Chapter 3076 Surprising News (Part 2)

Chapter 3076 Surprising News (Part 2)

"And give up on all the fun? Over my dead body!" Kamila hit Lith in the face with a pillow to express her disapproval. "Bad beard! Bad."

She ran her finger on his skin for a double check, just to be safe.

"Hey, I'm innocent! Take it on the asshole who came up with the brilliant idea." He conjured a mirror of ice in front of her.

She was about to reply when Lith's communication amulet pulled at his consciousness.

"Why did you take it out of the dimensional amulet?" Kamila pouted.

"I don't have a dimensional amulet. I have a pocket dimension and you know it. You took our amulets out first thing in the morning to check for messages."

"That's no excuse. I'm still angry with you." Kamila ran into the bathroom to let him answer the call with the hologram on.

"Hey, Lith. Am I interrupting something?" Haug asked from his burner amulet.

"Yes." Lith replied curtly.

"Then I'll be brief. I have a lead. Not a solid one, but you asked me to notify you even weird rumors about Forgemasters and this one qualifies big time."

"Tell me everything and don't leave out even the most insignificant detail." Lith sat up, making the Voidwalker armor cover him before pulling the bedsheets away.

Zoreth and Strider had yet to find any trace of the mysterious thieves of the Ears. With nothing at hand, even clutching at straws was worth a shot.

"There's not much to tell." Haug shrugged. "It's a rumor. From what I've heard, several Forgemasters have been disappearing from all over Garlen and beyond. According to my sources, a few famous Forgemasters from Verendi have gone missing too."

"How did this not raise a red flag in their respective Councils?" Lith raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I don't know." Haug replied. "I take part in all the Council's meetings as an Elder and this never came up, not even in mentioning. What makes this rumor particularly juicy, is that many of the missing Forgemasters are famous for having a connection with Menadion."

"What kind of connection?" Lith asked in excitement.

"Nothing direct. All of her apprentices are dead for a long time now."

'Wrong.' Lith thought but nodded for Haug to continue.

"For your information, I have looked a bit into this on my own before your call. I dropped the matter because the few missing Forgemasters I've investigated have told their apprentices they were leaving for a work-related trip."

"Did the apprentices receive such information from their mentors through the amulet or in person?" Lith asked.

"In person, inside their own homes, and with no one else inside." The Zouwu replied. "You know how hard it is to beat an old Awakened in his turf. There was no sign of coercion and the apprentices have guaranteed me their masters were relaxed.

"There was nothing unusual and the Elders didn't use the safe words agreed upon in case they were acting under duress. They just packed and left."

"Still, this looks suspicious to me. Why would so many Forgemasters leave at the same time?" Lith scanned Haug's list with his communication amulet and shared it with Strider. "Is there some sort of convention I'm not aware of?"

"What the fuck?" The Zouwu stared at the list of names, finding it too long for his liking. "Give me a moment."

"I'll give you more than one." Lith sighed. "I have to go. Call me by lunchtime after you are done with your investigations."

"But-"

"Bye!" Lith hung up the call and cut Strider short.

There was only so much time before breakfast. After that, he wouldn't see Kamila until evening. Maybe for days, if the Zouwu confirmed Lith's worries.

"Can I get out now?" She purred from behind the bathroom's door.

"Yes." He put the amulets in his pocket dimension to not be disturbed again.

"Where were we?" She crawled towards him with supple, sensual movements, wearing her cat lingerie.

"Beards and kissing." Lith replied with a hoarse voice.

"Right." She pushed him on the bed. "We were about to perform the quality check of your shave."

***

After the quality check, playing with the cat, a shower, and breakfast, Lith shared his conversations with Haug and Strider with Solus before going to the Desert for the Engine training with Sinmara and Surtr.

"I agree with you." She said. "There is a good chance the disappearance of Mom's semi-disciples is connected with the Ears. Dead Forgemasters tell no tales and the thief needs someone really good to unlock the true power of the artifact.

"My only question is why so many at a time and how the thieves think to get away with this. "