to the grand mage and asked, “You have learned something?”
“Nothing specific. But two days, ago I detected a perturbation in the Weave, as if a very powerful spell had been cast. Several other triages remarked on the incident.”
“I sensed it, too,” Amlaruil said quietly. The queen was an accomplished mage in her own right, the equal of any of Evermeet’s high mages. “The Gatekeeper’s Crystal might be responsible for the disturbance we felt, but I could not be certain of that.”
“The purpose of the crystal is to destroy wards?” asked Meraera Silden. A moon elf, the elected speaker of the city of Leuthilspar, Meraera was a moderate voice on the council, though she was not a monarchist. “As we just discussed a few moments ago, Evermeet is protected by extensive magical wards. Clearly, we must assume that someone is preparing a new attack against our island. This time, they mean to destroy our protective spells entirely.”
“I agree,” said Keryth Blackhelm. Coarse and direct, the moon elf soldier commanded Evermeet’s defenses. “We live in a castle with gates made of oil-soaked wood, and someone has just stolen a match. I propose we muster immediately and make ready to repel an attack. And if we haven’t done so already, we must locate the stolen crystal and get it back.”
“While I agree that we should make all possible efforts to recover the crystal,” said Zaltarish, the old scribe, “we don’t know for certain that we are the target of this attack. There are other wards and mythals in the world besides our own. Evereska and Silverymoon come to mind. What happened at Tower Reilloch might have been a simple theft. Perhaps our foes intend to use the device somewhere else.”
“Evereska is virtually in ruins, and Silverymoon is a collection of squalid human hovels,” Selsharra Durothil snapped. “Why in the world would we think this attack to be aimed at someone other than us? Where else do wards worth breaching exist? Don’t waste our time with wishful thinking, Zaltarish.”
“Is it wishful thinking? The invaders of Tower Reilloch have already demonstrated their ability to slip through Evermeet’s magical wards,” the old sage replied, unperturbed. “Why would they steal a device designed to bring down our defenses, when they seem to be able to master our wards already?”
The chamber fell silent. Selsharra Durothil composed herself gracefully, and voiced her displeasure at the scribe’s logic only with a single icy glance. Seiveril kept his face impassive as well, though he allowed himself a wry smile on the inside. Zaltarish was mild and soft-spoken, and some of Evermeet’s high lords and ladies were in the habit of considering him ineffectual because he rarely asserted himself. It pleased him to see the ancient scribe stand the great Lady Durothil on her head.
“Lord Blackhelm spoke of recovering the crystal,”
Jerreda Starcloak said to Seiveril. “Have you begun any efforts to do so?”
Seiveril nodded and replied, “As soon as I was informed of the theft, I prayed to Corellon Larethian for spells to divine the crystal’s location and the identity of our foe. Unfortunately, I was unable to ascertain either. It seems our adversary anticipated that we would attempt to scry out his secrets, and made sure of his own magical defenses.”
The grand mage said, “I will begin divinations of my
own at once. Perhaps our foe will make a mistake and let us have a look at him.”
“In the meantime,” Seiveril said, “I have suggested to the queen that we should send word to our spies in Faerun to drop all other matters and search for some sign of our foe. For that matter, we should dispatch more agents to Faerun at once. If divinations prove fruitless, then we will have to find our enemies with simple persistence. The sooner we begin, the better.”
“Sending our wizards and knights to blunder about Faerun chasing shadows seems pointless,” said Ammisyll Veldann. She
“Nothing specific. But two days, ago I detected a perturbation in the Weave, as if a very powerful spell had been cast. Several other triages remarked on the incident.”
“I sensed it, too,” Amlaruil said quietly. The queen was an accomplished mage in her own right, the equal of any of Evermeet’s high mages. “The Gatekeeper’s Crystal might be responsible for the disturbance we felt, but I could not be certain of that.”
“The purpose of the crystal is to destroy wards?” asked Meraera Silden. A moon elf, the elected speaker of the city of Leuthilspar, Meraera was a moderate voice on the council, though she was not a monarchist. “As we just discussed a few moments ago, Evermeet is protected by extensive magical wards. Clearly, we must assume that someone is preparing a new attack against our island. This time, they mean to destroy our protective spells entirely.”
“I agree,” said Keryth Blackhelm. Coarse and direct, the moon elf soldier commanded Evermeet’s defenses. “We live in a castle with gates made of oil-soaked wood, and someone has just stolen a match. I propose we muster immediately and make ready to repel an attack. And if we haven’t done so already, we must locate the stolen crystal and get it back.”
“While I agree that we should make all possible efforts to recover the crystal,” said Zaltarish, the old scribe, “we don’t know for certain that we are the target of this attack. There are other wards and mythals in the world besides our own. Evereska and Silverymoon come to mind. What happened at Tower Reilloch might have been a simple theft. Perhaps our foes intend to use the device somewhere else.”
“Evereska is virtually in ruins, and Silverymoon is a collection of squalid human hovels,” Selsharra Durothil snapped. “Why in the world would we think this attack to be aimed at someone other than us? Where else do wards worth breaching exist? Don’t waste our time with wishful thinking, Zaltarish.”
“Is it wishful thinking? The invaders of Tower Reilloch have already demonstrated their ability to slip through Evermeet’s magical wards,” the old sage replied, unperturbed. “Why would they steal a device designed to bring down our defenses, when they seem to be able to master our wards already?”
The chamber fell silent. Selsharra Durothil composed herself gracefully, and voiced her displeasure at the scribe’s logic only with a single icy glance. Seiveril kept his face impassive as well, though he allowed himself a wry smile on the inside. Zaltarish was mild and soft-spoken, and some of Evermeet’s high lords and ladies were in the habit of considering him ineffectual because he rarely asserted himself. It pleased him to see the ancient scribe stand the great Lady Durothil on her head.
“Lord Blackhelm spoke of recovering the crystal,”
Jerreda Starcloak said to Seiveril. “Have you begun any efforts to do so?”
Seiveril nodded and replied, “As soon as I was informed of the theft, I prayed to Corellon Larethian for spells to divine the crystal’s location and the identity of our foe. Unfortunately, I was unable to ascertain either. It seems our adversary anticipated that we would attempt to scry out his secrets, and made sure of his own magical defenses.”
The grand mage said, “I will begin divinations of my
own at once. Perhaps our foe will make a mistake and let us have a look at him.”
“In the meantime,” Seiveril said, “I have suggested to the queen that we should send word to our spies in Faerun to drop all other matters and search for some sign of our foe. For that matter, we should dispatch more agents to Faerun at once. If divinations prove fruitless, then we will have to find our enemies with simple persistence. The sooner we begin, the better.”
“Sending our wizards and knights to blunder about Faerun chasing shadows seems pointless,” said Ammisyll Veldann. She
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