“Where is this Cap and Dagger? That’s an inn?” Mereth nodded. “On Gate Street, between Wizard and Arena,” she said.
“Good,” Sarai said, rising from her chair. “Captain Tikri, I want as many guardsmen as you can find to accompany me; Teneria, I would appreciate it if you would join us. Mereth, I am going with you to this meeting.” “I don’t...” Mereth began uncertainly. “I didn’t ask,” Sarai snapped.
An hour later, as noon approached, Mereth walked up Gate Street with a burly soldier on either side; immediately behind her came Sarai and Teneria, and following the two of them came Captain Tikri at the head of three dozen uniformed men. The normal midday traffic stepped aside as this formidable party approached, and they arrived unhindered at the door of a large and elegant inn, where a signboard above the door displayed a silver dagger across a red-and-gold wizard’s cap.
At Sarai’s order, soldiers flung open the door of the inn and marched in with swords drawn.
Close behind them, Sarai marched into the common room and found a dozen astonished men and women in magician’s robes looking up at this unexpected intrusion. She saw Algarin of Longwall, Heremon the Mage, and a few other familiar faces among them.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded an elderly man Sarai recognized as Telurinon, the senior Guildmaster. “You’re interrupting a private gathering, young woman.”
Sarai announced, “Guildmaster Telurinon, you will address me properly. I am Lady Sarai, Acting Minister of Justice, and you are all under suspicion of treason.” That created a stir, during which Sarai stepped into the room and allowed Mereth, Teneria, Tikri, and the other soldiers to enter, crowding the good-sized room.
“What are you talking about?” lelurinon demanded. A soldier thrust the point of his sword toward the wizard’s throat, and Telurinon belatedly and begrudgingly added, “My lady.”
“I am talking about what appears to be deliberate subversion of the criminal-justice system of this city,” Sarai explained. “You wizards have been withholding information from the Minister of Investigation, refusing to speak with her, while using undue influence on her employees to obtain the results of her own efforts.”
“Aren’t you the Minister of Investigation?” someone asked. Sarai nodded. “That’s right,” she said, “but right now I’m here as Minister of Justice—since you all chose to ignore my invitations as Minister of Investigation.”
“What’s going on?” a white-haired wizard asked. “I thought we were all here because some rogue was using wizardry without our leave; I want no part of treason.”
“You are all here,” Sarai said, “because someone, or some group, is responsible for killing half a dozen innocent citizens of Ethshar, most of them magicians. It’s my belief that this is the work of some sort of cult or conspiracy, one that is based on magic, and because of that I formally requested the assistance of the Wizards’ Guild to help me find those guilty of these crimes, so that they may be stopped. My requests were ignored.”
“Why don’t you find them yourself?” Algarin shouted. “You claim to be the overlord’s investigator—investigate it yourself, then!”
“I have,” Sarai replied angrily.
“From what I’ve heard so far, you’ve hired a bunch of magicians to investigate, you haven’t done anything yourself!”
“And just what would you suggest I do?” Sarai demanded.
“I don’t know,” Algarin replied. “I’m a wizard, and while I may have worked for your father a few times, I don’t pretend to be an investigator!”
“Then don’t tell me how to do my job,” Sarai retorted. “I’ve investigated this. We’ve questioned everyone connected with the victims, everyone who was involved; we’ve looked at all the evidence we can find.”
“Ha! You’re just taking credit for work that was done by magicians—wizards, mostly!”
“I’m not taking credit for anything,” Sarai answered. “There’s no credit to take—we haven’t caught the people behind these killings. And that’s why I’m asking everyone here to help, to tell me anything you can that might help.” “Why should we?”
“Why shouldn’t you?” Sarai put her hands to her hips and shouted angrily, “This conspiracy, if that’s what it is, killed one of your own Guildmasters! Don’t you want Serem the Wise avenged? Aren’t you worried that you might be next? Or with all this talk about credit, are you worried that wizards might get the blame for these killings? It’s wizardry that’s at the heart of them, as far as we can determine—is the Guild covering something up?” “You ’re the one who’s covering up!” the wizard shouted back. “ You ’re the one who isn’t getting her job done! And it’s because it’s magicians getting killed, because you want the Wizards’ Guild to take the blame!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” another wizard asked, before Sarai could reply.
“It’s true!” Algarin insisted. “She’s jealous of us all, jealous of our magic! We solve far more crimes with our spells than she does with her so-called investigations, and she’s jealous!”
Telurinon, who had stood silently during this argument, spoke again. “I believe I see the reason for this baseless charge of treason. She’s Lord Kalthon’s daughter; he’s ill, probably dying, and we’ve refused to heal him—the Guild does not heal aristocrats, as you all know, and perhaps Lady Sarai resents that. I’ve heard these nobles claim we’re all playing at being gods and getting above ourselves when we make such rules; maybe the lady would like to put us back in our place.”
Captain Tikri’s ringers were closed on the hilt of his sword, but Sarai put out a hand and stopped him before he could draw it. “No violence,” she whispered, “not with so much magic here.”
With Lady Sarai thus distracted for a moment, Mereth tried to speak in her defense; other voices rose in protest against
Telurinon’s words as well, and in seconds the entire room was a chaos of shouting and arguing voices. Fists waved in the air; none, so far, had been aimed at anyone.
“You have no right to blame us because you can’t find the people responsible!” someone shouted at Sarai.
“I’m not blaming you!” Sarai shouted back. “I’m just asking you to help me find them!”
She let the bickering continue for a moment longer, but when it showed no sign of reaching any conclusion, Sarai shouted over the hubbub, “Guildmaster Telurinon! Whatevermy reasons, the charge stands and requires an answer—why did you refuse my request for a meeting and the Guild’s assistance in this?”
Telurinon turned back to face her, abandoning his argument with other Guildmasters.
“Because, my lady,” he said, “this is a matter that the Wizards’ Guild wishes to handle on its own. Someone has killed a Guildmaster; we cannot allow that person to be brought before the overlord’s courts, or thrown in the overlord’s dungeon— whoever it is must die, as horribly and publicly as possible, as a direct result of our Guild’s actions.”
“Well, damn it,” Lady Sarai shouted, “why didn’t you meet with me and soy so?”
The argument died away, as the wizards turned to listen.
“I have no problem with recognizing the Guild’s claim to vengeance,” Sarai said. “The overlord’s government makes no claims to priority in these matters. I would be delighted to arrange terms whereby, in exchange for the Guild’s cooperation, I would, as Acting Minister of Justice, turn the guilty parties over to the Guild for execution.” Telurinon blinked stupidly at her.