Aside from Sylvia and Galina, all the Witches who were supposed to come had arrived. Considering Grandma Cassandra's exhausting journey, no celebration banquet was held aboard the ship tonight. Seeing the young ladies wandering about the ship again also put Shade in a good mood.
Now, all three Teleportation Gates in the Ice and Snow Castle in the mountains had been activated. With the Ice and Snow Castle as the center, one could reach Sylvia's Tower at the mountaintop, Snow Mountain Hall halfway up the mountain, and the Radiance Messenger by the sea.
When arranging accommodations, most of the young ladies stayed aboard the ship. Claire's followers moved from the town inn to Snow Mountain Hall, while some elite members selected by the Witches stayed in the Ice and Snow Castle to guard against all sorts of situations.
Semi-permanent Teleportation Gates meant that even after the local incident was over, the Ice and Snow Castle would not become deserted again. The Witches seemed to intend to turn that castle into a Witch Gathering venue like a second "Moon Sanctuary."
Of course, Shade still had not found the castle's key, so the castle had not yet become his property.
Dorothy was attending a dinner with fellow writers tonight, so when Shade and Megan returned in the afternoon, they brought Little Mia along as well. That way, he could eat aboard the ship. After dinner, he had originally planned to go home at seven in the evening, but before he left, news came from the town again: Cultists from the Misfortune Order had been spotted near a village on the eastern side of the island.
"What are they trying to do?"
Visibility was terrible in the snowy night. Shade did not have the Witches send followers to investigate, instead bringing Flora and