may be acting upon Lord Dominie Horin. Regardless of the fact that Xy… rather, that I've been labouring under a Compulsion for the last two days, I still believe this, and Lord Thorn has instructed me to gather what information I can, before my return. After you left the bar, I had the great idea of confronting the person I suspect of orchestrating the whole thing. In retrospect, this was stupid, but I think the drink had far more effect on me than I expected.'
Grimm swept a hand through his hair, screwing his face up in angry frustration. 'I was so damned stupid!'
Numal sat with his arms entwined across his chest. He did not appear moved in the least.
'Well, it's an interesting tale, Questor Grimm, and I hope you can resolve your little conflict, one way or the other. But I don't see why I should indulge your fantasies any longer. Hunt your little demons as you will, but leave me out of it. Please shut the door on your way out.'
Grimm opened his mouth to launch an irate tirade, but he managed to stop himself; haranguing Numal again would be counter-productive. He had been acting on impulse and reflex for the past two days, and it was time to use the self-control for which Questors were noted. He took several deep breaths and steadied himself.
'Very well, Numal; if you want me to go, I'll go. But I'd like to point one thing out to you: I'm pretty certain I could make you do almost anything I wanted you to. We Questors have magical abilities you couldn't begin to imagine. Nonetheless, I haven't done that.'
'That's very generous of you, Questor Grimm. Is that all you have to say?'
Grimm swallowed and closed his eyes again.
Focus, Afelnor!
Grimm had fed Numal titbits of information, in the hope that the Necromancer would go along with him on that basis. However, the moody, quick-tempered mage did not seem to respond well to hints and innuendo. Despite Lord Thorn's injunction to retain secrecy at all costs, Grimm needed the mage on his side, and he needed to stay calm. As the senior, indeed, the only, Questor present, with no immediate means of contact with the House, he had to make a decision. He had to consider the Dominie compromised, so he would have to act on his own initiative.
While Numal looked on, wearing a cool smile, Grimm lowered himself into a chair and considered his options.
He might attempt to assassinate Prioress Lizaveta but, as she had said, the act might lead to his own death. He could try to present his suspicions to Lord Horin but, if the Dominie was really under the witch's spell, this might avail him nothing. Of course, the Prioress might have been playing some unfathomable game with him, although he doubted it; he remembered, only too well, the clarity of the dream that Numal had told him was a valid astral projection… yes, that was the lever to use with this hot-tempered man!
'Numal, were you lying to me when you told me I had travelled in the astral plane?'
'I was not!' snapped the Necromancer, rising to his feet, his face a crimson mask of outrage. 'Are you daring to brand me a liar now?'
Before Numal could say more, Grimm screamed, 'I had that dream when I was last here! I saw the crypts below High Lodge, and I saw the body of a girl being butchered and eaten by the very order I now seek to destroy.
'Tell me now that I imagined it: the dream you told me was proof of my astral projection! Your very words convinced me that what I saw was real. If you now wish to call me a liar, I invite you to use your Mage Sight on me. I'm telling the truth: there is a grave threat to our Order. Yes, I am upset, but I think I have every right to be.'
Now, it was Numal who seemed on the defensive, his face etched with horror and disgust. 'I spoke the truth; I swear it, Questor Grimm! You never told me any details of your dream. Did you really see scenes of cannibalism, right here in High Lodge?'
Grimm nodded. 'All I have is the memory of that awful dream, and I don't think that alone will serve as evidence for Lord Thorn. Yet that was what I saw, and my recent, rash actions have done nothing to shake my conviction that what I saw was real.'
Numal seemed to slump into a shapeless mass, like a snowman melting in the spring sun. 'What do you want, Questor Grimm?' His voice was resigned, although Grimm could tell that Numal was still not quite convinced of his veracity, or even of his sanity. Nonetheless, at least he seemed a little rattled.
'I want you to accompany me to the crypts underneath the Lodge.' Grimm locked his gaze upon Numal's eyes. 'Our Location Gems won't be much use down there, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find the right place. When we get there, I want you to scan my aura, and tell me if that's where I went on my astral voyage. Then I'd like you to tell me if there are any signs of the depredations that I saw in my 'dream'.'
Numal shuffled on his bed; he looked ill at ease, if somewhat more compliant than he had been on Grimm's entry to the room.
'All right, Questor Grimm. Suppose I accept your proposition: where does this leave me?'
Grimm smiled. 'We take our information to Lord Thorn, and I swear on my Ring that I will say that you acted only on my instruction as the senior mage. All I ask of you is to tell Lord Thorn what you divined from the location.'
'All right,' Numal said, and then his face froze. 'My, you're a fine friend, aren't you? That's all you ever wanted me here for, isn't it?'
The young mage considered debating this point, but then dropped the idea. He might have been unreasonable after his ensorcelment, but Numal seemed to have forgotten one of the most basic precepts of the Guild: rank hath its privileges.
Perhaps, as a scion of a wealthy family, the old truism had not been drilled as often into Numal as it had into Grimm when he had been a Student.
'It's a tough life, isn't it, Numal? The fact is that I first asked you to come with me as a friend, someone who first showed me that a man could be a loyal House subject, and yet remain a human being. You implied I might be some kind of catamite, and yet you still agreed to come. I have tolerated your accusations, in recognition of my earlier unreasonable actions.
'However, I have now notified you of a direct threat to our Order, and I counsel you to act as a sworn Guild Mage. I would rather have you as a friend than as an enemy, but I'll let you make the decision. If you choose to back out now, I'll let you do so, in the sure knowledge that you lack the courage of your convictions. On the other hand, if you stand by the assertions you made to me in the Refectory the day before yesterday, you are duty bound to do as I ask. You must then accept that I am in charge, and I'll brook no deviation from my orders. It's a simple decision, Numal: are you in or out?'
Grimm pulled himself to his full height, the top of his head a full six inches above Numal's. 'If you're out, then run off back home, and prove yourself a coward. Stay with me, and I'll be sure to give you full credit for your stalwart support.'
Grimm crossed his arms and glared.
'You make it sound so tempting, Grimm Afelnor,' Numal declared, his mouth twisted. 'I suppose if I refuse you, you'll tell Lord Thorn I let you down.'
'Not at all, Numal; you have free will to accept or refuse my request. Your only guide will be your conscience. If you refuse, just remember that I'd be more than capable of bending you to my will, if I chose, but I'll stay my hand. I just want you to know that.'
Numal hunched his shoulders as if chilled, and he twisted his head from one side to the other. 'That's just plain blackmail! You bastard, Grimm Afelnor!'
'Not guilty,' Grimm said, hardly daring to breathe. Without the Necromancer to corroborate his story, he might be unable to prove anything.
At last, Numal spoke again. 'What are we up against here?'
Grimm suppressed a sigh of relief. 'There is a religious order present at High Lodge: the Sisters of Divine Mercy, whose Prioress is a woman called Lizaveta. She's a witch, and so are at least some of her minions.'
'What's wrong with that, Grimm? My cousin, Jennaia, is a witch, and highly valued in her community. Witchcraft isn't illegal.'
'Human sacrifice and cannibalism are,' the Questor snapped back. 'As I told you, that's just what I saw during my little night-time jaunt. Lizaveta presided over the whole ghastly ceremony. The Sisters are under the direct
