The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"I asked my parents, and I asked my friends to ask their elders," Hal said.

It seems that Hal knew that Mr. Ghost was more interested in this problem, so he also expended more efforts on this matter.

Hal tilted his head and thought for a while, then said: "Mom said that the story of Cynthia appeared before Biddle City was built. That was...before the current era."

Before the Age of Fog?Mr. Ghost nodded.

All three of Cynthia's stories—the witch in the desert, the fisherman by the sea, and the careerist beyond the forest—have an ancient atmosphere that feels out of place today.

Cynthia herself must have moved in an even older era.However, if Cynthia is Akamala, then how old this ancient era is becomes a very interesting topic.

Before or after the appearance of the "shadow"?

The puppet once told him before that Akamala had transformed into a puppet or a girl or some other human image, and secretly participated in Dormaine's six sets of puppet plays.And that was the time of the Empire.

... A vague thought flashed through his brain.He thought, where is the country of Dormaine located in Fisher's world?

It was the kingdom of gods in the distant imperial age, and it didn't exist for a long time.

He once heard the term Dormaine from Lorenzo Grantham, who also learned about it from Professor Dunlop.

Before that, he had searched for the time of Akamala's fall in a historical monograph, and noticed the existence of Dormaine at that time.

In any case, he never paid attention to the approximate size and location of this country.It is a country that likes to dream, likes to sleep, and is good at puppet theater.A fantastic country.

He froze for a moment, then thought, he had to look it up.

Hal didn't notice Mr. Phantom's distraction, and he continued on his own: "Mom said that someone compiled Cynthia's story into a book and published it before, but that was not right...that is, it is the same as the legend of Biddle City. no the same.

"In Biddle City, everyone knows about Cynthia; but in that book, Cynthia is missing. Mom said it was because Cynthia's stories were too old and people didn't like them."

This statement makes Mr. Phantom quite strange.

However, because of this incident, he suddenly remembered that the first thing he knew about Cynthia's existence was because of the collection of weird stories "Little Cynthia's World" he got from the bibliophile Professor Calverley.

What Hal said at the moment, the book that compiled Cynthia's stories, seemed to be referring to this one.

And "Little Cynthia's World"...

He recalled some of the conversations at that time, and suddenly realized that this seemed to be a gift from someone else to Professor Calverley.The original owner of this book is...

Adolphus Grant.His apprentice, Dorothea Grant's grandfather.

Wait, Dorothea and... Cynthia?

It occurred to Mr. Ghost that he had heard Dorothea called "Thea" more than once by others.

Is there any connection between the two?Dorothea's name is related to Cynthia?

…Perhaps it was because when Dorothea was born, her elders happened to read this book, so they gave the newborn child a name somewhat similar to Cynthia?

When Professor Calverley handed over "Little Cynthia's World" to him, he also said that Adolphus gave it away because "his granddaughter has grown up and no longer needs to read this book". This book was presented to Professor Calverley.

Professor Calverley later donated the book to him.

Later, when he was in Biddle City, he accidentally learned that "Cynthia" was actually a real person.He originally wanted to find out from Hal something about the witch in the desert, which was originally recorded in the book "Little Cynthia's World".

However, this made him discover Cynthia's secret by mistake.

This wonderful fate made him quite amazed at the moment.

Mr. Ghost asked, "But since the stories are so old, haven't their meanings changed?"

"Changes?" Hal pondered for a while, "You mean, the story at the beginning and the story now?"

Mr. Ghost nodded.

After Hal thought for a moment, he shook his head: "At least the stories my mother heard are no different from the stories I heard. No... It should be said that after the establishment of Biddle City, these stories have already been like this It's the same, nothing has changed."

Mr. Ghost couldn't help but feel a little confused.

Has this story been like this since Biddle City was founded?

That has at least a few hundred years of history, right?It is impossible for anything to remain the same for such a long time, let alone this kind of word-of-mouth story.

Mr. Ghost can't help but secretly wonder, maybe someone is behind the scenes to ensure the accuracy of these stories?

... Or, these stories have already changed in older ages, so after the Mist Age, even if there are any changes, they are only quite small and will not affect the direction of the overall story. People today think nothing has changed.

It just so happens that Cynthia's story has indeed been published, just like those historical events that have been settled.On the whole, everyone agrees with these stories that happened in the past.

Even if there are people—such as some followers of the old gods, the version of the story they know is different from the story Hal knows now, but as ordinary residents of Biddle City, Hal, his companions, and his parents may not understand it details.

Mr. Ghost thinks there's a good chance that these stories hide another version, a darker, more gloomy version than the bedtime stories young kids like Hal have heard.

In addition, it is unlikely that the hidden version is a true description of real historical events in the past, and it may also be embellished and become legend rather than fact.

For example, the story of the fisherman by the sea.It may be true that Cynthia discouraged them from overfishing, but those fishermen cut off their arms to sacrifice to the sea, but it is obviously incompatible with Cynthia's story.

That probably happened at a later point in time, but it was confused with what Cynthia did.

Hal added: "By the way, what's more, the old grandmother of a friend of mine said that when she was young, she had met some explorers from outside of Biddle City, and they also mentioned Cynthia, but they were different from us. The story here is different."

Mr. Phantom was a little surprised to hear this statement, which happened to be in line with his thoughts just now.

Hal recalled a moment, then said: "I told you three stories about Cynthia before, and that was the fourth. They said they had heard the legend of Cynthia before, also in Biddle City.

"A group of them once went to explore deeper in the land of no embers, and met a group of aboriginal tribes. They heard that group of people also spoke a pronunciation similar to Cynthia, so they asked a little curiously, wondering what Cynthia said about For those people, what does it symbolize."

Having said that, Hal paused for a moment, showing a somewhat disturbed and confused expression.

"It means?" Mr. Phantom was also a little curious about it.

A group of tribal aborigines deep in the mist of the Everland, and ordinary residents in the prosperous desert city.They also heard the story of Cynthia, but the two sides seemed to have completely different impressions of the rumored Cynthia.

Hal said: "They said that when the aborigines heard Cynthia's name, they showed a very frightened expression, as if...it was like a nightmare to them."

... nightmare.Mr. Ghost heard the word in silence.

This seems to indicate something, but it is a bit confusing.Is Cynthia really Akamala?

Hal added: "The aborigines seem to have lived there during the Silent Age, that is... when the fog had already appeared. Cynthia seemed to make a bad impression on them, but no one Know exactly what's going on.

"Those explorers just took it as an interesting thing, and talked about it when they came to Biddle City. They also failed to find out what Cynthia meant to those aboriginal people."

Hal also showed a somewhat troubled expression. He was probably quite curious about the reason why those aborigines were afraid of Cynthia, but he couldn't get any clues.

Besides, that was the story Hal's friend's grandmother heard when she was young, and it has been decades since the original explorers had passed away.

Mr. Phantom couldn't help sighing regretfully in his heart.

Of course, this news itself was already an unexpected joy, because he directly thought of the nightmare that haunted everyone in the world for three days before Akamala fell.

Although most people in the world know that this nightmare comes from Akamala, there may be some people who don't know.

Maybe at that time, Cynthia passed by the aboriginal tribe, and then Akamala fell, so those residents thought that Cynthia had brought this long and terrible nightmare.

...After all, Cynthia seems to be more and more connected to Akamala.However, whether Cynthia is really the incarnation of Akamala still needs more clues and evidence.

Maybe he could ask the dice, too?Mr. Ghost couldn't help but think so.

However, he has accumulated too many things to ask the dice.However, his communication time with Dice was only a dozen or so minutes.He can't put all his hope on the dice, he still needs to find relevant clues by himself.

Then Hal said: "The last thing I want to tell you about Cynthia is... the last time I mentioned Cynthia to you, I told you that Cynthia doesn't seem to sleep."

Mr. Phantom nodded, he still remembered this information, because it directly linked Cynthia and Akamala.

At that time, he thought that Cynthia might be Akamala's agent, but from now on, the possibility that Cynthia was Akamala was getting bigger and bigger.

Hal said: "About this news, I also asked my mother ... but she seemed not very sure. She said that people said that if Cynthia, who never sleeps, sleeps one day, it will happen a lot. Bad things."

Mr. Phantom couldn't help asking: "Why are there such rumors?"

Hal shook his head, he said: "I also asked my mother and some other elders, but they didn't know the source of this rumor. But they all said that it happened like this.

"If Cynthia sleeps one day, then something bad is going to happen. They all agree."

This confuses Mr. Ghost.

In a relatively fixed small range, something has been approved by the common name.However, there is no such thing as a storm.This statement may be false, but there must have been a special purpose in the first place.

For example, like the followers of the old gods, they pushed what they did to the so-called "curse of stardust" or "North Wind".The so-called "Cynthia's Sleep Curse" can also be said to be something like this.

But the premise is that there must be such a group of people, what they are doing, and they happen to be related to Cynthia, so this thing can be called "Cynthia's sleep curse" in turn.

But from another point of view, since people now only have a slight impression of this statement, then this kind of thing may not have happened for a long, long time.

People just think of it as a word of mouth anecdote rather than a survival technique.

Otherwise, when parents and elders tell the story of Cynthia to their children, they will definitely mention the saying that "Once Cynthia sleeps, it may bring bad things".That obviously has a lot to do with their survival.

"...It's probably like this." Hal said a little nervously, "Do you think this is okay?"

Mr. Phantom came back to his senses and said, "That's enough, thank you and your friends. This has helped me a lot."

Hal breathed a sigh of relief, and then said joyfully: "That's great! I...I have to be honest, the bounty you gave has greatly helped my family's life.

"...I told my parents about your existence, otherwise I couldn't give them the money. I have to apologize to you, because I should have kept your existence a secret. But...my parents also appreciate you very much. We're short on money."

Hal pursed his lips, showing a slightly sad expression.

Mr. Phantom said: "It's nothing, Hal. Now, you can also use these things you know to help your family make money."

Hal nodded vigorously, and he asked, "If my parents or my friend's parents know something, can I tell you?"

Mr. Phantom thought for a while, and then said: "I still hope that my existence is something that is known in a small area. If it is your parents, and your friend's parents, then there is no problem, but if more people are involved, maybe It's not very convenient."

Besides, he might not be able to afford that much bounty.

...Mr. Phantom is very sanely aware of this problem in his heart.

"I understand!" Hal seriously agreed, he thought for a while, and then said, "However, your reputation seems to have been known by some people."

Mr. Phantom couldn't help but startled.

Hal said, "From...Maltz? Seems to be the city, the explorers from there. You know, I have a friend whose family owns a tavern, and he hears things like that all the time.

"Those explorers seem to have mentioned a mysterious Mr. Ghost who will appear in children's dreams... But I don't know if that is you. Anyway, you don't seem to have anything to do with Maltz. "

Hal shrugged, thinking it was all nonsense.

Mr. Ghost: "..."

Very good, it seems that the strange story he mentioned in the evening chat around the fire has gradually spread.Maybe, the next time he goes to someone's dream, that person will say in surprise: "What, Mr. Phantom is you!"

That's a pretty amazing picture.

However, he also felt a little touched by this incident.

A secret lurks in their conversation.First of all, few people know that Mr. Ghost is Siles Noel; secondly, few people know that it is Sirius Noel who told the existence of Mr. Ghost.

He became the keeper of many, many secrets.And it was only now that he realized it belatedly.

Mr. Ghost, Destiny Cards, novelist "He"...these are his own secrets.And those secrets about the world, about the old gods, about the past are also countless.

The Keeper... the Keeper of the world.he thought to himself.He seems to have achieved some of these concepts without knowing it.

Of course, more secrets may still be needed before he can really touch on some... core issues.

After Hal told Mr. Ghost what he had learned, and got a definite reply from Mr. Ghost, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.He said, rather sincerely, "Then, we'll do a good job gathering information."

Mr. Ghost smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to it."

When Siles awoke from the dream, he was rather surprised to realize that they now had many, many sources of information.

Needless to say, Lamifa City, no matter the east city or the west city, they have a lot of acquaintances; and on the west side, Qindo's Ernestine's Tavern can obviously also come in handy.

The Praia family can obviously also bring them relevant information about Kansas and Middleton.And although Garrett Gielgud's cooperative attitude is not very good, at least he is still working hard in action.

In addition, Biddle City, as one of the core cities of Galsworth, has a huge number of explorers coming and going, and the residents living here also have quite a wide range of information sources.

Not to mention, Hal had a friend who had a tavern in his house.This kind of place is obviously an information transfer station.

Therefore, Siles suddenly realized that their information network was quite complete.Even if it can't keep up with the Internet on Earth in terms of speed, it has covered most of Fisher's world in terms of breadth.

... The power of dreams is quite hidden after all.Siles couldn't help thinking.

Beside him, Qin Duo suddenly moved his body and arched toward Siles.He muttered Sirius' name vaguely, then rubbed Sirius' shoulder.

"Did you wake me up?" Siles said apologetically.

After entering the deep sea dream, he would definitely wake up at four o'clock in the morning, and it would be difficult to fall asleep afterwards.And for Qin Duo, who shared the bed with him, it was a slight trouble.Even if Siles carefully controlled himself, it was difficult to keep silent.

"...It's nothing." Qin Duo seemed to be slowly waking up, he groped for Sirius' hand, and intertwined his fingers intimately.

After a while, Jindo fully woke up, he sighed comfortably, and then said: "I quite enjoy this feeling."

"What do you feel?"

"Gradually wake up from a deep sleep, and then feel the warmth and comfort of you beside me." Qin Duo said, "It's very strange, there is a feeling of an illusory dream gradually becoming reality. It's like a dream A kind of softness that you can't wait to sink yourself into."

Sirius was taken aback, then laughed.

The sky is dim.There was a dim light on the windowpane.Four o'clock in the morning.

Although it is still early in the morning, many people are already active at this time; it may be because they have not slept all night, or they may have to get up early.Anyway, it was fun when they were lying under the covers, talking softly to each other.

It is as if the world waits for their awakening with dawn.

"The weather in Ramifa City has been quite sunny recently."

After getting up in the morning, Siles and Cendo made breakfast in the kitchen.Qin Duo mentioned the weather problem.

"Yes," said Siles. "It's a bright March day. So?"

"So why don't we choose a time to go on a spring outing?" Qin Duo said, "It just so happens that after you move, you plan to have dinner with your friends. Why don't you take this time to invite them to go out and play together?"

Siles suddenly realized.This is indeed a good idea.

After moving, he always wanted to have a dinner with his friends, but he procrastinated, and this matter was postponed indefinitely.His friends have already sent moving gifts to the door one after another, they are all books or paper pens and inks, obviously they know Siles' preferences very well.

"Maybe this weekend," Siles said, making a date in his mind.

But thinking this way, he also had a confusion in his heart.

He has yet to receive a reply from his mother.He had already mentioned the address of 99 Kelly Street in the letter, and my mother should have sent the letter here; even if I didn't pay attention, it was sent to 6 Hayward Street according to the custom, but Hayward Street did not receive the letter .

Will something happen to my mother?sick, or something?

...And the premise of this speculation is that Siles Noel's mother does exist.

He doubted this more and more now, because from various perspectives, He Jiayin's time travel was arranged by someone——God.And the identity of Siles Noel seemed to be specially prepared for him.

The clues obtained from the dice can also prove this point.

The running group script is a rehearsal of fate, Dice hopes that he can save the world, and the earth itself is very special... All these prove that his time travel cannot be a random event.

...Maybe it could be random, but this randomness itself also represents some kind of possibility.

Therefore, the presence of his mother, especially the fact that she only sent him letters but never appeared in his life, seemed more and more strange.

Moreover, even the appearance of Qinduo can be said to be a certain arrangement of fate—on the other hand, his meeting with Qinduo happened to be in line with the arrangement of Lycardia and Akamala—then, wouldn’t his mother Are there any secrets hidden in the same way?

Siles narrowed his eyes, and then said nonchalantly, "I think we can also go to Merlin Town this weekend."

"Merlin Town?" Qin Duo was startled, "Your hometown?"

"Yes. We can visit my mother." Siles said, "I haven't received a reply to the letter I sent to my mother before, so I am a little worried about her situation."

Qin Duo was taken aback, and he said, "This is indeed a bit strange." After a while, he cleared his throat nervously, and honestly expressed his thoughts, "Do you think your mother will like me?"

Sirius looked at him and couldn't help laughing.He leaned forward and kissed Qindo, and then said, "I like you, so my mother must like you too."

And it's not just Fisherworld.he thinks.On Earth, He Jiayin's parents would also like Qin Duo, he firmly believed.

Qin Duo could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It's Monday.Siles had to go to Ramifah University to teach in the afternoon.

After they had eaten in the morning, they had to go about their business.In the morning, Siles took some time to sort out the lesson plans, and began to think about the final exam very self-aware.

He doesn't know if he will be extremely busy in the future, so it is better to prepare some known affairs as much as possible while he is free now, instead of procrastinating all the time.

Qin Duo was flipping through the letters sent by the Praia family.He was originally a hands-off shopkeeper, but since he was with Siles, he realized the value of the Praia family's property, so he had to take over the management of these family affairs.

After a while, he suddenly said: "Siles, do you still remember that I asked the Praia family to collect relevant information on the north of the Never Ember?"

"Of course," said Siles. "Is there a reply now?"

"Yes." Qin Duo nodded, and he said after deliberation, "And...it's quite surprising."

When he said this, Sirius couldn't help being a little curious.He asked, "What is it?"

Qin Duo didn't continue to play tricks: "It seems that at the end of December last year, some explorers in the north of the Never Emberland discovered Stardust there."

...stardust?

Siles froze almost immediately.It was a possibility he had never imagined, and it made him think of many, many clues he already knew.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Any more specific information?"

"They wrote a letter in Kansas, and I will read it to you." Qin Duo said, and he set his eyes on the thin letter paper in his hand.He slowly translated the contents of the letter.

Siles nodded and listened quietly.

"...

"At the end of December last year, explorers discovered star dust in the northern area of ​​the Eternal Land, which was an area where star dust had never appeared before. Some explorers heard the news and flocked to it, which caused some tragedies.

"There were so many dead, which attracted the attention of the surrounding cities and countries. The Basil tribe in Middleton sent people over to temporarily guard the place where the star dust was found, and stopped the continuation of the battle, but it also triggered some explorers. dissatisfied.

"Currently, that area is still guarded by the Basil tribe, and no one has entered or exited it for the time being. But before that, quite a few explorers have dug up some star dust and scattered it all over the place.

"As far as we know, this matter has not attracted the attention of the church of the past. We are not sure what the Basil tribe will do next. Some explorers who know the knowledge say that the stardust actually appeared in a ship on the Sea of ​​Folio. isolated island.

"That isolated island is quite close to the coast, but it used to be shrouded in fog for a long time, so no one cared about it. Until last year, the fog suddenly cleared here.

"After waiting for a period of time, some explorers decided to take the risk and go to the island to have a look, but they discovered the existence of Stardust on the isolated island.

"We thought about collecting some of the star dust excavated from the isolated island, but we have not been able to find a relevant seller. The explorers who went to that isolated island at that time seemed to have hidden this matter deeply.

"...

"The general situation is like this. Because of this incident, more and more explorers have gathered in the northern area of ​​the Never Embered in the past two months. Everyone wants to get a share of it. We think there may be more adventurers." Serious conflict broke out.

"..."

After reading the whole letter, Qin Duoda couldn't help but frowned.

Now that they knew the nature of Stardust, they were naturally a little surprised by this matter.Star dust was suddenly mined from the isolated island that was once always shrouded in mist...Which old god would that be?

And this incident naturally reminded Siles of what Hal Goss had told him not long ago.

He said that his friend's tavern received a group of explorers from the north at the beginning of this year. They had the fishy smell of the sea breeze on their bodies, and at the same time they were quite excited to talk about something, as if they had discovered something or got something.

Hal also said that he and his friends once found Stardust outside Biddle City.At that time, their parents said that it was an ominous thing, and told these children not to pick it up casually.

Now Siles suddenly realized that he should have asked Hal when they picked up the star dust.

What if the stardust they picked up happened to be left behind by explorers from the north?

But from another perspective, Hal mentioned these two things side by side.And it is impossible for these young children to remember things from the too distant past.It should be said that these two things are very likely to have happened in the past few months.

… Siles realized that in the past few months, many things have happened simultaneously.

In Ramifah City, Jonathan Bryant's conspiracy has exploded in the past few months; in Middletown, the Basil tribe is apparently also in turmoil because of the new source of stardust.

And in the Land of No Embers, the house of Hales was destroyed, the lies of the "non-existent city" were exposed, and fate cards gradually became popular... "Northern Wind" seems to be sweeping the whole world.

Siles even knew several friends or acquaintances himself who might have been involved in these matters.

He even quite suspected that the secret family letter received by Hed Dreyson, the disappearance of Alfonso Carlisle's letter, the collective disappearance of the archaeological team, etc., may all be related to the incident that happened in the north of the Never Emberland. something about.

Especially that secret family letter.

He was stunned for a moment, then slowly let out a sigh of relief.He said, "Remember Hud Dreyson, Gindor?"

"Of course I remember." Qin Duo said, showing a delicate expression, "Now that the north of Eternal Land is so chaotic, it would be quite...adventurous for that guy to go there."

That was no longer an adventure.Siles thought.That would be death.

Hurd Dreyson is a fledgling young man, and he may not have known much about the situation in the land of no embers before.However, based on various reasons, it may be the family's sense of responsibility, or his own luck - he will go to that chaotic place.

The Dreysons may be followers of The Shadow.

When they had fireside chats in Maltz, Herd Dresen had told about his family's past.They came from farther north, and had to migrate to the south because of the cold attack.

They once stayed on an isolated island.The isolated island is the northern paradise that was turned from whales to escape the cold wind.But it wasn't long before they decided to leave the island and ended up in Const.

In Siles' mind, these isolated islands in the Sea of ​​Fleur are inevitably associated with "Shadow".After all, sacrifices related to "Shadow" are taking place on those isolated islands.

And he also suspects that the "Island Whale" is the paradise of Temiafa, the god of gluttony and lust.

...Which Old God will this newly discovered stardust belong to?

Ercoo?Or, Temia method?

Siles said: "I rather suspect that the mysterious Mr. Dreyson, Hurd Dreyson's great-uncle, may have written to the family because of this sudden stardust. Perhaps he himself Get involved."

He thought for a moment, then said, "However, there is a very obvious time difference."

That Dreyson disappeared after the House of Hales was destroyed.That was early November.Stardust on the northern island was discovered at the end of December.

It was already February when Hurd Dreyson received that letter.

It is true that Fuliouhai is very far away from Const, but it will not take two months to send a letter.Obviously, there must be something strange about it.

"But it's useless to dream here." Siles shook his head. "With relevant clues, we can naturally try to analyze what happened in the past. Anyway, the next time I enter the deep sea dream, Will try to find Heard's dream."

Qin Duo nodded, and then said, "I believe in you."

He had always trusted - even relied on - the wisdom of Sirius.

Siles couldn't help laughing.

The information he received in the morning made Siles ponder for a while.However, this information was not conducive to the resolution of the matter, so Siles soon turned his attention to the real business - handing out the test papers to the students.

…While thinking about the secrets of the world and the old gods, while thinking about how to let the students pass the final exam smoothly, this is really quite a strange scene, but it does fit his daily life.

On Monday and Tuesday, the lives of Siles and Cendo went on as usual.

When he had a little free time on Tuesday afternoon, he opened a book and read it with great interest.In the evening, he went out to eat with Qindo and took a walk along the boulevard.

"You seem very busy tomorrow," said Cinder.

Siles sighed and said, "Yes."

Meeting Grenfell in the morning can be said to be a daily arrangement; but at noon and afternoon, they have to meet businessman Ranmeer and Detective Jon one after another, and it is obvious to the naked eye that the topics they talk about will not be particularly easy.

"Do you need me to go with you? I have nothing to do tomorrow afternoon." Qin Duo asked cryptically, "I mean, the meeting at the Ernestine Tavern."

Siles reacted for a moment before he realized Qin Duo's meaning dumbfounded.Qin Duo has always been worried about the time frame of the magnifying glass that Jon gave him, and he also cares about the term "young detective".

Of course, Cindo Playa, who claims to be 30 years old, is much younger than this age in actual performance.

...both physically and mentally.

Siles said: "Of course, Cindo." He thought for a while, and then said, "Tomorrow I just have to meet with Ranmir first, and I don't know when the conversation will end. You can go to Ernese first." The Ting's Tavern awaits Jon."

Qin Duo muttered something, probably saying that he didn't mention this to keep Jon from getting impatient.But he soon smiled complacently: "Okay, I will share your worries."

Siles felt helpless for his childishness.

They returned to 99 Kelly Street.

Qin