Murder Most Foul

Pa

   It was an hour past midday when Sovann finally left the High Lady's palace. At his side was Drizzt Do'Urden, and the two walked in silence towards Finder's temple. More than a few people gave them curious glances. Once upon a time, those glances would have been far more than curious... they would have been fearful, or at least wary. Now that Drizzt was a renowned hero and Liriel Baenre was earning her own brand of heroism, and Sovann-and his friend Kantar-were renowned bards, the surface dwellers, at least those along the Sword Coast, were losing some of the fear and hatred of dark elves that had persisted for so long. None of the four drow surface-dwellers could truly feel as if they had full acceptance... they attracted too much attention wherever they went, and often the prejudice was still there. But each of them could at least walk openly in such cities as Waterdeep and most other Northern cities without prosecution.

  After moments of silence between them, the bard glanced at Drizzt, who was stoic, as usual.

  "Drizzt..."

  "Yes?"

  "Thanks... for getting me in to see Alustriel," Sovann said, his expression blank. Drizzt shrugged. Suddenly the emerald eyes narrowed. "Aside from that, let me just say... that you are a son of a bitch." Drizzt shot him an amused look.

  "Well, well, well, so there is some drow in you after all, Sovann," the ranger said, mockingly. "Lack of gratitude is an art form in the Underdark, you know." Sovann shot him a dark look.

  "You intended to help me all along. But you let me stew for three hours in that damned palace!"

"I was eating breakfast," Drizzt said, deadpan. He did not deny the charge of having intended to help anyway.

  "For three hours?!" Sovann exclaimed. Drizzt shrugged again. The bard scowled at him, then after a moment, he sighed, and his handsome face lost its angry expression. "Okay... okay... I guess I deserved it, after this morning."

  "You did," Drizzt agreed cheerfully. "But I understand why you might have been upset. I suppose I did sound as if I were accusing your church... or at least your priests... of possibly being corrupt. But I asked a valid question, Sovann, one that you should think about... how well do you know your subordinate priests? For that matter, how well does the patron of your church know you... or any of the other priests?"

  "Joel and I know each other well... we are constantly in touch, and we've been through a few adventures together. But he doesn't really know any of the priests on the Sword Coast, I will grant you that... he trusts me to keep things here under control." Drizzt nodded, accepting that.

  The bard was one of those people that soon shed his anger-if it was something small-and by the time the drow turned the corner of the street upon which the temple was located, Sovann was his cheerful, charming self again.

  "So how long are you staying in Silverymoon?" the bard asked the ranger. Drizzt shrugged.

  "I had intended to leave last night, as soon as I was done with Alustriel, but now I'm curious to see about this cat thief of yours is... so perhaps I will stay around and see what happens."

  "Well, that's good... I could use your help... if you will grant it."

   "Of course, Sovann. If I can help, I shall," Drizzt replied. At that moment they approached the temple, and found a young priestess seated in the tiny garden in front, reading a book and absently biting an apple. Several cats were curled up around her, comfortable. She looked up at their approach, and her large blue eyes lit up when she saw them. She smiled brightly up at Sovann, and her eyes were alight with intense love and admiration.

  "Oh, Sovann, thank Finder you are here! Darnel has been going mad looking for you... he has everyone in the temple scouring the city for you," she said cheerfully.

  "Good afternoon, Shana. Why is Darnel so eager to bask in my radiant presence?" Sovann replied. Drizzt snorted, and Shana laughed.

  "Oh, I don't know. But he is in a frightful rage... that's why I'm out here, instead of in there. Good afternoon, Master Do'Urden," she replied. Drizzt bowed deeply to her, though he did not know her. She smiled in delight. After a moment, though, her innocent, lovely face looked up in concern at Sovann, who had paused in front of her. "Sovann, I know the cats are a problem, and Darnel hates them, and he has been threatening to kick them out. But oh, you aren't going to let him, are you? It's not the cats' fault! And they'll just starve on the streets, since no one will take them in! We simply can't kick them out."

  "I never said anything about kicking them out," Sovann said, shaking his head. "As much as it might cost us to feed them, I agree with you... we can't just put them back on the streets. Besides, that only enhances the problem... the population will only get larger, and someday, Lady Alustriel will have a very much larger problem. As soon as we get rid of this thief, I suppose you and the others could try to find good homes for them. Not only in Silverymoon, but in the surrounding towns."

  "Oh, that's a wonderful idea," Shana said, nodding. She smiled brilliantly.

  "Anyway, before Darnel has a fit, I should go in and see him. We'll talk later, though, so you can tell me how you are, and how things have been going for you ever since you came here from Waterdeep."

  "I would love that, Sovann. I have so much to tell you," the girl replied eagerly.

  "See you later, Shana." She nodded again and watched the dark elves walk on to the temple.

  "Sovann, never have I been happier to see a dark elf," breathed a pretty middle-aged woman who met them at the door. Also a priestess, her relief was obvious when she, standing near the temple's door, saw the drow approaching.

  "To what do I such a greeting, Jallia?"

  "To the fact that Darnel has been a complete... a completely unpleasant person since this morning," she said. Sovann chuckled.

  "What's the problem now?"

  "Oh, the cat thief has struck again," Jallia said. Sovann sobered immediately at this announcement, frowning slightly.

  "What could he-or she-possibly have taken? There wasn't much left in the coffer."

  "Oh, not much left in the coffer, but he-or she-did a fine, thorough job on that... and on Darnel's office... he keeps a stash of emergency gold from what you send there... and it's gone. Sovann... the temple is flat broke... how are we to keep the priests fed? And plus we owe the city the rent of this city block for the last three months-"

  "What?" the drow bard interrupted, surprised. "Why is the temple so far behind on payment?" Jallia stuttered, surprised.

  "I... I thought you knew, Sovann," she said. "I could have sworn that Darnel said he had sent a message to you, asking for more gold to cover our rising costs... you know, with all the new priests and lay worshipers we are getting."

  "I did receive that message, and I told Jacinth to send the gold," Sovann said, frowning. Jacinth Delavar was the assistant High Priestess at the Hall of Mirrors.

  "Oh... I remember now. After a few weeks, I asked Darnel if he had received a response from you. He said he had... that you had said that we had to make due with what we had, for now... something about a lot of the Hall of Mirror's gold going to the construction of the temple in Baldur's Gate, so everyone else had to tighten their belts for now."

  "I said what?!" Sovann exclaimed incredulously. "No, I most certainly did not! DARNEL!" The last came out as a shout, and the drow hurried past Jallia, who stared after him wordlessly, though she did chuckle under her breath. After a moment the priestess turned to Drizzt, who hadn't followed Sovann into the temple.

  "I didn't mean to ignore you, Master Do'Urden," she said, smiling brightly.

  "Not to worry, my lady... I understand. Will you please tell Sovann... if he asks... that I will wait for him out here?" Drizzt replied, silently wondering why all the temple priests seem to know him.

  "You are always welcome in this place, Master Do'Urden," she said, meaning the temple. He smiled.

  "Thank you. I will wait in the garden... which by the way, is beautifully well-kept." Jallia smiled

  "Thank you, my lord. Perhaps, before you leave us, you will partake in some of the temple fruit. Excuse me, won't you?" And then she was gone, her white robes-embroidered with the harp symbol of her god on the front-fluttering around her as she hurried after Sovan

  "I long for the old days... when I was just a bard," Sovann sighed. The dark elf was reclined on the comfortable white sofa in the main room of their suite, clearly tired, even though he had only just awakened. Still, he hadn't slept much at all, no doubt frustrated about the mysterious thief, who had left nary a trace, except for a confusing track that Drizzt had discovered just outside the window of Darnel's office: a cat's paw. The paw was too large for one of the domesticated cats, like the kind all over the temple. Rather, it seemed to belong to a larger feline... like Drizzt's companion, Guenhwyvar. Not even Drizzt had any ideas about what had broken into the office.

  Sovann had left a subtle trap, however, and baited it with more gold. It remained to be seen if the trap had worked or if the thief had even bothered to try the temple again, considering how he had cleaned the place out the night before. Still, Sovann had surreptitiously spread the word around the city that he had come to Silverymoon precisely to refill the coffer... and that was an invitation for the thief.

  Now, Sovann did not seem particularly eager to go, and Drizzt did not rush him. The ranger was content to remain in the background of all of this, and let the bard handle the temple's problems. He sat quietly near the window, gazing out into the cool morning, and when the bard gave his nostalgic comment and sigh, Drizzt turned to watch him. Sovann was waving a red ribbon in front of Queen, who kept batting it about with her paws.

  Queen was the black cat with the three white boots and the intense yellow eyes. She seemed to have made herself completely comfortable in the suite and clearly had no intentions of leaving, and Sovann admitted he rather liked her. The bard had given her a name, and it certainly suited her... she had the attitude of a queen that knew she ruled the place, and that the two drow were her loyal servants, who would grant a scratch behind the ears or a good caressing whenever she demanded it. Last night she had given Drizzt's room a visit, and had even made herself comfortable on his bed for a time, and he didn't bother to shoo her away, as she hadn't bothered him. Eventually she went back to Sovann's room and slept the rest of the night on his pillow.

  Now she was reclined comfortably on the bard's chest, pawing at the red ribbon only when she felt like it, and other times she merely curled into a ball and seemed to drift off.

  "You mean the old days... when you went around with a magical amulet that made you look like a wood elf, rather than what you really are," Drizzt replied finally. Sovann shot the drow ranger a dirty look.

  "Must you cloud my nice visions?" the bard muttered. He sat up, drawing a protesting yowl from Queen, who leaped away from him and onto the nearby table, throwing him a dirty look before she sat down to wash herself. "Gods... I have to get to the temple. But first... I need food. Shall we?"

  "A fine idea," Drizzt said, following him to the door. They left Queen to her suite, and headed down to the tavern.

  "I have a question for you, Sovann," Drizzt said a while later, when they were seated under one of the many boughs of the great living oak that gave the inn and tavern their name. "It's really none of my business, but I am curious... as to what happened with the gold Jacinth supposedly sent but that Darnel supposedly did not receive?"

  "Jacinth did send it, I'm certain of it," Sovann said. He frowned slightly. "But something strange is going on here, though... either Darnel or Jallia is a liar, or they are seriously delusional. Darnel insists that he never said that to Jallia, and that he did receive the gold... but that it went to some struggling musicians, fresh out of the bard school here. Furthermore, the temple's costs have been rising steadily, and so Darnel asked Alustriel's people to be patient, and they have been... but of course, after three months, they are losing their kindness."

  "So... do you believe Darnel... or Jallia?" Drizzt prodded. Sovann sighed.

  "To be honest, I don't... know either of them well enough to pass judgement. I really don't know any of the priests here that well... except Shana. I trained her in music and later as a priestess, in Waterdeep, so of course I know her well, as student and friend. Not the others," he said. He scowled across the table at Drizzt, whose expression remained carefully stoic. "I would like to think that both Darnel and Jallia are right, and that there's another explanation, but I guess that's not possible... not the way the story goes. Either one or the other is lying." The barmaid came back then, bearing a tray and their food. She was little more than a girl, really, and she blushed deeply when Sovann gave her one of his trademark charming smiles. The blonde took the tray and held it against her body, rather as if she were using it as a shield to protect herself from the bard's charms. She hurried away to get their drinks, and when she came back with them, Sovann thanked her, along with another smile. That alone made the girl blush harder, and she walked away grinning to herself.

  There is something distinctly unusual, Drizzt thought to himself, about a drow that had mastered the flirting arts so well. It was a completely automatic thing for Sovann... no doubt the bard, even now digging into his food, was unaware of the effect he'd had on the barmaid. It seemed to be a natural part of him... but Drizzt wondered if that charm would have existed if the bard had been raised in the Underdark, instead of the surface. Even if it had, no doubt it would have been beaten out of him with a snake whip, wicked weapons wielded far too often and far too well by Lloth's priestesses. In the Underdark, drow males wouldn't dare be so forward with a female.

  Thinking about the ever-laughing, golden-voiced young drow being subjected to the wretchedness of the Underdark made Drizzt queasy, and he sincerely hoped that Sovann never, ever, saw what Drizzt had seen when he had been growing up. Never did the ranger want to see the sparkle in those bright emerald eyes dulled by the treachery and wickedness of Menzoberranzan.

  A short while later, when the barmaid came to collect the now empty dishes, the tavern's door opened, and two Knights in Silver-Silverymoon's protectors-walked in, looking around cautiously. The tavern, quiet in the first place thanks to the fact that most of the inn's patrons were still sleeping, became deadly silent. The knights went directly to the table of the drow.

  "Can I help you fine gentlemen?" Sovann asked politely when they approached. There was a faintly wary look in both his and Drizzt's eyes... no drow surface-dweller could ever truly shake the feeling that they would be the first to be unfairly blamed when something went wrong.

  "Many pardons for interrupting your meal, but... Sovann Ker'sheaez?" one of the two knights asked.

  "Yes?" the bard said, straightening slightly. "How can I help you?"

  "I am afraid I must ask you to come with us, Lord Ker'sheaez... your presence is required immediately at the Church of Finder," said the other. Sovann was immediately on his feet.

  "Is something wrong? Did something happen?" he demanded. Before he gave the guards a chance to answer, he was hurrying for the door. The knights glanced at Drizzt with a shrug, then hurried after the bard. Curiosity overwhelming him, the ranger followed them as well

   A pitiful wailing sound was what met the two drow and the two knights when they entered the temple. There was a perpetual army of Knights in Silver all around the temple grounds, and inside the church itself. The wailing sound, they discovered when they stepped into the main worship room, were the yowls of several dozen cats. Neither Drizzt nor Sovann had ever heard such a terrible din, nor could they fathom a reason why the cats were making so much noise.

  All of the temple priests-save for Darnel and Jallia and at least one other-were seated in the worship room, some of them talking to the knights, some simply sitting around, looking stunned. Everyone seemed to be ignoring the cats.

  "Sovann, thank the gods you are here!" a voice called out above the noise. A half-elven priest pushed his way through a foursome of knights, rushing over to the drow bard. His exclamation caught the attention of all the other priests and  nearly as one they turned about to look at Sovann, and they all began talking at once. Sovann, of course, didn't understand a word anyone said, and with the cats adding their background chorus, it was complete chaos. After a moment the bard took a deep breath.

  "BE QUIET!" he shouted after a moment. Amazingly, it worked... not only on the priests... but on the cats as well. A deadly silence fell, and all eyes-demihuman and feline-focused on Sovann.

  "There," he sighed, "that's much better. Now, will someone please explain to me... just what in the Nine Bloody Hells is going on?" Again, the priests all started to talk at the same time, but Sovann shouted them down again. "One person only... Calick, how about you?" Calick, the half-elf that had spotted him first, looked pale and worn.

  "My lord?" he asked breathlessly.

  "What's wrong with the cats? Why were they howling like that?"

  "Well, I don't know, sir... I suppose it must have something to do with... with Shana. They were all attached to her... since she gave them all so much love and attention."

  "What about Shana?" Sovann demanded. Calick seemed to grow even paler, and he said nothing for a moment, as if he were unwilling to be the bearer of bad news.

  "It pains me to have to tell you this, Sovann," a new voice said from across the room. Everyone in the room seemed to take a deep breath when she entered.

  High Lady Alustriel was dazzling. Not only because she was beautiful, but because there was a powerful aura of peace and wisdom around her. She was human, but she had unusual silver hair that glistened now in the lights of the temple. She had just entered the room from the corridor that lead to Darnel's office and some of the back rooms of the temple.

  "Tell me what, High Lady?" Sovann asked. Alustriel smiled sadly.

  "Your young priestess, Shana... she was found dead a short while ago." The silence in the room was nearly tangible. Not even the cats moved a muscle. Sovann, of course, was too stunned to say a word.

  "What happened?" Drizzt finally asked for him, for he could tell Sovann was unable to speak.

  "Will you both come with me?" Alustriel said, and then she was gone, back the way she had come. Drizzt grabbed Sovann's arm and pulled him after her.

  Alustriel lead them down the corridor and into Darnel's office. Three knights were there, along with Darnel, who was pacing the room in agitation. There was something else, too... a white sheet that covered a small, compact form. Alustriel motioned to one of the knights, who very gently reached down and pulled the sheet partially away, revealing Shana's peaceful, innocent face, with her beautiful blue eyes forever closed. Darnel stopped pacing when they came in, and stood silently in a corner, watching them. The three knights respectfully backed away.

  Sovann's face had drained of blood. He slid to his knees beside the girl's unmoving form, touching her thick mane of curly black hair, then her pallid cheek.

  "Shana," he whispered finally, and in that one word was expressed his intense grief, a deep sorrow for the senseless loss of a young, talented musician... and of course, the loss of his friend and faithful student.

  Drizzt, too, was filled with sorrow. He had not known Shana at all, but as a matter of fact, the drow bard had spoken of her just last night, when he and Drizzt were eating a late dinner. Sovann had been particularly proud of her as a musician, for she had been an orphan that the drow had taken under his wing, and she had blossomed from a street waif into a truly talented singer and lutist, and then a devout follower of Finder. Shana had always adored Sovann, and she had been reluctant and somewhat nervous to leave Waterdeep, but she had been excited, too, about helping to spread Finder's faith through the newly established church in Silverymoon. That she had been cut down in the full blossom of her youth was a crime, and Drizzt was not only filled with sorrow, but enraged as well.

  "Who did this?" the drow ranger quietly asked Alustriel... though the fire in his purple eyes told of his inner rage. Before he had been merely curious how Finder's people were going to handle the annoying cat thief. Now Drizzt swore that if the thief was the one that had killed Shana, then that thief would have to deal with Drizzt Do'Urden as well.

  "We were hoping Father Ker'sheaez could tell us." It was not Alustriel that answered, but Darnel, and his voice was thick with sarcasm. Sovann, previously oblivious to all but Shana's still form, looked up in surprise.

  "What?" he asked, turning to Darnel. "What are you talking about?"

  "Father Darnel has told us that he witnessed the murderer very early this morning, before dawn," Alustriel said. "He said... he saw a drow leaving this office and then walking out of the temple. After the murderer left, Darnel came in here, and found Shana dead."

  "Unless I am mistakened, Sovann is not the only drow in the city," Drizzt said sarcastically.

  "Yes, but how many of them have red hair?" Darnel demanded of the ranger. That stopped Drizzt in his tracks for a moment. No drow that he had ever seen before had anything but white hair, but Sovann's hair was a product of his mother, the wood elf Dalia, who had possessed the fiery mane that she passed on to her son.

  "Regardless of what you think you saw," Drizzt continued after a moment, and Darnel bristled at this, "I believe that you are mistakened. Sovann and I are sharing a room at the Golden Oak. He was there last night, with me."

  "But this morning, an hour before dawn?" one of the knights asked him. Drizzt was silent, because he knew he couldn't provide an alibi for that hour. Granted that he was a light sleeper, and would have been easily awakened by any movement within the suite, but that was speaking of any human or other surface-dweller. Sovann was a drow, and despite having been raised by humans, he had all the stealth inherent in the drow race. Sovann could easily have left the suite without awakening Drizzt, especially if he had climbed out one of the windows in his own room... and with the windows open anyway, there would have been no noise of opening doors or windows which could possibly have awakened the ranger.

  "I know what I saw," Darnel said darkly.

  "My dear Darnel... you are, with all due respect, quite mad," Sovann said, having risen and addressing the priest with the mocking tone of a Waterdhavian nobleman. "Why in the Nine Bloody Hells would I kill Shana? She was my student, and my friend."

  "I don't know anything about motives. All I know is what I saw," Darnel replied.

  "Were there any other witnesses? And what about the murder weapon?" Drizzt asked Alustriel. The High Lady and her three knights had been strangely quiet, allowing the other three to argue amongst themselves, rather than do any questioning. At her friend's question, Alustriel stirred, shaking her head.

  "No, no other witnesses. And we haven't found the murder weapon... but the marks indicate a blade, probably a dagger, from the wound size." The wound wasn't visible now, with the white sheet on top.

  "What were you doing awake before dawn anyway?" Sovann demanded of Darnel.

  "I heard a noise. I thought it was the cat thief, so I came to investigate," Darnel replied.

  "Wait, I'm confused," Drizzt said. "Normally you sleep with the other priests in the separate quarters, in a building next to the temple. But Sovann told you and the others to go to an inn, because of the cat problem. What were you doing here so early?" Darnel said nothing for a long moment, but then he scowled.

  "First of all, I am the presiding priest of this temple, and I often check on it even at night, to make certain no ruffians have snuck in to damage it. With this damned thief about, I have been checking on it even more at night. Second of all, Father Ker'sheaez did not order us to leave... we could stay in our regular quarters if we wanted to. Shana did, for example."

  "Yes, but Shana didn't mind the cats. She was quite fond of them, actually, and they of her," Drizzt replied. "In fact, as I recall, she was very concerned over the fact that you had threatened to kick all of them back out onto the streets, so I know you weren't overly fond of them. Why would you stay here, if they were driving you crazy... as you claimed?"

  "High Lady Alustriel, am I the suspect here?" Darnel demanded angrily. "I refuse to be interrogated by this-"

  "If you ask me, Master Do'Urden has asked all the right questions, and I say let him continue asking, and make you answer," a new voice said from the doorway. Jallia stood there, her expression angry. She glared at Darnel, who glared back. They had been at odds ever since yesterday, when the question of the gold Jacinth had sent had come up. Now the assistant High Priestess was quite clearly peeved at the High Priest, and she quite clearly thought his supposed 'witnessing' of the murderer was all a lie.

  "No one asked you anything," Darnel snapped at her.

  "Don't be stupid," Jallia replied. "Why would Sovann do a thing like this? If anyone would have a reason to kill Shana, it would be the cat thief, and only because Shana probably surprised him. You know how she had a tendency to sleepwalk, and she would sleepwalk all over the temple grounds. She probably sleptwalk through here and scared the Nine Hells out of the thief, and he killed her, thinking she was a witness."

  "Frankly, Jallia, I think you are sleepwalking right now," Darnel informed her. "No one said anything about the thief striking last night!"

  "Well, I am here to inform you, Darnel, that the coffer is empty again," Jallia snapped. "If you recall, Sovann put more gold there and spread the news through Silverymoon. It's gone, now." Everyone in the room looked surprised.

  "You are certain, of this?" Sovann demanded of her, rising. "The cat thief struck? If the bastard killed Shana-"

  "Hold!" Alustriel commanded, and all eyes turned to her. She sighed. "Ever since all of this business with the cats started, the Church of Finder has insisted that it doesn't need any help from the city, and they could deal with this on their own. That is well. Silverymoon has always allowed the established churches here to deal with their own problems. But this has gone beyond a simple theft of a temple's gold, and beyond the question of the cats. A murder has occurred in my city, and in this temple... and no longer will I stand by. As of now, this temple is closed, and will be until this is solved. I will have my guards posted here, and they will continue the investigation. I want all of your priests, Father Darnel, to move out, immediately, to an inn, or to the home of a friend, or anywhere they wish."

  "Yes, my lady," Darnel said quietly, bowing to her. Alustriel sighed and turned to Sovann.

  "And as for you, Dark Bard... I hope you understand what I have to do..."

  "Of course, High Lady. I understand perfectly well. I hope... you catch the real murderer soon... and for his own sake, he better hope you do not clear my name before you catch him... or else I will hunt him down. Shana, like any of my students... meant the world to me," Sovann said, nodding. A wave of grief clouded his handsome features for a moment, but then his expression went blank, and with a sigh he watched as Alustriel motioned to the three knights.

  Before they could move towards Sovann, though, a new voice rang out in the room, loud and deep.

  "No!" the voice roared, and the temple seemed to shake in its foundations. An expression of surprise and maybe a bit of horror crossed Sovann's face-Drizzt was watching him-and then the bard was enveloped in a bright white light. A loud, discordant twang rang out through the temple, the sound of a harp being tortured, and anything made of glass-including the windows-shattered under the force of the terrible music. Before Alustriel or her knights could respond, Sovann disappeared, and the last remnants of the discordant harp sounds-which seemed to come from all around, as had the denying voice-faded... leaving only the shattered glass and a church full of utterly confused people.

  And then the cats, as if in response to the rage of the reigning god of this temple, began to yowl in an awful chorus once more

  "I can only thank Mystra that the Church of Finder here in Silverymoon does not have bells," Alustriel sighed. Drizzt, walking beside her, gave her a puzzled look. She smiled. "You didn't hear about the bells that wouldn't stop tolling in Waterdeep?" Drizzt shook his head.

  "Well, you can ask Sovann about the whole story next time you see him, but he was arrested... actually, he was framed for murder, as I recall... and during all the time that he was held by Waterdeep's lord, the bells at the Hall of Mirrors wouldn't stop ringing... day and night, they never stopped, and the sound was amplified so that all the city heard it and knew that Finder was angry. The bells didn't stop until Sovann was released." Drizzt was silent for a long moment. The High Lady of Silverymoon and the drow ranger were strolling down a quiet street, heading towards the Golden Oak. It had only been that morning that Shana's body had been found and Sovann had disappeared, but it seemed to Drizzt that it had all happened ages ago. He had spent the day investigating the temple grounds, along with Alustriel's guards, but they hadn't found a single clue concerning the cat thief, Shana's murderer, and Sovann's whereabouts. Stranger still... the cats of the temple had all disappeared. It hadn't happened all at once... but Drizzt had begun to notice, throughout the day, that it was getting rarer and rarer to see any cats about. When he bothered to investigate that thought fully, all the cats were gone from the temple. No one recalled having seen them leave, and no trace of them was to be found, either.

  All in all, it had been a strange and frustrating day, and Drizzt was heading back to the Golden Oak. He-and everyone else involved with the situation, including Alustriel-had no idea what to do now. Without any clues, and with the only suspect having disappeared at the whim of a god, there was nothing they could do... except of course, that Drizzt alone knew of Sovann's trap for the thief, and when night settled more fully, the ranger would head back to the temple, to investigate on his own.

  Alustriel left the ranger at the door of the Golden Oak and headed back to her palace. Besides the hearty breakfast that morning, Drizzt hadn't eaten anything in the day. Jallia had given him an apple from the temple garden, but he had been too distracted to feel hungry, and he now pulled the apple out from a pocket. It was very red and enticing, but he put it away again, saving it for later. He paused in the tavern to get a quick bite to eat, but as soon as he sat down at a table, the barmaid appeared. It was the same girl from that morning, the one that had responded with a blush to Sovann's harmless flirting. She now looked a bit pale. Drizzt, preoccupied with his own thoughts and troubles, didn't notice her state at first.

  "Would my lord like to try the soup of the day?" she asked. "Beef stew, lord."

  "Yes, that would be fine," Drizzt replied absently.

  "Then I am sure my lord would like to head to his room to relax... and have his dinner delivered there?" she said.

  "No. I'll have it here, thank you," the drow replied. He still wasn't really listening to the barmaid. His thoughts were on Shana and Sovann. The girl looked around nervously, then tried again, her voice low.

  "But I really think my lord should go to his room... to... relax... and have his dinner delivered there," she insisted.

  "No, I..." Drizzt started, then stopped. The barmaid's deep blue eyes regarded him knowingly. She was holding a tray in front of her, much like she had this morning, like a shield. Her left hand, tight-fisted, now opened. In her palm was a silver chain... with the silver harp symbol of Finder Wyvernspur upon it. Drizzt held out his hand, and she dropped the holy symbol onto his palm.

  "So... my lord would like dinner in his room?" she prodded softly.

  "Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you," he said, rising, his hand tightly closing over the chain and harp. She smiled and walked away, though she seemed unsteady. Drizzt left the tavern immediately, racing up the stairs to the suite.

  "It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for you all day!" Sovann hissed as soon as the ranger came in and shut the door, locking it tightly. The bard had been in his room, and he came out now to meet Drizzt. Queen was in his arms, looking quite comfortable and content.

  "Where have you been all day?" the ranger demanded.

  "I just told you. I've been here. Waiting for you."

  "But Alustriel's people came here, looking for you."

  "Well, they didn't see me, but I was here," Sovann replied. He held out his hand, and Drizzt dropped the chain and harp onto his palm. Immediately the bard put the holy symbol of his priesthood back on.

  "You took a chance on trusting the barmaid. She could have gone straight to Alustriel. Everyone in the city knows you are being looked for," Drizzt pointed out.

  "Oh... she wasn't going to tell. She isn't, either, even though she was getting nervous as time went on," Sovann replied. He eyed Drizzt curiously. "You could turn me in, too."

  "You mean I could go tell the nearest guard that you're here. But when they show up, you would just disappear again," the ranger replied. Sovann shook his head.

  "No. He did it because he thinks I can solve this case., but trust me, Finder and I had a little chat. I made him promise he wouldn't pull that stunt again. It's bad for my name and reputation. Now everyone in Silverymoon thinks I murdered Shana, and my running is as good as admitting guilt. A bard's reputation is everything..." Drizzt was silent. Sovann sighed. "Drizzt... if you choose to turn me in, I will go. In fact, you don't have to go get anybody. I will go with you, and turn myself in. I'll do that if you tell me to."

  "Why?"

  "Because... I respect you and your judgement. I accept your judgement. If you think I did it..." His voice faded away, and Drizzt stared at him for a long moment. Sovann's earnest green eyes met his fearlessly, waiting for him to pass judgement. He really is still a child, in many ways... Drizzt thought. Sovann was young-though not that much younger than the ranger-and he looked up to Drizzt. Sometimes it seemed to Drizzt that he was centuries older than the bard.

  "How can you even think that?" Drizzt said now, sounding irritated. "I don't think you did it. Alustriel doesn't think you did it either. In fact, I know you didn't do it. And certainly not her... not Shana. Yesterday, you spoke of her with so much love and pride... and I know it wasn't an act." Sovann looked down now, unhappily.

  "No, it wasn't an act. I loved that girl, almost like a daughter. She was a bad-mouthed little street waif when I first saw her, but inside I discovered the musician... and I taught her to love that talent, and to use it. And she learned to love not only the music in her soul... but to also love Finder. I sent her here to learn about places other than Waterdeep, and to meet other people. And for what? So that she could lose her life senselessly?" His grief was nearly tangible, and Drizzt was silent, letting him mourn. After a moment Sovann looked up.

  "So you're not going to turn me in?" he asked meekly, and he really did sound like a child, even with that musical, melodic, but masculine voice.

  "No," Drizzt said, shaking his head. "I couldn't uncover anything, today. But I know, working together, we can find the true culprit." Sovann nodded, smiling now and obviously relieved. Queen shifted slightly in his arms, making herself more comfortable.

  "Did you try to follow the cat thief's tracks from the temple?" the bard asked.

  "I couldn't do it during the day, obviously. And I haven't been back to the temple in a few hours... I decided to come here first and get something to eat."

  "Good. We'll do that... as soon as Clara arrives with your dinner." The mention of food made him think of the enticing apple, and he brought it out again.

  "Jallia gave this to me earlier... do you want it?"

  "No, thank you," Sovann said, shaking his head. "I'm not hungry. You can have it." He started to turn away, but Queen suddenly reached out and batted the apple from Drizzt's palm. Both drow gave her a questioning look, but assumed she was merely playing. Drizzt picked up the fruit again.

  "Clara is the barmaid, I assume? How did you get her not to turn you in?" he asked as he stepped across the room, towards the window. Queen shifted uneasily in Sovann's arms, and her yellow eyes followed Drizzt closely. The ranger sat down, studying the apple and then absently rubbing at the bump that had resulted from the fall on the otherwise perfect fruit.

  "I told her I didn't do it, and she believed me. I promised that as soon as my name was cleared of this crime, I would take her to dinner at the finest tavern in Silverymoon, accompanied by a night of dancing and a moonlit walk. But I couldn't do all of that if I was imprisoned, now could I? So she agreed to make sure you came straight here as soon as you came back to the inn, or if she saw you in the streets during the day." Drizzt blinked at him, and the bard was grinning widely. A child? Only sometimes, the ranger thought dryly. He held the apple to his lips, clearly intending to take a bite.

  Queen suddenly launched herself from Sovann, flying like a black dart across the room. She came on so fast that neither drow had any chance to react, and she leaped onto Drizzt's lap and shoved the apple from his hand.

  "Hey!" the ranger exclaimed. The fruit dropped to the floor and rolled, and Queen leaped down and grabbed it in her jaws, then raced off and disappeared underneath a table that held fresh flowers in a vase. The ranger looked at Sovann questionably, and the bard shrugged.

  "Well, if you want it that badly, you can have it," Drizzt muttered after the cat. Seconds later, she came back out from underneath the table, without the apple, and calmly walked over to Sovann, who picked her up.

  "You're a strange little creature. Like all cats, I suppose," the bard told her. She yawned in response to this and made herself comfortable.

  Sovann disappeared back into his room to prepare for that night, and a short while later, Clara, smiling widely, appeared. Sovann stuck his head out of his room only long enough to smile and wink at her, and she left the suite giggling all the way down to the tavern.

  A short while later, the two drow slipped silently out a window, climbed easily down to the street, and took to the shadows of the night.

  The hunt had begun.

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