friend, and I’m not going to let him get hurt like that if there’s any way I can prevent it. I owe him too much.”
“
You’re rambling, boss
.”
“
Shut up, Loiosh. I was done anyway
.”
Kragar shrugged. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. So what
can
we do?”
“I don’t know yet. Let me think about it. And if you get anymore ideas, let me know.”
“Oh, I will. Someone has to do your thinking for you. Which reminds me—”
“Yes?”
“One piece of good news out of this whole thing.”
“Oh, really? What is it?”
“Well, now we have an excuse to talk to the Lady Aliera. After all, she is Morrolan’s cousin, and she is staying with him, last I heard. From what I know about her, by the way, she isn’t going to be at all pleased that her cousin is being used by a Jhereg. In fact, she’ll probably end up an ally, if we work it right.”
I took out a dagger and absently started flipping it as I thought that over. “Not bad,” I agreed. “Okay, then I’ll make seeing her and Morrolan my first priority.”
Kragar shook his head, in mock sorrow. “I don’t know, boss. First the witchcraft thing, and now this business with Aliera. I’ve been coming up with all the ideas around here. I think you’re slipping. What the hell would you do without me, anyway?”
“I’d have been dead a long time ago,” I said. “Want to make something of it?”
He laughed and got up. “Nope, not a thing. What now?”
“Tell Morrolan that I’m coming to see him.”
“When?”
“Right away. And get a sorcerer up here to do a teleport. The way I’m feeling right now, I don’t trust my own spells.”
Kragar walked out the door, shaking his head sadly. I put my dagger away and held out an arm to Loiosh. He flew over and landed on my shoulder. I stood by the window and looked out over the streets below. It was quiet and only moderately busy. There were few street vendors in this part of town and not really a lot of traffic until nightfall. By then I’d be at Castle Black, some two hundred miles to the Northeast.
Morrolan, I knew, was going to be mighty angry at someone. Unlike a Dzur, however, an angry Dragon is unpredictable.
“
This could get really ugly, boss
,” said Loiosh.
“
Yeah
,” I told him. “
I know
.”
7
“
Always speak politely to an enraged Dragon
.”
M Y FIRST REACTION, YEARS before, upon hearing about the Castle Black, had been contempt. For one thing, black has been considered the color of sorcery for hundreds of thousands of years on Dragaera, and it takes a bit of gall to name one’s home that. Also, of course, is the fact that the Castle floats. It hangs there, about a mile off the ground, looking real impressive from a distance. It was the only floating castle then in existence.
I should mention that there had been many floating castles before the Interregnum. I guess the spell isn’t all that difficult, if you care to put enough work into it in the first place. The reason that they are currently out of vogue is the Interregnum itself. One day, over four hundred years ago now, sorcery stopped working . . . just like that. If you look around in the right places in the countryside you will still find broken husks and shattered remnants of what were once floating castles.
Lord Morrolan e’Drien was born during the Interregnum, which he spent mostly in the East, studying witchcraft. This is very rare for a Dragaeran. While the Easterners were using the failure of Dragaeran sorcery to turn the tables and invade
them
for a change, Morrolan was quietly building up skill and power.
Then, when Zerika, of the House of the Phoenix, came strolling out of the Paths of the Dead with the Orb clutched in her greedy little hands, Morrolan was right there, helping her stomp her way to the throne. After that, he was instrumental in driving back the Easterners, and he helped cure the plagues they left behind them as remembrances of their visit.
All this conspired to make him more
“
You’re rambling, boss
.”
“
Shut up, Loiosh. I was done anyway
.”
Kragar shrugged. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. So what
can
we do?”
“I don’t know yet. Let me think about it. And if you get anymore ideas, let me know.”
“Oh, I will. Someone has to do your thinking for you. Which reminds me—”
“Yes?”
“One piece of good news out of this whole thing.”
“Oh, really? What is it?”
“Well, now we have an excuse to talk to the Lady Aliera. After all, she is Morrolan’s cousin, and she is staying with him, last I heard. From what I know about her, by the way, she isn’t going to be at all pleased that her cousin is being used by a Jhereg. In fact, she’ll probably end up an ally, if we work it right.”
I took out a dagger and absently started flipping it as I thought that over. “Not bad,” I agreed. “Okay, then I’ll make seeing her and Morrolan my first priority.”
Kragar shook his head, in mock sorrow. “I don’t know, boss. First the witchcraft thing, and now this business with Aliera. I’ve been coming up with all the ideas around here. I think you’re slipping. What the hell would you do without me, anyway?”
“I’d have been dead a long time ago,” I said. “Want to make something of it?”
He laughed and got up. “Nope, not a thing. What now?”
“Tell Morrolan that I’m coming to see him.”
“When?”
“Right away. And get a sorcerer up here to do a teleport. The way I’m feeling right now, I don’t trust my own spells.”
Kragar walked out the door, shaking his head sadly. I put my dagger away and held out an arm to Loiosh. He flew over and landed on my shoulder. I stood by the window and looked out over the streets below. It was quiet and only moderately busy. There were few street vendors in this part of town and not really a lot of traffic until nightfall. By then I’d be at Castle Black, some two hundred miles to the Northeast.
Morrolan, I knew, was going to be mighty angry at someone. Unlike a Dzur, however, an angry Dragon is unpredictable.
“
This could get really ugly, boss
,” said Loiosh.
“
Yeah
,” I told him. “
I know
.”
7
“
Always speak politely to an enraged Dragon
.”
M Y FIRST REACTION, YEARS before, upon hearing about the Castle Black, had been contempt. For one thing, black has been considered the color of sorcery for hundreds of thousands of years on Dragaera, and it takes a bit of gall to name one’s home that. Also, of course, is the fact that the Castle floats. It hangs there, about a mile off the ground, looking real impressive from a distance. It was the only floating castle then in existence.
I should mention that there had been many floating castles before the Interregnum. I guess the spell isn’t all that difficult, if you care to put enough work into it in the first place. The reason that they are currently out of vogue is the Interregnum itself. One day, over four hundred years ago now, sorcery stopped working . . . just like that. If you look around in the right places in the countryside you will still find broken husks and shattered remnants of what were once floating castles.
Lord Morrolan e’Drien was born during the Interregnum, which he spent mostly in the East, studying witchcraft. This is very rare for a Dragaeran. While the Easterners were using the failure of Dragaeran sorcery to turn the tables and invade
them
for a change, Morrolan was quietly building up skill and power.
Then, when Zerika, of the House of the Phoenix, came strolling out of the Paths of the Dead with the Orb clutched in her greedy little hands, Morrolan was right there, helping her stomp her way to the throne. After that, he was instrumental in driving back the Easterners, and he helped cure the plagues they left behind them as remembrances of their visit.
All this conspired to make him more
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