Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

Kraft met that Peter. If nothing else, at least he was in good spirits and had a different temperament from the other residents here.

It can be seen that he at least wiped his face before coming to the church, and got rid of the dusty feeling. He looked more like an outsider than a local resident, and there was no sense of alienation in his eyes like a local's low earth wall - it didn't hinder him. Communicate, but also unwilling to contact.

Frankly speaking, this attitude is not bad. After all, in places where the outside church is dominant, they will not be happy for a heretic to appear openly. If it is due to differences in beliefs, then at least they are kinder than the church.

He first greeted the priest, and after learning that Kraft and his entourage were believers from outside, he became enthusiastic and came up to hug William, who was the leader. It was as if they suddenly became close friends and relatives, which made the captain, who had always been aloof from life, feel a little embarrassed.

"I really didn't expect to see compatriots who also believe in Heavenly Father here." Peter smiled and let go of William. It was the first time for me to be so welcomed as a believer, and I found some sense of identity in a foreign land.

"Please get in the car. The priest said that we should be brothers and help each other."

If you can find a devout believer in Gravel Town, the priest's situation may not be as bad as you thought before. Although he didn't ask for it, Kraft still held his hand as he passed by and put a few coins into his hand, "Church brothers shouldn't treat each other badly. The rest of the trip depends entirely on you. .”

Coop tightened his burqa and found a space at the back of the car to sit down without comment. He couldn't say "brothers from the church", but the atmosphere had reached this point. From his simple emotional intelligence point of view, it would be better to reduce communication.

"It doesn't have to be like this." Under Kraft's push, Peter put the money into his pocket and untied the ropes that tied the mules and horses. "I heard that you are going to see the mine?"

"It is best to stop construction within two years, because some building materials for the church have been unavailable in recent years, and I heard that they are only produced here. It will be troublesome to replace them in the future."

He was telling the truth. After thinking about it for a while, Coop realized that everything seemed to be correct, but it was completely different.

"It's not easy. The mine is just there, no one is watching, and no one knows if anyone has gone in. What exactly does the thing you are looking for look like?" Peter sat in the coachman's seat, raised his whip, and the carriage trembled. He moved majestically and headed to the other side of the town.

"Maybe it's a newly discovered ore. I don't know exactly what it looks like. How many places do you know where it's mined?"

"It's everywhere, including this town that used to be a mining field. Then it became what it is now." The carriage drove out of the town and turned the corner. Peter pointed to the low flora on the right, "That Next to it is the original mine, but it was abandoned before I came here, and now I make a living by reselling grain and minerals."

The passengers turned their heads to look at where he was pointing. Covered by vegetation, a cave in the mountain that was not easy to notice almost slipped under their noses.

It is only about one person tall. New shrubs grow on the earth and rocks at the entrance of the cave, blocking most of it. The fallen stems and leaves on the upper edge cover the other half. You can vaguely distinguish the path that leads from the road to the entrance of the cave.

The plants have almost eroded away all traces of human entry and exit, and the nearly circular hole has returned to nature, as if it belongs here. Under the visual fatigue caused by the large green and yellow background, if someone hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have noticed it even if I passed by here several times.

The surrounding ground is intact, with no signs of construction visible, and the seamless transition from the living area to the mining area makes it even harder to notice.

William, who knew a little bit about minerals, was a little confused, "How did you know there was a mine down there?"

Most of the minerals on the ice sheet are exposed on the surface, and the ore can be obtained with the tribe's primitive mining level. It is different in the Kingdom of North. Once a mineral deposit is discovered, mining pits will be dug out on the surface, and exploration will be carried out in all directions to expand the mining area and pursue open-pit mining as much as possible.

The direct mining method of a mine requires knowing in advance that there are minerals below. Even with complete knowledge and rich experience, it is difficult to hit the target in one go.

Even if there are people who have reached this level, living in a place the size of Gravel Town, can they be willing to remain unknown in the southern hills?

Peter didn't quite understand his question, "Let's go down with a torch and take a look."

"Natural mines are a gift from the Lord. What about other places?" That kind of round hole does not look like a man-made one. It is not easy to cut and is not suitable for supporting.

"It's the same, it's everywhere. As long as you can find a regular source of water to live in, you won't have to worry about having nothing to dig."

William glanced back at the entrance of the cave and repeated his words in a questioning tone, somewhat unbelievable, "Is it everywhere?"

"Yes, but those people don't think this is a gift from the Lord." Peter spat, separating himself from other local residents in his words, "I keep talking about it all day long, but I can't name it."

"There is another one on the mountain over there, but it is close to the top of the mountain and is too deep to be used." He pointed again to an ordinary hill. This time no one saw the entrance of the cave. After a certain distance, one had to distinguish between exposed rocks and half-covered rocks. The entrance to the cave is too difficult.

According to him, there are countless similar natural mines here, no less than the number on the top of the mountain.

"Is there such a terrain?" There is no term that can be summed up in Kraft's impression. A large number of natural deep holes appear in water-deficient hilly areas, just like many small holes appearing in dry and preserved cheese for no reason. He has to wonder. It's because of maggots.

"Are they deep?"

"Yes, I have been in the mines before. I could walk there for a long time, and I had to endure the nagging of those people who didn't believe in Heavenly Father for a long time. It's better to come and drive the carriage." He was quite resentful about this, and rarely had the opportunity to talk about it. I was afraid that the priest would get tired of hearing it and repeat it.

"They lazily take the part closer to the exit and then change places, squandering the Lord's gift. Sooner or later they will be punished."

Kraft and William covered their heads and sighed at the same time. The former was not so shocked. He had been mentally prepared when he came, so the setback was expected, "Oh."

The idea of ​​​​investigating by mine is wrong. They can at least investigate by person. A settlement that can produce a large amount of raw materials and trade with the outside world cannot be covered by weeds and shrubs like a mine.

Peter misunderstood the meaning of their sighs and continued to complain about his dislike of those people: "They don't want to listen to me, and they don't listen to the priest. They stick to a set of rules that I can never figure out how many more there are, and I can't tell who they are. It’s determined.”

"Don't go deep, don't leave the mine too late, always remind which way is facing out... there are too many, to be honest, I have never used them. Those who came later also got the bad habits after staying for a long time. Damn it, I don’t want to be like that.”

Amidst the complaints, the carriage turned the next corner, and the sense of direction became blurred. The winding road did not know whether it was inward or outward. Kraft had to recall for a while before he could judge that they were moving away from the canal.

In other words, they were going deep into the southern hills, and another cave appeared on the other side of the mountain. Intuitively, it is enough to fit into a gravel town hut, extending diagonally downwards on the mountainside, and the light stops not far from the entrance of the cave.

The circular outline of the cave wall is not the smooth and gentle style of a karst cave. The rock wall retains corners and small straight edges, and there are not many traces of erosion. At least based on Kraft's geographical level, it does not appear to be formed by water dissolution.

It cannot be seen deeper. As far as the visible section is concerned, there is not much change in width and width, and it looks like a crude tunnel prototype.

"Hey, what do you think the end of these holes looks like?" A certain sailor couldn't bear his loneliness and spoke to Peter. It was quite difficult to see a hole in other places, so he couldn't help but be curious.

"I don't know, I haven't heard anyone mention it."

"Really? That's quite strange. Have you ever tried to go down and have a look?"

Peter pondered for a moment, as if searching for memories of working in the mine in the past, "It's too deep, I can't go on."

After the topic was chatted, the carriage became quiet. Yvonne took out a small book and read it for a while, but Kraft blocked it and said, "Don't read in the carriage, it will hurt your eyes."

There is still a long time, Yvonne does not need to seize this moment to remember a few more words, and there is no need for him to rush. The mine will not run away when it is in place, and it is acceptable to search for it for weeks or months.