For a moment it continued to twitch, then it spat out a string of white bubble from its mouth soon stopping all movement.
“What is this?” At this moment Ashes finally had the opportunity to take a careful look at the monster before her eyes. It somewhat resembled a fish, yet it also had short crab-like legs. The wide open mouth was almost as big as she herself was and was filled with dense rows of sharp teeth. But the most disgusting thing was the pair of hairy arms growing from the side of its mouths, which was even split up into five fingers, just looking like a human hand in general.
“A variation of the sea ghosts!” the still shocked sailor answered, patting his chest, “They often disguise themselves as fish and take the angler’s bite and drag them back into the water. Furthermore, I have also heard, that only after eating a human, will they be able to grow their hands! ”
“Your last part is just an unfounded rumor,” someone said from behind. Turning around, Ashes discovered that Thunder and Tilly had both come over.
“Captain!” the sailor shouted, abashedly stuck out his tongue and quickly stepped aside.
“The more sensational a rumor is, the more inaccurate it is,” Thunder came over and kicked against one of the monster’s legs, “In fact, it also has another name with which you are perhaps more familiar with.”
“Which one?” Ashes asked.
“Demonic Beast,” he stated slowly.
“Sir Thunder, fog ahead!” The lookout suddenly shouted.
“Everyone cheer up!” Then Thunder loudly ordered, “Put the sail down; we are now entering the Shadow Sea!”
Ashes noted, that just moments ago the sunny and cloudless sky had suddenly become all gloomy, turning the blue sea into a dark shade, as if a mass of ink was spreading under the water surface. The entire ship was soon enclosed by a dense fog, standing at the stern of the ship she couldn’t even see the figurehead that was at the bow.
“What’s going on?” Tilly could not help but grab Ashes’ arm.
“It’s the proof that we aren’t sailing in the wrong direction,” Thunder jokingly stated. “When the Shadow Islands emerge from the sea, the sea will create a thick mist. Of course, the correct way to say it would be that the seawater is just at low tide, around ten feet (3.3m) lower than it is normally. The massive decline will produce a large amount of mist and reefs that will appear everywhere. So, if we are even a little careless, we will sink ourselves. Now, I will need your help to ensure that the ship doesn’t smash against something.
After his words, all the people came to the bow, and just like they had done during the hurricane, Molly’s servant expanded as far as it could. Swallowing the bow and even reached into the water, so even if the bow hit against a reef, her magic servant would be the first to feel it.
“In case you didn’t have us witches, what did you do then?” Ashes asked.
“Then we would only be able to rely on our patience and luck,” Thunder sighed, “The fleet would send out a small boat in front of it as a pathfinder, and after receiving confirmation that the path is safe, we would follow after it. But this area of the sea is not peaceful. As you have seen before, the closer you come to the Shadow Islands; the greater the danger becomes. There is the fog, the reefs, and the sea monsters… That is also why, even so though many explorers had already reached this place, only a few of them were able to find the entrance to the ruins.
After sailing like this for about two hours, the fog gradually vanished, allowing Ashes to see more and more from the surrounding islands. But only a scarce bits of vegetation was to be seen, besides some green moss or algae, there were only many crustaceans that were climbing over the rocks. “Will all these islands sink into the water?”
“That’s right, just like on Sleeping Island, but here the tide and low tide interval are much faster, changing around every half-moon cycle.” Thunder replied, “Moreover its rise and fall speed is incredibly quickly, as if there is a huge hole at the bottom of the sea which swallows all of the surrounding water. I even think that the reason why the sea level in the Fjord change, is related to this place. If you are lucky, we can even see how the main island will raises out of the sea.
Chapter 233 Ancient Ruins
The further east they sailed, the thinner the fog became, but the sky still remained gloomy as if the sun was unable to reach this part of the sea.
The surrounding reefs also got higher and higher, gradually turning into sturdy stone pillars, Ashes didn’t know why the ship was still stable, even though the water level was steadily falling. Even the rolling sea waves have lost their power, including the spray, which was now as tranquil as a lake without wind.
“Why don’t you just wait for the seawater to reach the lowest level before you enter the Shadow Sea?” Tilly asked, puzzled, “Then you do not have to be afraid of hitting the rocks, after all, by then all the reefs will be exposed.”
“Because if we wait until the seawater ebbed away, we won’t be able to see the Ghost Red River, which shows us explorers the only channel leading to the ruins,” Thunder explained. “These pillar-like islands you see everywhere aren’t fixed, with each ebb and flow their position will change. And it must be said that the seawater will swallow the majority of these pillars, so they cannot be used to locate the direction.
“Ghost… Red River?” Tilly asked, confused.
“That’s right. Look, there it is—” Thunder whistled and pointed to the bow.
Looking in the direction he pointed, the witches saw the dark blue sea, with a few red figures within — flashing through their view, like a phantom. But soon, another two or three red shadows came drifting along, and this time Ashes could clearly make out their bodies, they were fish, that had completely red scales.
“Are they… fish?”
“They are the unique red scales fish from Shadow Island,” Thunder stroked his chin and laughed, “Later on you will see the actual color of the Ghost Red River.”
Gradually, more and more fish were gathered together, no longer just the small groups of just two or three. Instead, they had gathered together in massive swarms, collectively swimming in the direction the stern was pointing — looking far ahead, Ashes was stunned by the scene she saw. More and more fish had come together to form a powerful current, making it appear as if there was a thick dark red carpet within the sea. The sailing ship visibly sailed forward along this red line, and when the bulge passed through the shoal of fish, from time to time sounds of collisions could be heard.
So, that’s the reason. Ashes suddenly recognized that this was the Ghost Red River — a strange nonexistent river! As the ship continued to move forward, the dense shoal of fish expanded to such an extent that the channel could accommodate several ships side by side. Slowly the dark blue water seemed to completely disappear as if the sailing ship was traveling on top of the fish. If they hadn’t been moving in opposite directions, Ashes would even believe that the ship was being carried by these fish.
“Why are they doing this?” Tilly asked in surprise.
Ashes also very much wanted to ask this question, she had absolutely never seen such a scene before, in Greycastle or any other Kingdom, — covered in dense fog, under a gloomy sky, the bizarre huge rocks and the red scaled fish forming a “river”. For the first time, she was awed by the wonder of the sea.
“It is because of the main island,” Thunder said, “It’s just like a triangular spire, with a massive cave running through the middle of it where these red-scaled fish like to lay their eggs and give birth to the next generation. Then during the ebb, the cave will emerge out of the water, and the shoal of fish that are staying in that habitat will always be the first to experience the change of water level will begin rushing out. So as long as we just follow the Red River, we will be able to arrive at the main island of the Shadow Islands.”