“Strangers. Yeah, that’s part of the attraction, I suppose. But look at the way that fellow is staring at Dhamon.” Rig pointed to a dark-clad man who hadn’t touched his mug of ale.
“You’re imagining things. Besides, you’re staring at Dhamon, too. He’s a striking man.” Fiona finished the last of her honey bread. “At least Dhamon has been cured of the Red’s influence.”
“Cured,” Rig chuckled, as he took Fiona’s hands. His eyes still rested on Dhamon. “Being a dragon’s pawn isn’t a disease. How are you cured of it?”
“You must give him a chance,” she returned. The young Solamnic reached her fingers to his face, turned it to meet her gaze. “Dhamon didn’t have to involve himself in this, you know. He didn’t have to come here with Usha and Blister. He could have gone his own way.”
“If Gilthanas would’ve let him—which I doubt. Who knows? That wouldn’t have been so bad, would it?” Rig snapped. “We don’t need him.” His expression softened as he stared into Fiona’s eyes. “And what about you? After we get the crown will you be going your own way, back to your order?”
“There will still be the dragons to deal with. There will be Takhisis.”
“And then?”
She smiled. “You could come back with me. You’d be welcomed in the Solamnic knights, Rig Mer-Krel. You’re an honorable man.”
He cringed at the word “honorable.” “I always considered myself a rogue.”
“An honorable rogue then.” She leaned over the table and kissed him. “Would you consider it?”
“Me, a knight?” Rig released her hands, brought his fingers up to touch her smooth cheek. “I don’t think so, Fiona. All that armor—it’s just not me.”
“Think about it,” she insisted.
Dhamon was watching Feril, outwardly oblivious to Blister’s continuing questions about where he’d been since Schallsea, what the dragon had made him do, and what it was like to have a dragon in control of your body, forcing you to do things you didn’t want to do. The Kagonesti glanced Dhamon’s way, then quickly returned to studying a whorl in the tabletop. Groller offered Dhamon a sympathetic smile.
“Feril needs time,” Blister said. “I’m sure everything will be back to normal in a little while. She’s just gotta get used to you again, you know. Maybe if your hair was blond and you were wearing something that wasn’t black and gray. Besides—”
“Blister!” Jasper’s stern gaze stopped the kender’s prattle.
For a moment. “Feril just needs time,” Blister repeated.
“And we need a ship,” Dhamon said. He took a long swallow from his mug of cider and leaned back in his chair.
“I don’t think the Knights of Takhisis are going to let us rent one of theirs,” Jasper said. “No matter how much steel we offer.” The dwarf stuffed the last of his roast beef into his mouth, then waved for dessert. “We’d better find another city with a port.”
“It’s Ak-Khurman or nothing,” Usha said. “Palin believes Takhisis’s arrival will happen within the next two months. It would take us too long to travel somewhere else.”
“So we go wait for Takhisis without the crown,” Jasper said.
“No. We’ve come to far to give up on that,” said Fiona. The Solamnic knight had walked over and was leaning over Dhamon’s shoulder.
“So let’s steal a ship,” Rig said, joining them.
Blister beamed. “A great idea. The Knights of Takhisis have so many out there anyway, they’re not going to miss one little boat.”
“A big boat,” Rig corrected. “We need a ship where we’re going.”
“When do we steal it?” Blister’s tone grew more excited. “I’ve never stolen a boat before. Sounds like it’ll be exciting. And then we can use Usha’s steel to buy you and Feril and Jasper and Fury some clothes. Fiona, too, in case she wants to wear something instead of armor. Maybe another new dress for me. We’ll save money by stealing a boat... er, ship. With what we save, we can buy new clothes and...” She wrinkled her nose at what was left of Rig’s attire, and waggled her fingers toward Jasper, Groller, and Feril. “Clothes for everybody. Baths, too. So, anyway, when are we gonna do all this?”
“Tonight. Just before dawn.” Rig lowered his voice. “When it’s real dark.” The mariner caught the dwarf and half-ogre looking at him and made a few gestures with his hands and fingers in the silent language Groller had taught him.
“Anyone figure out why they’re blockading the harbor?” the kender asked.
Fiona shook her head. “The barkeep says the knights haven’t given anyone a clue. They won’t even talk to the city officials. They just came in force almost a month ago and destroyed the ships along the docks. They even wrecked the fishing boats and killed a couple of the captains who protested and the Legion of Steel knights who tried to fight them. Ever since, they’ve been preventing anyone from entering or leaving the harbor.”
“Except us,” Blister said. “We’ll get out. After we get a boat.”
“A ship,” Rig corrected again. “Feril, come with me. And you”—he gestured at Dhamon—“Time to take a stroll and see what’s available.”
“What about me?” Blister pushed out her bottom lip. “What about Fiona and Usha?”
“I need you to come with me,” Jasper said to the kender, as he stuffed a piece of apple pie into his mouth and nodded at the mariner. He had understood Rig’s earlier gestures and knew what was needed. “Groller, too, and Fury. Hmm... Fiona and Usha better stay here and wait for us. We’ve got to get some... uh supplies. Then we’ll all meet by the docks in an hour or so. By that huge willow tree.”
The kender was quick out of her seat, beating Groller to the door. “Where we gonna buy supplies? Everything but the taverns is closed.” The dwarf nudged the kender outside, but the others could hear her shrill voice through the open doorway. “What kind of supplies? Huh?”
Feril glanced warily back and forth between Rig and Dhamon.
“Feril, I need your elven eyes,” the mariner told her. “Your vision is better than ours. I don’t want to get too close to the docks, not just yet. But I need you to get a good look at the harbor. Tell us how many knights you see on those ships and what kind of defenses the ships have.” To Dhamon, Rig said coldly, “And I want you along, traitor, because I don’t trust you out of my sight. Fiona, Jasper’s right. You should stay here.” He pointed to her armor. “You stick out a little too much.”
Fiona and Usha were left alone at the table. Usha toyed with her half-eaten piece of pie.
The Solamnic knight finally broke the silence. “Why did you come here, Usha? Blister I can understand. This is all a grand adventure to the kender. But why you? Why didn’t you stay with Palin?”
Usha speared a slice of apple on her fork, seeming to study it, then put it in her mouth. After several moments she answered. “It’s the Fist of E’li.”
“The scepter Jasper’s carrying?”
“I’m trying to remember something the elves told me about it.”
“And you think you can remember better here than with Palin in the tower?”
“I certainly can’t remember any worse.”
The knight’s expression was puzzled. Then it turned alert as she rose from her seat.
“Don’t like my company?” Usha asked.
“No, it’s that man who just left. He didn’t touch his drink. I just saw him follow Feril past the window.” Fiona stepped away from the table. “Something’s prickling at my neck now. I’ve a bad feeling about that man.” She turned away from Usha and hurried out into the night.
Usha dropped several silver pieces on the table and followed her.
Outside, Dhamon blended in with the night, his dark clothes and black hair allowing him to melt into the shadows. Feril walked at his side, not as well concealed, with Rig several paces ahead of them.
“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she said softly. “About you. I thought I loved you. Maybe I still do. I don’t know. I...”