Hidden Intentions

"I was hoping that I could keep my plans hidden till the very end," said Theodore. "But you're right, I am indeed after the object that lies at the bottom of the tower, sealed within that Corrupted Domain."

"Why did you not say so in the beginning? Were you afraid that I might try to compete against you for this prize if I found out what it was?"

"If you only knew what it is, you'd be tempted too."

"Well, if you put it like that, I certainly am curious as to what the Demon Lord holds in such high regard."

"And what about you, Kalman? I never did hear about what you wanted out of this alliance other than the reactivation of the tower. What exactly are you going to do once the tower reactivates?"

"Nothing you would be interested in, I'm sure," said Kalman. "Though, there's always a chance that someone out there might."

"You fear that I might team up with someone else against you if I have that information?"

"There's always a chance, no? At this stage of the plan, I am certainly not going take any unnecessary risks."

"I suppose we'll both be keeping our lips sealed then?"

"Of course. But rest assured that this is most important to me. No matter how valuable the object you're after is, this will have to come first no matter what," Kalman announced, his gaze unwavering, revealing nothing. "Still, it was good to know where you'll be headed. If our objectives were to clash, I am going to have to deal with you one way or another, a great shame it may be."

"From the sound of it, I suppose you'll be elsewhere when the time comes."

"I'll be heading for the tower, as you might have already guessed. The other elders should be there as well, eager to be the first to ascend the vertical corridor when the tower becomes fully functional. I can't miss that chance. Some fools might try to start a fight and damage it while others might try to destroy the way up once they're up there. I can't afford to miss this."

"You can't be after the Alvan ship, can you?"

Kalman let loose a hearty laugh upon the suggestion.

"Ah, I am afraid I am not as foolhardy as you. I do not dare compete with the other elders for their prize. No, my aim lies elsewhere, but I've already said too much."

"In other words, it's safe say that we'll be staying out of each other's way?"

"So it would seem... I wish good luck upon both of our endeavors."

"I certainly hope that good luck is enough."

Though Kalman's intentions were partially revealed, Theodore could not be sure how much of it he could trust. They say that the moment right before victory would be the moment one lets their guard down the most. Theodore couldn't afford that, not when he's so close. Surely, Kalman was thinking of the same thing as well.

***

In the darkness of the night, a shadow appeared in the central plaza. Though lively during the day, the place was completely deserted at night. Despite having the brightstone lamps to light the streets, few would be willing to head out during nightfall. After all, nighttime is when those with nefarious intentions make their moves, using the shadows as cover.

With silenced steps, the figure approached the statue in the middle of the plaza and began to examine it with the brightstone lamp in hand.

(Looks like the staff is a different piece from the statue. The material is different too. If I try, I can probably remove it. That being said, I don't sense anything in this staff. Either there was nothing special about this in the first place, or someone had long replaced it.)

Finding nothing else of note on the statue, Theodore retreated back into darkness. At this point, he could only count on the other factions to find it in his stead. After all, with Kalman being a hermit and himself essentially a prisoner, they only have two people around who could do anything resembling a search.

Once he retreated to the sewers, Theodore began making his next move. He planned to deliver the maps to the dwellings of masters and elders with connections to major clans, and he was going to do it in one night.

The next morning, these masters and elders are going to wake up with a special gift in their mailboxes. At least, that was the plan. Surely, nothing could go wrong with something as simple as this. Surely...

***

In the end, the deliveries went smoothly. There were some close calls, but Theodore was not caught. A few days later, Theodore gathered everyone in the living room. Fiana was there too, still on leave as she had to keep up the appearance of taking care of Theodore while he suffered from Aether crystallization.

"Soon, the various factions in the city will be making their moves," Theodore announced. "When the time comes, when the Archmage leaves the city for the summit with the empire, the others will move. No doubt, when that happens, there will be an unmistakable absence of mages in the streets. That will be the sign to make our moves."

He was able to surmise this thanks to the information gained from Albatross. Since the day after the deliveries were made, the city was in an uproar. There had even been open discussion about the Corrupted Domain underneath the city and what would be done to close the Abyssal Rift.

No longer was the Domain a secret and Theodore could not help but grin when he imagined the panicked faces of those aiming for it in secret. All those preparations, all the precautious done to make sure the secret does not leak, all gone to waste.

"Here is the plan," Theodore continued to explain. "Albatross will leave the city and head to the town by the lagoon. The pretense will be a delivery and I will provide the letter for it. Next, Fiana will leave the city with the permit Kalman acquired just yesterday. Once outside, she will rent a carriage which Albatross will sneak onto. Since the mages ought to be shorthanded during this time, there should be no worries about being discovered, but just in case, I will provide one of my crows to take with you as a lookout. After that, you'll both take the carriage midway before abandoning it somewhere discreet and make your way to the city on foot. From there, you'll take a train into the Cygnus Union. You'll be free from the Mage Tower once you're there."

After listening to the explanation, the expression on both Albatross and Fiana became noticeably grim. It appeared that they have picked up on the slight oddities within the plan.

***

End of Chapter 121

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