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the other zulkirs considered him too powerful a force to threaten even in
bright daylight.
The lich continued to pace in his keep, lost in the writings of some long-dead
general. It amused him that humans sought to gain land, influence, wealth, and
glory through wars, only to lose all those things because of their mortality.
He knew that Maligor had lived beyond a normal human lifespan. Most of the
other zulkirs had also prolonged their lives by magical means. But Maligor was
the oldest on the council other than Szass Tam, and the lich knew that the
Zulkir of Alteration intended to live forever. However, Szass
Tam was confident that Maligor didn't have the arcane ability to turn himself
into a lich at the onset of his death. Drinking potions to extend his life
would not work eternally. At some point, the magic would burn him up.
Why then does he vex me? Szass Tam wondered. Why do I bother to concern myself
with Maligor's petty doings? Why do I waste my time watching him, watching his
spirit naga? The lich persisted in questioning his own motives as he continued
to scan the book.
It is my stance in Thay, he concluded, knowing the answer all along. If
Maligor grows in power, that diminishes my power even if nothing about me or
my land is affected. I can't have that. No, I must do something about it, and
I must do something without the other wizards learning I am taking action. But
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first
I must discover what my living brother is up to.
Szass Tam hated mysteries.
The lich continued to peruse the book for several more hours, then returned to
his library-laboratory to find the room plunged in darkness. The candles had
burned themselves out and dripped wax onto the desktop. Cursing, Szass Tam
pulled back a velvet curtain, letting moonlight pour into the room. He closed
his eyes and thought of someone, and several minutes later she appeared with a
cleaning rag in one hand and a bundle of new candles in the other.
The thin, pleasant-looking, middle-aged woman glanced at the zulkir, who now
appeared as a tall, scholarly man with jet-black eyes and fleshy cheeks. She
bowed to him, smiled, and moved to the desk.
"Sorry, master," she said quietly. "I should have known to check on you, but I
thought the candles would burn longer, and I really didn't want to interrupt
you. Forgive me. These should last a good while." The woman, one of three
dozen living servants he harbored in his keep, busied herself removing each
drop of wax from the desk and from around the pewter holders with a
thin-bladed knife. Then she carefully put the new candles in place and lit
them. The woman knew the desk was important to Szass Tam, being a very old
"gift" from his mentor.
"Do you require anything else, master?"
Szass Tam smiled and shook his head. "That will be all, Charmaine," he said.
The lich favored the woman, who had served him well for three decades. He
provided her only with food; instead of gold, she sought immortality. The lich
had promised to have one of his vampires give her eternal life when he was
finished with her employment probably in a few more years. Then she would
continue to serve him faithfully forever.
Charmaine closed the door behind her. Szass Tam pulled the curtain shut,
walked to his desk, and sat to gaze into the crystal ball again. It would be
the last time he used it today prolonged use was mentally taxing, even for
him. It could also be dangerous. The longer the lich's mind remained linked to
a scene in the ball, the more his consciousness wanted to stay there. He ran
his now fleshy hand over the ball, felt its cool smoothness, and concentrated
on Zulkir Maligor.
The colors danced, coalesced, and parted to reveal Maligor's face. The crystal
ball appeared cloudy because of the wards Maligor had in place. The lich was
furious and concentrated harder. Still the colors swirled.
At the same instant, Maligor felt something, a tugging at his mind, a tickling
sensation that made it difficult for him to concentrate and made him edgy. He
tried to keep at bay the persistent presence that was trying to contact him.
The force was strong definitely another zulkir, Maligor determined. He was
angry at himself for so focusing his attention on his work that he had let his
guard down. Still the mind reached out to his, and still Maligor resisted.
Like a child caught doing something wrong, the wizard fluttered about to cover
his work, then strolled to the window.
Maligor had the power to keep the probing zulkir from disturbing his
endeavors, but he was curious, and he wanted to know who wished to contact him
and why. Opening the barred window and inhaling the fresh air, he dropped his
guard more and let the presence come.
Maligor's eyes narrowed. It was Szass Tam.
"Zulkir Maligor," the lich intoned in a rich, even voice. "We must talk."
Maligor glanced out over the open-air market, which was crowded at midday. He
caught the faint smell of chickens and other livestock and vegetables drying
in the sun. He surveyed the scene for several minutes, making the lich wait.
In his library, Szass Tam merely smiled. Maligor's show of preeminence was
lost on the lich. Szass Tam was content to wait and peer through the crystal
ball at Maligor, studying the darkened circles beneath his adversary's old
eyes. Maligor hadn't slept much, the lich knew. His fingers were stained with
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ink, he was tired and unkempt, and he was most certainly up to something.
Still, he was not so weary that he was careless. Szass Tam strained to see
past him into the room beyond to catch a glimpse of what he had been doing.
All he saw was a plate of food and a half-empty glass of wine. Even that
picture was hazy because of the magical wards.
What was he up to? the lich continued to wonder. Maligor's puppet, the spirit
naga, wasn't with him.
Perhaps she was still in the field drilling the gnolls, where the lich had
viewed her hours earlier. It was unusual for the evil beauty to be far from
her mentor's side, where it was easier to gather up the crumbs he left behind.
"Talk, then," Maligor said, satisfied he had made his rival wait long enough.
"You have my attention for a few moments. Is this something about the next
meeting of the Council of Zulkirs? That is two weeks away.
And you already know my stance on strengthening the First Escarpment forces."
"I don't care about your position on the escarpment," Szass Tam replied,
allowing a wavering vision of himself to appear in the air before Maligor. He
knew the form would hold Maligor's attention. "I care about your gnoll forces.
I want to know what you plan to do with them."
"Surely you don't think I'd be foolish enough to take them against you,"
Maligor said, feigning surprise.
"I'm no fool, Szass Tam. My forces are not meant for you."
The scholarly vision of Szass Tam solidified, but only to Maligor. Others
would have seen only air. "I
respect your intelligence," the lich lied. "You are among the most powerful
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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