Chapter 39 - Dealings with a Wizard
"This way, Baroness," the person in a black robe who guided Scarlett said. They were a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair that was pulled up into a bun at the back of their head and had originally come to find Scarlett in the tower's lobby after she'd been waiting there for about half an hour. As Scarlett had expected, Rowley had agreed to meet with her after hearing about what it was that she was offering.
Before coming, she'd spent a decent while considering what would both be something the tower would be incredibly excited about getting and something she personally had no use for. The particular primordial spell that she was planning on offering them the location of fit perfectly with that description. It was probably even a little bit overkill—or rather, it definitely was—but the Elystead Tower was an entity that she trusted to consider their own gain enough not to leak such valuable information to any outsiders, as well as not risk the future relationship with an individual holding that kind of information. She didn't doubt they'd be generous with their payment too.
The woman in the robe—who like most members of the different towers in the empire was most likely a mage of some sort, though Scarlett didn't know her rank or school—led Scarlett down a relatively simple, but long, hallway to a dark set of wooden doors. The two of them were currently somewhere in the upper part of the tower, as far as Scarlett could tell. The inside of the tall structure was a maze unto itself, and even though she had been here many times in the game, she would definitely have gotten lost after just a few minutes here if she didn't have someone leading her. To get here, they'd passed through a dozen similar-looking corridors, as well as using a large magical elevator of sorts—which she assumed was either incredibly expensive or high maintenance, considering how uncommon they were in the Empire—before they arrived at what was ostensibly the office of the Vice-Dean of the imperial tower.
"Vice-Dean Master Docent Grand Wizard Rowley does not have much free time to spare your visit," the woman said before opening the doors. "So make sure not to linger."
Scarlett didn't bother replying as she entered the room all by herself. Shin had been asked to stay behind in the end, and Scarlett hadn't cared enough to argue the matter.
The Vice-Dean's office was a considerable chamber in the shape of a half-sphere, with rows of bookshelves lining the walls and reaching all the way to the domed ceiling. Somehow the books weren't falling out of the uppermost shelves despite being at an angle toward the floor. There was just one large window in the room, set into the wall to Scarlett's right between a pair of marble busts of dragons, offering a beautiful view of Elystead as well as the glimmering waters of Rellaria Lake in the distance. From here, the lake almost had a clear green hue to it. At the back of the room stood a wide desk with some lamps, books, an iron cage, as well as some other contraptions on it. In front of the desk was a low wooden table with a silver tray and a thick leather-bound tome on it. Four leather armchairs surrounded the table.
In one of those chairs sat a man in dark red robes, looking at Scarlett closely after she'd entered the room. He had short white hair that was combed back and started to thin at the temples, as well as a finely trimmed beard that still had some streaks of grey in it. Adding to that, he also had a pair of thick, bushy eyebrows that almost seemed to have a life of their own with the way they moved. Different from what one might expect from an old wizard, though, he had a sharp nose, and his eyes almost made one think of a hawk with the way he was staring at Scarlett.
"You bear a striking resemblance to your father," the man spoke in a raspy voice.
Scarlett paused at the entrance. Those weren't the first words she'd expected to hear from Rowley. "You were acquainted with my father?" she asked.
"I was." He gave a slight nod. "Though I wouldn't say we were close. But he was a respectable enough man. Always more of a mage than a man of the aristocracy. It's only because I heard his name that I even considered accepting this little meeting." He gestured towards the red leather armchair opposite him. "Take a seat."
Scarlett casually strode over to the piece of furniture and settled into it. "That surprises me. I would have imagined it would be my proposition that garnered your interest. Are you claiming that it isn't so?"
"Bagh." His long robe flowed with motion as he waved his hand through the air. "You expect me to believe that drivel? That you know where to find a primordial spell? Don't insult me, girl. I am not that naive."