supposed to be horrendous creatures that inhabit those tunnels. The party that returned also brought a book back with them that rumor has it mapped the area as well as contained many, important binding spells,' Naglatha added. 'Szass Tarn confiscated that book and has kept it ever since. I and several of my allies are aware of the book and the fact that Szass continues to add more spells to it. If I could get my hands on one or two of the most powerful magics in it, I know I could overpower the zulkir. In my years as The Black Flame I have cultivated so many agents throughout Faerun, just waiting for this moment. Everything is in place.' Naglatha paused and Tazi saw that she was nearly glowing with rapture.
'With him gone,' she continued, 'I would be able to sway the other powers back to the old ways, the right ways, and Thay could finally achieve its destiny.' Naglatha turned to regard Tazi with an unreadable expression. 'And all you have to do,' she told her slave, 'is steal them for me.'
Tazi was somewhat daunted by the demand even as she was tempted by the challenge. Her eyes widened, and she pulled Цег head back imperceptibly. She chose her next words carefully, seeing how animated Naglatha had become.
'I have had a few dealings with wizards and necromancers before,' Tazi explained. 'I have somewhat of an idea of what they're capable of doing. What I don't understand is, given you and your powerful allies, why do you need me at all? Why not do it yourselves?'
The words had barely left her mouth when Naglatha waved her left hand, palm forward, atTazi. The thief found herself knocked across the room by a bolt of unseen energy and slammed into the wall. Tazi slid down to the floor, momentarily stunned. Naglatha strode over to where she had landed, and Tazi could see her black eyes storming.
'It is not your place to question my decisions!' she shouted at the dazed Tazi. 'Weren't you listening? The Citadel is a fortress of sorcery. There are wards and traps everywhere, but they are the kind of traps designed to catch wizards. We,' she explained, pointing to herself, 'stand out like stars in the night there. But you, little Tazi,' she added more calmly as she dropped to her knees and leaned over her, 'you will be nearly invisible.' She grabbed Tazi by the chin and forced her to make eye contact.
'It will take a thief of extraordinary ability to succeed,' she warned Tazi, fingers biting into her flesh, 'and I know you are the one.' Before Naglatha could threaten her further, there was a short rap on the door.
'Come,' Naglatha ordered and released her grip on Tazi.
Tazi struggled to her feat as Milos Longreach entered his mistress's chamber. He bowed deferentially and waited for permission to speak. Naglatha walked back to him and brushed at her clothes as though her sorcerous action had sullied her garments somehow.
'What is it?' she asked, giving the bodyguard leave to speak.
'Mistress,' Milos began, 'we have returned with the duergar.' Tazi snapped completely back to attention at the mention of Justikar.
'Is he alive, or did you simply recover the body from Karst?' Naglatha asked.
'He lives for now,' Milos responded. 'What is your wish?'
Before Naglatha could pronounce what Tazi was certain would be a death sentence on the dwarf, she spoke up. 'Let him live,' she requested and braced herself for the wizard's potentially furious response. She had to try, Tazi told herself. But Naglatha surprised her.
'Explain to me why I should,' she demanded. 'Perhaps 1*11 agree.'
Rubbing her sore neck with one hand, Tazi offered, 'He escaped, didn't he? That alone should show that he has some uses, not the least of which is resourcefulness.'
'But he was captured,' Naglatha countered.
'Yes,' Tazi agreed, 'but he's alive. And I am sure that was his doing, not yours or your servants. And, from what you've told me before that servant returned,' she shot a discreet look at the bodyguard before continuing carefully, 'a dwarf might prove even more useful. I could use him.' She could see her words were having an effect on the Red Wizard.
'If you offer him his freedom,' Tazi told her, 'I am fairly sure that he would help.'
'You think so, do you? I am less trusting than you, Tazi,' Naglatha said. 'I have had a few dealings with the likes of his type in the past and have my doubts.'
Tazi stepped up to Naglatha and, in a low voice, warned, 'I'm not trusting. Don't make that mistake with me.'
Naglatha nodded and pressed her lips together in something that resembled, but was not quite, a smile. 'Very well, Thazienne. Don't be wrong.'
Tazi nodded. She watched Naglatha return to the table and grab her sack of gold. She turned and tossed the sack to Tazi. The thief snagged it from the air with one hand and looked questioningly at Naglatha.
'Part of our agreement,' she told Tazi. 'Was it worth it, Tazi? Was it worth all this? ' she finally asked. Tazi, however, remained silent.
'Never mind,' she eventually added. 'We leave tomorrow, so rest up tonight. I hope, for your sake, there are no more disturbances. Milos,' she nodded to her guard, 'see her back to her room and make sure she's comfortable, and make sure Karst is suitably rewarded for his successful efforts.'
Tazi left with the guard and, as the wizard's last question rang in her ears, realized she wasn't at all sure of the answer.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Later that night
Milos opened the door to Tazi's comfortable prison, and she recognized the heavy scent of copper in the air. Her stomach roiled, and she nearly lost the meal she had just consumed. Tazi was not queasy by nature. It was just that the last time she entered a room that smelled as this one did, she discovered the dismembered remains of an old lover. That discovery took her on a journey many miles from home and did not end happily. She swallowed hard against the rising nausea and looked about in the flickering candlelight. Sprawled face down on his cot, the dwarf lay there more dead than alive.
Tazi rushed over to his side and sat gingerly on the edge of the blood-soaked bed. His face was partially obscured by the pillow, but she could see the slow rise and fall of his back, so she knew he still breathed. He was filthy, and his clothes were torn. As far as she could tell, the most glaring injuries he suffered were the ones he sustained on his back. His tunic was shredded and stuck to his skin in a bloody puddle. Tazi carefully lifted it away from his ripped skin and, as she had no implements whatsoever, tore it open down the length of his back by hand. She hissed in distress at what she discovered.
Crisscrossing his sinewy back were ruby slashes that continued to seep blood. Grimacing in disgust at the extent of the injuries, Tazi glanced over at the older bodyguard who still stood calmly in the open doorway. Tazi knew he and Heraclos possessed scimitars, but these were not the wounds that a sharp blade would leave in a fair battle. Tazi studied the dwarfs torn flesh and realized these were the marks of some kind of savage beast.
'Mistress Naglatha's pet griffon,' the guard offered in explanation as though he sensed Tazi's confusion.
Tazi had seen a griffon only once when she was growing up and knew them to be formidable beasts. Years ago, her father had been invited to enter the Hunting Gardens of the Hulorn. The Hulorn was Selgaunt's ruling merchant mayor, and he controlled an expansive set of grounds in the northeast section of the city. He kept it stocked with various exotic animals such as hippogriffs, pegasi, and sphinxes. When her father accepted the invitation, he had taken the opportunity to bring his little daughter with him. Tazi remembered the day as something special not because she saw so many amazing creatures, including a fledgling griffon going through its first molt, but because it was a day without rules and responsibilities. It had been a day where she had been just a little girl and the Old Owl had been just a daddy.
'I see.” Tazi replied, returning to the present. 'Well, if he is going to survive his run-in with your mistress's pet, he's going to need a healer now.' The guard remained impassive to Tazi's demand. Her bargain with Naglatha had really changed very little of their living arrangements, Tazi realized, not that she had really believed otherwise.
'All right then,' she tried, 'if that is too much to ask, could I at least have some basic supplies?'
