Author's Note: A short chapter now or a longer chapter later...decisions, decisions. Going with short for now, not quite ready for Casavir to face his burnt bridges...
Ch 7 Return to the City
As Lilian had predicted, the sun was high in the sky before our party left Old Owl Well. In addition to Lilian's companions, Callum added a handful of Greycloaks and two pack mules to our group. Lilian offered to let Issani ride a mule but he said he preferred to walk.
In light of Callum's concerns, I felt it behooved me to draw Lilian out about her earlier adventures. Not only did I feel hypocritical in my desire to pry into her past, but I soon realized that whatever social skills I may once have possessed seemed to have evaporated during my time in the mountains. In fact, I was tongue-tied. Luckily, Issani was equally interested in Lilian and he had social graces for two, at least.
If Issani had singled her out, I think she might have become wary but he made himself pleasant to the whole group. He even managed to draw out silent Elanee, if only a little. I learned Khelgar had approached Tyr's temple seeking to train as a monk. He seemed to have very little understanding of the typical duties of the Even Handed Order, duties which would not, I imagined, suit his personality in the least.
Grobnar prattled. Nothing he said gave much insight into his character but his childlike demeanor made it quite difficult to suspect him of duplicity. And Lilian spoke freely of her West Harbor upbringing, of the priest of Lathander who taught her to read and, of course, of the attack on the village that left several dead and resulted in her relocation to Neverwinter.
"My father thought the bladelings were looking for this shard," she said one evening when we had stopped to camp. Our new routine was that the Greycloaks set up the camp, prepared the meal from the supplies they carried, and divided the watches amongst them. That left us little to do but talk. This may have seemed normal to Issani but I, and I believe the others, felt rather awkward at being served like nobles.
Lilian pulled a small cloth bag from her tunic pocket and unwrapped two fragments of metal. "He was right. We've been attacked several times now and the bladelings definitely want the shards. But we don't know why or even what they are. My father had one, hidden in a ruin, and my uncle in Neverwinter had the other. Take a look." She handed them to Issani, who passed them to me.
"Pieces of a broken blade?" I guessed.
"That's what Khelgar thinks." The shards seemed unremarkable but when I passed them to Grobnar, he squealed and dropped them both.
"Do you feel the magic?" Lilian asked. "I feel it too. Most people can't."
"Oh, yes!" the gnome cried. "How marvelous." He picked up the shards and grinned like a lunatic. Issani and I looked at each other and shrugged. "Can I keep them?" the gnome asked. "Just for now?"
"I'm sorry, Grobnar. I think that might be dangerous. There may be a tracking spell on the shards. Besides, my father said this is my responsibility."
"All right." He handed them back. Lilian wrapped the shards and put them back in her pocket.
"There's a sage in Blacklake that can help us learn about these shards. But the Nine shut the whole district down and we can't get in to see him. Maybe it will be open by now," she said hopefully.
"Blacklake is shut down? Why?" I asked.
"There are a hundred rumors but we Watch grunts were told that a noble, or several nobles were murdered and there's a big mystery about it."
"I was to be quartered in Blacklake," Issani said.
"I am sure my captain will get you a pass to the district if you think it's safe to go there," Lilian said. "And if we're lucky, everything will be all cleared up by the time we reach the city."
"It is unbelievably awkward to arrive in Neverwinter with no clothes, no funds, no servants," Issani said. "Even my credentials and letters of credit are lost."
"Probably Olov had them," Lilian said. "I wish we'd known. Maybe we could have found them. But don't worry. The people you lost can't be replaced, of course, but everything else can." She gave Issani a half-smile. "Worse case, you can stay with my uncle until everything is straightened out. You, too, Casavir, if you don't have a place to stay in the city."
"Thank you," I said faintly. I hadn't even thought of where I would stay. I couldn't stay at the temple and I couldn't stay at my family's estate. I felt I had no right to access the party funds Elanee had offered me. I guess that left...Lilian's uncle's inn.
Our talk turned to Neverwinter. Issani had never been there.
"Oh, you are going to love it," Lilian said. "It's so big. It's so pretty. The gardens are beautiful. Aren't they, Elanee?"
"The greenery makes the city almost endurable," the elf said.
Lilian rolled her eyes. "I got so lost at first." She grinned. "I was hired for the Watch by Marshall Cormick. He's a Harborman too. So I'm working the Docks and it's confusing. All those little side alleys and back ways. And do you think it would be too much if the city put up a street sign or two? Or hells, maybe they got stolen, I don't know. I asked for a map and Cormick told me to draw one. Told me if I drew a good map, he'd let me show it to the captain. I was real excited. Here I was, a brand new Watchman with a chance to impress the captain so soon."
I winced.
"You know where I'm going with this, right?" she asked me.
"I can guess," I said.
"Yeah. Now, you've got to know that doing anything with a pen is just about torture for me but I worked real hard in my off hours on this map. I had to buy the vellum too and it was pricy. All my brother Watchmen looked over my shoulder as I drew and gave me helpful little hints. Wasn't that nice? So I'm finally done. Just like he promised, Cormick takes me to the Merchant District to meet Captain Brelaina. And I was proud as a demon when I whipped out my map." She chuckled. "Well, Captain Brelaina chewed me up one side and down another. You know what? It is illegal to own or make any map of the city. Maps are a security risk. The city is supposed to be confusing to make it hard for Luskans to find their way around. She made me throw my map on the fire. All that work. Cormick had to sit down, he was laughing so hard."
"They set you up," Issani said.
"Oh, aye. They pranked me good. Captain Brelaina told me not to be so damned gullible. I slunk out of her office feeling about Grobnar's size, let me tell you. Learned a lot about map-making though. Never know when that will come in handy. Just not in Neverwinter."
p-p
We had good weather, saw no orcs and we finally reached Neverwinter about midday. Before we entered the city, Lilian pulled her Watch cloak from her pack and shook out the wrinkles as best she could. Little could be done about the old bloodstains.
The Watch headquarters in the Merchant District was a large and imposing building, original architecture, not part of the city's reconstruction. If Issani was nervous, he hid it completely. I read Captain Brelaina as a career politician, unwilling to commit herself to any unconsidered course of action. Her brows rose when the emissary admitted he had lost his credentials, although she had surely known this was a possibility. In fact, she proved that she did know, for she demanded a pass phrase, which Issani gave her. Undoubtedly it was correct, for the captain now smiled and welcomed him. Her caution was wise but I would have valued her smile more if it had held warmth.
"I have letters from Commander Callum," Lilian said.
"Give them here." Lilian handed them over. "Thank you, lieutenant," the captain said. "You have done well. You are dismissed."
Lilian gave Issani an awkward bow but he stepped forward smoothly and grasped her hand.
"I am unwilling to part company with your young lieutenant quite so soon," the emissary said. "I am deeply in her debt, Captain Brelaina. I wish her to accompany me further."
"I am instructed to bring you to Lord Nasher immediately," Brelaina said. "My lieutenant does not have clearance to enter the Blacklake district."
"Surely you can make an exception. Her service has been exemplary, after all."
"Out of the question."
"Is it?" The emissary smiled. "That is unfortunate. In that case, my dear," and here he squeezed Lilian's hand, "I believe I will accept your offer of accommodation in your uncle's establishment. In the Docks District, I believe? I'll send a message to Lord Nasher. Perhaps he can meet me there."
"In the Docks?" the captain said. "Hells, no!" Issani gave her a mild smile. Brelaina scowled. "If you truly wish the lieutenant's company, I will issue a pass. But only her," she said, giving the rest of us an extremely dubious glare. Lilian looked at us with questioning eyes. She also looked puzzled. She didn't know why Issani clung to her but I thought I did. He owed her a life debt and he had no way to repay it other than with his patronage.
"See you back at the Flagon," Khelgar said. "I'll save you an ale." I don't think any of the party, with the possible exception of Grobnar, found the prospect of meeting with Lord Nasher in Castle Never any sort of treat we minded missing. As Brelaina ordered a carriage, I followed Khelgar and the others to the Docks.