by Ed Greenwood
"I am Storm Silverhand," said the melodious voice, "and I apologize for the fright we gave you. You may speak freely in front of my sister-Sylune, called by some the Witch of Shadowdale. What message do you bring me, Vrespon?"
The Harper turned, rose, and sheathed his blade-to find himself facing a woman, wearing high, battered leather boots. She was leaning against some cupboards, her arms crossed and an expectant look on her face. Vrespon flushed and hastily dropped his eyes to study her feet.
"Tell Storm from Aldaneth, these things," he recited, adopting a chant as the words tumbled out of his memory. "The noble Athlan Summerstar, of the Summerstars of Firefall Vale, has been murdered in his keep by mysterious means. Our agent at the keep, Arkyn Hornblade, has also been found slain. Laspeera of the war wizards spoke to me, requesting that the Lady Silverhand come to the keep and investigate. Wizards of war in service to Cormyr will be present, but will not know of Laspeera's request. They and the family expect Storm Silverhand to appear at Firefall soon, because she is named in Athlan's will-much to the displeasure of the elder Summerstars, I'm told."
Storm sighed. "Is there more?"
Vrespon kept his eyes on the floor. "No, Lady. I was told to escort you for as long and as far as you desired my presence."
A hand squeezed his arm. "You've done well. Are you afoot, or have you a mount?"
"My horse waits at the Old Skull, Lady" said the Harper said.
Storm sighed again, and it seemed for a moment that a shadow of weariness and despair crossed her face as she looked at Sylune. When she spoke, however, she sounded almost petulant. "Well, I'll have to go. . though I was hoping to see what Flamerule looks like at my farm, for once."
"I'll watch over things here," Sylune told her, her head becoming spectral and sinking into her body. Vrespon turned in time to see it vanish, and stared, fascinated, as the slumped body raised its head, the whites of its eyes rolled up to reveal pupils-and winked at him.
The Harper jumped again. "Gods!" he swore. "Don't do that!"
Storm's deeply bubbling laughter rolled out from behind him, then, and Vrespon thought it was quite the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.
The coach rumbled to a stop. Purple Dragons exchanged brief words, and then they were jolted into rumbling motion again. The clatter of the wheels roared back brief echoes as they passed through the clammy dimness of the gate tower, and into a cobbled courtyard beyond.
"Gods above!" one of the men in the back said. "Couldn't we have flown? My tailbone!"
"Belt up," one of his companions advised. "At least you have a seat with cushions."
"Now I know why messengers ride," a third muttered, "even into driving rain…."
"I could have levitated the coach," a fourth man said haughtily, "and saved the horses, too-if I'd known things were going to be this bad. Unfortunately, I believed Runsigg when he said Cormyr had the best roads he'd ever walked on, and neglected to study that spell-"
"You belt up, too, Hundarr," the third speaker said sourly. "Runsigg was right; you obviously don't walk about much."
"Huh! His belly tells you that, even before-"
"Climb out and pipe down, the lot of you," an older voice growled. "You sound like a lot of wailing apprentices, not veteran wizards of war! Take a little pride in things, for the love of Laspeera!"
"Mother Laspeera provides all," one of the wizards replied mockingly as they clambered out of the dark, swaying coach. A line of Purple Dragons was standing stiffly at attention. Beyond them stood another, shorter line of guards in a different livery: an arc of three golden stars on a field of deep blue. The Summerstar armsmen, no doubt.
"Lady Summerstar and Sir Boldshield," Broglan Sarmyn was growling, "may I present to you the Sevensash investigative team, sent to you at the express command of Lady Laspeera of the wizards of war, on the instructions of the royal magician of the realm-upon consultations with His Majesty."
"Sevensash?" the cold-eyed, imperious old noblewoman drawled. "I see only six men."
She left a little silence, and turned to face Broglan, raising her eyebrows to bid him fill it. Gods, but she was beautiful. Beautiful like ice. Used to getting her own way in everything, this one, and dressed like the queen herself at a high court function, for all her sixty or more winters, and the minor-nay, unknown-stature of her house.
"We are, in fact, one member short, gracious lady," Broglan said smoothly, "though the name bestowed on us does not, in fact, refer to our number."
"And your missing man?" The bitingly bored tone made it clear that the Dowager Lady Summerstar cared not a whit for the fate of the absent wizard-only for how much she could make those present grovel and squirm.
"Ah-a woman, actually, lady, and at present engaged in giving birth…."
"Congratulations," the Lady Pheirauze Summerstar replied with a cold little smile. She turned away before Broglan could even begin to protest that he wasn't the father.
Someone in the line of wizards snickered. Someone else was thinking that this old noblewoman was just perhaps a colder bitch than their absent colleague, Chalantra. Just perhaps.
They all watched the noblewoman walk away across the courtyard, her back as straight as a sword blade. The sway of her hips made more than one of her audience think again of her beauty, before Broglan turned briskly to the boldshield and said, "Ah-shall I present my mages to you, then?"
The solid, side-whiskered old Purple Dragon officer allowed just the slightest crook of a smile to creep onto one end of his mouth. "Suppose you do that, Sir Broglan. I know who you are, and you'd best know that I am Ergluth Rowanmantle, boldshield of the district of Northtrees March. I report directly to Baron Thomdor, warden of the Eastern Marches."
The boldshield's eagle-sharp eyes turned to look in the direction the old noblewoman had gone. "The lady you have all just-briefly-met is Lady Pheirauze, the matriarch of House Summerstar. The true family heir is her granddaughter, the Lady Shayna Summerstar, and the nominal head of the house is the other Dowager Lady Summerstar: mother to Shayna and daughter-in-law of Lady Pheirauze."
"That's Zarova Summerstar, is it not?" Broglan asked. "Who was born a Battlestar?"
The boldshield inclined his head in a nod. "That's right. In the absence of an heir who's been presented to the king, however, the master of this keep is its seneschal, whom you'll meet shortly. I'll leave him to introduce himself, but I'd best know your muster."
"So you can put names to the bodies, if need be," Broglan said, repeating the old joke.
The boldshield did not smile. "That's right."
The overwizard coughed, tried on an uneasy smile, and then growled, "Well, then: you see before you-in order, down our line-Hundarr of the Wolfwinter noble house." He looked to a tall, sharp-featured mage whose elegantly cut black hair was shot through with streaks of white. The mage inclined his head in a greeting every bit as haughty as the looks the Dowager Lady Summerstar had been dispensing.
"Lhansig Dlaerlin." A short, burly man with a broad face and an easy smile sketched a flippant, one-handed salute, his eyes mocking. The boldshield's level stare cut into those mocking eyes like two cold lance points, but made no change in their dark twinkling.
"Corathar Abaddarh." This mage was young, thin-lipped, and wintry-eyed, so eager to impress that he practically quivered, like a dog leaping to be let off the leash. He'd struck a dramatic pose, of course-and, as he felt the boldshield's eagle-eyed scrutiny fall upon him, he shifted rather self-consciously to another.
"Insprin Turnstone, recently transferred to us from Vangerdahast's personal Enforcers." An older wizard steadily met the boldshield's gaze, and nodded, as one to an equal. His face was weather-beaten, his eyes were the color of dull steel, and his black hair-what little he still had-had almost all gone gray.
Ah, yes, Ergluth thought. A pair of eyes and ears for the royal magician, put into this group before its ambitious younglings took it right out of control. He returned the thin old man's nod, almost smiling. He co
uld tell that a similarly knowing, not-quite smile lurked just below Turnstone's cheeks, too.
"Murndal Claeron." He was a darkly handsome man with a close-trimmed mustache and the sort of beard that puts two little corners to the chin before slicing up to join the sideburns. He had glistening brown eyes and a half-smile. Trouble. As ambitious as a hungry snake, and probably possessed of the same tactics.
"And, of course, myself." The boldshield swung his eyes back to Broglan Sarmyn. He was of average height and build. His hair was the hue of mud and going thin on top. It turned grizzled gray in his large but carefully trimmed sideburns, the man's only touch of visible personal style. Permanent worry lines creased a high forehead, and a touch of grimness hovered about the mouth. His robes were a year or two behind high fashion.
Ergluth knew Broglan's sort: a man uneasy in court society but decisive behind closed doors and out among the common folk. A good teacher who adopted the pose of the gruff, growling bear favored by so many swordcaptains of the Purple Dragons. A good man-principled, and with a love of the realm.
The others … well, more love of self and of mayhem than anything else, if he was any judge. A murderer loose in the keep, and we're adding these?
The boldshield gave them all a grave smile, and said loudly, half-turning toward his own men and the other armsmen in the courtyard, "Be welcome in Firefall Keep. May your mission meet with success. His Majesty has every confidence in you, and so do we all. Do not hesitate to call upon me, or any of my men, should you require aid." Then he turned fully to face the ranked guards, and barked, "Dismissed!"
The armsmen scattered like so many disturbed pigeons, clearing the cobbles in a whirl of weapons and trotting feet and jingling harnesses. The boldshield turned back to the wizards. "If you'd like, I'll conduct you to your quarters, where you may ease the rigors of so long a coach journey. You can meet with the seneschal before evenfeast, if you prefer."
"That would be acceptable," Broglan said with a smile, and turned to the other mages. The look in his hazel-gray eyes was a clear and cold command to utter not one word more until they were alone; smart comments about bucketheads in armor or rude backwaters would be neither appreciated nor received without cold rewards.
The rooms were dark-paneled, gloomy, and cold, like those in many a castle. Still, they were probably quite opulent by the standards of this place. Pelts had been laid in profusion across the threadbare patches in the carpet, until the floor seemed a deep, yielding grassland under their boots. A row of doors led into private sleeping-chambers; Broglan raised his brows at this unexpected luxury, and made the silent gesture that bid the mages examine unknown territory for dangers. They curtly ordered the servants standing by their heaped baggage to begone, and began to roam about, peering under things and casting detection spells, listening here and sniffing there.
Not long afterward, they reassembled around Broglan. "Nothing," Lhansig muttered.
"A passage behind that wall, not far off," Hundarr said, pointing, "but probably not intended for. . stealthy scrutiny."
"Concealed servants' door there," Insprin said, "and an old dweomer-probably a warning magic mouth."
Broglan nodded. "We won't worry about that. Any other dweomers?"
Heads shook in silent negatives. Their leader sighed, and said, "I'm sure you noticed the baths, and after Insprin and I are done, you can all enjoy them in order of age. Next time, we'll reverse the order. No griping-they seem plenty hot right now." He reached for his belt, and said, "Choose your rooms; they all seem the same. Now, Murndal-tell me in brief what should interest us most about this mission."
Every inch the careful pupil, the handsome Claeron stroked one arm of his maroon silk overrobe, and said, "We have two murders, and reports from presumably competent priests that the bodies can't be raised, spoken with, or magically read in any way. They seem burned out from within, and utterly dead and lost to magic-worse than stones, which can at least be made to tell us something. Whoever did it, we want to find out how … or Cormyr, and Faerun in general, may have far larger dooms upon them than merely two killings."
Broglan nodded in satisfaction, his face momentarily losing a little of its worried look. "I could not have put it any better. The manner of death is exactly our prime concern-though we should not, of course, admit that to anyone. Officially, we are here because the security of the realm demands that the death of any noble be investigated-and the violent death of any heir brings wizards of war to the scene.
"Please bear in mind that the dowager lady we met in the courtyard is precisely the type to go running to the king with complaints no matter what happens. Let's not be stupid enough, or allow ourselves to be goaded far enough, to give her anything reasonable to complain about. Let her make herself ridiculous. Don't give her any chance to make us look the fools."
He tossed his belt to the floor and undid the sash to let his overrobe fall open. "Now, the baths await. See to your rooms and baggage-and gentlesirs all, let us be very clear: this situation could hold peril, so I'll tolerate no pranks. Save your nasty magics for other folk, not your fellow mages."
Without another word, Broglan strode to the bath chamber. Insprin followed, and they heard the metal lids clatter up as the two older mages uncovered the heated baths.
With one accord the four younger war wizards turned to the heap of baggage and started pulling and tossing satchels and crates aside.
"So, laddies-pleased to be here?" Lhansig cooed in mimicry of a gushing matron, batting his eyebrows.
"Thanks to Mother Laspeera," Corathar said savagely, "I'll have to miss the Six Harpists concert, just to cool my heels in this backwater. Thank you, Mother Inthre!"
Murndal smiled. "I remember when she still called herself Laspeera Naerinth, before she married her mysterious man."
"Oh, yes. Do we still know nothing about him?"
"Well, he keeps to her quarters all the time-and I do mean all the time-cloaked and masked. The mask, they say, changes his features constantly, so that none know what he truly looks like. He can cast spells, but wears a blade. Some say he's a Harper, some-"
"I know, I know," Hundarr broke in sarcastically. "Some say he's a Red Wizard, some a Zhentarim, some a Halruaan outcast, and a few are even proposing he's a lich from long-lost Netheril. They say such things about every recluse in this land who knows a few light spells!"
Murndal sighed. "Yes, but this one does spend time scrying and working on spells. I've seen glimpses of the first and smelled and heard the less successful forays of the second. He's a powerful mage, all right, but he can't be a lich! Can you see Laspeera going to bed with a dead man? Or some sort of well-spoken, magically adept monster? I don't think so!"
"We're not here to think," Corathar said sharply. "That's the problem. We're always sent to places to look impressive and scare the chitlins out of folk, so they'll think-think twice, that is, about doing naughty things ever again."
"Well, I think we look very impressive," Lhansig joked, turning a cartwheel. "By the gods-you were all upside down, for just an instant there! How do you mages do that?"
Hundarr rolled his eyes. "Must you?" He turned to one of the doors. "If you must play such tricks, turn a few of those cartwheels in your bath-and call us in to watch, first!"
"One of these days Lhansig'll trip over his own tongue," Murndal murmured. "I wonder if we'll all be there to watch then?"
The wine and the roast boar had both been good, very good. They almost made up for having to listen to the barbs of the old Dowager Lady Daggertongue.
Lhansig chuckled and shook his head as he strode to the jakes-they probably called it a garderobe here, just to seem more sophisticated. It was the same brittle, empty way that Hundarr strove to be sophisticated. Lhansig rolled his eyes and hummed "I've Always Been A Lady Fair" as he shouldered his way through the door.
A single lamp was guttering, and the place wasn't any too well lit. The sea-serpent-mawed bowl he was seeking ought to be around here. . yes. He con
tentedly fumbled with the laces of his codpiece-and so never saw the hand that drove his head forward against the wall, hard.
Lhansig Dlaerlin reeled back, dazed. Deft hands plucked his tunic up and over his head, blinding him.
He was struggling to draw breath when two very sharp things burst through the cloth and into his eyes … and there was no longer any need to scream.
White fire surged through the brain of the man who was always smiling and joking, and he opened his mouth in a last, soundless laugh as all he had ever been was sucked away. It did not take long.
Quick hands laid a silver harp pin on the wizard's breast-and then whimsically plucked up his unlaced codpiece and perched it on Lhansig's nose. It was a gesture worthy of the man, after all.
"Great gods above!" Broglan gasped, rising from the body, looking old and sick as well as worried. "The effrontery of this!"
The somber circle of shocked faces around him remained silent. Insprin, on his knees by Lhansig's motionless form, looked up and said quietly, "Nothing my Art can find."
"Then put his codpiece back and cover him," Broglan said in sudden, savage anger, face going red, "before one of the guards comes in here, and the jest spreads all over the keep!"
"S-Some jest," Corathar said, white to the lips.
"Death is never far away, lad," Insprin said almost absently. Corathar turned a glare of mingled hatred and fear down at the older wizard. Not seeing it, the veteran mage added, "This was a clear warning to us."
Broglan looked down again at Lhansig's eyeless, staring skull. The flesh had been burned away, leaving the death-grin of the bones beneath. He shivered. "Even the Harper badge told us nothing?"
Insprin shook his head, and plucked the pin from Lhansig's breast. One of the younger mages drew in his breath, as if expecting deadly magic to be unleashed-but nothing happened. Insprin shot a reassuring look in that direction, and mutely held up the badge.
It gleamed in front of Broglan's nose in the flickering candlelight, and he took hold of it. "Why a Harper badge?"