Chapter 23: C23: Noticeable Faces to be Overlooked in a crowd

"Never heard of a Blood Stone, Ma'am."

"No clue... The Blood Mage is a bloody myth if I must say. There ain't no possible way that it's true."

Elijah and the rest got tired after hearing the same thing over and over again. 'The old geezer was right... If the Midnight dropped this quest, there's no way we can find this thing!" Elijah laid down at a bench near the harbor.

However, they were in the docks to the North, not the one to the South. There were two docks in West Lake, the Northern Dock and the Southern Dock.

When they came to the Dock, it was midday but the clouds were getting dark and a storm was heading towards West Lake.

"Elijah... Where should we search?" Aether asked from her, sitting beside her on the bench.

"Well, this is bloody hard! I have no clue how to find this thing! This is just..." Elijah sighed, leaning forward. "Maybe those four might've gotten something. But we'll have to keep searching."

The Owl fell to Elijah's lap after being tired of doing nothing all day long.

"Owl... You must search. You're our eyes. If you don't use your wings, we'll find nothing. Nothing!" Elijah muttered to the little bird.

It kept its head on Elijah's lap for a while and got back up.

"Well look at you, getting tired! What the fuck did you do man? You just sat there all day long!" Luke told the Owl.

The Owl gestured Luke to calm down using its wing and took flight. The little bird spread its wide wingspan and flew into the air, not looking back.

In seconds, the few people on his team were just little spots in his eyes. The wind was getting stronger by the minute, yet the swirling wind did not bother his flight.

'The Blood Stone...' he thought for a second, trying to recall anything he knew about it.

He went through his memories, searching for something that would ring a bell. And finally, his memory bought up a person, saying something about the Blood Stone.

"Stone of Rebirth... They say. Once you have used a Blood Stone, one can find the skill of casting a spell of recreation you see... One who wields it is rumored as the Blood Mage. That is all I know, Kimbley. That is all."

He recalled a conversation he had overheard in the 'The Oak Books' library.

'Hmm... But that's the use of it. No clue where to find it... And 'The Oak Books' library is in the Mideastern lands.' Indeed it was in the Mideastern lands which were far from West Lake. So there was no way they would go there to find a clue.

"Thief! A bloody thief in the Museum! They stole the precious shellfire crystals!" Seven guards ran through the streets, chasing a man who was running away, pushing through the crowds.

'What!?' Owl stopped in his tracks and settled in midair to take a good look at the men who were running. 'Oh shit... That looks bad.'

The thief was no ordinary thief. He was a good one. And the most astonishing thing was that the scythe he was carrying was known as the Grim Reaper. It was another national treasure stolen from the castle of Riverria.

But who stole it from the castle of Riverria? Who was good enough to steal such a thing from the castle of Riverria? Who made the plan... Who else, than the Woodland Foxes themselves.

"Rick! What the fuck are you doing here!!" Owl plummeted in the air and turned around to follow the thief who was leaping across the roofs of the buildings.

He was heading towards the dock... And who was in the dock? Elijah, Luke, and Aether!

'If he sees them and goes to them! We're doomed!' Owl flew like an eagle, cutting through the air, faster than a boomerang.

***

"Hmm... Luke, how was life for you? And do you know where Owl was, all this long?" Elijah asked from Luke, who was sitting beside her on the bench, staring at the beauties standing near the shore.

He turned to her and smiled. "My life... What can I say? I kept searching for people to repay for my family's mistakes. I had to right? That's my duty... Until I met you in the meeting three days ago."

"It changed your mind?" Aether jumped into the conversation.

"Yes, it did. I chose to help them bring down the king and remake the kingdom from the ground. That's what should be done. All of our families had been truly a mess..." Luke shook his head, putting his hand over the bench, laying back.

"I'm sorry, Luke. I wish I could've been there for you when we disbanded. But we're together now... We can do this." Elijah smiled at him, kindly, making the boy overjoyed.

"Thank you —"

"Thief! Thief!!! The man is stealing a national treasure!! Catch that man with the long scythe!"

A scream came from the crowded street, alongside the sound of running footsteps. Elijah turned to see what the tension in the crowd was.

"What is it?" She asked from Aether. Aether stood up to get a better look and from afar, he saw a dark figure dashing through the rooftops.

"It's a... A man — wait... That long dark scythe... The cape. I've seen the thief —" Aether paused, his jaw-dropping open.

Elijah saw the expression on his face and stood up to see who it was. A man wearing a dark suit with a large black cape. And the most noticeable things about him were the white mask of a skull and the long scythe he was carrying.

"Bloody hell! It's Rick! What is he doing here! And wha — he's stealing the damn shellfire crystals!" Elijah blurted out, stepping back.

The thief was heading towards them, and it was only a matter of time before he sees them.

"What!? Rick!?" Even Luke was surprised. He instantly got up to his feet to look at the legendary Rick.

The thief in black leaped through the air and landed at the edge of the harbor. Finally, he had no building to jump to.

'The fuck are you doing Rick! You're getting surrounded!' Elijah whispered to herself, drawing up her hood in case if her comrade needed any help.

The guards were stuck in the crowd, and the thief turned to face the sea.

The spotlight in the harbor was Rick now. He was standing at the edge, looking at the few ships anchored to the dock.

He turned to the crowd to see if anyone was getting near to him.

'Hm hmm! The guards are still stuck, I'm the spotlight of West Lake and... Three very noticeable faces that could be easily overlooked in a crowd,' his mind talked to him.

But his main target wasn't finding who the noticeable faces were.

It was stealing the shellfire crystals.

"Time to make the announcement..." he whispered, lowering the top hat on his head.

"My fellow people of West Lake! Behold, the greatest thief ever! The greatest of the thieves in Argoth or one might say the greatest of the world! I am... The Dead Crown! The Walking Dead Man! The Skull of the Foxes!!! Rick Skull!"