Along the way, Shawn kept idly playing with the Fine Iron Dagger in his hand. It appeared and disappeared, making Rick's heart leap into his throat. He no longer dared underestimate Shawn, and all his ill intentions vanished.
That night, the two of them camped by the roadside. Shawn stayed alert, using meditation in place of sleep. This only made Rick feel that Shawn was even more extraordinary, and raised his estimation of him another notch.
By early the next morning, the Golem Factory was complete, and Shawn immediately went to inspect it.
Although the Golem Factory was complete and had a full production line, it could still only produce one type of golem: Harvest Golems.
Harvest Golems had a Challenge Level of 5, but they could no longer meet Shawn's growing need for combat strength. Other golems required time and Garrison Resources for research before they could be produced.
The Golem Factory offered several options, including a prototype Reaper, Mechanical Squirrels, and various other golems, but none of them appealed to Shawn. Only one caught his eye.
"Harvest Watcher: an upgraded version of the Harvest Golem. It has greater attack power and defense, more flexible attack methods, and a more complex intelligence program. Challenge Level: 7."
This new golem could fully meet Shawn's current needs. Its Challenge Level of 7 was even higher than his own. That took its limited intelligence into account; if judged solely by its attack power and defense, its level might be even higher.
It would have been even better if it didn't require 400 Garrison Resources and a grueling seven days to build.
Grimacing, Shawn used up his last Garrison Resources and selected "Research" for the Harvest Watcher.
At noon on the third day, Shawn and Rick finally arrived at the Tower of Azora.
From a distance, it looked like a seven-story tower rising among the trees. It stood over forty meters tall, higher than the surrounding trees.
The lower half of the tower was made of stone, while the upper half was wooden. Its middle section was relatively narrow, while the top and bottom were spacious. It was unlike a traditional Mage Tower. In a way, it looked less like a tower dedicated to a mage's research and more like a defensive watchtower built for offense and defense.
Rick pointed at the Tower of Azora and explained, "They say the owner of this Mage Tower was a High-Rank Mage named Azora. But the tower was built a long time ago, and no one knows where Azora went. A few years ago, Lord Theocritus came to the Tower of Azora to escape the Stormwind City regime. After that, more and more mages gradually arrived. There are now around twenty or thirty mages living here, along with dozens of mage attendants and servants."
Shawn nodded silently.
Twenty or thirty mages was no small number. Even Stromgarde, 2,800 years ago, had trained only a hundred novice mages. After joining forces with the high elf mages of Quel'Thalas, they had summoned heavenly fire to burn an entire Troll army and turn the tide of battle.
The Tower of Azora, with its two or three dozen mages, was a powerful force in its own right. If they all went into battle, even Westbrook Garrison, which usually stationed over a thousand troops, might not be able to hold them off.
However, most of these reclusive, independent mages were focused on researching Arcane Energy and had no interest in fighting. Otherwise, why would they have come here to escape the Stormwind City regime?
Rick said, "Shawn, the person I'm taking you to meet is Lord Theocritus, the leader of the Tower of Azora. Before he left Stormwind City, we got along well and were old friends. Of course, Lord Theocritus is a powerful Mid-Rank Mage. You need to be humble and courteous around him, and don't anger him. After all... he's not exactly easygoing..."
Shawn nodded. "It's fine. I'm easygoing."
When they reached the foot of the Tower of Azora, Rick told Shawn to wait there. He went to the door alone, knocked, and exchanged a few words with the servant who answered.
The servant closed the door, apparently to inform Theocritus. A few minutes later, the door opened again, and the servant gestured for them to come in.
Rick waved to Shawn, signaling that he could enter.
Shawn took off his pack and followed Rick into the Tower of Azora.
This was Shawn's first time seeing a real Mage Tower, and he looked around carefully as he walked.
The Tower of Azora was circular, with a wooden spiral staircase winding up through the middle to the very top. The stairs were made of sturdy, comfortable wood, carefully polished and stained. They looked both rustic and refined.
A series of corridors encircled the staircase, with room after room along their outer walls. There were seven floors, each with around ten rooms.
"The first floor is the reception area, the second is for the servants, the third is for the followers, the fourth is for Novice Mages, the fifth is for Mid-Rank Mages, the sixth is the laboratory, and the seventh is the rooftop. They say the Tower of Azora's most precious treasure is kept up there, but I've never been, so I don't know what it is."
As they walked, Rick quietly explained the layout. Even he seemed very restrained in the Tower of Azora. Shawn, on the other hand, was completely at ease. Theocritus was a Mid-Rank Mage, certainly someone worthy of respect and awe, but Shawn had met mages of even higher levels, so he felt relaxed.
The servant leading Shawn and Rick was very conscientious and didn't say a word more than necessary. Shawn couldn't get any information out of him.
But that didn't matter. Shawn hadn't come to pry into secrets. He was here to get acquainted with the mages of the Tower of Azora and make some deals with them. If possible, he might even gain access to something rare and valuable, like using the Eye of Azora once.
The Eye of Azora was the treasure kept on the seventh floor, the one Rick had mentioned but didn't know anything about.
The servant led Shawn and Rick to a room and asked them to wait there for a while. Theocritus was conducting an important experiment that couldn't be interrupted, or all his work would be for nothing.
Shawn said he understood. On a whim, he used Eye of Insight on the servant and was surprised to discover that although the man wasn't a professional, he was skilled in several practical crafts, such as tailoring and cooking, even if his skill in each was low.
Clearly, Theocritus knew how to enjoy the comforts of life.
After the servant left, Shawn closed his eyes and waited for Theocritus to arrive.
Before long, an explosion shook the entire Tower of Azora. A string of angry curses immediately rang out from the top of the tower. Clearly, someone's experiment had failed, leaving him furious and humiliated.
Shawn glanced at Rick, who gave a wry smile and nodded.
Clearly, they'd come at the wrong time. Theocritus was certainly in a bad mood today.
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