The master's eyes were pale yellow; rumor had it he'd had them replaced, decades ago, with the eyes of an eagle. His hair, too, tended toward yellow. It matched his piwafwi, which was embroidered, in black, with numerous eyes: the symbol of his college. The garment was magical, and the direction in which each embroidered eye seemed to be looking constantly shifted.
Q'arlynd stood to one side of the master's platform. Miverra was in front of it, her eyes barely level with its top. If she was intimidated by the master, she showed no sign.
"I understand, Master Seldszar, that the spellcasters of Sshamath are experiencing a strange manifestation whenever they attempt a divination spell. Our priestesses have also noticed peculiar things, whenever they sing a hymn of divination."
"Faerie fire," Q'arlynd added. "Just like our wizards. You see why I thought you should hear what Lady Miverra had to say."
Miverra turned to him. "Not quite, Q'arlynd. The faerie fire effect seems to be peculiar to Sshamath."
Q'arlynd fought to hide his startle. "But you said-"
"I did not." Her lips quirked slightly. "You made that assumption. But what I have to impart here today is equally worthy of Master Seldszar's time."
Master Seldszar shot a glance at Q'arlynd, then returned his attention to the spheres. "Go on," he told the priestess.
"Something is heightening the Faerzress that surround the vast majority of our Underdark communities. In areas adjacent to a Faerzress, it's become increasingly difficult to perform any acts of divination over the past little while, as well as to-"
"Teleport?" Q'arlynd interjected, suddenly realizing what her earlier question about setting the grimlocks free had really been about.
"Yes. But strangely enough, only for drow. All other races seem unaffected. The Faerzress still hamper them, but only to the degree that they always have."
"By 'drow,' you include half-drow?" Master Seldszar asked.
Q'arlynd nodded to himself; Seldszar was obviously thinking of his son.
"Half-drow, as well."
"You said 'over the past little while,' " Master Seldszar observed. "I take it this has been going on elsewhere for some time?"
"The first reports of the effect came in from far to the northeast a tenday ago, just after High Harvestide," Miverra said. "From the region south of the Moonsea, where our priestesses have labored, these past few years, to bring the survivors from Maerimydra up into the light."
Q'arlynd recognized the name. Maermydra was a drow city that, like Ched Nasad, had been invaded and destroyed during Lolth's Silence. He'd heard that what little of it remained was home to hordes of undead. Even fewer had survived there than in Ched Nasad.
Master Seldszar's arms were crossed, and the hand that was hidden under the sleeve of his piwafwi flicked a question at Q'arlynd: Moonsea? Surface?
Q'arlynd turned to Miverra. "Forgive my ignorance, Lady Miverra, but is the Moonsea part of the Surface Realms?"
She nodded. "It lies directly above the Moondeep Sea, its Underdark counterpart in the Deep Wastes."
"Ah," Q'arlynd said.
"We believe that region contains the source of the problem," Miverra continued.
"Interesting," Master Seldszar commented.
The master's tone was carefully neutral, but Q'arlynd felt certain Seldszar was experiencing a rush of relief. When the manifestations had begun, Master Seldszar had concluded the faerie fire was a plot to discredit his college. He'd been obsessing about which of the other masters was scheming against him. He must have been glad to hear the problem was originating from somewhere… else. Somewhere outside Sshamath.
Miverra stared up at him. "The Acropolis of Thanatos- Kiaransalee's largest temple-lies under the Galena Mountains, just northeast of the Moondeep. That could be coincidence, but personally, I don't think so. We believe the Crones are behind whatever is affecting the Faerzress. We'll know soon enough if our guess is right."
"You've sent out spies?"
She hesitated. "We prefer to call them 'scouts.' An advance party. We'll be sending the best the Promenade has."
"I'm surprised that something so far away affects us here," Q'arlynd observed. "The Moondeep Sea is a long way from Sshamath. More than three hundred leagues."
"The effect is spreading," Miverra said. "It only just reached this far. And it's getting worse. Up around the Moondeep, it's grown very strong. Sing a divination hymn there-even a simple chant to reveal the presence of a magical aura-and it's not just more difficult than usual. Nothing happens at all. The same is true of servings, spells of location, distance viewings, thought detection-any form of magic that imparts wisdom or extends the senses. They're all impossible."
Q'arlynd suddenly realized the implication. "Are you telling us it's going to get that bad here?"
"Yes. Every Faerzress we've monitored over the past few days has grown steadily brighter and larger. There's no Faerzress surrounding Sshamath, but that unwanted faerie fire that accompanies your castings may be part of the same effect. What you've seen so far is only the start. When it gets as bad here as it is in the Deep Wastes, you'll be blinded by faerie fire every time you attempt a divination."
Master Seldszar's attention was wholly upon Miverra. The tiny crystal balls zipped past his face unheeded. "How much time do we have?"
"At the rate it's growing… another tenday, give or take a day or two."
Q'arlynd's pulse raced. If it got as bad in Sshamath as Miverra had just described-if divination became impossible-the college he'd attached himself to would collapse. When it fell, he'd have neither funding for his experiments, nor a master to nominate his school. Q'arlynd would never become a master of a formally recognized college, never become a member of the Conclave. All his hard work would be for nothing.
Unless, he reminded himself, his school was somehow recognized as a college before that happened. As a separate entity, the College of Ancient Arcana would no longer be dependent upon anyone.
Q'arlynd's mind raced as he weighed the odds of that happening. It would certainly be possible, within the next tenday, to manipulate Master Seldszar into nominating the School of Ancient Arcana for acceptance as a college, but there would be strings attached. If the school was elevated to college status, Q'arlynd was likely to wind up a master in name only, with Seldszar the real power behind the throne. Seldszar might even try to seize control directly. His son Eldrinn was one of Q'arlynd's apprentices, after all, and "accidents" could always be arranged.
No, Q'arlynd would have to petition the Conclave on his own, without the benefit of a formal nomination. Just getting the masters to convene would require a miracle-especially if it were to happen within the next tenday. There were dozens of schools in Sshamath, all vying to be elevated to the status of the city's eleventh officially recognized college. Q'arlynd would first have to secure an audience with the Conclave-a difficult enough task, as Miverra could attest-and convince the masters that a school that most of them had never even heard of was worthy of elevation to college status. In order to do that, he'd have to do something really impressive. Demonstrate the capability to wield high magic, for example. Or something close enough to it that their eyes would widen. And the only way he was going to do that was by cracking the secrets of the kiira. Immediately.
Miverra was still talking. "… and that's why we're hoping that Sshamath will lend us its aid."
Master Seldszar had composed himself. His voice was stone-steady as he responded. "What do you propose?"