I was still angry at the nature elemental as I carried on up the stairs. I berated myself for the modicum of trust I had granted it, thinking that the threat of death would keep it in line. Nature elementals, unlike the others, could not return to the Plane of Nature if killed. Other elementals could, so long as the gem that they were summoned through remained whole after their destruction.

I had once spent long hours to study why they were required to be bonded to an existing plant to be summoned and why killing that plant killed them as well. That was the impetus for my foray into the Plane of Nature. Yet, even after that misguided adventure, I was still no closer to a confirmed answer. Suppositions, I had plenty.

The two floors above my assistants’ quarters contained a library, a bath, and my quarters. Despite my earlier instructions to bring tonight’s meal to my quarters, I wanted to prepare for tomorrow's conversation with Lilly. I was certain I had a tome or scroll that detailed the effects of bonding with a parasitic plant familiar, and that would be great reading material for the young woman.

It was in my library that I found my assistant Philipe. The young man was tall, with freckles and wavy red hair, and was sitting at a table studying one of the tomes from my library. I had warded the books so that a certain level of skill was needed to access the ones that contained higher-tier knowledge, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t pull literature from the shelves if he were capable of it.

Upon noticing me, he stood and bowed his head, “Good afternoon, master.”

I greeted him with a nod in return. I didn’t trust myself to keep my anger over Lilly and the nature elemental from my tone. That he sought to improve his magic by studying in his free time was something I appreciated, and I didn’t want to interrupt him further.

It only took a few minutes to pull the scroll, a journal from a third-tier green mage entitled ‘Record of the Creeping Moss,’ a long and tedious read from an overeager woman who eventually succumbed to her own familiar. The final entry was written by the adventurer who found and slew the shambling corpse only to realize that it had once been a mage.

After I sat the scroll on the table, I looked to see I had several missives that I had not read since my return to the tower. Notably, none were from any of the gem merchants or academy mages that had once belabored me with their tedious requests. Instead, I found three requests for trade agreements, two requests from mages seeking to join my ‘conclave’, a missive from Baroness Nix and Count Wilchrest, a fancier scroll that was a missive from Duchess Eiston, and, the final scroll of heavily carved jade that came from the King.

I glanced at the trade agreements first. Two, for fish, I would redirect to my former assistant Kine who was an alderman for the village that had grown around my tower. The third was for pottery, and I would pass it along to Ram’s wife to take to her clan for consideration. I did need to find a source of quartz to carry out my agreement with Alred to construct portals, but that was something I could assign to another tomorrow.

The two missives from mages seeking to join my ‘conclave’ confounded me. I didn’t recall having a conclave unless one counted the tower I had granted to Loralie and the others residence in. I set those scrolls aside, to respond to later. The two did much to extol their experience and knowledge, but neither was superior in any way to any of the teachers at my old academy, the Arcanum of Elementalus.

With the easier mail dealt with, I had two missives left. The one from the Duchess was a congratulatory letter that promised to deliver four more couches to me within the season, along with a formal confirmation of Count Wilchrest’s new title, Count of the Western Baronies. With only a need to send thanks in return, it required no immediate action.

The next scroll was from Count Wilchrest and Baroness Nix. Given that I had seen them within the month, I thought it strange they would write me so soon after the battle. It was unlikely that any Mirktallean armies had arrived at Gold Castle already, if Mirktal was even willing to risk more of their forces. I opened the scroll to find a short message written in Count Wilchrest’s handwriting.

To the illustrious Wizard Nemon Fargus, Master of the Arcane, Champion of Western Sena, Savior of House Shielding, Hero of the Battle of Gold Castle,

It is with great honor that we announce to you our pending nuptials. Countess Nix and I have the honor of joining our two houses this coming autumn. Our wedding will be preceded by a ball to coincide with the local fall harvest festivals.

We cordially invite you to attend in a place of high honor, to be seated at our table during the feast. We would be delighted for you to join us and witness the ceremony. Your attendance would be as great a blessing as any couple could wish for, and our joy would be exuberant should you participate.

Baron Froom has already confirmed he will be in attendance.

Count Wilchrest and Baroness Nix

The message itself was rather standard for an invitation. It was the last line that caused my eyebrow to twitch. I drummed my fingers on the table. Certainly, my former apprentice’s attendance didn’t necessitate mine. I would attend or not based on my own desires and events as they unfold. Yet, even if I didn’t attend, I would be responsible for providing a wedding gift. That Baron Froom was attending would mean that my gift would need to be superior in every way. My pride wouldn’t allow for anything less. I spent a few moments considering different ideas before I placed the invitation down on the table for future consideration.

The message from the King was last. One that filled me with an anxious hesitation, as we had not parted on good terms. The scroll was locked by an enchantment, something to notify when it was opened and ensure that the receiver was the only one that could do so. I didn’t expect any wizard tricks from the sender, not like I would from my colleagues, but at the same time I wasn’t certain that there wouldn’t be a trap of some sort inside. The locking enchantment was nothing that I couldn’t bypass, a third-tier spell that I wasn’t entirely familiar with but could piece together or take apart easily enough.

I considered it for several moments before making a decision. I took the scroll with me to the roof and set up several protective wards. The moonstone on the pedestal in the center of my roof was enchanted to prevent scrying, and I doubted any mage could pierce its veil. By the time I had finished my preparations, the scroll case was resting inside a magical circle on the stone floor and the sun was setting. I stopped for an hour to watch and to eat a wonderful meal of beef and broccoli slathered with thick gravy that a servant had brought to me while I worked.

When I finished dining, I ordered the roof cleared. With a deep breath, I cast my spell to unlock the King’s missive in a way that would leave no notice I had done so. I was fully prepared for a trap inside, but nothing happened. I then followed it with several other detection spells to tell me if it was poisoned or cursed, but I detected neither. I racked my mind for any other possible answers, and eventually shielded myself from the possibility of hidden scribe skills as I approached.

The first and last time I had met with this King Sena, I had refused a direct order from the man. Certainly, I had valid reasons for doing so, but I knew that he had felt insulted. Enough to kill my former assistant Walker, and to send assassins to kill me. If he had taken my warnings of the coming Pestilence to action, then perhaps I would have been more trusting. Yet, he hadn’t. In fact, he withdrew the Senan armies east, away from the Duchy of Eiston where I lived, in an attempt to force me into the war with Mirktal. An action that resulted in the death of Duke Eiston and left three Mirktallean armies free to march across the countryside. Armies that would have undoubtedly arrived at my tower if they weren’t stopped.

As I carefully opened the scroll, I had a wide range of possibilities in mind for what the message it might contain. Everything from being declared an outlaw to congratulating me on my part in defeating the kingdom’s enemies. Even with such a wide range of expectations, I still found myself surprised enough to wonder if the man had gone mad. In my hands, I held a summons to answer to the king under an accusation of treasonous cooperation with the Seafolk.