With a heavy heart and trembling limbs, Daniel trudged towards the looming mansion, the aftermath of his devastating encounter with the Molten Marauder lingering like a phantom in his consciousness. The stark confrontation had left him raw, his spirit flickering like a candle in the storm.

Inside awaited his disciples, loyal and unsuspecting, their faith in him a burden now heavier than ever. They were oblivious to the dark revelation and the shadows it cast on their collective future. Daniel grappled with the immense task ahead, his mind a whirlwind of desperate strategies.

Every step toward the mansion felt like a step into a vortex of misery. Daniel thought he had to lie and shield them from the horrifying truth. While his heart screamed for honesty, the harsh reality of their situation demanded otherwise. He was entangled in a web of his own creation and felt the pressure to untangle it himself.

As he approached the threshold of the mansion, his mind raced, desperately weaving a tapestry of plausible untruths. With a heavy sigh, he steeled himself for the daunting task ahead. Would honesty triumph, or would the game of deception begin? Daniel thought. The stakes were higher than ever.

Returning to the dining room, everyone stared at him with wide grins and big eyes.

Elliot, Patrick, Mandy, Richmond, Elijah, Jonathan, and Hawthorne all waited with bated breath.

They all thought they would be rich from that moment on, just as Daniel promised.

"Well? How did it go?" Patrick asked.

Daniel kept trying to start a sentence in different ways, but he remained silent for too long.

"You didn't get anything, did you?" Elijah said.

A few people at the table glared at Elijah and then returned focus to their leader.

"Maybe something went wrong," Elliot defended. "Just give him a moment to talk."

Daniel shook his head. "For the first time ever, I debated lying to you all because I know that the news I have will disappoint you to an unfathomable level. But I can't. I have to tell you the truth because I can't think of a lie that would be clever enough to ease the pain and still convince all of you that everything will be all right. So with that said, we didn't get the money. The Marauder was run out of campus by a mythological orb owned by Wendell Pine and a boy that apparently..." Daniel clenched his hand into a tight fist. Energy surged through his veins, pooling into his grasp as he charged an iox bolt. His hand pulsated with the contained power, a glaring beacon against the dim surroundings.

Without a moment's hesitation, he thrust his fist forward. The air around his hand rippled with the unleashed energy, the bolt bursting forth in a bright surge that roared like a tempest. It collided with the wall next to him, the impact releasing a shockwave that echoed through the room. Dust and smoke kicked up immediately.

"Apparently! Some kid on campus has the blood of the dragon tamer, and the Marauder could sense it!"

Everyone was silent. Daniel never showed such rage.

"I think you're lying," Elijah said.

Daniel sneered. "I understand why you would think that, but if you'd like to speak to the Molten Marauder yourself, he's sleeping in the lake behind the house. Feel free to shoot an iox bolt and summon him. I understand every reason why you would want to ask him yourself, but I'm being completely candid. He didn't get the job done. We were ill-prepared."

No one said a word, they let Daniel's words marinate.

"So what's the backup plan then?" Elijah asked.

"There was no backup plan." Daniel rubbed his forehead. "I was so certain that this one would be pulled off, and yet I feel like we have hit a setback, and it will take some time to recover."

"But didn't you have a grander plan than this?" Elijah said.

"I did. I still do. But I guess I just wasn't prepared for this."

Elijah exhaled and folded his arms.

Patrick rubbed his chin. "Perhaps we can just move on to the next phase? We hit a loss here, but we shouldn't give up."

"I don't know about any of you, but I have to do some thinking," Elijah raised his voice. "I was promised a million dollars. A promise of a million dollars to completely leave my family, study this ability, and leave my well-paying job. I've sacrificed everything, and I'm getting tired of all this!"

Daniel shrugged. "If the money is the issue, I can give you all more money, and I'm happy to do it."

"For me, it's not about the money." Elijah pounded the table. "It's about the broken promise for something that seemed unbelievable initially, but you assured and kept reassuring me, and I trusted you in good faith."

"The more I think about it, the more I want to give you some money for all your hard work. No, your payday won't be a million dollars like I had planned, but you will receive a good amount." Daniel said, holding his hand out defensively.

"And so what then? Do we get to leave this house? Can we rejoin our families?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "I think it would be best to wait a little longer here. I know some of you might be feeling cooped up, and you might be feeling like you're going mad, but remember, the Mage Force is still searching for those responsible for the bank event. All of you would go to prison for a long time if it was found out. Besides, I need to talk with Jonathan for a little while. The two of us need to plan our next move. In the meantime, all of you will be paid to stay here, relax, and train yourselves at your own pace. Trust me, you're not going to find a better setup anywhere else at this time in your life, even Hawthorne. Any questions at all?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Everyone glanced at each other to see if anyone would ask anything.

Silence.

"If you'll excuse us." Daniel beckoned for Jonathan. "We need to start planning immediately. I don't want to waste my time, let alone anyone else's."

Daniel and Jonathan left the room and ascended to his office. Under the broad window, a stately desk presided, bathed in natural light that glinted off a cornucopia of curiosities. Bookshelves stood on all sides, their occupants a vibrant tapestry of multicolored spines.

Amongst the tomes, trinkets of unknown origin battled for space. Sculptures with their silent stories huddled alongside sharp, gleaming oddities.

"I feel like I need a full 24 hours to comprehend everything that happened today. I'm having a hard time believing this news," Jonathan said.

"Don't tell me you think I'm lying!" Daniel snarled.

"No, not at all. I can't believe you would even say that. What I meant was I can't believe our plan didn't go accordingly. I can't believe that Wendell Pine has a mythological orb, and no one knew about it. It's not documented anywhere!"

"Yeah, if anyone should take any blame, it's you. You are the one who's the informant for all things Attleton." Daniel pointed.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. "Just because I'm the Head Counselor doesn't mean I know everything about the staff and their backgrounds."

"Well, you sure like to act as the Attleton expert."

Jonathan folded his arms. "I really don't think that's fair. I don't think anyone on campus knew that Wendell Pine held the Orb of the Gargantuan. I'm just as stunned as you are."

Daniel paced around the office and rubbed his chin. "I suppose I'm getting a little too upset, and my emotions are getting the better of me. Sorry about that. I guess I need some time to process everything that's happening."

"Do you want to talk about this later, then?"

Daniel pondered and shook his head. "No, we should discuss this now."

"Okay. So what are you thinking?" Jonathan leaned against one of the bookshelves.

"Since the Molten Marauder got embarrassed out there, we may as well move to the next phase. Unleashing the other child of the manticore. The Levenothan."

"Okay. Is the mission the same as getting the Molten Marauder?"

"No, that's why I wanted to get the Marauder first. He's arguably the easiest to attain, but the Levenothan will require more effort on our behalf."

"Like what?"

"Well, first, we need to plant a seed. Almost like an iox culture, if you will. And then there's a lot of development from there." Daniel made excited hand motions as he spoke.

"Mmm, I think I follow."

"You wouldn't have to worry about that part of the process. I will take care of that. "

"Okay. My other question is, is the Levenothan located in a similar space? You know, an island with no habitation and an entrance to the chamber in the center?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy. In fact, it's much more difficult and likely to gain a lot of unwanted attention, but we'll just have to make do. Fortunately, no one will be able to investigate it without succumbing to serious issues."

"Uh-huh, I think I still follow. So is it located somewhere?"

"I can show you. Just give me a moment." Daniel went to the largest bookshelf, moved the trinkets, and pulled on some of them. It seemed random and senseless, but after he was done, the center of the bookshelf parted from the middle. It revealed a room with a pedestal and a tome encased in a locked chain. The lock was iridescent, and Daniel pulled out a key matching the same iridescent color. Opening the padlock, he removed the chain and picked up the tome. It was a white book with black pages and white lettering. All of it was written in a language Jonathan didn't understand. Daniel flipped the pages until he found a map illustrated across two pages. He waved Jonathan over.

When Jonathan was a few feet away, Daniel pulled a lever, and the bookcase entrance closed. Daniel showed Jonathan the book.

"Do you recognize this map?" Daniel asked.

Jonathan couldn't tell what he was looking at at first. After 30 seconds of studying, he said, "I do. This is an outdated map."

"You're correct. But now, do you see how this could get complicated?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to help much with this endeavor." Jonathan frowned.

"Like I said a moment ago, I can take care of it. I just want to get over there. The sooner, the better, and start working. Right? Unless you can think of another plan?"

"You said the Molten Marauder lost his armor?"

"It's totally gone. His bare chest is exposed. It's just lava, I'm afraid if he ran into a Glacien or an Aquaso, he might be done for."

Jonathan grimaced. "Unfortunately, that's all I can think of. The Marauder is one incredible tool, and we should focus on that."

Daniel paused. "No, no. We should be focusing on how exciting this is. This was the next phase, anyways. We are moving forward with our plans faster than anticipated, but that's okay, this is good. This is very good. We have some things to figure out, but I trust we will conquer those challenges."

Putting the book away, Daniel and Jonathan returned to the office area, but neither sat down.

"There's another thing we must worry about," Daniel said, gazing out the window.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked.

Daniel turned to Jonathan. "I just wish we had a break or something could go easy for us."

"The bank robbery went well."

"Which is why it would make this decision so hard. But ultimately, I think we need to get rid of Elijah."

Jonathan's eyes widened.

"Come on, don't act so surprised," Daniel muttered. "You see the way he's been talking to me? I mean, even during the training for his iox magic, he was outspoken and constantly questioned things. It's always gotten on my nerves, but it's becoming intolerable now."

"Yeah, Elijah's behavior certainly doesn't bode well for the group's morale. But This is a major decision. And how do we even remove him from the group?"

"Well, I really want to avoid killing him if we can." Daniel clasped his hands and slowly walked in a circle.

"Right. But if we exclude him from the group, he can't get employed anywhere. He only has the iox magic. Perhaps we could repurpose his position? Kind of like what we've done for Mandy?"

"No. I don't want him around anymore. I feel like our group dynamic is much better without him. We all get along well, and we understand we play for the same team. Elijah doesn't get that. He's too independent, and it will cause problems for us down the line if we don't figure out how to take care of this."

"Then we have to find a replacement. You said we always need a 7th person, right?"

"You're right, and that's going to be difficult, but I think we might be able to find someone who will be better suited than Elijah. Perhaps Mandy has turned a corner and can receive the iox magic now."

"I really think we should try and talk to Elijah and figure it out internally before we get rid of him," Jonathan stated.

"We can try, but I don't think he will listen because we've tried in the past. What if we gave him a potion?"

"What kind of potion?" Jonathan squinted.

"Memory manipulation."

Jonathan's jaw dropped. "That's an illegal and brutal potion to get your hands on."

"Jonathan, we've robbed a bank. Getting access to a forbidden potion is hardly a concern for us."

"I know, but still. The more illegal activity, The more likely we will get caught at some point."

"I think it's our best option instead of killing him. Unless you can think of something else?" Daniel asked, his eyes begging for an answer.

Jonathan sighed. "I guess I can't think of anything else. We could offer him something else and promise him not to tell anyone anything, or else he'd have to--"

Daniel shook his head. "No. That would be too much time and effort we cannot afford."

"I don't know where we would acquire a memory manipulation potion. That's quite the rare one, you know."

"Of course, I'm aware. Don't worry, I have my means, and I will take care of it."

"How soon will you take care of it? I assume you'll need to leave the island?"

"I need to leave the island anyway to start the next process. I can probably do it while I'm out and about." Daniel grinned.