While yesterday I had thoroughly enjoyed the time walking by myself, today I felt even better. The thick wooden tunnel with its spots of sunlight and the green wisps of nature spirits was a bit chilly, but I ignored that. Instead, my mind was turning the matter of the witch over and over. Even the pending adoption of a responsible child and a childish necromancer couldn’t put a damper on my mood.

The witch represented a whole host of possibilities. Two of them more prominent than others. The first was a distant hope that she was like me. A half-elf with a long life hidden under the guise of an illusion. The chance that I could meet a life-long partner was almost too much to hold on to. I knew better than to become overly optimistic about it.

I knew better, and yet I did it anyway. What was she like? Was she beautiful or plain? Generous or selfish? Tall or short? My mind spun with the possibilities, things I hadn’t considered for ages.

Then, the more rational part of myself urged that I forgo those thoughts. Instead, it focused on her age. If she were human and lived that long, then she must have some spellcraft that affected longevity. Something that I could study and adapt to my own spellwork. What if it was better than mine? What if she already solved the puzzle?

Then again, this was a rumor from townsfolk told to me by a man who wasn’t well known for his consideration of deeper matters. This could be a rumor used to ostracize a widow, and I could be getting all my hopes up for naught. Time would tell.

The mild euphoria of hope lasted the whole walk back to my tower, and only the sight of my apprentices at the doorway dampened it. The two men, one tall and the other short stood immediately inside the entrance to my tower.

On the right, the shorter one, Jax, bowed in greeting while giving his brother a concerned look. The taller one, Philipe, gave a delayed bow, with a dumbfounded expression on his face. His body was covered in pollen, and his eyes glazed over. It almost looked as though he had yellow freckles atop his red ones. I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Master, I warned him, but—” Jax began.

I waved it away, “I know, I know. When did this occur?”

“He visited them yesterday morning for the first time, if he didn’t lie to me about it,” Jax answered, still giving his brother a worried look.

“I—I’m fine. I promise! Really, don’t worry,” Philip answered, speaking slowly.

“Philip, cast analyze on yourself,” I ordered.

The young man did as ordered, and then confusion spread across his face, “Infected?”

I turned my gaze to Jax, “This isn’t uncommon. The dryads of the Tervan jungles infect foolish men with a root that grows within them until it burst forth to cover their bodies in vines. I lost several comrades to those things. The vine-men they become are tough monsters to defeat, at least third-tier.”

Jax’s face paled, and he gulped, “Is that what’s going to happen to Philipe?”

I shook my head, “No.”

Jax sighed in relief.

“He’s likely to turn into a flowery version of that, though.”

Jax’s eyes opened wide. I couldn’t help it, that had been fun.

“Look through my study. You have until tomorrow night to develop a spell to rid him of the infection. If I must do it, you’ll spend a week in the kitchens with Ms. Chelsea,” I threatened with a raised finger.

“Yes, master!” he bowed and scrambled up the stairs in a hurry.

Philipe watched him go, not a single expression on his face. I turned to him and pointed to one of my uncomfortable bench seats, “And you, go sit over there and don’t get up until I tell you.”

His eyes followed my fingers to the bench ever so slowly. It took a few moments, and then he answered with a simple, “Okay.”

I wasn’t thrilled with this development. I needed my attendants in satisfactory condition so that I could leave the tower in their hands. I had several experiments I needed to travel for, and a witch to visit.

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast of eggs and rolls, I went out to do what I should have done before I took my trip to Lark. Outside my tower, I found the ivy nature elemental directing a crowd of the aldruane as they attempted to use harps and reed pipes to create music. It was an interesting melody that didn’t sound like anything I had heard before.

It would have been pleasant to listen to as I sat and drank a glass of wine, but I was in no mood to do so. Instead, I approached the elemental with an angry countenance, one that would not leave any room to mistake my purpose. My manner of approach, though, didn’t seem to affect the elemental at all.

Greetings mortal. Do you seek indulgence as well?

She arched her back in a provocative manner. Though she now wore what appeared to be clothes, it was only several long leaves of a handspan’s width that hung across her body horizontally. It left about a two fingers width between each that allowed her form to be seen underneath. On her brow, she had grown a garland of ivy as well.

“No, you know why I am here,” I growled.

The lesser mortal who indulged. I warned him, yet he persisted.

I frowned. She would place the blame back on Philipe? Before I could answer her, she spoke again.

Shall I punish the one who angered you so?

That halted my wrath, if only for a moment. While I wanted to burn a piece of each, I was also curious as to how they would punish one another. It wasn’t something I had any records on, and a treatise on the subject may do well in the magical community.

“Proceed,” I answered, and crossed my arms.

With a noise that sounded like the hissing of snakes and the cries of birds, the elemental screamed. In a flurry of motion, all the flower people turned towards a single female atop her giant lily. With a ferocity I wouldn’t have believed had I not seen it, they tore her and the lily to pieces in less than three breaths’ time.

Afterward, not a leaf remained, though I could see the rest chewing and swallowing. I replayed the scene in my mind, noting how quickly they turned on one another and how violently they reacted. Indeed, the infection of my assistant seemed almost innocent in comparison.

Are you pleased?

“No,” I answered with a frown. It was not enough. I could see by the expressions on the faces that the rest of these things were happy about the outcome. That would not do. I needed them all to learn. So with a use of my [Fire Manipulation], I drew forth flames from the fire elementals scurrying around on their pillars and molded it into arrows that hung in the air.

Beside me, the nature elemental stilled, her body seeming to shrink in on itself. The people on the lilies all paused and stared at the arrows with fear on their faces. I let those arrows hang there in the air for a few moments, a clear threat and danger, before I willed each one to stick and burn away a petal from each of the giant lilies. The creatures screamed in pain, or at least that’s what it seemed like. The sound was more akin to the buzzing of insects.

When I finished, I turned to the nature elemental beside me. She had mostly disappeared into the ivy, leaving only a set of eyes to watch, “Do not fail me again.”

With those words, I turned to leave, but stopped only a step away. Over my shoulder, I called, “And remove that crown. I am the master here.”

That afternoon turned out to be a rather busy one. Lunch was a thick stew of beef and onions with a side of mashed potatoes. Rolf, who must have eaten it before, mushed his potatoes into a circle and poured the soup into the center. I thought that was a rather novel idea, and did so myself. Seeing me do it, inspired all the others, and soon the meal was being eaten all around the same way.

After lunch, I met with Jax on the first floor. Philipe had sat in his chair the entire night, and Meathead joined him this morning. While Meathead wasn’t infected like my assistant, they seemed to be discussing something in a very slow manner that I couldn’t quite parse.

Regardless, Jax indicated he thought he had perfected the spell needed, and showed me his work. While it wasn’t elegant, and contained a single error I fixed for him, I approved. I didn’t hold the error against him either, because his drooping eyes showed me that he had spent all night and morning working on it.

Once cast, the pollen fell off his brother, and he hacked out several small flowers with stem and root attached. The disgusting things squirmed around on the floor until Meathead cheerfully stomped them to stillness. A small healing potion was given to Philipe who only had the wherewithal to down it before falling asleep on the table.

Meathead had taken Philipe to his room to rest, and Jax and I were cleaning up when Tond entered from the front door.

“Sir, there’s a merchant here ta see ya,” he said gruffly.

I nodded, “Very well, send for Chelsea.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but he requested to see you,” Tond said instead of heading downstairs.

“Hmm,” I answered. It was curious, but I would prefer to be doing other things. Still, perhaps it was Honest Brom returning with the elven tome.

The merchant outside was a slender man with long arms and legs. His face was thin but covered by a well-groomed light brown beard that matched an equally well-cut head of hair. Unlike other merchants, he wore only a simple tunic and trousers with a straw hat on his head.

His mule-drawn wagon seemed to be of a smaller, well-worn make. In it, I could see several crates and barrels, as well as bolts of cloth. Tond walked ahead of me to open the gates, and Eni was leaning against the doorway to his kennel appearing at ease even though his eyes were sharp. The merchant, upon seeing us approach, hopped down from the front of his wagon and headed towards the rear of it. There, he began unloading crates from the back and setting them off to the side.

It was a tad odd, in my mind, that this merchant was already unloading goods, that combined with his silent demeanor and the fact that there were no guards for his wagon immediately raised my suspicions. When he was done unloading his cargo, he hopped back on the wagon and offered a parody of a military salute, “The mistress sends her regards.”

Then he began the slow process of turning the wagon around and heading down the road away from my tower. I admit that I was curious, but I was no fool either. I checked all the boxes for magic, and then had Eni send his wolves sniffing around them. I kicked a few to see if I heard a hiss or movement that would signal a snake or scorpion inside.

When nothing happened, I ordered Tond to open the first crate. As he did, light reflected off the gemstones inside, illuminating a rainbow of colors speckled across his face. His wide smile and look of wonder were enough for me to tell what was inside. Still, I had Eni and Tond check all seven crates, even to go so far as to reach their hands inside to ensure nothing was hidden.

Baroness Nix had sent me crates full of gems, and I had reason to suspect they were all stolen.