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.Such moments were becoming harder to grasp with each day she spent among these lawless humans.Soon, she feared, they would be gone past recall, and with them, the meager remnants of her elven soul.FourDays passed, and yet Arilyn was no closer to fulfilling her latest contract than she'd been the night she ripped the notice from the council hall door.As luck would have it, the man from whom she was hired to steal was one Abrum Assante, a member of her own alleged profession.Once a master assassin, he had retired from the School of Stealth a few years back to enjoy his hard-earned wealth.So far the preparations had been far more difficult than Arilyn had anticipated.Not that looting palaces was ever easy-most rich men learned prudence somewhere along the line.A wealthy assassin could be expected to exercise even more caution.Assante had cocooned himself with enough layers of intrigue, might, and magic to discourage all but the most persistent.In her quest to infiltrate the man's stronghold, Arilyn found herself stretching her previous notions of perseverance beyond recognition.Except for Assante's personal servants-all of whom were carefully sequestered-there was no man or woman alive who knew the palace's secrets.Arilyn went so far as to search for a few dead servants, for dead men do tell tales, provided one could afford the services of a cleric powerful enough to summon their spirits.The Harper had never before considered such tactics-elves were loath to disturb those who had passed from this life-but there was little information to be found among the living.A few well-placed bribes gave Arilyn access to the records of various slave traders, which she checked for sales made to Assante over the last twenty years or so.She laboriously compared these names to the records listing those interred in the low-budget crypts reserved for slaves.But none of this paperwork-a task Arilyn despised nearly as much as she disliked the notion of disturbing the dead-yielded much insight.It seemed that none of Abrum Assante's servants had ever been buried in or around Zazesspur.Either they had somehow achieved immortality, or their bodies had been disposed of inside the palace grounds.The latter explanation struck Arilyn as a distinct possibility.Assante's palace, a wonder of pink marble and clever illusions, was a testament to its owner's wealth and wariness, an enormous vault that held a thousand secrets.The extensive grounds were surrounded by a very high, thick wall that looked relatively easy to scale.This, however, was the first illusion.The wall, near the top, curved gently outward, then jutted straight up in a broad, steeply slanted lip.There was absolutely no handhold, no secure hold beyond for a grappling hook.Arilyn learned that would-be thieves often fell to their deaths on the stone walkways below.Nor did matters improve inside the courtyard, which was all that most of Assante's guests ever saw of the complex.After seeking out and questioning many of these visitors-assuming a different disguise fqr eachinterview-Arilyn pieced together the disheartening details.Just inside the walls, lining all four sides of the courtyard, were long, shallow reflecting pools.Rumor had it that the placid-looking pools were filled not with water, but a highly corrosive acid.Several visitors, however, reported seeing gliding swans and flowering water plants in the supposedly deadly moat.After considering all the available evidence, Arilyn was betting on the acid.On one thing all agreed.Four graceful bridges, one on each side of the courtyard, spanned the pools, and beyond each was a glowing azure cloud that dispelled any magical illusions.No one could enter the courtyard without either wading the pools or passing through the mist.This alone was enough to convince the half-elf that the pools were deadly.And after a few mugs of ale, one of Assante's visitors had confided that he'd seen one of the swans waddle into the mist and disappear.The swan, apparently, was itself no more than an illusion.Nor were the water plants and swans the courtyard's only surprise.Most of the garden's statues and gargoyles came in matched pairs.It was rumored that one of each was either an animated construct or a living creature.No one was certain which was which
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