Meanwhile, in a sleepy town called Shadowend, Mars and his men were gathering intelligence about the witch. He sent a spy to find out information about the old woman known as Mrs. Morelli.
This spy confirmed Ellena's words that Mrs. Morelli did have a house on the top of the cliff.
"She usually comes to town on Saturday to buy some supplies, together with her maid," said the spy. "We can enter her home while she is out."
The spy had gathered the intelligence by talking to the locals. He found that according to the townspeople, the old Mrs. Morelli was a noble lady who lived in Shadowend for almost three decades.
They didn't know her family and just assumed she was from a noble family since she was wealthy and didn't really mingle with the locals.
Many people from the older generation knew Mrs. Morelli was a reclusive lady who had lived in the mansion by the cliff for a long time.
They assumed she came from an affluent family because of her big house. She almost never received any guests and often traveled with her carriage and servants.
Her identity was a mystery. However, since she never bothered anyone in the village, nobody had a negative impression of her.
"Hmm.. so far, everything that Ellena told me is proven accurate," Mars tapped his slender fingers on the table. He turned to Gewen. "What do you think? Can we get more information from the locals? We need to really make sure that we can enter her home while the witch is out so we can save Ellena's heart."
Mars already told Gewen the reason they had to sneak in to enter the witch's house and Gewen was determined to do whatever he could to make sure that they get Ellena's heart back.
"I think we need to double check if the information is accurate," Gewen suggested. "This is Ellena's heart, we are talking about. We shouldn't take risks, no matter how small."
He cared about Ellena because they were good friends who grew up together. While Mars was adamant that he did not want to owe Ellena anything. So, both men were on the same page.
"You are right. We cannot make mistakes. We need to make sure how we can enter her home and find Ellena's heart while the witch is away." Mars nodded in agreement.
"Your Highness, I can help get more information," Bruinen offered himself. "Since we are traveling as a salt merchant group, I can find information in the market and talk to other people too."
Mars looked at Bruinen and thought about his suggestion. Bruinen did look like a merchant. He wouldn't attract too much attention if he went out and asked around. He could just tell people that he was looking for a new market.
"That's a good idea," Mars agreed. "If you can do that, it will be good."
"Then, I will go tomorrow to the market and talk to the locals," said Bruine respectfully.
"I can also talk to people and get that info," Gewen also volunteered all of a sudden. "Two heads are better than one, right? While Bruinen is looking for information from the people in the market, I can talk to the ladies. Women talk and they gossip. If you want to get a lot of insider information, you have to speak with the ladies."
Bruinen hiccuped when he heard Gewen's offer. From his expression, it was obvious that he thought Gewen was only using it as an excuse to go have fun with the ladies while they were having a mission.
Gewen gave Bruinen a side-eye. After traveling together for six weeks, they had had many frictions and it was apparent that the two men didn't like each other.
Bruinen was often annoyed by Gewen whom he thought talk too much. While Gewen disliked the fact that Bruinen was a scholar who had seen the world and knew many things.
During the travel, the young wizard often spent time with Mars to talk about the world. Secretly, Gewen felt jealous and threatened. He didn't like to see his friend spend more time with Bruinen than with him.
So, when Bruinen offered to volunteer and get more information, Gewen quickly volunteered too. However, his goodwill was seen by Bruinen as an excuse to get girls and have fun. And it was obvious in his expression.
"What? Do you have a problem with me?" Gewen barked at Bruinen.
The young wizard coughed and looked away. Even though he had his suspicion, he knew Gewen was the crown prince's good friend, so he didn't dare to openly voice his opinion.
"What will you do to get the ladies to talk?" Mars asked Gewen out of politeness. He, too, actually assumed the same thing as Bruinen.
They had been traveling for almost six weeks, during which Gewen had not touched any women. This was a personal record for the womanizer and now Mars suspected that Gewen had reached his limit and wanted to go and look for girls to warm his bed.
"I will go to the local tavern, use my charm and talk to the ladies," Gewen said with a grin. "You know I can make women talk… hehehe."
Mars chuckled. He knew Gewen was right. So, he nodded to show his approval. "That's a good idea too. What will you tell them?"
"Oh, I can just tell those women that I'm a young lord who is out for an adventure." Gewen shrugged nonchalantly. "I come from Asguay and want to slay monsters to make a name for myself. What do you think?"
Mars looked at Gewen in the eye and made sure that the man was serious with his intention to seduce the local ladies into giving him information and not just used it as an excuse to have fun and play with girls.
"Okay," Mars said after he was convinced that Gewen meant what he said. He patted the man on the shoulder and nodded his approval. "I agree with you."
"Great! I will go to the busiest tavern after lunch to get the info." Gewen smiled smugly. He turned to Bruinen and raised an eyebrow. "You will try to get info from the merchants in the market?"
Bruinen nodded. "Yes."
"Wanna bet who will get the information faster?" Gewen asked the man with a smirk.
"We already got the info," said Mars. "We just need to confirm it. It's not something worth betting for."
"I bet ten gold coins," said Gewen smugly. He took out ten gold coins from his pocket and put them on the table.
Bruinen looked uneasy. He was not rich and obviously didn't carry ten gold coins in his pocket.
"I don't have the money," the young wizard replied.
"Oh, it's okay. If you win, you can get these gold coins. But if I win, you will be my servant for ten days. What do you think?" Gewen replied without missing a beat.
Bruinen had never had ten gold coins in his life. He also thought he could win the bet. So, even though initially he was not into betting, Gewen managed to convince him.
"Deal!" Bruinen replied with a faint smile.
