Elminster's Daughter - Ed Greenwood [102]
"No, no, we're inside all that. Vangey can't do spellwork if his own castings keep setting off alarms and spell-backlashes. We just have to keep fairly quiet, because he has a guest."
"Who might that be?"
"I don't know, but he's talking to someone who's right here to move things for him, not someone at the other end of a farscrying spell or crystal." The War Wizard led the way cautiously along a dimly lit passage that smelled of damp earth. The tiles were damp underfoot, and the rough-block stone walls were pierced at intervals by closed doors. "Pantries and such-oh, there is one thing we have to watch out for!"
"Rauthur," the wizard called Darkspells said silkily, laying a hand on the War Wizard's shoulder, "I don't like surprises. You should know that by now."
"Uh, ah, yes, Lord! I-I-merely mean I forgot to mention something! Uh, tha-that Vangerdahast conjures pairs of floating eyes and flying hands that he uses as fetch-and-carry servitors… they won't be along here, but we mustn't go left up ahead or we may run into them-and of course, he sees through them, and…"
"Yes, that would be unfortunate. Is there anything else you're having difficulty remembering, friend Huldyl?"
"N-no, Lord Harnrim. I-uh, through here. There're steps up. You wanted to see Vangerdahast at work…"
"Indeed," the Red Wizard breathed, his voice the merest of whispers and his hand remaining on Rauthur's shoulder. "Show me."
Unseen behind the trembling War Wizard, Starangh's other hand slipped the crystal out of his codpiece and held it ready in his hand-just in case.
The worn stone steps were a narrow, short flight that ascended into a sort of garden room, where benches held shallow trays of flourishing herbs and food plants beneath a ceiling of curving glass. Outside, a great ring of thickly grown trees surrounded the domed ceiling, which lay in its own little clearing-and among them, the Red Wizard could see the motionless forms of a dozen or more helmed horrors-so many empty suits of armor, floating tirelessly upright in the shade-gloom.
Rauthur had laid a hand on Starangh's arm, and he turned his head to glare-only to see the War Wizard pointing down.
Through a gap between two of the old bedding trays, more glass could be seen: a wall, this time, that overlooked an adjacent room whose floor was much lower. Starangh found himself looking down on the moving heads of a man and a woman.
Rauthur did something delicate with the air around them. There was a momentary flicker of magical radiance-the merest of ripples-and voices could be faintly heard, the words of the man and woman below.
The Red Wizard bent his head forward to listen intently.
A tiny whirlwind of flames circled in midair as Vangerdahast peered critically at it. "Not enough," he grunted, "Not enough."
Tiny threads of lightning spurted from his fingertips and crawled unsteadily through the air, flickering and darting to join the pinwheel of flames… which flared into greater life, wobbled-and promptly collapsed into winking sparks and fading smoke.
Vangey slammed one hand down on the table and rose on it to lean forward and watch every last instant of his spell dying.
"Not a success," Myrmeen Lhal observed gently from the chair across the room where she sat in full armor, her drawn sword across her knees.
Vangerdahast growled deep in his throat as she'd heard many a hunting-dog do and whirled around to glare at her. "I can't work with you watching me, curse it, woman! Why don't you take your sword and your armored self out into the woods and shred some small, furry things? Leave me be!"
"No," the Lady Lord of Arabel said sweetly, smiling at him with her chin cradled in her hands. Her gauntlets, he noted wearily, were perched on the great carved horns of the chairback. "I like small, furry things-even ones that wear wizards' robes and growl at me grumpily."
Vangerdahast growled again, more angrily this time, and brought his other hand down on the table with a crash.
"Patience in all things, Lord," she