Death of the Dragon - Ed Greenwood [25]
"This untrapped, operating wand of fireballs-" Azoun paused, watching the ghazneth's fiery eyes flicker "-for complete and accurate identification that I can understand and deem sufficient as to the wizard Vangerdahast's whereabouts, and any traps or guardians upon him or on the way to reaching him."
Luthax seemed to freeze, sitting hunched in silent thought for a time that stretched longer than most men would have found comfortable, but the ghazneth and the king might have been two statues, so patient and still did they both remain. The bald head in the cage suddenly stirred, and its owner rumbled, "You have a trade, King. Approach."
Azoun took a step closer to the cage then halted with a smile, holding out the wand crosswise. Both he and it were still well outside the ghazneth's reach.
Luthax's eyes flickered again, but he said merely, "Some seven hills southeast of yonder ridge is an abandoned stead: a house dug into a hillside, a privy, and a collapsed barn. There is a well between the house and the barn, and your prized wizard is at the bottom of it, yoked and weighted, wet but safe. He cannot speak, see, or move his hands, and from his shoulders rise two rings that a ghazneth-or you, with rope and hooks and a little patience-can draw him up by. He is well, if you'll excuse the pun, but probably far from amused."
"No traps?"
"None-unless you consider the uncovered, unmarked well hole a trap. I don't suppose a wizard would be improved by having a Purple Dragon in full battle armor crash down on top of him."
"This is all I should know?"
"By our bargain, all. Give me the wand, if kings yet have honor."
"Kings still do," Azoun told him dryly, and drew out the locking pins that held the sliding hatch lock shut. He threw back the heavy hatch with surprising strength for a lone man of his age, and hurled the wand into the cage.
The ghazneth snatched it out of the air, howled in glee, and boiled up into the air like a serpent striking at the sun.
His wings beat in a ragged blur as blue lightning raged around the wand, became a burst of light, and sank back into Luthax's now empty hands as he spat. "I've not forgotten all my old spells," Luthax said. "Lose a wand, and gain a meteor swarm!"
Balls of fire raced out from the ghazneth's mouth, followed by bellows of wild laughter, straight at the king. Azoun stood his ground, shouting, "Everyone-get back and get down!"
On the heels of Azoun's cry, the hilltop exploded in flames.
Hooting with laughter, the ghazneth tumbled backward through the air, flapping his wings exultantly. "A little warmer than you expected, Azoun? Ha! What an idiot! What a fool! This was the best the Obarskyrs could give the realm?"
The ghazneth circled the blazing hilltop once, roaring with laughter as the warriors below cowered away from him with their vainly upthrust swords bristling like blades of grass. Luthax flew away.
There were gasps of awe from the warriors as the King of Cormyr strode out of the raging flames, apparently unharmed, and snapped at the nearest swordlord, "Waste no time searching for fictitious wells or abandoned steads-a quarry I once lost a horse in lies seven hills southeast of yonder ridge."
"Whither then, Majesty?"
Azoun Obarskyr pointed at the ghazneth in the distance. "Clever and arrogant war wizards gone bad may be-but they aren't quite confident enough not to check on their captives, once the seed of doubt is planted."
He smiled a tight smile and reached for the hilt of his ready sword.
7
Vangerdahast crested the last flight of crooked stairs in the great goblin palace and knew he had finally, certainly, lost his mind. The grand corridor was steeped in a savory, rich aroma-the same savory aroma that had drawn him into the murky warrens of the palace in the first place. A strange chorus of chittering voices echoed down the corridor from the left, where the expanse of dark wall was broken by a cockeyed square of yellow light. The voices were entirely alien to him,