The Dream Spheres - Elaine Cunningham [43]
"Don't you?"
"I fail to see how this fits any definition of service to the elven people."
"Maybe not." She shrugged. "Nonetheless, one way or another I might not have a choice."
He gave her a keen look. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"No." She began to pace, picking her way through the clutter. "I can't make sense of this. At first I assumed that the tren attack at the Gemstone Ball was directed against Elaith. But I was there first, and then the same tren showed up at my lodging house. It is possible that second attack was the tren's vendetta-I killed a couple of his clan, I wounded him-but it's also possible that I, not Elaith, was his original target." She blew out a long breath. "There's another possibility. As you pointed out, the markings that led us here to this tower room seemed a little too convenient."
Danilo looked puzzled, so Arilyn reluctantly continued. "It's well known that some assassins occasionally work with tren. The tren provide muscle as well as a means of disposing of the body. You know my reputation. Some people might ask why I just happened to be the first one on hand after a tren attack. The Eltorchul clan is going to want to know the answer to that."
His face clouded. "Surely you have left those rumors behind at last! I have not heard anyone speak of you as an assassin for years."
"Nor would you," she retorted. "Yet I don't imagine that even now your peers are eager to accept me into their midst!"
"Only because you're half-elven," he said heatedly. A look of utter mortification crossed his face as he realized what he had said.
Arilyn quickly turned away, before any reaction of hers could add to Dan's regret. She understood the implications of their friendship in the young nobleman's world, probably far better than he did. To forestall any further discussion, she began kicking at the debris with more force and fervor than the task required.
After the first moments, Arilyn became genuinely absorbed by the puzzle before her. She began to circle the octagonal room, studying the chaos in search of some small pattern.
The wizard's tables had been overturned, and shards of pottery lay scattered on the floor along with a variety of weird spell components that Arilyn could not begin to name. Oddly enough, none of the shelves had been disturbed by the struggle, as if the mage had deliberately avoided damaging any of the contents. That seemed to fly against logic, but Arilyn had heard of people who protected their possessions more fiercely than their own lives.
"What is the worth of all that?" she asked, pointing to the orderly shelves.
Danilo's gaze swept across the rows of glass and silver bottles, carved wooden boxes, and carefully stacked scrolls. "Almost beyond estimation," he admitted. "This is a most impressive study."
"Worth dying for?"
"I wouldn't say so. Oth might have. I see your point, though. This was an unusual struggle. Another thing puzzles me: there is far less blood than one might expect."
"Not unusual for tren attacks," Arilyn corrected. "They're… tidy. They also feed with astonishing speed. On the other hand, it is possible that Oth died elsewhere and that his hand was left here for someone to find."
"That someone being you." Danilo frowned. "I am finding more to dislike about this situation by the moment, but we cannot dismiss the possibility that Elaith was the target of the first tren attack. Perhaps we should see what he knows."
Arilyn had no desire to seek out the rogue elf, but she could see the sense in that. She nodded toward the one door that led out of the room and drew her sword. "The tren is long gone, but we might not be able to leave this place without meeting opposition."
"One moment." He took a carved wooden box from the shelf, emptied the dried herbs it contained onto the floor, and then, to her astonishment, pushed the disembodied hand into it. He carefully fastened the clasp and then tucked the box under one arm.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"It is better that I turn this matter over to the Watch than you," he explained. "After