Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [5]
"The spy we discovered in the High Tower could well have been Zhentarim, Caledan," Mari went on in a low voice. "If so, he would have known if there are others of his kind in Iriaebor, and whether it's the Black Network that's behind the unexplained murders in the city. I really would have liked to have kept him alive long enough to ask him a few questions."
Caledan gave a rough snort of laughter. "Answering questions is difficult when one has a dagger in one's back. It's very distracting to one's concentration. At least so I've heard."
Estah scowled at this. "Well, that's fine talk for present company," she said sharply, giving a meaningful nod in Kellen's direction.
Caledan seemed not to hear the halfling's reproving words. As happened increasingly often of late, his gaze had gone suddenly distant, as if he stared into some far-off place that the others could not fathom. It was just one of several peculiarities Caledan had been exhibiting recently. At times he seemed terribly far away, while on other occasions his temper would flare hotly at the most minor of annoyances, and he might laugh loudly-almost too loudly-at unlikely things such as a coal bursting on the hearth or a dropped plate shattering against the floor. Shadows hung beneath his eyes, gathering in the hollows of his cheeks. He had not been eating much lately, to Estah's great concern. Kellen was beginning to wonder if his father might be ill.
Caledan's gaze came back to his surroundings. "I don't see why you're so mad at me, Mari," he went on as if ere had been no pause. "I was having some fun and got little carried away, that's all."
Mari stared at him in shock. "It isn't like you to be so cavalier about Zhentarim, Caledan. If the Black Network could find a way to get Iriaebor under its yoke again, it'd do it in a second. And these murders may be the beginning of some plan to do just that."
Caledan and Mari didn't usually speak to Kellen of their work for the Harpers. Despite this, he gleaned much from what they let slip in his presence. For instance, he knew Zhentarim were a sort of cult. They followed no god in particular, though they cultivated many of the darker ones to gain magic, but instead worshiped gold and power, stopping at nothing to win these. The Harpers worked against all evils in the Heartlands, but the Zhentarim were their time-honored enemies.
Several years ago, the Black Network had taken control of Iriaebor, enslaving the populace and bleeding the city dry. It was Caledan and Mari, on a mission for the Harpers, who finally had ousted the Zhents from Iriaebor. The Black Network was still furious at losing its grip on the wealthy city and would do anything to regain control.
If Mari's suspicions were right, now the Zhentarim were trying to do just that. Since Higharvestide, there had been over a dozen murders in Iriaebor. Each of the murders shared the same grisly details: All occurred at night, with the corpses horribly mauled. In each case the victim was a less-than-savory individual, ranging from back-alley hoodlums to corrupt petty nobles. The
Harpers feared the deaths were part of some Zhentarim plot-perhaps sacrifices for a ritual magic of dark and unknown purpose-and that the Black Network was preying on the dregs of society for some mysterious reason. Mari and Caledan had been given orders to investigate. However, it looked as if they had no answer to these strange occurrences.
Kellen thought of his intention to tell his father about the curious handprint he had seen on his window. He looked at Caledan, then Mari. Both seemed