Familiar Guide

A month later.

The initial novelty quickly faded.

Though people still found the ocean's wonders fascinating.

They were no longer as they had been at the start.

Even the sight of a few beautiful fish leaping suddenly from the waves.

Would no longer excite them to the point of shouting and cheering.

During the voyage.

They soon encountered many unexpected events.

Food supplies dwindled quickly.

To prepare for emergencies.

People began using crossbows with ropes attached to hunt the fish that occasionally jumped from the sea.

Though the efficiency was low.

It was still better than consuming their precious food reserves.

Symptoms of seasickness also began to appear quietly.

Among the elderly tribesmen, this reaction was especially severe.

Barlow, Blair, and Priest Moro.

They were the oldest members on this ship, and their seasickness was the most serious.

As a former captain of the guard, Barlow's physical fitness allowed him to force himself to endure, though his expression was rather unpleasant.

But Blair and Priest Moro were different.

They couldn't bear the ship's rocking, and they lay slumped over the black stone gunwale, vomiting.

These two poor old men, before they could even enjoy the sight of the ocean for a few days, were persuaded by the tribesmen to lie down in the cabin below the deck to rest and recover.

Otherwise, they might not have lasted until the day they spotted an island, instead finding their eternal rest on the ship.

Now, some people stayed in the cabin to care for the two elders.

One evening.

The Artisans in the cabin pulled out several sheets of hemp paper from their belongings, carefully flicking off the dust.

These were a few dry, brittle hemp papers.

These papers were replicas of the mysterious diagrams recording hidden history that Richie had once seized in the cave.

After several generations of repeated copying.

Though the drawn images were slightly different, they remained largely consistent.

The Artisans often discussed the things recorded on these hemp papers.

The images drawn on them would continuously inspire those seeking hope on the ocean during this long voyage.

Because what was recorded there was not just the shape of the ship.

But also an island—

On the other sheets of hemp paper.

They all shared a single drawing:

An extremely flat line.

On this line.

Sat many square, closed shapes.

And in the very center.

Was a completely different, massive black sphere.

It looked like an oval stone.

Below and on both sides of these things sitting on the line, many symbols like waves were drawn.

After discussion.

They believed that what was drawn on these hemp papers must be an island.

Because when writing was first created, people used those "waves" to represent the ocean.

And those square things looked very much like houses where humans lived.

"What's drawn on these hemp papers should be the place our ancestors came from,"

One Artisan said, looking at the hemp paper, his face full of longing.

"An island that could build ships must be a very large island, with no shortage of food or timber, and the people on that island must also possess very powerful knowledge and skills."

"I wonder if this time, we can find the homeland of our ancestors."

But.

Someone clearly scoffed at that notion.

"Hometown?"

Another lean young man, leaning against the ship's wall, sneered coldly.

He was deeply dissatisfied with this claim:

"Our hometown, the place we can long for, is only where the gods reside."

"Where the gods are, there is our hometown."

"How can you be so certain that the island where our ancestors lived was necessarily a place of hope?"

"Perhaps on that island, there were things more terrifying than the monsters in the deep sea, which is why our ancestors fled to the island we now inhabit, seeking the gods' protection."

Hearing this.

The Artisans were momentarily stunned. When they looked down at the hemp paper again, a trace of doubt crept in.

Just as he said.

They had no idea what the outside world was really like, so naturally, they couldn't know why their ancestors had crossed the ocean to reach this island.

What's more.

They even began to doubt whether the scenes recorded on the hemp paper were real.

Because aside from this hemp paper, they had never heard the older generation speak of any of this.

While the crowd was talking.

From the deck above, a very abrupt commotion broke out.

The noise started with just one sound.

But soon, it became as dense as raindrops.

Clearly, many people were moving quickly at the same time.

"What's going on?"

"Did someone get seasick, or fall into the sea?"

The Artisans, who had been discussing, immediately fell silent.

Hearing the footsteps on the deck seem to converge near the ship's railing, as if everyone was staring out at the sea, they sensed something was wrong. They quickly dropped the topic and rushed up to the cabin.

When they burst onto the deck.

Having been in the dark cabin for so long, black spots swam before their eyes.

After the blurriness gradually cleared.

They saw this:

Under the afterglow of a blood-red setting sun.

A crowd gathered by the ship's railing, their heads tilted high, hands shielding their foreheads, staring blankly at something in the sky.

So they too looked up.

In the crimson sunset.

Several dark silhouettes were now sweeping across the sky.

As if startled by the giant ship.

From the sea ahead, more dark shapes rose one after another, slowly flying toward a single direction in the sky.

Once they left the backlight.

They finally saw the creature's true form—

It was no unfamiliar beast.

It was the very One-Eyed Giant Bird that had once made a show of dominance on the shore, fond of perching in the Mangrove Forest.

Now, they were flying in flocks, skimming over the sea, heading steadily into the distance.

As if summoned by some presence.

"It's the One-Eyed Giant Bird!"

"Right, don't those birds love roosting in the trees by the island's shore!"

"So many One-Eyed Giant Birds—this means there must be an island nearby where they nest and breed."

"If we follow their trail, we're sure to find an island!"

Ned listened to the excited chatter of the crowd, a smile spreading across his face.

A pale blue dragonfly slowly flew back from the sky, landing on his arm, its wings fluttering.

The secret was finally about to be revealed.

The one guiding the ship toward the island was none other than—

These "familiar guides."