Page 87 of A Tower of Half-Truths
Fifty-Two
With Nox at their side, Alain and Mavery crossed the field and approached three robed figures. The one leading the way was a tall man sporting a long white beard. Though Mavery couldn’t see his face from this distance, she recognized him by his bearing alone.
“The Archmage himself decided to pay us a visit.”
“So it seems,” Alain said. “I’ll handle this.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded as he squeezed her hand, then released it and walked forward. Seringoth trudged through the grass, flanked by two of the male Elder Wizards. His intense gaze left an uneasy feeling in Mavery’s stomach, but knowing he hadn’t brought the Mystic along was a small comfort.
“Archmage,” Alain said, bowing his head. “What brings you to this corner of Osperland?”
“I believe you already know the answer to that question,” Seringoth said tersely.
“Late this morning, the High Council received word from Highillen University about an unusually high surge of arcane activity, followed by a half-dozen reports of an earthquake in this area—the first in over a century. We could not let such reports go without a thorough investigation.” Arms crossed, he turned to the tower.
“So, Aventus, it appears you are the one responsible for cracking the mystery of the Innominate Temple.”
“Yes, Archmage, though it seems the ‘temple’ was a wizard’s tower all along.” He chuckled weakly, then cleared his throat. “And I couldn’t have done it without Ms. Culwich’s help.”
Seringoth and the other two wizards spared Mavery a split-second glance before returning their attention to the tower. Mavery suppressed a scoff.
“Have you investigated this tower?” Seringoth asked.
“Most thoroughly, Archmage. Using the same Sensing spell we presented to the High Council last week, we located the anchor that had powered its protections, and we disabled the fabrication that had buried the majority of the tower underground.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing of note inside, other than a long-abandoned library. None of the books identify the tower’s original owner, nor do they appear to have any scholarly merit.”
Mavery held her breath as she expected Seringoth to call Alain’s bluff. At her feet, Nox batted an insect. Either he wasn’t at all interested in this conversation, or he was fully committed to pretending to be an innocuous familiar.
“That will be for the High Council to decide,” Seringoth said. “As stated in chapter five of The Covenants of Wizarding Decorum, the High Council will now take custody of this ruin. Your work here is complete.”
“Of course, Archmage. We’ll be on our way.” Alain bowed his head, turned on his heel.
“Hold on,” Mavery said. Alain blanched as he came to her side. “What will the High Council do with this tower?”
“Whatever the High Council deems is necessary,” said one of the Elder Wizards. From his condescending tone and thick eyebrows, Mavery recognized him as the wizard who had chided Alain about the Sensing spell’s “practicality.”
“Care to be a little more specific?” Mavery asked.
“What are you doing?” Alain whispered in her ear.
“Finding you a new project,” she whispered back. “It’s worth a shot.”
“As with any newly exhumed historical site, the High Council will begin with a full inventory of the tower’s contents,” said the short, sepia-skinned wizard to Seringoth’s left.
He spoke with a Maroban accent. “Any books and artifacts of scholarly significance will be given to the High Council’s arcanists for safekeeping.
If what Aventus claims is true, and this tower bears nothing of note, then the structure will be destroyed. ”
“Destroying something this large will require, what, a dozen menders?” Mavery asked. “Why go through all that trouble when someone could simply take it off your hands?”
“That ‘someone’ being you, I presume.” The wizard with the thick brows sneered at her. “What could a mere mage possibly want with a wizard’s tower? Would you even know what to do with such a thing?”
Mavery smirked. “Oh, I have it on good authority that a ‘mere mage’ is perfectly capable of handling a wizard’s tower.”
Alain sputtered something that he promptly stifled with a cough.
As Eyebrows opened his mouth, Seringoth took him and the other Elder Wizard by the shoulders.
The three of them stepped a few paces away, then spoke in heated whispers.
Mavery and Alain exchanged glances. Nox watched the Elder Wizards with suspicion, ears lowered and fangs bared.
A moment later, the three wizards returned.
“The High Council is open to your suggestion,” Seringoth said.
“Given this tower’s age and condition, it is unlikely to be of any scholarly use.
Allow us to conduct a thorough investigation of its contents and seize immediate ownership of anything with scholarly merit.
Agree to this, and the tower will be turned over to you. ”
Mavery narrowed her eyes. “And when would that be?”
“No less than one year, as is standard practice.”
“Three months,” Alain said. His tone was surprisingly firm, though he avoided meeting Seringoth’s eye. “Agree to complete the investigation by the end of the summer, Archmage, and we have a deal.”
Eyebrows scoffed. “Why, you insolent—”
Seringoth raised a hand. “Calm yourself, Elder Lythandus.” He looked to Mavery. “Ms. Culwich, will you allow Aventus to negotiate on your behalf?”
She nodded. “He can take it from here.”
The Archmage turned to Alain. “Why do you wish to expedite the investigation?”
Alain gave Mavery a brief glance before returning his gaze forward. He clasped his hands behind his back while keeping his head high—respectful but nonetheless assertive.
“My reasons are my own, Archmage.” He met Seringoth’s eye. “Wouldn’t you agree that a wizard of my fortitude ought to have a more robust space for conducting experiments and housing his library?”
Mavery’s stomach fluttered with fondness—alongside more wanton feelings—but she bit the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to retain her composure.
“Understandable,” Seringoth said. “What I fail to understand is why a professor at the University of Leyport would want a tower that is located over two hundred miles from campus.”
“As I said, Archmage, my reasons are my own.”
He and Seringoth held each other’s gazes.
Under normal circumstances, Mavery would take the moment of silence to appreciate the sun’s warmth upon her skin, the gentle breeze, the serenade of birdsong from the nearby woods.
Instead, the air was thick with tension, and all she could focus on was Alain, somehow holding firm beneath Seringoth’s penetrating stare.
After a long moment of silence, Seringoth spoke again.
“Very well. Should this tower prove to be of no use to the High Council, it will be turned over to you in three months. Until then, we look forward to your follow-up presentation on Siddisday.”
“Thank you, sir,” Alain said with a slight nod. “If I could make one final request… Could I get all of this in writing?”
A quarter hour later, Alain’s agreement with the High Council was committed to parchment, and he and Mavery were on the journey back to Archstone. They had Nox in tow, the tower at their backs.
When they were deep enough in the forest that the Elder Wizards wouldn’t overhear them, Mavery shook her head and laughed.
“I can’t believe you lied to the High Council,” she said. “To Seringoth.”
“Technically speaking, I didn’t outright lie.”
“You told them there was nothing inside the tower!”
“Precisely. There was nothing in the tower. On our persons, on the other hand…” He met her raised brows with a sly smile.
“What can I say? You have rubbed off on me. Besides, my little half-truth is nothing compared to what the High Council has hidden for centuries about Sensers, about ktonic magic.”
Never had Mavery expected him to be so brazen.
Never had she found him so desirable.
She would have thrown herself at him, had her body not ached from head to toe, inside and out.
After today’s events, she yearned for a hearty meal, a long bath, and an even longer nap.
And she could tell that Alain’s desires aligned with hers.
The further they continued through the forest, the more his pace slowed—and it had been far from brisk to begin with.
“What do you think happened to the rest of the ktona?” Mavery asked. “Do you think they were all killed?”
“Many of my kin spoke of seeking refuge in Nilandor,” Nox said. “The High Council and the churches held no power there.”
Mavery repeated this to Alain, and he nodded.
“There may be some ktona left in Tanarim,” he said, “but I’ll bet most of them are in Nilandor.”
“What do you think, Nox?” Mavery asked. “Should we try tracking down your kin?”
But Nox did not answer. Now that he was safe from the Elder Wizards, he had returned to his bestial form. He soared overhead, a dark blur against the sun-dappled treetops.
This would be his last opportunity to spread his wings for a few days. Since they couldn’t risk the High Council discovering Nox, he would journey back to Leyport with Mavery and Alain tomorrow. He would find a new home in Weywode Forest—at least until hunting season began.
On the trip home, Alain would prepare his presentation, and after meeting with the High Council again, he would finally announce his resignation to Kazamin.
Beyond that, it was impossible to say what awaited them; even Aganast’s tower wasn’t a certainty. But as Mavery slipped her hand into Alain’s, and his fingers entwined with hers, she decided she didn’t mind a bit of uncertainty. Whatever the future held, they would face it together.