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.He jumped in fright and spun around to see a pair of red eyes peering out through a cockeyed goblin window."All rested?" hissed Xanthon.Vangerdahast forgot about his aching bones and dashed across the plaza, hurling himself headlong into the nearest tunnel.He landed flat on his belly and slid a good five paces on the muddy floor, then spun instantly onto his back.The wizard continued to squirm down the passage as fast as his old legs could propel his ample weight, at the same time hurling a magic blast high and well behind him.The ceiling collapsed with a deafening crash, filling the tunnel with a black cloud of billowing dust.Vangerdahast started to cough, then caught himself and managed to cast a flying spell before he broke into a fit of hacking.He pushed himself off the ground and flew down the narrow corridor as fast as he dared without his shielding spells.It did not even occur to him until the next plaza that had there been any real danger, he would already have been dead.One of the last things Vangerdahast had done when he felt himself nodding off last night-or whenever it had been-was to cast a simple enchantment to protect himself from evil, prolonging its duration with a couple of extension spells.He had been counting on the simple enchantment to keep his foe at bay long enough for him to awaken and escape, but the spell had apparently prevented Xanthon from touching him at all, and even a ghazneth could not drain what they could not touch.Beginning to see how he might defeat the phantom, Vangerdahast stopped to cast another spell to make the protection permanent.No sooner had he fetched the ingredients from his cloak pocket, however, than he heard Xanthon sloshing toward him.The wizard put the ingredients away and fled into another tunnel."Wait!" Xanthon called."We have something to-"Vangerdahast blasted the ceiling down as he had before, drowning out the ghazneth's protest in midsentence.He started down the passage toward the next plaza.Fifty paces later, Xanthon appeared in the intersection ahead.He rolled to his haunches and raised his clawed hands in a grotesque mockery of a truce sign."Hold your attack and hear me out.We can always resume fighting in a minute.""You have nothing to say I would be interested in hearing." Despite his retort, Vangerdahast made no move to attack or flee, instead, he quietly began to move his fingers through the gestures for a prismatic spray."I doubt you are here to yield to the king's justice.""Hardly-and we'll have none of that." Xanthon waved a talon at the magician's moving fingers, then waited until the magician ceased his gestures."I was thinking of something quite the opposite.""Me, surrender to you?" Vangerdahast scoffed."I thought Boldovar was the mad one."This actually drew a smile from Xanthon."Actually, it wouldn't be surrender.We have need of a seventh, and Luthax claims-""Luthax?" Vangerdahast gasped.Luthax had been an early castellan of the War Wizards of Cormyr-and the only high-ranking member of the brotherhood to ever betray the kingdom."You have raised him?""Me?" Xanthon chuckled."Hardly.The master.let us say I am but a tool.""Of what?"Xanthon rolled his eyes."You know the prophecy, 'Seven scourges, five long gone, one of the day, one soon to come.? Do I really have to spell it out?""And you want me?" Unable to believe what he was hearing, Vangerdahast glanced over each of his shoulders in turn.This whole conversation had to be some unbalanced attempt to divert his attention."This is an insult."Xanathon shrugged."I'd rather kill you, but it you say no, there'll be someone else.There is no shortage of traitors to Cormyr-you've seen to that.""Traitor? Me?" Vangerdahast nearly reached for a wand, but forced himself to contain his anger.There was only one explanation for Xanthon's behavior, he was attempting to goad Vangerdahast into a rash act."What happened to 'you or me, old fool'?""You're forgetting 'many ways to enter, only one to leave,'" Xanthon replied."You had to see how hopeless it is.There's only one way out of here-and that's with us.""Or past your dead body!" Vangerdahast hissed, no longer able to stand the insults to his integrity."You have my answer
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