'Tense times, indeed,' he whispered to himself.
He pulled his cloak farther over his face and, one eye on the guards, unfastened the band that held his sword in its scabbard, swathed under the long cloak. At the same time, he loosened one of the spellcasting pouches at his belt and, from the depths of his hood, studied the guards and leather-clad goblins. He didn't see the goblin he'd heard called Yellow Eyes; these beasts seemed to be lower both in rank and intelligence.
A scuffle suddenly resounded nearby, interrupting his thoughts and distracting the guards.
'Be off, kender! I am not a carnival pony, here for thy amusement! If thou wishes to steal a ride, find thyself someone other than a centaur. Be off, embezzler!'
This was followed by the muffled sound of hooves striking something soft. The refugees' laughter nearly drowned out the outraged protests, high-pitched and copious, that came from a small figure.
'I wasn't stealing anything!' an offended kender screeched. The short-legged creature managed to cling to the centaur despite the man-horse's kicks and gyrations.
Mud daubed the centaur's silver-white haunches, evi shy;dence of its attempts to dislodge the kender.
The kender's brown topknot was bouncing up and down, and his words came out in bunches. 'I just wanted to'-kick-'check your back'-scrape against a vallen-wood trunk-'for ticks,' the kender gasped. 'They've been plentiful'-another kick-'hereabouts'-sidestep- 'this summer'-buck-'and I thought to do you'-suc shy;cession of kicks-'a favor!'
The centaur bucked once more, then reached back and tried to pummel the kender, but by this time the kender's hands were fastened around the creature's human torso. 'I meant to be your friend, horse,' the kender wailed.
More laughter erupted from the refugees. This time the guards joined in; even the goblins poked one another and grinned.
The centaur fumed. Its head, torso, and arms resembled those of a male human between twenty and thirty years old. 'I am no horse, and certainly no friend of a kender, thou half-pint larcenist! Now get thee off my back before I roll myself over and squash thee flatter than a Haven bed shy;bug!'
Glad of the distraction, Tarscenian picked that moment to sidestep up a stairway that curled around the massive trunk of a nearby vallenwood. The wooden steps would take him to the upper walkways in the vallenwood branches, and out of the guards' view.
Only someone was blocking his way.
The young woman's back was toward Tarscenian. She gazed downward, intent on the altercation between kender and centaur. Much as she studied the goings-on below, Tarscenian in turn studied her-or as much of her as he could see from his dubious vantage point behind her.
The woman's garb was in disarray, and in a manner that suggested grooming was customarily low in her priorities.
Her ankle-length skirt, of some dark material, was ripped in several places, and the loose blouse she'd tucked into it had gone too long without a wash. Her dark brown hair had been sawed off at shoulder length, and Tarscenian sus shy;pected she'd done the job herself with a short sword or axe-which was very likely, since she also boasted the mus-culature and sturdy stance of one whose livelihood depended on strength and quickness.
The woman turned her head, and Tarscenian saw unkempt bangs, dark eyes, a rounded chin and nose, and a lone silver-and-lapis earring that dangled from her right earlobe nearly to her soiled gauze collar. Her face bespoke youth and an innocence that was almost gaminlike, but Tarscenian suspected she was nearer forty than twenty.
'If you want to keep your entrails tucked into your belly, you'd best step into the light, stranger. I've no patience with spies.'
It took Tarscenian a moment to realize that the woman was speaking to him. 'I'd just as soon not put myself on display to the temple guards, friend,' he answered. 'I'll stay back here, near the trunk, if you don't mind. I'm no rabbit offering itself up for the fox's dinner.'
'Some might say you already have.'
Tarscenian saw that she held a dagger in her hand, and he knew that she could flick the weapon before he had a chance to draw his sword. She kept her face toward the commotion below, however, giving no outward sign to guards and goblins that she was anything but alone on the stairs. 'They are distracted,' she said suddenly. 'Come around now.'
Tarscenian obeyed her without question, his cloak snagging on the tree bark as he slipped behind the woman. She continued watching the centaur. The man-horse had dislodged the kender and now was accusing it of thievery. 'What did the kender take?' Tarscenian asked.
'The centaur's silver neck-chain.' The woman mur shy;mured without appearing to move her lips. 'Short- stuff says he borrowed it, of course.'
'Of course.' Tarscenian decided it was time for intro shy;ductions. 'I am.. '
'… Tarscenian, of course,' she finished. 'I'm called Mynx. Hederick has all of Solace looking for you, stranger. You're a fool to have come here. With the description of you that Hederick's priests have posted all over the city, anyone with sense could identify you, even in that cloak.' She laughed softly and ran her hand through her hair, increasing its disarray. 'Fortunately for you, Tarscenian, I'm the only one here with any sense right now.'
'I'm looking for some people.'
'Their names?'
'No names. I want to find a thieves' ring.'
Mynx gasped, then laughed outright. 'I hope you don't plan a career in picking pockets, Tarscenian. It strikes me that your talent as a thief might be somewhat limited. Men over six feet tall are rare in Solace. It would be diffi shy;cult for you to blend into a crowd, don't you think? How old are you, anyway?'
'My talents are greater than you think.' Tarscenian murmured a magical chant and released a pinch of herbs from a pouch. Then he held out his hand. The double-bladed dagger owned by the Throtl woman gleamed in his palm. It was an illusion, not the real item, but as long as Mynx didn't touch it, she might not guess. Her eyes widened at the sight of the dagger, but she said nothing.
Tarscenian whispered another chant. At that moment, a screech sounded from below, and then the Throtl woman screamed, 'The kender! He took my dagger! Guards! Did you see? It must've been him!'
The real dagger was still firmly in place on the woman's blanket-although Tarscenian's spell kept most people from realizing this.
Together, Mynx and Tarscenian watched the guards corral the kender and search the scrawny creature. The search of the kender's four pockets and seven pouches revealed three pieces of rose quartz, a silver ring, two money pouches, one crochet hook, three coins, six maps, a fragment of red leather, seven balls of twine, a chunk of yellow cheese, one child's leather sandal decorated with fake gems of colored glass, half a loaf of brown bread, some metal implements that Tarscenian recognized as lock-picking tools, and a quill pen. But no double-bladed dagger.
A dwarf and two humans, uttering terrible oaths, lunged forward to retrieve the ring and money pouches.
'Oh, are you the owners?' the kender asked, brown eyes wide under his bobbing topknot. 'I'm so glad I found you! You should keep better watch on your valu shy;ables, you know. Solace is full of thieves. The next person who finds your belongings might not be as honest as I am.'
Despite the protests of the humans and dwarf, the temple guards gave the kender only a shake and, laugh shy;ing, turned him loose. 'Not likely the High Theocrat would want a thieving kender anywhere in his temple- even in the dungeons!' one guard called to another. They guffawed loudly and moved away.
Mynx was smiling, too, but sadly.
'What's wrong?' Tarscenian asked.
She turned and took Tarscenian's measure. 'The kender reminds me of someone I knew once,' she finally said.
'Once?'
'Hederick killed him.'
Tarscenian opened his mouth to speak, but Mynx frowned. 'So you want to find a thieves' ring,' she said.
He inclined his head.
