"Viscountess Burns, I have confirmed that the antidote is indeed real. I have also tested the contents of both the antidotes. They are the same solution and I believe it is fine for the lord to take it. The rabbit displayed no odd signs except for some weakness. But, that is probably just temporary." Grit reported in a serious voice. He had stayed up the whole night observing the rabbit's condition. After ensuring that everything was fine, he had moved onto studying the antidote.

"You have worked hard, master Grit. Please administer the antidote. After ensuring that the lord's condition has gotten better, you may get some rest." The viscountess spoke in a tone that commanded authority and power.

I hope Theo wakes up soon. The mess is getting bigger and bigger. I just received news last night that the poisoning has been made public in almost all of the affected lord's lands. The peasants seem to be getting riled up by an unknown organization as well. The situation is looking bad. I would have liked to order the knights to make an example out of few troublemakers to stabilize the situation, but the knights won't make such a move without the lord's personal orders. This is worrisome....... my head hurts. I hope you wake up soon. I feel like I can't handle it anymore.

The apothecary administered the antidote in a practiced manner and waited patiently by the side. The viscountess and her son, Brenden also stood still with anticipation and nervousness. Soon, the complexion of the unconscious lord turned a little better. Color gradually came to his deathly pale face and his breathing sounded a lot more relaxed. And with it, came the collective sighs of reliefs from the people in the room.

*************************

"I heard Viscount Burns woke up. Is it true?" Casper asked as he took small sips from his cup.

Listening to the curious tone of his companion, Zach gave a wry smile. He too had only received the news and didn't know much. Sitting down on an empty chair, he replied, "It's true. Uncle Brenden went to buy the antidote from the villains last night it seems."

Vincent quietly listened to them speaking. The only connection he had over here were the occupants of the room and the only news he ever received was from them. Nathan took a bite out of a pastry and added in. "The guy who completed the transaction was apparently a silver ranked warrior. The observers sent by my family confirmed that he was alone. The troublesome part is that he had two very difficult to deal with magic gears. One in particular, allowed him to erase all traces of his presence. Viscount Duddet's guard who is a very capable tracker, failed to find even a tiny clue."

"That is a very troublesome magic gear. Seems like the guy indeed has some backings." Casper wasn't much of a thinker, but he could make out the small details.

"Indeed, or else he is a very rich guy. Magic gears of such complexity are rarely made in Esterin. The few magic gear crafters that work here, their crafts are easy to trace. I don't think the villain would be dumb enough to use one that's made here. In addition to his crafty ways and resourcefulness, his archery is indeed excellent. He is said to have shot an arrow from 300 yards away and it hit near uncle Brenden accurately. Now that is already a skilled feat, but what's even more impressive is that the arrow had a pouch tied to its end which contained the antidotes. Such an addition greatly alters the arrow's flight path, but he still hit the target." Zach proved that he was indeed the guy with the most resources in the group even after being removed from the position of heir.

"That's really impressive archery. It would be a nightmare being on the sights of such a sharpshooter." Casper had been training in archery since he was twelve and was fairly skilled in it. But even he had to admit that such a feat was impossible for the current him. "This feels disgusting. It feels like this Robin Hood stole our thunder. Forget about attracting investors and talented youths. As things stand, we won't be able to get anything out of this situation. What rotten luck."

Vincent had to agree. The situation had gotten so grim that the risk they had taken to hunt the scarlet bear not paid off at all. "So, what do we do? Looking at the state of things right now, it will be hard for you guys to arrange for even half of what we had planned. Will we be able to see the creation of the mercenary band through?"

Nathan fell deep in thought. Things already didn't look well for him previously, but now it would be even tougher for him. The peasants had been getting riled up lately and it would be difficult to recruit them for cheap. Adding the unstable situation on top of that, his father might not permit him to recruit anyone at all. "Yes, we will be able to see it through. We have to. This is but a small obstacle. We will definitely overcome it."

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Nathan sounded agitated as he spoke. Vincent could not understand why Nathan wanted the mercenary band to be formed so badly. He could feel the determination in the youth's voice. But in the end, the situation didn't seem favorable no matter how he looked at it. "How will we do that? We are being ostracized by almost everyone. Most of them think we are in cahoots with this Robin Hood. With how things are, we probably won't even be able to recruit any people, getting talented youths to join us like we had planned..... now that is even more of a pipe dream."

"Isn't that exactly why we need to persevere? If we can do this, then we will be able to take on whatever comes our way."

"Do you have anything in your mind? If you don't, then we might as well go our separate ways. After all, we would only be wasting our time."

Zach grew upset as he listened. Everything that Vincent said true and he could not refute it no matter how much of a glib tongue he had. The room was getting colder and the situation didn't look good.

This isn't good. At this rate, even the four of us might really split up. Vincent is being too cold and Nathan is clearly not in his best state of mind. Casper is straightforward but not stupid, he might think that this venture will end in failure if this continues. Think..... I have to fix this right now.

Zach felt his head hurting as he continued racking his brain. One solution after another flashed across his mind but he threw them all aside as none of them seemed to be feasible. Suddenly, a bright idea popped into his head and he smiled. "Gentlemen. You guys seem to have not noticed the opportunity before us."

Nathan was delighted to hear this. It didn't matter what it was that Zach would suggest. As long as it, helped them out of their situation, he would take it. "What is it Zach?"

Putting his index finger up and acting dramatically, Zach answered in an exaggerated fashion. "When a door closes, another is unlocked. Since it is this Robin hood that closed the door we had prepared for, he has also opened another one for us. If everyone is doubting us because they think that we are in cahoots with him, all we need to do is go against him."

"So, you are saying that we should catch Robin Hood? We have no information on him. How will we do that?" Casper finally asked after remaining silent for so long.

"He will come to sell the antidote. The lord's family members are hurriedly buying the antidote after Viscount Burns woke up. All we have to do is follow the seller after he completes the transaction." Zach sounded confident.

Vincent on the other hand, wasn't convinced. "Ignoring that the seller has the strength of a tier four warrior, he has already displayed his excellent archery skills. I have no doubt that he will see us coming miles before we spot him. And we have to consider the fact that Robin Hood has leverage over all the lords who are still poisoned."

"No, no... he still has leverage. That is true. But for how long? His leverage will be useless once the antidotes are all sold. We just have to take action after the final transaction." Despite the continuous pessimistic attitude of Vincent, Zach was still all smiles. Once the idea had clicked in is brain, he had it all mapped out. He understood that Vincent was very pragmatic and he was only acting worked up to test the group. As long as he could show that his plan was doable, Vincent would be on board with him.

"How do we catch him? Even Viscount Duddet's guard, the experienced hunter fell short. None of us have any means to track him, taking him down will be another matter altogether."

"Let's think about why he was able to escape without leaving any traces. The answer is fairly simple, it was because he came prepared. On top of that, we had no idea what cards he had up his sleeves. But now, we know that he has a magic gear that helps him conceal his tracks. As long as we pin him down, taking him out won't be too hard. After all, it doesn't matter how tough a silver ranked warrior is, he can't be tougher than a scarlet bear and we are up against a single person."

"But we cannot be certain that he will be alone on the day we take action. In fact, I am more inclined to assume that he will have help. Since we can deduce that his leverage ends the moment the final transaction is complete, the culprit should be even more aware of this fact."

"That is true. I have no doubt that he will have help. But my dear Vincent, you have failed to take into consideration one important fact. The lords are aware of the fact that the leverage ends when the final transaction takes place. Which means that they will take action at that moment as well. The lords don't like being robbed and will retaliate for sure. I refuse to believe that this Robin Hood has more men than all of the lords combined. We just need to be careful. Think of this as fishing in troubled waters."

Vincent was impressed. Zach had managed to think through all of this. He went through everything in his mind once again and couldn't find any loopholes or flaws. All that remained now, was to prepare a foolproof plan. "Alright, I am impressed. This does indeed look like a golden opportunity. Count me in."

Nathan secretly let out a sigh of relief and put on a bright smile, "Now that is the Vincent I know. Let's make sure we pull this off flawlessly. Who knows, we might gain a lot more than we had expected from the banquet originally."

"Such a fun undertaking. How can I not take part in it. Count me in." Casper joined in with an excited voice as well. Zach looked at the trio and raised his glass filled with fruit juice, "To us!"

"To us!"

"To us!"

"To us!"

The rest of them raised their glasses and cheered for themselves.