The Dream Spheres

"I had not considered that, but now that you mention it, the ring did look familiar," Arilyn admitted. "It was gold and had a pink stone."

"I'd wager that the ring we found was an illusion. The hand as well, no doubt." Danilo began to pace. "Remember the state of Oth's study? The tables were overturned, the floors littered with broken pottery and common spell components, but the shelves, with their valuable vials and scrolls and boxes, were untouched."

"No wonder the Eltorchul family kept Oth's death a secret," the half-elf said. "But why would he wish to appear dead?"

"I can answer that," Elaith said softly. "Much of it, you already know, thanks to Myrna Cassalanter's tattling tongue. The illegal trade in and out of this city is carefully, secretly controlled. For many years, I have been building an empire of my own." He smiled faintly.

"I suppose it is a tribute to my success that I have finally been perceived as a threat. The seven families have been sending me warnings for quite some time now. Some are subtle, some not quite so."

"Such as the tren attack at the Tha

"That lacked subtlety," the elf said dryly, "but set your mind at ease, Lord Tha

"So the Lady Cassandra has no part in this?"

"I did not say that," Elaith cautioned him. "She may have no choice but to take action."

"What form will that action take?" Arilyn asked.

The elf was silent for a long moment. "I thought that I held the Mhaorkiira. I had reason to think so. I arranged for certain people to use the dream spheres, and from them I gained information I used to take action against the two-city consortium."

"What kind of action?" Danilo said cautiously.

"I had nothing to do with your sister's death," the elf began.

"That was Oth," Arilyn said decisively. "If he can take the form of a cat, why not a tren? Of course Isabeau had reason to run from him—from what Elaith says, she stole from Oth not once but twice. She probably named Elaith from sheer spite. What of Belinda Gundwynd?"

"Ilzimmer, I suspect," the elf said wearily. "The path to that is rather convoluted. I had a fatal dispute with a mercenary captain, a retainer of the Ilzimmer clan. The killing blade was made by the Amcathra clan and was stolen during the ambush."

Danilo looked puzzled. "What has that to do with the Gundwynd clan?"

"It is common knowledge that the Amcathra family is not among the two-city consortium. That is why I sent you to Regnet," the elf admitted. "It was a diversion, nothing more. The Ilzimmers assumed, as I intended for them to do, that the blade was a sign from Gundwynd. After all, it was lost from their caravan. Its use to attack an Ilzimmer soldier—especially considering that the man was the caravan master—could be seen as a direct accusation. The death of Belinda was intended to be a warning."

"So were the attacks on Danilo and me," Arilyn said. "What of Simon Ilzimmer?"

Elaith's smile took on a hard edge. "That was my doing," he said without the slightest hint of guilt. "The woman was in my employ and dying from a wasting disease of the lungs. A few illusions, a few well spent coins, and there are many who will swear that Simon Ilzimmer was seen coming from her room."

"I ca

The elf admitted this with a nod. "I will undo what I can. You said that you had words with Simon Ilzimmer that same day—do you remember the hour?"

"The bells of Ilmater's temple were ringing," Arilyn recalled.

"That answers all," Elaith said with satisfaction. "The hour is close enough. You can speak for him. That will help build favor between the Ilzimmer family and the Tha

Danilo started to protest, then gave up with a sigh. "We have to find Oth before we can accuse him of anything. The question is, how do we proceed?"

"I see several possible paths, none of them very attractive," the elf said. "We could turn this matter over to the Lords of Waterdeep, but these accusations would be hard to prove, and that might only deepen the animosity between the families. We could let the families settle this among themselves and hope that the bloodletting is minimal. This is the course I myself prefer, but for the fact that you and the princess are in line for reprisal."

Danilo grimaced. "Or?"

The elf's smile was cold and ruthless. "We could serve up Oth to the two-city families—but first, we will have to find and stop him."

"Not easy to find a dead man who can change his appearance at will," Arilyn pointed out.

"It will be easier than you think," Elaith said. He took the red crystal from his pocket and flipped it onto the table. "Oth has been sending information to me through this—things he wants me to know. He wants all three of us dead and he is trying to entrap us. Let's oblige him."

"I've heard better plans," Danilo said dryly, "but please, continue. This can only improve."

Elaith reached out and tapped the stone. "In two nights there will be a massive, coordinated tren attack against members of both the Tha

"Why would Oth do that?"

"Several reasons. These families have longstanding rivalries. They will believe that the attacks come from their rivals and will continue to act upon them. They will fight until both are weakened. At some point, the other families will step in and settle the matter."

"Why would Oth want to create problems among these families?' Dan wondered.

"The Eltorchul fortunes are fading," the elf reminded him.

"No wonder," Arilyn put in. "New tu

"Or magical research," Danilo added. "The cost of developing the dream spheres must have been ruinous."

Elaith shook his head. "The cost would be a small thing compared to the profit Oth could make if he could worm his clan into the two-city trade. Using the dream spheres, Oth could learn enough bits and pieces of the illegal trade to make a convincing bid. Fortunately," the elf said grimly, "he failed in his most ambitious ploy. He drew me into the dream sphere trade, no doubt hoping that I would be tempted to use the devices myself and thus betray secrets that I entrust to no man. If he accomplished what the seven families could not do, and handed them both my ruin and my fortune, the other families would welcome him into their midst with open arms."

Danilo and Arilyn absorbed this. "There are still a number of loose threads," Arilyn said. "It is clear that the peerage does not embrace elves, but the Eltorchul family seems extreme in their dislike."

"Oth is an arrogant man," Danilo explained. "The thought that some magic might elude his grasp is deeply offensive to him. You should have seen his face at the Gemstone Ball, when he asked me to teach him spell-song magic."

"That is well said," the elf agreed. "A number of years ago, Oth tried to purchase elven spells from the priests at the Pantheon Temple. He was firmly rebuffed."

"Sibylanthra Dezlentyr was a mage," Arilyn pointed out. "Is it possible that she, too, rebuffed Oth? Perhaps he was working on the Mhaorkiira back then. If he thought that she understood too much of his intent, he might think it necessary to silence her."