your lack of respect displeases me greatly, not to mention the inconvenience to which you have put me.'
The words hung in the air, and Dalquist knew that he might be facing a severe reprimand, if not worse, but the Prelate's mouth twisted into a reasonable simulacrum of a companionable smile.
'Nonetheless, you are still young. You are also high-spirited and forthright, as I suppose a true Questor should be. At your age, I was as idealistic as you. I am, therefore, moved to answer you, impertinent though your question is. I will advise you that this information is not to be repeated outside this room, on pain of the charge of treason. Far more is at stake than you realise, Brother Mage, and I will not allow any further inquiries into the matter; meddle at your peril!'
Dalquist nodded, unable to meet the Prelate's gaze.
Thorn cleared his throat and continued, 'Questor Grimm adduced some evidence that there may be an active, malevolent cult of witchcraft present within our beloved High Lodge. The leader of this cult is a witch of considerable power, and I feared that she might sway Questor Grimm from his loyalty and duty with her eldritch powers. Rather than choosing to risk this, I elected to reinforce his motivation with a spell of Compulsion, so that he might not be deterred from gathering evidence of the cult's influence, and to report back to me. I anticipate no untoward influences, but I cannot take the risk of a Questor turning against his Prelate. I pray that Questor Grimm is successful in this Quest, but you may well have put him at considerable risk through your rash actions.'
Thorn presented the very image of conspiratorial concern, holding each mage's eyes for a few moments with his intense gaze before he spoke.
'I see now that it would have been better to take Questor Grimm into my confidence beforehand; my current, sorry state is the result of trying to mould and reinforce his will, and it has been a mighty struggle, I assure you. This boy has great potential within this Guild, and it will be recognised. I may have been over-cautious; neither his loyalty nor his strength of will is in doubt, but I feared the insidious incursion of external forces. For my part, I now pity any who seek to oppose him.
'In fact, I acknowledge a debt to both of you: once the spell was cast, I became lost in the struggle for Questor Grimm's will, no longer caring that even a Seventh Rank Questor of many years' tenure found it difficult to control him. Questor Grimm should, as I hoped, prove a great asset to our common cause, and I thank you for your concern and your diligence.
'That is all, gentlemen.'
It had been a dazzling performance. Dalquist opened his mouth, but no words came. His suspicions continued to nag him, but he could not fault Lord Thorn's presentation. Why would such a man choose to try to impose his will on one of his most brilliant and loyal proteges, if he had not some more overarching, important reason to do so?
'Thank you, Lord Thorn,' he found himself saying. 'I apologise for my impertinence, and I acknowledge my lack of faith in your motives.'
'I, too, Lord Prelate,' Crohn added. 'I cringe to think that I suspected you of injustice or cruelty. You are my Prelate, and I reaffirm my faith in your leadership.'
Once the two men had left his office, Thorn emitted a low moan of agony at the red-hot bolts of pain shooting through his head. He knew he could not hope, in his current condition, to re-establish his link with Afelnor, but he felt a warm glow of pride that, even although his powers had been at such a low ebb, he had managed to exert his will upon his Senior Magemaster and another powerful Questor with a similar spell to that he had used on Questor Grimm.
The Prelate noted with some concern that he seemed to have lost peripheral vision, and his left hand was numb and lifeless. He began to appreciate better the immense power his mother, Lizaveta, had wielded when she had cast her spell on Loras Afelnor.
Thorn had told Crohn and Dalquist the truth: he had become sucked into the Compulsion spell until he had been unable to extricate himself of his own will. Thorn had intended a gentle push, a subtle encouragement to persuade young Afelnor to begin to see his Prelate more as a father than a master, so the Questor would be more prepared to go to any lengths to carry out Thorn's will. It had ended up as a battle of wills, and Thorn felt far from convinced that he had held the upper hand. He knew the reason for his inability to extricate himself from the spell: Thaumaturgic Resonance. Afelnor had been fighting him without knowing it, and it had taken all Thorn's power just to hold the spell on him, causing the Prelate to be sucked ever deeper into the link until it had taken over his whole being.
If the truth be told, Crohn and Dalquist have done me a service, Thorn thought. I might have died if they hadn't barged in like that.
That Grimm had fought back with such strength, despite being unaware of the spell on him, was impressive. Thorn desired more than ever to gain personal control of Questor Grimm's potent capabilities; however, he acknowledged that he was unlikely to achieve this by a direct conflict of wills.
The Prelate still hoped that Afelnor would uncover irrefutable evidence of Lizaveta's influence within High Lodge, but he could no longer assume that the boy would take action on his own initiative to protect his Guild. That was what he had been hoping, that Questor Grimm would feel such wrath at the threat to his beloved Guild that he might try to destroy Lizaveta without being told to do so. It had all seemed so likely, two days ago, that Thorn would achieve his goal of 'plausible deniability'. If Afelnor had failed or been discovered, he could not deny that he had acted without orders, and Thorn would have released his Compulsion spell by that time.
Now, such a happy conclusion seemed improbable.
The Prelate looked around the shambles of his room with distaste. He would need to order Doorkeeper to get all this mess cleaned up, and a bath, some food and sleep were now urgent needs, in that order.
In the morning, he would consider just how he would 'reward' Crohn and Dalquist for their faithlessness.
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Chapter 12: Confessions
Sick with worry, Grimm followed the green trace of his borrowed Location Gem to find his way to his assigned chamber. Instead of entering, he knocked on the next door: that of Necromancer Numal.
'Come in.'
Numal's tone seemed cordial enough. Grimm hoped the mage had overcome his earlier ill-humour, and he opened the door. However, he was soon disabused of this idea; Numal, who had been lying atop his bed, reading, sat bolt upright.
'What do you want?'
'Numal, please listen,' Grimm begged. 'I know now that I have been labouring under a spell of Compulsion for the last couple of days: a spell to make me more subservient to our lords and masters. I have a pretty good idea of who cast it on me, but he seems to have given up now. My mind is my own again, and I beg you to reconsider your decision to leave. I need you.'
Numal rolled his eyes. 'You don't learn, do you, Grimm? I told you before: I'm not about to put a blot on my career, before it's even started, by some illicit liaison. Even if I wanted to, which, I can assure you, I don't.'
Grimm, despite his intention to be conciliatory to the Necromancer, bridled. 'This is the last time I'll tell you, Numal: I don't want any kind of amatory relationship with you or any other man! Just get that idea out of your head, will you?
'I do need you, but only in your professional capacity as a Necromancer. I may have made a dreadful mistake, and I need your help! Of course, you're quite within your rights to refuse, and I wouldn't blame you if you did, but I'd rather you considered my request in a sensible manner before throwing it back in my face.'
Numal opened his mouth again, as if to deliver a stinging rebuke, but he shut it again without speaking. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and faced the Questor.
'Speak, then.' The Necromancer's tone was still far from amicable.
Grimm shut the door behind him. 'I'm… I'm on a secret mission for Lord Thorn. I believe that undue forces
