Red Magic - Jean Rabe [4]
Overhead, the stars shone brightly in a clear night sky. Maligor knew there would be a myriad of clouds by dawn, as many of the Red Wizards were skilled with weather control magic, and the dry ground presented a tempting challenge.
Someone would make it rain soon.
Maligor chose not to concern himself with such meaningless things, choosing instead to spend his time on spells that would improve his personal position rather than increase the yield of the crops. Dropping the trembling hedgehog on the ground, he roughly pinned it beneath his foot. The starlight, coupled with the glow spilling out from the tower windows, provided just enough light to work under and set the tone for the wizard's hellish project.
The door opened and closed behind Maligor. Turning and glaring into the darkness next to the tower's stone wall, he saw Asp. Her offensive odor was vastly diminished in the outdoors.
She grinned slyly at the wizard. "This spell is my favorite," she uttered thickly, staring hungrily at the trapped animal. "Perhaps one day you will teach it to me."
"Perhaps," he replied, turning his attention back to the hedgehog. The creature's eyes were wide with horror, a fact that pleased the wizard.
"Did you find something belonging to the gnoll?" It was more a demand than a question and sent Asp rustling through a large sack at her side. Maligor wanted to get the spell over with quickly, since he had planned to devote the evening to putting the final touches on his latest scheme.
"Yes," she answered dutifully. "Will this do?" Asp's slender, hairless arm emerged from the darkness, holding out a tattered cloak she had retrieved from the missing gnoll's barracks.
Maligor scowled at her, and she snatched the garment back into the shadows, where she savagely ripped it. A moment later, her soft hand passed the wizard a long, thin strip of dirty cloth. It fluttered in the breeze, flapping against the Red Wizard's robes.
Maligor swiftly grabbed the cloth, making certain the expensive fabric of his robe wasn't soiled by it. Satisfied, he drew the red hood back from his face so he could work more easily.
Like the majority of Red Wizards and the bulk of Thay's residents, Maligor's head was completely bald and adorned with tattoos. Wizards and wealthy, important Thayvians- and those who pretended they were-decorated their pates with elaborate designs. Only slaves had long hair. Maligor's tattoos included a bright red flame lapping on a purple field, a common symbol of the Red Wizards, and a flawless snow-white skull on an ebony triangle, a symbol of Myrkul, the god of death, decay, and corruption. Many in the civilized centers of Faerun considered Myrkul himself dead, slain in the godswar that had ripped across the world years ago. However, the Red Wizard and other loyal followers believed the dark god still lived. While Maligor cared little about deities, he supported what Myrkul stood for and believed he honored the god through various acts involving death and corruption, such as the magic he was about to cast.
The wizard tied the stained strip of cloth about the hedgehog's thick neck and began the incantation. He muttered in a monotone in an ancient, arcane language. Maligor knew that throughout the city other Red Wizards were casting spells, too. Thay reeked of magic. Spells kept troublesome slaves loyal, treasures protected, homes guarded, and enemies at bay. And among a multitude of other things, they allowed wizards to peer through walls, around corners, across the city or even farther-sometimes into the depths of a man's soul. In between phrases of his spell, Maligor wondered if other wizards were using magic to watch him.
It didn't matter, he finally decided. He kept the hand gestures required for this rite obscured; those who didn't know this particular spell weren't likely to learn it by viewing him. He knelt shakily on the rough ground. Reaching inside the deep pockets of his robe, he withdrew a crystal vial filled with a red powder so dark it seemed black. He continued the chant while measuring out a minute