Neverwinter Read online

Page 29

Page 29

 

  She slipped her shapely leg into the stream, then drew it forth and rubbed at her sore and still discolored foot. She looked at the unsightly puncture and shook her head with obvious disgust.

  “Which is real and which the illusion?” Drizzt asked, skipping down the steep incline to stand beside her. He noted that she wore a new piece of jewelry, a black diamond in her right ear, complimenting the ten diamond studs in her left.

  “Both and neither,” Dahlia answered dismissively. She grimaced as she squeezed her foot, bringing forth some pus and blood from the wound.

  “Are you so afraid that the truth of Dahlia will be revealed?”

  Dahlia looked up at him sourly, and shook her head as if his question wasn’t worth her trouble.

  “We owe a great debt to Meg the farmer woman and Ben the Brewer,” Drizzt remarked.

  “You would start babbling about them again?” Dahlia snapped back. “Had you returned to the farmhouse a few moments later, I would’ve been one foot lighter. Or both of them would’ve lain dead at my feet. ”

  “They would’ve taken your foot only because they thought it the only way to save your life. ”

  “They would’ve tried to take my foot and I would’ve killed them both,” Dahlia insisted.

  “You would’ve killed a mother in front of her children?”

  “I would’ve asked the children to turn around first,” Dahlia sarcastically replied.

  Drizzt laughed at her unrelenting sourness, but Dahlia only glared at him all the more. For a moment, just a heartbeat, Drizzt almost expected her to jump up and attack him then and there.

  “Damn you, Beniago,” the woman muttered, squeezing her aching foot yet again.

  “He provided the antidote,” Drizzt said.

  “Then he’s a fool, because he saved the life of one who will kill him. ”

  “It wasn’t Beniago who set the traps,” Drizzt reminded her.

  “It was Beniago who forced me from the rope to the floor. ”

  “He defends the wares of Ship Kurth. ”

  “And you would defend him?”

  “Hardly. Didn’t I arrive to chase him off?”

  Dahlia spat on her foot and squeezed it again. A dribble of blood and greenish-white pus slipped out. “Killing him will wound Ship Kurth, and make it clear that I’m not one to be toyed with. ”

  “Ah, that’s it, then,” Drizzt said with a grin. “It’s your embarrassment at being outfoxed. ”

  Dahlia narrowed her eyes threateningly.

  “High Captain Kurth, or yes, perhaps Beniago, understood that you would return to the jewelry shop to appropriate the piece, and so they were quite ready for you,” Drizzt said. “In fact, I suspect that the only reason they even took us to that particular merchant was because of your obvious fondness for sparkling gemstones. ”

  “I knew they’d know,” Dahlia insisted. “I wanted them to know. ”

  “And you wanted them to defeat you and kill you?”

  Dahlia’s blue eyes threw imaginary darts into his face, Drizzt knew, but he grinned all the more, enjoying having the upper hand against Dahlia for once. For all of her stubbornness, she couldn’t, with true conviction, claim she’d expected the trap.

  “I already told you I’d sorted out the design of the trap and deduced how to defeat it,” Dahlia said, biting each word off short for emphasis. “I would’ve slipped free of the lash and Beniago would’ve died if you hadn’t intervened. ”

  “With poison in your foot?”

  “I would’ve stripped Beniago’s corpse naked and found the elixir. And had it not been for your foolish intervention, I would have had the time to tend the wound then and there, before the poison had spread up my leg. ”

  Drizzt laughed, shook his head, and let it go at that.

  “We will return to Luskan,” Dahlia announced, standing and facing to the north up the road.

  “To repay Ship Kurth?”

  “Yes. ”

  “What of Sylora? I thought it was she you hated above all others. ”

  Despite her stubbornness—and she was possessed of great quantities—Dahlia couldn’t resist glancing back over her shoulder, back to the south.

  “I go with you now to find Sylora,” Drizzt stated flatly, “as I committed to do when we left Gauntlgrym. I, too, would like to repay her for her actions that have so devastated Neverwinter. But I won’t return to Luskan beside you, should you choose that course. ”

  “I wouldn’t have gone to Luskan at all had it not been for your insistence,” Dahlia reminded him.

  “But not to engage Ship Kurth or any other of the high captains. ”

  “No, to find Jarlaxle, because you cannot accept that he’s gone,” Dahlia said, for no reason other than to sting him, Drizzt realized.

  “To Neverwinter Wood?” he asked. “Or do we part ways here?”

  Dahlia’s glare abruptly turned into a wicked smile. “You’ll not abandon me. Not now. ”

  “I won’t go to Luskan,” Drizzt said flatly.

  Dahlia held her stare for a few moments, but then it was she who blinked and nodded. “Ship Kurth will still be there when we’re done with the witch of Thay,” she decided. “And perhaps we would do well to let a few tendays pass, so that Luskan forgets about Drizzt and Dahlia. ”

  “And then we kill Beniago?”

  Dahlia nodded and Drizzt shook his head.

  “Let it be,” the drow advised.

  Dahlia’s sigh showed more contempt than resignation.

  “Kill Beniago?” Drizzt went on skeptically. “He who is powerful within Luskan and Ship Kurth? Beniago, who I spared at the end of my blade?”

  “You think him an ally?” Dahlia asked incredulously.

  “I think that perhaps the past is better left in the past,” Drizzt replied. “Beniago gave me the elixir knowing I would use it to save you. He was grateful that I didn’t kill him, because I surely had him dead, had I so chosen. He will soon enough be a man of great power within Luskan, and within the whole of the region, and he has shown himself to be no enemy of ours. ”

  “Drizzt Do’Urden bargains with murderers now,” Dahlia said with a wry smirk.

  She meant the remark as another jab, obviously, but it struck Drizzt as more of an honest question than that. It was a question that he’d asked himself many times in his past. He thought of Artemis Entreri, his long-time nemesis, and undeniably a killer. Yet Drizzt and Entreri had struck a bond beneath the tunnels of Mithral Hall when it was still in the hands of the duergar dwarves. And Entreri had fought beside Drizzt and Catti-brie during their escape from Menzoberranzan. Drizzt and Entreri battled side-by-side, because it had been in their best interests. And on more than one occasion, Drizzt had not finished off Entreri, had not killed him, when he’d found the opportunity.

  His thoughts also fell to Jarlaxle, of course, the drow to whom Drizzt had run when he’d lost Catti-brie and Regis. Was Jarlaxle not a killer?

  “He thinks these killers potential allies,” Dahlia went on.

  “Better, perhaps, that they are not overt enemies,” he quietly replied.

  Dahlia couldn’t let it go without one last stab. “And thinks these killers perhaps even lovers, yes?” She gave a little laugh and limped back up the grassy banking toward the camp.

  “This is what I’ve come to know,” Drizzt stated flatly, halting Dahlia in her tracks. “There is right and there is wrong. There is good and there is evil, but rarely are either of these concepts fully embodied in any one person. Life is more complicated than that; people are more complicated than that. Not all allies will prove of similar weal and not all enemies will be so different from me. I wish this weren’t true. ” He gave a resigned, almost hopeless smile. He thought of Captain Deudermont, then, his old friend who had placed principle over pragmatism in an untenable situation, the result of which had been the fall of Luskan to the nefarious high captains. Drizzt had not agreed with Deudermont�
�s designs, had warned against them, to no avail.

  “Or perhaps I don’t,” he admitted. “Perhaps it is, after all, that complexity that makes life interesting. ”

  “The complexity you find in others, which doesn’t exist in the pure heart of Drizzt Do’Urden?” Dahlia teased.

  Drizzt laughed and shrugged. A million retorts flitted through his thoughts, but in the end, Drizzt had no response. Dahlia had weighed her words and her tone perfectly, he realized. She knew him, his reputation and his soul, and obviously she had no hesitation in flicking her finger against his heart. He watched her diminish into the shadows, reminded again that this was not Catti-brie beside him, not a rock of conscience, not even a dependable friend. What might Dahlia do to help Drizzt if her own life was on the line? Would she flee and leave him to his fate?

  He played through their many battles at each other’s side in Gauntlgrym. Dahlia had fought valiantly, fearlessly. He could count on her in matters of the sword.

  “Will you join me tonight by the fire?” Dahlia asked from beyond the bluff.

  But could Drizzt count on her in matters of the heart?

  Drizzt shook it all away with a little laugh. What did it matter? He pulled himself up and brushed the dust of the road from his pants and cloak, then went to the river and quickly splashed his face.

  Then he went to Dahlia’s lair.

  With Andahar keeping a swift pace, Drizzt and Dahlia passed Port Llast the very next night, giving the town a wide berth for fear that some of Kurth’s agents might be among the visitors. Not far down the road from there, Drizzt realized that they were not alone.

  “In the tree to the left,” Dahlia whispered back when he informed her.

  Drizzt pulled Andahar up to a halt and turned the steed sidelong to the road, his eyes focusing on that inhabited tree.

  “Must I shoot you from your perch before you admit your presence?” Drizzt called out, bringing Taulmaril across his lap.

  “Please, not that, good sir Drizzt,” came the reply from within the shelter of the boughs—the fast-browning boughs, for the summer season was beginning its turn to fall.

  “Stuyles’s man,” Dahlia remarked, and Drizzt nodded.

  “Would you break bread with us again?” the drow called out. “Entertain us with tales of the north while we repay the bards’ debt?”

  “We should just ride past them,” Dahlia said. “Or do you feel the need to tell them of the farmer woman and the brewer?”

  “Perhaps many would be interested, including Stuyles. ”

  “To what end?” Dahlia asked. “Do you hope that they will lay down their knives and swords and return to the plow? Will Drizzt Do’Urden fix the world?”

  Ahead of them, the would-be highwayman dropped down from the tree’s lowest branch and waved them on, and Drizzt, not bothering to answer Dahlia, spurred Andahar forward. Dahlia kept her sour expression all the way to the bandits’ encampment.

  They were greeted warmly, and offered food and a seat by a warm fire. Stuyles was there, and prodded Drizzt for his latest tales, and the drow obliged by telling him of their meetings with Meg the farmer woman and Ben the Brewer.

 

    Gauntlgrym Read onlineGauntlgrymSojourn Read onlineSojournThe Ghost King Read onlineThe Ghost KingCanticle Read onlineCanticleThe Silent Blade Read onlineThe Silent BladeSea of Swords Read onlineSea of SwordsThe Thousand Orcs Read onlineThe Thousand OrcsThe Pirate King Read onlineThe Pirate KingSiege of Darkness Read onlineSiege of DarknessThe Lone Drow Read onlineThe Lone DrowThe Witch's Daughter Read onlineThe Witch's DaughterPassage to Dawn Read onlinePassage to DawnBastion of Darkness Read onlineBastion of DarknessThe Bear Read onlineThe BearPromise of the Witch King Read onlinePromise of the Witch KingThe Sentinels Read onlineThe SentinelsIn Sylvan Shadows Read onlineIn Sylvan ShadowsChild of a Mad God Read onlineChild of a Mad GodServant of the Shard Read onlineServant of the ShardStreams of Silver Read onlineStreams of SilverNeverwinter Read onlineNeverwinterThe Halfling's Gem Read onlineThe Halfling's GemThe Two Swords Read onlineThe Two SwordsHomeland Read onlineHomelandServant of the Shard: The Sellswords Read onlineServant of the Shard: The SellswordsEchoes of the Fourth Magic Read onlineEchoes of the Fourth MagicCharons Claw Read onlineCharons ClawThe Orc King Read onlineThe Orc KingMaestro Read onlineMaestroThe Crystal Shard Read onlineThe Crystal ShardThe Last Threshold Read onlineThe Last ThresholdThe Legacy Read onlineThe LegacyRoad of the Patriarch Read onlineRoad of the PatriarchExile Read onlineExileRelentless Read onlineRelentlessThe Highwayman Read onlineThe HighwaymanImmortalis Read onlineImmortalisIf Ever They Happened Upon My Lair Read onlineIf Ever They Happened Upon My LairThe Spine of the World Read onlineThe Spine of the WorldRise of the King Read onlineRise of the KingBoundless Read onlineBoundlessThe Woods Out Back Read onlineThe Woods Out BackMortalis Read onlineMortalisThe Sword Of Bedwyr Read onlineThe Sword Of BedwyrThe Ancient Read onlineThe AncientNight of the Hunter Read onlineNight of the HunterTranscendence Read onlineTranscendenceThe Dragons Dagger Read onlineThe Dragons DaggerThe Demon Apostle Read onlineThe Demon ApostleAscendance Read onlineAscendanceReckoning of Fallen Gods Read onlineReckoning of Fallen GodsThe Demon Spirit Read onlineThe Demon SpiritSong of the Risen God Read onlineSong of the Risen GodArchmage Read onlineArchmageDragon King The Read onlineDragon King TheVengeance of the Iron Dwarf Read onlineVengeance of the Iron DwarfThe Dame Read onlineThe DameDragons- Worlds Afire Read onlineDragons- Worlds AfireDragonslayers Return Read onlineDragonslayers ReturnThe Color of Dragons Read onlineThe Color of DragonsThe Chaos Curse Read onlineThe Chaos CurseLuthien's Gamble Read onlineLuthien's GambleStarlight Enclave Read onlineStarlight EnclaveStarless Night Read onlineStarless NightThe Fallen Fortress Read onlineThe Fallen FortressEchoes of the Fourth Magic tcoya-1 Read onlineEchoes of the Fourth Magic tcoya-1The Collected Stories, The Legend of Drizzt (forgotten realms) Read onlineThe Collected Stories, The Legend of Drizzt (forgotten realms)Forgotten Realms: Homeland - The Legend of Drizzt Book I Read onlineForgotten Realms: Homeland - The Legend of Drizzt Book IStar Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones Read onlineStar Wars: Episode II: Attack of the ClonesStar Wares Episode 2 Attack of the Clones Read onlineStar Wares Episode 2 Attack of the ClonesThe Ancient sotfk-2 Read onlineThe Ancient sotfk-2Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime Read onlineStar Wars: The New Jedi Order: Vector PrimeNeverwinter ns-2 Read onlineNeverwinter ns-2The Crimson Shadow Read onlineThe Crimson ShadowDrizzt - 12 - The Spine of the World Read onlineDrizzt - 12 - The Spine of the WorldDemonWars Saga Volume 1 Read onlineDemonWars Saga Volume 1Realms of Magic a-3 Read onlineRealms of Magic a-3The Companions s-1 Read onlineThe Companions s-1Halfling's Gem Read onlineHalfling's GemThe Last Threshold: Neverwinter Saga, Book IV Read onlineThe Last Threshold: Neverwinter Saga, Book IV[The Cleric Quintet 01] - Canticle Read online[The Cleric Quintet 01] - CanticleIf Ever They Happened Upon My Lair (dungeons and dragons) Read onlineIf Ever They Happened Upon My Lair (dungeons and dragons)Charon's claw tns-3 Read onlineCharon's claw tns-3The Bear sotfk-4 Read onlineThe Bear sotfk-4Promise of the Witch-King Read onlinePromise of the Witch-KingStar Wars 327 - The New Jedi Order I - Vector Prime Read onlineStar Wars 327 - The New Jedi Order I - Vector PrimeForgotten Realms:Legend of Drizzt 26:Companions Codex 02:Rise of the King Read onlineForgotten Realms:Legend of Drizzt 26:Companions Codex 02:Rise of the KingSojourn - [Book 3 of the Dark Elf Trilogy] Read onlineSojourn - [Book 3 of the Dark Elf Trilogy]The Companions Read onlineThe CompanionsExile - Book 2 of the Dark Elf Trilogy Read onlineExile - Book 2 of the Dark Elf TrilogyDemonWars Saga Volume 2: Mortalis - Ascendance - Transcendence - Immortalis (The DemonWars Saga) Read onlineDemonWars Saga Volume 2: Mortalis - Ascendance - Transcendence - Immortalis (The DemonWars Saga)Bastion of Darkness tcoya-3 Read onlineBastion of Darkness tcoya-3The Sentinels: Stone of Tymora, Book III Read onlineThe Sentinels: Stone of Tymora, Book IIIThe Highwayman sotfk-1 Read onlineThe Highwayman sotfk-1Vector Prime Read onlineVector PrimeStar Wars The New Jedi Order - Vector Prime - Book 1 Read onlineStar Wars The New Jedi Order - Vector Prime - Book 1Attack of the Clones Read onlineAttack of the ClonesThe Demon Spirit - Book 2 of the Demon Wars series Read onlineThe Demon Spirit - Book 2 of the Demon Wars seriesChild of a Mad God--A Tale of the Coven Read onlineChild of a Mad God--A Tale of the CovenThe Dragon King Read onlineThe Dragon KingThe Witch_s Daughter tcoya-2 Read onlineThe Witch_s Daughter tcoya-2The Companions: The Sundering, Book I Read onlineThe Companions: The Sundering, Book IThe Dame sotfk-3 Read onlineThe Dame sotfk-3The Education of Brother Thaddius and other tales of DemonWars (The DemonWars Saga) Read onlineThe Education of Brother Thaddius and other tales of DemonWars (The DemonWars Saga)The Shadowmask: Stone of Tymora, Book II Read onlineThe Shadowmask: Stone of Tymora, Book IIThe Servant of the Shard Read onlineThe Servant of the ShardThe Collected Stories, The Legend of Drizzt Read onlineThe Collected Stories, The Legend of DrizztThe Last Threshold tns-4 Read onlineThe Last Threshold tns-4