The Secular Wizard - Wis in Rhyme - 4 by Christopher Stasheff

plans are his?" the secretary asked, amused. But Rebozo shook his head. "I cannot claim that, for I would not of myself depart so quickly from the old king's ways. indeed, I tremble for my young master, and hope that the Devil will not too quickly be-come so angry as to destroy him."
    "And us with him." LoClercchi's voice trembled. "Let us hope our young king keeps his balance on the tightrope he has stretched for himself."
    "Fences have their purposes," Rebozo agreed, "but serving as path-ways was never one of them. Still, we have no choice but to resign or to follow him-and I am too old to seek new work, and too deeply steeped in sin to wish to reform." He looked up at his secretary. "You, however, are still young, LoClercchi. If you wish to go, you may. LoClercchi stared at his employer, silently weighing the relative merits of a virtuous life of uncertain income and modest means, with the certainty of wealth and privilege that came from serving the chancellor. His decision was almost instantaneous, for he had fought the long battle against this temptation years before, and periodically since. Like many young men, he decided there would be time enough to work on salvation later-after he had made his fortune.
    "I am loyal to you, my lord."
    Rebozo nodded, satisfied. "Good, good. Let us deal, then, with the problem of this Lord Wizard."
    "Perhaps he shall not become a problem," LoClercchi said hope-fully. "Perhaps he shall stay on his own side of the border."
    "Perhaps, LoClercchi, but also perhaps not.
    Certainly he is nothing to worry about-yet. But I prefer to do my worrying in advance; it makes no sense to take undue chances-and it is my duty to King Boncorro not to wait until the man becomes a threat. Write for me." The secretary seized parchment and ink. Rebozo began to pace as he dictated, "My dear young Camanoyou are, I believe, currently in the castle of your father, the Count d'Arrete, hard by the Alps in Merovence. I suspect that a nobleman or knight may soon call at your gate for hospitality, claiming to be only a knight errant, or a messenger about the queen's business, or some such. Be not deceived-this man is a wizard, and may well be the Lord Wizard of Merovence. // He went on to detail exactly how the young lord should test the man, and how he should deal with him-in no uncertain terms. When the secretary had finished writing, Rebozo took the quill and signed the document. Then he took it to a separate table, sprinkled it with a powder that stank abominably, muttered a verse in an arcane language, and touched a candle's flame to a corner of the document. It went up in a flash that lit the whole chamber and was gone in less than a second.
    The chancellor nodded, satisfied. "He will find that on his table when he comes to his chamber this night, a hundred miles to the north." He gathered his robe about him, shivering. "Glad I am that I do not have to suffer the rigors of that climate, so hard by the moun-tams!
    Well, we shall see what young Lord Camano may make of this

wizard. In any case, we shall discover his purpose." he turned back to his secretary. "Now-issue orders that as soon as the cooks and scullery maids are done with their work, they be taken to my audience chamber. As the servers are released from their duties, let each be taken to join them. Then I shall question each one alone, and closely."
    LoClercchi looked up with a frown. "What good is that?
    Whoever poisoned the wine, he shall already be fled!"
    "He shall," the chancellor sighed, "if he was here at all, and not some sorcerer enchanting the wine from miles away@r a wizard; let us not forget that our young king has enemies in both camps now." "What sorcerer has n-" But Rebozo's glare froze the words on his secretary's tongue, and he did not finish the sentence.
    "Of course, there are his courtiers, too, any one of whom might have dropped poison in the wine when the server was ogling one of our oh-so-casual beauties," the chancellor went on,