Part 3 the traveler chapter vii the stranded proposal
After another exchange of words, Derek “The Sun” popped the question:
”Dear Mr. Fool, what is the usual gesture we use when thanking you?”
Gestures? Kraven was momentarily stumped by the little “sun”.
He had never thought of designing a prayer gesture for himself, modeling on the movements of the Church of the Goddess who dotted the circle four times clockwise, or the Church of the Storm who struck the left chest with the right fist.
This is probably the last bottom line of a false god,……, he spat in his heart.
Seeing Mr. “Fool” eyes smiling but did not say anything, as if waiting for himself and other people to play, “Justice” Audrey suddenly had a lot of inspiration, and associated with a new problem.
Her eyes glittered as she looked around the circle and said:
”Gentlemen, should we also design a covert maneuver to identify ourselves at the same time? Our Tarot Society doesn’t have many members yet, and we don’t need to worry about appearing on the same occasion with each other and turning into hostile parties for various reasons, but in the future it will be hard to avoid, and we will need a special set of ‘coded signals’ in order to distinguish who is a friend and who is a foe.”
I’ve got an idea for this one …… Klein instantly remembered all those secret gestures he knew in his last life, like, say, the tuck-in salute.
He was just about to maneuver “The World” into making a suggestion when “The Inverted Man” spoke up:
”No, Ms. ‘Justice’, I don’t think that’s a good idea.
”One of the most notable features of our Tarot Society, compared to other covert organizations, is that the members don’t know each other, and even if, er, let me give you the most extreme example, even if one of our members were arrested and tortured, it wouldn’t affect anyone else, unless someone who could stand up to Mr. ‘Fool’ and directly into this place, and that’s obviously impossible.
”Once the whole set of ‘ciphers’ and ‘passwords’ is in place, the betrayal of the traitors will enable the hostile forces to fish us out one by one by means of these methods.
”You are desperate to show off your membership in the Tarot Society to others?”
”……” Audrey was briefly unable to retort, and could only mumble, “But ……”
”Your concerns are valid, but this can be circumvented by regular weekly communication, impromptu gestures designed in advance, and prayers to Mr. ‘Fool’.” “Inverted Man” Alger’s tone grew warmer as he considered that the other man was about to offer himself a large amount of gold pounds.
”Justice,” Audrey asked rhetorically with some understanding:
”The simplest example would be to learn in advance of the possibility of meeting or even clashing with one of the members at Monday’s tarot party, devise a temporary set of gestures to identify one another, and then, when the matter passes, immediately abolish that set of gestures, and, well, if one encounters a contingency that makes it too late to communicate, and there is some suspicion, one can find an opportunity to ask the Mr. ‘Fool’ to pray and confirm whether another member is involved?”
”Roughly.” Alger exhaled wordlessly.
By this time, “Sun” Derek also drifted off:
”Sorry for the stupid question, Mr. ‘Fool’ never mentioned what hand signals to use when thanking the K. It’s just that he’s worried about us being exposed.”
He instantly looked back to the topmost head of the long bronze table:
”Your will is our path.”
I’ve just thought of a particular gesture …… Klein said with a soft chuckle:
”Good.”
His eyes moved to the other members and he said calmly and without ripples:
”That is all for today’s party.”
”As you wish!” “All the members outside of Luna rose at the same time.
Emlyn froze for a second before scrambling to his feet and saluting like the other members.
A crimson glow instantly appeared before his eyes, and his body had a slight sensation of falling.
Immediately afterward, his vision returned to normal and he saw the large and small dolls in the room.
Phew …… It was only at this time that Emlyn White calmed down and recalled the first tarot party he had attended:
”Other than Mr. ‘Fool’, the other members can’t be too strong, are they all picked for various reasons like me? I have the Patriarch behind me, who do they have behind them?
”It’s ridiculous, I actually thought at first that ‘Sun’ was a demi-god level powerhouse who had just gotten rid of an angel, who knows, he’s only Sequence 8, and is seeking to be promoted to Sequence 7!
”A child who doesn’t know how to be polite is definitely not yet an adult! However, his mention of Silver City and the experiences he has been cycling through are odd, I will have to find a chance to ask Lord Nibais, no, first ask Cassimi, and my father and mother, to see if they know about Silver City, humph, Silver City’s historical documents dare to tamper with our Blood Clan’s deeds!
”Ms. ‘Justice’ is from Berkland, very rich and wealthy, the daughter of some great banker, or heir to a great noble? Perhaps she is herself a banker, a knighted nobleman ……
”Ms. ‘Magician’ looked at me strangely, must have looked up to the noble bloods, she didn’t say much, didn’t reveal much about herself, well, a quiet girl.
”Mr. ‘The Inverted Man’ is a mature gentleman, knows a lot, has a noble character, and is willing to answer questions for new members and provide help and information accordingly, I can see that he’s very popular, and both the ‘Sun’ and the ‘World’ were willing to ask for his advice or seek his help.
”‘World’ is a not very likable guy, talking like he has a mouthful of phlegm in his throat that he can never spit out, someone like that, I don’t even care to drink his blood, it has a dirty taste …… He’s very withdrawn, very good at hiding his emotions, and easily pulls out the extraordinary traits of a Sequence 6 Extraordinaire and promises to provide the extraordinary traits of a ‘psychiatrist’ within two months …… Very impressive!”
All sorts of details flashed by, and Emlyn realized that Tarot would be simple and uncomplicated, and that Mr. “Fool” hadn’t meddled too much in the progress of the party.
”K seems to be only interested in the so-called Roselle’s Diary …… But K is willing to provide miraculous facilities for the members.” Thinking about this, Emlyn was unconsciously a little proud of her status as “Luna”.
Looking around the room at the mannequins for a moment, he recalled his question:
”4000 to 5000 pounds of ‘relics’, the hope of becoming a baron in a short period of time, it really puts me in a difficult position ……”
This instant, Emlyn, though he had not yet made a final decision, felt the room become more somber and felt that he had taken on a heavy debt.
……
Above the gray mist, inside the ancient palace.
Klein pressed the thumb and middle finger of his right hand against one temple and gently rubbed it twice.
In the silence, he quickly sat up straight and let a small badge fly out of the clutter and land on the long bronze table in front of him.
The medallion was the size of an eyeball, with the symbols of “fate” and “concealment” on its surface, and was a relic that Krynn had recovered from Llanurus.
On the back of the item is the ancient Hermetic inscription, “In possession of this item, you may join”, and provides the appropriate party information:
”January 4, 1350, 8:00 p.m., Babur Valley.”
The question Klein now needed to consider was whether to take his chances with this badge tomorrow night in the valley of the Babur River.
Frankly speaking, his heart was inclined not to go, even if he had already been promoted to “Faceless Man” and could make a fairly perfect disguise, he didn’t want to take the risk because he didn’t have any knowledge about that party.
A magician does not perform without preparation …… Klein whispered, took out a gold coin and put it between his fingers.
He picked up the medallion with his other hand and whispered to himself:
”Attending a party within the Babur River Valley is risky.”
After a few consecutive times, he popped the gold coin with a clang.
The gold coin tumbled down and stood upright in his palm.
This indicated that the divination had failed.
”Sure enough ……,” Klein wasn’t surprised by this.
It wasn’t a matter of not having enough information in the front, but not having any at all.
He sat there in silence, only the gold coins tumbling between his fingers.
Eventually, Klein overcame his curiosity and adventurous spirit and decided not to go.
”But that doesn’t mean I can’t get involved in this, tomorrow night at 8:00pm, hmmm ……” He sketched the corners of his mouth, smiled slightly, and returned to the real world.
……
January 4, 10:35 am.
Klein stood in front of a table made of mahogany and picked up a stack of bills.
There were five 10-pound denominations and ten 5-pound denominations, totaling 100 pounds, which was what the “Inverted Man” had just paid by way of sacrifice.
These 15 gold pounds made Klein’s wallet much fuller, and he was finally able to buy the boat ticket with peace of mind.
Putting the wallet away, he picked up the thin human skin glove from the table and slipped it onto his left hand.
One of the main features of “Creeping Hunger” was that when it was not used, it had a camouflage effect that could not be detected by most extraordinary means, so Klein could switch between its original appearance, various colored gloves, and camouflaged skin, and this time, he chose the black glove.
For this reason, Klein also had a separate right side black glove.
Immediately after, he put the brown “biotoxin vial” into the iron box, sealed by the wall of spirituality, and stuffed it into the inner pocket of his clothes.
As for the “sun brooch”, as long as it was worn, as long as it was carried around, it would create a hot summer feeling, so Klein had to put it into an iron cigarette case and hide it in the bottom of the suitcase.
”9 Purification Bullets, 15 Demon Hunting Bullets, 3 Exorcism Bullets ……” Klein took out his revolver and the box for the bullets, and silently counted and loaded them.
Snap!
He closed the revolver, put the pistol into his underarm pouch, then put on his black tweed overcoat, put on his half-height silk hat, lifted up his cane and suitcase, and walked out of the hotel room.
He was fully armed, except for the “all-black eye” and other unavailable items, which were still above the gray mist.
Riding in a carriage, Kraven arrived at the “Pritz Harbor Ticket Company” in the White Rose District.
The company was housed in a rather old three-story building with a wooden sign with a notice on the door.
Klein walked over and stopped there, glancing at it casually:
”Notes:
”1. Observe order and line up strictly;
”2. no urinating, defecating or spitting;
”3. in case of dispute, please approach the hall guards;
”4. No opening cans of wolffish in any room!”
Canned wolffish? What was this? Klein raised an eyebrow.