The crown was no longer visible, hidden under whatever magic Quatach-Ichl used to keep himself looking like a living being.
“Right,” he said. “Take me to those clowns and I’ll talk to them. They’ll cooperate.”
Things developed very quickly after that.
Zorian was honestly surprised how well things turned out. He was afraid the kidnapped mages would refuse to work or drag their feet whenever possible. He was afraid Quatach-Ichl would just take the crown and leave them to their devices while laughing at their stupidity. He was afraid the cult leaders would sabotage everything out of spite, resentful that they had been arm-twisted into agreeing.
None of these things happened. The kidnapped researchers mostly chose to work with them instead of being defiant. A surprising number of them
