kscans

Chapter 203 - Episode 4: First Half. Glacial Lake

I looked out the rear window at the base of the mountain. We must have climbed about halfway up Heyleight Mountain. A road led from the ruins to Heyleight Mountain, which rose behind them. It was less a stone-paved road and more a path of rectangular stones, all cut to a uniform length. It seemed to have been designed for transporting heavy objects. According to Maytyl, it might have been a mine at one point.

Of course, the long passage of time had left the road in disrepair. The power of tree roots is incredible.

"My thinking was too naive."

I moved to the front of the carriage. Ahead were many thick branches, and trees grew right through the cracks in the stones. There was no way even our horse-dragon carriage could proceed.

But the two horse-dragons riding ahead, mounted by Imperial knights, cleared the path. They swung long, scythe-like weapons. Seeing the blades gleam, I guessed they were made of sorcerous metal. They sliced through the branches blocking our way and the trees growing from between the stones in single strokes. I had only ever seen them use spears, but it seemed they used the horse-dragons’ transport capacity to carry equipment for this kind of work as well.

I remembered Dagobard ordering a change of equipment before we entered the mountain. If we had only borrowed the horse-dragon carriage, we would have been stuck before we had even gone a tenth of the way.

"Well, I’ll be. They even planned for a situation like this."

"Of course they did. Most of the Empire is mountainous, you know," Maytyl said, exasperated.

"More importantly, you’ll get hurt if you keep wandering around the carriage. I know it’s cold, but still."

"Ah, yeah. It’s definitely different from the base of the mountain," I said with a shiver. I was truly glad we had come during the autumn.

"Crenne."

"...Here."

"Thank you."

I pulled the fur Crenne handed me over my head.

"So unreliable. Bringing Her Highness to such a dangerous place. You do intend to take responsibility, don't you."

Crenne glared at me. Her concern was perfectly understandable. After all, we were surrounded by completely crimson leaves. Though obscured by the canopy, the cliffs above us were a Heyleight nest. And only ten knights, just over half our number, were accompanying the carriage. Inside were only Maytyl, Crenne, and one other sorcerer.

The remaining members had stayed behind at the ruins to conduct further investigations. I had asked them to collect samples from the unburnt timber.

"We’re headed in the right direction. But it looks like reaching the top will be impossible after all."

Maytyl looked ahead. The path to the glacier was blocked by a sheer cliff. To get around it, we would have to make a considerable detour. That route also included a rock face where the Heyleights apparently made their nests.

Even if we managed to avoid all that, we would be faced with a world of ice on a steep, exposed slope.

"If the item I requested works as planned, we might be able to get a sample without going all the way up there. It’s finished, right."

I looked at the bundle of long, thin rods we had gone to the trouble of loading onto the carriage.

"Yes, right here. It was just a matter of simplifying a battering ram. Crenne handled the pipe."

In Maytyl’s hand was a tube of sorcerous metal. It was the tip of an Imperial rotating battering ram, with the end removed and the inside hollowed out. It was about as thick as the circle I could make with my thumb and index finger.

"...With the Empire’s technology, it was a simple matter."

Crenne pointed to a bundle of long rods extending from the carriage. Their inner diameter was the same as the tip Maytyl held. They were about three meters long, and five of them were bundled together.

"A record longer than tree rings. Considering your goal, you’ll need four hundred years of data, right. How do you plan to get it."

"As usual, I have no proof. But seeing this view, it seems longer than I first thought... wha, whoa."

Just as I was about to explain what we were going to do, pointing toward the blue surface of a lake peeking through the trees, the carriage suddenly stopped. I had been standing carelessly and lost my balance, toppling over.

"Ricardo, you... kya."

I heard Maytyl’s voice from above my head. My face was covered by the fur. I struggled. Through the fluffy fur, something a little more resilient had cushioned my face.

"Hey, not there... ah."

When I finally managed to get my head free, I found myself in the position of hugging Maytyl’s chest.

"You, you insolent man."

Crenne’s furious shout echoed through the carriage.

"...Um, did something happen."

I poked my head out of the carriage. I was looking sideways not to strike a pose, but because the imprint of an autumn leaf was stamped on one of my cheeks.

"Look at that."

Craig, riding behind an Imperial knight, pointed ahead. Dagobard and the others had gathered in front of the carriage. They were surrounding the carcass of a Heyleight. An attack in this forest? No, I hadn’t sensed any sign of a battle. Looking closely, I could see that half of the Heyleight’s body had been gnawed away.

"...Earlier it was a dire wolf carcass, wasn’t it."

"Yes."

Maytyl and Crenne exchanged glances. Dire wolves are sometimes hunted by Heyleights. Indeed, the earlier corpse had a hole in its stomach. But why would a flying Heyleight... No, even magic beasts have lifespans. It could have been an individual that died from an accident or disease.

"There’s nothing unusual in the area. We’re moving on," Dagobard said, approaching the carriage.

A short while later, we emerged from the trees. The view opened up dramatically. We could see the blue surface of a lake surrounded by a red forest, with a white glacier in the background. It was a scene of such fantastical beauty it made me forget my purpose. The tranquil surface of the lake, in particular, was so beautiful it seemed to draw me in.

A lake fed by meltwater from the glacier. A glacial lake. In the distance, between the glacier and the lake, water fell from atop a cliff, forming a small basin like a plunge pool. From there, a narrow stream flowed into the main body of the lake. The surrounding forest must have acted as a windbreak. There was not even a ripple on the water.

I carefully scanned the area around the lake. There was no river flowing out of it. This was ideal.

"We cannot stay long. Make it quick," Dagobard said, looking up at the sky.

On the western rock face, a throng of Heyleights was perched. They were likely protecting their nests, as I could hear their threatening squawks of gyaa gyaa.

I have no business with you, so I would appreciate it if you could keep quiet.

Dagobard and his men gathered dead wood and started a fire with a Helixflame. With their backs to the forest, they were on alert for a Heyleight attack. Maytyl and the others approached the lake, warily scanning their surroundings.

I held the T-shaped rod for coring tree rings. For the record, it was not the one I used in the first prophecy, but a custom model made by Bowgan.

I looked around at the nearby trees. The older, the better.

"Cold."

I heard Maytyl’s voice from the lake. She was shaking her hand, which she had dipped into the water. Beside her, Crenne was assembling the rod with the help of a knight. Maytyl attached the sorcerous metal tube to its tip.

I began to extract a core from an exceptionally thick tree. In the distance, I saw a rope extending from a wooden rod fixed to the lake shore. The metal pipe hanging from it sank into the water. It seemed the lake was not that deep.

The rod rotated, creating ripples on the lake’s surface. Normally, this kind of boring would require a large-scale rig. Without the mechanism of a battering ram that could rotate autonomously when infused with magic, this would be an impossible task.

"This one is manual, though."

I started the work of coring the tree ring. After pulling out the first one, I took a sip of tea I had gotten from the bonfire.

"The test drill is done. Here, is this good."

Maytyl opened the rod she brought over. The cross-section of the split iron rod was coated in gold. I see, this is how they channel magic through it. Inside was about fifty centimeters of fine-grained mud.

"With this... um, if I warm it up with this."

Noticing Maytyl’s fingertips had turned purple, I handed her my cup. She cradled it with both hands. Then, she drank it all in one go. I had meant for it to be a hand warmer.

I first looked at the upper layer, the part from the lake’s surface. There was almost no disturbance. Thanks to the cold water, there was likely no bioturbation. I timidly poked the wet soil with my finger. It was firmly packed, slightly elastic clay, with gray and white stripes etched into it.

The two colored layers had different textures, with the darker one feeling finer. There was no doubt. I opened my palm. Across the roughly twenty centimeters from my thumb to my little finger... there were forty stripes. About five millimeters per year. At the very least, the pattern was completely unbroken for the fifty centimeters that had been cored.

They were even more beautiful varves than I had imagined. Though formed by a different process, they were a match for the cheat lake from my past life in Japan.

"So."

Maytyl asked, looking a little worried.

"I won’t know for sure until we actually measure it, but as a sample, it seems ideal. It’s a little slanted, though, so could you try for a spot a little closer to the center if possible."

"I’ll do what I can. So, what will this tell you." Maytyl said, tightly gripping the empty cup.

"Actually, these stripes are also like tree rings. A record of the glacier is accumulating at the bottom of this lake."

I pointed to the glacier extending from the mountain peak.