Transmigrated as a Ghost

While it was a pleasant surprise to see that Jamal was not present, both Marcus and Mrazivý could only find it odd. Normally it would be expected for one's close aide and someone of Jamal's status to eat with his direct superior, who in this case was the grand elder.

'I wonder what could have happened.' Marcus thought as he warily sat down.

Thankfully Akeem addressed their confusion almost immediately after they had sat down and greeted each other.

"I am sure you noticed that Jamal is currently missing. Normally I would have him with me during meetings such as this one, but I decided to pass on some of my more tedious tasks to him so that I could personally discuss a few matters with the both of you. Whenever I am meeting with you I will be having Amira here act as my aide instead." The grand elder said, nodding towards his great granddaughter.

Hearing this Marcus and Mrazivý now understood why she seemed so tense. This was not just a breakfast with her great grandfather and guests but also a test of her skills. If she managed to impressive her clan's grand elder it could mean her status rising higher than it already was, but disappointing him would be disastrous for her.

"If it is not overstepping our bounds, would you mind telling us exactly what Jamal is doing for you?" Mrazivý asked, wanting to keep track of him since he seemed troublesome.

"It is not as if I have him on some secret mission and in a way it does pertain to the two of you. I simply assigned him to take my place in the grand elder council for matters regarding the Muharib Festival. There are many long meetings before the festival to decide on certain matters from big to small. He may get pushed around a bit and our clan may end up shouldering a bit more burden than usual, but I figured this would be a good experience for him to interact more closely with those above him in status." Akeem said, wearing a mischievous expression.

In truth he had noticed that Jamal was holding some sort of resentment towards Marcus and Mrazivý and sent him away to avoid anything troublesome happening. This would also serve as a means to humble him as he would have to learn how to get what he wanted not through lording over others with his status but actually negotiating with the other clan's grand elders. He needed to learn when to be authoritative and when to be diplomatic.

"And since we are on the topic of the Muharib Festival, my head guard and the top warrior in our clan told me in detail after you left last night how strong he believes you both to be. I was certainly very surprised, as you exceeded my expectations. What I want to know now is, what your intentions are? I am sure that you know that the festival is not simply one event but many. Some anyone can participate in as they are held and others you need to be registered for head of time. The Sulb Clan's only direction was that you properly show off your prowess and impressive them, but how have you decided to go about doing so?" Akeem said, a friendly smile on his face, but a scheming glint in his eyes.

"Our plan is to participate in a number of the events that are free for all to enter without needing to register, though we are aware that this is not really what the Sulb Clan wants. We have been informed that there are fighting tournaments for single participants, pairs, and groups of six which hold the real prestige of the festival. We intend to participate together in the duo tournament." "Mrazivý said, explaining to the grand elder and Amira what she and Marcus had already discussed together.

It had taken them a bit of back and forth to decide between entering as a pair or going into the singles tournament, but ultimately decided to enter together.

If they both entered in the tournament where they needed to fight one on one, it was likely they would have to fight each other at some point and they were afraid that a serious bout between each other would get out of hand.

There was also the fact that their abilities complemented each other pretty well, and both of them had been drawn to fighting together rather than separately.

"I see, I was expecting you both to want to enter the tournament focusing on one-on-one matches since it typically garners more attention, but the duo tournament should be fine. Especially since I hear competition for it is going to be particularly fierce this time." The grand elder said, his eyes moving around as if he was calculating something.

He then turned to Amira and told her to make sure to have them entered in the tournament they had chosen before officially starting breakfast now that he had wrapped up their premeal meeting.

Once they had all finished eating, some tea was brought out and everyone was able to choose their favorites amongst the options.

'Oh, they have cinnamon tea. I have never seen it used in Borealia, and it is not widely available. I wonder where they got it from.' Marcus thought expanding each of the teas.

For the next few minutes the four of them simply enjoyed a bit of relaxing tea and harmless conversation before Mrazivý finally brought up the topic she and Marcus were most interested in.

"Now, our goal to impress the Sulb Clan is rather vague. It is not like there is any placement within the tournament they asked us to reach only that we need to impress them. However, we wanted your opinion on the matter. At what point do you think it would be wise for us to bow out of the tournament." Mrazivý said.

Naturally she figured it would not be in their or the Eazim Clan's best interest for them to go too far in the tournament since they were only foreign guests. It could create a lot of tension and lead to the Eazim clan being ostracized by the others.

Except the response that Mrazivý received was far from her expectations.

"If the two of you wanted to go ahead and win the whole thing, that would not bother me. In fact, it would be quite beneficial since you will technically be acting as representatives of my clan." Akeem said, an ambitious look on his face.

He went on to explain that while some of the clans might get a bit upset, the Sulb Clan most certainly would not.

Every year they brought in the majority of the outsiders that participated in the Muharib festival simply because they enjoyed having powerful opponents to fight against. If Marcus and Mrazivý surely wanted to impressive them winning the duo tournament would certainly do it.

"Of course, since you will be entered under the Eazim Clan's name, we will get the prestige and monetary rewards that come along with having one of our representatives win. The benefits for all of us will far outweigh any negatives. Though, this is only if you can win." The grand elder said.

"We will need to talk about it ourselves. Until now, we honestly figured we would be asked to drop out at the latest during the quarter finals." Mrazivý said, wanted to speak with Marcus about it in private before making any concrete decisions.

"Sure, feel free to take your time. There are still a couple of weeks before the participants for the main tournaments must be decided. I will want to know your answer before then so that I can arrange my clan's warriors accordingly. It is allowed for them to enter in more than one of the tournaments, but it often proves difficult for even the strongest warriors to fight multiple difficult matches in such a short time frame. There have been many years where powerful warriors were eliminated in matches they should have won because they were already exhausted."

Akeem was telling them that if they planned to win he would be able to send his clan's best warriors to the other tournaments. But if their goal was only to impressive the Sulb Clan and dropout halfway through, then he would have to arrange for stronger fighters to participate in the duo tournament.

"If you will excuse us." Mrazivý said once she and Marcus had finished their tea.

After that they swiftly returned to their room in order to discuss how they were going to approach the Muharib Festival.

"I think we should go for the win." Marcus said practically the second the door closed behind them and they were alone.

Mrazivý just looked at him with an exasperated expression, since it seemed he was not even considering the consequences.

"I can already see it being a hassle if we come out as the victors. We will garner a lot more attention if we do and it is likely we will receive requests for meetings from all of the major clans. It is possible we will even be asked to return next year and defend our title. The whole thing could turn into a huge headache." Mrazivý said, pointing out some of the negative aspects that could come from them winning.

"Sure, everything you said could come to pass, but we can just ignore it all. Plus, I think both of us would enjoy the festival more if we are putting our all into it, rather than waiting for the right opportunity to throw a match. We are not just here to accomplish my goal of getting access to the Font of Death, but also to have fun. Last time we entered a tournament neither of us made it very far. This is our chance to go all the way to the top and win."