Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (40 page)

"The
lightning
cannot
touch
us,
yet
must
we
guard
against it,"
the
Speaker
said.
"If
a
bolt
should
strike
a
tree
as
we walk
beneath,
the
oaths
of
the
ler
are
uncompromised,
yet we
are
quite
possibly
crushed
beneath
falling
limbs."

"Oh,
that
's
a
cheerful
thought,"
the
Archer
said.

"The
spirits
that
guard
us
would
have
us
aware
of
the
hazards,"
the
Speaker
replied.
"I
but
relay
their
words."

"As
I
relay
the
words
of
the
Wizard
Lord,"
said
a
squeaky,
high-pitched
voice.
The
entire
party
look
ed
up
to
see
a
rat atop
one
of
the
tie-beams
above
them,
peering
down
over the
side
at
them.

"What
do
you
want,
madman?"
the
Seer
demanded.

"To
bring
a
little
sanity,"
the
rat
replied.
"Won't
you
abandon
this
foolish
mission
of
yours?
Nothing
good
can
com
e of
it."

"On
the
contrary,
your
death
would
be
a
benefit
to
Varagan,"
the
Seer
retorted.
"That's
all
the
good
/
ask."

"And
if
the
next
Wizard
Lord
is
even
worse,
what
then? Will
you
hunt
him
down
and
kill
him,
as
well?"

"Of
course
we
will!"
the
Leader
re
sponded
instantly. "Our
duty
is
to
remove
all
unfit
Wizard
Lords.
We
bear
you no
special
grudge."

The
Seer
grimaced
at
that,
and
Breaker
swallowed
a protest—Boss
had
not
been
with
them
in
Stoneslope,
had not
felt
those
poor
ghosts.
He
had
no
special
grudge
against the
present
Wizard
Lord,
but
there
were
those
who
did.

"So
you
say,"
the
rat
said,
"but
then
why
has
it
taken
you five
years—five
exemplary
years,
in
which
I
have
carried
out my
duties
faithfully
and
never
hurt
a
soul—to
decide
that
the filth
of
S
toneslope
must
be
avenged?"

"Because
we
didn't
know,"
the
Seer
shouted.
"We
didn't know
what
you
had
done!"

"And
now
suddenly,
you
do.
Who
is
responsible
for
that,
I wonder?
Could
it
be
that
my
enemies
on
the
Council
of
Immortals
have
decided
the
time
has
come
for
me
to
be
removed,
so
that
one
of
their
own
faction
can
replace
me?"

"I
stumbled
upon
the
truth!"
the
Seer
shouted.
"No
one schemed
against
you,
and
the
Council
had
nothing
to
do with
it!"

"You
may
believe
that,"
the
rat
replied.
"/
don't.
They
g
ot word
to
you
somehow—perhaps
a
dream,
or
a
whispered message
you
didn't
even
remember
hearing."

"Lore
and
I
compared
notes,
nothing
more!"

"I
don't
believe
it,"
the
rat
repeated.
"One
of
you
is
working
for
the
Council—perhaps
one
of
you
is
on
the
Counci
l!
I wouldn't
put
it
past
them
to
have
a
spy
among
the
Chosen,
a wizard
pretending
to
be
one
of
you."

"A
wizard
can't
be
one
of
the
Chosen,"
the
Scholar
said. "The
ler
won't
permit
it."

"Then
perhaps
one
of
you
is
not
actually
one
of
the
Chosen
at
all."

"That's
ridiculous,"
the
Seer
said.
"I
know
who
and
where the
Chosen
are—it's
my
magic,
my
role
as
Seer."

"So
you're
working
with
the
impostor."

"You're
being
absurd,"
the
Leader
said.
"We've
all
known each
other
for
years."

"If
you
say
so—though
I
don't
th
ink
Sword
would
agree, to
cite
only
the
most
obvious.
But
ask
yourselves—why
are you
so
determined
to
depose
me?
Isn't
it
worth
one
town's destruction
to
protect
the
rest
of
Barokan?
Will
you
risk
far worse?
Floods,
famines,
lost
crops
and
lost
lives—I
don
't need
to
attack
you
directly
to
cost
you
heavily.
I
can
unleash plagues
all
across
Barokan,
wash
away
bridges
and
burn down
towns.
I
don't
want
to
hurt
you,
but
some
of
you
have friends
and
family
you
care
for,
and
I
can
hurt
them—will you
risk
their
liv
es?
And
in
the
end,
if
you
persist,
I
will
kill you
if
I
must.
Don't
think
I
value
my
magic
more
than
my life,
my
power
more
than
my
position—I
must
and
will
remain
Wizard
Lord!"

"Why?"
Breaker
asked.
"Why
not
just
yield
peacefully? If
you
resign,
we
are
not
to
harm
you—you
know
that."