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[Tempest]

After about a dozen false starts, it's finally here.

At Soul?s Edge, Book Two: Malleus Animorum
Translation from Latin: "Hammer of Souls"

This is the sequel to At Soul?s Edge, a Baldur?s Gate fanfiction tale. Malleus Animorum will assume you?re already familiar with the setting and characters, some of which are altered from canon, so you may be lost unless you read Book One first.

Table of Contents
Chapter XLI: Thunderhead
Chapter XLII: Unforeseen Consequences
Chapter XLIII: Wave Break
Chapter XLIV: Theory Of Gravity
Chapter XLV: Beneath The Bright Eclipse
Chapter XLVI: Ghostmaker
Chapter XLVII: Shadows Of Amn
Chapter XLVIII: Once Burned
Chapter XLIX: In For A Penny
Chapter L: Moontide
Chapter LI: Ballad of Master Tranyyr
Chapter LII: Cadence of the Strings
Chapter LIII: Shadow Dance
Chapter LIV: The Anvil's Kiss
Chapter LV: Blood Temper
Chapter LVI: Dust To Dust
Chapter LVII: As The Shadow Falls
Chapter LVIII: Noctis Labyrinthus
Chapter LVIX: When The Skies Were Starless
Chapter LX: In The Void Of The Night
Chapter LXI: The Bell's Cry
Chapter LXII: Discontinuity
Chapter LXIII: Event Horizon
Chapter LXIX: Behind The Veil
Chapter LXX: Harlequin's Dance
Chapter LXXI: Recursion
Chapter LXXII: Balance Of Power
Chapter LXXIII: Hairline Fracture
Chapter LXXIV: Passage At Arms


Chapter XLI: Thunderhead


Alexandria kept careful pace with Gorion as they left Candlekeep. Old as he was, he still moved quickly. His eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, as though expecting an ambush at any time. Alex was worried. Gorion was a powerful wizard-if something worried him, there must be danger indeed. She wished Gorion would tell her what was going on, what he was afraid of. There were so many secrets-even now, he kept them. Something of her annoyance must have shown. He turned to her and spoke quickly.

?Listen carefully. If we ever become separated, it is imperative you make your way to the Friendly Arm Inn. There, you will meet Khalid and Jaheira. They have long been my friends, and you can trust them.?

She frowned. Still more secrets, truths half-told. Even now, when he clearly implied their lives were in mortal danger, he kept things from her. But she put those thoughts aside as they continued to walk along the road. Visibility wasn?t a problem, if Gorion was expecting something to leap out of the shadows. It was a full moon, and Alex?s feline eyes pierced the gloom with ease. The forest, though, was unnaturally quiet. A dark wind was blowing, and sensible creatures were keeping their heads down. Alex wasn?t sure how she knew it, but somehow she knew something terrible was going to happen tonight. And Gorion knew it, too.

They hadn?t been walking for long when Gorion suddenly became alarmed. Alex?s eyes scanned the forest, but even her eyes couldn?t see anything?

?Let?s hurry, child! The night can only get worse, so we must find shelter soon. Don?t worry, I will explain everything as soon as there is time.?

There was plenty of time today. And yesterday. And in all the years I lived at Candlekeep?

A flicker of movement caught her eye. Somehow Gorion was still alert-he spoke before Alex could should in alarm.

?Wait! There is something wrong. We are in an ambush! Prepare yourself!?

A dark, heavy voice answered.

?You?re perceptive for an old man. You know why I?m here. Hand over your ward and no one will be hurt. If you resist it shall be a waste of your life.?

A violet blade sprung to life in her hand. But then a massive figure approached. At first glance, she had trouble deciding if it was even human-it had the bulk of a golem, and was clad in extremely heavy, and likely magical, armor. Fire burned in the man?s eyes. Alex?s gaze locked onto his, and the fire suddenly seemed warm, inviting. The fire called to Alexandria, whispering of power, of uses for the rage and flame sleeping within her?

Gorion didn?t flinch at Alexandria?s paralysis.

?You?re a fool if you think I would trust your benevolence. Step aside and you and your lackeys will be unhurt.?

?I?m sorry that you feel that way, old man.?

Alex was dimly aware of Gorion shouting to her.

?Run, child! Get out of here!?

But she didn?t. Her mind blade fizzled out of existence, transfixed by the flame in the man?s eyes.

Pain jolted her back into reality. Gorion had cast a spell at her, and Alex abruptly realized the danger of the situation. Turning her back on him, she ran. Where to, she wasn?t sure. It was dark all around, lit only by flame and spell. Paying no attention to where she was going, she tumbled through the darkness. Then she saw something. Silver motes, like moonlight, dancing in the distance. She didn?t know why, but they promised safety. Alex ran towards them, until she stumbled across something in the gloom, and fell. But as she did, a strange, cold voice cut through the spring air.


?Interesting. All of the subject?s memories appear to return to one of three points when sufficiently pressed-one characterized by the sense of loss, one by hatred and anger, and one by despair and love. Unlike the other, this subject?s emotions and heritage lie very near the surface, easily pierced by even the most trivial of spells. Initial experiments indicated this to be a weakness, but now I must re-evaluate my assumptions-the subject may in fact be stronger than the other, as she is already cognizant of her nature and has learned to maintain sanity, if inconsistently.?

Alexandria?s eyes fluttered open. She was no longer in the forest outside of Candlekeep, but in what seemed to be the interior of a magical laboratory of some sort, judging by the array of potions, scrolls, and more esoteric items that lay organized on tables and shelves nearby. A cloth gag was bound firmly across her face, preventing her from speaking, and metal shackles at her wrists, ankles, waist, and neck bound her firmly to an unseen surface.

Where the hell am I?! Maybe more pointedly, how did I get here? I shouldn?t have been near Candlekeep-the last thing I remember is going to sleep in the Three Old Kegs? what in Selune?s name is going on?!?

The strange voice continued speaking, apparently unaware or uncaring that Alexandria had awoken.

?The subject?s heritage poses unique problems, however, compared to the other. The degree of extraplanar blood is estimated at five generations removed, with ordinary human breeding for the remaining lineage. Identification of the source of the extraplanar genetics has been difficult-I can manage no more than identifying the source as a yugoloth of some variety. However, recent breakthroughs in the other subject have provided useful baseline parameters for evaluation of this subject, and I believe I have finally penetrated the interference in this one?s results. I have also recently come into possession of the individual this subject holds a very strong emotional attachment to, but I am no longer certain he will be of any use. This subject?s memory and emotions alone provide all that is necessary. I believe I will have Bodhi dispose of the new resource-I am certain she would find some measure of entertainment in a paladin quarry??

Ajantis?! Disposed of?! AJANTIS!!!

Almost instinctively, Alexandria focused her mental energies as she had done so often before-imagining a point in her mind pushing outward, dragging a thin, razor-sharp sheet of the fabric of her mind with it. Normally, she could manifest the mind blade with ease-barely more than an instant.

Twenty seconds of concentration later, and the point of focus in Alexandria?s mind was still going nowhere. It was an alien sensation-not even in her earliest days of discovering her unusual talent had she felt the point of narrow concentration simply do nothing. The fabric of her mind had resisted, certainly, but here, it was as though there was nothing at all for the point of focus to push through?

?My experiments have apparently left the subject with psychological damage.? The strange voice again pierced the stale air. ?The subject appears to suffer from recurring amnesia-every time the subject has awoken, it has attempted to shape its mind blade in defiance of the psionic nullification field. Every time, it has failed. From what I have determined, the amnesia may be the result of my mental probes interacting strangely with the subject?s latent psionic abilities, which, while extremely limited, do nevertheless affect the results of the experiments somewhat. Fortunately, I believe I have all necessary data from this one-it is time to renew experimentations on the other subject.?

Alexandria heard a handful of arcane syllables she didn?t comprehend, then surrendered once more to oblivion.


It took a few seconds for the tiefling to realize the groan of pain was her own as awareness slowly trickled back into her consciousness. Her eyes opened next, piercing the dark as easily as they always had-revealing nothing but bars, and in a dimly lit chamber, more cages beyond Alexandria. Then feeling returned to her mind-the cold iron floor of wherever the hell she was. She groaned again as she tried to pick herself up from the fetal position she found herself in.

?Do not try to move too quickly, child. Whatever that madman has been doing to you, you have never recovered easily from it.?

That voice?

?J-Jaheira?? Alexandria asked hesitantly, in what was more a croak than clearly defined words.

?It is I.? The druid confirmed. ?And unless you wish to collapse again, stop speaking to me and return to a sitting position-slowly.?

Alexandria jerked her head in an approximation of a nod, and slowly pulled herself up from the cold floor of the cage. She was barely clothed-a thin gray shift, barely enough to protect her modesty, and a quick glance over herself yielded disturbing results-several new scars lay scattered across her body, and none were those of conventional cuts or stabs?

?Do you always go through the same ritual when you awaken?? A familiar, gloomy voice asked. ?Don?t bother to answer-you always do.?

?Xan, you?re here, too?? Alexandria asked, eyes still examining the new scars on her body.

?Obviously.?

?And I?ve been here before-waking up in this cage, doing this same thing??

?Yes. I have lost count of the number of times you have done so.?

Alexandria finally turned herself to face the voices she had heard. Across a short catwalk from her cage were Jaheira and Xan. Both were still wearing tattered remains of the clothes they had worn in Baldur?s Gate, and aside from being covered in filth, did not appear to be harmed. Well, not quite unharmed. They looked positively wretched.

?Where are we?? She asked.

?Would that we knew, child. We both woke up here after whatever it was that happened in Baldur?s Gate, along with Khalid, Imoen, and yourself. Our captor removed both you and Imoen not long thereafter-he has returned you, unconscious, to this cell periodically, and you have always been inflicted with a peculiar sort of amnesia. Imoen, we have heard nothing of. Khalid, he removed some time ago-and I do not know what has happened to him. Not very long ago, Ajantis was also brought here.?-Alexandria?s blood chilled, recalling the cold voice?s words-?He was also removed, just before you were returned. His story was similar to our own-he was journeying towards Baldur?s Gate again, to seek your forgiveness, when he was ambushed and very quickly overwhelmed by enemies unknown outside the city. Whoever our captor is, he is undoubtedly powerful.?

?No question of that.? Alexandria agreed. ?I remember that voice-our captor, I guess-saying a lot of crap about experiments on me. You have any idea what that means??

?Very little.? Xan answered. ?You have told us very similar things before-and we are no closer to knowing what our captor wants. By yourself, it would be understandable. Also taking Imoen and Khalid, however, has foiled our every effort at discerning what our captor wants.?

?Well, any oth?-

Alexandria?s words were stolen by a massive explosion somewhere in the distance. A split-second later, and the shockwave rolled into the prison, hurling Alexandria against the cold bars.

?What-what in the hells was that?? She heard Jaheira ask.

Another thunderous explosion answered her. This one seemed to be a bit closer-


Alexandria very distinctly heard the sound of metal screaming and shattering before she lost consciousness.

Edited by Tempest, 06 November 2009 - 07:27 AM.

[Tempest]

Author's Note: *glares at copy of canon script for Chateau Irenicus, which is covered in scribbles and notations*

Chapter XLII: Unforeseen Consequences


At this point, the feeling of waking up from unconsciousness, as opposed to actual sleep, was beginning to feel familiar to Alexandria, as was the slow trickle of her senses once again feeding information to her brain. And, as usual, it was all accompanied by a splitting headache.

?She awakens.? Xan?s voice observed.

?Good.? Jaheira replied. ?Alexandria, are you all right??

?Aside from feeling like the Flaming Fist is on a parade march on the inside of my skull?? Alexandria tried to chuckle, but the sound came out as a dry croak. ?I guess I?m okay.?

The tiefling stood and let her eyes take in the surroundings. The entire underground chamber seemed to have tilted slightly with the explosions she had heard before losing consciousness, and many of the cages were shattered or askew. A heavy steel door was set in the opposite wall, but it was open, and slightly crooked-as though one of its hinges had been broken. To her far left, a path led elsewhere, and a flickering yellow glow sputtered far down the hallway. A dim blue light shone sinto her present chamber from somewhere far above, casting macabre shadows from the broken cages.

Jaheira and Xan were standing nearby, and the druidess had somehow managed to find weapons and armor-she wore a badly dented suit of plate mail and carried a spear. Xan, in contrast, had managed to find a crude but serviceable gray robe. A suit of banded mail and a longsword lay at Alexandria?s feet.

?Where?d you find this stuff?? The tiefling asked.

Jaheira tilted her head towards the open door. ?It was an armory of some fashion, child. Very well stocked-a wide range of weapons and armor, unsecured, in appropriate sizes to fit us, as well as helmets, backpacks, quivers, belts suitable for keeping a wide range of objects ready for immediate use, and leather boots in appropriate sizes for us.?

Alexandria arched an eyebrow at the druid.

?Child, do not look to me to explain why our captor would design his facility in such a way. I am neither an architect nor an urban planner, so there are doubtlessly considerations in designing elaborate, presumably underground, magical research facilities that I am not aware of. I presume your mind blade is still nonfunctional??

Alexandria focused a moment, then shook her head.

?That is what I was afraid of. I am aware your training with material weapons is limited, but you will have to make do. The last time you were present and awake, you took the opportunity to pray to Selune, and given the circumstances, I believe your goddess will continue to grant you access to spells. Are you still disoriented??

?A little.? The tiefling admitted. ?Jaheira, I?m really in no condition to lead. You take point, Xan and I will follow. Aside from getting out of here, we need to find Imoen, Khalid, and Ajantis if we can.?

?A wise decision, and you are correct that we need to find the others. Get your armor on and follow me.?

Alexandria nodded, and with the druid?s help, quickly donned the armor. The banded armor weighed more heavily on her shoulders than her normal field plate and felt more restrictive, but it seemed it would offer more protection-a worthwhile tradeoff, under the circumstances. Finally, the longsword fit easily into one of the scabbards Jaheira had retrieved from the armory. It weighed far more than her insubstantial mind blade, and felt much more awkward in her hands, but it would have to do.


The first body lay about fifteen feet down the hallway. Distant, muffled explosions were audible elsewhere, but the corpse they found had no immediate evidence of harm-there wasn?t a single mark or tear on the black leather armor the dead man wore, nor on the equally black cloth of the man?s hood. A short sword and several throwing knives lay scattered across the floor, and Jaheira hurriedly removed the hood and armor, examining the man?s body.

?Find anything?? Alexandria asked, her attention reserved to the hallway ahead of them.

?Nothing. This man had no identifying marks, no distinguishing insignia, no distinctive equipment, not even a gold coin so we could get some idea of where we are. If I had to guess, I would say he was slain by a spell of some sort.?

?That?s not news, I guess. Our captor seems to be a wizard, so there might be magical defenses.?

?If there are, we can only hope this man and his allies triggered and expended them.?

?His allies?? Xan asked.

?Yes. The very lack of distinguishing marks on the man is telling-he was part of a skilled unit, likely professionals of some task or another, and the explosions could perhaps be the rest of this man?s allies assailing our captor or his defenses. We should step lightly-even if this man and his allies are not hostile to us, we may not wish to meet them.?

?Well, the man?s kinda wearing black leather armor and was armed with a short sword and several throwing knives, which isn?t exactly the gear of choice for paladins. Thieves? guild, maybe??

?A good guess, child, but we must move on. Standing around and gazing at our navels will do us no good.?

Xan and Alexandria nodded tersely, and continued down the hallway. Altogether, five bodies littered the hallway, all with the same color and style of armor, and all armed with the same weapons-right down to the hilt designs. None of them showed any signs of violent death. Somehow, Alexandria found that more chilling than the occasional bloodbath she had seen in her past.


They found the chamber no more than twenty minutes later. Twenty minutes of damaged rooms, unidentifiable equipment, several more bodies, and five wrecked golems-one of stone, the other four of the flesh variety. Unlike the earlier bodies, all of these displayed clear signs of what killed them-caving in ribcages seemed to have been a popular tactic among the golems, and apparently the best tactic the intruders had come up with for eliminating the golems was hurling vials of alchemist?s fire and acid. Quite how the stone golem had been destroyed was something of a mystery-a massive crater had been blasted into its torso, taking its head clean off, but after a few minutes of fruitless searching for explosives on the corpses of the thieves, the adventurers gave up.

The chamber itself was clearly not part of the altered laboratory-or if it was, it had been masterfully worked to resemble a strange natural cavern. Giant crystalline formations dominated the cavern, resembling nothing so much as glittering sea urchins writ large. In the center of the chamber was a pool of some sort of shifting brown substance, in which stood-or rather, emanated a being unlike any Alexandria had seen before-it had the shape of a beautiful woman starting from about the waist, with eyes of glittering gemstones and earth-brown hair streaked with gold and silver. A constantly shifting and fluctuating column connected it to the pool.

?Jaheira, you have any idea what that thing is?? Alexandria whispered.

?An idea, yes, but only that it is a being of elemental earth of some sort.?

?Actually,? Xan cut in loudly, ?It is an earth weird. Such creatures are known as diviners and oracles, the earth variety said to specialize in telling of death, misfortune, and chance.?

?How appropriate for us.? The priestess muttered.

?Indeed it is!? The being called, startlinging the two women. ?Your captor sought my services for precisely that reason. Death is very much a part of you Bhaalspawn, and it?s also quite an important subject to his own heart. I do not believe he requires my services any longer, what with this place being a ruin now, but I hoped you might escape.?

?Wait-you knew we were imprisoned? Do you know why?!? Alexandria blurted.

The weird smiled enigmatically. ?Yes to both questions, Bhaalspawn. I know a great deal of your situation, and those of your missing friends. However, I am bound by certain rules of my kind, and I cannot tell you most of what you need to know. I think I can get away with bending some of those rules for you, but not by much.?

?Any help you can give us will be appreciated, I guess.?

?Oh, you won?t appreciate my help when the time comes, Bhaalspawn, I can guarantee that much.? The weird made a strange sound, like grinding rocks together. ?You see, the elf?s evaluation of me was correct-my area of expertise is discovering the fate of individuals, and how they will fare in the pursuit of material possessions. For all three of you, the answer to those questions is? complicated. Great as my power of foretelling is, you will travel places I cannot see, partake in events not even I can know how will end. You, Alexandria Eversor, are particularly bad about not letting me do my job, but Xan Adiras and Jaheira who isn?t using her surname, you both will have a distressing tendency of following in her wake.?

?Distressing,? Xan said to himself. ?Is one way to describe this, not to mention that it is also accurate.?

?Quite so.? The weird agreed. ?Simply looking into that tiefling?s future would be enough to give me chronic headaches for the rest of my life, if I had a head for anything but convenience when dealing with humanoids. Your own future isn?t much better, to be honest. It?s one of the more interesting futures I?ve looked into, though-you have an almost uniformly happy life to look forward to.?

?Almost?? Xan asked pointedly.

?Yes, well, the exceptions will tend to be real kickers. For example, I can guarantee you?re going to die. At least once. With my kind, it gets a little hazy when dealing with adventurer types like you, all that resurrecting and reincarnating. I can see your death, but I can also see that you?re going to have some interesting bits of life after that, and while I?m a specialist in foretelling death and apocalypse, there?s enough background noise from your girlfriend in the annals of fate that it?s a bit hard to pick out fine details.?

?I?m not his girlfriend.? Alexandria corrected the weird.

?Did I say you were? Didn?t think so. Now Jaheira, I?ve got an emissary from Silvanus standing with a maul over my head back at home if I tell you anything, so I?m mum.?

?Then can you at least tell us anything useful?? Jaheira asked.

?Pushy, pushy, pushy. That?s the way it always is with you Prime types. Always in a hurry. Why don?t you slow down for just a minute and let an elemental who hasn?t had anyone better than a duergar to talk to for the last five months enjoy a bit of conversation??

?We?ve been imprisoned for five months?!?

?Did I say that? I said I?ve been here for five months. You haven?t. Really don?t know how long you?ve all been here, to be honest. Irenicus kept my elemental earth nose to the precognitive grindstone quite a lot. Alexandria, if you thought your destiny was messed up, wait till you try divining his!?

?I?m sorry, but I have to agree with Jaheira. We?re in a little bit of a hurry here, in case you hadn?t noticed.?

?I hadn?t, because you?re almost entirely safe here.? The weird chided. ?You?ve got a big fight coming up with some duergar in the next chapter, but aside from them, the only other living things in this complex bigger than an insect are the three of you, me, four dryads, one girl stuck in a magical trance, and a djinn sneaking around trying to find one of his friends who was trapped in a bottle-too bad he?s looking on the wrong plane. Oh, and there?s an otyugh and some mephitis running around. Annoying little para-elemental creeps.?

?Wait-a girl stuck in a magical trance?!? Alexandria asked quickly. ?You mean Imoen?!?

?Could be. About your age, pink hair, kinda curvy, good cleavage for someone her age, scary with knives??

?I don?t know about the knives part, but that does sound like her.?

?Then take the hallway to my left, work your way through the library, and keep going as straight as you can. Was fun, people, but I?ve got to run now. Have fun!?

?Fun has nothing to do with this, but thanks for your help.? Alexandria admitted.

?Oh, sure, anytime. And I no offense, but I hope I never see you again.?

[Tempest]

Chapter XLIII: Wave Break


A few seconds after the weird concluded its ominous and entirely too lurid message, the elemental sank down into the pool of earth at its base and vanished. As had become the usual course of action after receiving such advice, an event which itself had happened a few times too many for Alexandria?s liking, the adventurers spent the next several minutes talking back and forth, Alexandria and Jaheira theorizing and debating just what the elemental had meant while Xan made pronouncements of impending doom of various methods and degrees at random points in the conversation. Also proceeding by the normal procedure, the women ignored Xan?s warnings, the elf sighed in defeat, and something resembling a productive conversation eventually formed.

?I fail to see the sense in your plan, unless you truly do desire to speed us towards our doom.?

?Look, there are three ways out of this cavern-the way we came, a north passage blocked by a locked and reinforced door, and an open tunnel west. What would you do??

?Apply a spell to the door to grant us passage and attempt to bypass the duergar the elemental warned us about??

??Apply a spell? being a euphemism for blowing the door of its hinges with a fireball??

?If necessary.?

?That?s not the elf I know. What?s gotten into you??

?Concern for Imoen, if you must know.?

?Children, from the explosions we have heard, I do not believe we should risk weakening the structure of this place. If the open passage does not get us anywhere, we may attempt your idea.?

?Weakening the structure of this place appears to be a moot point. It is more than likely weakened already.?

?Precisely. If it will make you feel any better, there is a pool of water over there that I can use for a scrying spell.?

?That will not be necessary. It appears that our change in circumstances has not changed the fact that I am doomed.?

?You don?t sound as depressed as you usually do when you say that.?

?In this place, it is likely that you are doomed along with me.?

?Ah.?

?If you children are quite done, we should set forth.?

?No argument there.?

Well, maybe only resembling productive conversation?


If their doom was to come in this place, Alexandria thought, it was certainly taking its time. The three adventurers had been walking down the passage for nearly fifteen minutes, and found nothing of use. Several chambers branched off of the passage, but glancing at them revealed nothing but equipment of sorts none of them dared to guess the purposes of. Massive glass tanks twenty feet tall and perhaps six feet in diameter, filled with a clear, bubbling fluid, linked by pipes that snaked across the roof of the chamber, some tanks holding dark shapes none of the adventurers could get a clear look at through the glass. Storage rooms filled with alchemical ingredients. The odd room stocked with books from floor to ceiling, most in languages unknown to the adventurers-those they could read seemed to be on the nature of souls.

The battle had apparently not reached this part of the facility, as the equipment and materials in the rooms were entirely intact, and there were no corpses on the floor. In fact, everything seemed scrupulously clean for an underground facility-Alexandria wasn?t sure if she saw a single bit of dust in the entire section. Even the golden lighting, emanating from glowing crystals set into the walls, seemed pure.

?Does anyone else feel that?? Xan asked suddenly.

Alexandria felt silent for a moment, then shook her head. ?Sorry, I got no idea what you?re talking about.?

?I do.? Jaheira interrupted smoothly. ?The air is beginning to feel warmer, and I believe there?s a trace of smoke in the air.?

?My thoughts precisely. The elemental specified duergar, so it is possible they are up ahead.?

?That would make sense. Given the crystalline illumination mechanisms in place here, a fire?s most logical source would be a forge, which seems a likely location for duergar in this facility.?

?Someone, please talk to me.? Alexandria cut in. ?What the hell are duergar? I?ve seen them mentioned a few times in the books at Candlekeep, but never read about what they actually are.?

?They are known as the gray dwarves, child, and live primarily in the Underdark. They are, in general, malicious and evil, building their empires on slave labor. However, they are also known to be unusually gifted with psionic ability-not to the extent of Gith or mind flayers, but the Invisible Art is more common among them than most any surface races.?

?Great.? The tiefling replied dryly.

?If it is any consolation, the field nullifying your mind blade will likely nullify any psionic abilities they boast.?

?Except they have likely prepared for that fact.? Xan answered.

Neither Alexandria nor Jaheira could do much but nod at that assessment.


Xan?s prediction was correct. Around the next turn in the corridor was a large room with about half a dozen duergar. That was all Jaheira was able to see before three crossbow bolts sailed down the hallway, one grazing Jaheira?s arm before the druidess was able to duck back behind the wall.

?So, any plans?? Alexandria asked. ?Under normal circumstances, I?d just lob a few vials of alchemist?s fire or cast a spell, but we don?t have the former, and I don?t even know what spells Selune?s granted me. Amnesia plays hell with spellcasting.?

?We?re all d-?

?Hey, I implied I didn?t know what to do, not that we don?t have a plan.?

?And what plan would that be, child??

?Charge.?

The other two stared at Alexandria for a long moment. She threw up her hands.

?What? It?s worked before!?

?Yes, but you are lacking your mind blade, child, and I doubt you are as skilled with a material blade. Furthermore, Xan has been deprived of his spellbook during our captivity, and is unable to cast spells.?

?I assume you?ve got a plan, then??

?I do.?

Jaheira promptly began chanting and weaving a spell, which created a burst of light in front of her. When the light faded, a bizarre creature stood before the half-elf: it looked like a worm of some sort, perhaps a foot in diameter and five feet long, seemingly comprised of solid earth except for the last six inches of its pointed snout, which burned with fire. Immediately behind the molten tip of the creature, two small eyes looked towards its summoner. Jaheira spoke quickly in a deep, resonant language Alexandria didn?t recognize, and the creature reared up and dove into the ground, easily piercing the stone floor. A few seconds later, and Jaheira repeated the spell, summoning the same sort of creature, which likewise dove into the earth. The druid turned towards the others.

?The thoqquas will strike first, hopefully giving us the advantage of surprise.?

?Thoqquas?? Alexandria and Xan asked simultaneously.

?You children should read more. Paraelemental beings, possessed of both elemental earth and elemental fire traits. They responded to my nature?s ally call. Let us be swift!?

The elf and tiefling nodded, and turned the corridor just in time to see one of the creatures burst out of the rock floor beneath one of the duergar. The dwarf immediately caught fire, but brought his axe crashing down on the creature. A second later, and the other thoqqua struck from beneath a second duergar, but this dwarf was more agile than the first and performed an awkward but effective roll away from the elemental, bringing a crossbow up and firing as he stood.

However, the duergar regrouped in good order as they saw the trio of adventurers charging down the hall. One chanted a spell, and an acid arrow burned into Alexandria?s breastplate, eating away at the steel but failing to harm the flesh beneath. Two crossbow bolts lanced down the corridor towards Jaheira, one missing, one lodging in her left pauldron. Xan whirled a sling around as he ducked into the open corridor and sent the stone shooting forwards, narrowly avoiding clipping Jaheira, but also failing to hit any of the duergar. The two dwarves engaged with the thoqqua showed remarkable discipline in fighting the creatures, even the one set aflame. A third came to their aid, casting a spell that launched an orb seemingly comprised of ice at one of the elementals, which made an unearthly shriek as it felt the unnatural cold.

Then Alexandria reached the first duergar, wincing as a bolt hit her in the half-melted metal bands covering her abdomen and punched through. Her longsword, feeling extremely heavy and awkward in her hands, came down on the dwarf clumsily and missing entirely, while the duergar?s small, pinched face smirked and tossed the crossbow aside, taking up a battle axe. Jaheira, meanwhile, was fully practiced with material weapons, and impaled her target directly in the chest, but unfortunately on the wrong side to pierce the heart. She withdrew the weapon with a sickening splurch, but the dwarf hurled a small axe with remarkable discipline, which tore a rent in the side of her breastplate that immediately began oozing blood.

Alexandria struck awkwardly with the longsword again, but unnatural as the heavy blade felt in her hands compared to the immaterial scimitar she was accustomed to, the sword connected, cutting across the point where the dwarf?s short neck connected to his shoulder, and as the blade came away, so did a large portion of the dwarf?s gray beard. The short humanoid howled with rage and crash-tackled Alexandria with significantly more force than she would have expected, and immediately began pummeling her with his fists.

She dropped her sword immediately and her right hand immediately went for her belt dagger, before realizing it wasn?t there. Her left hand, encased in its steel gauntlet, hammered into the dwarf. He spat on her and hit her face hard. Though the dwarf wore only leather gauntlets, he was still strong, and the blows stung. Alexandria reached forwards and grabbed one of his wrists as he prepared to strike again, and wrenched the arm side as she shifted her position on the ground, and they both rolled over onto the side, the tiefling?s left leg lashing out and upwards relative to their position as she did so, striking the duergar squarely in the groin. Unfortunately, her boot met with resistance short of her intended target-the dwarf had clearly expected the move, and moved his own leg to kick at and deflect Alexandria?s blow.

The tiefling snarled and let go of the duergar?s wrist, both hands seizing the dwarf?s throat in a vise-like grip, applying pressure on the windpipe and intending to cut off his supply of air, silently thanking Ajantis-during their travels together, the paladin had taught her a fair amount about unarmed combat, though admittedly with the aim of taking someone alive. The dwarf kicked out again savagely, but in his present position, the only parts of Alexandria he could reach were solidly enclosed in metal armor, and his struggles were ineffectual. His blows became even more frantic as Alexandria maintained the choke-hold, but they stopped with a sickening abruptness, and the duergar?s body suddenly slackened.

Alexandria looked away in revulsion as she released her grip on the dwarf?s throat, willing her eyes not to see what the dwarf?s body inflicted on itself as it choked to death. The priestess was no stranger to death, but this sort of death, which she had never witnessed before, let alone inflicted, seemed much more intense than death from spell or blade-much more personal.

The battle had almost ended during her struggle with the dwarf-both of the thoqquas were dead, one apparently frozen by magical cold, the other hacked into pieces. Alexandria?s friends were still alive, though, and as she watched, Jaheira withdrew her spear from the vital organs of the last duergar standing. Fire had dealt heavy damage to several of the tables and weapon racks in the room, but a number remained standing. Alexandria stpped over to the tables to examine their contents, and promptly wished she hadn?t.

Knives. Of all shapes, sizes, cutting types, and functions. A few were simple and functional-really no more than combat daggers or kitchen knives, but many more chilled Alexandria just to look at them, and she dared not imagine what they were used for. Even more hauntingly, the knives were perfectly clean and sharpened-even polished? while the wood of the tables was stained a dark red-brown color that was all too familiar.

Alexandria looked from the tables, to the fallen duergar, to the only corridor that led forward from the room.

I thought I knew the darkness, knew blood and pain. I don?t know if it?s ever been so unsettling to learn I was wrong about something.


Author's Note: Thoqquas are indeed real creatures from the monster manual. Was looking for something from the Summon Nature's Ally III list, and found these freaky critters.

[Tempest]

Chapter XLIV: Theory Of Gravity


Despite Alexandria?s reservations, Jaheira insisted they each take what equipment they could from the fallen duergar and their stores. For the tiefling, this meant taking one of the knives from the bloodstained table, and a crossbow from one of the dead dwarves. She had, at least, been trained in the crossbow by Jondalar at Candlekeep-more than could be said for the longsword. Jaheira took a large quiver and several javelins from a rack along one wall, and Xan retrieved a number of unusual bullet stones-they were perfect spheres, and the elf reported that the stones seemed to have a magical enhancement of some sort.

A search of the room also yielded a few additional treasures. Two rings of protection, a magical amulet that Xan designated an amulet of metaspell influence, and an ornate helm, enchanted with protective properties, that Jaheira donned. They also located a wand of fireball and a wand of cloudkill, but as Alexandria searched the body of the duergar leader, she found a leather pouch, made of bright and well-maintained leather and brass, which definitely stood out from the dirty gray leather that comprised the rest of the dwarf?s equipment. She quickly cut the pouch away from the belt and lifted the pouch up-it was surprisingly heavy for how small it was. The tiefling wasn?t sure what to expect as she detached the pouch?s buckle and opened the top flap, but her eyes went wide as she saw acorns. Plain old acorns. Out of curiosity, she reached her hand in to take one of the acorns.

Half a second later, and Alexandria groaned as she picked herself up off the floor on the opposite end of the room from the pouch, which had fallen neatly to the floor.

?What on Toril did you do, child?? Jaheira asked, reaching down to help Alexandria up.

?Not sure. That pouch was filled with about half a dozen acorns-I reached in to grab one, and it didn?t like me.?

?Strange.? The druid replied simply as she walked over to the pouch and picked it up.

A moment later, and all six acorns rested in Jaheira?s palm, innocuous and without any strange effect. Alexandria glared at the nuts, then looked to Jaheira.

?Any ideas??

?These are no ordinary objects, child. There is a vast amount of power within them-far more potent than even in an ordinary enchanted object. Xan, would you please examine them??

Xan nodded, and picked up one of the acorns. He, too, was unharmed.

?I can do little but confirm Jaheira?s analysis.? The elf reported simply.

?Okay, let?s try that again.? Alexandria murmured, reaching out to the acorns again.

This time, the tiefling distinctly felt a brief contact with an intense amount of energy within the acorn, before the energy surged into the tiefling and slammed her off of her feet and against the far wall.

?Okay? bad idea? miserable little magical nuts.? Alexandria groaned as she rose from the floor. ?Why don?t one of you carry them, figure them out later??

?Wise idea, child.? Jaheira said with what Alexandria could have sworn with a smirk. ?Perhaps the powerfully magical items tied deeply to the natural world should be held by one attuned to the natural world, as opposed to an Outsider.?

The tiefling grimaced. ?Okay, no need to rub it in. Looks like there?s only one way to go from here, unless you can summon another critter to burrow a tunnel through solid rock.?

?I am not yet capable of such a feat.? The druid replied. ?Yet.?


There had evidently been fighting in this part of the complex-the walls were scored and damaged by impacts and what looked like exposure to powerful acid. A T-junction in the hallway had suffered particularly extensive damage-one passage was collapsed entirely, from floor to ceiling, and a massive gouge had been torn into the far wall of the surviving passage. Along the surviving passage were more rooms like the adventurers had seen before, most filled with arcane equipment or serving as storage rooms. There were also more bodies in this area-the black-garbed corpses they had seen before, and several duergar, with the occasional corpses of strange, apparently elemental creatures Xan identified as mephits.

Particularly strange, however, was an object they found in a room with four destroyed golems and several fallen intruders. It was approximately the same size and shape as a large, standalone mirror-perhaps eight feet tall, and made of what was, at first glance, a green crystal, framed by a stone archway that had a peculiar golden slot or keyhole of some sort on the side. However, the positioning of the intruders? bodies was strange-it looked as though they had entered the room by coming through the device?

?A magic portal?? Alexandria wondered aloud.

?It would appear to be so.? Xan answered as he studied the device.

Xan then picked up a short sword from one of the fallen intruders, and probed the device?s flat, featureless green surface. The blade tip went through the surface as though it was not there and sending ripples across the device, similar to the effect of throwing a stone in a lake. Xan withdrew the blade, then casually tossed the sword into the device.

The sword clattered against the far wall, having passed cleanly through the device?s surface.

?Yes?? The elf murmured. ?It is as I thought-this is indeed a portal, but we lack the proper key to activate it. If I were forced to hypothesize, I would think it is an actual key or activating device of some sort that is required, which would then be inserted into this hole in the stone frame, though I could be mistaken-the hole could simply be a decoy, and the key to activating this portal is a proper command word, an amulet one of us would need wear, or something even more esoteric. I do not believe there is anything we can do with this portal at present.?

?Very well.? Jaheira replied. ?But we should keep the location of this in mind-we have yet to see any other means of leaving this complex.?


Whatever the complex was, it was massive, but it was also clearly quite old, and the adventurers were apparently heading into the older areas-many passages began to branch off from the main path, but all of them had either collapsed or been deliberately sealed off by massive stone blocks. The original structure had also been modified, by what Xan decided was likely stone shape spells-the original passages had been lower and tighter, judging by where the finely worked stone ended and the smooth, featureless rock characteristic (or so Xan reported) of magical alteration began. Many of the chambers were also in disuse, and more than a few had partially or fully collapsed. The adventurers occasionally found old furniture or bookshelves, all worn or fallen apart from age and neglect.

After perhaps an hour of fruitlessly searching the only clear path through the complex, however, a strange sound reached the adventurers: running water. The sound echoed through the corridors and chambers, but it seemed to grow louder the farther they went into the tunnels, until it was a dull roar that made conversation difficult. Their discovery of the source was as abrupt as it was unexpected. The adventurers had turned a corner and opened a heavy stone door, only to suddenly find themselves in a forest.


It was, Alexandria decided, a natural cavern, but it had clearly been modified by magic-and in a spectacular fashion. The ground seemed to be ordinary soil, with no trace of hard rock beneath when Alexandria probed the dirt with her dagger, and an unseen source of light illuminated the cavern as brightly as a morning sun. Numerous trees were scattered throughout the cavern, and from above and to the left, a bird sung brightly. A small stone path wound its way directly through the artificial forest, and directly ahead of the adventurers, a beautiful waterfall fell from a hole in the cavern ceiling, feeding into a stream that meandered through the cavern, following and crossing the stone path at several points. As they watched, a squirrel darted across the path, chittering as it ran up one of the trees, and a gentle breeze began to blow from somewhere in the distance.

Altogether, it was an idyllic forest sanctuary, and about the last thing Alexandria would ever have expected to find in a place like this. The priestess turned to look at her friends, and saw that Xan in particular seemed enraptured by the sanctuary, an expression of undisguised wonder and longing looking extraordinarily out of place on the dour elf?s face. Jaheira was less affected-if anything, the druid looked downright nervous.

?You all right, Jaheira?? Alexandria asked as softly as she could in the waterfall?s presence.

?No, child.? She replied, just as softly. ?This place is beautiful, and speaks to my elven blood in ways I did not know anything could, but there is a powerful magic here. The trees reek of it. Great power of nature, but enchained by an even greater, and far less natural, power. This place is an abomination.?

?I think you?re right.? Alexandria agreed. ?It?s a bit too peaceful for my liking. We should be on our guard, I assume??

?Of course, child. Would you like the honors of breaking Xan out of his reverie??

?Sure.?

In the end, Alexandria had to slap the elf across the face to get his attention.

?I-I am sorry.? Xan stammered as he came to his senses. ?I? this place is steeped in elven magic. Not simple arcane spell, but a far more elegant variety of magic. I have only witnessed this manner of magic a very few times in my life, in the temple of Corellon Larethian in Evereska, and in the heart of the city itself. I believe we are safe here, but I know little of how this sort of magic truly works.?

?Well, can?t hurt to have your sling ready. I have a bad feeling about this place.?

?You would, Alexandria. You are not an elf.?

The tiefling was about to reply when a strange voice echoed through the artificial forest-a whisper despite the roar of falling water. Alexandria?s face scrunched up as she struggled to listen to the voice, but it was in a language she did not recognize.

?Either of you know that language?? She asked.

?Yes.? Xan and Jaheira replied simultaneously. The druid elaborated. ?It is Sylvan, the language of fey and woodland beings. The voice seemed to be a warning-it was saying ?Three come. They bear the seeds. One is like unto us. One is like unto him. One is like unto the other. They come.??

?So, nothing that actually means anything??

?With what we know at present? no.? Jaheira admitted with a smile. ?I would assume the seeds the voice referred to are the acorns we carry, but little else. Forward, then??

?Forward.? Alexandria agreed.

They followed the winding path for several minutes, often crossing small stone bridges where the path intersected with the flowing stream. They saw the occasional bird or small rodent in or around the trees, but none of them approached the adventurers until the trio found themselves facing a strange sight-seven massive oak trees in a wide circle. The path led through and past the circle of trees, but Jaheira waved the adventurers to a halt as they approached. The druid then walked into the center of the circle, speaking the same language the earlier voice had whispered in.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a figure emerged from each tree. They looked like beautiful female elves, but their skin seemed to be made of bark, and their hair made of leaves. Alexandria felt a peculiar stirring as the dryads emerged from their trees-female though they were, she found the fey extremely attractive.

Jaheira, meanwhile, lifted up the pouch of magical acorns and began speaking to the dryads. After a few minutes, the druid switched to common.

?Alexandria, Xan, it is safe to approach. These dryads are fellow prisoners-they call him Irenicus, the Shattered One.?

?That is not a name given lightly.? Xan whispered to Alexandria as they entered the circle. ?It is what fey and other avatars of nature call beings that desecrate themselves in manners abhorrent to the natural order.?

?So what?s their story? Those their acorns or something?? Alexandria asked, trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to avert her eyes from the ungarbed dryads.

?Yes. Apparently, this Irenicus managed to bind their souls to these acorns-doing so allowed him to remove them from their true trees. He then attempted to force them to bond with these, but it is only a forced surface connection-if we were to return these acorns to their proper trees, they would be able to leave this place and return to their homes. He was also able to somehow tap their connection to nature to create this place-freeing them will also collapse this place.?

?What are the odds of finding their trees, though? We don?t even know where we are.?

?They know they were only transported a short time before being brought through a portal to this place-once we go through the portal, it cannot be more than a week?s travel to their grove of origin. They have also been able to shed some light on this place-apparently, Irenicus used them for purposes best not contemplated, and he is prone to talking when he does so. This place was a duergar stronghold that Irenicus invaded. He enslaved the survivors, whom we met, and has been using it for intensive research of some sort. They have two last pieces of information for us-Irenicus keeps the key to the portal in a sanctuary of some sort close by, and that is also where Imoen is being held.?

Xan cut off Alexandria before she could speak. ?Then we *must* find her. Thank the dryads for their assistance, and inform them we will free them if we are able, but I must see Imoen!?

Alexandria and Jaheira both stared at the momentarily energetic elf for a long moment before nodding. Jaheira spoke again to the dryads in their strange language, and they faded back into the trees. Without speaking, the adventurers hurried along the path.

They need not have hurried-the room was no more than a hundred feet beyond the dryads? circle, a small room seemingly shaped out of nothing but leaves and gold, with a centerpiece of a beautiful elven bed, shaped like a laurel leaf.

On the bed was a nude female figure, her delicate skin utterly unmarred-even scars that should have been there were missing. It took Alexandria a moment to realize who the figure was, but when she did, the blood chill that had been absent for the last hour returned in full force. Imoen.

[Tempest]

Chapter XLV: Beneath The Bright Eclipse


An unceremonious collision between Alexandria and Xan was averted only by the slimmest of margins as both rushed to Imoen?s side. Both adventurers immediately drew forth magical energies over the still woman, Alexandria applying a healing spell that mended many, but not all, of Imoen?s injuries, and Xan conjured a white sheet of cloth out of thin air, covering Imoen?s exposed form. Xan then softly recited another spell, and laid his hand on Imoen?s, eyes shut in concentration.

After a few moments, the elf?s eyes opened and he shook his head. His voice was oddly tone-less as he spoke.

?She does not appear to be under any sort of conventional magical enchantment, which is inconsistent with the earth weird?s report. I am hesitant to cast a dispel magic spell, as it may interact with whatever is keeping her unconscious in unpredictable ways. Do you have any ideas??

?Well? we could always try the time-honored classic of the handsome prince kissing the lovely maiden to wake her up.? Alexandria answered promptly, forcing some degree of light-heartedness into her voice.

Xan apparently didn?t hear the false levity, as his reply was as somber as ever. ?I very much doubt that this Irenicus took human myths into account when he subdued Imoen. Look around-perhaps the key to her condition rests somewhere in here. I will continue to analyze her state.?

Alexandria and Jaheira both nodded and began looking around the room. There wasn?t much to search-the elven chamber was made almost entirely out of leaves, fine wood, and gold ornamentation, with the same unseen sun filtering in bright light through the trees above. A set of drawers yielded several articles of clothing, all clearly of elven manufacture-a stunningly beautiful dress of green and gold that was so delicate Alexandria worried it would tear at her slightest touch, an exquisite thistledown cloak, and a sturdier but no less elegant set of robes covered in arcane symbols, all so richly appointed and gilded that they bordered on, if not actually crossing into, regal garments in the most literal sense of the word-clothes for a king and queen. The dress was tailored for someone shorter and far more slender than Alexandria, but she pulled the cloak around her back and Xan took the robes, placing them gently in his pack.

The rest of the room?s treasures were similar-a necklace and pair of rings made by craftsmanship unrivaled by any the adventurers had ever seen, four gilded tomes of arcane lore, a hand-mirror of distinctly elven working, two ornate wands charged with healing spells that Jaheira took, a grand painting of an elven city, and a peculiar copper rod-it looked like a wand at first glance, but lacked any magic. Jaheira took the item anyway, in the event it proved useful later.

What they entirely failed to find, however, was any key to the magic that had subdued Imoen. Xan glanced through the arcane tomes they had found, but said they concerned elven high magic, whatever the hell that was, rather than anything useful. After another minute of conversation, Jaheira left to ask the dryads for more information, if any, leaving Alexandria with Xan as they stood over Imoen?s prone form.

After an awkward moment of silence, Xan sighed and looked down at his feet.

?I will confess,? The elf admitted, ?That I am at something of a loss here. My feelings are clouding my judgement, and I am finding it difficult to remain objective about this matter. I am entertaining notions of hatred and anger towards this Irenicus for what he has done.?

?What?s so strange about that?? Alexandria asked. ?You care about Imoen. Personally, I?m pissed off, but I?m kinda used to being pissed off, so I know how to remain calm while part of my mind enjoys homicidal fantasies.?

?I am not. I strive to stay above such notions-they are unproductive. We are all doomed, but I have no desire to hasten our doom by taking actions in haste or made on a purely emotional bias. Remaining objective? is becoming difficult.?

?Why, Xan, are you actually asking me for advice?? Alexandria asked, an incongruous glimmer of genuine amusement entering her voice.

?I have always thought rather poorly of your nature, driven by emotions and impulse.? Xan replied. ?Your judgement has at times been appalling, yet you have demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain an objective focus while under immense emotional strain. I never allowed myself to embrace the goals you so espoused, and felt little connection to the events of our adventure. Yet, despite my own wishes, I did develop a connection, and it is extraordinarily distracting. When we were simply imprisoned, I assumed she was dead. To have her alive, yet be unable to help her??

?I know how you feel. I love Imoen, too, remember.?-Xan winced slightly as Alexandria said ?too?-?And I swear Irenicus is going to suffer. Not just die-he is going to beg and whimper for death, and after a while, I?ll indulge him. He?s definitely earned it.?

?And that is what is so troubling-I am finding myself agreeing with your sentiments. An event as alarming as it is unprecedented. Yet while your words are venom, your voice itself is not. You state feelings of hatred and a desire for bitter vengeance with a voice better suited to a parent unhappy with her child?s report card from academy.?

?As opposed to what?? Alexandria raised an eyebrow. ?Swearing up and down the hall in between screaming and proclamations of bloody vengeance, each vow of revenge promising deeds more unthinkable than the last? Curling up in a fetal position and whimpering? Crying a flood of tears? Smashing you through the wall for daring to love my sister because my desire to protect her can find no other outlet??

?That final course of action comes closer to what I expected of you than anything else.?

?Very funny. My point was that none of those actions would have done anything but make me feel better in the short term, and nothing at all in the long. Imoen deserves more than me-or you-going to pieces because we couldn?t figure out how to help her. You?d better get used to being emotionally involved, Xan-I think you?re in this for the long haul whether you like it or not.?

?That is precisely what I am afraid of. Whether I like it or not-and I most assuredly do not-I am even contemplating what can only be described as insanity.?

?Such as??

Xan didn?t respond for a long moment, tracing the line of Imoen?s jaw with his hand and looking directly into her unseeing eyes.

?She means more to me than anything else in this world. I know in my mind that she is N?Tel?Quessir, that she will be fortunate to live for more than a half-century while I will live for more than two hundred years, that she lacks a quality that cannot be described in your tongue but might, very loosely, be called elven-ness-somewhat analogous to the quality of ?humanity?, as you put it. The lifespan question is not applicable to our situation, given how swiftly we speed towards death, but though my mind knows the other questions and more, my heart does not seem to. During our captivity, I spent many days contemplating how this anomalous development formed, and how my own emotions were twisted into affection, and even love for her. I could not discern any rational explanation.?

Awkward as the conversation was, with Imoen?s unconscious form between them, Alexandria could not help but think back to her conversations with Ajantis and Jaheira. Regret and anger began to seep into her mind, but the tiefling immediately shunted those feelings aside. She would deal with them when there was time.

?And so,? Xan continued, ?I discarded my search for a rational explanation and began searching for a logical irrationality. Ultimately, the only answer I could ascertain lies helpless before me, and is the source of my present difficulties.?

?Is it really that hard for you to say that you care about Imoen and want to kill the man who did this?? Alexandria asked archly.

?Yes.? Xan replied simply.

?Children,? Jaheira?s voice interrupted them, ?I believe I have the solution. Please give me the amulet we found.?

Xan immediately handed the gilded necklace to Jaheira, who then cast a spell on the object, and nodded.

?It is as the dryads suspected. Take a closer look at this.?

Alexandria wasn?t sure what Jaheira was talking about, even after a closer inspection. It was a beautiful silver necklace, inlaid with numerous blue gems. The actual amulet was a symbol or insignia of some sort, but the tiefling didn?t recognize it-a harp, with a horn on one side, a crescent moon on the other, and a sword piercing the harp from top to bottom. Etched around the necklace?s edge was an inscription in elven. The monks of Candlekeep had taught Alexandria how to read elven script, but the stylization on the amulet made it illegible to the tiefling.

?I?m sorry, Jaheira, but is there something about this I should be getting??

?The inscription is very informative, as is the strength of the magic bound within it. I will not bore you with the details, but it appears this amulet is the key to the magic that has subdued Imoen-the dryads have ample reasons, which we do not need to discuss, to suspect that the amulet is keyed to an unusual variation on normal arcane magic. You need simply grasp the amulet and speak the command word. Would you like the honors??

?No, I don?t think so.? Alexandria replied, turning to face Xan. ?I believe this is your show.?

?I? thank you for your trust.? Xan managed, taking the amulet in hand. ?Jaheira, what is the command phrase??

?Tiri dae.?

Xan nodded, held the amulet firmly in hand, and spoke the command words. For a long moment, nothing happened.


Imoen?s scream of rage was as loud as it was unexpected as she jumped up from the bed and tackled Xan, immediately knocking the elf down and savagely hammering her fists into his skull. Xan tried to speak, but only received several broken teeth for his trouble. Alexandria and Jaheira immediately rushed forwards and grabbed the young woman by her arms, dragging her backwards and off Xan.

?By the gods, Imoen! It?s us!? Alexandria shouted at the struggling girl.

?Get out of my head, you bastard!? Imoen roared in a voice quite unlike herself. ?I won?t be fooled again! Get out of my head!?

?Im, calm down! No one?s in your head!?

Imoen kicked out with her feet, but her blows were ineffectual against the armor the other adventurers wore, and accomplished little but breaking several of her toes.

Her struggles stopped as abruptly and completely as they had begun as Xan forced himself to get back up, clearly worse for the brief pounding he had received, and a newborn black eye was beginning to blossom on his left side.

?Xan?? Imoen whispered. ?Is it really you??

?Uma, melamin. I?m here for you. We?re all here for you.? Xan replied softly.

With those words, Imoen looked up at Alexandria and Jaheira, and the young woman?s face incongruously blossomed into a grin.

?You?re late. Sorry about that-I? I thought he had come to perform more ?experiments? on me. How did you guys get here??

?There was fighting in the complex-our cells were damaged.? Alexandria answered as Xan, pointedly averting his eyes from Imoen?s nude form, handed the robes they had found to Alexandria, who them gave them to Imoen. ?We?ve been exploring this place for at least a couple of hours, and found you.?

?Thanks, I guess.? Imoen replied while she pulled the robes over herself. ?I? I don?t remember much about what?s happened. Have you guys seen Khalid, or Ajantis??

?No, child.? Jaheira cut in. ?Khalid?s absence worries me greatly, and we have seen no trace of Ajantis.?

?I think I remember something about Khalid being held in another part of the complex, but I?m not sure. My memory?s kinda fuzzy.? Imoen admitted.

?Well, sis, I think we?re ready to get moving-we?ve already ransacked this room, and I think that copper thing Jaheira picked up is the key to the portal we found. You okay with moving, or should we rest here a bit?? Alexandria asked.

?I think I?m ready, but there?s one thing I have to do first.? Imoen replied, then got up and walked over to Xan, still battered from Imoen?s attack.

?Xan, there?s only one thing I can do to apologize, I think.?

?You have no need to apologize, melamin. I think I understand your mistake.?

?Yeah, but this is more about making *me* feel better than apologizing to you.? Imoen smirked, before seizing the elf and kissing him.


?Well, she?s certainly feeling better.? Jaheira observed to Alexandria

[Tempest]

Chapter XLVI: Ghostmaker


Alexandria?s first journey through an arcane gateway was less than pleasant. She had expected a smooth transition after entering the viridian portal, but was promptly rewarded by a sensation not unlike falling from great height. Complete with the hard landing that brought a galaxy of shining stars to life on the inside of her skull.

?Ah, now this is new.? A strange voice said as Alexandria slowly regained her senses and began to stand up. ?This ingenious little portal has been quite fascinating, but I did not think it was still active.?

Alexandria slowly took stock of the voice?s origin as she and her allies recovered from their trip through the portal. It was a man, slightly shorter than average, with long black hair that he wore in an unusual tie behind his head, and his face had an exotic cast, particularly his slanted eyes. His skin was well tanned, the leather armor he wore was brown and nondescript, likewise his baldric and belt, and a sword rested in a sheathe at its side. From what Alexandria could see, the sword was not a common longsword, either, but long and curved. Something about the man was annoyingly familiar, as though Alexandria had seen someone very much like him before, but the tiefling couldn?t place where. As it was, the man quickly bowed to the new arrivals before speaking again.

?My apologies-I meant no disrespect. If you are not in league with the evils that dwell in this unholy place, Yoshimo begs your assistance.?

?We?re not in league with whoever controls this place,? Alexandria allowed, ?But how do I know you?re not??

?I have been attempting to find a way out of this labyrinth for several hours now.? Yoshimo replied quickly. ?The only way forward from this chamber is blocked by a door with a most unique locking mechanism, one beyond my skills. Quite embarrassing to tell the truth. The locking mechanism is unlike any I have ever seen-and identical to the trigger for the portal. Assuming you still possess the key, I would be delighted to join with you and escape.?

?Do you have any idea where we are?? Jaheira cut in.

?I am not certain, but I believe we might be in Athkatla-I was meeting a contact in a tavern, and I believe my drink was drugged. I could not have been unconscious for more than an hour.?

?Would it be incorrect to assume you are a thief??

?Indeed it would!? Yoshimo replied with a flourish, then took another, deeper bow. ?As I said, I am Yoshimo, lately of Kara-Tur, hunter of bounties and terror of fathers with impressionable young daughters! I see by the blood on your weapons that you are no strangers to the way of the sword, and I would be honored to be joined by such beautiful ronin on this hunt for our captor!?

?Ronin?? Alexandria whispered to Jaheira.

The druidess shrugged slightly.

?I hope you aren?t calling Xan a beautiful rodent!? Imoen commented cheerfully.

?Ah, of course not! He has the look of a shugenja, that one! One who wields the elements in the palm of his hand. I said ?ronin?, a term in my homeland for samurai without a lord, or general malcontents and troublemakers such as myself!? Yoshimo?s grin never missed a beat.

?I am Xan, Greycloak of Evereska.? The elf replied dryly.

?Then we are well met! Who might the delicate flower beside you be, Xan of Evereska??

?I?m Imoen, and I?m already taken!? The thief-mage asserted with a smile. ?Hands off the wizard.?

?Ah, such a pity. But not even Yoshimo would dare cross a shugenja! The caress of a beautiful flower is not worth endangering my immortal soul, I think! Now, who would your fellow ronin be??

?My name is Jaheira, servant of Silvanus.?

?And mine is Alexandria, priestess of Selûne.?

?What do you say then?? Yoshimo asked again.

Alexandria shot Jaheira a questioning glance, and the half-elf nodded almost imperceptibly.

?We?d be honored to have you join us.?

?Then let us be off, assuming you do have the key!?

Jaheira moved to the door and inserted the same copper rod that had activated the portal into the gold-framed opening next to the door. For a moment it did nothing, then there was a faintly audible grinding sound, and the door swung open, revealing a corridor that curved away to the left.

With the opening of the door came other sounds as well-the unmistakable noises of violence. Muted battle cries and screams, accompanied by the occasional faint explosion.

?You know anything about the apparent invasion of this facility?? Alexandria asked her new companion as the adventurers began to move down the hallway.

?Very little.? Yoshimo replied, easily keeping pace as they continued down the featureless corridor. ?I believe I came to after the fighting had passed the chamber I was imprisoned in. The lock on the cage was a worthy challenge, but I am quite skilled in a wide variety of techniques.?

?Have you seen other prisoners, by any chance? A half-elf man, skin about the same shade of brown as mine, nervous disposition at best? Or a human, tall, pale, brown hair??

?I have only seen one other here besides yourselves and our captor. He was a young man, human, but his hair was a fiery red.?

?Then we need to keep a lookout for Khalid and Ajantis-I?m not leaving this place without them.?

?Ajantis isn?t here.? Imoen said suddenly.

Alexandria spun in place to face her sister. All color had drained out of Imoen?s face, and her voice had become soft and hesitant.

?What do you mean, he isn?t here??

?Ajantis isn?t here. He was taken? taken by someone else. I remember. I think. It was a woman, but she was? she wasn?t alive. I don?t know how, but I know.?

?Imoen, what do you remember?? Alexandria asked quietly, placing her hand firmly on Imoen?s shoulder. ?I?m here to protect you. We all are. You?re safe with us.?

?No, I?m not.? Imoen looked down at her feet. ?None of us are safe. He?s not done with us. Not yet. He wants something from us, from me. I don?t know what. I remember? knives, and blood. I remember this hallway. It leads to knives and blood. I remember. First he cut someone else-I think he said his name was Kelsey or something like that. He cut and he cut, but he wasn?t just cutting flesh-the knives were going deeper than that, deeper than blood. So much blood. But he didn?t work for some reason. He said he was a person without consequence, someone who did nothing and was nothing. So he found someone else. Someone who mattered.?

?Who?? Jaheira prompted softly, but there was an unmistakable current of fear in her voice. ?Did he do something with my Khalid??

?I? I don?t remember.? Imoen said after a long moment.

?Please, child.? Jaheira?s voice was almost begging. ?Do you remember anything about Khalid??

?I? he? no.?

?Then there is hope yet.? Jaheira said, more to herself than anything else. ?There is hope yet.?


The corridor wound on for quite some time, but as the adventurers progressed further down the hall, they noticed changes in the hall-the floor was sloping upwards, and the craftsmanship on the stone walls deteriorated, becoming distinctly grimy as they advanced. The sounds of battle, ominously, grew fainter, and at one point the adventurers had to carefully work their way across a massive crater that had been blasted out of the corridor, nearly seven feet across and four or five feet deep. Fetid water had accumulated in the bottom of the crater, which they took pains to avoid.

Eventually, they came to a door, set into the stone of the hallway. It was one of the more impressively reinforced doors Alexandria had ever seen, constructed of apparently solid iron and crisscrossed with heavy iron bars. Hinges were visible, set into the stonework, but were so solidly built of metal that Alexandria doubted she could damage them with a maul.

Yoshimo, however, did not seem concerned, and pulled several small, thin objects out of his leather baldric. Lockpicks. He immediately set to work on the door?s small keyhole, and after less than a minute of tinkering, there was a distinctly metallic click.

?Wait!? Imoen shouted as Yoshimo reached for the door handle. ?We don?t want to go in there!?

?You said this hallway led to blood and knives, did you not?? Jaheira asked.

?I? think so.? Imoen?s voice and posture had turned hesitant again as she struggled to remember. ?Yes, I think this was it. But? I? there is nothing but blood and knives in that room.?

?Be it as it may, child, it is also the only way forward. Do not be afraid.?

?Fear, in this instance,? Xan added, ?Would in truth be a reasonable response, and one I am presently experiencing. However, Imoen, Jaheira is correct-this is the only path forwards, through blood and knives if it must.?

Alexandria sighed and turned to Yoshimo. ?Something you may as well know about us-we will happily sit around and talk about this kind of thing if you let us. Open the door.?

?I would not begrudge them commiseration, but as you wish.?

Yoshimo opened the door.


Alexandria promptly wished he hadn?t. The room was large, but there was little free space-arcane equipment, unidentifiable liquids in various containers, and shelves of books filled the room. But what immediately stole the adventurers? attention was the far left corner, which disturbingly resembled a stage more than anything else. Four strange tables rested there, each nestled in the middle of a strange assortment of equipment that Alexandria didn?t recognize. But what she did recognize made her blood chill. Each table was fitted with restraints suitable for a humanoid-designed to bind a humanoid tightly to the table. Worse, each one had clearly been intended for someone of a different size-and the two empty tables were, respectively, sized for someone taller and bulkier than the human average, and one for someone of average height, but a more slender built. Even more disturbingly, each table had clearly had a pristine white surface-originally. The wood was stained deeply with a particular shade of brown Alexandria recognized all too well-the brown of dried blood.

More horrifying still, however, were the other two tables. And the figures on each. One was a ruin only barely recognizable as humanoid-based on the tufts of red hair clinging to what was left of the skull, Alexandria assumed this was the Kelsey whom Imoen had spoken of-but the other?

Oh hallowed Selûne, blessed be thy shining light?

Jaheira suddenly stiffed as she followed Alexandria?s gaze. She had seen it, too.

?Khalid?? Jaheira?s whisper was more a question than a cry of recognition.

Not that it was easy to recognize the corpse. The body was naked save for a pair of grey trousers, and the face was contorted in a rictus of agony, as though he had been frozen in the midst of a scream of anguish. Wounds covered his body, but experienced as Alexandria was in combat, her eye noted that the wounds were not those of combat, or even of torture-they were far too precise, too cleanly made. There was also an astonishing lack of blood-for all the damage done to Khalid?s body, he had hardly bled at all.

Alexandria swam in memory as images and sounds surfaced. That cold, impersonal voice. Twisted visions of her journeys across the Sword Coast-almost as though she was watching memories of her memories. Something very sharp entering her flesh. Screams-both her own and those of someone? else? that cold voice again. That was what came again and again in her memory-this had been no torture. Not to her, not to Imoen, not to Khalid. All of this had been for some purpose. Something less? prosaic than torture, or anything else the tiefling could think of.

Dimly, she was aware of Jaheira shouting and wailing in grief, of Imoen drowning in memory, of Xan and Yoshimo standing apart, neither readable. It was only when Imoen spoke again that Alexandria snapped back to reality.

?Jaheira... I want to say how sorry I am about Khalid. I... I know this is hard...?

?No! You do not know! This is not the time for this conversation, child!? Jaheira snapped.

There was a long moment before Imoen responded. ?Aunt Jaheira? I can tell you that Khalid didn?t suffer.?

?What are you babbling about, Imoen?! I am not in the mood!?

?I'm not babbling! I saw him do this! Khalid was dead when our captor started... doing those things to him!? Imoen shot back with a fire quite unlike herself.

?You saw this?! You watched as it was done?!?

The fire in Imoen?s voice vanished, only to be replaced by her hesitancy. ?He... he showed me. He cut and... and showed me. He forced my eyes open and made me look as he...?

?Stop! I don't want to hear this!? Jaheira shouted.

?He said I should see, so I would understand, but I don't know what he wanted! He would cut and say ?Do you see?? Cut and say ?Do you see???

?Be quiet, child! No more!?

This time, Imoen did fall silent, leaving Jaheira to her rage. But what struck Alexandria the most was not the fire in Jaheira?s eyes. It was the darkness in Imoen?s. It was like an abyss in the young woman's soul.

Or a void.

[Tempest]

Chapter XLVII: Shadows Of Amn


?Jaheira, you sure you?re all right?? Alexandria asked quietly.

?Oh, good heavens, child. Not you, too.? Jaheira replied through clenched teeth. ?This is not something that concerns you.?

?But can?t we get Khalid to a temple and have him resurrected??

?Your education in such matters at the temple of Selûne was clearly lacking, child.?

There was a long moment of silence before the druidess elaborated.

?These? marks? on Khalid?s body. I recognize the pattern. It is a spell of sorts-there is a rite, a very old rite, that when made upon a body, can ward the body from necromantic activity and attempts to return the deceased to life. It is not perfect, of course, but the means to evade the ward or remove it are beyond our capabilities. Khalid? is with Silvanus now. He would not want me raging or weeping over him if he fell-we both knew the hazards of our path.?

?You aren?t as upset as I thought you would be.? Alexandria admitted in a whisper.

?How did you put it to Xan, child? Khalid deserves more than me raging uselessly. There will be a reckoning for this, make no mistake, but that reckoning will not come today. But before we move on, there is one last thing I must do. Step away, child.?

?Why??

?I said step away, child.?

Recognizing the tone in Jaheira?s voice as one immune to dissuasion, Alexandria and the others quickly backed away to the far corner of the room. Jaheira likewise backed up a short distance, and softly chanted a spell. There was a brief pause, and suddenly a column of fire lanced downwards, seemingly boring through the stone ceiling of the underground chamber. None of the adventurers needed to look to know where the spell was targeted.

Khalid?s body was consumed in an instant by the divine fire, followed swiftly by the table and arcane equipment that surrounded him as the flame strike burned its way to the stone floor.

As quickly as the spell had taken effect, it ended, leaving nothing but a precise circle of scorched stone where Khalid had been.


Several minutes later, and they were on the move again. Yoshimo had been busy while Jaheira, Alexandria, and Imoen had? dealt? with Khalid-the thief had looted the rest of the chamber with alacrity, and the familiar weight of several healing potions was once again present on Alexandria?s belt and baldric, while Xan bore a new collection of wands.

The tunnels continued to slope upwards after they left the chamber, and the workings of the stone walls continued to deteriorate. Before long, there was also a rivulet of water running down the center of the tunnels, and a stench they knew began to assert itself.

?Ah, the lovely fragrance of the Athkatlan sewers!? Yoshimo announced suddenly, pre-empting the conclusions the adventurers had all reached. ?It has been quite some time since I last smelled this sweet reek, but not long enough!?

?You sure we?re under Athkatla?? Imoen asked.

?I am certain. Those in my line of work often have need of discrete ways to travel, and I would recognize the smell anywhere. We must be careful-the Cowled Wizards use stunjellies and gelatinous cubes to keep certain sectors of the sewers relatively clean, and many others have found themselves appropriated for the use of more intelligent, and less savory, beings. Either would be ill tidings for us.?

Imoen was about to respond when the entire tunnel lurched violently upwards, sending all of the adventurers abruptly to the cold, hard stone floor amidst a scream of stone forced to move in ways nature did not intend. Then, before they could try to stand, a massive roar rolled through the tunnel, and with a tortured screech, the ceiling of the tunnel ahead of them collapsed entirely.

A minute later, and Alexandria slowly forced herself up from the ground with a familiar groan.

?I am starting to get damn tired of doing this. What I wouldn?t give for a chance to lie down on my own terms.?

?Consider it good practice for your muscles, child, due to the weight of your armor.?

?Hehe. Alex, remember that song we heard one of the bards in Baldur?s Gate sing? ?I get knocked down, but I get up again, you ain?t never gonna keep me down!??

?Good Selûne, don?t remind me. You?re not wearing thirty-five pounds of banded mail armor.?

?Nope! I?m smarter than that, sis!?

?Quiet!? Yoshimo hissed. ?Do you hear that??

The rest of the group immediately fell silent, and the noise Yoshimo had picked up was clearly audible. A dying scream, and the sounds of violence, all coming from above their heads. Then, clearly audible over it all, came a cold, hauntingly familiar voice chanting an arcane spell, and the earth began to tremble again.

?Run!? Jaheira shouted.

Her words were almost instantly stolen by the roar of shattering rock, which seemed to be riding a wave of energy as the walls of the tunnel collapsed. Alexandria only had time to groan before oblivion took her.


Sound returned before sight, but the first voice Alexandria heard was one she would have preferred never to hear again.

?So, godchild, you have escaped. Your tenacity was anticipated, but your ingenuity in escaping was not.?

?I?m full of surprises. You?re not going to torture us any longer!?

Alexandria tried to move at the sound of Imoen?s voice, but her arms were immobile-something enormously heavy weighed down on them, and while she could move her legs somewhat, their movement was too restricted.

?Torture? Silly girl, you just don?t understand what I?m doing, do you??

?I don?t care what you?re doing! Let us go!?

?Now why would I do that when I?m so close to unlocking your power??

?We don?t want anything from you!?

Imoen?s declaration was accompanied by the sound of a spell and its discharge, but there was no exclamation of pain from the other, simply a cold response.

?Enough of this. I will no longer listen to the babbling of ignorant children.?

At the sound of several magical discharges, Alexandria forced her eyes open. It didn?t help-she wasn?t hurt, but there was no light to see anything by.

Then another voice, loud and authoritative, cut across her awareness.

?This is an unsanctioned use of magical energy! By the authority of the Cowled Wizards, you will all be detained for questioning.?

?Must I be interrupted at every turn?! Enough of this!? The cold voice replied.

What followed, Alexandria could only guess at. Several screams erupted amidst a flurry of arcane chants and magical discharges. After a few minutes, the cold voice returned.

?Enough! I haven?t the time for this!?

?You will cease your spellcasting and come with us!?

?Would you die, then? You are no match for me.?

?We may fall, but our numbers are many. You will be overwhelmed, and know that the penalty for killing the Cowled Wizards is steep indeed.?

?You bore me, mageling. You may take me in, but you will take the girl as well.?

?What, no! I?ve done nothing wrong!?

?You have been involved in illegal use of magic. If you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.?

?I?m not going with them! Help me! Please!? Imoen shouted desperately.

Alexandria screamed incoherently-she was hoping to shout ?Imoen!? but her present conditions made any attempt at precision hopeless. Less than a minute later, blinding sunlight entered Alexandria?s world, accompanied by the sound of arcane chanting.

?State your name, point of origin, and occupation.? A voice asked her through the new hole in the rubble that had buried the tiefling.

?Alex? Alexandria, formerly of Candlekeep? adventurer. Acolyte of Selûne.?

?What is your business here??

?I don?t? I don?t know. That man you took, he?s dangerous. Kept us prisoner in his complex.?

?I see. Your story does match what our scrying revealed.?

The voice chanted additional arcane words, and the remainder of the rubble that had buried Alexandria disappeared.

The tiefling finally stood up and took stock of her surroundings. She was standing in a large, rubble-filled crater several feet below street level. From the sun?s light, she gauged it to be late in the day, and surrounding the crater was an immense stone structure that seemed to be built as an ellipse.

?Would you be the individual known as Alexandria Eversor, responsible for the incidents in the city of Baldur?s Gate and the death of one individual known as Semaj?? Her questioner asked.

?I would.?

Alexandria took the opportunity to get a look at her questioner-a man, in dark grey robes. Not much more could be discerned, as his robes included a hood, and his face was concealed by a cowl of the same grey cloth.

?An interesting coincidence. We have located three others in the rubble. Was the mage?s complex located beneath this crater??

?Yes. What happened to Imoen? Will she be alright??

?She will be questioned regarding her role in this.? The wizard replied stiffly. ?If she was complicit in nothing but retaliation against this assault, she will be fined and released. You are free to go.?

?Wait-can I ask you?-

?No, you may not. Good day.?


The Cowled Wizards disappeared through arcane portals, leaving Alexandria, Jaheira, Xan, and Yoshimo in the crater. None of them had been injured in the tunnel collapse. The druidess pre-empted all of them.

?We cannot afford to do anything rash, children. I have heard that the Cowled Wizards are not to be taken at their word, but nor are they to be crossed lightly. As I recall, Athkatla is a dangerous place, and our involvement in Baldur?s Gate may bring us to the attention of those whom we would rather not know of our presence here. We must move cautiously.?

?What of Imoen, then?? Xan asked somberly. ?Will she truly be released??

?I would not think so.? Yoshimo answered warily. ?The Cowled Wizards do not look well upon any who practice arcane magic in their domain. We need to find allies if we would oppose them.?

?Agreed.? Alexandria nodded. ?But we have other concerns, too. My body?s clock is all out of whack, but it looks like night will be falling before long, and we should probably pawn off as much of the stuff we looted as we can.?

?Is there any pressing need for coin?? Yoshimo asked. ?Rooms can be rented rather cheaply.?

?Yeah, but if there?s ever been a day when I need a drink or three, today would be it.?

?Ah, a ronin after my own heart! Come with me!?


Alexandria hesitated for a long moment, then followed Yoshimo out of the pit.

[Tempest]

Chapter XLVIII: Once Burned


Two tankards of Amnish ale later, and Alexandria felt almost human again. Yoshimo and Jaheira had quickly found an extremely well-stocked adventuring shop, and ended up with a fair amount of coin from selling most of the arcane tomes and other items they had looted in the underground complex, most of which they had then immediately spent on new and better-fitting armor, improved weapons, rations, bedrolls, and the other myriad necessities of the adventuring lifestyle, capped by rooms for the night in a nearby inn Yoshimo had found.

It was called the Den Of The Seven Vales or some such, and it clearly catered to a rougher clientele than the norm-most of the patrons were off-duty soldiers from the Amnish army, private guards, adventurers, and the like. As one might expect of such an inn, the furnishings were sparse, the furniture worn but durable, the chairs weighted excellently for use as improvised weapons, and the music, provided by a young elf bardess called Trixlana, was raucous and bawdy.

Jaheira and Xan had gone off on their own, and Alexandria hadn?t paid attention to where, and she honestly didn?t want to know what Yoshimo was doing with the young woman in an Amnish army uniform at the bar, leaving the tiefling at a table along one of the walls, absently picking at a large bowl of beef stew while she worked on manifesting her mind blade again.

While the spell or whatever had been blocking her manifestation in the underground complex had clearly been restricted to that complex, she was having trouble recreating the azure blade that had been her signature weapon. Partly, she admitted to herself, because she was having trouble focusing.

Ajantis was missing. Imoen was in the hands of a notoriously enigmatic and capricious organization. Khalid was dead.

How had it happened? Why? Was it something about Alexandria-or, as signs seemed to point towards, Imoen? Alexandria herself, she could understand and almost accept. But what on Toril was so special about Imoen? Certainly, she was young, pretty, and much smarter than a casual observer would ever think-a force to be reckoned with. A sleeping force, true, but Alexandria had no doubt that Imoen could be much more than what she was-she simply chose not to be, because she was happy as she was. Was she, perhaps, like Alexandria herself-more even than what lay just beneath the surface?

Then there was the matter of Ajantis. Irenicus? words had made it quite clear that if it weren?t for Alexandria, Ajantis would have been of no concern. She had lead directly to his present predicament, whatever it was. There was nowhere to even begin looking for him.

Khalid? Alexandria hadn?t known him very well, but he had never struck the tiefling as anything more-or less-than a good man. Well, that was a lie, Alexandria decided. Khalid had never been the most enthusiastic of them, and had never dared tried to lead or take control, but he had also never once backed down-from anyone or anything. He had personally slain Angelo in the battle beneath Baldur?s Gate, slipping a longsword between Angelo?s ribs with uncanny precision while Khalid?s other blade had stabbed upwards through the mercenary?s abdomen and into vital parts. Not a brave man, perhaps, but a resolute one, and an outstanding swordsman-in hindsight, Alexandria realized, Khalid had been the best swordsman she had ever seen, but she had never thought to ask him about it. In fact, with a deep sense of shame, she realized that she hardly knew anything about the man.

And now? ashes in the stale air beneath Athkatla, sealed off by the collapse of that sector of the grand stone construction, which Yoshimo had called Waukeen?s Promenade. Another anonymous death amongst all that had taken place in that research complex. Another death, amongst all those Alexandria had ultimately been responsible for.

She had been responsible for so much death. Some of it intentional, but so much more? she would never have had come to pass. Gorion. Winthrop. Ulraunt. Cernick. All the other inhabitants of Candlekeep, barring Tethtoril. Alexandria was surprised for a moment as she realized she felt guilty over Ulraunt?s death-she had never liked him, never liked what he stood for, but the man had stood by his principles when he could have chosen his feelings, and stood by them until death. And even old Firebead Elvenhair, the doppelganger that had called itself Cernick had hinted, had died because of Alexandria.

Countless bandits, too, and even, if you counted them, many kobolds in the mines of Nashkel-all dead by the hands of Alexandria or her friends. The Chill mercenary group, the Black Talon Company, more doppelgangers than the tiefling ever cared to count? yes, she had killed them willingly, and they deserved the fate she had delivered to them, but she and her friends had been their murderers nonetheless.

Was there? could there ever be? an end to the killing?

Alexandria shook her head and took another draught of ale. Worrying about what she could not change had always been a weakness of hers-what mattered was what she could change.

?Copper for your thoughts?? A feminine, and vaguely familiar, voice asked.

Alexandria looked up from her tankard. It was a woman, maybe mid-twenties, with fair skin, short golden hair, and green eyes, all of which were annoyingly familiar to Alexandria-she had definitely seen this woman before, but she couldn?t place where. The woman?s tarnished chain mail, war hammer, and steel shield all suggested a veteran soldier or adventurer, but the only thing the tiefling did recognize on the woman was a symbol on a copper necklace she wore-an engraving of two bound hands.

?Excuse me, Ilmateri, but do I know you?? Alexandria asked.

?I suppose it has been some time since Baldur?s Gate.? The woman replied, sitting down across from Alexandria in the table?s only other chair. ?I know we didn?t get a chance to talk, after the battle in the grand hall-after my father and brother passed to the House of the Triad.?

Then it struck Alexandria-Anomen and Lord Cor Delryn, both slain in the chaos of Sarevok?s assassination attempt against Belt and Liia Jannath. Several fireballs had gone off in their vicinity-Angelo?s explosive arrows, and spells from Imoen and Nalia De?Arnise, aimed at destroying the doppelganger assassins, but the quarters had been tight, and there had been? collateral damage. It wasn?t clear if Anomen and Lord Delryn had died to Angelo?s attack, or to the fireballs, but a fresh wave of guilt and shame came across Alexandria as she silently added two more names to the list of those dead simply by having crossed her path-a list far too long already.

?I?m sorry about what happened in Baldur?s Gate. It was? an accident.? The tiefling admitted.

?No, it wasn?t.? Moira Delryn replied. ?You and your friends were doing what you had to do, to save the Dukes. I know Anomen would have asked for nothing less, and I think my father would have, too.?

?Thank you, I guess, but how did you find me? What are you doing here??

?You missed a lot, after you disappeared. Baron De?Arnise took me in briefly, but I felt that it was no longer my place to be protected. I came to the temple of Ilmater here in Waukeen?s Promenade, under Reverend Brother Kellen, where I?ve served for the past two months. I recognized the half-elf woman who was with you in Baldur?s Gate when she left the inn, and I thought that if she was here, you might be as well.?

?So you?re a cleric now?? Alexandria asked.

?Not quite.? Moira replied with a trace of a smile. ?My service to Ilmater has taken on a more unusual form than is commonly seen. Does the church of Selûne make mention to people called favored souls??

?I?m not well versed in the particulars of Selûne?s teachings, but I?ve heard the term, yes: people with a surprising talent for channeling divine magic. Something like a sorcerer, except wielding a different sort of magic.? Alexandria paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. ?Are you saying you?re one??

?I am.? Moira admitted. ?I?ve known about it since I was young, but when my mother died, I became too occupied with taking care of my father and brother to pursue it. Now, I believe I can best honor their memory by serving the Crying God. If there was anyone who needed Ilmater?s touch in their life, it was my father.?

?Good for you, I guess.?

There was a long and rather awkward pause after that, before Alexandria took another swallow from her tankard.

?May I ask where the other members of your group have gone?? Moira asked. ?I saw the half-elf woman and the elven wizard, but none of the others.?

Alexandria waited for a long moment before replying. ?That?s a long story. The short version is that one of us died, one has been taken by the Cowled Wizards, and one is simply missing. Once we get our bearings straight, I?m going after Imoen, no matter the cost.?

?Imoen? The young woman who was with you??

?Yes. My sister, as a matter of fact.?

This time it was Moira who paused before responding. ?I believe I can help you, if you would allow. I have completed my training with Reverend Brother Kellen and Brother Eson Eulb, and they suggested I take some time to travel, and serve Ilmater in the wider world.?

?You want to join me?? Alexandria asked with some surprise. ?In case you hadn?t noticed, getting anywhere near me carries a good risk of dying or wishing you were dead.?

?I know that, and I also know the people of the Sword Coast revere you as a hero. No one who wasn?t in Liia Jannath?s chambers when she sent you below the city knows the full story, but I do. I know Sarevok was your brother and that you are a daughter of the Lord of Murder, destroyed during the Time of Troubles. What you didn?t tell us, Sir Donos did.?

Nathaniel Donos? I never said a word about my nature to him-how the feth did he know?

?Then you know that it is my nature to bring death.? Alexandria replied slowly. ?Death to my friends, death to my foes, death to those I love. You?re asking to travel with me, you should know what I am.?

?Alexandria, I already knew what you are. It?s in your very name.?

?My name??

?Liia Jannath didn?t pick your surname out of a hat when she named you Dame Alexandria Eversor. Eversor is a word in ancient Netherese-it means ?destroyer?.?

?Great to know she had a sense of humor.? Alexandria replied with a roll of her eyes. ?If you?re serious about this, for whatever insane reason, then I do welcome your help, but first things first: I am not Dame Alexandria Eversor. Just Alexandria.?

?Names count for a lot, here in Amn.? Moira pointed out. ?You?re a hero to the people of the Sword Coast, and most people here have at least heard your name. Heroes are popular with the commoners and working class, but when Liia Jannath pronounced you Dame Eversor, she anointed you into the nobility. Sir Donos informed myself and the De?Arnises that that didn?t make you unique among your friends-the half-elf woman, her husband, and the elven wizard were all born nobles as well. Rogue or disgraced nobles, to be sure, but nobles nonetheless. People in higher places than you?re used to are going to be paying attention to you now.?

Alexandria groaned. ?Please tell me you?re not trying to get me involved in some stupid politics-wait until I?ve recovered from my hangover in the morning at least.?

?I?m not.? Moira replied with a burst of laughter. ?The Delryn family ended in Baldur?s Gate-I was never interested in politics, despite my father?s occasional attempt to marry me off. I?m just warning you. Baron De?Arnise did mention on the journey back from Baldur?s Gate that in the process of destroying Sarevok?s schemes, you made many enemies. Enemies that can?t be defeated by a blade.?

?Let me guess-the Roenall family, for one.?

?I would assume so, but I don?t know much about it. I paid little attention to Baron De?Arnise?s schemes, save that he was worried about something-very worried.?

?Lovely.? Alexandria replied deadpan. ?Any other good news for me??

?Well, have you been in Amn long??

?Probably, but if there?s something going on I should know about, tell me anyway.?

?It isn?t safe to venture out at night in most of the city, especially the docks, the necropolis quarter, and the slums. There?s a guild war on, between the Shadow Thieves and some other organization-no one seems to know who or what. People have a tendency to disappear if they walk the streets at night in those areas of the city-some turn up in a sewage drain a couple of days later, but most are never found.?

?Haven?t the city watch or Cowled Wizards been able to do anything??

Moira laughed bitterly. ?What do the Cowled Wizards care? The guild war hasn?t spilt into the arcane, government, or other wealthy districts, so it doesn?t concern the Wizards. The city watch has also been encountering difficulties-either they find nothing, or they find an ambush by superior forces.?

Alexandria shook her head and sighed. ?Fun times. I guess that means I?ll be visiting the docks in the daylight, tomorrow.?

?Why do you want to go to the docks??

?I?m assuming that?s where the temple to Selûne is, assuming Athkatla has one.? Alexandria replied wryly. ?I have been absent for the last two months, and I am an acolyte. Selûne doesn?t care much about rules or regimentation within her church, but I?m here, and maybe I can get some help, or advice on how to get Imoen back.?

?Or do you just want to get yourself ordained as a full priestess??

?Come again??

?I don?t know how the Selûnite church works, but whether you like it or not, you have done a lot of good, and I think you?ve long since passed being a simple novice priestess.?

Alexandria looked into the bottom of her empty tankard while she thought about it. Eventually, she shrugged.

?Maybe I have at that.?

[Tempest]

Chapter XLIX: In For A Penny


An honest-to-Selûne good night?s sleep, Alexandria decided, had never felt so good. Being repeatedly subdued by magic, collapsing from exhaustion, and simply being knocked unconscious may have had similar effects, but the privilege of actually falling asleep on her own terms was something the tiefling didn?t think she?d ever take for granted again. Granted, waking up with a mild hangover was never very pleasant, but it still beat awakening in an iron cage, and a simple curative spell removed the hangover readily enough, despite the raised eyebrow Moira gave her when she saw the tiefling use the spell for something other than its intended purpose. A little jolt of positive energy could do wonders for the body.

It wasn?t long before all five adventurers were downstairs and eating breakfast-Yoshimo had retired to his room with the young Amnish woman the night before, but Jaheira and Xan had eventually come back and met Moira for the first time since Baldur?s Gate, who accepted Moira?s intention to join the group in their usual ways-Jaheira accepting her presence but using the same tone a mother would use to address a wayward daughter, and Xan pronouncing doom, alternately for Moira, Alexandria, and the group as a whole. Introductions between Moira and Yoshimo were quick.

?So what are your plans?? Yoshimo asked in between spoonfuls of breakfast grits. ?I presume you wish to effect the rescue of your Imoen with all haste.?

?I do.? Alexandria confirmed. ?But to be honest, I?m not sure where to begin. Moira lived here for most of her life, and both you and Jaheira have at least spent time in this place before. I?d like to visit the temple of Selûne, if possible, but I?m willing to wait until we have our feet firmly on the ground.?

?We could try the government district.? Moira suggested. ?I doubt we could get any information out of the Cowled Wizards directly, but that battle or whatever you were involved in leveled a large section of the Promenade-the city guard would almost certainly be running an investigation.?

?I find that doubtful.? Yoshimo replied. ?According to a lovely young student in the army?s war college, the Cowled Wizards have taken over the investigation-they are moving with a speed and thoroughness apparently quite unlike their normal behavior. The army is also reluctant to take any actions these days, after a near war further north-a war averted only by the actions of a certain ronin amongst us, I hear!?

?So, what do you suggest, then??

?I believe it would be in our best interest to indulge our leader?s whim, for I think it may be wiser than she thinks. Acquiring the resources of a temple may be a considerable boon to our means.?

?I?m not sure what kind of resources I would be able to get us.? Alexandria warned, looking down at the table. ?My crisis of faith, and induction into the church, all came pretty quickly, and I only spent a week at the temple in Baldur?s Gate. Certainly, I?m a cleric of the Moonmaiden, but I?m not sure if I have any standing in the church as an organization whatsoever. Not to mention that what I did pick up in Baldur?s Gate made it sound like that?s actually pretty normal for a low-ranking priestess. Unless you want to work in the temple full-time, Selûne is happy to let her clerics go where they will and do what they want, as long as they serve and honor her.?

Moira shook her head in amusement. ?I?ve heard that about Selûne. Ilmater, of course, maintains a more structured church, save that we don?t have much patience for titles. I had to request permission to take a leave of absence to join this group, but Reverend Mother Amaurea, the head of the major temple here in Athkatla and the small branch temples throughout the city, didn?t hesitate to give me permission. Not sure why, but I don?t look a gift horse in the mouth.?

?Any idea where to find the temple, then? Or did I miss the man in the promenade selling maps??

Moira burst into laughter, then quickly calmed herself down. ?Alexandria, the temple district is in the northern part of the city. It?s hard to miss.?

?Any other ideas before we get going, then? Jaheira? Xan??

?I have nothing to add, child. The suggestion is sound for the time being.?

?Our quest is vain.?

?Thank you for that amazing insight. Let?s get moving.?


Athkatla was different from Baldur?s Gate, the only true city Alexandria had ever visited before. Where Baldur?s Gate was, for the most part, regimented and orderly, the streets kept clean and buildings orderly, Athkatla was a hodgepodge of order and disorder, wealth and poverty both plain to see-especially when one huddled in the shadow of the other. Several grand thoroughfares crisscrossed the city, but alleys and smaller roads branched off in every direction, even as the adventurers moved northwards towards the temple district. Here, wealth ruled all. Even from this sector of the city, locations Moira described as the gem district, arcane district, and government district were visible-the pinnacles of high spires and grand towers, opulence plain to see from a distance.

The deep contrast between wealthy and poor was equally evident in the people of Athkatla as well. Down the center of the grand avenues moved gilded carriages or simply people wearing extravagant garb and imperious expressions on tall and stately horses as they went about their errands. Not ten feet away from them, commoners in rough-spun tunics and breeches, some without even proper shoes, actively avoided looking at the nobles. The streets weren?t particularly busy, but there was an almost claustrophobic sense about the city.

Baldur?s Gate had soared with pride and purpose. Athkatla soared, too, but even from the streets it was easy to see that those lofty heights were reserved for only a small number of the citizenry.

?Are most cities like this, or did we just get lucky in Baldur?s Gate?? Alexandria whispered to Jaheira.

?We were fortunate, child. Most such cities are home to slums, or are little more than slums themselves. This is not the friendliest, or cleanest, of city district.?

That it wasn?t. The immediate area around the adventurers was about as far removed from Baldur?s Gate?s cleanliness as it seemed possible to get-Alexandria had been in cleaner iron mines on the Sword Coast. A thoroughfare through the city sector was kept relatively clear, but was that a? it was. A small herd of cows was off to the side of the road, such as it was, and one had wandered out into the middle. Rather than objecting to the presence of the animal in the middle of the street, most people simply moved around it. Alexandria shivered in distaste-she had certainly never thought of herself as any sort of neatness freak, especially given how dirty adventuring tended to be, but the filth of the Athkatla slums appalled and sickened the tiefling-people honestly lived in these conditions? Quite honestly, she would have preferred a tent in the forest instead.

?Do you see it, now?? Moira asked softly.

?See what?? Alexandria asked in return.

?How badly Ilmater is needed here. I know you were raised in a monastery, but this city is my home. I brought you this way for a reason-if we came through the government or arcane districts, you wouldn?t see anything like this. I wanted to make sure you did.?

?May I ask why??

?So you wouldn?t judge me, or any other Amnish, especially Athkatlans. I wasn?t sure how you felt about us, after what you did up north. Most people here are as happy as anyone in Baldur?s Gate that that war never happened. I won?t lie to you and say this is a perfect place-it?s anything but perfect-but it?s??

?Corrupt and decadent?? Jaheira suggested pointedly.

?Well, yes, in places. Admittedly, places that receive a lot more attention than they should.?

?Speaking of attention,? Yoshimo cut in suddenly, ?I think perhaps we are being watched.?

Alexandria froze in her steps, then followed Yoshimo?s probing gaze. A nondescript man in leather armor was quickly making his way towards the party, and Alexandria noted the presence of a shortbow slung across the man?s back, as well as a short sword at his side. He stopped abruptly several feet from the party.

?Didn?t mean to scare ye!? The man called. ?Was just checkin to make sure ye be the ones I be lookin for!?

?Why are you looking for us?? Alexandria asked, while beginning to focus the point of her mind blade. ?Who are you??

Beside Alexandria, Moira, Jaheira, and Xan also rested their hands on weapons or spell component pouches.

?Me name be Gaelan Bayle-ye needn?t stretch yer brain thinkin, I?m sure it?s a name you haven?t heard.?

?I have heard of him, a little.? Yoshimo whispered. ?He is connected with certain organizations of questionable legality. Also said to be relatively true to his word, for what it is worth.?

?Why are you looking for us?? Alexandria asked again.

?Well, that be a little complicated. It ain?t so much a question of why I be lookin for you, as why you shoulda been lookin for me, and it involves that lass of yers from the mess in the Promenade. This ain?t the best place to be standin around chattin, though. How bout we take this chat someplace a little more private??

After a quick glance towards Jaheira, who nodded after a moment, Alexandria nodded to the man, who then set off at a brisk pace through the city, leaving the adventurers to trail behind him.


Twenty minutes later, and a thoroughly lost tiefling sat down in a worn but serviceable chair. Gaelan Bayle had lead them to a seemingly abandoned house, deep in the morass of Athkatla?s slums. Two men, their faces cloaked in brown hoods, had been waiting inside the building, but vanished like ghosts at a nod from Bayle. He took up a chair opposite the adventurers, and began twirling a knife back and forth in his hands as he spoke.

?Now that we have room to talk a little more openly, it?s time for me to make ye an offer. As I said, we happen to know what happened to that lass of yours, and the mage from the Promenade.?

?We know. They were taken by the Cowled Wizards.?

?Aye, but what ye don?t know is that they didn?t stick around for long. The wizards carted both off with some flashy spells, called em deviants. That blonde lass next to ye has the look of a local, so she can tell ye that ?deviants? don?t come back at all, once the wizards get their hooks on em.?

?And are we to assume you have information for us about how to get her back?? Xan asked.

?Me boss can do more than the tellin, my friend-he can also effect the rescue of the lass to boot.?

?I don?t buy this.? Alexandria replied bluntly. ?Why do you want to help us? Just who might your boss be??

?What, ain?t it enough to simply want to do a little good in this world??

?For you, I think not.?

?Too bad, then. Let?s just say that me boss has his own reasons for wantin that mage?s head on his desk, and since the mage and your lass be in the same place, seems to me we have reason to help each other.?

Alexandria?s eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Bayle had a point-she would definitely need allies if she was to rescue Imoen. She didn?t trust Bayle or his mysterious ?boss?, but at this point, she couldn?t afford to be choosy.

?I guess we have a deal, then.? She said slowly.

?Not quite, we don?t. There?s the matter of compensation.? Bayle replied with a smile. ?Ye see, me boss has his own expenses, and he ain?t about to stick his neck out for ye unless ye can make it be worth his while.?

?And what might his help cost me??

?Twenty thousand gold coins, any combination of standard currencies.?

Alexandria?s jaw managed to avoid hitting the floor. Just.

?Twenty thousand gold?! How the feth do you expect me to raise that kind of money?!?

?It not be that much here. Athkatla be called the City of Coin for a reason. But I think I can get ye started-there?s some noble-girl in the Copper Coronet blabbering on and on about somethin invading her family keep. Ye have a reputation as a good fighter, so I expect you can manage, and the rewards could be good. We have a deal??

Alexandria took a deep breath before answering.

?We have a deal.?

[Tempest]

Chapter L: Moontide


It was a good twenty minutes before Alexandria and her allies were back in the main streets of Athkatla-Gaelan Bayle?s safehouse had been fiendishly well hidden in the slums, and he had dispatched a young boy named Brus, claiming to be Bayle?s nephew, to guide the adventurers back out, and the boy disappeared seemingly into thin air the moment they were out of the urban jungle, leaving the adventurers slightly at a loss.

Jaheira was the first to break the awkward silence.

?It appears your talent for plunging yourself into intrigue and parties unknown has not diminished for your capture, child.?

Alexandria rolled her eyes. ?I?m no happier about this than you are, Jaheira. It?s pretty fething clear that Bayle knew more than he was telling us.?

?Good. I was wondering if I would need to inform you, but it appears you are growing more experienced. Twenty thousand gold is a considerable sum even for an organization we know to be reliable, let alone for this Bayle and whatever organization he does represent. What do you intend to do, child??

?I?m not sure at the moment.? Alexandria admitted. ?I?d like to visit the temple district and get what information we can from there, first-if we have no choice but to take our chances with Bayle, so be it, I guess, but I?d prefer to see whether or not we do have a choice. Moira, what?s that Copper Coronet that Bayle mentioned??

?Officially, it?s a tavern.? The favored soul replied with a frown. ?In reality, if there?s any sort of criminal activity going on in the city, the Coronet is a good place to find it. Rumors run the gamut from slave trading to Zhentarim agents to the Shadow Thieves. Respectable people don?t visit the Coronet except in heavy disguise, and if you go there, it?s said that each patron is expected to watch their own back.?

?An unfortunately accurate assessment.? Yoshimo added. ?If the docks of Athkatla are where the organized and feared men of ill repute dwell, the Copper Coronet is where one will find the true ronin-the petty and the uncivilized. I spent have spent little time there, myself. Even the geisha are too coarse, and quite a few have, shall we say, conditions that make me most glad a temple of Ilmater is located close by!?

The women stared at Yoshimo for a long moment, and the thief quickly added, ?Well, that is a tale for another time! To the temple district, then??

?To the temple district, assuming our guide doesn?t try to sidetrack us again.? Alexandria agreed.


It took nearly half an hour of navigating their way through the twisting streets of Athkatla to reach the temple district, and Alexandria was stunned as they emerged onto the white stone walkways that comprised the district-a series of canals dominated the area, winding and twisting their way under the stone thoroughfares and around the temples of the district, quiet in comparison to the crash of the waves at the western edge of the district. Strangely, the water actually seemed pure as it flowed quietly through the district, ten feet or so below the edges of the walkways.

Speaking of the temples themselves, most tended towards the staggering. Two faiths had their greatest centers of worship in the Realms located in Athkatla-Milil, whose Arbalest?s House sat atop a hill and from which an unending tide of music escaped, audible even at this distance, and located atop a seafront crag, the grand Goldspires, a massive castle-temple that was the last major bastion of Waukeen?s worship since the goddess?s disappearance during the Time of Troubles.

Other temples were smaller, but few yielded any significant ground to those of Milil and Waukeen-the temples of Lathander and Sune were so extravagant as to border on outright decadence, and the structure Moira identified as a temple of Sharess was located on the far side of that border-from the outside, the building didn?t look so much like a temple as it did a pleasure garden. Indeed, the temple district of Athkatla seemed to promote a rivalry between temples, daring each to outdo the other-even the temple of Torm, which Moira reported was home to a major order of paladins, had a stately elegance to it, likewise the fortress-like temple of Tempus.

The temple Alexandria herself was interested in could not escape the feel of the district either, as she learned when Moira guided them through the twisting pathways and throngs of worshippers that were so characteristic of the district. The temple of Selûne in Baldur?s Gate had been a rather subdued structure. Not so its Athkatlan counterpart-while it definitely strove for a refined elegance rather than extravagance, the sheer amount of gilt and crystal visible from the outside was more wealth on display than Alexandria had ever seen prior to entering the temple district.

Fortunately, the interior wasn?t quite as showy as the outside, once Alexandria found the main doors to the temple. An apothecary?s workshop and store formed a small wing immediately to the left within, but during the day, there wasn?t much activity within the temple-the center of the structure was dominated by a central theater, presumably where temple services were held. Above the theatre, the temple?s dome rose high above the rest of the building, displaying what appeared to be a map of the heavens, with constellations marked out in silver. So entranced was Alexandria in studying the star map that she didn?t hear the first time the stranger?s voice called to her.

?Greetings, visitors. Services do not begin until nightfall, but the inventory of our apothecary, and the services of a priest, are available to the faithful, or to followers of other faiths in return for a donation to the Moonmaiden.?

?Sorry.? Alexandria replied hastily as she tore her eyes away from the great map. ?My name is Alexandria Eversor, and I?m new here. I was inducted into the church two months ago in the city of Baldur?s Gate, but I?m afraid I lost my holy symbol on the way here.?

The stranger-now identifiable as a woman, wearing a richly adorned dark blue gown emblazoned with the symbol of Selûne, laughed softly in response.

?I?ve been half-expecting you.? The woman chuckled. ?Calanire sent word to myself and some of the other temples shortly after word began to spread of what happened up there. The stories don?t seem to know that you weren?t even an ordained member of the faithful, or so Calanire said, and she started to get worried when you vanished two months ago. I?m glad I have a good memory for that sort of thing.?

The woman then laughed again softly. ?I?m sorry, acolyte. My name is Lady Shadowhawke, Priestess of the Waxing Moon and head of the temple here, but you may call me Althea. I made a point of coming out myself when I heard that several adventurers were coming in-adventurers tend to need rather high-level spells when they arrive in a temple.?

?Well, we?re not here for that.? Alexandria replied with a smile. ?We?re here mostly for information.?

Althea raised an eyebrow at that, but silently indicated Alexandria should continue.

?Do you know much about the Cowled Wizards, or of the incident in Waukeen?s Promenade yesterday??

?Unfortunately, I cannot help you in that regard. No information has been made available that is not already publicly known. However, if you are willing, I would like to speak with you regarding some important matters regarding the church, but your companions must remain here.?

Jaheira didn?t wait for Alexandria to say anything. ?Go, child. We will avail ourselves of the apothecary?s services.?

Alexandria shrugged in helplessness towards Althea, who laughed again and began heading further into the temple, motioning Alexandria to follow.


Althea?s destination was a small library adjoined to the temple, and the high priestess made her way to a small table and set of well-appointed chairs, waving Alexandria into a seat across from her.

?So, what?s this about?? Alexandria asked as she seated herself.

?Your place among the faithful, for one. I understand that you only spent a week among us in Baldur?s Gate when you accepted the mantle of an acolyte, and have been on the road ever since.?

?I have.? Alexandria acknowledged. ?I didn?t have much of a choice, though-time was starting to run out if I was going to stop Sarevok.?

Althea smiled gently. ?I wasn?t criticizing you, and I am not displeased with your actions since joining the faithful. Far from it-were I to condemn you for immediately setting forth for adventure, I would be required to condemn almost half of my staff, who eventually settled down. Would I be mistaken to assume you do not intend to take up a sedentary position amongst the church hierarchy??

?Well, no. One of my dearest friends is missing, and I?m going to find her and rescue her.?

?Then I will not deter you from that goal. However, I must ask you this question-do you truly feel as though you are serving Our Lady of Silver on your adventures??

Alexandria didn?t reply for a long moment, before she answered very softly. ?I really don?t know if I have or not. I stopped Sarevok in Baldur?s Gate because I felt it was the right thing to do, not necessarily because it was Selûne?s will. I really don?t think too much about my service to her, except when I make my prayers and observances each night. The notion that I?m part of an organization like the church really never occurred to me, and I can?t say I thought about whether the church would approve when I set myself against Sarevok, or when I decided to free Imoen, no matter the cost.?

?Why would you?? Althea asked with some surprise. ?Calanire told you the night you first came to her that all that mattered was your faith and willingness to serve the Moonmaiden. That has not changed. Clerics like you are part of how we get such good publicity-it is true that you are by no means representative of any temple, let alone the church as a whole, but the stories say that a priestess of Selûne saved Baldur?s Gate and Amn from war, so that?s what people think. I?ve noted a distinct increase in the numbers of lay and informed worshippers who attend services here since then.? Althea answered with a smile.

?I can?t say I ever thought about that.? Alexandria confessed.

?I would have been surprised if you did-you?re not a ranking priestess of a major temple. However, I?ve heard enough to make one decision, at least.?

Althea reached across the table and placed a holy symbol in front of Alexandria, replacing the one she had lost when she was captured.

?Welcome to the ranks of the ordained, Alexandria Eversor, Enstarred Priestess.?

?That?s it?? Alexandria asked with disbelief. ?I was expecting something more? formal.?

?Why? You?re here, you?ve answered my questions regarding your faith to my satisfaction, and I haven?t seen any hints of displeasure from the Moonmaiden. If you are willing to pick your jaw off the table, I do have a few more practical matters to speak of.?

Alexandria hastily corrected her posture and waited for the high priestess to speak again.

?First of all, as you may have heard, it is dangerous to walk the streets of Athkatla at night-there is open warfare between the Shadow Thieves and an unknown organization. The war has markedly avoided the temple, gem, arcane, military, and government districts, as well as the Promenade, but your safety is very much at risk if you walk the streets at night in the docks, slums, bridge, gate, and most of all, the necropolis districts. Neither organization has attempted to strike at guard patrols or any other officially sanctioned organizations, so the guard is for the moment turning a blind eye towards the situation, but caution must be exercised.?

?I have heard that. Does anyone know anything about this unknown organization??

Althea sighed. ?There are many, many rumors, priestess, but little to no evidence for any of them. The necropolis district seems to be the focus of their activity, so it is commonly suspected that the organization is affiliated with the undead or necromancers in some fashion, but the necropolis also offers an excellent location for a well-fortified and well-hidden base of operations. The temple of Kelemvor has been endeavoring to cleanse the necropolis, but has been encountering? difficulties.?

?I?ll be careful.? Alexandria promised. ?Anything else??

?Yes, as a matter of fact. It occurs to me that this would in fact be an excellent task for you.?

?Task?? Alexandria raised an eyebrow.

?Yes. You may consider this a request from the high priestess of Selûne in Amn. Three days ago, a boy named Delon reached the temple, claiming to hail from the Umar Hills, which lie about five days of travel to the east, and are home to a small village. Delon?s village appears to be under attack by monsters of some sort-there have been very few deaths so far, but the village appears to be badly frightened and in need of assistance. You happen to be the first adventurer to drop in since Delon?s arrival.?

Alexandria didn?t wait for an instant. ?Of course I?ll look into it. Could you mark its location on my map??

?Yes, there you go.? Althea replied, marking the Umar Hills and the village?s location. ?Be careful, Alexandria Eversor. While that land is part of Amn, Athkatla?s military strength seldom reaches that far east. You are liable to find potentially anything out there. A few days south of the Umar Hills are the Windspear Hills, a small county governed by Lord Garren Windspear, and further south still, the town of Trademeet, both of which I am marking for you. Is there anything else you wish??

?No. Thank you, Lady Shadowhawke.?

?Then you are dismissed, Alexandria Eversor. May Selûne watch over you.?

[Tempest]

Chapter LI: Ballad of Master Tranyyr


?The Umar Hills, child?? Jaheira asked as the adventurers began making their way out of the temple district. ?It will be good to get out of this city. Baldur?s Gate was tolerable. Athkatla, I am not so congenial towards.?

?I am not so sanguine.? Yoshimo added. ?If your lord, or lady, has given you this task, then it is not mine to question, but skills are of little use in the woods. I am a hunter of bounties, and so my path has taken me into the wild often, but I doubt you will require my expertise to any degree.?

Jaheira laughed softly. ?You clearly have heard little of our tales, Yoshimo. It is a safe wager that we will find more than what we suspect when we reach the hills. Alexandria draws complications to simple tasks like a vegetable garden attracts rabbits. I would advise you ensure that you have your lockpicks, tools for disabling traps, and whatever other tools of your trade you use when we depart. Speaking of which, Moira, we need to get you outfitted.?

?I beg your pardon??

Jaheira sighed. ?Child, what are you carrying with you at this time? I want to hear all of it.?

?My chain mail, my mace, my shield, rations, water skins, my holy symbol, a book on diseases and other ailments common to the region and how to cure them, a bedroll, a kit of bandages and other healing supplies, two changes of clothes, a few pieces of jewelry, four of the healing potions we bought, and a personal hygiene kit.?

?A good start, but insufficient. Are those your only pair of boots??

?Yes, why??

?They are not suitable for long travels or active movement in rugged terrain, dungeons, and whatever else we are liable to find ourselves in. You also need a field mess kit, a wide-brimmed hat so you are not as liable to suffer heat exhaustion, a tent, as you look strong enough to carry one, and at least two or three thunderstones, tanglefoot bags, vials of alchemist?s fire, or vials of acid. Speaking of which, since there are five of us, we will likely need at least three tents-I can carry one, Alexandria will bear the second, and you will bear the third. Where would be the best place to obtain them??

?There?s at least one large general store near the city gates. I can show you the way.?

?A good start.? The druidess agreed.

?Begging your pardon, my good shugenja, but should we not also seek the Copper Coronet on our way out of the city?? Yoshimo interjected. ?Gaelan Bayle did speak of a task to be found there, and if we are to be leaving the city, we should have as many opportunities as we can find.?

?Are you certain this is a wise idea, Alexandria?? Xan asked abruptly. ?I understand your duty to your goddess, but would you throw away caution so needlessly on the word of a man we do not know if we can trust??

?If it?s got a chance of bringing us closer to Imoen, you damn bet I will.? Alexandria shot back with a sudden rush of anger, but then immediately took a deep breath and added, ?Besides, I don?t intend to rush in blindly. I?m willing to risk my own life if it means getting Imoen back, but that doesn?t mean I won?t hedge my risks to be on the safe side.?

?Not as good as I might have hoped, but it is fortunate you have at least considered the situation for once.?

An idea occurred to Alexandria, and the tiefling suddenly grinned. ?Just for that, I?m sending you with Moira and Jaheira to get outfitted. Yoshimo and I will see about the Copper Coronet and this noble girl, you get geared, we meet at the city gates??

?Agreed, child.? Jaheira nodded.

?Ah, this could be interesting.? Yoshimo added. ?There was a very nice young lady there the last time I visited, and I wonder if perhaps she is still there??

?Um, Yoshimo? We aren?t going to have time for that.?

?It is of no consequence. I believe we might be better off if she is not there??

Alexandria sighed as Yoshimo began to launch into a tale, likely much-embroidered, of his last visit to the Copper Coronet, and the adventurers began making their way east, towards the city gates.


For good or ill, the Copper Coronet was exactly as Moira and Yoshimo had described it-a sprawling, ramshackle building near the edge of the slums in Athkatla. From the looks of it, the building had started off as a fairly standard tavern, but so much had been added to it that the original structure was only distinguishable as the oldest and most dilapidated-looking part of the building. Stairs ran up the sides of the building-or perhaps complex would be a better word-leading to doors, cupolas, and other makeshift additions to the upper levels, and above an open door that looked suspiciously new was a large, weathered sign depicting a coronet. Alexandria was forced to take Yoshimo at his word that the picture was supposed to be copper-the sign was so chipped and faded it was now impossible to tell what color it had originally been.

Business was lively, however, and the interior was a far cry from the cesspool of corruption Yoshimo had described-several long fire pits dominated the center of the common room, providing plenty of illumination as well as serving as on-the-spot cooking fires and places to light pipes and the like. Tables were scattered throughout the room, but focused mainly on the far end, and most were filled with people in commoners? garb. The air itself was thick with the smell of smoke and cooking food, and the dull roar of background noise and conversation was instantly recognizable by anyone who had ever frequented a busy, low-class tavern. Yoshimo must have noticed the difference between his description of the Coronet and what lay before them, as he quickly moved to Alexandria?s side and whispered-a relative whisper, at any rate, given the noise-in her ear.

?Whatever guild or front organization is running the Coronet this week likes to keep a veneer of being a commoner?s tavern-you will not find the more exotic clientele here in the front. I can tell you who to speak with, if you wish to partake of more, shall we say, specialized entertainments.?

?I?d rather find this noble girl who needs help-can?t hurt to at least see if it?s worth doing.?

?Then I would suggest the barkeep-Lehtinan, unless he has been replaced since my last visit. I would also suggest caution-his reputation is, shall we say, interesting in a way you would not consider of interest.?

?Maybe you?d like to do the talking, then??

?If that is your wish.?

Alexandria sighed. ?Yoshimo, if there?s something bothering you, spit it out. I want to find what information we need and get going.?

?And you?ll have no disagreement from me!? Yoshimo replied easily. ?I simply have certain, ah, acquaintances with whom contact may be rather awkward.?

Yoshimo?s smirk left little doubt as to what he meant, and Alexandria plowed into the crowd, which parted readily enough before the three armed and armored newcomers.

Alexandria had barely reached the bar, however, when their quarry found them.

?Alexandria? Dame Alexandria Eversor?? A female voice asked suddenly from behind them. ?What are you doing here-what are you doing in Amn??

?Oh. Hello again, Nalia De?Arnise.? Alexandria replied, turning around.

Indeed, it was the same woman from Baldur?s Gate: young, blue-eyed, bright red hair, an earnest expression pasted over an aristocratic face, and a strange artifact that Nalia had called a pistol stowed at her side. What really made her stand out from the crowd in the Coronet, however was her clothing-not very fancifully cut, but clean. Very clean, and about as conspicuous here as an orc in an elf village.

?I take it you?re willing to help me?! I helped you back in Baldur?s Gate, remember!? Nalia replied, words coming quickly out of her mouth.

Alexandria took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. ?Nalia De?Arnise, calm down before you make a scene. Yes, I?m here. What do you want??

?There?s no time! We must go to the keep-I don?t know how much longer we have! It?s only a few days from here.?

?I said calm down.? Alexandria replied, an edge of annoyance entering her voice. ?Nalia, what?s going on? What happening at your keep and what?s happened to your father??

?The keep? was invaded.? Nalia replied after a moment. ?My father was captured-he sent me to look for help. I? I don?t know how much time he has left. Please! We must go at once! It?s just a day or two east of the city! Will you help me?!?

Alexandria didn?t reply for a long moment as she considered the plea. She had met Baron Ciaphas De?Arnise, briefly, in Baldur?s Gate-he had hinted that it was he who was behind the ceremony that had formally granted Alexandria a title of nobility, and he had certainly played his part in the assassination attempt on the Grand Dukes with his strange pistol-device. By reputation, he was a very good man-honest for a man of his station, relatively fair to the common folk, and he had deliberately cultivated an air of almost humility that was almost unheard-of at the lofty heights he had enjoyed. Also, according to what she had heard in the temple of Selûne in Baldur?s Gate, a fairly pious man among the faith of Gond-the De?Arnise wealth was said to be based on a trading network with Lantan, the foremost center of technological and scientific progress in Faerun, if not the world as a whole.

She did have an obligation to the church to investigate the disturbances in the Umar Hills, but from what Nalia had said, her keep was on the way, and if Nalia was looking for a group of adventurers rather than a regiment, even a group with Alexandria?s reputation, it was likely-Alexandria had grown reluctant to consider the future with certainty, especially in regards to her adventures-that it couldn?t take more than a day or two. And, well, Nalia did seem honest enough, and her heart had been in the right place in Baldur?s Gate.

?Well?? Alexandria replied slowly, ?I?ll need to see how the others feel about it, but yes, I?ll see what I can do.?

?Wait-can I join you, show you the way?? Nalia asked almost instantly.

?You, too?? Alexandria asked with some surprise. ?First Moira, now you. If I were the suspicious sort, I?d say someone?s been playing all this like a master puppeteer, and I don?t particularly appreciate it.?

?Moira? Moira Delryn?s with you??

?Yep. Joined us yesterday, as a matter of fact.?

?Then I can certainly help! I know my way around a spellbook, and around a set of lockpicks.?

?Okay, now I?m definitely suspicious-this is just too symmetrical.? Alexandria murmured to herself. ?Master Tranyyr, I give up. Have it your way.?

?I beg your pardon??

?Um, nothing. Something I read in a book once. You geared up for traveling??

?Of course! How do you think I got here??

?Point taken. Don?t know if Jaheira will be thrilled to see you, but let?s collect Yoshimo and get going.?



Author's Note: Little shorter than usual, but I'm on my fall break, so spending time with family and whatnot, not writing. Free cookie for anyone who gets the name of this chapter-don't know if I spelled the name right, and don't have the source handy.

[Tempest]

Chapter LII: Cadence of the Strings


Time had passed during her journeys, Alexandria reflected that night. The party had taken Nalia?s presence relatively gracefully, aside from some muted hints of hostility from Moira, and had made good time leaving the city. The air had cooled a little from Alexandria?s travels on the Sword Coast, but in hindsight, that really wasn?t surprising.

Gorion had died on the first day of Mirtul, the last month of spring, and Alexandria?s travels had lasted nearly two months after that, ending a few days before the beginning of Flamerule. According to Nalia and Moira, it was now the fourth of Eleint-the first month of autumn. Alexandria, Jaheira, Xan, and Imoen had spent more than two months in the subterranean prison, and in so doing missed Shieldmeet, perhaps the most important calendar day of the year, especially for religious adherents.

It wouldn?t be more than a few weeks, now, before the leaves began to change into their autumn plumage. Harvest season was almost upon them, too. The farms outside the city were full and ripe in the early autumn sun-it would only be a short time before the farmers would be out there, with sickles and scythes to reap the fall harvest.

Reaping the harvest? there was another crop in full bloom these days, as well. Alexandria was uncertain if she had been the first, but her killing of Sarevok below Baldur?s Gate had likely been among the earliest sweeps of the metaphorical scythe, for the children of Bhaal were ripe for the harvest.

?You?ve got that look again.? Moira interjected while the adventurers set up camp for the night. ?That same look you had after coming back from beneath Baldur?s Gate, and the same look you had in the tavern last night.?

?I guess I do at that.? The tiefling replied as she began setting up her tent for the night.

There was a long moment of silence, and the favored soul added, ?So, you going to tell me what you were thinking about??

?Don?t think you?d really like to hear what I tend to ruminate about. It?s usually not a happy subject to know what I?m thinking.?

?Something you want to pray about??

?Yes, but you know I serve Selûne.? Alexandria explained. ?I have a lot of leeway with my own observances, but the moon won?t be out for at least another hour or so, which is when I like to perform my evening prayers.?

Moira sighed wistfully. ?You sure do have a lot of freedom in how you conduct yourself, you know. There are times I envy that. I wouldn?t leave Ilmater?s service for anything in the world, but there are times I feel the church is a little too regimented, in structure and our daily practices. I think it appealed to my brother, at least-he has always served Helm, but there were times I did my best to convince him of a greater need for heroes than vigilance and defense.?

?I don?t imagine why you would have thought you?d have much luck-your brother struck me as a very proud man, the few times we met.?

?He is. Was.? Moira answered after a long moment. ?That pride, though, was the curse of our family, I think.?

?Even in you?? Alexandria asked with a smile.

?Even in me.? Moira laughed. ?I told you when we first met that I felt I was the only reason our family hadn?t torn itself apart by then. If that wasn?t a clear-cut case of Delryn pride, I don?t know what is.?

?Was it justified pride, though??

?Really, I don?t know.? The humor in Moira?s voice left abruptly. ?My mother, Moirala, was really the soul of our family. After she died? well, I did my best to pick up the pieces.?

?I?m sorry.? Alexandria replied slowly. ?It seems the morbidity of my thoughts is contagious.?

?Whose death were you thinking about??

?Sarevok?s. You know he? was? my brother.?

?Yes. What about him??

Alexandria didn?t reply for a long moment, and in the meantime laid out her bedroll.

?Don?t know how much, if anything, you know about the prophet Alaundo, but some of the prophecies he made were concerning the Time of Troubles.?

?So Captain Donos told Baron De?Arnise and I, though he didn?t mention any specifics.?

?Candlekeep, where I grew up, was Alaundo?s home in life, and records of many of his prophecies are kept on its shelves-my foster father, Gorion, spent twenty years of his life in study of those prophecies, and one of them in particular is ominous. The short version of it is that while Sarevok and I are and were children of Bhaal, we weren?t the only ones, and we are collectively destined to leave Faerun awash in blood.?

Moira didn?t respond for a moment, then softly asked, ?Do you really believe that??

?What do you mean??

?Do you truly believe it?s your destiny to destroy Faerun??

?I think so, yes.? Alexandria admitted after a long pause. ?Sarevok was responsible for a lot of innocent people dying as it is, and I left a trail of bodies behind me from the moment I left Candlekeep. I?m a child of Bhaal, Moira, and a tiefling besides. It?s in my blood to leave chaos in my wake, in my nature to bring death to everyone who crosses my path, no matter whether I hate them, love them, ignore them, or anything else. Your father and your brother died because I met Anomen at a dance, three months ago.?

?And just how do you figure that?? Moira asked, a note of hostility suddenly entering her voice.

?They died because Anomen challenged Angelo-a connection your brother would not have made if I hadn?t told him.?

?That isn?t your fault.? Moira snapped. ?It was my brother?s pride, not your information. You think Anomen didn?t talk about it with me? I told him to let it go-let my father?s past sins go unspoken for the good of our family. Anomen said it was an affront to his honor, and he couldn?t let that go.?

?Honor is a load of crap.? Alexandria replied coldly. ?Rationalized idiocy, nothing more. It wouldn?t even be a factor if I hadn?t said anything to Anomen.?

?Honor is also almost all my brother had left.? Moira shot back, just as icily. ?Honor and pride. My mother?s death, my father?s drunkenness, and my own cowardice took everything else away from him. Had I died, he might have grown stronger without the need to protect me, become a better person. Had my father died, he might have grown into a better man.?

?Instead, I killed him. And I may well be the death of you.?

?So be it. Whatever you may say about yourself and your blood, Alexandria, I believe I met a good person, three months ago in the Friendly Arm Inn. I believe I met a strong woman in the ducal palace of Baldur?s Gate. It may be your nature to bring death, but my brother chose what he knew might be a fatal course of action. I chose what I knew, and know, might be my death by traveling at your side. I also believe that as a servant of Ilmater, I could have made no other choice.?

?I didn?t ask you to join me, remember. My burden is mine alone to bear.?

?I?ve heard that before, from other people in suffering and in need. No man-or woman-is an island, and if you believe that it is your nature to bring death to everyone who crosses your path, then is it not the duty of those who willingly cross your path to accept that burden for themselves??

Alexandria sighed in defeat. ?What are you trying to get at, Moira??

?What makes you think I was trying to ?get at? anything?? The other woman replied with a raised eyebrow.

?You?ve cornered me just like Jaheira used to do. She always had a point. What?s yours??

?I really don?t know.? Moira laughed. ?I was sort of making things up as I went along.?

The tiefling groaned. ?If nothing else, we?ve killed enough time that the moon is starting to shine, and I think Jaheira is going to want to talk to one or both of us in a few minutes.?

?No offense, but I am a couple of years older than you, and I don?t think she would talk to me like she did to you and your sister.?

?No offense, but I don?t think Jaheira will care.?

?You can stop whispering about me behind my back, children.? Jaheira interrupted them both, walking over to their still half-built tent. ?If the two of you cannot set up a tent while talking with one another, I will have to separate you until camp is fully set up. As it is, dinner will be ready in perhaps half an hour. If your tent is not up by then and your personal gear stowed away, then I hope you can catch food on your own.?

Alexandria and Moira shared a mutual groan, and got back to work without a word.

An interesting day, no question.




Author's Note: Sorry for being slow to get this out, but my writing efforts have been siphoned by another, currently classified, project.

[Tempest]

Chapter LIII: Shadow Dance


?How did you get into adventuring? It is a dangerous business as you well know-once we arrive at this keep, any one of us could die without even a moment?s notice.?

The question came seemingly at random from Yoshimo as the adventurers continued their journey towards the De?Arnise Keep. The thief had dropped back in the group to match stride with Alexandria, leaving Jaheira at the front of the group.

?That?s a long story.? Alexandria answered evasively. ?But I?m sure you?ve heard the stories.?

?Ah, but stories lose so much in the retelling, the details and the emotions that make life so much more than a mere story! I would like to hear your perspective on these tales of heroism and valor.?

?Well? that?s a little complicated. You?re right that stories lose a lot in the retelling, but just how much do you really want to know? Since you?re willingly traveling with me, I guess you deserve to know what you?re getting into, but it?s not a real happy story, and you may be incredulous, to say the least.?

?You would be surprised, I think. My travels since departing Kara-Tur have been quite extensive, and I know better than to declare something impossible after the things I have seen!?

?Heh. You?re telling me.? Alexandria chuckled. ?I grew up in Candlekeep, so I was pretty well aware of a lot of strange stuff in the world, but actually fighting giant spiders, wyverns, and my own brother were rather different from simply reading about such things.?

?You were compelled to fight your own brother??

?Yeah, and it?s part of the long story I mentioned. Moira and Nalia already know about this, but it began a long time ago, during what we in Faerun call the Time of Troubles.?

?An ominous name if ever I have heard one.?

?Yes, well it?s pretty justified in this case. You see??

Alexandria settled into the familiar retelling of her adventures on the Sword Coast as the group continued their journey, though as always she left out certain details, such as the fact that Bhaal?s presence in her soul had eventually become more than a simple ?taint?, and the extent of Gorion?s manipulations. Moira and Nalia both occasionally glanced at the tiefling during the retelling, especially during her recount of the events surrounding and immediately after Gorion?s death.

?? And that?s about all I know. I woke up in a cage, having apparently suffered multiple instances of amnesia, and you know the story from there.?

?I see. Quite an interesting tale, my friend.?

?That?s one way to put it. There are days I wish I was still back at Candlekeep.?

?Ah, but adventure is the spice of life! It keeps a man on this toes and his eyes open, lest he fall asleep mid stride!?

The tiefling sighed. ?I just wish this spice wasn?t so expensive. Blood is far more dear than gold.?

?Even more so for an oni, I suspect. Do you know what happened to this samurai of yours, this Ajantis??

?No.? Alexandria admitted, feeling a fresh pang of grief at the reminder of his absence. ?Irenicus said something about him being taken by Bodhi, whoever or whatever that is. Do you recognize the name at all??

?I do not, but I will be certain to make inquiries the next time the opportunity presents itself.?

?You will? May I ask why you?re willing to do that??

?Because you are quite the beautiful ronin, for an oni.? Yoshimo flirted with a grin. ?It seemed to Yoshimo that ingratiating himself with such a ronin could not help but lead to good things.?

?Please.? Alexandria laughed. ?I saw you with that woman in the inn before we left Athkatla. Your charms won?t work that well on me.?

?Ah, but who said I thought of you as a mere geisha? You clearly have much influence in certain quarters, and such influence is even more useful to one of my skills than a mere night?s favor!?

?I wouldn?t so readily discard that night?s favor, Yoshimo.? Moira interjected with a laugh. ?You learn some interesting things as a journeyman priestess of Ilmater, and I?ve heard a few stories about tieflings.?

?You raise a good point.? Yoshimo agreed, ?But no good man in my line of work risks his long-term interests over a brief affair, and I pride myself on being a professional. Now, an extra bonus for a job well done...? The thief trailed off suggestively.

?You never know. If Alexandria?s tales are true, it might be better to take what you can, when you can.?

?Hmmm? Yoshimo is uncertain if he has ever heard a woman of propriety ever voice such opinions.?

?What? So suddenly a woman isn?t allowed to enjoy herself every now and then??

?I fear you may have put me at a disadvantage, good woman! I am not trained for this!?

?I very much doubt that.? Moira grinned. ?But I think we?ve tortured our esteemed leader quite enough as it is.?

Alexandria chuckled. ?You two will have to do better than that to torture me. I grew up with Imoen, remember? When we entered that certain age, she loved mocking me anytime I so much as looked at someone who wasn?t bald or gray in hair. Admittedly, she was even worse in that regard.?

?Should I consider that a challenge?? Moira asked with a raised eyebrow.

?Should I be alarmed that a woman is flirting with me??

?I can see why that would be.? Yoshimo grinned. ?You are, after all, of sterner build than even this hunter of bounties or the shugenja over there.?

Alexandria groaned. ?Just when I think I can hold my own in an argument, I get double teamed. Life just isn?t fair.?

?Now, now.? Moira chuckled. ?I?m just teasing. You do make a really easy target, you know.?

?I?ve gotten that impression, yes.?

?Too bad for you you?re also much more fun to tease than Nalia. You, at least, can hold your own.?

?Hey!? Nalia joined the conversation. ?Just because I refuse to rise to your bait does not mean I am boring! A noblewoman is supposed to be above such pettiness-as the two of you should be!?

?But I?ve been conscious for what-a week of me being a noble?? Alexandria replied. ?And should I ask about some of the remarks Isea Roenall made in Baldur?s Gate??

?I think you should.? Moira added. ?You should hear some of the rumors about the young Lady De?Arnise.?

Nalia blushed furiously, but managed to retain her bearing. ?I fail to see what those rumors have to do with our present situation. We should be arriving at the keep in only another day or two, and I trust you will all be prepared.?

?We will be.? Alexandria assured the younger woman. ?But while we?re talking, I need information on what?s attacked the keep. I really don?t want to walk into this blind.?

?Well? are you familiar with trolls??

?I pray you?re kidding.?

?I?m not. When my father sent me to Athkatla to find help, trolls had overrun the outer defenses and courtyard. With them were several snake-like creatures I?ve never seen before. They had arms, and a few seemed to wield magic.?

?Yuan-ti.? Alexandria replied, thinking about the creatures she had read about in Candlekeep. ?Can?t say I know much about them, but they?re supposed to be pretty rare in this part of the world.?

?Well, they?re here. They seemed to be the ones in charge, but I also saw several other creatures-smaller than the trolls, very dark, and looked kind of like insects. They didn?t break down the walls-they went right through it like burrowing creatures.?

?Now that, I don?t recognize.?

?I do.? Jaheira stated briskly-the party had come to a stop when Nalia started talking-?If they are what I think they are, they are called umber hulks, and they are not a foe to be taken lightly. The composition of forces is interesting-as Alexandria said, yuan-ti are seldom found in this part of the world, and umber hulks are very unusual on the surface. Child, do you have any evidence that one of the invaders was in charge??

?Well, the yuan-ti seemed to be in charge of the trolls, but the guards said there was a really big troll that gave orders even to the yuan-ti.?

?Then this is more complicated a situation than it appears. Organizing a force of these creatures is quite beyond the ability of a troll chieftain to conceive.?

?Of course! It must be the R-?

?It could be anything, child. I had a difficult enough time teaching Alexandria to not jump to conclusions, and I am not overly eager to teach another impulsive child.?

Alexandria sighed at Nalia. ?Trust me, listen to her and get on with things. Arguing with Jaheira will never, ever get you anywhere.?

?Yes, I think I?m getting that impression.?

?Good. Welcome to the club.?

[Tempest]

Long delay, I know, but extra-long chapter.

Chapter LIV: The Anvil?s Kiss


An illusory image of the De?Arnise keep floated in the air, scaled down in size to where six adventurers and two officers from the De?Arnise family guard could gather around it. Bright red marks on the image indicated points of entry by the invaders who had taken the keep, and flashing yellow markers were located where scrying spells and careful observation by scouts had identified known sentries.

One of the two guard officers, an older woman by the name of Captain Vaenys, summed up the tactical situation: grim. Trolls and umber hulks were markedly stronger and tougher than even veteran warriors, to say nothing of the magical support the yuan-ti undoubtedly provided. Making things more problematic was the structure of the keep itself-while built to impress rather than defend, points of entry were limited and fortified.

?Lady De?Arnise,? Vaenys asked, ?You?re the mistress of the keep at present, so I am here to follow your orders. A direct assault on the Keep is, without a change in the present situation, infeasible. What should be our primary objective??

?We must rescue my father first, if at all possible. When I left, he and the remainder of his personal guard were preparing to make a stand in the, ah, cellars.?

The guard officer narrowed her eyes. ?Lady De?Arnise, I?ve never heard of any cellars in the keep suitable for anything like this. Do you have information for us??

A very uncomfortable look passed over Nalia?s face. ?The old cellars haven?t been used in a long time, Captain Vaenys, and they can only be accessed from a secret passageway on the second floor.?

?Excuse me?? Jaheira interrupted. ?A secret passage, to the cellars. Entered from the second floor? May I ask who was responsible for this??

?It?s a long story.? The noblewoman answered, then indicated a shuttered window on the illusory image of the keep. ?This is the closest window to the passage. If we can rescue my father, we?ll have won.?

?No offense, Lady De?Arnise, but I don?t think we will.? Vaenys answered. ?Even *if* the Baron De?Arnise is still alive, that will bring us no closer to liberating the keep. However, if you and your allies are willing, I think I have a plan for you. Our main issue is gaining access to the keep proper-my men can handle trolls if you can open the drawbridge from here.?-Vaenys indicated a small structure built into one of the keep?s battlements-?We?ll assault the keep through here. After you open the way for us, enter the keep on the second floor and start clearing. I?ve heard some stories about you,?-Vaenys indicated the three veterans among the group-?So I hope my trust isn?t misplaced.?

?It is not.? Jaheira replied. ?We have adequate means to destroy trolls available to us. However, I must ask Nalia: under the circumstances, are you prepared to see your home further damaged as a result of our own actions??

Nalia nodded slowly. ?If my father is safe, then nothing else matters. I know a way we can get in, as well. There?s a secret passage, leading to the servants? quarters. From the looks of things, the trolls haven?t found it yet.?

?Why?? Xan asked. ?Entering through that route would then require ascending to the second floor within the keep, fighting through hostile opposition along the way-opposition the Captain has indicated her soldiers can deal with.?

?Well, yes, but how else are we going to get there??

?And you call yourself a mage.? Xan replied with a hint of derision. ?Do you not know an invocation so simple as one of levitation, or spider climb??

?Erm, well, no.?

?Corellon Larethian bless us, then. I believe I can weave an illusion around this segment of the wall,?-Xan indicated a section of the keep?s wall near the gatehouse-?That will last long enough to cover our ascent. Who has our rope??

?I do.? Moira answered.

?Give it to Alexandria. Unless I am mistaken, she has greater physical strength. My plan is thus-I will levitate Alexandria up the wall, carrying the rope. She will then pull up Jaheira, who in turn will assist Alexandria in bringing the rest of us up. We will then open the drawbridge to allow Captain Vaenys? men access to the keep. It appears that after doing so, the most rapid access to the second floor of the keep would be a stone shape spell. Alexandria, do you have such a spell prepared??

?One.? The priestess acknowledged. ?It seemed a useful spell to have for an assault on a keep.?

?I have stone shape spells ready as well.? Moira added. ?Quite a versatile spell.?

?Then it is agreed?? Xan asked.

Everyone present nodded.

?Then let us begin.?


Levitation was a new experience for Alexandria, but as long as she didn?t look down, it wasn?t an unpleasant one, either. Xan?s spell lifted her through the air as easily as if she was on a rising platform, and the tiefling neatly stepped over the wall?s parapet and onto the walkway that ran along the top of the wall. Without missing a beat, she dropped the coil of thick hemp rope down to the ground below, holding onto her end. Jaheira caught the rope as soon as it hit the ground, and once Alexandria braced herself against the wall, began her ascent.

The operation was completed quickly-only Nalia and Moira showed any hesitancy at making their way up the wall, but both overcame their anxieties in short order. Unfortunately, what did not help was the sight of the two large creatures in the courtyard-they weren?t quite like anything Alexandria had ever seen, being roughly spherical in shape, but with two large feet, two equally long tentacles extending from their upper surfaces, an enormous mouth filled with teeth, and a truly horrific stench.

Xan remained impassive while Alexandria struggled to keep her breakfast out of her throat.

?Otyughs.? The elf reported calmly. ?Not as dangerous as they look, and almost certainly well within the abilities of the De?Arnise guard to slay. They do not pose a threat worth considering to us.?

?If you say so.? Alexandria choked out.

?I do.?

?Then let?s see about getting that bridge down.?


The gatehouse was little more than an enclosed space centered around a raised circular mechanism, which, Alexandria guessed, could be rotated in either direction to raise or lower the drawbridge. Unfortunately, a large and crudely formed humanoid creature, bearing a large wooden club, stood in front of the gatehouse-and it was clearly not fooled by Xan?s illusion.

Alexandria ducked under the troll?s swing, manifesting her mind blade as she did so. The ethereal scimitar struck the troll?s midsection, but only left a thin cut, which even as the tiefling watched, closed over and began to mend. Fire lanced into the troll from behind Alexandria as Xan and Nalia loosed their spells, then Jaheira and Moira engaged the troll with their weapons.

The battle did not last long-the troll?s only real success was in knocking Moira flat on her back with another clumsy but powerful swing of its club, and that simply gave Nalia a perfect shot with her pistol, whose bullet tore into the troll?s chest and apparently managed to hit something important, from the way the troll staggered backwards while a thick river of black ichor seeped out of the wound.

Yoshimo finished the creature with an efficient killing blow from his strangely curved blade, nearly severing the troll?s head. The thief then opened one of his vials of acid, and carefully poured it out over the fallen troll, which disintegrated into a fluid mess in a process that forced Alexandria and Nalia to look away in disgust.

With the troll dispatched, opening the drawbridge was a simple enough task, and the adventurers didn?t miss a beat as Captain Vaenys and her troops poured into the keep. After a moment?s pause to remember the correct prayer, Alexandria chanted the stone shape spell and breached the wall of the keep proper with a tunnel large enough for the party.

Almost immediately, a fight erupted as another troll and two yuan-ti responded to the invaders with alacrity. Or, rather, a troll and one yuan-ti, as the other fell almost immediately to a javelin, throwing dagger, two lightning bolts, and a flame strike, followed swiftly by an invocation that extinguished the resulting fire before it could damage more than that spot of the keep?s interior. The rest of the skirmish proceeded without anything unusual occurring, and the adventurers proceeded into the keep?s interior.


The interior of the De?Arnise keep was dimly lit beyond the breach Alexandria had created, but Alexandria, Jaheira, and Xan could all see perfectly well, and the humans behind them found their eyes adjusting to the gloom quickly. Their point of entry was in the middle of a hallway, which stretched straight ahead, and angled away to the right, following the layout of the exterior walls.

?Which way should we be moving, child?? Jaheira asked quietly.

?To the left. My aunt?s bedroom is down there, and I can only hope she had the good sense to get out of here while I was gone.?

?You should know, then, that there is a chance your aunt? may have died in the attack.?

Nalia began to laugh, but was immediately silenced by a gloved hand from behind. Yoshimo smirked at the noblewoman, but raised the fingers of his other hand in front of his lips.

?I am not certain what you find so humorous, Lady De?Arnise,? Yoshimo?s voice was barely audible, ?But giving voice to such humor may well make life a little more interesting than you wish.?

?Okay, okay.? Nalia whispered as soon as the thief released her. ?I don?t think auntie is in any danger from the trolls. She?d blister their ears off, or whatever these things have in the place of ears.?

?Sounds like an intriguing woman.? Yoshimo replied.

?She?s not, really. She makes her feelings very plain to see.?

?If you are quite finished, it is time we move on.? Jaheira stated quietly.

?Agreed.? Xan nodded, then began chanting a spell.

As it finished, stone flowed from the corridor straight ahead, melding into a solid wall that neatly sealed off the hallway.

?Auntie won?t be happy to see that.? Nalia observed. ?I guess my father will have to hire a few miners to reopen the hall when we?re done here.?

?Or,? Alexandria suggested, ?I can use the other stone shape spell I have available today to remove it. Or maybe tomorrow, if I use up the second incantation in here.?

?That would work.? Nalia acknowledged sheepishly. ?Jaheira was right, though-we must get moving again.?


Five minutes later, Alexandria was hoping for another troll. It would have been preferable to the elderly woman the tiefling could only assume was Nalia?s aunt.

?Oh dear heavens, what have you brought home with you this time?!? The old woman demanded the moment she got a good look at the adventurers. ?That horrid Delryn girl, a loathsome half-breed, a hedge wizard, and Siamorphe only knows what the Calishite and strange boy with the eyes are.?

?Auntie, please! We?ve come to rescue you!? Nalia replied quickly.

?Rescue me?! I?ll have you know none of those brutes dare lay a finger on me or the servants! Only those guards so dense as to fight back. And your father, of course.?

?We don?t have time to waste, Auntie-is my father still in the cellars??

?Yes, of course Ciaphas is still hiding down there, looking for that old flail of his. I can only assume by the dirt on your clothes you?ve been slumming with these mercenaries of yours. And what in Siamorphe?s name is that stain on your tunic??

?Um, I think it?s troll blood.? Nalia admitted.

?Typical! Just typical! Pretend to be on your servants? level and sooner or later they?ll drag you down into it for real! I always did warn you, Nalia, and you refused to listen, as always! Now look at you-covered in Siamorphe knows what!?

?Ladies De?Arnise,? Alexandria interrupted, annoyance plain in her voice, ?The Dame Eversor would like to remind the two of you we?ve still got a job to do here, and the dame would prefer to get it done before any more trolls or yuan-ti arrive. I?m pretty sure we could kill them, but it would be a little messy.?

?Ah, someone with a bit of sense!? The elder Lady De?Arnise replied. ?And I must assume, *the* so-called Dame Eversor, Ciaphas? little project from Baldur?s Gate. Well. I can only assume you blasted a hole in the wall or some such to get in here, and I will take my leave for you to do whatever it is that you intend to do. Tell Ciaphas I intend to have words with him about his daughter?s choice of company, make no mistake!?

?Auntie?? Nalia began, but stopped. ?I?m glad you?re alright.?

?Hmph! At least wash the god-awful stench out of those clothes when you?re finished with whatever it is you hired your mercenaries to do.?

Without a further word, the older woman set off down the corridor in the same direction the adventurers had come.

?You know, for someone of her venerability, age clearly has not bent that flower.? Yoshimo chuckled. ?Were it not for our present circumstances, I would be interested to see how unbowed she truly is.?

After a brief moment of being stared at by the rest of the party, the thief quickly added ?That?s assuming she does not trip over the troll we left behind, given how high her nose is!?

?Well, I think that?s as good as that could have been.? Nalia answered after a moment. ?She is decent enough and genuinely means well, but very set in her ways and hard to deal with at times. Come, we must rescue my father.?

Nalia then lead the others into the elegantly and lavishly appointed bedroom and began running her fingers along the underside of a decorative wall mounting, and a few moments later, part of the far wall opened inwards to a dark chamber of cold grey stone, centered on a spiraling stairwell that lead below. Dust lay thick on the stone, and a series of boot-prints lay clear and visible in the dust. Nalia chanted a quick spell, and the ring on her right hand blazed with light as she hesitantly motioned the light towards the stairwell entrance. She looked back at the others, anxiety etched across every line of her face.

?I think you should know? you may see some things down there that don?t match what you know of my family. The De?Arnise family hasn?t always been what it is today, and my grandfather ordered the? cellars? sealed off when he came to power in the family. My father reopened them to hide something around the time I was born, but he made sure I never knew what exactly was down there. It was only when he sent me to Athkatla to look for help that he even told me how to reach the cellars.?

?Every family has its past.? Moira acknowledged.

?I know. I just wanted all of you? if you see things down there, please don?t judge me or my father by them.?

?Nalia, you really think some dark history of your family is going to daunt us when *I?m* around?? Alexandria asked with a faint grin.

?Well? no. Come.?


The stairwell was narrow, tight, and extremely cramped for adventurers in full battle arraignment, forcing Xan to cast reduce person spells on Alexandria, Moira, and Jaheira, reducing the three women to around the size of smaller-than-average halflings, which Yoshimo was quick to made a wide array of jokes and puns about as they proceeded down into the darkness. Mercifully, the hidden passage ended quickly enough-by Alexandria?s estimate, they were no more than two floors beneath the ground floor of the keep, and a dim light entered the passage as the adventurers reached a sturdy, but open, iron door at the bottom.

Whatever the room they entered had been, it hadn?t been used in a long time. Tables, trunks, and less identifiable constructions littered the room, all covered in a thick coat of dust. The acrid smell of neglect and decay was omnipresent, and Alexandria?s keen darkvision revealed a few bold rats not-quite-hiding from the intruders. Finally, the trail of footsteps in the dust continued into the room beyond. Alexandria began to proceed forward, but Jaheira cut her off with a sharp gesture.

?Child, Xan and I think there are umber hulks up ahead. We must proceed carefully.?

?How do you know that? All I see are rats.?

Jaheira smirked. ?Elven blood does have its advantages, particularly keen senses among them. But know that umber hulks are dangerous opponents-large insectoid beasts, very physically powerful, and they can inspire madness with a glance.?

?Great. Any suggestions on how to deal with them??

?Yes. Their ability to sense vibrations in the earth means that they are more than likely aware of our presence already, but we may yet be able to achieve some element of surprise. They are accustomed to the deep places of the world, and while they are not truly dazed by bright light, it can briefly disorient them. I have means to accomplish this. We will prepare what offensive enhancement spells we have available, and hopefully purge the hulks before they can respond.?

?And if we don?t??

?Then we have a fight on our hands.?

?Very well.?


The influence of so many ?buff? spells was, Alexandria decided, rather disorienting until their secondary effects took hold and rendered her somehow instantaneously used to having greater muscle power, faster reflexes, stone-like skin, and various other benefits that in a rational world would cripple one?s ability to fight until one grew accustomed to such changes in how they moved and reacted. But such considerations were for another time. Jaheira cast her daylight spell on a copper coin, then tossed it into the room beyond, and almost immediately charged after it, the other adventurers with her.

Jaheira?s guess had been correct-there were three of the creatures, which looked like some horrific cross between an ape and an insect. One was immediately taken out of the fight by Xan as the mage revealed a spell Alexandria had never seen before-a flash of blue light that, in a deeply unsetting visual effect, transformed the umber hulk into a harmless brown rabbit. Alexandria and Moira moved to engage one, while Jaheira, Yoshimo, and Nalia attacked the other.

Disoriented the hulk may have been, but it was still fully aware of the incoming attack, swiping one of its great claws at Alexandria in a blow that left a great rent in her half-plate, then followed up with its other claw in a strike that would have disemboweled the tiefling if her magically enhanced reflexes hadn?t spurred her to dive to the ground, under the swing. Moira got around behind the creature in the meantime, before landing a hammer blow on its back carapace.

The hulk didn?t seem to care, however, and made a blow roughly analogous to a backhanded strike with a claw, though Moira almost casually deflected the blow with her shield. Alexandria lashed out as she rose to her feet, forcing her mind blade into existence as her arm moved, and remembering Jaheira?s warning about the creature?s gaze, aimed directly for the hulk?s compound eyes. Her strike, enhanced by the bull?s strength spell she was under, was true, and a sickening amount of unidentifiable fluid splashed over her as the hulk?s eye burst apart.

Moira followed up adroitly on the half-blinded aberration, landing her blow directly on top of the creature?s head and crushing what passed for its face with a noisy crunch. However, the hulk clearly wasn?t dead yet, and turned as it swung its claw again, this time managing to bypass Moira?s defenses and rip through her lighter chain mail to open a large gash on her thigh, which immediately began to bleed profusely.

Once again, however, magic came to the rescue in total defiance of the laws nature intended when the favored soul gulped down a healing potion and not only mended the leg in an instant, but also apparently replaced the lost blood. Alexandria?s next action rendered the point moot, however, as her searing light spell, manifesting as an intense ray of moonlight, burned into the umber hulk?s shattered head and boiled whatever passed for its brain, leaving the body, crowned by a smoking stub where its head had been, to slump to the ground in death.

Whatever sense of victory the two women may have felt over their victory, however, was promptly stolen by a cry of anguish from nearby. Alexandria and Moira both raised their weapons again as they quickly surveyed the room, expecting that one of their friends had fallen to an attack, but the cry had come from a large hall adjacent to the room they had been fighting in.

No sooner did Alexandria hurry in than she saw the source of the cry, and now only another sort of crying-not of anguish, but of sorrow, and of a sort Alexandria knew all too well. She didn?t need to see what had happened, but the tiefling?s eyes looked nevertheless.

On the ground in front of a stone altar of some sort, Nalia was cradling the body of a man in full plate armor, whose left hand gripped a strange multiheaded flail, and on whose right hand was a ring, shaped to form a sigil of an eagle, gripping a bolt of lightning in one talon and a stylized harvester?s scythe in the other.

The De?Arnise family seal.

[Tempest]

Chapter LV: Blood Temper


?How?s mistress Nalia?? Captain Vaenys asked.

?Not good.? Alexandria admitted. ?Jaheira?s with her now, helping with initial funeral rites for Lord De?Arnise, and I?ll be going to join them in a minute, but I felt I should see to the status of the keep as a whole first.?

?Well, it?s secure. We found out how they got in-those umber hulks you killed had tunneled underneath the keep itself, and came up inside the keep?s very structure, then the trolls and yuan-ti came through the tunnel. We tried exploring the tunnel, but it had collapsed-deliberately, by the looks of it-and I?ve got a squad with a sanctioned wizard trying to burrow through the cave-in, but it seems a pretty thorough job of collapsing the tunnel, so I doubt we?ll find anything. The servants were all locked up in their quarters, and the few bodies we?ve found were my men who didn?t get out of here in time.?

?I?m sorry for your losses.?

?We?re professionals. We understood the risks when we signed on.? Vaenys shrugged. ?When mistress Nalia is coherent again, I?ll be asking her permission to bury my men here-standard procedure for this sort of thing is burial in the De?Arnise graveyard, as my men were in the employ of the family at the time of their deaths.?

?What about the burial of Lord De?Arnise himself??

?A public ceremony will be conducted here, probably today or tomorrow, but there will likely be a private funeral for the lord?s interment in the De?Arnise tomb in Athkatla, which itself is unlikely to happen for at least a week. His body will be preserved with magic until then.?

?Well, I guess my only other question is-what will happen to this place with Lord De?Arnise?s death??

?Mistress Nalia will assume the mantle of Baroness De?Arnise and do with it what she wills.?

Something of Alexandria?s disbelief must have shown, as the captain explained.

?Mistress Nalia did reach her majority two years ago, and by tradition, that made her heir-apparent of the De?Arnise family. It?s unusual, yes, for a female to be the primary heir, but mistress Nalia was Lord De?Arnise?s first child, and her mother, Lady Seren Vairosean, died when mistress Nalia was a child, and Lord De?Arnise never re-married. Lord De?Arnise?s sister, Lady Delcia De?Arnise, seemed incapable of conceiving children even before her husband died, so there are no cousins in line of succession, either. Mistress Nalia?s other closest relatives are in Cormyr? and so, there?s really no other option. If you were to ask my opinion on this, quite frankly, worse things could happen to this place than mistress Nalia taking her father?s place. Kael Oree, Lord De?Arnise?s majordomo, has served the family since before mistress Nalia was born, and while Lord De?Arnise was admittedly somewhat more removed from the De?Arnise mercantile empire than his father, he still oversaw it, and many of the top guildsmen and merchants are quite loyal to the family.?

?You seem to know an awful lot about the workings of this place for a guard.? Alexandria pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

The older woman laughed. ?Girl, I knew Ciaphas De?Arnise when he was younger than mistress Nalia is now, back when he was a complete embarrassment to his family and was sent to a military academy in the hopes of beating some sense into him. If mistress Nalia is anything like her father, which I?m confident she is, she?ll settle into her place eventually and there?s no use rushing it. However, you probably *should* go talk to her, mistress Eversor. Ciaphas talked about you a fair bit, and I think Nalia will respond well to you, given what Donos said you went through under Baldur?s Gate.?

Before Alexandria could ask just what Captain Nathaniel Donos had told the guard captain, Vaenys saluted her sharply and immediately began barking orders to her subordinates, leaving Alexandria dismissed.


After a brief detour to another part of the keep, Alexandria found Nalia in the keep library, a large room that dominated the third floor of the keep. The trolls had apparently left the third floor untouched, and the numerous bookshelves were almost completely full. Alexandria?s gaze, long accustomed to the endless shelves of Candlekeep, catalogued the library with ease-the collection was quite eclectic, books of epic poetry stuffed next to tomes of abstract magical theory abutting analyses of trade patterns and migrations in distant corners of the world.

The north wall of the library, however, was dominated by a massive floor-to-ceiling window that let light pour into a cleared space in the center of the room, where two couches and an old, worn chair so overstuffed it threatened to burst at the seams were arrayed around a fine, low table made of a peculiar dark wood with a distinctive silver sheen. Nalia was almost invisible in the old chair, her brown robes neatly matching the upholstery, and her fiery red hair had spilled over her face, lending the noblewoman a distinctly disheveled appearance. She looked up only when Alexandria sat down loudly on one of the couches and thumping the objects she had retrieved from her detour down on the table.

?Isn?t? it a bit early for wine?? Nalia asked, not moving from the chair.

?Yep.? Alexandria agreed. ?But you look like you could use a drink, and one of your servants assured me this was a good vintage.?

?I?m sorry, but I don?t think I?m in the mood to drink.?

?Mood?s got nothing to do with it, Nalia.? Alexandria replied, pouring wine into both of the cups she had brought. ?Some priestesses enjoy ministry, are effective at talking to people and helping them get through problems. I am not one of those people. But I am the closest thing you?ve got at the moment, so cheers.?

Nalia made no response, even after Alexandria took a sip of her own.

?Look.? The tiefling said flatly. ?I know how you?re feeling at the moment-probably feeling more guilty than anything, if I?m not mistaken. You?re blaming yourself for not dying. Thinking you could have, should have done something to save your father.?

The noblewoman was still silent, but a glimmer in her eyes told Alexandria everything the cleric needed to know.

?Well, let?s be honest-maybe you could have. Maybe you could have flapped your wings real hard and flown to Cormyr and back with a legion of purple dragon knights. Of course, that?s no comfort to you, any more than that fact was comfort to me, one morning on the Sword Coast. Doesn?t change the fact that it?s true.?

Finally, Nalia spoke. ?No, but my father had so much trust in me-he *knew* I could find help, save him? but I failed.?

?Failed?? Alexandria raised an eyebrow as she took another sip of wine. ?Nalia, you did find help. You found the best help you could have asked for, under the circumstances. Not the help you would have asked for, maybe, but you found me, found Jaheira, found Xan. We all knew you already-knew your heart was in the right place. So did Moira, for that matter. And Yoshimo would have helped just because you?re pretty and wealthy. We didn?t ask for reward, either. Where else would you have gotten such a good deal on firepower??

?Be that as it may, it isn?t you I have to make? funeral arrangements for.? Nalia answered, but her voice was already beginning to grow uneven with emotion.

?No, but if you had stayed and fought, you would have died, Nalia, and someone would be making funeral arrangements for you and your father. Your father knew this then as well as I do now. It?s a storybook cliché, true, but most clichés did start somewhere as fact.?

?Is that really supposed to make me feel better??

?Feel better? No. But let?s be honest again-you won?t be feeling better about this for a long time. I?m still not sure I?m over my father?s death. True, you don?t have the impetus of imminent death looming over your head to get you motivated to get off your self-pity and do something. You?ve got something worse.?

?Which would be??

?Captain Vaenys says you became the Baroness De?Arnise today. You?ve probably forgotten more about politics than I?ll ever learn, but for starters, every surviving servant and guard in this keep now depends on you. Don?t know how extensive your lands are, but everyone who lives on those lands also depends on you. Ditto your family?s trading empire.?

?Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.? Nalia quoted with a weak smile. ?My father referred to that idea as the chains of command. He didn?t actually have that much to do with running our network of vassals and allies on a daily basis, but he was, in the end, responsible for it all, and they all looked to him as their patron. My father did his best to train and prepare me for the day when I would take his place, but I am not sure I?m ready.?

?Unfortunately, you don?t really get a choice in the matter, no more than I did when I was thrown headlong into ?adventure?.?

?I know that, and my father knew it, too.? Nalia finally rose from the chair, and began to straighten her hair as she stared out the grand window and out across the De?Arnise lands. ?That?s one of the reasons my father was so interested in you, Alexandria. You?ve been through so many hardships, and come out well.?

?And now our similarities come full circle.? The tiefling acknowledged. ?But I would not ever want someone following in my footsteps, and you absolutely do not want to travel the same dark places I have. It?s my very nature to bring death to everyone around me, make no mistake, Nalia, and my presence here will likely do much more harm than good. None of it intentional, of course, but it?s my experience that intentions seldom count for anything. Just the consequences.?

?But intentionally or not, you have done great things in this world. You?ve brought hope where there was none, helped the helpless, protected those incapable of defending themselves. You?re the old sort of noblewoman, the one worthy of the title. My father was the one who came up with the idea of granting you noble title.?

Alexandria sighed. ?You?re missing the point of all this. We have some striking similarities, yes, and it is my intent to help this place to the limits of my ability, but only one of us is the Baroness De?Arnise, and that one knows what has to be done to best help and maintain this place. The other really doesn?t have a clue, and only has the lowest of titles, and more pointedly, this place isn?t her home. It?s yours, Nalia, and so are these people. Lead them.?

?If only it were so easy as that. There are? complications. You recall Isea Roenall and his father from Baldur?s Gate??

?Yes.?

?I know you don?t want to be embroiled in politics, but in this case? the Roenalls have been putting pressure on my father for years. Our trading network with Lantan is very profitable, and our lands here have become very fertile and secure, thanks in no small part to our efforts and the church of Gond, with which we have a very cordial relationship. The Roenalls are one of the wealthiest families in Athkatla, and their efforts to take over the De?Arnise family have been going on for generations. We haven?t been able to stop them.?

?I know Isea and his father are both pretty unpleasant people, but is their whole family like that??

?They are not as arrogant and determined to bring my father down, no, but they have trouble with the concept of commoners being sentient creatures, let alone people deserving of their respect. Isea?s father was able to force an arrangement with my father that I would be married into their family, and now, with my father?s death? there is little to stop them.?

?Forgive me if I?m wrong, but would that necessarily be such a bad thing? From what I understand, wives of major figures like Isea Roenall tend to wield political power of their own.?

?But can you imagine what would happen to the people here, if the Roenalls were to take over? My father invested a great deal in the land, and it?s hard to imagine the Roenalls caring much about that. And can you imagine what would happen to me, on our wedding night?? Nalia asked darkly, her eyes leaving little question.

?You wouldn?t be talking about any of this if you didn?t have a plan.? Alexandria pointed out. ?And would it be safe to assume that I?m somehow involved??

?Well? yes. There is a certain tradition I can invoke, that will keep the Roenalls out of the keep and at bay from me, at least for a time. It hasn?t happened in decades, but sometimes when the presiding lord of a keep is slain, the heir-apparent can designate a regent of sorts, usually a strong warrior or someone with a great deal of political influence, to lead the keep until such time as the heir wishes to reassume control.?

?You want to designate me the regent of the keep.? Alexandria?s response was not a question.

?Yes. You would be required to make major decisions regarding the keep, of course, but I am always permitted to override your rulings if need be, and my father?s majordomo, and the guard captain, can provide you with advice as well. I can handle setting the other affairs in order.?

?Would this really fool anyone, though? Isea Roenall does have something of a vendetta against me as well, and your father?s patronage of me has apparently been well-known to everyone but me.?

?No.? Nalia admitted. ?It won?t fool the Roenalls for an instant, and you can count on them redoubling their efforts to take control here. They have no respect for me as an opponent, but you might be a different matter. You are not a noble in their eyes, no, but you did defeat Sarevok and his allies. I do not think the Roenalls would so casually confront you.?

Alexandria didn?t reply for several moments, but then replied. ?What are the conditions of this offer? I sympathize with your goals here, but I have my own agenda, and I?m pretty sure Jaheira, Xan, Moira, and Yoshimo will follow me. Before running into you, we were heading for the Umar Hills on a task from the temple of Selûne, and I intend to resume my efforts on that task as soon as possible.?

?I didn?t want to stop you from your quest, Alexandria. After we make sure things are stable here, we?ll be free to go wherever we wish-I have an amulet that will let Captain Vaenys or whomever we wish contact us if something important comes up that we must attend to.?

?Sounds good, except you kept using the word ?we?.? The tiefling answered. ?I told Moira much the same thing, but know that you are quite simply begging for trouble if you?re asking to join my side here. I can?t guarantee your safety-as a matter of fact, I can guarantee you will get hurt, possibly quite badly, and you will endure things you?ve never dreamt of, if my activities here end up going anything like they did up on the Sword Coast. Are you really prepared for that??

?No.? Nalia answered with a weak and uncertain smile. ?But I?m willing to try nevertheless.?

?I?m being deadly serious, Nalia. If Nathaniel Donos told you as much as he seems to, which is, by the way, far more than I ever told him, then you know what I am. You know I?m likely to attract powerful enemies with designs you would call abomination or worse, and you know that as a friend and ally of mine, you will be making yourself a target as well. There is still time for you to make the rational call and go your separate way.?

?But where would I go? Into the arms of the Roenalls? My father said you were someone to trust and respect, and to my father, that means you?re someone to follow.?

?I?ll need to talk it over with the others, then. But I will give you one last warning-this isn?t a fairy tale or heroic myth.?

?Myths grow like crystals, according to their own recurring pattern.? Nalia replied enigmatically. ?But there must be a suitable core to start their growth. And where do fairy tales begin, if not fact??

Alexandria poured wine into the two cups again as she responded. ?But who can say now whether my tale will be a child?s bed-time story of heroism and brave deeds? or a cautionary tale against a child who wants to go out after dark??

?Does it matter?? Nalia asked, lifting one of the cups to her lips. ?Your surname, Eversor, does mean ?destroyer?, yes. But that?s a word in ancient Netherese. Another part of the world has the word ?eversor?, too. In that tongue, the word means ?savior?. Can you say now which is the more valid interpretation??

On reflection, Alexandria realized, she couldn?t.

Edited by Tempest, 24 January 2009 - 03:08 PM.

[Tempest]

Chapter LVI: Dust to Dust


The public funeral for Baron Ciaphas De?Arnise, it was decided, would take place the next morning, and be officiated by a priest of Gond-the Baron had been a member of Gond?s lay faithful, as was his daughter, and a priest of the Wonderbringer, High Seeker Escopas, would preside over the funeral. Nalia holed herself up in her father?s study, discussing matters with Escopas, Captain Vaenys, and Lady Delcia, while Yoshimo amused himself with games of chance against the De?Arnise guards and Moira helped attend to the wounded from the liberation of the keep.

Alexandria had immediately taken the opportunity to withdraw with Xan and Jaheira to Baron De?Arnise?s dining room, which was secluded and empty but for the three veteran adventurers. Nominally, she only intended to challenge them to a game of cards, but in truth, her intentions were more serious. Both Xan and Jaheira had been with Alexandria since nearly the beginning of Alexandria?s ongoing crises, and she had come to greatly value their opinions.

?? And that?s about the shape of things. I haven?t exactly told Nalia I would accept this job, so there?s still some wiggle room if we have to back out.?

?Uncharacteristically wise of you.? Xan observed. ?I confess I do not regard these Roenalls as likely sources of our doom, given how irrationally stubborn we have been, but further provoking them does not appear to be a wise course of action.?

?You would suggest we leave Nalia to her fate??

?Yes.? Xan?s answer was cold. ?Laws and traditions exist for reasons, one of which is to prevent chaos and anarchy. Chaos is precisely what miss De?Arnise proposes to accomplish-we both know you are not qualified to lead or even oversee this keep. She wishes you to lead because she is aware she herself is not qualified for the task, and because the late Baron De?Arnise saw potential in you for, if not greatness, then at least capability, a potential I likewise see, but a potential not realized. I would even go so far as to draw parallels between these Roenalls and Sarevok: both acted in hopes of removing a great potential threat before it can no longer be described as ?potential?. I have been unable to determine precisely what the crucial factor in Sarevok?s failure was, but unless these Roenalls are incapable of learning from the failures of others, which I do not put past them as humans but find unlikely, their success is probable.?

?But it is only certain if we do not take action.? Jaheira answered. ?I, for one, have no desire to leave this Nalia girl to the Roenalls if we can prevent it. She does seem to be a good sort.?

?A good sort, yes, but can you truly justify the risks involved in acceding to her plan? We do have a goal already, namely locating this Irenicus and rescuing Imoen.?

?And as a more immediate objective, we must acquire-what was it, twenty thousand gold pieces to secure the help of Gaelan Bayle? How much wealth do we have on hand at present??

?By my best estimate... perhaps a thousand, roughly.?

?Then stop thinking about Imoen and begin thinking about wealth. The latter will secure the former, in this instance, and I believe Nalia?s proposition may be a profitable one for us. It is true that she may not approve of our use of funds, but our leader did tell her we have our own agenda, yes??

?I did.? Alexandria acknowledged. ?But to be honest, I don?t think Nalia thought about the implications, and I?m not sure she?d care if she did. I told her I?m not cut out for this and that our agenda does take priority over hers, but again, she didn?t seem to think about the implications. Nor of just what she may be getting herself into if she does sign on with us.?

?But,? Xan replied, ?Have you thought about the implications of this plan? There are surely ways to acquire the necessary coin that do not involve such risks.?

?Maybe there are, but this is the one in front of us, and safe ways to gain coin generally also involve time appropriate to the reward. From what Gaelan Bayle told us, wherever Imoen is, it?s not a pleasure spot, and I don?t intend to leave her there a moment longer than I have to. You love her, Xan. You should appreciate that.?

?I do, but haste often leads to carelessness, and too much carelessness may well mean I never see Imoen again.?

?Xan,? Jaheira cut in quietly, ?One can take all the care in the world, and still lose those you love. I believe our actions must be circumspect, but I also believe Nalia?s offer is the best course of action we have at the moment. Moving more slowly and cautiously may prove safer, yes, but we do not know that, nor do we know if moving in such a fashion would even be successful.?

?Nor do we know if this course of action will be successful.? Xan pointed out.

?Be that as it may, I will not stand by and let these people endure the neglect if not abuse of those who would wield power here.? Alexandria replied. ?I appreciate your desire for caution, Xan, but so far, my experience has been that who dares, wins.?

?For every triumph, a thousand failures go unnoticed and umourned.? The elf quipped back.

?I don?t think we?re likely to go unnoticed.? The tiefling grinned. ?Besides, what?s the worst the Roenalls could do to us??

?Quite a bit more than you think, child. And most of all, they can do a great deal to the people of the De?Arnise lands.? Jaheira answered. ?I do support this course of action, but like Xan, I must advocate caution. If you are taking this position for the sake of the people, which is what I hope you are doing, then you cannot afford to be cavalier in your actions or feelings.?

?Would you and Xan let me??

?Not if we had forewarning, but you can occasionally be rather impulsive, and actions once taken can seldom be untaken. More than one war has started that way.?

?I was joking.?

?I wasn?t. Your impulses tend to be towards doing good, but there must be a balance in all things, Alexandria.?

?I know, I know-heard the lecture before.?

?But have you listened?? Xan asked.

?Well, I listened to her lecture on morality and having a purpose in life, didn?t I? Oh, I forgot you hadn?t joined us yet when Jaheira gave me that talking to.?

?No, but I did hear about it from other sources later. I believe it is time for me to retire for the evening, but I will leave you with this warning-you took a long time to learn that first lesson. You might wish to do better in the future.?


After a few more pleasantries with Jaheira, and stopping in with Nalia to confirm the agreement, Alexandria went to? her room. It had been Lord De?Arnise?s bedchamber, but servants had already moved most of the late baron?s personal effects out. It was the largest such room Alexandria had ever seen, and certainly the largest bed, but Alexandria simply dropped all of her equipment at the foot of the enormous bed like she had so many times before in various inns. This had been De?Arnise?s home, but it was not hers.

Although, she reflected as she slowly drifted to sleep, it was also the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in?



?A dream. A dream of many things, of friends and family. These things always mean something? don?t they??

Imoen?s voice shook Alexandria out of her sleep, and the tiefling groaned as she woke up to see? Candlekeep? And Imoen?! Adrenaline flooded her system as she shot to her feet and looked around.

It was definitely Candlekeep, but? everything more than twenty or so feet away seemed to blur into a gray haze. The area was also well lit, but in a distinctly red shading? Imoen was standing before her, wearing the same purple outfit she had worn so often in Candlekeep, but there were many more scars in evidence-the scars and other lasting memories she had acquired in the adventures they had shared on the Sword Coast. Alexandria had seen dreams like this before, and she made to open her mouth to speak when the earth beneath her suddenly blurred?

Alexandria and Imoen were standing before the great doors of the titular keep proper within Candlekeep.

?Do you remember these doors?? Imoen asked. Without waiting for an answer, the dream vision went on. ?I remember? I think? Yes, this was my home for so long, but it is too late to go back. They wouldn?t have you now-wouldn?t have me. Had no use??

Again Alexandria tried to answer, but no sound issued from her mouth when she tried to speak.

What the hell? this isn?t like any of the dreams I had before?

?Someone else does.? Imoen continued. ?He wants something. I... I don't know why. Those in the cowls don't even know. Why don't I know??

The earth blurred, and suddenly the pair stood outside the walls of Candlekeep, facing what looked to be statues of Gorion, Winthrop, Tethtoril, and Ulraunt. Admittedly, statues that were the most lifelike Alexandria had ever seen, in dream or waking moment?

?Do you remember Gorion?? Imoen asked, confusion plain to see. ?Or the others? I think I do. They were... no... wait... They were the guidance, and there was much more to learn, but it's too late now. They are so far away... You are far away... Too far away to help...? Then, after a moment?s pause, she went on. ?Why? Memories should stay... but he digs deeper... pushes everything aside??

Another pause, this one longer, as confusion was replaced by simple loss. ?I don?t remember any of you.?

Before Alexandria lost track of her location, she distinctly saw the statues collapse into pieces, as though whatever force that had held them together suddenly let go?

??Do you remember Sarevok? Or any other?? The vision of Imoen asked, examining another seeming-statue, this one of Alexandria?s brother in the full armor he had worn in the battle below Baldur?s Gate.

?I... I don't know... They sought your death, and mine. They seemed so important at the time, but I... I don't remember them at all. Something else is...? Imoen trailed off, then suddenly declared, ?Something else is more dangerous... Closer... I can feel it...?

At this point realizing speech would do no good, Alexandria tried to manifest her mind blade, but it appeared the peculiar nature of the dream wouldn?t let her do that, either.

??Do you remember... me?? Imoen asked, interrupting Alexandria?s own confusion. ?I... I can almost see... I want to, but I...?

?Too late.? Imoen abruptly stated, her voice flat and without emotion, while behind her the statue of Sarevok slowly collapsed in the same manner as the others. ?You will come too late??

Then, with almost cruel swiftness, Imoen stopped moving altogether, and her skin began to take on a pallid hue, which then swiftly transferred to her clothing as well. In only a matter of moments, the vision of Imoen had transformed into one of the statues from the rest of the dream-the same statues that had crumbled into dust?

?She resists. She clings to her old life as though it actually matters. She will learn.?

The horrifyingly familiar voice came from behind Alexandria. Irenicus walked past the tiefling and to the transformed Imoen, examining the statue with interest.

What *is* this place? What?s this about?...

As though he could read her mind, Irenicus calmly replied without turning to face her.

?It is a portrait of what has happened, and what may happen. Do you cling to the past, or can you see through the pain? You feel the potential within, don't you? Will you cringe from what you know you want? What you can take as your own? You know what you want.?

Then, after a moment, the vision elaborated. ?It is you, after all, which has brought us to the dream. Nothing is real... yet.?

With those words, the entire dream world began to dissolve into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness, but before Alexandria lost sight of the vision altogether, one last sight reached her mind?s eye.


The statue of Imoen, crumbling into dust.

[Tempest]

Chapter LVII: As The Shadow Falls


The public funeral for Baron Ciaphas De?Arnise took up most of the morning, as High Seeker Escopas gave his eulogy, speaking long on how De?Arnise had served the Wonderbringer and how the baron?s soul was returning to the forge in which it was made. Alexandria, Moira, and Jaheira all listened politely but hearing much of the Gondar?s oration-while the high priest was clearly well meaning and earnest in his speech, the three women were all proponents of different faiths, and each had quietly whispered a prayer or performed a rite on their own for the departed nobleman.

Nalia took over after the priest finished speaking, and the grief evident in her voice belied the bravery and eloquence of her prepared speech. She did not dwell much on her father?s death, speaking instead about the future and building on the past, leading into an altogether tedious scene of introducing Alexandria as mistress of the keep. Alexandria, for her part, kept to the speech Nalia had written for her, and the rest of the funeral occurred as scripted.

Afterwards, the adventuring party made certain of their arrangements with Captain Vaenys and Kael Oree, the majordomo of the De?Arnise Keep, and restocked their provisions for departure. Nalia kept her Lantanese pistol, of course, and both Moira and Alexandria took one as well-Jaheira refused to, muttering something about the firearms being unnatural-and Moira also took, with Nalia?s permission, the strange multi-headed flail Lord De?Arnise had used, which Nalia called the Flail of Ages, whatever that name meant.

Finally, fairly late in the day, the adventurers set off.


The journey to the Umar Hills, however, had swiftly presented a new problem to Alexandria, one that three days of hard travel had promoted from annoyance to great discomfort.

?Alex, how many times do I have to tell you?? Moira chided. ?You keep sitting in that saddle like you?re afraid you?re going to fall off-no wonder you?re getting sore.?

?Afraid I?m going to fall off?? The tiefling retorted. ?I have fallen off, thank you very much. Four times now.?

?And if you don?t relax a bit, you?re going to keep falling off. Just sit in the saddle like Jaheira and I showed you.?

?Easy for you to say. You?ve all ridden horses before. Not me.?

Alexandria?s statement was true-when the adventurers had chosen their horses from the De?Arnise stables, everyone but Alexandria had been familiar with riding the creatures-even Yoshimo, who had spun a long story about how he first came into possession of a horse, among other things belonging to a wealthy nobleman, back in Kara-Tur. Alexandria, on the other hand, had never come closer to riding a horse than occasionally helping out in Candlekeep?s stables, and three days of travel had left her with sores in unusual places.

Fortunately, this leg of their travels was about over-the night before, while Nalia, Moira, and Xan took care of the horses and Alexandria magically created dinner for the party, Jaheira had ventured a bit into the woods and gathered information from the nearby wildlife, which all agreed that Immesvale had been no more than a day?s ride away, an estimate that was confirmed by the fields the adventurers had been passing by for the last hour or so.


Immesvale was possibly the smallest town-village, honestly-Alexandria had ever seen, smaller even than Nashkel on the Sword Coast. Several wooden buildings, most of them small but sturdily built, were arranged around what passed for a town square-a broad, roughly circular, area of grass, with a stone platform in the middle. Fields, almost ready for the harvest, lay to the relatively flat south and west, but to the north and east, where the titular Umar Hills began, the forest-line came much closer.

Surprisingly for being so late in the day, only a few people were in evidence, and most of them were moving hurriedly between the buildings. One, however, a halfling man in bright green clothes, moved to intercept the adventurers.

?Welcome to Immesvale, travelers!? The halfling greeted warmly. ?What brings you to our village??

?A boy claiming to be from your village made it to the temple of Selûne in Athkatla.? Alexandria replied. ?He claimed you were having problems of some sort and needed help.?

The warm expression on the halfling immediately died. ?Aye. You?re the help they sent??

?We are.?

?Good luck with it, strangers-matters have only gotten worse since Delon left. You?ll want to talk to the mayor, I think-he?s over there.? The halfling pointed to one of the larger buildings in the village. ?If Tanek ain?t in there, too, you should probably look for him. He?s our druid, and he?s been doing his best to protect us-he?d probably know more about what?s going on than anyone else.?

?We?ll do so.? Alexandria promised.

?Good. And good luck again-you?ll need all you can get.?

The mayor, his wife, and a brown-haired man in leather armor were all present in the house, but after hurried introductions from Alexandria, they proceeded right to the heart of matters.

?For the past three or four weeks,? The brown-haired man, who had identified himself as the same Tanek the halfling had spoken of, ?There have been rumors and reports of disturbances in the woods, mainly occurring at night, and seemingly concentrated north of here. My wife and I started looking into these disturbances from the moment they began, but we didn?t learn anything of substance-there were indeed strange noises and flashes of light, but despite my own efforts, and those of my wife Merella, we didn?t find anything of note until about one week ago, when a tribe of gnolls arrived near the village.?

?Gnolls did this?? Jaheira asked. ?I would not have thought them capable of anything approaching subtlety.?

?They aren?t.? Tanek replied. ?They didn?t exactly come here by choice-those noises and bits of light that had been seen were the result of their own magics, trying to ward off something they couldn?t name-something that had destroyed most of their tribe further north and forces the survivors to flee. Gnoll spellcasting is a bit more primitive than anything the villagers here are accustomed to.?

?Let me guess.? Moira interjected. ?Whatever destroyed them has arrived here, and it?s responsible for whatever?s been happening.?

Tanek nodded. ?I sent a request for aid to my grove to the south as soon as the first villager disappeared, but they still haven?t responded and I don?t know why. The villager in question was, ironically, Dora Illos, priest of Selûne, and the reason we sent Delon to the temple of the Moonmaiden in Athkatla. My wife, Merella, is a very skilled ranger, and she immediately began trying to hunt down whatever caused Dora to disappear. She failed-it was as if Dora simply disappeared. To render a long, tense story short, eight people have died or disappeared to date.?

?Died *or* disappeared?? Alexandria asked.

The druid nodded again. ?Frankly, the fact that we?ve had both types of incidents scares me more than the presence of either in and of itself. Both killings were quite recent-within the last five days-and unlike the disappearances, I do have some information on what caused them. The answer is, unfortunately, not good-wolves, and before you ask how, the wolves in question appear to have been much larger, and more intelligent, than normal wolves.?

?Lycanthropes??

?Possible but unlikely. As I said, Dora Illos was a priestess of Selûne, and while there *is* a pack of werewolves within a few days? travel of here, they had nothing but respect for Dora, and she had a mutual understanding with them to keep the village safe. By the way, don?t say a word about that to any of the villagers-the presence of Angrath and her pack is something we?ve tried very hard to keep quiet. As far as the village knows, the people who occasionally came into town with Dora, Merella, or myself were members of a secretive group of druids.?

It was Alexandria?s turn to nod. She had never knowingly met any lycanthropes, but Selûne had a special regard for them, and her clergy were to maintain peace with lycanthropes whenever possible, and to try to bring them away from their often evil natures, a doctrine that did not sit well with the church of Malar. There were even rumors, albeit unconfirmed to the best of Alexandria?s knowledge, that more than one of the Moonmaiden?s clergy were lycanthropes themselves.

Tanek continued. ?Unfortunately, matters have gone from bad to worse recently. Merella went missing herself two nights ago, and I think I?ve pieced together what exactly may be happening-I was about to tell the mayor when you came in. It isn?t the easiest thing in the world to believe, though.?

?Try me.? Alexandria replied with a knowing smile.

?Very well. It concerns the being that gave this region its name-the Umar Hills.?

The mayor and his wife, who had been standing silently behind the druid during the conversation, both went pale as ghosts as Tanek mentioned the name, though they remained silent as the druid elaborated for the travelers.

?Legend has it that a long time ago, this region used to be dominated by the followers of Amaunator, a powerful sun god during the time of Netheril who fell along with that empire, but according to legend, his followers remained strong here even after his fall, until one of the remaining high priests, called Umar, betrayed Amaunator for another power. What that power was, or exactly how it happened, varies from tale to tale, but they all agree that Amaunator?s power here was forever broken in the wake of Umar?s betrayal, and the central temple was cursed forever as a place of shadow and darkness.?

?You think this Umar is responsible somehow?? Yoshimo asked.

?Either her, or someone or something trying to wrap itself up in Umar?s legend.? Tanek nodded. ?Merella determined the location of the old central temple, which was thought to be only a myth, too. It?s actually closer to the village than I think anyone here would be comfortable knowing, and Merella?s notes of the area say that sunlight has always been somewhat muted there-she never did figure out why, but I think that if someone or something is setting up a base of operations in those ruins, Lathander only knows what it?s found in there.?

?Where is this temple?? Alexandria inquired.

?I can mark it on your map, but?? Tanek?s eyes narrowed. ?You?re not thinking of actually heading into the temple, are you??

?You see any other option, beyond waiting for it to strike again??

?I wasn?t suspicious of that-I was wondering if I? could ask a favor.?

?What favor is that??

?If Merella was taken by Umar or whatever is responsible for what?s going on, and it?s taken her to the temple? all I ask is that you bring her back. So I can bury her properly, if nothing else.?

?I understand.? Jaheira cut in quietly. ?And we will do so.?

?Thank you.? Tanek replied equally quietly. ?It isn?t safe to travel at night anymore, so you?d better depart at dawn to get as much advantage in daylight as you can. You should be able to stay the night in the inn, such as it is. I will remain here, help the villagers as best I can.?

?Thank you for your help.? Alexandria nodded to the druid. ?We?ll see what we can do, which is, in my experience, quite a lot.?

?And it is appreciated.?


Alexandria and the others politely bade farewell to Tanek and the mayor, then went to the inn to prepare for the morning departure.

[Tempest]

Chapter LVIII: Noctis Labyrinthus


The night had not been a pleasant one for Alexandria and her friends-whether Tanek?s suspicions were true or not, a brief talk with the innkeeper had confirmed the disappearances and deaths, and the utter lack of moonlight despite the crescent moon that should have been in the skies, had made the lunar priestess distinctly uneasy even as she quietly prayed and meditated in her room, preparing a different arrangement of spells than was the norm for her-spells of restoration, of warding against negative energy, and of light generation-spells effective against entities of shadow and other powerful undead.

Across from her, in the same room, Moira conducted her own observances, though for her, they were purely for ritual and belief-the favored soul gained and wielded her spells very differently from Alexandria, despite the fact that they were both servants of respective deities. Normally they got along quite well in the evenings, talking about anything that crossed their minds-though these conversations were seldom significant enough to warrant the attention of an historian telling the tale of their adventure-in an easy friendship, but tonight, tension kept them both quiet, especially when Moira withdrew a small glass container from a pocket on her baldric, containing several small but nearly perfect diamonds. They were worth a great deal of gold, but Alexandria understood that that wasn?t the point of the diamonds-and prayed their intended usage would not be necessary.

But, thankfully, the night passed quickly, and as agreed upon, the adventurers set out just after dawn, choosing to leave their horses behind-the temple was only a few hours north on foot, and the animals would be of dubious use in battle.


For the first hour or so, they were able to follow old trails through the forest-hunter?s paths, Jaheira speculated. The forest seemed normal enough initially, but as the adventurers found themselves leaving what few paths there were and relying mostly on the directions Tanek had given them, the woods? changed. Predictably, Jaheira noticed it first, followed by Xan.

The forest hadn?t been noisy before, but as they continued northward, things grew downright silent. Nor was this classical symptom of something being wrong alone-Yoshimo pointed out that the ambient light, which should have been bright with the morning sun, was diminished-rather than growing steadily brighter as the sun rose, it had been growing dim.

?I don?t believe this!? Nalia observed, somewhat successfully quelling an impulse laugh. ?This is just like all those stories I heard as a girl-the forest turning silent and dark as the heroes march into evil?s domain. Who would?ve thought we?d actually see it for ourselves??

?I would have, child.? Jaheira replied quietly but firmly. ?Ominous signs such as this work their way into children?s tales for good reason, namely that they actually are rather common, and they do typically produce the desired effect. Unless they begin to backfire as a result of their frequency in such children?s tales.?

?And I don?t think that Umar or whatever we?re up against has a sense of humor like that.? Moira added.

?Rather fortuitious, is it not?? Yoshimo agreed. ?This is why I have little fear of grand foes or magnificent powers-if such things have the ability to overcompensate in some fashion, they nearly always do so, and provide ample warning.?

?If it?s all the same to you, though, let?s keep moving. We should reach the temple in another two or three hours on the extremely off chance we don?t run into trouble.? Alexandria concluded.

?Ah, yes, of course.? Yoshimo nodded.


As it turned out, the first round of trouble came about twenty minutes later in the form of a pack of the most dangerous-looking wolves Alexandria had ever seen-much bigger than the average lupine, maybe eight or nine feet from snout to tail, likely weighing hundreds of pounds, covered in bony protrusions, and they charged with incredible ferocity.

However dangerous they might have looked, the wolves, which Jaheira identified as the dire variety, were hardly a match for a mixed group of veteran adventurers and potent novices in the field-the blast of Nalia?s pistol rang through the forest, echoed seconds later by Alexandria, Moira, and Yoshimo firing their own, crippled one on the charge, and Jaheira carefully braced herself with her spear, low to the ground, pivoting at the last second to catch one of the wolves on the charge and burying a good two and a half feet of enchanted iron and wood in the dire wolf?s chest cavity while the remaining wolves crashed headlong into a wall of solid iron that had not been there a moment before, courtesy of Xan.

In a single fluid motion, Yoshimo drew his curved blade and finished the wolf maimed by gunfire, and Moira, with somewhat less finesse, assisted Jaheira in disposing of the wolf impaled on the druid?s spear. Alexandria chanted a swift spell to aid the others, letting Xan destroy two of the wolves that had worked their way around his conjured wall, filling the air with the smells of roast meat and ozone from the stroke of lightning unleashed by the mage.

The rest of the brief battle took no more than a minute, with all the dire wolves dead and not a single injury on the adventurers. Uncertain whether it was a chance attack or a result of the shadow in the forest, Jaheira agreed with the others that they should proceed with more caution from that point on.

Her advice was sound-they were attacked twice more in the next hour and a half, once by more dire wolves, once by a group of undead. Neither posed much danger, and neither battle lasted long. However, they were not the most ominous portent-the light, or rather the lack thereof, was.

Illumination had steadily decreased the further north they went, lending credence to the suspicion that the darkness was being generated from the fallen temple of Amaunator. Since about twenty minutes ago, the shadow had become absolute-Alexandria alone, due to her extraplanar ancestry, was able to see in the darkness, but a few spells had rendered the others able to see as well. Still, the notion that they needed magical assistance for something as prosaic as vision did not sit well with the team.


Without the sun to go by, Alexandria wasn?t sure how much time had passed when Yoshimo suddenly waved the party to a halt. The thief pantomimed a series of gestures that, at this point, the adventurers were recognizing-he had heard something, and they should be on their guard. No sooner had they all drawn their weapons, however, than a voice came out of the woods behind them-female, but harsh and guttural, almost like a beast that had learned to speak Chondathan.

?Put down your weapons! I?m not going to attack you.?

The six adventurers turned around quickly to face the source of the voice, who stepped slowly out from behind a large tree. It was a human woman, in simple leather dress, but her appearance was crude at best-skin caked in dirt and grime, hair ragged and oily, and her air seemed more feral than civilized. She sniffed the air once, then took another step forward.

?Druid or moon priestess, I will speak with you.? The woman stated.

?How did you know I?m a priestess of Selûne?? Alexandria asked warily.

?Been following you for two hours.? The woman answered. ?Heard your spells-heard you invoke the moon goddess?s name a lot. I don?t like the moon goddess much, but the Ilos-woman always treated us fairly. More than I can say for most humans.?

?Us?? Alexandria wondered aloud? then realized the woman?s implication. ?You?re one of the werewolves we were told about, aren?t you??

?Yes, but we can?t stay here and talk. Too dangerous. There?s a place nearby that should be safe for now. Follow me.?

The werewolf-woman turned away from them, and began heading swiftly into the darkness. After a moment?s hesitation, the adventurers followed.


They found themselves in, for lack of a better word, a cave, though perhaps the term ?lair? would have been more appropriate-it was tall enough for even Moira, the tallest of them, to stand up straight, but was narrow, winding, and claustrophobic until the werewolf lead them to a large open chamber in the lair, where more than one of the erstwhile adventurers found themselves gagging from the smells that permeated the chamber, none of them pleasant.

?You here to fight the Shade Lord, aren?t you?? The werewolf asked, once the adventurers had recovered from the smell of the lair.

?I think so-we?re here to stop the killings, and end whatever?s causing the unnatural disruptions here.? Alexandria answered.

?Good. My name is Anath, the only survivor of my pack.? The woman replied.

?I assume this Shade Lord or whatever is responsible for that status??

?Yes. We?ve known about the old temple ruins for a long time-known them as a place we didn?t care to go. It was unsettling to even go near them, and only one of my brothers was foolish enough to actually try to enter the ruins. He didn?t come back? for a while.?

Alexandria nodded, waiting for Anath to continue her story.

?About two months ago, the darkness started-wasn?t much at first, but it was enough to worry us. We told the village, those that knew about us, about it, but then one day, my brother who had gone into the temple came back out, and he? was not my brother anymore. He called himself Umar, the Shade Lord, though this Umar thing called itself female. She demanded we bow to her as the proper ruler of this land.?

?What happened?? Moira asked.

?We refused-our brother?s scent? it was not right. Umar smelled wrong-old and sour, like a kill left to rot in a dry place. The Umar-thing wearing our brother?s flesh simply laughed at our defiance-said we would serve her anyway. She reached out to one of my sisters? and the shadow that seemed to suffuse Umar leaped into her, and she? died, like a snuffed candle. But only a moment later, my sister? I don?t know how to say it. A shadow rose from my sister. It looked like she did, sounded like she did? but did not smell like my sister, and she bowed before Umar. Umar did that to all of my pack-one tried to rip Umar?s throat out, but she slew him with a touch.?

?I believe we will be prepared for such an attack now. Thank you, Anath.? Jaheira observed. ?By all indications, Umar is a being with a powerful connection to the negative energy plane-those killed by negative energy do rise as shades in service to the being that killed them. Fortunately, there are spells that protect against such attacks, now that we have forewarning.?

?Warning paid for with my pack?s souls.? Anath replied without humor. ?Whatever that Umar-thing is, make it pay for what its done.?

?You aren?t going to help us any more than that?? Alexandria asked.

?Why should I? I told you what it did to my pack, and you look like a group of ?heroes? right out of some children?s story. Go be heroes.?

?But I?m not?- Nalia began.

?But you are.? Xan answered dryly. ?Unless our illustrious leader neglected to inform you, you should be aware you were marked with the designation of ?hero? the moment you entered our leader?s company.?

?Thanks for the vote of confidence.? Alexandria deadpanned. ?Anath, do you know anything else about Umar or the temple that we should know about??

?Only that something very large used to live in those ruins, from the stories passed down by my pack-very large, and hungry, so the stories say. I never saw any sign of anything large living here, but we didn?t come this way often. We preferred to stay further east, when the supply of prey allows.?

?Knowing our leader?s luck, we?re as likely as not to run into it.? Yoshimo chuckled. ?I for one am eager to begin-who knows what treasure awaits in such a temple??

?Moira, Nalia, you ready to be heroes, as Anath says?? Alexandria asked.

?Just so long as you don?t mean the dead variety.? Moira smiled. ?My brother wasn?t the only one who was fond of those sorts of stories when we were younger.?

?I?m not, and I certainly am not ready to be a hero.? Nalia answered, then quickly added, ?But I *am* ready to help the people of Immesvale.?

Alexandria nodded in respect, then turned. ?Thank you again, Anath. Everyone, let?s move out.?

[Tempest]

Chapter LVIX: When The Skies Were Starless


The ruins were as Anath had promised, minus a few skirmishes with wolves and shadows en route-surprisingly light resistance, which lead the adventurers to the natural conclusion that they were walking into a trap. The latter creatures might have been unsettling in other circumstances, but in the pitch-black forest, their near-total invisibility in such conditions was offset by losing the shock of being assaulted by ephemeral beings that truly did look like their moniker might garner. Even their incorporeality was, at this point for the veteran adventurers and well-armed novices, only a minor advantage-the enchanted weapons the adventurers wielded defeated the shadows? primary defense with ease, including the magically augmented firearms.

It went without saying that much stronger opposition waited in the temple itself, which was why the adventurers had not yet entered the ruins-Xan had sent a magical sensor aloft, getting an aerial view of the ruins before something unseen had swatted it from the air. Not much of the temple complex remain intact on the surface-it had clearly been quite large, and from what little could be seen of the remaining architecture, the temple had likely been quite ornate as well-faded and weathered engravings, broken sculptures, overgrown areas with stone paths threading amongst the dark foliage that had perhaps been gardens.

The layout of the complex, however, had included one particularly large, open space on the north side of the ruins, equidistant between east and west. Surprisingly regular arrangements of rubble perhaps marked where stone pews had stood, with an altar at the north end, and even more surpisingly, several sections of wall still stood, which Xan speculated to be preserved with magic. The reason they were preserved seemed obvious-large mirrors had been placed at what had been regular intervals along the walls of the temple, all angled slightly in relation to one another, allowing a single light source to be reflected through the entire temple and fill it with light.

The source of that light was immediately obvious, located in a recessed space in the rear of the temple, midway between the two entryways for worshippers-it was a large crystal, perhaps seven feet tall and somewhat irregular in shape. In its prime, it likely would have filled the temple with bright light, shining directly on the altar where the high priest of the faith would have stood, in a fitting tribute to Amaunator, whom Jaheira had informed the adventurers had been a powerful deity associated heavily with the sun during the time of Netheril.

Unfortunately, almost none of the crystal?s light was visible-it seemed to be covered in a black substance, almost completely absorbing and ablating the crystal?s light, but a faint orange glow could still be seen?

?I wonder what would happen if we cleaned that crystal.? Nalia spoke softly. ?These creatures thrive on dark, but their power can?t seem to shut down the crystal.?

?We would be attacked, in all likelihood.? Xan replied. ?However, I think it obvious that we will be attacked in the imminent future regardless, and it is in fact to my surprise that we are not under attack at present. Given these present circumstances, I believe that restoring the crystal would most likely give us a potent, if localized, advantage, one that we should take advantage of, lacking any realistic alternatives.?

?Agreed.? Alexandria nodded. ?Nalia, you suggested this, so you get to mess with the crystal. Yoshimo, you?re with her. Jaheira, Xan-you take the west side of the temple, but stay close to Nalia and Yoshimo. Moira and I will take the east. I?m guessing the shadows will attack as soon as they realize what we?re doing, and I?m also guessing that restoring the light in the temple will kill them, or at least hinder them. Do not under any circumstances damage those mirrors-they might be reinforced with magic, they might not. Either way, I don?t want to test whether they can stand up to pistol fire.?

Nalia?s reponse was unexpected-she giggled. ?Alex, there?s a very simple spell that will make this a lot easier-it?s called prestidigitation. I could clean the crystal in less than a minute.?

?Even faster, as I also know the spell.? Xan added.

?Well? that?s just anticlimactic.? Alexandria sighed. ?I?m not complaining, though, so let?s do it.?


No sooner did Yoshimo slip into the temple at the head of the group than the shadows attacked, emerging from the stone of the ruined temple itself with greater speed than they had demonstrated before, and only Yoshimo got off a pistol shot, which passed cleanly through one of the undead, before the shadows closed to melee. Yoshimo scored the first kill, using a strange and distinctive technique he had demonstrated before, drawing and striking with his katana in a single fluid motion. Alexandria and Moira were less graceful with their weapons, but the mind blade and swing of Moira?s mulitheaded flail were no less destructive.

Nalia darted ahead into the temple, followed by Jaheria and Xan while the others covered the rear, and immediately cast her spell on the crystal. The spell took effect immediately, dissolving the black substance that coated the crystal as the young mage concentrated, and where the crystal was clean, a yellow light burned so intensely that Alexandria, the only one using natural vision as opposed to magical enhancement, had to look away or risk being blinded.

Not that she had any reason to look, aside from seeing Jaheira and Xan conjure walls of fire in a defensive perimeter around Nalia and the crystal. The shadow assault had been joined by additional creatures now-what looked like large dogs, only with skin and ragged fur of the same insubstantial material that formed the shadows. The mastiffs? resemblance to the shadows was only by implication, however, as one of them bounded forwards and crashed into Jaheira with enough force to knock the druid to the ground and send her spear spinning away on the stone floor.

Alexandria retaliated immediately with a bolt of searing moonlight that struck the hound dead center, but where an undead creature would have flinched or simply been destroyed, the creature simply howled in challenge and charged. The tiefling sidestepped, slashing with her mind blade as the hound raced past and ripping open a wound on the creature?s flank, which bled an oily black ichor rather than normal blood? not an undead creature at all? Alexandria softly cast another spell, reaching out her hand in front of her as the hound charged again.

The moment her hand touched the hound, the creature jerked in a violent spasm, wracked by the negative energy of Alexandria?s inflict wounds spell. Rather than give the creature an opportunity to get back up, Alexandria drew her pistol and shot the hound through its head. No sooner had she done so than the creature?s body faded away, leaving behind only a trail of black ichor and a mess of less-than-identifiable fluids and meat where Alexandria?s bullet had drilled through its head and into the stone floor.

Summoned creature? The tiefling wondered before turning back to the fight.

True to her word, Nalia?s work was progressing swiftly-already the crystal was more than halfway clean, and its light had begun to dispel the natural darkness in the temple. Outside the temple, the shadow onslaught only increased in intensity, though additional walls of flame set down by Xan and Jaheira ensured many of the attackers were weakened or destroyed outright by the time they hit the adventurers? perimeter. After destroying another shade, Alexandria took a deep breath and removed the holy symbol of Selûne she normally wore as a necklace, then lifted it high into the air as the priestess chanted a prayer to the Moonmaiden, invoking a surge of positive energy through the holy symbol that radiated outwards in streaks of moonlight. Several of the shadows were destroyed the moment the positive energy struck them, but the mastiffs among the undead continued to charge, unaffected by Alexandria?s effort.

One streak of moonlight, however, did not target one of the shadows-it lanced upwards, to something Alexandria only registered in her vision when she saw a moving area of darkness among the trees-opaque even to her darkvision. She began to shout a warning to the others when the air between Alexandria and the flying thing seemed to ripple for just a moment? and extreme cold ripped into Alexandria with almost physical force, doubling the tiefling over in pain from the sudden, unearthly chill. Behind her, Yoshimo reacted with astounding speed and threw himself flat behind a fallen column as the cone of cold washed over the area.

Jaheira also reacted quickly, ignoring another shadow mastiff charging her while she drew a javelin from her quiver and hurled the light spear upwards at the new threat, but the javelin seemed to vanish into darkness in mid-air, and the creature didn?t seem harmed. Instead, a low moaning sound filled the air, and a field of darkness enveloped Moira and Jaheira momentarily before fading. Neither woman seemed fazed, and Moira cast a flame strike spell, bringing a pillar of flame out of the sky and into the creature above them. This, the creature clearly did feel, judging by the pained shriek that emanated from it, and the speed with which it suddenly swooped low towards the impudent favored soul that had injured it.

Now that it was lower, and in the increasingly bright light shed by the temple?s crystal, Alexandria got her first good look at the new assailant-it resembled a massive bat formed out of the darkness itself, and its open mouth revealed a great many teeth, the smallest still the size of Alexandria?s ethereal scimitar. The creature struck Moira as Alexandria and Xan were still chanting their spells, taking a savage bite out of Moira without ever slowing in its swoop. Its fangs punched through Moira?s banded mail with ease, and ripped away a mouthful of steel, cloth, and flesh. The favored soul clenched her teeth in a mostly successful effort not to scream even as she dropped to the ground-partly from pain and muscle shock, partly to avoid the lance of moonlight streaking from Alexandria and the bolt of electricity that crackled from Xan.

Only Xan?s spell hit the fast-moving creature, and the thing wheeled around with speed and grace that seemed utterly bizarre for such a large creature to possess, and it sent another cone of cold spraying across the adventurers, narrowly missing Xan but catching Alexandria on the edge of its effect, though the cold was no less intense for that. Without pause, the creature began another diving attack, aimed Xan, when it abruptly ran into a small but intense hailstorm that had not been there a moment before, courtesy of Jaheira.

The ice storm didn?t seem to bother the creature, however, and its attack struck Xan with enough force that the elf barely reached out to an intact section of the temple wall to keep himself from unceremoniously falling into the dirt. Alexandria began to cast another searing light spell when it shrieked again, loudly enough that Alexandria clapped her hands over her ears to dampen the worst of the offensive noise, though her eyes also readily saw what had to have been the reason for its shriek-the crystal in the temple was finally clear, and the light reflected off the temple?s mirrors as designed, filling the interior of the temple with light, brighter than a noon-day sun.

Although focused on the interior of the temple, some measure of the brilliancy could not help but bleed out across the temple grounds, instantly evaporating shadows as it touched them and causing the shadow mastiffs to flee into the darkness beyond the temple. Even the strange flying creature banked in the air to retreat from the sudden light, sounding one last shriek before Alexandria lost sight of it.

Nalia emerged from the temple a moment later, her bemused expression quickly melting into concern as she saw Moira applying a healing spell to her injured shoulder, Jaheira mending several gashes on Xan?s chest, each almost as wide as Alexandria?s hand, and the coating of frost on Alexandria?s armor and hair. Only Yoshimo was unharmed, rising from the cover he had hidden behind for the duration of the battle with the flying creature.

?Anti-climactic, my fiendblooded hide.? Alexandria growled at the noblewoman. ?Remind me next time that what looks hard probably is, and what looks easy is almost certainly not.?



Author's note: the flying creature was a Nightwing from the Monster Manual, very slightly tweaked.

Edited by Tempest, 06 March 2009 - 01:20 PM.

[Tempest]

Author's note: Unannounced hiatus, I know. Blame real life.

Chapter LX: In The Void Of The Night


Several hours after the battle around the crystal and surface part of Amaunator?s temple, Alexandria found herself with a new experience she would never care to repeat-trying to genuinely rest on a hard stone floor, with illumination brighter than a noonday sun, and knowing that just outside a small, protected area, unknown numbers of shadows and at least one extremely powerful shadow being waited, did not make for a relaxed atmosphere.

Still, rest the adventurers did, and nothing even attempted to enter the shielded temple interior. Xan and Jaheira performed a few divinations during the wait, and were confident they knew the source of the area?s corruption-an even larger part of the temple complex located to the northeast. Getting there would not be easy, however-the denizens of the ruins were already known to the adventurers, and the shadows knew where the adventurers were and, to a great degree, what their capabilities were. It simply did not make for a good situation, tactically.

The adventurers did have a few other advantages, however, now tailored to the situation-stone shape spells would make getting through the ruins much easier, and ghost touch spells would let their weapons tear through the incorporeal shadows as easily as normal fleshy enemies. After brief mutual consultation before their resting, when the spellcasters were coordinating their spells, it was agreed that tempting as daylight spells would be, they would more than likely be nullified by the unholy magic that enveloped the temple.

Breaking camp was easy, at least-no one had wasted time trying to make their resting spot comfortable, and spartan arrangements were easy to repack. Alexandria frowned to herself as she slipped her baldric on, worn from her left shoulder to her right hip, and immediately began placing wands, potions, and other useful items in specific pouches and leather straps on the baldric, all in places where they could be found quickly and conveniently by touch alone in the midst of battle, with Alexandria?s pistol holstered at the hip. Yoshimo and Moira had adopted similar methods for keeping their potions on hand, but Jaheira and Alexandria shared a private sigh as they saw Nalia struggling to fit her allotment of items into various pockets on her clothing. Jaheira went to the younger woman?s side while Alexandria ran a practiced adventurer?s eye over Yoshimo?s gear, which was sensible, and over Moira. The favored soul winked at her leader?s gaze, even as Alexandria decided she could find no fault with Moira?s equipment? or appearance, minus the inevitable dirt and grime that inevitably accompanied adventurers in the field.

?Looks like we?re ready, once you?re done.? Alexandria informed Jaheira, who was still fussing over Nalia?s gear.

?I will be but a moment longer, child. This child will hopefully learn how to arrange her equipment sensibly in the future. She is most fortunate I did not see her arrangements before we came here.?

Nalia opened her mouth to retort, but was preemptively silenced by a withering glare from Jaheira.

?Good.? The half-elf decided a few moments later. ?Nalia, child, your life may very well depend on your ability to find healing potions during battle without fumbling around, looking for them, and it is likely you will test that today. Alexandria, we are ready. Let us proceed.?


Jaheira?s warning was proven immediately correct. Shadows attacked the moment the adventurers left their protected sanctum, assisted by shadow mastiffs. The battle lasted only a few minutes-the adventurers were ready this time, and a flurry of gunfire, spells, and close-range attacks quickly tore the heart out of the attack, which a surge of positive energy from Alexandria?s holy symbol finished, leaving the area as quiet as a grave.

?I must say,? Yoshimo observed as the last hound faded away, ?I was expecting a more energetic response to our intrusion. It is not as though our presence and location are secret.?

?Agreed.? Xan nodded in the darkness. ?That said, I do not believe our opposition to especially value the lives, so to speak, of their servants. There are only six of us, and unknown but very probably high numbers of them. We are also very probably doomed, but in light of the precedent we have set, it is not unreasonable of our enemy to proceed cautiously in engaging us, lest we extract another miracle from our collective nether region.?

?Stop interrupting the plot with your pronouncements of doom.? Alexandria replied firmly. ?Xan, which direction do we need to go? I?d like to get to the end of this particular mess and on with the story before I die of old age.?

?Directly? that way.? Xan pointed at a featureless wall.

?Fine.?

Alexandria immediately began chanting a spell, and directed the resulting surge of energy into the wall, which reshaped itself according to the cleric?s direction of the spell, and in a moment, a new door rested where solid stone had been. The wall had been a thick one, but the stone shape spell had breached it with ease, leading to another large room in the fallen temple complex.

The room?s function was no longer apparent, lost to the ravages of age, but it did open on the far end into what had been a grand corridor through the temple, which Xan declared would lead them further to their destination. Rubble was light here, and in places, stone objects were still reasonably intact-benches, pedestals, even what had clearly been a statue of a male figure once upon a time, now missing its head and both arms. Alexandria paid the fallen masonry little mind, eyes and ears alert for ambush.

It was a wise precaution, as the adventurers were attacked eight separate times in the next hour of navigating the fallen temple complex, and each attack increased in intensity. Now it wasn?t simply shadows and hound-like creatures, but a number of more conventional undead joined the attack, including unusual undead humanoids Alexandria had never seen before, dressed in what looked like priestly vestments, but horribly distorted and covered in symbols that resembled those of no religion Alexandria had ever heard of. Jaheira identified the creatures as wights, but noted that they were unusually powerful.

It was Yoshimo, however, who first noted something that, on reflection, was even more unsettling than the undead attacks. The adventurers were deep in the temple complex, which was even larger than their divinations had indicated. Yoshimo had noticed the disturbing part of that fact-the temple was still worn stone in places, but in others, the temple?s structure was made of clean blocks of stone, mortar still visible at the joints. Someone had been rebuilding the temple, and not as a temple of Amaunator-above each doorway was a symbol Alexandria recognized from her training at the temple of Selûne in Baldur?s Gate: a disk, utterly black even in Alexandria?s darkvision, surrounded by a very slightly lighter circle-purple, perhaps. It was a symbol synonymous with darkness, loss, and the night-a symbol of one of the oldest deities in creation, who predated the very existence of Toril.

?This makes more sense than I?m comfortable with.? Alexandria explained after waving the group to a halt. ?If the legend Tanek told us is true, and the power Umar turned to was in fact Shar, then it explains just about everything. My theological training is pretty lacking, but this looks exactly like the kind of thing Shar would do, and the whole shadow thing fits.?

?It does make sense.? Jaheira agreed. ?The level of power Umar has displayed here is highly unusual, but if she were able to take control of the items of magical power that were almost certainly left behind here when Amaunator?s power fell, it is quite conceivable that a powerful Nightcloak could produce such effects. I believe eliminating the problem at the source would cut off the source of power for this disruption.?

?I take it you mean killing Umar?? Moira asked.

?Yes, but we should be alert. If my suspicions are correct, and Umar is drawing power from subverted artifacts, then the destruction of those artifacts may very well diminish her power.?

?Fascinating as this is,? Yoshimo interrupted as he came back from scouting up ahead, ?I have located something up ahead that you may find? interesting.?

?Would you mind being a little more specific?? Alexandria asked.

Yoshimo grinned. ?Yes, I would. Follow me.?

Alexandria didn?t have a clue what the room Yoshimo had found had been for, originally-it was a vast circular space, sunk deep into the ground and with an elegantly designed roof structure that would have illuminated the chamber in daylight. Judging from the ornate architecture and barely visible design on the chamber floor, it had more than likely fulfilled some important purpose when the temple was still in use. Now? it had another purpose, and that purpose obscured much of the design on the floor.

?Is it dead?? Alexandria asked.

?I believe so.? Yoshimo replied. ?I examined it most carefully, and it failed to react to even probing from my katana. Remarkably intact, is it not??

?Yeah, and that makes me nervous.? The tiefling answered. ?Jaheira, any chance you can figure out what killed it??

?Possibly, child. I am not overly familiar with draconic physiology.?

?You?re more likely to know than any of us. Let?s get down there.?


Even dead, the dragon was daunting to approach. The thing was curled up in a resting posture, but death had not diminished the creature?s girth, ebon scales, or the sheer size of the creature-Alexandria estimated the dragon at perhaps eighteen feet in length, all of it encased in black scales overlying a tough hide. Judging by the size of the horns that swept forward on either side of the dragon?s snout, it had been a full adult dragon, and that did, Alexandria realized, include a hoard, tucked carefully away in small, enclosed space directly behind the creature.

Yoshimo?s eyes lit up the moment he saw the pile of gold, and he secured the hoard with speed and admirable restraint, taking only a few handfuls of coins and stowing them in his pockets.

?Not as much of a bounty as I would have expected from a dragon of this size,? The thief concluded, ?But a worthwhile endeavor nevertheless. The coins are primarily of Amnish currency, leavened with numerous other types. It appears this dragon was primarily interested only in coin, but I have found a number of gems as well. There may be more buried deeper in the hoard.?

?And we can probably collect the dragon?s scales.? Nalia added. ?I?ve heard lots of stories about how well dragonscale armor serves.?

?Good idea.? Alexandria decided. ?But we?ll attend to this after we?re done with Umar or whatever the hell is running this place. This is a lot of loot, and it will weigh us down. We?re very, very close to the place Xan said is emanating all the power here, so we?ll loot this on the way out.?

Yoshimo grinned. ?Ah, so greed is not a sin you are guilty of! You would make a formidable bounty hunter, I think! As you decree, so Yoshimo shall do.?

?If you think about it, we are on a bounty hunt of sorts. The target in question is Umar, and we?re close. And I saw the handful of gold you just took.?

Yoshimo?s grin failed to display a hint of shame as he returned the handful of heavy gold coins to the hoard. Alexandria sighed and turned towards the rest of the party.

?Jaheira, any ideas??

?Several, child, but none I can prove or disprove. I do not believe there is anything more we can do at this time. Xan believes he has found the exit, however.?

?More properly, the entrance.? The elf replied without humor from the far side of the chamber. ?I believe this flight of stairs will lead us directly to our doom.?

?No time to waste, then. Yoshimo, Nalia, Moira, get over here and let?s do the usual routine of protective and bolstering spells. I?m guessing that Umar won?t be happy to see us, so let?s be ready for a fight.?

?Perhaps we should dig our own graves beforehand, as well?? Xan asked. ?If you insist on being fully prepared??

?Stone floor, Xan. You got any stone shape spells left??

?Yes, in fact, I do. Perhaps one mass grave??

?Nevermind. Let?s get moving, people.?


As far as dramatic and ominous sites for battle with powerful beings went, the fallen temple?s grand altar was a good one. The stairs had lead up and eventually back into outside air-the adventurers were atop the stone structure of the temple itself, facing an enormous statue, presumably of Amaunator. Alexandria had to assume that, because the statue?s details were invisible beneath what seemed to be a skin of living shadow, constantly shifting and moving over the surface of the statue beneath. And, directly in front of the statue, was Umar.

She was human, tall and muscular, and wore a suit of armor truly ancient in styling. Her ink-black hair was loose and unbound, her eyes featureless dark orbs. In one hand, she bore a sword of a styling Alexandria had never seen, and the other had was clasped around a rod or scepter of some sort. Perhaps most disturbingly, shadows seemed to flow in and out of her, granting the distinct impression of a nexus of energy rather than a mortal being, and the shadows formed the faint outline of a much larger being around the woman. She bowed to the adventurers.

?Welcome, mortals. Welcome to my little home. Given your evident skill, I think I could have sent more of my friends to greet you when you entered. But I?ve been gone long enough that I remembered only how fragile mortal bodies were, how feeble mortal courage could be. So forgive my inattention to your arrival.?

Alexandria sighed. Another polite, irredeemably evil being.

?You have something you want to say.? The tiefling surmised. ?Say it so we can get to the fighting bit.?

?How very rude of you.? Umar laughed. ?At least I was polite to the Sunlords as I killed them. If you hold all the cards, there?s nothing to be lost in being polite.?

?Please. I know this is going to end in violence. You know this is going to end in violence. We?re heroes, you?re a villain, and unless I?m mistaken, you?re possessing the body of someone we were asked to rescue.?

?A pity, but true. I was thinking about asking you to lay down your arms and embrace the darkness, but at this point, I doubt you?d accept my offer? Silverstar. Yes, I see that little holy symbol of yours. You were helped by that werewolf I let escape, weren?t you??

?Yes in fact I was, and this side quest is beginning to irritate me.?

?Side quest? Hmph. Perhaps returning isn?t all I thought I would be. Oh well. This host body is dying regardless, and?-

The crack of Nalia?s pistol ended the discussion. Her aim was off, and the pistol shot glanced off Umar?s left pauldron, causing Umar to smirk slightly as the shadows surrounding her solidified.

?Xan, take out that statue!? Alexandria shouted before beginning a spell.


Alexandria?s streaking bolt of moonlight struck Umar squarely, but the entity shrugged off the spell with ease, and retaliated immediately with two spells in impossibly quick succession. One was a shapeless mass of shadow that passed effortlessly through the party, briefly overwhelming Alexandria?s senses and leaving her nauseous as the spell passed, while the other surged into the tiefling?s mind as a chorus of babbling, discordant voices, some telling her to run, others to strike her own friends, while one particularly insistent voice gave step by step instructions for a particularly interesting form of interpretive dance.

The tiefling gritted her teeth and forced the voices out of her mind with the mental focus she had trained for so long, shaping her mind blade without realizing it in the process. A flame strike from one of the other members of the party reduced three of the attacking shadows to wisps of smoke, followed by a second flamestrike against Umar herself. As before, the entity smiled calmly as the pillar of divine fire burned and died without leaving a trace, then she raised her hand, and a cone of cold washed over the adventurers.

Alexandria cursed as the blast of cold disrupted her attempt at spellcasting, then drew her pistol as she moved out of the way of a wight, which fell a moment later to an elegant pair of sword blows by Yoshimo. Jaheira loosed another flamestrike against the shadows, catching Umar in the blast as well, but as before, Umar failed to show any sign of being harmed by the spell, and raised her left arm, grasping the rod, calmly. A torrent of raw shadow lanced out of the artifact towards the adventurers.

The bolt passed close enough to Alexandria for her to feel a trickle of its unholy energy, and she was dimply aware of blood oozing out of the corner of her eyes, distinctly resembling tears of blood, but she wasn?t the actual target. Nalia was struck dead center, and without even a cry of surprise, the noblewoman?s turned white as ash, and collapsed like a theatre puppet with its strings cut.

?Xan!? Moira shouted. ?Statue! Now!?

Alexandria couldn?t see where the elf had gone, but she heard his voice chanting a spell. Its effects were immediate-the base of the statue all but vanished as the stone shape spell worked its way through the masonry, leaving the entire stone statue on a base of stone now only an inch wide. It fell immediately, crashing to the ground and shattering as it did so.

The tiefling blasted one of the pieces hurtling towards her with a wand of frost, then began to run as fast as her legs could carry her, stopping only to take Nalia?s prone body in both arms as she began to run down the stairs with the others. Nalia was surprisingly light, which was fortunate, as Alexandria emerged in the dragon?s chamber and surged to the left just as the head of the statue, perhaps five feet across, rocketed down the stairs and into the chamber close enough for Alexandria to feel the breeze, pulverizing the dead dragon?s head before finally coming to a rest.

My sense of dramatic timing clearly hasn?t left me?