Elfsong - Elaine Cunningham [109]
"So is sword practice. We can talk while we work."
With a sigh, Danilo did as he was bid. Ideally, he preferred not to break bad news to an armed man. Yet he had little time to spare with arguments, and Caladorn was adamant. The Harper drew his sword and mirrored his friend's salute, then blocked the first ringing blow. He retreated and then feinted to the left. Caladorn blocked easily and riposted.
"The Knights of the Shield are active in Waterdeep," Danilo began as he blocked.
Caladorn chuckled and made a flamboyant advance, his right foot stamping. He danced back before the Harper could retreat "And how would a bard know of such things? Oh, yes, I know of your rapidly growing fame. You are planning a new ballad about these infamous spies, is that it'?"
"Not immediately, no." Dan again blocked, riposted, retreated. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll be blunt. Lady Thione is one of their agents."
Caladorn's face darkened, and for a moment he lowered his sword. "You're right, lad, you don't know how to tell me anything of the sort."
The Harper brought his sword up in time to fend off a high, downward strike. "She paid my associate with a coin bearing the Knights' mark."
"So? It was passed to her!"
"By whom?"
"How would I know!" Caladorn slammed his sword back into its scabbard and folded his arms.
"I can tell you that," Danilo said softly as he sheathed his own blade. "Lord Hhune, a guildmaster of Tethyr and an agent of the Knights, is now here in Waterdeep, working to establish guilds for thieves and assassins."
"So? This has nothing to do with Lucia! She is a merchant and she has done business with Hhune in the past. He must have given the coin to her during a business transaction. She probably never knew she had it!"
"For your sake, I hope you're right. It's interesting, though, that one of Lucia Thione's servants paid for a performance at the Three Pearls theater, using some of Hhune's marked coins."
Caladorn's face went very still.
"I'm sorry about this, my friend, but can you afford to dismiss all suspicion?"
The fighter shook his head in astonishment "Why are you doing this, Dan? What could you possibly know of such matters?"
"I'm a Harper, Caladorn. It's my job to know what's going on."
The young lord's laughter was harsh. "I'm still trying to absorb the concept of your bardhood! Don't stretch my credulity to the breaking point."
"Nevertheless, all I've told you is true."
"I'll not hear another word against Lucia." Caladorn glared at the younger man, controlling himself with visible effort. At long last he whirled and stalked away, leaving Danilo standing alone in the middle of the arena.
"Well," the Harper said wryly, "that went better than I expected. Things could be worse."
His words were met by a boom of thunder. Dark purple clouds began to gather over the Field of Triumph, and a flash of lightning ripped across the livid sky.
"You'd think I'd learn not to say things like that" Danilo muttered to himself as he sprinted through the first streaks of rain.
*****
After Danilo left Blackstaff Tower, Khelben Arunsun strode quickly through the underground passages that led to Piergeiron's palace. The unmasked Lord commanded the combined forces of the guard and the watch, and his command would be needed to arrest important persons such as Hhune and Lady Thione.
Hhune's presence in Waterdeep had been noted, and he would have been carefully watched under any circumstances. As a guildmaster, Hhune was a powerful force in Tethyr. This made his connection with the Knights of the Shield all the more disturbing, for it combined two powers hostile to Waterdeep and to her Lords. But he was also a wealthy, traveling merchant, and these were always welcome in Waterdeep. By rescinding this welcome, Piergeiron risked endangering trade between Waterdeep and Tethyr. It was a delicate matter, and no decision that the First Lord made would be entirely correct.
Khelben's entrance to the palace was hidden in a small anteroom. He strode quickly through the halls toward the council room,