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When Ephaltus returned to Crysinnia, he decided the best course of action would be to secure a ride on a ship to the Sunken Lands. He had already been gone from the Arsenal of the Way for too long, and the trip back by caravan would take another month. The dryads would be furious with him if he traveled another month by ship to the Sunken Lands, and then it would probably take two months from there to return to the Arsenal. Marlee had not contacted him with any problems. Perhaps if he checked in with her, he could plan whether to travel on or return home. There was one more alternative. He could have Marlee contact the Grey Mage. Perhaps he could convince Asleth to make a portal and take him to the east coast, or even to the city of Arnost on the main island of the Sunken Lands. It would be a misuse of his power as Tourney Master, and he wasn’t sure it was ethical either. Using one of the mage’s powers for the personal gain of a Tourney Master was unheard of and would certainly be frowned upon at the least. He decided his desire to travel would have to wait. He needed to go back to the Arena and check in before he could finish his quest to find the seventh god, so he packed up his things and evoked his arcane magic to return to the Arsenal of the Way. He could return to the origin point in the arsenal as long as he was still the Tourney Master.
The end destination of the portal placed Ephaltus in the main chamber of the Arsenal of the Way. He took his things, including the scrolls and parchments he collected in the pocket dragon chamber before he headed for the Earth Chamber living quarters. There he found Marlee at the dining table, scribing words onto parchment. She was so engrossed in her work that she started when Ephaltus let the great wooden door close.
“Hey, you frightened me. How did your errand go?”
“It went well; however, I am afraid it led me to yet another long term errand to the east.” He glanced at her writing. “How did it go here?”
“Nothing to report. The mages are all doing well, taking into account the tragic circumstances of some.”
“It’s all part of the process. I have seen Cassany do much worse to her champions in order to get them to comply with her twisted will. The trick for us is not to interfere unless it’s absolutely warranted.”
“That’s just it. How do we know what’s warranted and what is manipulation on our part?”
“It’s tough call, but essentially, if the gods or mages do something to disrupt or something that can potentially disrupt the tournament we are to step in and protect the integrity of the tournament, which is why I agreed to risk the Red and Grey mage away after Thessa’s transformation. I later realized it was a mistake, but the damage was done. We must not give into impulsive whims like that if we can help it.”
Marlee nodded, “I have apologized for that.”
“I realize you have. I am not chastising you again about it. You asked, and it’s the only example I had floating in my head.”
“This new errand you speak of will it take you a while again?”
“I am afraid so. The quest I am on indicates the way I must travel is east. I thought of asking the Grey mage for a portal to speed things up, but as an example of what we were just speaking about, it would be unethical and wrong of me to ask.”
“What about the portal of the Way?”
“I could use it, but again it’s not for official business of the Tourney Master.”
“Isn’t it? I mean, are you not in a quest that may somehow affect the tournament? I don’t know what it is you are doing other than you said it’s for you retirement, but does it have anything to do with the tournament?”
Ephaltus rubbed the whiskers on his chin, “Hmm, I not not thought about it that way but yes, I suppose if I do find what I seek on this quest it could affect the tournament, especially the current tournament.” He watched Marlee for a moment and her pleasant, understanding half grin convinced him. “It could affect you too. Where are the dryads?”
“They are around. I assume they are where they go when not her in the Earth chamber.”
“None are here in the kitchen?”
“I’ll check.” She returned a few moments later. “No, it’s just you and me.”
“All right. I have stumbled on something. I have found evidence there may be a seventh god in exile somewhere.”
Marlee’s mouth gaped, “What?”
“I know. It’s shocking. There may be a seventh god.”
“That would be tournament business. If this god were found and decided he or she wanted a champion in the tournament, it could set off the balance of the six kingdoms, six mages. If you find this god, what are your intentions? Surely you are not planning to bring this god back!”
“I have not decided. First, I need to find it.”
“You have not thought this through. As the next Tourney Master, it would be my duty to stop you as your actions could adversely affect the outcome of the tournament.”
“You forget yourself, Marlee. You could only interfere if I do find and free the seventh god during the next cycle when you are actually the Tourney Master. As of this moment, I am the Tourney Master.”
“Then it would be your duty not to release the god as it may interfere with your tournament.”
“There is a difference between finding if the god exists and freeing it. It may not even be trapped somewhere. It may just not want to participate.”
“Where is the next clue? You said east.”
“The Sunken Lands.”
“The Sunken Lands used to be part of the six kingdoms?”
Ephaltus stroked his chin again, “Actually yes.” He became excited. He went to the bookshelf and took down a book titled the History of the Six Kingdoms. “I remember something mentioned about it in this book.” He thumbed through the volume. Here it is, “The Sunken Lands used to be part of a larger kingdom called Aubria. Most of it sunk into the East Ocean. It was located in the east as part of Vestia and also as part of Craessa, the eastern area where the city of Oceanview is located, was once a part of the seventh kingdom but was annexed into Craessa after the cataclysm that caused the kingdom’s destruction. Aubrians were isolationists, didn’t participate in the tournament, and therefore never had a mage. The remaining surviving inhabitants of Aubria wished to be independent of the six kingdoms. Independence was granted by the King of the Six Kingdoms after the tournament that took place at the time of the old kingdom’s demise. It was renamed the Sunken Lands, and the capital established as Arnost, the largest remaining city.”
“If the kingdom didn’t have a mage, then it might not fall under tournament business, right?”
“The book doesn’t say anything about the seventh god or that the seventh god was the patron god of Aubria. The two may not be related. The seventh god may still interfere with the tournament if it is ever found or released by anyone who stumbles across the legend. Should the rumors be true, I would be wise to investigate its existence for the future integrity of the tournament.”
“Do you know when you will be leaving?”
“Now that I realize I can portal to Seahorn or King’s Cross on the east coast of Vestia, I imagine I will be leaving as soon as I check the Ocularius Magnus and the status of the mages and tournament.”
“You will find nothing has changed. I am keeping tabs on everything and logging it all down.” She indicated the parchment on which she was writing earlier.
“Excellent. Keep on recording everything so I can review it later, and we will both be covered should anything detrimental arise. Also, continue with the remodeling of the arena. We want it to be in top shape for the tournament. I’m going to go see what I can see in the Ocularius Magnus. I’ll return shortly.” Marlee smiled and nodded.
Ephaltus calibrated the Ocularius Magnus lens and looked in on each of the mages. When he got to the Black Mage, the lens focus not on Thessa but on a shadow lurking in the dark places of the city of Emlestra. He focused in on the face when the creature showed it in the light briefly. He had seen the face before, although it was now more gaunt and sunken. He thought about it for a long moment but could not place it. It seems like it was connected to the Blue Mage somehow. He decided he would ask Marlee and exited the machine. The man looked like a blood feeder, and since Ephaltus was looking for the Black Mage, it made sense he would see one of her creations. When he went back to the Earth Chamber, he found Marlee still writing.
“Has there been any developments with Thessa? I think I saw one of her blood feeders.”
“She has been distraught lately.”
“Her story is a tragedy and I am afraid it will only get worse the more she fights against Cassany.”
“I have not seen her creating blood feeders, though. What did you see?”
“I saw a man lurking in the shadows. When the light illuminated his face, I saw that it was sunken in and gaunt. He is unmistakably a vampire.”
“What should we do about it? Will it affect the tournament?”
“It could if it comes into contact with the right people. Keep an eye on it if you can while I’m gone. We need to make sure Thessa’s creations are at a minimum. Dead things tend to want to make other things dead too.”
“I will.”
A dryad came into the room bringing an afternoon snack of ripe fruit. Ephaltus stopped her when she passed him, “Please have the dryad smiths forge a Tourney Master ring for Marlee. Make certain they connect it with mine so she can contact me.” The dryad nodded and left the room.
“You’re diving me a ring?”
“It’s time. You can use it to contact me through my ring and you can stop having the dryads let you into the Arsenal and Earth Chamber when I’m gone.”
“Thank you!”
“I am going to use the portal now. Be sure to watch the blood feeders and let me know immediately if anything changes.”
“I will. Have a safe trip and good luck.”
“Tell no one of my quest. Not even the dryads.”
“All right.”
“At this point it’s only an investigation.”
Marlee nodded again, and Ephaltus nodded back before he left the Earth Chamber.