Amber and Iron - Margaret Weis [45]
Nightshade, taking the hint, fell silent.
Dominique had been listening. He regarded Rhys gravely, not liking the reminder that Rhys followed an evil goddess. He seemed about to say something when Gerard interrupted.
“A fine night’s work,” Gerard said grimly. “All we have to show for it is crushed grass, a few gouts of blood, and melted candle wax.” He sighed. “I’ll have to report all this to the mayor. I’d appreciate it, Sir Dominique, if you’d come with me. Palin’s bound to believe you, if he won’t me.”
“I will be glad to accompany you, Sheriff,” said the paladin.
“I don’t know what he’ll do, of course,” Gerard added, as they started off down the hill, “but I’m going to suggest we call a town meeting tomorrow to warn people.”
“An excellent idea. You can hold your meeting in our temple. We will end by praying for strength and guidance. We will send out messengers to all our clerics, as well as those of Mishakal and Majere—”
“Speaking of Majere …” Gerard halted. “Where’s Brother Rhys?”
He turned around to see Rhys, Nightshade and Atta still standing beneath the trees. “Aren’t you coming back to Solace with us, Brother?”
“I believe I will remain here for a while,” Rhys replied. “Give Atta a chance to rest.”
“I’m staying with him,” Nightshade added, though no one had asked.
“Suit yourself. See you in the morning, Brother,” said Gerard. “Thanks for your help tonight, and thanks to Atta for saving my life. She’ll find a big beef bone in her dog dish tomorrow.”
He and Dominique continued their walk and their planning and were soon lost to Rhys’s sight.
The night had grown very dark. The lights of Solace had gone out. The town had disappeared, swallowed up in sleep. Lunitari appeared to have lost interest in them now that Jenna was gone. The red moon draped herself in a bank of storm clouds and refused to return. A few drops of rain spattered. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
“We’re not going back to Solace, are we?” Nightshade heaved a sigh.
“Do you think we should?” Rhys asked quietly.
“Tomorrow’s chicken dumpling day,” Nightshade said in wistful tones. “And Atta was going to get a beef bone. But I guess you’re right. The important people have taken over. We’d only be in the way. Besides,” he added, cheering up, “there’s bound to be chicken dumplings wherever we end up. Where are we going?”
“East,” said Rhys. “After the Beloved.”
Monk, dog, and kender set off down the long road just as the storm broke and rain started to fall.
uitari arrived late to the Wizards Conclave that had been hastily convened in the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth. He found his two cousins, Solinari and Lunitari, already there. The expressions on the faces of the gods were grim, reflecting the grim expressions of the faces of their wizards. Whatever topic was under discussion did not bode well for the Robed mages of Ansalon, apparently.
Nuitari had only to hear the words, “Beloved of Chemosh” to know the reason why. His cousins glanced at him as he entered but said nothing, not wanting to miss any of Jenna’s report to her fellows.
This meeting of the wizards that formed the Conclave was not a formal meeting. Formal meetings of the Conclave, held at regularly scheduled intervals, were planned months in advance. They were lavish affairs, conducted by proscribed ritual and ceremony in the Tower’s Hall of Mages. This emergency meeting was hastily convened with no time to waste on formal rituals, and it was being held in the Tower’s library, where the wizards had ready access to reference books and scrolls dating back to ancient times. The wizards gathered around a large wooden table; Black Robes sat next to White Robes who sat next to Red Robes.
An emergency summons from the Head of the Conclave was generally considered a life-or-death matter, requiring every member of the Conclave to drop whatever he or she was doing and immediately travel the corridors of magic to the Tower of High Sorcery at Wayreth. The penalties for not attending were severe and could result in the wizard being expelled from the Conclave.
An ancient