Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Fors, who was taking an afternoon nap, suddenly woke up with a start. She saw an endless expanse of gray fog and "The Moon" bowing his head in prayer, hearing his clear words:
"...In the southeastern suburbs of Backlund, in the heart of the Dreiler Forest, there's an abandoned castle. At least two ancient malicious spirits haunt it, along with other ghosts. There's also a possibility that a Beyonder is living there in seclusion. The coordinates are..."
Finally, news about the main ingredient for the "Archivist" potion, information worth 300 pounds! Fors was delighted. She immediately thanked Mr. Fool and asked Him to convey to "The Moon" that she would pay the reward later.
Having dealt with that, she turned over, got out of bed, and went down to the first floor. She intended to pour herself a drink and think about when to explore the abandoned castle and what preparations were needed.
"Lyman's Travel Journal shouldn't be lent out for now... I have to bring Xio along... That abandoned castle has a lot of spirits and is quite dangerous. I need to think about my 'magic' combinations. If there are gaps, or if I lack a specific counter, I'll have to ask 'The World,' 'The Hanged Man,' and 'The Sun' to record the corresponding Beyonder powers..." Although Fors didn't have much practical combat experience, she had been moving in Beyonder circles for years. Later, she joined the Tarot Club. She had heard and seen a lot, so she naturally knew how to prepare before taking risks.
As for the option of simply asking "The World" to do it for her, she had long since dismissed it, believing that even all her findings and savings combined would not be enough to properly compensate him.
Of course, if her exploratory trip proved that the abandoned castle was indeed too dangerous for a Beyonder of her level, she would bravely take on the debt. After all, only the living have hope; only the living have a future.
In theory, it shouldn't come to that. "Lyman's Travel Journal" still had two demigod-level Beyonder powers left behind by "The World." At worst, she could use them first and figure out how to replace them later... The only question was whether those two demigod-level powers were suitable for dealing with vengeful spirits and ghosts... Fors took a sip of her Winter Heland as her thoughts gradually took shape.
Just then, she heard the sound of a key in the lock and instinctively looked toward the door.
The door swung wide open, and Xio walked in, carrying two paper bags that emitted a rich aroma.
"Desi pies?" Fors asked impulsively, then frowned in confusion. "Don't you have a lot of commissions right now? Why are you back so early?"
Xio tossed one of the bags of Desi pies over to her. Unable to hide her smile, she said:
"I happened to be passing by. I hadn't had lunch, so I thought I'd take a break."
Before Fors could ask anything else, she volunteered:
"I've saved up enough merits! I'll be able to exchange for the 'Interrogator' potion formula soon!"
Although her task of monitoring Viscount Stratford, the palace steward, hadn't made substantial progress, it was the type of task that could accumulate merits through daily work. As long as she submitted a qualified report every week, she would receive the corresponding "bonus." Adding that to the varying degrees of completion of her other commissions, Xio was already able to obtain the "Interrogator" potion formula.
"Finally..." Fors was genuinely happy for her friend. She shook the glass in her hand. "Want a little drink to celebrate?"
At the same time, she thought about her own affairs: This is so great! After advancing to Sequence 7, Xio should undergo a qualitative change. Exploring that castle will be much more secure!
Xio looked at the transparent liquid in the glass and shook her head firmly.
"Drinking isn't good!"
Then, she frowned.
"Besides, I hate the taste of it."
Before Fors could speak, Xio suddenly remembered something, stood up, and headed for the door:
"I saw the mailbox is stuffed full. Haven't you checked it at all today?"
"Haven't had the chance." Fors put on an "I'm busy, I have to meet a deadline" expression.
Xio was a woman of action. Without listening to her explanation, she was already out the door, fiddling with the mailbox.
After about ten seconds, she returned with a stack of newspapers and a few letters. Looking at the addressees, she said:
"All of them are for you! Two from the publishing house, an invitation for a surgical exchange, and one from Port of Pritz."
Port of Pritz... Fors's heart stirred. She put down her glass and caught the letter Xio threw over.
In front of her friend, she seemingly calmly opened all the letters. She found that one of them was indeed from her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham:
"...Calderon City is a rather special place deep within the Spirit World. I cannot confirm its origins; I only know it is very dangerous. A demigod once entered and never returned... You should remind that gathering member when you sell him the specific Spirit World coordinates..."
Is "The World's" target such a dangerous Spirit World city? Fors stared at the letter in her hand, her eyes widening slightly.
....
The "Red Gloves" team, having arrived at the next city in East Balam, rendezvoused with the local Nighthawks and occupied one of their offices.
"Everyone, rest for half a day. We'll begin the operation at midnight." Soust pulled out his pocket watch, clicked it open, and glanced at it.
This time, they were tasked with striking a secret stronghold of the Cult of the Dead, finding more information on the Artificial Death Project, and uncovering another group of enemies hiding in Backlund.
As for the intelligence obtained from Ulyka, it had already been transmitted to Backlund via telegram. They didn't need to worry about the follow-up, as they weren't the only "Red Gloves" squad. The local Nighthawks in Backlund were numerous and powerful.
Leonard, Daly, and the others were about to find a place to rest when a Nighthawk of partial East Balam descent entered with a piece of paper.
"There's a new telegram, from Backlund."
Soust reached out, took the paper, unfolded it, and spent a few seconds reading it. His expression turned grave as he said:
"Gehrman Sparrow has appeared again. It's been confirmed through divination that it's the real him."
Gehrman Sparrow... Leonard wasn't surprised by this result. He had long since learned from Dwayne Dantès that his former colleague, Klein Moretti, was still alive.