Elfshadow - Elaine Cunningham [130]
For the sake of saving time, Danilo made only a pretense of bartering, giving the delighted merchant nearly his asking price. He also accepted the man's assurances that a merchant train would leave for Evereska in the morning. With such horses, the merchant fervently swore, the young lord could sleep away the effects of many mugs and still have time to catch the caravan.
After the merchant left the taproom for the horses, Danilo cocked at eyebrow at the elven proprietor. "Not to impugn the man's integrity, but truly, is a merchant train leaving tomorrow?"
"Three caravans plan to leave in the morning. Several more will probably pass through during the day. If you wish to enter the city, you should have no problem persuading one of them to count you among their number," the elf said, shrewdly responding to Danilo's unasked question.
The nobleman nodded and rose to leave. "Good. Well, I might as well see what kind of horses I squandered my father's money upon."
The Amnish merchant had brought the horses to the tavern door, and Danilo was pleased to note that they were indeed fine animals, black and spirited, worth almost half of the amount he had paid for them. As he led his two new mounts toward the stables, Bran fell in behind him. They found an empty stall near Arilyn's mare, and settled down in the hay to await the half-elf's arrival.
* * * * *
Throughout the night and well into the next day, Arilyn's enspelled griffon flew toward Evereska. By late afternoon, the half-elf saw beneath her the misty foothills of the Greycloak Hills. Her heart quickened at the thought of returning to her childhood home. As the hills grew into mountains, she watched eagerly for the verdant fields and deep, soft forests of the Vale of Evereska. The hands that clenched the reins of her griffon steed relaxed somewhat, and she nudged the magical creature into its descent. Enspelled for enhanced speed, the creature was capable of covering large distances. Even without the magic enhancement, it was an extraordinary beast with the strong, tawny body of a lion and the head and wings of a giant eagle.
Arilyn knew better than to try to fly directly into Evereska. The city was so well guarded that she would have little chance of surviving such a flight. Outposts dotted the mountains surrounding Evereska, and sharp-eyed elven watchmen would spot her within five miles of the city. If she should try to fly above the range of their vision, she would likely encounter the patrols of giant eagles who circled in the skies. The elven archers who rode these mounts were known never to miss a target.
So Arilyn steered the griffon clear of the walled city and the surrounding vale, instead swooping low over the western forest. She saw a familiar clearing, dominated by a large stone building and ringed with wooden structures and bustling merchants.
Since a griffon could not land in the middle of the busy merchant town without causing a stir, Arilyn urged her winged mount toward a nearby glen. The beast's enormous wings curled in an arch like that of a giant hawk, and it descended to the earth in a tight spiral. The pads of its lion's paws touched the ground, and with great relief Arilyn dismounted. With a final shriek, the griffon took off for Waterdeep, and Arilyn strode toward the stables of the Halfway Inn.
Her mare was there, sleek and well-conditioned. Arilyn patted the horse with genuine affection. She wished that she had time to seek out and thank Myrin Silverspear, but he would understand that she could not. Arilyn left a small bag of coins in a pre-arranged place in the stall as payment for the horse's care.
The golden light of late afternoon lit the sky as she turned her horse toward the city. After