The Black Lotus | Vol.1, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

❁ vol. 2 | the ocean siege - out now! ❁

𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊'𝖘 𝖆 𝖘𝖒𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜!

(here's a small preview!)

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Night took forever to come.

Throughout the dull  morning, Sebastian and the others passed the time by watching old French  television shows and playing card games with Remy. He claimed to have  found the deck in the corner store he and Olivier went to. Apparently,  the owner had given it to him for free.

The deck holder was worn  and riddled with tiny holes. The once-black cardboard had turned gray  with age. Its only interesting feature was the golden jester logo on the  front.

Sebastian wasn't really  one for card games. He also wasn't for one for sitting around and doing  nothing. He wanted—needed—to go out and do something. Anything. If he  had to watch Remy beat Ajax in another game of spades, he was going to  lose his mind.

So, when night finally  did come, he jumped at the opportunity to head to the bar to find out  the identity of the wine merchant. The seller was their best bet at  getting to Thania. The other members of the Eldenarian Council—such as  Chieftain Naidini of House Oseda and Fire Queen Kasumi of House  Doragon—were much farther away. If they could warn House Aegeon, it  would give allow them to warn the others as well.

They needed to get on that boat as soon as possible before his father changed his mind and killed them all.

Sebastian, Ajax, and  Olivier were currently walking down the sidewalk to the tavern while  Imogen and Remy stayed behind. The boy wasn't old enough to be permitted  into bars, anyway, and Sebastian was still angry with Imogen after  their earlier debate.

She acted like she knew him. Like he was some book for her to read and analyze.

But she knew nothing. That's what he kept telling himself. She was wrong.

The moon was gone from  the sky above. The yellow light from the streetlamps was just enough to  allow Sebastian and his companions to see where they were going. He knew  this was a fairly small village, but would it have killed them to have  better lights?

"So, how're we going to find this person?" Ajax asked. "We can't just walk in and ask for the magic wine guy."

Olivier cracked a smile while Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"We're not going to do  that," the older man said. "We'll walk in, take a seat, and listen for a  bit. If you pay enough attention, you can find out anything."

Sebastian hoped he was  right. He had done enough sitting around for the day. It was time to set  things in motion. He wanted to be in Thania by the end of the week at  the latest. Ideally, he wanted to get there in the next few days, but  that wasn't exactly realistic.

His father would be  planning his next move soon—and that would be to acquire another  Eldenarian artifact. Sebastian already knew which one he was going for;  the gauntlet of the sea, the item belonging to House Aegeon. The house  was home to the water elementalists, sailors, and healers of the world.

The gauntlet was a  beautiful piece of metalwork. Engravings of tridents, waves, and sea  creatures decorated the silver arm guard. Sebastian had seen it a few  times in person, as he often accompanied his father to the Eldenarian  Palace for the occasional council meeting.