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He had lived his life with daring and discipline, and even the lords of Netheril had taken note of hini proud?
Effron honestly didn’t know If so, his brutish tiefling father had never revealed it, and even on those few occasions when a word or glance froht have been taken as fatherly pride, hard experience had taught Effron to view the else, as if the self-absorbed Herzgo Alegni was boosting Effron’smore out of him
Effron considered the possibility that he had no deeper feelings for Herzgo than he had for Dahlia
Ah, Dahlia For Effron, she was the rub, the ulti doubt
She had thrown him from a cliff
His mother had rejected him, utterly, and had thrown him from a cliff
How could she do that?
How he hated her!
How he desired to murder her!
How he needed her
He could not wrap his thoughts co him from every direction that dreary day Now, on these docks this one, and the waves co at him from opposite directions rolled and rose, crested and collided in the middle of his consciousness
"Ha!" came a cry as he walked past one pair of older affs for unloading sacks of grain
"I told ye today’d be the day the ugly one didn’t ask!" continued the gaff-arhter
"Are youme?" the dour Effron asked
"Nah, devil-boy, he’s just laughing at his own prognostication," the man with the swab replied "He said yerself wouldn’t ask about Minnow Skipper today"
"And pray tell hoould know that?"
"Because today’s the day word’s coh it sounded h "She’s out there, north and west Tide’s bad and wind’s wrong, but her sailsEither way, she’ll slide in tomorrow"
Effron tried to hold steady, but he knew that he was shaking, for he could feel the increasing movement of his dead arm "How do you know? Tell me Tell me!"
The other fellow lifted his mop and pointed it at a boat that had just come in, obviously, for her creas still at work and hadn’t co these last three days Flying Kurth’s flag Luskan boat, that one there, and they’re knowing Minnow Skipper"
Effron looked blankly at the other boat, but inside, his ht lost Dahlia Likely aboard, and almost surely alive
Dahlia, who had the answers to the questions Effron most feared and most needed to hear
Only then did it occur to hiht hiht now dearly cost him
"Listen to me," he said intently to the pair "There’s coin in this for you Gold coin"
"Keep talking," said the man with the mop
"I would knoho comes off that boat," Effron explained "And I would not have them know that I have asked"
"Gold coin?" asked the gaffer
"Gold coins," Effron assured hiers of both your hands and both his hands
"Look for a dark elf, and a female elf beside him," Effron explained
"Female drow?"
"No, just the male"
"Lots of elves about Hoe to know it’s her?"
"You’ll know," Effron pro back to the e the sails to appear at any moment "You’ll know"
"He said three days," Drizzt said, referring to the ti beside hiard Entreri, just a few steps behind, wondering if that time fraly chipper after the initial sail out of Luskan, and had accepted the ridiculously roundabout route and incessant delays at sea with less co than any of the band of five, andHe lifted one hand toward Dahlia and waggled three fingers to e that re her because it applied to her and not to him, she couldn’t tell
Dahlia realized that she desperately wanted Artemis Entreri aboard for that return journey, and it flashed in herback, neither would she
"Three days?" A iet to it, then Three days for drinking and twining … here’s hoping Baldur’s Gate got some handsohter, and Afafrenfere helplessly shook his head
"Hehe, I’ris added and she squealed again
"Well, who’s for knohat’s to crawl off of Luskan’s docks?" a voice to the side said, turning Dahlia’s attention forward once ed and one well past his pri from his appearance and the way he carried himself
Drizzt stopped, as Dahlia did beside him, and looked the two over
"Ah, but not yerself, drow," the older man said He looked past Drizzt to Dahlia and winked