In the middle of the night, Kraus and the two other recruits stood at the edge of Rottin Woods.
The meeting location was under an old leaning tree.
Billy, one of the thugs, shivered slightly under the cold wind of night. He looked around nervously.
The people in Mucktown believed Rottin Woods was filled with indescribable horrors named Chaos Beast. Monsters that would devour you on sight. Billy believed this tale wholeheartedly and he did not want to stay here.
"Why does Lord Watcher want us to meet in the Rottin Woods? We can just meet right outside of Mucktown." Billy mumbled.
Kraus shook his head. "A secretive organization values their privacy above all."
"Kraus’s right," Geolark said, "And don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark."
"I’m not! You know what I’m afraid of. The Chaos Beast!" Billy pointed at the shadow of the woods. "What if one is looking at us right now!"
Kraus burst out a laugh. "You’re scaring yourself, Billy. No Chaos Beast would get near our town. That is for sure.
The hunters have also begun to dwell in the woods again. If the woods weren’t safe, they wouldn’t do that."
"Right... You’re right." Billy calmed himself down.
They did not realize that Siderius had already arrived. Billy was startled and jerked back instinctively. However he quickly regained his composure.
The three of them dropped down to their knees.
"Greetings, Lord Watcher!"
Siderius nodded. He came over to a boulder under the tree and sat down.
"What have you learned today?"
Kraus was the first to speak. "There is one thing that might interest you, Lord Watcher. It relates to the high nobles currently stationed in our town."
"Yes, High Lord! As you may know, our small town is under the influence of the Starcrow Clan. Lady Lyara Starcrow has been staying in our town for quite a while now.
Earlier this morning, the Lady has ordered a group of servants to march toward the Rocky Pit. Get full chapters from novel{f}ire.net
The Rocky Pit is a mining camp under the control of the bailiff.
From what I heard, The Rocky Pit tried to hide a wanted murderer. Snow of the Beaumort Circus.
However, there was something incredibly weird about this. We all thought that the Rocky Pit would be cleaned out."
Siderius leaned back and rested his back on the body of the old tree. "And I guess that didn’t happen?"
Kraus nodded. "The Rocky Pit stayed untouched. No one was killed. They weren’t even punished. Only one man was escorted away."
"And the identity of this man?" Siderius said.
Kraus looked over to Geolark. Most of the information was provided by him so only he could answer Siderius’ question.
Geolark stepped forward. "Unfortunately, my friends within the town guards weren’t able to learn about the man. They were ordered to guard the Rocky Pit on the outside. Only the witch servants went inside."
"I see. Anything else?"
"Yes, High Lord!" This time Billy spoke up. "The maids told me that another Lady of the Starcrow Clan had a very big fight with Lady Lyara. However, they don’t know her name or who she was."
"Ah." That was probably Leona. She must have been furious learning her favorite pet was killed. However, Siderius doubted that she mourned him at all.
Leona was probably upset because her slave was killed without her knowledge. This must put even further strain on her relationship with Lyara
Siderius nodded toward the three thugs.
"The information is useful. But I have more tasks for you. Take this pouch. In it has the list of items I need from you."
Siderius threw a pouch of silvers toward Kraus which he caught flawlessly. Inside was a piece of paper.
"You know how to read?" Siderius said.
"Barely, High Lord. But Geolark can read pretty well." Kraus gave the paper to his right hand man.
Geolark took it and read the entire thing out loud.
"An axe, a saw, a carpenter’s knife, a chisel.
The axe and saw should be easily bought. The knife and chisel we can ask the carpenter himself. If he has a spare, he should have no problem selling this to us."
Siderius nodded. "Good. I will come and collect the items once you have gathered it. In the meantime, keep a close eye on the high nobles and the officials."
"Yes, high lord!" The three spoke in unison.
And with that, Siderius disappeared into the woods.
Alex seemed to successfully keep the Rocky Pit always from harm. Siderius was very curious how he was able to do it. He must have at least a connection of equal influence.
The next day, Ashe continued to practice her fire making and Siderius focused on his Psychosis and Truth-Seeking Path.
Another four hours reduced Siderius’ Psychosis by one point.
[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 47/125]
He was slowly creeping closer to the point of conquering the beast’s psyche. One point at a time.
The Aether Sphere was also absorbed further. There were unique privileges you gained by fusing Light and Dark Aether.
While True Aether was an Alchemist’s foundation and power. Light and Dark Aether provided different traits.
Light Aether weaved the fate of everything. The more Light Aether Siderius collected and absorbed, the more Fate would favor him. Fate only liked those who played by its rules.
Unfortunately, there was no way to measure the effect of Light Aether on oneself. Or rather, Siderius didn’t know how to yet. If he was able to, there definitely would be another attribute added to the system, namely Luck.
For Dark Aether, as a breaker of rule, it allowed an alchemist to better evoke alchemical processes and reactions. Speed, scale and effect would be greatly enhanced.
The most noticeable change would probably be the Sigils. Their effects could grow along with the amount of Dark Aether Siderius consumed. However, it would never be able to truly exceed the limitations of reality.
In the end, Siderius was still an Alchemist, not a Warlock. and could be enhanced but their growth would have an end.
The Aether Sphere that Siderius had made would probably take a few weeks to consume completely. In this time, he would make sure to become stronger by any means and also train Ashe to be more capable.
As of now, Ashe did not need to be effective in combat yet. Survival was crucial. Only when she could keep herself alive then Siderius would teach her how to fight.
In the evening of that day, Siderius called Ashe over.
"Yes, Master?" Ashe said.
"Come. It’s time I teach you about hunting."