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"What use would I find with horseshoes?"
"Calm, calm, Orlpar," Khelben said softly with a wink. "Remember your
brother's embarrassment? You will find some way to turn magical horseshoes into
profit, I know."
Orlpar took a deep breath to blow away his anger. Khelben obviously had him
cornered. "Have these two at the Mermaid's Arms," he said. "I will see what I
can do." With that, he turned and, trotted off down the hill toward the south
gate.
"You handled him with ease," Drizzt remarked.
"I held every advantage," Khelben replied. "Orlpar's brother heads a noble
house in the city. At times, this proves a great benefit to Orlpar. Yet, it is
also a hindrance, for he must take care not to bring public embarrassment to his
family.
"But enough of that business," Khelben continued. "You may leave the horses
with me. Off with you, now, to the south gate. The guards there will guide you
to Dock Street, and from there you will have little trouble finding the
Mermaid's Arms."
"You are not to come with us?" asked Wulfgar, slipping down from his saddle.
"I have other business," Khelben explained. "It is better that you go alone.
You will be safe enough; Orlpar would not cross me, and Captain Deudermont is
known to me as an honest seaman. Strangers are common in Waterdeep, especially
down in the Dock Ward."
"But strangers wandering beside Khelben, the painter, might draw attention,"
Drizzt reasoned with good-humored sarcasm.
Khelben smiled but did not answer.
Drizzt dropped from his saddle. "The horses are to be returned to
Longsaddle?"
"Of course."
"Our thanks to you, Khelben," said Drizzt. "Surely you have aided our cause
greatly." Drizzt thought for a moment, eyeing his horse. "You must know that the
enchantment Malchor put on the shoes will not remain. Orlpar will not profit
from the deal he made this day."
"Justice," chuckled Khelben. "That one has turned many an unfair deal, let
me assure you. Perhaps this experience will teach him humility and the error of
his ways."
"Perhaps," said Drizzt, and with a bow, he and Wulfgar started down the
hill.
"Keep your guard, but keep your calm," Khelben called after them. "Ruffians
are not unknown on the docks, but the police are ever-present. Many a stranger
spends his first night in the city dungeons!" He watched the two of them descend
the knoll and remembered, as Malchor had remembered, those long-ago days when it
was he who followed the roads to distant adventures.
"He had the man cowed," Wulfgar remarked when he and Drizzt were out of
Khelben's earshot. "A simple painter?"
"More likely a wizard - a powerful wizard," Drizzt replied. "And our thanks
again are owed to Malchor, whose influence has eased our way. Mark my words,
'twas no simple painter that tamed the likes of Orlpar."
Wulfgar looked back to the knoll, but Khelben and the horses were nowhere to
be seen. Even with his limited understanding of the black arts, Wulfgar realized
that only magic could have moved Khelben and the three horses from the area so
quickly. He smiled and shook his head, and marveled again at the eccentric
characters the wide world kept showing him.
* * *
Following the directions given to them by the guards at the south gate,
Drizzt and Wulfgar were soon strolling down Dock Street, a long lane that ran
the length of Waterdeep Harbor on the south side of the city. Fish smells and
salty air filled their nostrils, gulls complained overhead, and sailors and
mercenaries from every stretch of the Realms wandered about, some busy at work,
but most ashore for their last rest before the long journey to points south.
Dock Street was well outfitted for such merrymaking; every corner held a
tavern. But unlike the city of Luskan's dockside, which had been given over to
the rabble by the lords of the city long ago, Dock Street in Waterdeep was not
an evil place. Waterdeep was a city of laws, and members of the Watch,
Waterdeep's famed city guard, seemed always in sight.
Hardy adventurers abounded here, battle-hardened warriors that carried their
weapons with cool familiarity. Still, Drizzt and Wulfgar, found many eyes
focused upon them, with almost every head turning and watching as they passed.
Drizzt felt for his mask, at first worrying that it had somehow slipped off and
revealed his heritage to the amazed onlookers. A quick inspection dispelled his
fears, for his hands still showed the golden luster of a surface elf.
And Drizzt nearly laughed aloud when he turned to ask Wulfgar for
confirmation that the mask still disguised his facial features, for it was then
the dark elf realized that he was not the object of the gawks. He had been so
close to the young barbarian for the last few years that he was used to
Wulfgar's physical stature. Nearly seven feet tall, with corded muscles that
thickened every year, Wulfgar strode down Dock Street with the easy air of
sincere confidence, Aegis-fang bouncing casually on one shoulder. Even among the
greatest warriors in the Realms, this young man would standout.
"For once, it seems that I am not the target of the stares," said Drizzt.
"Take off the mask, drow," Wulfgar replied, his face reddening with a rush
of blood. "And take their eyes from me!"
"I would, but for Regis," Drizzt answered with a wink.
The Mermaid's Arms was no different that any other of the multitude of
taverns that laced this section of Waterdeep. Shouts and cheers drifted out of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]