章 35: Inside the Magic Tower

A group of four people appeared in the Hall of Fire. Arean looked up and saw thet her master was waiting for them.

The old man with graying hair and wearing a green robe had a serious face while looking at them. Grand Mage Alastor had informed him of their plan thus he was there to wait for them.

"You are a bit late," his deep and slightly gruff voice echoed inside the hall. He only gave Arean a glance but his focus was on Alastor.

"A little mishap happened, but we still managed," Alastor stood up and gave the old man a bow. "Thank you for your patience with us, Archmage Ragus."

The archmage gave him a curt nod and turned around, "Let's go and bring that child, we've prepared a room for him." He walked towards the door that slid open without the man touching it.

Alastor used a floating spell on Ezio and followed behind Ragus. They walked in silence inside the halls of the first level of the tower. Only their footsteps that echoed on the stone floor could be heard.

Even though it was her master who came to see them, Arean did not dare to speak because she knew that she would be getting an earful from him after this. Meliore on the other hand was not close to the archmage and preferred to stay silent.

By the end of the hall, they entered a room which was a little bit extravagantly decorated. Alastor could not help but raise a brow at how well they were treating the child.

"Lay him on the bed, the people from the Hall of Time will take care of him. Alastor and Meliore the both of you can leave. The other elders will be calling you tomorrow for a report. To my disciple, go and wait for me in my study," Ragus ordered. He could see that Alastor and Meliore were shocked at what they heard but it was not within their authority to question orders.

After recovering from their surprise, Alastor and Meliore bowed and then left. They tracked down the direction where they came from, when Meliore couldn't help but voice the thoughts in her mind.

"Hall of Time, really? Is he that important, that the elders are willingly sending an elite group to take care of him!" She could not hide the surprise in her voice any longer.

The Magic Tower was divided into seven different halls. The Hall of Songs, Flames, Conquest, Vestige, Time, Knowledge and Saints. The Hall of Time sat as the third highest level where combat mages that reached the Archmage rank were concentrated as they also acted as guards for the Hall of Knowledge.

Mages from that hall were elite with the combat ability of warriors, so to let them take care of Ezio only meant that he was given the highest priority.

"It is a bit suspicious but we can't do anything about it. Once we give our report tomorrow, we will no longer have any connection to Ezio or to this incident so I suggest that you keep your thoughts to yourself." Alastor gave the woman a side glance after his words and saw that she was frowning. Even he himself was curious but they can't defy what the people above had commanded.

Arean remained in the room for a while before she decided to leave since her master was ignoring her. She traced back the path they took but turned left at the first intersection. The view was already familiar to her as she got near her master's study then her mood hit rock bottom.

She pushed the door open but hesitated to enter. Arean stood there and only stared at the inside of the study. It was the same setup ever since she could remember and now she was terrified to even set foot inside.

"What are you doing? I told you to wait inside." She flinched at her master's voice then she turned around to give way to her master.

Archmage Ragus entered his study followed by Arean whose head was bent down. She can't face her master like this.

"Do you intend to continue looking down despite my presence here?" Ragus was already in a bad mood and now his disciple was not cooperating.

Arean raised her head but she still couldn't make eye contact with her master. Ragus watched as Arean fidgeted in front of him.

"I'm sorry master," she immediately apologized without even hearing the man.

"Oh what are you sorry for?" Ragus did not remove his gaze from the mage he had taken under his wing.

"I was impulsive and caused trouble for the other Grand Mages during our mission," she didn't go into detail about her wrong doings but it was enough for her master to understand.

Ragus maintained his calm while speaking, "I've picked you amongst your peers because I genuinely thought that you can succeed. I seem to also remember that I have warned you several times to watch your temper and yet you forgot." He did not have time to deal with any of the mess that Arean had made, thankfully the place was very far from the capital. "Be glad that I am the only one who knew of your foolishness. If the other elders knew about this, you won't be standing in front of me right now."

Arean shivered. She did not even want to think about it. She's seen mages being punished according to the elders and she did not want to end up like them.

"I will let this slide but next time, I won't be covering for you. You are already and Grand Mage, so you should be responsible for your mistakes." His tone was firm and his actions were firm. Arean knew that he was not joking.

"I understand. Thank you for your generosity, master." She bowed her head again because she had no other choice but to accept her master's words.

Ragus let her leave as he focused his attention on the child they brought back. Now that he was ready at the Magic Tower, the tower's elders would surely be happy and satisfied.