Chapter 150.

PART 1.

Munshi picks up Hatori the next day after the New Year’s party ends. The king has left already with Zeko. Though James and Hatori wanted to map the runes of the frozen time room, they did not do that this year. they didn’t want to work on runes, instead, they were looking forward to having fun with their friends.

“I promise, I’ll work on it from now on. I already got the ancient runes down, now only the translating process remains.” He said to him in the morning, before Hatori left.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back here next year. we can do it then, don’t try to take it on alone. this project is big enough that it’ll need both of us working on it.” Hatori said to him. he didn’t want James to burn himself out while working alone on translating those runes.

James already managed to map out the wards of the ground, something which he shared with Hatori. meaning they can create a location that is safe from anyone and also gets ignored by everyone, no matter what goes on in there.

During this festival, Hatori finds some more abandoned ancient stuff, gives that to Josh, and is certain that he will get a good price for it, Hatori leaves with Munshi, while Shin also leaves with Sangita.

PART 2.

Manoj wanted to howl, but he could not do so. Currently, he is possessing a dog. He had to leave the body of the pig in a hurry since Kishore Nanda was about to butcher it, and though Manoj is certain that he can survive, he has no interest in going through a butchering experience.

Speaking of Kishore, the man proves to be another headache for him. he is a treasure trove of information, right at his hand (paw) reach, but he cannot get at him. The wards are too strong. Who would have thought that this farmer would be paranoid enough to actually have spirit and soul protection wards?

So, he is now thinking of attacking him from outside, trying to cause a riot among the animals near the farm, and trying to possess Kishore in the ensuing chaos. But this plan also failed. The animals are stubborn here, they do not yield to him. Even this dog only fell to his soul because it is old and at the end of his life. If this dog were to be younger, he could have devoured his soul by now.

But luckily for Manoj, he has discovered a graveyard nearby, where tons of old mages are buried. He wagged his tell as his mouth stretched in a doggy grin. ‘Maybe my luck will finally take a turn for the better.’ he howled in joy.

PART 3.

In the car, Hatori is receiving a lesson about how the flavors of spirits can change depending on the location. “In general,” said Munshi, “Near the ocean or rivers, you will find spirits which heavily use water. mountains will have both earth and wind users and lightning and fire spirits are rare because they can only be found near a volcano or in a cloud.”

“In a cloud?” asked Hatori.

“Of course. Where else you can get natural lightning?” asked Munshi.

Hatori has some ideas, involving many dangerous runes, but decides not to mention them. “However, these are not the only changes you can observe in the spirits as you go from place to place. Depending upon countries, you can also observe changes. In Asia for example, the island of Nihon is a hotbed of activity for the spirits, many strange and unusual variety of spirits are found there. whereas in Albion, the spirits generally take over a house and maintain and guard it ruthlessly.”

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“How ruthlessly?” asked Hatori.

“They don’t have any cleaning services. The spirits drive them out,” said Munshi.

“That sounds pretty extreme.” Said Hatori.

“It is indeed. It is also frightening since they try to be so helpful. I’m not as paranoid as you or Zeko, but it is off-putting to me as well.” said Munshi, remembering his days spent in Albion dealing with the spirits who always wanted to help him.

PART 4.

“As you see sir,” said the man, showing off his factory which grounds the spices before packing them up. “It is very important to clear everything before the process of grounding can start, as the supply of spices can have things like dust, rocks, and even sticks and branches.”

“Impressive. But I don’t think you can ground every spice?” asked Porus.

“Of course not. some spices have to be turned into a powder form, some of them have to be half-roasted, and of course, some of them we offer without any changes, aside from drying them. such as in the cases of chilies.” Explained the manager, taking the king to another area.

Porus is enjoying his stay in the Keralam. The people have welcomed him with such open arms, and they even let him plant some new coconut trees as well! people would have thrown such a hissy fit back in the castle if he actually dared to do that by hand. Come to think of it, the castle is lacking in the coconut trees. maybe he should get one for himself? The castle is not exactly lacking in the water department, being located near a large water source and all.

But spices are just one part of it. this entire area is an agricultural powerhouse, and the people who live here have worked relentlessly to make it one of the most profitable regions of the Subcontinent.

PART 5.

“You all will be going to the northeastern region,” said Sundar, pacing back and forth. “It is an important mission since that area is very large, and divided. It is important that people there are kept in contact with the throne, lest they start to consider themselves separate from us. be respectful to the mages there, and be ready to get beheaded if you start a war there.”

Everyone chuckled at the joke of the general, though they knew the seriousness of the situation at the back of their minds. “My intern-apprentice Raven will also be going to you in this mission. Give the kid all the difficult jobs, but above all, educate him in dealing with people from the military side.”

“Yes sir!” saluted the leader of the squad. “Though I must ask, isn’t it rather dangerous to send him on such a mission?” he asked.

“If not now, then never.” Said the general.

Raven left after preparing his supplies, and he is currently reading the small pamphlet he has received about the northeastern region. The area is a very large territory, where there are very few noble families. According to the pamphlet, in the early days of the Subcontinent, the mage families tried to make their way into this area as well, but the different tribal mages who lived there resisted their encroachment.

when the first king Samarat took the throne, he didn’t want to deal with another war, as he was already dealing with currency wars and the noble families who refused to accept him as the rightful king. therefore, he proposed a deal with these tribal mages. They will get to live as they have been so far, but they must send their kids to the Academy, and must not trade with outsiders. Aside from that, the throne will not interfere in their internal matters.

Ever since, every few years, the military and politicians often go to this area to visit these mages to remind them of their presence, and to make sure that Zhongguo is not making some moves to seduce these people to their side.