At Conley's mansion, Richard was at the study room holding a cigarette with one hand while the other one held a parchment that he had just received and once he had gone through the contents, he folded it and put it in his pocket.
As he was busy savouring his own moment there was a knock at the door and the maid named Laura walked into the room while holding a glass of blood for her master. She was hoping to get attention from him but the man held an aloof expression while he played with the cigar that was between his fingers.
Placing the glass on the table, she tried to linger in the room but Richard dismissed her without even sparing her a glance. He had spent his day trying to find out how life was during the reign of king Thomas but the information he gathered wasn't of much help and he hoped that he would find out something crucial during his stay here but the general council had sent a letter telling him to go back to work.
Darkness had dominated the land of Eaghslia when Richard took his journey back the East while riding on his black horse and first thing in the morning, he had already arrived at the courthouse in which two middle aged men were having a conversation about the small kingdom that had been conquered by king William.
"Richard, I thought that it would take you two to three days to get here." One of the men remarked before getting to the point as to why they needed him back. Handing him a small jar that had a green liquid, he closely scrutinized and with a hum, he said
"Linex. Where did you get it?" It was barely a question because he didn't have any hint of curiosity in his eyes. "We had a mole in Eaghslia palace and he said that this was being fed to king Andrew, his wife and also his daughter who is now engaged to prince Wilson." If he had not been interested in what had been happening in that kingdom, now that it involved princess Lilith, he would make sure to get to the bottom of this.
"It's made up of four elements and there is addition of magical elements. Feeding this to people, be it humans, vampires or any other creature means that he can manipulate them anyhow he wants." Richard had come across it in one of the witches book but he never thought that anyone could have access it. It was almost impossible for a person to be able to combine the four elements.
As he continued to ponder over it, he recalled something that he had seen on the night he was with the princess. It was a small crescent shaped black birthmark that was on the nape of her neck. It was hardly visible because it was hidden by her hair but he had seen it. Elves possessed the ability to manipulate nature but that mark meant something else. She was the one given power over the four elements.
"Do you think that he wants to take over the three strongest kingdoms." The man named Jeremy asked.
"That's just half of what he wants." When Richard saw their curiosity, he further explained, "He wants to steal abilities that belongs to any existing being and bring the witches back." The two men held a solemn look on their faces after hearing what Richard had just said.
"This is much harder than we thought it was." Jeremy had been working for the general council for almost a century but this sounded more serious than any other case that he had ever handled. "We can still stop him because I happen to know someone who is really important to his plan." Richard stated.
"And who is that person?" The other man asked and his question made Richard's lips to pull up into a smile. "That is not for you to know Joel. Is there anything else?" He inquired.
"We want to re- open Barbara Whitlock's case." It was Jeremy who spoke but Richard held no interest in that. "Alright. I should get going." Once Richard stepped out of the room, Joel turned to his partner who was busy scanning a scroll that was on his hand. "How did he know about king William's plan. Do you think he is also in it?"
Jeremy always knew that Joel and Richard never got along and he was always the one who got caught up in the middle which was annoying at times but sometimes he drew pleasure from their small fights. "He is with us Joel. Your paranoia is starting to annoy me." Jeremy grunted and with that, he disappeared to another room.
Richard who had apparated from the courthouse came to appear in a lonely snowy path that led him to a small old house that looked like it would be destroyed by a small wind and upon knocking twice, a man who had tied his hair into a low ponytail appeared in view.
Annoyance was evident on his face. Half because someone had disrupted his long sleep and half because of finding out who the person was.
"What do you want Richard?" He asked in a tired voice. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Richard poked him as he sneaked a peek at the old house through a small gap that was on the door. "It is really unfortunate that a man possessing such an enviable ability like yours is living like an animal." Richard's words snapped the last string of the man's control and he tried to attack him but he was quicker than him whereby he pushed the man against the wall while wrapping his fingers around his neck.
"I came here to talk Henry, there's no need to do this." Richard stated while releasing his grip on his neck. "I want nothing to do with you, or the council." Henry snorted.
"Why don't we talk inside?" Richard who did not wait to be welcomed got inside the house and soon after, the man named Henry followed.