C123: Letter delivery

Arnold stepped into the village and shook his head, as if trying to dislodge something stuck deep within his thoughts.

“What did that man just say again?”

The memory refused to resurface. No matter how he reached for it, it slipped away like water through his fingers, leaving behind only a vague sense of unease.

‘Did he even say anything?’ Arnold tilted his head in confusion. From what he could recall, they had simply walked through the forest in silence, without exchanging any meaningful words.

‘Maybe nothing serious.’ He narrowed his eyes beneath the bandages and sent a mental call to the young mind.

‘ Isa.’

‘Oke!’

Isa immediately connected herself to the bird puppet. The small creature took flight, ascended into the sky, circling higher and higher until it could encompass the entire village from above.

From that vantage point, the village revealed itself clearly.

Arnold, meanwhile, continued forward along the dirt paths that carved through the village. The ground beneath his feet was uneven, packed hard by the constant passage of carts and bare feet. The paths branched and split irregularly, forming a rough network between clusters of aging wooden houses.

The houses themselves leaned slightly. Roof tiles were mismatched, thin spirals of gray smoke curled lazily from stone chimneys, mingling with the damp, earthy scent of the winter air.

Despite the chill, life continued.

Farmers worked in the fields beyond the houses. Women wade through muddy patches with their pants rolled up to their knees, tending to crops or washing tools in shallow water. Shepherds guided flocks of sheep toward barns, while children ran along the open paths, their laughter bright.

In the yards between homes, women sat close together and chatted. Nearby, young girls sat cross-legged, embroidering clumsy patterns into cloth.

Arnold walked deeper into the village until he reached the central square, where the rhythm of life felt more centralized. A group of young boys and girls were dancing in a circle around a stone statue, their rhythmic movements providing moments of joy.

‘So that’s the village’s statue…’

It was the Moon Maiden statue, the one referenced in the mansion's basement. Seeing it now, Arnold felt a phantom ache in his head. “The basement…” Remembering what had transpired with Jack, he shook his head.

“Moon Maiden!” Isa chimed brightly within their shared mind.

At the same time, Arnold subtly released the mouse from within his coat, allowing it to scurry along the edges of the road, slipping into corners and narrow spaces to observe unseen details. Above, Isa guided the bird in wide arcs, memorizing the village’s layout.

“Good day, Mister Williams! Would you care for a blossom? Do you require any assistance?”

“Haha, not for now, Smith kid.”

Arnold’s focus snapped toward the source of the voice.

A small girl moved through the square, carrying a basket filled with flowers, offering them to passersby. She approached villagers one by one, her voice soft but brightly.

‘As expected, just like the black monument described,’ he thought.

Her dress was worn and patched in several places, its color faded from repeated washing. Her brown hair was braided loosely, strands slipping free and framing her face. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and her wide brown eyes carried a mixture of innocence and unease.

The girl’s eyes met Arnold’s briefly, and she jolted, likely startled by his appearance.

She hesitated, glancing around as if to confirm whether Arnold was truly looking at her, before timidly stepping forward.

Holding out a small white daisy, she spoke softly, “Sir… um… would you mind a blossom?”

“Give me one,” Arnold replied bluntly.

He reached into his pocket and handed her a coppy coin. In exchange, he took a small flower—a Forget-Me-Not. The flower sat in his gloved hand, its five petals a vivid blue, arranged around a tiny white star-shaped center.

He carefully tucked the small flower into his chest pocket.

“...” Mary looked down at her basket, hesitating for a long moment. “Sir, would you like some more? I think… one coppy is still too much just for one little bloom.”

“No need,” Arnold interrupted. “Instead, I need your help with something.”

He reached into his coat and pulled out a white envelope, placing it into her hands.

“I want you to bring this to the Inspectors.”

“Yes?” Mary tilted her head, confusion flickering across her face as she looked down at the envelope.

It was pristine, sealed with a thick glob of dark red wax. Its surface stood out starkly against her hand.

On the front, written clearly in Alan language, were the words:

[“To our Inspectors.”]

—

Arnold walked through the village alone, his pace steady but unhurried as he took in his surroundings with vigilance.

The villagers, in turn, noticed him with eyes full of worry. Others lowered their heads, then hurried off to put distance between themselves and him. A few simply retreated indoors, closing doors behind them.

It was understandable.

Arnold’s attire alone set him apart. The bandages wrapped around his head, and his noble attire all marked him as an outsider. In a place like this, where familiarity meant safety, anything different was immediately treated with caution.

However, Izzy knew better than to take their fear at face value; beneath the facade of these seemingly timid folk, danger lurked. She reminded herself not to be careless.

“...”

Meanwhile, in the Mindscape, Isa hovered in the air over an empty part of the amusement park. She manifested small, glowing blocks to construct a map of the village.

“Let’s establish the coordinates. The mansion’s direction is to the east,” Izzy said, her voice calm as she hovered nearby, observing the construction.

Isa immediately responded, conjuring a small blue flower and placing it on the eastern side of the map, marking their mansion.

“The eastern village gate is here, to the east. The northern gate… northwest. And the southern gate… southwest.”

Isa nodded enthusiastically and created three small white blocks, placing them accordingly at each position, forming the rough boundaries of the village.

“The Moon Maiden statue is in the village square,” Isa added, forming a circular block to represent it, its shape resembling a small moon.

“The Baroness’s estate occupies a large portion of the northeast,” Izzy continued.

Isa formed a violet triangular block and positioned it in the northeast, its colour standing out among the shapes around it.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, in the real world, the bird under Isa’s control circled above the Baroness estate and caught sight of a small commotion near the gate. It appeared a housemaid was engaged in heated discussion with men who looked like common thugs.

Isa left the bird perched at a safe distance atop a nearby tree, ensuring it remained unnoticed to monitor the scene, before returning her focus to the mindscape.

“The Church of the White is near the southwest gate,” Izzy said, pointing.

Isa formed a block shaped like a white cross and placed it near the village exit.

Izzy hovered above the map, her gaze scanning the structure as it took shape.

Her Field Vision through the mouse had also picked up an abandoned barn near the northwest gate. It looked suspicious, but for now, she chose not to focus on it.

“The Inspectors…” Izzy began, then shook her head. “Forget them for now.”

Approaching them now would be ill-advised, considering they seemed to possess sensory abilities that functioned similarly to her own Field Vision.

“The vampire,” Izzy said next, tapping her chin.

Isa immediately created a small bat-shaped icon and placed it atop the Baroness estate, marking it as a point of interest.

“Vile beasts…” Izzy continued, her thoughts drifting toward the forest surrounding the village.

Isa tilted her head, her green eyes blinking, gazing at Izzy with questioning eyes.

“Ah!” Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed into existence above Isa’s head, literally. She quickly constructed several glowing question marks and scattered them in a ring around the village, encircling it to represent the unknown threat.

Izzy then pointed toward the area behind the white cross. “The cemetery.”

The moment she said it, Isa’s entire expression lit up with excitement.

“Okyy!” Isa shouted, creating a block of two crossed bones and placing it right behind the church.

“Let’s go there!” Isa shouted enthusiastically, the young mind already imagining the new "toys" they could acquire.

“Good plan. That will be our next objective.” She nodded lightly.

Isa slapped a bright green exclamation mark over the bone icon on the map. Afterward, they hovered above the map, exchanging opinions on their next moves.

“Let’s find the thugs!” Isa suggested eagerly, her energy infectious.

Surprisingly, Isa was being helpful. Her unbridled enthusiasm helped to relieve the lingering pressure in Izzy’s chest.

‘Well, that’s only natural,’ Izzy thought with a faint chuckle. ‘She is my young mind, after all.’

Once they finished organizing their plan, they left the constructed map in the amusement park, and both withdrew from the mindscape.

Izzy and Isa both returned their focus to Arnold’s perspective.

Their expected guests had arrived.

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