Naglatha came back to the table and Tazi knew she was enjoying the little game. She stood next to Tazi and unceremoniously dumped her worn sack onto the table with a dull, heavy thud. She then resumed her seat and, with bended elbows, rested her chin on her hands.
"Enough of the cat and mouse," she brusquely informed Tazi. "I can see on your face that you realize I want something from you; that much is obvious. I have been looking for the right person for some time now, and fate has conspired to cross our paths. You are that person. Of that I am most certain now.
"This is an important task that is not without risk," she continued, and Tazi crossed her arms expectantly.
"Nevertheless, as the risk is great, the reward is commensurate to it."
"Well, I would certainly hope so," Tazi quipped. "But what could you possibly have to offer me that would be of the slightest interest?"
"Simply put, I can give you your freedom," Naglatha offered.
"I can take that for myself," Tazi said with deadly seriousness. Naglatha chose to ignore the tone of her voice.
"No… no, you can't. And I know the magistrate explained that portion of Thayan law to you most carefully," she responded in a motherly tone of rebuke.
"Then you have no offer to make," Tazi rebutted.
"Oh, but I most assuredly do," she promised. "I have means at my disposal, too complicated to explain right now, to accomplish the impossible task. Let me just put it this way," she told Tazi and leaned back in her chair, "I have the means to 'erase' your name from the ledgers. To, in fact, strike out the entire incident as though it never happened. No crime, no record, no punishment. You will be completely free under Thayan law.
"And," she motioned to the worn sack in front of Tazi, "you can even take your crimson gold with you. Though, I have to admit, it has some interesting properties I am not completely familiar with. Even still, it is yours once more."
Tazi's eyes flickered to the sack for a moment before returning to meet Naglatha's penetrating stare.
"Now," she told Tazi, "you may be thinking as you sit there so comfortably, that you don't need this offer. You may believe that you will find a way to escape on your own." She paused to lean forward a touch. "You may be right. You are a resourceful woman, and I actually have no doubt you could escape. If you couldn't accomplish that simple feat, you'd be no good to me."
"Since you know I will," Tazi promised her, "why bother with the pretense of this offer?"
Naglatha smiled and slowly rose to her feet. She moved gracefully around the table to stand behind Tazi. Tazi could feel Naglatha place her hands on her shoulders with a strong grip and lean down toward her right ear.
"For the simple fact that if you betray me, Thazienne Uskevren, or run away, or even refuse me, you will pay most dearly. You forget, I know where it is that you call home. Don't doubt the extent of my reach. I can always find your family." She released Tazi's shoulders and walked around the table to stand opposite her.
"You have lost one parent, and I know how heartbreaking that can be. Would you care to try for two?"
Tazi lost control of her restraint at the veiled threat to her mother and jumped to her feet, knocking over the small table as she did so. Everything tumbled to the floor with a clatter. Amidst the shinning shards of the now-broken goblets, the red gold spilled out like glowing coals. Before Tazi could make another move, Naglatha's bodyguards grabbed her. She didn't struggle, though Milos^wisted her arms behind her back and held her while Heraclos moved to flank Naglatha. Tazi knew this was not the place.
"I can see I've struck a nerve," Naglatha said in a voice that Tazi realized was only mock apology. "My intent was only to stress a point, no more than that. I am generous by nature, so I will give you the entire night to think on what I've said. With a good night's rest, I'm very certain you will come to the right decision. You may rejoin your mysterious companion now."
Without waiting for a response from Tazi, Naglatha waved her hand to Milos, and their interview was over. As Milos led her from the chamber, Tazi could hear Naglatha ordering Heraclos.
"Clean this clutter up before I cut my feet on something," she snapped at the remaining guard in a much harsher tone than she had reserved for Tazi.
"Yes, milady," Tazi heard Heraclos acquiesce.
While she marched down the hallway to her room, Tazi's mind raced, trying to weigh her options. Either she did this woman's bidding or let her family face some nameless threat. With a dread certainty, she came to the conclusion that she really had no choice at all.
CHAPTER SIX
22 and 23 Mirtul, 1373 DR
Tazi sat in shocked silence. She let her hands rest on her knees, and she looked at the nearby wall with a blank expression on her face. Her mind, though, was far from blank, as she turned over the recent events in her head. Her brain was like a dog worrying a bone; she kept playing the words over again and again, trying to make sense of them, looking at them from every angle. Tazi wasn't even aware of the close scrutiny her sullen companion gave her.
"What is it?" demanded the duergar. It was first time he had had spoken to her since they had been taken from the auction square. Tazi barely heard him.
"Hmm…" she vaguely replied.
"What do they want?" he asked her again.
The dwarf was standing only a few feet from her. She suspected he had also taken advantage of the bath water as even his gray skin looked less grimy. Tazi also detected the faintest whiff of the sandalwood soap. Nothing could be done for his dirty pants and tunic, though the drab colors of the material muted the stains. She looked closely at him, taking his measure, and she weighed her options carefully. She decided to risk a chance and take the duergar into her confidence.
"What's your name?" she asked him. Tazi could see he was surprised by her question.
"Why?" he countered.
"Because I'd like to call you something besides 'dwarf,'" she snapped. "And because it looks like we're stuck in this together, that's why."
"Justikar Stoneblood," he eventually told her, and Tazi thought fleetingly that he might be lying.
"Good," she replied. "I'm Tazi."
He looked at her. "I know. You announce yourself everywhere we go. How could I miss it?" he quipped and finally demanded, "Now what is it? " Tazi motioned for him to draw up a chair, but Justikar shook his head in refusal, signaling he preferred to stand.
"Have it your way," she said. "I've met our new owner. It turns out that this woman is someone who has ties to my homeland. In a roundabout sort of way, I know her. Or, to be more precise, I knew of her." Tazi paused to see Justikar's reaction. He barely batted an eye. "She has been posing as a curio merchant in my city, but she is much more than that. She alluded to the fact that she works for the Red Wizards as some kind of recruiter." Tazi saw that the duergar was unmoved at the mention of Naglatha's employers.
"As you've already guessed, I'm sure, she wants me to acquire something for her. But, I don't know what it is. Naglatha's given me the night to consider my options. If I accept, she has promised to repay me by granting me my freedom and returning my gold to me."
"And if you refuse?" Justikar asked with a grim expression.
"My continued servitude was implied," Tazi explained. She hesitated to say anything else, but the dwarf's unmoved expression prompted her to tell him more. "And harm to my family was more than implied." Tazi watched the dwarf's face to see if her words had had any effect on him.