Pool of Radiance by James M. Ward, Jane Cooper Hong Page B

been a long time waiting, and now he was ready to take any steps necessary to get what he wanted.
    Cadorna stretched his long legs. Yes, making the council, even the tenth seat, was definitely a step in the right direction. With the council supervising every facet of the city’s life, there was hardly anything he wasn’t able to get his hands into. A man on the council was a veritable king.
    And the man in the first seat is king, thought Cadorna, or at least as close to king as one could get in Phlan. He moved around the table and sat in the First Councilman’s chair. Yes, this feels more like it, he thought, wriggling down in the plush seat to make himself more comfortable. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Quickly getting up, Cadorna hurried back to the tenth chair. “Come in!” he shouted, a little louder than necessary.
    “Your dinner, Councilman,” the attendant announced. “Also, the mage, Gensor, is here and wishes to speak with you about one of the parties whose case you will be reviewing in the next session.”
    “Send him in.”
    Gensor worked for the city, checking and setting up magical seals, scanning prisoners for magical items, and sometimes providing interpretations of supernatural events. In addition to his official duties, he also worked privately, on an assignment basis, for Cadorna. Cadorna found Gensor’s insight useful, but nevertheless always felt uneasy around the mage. It was said that magic-users could read men’s minds.
    The black-robed mage entered the Chambers and found Cadorna sitting down before a plateful of mutton and potatoes the attendant had just brought in. Gensor always marveled at Cadorna’s appetite. Nearly every time he came to see the man, he seemed to be sitting down for a meal or a snack, yet somehow he remained as lean as a lizard.
    Almost anyone who spent any time with Cadorna, including Gensor, could not help but be aware that the man had a busy social and political agenda, and while Gensor didn’t care for Cadorna on a personal basis, he knew he was a man to watch.
    “What is it, Gensor?” demanded Cadorna. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
    Gensor smiled, deciding to assume that Cadorna was joking. “I thought it necessary to speak with you. An unusual trio is coming before you for judgment during your next session. There’s a tavern worker from the Laughing Goblin, a woman new to town, and a cleric of Tyr.”
    “So? Come to the point, will you, man?”
    Gensor interpreted the councilman’s impatience as posturing, something at which he excelled. Consequently, he took his time with the explanation. “I thought you should know that the tavern worker radiates a powerful but isolated magic.”
    “What do you mean ‘isolated’?” Cadorna set down his fork and leaned toward Gensor.
    “I mean it comes from his boots and must be the boots themselves or something he carrying in them. I’m sure he’s no magic-user.”
    “So he’s carrying a magical item,” Gensor stated. “That doesn’t seem particularly unusual.”
    “As I said, whatever it is, it’s very powerful. But at any rate, I wasn’t finished. The woman radiates magic like a beacon in the night. I have no way of knowing what items or power she has, but I’ve never received a stronger reading from my spell. The cleric is just what he seems. He has no magical devices on his person, save his holy symbol.” Gensor could almost see Cadorna’s mind at work. He was tempted to use a spell to detect the man’s thoughts but decided not to. He rather enjoyed watching Cadorna as his mind worked.
    “There is one other thing I wanted to mention. Apart from their magic, the three probably make up the most physically powerful trio I have ever seen. I think, under the circumstances, you may find these three useful.”
    “Thank you, Gensor,” Porphyrys Cadorna said thoughtfully. “Well done. You may go now.” He watched as the mage left, and then he allowed himself the pleasure of