The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (28 page)

Mages.

Most likely
the group the gate guard had talked about when I arrived at the
city. The must have sensed us approaching because they had stopped
to wait for us.

“
There’s a group of Mages up ahead and they appear to be
waiting for us,” I said to Donkor.

“
Perhaps they are lost,” he said.

Maybe they can shed some light on why the School of the
Elemental is in Nesqa
, Cathy
said.

Especially
seeing as the tension between Balendar and Nesqa is ending.

Check with Donkor,
Cathy
said.

“
Were you there when the Mages talked to the Emperor?” I asked
Donkor.

“
Yes, I like it in the palace. The rocks are nice and cool,”
he answered.

“
What did they want?” I asked.

“
They were talking about the plants in the forest,” he
answered. “They wanted to harvest the plants. I don’t see why, they
are mostly poisonous and would only harm people.”

He just answered his own question,
Cathy said.

“
Hello,” Donkor called out as we approached the group of
Mages. “Are you lost?”

The group of
three stood in a defensive formation that didn’t waver when they
saw us approach. Apparently a giant and a single Mage wasn’t enough
to get worried.

“
No we are not,” the leader of the group answered. He’s hair
was starting to go grey as he was taking on the look of a
stereotypical teacher of the Order of Magic. He was accompanied by
another Elemental Mage and a female Mage dressed in the green robes
of the School of the Natural.

“
Oh, okay,” Donkor said as he started to walk past them. The
Mages blocked his path. “Excuse me, but we are in a
hurry.”

“
And where would a Nesqian and a Keeper need to be in such a
hurry?” the leader asked.

“
We need to save Princess Morowa from the bandits,” Donkor
answered bluntly.

“
We had heard the Princess had been kidnapped but we thought
she was in Balendar,” the leader said intrigued.

“
Andy brought a map showing where the Princess is,” Donkor
explained. “We need to hurry and make sure she is safe.”

The leader
rubbed his chin in thought. “Perhaps you should give me the map,
Keeper. We are better prepared for a fight against bandits.”

“
And what, exactly, would make you want to do this?” I asked
crossing my arms.

“
The Princess needs to be returned,” the leader said
unconvincingly.

I stayed
silent and studied the two other Mages. They both looked young but
they still had more experience then me. I don’t see how Donkor
could be useful in the fight unless I distract the Mages enough.
Luckily they don’t have a Spiritual Mage with them for
protection.

Trust the leader to be prepared for that,
Cathy said
. I remember one older
Mage I possessed. Despite being a Demonology Mage he was still very
skilled in Elemental. It’s possible the leader knows a few
protection spells.

The leader
shrugged from my silence. “Plus, we could use her as a bargaining
chip to get what we want. I hear the old fool has quite a weakness
for his little girl.”

Donkor
unsheathed his sword and the young Elemental Mage raised a hand
that was on fire. “Moro is not a possession to be used against
people,” Donkor said. “You will stay away from her.”

He’s a proud one, isn’t he?
Cathy
said.
No fear at all standing up to three
Mages.

“
Call off the giant, Keeper,” the leader said looking at me.
“Give me the map and his death won’t be on your hands.”

It is starting
to look like a fight will be the only solution.

You have a plan
? Cathy
asked.

Take out the
Nature Mage quickly.

Maybe it is time to use the staff
?
Cathy asked.

“
I can’t give you the map,” I said as I slid the backpack off
my shoulders. “I made a promise to the Emperor to bring her back
safely and that’s what I am going to do.”

“
We took down a group of Spiritual Mages in Balendar,” the
leader smiled. “I think we can handle you.”

The Nature
Mage raised her hands and I could feel her power started to flow to
the trees. I removed my hat and robe and picked up the staff.
Scales quickly covered my entire body causing the leader to
smirk.

“
My, my,” he said. “Finally, something
interesting.”

I pointed the
staff at him and launched a Pulse through it. The staff jerked
violently as the Pulse shot out of the tip. The leader threw up a
magic shield but the energy ripped through it knocking him onto his
back.

“
Whoa,” I said looking at the staff.

“
Kill them,” the leader commanded.

The Elemental
Mage extended his hand and launched a Fire Ball at Donkor. Donkor
raised his sword and the Fire Ball deflected off the blade and back
at the Mage. The Mage tried to dodge but the fire hit his robe
causing it to burst into flame. Donkor swung his blade around and
cleaved his target in two.

I stared in
shock until a vine grabbed my scaled arm. My arm began to tingle
and I swung my arm around the vine more to get a better grip on it.
The tingling grew intense and I forced power into it causing the
vine to light on fire. The vine burned off my arm and I turned my
staff to the Nature Mage. She held her hands up waiting for my
attack with a worried expression. I grabbed the staff with both
hands and drove the end into the ground forcing power into the
Earth.

The ground
shuddered as a trail streaked towards the Mage. She tried to Dispel
it but the power was too great and knocked her backwards into a
tree. Reaching out with my hand, I commanded the vines to wrap her
up against the tree trunk. She screamed but rapidly grew quiet as
her mouth and eyes locked in the open position.

The leader had
returned to his feet and was launching Ice Bolts and Fire Balls at
Donkor. Donkor was blocking the attack with ease but was unable to
counterattack. I pointed the staff at the leader but hesitated, not
wanting to hit Donkor. I ran towards him hoping to use the staff as
a melee weapon. The leader caught me out of the corner of his eye
and launched a Fire Ball my way. I blocked it with my scaled
hand.

With it now
two on one, the leader backed up and watched both of us with quick
darting eyes. Donkor kept advancing and I just held the staff
pointed at the leader. When I had I clear shot, I charged the staff
with power and launched another Pulse. The leader dodged out of the
way and Donkor lunged at him. With speed uncommon to such a large
man, he deftly decapitated the leader.

The body
collapsed to the ground and Donkor turned around and pointed his
sword at me. “Moumno,” he said staring at me both in fear and
sadness.

“
No, no, no,” I said quickly as my scales disappeared into
flesh again. “It is only a spell to protect me from
magic.”

“
What about the power?” he asked.

“
It was just the staff,” I explained holding it up. “It is a
staff made from the Forge of Kings in Balendar. I’m told that the
forge makes weapons more powerful and magical. It must have been
able to make my power stronger, trust me, I’m not THAT
powerful.”

“
How can I trust you?” Donkor asked lowering his sword a
little. “Moumno are known for tricking people.”

“
Demons also have glowing white eyes, trust me, I’ve fought
possessed Mages before,” I explained.

He stared at
me, struggling to make a decision.

You might want to change tactics,
Cathy said.

“
Look in your heart,” I said softly. “You said you wanted to
help me because you felt that I was a good guy. Has your heart lied
to you before?”

He lowered his
sword. “I may not know much but my heart won’t lie to me like that.
If you wanted to hurt me why save me for last. You would have
attacked me with the others.”

I nodded and
he returned his sword to its sheath on his back. He looked over the
battlefield but shook his head as he looked at the Nature Mage
stuck to the tree.

“
Poor girl,” he said

“
Yeah, what happened with her?” I asked as I put on my robe
and hat.

“
It’s the Kaliba tree,” he said. “Vines cause slow painful
death after it freezes you.”

Too bad we can't take a section of vine with us,
Cathy said.
Sounds
useful.

“
I saw her attack you with the vines but you still move,”
Donkor said intrigued.

“
The scales,” I replied. “They protect against magic and
poisons, for a short time.”

“
Handy,” he said.

“
Very,” I said picking up the backpack again. “Now, you
mentioned a river.”

Chapter 24

Donkor took me
to the river where I enjoyed a long awaited drink. After I was
done, he cleared the blood off of his cleaver and I had the chance
to talk to him about it.

He seemed
confused that I would be impressed with the reflective power of the
sword stating that it has always done that. When I asked where he
got it, he simply answered that his mother had given it to him as a
gift when he started adventuring. Studying the mighty cleaver
revealed the white iron under the years of stains and use. He held
a weapon that had been made in the Forge of Kings.

The King of
Balendar must have sent this as a gift to the Emperor’s family
during more peaceful times. Perhaps it had always been intend as a
gift for Donkor, Cathy had suggested.

With the sun
slowly setting, we pushed onward through the forest. The nocturnal
sounds of the forest growing louder as the animals and insects
started to wake up. I tried to stretch out my mind to find any
danger but the hum of all the insect life was too distracting to
narrow down on anything specific. We were relying heavily on
Donkor’s knowledge. As the darkness finally took hold of the land,
we broke out of the forest into the small village of Bauda.

Torches burned
along the outside of the village to deter the forest wildlife. The
clear land must, at one point, have been part of the forest but was
now cultivated farmland and small bungalows. The night watchmen
recognized Donkor as we approached but kept their eyes on me.

“
I always like coming to Bauda,” Donkor smiled as he looked
over the tiny farming community. “It’s so much more peaceful then
the Kays.”

“
Will we be able to find a place to rest for the night?” I
asked.

“
There is a nice old lady that allows me to sleep when it gets
dark,” Donkor answered. “Do not worry. She will let you sleep there
too.”

“
That’s good,” I said. “It will be better then in a
barn.”

“
You can if you want,” he shrugged. “I don’t recommend it
though. They are not as comfortable as they look.”

I’ll agree to that,
Cathy
chuckled.

I gave Donkor
a look because I couldn’t give it to Cathy.

Don’t worry, I know you are doing it,
Cathy said.

Good.

I’ve slept everywhere in my time,
Cathy said proudly.

...any place
that was surprising?

A bed of straw,
Cathy
answered.

Really?

Yes
, she said.
Horribly uncomfortable
.

I chuckled and
Donkor gave me a weird look. I waved him off dismissively as we
stopped in front of a large bungalow with a small patch covering a
hole in the roof. He knocked on the door and an older woman
answered it.

“
Simpwe Donkor,” she smiled. “What are you doing way out here
at this time?”

“
My friend, Andy, and I are going to save the Princess,” he
answered.

“
Andy?” she said confused as she looked around Donkor’s big
frame to find me. I wave when she noticed me. “Good lord, there IS
someone there. I thought you were travelling with your imaginary
friend again.”

“
No, Malu left two seasons ago to Kay Naro for study,” Donkor
explained.

“
That’s right, that’s right,” she nodded. “Please come in you
two.”

Donkor entered
the building and I hesitated for a second before entering.

Uh...

I know
, Cathy said.
I heard it too.

The modest
house felt like home the second you walked into it. Decorated with
a lifetime of possessions, it suited the grandmotherly look of the
old woman. Her life story would be an interesting one to hear.

Well, we don’t have all season so you’ll have to ask some
other time,
Cathy said.

Don’t worry, I
won’t start anything.

“
Please, make yourself comfortable, Andy,” the old woman said.
“I will throw on some tea.”

“
Thank you, Ms...?” I said.

“
Just call me Abuya,” she smiled. “No need for
formalities.”

She stepped
into the kitchen and I followed Donkor to the table. I dropped my
pack to the ground and sat down on an available chair. Donkor
dropped his pack and sat beside me while we watched the old woman
work around the kitchen.