"No, let him speak," said Katie. "The Morkladori seem to be fond of using spells against us, so I think we could do with some advice from a wizard." She settled back in her throne, unsuccessfully trying to shift her mighty chest into a more comfortable position. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful to the Old Man for helping her out but she could have done with something a little less, well, less.
Joador strode in with a smirk at Herrimar and stood before the queen and looked at her.
Katie coughed slightly. "I'm up here Joadar."
"Er, yes, of course your Majesty. As you know we had concerns over how the Morkladori gained access to the palace. I believe I have an answer. There is a traitor at Court."
An angry rumble filled the room as courtiers glared at the upstart wizard who had made this outrageous claim. "You better have proof mageling," hissed Prince Kadisphoros, "you would accuse the noblest in the kingdom!" Around him many nobles muttered in agreement and Katie wondered how much of Kadisphoroses rage was genuine, how much pandering to the crowd. "I will have order," she shouted and the muttering subsided somewhat.
"Please Joadar if you do know a traitor, name him!" said Katie, sensing the powderkeg atmosphere in the room. She wetted her dry lips and shot Kadisphoros an icy glare. "I assure you Joadar you can speak without fear. You are under my protection."
For the first time the wizard looked uncertain, even nervous. "I'm afraid things are a little complicated your Majesty. You see the traitor is an unwilling one - the victim of Morkladori sorcery. Certain minds are naturally weak, at least against the more subtle form of sorcerous mind control. The traitor was entirely unware as the spell only takes affect during periods of sleep. While the concious mind sleeps unaware the body becomes a puppet of the Morkladori - they can see and hear through the traitor's eyes and ears and do their mischief. It's a very rare spell and I only stumbled across mention of it by accident in an ancient tome, but it seems to fit all the facts. And having checked the possible victims only one person here would seem to have been the right person in the right place at the right time."
"Who?" asked Katie, echoing the thoughts of everyone in the room.
Tue Feb 02 20:33:22 2010