Sefris hadn't had much trouble locating the scout. A good many folk had taken note of the ranger tramping about the Underways asking questions about the robbery in the Paeraddyn. Once the monastic found her quarry, she'd tailed her, awaiting an opportunity to ingratiate herself. The yuan-ti had provided a splendid one.
After that, however, came the difficult part, far more challenging than slaughtering a gang of serpent-men, formidable though they were. She needed to present herself as the sort of sunny, altruistic soul the guide would be likely to trust, and which she herself particularly detested. She smiled into the face of the Dark Goddess's enemy, the same face she'd seen in the arcanaloth's mirror, and bowed.
At that same instant, as if in outrage at her duplicity, the tunnel went pitch black as the guide's hand stopped shedding its luminous sparks. The ranger quickly recited words of power to renew the spell. It was quite a simple charm, though, paradoxically, one that would forever lie beyond Sefris's grasp. Sorcerers who drew their power from the unholy well called the Shadow Weave were unable to conjure light.
'There,' said the ranger, as the white sparks danced anew. 'Sorry about that.'
Sefris grinned and said, 'It's all right. Though we're lucky it didn't happen a minute or two earlier, or the yuan-ti would have defeated us for certain.'
'My name is Miri Buckman of the Red Hart Guild. Thank you for saving my life.'
'I'm Sefris Uuthrakt of the Broken Ones.'
The Broken Ones were a monastic order pledged to the martyr god Ilmater. Though their philosophy and mission differed radically from those of the Dark Moon, their fighting arts were similar, and by pretending to membership in their company, she'd provided a plausible explanation for the unusual skills she'd demonstrated.
'Thank you as well,' Sefris continued. 'You protected my back as much as I protected yours.'
'Maybe,' Miri replied, stooping to wipe her bloody broadsword on a dead serpent-man's tunic. 'But you didn't have to jump in and help me in the first place.'
'Oh, but I did. I have my vows, as I imagine you rangers have yours.'
'We have a code.' The scout sheathed her sword, then headed toward her fallen bow as she said, 'Believe me, I'm not complaining, but what were you doing in these miserable warrens, anyway?'
Sefris tried to judge if her companion was suspicious, and decided she was merely curious.
'We Broken Ones sometimes wander far from our sanctuaries, seeking to learn the lessons only the bustling world can teach. My travels brought me to Oeble, and into the Underways. I heard the sounds of strife, and I rushed to see what was happening. I would have arrived sooner, except that much of the path was dark, and I had to grope my way.'
In reality, Sefris had waited to burst onto the scene until Miri truly needed her. Presumably that would ensure the fool was grateful for her intervention. The delay had given the monastic the opportunity to assess the ranger's archery and swordplay. As it turned out, she was reasonably accomplished, though nothing that would inconvenience a daughter of the Dark Moon when the time came.
'Well, bless you for it,' Miri said. 'I'll make an offering to the Crying God the first chance I get.'
'May I ask,' Sefris said, 'what business brings you 'below,' as the locals say? I would have expected to meet a warrior like you in a forest glade or along a mountain trail, not rubbing shoulders with city orcs, smugglers, and kidnappers.'
'I wish you had,' Miri said. She picked up her bow, inspected it for signs of damage, and evidently satisfied that it was unscathed, she dangled it casually in her hand. 'I've never much liked any town, and this one's the nastiest I've ever seen. But…'
She hesitated as if realizing she was speaking too freely.
Sefris inclined her head and replied, 'I understand. Your business is your own. I shouldn't have pried.'
'Oh, to Fury's Heart with it. It's all right, I trust you. Anyway, by now, everybody else in Oeble knows, or at least part of it. The rangers of my guild hire themselves out, if it's honest work performed for decent folk. I undertook to carry a treasure from Ormath to Oeble, and just as I was about to deliver it, a robber stole it. Obviously, it's my responsibility to get it back. It'll be a great misfortune to any number of people if I don't.'
'I understand,' Sefris said. 'May I help you find it?'
Miri's eyes narrowed and she asked, 'Why would you want to do that?'
'I told you, I'm sworn to aid others, and I seek the wisdom that only comes from immersing oneself in worldly affairs.'
'It could be dangerous.'
'And I confess, I'm scarcely the ablest fighter my order has produced. Others are far more competent But I did manage to help you against the yuan-ti.'
'I can't argue with that,' said the ranger.
'Then let me watch your back for a while longer.'
'All right, gladly, if you're sure it's what you want. Why not?' Miri smiled crookedly and added, 'We can't fare any worse together than I've done nosing about on my own.'
'What tactics have you used?'
'I've offered to pay for information, provided it turned out to be true. But as you've just seen, these rogues would rather cheat, rob, or enslave an outsider than earn her coin honestly.'
'Perhaps it's time for a different approach,' Sefris said. She found one of her chakrams, pulled it from the wound it had inflicted, wiped it clean, and stowed it away in her robe. Later, when she had the leisure, she'd take a hone to the edge. 'If you aren't squeamish, we could ask questions in a less gentle fashion.'
'Surely the creed of Ilmater doesn't allow for torture,' Miri said, peering at her quizzically.
'We Broken Ones are more practical than people give us credit for. Of course, we would never torture a prisoner in the truest sense of the word. We are, however, allowed to intimidate him and cause some brief discomfort, when it's absolutely necessary to further a worthy cause. But perhaps your own code doesn't allow for such tactics.'
'It's a gray area. I've never liked it much, but… I'm sick of these Oeblaun vermin trying to swindle me and sniggering behind my back. By the Hornblade, this lot are yuan-ti, and they meant to enslave me. I think I could rough up one of them, and live with my conscience afterward.'
So, gentle Mielikki's servant had a streak of ruthlessness. The implicit hypocrisy stirred the contempt that was central to Sefris's nature, but she made sure no hint of a sneer showed on her face.
'So be it, then,' the monastic said.
'The problem may be,' Miri said as she surveyed the fallen reptile-men, 'that none of them is capable of answering questions.'
Sefris smiled.
'That's one advantage fists have over blades and arrows,' she said. 'Often, they merely stun instead of kill.' To be precise, they stunned when she wanted them to, and in the fight just concluded, intuition had prompted her to leave a couple of the yuan-ti alive. 'We just need to wake somebody up.'
CHAPTER 6
Aeron met the Dead Cart on Balamonthar's Street. As he would have expected by late afternoon, the mule- drawn wagon carried several corpses, which were starting to smell, and was heading to dump them in the garbage-middens southeast of town.
Hairy and dirty, his limbs twisted out of true by illness or an accident of birth, Hulm Draeridge leered down at Aeron from the seat.
'Hop in the back,' he said. 'Save me the trouble of lifting you up and chucking you in.'
Aeron snorted and said, 'I'm not ready to take that ride just yet.'
'That's not the way I hear it.'
'It doesn't matter if people are looking for me, tanglebones, not as long as my wits are sharper than theirs. It's all part of the sport. Speaking of which, if anybody asks, you haven't seen me.'
He tossed the driver a silver bit, and Hulm snatched it from the air.
'I've already forgotten you,' the driver said, 'as completely as will everyone else ten minutes after you're
