Cormyr_ a novel - Ed Greenwood [188]
On the other side of the door, there were sounds of giggling and hushed, urgent whispers.
Vangerdahast shouted, "Get out of there now, or I swear I'll teleport you to your father, along with any 'guests' you may be currently entertaining."
The whispers were replaced by the sounds of hasty movements. Vangerdahast counted to ten. Then he counted to ten a second time.
He was up to eight on his third counting when the door cracked open and Crown Prince Azoun, son of Rhigaerd and the fourth Obarskyr to bear that name, squeezed out. He opened the door only sufficiently to allow his growing frame to pass and held the door shut behind him with one hand, tucking his shirt into his breeches with the other.
"Do you have to shout, wizard?" asked the prince in groggy exasperation.
"It's the only proven way to get words through your ever-thickening skull," the mage replied. "Unless, of course, you'd rather I took to suddenly manifesting in your sleeping quarters with attendant flashes of fire and smoke."
Prince Azoun, traveling through his own country as Balm the Cavalier, muttered something definitely unroyal and then said, "Give me ten minutes to gather my gear."
"Make it five minutes. That way you won't get distracted again by the young lady."
Azoun grumbled an assent, and six minutes later he was out in front of the inn, yawning loudly. His pack was on his back, his short sword sheathed on his belt, and a shapeless, wide-brimmed hat covered his head and most of his features. At nineteen winters old, the young noble was already broad-shouldered and handsome. Soon he'd have to make use of magical disguises to avoid being recognized at once.
The larger and more portly Vangerdahast was similarly attired and equipped, save that he had a short walking staff instead of a sword. Azoun had no doubt that the leather-shod walking stick held more magic than any gnarled staff wielded by a more powerful mage.
"Where to today, O learned elder?" asked the prince.
"Eveningstar," said the mage. "It's about two days' jaunt from here. I thought we'd walk half today and rough it overnight, and make the town by dusk tomorrow."
"We could make in a single day if we rode," the prince observed, not for the first time.
"Aye," said the wizard. "And we could travel in comfort if we took a carriage, and we could make it in an instant with a spell. But with a spell, we'd miss the countryside, and with a coach, we'd not meet anyone else in our travels. And with horses, we'd not have time to talk," he added meaningfully, "and for me to help you review your lessons."
The young prince grimaced. "One day, you know, I'll have my own band of heroes and adventurers, mighty warriors all! And we will ride horses!"
"So you will," said Vangerdahast with a smile, "and you'll be able to tell your brave companions about every bend in the road and every inn in Cormyr, because you saw them all on foot as a boy."
"Boy!" spat Azoun. "My father was king at my age!"
"And with Tymora's grace, you'll be spared the pain that he had to go through, wizardless and alone!" retorted the wizard. "So tell me, O learned young one, what other kings of Cormyr took the throne at such a young age?"
Azoun grumbled and rummaged through his memory as the two set out, leaving the Old Owlbear Inn behind them. The wizard chose a path along the banks of the Starwater, as opposed to doubling back to the main road itself. It was little more than a footpath that followed the course of the river, meandering along beside it beneath the shade of early summer leaves.
Azoun recited the names of the nineteen young kings and seven warrior queens, starting with Gantharla, and of the four recognized illegitimate kings. He listed the current noble houses with ease, though he needed prompting to recall all the names of the dead houses that had ended through lack of heirs or loyalty. He recalled perfectly the lyrics of the song "The Cormyte's Boast," including the lewd