Charming Sharra by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Author:Lawrence Watt-Evans [Watt-Evans, Lawrence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy
Publisher: Wildside Press
Published: 2023-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

People were shouting and laughing and running about, but Sharra stood where she was, looking around, trying to identify Morvash. Someone in a wizard’s robe was in an alcove at one end of the gallery, standing beside a naked couple and looking through an open door. Then another man in a wizard’s robe stepped through the door—was that Morvash, perhaps?

The two wizards spoke, but she could not make out any of their conversation over the babble around her. The chatter was starting to fade, though, as everyone tried to take in their situation. Several of them were watching the two wizards.

Then the wizard who had been in the alcove originally turned and walked out into the gallery, looking around, still talking. The other wizard, a tall thin man in a dark blue robe, followed, continuing their conversation.

Then the shorter wizard raised his arms and shouted, “May I have your attention, please? Everyone?”

The remaining chatter faded away completely, and the wizard spoke into the silence.

“Forgive me if I repeat things you already know,” he shouted, “but not all of you responded to attempts to communicate, so I can’t be certain who knows what. Bear with me. I am Morvash of the Shadows, a wizard, originally from Ethshar of the Rocks but sent to live with my uncle in Ethshar of the Spices. Some of you may know the city by its older name, Azrad’s Ethshar; some of you may not know it at all. Some of you may not understand a word I’m saying; we’ll arrange for translations later.

“All of you were turned to stone, by one spell or another, and wound up in the collection of a wealthy nobleman named Lord Landessin, who was obsessed with sculpture and statuary. When Lord Landessin died his heirs rented his estate to my uncle, which was where I found you and realized you had been transformed, rather than carved. I took it upon myself to learn enough magic to turn you back. My uncle, understandably, did not want me conducting dangerous magical experiments in his home, so I rented this house and brought you all here.

“And now, much more quickly and thoroughly than I expected, here you are – a spell I intended to rescue just two of you has misfired, and instead brought all of you back to life at once.

“Today is the 26th day of the month of Leafcolor in the Year of Human Speech 5238. You are in the upstairs gallery of a wizard’s house on Old East Avenue, near the southern boundary of the district known as the New City, not far from Southmarket and Arena.

“I do not know what has become of your homes or families or possessions; I had not yet taken the time to do any research about these matters.

“You are not prisoners. If you feel you are ready to deal with the World of the present day, you are free to go; my assistant Pender will show you to the door.”

He paused, looking around, then said, “Just a moment.

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.