Equipment Printing School Mage
Page 244
"Of course." Shar's voice was unyielding. "Magic is a powerful ministry, that's true, but it's not enough."
"The God of Magic is one of the most powerful gods in Faerun for a very simple reason—because the original consciousness of the Weave, Mystril, became the first Goddess of Magic. Before she reactivated herself, she dispersed the Weave's authority among the fragments of her divine power, passing it on to those who came after her."
The power of a magic god without the authority of the magic network will be greatly reduced.
"The second path," Larloch replied, "is that you can only provide limited assistance."
"Yes," Shar said flatly. "I will await your results. You have the opportunity to be the first to gain the power of the Weave—and then, if you can repel all pretenders, including me, you will naturally become the fourth God of Magic and Mystery."
Just as the third magic goddess Midnight did.
The first path involved deep cooperation with Shar, with little chance of misappropriating authority. The second path was a gamble on one's own talent.
"The most capable warrior?" Larloch asked. "...Sultanza City? I thought they were also overthrown in the arcane disaster."
"As on the day of Karthus's folly?" Shar replied. "Either way, they are still alive."
"So," Larloch said with a hint of disdain, "Tantamut Tantur is still alive."
"Yes." Shar used a more popular translation, "The Lord of the Ghost City, Shado, is still alive."
"Then," Larloch replied, "I choose the first option. However, I will need ten days to prepare. Moving my men outside of Candlekeep will require another ten days."
Larloch's base is more than a hundred miles north of Baldur's Gate.
To move an undead army large enough to shake Candlekeep hundreds of kilometers away is an extremely massive project.
"Twenty days is too long," Shar replied. "For nearly a hundred years, Faerûn was as stagnant as a pool of water. But things are different now. Perhaps a few months of slow response will lead to a world of upheaval. So, don't waste time."
"...half a month. No shorter."
**************************
Several of Mystra's elects were now in the inner court of Candlekeep—all those who knew this secret belonged to the same inner circle. The meeting for the entire Candlekeep was over, and this inner circle would further discuss the future.
Normally, Apodel Adrian was one of the people who should not have missed this meeting - he was the strongest person in Candle Castle at the moment, and one of the only remaining representatives of the third-generation magic goddess Midnight.
But he still missed the meeting.
While others were heading towards the inner court, he left the group alone and went to the first floor of the Central Library.
This is the area of the outer courtyard where the most people flow, yet where few stop. Normally, there would be a monk here to guide visitors to the location of the books. But now, Candlekeep's library is almost completely shut down, with no outsiders entering or leaving. As a result, the area that should always be manned is now perfectly empty.
However, the first floor is not really empty - although there are no books on this floor, it is where the Candlekeep Annual is sold and stored. Every month, the Candlekeep monks collect the discoveries they have made while perusing the piles of books and bind them into a volume.
A familiar-looking man in black armor was standing next to the bookcase. Beside him lay a mountain of past issues.
Since that unpleasant meeting, the Death God Kelemvor has never contacted Apodel again. But today, he sent a message to the paladin, asking him to come here to meet him.
This is also the biggest reason why Apodel left the team.
Apodale was silent for a moment, then said, "What are you looking for?"
The black-armored man was clearly in a bad mood. He meticulously replaced the books and magazines and replied, "Looking for a small incident from over 110 years ago."
As if he already knew what he was looking for, Apodale answered simply, "The monks of Candlekeep hold themselves in high regard and would never publish a fact about a god having visited Candlekeep before becoming a god. The annual of the Year of Troubles focused on studying the gods who fell during that time. However, the Lady of Midnight was a god-ascending individual, so there is too little information about her to be published."
At this point, the Son of Bhaal sighed deeply. "The great sage Alandor left behind countless prophecies. Many of them were incomprehensible and incomprehensible. But that year, the monks finally understood the meaning of one prophecy, officially removing it from the archives and affixing it to a castle wall."
"The God of Murder will fall, but in his last days he will give birth to countless mortal offspring. Their departure will sow the seeds of chaos," Kelemvor replied. "In those days, whenever my priests came to my door and were shocked to find the souls of the dead were gone, I knew that another son of Bhaal had fallen."
Baal's death unleashed a wave of bloodshed across Faerûn.
However, the chaos brought about by the death of the God of Murder is far from comparable to the fall of the God of Magic.
"Lord Kelemvor." Apodel's eyebrow twitched. "Why did you call me here?"
"No, I came to you because you have questions for me," Kelemvor replied. "I'm going to ask you to do something that's difficult for you, but you have every reason to do it. So, if you have any questions or requests, speak up now."
Apodel took a deep breath and said, "Then, Lord Kelemvor."
"The changes at Candlekeep, the resurrection of the dead." His eyes finally blazed with anger. "We thought some ambitious individual was plotting against Candlekeep, so we delved deep underground—but in the end, Emiya's teacher and I were stunned to discover there was nothing there. No matter how effective the magic array was, it couldn't possibly leave no trace.
"She gave me the conclusion: at this point, it has already exceeded the capabilities of arcane and divine magic.
Apodel turned his head, surveyed his surroundings, and uttered his final conclusion: "I'm not versed in the power of gods, so please allow me to make a bold guess... You've mobilized divine power, even using your authority as the god of death."
Kelemvor's eyes didn't even flinch.
"Yes," he replied, "and I won't stop until I achieve my goal."
“…What on earth do you want to do?!”
Kelemvor stomped the ground and replied, "If you want to know the answer, you must stay here for the next three days. You cannot leave."
"If all goes well, you'll find out soon enough."
Apodale's heart skipped a beat.
He had anticipated this outcome, but when Death actually admitted it, he still couldn't help but feel dizzy: "Do you know what you're doing...?!"
"This is none of your business. Even if I lose my priesthood upon returning to the Twilight Realm," Kelemvor's voice carried the graveyard's weight. "All I know is that Storm and Himbu's madness, a century of decline, will be reversed... in this single act."
"So, why Candlekeep?"
"Because the maze here is faithfully protecting everything that once existed here."
Whose blood is the twenty-nine silver fire?
"What!? Larloch!"
The Bookkeeper Lude was already in a low mood, and after hearing this extremely shocking news, he almost knocked over his chair. "Master Tos's arrival is too bizarre. It's completely within our imagination that he has problems. But Lalok?"
"You've got cause and effect wrong." Metatron clasped his hands together and placed them under his chin. "Is that Archmage Lanton still in Candlekeep?"
"...?" Stutin was stunned for a moment and replied, "No, he hasn't contacted me for a few days."
"You can verify this later," Metatron said. "My guess is that it was just Larloch's disguise—this expedition was a trap from the beginning."
The meaning behind this sentence made the two leaders of Candlekeep shudder.
"..." Lude was silent for a moment. "Then, I want to ask - how did you two survive Larok's hands unscathed?"
Metatron and Emiya exchanged a glance, then sighed softly: "Everyone, Candlekeep is indeed in crisis right now, so I am willing to reveal some of my secrets."
Although Candlekeep was one of the faith centers of the Church of Oghma, it did not have that many combatants. In this precarious moment, she could no longer conceal the truth - otherwise, she could not guarantee that the priests here would fight for other churches until their last breath.
She tapped the table gently. "I've fought Larloch many times. If Larloch comes again, please leave him to me. No one from Candlekeep needs to intervene."
"...fight..." Lude hesitated, "What exactly...?"
Metatron stood up and answered seriously, "The format is one-on-one competition, and both fights are victorious."
These words shocked the two Oghma priests. Stutin muttered, "Just being qualified to fight Larloch is already..."
In fact, it was Metatron who defeated Larloch twice.
Lude was shocked, but couldn't help asking, "...What's your proof?"
"Because I am still alive, and Candlekeep still exists."
As long as one of the conditions is not met, the person sitting in front of Lude will naturally be Larock himself.
Lude pinched his brows and suppressed his disbelief: "So... what's next?"
"One question," Metatron replied. "I'm confident I can defeat Larloch, but adding his minions will be incredibly troublesome. At the very least, we'll need power to suppress his liches. I'd like to confirm whether the Candlekeep's mythals are up to the task."
In an instant, the Sutra Keeper who was supposed to answer this question remained silent, his face gloomy to the extreme.
"...?"
This change was beyond everyone's expectations.
Even Emiya couldn't help but look away from Yin.
Of course, he wasn't obsessed with Yin's beauty at this crucial moment. Quite the opposite: he was fixated on Miss Yin, the trigger, fearing a spark might fly from her at any moment. Not to mention that Sig had been strangely quiet for the past few days, and even now, the poet was soundly asleep on Yin's shoulder.
Simple: Xinbu wasn't sleeping soundly like before, but he wasn't waving the Silver Flame and wreaking havoc in Candlekeep either.
This rare great wizard was now lying on the table like a child, facing Yin from a distance.
The two young and beautiful women were excited and smiling, making various gestures to each other.
But Emilia didn't find this scene heartwarming at all: the fingertips of these two people were wrapped with imperceptible silver threads, and they were clearly using silver fire to manipulate magic and play with each other from a distance.
However, no matter how much trouble these two people make, the consequences will not be more serious than the accident with the maze lock.
Fortunately, even Yin wasn't completely clueless about priorities. She looked up and asked, "Is the maze broken? It seems not."
"The problem is, we don't even know if the mythal is broken." Lude said, looking extremely distressed. "A few hours ago, Shar's men launched a surprise attack. I was unprepared, and the key to Candlekeep's mythal was lost during that raid... and fell into the Astral Plane.
"Without the key, the mythal still exists—but it will no longer aid Candlekeep or the mortals within it."
"Astral Plane!" Metatron's face darkened. "Sir, Keeper of the Book—searching for a specific item in the Astral Plane is completely impossible. The size of the Astral Plane is theoretically infinite... perhaps tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of Toril. The possibility of finding it is almost non-existent."
"...I have decided to resign..."
"This isn't your fault." Yin, in a rare move at this moment, offered an excuse. "Sha'er is quite stubborn. If she wants to do something, she'll almost certainly use every possible means. Thwarting her once will only make her more motivated. If Shar'er decides to intervene, this weakness will inevitably be overcome. It can't be solved by being cautious. I suspect the Church of Shar'er will still be there when Larloch visits next."
But this only made the situation worse - the puzzle was one of Candlekeep's biggest trump cards. And when they lost this trump card, they would face the greatest disaster in Candlekeep's history.
Emiya pondered for a moment. "Since the mythal is temporarily suspended, I have a few questions to ask—Why is Candlekeep able to activate the elves' mythal?"
As a crystallization of high elf magic, it is obviously not something that the monks of Candlekeep are capable of creating.
"Unfortunately, we don't know." This was obviously extremely difficult for Oghma's followers. "...We can't find any clues or ancient books."
Lude could only say, "I only know that this is indeed a treasure passed down through generations of scripture keepers."
This is somewhat bizarre.
"You don't know the origin of this maze, yet a key that can unlock it has been passed down?" Metatron knocked on the table. "This seems a bit unbelievable."
Then she shook her head. "Never mind. The secret of the key is irrelevant. Do you know the original owner of this place? To which high elven family did Candlekeep belong? If all else fails, shamelessly go to Cormanthor, Evermeet, or even Arvandor to see if any of your kind still survive. These puzzle locks can almost always be activated through blood."
"……do not know."
"You don't even know this!" Metatron, who wasn't impatient, felt a mixture of amusement and laughter. "This should obviously be one of Candlekeep's most important secrets. How come you don't know anything about it?"
The two Oghma priests looked ashamed, but they could only lower their heads and remain silent.
They really don't know.
"In that case, we can only seek help from all sides and do our best," Emiya said. "Hire the Flaming Fist from Baldur's Gate, seek help from Eltoril, and seek help from other Harpers."
Lude sighed: "This is the only way now."
At this moment, Emilia stood up and said, "By the way, please allow me to plead for a certain group of people. Please loosen their restraints."
Lude was about to agree, but then his pupils shrank. After hesitating for a moment, he finally slumped back in his chair and replied, "...I will allow the Gond Church to fully enter and no longer impose any restrictions on their weapons."
Storm Silverhand shook his head: "Then I will try to get Eir to come to Candlekeep."
The war meeting was over, but it seemed like tonight had just begun.
*******************
Emiya just felt a headache.
"Don't you dislike Xinbu?" He supported the snoring Xige to prevent her from falling to the ground. He looked at Yin's back and couldn't help sighing, "What's going on now?"
"It's hard to decide..." Yin's back suddenly sank, and he turned around with a bitter face, "She is really talented."
Amya understood.
Yin wasn't some kindhearted messenger of justice; she only looked up to someone with exceptional magical talent. Xinbu clearly met this standard.
If it weren't for Xinbu's unwillingness to share spells that made Yin very unhappy, Yin might have already started trying to treat her.
—maybe even cured.
"What are you going to do?"
"Ah..." Yin pulled his cheeks in agony. "Damn it... I saved her like this, but what if she doesn't appreciate it and continues to do as she pleases? It would be so embarrassing to ask for repayment!"
"Do as you please, there's only one rule." Emiya, who was busy looking after Sig, said in a strange tone, "Tear your own face, not mine."
Yin was stunned for a moment, his face slightly reddened, and he rubbed Emiya's face with his warm palms, but unfortunately, the tenderness was fleeting: "She teaches others magic or not depends on her mood, so saving her also depends on my mood...it's fair!"
Just as their team finished their casual chat and were about to go to rest, Metatron, who had been pacing around, thinking about something, suddenly spoke up: "Everyone, I have a suggestion. I wonder if you are interested."
"Not interested." Yin, who was excited just now, answered immediately without hesitation.
"Teacher, is there anything else?" At this point, Emilia glanced at Mars's back and couldn't help but look embarrassed. "...Teacher, your sword... should be repaired soon. But I think it will still require the help of Silver and Elaster."
The Holy Avenger was not something he could accomplish alone.
You'll Also Like
-
An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest
Chapter 860 50 minute ago -
Equipment Printing School Mage
Chapter 478 50 minute ago -
1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll
Chapter 711 50 minute ago -
Ikari Shinji's Harem Comedy Daily Life
Chapter 122 50 minute ago -
Connect to Yuan Tiejue's chat group
Chapter 69 50 minute ago -
As a commander, I will never meet a heavy female ship girl
Chapter 290 50 minute ago -
Why wasn't I the one who got the male lead's script?
Chapter 189 50 minute ago -
This second dimension is too immortal
Chapter 580 50 minute ago -
Terra Succubus Development System, but calm office workers
Chapter 101 50 minute ago -
I'm collecting in the Pokémon world
Chapter 377 50 minute ago