Elfshadow - Elaine Cunningham [50]
Keeping her eyes steady on Danilo and her voice level, she added, "There will be one more condition to this 'partnership.' You must never touch that sword again."
Sucking on the offended digit, Danilo nodded avidly. "That goes without saying."
The half-elf abruptly rose to her feet and swung herself up into the saddle. "Let's go."
"Shouldn't we tend to our wounds first?" Danilo asked, eyeing Arilyn's torn and bloodied shirt with concern.
She looked down at him with disbelief and disdain, assuming he referred to his finger. "You'll live," she said flatly. "Just be thankful you didn't try to draw the sword."
"Oh? What would have happened? And how do you keep it from doing that to you?" he asked as he rose to his feet.
Arilyn swore silently. No one had ever touched the moonblade without her permission. Why had she let her guard down now?
"Well?" he prompted.
"Night has fallen," she said in a tight voice. "You may have noticed that we are still in the Marsh of Chelimber. Would you rather ride out of here, or talk?"
"Can't we do both?"
"No."
The dandy gave a resigned shrug and mounted his horse. "I suppose we'll hunt for supper sometime soon?"
"Your turn to hunt." Arilyn pressed her heels to her horse's sides and headed westward out of Chelimber.
Danilo fell in beside her. He cocked his head and asked in a tentative voice, "Have you ever eaten lizard? I hear it tastes a little like chicken."
Thoroughly appalled, Arilyn twisted in her saddle to level an icy glare at the dandy. "If I thought you were serious, I'd leave you in the marsh."
"I'll hunt!" he said hastily. "Really!"
The pair rode in silence until they'd left the marsh behind. As the foul-smelling mists faded, the ground firmed beneath the horses' hooves. Stars began to twinkle, forming the autumn constellations that had been Arilyn's friends since childhood: Correlian, Esetar, and the Shard of Selune. Still far in the distance, a few trees formed dim silhouettes against the night sky. Trees, Arilyn thought with a silent sigh of relief. Trees were a sure sign that Chelimber was no more than a memory. Never had she been so glad to see trees. From deep within her elven soul welled a prayer of thanks, a silent song of welcome to the stars and the forest.
"I say," Danilo blurted out, "how far is it to Waterdeep?"
Arilyn's private joy evaporated like dew at highsun. "Too far."
Dark though the night was, Arilyn's elven vision took in the dandy's uncertain smile. "Have I been insulted, or is it just my imagination?"
"Yes."
"Yes, it's just my imagination?"
"No."
"Oh."
The exchange silenced Danilo. Arilyn urged her horse forward, intending to make camp at the stream that lay just beyond the far bank of trees.
They ate well that night, for a couple of plump rabbits inexplicably wandered into Danilo's snares. He swore roundly that skill, not magic, had been employed in the hunt. Arilyn did not believe him for a moment, but she was too tired and hungry to argue. Danilo even dressed and roasted the rabbits, seasoning them with the herbs and wine his magic sack yielded. The result was surprisingly good, and the travelers ate the greasy, savory meat in silence. Finally they slept, watched over by the vigilant magic of the moonblade. When daybreak came, Arilyn set their course for Waterdeep.
* * * * *
Sunrise colors still stained the sky when a large, shadowy figure slipped from his hiding place among the trees. He watched as the unlikely pair mounted and headed westward. To his way of thinking, with the High Moor to the south and the rugged Greypeak Mountains to the north, the half-elf had only one logical path to Waterdeep. She had surprised him before, of course, in choosing to brave the dangers of Chelimber.
The dark figure doubted that Arilyn Moonblade would take on the moor's trolls, or the orc tribes and black dragons that roamed the craggy Greypeak range. He'd followed and watched her since she'd left the Vale of