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war of the spider queen 1 dissolution-第5部分

小说: war of the spider queen 1 dissolution 字数: 每页4000字

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sheer drop…off。 They were only a few yards from the head of the staircase that connected the Academy with the city below; and at the top of those steps; beside the twin pillars; a pair of sennottries…last…year students of Melee…Magthere…stood watch。 Ryld thought that he and Pharaun were distant enough for privacy if they kept their voices low。
Low; but not silent; curse it。 Ever the sensualist; the mage sat savoring the panorama below him; obviously prolonging his contemplation well past the point where Ryld's mouth had begun to tighten with impatience; and never mind that on the walk up; he'd admired the view himself。
〃We drow don't love one another; except in the carnal sense;〃 Pharaun remarked at last; 〃but I think one could almost love Menzoberranzan itself; don't you? Or at least take a profound pride in it。〃
Ryld shrugged。 〃If you say so。〃
〃You sound less than rhapsodic。 Feeling morose again today?〃
〃I'm all right。 Better; at least; now that I see you still alive。〃
〃You assumed Gromph had executed me? Does my offense seem so grievous; then? Have you never annihilated a single specimen of our tender young cadets?〃
〃That depends on how you look at it;〃 Ryld replied。 〃bat training is inherently dangerous。 Accidents happen; but no one has ever questioned that they were accidents occurring during the course of Melee…Magthere's legitimate business。 The goddess knows; I never lost seven in a single hour; two of them from Houses with seats on the Council。 How does such a thing happen?〃
〃I needed seven assistants with a degree of magical expertise to help me perform the summoning ritual。 Had I called upon full…fledged wizards; they would have joined the experiment as equal partners。 They would have emerged from the ritual possessed of the same newly discovered secrets as myself; equally able to conjure and control the Sarthos demon。 Naturally I wished to avoid such a sharing; so I opted to use apprentices instead。〃
Pharaun grinned and continued; 〃In retrospect; I must admit that it may not have been a good idea。 The fiend didn't even require seven heartnotbeats to smash them all。〃
An updraft wafted past Ryld's face; carrying the constant murmur of the metropolis below。 He caught its scent as well; a plex odor made of cooking smoke; incense; perfume; the stink of unwashed thralls; and a thousand other things。
〃Why perform such a dangerous ritual in the first place?〃 he asked。
Pharaun smiled as if it was a silly question。 Perhaps it was。
〃To bee more powerful; of course;〃 the wizard answered。 〃At presnotent; I'm one of the thirty most puissant mages in the city。 If I controlled the Sarthos demon; I'd be one of the five。 Perhaps even the first; mightier than dreary old Gromph himself。〃
I see。
Ambition was an essential part of the drow character; and Ryld somenottimes envied Pharaun his still…passionate investment in the struggle for status。 The warrior supposed that he himself had achieved the pinnacle of his ambitions when he became one of the lesser masters of Melee…Magthere; for certainly he; born a moner; could never climb any higher。 From that day forward; he'd stopped peering hungrily upward and concentrated on looking down; to guard against all those who wished to kill him in hopes of ascending to his position。
Pharaun was a Master of Sorcere as Ryld was a Master of Melee…Magthere; but perhaps; being of noble blood; Pharaun really did aspire to assassinate the formidable Gromph Baenre and seize his office。 Even if he didn't; wizards; by the nature of their intricate and clandestine art; maintained a rivalry that enpassed more than who was a master; who was chief wizard in a great House; and who was neither。 They also cared about such things as who could know the most esoteric secrets; could conjure the deadliest specter; or see most clearly into the future。 In fact; they cared so deeply that they occasionally sought to murder each other and plunder one another's spell books even when such hostilities ran counter to the interests of their Houses; severing an alliance or disruptnoting a negotiation。
〃Now;〃 Pharaun said; reaching inside the elegant folds of his piwafwi and producing a silver flask; 〃I'll have to turn my back on the Sarthos demon for a while。 I hope the poor behemoth won't be lonely without me。〃
He unscrewed the bottle; took a sip; and passed the container to Ryld。
Ryld hoped the flask didn't contain wine or an exotic liqueur。 Pharaun was forever pressing such libations on him and insisting that he try to recnotognize all the elements that allegedly blended together to create the taste; even though Ryld had demonstrated time and again that his palate was innotcapable of such a dissection。
He drank and was pleased to find that for a change; the flask contained simple brandy; probably imported at some expense from the inhospitable world that lay like a rind atop the Underdark; baking in the excruciating sunlight。 The liquor burned his mouth and kindled a warm glow in his stomach。
He handed the brandy back to Pharaun and said; 〃I assume Gromph told you to leave the entity alone。〃
〃In effect。 He assigned me another task to occupy my time。 Sho

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