'Swear it,' Sima insisted. 'Swear the most solemn oath you know that the one who caused me to be bound here will die in my place!'
'By the four winds, by the very breath of Tiamut, so shall it be,' intoned Hysta'kiamarh.
Once his oath was given, the dragon extended a claw and sliced the ropes binding Sima's hands. She lifted her arm and leveled an accusing finger, sweeping it in a deadly path across the moonlit crowd of gathered Deepwater folk. Fear was written on every familiar face, but it burned brightest in the eyes of those who had betrayed her.
Sima saw what was in the eyes of her father and her chieftain, and for a moment she paused, trembling. Then her hand swept high to point at the largest red dragon.
'It was you, great Hysta'kiamarh,' she cried out; 'you who demanded this tribute, you who put me on this altar! Human hands tied the knots, but the cords binding all of us are in your grasp. By the ancient bonds of word and wind, it is Hysta'kiamrh who must die in Sima's place!'
Angry steam poured from the dragon's nostrils at these words, and flames leaped and burned within Hysta'kiamarh's yellow eyes. Hissing his rage at the girl's impudence, he raised his talons for the killing stroke.
At once a terrible wind roared up from the sea. A monstrous cloud, dark and dragon-shaped, raced toward the cowering villagers like a killing storm. It swept past Deepwater, only to wheel around in the sky and circle back with deadly intent.
The forsworn dragon tore his eyes from the fearsome sight long enough to send an inquiring glare at his companion.
His mate inclined her horned head in a solemn nod. 'The Breath of Tiamut,' the priestess confirmed. 'As you swore, so shall it be. By word and wind, your life for the maiden's.'
And as she spoke, the dragon-shaped cloud swooped down and engulfed Hysta'kiamarh. Cloud and dragon then shot into upward toward the watching moon. They disappeared together, high above Deepwater, in a crash that split the sky like the loudest thunder ever heard. A rain of dragon scales clattered down to the hard-trodden mud of Deepwater, sending the villagers into panicked flight.
But the curious moonlight soon worked its way back down through the swirling dust, and the villagers came close behind. All beheld a wondrous sight: the dragon scales had fallen to form an elaborate knot-work circle around the stone altar, upon which stood Sima, unbound and unharmed. The dragon cleric bowed to her as if to a chieftain's daughter.
'The bargain is fulfilled, the tribute is ended,' the dragon said, her great voice rolling across sea and shore. 'What the warriors of Deepwater could not achieve through strength of arms, one girl has won through her cleverness and loyalty.' Then the she-dragon leaped into the sky, and was gone.
The villagers stood amazed, then as one they fell on their knees before the maiden who had saved them.
Sima climbed down from the altar to take her father by one hand and Brog, her sister's betrothed, by another. Raising them up, she gaily said, 'The moon is full, and the runchions will soon return to the sea. Just because the dragons cannot eat, there is no reason why we should not!'
Merrily the people of Deepwater made their way down to the sands. They chased the fleeing little fish with much sport and laughter, until the moon went to its daytime slumber to the sound of happy songs, and the good scent of runchion stew.
To this very day, the dragon scale mosaic can be seen in Virgin's Square, harder than any stone. Thanks to Sima, never again did the dragons of the North demand a blood tribute from the people of Waterdeep.
ANSWERED PRAYERS
The port city of Hlammach had no shortage of taverns, but not many of them would willingly serve a drow. Liriel Baenre and her two companions had spent the better part of the evening working their way down Tavern Row before finding a table at a noisy dockside shanty.
It was a good table, right by the front window and, Liriel noted cynically, in full view of the passing sailors. Many did not pass at all, but stopped to stare at the unusual feminine trio on display: an ebony-skinned drow, a golden star elf, and a tall, lithe beauty who, except for the feral light in her amber eyes, appeared to be a moon elf.
Liriel had to admit this was a worthy ploy on the proprietor's part. She and her friends were window dressing-exotic bait for passing clients. Elves of any sort were not common in Impiltur, and three strikingly different elf women were certain to catch the eye. Several human wenches sprawled invitingly on a nearby couch, ready to offer alternatives when patrons learned the elves were not for sale.
A burst of raucous laughter rose from a nearby table, where a trio of drunken merchants obligingly displayed their wares to a saucy-looking light-skirt.
Sharlarra Vendreth rolled her eyes. 'A thief, a cleric of Mystra, and a champion of Eilistraee walk into a brothel. Stop me if you've heard this one.'
'Not that old jest,' Liriel said dryly. She glanced at the third elf. 'You haven't touched your ale, Thorn, after all your complaints about being thirsty enough to drink seawater.'
The raven-haired warrior tasted her ale, grimaced, and put the mug down. 'Bilge water is more like. And by the Dark Maiden, Sharlarra, keep your voice down! I know wolves whose howls don't carry as well.'
'Thorn has a point,' Liriel told the star elf. 'As far as the good folk of Impiltur are concerned, you're not a thief, you're a swordpoint. Best keep it that way.'
Sharlarra plucked at the sea-blue tabard that proclaimed her status: a hired blade working for the Impiltur military. One slim finger traced the three interlocking rings, the symbol of the Council of Lords that ruled the country in Queen Sambryl's name. The device was stitched in extravagant silver threads, the better to honor the three gods-Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater-most revered in Impiltur.
'We're all hired swords,' the star elf observed. 'In fact, if not for the high praise Jhanyndil of Rashemen heaped upon you, the council wouldn't have approved any of us. So why are Thorn and I the only ones wearing the three rings?'
Liriel pushed up the sleeve of her shirt and pointedly displayed her black forearm. 'Drow? Remember that little detail? When the good folk of Hlammach see two sword-points walking a dark elf down the street, they assume you and Thorn have a bad situation under control. But if all three of us were wearing the council's colors-'
'They'd probably think the tabards were stolen,' Sharlarra concluded. 'That didn't occur to me.'
Such thoughts always occurred to Liriel. Even now, long years gone from her native Menzoberranzan, she still thought as a drow: no path ran straight, no question was simple, no plan held a single purpose. In her homeland, 'devious' was high praise. She'd been raised on deceit and betrayal, trained to see layers within layers. A drow who did not see many possibilities in any situation was unlikely to survive long.
With such training, suspicion came easily. Friendship was much harder. Until she'd left the Underdark, the closest Liriel had come to having a true friend was her alliance with an insane, two-headed deep dragon. Since then, she'd been fortunate indeed. For several years now, she'd been running from adventure to adventure with Thorn and Sharlarra. And before that-
'Finally, here comes our food.' Thorn nodded toward the serving wench, who was currently struggling her way through a gauntlet of grasping hands, a well-laden tray held high overhead and a bright, determined smile firmly fixed on her face.
The servant set out surprisingly appetizing fare: thick seafood stew served in hollowed-out round loaves, a platter of pungent cheeses, and bowls of sugared berries.
Thorn regarded her streaming trencher with approval. 'I smell a joint of mutton roasting. Bring me a thick slice of that, as well.'
The wench blew a curly brown lock off her face and shook her head. 'Cook just put it on the fire. It'll be some while before it's ready.'
Thorn turned a cool, amber stare toward the servant. 'Is the fleece still attached to the mutton?'
The girl blinked. 'N-no. Of course not.'
