Preparing

"Did you manage to do it?" asked Graham to Luuk, who had just returned.

The two men were sitting at Luuk van der Meer's hotel room that looked perfectly identical to his own, except the young man had somehow managed to make the room as messy as his apartment. Graham was sitting on the sofa while Luuk took the seat at the table that had various items and gemstones on it.

The young Thief looked dejected and Graham could already guess how it went. After all, it was the Police Headquarters, a place where a lot of strong Contractbounds worked. The place where they stored valuable items must have been heavily guarded.

"I actually couldn't even enter the storage..." said Luuk, "I tried last night and this morning, but both times, I failed," he added with a heavy tone.

"Tell me the detail," said Graham.

Luuk sat more leisurely as if he was about to tell a grand story to his grandchildren. His hands began moving around to help him tell the story better.

"So last night, I didn't use the disguise, but just tried to enter normally since I thought they would be busy. But the security was too tight that if I had done something suspicious, they would have caught me right away. There were like, more than twenty officers there and there was no way I could escape from all of them," he paused and then took a deep breath.

"And then this morning I tried again, but this time I used the Transformation ability from your belt. I turned into Cornelis Haring as you suggested, but it only took me as far as the hallway to the basement, where they stored everything, at least that was what one of them told me. The room was password protected and I couldn't find out what the password was even after asking around a little. I didn't ask directly for the password, mind you, as it would be too suspicious," he shrugged.

Graham stroked his chin.

"Interesting..." said Graham softly, "So they store everything in the basement? It's a good thing that you didn't go in. I'm sure there will be dangerous artifacts there that could have hurt you in many unimaginable ways," he said with a serious tone.

Luuk's expression sunk.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier??" he asked; his tone was raised.

"That's on me, it's true. I thought they would be too busy that they would leave the scroll in one of their Sergeants' office. I've just given them the map to the Pale Society's hideout, you know? So I assumed most of their fighting power would be out," said Graham defensively.

"Maybe it's true that their fighters are out, but there were still way too many people at the Headquarters. They are very careful, the Police," responded Luuk.

"True. We've underestimated the Police's strength, and that's our mistake. But at least you made it out alive and learned about the storage basement. It might come in handy in the future, who knows?" said Graham, consoling the young man.

Luuk leaned back even further in his chair. His hands were placed on the back of his head, supporting its weight.

"True. So what should I do now? Is there no other option for that scroll?" he asked.

Graham crossed his legs and thought.

"You know, I'm going out of town tomorrow for something. Maybe there will be the scroll you need there, so do you want to come?" offered Graham kindly.

Luuk seemed to be thinking.

"Where are you going? And if I go with you, what about my classes?" he asked.

Graham shrugged.

"Now you care about your classes? What about all those lectures you've missed?"

Luuk rolled his eyes and also shrugged.

"I'm going to Hoorn," added Graham, "And there is no way to be sure if your contract scroll will be available there since it's too far for me to divine. I will need either a name of a target or to be there in person," he explained.

Graham wanted Luuk to come along to Hoorn because he needed the man's abilities too. He admitted that so far, he hadn't won most of his fights alone; he needed the help of others most of the time. His next mission would be to deal with a mayor of a city, a person with the most power there, so he would definitely need any help he could find.

Luuk was seriously thinking about it. On the one hand, he really wanted to go out of town because he was bored with the same routines in Sloten, and he would like to try to steal from new people in Hoorn for a change of pace. On the other hand, now that the Pale Society's plan appeared to have almost been foiled, his university would remain intact, which meant he had to seriously think about his grades.

"Can't you lend your belt to Jacco for him to transform into me and attend the lectures in my stead?" asked Luuk curiously.

Graham raised his eyebrows.

"There is no way. One Transformation only lasts for two hours and it can be used twice maximum per day. Besides, I will need the belt for my mission," replied Graham.

"Then I really cannot go with you. I need to make sure I don't miss classes or I will have to repeat this year," said Luuk despondently.

"It's understandable," said Graham, "So you'll just have to pay me in case there is the scroll there," he added, "Plus extra delivery cost since it's all the way out there."

Luuk's jaw dropped as he nodded very, very slowly.

"Then it's settled," said Graham as he stood up from the sofa, "Anyway, we've paid for this hotel for a week, so you're free to stay here until then. As for me, I'll need to check out tomorrow before leaving for Hoorn."

Luuk nodded and then watched as the man left his room. He knew how petty the detective could be but there was nothing he could do. He could only brace himself for the exorbitant price the man would charge him for the scroll if he managed to get his hands on one.

Graham walked out of Luuk's hotel room and came back to his, to get the briefcase that he had prepared before. He planned to pay Cadhla and Rafferty a visit before going to Hoorn since he needed to turn the remain of Gloom into a piece of enhanced equipment.

Hoorn was located northwest of Sloten while the small unnamed town where Cadhla and Rafferty were was located to the east, so going there on the way to Hoorn would be impossible unless he had his own ride. He would take the intercity bus the next day to go to Hoorn, as trains couldn't reach the city that was up high on the foot of De Vaalserberg.

After getting his briefcase, Graham locked his hotel room door and walked downstairs to the lobby, wearing his own appearance instead of the martial arts instructor, Hansen Müller.

"Mr. Detective? When did you come here?" asked Stefan, the young receptionist boy in surprise. His expression was like someone who had seen a ghost.

"Hello there, Stefan. You were inside when I came, so you didn't see me. I was just visiting my friend, Luuk," said Graham, lying.

"Ah, really?" said Stefan in disbelief. He didn't remember ever leaving his post since the afternoon. "Did you come in the morning?"

Graham shrugged.

"I don't remember what time it was. Well, anyway, gotta go now. See you around, Stefan!" said Graham.

Stefan waved his hand in confusion. To him, the last time he saw the man was back in South Sloten when Graham was looking for the haunted mansion. However, the man looked like he had just seen him recently and wasn't like someone who hadn't met for a long time. Maybe because he was in a hurry? Thought Stefan.

Outside, the afternoon street was still bustling with activities, and the sound of engines running and the pollution they caused filled the air. It was a typical afternoon in Sloten, one of the biggest cities in the Republic of Tulp.

"Mr. Hymes, over here!" came a voice from the side of the street, a little walk away from there.

It was Egon, whom Graham had called to arrange for the trip to the unnamed little town. He had got his house number last time and through divination, he waited until Egon was home before making the call using the hotel's payphone that was available in various spots there.

"Good afternoon, Egon," he greeted the man warmly. He felt rather inexplicably happy to see another familiar face. Probably because of the stress of dealing with the Pale Society that forced him to get into hiding and to use a disguise all the time.

Graham got into the motor carriage that the man had driven there and once he closed the door shut, Egon started driving right away. It was already past two in the afternoon, and Egon wanted to save as much daylight as he could.

"So do you think it's possible to return tonight?" asked Graham.

Egon, while driving, seemed to be thinking about it.

"It's possible, Mr. Hymes, but I'm not too sure about the condition of the street at night. I heard it's dangerous when it's dark because it's right next to the forest," replied Egon.

Graham also knew about the stories of attacks happening in the street right next to Oostelijk Bos, the vast forest area lying between Sloten and the unnamed town. Back then, he was still too weak, so he decided to stay the night in the town to avoid unnecessary dangers. However, now that he was stronger, and the fact that he had seen the tiger-like supernatural creature in person, he felt more confident that he could deal with whatever problem that arose-- at least he could buy them enough time to escape.

"Leave it to me. I'll make sure to keep the both of us safe," said Graham persuasively. His tone was very confident, which made Egon's heart at ease.

"If you say so, Mr. Hymes, then I'll trust you. You can trust the driving to me," he said.

The two of them then spent the rest of the trip talking about various things, mostly gossip around the city and his family, which kept Graham awake the whole trip. The road was smooth and mostly straight, so it could be boring, although the view from the window was magnificent.

The trip to the unnamed little town took them a little over four hours before they finally arrived. The colors of the sky had already changed as they entered the small town that didn't have a lot of people activities at that hour.

"Where do you want me to drop you off, Mr. Hymes?" said Egon. His voice sounded tired and he was stretching his body. It seemed that driving for a long time still took a toll on his body.

"Just drop me off there," pointed Graham at an antique store that was used as a front for Cadhla's magical trinket store.

Egon drove the motor carriage near the store and pulled over. After that, Graham got off and said to the man, "You can wait for me at a restaurant nearby. Just order whatever you want and get some rest. I'll pay for it," he said kindly.

"Then I'll do just that, Mr. Hymes," said Egon enthusiastically while giving his passenger a thumbs up. He drove away without waiting any longer and disappeared from Graham's sight, who wasn't worried about not being able to find the man-- he had his fire divination.

"Now then, Val, let's get down to business," muttered Graham. He was also rather tired, as he began stretching his body while walking down to the door.

Chime!

The wind chimes above the door rang as the smell of wood and antiques penetrated his nose. The air inside the store felt colder and damper than the outside.

"Hello there, Hymes. We've been expecting you," said a voice that came from the other end of the store. It was Rafferty, the man with a thick accent. His red hair looked darker in the dimly-lit room and his freckles were almost hidden by the shadow.

"Hi there, Raff. Long time no see," said Graham, not surprised that they had been expecting him. After all, Cadhla was also a divinator, although she was an Astrologer instead of a Fire Divinator like him.

"Cadhla is waiting. Let's get in," said Rafferty.

The big man then entered the back room through the door behind him, followed by Graham who was still carrying his briefcase.

In the backroom whose walls were all full of talismans and trinkets of various origins, a beautiful woman was sitting behind a crystal ball. It was Cadhla, Rafferty's sister who made most of the magical items there.

"Graham, long time no see," said Cadhla with her beautiful, mature voice. Her wavy red hair was glistening in the artificial light that illuminated the room.

"Long time no see, Cadhla. I'm sorry I can't stay long, however. I'm rather in a hurry, you see?" said Graham.

Cadhla nodded in understanding.

"So what has brought you here?" asked Cadhla curiously. She seemed to only be able to know that Graham was coming, but not his intention.

Graham unzipped the briefcase that he was carrying and took out something from it. It was a round object resembling a brain that looked very pale and soft to touch.

"I need you to turn this Contractbound remain into a piece of enhanced equipment. Can you?" requested Graham.

With her right hand, she beckoned Graham to come closer and once he was close enough, she began observing the object that the member of the Pale Society, Gloom, had left behind in his death.

"Which Contractbound left his behind?" asked Cadhla.

"This is from an Ignoramus. So can you?" replied Graham, and then asked in anticipation.

"Yes, but the effect will depend on the end result. I cannot predict what will be created," replied vaguely.

Graham rested his chin on his right hand.

"That shouldn't be a problem. How long do you need? And how much should I pay you?" asked Graham, bracing himself for the surprise.

Cadhla touched the pale brain and tried to squeeze it. The object hardened as more force was placed against it-- it now felt like she was trying to squeeze a metal ball.

"Hmm... it shouldn't take me that long. I happen to have everything else that I need. You can come back in one hour. As for the price, a measly fifty guilders should be enough," she said.

Graham's jaw dropped instantly.