Arcane Journey

Chapter 130 Actions in the City of Shadows
Enook Desert, Sultanza City.

"Welcome to my mage's tower, elves from Cormanthor."

Hajhorna, the Hand of the High King, stood in the center of the room, his long hair gleaming black in the moonlight that streamed through the tower windows.

He smiled, but it was a cruel smile, hiding a dark secret, "You should be honored when I invite you over, because I will experiment with my latest research results on your body .”

"I'm not afraid of your evil witchcraft, it has no effect on me." The stern-faced elf asked, "Tell me, where are the three elf sages you invited?"

Hajhorna's wily eyes moved to the elf's sword.

His demeanor was very calm, and he showed no sign of fear, but he still noticed that the muscles on the elf's face trembled slightly with a little fear.

"So that's the case." Hajhorner nodded with a smile, and gave the order in a slightly cold tone, "Ryze! Bring my new baby."

The kobold hurried out from a dark alcove, holding a beautifully crafted gold locket in his hand.

Hajhorner snatched the box from its bony claws. "You're always slow, Ryze."

He scolded, pointed a finger casually at the kobold, and suddenly a red light shot out from the fingertip and hit Ryze's chest, slamming it hard against the wall.

The kobold screamed in pain, curled up on the cold floor, his eyes full of pain.

Disdainful of his servant's suffering, Hajhorna opened the box and drew from it a gemstone, crystal clear and radiant.

"Mortal is mortal," he hissed, "but I have discovered the way to immortality."

"You will die tonight, Elf." He clenched the gemstone in his hand and said coldly, "And I will continue on this road."

The elf looked startled, suddenly rushed forward with all his strength, and stabbed with his sword.

Hajhorner took two steps back unhurriedly. When the elf was about to stab his chest with his sword, he threw the gem in the air, stretched out a hand, pointed at the elf's body, and made a strange noise from his mouth at the same time. , The ambiguous words are like endless ripples in stagnant water.

The attacking elf suddenly felt as if he was being held tightly by an invisible big hand, and even breathing became very difficult.

His handsome face was contorted with pain, blood seemed to freeze in his veins, and his vision began to blur.

After a while, his whole body was trembling from the cold, his knees were weak, and he knelt down on the ground, as if the warmth from his body had been completely sucked away.

In a trance, the elf saw a spark of vigorous vitality appearing on the shining gemstone in the air, flowing from his body to Hajhorner.

Hajhorner laughed, flushed and bright.

This is the "Iolum Longevity Technique" improved by him. He is absorbing the life of the elves, and obviously he wants to suck it dry for his own use.

The Comanthor elf he had lured to the mage's tower tried to call out, but the sound that came out was not even a moan.

He struggled to move, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.

"Haj Horner!"

Suddenly, a hoarse voice screamed: "Fuck you! This will be the last time you hit me, or hurt anyone else."

Hajhorner raised his eyebrows and turned to look at the kobold.

But the magical energy was still flowing towards him, the spirit of the elf was slackened, and his vigorous and straight body was also shriveling at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The kobold took out a black sawtooth knife with a dazzling magical aura from its dirty rags, and roared angrily: "I think I was as strong and powerful as an elf back then, handsome and handsome, with a dignified appearance. region, attracting countless elves and beautiful girls.”

Ruici spat, and her voice was full of resentment, "Then you fucking turned me into such a freak. For a long time, I have been suffering and humiliating as your slave."

The hatred that has been suppressed for so many years seems to be burning in the two spindle-shaped eyeballs of the Kobold, "But now, I can't bear it anymore!"

After the kobold finished speaking, he raised his dagger and took a threatening step towards the Hand of the High King.

"Stop!" shouted Hajhorner, who was maintaining his spell, raising a hand.

Ryze stopped violently, snorted contemptuously, and was about to stab the glaring dagger at Hajhorna, but its arm was trembling, and it froze in mid-air.

"Ryze, you are hopelessly stupid." Hajhorner laughed cruelly. "Have you forgotten the magic that binds you to be loyal to me? Then please allow me to remind you."

He made a slashing motion with his hand, and Ryze groaned in pain.

The kobold is like some kind of strange puppet, imitating Hajhorner's movements, and inserting the dagger directly into his chest.

The kobold yelped again in pain, then lay motionless in a pool of black, foul-smelling blood.

Hajhorna stared at his minion, enjoying its pain contentedly.

At the same time, the magic of absorbing elves is coming to an end.

As Hajhorner withdrew his hand, the elf's shriveled body turned into a pile of dust and disappeared without a trace.

After enjoying the thrill of increased lifespan, the Hand of the High King will carefully place the jewel that fell into the palm of the hand into a golden locket.

His satisfied expression gradually became serious as he closed the box.

For the extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive magic research, the life of the human species is too short, although the caster can continue his existence by transforming into a lich, magic pot, cloning and many other means.

But Hajhorner believes that most of these spells and methods require the caster to pay a huge price or face unpredictable consequences.

During the period of the Netheril Empire, the longevity technique developed by the famous Arcanist Iolum changed everything.

Iolum Longevity.

A spell known as the cornerstone of Netherese civilization.

This powerful spell allows arcanists to exist in the world in purely human body and mind, with nearly unlimited time to conduct their own research.

And finally together they achieved Netheril, a magical empire belonging to humans.

But with the destruction of the empire and the change of the rules of the magic net, this magic that can prolong life without paying any price has gradually been forgotten by people.

While Hajhorner felt deeply sorry, he never gave up researching and improving this spell from beginning to end.

Centuries of research made him fully understand that the core element of Iolum's longevity technique is actually destruction.

Because every living creature killed by Iolum's longevity spell can extend the lifespan of the caster.

Therefore, in order to gain longevity, he had to maintain this life extension spell that he improved.

But with each casting, he clearly felt that the power of the life-prolonging magic was gradually weakening, so he had to find a powerful long-lived race to maintain his lifespan.

Doing so is more like drinking poison to quench thirst.

There will come a day when he can't keep going and has to transform into a lich, or use other life-extending magic that is too expensive to keep alive.

This is undoubtedly the last thing he wants to face.

As a spellcaster, with the continuous improvement of his strength, he has long known that only pure body and mind are the most correct way to explore the truth of arcane magic.

Otherwise, Iolum, Laroque, and Owo, who survived and transformed into liches like the former empire's elders, will be his future fate.

Because these liches must expend so much energy against the danger of losing their minds that they have only a small amount of time for them to explore arcane truths.

"Neither scroll!" Hajhorner quickly sorted out his thoughts and understood what to do next.

Only the mysterious knowledge recorded in the scroll of Nether can allow him to further improve Iolum's longevity technique.

"However, before going to the ruins of Myth Drannor in Cormanthor, we must first solve the immediate problem." He walked to the window of the tower, looked towards the south of the desert, and muttered to himself.

Seizing Mokou Town and occupying the Kingdom of Cormyr was a task assigned to him by the High King.

Not only him, but all the ghost princes in Sultanza City also received similar orders.

After all, governance of the desert cannot be completed overnight. To revive the former glory of the Arcane Empire, they need huge resources and rich territories.

Except for the Kingdom of Cormyr in the south of the Enook Desert, the Silvermoon Alliance and Neverwinter City in the west, and Comanthor, Sambia, and the Valley in the south, all are the targets that the Shade Empire needs to conquer in the future.

However, the other ghost princes have made considerable progress, and the fifth prince in charge of Sembia has even infiltrated his power into the royal family of the commercial kingdom.

And the Kingdom of Cormyr that he and De Sude were in charge of didn't even take down Mokou Town.

The reason for this, apart from Prince Dessoud who was indifferent to this matter from the beginning to the end, is also a big reason why Hajhorner himself did not take it to heart.

This time, he had to hold back his urgency to find the Nether scroll for the time being, and take the lead in completing the task assigned to him by the High King.

Occupying Mokou Town and then using it as a springboard to invade the entire Kingdom of Cormyr was his next plan.

He had learned immediately that Mokou Town was first occupied by a half-elf wizard named Brian.

Although the sudden appearance of the lord of Mokou Town was not very powerful, the timing of his appearance and the efficiency with which he occupied Mokou Town were so fast that even he himself did not realize it.

What surprised him the most was that the Shadow Guard Assassin, Krisanna Tanshul, who went to Mokou Town to assassinate him, returned without success.

He still has a good understanding of Krisanna's strength.

This is a shadow guard assassin who most hopes to step into the legendary realm in recent years.

Moreover, according to the secret channels he possessed, he also accidentally learned that Krisanna had practiced the Nine Swords school inherited from the ancient Eastern kingdom.

But such a shadow guard assassin who is proficient in shadow assassination can't even deal with a mediocre wizard.

"Is it because the female lord of Arabe City is helping him in secret?" Hajhorna turned his gaze to the outline of the ant-sized Arabe City in the south of the desert, "If she really made a move, how could I not sense it. "

There is only one explanation. After all, the newly appointed lord of Mokou Town represents the Kingdom of Cormyr.

Now that he was facing the Kingdom of Cormyr, he had to face it squarely and look for cooperative allies.

Not a dragon's dragon.
Hajhorner recalled the future that Ryze had divined with himself, and his clear thoughts instantly thought that if he wanted to take down Mokou Town, or even the entire Kingdom of Cormyr, the fastest way was to assist the Dragon Cult and help them complete the challenge. Research on Dragon Madness.

When countless dragons ravage the kingdom of Cormyr, it is the most suitable time for them to invade.

The premise of all this is that Mokou Town must be taken down.

Only in this way can he place his army on the border of the Kingdom of Cormyr in advance.

Once the Dragon Worship Cult successfully researches the Dragon Madness Mystic, he can move his army south and occupy this chaotic kingdom that has been ravaged by giant dragons in one fell swoop.

So what does it mean to be an Arcanist who is not an Arcanist?
Another doubt quickly appeared in Hajhorner's mind.

Regarding the meaning of this sentence, the first thing he thought of was Iolum, Laroch, and Owo, the Nether elders who had already been transformed into liches.

"Ryze!" He stared at the void, his expression moved, and shouted: "Help me predict what kind of intersection I will have with this new lord named Brian in the future."

In fact, he had already been detected by the divination spell in advance.

In the end, it failed, as if there was no such person in the world.

It reminded him of the seal of the Purple Dragon, issued by the crown of Cormyr.

It is said that the purple dragon seal ring of legendary quality will be given a legendary level of "avoid detection" and "warning" magic by the female lord of Araby City.

But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was impossible.

Because he didn't think that this new lord who appeared out of thin air could have the qualifications to obtain this kind of purple dragon seal ring.

"The future is invisible, and tomorrow is unknown, but fate is fixed and cannot be changed." A hoarse voice came from behind Hajhorner.

Ryze, with a mouth full of blood, slowly stood up, the dagger still stuck in its chest.

He was grinning, and his jagged teeth had been stained black with blood, making them look hideous.

"I predicted your mother's size!"

With a roar of grief and anger, the kobold tried his best to use his last strength, tightly grasped the dagger stuck in his chest with his rough hands, and pressed it down violently.

Its vision quickly dimmed, and it fell to the ground on its back, lifeless.

"Stupid stuff!"

Hajhorner looked at the kobold's body in disgust, and said coldly, "Although you didn't reveal anything to me, your expression indirectly told me that this new lord must be taken seriously."

"Fate is nothing but the boring consolation of the losers, and the ridicule of the cowardly. I never want to believe in such stupid words as fate is fixed, because my own destiny should be created by myself!"

The Hand of the High King in the City of Shades raised his foot and kicked Ryze's body into the night outside the tower.

At the same time, in another ghost tower in the floating city of Sultanza.

Standing with hands behind his back, Desoud Tanshul stood before the enchanted window, gazing at the clouds that hid the desert far below.

The Floating Void City is floating above the Sea of ​​Shadows, which is surrounded by dark clouds and mists all year round.

Once upon a time, it was called the 'Thirsty Sands', a basin extending for miles in all directions, and it was also a salt-alkali land that was extremely devoid of water.

With the return of the City of Shade, some powerful magic is cast here.

On the most barren land in the history of Toril, a lake stretching thousands of square kilometers was created, clear and icy cold.

On the northern shore of the Sea of ​​Shadows, there is a checkerboard-shaped field of rich colors consisting of leaf green, wheat yellow, and earthy brown.

The desert storm that encroached on the land has stopped, a bright moon hangs in the sky, and the silver moonlight shines on the fields, everything seems so fresh and pure.

As usual, Prince of Shadows Desood has just returned from the Hall of Judgment, so he is wearing the office uniform of the ancient empire of Netheril:

A straight black robe sweeping the floor, and a long-sleeved black shirt with a pair of Taiping embroidered with gold thread on the left chest, a gold belt around the waist, a mask hung on it, a smooth round Ivory products.

His body is youthful and his hair is thick and black, all thanks to the anti-aging magic, but his shoulders are heavily drooped by centuries of magical research, revealing his true age.

The Shadow Prince stepped away from the window and began examining the gem he had been holding behind his back: a blood-red ruby ​​the size of a fist.

The carving angles on each facet of the stone are very odd, as if to seal itself.

Floating at its center is a slightly distorted ghostly presence.

This man was the spirit of the arcanist whom De Soud had just condemned for murder in the Hall of Judgment.

The arcanist's two holes, which might have been eyes, peered mournfully out of the walls of the crystal prison.

"Death penalty!" said the ghost prince Desoud to the gemstone, repeating the sentence just given, "No resurrection within 50 years."

He then placed the ruby ​​into one of 36 niches in the wall.

Behind De Sud, a construct—a slightly humanoid monster with green leathery skin, a pair of huge bat-like ears, and a pair of shiny black eyes.

The construct snorted slightly, its leathery wings wrapped around itself like a cape, and it made a disdainful gesture with its webbed fingers.

"Horn is a cruel bastard," said the construct in a squeaking voice, a language only Desoud could understand.

"He killed the cat slowly and enjoyed its torture, you should give him 500 years in prison, not 50 years."

De Sude looked down at the construct, which wouldn't be higher than his knees even if he stood upright.

It was made alchemically from Desu's own blood.

Therefore, there is a continuous spiritual link between it and its owner.

Since its creation, it has been an invaluable tool that has served De Sood well in the Void Justice Department.

"Fifty years is the punishment stipulated by the law for killing a familiar." De Sude said quietly.

"It's not fair!" the construct wailed, "Horn the Bastard will be free in 50 years, and poor"

The construct creature reached for the ruby, intending to shake it vigorously to vent its dissatisfaction.

Even if it doesn't harm the gem or the spirit within, the etiquette must be maintained.

De Sud forced his consciousness into the construct's mind, twisting its arm violently downward.

The construct huddled angrily, tending to its dislocated shoulder.

De Sud looked down at the construct's face expressionlessly, like a judge's mask hanging from his belt.

With a flick of his finger, he performed a Construct Restoration on it.

After a while, he heard a rapid knock on the door.

He gave a silent command with his fingers, and the construct tensed up, and hid under a table.

It watched with its large, gleaming eyes as De Sood first cloaked its presence with illusions, then sent a spark of magical energy in the direction of the door.

"Please come in."

Pushing the door open was Judge Floyd, a woman with long black hair and deep creases on her forehead.

She was wearing a judge's black dress and shirt, and she also had an ivory mask pinned to her belt.

"His Excellency, Supreme Judge Dessoud," she said, "I am sorry to disturb you so soon after you have concluded a sentence, but there is a case for your decision."

A small fist was tapping angrily under the table, but it was not heard.

"What accusation?" De Soud asked unemotionally.

"Crime of espionage—specifically, the crime of stealing state secrets. Under the direct commission of the High King, Arcanist Ptek is working on a way to reverse one of his spells. The High King hopes that the reversed spell will Further deciphering the Nether scrolls helped. However, Ptek's research notes on the project were stolen."

Desoud nodded.

Not long ago, the High King had revealed to him the details of this particular research project.

Ptek is attempting to reverse his secret script spell, which renders magical texts unreadable only to those who know the deciphering command spell.

If he succeeds in reversing the spell—assuming the scrolls of Netherer are collected again—the possessor of the spell will be the first to understand the scroll's secrets.

In this way, the five scrolls of "Secret Discourse" on making artifacts stored in the Tower of Karthus will be further deciphered.

This case is indeed very important, but at this time the Prince of Shadows does not want to try it himself.

Because it meant nothing to him compared to what he was going to do next.

"High Judge Luce Winta is qualified to hear such death penalty cases." He proposed to the other party.

The wrinkles on Judge Floyt's face deepened.

"He has heard the case, but has been unable to reach a verdict. He says the trial will involve questions of magical lore that only the Supreme Court can answer - and the testimony itself is an unsolvable puzzle."

The construct creature sat up. Of course, only De Sud could see it. Its ears pricked up and its eyes glowed.

puzzle?

It was as if she had heard the repeated question too.

Judge Floyd continued: "There are two defendants in this case. Senior Judge Winta said that deciding which one is guilty is like choosing between reflection and mirror image."

What does he mean by that?
De Soud bowed his head slightly and asked, "Where is this case being heard?"

"In the spiral court, the court has been temporarily adjourned, and the high judge Wenta is waiting for you there."

De Sude nodded slightly, and said with displeasure, "Please inform High Judge Wenta, if you can't even handle this case, I will reserve a place for him in my alcove, and he is welcome to come and stay permanently."

"I understand. I'll take my leave." Judge Floyd had a look of surprise in his eyes, and then he bowed and left directly.

"What's the matter with you recently?" The construct crawled out from under the table, "Since Krisanna brought back a letter, you have become so lazy about your work."

"Because I have a more important thing to confirm in person right now, and I don't want to be distracted by it."

De Sude frowned, sat back on the chair, picked up the parchment scroll on the table, and studied it carefully.

At this moment, a shadow appeared out of thin air, and the Shadow Guard Assassin Crysania appeared in front of the Shadow Prince.

"Father." Krisanna, who was hiding in the black cloak, said ruthlessly, "What do you want from me?"

"I have read the letter that the half-elf wizard entrusted you to send to me." De Sude put down the sheepskin scroll in his hand, and said in the same tone, "I need to confirm some details myself."

"What details?" Seeing her father's dignified expression, Krisanna knew that the value of this letter was by no means as simple as imagined.

This made her start to wonder about the true identity of this half-elf wizard who appeared out of thin air.

"I want to know how you became the other party's captive, the more detailed the better." De Sude stared at his child intently, "I learned from Haj Horner that the other party is just a man who has mastered spells to the fifth ring Battle Mage, I believe you are not the kind of person with eyes on the top of your head."

"He arranged the flashing circle and the dimensional confinement circle in his room in advance." Recalling the unbearable memory, Krisanna gritted her teeth and said, "This kind of magic circle made me completely lose my mind." Shadows and the ability to escape."

"I'm afraid this will not trouble you."

The construct creature interjected, "Could it be that the swordsmanship of the Shadow Hand school can't even handle a battle mage who is only at the second level? If that's the case, then I suggest that the army of the Ghost City see the battle mage of the Kingdom of Cormyr Let the Legion just take a detour, and play a fart."

"It's right." De Sude nodded slightly, agreeing.

"He can release five-ring spells in an instant." Krisanna was silent for a long time, and when the constructed creature was circling impatiently, she said:

"A battle mage who can only cast five-ring spells at most can cast five-ring spells instantly, which in itself is incredible."

"Indeed." De Sude nodded expressionlessly, and said again:

"If my predictions are correct, you have already mastered the most powerful sword technique of the Shadow Hand Sect, "Five Shadow Entangling", don't tell me, you don't even have a chance to release it. "

"Yes, yes." The construct creature flew into the air, was caught by De Sude's eyes again, and quickly landed on the ground to answer, "I have seen with my own eyes that Miss used this trick to kill a person whose strength reached a model. warrior."

"His Flash Circle takes out most of my damage."

Krisanna replied, "I can feel that his method of arranging the magic circle is no different from some spellcasters in the legendary field."

"The thing that surprised me the most was"

She suddenly realized something, and added: "When I hit him with the Shadow Hand School sword technique, I felt that part of my shadow energy was absorbed by the Shadow Demon Net."

"I'm sure you can't go wrong with your sense of shadow."

De Sud sighed, and said thoughtfully, "Being proficient in the magic circle, mastering the Shadow Demon Net, and being able to instantly cast five-ring spells, this is by no means something a battle mage in the Kingdom of Cormyr can do."

"Before the empire fell."

The constructed creature said: "Arcanists don't always use 'arc' to cast spells and cast a spell instantly. For them, it's just a matter of how much energy the 'arc' consumes."

"Okay, you go down." De Sude waved his hand, signaling Krisanna to back down.

"But." Crysanna didn't move, she hesitated, and then said, "This battle mage named Brian has wiped out the power of the Zhentarim Society, and completely occupied Mokou Town in the name of the Kingdom of Cormyr." .”

"You want to say, let me cooperate with Hajhorna to seize this town, right?" De Sude stared at the sheepskin scroll on the table, looked at it for a long time, and said in a slightly mocking tone:
"Tell him that if he can't even win a small Mokou Town, even if he votes for me for the ownership of the Floating Void City, it won't be decisive. Wait until he wins Mokou Town After that, I will consider joining forces with him to deal with the female lord of Araby City."

"and also!"

Desu had to stop Krissanna who was about to leave, "I need to go to the ferocious forest in the North to confirm one thing. During this period, I hope you can stay in the tower peacefully. Do not take part in any actions, including the assassination of the lord of Mokou Town."

"why!?"

Krisanna asked in a slightly cold tone, "He killed Natasha and also took away the sword skills of the Desert Wind Sect. I must avenge this revenge."

"Well, if I say it's for your safety, you won't believe it." De Sude looked at his child with cold eyes, and said in an unquestionable tone:

"Then I'll tell the truth, because I'm still not sure whether Brian is my enemy or my ally. As for the lost desert wind swordsmanship, it's not an insignificant thing. Besides, you never thought of going to Xianglong Empire, look for the Nine Swords Temple."

"I see. I will stay in the tower forever and never go out." Krisanna said coldly, before disappearing into a shadow.

"Why bother, the relationship is so stiff." The construct creature smacked its lips in a humane manner, and said with a smile, "By the way, what are you going to confirm in the ferocious forest?"

"The Netherese calendar, the age of gloom, the year of the broken magic net."

De Sude looked at the content recorded on the sheepskin scroll that Brian gave him, and sighed softly, "The body of Karthus, the god of ephemeral, fell into the violent forest in the east of the highest forest."

(End of this chapter)