Chapter 22 Chapter 5 Caught in a Snare

Beneath the palace of Merilon, beneath the upper city and the lower city, beneath the gardens, beneath the tomb of the great mage who led the people to what seemed to be their destruction, there was a chamber of secrets.It is known only to those members of the order who actually rule Simharon.One night, eight people gathered in this secret room. They were dressed in black robes, with their hands folded in front of their bodies, standing in a circle around the nine-pointed star pattern on the ground.All the black hats were facing the same direction, toward the ninth star of the star, even though there was nothing in that position.All wait patiently, patience is their motto, and they know it usually pays off.

The air began to shake, and then the ninth star was covered by the hem of the black robe.The ninth man glanced around the circle, saw that everyone had arrived, nodded, and clapped hands, revealing a large leather-bound book in the center of the circle, with flimsy parchment open in the blank, book Hanging in mid-air. "You can continue talking." She said to the member standing on the first star. That Duke Xisi began to report, and what he said was recorded at the same time, and flames flashed on the huge book. "A child was lost in the market today, ma'am," he said. "She has been found and returned to her parents."

The sorceress nodded.The next person spoke. "We solved the murder of the alchemist Lucian, ma'am. Only one person knew enough about that potion to know that it would explode violently when mixed with another drug other than the youth potion the alchemist claimed to be concocting." "The alchemist's apprentice," said the sorceress. "Exactly." "motivation?" "The apprentice had an affair with Lucien's wife. After 'questioning', the apprentice confessed to his crimes, as well as hers, and both were sent to prison awaiting trial."

"Satisfactory." The sorceress nodded again, turning her gaze to the other person on the star. "The search for Joram the Living Dead is still going on, ma'am. The list of serf mages or suspected serf mages who have entered Malilong has been sorted out, and eleven people have been found so far, all of whom have passed the review. All of them have legitimate reasons to enter City, seven of them have been completely excluded. In addition, the Catalyst Saints faction has provided us with a list of new members of their sect entering the city. Comparing the two lists, we have obtained an interesting result."

He stopped, looked at the leader suspiciously, and asked for instructions on whether to inform the general meeting members or tell her individually.The sorceress considered for a moment, sent the others away, and closed the big book. "Go on," she said when they were alone. "The catalyst saint was Father Dunstable, a family saint who left Merillon some years ago. The reason for his return is said to be the death of his master, and he left the family." "This can be verified." "Of course we are investigating, ma'am. He does not match Father Saryon's description of appearance, but appearance can be easily changed. Interestingly, he entered the city with a group of young people, one of whom has been found to be a serf mage."

"What about the other accomplices?" The wizard hesitated. "We recognized one, madam, and perhaps others. The gates were crowded that day, and a rather suspicious incident occurred." "What is it?" "One of the associates of that Catalyst Saint failed, ma'am. Simkin." The sorceress frowned. "This complicates the situation. The emperor himself seems to want to interfere with Xin Jin's affairs, not because Xin Jin is an important person." The witch waved her hand indifferently. "It's a trivial matter, and it can be fixed easily, but we can't make it too obvious that we're troubling the young man. The emperor would be offended by it, and the matter is too sensitive for him to have any excuses." Assault on us—or the Prince of Xavier. So continue to watch carefully. If you can, get the serf mage alone and question him, or maybe…" She hesitated, her mouth clenched in thought.

"Ma'am?" the wizard asked respectfully. "You mean?" "Sinkin worked for us before, didn't he?" "Yes, ma'am, but..." This time it was the wizard's turn to hesitate. "but?" "He is an elusive man, ma'am." "However." The sorceress made up her mind. "That depends on how you can deal with him. The benefits he brings are immeasurable. Of course, you must be careful. I think, you know how to deal with him?" The sorcerer bowed. "What about the catalyst saint?" "As usual, the church will solve it by itself. I will notify Bishop Fanya, but he will definitely not do anything without evidence. You continue to investigate."

"Yes, ma'am." The sorceress did not speak any more, biting her lower lip with her snow-white teeth.The wizard stood motionless before her, knowing that she was still thinking about him, and did not allow him to leave.Her eyes, shining in the shadows under the hood, looked at him at last. "Any other accomplices? No one else with these three?" Wizards are waiting for this question. "Ma'am," he whispered, knowing she would tolerate no excuses, but also knowing that she had to understand her limits. "There were many people swarming the city gate, and there was chaos. After all, that young man, Joram, was a living dead. Not only that, but if he really had mastered the power of the Dark Stone, he would be able to avoid our eyes and ears."

"Yes." The sorceress muttered. "Are you spying on that family?" "We do what we can, since the emperor has them under his protection. I consider questioning the servants there..." "You are right, watch out for the gossip of the servants, we must be careful not to alarm those people. Keep that in mind when dealing with Simkin. The slightest sign of trouble will scare them away if they are what they are looking for, and we The only hope is to trap them in the city, because once they reach the land of transformation, they will lose their traces. Give them time, let them be paralyzed and careless with security, and then they will make mistakes. When they make mistakes, we must Take your chance."

"Yes, ma'am." The wizard bowed and realized that he had received permission to retire, so he disappeared. "Be patient." The word whispered in the air, like a blessing following him.