8 Boat Trip (1/2)
The next morning Joshua woke up everyone at dawn like usual.
”Our friend visited again last night.” he told them.
”Are you sure it's the same individual?” Catherine asked.
”According to Luna, the probability is quite high. We're about ten kilometers below the surface, anyone who follows us here is probably up to no good.” he answered.
”Maybe we should set a trap to catch that person?” Lydia suggested.
”That's not a bad idea, we'll see to it after crossing the lake.” Catherine replied.
As they had planned in the evening, Catherine began creating a large raft made out of ice. It was basically a large mass of ice, five meters in length and three in width. The ice was also half a meter thick, enough to support everyone's weight. For security purposes, she made a wall around on the border of the ice, to prevent people from falling off by accident. They also covered the ice with cloth so they wouldn't slip. To complement the construction, she made a few oars.
The party boarded the makeshift boat and set off. Boris and Cynthia used the oars to get the vehicle off the shore. Afterward, the twins used their wind magic to push the boat at a moderate rate. They were willingly taking it slow, in case Luna detected something dangerous in the water. It would give them time to alter their course.
The reconnaissance Joshua had done the previous evening had allowed them to determine the lake was at least a few kilometers wide. As for the length to reach the other side, they had no idea. They chose to stay near the walls of the cavern, to avoid getting lost.
As the boat progressed along the walls, Joshua was keeping up with his scan. The depth of the lake kept growing and was at least a few hundred meters deep by now. He detected a lot of lifeforms in the water, based on their size, it had to be fish so it was not an issue. Relaxing a bit, he observed the party.
Eric appeared to be conversing with Boris. Since they were talking via telepathy, he had no idea what they were talking about. Catherine was engaged in a conversation with Lydia. They were both smiling so Joshua assumed they were having fun. Cynthia, however, was standing alone in a corner, her magic was still pushing the boat forward. He flew up to her and she slightly turned her head in his direction, wondering what he wanted.
”Lord Joshua, can I help you with something?”
”Not really. Just checking if everyone's all right and you're the only one alone right now.”
”Everything's fine. My sister and I decided to alternate pushing the boat to save some energy. We'll switch in about half an hour. ”
”I see. How is your nose by the way? The wound is gone, but does it still hurt?”
Cynthia placed her hand on her nose.
”I'm glad to hear it. Luckily, you're a tough cookie. I couldn't take a blow like that.”
A hint of pride appeared in her eyes.
”My sister andI have a good teacher.” she said.
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
”Really? Someone from the Lippi clan?”
”Indeed, we were taught by Lord Theodore.”
”Catherine's father is your mentor…” Joshua gulped for a second. He had seen how brutal Cynthia's movement were in combat, then he remembered Theodore who looked like a wild Viking… Suddenly everything became clear... This somehow led to an awkward silence before Joshua asked:
”So, how did you two become his students?”
”Tradition, my family has been a part of the Lippi clan for generations. Since Lydia and I were revealed to have a high potential, Lord Theodore took us as his students.”
”Must have been tough.”
”It was, but he's a fair man and a good teacher. Learning from him was a blessing.” she said, a smile forming on her face.
Joshua made a mental note to not mess with this girl as he did with Catherine, she would probably have less kind reactions. As he had no further questions, he started to daydream for a bit.
He got brought back to reality by Catherine who called him mentally.
”Joshua, there seem to be something ahead. Can you check what it is?”
Catherine was also using Luna's mapping function and it had detected a bizarre form in the water a bit further. Joshua stopped daydreaming and went ahead to scout the area.
It turned out there was a vast rock formation ahead. The rocks were about five meters thick and were nearly reaching the ceiling, while they were also going deep under the water below. Worse, the formation started from the wall and went deep into the middle of the lake. If they were to follow it to reach the other side, they would have to make a large detour. He went back to Catherine and explained what he had seen.
”Damn, we're going to lose a lot of time going around it.” she said.
They sailed closer to it until the boat was standing right next to the rocks.
”Looks like we'll have to follow the rock formation until we reach its end.” Lydia said sighing.
”This may sound crazy but would it be possible to break the rocks?” Eric suggested out of the blue.
”Are you stupid? Even Boris can't break something that big!” Lydia replied.
”If he were to do it alone, then probably not, but if Lady Catherine and I used our magic first, it might become possible.”
Hearing this, Joshua understood and approved by saying:
”I see what you mean, by alternating extreme temperatures you can fragilize the rocks, allowing Boris to break them more easily.”
Eric nodded in reply.
”Very well, let's try it.” Catherine said as she approached the rock formation.
Eric picked out a large rock and started to unleash a stream of fire against it. Joshua measured the temperature of the rock and while it was nowhere enough to melt it, it still climbed above a hundred degrees Celcius. As soon as he was done, Catherine unleased an ice attack on the rock. A thin layer of ice soon covered it as Joshua saw the temperature lower at a great pace. Finally, Boris took one of his morning stars and slammed it into the rock. A big crack was heard. Confident, he hit it a few more times before the rock shattered in tiny pieces. Joshua noticed the nearby fish all ran away, they must have been afraid of the noise.