Mazaret. “My lord, if your wounds offer great discomfort, please send for me without delay.”
“I am grateful for your concern, lady.”
When Terzis was gone, the steward spoke again.
“My lord, the honourable Archmage Bardow presents his warmest greetings and respectfully requests your attendance at an urgent dialogue soon to commence in the fourth floor library.”
“And how urgent would that be?”
“The moment you entered the palace, my lord.”
Mazaret massaged a taut ache in his neck, and tried to think through his exhaustion. Then he sighed.
“Inform the Archmage that I shall attend, once I have been to my chambers to change into fresh garments.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
A short while later, he was descending the warden steps from his rooms on the fifth floor, feeling somewhat less dusty and grimy but still longing for a hot bath, not to mention food and a warm bed. Mazaret was following the spiral stairwell down, soft-soled boots making scarcely a sound, when he heard voices talking. Something in the voices made him slow till he saw a narrow archway leading off to one of the outer balconies. Curious, he stopped and listened.
“...four new orders but did not offer to create one for you?” said one voice, that of a young man. “We already number more than forty, and every one of us has pledged his service. I can even suggest a title for us - the Knights of the Order of Companions - ”
“Hmm, I like that,” said another. “It’s got the ring of nobility to it.”
“And we could swear a solemn oath to the emperor,” said the first.
“No,” said a third man that Mazaret immediately recognised as Tauric. “The ideals of such a brotherhood should reach further than the body of the emperor. They should be dedicated to something higher and purer…”
“You mean like the - ”
“Yes, but that brings us back to the same problem as before,” Tauric said. “The lack of a consecrated shrine.”
“ He might know where to find one…”
What am I doing
? Mazaret thought suddenly.
I don’t have time for this eavesdropping
…
He tiptoed back up several steps then came down again with noisy footfalls and a cough or two thrown in for good measure as he carried on past the archway, apparently oblivious. But he could not help wondering about the reference to a shrine, and who this He might be? Did they mean Bardow? Perhaps he would mention it to the Archmage before retiring to bed.
The fourth floor library was really an annexe to the main library on the second floor which occupied fully half of that level. The annexe was narrow and had been refashioned into two tiers to make greater use of possible shelf space. As Mazaret entered, he was assailed by the peculiar smells of parchment and old leather, laced with the tang of burnt lamp oil. It was an oddly comforting meld of odours, reminding him of the library in his father’s house many years ago, when he still lived in Besh-Darok.
An elderly but spry-looking man came forward.
“Ah, m’Lord Regent - I am Custodian Felwe. The honourable Archmage and his companions await you at the great table at the far end, near the chart drawers. Please forgive this apparent disarray - we are currently storing most of the contents of the tenth floor reading room while it undergoes refurbishment.”
Mazaret thanked him and walked on past piles of boxes and drawers, and bound bundles of scrolls.
Tenth floor
? he thought.
That would be where Tauric encountered the stone apparition of Argatil, Korregan’s archmage
…
No lamps burned on the upper tier and the shadows seemed dark and enfolding. At a well-lit, good-sized table in the last alcove heads turned at his approach and chairlegs scraped as they rose to greet him. As well as Bardow, Mazaret saw Yasgur, his advisor Atroc, and Yarram, successor to the Lord Commandership of the Fathertree Order. They all looked strangely sombre and quiet as he sat down beside them.
“My sincerest thanks for
“I am grateful for your concern, lady.”
When Terzis was gone, the steward spoke again.
“My lord, the honourable Archmage Bardow presents his warmest greetings and respectfully requests your attendance at an urgent dialogue soon to commence in the fourth floor library.”
“And how urgent would that be?”
“The moment you entered the palace, my lord.”
Mazaret massaged a taut ache in his neck, and tried to think through his exhaustion. Then he sighed.
“Inform the Archmage that I shall attend, once I have been to my chambers to change into fresh garments.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
A short while later, he was descending the warden steps from his rooms on the fifth floor, feeling somewhat less dusty and grimy but still longing for a hot bath, not to mention food and a warm bed. Mazaret was following the spiral stairwell down, soft-soled boots making scarcely a sound, when he heard voices talking. Something in the voices made him slow till he saw a narrow archway leading off to one of the outer balconies. Curious, he stopped and listened.
“...four new orders but did not offer to create one for you?” said one voice, that of a young man. “We already number more than forty, and every one of us has pledged his service. I can even suggest a title for us - the Knights of the Order of Companions - ”
“Hmm, I like that,” said another. “It’s got the ring of nobility to it.”
“And we could swear a solemn oath to the emperor,” said the first.
“No,” said a third man that Mazaret immediately recognised as Tauric. “The ideals of such a brotherhood should reach further than the body of the emperor. They should be dedicated to something higher and purer…”
“You mean like the - ”
“Yes, but that brings us back to the same problem as before,” Tauric said. “The lack of a consecrated shrine.”
“ He might know where to find one…”
What am I doing
? Mazaret thought suddenly.
I don’t have time for this eavesdropping
…
He tiptoed back up several steps then came down again with noisy footfalls and a cough or two thrown in for good measure as he carried on past the archway, apparently oblivious. But he could not help wondering about the reference to a shrine, and who this He might be? Did they mean Bardow? Perhaps he would mention it to the Archmage before retiring to bed.
The fourth floor library was really an annexe to the main library on the second floor which occupied fully half of that level. The annexe was narrow and had been refashioned into two tiers to make greater use of possible shelf space. As Mazaret entered, he was assailed by the peculiar smells of parchment and old leather, laced with the tang of burnt lamp oil. It was an oddly comforting meld of odours, reminding him of the library in his father’s house many years ago, when he still lived in Besh-Darok.
An elderly but spry-looking man came forward.
“Ah, m’Lord Regent - I am Custodian Felwe. The honourable Archmage and his companions await you at the great table at the far end, near the chart drawers. Please forgive this apparent disarray - we are currently storing most of the contents of the tenth floor reading room while it undergoes refurbishment.”
Mazaret thanked him and walked on past piles of boxes and drawers, and bound bundles of scrolls.
Tenth floor
? he thought.
That would be where Tauric encountered the stone apparition of Argatil, Korregan’s archmage
…
No lamps burned on the upper tier and the shadows seemed dark and enfolding. At a well-lit, good-sized table in the last alcove heads turned at his approach and chairlegs scraped as they rose to greet him. As well as Bardow, Mazaret saw Yasgur, his advisor Atroc, and Yarram, successor to the Lord Commandership of the Fathertree Order. They all looked strangely sombre and quiet as he sat down beside them.
“My sincerest thanks for
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