The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (10 page)

“
Interesting,” Master Larose said scratching his chin. “If
such a creature was being used by the Nao we would have learnt
about it sooner. Something more sinister is happening in the forest
that we need to investigate.”

“
This is one of the rare times that I agree with you, Larose,”
Master Pryce said making it sound like more like a taunt then an
actual agreement. “We can expect something or someone is corrupting
the local wildlife.”

“
Then we shouldn’t waste any time,” Master Gerth said. “I’ll
send my Mages to make sure it isn’t a Demon corruption that’s
affecting the forest.”

Cathy scoffed.
Not any Demon I
know.

Shush.

“
If it is, it will be a first,” Master Pryce said.

“
Then I will send some Mages as well,” Master Baker
said.

“
We should all send Mages,” Master Larose agreed. “It could be
anything and it would be best not to face it
unprepared.”

“
Agreed,” Master Pryce said. “I don’t think we need to do a
formal vote. Have your Mages meet mine by the Sun’s highest
point.”

“
Agreed,” the other Masters said.

“
Meeting adjourned,” Master Pryce said as he stood up and
headed out of the room.

The other
Masters stood up and left the room one after the other while The
Keeper continued to write.

“
Did you have anything you needed me to do today?” I asked The
Keeper.

He finished
writing and rolled up the scrolls. “Maybe. First, I’ll need to
check a couple of things. Continue to familiarize yourself in the
archives, I’ll find you when I need you.”

“
Very well,” I nodded before I stood up.

I headed out
of the meeting room and back up to my quarters. This would be a
good time to clean up the ritual and return the items. I gathered
up the items that needed to be washed and brought them to the small
bathroom. In the tub, I washed the rags and mortar and pestle
quickly and brought them back to my room after checking to make
sure The Keeper hadn’t returned. I grabbed the goat’s fur and
returned everything to their proper place in the Tower.

Happy that the
evidence of the night’s events was out of my room, I grabbed my
tome and headed for the spells archive for further studying. A lot
of the pages had been filled by the rituals but I made sure to save
plenty of space so I could add some ancient spells and maybe some
alchemy recipes.

You have a very interesting Tower,
Cathy said as I sat down at the desk and opened my
tome.
And a very interesting job. This
could have all been mine if I was able to possess you.

Well
technically, you DO possess me and all this knowledge IS yours
because whatever I learn, you learn.

I suppose,
she said.
It would be better if I controlled you
though.

But then I
would be bored and distracting you.

Still a fair trade off in my opinion,
Cathy said.

Realizing that
I had just been standing in a spot and not doing anything, I
quickly grabbed a tome from a bookcase and brought it over to the
desk. I sat down in the chair and starting flipping through the
spells.

I’m going to
have to learn to talk to you and still do other stuff. If I always
stop what I’m doing and stare at the wall people are going to start
suspecting things.

You’re too paranoid,
Cathy
said.
People are too concerned about
themselves to notice.

It’s just
nerve wracking.

If it’s too much for you then let me take over,
Cathy pitched.

I’d rather
not.

Then man up and do it,
Cathy
said.

She was right.
I...

Of course, I’m right,
Cathy
said.
The sooner you learn that, the
better.

I sighed.
Maybe I can find a spell to help shield my thoughts from you.

But they are so much fun,
Cathy
giggled.

You know, for
a Demon, you are very much like a girl.

I’m still the aspect of the wife from your dreams,
she started.
But at the
same time, I am also a part of you. So technically we are both a
guy and a girl at the same time
.

Great.

Hey, hey,
she said suddenly
shocked.
Don’t get all depressed on me
here. I take it back, stop making me feel like this.

Ah, so I do
have some power over you.

She sighed
. I suppose you
do.

That means
you’ll have to be nice to me.

Considering the circumstances, I HAVE been very nice to
you,
Cathy said offended.

Your right,
you could have been EXTREMLY unpleasant but you haven’t and I thank
you.

Your welcome,
Cathy said,
even if it didn’t sound sincere. Oh, and you
missed an interesting spell two pages ago. You need to focus
better.

I sighed and
flipped back two pages. The spell was indeed interesting. It was a
spell that allowed the Mage to cast a giant bubble around them so
they could stay underwater and still breathe. I quickly wrote it
down in my tome.

Good choice.
Let me know if you see others.

We continued
to search through the tomes gathering as many spells that seemed
handy to know. Considering that I may never be in 90% of the
situations that calls on these types of spells, the tome was
turning into something that would be just useless for me. But it is
still my job to make sure the ancient wisdom isn’t forgotten. Maybe
a Teacher would like my book as a training aid.

As I put away
a tome of Elemental spells, The Keeper charged through the door
making me jump. He seemed nervous and stressed out but smiled when
he saw me.

“
Ah, Andy, I finally found you,” he said as he walked over to
the desk. “I need you to do something.”

“
Ok,” I said. I finished putting away the tome and walked over
to the desk.

“
This is going to be dangerous,” he continued. “I would do it
myself but I’m not as spry as I once was.”

I chuckled.
“You handle those stairs well.”

“
Bah,” he said with a dismissive wave. “No, I didn’t and you
are a fool if you think so.”

“
Ok,” I smiled. “What is it?”

“
I need you to gather four items for me,” he said sounding
nervous.

“
From where in the Tower?” I asked getting
concerned.

He shook his
head. “No, I need you to leave the Tower to get them.”

I felt my eyes
grow wide in shock. “I have to go outside the Tower? What am I
getting?”

“
Four rare items needed for...,” The Keeper trailed off.
“Look, you saw the tension at the beginning of the meeting. We both
know that Master Larose’s Mages are as good as dead. Master Pryce
will disguise it as wildlife or a Nesqian ambush but Larose will
see right through that. He’ll call for the Ousting Clause on Master
Pryce.”

“
But Master Pryce won’t stand for that,” I said. “He’ll start
a war.”

“
Exactly, which is why I need you to gather some items,” The
Keeper said. “If Master Pryce tries to start something at the
Ousting, the Masters could call upon the Right to
Silence.”

“
They are going to Silence a Master?” I asked shocked. “Can
that even be done? Isn’t it hard to perform the Silencing ritual of
someone so powerful?”

“
Ok, slow down and yes, it takes a great deal of Magic and
four Masters just to do it,” The Keeper explained nervously. “For
three Masters to Silence another Master they need the help of the
four items.”

“
Ok,” I nodded, “I’ll do it. What are the items?”

The Keeper
looked relieved as he pulled out a scrap of paper. “Thank you. They
are: a vial of water from the Sacred Well in Szwen forest, a tail
feather of an Evenawk from the original royal bloodline, a Demon’s
Bane flower from the islands in Nesqa and a Staff crafted from the
Forge of Kings in Balendar.”

I looked at
The Keeper stunned. “I take it these are the hardest things on the
whole continent to find?”

“
Not the hardest,” The Keeper shrugged. “Not the easiest but
definitely not the hardest.”

“
Ok,” I said rubbing my forehead. “Tell me about these items.
How am I supposed to find them?”

“
Just go to each region and ask,” The Keeper said in a matter
of fact tone. “You bear the mark of a Keeper and are a member of
the Order of Magic. You’ll be welcome everywhere. Just ask the
leaders for their help and they should do it. The walking is going
to be the hard part.”

Why don’t I
believe that?

That was MY line
, Cathy
said.

“
Ok,” I said. “What about the items?”

“
What about them?” The Keeper asked worried.

“
Anything I should know about them?” I asked.

The Keeper
thought it over. “Well, the Staff should be the easiest one. Ask
the King, they should make one for you.”

“
What is the Forge of Kings?” I asked.

“
A rare, magical anomaly,” The Keeper answered. “They say the
very ground itself burns hotter than any fire that can be created.
It is also said to make the finest weapons and armour in the whole
land. This is why it is controlled and only used by the Kings of
Balendar.”

“
And they’ll just make me a staff?” I asked unsure.

“
They should,” The Keeper said frankly. “They’ve made staffs
for Masters in the past.”

“
What about the flower then?” I asked.

“
Demon’s Bane is very rare and considered to be the deadliest
poison in Kalenden,” The Keeper explained. “It is used by Nesqian
Priests to protect against the wildlife of Nesqa. They say it could
kill a Demon too.”

Cathy
laughed.

“
The tail feather is pretty self explanatory,” The Keeper
continued. “The royal bloodline still exists. Here’s hoping it
hasn’t been too diluted over the centuries. This is an ancient
ritual and hasn’t been used in a long time.”

“
What if it doesn’t work?” I asked.

“
I’ll have a backup plan, don’t worry,” he said waving
dismissively.

“
And the vial from the Sacred Well?” I asked.

“
That will be tricky,” he nodded. “The Sacred Well is the best
guarded secret of the Nao people. We know it has extremely powerful
magic but we are never allowed to study it.”

“
And I’m supposed to get a vial of water from it?” I asked
sceptically.

“
The Nao will take care of that,” he said confidently. “They
have done it for me in the past. You are going to have to earn
their trust before you get it though. They are always
suspicious.”

I let out a
long breath. “When do you want me to head out?”

“
Immediately,” he said relieved. “I’ve packed you a bag of
basic supplies. Take whatever else you want and get going. But be
careful. You heard the meeting; it is chaotic out there right now.
The Order is going to be fixing the problems and you should be able
to slip through the cracks and go about your business unnoticed.
Just remember what you learned in your classes and you’ll be
fine.”

Uh oh...

Well, that’s reassuring,
Cathy said
sarcastically.

Chapter 9

The Keeper’s
pack of ‘basic supplies’ was just that: a sleeping roll and some
provisions. I grabbed a couple of robes and my tome of spells and
rituals to fill out the empty spaces. When I was ready, I headed
down the staircases to the ground floor. I was a little out of
breath by the time I made it to the front door.

And to think,
I have to trek across the countryside. I can’t even handle the
stairs.

I thought running away from every fight you’ve ever been in
would have left you in better shape,
Cathy
pointed out.

You make me
sound like a coward.

She chuckled.
Aren’t you?

I sighed and
opened the front door. The Keeper was standing just outside looking
over the landscape. I walked up to him trying not to breathe too
heavily.

“
The Archanion Field,” The Keeper said dreamily as I stopped
beside him. “How I wish I could walk through it one more
time.”

I looked out
over the lush green grass and the rolling hills of the Archanion
Field. It was a beautiful sight to see and I was amazed that such a
place could exist just outside the Tower without me noticing.

The Keeper
shook his head and turned to look at me. “Now, this is your first
time out here, isn’t it?”

“
Yes,” I answered.

“
So you’ll need this,” he said as he pulled a rolled scroll
from the inside of his robe and handed it to me. “This is my map of
Kalenden. It will show you the best routes to get to each region as
well as some small towns that you should be able to get supplies
from, which reminds me.” He pulled out a small coin purse and
tossed it my way. “It’s not a lot but it should get you by until
you can sell the equipment of the first bandit stupid enough to try
and attack you.”