Magistrate Vatman has changed his mind."

Gord slumped noticeably at the statement. A ser- 386.

geant relieved him of his sword and dagger, and in a moment he was marched away, surrounded by troops in gray and red. "Poor Gord," Summer whispered with genuine sorrow in her voice. Then. Invisible still, she returned the way she had come to finish her task.

The Mayoral Palace was ablaze with light. So were many of the attendant buildings that flanked it. A special meeting of the oligarchs,.rulers of Grey-hawk, had been called, and the Citadel was a beehive of activity because of this unusual occurrence. Ranks of gray-uniformed regulars and their officers moved to form a line to receive the incoming masters of the city. Here and there were the black and gold clad members of the Praefecture, hurrying to make certain that all was secure, or to handle special duties.

Various leaders arrived, adorned in rich robes and fur mantles of state, wearing their chains of office. The appearance of a phalanx of black and white colors announced the coming of the general of The Watch. Arentol. Guildmaster of Thieves, arrived In company with Thaddius Jenk, Guildmaster of a.s.sa.s.sins. Leaders of the trade, craft and merchant factions had come already. The Chancellor of the University came with the usual group, leaders of the savants, sages, and scholars, plus certain clerics. Other clerics came, and last was the ancient man who was Magistar of the Society of the Magi. All were greeted by the constable, provosts, and His Solemn Authority, Nerof Gasgol, Lord Mayor of Grey-hawk, First Oligarch and Keeper of the Citadel.

"I demand to know the reason for all this!" Nerof Gasgol was nearly shouting as he said this.

The candelabra made the High Chamber seem warm and beautiful, with its polished floors of marble, glowing wood, gilt trim, and walls adorned with 387.

paintings and pieces of artwork looking regal and filled with import. The long table could seat up to a score.

Its inlaid top was mirrorlike, the carved chairs silk-cushioned treasures. Eighteen155 of these seats were taken by the oligarchs, each with a gold and crystal goblet and a wine ewer before him,. each looking to the others in consternation at the statement the Lord Mayor had just uttered. All save a few. that is.

"I speak not only for myself," Arentol, Guild-master of Thieves, said as he arose to command all attention. "I speak for Murtagh your Captain-General. Thaddius Jenk, and certain others who do not wish their names used at this time."

As the leader spoke, Nerof let his eyes roam the circle of faces. A twitch here, a stiffening there, and Gasgol had a fair idea as to just who the guildmaster represented. In bygone years, Nerof Gasgol had himself been Guildmaster of Thieves, but he had long since broadened and grown to concern himself with the greater needs of Greyhawk. Having lost his narrow perspective did not mean he had lost his abilities and keen eyes. His a.s.sessment was that Phildorf Gelbbeek, leader of the merchants and the most wealthy man in the city, was with Arentol. So was Archdeacon Elohideus, chief cleric of those who served the h.e.l.ls. Gasgol was uncertain about it, but he thought Constable Lord Thistleby seemed too tense also.

"Speak then. Oligarch Arentol. for all those for whom you serve as mouthpiece." He used the insulting term deliberately to see if he could draw the man out as quickly as possible.

"Thank you. sir." Arentol said with a smooth, mocking tone and a slight bow that failed to conceal his smirk. The slight had only amused him. "Intel- 388.

Jigence has come to me this very day of a terrible series of events here in our beloved city. Fellow oligarchs," he said, turning so as to look at each in turn, "these events are of great import, but no word of them came from the Citadel, no warning for us from our palace. Think on thati"

"What are you driving at?" the ancient archmage known to all only as Darkslgn asked querulously.

"Have patience, I beg you. lords all," the Guild-master of Thieves said to the a.s.semblage. "I'll come quickly enough to the heart of this, but please allow me uninterrupted speech." Here he stared squarely at the old spell-user. Darksign rubbed his long nose with crabbed fingers, nodding his a.s.sent.

"Six murders there have been. Not unusual, you might say. Not so, I would reply. All the acts were unlicensed. Each was done so as to so completely destroy the life of the victim that no spell could evoke any clue as to the murderer, let alone revive the corpse! All save one of the slain were important members of a group represented here. The a.s.sa.s.sins lost the woman most likely to succeed as their leader. The Watch lost its most promising young captain, the second most successful merchant prince of Greyhawk was laid low in this fash-Ion. Mine own guild lost three of its own men - a toaster of great skill who was rising rapidly and two lesser personages as well."

The lords of Greyhawk looked at each other with concern. They shifted uneasily.

Arentol allowed this pause to continue for just enough time to make the anxiety build to a point where It would spill out. Then he spoke again in his booming voice.

"Each crime was reported to the Citadel. Why didn't the Citadel inform you? In fact, if I had not spoken with those of my fellows and learned by chance that they too had been attacked, my guild would even now 389.

believe that it was the only group to suffer such slaughter!"

Nerof Gasgol stood, his voice seeming less powerful, but still managing to overcome that of Arentol. "Are you insinuating that I have a part in these killings?" he demanded with a menacing tone.

"Insinuating? Nay. Gasgol. I am accusing you ^nd your henchmen of insidious murder and a plot to become sole ruler and tyrant of our city!"

There was an uproar at this, with oligarchs shouting and babbling at each other. The guards surrounding the great chamber didn't make any move, however, and the constable's shout for order brought quiet again. "I call for Guildmaster Arentol to finish his statement," the constable said to the now-silent gathering. There were a few nays and shakes of the head, but the murmurs of a.s.sent and demands from Arentol's allies drowned out the opposition. Lord Mayor Gasgol sat down heavily, and the Guildmaster of Thieves smiled.

"Yes. I accuse Nerof Gasgol and his Praefecture of plotting the elimination of the156 oligarchy to allow him to become the single ruler, the lone despot over all the lands of our city. I give you his plot: "The murders were committed both to test the method and to weaken Gasgol's strongest foes. All of you know that I. and my a.s.sociates, have staunchly opposed many of his schemes over the last year. The next step planned was the elimination of all oligarchs, strongest first. My guild, however, with the aid of the a.s.sa.s.sins." and here he looked at Thaddius Jenk who nodded solemnly back In agreement, "uncovered this awful plot. We began closing in on the one used as a tool by Gasgol, and then he was s.n.a.t.c.hed from our grasp by Gasgol's soldiers. Even now he is held in dungeons beneath this place!"

"What purpose to confine one's own agent?" asked the Chancellor of the University.

"To throw us off the trail that led all too directly to Gasgol. If he could have tried and executed his - own man quietly, then Gasgol could claim to be savior rather than the plotting murderer and would-be despot he Is. I ask you all to now support me. Name me as Lord Mayor and First Oligarch. 1 will root out every last one of the treasonous plotters.

'.. reveal their machinations In open trial, and have those dogs executed in due course. To do so, and all of this is no easy task, I must have your confidence, your loyal support, your full cooperation!"

, "And what of the army?" asked Archdeacon : Elohideus.

i. To this. Constable Lord Thistleby shouted in i stentorian tone. "I can speak for our loyal troops."

* he cried. "The soldiers of Citadel and Bastion stand firmly behind the Oligarchy and the one whom we I designate as first!"

,;', "I say we must name Arentol as Lord Mayor - , now!" roared the florid-faced, bulky merchant Phil-dorf Gelbbeek.

"Yes, yes!" called several voices above the confu- i skm. "Vote, vote!"

"Order!" The call came from Nerof Gasgol. The oligarchs grew quiet. He spoke to them softly.

5.' "Besides Arentol, who accuses me of these crimes?

J I have that light - the accusers must stand forth!"

There were nods of agreement. One or two cries of "Hear! Hear!" came forth. The Guildmaster of Thieves folded his arms, a grim smile of triumph on his harsh face.

"Stand forth, my brothers, so Gasgol can count his accusers!"

Jenk arose, then Gelbbeek and Elohideus. Captain-General Murtagh shot upright.

Lastly, and quite unexpectedly. Constable Lord Thistleby and Magis- 390.

391.

tar Darksign stood. Seven of the eighteen oligarchs stated their accusations against Gasgol - each echoing what Arentol had already said.

"Now the vote," Arentol said directly to Nerof Gasgol.

Tou seven are under arrest," a steely voice shot out from behind Arentol, and its sound brought pandemonium to the gathering.

The hour was past midnight. The windows of the Mayoral Palace were yet ablaze with light. The Grand Courtyard was still a hive of activity. Troops marched here and there in squads, going on missions directed by the new a.s.sembly of Oligarchs. Inside the palace, in the upper meeting chamber, a final scene, the culmination of the night's excitement, was taking place. Arentol was the chief person, the center of the drama's final act.

Magistrate Vatman spoke first. "It was thanks to Gord, here, that this whole vile scheme was uncovered. Their mistake was to involve him, for he is a tenacious hunter, once put on the scent. His work enabled me to set the stage. It brought the plotters into the open. It enabled us to prepare so that they could not try force once guile failed them."

"I see. Please let this young fellow speak for himself. I would hear what wit he used to perform so great a service for Greyhawk." Lord Mayor Gasgol commanded.

Gord stepped before the a.s.sembled dignitaries and officials of the city he knew as home. He felt very awkward, for If the full extent of his regular activities were known to these persons, he would certainty be subject to scrutiny of an altogether157 different and worse sort. He cleared his throat ner- 392.

vousty, then began. "At first I thought it was all a scheme merely directed at me. A plot to take from me my hard-won gains, to discredit me, and possibly to have me killed in the process. After all. the sum of one thousand orbs is one that is sufficient to arouse avarictousness in most hearts."

Magistrate Vatman interrupted. "These n.o.ble authorities are sufficiently apprised of the background of the whole affair not to need details, Gord. Please proceed from the point where we discovered you in Basil the Lock's quarters with his corpse."

"Ahem. Yes, thank you, sir. What you said, magistrate, made me think. No thief or a.s.sa.s.sin can kill another so utterly without the aid of some greater power, a magic or special dweomer bestowed by supernatural means. Another thing: A thief enlisted as a guardsman? Powers in the plot indeedl I had to 0nd Basil's lover and learn from him just who the fence saw or talked about during and after the operation that involved me. He implicated the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild indirectly, but it was the magus.

Summer, who really put me on the right track."

"How so?" demanded the lord mayor.

"It was pretty fortuitous running into her at the Inn of the Seven Quills, but I could possibly swallow that. When she said she didn't believe my story because I hadn't told her everything, but that she would help me in any event, I still thought she was possibly all right. But when she blasted Raynald's head to nothingness, I thought her a ringer for sure. I know enough about magic to know that knowing truth is not particular to that art but to that of the clerical persuasion. She didn't know it, but I was watching her all the time we were searching Sun-ray's - Raynald's - apartment. I saw her slide open a secret compartment and take out a sheaf of papers. I couldn't take them from her, but I did 393.

manage to get a good look at them later. When she returned to the apartment we were sharing for a time, I saw her stash them with some of her other belongings. When she left the room at one point I quickly scanned their contents. The division of the treasure taken from me was shown on one of those sheets. There were twelve shares total, and half of those went to persons outside the Thieves Guild and the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild."

"Why didn't you simply take this evidence and give it to Magistrate Vatman?" the chancellor asked sharply.

"That would alert Summer, and those above her in the plot, that someone was on to them. They could have struck too soon to allow the magistrate to act - killing him would have been easy, and the evidence could then have been destroyed. They could even have tried a physical coup. No. I had to play along, so to speak. While she was busy telling her masters that I was stepping into their trap, I was actually setting up the mechanism which would bring them all down in ruin. A friend of mine in The Guard was intelligent enough to get my message to Magistrate Vatman, and he ordered the army to go along with my idea. The squad that arrested me actually enabled me to get safely to him and explain the whole matter. You see, the six other shares went to the leaders of the merchants, magi, watch, army, and the archdeacon. If those seven could have acted in concert to overthrow the government of the city, they might have succeeded! I had to get the news to Vatman here so he could have me arrested and use me as bait for the trap."

"You planned the setting that could make Aren-tol think he could use his guile to take over Grey-hawk?" an incredulous voice asked. It belonged to San. now the acting Guildmaster of Thieves.

"Yes, San, in a way you might say that although the magistrate did the actual work of setting things up. So did Summer, by running off to tell everyone they had arrested me to take the fall for the murders done by a.s.sa.s.sin followers of Asmodeus."

"What was the motive for those killings, any- -.- way?" This came from the Craftmaster of Artisans.

"Basil was done for just to make certain that he , couldn't give me any clues as to what was going on.158 * In fact, I was watched pretty closely for some time, y I suppose. They let me get to San, probably hoping ' that I'd fight with him and slay my old comrade, v thinking that he was connected with the scheme - v sorry. San, I know Arentol Is your father-in-law, but i- he didn't care about you or his own daughter, only power. The other victims were nothing more than loyal citizens of Greyhawk. They either had. or were , near to, the truth of the whole treasonous plan.

From what I could tell, it's been hatching for some time now. Elohldeus just joined it - why he came in .SV' I can't guess, because he didn't stand to gain much * In the whole deal as far as I can tell. Anyway, it was .-; his part that enabled them to really move, for the .} means of totally destroying the victim came from *; * him."

Magistrate Vatman couldn't restrain himself. . " "How do you know that?"

"Like I said, it's a special power, one that could onty come from some really strong being, a deity of the lower planes for instance. When I saw the Mark of Asmodeus on Raynald's chest, I started thinking. I checked Basil's body - the magistrate was there when I did. A similar mark, only in deep purple, was there on the fence's tongue. The mark was very small, though, and it was on the underside with an . oval encompa.s.sing it. I'd say that you had better be on the lookout for a high-level a.s.sa.s.sin with a ring 394.

395.

bearing Asmodeus's staff as a seal! He's probably hiding In Elohfdeus's temple somewhere. ..."

There was a stir at that and Vatman hurried from the hall to take care of that matter. Lord Mayor Gasgol smiled at Gord as he asked. "What have you gleaned from all of this? You questioned the cleric's part for this reason, now I ask it of you,"

"At first I was in this for revenge. It hurt to be taken, to lose a woman so beautiful as Ageelia. Actually, it felt better when I was sure she had been a part of a bigger operation - under other circ.u.mstances she might have really loved me. .

. ." Here Gord's voice trailed off as a look of pain played across his handsome features.

"Well, who knows?" he continued, making a small gesture to dismiss his earlier thoughts. "After I found out about the bigger plan, it was more than merely saving my a.s.s from extinction that drove me on. I'm not the one to march under the banner of authority, but Greyhawk is my city, dammit all, and it isn't a place to mess around with. It's free, lord mayor and oligarchs and all to the contrary. Pardon my words, but I will speak forth now. When I knew that Arentol aimed at tyranny, I had to do everything I could to stop him and his cronies or die trying. I guess I'm alive, at least for a bit yet, and he and his pack of curs are slated for another existence beyond human ken!"

"Is that all?" Gasgol asked in a dry tone of voice. "Yes, Lord Gasgol."

The lord mayor sat straight in his chair of state. He looked at the oligarchs, then at Gord. "Recently I heard Arentol claim to speak for others of this august body."

There were a few snickers and hum-mings at this statement, and Gasgol himself smiled briefly. "I know now that I can speak for all of us when I say that you have our thanks and grat.i.tude 396.

for your part in foiling the coup. If you have committed crimes against us in the past, Gord. you are free of all onus therefrom. You have pardon. Because you have done so much, you are granted Lifelong High Citizenship of Greyhawk City, free entry to all its lands and territories, and exemption from all taxation . . . not that youVe ever paid any taxes." Gasgol added as an aside.

"More than this we cannot grant under the circ.u.mstances," the lord mayor continued, "but I can give you advice in addition. This community might not be a healthy place for you to linger in for a season, young man. Too much has happened, and too many skeletons have come out from concealed chambers because of you. As a friend. Gord. I159 think it is my duty to suggest that you might find a journey to other climates more salubrious. A year or two from now, who knows? And do take a sennight or two to consider it. No sense in traveling without proper planning!"

Gord bowed low, stepped back a pace, and was led from the chamber by a pair of grinning Prae-fectors. This'll make our jobs easier for quite a time, kid," one of the two veteran enforcers said to Gord as they left the hall.

Just before they took him out of the palace. Magistrate Vatman caught up. "Hold on there, you!" he ordered. The escorts complied instantly, all wisecracks swallowed in the presence of the man now likely to become Provost of the entire Citadel, one step short of the post of constable and membership in the oligarchy.

"Gord, what's this? I thought you would be feted inside for hours yet. No matter.

I'm glad you're not being entertained, because I have something that might interest you."

"The lord mayor suggested-"

397.

"Later, later. What I have is of immediate impor- . tance to you. It seems that one of my operatives has uncovered an old file with a clue that might connect the Scarlet Brotherhood with Arentol's group of plotters. Now if you will agree to join us, I'll-"

It was Cord's turn to cut the little policeman short. "Sorry, Vatman, but as I was saying before you interrupted me. His Solemn Authority has suggested that 1 take a holiday from Greyhawk for a while. Right after I return I'll look you up, though, and we can discuss the matter then." With that he walked on with a brisk stride, and his escorts had to hurry to keep up.

Magistrate Vatman stood scratching his head. Well, he thought I suppose the matter can wait for a few days while the young fellow takes a little time off. ...

398.

LOOK FOR THESE.

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Sea of Death Now available An ancient and evil artifact b buried deep within a vast expanse of desolation known as the Ashen Desert, and Gord is entrusted with .

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City of Hawks November 1987 The next GORD THE ROGUE novel takes a giant step backward in time, chrontcfing the major events in Cord's life prior to Sea of Death.

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Come Endless Darkness March 1988 In the sequel to Sea of Death. Gord grows older and wiser, and the challenges he must face also magnify in power to the point where no one can be sure whether the work) as Gord knows it wfll continue to exist. Can he prevent the destruction of his world, or should he be content to merely survive the events thai unfold - and if he does survive, what wiB life afterward be like?

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