BXBX NOVEL Chapter 301 - Identify Him!
"Okay, you do that... we\'ll wait here..." Elva replied.
Terros teleported himself back to the location of the castle.
When he arrived there, Calder and the men were still trying to find something in the ground around the castle.
"Did you see anything, guys?" Terros asked them.
Calder shook his head. "We didn\'t see anything worth a glance. No clues whatsoever. The lake can\'t tell us who opened the coffins and where did they bring the bodies? It\'s a dead-end!" he said in a frustrated voice.
"Tell your men to go home now and return tomorrow morning to continue looking for clues. I want you to come with me to identify the guy that the deity brought with her to her place. The guy insisted that he is not the King, but his trusted servant. Can you identify who is who?" Terros asked Calder.
"Yeah, I have seen the King and his right man with my eyes. I can identify them easily if I come face to face with them again," Calder replied.
"Good!" Terros said.
Calder addressed his men. "Go back to the headquarter now and wait for me there!" he ordered.
"Copy!" the men replied in unison. A few seconds later, they vanished from the area.
Terros waved his hand.
He and Calder disappeared from the place. They appeared at the Windless Mountain, on the balcony of the marble house.
"We\'re here!" Terros announced their arrival to the ladies.
Elva rose to her feet. "Alright, let\'s go back to the cave," she said. She waved her hand, and they vanished from the top of the mountain.
A few seconds later, they appeared inside the cave.
This time, the guy was already awake, walking back and forth on the ground. Then he looked at the visitors, they\'re staring at him.
Terros glanced at Calder. "Look at the guy closely... can you identify him? Is that the King or his right man? He\'s currently imprisoned inside the invisible barrier to prevent him from escaping this place," he explained.
Calder moved closer to the invincible barrier and stopped in his tracks as he was now facing the guy. He did recognize him, he was the leader of the King\'s men! He went back to Terros\'s side. "I\'m positive. That is the King\'s trusted servant. I heard that his name is Ormon!" he finally said.
The women looked at each other.
"He was telling the truth! So... where are the King and Graven?" asked Veronica.
"That is one question that we need to ask the guy!" Elva said, moving forward.
"My lady, did you see the coffin in the lake?" the guy asked.
"Yes, we saw the two coffins, but they\'re already empty! Can you tell us where do you think their bodies will be taken to? And who are these people who took the bodies? What are they going to do with the bodies?" Elva bombarded the guy with questions.
"The King told me once that his relatives will take away his body sooner or later. He mentioned the name of the place to me once, unfortunately, I can no longer remember it. I\'m sorry to forget the name of the place, my lady," he said, looking remorseful.
"You better remember the name of the place, or you can never get out from this place. You will remain in this place as long we can\'t find Graven\'s body!" Elva threatened him.
"My lady, please have mercy on me! I\'m telling you the truth. I really can\'t remember the place! Please, released me now!" he pleaded.
"I will return tomorrow to ask the name of the place again. So start remembering the name of the place!" Elva ignored his plea. She looked at her companions. "We\'re done here! Let\'s go back to the mountain," she said and waved her hand.
The four vanished from the cave.
The King smirked. His plan B works! He transformed his image that of his trusted servant before he was rescued by the leaves from the basement of the castle.
He thought in advance that they would go easy on him once they know that he is not the King but just a mere servant. Unfortunately, that was not the case, but his situation is slightly better now compared to if he admitted that he was the cursed King.
As long he won\'t piss them, they would likely lower their guard down and eventually released him in the long run. Soon, he will have the freedom to find Laura anywhere! All he needs to do is preserve his life at all costs by not angering those visitors earlier. He already familiarized himself with their faces.
The beautiful woman seemed to be the deity who calls the shots around this area. Therefore he was her prisoner. He should be extra nice to her at all times and avoid angering her. If he can cultivate her trust, that would be much better!
He had a feeling that out of the four people that he saw earlier, one of them know Laura\'s whereabouts!
Hmm... he\'s getting closer to Laura!
He can feel it in the air!
He went back to the corner and lowered himself on the ground. Thinking about the next step of his plan.
~~~0~~~
The four arrived at the marble house at the top of Windless Mountain.
They wore worried expressions on their faces.
"If that Ormon can\'t remember the place, then we will never find Graven again. We have no idea if he\'s still alive or dead," Elva said in an exasperated voice.
Terros sighed heavily. "This is getting complicated!" he groaned.
"What if that King is bluffing and hid himself and Graven somewhere near the castle?" Calder suggested.
"Grandpa, are you suggesting that there is another secret place beneath the ground of the ruined castle?" Veronica asked.
"That is why I need to go back to the castle to continue the investigation. Maybe we can find something... a clue perhaps..." Terros said.
Elva fell silent.
"Calder and I are going home," Terros said, looking at the deity. "Elva, if you found out something important from the King\'s trusted servant, please... inform us right away," he requested.
Elva nodded her head. "Yes, I will," she replied in a subdued tone.
Veronica looked at Terros. "I\'ll visit your place right away if there\'s good news," she assured him.
"Thanks," Terros said and looked at Calder. "Let\'s teleport back to the headquarter," he spoke.
"Yes, Grandpa!" Calder replied.
A few seconds later, the men vanished from Elva\'s place.
Veronica looked at the deity. "It\'s been a stressful day. Why don\'t you rest in your room now? The baby in your tummy would surely appreciate it," she suggested.
Elva looked at her baby bump and caressed it lovingly. "Yeah, you are right. I need a long rest for my baby\'s sake," she agreed and rose to her feet, going to the entrance of the house.
Veronica took a deep breath, watching the deity\'s fading form, wondering how is Laura doing right now? Did she already know about what happened to her husband or she was kept in the dark about the whole thing? Grandpa mentioned the letters to be given to Graven\'s loved ones, once he can no longer come back from the rescue event in the castle.
The biggest problem they are facing right now is finding Graven\'s missing body. She hoped that he is still alive until now and safe somewhere.
The deity cares so much about Graven\'s well-being more than she\'s willing to admit to herself. She understood that part because they have a child together. The surprising thing is, Elva is not keen on pursuing any romantic interest towards Graven, but she\'s willing to help him anytime.
Well... that is good for Laura.
But then, now that Graven is missing, it\'s going to be a torturous condition for everyone concern. Although Graven and his men are not her responsibility, still, she can\'t help but be affected and get involved in their problems every step of the way. She starts caring for their situation.
Speaking of caring, she should check Luke\'s body inside the healing room.
She walked towards the entrance of the house, closed the door behind her, and sauntered towards the healing room located at the end of the hallway.
She entered the room and walked towards the bed, Luke was still inside the protective bubble, in a sitting position.
She examined his skin and face for a few minutes, he looks normal and healthy. Nothing to worry about him.
Then a thought crossed her mind. Not only Graven, the cursed King, but also Luke\'s spirit was also missing!
Only two things were accomplished during the raid, the castle was forever destroyed, and Graven\'s men were saved, but the intention to kill the King never materialized!
Therefore she can conclude that the King is still alive somewhere out there!
But where?
That is one difficult question that she has no ready answer to as of the moment.
She glanced at Luke\'s form one last time before leaving the room.
She went to the kitchen, thinking of preparing a delicious dish for Elva to eat later after she wakes up.
She began to work.
~~~0~~~
Meanwhile, at the headquarter.
Terros was facing Calder and the men around the table sipping their coffees. They were actively discussing the areas surrounding the castle.
"Guys, you didn\'t notice anything suspicious around the ruined castle?" Terros asked the question the second time around.
A moment of silence fell upon them.
Then one of the men raised his head. "I notice something! There\'s a part of the area of the castle that looks like it was recently excavated. At first, I ignored it thinking some animals were digging at it for fun then abandon it afterward. But the more I think about it, the more I was curious on what lies below in that area?" he said.
Terros looked at the guy. "That\'s it! We will dig that area tomorrow morning and find out what lies beneath!" he said excitedly.
Their discussion intensified.
One hour later, the meeting finally ended.
They went their separate ways.
Terros returned to his place in the forest to retire for the night.