Idu must have seen Amon reading locked docunts in the room, but he chose to give an indirect warning by taking the token away from him rather than to outright expose him. Amon was wondering why. Was it because he considered that he was on the sa side as Amon, for they were both promoted by the Adoratrice?
Amon then thought of another possibility: the supre mage knew that he owned so of Neros scrolls, therefore he might have been trying to extort them from him when the opportunity presented itself. That was why Amon decided to first present High Priest Idu with two scrolls to see his reaction. However, judging from his response, the High Priest didnt intend as such.
Still pondering other possibilities, Amon was ready to show himself out when he heard the High Priest, while watching the ceiling, mutter, Idu is the na I use ever since I joined the Shrine. A long ti ago, people called Balathu. Its a na that I dont want to ntion and hope no one would.
Amon flinched. For a second he didnt know what to say. He had actually heard of this na before. It was on the list of people that CrazyOle had told him in the ssages! Balathu was a sorcerer, who CrazyOle t when travelling around Ejypt. Living in a small village near the city of Heraklion, Balathu was at the fifth level when he first t Nietzsche, who was already a supre sorcerer then.
As ntioned in his ssage, Nietzsche included Balathus na in the list because the latter had sworn to repay Nietzsche or the bearer of Nietzsches token. Nietzsche hadnt ntioned that Balathu had changed his na and joined the Isis Shrine in mfis, since it must have happened after Bairs death, and therefore Nietzsche wasnt inford.
When a sorcerer ascended to the supre phase, his status would drastically change. As long as he pleaded loyalty to a shrine, he would be granted an honorable identity. Balathu joined the Isis Shrine and beca Master Idu. Twenty years later, after he beca a High Priest, he encountered Nietzsches token once again.
The underlying ssage that Idu gave Amon was that he knew about the token and he was warning Amon not to ntion it again. It beca a secret between them. It had been more than forty years since Balathu t CrazyOle. The High Priest chose to let the past remain locked in the past.
Amon remained silent. Idu turned to him with a half-smile, You are now an honored guardian of the Isis Shrine, and likely to be a supre warrior in the future, which will change your life. But you have to rember, when you are in this shrine, you should follow the rules here. The deities shouldnt be offended. But perhaps I was overthinking. What you did during the Hapisidis ceremony already proves that you are devoted to your duty.
Amon nodded, I will always rember your teachings, esteed High Priest.
That would be great. I didnt expect that you would be a warrior! If you have any problems, you are welco to talk to . I am willing to help you as long as it doesnt go against the rules of the Shrine. I dont want to read this file now. Please bring it back. So mories are better left in their boxes unopened.
Amon bowed and left the room and returned the case to where it had been. Idus warning was already a kind of repaynt to CrazyOle. It was not that he didnt want to do more, but now that he was the new High Priest, it was better not to ntion old relationship with foreign sorcerers.
Amon was still in fear. He should have known that in places like the Isis Shrine, simple vigilance wouldnt always suffice. Fortunately, it was Idu who had caught him, and CrazyOles heritage worked in his favour this ti. On the sa list in CrazyOles ssage was Urhiya, but Amon would have never taken out the token if it had been him who had caught him in the Archive. It would have just made him die all the quicker.
He must be even more careful from now on. Lady Luck was not known for being constant. Amon decided not to read anything in the Archive that he wasnt supposed to read before he beca a supre warrior. The only good thing he got from this affair was that he learned about the nature of the grey scroll. It must be the only Tiamats Wrath left in the world.
After leaving the Shrine, Amon went to Sihathors house. He did sothing he had been aning to do for long: to buy Aesop from him. Sihathor was certainly reluctant to give up on such a capable slave, but Amon made an offer that he couldnt resist: he directly placed ten parangons on the table.
It was definitely not the price for a slave. Ten parangons was the reward he took after he saved Sihathor in the desert and escorted him and Aesop back to Cape. Now he was just returning them to Sihathor, in the na of buying Aesop.
Sihathor was astounded. He didnt even dare to take it. Instead, he promised to give Aesop to Amon for free, but Amon insisted that the rchant take the parangons. At last, Sihathor had to put them in his pocket with a shaky hand and a sweating forehead. He hurriedly had Aesop summoned and told him, Mister Amon has just bought you from . You belong to him from now on. You must obey his orders and serve him well!
Amon left Sihathor a book when leaving and told him, You should read this carefully. Hire a teacher to explain the contents that you fail to understand. You always wanted to be a nobleman, didnt you? Then this book is very important to you. I borrowed it from the Archive. Keep it well and read it. I am setting out for a mission. There will be a long ti before I co back. You can return it to then.
The book was about managent of transportation. Sihathor was already familiar with the contents of the book, because he was a trader between distant cities. He organized trade caravans all the ti. However, the book was about the managent of military supplies, about army logistics during a war. Sihathor didnt know why Amon wanted him to read it, but he understood the word nobleman and so he decided to listen to his friend. After all, reading a book from the Archive was already an experience that was worth ntioning at a dinner party.
When Amon walked out of Sihathors house, his new slave asked behind him, Master Amon, why are you buying ? And why you are paying Master Sihathor the price youve taken for saving his life?
Amon smiled, Aesop, you are not lower than your Master Sihathor or your Master Amon. Being a slave doesnt forbid you from having a free and noble mind. I will give you two choices. You can continue to work for Sihathor as his employee and get paid. But if you dont want to, theres a friend of mine who owns a mansion in mfis and he needs a butler for he is seldom in the city. What do you think?
Aesop bowed to his new master and replied, You dont need to talk to like this, master. I will do what you ask to do. I am just thinking that ten parangons are too much for a slave. Youve made a bad deal, master.
Amon laughed, You talk like a butler already. Thats good. You can advise any ti. Lets go to the mansion. I have a surprise for you.
Amons surprise for Aesop was a blank certificate of identification. Anyone writing his na on it can beco a citizen of mfis. Amon once had had another one and he used it by writing the na Allaha on it. Maria gave him another one this ti for the mission but he didnt think he would need to use it, so he gave it to Aesop.
In the mansion, Aesop kneeled down in front of the young warrior for a long ti. When he got up from his knees, his face was covered with tears. He replied with choking sobs, I dont know what to do to repay you, my lord. This is too precious a gift.
Amon shook his head, I already have the citizenship. This paper ans nothing to now. But it can help you get free. As for repaying , you can try to take care of this mansion. I will leave you a sum of money. You can use it to do business when I am away.
Please dont worry, master. I will take care of this place and the money.
Aesop, what are you going to put on this paper as your na?
Aesop, of course.
Amon was curious, Why dont you change it for another na, so that others wont recognize you?
I got this na from my father. I dont want to give it up. There are many Aesops in this continent. A freeman nad Aesop wont ruffle anyones feathers.
Amon nodded, Then so be it, Mister Aesop.
In Ejypt and in many countries, the owner of a slave could sell the slave and treat him well, even like a nobleman, but couldnt give him the legal status of a freeman. According to the code, Amon had to apply to the authorities for a procedure to change Aesops status and gain him a citizenship. But he played a trick here, giving Aesop a new citizenship on the sly. The slave Aesop was gone and a freeman Aesop was born. To Aesop, it was like a dream co true.
The mansion was Amons secret base. He had stored quite a lot of personal things here. Thus he need soone to take care of it and manage the servants, so that Schrodinger could still enjoy daily food and wine even when he was away. However, to his surprise, not long after he and tatro had left the city, the cat jumped out from the side of the road and stopped him, staring at him as if he had done sothing wrong.
Amon crouched down and said gently, Schrodinger, I am sorry I didnt tell you that I was leaving. I will go back to Duc on a mission so I cant play with you in mfis now. But you can still go to the mansion. The servants will offer you food and wine everyday like before.
The cat just twisted its neck, making no sound but raising a paw, pointing at Amons back. Amon always carried a leather bag when he travelled, in which Schrodinger would place itself and sleep. It was quite dissatisfied seeing that Amon was travelling without the bag.
Amon tried to convince it, Its a dangerous mission. Youve asked to bring you back to Ejypt. And you are living a good life here. You dont need to take the risk with . Just wait here. I will co back soon!
The cat just stared at him, still raising its paw. tatro found it funny seeing Amon negotiating with a cat, but he knew that this cat was not an ordinary cat, so he just kept silent. Seeing the cats reaction, Amon knew that he couldnt change Schrodingers mind, so he wielded his staff. A leather bag appeared in the air and he put it on his back.
Schrodinger sprang up and slipped into the bag, while Amon turned to tatro, We need to buy so good wine at the next town and make so more jerky. I will teach you how to process at and fruits such that they can be preserve for long and remain tasty.
tatro asked, My lord, you can always take things out from nowhere. What magic is that?
Amon answered blandly, Its nothing. I just have so spatial artifacts. When you attain the sixth level, you will be able to learn the real spatial magic. By then, I will teach you how to use spatial artifacts. The more powerful you are, the more you can make use of them. Spatial artifacts are indeed useful.
When they arrived at the next town market, they bought food and wine, as well as a coach and two horses. The two n and a cat travelled for a week before they finally reached the border, and tatro had finished the first pass of the books on the art of war. In the anti, they worked together to process at and fruits into jerky and dry fruit. It seed to be a trivial task, but it was actually a way of training on the mastering of magic power.
Making good jerky was not as simple a task as tatro had thought. Turning a slice of beef into a piece of jerky required not only fire magic and water magic, but also elentary spatial magic. The timing was strict. It only needed a few seconds of misoperation to turn it into a piece of charred or soggy hide. It might be fun to process one or two pieces, but doing it for days was another thing. But Amon asked tatro to keep doing it for days. He wanted him to learn to use magic like his own fingers.
Once at the border, Amon told tatro to sell the coach and the horses. The two would continue the journey on foot. tatro was confounded, We still have a long and tough way to go. Why did we sell the coach?
Amon smiled mysteriously, You will understand later. Lets go. Dont be afraid of hardship. Its necessary for you.
They were crossing the Syah Desert through a trade road heading for the Kingdom of Bablon. They walked all the way, day by day. tatro, as a fifth-level warrior and sorcerer, didnt find it unbearable. On the fifth day, Amon suddenly said, Turn left. We are going north.
Arent we going to Lynks tribe? asked tatro.
Of course. But we are going to have a look at Duc first. Then we go east into the forest and mountains. Thats how I found Lynks tribe for the first ti.
tatro scratched the back of his head, My lord, I suggest we pick another way. We can go along this road all the way to Bablon, then we can cross the river and go north till we reach Kish. From Arcade, we turn west. Theres a ferry. We can go right into the mountains and Lynks tribe is not far from there.
I know it sounds that we are taking a detour, but it would be a quieter trip. Once we reach the river, the journey will be peaceful. When we et Lynk, we can go to Duc together, even with El Mar, the Ironback. That would be much safer and easier for us.
Amon shook his head, Do you know why I bring you with on foot? tatro, this is your trial journey. If you want to pass the next test, follow and go north. If you prefer a safer and more comfortable journey, go your way and wait for with Lynks tribe.
The young noble laughed dryly, I am just making an idle suggestion. You are my guide, my lord. I will always follow you.
The Ducian looked at him with depth in his eyes, If you say so now, you cant regret or hesitate later. Lets make a deal here: Whenever theres any trouble on the way, you will deal with it first. I will only help you when you are unable to handle it on your own.
tatro nodded, Of course. I will protect you, my lord. You wont need to do anything. Please trust !
When they walked deep into the desert, tatro found that the promise he made ant more than he had expected. He was not a spoiled young master. Instead, he was determined and able to bear hardship. Searching in the deep mountains and trading Damasc iron around the borders was a dangerous, tough experience. Although he had enjoyed a good ti in Amons mansion, trekking through desert was not the toughest days he had had.
But a mans aptitude and will still has limits. When Amon suddenly accelerated in the desert, tatro found that he had to run at full speed to keep up. They traveled all day and night except for the ti they stopped for als and ditation. Amon didnt mind the heat in the day and the cold in the night. He just raised a cloud of freshness for himself and his cat. The young noble plodding behind, however, didnt have the benefit of it. He had to suffer the severe conditions alone.
By the third day, he believed that he couldnt hold it anymore, but he had already made the promise in front of his lord. Fortunately, at sunset, when they finished ditation, Amon told him, We are making a pause here. Go sleep till wake up. He took out a bundle of cowhide and built up a tent.
This must be the best night tatro had had this year. He didnt know how long he had slept before he was waken up by a ow. It was like a warning. Still with sore muscles, the young nobleman struggled to jump up and got out the tent.
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