Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [106]
Even more astounding was the news that the beleaguered ship had simply disappeared. Xzorsh suspected the drow girl's magic was behind this, and he was eager to know the truth of the matter. His curiosity, however, was but one of his motivations. He had his pledge to Hrolf to consider.
And therein lay the dilemma. Xzorsh had not seen Sittl since the day the Elfmaid had been attacked by three warships, and then later by the band of merrow. The reinforcements Sittl had promised to send had not appeared. Nor had any ofXzorsh's inquiries yielded information on Sittl's whereabouts. Not even the Relay had news of the missing sea elf. Xzorsh was worried about his partner, fearing mightily that the other ranger might have fallen foul of the sea ogres. With two friends in trouble, which was Xzorsh to seek out?
After much deliberation, the ranger set out for the west, heading for the remote cluster of islets where he had delivered the surviving seal hunters. Beneath these islands, in vast water-filled cavems, was hidden a sea-elven city. The coral catacombs in which they entombed their dead were in the open seas nearby. Xzorsh hoped Sittl might have made his way there, perhaps to moum his slain lover and child. The ranger believed he might find his friend there. Not coincidentally, the islands also lay along the shortest route to Ruathym.
With all possible speed, Xzorsh set out for the nearest island in the tiny archipelago. Here, in a rock formation hidden in a sheltered cove, he and Sittl often left messages for each other that were too sensitive to trust to the open Relay. There was nothing, and he cast his eyes toward the sky in a gesture of frustration that he'd learned from his human charges. To his astonishment, a familiar ovoid shape floated overhead: the skiff that had brought the marooned Waterdhavians to the island!
The sea elf swam for the light and waded quickly ashore. Not far from the water's edge, three men were huddled around a small fire. One of them, a tall man whose haggard, sunbumed face was nearly the same shade of weathered reddish-brown as his hair, rose when the ranger approached and faced him down.
"Lord Caladom," Xzorsh murmured. "i had no idea you and your men would still be here!"
"Only three of us remain," the young lord said coldly.
"The others have died waiting for the merfolk ofWaterdeep harbor to inform the city of our survival. Or did you even so much as try to send word?"
Xzorsh nodded, but his worry increased fourfold. Sittl was supposed to have handled this matter. "My deepest regrets, Lord Caladom, but you must believe me when i tell you that the Sea People did not forget you! Something has gone very wrong; i fear for the safety of my messenger. But i myself will find a ship to retum you to the mainland," he promised. "Ruathym is the nearest land. I should be able to reach the island in a few days. Sooner, with the help of sea creatures who are even faster than i."
The man's ravaged, accusing visage softened. "i thank you for this, but i know of the Northmen's hatred of elves. Even for the chance to see Waterdeep again, i would not have you put yourself at risk."
"Do not fear for me; there is no need," Xzorsh said simply. "Are you so certain of this? The barrels holding your slain kindred were of Ruathen make."
"That may be so, but none of it was Captain HrolPs doing. Yet i thank you for your warnings." The sea elf paused, and a smile lit his thin, intense face. "You are much akin, you and Hrolf. Both of you possess a degree of honor that-forgive me-is rare among humankind. You may trust in him, and in me."
Caladorn was silent for a moment; then he extended his hand to Xzorsh as to a comrade. "Then we will await your return."
The sea elf nodded acceptance of the man's trust, but waved aside the offered handclasp. "i cannot," he said with a wistful smile, holding up his own hand and spreading the fmgers wide so Caladom could see the webbing between. Then he turned and dove once again beneath the waves.
As he swam rapidly toward the