Release That Witch

The air gradually cooled after the moon rose. Sitting in the garden, Theo could see the little fire reflected in the windows of pubs, brothels, and casinos from a distance. The fire in the night was like the stars in the sky, showing the city's prosperity.     

This was a scene that only could be seen from the inner city area of the king's city. Even after the end of the demonic plague, about one-third of the civilians died on the fringes of the city. Those deaths did not stop the nobles from drinking and merrymaking in the city center. If one listened carefully, one could even hear the soft cries floating in the breeze.     

Theo bought the house with a garden and pool for 150 gold royals, located on a hillside near the edge of the inner city area, even though no one wandered here in the daytime. He typically did not stay here unless he was meeting an informant or exchanging intelligence. He would either spend the night at a hotel or stay in Covert Trumpeter for a few days.     

"Sir, they've all arrived."     

A man walked out of the room, holding an oil lamp. It was Hill Fawkes who was doing undercover work in the Skeleton Fingers.     

"Light the candle." Theo nodded and walked into the room.     

In the dim candlelight, Hill and the other five people sat around a wooden table. When they saw the appearance of the guards, they all bowed and saluted. Theo looked at them blankly, hoping to determine their reliability from their expressions and gestures. It was unfortunate that Miss Nightingale had followed the sailing platoon and returned to Border Town. If she was here, she could make the most accurate judgment in an instant.     

They were Hill's partners and members of the Dove and Hat acrobatic troupe, as well as avengers full of resentment towards the new king. In the siege war last week, it was them who provided intelligence to Theo, allowing him to learn Rats' night attack plan in advance. Now that the demonic plague had gradually subsided, he decided to meet them in the king's city. If they were really as Hill had described, then they were some agreeable spies indeed.     

"Besides Mr. Fawkes, please briefly introduce yourselves," Theo said.     

"Sir, my name is Rockhill," said the most robust man in a booming voice. He was almost six feet tall and his muscles were full of strength. "I played Luxman in the acrobatic troupe. Now I've joined the blood sails."     

"I'm Clown," said a little man sitting next to Rockhill as he pointed at his nose. He looked like he was the youngest among them, about 18 or 19 years old. "Of course, I'm a clown in the troupe, but I didn't join the Rats. I only perform some tricks in various bars."     

"Joe and Neil." The next two were a pair of brothers. They looked no different than any civilian in the outer city area, from their appearance to their clothes. They have given up all their properties to Priest Ferry and were "devout believers" of the church. Theo could not help wondering if there was any chance those two also had a crush on Hill's wife. He eased his doubts and turned towards the last person.     

"They all call me Magician, sir." The man saluted again. "My plan was to pretend as a frustrated loser put into Dreamland Water before, but unfortunately most of them died or fled. Even 'the Fiercetooth' Tanis died in the hands of the Judgement Army of the church. Everyone was busy looking for a new boss."     

"Died in the hands of the Judgement Army?" Theo raised an eyebrow. "Aren't they the ones receiving secret support from the church?"     

"I also heard that from others." Magician spread out his hands. "After Tanis was defeated in the siege war at the pier, he was also attacked by Skeleton Fingers while returning to the east area of the city. There were only dozens of people left who followed him. He got so mad that he went to the church with his followers who stayed in the nest that day. The next day, only two or three ended up coming back. They told me that he quarreled with Priest Ferry and was shot in the chest by the Judgement Army... In other words, the Dreamland Water collapsed."     

Theo thought what happened was probably because Fiercetooth had accumulated his strength over a long time with much difficulty, but was now reduced to nothing. Because his position as a leader was precarious, he tried to seek for assistance from the church. But he was refused and a dispute broke out. However, he did not care about the irrelevant details. He just wanted know why Dreamland Water was just an empty title now. There was no doubt this was good news for him. Perhaps he would be able to utilize this opportunity to gather this group of Rats with nowhere to go to expand his intelligence network.     

"You must have heard my name from Hill." Theo rapped the table. "I'm the guardian of His Highness Roland Wimbledon, responsible for collecting intelligence from all over the kingdom. Since you're willing to come here, you've shown your will in a sense. To be clear, I'll have to ask once again. Are you willing to work for His Highness?"     

"We're willing to do so!" they answered.     

"I'm willing to do anything as long as I can mete justice on Timothy Wimbledon," Hill said.     

"Very good. From now on, we'll gather here weekly. You can report to me in advance if you have urgent intelligence. The signal is a pot of purple flowers in front of the door of the house," Theo said, "and after I noticed that signal, I'll wait for you in this room. Remember to knock with three long rhythms and two short rhythms. Got it?"     

Theo nodded with satisfaction when everyone agreed. "A qualified intelligence officer will never easily expose himself. The first thing you have to do is to hide your identity. You must keep this in mind whether you're investigating personally or getting an assistant to collect suspicious intelligence for you." "If you have financial needs, you can request that from me... Remember, don't act rashly. Timothy won't sit on the throne forever. His Highness Roland has personally guaranteed that." He paused for a moment before asking, "Is there anything else you guys want to add?"     

"Sir, Timothy has returned from the Eastern Region," Hill said, "you may have already received the news."     

The new king's knight platoon was carrying a banner into the city from the eastern city gate at noon. Many residents had witnessed this scene. Theo said nothing because he knew that they would elaborate.     

"I heard from Black Hammer at nightfall that Timothy seems to plan on recruiting a group of Rats to join the corps by offering to make them free civilians. Several leaders of the Skeleton Fingers have gone to the palace. It doesn't sound like a rumor."     

[Recruiting Rats?] Theo pretended to be calm, despite his inner anxiety. [It's clear that these Rats can't combat as formal soldiers, so the main purpose should be feeding them with pills to turn them into walking bombs, just like the last attack on Longsong Stronghold. What's their goal this time?]     

"It's an interesting news," he said, "remember to pay close attention to the whereabouts of Rats. Once you have any information, report to me immediately."     

Theo hoped that Timothy Wimbledon would not trigger another riot in the Western Region.