The Alabaster Staff - Edward Bolme [68]
"Well," he said, "I see that it fooled you, eh, young lady? Don't let it stop your wee little heart. This is what I was working on for you lot, a copy of the staff you'd marked for acquisition. Here," he said, as he hobbled over and picked up the halves, "let me show you what I did. Superb carving work, if I do say so myself."
He moved so close that he had to crane his head up to look at Kehrsyn. He held the halves aloft for her inspection, spinning them and pointing to the pieces as he spoke.
"See? First of all, this is stone, not bone like the original. Didn't have any good bones handy, but it looks much the same as a weathered bone, and anyway that organic stuff is a regular mess to carve properly. But stone is heavier, so I had to hollow it out just like this to match the weight properly. Now this side you already saw in the sketches I showed you, but I didn't know what this side looked like, so I had to wait for your delivery to be able to duplicate it. Hard work, too, but I'd already had practice in the style with this first side here. The river and setting the jeweler made, and laid the black amber and smoky quartz to match the original. Then I cast Mythrellaa's Lust upon it-that's a rather more stylish version of the Fool's Aura, a little trick the zulkir gave me in payment for a small service I'd rendered her. And there it was, all but indistinguishable from the original, except, of course, it wouldn't work."
"That's… very impressive," said Kehrsyn, stepping back to get some personal space between her and the sour-smelling magician.
"Humph," said Eileph, inspecting the pieces. "Of course, that doesn't explain how this came to be broken."
"They don't tell me such things," said Kehrsyn, pleased that she'd come up with such a plausible non-answer off the cuff.
"And who does?" yelled Eileph, flicking a finger at Kehrsyn. "Oh, I know all about such things," he said as he hobbled away, then stopped dead in his tracks. "Or, more accurately, I don't. You see, the zulkirs and tharcions, and all the Red Wizards are very good at not telling things." He hobbled back over to Kehrsyn and stood too close again. "Which makes it very scary," he whispered, "when one considers all that one has been taught by others who thrive on secrets. It makes one wonder how much knowledge they hold back! And that makes all of us hunger for that knowledge, plot for it, scheme for it…" Eileph's arm started to tremble, tapping his cane on the floor. "Good thing I'm such a stable person," he said.
Kehrsyn nodded. She didn't trust her voice not to crack were she to lie at that moment.
"Well," said Eileph, as he started back to the cadaver.
He tossed the halves on his table as he passed. Kehrsyn thought maybe the fake one would pass inspection at Wing's Reach, at least until she got the real one. She feared returning empty-handed with Ahegi lurking around.
"Um, Eileph, sir?" asked Kehrsyn. "Can you fix it?"
Eileph whipped around, staggering when his whirl exceeded his balance.
"What?" he bellowed. "First they destroy my art and now they say, 'Jump, Eileph, fix the staff!' What do they think I am, a trained homunculus?"
"Standard rates," said Kehrsyn, raising her voice to be heard over Eileph's tirade. "Double for a rush job."
Eileph's countenance softened in an instant. He picked up the two halves and fitted them together, working his jaw from side to side.
"Humph," he said. "I can do it, young lady, never you fret. I can have it for you tonight, if you don't mind a bit of a crack, or tomorrow for a job as good as new. If you want one carved afresh, that'll take a while."
"How big a crack are we talking about?"
"Oh, not a very big one," said Eileph. "Fit the halves together and take a look. I can make it a bit better than that."
Kehrsyn fiddled with the broken pieces. The crack would be just a hair wide.
"That'd be great," she said, handing the pieces over.
Eileph limped back over to her and patted her hand gently, almost tenderly.
"Don't you fret your heart, young lady. I'll have