Cormyr_ a novel - Ed Greenwood [124]
One war wizard, an earnest young man from the Wyvernwater shores called Galados, had even confronted old Thunderspells about it last night-and had not been seen since. Whispers were spreading among the Brotherhood even now-wild rumors about a lot of things. Unable to concentrate on his game, Kurthryn Shandarn rubbed his eyes and voiced one of the rumors now.
"Anyone heard from Galados yet?" he murmured across the board. Huldyl did not look up.
"Nothing," he said in a low voice. "Yet remember, none of us has been able to find Princess Alusair, either. She must be shielded. I wonder why."
Kurthryn shrugged. "Who knows what precautions she usually takes in the Stonelands? They say Zhentarim lurk thereabouts all too often. I'd carry a magical device to hide my presence from other mages if Lord High Thunderspells'd spare me one."
Huldyl grunted. "When you rise to such importance, let me know."
Kurthryn chuckled and made a mildly rude gesture.
Huldyl returned it idly and asked, "Are you going to move another piece tonight, or shall we just talk?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
"As the sage said to the serving girl," Huldyl responded wryly. "Old Thunderspells is probably fretting behind a shield of his own right now."
"Fret? Him? Why?" Kurthryn moved a noble knight, and then, seeing the weakness he'd left, winced.
Huldyl shrugged and moved his death priest to topple one of the little dragons, ignoring the move Kurthryn had feared he'd make. "Our elder wizards, Vangerdahast among them, can't even get any straight answers out of Princess High-and-Mighty about the governance of the realm."
Kurthryn's eyebrows rose, and he looked involuntarily over his shoulder to make sure that the outermost door of the chain of rooms that led to Crown Princess Tanalasta's apartments was closed. It was. "Couldn't Laspeera Inthre penetrate the royal thoughts?"
Huldyl smiled thinly. "She could if Tanalasta and her fiance Bleth weren't both wearing spell shields taken from Azoun's personal cache of seized and pillaged magic."
It was Kurthryn's turn to shrug. "Ah, well, if you've got it, use it. Handy, being king. Down through the years, you can seize a lot of magical gewgaws from the disloyal." He looked down at the board in front of him and moved one of his bishops out of harm's way.
"Mother Laspeera," Huldyl said admiringly. "Now there's a woman I could wish was younger, and I older. What a worker for the realm-and mother to us all."
"And naught has been seen of her for days. She has gone missing in all this," said Kurthryn. "Like Alaphondar the sage."
"And like Galados," added Huldyl, snaking a hand over the board. His death priest moved again, and another of the little Purple Dragons died.
Kurthryn sighed at the discarded chess piece as his colleague set it down beside the board, the latest member of a slowly growing group. He laid his hand on his queen to move it in front of old Galaghard, but the piece felt somehow warm and wet and uncomfortable under his fingers, and he drew his hand away again. Studying the board, he suddenly saw the sly attack Huldyl had prepared, and he hastily moved his king instead. The bishops and the noble knight were just going to have to take their chances.
Huldyl smiled. "I'm glad we don't use that foolish rule the Calishites prefer… touch it and you must move it."
"Oh-yes," Kurthryn responded. "Small-minded etiquette for small-minded folk, eh?" Then he sighed again as Huldyl's smile widened, and the junior war wizard brought that damnable death priest back across the board again to menace both Kurthryn's turret of Arabel and his other knight.
"Who taught you to play this game? Old Thunderspells himself?" Kurthryn protested, looking down at the shambles of his position. Huldyl was going to be able to strike down his choice of at least two pieces while Kurthryn tried to move the rest of the