Garelith stepped forward, his green eyes snapping at this insult. 'Watch your tongue, human! This was the captain of the King's guard.'
The man sneered. 'Well, that makes him long out of a job, don't it? That elf king die on your watch, Craulnober?'
'Hardly,' Elaith returned mildly, refusing to be baited by this oaf. 'King Zaor's death occurred less than fifty years ago. I was well established in Waterdeep at this time and long before your ancestors started having carnal knowledge of goblinkin.'
Dark, dull red suffused the big man's face. He un shy;hooked the mace on his belt and began to raise it for the attack.
Elaith ducked under the weapon and stepped in close, a knife gleaming in each hand. The tip of one slender blade pressed up under the man's chin, and the other stood poised at the opening of his ear.
Rhep looked to the caravan guards for support. All four elves had long slender knives in hand, but their watchful eyes were on Rhep rather than his attacker.
'Treacherous scum,' he spat. 'You'll be paid in your own coin soon enough!'
'Perhaps you should explain that comment,' Elaith said pleasantly. But just so that there was no mistaking this order for a suggestion-and because he simply felt like doing it-he gave the knife at the man's ear a little flick, cutting a small notch in the lobe.
Rhep bleated like a gelded ram. 'Didn't mean noth shy;ing,' he muttered. 'Bad coin has a way of circling back, is all.'
The elf was not certain whether this was a platitude or an evasion, but the dispute was beginning to draw attention, and Elaith was not willing to jeopardize his place on this caravan over a worthless, orc-spawned cur. He lowered his blades and stepped back, giving the man a small, ironic bow-an insult entirely lost on the clod. Rhep stomped off, muttering imprecations.
The elf watched him go, then turned to the Eagle Riders. 'Watch him,' he said in a low voice. 'I know that man. Trouble follows close on his heels.'
'He seems a buffoon,' remarked Garelith, 'but I will defer to your judgment. You know the clouds that gather around this particular mountain, and I trust you'll warn us of a coming storm.'
This led to the next, more difficult warning Elaith felt obligated to deliver. 'That will not be possible. You would do well not to be seen with me.'
All four of the Eagle Riders looked puzzled. 'Why?' demanded the one with eyes the color of topaz.
Elaith's smile held a self-mocking edge. 'You will learn soon enough.'
Before the young elves could press him, Elaith turned and walked away. Their exuberant adulation appalled him. At this moment, he would welcome almost any other company, so long as they regarded him with a proper, familiar mixture of fear and respect.
'Stones!' exclaimed a deep, gruff voice, with a vehe shy;mence that turned the word into a curse.
'A dwarf,' muttered Elaith wearily. How could this day possibly get any worse?
'You mean to tell me we have to
'A winged horse,' said a persuasive female voice. 'You're always saying there's nothing on four legs you can't ride.'
Elaith whirled toward the familiar voice, and his scowl deepened. He knew of that woman-Bronwyn was a merchant with a refreshingly devious streak. Though he was interested in making her acquaintance, this was hardly the time. He was even less pleased to learn that she had acquired a dwarven traveling companion.
This dwarf was a particularly squat, square fellow. An abundance of auburn curls rioted about his broad shoulders, and a long red beard spilled over his chest. His upper lip had been shaved, and his blue eyes were stormy. A horseshoe hung on a thong about his neck. The dwarf fingered his horseshoe as if laying claim to Bronwyn's words concerning his riding abilities.
'Nothing on four legs,' he repeated. 'That's true enough, if'n those four legs got solid ground beneath them!'
Bronwyn cast a glance up at the sky, then turned a crooked grin upon her companion. 'Clouds look pretty thick today.'
The dwarf snorted derisively.
'Look, Ebenezer,' she said in the tones of one who had finished with persuasion, 'I have business in Silverymoon. You can come or stay, as you please.'
'Who said anything about staying?' the dwarf demanded. He pointed a stubby finger at an untethered pegasus. 'That one's a spare, most likely. Got my eye on him.'
The dwarf ambled off, a lump of maple sugar in one stubby fist. Bronwyn watched him go, and her sweeping gaze settled upon Elaith. After a moment of hesitation she poured wine from a flask into wooden cups and held out one to him in invitation.
Elaith approached and accepted the cup. 'Are you always so generous to strangers?'
Her grin was quick and dagger-sharp. 'Oh, I know you, at least, as well as I could be expected to. You're Elaith Craulnober, and you seem to own an inordinately large chunk of Waterdeep.' She raised her cup in salute.
Amused, he drank to her toast. 'Your name is known to me, as well. I take it you will also be traveling with the caravan?'
'One last trip to Silverymoon before winter sets in.' She used her cup to point toward a small man with a pointed beard and a wan, wasted countenance. 'That's Mizzen Doar-or what's left of him! Looks a bit worse for wear, doesn't he? He has been making the rounds of the harvest festivals, or so I hear. From the looks of him, a clan of rampaging kobolds is better for your health than a nobleman's party.'
That brought a wry smile to the elf's face. He had heard that Bronwyn had a warm yet forthright manner that put people at ease, and he found that he was not immune to her brand of charm. Still he remained cau shy;tious. 'You know him?'
'As well as I need to. He deals in crystals and other minor gemstones.'
'So do others,' he prodded, 'some closer to home than Silverymoon.'
'True enough, but none who can touch the variety that Mizzen carries in his shop.' She glanced around to see if any were within hearing distance before continu shy;ing. 'Appearances are important in this city,' she said dryly. 'Even during times of declining fortunes, no one wants to part with jewelry, so they keep their baubles, but sell the individual stones as needed-'
'— And replace them with crystal,' Elaith concluded.
Bronwyn merely shrugged again, as if she found the matter a bit too distasteful for direct words. The elf could understand that, and he also saw the potential for profit in such endeavors-especially for a woman whose first trade had been creating counterfeit copies of coins and jewelry.
He could not help but wonder whether Bronwyn had another agenda. He hoped it was not too similar to his own. In his own way, he rather liked the woman. Elaith genuinely hoped that he could tend to the business at hand without killing her.
'Stones!' erupted the dwarf. 'I've a mind to be biting you back, you long-legged excuse for a pigeon!'
The elf cast a glance toward the uproar. Ebenezer was shaking one hand and glaring at the pegasus he'd been trying to befriend. The winged horse munched sugar, then let out a delicate whinny that sounded sus shy;piciously like laughter.
Elaith adjusted his thinking. He still hoped that Bronwyn could emerge from this journey unscathed; on the other hand, he would welcome a chance to reduce Waterdeep's dwarf population by at least one.
'Your. . companion seems to have met his match,' Elaith observed.
This set Bronwyn off into merry laughter. 'You're more right than you know. Those two will be firm friends within the hour. The worse-tempered the horse, the more fond Ebenezer is likely to become of it.'
'A risky thing,' the elf mused, not without pleasure. 'One must be able to trust a mount under any circum shy;stances. Pegasi fly high and are notoriously skittish.'
Bronwyn's smile didn't falter, but the warmth drained from her eyes. 'No friend of mine falls but I do my best to catch him.'
Their gazes locked for a moment, unspoken chal shy;lenges made, met, and countered. Elaith broke first, instinctively making the small, subtle hand gesture used between elves under such circumstance-a proud but
