The room temperature seemed to have dropped by a few degrees when the short and bald man said what he said. Lady Vyn’s eyes narrowed and her hand holding her shot glass froze in midair：“How did you know?”

“I have walked this earth much longer than you, and I have heard of the deep secret hidden deep inside the Hellinger Castle.” the short and bald man shook his head and said: “Though I am not sure why and how so much about this place has been so well hidden, but I HAVE heard things. ”

“And? What do you know?” Lady Vyn asked: “What do you presume I want?”

“Oh, I don’t dare assume what you want. ” the short bald man took a look at his fellow agents - who looked both curious and confused at the same time: “But I think - being a High Broker of the Exalted Bondsmen, you must have access to information that we normal actors could only dream of. So this stone, being as powerful and heavily guarded as it is - I can’t imagine that you do not have an idea of what it could do.”

“Blaven, Clarcy, can you give us a minute?” Lady Vyn put down her shot glass and said to the other two agents: “And yes, feel free to take the vase with you.”

The other two agents stood up, the man wearing a facemask tried to grab the vase, but he found that the female agent had already had it in her hand. And following the lead of the young woman who was almost always by Lady Vyn’s side, they went out of the room and closed the door.

“Now, Master Unnamed, give me a reason not to reprimand you for prying into my secret.” Lady Vyn said in a clear and calm voice.

“How about the fact that I have uncomparable knowledge on how to use this stone, and how to use it effectively.” the short and bald man moved his neck and shoulders and he grew by a few inches: “Now, also to warn you, there are more than a handful of people in this world that know about the secrets buried in the Hellinger Castle. The moment your goal of finding that codex was exposed, people will try to beat you to it. I don’t think I need to remind you who that might be, and I am lucky to have come into contact with someone who once worked for your enemies.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Quite convincing. What else?” Lady Vyn asked: “And I don’t suppose you had an encounter with the two-faced witch Summers herself?”

“No, but someone from her organization that was once stationed in the Grant Academy.” Master Unnamed smiled: “Oh, the things they knew about, you’d better be quick, or they’ll find it and try to take what is rightfully yours. I don’t think you have much defense around it, do you?”

“... no.” Lady Vyn sighed: “Thank you, I really appreciate it if you’ll keep this between us.”

“No problem, what are long time partners for?” Master Unnamed was no longer in his short bald man shape, now he was a tall, muscular man with three eyes - with an additional eye up on his forehead which was currently closed.

“Now, I want to find the actual codex, now.” Lady Vyn finished all the concentrated medicinal wine in her shot glass: “You said you know where it could be. Now, I want you to check the place out, find it out, by any means necessary.”

“Okay. But you’d need an emergency plan, just in case we couldn’t find it.” Master Unnamed nodded.

“Why? You’re not confident you will get it?”

“All I am saying is that there’s more than just us and the other High Brokers in this race.” Master Unnamed shook his head: “You’ll have to excuse me, for the memory I ingested about this information is very fuzzy and scrambled - that poor guy must be scared shitless by it. But we have a very powerful player out there, if we’re not careful he might play against us.”

“Who is this player?” Lady Vyn asked: “And what kind of power level are we talking about?”

“Unknown.” Master Unnamed said: “But he almost took down Timothy Durbin - if not for the mortality scapegoat Timothy Durbin had, he would be completely dead, and we’d be off a major pain in the ass.”

“That’s powerful, but doesn’t sound totally worrisome.” Lady Vyn said: “With careful preparation and some setup, many could have done that. I could do it, mortality scapegoats or not.”

“That player fought him face to face, when Timothy’s fully charged in his power, and with only one blow.”

“Okay, then gather as much information about him as possible before you act. Be careful. But do be fast.”

“Understood, I will take my team immediately. ”

“Four days.” Lady Vyn said: “You have four days. With or without the codex, we will depart and venture into my family castle. Brute forcing the riddle would be sub-optimal, but I am still a Hellinger - if anyone can solve it, it’s gonna be me.”