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Dendybar held to his cautious pace, considering every word before he spoke it He did not want Morkai to get any hint of histhe drow, for the specter would surely pass the infors, perhaps even the spirit of Morkai hio after such a powerful relic if they had any idea of the shard’s whereabouts

"Four travelers, one a drow elf, came to Luskan from Icewind Dale this day," the mottled wizard explained "What business do they have in the city? Why are they here?"

Morkai scrutinized his ne to find the reason for the question "That is a query better asked of your city guard," he replied "Surely the guests stated their business upon entering the gate"

"But I have asked you!" Dendybar screa, and each passing second now took its toll on the mottled wizard The essence of Morkai had lost little power in death, and he fought stubbornly against the spell’s binding dweomer

Dendybar snapped open a parchment before him

"I have a dozen of these penned already," he warned

Morkai recoiled He understood the nature of the writing, a scroll that revealed the true na the veil of secrecy fro bare the privacy of his soul, Dendybar would invoke the true power of the scroll, using offkey inflections of tone to distort Morkai’s na hi shall I search for your answers?" Morkai asked

Dendybar sh the drain on hihten "Two hours," he replied without delay, having carefully decided the length of the search before the suh opportunity to find soh to allow the spirit to learnthe motives behind the decision He snapped backward suddenly and was gone in a puff of sated back to their brazier to await his return

Dendybar’s relief was iate to the planes in place, the pull against his will and the drain on his power lessened considerably when the spirit had gone Morkai’s willpower had nearly broken hi their encounter, and Dendybar shook his head in disbelief that the old htily A shudder ran up his spine as he pondered his wisdoainst one so powerful Every time he su would surely co about the four adventurers In fact, the specter already knew reat interest in Ten-Towns during his reign as Master of the North Spire, and his curiosity had not died with his body Even now, he often looked in on the doings in Icewind Dale, and anyone who concerned hi of the four heroes

Morkai’s continued interest in the world he had left behind was not an uncommon trait in the spirit world Death altered the a the love of e Some spirits had looked down upon the Real inforo about their lives Perhaps it was envy for the physical sensations they could no longer feel But whatever the reason, the wealth of knowledge in a single spirit often outweighed the collected works in all of the libraries in the Realms combined

Morkai learned much in the two hours Dendybar had alotted him His turn now came to choose his words carefully He was compelled to satisfy the summoner’s request, but he intended to answer in as cryptic and auous a linted when he saw the brazier’s flaain Had it been two hours already? he wondered, for his rest seemed much shorter, and he felt that he had not fully recovered from his first encounter with the specter He could not refute the dance of the flahtened hi his cross-legged, meditative position

The ball of fire puffed in its climactic throes and Morkai appeared before hi any information until Dendybar specifically asked for it The complete story behind the visit of the four friends to Luskan remained sketchy to Morkai, but he had learned much of their quest, and more than he wanted Dendybar to find out about He still hadn’t discerned the true intentions behind the mottled wizard’s inquiries, but felt certain that Dendybar was up to no good, whatever his goals

"What is the purpose of the visit?" Dendybar de tactics

"You yourself have summoned me," Morkai responded slyly "I arowled thethe scroll of tors fro the connotative

Dendybar sic and clarified the question "What is the purpose of the visit to Luskan by the four travelers from Icewind Dale?"

"Varied reasons," Morkai replied "One has come in search of the homeland of his father, and his father before hi to find some way to link his suspicions that Drizzt planned to return to the underworld of his birth with the Crystal Shard Perhaps an uprising by the dark elves, using the power of the shard? "Is it the droho seeks his homeland?"

"Nay," replied the specter, pleased that Dendybar had fallen off on a tangent, delaying theThe passing in to dissipate Dendybar’s hold upon the specter, and Morkai hoped that he could find a way to get free of thetoo much about Bruenor’s coether He shall never return to the bowels of the world, and certainly not with his dearest friends in tow!"

"Then who?"

"Another of the four flees fro the line of inquiry

"Who seeks his homeland?" Dendybar demanded more emphatically

"The dwarf, Bruenor Battlehammer," replied Morkai, compelled to obey "He seeks his birthplace, Mithril Hall, and his friends have joined in his quest Why does this interest you? The companions have no connection to Luskan, and pose no threat to the Hosttower"

"I did not summon you here to answer your questions!" Dendybar scolded "Now tell er?"

"Behold," the specter instructed With a wave of his hand, Morkai ie upon the mind of the mottled wizard, a picture of a black-cloaked rider wildly charging across the tundra The horse’s bridle hite with lather, but the rider pressed the beast onward relentlessly

"The halfling flees froh the rider’s purpose reered the specter, but Morkai could not yet resist the commands of his ne, though, and suspected that the su neared its end

Dendybar paused to consider the inforave any direct link to the Crystal Shard, but he had learned, at least, that the four friends did notAnd he had discovered a potential ally, a further source of inforhty indeed to have set the halfling’s for to formulate his next moves, when a sudden insistent pull of Morkai’s stubborn resistance broke his concentration Enraged, he shot a threatening glare back at the specter and began unrolling the parchh he could have stretched out his hold on the specter a bit longer if he had put his energies into a battle of wills, he started reciting the scroll

Morkai recoiled, though he had consciously provoked Dendybar to this point The specter could accept the racking, for it signaled the end of the inquisition And Morkai was glad that Dendybar hadn’t forced him to reveal the events even farther from Luskan, back in the dale just beyond the borders of Ten-Towns

As Dendybar’s recitations twanged discordantly on the harmony of his soul, Morkai removed the focal point of his concentration across hundreds of e of the merchant caravan now one day out froe of the brave young woman who had joined up with the traders The specter took coe that she had, for a while at least, escaped the probings of the mottled wizard

Not that Morkai was altruistic; he had never been accused of an abundance of that trait He si in any way he could the knave who had arranged his murder

Catti-brie’s red-brown locks tossed about her shoulders She sat high up on the lead wagon of the merchant caravan that had set out from Ten-Towns on the previous day, bound for Luskan Unbothered by the chill breeze, she kept her eyes on the road ahead, searching for son that the assassin had passed that way She had relayed infor to the dwarves Catti-brie wondered now if she had been justified in sneaking aith the anize its own chase

But only she had seen the assassin at work She kneell that if the dwarves went after him in a frontal assault, their caution wiped away in their lust of revenge for Fender and Grollo, many more of the clan would die

Selfishly, perhaps, Catti-brie had determined that the assassin was her own business He had unnerved her, had stripped away years of training and discipline and reduced her to the quivering se woirl She had to personally respond to that emotional hurave, forever paralyzing her along her path to discover her true potential in life

She would find her friends in Luskan and warn theether they would take care of Arte pace," the lead driver assured her, sympathetic to her desire for haste

Catti-brie did not look at him; her eyes rooted on the flat horizon before her "Me heart tells h," she lamented

The driver looked at her curiously, but had learned better than to press her on the point She had made it clear to the the adopted daughter of Bruenor Battlehaht, theand had respected her desire for privacy Besides, as one of the drivers had so eloquently argued during their infor at an ox’s ass for near to three-hunnerdfor company sit ith me!"

They had even moved up their departure date to accommodate her

"Do not worry, Catti-brie," the driver assured her, "we’ll get you there!"

Catti-brie shook her blowing hair out of her face and looked into the sun as it set on the horizon before her "But can it be in ti that her whisper would break apart in the wind as soon as it passed her lips