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.""And?""Most thieves have been avoiding her," Ferret explained."No one wants to do work for someone who's likely to dispose of you when the job's finished.But I did hear of one old fellow, named Tembris, who did a job for her when she first came to Iriaebor.He may know something.""So where is this Tembris?" Mari asked.Ferret cast a nervous glance over his shoulder."Uh, I'll tell you on the way.I don't think it's such a good idea to stand around here for long." He started off at a brisk pace down the street, and Caledan and Mari hurried to keep up."All right, Ferret.Who did you kill?" Caledan asked the rogue sternly."No one," the thief answered in his raspy voice."Er, no one you know, that is." He gave Mari a sheepish look." pie can be so uncooperative sometimes."The Harper glared at the weaselly thief.Caledan, ever, didn't care how Ferret had gotten his information as long as it got them some answers."This Tembris is a member of the Purple Masks Guild," Ferret explained as they made their way through the darkened streets."Well, that's going to complicate things," Caledan muttered."How so?" Mari asked."Ferret and his family are independent thieves, Harper," Caledan replied."He means we're not aligned with the guild," Ferret added."Guilds don't usually tolerate independents like us.They generally give independents two choices—either join or be killed.""Why hasn't your family joined?" Mari asked with a puzzled frown.Ferret laughed nastily."You don't know my grandmother Jewel, the head of my clan.She refuses to answer to anybody.Even a guildmaster would think twice before tangling with her."Soon they stood before a temple built of pale marble.Graceful columns supported an intricately carved facade, behind which rose a lofty, tapering spire.An elaborate frieze glimmered in the moonlight beneath the temple's cornices, depicting a woman with flowing hair holding the reins of a chariot that rode through the sky, bearing the orb of the moon."The Purple Masks Guild is in the temple of the goddess Selune?" Caledan questioned Ferret."Of course not," the rogue protested."It's beneath it.The Moon Goddess is revered by all who walk the night, you know."They stepped through massive doors of polished Mahogany into the shadowy temple.Within was a long, column-lined hall.Moonlight poured through windows high in the pale walls, caught and reflected by mirrors so that the entire temple glowed with an unearthly light.A few priests and worshipers moved quietly about the temple, but none seemed to take notice of the three newcomers.A row of teakwood prayer boxes lined one wall, each large enough for a person to kneel in while making a silent, private plea to the goddess.Ferret counted the boxes as they passed by.When he had counted to thirteen, he stopped.He opened the door and stepped into the small, dark space, gesturing for Caledan and Mari to follow.The Harper protested, claiming they couldn't possibly all fit inside."You can wait outside if you like," Caledan told her, stepping into the cramped space.She swore under her breath, tossed her dark auburn hair, then stepped into the prayer box.Caledan shut the door.The only light came from a grate in the box's roof.The three barely fit, and Caledan was forced to take shallow breaths.The Harper was pressed close against him, and for the first time he noticed how small she really was.Her head barely came to his shoulder, and her hands, each cupping an elbow of her crossed arms, seemed half the size of his own.Ferret rapped three times on the wooden back of the prayer box, paused, then knocked twice more.Suddenly the wooden panel slid to one side, revealing a corridor beyond.The three stumbled into the larger space.Caledan froze.A swordpoint glittered in the torchlight an inch from his chest.A man clad all in gray except for a silken violet mask held the hilt of the sword, watching him warily.Caledan looked to either side and saw that Mari and Ferret had been similarly greeted
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