region, but she had written them off as natural occurrences. Judging by the expressions of the Red Wizards all around her, she reconsidered her earlier appraisal.
It took a few moments for the conversations to resume after the tremor tapered off, and when they did, they were more muted. The banter that had been more verbal fencing than anything else stopped.
Tazi looked at the two spaces that were directly opposite Naglatha. They remained empty, and Tazi assumed the one in the middle was meant for Szass Tarn. She didn't know who they other one was for, but supposed it must be someone closely linked to the necromancer. Tazi noticed more than one wizard glance at the vacant seats and whisper to their dinner companion.
A sudden hush fell over the room like a pall, and all eyes turned toward the main passageway of the banquet hall. A tall, handsome man with black hair and a matching beard walked determinedly into the chamber, rightfully commanding everyone's attention. He alone did not wear the red insignia cloak of a Red Wizard. All of the others had dressed in varying degrees of opulence and ornamentation, but they had all worn the cloak that denoted their station. Not this man. He set himself apart.
As he pulled out the center chair and seated himself with unconscious regality, he looked steadily at Tazi for a long moment. She met his black gaze without blinking and felt a charismatic pull. His cheeks had a hint of color that was lacking on so many of the sallow faces she had seen in Thay. It gave him the appearance of ruddy, good health. She had to remind herself that this was a lich, and what she was seeing was surely the work of some illusory spell. Even still, she felt drawn to him, mostly because he cast an aura of self-possession and certainty that Tazi had envied in other people all her life. Her passion was to feel that comfortable in her own skin, and it was a quality she constantly fought for.
'Naglatha,' his deep voice broke the silence, 'I must compliment you.'
'And why is that? Szass Tarn?' she asked demurely.
'Out of everyone in attendance tonight,' he explained, 'you have, by far, brought the most interesting decorations to the table.' His gaze flickered over the duergar as well, Tazi noticed, and he seemed to recognize the dwarf.
'I thought you'd be pleased,' she replied, and Tazi could see Naglatha glow with the necromancer's attentions. Tazi herself bridled with anger at the idea of being classified as decorative.
Turning his attention to take in the whole room, the lich began, 'I am so very pleased that all of you were able to find the time to come here. I am truly surprised that you could, given the relatively short notice and your full schedules,' he added, and Tazi knew that no one in the room would have dared to miss it.
A few of the wizards made pointed glances to the vacant chair to Tarn's right. The lich noted where their eyes lingered.
'Unfortunately, Tharchion Pyras Autorian is unable to attend tonight's festivities. He has had a fresh spate of maladies and most recently has been suffering from terrible headaches,' Szass Tarn explained to the gathered wizards, forced to address their looks. A very low murmur could be heard.
'I suspect that like you,' he continued easily, 'many of the recent events have been weighing on him and have taken their toll. He is still rather young and hasn't your stamina or vast experience with such issues. But, he has assured me he will be able to attend tomorrow's council.'
'And what is it exactly,' Zulkir Lauzoril asked, 'that we are to discuss tomorrow?' He cocked an eyebrow at the lich, and Tazi could see Szass Tarn did not like to be interrupted. She sensed Lauzoril knew that particular fact quite well.
'I do not want to speak too much of it tonight, since dear Pyras is absent. But I feel it is important that we discuss some of the more pressing issues of late.'
'Such as the increased volcanic activity in the area?' demanded one of the wizards.
'That would be one of the more important points, Tharchion Dimon,' the necromancer agreed, 'as well as the state of our current economy and the success of the Enclaves as well as our continued support of them.'
At this point, he stopped and slowly looked at each of his guests. 'I want to make sure we are all in agreement over these things.' Tazi couldn't miss the coldness that crept into the lich's voice, and for a moment, he didn't look like the scholarly gentleman he had first appeared to be, but something much more sinister. She didn't flinch when his gaze included her again, and there was another strange moment between them.
'And now, I will let you enjoy your evening meal. Please, eat your fill and have a good rest before tomorrow's busy schedule.'
With that, the necromancer rose to his feet and gave a slight bow with his head to the gathered assembly and exited down a different corridor. Tazi found herself almost wishing he hadn't left quite so soon.
Not a minute aҐter the lich left, everyone began to speak to one another again.
'Interesting that Pyras was not able to attend, eh Aznar?' Tazi heard Lauzoril ask the bald, black-eyed man near him.
'Makes one wonder if Pyras has been demoted,' Aznar replied. 'Demoted permanently, that is.'
More than one zulkir or tharchion commented on the absence of the man with the same speculations. While they discussed their various opinions on the Enclaves of Thay, a bevy of servants skittered in and out, carrying trays laden with all types of food and drink. They moved silently from one person to the next, letting the guest choose items from the various platters at their leisure.
'Now, I assume that Zulkir Druxus Rhym was not allowed to help in the kitchens. Am I correct in that assumption? ' demanded a woman with hollowed cheeks in apparent good humor.
'That's a good point, Mythrell'aa,' chuckled Na-glatha. 'Didn't you kill an entire dinner party a few years ago by changing their desert pastries into poisonous snakes?'
There were several polite laughs at the banter, but Tazi saw that most everyone had not yet touched the food on their plates. The bald, black-eyed wizard that Naglatha had addressed looked her straight in the eyes and said, with all seriousness, 'It was scorpions, not snakes.' And he picked up a knife and fork and began to eat.
A few others began to eat as well, but some of the guests got up to have more discreet conversations with others. Naglatha stood as well.
She placed her hand lightly on Tazi's shoulder and whispered, 'I need this time to talk to a few of my colleagues. Feel free to have something to eat as well.'
Tazi watched as Naglatha slipped over to where Nevron and Lauzoril were seated. She placed her hand, as she had with Tazi, delicately on the older man's shoulder and immediately became engrossed in a serious discussion.
Tazi observed the various groupings around her. More than one had become heated. The words 'Thay' and 'trade' and 'army' were tossed around a bit. Whenever anyone got too impassioned, one or more of their immediate companions would remind them where they were, and that wizard would then compose him or herself. Tazi was so engrossed in the wizards' discussions, she was barley aware when another servant came over to her and the duergar and placed plates piled high with delicacies in front of them.
She did see Justikar sniff at his food and take a small bite of some of the meats on his plate. He scowled foully, and Tazi shook her head. She suspected that nothing except metalworking could ever bring a smile to his grim features. She turned to say something to him, but he fixed her with such an unpleasant look, she turned back to eavesdrop on the conversation to her left.
'I still think gnolls are the next to try experimenting with,' she heard one wizard tell another and proceeded to expound on the creatures' virtues as soldiers. She absently picked at the food on her plate and brought a forkful of cheese to her lips, barely noticing what she was doing. The next moment, she felt a powerful blow to her stomach and realized the duergar had punched her directly in the stomach.
Tazi bent over her plate slightly and had no choice but to cough up the food she had just eaten. She wiped at her mouth and threw her napkin into her plate. Livid, she whipped her head around toward Justikar and opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but a strange event stopped her in her tracks.
Poison, she heard the dwarf speak inside her head.
What? she thought.
I said, the dwarf thought angrily, there was poison in the food.
How? demanded Tazi.
You obviously didn't notice, the dwarf explained, but we had a different server from everyone else. Didn't you see that all the others and their servants got to choose what they wanted while we were brought plates already full of food?
