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.Abruptly Narnra became aware, as she stared through it at her father, of how tangled and sweat-soiled her hair was.Her gaze fell longingly to the pool, and after a few breaths of silence she asked, "Would you mind going away whilst I bathe if I promise to work no mischief, "Elminster chuckled, took up her tankard, and laid a hand on hershoulder."I'll be up in the Tower preparing evenfeast when ye're done.Florin has probably worn his sword-edge dull slicing edibles by now.I'm not much of a family, lass, but ye're welcome, whenever."Narnra gave him a strange look and waved at the pool."There aren't, snakes or biting turtles or anything like that, are there, ""Nay," Elminster told her, as he conjured up a fluffy robe, towels, and slippers, and bent with a grunt to lay them out on a handy rock."I asked the beast that eats them to depart when ye arrived, and it did."She gave him a longer look, until he turned and added, "Trust me.""I'm learning to," she said with a lopsided smile."Don't make me regret it.Please.""Well, if ye'd like to toss your clothes onto yon rock, I'll snatch them away with a spell and give them a wash whilst ye're soaking, because they certainly need it.Knives and all, mind.I'll be careful not to let things rust.Oh, and the little blades ye keep hidden in thy hair, too they're starting to tarnish."Narnra gave her father quite another look and said, "If you trick me.""I'll be overcome with remorse," he said with a grin and strolled off, his pipe floating after him.Narnra watched him go, shaking her head.Well, at least she had an /interesting /father.When she heard the Tower door close, she disrobed, carefully putting her gear where he'd indicated, all but one knife with its sheath, which she laid ready at the water's edge.She lifted the stone Elminster had pointed out, scooped up some flakes of soap, and waded in.The water was wonderful.*****"B'gads, what if they find us here, " Bezrar muttered."What tale do we tell them /then, /" "That we're thinking of importing some new sort of shingles from, from Alaghon, and had to see if the barracks roofs would ever be a market for us," his partner Surth hissed."If you /shut up /for once, perhaps they /won't /find us here!"They both froze, there on the roof of the largest Purple Dragon barracks in Marsember, as at least a dozen dragons, each larger than any barracks, and far more impressive, swooped past, in a mighty hurry to get to somewhere in the city!The great wyrms passed over the barracks so low that Malakar Surth, the taller of the two swindlers, could almost have touched one of those vast and scaled underbellies by standing tall and leaping upward.He chose not to do so.It seemed more sensible to faint instead.Twenty-TwoA LITTLE VICTORY/ Sometimes, all you can do is take what little victory you can./ Sorbraun Swordmantle / Seventy Summers A Purple Dragon: One Loyal Warrior's Tale / Year of the Prince"Stand easy," Laspeera murmured."Whatever happens, we've War Wizards enough to keep you both safe."Filfaeril and Alusair gave her identical sighs."Speera, it's not that," the Steel Regent exclaimed, armor gleaming."It's how many loyal folk this will cost us, and how many noble families who lose their young hotheads here will turn against us.When will Cormyr stop /bleeding, /""Here they come," Caladnei muttered, stepping back, as many men stalked into the dimly lit hall, drawn swords glittering in the light of her conjured light."Hail, Ladies Obarskyr," one of them called in a grand and cultured voice."Your attendance, even with so many of your mages, gratifies us.We desire to discuss the future of our fair real, "The noble staggered forward to fall on his face with a cough and lie still, sword ringing on the tiles.His fellows whirled around with shouts of anger.Many men in robes were fading into visibility out of empty air, Thayans! Harnrim Starangh glared coldly around Thundae-rlyn Hall and commanded his fellow Red Wizards, "Kill them all, yon women first.Let no one leave alive!"*****Bezrar and Surth came back to Marsember at about the same time, with damp and misty air singing past their ears as a grand rooftop, all spires and skylights, rushed up to meet them.They were.oh, gods.in the grip of great talons.Talons that were attached to a huge and iridescent silver-blue dragon.Turquoise eyes burned into theirs with force enough to keep them blinkingly, tremblingly awake.When both Surth and Bezrar would quite happily have fainted again great jaws hissed in a soft thunder, "Open those skylights so we can see and hear who's within.I've no desire to provoke all the War Wizards and whatever other mages happen to be in Marsember by tearing apart a few buildings at random and slaughtering folk heedlessly.""B-b-but, " Bezrar managed to splutter."However," Joysil told him, "I /can /make a few exceptions when it comes to slaughtering if you provoke /me./Yes, this is the roof of Thundaerlyn Hall, and yes, I'm a dragon, just as you are Aumun Tholant Bezrar and /you /are Malakar Surth./Get those open!/"The two smugglers leaped to the panes with frantic eagerness, fumbling at catches that hadn't been oiled or thrown open in decades, decades of sea-mists and incontinent birds and nesting fowl that.that."Oh, /gods!" /Surth hissed, his fingers trembling helplessly."We'll never, "Beside him, Bezrar drew his longknife, puffing like a walrus and sweating a river, and brought its pommel down firmly through the dirty pane in front of him.There was a shout from within, and a roaring gout of flame burst up out of the shattered skylight.A dragon banked sharply overhead, thrust out its neck, and breathed something back.Bezrar emitted a sort of frightened mew as he tumbled over backward.Spells were bursting out of skylights up and down the roof now, shards of glass tumbling in all directions, and dragons were diving down and breathing death of their own.It was, yes, a /luminescent /time to faint, Bezrar and Surth decided in unison, and did so.*****Caladnei and Laspeera did nothing but hold up shimmering shielding-spells around Alusair and Filfaeril as they all rushed together to the east end of the hall, which saved them, even as Red Wizards by the dozens vanished in dragon-spew.The very floor-tiles of the central open hall exploded, heaved, and melted where the full fury of dragon-magic struck, and the roof started to come down in great crashing chunks.The two highest-ranking War Wizards reeled, moaning in pain and clutching their heads, as their shieldings were torn asunder
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