Horace arrived at the headquarter and saw Terros sitting on the bamboo chair looking at the horizon, wearing an anxious expression on his face. He went to his side and plopped on the chair.
Terros glanced at Horace. "How it is, son? How did Graven's family take the news?" he asked.
Horace sighed heavily. "Cooper and his brother was never been closed but after reading his missing brother's letter, Cooper's eyes shimmered with tears. He was deeply worried about his brother's condition and offered to help in finding him but I refused his offer, telling him that his family needed him the most. I told him that just by taking good care of the entire family and their businesses is already a big help for Graven."
"That's good! How about the letter for his father?" Terros asked.
"Cooper kept the letter, he will give it to his father at the right time so I gave it to him. The only letter left is the letter for Luke," Horace replied. "How about Laura?"
Terros shook his head in sadness. "Laura was crying the whole time while reading her husband's letter. I told her father to have his wife and his other daughter Sofia watch over Laura, day in and day out, to ensure her safety. It's gonna be hard for all of us. Until we can't find Graven, we can't rest..." he said in a voice filled with sorrow.
"Agree, so... we will have to organize a search team intended for finding Lord Graven," Horace said.
"That's right! I want you to follow Graven's instruction from A to Z, while Calder and I will lead the team to find Graven everywhere," Terros said.
Horace groaned. "I felt hopeless that I can't do anything to help find the lord," he complained.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom Terros sighed and patted Horace's shoulder. "By taking good care and managing everything in South Pond, you're already doing Graven a great service. He entrusted everything to you, so just do your part and leave the rest to us. You can't do it all with just one body. So, leave the rest to us because we can dedicate our time and attention to the mission without thinking about other things. Okay?"
Horace nodded his head in understanding. "I got it, Grandpa!" he finally said.
"Good! Taking good care of everything that Graven left behind is already a big help to him wherever he is right now," Terros spoke.
Calder emerged from the direction of the stream and went to the men's side, he settled on the chair beside them.
"Now, that you're here, let's begin our discussion," Terros said.
Terros, Horace, and Calder spent the next hour discussing organizing a task force that would dedicate their time and attention to find the missing Graven.
"I can only come up with 15 men to dedicate their time to the mission," Calder said.
Terros heaved a sigh. "It's not enough...but it will do fine. I am aware that we can't pull out people who have their posts to guard all over South Pond Town. We just have to utilize what is available for us as of the moment," he said.
"Every other day, we will meet here to share information. If the others are not present yet, we can leave messages so that others will know what town and places we have already check when it comes to finding Graven's whereabouts," Calder suggested.
"Brilliant idea, son!" Terros commented.
Horace stood up. "I'll get the map and the coffee..." he said and entered the house.
A few minutes later. Horace returned with the map and three mugs of coffee.
The men put the map on the table and discussed the first point of their search.
They decided to assign places and areas to one person, and that person will focus his search on the said area. Only seventeen people will search Graven's whereabouts all over the country, it's a daunting task.
After the discussion, Calder summoned the men. One by one, he assigned to them the places where they have to start searching. He explained to them everything. "Men, you have to report here in the headquarter every other day regarding your progress with the search. If you have any suggestions on how to make our search more efficient, please do so. We need all the help we can get and we have to work double-time to find the Lord quickly as possible," he said.
"Copy," the men said in unison.
"Go now and find our Lord!" Calder commanded.
The men vanished from the place, teleporting to their designated area to start their search.
Terros chose to search the area closer to the manor so that he can monitor Laura's condition and the entire family as well. He looked at Horace and Calder. "I'll go back to the forest to visit my home. I'll drop by here to report on my progress and the names of the places that I already searched and visited," he said.
"Thank you for your help, Grandpa!" Horace said.
"Don't mention it. You know that I would do anything for Graven," Terros replied. "I'll go now," he said.
A moment later, Terros vanished from the place.
Horace went back to South Pond Town while Calder teleported to the area he had assigned himself with.
Terros arrived at his place and perform his daily routine around the house, feeding his chickens and tending to the plants.
After cooking and eating his meals. Terros decided to go to Windless Mountain to inform Elva and Veronica that they already assigned people to search for Graven's whereabouts.
Terros disappeared from the forest and teleported to Elva's place.
A few moments later, he landed on the balcony of the marble house.
Veronica was tending to the flowers that are growing abundantly around the balcony during that time. She looked at Terros. "Grandpa, you got news about Graven?" she asked.
Terros shook his head. "No, news yet. I will begin my search for Graven after coming here. How's Elva?" he inquired.
"She's currently resting in her bedroom. Have a seat, I'll inform her that you're here," Veronica said and walked towards the door.
Terros settled himself on the chair and watched the sea of clouds gathering in the distance.
Veronica knocked gently at the door of Elva's room. "Grandpa Terros is here!" she spoke.
"I'll be out in a minute," Elva replied.
Veronica went to the kitchen to prepare two glasses of fruit juice for the visitor and Elva.
When she went to the balcony, Elva was already sitting on her favorite chair.
Veronica placed the glass of juice on the center table. "Enjoy the juice, guys," she said and lowered herself on the chair.
"Thank you!" Terros said and sipped from the glass.
Elva took her glass and drinks the juice as well.
A few minutes later.
Terros put down the empty glass on the center table. "Girls, I'm here to inform you that Calder and I organized fifteen men as our search party. We will dedicate our time and attention to one common goal of finding Graven everywhere," he explained.
Elva was pleased with the initiative. "That is good, the more people will search for Graven the faster we will find him," she said.
"I will join in searching for Graven!" Veronica volunteered.
Terros looked at her. "No need, just stay here with Elva," he said.
Elva looked at Veronica. "I have a better idea!" she said and smiled brightly. She opened her hand. Ten golden leaves suddenly appeared in the air.
"What can we do for you, goddess?" the leader of the leaves asked.
"Multiply yourselves into hundreds and find Lord Graven everywhere, he is missing as of this moment. Find his whereabouts for me!" Elva commanded.
Each of the ten leaves multiplied into one hundred and soon the air in front of the marble house is filled with one thousand golden leaves.
"Wow!" Terros eyes widened in amazement, very much impressed by the ability of the Goddess to command such magical leaves.
Elva waved her hand and Graven's image appeared in the air, crystal clear. She addressed the leaves. "That is Lord Graven, the one you need to find for me. Everyone, please remember his face. Spread yourself everywhere. Search the houses in the towns, the establishment, the mountains, the caves, and everything. Once you found him, bring him here in the Windless Mountain!" she ordered.
"Aye, goddess!" the leaves answered in unison.
"Now go!" Elva commanded.
The leaves scattered in all directions and vanished from the mountain in a few minutes.
Terros was awestruck the whole time.
Veronica looked at Grandpa with amusement flashing in his eyes. "They're gone..." she said.
Terros grinned broadly. "I'm impressed!" he spoke.
"Me too!" Veronica replied.
"I chose the leaves because they can blend with anything and do anything and are highly intelligent creatures," Elva said. "Now we have a thousand leaves helping us to search for Graven. I will think of better ideas later on," she added.
"Thank you so much for your help, Elva!" Terros said, feeling thankful.
"Don't mention it. We are united with one common goal to find Graven as soon as possible," Elva replied.
"Alright, I'll take my leave now and begin my quest to find Graven," Terros said, rising to his feet.
"Take care, Grandpa, and good luck!" Veronica said.
...
Terros teleported himself back to the manor to check on Laura's condition.
He landed in the garden at the back of the house.
At that moment, Simon was busy throwing feeds into the fish pond. He looked at the visitor.
"How is Laura doing?" Terros asked.
"She's crying most of the time, devastated by what happened to her husband. My wife and daughter Sofia take turns to watch over her and sleep with her in the bedroom during the night," Simon answered.
"That's good. It's not wise to leave Laura alone. She might get tempted to leave the manor and find Graven everywhere. We can't afford for something like that to happen," Terros said. "I'm here to inquire about her condition. I'll take my leave now..."
"Thanks for dropping by," Simon said.
"Don't mention it," Terros responded.
A few seconds later, Terros vanished from the garden.
Simon resumed feeding the fish in the pond.
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