As time has it, the night came about.
The village during the night was also full of excitement, the flurry of voices has not stopped and there were lights from north to south. The capital’s "plague" has brought upon an incredible flux of human traffic. They may not be permanent residents but this level of excitement would not fade unless they have confirmed the existence of the "plague" was no more.
Within the crowd.
Dick was carrying an irritated look while heading towards a holiday villa in the north side of the village.
"Master, you have returned." The servant at the door bowed and greeted him while handing him a chamber pot.
Dick hummed in response and listlessly took the chamber pot back to his room along the corridor.
He closed the door behind him and sat down by a desk. He sighed at the sight of account books on his desk. He stared blankly at them and took one of the books, flipped it open and stared blankly again as he went through it.
He forced himself to focus after he lost sight for a while. Looking at the tightly written words on the books, he felt mentally drained.
"Doing business is just too much trouble..."
Honestly speaking, he was starting to think that father sending him over had nothing to do with that goddamn "plague". It was only to hold him in this poor dirty hole and make him go through these books.
Dick could not help but feel a string of headaches every time he recalled father speaking of handing over all the assets of the Fulner household to him.
Why was there a need to look at finances in order to do business?
Once he became the master of the household, he would want someone with a specialization ... No! It should be one had specific training for this profession and better those who obtained qualification by going through rigorous examination. He could the get these people to check the finances while he continued his hedonistic life.
Again, Dick’s thoughts went further away…
"Master, there is someone out there who wishes to see you."
Suddenly, Dick’s thoughts were interrupted by the servant’s voice, accompanied with a knock on the door.
"Who? Do I know him?" Dick was too lazy to turn his head and slouched on the chair while dragging his tone.
"I am not sure," answered the servant. "However, the man said he is from the west and an old friend of the old master. He bears some important news to you."
Dick frowned.
From the west? Father’s old friend?
He did not know what was going on and so he did not really want to bother with it. However, with a glance at the scattering of books on his desk, he changed his mind.
No matter who he was, it should be more interesting than these accounts.
"Alright, you may let him in." He turned and ordered as such.
The servant responded and quickly brought the man in. Dick put the chamber pot down and stood from his chair. He turned and looked at the unfamiliar man who entered and smiled while they exchanged gazes.
Dick showed a doubtful expression.
This person who claimed to be father’s "friend" seemed too young. He was wearing a torn down robe with a mop head that covered half his face. His face seemed pale as though he was sick and his hair color was too light like those souls in legends and myths.
Dick had never met his man. However, looking at this pale face did raise a familiar feeling within him.
Something was amiss...
"Who are you? What do you have that is so important to tell me? Come on." All of this didn’t really matter to him though as he looked at the man without a care in the world.
"Who I am is not important." The man spoke in a deep voice, almost mysterious. "But... I’m not sure if you are aware, your father had once made a trade with my organization. The trade didn’t go well and we suffered major losses. I am here to speak with you with regards to this."
Dick did not quite comprehend, "Trade? Then you should look for my father, instead you came looking for me… Whatever, you can tell me. What’s the name of your organization?"
The man turned a straight face, "The Academy of Silence."
Dick’s facial expression changed.
He had not heard of this name before the theater incident. However, one day after the theater incident, Accius called him to the study and explained all related matters to him with utmost gravity.
The Academy of Silence - the Mages’ organization hidden within the Kingdom.
Accius had been secretly in contact with the organization. He was careless and as a result, someone leaked this information to the Church. Accius had no choice but to lure the mages that he wooed from the academy to the theater and sacrifice to the Church.
From that day on, they lost all contact with the Academy of Silence.
Of course, this decision to the Academy of Silence was a betrayal. The Academy of Silence would be mad and even seek the Fulners for revenge as there were many mages who were executed by the Church. Accius had warned Dick to be extremely cautious and for him to lay low near Perseus Lake. Even this information was concealed.
Then how? How did the Academy of Silence found him here?
Dick’s instinct was to call for help. However, judging by this odd man before him, he swallowed his words.
Calling for help would be useless in front of a Mage, wouldn’t it?
"Oh, oh I see. It’s my pleasure to meet you." He forced himself to calm down and showed a polite smile. He scrambled to find his words, "You can’t blame us for the incident at the theatre... if it wasn’t because of some hindrance... Actually….. we have been seeking your forgiveness these few days. We even tried our hand looking at the Church’s best kept classics, it says... it says that the Abandoned Valley of Gods’s location is possibly hidden in the depths of the West Mountains!"
The man went silent, seemingly surprised at Dick’s statement.
Dick acted like he was drowning and holding on a piece of buoy. "Please do not kill me, I have many things to tell you. Such….. such as Grant! Grant is now a Mage and able to summon a huge Water Ball. The Church claimed that they have captured Grant but in fact they have not. They are still hunting him. What about it? Is this information valuable? I still have a few. There was a ship that turned up at the harbor in the south. It was some self-proclaimed disciple of the God of Sea, and the Church massacred them! And… and rumor has it that Her Majesty the Queen has been having an affair with the Lord Knight but His Majesty the King has not found out..."
"Enough!"
Suddenly, the man abruptly interrupted Dick’s rambling. And for some reason, his tone carried a sense of helplessness.
Dick quickly returned to his senses. He took a glance at the man’s odd expression and could not help but feel something was out of place.
Did he speak too much?
"Cough... about that," the man cleared his throat. "Do you have anything to eat?"
Dick was stunned.
... Huh?
It was an awkward scene.
"Well, if you do not have food, money would do. I know your family is rich so a hundred gold coins could do, then I’ll... spare your life!" The man amateurishly threatened him with a stern look.
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