could and regard her with a gleam. 'You know the place?' she asked.
'No,' he rasped and shut his eye again abruptly.
'Hmm…why do I not believe you? No matter. She'll turn on me the minute she has what she wants in her icy grip. I'm no fool,' she told him. He opened his eye again and looked at her with a sharp awareness.
'But,' she said and leaned even closer in a conspiratorial whisper, 'if I get her what she wants, then I'll be in the better position to barter with her. You see?'
The dwarf moved his head in agreement, and Tazi could almost swear that he smiled. 'You know,' he said slowly and Tazi was once again reminded that his voice sounded like rocks rubbing together, 'you might not be as naive asjrou look.'
Tazi grinned back. 'You haven't seen anything yet.'
Tharchion Pyras Autorian had to walk quickly in order to keep up with Zulkir Szass Tam. The young Tharchion of Thaymount was amazed at the speed the lich managed when he moved. He had to remind himself once again that his mentor, as he generously liked to think of Szass Tarn, was already over two centuries old. He himself was only past thirty years, the youngest tharchion in Thay. 'The beginning and the end,' he told his autharchs when he referred to his relationship with the Zulkir of Necromancy.
But there were times, mostly in the dead of night, when Pyras wondered why Szass Tarn had chosen him over so many of the other autharchs. Over the few years Pyras had embraced the life of politics, mostly to please his father, who rode him constantly over his minimal arcane abilities, he had seen that only the most ruthless and powerful ever moved up in rank in Thayan politics. With his unusual head of red hair that resisted both mundane and magical attempts to remove, he stood out amongst his clean-shaven companions. But that was the only reason why. Pyras again preferred to think of himself as fair-minded, though he heard more than one competitor refer to him as weak willed. And yet, he had caught the attention of the powerful lich, Szass Tam, a few years ago. Under his tutelage, Pyras had been appointed tharchion of the Thaymount over many others who had fought for the position.
I must have some abilities that have yet to show themselves to anyone but Szass Tam, he thought to himself. That must be it.
'Try and keep up,' Szass Tam ordered him.
Pyras trotted alongside the lich, glad at least to be free of the horde of bodyguards that normally accompanied him. Only in the Citadel and only when he was alone with the lich was he allowed to travel without his armed shadows. By order of the Zulkir of Necromancy, Pyras had to be surrounded by a small garrison at all times, except in situations such as this one. The young tharchion took it as another sign of his importance to his mentor, that the lich kept him so well protected.
'Now,' Szass Tam said, 'I expect most of our guests to arrive within the next two days. Did you remember the seating arrangements that I asked you to make?' He smiled gently at Pyras. But Pyras knew that smile could hide much.
The young man hurriedly consulted a small journal he carried in his hands. As they continued to walk, he flipped through the pages until he came across a rough seating diagram. Before he had a chance to go any farther, Szass Tam plucked the book from his unresisting soft, white hands and studied it. Pyras watched his mentor as the lich thumbed through the rest of the tharchions notes for the occasion. He saw that the lich nodded at some notations, while he frowned at others.
Pyras used the opportunity to study his mentor unobserved for a moment. He was amazed at the lich's advanced years. He knew well enough that it was the work of a spell that gave Szass Tam the appearance of a man in his forties, with long black hair graying along the temples, ruddy cheeks, droopy mustache and close-cropped beard. But Pyras seriously doubted that it was a spell that gave the lich his fire. The zulkir practically glowed whenever he was around others, he was so driven. Pyras found himself shaking his head in wonder.
'You disagree?' Szass Tarn asked, breaking the young man's reverie.
'N-no,' he stammered and tried to recover himself. He hoped the lich hadn't been aware of his lack of attention. If he had, the young man knew there would be a fierce penalty to pay. But, it appeared Szass Tarn was so caught up in his own plans that Pyras's gaffe escaped notice.
'Good. It's a little late in the day not to see eye-to-eye on that, don't you agree?'
'Absolutely,' Pyras agreed to whatever it was the lich had mentioned, glad that Szass Tarn hadn't caught his mistake, and he returned the lich's broad smile.
As he and the lich passed down a hallway that was comprised of decorative stones resembling frozen sea- water, there was a faint rumbling. Both Red Wizards stopped in their tracks. The rumbling grew louder until the floor shook faintly beneath their feet, and a few fine lines appeared and grew in the stonework of the surrounding walls like spider webs. Pyras squeezed his eyes shut as the rumbling continued, clutching his temples. He swayed as black spots danced in front of his hazel eyes, and he feared that he was about to faint. He reached out blindly, trying to find the wall for support. Inadvertently, he caught the lich by his forearm instead. But he was too unsteady to let go. He hung onto the zulkir until the shaking faded away.
'Are you quite through?' the lich demanded, and there was no way for Pyras to miss the contempt in Szass Tarn's voice.
As soon as the spots cleared from his vision, he sheepishly released his hold on the lich and tried desperately to compose himself.
'I'm so sorry,' he offered lamely to the necromancer, 'I don't know what happened.'
'Perhaps you are coming down with something,' Szass Tarn offered as he smoothed out the wrinkles on his red robe where Pyras had clutched his arm, 'or perhaps these occasional rumblings are frightening you more than you care to let on, hmm?'
'I am not sure what is wrong,' he replied softly. 'These headaches have been growing increasingly painful.'
'Well,' the lich said after some consideration, 'I suppose it would be a shame if you became so incapacitated that I would be forced to look for a replacement for you amongst the other autharchs.' He stroked his beard thoughtfully. 'However, it wouldn't be the first time that happened. You do recall your predecessor, don't you?'
Pyras blanched as he remembered the man who had held the position of tharchion before him. He could still hear the man's screams in his dreams some nights. And, judging by the look on Szass Tarn's face, Pyras suspected he wouldn't have any compunction removing him either. Fearfully, Pyras scurried along to keep up with the lich. He didn't want to give him another reason to be displeased. He tried to redirect the necromancer's attentions.
'Uh, there was something else I wanted to tell you, Zulkir,' Pyras began, trying to somehow win himself back into his mentor's favor. Szass Tam returned to his brisk pace again, and Pyras had no choice but to speak to him on the run, as it were. 'My network of spies,' he started, trying hard to ignore what sounded like a soft chuckle from the lich, 'has come to me with some disturbing news.'
'And what might that be, dear Pyras?' the necromancer asked, and Pyras could see amusement dance in his black eyes.
'They have reported that more than a few of the standing armies of the other zulkirs have been getting restless lately,' he explained.
'Really?' Szass Tam questioned.
'Yes,' the young tharchion continued, 'more so than usual, and even the regular entertainments have not been effectual in relieving their tension. Certainly, the gladiatorial games are as popular as ever with the local populace, but the members of the armies themselves are not as distracted as they once were by them.'
'So what do you suggest?' Szass Tam asked his young protege.
'I don't have anything to add to what you've already come up with,' Pyras told him, trying hard not to sound breathless as he struggled to keep up with the lich. He didn't want Szass Tam to see that he had become a touch weaker lately.
'I'm so glad you approve, tharchion,' said the lich.
'I only meant to say that once again your timing is perfect,' Pyras replied and secretly hated himself for the groveling tone that he had adopted. 'To have all of the other zulkirs and tharchions here in the Citadel will be a perfect opportunity for you to quell their unease and refocus their energies.'
The necromancer stopped short, and Pyras nearly stumbled in to him. He knew that would have been the biggest mistake of all to make. Pyras was fearful that he had, again, said the wrong thing. But he was not the
