Equipment Printing School Mage
Page 174
Just as they were chatting, deafening shouts exploded from Tyr's camp, almost drowning out Emya's words.
"...What's going on over there?" Emilia asked.
Mars replied without turning his head, "It's a tradition in Elturgard. If a major event requires the joint action of officials and citizens, citizens and adventurers will swear an oath of war with the Companions of the Sun and the Knights of Hell before setting out. It's a way to boost morale and confirm unity."
Forty-six Strange Transactions
The organizer of the Ritual of Truth has also moved to the vicinity of the Tyr Church camp, which is quite big news.
But at least it is a major benefit to Emiya and his group.
Fenwë, who had been traveling with them, stopped and said, "I won't go in with you. Actually, I was sent by Woods to return from Trail Town, and I need to reassure him first. Our agreed meeting place is the largest beech tree on the south side of the river forest. You should be able to see it if you walk downstream along the river."
A tree that even a druid could describe as huge must be extremely conspicuous.
Emiya nodded: "After we finish here, we should make that place our next stop."
Fenwe smiled and waved his hand, then maintaining his beast form, flapped his wings and flew up, disappearing into the northern sky.
Emiya breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything is moving forward, but in his opinion, the deepest secrets have not yet been revealed.
Or in other words, even if he had a clue, he didn't have the determination to take a direct action.
If there was something wrong with Banri, he couldn't just ask his teacher to use a disintegration technique on him—that would undoubtedly make him a public enemy. Not to mention that he only had a guess at the moment.
Evidence, evidence.
Emiya sighed.
Now they can only take it one step at a time.
The Great Reader, Kristen, had indeed moved to the woods next to the Tyr camp. The Oghma Church had set up several tents in the clearing as temporary shelter.
Emilia and the others naturally had questions to ask when they came to the house.
"You've come at the perfect time," Mars said as he led the way. "The topographic maps compiled by the Church of Oghma are naturally quite valuable."
"But how did the Church of Oghma determine the edge of the burrower's activity?" Emya asked. "Isn't that the job of the River Forest Druids?"
"Druid?" Mars was stunned for a moment. "I just arrived not long ago and don't know the situation here well enough. Are the druids in the River Forest so easy to talk to?"
"Just the opposite." Emilia lowered his voice and recounted what he had discovered near the town of Trier and the tug-of-war between the two sides that had occurred here before.
Druids are associated with burrowworms.
Upon hearing this news, the divine duo who had been in the city of Eltoril were dumbfounded.
Elastrid, who had been in Eltoril longer, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She clasped her hands together and sighed, "The locals often complain that no matter how they try to contact the River Forest, their efforts are completely in vain, even with the efforts of the Church of Chauntia. So there's a secret hidden behind this."
Mars, on the other hand, focuses on another aspect.
"...Oh, I see. I thought Norwich would have made some progress in recent years." Mars thought for a moment, a look of understanding on his face, and couldn't help but snort, "But he still can't help but bring out his identity as the Chief Reader's Son at every turn. Perhaps we can look forward to the future leader of the Church of Oghma maneuvering in Elturgard."
Emiya frowned. "Although I haven't figured out how he gained the druid's approval."
"...Hmm." Hearing this, Mars hesitated for a moment. "I don't understand this either. I think the most likely possibility is that the Supreme Observer played a significant role as a middleman or even the mastermind. But, what reason does the Supreme Observer have to be so unilaterally inclined towards Norwich?"
After passing another bush, the newly built Oghma Church camp appeared in front of Emiya.
"...?!"
Emiya's eyes widened, and she was speechless.
In the middle of the camp, a large, crystal-clear virtual scene was floating quietly in the air.
It was a schematic diagram of the entire range of the burrowing worms. It clearly covered hundreds of square kilometers north of Berdusk. The burrowing worms' range and known entrances to their nests were clearly marked. In areas near the riverine forests and Berdusk, where these humanoids were most active, the map even included numerous known entrances, as well as the detailed three-dimensional topography of the passageways surrounding them.
"Isn't this what's going on?" Sig nearly jumped up after just one look. "Isn't this too detailed? He dug this crypt, didn't he? Not even Grand Duke Valakan's dungeon map a while ago was this lifelike!"
Emiya sighed: "...at least it's a good thing?"
"It's a good thing for now," Mars said.
Within the camp, the priests of the Church of Oghma were so busy they could barely raise their heads—their hands were constantly tracing a massive map on parchment. Emiya glanced at it and guessed it was a military map for adventurers and knights.
However, hand-painted...
Emiya glanced at Mars tentatively and made a gesture.
Is it necessary to copy it by hand? If it is just a copy of an existing map, Emiya can provide everyone inside and outside the Tyr Church camp with a map in just a few minutes, without having to draw it by hand.
"Don't be silly." The paladin from Candlekeep stopped him mercilessly. "I believe in your talent, but I can only represent myself. But you are still a stranger to Candlekeep. Let the Candlekeep Oracle allow an outsider to make maps on their behalf? It would be better to kill them."
"These Candlekeep officials are really difficult to deal with." After complaining quietly, Sig walked skillfully to an Oghma priest and waved his hand, immediately putting on a cheerful expression. "Excuse me, sir, where is the Great Reader Christine now?"
***************
The residence of Kristen the Great Reader is indeed the largest tent in the camp, but this is not entirely because of her high status, but because her tent seems to have been converted into a workshop.
In the center of the tent lay a massive, now-dead burrowing worm. Its carapace was covered in red, flame-like cracks, and it appeared to be a species from near Berdusk. On a nearby table, the reader, holding a magnifying glass, carefully examined a sample of the burrowing worm's carapace.
Without even turning back, she spotted Emiya and her group, who hadn't tried to hide their tracks. Lowering her head, she said, "I heard you went to Trill. How could you come back so soon? I guess I'm lucky."
As she spoke, she carefully placed the magnifying glass into its dedicated container and turned around. "You've come again. I assume you have something to ask, or perhaps some knowledge you'd like to share?"
However, as soon as she turned her head, her eyes couldn't help but fall on Metatron behind Emiya.
She shifted her gaze between Metatron and Emmia with some confusion, and snorted softly, "Oh, my. Mr. Emmia, I thought a wizard as strong as you was rare, but I didn't expect to see another one so easily. What's going on between you two?"
Metatron shook his head, stepped forward, and said, "I am Emya's Arcane Mentor. However, I don't consider myself fully qualified, and I'm deeply ashamed. You can just call me the Forsaken."
"You're being too modest. There might not even be another Sixth Ring Mage in his early twenties in the entire Sword Coast right now." Christine shook her head. "So, is there something wrong?"
Emiya said, "Yes. We have made some discoveries in Trier Town and are willing to submit them. However, we believe that if this discovery is leaked, it may cause a series of reactions, so we hope you will keep it confidential for the time being. The confidentiality period will probably last until the Ritual of Truth or after the Digger Tide is over."
"That's fine, but could you please let me know the reason?"
Emiya was silent for a moment and glanced at the Oghma priests who were writing furiously outside.
Many of the priests here were originally Norwich's followers. They followed Christine only after Norwich reorganized the team.
"I see." Christine nodded with a look of understanding, a hint of eagerness in her eyes.
She and Norwich had always had a bad relationship, but she was just being fair and square and not wanting to hinder younger members of the same church. Now that someone had requested confidentiality, she didn't mind keeping Norwich in the dark. "I agree. So, where shall we discuss this? Here, or at a place of your choice?"
Metatron opened his hand and lightly tapped the tent. A transparent portal to another dimension appeared on the outer wall of the tent. "How about in this Mordenkainen mansion?"
"In short, we discovered a runic metal sphere. The enchanted runes on it are unprecedented. It may be the latest achievement of a certain force, so we would like to seek the help of the priests of Oghma to discuss it together."
"Ah, that makes sense." Christine nodded and calmly walked towards the door of the Mordenkainen mansion. "You should have some idea about the origin of the rune ball, right?"
"Yes." Emilia whispered, "I'm afraid it comes from..."
From Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells.
*****************************
As soon as the giant eagle transformed by Fenwei arrived at the south side of the river forest, he saw from afar dozens of druids standing on the top of the towering beech tree.
However, the atmosphere looked extremely solemn and murderous.
The Archdruid of the Sharptooth Forest was stunned when he saw this scene.
She had thought the Church of Oghma had obtained such a detailed map as a sign of deep cooperation between the druids and Elturgard. However, judging by their attitude, that seemed to be completely different.
She thought for a moment, spread her wings, and slowly climbed into the air, choosing not to approach immediately. She circled mid-air to the leeward side of the forest, letting the whispers between the branches be carried to her ears by the wind.
The Great Druid Woods was transforming into a golden eagle, standing on the top of the beech tree and staring coldly at all the druids present.
They all transformed into birds, stood below the golden eagle, and did not dare to look it in the eye.
Woods's eyes swept over them again and again, full of murderous intent.
After a long time, the furious Archdruid finally spoke again.
He said angrily: "-I ask again, who gave that extremely detailed map to that Oghma priest named Norwich?!"
"If anyone was coerced, speak up now and I won't punish them. If anyone accepted a bribe, confess now and hand over the money, and I won't pursue the matter!"
"I originally agreed to your basic assistance, but I didn't ask you to go this far! Why don't you also help the Elturgard people explore the soil and mineral veins?!"
"If I find out who took the initiative and gave that ridiculously detailed map to that Oghma priest, then prepare to move to another forest!"
As if worried that his emotions hadn't been fully conveyed, Woods roared, "Now, even the map I have is not as detailed as the one in Oghma's camp. This is simply outrageous!"
However, even though the Archdruid was furious, none of the druids dared to look him in the eye or say anything to add fuel to the fire, but no one came out to admit their mistakes either.
Woods yelled, "I'll ask again, is there? Yes, yes, no, no!"
The druids glanced at each other subconsciously, then answered in unison, incredibly firm: "No! Absolutely not!"
This result made Woods even more angry: "You don't admit it?! Then how did the Church of Oghma get the map?"
"The people of Elturgard have known about this for only a few days, and the priests of Chontia have been busy directing the harvest these days!"
"Even if I personally direct the surveying of that map, it would take at least ten days to officially produce the results! Besides you, who else has the time? Who else has the ability?!"
"Could it be that a digger worm helped him draw it?!"
Forty-seven Cursed Balls
"...This is truly...rare to see."
Looking at the rune ball that had been crushed into a yellow metal cake by the meteor explosion, the great reader Christine sighed sincerely.
Emiya and his companions hadn't come to Christine to play Tai Chi with her. So they got straight to the point and shared their findings in Trail Town.
The alien space residence created by the Magic Duncan Mansion Spell naturally has everything you need, and there is no shortage of a table that can support a heavy metal ball.
The great reader, Christine, displayed an absolutely meticulous attitude. She stood there, casting spells one after another on herself until her protection was perfect. Only then, satisfied, did she step forward and, after observing it for a few moments, conclude, "...there's no more magic flowing through it. It may have once been a magical item, but now it's utterly useless."
She thought about it, and couldn't help but lower her glasses, and showed Mars a mischievous smile: "Letting an old woman like me do this kind of reverse work, it really found me a big job, Mars."
A rare look of respect appeared on her former student's face: "But this is your hobby."
"Yes, this is indeed my hobby." Christine's smile grew even brighter. "Although we are both seekers of knowledge, I'm not really that partial to books. I believe the traces left on various tools and objects are equally important. I'm very happy that you remember this."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but raise her hand, but even so, her hand could only reach Mars' chest.
She sighed: "Forget it, you are already an adult, don't talk about the past anymore."
Afterwards, everyone present officially entered work mode.
Of course, the metal ball was severely damaged by the meteor explosion, but the strange thing was that it was only bent and deformed due to the heavy pressure.
——In short, the metal ball was not affected by the high temperature in any way.
"...a metal that's completely unafraid of fire." Christine immediately came to a conclusion. "From what I understand, it's either the fire copper used by fire elementals and efreeti, or the hell steel commonly used by demons. Even the materials used in demonic equipment don't have such strong fire resistance.
This is the heat of a meteor burst!
"...However, it's not so easy to come up with further results. These enchantments are completely different from the common enchantments in Faerun." Christine pressed her glasses in distress. "I think I may need some forbidden books on infernal studies for comparison. Although I have the right to borrow those books freely, I didn't bring them with me.
Thinking of this, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Besides this sphere itself, do you have any other clues? If we have a reference, progress should be faster."
This was naturally Yin's favorite occasion. She immediately walked over to the rune ball and said, "It seems that this ball was taken when the host was still alive."
"...host body?" This word surprised Christine. She took a few steps back and examined the size of the sphere. "This sphere is bigger than me, an old woman. It's actually used to be implanted in the flesh?"
Emiya replied, "Things haven't been peaceful around Berdusk lately."
"...I see. Found inside a burrowworm? The townspeople in Trail are lucky. A mortal enemy of theirs accidentally clashed with a lich." Christine glanced at the mansion's door subconsciously. "If another burrowworm outbreak breaks out elsewhere, Elturgard will be in real trouble."
If you have an idea of the functionality first, the reverse engineering process will be much smoother.
At this moment, to everyone's surprise, Metatron took a few steps back and sat down on a chair nearby, with no intention of following up to analyze the situation.
"...? Miss Forsaken?" Christine couldn't help but widen her eyes. "What are you doing?"
Metatron looked embarrassed. "...My knowledge of this area is somewhat superficial. I'm a wild mage who started learning magic halfway, so my knowledge is quite limited. I can still help with identification, but enchantment is not my forte."
And Sig, who knows nothing about this, is even more single - she has already started looking for food in the mansion.
"What about Mr. Emilia?" Christine glanced at the student of the Forsaken.
Emiya, however, was very interested in this rune ball, and at this moment, she and Yin were staring at the metal plate of the rune.
Metatron glanced at the backs of the two men, covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily: "This is his personal hobby, not something I taught him."
While Christine and Metatron chatted, Yin was completely immersed in the world of runes. Pulling on Emiya's sleeve with her backhand, she said, "It's actually quite amazing—I've never seen this kind of rune before. It must have been invented quite recently."
All Aimiya could say was, "Can I ask, what is the timeframe you mean by 'soon'?"
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