Seeds of Virtue, Dark Descent, Book I

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  After Piyus had seen Druzeel from his home, he returned to his ruined spell chamber and looked over the mess that was left behind. He recited a few words of power and waved his hands through the air. As the spell took shape and the magic spread throughout the room, the scattered pieces of parchment, fallen books, overturned furniture, and every other spec of debris started to move. Piyus continued to cast his spell, directing the contents of the room back to where they belong. The only things that did not move were the items that were destroyed by the small fires that had broken out. The remains of those items simply disappeared, transporting to a garbage heap somewhere inside the dome. In a handful of minutes, the room was cleaned and organized, even more so than it was when Druzeel first arrived. In truth, Piyus had been meaning to clean the room for some time. He just never got around to it. The magical backlash was just what he needed to finally do what had to be done.

  When the room was clean, Piyus walked up to the cracked orb. With a simple wave of his hand, the sphere disappeared, leaving behind an empty stand. He waved his hand again, sending magic through his home, and in seconds, another orb appeared on the stand. This one was a little smaller than the last and instead of blue and silver, clouds of purple and gold swirled inside.

  For many moments, Piyus stood in front of the orb, tugging on his beard, deep in thought. He thought about Druzeel’s strange assassin, the staff he apparently stole, and the power that was shielding him. Whatever it was, it was extremely strong and its mentality was that of pure evil and vileness. Piyus didn’t think it was the assassin himself for any being composed of that much wickedness would hardly be able to walk around the city without a hundred people noticing. No, whatever this was was trying to stay hidden, and keep the assassin in the shadows as well. Whatever it was, Piyus knew one thing: it was hiding more than just a simple magical staff.

  Deciding he wanted to know exactly what he was trying to find, Piyus waved his hands over the orb. The purple and gold mist responded to his magic and swirled around and around.

  “Find my old friend,” Piyus said. “Wherever he may be.”

  The words sent the clouds inside spinning. The magic coursed into the sphere and sent it flying across the land, searching for a particular wizard. Piyus knew that Graeak would have wards and spells on him that prevented people from spying on him, but the two old friends had long ago cast wards that allowed either of them to find each other no matter where they were or what magic guarded them. Now, the time it took to locate the person was a different matter entirely. Piyus knew he could be waiting for many minutes, possibly hours or days, depending on what his friend was doing. After only a half hour, Graeak’s wrinkled face appeared within the orb.

  “Piyus?” Graeak asked, apparently surprised to see his old friend.

  “Hello,” Piyus responded. “By the gods, Graeak! You look terrible.” Piyus didn’t mean that his friend looked ill, he just looked old, much older than the eccentric archmage would have thought, but it had been many years since he had last seen him.

  “Thank you, Piyus,” Graeak responded in a flat voice. “I can always count on your honesty, however brutal it may be.”

  “I just had the pleasure of meeting your prized pupil,” Piyus said.

  “I know,” the old archmage replied.

  “Do you?” Piyus said with raised eyebrows.

  “I’ve been keeping my eye on him from time to time. When he disappeared from my sight, I figured he was in your spherical domicile.”

  “An interesting boy and one with potential. I can see why you have been keeping him tucked away in your tower. There is scarcely a wizard that would love to have such a student to teach.”

  “Druzeel is a wonderful student,” Graeak responded with a smile, “and will become an even better man. You didn’t frighten him too much, did you?”

  “I don’t think it was me that frightened him,” Piyus said. When Graeak gave his friend a look of confusion, Piyus explained what Druzeel asked him to do and the disaster that resulted. As he recounted what happened, Piyus saw Graeak’s smile disappear. In its place came a look of grave concern. The delight that Piyus had been feeling about discovering something with such power slowly faded, replaced with something mimicking the look on his friend’s face.

  “I should have contacted you sooner,” Graeak said with sorrow, “but I am not as strong or quick witted as I used to be.”

  “What is it?” Piyus asked, truly concerned. “What is it you’re looking for? Druzeel’s quest is for more than just locating an assassin and the staff he stole, isn’t it?”

  “More than you know,” Graeak replied. Piyus listened intently as his old friend started to explain.

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