Setting the crumpled paper on the table, Lucian took out the letter paper from the box and unfolded it. A few lines of black text had indeed appeared on it:
"Looks like you've received our gift, Mr. Evans. Those three fingers are a warning not to do anything foolish. Everything you do is under our control and observation. Our power exceeds your imagination — more legendary than the tales you've heard from tavern bards. Now crush the 'Scrying Orb,' and you'll see what you want to see."
Lucian had already sensed the magnetic force contained in the small, deep-black sphere when he first received it, and had judged it to be a device for recording visions. So without hesitation, he crushed it.
Black smoke billowed out, coalescing in front of Lucian and gradually forming a dynamic, three-dimensional black-and-white image.
The people inside were Joel, Elisa, and Evan, situated in a cramped wooden cabin, gathered around a single brown table.
Evan's eyes were half-closed and he kept nodding, looking thoroughly sleepy, while Joel and Elisa wore expressions of worry. White bandages were tied around wounds on each of their hands. Through the cabin's small window, the dense blackness outside could be seen, along with a few faintly twinkling stars in the sky. The silver moon was hidden behind the darkness, completely invisible.
The dynamic vision lasted exactly one minute.
The original lines on the letter paper vanished, replaced by new text: "Mr. Evans, you've seen that they're still alive, haven't you? In the future, whenever different weather and scenery appear at night, we'll record a segment for you. Through the rain, wind, lightning, the phase of the silver moon, and the number of stars, you'll be able to tell that each segment was recorded on a different date. You see, our credibility has always been solid."
"That puts my mind at ease considerably. By the way, if John comes back during this time, how should I tell him?"
Lucian nodded in reply. In his mind, he was already calmly reconstructing the small patch of starry sky he had glimpsed through the cabin window, comparing it against the extensive collection of star charts drawn at different seasons and locations in the Witch's Magic Notes. He was trying to identify which stars they were, recording their brightness in stellar magnitudes, and noting and calculating the angle of observation from the wooden window — the initial positions of the stars in the sky, how they moved across the sky over the course of the one-minute vision, and so on.
Astrological magic was the branch Lucian had studied most deeply!
As for knowledge of astrology, after the experience of listening to the apprentices' exchanges last time, Lucian had essentially mastered everything at the apprentice level — to say nothing of his astronomical knowledge, which already surpassed that of the ancient mages.
"I'm very pleased that you took the initiative to ask how to handle things. It seems you've gradually begun to accept your fate, Mr. Evans. If John returns, just tell him directly. I trust he won't risk the lives of his father, mother, and younger brother. Also, Mr. Evans, tomorrow when you go to Ratasha Palace, do be careful."
Lucian went to Ratasha Palace every Tuesday and Thursday at eleven in the morning to discuss music with Princess Natasha. If the princess had need of him, she could summon him at any time, though compensation would be calculated separately.
Word by word, the text appeared and then vanished. At last, the letter paper showed no further changes. Lucian folded it up, wrapped the three severed fingers again, and placed them back in the box.
…………
With a mind full of star charts, Lucian walked slowly toward the Musicians' Association.
"I made the request yesterday, and today I've received the vision and the fingers. I can make a preliminary judgment: Uncle Joel's family is in a village, town, or forest near Altor — or possibly somewhere hidden within the city itself."
With this assessment, many of the star charts in the Witch's Notes could be eliminated. By comparing a large number of star charts drawn near Altor, along with the roughly calculated trajectories and speeds, Lucian quickly identified those specific stars. Then, by consulting the star catalog and finding the known data for one particular star, he could calculate based on its relative position last night, combined with the angle of observation, and arrive at a preliminary result:
"The cabin is located to the west of Altor, within roughly twenty kilometers — here, in the deeper parts of the Mazzel Black Forest." On a simple survey map of the Altor vicinity that he had seen in the music library's archives, Lucian marked the cabin's position with reasonable accuracy. "Within a two-hundred-meter radius."
"I hope that the next time I see a vision, they'll still be in that cabin. Then I can further refine the data using the silver moon and other natural features." The star catalogs from Earth were useless here. Lucian was relying on the star charts and catalogs used by ancient astrological mages, which inevitably carried small errors. For complete accuracy, he would need other methods of correction.
But within a two-hundred-meter radius, finding the small cabin would be considerably easier. Lucian's mood brightened with a tinge of excitement and hope. The only problem was that his strength was insufficient — even the enemy assigned merely to watch him was far more capable. And since the "Silver White Horn" dared to operate repeatedly within Altor, a city under Church control, their strength was certainly no small matter. Even if the cult's more formidable figures were occupied with other matters and not personally guarding someone as minor as Joel's family, Lucian estimated there would be at least an enemy of the level of a formal priest.
"Truly, every step is difficult." Lucian suppressed his impatience and sighed softly to himself.
Ever since discovering the problem, each step he had taken under calm deliberation had been the best he could manage — he had probed a great deal and confirmed the location where Joel's family was being held. But facing enemies this powerful, it was still far from enough!
…………
Arriving at the Association, the two young women on duty in the lobby today were ones Lucian wasn't very familiar with. One of them stood and bowed slightly. "Good morning, Mr. Evans. Mr. Hank asked that if you arrived, please come to his office. He's already arranged your private lounge for you."