Page 176 of A Tower of Half-Truths
Mavery held her breath as she expected Seringoth to call Alain’s bluff. At her feet, Nox batted an insect. Either he wasn’t at all interested in this conversation, or he was fully committed to pretending to be an innocuous familiar.
“That will be for the High Council to decide,” Seringoth said. “As stated in chapter five ofThe Covenants of Wizarding Decorum,the High Council will now take custody of this ruin. Your work here is complete.”
“Of course, Archmage. We’ll be on our way.” Alain bowed his head, turned on his heel.
“Hold on,” Mavery said. Alain blanched as he came to her side. “What will the High Council do with this tower?”
“Whatever the High Council deems is necessary,” said one of the Elder Wizards. From his condescending tone and thick eyebrows, Mavery recognized him as the wizard who had chided Alain about the Sensing spell’s “practicality.”
“Care to be a little more specific?” Mavery asked.
“What are you doing?” Alain whispered in her ear.
“Finding you a new project,” she whispered back. “It’s worth a shot.”
“As with any newly exhumed historical site, the High Council will begin with a full inventory of the tower’s contents,” said theshort, sepia-skinned wizard to Seringoth’s left. He spoke with a Maroban accent. “Any books and artifacts of scholarly significance will be given to the High Council’s arcanists for safekeeping. If what Aventus claims is true, and this tower bears nothing of note, then the structure will be destroyed.”
“Destroying something this large will require, what, a dozen menders?” Mavery asked. “Why go through all that trouble when someone could simply take it off your hands?”
“That ‘someone’ beingyou, I presume.” The wizard with the thick brows sneered at her. “What could a mere mage possibly want with a wizard’s tower? Would you even know what to do with such a thing?”
Mavery smirked. “Oh, I have it on good authority that a ‘mere mage’ is perfectly capable of handling a wizard’stower.”
Alain sputtered something that he promptly stifled with a cough. As Eyebrows opened his mouth, Seringoth took him and the other Elder Wizard by the shoulders. The three of them stepped a few paces away, then spoke in heated whispers. Mavery and Alain exchanged glances. Nox watched the Elder Wizards with suspicion, ears lowered and fangs bared.
A moment later, the three wizards returned.
“The High Council is open to your suggestion,” Seringoth said. “Given this tower’s age and condition, it is unlikely to be of any scholarly use. Allow us to conduct a thorough investigation of its contents and seize immediate ownership of anything with scholarly merit. Agree to this, and the tower will be turned over to you.”
Mavery narrowed her eyes. “And when would that be?”
“No less than one year, as is standard practice.”
“Three months,” Alain said. His tone was surprisingly firm, though he avoided meeting Seringoth’s eye. “Agree to complete the investigation by the end of the summer, Archmage, and we have a deal.”
Eyebrows scoffed. “Why, you insolent—”
Seringoth raised a hand. “Calm yourself, Elder Lythandus.” He looked to Mavery. “Ms. Culwich, will you allow Aventus to negotiate on your behalf?”
She nodded. “He can take it from here.”
The Archmage turned to Alain. “Why do you wish to expedite the investigation?”
Alain gave Mavery a brief glance before returning his gaze forward. He clasped his hands behind his back while keeping his head high—respectful but nonetheless assertive.
“My reasons are my own, Archmage.” He met Seringoth’s eye. “Wouldn’t you agree that a wizard of myfortitudeought to have a more robust space for conducting experiments and housing his library?”
Mavery’s stomach fluttered with fondness—alongside more wanton feelings—but she bit the inside of her cheek, forcing herself to retain her composure.
“Understandable,” Seringoth said. “What I fail to understand is why a professor at the University of Leyport would want a tower that is located over two hundred miles from campus.”
“As I said, Archmage, my reasons are my own.”
He and Seringoth held each other’s gazes. Under normal circumstances, Mavery would take the moment of silence to appreciate the sun’s warmth upon her skin, the gentle breeze, the serenade of birdsong from the nearby woods. Instead, the air was thick with tension, and all she could focus on was Alain, somehow holding firm beneath Seringoth’s penetrating stare. After a long moment of silence, Seringoth spoke again.
“Very well. Should this tower prove to be of no use to the High Council, it will be turned over to you in three months. Until then, we look forward to your follow-up presentation on Siddisday.”
“Thank you, sir,” Alain said with a slight nod. “If I could make one final request… Could I get all of this in writing?”
