Wizard's Guardian Tower

Daris picks up on his wife's nervousness. Large hand enfolds Dura's smaller one and he give it a gentle squeeze. He is more used to being stared at than her. Many cast there gaze upon him in Falkreath. He was a young up and Comer after all. Hand in hand with his wife he waits for someone to greet them. That had been what what the Elder had said. That they would need permission before entering.

In the midst of the stares, an old man would appear out of no where. The orcs and Malagus would receive an unpleasant shock as the spry, venerable being essentially just popped right in front of them.

"Ahh AHHH!" The being looked over them with rapid eyes and a rapid head, bobbing up down and even sideways, his long white beard struggling to keep up with his movements. "So you are the ones! All three of you! Hahahaha!" The old man clapped. He then gazed into the eye socket of Malagus. "Why do they fear you? You are not scary! Now spider borers, those are scary! Their young eat the brains of spiders! That is how they REPRODUCE! You, you do not eat brains. You don't even eat anything at all!"

The man now had more stares than all three of his guests combined. "I am Esejef! I am the wisest of the Sodalite clan! You, you, you, you, and you, and you, and you, and you and you and you are the first in a long time to have ever seen me. Hmm, maybe that is not a good thing." He not only pointed at the orcs and Malagus, but some members of the crowd. "Ok, nevermind then, you, you, you, and you and.... you." Inexplicably half the crowd dispersed without a second thought, as if they had seen nothing and were just going about their day. The other half just sort of looked around in surprise. "Well quit gawking! You already know we exist! Or maybe you don't. I don't know. Too many braaains to keep track of." (He waggled his fingers over his head when he said "braaains".) The remainder of the crowd decided they had enough of the man and just sort of walked away.

The man turned back towards Malagus, Zar'Dura, and Daris. "Oi, how are you doing? You are all interested in a tour of the grand tower yes? Well I'm just the man, if you can call me man... which you can because I am a man. By the way, Malagus , you'll be happy to know that our ambassador, Ern of the Rambutan  arrived in Below about 45 seconds ago. Someone should probably go out and say hi to him! I hope you don't mind these orcs joining you. You see they have nothing better to do other than make love and help out some fisherman." The man quickly winked at them before starting to walk towards the tower. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come come!"

THWAP!

Daris would feel a small rock hit his head. But there would be no indication Esejef had actually thrown it other than a mischievous smile. "I could have told you that wouldn't work. Now, do you want to see the wizard's tower or not? I don't have to give you permission y'know."

Once again, Esejef began to cross the stone path towards the Guardian Tower.

***

At the end of the path were large stone doors. Esejef waved his hand and the doors swung open.

The first thing that would strike the trio, believe it or not, would be the voices of children. There were children of various ages and both genders, wearing different garments. Most of them were robes, and some were fairly ordinary civilian cloth. Some of them had tattoos on their faces. Some of them had pale skin and some dark skin. It would be quickly apparent that all the different clans were represented here. "Master E!" One of them cried. He was a young boy, about 8 years old. "Who are they? They're weird." Esejef smiled. "Now now..."

The trio would be surprised to hear that Esejef's voice was different than normal. It was much smoother and more elegant and mature. He would sound like someone different entirely. "Remember your training. What do you feel coming from them?" The young boy looked at them completely unafraid. "Umm... one of them is a girl... one of them is a guy, they're not human... they're friendly. They don't want to hurt anyone... But two of them are afraid of each other... Ugh that's all I've got." Esejef nodded and in his strange, buttery voice replied, "Very good. A plus. When you're older you'll be able to see more clearly." The boy nodded before returning to his friends in the lounge.

Speaking of which, the first floor was essentially a lounge. There were many places to sit and all kinds of magical artifacts to keep the children entertained while also training them. There were also books, many many books, and scrolls, lines on shelves all over. Most of the furnishings had a stone base, but with lots of cloth, feathers, and other species of pillows and cushions. And most of all, there was a considerable magic presence everywhere.

"As you can see..." Esejef sounded like his old self again. "The first floors are a school for the most magically gifted. That young man wishes to join the Psionic Corps when he is older. His powers show great promise. With my powers our true identities are hidden. You look merely like humans, and I a somewhat younger teacher. Him and others like him are the only ones who can sense that you are not quite what I say you are. Also, feel free to peruse the shelves if you wish. They mostly contain basic elemental spells and techniques. Dear Malagus will not be too impressed by these, but I think other things that he has seen will impress him more..."

When they were ready they could move on to the next floor, or interact with anything they saw.

The young man replied "Oh, hello sir. My name is Mardun. I'm from the badger clan. I'm learning about water magic and wards and stuff. My dad's a farmer and when I grow up I'm gonna help with the water farms!" He showed him the book he was reading. It contained some odd symbols which were no less easy to decipher for any magic user. The water spells were primitive, but the text explained how to cast it in very easy to understand format.

Esejef smiled at Malagus and placed his hand on what remained of his shoulder. "Someday Malagus. For someone who has spent a lifetime alone, friendship opens up many new worlds and possibilities. Perhaps it will be the same with your kind."

He turned to Daris'Fall and Zar'Dura. "What's the matter? Children not interesting enough for you? You should start getting used to them, especially if you want your own. They're just as fun to have around as they are to make." He winked. "Hmm, perhaps the upper floors you will find more interesting yet?"

If they agreed, Esejef would escort them up to the higher floors. The tower was more than just a school after all.

The next few floors were actually not that interesting. They were mostly living quarters and classrooms where more children, and adults, were practicing their spells and learning about magical plants. They could stay and examine these if they wished, but the further up they went, the more... interesting things would get.

They would eventually reach a floor with a library of texts. There were only a few people walking about the large shelves. The books themselves had a more primitive feel to them, mostly papyrus and sheepskin, not fancy or bound. But the pages were clean and extremely easy to read. There were books on ecology, magic, weather phenomenon, animals, and a host of other things.. All were extremely well written. "This is one of Elde Havador's favorite floors. The knowledge here is not particularly esoteric but it is more advanced than what the children on the first floor were reading. Malagus, you might want to take a look at these..."

Esejef walked towards the center of the room, where there was an odd stone pedestal with a human hand print on it. "Anyone can touch this, here." He placed his hand on the print, and immediately several small, gentle, sparkling pillars of blue light appeared all around them in different parts of the floor. The pillars closer to them would reveal that it was specific books being highlighted. "If there is an emergency, these must be the first to be saved from the tower. They contain the knowledge more central to the well-being of the Land-Tillers than any others. They are our core knowledge. Of course, they are not are most esoteric knowledge. That will be found on our higher floors..."

The three could use the center pedestal and explore this floor at their leisure until they were ready to check out even higher floors.

Esejef smiled. "I should hope so. Remember, with friendships comes possibilities. No one gets anything done alone. Such is the case with civilizations as well as individuals. Now, if you really want to see the heart of the Land-Tillers, follow me. This next floor is possibly the most important of all."

Esejef would lead them another flight of stairs. When they got to the top, the party would notice a sudden shift in tone. All the previous floors had an approachable feel to them, but this floor was different. The walls were inscribed with many glowing runes. There was a presence here, something benevolent and powerful, a special kind of magic which was alive to the point of almost having a consciousness. Zar'Dura in particular be sensitive to the strange phenomenon.

"This room is frequented by the spirits of the ancestors. Any soul that spends any time as a land-tiller will visit here from time to time. You will see why soon."

Esejef lead them through the short corridor and into a rotunda, bathed in blue light. There were strange blue flames softly dancing on torches scattered around the walls. They had no heat to them. "Behold... the heart and soul of the Land-Tillers..." The first thing the party would notice was the presence of floating crystal spheres, each the size of coconuts. They each had a slight color tint to them. "Be careful, touching them can be somewhat... overwhelming." Should they attempt to do so, the sphere would glow, and the person's mind would start to flood with memories and visions of... families. Mothers, fathers, children, and how they grow up in each clan. The games they played, the jokes they told, the chores they did, the parties they held, the funerals they cried at, would all flood the person's mind. "Each of these spheres contains the essence of a clan, and can act as a guide to future generations who wish to live in this wonderful land, should something terrible befall us."

After touching the spheres, there would be a slight hum, like an alien chorus, followed by several small pillars of light leading towards the back of the rotunda. Once again, there were books being highlighted in the same tint as the spheres. "In anticipation of a power drain, these spheres can uses significantly less magic to instead highlight various texts in which our culture can be found. It is very similar to the library from below, but these books specifically contain instructions on how to raise children in the manner of the clans, how to begin farms anew and maintain them, how to fight like the clan members, how to make tools and weapons. AH! Malagus! You will appreciate this next part."

Esejef would raise his hand towards an alcove in between the sets of bookshelves against the wall, and the stone door at the center would raise up, revealing a hidden room. "Come, come!" As they entered the room, they would see it filled with little silver sparkles. The temperature would be very cold. The room curved around the rotunda to maximize floor space, and once again there were runes everywhere. There were large metallic containers on the floors, and glass cases (at least the material looked like glass). "Each of these containers contains seeds. All the different types of plants, as well as instructions on how to plant them, can be found here. Ah, and Malagus?" He gestured towards the glass shelves. Malagus might recognize some of the enchanting farming tools that he had traded to the Land-Tillers. "One of each tool is being kept here, to aid those generations who may need it. Thank you for them by the way, they are being used to great effect out there in the fields."

After a few moments of silence, Esejef would make one last remark. "I believe this is the closest analogue our people have to your chamber of spirits, a life preserver to ensure our people always survive."

He turned to the orc couple. "It's different isn't it? Our lands. Isn't it beautiful, how many different kinds of things you see in the world? So many brains... so many stories..." Again, the man waggled his fingers over his head at the world brains.