Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [91]
Hatemaster Morr led Joel through the courtyard toward the temple. Joel followed the priest up the staircase and into the great marble building. There were no yugoloths within the temple. A few human priests scurried from rooms on one side of the hall to rooms on the other.
Joel and the hatemaster walked the length of the great hall; at the other end, they passed into an audience chamber. There were no yugoloths in here either, only humans. Some twenty of these, armored in plate mail and armed with morningstars, served as guards. Over their armor they wore green stoles embroidered with Xvim's symbol, green eyes set in the palm of a black hand. From the relative plainness of their stoles, Joel guessed they were low-ranking priests. Six other priests in robes of gray silk trimmed with green, serving as scribes and advisers, attended the tyrannar. Only two of the priests were women; both were serving as guards.
The tyrannar was seated in a chair upholstered with human flesh. He was an ancient spider of a man, covered with liver spots, wearing robes made from an elaborate black and green brocade. From the tattoos on his cheeks, Joel could tell that he had once been a priest of Bane, the father of Iyachtu Xvim.
"So," the tyrannar croaked, "you've brought me the elusive Jasmine the Dark Stalker."
"Yeah," Joel said, being deliberately brief in an attempt to imitate the toughs he'd encountered in Sigil.
"Tell me how you knew we were searching for her," said the tyrannar.
"A priest called Perr hired me and my mates to bring her down," Joel replied with a fairly passable Sigilian accent.
"And what happened to Hatemaster Perr?" the tyrannar demanded.
"Got himself caught up in a razorvine. Sliced himself up on it deliberately before the Hardheads could use their magic to get him to turn stag on us and the Boss," Joel replied.
"What happened to the Boss?" the tyrannar asked.
"When the Hardheads come beating down the door, he turned hisself into a big frog and attacked 'em," Joel explained. "But the Hardheads took him down. That's when I pinched the bird girl and give 'em the laugh. I remembered the Boss saying she was supposed to be delivered here to you, so I brought her myself. No need to thank me. Jink will do nicely."
The tyrannar glared long and hard at Joel, but the bard never lowered his eyes.
At last the tyrannar spoke again. "You should know, Marin the Red, that we do not pay for our own property. Which is not to say we will not offer you a reward."
"What sort of reward?" Joel asked, allowing a suspicious tone to creep into his voice.
"If you join the church of Iyachtu Xvim, I am prepared to offer you a position of honor, which, should you prove yourself, will be followed by a position of power."
"I'm not much of a joiner," Joel replied. "I don't like most other people."
The tyrannar chuckled. "As Iyachtu Xvim is the god of hatred and tyranny, that is considered a requirement of the faith."
"Yeah?" Joel asked, his tone hinting that he might be prepared to nibble on the tyrannar's offer.
"We need a new captain of the guard for Lord Xvim's throne room," the tyrannar explained.
"What happened to the old captain?" Joel asked suspiciously.
"He met with an unfortunate accident, along with several of his immediate underlings. Only one of his deputies survived, and none of the remaining guards are really leadership material. So, you see, we need to recruit someone to fill the position. It is important that the position not be left empty for any considerable period of time. Aside from the security concerns, it would be a serious breach of tradition."
"What about all these yugoloths you've got around here?" the bard demanded.
“The job requires certain skill beyond the yugoloths' capabilities. Traditionally it is held by a human, and we are loath to break with tradition," the tyrannar explained.
"Don't trust the big bugs, do you?" Joel asked with a vulgar wink. "So what's the garnish on this job?"
"Garnish?