under the metal collar.
'Hey! Cut that out!' Rassendyll exclaimed, not wishing to add the discomfort of splinters to his long list of woes.
'Just hold still,' Passepout assured, continuing to try and wedge the branch between the masked man's collar and his clavicle. 'Once I have it wedged in place, I'm going to put my weight on the other end of the stick, using your shoulder as a fulcrum. It should force it off in no time.'
'Which? The mask or my head?'
'The mask, of course. Now just sit still.'
Rassendyll quickly wiggled out from under the awkward hands of the pudgy thespian, and got to his feet.
Passepout appeared bewildered at his sudden retreat. 'What's the matter?' the thespian implored. 'I just wanted to help.'
Rassendyll shook his head, and said, 'Thanks anyway, but it wouldn't have worked.'
'How can you be sure?' Passepout asked.
'It's been magically bound to my skull. I fear it won't come off without separating my head from my shoulders as well.'
'I'm sorry,' Passepout apologized. 'I didn't know.'
'No reason you should have.'
'I bet you got on the wrong side of a powerful wizard of some sort.'
In return Rassendyll murmured something indecipherable, as he began to remove splinters from his shoulders.
'Me too,' Passepout replied as if he understood what the masked man had said. 'I've run afoul of a few myself. Now, of course, the likes of Elminster and Khelben are indebted to me, but even so, you can't trust a wizard.'
'Oh, no?' Rassendyll responded, cocking his head at an awkward angle so that he could look the thespian straight in the eye.
Passepout paled.
'You're not one of them are you?' he asked in a panic.
Rassendyll thought for a split second about his current condition, and laughed. 'I guess not,' he replied with a chuckle. 'At least not for the time being.' He then quickly added, with a mischievous, almost conspiratorial tone, 'I used to be, though.'
Passepout joined in his chuckle, and said, 'That's all right. I used to be a thief.'
Thunder began to rumble in the distance.
'Then let us steal away,' Rassendyll replied, 'and find shelter.'
'Good idea, Rupert,' Passepout concurred, then asked, 'I can call you Rupert, can't I?'
'But of course,' Rassendyll answered after a moment's hesitation. He then thought, I'll have to remember that that's my new name.
The thunder rumbled again, as the two continued their trek in search of shelter.
In the Tharchioness's Boudoir in the Tower of the Wyvern:
The Tharchioness was primping for dinner when her half sister Mischa Tam entered.
The First Princess finished buffing her scalp, and began to touch up the exotic eye liner that framed the seductive windows of her soul.
'Dear sister,' Mischa said tentatively, hoping that the First Princess was not in one of her many moods that would have made this sudden, unannounced intrusion a gross act of insubordination.
'What is it, Mischa?' the First Princess asked impatiently, yet not necessarily hostilely.
'I have been giving your-I mean our-situation a great deal of thought.'
'Which of our situations?'
'The existence of stumbling blocks that are succeeding in preventing the Thayan annexation of Mulmaster.'
'You mean the High Blade.'
'Yes,' Mischa agreed, then added quickly, 'your husband.'
Mischa felt her half sister brace, her back growing erect like a viper about to strike. She realized that she would have to tread lightly if she wished to succeed in the deadly cat-and-mouse game of family and politics.
'What about him?' the First Princess demanded, turning around to face her half sister, her eyes fixed like a jungle cat contemplating its prey.
'Well,' Mischa started, averting her eyes from her sister's predatory stare, 'as I recall, your mission was to seduce the High Blade, and gain control of the throne of Mulmaster.'
'Yes,' the First Princess replied, clipped and clear.
'It was at your own suggestion that the seduction was metamorphosed into a diplomatic liaison cum marriage that would form an alliance between Eltabbar and Mulmaster.'
'Correct,' the First Princess acknowledged. 'This is what Szass Tam and I agreed upon. It was our mutual feeling that such an official alliance would be more advantageous. I do hope you are not wasting my time with a simple regurgitation of the plans to date. My memory is quite acute and needs no prodding.'
'I would never presume to doubt your cognitive processes or powers of retention, First Princess, but I am curious about one thing…'
'And what is that?' the Tharchioness demanded, all matters of primping temporarily set aside.
'Why is it taking so long? It is almost as if you are enjoying this game of prey and predator at the expense of the ultimate objective. Rumor has it, I fear, that you have become fond of the High Blade, and that perhaps your focus has become distracted or, how shall I say… channeled into other pursuits.'
The First Princess did not respond, maintaining an icy stare that seemed to lower the temperature of the room well below the freezing mark.
Mischa quickly changed her tact.
'Of course I don't believe such stories, but I fear that they may reach the ears of Szass Tam himself.'
'I have never given Szass Tam any reason to doubt my loyalty!'
'Of course you haven't, dear sister,' Mischa said, her tone becoming disarmingly comforting, 'but you have been married for quite a while now, and still you have not yet become with child, thus securing Thay's stake in the throne of Mulmaster. I am not saying that I believe this, but some of your ministers have speculated that perhaps you are artificially postponing such a conception, as you are enjoying the prerequisite maneuvers too much.'
'Who dares to sully my name and honor?' the First Princess demanded.
'Who is not important, dear sister,' Mischa insisted. 'What is important is how things might look to those back east. Though I admire your ingenuity in this plan involving the High Blade's twin-'
'It was not my plan!'
'Sorry, First Princess,' Mischa apologized in a conciliatory tone. 'I did not wish to imply that it was. After all, if it had been, it would surely have succeeded; still, your endorsement of it might still look like an unnecessary detour from the original plan, without the necessary approval of back east. Once again, I must point out that your actions might be construed as an unnecessary and dangerous dalliance for your own amusement.'
The Tharchioness stood up, and turned her back on her sister to contemplate her wardrobe for her evening meal with her husband, and the festivities that would surely follow.
'The game of diplomacy is dangerous in both the throne room and the bedroom,' the First Princess said, her back still to her sister. 'One must always wear the proper armor.'
'Yes, dear sister.'
'The High Blade is also prone to wearing armor. For some reason, even after our exchange of vows he does not trust me. Can you imagine that?'
The First Princess unhooked a gown of the sheerest Thayan silk Mischa had ever seen.
'We were supposed to be dining in private tonight,' the Tharchioness instructed, 'but matters of state have interfered. I guess I will have to find something more appropriate to whet my spouse's appetite, lower his guard, and raise his ardor.'
'No one has ever questioned your ability to do that, dear sister,' Mischa confirmed. 'Yet, you still have not
