Cormyr_ a novel - Ed Greenwood [33]
Vangerdahast stepped inside to find himself facing a watchful ring of tired war wizards, who raised wands to menace him out of habit. "For the realm," he said to them wearily, the watch phrase should have been unnecessary. They lowered their wands, but four or more continued to watch him expressionlessly. The others turned back to what was going on inside their ring.
Above the tables where the royals lay, both still motionless and silent, hung a globe of radiant air, its soft glow illuminating the weary faces of the priests who were working on the baron-experimenting with vigorous massaging of his arms and legs, it appeared-under the direction of a weary-eyed Dimswart. Vangerdahast gave him a silent wave when he looked up to see which fresh face had joined the circle, and he replied with a silent negative shake of his head. No change.
The Royal Magician turned grimly away, trying for an instant to recall what pressing business he'd been attending to when the breaking of the summoning wand had dragged the realm into chaos. Thus occupied, he almost ran into the Bishop of the Black Blades. Gwennath was slumped against the wall, silent tears of grim failure and exhaustion running down her face. Vangerdahast took her gently by the shoulders, and as she looked up in weary wonder, he said merely, "Come."
The belarjack by the door had fallen asleep, there was fear in his fluttering eyes when he saw that he'd been sleepily cursing the High Wizard for pinching him awake, but Vangerdahast simply said, "Go and get someone to relieve you and your fellow priests-after you bring Matron Maglanna to me."
"Have I-done wrong?" Gwennath asked sleepily.
Vangerdahast kept his hands under her elbows to keep her from sliding to the floor and said, "No. By my decree, however, you are now to go with the matron of this floor of the palace and get some sleep in whatever chamber she puts you."
Maglanna, doughty and dependable, though looking as worn as Gwennath, was at his side before he'd finished speaking. Vangerdahast merely added a gentle "By my command" to her, watched her nod and gather the exhausted priestess into her guiding arms, and turned away again.
Sleep might soon be a good idea as well for certain High Wizards, he reminded himself as he passed grimly on through another set of wary guards-backed up by war wizards this time-into Belnshor's Chamber, where the clockwork beast had been stored.
Usually used to store whatever furniture wasn't in use at the moment, the high-vaulted room was largely bare at the present time. It was lit by moving radiances, the fey lights of working magic.
They gleamed on the golden curves of what had been the bull in the forest, lying in glittering pieces on trestles at the center of the room. Light spells hovered over it, and other magic spells were lifting plates and rings of metal with invisible hands as two women leaned forward to examine them. They wore identical frowns of intense concentration.
One woman was familiar to the Royal Magician. Laspeera Inthre was warden of the war wizards, his deputy in the command of that vital fellowship. Still beautiful, she was beginning to show her years of strain in service to Cormyr. Lines flanked her pursed mouth, and a tiny pair of exquisitely crafted clear crystal spectacles, held aloft by magic, floated in front of her sharp nose as she stared at the intricate assembly of metal objects that lurked behind one of the bull's nostrils. Without looking away from what she was studying, she raised her fingers in a salute. In all his years of working magic, Vangerdahast had met very few mages who could concentrate on as many things at once as this one. She was murmuring another spell now, the deft manipulation of metal plates and coils must be her work.
He'd seen the other buxom, beautiful woman before, too, but never expected to find her here in the depths of the palace,