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Tessaril smiled and waved a hand. In response, a bearskin rug rippled in through a doorway that had not been there before, glided to a smooth stop by Shandril's feet, and settled to the floor, An instant later, two large and soft chairs glided in through the door after it, and arranged themselves on the rug, facing each other.

The Lord of Eveningstar sank into one of them, drew her feet up under her, and waved at Shandril to sit in the other, "This place once belonged to the legendary sorceress Phaeryl, in the days of Netheril."

Shandril nodded. "I've heard of her-she bred dragons."

"That's the one. No one knew where Phaeryl's lost abode lay; most thought it was somewhere in the Stonelands, and more than one band of greedy adventurers clambered all over the Haunted Halls looking for it. By chance, a warrior of the Harpers stumbled on the entrance you used, too many years ago to want to keep count of, She's a friend of mine. and we explored this place together. It was a lot of fun."

"Fun?" Shandril's tone was disbelieving, "We learned a lot, talking to the ghosts-'

Shandril's expression told the lord what she thought of that experience, Tessaril shook her head in mock reproof and went on: "-and we got to see a lot of faraway places, and put on the most amazing gowns; you've no idea what crazy things folk used to wear, Oh, and we used to play hide and seek here, We were young, then, Later, we played it with our suitors,"

Shandril rolled her eyes and in response heard the deep warm sound of Tessaril chuckling.

"I didn't like it, much, wandering around here alone." the Lord of Eveningstar added softly, "It would have been much worse, though, if a Malaugrym had been chasing me,"

Then Tessaril made a clucking sound and waved a hand. Almost immediately, two dark figres in armor-Shandril stiffened involuntarily-clanked into the room, picked up the Zhent's body, and walked out. Empty helms gaped, the visors raised; these suits of armor, too, were empty,

"My guards," Tessaril explained, "They would offer you harm only if I willed them to." Her face changed, "I'm sorry your first taste of the House was fleeing a Zhent and a Malaugrym. The Zhentarim was not supposed to be able to follow you, but I was overconfident. His spells were stronger than Storm or I could resist; I'm glad you slew him when you did, or we'd be standing there like statues still,"

She stretched in her chair, looked around at the hall of oval mirrors, and said, "Though if you have to hide from anyone, this is the best place I know of to do it in."

"How so?" Shandril asked, "I'd always be afraid I'd open a door and find myself face-to-face with someone I thought I'd slipped away from, six rooms back,"

Tessaril smiled at her, "Yes, the doors do not always open into the same rooms you have found behind them before," Her smile changed, touched by sympathy. "You've already found that out, I see."

She made a peculiar wriggling gesture with her fingers, and a cabinet nearby swung open, A bottle and two glass flagons floated out of it, heading for her hands.

"There's a much greater benefit to this place," the Lord of Eveningstar said as she poured a glass of frosty-cold green wine and handed it to Shandril. "I can feel the presence of any intruder and where they're lurking."

"Me, for instance?"

Tessaril grinned. "We're going to get along fine, Shan. I hope you'll have patience enough to stay here for a bit in hiding while you and Narm and Mirt all get fully healed, There's even a place where you can safely hurl spellfire and make sure you've built it to its height before you venture out again to face the Zhentarim."

Shandril sipped the wine and found it warm and very good, She drank deeply and said, "Thanks, Lord Tessaril. l accept."

Tessaril chuckled again, "Call me 'Tess,' please-and think about one other thing," Her face grew serious again, "A wielder of spellfire may find fewer hiding places in all vast Faerun than she expected. This is one of them.