Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [93]
“Ah,” said Wizard Fenworth. “Of course I remember. How could one forget an Allerion? A new apprentice. Will she be as talented as her mother?”
Kale jerked her head around and tried to see him, forgetting how the dazzling light hurt her eyes. Her eyelids flinched against the brilliance but not before she saw an outline of the wizard closing a massive wooden door.
The wind ceased. The light faded. Kale opened her eyes to view her surroundings. Wizard Fenworth, Librettowit, Dar, Leetu, and the kimens all crowded in a small room. All but the wizard and the emerlindian sat on the floor. Leetu lay among the cluster of kimens. Fenworth stood with his hands on his hips and a satisfied smile on his face.
The room resembled Granny Noon’s cozy home. Even General Lee Ark’s pinewood cabin was more elegant than this humble abode. Most of the homes in River Away had newer furniture. Fenworth needed a maid with a dust rag. In no way did this hovel look as Kale thought all castles would.
Fenworth extended his arms in a gesture of welcome.
“My home is your home. Welcome to my castle.”
35
WIZARD AT HOME
Kale soon learned why Librettowit, the librarian, spent his time with Wizard Fenworth.
In the “castle,” a common room served as the main gathering place. It was the only square room in the castle. The kitchen took one corner of this space. A table and benches nestled close to the oven. On a small rug, a cluster of stuffed chairs made an excellent place to sit in front of the hearth.
To the right side of this huge fireplace, a door led to Fenworth’s bedroom. To the left was Librettowit’s room. The wall across from the fireplace held a double wooden door that led to the outdoors. The door with its beveled glass windows did look as though it belonged in a mansion.
Round windows of various sizes spotted the walls in no clear order. In the middle of each of the remaining walls stood one circular door that lead to a tubular hallway. Along these labyrinths of corridors were round rooms with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, each overflowing with books.
Hundreds of books. Old books, new books. Big books, tiny books. Thick books, skinny books with no covers. Books with leatherlike pages, books with colored pages, books with no pages but pictures inside that moved and changed constantly. In one room a table sat in the center upon which four books lay open. As Kale watched, words appeared on the page of one of these books. When the lines of script reached the bottom, the page turned and new words surfaced on a clean sheet as if they floated to the top of a pond.
In the days while Kale waited for Wizard Fenworth to be ready, she wandered around in these rooms. Each room had one large, comfortable chair and lightrock lanterns to use. Occasionally, she picked out a book from the shelves to read.
She also got lost in these rooms and hallways. The best thing to do when lost in the castle was to find a door to the outside. From the exterior, the castle appeared to be a giant cygnot with a gathering of slightly smaller trees around it. The round hallways Kale walked through in the castle were limbs connecting those trees.
Librettowit had shown her around the maze of halls and rooms.
“Fenworth’s castle is the center of The Bogs,” the tumanhofer explained. “This tree is the oldest living tree in Amara. The trees around are not much younger.” He beamed at his surroundings when he showed her his study room. “Fenworth’s collection of books outshines all others. It is a privilege to be his personal librarian, although he does forget exactly what my duties are from time to time.”
“What are we doing to prepare for the quest?” asked Kale. It seemed to her that they did little beyond reading, eating Dar’s good meals, and sleeping in the hammocks the kimens strung from bookcase to bookcase in various rooms.
“I am gathering information on Risto, his history.” Librettowit peered over his thick glasses. His small eyes examined Kale. He sighed. “There is so very much that can be learned from