Reincarnated as a random race, of course I got goblin.

Chapter 19 - Meanwhile

~This chapter contains some graphic description~

Somewhere in Harmek
As observed by the Divine

The council sits in silence as they contemplate the implications of what they just observed. Each of the ten human males sitting around the table look intently at the movements of the three remaining dots on the map that lays in the middle of the table. 

Two dots are brought to the middle of the unnamed forest near the border that was being scouted as a staging path for the army. The third dot is moving towards the border before suddenly stopping, then also being brought to the center of the forest.

"How did those three just... vanish?" One of them asks. He gets no reply. "I mean, it's clear that they encountered something..." He continues. "Save for complete destruction of the scouts bodies, the tracking enchantment on them should still work." Another informs. 

The room once again falls silent as the three blips on the map start moving in unison towards the nearby village. "W-why! Are they captured?!" A gruff sounding man exclaims. "Either that, or whatever made the three other scouts vanish has eaten them. At this point we might simply be looking at the movements of some random monster." A fourth man shrugs as he adjusts his spectacles. 

Everyone observes in silence as the three dots arrive at the village gates. "Would be rather strange for a village to allow a monster to just walk up to their gate like that though." The gruff man notes. "Then I guess they were captured by patrolling hunters, though we have no recent intel that suggests such tactics being employed currently." The fourth man retorts.

Suddenly, the three dots become six again. "What's this nonsense? Is that even possible? For an enchantment to cut out like that, I mean?" The first man asks the second. The second man thinks for a moment before replying; "Possibly, their bodies were stored in the Hidden Space Skill. But that should be impossible. The current holder of that Skill, Berkey Hargenbough, is missing, and besides that, an enemy of the kingdom of Parshura. It is inconceivable that he would help them in this manner." 

"So wait, maybe he died and someone else got the Skill now?" a fifth man asks, meekly. "Impossible. Even if Hargenbough was killed today, it would still take nine months for a new holder to be born." The second man informs. "Unless..." a sixth man leans in and inspects the dots closer.

"Unless, the new holder is the Monarch." He looks at the others. The three dots that have always been visible are separated into different places in the village. The three reappearing dots are brought to a spot a bit outside the village. "How does that make sense? Unless the Monarch killed Hargenbough and obtained the Skill via its Power Osmosis, it wouldn't be able to have that Skill." The second one chides. 

"Besides, I highly doubt there is any truth to King Dervixs claims about him having gained the loyalty of the Monarch. He might have regained possession of the Tear of Ashala somehow, but that only proves we were fools to trust Hargenbough." The fourth one adds.

"Well, maybe we'll never know." The sixth shrugs. "I am, however, sad that we lost those scouts. Seems we wont be able to use that route if someone, or something, able to take those six out lives there." He continues. "I suggest we cancel further scouting of that area and focus on other routes instead." The others nod in agreement.

"Well then, council adjourned. I thank you all for coming here on such short notice." The gruff man announces as he gets up from his chair. The others also rise, give a salute to each other before leaving the room. The gruff man gathers up the map and some paperwork before heading for his office. This would need to be reported to the Queen.