Her Graceful War Song (Carissa Sinclair) novel Chapter 1262

Carissa blinked in surprise, for the first time noticing how remarkably handsome and reassuring her martial uncle seemed.

A map was spread out before them, and one by one, the heads leaned in to get a closer look. The map showed a network of tunnels, crisscrossing like a spider's web, but there were only four points of entry.

Two on the east, one to the west, and another to the south. The northern entrance, near Stone Village, had no tunnel at all.

Which meant the only way in was through the northern path, where there were no tunnels.

However, saying there were only four entrances wasn't entirely accurate. While the mountain had many entrances, the tunnels themselves only had four exits. No matter where they entered the mountain, they would eventually have to exit through one of these four points.

Before anyone could fully take in the map, Everett laid down a second one, sliding his hand across it until his finger came to rest on a marked symbol.

"These villages all have tunnels. There are 13 villages in total. Take a good look and memorize them quickly. We'll split into teams to guard the four exits while we wait for them. As for the villages, we'll send others to investigate."

Carissa felt the weariness lift from her shoulders. She gave her uncle a thumbs-up, her eyes brimming with flattery. "Sage Everett, you're amazing! You came here and immediately broke the deadlock. I want to be on your team."

Everett glanced at her with a raised brow. "I won't be going."

Was he supposed to go when they were only escorting two people out? What did he bring the apprentices for, then?

Carissa quickly adjusted, still smiling brightly. "Right, of course. You don't need to go, but... can you really be sure he's just waiting to explore the tunnels? Aren't you worried he might be in danger?"

Everett turned the question back on her. "In all the days you've been running through the mountains, have you seen an orchid with missing petals?"

Everyone who had been searching the mountains shook their heads. They had only found two orchid carvings, both intact.

If the food supplies were being sent from Fernbrook Villa, they could arrest Tiberius when returning to the capital.

After Everett laid down the two maps, everyone's minds settled.

The plan was quickly rearranged. The apprentices from Meadow Ridge who had arrived with Everett would take turns guarding Fernbrook Villa.

Sure enough, in the past couple of days, people had started entering the villa, but none had come out. Since they began watching, over 50 to 60 people had entered.

From their looks, they seemed like ordinary laborers—thick arms and robust, muscular bodies.

Carissa suspected they were long-term workers responsible for transporting the food supplies. Once they reached their destination, someone else would take over. In the end, they would never know where the food supplies were being sent.