fingers.
'I am glad you accepted my invitation to share eveningfeast.'
'Bah! I invited myself and you were gracious enough to accept me into your home. We both know that.'
It was true, but Golsway didn't acknowledge the statement. He took his pipe pouch from a pocket of his robe and worked the dottle out in anticipation of using it. Keraqt was a talker; the mage doubted the man would be gone before the morning cock crowed.
'Put your bag away,' the merchant said, producing a pipe bag of his own. 'I've only this tenday found a new blend I fancy. A trade ship I had owned part of a cargo in brought this from Beregost and I've found it quite pleasing.'
Golsway took the bag and performed a quick spell to detect magic. If Keraqt noticed, he gave no sign. Finding the pipeweed free of any spells or wards, the mage quickly filled his pipe from the bag, packing the bowl tight.
'Allow me.' Keraqt offered a light from one of the nearby candles. When both pipes were going, curling streamers of smoke about their heads that vanished into the night stretching out over Waterdeep, the merchant replaced the candle. 'So tell me about the latest venture you are planning.'
'What do you not yet know?' Golsway asked.
Keraqt grinned. 'I know that you received a man in your home only four days ago. He carried a package for you that was nearly the size of a bread loaf, but was heavily wrapped and warded, so that may not be its real dimensions. I know, too, that the man spent the night and left early the next morning. You are not wont to allow overnight guests. I myself have spent a night here, but generally at this table or the one in your dining room, never as an overnight guest.'
'Your spies are very good.'
Keraqt shrugged. 'They are paid generously.'
'Do you have someone in my house?'
'No. I would never do something like that.'
'You would,' Golsway argued, 'if you thought you could get away with it. But go on.'
'I also know that your interest of late has been in Myth Dran-nor. I have people among the sages and book shops who say you've again been searching the histories and legends of the place.'
Golsway released a deep lungful of smoke. In truth, he found the pipeweed quite pleasing. 'My interest in Myth Drannor is no secret; nor do I stand alone in that interest.'
'No, but I've not heard of you wasting research time in idle curiosity. It would take away time from the books you are writing. I am guessing you have turned up a new lead to follow.'
'One that no one else has followed after all these years? Do you think such a thing could exist?'
The merchant nodded his big head deliberately. 'It is the only kind of clue you would follow. Probably only one that you could turn up. Remember, I've known you for years.'
'There are all kinds of new legends and rumors springing up about Myth Drannor. More now than at the time the city fell. You can pick and choose your illusions.' Golsway made his voice deliberately demeaning.
'I've heard a name,' the merchant whispered conspiratorially.
'You needn't whisper in my home,' Golsway said. 'It is well warded against those who would seek to invade my privacy.'
Keraqt held up a plump hand. 'I know, my friend, but this name is not to be bandied with.'
“Tell me.'
Keraqt leaned forward, covering his wine glass in case any would use the liquid in the goblet as a scrying vessel. Golsway recognized the action immediately for what it was. He quickly checked the wards around his home and found them all intact.
'Faimcir Glitterwing,' the merchant said in an even lower whisper than before.
Golsway covered his surprise by sipping his wine. 'How did you come by this name?'
Keraqt raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes. 'Then it is true!'
'Answer my question,' the mage snapped irritably.
'Please, my friend, there is no reason to take your wrath out on me.' Keraqt did his best to look humble and slightly afraid, but Golsway saw only the glitter of greed in the other man's muddy brown gaze. 'Remember, the messenger should not be killed.' He paused, pushing his control of the conversation.
Golsway's patience was near to an end. The crystal table suddenly shook between them, holding an inner vibration like a bard's tuning fork.
'There was a man down in the Dock Ward this morning,' Keraqt said quickly.
'What man?'
'I did not know him.'
'What did he look like?' Despite all the wards on his home, despite the magical powers he had access to on demand, a thin worm of fear crawled inside the mage's stomach and twisted. Faimcir Glitterwing's legacy was worth an empire's ransom, but the sheer impact it would have on education and thinking about so many fields was beyond the pale. For the first time in many months, he wished that Baylee was home with him, that the harsh words that had passed between them had never been spoken.
'A tall man, and thick of neck and shoulder.' Keraqt touched his brow with his fingers. 'There was a livid red scar, bright as fresh spilled blood here. I don't know what kind of weapon would have made a mark such as that.'
'Where is this man?'
'I don't know. I sent two of my best men after him when I heard mention that he was seeking you. They were dead by noon, and no one has seen this man since.'
'Why was this man in the Dock Ward?'
'Asking after you, my friend.'
'Did he say what he wanted with me?'
'No.'
Golsway considered the answer. No more than a handful of people knew about the package he'd received. Only two knew the name of Faimcir Glitterwing. 'And did someone direct him my way?' The mage knew there was a slim chance that the man could not have found the way to his home. He was well known in Water-deep, but not many knew where he lived. His closest friends were ones he'd made in other lands, on other adventures. None of those would have come without an invitation.
'I could not tell you,' Keraqt answered. 'But I can tell you the man is no longer on the streets of this city. I can't even find his shadow.'
'Maybe he left.'
'After killing two of my best sellswords?' Keraqt shook his head. 'You are not fool enough to believe that even for the time it takes to say it.'
'No.' Golsway stood and paced the balcony. He looked out over the city, out over Gulzindar Street where he lived in lower Sea Ward. His house was not so grand as it was carefully placed. To the north, the spire of the temple of Mystra burned like a star as moonlight caressed the beaten silver. He also spotted the lights from Piergeiron's Palace and the Field of Triumph.
Suddenly, for the first time since he'd inherited the house almost forty years ago, Golsway felt vulnerable there. He wanted to laugh at his fears, but he knew they were legitimate.
'Fannt?' Keraqt said. 'Are you all right?'
The mage steeled himself, making his face neutral. 'I am fine. Perhaps we should take our pipes and the port inside. I find the night air a bit chill.'
Keraqt only hesitated a moment. 'Of course.' He gathered his glass and followed Golsway through the twin doors of the drawing room.
Golsway closed the doors, taking a moment to secure the double locks. Well above me ground and warded defensively, the balcony generally presented no opportunity for thieves.
The drawing room held several trophies the old mage had gathered during his adventures. Shelves filled the walls, and small tables set up miniature exhibitions of discoveries he'd made. The room wasn't for bragging purposes, for few had ever seen it. It held only touchstones of his life, memories that soothed him when he grew
