While I paced the rooftop, I opened and closed the scroll several times in disbelief. I turned it to see if there was something on the other side. I checked the seal to ensure that it wasn’t a trick from another wizard. I read through the king’s summons thrice to ensure I wasn’t going mad. After all of that, I called for my seneschal, Fentworth Aide, to confirm that it was truly a royal messenger who delivered the message.

That a full moon rose tonight only added to my concerns. Lunar mana was closely tied to illusion magic, a fact that didn’t make me feel any better. I sent Fentworth away to request Loralie to meet with me as I paced back and forth on the top of my tower. King Sena was not a man I respected. He already owed me a debt for not heeding my warning of the Pestilence. Another for drawing me into a war. A third for whatever his part was in distributing Asrid Flower tea. Each on their own was a reason for dislike. Walker’s death was another matter entirely.

I hadn’t taken my revenge against him yet, not for fear of retribution, but because I didn’t want to be the cause for turmoil across the kingdom when the Pestilence arrived. I had enough things to feel guilty for in my past without adding the weight of however many deaths would result. Yet, I knew this summons for what it was. There was nothing I could say or do to prove I hadn’t joined hands with the Seafolk. No doubt, wherever that claim came from had also manufactured evidence as well. Likely the work of the Laxton household.

No, answering the summons was nothing but a trap. I had opened the scroll in such a way I could feign it lost for a time, but that would only work for so long. I had hoped to support and be supported by the kingdom when the Pestilence arrives, to take my vengeance only once the threat passed. That hope faded now because I knew that regardless of how I responded to this summons, the King and I were adversaries.

I stewed in my thoughts for several moments before Loralie arrived. When she did, she greeted me with a smile. The beautiful half-elven woman still wore her illusion of a crone about her, but I saw through it. A [witch] that had lived two hundred years longer than I, and undoubtedly had just as many secrets. Any other night than this, I might have gotten lost in her luminescent yellow eyes.

“Good evening, Wizard Fargus. I had hoped you would invite me to your tower for some time,” She began with a happy tone but her voice trailed away as she saw the look on my face.

I enjoyed the back-and-forth pleasantries we normally shared, but tonight I was in no mood for verbal games.

“Is this about Lilly and the Elemental? I don’t know what it did, but I’m sure you did the right thing.” Loralie whispered in a comforting tone. I shook my head and glanced back to the stairwell into my tower. There, my seneschal stood prepared, but I waved him away. I wanted a private conversation at the moment.

After he had departed, I handed the King’s message to Loralie and sat on one of the benches to wait while she read. Now that the moon had risen and I was no longer pacing in agitation, the owls within the roost that my guard Eni cared for began to shuffle and hoot. Even the large, owl-shaped gargoyles that sat on the four corners of my tower were more active, as if they could sense my agitation.

Loralie’s forehead creased as she read, and a small breeze fluttered her long hair in a way that captivated me. That someone could be so attractive and look so serious at the same time was a rarity I had seldom come across. She glanced back and forth from the message to me several times before she finished reading.

“This is unusual, Mister Fargus. Are you working with the Seafolk?” she asked. The look on her face as she asked held a bit of curiosity, but also held preparation for judgment. That she might know Seafolk was a bit of knowledge I tucked away to discuss on another day.

I snorted, “No. I’ve never met a single one. This is a trap the king has set, a way to collect my head.”

“I—see,” Loralie said, though she sounded unsure of herself. “What do you ask of me, then?”

“This wretched excuse for a king slew someone dear to me,” I couldn’t keep the heat nor pain from my voice and didn’t try. “You hadn’t the chance to meet him, but Lilly’s brother was once an assistant of mine. My magic is strong but direct. When I—” I paused. “Before we met—” I paused again.

Before we met, I had investigated the insides of her abode, a ramshackle wooden hut in the middle of the woods. It was rather rude of me, and I worried that reminding her of that action before I ask a request of her may not work as well as I hoped. I pursed my lips and then tried again, “In your grimoire, there is a curse, an ensorcellment named ‘Unending Agony’. No doubt the king is guarded and warded from much of my spellcraft, but yours? I suspect not.”

“Nemon, that spell requires the sacrifice of three newborn babes,” Loralie started, while shaking her head.

Yet I interjected before she could decline. I had no intention of sacrificing infants. That type of ritual was simply clumsy. “Yes, Yes, but that’s only to provide a source of magic for the spellwork. I believe I have something that we could use in its stead.”

“Oh?” she asked, and I could tell from the sparkle in her eye that I had her interest in the matter.

I grinned as I stood, “Yes, perhaps it's time that you see one of my secrets. Something in exchange for your help in cursing a king. Have you heard of a Tower Crystal before?”

The next morning, after breakfast, I met with Lilly in my study. She was already sitting on one of the couches and reading through the literature I had pulled from the shelf yesterday with wide, concerned eyes. Beside her, in a woven basket lined with leather, a muddy pup wagged its tail. The young lady already looked healthier, with a better complexion and her eyes were no longer as sunken in as before. That she had dressed in a gown and brushed her hair made the difference even more noticeable.

So entranced by what she was reading, it took her a few moments to notice that I had sat down across from her. I was a little tired from the several hours I had spent speaking with Loralie on how to adjust the Curse of Unending Agony, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make time to discuss with Lilly the actions I had taken and why.

“Good morning, Master. You set this out for me to read, didn’t you?” Lilly asked.

I nodded in answer. I didn’t grace her with a smile, but I wanted to. The young woman could be very astute when she needed to be.

“Then, if it had stayed in my arm, would I turn into a plant?”

“If it didn’t kill you first, which is much more likely,” I answered while meeting her gaze.

“I see. And you killed Miss Ivy because she did this to me?” Lilly’s question came, but softer this time.

I saw a flash of some emotion in her eyes as she asked, but it wasn’t the rage I had seen from yesterday. “ ’Miss Ivy’ was a nature elemental, child, don’t be fooled. Elementals aren’t human and don’t think the same as we do. They are tools, and nothing more. You may not believe me now, but in the time your familiar takes to grow, you will see it true. It was given orders to safeguard anyone in this tower, and it didn’t. That is why it's dead.”

“Isn’t she worth more than me, though? She was a powerful elemental and I—I’m just a useless girl.” Lilly blinked away tears and turned away as she spoke.

I was a bit taken aback. At first, I was uncertain if this were an act. I had assigned her to study under another magic-user, one who focused on charm magic. If she also learned how to manipulate others without magic, it wouldn’t be too unusual. After I waited for a moment, though, I saw a shake in her shoulders and the tremble in her hand. I couldn’t imagine she would have learned so well in such a short amount of time.

“Young lady, I don’t want to hear such a thing again. An elemental cannot compare to a person. Today or tomorrow, I will summon another. You? There is no replacement for you.”

My words seemed to calm her, though she didn’t look pleased with the idea of summoning another elemental. Yet she didn’t ask me not to, either. I would have taken such a request into consideration for a time, at least until she grew out of her attachment to the plant.

“Master, what should I do with the puppy? I can’t make it a familiar too, can I?” she asked and glanced at the muddy basket.

I noticed the change in the subject but didn’t return to it. We would speak more later, if she needed it. “I wouldn’t suggest it. The plant is likely to take it over within a decade or two. If anything, I would suggest the Animal Bond spell. It’s enough to complete a bond, but not strong enough to physically harm you. You can always move your familiar to a new animal when it outgrows the wolf.”

Lilly nodded despondently while looking at the puppy, which wagged its tail in happiness over the attention. “Master, I…” Lilly began and then took a deep breath. “Master, I don’t want to return to the Arcanum to study.”

That surprised me, but given the current politics, it did make me glad for her decision. “That’s acceptable. There is more than enough knowledge here to continue your education. I can put together a new curriculum for you. Many famous mages in the past never attended an academy.”

Lilly was silent after I answered, her gaze still on the pup. After a few moments, she spoke again, “No, master, I don’t think I want to be a mage. It’s—it’s too much like I would be following behind Walker. I’m not as good at it as he was, and it isn’t as fun for me as it was for him.”

Her admission stung quite a bit. I had high hopes for Lilly, and she was more than capable of casting what little magic she had learned. To say I was crestfallen would be close to the mark. It was one of the downsides of allowing a close attachment to humans. They would inevitably say something that hurt. Of course, I didn’t show my feelings on my face. I ran my hand through my beard and answered with a, “Hmmm.”

“I don’t know what I want to do. I wish Walker had never left. I miss him so much.”

I nodded along and let her talk for a while about her feelings for her brother. I could see the sadness and loss, and knew that at times like this speaking about the pain could help some. Not a lot, but some. I spent an hour with her on the topic before I redirected the conversation.

“Child, if you don’t want to study magic, then what do you want to do?”

“Be a queen!” she said excitedly and sat up in her chair. Her energy at that moment reminded me of when she had first traveled with me from Sena City to the tower. She would ask questions as if she were seeing the world for the first time.

I chuckled at her answer, and she looked abashed.

“I know, I jest, but at the same time I dream, father,” Lilly said, and looked towards the ceiling in thought as she continued to speak. “I dream of being the ruler of a kingdom, and everyone looking up to me. Of knights and mages bowing and taking my orders. It’s silly, I know. Queens are born, the title isn’t something that can be achieved through study or hard work. It’s a little girl's dream when I’m now a woman.”

I searched my mind for any way I could answer her, a suggested method of study or a way to progress down that path, but it wasn’t something I was familiar with. I didn’t know what classes or positions would allow the young lady to grow into a noble. I would need to discuss it with Count Wilchrest or even Duchess Eiston to see if it were even possible. Perhaps a marriage into a title of some sort? I certainly had the money to afford another barony if such a deal was offered, but, given the ongoing war and the coming Pestilence, there was no telling what the future would hold.

Yet, for this young lady, I was willing to try.