Part 1 The Clown Chapter 64 The Abettor
After instructing Susie, the big golden-haired dog, Audrey paced back and forth a few times, as if she were not yet sufficiently reassured, for she was not sure that strange things would not occur in the ceremonial magic of the day.
”Here’s the deal ……” Her eyes turned quiet and she scrutinized the forethought process with an onlooker’s attitude and quickly came up with a new arrangement.
Audrey unlocked the bedroom door and addressed the big golden-haired dog:
”Susie, crouch down here, and if Annie and the girls try to force their way in, go to the bathroom immediately and let me know.”
Just in case of some accidents, her personal maid possessed the key that could unlock the door.
Susie gave her a furtive look and wagged her tail three times.
”Very well, I will leave you to pick your lunch for the day!” Audrey clenched her fist and shook it gently.
When she finished her instructions, she entered the bathroom and saw that the square bathtub, which was three or four meters in length and width, was already slightly swirling with fresh water, and the white air was filled with a phantom mist.
Audrey cleared away a rectangular table that had been filled with bottles and jars, then returned to the outer room and brought in the candles, offerings, and white robes.
Following closely, she closed the bathroom door.
With that done, Audrey breathed a sigh of relief and picked up a palm-sized light blue translucent bottle from beside the four candles.
The bottle, cylindrical in shape and shimmering dreamily in the light, contained the very same ritual oils she had distilled and extracted yesterday – as an occult enthusiast, she hadn’t done much research into similar things, and had a number of her own purées, floral essences, balms, oils, and incense in her home, so she was soon ready to do as described by the Fool Prep.
”Moonflower, golden mint, deep sleep flower, golden handshake and rock rose …… Strange recipe ……” Audrey muttered under her breath, “Well, ritual magic It all has to be preceded by cleansing the body and quieting the mind, it’s a way of honoring the deity, well, the object of the prayer.”
Recalling the process, she placed the ritual oils on the edge of the tub and reached down to undo her light, homey clothing.
One piece of silk fabric floated down into the changing basket, and Audrey coiled her long hair, first testing the temperature of the water with her hands, then stepping in cautiously on tiptoe, sinking her body into the warm embrace.
”Hoo……” she exhaled comfortably, only to feel her body warm and unusually relaxed.
It was so true that she didn’t even want to move a finger. …… Audrey forced herself to compose herself, grabbing the light blue translucent vial next to her and dropping a few drops of the ritual essential oil into the water.
A fragrance dispersed outwardly, a dark warmth in the serenity, Audrey inhaled a few mouthfuls and nodded her head in satisfaction.
”Nice, that smells good.”
”It’s so relaxing, so cozy ……”
”Don’t want to move at all, I wish I could just lie down quietly like this ……”
”Peace and quiet, peace and quiet …… quiet …… quiet …… quiet ……”
I do not know how long, Audrey suddenly heard woof woof woof dog barking.
She opened her eyes with a start and looked around in confusion, realizing that Susie had opened the door at some point and was crouched outside the bathtub, her eyes rather helpless.
Rubbing the corners of her eyes, Audrey felt the temperature of the water drop considerably.
”I… I fell asleep?” She asked subconsciously.
Suzie looked at her without woofing or wagging her tail.
”Haha, that Ritual Essential Oil worked so, well, so well!” Audrey explained in a cheerful tone with two dry laughs.
She stood up, fetched a bath towel, and wrapped and wiped her body as she spoke to the big golden-haired dog:
”Susie, stay on guard and keep Annie and the girls out!”
Waiting for the big blonde dog to leave, she quietly spat out her tongue, dropped the bath towel, and slipped right into the clean white robe.
Closing the bathroom door behind her, Audrey carefully went back over the ritual she had recorded.
She picked up the four candles and placed them in each of the four corners of the table.
”Top left white bread, top right Feneport pasta, smells so good, it’s just a little cold …… No, it’s not the time to think about these things! Paella bottom left, Dixie pie bottom right ……” Audrey carefully set up the altar as described by the Fool, shaking her head twice in the meantime.
Making her preparations, she lit the four candles in turn, picked up the silver knife, and inserted it within the stack of coarse salt.
After reciting the sanctification incantation in Hermetic, Audrey raised the ornately patterned knife and placed it into the cup containing the water.
Gathering up her spirit, she drew the silver “holy blade” and meditated on the spirit spreading and erupting from the tip of the blade.
As the invisible power poured out, Audrey took the knife and circled the altar, realizing that a spiritual wall had indeed been erected around her, keeping out all impurities, all distractions.
She maintained her “spectator” status, not letting the excitement and joy in her heart interfere with the ceremony.
Putting down the silver knife, she picked up the light blue crystal vials and put a drop into each candle.
Zip!
The light aroma filled the air one after another, and Audrey’s body, mind, and spirit seemed to gain quietness.
She took a secret breath, bowed her head reverently, and chanted the formal incantation in Hermetic:
”O fool not of this age;”
”Thou art the mysterious lord above the gray mist;”
”You are the yellow and black king who reigns over good fortune.”
”I pray for your help.”
”I pray for Your favor.”
”I pray that You will let me have a good dream.”
”O Deep Sleeping Flower, herb belonging to the Red Moon, impart power to my spell.”
”O golden handkerchief, herb belonging to the sun, impart strength to my mantra.”
……
Audrey had just finished chanting the mantra, intending to meditate on the prayer, when she felt the wind whipping within the sealed walls of spirituality, and saw the crimson stars streaming from the back of her hand.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she busied herself with half-closing her eyes, meditating on the outline and the sincere request.
When it was all over, she looked around slightly puzzled, not noticing any other oddities.
”That will do?” Audrey whispered with a slight frown.
……
”The yellow and black king who reigns over good fortune …… The fool who does not belong to this age …… The Phantom Blue Avenger’s Inside the captain’s room, Alger Wilson, dressed in storm robes, silently mumbled the three descriptions he had heard in the afternoon, as if trying to find clues to the other party’s identity in them.
He shook his head and got up, slightly annoyed, but in the end did nothing.
Regarding the “Blue Avenger”, an ancient ship inherited from the Tudor Dynasty, Alger was not too assured, although he had already mastered its control, there was always an intuition that told him that this ship was still hiding a lot of secrets, just like the Blood Emperor.
Therefore, he would use the ship to test the Fool’s abilities, but would not attempt unknown ritual magic on board.
Alger pondered for a few minutes and left the captain’s cabin, coming out onto the deck and addressing the scant few crew members:
”We are about to arrive at the Rothschild Islands and will stay there for a day.”
The crew cheered at once, shouting:
”Thank you, Lord Bishop!”
Because the ghost ships didn’t need sailors and had very few crew members, they never worried about supplies and enjoyed preserved food and fresh water every day, but the day-to-day sailing and the scenery that hardly ever changed still made their bodies and minds feel tired, as if they were always suppressing something and enduring something until they could no longer control it.
And the Rothschild Archipelago was a famous colonization point on the Sunian Sea, with a well-developed commerce and all sorts of trades.
”I simply don’t want to wait!” One of the “sailors” shrugged his waist and gave a manly chuckle.
……
On the public carriage going to Zotland Street, Klein, who was leisurely reading the newspaper, was suddenly struck dumb, and seemed to hear a disembodied shout.
The disembodied whisper echoed within his mind, causing his forehead to jump and throb uncontrollably.
The inaudible content of the call came and went quickly, disappearing without a trace in just ten seconds or so of work, and Klein pinched his forehead against the throbbing pain that was like a throbbing pain from the depths of his brain.
”The inexplicable presence whispers old Neil was talking about? The cause of too much inspiration?” One thought flashed, and Klein suddenly saw four black dots on the back of his right hand that had somehow protruded, they looked like fine moles from birth and were very inconspicuous.
These four black dots originating from the transit ceremony quickly settled, turning from dark to light and disappearing.
Klein stared at it in bewilderment, making one more guess about what had just happened:
”‘Justice’ or ‘Inverted Hanged Man’ tried the ritual magic I gave?”
”Was I really right in my thinking?”
”Those three descriptions do pinpoint me through the mysterious space above the gray mist?”
”But I am nowhere near powerful enough to hear the prayers …… I wonder if any messages ‘remain’ above the gray mist …… ”
”Well, enter tonight and make sure.”
Klein was a little apprehensive and a little excited, and was busy putting up his newspaper and covering his face so that no one else could see the change in his expression.
Soon, he arrived at Zotland Street and entered Blackthorn Security.
Before he could greet Roxanne, Klein saw Captain Dunn Smith come out, holding a paper equipped with a portrait.
”You should also take a look at this internal wanted notice, a very vicious and cruel Extraordinary has entered Tingen.” Dunn, dressed in a black trench coat and without a hat, swept this way and handed the sheet of paper over in his hand.
Crane took it, and the first thing that caught his eye was the sketched portrait.
The owner of the portrait has a round face, the temperament of affinity with a little shy, the age is not too much, it is only eighteen or nineteen years old.
”Tris, suspected Extraordinary One, preliminary assessment as Sequence 8 ‘Instigator’, possibility from the ‘Spirit Knowledge Society’ cannot be ruled out, creator of the Clover tragedy . …Eyewitnesses attest that he left Enmat Harbor and came to Tingen, his current whereabouts are unknown ……”
Tris …… The Clover …… Surprisingly, the Extraordinary One committed the crime? Crane remembered with a start the interpretation of his dream yesterday afternoon, recalled Joyce Myer’s description, and said at once:
”Captain, I know a client who could be quite an important witness.”
”I know, Joyce Maier well, I was asked by the ‘Mechanical Heart’ squad to help out last night, saw you in Joyce’s dream, and also confirmed from many details that Tris single-handedly created the Clover fiasco.” Dunn’s gray eyes were impassive, and he laughed softly.
What a bore, Captain …… Luckily, I was off yesterday, not playing “soothsayer” during the workday …… Crane said with a grimace, and a feeling of almost being caught groping by his top lieutenant. The fear of being caught in the act by his boss.
He turned to the question:
”Which sequence path is the instigator from? And what organization is the Spiritual Knowledge Society?”
Was abetting people to kill each other Tris’s way of eliminating the potion’s hidden dangers, or was it a promotion?
Dunn thought for a few seconds and said:
”It just so happens that it’s about time you were exposed to information about extraordinary people and hidden organizations, and not always being directed by old Neil to read historical documents.”
Captain, isn’t the reason you recruited me here that you wanted a “history expert”? Klein didn’t dare to point out the problem and nodded seriously:
”Okay.”