Azure bonds - Kate Novak [97]
Trying not to appear too distracted with keeping an eye on Dragonbait, Akabar said, "If you do, contact Hillsfar. Their ruler, I've heard, is a merchant-mage like myself. His name is Maalthir. If one of these forces is indeed his, it will include a company of his prize mercenaries, the Red Plumes. We need only look for their banner."
"Yes, then we'll have found the Red Death," Olive growled. "That's what Maalthir's mercenaries are called among my people. Under his orders, they carried out a campaign to purge Hillsfar of thieves. Human thieves could hide, but all halflings were thieves, as far as Maalthir's Red Death was concerned. They drove every halfling from the city in the middle of the night, forced them to leave their valuables behind, didn't even give them a chance to sell the land or shops they owned.
"As distasteful as Hillsfar's policies might be, you can hardly expect us to deal with the baby-slaying Keepers. I've heard that they plight their troth with succubi, eat the brains of elves, and worship gods so black they make Moander seem nice. Their names are feared as far south as my native land. And the council who rules them, the Zhentarim, are twice as dark as the Keepers."
"I didn't suggest we deal with the Keepers," Olive replied. "I was only reporting on the firsthand news I have about the Hillsfar government. I have no reason to expect better of the Zhentil Keep soldiery. They're all human, too, at least mostly, I'm told. You must realize, though, that all the accusations you've made against Zhentil Keep are the standard lies told about any successful city by its jealous enemies."
"There are too many stories told of the Zhentarim for them all to be lies. As a bard you must know stories of their methods-how they secretly support ores so they will attack any who oppose the Zhentarim's will."
"And as a bard," Olive said, "I have the ability to separate the grain from the dross."
"Gold," corrected Akabar. "Gold from dross. Grain from chaff."
Alias sighed and stood up. The mage and the bard could argue until Yulash was dust. She strode over to watch the battle with Dragonbait. As the finder's stone illuminated their mounts, she could see the beasts stood alone. She poked her head around the wall, but the lizard was not there. She went back to the wagon and peeked around that, but he wasn't there either.
Olive was continuing her testimony on the cruelty of the Hillsfar people, while Akabar was trying to interrupt her with some point about the evil of the Zhentarim.
Made impatient with a sudden attack of anxiety, Alias snapped at both of them. "Listen to yourselves. You're not disagreeing with each other, you're just arguing for the sake of arguing. Can't you see something's wrong?"
"What is it?" Akabar asked.
"Dragonbait's gone," she whispered.
"Gone where?" Akabar asked, glancing around their campsite while cursing himself for not keeping an eye on the potentially treacherous lizard.
"Just gone," Alias said. A particularly bright flash filled the sky, and thunder rumbled all about them. The swordswoman peered across the momentarily illuminated open fields, but she could not pick out the lizard's figure.
"Perhaps you better stay down," Akabar suggested.
"He's disappeared," Alias whispered, still standing.
"He's probably only out looking for firewood or something," Olive suggested.
"We haven't got a fire," Akabar growled.
"Maybe he decided we should have one," Olive retorted.
If I hadn't been such a fool, Akabar berated himself, arguing with the halfling and allowing myself to be distracted from watching the lizard, this wouldn't have happened. Who knows what sort of betrayal I've let us in for now?
"Or he could be out filching us a nice, hot, ten-course meal, with wine," Olive continued brightly.
Alias scowled. She noticed Akabar frowning as well. She hadn't realized he cared for Dragonbait as much as she.
Should I tell her about the lizard's brands, Akabar debated. I can't prove it now, and it still might not make her doubt him. No, better just to watch for him.
Alias