Done With The Plans

Z took a look at what I was trying to do and gathered the letters, all with the seal flaps opened. I then took over and tried placing all nine of them in a circle, with the points of the flaps being at the center. The only way to create a ring was to overlap each envelope making the writings connected.

Z stared blankly at the circle I'd made and jolted after a few moments. Now it was Baldwin's turn to get shocked.

"Shall I make the sentence visible to all of you?" asked Z, with his voice booming across the room.

Everyone nodded in unison, and Bryan had just finished laying out the letters. I glanced at them all and found a straightforward answer to our floating questions. I was still focused on reading the first words of the letters when Mavislin nudged me to look at the Map Crystal.

Now the Map Crystal has become the Old Chapel's television screen. I looked up to see the sentence that had been long in my mind ever since Ysabeau spoke about who was in the Prisoners' Den.

" 'The missing children aren't from the Prisoners' Den; FB took them from their homes.' I'm assuming FB would be referring to Fabian Brookes," said Z.

"Why would Vernice say that there are children in the Prisoners' Den?" asked Bryan, finally connecting the pieces.

"How would we know? You were the one who was directly talking to Vernice," replied Mavislin, raising an eyebrow.

"The person writing these letters isn't Vernice at all... Take a look at the first alphabet of each letter. It spells out 'I'm Vincent,'" I explained, showing the letter to Bryan.

"That's why the letters ended. Vincent finally sent out his urgent help, and his sister hasn't been in this mess at all. So now then, with these codes found and fixed, let's get on with the plan, shall we? So back to the route, Bryan and I would be heading to Teuton along with Tomoe."

"We would be heading out at dawn tomorrow. Lady Roydon, I don't know how long it'll take you to reach Briton, but hopefully, we will meet up there. Once we get reach, let's access the situation and determine to go into battle or sneak around first," I explained.

"Are we supposed to meet up when the Mage is in front of us, or am I supposed to sneak to the back to meet you guys?" asked Mavislin.

"I'm hoping things won't escalate to the point that we need to meet you when the Mage is in front of your face. But the moment that guy launches an attack or his Elemental Energy shoots up, and we're coming in no matter what," I answered in confidence.

"I hope we've got a backup plan that doesn't involve me being the walking target..." whispered Bryan in my ear.

"No worries, mate. I'm not going to let you die in some weird mansion filled with dolls," I replied.

"By the way, why do we have to sneak around? I don't think Tomoe would like that idea."

"Because we are still dealing with a complaint about missing children, and now that we've cracked the code, things have escalated. Currently, we're not looking for orphans anymore. We are looking for children whose parents are worried sick about them."

"If there's even a slim chance of them being alive, you bet I want to get them out as soon as possible first. But, remember, we aren't there to fight the enemy. We are there because this has been a call for help in the first place. And I have a feeling that Vincent wants help as well."

"And if Tomoe has got a problem, he can go and chew on some tree barks," I replied.

I stared at Bryan's shocked expression while Baldwin and Z glanced at each other for a second. Then, finally, Mavislin smiled as she nodded her head.

"Now that's someone who doesn't focus on the enemy but rather the core of the Mission. So, Slayer Verna, I'm pairing you with Lady Elizabeth for future Missions. Despite the urge of directly killing the enemy, this girl has got the priority on the victims themselves," explained Mavislin.

"Uhm, no, thank you. I think this would be the first and last Mission I'm going on with this stickman. I don't want the Flower Mage to multiple my body into a thousand pieces," I answered instantaneously.

I pondered a bit while Baldwin explained to Mavislin the issues with the royal twins. I'd thought Mavislin would be the one who hated lurking around the shadows, and she'd rather come out to face the enemy in a one-to-one duel. But it looks like my assumptions were false.

"Alright then, since the meeting is over, let's turn this place back to normal," commanded Mavislin.