Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 882 - 882: Huntington Countryside Story

The research materials of Professor Drake document that he collected the information of those citizens who claimed to have seen the Lake Goddess. After eliminating the obvious fabricators, he summarized five patterns, based on local legends and folklore, that could lead to an encounter with the "Lake Goddess."

First, one must appear alone by the lake in the eastern part of Huntington City. You can have a mount or a pet, but no other humanoid intelligent beings should accompany you;

Second, when encountering the Lake Goddess, the sun must still be above the horizon as no sightings have ever occurred during the pitch-black night;

Third, all those who claimed to have seen the "Lake Goddess" or entered "Lake Cherub," including Professor Drake, were all males. Even the protagonists in local folklore stories are always male;

Fourth, the individuals encountering the Lake Goddess need to carry items that prove their "courage" and "wisdom," namely a book and a weapon;

Fifth, the most important point, is that one must not consciously think about encountering the "Lake Goddess." Only when one forgets their purpose, might they inadvertently turn and see the legendary lake.

All these patterns were summarized by Professor Drake himself. Many people have seen these materials; even the local True God Church obtained these documents from Professor Drake, but none have encountered the said goddess again.

For Shard, having clues is better than having none at all, and the professor's summary seems quite reasonable.

He prepared his notebook, gun, and sword, went into the city to revisit Professor Drake, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and discussed more detailed content with him. After having lunch in the city, he headed to the western part of the city again.

Unlike the vast plains and low hills in the east of Huntington, the western part of the city is adjacent to the Pantanal Swamp Region and is predominantly wetlands and lakes. Although the terrain is relatively flat, the annual summer mist from the swamp area makes it unsuitable for habitation.

On the eastern edge of Huntington, there are several small towns. As you head further east, you can only see small farms and orchards interspersed among the lakes.

The roads here are quite difficult to navigate, even on horseback. Occasionally, the horse's hooves would sink into muddy pits on the road. The country roads lack regular maintenance, and the influence of the Pantanal Swamp Area means that the infrastructure here is almost non-existent.

The clues Shard currently holds are insufficient to directly locate the rumored Lake Cherub where the Lake Goddess resides. Therefore, he planned to retrace the route Professor Drake took years ago, following the notes from the professor.

The first stop was Lower Lutherville in the western part of Huntington City. The professor had started from this village, and there happened to be an eyewitness to the "Lake Goddess" in the village. The village's name originates from its location south of Rutherford Lake, which on the map is directly underneath Rutherford Lake.

This is a typical rural Casenli village. When the well-dressed Shard arrived on horseback, the villagers cast curious glances but didn't dare approach too closely. It wasn't until Shard stepped into the muddy village, leading his chestnut horse, that the village sheriff cautiously approached and inquired about Shard's purpose.

Most local villagers have a thick accent, but the sheriff, a robust-looking middle-aged man, spoke with a very standard accent. When Shard explained his purpose in awkward Casenric and requested to meet Mr. Old Greyford, who claimed to have seen the Lake Goddess eight years ago, the sheriff gladly agreed:

"Old Greyford enjoys telling that story. Initially, we liked listening, but as he kept repeating it, people became tired of it. Sir, you come from the Big City and may not understand our rural life here. In boring days, listening to others' stories is indeed interesting, but when a story is repeated for eight years, nobody can stand it."

Mr. Old Greyford had a fairly good life in the small village. In his youth, he fished by Rutherford Lake, later dug fishponds for artificial breeding. Although his annual income was less than that of city dwellers, it was at least better than the subsistence farming of his fellow villagers.

When Shard met the old man, he was sitting in a rocking chair, soaking up the sun in front of the ash-white earthen wall of his house. A string of cured meat was also hung on the wall. When the skinny old man looked at Shard, Shard noticed that his left eye socket was empty.

Due to some language communication difficulties, the idle sheriff who was eager to join in provided translation for both parties.

The conversation was simple. Shard inquired about Mr. Old Greyford's past. The talkative old man with his heavy rural accent tried his best to describe the "great adventure" eight years ago.

Roughly, eight years ago, in the winter of Common Era Calendar 1845, due to having nothing to do, on a snowy morning, the then 43-year-old Mr. Greyfoe carried his fishing rod, a bucket, and a notebook and planned to fish in the frozen Rutherford Lake.

He set off at eight o'clock that morning and found a suitable spot on the lake surface at nine-thirty. After breaking the ice, the first catch was a black snake, and the snake started to talk:

"I will kill you — that's what it said."

The old man excitedly described to Shard, opening his mouth wide, allowing Shard to count his few remaining teeth clearly.

People living in the countryside often see snakes, but a talking snake was something unheard of. In such a relatively superstitious era with generally low cultural literacy, the old man was chased by the snake on the ice for more than twenty minutes before he finally jumped onto the shore on the other side of Rutherford Lake. After entering a bare woodland in winter, the snake disappeared, but a fluffy large rabbit bounced out:

"You took the wrong path — that's what it said."

Mr. Old Greyford swung his arms, trying to mimic the rabbit's voice from back then, while the middle-aged sheriff struggled to suppress his laughter. It seemed that no matter how many times he heard it, the story was always entertaining for him.

The rabbit had no malice towards Mr. Old Greyford, instead, it kindly guided him out of the woods and advised him on how to evade the snake. Thus, Mr. Old Greyford, afraid to approach Rutherford Lake, decided to take a detour home. However, just after leaving the woods, he encountered a raven flying from nowhere on the snowy country road:

"I will tell you where you should go now — that's what it said!"

The storytelling old man grew more enthusiastic, as if he had returned to that day's "great adventure." His smile caused the wrinkles on his face to pile together. Shard kept a stern face, listening as he continued speaking.

Guided by the raven, the Mr. Old Greyford of eight years ago went increasingly off-course. After passing through an unfamiliar winter wetland shrub area, he surprisingly stumbled upon a small lake he had never seen before.

Back then, Mr. Old Greyford seemed to have received "Divine Revelation." Without knowing how, he stepped onto the frozen lake surface and walked to the center, encountering an elderly woman with white hair on the Heart Lake Island.

The old woman on the island invited Mr. Old Greyford to fish with her. Mr. Old Greyford, thinking he should not go home empty-handed, agreed. They fished from noon until evening, and the lucky Mr. Old Greyford caught six large carp, while the elderly woman caught three.

"She said that I beat her, so she allowed me to make a wish."

As he said this, the old man's eyes seemed to sparkle, this was clearly the climax of his memorable story.

"So, what did you wish for?"

Shard asked curiously, glancing at the sheriff, who was staring at him as if he wanted to see what kind of expression Shard would show next.

"Yes, I asked for her fishing rod!"

Mr. Greyfoe raised his hands and said, praising to Shard:

"Her fishing rod was really nice. I've been fishing for so many years, and I've never seen such a beautiful, sturdy, and convenient alloy telescopic fishing rod. The fishing line and matching hooks are also something you'd only find in a big city. Even if she didn't give it to me, I would have traded my house for that rod. So, when she let me make a wish, I immediately agreed!"

"And then what happened?"

Shard asked curiously.

"Then?"

Mr. Greyfoe was taken aback:

"Then I came back with the fishing rod and those fish."

"What about the fish?"

"They were eaten eight years ago. Did you expect me to keep them?"

"What about the fishing rod?"

"Three years ago, my grandson, naughty Little Louis, broke it. I was heartbroken for a while, and later people from the town's big church bought it for 10 pounds."

Because Mr. Greyfoe's story sounded more like a made-up fairy tale, Shard had to look at the sheriff who was trying to hold back a laugh. The sheriff nodded:

"Yes, eight years ago, Greyfoe came back with that beautiful fishing rod and his story, and indeed attracted the people from the town. However, they were all there to hear the story. As for that magical lake, Greyfoe himself couldn't find it again after that. I bet he fell into the lake and got so cold he lost his mind, and who knows where he actually found that fishing rod."

He laughed heartily while Mr. Greyfoe, not angered, repeatedly assured Shard that his story was absolutely true. Though there might have been some embellishments in the details, the experience was genuine.

Not only the True God Church and Professor Drake, but many others had also heard Mr. Greyfoe's story in the village. Most of them were very interested in the "Lake Goddess," but no one could find the lake based on Greyfoe's tale.

But regardless, at least the story was interesting, and Shard felt he hadn't wasted his time.

He left the old man a pound as payment for the story. Before leaving the village, Shard asked the enthusiastic middle-aged sheriff about Mr. Greyfoe's blind left eye. The sheriff asked curiously:

"Does that have something to do with his story? That left eye has been blind for many years."

"When exactly?"

Shard asked again, leading the chestnut horse, which was eating the neighbor's winter hay, so Shard had to pay 5 pence. The headscarf-wearing woman waved it off, indicating she didn't want money, so Shard gave her children a few pieces of cube sugar.

"I really don't know. I was transferred to this town as sheriff 12 years ago, and his eye was already blind then."

The sheriff walked with Shard towards the village entrance while loudly calling out to an old man with gray hair smithing topless in the village square:

"Hans, when did Old Great's eye go blind?"

"Damn it, how would I know?"

The old blacksmith cursed something in the Casenric language that Shard couldn't translate, then said:

"It went blind when it went blind."

The middle-aged sheriff shrugged to Shard:

"You see, people in the country don't have a sense of time. If nothing memorable happened that year, it's hard for them to distinguish 1853 from 1852. However, Old Greyfoe's eye went blind well before the beginning of the story he told."