Monster-filled lair? Did she know—no, she couldn’t possibly. But Jubilee glanced at Saeldian. “If you’re looking for quiet, and you found us, we haven’t been quiet enough.”
“Very few people have the resources I do. No one else could have found you the way I did. Shall we move on to sparkling table conversation?”
“But how—”
“Yes,” Saeldian said. “Sparkling table conversation sounds lovely.”
“Splendid! I’m a bit of an acquisitions specialist myself. What’s your least favorite lock system on a burglary job?” Briona asked.
Saeldian lifted their goblet in approval. “It’s even more awkward now, somehow.”
Briona chuckled. “I’m actually terrible at not talking shop.”
“Come on, we’re all professionals here.” Jubilee lifted her cup in echo. “My least favorite are quickened barrel tumblers.”
“What’s your best technique for those?”
“Steal the key,” Saeldian and Jubilee said together.
“Fair enough. Second-best?”
“You only get one try, so use your lightest fingers,” Jubilee said. “You have to be as quick as a key if you use the picks. Most won’t even take the chance.”
“But not you.”
Jubilee shrugged. “Under perfect conditions? Sure.”
“So are you looking for burglars for this job, then?” Saeldian asked.
Briona gave them a patient smile. “What do you think of the flavor balance with the wine?”
They were going to be civilized about it, then? “The peppergrain on the roast does something interesting with how the minerality develops. I confess I thought this vintage to be a little ordinary, but now I see that it’s a sturdy partner to the meal.”
“Knowing your wine is quite an asset in your part of the job, I imagine?”
So this wasn’t really conversation about food and drink either. Saeldian had a casual sip, even though they regretted it a moment later. Briona didn’t just know of Saeldian and Jubilee. She had studied them both, but Saeldian especially. While Saeldian had become an irregular customer at some of the better wine shops in Waterdeep, that had been for personal enjoyment only. They hadn’t deceived a mark with their knowledge of the finer things in years.
But they had, once upon a time, and Briona’s casual conversation about Saeldian’s wine expertise proved that she had drawn a line between Saeldian Charmhand and the Silver Cat of Baldur’s Gate. That should have been impossible. But she knew.How?
“It helps that I like wine,” Saeldian said. “I’ve learned enough to get by.”
“That’s putting it modestly.” Briona patted her mouth with her napkin and sat back. “You’re very good. Disguise, acting, research—you could walk out of here in rags and convince everyone that you were an abducted house lord before you reached the corner. Paired with the right lockpick and pickpocket, you’re set to lighten every pocket in Waterdeep.”
Jubilee clamped her mouth shut, so Saeldian delivered the rebuke for her. “Sometimes picking the right lock is a good deed.”
“Oh, the moral path!” Briona said. “That explains why you were pulling a pigeon drop job on a stranger. It makes so much sense.”
Saeldian bit back a retort. Theyhadbeen doing that. And Saeldian had been sloppy, defending their actions for Jubilee’s sake. All they were trying to do was make sure they could walk out of this expensive suite in this expensive inn without causing a fuss that would reveal that someone was offering a high-risk heist to Bastion Righthoof’s daughter.
Briona rang a bell and waited until the door closed once more before standing to pour a taste of a different wine in each cup.“Now that we all understand each other, let’s get to it. The job has a generous payment in gold dragons. I think you’ll be amused to see these.”
Briona set keys on the table. Jubilee leaned closer at the sight of them.
“Quickened barrel tumblers,” she said. “Eleven teeth. You don’t want us to rob a bank, do you?”
“Oh no, those are holder’s keys,” Briona said. “You can walk right in and they’ll escort you directly to your vault.”
“So much gold you need a vault to hold it,” Saeldian said. “The risk is reflected in the payment, I take it?”
