After agreeing to investigate and possibly handle the Orc situation in her mom's stead, Hazel made her way back over to where Astrid and the prisoners were. She was returning to commence the second step of her plan.

She walked passed several players doing various tasks from transporting supplies to carrying injured people from one location to another. Hazel ignored them all as she kept moving toward her destination without an ounce of hesitation. As she walked past the players, a couple of them would occasionally spare a glance at her with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

They were curious about her presence but also fearful of it. And it didn't help that her arcane dress and veil solidified the mysterious and menacing atmosphere she emitted. And it reminded her of her so-called title that people called her. The Veiled Witch. The name gives off a mystical yet ominous vibe to her.

Despite the various stares directed at her, Hazel managed to ignore them and hastily marched over to her destination, not wanting to feel the piercing gazes of the numerous players watching her.

Once she arrived, she saw Astrid still sitting down and sorting through her equipment like before. Even Olga and the other two players were still in place.

Astrid looked up and noticed that Hazel had made it back. "Ah, you're back. What were you doing?"

[Astrid Skogr: How did it go?]

Hazel glanced at the message from the chat room before replying. "Oh, I just went to talk to my mom."

[Hazel Thatcher: It went well.]

"She was busy healing some players," She continued after sending the message. "They were pretty injured."

"They were only hurt because they weren't strong enough," Astrid remarked.

"Yeah, well, not everyone was trained into warriors like you, you know."

"Maybe so, but despite not being trained as a warrior, you stand among the rest as one of the strongest players here."

Hazel became flustered by Astrid's smooth compliment, causing her to fumble her words as a result.

"W-well, that's only because I adapted to the situation quickly. That and I was allowed to use magic and took it. There are plenty of other players out there who are likely stronger than me."

While Hazel knew that she was strong, she wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she was the strongest player in the world. She liked the idea but knew better than to imagine such a scenario like that.

"A-anyway," Hazel coughed, trying to get back to business. "From what my mom told me, those players ran into some Orcs. Not only that, but there seemed to have been several sightings of them either within or near the guild's territory."

"So, there's a possibility that Orcs have set up a base close to the Guild?" Astrid questioned.

Hazel nodded. "Pretty much. Because of how frequent the sightings were and how injured the players got, they planned to do an investigation and see where the Orc base was located. So, I volunteered to do it instead."

She spared a glance at Olga, taking note of her reaction. Just as she did, she watched the dark elf prisoner slightly straighten up as she began to listen closely and carefully to their conversation. Seeing this, Hazel smiled, knowing that her prey took the bait hook, line, and sinker.

"Why would you volunteer to do their job when you're not part of their guild?" Astrid asked, pretending to sound confused.

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"Well, it's my mom, so I'm obligated to help her. Plus, I'm helping you, but I'm not a dark elf nor affiliated with your tribe."

"That's because we are still under a partnership. That is different than what you're doing with this request to hunt down the Orcs."

Hazel shrugged. "If you say so."

"So, when are you going?"

"Sometime tonight. I would go the next morning, but the situation is getting dire, so it would be best to deal with it as soon as possible."

"Could Zoe or the other top players be dealing with this?"

Hazel shook her head. "No, they have something going on tonight as well, and aside from you, I'm the next best thing to investigate and deal with whatever was happening. Why, are you going to miss me?"

Astrid scoffed. "Don't push your luck. I'm merely asking because I was curious."

"Alright, alright," She waved dismissively at the dark elf before turning her gaze to Olga. "So, did your former companion say anything while I was gone? Like anything related to the guild she joined or where their base was located."

Upon being mentioned in the conversation, the dark elf traitor flinched in response before shrinking back to avoid looking suspicious.

Astrid spared a glance at Olga before shaking her head. "Nothing yet. Despite betraying me without a second thought, she's a very tight-lipped about the other traitors. And don't bother trying to get anything from the human traitors. Those fools know next to nothing and were basically pawns to Dolk's schemes."

Hazel looked over at Simon and Matthew, noticing that both of them were sitting still despite what Astrid just said about them. It was likely because they knew they couldn't do anything about it, but she found it kind of sad that they at least didn't pipe up in retaliation of the dark elf's harsh treatment.

"So, do you think we'll be getting anything out of Olga?"

"Doubtful. Dark elves were trained to stay silent in situations like this. If one of us were captured, we would need to endure harsh torture to keep ourselves from confessing any secrets."

"And yet, Olga, along with a few other dark elves, betrayed your tribe at the drop of a hat. Guess that training was wasted on them."

Hazel noticed that Olga's shoulders were trembling. It was an evident sign that she was annoyed at her comment. Maybe even offended. The veiled witch ignored the dark elf traitor's reaction and continued her conversation with Astrid.

"When are you leaving?" Astrid asked.

"Not sure," she half-shrugged. "Probably tonight. I'm going to tell Zoe and the others about my current objective when they start to head out around the same time. Until then, I have some reading to do."

As soon as she said this, Hazel cast telekinesis on her rune-crafting book, pulled it toward her, and then grasped it in her hand. Giving the book a little shake in front of Astrid, she turned around and headed for the exit.

"After I talk to Zoe about my plans, I'll be on the roof. If you need anything, just let me know."

"You're not going to stay here and read?" Astrid asked, sounding curious.

"No, I need a quieter place so I can read in peace. And hearing the constant huffing and puffing from the prisoners is only going to distract me. Plus, with me gone, Olga might be more inclined to talk. To you, anyway. I doubt she'd say anything to me."

"You're not wrong, though I doubt she has anything to say anymore."

"True, but who knows? I'll give you guys to talk a little more. Have fun." Hazel waved Astrid goodbye as she quickly left the area.

She said as much as she could to get Olga interested in their conversation. Now that the dark elf knew that Hazel was going to be preoccupied, she would inform Dolk about this and tell him that she wouldn't be a problem for both the rescue and hospital ambush if they decided to go with both.

When, in reality, Hazel was playing them like a fiddle. Of course, she couldn't be full of herself and needed to expect a couple of hurdles in her little plan. For one thing, it wasn't a guarantee that Dolk would be convinced about Hazel's absence.

Although she didn't know much about the dark elf, she at least expected him to be a cautious individual. Which meant he was likely going to send in a spy to keep an eye on Hazel to make sure that she was actually doing her task like she said she would. That could pose a bit of a problem for her.

Hopefully, she could simply knock out the spy without alerting Dolk, but she wasn't certain that could work. Plus, she didn't have access to the chat room that Dolk and his guild were in, so she had no idea what he would know or be told. Essentially, she was doing this blind and hoped for the best.

After walking a little bit away, Hazel immediately ran into Zoe, Kane, and Anais as they made their way toward the room where the prisoners and Astrid were.

"Oh, Hazel, there you are," Zoe said with a small grin. "I was told you were here. Do you have a minute?"

Hazel returned a smile, thankful that she didn't have to search for her. "I was just about to ask the same thing."

Now it was time to get everything ready for when the meeting began. Starting with letting Zoe in on her plan.

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