The meeting was to have begun at noon; but as Shandiph had anticipated, it proved impossible to gather the entire group together on schedule. It was a good hour past midday when he finally rose at the end of the first table and called the meeting to order.
The gallery had a southern exposure and high, narrow windows; the sunlight from one of them lit Shandiph from head to foot, from the sweat glistening on his balding scalp to the sterling silver buckles on his black leather sandals. His remaining hair was thin and gray, his face broad and flat. He wore a tunic of black silk worked with silver that was cut to disguise his growing paunch, and soft gray breeches hid his thighs.
"Fellow magicians, seers, and scholars, I welcome you here and hereby convoke the session of the Council of the Most High," he said. "We are met to consider a matter that threatens to disrupt the peace of the world, which we are sworn to safeguard. A border has been violated, and magic of great power has been used"
"We all know that," Karag of Sland called. "Get on with it! What has Zhinza got to say?"
"Karag, I want to deal with the necessary formalities, if you don't mind, and get them out of the way. Now, is there anyone present who questions my authority to convene this Council or questions that I had sufficient reason to do so in this instance?"
There was a moment of silence; Karag was visibly restraining himself from interrupting again.
"In that case, is there anyone present who does not have a clear understanding of the situation we're here to discuss?"
This time there were muttered words and a few uncertain questioning noises. Shandiph gestured for silence, then began an account of what was known of Garth and the Sword of Bheleu.
"Reliable divinations have determined that this sword is in fact powerful enough that it could be used to defeat any army that Eramma might send against this Garth," he concluded. "Therefore, it falls to the Council to deal with this. trouble maker and prevent a long and bloody war. We are considering both assassination by ordinary methods and the possibility of using the basilisk to turn this Garth to stone. Other suggestions will be welcome. For the present, though, we asked the sorceress Zhinza to contact Shang in Mormoreth, the keeper of the basilisk, and inquire as to the monster's readiness for use. I now ask Zhinza to report what she has learned."
He gestured toward the old woman, then sat down, glad to be off his feet.
Zhinza rose, looked around at the gathering, and cleared her throat. She was at least two inches short of five feet in height, thin, and frail; her face was narrow and wrinkled, her hair long and shining white. She wore a simple unbelted gown of white linen.
"Shang isn't there," she said.
There was a moment of silent surprise; before anyone could speak, she went on, "I mean, I can't find him. As a lot of you know, my specialty is the knowledge of other planes of reality and the conveying of messages through them or drawing knowledge and power from them. I think I know as much as anybody about communicating over long distances or through other realms and probably more than any of you here. I used every bit of that knowledge in searching for any trace of Shang. I knew him when he was young and I know the shape of his thoughts and the image of his face. I couldn't find him-not in Mormoreth, not anywhere in Orыn or Derbarok, and not in any of the known planes that he might have been translated into. I think he must be dead. If he's not dead, then he's behind a warding spell the like of which I've never seen or else has gone someplace completely beyond my knowledge. I think he's dead and I wish he had carried a warning spell so we could be sure, but he didn't."
She paused, and then rushed on before anyone could interrupt, "And I can't find the basilisk either. After I couldn't find Shang, I looked for the basilisk, and it's not there. I don't know its thoughts, but it has an aura of evil and death that's unmistakable, and there was nothing but the memory of it in the crypts of Mormoreth."
She looked around defiantly and then abruptly sat down.
There was a moment of babble; then Shandiph rose and silenced the meeting. "Let us behave calmly and rationally," he said. "Now, who wishes to speak? You, Karag, what do you want to say?"
Karag rose, impressive in his red velvet and black leather, his black beard bristling. He was not particularly tall or especially heavy, but he gave the impression of great strength nonetheless, for his every muscle was hard and tense.
"I would like to know," he announced, "how reliable this old woman's findings are. I do not deny that she was, in her time, a sorceress of great repute, but she must have lived three-fourths of a century by now, and even the mightiest of us is not immune to the effects of time."
"I'm eighty-six, but I still know more than you ever will, you strutting idiot!" Zhinza retorted.
Karag looked at her with manifest disdain, and Shandiph rose again. "Sit down, Karag," he said. A hand gestured for his attention, and he added, "Yes, Chalkara, what is it?"
;The court wizard to the High King got to her feet; like Shandiph, she stood in the direct light of a window, so that her long red hair and cloth-of-gold gown were as vivid as flame. Karag glared at her, then seated himself, though not before Shandiph had noticed for the first time that she stood slightly taller than Sland's wizard.
"I do not impugn Zhinza's knowledge or power, but the fact remains that we do not know what has become of Shang; as she says, he may be concealed by some warding spell of which we know nothing or hiding in a place of which we know nothing. Or it may be that something has deceived Zhinza, by means we do not know, and Shang and the basilisk remain in Mormoreth, as always. This is a matter that must be investigated immediately, and I suggest that we send someone in person to Mormoreth to inquire there what has become of our great weapon and honored colleague."
Karag objected. "If Shang is dead, then there won't be anyone in Mormoreth to ask!"
Without rising, Thetheru of Amag said, "If Shang is dead, then his killer will be in Mormoreth."
Karag whirled to face the Amagite and retorted, "Nonsense! The killer would have fled long ago!"
"We don't even know that there is a killer," Deriam of Ur-Dormulk interjected. "Shang may have gotten careless with the basilisk's venom."
"Shang was never careless," replied Lord Dor, Baron of Therin-or at least the avatar he had sent to the meeting, since Dor had developed the ability to reproduce himself in identical copies that shared his consciousness.
"Anyone can be careless once," Deriam insisted.
"Please, councilors!" Shandiph called as argument became general. He was answered, after some shuffling, by silence; Karag seated himself, having risen so as to be able to yell in Thetheru's face more easily. The old sorceress shifted in her chair, and Shandiph asked, "Is there something you wished to add, Zhinza?"
"There is someone in Mormoreth; I could see that when I looked for Shang and for the basilisk. There are several people, none of whom I could identify in any way, and none of whom were magicians, so that I couldn't communicate with them."
"There, you see?" Thetheru said; Karag turned toward him, his hand falling to the hilt of the dagger he carried on his belt.
"Silence!" Shandiph bellowed.
When he was satisfied that he had the full attention of those present, he went on, "It would appear that there are people in Mormoreth, whether or not they are connected with Shang's death. These people may know what became of Shang and of the basilisk. I think that it would, indeed, be a very good idea to send someone to investigate, particularly since we are still five votes short of a quorum to decide matters of importance and can therefore spare the time. I suggest we vote on that, here and now; no quorum is necessary for sending a messenger. All those in favor of sending an investigator to Mormoreth will signify their position by standing."