The tower was impressive and bleak looking on the outside, but inside it proved to be quite cozy. Serali got a room on the second floor, one level below Janus's and two below the workroom on the fourth. Her bedroom took up roughly two thirds of the second floor, the other third being occupied by the stairs and a storage closet. The room had two large windows, with sills wide enough to sit in, as well as a bed, a desk, a bookshelf and a pair of chairs. Unlike the traditional image of a round wizard's tower, Janus's was square, with five stories, though the high ceilinged rooms made it look taller. After Serali got her few belongings put away, where they seemed to rattle around in the generous dresser like the last apple in a barrel, she went up to talk to Janus.

She found him sitting in his room, leafing through a large book. His room was about the same size as her own, with large windows on three of the walls. It was furnished in dark, cool colors, unlike her own which was in light earth tones. He put his book aside and offered her a seat in a chair next to him.

"So what do I do now?" asked Serali.

"Well, for the first week or two, I'll be testing your aptitudes. Mornings you'll have some time set aside to study, but mostly you'll be working. I'll have several different duties for you, mostly just regular household chores. You'll have a few hours around noon for lunch and for whatever else you wish to do, and then in the afternoon we'll have lessons, though right now instead of lessons we'll be doing tests. Evenings will be your own, though once you progress I may occasionally ask you to assist in my own spell-work in the evening. Does that sound acceptable to you?"

"I can't find any problems with it now." She grinned cheerfully. "I'll tell you if I ever do."

He smiled. "Excellent. Today we'll forgo the schedule and you can just get settled in here. I don't want you going into town on your own at first, and I'll be too busy to take you this week, or next, but once you're used to town life, you can come and go as you please. For tonight you'll find some food in the kitchen in the west wing on the first floor. Make your dinner however you like, I'll not be eating tonight with you, I've things to do." He rose from the chair he had been sitting in and ushered Serali out the door before heading up the stairs to the workroom. Serali looked after him curiously, wondering what sort of things he would be doing that were more urgent than food, but then shrugged and went back down the stairs in search of the kitchen.

Some time later she returned to her room with a full stomach and an appreciation for wizardly larders, since none of the food was stale, despite the fact the Janus had been away for more than a month. She sat down at the desk, noting that one if its several drawers wall filled with crisp white sheets of something that was much to thin to be parchment. She also found an peculiar sort of pen as well. At least she thought it was a pen, it didn't look like the quill pens she was used to. There was also an unfamiliar object consisting of a stick of something like charcoal surrounded by wood for gripping. It would certainly be less messy than a pen, and better than using a burnt stick too.

She looked the rest of the room over. The bookshelf standing against the windowless wall was nearly empty. It held only two books. One was a thick volume entitled "Magical Theory for Beginning Students." The other was a slender book, well worn, and called "The Adventures of Jovan the Mage."

"Hmm.... I wonder who left these here?" She said to herself. "Surely they didn't both belong to the same person?" Still wondering about the room's previous occupants, she went to bed.