"Who'll know the location of their abiding?"
"No one, if I can keep it so."
Elminster nodded, took a step back, and let his former pupil descend a little. "How are the wyrms protected when in stasis?"
What might have been a smile touched Vangerdahast's lips for a moment. "Not at all, given how far my spells have progressed, thus far. Protections are something I must craft, however, if this scheme is to work at all."
Elminster nodded again. "Once loosed to serve, do the guardians return to their bindings?"
"No," Vangey replied reluctantly. "They'd be free, though someone who knew just which spells to cast could bind them again. The process will be lengthy and require the immediate presence of the guardian to be bound, so the dragon would have to be either subdued in some way … or willing to re-enter stasis."
"Mystra! Murderous mothering Mystra!" Caladnei shouted, boiling over at last. "Mage, I am appalled! Revolted! Disgusted at this treasonous betrayal of the kingdom we both love! How could you? After serving and stitching together this realm through years of strife and dire doom, you set forth to shatter it out of pure pride? O'erweening folly?"
"Oho," Elminster murmured. "Nice phrase."
The Mage Royal stalked past him to plant herself right under Vangerdahast's lined and unhappy face and shake a furious fist up at it. "I'm aghast that a Royal Magician of the realm-for you're still that, whether you wear the title or not-could play such a dangerous fool by contemplating forging this blade to strike at the very heart of Cormyr! And to plot this without telling anyone-using me as your dupe!"
"Lass," the floating wizard told her sadly, "the very strength of this blade is its secrecy and always has been." He lifted his head, his voice growing stronger, and added, "You are the realm's hope and the realm's future, and I believe I chose rightly. Yet you're but young at this. In what is needful for Cormyr I know best, better than any man, maid, or beast living-like it or not."
Caladnei's mouth dropped open in astonishment, her jaw working in rage as she struggled through blazing fury to find the right words to hurl at him, and Vangerdahast gave her a wintry smile and said, "I'll admit this much, Gala: I've often hated what I've had to do in service to the kingdom . . . and what those doings have in turn done to me, down the years."
The Mage Royal stood with fists clenched at her sides, spitting and almost weeping in rage. "You-you! You! There-no-how . . ."
A long finger stroked gently down her cheek-and she spun around in surprise, eyes blazing and hands racing to shape a spell . . . only to freeze in mid-gesture as she found herself looking into the face of Elminster of Shadowdale. It was wearing a kindly expression.
"Easy, lass," he murmured. "Easy, now. Ye're right to be royally angered at being kept uninformed, but imagine now that the future of Cormyr depends upon thy wits and judgment being icily cool and calm, in the moments ahead . . . for-behold!-it does. Stop raging and show the same iron control that Alusair can manage for almost two breaths in a row when she has to … and hear me."
Caladnei was panting hard, eyes blazing at him, but she flung up her hands in an 'all right' flourish. Behind her, Myrmeen-who'd acquired a grim smile at El's mention of Alusair's self control- gave the Old Mage a nod and grounded her sword.
Elminster took hold of Caladnei's shoulders, facing her squarely, and said, "There is some merit in the words Vangey's just spoken to ye, Mage Royal. No matter how much ye may personally dislike hearing so."
"Well, you'd think so!" Caladnei spat. "You've done just what he has-for centuries! High-handed, secretive, manipulative, deceitful-in every wise precisely the same way as this sly old dog here!"
Elminster smiled and clapped her shoulders cheerfully. "Of course I have! Ye strike right to the truth, exactly! If ye survive to serve Mystra for as long as I've done, yell probably behave in much the same way, too!"
"This is not," the Mage Royal hissed through clenched teeth, "any sort of laughing matter! And don't throw me glib words about Mystra's service driving you past sanity, either! If you can hurl 'right' and 'merit' and little judgments all over the place, you must admit to retaining the capacity to judge!"
Elminster smiled and embraced her, holding on like an imperviously smiling wraith through the storm of kicks and thrown elbows and raking fingernails and upthrust knees that followed. Through it all he crooned, like a favorite uncle to a small girl, "There, there. Let thy rage flow … let it out, there's a good lass. But ye can be so much more than that. Ye can be a good Mage Royal, too! For a good Mage Royal, now fully informed of Vang-erdahast's secret scheme and thus warned, shouldn't waste more time tarrying here to rant and shout-when the daily crises of the kingdom face her uncaring back."
He let go of her and stepped back-a trifle hastily. Caladnei glared at him, bosom heaving, then set her jaw and said stonily, "Yes, you are right, Old Mage. So long as you make sure I'm not blocked or barred from reaching this place by spells, I should now take my leave, to consider and find calm, and look ahead."
She turned and shot a meaningful look at Myrmeen Lhal. Only Elminster had seen the grin that played along the mouth of the Lady Lord of Arabel moments before. There was no trace of it now as Myrmeen nodded as if in reply to an order, stepped forward to give both Elminster and Vangerdahast level looks, and announced firmly, "I shall be staying, for the good of the realm, to keep watch over Vangerdahast, here. Elminster, please set him down on his feet again-and I must insist that you do one thing more for me: Lay spell protections on me to keep me from being magically mind-meddled with by semi-retired Mages Royal."
Elminster smiled. "Of course."
In the background, Vangerdahast's sputtered protests were firmly ignored. The Old Mage spread his hands and took a long step toward Myrmeen-and an opaque shield faded into existence out of nowhere to enclose them both.
Vangerdahast slammed to the ground as if he'd been dropped off the end of a cart. Wincing and limping, he approached the shield-only to come to a dead halt as Caladnei strode around its curve to stand in his path, two wands raised in her hands and a cold, hard look in her eyes.
"Go ahead," she murmured grimly. "Take that next step-and we'll both regret the battle that follows. If I must die to defend Cormyr from the man who made her great, I'll do so. If you wanted a spineless lap-slave, Vangerdahast, you shouldn't have chosen me."
"I wanted nothing of the kind and still do not," the former Royal Magician growled. "But-but what's he up to, in there?"
"Enspelling Myrmeen and her weapons, if he's thinking anything like I am," Caladnei replied tartly. "You'll have to do a lot to win back our trust, old man."
"Lass, lass," Elminster chided from behind her. "I'm going to have to take ye away forthwith before ye can find anything else cold and hurtful to say to the man who did ye such honor by choosing ye."
Caladnei whirled around, but a grinning Elminster laid a hand on her arm before she could say a word-and, just like that, there was suddenly one less Mage Royal of Cormyr and one less Chosen of Mystra in the littered kitchen.
Across suddenly empty space, Vangerdahast and Myrmeen stood gazing at each other.
Coldly he looked her up and down, from her drawn sword to her patched and battered leathers, and a slow sneer crawled across his face.
Myrmeen surveyed him from head to toe with raised eyebrows, shook her head, gave Vangerdahast a derisive grin, and strode right past him.
"Don't touch anything," the wizard snarled, whirling around to see where she went and what she did.
Which was three paces away, to stand with hands on hips and slowly turn to witheringly survey the state of his kitchen.