Deep Sea Embers

The atmosphere on the deck was a little awkward for a moment, and an unspeakable silence shrouded between Vanna and Tirian. The shock on the latter's face had not dissipated at this moment, but the former had already covered his forehead with his hands.

The silence was finally broken by a voice not far away. A few meters away, Shirley nudged Nina with her elbow: "Look, the first sentence I said must be this - you owe me two ice cream balls. ”

"Okay, okay, I guess you guessed it right," Nina muttered, "Just two... I'll resupply you when the frost comes."

Shirley's eyes suddenly widened: "I'm not a fool! Eating ice cream in a place with dozens of degrees below zero? Let's talk about it back to Plande!"

Tirian blinked, and only then did he notice the other people on the deck, as well as the atmosphere here that was subtly different from what he imagined. He first saw the girl named Shirley, whom he had met once before, and then he saw the other person. At their feet was a mysterious hound that they had met before, lazily basking in the sun. Next to them was another girl who looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old, and an old gentleman with gray hair and an elegant temperament.

Everyone is smiling.

Behind these people are the deck, sides, masts and sails of the Lost Home.

The yellowed and broken pictures from his childhood, the memories of the two brothers and sisters playing around, all the pleasant and unpleasant impressions, seemed to emerge bit by bit from some dark and lost cave, and filtered through the mist there. The colors gradually returned to the sunlight.

There were a few new faces here, but this was still the ship he remembered - not the eerie, dilapidated, chaotic and twisted ghost ship he imagined in his previous life.

At least the deck still looks familiar.

Shirley frowned.

He watched Ah Gou running around on the deck with an expressionless face, watched Nina and Ah Gou run to help in an unsuccessful attempt, and finally turned into one person and one dog running around on the deck being chased by a bucket of vegetables. He turned around and patted him. Tirian's shoulders.

My father didn't like other people's suggestions. In my memory, he was an arbitrary and stubborn person.

As adults, their father's captain's cabin is a place where one must remain serious. Even after becoming captains of the Seamist and the Brilliant Star respectively, Tirian and Lucretia still instinctively become nervous when they step into this place. -My father formulated all the huge exploration plans here, marked the islands and anomalies newly discovered by the Lost Fleet on the charts, completed the planning and dispatch of the entire fleet here, and most of the time, He and his sister are only responsible for listening to and executing orders.

Returning to the Lost Home again, everything seemed to have deviated from the trajectory and expectations from the beginning.

"Do you need help?"

"But she should be busy in the kitchen at this time," Shirley nodded. "Alice is in charge of the meals on the ship. You can try her cooking today - we have fresh vegetables and freshly caught fish. They are in It’s not something you see on many ocean-going ships.”

The next second, his eyes fell on the edge of the navigation table, on the dark and strange goat's head.

Tirian's expression seemed a little stiff. Even the pirate leader who commanded an entire undead fleet seemed a little unable to keep up with the daily rhythm of the Lost Home.

When he was a child, his father's captain's cabin was a mysterious and slightly scary room. He and Lucretia played around in most places on the ship, but they were strictly prohibited from entering this place, even the most talkative sailor on the ship. , will also block the brother and sister at the door mercilessly.

"I accept your apology - let's talk as we go," Shirley waved her hand and walked towards the end of the deck, "about the reason why Miss Inquisitor appeared here, the matter of the Obsidian, and this Dagger Island - We have a lot to communicate."

Tirian knew that he was in a daze, and he also knew that he should say something at this time, but he couldn't stop the thoughts in his heart from spreading. He knew that he had this kind of daze problem since he was a child, and every time he was in a daze on the deck, his father would always Will it suddenly come out of nowhere and scold you behind you——

Tirian was stunned for a moment before he remembered that this was the name of the doll lady - he always thought she was called "Lei Nora": "Ah, yes, is she on the ship?"

"

Food..." Tirian subconsciously repeated this word, almost saying "Father actually eats human food", but in the next second, there was a series of exclamations and panicked footsteps. Another sound suddenly came from not far away, interrupting his wandering.

In all his childhood and adult memories, this was the most impressive place on the ship.

"First mate?" Tirian blinked, and then looked back at this weird "wood carving". Resisting the weirdness in his heart, he accepted his father's statement and tentatively greeted him, "Hello, goat head ……gentlemen?"

I don't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that Ti Ruian's state at this moment was very subtle. It was very different from the impression left by the previous contacts, but it also had a vague sense of familiarity, but he soon felt relieved.

Tirian followed Shirley in a daze, heading towards the captain's cabin in his memory, while Duncan walked silently on the other side.

"It's because of the bucket - it has its own ideas about storing vegetables, so it often conflicts with Alice's ideas."

Shirley was not surprised by this, she just patted Tyrian on the shoulder: "You have to learn to adapt - I go to help every time Alice calls for help, then I don't have to do anything every day. Facts It proves that her own adaptability and vitality are actually quite tenacious.”

The jet-black goat head with a wooden texture turned creakingly, and a pair of hollow and deep obsidian eyeballs stared fixedly at the visitor who stepped into this place.

Of course Shirley noticed this little gesture: "Are you looking for Alice?"

"But I think she seems to be asking you for help..."

"Tirion turned back with a confused expression and twitched the corners of his mouth twice: Are the ingredients on the ship a little too fresh?"

Tirian wanted to say something else, but the captain's cabin arrived.

"I did not knock down the church - pay attention to your thinking, Tyrion," Duncan knew what he was thinking before he could speak, and immediately interrupted, "Do I need to emphasize it again? I am not an enemy of the civilized world now. , you should face me more calmly, instead of being wary of a natural disaster that will wreak havoc at any time."

The door opened, and the indoor environment, which was slightly dark compared to the deck, came into Tirian's eyes.

"Sorry, father," Tirian said subconsciously, "I was a little distracted."

It's not a shadow that appears in the mirror, it's not a blurry outline seen across the distant sea and artillery fire, it's standing face to face. At the same time, Fanna, who had been silent for a long time due to embarrassment, finally spoke: "Ti. Captain Ryan, it is necessary to explain my identity here - first of all, the situation is not what you think, I came to the Lost Home because of the assignment from the church..."

Then he turned back and waved to a few people watching the fun not far away: "Unrelated personnel should go about their own business and stop joining in the fun here."

Tirian looked around in shock, and saw the Gothic doll running across the deck not far away, shouting, holding a kitchen knife in her hand, and behind her was a person jumping up and down. The wooden barrel is filled with carrots and vegetables.

The pirate captain trembled visibly, and the momentary confusion between memory and reality even caused his thinking to shut down for two or three seconds. Then he turned around hesitantly and saw a tall and majestic figure standing in front of him. .

"Assigned by the church?" Tirian was suddenly more confused than before, and then suddenly turned his head to look at his father, "You"

Tirian was startled and turned around subconsciously: "This is..."

Tirian glanced at Vanna in astonishment.

Tirian: "I...sorry."

"When talking to it, you must be familiar with the operation of interrupting in advance to prevent it from talking unscrupulously. This is my advice."

"Hello, first time meeting, Mr. Tirian."

The goat shook his head and neck, as if he was about to say something, but the next second, Shirley interrupted in advance: "Shut up and stay quiet while we talk."

Tirian looked around subconsciously. He was observing the people on the ship.

situation, looking for these things that corroborate the memory, and also looking for a certain figure that should theoretically be here.

The pictures in my memories and the scenes I saw in front of me were divided and combined, sometimes overlapping, and sometimes creating a distinct sense of dissonance.

The "Captain Shirley" who can die is treated with such seriousness and caution. This goat head seems to be as strange and dangerous as its appearance.

"This is the first mate on the Homeless Ship now. He is trustworthy," Shirley introduced. "You can just call him Goat Head."

Of course, Tirian regards the goat head as some kind of extremely dangerous "normal", and shutting it up is obviously a requirement for sealing the dangerous object...

"Tirion, what are you doing here?"

Listening to his father's warning, Tirian's expression quickly turned serious.

After all, this is the first face-to-face conversation after a hundred years of absence, and it is also the first time to return to this ship. It is normal for the other party to have such a reaction.