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.Sometime I must show you the old portrait of your ancestor, Renwick Caradoon.You are enough like him to be his son, perhaps even his twin.I saw the resemblance instantly when you were brought to Zhentil Keep for testing as a lad, and I made a point to look into your history.Tracing your path was no easy thing, I assure you.Years passed before I was convinced that you were indeed the child stolen from the Jundar’s Vale and lost by the Zhentish soldiers who took you.”Dag listened carefully, but habit prompted him to study the path ahead, the seemingly endless stretch of hard-packed dirt shaded and scented by the stand of giant cedars growing on the eastern side.He absently signaled to his captain and pointed to the trees, thus indicating the need for additional vigilance.The man saluted and sent a pair of men off into the trees to scout ahead for possible ambush.“You have grown quite practiced in the art of command,” Malchior observed.“Perhaps there is something of Hronulf of Tyr in you, after all.”Dag’s eyes narrowed.His first impulse was to believe the remark a deliberate taunt.Then, upon consideration, he realized that Malchior had at last given him the answer to his question—albeit in the roundabout manner that the priest favored.“And that is why you sought me out,” Dag summarized bluntly.“There is power in the bloodline of Samular,” the priest agreed, “as I have said before.”“Then why not Hronulf himself?”Malchior scoffed.“I would have a better chance of turning the tide itself than bending a man such as Hronulf Caradoon to my purpose.No, the only way to deal with a noble paladin is the manner that you chose—and no doubt executed yourself.”Dag stiffened.“I did not mention Hronulf’s fate.”“You did not have to.I trained you well, and we both know that only fools leave the destruction of an enemy to even a trusted underling.The important thing now is that Hronulf’s power will be yours.When you discover what that is, and how to use it, then I trust that your gain wili also be mine.”“You are a trusting man,” Dag said with heavy.“I suppose that is why you also seek my sister.You are, perhaps, placing bets on more than one horse?”Malchior laughed heartily, slapping one fleshy thigh with his hand.“Alas, betting upon racing horses is one vice I have not yet had occasion to develop.But you are astute.I would like to have this woman under the influence of the Zhentarim.Yours, mine—it makes no real difference.Are we not like father and son?”An interesting comparison, Dag thought wryly, considering the history of betrayals that lay between him and his blood father.But Dag carefully considered the older priest’s words, reading between and behind them for the true meaning.Perhaps his first conclusion was off the mark.Perhaps Malchior did not need him or Bronwyn.Perhaps he needed them both.The family rings.There were two of them, that he knew of.One was on his daughter’s hand, the other most likely in his sister’s possession.But the inscription on the ring he found in his ruined village indicated that there were three and that when they came together, “evil would tremble.”The third ring, then.Three rings, in the hands of three of Samular’s descendants.That had to be what Malchior wanted.Dag’s jaw clenched, and again he turned his eyes to the road ahead.No, he certainly could not rely on the Zhentarim to help him find what he had lost.Sir Gareth, for all his limitations, was Dag’s best recourse.Two days’ travel, and then he would confront his paladin “ally” face to face.There was grave danger in this, of course.If the paladins under Sir Gareth’s command recognized the ring on the little girl’s hand, Dag might be hard pressed to get her back.“And your sister? Have your men found any sign of her yet?”Dag lifted a hand to his lips to hide his knowing smile.Yes, Malchior seemed very interested in finding Bronwyn.“As of this morning, no.But, sooner or later, she will return to her place of business in the city, and I shall find her there.There is no real harm in the delay.I shall have my little family reunion in due time.”He turned a bland expression toward his former mentor, carefully studying his reaction to these words.But the priest’s face gave away nothing.“I’m sure you are right.Now, on to more practical matters.We have been on the road for hours.Surely we should break for the midday meal.”Dag glanced toward the east.The sun was barely visible over the tall cedars.Highsun was at least two hours away.He suppressed a sigh and gestured for his quartermaster’s attention.The trip to Waterdeep, it seemed, would take considerably longer than Dag had anticipated.* * * * *Ebenezer Stoneshaft had never been so thoroughly and completely miserable in his nearly two centuries of life.He slumped on the deck of the ship, his back against a barrel and his eyes fixed with determination on the sky—rather than on the heaving waves beneath.Every jolt and roll of the ship sent shivers of atavistic terror through him.How humans and elves put up with sea travel, he would never know.The feeling was too much like that of the first shivers of an earthquake, that unpredictable and devastating force that was every dwarf’s deepest fear.Being on a ship was a constant, terror-filled waiting for the damn quake to start.The rolling motion, and the unrelieved state of expectant dread, kept the dwarf’s belly in turmoil.Ever since they’d left that cesspool of a port in this floating excuse for a coffin, Ebenezer hadn’t been able to keep much down.Not that he’d stopped trying.When Bronwyn found him, he was doggedly spooning up salty chowder.She crouched beside him.“The ship’s food is terrible,” she commiserated.“Aye,” he agreed sourly, regarding the small bowl is his hands.“And the portions are pretty damn skimpy.”For some reason she found this amusing, but she sobered quickly as she sat down beside him.“We’re making good progress.Captain Orwig was able to bribe the Gate Keepers in Skullport and learn where they sent the ship we’re seeking.Ebenezer nodded.He remembered all too well the trip up from the subterranean port through a series of magical locks.“How much longer, do you figure?”“This caravel is fast and light.The ship we’re chasing is single-masted, with a deep hold for cargo.It was fully loaded.According to the captain, if we keep to the course the Keepers gave us, we should outrun it soon.If not today, then surely tomorrow.”“Good,” the dwarf said stoutly [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]