At Noon
Bar Area
"Thanks for the drinks" Nathan said as he dropped an empty bottle of beer on the table "Tim, get up. It's time" he said as he stood up, and Timothy also dropped his empty bottle on the table
"Sorry guys. We have work to do" Timothy said "See you later"
"Where are you guys going?" Allen asked in a slurred voice; evidence of his drunkenness. "I thought you two said you'd entertain me since you had nothing to do" he continued with a pout
"Allen...you really should-" before Nathan could complete his sentence, steam was released from Allen's body and he turned into a silver furred wolf, before collapsing on the floor.
Nathan stared at him, clearly dumfounded, before looking around the room and noting the state of everyone else. Like Allen, Jerald was knocked out in his wolf form with his reddish-brown fur, reeking of alcohol. Christian was hanging from the ceiling like a bat, and Clark was laying on the floor with empty bottles splayed around him.
"Remind me next time, to never entertain these guys in drinking" Nathan said to Timothy as he gestured to the knocked out men
"S-sure....I'll try and remember that" Timothy said, also noting the condition of the others
"I smell like alcohol. I'll take a shower and change clothes first" Nathan said before disappearing into the shadows
"That's just him saying, 'Don't forget to take a bath'" Timothy mumbled 'I think I'm finally starting to understand every word Nathan says' he thought before leaving through the door.
******
Nathan and Timothy took a quick shower in their rooms and changed their clothes. However, they did not leave the castle and instead, headed straight to the castle study.
Nathan could clearly feel that all the energies in the castle seemed to have gathered there and he could only guess that the reason for this, was Sloane herself, whom had turned the study into her personal office.
Stopping in front of the study, Timothy was wondering if he should knock or not, however, Nathan pushed passed him and opened the door without a care in the world. This had made everyone inside the room to turn and stare at the door.
However, when realising it was Nathan who had opened the door, everyone else just brushed it off as a normal thing and placed their attention back on Sloane.
"Hope we're not late" Nathan said as he grabbed Timothy by his collar, and tossed him inside the study before shutting the door.
The study was packed with all fifty of the castle staff lined up in rows of fives. Priya stood behind Sloane, whom sat comfortably behind her desk while Mackenzie and Kayden were seated on the two chairs in front of Sloane's desk.
"Nope. I was just about to begin" Sloane said "How was the drinking party?" she asked
"You knew?" Timothy asked as he and Nathan walked passed the rows of staff
"All of the guys suddenly disappeared from my radar and there was a barrier cast in the bar area" Sloane said
"Plus, Tim, your hair smells like alcohol" Kayden said while fumbling with his fingers
"Oh" Timothy let out as he remembered that he had forgotten to wash his hair while in the shower, 'Damn it'
"It wasn't that bad" Nathan said "I just decided to entertain them for a while" he said, before looking at Mackenzie, whom immediately avoided eye contact with him
"She just stopped crying and is doing better" Sloane said, as though reading what was on Nathan's mind "In her current state, I can't leave Kenzie here and take care of my business outside"
"I see" Nathan said, as he picked up Mackenzie in his arms which had taken the girl by surprise. "But that doesn't give you the right to completely ignore those around you" he said, as he took over on her seat and sat her down on his laps
The surprise in Mackenzie's eyes dissipated as she stared at him with droopy eyes before leaning into him and nuzzling her head in his neck.
"Sorry about this" Sloane said, with a small smile
"You seem to forget that she's also my responsibility" Nathan said
Not wanting to push the topic further while others were watching, Sloane let out a small cough and said, "Anyways, let's get back to the meeting"
"Oh, yes" Priya said as she cleared her throat, "As you've all already been informed in the morning, we're going on a little devil hunt and after, we're heading straight into battle, while Sloane handles diplomatic matters with the mayor of Greenwood Springs, to make things easier"
There were a few murmurs among the staff when they heard this, however, they seemed more excited to leave the settlement than afraid of the impending task
"Please, keep quiet everyone. This isn't a field trip or some ordinary expedition, as some of you may as well die on this trip" Priya said seriously and the staff grew silent
"This devil has been living quietly among the humans while completely masking its scent to blend in. It has also been able to escape her majesty's radar, meaning its among many experiments that has been done with the Michelle family's bloodline...a successful one at that" Timothy said "There are also tunnels under that whole town which can lead straight to this settlement. This devil has most likely been using those tunnels to be informing the North of every move we make. Snowfall doesn't reach underground however, if the army that is underground are also made up of successful Michelle bloodline experiments, we're in for a whole load of trouble"
One of the staff raised up their hand before saying, "If that's so, then why haven't they bothered attacking us from underground before?"
"That's true. They've already used so many underhanded methods to attack us so far but-"
"I get where you're coming from" Sloane said, while tapping her fingers on her desk "You see, those tunnels had been sealed before by a barrier several years ago. The person who casted the barrier is no longer of this world and because of this, the barrier has been weakening over the years. As such, the devil has been using the holes to be slipping through and doing his work as an informant. The only thing is, those holes in the barrier have not been big enough to send an army in at once. This emergency meeting or gathering as you might call it, is because we just found out last night that, that very barrier will be collapsing by the ending of today"
Murmurs burst out once again in the study
"This isn't good"
"Isn't this a bit too dangerous?"
"It is dangerous. However, it is also very important" Nathan said, and the murmurs were immediately shut down "The last time we've ever had to use kid soldiers has been more than seven centuries ago. Even so, Kayden is currently here, because he's the only barrier user, powerful enough to reform that very barrier. If anything goes wrong, we have three medical soldiers on standby plus, Sloane and I will be there"
"Among the other things, while we're at Greenwood, we also have to protect the humans there. If all things go well, we can easily evacuate all the humans completely out of Greenwood Springs for our own benefit in this war" Sloane said "The risks are much, but the gains are worth it"
"Luckily, I have the location of the house that holds the mechanism for the entire town, as well as the houses that connects to each of the tunnel's routes. Those houses stop just before the tunnels' exits, so it's possible to cut the enemy from there" Priya said while holding a rolled up map "And we have this....[she lifted up a pink crystal pendant] the key to the mechanism itself. After Kayden has finished setting up the barriers, I need to place this key back in the mechanism to open it, and lock it back immediately, so the new seal doesn't collapse"
'That sounds difficult, but everything is quickly falling into place' Nathan thought
"There are exactly fifty of you in this room. When adding us, that makes fifty six" Sloane mumbled before glancing at Priya "How many houses are there?"
"There are six houses standing just before the tunnels' six exits. Each are on the outskirts of the town itself....not too close to the town and not far either, but also a safe distance away from the East, West and South where our living areas are practically impossible due to fear of being found out" Priya said
"In short, it's a safe zone?" Timothy asked and Priya nodded "Though, I did hear that there are houses built in the safe zones. To think it'd be there that the North is trying to turn into a war zone" he said "The peace and quiet of the safe zones is being disturbed" he murmured
"Kayden will have to visit each of those houses and use his bloodline magic to rebuild each of the barrier seals" Priya said "While I'll have to lock it all up, at the area where the mechanism is. So...what are we going to do, Sloane?"
"With this, I know how to divide us all" Sloane said "Kenzie..." she called out sweetly and Mackenzie raised up her head
"Yeah?" Mackenzie asked
"Can you protect Kayden?" Sloane asked
"Are you serious?" Priya asked "Sending two-"
"Mm. That's pretty easy" Mackenzie said "But I'm terrible with directions"
"I know and I have a solution to that too" Sloane said before staring at the castle staff "Listen up, this is how things are going to be done. Priya...you, Tim and Nathan are going to lead two teams each. In other words, I'm going to need you three to clone yourselves into two, that way you can cover the six exits, while leading a team of eight"
"So, we'll each have a team of eight, along with our clones who'll also have a team of eight, but Mackenzie and Kayden won't be among those eight?" Timothy asked while pinching between his brows
"Exactly" Sloane said
"What do you mean by 'exactly'?" Timothy asked hysterically "I don't understand"
"You're too loud" Kayden complained
"Do the math, idiot. How have you been an ambassador all these years?" Nathan said "There are currently fifty six of us in this room. If Sloane leaves to talk to the mayor, we'll become fifty five. We can't be moving from location to location on foot, as well as having Kenzie and Kayden follow us around, so we'll each have to be marked by Kenzie for teleportation purposes, and have her and Kayden be on standby. That leaves fifty three of us"
"Then, because that leaves fifty three of us, we will clone ourselves to make it fifty six again. Six captains, consisting of three of us, the originals and the three of our clones, leads a team of eight castle staff each, to protect a tunnel exit from the Northern army, until the arrival of Mackenzie and Kayden to seal the tunnel?" Timothy asked to see if he was right
"Yes" Nathan said "That leaves two of the castle staff to look for the devil"
"It's funny to see how you're able to follow my train of thought, Nathan" Sloane said with a chuckle "However, that team of two wouldn't need to look for the devil because it will come to them with it's own two feet" she said
"Huh?" Timothy let out in confusion
"If the devil is smart, it will figure out that we're trying to keep it from contacting the north by using barriers to seal the tunnels. When the mechanism which has the power to seal the tunnels forever thanks to Priya, is guarded by an unexpected duo, what do you think will happen?" Sloane asked before answering herself "It's quite simple actually. The devil, not knowing that those two are there, will try to destroy the mechanism itself and make us hopeless. However, that's when our counterattack takes place"
"He'll be going there only to get captured" Timothy said, as he finally understood the plan
"But just in case, I'll send my clone with the selected two, to the building that houses the mechanism" Sloane said and everyone agreed "Since everyone understands what's going to happen from here on out, shall we go hunting?"