the docks of Waterdeep, and neither had ever heard of the pirate, Kree.
"What's her ship's name?" Catti-brie asked.
"Bloody Keel," Morik replied. "Well-earned name. Sheila takes great enjoyment in keelhauling her victims." He shuddered visibly and took another drink. "That is all I have," he finished, and he again pushed the bag of coins back toward Drizzt.
"And more than I expected," the drow replied, pushing it right back. This time, after a quick pause and a confirming look, Morik took it up and slipped it away.
"There is one more thing," the rogue said as the couple stood to leave. "From all reports, Sheila has not been seen much of late. It may well be that she is in hiding, knowing Deudermont to be after her."
"With her reputation and Wulfgar's hammer, don't ye think she'd try to take Sea Sprite on?" Catti-brie asked.
Morik laughed aloud before she ever finished asking the question. "Kree's no fool, and one would have to be a fool to go against Sea Sprite on the open waters. Sea Sprite's got one purpose in being out there, and she and her crew do that task with perfect efficiency. Kree might have the warhammer, but Deudermont's got Robillard, and a nasty one he is! And Deudermont's got Wulfgar. No, Kree's laying low, and wise to be doing so. That might well work to your advantage, though."
He paused, making sure he had their attention, which he most certainly did.
"Kree knows the waters north of here better than anyone," Morik explained. "Better than Deudermont, certainly, who spends most of his time to the south. If she's in hiding the good captain will have a hard time finding her. I think it likely that Sea Sprite has many voyages ahead before they ever catch sight of Bloody Keel."
Again, Drizzt and Catti-brie exchanged curious looks. "Perhaps we should stay put in the city if we wish to find Wulfgar," the drow offered.
"Sea Sprite doesn't put in to Luskan much anymore," Morik interjected. "The ship's wizard is not so fond of the Hosttower of the Arcane."
"And Captain Deudermont has sullied his good name somewhat, has he not?" Catti-brie asked.
Morik's expression showed surprise. "Deudermont and his crew have been the greatest pirate hunters along the Sword Coast for longer than the memories of the eldest elves," he said.
"In freeing yerself and Wulfgar, I mean," Catti-brie clarified with an unintentional smirk. "We're hearing his action at Prisoner's Carnival wasn't looked on with favor by the magistrates."
"Idiots all," Morik mumbled. "But yes, Deudermont's reputation took a blow that day - the day he acted in the name of justice and not politics. He would have been better off personally in letting them kill us, but. . ."
"To his credit, he did not," Drizzt finished for him.
"Deudermont never liked the carnival," Catti-brie remarked.
"So it's likely that the captain has found a more favorable berth for his ship," Morik went on. "Waterdeep, I'd guess, since that's where he is best known - and known to keep a fairly fabulous house."
Drizzt looked to Catti-brie yet again. "We can be there in a tenday," he suggested, and the woman nodded her agreement.
"Well met, Morik, and thank you for your time," the drow said. He bowed and turned to leave.
"You are described in the same manner as a paladin might be, dark elf," Morik remarked, turning both friends back to him one last time. "Righteous and self-righteous. Does it not harm your reputation to do business with the likes of Morik the Rogue?"
Drizzt offered a smile that somehow managed to be warm, self-deprecating, and to show the ridiculousness of Morik's statement clearly, all at once. "You were a friend of Wulfgar's, by all I have heard. I name Wulfgar among my most trusted of companions."
"The Wulfgar you knew, or the one I knew?" Morik asked. "Perhaps they are not one and the same."
"Perhaps they are," Drizzt replied, and he bowed again, as did Catti-brie, and the pair departed.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Le'lorinel entered the small room at the back of the tavern tentatively, hands on dagger and sword. A woman - Sheila Kree's representative, Le'lorinel believed - sat across the room, not behind any desk, but simply against the wall, out in the open. Flanking her were two huge guards, brutes Le'lorinel figured had more than human blood running through their veins - a bit of orc, perhaps even ogre.
"Do come in," the woman said in a friendly and casual manner.
She held up her hands to