Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [16]
Despite its notoriety, Shadowdale was a small town, but the Tower of Ashaba was a massive and impressive structure nonetheless. It served as a home to not only the Lord of Shadowdale and his family, but also to most of his court and household staff, not to mention numerous adventurers friendly to his lordship.
Mourngrym had invited Alias to winter there, but Alias could only think of the tower as Nameless's prison, and she had declined. She wouldn't have accepted at any rate. As much as she liked Mourngrym, becoming his guest would have meant giving up some of her independence. She felt more comfortable paying Jhaele for a room at the inn.
As they passed Elminster's tower, Akabar glanced sidelong at Alias. She looked nervous. Having already swallowed his anger at her earlier behavior, the mage was determined to reestablish their friendship. He began with what northerners called "small talk."
"Have you heard anything of Mistress Olive Ruskettle since she took her leave of us in Westgate?" the Turmishman asked.
Alias looked at Akabar and grinned. Olive, at least, was something the two of them had always agreed upon. The halfling thief had attached herself without invitation to their adventuring party the previous year, only to make a tremendous nuisance of herself, betraying them to Alias's enemies and only at the last moment helping to rescue them from fates worse than death. Olive hadn't actually taken her leave of them at the end of their adventure. She'd left in the middle of the night with a good deal more than her share of the treasure they'd taken from the sorceress Cassana's dungeon. To the halfling's credit, she at least left them all the gold and silver coin, preferring the more portable gemstones and jewelry for herself.
"I believe she's in Cormyr," Alias said. "Travelers who have passed through there speak of a halfling bard who sings some of the best songs they've ever heard and who claims to have been the mastermind behind the destruction of the Fire Knives assassin guild, the Darkbringer, a red dragon, a lich, an evil sorceress, and a fiend from Tarterus. She was aided, naturally, by her faithful assistants, an anonymous southern mage, a little-known northern sell-sword, and a mysterious lizardman."
"That sounds like our Olive Ruskettle, all right," Akabar agreed.
"I almost wish she were here now," Alias said. "If anyone was able to talk her way around this Harper tribunal, it would be Olive."
Akabar chuckled, "Remember the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for.'" He sensed the nervousness in her voice, and made an effort to reassure her. "Alias, Elminster is speaking on Nameless's behalf. The Harpers will be influenced by the sage's wisdom. Even if they are not, the Harpers are good people, They couldn't be so cruel as to return Nameless to exile after what he has suffered.
They may not forgive him, but they will realize that isolating him serves no further purpose. Don't worry."
"I can't help it," Alias replied in barely more than a whisper. "I know what you say is true, but I have this tremendous foreboding that something awful is going to happen to Nameless, that someone wishes him harm."
The mage shuddered inwardly at the woman's words. Alias had rejected so fiercely his quest to destroy Moander that Akabar had been reluctant to tell her any more about his dreams. She would learn soon enough, though, that he was not the only one chosen to battle the evil god. Nameless, too, was destined to be caught up in the final confrontation with the Darkbringer.
3
The Beast
While page Heth was fetching Alias, the Harper tribunal continued to discuss the matter of the Nameless Bard.
"Even if this Alias is the paragon you say, Elminster," Morala said to the sage,
"her existence does not mitigate the bard's initial