Shade and Miss Danist did not leave the tavern to wander around Mi Ge Village. Instead, they sat there and waited.
They discussed the secrets the Hermits of the Forest might be hiding, the secrets discovered locally over the past few days, and eventually even the Moon Dance Festival Concert beginning that weekend.
Hermit Bell Van Buren had said he would return in about two hours, leading Shade and Miss Danist to speculate about the location of their true headquarters. But in fact, he returned after just over an hour.
He was accompanied by two other elderly Hermits with graying hair. They too were wrapped in coarse brown robes, but the villagers in the tavern were not surprised by them. Clearly, these Hermits often appeared in the village.
When they entered the tavern, the red-haired girl was smiling as she pressed Shade about his opinion of Flora Winslet.
"Thank you for returning the holy emblem, Mr. Watson."
The two old Hermits seemed to be elders of the Hermits of the Forest. They had specifically come to thank Shade and tell him how to contact them in the village and in the city afterward. They regarded Shade as a true friend.
Shade in turn left the address of the Accordion Hotel as his mailing address. This way, both sides established a channel of communication.
The three Hermits brought information concerning "Astrologer Euclid," but it was merely a somewhat yellowed notebook:
"Three years ago, an unfamiliar Sorceress visited the Woodland and had brief contact with us. That woman was very powerful. We did not know why she came here, but she spoke with our Great Elder about 'Astrologer Euclid.'"
The elderly Hermit who called himself Kirk Jarvis said this, leaving Shade even more surprised.
"You mean someone was also asking about Astrologer