In the Throne Room of the Black Raven Kingdom.
"King, this is what I was talking about. A hollow ball made of multiple layers of cloth, enchanted to not deform when force is applied to it up to a certain degree. The objective of the game is to get the ball to the opponent's side of the field in a set period of time. Whoever does this the most in a match, wins. No magic can be used. As you must have guessed, the game requires top-notch hand-eye coordination. For instance, imagine that I was standing there-"
WHUP
As Elanev threw the ball in his hands at the Black Raven King, the latter could only raise his hands before having the ball bounced off his palm to land in a corner of the room.
"Got you! Attention at all times and skill that can even aid in battle. These things are required to play the game well. Wouldn't it be a spectacle to witness magnificent performances of skill in the stadiums which haven't changed their mode of entertainment in centuries? Let me get the ball first."
Without waiting for the King's answer, Elanev briskly walked to where the ball had fallen before picking it up and coming back to stand in the center of the room.
In the process, no one had noticed that his hand had brushed against the statue of the Raven.
After successfully placing the surveillance trinket and continuing the explanation of the sport, Elanev marveled at the mind of his younger brother which had come up with something so unique to enable them to listen in on the truly important secrets that they were trying to find.
Besides, even the rules of the sport and the ball that had been delivered to him felt like they hadn't been made up on a whim.
After receiving the materials, the plan had been simple. He had to bring up the idea in front of the King before saying that such a matter could only be discussed officially, as the King would have to contact Elanev's 'friend' if he wanted to get the full list of the rules, format, and equipment required to play the game.
The mention of thousands of Ether Blocks had piqued an interest in the King, whose mind was always concerned about the emptying treasury of the Black Raven Kingdom.
Hence, acceding to the request, the meeting had taken place immediately after Elanev went to his room to get the ball and the trinkets.
After that, it was a simple matter of having to move to where he wanted without arousing the suspicion of the King.
After studying the rules that Daneel had sent over, Elanev had come up with this plan which had thankfully succeeded.
Of course, thanks was in due to the spars which had allowed him to build up the rapport with the King that let him act as he just did.
And indeed, if anyone else had chucked a ball at Tenebrol when he was off-guard, he would have definitely reacted with a fury that would bring ruin to whoever dared to do such a thing to the King of the Black Raven Kingdom.
Here, it was Elanev, who had already used sudden attacks like these even in their spars.
Feeling glad that the problem of the surveillance trinket was finally solved, Elanev started to wholeheartedly get into the rules of the sport which had interested even him with its novelty and potential for entertainment.
After all, the hyper-aggressive goal of getting a small object through numerous Fighters out for blood without using any weapons or trinkets was something which appealed to the hot-bloodedness in him.
Yet, suddenly, the door opened letting in an old man who had a dark expression on his face.
He seemed to be absorbed in his thoughts, not noticing Elanev until reaching within a few feet of him.
Hence, he was not able to see Elanev's hasty action of touching the surveillance trinkets on his body which had been transmitting data to the situation room in the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
After almost walking up to Elanev's side, the old man finally looked up to see both men staring at him as if they had seen the ghost.
Elanev first got control of his expression, choosing to stay put and close his mouth after reining in the shock of seeing his target after many days.
As for the King, it was as if his worst nightmare had chosen to come into reality to torment him.
In the eyes of the world, the old man was actually only the Royal Mage who was both tool and protector of the Black Raven King.
Hence, he immediately bowed and said, "Oh… greetings, My Lord! I am sorry, I must have gotten absent-minded because my entire mind was on something I read the other day. We did have a meeting on hand to discuss a few issues. Would you like me to come back?"
This caused an awkward atmosphere in the room. For one, Elanev had no idea what to do because he knew nothing about the man in front of him.
As for the King, he was shocked as he remembered that there was also this side to this old man.
Looking into the eyes of the old man, he clearly saw the order to get rid of Elanev immediately.
"No need. Eganev was just about to leave. Send me a copy of the rules and the proposition about implementing it in the Black Raven Kingdom. We do, after all, have the most stadiums in all of Central Angaria. Keep that in mind when drafting the proposal."
Cursing the timing of the old man, Elanev could only nod and smile amiably before saying, "I will do so, King. I'll send the proposition as soon as it's ready."
Taking his leave after giving one last glance at the old man, Elanev made his way out of the Throne Room before swiftly moving to his own.
Switching the surveillance trinkets back on, he proceeded to explain everything that had happened to Daneel.
...…
Meanwhile, in the situation room in the Kingdom of Lanthanor, the King, commanders and Faxul had all panicked when the display trinket had gone blank.
The time that had passed before Elanev contacted them again had been nerve-wracking, as the possibility of Elanev being somehow found out as a spy and executed was very real.
Thankfully, after a few minutes, Elanev contacted Kellor and told everyone what had happened.
Although the matter in regards to the old man was only getting worse by the day, there was at least a silver lining: the surveillance trinket had been planted.
Yet, the amount of effort they had had to go through to get this done had simply been tremendous.
Daneel felt a slight fear start to seep in as he realized that the date of harvest was only getting closer and closer while the progress on the mysteries surrounding the Black Raven Kingdom was agonizingly slow.
It was time to take risks.
Turning to Faxul, he said, "What do you think about going an expeditionary mission?"
...…
Lying down on the couch and lazily patting her stomach, Molan wistfully dreamt of the possibility of staying in Central Angaria instead of going back to the dreary hallways and bland food of their sect.
Beside her, Sister Xuan had was engrossed in an item she had obtained from the mansion whose forest they had been spying in before.
It was a bowl filled with a sticky, yellowish substance that had numerous mosquito bodies inside, disgustingly swirling about while Sister Xuan used her finger to stir the solution.
Seeing this, Molan almost got the urge to throw up before hurriedly looking up again.
"Sister, what is so interesting about it? Don't we have many more advanced methods to keep the mosquitoes out?", she asked after a few minutes, fed up of the disgusting squishing sounds that came whenever Sister Xuan put her fingers in the solution.
After continuing to examine for a few more minutes, Sister Xuan finally washed her hands using a conjured globe of water before saying, "The individual who made this solution and the one who modified those mosquitoes seem to have at least….learned from the same person. Otherwise, I have no idea how to explain the increase in sophistication but similar type of spellcasting that is evident."
After saying so, in a scoffing tone, Sister Xuan laid out the other possibility which was surely impossible.
"It's either that, or the individual found some way to magically increase the complexity of their mind in the span of a few months."