Pool of Radiance (The Heroes of Phlan) by James M. Ward & Jane Cooper Hong

Author:James M. Ward & Jane Cooper Hong [Ward, James M.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786962877
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2012-04-03T00:00:00+00:00

Deceived

Porphyrys Cadorna held in his hands the official proclamation from the council making him Fourth Councilman. It praised him for “prudent judgment in the matter of assigning punitive tasks for the betterment of the community.” It commended him for recognizing the caliber of the three barroom brawlers and for immediately acting on the information they provided by arranging to add new shipping lanes in and out of the harbor. Advisors to the council were suggesting that the resulting influx of newcomers to Phlan would double its present population and ensure further expansion into the uncivilized portions of the city.

Cadorna sat in his personal study, admiring the piece of parchment. It was written in the elegant script of the town’s head scribe, a man known throughout the Moonsea area for the elegance of his calligraphy. Cadorna made a mental note to make the man his personal scribe when he became First Councilman.

“Finally, some credit for a Cadorna’s talents.” Porphyrys spoke aloud as he stared up at the portrait of his father that hung on the wall opposite his desk. “To think that simply because you had dealings with dragons they could assume that you were somehow responsible for the Dragon Run! That’s like saying that because I send bits of useless information to the Lord of the Ruins, I must be in league with him. The fools just don’t recognize the importance of maintaining connections … of fending first and foremost for yourself!”

Cadorna shook the parchment at the portrait. “But here, finally, is some credit. It’s still not what we deserve … what I deserve. It was Second Councilman Silton whose incompetence was exposed by my proficiency. It is his seat I should have assumed, but the council in its “wisdom” opted to advance the Third and Fourth Councilmen ahead of me.” Cadorna rattled the parchment once more, then set it on his desk. “However, I won’t spend forever waiting for—”

A stiff rap on the door interrupted Cadorna in midsentence. “State your business,” Cadorna called.

“Gensor reporting, Honorable Fourth Councilman.”

Cadorna strolled to the door and lifted the bolt that secured it. “Enter, mage. What news do you have?”

“I followed them from the inn to—”

“I instructed you to follow them; of course you followed them! I asked you what news you’ve gathered.”

“They—”

“Remove that hood in my presence. I like to look a man in the eyes when he speaks.”

The mage’s face was hidden deep within his black hood. “You think you control me because you are Fourth Councilman? You wish to look me in the eyes? So be it.” Gensor reached up and pulled back his hood.

Cadorna blenched at the sight of the man’s face. Gensor’s skin was shriveled and ashen, an unnatural gray that gave him an almost corpselike appearance. His eyes were the color of a steel blade, and they seemed to bore straight into Cadorna as he spoke, his voice like ice. “I have no need of your reimbursements, Councilman. I work for you because, like you, I desire to know certain things.

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