novelraw Chapter 121: News
Chapter 121: News
Horseshoes clattered against cobblestones slick with morning dew, splashing through puddles.
Along the street, the wooden doors of a few shops creaked open, releasing the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread. Men preparing for an early start to their work day stood at their doorsteps, splashing their faces with water from buckets.
It was a small comfort against the gloom of the cold, overcast weather.
The carriage stopped for a moment at Mrs. Filin's bakery. Lu Li stepped out to buy five pounds of bread, and while the baker was packing the fresh loaves, he walked over to a nearby newsstand.
The newsstand had just been set up for the day; the tarp covering the stacks of newspapers had not yet been removed.
"A copy of today's paper, please. There might not be anyone at the detective agency for the next few days, so you can just slip the papers through the slot under the door."
Thanks to his unusual black hair and eyes, Lu Li was memorable to most who met him. The old man running the newsstand tipped his hat in greeting. Turning to pull back the tarp and fetch a paper, he asked, "Are you heading out on a trip?"
"Yes."
Pulling a fresh copy from the stack, the old man turned back and handed it to Lu Li, the paper still fragrant with the sharp scent of printer's ink. "I hope you have a wonderful time."
"Thank you."Lu Li took the newspaper, returned to the bakery to collect the full bag of bread, and climbed back into the carriage.
"That's a lot..." Anna craned her neck, peering into the bag.
"It's for the whole day, and just in case something goes wrong in Tenebrae."
For instance, if the local food didn't agree with them.
Placing the bag on the edge of the seat, Lu Li sat beside it, took the reins, and the obedient horse started off at a slow pace.
To the steady rhythm of hoofbeats and the gentle sway of the carriage, Lu Li set a lamp beside him and unfolded the newspaper, its inky scent filling the air.
[The Kodasserlsen Departed from Port Hasko in the Lennon Archipelago Yesterday Morning]
Beneath the headline was a low-quality black-and-white photograph of a steamship, reminiscent of the Titanic, pulling away from the pier. Flags fluttered on the shore as relatives, gathered behind a fence, waved farewell to the vessel.
The caption below the photo read: "The steel giant they call unsinkable."
It seemed that giant liners with such names and nicknames usually met with an unfortunate fate.
With that thought, Lu Li skimmed the article, which took up half the front page, before moving on to the next.
[Baroness Joseph's Case Moves to Evidence Presentation Phase]
[Our reporter has learned from the Sentry Post police that the prosecution and defense have begun presenting their evidence. Baroness Joseph is being represented by the renowned Sentry Post lawyer, Soren.]
Both names mentioned were connected to Lu Li in one way or another.
The third story was also about Baroness Joseph.
[Baroness Joseph's New Victim? Eyewitnesses Saw the Baroness Leaving a Mysterious Man's Home]
[Two days ago, a disguised Baroness Joseph traveled to a coastal district for a clandestine meeting with a certain individual at a detective agency. According to sources, the agency's detective is a mysterious man. Eyewitnesses report that the Baroness spent several minutes inside the mysterious man's home...]
Lu Li hadn't expected to make his public debut in such a light.
Fortunately, aside from those who already knew him, no one would be able to guess who the newspaper was talking about.
Turning to the second page, Lu Li understood why two stories about the Baroness had made the front page—nothing else of interest had happened yesterday.
The remaining three pages were filled with trivialities. One story told of a wealthy man being robbed on the street; another detailed how one artist had criticized another's paintings, calling them dog excrement. There was also a report of a vagrant found dead on the street with no signs of violence and a smile on his face—the police suspected he had died after wandering into the darkness.
Such incidents were not uncommon in Belfast. There were always daredevils, eccentrics, people who'd made bets with friends, drunks, vagrants, and misers who would venture into the dark and die. The only difference was that most who were lost to the darkness simply vanished, rather than leaving a corpse behind.
Folding the newspaper and setting it aside, Lu Li watched the horse climb a street leading up the mountain. He glanced back and asked, "Do you know anything about Tenebrae?"
"No."
So much for that conversation.
As the sky began to brighten, the carriage left the confines of Belfast and headed north, where the terrain gradually flattened.
They passed a birch grove that should have been lush with green at this time of year, but all Lu Li saw was a gray, lifeless wasteland. There was no buzz of insects, no song of birds.
May was coming to an end. In previous years, the far side of Sugard Mountain would have been covered in the green of wild plants and farm fields, but now, most plants had not even sprouted.
It wasn't just Sugard Mountain; the entire continent seemed to have fallen into a state where plants would not grow. Even in the most fertile lands of the northern countries, there was no sign of green. Perhaps the only places where flowers still bloomed were within the mansions of aristocrats, tended with expensive, specialized care.
The earth was a patchwork of gray, ugly, uneven soil, and the plowed and seeded fields along the road showed no signs of life.
On the Allen Peninsula, autumn usually arrived at the end of September, which didn't leave people much time.
If the plants didn't start growing, if the problem wasn't solved, a catastrophe far more terrifying than the Night Calamity would unfold.
As Gades had pessimistically put it, this world was withering.
The sky had fully brightened but remained dreary and overcast. A light rain began to fall. Perhaps that was why the bloody tentacle above Tenebrae seemed even more ethereal in the misty drizzle.
Lu Li moved inside the carriage, drew the curtain slightly, and guided the horse along the correct path.
Anna sat with Lu Li for a while, but boredom and the passing of too many carriages and wagons sent her back into the carriage's interior, where she picked up a book to read.
"Reading in the dark is bad for your eyes."
Just as she took the book from the floor, Lu Li's voice came from the front. He passed the lamp back to her, its dim light chasing away the gloom.
"Oh."
Anna instinctively reached for the lamp, and only when her hand passed through the handle and Lu Li's fingers did she remember herself. She took the lamp with her telekinesis and set it down beside her.
Recalling Lu Li's earlier question, Anna said hesitantly, "I do know a little something about the Shadow Swamp..."
"Such as?"
"Like... its length and width, and the creatures that live there..."
Anna's voice trailed off. She realized the knowledge she'd gleaned from textbooks was unlikely to be of any practical use.
Lu Li said nothing, and silence settled over the carriage.
Anna felt a little embarrassed, then became engrossed in her reading. From time to time, she would lift her head to look at Lu Li's back before returning to her book.
The road grew flatter. They had finally left the region of Sugard Mountain. The air no longer smelled of the sea, but the landscape remained the same: a scene of decay and grayness.
The carriage jolted along for the entire day. As evening approached, low-lying buildings finally appeared on the horizon, scattered across the plain.
Lu Li's gaze lifted. The bloody tentacle, reaching down from the depths of the clouds, seemed a little more real now. It swayed slowly behind Tenebrae, like a strand of seaweed adrift in the current.