object of the necromancer's scrutiny. He followed the lich's gaze and realized it was fixed on one of the many support columns in the hallway. Pyras could see that there were new cracks along the top. As he moved closer, the floor made a horrible screech. Lifting up his sandaled foot, Pyras discovered several small marble chips scattered along the floor. Probably from the column, he thought morosely. I'm sure I'll be blamed for this somehow.
But the necromancer remained silent and contemplative. He ran his strong hands along the length of the column and rapped his fist against it as though testing its integrity. Pyras almost thought the lich looked worried, but then dismissed the notion. Pyras had never seen Szass Tam anxious about anything, so he didn't even have an idea what that emotion might like look on the lich's dead features. He was certain the zulkir was just looking for where he might have slipped up again.
Pyras wasn't sure if the lich was more displeased with him lately or not. And he didn't want to admit it, but the recent volcanic activity had made him some- what anxious. Granted, living in a series of volcanic ridges, a certain amount of tectonic activity was unavoidable. The peaks did erupt now and again-they always had. In fact, the quantity of ash falling in the northerly and eastern areas of High Thay, downwind of the Thaymount, was so copious that it rendered the area nearly uninhabitable. Nevertheless, a few determined Red Wizards struggled to raise their own towers in the desolate spots regardless. So, quakes and tremors were not unusual. But something was different this time, Pyras felt it. Added to that was his distress and puzzlement over his recent headaches. They might have been the result of the endless nights of planning the lich had put him through for this upcoming counsel. That was a possibility. He was definitely under more stress because of it, but maybe he was just a touch frightened by the quakes as well. He knew most of the other Red Wizards that inhabited High Thay and the Thaymount had expressed their concerns to one degree or another over the last few tendays. So he wasn't the only one who felt something was amiss.
And there was Szass Tam. Pyras felt he was under constant pressure to please the lich. And he wasn't mistaken there. Over the last few tendays, as Pyras sat bent over his desk making plans and taking notes, Szass Tam had been always over his shoulder. That had to have been when the headaches started. Who wouldn't suffer from them under those conditions? On the surface, though, Tam had been supportive and instructional the whole time. He even brought me carafes of wine when he thought I needed them, Pyras remembered fondly. He had never done that before. Pyras dismissed his concerns with the thought that he couldn't fail the lich.
Pyras realized that the necromancer was studying his face closely. There would be no disguising the fact this time that the young, clean-shaven tharchion had not been paying attention with the proper amount of rapt fascination to the zulkir. However, the lich's next statement caught Pyras off-guard.
'Your eyes look more yellow to me than usual. Are you feeling well?' he asked, but Pyras wasn't sure if there was concern or calculation in his black eyes.
'I am fine,' Pyras replied. 'I just want to make sure that everything goes the way you've planned. You've worked so diligently toward this.' Once again, the wheedling, needy tone had crept back into his voice.
'I am so pleased my efforts have not gone unnoticed. You do have such a sharp eye,' he snapped, and Pyras knew he had angered the lich.
'See to it everything else is as I asked,' he ordered and turned to leave the damaged hall. 'No need to follow. I am done with you today.' And in a swirl of maroon and black, the lich was gone, more than likely to his inner chambeVs in the lower level.
No sooner had the necromancer departed than another quake rumbled through the edifice. Pyras lay a hand across his forehead and felt his knees turn to water. As he crumpled backward in a dead faint, his last conscious thought was one of relief that Szass Tam had not witnessed this latest embarrassment.
172 Voronica Whitney-Robinson
CHAPTER EIGHT
2 Kythorn, 1373 DR
Tazi looked out across the plateau to the west. She placed her hands against the small of her back and tried to ease the ache that had settled there since she had left Pyrados, days passed. The road was not as well maintained as some of the others in Thay, and the bouncing of the carriage was wearing on her.
She and Naglatha rode in the first carriage while Justikar and the two bodyguards followed up in a modified cart that also held all of Naglatha's personal effects stacked high. The griffon, tethered to the last cart, brought up the rear. Tazi had been surprised their wooden vehicle hadn't cracked under the weight, and she sympathized with the two horses forced to pull that load. The Rashemi drivers Naglatha had hired, however, swore the vehicles and the beasts could stand the burden. Of course, they had only had to load the cargo, not pull it themselves. Tazi suspected they simply didn't want to share the hefty fee that Naglatha had offered them with anyone else. Greed was the same wherever Tazi ventured.
For days now, she had traveled alone in the Red Wizard's company. Naglatha had obviously felt secure enough in her bargain with Tazi because she had relegated her servants to ride with the duergar. She was right, Tazi had mused. With her family at stake, there was no way Tazi would have tried anything. The trip had been without incident, and the only point of discussion at all had been at the beginning of their journey as Naglatha had debated what route she wanted to take to reach the Citadel. Her manservants suggested the Eastern Way to TVraturos and from there the High Road to Eltabbar. Milos offered up the fact that while the route was less direct, the roads were so impeccably well maintained that they would cross them quite quickly and make up time that way.
'And well they should be,' she had said in response to the road's condition, 'considering the fees they charge everyone at those cursed tax stations.'
She had considered the matter for a while, and Tazi was somehow not surprised when Naglatha chose to disregard her bodyguard's advice. She picked the more direct, but more difficult route.
'We'll go along the Surague Escarpment and skirt Lake Thaylambar until we reach Eltabbar. From there we can use our own transportation the rest of the way to the Citadel,' she informed them.
Heraclos had pointed out that the Sunrise Mountains were just to the east of that route, and that was where they had recaptured the dwarf. 'He could try it again and slow us down all the more.'
Tazi recalled how coldly Naglatha had regarded her at that instant. 'I don't think there is much likelihood of that occurring, do you, Tazi? '
'Not a chance,' Tazi had promised her, but in reality, she wasn't so sure herself.
'See, I'm certain the dwarf will be no trouble for you both,' she had informed her servants. Heraclos had started to protest, but she cut them off.
'Tazi and I will be just fine. I prefer to take in the scenery with her alone,' she said, stressing the last word.
And so, for the last few days, Tazi had ridden alongside Naglatha in their partially covered carriage and took in the sights of the Thayan countryside. If she hadn't been a prisoner, she would have almost enjoyed it. To her right, Tazi watched the River Thazarim flow along contentedly, knowing that it would eventually meet up with the Sea of Fallen Stars to the south and in due course with Lake Thaylambar to the north. Naglatha explained that it was the largest body of water in the country, feeding the River Thay and the River Thazarim.
A few carts passed them at that point, and Tazi could see several men outfitted with strange gear, nets, and hooks too large and bulky for conventional fishing, and towing small water craft behind them. She finally broke down and questioned Naglatha about it.
'Deep in the heart of the lake, which is as cold as a slaver's heart,' she recounted, 'live huge herds of dragon turtles. Men have been trying for years to cull their numbers and catch the creatures. Most,' she said with a smirk, 'fail miserably and not all these parties come back intact, if they come back at all. Ever since an associate of mine, Brazhal Kos, actually managed to capture one of the magnificent creatures alive, it seems that the number of these forays has at the very least doubled. Oh well,' she added, 'the less fools alive the better.'
Tazi turned away at those hash words. She still had a difficult time understanding why life was valued so poorly here. The view to the west was of a vast plain that was covered by rich fields and orchards. To Tazi, it appeared every square foot of useable tract was farmed. Granaries were stuffed to the point of bursting, and she could see no end in sight to the fertile ground.
