Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [68]
And so Vestress w~aited calmly until the water wraith's glee wound down, and then she laid out to iskor the terms meant to entice an Underdark drow to travel to the realm of the Kraken.
Xzorsh pursued the Elfmaid with all possible haste, for he was eager to rid himself of the grisly trophy in his bag. He was also concerned by the sudden appearance of the merrow, for he suspected those four might be part of a larger band. He had his duty to Hrolf; but he also wished to return to the ranger outpost to see what had become of Sittl. The promised reinforcements had not arrived, and Xzorsh feared for this friend's safety.
it was night when the sea elf found the ship. The drow girl stood alone at the rail, gazing out over the water as if deep in thought. But Xzorsh did not doubt that she was watching for him, or that she knew he was near-drow eyes were reputed to be even sharper than those of the sea folk. She gave no indication that she saw him, but she stretched languidly and dropped her cloak to the deck, then spun away and began to dance in the moonlight.
Never had Xzorsh seen anything so entrancing as the drow's graceful, lyric movements, and he gazed at her with wonderment. Many moments passed before he realized that he was not the only one so affected: the eyes of every sailor still on duty were fixed upon the elf. Suddenly it occurred to him that Liriel's dance had taken her-and the attention of the crew-to the far side of the ship. Xzorsh understood that she wished to keep their meeting a secret. As stealthily as possible, he crept aboard ship and eagerly donned the glittering cloak she had left there for him. He knew it was a cloak of invisibility, but this knowledge did not fully prepare him for the experience of wearing it. It was odd, unnerving, to look down at his feet and see nothing but the small, wet prints he left on the deck. Wonderingly, Xzorsh held his webbed hand at eye level and spread the fingers wide. Nothing. He grinned, glad the drow could not see his antics.
Liriel concluded her dance with a whirling leap, falling to her knees with her head flung back and her hands outstretched toward the moon. She held the position for a moment as her long white hair swirled around her like a storm-tossed cloud. Then, with an abrupt change of mood, the drow stood and nonchalantly smoothed her wild locks back into place as she bade a good-night to the openmouthed young sailor who stood watch. Xzorsh, still grinning with delight, followed the drow down into the hold and into Hrolf's cabin. She shut and bolted the door, then tumed to him and held out a hand for her piwafwi.
"All this time you could see me?" he asked with a touch of embarrassment.
Liriellifted one snowy brow. "You're standing in a puddle," she pointed out.
"Oh." Both relieved and chagrinned, the sea elf shrugged off the borrowed cloak, then handed over the bag. He knelt near the cot and watched, fascinated, as the drow went to work. She spread a small mat on the cot and sprinkled it with some dried, spicy-smelling herbs. On this she dumped the contents of the bag. After sharply bidding Xzorshto keep his distance and hold his tongue, she closed her eyes and began a soft and rhythmic chanting. Her dark form swayed. One ofher hands clasped the engraved black jewel that she wore as a pendant, the other entwined fingers with the severed hand in a grotesque parody of a lovers' handclasp.
Then, to his astonishment, Xzorsh felt the magic in the room-a strange, cold tingling that made the thin air almost as alive and expressive as water. He felt it flow toward the drow, and