After Locke saw Albert out of the Forbidden Forest and returned to the port city of Lilith's Cottage, he opened the Gray Mist Slate and saw the message Peggy had sent him—
"Junior Locke, my butler contacted me. He has already arrived at your school's location."
"He also brought the Druid's Ring. He is waiting for you at the port."
Locke thought for a moment and chose not to reply.
After all, he had not purchased a membership and could only send fewer than a hundred messages a year, so it was best not to casually waste messages on replies.
More importantly, after going back and forth with Peggy over this period, Locke had realized that she rarely listened no matter what he said. Even if he did not reply, she would not feel offended.
Perhaps that was simply how she lived in the Land of Six Towers. Others listened to her, but she never listened to others.
Locke quickly made his way to the port of Lilith's Cottage.
There, at the port, stood an elderly wizard wearing the Philayde Family crest on his robe. He looked utterly ordinary, lacking the wisdom and cunning one would expect in the eyes of a First-Ring Wizard.
After landing, Locke walked over and said, "I am Locke Augustine. Peggy sent you to deliver the Druid's Ring to me, correct?"
"So you are Lord Augustine." The elderly wizard's eyes immediately lit up. Without even trying to verify Locke's identity, he took a small Adamantine box from his Astral Ring, proactively undid the Magic Lock, and opened it to reveal a wooden ring lying inside.
A line of Ogham Tree Runes was inscribed upon the wooden ring—[Decay Is the Beginning of Prosperity].
Locke took the ring from the old wizard's hand. Legend had it that