Vangerdahast sighed, steepled his fingers, and rested his chin on them.
"Deciding what to forget to tell us?" Alusair asked.
He gave her a pained look. "Onsler Ruldroun was a Wizard of War, yes. Stolid, strong in his Art but unambitious, and so not all that accomplished in the more powerful magics. Which was fine. I have an endless need for such mages, so long as their lack of ambition doesn't slide into sloth. He worked in the Royal Court, gleaning information from the many documents and reports that are sent there daily, and following up on interesting matters. Exciting, thus far?"
The two princesses gave him identical withering stares. "Say on, wizard," Tanalasta commanded.
Bowing his head in silent assent, Vangey did so. "Unbeknownst to the rest of us, a curious and ancient item of magic came into Ruldroun's possession, probably two seasons ago when he attended some family funerals in Marsember. It enabled him to cloak his innermost thoughts from all spells, even when mind-speaking to fellow war wizards. I believe he met the traitor lords Yellander- whom he had befriended years earlier-and Eldroon at one of those funerals and began working for them. He gave them some private Court and Wizard of War information. This was noticed, and he was imprisoned when we discovered we couldn't read his mind. In captivity, he remained uncooperative, until two agents of Lord Yellander found and acted upon written instructions Yellander'd left as to how to find and contact Ruldroun in an emergency, and telling them to take along certain items of magic. We believe Ruldroun earlier gave these to Yellander in a gesture of'betray me not, and I'll not cross you' trust, but they served Ruldroun well when the agents reached his dungeon cell. He used them to get free, then killed the agents, leaving one of them in the chains that had prevented him from working spells. He then escaped. We assume he means us ill but are uncertain of both his whereabouts and his precise intentions regarding Cormyr."
"Why, if you have been so ruthlessly high-handed on other occasions, did you just imprison this traitor?" Tanalasta asked. "If you can quietly toss any madwits you please into the Lost Palace, why didn't you and Laspeera and anyone else just force your way inro this Ruldroun's mind to learn what you had to know?"
The Royal Magician looked embarrassed. "We dared not. We had trusted him enough to let him be part of the warning magics laid upon your minds, when you were both infants."
"What? Whatwatn'mg magics?" Tanalasta cried.
Beside her, Alusair nodded grimly and shot her sister a triumphant "told you so" look.
"Shieldings that would prevent sudden magical attempts to invade your minds, drawing them instead into those of six Wizards of War-for each of you. This foiled most such attacks completely and warned us of their launching."
"Foiled?"
"Oh, yes. Many wizards-Zhentarim, wizards hired by Sembians seeking to gain future influence in Cormyr, a few independent spell-hurlers, and no fewer than twoscore mages hired by various noble families of the realm-tried to influence or read or control or just destroy your minds before either of you could walk."
"So is this Ruldroun still linked to my mind?" Alusair asked. "Or Tana's?"
"Tanalasra's, yes. Or so we believe. That mind-shielding item he gained prevents us from being certain."
"So this is another of your brilliant successes in judging loyalty," the younger princess said. "Like Applethorn and Margaster and-"
"Princess Alusair," Vangerdahast snapped back at her, "no wizard can or should-I can well imagine how you'd shriek at me if I tried! — mind-control even handfuls of Cormyreans. We are all served by many, many loyal Wizards of War. The few who go bad stand as rare examples of how power corrupts."
"I can think of many loyal Cormyreans who would name our Royal Magician among the ranks of the corrupt," Tanalasta said. "Tell me, what would you say to them?"
Vangerdahast sighed. "That I am not, and they have only to watch me to see that. Unless they don't want to see it. They may disagree with me as to what a loyal or honest courtier would do if in my boots, but few of them can properly appreciate what wizards do and face, let alone know all the secrets I do and the worries I have. If they knew just a little of what I hear and ponder and know, they might see me very differently."
"Fair enough," Tanalasta replied. "So tell us some of these secrets."
"Such as all about Ondel, and the She-dragon, and the barn," Alusair said.
Vangerdahast sighed again. "Very well. Ondel was a wizard of great power, a Sembian resident in Saerloon who was of interest to the Crown because he'd begun buying up farmland in Cormyr, near Marsember. Someone murdered him, probably an assassin or team of killers hired by a Sembian rival or perhaps someone in Westgate. We investigated but haven't learned who was to blame. We suspected that in his Cormyrean purchases he may have been acting for one of the exiled former noble families of Cormyr, but that's mere supposition on our part. He was cut apart, and pieces of him left all over Shadowdale-another place where he'd started buying land. Wizard of War Lorbryn Deltalon-who is not suspected of being any sort of traitor, by the way-did most of the looking into Ondel's death. None of you were told about, this because we could learn nothing definite touching on the security or governance of Cormyr and because we delve into literally thousands of such matters every year. Would you want to sit through my filling your ears about odd murders of Sembian wizards, and half a hundred other things, for half a day, every day?"
"No, and I grant your point, Vangey. What about Sundraer the She-dragon?"
"Also a Sembian. Of interest to us because she was Ondel's lover, when in human form. She died some years back, but aside from some handfuls of valuables she shared with Ondel, no one ever found her hoard. It's been local legend in Saerloon for nigh a decade. The usual rumor after rumor about its great size and someone finding it. Well, we believe someone finally did find it-somewhere in the Thunder Peaks. Just where, when, who, and what they found… again, just guesses and rumors. Nothing to share with Obarskyrs who have real concerns about Cormyr to deal with. The Harpers take an interest in rumors and odd happenings just as we do, but I can't think why a princess of Cormyr would want to, unless nobles or courtiers or rising personages of this realm were directly involved." Alusair nodded. "The barn fire?"
"Barns burn down all the time. If there are any suspicions about a barn fire in Cormyr, we investigate. This one was in our realm, and it spat out lightning bolts and green flames while burning. Therefore magic was involved, and we are investigating. If anything worth reporting comes to light, I'll certainly share ir with you."
"See that you do, Royal Magician," Tanalasta said. "As you've no doubt gathered by now, Loos and I are both tired of being treated like brainless children."
Vangerdahast nodded, looking a little weary. "Have you heard enough for now?" he asked. "I'd think hearing all I hear and worrying about all I think about would soon darken your hearts and lives and make you rue being born an Obarskyr in Cormyr. Believe me, both of you: it has been my intent and my hard work to shield you both from as much of this as possible, so you can enjoy your lives before the heavy burdens begin-the burdens that, once taken up, will only be lifted from your shoulders by death."
"So is your heart darkened, Vangey?" Alusair asked, sounding almost gentle. "Do you have nightmares? What haunts you?"
The Royal Magician regarded her gravely and said quietly, "Dreams of drawn daggers haunt me. Picturing your royal mothet weeping in grief haunts me. Seeing sorrow and disappointment in your father's eyes when he looks at me after I've been too slow to see peril and disaster has harmed any of his family. Those are among the foremost things that haunt me, but my collection of hauntings is not a small one." He rose from his chair. "Now, if you'll permit me the impertinence, what I've heard out of your mouths here in this room suggests to me that you've both become quite old enough to enjoy a stiff drink. I know I need one."