"It's not much further! Oh no it isn't!" Giggled the the strange Oz as he joyously trotted through the fields in the dead of night, the boys following not too far behind. "You've told yourself this for the last twenty minutes, as you frolicked along, old man." Says Judith, mocking the man's strange demeanour, and more importantly, lightening the mood, as he was just attacked by a beast less then an hour ago.
"No! No! But I mean it now!" He says pointing one of his frail fingers out at the horizon, as his other hand rested comfortably on his trust old stick, the old man's face lighting up with joy.
In the distance, the trio spotted a towering structure, crafted from the finest stone bricks in all the land. It soared high into the air, its silhouette dominating the skyline. The base of the tower was overrun with ivy and moss, creeping up its walls like veins, as if the very building were alive and pulsing with a secret life of its own.
The tower was as big as towers come—one of the grandest to be found infact. Yet, as it rose, it tapered gradually, each floor slimmer than the last. At the very top, however, the final level flared outward dramatically before tapering again to a narrow, sharp roof that was reminiscent of Oz's hat, though the roof was far more majestic and imposing than anything his hat could ever hope to be.
"You're right, you really are right," laughs Gabriel, "I was out here thinking you're a mad man!" His tone as giddy as can be—for someone who had just witnessed a demon attack them.
"And there is your carriage, just right next to my tower, now let's waste no time and head there! Yes we should!" He tells the boys, with a little smirk, and a skip in his step, as he frolicks through the fields, and to the tower.
"Wait what! How did you do that?" Cries Judith, as he runs across the field, and over too the carriage, to make sure it isn't a fluke. "Wait for me!" Cries Gabriel, who follows close behind Judith.
Judith was the first to reach the carriage, with Gabriel right behind him. The pair jump up into the trapdoor, and down inside, to see everything exactly the way it was, ordered in the exact same way that it was before the attack. The final one to arrive was Oz, who was grinning profusely at the pair, as they rummaged arround their now restored vehicle.
When Gabriel and Judith got out of the booth, they stare up at the tall Oz, their eyes wide with shock. "How did—" Gabriel attempts to say, before being cut off by Oz, "Oh how? Well let me tell you! I am a wizard to many, a shaman to some!"
Judith lays his hand on his chin, before contemplating for a second, "What can a wizard do? I know they can use magic, but what kind of magic can you do? is it like the ones in my books?"
"You're not going to doubt me!" Oz continues, "Anyway! Anyway! There are four types of wizards, witches, mages, sages, shaman or whatever you wanna call them! Anyway, it just so happens I picked restoration! Since this place is brimming with energy, and I've trained here for so long It was not hard for me to manipulate the wheels to move over here, and that's how your carriage is here!"
Their was a moment of reflection amongst the two boys, which was broken by another one or Oz's interjections, "Why do you believe me! Its funner if you don't!" His tone frustrated yet shocked.
Gabriel closes his eyes, and smirks before saying, "Well look, I've seen demons, but you think wizards is where I draw the line? And, don't forget that theirs no way you could've rebuilt our carriage, and place everything back completely, aswell as removing the blood, unless you were somehow magic! It's really only natural."
Oz takes a cigar out of his pocket, and stares at it until it regenerates to the moment it was just lit, before he puts it in his mouth, and continues to smoke, "Suppose so kid!"
"Anyway," continues Oz, "lets go get some sleep inside, it's just my luck, that there are several empty rooms! Oh yes it is!"
The wizard trots in through his front door, and holds it open for the pair to enter. The boys follow inside, and the smell of books instantly hit them. Judith, who is fond of reading, wanted to see if Oz had any books of interest, although Gabriel could care less about the whole smell, as he was just happy to have somewhere to rest.
The first floor of the tower was grand, decorated like a nobles library, with bookshelves stacking three men high against the cylinderical wall, with luxurious sofa's decorating the place, and many tables, giving the place the unique ability to house several parties of people, and still have room for more. The most notable feature of the entire first floor, was its elegant, and winding stairs, which laid in the dead centre of the room.
Gabriel surveys the place for a second, taking in the size of the place, before he looks up to the wizard and asks, "hey, old man," his tone an informal and impolite one. "It's elder actually! And that would only work if I was old, but I'm only ninety, so nice try! Anyway what is it little child?" Cries back Oz
"I was gonna ask, this place is safe from those beasts, monsters, demons and whatever, right? I don't want to have to deal with that again," asks Gabriel, as Judith wanders arround the bookshelves, as if he were a child wandering through a market.
"The energy arround here is too strong, so likely not! But no it's not that simple! No not at all infact! All will be explained in due time, and by a drunker me though! But I will gaurentee you'll be fine! Honest!" Explains Oz in his usually spiel, as enthusiastic as ever, despite the fact it's far too late into the night for anyone to have this much energy.
Gabriel nods, before he too begins to explore. Oz angrily glares at the two boys before shouting, "Kids! Kids! Kids! Sleep is calling, let me show you to my rooms! And be swift!"
The wizard began to stumble up the stairs, fat cigar in mouth, and long, sturdy stick in hand. The pair follows suit, and soon catches up to the old man.
"You'll sleep on the second floor! No right to be mad! No not at all!" Says Oz, realising the slight scowl on their face, "I sleep on the next floor, only wake me up if necessary, but do not venture up to the three floors above, as there's important stuff there! I will tell you what lays on the fourth, but the fifth, and the sixth will remain a mystery for some while. To the floor above me, there lays your food source! Infinetly regenerating cow, and infinitely regenerating chicken! Dont worry, they fell no pain, I can assure that!"
With that, the pair tuck themselves into their luxurious bed's. For the first time ever in their lives, they sleep on the same beds as nobles, with the same silky blanket and pillow that the royals use. Judith almost immediately sinks into his bed, and then falls asleep right after, although Gabriel doesn't.
Gabriel lays in his bed, facing away from Judith, with his eyes wide open. He thinks of all the people who were likely tortured, all because he wanted to escape. He thinks of how he doesn't deserve Judith's respect, nor the kindness of Gabriel.
He continues to think, and think, until his eyes force themselves shut, and his thoughts slow down, and then soon after he falls into a sleep, just like Judith.
…
As Gabriel slowly came to his senses, waking up from a long night of sleep, he sat up in his bed, before hearing some distant commotion coming from higher up in the tower. Soon footsteps followed, and he began to hear the trotting of feet joyously descending the stairwell.
"Up now, you boys!" Shouts a drunken, and groggy Oz, from the top of the stairwell, with a bottle of gin in his hand, "And you must follow me quickly! I will show you the fourth floor right now!"
Judith perks up in his bed, with a yawn, and a stretch, before he replied, "Yes, I'm coming," his tone muzzily, and his head falling into his hands.
Gabriel was the first to get out of bed, and promptly changed into more comfortable clothes, before he met with Oz at the third floor. They waited there for some time, Oz drinking his gin all the while, as he complained about how long Judith was taking. After about five minutes, Judith eventually came, his eyes carrying the weight of heavy bags.
"You're slow! I thought the youth were meant to be steadfast! Oh my! Oh my!" Complained a now suprisingly energised Oz, as he waved his finger at the young boy, his face twisting into a scowl. "Anyway, follow me upstairs, and forgive me for my earlier commotion, incase you heard any of that!"
With that, Oz ascended the stairs, the boys following behind him. "Here! Oh here, is where my pets lay! Now, let's feast! Don't forget, they can regenerate, and this does not hurt them!" He mentions as he enters the room, both Judith and Gabriel standing by his side in awe.
Inside the room lay a large dining hall, although the ground was made of grass, the walls were seasoned with moss, and vines hung from the ceeling indiscriminately from the roof. Only one part was untouched by the greenery, which was the dining table itself, which stretched wide, almost spanning the entire distance from one end to another.
Two animals lay grazing arround the room, a large and friendly cow, aswell as a single chicken, both of which taking no notice of the trio as they stood in the corner of the room atop the stairs.
"The food is layed out upon the table! Lets eat some eggs!"
Shouts the wizard, as he walks over, and sits down at the table, eager to dig into his breakfast. Gabriel and Judith both assume their position along the table, before they all begin to eat.
As the two boys continued to eat their food, and Oz—who was quickly finished, drank his alcahol, the cow came over to them, and stuck its head right next to their plates. The old man laughs, before telling them, "Don't worry! Dont worry! He won't eat it!"
Judith looks over at the wizard, before asking, "How does the whole 'making food' thing work," his mouth filled with food, and his voice muffled.
Oz, who likes to show off, went on his usual, and long winded tangent's, "Well first, let me tell you! This tower has a lot more firmament energy than other places, and I have tamed these lands, so my healing abilities—when I'm in my own land, is almost limitless! The only thing I can't restore is a dead person, and that's about it!"
Gabriel interjects, "Firmament energy? Explain what that means?" And Oz continues, "Good question boy! Well that isn't too well known, although the energy seems to be divine. Anyway, any wizard, witch, mage, sage, shaman or whatever, must train in a place with high energy, so that they are granted one of the four powers! Once I trained long enough, I gained great powers when I was inside my lands, and even outside to a lesser degree!"
Judith smiles, before he asks, "How do you train in magic?" His curiosity getting the better of him.
"You must meditate in a place with high firmament energy for years! And how do you know if theirs high energy? If in your first few days of meditation, you don't feel the presence, you're in the wrong place." He lectures, his tone enthusiastic as ever.
The two boys, in their awe, don't ask any further, and instead just finish their meal in silence, as Oz sits there, drinking his gin, a large smirk painted on his face.
"You're done your food? Now do what you please all day, but DO NOT explore the fifth or sixth floor, please, good day and see you tonight!" Shouts Oz gesturing the boys, who had just finished their breakfast, out of the room.
…
Gabriel spent the rest of his day training outside, while Judith spent his time in the library reading all of his favourite books, stopping only briefly to have their dinner with Oz, the three telling each other meaningless stories to entertain one another.
As the day slowly turned to night, both of the boys sat down on a sofa, which lay in the downstairs library. Judith was still immersed in his book, and an exhausted Gabriel lay down beside him, listening to him read it out aloud.
"Hey!" Asks the wizard, who didn't seem as optimistic as usual, and much more drunk instead, "did i ever tell you about my childhood, back when I was like you."