Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1906 - 1905: Lost Path and Test

Luviya stayed at the Green Lake Hotel all day and did not leave. Iluna returned to the local church after lunch as she still had many things to do.

The six Grand Witches basically had no other business in the area at that time, so they remained at the Green Lake Hotel to prepare various things for Saturday.

Aside from meeting with Nadia Folan, Shard had basically completed all his preparations. The only Edwards he hadn’t seen yet were the firstborn of the third generation with Space-Time talent and the two cultists of the fifth generation.

Regarding Jarvis Edwards of the {Tyranny Club}, Shard guessed that he probably wouldn’t see him before the Wednesday night banquet. Because the witches received news in the afternoon that the Church of the Five Gods dispatched three Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers and finally destroyed the last local stronghold of the Tyranny Club.

Except for Giles Edwards being rescued by an unexpected person, the Circle Sorcerers sent to the area by the Tyranny Club were almost completely wiped out. A lot of conspiracies planned by the Tyranny Club during the Green Lake negotiations were thus exposed, and these documents, after scrutiny, would be sent to Draleon and Carsonrick as part of the cooperation between the church and secular governments.

"The Church’s action this time was really swift."

But Shard wasn’t concerned about those cultists trying to start a war but failed all their plans right under the Church’s nose. What he was concerned about was exactly who rescued Jarvis Edwards.

"The Truth Society."

Higgins was behind Miss Benanis, helping her dry her damp golden hair with a towel. The two set off in the afternoon to complete the few remaining tasks on the witches’ task list together with Granny Cassandra. Upon their return in the rain, they happened to witness the battle between the church and the cultists outside the city.

This wasn’t a coincidence, though, as the battle of the Circle Sorcerers severely affected the area. Miss Benanis had strong perception of the earth, and Granny Cassandra, the oldest member of the council, had an astonishing sense of awareness. So Miss Benanis made Granny Cassandra return first, while she ventured into the rain to investigate the situation and witnessed the whole incident:

"It must be the Truth Society. The Sage-Level Relic they used when retreating is very famous. Moreover, all the people holding those thirteen keys have appeared; only the key from the Truth Society hasn’t shown up yet. They can’t possibly hold onto the key without coming to Green Lake, right?"

Miss Benanis said, and Shard nodded:

"The Truth Society does everything with a strong sense of purpose. We don’t know if they intend to conduct an experiment this time or if they simply want Laplace Klein Howard’s human alchemy and Space-Time research materials... I wonder if Miss Pawo will come."

"I have some acquaintance with her. Although that woman researches mathematics to the point of madness, she is still a reasonable person. If she does show up, maybe I can persuade her to help us. Their goals might not necessarily conflict with ours."

Megan, who was sitting on a nearby chair, said. However, when she knew Miss Pawo and collaborated with her, she herself was in a somewhat manic phase due to her unusual spirit. Thus, her calling Miss Pawo a "madman," felt rather subtle.

"By the way, did something happen in the city? Half an hour ago, I heard the guests dining on the first floor say that many people went to the Duin River to fish today. It’s raining so heavily now; is this weather suitable for fishing?"

Shard looked out the window again, where Mia lay napping on the windowsill, with the storm-swept city beyond the glass. The rainfall was supposedly going to decrease tonight; otherwise, there was genuine concern about the risk of flooding within the city.

"I know about this; I sent someone to find out in the afternoon."

Siris replied while brushing Miss Benanis’s hair:

"This morning, someone discovered a green gemstone inside a fish’s belly while fishing in the Duin River. Soon after, someone else found gold coins on the riverbank, leading to rumors that the heavy rain washed away the ancient tomb upstream, causing the buried treasure to flow downstream into the city’s river section. Those people you mentioned were trying their luck. I’ve heard quite a few people are planning to go upstream to see if they can find the source of that ’treasure.’

"And in reality?"

Shard asked again, dubious about how the cat on the windowsill could sleep through such loud rain.

"Probably a spatial connection caused some treasure to fall into the river."

Audrey said; they didn’t care about it:

"It’s just some normal valuables. If something really happens, the church will manage it. Oh, when I went upstairs earlier, Helen asked me to tell you that yesterday you arranged for that stray child John to temporarily stay in the back kitchen; he and his dog left again with an umbrella today, saying this weather was perfect for scavenging."

"A stray child?"

Miss Benanis hadn’t heard about this, so Shard explained about the garbage boy living in the back alley and his little dog:

"I’m thinking that once the Green Lake matter is resolved, I’ll arrange for him to be adopted by the Green Lake Orphanage; Lecia can help. Or I could arrange for him to receive aid at the church, where he could join the choir. If he performs well and is devout when he grows up, he might become a local priest; or if he wishes, he can choose his own path in life, and Iluna can help with that."

"I didn’t expect you to be interested in such things... Let him stay at the Green Lake Hotel to help out; it includes room and board. Soren and Helena receive donations from Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals every year to maintain the hotel’s operation, so letting them assist is fine, especially since they’re short-handed here. Since the child is familiar with the environment here, there’s no need to send him elsewhere."

Audrey said casually and then noticed Miss Benanis looking at her in surprise:

"You’ve really changed a lot."

"What did you think of me in the past?"

"Well... it’s better not to say."

"That’s all in the past. Let’s focus on the present tasks first. The Prophet’s Society’s divination indicates that recent spatial instability in the Green Lake and surrounding area will trigger bigger problems, hoping it can hold out until Wednesday night. If the battle hasn’t started yet and Green Lake is gone first, that would be ridiculous."

Outside the window, the view belonging to the ’Glass Furnace’ of the City of Glass still lingered on the horizon, and the fine cracks in the cloudy sky persisted even after the moon disappeared and the sun rose.

The agreed meeting time with the cultists was eight o’clock in the evening, so Shard could enjoy dinner peacefully at the hotel. However, after dinner, he did not rest but went together with Miss Sylvia and Luviya to the cruise ship moored at the Green Lake Shore, where they joined Megan who had set out earlier. The Grand Witch wanted to help determine whether the small wooden boat summoned by Shard had the ability to pierce the spatial barrier, which would greatly aid Wednesday’s actions.

The society’s weather divination was quite accurate; the evening rain had significantly reduced. As the carriage moved through the city streets and alleys, the roadside gas lamps lit up one by one. The three people in the carriage discussed the testing plan; besides the three of them, Shard also carried the Butterfly Summoning Flute, which could call Grace and Helen for help if needed.

However, the journey, which should not have encountered any issues, did hit a snag midway. The moving carriage suddenly stopped, and then the girl driving the carriage called to the witch inside:

"Miss, we might take longer to reach the destination."

"What’s happening?"

The three inside the carriage hadn’t noticed anything unusual, and when they opened the carriage’s side window now, they saw the ’Glass Furnace’ standing not far away. This was not an illusion but truly real, and even the surrounding street scenes were from Mikaela Ironworks City.

"Enhanced Spatial Awareness!"

Shard closed his eyes and quickly reached a conclusion:

"We are indeed in the city on the south shore of Green Lake."

"Is this really happening?"

Luviya glanced outside, then tossed a coin to look at the result:

"There’s no other way, we must return north. Now the border is so tense, crossing it might be troublesome."

"No worries, illusion technique can handle it. We probably encountered a short-term, small-scale spatial connection; I’m willing to bet that if the Central Island issue at Green Lake isn’t resolved quickly, traveling will bring even more troublesome situations."

The carriage had to turn around and set off again.

Due to this unexpected event, when they reached Megan’s cruise ship, they were twenty minutes later than planned. If they hadn’t arrived by then, Megan, who arrived early yet never saw anyone, might have called for hotel rescue.

Faced with such incidents, everyone was helpless and could only proceed to test the small boat according to the plan. As for Megan’s cruise ship, it was the Witch Council’s second stronghold in the Green Lake District, convenient for swift relocation if the Green Lake Hotel was lost.

This morning, when witches discussed the plan, there was also mention of placing some Edwards on the cruise ship on Wednesday night, forming two battlefields to separate the enemy. However, the specifics haven’t been agreed upon yet; just that there’s enough manpower this time, even if divided, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

The cruise ship sailed into Green Lake, under moonlight, Shard’s bone powder fell into the water at the deck’s edge. With bubbling sounds, the wet small boat emerged from beneath the water beside the cruise ship, with splashes hitting the ship’s body.

The small wooden boat’s deck still carried a layer of water, as if this ship had long been waiting here for Shard as its owner.

The first test was whether the boat could still be used without Shard present.

This test was simple, the first part was for Shard to continually move away, testing whether the boat could still exist, and the second part was for the witches and Luviya to each board the small boat, testing whether it could be operated.