Sarai nodded.
“If she used the stairs, we’ll probably find...” Kelder began, as he tapped at a dark blue gem on the side of his little box. Then he stopped in midsentence and stared. He began tapping other jewels and various places on the surface of the allasir.
“What is it?” Lady Sarai asked.
“She was here,” Kelder said.
“That’s not so very surprising,” Sarai began.
“No, no, Lady Sarai,” Kelder said, cutting her off. “She was here four years ago. Several times.”
“Perhaps she knew Serem, then,” Sarai suggested. “Perhaps she bought a potion from him, or sold him something he needed for one of his spells. It’s hardly as shocking as all that.”
Kelder blinked.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “Yes, of course you’re right.” He sighed. “And here I thought I’d found something important.”
“Well, perhaps you did,” Lady Sarai said comfortingly. “There might be a connection. Why don’t we go discuss it with the others, the wizards?” “Do you think that’s a good idea?” Kelder asked.
“Yes, I do,” Sarai said, getting to her feet. “I’m tired of being shut out by them, anyway. Maybe we can trade this discovery of yours for some of their information.” She pushed aside the plant that was waving determinedly at her and headed for the hallway. Kelder followed.
In the central corridor Sarai stopped, suddenly aware that she didn’t know where the wizards were.
“That way,” Kelder said, holding out his silver box. Following his directions, Sarai soon found herself on the stairs to the old wizard’s great underground chamber, which she had not known existed; surprised into caution and silence, she crept down the steps slowly and carefully.
Before her, she saw a score of wizards—Mereth, Tobas, Lir-rin, the Guildmasters Telurinon, Heremon, and Algarin, and others she knew only slightly or not at all. No one else could be seen; despite Tobas’s presence, Alorria was not there. Voices rose from below.
“... the dagger,” an unfamiliar voice said, “it must be that dagger she carries that’s stopping all our spells.”
“I don’t think there’s much doubt of that,” replied Telurinon. “Which leaves us with the question of where the dagger came from, and what it is, and how this thief obtained it.”
“We’ve been using the Spell of Omniscient Vision,” Mereth’s voice said. “We’ve managed to follow her back for a few months, though it’s very difficult, the way she’s constantly moved around and never lived in the same place for more than a few sixnights. She’s always had that dagger, as far back as we’ve gone. She always had that embroidered tunic and black skirt, and a few other things, as well—I’ve made a list—are you sure it’s the dagger?”
A chorus of voices replied, all in the affirmative. Lady Sarai cleared her throat.
Noone heard her, as Telurinon said, “I’m sure you’ve all seen the significance of the fact that this woman’s magic appears to reside in a dagger...”
“Ahem,” Lady Sarai said loudly. She really did not want to be accused of spying on wizards. Several eyes turned toward her, and someone shrieked. “Excuse me,” Lady Sarai said, trying very hard to stay calm, “but Kelder and I have just learned something that we thought might be of use.”
Guildmaster Telurinon stepped forward from the corner where he had been standing, and glared up at the new arrivals.
“Lady Sarai,” he said, “what is the meaning of this intrusion? Surely, despite your display the other day at the Cap and Dagger, you know better than to enter uninvited into the private councils of the Wizards’ Guild!”
Lady Sarai glared back. “And surely you, sir, know better than to leave the doors unlocked and unwarded when conducting private councils! Therefore, this could hardly have been such a council, or else neither of us would have made such a foolish mistake!”
Mereth giggled nervously; Tobas threw her a warning glance. “The doors of this house are locked and warded, my lady, and you are here only because the door was opened for you,” Telurinon replied. “Still, I see your point and concede that you have not forfeited your life.”
“How gracious of you,” Lady Sarai said. “Now, as I started to explain, the forensic sorcerer, Kelder of Tazmor, has learned something that might be of use in your investigations.”
“And what might that be?” Telurinon asked, in the unconvinced tone of one merely being polite about a waste of his time.
Sarai moved aside and beckoned Kelder forward; the sorcerer stepped up to the railing and announced, “I have found traces of Tabaea the Thief’s presence in this very house—in fact, on this very stairway—dating back some four years, to the summer of 5223.”
“You mean she lived here?” Algarin asked.
“No,” Kelder answered. “The only traces of her presence upstairs were those left when she murdered Serem the Wise. But on several occasions in 5223 she passed through the front parlor, down the hallway and onto this staircase where I now stand.”
“Only that year?” Tobas asked. “Not since then?”
“Not since then,” Kelder confirmed.
“Why did she come down here?” Mereth asked. “Why would Serem allow it?”
“She didn’t go down there,” Kelder said. “The trail stops right here, at this railing.”
The wizards looked at one another.
“She spied on him,” someone said.
“She spied on us,” Lirrin answered. “That was when... I mean... I began my apprenticeship on the eighth of Rains, 5223.”
“These visits,” Telurinon asked. “Can you date them precisely?”
Kelder shook his head. “Not to the day, certainly. I doubt any were as early as Rains, though—I would judge them to fall mostly in the later part of Greengrowth, and perhaps into the first naif of Longdays.”
The wizards exchanged looks again.
“Leave us,” Telurinon said.
Lady Sarai said, “But...”
“Go!” Telurinon bellowed. “We thank you for this information, but we must speak in private now—Tobas, see that the door is locked and warded.”
“Yes, Guildmaster,” Tobas said. He headed for the Starrs.
Sarai and Kelder did not wait for him; they turned and retreated, back up the steps and out through Serem’s cluttered little workroom. They were in the hallway when Sarai heard the door slam shut. “Lady Sarai?” a woman’s voice called.
Sarai turned and saw Karanissa on the stairs. Teneria and Alorria were behind her, watching over her shoulders.
“We sensed some upset,” she said.
“We intruded on Guildmaster Telurinon’s meeting,” Sarai explained.
“Oh.” The witch glanced at the door to the workroom. “That’s unfortunate,” she said. “Telurinon can be very difficult. ” She hesitated, then asked, “Have you had breakfast, either of you?”
“No,” Lady Sarai admitted. “At least, I haven’t. Have all of you?”
“Yes, but don’t let that trouble you.” Karanissa trotted quickly down the stairs and led the way to the kitchens, where she found biscuits, jam, and a variety of fruit for Sarai and Kelder.
Teneria and Alorria joined them there, and the five sat comfortably chatting for some time.
They were still there, though the food was long gone, when Telurinon marched in and informed them all that they were no longer welcome in the Guildhouse.
“It’s nothing personal,” he said, after the initial shock had passed. “The incident this morning demonstrated, however, that it’s a serious mistake to allow anyone not a member of the Guild to be in the building when we have such important and secret matters to discuss as we do at present.”
“Wait a minute,” Sarai protested. “We had an...”
“Lady Sarai,” Telurinon retorted, cutting her short, “or rather, Sarai of Ethshar, we had an agreement to share information relevant to your investigation of a series of murders. Well, that investigation is over now—the
