Cassana PoV [https://i.imgur.com/ZFAH2Xa.jpeg]
Inside the walls of Soliton, along the manors of the Upper District on top of Beacon hill, there stood a towering marvel that epitomized the lingering power of the lost magocratic empire of Ledrith. It was built more than a thousand years ago when the city was just a small colony along the northern shores of Windcoast. That empire was gone, and its territories were reduced to a mere city, but its influence remained.
Constructed from locally quarried limestone and granite, the tower was just one of the dozens scattered across the continent. It was meant to be a small-scale replica of the grand tower of mages in the Ad-Nilem capital, hence it was eventually dubbed by the common people as the Small Tower. A constant symbol of the mages’ authority and control over magic users across its colonies, it was one of the few that remain standing after the dissolution of the old empire.
Ascending skyward, a massive block of amber pointed towards the heavens sits on its top like a glimmering golden fist. In old times, the mages would fill the amber with magical energy, turning the tower into a lighthouse that illuminated Soliton Bay at night.
As the city grew in size and wealth over time, newer and taller structures started dwarfing the Small Tower; from the Capitol Building to the bell tower of the Church of Aitur, and the clock tower of the Harbormaster’s Office. One would not be blamed to forget that it still existed, especially for ordinary citizens who have no business with magic.
And that was exactly what brought Cassana and Lira to the tower, a business with magic.
They left Ashvell’s wagon at the inn, so the group took a hackney ride to the Upper District, where they were dropped off outside of the Legate Tower. Ashvell and Rei waited outside, while Cassana and Lira entered the building. A friendly clerk at the reception welcomed the pair.
“Good afternoon, what can I help you with?” asked the young man behind the counter. A pin on his chest said his name was Dominic.
“Hi, we’re here to see the Legate,” answered Cassana.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but we have an urgent business…”
“Who’s in charge of the pylons?” Lira butted in, “you know, the posts that detect magic… last time I was here, there were only three or four of them? Now they’re almost everywhere.”
“That would be the OMD, Office of Magical Detection,” answered Dominic.
“Are there mages there?” Lira followed up.
“Not that I know of... But they do forward a weekly report to The Legate which our wizards here analyze and study.” Explained the receptionist.
“Good, so that means the Legate can help us…” uttered the huntress.
“I’m sorry, what is this about?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” answered Cassana with extreme condescension. “We need to talk to the Legate.”
“Are you a wizard…” Lira glanced at his lapel pin to read his name, “…Dominic?”
“No, I’m not. But I also can’t just let you in without an appointment. The Legate is a remarkably busy man.” Explained Dominic.
Cassana shared a look with Lira. She could tell that they were both already devising a way to get inside in a less traditional manner.
“But…” Dominic continued, “if you can explain to me what’s going on, I can relay a message, and I might be able to convince him to meet with you.”
Cassana sighed. “It’s a long story…”
“I’m all ears,” said Dominic.
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Against her better judgment, and with a few embellishments from Lira, Cassana recounted the events that transpired since their group arrived in Soliton. Afterwards, the drow huntress emphasized their intent to meet with the Legate to find their missing companions.
Their attender listened heedfully, even putting on a nondescript pair of spectacles as if he were reading a very compelling novel. Dominic was a small figure of a man. Thin and small, his slouching posture made him appear shorter than Cassana. He had wide, round eyes that swelled out of his deep, dark eyelids, a sharp nose, crooked lips, and a sharp lower jaw that belabored his stubbled chin.
Underneath his unremarkable appearance, Cassana could see the visage of a nice, young, good-looking man, if only that man would take good care of himself. Dominic reminded her of some of her former classmates from the Tower Academy: smart, passionate lads who dedicated their lives to reading books and studying history instead of grooming themselves and eating properly.
That was probably one reason why Cassana was easily convinced to divulge their story. That and the familiar ambiance of the Small Tower. Though less grandiose than the Grand tower in Ad-Nilem, it was nevertheless adorned with similar frescoes and ornaments, even the color of its walls was the same. She spent nearly four years at the Tower Academy, so in a way, it felt like she was stepping back into her home.
Dominic leaned back on his highchair and fiddled on his ink pen, taking a moment to think. There was a relief at the back of Cassana’s mind that their story wasn’t received with laughter and ridicule. The receptionist reached underneath his desk and pulled out a pile of paper. He turned to one page and showed it to the two.
Cassana pulled the paper closer. It had a sketch depicting a black mass of object with tendrils spitting out. Lira leaned behind her shoulder to inspect it as well, and a moment later, it hit them. It was difficult to tell at first, but eventually, it became undeniable, the creature in the image and the thing that took Minos and Robb were the same.
“That’s it! That’s what attacked us!” Cassana exclaimed.
“Where did this picture come from?” asked Lira.
“This is a memo we received yesterday coming from up high. It was based on an eyewitness account, regarding the abduction of the Burgrave’s daughter.”
“What?”
“This is the whole reason behind the martial law declaration and the increase in security lately.” Dominic pushed his spectacles up, “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but this creature has been attacking people for the past few days, and its victims were all from prominent families. All kids.
“The government is just keeping everything on the hush-hush for now, probably to avoid mass panic. And the City Watch got their hands full, keeping order in the city and containing everything, and hunting this thing down…”
“And do they have any idea as to what this thing is?” asked Lira.
“If they have, they’re not gonna tell us.”
The huntress gave Cassana a knowing look. Hrothgar knew about it most likely, but he also didn’t tell us. “Do you think the Legate is in the loop with all this?” asked Cassana.
“Probably, he and the other wizards are on-call, in case the City Watch needed their help.”
“Then we really need to talk to the Legate,” Cassana concluded. “Could you please, get us an appointment?”
“I’ll try my best. Like I said, he’s a remarkably busy man…” Dominic repeated his earlier phrase with a dose of empathy, knowing everything he just heard. He then leaned closer to whisper and add, “In fact, he’s not even inside right now. I’m not allowed to tell anyone that, but I’m telling you. So, sorry even if I let you in, you won’t see him.”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Cassana gathered her thoughts. Her mind was feeling overwhelmed by everything that was going on. She still wasn’t sure which she should prioritize first, getting the cure for Rei, or finding Minos and Robb. The dull pain in her head that she had been ignoring since morning came back with a vengeance.
Shambling back towards the foyer, Cassana could feel the walls around her rotating. She could barely see the door heading out, and her feet felt heavier with every step. She could sense herself losing balance, until she felt a hand wrap around her arm.
“Hey, easy…” Lira held her steady and gently pulled her to the side. There was a small chair by the entrance and the drow motioned for her to sit. “You should rest up for a bit.”
Cassana sat on the chair reluctantly while Lira took a knee in front of her. For a moment it reminded her of her mother. When she would get hurt from playing outdoors, this was how her mother would tend to her wounds. The drow huntress grabbed her cold hands and pressed them in between hers.
“Do you need a hug or something?” Lira cheekily asked to which Cassana only chuckled in reply. “Yeah, I figured… you’re not the hug-it-out type of person…”
“No, it’s not that, I just…”
“It’s okay, just breathe in, breathe out.”
“I need to think.”
“You can do that while sitting down. You shouldn’t exhaust your body like this, you’re not built like me.”
Cassana glanced at Lira’s relatively toned arms, and she glanced at the tiny pair of sticks that jutted out of her own shoulders. She has a point. She listened to her advice and took a couple of breaths.
“How are you so calm in all this?” the redhead asked her companion. “The person you’re supposed to be bodyguarding is gone, and you are handling it just fine.”
“I’m not calm, I’m angry. I’m seething, actually. Mostly at myself. But also, I know that Minos is a grown man. I’ve seen him turn from a tiny little boy to whatever he is right now, and I know that he can handle himself. I’m worried, but I’m also telling myself that I shouldn’t.”
“But Robb… He’s just a boy,” Cassana lamented.
“And Minos will look after him.” Lira assured. I saw the two of them together, Robb looks up to him and he dotes on that little boy.”
“And then there’s Rei. If he doesn’t get the treatment he needs, he will…”
Lira tightened her grip over Cassana’s hands. “You do not need to have all the answers right now. You do not need to have the solution to every problem. And you do not have to solve everything all by yourself.
“Look, when you are hunting for a game, you should avoid focusing too much on your target. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and take a wider view. The soil, the trees, the sky, everything around you are all part of the hunt. And the best hunters are those who know how to use all of that to their advantage.
“I am not saying that you should not think things through, I can see that that is where your strength lies, so do that. But keep in mind there is also danger in thinking over things too much. You can lose the battle before the fight even starts.”
The drow huntress stood up and gave Cassana a gentle pat in the head.
As Lira was about to exit the premises through the resplendent, wooden double-doors of the Small Tower, it pushed open. A silhouette appeared in front of the gleaming golden light of the afternoon sun, followed by the clacking footsteps of leather sole on marble. Another stomp echoed through the foyer, this time, made by a solid length of wood hitting the floor.
Cassana turned towards the door. The silhouette was that of a man, tall and dressed in an ankle-length robe. He was holding a long, brown staff in his left hand, and a small, pointed hat over his head.
“Genuine apologies, madam, but I will be passing through here, if you do not mind,” the voice reverberated across the room, addressing Lira in a heavy Ledrithan accent.
Lira froze for a second before stepping aside, letting the man through.
“There you are Dominic, my boy,” the man continued walking inside, speaking to the receptionist, exuding flamboyance with every step. “I need to see today’s records on the—”
Cassana recognized the man. The demeanor, the voice, the clothing, there was only one person on the whole continent who bore that swagger. “Professor Arcturus!” she shouted from where she was seated.
The man turned to face her with curious eyes. “Aye, who beckons me?”
“I’m Cassana, I was your student in Basic Potions, first year. My first year, around two years ago?”
The man shifted his body to face Cassana. He took one step forward and studied her with a perusing stare. “Young lass, crimson-head, freckled face, pale skin, ah yes, I remember yourself. You prompted the fulmination of that elixir that one lad was devising, what was his name… Obtuse head, protruded eyes…”
“Shay.”
“Aye! Myself have an invariably fond recollection of that incident. What a spectacular display of talent in brewing. And I daresay, myself always wondered how you have been, the news of your mother’s passing occurred to every single one of us in the faculty department; and myself, on behalf of my colleagues, extend my sincerest condolences.”
“Thank you, professor.”
“And by what impetus do you present yourself here in the Small Tower? Have you finally arrived at a resolve to recrudesce on your scholarly endeavors?”
“No, professor, sadly, I don’t have any plans on that yet. But I’m here because I wanna talk to the Legate…”
“Then natter on, my dear child! As it happens, the Soliton’s office of the Legate falls to none other than myself!”
“You’re the Legate?” Cassana gasped.
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For the third time now, Cassana recounted the events that led them to the Small Tower. But with Arcturus being her former professor, she felt an intrinsic feeling to share more than what was necessary, so she also told him about what happened back in their village.
That was all after the old wizard invited them to his office a couple of floors up into the tower. Arcturus was an eccentric man, even by mage standards. All the other wizards that Cassana had met all looked like regular people. They dressed like regular people; they talked like regular people. Even her other teachers back in the Academy simply looked like any other professional adult.
Arcturus, on the other hand, was embracing every wizard stereotype one can think of, specifically the kind of wizard a child could read in fairy tales. He sported a set of long, gray hair and beard, wore thick, flowy robes, and donned a pointed, conical hat. This outdated fashion had always been a source of amusement for her classmates back in the Academy.
Regardless of his eccentricities, Arcturus was one of Cassana’s favorite teachers. She liked the fact that he was really fond of magic and the multitudes of things one can do with it. He taught his classes without cynicism and promoted traditional views on spellcasting. It was such a shame that Robb wasn’t with them, he would’ve loved to meet an actual, real wizard, who seemingly leaped out of a classic storybook.
“I didn’t know you left the Academy…” remarked Cassana. A thought that had been bugging her since she saw him earlier.
“Nay. I am presently still a tenured member of the Tower Academy faculty. Myself is currently undertaking a necessary academic leave to accomplish my dissertation for my forthcoming Ranking Exam. However, it just so happened that this particular seat of office became empty, and so myself was elected to hold it ephemerally.”
“I guess we’re lucky, then…” Cassana said.
In the middle of Arcturus’ long answer, he stood up and sauntered about his office. All of its four walls were lined with shelves brimming with books and tomes. Except for the one beside the door, where they entered. That shelf was filled with bottles of potions and jars of various magical ingredients.
The old wizard walked past Lira and Ashvell, who were sitting on different chairs, and Rei who was lying down on a couch. He browsed his collection of poultices and grabbed a particularly large bottle. After dusting it off, he returned to Cassana and placed it on his desk.
“What's that?” asked Cassana.
“It is the Cure,” answered Arcturus.
“What?”
“To the ailment that has been afflicting your companion. Lycantrophus.”
“You have it here?”
“As a matter of course! Myself is one of the mages who worked on successfully bringing this elixir about.”
“You were? I don’t think you told us that before.”
“Do you perchance myself is someone who gasconades on my achievements? Not even for a tap on the back, nay. Myself is already satisfied with simply accomplishing what is needed.” Arcturus produced a pewter syringe from under his table and proceeded towards one of the shelves on his walls. He pulled a book, and a shelf pushed aside revealing a hidden room behind it.
Ashvell and Cassana stood up in awe at the newly opened room. It was larger than the office they were in, containing experimental equipment, laboratory paraphernalia and a surgical bed.
“You, young man,” the old wizard pointed towards Ashvell, “kindly bring your companion inside,” and entered the secret room, standing beside the bed. “Position him here.”
Cassana nodded for Ashvell to follow. Lira stood up to help as well, and they all entered the adjacent room.
“So that potion, that is the cure we’re supposed to find in Ad-Nilem?” asked Lira as she laid Rei's head on a pillow.
Cassana nodded. She held the bottle of potion up as Arcturus drew some of it into his syringe.
"We are doing this now?" clarified Lira.
"I would argue that this should have been done days ago, but I believe it should still work…" explained the old wizard. He verified the dosage on his syringe and motioned for the others to bind the straps of the bed around Rei's body and extremities.
"This is going to hurt him, and his body would react rather violently…" he grabbed Rei's left arm and gently injected the contents of the syringe through his skin.
After a few moments, Rei started to convulse. Ashvell moved to assist him like he did during the past few days, but Arcturus stopped him.
“No, let him be. He will be fine strapped as he is. The elixir will do what it does.”
“What’s next?” asked Cassana.
“The cure will fight off the disease in its own good time. They will lock horns inside his body, which would take a day or two. The process will weaken him, but it will work. Afterwards, he will need at least a week to fully recover. Your friend will survive, with no signs of lycantrophus in his body.”
The redhead felt a massive weight taken off her chest. She looked towards her companions, nodding and reassuring Ashvell and Lira.
Arcturus brushed his palms and stepped aside, “now that that is out of the way, let us discuss the matter of finding your friends, and finally solving this plague that has been hounding this city.”