as well, for that matter.'
'The Castle?' Arilyn repeated, not understanding where this was going. The Castle of Waterdeep was an enormous structure that housed the city guard, the headquarters and barracks of the Watch, the armory, offices for city administrators, and a host of other practical functions, including..
'The prisons,' she concluded aloud, understanding the malicious delight dancing in Errya's green eyes. Anger and frustration washed through her at the real shy;ization that Danilo had ignored the warnings to stay away from the treacherous elf. 'Both Elaith and Danilo? Since you seem to know so much, why don't you tell me what happened?'
'Didn't I make myself clear?' the woman said with false sweetness. 'That's what comes of associating with the wrong people. Now if you'll excuse me, you've been here rather too long. I have no interest in courting Beshaba's fancy,' she said, naming the goddess of bad luck.
Arilyn noted the woman's animosity, but her atten shy;tion was more on the contents of her own purse. As she left the Eltorchul manor, she mentally counted her coin and tallied whether or not she had enough to pay damage fees for both of the offenders. If not, she was not entirely certain which of the pair she would leave to languish in his cell!
* * * * *
As it turned out, Arilyn was not forced to make that choice. Elaith had left the Castle within the hour, but despite Danilo's arguing and bargaining, he had refused to carry word of Danilo's predicament to his steward. 'You are safer where you are,' was all that the elf would say.
Judging from the grim set of Arilyn's face, Danilo was inclined to agree with Elaith. She strode along at a pace Danilo was hard pressed to match.
'Consider it a new experience,' he suggested. 'How many times have you had to sign pledge for a prisoner in the castle?'
'Too many,' she muttered. 'But you may get a chance to return the favor. Myrna Cassalanter doesn't inspire my better nature. I'm half hoping she'll come at me with a poker.'
Danilo chuckled and slipped an arm around her waist, keeping it there until they reached Myrna's manor.
The maid ushered them into Myrna's presence and dropped her tray with a shriek. Her mistress was on her knees on the floor, both hands clutching at her throat. Her face was blue, and though her mouth worked fran shy;tically, no sound emerged.
Arilyn strode forward, reaching in her bag for the small vial she carried for just such occasions. She un shy;corked it with her teeth and spat out the cork, then seized the woman's chin and tilted her head back. She poured the liquid into the woman's mouth and held her head back until it ran down her throat.
Myrna slowly began to breathe normally. Her face turned a sickly green, and she rushed for the washstand.
She retched until she was as dry as the Anauroch, then wiped the tears from her streaming eyes. The look she cast upon her rescuers held more enmity than grat shy;itude.
'Trying to clean up after your friend?' she croaked at Dan.
He and Arilyn exchanged a puzzled glance. 'I don't understand,' he said.
'Elaith poisoned me. I'm sure of it! I have had deal shy;ings with him of late,' Myrna admitted, her voice grow shy;ing stronger. 'Some openly, some hidden. Payment for some of the information came in the form of elven coin,' she said defensively.
'What reason would he have to do such a thing?' Danilo demanded.
The woman sniffed. 'You are a fool,' she said. 'Do you know nothing of what goes on around you?'
Arilyn's face clouded and she seemed about to speak, but Danilo made a subtle gesture warning her to silence.
The gossipmonger's words were too close to his own thoughts for comfort. What she had to say, he needed to hear. He took a small purse of gold from his bag and set it on the table.
'Go on,' he said evenly.
For once the sight of gain had no effect on Myrna. She caught up the bag and threw it back at him. 'This I will do gladly,' she said vindictively. 'Lady Cassandra did well to keep you from the family business-you, who dance attendance to the archmage and play about with Harpers! What would you do,
'Be careful what rumors you repeat,' Arilyn said softly.
'Rumors?' The woman laughed scornfully. 'Half the bards in Waterdeep speak of him as a Harper. As to his family, he believes me. I see it in his face!'
'Not just Thann,' Dan said slowly. 'There is much trade between Waterdeep and Skullport. It stands to reason that someone oversees that trade, someone who has the resources and the power to impose order on what would otherwise be lawless chaos.'
'Huzzah!' Myrna applauded him mockingly. 'He realized that his clan is not all powerful! Of course it's not just Thann. There are seven families, each with interests that are clearly defined and viciously pro shy;tected. I will not name them, but surely you could come up with at least two of them.'
'Eltorchul,' Arilyn guessed, seeing Oth's death in this new light.
'Those potion-mixers and tinkers? Hardly!' Myrna cocked her bright head as she considered this. 'Nonethe shy;less, I would not rule out the possibility. The current struggle might make room for new faces-provided, of course, that those faces are not surmounted by pointed ears!' she added viciously.
Danilo began to follow her reasoning. 'Elaith Craul shy;nober has many concerns in this city, both above and below the streets.'
'Huzzah again!' the woman said. 'He is getting too ambitious, too powerful. The families have agreed to oust the elf lord.'
'Yet you have had dealings with him,' Arilyn pointed out.
Myrna smiled coyly. 'Who is to say that I might not be behind some of these attempts?'
For a long moment no one answered. Arilyn stooped and picked up the empty vial. 'To think I wasted a per shy;fectly good antidote.'
The noblewoman's face turned livid. 'Mark me, you will not escape this. Do you think that the families are pleased with Dan's relationship with Khelben Arun shy;sun? With the Harpers? With a half-elf?'
She stopped and made a visible effort to calm herself. 'I have said too much, and I will no doubt pay for it. But every word of it is truth. If you ask my opinion-and many people in this city do-you're both in deep and wild water, and neither of you will swim to shore.'
Seventeen
By unspoken agreement, Danilo and Arilyn sought out the beauty and solitude of his elven garden. They did not speak until they stood at the edge of the serene pool, and for a long time they stared into the water as if it were a scrying bowl that could show them their next course.
Danilo was of no mind for conversation. He still reeled from this revelation, which explained much, if not all, of the mystery surrounding recent events.
'Myrna Cassalanter is a spiteful woman,' Arilyn said at last.
'I will not argue with that, but I daresay there is as much truth in her words as spite,' he said. 'Don't you agree?'
'Not completely. I doubt Elaith is responsible for poi shy;soning Myrna.'
Danilo looked at her in surprise. 'Really.'
'Elves seldom use poison. Elaith's methods, though twisted, are still elven.'
'Twisted?' he prompted.
She told him her suspicions that Elaith killed the broker down in Skullport in order to acquire the miss shy;ing dream spheres. 'The mark of an elven sword was unmistakable. One of the men had been dissolved into
