The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (13 page)

Yeah I know, I
can’t stop it, our personalities must be fighting each other.

“
It’s impolite to mock someone while on their farm,” the guy
said trying to sound tough.

“
It’s impolite to point weapons at your guests,” I shot back
playfully.

Keep going, I like this,
Cathy
chuckled.

I don’t even
know what I’m doing.

An older man,
clearly the father came around the corner and gave me a confused
look. “A Mage? Out here?” he asked. “What brings the Order this far
into the farmlands?”

“
I was heading to the capital when I saw the bandits and
stopped to help,” I answered.

He snorted.
“Well then, you have my thanks, I guess. It’s not like your kind to
be helpful. Unless you want something.” He stopped and squinted his
eyes at me. “We don’t have any money so don’t bother asking.”

“
I...I’m not here for money,” I replied confused. “If anything
I was going to ask if I could fill my canteen with water. I’m all
out.”

“
Figures,” he scoffed.

“
Harold, calm down,” a female voice said as a lanky older
woman with frizzy hair walked around the corner.

“
Go back into the house, Mary. There could be more of them out
here,” Harold said.

“
Who? Bandits or Mages?” she asked calmly.

“
Both,” he answered.

“
Actually, it is just me,” I said. “And there were only the
three.”

“
Three?” the young man asked. “There are only two
here.”

“
There’s one more at the edge of your field,” I said. “You’ll
find him next to the, uh, cast iron pot.”

“
Cast iron pot?” the young man asked bewildered.

“
I didn’t want to use any magic and destroy your crops,” I
said defending myself. “Plus, I’m sure it helped wake everyone up
so you knew something was wrong.”

“
That’s unexpectedly nice of you,” the young man
said.

“
Come on, Aaron,” Harold said. “Let’s check that out and make
sure the Mage is telling the truth.”

Harold and
Aaron left and Mary took a deep breath and sighed.

“
You’ll have to forgive them,” she said.”We’re far enough away
from the towns and close enough to your Tower that we are often
targets for bandits or Mages looking for an easy target. Out here
nobody cares.”

“
Well, you don’t have to worry about me,” I said shocked at
the mention of Mages extorting farmers. “I was genuine when I just
asked for water.”

She smiled
sweetly. “I think we can handle that. What is your name?”

“
Andrew,” I answered, “uh, Andy for short.”

She gave me a
weird look. “That’s your first name isn’t it?”

“
Yeah,” I answered. This time it was my turn to give her a
weird look.

She waved her
hand dismissively. “Usually your Order is all rank and last name.
Like they’re the King of Balendar or something.”

I shrugged.
“I’m just Andy.”

She laughed
softly. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”

“
I found a nice tree on the edge of your land that looked
comfortable,” I answered.

“
Its looks are deceptive,” she warned. “Maybe you are better
off spending the night inside the house.”

“
Oh, I’ll be alright,” I said. “I think it would be better off
if I stayed outside anyhow.”

“
Nonsense,” she said. “Don’t worry about Harold. He talks a
big game, but when it comes to decision making, you’re talking to
the queen of this household.”

I chuckled.
“Thank you very much, Mrs...”

“
Reed,” she answered as he husband and Aaron came
back.

“
We found your pot,” Aaron chuckled. “The bandit took quite
the hit to the face.”

Mary took the
pot from Aaron and shook her head. “It’s going to need a good scrub
in the morning. Aaron set up an area for our new friend to sleep
for tonight.”

“
What?” Harold exclaimed. “But...?”

“
He has helped us, the least we can do is offering him a dry
place to sleep,” Mary said to him.

“
But he’s just going to hurt us later,” Harold said quietly to
her but still loud enough for me to hear.

“
If we go around expecting every person to be a bad person, we
miss out on meeting the good people,” Mary said proudly. “We are
only letting him sleep here. We are not giving him our
house.”

“
Fine,” Harold grumbled as he walked away. Aaron gave me an
unsure look but left without saying anything.

“
Gather your stuff and meet me at the front door,” Mary said
as she watched them leave. She turned back to face me. “And you
better hurry before Harold locks the door.”

“
Right,” I said as I raced off to gather my pack.

Chapter 11

I opened my
eyes slowly and saw two identical faces staring down at me. The
faces were smiling and they looked to be no older then 10 cycles.
They had their brown hair in the same style and their brown eyes
stared at me with both fascination and caution. Where did they come
from? Was I dreaming?

If you are, I’m not controlling it,
Cathy said.

“
Hi,” the one on the left said.

“
Who are you?” the one on the right asked.

“
Is it true you are a Mage?” the one of the left asked
excited.

“
Could you turn Aaron into a frog?” the one of the right asked
matching her sister’s excitement.

“
Uh,” I croaked, half asleep.

“
Can you talk?” the one of the left asked.

“
Do you speak other languages?” the one on the right
asked.

What is it with these two?
Cathy
asked.

“
One at a time, one at a time,” I groaned as I sat
up.

The girls
shuffled to stay in front of me, still staring and smiling.

“
You can talk!” the one on the left exclaimed.

“
Yes, but not very well sometimes,” I answered.

“
How come?” the one on the right asked.

“
I’m not very good,” I said looking around trying to remember
my location.

I was in a
small room that I remembered was called the ‘Family Room’. The
seats, a couple of tables and a bookcase were the only furniture in
the room.

“
How can you not be good at talking?” the one of the right
asked confused.

“
I never know what to say,” I answered.

“
You knew what to say there,” the one on the left pointed
out.

Smart girl
, Cathy said.

I chuckled. “I
guess I did.”

“
Who are you?” the one of the left asked.

“
Are you a Mage?” the one on the right asked.

“
Uh, I’m Andy,” I answered. “And yeah I’m a Mage.”

“
Wow,” they both said simultaneously.

“
Who are you?” I asked.

“
I’m Clare,” the one of the left said then pointed to her
sister. “And she’s Bethany.”

“
I wanted to say it,” Bethany whispered to her
sister.

“
You weren’t fast enough,” Clare giggled.

“
So can you turn Aaron into a frog?” Bethany asked turning her
focus to me.

“
No, I can’t,” I answered.

“
Why not?” Clare asked.

“
Are you not good enough?” Bethany asked.

“
What are you good at?” Clare asked.

A good question
, Cathy
chuckled.

“
Girls!” Mary exclaimed as she entered the room. “Leave our
guest alone.”

“
Sorry, Mama,” the pair said contritely, turning to
her.

“
Now, go wash up. Breakfast is ready,” Mary said as the girls
ran out giggling. She turned to me. “I hope they didn’t wake
you.”

“
No, they didn’t,” I said as I looked around for my
robe.

“
Join us for breakfast before you head out,” she
said.

“
You’ve already done so much for me,” I said. “I
couldn’t.”

“
You better,” she said. “I already set you a place. It’s
impolite to let good food go to waste.”

She left for
the kitchen and I threw off the blanket of my bed roll. I found my
robe bunched up and used as the pillow. I picked it up and shook it
a bit before putting it back on. I rolled up the bed roll and
attached it to my pack before searching for the dining room. It
wasn’t hard to find. I just followed the laughter of Clare and
Bethany.

The table was
large enough for the entire family and an extra chair was pulled up
to make a spot for me. The girls enthusiastically encouraged me to
sit by them claiming they had ‘saved me a spot’. I sat down and
starting to enjoy the eggs and bacon in front of me.

“
So what do you do at the Tower, Mage?” Harold asked between
mouthfuls. “I’ve never see that type of robe before.”

“
I’m a Keeper,” I answered.

“
A Keeper of what?” Bethany asked excited.

“
Wild animals?” Clare asked matching the
excitement.

“
Keeper of the Archives,” I replied.

“
So, books?” Harold asked.

“
See, Dad,” Aaron started, “you have nothing to worry about.
He’s only some bookworm who wants to steal all of our
books.”

“
Boys,” Mary warned then turned to me. “Why are you out this
far? I hardly think, ‘out for a stroll’ is a good enough reason to
be this far from the tower.”

“
I’m on a mission to the capital for the actual Keeper,” I
explained. “I’m just his Apprentice.”

“
Thurlborn Peak?” Harold asked worried. “Is something big
going on?”

“
No,” I lied. “I just need to pick something up from the Forge
of the Kings.”

Harold
scoffed. “Only the best for Mages.”

“
Well, you are a long way north if you’re heading for the
capital,” Mary said.

“
I was just following the map given to me,” I said. “I was
told it would be the safest path for me to travel.”

“
What do you have to be worried about?” Aaron asked. “You’re a
Mage. Just zap them with a Fire Ball.”

ZAP them with a fireball?
Cathy
asked.

“
You said yourself,” I shrugged. “I’m only ‘some bookworm’.
How powerful can I be?”

“
Aaron should go with you then,” Mary suggested.

“
What?” Aaron and Harold asked at once.

“
You have to go to Thurlborn Peak anyhow to sharpen the tools
at the blacksmith,” Mary said to Aaron. “At least with Andy here, I
won’t have to worry about you travelling alone.”

“
But...” Aaron started but was cut off his mother’s
hand.

“
The road has become too dangerous recently,” she explained.
“You saw what happened last night; the bandits were right on our
doorstep.”

“
Then I shouldn’t leave,” he pleaded. “I am needed
here.”

“
Your father can handle it here, but he is too busy to take
the trip to the capital,” she continued.

“
Then why can’t I just take it to Riverside this one time,” he
said. “It would be much quicker.”

“
I will not have Burt working my tools,” Harold said. “That
hack should be the last person folding laundry, let alone
iron.”

“
The Steel Anvil is the best blacksmith in Balendar,” Mary
explained. “And the closest one after Riverside.”

Aaron sighed.
“Fine.”

Do I say
something?

Better not,
Cathy said.
You always say the wrong thing
.

“
What do you think, Andy?” Mary asked.

“
Uh,” I said. “If he doesn’t want to, I’m fine on my
own.”

“
The boy is not going to travel with some Mage,” Harold said.
“He’ll be fine on his own as he’s always been.”

“
They’re travelling together and that’s final,” Mary said
calmly. “The road is too dangerous.”

Aaron stood up
with a frustrated look on his face and left the table. The twins
slipped away quietly and I figured it would be smart to do the
same. I grabbed my pack from the Family Room and headed out the
door. Mary stood outside watching as Harold stomped off towards a
large barn.

“
Take care of my son, Andy,” Mary said without looking at me.
“I’m placing a lot of trust in you.”

“
You’re placing a lot of trouble on me too,” I said walking
towards her. “Your son clearly doesn’t like this idea.”

“
His hatred for Mages comes from his father,” she said as
turned to face me. “His heart is the farm. He knows we need the
tools sharpened for the harvest and he’ll make sure it gets done
whether you are with him or not.”

“
Very well,” I nodded, unsure of what else I could
say.

“
Just promise me, you’ll look after him,” she said seriously.
“If any trouble comes your way, use your magic to keep him safe.
He’s headstrong and foolhardy sometimes.”