am sure of, these runes are a type of portal." Arthur thought.

What made him think that was the sudden disappearance of the blue aura he was chasing. Arthur returned to the surface to speak with Sybille about the situation.

"So? What happened?" Sybille asked the moment Arthur came out of the water.

"I followed the trace to a rock with some runes I could not read. Also, I remember these runes from another lake back in the central continent." Arthur said.

"Runes? What runes? Can I see them?"

Arthur took out a notebook from his magical pouch, the one he used to record the runes in Wind Lake.

He did not believe Sybille could help him, as he had searched throughout the central continent, looking for someone who could understand them, yet found nothing.

"I-I know these runes! They are the common language in the demon continent," Sybille said.

"What? How do you know this?"

"I am not sure. My memory is a mess, but I understand this," Sybille said.

Arthur knew whoever locked Sybille down in that crypt sealed most of her memories, and she was still getting them back slowly.

"Can you go down with me and read the runes aloud to see if something happens?" Arthur asked, and Sybille agreed to it.

Both dived into the lake, with Arthur leading the way. Arthur waved his hand, creating a bobble around their heads, making it possible for them to breathe and speak while submerged.

Sybille looked at the rock and said, "the mermaids are one with the water, and only a singing voice can enter inside its domains."

She read it, yet nothing happened. Arthur looked at her and said, "try reading as if you are singing."

Arthur asked her to do it because there was no way he would sing with his terrible voice. He had no idea if it would work, but it did not hurt to try.

Sybille did as he told her, and when she sang those words, the runes on the rock shone, and a water vortex appeared in front of them.

Everything happened so fast that Arthur had no time to react, and both entered the vortex, disappearing from the lake.

~~~~

"Do you think everything is okay with them? It's been hours already," Jane asked.

"Our husband knows how to handle things, so don't worry. We will wait here as long as it takes, protecting the rest of the crew and the ship," Wisa said.

The two of them were inside their tent, and Arthur had left hours before that, so it was customary for them to worry about him.

They did not know, but by looking for Samara, Arthur found something incredible!

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