Ranni's Magic Tower rose high in the depths of the fortress, the ghostly blue glow coiling around it pulsing like breath in the dawn. Leda and her companions stood on the flagstones before the tower, their eyes as sharp as sheathed blades.
Footsteps sounded from the shadows beside the tower. Professor Seluvis strolled out, the hem of his deep blue robe brushing the moss between the stones. He wore the restrained smile peculiar to scholars, his fingers unconsciously stroking the shaft of his Glintstone Staff.
"Lady Leda." He hurried forward and bowed at just the right angle. "I have been awaiting you."
"Thank you for your efforts." Leda returned the greeting with impeccable knightly courtesy. "Have the wards been lifted?"
"Of course." A gleam of smugness crossed Seluvis's eyes. "I have shut down every defensive array in the Magic Tower except the one at the entrance. Radahn's soul is in the stargazing chamber on the top floor, ours for the taking."
"You're our 'ally'? Aren't you Ranni's servant?" Freya asked in a low voice, surprised. "So you betrayed your mistress?"
"A wise servant chooses a worthy master." Seluvis lowered his voice. "That woman Ranni spends all her days lost in fantasies of the stars. She knows nothing of real politics. Her subordinate Blaidd is merely a loyal hound, and Iji is an old fool set in his ways. As for Tarnished..." He scoffed. "Just a Tarnished who rose through luck. Lord Miquella is the Goddess's son, the rightful master of the Lands Between. The new order he has promised-a new age where talent and strength decide all, where no one is ranked by birth or station-is the future I desire!"
"So this is not betrayal, but a wise choice." Seluvis straightened his back. "Lord Miquella has legitimacy on his side