Wait, did land you from the boat and immediately find the knight looking for help?

I don't remember the book in the tower, but the Mage Staff is . . . not generally worth using. It allows you to grind INT when using it as a normal attack but doesn't deal damage and the magic buff skill it unlocks as it levels up, as with all item based magic skills, is nigh useless because it does not use mp in its calculation, instead using a value based on which fire magic spells you know.