Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

At Kraft's strong request, William temporarily gave up the idea, and the team quickly withdrew from the mine.

"We can't just go back like this. We still have to go down after you ask." William shook his head at his inexplicable caution and glanced at the entrance of the cave behind him reluctantly. Next time he comes back, he will have to go through a mountain of knives again. The hill-climbing experience, "And a paganism in a small village, do you really think it has any meaning?"

"It's nothing more than a foolish man and woman using some means to fool another group of people who don't know what they are talking about."

He put out the torch in the sand on the ground, calmed down a little, and realized that he was too impatient, and that there would be a crossover below was just a guess.

But what puzzled him was that Kraft's attention was diverted from the original target, and his behavior was dominated by inexplicable caution, to the point of rejecting further exploration as soon as possible. A team with good synergy suddenly had two divergent voices.

But William is quite adaptable to this situation, it's not like he has never encountered it before. On the contrary, it is quite common for some people to think that certain small events are related to each other and represent an irrefutable revelation.

You can't refute him outright, because logic can't defeat something whose origin cannot be explained, just like the gain of two silver coins will not make the locals take two more steps down.

The best way is to follow them and wait for this period to pass and things can continue naturally.

"The mine is here and we can't run away. Let's go down first." William took the lead and walked back to the road. This time can be used to find any locals in the village who are willing to lead the way down. It is not a waste.

…

"Feel sorry."

Coop followed Kraft, who was looking around the village, and apologized. He seemed to have hesitated for a long time, waiting to return to the village and separate from William and his party before speaking alone.

It's quite rare. Since he took office, this new guard has been making up lessons most of the time. He doesn't know what he should do. Of course, he doesn't understand what is wrong. He rarely even has the opportunity to admit his mistakes.

Kraft's communication style was mostly based on advice and rarely made any accusations, so Kupp's solemn apology seemed a bit abrupt.

"Why do you say that? I don't remember anything you did wrong." He quickly reflected on the recent exchanges to see if there was some deviation in expression that caused Kupp to misunderstand his attitude.

"Because of some of my nonsense, your and Captain William's decisions are... inconsistent."

"You don't need to think like this. My attitude is not biased towards anyone's one-sided statement." Kraft understood what he meant. Kupp probably felt that his inaccurate feelings had a negative impact on decision-making, and even minor differences with the team. related.

He turned to the two people behind him and looked at Coop and Yvonne, "In addition, everyone should clearly realize that now and for a long time to come, we are a whole, and sooner or later you will have to bear the burden that I cannot take care of both. part."

"So, it's great that you're opening up about your findings and your opinions, whether they're confirmed or not, and that's a good step."

"Thank you, I understand." Coop nodded in understanding and continued to follow Kraft as he walked towards the center of the village.

As long as the terrain allows, these villages are generally built and deployed around a line, a road to make way for mineral transportation, and the most important water source.

Given the size of the village, the actual difference may be only a few steps, but the location of new houses is still as close to the wellhead as possible. It has almost become a custom. It is related to obscure status comparisons or other reasons. No one has yet delved into the details.

This makes it easier for outsiders to save the time of asking for directions. They can easily find the location of the well by just walking straight in. The edge of the circular narrow well made of dusty yellow rocks does not look very good, but it is a place where everyone comes, and it is still very suitable for the preaching of magic sticks.

A half-grown boy was struggling to pull the rope at the wellhead. His chest could barely reach the wellhead, and he couldn't find a suitable angle to lift the filled bucket up.

It was obvious that this was not Goli Sr.

"Need help?" Kraft said, reaching out to help him and holding out an overflowing bucket that was not much smaller than the mouth of the well. That is, the mouth of the well is so small, otherwise it is difficult to tell whether the bucket will come up or the person will go down.

He didn't seem surprised by the help from others, and handed the rope to the person without looking back. When he was about to thank him, he realized that it was not a familiar neighbor, "Someone from outside?"

Under the dusty hair on his forehead, his eyes were slightly cloudy like the discarded glass beads in Witcham's workshop, with vigilance and faint but detectable hostility solidified in them like mineral impurities.

It was about his status as an "outsider". He was still young and not old enough to hide this rejection. He showed it nakedly, far more than the implicit xenophobic attitude felt in other villages.

Before he left, Kraft tried to exchange his "credit" for some news, "Do you know where Old Goli is? Someone told me I can find him here."

"Why are you looking for him?" The boy stepped back and distanced himself, as if he would run away with the bucket at any time.

Kraft groped around his side and left chest for a while, half of his soul subconsciously wanting to take out a small gadget from the non-existent big pocket to improve the relationship, such as a small shiny tube, a button that can press the button, etc. The pen barrel makes a clicking sound.

However, the empty pocket only contained a coin that he had stuffed into it when he collected money last time, and a scrap of paper.

The copper plate was handed over, "We are very interested in the painting on the stone at the entrance of the village, but unfortunately we can't understand it at all. That old Goli who painted the painting, do you know where he is?"

The boy pushed away the shaggy hair from his eyes, and dust and gray debris fell. He narrowed his eyes and opened them again, and finally moved away from the copper plate. He did not take over, but his frown relaxed.

"I know."

"You know?" Kraft took back the copper plate and folded the piece of paper. Fortunately, the fiber of this paper was still tough and there was room for use.

"That's the messenger!" Like most children known to otherworldly souls who were asked questions until they knew the content by heart, he answered the question with a sense of pride.

"How clever." Kraft took out the picture and thought he knew the location of Old Goli. This village didn't look like a place where the messenger would come, and he couldn't understand which part of the painting could be related to the messenger. "You actually know the messenger?"

"Old Goli said that couriers are for delivering things. They can deliver things from far away places and they can also bring my father back."

"Your dad?"

Kraft's hand movements stopped and he almost tore the edge of the paper. A voice came out from behind and asked the question first. Coop interrupted his conversation uncharacteristically, his questioning voice quivering in disbelief.

"Yes, he was trapped in the cave for several years by those two strangers. Old Goli said that the messenger would bring him back."

Coop stopped talking, as if his interruption just now was just a whim.

The paper folded into shape at his fingertips. Kraft took over the words naturally and showed the boy the technique with a smile, successfully dispelling some of the vigilance in his eyes. "That's great. Did he say how long it will take?"

"I've seen him!"

"Oh? Where did you see it?"

"In the cave." The boy replied matter-of-factly, surprised that this stranger was so forgetful that he would ask such a question, "Didn't I say he was trapped in the cave?"

"That's it. I'm sorry, I'm too stupid." Craft made a sharp mouth for the finished product in his hand and gave it to the boy. This time the small gift was not rejected, "It's for you."

"What is this?" The little hand took this unprecedented gift.

Thanks to the dictionary I read while compiling the book, I actually found the equivalent word in Norse, "You can call him paper crane, a kind of bird."

"never seen it."

"To be honest, I haven't seen it with my own eyes. Anyway, I wish your dad... is safe and sound."

Kraft said goodbye to him, and the boy held up the small toy and walked away, hoping that he would not get wet with the water in the bucket before he got home. "By the way, have you seen Old Goli today?"

"No! He was here before." The figure turned behind the wall and disappeared.

The laughter of getting a new toy has not faded yet, and the smile has died on the face of the person who just delivered the paper crane. When he turned around, his face turned solemn, "I have never seen such a messenger before."

As for Kupu, the guard who suddenly interrupted, his face had not looked good since just now. He was just like standing in front of the rock painting last night, facing a "familiar" face.