virtually empty for the night.'
'There are no guarantees that you can trust,' Tazi reminded him. 'You should know that by now.'
'There are a few, Thazienne,' he answered quietly.
Not having a quick retort, she moved past him and crossed the street toward the low wall that surrounded the tallhouse. In one fluid motion, Tazi swung herself onto the top of the wall and crouched low. It felt good to be in motion, even this little bit. She felt ready to jump out of her skin and had a bad taste in her mouth. Tazi knew she couldn't afford to make any mistakes for Fannah's sake, if no one else's.
Glancing back at her two companions, Tazi studied their differences. Steorf, tall and muscular, dressed head to toe in black, looked most formidable, and, Tazi sensed, he was wound tight as a spring. Fannah, on the other hand, stood there as though she were waiting for some visitor to come calling. While she was also dressed in dark tones, with her thick hair tied back in a single, waist-length braid, Tazi noticed there was nothing furtive about her mannerisms. Fannah just seemed to be waiting.
Nothing disturbs her, thought Tazi.
In fact, the only time Tazi ever recalled seeing Fannah shaken was on the night of their first meeting. Tazi, dressed in her leathers, was on her way to the Kit to plan what turned out to be the terrifying rendezvous with Ciredor when she heard shrill screams. She ducked into the alley from which the sounds originated to see that two sailors from Selgaunt Bay were accosting a beautiful foreigner. On a whim, Tazi decided to break things up when she saw how badly the foreigner was defending herself.
In the midst of the altercation, the woman had ample time to take advantage of the 'young man's' rescue attempt and slip away, but Fannah had stayed behind. Tazi's first thought had been that the woman was in shock or fearful that her rescuer might be more formidable to deal with than the two drunk fish from the bay and was afraid to move. After some brief swordplay, Tazi left the men bloodied but alive and turned her attention to the object of their drunken desires to see why she still lingered behind.
The raven-haired woman's clothes had been torn, but other than that, she herself was free from injury. On closer scrutiny, Tazi saw that the Calishite woman had ice-white eyes, and she correctly deduced that the stranger was completely blind. Tazi had assumed at the time that Fannah had stayed in the alley while she drove off the attackers because she was sightless. She suspected that Fannah wouldn't have known where to flee. Over time, however, Tazi had been forced to reconsider that theory.
While it was true that Fannah was blind, she was more than capable of accurate vision. It had only taken a moment for her to 'see' through Tazi's disguise that night. While so many of the sighted people around her thought Tazi was a young man, a disguise she was very proud of, Fannah knew differently through smell and touch. She had been able to leave the alley at any time during the fight. However, Fannah had chosen to remain. She had given her trust and safety to Tazi's abilities.
She's given it to me all over again, Tazi marveled. If she's this sure of me, then maybe I can be, too.
No one was in sight. Realizing that, once again, Cale was right and there was no exterior guard to the manse, Tazi silently slid down the wall and rejoined her cohorts.
'It looks as though everything is quiet outside,' she told them. 'I think it would be best to have you, Steorf, check for the most silent way inside.' Tazi spoke his name aloud in deference to Fannah's blindness. 'You're the best one to figure out the right path to ease our way in.'
It was Steorf's turn to look sharply at her.
'You want me to 'ease' our way in?' he asked a little incredulously. 'We haven't done that in a long time.'
'I'm sure you're still good at it, or have you lost your touch?' she asked with innocent eyes.
She wasn't sure but Tazi thought she saw Steorf's strong jaw twitch in the hint of a smile.
'Oh,' he answered, 'I think you'll find I'm still good at it… and a few things more.'
With that, he moved off to survey the grounds with a different eye, leaving the women alone for a moment.
'So you and Steorf are back to 'easing' your way around?' Fannah questioned.
Tazi looked at her in surprise.
'I'm blind,' Fannah explained in her melodic voice, 'not deaf.'
Tazi couldn't resist a giggle at Fannah's jab.
'You don't miss a thing,' she replied. 'You'd think I would remember that by now.' Taking a deep breath, she continued, 'It has been a long time since he and I have done something like this together. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't worried.'
'You'd be a fool to ever say something like that,' Fannah corrected her. Laying her delicate hand on Tazi's sinewy arm, she continued, 'And you are no fool, Thazienne. You never have been.'
Fannah wasn't able to see the slightly grateful look that Tazi gave her, but Tazi was sure she knew just the same. Since the beginning of their unusual friendship, Tazi had always felt that Fannah could look right through her, blind or not. That hadn't changed over time. She reached over and quickly patted Fannah's hand, almost embarrassing herself with the familiar gesture.
'Are you ladies ready?' Steorf asked with mock formality.
He had slipped up behind them noiselessly. Tazi knew he asked the question in jest, but it was appropriate nonetheless. If they weren't ready, this whole crossing would end disastrously. She weighed her options one last time and gazed hard at her companions. There was no other choice.
'Let's bring this to Ciredor,' Tazi finally answered, 'and bring it to an end.'
'Then let's be on our way,' Steorf said, tilting his head. 'If you don't mind,' he added after a moment, 'I'll make a quick pass to muffle the clanging your rapiers are making, Thazienne, before you alert everyone that we're coming.'
Tazi whirled to face him, an angry retort on the tip of her tongue. She knew well enough her Sembian guardblades were as silent as she was and was about to remind Steorf of that fact in no uncertain terms. But the expression Steorf wore revealed he had been teasing her.
That's twice now, she thought.
Her lips curved up in spite of herself.
'You are touchy, aren't you?' was all he said.
Steorf swung up onto the wall and reached a hand down. Tazi laced her fingers together and gave Fannah a leg up to him. Soon enough all three were crouched along the wall. Steorf motioned to what appeared to be a servants' entrance and through a series of quick gestures let Tazi know that was probably their best chance. Fannah remained silent throughout the whole exchange. Tazi passed along their plans to the Calishite by pressing her finger into Fannah's hand and drawing a few key symbols. Tazi knew Fannah would not speak aloud again until they did.
There was only a small garden of stones between the wall and the servants' door. Aesthetically pleasing with a very intricate pattern, the garden also made a very simple and effective alarm. It was much harder to cross silently than a garden of dirt and grass, and any rocks knocked out of place would reveal an intruder had been through it. Tazi touched Steorf's arm, but he was already one step ahead. With a practiced gesture, he made the magical pass he had earlier joked about. Thanks to that spell, the three were able to walk a few inches above the ground and not disturb a single pebble.
When they reached the door, Tazi motioned for Steorf to step aside. Certain there weren't any wards on the door, Tazi reached under her shirt sleeve, took out her picks, and began to work on the lock. Three quick twists and it sprang open.
The right tool for the right job, Tazi thought with some small satisfaction, sliding the picks back into their guard on her arm.
Steorf stepped into the inky blackness first and spread out his hands. After a moment of silence, he whispered, 'I don't believe anyone is here.'
'Just to be on the safe side,' Tazi said quietly to Steorf, 'let's limit the amount of magic you use.'
She wanted to make no mistakes and part of her concern came from the fact that she wasn't certain how well Steorf could control his magic.
Taking her cue from her two companions, Fannah asked aloud, 'Why should we do that?'
'Well,' Tazi replied, 'none of my informants have had any dealings with the sorcerer who controls this gate. We can't be certain that he doesn't have some kind of affiliation with Ciredor. If Steorf doesn't know anything about
