I awoke feeling refreshed. The breakfast and morning tea, I ate without testing myself again. I had learned my lesson, for now. Even if I felt disgusted with myself for my reliance on the magical drink. The next few days were spent in between different tasks. After dinner, I’d sit with Lilly and instruct her on new subjects in the library. I followed this by discussing what Kine learned from his studies while we watched the sunset over my reflection pool from the top of the tower. The mornings I spent working to complete my Hall of Valor, though I still had a beast tooth the size of my leg that was too large for a pedestal and too small for an alcove I needed to place. The afternoons were spent reviewing my experiments.

The snakes were coming along nicely, but it would take a year or two before the longevity spell overtook their natural lifespan. The swine were in the same circumstances, a place where only observation and notetaking were needed. The wolves, however, were a different story. The pit where I had placed four earth mana-producing elementals was a failure. Nearly half the wolves succumbed to petrified limbs and the rest all sported some magical deformity, such as mud instead of hair or a propensity to try and chew rock. That didn’t bode well at all for my experiment, as it showed that their bodies could be overcome by mana. If there was no internal barrier to stop that from occurring, there was nothing to apply to my own longevity spell. I ended the remaining living wolves in that pit with a blast of fire and redirected the first-tier earth elementals into mud bodies to patrol the edges of my shallow reflection lake for monsters.

I also finished with the mounting of my moonstone onto the tower top. An arcane network of spellwork etched into the stone took up the entire center of the rooftop, with a jutting spike of rock supporting the moonstone at the very center. Here, the stone would gather lunar mana to store every night and use it to create a barrier to prevent scrying. I had hoped to complete it sooner, but the standard fares of life seemed to offer constant impediment. The spellwork could also be used to cast an advanced illusion to hide the tower should I need it to, though the stone would need to be more than half-filled and it would only last a week.

It was three days after my failed test with the tea when Walker returned. The young man came through the front door as if he’d run the whole way, his blonde hair a windblown mess. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face.

“Master!” He called as I was going over more complicated words with Lilly, ensuring she understood their meaning.

“We’ll stop here for the night, young lady,” I told her as I rose from my sitting chair to see to Walker.

I found him downstairs drinking from a mug of water in heavy gulps, my servant Chelsea standing by with a disapproving air. The first-floor room now seemed a clear space with only some crates and supplies of miscellaneous things that didn’t fit into a pantry or any of the alcoves. I would need to do something about that soon, as this room was the first place a guest would see should I be unfortunate enough to have one. Seeing me, Walker hurried to swallow and shoved his mug into Chelsea’s hands before giving me a bow.

“Is something the matter, assistant?” I asked, clasping my hands behind my back.

“Master, I bring word from Woodhoot that—no the baroness sent a missive—and it’s important, but so is what’s happening in Woodhoot. I just don’t know which is more important.” He answered with a helpless look between heavy breaths.

I held out my hand, “Let’s start by delivering the message from our baroness. I can read it later, but you can say when asked it was the first thing you did upon seeing me.”

“Yes, master!” He turned to the side and retrieved a scroll from his bag, the wax seal clear on its top, “I gave your letter to the Baroness, it was the first thing I did when I got to Lark. I don’t know what you said in it, but the townsfolk said they could hear the shouting between her and Songmaster Tek from outside her manor. They said he rode off towards Eiston in the middle of the night. She summoned me the next day to give that to you, and I could tell she’d been crying.” Walker spoke quickly after handing me the scroll.

I nodded, “You performed well there, then. And Woodhoot?”

He grimaced, “Sir, the, um, the Bents are there. They might be headed this way.”

“Fallen Seagods!” Chelsea exclaimed, dropping the mug on the floor to cover her mouth with her hands.

“The Bents?” I inquired. I hadn’t heard of that. A new monster? If it was horrible enough to frighten my servant, then that meant the monster has been around long enough to establish a folk tale. Only something strong wouldn’t have been dealt with by guards or Scouts or adventurers already.

Walker just shook his head, “They’re just… horrible. So horrible. I can’t even describe how…” he shuddered instead of finishing the sentence.

I saw no point in having the poor young man relive a traumatic memory so soon after it happened, “Very well, you’ve done well. Get some food and some rest.”

“Come, dear,” Chelsea said and led him away.

I left the Baroness’s message on the table in my library on the way to meet Kine for our evening discourse. Kine’s knowledge base was steadily growing, though he had a tendency to see what he was learning through the eyes of an adventurer. His first thoughts on any new material were almost always how to apply the knowledge to fighting monsters. It was something I was trying to steer him away from, as a magical anvil and hammer that would make all swords better was much more valuable in my opinion than one single magical sword. Perhaps it’s the tales of heroes that shade too much of the human culture in the kingdom.

Afterward, I rallied myself to open the Baroness’s missive.

My esteemed Alderman, Great Wizard Nemon Fargus, Hero of Two Wars,

It is a great honor to host someone as famed as yourself as a landholder in my territory. None can contest that your own merits within the kingdom supersede even the histories of my great house. The privacy of your lands shall be respected. Likewise, you were correct that you are exempt from any such mandated service, and I will do my utmost to ensure such.

Your polite declination of attendance to the Ducal Ball was received and understood, and I harbor no ill feelings for it. Likewise, if you send one of your assistants to the Alderman’s council they will happily and readily be received.

It is regarding the communication with Songmaster Tek that I regret the need to send you this correspondence. I communicated your words to him, and ensured he understood fully. However, he took umbrage with the matter, seeing it as a chain on his creative endeavors. He and I argued well into the night over the matter, but he would just not see reason. Like a coward, he fled to other cities to seek fame and fortune, thinking his skill is unappreciated.

I write to beseech you to turn away any acts of retribution planned, for I love the man. I suspect that his talents in music are not as he thinks, and he will soon return to me on hands and knees much more amenable to conversation. It is only his standing that prevented our marriage in the first place, as I know he loves me with all his heart as well. Should he foolishly continue with his song, I would consider it a great favor for you to turn a blind eye to the matter. A favor from a house as poor as Lark is not worth much, I’d imagine, but it is the most valued thing I can offer you. And I offer it from the bottom of my pleading heart.

Cordially,

Baroness Lady Olivine Lark

I sat the scroll down with a sigh. It seemed to me that having a relationship with a [Bard] always seems to coincide with a sense of the melodramatic. Honestly, after writing the letter in response to her first message, I’d put no thought into the matter. I never would have sought out vengeance for something so petty. Rather, I’d just zap him a few times if I saw him later to express my displeasure. He was no Norath the Loud, who I had to sink into a river with shoes of stone.

I considered writing a response right away, but couldn’t very well think of a good one. Did the baroness’s favor mean anything to me? Not especially. Also, I had the Bents to concern myself with, whatever type of monster that was. I spent a few more hours that night installing more wards throughout the tower.