They lingered in the city only long enough for Naglatha to confer with her spies. As soon as she received confirmation that the tharchion of that city, Dmitra Flass, had already departed, Naglatha hurried the group along.

As the troupe departed the canal-ridden city, Tazi could see the forbidding ridges and snow-capped peaks of the Thaymount. They looked to Tazi like rotted, frostbitten fingers reaching for the sky, and she wondered what mysteries lay buried beneath their surface. She suspected she would find out soon enough.

They traveled along the River Eltab on their way to the Citadel. Tazi and Naglatha sat side-by-side, while Milos drove the carriage, and Heraclos and the griffon brought up the rear. Justikar sat alongside Milos, in front, where he was in plain view. When they had left the capital, Naglatha had untied his bonds. Tazi had started to thank her, but Naglatha had held up a hand in warning.

"It would simply be too hard to explain why I traveled with anything less than a trusted servant in these parts," she elucidated.

Now, climbing into the Second Escarpment, Tazi saw a few fields again, though less expansive then some of the ones she saw on the plateau below.

"These are not meant to yield the quantities of produce and food as the tracts below," Naglatha answered her. "What you see now are some of the private plantations and properties of some of the tharchions and zulkirs and, to a lesser degree, some of our wealthier nobles."

"But I thought most of the government officials would have residences in their own provinces?" Tazi asked.

"True," Naglatha replied. "Think of these places as summer retreats. When the next few months hit, many will vacation up here to the cooler climates. And, it is logistically easier for the zulkirs and tharchions to keep these here instead of in their regions," she finished and pointed to a structure some miles in the distance. Tazi tried to see what it was that Naglatha was referring to. It was only after they were closer that Tazi could make it out.

Along a ridge of one plantation, there was row after row of buildings that could only be best described as barracks. And in a small, cleared field, Tazi saw fifty or so humanoid creatures running drills. She squinted to determine what manner of beasts they were and saw that Justikar's back tensed up at the sight of the creatures. As well as she could remember from her lessons, there were few creatures that dwarves in general hated beside drow and ores. Judging by their size, Tazi speculated the creatures had to be ores.

Their carriage came relatively close to the training ground, and Tazi could see that there were several squads of the beasts training. Dressed in shabby colors of purple and yellow with haphazardly assembled armor, the beasts had the typical stooped stature, sloping foreheads, and piglike facial features Tazi knew to be common for ores. They even had the protruding lower jaw with heavy canine teeth and the wolfish ears. But Tazi thought that all ores had gray skin, much like the duergar, and blood-red eyes. These soldiers, though, were mottled in appearance, with patches of maroon all over, and even from a distance, Tazi could see the ores' eyes were bright yellow.

"What are those things?" she asked Naglatha.

"Blooded Ones," she explained. Tazi looked at her quizzically and Naglatha laughed. "We have much here in Thay you never knew existed, don't we? It's too bad we don't have more time. The things I could show you. But I digress. What you are looking at there is probably one of the finest fighting forces you will ever live to see.

"Some time ago," the Red Wizard continued, and Tazi could hear the pride in her words, "our finest minds turned their research toward the creation of an ultimate warrior. And instead of trying to create something from nothing and wasting energy and effort, they looked to see how they could improve upon creatures that already existed. So they turned to ores, who have many desirable qualities, but had proven to be unruly and untrustworthy at crucial moments.

"They refined a process where the ore young were treated in an alchemical bath of almost poisonous blood. After they emerged from the treatment, they were stronger, more pliable, and more willing to obey commands. What you see before you is only the first steps. Now that this method has proved fruitful, other species will be experimented upon next."

"Are there barracks of these monsters all over the Thaymount?" Tazi asked and couldn't imagine that many creatures in one relatively small area.

"No," Naglatha told her. "These creations are fairly expensive. Most of the other zulkirs and tharchions^ only have hordes of darkenbeasts, gnolls, and other, less-unusual forces around the Thaymount. The longer Szass Tarn keeps us buying and selling, though, the more bored we grow. So," she told the amazed Tazi, "we play with things in our liberal free time."

Tazi looked at the troops and tried to picture thousands of these creatures nestled like pockets of vipers around the Thaymount. The image that it painted was overwhelming. What would happen if these Red Wizards ever did try to occupy the lands of their neighbors, or Faerun for that matter, Tazi pondered, and why don't they?

"Milos," Naglatha shouted suddenly, "pull up to that orchard ahead."

While Tazi tried to make sense of what she had seen, Milos halted the carriage next to a small grove of orange trees, well tended, with nearly overripe fruit hanging like tumors from their branches.

"Get out," she ordered everyone. "We're nearly there," she told Tazi as they dismounted in unison. "It will be our last chance to speak somewhat freely before entering the Citadel, and I would not miss that opportunity." She pointed to the dwarf and ordered her guards to watch him as well as water the griffon. Naglatha motioned to Tazi, and the two women hopped the low fence and entered the orchard.

"Won't someone get angry?" Tazi asked sarcastically as she watched Naglatha help herself to a ripe fruit. The woman laughed and leaned against the tree as she started to peel the thick skin of the orange.

"Not likely," she chuckled. "You see, these trees belong to Pyras Autorian, and I have never met a more useless-"

"Watch out!"Tazi shouted.

From behind the tree, a soldier suddenly appeared with sword drawn. But as Tazi got a better look, she realized that it was no ordinary man. Its skin had a grayish cast to it and a leathery quality that no living being possessed. $bile its gait wasn't shambling, it lacked the fluid movements of the living. Its equipment was rusted, its clothes tattered.

"Zombie!" she yelled and grabbed Naglatha by the arm, yanking her clear just as the undead creature slashed at where the Red Wizard had been reclining. Suddenly, four more appeared from different areas of the orchard and began silently closing in on the women.

"To me!" Naglatha cried, but no one came. Tazi turned her head toward the carriage and saw that the dwarf and the guards had their hands full as several armed zombies cut them off. The griffon, Karst, reared up against his tether at the approach of the undead.

"Use your powers and do something," Tazi yelled to the Wizard, who appeared dazed.

"These are juju zombies," she explained in a low voice full of dread. "My magic is useless against them." And she shrunk behind Tazi.

One of the undead charged Tazi with a longstaff held at chest height. When it was nearly upon her, she kicked out at its solar plexus. The zombie bent over slightly and extended its arms forward from the force of her blow but made no sound. Tazi swung up the same leg and kicked the staff from its hands straight into the air. She caught the rod in the center with her right hand and, as the creature tried to charge her again, she bent sideways at the waist and caught the zombie with a final kick to the throat. It flew back several feet and didn't rise again.