Chapter 3

Entreri eased back into the hot water and willed his muscles to relax. Normally he wasn't choosy about bath water: a cold stream worked as well as anything, although the assassin firmly believed that scented baths could make one soft. But a steaming-hot unscented bath did not go unappreciated. The assassin twisted to his right a bit, popping his neck and several vertebrae, then relaxed back into the water again with just the faintest of smiles. He'd slept for a decadent nine hours, but he didn't bother to chastise himself considering he'd gone over forty hours without sleep on top of a whole month of troubled sleep. He hadn't slept well since their capture by Brok Waylein; the nightmares of his childhood had returned. It wasn't a nightly occurrence, and fortunately, unlike the first night, all the dreams caused was some sleep loss. Still, Entreri didn't want to be reminded in any way about that troubling childhood experience or the resulting rage he'd lost control of for a few minutes too many.

Jarlaxle had gathered some information on Marrin Socor before they'd retired for the evening. They now knew that he was the youngest son of an obscenely rich family in the northern part of the province. Trained as a wizard by his father, the twenty-five-year-old man had yet to leave home. He was spoiled and reckless and had earned the ire of many towns early in his adult years because of his drunken misconduct. However, over the past year his impish behavior had moved past disorderly conduct to true crime: he'd begun experimenting with his magic, trying to create the ultimate spell for his "legacy," and several people had died as a result of the subsequent misfired spells. Also, he had run off with two different girls only to abandon them when they'd become pregnant. Two furious fathers had consequently joined the law in search of the irresponsible and very dangerous wizard.

When Entreri had awakened that morning, Jarlaxle had been gone already, and the assassin assumed he was out gathering further information. The elf had indicated the night before that he would return to the sheriff's office to see what else he could glean. Entreri, who wasn't really interested in being a part of that conversation, was grateful that elves didn't need as much rest as humans so he could bow out of that task. After all, Socor didn't worry him. Spellcasters could be highly deadly, especially those who couldn't entirely control their magic, but the young man seemed to Entreri to be more of an overgrown child. It wasn't anything proper caution couldn't manage.

The assassin glanced over at the stool by the tub where his dagger lay within easy reach. Beside the weapon was the silver token he'd stolen from Socor. Entreri reached out and picked it up, looking at it closely. An inch in diameter, the silver coin was thin and shiny; a loin's head decorated both sides. There were no other markings. Jarlaxle had examined it and declared it a reasonably powerful defensive magical item, then seemed to lose interest in it. Entreri snorted. That elf and magical items! Still, the mercenary couldn't explain why the token had rejected Entreri. The assassin shrugged. If Jarlaxle didn't want it, perhaps they could sell it.

A strange tingling sensation raced down Entreri's spine, and the assassin growled. Someone was scrying him, and considering he was sitting stark naked in perfectly clear bath water, he didn't appreciate it. "I am aware you are watching me!" he snapped, and the sensation immediately stopped.

Irritated but ultimately unconcerned, the assassin continued his bath. However, as he prepared to wash his hair, the feeling that he was being magically watched returned. Entreri pushed the long, wet strands of his black hair from his face and held back the scowl. "I would have thought you only interested in women," he taunted.

The feeling stopped so abruptly the assassin snickered. Still, it was obvious that the wizard was serious in his threat, so Entreri finished his bath as quickly as possible. He needed to find Jarlaxle so they could begin planning to deal with this annoyance.

The elf in question was making his way from the sheriff's office to the woods outside of the town. A wide smile decorated his face as he considered Entreri's reaction to the loyalty and love between the mayor and his daughter. Jarlaxle wasn't surprised in the least by the assassin's reaction. Given the level of betrayal that had occurred between the man and his father, it made sense to the drow that Entreri would react well to fathers who proved loyal to their children. His pet project was coming along nicely. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun! And what better recipient of his masterful planning than such a skilled and clever man! Now if only Jarlaxle could find Entreri a suitable woman . . ..

Added to this rewarding development was the fact that Jarlaxle was on his way to meet Kimmuriel, who should have his new bracers ready. As much as Jarlaxle liked Entreri and enjoyed his company, he could never forget the fact that the assassin was a truly dangerous man—a man who'd succeeded in killing a matron mother and was closely matched, if not equal, to the impressive Drizzt Do'Urden. One did not travel beside such a man without proper assurances.

Jarlaxle entered a clearing and with a muttered word tugged one of the gold hoops decorating his ear. Moments later, the handsome Kimmuriel Oblodra stepped out from a dimensional door to stand in the clearing before him.

"Greetings," Kimmuriel said, bowing low.

Jarlaxle smiled at the drow he'd once saved from the horrible abuse of the Oblodra females. Saved and then profited from. "Greetings, khal abbil. I assume you now have my new bracers prepared?"

Kimmuriel smiled and held out bracers identical in appearance to Jarlaxle's current ones. "Of course. As well as a new cane."

Entreri had visited the sheriff's office first, and upon finding that he'd just missed Jarlaxle, followed the direction that McKinney had seen Jarlaxle head. He thought little of it, for there was never any guessing what the clever mercenary would be up to next.

"Splendid!" Jarlaxle exclaimed, examining the half-moon pattern he'd created with his daggers. "Truly you have outdone yourself, my friend." The drow had long since set aside his feelings about Kimmuriel's betrayal. Jarlaxle's own actions had enabled the shard to launch its manipulations, and Kimmuriel had been both ready and willing to concede leadership back to Jarlaxle. Besides, betrayal was a fact of life for the drow.

Kimmuriel apparently couldn't hide his grin at Jarlaxle's praise.

"Now, what of the walking stick?" Jarlaxle asked, holding out his original cane.

"—walking stick?" Entreri heard the mercenary say, but without the beginning of the sentence, he was unsure of the context. The assassin drew back, keeping to the shadows at the edges of the clearing. At first, he was shocked to see Kimmuriel. Jarlaxle had told the new leader of Bregan D'aerthe not to follow him, after all. On second thought, however, the assassin wasn't surprised at all. Since Jarlaxle had told Kimmuriel that he would return and demand co-leadership, it only made sense that the mercenary would remain in contact with Kimmuriel and keep track of what was happening with his band. In fact, he couldn't afford not to keep track of it, to not keep his fingers on the pulse of Menzoberranzan, or he would never be able to return as a co-leader. Not to mention that all those magical items—Entreri's new shirt, the ferret-headed cane—had to come from somewhere, and the assassin knew that Jarlaxle didn't just pull them out of thin air.

As a matter of fact, as Entreri considered it, he once again had to wonder why the drow had stayed with him on the surface at all. If he really meant to return to his band one day, he was taking an awful risk to even spend any time away from them. Yet Jarlaxle seemed to be having the time of his life up here, running around and getting into trouble.

Entreri watched as Kimmuriel handed Jarlaxle a cane identical in appearance to Jarlaxle's first one and then accepted the old one. The assassin listened carefully as the two conversed in the drow language.

"You should find that it loads much quicker this time," the psionistic said. "I also increased the amount of poison it carries."

"Excellent!" With a big grin, Jarlaxle whirled the new cane experimentally.

Entreri quietly snorted to himself. Jarlaxle expressed an almost childish excitement. Like it's a new toy, the assassin thought. He didn't bother to be offended or to even feel suspicious. He'd known a dozen men like Jarlaxle—men who survived by keeping everyone around them in the dark. The evasive answers, the endless mysteries, the half-truths were the methods the mercenary used to keep himself alive, and Entreri had known that almost from the beginning. Still …

Still, the drow was evincing something close to paranoia. Usually, Entreri considered people fools if they trusted him, and his friend was drow, after all, which meant he didn't trust anyone practically by default. But in this case, if the drow failed to trust him at some critical moment, one or both of them could end up dead.

However, Entreri decided that when Jarlaxle returned to the inn, he would act as though he'd seen nothing. He reasoned that it was better for the mercenary to feel protected, and besides, he could always use the information to his advantage in the future. But then Kimmuriel spoke again.

"How are your efforts with the human coming?" he asked, his cynicism and sarcasm evident. "Have you molded him into a better man yet?"

Jarlaxle merely laughed. "Come now, khal abbil. Do you doubt my abilities so?"

"Of course not," Kimmuriel murmured with a bow.

An entire hell seemed to light in Entreri's stomach at the words, he was so furious. The mercenary was playing some kind of game with him? He was manipulating him and laughing about it behind his back? The assassin gripped the pommel of his sword unconsciously.

Jarlaxle, formerly of Bregan D'aerthe, did not have long to live.

A/N: I really wish this site allowed us to use double spaces between paragraphs; using lines to separate things in this chapter makes the text look weird...