When we entered Ilfred’s quarters, I had to do a double take. We’d checked out every floor on the way up the tower, and this one wasn’t part of it. The room was akin to the safe rooms of the tutorial dungeon. Small, but well furnished. The circular layout was lined with real windows. There was none of the fakery of the lower levels, the breezes passing through the windows teased the curtains which hung over the openings. The size itself would be less than a quarter of the larger floors, providing a massive structural weakness if it was real. I chalked the impossible dimensions up to magic and left it alone. The place had messed with my head more than enough already.

“Come, sit,” Ilfred offered us seats by the fire. “Do you enjoy wine?”

“I enjoy all alcohol,” I replied.

Sun declined, preferring to stay sober. I caught her looking at me strangely and followed her eyes to the sorcerer. She tilted her head slightly in question as the wine sloshed into a mug. It dawned on me that she wasn’t entirely trusting of Ilfred, not that he had given us cause to suspect anything untoward. I took her unspoken advice when the drink was handed over, making a show of drinking the measure down while actually stashing the liquid in my pack.

“Someone’s thirsty,” Ilfred chuckled.

“It’s been a crazy day,” I offered as an explanation.

“You can say that again. I didn’t want to discuss the matter in the company of the others until I’d had the chance to talk to you both alone.”

“What matter is that?” I asked.

“I can tell you where Alwyn is,” he replied, then quickly amended the point. “I mean, I can tell you roughly where she is. While we were studying, our essences became so attuned that we became almost symbiotic. She would know what I was thinking, and I her, though not to such a level. It happens only very rarely between sorcerers.”

“But you didn’t see she was about to betray you?” I asked, incredulously.

Ilfred’s cheeks bloomed. “I didn’t. As her powers grew, I think she started to hide anything from me except the mundane. I was only seeing the surface, like watching flowers floating on a pond, unaware of the fish darting about below. Or in her case, slimy eels,” he muttered.

“And where is she now?”

He sighed deeply, moving to a map on the wall. “There,” he answered, pointing to Whitespear Mountain.

“So she is with Gutrender!”

“It appears so. And if I’m being honest with myself, I’m not entirely sure she wasn’t with him before the war began.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I never spied on her whereabouts, even though I could. There were times when she would go away for days and weeks at a time. I’d always assumed she was visiting the fortresses on the western fringe of the kingdom, but after making some discreet enquiries during dinner, the stewards claimed she had never set foot in their placements.”

“You think she was with Gutrender?”

“Unless she has a hidden lover I knew nothing about, where else could she have been?” Ilfred shook his head in disgust. “How could I have been so blind?”

“We never think our friends are going to do us dirty… Until they do,” I replied.

“And now our mission is made all the harder for it!” he snapped, angry at his own failings.

“You still have your powers, don’t you?”

“We do,” he acknowledged, “but The Timeless Tower is like the beating heart of it all. Our materials are here. Our scrolls. The herbs for our potions.”

I wasn’t seeing the link between his words and the expression of defeat plastered on his face. It looked like someone had been sick in his shoe after a heavy bender and he’d slipped it on without knowing.

“It’s all still here,” said Sun, saving me the trouble.

“It’s all still here while we’re still here,” he replied.

My head was starting to ache. “You’re speaking to two people who aren’t sorcerers,” I said. “Explain it slowly.”

“Ah, forgive me! When you mentioned you knew about our portal, I figured you understood how it works. Alwyn has taken the homeward stones. I have no idea if she tossed them from the cliff, hid them at the bottom of the ocean, or has them in a bag with her. I’d be inclined to think the latter.”

“Ok, but what’s so special about them? You said you can send us near the port in the morning, so it still works.”

“Without them, we are only able to travel from the tower. As soon as we make the jump, we are stuck in our destination unless we travel for days and weeks on the road via horseback like any normal traveller. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the impossibility of that given what’s going on. So you see, the goods may be here, but we can only take a certain amount with us at any given time. Once we’ve jumped, we no longer have access to our stores.”

At the mention of homeward stones and their purpose, my own stones had shrivelled in fear. “You mean she could come back at any time?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“She could, but now she can’t. I’ve attuned the portal to respond to an incantation which only I and a few of the others will know. To return takes several hours of preparation. As soon as you awakened us, I made sure to close the door to her.”

My shrivelled undercarriage performed a tortoise head, peering out from safety to check for danger. “Thank god for that.” I sighed, slumping back in the chair. Sun’s hasty destruction of the ensnaring pillar had saved us valuable time. If I’d been left to think about how to free them for a couple of hours… I’d already be a pile of charred bones. Alwyn would’ve found us up there on the roof with me scratching my head dumbly. “Do you have more wine?” I asked, my mouth dry.

Sun almost gave me the look but I think she also sensed Ilfred was one of the good guys. His emotional reaction to Alwyn’s betrayal was impossible to fake. I’d never really been best friends with anyone, and even I could appreciate what a gut punch it must’ve been. Especially when they would’ve shared so many hours of intimate instruction and learning together. I even got subtle undertones that there may have been a bit of love going on from Ilfred’s side. Apart from her looks, I didn’t really understand what he could’ve seen in the crazy eyed bint. I had a heavy suspicion that his feelings were unrequited, and the only thing Alwyn would ever love was herself and power.

I raised a grateful toast when he had topped me off. “Thanks.”

“We didn’t steal anything,” said Sun out of the blue.

I spat wine all over myself and started to choke.

“I didn’t think you had,” said Ilfred awkwardly.

“Good. Because we didn’t.” She held the sorcerers gaze for a few seconds. “Except this.” The golden goblet appeared out of nowhere and fell clattering to the table. “Your home tried to kill us. I took it as payment.”

“My dear,” Ilfred smiled. “You’ve saved us from an uncertain fate. You can take anything you want from the tower. We have stores of gold if coin is your preference?”

After a few moments, Sun shook her head. “No. That would be unseemly. I’m sorry I tried to steal from you. Mark has shown me there are better ways.”

“Straight up armed robbery?” I replied.

Ilfred burst out laughing and even Sun smiled darkly while threatening me with her axe. “I prefer single combat.”

“I’m not fighting you!” I exclaimed.

“Nor I!” agreed Ilfred. “I prefer my head to remain attached to my shoulders.”

Sun seemed more at ease now the stolen merchandise had been returned. I had no doubt that Ilfred’s offer of gold was genuine, but I had a better idea. “Once this is over, how about you use some of that gold to help with the clean-up? Widows, orphans, the injured, that kind of thing.”

“It’s funny you should say that, because that’s the purpose of the money anyway. The greenskins are like the tide. They rise, wash over us, and then retreat. Like clockwork, every few decades. Our purse is spread out to those who need it to rebuild. There’s just one problem…”

“The tide just kept coming in this time,” I finished.

Ilfred nodded and drained his mug. “Indeed. The river has flooded its banks and there is little chance of shoring up the defences before we all drown. I fear our arch-sorceress may have helped to weaken it further.”

“I’m hoping to provide a few bricks to rebuild the walls,” I replied. “Hopefully we can plug the leaks in time.” Time was getting on and dusk was fast settling over the tower. There was just one thing I absolutely had to know before the sun fully set and my head hit the pillow. “Ilfred?” I asked slowly.

His eyes narrowed at my tone. “Yes, Mark?”

“You know that combat room you have above us?” I asked, purposefully leading him to the natural reply.

He grinned. “Would you like me to show you a few of my spells?”

I was on my feet in a flash. “After you, sir!”

Ilfred led the way and I followed behind like a puppy. If I’d had a tail, it would’ve been wagging for all it was worth. We emerged out into the expansive combat training arena and he led us over to the suits of charred armour.

“Can you throw fireballs?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not. We all have a particular affinity that we can’t control. It’s as much a part of us as the hair on our head or the blood in our veins. Mine is the air around us. Would you like to see?”

I tried my best to keep the disappointment out of my voice as I answered. “Sure.”

Judging by the wry smile Ilfred offered, I’d failed. “Watch,” he said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

He turned to the fake soldiers and began to whisper an incantation while rotating his hands in a tight, circular pattern near his waist. I felt the gentle tug of a budding breeze ruffle the back of my hair. It grew in strength, as if the focal point of Ilfred’s concentration was sucking the atmosphere towards it. My clothes started to flutter madly as the gust turned into a gale which flowed past me. On the ground, a tiny dust devil began to form from the crud littering the arena. The small cone expanded into a full on tempest of cyclonic fury.

Ilfred began to bare his teeth as the spell reached its apex. With a roar, he lunged as if pushing someone and the devastating tornado tore across the ground away from us, churning everything in its path. The full suits of armour were nothing more than scraps by the time the storm petered out and the air returned to the arena. The straw of the figures within formed a dusty yellow cloud that slowly settled back to the flagstones.

“Holy cow…” I gasped.

“Better than a fireball?” Ilfred chuckled.

“Are you kidding me? Fireballs schmireballs. What else can you do?”

“More, but it takes a little while to recuperate. The more powerful the spell, the greater the demand on my reserves. How about a little taster of one of my greater abilities? It won’t seem quite as impressive in the confines of the tower though.”

“I don’t mind,” I replied, the thrill still surging through me.

Ilfred held out an open palm to the high ceiling, closing his eyes and muttering different words. The air around me started to smell of ozone, growing almost thick enough to taste. Tendrils of vapour started to meld together, slowly forming a baby cloud much like the one on the herb floor. I flinched when the puffy grey skin flashed with an explosion of lightning that left a tiny spot of molten rock near our feet. The rumble of thunder was just as adorable as that of its brother cloud below us.

“Who needs fire anyway,” I gushed.

Ilfred allowed the energy to dissipate and opened his eyes. “Not bad, eh?”

“Not bad?” I snapped. “With you fighting alongside us, they don’t stand a chance.”

“I wish that were the case, Mark,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “But we don’t have unlimited reserves. Our spells are like a well; if too much is taken, it requires a while to replenish.”

Leaving aside the fact I thought wells were limitless in how much water they provided, I could see another benefit to the powers. “You might not be able to cast them over and over, but the fear they will create is also a powerful tool. The orcs are easy to rout if things aren’t going their way. I imagine a few tornados and lightning bolts up their arses will have them on the run.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case. Come, I’ll show you to your beds. I’ll create a private floor for you so that the others don’t disturb your rest. I’ll rouse you at daybreak if you aren’t already awake, and the we can see about getting you to Ishalon.”

“Will you be joining us? We could really use a man like you.” I was deadly serious. Having a full spellcaster in the party would be an incredible boon.

“I’m afraid not. My place is normally by the grand marshal’s side, but I’ll be heading to Pitchhollow. I serve no purpose advising when the land is burning all around us.”

“You’re going to the front line?”

“I didn’t train for decades to hide in the rear. Randulf will need all the strength he can muster for when they finally smash into his walls.”

“We’ll be heading back as soon as we can figure out the barbarian problem too,” I replied. “Let’s hope we can fight together.”

Ilfred smiled and led us out into a floor we hadn’t passed. My headache of confusion turned into a migraine.

“Indeed, Mark. Rest well, both of you. I’ll make sure a hearty breakfast awaits.”

“Goodnight, Ilfred. Thanks for the hospitality,” I replied.

“And thank you for not becoming upset that I stole a cup,” added Sun.

He chuckled as he retreated toward the staircase. “It’s my pleasure. And thank you for your aid. I doubt Alwyn would’ve suffered us to live if the greenskins prevailed. We owe you everything.”

With a curt bow, he was gone, only the faint patter of his feet carrying up to us.

I turned to Sun. “What a day.”

“It’s been interesting,” she agreed, turning back the covers and climbing into bed.

“Sleep well,” I said, climbing into my own. “Oh, and Sun? Don’t forget to distribute your stat points.”

“Already have. Goodnight.”

Once again, I’d missed that my level had pinged up twice since last looking. Having killed the golem and uncovering the fate of the sorcerers, I figured it would’ve jumped higher. As my companion began to snore, I checked her character tab. Her barbarian level had jumped by four from the kill which meant the lion’s share of the XP went to her. I was about to huff like a child until I realised she had been the one to actually kill it. Without Sun’s quick thinking, I’d be nothing but a red stain on the Timeless Tower floor. With a little less pouting, I allocated two points each to my strength and constitution.

I laid in the dark for a while, considering the task that faced us in the coming days. My calculations always came back to the basics; two against many. Sleep was slow in coming that night.