03 High Lord by Trudi Canavan

Author:Trudi Canavan
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Talking Books, General
ISBN: 9781405502382
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Published: 2002-01-02T06:00:00+00:00

20

The Guild’s Punishment

Dannyl shrugged. “In general, I believe. What are your impressions?”

She nodded. “Most have accepted your story.”

“And the rest?”

“Are known to be rumor-mongers.”

Dannyl nodded. Thinking back to Lord Garrel’s questions in the Night Room, he wondered if Vinara would include the Warrior among her “rumor-mongers.”

Lorlen leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk. “So, tell us how you came to meet the rebels.”

Dannyl continued his story, relating how he had arranged a meeting with the Dem Marane, and a visit to the Dem’s home. He described teaching Farand, and how the book Tayend had borrowed had convinced him to arrest the rebels.

“I was considering whether to wait and see if they continued to consult me after Farand had learned Control,” Dannyl told them. “I thought I might learn the names of other rebels. When I saw what was in the book, though, I knew it was too great a risk. Even if the Dem allowed me to keep it, the rebels might have others. If they did disappear after Farand had learned Control, they might have taught themselves black magic and we would have worse than rogue magicians on our hands.” Dannyl paused and grimaced. “I never would have guessed we already had.”

Sarrin shifted in his seat and frowned. “Do you think Akkarin knew of this book?”

“I don’t know,” Dannyl replied. “I don’t know how he knew of the rebels in the first place.”

“Perhaps he had detected Farand’s powers in the same way that he detected Sonea’s before she learned Control,” Vinara suggested.

“From as far away as Elyne?” Sarrin asked.

Vinara’s shoulders lifted. “He has many unique abilities, no doubt gained through the use of black magic. Why not one more?”

Sarrin frowned. “You speak of undertaking research with this scholar, Ambassador. What research is that?”

“Research into ancient magic,” Dannyl replied. He looked around the room. As his eyes met Lorlen’s, the magician smiled faintly.

“I have told them you began it under my instruction,” Lorlen said.

Dannyl nodded. “Yes, though I do not know why.”

“I wanted to retrieve some of the knowledge that Akkarin lost,” Lorlen said. “But Akkarin learned of the research, and made it clear he didn’t approve. I told Lord Dannyl that his help was no longer needed.”

“And you didn’t obey that order?” Sarrin asked Dannyl.

“It wasn’t an order,” Lorlen said. “I said only that the research was no longer needed. I believe Dannyl continued out of his own interest.”

“I did,” Dannyl confirmed. “Later, Akkarin heard that I had continued and called me back to the Guild. He seemed pleased by my progress and encouraged me to continue. Unfortunately, I made little further progress. The only sources I hadn’t explored were in Sachaka, and he had made it clear I must not go there.”

Sarrin leaned back in his chair. “Interesting. He discouraged the research, then encouraged it. Perhaps you had already found something he didn’t want you to find, but you hadn’t understood its significance. Then he would have felt safe allowing you to continue.”

“I have considered that, too,” Dannyl agreed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.