I was so eager that I half-jogged ahead of the others. What saved my life was a century-old defensive spellwork. The Nightstalker was a second-tier Giant Spider. Its brown-and-black haired body lay hidden, clinging to the wall above the doorway. It leapt at me unnoticed against the night sky, only to be struck down by a stream of lightning. An ice spell quickly followed, forming a crystalline cocoon to keep me safe.

I immediately understood what happened. With quick, urgent motions I recast the defensive spell, cast a magic shield as well, and stepped back to scan the walls and skies for more spiders. The others saw it all and slowly approached from where they stood ten yards back. They warily kept their distance from my cold magical shell but were now on high alert, eyes looking out into the trees and bushes nearby. When nothing further moved, I released the shell, allowing the ice to fade.

The entrance to the tower was an ungainly construct of mismatched boards all nailed together in some semblance of a door. Before the doorway, a small clearing of inches-deep thick mud contained deep boot prints. On one side, the corpse of the spider curled and smoldered, the scent of burnt hair fragrant in the air. On the other side, piles of mossy rubble, the dark grey remnants from when the tower stood tall, lay unmoving. From behind the doorway, I heard shuffling and men’s voices shouting in argument.

Carefully, watching both the doorway and the space above it, I walked forward. When I got to the door, I could see the light of fire flickering through cracks in it. I didn’t press my eye against it to try to peer inside, that would be asking for a knife to the head. The voices I tried to make out sounded jumbled, as if everyone inside were talking at once.

I considered my actions with each step. Gone was the joyful eagerness to see my home, replaced with a cold realization of where I stood. I wanted to charge inside and kill every last one of them for even daring to contaminate the memories of my home. But I also knew this hadn’t been my home for a long, long time. There was likely little, if anything, left of what I remembered. I glanced back at the two [Mages] and the orphan. No, I wouldn’t want Lilly seeing such carnage if I could help it. I’d need a plan around her, maybe take them outside and kill them when she slept? That could work. I could just cast a spell to put her to sleep now. No, if I did that, there would still be a mess left inside the tower. A single remaining finger isn’t something I’d care to try to explain. Better to have them surrender somehow.

An authoritarian voice from inside brought me out of my thoughts, “Silence!”

The command cut through the jumble of voices. With it, the shuffling and the talking inside stopped. The door, poor as it was, wasn’t something that could stop me if I didn’t want it to. I could make a new doorway beside it easily enough, though a glance upwards reminded me that I wasn’t certain if the building would collapse if I did so. I didn’t think it would, but it would be an unnecessary risk. Without anything to lose, I decided to knock.

“Who—who is it?” A different voice called out.

“Shuddup you moron,” The same voice that called for silence earlier ordered.

Who is it? You would lock me out of my home and ask who I am? As unreasonable as it was to expect them to know me, that’s how I felt. A wave of tiny illogical anger. Logically, I knew I was lucky. If another mage had moved in and kept the tower up, there would be no way for me to purchase it. The tower could have been damaged beyond repair. The inside could be a monster lair. All things that would be worse than bandits. But the logic didn’t make me feel any better.

Using a bit of wind magic, I answered, “Open the door.”

I heard someone walk towards the door, their footsteps shuffling.

“Just leave the door shut, that spider will get whoever it is.”

“Is that a ghost?”

“No way, ghosts aren’t real.”

With a sigh, I looked closer at the door to find the hinges and bolts holding the door to the wall. Then, using [Earth Manipulation], I pulled the stone back from them. I grasped a piece of wood and pushed, allowing the entire door to fall inwards, clanging against the floor. I stepped through to see just who was in my home.

On the left side of the room, a stone staircase circled up to the second story, or would have, if it wasn’t blocked with rubble. Behind it, ragged cloth hung from a rope, dividing a small nook from the rest of the room. The height of the room could fit two and a half men standing on each other’s shoulders and the ceiling contained one large crack, moss hanging down from the tiny opening it made. On the back wall, crates and barrels of assorted goods were packed into sloppy stacks and piles. The floor, between rocks and moss, several sleeping rolls circled a sputtering fire. To my right, standing in guarded positions on top of even more sleeping rolls, eight men and a woman held weapons at the ready. They clearly expected a fight.

It was considerate of them to be in one spot, though. A simple casting of Stone Wall sealed them away. My two assistants and Lilly followed me inside as I walked further in. Rather than deal with the bandits immediately, I peeked behind the curtain hiding the nook to see if there were any others there, but all I found was another sleeping roll with a half-eaten plate of food and a part of a well-made suit of leather armor. He must not have had the time to put it all on before I came in.

I could hear muffled shouting and pounding on the wall as I continued to look around. The piles of goods seemed mundane supplies. Bundles of deer jerky, bags of uncooked oats, green and blue bolts of cloth, a barrel of pitch, work tools. Nothing that spoke to me of my past.

Glancing at my assistants, I gave them an order, “Take a walk around the tower and strengthen the wall so they can’t dig out that way. Watch for spiders.”

The two [Mages] turned around to do as instructed so quickly that I figured they must have been caught up in the excitement. I motioned for Lilly to go over to the stairs with a wave of my hand, and walked closer to the stone wall I had cast. The spell created a construct that functioned as a stone wall in every way, except that it would fade in time. It wasn’t permanent. I drew on my [Earth Manipulation] to pull stone from the rubble outside to build columns along where the wall stood. Each was nearly a foot wide and deep, with maybe a handspan of space in between. Enough to reach an arm through, but not enough for someone to slide through unless they were the size of a child.

When I finished, I let the stone wall spell fade. Unfortunately, that meant I was immediately met with the hoarse shouting of the bandits trapped inside. In my mind, there’s a difference between someone who engages in banditry as a crime of opportunity and one who does so for a living. Humans are beings of temptation, with only their paragons of virtue being up to standards that put them beyond the call of temptation. A poor farmer who sees a wealthy merchant drop a few coins, but keeps silent? Few would find that not understandable. But when I see humans that engage in such activity completely, how can I not feel disappointed. To purposely harm others for your own benefit again and again, with no thoughts of any but yourself—I cannot find in myself any compassion for such a person. It’s a disappointment because I’m half-human. I want humans to be better so that I can think of that half of myself as good as well. I almost yearn for it. I raise a hand, bringing an illumination spell to my fingertips. An action designed to draw attention, and, hopefully, silence.

“Surrender all weapons and you might live,” I say it without emotion, a statement of fact. I know that Lilly is watching and, while part of me hopes she grows to be one of those paragons of virtue I so desire to see, I hope when she remembers this event later in her life that she will recall the mercy I showed instead of my forcefulness.

“Which seagod you think you are?” demanded one of the men.

“Boss?” another one asked and I noticed more and more seemed to be giving a deferring look to one man. That man had dirty blonde hair, green eyes, a slim muscular body, and, worst of all, seemed to have noble features.

He sheathed his sword and tossed it through one of the openings where it clattered on the floor, “Give it to him. He’s at least a third-tier mage. Could’ve killed us all already.”

While I didn’t let it show, I felt annoyed. His features may have led me to suspect he was noble-born, but the calculating look in his eyes and his accent confirmed it. Now that I knew his background, killing them all quietly wasn’t an option. Not until I found out more. I met his eyes and ignored the sounds of more weapons being pushed through the space between columns. One man, muscular with a creepy grin, had to be slapped around before he gave up his spear, and when he did, he tossed it at me like he was hoping for a hit. It clanged off my Shield spell and I didn’t budge in the slightest, as if I didn’t even notice.

I kept watching the man silently until Kine and Walker came back in. I don’t know why she didn’t try it before, but the woman among the group screamed and reached out towards my assistants, “Please, you have to help me! You can’t leave me in here with them, you have no idea what they’ll do to me!”

Her words shocked Walker and Kine to a standstill. Kine gave her a suspicious eye but did nothing. Walker took in the appearance of the bandits before giving me a pleading look. I noticed his expression but didn’t take any action. I’m all for letting young people learn life lessons, and this seemed like it could be a good one. Yet. Yet, I couldn’t even begin to contemplate how upset I was that I needed to take the time to deal with this. Before now, I could have sent my assistants back to fetch the wagons. I didn’t bring them with us to begin with because I was uncertain if this was the tower I was looking for. I still wasn’t entirely sure, but I was fairly confident. Now, though, I would have to go back myself and request a meeting with the Baroness for dispensation on these captives. The same baroness who couldn’t be bothered to send men against the bandits in the first place. Nearly one more week wasted in travel just to get permission to execute them. I would likely need to bring Lilly, just so she didn’t somehow end up a hostage. I also would have to rely on Kine or Walker to guard them while I was gone, a duty not quite suited to a [Mage] to begin with, let alone [Mages] as young as they are. It would take six days, at minimum. Likely a full week before I could really get started on my tower.

And this woman? I looked at her. The woman was only moments earlier holding a sword in the air ready to stab me. The woman who showed no bruises or injuries and wearing the same shoddy mismatched armor the rest of these bandits wore? The woman that even now wouldn’t meet my eyes? I snorted.

First, one bandit started chuckling, then another. And another. Even their leader was smirking. The panicked look fell from the woman’s face faster than a sneeze, and she just shrugged at me as if to say ‘well, it was worth a try’ before turning around and sitting with her back to the wall.

“What are you going to do with us?” their leader said while the other bandits started finding places to sit.

“I’m trying to think of a reason not to kill you,” I answered. It wasn’t quite an honest answer, but if I was going to meet a noble about another noble, I’d need at least a name. Unfortunately, the only response he gave was a pained smile. I tossed the illumination spell against the wall, mentally nudging it to stick there.

I turned to the two [Mages], “Throw them their bedrolls and clean up in here, I need some time to think.” Surely, those two aren’t foolhardy enough to let this group out, and, without a mage, the bandits wouldn’t be getting out on their own. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t try, though.

The staircase leading to the second floor was wide, more than enough for four people to walk side by side. It curved along the wall, each step long enough for me to take two steps on before the next. The wall beside it was plain stone, and I could see the entire room to my right as I climbed. The tower was actually a good size, only the makeshift prison cells and the piles of goods making it feel smaller than it was. No guard rail or the like either, it would be easy to jump off the side. I passed Lilly on the fifth step, where she sat looking bored with her chin resting on a hand.

I gave her a pat on the shoulder, “Go oversee the lads and make sure they do it right. Don’t get too close to those criminals.”

Above me, the flat stone of the ceiling lasted only until the eighth step of the stairwell. Afterward, whatever opening had been there was gone, replaced with the large crumbled stones and hanging vines that blocked the passage. It looked as if it could collapse down at any point. The steps all had a number of rocks and gravel across them.

I placed my hand on the wall to my left and closed my eyes in concentration. Sending out the stream of mana into the stone, I pushed my [Earth Manipulation] to slowly and carefully pull down the stones that were blocking the way, using them to form a wall on the right of the stairwell that would keep anyone from simply falling into the room below.

As the stones above began to reveal their opening, I slowed even further. I listened for anything that would signal another monster above. Hearing nothing didn’t mean there wasn’t another spider there, but it was unlikely that I’d need to deal with a swarm of them if there wasn’t any noise. It took most of an hour before I felt satisfied enough to continue up the stairs. By now, the wall I was creating on my right stretched towards the floor, stopping before the third step up. The light from my spell reflecting off the wall. I could no longer see those below me, but I could just barely make out the doorway that was the entrance. I hoped that Walker or Kine remembered to bring the mule in, the fear my bedroll would be in the stomach of some monster pushed a frown to my face.

I cast another illumination spell, and tossed it up into the space above, watching carefully for any shadows to move. I didn’t see any, but again, that was no certainty. With measured steps, I continued to climb the staircase, careful to keep close to the tower wall. As I reached a step where I could see the floor, I couldn’t help but suck in a quick breath.

Across from me, another giant spider clung to the wall, this one bigger than the one before. Where the first had a body the size of a mule, the body on this one was larger than a horse. Its legs stretched out to either side, each longer than the height of two men. Large, sharp fangs glistened with venom. If I’d been incautious, it would have been the death of me.

But I wasn’t. I watched it as much as it watched me for that moment. Then, I split its head open with an icicle the size of my leg. It screeched a noise worse than metal grinding against metal and its legs moved around wildly as if it couldn’t find traction on the ground, but it moved no closer. Just the dying throes of a monster. When it was done, I waited again. Patient and calm. When nothing else moved, I tossed three more illumination spells out into the room and finished my climb up the stairs.

The second floor was a disaster. The stone floor was misshapen and pitted. Puddles of water grew thick with algae. Jumbles of cracked and broken bones, many covered with fleshy remains littered the floor. Stones of all shapes and sizes were strewn about. The fractured remains of a staircase to a third floor lay on the opposite wall. In the alcove created beneath them, I could see a webbed ball of a spider’s nest, with hundreds or thousands of eggs within. Like the first floor, the opening to the third was also blocked with collapsed stone, though I could see a narrow crevasse. Looking closer, that gap to the outside seemed too narrow to fit the spider I just killed. It was a wonder it hadn’t already starved to death, being trapped here.

With a sigh, I considered the mess. First, I sealed the way to the third floor with my [Earth Manipulation]. Then, I pulled back the stone wall, creating a triangular opening, wider at the bottom than the top, and used stone to push the corpse of the monster, the bones of its victims, and any standing water out the new hole. I sealed away the nest, unsure what I wanted to do with it. Experimental subjects in that quantity weren’t cheap or common. I continued further, pulling on my [Fire Manipulation] to light a flame and burn away the mold and algae. A minor wind spell blew it all outside, and I sealed the opening back as if it was never there.

The room now felt clean and comfortably warm, but I wasn’t done. First, I smoothed the floor, moving the rubble towards the staircase. An oddity—the tower took on a square shape outside, but the rooms on the inside were round—had me pushing my mana sense into the rounded stone corners looking for hidden relics of my past. That small, distant hope was crushed quickly, as the corners were filled with nothing but stone. No hidden spaces or embedded objects. Carrying on past my disappointment, I pushed my mana into the walls and ceiling, closing up the cracks and strengthening the stone. I walked towards the staircase, focusing on turning the rubble into the stone steps that led upwards to the third floor. I didn’t bother with a wall this time. A wall, like the other ornate workings I normally pride myself can be done later. Instead, I finished the stairs and hesitantly pushed the rubble blocking it back. In my hands, I summoned flames, both for the light and to have ready should there be other monsters above.

I was only mildly relieved when I reached the top of the staircase and nothing attacked. The third floor opened to the outside, though not intentionally. All that was left of it was a crumbled stone corner of one wall. Surprisingly, there was little rubble on the floor, a few stones here and there, but the majority of it was clear. Wet, from rain or dew, but no puddles of water or patches of mold. On the side that the corner still stood, ivy grew, but only a few feet of it.

From here, I could see most of the misty swamplands below me. As I walked along the edges, I let the fires in my hands fade away. I couldn’t see Woodhoot from here, the trees surrounding the village blocking any firelight. On the backside of the tower, the swampland pulled back to reveal a vast body of standing water. I suspected it was only a few feet deep at the most, but it was clear enough over it to reflect the clouds and stars in the night sky. On the far side, trees heavy with hanging moss thickened into a forest, but I couldn’t make out more in the darkness.

Something about the view called to me. I felt a sense of calmness and satisfaction I hadn’t felt in a long time. This place felt like home. I realized that I wanted this tower, and I was okay with that decision. I felt at peace here, a piece of my past circling back to become my future. A cycle I couldn’t and didn’t want to escape. I could feel pieces of something within me connect, though I paid no attention to anything other than that feeling of peace. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there gazing out onto the reflected night’s sky. It may have been moments or hours.

“Sir?” Kine’s calling out from the stairwell behind me interrupted my thoughts.

I turned to look, seeing his apologetic face.

“Sir,” his voice seemed uncertain, “The, um, the prisoners are complaining. They don’t have a pot to piss in.”