
enforcement; and described in massive volumes the punishments for lawbreakers. The zulkirs, however,
only called upon Thay's courts to discipline people when it was convenient, and in fact often ordered those
in their employ to commit every illegality that could be conceived. The zulkirs, who did not trust each other
and did not cooperate beyond the council, could engage in whatever nefarious and heinous acts they
desired. They were above the law. The council also dictated Thay's foreign policy, which at this point
consisted of keeping every neighboring country unnerved and guessing.
Each zulkir personally controlled a magical discipline and oversaw all those who studied it. Maligor's
specialty was transmuting objects, living and otherwise. If his current plan proved successful, he would
control much more than that.
Maligor resumed watching the young sorcerer's mansion, curious about the young wizard. He closed his
eyes and concentrated, visualizing in his mind being inside the elegant building, peering through the windows,
glancing down corridors, searching. In a hazy vision, he witnessed servants bearing the young man steaming
platters of rare delicacies. Splendid, Maligor thought. The fool will be too full and lazy to pay me any heed
this evening, and he is too weak to put up the proper wards to keep prying eyes away from his home.
It was the nature of Red Wizards to second-guess their peers and ceaselessly protect their backs. The
wizards frequently plotted against each other for pleasure, for personal gain, for retribution, or simply to
hone their skills. This puerile behavior prevented most wizards from gaining sufficient power to rise above
their brethren, and it also forestalled them from working together to expand Thay's boundaries.
Despite the magical inactivity at the young wizard's alcazar, Maligor realized that other Red Wizards in
the city would be busy this night, no doubt brewing their own wicked plans to inflict pain and suffering on
others for their own financial or personal reward. He fancied that none of their plots would be as devious or
promising as his present scheme, for he held little respect for his colleagues. A smile gently tugged at the
corner of Maligor's pale, cracked lips. None in Amruthar, none in Thay—indeed even no one else in his
own tower—knew what he was up to.
He retreated from the window to the incense burner's bitter embrace. The smoke caressed his face and
made his throat feel dry and his mouth taste sour. Still, Maligor enjoyed the druglike sensation, savoring it
for long moments while his eyes watered from the thick vapors. Then abruptly he stiffened, detecting
another familiar scent, one less pleasing—one that smelled like rotting flesh.
Stepping away from the burner, the wizard's gray, rheumy eyes peered into the shadows, probing
intently until he discovered the source of the stench, then narrowing to thin slits to evidence his displeasure.
"What do you want, Asp?" Maligor's voice had a noticeable edge to it. "What catastrophe is unfolding?
Surely something has gone amiss. Otherwise, you would not dare interrupt my meditation."
The wizard's tones were soft and raspy, though not by choice. Appearing elderly by human standards,
perhaps sixty or seventy, Maligor was in fact more than two hundred years old. The viscous magical elixirs
he concocted in his secret chambers in this tower and in his other numerous residences throughout Thay
helped his frail form to stave off many of the effects of age. His voice, however, hadn't held up as well
against the passage of time.
"My Lord Maligor, I'm sorry to intrude, but this truly is important." The feminine voice was sultry,
caressing the stale air in the chamber like a summer breeze.
"Yes?" Maligor entreated, still peering into the darkness.
Asp's unblemished face rimmed with close-clipped sable hair edged out from the shadows. Her startling
blue eyes, high cheekbones, and dainty lips the shade of ripe red yarberries, a poisonous fruit that grew
abundantly in Thay, contrasted with the room's dismal atmosphere. Her long, slender neck, decorated with a
delicate strand of black pearls, and her bare, white shoulders emerged from the inky blackness near the
wall, but she came no closer.
"There is a spy in our midst," she whispered, studying Maligor's face for a reaction. "He's a slow-witted
creature, but he could cause problems."
Maligor moved toward the woman, regarding her critically. "Go on," he rasped.
"He's a gnoll, one of the guards," she continued, her voice rising slightly in volume. "He hasn't been seen
for several days now. He was sometimes stationed outside this very room. That means he could have heard
us plotting, my lord. He could have knowledge of our schemes. He could be selling the information to
another Red Wizard." She ran her finely manicured fingers through her short hair, pausing to compose
herself before continuing.
"Perhaps he didn't think he'd be missed, Maligor. After all, you've been enlisting more and more gnolls
into your service. Perhaps he doesn't really know much, but then again, maybe he does. We have to be
sure. We have to do something. Our plans may not remain secret much longer if his tongue is wagging."
Maligor scowled, disheartened that Asp would bother him with such a trivial matter. He didn't care what