Cormyr_ a novel - Ed Greenwood [190]
"Whatever happened to Jorunhast?" asked Azoun.
"I think Jorunhast was right, you know," said Vangerdahast, ignoring the question Azoun had asked. "He had to make a choice between a mad current king and a young, untried would-be ruler. He made the choice, and in so doing, he knew he would be banished for his actions. Yet he spared your father any need to slay Salember, even with the excuse that he was defending himself. Jorunhast was willing to make an unthinkable choice if it was what was good for the realm. That's an important lesson for both of us."
Azoun was about to press the question of Jorunhast's eventual fate again when he heard shouts from up ahead. Two people were running toward them, shouting and waving their hands. A older man and woman, just past their middle years, wearing dressing gowns and sandals. Not the sort of garb one chooses for a hike in the woods, thought Azoun.
"Ghosts!" cried the man. "Our house has been possessed!"
"They've taken over," the woman gasped, "and driven us from our home!"
"You appear to be adventurers licensed by the crown. You must help us!" said the man.
"Let us be calm," replied the wizard soothingly. "I am Borl the Proficient, and this is my young companion, Balm the Cavalier. You say you have ghosts?"
"We are but humble farmers," said the man. "We've been living on an abandoned estate a mile up the trail, rebuilding the house and clearing the old fields."
"That's when the old nobles came back," the woman added, tears forming in her eyes, "screaming and moaning, and drove us from the house!"
"Which nobles?" asked the disguised prince.
The old man blinked. "I don't know. There was no indication, and there are so many noble houses in Cormyr. But it was a right fine building, it must have belonged to aristocrats."
"And the fact the ghosts have returned proved that," the woman added, almost triumphantly. "Only nobles care so much for their property they come back from the dead to protect it!"
"What do these noble ghosts look like?" Vangerdahast asked quietly.
The couple stammered as one, and then the old man's voice trailed alone out of the confusion, admitting, "We've not exactly seen them."
"No?"
"Oh, but they put up a horrible racket," the woman exclaimed, leaping in. "Down in the basement, and up in the attic, making dreadful moans and cries for vengeance. For three days and three nights, we've huddled in our beds, but we could find nothing amiss in the light of day. We found one of the chickens dead this morning- brutally slain! We had to flee for our lives!"
"Sounds like something worth investigating," said Azoun.
Vangerdahast shrugged. "There are hauntings aplenty in this Forest Country. All too much history assures us of that."
"But still, our duty to the crown, that document we signed when the king allowed us to pass through his lands…" Azoun began, smiling.
The wizard waved him to silence. "Well, if it's on the way…"
"And they're not going to move Eveningstar in the meantime," the young Prince added helpfully. Vangerdahast gave him a look, and Azoun fell silent. But he did not stop grinning.
* * * * *
The manor house was only about a quarter of a mile off the Starwater trail. The man gave them directions, but the couple would not leave the main path, declaring they'd go nowhere near the house until the two adventurers had cleared it of all risen spirits.
The house itself was fashioned in a style some called "Cormyr Sprawl." The main house was a foursquare, sturdy block of fieldstones on the ground floor and