Chapter 283: Another Meeting
After hearing the Temple Head say they really didn't know anything yet about where Dawn was, Tiff struggled to her feet and said. "Are the other members here?" Knowing the 23 she was sure they hadn't waited even a second to go and look for her but she still needed to ask because she wanted to join up with them wherever they might be.
"They are, I've banned them from leaving because it seems you all are being targeted more than normal. I've sent people who are less important to the Temple to look for information." Hearing they weren't going to be going to look for Dawn themselves Tiff was mad but she knew fighting the Temple Head on this was a terrible idea.
"Do you think she was taken by the same people I was or just a coincidence that it happened around the same time?"
"Both are completely possible but I hope it was the same people who got you because." The Temple Head didn't finish what she was saying and Tiff was grateful because she didn't want to hear the fact Dawn might already be dead if it was the Demon Worshipers who got her. Deciding she wanted to change the subject Tiff asked. "Can you tell me about how I was saved."
The Temple Head had said they would come back to this and not really being ready to move yet this was a good time to hear it. "You should find this interesting, do you remember why you thought Lake might be Jon?"
"Because he had fought off an assassin before like what Jon had done to save me." The Temple Head nodded and asked. "Guess who came with me to save you." It was pretty obvious she was supposed to say either Lake or Jon and she felt it was most likely Lake. "Was it Lake? How'd that happen?"
"He just showed up with a person from the Metal Temple, he didn't seem to have any idea what had happened but he offered to help almost right away when I told him you were taken and we were unable to find you." Tiff wished they had the actual person here so they could ask him how he had gone from the meeting where he was with Lucas to showing up on a mission from the Metal Temple but he wasn't so she would have to do with the Temple Head.
"So do you think I was right about him being Jon?" The Temple Head didn't answer right away so Tiff had a chance to remember the mission she had been given to find the dagger and the fact they still might have not actually made any progress if they were wrong. "I don't know, I feel like Lake was strong enough to have done something like that but I didn't get any feeling like he knew who you really were. He didn't even seem to know your name."
"So you think we're on the wrong trail?"
"Maybe, but I think he could help us find it now that I think about it. He had a crazy skill that was able to track you down almost instantly while all of our people had failed." Hearing they had finally found someone who might be able to find the dagger Tiff asked. "Where is he?" he must not be here because if he was the Temple Head would have probably told her that they had him looking for Dawn already.
"He left for the Metal Domain before I had thought about the fact that he could help us."
"So he isn't one of the people out looking for Dawn?" Tiff had really been trying to change the subject but knowing there was a person who could possibly help her with both of her problems she wanted to go and find Lake right away. "No, but there's a good chance he's with the group that's heading to the Metal Domain and they haven't gotten very far yet so I sent someone to see if he's there to call him back."
Hearing the Temple Head already had what she wanted in the works she was out of things to say really and tried to move again to see if she would get dizzy. Finding she could take a few steps without falling, Tiff figured she was good enough to go and told the doctor. "The dizziness is gone. Thank you."
She didn't have to say anything to the Temple Head about her being ready to leave for the Temple Head and both of them walked out into the hallway. "There's a meeting soon for the members of the 23 but you have time to eat or whatever else you might need after being asleep for a day."
Realizing just how hungry she was after the Temple Head said this Tiff nodded and said. "I'll see you in a while." Heading for the cafeteria after making a brief stop in her room to change her day-old clothes and take off her armor, Tiff quickly ate and went to where they always had the meetings when inside the temple.
As she stepped in she saw half of the members of the 23 were already quietly waiting for the meeting and the rest of the members to get there. This was going to be her first real chance to talk to all of them at once since she had been chosen and thought about saying something to them about her being chosen over them but thinking about it she decided to just sit in the back of the room by herself.
A lot of them were still mad at her and while they didn't let it show whenever they talked she could tell they would need more time before they had really gotten over her being picked over them. As she was sitting she told herself she couldn't blame them for being mad at her, if someone had won the only thing she had ever wanted she wouldn't be happy either and it would make it worse if someone who was known to be the worst out of them was the one who had been chosen.
Tiff knew even if they loved her they all had gotten used to looking down on her over time so it would take a while for them to settle into the new power dynamic. As she was sitting there a few of the other members came in and all the friendly waves kind of proved her point. It seemed like nothing was wrong but if you took into account that she had been kidnaped just yesterday and none of them had seen her since you would expect something more than a wave or a smile.
Doing her best not to get her feelings hurt by the cold treatment Tiff started to think back to all the times she had been jealous of the others. Her being the worst member of the 23 had lasted years so there had been plenty of times where she had been mad at the others over how things were even though it wasn't their fault so it would be unfair if she didn't give them time.
"Hello." Hearing someone that wasn't the Temple Head start talking to her Tiff looked back to see Greg had just walked in. "How are you feeling?" The fact that Greg was the only one who didn't seem to be treating her any differently wasn't exactly surprising, he had always come off as a little strange to her if you compared him to the others and it really stood out when it came to emotions.
"I'm ok." She didn't get much out before he was already down where the others were sitting and she went back to silently waiting for the meeting to start. A few minutes after Greg had walked in the Temple Head came in and headed for the stage while giving her an odd look. Tiff knew it probably looked weird for her to be the only one to not be with the others but she knew it was the right move.
"Alright I'll make this quick so you all can get back to training. It seems there might be someone who is targeting all of you so for now until we can find out for sure none of you can leave the Temple unless we get attacked." This wasn't much different from the normal rules so Tiff wasn't sure why the Temple Head had said it at all but she wasn't done talking so maybe there was a reason.
"This includes missions so if you are given orders to go out by someone come and check with me before you go." Tiff realized the Temple Head was holding this meeting with only them for a reason past Dawn being missing. Standing up, Tiff asked. "Are you afraid we've been infiltrated?"
"It's been a while since the last time it happened so there's a good chance. With you all being targeted and the fact the Demon Worshipers not coming to attack in the middle of the war it feels like they're trying to get rid of you all before resuming the war." Hearing the Temple Heads words Tiff had to agree that it would make sense for the Demon Worshipers to try and get someone on the inside that could pass off fake orders to draw them out.
It was really smart of the Temple Head to foresee this possibility and Tiff made a note to tell her this later as she sat back down to hear the rest of what the Temple Head had to say. "Last thing, I wanted to tell you what we have on Dawn's disappearance so far instead of making you ask questions."
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