Chapter 509: Faces on the Walls

Orion sighed.

He leaned back slightly in his chair and ran a hand over his jaw.

"The one person who is actually good at stealth," he said quietly, "is Tobias."

The name settled into the hall.

"And he’s also the one we’re going to rescue."

Brynhild lifted her head at once.

"Tobias is the best," she said. "That much is obvious. But we still have people who can at least try. I can go, for one—"

Orion cut in gently.

"You are not leaving my niece," he told her. "And besides, you seem to have forgotten something."

Brynhild paused.

"Our faces," he said calmly, "are plastered everywhere around the west, the east and the south."

There was a small, uncomfortable shift around the table.

"If anyone goes in," Orion continued, "it has to be someone the enclave would not recognise at first glance."

Brynhild frowned.

"But—"

"It cannot be someone whose face they already know," Orion said, still quietly. "And most of us fall into that category."

Caspian nodded slowly.

"I... forgot about that part."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"The enclave has been ridiculously persistent in their search for us, and alert publicly," he said.

"True," Mary said with a nod. "If not for the information we got from Silver Creek about them posting our profiles across the regions."

"Updated ones at that," Lysander grumbled.

Sophia’s brows drew together.

"They... upgrade the profiles?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Caspian replied. "Constantly."

"But how?" she asked with a frown.

"It’s quite easy," Ronan told her. "They know how we look. Let’s use Caspian for example. They know how he looked when he was slightly younger than he is now, so they update the previous drawing they had according to how they think he would have aged—his bone structure, his brows, his hair, everything."

Sophia’s eyes widened at that. "That specific?"

"According to the information from Silver Creek... yes," he told her. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Sophia went quiet for a moment.

Then she spoke.

"So... what you’re actually looking for," she said slowly, "is someone who can sneak into the west and won’t be recognised."

Several people nodded almost immediately.

"That’s exactly it," Caspian said.

"And preferably someone who doesn’t already have their face circulating in half the towns in the regions," Daniel added.

"Someone who can—or rather, people who can—sneak in and out without alerting everyone," Caspian added.

Orion glanced around the table.

"No one as old as the three musketeers can go," Orion said.

"More specifically, those around twenty-six and above are more at risk," Ronan said.

"And most fighters we have that could actually do this mission are about this age," Lysander said.

Sophia paused, then spoke up. "How about we use the younger ones?"

No one spoke.

Every gaze shifted to her.

Sophia straightened slightly in her seat.

"From what I understand... at least from what you guys said, those around twenty-six and above are at risk, and also, I suspect that the enclave wouldn’t have the profiles of everyone in the pack. I reckon they’ll only have people that are of importance, like Orion for example. And Daniel, and even Caspian."

"Add people who left lasting impressions too. And you forget Lysander, shorty—his father was a good warrior," Orion said.

Sophia’s eyes widened in shock. She didn’t know that.

Lysander waved her off. "Don’t be surprised, Sophia. That was the only thing my father was good for, and he was well known for it too, and I was well known for not following in his steps."

Brynhild took his hand in hers then.

Sophia realised it was a touchy subject and said nothing about his father again. Besides, the person she knew was Lysander, not his father.

"Then how about me?" Brynhild asked. "I’m very certain they don’t have anything about me. They thought I died, after all."

"But you can’t leave my niece," Ronan told her.

Brynhild sighed in defeat.

"But I can go," Ronan suggested. "I’m not sure they have a profile for me. They thought I was dead, after all, and the one who killed my family died by my hands."

"But you would alert everyone in the region if you go," Orion told him. "I hate to say it, brother, but you are not good at stealth or anything undercover."

Daniel nodded. "That is true."

Ronan rolled his eyes at his father. "Some father you are," he muttered with a pout.

"How about we pick from those who just finished the placement test?" Sophia asked. "They are younger and I doubt the enclave would have profiles of Joren, Dren, Cat and the others."

Everyone was silent as they considered Sophia’s words.

"Are these people not inexperienced?" Eldric asked. "They have just taken the test, after all. We can’t just send them—"

"Inexperienced they may be, but I can personally vouch for them," Sophia said.

"And I’m not saying they should go alone. They can go with someone experienced, someone who can help and lead them. I’m sure there must be someone in the pack who can," Sophia said.

Ronan chuckled. "Though inexperienced, the majority of them faced beasts that even those who are leaders right now have never faced. I’m with my sister-in-law on this."

Orion nodded. "It’s not a bad decision. The main issue will be worried families, because it’s the west after all. No one wants to hear their child is walking into enclave territory."

Daniel was quiet, and then he sighed.

"There is just one problem. The people you’re talking about," he said carefully, "are still considered trainees."

Sophia frowned faintly.

"The results of the placement test haven’t been finalised yet, after all," he said.

"Then we’ll just have to finalise it and also place them in their respective ranks," Brynhild said. "I reckon the examiners must have the results right now."

"Another issue," Ronan spoke up. "Is that the majority of these trainees—at least the ones who were with me—are currently in the medical facility right now."