The Great Crag Droaam Eyre 19, 998 YK
Even though she was shielded behind the petrified body of the ogre, Thorn let her gaze fall to the floor.
'Our thanks for your hospitality, noble Sheshka,' she said as she stepped out from behind the statue. She stressed the last word, making sure Beren and Toli heard her. Both hastily lowered their eyes.
As soon as she recognized Sheshka's voice, Thorn had entertained the wild hope that the statue of Harryn Stormblade might be in the chamber. But these weren't Sheshka's living quarters, and the unfortunate ogre was the only effigy in the room. This was simply a smaller conference room, apparently chosen for its distance from the main halls.
The chamber was as barren within as the hall without. A single cold fire torch spilled dim light across the small room, and a few sturdy wooden stools were spread before a round table sculpted from granite. Thorn could hear the medusa's snakes hissing softly, and she easily pinpointed the creature's location on the opposite side of the table. The other sound-the chewing-came from beneath the table.
'Sit,' Sheshka said.
Toli's job was to secure the area, and he took charge. He pushed Thorn aside with a little more force than she'd expected, and she stumbled on a piece of debris lying on the floor. As Toli examined the surface of the table and pulled out a stool, Thorn glanced down at the object that had almost caused her to fall. It was oblong, crescent-shaped, and a little longer than the palm of her hand. Curious patterning covered it; bending down, Thorn realized that these were the lines and wrinkles found on skin.
A stone finger. Likely torn from the hand of an ogre.
Thorn was still processing this discovery when Toli leaped backward, swearing and drawing his sword. The ghostly shield expanded from his ring, shimmering into existence around his right fist. Thorn glanced over to see what had caused his reaction-and found herself staring into the eyes of a basilisk.
It was small for its kind, not much larger than a wolfhound, and it was curled under the table, contentedly chewing on a chunk of ogre. Its scaled hide was emerald green, and it was flexing the claws on all six of its legs. Its eyes were milky white, with no pupils. And, according to the legends, its gaze was as deadly as that of the medusa. Thorn snapped her eyes shut, knowing it was too late; she'd met the creature's gaze dead on. But nothing happened. She felt no loss of sensation, no chill of her limbs turning to stone.
'Sheathe your weapon!' Sheshka's voice was fierce. Her serpents hissed violently, but Thorn still heard another blade being drawn-a sword in Sheshka's hand. 'Lord Beren, if this guard of yours hurts my Szaj, I will have his head!'
'Toli, stand down!' Beren commanded, and fury blazed in his voice. 'What is going on?'
'Dorn's teeth, sir!' Toli swore. 'There's a thrice-damned basilisk down there!'
'Szaj will not harm you!' Sheshka snapped. 'If he frightens you, look away. Raise your eyes and let us speak face to face.'
Anger infused her voice, but she'd dealt honestly with them at the feast. 'Let me,' Thorn said. She looked up and opened her eyes.
As Thorn expected, Sheshka had closed her eyes. The medusa queen projected quite a different image at this meeting. She still wore the silver collar with the smoldering Khyber shard. But in place of her gown of white silk, Sheshka wore a light shirt of fine chain mail, along with vambraces protecting her forearms and long shin guards. She held a curved sword in one hand, and her mane of serpents writhed around her head, hissing her fury.
'Now lay your weapon down,' she said.
'Toli-' Beren said.
'No, sir!' Toli snapped. 'I'm not letting you put your life in her hands. I want this lizard out of here, and a blindfold on this bit-'
'Enough!' Sheshka roared.
Thorn saw the medusa's eyelids opening, and turned away in time. Caught up in his rage, Toli wasn't so lucky. Thorn saw his eyes widen and his muscles go rigid. Black threads spread across his skin, growing and intertwining, spreading from skin to cloth to sword… and then he was gone, replaced by a statue of polished black marble. And he was falling. Toli had been taking a step forward when he meet Sheshka's gaze, and the statue was tipping. Thorn leaped and caught him, straining against the weight of the stone. She couldn't stop the fall completely, but she managed to slow his descent and push him against a stool. He struck hard, but nothing broke.
Beren swore, and to Thorn's surprise he reached for his sword. Despite his past, Beren had achieved more as a diplomat than he ever had as a warrior, and she'd never seen him lose control during a negotiation. Last night, he'd faced the medusa queen with no qualms whatsoever. She seized his arm before he could draw his blade. Behind her, she heard Sheshka sheathe her sword.
'My eyes are closed,' the medusa said.
'I should tear them out!' Beren cried. For an old man, he was surprisingly strong.
'Be calm, Lord Beren,' Sheshka said. She had regained her composure. 'Your man should have known better. Would you allow someone to speak to your king in such a way? I will restore him when our business is concluded.'
'He was just acting to protect Lord Beren from your basilisk,' Thorn said. 'How did you expect him to react?' Thorn knew it was unwise to push the issue, but she was as angry as Beren.
To her surprise, the medusa shook her head. 'I forget how little your people know of the world and its wonders.'
Her voice had actually softened. A few of the snakes hissed in a strange pattern, and suddenly the basilisk retreated from under the table, moving over to settle next to the medusa queen. She leaned down and dropped something on the floor… another petrified finger.
'Szaj is young. His gaze is unlikely to transform a creature of your size. Beyond that, the gaze of the basilisk is dangerous only when its eyes are fully exposed. If you met Szaj's gaze, you'd have seen the pale membranes across his eyes.' Sheshka ran a hand across the lizard's head; the finger it was chewing on had somehow become flesh and blood. 'He is being trained to be around others without harming them.'
Beren was staring at the statue of Toli, and the muscles in his jaw were twitching. Thorn spoke before he had the chance.
'You couldn't have expected Toli to know that,' she said. 'He believed you were trying to kill us. So did I, for that matter. Surely you could have foreseen this.'
Six serpents hissed at once, watching her closely. 'So you've never heard of Cazhaak Draal? You didn't think we would speak at this summit?'
Beren was still bristling, but he had regained enough composure to speak. 'Make your point.'
'You aren't in your Five Nations any more,' Sheshka said. She had sheathed her sword, but her voice was deadly. 'You have come to my home. Your soldier threatened me with a blindfold. A blindfold, on my soil. Would I come into your castle and strip away your sword, or demand that you wear chains? If I found a hunting hound in your chamber, would I try to kill it, or would I assume it was under your control?'
'We can't kill with a glance,' Beren said.
'And that excuses your threat to pluck out my eyes? Should I cut off your hands so you cannot strangle me?' The medusa's eyelids fluttered, but remained closed. 'Hand, tooth, steel-we are all deadly, Beren ir'Wynarn. If you had studied the creatures of our land, you would have known that Szaj posed no threat. Or you simply could have trusted that I wouldn't allow a diplomatic envoy to come to harm. Instead, you drew a weapon and demanded that I cripple myself for your benefit. I am queen of my own kingdom. You cannot make demands of me, and you should consider yourself lucky that I am willing to restore him. If one of my kin acted in such a way in the presence of your king, I doubt you'd be so merciful.'
A storm brewed in Beren's scowl. 'Your kingdom would amount to little more than a city in Breland,' he snarled. Once again, Thorn was surprised by his aggressive tone. 'Your leaders called us here. You want to join our alliance. We aren't bargaining. We're listening to the pleas of beggars.'
Sheshka's serpents hissed, lying close to her skull. Thorn was ready to push Beren to the floor the instant the medusa opened her eyes, but Sheshka kept her composure.
'This is futile,' she said. 'Beggars. Monsters. You cannot trust us unless we are crippled and chained. We reach out to you and you spit on us. I had hoped to discuss the common ground between us, but now I see there is
