A Fallen Skylark

I?ve been reading the stories here and enjoying them very much. Here?s a story that I?ve been working on for a while and I hope you enjoy it. There?s a little nod to a discussion that took place here on one of Anomen?s more unfortunate lines?you?ll know it when you see it. Since the story is long, I?ll put it up in parts. If you like it, I?ll post the rest, and if you don?t like it, well, I?ll post the rest anyway. What else am I going to do with it? All comments and constructive feedback are welcome; please post them in a new thread as they may get lost in the middle of this one, and thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: Mild adult situations, not explicit.

A Fallen Skylark: A Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Tale

Part 1 of 6

Dory knelt beside Coran?s mauled body. His chest had been torn open by Lanfear?s powerful claws, but his face was mercifully untouched. She smoothed his tousled hair back from his forehead, as she had so often when he had lain beside her in sleep, then cradled his head against her breast.

The forest was silent around them, not even birdsong broke the stillness. Dory?s ranger senses noted the absence of other animal life. The forest fauna would have been frightened off by the presence of the wolfweres. The adventurers who made up her party began to talk quietly, but Dory barely heard them.

?These thieves and scoundrels were known to you?? That was Sir Anomen. The distaste in her lover?s tone cut through Dory?s haze of grief.

?The woman thief, Safana, tried to join us once to hunt for pirate treasure, but Dory wouldn?t have her,? Imoen, Dory?s sister, answered him. ?We?d already taken the pirate treasure, but we didn?t tell her that.? Imoen snickered rudely. ?Coran was with us from the time we met him until Irenicus captured us.?

?Minsc does not understand. Boo has tried to explain it, but it is lost to Minsc.?

?What don?t you understand, Minsc?? Imoen asked him.

?This fighter and thief, Coran, Minsc knows him. He eluded the evil clutches of the wizard Irenicus and was not with us in the prison. We discovered him here in this forest, and he asked us to help rescue his lady Safana from the wolfweres, but she was not a captive.?

?You have it right so far.?

?Safana planned to seize us for a reward, Boo says. Ooh, a plan of great evil!?

?But she got hers,? Imoen said. ?Lanfear, the wolf-woman, didn?t want us, she wanted Coran. She had no use for Safana after she had Coran. Safana used Coran to bait us, but she didn?t know she was the bait for Coran, Lanfear?s real object. Unfortunately for Coran, he had no use for Lanfear?at least in her non-human form.?

?A cunning scheme was here laid, but the thief was snared in her own trap.? The bard Haer?Dalis added his comment.

Anomen was the first to break Dory?s reverie. He laid a mailed hand on Dory?s shoulder. ?My lady, I know he was one of your companions during your campaign on the Sword Coast, but we have little time for grief. We must press on.?

Dory laid Coran?s head gently on the ground. She pulled the ragged edges of his leather armor over his chest, trying to cover his wound. ?We will bury him first.?

?We have not the time, my lady. Your very soul is at stake.?

Dory stood and brushed the forest soil from her knees, not looking at Anomen. ?My soul will keep. We will take the time.?

She looked up to see Haer?Dalis?s keen eyes on her. He knew.

?My lady,? Anomen started. ?We must not tarry here in this benighted grove??

Jan Jansen cleared his throat. ?Ano?I may call you Ano, mayn?t I? Ano, this reminds me of the time Uncle Ajax came home to find his wife Druscilla sobbing her heart out. Druscilla wouldn?t tell him what was wrong, but her sister Prunella?I may have told you about Prunella before, she was a hedge witch who had a very peculiar habit of??

Anomen interrupted, ?This is not a suitable time for your witless prattle, gnome.?

?Let Dory decide. Where was I? So Prunella said that Martingale Feverfew had died. Martin was a notorious romancer of the fairer sex. Uncle Ajax laughed with unseemly glee and said, ?That gigolo finally got was coming to him. Done in by a jealous lover, I?ve no doubt.? Then he says to his wife, ?But why are you crying over him, Drusi?? And Prunella said, ?She burned your roasted turnip dinner. You?ll have to eat at the tavern.?? Jan removed his goggles and wiped the lenses on a corner of his mage robe. ?Not that this story has the slightest bearing on the situation at hand, but I thought an amusing digression might be in order.?

?Humpf. More gnomish foolishness,? Anomen said. ?All right, we will bury him, but with what should we dig? We have no tools.?

From Minsc?s scabbard, his talking sword Lilarcor said, ?Heh, you?re a tool. Hey, don?t look at me. Dammit, Jim, I?m a sword not a spade. I?m not digging no freaking hole.?

Minsc unbuckled the scabbard and put the sword in his pack. ?It is a good sword, but it has a filthy mouth. Sir Anomen is right, how shall we dig this hole? Boo could dig it with his sharp claws, but though he has a large heart for a hamster, he has but tiny paws, and to dig a man-sized hole would take him many days. Perhaps weeks.?

Haer?Dalis sighed. ?Alas, I neglected to memorize Summon Shovel.?

Dory looked at the two strong men, the one slight but agile tiefling, and the gnome thief who was also a powerful mage. ?Improvise.?

Jan said, ?That would be my cue. Did I ever tell you about the time I created a turnip sorter from nothing more than a worn axe handle, a broken bowstring, and a handful of honey bees? Of course, the results were unpredictable when the bees were swarming.?

Dory said, ?I?m going back to that cabin to get a blanket to wrap Cor?to wrap the body in. I?ll look for a shovel there.?

Anomen stepped toward her. ?Dory, wait, I don?t like you going off by yourself.?

Minsc held Anomen back by grasping Anomen?s arm with a large hand. ?Boo says that the lady Dory wants to be alone.?

***

Part 2 of 6

Dory pulled the blanket from the bed. Had Coran slept in this bed? Had he slept here with her? She sat heavily on the bed and hid her face in the blanket?s coarse folds. After some minutes had passed, she was alerted by the sound of the door?s creaking hinges.

Imoen?s head appeared in the cabin doorway. ?Heya.?

Dory looked up, but couldn?t stop sobbing long enough to answer.

Imoen crossed the small one-room cabin and sat on the bed beside her. She put her arm around her sister. ?Go ahead and cry, big sis. Sir Self-Important can cool his heels for a while.?

Dory took the blanket from her eyes and ran her fingers over the cloth in her lap. ?I had to find something to wrap him in. I couldn?t stand?I just couldn?t bear the thought of cold dirt falling on his face. Oh, Im, he was so alive! How can he be dead? How cruel is it, that I find he was alive all this time, and he?s dead the same day??

?You thought he might have been captured by Irenicus, too. So when we didn?t find him in the dungeon, you thought he was dead??

Dory nodded, sniffling. ?I was sure that if he had been alive and free, he would have come to my rescue. I don?t know what to feel. I?m so angry that he abandoned me to Irenicus. Now, to find him with that, that tramp?? She started to sob again.

?Maybe he didn?t know where we were taken. I don?t remember anything about that time clearly.? Imoen patted her back. ?At least you can be easy that he wasn?t a part of Safana?s plan to turn you in for a bounty. Coran would not have betrayed you for money, he never would have.?

?I don?t know why it?s worked on me like this. I guess I never had a chance to grieve him. Not knowing for sure, it was like a dull pain, but now the wound has been opened.?

Imoen let Dory weep in silence for a while. As Dory dried her eyes, Imoen asked, ?Does Anomen know about you and Coran??

?I think he does now.?

?You should talk to him about it. He loves you. I don?t know what you see in the arrogant twit, but he?s devoted to you.?

?You didn?t get a chance to know him as I did??

?Thanks to Irenicus.?

?Yes.? Dory still felt guilty about that. Imoen suffered at Irenicus? hands in Spellhold while she and Anomen fell in love. ?When I first met Anomen, I couldn?t believe how he thought his boasting might impress me. He?d tell me about killing a wyvern, and I?d want to say, ?What about a nest of them?? Her voice broke as she recalled that the idea to hunt wyverns was Coran?s. She still heard his devil-may-care voice saying, ?Wherever fate takes me.?

?Or a nest of basilisks,? Imoen said.

?Or a fortress full of gnolls. Or a field of ankhegs. But gradually Anomen saw that my reputation was indeed earned, and I saw that his boasting came from his insecurity.?

?Sir Anomen the Pompous? Insecure??

?You didn?t meet his father. Anomen had told me something of him, and when I saw them together, it was obvious how he?d beaten Anomen down all his life.? Dory looked at her sister. ?Maybe you and I were better off without parents. We didn?t have anyone telling us that we were worthless and would never amount to anything.?

?Good gollywhompers, I didn?t know it was like that. Poor fella. No wonder he?s so insufferable. Winthrop spoiled me. Don?t look at me like that, I always knew it. Gorion was harder on you, but he loved you like a father should.?

?What?s amazing to me is that Anomen isn?t even more messed up. After I met his father, Anomen really opened up to me.? Dory grasped Imoen?s hands and squeezed them. ?When he told me how, hearing his father?s voice, he would feel like a frightened child again??

?Your bleeding heart went out to him, I know. You wanted to rescue him.?

?No, not like that?well, maybe I did want to rescue him, a little. I think that I have helped him. He wants so much to do good.?

?You shouldn?t keep this from him. He can help you through it.?

?I?m afraid he?ll see it as a betrayal. I think?he never told me so, but I think I?m his first.?

Imoen?s eyes were big. ?You mean Fealty Boy was a virgin??

Dory giggled. ?I never should have told you about that ?prove my fealty? speech, you?ll never let me live it down. But no, I don?t mean in the physical sense. I think he had other lovers, but no other loves, if that makes sense.? Dory considered the two men in her life. ?They?re so different. Coran was carefree, all lightness. Anomen has dark places that scare even me sometimes.?

?That?s really saying something. You can be pretty scary yourself.? Imoen jumped up, roaring and pawing the air in imitation of The Slayer.

?Don?t you forget it, the next time you want to borrow my flamedance ring without telling me.?

?All right, all right, I?ll give it back.?

?Coran was fun, and Anomen, he is still too serious. But he loves me deeply, in a way that Coran was incapable of.?

?I think you?ll hurt him more if you keep an important secret like this from him.? Imoen opened the door. ?We?d better go. They?ll be ready for your shroud.?

?So soon??

?Your boyfriend used a controlled earthquake spell. He?s quite pleased with himself.?

***

Thanks to all for reading and commenting. Here is another piece of the story.

Part 3 of 6

Anomen stood proudly next to a gash in the ground, his face smug. ?You see, my lady, how well I have followed your instructions to improvise.?

?Ah, yes, it?s a fine hole.? Dory thought it was far too large and would take forever to fill, but would never say it. ?I found a shovel back at the cabin, so that should make the second part of the job easier.?

?No need for that. I can just cast Earthquake again.?

Dory shut her eyes in a sudden vision of Coran?s body crushed in a massive heaving of the earth. ?No. I mean, you should save your spells in case we need them. We have far to travel from here, and no notion what we may face.?

Dory wrapped the body with Imoen?s help. If Imoen noticed the drops of wetness falling on the wrappings, she didn?t say so. When they were finished, Minsc took one end of the bundle and Anomen the other, and they gently laid Coran in the earth. Minsc picked up the shovel.

?We should say a few words,? Haer?Dalis said. ?As I was unacquainted with this skylark, I?ll reserve my words until I have had time to consider and consult with those more familiar with the departed, then I will compose a most fitting eulogy. Until then, Minsc, perhaps you may start, then Imoen and Dory.?

?I have little to say. Boo does not like to speak ill of the dead, but he did not like the elf. Too fresh with Dynaheir, he was. A mage must be paid proper respect, says Boo.?

Haer?Dalis said, ?A pungent sentiment from our Rashemen friend. Imoen, my dove, perhaps your words may fall more felicitously on our anguished ears.?

Dory couldn?t concentrate on Imoen?s brief speech as she worried over what she might say. She heard the words ?fearless? and ?jovial.? Then Imoen was finished.

?My raven,? Haer?Dalis addressed Dory. ?Do you wish to add your words to those spoken here??

?Yes.? Dory felt her throat close. ?Ah, hum. Coran was, he was so bright, like a sunray. He was, he was always?? Her words became tangled, and she found herself unable to continue. ?That is all I have to say.? She stooped to pick up a handful of loam, and trickled it into the grave.

Anomen looked at her sharply.

?Minsc, you can go ahead now. I?ll scout the perimeter while you fill the hole.? Dory escaped the gravesite for the woods.

***

Dory was sitting on a fallen tree when Haer?Dalis caught up to her. ?Methinks our raven was plucked by yon fallen skylark, ere she met her peacock.?

?And the peacock doesn?t know that, so your raven would appreciate it if the magpie kept his beak shut.?

?Magpie, ah, not so harsh, my dear. There is no cause for such a furrowed brow, as this sparrow is the soul of discretion.?

Dory didn?t reply.

Haer?Dalis moved his hands through the air while softly chanting arcane syllables. He presented a conjured bouquet of crimson rhodelias to her with a flourish. ?My dear, one need not ever feel guilt over past loves. They make up the stuff of who we are. Our past loves teach us how to love, and each one prepares us to love more truly and deeply.?

?I?m not sure Anomen would agree with you.? Dory turned the flowers in her hands then pressed her face against the bouquet. They even had a scent. Was it just luck, or some preternatural knowledge on Haer?Dalis?s part? The first words of wooing that Anomen had spoken to her had been to compare her to the crimson rhodelia. Beautiful, yet the color indicated power, he said. Dory didn?t feel beautiful, with her face swollen from tears. What good was power if you were unable to save a life? The illusory flowers dissolved in her hands and the particles floated away.

Haer?Dalis laid a finger over her lips. ?He need not know. It is enough that you know. Rejoice in your capacity to love, my dearest raven. Do not be ashamed, and do not look back.?

Dory heard Anomen?s approach through the dense brush long before he appeared. He wasn?t practicing the woodcraft she?d been trying to teach him. She had time to pull away from Haer?Dalis?s light touch on her cheek, but still felt a blush suffusing her face.

?We have finished our task, with no help from you, actor.? Anomen said ?actor? like it was a curse. ?If you?re ready, my lady, we should be moving on.?

Haer?Dalis rose and stepped lightly around Anomen. ?If you?ll excuse me??

Anomen?s gaze searched Dory?s face. ?Is there something I should know about? Or perhaps I should say, ?Is there something else???

?No, not right now. I?ve been thinking. I?d like to take a detour to Imnesvale, and make sure everything is all right there.? At her ranger cabin, she would have time and peace to think things through.

Anomen knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. ?My lady, the loss of a former comrade is an occasion of much sorrow, but it is imperative that we press on with our quest to retrieve the Lanthorn from that fiend Bodhi. We must do so with all speed to effect the restoration of your soul.?

?Just for a day or two. The people of Imnesvale and the Umar Hills depend on me. I have been away too long.? She took a hand from between his and stroked the side of his face. She wondered whose advice to take, Imoen?s or that of Haer?Dalis. She reflected that tomorrow Haer?Dalis would likely give the opposite advice, with equal sincerity.

?When we get to the cabin, I have something I need to tell you.?

Anomen covered her hand on his face with one of his, and drew her hand to his lips. ?Be assured, my lady, there is little you can say that would change my love for you.?

Dory hoped that was so.

***

Part 4 of 6

It was twilight when the party arrived in Imnesvale two days later. Dory had hardly shaken the dust from her feet before they were greeted by the innkeeper Vincenzo.

?My lady ranger, you are a sight for sore eyes. Welcome back to the Umar Hills Inn.?

?It?s good to be back,? Dory said. The rest of the party filed in behind her. Anomen held back and watched her as he had for the past few days instead of standing at her side.

?I hope ?tis not a summons from our mayor that brings ye here??

?I just felt the need for some R&R, and a dose of your hospitality, Vincenzo. I?ll check in with the mayor before we leave, but how go things in Imnesvale??

?Quiet, thanks to you, my lady. Some was afraid that dealing with the ogre Madulf would come to no good end, but I had faith in you.?

Vincenzo?s smart-faced stableboy Willet popped out from behind the counter. ?You said the lady was all buffleheaded to trust ?em.?

?You must have heard wrong, boy.?

?We?re hungry, Vincenzo. Think you have something to feed us??

?Ah, just you wait, my lady, nothing but the finest from the larders of the Umar Hills Inn for our Ranger Protector.?

?The finest being no-think like what ye?d be getting in a big city like Trademeet,? Willet said.

?Hush up, boy. The lady don?t want to be hearing your prattle. We have a marvelous ragout of beef available tonight??

?You ain?t gonna feed ?er that three-day-old stew, are ye??

Dory smiled as Vincenzo protested. She cut the argument short. ?Whatever you can put on the table will be fine, but I?d like a bath first.?

***

After a relaxing bath and a delicious meal of roasted meats and vegetables (Vincenzo must have thought better of the stew), Dory was looking forward to a restful night in her cabin to reflect.

?That was the best meal we?ve had since?since I don?t know when,? Dory told the innkeeper.

?Brynnlaw,? Haer?Dalis said. ?The Vulgar Monkey served up a tolerable bouillabaisse. Naught but raw fish and the unpalatable foods of the Underdark have passed our lips since then. Vincenzo, my partridge, you are a culinary savior.?

?Now, Hairy, that?s not true,? Jan said. ?The deep gnomes have quite a way with root vegetables. The terrine they served us was pure artistry.?

Minsc fed Boo scraps of vegetables. ?Boo enjoyed the gnomes? pretty dish, but Minsc confesses that he is glad to sit in the Umar Hills Inn, breathe the air above ground, and eat red meat.?

?We were all pleased with the meal, Vincenzo,? Dory said.

He bowed. ?Pleased to be of service. If there?s anything else ye be wanting???

?That?s all, I think.?

?Good night, then, my lady.? Vincenzo bowed again then left them alone.

Dory looked her group over. Anomen sat between Jan and Minsc, looking as miserable as she was sure he felt. Jan regaled him with yet another story of his or a family member?s tedious adventures. If Jan had teased her the way he teased Anomen, he?d have long since felt the flat of her sword. Yet Anomen took it, with only grumbling and rolling of eyes, she suspected for her sake.

Haer?Dalis strummed a melancholy air. Imoen sat near him, her feet on her chair, hugging her knees. She chatted away to Haer?Dalis as he bent over his instrument. He acknowledged Imoen?s interest with only a secretive smile. Dory would gut him if he broke Imoen?s heart, but she had a feeling that, after a mutually agreeable dalliance, he?d let Imoen down so easy she?d thank him.

Haer?Dalis had made a move on Dory exactly once. It was before Anomen had started courting her, but she?d already given her heart over to the earnest cleric with his tales of a pitiable childhood. Anomen was in sight but out of earshot, seemingly absorbed in polishing his mace. Haer?Dalis had taken her hand and laced his fingers with hers. ?My raven, your beauty and strength call to the heart of this sparrow,? Haer?Dalis had said. ?Like a pair of eagles free-falling through the air, such exhilaration would be ours.? She had found Haer?Dalis?s offer enticing, but wasn?t willing to risk ruining a chance with Anomen over a fling. With but a glance at Anomen, she had unentangled her hand from Haer?Dalis?s light grip. Haer?Dalis?s gaze had followed hers, resting on Anomen, then on Anomen?s mace as it glinted in the sunlight. ?Ah, I see how matters stand. Well, if your situation should change??

Dory felt her eyes start to close. She stood and stretched. ?I?m ready to turn in.? She picked up her gear. Not looking at him, she said, ?Anomen, would you escort me to the cabin??

He stood abruptly and bumped the table, rattling the drinking glasses in his haste to follow. ?At your command, my lady.?

She waited until they were outside in the cool night air before saying, ?I do not command in this, Anomen. It is your choice.?

?I wish to be beside you.?

They were silent as they walked to the cabin, which was a short distance from the Inn, although outside the town proper. Anomen held her arm to steady her on the stepping stones as they crossed a stream. For all the world, she thought, as if I were a dainty lady in silks and furs, who needed help to avoid wetting my slippers. Dory was almost as tall as Anomen, and was stronger and faster. Once she would have been annoyed at his attempts to put her on a pedestal, but now she was touched. She had changed his idea of what a woman could be, but she couldn?t change his idea of chivalry, and no longer desired to.

The cabin was stuffy but clean. The village woman Dory paid to check on the cabin and keep it in shape was obviously doing her job. She said, ?I?ll open the windows to let some air in.?

?I?ll start a fire,? Anomen said. He rubbed his hands together and started to chant.

Dory remembered the near-disastrous last time he?d tried to start a fire using Flame Strike. She put one hand on his to still them, then picked up the tinder box from the mantle. ?With this, please,? she said, putting the tinder box between his hands.

Anomen?s brows drew together in a quick frown, then he grinned. ?Yes, my lady.?

At two rooms, an outer L-shaped keeping-room and an inner bedchamber, the cabin was generously sized. There was a new hand-braided rug on the chamber floor. The appreciative people of Umar Hills were good to her.

Anomen was still lighting the fire when Dory came back into the keeping-room. She put her arms around him and laid her head against his back. She felt him first stiffen, then relax into her embrace. He finished his task with the fire then turned in her arms.

?That should keep us cozy.? He kissed her on her forehead. ?You have been reserved since our encounter with the wolfweres in Tethyr Forest. I was afraid you were angry with me. You have been so silent.?

?When I?m angry with you, you?ll know it.? Dory disengaged herself from his arms. ?I?ve had much to think on. I need to talk to you about it.?

Anomen crossed his arms over his chest and inclined his head. ?My dear.?

?The elf, the man we buried, I knew him before we met.?

?Yes, he was one of your party before you were taken by Irenicus.?

?It was more than that. We were lovers. He was my first love.? Dory paused to see how Anomen would react. She?d never given him cause to be jealous and didn?t know what to expect.

Anomen nodded. ?I?d suspected as much from the recent change in your manner.? He looked at a spot above her head. His face appeared troubled, but Dory couldn?t tell what he was thinking, then he looked back at her. ?I?m listening. Go on.?

At least he was willing to hear her out. Dory had been afraid that he?d refuse to even listen.

Dory told him about it. She told him about her naivete, about Coran being the first man who looked at her like a woman. ?I was traveling with Dynaheir, Imoen, Minsc, Yeslick, and Coran. Two women, a man not quite right in the head, a dwarf, and the handsomest, most charming, smoothest man I?d ever met, who seemed to think I was something special. It would have been a miracle if I hadn?t fallen for him. Other men I met in the course of our travels, as soon as they found out I was an adventurer, looked at me like I was some kind of freak or monster.? Dory?s voice filled with tears.

Anomen put his hands on her arms. His face showed his concern. ?You don?t have to tell me more. I understand.?

?I didn?t fool myself that it was forever. It was obvious that Coran was a ladies man, but? After Irenicus captured us, I didn?t know what had happened to him. I thought he had been killed by Irenicus, but he was with, that, that Safana, the lech.? Her voice broke.

He drew her into his arms, and she cried on his shoulder. After a while, she said, ?You aren?t upset? I was afraid you?d be angry.? She lifted her head from his shoulder to look into his eyes.

He steadily met her gaze. ?I need no reassurance of your love for me, my lady Dory. I would of course have preferred to be your only love. But you have a such a generous heart, it was unrealistic for me to suppose that you had not given it before. Whatever you felt for this man, I know it has not diminished your love for me.? He held her close to him, one arm around her waist, and with his free hand brushed her hair from her face. His hand came to rest at the base of her neck on the pulse. ?My love, I would that I could heal the pain of your heart as easily as I can the pain of your body. I will never abandon you as he did, my lady. I swear it, by Helm, by my sister?s name.?

?You are so dear to me, Anomen.? Dory was touched by his ready acceptance of her relationship with Coran. His vow brought more tears to her eyes. ?I love you so much. I?d say with all my soul if I had one.?

He let her go. ?If I may, I?d like to ask one thing.?

She heard the hesitancy in his voice, and stepped back from him, wondering what he would ask. ?Of course.?

?Would you have?I mean, I know you cannot speak with certainty?you are true, faithful, but if he had not left you, would he?would you and I???

Dory had thought of this herself, and knew the answer. If Coran had still been with them when she?d met Anomen, she?d have stayed with the elf. Despite his faithless ways, out of misplaced loyalty she?d have stayed with him too long. She hoped that Anomen would still have had her ear, and would have allowed her counsel to keep him from failing his test, but that was not certain. Impressionable Anomen, ready to fall in love with the first strong female who paid attention to him, would still have loved her, but not made it known while she was with Coran. She could picture the denouement like a play on the stage?Anomen frustrated by his inability to offer comfort as she cried over Coran?s latest infidelity, then Coran with Anomen?s mace in his skull. She could see it, but she also knew what Anomen needed to hear.

?I can see it now. We would have emerged from Irenicus?s dungeon, rescued the fair damsel Aerie from the circus villain, and Coran would have stayed behind to offer succor to the beautiful Avariel maiden. I would have trudged brokenhearted to the Copper Coronet to drown my sorrows, and allowed a handsome man standing in the corner to buy me a drink.?

?Truly, my lady, is that how it would have been?? He gathered her back into his arms.

?I?m not a fortune teller, but how could it have been otherwise?? She tightened her arms around him.

Anomen almost purred. He lifted handfuls of her long golden hair in his callused hands. ?I?ve missed you beside me, my lady. We?ve not slept apart since our first night together.?

Dory snuggled close to him, and rubbed her cheek against his. ?I want you just to hold me tonight.?

His hands, which had been working their way under her leather armor, became still. ?Is this some sort of test??

?You can stay at the inn if you?d prefer.?

?No, my love, but it will be hard for me.?

Indeed, she thought, as she pressed close against him, it was already hard for him.

Later, Anomen?s breathing finally fell into a regular rhythm, and Dory knew he was asleep. She wondered why she?d ever doubted what his reaction would be. He?d wished to heal her heart. As she lay in the dark in his arms, she reflected that he already had.

***

Part 5 0f 6

The next morning, Dory woke to the smell of food coming from the main room. Anomen was already up, which didn?t surprise her. He?d had a restless night.

She went into the other room, wearing just the short tunic she?d slept in. A large basket sat in the middle of the table. Anomen was dressed but had not yet put on his armor. He was setting food on the table.

?You didn?t cook, did you, honey?? Dory said. Cooking was not high on the list of Anomen?s numerous accomplishments. Neither the young lord nor the Bhaalspawn adventuress had had much practice at.

?Nay, this basket arrived on the doorstep a short while ago, heralded by a discreet knock.? He handed her a note.

?For the love birds,? it said, in Imoen?s hand, but Dory was sure with Haer?Dalis?s help.

Appetizing aromas came from the basket. Dory lifted a corner of the cloth. ?Mm, fresh scones, fruit, ham. Mm.?

She slid her arms around Anomen?s waist. ?You were so sweet last night. I just needed some time to think about things. You were wonderful to give that to me.?

?I could not have done otherwise. As you have ever been giving to me, it would have been churlish of me to press my attentions on you.? He avoided her eyes. Dory knew he was not letting himself hope that her embraces this morning meant she was ready for more. He cleared his throat and said, ?Should we eat some of this tempting repast?? He moved out of her arms to take a dusky plum from the top of the basket and bit into it. The juice of its ripe flesh ran down his chin into his goatee. He held the plum out to Dory.

She took a bite from the plum then moved it aside. She put a hand on his chest, leaned forward, and licked the juice of the plum from his chin. Anomen got very still. She moved her mouth in little kisses along his jawline to the tender place just under his ear then said, ?We should work up an appetite first.?

***

After supper at the inn that evening, Imoen cornered Dory.

?Did you tell him? What did he say? Did he offer to dig Coran up and kill him again? What??

?Slow down. He was so sweet. He let me cry, and he held me. I think he understood.?

Imoen peered around Dory to where Anomen sat at the table with the other three men. Dory turned to see what Imoen saw. Anomen swept his arms through the air in grand gestures, no doubt boasting to them of some exploit with the Order.

?I don?t know what you see in him,? Imoen said. ?Look at him there, the blowhard.? She puffed out her chest and stood on her tiptoes, deepening her voice in imitation of Anomen. ?And then I fashioned a length of rope from some nearby fibrous plants, threw a loop of it around the wyvern?s neck, reined the beast in, leaped on its back, harnessed it, and rode it back to camp.? In her own voice she said, ?All I can say is, he better be great in the sack.?

Dory thought of the hapless cider jug skittering across the table to shatter on the floor when Anomen had lifted her onto the table, the rough surface of the wall against her back, the creaking of the bed, the cool water of the stream splashing her bare skin.

?The sack and everywhere else.?

?Well, look at you. Look at you, Miss I?m-a-Sex-Goddess.?

Dory thought this was enough conversation about her love life. ?What did you guys do all day??

?Nothing as exciting as what you were doing. We played cards mostly.?

?That sounds like fun?wait a minute. Two thieves and a sleight-of-hand artist against a man addled in his head? Poor Minsc. I hope you didn?t clean him out.?

Imoen shrugged. ?He held his own. Nothing gets past Boo.?

Haer?Dalis called to them. ?My doves, if you please.? He indicated that they should return to the table. As they took their seats and quieted, he said, ?Please, all, silence. Thank you. Having had the opportunity to contemplate and comprehend the essence of the man, I will now sing a eulogy to our departed comrade Coran.?

Even though he had not known Coran, Haer?Dalis?s skill was such that he was able to perfectly capture Coran?s spirit, Dory felt. She sat in the corner of a bench seat between Anomen?s legs, leaning back against him. She wept silently as Anomen held her.

Haer?Dalis finished with a sad song. As the final notes faded, he said, ?Enough of mourning. Let us give equal measure to songs of joy.? He sang a few lighthearted tunes, then Imoen joined him for a romantic song that they had obviously practiced together.

Dory had a drink or two more than she usually did, so that might have been why she didn?t protest when, hidden from other eyes by the table, Anomen slid his hand in her pants. He tightened his other arm around her waist and nuzzled her neck. She turned her head to receive his kisses.

The music stopped, and Dory heard Imoen say, ?Ew, gross. Get a room, you two.?

?Perhaps ?tis indeed time for the lovebirds to fly to their roost,? Haer?Dalis seconded.

Minsc said, ?Such displays of affection are too mature for a hamster of Boo?s tender years to witness.?

Jan said, ?You know, Minscy, it could be time for your hamster to experience more of life. He doesn?t have much opportunity to find romance while riding in your pack.?

?What do you suggest? That I should allow Boo to run freely about? He would be in constant peril of being turned into hamster mush by the feet of clumsy big people.?

?I?m just saying that he might like the chance to meet a special lady hamster.?

?Boo is not an ordinary hamster. I have not seen any miniature giant space hamster ladies in our travels, as I would certainly ask if they would like to make the acquaintance of Boo.?

?Shut up, chrome dome,? the idiot sword Lilarcor said. ?You?re putting a crimp in the free show.? He whistled in what Dory thought was an extremely vulgar manner. ?Take it off, take it all off.?

?All right, I can take a hint. Come on, loverboy, it looks like we?re not wanted.? Dory stood and pulled a grinning Anomen to his feet. ?Let?s go back to the cabin. We need to turn in early anyway. Tomorrow we make a start out to get back our souls.?

This is the last part of the story, but I have something else that I wrote earlier that I think will make a fitting epilogue.

Part 6 of 6


Anomen scooped Dory into his arms to carry her over the cabin threshold. She buried her face against his neck, laughing at his romantic impulse. He stopped in the middle of the room. Dory swung her legs, urging him to the bedchamber, but he put her down instead. She soon saw why.

A lean and muscular man with shaggy gray hair paced around the table. His fluid yet restless movements reminded Dory of a dog?or a wolf. The man stopped his pacing and glared at them with yellow eyes, his teeth bared in a snarl. Anomen?s hand went to his mace. Dory stayed him with a hand on his arm. She thought she knew what was going on.

?My name is Dory, and this is my man Anomen. This is my cabin. What do you want from us??

?I have been tracking you for two days. The scent was cold when I came home and discovered her body, but I?ve found you at last.? His voice rasped as if he seldom used it. ?I am Daffear. You are the ones, it was you who killed my mate.?

He snarled again, but he didn?t lunge at them. Dory wondered what held him back.

Anomen didn?t. ?And you will die, too, you evil beast.? Dory caught Anomen before he could land a blow.

?I think we can talk this out,? she murmured to him. ?Calm down.? She straightened her shoulders to face their visitor. ?Yes, we killed her. She attacked us. Do you want to hear more??

The wolfwere swung his head from side to side, sniffing the air, then nodded.

?We were used as bait to get the elf Coran to come to her. But he rejected her when he found out she wasn?t human. In her rage she attacked us all. I?m sorry, we had no choice.?

?Did she kill him, too??

?Yes.? Dory didn?t add that she?d tried to prevent it.

?Good.? He paced again, then stood still. ?I smelled something foul when she sent me away. She asked me to see how our brethren were faring in the Windspear Hills. When I came back, I found her dead.? He threw his head back and howled. The pain emanated from him as heat from a fireplace. ?Faithless bitch.?

?I?m sorry,? Dory said again.

?Consorting with an elf.? He spat on Dory?s floor. ?I could have forgiven her that, possibly, in time. But she destroyed the pack to satisfy her lusts. How can that be forgiven? She is lucky she is dead.?

?We would have done things differently if we could have.?

?I see that. You are a smart one. You think before you act and are not driven by your desires. Unlike her.? His words were a growl.

?Don?t think too harshly of her. The man was a charmer. He might have told her anything to get her to lie with him.?

Daffear?s yellow eyes looked over Dory and she blushed. ?I see. It doesn?t excuse her. She had a bond to the pack as well as to me. Now there are none left, not even one female to take as a new mate.?

Anomen, his hand still on his mace, said, ?There is still one too many left.?

Dory said, ?Hush, honey.? He could be trying sometimes. To Daffear she said, ?Could you join the?the pack in the Windspear Hills??

?Callow, stupid youths,? he snapped. ?No sense of restraint. Their recklessness brings the humans with their weapons upon themselves. It will not be long until they are wiped out.?

Daffear resumed pacing. The urge to violence rippled in every sinew. Anomen put a protective arm around Dory, but she was sure that the wolfwere?s anger was still directed at one on whom he could never vent it.

?There was once a pack north of here, by the temple ruins,? Dory said, and Daffear stopped pacing to listen. ?The Shade Lord turned them all, we thought, but I suppose some might have escaped, maybe even a new pack has moved in.? When Daffear didn?t look encouraged, she continued, ?If that doesn?t work out, there is a group of, uh,? she censored the word ?misfits,? ?a group not far from here. They also have become separate from their own. Their leader is the ogre Madulf. They have a treaty with the townspeople, so you would not fear being hunted, as long as you maintain the peace.?

Daffear took so long to answer that Dory was afraid he?d rethought his decision not to attack them. At last he said, ?Thank you, friend Dory. You wish to make things right, but they cannot be made right, not so easily. I must hunt alone for a season or two.? To Anomen he said, ?I see you know what it is like to have a strong union. Treasure it?it is a thing beyond price.?

?If you change your mind, tell Madulf that the Ranger Dory sent you.?

Daffear nodded and loped off out the open door without a backward glance.

Anomen went to the door, and watched Daffear?s passage into the dark night before closing the door behind him. ?You are too kindhearted,? Anomen said after the wolfwere left. ?Why did you let him go? The people of Umar Hills will not thank you if their livestock start to disappear?or worse.?

?He is also a victim in this.?

He stepped toward Dory and caught her hands in his. ?I hope he does not betray your trust.?

?I have trusted before. Sometimes you are hurt.? She thought not just of Coran but also of Yoshimo. ?Sometimes you are rewarded.? She put her arms around his waist. ?Where would I have been if I had not trusted that a certain self-righteous braggart was more than he appeared??

?Braggart, indeed! I?ll have you know, my lady, that I spoke no idle boasts.? His gray eyes that were now blue, now green, wholly unclouded by doubt, looked down into hers. His arms tightened around her. ?Then or now.?

She wrapped her arms around his neck. ?So what was that you promised earlier you were going to do to me??

The End

Athkatla Town Crier
15 Mirtul

Recently Wed. Dory of Candlekeep and Sir Anomen Delryn of Athkatla. Dory, hero of Baldur?s Gate and Trademeet, Ranger Protector of Umar Hills, the daughter of noted scholar Gorion, and Sir Anomen, a member of the Order of the Radiant Heart, the son of Moirala and Cor Delryn.

The ceremony, held in the village of Imnesvale, was performed by the Mayor of Imnesvale. The bride?s sister Imoen was the Maid of Honor, and Sir Ryan Trawl of the Order of the Radiant Heart was the Best Man. Among the guests were His Honor the Lord High Merchant Logan Coprith of Trademeet, Sir Keldorn and Lady Firecam and family, Garren Windspear and son, and adventurers of the couples acquaintance.

The bride, who put aside her leathers for the occasion, was resplendent in Calimshan silk. Following the ceremony the principals and guests released doves in the town square in tribute to fallen comrades. Among the names heard were Dynaheir, Coran, and Yoshimo.

Renowned playwright and actor Haer?Dalis, lately of the planes, read an original epithalamion penned in honor of the blissful couple?s nuptials, entitled ?To My Raven and her Peacock.? The wedding banquet, held at the Umar Hills Inn, featured a menu of free-range chicken supplied by a local farmer, prepared a la Amkethran. One of the guests was purported to have discovered a bejuril gem in her meal.

Asked if they would take up residence at the Delryn estate in Athkatla, Sir Anomen replied, ?That is my past. My future is with my lady.? Following a honeymoon in their cabin just outside Imnesvale, the couple plan an extended tour of the realms, visiting such exotic destinations as Rashemon and Neverwinter, before Sir Anomen must resume his duties with the Radiant Heart. The Umar Hills will not be undefended, as Valygar Corthala and the couple?s friend Minsc have agreed to step into Dory?s boots.

In the only sour note sounded on an otherwise gala occasion, a curiously-attired gnome insisted that he was to have been the best man. ?Ano can?t get married without me,? he protested as he was escorted out of the Inn. ?Who will throw the turnips??