beyond a doubt that Entreri would try to kill him if the assassin believed that he could not be trusted.
And he knew beyond a doubt that if Entreri tried to kill him, he would be dead.
'Your mere presence means that whichever side you serve has weighted the scale in their favor,' he explained. 'Thus, I would never willingly go against you.'
Entreri didn't respond other than to stare hard at the man, making LaValle shift uncomfortably more than once. Entreri, having little time for such games and with no real intention of harming LaValle, broke the tension, though, and quickly. 'Tell me of the guild in its present incarnation,' he said. 'Tell me of Bodeau and his lieutenants and how extensive his street network has become.'
'Quentin Bodeau is a decent man,' LaValle readily complied. 'He does not kill unless forced into such a position and steals only from those who can afford the loss. But many under him, and many other guilds, perceive this compassion as weakness, and thus the guild has suffered under his reign. We are not as extensive as we were when Pook ruled or when you took the leadership from the halfling Regis.' He went on to detail the guild's area of influence, and the assassin was indeed surprised at how much Pook's grand old guild had frayed at the edges. Streets that had once been well within Pook's domain were far out of reach now, for those avenues considered borderlands between various operations were much closer to the guild house.
Entreri hardly cared for the prosperity or weakness of
Bodeau's operation. This was a survival call and nothing more. He was only trying to get a feeling for the current layout of Calimport's underbelly so that he might not inadvertently bring the wrath of any particular guild down upon him.
LaValle went on to tell of the lieutenants, speaking highly of the potential of young Chalsee and warning Entreri in a deadly serious tone, but one that hardly seemed to stir the assassin, of Dog Perry.
'Watch him closely,' LaValle said again, noting the assassin's almost bored expression. 'Dog Perry was beside me when we scried you, and he was far from happy to see Artemis Entreri returned to Calimport. Your mere presence poses a threat to him, for he commands a fairly high price as an assassin, and not just for Quentin Bodeau.' Still garnering no obvious response, LaValle pressed even harder. 'He wants to be the next Artemis Entreri,' the wizard said bluntly.
That brought a chuckle from the assassin, not one of doubt concerning Dog Perry's abilities to fulfill his dream or one of any flattery. Entreri was amused by the fact that this Dog Perry hardly understood that which he sought, for if he did, he would turn his desires elsewhere.
'He may see your return as more than an inconvenience,' LaValle warned. 'Perhaps as a threat, or even worse … as an opportunity.'
'You do not like him,' Entreri reasoned.
'He is a killer without discipline and thus hardly predictable,' the wizard replied. 'A blind man's flying arrow. If I knew for certain that he was coming after me, I would hardly fear him. It is the often irrational actions of the man that keep us all a bit worried.'
'I hold no aspirations for Bodeau's position,' Entreri assured the wizard after a long moment of silence. 'Nor do I have any intention of impaling myself on the dagger of Dog Perry. Thus you will show no disloyalty to Bodeau by keeping me informed, wizard, and I expect at least that much from you.'
'If Dog Perry comes after you, you will be told,' LaValle promised, and Entreri believed him. Dog Perry was an upstart, a young hopeful who desired to strengthen his reputation with a single thrust of his dagger. But LaValle understood the truth of Entreri, the assassin knew, and while the wizard might become nervous indeed if he invoked the wrath of Dog Perry, he would find himself truly terrified if ever he learned that Artemis Entreri wanted him dead.
Entreri sat a moment longer, considering the paradox of his reputation. Because of his years of work, many might seek to kill him, but, for the same reasons, many others would fear to go against him and indeed would work for him.
Of course, if Dog Perry did manage to kill him, then LaValle's loyalty to Entreri would come to an abrupt end, transferred immediately to the new king assassin.
To Artemis Entreri it all seemed so perfectly useless.
'You do not see the possibilities here,' Dog Perry
scolded, working hard to keep his voice calm, though in truth he wanted to throttle the nervous young man.
'Have you heard the stories?' Chalsee Anguaine retorted. 'He has killed everything from guildmasters to battle mages. Everyone he has decided to kill is dead.'
Dog Perry spat in disgust. 'That was a younger man,' he replied. 'A man revered by many guilds, including the Basadoni House. A man of connections and protection, who had many powerful allies to assist in his assassinations. Now he is alone and vulnerable, and no longer possessed of the quickness of youth.'
'We should bide our time and learn more about him and discover why he has returned,' Chalsee reasoned.
'The longer we wait, the more Entreri will rebuild his web,' Dog Perry argued without hesitation. 'A wizard, a guildmaster, spies on the street. No, if we wait then we cannot go against him without considering the possibility that our actions will begin a guild war. You understand the truth of Bodeau, of course, and recognize that under his leadership we would not survive such a war.'
'You remain his principal assassin,' Chalsee argued.
Dog Perry chuckled at the thought. 'I follow opportunities,' he corrected. 'And the opportunity I see before me now is one that cannot be ignored. If I-if we-kill Artemis Entreri, we will command his previous position.'
'Guildless?'
'Guildless,' Dog Perry answered honestly. 'Or better described as tied to many guilds. A sword for the highest bidder.'
'Quentin Bodeau would not accept such a thing,' Chalsee said. 'He will lose two lieutenants, thus weakening his guild.'
'Quentin Bodeau will understand that because his lieutenants now hire to more powerful guilds, his own position will be better secured,' Dog Perry replied.
Chalsee considered the optimistic reasoning for a moment, then shook his head doubtfully. 'Bodeau would then be vulnerable, perhaps fearing that his own lieutenants might strike against him at the request of another guildmaster.'
'So be it,' Dog Perry said coldly. 'You should be very careful how tightly you tie your future to the likes of Bodeau. The guild erodes under his command, and eventually another guild will absorb us. Those willing to let the strongest conquer may find a new home. Those tied by foolish loyalty to the loser will have their bodies picked clean by beggars in the gutter.'
Chalsee looked away, not enjoying this conversation in the least. Until the previous day, until they had learned that Artemis Entreri had returned, he had thought his life and career fairly secure. He was rising through the ranks of a reasonably strong guild. Now Dog Perry seemed intent on upping the stakes, on reaching for a higher level. While Chalsee could understand the allure, he wasn't certain of the true potential. If they succeeded against Entreri, he did not doubt Dog Perry's prediction, but the mere thought of going after Artemis Entreri…
Chalsee had been but a boy when Entreri had last left
Calimport, had been connected to no guilds and knew none of the many Entreri had slain. By the time Chalsee had joined the underworld circuit, others had claimed the position of primary assassins in Calimport: Marcus the Knife of Pasha Wroning's Guild; the independent Clarissa and her cohorts who ran the brothels serving the nobility of the region— yes, Clarissa's enemies seemed to simply disappear. Then there was Kadran Gordeon of the Basadoni Guild, and perhaps most deadly of all, Slay Targon, the battle mage. None of them had come near to erasing the reputation of Artemis Entreri, even though the end of Entreri's previous Calimport career had been marred by the downfall of the guildmaster he was supposedly serving and by his reputed inability to defeat a certain nemesis, a drow elf, no less.
And now Dog Perry wanted to catapult himself to the ranks of those four notorious assassins with a single kill, and in truth, the plan sounded plausible to Chalsee.
Except, of course, for the little matter of actually killing Entreri.
'The decision is made,' Dog Perry said, seemingly sensing Chalsee's private thoughts. 'I am going against him … with or without your assistance.'
