“Here we are.” Briona poured wine from a heavy-bottomed carafe into silver goblets. “Have a seat, and I’ll ring for our first course.”
“Here” was a dining room with six chairs and five places set on an ironed white tablecloth. All four walls depicted a painted mural that was a full-circle view of Waterdeep, from the dawn rising over its wonders to a starry midnight on the harbor. Beyond this room was a sitting room with scroll-armed lounges and padded brocade furniture—these two had rented a suite, rather than a private dining room. This inn was nice—more than that, it was respectable. What were Zhentarim doing lounging around here?
Mariel passed up a seat to lean against the wall near the door.
It wasn’t the only escape. Saeldian could run into the suite and slip out a door into the hallway. But Mariel would be waiting on the other side. Saeldian and Jubilee’s only hope of escape was playing along until they could leave and have it be Briona’s idea.
Baskets of warm, soft bread and sweet butter arrived, along with a tray of fine cheeses. The wine Briona had poured was merely passable, but Saeldian was judging it from Waterdhavian standards. Mariel walked over to get a slice of bread and a goblet of water before returning to stand next to the door.
Five place settings. Jubilee, Briona, and themself were only three. Two more were arriving later. Their real employers?
“I had been told that the house wine was good, but should I ask for a different bottle, Saer Charmhand?”
Shit.Saeldian kept their smile up. “It’s quite pleasant, thank you.”
“And you, Saer Righthoof?” Briona dropped Jubilee’s name like a second shoe. “A different vintage?”
Jubilee set her goblet down to answer. “This one’s fine. Think it’ll pair nicely with rosemary roasted on a leg of something.”
Jubilee was a champion, bantering with their…benefactors? Captors? But Saeldian was cold. The Zhents knew their names—their real names. What had they done to attract the interest of theBlack Network? Had anyone been following them? Were they rankling the competition? How could they get out of this without Jubilee’s parents finding out? Bastion and Serenity were going to kill them…
Saeldian laid their hand on their breast and covered the amulet hidden under their clothes. It had thumped. That had always been a signal to choose trust. Had it been wrong?
It had never been wrong. So Saeldian drew a circle around their immaculate makeup and neatly trimmed beard. “Do you mind if I let this rest?”
“Please make yourself comfortable,” Briona said.
Saeldian altered the illusion. The beard disappeared, their jaw softened, and the silken, glossy ebon-wood hair bounced into Saeldian’s usual raven-black curls. The cosmetics Saeldian had applied for a darker brown skin than their own stayed in place.
Briona gazed at them with some interest and said, “Do you always use an illusion to make yourself less alluring?”
“You are so kind,” Saeldian said, “but yes.”
Briona laughed, and a bell sounded in the hallway. Mariel opened the door for servers with a cart. They circled the table, lining the bottom of each plate with a thick sauce and placing thin slices of roast and tiny vegetable pastries on top. The extra place settings remained empty.
“Please, enjoy.”
Saeldian picked up a hot, herb-scented towel to wash their hands before touching anything else. The servers took the cloths away and left.
“So! About this job,” Saeldian said, forcing false cheer into their voice. “I am curious to know how you decided on us.”
Jubilee shifted. “We don’t usually rate this kind of attention.”
Saeldian laughed and made it silvery. “We don’t even have company status!”
“And we’ve never shared a meal with prospective employers,” Jubilee observed. “Makes chatting a little hard to navigate.”
“I don’t need an adventuring company. I need retrieval specialists. Good ones. You fit the bill, and you’re discreet.”
Jubilee’s face fell. “We’re not criminals for hire.”
Briona laughed. “Of course not. If you were, I couldn’t use you. Relax. This isn’t a job suited to any of my associates, but I need adventurers with your skills.”
Jubilee wasn’t wholly convinced, but she nodded. “What’s the job? Expedition?”
Saeldian held their breath. If Briona said yes, they’d both say no.
“We can talk about that in more detail later, but please don’t imagine sneaking into a monster-filled lair. I’m looking for polish and quiet work.”
