Chapter 117: Plans Before Dawn

The great dining hall of the Nightmare Hotel had rarely been this full.

Warm golden lights hung from the rafters while enchanted lanterns floated overhead, casting a comforting glow across the enormous room. 

Outside, workers continued repairing damaged walls from the recent invasion.

Luckily inside the hotel there was, for the first time in days, a feeling of peace.

Long tables had been pushed together until they formed one enormous banquet table stretching nearly the entire length of the hall.

Chef Marcel and his hired kitchen staff hurried busily in between tables carrying steaming platters of roasted meats, fresh bread, and thick vegetable stew.

They had baked potatoes dripping with butter and chives, teriyaki grilled fish from the Market, and enough desserts to satisfy even Lilith’s legendary appetite.

Gene smiled.

“I think the chef believes we’re feeding an army.”

“We technically are,” Selene laughed.

Lilith was already halfway through her second plate.

“I support this decision. All I can eat!”

Across the room, Prince Cassian and Lady Aurelia entered carrying a long cloth-wrapped object.

Immediately conversations quieted.

Moira spoke first.

“We found something good this time”

Gene motioned toward the empty seats beside him.

“You know the house rules. Come eat first.”

“I’ve learned that nobody makes good decisions while starving.”

Lilith enthusiastically pointed her fork toward Gene.

“He speaks wisdom.”

⸻

As everyone filled their plates, stories began flowing around the room.

Some humorous.

Some heartbreaking.

Some unbelievable.

Mother Sarah listened quietly while the Dark Chapel sisters served tea to the wounded soldiers that relaxed on another table.

The Caretaker stood silently behind Jesse Belle as always, occasionally accepting food only after she insisted.

He didn’t need to eat but did so because the food actually tasted good.

Saddly he could only eat things that could fit through the wires on his mouth.

Athena projected herself above the center of the table as a softly glowing figure.

She had already begun organizing everyone’s reports.

⸻

Finally Gene stood.

“Alright.”

“I think we all mostly finished dinner.”

He looked around the table.

“…we need to compare everything we’ve discovered.”

Everyone nodded.

⸻

Prince Cassian carefully unwrapped the object.

The mysterious sword rested upon the table.

Even sitting motionless…

It drew every eye.

Its metal shimmered between silver, white,  black, and gold.

Almost like it couldn’t decide what color it wanted to be.

The Mad Scientist adjusted his goggles.

“…Interesting.”

His wife leaned closer.

“I’ve never seen an alloy behave like this.”

Moira summarized everything they had discovered.

The ruined estate.

The family crypt.

The Dreamseer runes.

The note.

The sword.

When she finished…

Silence settled across the room.

Gene slowly reached toward the blade.

The moment his fingers touched the hilt…

The sword vibrated.

Just once.

Everyone noticed.

Gene slowly let go.

“…It reacted.”

Great Teacher’s voice echoed softly from Selene’s ring.

“It recognizes people with powerful imagination.”

Moira looked surprised.

“So it really is connected.”

The dragon answered calmly.

“This was never an ordinary weapon.”

⸻

Gene looked toward the Mad Scientist couple.

“I have a favor.”

The husband immediately grinned.

“You usually do.”

“I need you to examine this to see what it is made of.”

The scientist carefully lifted the sword.

His wife immediately began scanning it with several odd devices that unfolded from her sleeves.

Tiny magical lenses rotated around the blade.

A humming crystal floated above the metal.

Numbers and symbols appeared in the air.

She frowned.

“…Impossible.”

“What?”

She looked toward Gene.

“The structure of this metal…”

“…doesn’t match anything we’ve catalogued here.”

Her husband became excited.

“Also it seems that the actual weapon is under a coat of this strange metal. I can’t wait to crack this puppy open.”

Gene smiled.

“I figured you would.”

Great Teacher spoke again.

“There is another reason I asked you to investigate.”

The dragon looked toward Gene.

“The Fantastic Sword requires an enchanted celestial alloy.”

Gene rolled his eyes.

“I remember.”

The dragon looked toward the scientists.

“The prince’s sword may have been forged using the same forgotten material.”

The dining hall became quiet again.

If that were true…

One mystery might solve another.

The Mad Scientist grinned manically.

“Oh yes… this is going to be wonderful.”

His wife smiled the same unsettling smile.

“Gene, we will begin immediately.”

⸻

Gene leaned back.

“Our turn.”

He summarized everything that had happened beneath the Dreamseer Vault.

The Black Gem.

The Dreamseer Ring.

Great Teacher’s communion with Selene.

The Fantastic Sword blueprint.

The four ancient calamities.

The missing sealing spell.

When he finished…

Cassian slowly exhaled.

“So it seems like we’re fighting something much bigger than we thought.”

Gene nodded.

“Unfortunately it does seems that way.”

Moira unfolded several maps across the table.

“I’ve compared the Mirror’s directions with every surviving Dreamseer document.”

She pointed toward four various locations.

“These are our priorities.”

First up, we have Heart Mountain.

-Location of the King Dwarf’s Helmet-

Secondly, places that are likely to contain a Mirror fragment.

-The Crystal Valley-

-The Sky Archive-

-The Shadow Bone Yard-

“Third, We also need to figure out the secret about the queen’s castle.”

-Queen’s Bedroom-

-The Throne Room-

-The Vault-

Selene looked toward another map.

“And lastly … we have to visit the underwater kingdom.”

Moira nodded.

“The Green Gem.”

⸻

Lilith slowly raised her hand.

Everyone looked toward her.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“If we’re going treasure hunting…”

“…are we going to split into groups?”

Everyone laughed.

Gene looked around the room.

“Actually…”

“I was about to suggest exactly that.”

Athena projected a glowing map above the table.

“Our available personnel make simultaneous expeditions possible.”

Gene stood.

“Then let’s divide responsibilities.”

Everyone leaned forward.

This was the moment the next stage of the war truly began.

⸻

Team One — Gene

Gene looked around.

“I’ll lead the expedition to Heart Mountain.”

Objectives:

• Recover the King Dwarf’s Helm.
• Investigate rumors surrounding the enchanted egg-shaped alloy.
• Survey any ancient Dreamseer ruin.

Joining him would be:

• Lilith
• Caretaker
• Jesse Belle
• Athena (remote support)

Lilith pumped both fists into the air.

“Treasure!”

⸻

Team Two — Selene

Selene smiled.

“I’ll continue searching for Mirror fragments.”

Joining her:

• Great Teacher
• Moira
• Charlotte
• Lyra

Primary destination:

The Ancient Star Observatory.

⸻

Team Three — Prince Cassian

Cassian rested a hand upon the mysterious sword.

“My knights need time to recover.”

“But we won’t remain idle.”

His mission:

Strengthen defenses.

Recruit survivors.

Escort refugees.

Prepare supplies for future expeditions.

Lady Aurelia smiled.

“And make certain no more noble families disappear without warning.”

⸻

Team Four — Research Division

The Mad Scientist couple nearly answered together.

“We claim the Research Team.”

Gene laughed.

“I expected as much.”

Objectives:

• Study the mysterious sword.
• Compare its metal to the secret egg-shaped alloy hidden beneath the hotel.
• Continue Fantastic Sword research.
• Develop equipment for future expeditions.

Athena immediately transferred copies of every blueprint.

The scientists practically ran from the dining hall before dessert had even arrived.

⸻

Dinner slowly turned back into conversation.

Plans became stories.

Stories became laughter.

For just a little while…

The war seemed far away.

⸻

The following morning…

The hotel lobby buzzed with activity.

Backpacks.

Weapons.

Maps.

Supplies.

Fluffy wandered between groups being a good boy, receiving scratches behind all his ears.

Mother Sarah blessed each expedition with a short prayer.

Chef Marcel forced everyone to carry enough food for several days despite repeated complaints about weight.

Lilith somehow carried twice as much food as everyone else while insisting her bag was “mostly snacks.”

The Caretaker silently checked everyone’s equipment one last time.

Moira handed out carefully copied maps.

Athena projected routes above the lobby floor.

Gene looked around at his friends.

Some he’d known for months.

Some only a few days.

Yet somehow…

They had become a family.

He smiled.

“Everyone knows their assignments?”

A chorus of nods answered.

“Then…”

He extended his hand.

One by one…

Selene.

Cassian.

Aurelia.

Lilith.

Moira.

Mother Sarah.

Jesse Belle.

Even the Caretaker rested one enormous hand atop the growing pile.

“We’ll finish this together,” Gene said quietly.

“No matter where these roads take us.”

Selene smiled.

“And we all must come home.”

Lilith grinned brightly.

“Home to our lovely Horror Hotel!”

Laughter echoed throughout the lobby.

Then, one by one, the four teams departed through different doors and shimmering portals, each following a different path toward the forgotten legacy of the Dreamseers—unaware that the Hollow King Cult had already begun making plans of its own.