Page 52 of The Night Prince

Helgrom’s amber eyes flickered from him to Finley and back again. The Dark Dwarf saw much.Knew much.But he kept silent about most of it.Rhalyf was infinitely grateful for that in certain instances.He wasalmostsure that the dwarf suspected him of having greater ties to the Kindreth than he let on, but Helgrom never said a word.But now he hoped that the usually tight-lipped dwarf would spill about Finley.

“Smart.Nearly as smart as you,” Helgrom said as he took a large gulp of his own drink, a bitter dark beer that tasted of ashes in Rhalyf’s opinion, but the dwarves and halflings loved it.

Ah, well, no accounting for taste!

“Really, Helgrom?But he’s–”

“Human?Please tell me you don’t carry such prejudice, too?”Helgrom’s right, thick eyebrow lifted.

“Young.I was going to say young,” Rhalyf corrected. “And I actually don’t disagree with you about his intelligence.”

Despite Finley’s absurd robes, the even more absurd hat and the most absurd idea that he would get into Taranth, Rhalyf didn’t actually think Finleywasabsurd.He was very intelligent.His careful notes in that precise, fine script had told Rhalyf that. And the fact that Finley had remembered, sketched and confirmed seeing Illithor despite the Glass Scholar’s insistence that it was impossible also showed that Finley was determined.

Determined and intelligent.Too bad they’ll never let him study magic.Because those are the two qualities necessary to become a powerful Mage.

“And not just book smart either.Clever.Figured out a way to use people’s low expectations of humanity and turn it around.Now makes a pretty penny telling us our own stories better than we’ve ever done.”Helgrom smacked his lips in satisfaction whether that was from the drink or Finley’s pecuniary accomplishment or both wasn’t clear. Rhalyf thought it was both.

“So thereisa game?”Rhalyf blinked.“With–with Xelroth Vex as the Big Bad?”

He dropped his voice as he said the Night King’s name and used Finley’s connotation for him.“Big Bad” did fit Vex.He rather thought that Vex would have been amused by such a title.

Helgrom nodded.“Vex is a surprise that he’ll be launching on his group tomorrow night. He’s the real enemy who will only make himself known after the heroes have faced one of his lieutenants.It’s quite good.I’ve even taken a turn playing.Finley created a special character sheet just for me to incorporate my family’suniquetalents.”

Rhalyf bit his inner cheek at Helgrom’s barely concealed pride.Finley trulywasintelligent if he realized that though Helgrom was not “too good” to own an inn and sell alcohol, he still remembered his family’s storied past.A past that the Kindreth had wiped out.

Helgrom continued, “He doesn’t satisfy himself with just books written by others either–though he’s consumed many of them–but goes directly to the sources.Or as close as he can get.”

“Such as interviewing you about the Greatfalls?”Rhalyf guessed.

Helgrom nodded.“And about the Kindreth.”

The name of Rhalyf’s people floated before them like smoke from Helgrom’s pipe.The Dark Dwarf was stuffing the black bowl with fragrant tobacco.The long, curling stem looked so delicate that it might break off from the weight of all those leaves.

“Why did he settle on the Kindreth as the villains for his little game?”Rhalyf tried to sound flippant as he added, “Is it because Finley thought he saw Illithor through a Leviathan rift?”

Helgrom’s amber eyes settled on him steadily.So steadily that if Rhalyf were not used to the cutthroat society of the Kindreth where to reveal oneself was to chance losing everything he might have squirmed.

“Finley has studied us.Knows what moves us.What makes us afraid,” Helgrom answered carefully then added even more carefully, “I had hoped that news about his spotting Illithor would have died when the Glass Scholar ignored it.But evidently not.”

Rhalyf ran a finger over the top of his goblet.“Did Neldor see his drawings? The sketches he has in his little books?”

Helgrom was staring at him again.“Even if he had, he wouldn’t have recognized it.Neldor isn’t interested in Illithor.Thankfully.”

The last was added almost like a prayer.That had Rhalyf staring hard at the dwarf.

“Whythankfully?Illithor–”

“Is a poisoned chalice,” Helgrom cut him off.“All we would need would be fools going in search of its magic and mysteries.”

“Well, thefoolswouldn’t make it very far.”Rhalyf tossed his head back.His long hair–dark as chocolate now as opposed to his true silvery locks–spilled over his shoulders.

“No, they wouldn’t, but disturbing it at all runs the risk of drawing Vex’s attention,” Helgrom’s voice was low and gruff. “All we would need is for him to make his way back to the surface.The Aravae–bless them–are in no fit state to face him or Kindreth Battle Mages. Even without being depleted by the Leviathan, they would be wiped out by Vex.”

The hair on the back of Rhalyf’s neck rose.That was true.Some thought that Vex abandoned Illithor, but Rhalyf rather thought that he hadcocoonedit in powerful magic so that it and all it contained would be there for his return.He wondered if the Leviathan’s activities hadn’t tripped some spiderweb of alarms if they really were rooting around the old city at least.But when he’d left the Kindreth, there had been no rumors whatsoever about Vex returning to the surface.

“If Vex were to come, Illithor’s magics and mysteries would be useful to have to use against him,” Rhalyf pointed out.

But Helgrom made a low sound of dismissal in the back of his throat as he pressed the last bit of tobacco into his pipe.“Who would be able to master such things?The great ones have drifted away on the Lieren Place or been killed long ago.”

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