Part 1 The Joker Chapter 43 The Search
Looking at Klein, Leonard nodded with a smile in his blue eyes:
”Then what do you need from them?”
He and the old Neil and other people have worked together many times, naturally understand that divination needs a medium, especially if the “main character” is not present.
Klein thought for a moment and looked at his butler, Carvingley, and said:
”I need clothes that Elliot has recently worn that haven’t been pulped, and it would be nice to have jewelry that he used to wear with him.”
He tried his best to pick normal mediums, not the kind of things that would cause a normal person to think blindly.
But even then, the old butler, Carvery, looked puzzled:
”Why?”
After asking, he added:
”I have a picture of young master Elliot Jr. with me.”
Why? Because we are going to find his whereabouts through divination …… Klein was momentarily at a loss as to how to answer.
If he said it truthfully, without mentioning whether or not it would violate the confidentiality clause, the old butler, Carvingley, would more than likely also turn his head and just tear up the contract, and cursed in his heart, “These liars! If this is going to work, I might as well go to the most famous psychic in Ahova County!”
Leonard Mitchell, who was next to him, laughed out softly:
”Mr. Carvingley, my companion, well, colleague, has a peculiar pet that has a better sense of smell than a bloodhound, so we’ll need clothing worn by young Elliot and items he used to carry with him to help in the hunt, and as you know, the clues tend to lock in on only a general area.”
”As for the picture, we need that just as much, he and I have to know what little Elliot looked like.”
The old butler, Carvery, accepted this explanation and nodded slowly:
”Will you wait here, or will you go with me to Mr. Vickroll’s residence in the city?”
”Go there together and save time.” Klein replied succinctly.
He wanted to try out his own skills as an extraordinary person, but also had the simple sentiment of saving others.
”Okay, the carriage is downstairs.” The old butler, Carvingley, said as he took out a black and white photo from his pocket and handed it to Leonard.
It was a single photo of Elliot Vickroll, he was around ten years old, his hair was slightly long and nearly covered his eyes, his face had obvious freckles, and his looks were not too distinctive.
Leonard glanced at it and handed it to Klein in passing.
Klein took a closer look and pocketed the photo, then grabbed his cane, put on his hat, and followed the two men in front of him as they left Blackthorn Security and entered the carriage parked downstairs.
The interior of this carriage was quite spacious, with thick carpeting and small tables for arranging items.
Because of the presence of the old butler, Carvingley, neither Klein nor Leonard spoke, quietly feeling the carriage move smoothly on the waterlogged road in the diminishing raindrops.
”Nice carriage driver.” After an unknown amount of time, Leonard broke the silence and praised with a smile.
”Uh-huh.” Klein responded perfunctorily.
Old butler Carvery, on the other hand, squeezed out a smile and said:
”Your compliment is his honor, we’re almost there …….”
Because of the fear of being detected by the kidnappers, the carriage did not approach the residence of the tobacconist Vic Rolle, but stopped at a nearby street.
The old butler, Carvery, holding an umbrella, returned alone, and while waiting, Leonard said to himself again to Klein:
”I had no other purpose in surmising the reason for my last speculation than to tell you that the note will certainly reappear, perhaps very soon.”
”That’s really not a pleasant inference to make.” Klein gestured with his chin to the position of the carter outside, signaling that sensitive subjects should not be discussed when others were present.
Leonard whistled and turned his head to look out the window, only to see drops of rain sliding across the glass, leaving a hazy imprint that made the world outside a complete blur.
After a while, Carvedley returned with a bag of stuff, his pant legs covered in mud and water from walking so fast, and many wet marks on his front.
”These are the clothes young Master Elliot wore yesterday, and this is the storm amulet he wore earlier.”
Klein took it and glanced at it, noticing that it was a scaled-down version of a gentleman’s formal attire, with a small shirt, a small vest, a small bow tie, and so on and so forth.
And the storm amulet, with its bronze base and engraved symbols symbolizing howling winds and waves, did not touch Klein’s inspiration.
”I will now tell you the details of the kidnapping of young master Elliot, so that you can easily target ……” The old butler, Carvery, sat down and repeated the nightmare experience of the morning, hoping that the help that he had so easily found would be of some use.
Klein and Leonard were uninterested in the specifics of what had happened, only caring about how many kidnappers there were, whether or not they behaved in an unusual manner, and whether or not they were armed.
”Three,” “normal,” and “armed.”…… After getting the desired information, they bid farewell to the old butler, Carvery , and hired a two-wheeled light carriage in the neighborhood.
Unlike the public carriages, this hire had four wheels, and two, and could be made by the kilometer, or charged according to the time; the former was fourpence for a kilometer within the city, and eightpence for a kilometer in the suburbs; the latter was two soules for an hour, and for less than an hour, it was reckoned as an hour, and for more than an hour, sixpence was added for every fifteen minutes, and for less than fifteen, it was charged according to the fifteen minutes, and in case of inclement weather, or in case of need of accelerated speed in emergencies, the price will also go up.
Crane had heard from Instructor Azic that in the capital city of Birkeland the cabmen were famous for their haphazard asking prices.
As far as he was concerned, it was quite a luxury to enjoy, but he didn’t have to worry about it at the moment, as Leonard threw the coachman two 1-sul bills directly.
”By the hour.” After Leonard ordered, he closed the carriage door.
”Where are you going?” The carriage driver, who was holding the two bills, asked with delight and bewilderment.
”Just a moment.” Leonard turned his gaze to Klein.
With a slight nod, Klein pulled out Elliot’s clothes and spread them out on the floor of the wagon before wrapping the storm amulet around the end of his own cane staff.
He gripped the silver-encrusted black cane and set it straight on top of Elliot’s clothes.
A “ball of light” coalesced in his mind, and Klein’s mood soared to tranquility, the brown color of his eyes darkening as he entered a semi-meditative state.
He only felt that the “spirit” of his body showed signs of becoming lighter and floating, and vaguely saw the omnipresent “spirit world”, and silently recited “Elliot’s location” in his heart.
After seven times, his hand left the black cane, which surprisingly did not fall, but remained upright, even if the carriage swayed slightly!
There was a subtle and invisible movement around him, and it was as if Crane felt the gaze of a pair of indifferent eyes.
During this period of time, he would occasionally experience similar feelings in his meditations and in his state of psychic vision.
With these slight creepiness, he gazed at the cane with his deep black eyes and chanted once again in his mind:
”Elliot’s location.”
No sooner had he finished his silent recitation than the silver-encrusted, wooden, black cane collapsed and fell over, right in front of him.
”Straight ahead.” Klein spoke in a low voice as he gripped the cane.
His voice was slightly ethereal and seemed to penetrate into the unknown.
This was one of the divination abilities he had mastered, which was called “Divination Cane Seeking”, and the props had to be wood, metal, or a mixture of both.
Normally, this would require the use of two real divining rods – similar in shape to a piece of unbent wire broken at right angles, and then holding the shorter side and rotating it to determine the direction, but as a “soothsayer”, Klein had practiced and realized that he could use this kind of search method directly to find people. But as a “soothsayer”, Klein had practiced and realized that he could use this method of searching directly to find people, or he could use a cane instead of a divining rod, and the direction in which it poured would be the direction of the thing to be searched for.
As for the notes of the Antigonus family, since Klein couldn’t remember what it looked like at all and didn’t have the slightest impression of it, he couldn’t look for it.
”Straight ahead.” Leonard instructed the coachman in a loud voice, “You’ll be told when it’s time to turn.”
The coachman didn’t understand why this was necessary at all, but the banknotes in his inside pocket and the image of the other man giving money without hesitation kept him from opening his mouth and choosing to accept.
The carriage traveled slowly, going through street after street.
On the way, Klein used his “divining rod” several times to correct the direction.
After the carriage circled around a building, he finally confirmed that Elliot was inside, just thirty minutes after he had bid farewell to the old housekeeper, Carvery.
Sending the coachman away, Klein didn’t use Elliot’s clothes again, and simply mortared the cane wrapped around the storm amulet on the ground.
His eyes darkened once more as the few raindrops around him suddenly swirled in place.
The cane fell back to a diagonal, and Klein pointed to a stairway:
”There.”
”There were times when I envied old Neil, and likewise, I envy you now.” Watching the scene, Leonard sighed with a smile.
Klein glanced at him and replied in a flat tone:
”This is not difficult, you can definitely learn it as long as you are willing …… Your inspiration should be very high, right?”
Leonard nodded his head and laughed lightly:
”That’s not good.”
He quickened his pace and stepped into that stairway in what was only the tail end of the rain.
Klein, afraid of drenching his formal attire, almost jogged to follow.
The building had only three floors, similar to a flat building on Earth, and there were only two houses at each staircase of each entrance, and Klein used the “Divining Cane” once on the first floor and once again on the second floor, and the canes were steady, pointing straight up.
The two men relaxed their footsteps, arrived at the third floor, Klein will be the silver black cane lightly on the ground.
Whoosh!
A breeze blew across the stairs and his eyes changed color, so deep and black that they seemed to suck the soul out of people.
Wooooooo!
Invisible cries seemed to resonate around them.
Klein’s grip loosened, and the cane with the storm amulet wrapped around it magically stood.
Murmuring “Elliot’s location” one more time, he watched his black cane fall, landing soundlessly and pointing to the room to his right.
”It should be in there.” Klein tapped his brow twice as he picked up the cane.
As the various “colors” deepened, he looked to the door of the room on the right and saw the various “auras” directly inside.
”One, two, three, four …… three kidnappers plus one hostage, the number matches …… one of them has a short aura, it should be Elliot …… Mr. Carvingley said that they have two shotguns and a revolver …… “Klein whispered.
Leonard chuckled:
”Let me chant a verse for them.”
”Why be a kidnapper, can’t you be pleasantly civilized?”
He put down the bag containing Elliot’s clothes and took two steps forward, his expression instantly becoming serene and sad.
The magnetic low voice slowly swung out:
”Ah, the threat of fear, the hope of scarlet!
At least one thing is true: this life flies by.
One thing is true, the rest are lies.
The flower blooms once and then will pass away with the world ……”