elder awaits you,' she reminded him. Her tone was formal, but she took the sting away with a last, warm squeeze of Tal's hands.
Tal smiled in agreement, took a deep breath, and turned to enter the library.
The Uskevren family library was not by any means the most comprehensive in Selgaunt, but what it lacked in volume it made up in comfort and beauty.
Besides the inevitable shelves of scrolls and books, the library contained a fantastic collection of artwork. What separated it from the many other collections in the city was that each piece was distinctly elven.
Most citizens of Selgaunt would rather rub shoulders with Red Wizards or Tuigan barbarians than consort with the elves of the great forest north of Sembia. Centuries of rivalry and conflict had burned deep resentment into the hearts of Sembians, so much so that their scorn was not limited to the elves of the kingdom of Cormanthor. Very few elves of any sort lived in Sembia, and any association with their kind was considered disgraceful.
While Thamalon Uskevren did not share the bigotry of his countrymen, he was wise enough to confine his love for things elven to the privacy of his library. Tal was not surprised to find him there, surrounded by the fabulous masks of the green elves, the wondrous dreamcatchers of the gold elves, and the excruciatingly beautiful crystal of the moon elves.
Amid all these beauties, Thamalon Uskevren sat beside a chess table. Upon it were arrayed exquisite figures of ivory and mahogany, no doubt carved by an elven artisan.
Tal could tell by his father's expression that there would be no small talk.
'Start from the beginning,' said Thamalon Uskevren. The white-haired patriarch had already made his standard opening, pawn to queen's four. He frowned intently at the ivory pieces before him, his black brows forming a dark chevron above his deep green eyes.
Tal took the seat behind the mahogany pieces and opened with his knight, a move that invariably irked the elder Uskevren, who considered it reckless. 'After some debate, we decided that the owlbears would be hibernating.'
Thamalon moved to protect his pawn without hesitation.
Tal knew at once that this would be a match of lightning chess, which he preferred. He soon became bored during a longer, more considered match. He advanced his other knight, a dragon rampant. 'We decided to hunt boar. There's little for them to eat in winter, so they root for yams.'
Thamalon advanced a pawn, threatening Tal's knight. Still, he didn't speak.
'Right after a kill, you gut the boar and make sausages. They're filled with sweet yams, you see, and you roast them on an open flame.' Tal advanced his knight again, looking at his father's face for a reaction. 'You slice them while they're still steaming hot.'
At last the elder Uskevren's patience cracked. 'Unless you've been missing for nigh on a month because of food poisoning, I fail to see the point.' He pressed the attack against Tal's first knight with another pawn.
'We killed a boar on the first day,' said Tal. He retreated the knight. 'It was when I left the camp to relieve myself of some of the your Usk Fine Old that we were attacked.'
'So, you were drunk,' said Thamalon. He followed the retreat relentlessly, intent on showing Tal the folly of his twin knights' attack, as he had done so often.
'I wasn't drunk,' said Tal with a hint of indignation. His knight safe at last, he advanced his own pawn. 'Being away from camp probably saved my life. I heard shouting, not all of it from the other hunters. By then it was dark, and men were screaming. I ran back to the campfire. Before I could reach it, something began chasing me.'
'An owlbear?' Thamalon freed his king's bishop by advancing another pawn.
'I think so.' Tal opened the outer line of his own king's bishop.
'Did you see an owlbear?' persisted Thamalon.
'No, I didn't see it. Maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, I didn't have a spear, so I ran.' Tal described his terrified flight through the Arch Wood in unadorned terms, pausing only briefly to respond to the ever-changing board. 'Eventually, I escaped.'
'And how was that?' asked Thamalon Uskevren.
'By cleverly throwing myself over a cliff,' said Tal dryly.
At last the old man's eyes met Tal's, suspecting a jest.
'Honestly,' said Tal. 'I couldn't see where I was going, but it probably saved my life.'
Thamalon pressed an attack on Tal's king's flank, threatening his second knight with pawns while advancing his own king's knight, an ivory unicorn. 'Tell me the rest.'
The rest of the story unfolded much like the game of chess, quickly and in short bursts. Tal told the story, and Thamalon interjected a question here and there. The elder Uskevren explained that Chaney and the other survivors had already given their accounts to the city guard, and Thamalon had interviewed them afterward, learning little more.
'I called upon High Loremaster Yannathar,' explained Thamalon. 'His acolytes cast divinations at once. Nothing.'
'I knew that old woman was a wizard,' said Tal, 'or maybe a priest. She must have hidden me from magic.'
'We'll find her,' asserted Thamalon. 'Then we'll have the truth of it.'
'She mentioned a name-Dhauna Myritar.'
'Hmm.' Thamalon tapped his chin with a forefinger as he considered the name, momentarily distracted from the game. 'That has a certain familiar echo.' Snapping out of his reverie, he resumed his attack on Tal's chess pieces. 'Continue.'
Tal resumed his tale, eventually coming to the point when he ordered Eckart to return his belongings to the tallhouse.
'By no means!' snapped Thamalon. 'You're to stay in Stormweather until this business is sorted out.'
'Check,' said Talbot.
'What?' Thamalon observed the board. He had captured one of his son's knights and two of his pawns at the cost of only three of his own pawns. What he hadn't realized was how badly he had exposed his king's flank in the process. Fortunately for him, it was not a fatal check, and he moved quickly to block it with a protected bishop.
'I'll be staying in the tallhouse,' said Tal. 'I didn't come home rescued by your men-but thanks for sending them.'
Thamalon's jaw tightened, but he controlled his voice as he replied, 'Son, it's foolishness to leave yourself exposed after such an obvious attempt.'
'Who knows that it was aimed at me? There were ten other sons of equally wealthy families-'
'Not quite as wealthy,' interjected Thamalon. 'And not my sons.'
'Father,' said Tal evenly. 'I'm not moving back into Stormweather.'
'I can stop paying your rent,' warned Thamalon.
'Yes, and you can cut off my stipend, too. I'll move in with Chaney and start taking my shares at the theater.'
'You'll do no such thing!' roared Thamalon. Tal had to suppress a smile at the thought that he'd been acting his father's part just a few hours earlier. Had he looked so furious to Eckart? 'That wastrel is the worst possible influence-'
'Check,' said Tal, meeting his father's angry gaze. He wasn't even sure it was true until Thamalon looked down at the board and scowled.
'Speaking of Chaney,' said Tal, trying not to sound curt and failing, 'he's probably looking for me right now. It's good to see you again. Thanks for looking for me. I'll visit soon.' He stood before he could lose his courage, but he faltered as he reached for the door and heard his father's voice.
'Tal,' said Thamalon. He almost never contracted Tal's name. 'I want only the best for you, my boy. I just wish you could be-'
'More like you,' said Tal with a rueful smile, finishing the unspoken refrain of their relationship. He opened
