In the dimly lit underground cellar, a gorgeously dressed woman suddenly appeared in Vera's sight.
Clad in a fiery red corseted dress embellished with bright feathers, a shawl adorned with feathers, and a bell-shaped hat with a hairband... Every garment and accessory was in eye-catching vivid colors, making her look less like a witch and more like an exaggeratedly dressed fashion model.
Despite such a striking attire, Vera failed to notice when the woman had appeared behind her.
"Hey, I found my way here following the address you gave." Qimora greeted Vera nonchalantly, "It was quite a tiring journey, traveling through the night."
"When did you start being here?" Vera eyed her suspiciously from head to toe.
"About five minutes ago," Qimora replied.
"I warned you before not to sneak into my workshop !" Vera exclaimed angrily.
"Sigh, why is everyone here ?" Qimora leisurely took out a cigarette case, selected a slim cigarette for herself, and lit it. "You can't stop me from coming in, yet you want me to listen to you. It's too much to ask to have others yield to you. Isn't that too unreasonable?"
"Alright, alright, your turf, your rules." Qimora reluctantly returned the cigarette to the case. She wasn't actually afraid of Vera; she just dreaded what was inside that iron bucket.
"You..." Vera scrutinized Qimora up and down, hesitantly beginning to ask a question.
Before Vera could voice her question, Qimora preempted with her response: "Abigail sent me to find you. I heard that Abigail had previously summoned you separately, but you lost contact midway and kept the token away from you. Is that true?"
"Yes," Vera replied curtly.
"What happened? Did you two have a falling out?"
"I wanted her to take care of Aiden Galord, but she wanted me to abandon my affairs here and go to the outskirts of the Sabbath Forest to help her set up straw men as guards... I just couldn't understand what she was thinking!" Vera complained loudly. "Now she sends you... does this mean she's finally changed her mind and sent you to help me?"
Vera knew well that Qimora had the ability to infiltrate the seemingly impenetrable prison. With Qimora's assistance, the likelihood of successfully assassinating Aiden would significantly increase.
But Qimora shook her head in disagreement: "No, she wants me to personally come and persuade you to leave this place. If you kill Aiden Galord now, you won't have a chance to rescue Priscilla and Dailey from that prison. Instead, you'll draw the full attention of the Inquisition of the State onto the Witch's Gathering..." The rightful source is n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"They have been eyeing us for a while, haven't they!?" Vera interjected energetically before Qimora could finish. "Didn't you see what I wrote in the letter I gave you? The person who infiltrated the gathering that day was that damned senior inquisitor! Priscilla was captured, the meeting was infiltrated, everything has been exposed, and Abigail still plans to sit back and do nothing?"
Qimora raising her hand, gestured for her to calm down: "Abigail means that we have more important enemies to deal with now. The day you lost contact, she didn't have time to inform you of what happened that day."
"What?" Vera frowned upon hearing this.
"Actually, on the day she summoned you, the Sabbath Forest was attacked by the Battle Nuns from the 'Black Goat' faction. There were twenty-three of them, and Abigail killed them all," Qimora explained to her. "In fact, since last year, there have been nuns disguised as witches occasionally scouting the Sabbath Forest, seemingly laying the groundwork."
"So, the priest who likes to sell daughters everywhere finally couldn't hold back, no wonder Abigail wanted me to help her build fortifications... She's been targeted," Vera said indignantly. "Why didn't she help me deal with Aiden Galord first?"
"She's worried that by doing this, you might get yourself into trouble. The Witch's Gathering has already lost two grand witches. they can't afford any more losses, If they start a war with the Black Goat faction now," Qimora explained.
"Huh, now she thinks of uniting forces? Where was she all this time? Priscilla and I have advised her so many times to consolidate the Witch's gathering, but she never listened!" Vera slammed the table.
"Uniting the entire Witch's Gathering is not an easy task, you know?"
"That's why only Abigail can do it! Only with her charisma can she make the Witch's gathering a cohesive organization," Vera said intensely. "Qimora, are you willing to keep hiding from the Inquisition pursuit, and living like a sewer rat?"
"I think... it's not that bad," Qimora smiled. "Don't forget, I am a 'Hermit,' after all."
"Damn You!" Vera couldn't help but curse.
"Oh, I'm aware of that," Qimora remained unperturbed and instead tried to reason with Vera. "Come on, calm down and listen to me. Even if we succeed in consolidating, do you think it will make the countries bound by the pact fear us and refrain from attacking us? You're mistaken. By doing so, we will become a target, and next time, it won't be the Inquisition we face, but the military."
"You won't know unless you try, right? It's better than sitting around waiting to be captured one by one and thrown into prison," Vera insisted stubbornly. "Priscilla is already captured, and I am thoroughly disappointed in Abigail! She selected us just to use us as pawns! Wake up, Qimora. The Fertility Cult isn't after the Witch's gathering; they're after Abigail alone. The priest just wants the 'authority' she holds. We have no reason to get involved!"
"Silly child, can't you do the math? I know 'Black Goat' is only eyeing Abigail," Qimora explained patiently. "But Abigail has agreed that if we kill the priest of the Black Goat, we can share the spoils. Don't you want divinity? This is your chance!"
"Killing the priest is advantageous, while killing Aiden Galord only brings risks. Besides, we can't just watch Abigail in danger, can we? If something happens to her, the entire Witch's gathering is finished," Qimora reasoned calmly.
Upon hearing this, Vera finally calmed down. Indeed, despite her many grievances against Abigail, she couldn't stand idly by if the Fertility Cult targeted her.
"Fine, I'll take care of that daughter-selling priest and those damn nuns..." Vera paused, then added with unwavering determination, "But it will be after I have killed Aiden Galord!"