Part 2 the faceless man chapter iii the unchanged party
Crane’s first morning in Birkeland began with a light-colored mist, a sky with very little visibility, a cold, damp environment and a cheap tea of 1 pence a liter and two slices of toast sandwiched between bad butter.
He had a busy morning, starting with a visit to the headquarters of the Birkeland Mail, just down the road in the Chorwood area, where he paid £30 for a month’s subscription to a small advertisement.
Beginning on Tuesday, loyal readers of the Birkeland Post would see a small notice on the seventh and eighth pages, where the folds were:
”Sherlock Moriarty, private investigator specializing in a variety of matters, charging reasonable fees and observing strict confidentiality, residing at 15 Minsk Street, Chorwood.”
The reason why Klein did not choose a major newspaper covering the entire kingdom of Ruen, such as the Tassock Gazette, the Birkeland Daily News, etc., was that for the time being his business would be confined only to the city of Birkeland, and he did not wish to become very well known.
Thus, the Birkeland Post, which was quite popular locally and not expensive to advertise, became his first choice.
After leaving the headquarters of the Bakerland Post, Klein, map in hand, purchased different plant powders and silver flakes from each herb store, flower store, jewelry store, and accessory store, and prepared them for the ceremony – the vast majority of the occult materials that did not involve spiritual items could be purchased at ordinary stores. It was just not as centralized, and required many trips to get it all together.
For this reason, Klein used a full five more pounds, and the huge fortune of 200 pounds taken out fell below the 100 mark, leaving him with only 92 pounds.
”Spending money is like running water ……” Klein found a small restaurant nearby and ordered an 8p steak with black pepper sauce, 2.5p mashed potatoes with pork sausage, 1p coffee, and 1p vegetables, as the total was over 1 soule. Another 1 pence was added to get 1 portion of superb bread with butter.
At 1 p.m. he returned to 15 Minsk Street, and, without resting, took the time to make “Holy Night Powder,” the material used in making spiritual walls, from the powdered herbs of deep sleep, dragon’s blood, crimson sandalwood, and peppermint.
–Until he could buy a real ceremonial silver dagger, he could only make do with this.
Klein guessed that he would have to advance to Sequence 7 to get rid of the restrictions in this area.
”Phew, Miss ‘Justice’, Mr. ‘Inverted Man’, and classmate ‘Sun’ haven’t taken their leave yet, so today’s party will be called on time …… I wonder what kind of surprise Mr. ‘Inverted Hangman’ will bring me and how many pages of Roselle’s diary he will be able to provide …… “Klein leaned back on his bedroom bed, rambling about all sorts of things.
Private investigation was for him a career that balanced money and action, which would allow him to meet people from all walks of life, slowly discovering the circle of extraordinary people in Birkeland and gradually finding clues to the Order of the Secret Doctors.
Of course, if he is lucky enough, he can even directly in some extraordinary circle to figure out what the “clown” corresponding to the sequence 7, and buy the corresponding magic potion formula and the main ingredients.
As for the whereabouts of Ince Zangwill, Klein will not take the initiative to look for him for the time being, and may even have to avoid the other party a little bit, but if he can find this enemy by chance without exposing himself, he would not mind doing a good deed and sending an anonymous letter to the Church of the Goddess of the Night.
”The earnings of a private detective can at best sustain a middle-class life, and to have enough money, enough money to buy magical potion formulas and extraordinary materials, one is to look at Ms. ‘Justice’ there, and the other is to make a certain amount of investment, and use the remaining 100 pounds in the anonymous account… …Well, the 92 pounds on my body can’t be touched for the time being, maybe I won’t have any money in my account for a long time …… “Thinking of this, Klein suddenly rolled over and sat up, went to the first floor, and began to read the various newspapers that he had bought in passing earlier.
From time to time, these newspapers would carry news on them, such as so-and-so had invented some item and was seeking investment, such as so-and-so wished to enter into a joint venture with someone to do so-and-so business.
Klein relied on his earthly insights to carefully sift through the items with his knowledge of this era, but unfortunately, none of the guys today were very reliable.
At 2:45 p.m., he returned to his bedroom, unlocked the door, drew the curtains, and created a spiritual wall with the “Holy Night Powder”.
Taking four steps backward into the gray mist, Klein sat in the high-backed chair of the Fool and extended his spirituality to touch the crimson star that symbolizes the “sun” in response to prayers.
It’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed in my radically changed life …… he suddenly exclaimed.
……
Inside a half-collapsed black and gray tower in an area outside of Silver City, nine patrol members were gathered around a bear.
Nine members of the patrol were gathered in front of a roaring fire, chatting idly about their experiences during this time.
There were also several other members guarding the periphery, on guard against any attacks that might suddenly erupt in the darkness.
An unknown number of Silver City’s extraordinary people had taught them through blood:
Never let your guard down, the monsters in the darkness could very well be right behind you!
On nights when the frequency of lightning was low, it was necessary to keep the flames burning and the light shining, and it was not impossible for the entire crew to disappear once they were plunged into complete darkness – no one could say for sure how horrifying things could happen in sheer darkness, as the truth had pushed the boundaries of their imaginations time and time again.
Derek Berg maintained an introspective silence, quietly listening to his companions’ recollections of the monster they had encountered earlier, a humanoid monster with eyes all over its body.
To tackle this monster, their patrol had paid the price of five wounded, two seriously.
Suddenly, Derek was blinded and felt himself surrounded by a thick gray fog.
And in the indescribable distance, in the depths of the gray fog, a blurry figure sat in an ancient high-backed chair, looking down at him in a staring position.
”Prepare for the party.”
The Fool’s voice echoed in Derek’s ears, but none of his teammates around him were aware of it.
Retracting his eyes and surveying his surroundings for a dozen seconds or so, Derek moved to the very edge of the fire, leaning his back against the broken wall and his side to the group, pretending to sleep.
Since he realized that the members of the Council of Six and the Elder Lovia could not detect the existence of Mr. Fool, he gradually believed that as long as he didn’t carelessly expose certain problems, he could quietly go to the Grey Mist even under the sweeping eyes of a group of people. He was able to go to the Tarot party in the gray mist even under the watchful eyes of a group of people.
……
Birkeland, Queens.
Audrey returned to her bedroom, excusing herself as tired.
She restrained herself from pacing back and forth and sat quietly on her bed, waiting for Mr. Fool to call.
Dad was busy talking to other council members about the bills he was about to introduce, the Extraordinary Guard was no longer following me around, and thanks to the Goddess, my life was finally back to normal! Two weeks have passed, and Mr. Hangman is sure to have the pituitary gland of an adult Colorful Lizard Dragon ready …… I’m about to be promoted to Sequence 8! Audrey thought with glowing eyes.
For her, this was even more exciting and desirable than the reward of 30,000 pounds and a large plantation worth at least 8,000 pounds!
Finally, she saw the familiar tidal wave of illusory crimson light flood out and overwhelm her.
……
Aboard an old styled sailing ship.
Alger Wilson locked the door to the captain’s cabin and sat in the back of his sextant, his sailing notes, constantly memorizing what was written on the thick stack of paper in front of him.
Having survived the period of investigation, and having been commended by his superiors, he had not stayed in the prosperity of Birkeland, and had left that metropolis of his own accord to return to the sea, carrying with him a cache of Rossel’s journals, which he had transcribed in secret.
”After digesting the ‘Voyager’ magic potion, I will be able to promote normally, my merit is enough to exchange the formula and materials …… but this will reveal that I know about the ‘Playing the Law’ ‘ thing, there are both advantages and disadvantages …… “Alger shook his head, suddenly going off on a tangent.
At this moment, he felt the call of the “Fool”, and the face of “Hurricane Lieutenant General” Zilingus suddenly appeared in his mind, and his flesh and blood rapidly decayed, and pieces of his face fell down.
Alger instinctively lowered his head and let the crimson tide engulf him.
……
Above the gray mist, inside the palace like a giant’s residence.
Klein, who had opened his psychic vision, scrutinized Justice, the Hanged Man, and the Sun, and confirmed their current status.
Audrey was about to greet them cheerfully when she suddenly saw the Hanged Man gesture and speak first:
”Mr. Fool, I have acquired a total of 19 pages of Roselle’s diary this time.”
”Here, I must thank you for sending your favorites to help me get rid of Zylingus, and these diaries are the payment I should pay!”
19 pages? Not bad… …… Klein didn’t say much about the favorites and smiled blandly:
”This is the principle of equal exchange.”
Worthy of the “Fool” Mr. …… A pirate general who carries magical items is not even on K’s mind …… Looks like I don’t need to mention the bounty thing! …… I don’t know how many high-ranking dependents Mr. “Fool” has …… Audrey unknowingly began to get used to using “k” to address “k”. “Audrey unknowingly began to use the term “k” to refer to Mr. Fool.
Hearing the “Fool’s” reply, “Inverted Hanging Man” Alger humbly said:
”The limit of my current memory is six pages, please allow me to give it to you in several installments.”
”No problem.” Klein, who was shrouded in a thick gray mist, nodded gently.
”Sun” Derek watched the “Inverted Hanging Man” materialize the diary page by page, and was very curious about the contents.
With his previous experiences, he believed that the items of interest to Mr. Fool must contain many mysteries.
He glanced at Ms. “Justice”, seeing that the other party did not have the urge to ask, and cautiously kept silent.
Soon, the six pages of the diary were completed and came into Klein’s hands.
Audrey and the others began to wait quietly, accustomed to similar things.
Klein’s eyes moved down to read the first page:
”December 16th, contacted again the poor fellow trapped deep in the storm, lost in the darkness.”
Finally a follow up to the notes on one of the previous pages …… Klein’s heart rejoiced and his attitude became more focused:
”He called himself Mr. ‘Gate’ and tried to teach me a complicated and difficult ritual to help him return to the real world, promising to fulfill three of my demands.”
”Does he think I’m stupid? I’ve lived for more than sixty years in both of my lives combined, and I still can’t see that this is the usual maneuvering of the Evil God’s demons?”
”But certain histories of the Fourth Age that he described are really intriguing.”