David Gross: An Opportunity for Profit

"That, too," said Belmer. His own smile was brief and businesslike. "But also the bloodforge."

Low adobe homes sprawled outside the walls of Eldrinpar. Mar children played on the unpaved streets, their brown faces laughing through the dust. Sharessa noticed Belmer's gaze follow them. His eyes narrowed in thought or memory.

"Many of the Mar live outside the city," explained Sharessa. "Most of them are farmers or servants. Some will never be more than beggars."

Belmer nodded but said nothing. His eyes rested on a small Mar youth standing apart from the rest. The boy leaned carelessly against the city wall, inconspicuous in the shade. He watched the other children play but did not join them.

"Only if they choose to remain so," remarked Belmer. Sharessa composed a question in her mind but left it there. They approached the gate, where fair-skinned guards stood watching the traffic. They stood alert at the sight of the Sharkers.

"Who are you?" asked one of the guards bluntly.

"Travelers from Parsanic," said Sharessa. "The caravan we were hired to guard ran afoul of fiends."

The gate guards seemed briefly dubious, but the Sharkers' wounds were proof enough that they had run afoul of something.

"You look more like pirates than caravan guards," remarked one guard, looking at their clothes. He didn't sound as though he were joking. Sharessa stepped toward him, trying to capture his eyes with her smile. The guard was looking at Belmer's foreign features and frowning. She had to take his attention off the others.

"We usually sign on for ship voyages, it's true," she said, leaning closer. The guard finally met her eyes. Shar tugged idly on a shirt lace. The man's gaze followed as expected. There.

"We're exhausted," she said. She placed her warm hand gently on the guard's arm. "Can you recommend a good place to sleep?"

The rest was easy.

Within the gates, Eldrinpar was a different city. Aquatic images dominated the architecture, with wave patterns and marine imagery common on the grander buildings. The people were taller than the Mar, their skins more fair. Their clothes-flowing, brightly colored silks-were better, and they smiled confidently where they walked.

Not far past the gate stood a colossal fountain. From its center rose the huge bronze figure of a man wrestling an octopus that was rising from the ocean. Water jetted forth from every wave, pouring down into the wide basin. At its edges, people drew water in buckets or cupped hands.

That's what I need," said Belgin. "I'm parched."

He hurried toward the fountain. The others were quick to follow.

Sharessa dipped her cupped hands in carefully, pouring the cool water over her sticky face. Then she began to wash her hands in earnest, letting the dirty water run off into the street. She looked up to see Belmer leaning upon the fountain's edge, eyes closed in thought. Next to him, Anvil was wringing Ingrar's bandages dry. Bloody rivulets trickled into a drain in the street.

Rings sat alone at the edge of the fountain, staring dejectedly at the rippling water. Sharessa imagined that he saw Brindra's face in his own reflection. She moved over to sit next to the dwarf.

"We haven't had time to say goodbye," she said. "Not to Brindra or Kurthe, or even to Blackfingers."

Rings nodded. If his earrings jingled, the trickling water of the fountain obscured the sound.

"Maybe that's good," said Sharessa. Rings looked up at her, puzzled.

"Maybe it's better that we don't say goodbye. Remember when you and Brindra came back to Kissing Shark after drinking with those savages all day in Tharkar? What was that stuff called?"

"Koumiss," said Rings. He looked back into the water, the shadow of a smile dying on his lips. "Terrible stuff. Blackfingers was ready to have us both keelhauled just to get the smell off the ship."

"But then Brindra said, 'If you dip him into the ocean, you'll kill all the fish for a mile, and then what'll we have for supper?'"

Rings snorted, but his smile became more fond than sad. "Then she shoved me over the side, saying, 'Ah, I'm tired of fish, anyway'"

They both laughed a little, and the smiles lingered with their sadness.

Sharessa stood. "You know what Brindra would do now, if she were here?"

Rings looked up at her. "What?"

"This!" Sharessa pushed him hard, and Rings plunged into the water. He came up sputtering and furious. But when his eyes met Sharessa's, he burst into laughter. She offered him a hand to help him back out, ready to let him pull her in for revenge, but then Belmer stepped close.

"Stop that. We're drawing attention."

Sharessa pulled Rings out of the water and turned around. She followed Belmer's gaze to a group of armed men who had also been drinking from the fountain. They didn't look like residents of Doegan. Their clothes were of a different fashion, and their faces were foreign. They wore heavy armor and carried hammers and swords. Sharessa noticed that the cowardly Captain Turbalt stood among them, glancing at the Sharkers as he spoke to the tallest of the outlanders, a warrior clad in silver armor. When he saw Belmer staring back at him, he moved behind the armored men.

"Let's go," said Belmer. No sooner did the Sharkers comply than the foreigners stepped forward.

"Hold there," said the silver one. "We would speak with you."

"Perhaps later," said Belmer, smiling falsely. "We have pressing business in another part of the city." To the Sharkers, he said quietly, "Keep moving."

The outlanders hefted their weapons and spread out to intercept the Sharkers. Sharessa saw that several of them wore the symbol of a hammer as their badge. Were they foreign soldiers? Knights of an order? Adherents of the Fallen Temple?

"I said hold," commanded the tall knight again. "What are you doing in Doegan."

"That is no concern of yours," replied Belmer.

"I beg to differ," said the knight. "It can be no coincidence that upon my first visit to the Utter East I find the Sword Coast's most notorious assassin."

Surprise passed over Belmer's face like the shadow of a swift bird. In its wake was left a steely gaze aimed directly at Turbalt. The fat ship captain swallowed hard, then edged behind the knight, who spoke again.

"Tell us why you have come here, Artemis En-treri."