Water-Drawing City, Orozan Manor.
Masked Lord Khelben Blackstaff stared in stunned disbelief at the latest report submitted by the Moonweave Knights, unable to stop himself from remarking with feeling:
"The Roznar Family. Bankrupt? I never would've guessed that Tibilus, with that righteous look on his face, could be so ruthless when he struck from the shadows."
"Roznar? That Roznar of Amn? No wonder I heard this morning that several merchant groups had joined forces to seize their trading ships at the harbor. So that was what happened."
Laeral Silverhand slowly set down her steaming coffee and asked in puzzlement:
"But what does this have to do with Tibilus? Didn't he run off to Barto Hell and do quite well for himself as an Archduke of Devils?"
To this former chosen and daughter of the Goddess of Magic, the Roznar Family might have been considered a colossal force in Amn—even across the entire Western Continent of Coriel. Their overall strength was only a notch below that of Orozan Manor, but there was no reason they should have provoked that Silver Dragon Archduke.
Besides, given the man's past temperament—his obsessive streak—if he truly wanted revenge, it would not have been difficult. Why had he waited until now?
Then her husband sighed and spoke a name that stirred complicated feelings within him:
"Most likely... for Xia Lan Veloss."
"Ah, her teacher?"
Only then did Laeral recall that Steel Dragon lady who had once left Amn alone, wandering all the way to Water-Drawing City, where she founded the Xia Lan Chamber of Commerce with her own hands. Her teacher, Leitres, seemed to have been born into the Roznar Family, and the story tangled up behind it all was indeed enough to make one sigh.
Against such a cold-blooded family, driven solely by profit and