Arcane Journey

Chapter 22 Final Chapter
"I am Rose's patron, no one can restrict my freedom!" Santilla tried her best to argue for her future.

The dancing demon fire in the shrine shone on the drow girl's pretty face full of anger.

She was dusty, with the dust and filth from the bazaars on her wizard boots.

"My father can arrange the best magic training for me. There is no need to go to the Warlock Academy." Santilla quickly glanced at the chief archmage, hoping he could say something to help her.

But the other party's indifferent and tense expression was clearly telling her not to count on her assistance.

This made her speaking momentum gradually weaken.

Matriarch Elisabetha of the Tux family, her scarlet eyes swept over Santilla's scowling face, and a smile crept onto her mean lips.

"Actually." She said softly to the drow girl, "Because you are Rose's patron, many people hope to see the day you enter the academy."

Speaking of Rose, the Spider Queen.

Santilla's heart sank, but she knew that there was no way she could escape this disaster.

After all, Rose's favor is a double-edged sword, and she must make good use of it.

Ok.

She took a deep breath, adjusted her breathing, and thought stubbornly: at least this is not the worst situation.

It's hard to lose her freedom, but she really likes to study magic, and she can do the same in the Warlock Academy.

The most important thing is that she can spend a whole year without any influence from conspiracy and betrayal.

In a sense, she can also use this status to change the style of the dull Warlock Academy, which is also a kind of fun.

"When are you going?" After thinking about it, she asked straightforwardly.

"Don't worry too much." Mistress Elisabeth pondered for a moment, and malicious pleasure suddenly flashed in her red eyes, "Tomorrow will be fine."

"Follow your orders."

Santilla nodded slightly, "I will report to the Warlock Academy on time tomorrow."

The chief archmage who was watching from the sidelines raised his eyelids, but finally said nothing.

"I'm afraid you misunderstood me, dear child." Madam Elisabeth smiled, her voice full of hypocrisy, "You should report to the Spider Academy."

"what?!"

Santilla was taken aback, and blurted out in anger and confusion.

Shaking a strand of hair from her forehead, she turned sharply to the Chief Archmage.

At this moment, she suddenly understood what the purpose of the old spider, Mistress Elisabeth, had suddenly called her father here.

As Santilla guessed, the chief archmage looked at her with pale eyes that bothered her, with a menacing expression.

He raised his hand, and said bluntly, "This is the tradition of the ancient city of Orens, and it is also the will of Goddess Rose."

Santilla swallowed the protest and dissatisfaction in her heart, and nodded with great difficulty.

She finally understood.

If she expected correctly, Rose's favor on the day of the Founding of the City must have been a trap set by her father.

Because she thought about it, except for the chief archmage who had a motive worth shooting, how could other people wish to have this kind of favor on themselves, how could it be possible to take advantage of her.

At the same time, she was extremely angry that Matron Elisabetha had transferred herself to the priestly college.

But he was also angry at how easily he fell into the shameless little trap designed by the old spider.

Elisabeth deliberately lured her into thinking that she was going to the Warlock Academy, but the mistress had always planned to send her to the Spider Academy.

If she refused at this time, she couldn't imagine what would happen if she annoyed Rose.

This made her extremely angry at the trap set by the chief archmage for herself.

Without Rose's grace, she could even leave on the spot.

After all, she never thought of serving that eight-legged female spider, or even being her shit priest.

Santilla couldn't imagine what she would face next, and asking her to kneel before an eight-legged spider to pray devoutly was worse than killing her.

With her confused thoughts, she barely noticed what Mistress Elisabeta said behind her, and she didn't hear the words to leave.

She was just in a daze, feeling the hand of the Chief Archmage on her shoulder, and then relentlessly pushed her away from the hall.

That old bastard, Hydraf, has started plotting against me, she thought through gritted teeth.

Just when she reached the door of the shrine, Madam Elisabeth stopped her.

Santilla turned to face the old spider. By drow standards, this old woman wasn't particularly attractive. No wonder she couldn't even find a mate.

Her white hair was long and thin, tightly braided and coiled on top of her head like a lump of roth manure.

Her attire is also very simple, a long elven mail armor covered with a priest's robe.

Mother Elisabeth does not need the traditional decorations to show her loyalty to Rose. She is the highest priest in the city and receives the greatest favor of the goddess Rose.

At last Santilla saw the old woman tear off all pretense of politeness from her face.

At this moment, what was displayed in front of her eyes was the complacency and viciousness revealed in a pair of squinted eyes.

This made her wish to lift her foot and kick her old face hard.

There must be a chance, she thought calmly.

"Listen well, my child. As Rose's patron, you must abide by the same rules as other apprentice priests, and further win the favor of Goddess Rose, otherwise, your end will be death!"

Madam Elisabeth happily cast a teasing look at the Chief Archmage, and then gave Santilla a cold smile, "However, you still have one last night to indulge in carnival, enjoy it."

"enjoy it."

Santilla sighed weakly, feeling the chief archmage passing by her, she said to herself sarcastically:

"I don't know if this suggestion was made by some guy who likes to whip people for fun, or is it hiding in a cave?"

"You must learn to keep your mouth shut." The Chief Archmage stopped in his tracks and reminded him coldly, "Remember, the life of drow is a cold and serious art, and no priest in the academy has a sense of humor. "

"You really want me to become a priest?" Santilla looked at him suspiciously, trying to arouse his self-esteem with words, "Isn't my magical talent worth your effort?"

as usual.

Hydraf Pumol wore the eminent drow cloak of the head mage, a magical device with many pockets.

He is said to have stored more magical materials and weapons than most drow wizards have ever seen in their lifetimes.

Two wands hung conspicuously from his belt, and no one suspected that he had more weapons hidden on his person.

Because it is a symbol of his status and power.

After all, he has survived nearly ten centuries in the treacherous city of Old Orens, relying on his magical talents and matching cunning and shrewd tricks.

He is still alive, but thousands of years have made him harsh and cold. Even among the drow clan, his degree of evil and cruelty is extremely famous.

It was hard to imagine that her ambitious father, who had made it clear to everyone long ago that he had almost no piety in serving Rose, would now succumb to the majesty of the female spider.

The proud Chief Archmage would also endure the provocations and taunts of the Matriarch of the Tarks family in frustration.

"I admit that you are indeed very talented in magic."

The chief archmage didn't care about Santilla's meaningful words, and said calmly, "After all, you have a strong spiritual and magical power. As a priest, you can easily achieve greater success than magic. I am very optimistic about you. potential, don't let me down."

A ridiculous lie that he didn't even bother to cover up, Santilla gave him a disappointed look.

She has thoroughly confirmed in her heart that the day of the city's founding day was the trap her father set for herself.

"You doubt me?"

The chief archmage saw through her thoughts at a glance, "Very well, so your judgment has really improved."

"It's really your fault." Santilla's heart sank, her face turned cold instantly, and she blurted out directly.

"Exactly."

The archmage was unmoved, and there was no trace of emotion in his gentle voice.

"I really want to do it, but it's obvious that someone else has done it better and more perfectly than me. If I knew who, believe me, I would appreciate his enthusiasm and help."

not him?
Santilla has new doubts: who could it be?

The archmage looked at his child who was lost in thought, and he was silent for a while, as if he was weighing whether he should speak the following words.

After hesitating for a moment, he said in a softer voice, "Do you know why the drow society tolerates the existence of our wizards?"

"Help them make happy potions? Or make magic props for flirting?" Santilla glanced at him vigilantly, and replied casually.

"Put away your black humor, don't talk nonsense with me!" The archmage looked at his child angrily, with obvious sullen tone in his tone.

"This is very important to us wizards. You must think about it carefully. See, in the ancient city of Orens, Rose is the only god she believes in, and her priestly rule is not challenged. Except for breeding more priests for them , why do they need men? Why tolerate men with magical powers?"

Hearing that the other party didn't seem to be joking with herself, Santilla began to think about this issue carefully.

"That's because divine arts have certain limitations compared to arcane arts." She deduced:
"The magic we have mastered is a mysterious and powerful force that countless arcane seekers have spent their entire lives trying to understand. The power and knowledge brought by arcane can even help us solve all obstacles."

For some reason, she remembered what Brian said, so she simply acted as her answer.

"It seems that your understanding of magic is more thorough than I imagined, but not all priests are willing to admit this. Wizards have power that Rose's followers cannot control. Although this power is closely monitored by the mistresses, but Their expansion is inseparable from the support of wizard magic."

When the chief archmage heard his child's answer, a smile floated on his lips, but his pale eyes were as cold as ice:
"Remember, never forget that you are a wizard. Next, I will try my best to teach you the knowledge of magic.

Chaos is coming, and the power of magic will soon come in handy.

If the ancient Orens city falls into chaos, we wizards are the best choice to preserve the city. We must be ready to take over the power, or... seize it!
After all, this kind of alliance is not unheard of. Shammas, the dark elf city, is under the rule of the drow wizard alliance.We wizards of Old Orens can do the same if necessary. "

"Then what do you need me to do?" Hearing these words, Santilla's heart became cold, and she met the ruthless gaze of the chief archmage, and said bitterly.

"You don't need it yet, but maybe one day, I will tell you how to truly fulfill your obligations." The archmage smiled coldly at her, "What you need to do now is to become a priest in a law-abiding manner, And grab all the rights you can."

After speaking, he left the young drow wizard and walked away without looking back.

"My loyalty belongs only to myself, and no one can take it away." Santilla stared at the back of the archmage, and whispered to herself, "No one can take it away, not even Rose."

She returned to her room, lit a candle for study, then sat down at the desk, put a few books and scrolls in front of her eyes, and prepared for new studies.

However, once again, she was so eager for magic knowledge that she couldn't concentrate on spell learning as usual.

There are too many things that have happened recently, and they keep replaying in her mind:

Brian disappeared without a trace, he didn't know if he was dead or alive, and he didn't know who the person who was plotting against him was. He had to report to the Spider Academy tomorrow, and the strange dream of two goddesses playing chess on a chessboard.

Especially Brian.

He promised himself that after he escaped, he would find a way to tell her about the 'Walking the Temple'.

However, through the investigation of the trade bazaar, it was found that Brian did not use the teleportation scroll he gave him at all, which meant that
With her head bowed and her hands sunk in her thick white hair, Santilla dared not imagine.

When she managed to get rid of this terrible thought, the strange dream about the spider queen and the dark girl came back to her mind, like a continuous and long aftertaste melody.

A long sigh.
Until now, Santilla realized that she was so lonely.

This kind of loneliness made her miserable, hopeless and helpless, and the silent time slowly tormented her heart as if crawling.

It made her think of Brian again involuntarily, and the brief time they had spent together.

After several futile struggles, without a clue, she finally gave up studying and was about to throw herself on the bed.

In her opinion, even staring at the ceiling stupidly is better than sitting like this.

She pushed away all the books and scrolls in front of her, and when she was about to get up, she inadvertently turned around and suddenly noticed that there were three rather unfamiliar books on her messy desk.

As a wizard, her memory is naturally quite outstanding, how could she not know what she has gained and what she has lacked.

So, driven by various uncertain factors and curiosity, she forced herself to sit back on the chair again, brought the three unfamiliar books in front of her, and looked through them boredly.

"Survival Guide to the Forgotten Kingdom", "Waterdeep City: A Speedrunning Guide to the Lost City of Leylines", "On the Essence of Teleportation Spells".

Santilla stared wide-eyed, staring at the words on the black cover with disbelief.

"Is it"

A certain guess emerged in her mind, and she couldn't wait to flip through the contents of the book.

Gradually. With the acceleration of her reading speed, the arc of Santilla's mouth became wider and wider, and the depressed and boring mood was swept away by the knowledge in the book.

She leaned back in her chair with a smile on her lips, reflecting on her incredible discovery.

Because the content described in the book is all her knowledge for preparing for the trip to the surface in the future.

"Survival Guide to the Forgotten Realms" records the major kingdoms and regions of the surface world.

Such as the forest kingdom of Cormyr, the commercial kingdom of Sembia, Amn ruled by a multi-person parliament, Silvermoon City of the Northland Alliance, the Red Robe Wizards of Searle, and the Witch Council of Leatherman.
Especially Waterdeep City in the Sword Coast region.

In addition to recording the detailed information on the public lords of Waterdeep City, even the masked lords who have never appeared before are extremely detailed.

The book "Waterdeep City: A Speedrunning Guide to the Lost City of Earth Leys" is even more exaggerated.

It describes in detail the major precautions when visiting the [-]th floor of the underground labyrinth, as well as the general distribution of monsters and all the forces entrenched here.

Even the secret base of the Githyanki in the crystal labyrinth on the No. 16 floor has been specially noted.

Mysterious Crypt, Suggs Layer, Twisted Cave, Luna Forest, Eternal Tomb Shadow, Spell Core and other strange names filled her mind, which made her look for walking temples in the future, Unbelievable help has been given.

However, what excited her the most was the last magic book "On the Essence of Teleportation Spells", because this book gave her freedom that she had never enjoyed before.

Otherwise, with her personality, the Spider Academy would definitely drive her crazy.

Santilla hugged this precious book tightly to her chest happily, as if she was hugging the owner who gave it to her.

After all, it was almost impossible for her to learn the knowledge of portals in Ancient Orens City.

This is like teaching a dungeon prisoner how to pick locks.

Looking at this magic book that records the knowledge of building portals and teleportation spells, Santilla firmly believes that as long as he masters the knowledge about teleportation spells in the book, he can absolutely freely travel between the underground and the surface.

Just imagining it made her jump for joy.

She flashed the long hair hanging in front of her ears behind her ears, quickly flipped through the magic book, opened the first spell, browsed the pages, and looked at the meaning of the magic symbols, which made her extremely excited, unbelievable, almost like It's like dreaming.

At this moment, a note slipped silently from the pages she opened.

Santilla was stunned, and in a trance, she felt some kind of wonderful premonition springing up in her heart.

An ordinary note gave her a sense of ritual that a great mission was waiting for her.

Her expression moved, and her fingers picked it up automatically as if uncontrollably, and then carefully checked the content on it:
"On the surface of the kingdoms, a place of radiant splendor, a great mission awaits you. Return peacefully to the surface, once again bathed in the sun, where the trees and flowers grow."

Staring at the contents of the note, Santilla bit her lips.

For some reason, she felt a certain nerve in her heart suddenly convulsed, and her heart was filled with some kind of sour, tender, yet compassionate, excited emotion.

She finally understood why it is said that the human heart is like a harp, once it is plucked, the heartstrings will vibrate for a long time.

At this moment, she couldn't tell whether she was sad or happy, whether she was worried or worried, she just felt that her internal organs were all churning and throbbing like that.

In the end, she suppressed the tears that were about to burst from her eyes, and turned her blurred vision to the signature:
"Wandering the temple is always in your heart if you will."

"Thank you, Brian."

The drow girl took a deep breath, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, pulled back her long hair that hung loose on her shoulders, and squeezed out a smile that she thought was the strongest.

"I can't cry, because the dark girl under the moonlight reveals melancholy and sadness everywhere. She seems to have been sad for a lifetime, and it's time to smile. If I can choose again, I hope she chooses the bright starry sky to call herself: Daughter of the Laughing Stars.

Because you told me: In the vast starry universe, there will always be a star that belongs to us, and it will guide us through the unknown darkness. "

At this moment, she faintly felt that there was something more in herself, and it seemed that something was missing.

An inexplicable melancholy made her sigh unconsciously.

Unconsciously……

Santilla's pupils danced brightly like stars.

This is a beautiful eyelight that can only be found in star sapphires.

…………

(End of this chapter)