The chime of the noon bell resounds from the chapel, far north in the county.
'Time to take my stuff.'
"Hey, let's go." I give the flower girl a heads up.
"...Okay."
Our first stop was the tailor's, I went in after I told her to wait outside.
"I'm here for the masks."
"Ah, from this morning! Here you go sir, your masks. Seven of them, kindly inspect them and thank you for your purchase."
I inspected the masks he had put onto the counter. It was made of leathers and feathers rather fancily, though it only covers the eyes it was enough for the rescue operation.
"Can you get two more masks like these done within ten minutes?" I asked.
"The time's not-"
"No need for the fancy decorations and I will pay double."
The tailor shop's attendant seems like he was weighing something on his mind, and because of that, I have to increase the offer to triple the amount. Only then, he agreed to the deal.
"I've got to get some stuff from a nearby store, I hope it'll be ready when I'm back. Oh, and please put the last two masks into a pouch along with the others, here's sixty copper."
"yes, sir."
As I walked away, I heard him ordered some workers to start creating the masks I needed. After closing the door to the tailor's, I looked around for the little girl before finally spotting her squatting across the busy street with her head downcast.
'Looks like the burden is too high for either me or her. If I hadn't had that dream, or premonition as Gramps would say last night. I won't be able to bear the pressure, and what happened in the dream is certain to happen in reality.'
'Not only that, but I also won't be able to bear the pressure of abandoning my people and workers in the Baskerville county which would certainly be under the Church's rule once I'm gone.'
I slapped both of my cheeks to give myself a good wake up call.
'Anyway, I've decided. I am not of this world, and my priority right now is to save those from my world from being persecuted and also to save the little girl's younger brother. Although I am feeling sorry for the populace, I am certainly not the young master of the Baskervilles. I am just a college student who finds himself in this body of a young lord.'
I approached the little girl and offered her my hand.
"Let's go, we don't have much time."
She looked at me, her eyes were clouded with worries before finally, she grabbed my hand. I pulled her up and brushed the dust on her worn out dress before finally walked away. True, I want to give her some words of encouragement, but at this point, I believe no words of encouragement will find their way through her. I can only do my best, for her and myself.
"W-wait!" She exclaimed.
"Hmm, what is it?" I asked.
"N-nothing..."
"Then let's go to the fountain, I need to take some stuff from the weapon shop there."
....
"Ah, it's the laddie from this morning! fourteen cheap knives, a gambeson, along with a buckler, aye?" the dwarf owner rummaged under the counter, looking for what seems like my order.
"Yeah, don't forget the small pouches though."
"So you still remember that huh?"
"How could I not?"
"Fine, here are seven small pouches, these pouches will fit exactly two knives each. Are these pouches to your liking?" he asked.
I gave him my affirmation while storing the daggers into the pouches, and put it along with the buckler into the sack Gramps gave me this morning.
"Thanks for the business." I heard his voice after I closed the door to his shop.
Across the shop, the little girl is waiting, sitting quietly on the stone bench by the water fountain. I approached her and gave her a slight nod, indicating my business here is done.
"The trial begins in the evening, right now it's just past noon. We still have some time to gain more information on the prison guards near the chapel there. Let's go back to the tailor's to get my masks, although if you're tired then you can stay here, just don't forget to meet me near the intersection to go to Saint's Rest street."
"I am not tired." The little girl pressed.
"Alright then, let's go."
....
After picking up the masks we needed, we quickly went to the intersection only to be greeted by an ongoing march of the Bishop's carriage which will arrive when the trial starts.
'What a miscalculation, if things proceed this way, I have no way of reaching the prison in time. Right now I've got to calm the f*ck down, or I won't be able to produce any ideas on how to reach the prison on time.'
As I was thinking about how to solve this problem, I felt a tug in my hands.
"I know a path to the chapel through this area," she said as she pulled me away from the crowds and into the damp and dirty path of the slums.