Silver Shadows - Elaine Cunningham [112]
But the mercenary captain was none too happy with the news that greeted him upon his arrival. Most of the members of his last war band had died in the forest, and his best archer had been stuck more times than a seamstress's pincushion. The expensive Halruaan wizard still lay abed, suffering from low spirits and unspecified injuries. Worse, Vhenlar had not managed to retrieve a single long-eared corpse for the priest to interrogate.
"Leave 'em or join 'em. That was the choice we had," Vhenlar informed his captain. "I say we leave 'em altogether-and forever-and let well enough alone."
"In due time," Bunlap informed him, staring moodily at the forest.
"What's to be gained from going on?" pressed Vhenlar. The logging operation is over. You got your money out of it and came away clean. What more do you want?"
"It's a personal matter-" the captain began.
But Vhenlar wasn't having any of that. "Not again! I've seen you plunge headfirst and neck-deep into trouble one time too many. I didn't spend four years dodging the Zhents just so I could live the rest of my years looking over my shoulder for vengeful elves. I've had a bellyful. Give me my pay, and I'm gone."
The captain shook his head, not even bothering to look at the angry archer. "Three more battles. That's all it should take. The first will be a minor skirmish. Then it's on to the logging camp. Old Hhune put a fair amount of money into it. That site is strategic and it's ours. We can even pick up the lumbering trade, once things cool down a bit, only there will be no need to split the proceeds with anyone else. You could retire a very, very rich man."
"I'm not going back into that forest," Vhenlar began.
"You won't have to. You can fight this one in your preferred fashion-from behind the parapets, shooting down at the attackers. For this you need not leave the safety of the fortress."
The archer considered this. "How are you going to arrange that?"
"We wait," Bunlap said simply. The elves will come to us, of that I am confident."
"Don't suppose you'd care to tell me why."
The mercenary captain fixed an icy glare on his longtime associate. 'Tou do remember the Harpers, do you not?"
Vhenlar groaned. The secret society known as the Harpers was devoted to thwarting the plans of the Zhentarim, curbing the ambitions of ruthless and powerful men, and just generally being a boil on the backside of any man out for a bit more than what the meddlers considered to be his fair share. "They're snooping into this mess?"
"Indeed. It is well that I returned to Zazesspur. Word is that a Harper agent bungled his cover and managed to slip out of the city just ahead of the local assassins. I asked around and learned there was yet another Harper in the city, at least until just recently. The elf woman who slipped right past our fortress with that clever little smoke screen is one of their more troublesome agents. You might even recall the name: Arilyn Moonblade?"
"Not the one they say snuck into Darkhold and killed old Cherbil Nimmtr?"
The same. She knows who I am and, if she meets up with the forest elves in time, they'll figure out between them that the source of their troubles lies behind these fortress walls."
"Oh, she's met up with them," Vhenlar retorted. "She's a gray elf, right? With a magic sword? Well, she was right there with the wild elves, telling 'em what to do. And they were listening, though never would I have believed it. But for her, they would have killed us all!"
"All the better. You can be certain that elven scouts followed you here. I expect they'll come calling in force anytime now. And that is where your skills with the bow come into play. Kill me a certain moon elЈ and you're free to go where you want," Bunlap concluded grimly.
The archer nodded, but in truth he had little faith in the other man's assurances. Nor could he muster a shred of enthusiasm for the coming battle. Having