wary of, the halfling knew, and still, he could not deny he had more than a little curiosity about exploring this interesting creature more fully.
"May I ask why I am being held here against my choice and free will?" the woman remarked a moment later, after the group had settled again, with one even tugging at his collar, as if to let some heat out of his burning body.
Cassius snorted and waved a dismissive hand her way. "For crimes against Ten-Towns, obviously," he replied.
"List them then," Jule demanded. "I have done nothing."
"Your band - " Cassius started to respond.
"I have no band," Jule interrupted, her eyes flashing and narrowing. "I was on my way to Ten-Towns when I happened to cross paths with those rogues. I knew not who they were or why they were in that place at that time, but their fire was warm and their food acceptable, and any company seemed better than the murmuring of that endless wind."
"Ridiculous!" one of the councilors asserted. "You were speaking with them knowingly when the terrified pair returned to you - on the word of Drizzt Do'Urden himself, and I have come to trust in that dark elf!"
"Indeed," another councilor agreed.
"And pray tell me what I said, exactly," the woman answered, and her grin showed that she didn't fear any answers they might give. "I spoke to the fools knowingly about Drizzt and Catti-brie and Bruenor. Certainly, I am as versed on the subject as any wise person venturing to Icewind Dale would be. Did I not speak knowingly that the fools had done something stupid and had then been baited by the drow and his companions? No stretch of intelligence there, I would say."
The councilors began murmuring among themselves and Regis stared hard at Jule, his smile showing his respect for her cunning, if nothing else. He could tell already that with her devastating posture and shapeliness, combined with more than a measure of cunning and careful preparedness out on the road, she would likely slip through these bonds unscathed.
And Regis, knew, too, whatever she might say, that this one, Jule Pepper, was the leader of the highwayman band.
"We will discuss this matter," Cassius said soon after, the private conversations of the councilors escalating into heated debate, divisions becoming apparent.
Jule smiled knowingly at Cassius. "Then I am free to go?"
"You are invited to return to the room we have provided," the older and more comprehending elderman replied, and he waved to the guards.
They came up on either side of Jule, who gave Cassius one last perfectly superior look and turned to leave, swaying her shoulders in exactly the right manner to again set off the sweat of the male councilors.
Regis grinned at it all, thoroughly impressed, but his smile dropped into an open-mouthed stare a moment later, as Jule completed her turn, as he noticed a curious marking on the back of her right shoulder, a brand the halfling surely recognized.
"Wait!" the halfling cried and he hopped up from his seat and ducked low to scramble under the table rather than take the time to go around it.
The guards and Jule stopped, all turning about to regard the sudden commotion.
"Turn back," the halfling instructed. "Turn back!" He waved his hand at Jule as he spoke, and the woman just stared at him incredulously, her gaze shifting from curiosity to withering.
"Cassius, turn her back!" the halfling pleaded.
Cassius looked at him with no less incredulity than had Jule.
Regis didn't wait for him. The halfling ran up to Jule, grabbed her right arm and started pulling her around. She resisted for a moment, but the halfling, stronger than he appeared, gave a great tug that brought her around enough, briefly, to show the brand.
"There!" Regis said, poking an accusing finger.
Jule pulled away from him, but it was out now, the councilors all leaning in and Cassius coming forward, motioning for Jule to turn around, or for the guards to turn her if she didn't willingly comply.
With a disgusted shake of her head, the raven-haired woman finally turned.
Regis went up on a nearby chair to better see the brand, but he knew before the inspection that his keen eyes had not deceived him, that the brand on the woman's shoulder was of a design unique to Bruenor Battlehammer, and more than that, a marking Bruenor had used only once, on the side of Aegis-fang. Moreover, the brand was exactly the right size for the warhammer's marking, as if a heated Aegis-fang had been