translating_wizard
patreon
Chapter 359: Entering the Temple
🕑 Added 2019-01-12 03:23:20 +0000 UTC
Although he had collected some Gillyweed for emergencies, Evan had never tried it before. He sucked in the cold water of the lake as if his life relied on it.
He swam like a real merman; his head was no longer spinning in the water.
Evan took a sip of cold water again. It was a wonderful feeling. The water flowed smoothly through his gills and carried oxygen into his brain.
He put his hands in front of him and looked at them carefully.
They looked a little green underwater, strange and terrible. There were webbings between his fingers. He turned his head to look at his bare feet, which grew longer and webbed between his toes, as if his feet suddenly turned into swim-fins.
The evening river water was no longer cold and biting. On the contrary, he felt very refreshed, very comfortable and his body became very light.
Following the similarly bizarre Okegiga, Evan continued to paddle forward.
With the help of his two webbed feet, he could now move fast in the water.
Moreover, his eyesight became so good that he could see clearly ahead without blinking at all.
Along the narrow river, he soon swam far ahead, and he could hear the fighting of the Centaurs not far above his head and he smoothly entered the huge lake in the center of the colony.
There was no defense, no resistance, and the fallen Centaurs did not expect that someone would dive underwater.
Okegiga’s strong figure loomed in front of him and eventually disappeared.
After entering the center lake, Evan was swimming alone in a dark, hazy and strange scenery, and all he could here was silence.
He could see within ten feet around. Every time he stroke his feet in the water, a new scene suddenly emerged from the darkness in front: a bush of undulating, tangled black aquatic plants; broad, flat silt scattered with shining pebbles.
Evan and Okegiga swam deeper and deeper, heading towards the deepest part of the lake.
Along the central island, the main building of the Temple of the Moon extended to the deepest part of the water, and the ancient, huge architectural outline emerged in front of Evan’s eyes.
Once again, he was shocked by the miraculous feats of the Centaurs and immersed in the greatness before him.
Evan stared through the gray, sinuous lake, looking at the huge shadows in the distance, where the lake was dark and hazy.
Countless little fishes swam past him lightly, like silver darts.
The next second, Evan saw a big guy moving in front of him, but it was not Okegiga. When he picked up speed, he realized that it was a huge squid!
The squid brandished its claws and stared at Evan tightly, as if it wanted to attack him.
When Evan nervously grasped his wand, it suddenly lost interest in him, tracking the distant fish, and swam away quickly.
Evan breathed a sigh of relief, but he soon encountered new trouble.
He met a Grindylow in the thick grass under the island. The long-legged monster suddenly poked out of the grass, and its long tentacles clung to Evan’s legs, and its mouth revealed its long sharp teeth, as if to bite him.
Evan gently waved his wand, and a boiling water column emerged from its tip, hitting the green-skinned Grindylow.
The monster immediately stiffened, turned grey, and motionless, slowly falling down.
Evan’s Petrification worked, but more Grindylows came out of the water grass. Without Merpeople and other natural enemies living in this lake, these monsters breed almost unstoppable.
Evan wasn’t going to let them do as they want; he was ready to let them know how much of a bad target he was.
He quickly flicked his wand, and the Grindylow, which was pouncing at him, was instantly split into two halves. The blood stained the large lake, and the monsters began to disperse.
Evan seized the opportunity to swim forward. A few minutes later, he slowed down, staring blankly around, looking for the hidden entrance to the Temple of the Moon that Okegiga had told him about.
But he saw nothing, and he was alone in the dark lake.
He turned 360 degrees in the water, perceiving only silence pressing on his eardrum.
He knew that he must be at the bottom of the deep lake, but there was nothing around him except endless darkness. The great water pressure made him feel lonely as never before.
He and Okegiga had separated, and the latter might have entered the Temple. The effect of Gillyweed was gradually fading. Just to stay on the safe side, Evan added a Bubble-Head Charm to himself.
Then, the tip of his wand began to glow outward.
The darkness was dispelled, and Evan saw the lonely grass. In front of him, a huge blue-black rock wall was engraved with pictures of ancient Centaurs watching the stars.
There were several stone carvings of Centaurs scattered in the depths of the lake. He didn’t know if they had been there for centuries. Some were holding bows and arrows in their hands, and the others held strange-looking scepters high above their heads.
Evan followed the rock mass of the Temple of the Moon and crossed it down a distance. Just when he was quietly worried, a powerful arm popped out of the middle of the wall.
He hurriedly raised his wand, just to find out that it was Okegiga.
They went up the narrow, slippery tunnel, surrounded by thick green moss and water weeds. Through the role of light and shadow, Evan found that the entrance to the secret passage was cleverly hidden in a mural. Anyone not knowing about it precisely shouldn’t be able to find it.
"I just turned around and found that you were gone!" Okegiga said with a rough voice. "The effect of Gillyweed was disappearing. I couldn’t swim too far to find you."
“I met a group of Grindylows and had to fight them.” As he explained, Evan lightly clicked on his robe with his wand and a large amount of steam came out.
This was a very effective little spell, and his body instantly became dry.
“Those ugly water monsters have been lurking in the lake, causing us a great deal of trouble. They suddenly attack those who come to fetch water, take them into the lake and drown them." Okegiga shook hard and dried up himself like a wild animal. "You were lucky. You came to the entrance. Otherwise, I don’t know if I could’ve fetched you!"
“What’s the trick?" Evan asked, "I saw the murals on the wall in the lake; they were almost the same. How did you find the entrance?"
“It’s very simple for us Centaurs. We just follow the track of the stars.” Okegiga walked to the top of the narrow tunnel and continued. “Here is the Temple of the Moon. You have to follow the stars to find the moon. That’s where the entrance is.”
While he talked, he patted gently on a pattern that looked like a crescent moon, and the thick stone door in front of him slowly raised open.
