mist. Elaith is competent in magic, and he has a vast collection of magical weapons. It is the sort of thing he would do.'
'But Myrna said she received payment in elven coin.'
'What of it? That, more than anything, leads me to believe that Elaith is being set up. He isn't that stupid.'
'No, he isn't,' Danilo agreed, 'but that makes him all the more dangerous. He will not take kindly to this treatment. It's possible that some of the recent events are his vengeance against the noble families.'
They considered this in silence. A courtesan was dead, and Simon Ilzimmer had been blamed. The death count did not end there: Belinda Gundwynd and her elven love. Oth Eltorchul.
Lilly.
'And this is the elf I am pledged to defend,' Danilo said softly. 'Once, he asked me to prove his innocence. I have to find the truth of this, no matter where it leads. I owe him that much, for the honor he once did me.'
Arilyn nodded and started for the gate. 'We might as well get on with it.
Isabeau waited until Arilyn and Danilo were well out of sight, then sailed up to the door of Myrna Cas shy;salanter's mansion as if she were a regular visitor.
She found Myrna pale, but unusually calm. The reason for this, the woman explained, was her new diversion. She showed Isabeau a wooden box filled with small crystal spheres.
Isabeau knew all about them-knew more than this silly woman could begin to suspect-but she listened with quiet contempt as Myrna spoke glowingly of using purchased magic to live a fantasy.
She, Isabeau, was determined to carve out her own.
The dream spheres were not the way. She saw that now. If they had already found their way into the homes of Waterdeep's wealthy and powerful, she had little hope of retrieving enough of them to turn a profit.
There was another way. Risky, certainly, but Isabeau saw in it her only chance.
She selected the largest, brightest globe from the box and took note of the greedy, territorial expression that leaped into Myrna's eye.
'I would like to try one of these wonders,' Isabeau said. 'Will you choose one for me?'
Myrna all but leaped for the powerful, expensive globe in her visitor's hands. 'That one is for my own use. Any of these others you may have.'
'We could perhaps share,' Isabeau suggested. 'You to your dream, and I mine? A pleasant respite to break up the day.'
Her hostess nodded avidly. Once her guest was settled with a lesser magical dream, she took the pow shy;erful dream sphere for herself.
Isabeau waited until the woman was deep into the magical trance. She rose quietly to her feet and tipped the box of dream spheres into her pocket. Then she carefully unclasped the necklace from the entranced woman's neck and added it to her loot.
The larger and brighter the sphere, the longer and more powerful the dream. Isabeau had learned that much, but she took no chances. Moving as silently and swiftly as a dervish's ghost, she picked the chamber clean of any valuables and fled while the woman was still deep in her dream.
Isabeau had had no idea that gossipmongering paid so well-with the coins and jewels she had taken from this single theft, she could easily buy and bribe her way into distant Tethyr.
Elated at her success, she all but ran from the man shy;sion and climbed into the waiting carriage. If the driver was surprised to hear that she wished to go directly to the South Gate, he did not state his opinion. An extra gold coin went a long way toward ensuring discretion. If she were careful, and lucky, she might yet make it safely to the southern lands.
Isabeau settled back against the seat and dared to begin dreaming a future far greater than any she might glimpse in one of Oth Eltorchul's magical toys.
Arilyn woke with a start, sitting upright beside her sleeping friend. After a moment her breathing returned to normal, but the dream that had awakened her did not fade.
She glanced at the moonblade, which lay sheathed beside the bed. It was dark and silent. In times past, she had awakened from such a dream to find the sword limned with green light, a sure confirmation that the dream was sent from forest elves in need of her help. This time, the dream was different. It was she who needed the help and her friends from distant Tethyr forest who came to her aid.
There was no trusting the dream, though. Evidence of that was plentiful. Five ghostly elves stood sentinel in the room, released from the sword by the relaxing of her will.
In fact, the moonblade's magic was growing ever more contradictory. Arilyn could almost count upon the elven sword to do the opposite of whatever function it had once performed. Warnings came not at all, or too late. Worse, its quick strike was growing unreliable-sometimes coming too fast, sometimes not at all. If this continued, she would not be able to use the sword in battle.
A discreet knock on the door roused the sleeping man beside her. Danilo sat up and ran both hands through his hair. 'What is it, Monroe?'
'A message for Lady Arilyn,' the halfling said, his voice muffled by the heavy door.
'Well, bring it in.'
The halfling entered and handed Arilyn a message marked with the seal of the Guard. She quickly broke the seal and read with growing wonder. 'There is a group of forest elves inquiring for me at the South Gate,' she said and explained in a few words her belief that the malfunctioning sword had reversed the direc shy;tion of the dream summons. 'They've come to help,' she concluded.
'And?' Danilo prompted, seeing from her eyes that there was more.
Arilyn met his eyes with a steady gaze. 'These are the elves from Tethyr's forest. You should know that Foxfire is among them.'
Danilo absorbed this in silence. 'You will want to meet with them at once,' he said simply.
It was the answer Arilyn had hoped to hear-no questions, no reservations. This was part of her life, her duty, and he accepted it as such. He did not ask what path she would take when the task at hand was done. The time would come when Arilyn would have to answer that. She could not say how she would respond.
* * * * *
The night was nearly over, and Elaith had yet to decide whether his campaign to divert attention of the nobles from himself was success or failure. It was true that he had received important information through the combined magic of the Mhaorkiira and the dream spheres. However, word of the dream spheres was spreading fast-too fast. The powers of law and order were beginning to take notice.
Just that day, three of his dream sphere vendors had been arrested. The wizards of Waterdeep were furious at this profligate use of magic, and Elaith had received word that there were attempts to magically follow the spheres back to their source.
He wondered where those magical inquiries might lead. Given the distortion of magic that the dream spheres caused, it might be almost anywhere. He might not be the equal of Oth Eltorchul when it came to twisting magic, but he knew enough to ensure that no one could trace the sale of the spheres back to his door.
Certainly no one would come looking for him here. The Monster Pit was one of the best-kept secrets in the Dock Ward.
Through a two-way mirror, the elf looked out over his establishment with a mixture of distaste and satisfac shy;tion. Gladiatorial dens were illegal in Waterdeep, but this one was highly popular. It lay many, many feet under a smithy and a raucous tavern. By day, the clat shy;ter of hammers on metal, the hiss of the bellows and the gruff shouts and near-constant singing of the smiths served to drown out any hint of the noise of battle and the cheering of the spectators. By night, the tavern served the same purpose.
The Monster Pit was a large, round cavern that had been carved into the shale. The walls had been covered with wood to keep patrons from peeling layers off the rock and hurling them at the combatants.
As usual, it was an unruly crowd seasoned with strong spirits and a variety of entertainments not available in the market. Smoke from scores of pipes rose into a thick blue haze. Most of the patrons were shouting and shaking their fists at the fighters, but a few wandered off into back rooms for private wagers or games.
Tonight the betting was brisk, for few men knew how to take the measure of the rare monsters that faced
