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.* * * * *On the fourth day of my quest I almost ran into Kitten but quickly managed to remove myself from her presence before she had a chance to sense me.I’m not really sure how these doppleganger telepathic powers work, but I’m pretty sure I made it away clean.Waters included his observation of my near-miss in his daily report, but as per usual didn’t make any query about it.A good minion doesn’t ask questions unless they are told to.On the fifth day I received a missive from Blonde!.Someone wanted to see me.Concealing various bladed instruments on my person, I quickly set off for the rendezvous that had been arranged for me.The meeting was set for an after-hours place a block over from the waterfront.Blondel’s missive had indicated that a well dressed fellow from the North had asked her about the Hanging Lantern and dopplegangers a night ago.A follower of synchronicity over coincidence, her feminine sixth sense told her that she should put him in touch with me.The dockyard was my home turf and she knew I could take care of myself.I arrived at the meeting an hour early so as to have the advantage.I was about half an hour too late.I realized this only when I felt the initial blow of a firm cudgel on the crest of my cranium.My adversaries had already laid claim to the advantage by arriving even earlier.* * * * *I came to a while later, lying on some cold and damp cellar floor, my wrists and ankles bound, Blondel and a nondescript gentleman standing over me.“He’s coming around,” the unknown figure announced.“It’s about time,” the creature that had become Blonde! answered.“Though I guess we really couldn’t have asked for a more cooperative opponent, walking right into our clutches and all.I probably would have let you go on living if’ you hadn’t posed a threat to our other associate.”“The one posing as Nymara Scheiron,” I replied.“Exactly.Your queries were getting in the way of her fulfilling her part of our mission, and our master was growing quite impatient.We never really feared that you would uncover the full extent of our plot since you had obviously chosen to settle the matters at hand before carrying out your patron’s wishes.Such arrogance and rage can only get in the way, and for what? A slim chance to avenge the death of a friend? A person of your abilities should have known better.But then again, if memory serves, experiences are the best teachers, and you seem to have forgotten most of yours.At this point I would like to add that it was quite refreshing to read such an uncluttered mind as yours.”“I’m glad I could accommodate you,” I replied cockily.“Little did I realize that I would have to avenge the deaths of two dear friends.”“Blondel’s crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the thing that was passing for Blonde! explained.“Your Kitten on the other hand was very necessary for our plot.The new Kitten should be on her way here now.Too bad you won’t be around to meet her.”“Why didn’t you just kill me and get it over with?” I asked.“It would have saved you the trouble of tying me up and all.”“True,” it replied, “but unfortunately my nondescript colleague whose appearance was dictated by an equally unlucky nobody applied his cudgel to your skull a little too quickly.I hadn’t yet had the chance to leaf through the pages of your mind to make sure that you hadn’t informed your unknown patron of our little meeting, and unfortunately such reading of thoughts is more difficult when the subject is out cold.”The thing that had become Blondel looked in my eyes.I sensed hunger in her thoughts.“You have so many questions inside of your head,” it said with a sigh.“I’m afraid I can’t answer any of them for you.It’s a shame, going to your death without ever knowing your own identity, your past, or even your own name.”“You could at least tell me the reason Kitten and Blondel had to die.”“Beyond the simple reason that we had to take their places?” it replied, and shrugged.“Too bad you can’t read minds.Oh well, I can’t see the harm in it, and besides, Kitten should be here soon.We probably should wait for her.”The thing leaned in close to me, and purred in the manner Blondel used to when she wanted to get me hot and bothered.The knowledge that this wasn’t the member of the gentler sex with whom I had shared a few passing evenings did little to quell my response to her seductive tones.“Our master has engineered a new plan to reassert his influence in the fair city of Waterdeep.He has recognized the necessity of controlling the, how should I say, ‘word about town’ in order to carry out his plan.The Inn of the Hanging Lantern was brought down quite inadvertently by a busybody hack writer and a know-nothing publisher [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]