Thornhold: Song & Swords, Book 4 by Elaine Cunningham

Author:Elaine Cunningham [Cunningham, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780786961924
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Publishing
Published: 2011-12-27T00:00:00+00:00

Nine

By dawn the following day, Dag Zoreth’s horse and guard stood ready for the journey south. He was not pleased, therefore, when one of Malchior’s servants came down to the gate to bid Dag to await his guest, who wished to accompany him.

An hour and more passed while the older priest lingered at breakfast and carefully supervised the packing of Hronulf’s lore books into his bags. That accomplished, the members of the party mounted and began to wind their way down the hillside to the High Road.

The size of the group worried Dag. Although none of the guards wore the symbols of Darkhold, and neither of the priests their vestments, the addition of Malchior and his score of attendants made them more suspicious and more subject to scrutiny. A group of two score armed men arriving at the gates of Waterdeep might attract too much attention and too close an examination into Dag’s affairs.

He had worries enough without the close attention of Waterdeep’s officials, both overt and secret. The city was a veritable nest of Harper activity, and the secret lords of the city were nearly as intrusive and pervasive as the Harpers. The inquiries Dag needed to make in the city were extremely sensitive, and he could use none of his usual Zhentilar informers. If Malchior discovered that Dag had a daughter, and that he had kept the girl’s existence secret for over eight years, there would certainly be trouble.

And there was always the possibility that Malchior did know and that the girl’s disappearance had been the work of the Zhentarim. Dag had reason to know that the society he served used such methods.

He cast a sidelong glance at Malchior. The fat priest rode like a sack of grain, but his face showed no sign of the discomfort his body must have been experiencing. He caught Dag’s eye.

“You have met Sir Gareth. Are you finding that liaison useful?” Malchior asked pleasantly.

Dag considered his words carefully; after all, he intended to use the paladin to find his missing sister and his stolen child. “He managed to get Bronwyn to Thornhold. He handled the disposition of some newly acquired … cargo for me. In short, he seems able enough. I would hesitate to trust him too far, however, as he demonstrates a remarkable capacity for self-deception. I have no doubt he could justify any treachery.”

“Well said,” Malchior agreed. “That is always the risk of any agent, is it not? A man who is willing to betray his comrades at arms is not likely to show absolute loyalty to the men who bought him.”

This presented as good an opening as Dag ever expected. “You presented Sir Gareth as an ambitious man, jealous of Hronulf’s fame and lineage. That I can readily accept, but how did the Zhentarim hope to profit from the raid on Hronulf’s village, and what do you personally intend to gain by pointing me toward my heritage?”

Malchior cast a glance around to ensure that the guards were beyond earshot. “The answer to your first question is easy enough.

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