“Boss! Boss! Uh, lord wizard! Boss!” the upset voice of Mena cut through my pleasant dreams.

I rose from my bed, not with panic or urgency, but alertness. I felt I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and seeing both Lilly and Walker sitting up with half-opened eyes confirmed it. I waved them back to sleep, and they didn’t need any further convincing to go. Tossing the sheets and blanket aside, I slipped my feet into my shoes and rose.

Perhaps the beast wave was here? I could see my defenses in action! That brought a smile to my face, but I walked towards where the [Bandit] Mena stood at the edge of the staircase to the first floor. She must have run into a ward and couldn’t go any further.

“Yes?” I asked, covering the following yawn with the back of my hand.

“Boss, come look,” she turned and led the way down the stairs. “Gonst, he tried to run off with your gems last night and, he…” she seemed to lose the words to describe what happened.

At the bottom of the stairwell, the front door hung wide open. I could see both captive bandits standing near the pillars, at an angle to gaze outside. Once we reached the base of the stairs, Mena moved to stand by the door, not daring to go any further. I calmly looked outside.

There, not five feet away on the compacted mud bridge lay the body of [Bandit] Gonst. His arms and legs spread in an unusual manner. Half his head was missing. Burnt away. I could still see embers inside it glowing. In one curled hand and scattered further along the bridge, my gems glittered with reflected firelight. Instantly, I knew what happened. I never commanded any of my elementals to recognize any other person but myself. That was something I needed to do. While I didn’t think that either Walker or Lilly had reason to go outside in the near future, I didn’t want them to accidentally suffer from my negligence.

“I—I tried to stop him, once I realized what he was doing,” the woman began.

A barking laugh from inside the prison cell answered her, “Girl, don’t be lying now! You’re the one that talked him into it, and you’re the reason he’s dead. Tell him the truth,” the bandit with the creepy grin seemed absolutely enraptured in what was occurring.

“I didn’t, I couldn’t know! None of us thought that stupid curse was real! We’ve all heard the stories! His head, it. It. It just caught fire!”

Curse? What is she talking about? Oh! The Dead Man’s Curse. I held back my chuckle. Well, if they wanted to think that was the cause, then I didn’t mind. I wasn’t going to explain myself to bandits in either case.

“Master?” Lilly’s voice called from the top of the stairs.

“It’s nothing important, go back to sleep,” I answered her and listened as she shuffled away.

“Nothing important and yet he lays there dead,” Mena murmured.

I stepped outside into cool night air. I bent, placing my hand on the ground, and used my magic to pull all the gemstones towards me. Some lay scattered, others in a small bag near Gonst’s foot. I considered for a moment, what to do with the man’s body. Obviously, I couldn’t leave it there. But neither did I want to touch it. I’m sure others could make use of his boots or belt or what-have-you. First things first, though. I reached out with my mind, connecting with the elementals. There, I pushed the idea of allies and enemies. I sensed their understanding. The water elementals seemed smarter, as they understood the concepts of family and kinship. The fire ones just understood not flammable, which was fine. I pushed through to them identities of those already in the tower, as well as Kine and the others out at Woodhoot. Do not attack unless ordered.

There was confusion. They didn’t see with eyes as I saw, it was hard for them to differentiate between us. Instead, I pictured the forms of beasts or men in actions that I considered to be attacking the tower and the elementals defending it. Then I sent images with friendly faces and how they would approach the tower. The mist elementals understood first. Followed by the water. The fire elementals I needed to send the thoughts to four times before they understood. Even then, I wasn’t sure. I’d need to send a [Bandit] out with a shield spell on them to test it later. That, or summon a third-tier elemental and put the others under its command.

I should do that anyway.

When I turned back to look into the tower, all the bandits were still in place watching me. I wasn’t sure how long it took to adjust my defenses, but it couldn’t have been more than a few moments. “Alright, now you can go get him,” I waved at the woman.

Mena looked outside fearfully and then back at me, “Boss, what do you want me to do with him?”

That was a good question. I didn’t have an answer. Mostly, I didn’t care, or rather I wanted to not care. But I didn’t want any of my pupils seeing the corpse, and having dead bodies nearby was unhealthy. I am a good and considerate teacher.

“Toss it over the wall,” I told her. “I’m returning to sleep. Wake me if the beast wave begins.”

With that settled, I put the gemstones in my pocket and returned to my bed.

It was midmorning when I awoke. I could hear chatter from downstairs. Left on a barrel next to my bed, a cup of tea and a platter of oatmeal cooled. I stretched and took a sip of the tea. Luke-warm. I must have slept through breakfast, which was a slight aggravation. If I had a proper servant, they would have it ready for me when I awoke. I needed to set my tower rooms up so that I could hire one soon. Real soon.

I cast a cleaning spell and looked at my wardrobe with consideration. Now that my goods were here, I could change out of my traveling robe. But I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. The beastwave would be here shortly, and I didn’t want to risk any of my good robes. And I only really had good robes. That left my battlerobe, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at it. It would remind me of Ram, and I wasn’t sure how well locked those emotions were in the corner of my mind. I didn’t want them getting loose at the moment. They would if I left them too long, but that wasn’t the plan. I would deal with them soon.

A quick use of [Fire Manipulation] brought my tea back to steaming and the food back to warm. Warm enough. I didn’t see it before, but there were slices of sausage in the oats. It made them better, in the way that they didn’t just taste plain, but it wasn’t a taste I was fond of. Still, I ate.

When I was finished, I undid the wards and alarm spells in the room before heading upstairs to the third floor. There, I found both [Bandit] archers standing at attention facing me, one had clearly just woken up from where he slept on his bedroll. I ignored them to look around off from my tower, taking in the landscape. I could see the reflection of clouds on the still waters behind my tower, though the image was broken now by the five pits I made last night.

In my excitement to secure subjects for experiments, I hadn’t considered how it would ruin the scenery. That didn’t sit well. I enjoyed the water there. Looking off the other side, I could see the road lead away from the tower, and the marsh thicker there. Twisted trees sat atop small mounds of mud, gnarled roots weaving in and out of the water nearby. Some lay on their side, broken remnants of past growth. A few cypress trees stabbed towards the sun, with growths around them that seemed like arms reaching up from the water. No, not nearly as attractive as the other side. I’d move the pits over there soon enough.

The wall looked well enough. I’d smoothed and raised it yesterday, so it seemed to be made from one long piece of stone creating a full circle around the tower. Or, rather, egg-shaped. It was a bit lopsided towards the gate, something to fix later. The moat appeared half-full, mists floating on top of the water and arcs hopping here and there. The flames on the pillars weren’t bright any longer after the sun rose. Instead, they fluttered in the wind like small flowers.

I turned back to the [Bandits], who still stood at attention, arms held to their sides and chests out. Heads held high and eyes only looking forward. They would have been fine soldiers, no doubt. It was a pity they followed an idiot. Certainly, I didn’t blame them for the decision. He’d offered a better life, how many humans did I know would turn that down? Not many. And behind that, rested his authority as a nobleman, and all the inherent implications disobeying one would bring. My pity, though, would not affect any decision I made towards their future.

“Any sightings?” I asked.

“No, sir. Nothing yet,” the more rested one answered.

Tond, I believe. He had a pale, gaunt face but sharp eyes. Or this was Eni. I waved the thought away. Their names would be remembered when their actions made them worth remembering. I considered asking if they saw what happened to Gonst last night. Or threatening them with it. I hadn’t really considered what I would do with them after the beast wave. I didn’t think I truly needed guards. I could throw the responsibility toward the [Paladin] Adam, maybe. He seemed the sort to believe in redemption. Or maybe the Guard Captain Untal back in Lark. If these [Bandits] showed his level of discipline, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to employ them. I could see about sending them in cages west. The [Ranger] scout mentioned Baron Llal operated an arena. Hoisting the responsibility on him may actually earn his favor. Decisions for another day.

“Carry on,” I told them and left to return downstairs.

Downstairs, I noticed the tension immediately. Did something happen? No, it didn’t look like it. Walker and Lilly were at the table, Walker discussing division in hushed tones. Lilly listened but fidgeted constantly. Mena, oiling her armor that clearly didn’t need more oil and giving frequent glances towards the door. The two captive [Bandits], at either end of the cell.

Was this from the death of the man last night? Maybe. Or maybe it was fear of the upcoming beastwave. I could guess that neither Walker nor Lilly knew what to expect, having grown up in Sena City. The room still felt crowded. And it really didn’t present well. I wanted my tower to be, well, not inviting, but I didn’t want a guest to believe they needed to issue a quest for adventurers to slay me either. If the first thing one sees when they visit a wizard is captives or experimental subjects, one tends to get the wrong idea.

With that in mind, I began modifying the cell. While I could have considered the prisoners within, I didn’t. The yelp I heard as the pillars began moving and condensing to half the original space was satisfying on some petty level for me. Once it was done, I had left maybe a six-foot squared space for the two of them to stand and sleep in, the pillars condensing on two sides to form solid walls. The bedrolls were pushed with the stone, and now lay in twisted heaps in the corner, one dangerously close to the chamberpot.

With the new space available, I began pulling stone in sections from the floor, slowly another stairwell downwards to match the one going upstairs. I used the stone I pulled to create a wall to prevent anyone from falling in. I skipped making ornate inlays, much to my dissatisfaction. I would in the future, but for now, function triumphed over form. By the time, the staircase matched the height of the rooms above, I was called by Mena.

“Boss! They said the beasts are here!” Echoed downwards to me.

I stared at the wall before me, somewhat disappointed in the interruption. Still, this was expected. I followed her, and Walker and Lilly followed me, up the stairs to the third floor. I was greeted by the two other [Bandits] as they pointed towards the forest over the standing water behind my tower. There, I spotted wolves and boars and giant snakes all peeking their heads out of bushes and around trees. But they weren’t coming any closer.

“They’re right there, but they ain’t comin’ no closer,” Eni said. Or maybe that was Tond. They both had their bows strung and ready.

“Wow, this view is amazing, master! Hey, what are those pits there?” Lilly asked.

“Those will hopefully trap some of the monsters on the way in. Unlikely to catch many, but catching a few might be worthwhile,” I told her.

“And what’s Mr. Gonst doing over there by the tree? He’s just sitting there!” She asked, her hand shading her eyes.

“He’s…” I coughed uncomfortably into my hand to gather my thoughts.

“Old Gonst likes to take naps, Ms. Lilly. I wouldn’t put it past him to sneak off to do just that,” Mena astutely answered on my behalf.

“Right, well that’s enough sightseeing for you, young lady. Walker, please continue her lessons?” I asked as I used a hand on her back to maneuver her back towards the staircase.

“Come on, we can see this later,” Walker said and he led her away.

I gave Mena a thankful nod, "If they aren’t attacking, what have they been doing?”

“Don’t know, sir. Reckon’ they’re waiting on something,” the man answered. Eni again. I think.

“Can you get a count?” I followed with another question.

“We tried, but they keep moving. More than a hundred, easy,” the same man answered.

I’d seen this before. Many times, beastwaves would surround a town or village or temple but only attack at dusk or dawn. I never understood why, but I wasn’t about to add that to my magical research agenda. The elements were my field of expertise. “Right, carry on. Let me know if something changes. It may be a long day.”

I got nods from all three and left the stone over the stairwell open as I went back downstairs. Below, I continued my work, though it was more difficult now. The stone needed to go somewhere. I used some to cover the mud wall of the moat, the side closest to the tower, but I knew that was only a temporary measure. I would likely later pull it up the tower to finish the third floor and start the fourth. I knew I would be procuring stone from a local quarry to finish my moat soon, but I didn’t know if the stone would be the same type. Of course, I can blend the two when I do get it, but that didn’t help me now.

I turned down lunch in favor of continuing to create the basement level. I’d eaten a late breakfast, so I didn’t feel as hungry. I could have gone faster in my work, but I wanted to ensure I didn’t destabilize the foundation before I could strengthen it further with enchantments. The room was more than halfway cleared when I heard the call.

“Master! They say the beasts are coming!” Lilly called down the stairs to me.

I smiled to myself. This would be a good test of my simple defenses.