Kaz ported to Kiru city. He watched the large city from outside of the wall. He took a deep breath. He could've port inside, but he needed a bit of time before talking to Maxxor. He was a little bit nervous. With the current situation, he wasn't sure if the ruler would be in a good mood or a very sour one. He expected the sour mood, since he knew Tom was a prisoner of the elementalists.

His walk towards the castle was to give him time to gather his thought. He began to walk slowly. He reached the entrance and entered without any problem. Now, he had to walk through the street until he reached the castle. He hoped he was ready for the talk, where he wouldn't be coded.

Chapter 52: The Search Begin

Maxxor and Najarin read the records they obtained from the m'arrillians. They progressed quickly. The creature of the sea had a lot of knowledge from the elementalists.

"Let's resume what we found out so far about them," the high muge began.

"Yes. There is a lot left and we should organise everything we have so far," the ruler of the overworld agreed.

Najarin held a parchment where he put his notes, "The first thing we found out was that they lived in a part of the Overworld long ago. Some were still there during the time where Kiru ruled the Overworld. It was those who were power hungry. Those weren't part of the tribe anymore, from what I can guess," he remembered that time. He lived during that far period. He had no idea it might be the elementalists back then. Since the first m'arrillian war, there was still some gap in his memories. It wasn't from old age, but from a part of his mind erased after the first war.

Maxxor nodded. It was something important to know, "For a very long time, they left the continent. We can guess it was after we did something horrible to the Cothica."

"An invasion of the Cothica, from what we found out," he concluded. He had no memories of that. Maybe he wasn't born yet, of that was a part of his memories forever lost. He moved to the next thing, "We know that they lived on many islands. Gal'drad guessed, from the details undersea, that they might be located north of the continent."

"We will have to confirm everything underwater before we can accept his guess. It is just a guess and Gal'drad insisted it was only that," the ruler said as he crossed his fingers.

"The other thing that we know is that they have access to the Cothica before us. They never lost ties with them," the High Muge commented. He wished he knew more about the why. It was only a guess that one tribe, or all tribes tried to invade the Cothica. It was different this time, since no one was fighting the Cothica. He added, "We have no idea how often the entered in communications with the Guardian of the Cothica's," he crossed his arms.

Maxxor hummed quietly as he scratched his chin. He thought more about it, "It might explain why they did what they did and took Tom," his muscles tensed under his green skin. He wished he could have done something, but he knew there was more to it than just satisfying the elementalists. He didn't insist about what their guide was hiding. He knew it was something important, "We know they won't hurt Tom in any ways. They won't hesitate to hurt Milla'iin, but knowing Tom, he will do something about it," he smiled a bit. It was a forceful smile. His friend was in danger and he couldn't do anything about it. Not only that, he had no idea where Arias was. He had no reports or news from him. He told him that he should ask Tom's friends to share anything he found out, "And we have no idea where Arias is."

"We got no report on him. On the matter at hand, the last thing we found out so far is that the elementalist never returned to the continent since they left. The last thing they did before that was deactivating or sabotaging anything that could make a portal to the Cothica. It means they have no idea how our tribes changed after so long," he played a bit with his beard as he put down the parchment, "Those are all the important element we have for now."

"It reduced how much we have to search, but it will take a very long time, if the information we have are right," he crossed his green fingers. He heard someone knocking at the door. He glanced at it, "You can come it."

Kaz opened the door and saw the two creatures turning his attention to him.

"Welcome Kaz," Maxxor told him. It was the perfect timing for him. Kaz surely knew much more about what happened when Tom left and where Arias was. Maybe even a few more things that could help them to save the boy.

The boy nodded, "Hello," it was a bit awkward. The creature knew he was friend with Chaor and was the guide for the Underworld. He was always with Tom when he visited him. Now, he was alone. He could feel a bit of tension in the air. It was much easier to notice since his training. He crossed his fingers a little bit, "I came because I… I guess you are doing something important."

"It's about finding a way to find Tom," the ruler of the Overworld replied. He let out a small smile, "I'm sure you came here for something like that. You wouldn't come to see me on your own if it wasn't for that," he chuckled quietly. Maxxor hoped he eased a bit the tension in the air.

"Yeah. He's been gone since yesterday and we won't know anything for a long time," he took a deep breath, "Sarah and I agreed to search for Peyton and Kaz. I'm here to find Tom," he didn't add that he wanted to know what was going on. He adjusted his glasses, "I want to make sure Tom if okay. He's my best friend. No matter what."

Maxxor chuckled as he smiled. He stood up, "There is no need to be nervous. We all want the same thing. We are searching for Tom and helping to rescue Peyton from the metalist. We are a bit divided in our situation right now, but the M'arrillians did offer a few things that is helping us."

"That's good," Kaz replied. He didn't feel nervous and the tension was gone, "I'm not sure if you know, but Arias is also gone."

"What happened to him?" Najarin asked first when he heard that news, confirming the boy that they didn't know about it.

"Arias went with Tom to the elementalist place. He didn't want to let him go alone with Milla'iin. Not sure if he's in trouble or not. He wasn't supposed to go there. Maybe he got arrested or maybe he is fine," Kaz didn't want to lie about that situation. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

Maxxor nodded. He let out a small smile in relief, "Tom is not alone at least. I'm sure he would do something to avoid Arias to be in jail."

"Yeah," the boy couldn't disagree.

"How was Tom when he left? Was he healthy? Was he fine?" the ruler of the overworld asked.

"Yes. He was fine and he was determined," Kaz answered. He scratched his chin, "I know there is another reason he went there. He surely has something else to do. He trained to control his power over light first by the Guardians of the Cothica."

The two overworlders glanced at each other's. They nodded together, before they looked at the boy.

Najarin approached the boy, "You came for another reason. You already decided to search for your friend."

"Yes. I hoped you can help me find Tom and find out what he is really doing right now," the teenager replied. He saw them smiling, "And of course you are searching for him."

"There is no condition that would put your world in trouble if we find and rescue Tom. We will not let them do anything to hurt your world," Maxxor stood up and approached the boy, "We will save your friend and also figure out what is going on. With those metalists showing up, it seems like there is something that triggered something and we don't know what it is."

Kaz nodded, "A domino effect. One thing pushed the others and when Peyton disappeared by the king of the metalist, it made Tom trained for something and go to the elementalists to be a prisoner. Or something like that," he had no idea for the rest of it.

"Kaz. Do you know what Chaor think or wants to do about all of this?" Najarin curiously asked.

"I have no idea. I- That's underworld business," he stopped from telling the situation in the Underworld.

None of them pushed him more in the matter. They knew about Kaz kidnapped by Van Bloot. It was surely about that matter.

Kaz remembered that Najarin new Kiru well. He could ask for more, but now wasn't the time. Maybe there would never have a time for that. He asked, "Do you know anything about the elementalists? Maybe anything that could help us find their place?"

The two gave a resume of what they spoke before the boy came. He listened to them attentively. He knew that this was something important to know. Once he heard of their guess and the general location, he asked, "You think the m'arrillians are telling the true?"

"They are telling us what they obtained. I can tell these are not forges and are old documents," Najarin replied. He raised his finger, "Gal'drad also specifically told us that those were his guesses. They are not said with certainty and we need to verify everything underwater, to see if they were right or not."

"The island we visited was a bit to the north of Perim. Tera Motus also agreed that he went south to the island where we found the temple," Maxxor concluded.

"Chaotic also has a few links to the elementalists. It has one of the portals that linked our two worlds. It is possible it is one that was made very long ago and not close to their current territory," Najarin added.

"This is very helpful," Kaz nodded with a small hopeful smile. Maybe they could find them soon enough. Also, he knew that the elementalists hated the metalists. Which meant one thing, "I got to tell Sarah about this."

"About what?" the two curiously asked.

The teenager explained what he noticed, "The metalists might be in the opposite direction. You never saw it on the continent, so they would be elsewhere. They are teleporting around Perim with a few spies or scouts. Elementalists sees them as enemies. That means that the metalists would be at the opposite direction."

Maxxor let out a small smile. They were too focused on Tom and kinda forgot about Peyton and the elementalists. They are many problems on their shoulders and he chose to priorities Tom, "Theb-Saar and the mipedians will be glad to hear these suggestions. It will help with our search for Peyton too."

"I'll tell Sarah about this later. Anything else?" Kaz asked.

"They are a few other matters to discuss, but it will be about organising everything to verify the intels of the m'arrillians," the ruler answered, "If you know anything to help us find Tom or we have something new, you should come back here," Maxxor glanced at the documents they had.

It was obvious they wouldn't stay in the castle forever.

"I will visit when I can," the boy replied. There was nothing else that he could help with. He also got what he wanted to know. He took his scanner to share the news with Sarah. He hoped she made progress in finding Peyton.

AC: This is the end of this chapter.

I'll take a two week break from publishing this story.

I'll spend that time focusing on my original stories and playing videogames for a while. The next chapter will progress during that time, but at a slower pace.

Next: First Day On The Island

Tom spent the first day on the elementalist island and learned to know a bit about the tribe.