The Dream Spheres

Danilo shook his head. 'Not Elaith,' he insisted. 'It simply does not make sense.'

'It might not need to,' she pointed out. 'Remember, he may have the Mhaorkiira. In the past, those who fell under the dark gem's power acted in twisted ways that made sense to no one but themselves.'

'It's possible,' he allowed. 'Certainly some people will believe it to be true, but Lord Gundwynd will not. He will look elsewhere for blame.'

'Oh?' she said cautiously.

'Thann, Ilzimmer, Gundwynd, Amcathra,' Danilo said, ticking off names on his fingers. 'Four families sponsored the ill-fated caravan. All suspect each other of betrayal and ambush. Perhaps the tren are not the only creatures who take vendetta against attacks on their clan.'

Arilyn nodded slowly, following his reasoning. 'If so, none of these recent wounds are self-inflicted.'

'If so,' he added, 'then the time of the Guild Wars could soon be upon us once again.'

* * * * *

Arilyn considered Danilo's words for a long time as they left the Gundwynd villa behind. 'If you are right, I suspect that this will be a very different type of war,' she said at last. 'No armies, no open bloodshed in the streets. As Cassandra pointed out, the noble families are very mindful of those times and are not eager to see them return. Any clan that came out in open aggression would be swiftly quelled.'

Danilo considered this, then nodded his agreement. He had sat through enough meetings of Waterdeep's secret Lords to see the truth in it. The Lords had been chosen from every corner of the city, every strata of society. As a result, very little happened in the city that did not reach the ears of the hidden rulers. Their deci shy;sions were enforced by the Watch as well as a small standing army of guardsmen and some of the most powerful wizards in the Northlands. The days when wholesale war could rage within the city walls were over.

'So what, then?'

The half-elf sent him a measuring look. 'You play chess, I suppose.'

'When I cannot avoid doing so without bloodshed, yes,' he said in a dry tone. 'Is that what you think this is? A chess game?'

'It is possible. Waterdeep is a large city, with thou shy;sands of games played out on every street. Who notices the loss of a single pawn on a single board? Even Oth Eltorchul's death could be explained in that light. He had ties to the caravan. He arranged to have his dream spheres quietly shipped into the city.'

'A plan that Gundwynd carried out, against Lady Cassandra's strong objections and despite an agree shy;ment the families had made,' Danilo concluded. He sighed and cast a sidelong glance at Arilyn. 'In that case, what was Belinda's death? A warning?'

'The Gundwynd clan will probably think so.'

'I cannot accept your argument,' he said quietly. 'You imply that the merchant families maintain order with a brutal hand. Why would this be necessary? There are laws enough in Waterdeep, and many and powerful are those who ensure these laws are kept.'

Arilyn was silent for several moments. 'You've just answered your own question.'

He lifted one brow in a supercilious arch. 'I did? Per shy;haps I should start listening more closely to myself.'

'Let me put it this way: You've heard the old saying about honor among thieves. I wouldn't go that far, but there is definitely a code. The same could be said of assassins. If someone starts getting too greedy or too careless, the others pull him back or do away with him. They can't afford to have too much attention focused on their activities, you see.'

'I do indeed, but how does that signify? We are talk shy;ing about some of the most respected noble houses in Waterdeep!'

'We are talking about merchants,' she said bluntly. 'None of them wanted to get behind Oth's dream spheres because they knew the sort of attention these would bring. The wizards would have opposed them even before they found out about the disruption of magic, and they would have ferreted out everything there was to know about the trade. Who knows what might have been uncovered in the process?'

Danilo did not answer at once. He sidestepped a pair of street urchins who thundered past in a race as old as Waterdeep itself. The boys rolled a pair of old barrel hoops down the street, sticks in their hands and grins on their dirty faces. Their carefree innocence drew Dan's eye, and for a moment he watched them and wistfully recalled the comfort of long-held illusions.

'Your words are hard to accept,' he murmured.

'I could be wrong,' Arilyn said. She hesitated, then added, 'It would explain why your mother was so con shy;cerned when Lilly was linked back to the Thann family after her death.'

It occurred to Danilo that perhaps Cassandra had fallen short of the full truth. 'Lilly was linked to the Thann family before her death. That is why she died,' he said with sudden bitter conviction. 'It was a strike against the family. The killer was removing a pawn.'

'Yes, but Lilly evidently saw the danger coming. Why else would she go to your father, when she had never made any claim on him before? Until that time, none of you knew her as family.'

'Someone else did. Someone she knew well, confided in.'

They considered this in silence. 'I have been thinking about the manner of Lilly's death,' Arilyn said after a while. 'By all appearances, she was slain by a tren assassin, but the killer did not.. follow the usual tren custom.'

His lips thinned to a grim line at the inference. 'Yes? So?'

'What if the killer wasn't a tren? What if he only appeared to be, and took this guise either to displace suspicion, or from twisted sport?'

Danilo looked sharply at her, understanding at once her reasoning. 'Twisted sport,' he repeated slowly. 'By any chance, was Simon Ilzimmer at Oth's presentation the night of the Gemstone Ball?'

'Possibly. His cousin Boraldan was there. I heard several voices I couldn't name. One was very deep, with a bit of a rumble to it that almost hinted at dwarven speech.'

'That does sound like Simon. Would you recognize that voice if you heard it again?'

'I think so,' she said shortly.

Dan smiled faintly. 'Judging from your expression, you would rather take another stroll through the city's sewers.'

She did not deny his words. Actually, they expressed her feelings rather well. Among her contacts in the city were a number of women who worked in the taverns and bathhouses. After some of the stories she'd heard about the Ilzimmer lord, she could hardly imagine her shy;self sipping wine and making polite conversation.

Danilo seemed less bothered by the prospect. They went directly to the small, brooding manor that was home to Simon Ilzimmer. The bells in the nearby Temple of Ilmater tolled solemnly as Danilo left his card with the servant. Arilyn idly counted the rolling peals, won shy;dering as she did why anyone would devote his life to so dreary a creed as that of the God of Suffering. By the time the call to worship faded into silence, the servant returned with word that Lord Simon would receive them.

At first glance, Simon Ilzimmer did not fit his dark reputation. He was a tall, broad man who appeared to be no stranger to the disciplines of sword and horse. His manners were faultless, and he received his guests with every courtesy. He and Danilo sipped warmed zzar and chatted about mutual acquaintances and recent events with apparent candor and good humor.

Despite his genial manner, he was indeed one of the merchant nobility who had attended the meeting in the Thann villa. Arilyn easily recognized the deep, resonant voice. Now that she faced Simon Ilzimmer, she found the man exceedingly difficult to read. Indeed, she doubted that he was entirely sane. There was an emptiness to his eyes, an utter lack of connection between his words and any discernible emotion. On the other hand, she sensed the seething energy of the man. His gaze seemed to skitter away without actually moving, and he had a sort of brooding intensity about him that reminded her of the portentous quiet before a sea squall. It was as if he were two men, one altogether too controlled, little more than a shell, the other a violent storm, likely to strike without warning.

His study supported this impression. Though the fur shy;niture was sparse and practical, the walls were lined with disturbing pictures-dark, twisted visions from a madman's mind. Danilo walked over to consider a ren shy;dering of two red dragons entangled in fierce mating amid the burning ruins of a village.

'Fascinating,' he murmured. 'Was this painted from life?'