That was a fascinating detail, and Sterren thought it very interesting that Kelder had left it until last. “I’ll want to discuss it with my wife,” he said, “but I think we have a deal.”
Kelder smiled, and held out a hand. Sterren hesitated only briefly before shaking it.
Two months later, when certain wizards decided that the World would be better off without any functioning warlocks, no matter how feeble those warlocks might be, they could find no trace of Lord Sterren, former Regent of the Vondish Empire. Divinations failed to locate him, or determine what had become of him. It was eventually concluded that Vond must have killed him at some point before the emperor’s own death; several witnesses attested to Vond’s anger at his missing aide.
And that, so far as the Wizards’ Guild was concerned, was the end of warlockry, once and for all.
Epilogue
In the end, it proved surprisingly easy for the Hegemony of the Three Ethshars, the Baronies of Sardiron, and the Small Kingdoms to absorb tens of thousands of former warlocks. Many of the Called returned to trades and positions they had held before the Night of Madness; others became farmers, or joined the overlords’ guards, or found other employment that did not require formal apprenticeship. The significant financial assets of the Council of Warlocks in all the various cities were devoted to assisting former warlocks, Called or not, in establishing new businesses; many became locksmiths, tinkers, or artisans of one sort or another, applying the knowledge of materials and structures that they had acquired as warlocks.
Sensella of Morningside returned to her family safely, and became a seamstress. She was not particularly successful at it, but managed to get by.
Edara of Silk Street did not accomplish anything useful for Hanner in her hurried trip to the Wizards’ Quarter, but that began a series of curious events that culminated in her employment as a procurer of wizards’ ingredients.
Zallin of the Mismatched Eyes, Leth of Pawnbroker Lane, and Feregris of Crookwall became partners in a confectionery shop on Sugar Lane in the New Merchants’ Quarter.
Kolar the Large was called upon to testify before assorted magistrates and officials in various hearings, and presented himself well enough to wind up as the personal bodyguard to Lord Augris, the treasurer of Ethshar of the Spices.
Gerath Gror’s son decided he was no longer welcome in Ethshar of the Spices, and hired on as a sailor on a Tintallionese trading vessel; his subsequent misadventures eventually led him to become a pirate captain operating out of Shan on the Sea.
Hanner the Generous and his second wife, Rudhira of the Refuge, became the landlords and proprietors of Hanner’s Refuge, providing lodging for some three hundred tenants and exporting lumber, seafood, and exotic nuts.
And to Lord Azrad’s regret, his palace was safely restored to its original position and never flew again.