Rise of the Blade - Charles Moffat [30]
Thus, the seer also saw much more. The young woman looked to be in her late twenties, still beautiful and yet with a cold calculating intelligence that shone in her eyes. Her bandanna covered her black hair and framed her pale face. She was somewhat short and light of limb, a combination that provided an uncanny grace despite an obvious strength as she lifted a huge tankard and sipped.
Any other woman her size would have had a trembling arm when lifting it, but no, she lifted it with ease and drank until it was empty. While she drank, Pierce interrupted Durnan. "Who is that woman?"
The Harper looked at her and back at Pierce. "A bard who frequents here, occasionally going below into the Underdark. Her name is Elfrida the Eager."
"Talk about a name," the warrior snorted. He smiled inwardly at the jest of the inn's name "Yawning Portal", which actually made reference to a well dug in the back of the inn which, for a price, was a quick route to reach the Underdark. The reason he smiled now was not because of the Underdark reference, but the fact that the tavern felt quite sleepy at the moment. He feigned a yawn.
"Not something I'd call my daughter," Durnan agreed and took a drink of white wine. He eyed Pierce, recalling rumours of the warriors prowess with women in his youth.
The Doctor tried to ignore Durnan's thoughts but they plagued him without mercy. Fourteen years ago he would have been up at the bar seducing every woman with long legs. He had been a handsome young buck back then, full of charm and stamina. Now it was all stamina and the charm had dwindled away into small wrinkles and grey hairs.
"Whats up with Lady Nicole?" Durnan asked abruptly.
Pierce's concentration fled and he turned to face the Harper. Nicole was a noble lady who he had frequent exchanges with whenever he mingled with the wealthy. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I haven't seen you two together for quite some time now. Last time you two were together was the derby right?" Durnan seemed to think that Pierce and Nicole would make a perfect couple. Pierce was renowned for his ability with a horse and Nicole was equally good. They also had similar tastes in clothes and antiques and the facts, as far as Durnan was concerned, was that they were made for each other.
"Yes, but I don't go out of my way to see her. I scarcely know her."
"So? With things died down so much lately maybe its time you got to know her?"
Any fool should have seen this coming.
Valeska watched Doctor Pierce leave from her stool at the bar. She sipped from her tankard slowly and wondered if the veteran Harper would ever catch up with her. Probably not. He didn't seem to particularly care about her plight and she didn't particularly care about his. Turning back to the bar, she went back to writing on a scrap of paper.
The problem with writing her poetry in common and also in drow was that the translations never rhymed. Some words simply couldn't be translated either. The words in the drow tongue didn't exist or the words in common didn't. It was a very frustrating process, but the drow bard was up to the challenge.
She sipped from her tankard and glanced about the Yawning Portal. Where else but smack dab in front of the Harpers' noses could she hide so effectively? To them she was simply another adventurer trying to make a living on the road. With a name like Elfrida the Eager, people tended to ignore her.
Chapter 5
Perhaps it was a sense of loneliness that drove the Harper towards the Academy's horse stables in the north west corner of the Academy, seeking an old friend. True, Bartholomew was just a horse, and not even a good one, but he had spirit that never failed to intrigue the Doctor. Whatever it was that made Bartholomew special, he was a damn fine warhorse.
Upon opening the doors to the stall he was greeted by a mean-tempered black stallion that pushed Pierce backwards. It took several large steps forward with prancing