"What," Bareris asked, "if you already had an ally inside, he had some ability to open portals in space, and he tried to help you come through? Do you think that the four of you, working in concert, could overcome the wards then?"

Lauzoril frowned and laced his fingers together. "Possibly."

"Do we have such an agent in place?" Samas asked.

"Not yet," Bareris said.

"Then what's the point of speculating?"

"Somehow, I'll get myself inside."

"Frankly," Lauzoril said, "that seems unlikely. I'm not sure you could penetrate the defenses even in times of peace, and surely, by now, Szass Tam and his lieutenants are aware of our presence in the realm. They're watching us in one fashion or another."

"I assume so," Bareris said. "That's why I want the army to head for another Dread Ring just as if we actually believed we could lay siege to it successfully. That should mask our true intentions and rivet the foe's attention on you. Meanwhile, Mirror and I will sneak into High Thay by ourselves."

"So," Samas said, "we zulkirs march deeper and deeper into enemy territory, fighting for every mile, lingering dangerously close to the site from which Szass Tam will ultimately send forth waves of death magic. All in the hope that you'll eventually contact us and tell us that somehow, against all rational expectation, you've figured out how to get us into striking distance of the lich."

Bareris smiled. "Pretty much."

"Preposterous."

"I don't particularly like it, either," said Aoth. Indeed, it pained him to imagine the punishment the Brotherhood of the Griffon would endure; only the vision of all-encompassing destruction he'd seen over Veltalar could have induced him to subject them to such an ordeal. "But so far, it's the only plan we've got."

"That isn't so," Samas said. "We zulkirs can be far from here in a heartbeat. You griffon riders also have a good chance of getting clear. If you're concerned about the rest of your troops, then find the coin to put them aboard fast ships, and even they may get away."

"But what if there isn't any such place as 'clear' or 'away'? What if Szass Tam truly can kill the whole world?"

Samas sneered. "If you understood magic as we do, you'd realize that's impossible."

"You all thought it was impossible for the lich to continue with one Ring destroyed too, and look how that worked out. Don't try to tell me you're certain of his limits."

The obese transmuter opened his mouth, then closed it again. In fact, it appeared that Aoth had succeeded in silencing all four zulkirs, for a moment anyway, and despite the circumstances, he found it rather satisfying.

Then Lauzoril said, "Still, if it's a choice between sitting peacefully in Waterdeep and gambling that the tide of death won't reach that far, or staying here fighting the worst the necromancers can throw at us, knowing that at any moment, the Unmaking could commence just a few hundred miles from our location… well, you see my point."

"I do," said Aoth. He reminded himself not to speak of all the innocent lives that would be lost if the zulkirs abandoned them to their fate, because he knew his former masters wouldn't care. Indeed, such an appeal was likely to stir their contempt. "But I thought you all decided that the Wizard's Reach is worth fighting for."

"We did fight for it," Samas said. "We did everything practical. Now it's time to regroup. Maybe the Reach will survive, for despite your pretensions to prophecy, Captain, we still don't actually know that Szass Tam's ritual will do anything at all. And if the Reach does perish, at least we'll still have our lives, much of our wealth, and our magic. In time, we'll acquire new dominions."

"Then run," said Aoth. "By all the Hells, you did it in Bezantur ninety years ago. I don't know why I expected any better of you this time around."

Nevron glared. "Be careful how you speak to us."

"To the Hells with that and with you," Aoth snapped. "Of course, we all see that this is a desperate situation, but you're supposed to be zulkirs of Thay. The greatest of wizards, and warlords on top of that. Bareris is offering you a chance, however dangerous, to take revenge on the creature who betrayed you and cast you down from your high estate, and to reclaim your mastery of the realm. But you're too cowardly to take it. You'd rather play it safe!"

Nevron scowled but found nothing to say in return. For a moment, neither did anyone else. Then Lallara looked to Bareris and asked, "Do you truly believe you can find a way inside the Citadel?"

"I've spent decades slipping in and out of places the necromancers believed impregnable," the bard replied. "So why not Szass Tam's own house?"

"Why not, indeed?" she answered. "All right, I'll go along with your scheme. It's idiotic, but I won't have it said of me that I ran like a rabbit whenever the lich waggled that stupid beard of his in my direction."

"I'll stay too," Nevron said, "because I am a warlord, Captain, with a destiny of conquest greater than you can comprehend. Maybe it's time I start acting the part."

"Then I too will stay for as long as I see a point to it." Lauzoril smiled tightly. "I know the rest of you see me as somewhat… bloodless. But I've hated Szass Tam for a long time. It's enticing to think I might finally get the chance to show him just how much."

Lallara gave Samas a nasty leer. "That leaves you, hog."

"Curse you all," the transmuter said, sweat beading his ruddy brow. "This is madness."

"Oh, probably. But what if you desert us, and then the mad plan works? I hope you don't think we'll tolerate you back in Thay or in the Wizard's Reach, either. By the Seven Shields, I'm not sure I could abide the thought of your continued existence anywhere."

"All right!" Samas snarled. "If you all insist, we can try it and see where we are in a few days."

Once they all had agreed, they had to elaborate on Bareris's basic idea, and that took most of the night. Selune and her trail of glittering Tears had forsaken the sky by the time the council broke up.

Though tired, Aoth felt an impulse to mount the battlements and check for signs of trouble before he sought his bed. Pulling his cloak tight against the cold breeze whistling from the east, he started up the stairs that climbed to the top of the wall, and Bareris followed a step behind him.

"That went all right," said Aoth, "but when we were arguing about what to do, I was surprised you left me to do so much of the talking. After all, you're the eloquent one."

"Since they all came around," Bareris replied, "plainly, you were eloquent enough. Besides, I couldn't talk and hum at the same time."

Aoth stopped and looked around. "I didn't hear any humming."

"Because I did it very softly." Bareris's black eyes suddenly opened wider. "But I swear, you weren't the target!"

"I believe you. I trust you, and even if I didn't, my feelings didn't change. I was resolved to continue the fight before the council ever began. I'm just appalled because those four are zulkirs. More than that, Lauzoril is the master of enchantment, and Lallara, of defensive magic."

"I knew it was risky. Still, I hoped I could give them a little nudge and get away with it."

Aoth took a deep breath. "Well, I won't argue with success. Or claim to be outraged at the thought of manipulating them as callously as they've always exploited anyone under their sway."

"Good. I wouldn't want to part company with bad feelings between us."

"When will you and Mirror split off from the army?"

"As soon as the march is under way."

"I believe the griffon you were riding survived the battle unharmed."

"Thanks, but I don't need him. At this point, any sentry who spots a griffon rider will immediately think of Aoth Fezim and his sellswords. I'll do better to choose another steed from among the ones the enemy kept here in the Ring." A smile came and went on his pallid face. "It was… pleasant to ride a griffon one last time."