Arcane Journey

Chapter 205 Undercurrent
The hazy mist shrouded Mokou Town, intertwined with the morning light, driven by the breeze, reluctantly left, revealing the towering Wizard Tower.

The obsidian tower is bathed in the gorgeous glow, as if inlaid with a layer of bright gold, standing majestically above the sky, dazzling people's eyes.

"Is this Mokou Town?" A slightly deep young male voice sounded.

Two figures in black cloaks appeared among the crowd entering the town.

From the dust left on their weather-beaten boots and thick black wool cloaks, it was clear that they were from the desert of Ennook.

"Teacher, I left Mokou Town a year ago."

The voice just now sounded again, and under the caress of the breeze, one could vaguely see the dark black armor under their black cloaks, and the weather-beaten faces in the hoods.

He carefully watched the crowd enter the town in an orderly manner, and murmured: "It's not what I imagined."

In a trance, he recalled his experience in the arena in Mokou Town, which was the most unforgettable and painful experience in his life.

Once, he was the most powerful gladiator in the 'Blood Drink' arena in Mokou Town, and the only gladiator who completed a hundred challenges and won the title of 'Blood Slayer'.

After revisiting the old place, he found that everything in the current Mokou Town seemed to be in order.

Along the way, everyone lived under strict order and strict laws, and he could feel that the people here, whether they were commoners working in the fields, businessmen, or even goblins cleaning the roads, lived better than other places. Even better, the smile on his face is from the heart.

Most importantly, he also saw a tall tower standing on top of a mountain.

It goes without saying what a wizard tower symbolizes, even in the Underdark, it is a big deal, because it represents the high-level force possessed by a lord and the means to deter others.

Recalling that the ruler of Mokou Town was a mage lord, he immediately felt relieved.

"It is indeed different from what we imagined."

With vicissitudes of eyes hidden in the hood, the older man glanced around and said slowly: "Let's go, Moran, don't forget the purpose of our coming here."

He followed his teacher and entered Mokou Town with the orderly crowd and caravan.

In the bustling streets of Mokou Town, everything in his impression has long since disappeared, replaced by an orderly beauty.

"Teacher, when we entered the town, I sensed that a guard kept looking at me until I disappeared." The young man called Moran said to his teacher.

"Don't pay attention to these strange gazes, Moran, this is their duty."

Moran's teacher said in a deep voice, "This is a town full of order. As long as we don't break the law, there is absolutely no danger."

With the disappearance of the two, in the dark corner of the town, there were some vague figures watching the two men who entered the town.

One of them took out a portrait, observed it carefully for a moment, and smiled, "Sure enough, these two are the ones Master Puranda wants us to pay attention to."

"what should I do now?"

He asked again, "Do you want to continue to follow up? Recently, a lot of people of all kinds have come to Mokou Town. There were four drunken knife fights yesterday. Commander Salo personally chopped off the heads of more than 20 people in the execution ground. .”

"In Mokou Town, everyone must respect the lord and follow the laws made by the lord." Another person shrouded in shadows said, "The order we received is to confirm whether these people really came to Mokou Town , and then report to the superior, that's all."

The door of the 'Salamander' tavern was opened, and most people looked up subconsciously, seeing two shadowy men wrapped in cloaks and dusty, they ignored it.

Only a palm-sized salamander lying on the fireplace suddenly jumped out of flames from its scales. It hissed and disappeared into the shadows at an extremely fast speed.

The two walked in together, and the space inside the house was much larger than it looked from the outside, and the left and right were connected to the adjacent huts, a row of more than a dozen huts connected together.

At this time the room was not full yet, some guests stared at the two cloaked guests with bored, hostile or curious eyes, while the rest gathered on the temporary stage at the far end to watch a The bard performed, and the audience burst into applause.

Moran followed his teacher into a box deep in the tavern, sat opposite each other and remained silent.

"Hey, you guys are really punctual." A soft and cunning voice came from outside the door.

Moran saw that the visitor was wearing a satin jacket with green and gold stripes, a black silk shawl pinned by a carved jade rose on the shoulder, and the front of the skirt was stained with wine stains. Judging by the color, it was dark red wine, and a strand of light golden hair hung down down, covering one eye.

Vaguely, he felt an extremely uncomfortable breath on the other party.

"It turned out to be you!"

Moran saw his teacher frowned, "Polivik? As far as I know, you were not imprisoned by Zariel in the Bronze Fortress, and you still have to stay..."

Hearing his teacher mention the name of the fallen angel Zariel, the ruler of Avernas on the first floor of Baator Hell, the chief commander of the bloody battle in the abyss, Moran looked at the unexpected visitor in disbelief.

As a paladin, his intuition told him that the opponent was definitely a high-level devil from Bator Hell.

"...300 years? You want to say 300 years."

Polivik shrugged, "My lord says the world is 5 years old, but Asmodeus, the Lord of the Nine Hells, says it's 50 years old. All in all, what is 300 years?"

As he spoke, he sat down on a chair unceremoniously, "Give me a glass of Suzal's golden wine. You know, I had bad luck at the 'Gnoll Roulette', and I took the last card. The gold coins are spent on dinner, so just give me some amphir braised beef, with smoked sausage and dwarf yellow mustard. There is no way, people have to eat."

You're not a man, you're a devil, Moran thought, and devils never go hungry.

"What's the matter?" Polivik looked at the older man.

"Shouldn't the sons of nobles be more generous, Astorio, I know that you group of paladins who are called 'conquerors' have already gained a firm foothold in the desert, so it's so difficult to buy me a drink to celebrate ?"

"I only invite friends to drink." Astorio returned a cold smile, "And I am not the son of a nobleman. As I said, my mother is just a commoner."

"Your mother is a monkey from the Chult Jungle." Polivik's hazel eyes shone with alcohol and malice.

"Hmph, anytime there's a hole between the legs, the pirates of Dambraith will fuck. Oh, don't be mad, your skin may be the same as a hazelnut shell, but at least you can bathe, not like some swineherds in the wild Refined."

Moran clenched his fists, looked at the distance between the two, and wondered if he could smash his stinky mouth with one punch.

At least half the teeth could be knocked out, he thought.

Just when he was about to put his thoughts into action, he suddenly recalled what the teacher had told him before he left. In the end, reason overcame impulse, and he let go of his fist helplessly.

Obviously, he can't do it yet, but it doesn't mean he won't do it in the future.

Astorio put away his smile, "You have to apologize."

"Really?" said Polivik. "How can I apologize for having a dry throat?"

"Every word you utter discredits your master," Astorio told him, "and your identity."

"Really?" Polivik pretended to be surprised: "Then buy me a glass of wine quickly, maybe you can cover up my shame."

"Drinking? Let me pull out your tongue first!" Moran stood up from his chair and said coldly.

"Hehe, how can I tell you about the 'Justice Judge'?" Polivik shrugged again, leaned back in his chair, and said with a smile.

Hearing the high-ranking devil from Baator Hell mention the 'Justice Judge', Moran fell silent. He sat back on his chair and finally understood why his teacher chose to make a deal with the devil.

'Justice Judge' is once the sword of Tyr, the god of justice.

In the Year of Three Blood Splatters, a misunderstanding between Tyr, the god of justice, and Heim, the guardian god, caused the two gods to break apart.

The strictness of his own ideas forced Tyr, the god of justice, to challenge Heim, and Heim also accepted this challenge due to his own ideas.

The two gods fought, and Tyr slew Heim before the gods came to their senses.

Although no one can confirm the final result, the gods still felt that the death of Heim was caused by the black hands of Cyric, the murder god.

This is the fact.

In the second year, with the help and instigation of Shar, Cyric successfully assassinated the goddess of magic, Mystra, triggering the shocking "Arcane Catastrophe"!
Although many good gods, headed by the God of Justice, successfully imprisoned the instigator Cyric on the supreme throne of the Pantheon and sentenced him to be imprisoned for at least a thousand years, the death of the guardian god Heim made Tyr always Hard to let go.

In the end, the God of Justice chose to pass on his divine power to his subordinate god, Tom, the god of loyalty and truth, one of the three gods of justice.

After Tire committed suicide, his sword "Justice Judge" disappeared.

And the three most famous, strongest, and largest paladin organizations under his command.

The Knights of the Sword of Mercy, representing kindness, took refuge in Losander, the Lord of Dawn, and the Knights of the Hammer of Law, representing order, were accepted by Tom, the god of truth and loyalty.

Among the two major paladin organizations, there is also a Knights of the Severe Jaw, which stands for Judgment and Sanctions, and is superior to the two major knight orders.

Because the paladins recruited by the Severe Jaw Knights are all the most elite paladins selected from the Sword of Mercy and the Hammer of Law.

It is said that in order to join the Order of Severe Jaws, a paladin must first be nominated by a member of the order, and his nomination must be endorsed by a senior priest of Tyr.

If both requirements are met, he must stay overnight in a sanctuary in the temple of Tyr.

When Tyr, the god of justice, deems a paladin worthy of acceptance, he will give him a vision of his own warhammer.

In the absence of visions, the paladin is considered too inexperienced rather than a failure, and may be nominated again after a while.

If Tyr sends a vision of a sword, the paladin knows that he has failed Tyr in some way, willfully or not, and must immediately go off on a quest alone.

Tyr will forgive him only if he completes the task, and the paladin will be accepted into the Knights of the Stern Jaw.

Before the God of Justice fell, the paladins of Severe Jaws always chose the oath of judgment or punishment.

But with the fall of Tire, they did not choose to turn to other good gods, but changed their oath to the oath of conquest and traveled around the world.

Rumor has it that as long as you find the artifact 'Judger of Justice', you will be able to find a way to revive Tyr, the God of Justice.

This is also the mission of every paladin who joins the Knights of the 'Severe Jaws'.

"I don't want to waste time with you here." Astorio said lightly.

Looking at his teacher's calm face, Moran knew that the former leader of the 'Severe Jaws' Knights had reached the verge of anger.

"Of course, I don't want to waste time." Polivik shrank his eyes in fright, and finally gave in.

"After all, our master once ruled Avernas, his will is absolute, his word is the law, the fallen angel Zariel is the Grand Duke of Devils, but not always, our master once held this title , and will again take its place.”

"A Grand Duke who has been ousted will only hide in the volcano and sulk, eager to regain his throne." Astorio replied calmly, "The devil never talks about kindness and charity."

"That doesn't need to bother you."

The high-ranking devil said, "You just need to follow the agreement you signed with our lord at the beginning. And I, the devil who was often trampled by you, sorry, I am the spokesperson of the material world."

"I need to know the news about the 'Justice Judge' in advance." Astorio frowned and asked coldly.

Moran on the side also pricked up his ears, listening quietly.

If he hadn't met the lord of Mokou Town in an oasis a few days ago, he wouldn't even have the chance to know these secrets.

Until now, he couldn't believe how the mage lord of Mokou Town signed a contract with the former Duke of Hell to become his magic pet.

The most important thing is that with Bayer's ability, it is impossible to forcibly terminate the master-servant contract.

"Although Tyr, the god of justice, has long since fallen."

The high-level devil put away his playful look, and said seriously, "But there is a relatively famous temple that still accepts believers. This temple is not in the world of Toril, but in the so-called 'Pirate Paradise'. Star, the 'Judger of Justice' is sealed in this temple."

Astorio heard this and fell into deep thought.

Moran on the side also widened his eyes in shock, feeling a little unbelievable.

The moon in the world of Toril is called: Suren, the goddess of the moon.

Accompanied by the moon are hundreds of small celestial bodies (planets) called 'Tears of Suren'.

Let them find the location of Brah from hundreds of asteroids in the barren universe, and then find the Temple of Tyr, the difficulty is unimaginable.

"As the spokesperson of the material world, I'm afraid it's not as simple as monitoring this mage lord when you stay in Mokou Town."

Astorio was silent for a long time, and said: "According to the contract we signed, the 'Severe Jaws' Knights are willing to listen to your orders and help your master take back Avernas, and you must also assist us to go to Bras Star, retrieve the 'Judger of Justice'."

"readily!"

The high-level devil smiled, "Astorio, do you know what I admired most about you when I was in Avernas? I just like your tone of voice, which is as clean as your efficiency in slaughtering abyssal demons."

"Without further ado!"

Astorio said coldly, "Tell me the purpose of your meeting with me this time."

"For some time in the future, I will stay in Mokou Town. There is no way, my lord's little master's ability to cause trouble is as good as you paladins who participated in the bloody battle in the abyss. I am really worried that he will suddenly One day, I will provoke all the demon lords in the bottomless abyss."

After the high-level devil teased a certain mage lord, he straightened his expression and said seriously: "I need you to go to the gate of hell in the highest forest yourself and help me get something back."

…………

Silvermoon City, a mage tower in the Supreme Palace.

'Thundermaster' Tern Hornblade, the supreme mage of Silvermoon City, the leader of the mage guard, with a pair of shining eyes, looked at the sheepskin scroll in his hand and frowned.

"The seal of the Gate of Hell has been loosened." After a long time, Mage Tenn muttered to himself.

Hellgate Keep is located at the northernmost point of the High Forest.

In the age of Yellan in the Elven Empire, the city of Uskhorn was the capital of the moon elves, which is the former name of Hellgate Castle.

After the fall of the Netheril Empire, human refugees occupied it. Later, Baatezu demons from Baator Hell mixed into Asker Point City and secretly controlled the rulers and civilians.

When a group of mages realized the seriousness of the problem, they summoned the abyssal demon from the bottomless abyss to destroy the devil through a powerful summoning ceremony.

The warring monsters tore apart the elven city, and the victorious abyssal demons turned the city into a terrifying Hellgate Keep, the most notorious area of ​​the High Forest.

In the late 14th century, the year of gold and gloom.

After the elven army of the High Forest weakened the power of the Abyss Demons, members of the Harpers used powerful magic to destroy Hellgate Castle and kill most of the Abyss Demons.

A great treant leader from the Grandfather Tree casts a Nature spell to seal off the area and prevent the remaining demons from doing more damage.

Now, after several expeditions by adventurers who bypassed the treant leaders, or traded their conditions for a pass, the smoldering pit once known as 'Hell's Gate' seems to have calmed down.

However, what troubled Mage Tenn was that in less than 200 years, the demons of Hellgate Castle and the cracks that could reach the bottomless abyss reappeared, endangering the safety of the Northland.

"What's the specific situation." Mage Tenn looked at a half-elf monk sitting on a chair, and asked, "My friend Lesen, do you know which demon lord broke the seal?"

Lesenau is a scout of the Harper Alliance, and he naturally believes in the news he conveyed.

"In the year of gold and darkness, Ms. Elastra also invited Ms. Storm from Shadow Valley to seal the gate of hell with the tree leader."

When the half-elf monk mentioned Erastriol, he looked at Mage Tenn playfully, and said with a smile: "When the seal was loosened, Lady Storm immediately sensed this situation and notified me to come and report to you .”

The Storm Lady lives in Shadowdale in the Vale, leader of the Harpers, thought Mage Thurn.

This lady was able to sense the situation here across an Enook desert, and it was obvious that something had been left behind when it was sealed.

He looked at the half-elf monk, "You haven't answered my question yet, which demon lord did it?"

"If what I expected is correct, it should be Graz'zt, the dark monarch."

Lesenao said, "I heard that the plot woven by Lord Wu'an in the city of Odus of the gray dwarves was discovered by an adventurer, who destroyed it and even took away a very important item from the demon lord. .Obviously, I speculate that Lord Darkness took advantage of the fact that most of the demon lords were focusing on the Underdark. He took the initiative to give up the interests of the Underdark and sent his own demon army to occupy the abyss crack leading to the Hell Gate Fortress. .”

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this adventurer is actually Brian, the lord of Mokou Town who abducted your Silver Moon City Lord." He looked at Master Ten's serious face and joked.

"Brian?" Master Tenn frowned.

He had met this mage lord once, so he naturally had a general understanding of him.

The most important thing is that he doesn't care whether he wants to understand it or not.

Because ever since the other party brought their city lord to the Goddess of Love's Temple of Beauty once, rumors of Brian's affair with Ms. Whispering Moon have spread throughout Silvermoon City.

Even Ms. Moon Whisper's most ardent admirer, Methema Elasme, the commander of the Silver Knights, has yet to come out of the shadows.

Originally, the lord who was forcibly airborne by the Silver Moon Dragon Queen was not very popular, but now he has such an intimate relationship with a small lord of the Kingdom of Cormyr, one can imagine.

He doesn't like to express any opinions on matters between men and women.

After seeing the ridiculous love history of Ms. Elastre, as the last successor, he has long been familiar with the strangeness and completely gave up.

After all, women will only affect the efficiency of his research on magic.

Back then, for Ms. Alustri's dying wish, he got so excited that he spared half of his time studying magic to manage Silvermoon City for a hundred years.

"He's really a troublemaker, but he's on par with your harpist scouts." Master Tenn felt his head hurt a little, and he said a little depressed, "It's all right now, he provokes himself The Dark Sovereign, but let our Silver Federation suffer an indiscriminate disaster."

"My friend Leysen."

Thinking back about the mage lord in Mokou Town, he changed his expression and looked at the half-elf monk, "What do you think of this mage lord named Brian?"

His friend also had a pleasant cooperation with Brian, and also recorded his name in his most important little book.

Therefore, Master Tenn was very curious about what kind of person the other party was in his eyes.

"How to see?" Lesenao said playfully: "How else can you see, of course with your eyes."

"I shouldn't have asked you." Master Tenn glanced at his friend angrily, feeling quite depressed in his heart, and even at this moment, he still teased himself.

"Since he has been mentioned, let me tell you one more thing." The half-elf monk thought for a moment, as if weighing whether he should say these words or not.

After a while, he said solemnly: "The lord of Mokou Town is actually a descendant of the Netherese. Lady Storm of the Shadow Valley told me that Brian rejected an opportunity to become a goddess's chosen one."

Mage Tenn touched his bearded hand and froze in the air. His eyes widened, and he looked at the calm half-elf monk in disbelief.

"People of Netheril, the arrogance of these people is engraved in their bones, and it's normal to refuse." He regained his composure and said in a sour tone.

"Okay, I won't talk nonsense with you."

The half-elf monk got up and was about to leave, "Although Ms. Moon Whisper is not here, I have already sent the message. I have to inform the tree leader of the Grandfather Tree, so I won't chat with you."

It's always been your gossip and nonsense, so why blame me again, Master Tenn thought gloomily.

After he sent his friend away, he remembered that the little ancestor of the Silver Moon Dragon Empress was going to summon him, so he hurried to the Silver Throne.

Stepping into the hall, he saw from a distance the little girl dressed up, the Silver Moon Dragon Queen in a princess dress, sitting upright with Bai Shengsheng's calves crossed, and a mirror was placed in front of her.

Silver Wing in adult human form stood beside her, with a gentle smile on his mouth, and carefully combed her hair into a beautiful ponytail.

"done."

Silver Wing tied her long hair with a pink headband, picked up the mirror and put it in front of Yinyue Dragon Queen, looked at it, and said with a smile: "It's very beautiful, our Dragon Queen looks like a real person Dear little princess."

There was a sweet smile on the corner of the little girl's mouth, she looked in front of the mirror, caressed her headband fondly, then pouted and said dissatisfiedly, "I don't want to be like a princess, I will be bullied like that." The dragon took it."

"Push!"

Silver Wing was amused by her, and then held her immature face and kissed her hard.

Master Ten was ashamed for a while, it was hard to imagine how this shameless and shameless Yinlong could talk to such a little girl.

Although her real identity is the ancient golden dragon, she still looks like a child of seven or eight years old.

At the same time, he felt that he was more uncomfortable than being hit by a legal order.

He couldn't bear such multiple critical blows, so he couldn't help but cough softly to divert the attention of the loving dragons.

He has never had a good impression of this silver dragon. If he hadn't intervened in it and won Erastriol's heart first, he would not have become her last lover.

"Grandpa Hornblade, is your throat uncomfortable?" Yinyue Xiaolong said curiously with his big round eyes flashing behind him.

Being called grandpa by a giant dragon that was bigger than himself by a fraction, Master Tenn's face twitched, and he walked up boldly and said, "Dragon Queen, what do you want from me."

He suddenly missed the time when Ms. Whispering Moon governed Silvermoon City.

Although this beautiful female elf always looks indifferent, her words are concise and easy to understand, and the efficiency of the six psionic servants is also very high, which allows him to have a lot of free time, and occasionally has the opportunity to participate in the activities of the goddess of love. Banquet, help him soothe his weary soul.

Especially those young and enthusiastic little pastors...

Thinking about it, Master Tenn inexplicably felt a faint soreness from overwork from his old waist that was gradually bent by the years.

He blushed and quickly calmed down to hide his sudden absence.

After all, no matter how good the little pastor is, it's not the main reason, but that he doesn't have to watch the pair of giant dragons show off their affection in different ways in front of him every day.

"You've heard about what happened in Mokou Town two days ago, right?" The little dragon queen sat upright on the throne, shaking her two white legs that were exposed from the princess dress.

"I've heard about it." Master Tenn looked away helplessly and answered with his head bowed.

Originally, the mage lord of Mokou Town built a wizard tower, which was not something worthy of attention, but in addition to the assistants from the god of earth elements, there were also the city lords of their Silver Moon City among the participants, which was different in nature. Naturally, it quickly caught his attention.

Moreover, Mokou Town still represents the Kingdom of Cormyr. The Lord of Silver Moon City appeared in Mokou Town and has such a close relationship with the mage lord. One can imagine the meaning of this.

"I think this is a good opportunity." Empress Xiao Long stroked her braid and said earnestly:
"Shadow City sent the Prince of Shadow, and set their sights on the Northland, Cormyr, Valley, Sambia, and Comanthor around the Ennook Desert. Then why can't our forces unite and kill the Shadow city."

Master Tenn had known for a long time that their Dragon Queen looked like a little kid, but she was actually smarter than anyone else.

Otherwise, it would not be able to rule the Northland steadily for dozens of centuries.

"However, Dragon Queen, you have to be clear that the Silver Federation faces more than just the Shadow City." Mage Tenn said calmly, "The demon elves in the highest forest, the abyssal demons in Hellgate Castle, the orcs in the Spine of the World, etc. Many forces, these are all linked to the whole body, you have to think about it carefully."

"I know better than anyone else." The little dragon queen said, "I have already asked Lesenao to help me with this matter."

"Okay, I will seriously consider this matter when Ms. Moon Whisper comes back." Master Tenn bowed slightly to the little dragon queen and said respectfully.

"Then it's decided." Xiaolong Empress glanced at Silver Wing next to her meaningfully, causing the latter's eyes to shrink in fright, and she said to Master Tenn:

"If you have time, please help me sort out the detailed information about Myrcella Lauer, the female lord of Araby City."

Mage Tenn naturally caught Silver Wing's expression, he snickered to himself, this lecherous silver dragon was probably trying to trick the female lord again, causing his backyard to catch fire.

deserve it!He thought gloatingly.

"I will carry it out seriously, Dragon Queen." Master Tenn bowed slightly and turned to leave.

…………

(End of this chapter)