Barnaby Lee x Reader - Year 5

Mundungus...who?

They recruited Merula and set off to her brother's room.

"Thank you for helping me. You two have spent more time in this room than anyone..." Lana said as they entered the room, "I'm hoping you can help me find some clues as to what happened between Duncan and my brother..."

"Are you and Merula friends now?" Tulip asked.

"We'll never be friends. Not after everything that's happened. But I can be civil with her for as long as I need to, won't you agree, Merula?" Lana replied.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Riviera." Merula answered.

"Let's start searching. I'm looking for anything that mentions a boy named Duncan Ashe..." Lana told the others, "Specifically, anything about what my brother had to do with his death..."

She cast Lumos and they all searched and searched, until Lana found something!

"I found a letter about Duncan! 'Do not blame yourself, Jacob. Duncan Ashe chose his path, and all paths end in the same place...'" she read aloud, "'All except ours. Despite what she told you, we could only accept one member regardless of what happened with the vaults. You were always the favourite, but this tragedy, along with Miss Green's fate, negates the need for further discussion. Continue your search, trust your instincts, and rid you mind of rats and Centaurs. Remember there are no friends on the path to enlightenment and immortality. There is only us. -R'" she finished.

Lana was shocked. 'R'? The person who'd been sending these letters to Rakepick and Ben?

"My brother was working with 'R'?"

"Who's Miss Green?" Merula asked

"Another friend of Duncan an my brother's. It sounds like they were all working together to find the vaults..." Lana told her, "For 'enlightenment and immortality '? For R? To become a member of...something?" she added in confusion.

"I'm mainly puzzled by the mention of 'rats and centaurs'..." Tulip started.

"That's actually the only part that halfway makes sense. I need to talk to Torvus..." Lana answered.

She thanked the girls for their help, and she left Jacob's room. She had to meet Torvus to ask him about what that letter meant and see if he knew anything.

She bumped into Charlie on her way and he offered to join her, so she accepted.

They arrived in the forest grove and there the Centaur was.

"Thanks for ,eyeing us, Torvus." she smiled.

"My pleasure. You two are marginally better conversationalists than the Trolls and Red Caps."

"We found out that there might be a dragon hiding somewhere in the castle!" Charlie explained, unable to control his love of the creatures.

"Congratulations." Torvus simply replied.

"Thanks, Torvus." Charlie said with a huge grin on his face.

"And I hope it doesn't burn you to death or swallow you whole as dragons are wont to do."

"Thanks!" Charlie said again, still grinning.

"Did your herd welcome you back after returning their arrowhead?" Lana asked the creature.

"They allow me to visit, but won't let me move back into the camp until I perform a series of tasks to earn their favour..." he replied.

"I wouldn't know anything about that..." Lana chuckled softly, "I was hoping to ask you about what happened between my brother and a boy named Duncan Ashe..."