Legacy of the Dark Sage

"You may feel slightly disoriented due to the time difference," Claudias said while they were on their way. "I have arranged a villa for each family. Rest for a few minutes while I arrange our transportation to Noser. Take the time to adjust yourselves to the difference in time. When the transportation is ready, I will have someone call for you.

"Thank you, Lady Claudias," Mimi replied with a slight smile. "However, resting is not necessary. I, for one, am used to travelling and am not bothered by the sudden change in time. As for transportation, the Courtenay Family owns a business here; before we left the Courtenay Land, uncle Eoin had advised them to prepare the transportation array there so we could go directly to Penshaw. From Penshaw, we can transport to Woodpine."

Zuri did not reply, but she nodded toward Mimi, showing her acquiescence to the latter\'s proposal.

Penshaw is a small town near the outskirts of Sudbury, another small city north of Cordale and is the closest city to Noser, at least a thousand kilometers away. Penshaw is also the closest town to Woodpine, and the latter happened to be the closest town to Noser, only less than six hours\' travel by carriage.

If they wanted to get to Noser, transporting to Penshaw and then to Woodpine was their best option. Of course, if this was any other day, they could directly transport to Noser from Woodpine. Because the Courtenay Family had an approved transportation array at Noser that was connected to Woodpine. Unfortunately, the transportation array in Noser got destroyed, and they could only go there by carriage.

Claudias stopped in her tracks and looked at them. She smiled slightly and said, "There is really no rush. The truth, our family had already dispatched a few of our members there. We only need to wait for their news, after which we can decide whether there is really a need to head in Noser personally."

Because Zuri wore a mask, Claudias did not see her displeasure.

It was obvious the Lumley Family was up to something. If their situation happened before the Courtenay and the Montgomeray Families had sworn allegiance to Kyran, there was a good chance that Mimi would find a way to negotiate with Claudias and take advantage of the latter\'s motive for their own benefit. Ultimately, as a member of the family with the least authority among the Three Noble Families, Zuri would not have a say and could only follow their lead.

After hearing Claudias\'s explanation, Mimi did not hide her displeasure and said, "I\'d rather go now and investigate ourselves. I can\'t trust someone else to tell me things without confirming them myself. Besides," she paused and smiled sweetly at Claudias. "We received news that a few members of our family were in Noser for a business when the intruder attacked. Because of the commotion afterwards, we haven\'t heard from them. But we have already confirmed that all evacuees from Noser were transported to Woodpine. I want to go there and find them. We can start the investigation by interrogating them."

Claudias\'s brow twitched slightly. She had thought she would have a hard time talking to Zuri. Unexpectedly, it was Mimi who openly opposed her.

Before Claudias could respond to Mimi\'s suggestion, Zuri voiced her agreement, "If they can tell us what happened, we can narrow down the things we have to investigate."

Mimi looked at Zuri and nodded, "That\'s right. Since we are pressed for time, it is best to act efficiently."

"Let\'s do that then."

Mimi and Zuri looked at Claudias as if waiting for her to voice her agreement.

This made Claudias frown inwardly. If she did not know better, she would have thought that the two were conspiring against her.

Initially, the Lumley Patriarch could not wait for them to find the truth of what happened in Noser. However, just before they left, he gave Claudias a different order, which confused her. He told her to stall for time. Still, if Claudias continued to insist on having her way, Mimi and Zuri would definitely notice something. To avoid any suspicion, she had to find another way to comply with the patriarch\'s order. Anyway, Mimi already gave her an idea. She would stall for time by preventing Mimi from finding her people in Woodpine.

"Alright. Let us be on our way," Claudias replied after weighing her options. She then turned and looked meaningfully at the Lumley member standing on her side.

The member nodded once.

Their group went to the marketplace and to a building owned by the Courtenay Family. After which, they used the transportation array there and went to Penshaw.

After arriving at Penshaw, the group had to wait until the Courtenay members adjusted the transportation array. When they were done, they were transported to Woodpine.

All in all, it took them three hours at most to arrive in Woodpine.

In Woodpine, a Courtenay member was already waiting for their arrival. The member then led them to an encampment the locals built for the evacuees in Noser.

As soon as they entered the encampment, Claudias, Mimi and Zuri were surprised at the density of people inside. Then again, the population in Noser was greater than the Woodpine could cater to.

Without further ado, the group split up to look for the members of the Courtenay Family.

Claudias watched Mimi\'s and Zuri\'s group go their separate ways before ordering her people to slow down their progress. After that, she sent a coded message to their patriarch.

Unfortunately, she did not receive any response.

On the other hand, Mimi and Zuri rendezvous at a small tent that had been prepared for them beforehand by the Montgomeray members who had been staying in Noser.

That was right. After they received the Lumley Patriarch\'s request to meet and investigate the matter in Noser, Eoin and Ezra had a private talk. They planned a diversion to keep the Lumley Family from getting to Noser.

If one had to look closely, Claudias\'s plan to stall for time actually conforms to the Courtenay and Montgomeray\'s plans. However, they could not openly agree to the former\'s suggestion; else, they might appear too eager.

After Eoin explained the situation to Ezra, the latter ordered a few of his people to go to Woodpine and make preparations. The reason they did not want Claudias and her people to get to Noser was simple; currently, Noser had become the Montgomeray and the Spirits\' base. Besides, the remnant magic fluctuations there were screaming with the Montgomeray Family\'s magic signature and the Spirits.

If Claudias possessed a magic detector, it would be easy for her to discover that the Montgomeray Family was involved in what happened in Noser.

With this in mind, Eoin and Ezra had to ensure that the Lumley Family was kept in the dark while playing along with their scheme.

Since the Spirits were good at pranks, they easily misled Claudias\'s people, following Mimi and Zuri.

"You don\'t have any members here, right?" Zuri asked the moment she and Mimi were left alone in the tent.

Mimi smiled slightly and looked at Zuri, "It is the only excuse I can think of to ensure Claudias will not refute."

Zuri sighed. She sat on one of the small chairs before removing her mask, "I understand why we don\'t want Claudias and her people to enter Noser, but earlier, she is clearly up to something."

"True. She wants to stall for time."

"If we agreed to play along, we don\'t have to go through all this trouble."

Mimi fell silent. She looked at Zuri with a complicated expression before saying, "True, but did you really think they are only planning to stall for time?"

Zuri frowned slightly. She did not respond at once. Instead, she tried to reassess the situation silently.

If they had agreed to stay in Cordale, there was a good chance the Lumley Family would do something to them. From what they know about the latter\'s assets, Cordale was one of the cities under the Lumley Family.

"You think they will do something to us?" Zuri asked Mimi.

Mimi shook her head, "Not us. But you."

Zuri frowned after hearing her reply but did not retort. After all, she had a feeling that it might have really been the case.

"From what I can see of the situation," Mimi continued, "Claudias probably did not know the plan. But I am convinced they will try to do something to you and your people because we saw the Lumley Patriarch meet up with Deputy Marshal Ingrid. Unfortunately, we can only speculate what they might have discussed.

"Anyway, there is a good chance they are already suspecting you. Or maybe, the Crown Princess has ordered to eliminate you guys just because of your relationship with the Spirits."