The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 371: Facing the Council (5)

Chapter 371: Facing the Council (5)

"How many floors are there?"

The walk through the corridors seemed to be unending. At first Hex enjoyed the exquisite adorned walls and the masterfully crafted paintings. But it had been half an hour since they left the room where he had been with Medina.

"There are 99 floors," Jonathan said. "Each with its own purpose and clique of Elders. The last nine floors are reserved for the High Elders and some esteemed guests from the outside."

"And above the 99th floor?" Hex asked. The building ended up in the branches. And knowing how thick the branches were and that entire cities were built upon these branches, he obviously became curious.

"Can’t tell you kiddo. You will see in time," Jonathan said with a soft chuckle.

’Acting mysteriously?’ Hex glanced sideways at the Enlightened Knight but his mind analyzed his words. ’A secret I will learn off? Can’t be related to Wrixia or its forces. They have no reason to reveal those types of secrets to me. That leaves but one thing: the tournament.’

It wasn’t a far stretch to connect the dots. Only something pertaining to the tournament was worthy of secrecy and a big reveal.

It took another half an hour before they reached the ninetieth floor. Even without seeing the placard on the entrance he knew at once that they reached the highest floors of the building. His sensitive senses noticed the changes immediately. The floor, like the floor above, was devoid of energy.

’The floors below were filled with Knights. I didn’t detect a single Squire. Even the servants and sentries were Knights. The Elders and their groups consisted mostly of Refined Stage Knights. The first fifty or so floors were filled with them. After the fiftieth floor, he started to pick up traces of Transformation Stage Knights, especially the last ten floors. Every presence in those floors were at the Transformation Stage. Only, there were far fewer people present between floors 80 and 89.

Jonathan led him to the end of the corridor to a large but moldy-looking wooden door. There seemed nothing special about the piece of wood but it being placed on this floor made Hex pay more attention to it. Alas, he couldn’t detect a single thing from it.

"This wood dates back to the Second Age."

Jonathan seemed to have noticed his curiosity and explained. Ignoring the shock on Hex’s face, he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Hex looked up. His shock had been short lived. The voice coming from the inside sounded extremely calm yet contained a certain power within it. It wasn’t the kind of power that depended on energy or element. It was intangible yet genuine.

The door opened.

Hex walked in. The spacious room was sparsely decorated. Everything seemed ancient, and devoid of energy. The walls held trays with mud, clay, and all types of rocks. None of them exuded power. Still they were special. Special to the owner.

Hex concluded that based on the cleanness of the trays. Not a single speck of dust could be found around the collection. In comparison, the floor seemed dirty.

At the end of the room stood a desk with a few chairs. Three people sat around it, out of which Hex only recognized one, Elize.

Elize sat before the desk. She seemed calm and collected. Even without being present, he knew the talk between the Elders and her went in her favor. She even flexed her fingers, drawing his attention. He noticed the chained mark on the back of her hand had disappeared.

"Welcome, Sir Hex Darkenmane."

The person appeared less like a human, more like an underwater creature, especially his neck. It looked like he had gills growing there.

"He is His Eminence Schelp. He specializes in Marine life and water currents."

Elize introduced the man lazily yet Hex didn’t dare to slight the man. He greeted him politely. He could very well be a He, meaning a Sage. And even if he wasn’t, he knew enough to be aware of the connotation behind the title of High Elder. Even an ancient place like Wrixia didn’t have more than a handful of them. That spoke volumes about the man’s abilities.

"And he," Elize continued, pointing at the third man, who sat behind the desk, "is His Eminence Tectonic."

Although her appearance didn’t change, Hex detected a slight seriousness in her tone as she introduced Him. Yes. Him. The man before him was a Sage. That much he certainly remembered Jonathan telling him.

"The pleasure is mine Sir Hex," the Sage said. He gestured to Hex to approach the desk.

Hex obliged but paused. Only when he reached the desk did he realize that the Sage wasn’t really sitting. No, he was standing. Standing on the chair.

’He isn’t even a half a meter in size!’

He should have realized it sooner. But somehow – Hex became extremely wary of the Sage, more than he had been – his senses had been fooled.

"You noticed my true appearance. What fine Will power and it is still dormant too." The Sage chuckled happily. His eyes, filled with curiosity, stared at him. Not even Sage Calm Sea had made him feel seen through like this diminutive Sage did.

’And what does he mean with Will power? Was he truly fooling my senses?’

"Don’t be wary, child," His Eminence Schelp said from the side. "This is something the old man likes to do. You saw through his appearance almost at once. He just wanted to test how you compared to your master’s Will."

"My master? The Baron?" Hex asked, surprised. "You knew him?"

The Sage seemed peeved with Schelp’s interference but was distracted immediately hearing Hex’s question.

"I met him when I went to the North. I heard the One-Eyed Giant – that was the Taboo you might have heard off – used his last attack to draw the ire of Heaven. The fury of Heaven charred the ground to the very core of our world. It wasn’t something I wished to miss out on."

He hopped on the table and pointed at the wall beside them. A large rock, jet black in color, stood against the wall.

"That is a piece I collected. I am still awed by the changes a piece of simple rock underwent under Heaven’s attack."

He seemed to be lost in His own world. Elize shook her head and looked at Hex.

"The reason why we called you is to see how we can alter your appearance a little. After all, if your scarf comes loose, everyone will react almost the same as Elder Marcella had done."

’They know?’

Hex looked stunned.

"Yeah, we know," Schelp said from the side. "We kept tabs on certain people. The baron was one of them. Actually, he was our main focus. An anomaly on his own, plus related to our former Saintess and indirectly to Medina."

"Yes, yes," the Sage nodded. At some point He had lost focus of the black stone and focused back on him. "We know about his only student, who just happens to have black hair and eyes." The Sage grinned and gave Hex a wink as he said that.