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[Shadowhawke]

Disclaimer: PG-13. This will be changed if I change my mind, but for now I think it stands. If need be, I will put different disclaimers on various chapters in warning. However, the main reason for this rating is that there may be a darker theme than the original.


Author's Note: This is the revamped version of the original, Starlight. The first few chapters are virtually identical to the old, but after that, they will be branching off in an entirely different direction. The reason for this new version is that, after a while, I felt that not only was the quality suffering from lack of direction, it was just becoming far too much of a strain to write. Then new ideas came, and I was forced to ask Jolyth to remove the old version. Thus, this is now (hopefully) going to be actually finished this time. Don't hesitate to comment and offer constructive criticism whenever you want. Thank-you.

I hope you all enjoy.

[Shadowhawke]

Starlight I: Aludra's Cloak

Edited by Shadowhawke, 14 November 2006 - 02:34 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter I: This must be Hell


The demon roared. Blood, entrails and other unidentifiable body parts from its last victim dripped liberally from gaping fangs as it bellowed a cry of craving hunger to the world. Patraek wrinkled his nose at its fetid breath.

?Yeah? You want a piece of me?!? Myrannor yelled.

?Oh no,? Damoch deadpanned from two demons away. ?He?s just asking you for directions.?

Myrannor grinned at his friend, cart-wheeled through the demon?s legs, and attacked from behind. With an unearthly scream, the demon spun around ferociously quickly and sunk his claws deep into his attacker?s flesh. Myrannor staggered sideways, going instinctively into a roll, wrenching the talons out of his skin.

?Myrannor!? Patraek yelled.

?I?m fine, damn it,? Myrannor wheezed, manoeuvring his fingers painfully to grasp a blue vial. ?I? just need a hand over here.?

A hand he got. Or at least the demon got. As the fiend descended on the incapacitated half-elf, it walked straight into a fist. Patraek spun around in a kick, earning another howl of pain as Myrannor clamped his teeth down hard on his lip, drawing blood, somehow managing to merge the grimace of pain with his omnipresent grin. He wrenched the wooden stopper of the healing potion off with his teeth and gulped it? feeling the magic spread through his entire body, closing at least partially the deep gashes on his back. Clambering unsteadily to his feet, he threw the empty bottle with amazing accuracy at Irenicus, and then turned back to the demon.

?Come on, Myrannor!? Katrinneth mocked good-naturedly. ?Shouldn?t you be done with the damn thing by now??

?You can?t say anything!? Myrannor retorted. ?All you?re doing is taking pot-shots at Irenicus!?

?Well what else am I supposed to do?? Katrinneth demanded.

?Take pot-shots at the demons instead,? suggested Damoch.

?But what about Irenicus??

?Leave him be. It?s not as if he?s doing anything except for leering at us.?

?On the contrary,? Patraek disagreed between gritted teeth. ?What?s the spell he?s..??

Before Patraek could finish, two new foes leapt into action. Lukallran swore as the wolves assaulted him from either side. ?Dammit! A little help over here??

Damaryne disengaged from her demon with a brief nod towards Patraek who took over, leaving Myrannor alone, and leapt between the two wolves, throwing Lukallran aside as gently as she could afford to. However, he still went flying, landing with a hard oomph.

?Would you mind not being so rough next time?? Lukallran complained from the floor as he regained the breath that had been knocked out of him.

?Sorry,? Damaryne winced. ?I didn?t mean??

?Why are you apologizing, Damaryne?? Damoch cut her off, grinning. ?You just saved him from being hamstringed!?

?Yeah? shouldn?t you be thanking someone for once, Lukallran?? Myrannor shouted cheekily from the other side.

Lukallran shot a burning look at Myrannor, who returned it with a chuckle, and then edged his glance past him to Irenicus. The antagonist acknowledged him behind the swirling aura of magical protections with a villain?s grin that didn?t reach his half-dead eyes. A flame licked the black pupils, making Lukallran unconsciously tighten his hold on his dagger as mocking taunts sounded in the cavity his soul had left behind. He repelled them with his thoughts.
A chant shook him out of his reverie. As he watched, behind the shields, Irenicus began moving in an intricate dance that Lukallran didn?t quite recognize until?

?Wyverns!? Lukallran yelled hoarsely. ?Katrinneth, watch out!?

?Too late!? Katrinneth backed against a large boulder as the wyvern, newly summoned, immediately advanced on her. ?Uh? guys?! Please??

?Do I have to do everything?? Patraek groaned as he finally knocked the demon down with his only precious quivering palm, and ran to Katrinneth?s aid.

?Hey, you were taking your sweet time with that demon, oh omnipotent monk,? Myrannor laughed.

?Shut up,? Patraek muttered disgustedly as his punch sunk deep into the wyvern?s flesh and it turned around with an ear-splitting shriek.

?Jeez, can you try to kill them without deafening us?? Katrinneth chuckled.

?This is your skin I?m saving,? Patraek reminded her.

?Damaryne, are you done with the wolves yet??

?Almost??
Damaryne crouched down, her eyes careful as the two predators circled her. Almost before she could react, a hurtling ball of grey fur attacked from behind, attempting to sever her Achilles tendon to permanently lame her. Seconds before bone-white fangs attached themselves to her ankles, she lashed out with her left hand katana just as the second wolf decided to attack from her front. Both wolves hit extended blades and tore away, dark blood staining their coats.

Damn it, become unsummoned already.

Ever vigilant, she watched the wolves circle around her once more, one limping. The concerted assault that came a few seconds later took her off-guard as they lunged again from the back and the front. She hissed in pain as five claws raked a pattern down her skin, and moaning slightly, she managed to swing both her blades in unison, decapitating the wolf on her right, and beheading the wolf on her left.

Katrinneth cheered from the safety of the boulder she was now perched upon. ?Nice work!?

?Thanks,? Damaryne had already recovered and sprinted off to tackle the second wyvern, fighting back to back with Patraek. The monk gave her a gentle nudge.

?I thought you liked wolves.?

?I do? but what could I do except wait until they?d unsummon??

?You could?ve stunned them by your glamorous beauty, lady,? Myrannor dropped in on the conversation.

? ?Glamorous beauty??? Damaryne looked at him incredulously. ?How about no??

?Ah? mine heart is wounded,? Myrannor clasped his chest dramatically, before hastily bringing his swords back up to counter the demon?s claws. ?For thine beauty has stunned mine??

?Please, Myrannor, no more,? Patraek groaned. ?You?re making me sick.?

?Sick?? Myrannor looked extremely offended. ?Mine words are not cloying, nor are they??

?Oh shut up and fight!? Lukallran sighed, forming another Pierce Magic out of thin air. It was the highest-level spell he had. Irenicus? face behind the swirling magic protections mocked him.

?Yes my leader,? Myrannor intoned with vacant eyes.

?Oh just shut up,? Lukallran almost pleaded. ?Please. You?re disrupting my concentration and when that happens??

?Fire in the hold!? Damoch yelled.

A huge ball of fire blossomed out from Lukallran, incinerating the wolf corpses as it set aflame everything it touched. With a cry, Lukallran flung up his hands in front of his face, and as the sunfire spell died down, he set to feverishly beating the licking tongues of fire out of his robes.

?Lukallran, are you okay?!?

?What the hell were you trying to cast??

?Nice work, Lukallran,? Myrannor laughed.

?Are you okay??

?Are you okay?!?

?I?m fine,? he gasped, out of breath. ?Just? burnt.?

?Damaryne?? Damoch called.

Immediately understanding, she delivered one last slash that was caught on the wyvern?s claws and ran over to block Damoch?s demon. He disentangled himself and moved quickly to their reddening leader, Cure Serious Wounds already weaving from his hands. As the priestly chant began, Damaryne bore through the demon relentlessly. They were taking too long. It was a miracle that Irencius hadn?t already killed them all with his mind-staggering arsenal of spells. And another miracle the demons hadn?t gathered their wits together. She knew that they could easily kill the fiends if they ganged up on them, but they were sparsely spread?


?Aren?t you done yet, oh omnipotent monk??

?Will you stop calling me that?? Patraek demanded. ?And the answer?s no.?

?Why not, oh omnipotent monk??

Patraek looked at the now healed Lukallran. ?Please? Can I kill him after this??

?We all need to be alive after this for you to kill him afterwards,? Lukallran said grimly.

?Is that a yes or a no? We can always resurrect him afterwards??

?Oi, stop plotting my death.?

?Why not? You sure as hell are irritating enough??

?Irritating?? Myrannor looked injured. ?I?m not irritating. I?m mildly annoying.?

?It?s the same thing, Myrannor,? Damoch flung his shield up as he rejoined the fray. ?And you?re ?mildly? annoying? You?ve got to be kidding me??

?Kidding you? I assure you my dear friend, I?m not kidding you.?

? ?My dear friend??? Patraek snorted. ?When was the last time you called one of us that??

?A long, long, time ago, in a galaxy far away??

They all groaned in unison as Myrannor laughed delightedly. ?I have not yet lost the ability to irritate you. This is??

?Didn?t you just say you weren?t irritating? You were ?mildly? annoying??

Myrannor pouted. ?Okay, fine, fine, you?re right.?

?Score,? Katrinneth grinned. ?You?ve gotten him to shut??

?Oh no?? Lukallran cried. ?Guys, watch ou??

Used to Lukallran?s spell failures, they all instinctively cringed.

?MOO!!!!?

A huge, overweight cow plunged from the heavens, incinerating almost instantly when it hit Irenicus? shields.

?Oi!? Myrannor yelled, even though he was sure the arch-villain couldn?t hear him. ?That cow never did anything to you, you black-hearted??

?Stop it,? Katrinneth laughed. ?We?ve still got to fight? and you?re??

?She?s right,? Patraek agreed, unsmiling. ?Every time you crack one of your stupid jokes, we?re in danger of getting killed.?

Myrannor looked visibly sulky. ? ?Stupid? ??

?Yep.?

?Guys, shut up unless you want me to stuff up again,? Lukallran threatened.

They all shut up. Promptly.

Finally having the concentration to attack with all their might, together, Damaryne and Damoch mercilessly pressed the demon in a perfectly synchronized attack. As Damoch blocked a talon on his shield and swung at the other claw with his hammer, Damaryne dodged under both of the limbs and ran her katana through the demon?s heart. Shrieking insanely, the fiend toppled backwards, twitching.

?Nice work!?

Myrannor couldn?t stop himself. He stared, open-mouthed at Lukallran for a few seconds, before his demon once again swiped at him, and he was forced to resume defending himself.

?Lukallran? Giving praise??

?Shut up or I?ll Magic Missile you,? Lukallran warned. ?And you never know what might happen??

?Nice,? Damoch nodded at Damaryne.

She smiled shyly. ?I couldn?t have done it without you.?

Both of them studied their surroundings, and then Damaryne ran off to help Myrannor. Damoch, however decided to take a swipe at Irenicus. Immediately, he was hurled back five meters with terrific force, smashing into Katrinneth?s boulder and crumpling instantly to the floor.

?Gods! Damoch, are you o??

?Let?s not start that again?? groaned Patraek.

?What?s wrong with it?? Katrinneth bristled. ?He looks like??

?I?m fine,? Damoch rasped.

You?d say that if you were undead, old friend,? Myrannor said disgustedly. ?Are you okay??

?I think I?ve just become a quadriplegic??

?Serious??

Damoch attempted to get up, but to his abject astonishment, he found that his prediction was indeed correct, and that he could only move from his shoulders upwards. The wyvern closest to him swung its poisonous tail as it sensed a helpless prey...

?Damoch!!?

No-one was close enough. Even as Patraek and Damaryne, the two closest on the ground, kicked and swiped aside their current foes to run to his aid, and Katrinneth unloosed a desperate volley of arrows, the wyvern lumbered ever closer, becoming even more enraged as the arrows that got past its scales sunk into soft flesh.
Damoch closed his eyes.

?Damoch!!? Myrannor near screamed.

Damoch opened his sapphire eyes, just in time to see his death descending on him.


In a fury, Patraek and Damaryne decapitated, disembowelled, and then slashed up the wyvern into unrecognizable pieces. The terrible irony hit them even as they avenged their friend. Damoch had been the only one who could cast ?Raise Dead?, and so even the slim chance of Raising him was dashed.

?Guys, calm down!? Lukallran tried to rally them together, keeping his famous cool head in a hideous situation. ?He?s dead but??

Lukallran never got to finish his sentence. Myrannor?s face contorted into a mask of horror as the third demon pounced from behind and literally ripped the Blade apart. His scream of pain overrode the last of Lukallran?s words? and then was suddenly, abruptly, and horribly, cut short. Damaryne only had time to stare at him before she leapt back, the claw meant for her heart only narrowly missing.

?Myrannor!? Katrinneth cried.

?Damn you to everlasting hell!? Lukallran swore as he cast his last Magic Missile at Irenicus, who now, openly laughed. He?d been silent for this whole while? or perhaps he?d spoken? Lukallran, glaring murderously at him, didn?t care.

?We?re in everlasting hell, Lukallran?? Irenicus managed to sneer before a high-pitched war cry imploded their ear-drums.

?Katrinneth?! Katrinneth?!?

Damaryne?s words were lost as Katrinneth went into a frenzy. Magical arrows loosed so fast from her hands they blurred into a continuous stream of enchanted arrowheads and smooth wood. Vaguely, through Katrinneth?s shouts, they could find snatches of words that they could understand.

?Damoch? Myrannor? both? hell? curse? you??

?Katrinneth! Katrinneth!? Patraek joined his voice with Damaryne?s. But still, they called to no avail. The demon fell at last with a huge groan, all of the nicks and cuts Myrannor had succeeded in giving it combining with the hordes of arrows to culminate in its death.

?Three down! One to go!? Lukallran tried desperately to get their attention.

?Two!? Patraek yelled back. ?You forgot the other wyvern.?

But Katrinneth was not done yet. With the last quiver of arrows she had, she turned on the wyvern, whose brother had murdered Damoch. Just as the first volley landed, however, the wyvern vanished in a flash of light. Katrinneth swore, and as she was looking around for her next victim, Lukallran finally got her attention.

?The demon, Katrinneth! Hit the demon!?

?Lukallran, this is madness!? Patraek cried. ?Damoch and Myrannor are dead! How can we hope to..??

Patraek suddenly stumbled forwards. Damaryne screamed as her friend twitched convulsively, and the band of newly-summoned Ogrillons bellowed a cry of triumph.

?Lukallran!? Damaryne pleaded as she struggled with the new threat. ?Katrinneth?s gone mad, Patraek, Damoch, and Myrannor are dead, and you?re out of spells! We can?t win!?

?Well what do you suggest we..??

Irenicus? laugh mingled with Katrinneth?s scream. The demon, unnoticed by Lukallran and Damaryne as she fought and he stood helplessly trying to formulate a plan, had moved to kill the irritating female that kept peppering it with arrows.
It was only then that Lukallran abandoned his plans. Drawing out his dagger and charging blindly, he tried his hardest to stop the demon from finishing its job. But far, far, too late.

Dimly, through a haze of sudden battle fatigue, Damaryne heard Katrinneth?s screams dying away to one last moan, and then Lukallran going berserk. Dimly, she wondered how he could shout with such fury when his tones were normally so gentle. But she brushed that immediate thought aside as an iron hard resolution suddenly gripped her chest and she dodged between the lumbering Ogrillons, to Irenicus. She found her unwavering control as she ran and let it cage her hatred, her anger, her rage, moulding it into a restrained, but insanely powerful swing.

Irenicus? face loomed centimetres from her own, behind the swirling shield upon shield of magical protections. He was still laughing. Damaryne wanted to scream at that face; tear apart that sneer with her bare hands. But she knew that the same shield that had thrown Damoch back would throw her back. Unless?
In one smooth swing, she replaced the Katana +1 in her hand with a normal one seized from her sheath, and she watched Irenicus? face stare in horror as he realized that the Protection from Magical Weapons would avail him naught?
Just as she began her downward sweep, she heard a last groan of despair as Lukallran folded up and collapsed, blood staining his robes. And then everything dissolved into dust?

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 04:44 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter II: Annihilation

(Ooh! On schedule! (Kind of). No writer's block in this fic lately, which has been a blessing. My other ones, however...
Anyway, without further ado, here is the next installment. Hope you enjoy!)


The grinning skull stared triumphantly at six separate faces from five separate computer screens. With a defeated groan, all of them collapsed in their chairs.

?We never win, do we Luke?? Kathryn sighed, running her hand through her copper hair.

?No,? Luke replied heavily, staring back at the mocking picture on the monitor with frustrated blue eyes.

?You know, perhaps it?s because we skip almost all of the quests and are? what? Only level twelve when we hit Irenicus??

?Well what are we supposed to do then??

?We could try actually playing through the quests for once,? Mark deadpanned, grinning. ?So then we don?t have to listen to Damon whining about how he feels bad about leaving Nalia in the hands of Isaea.?

?Hey!? Damon protested. ?I don?t whine!?

Peter cut through Mark?s smirking reply. ?And so we can get more experience. So you actually have something else to cast at Irenicus besides Pierce Magic.?

?But that would take ages,? protested Luke. ?We already take eight sessions as it is just to get to Irenicus.?

?A few more isn?t going to kill us,? Damon smiled wryly.

?It might kill me, though,? Mark clasped his heart dramatically. ?I?m not sure why Mum?s letting us play here every second day with the LAN. I expect she?s planning to extort something from me. Blackmail, no doubt.?

?I heard that Mark!?

They all laughed as he comically winced. Fiona entered the room, looking accusingly at her son, her hands on her hips. Damaris looked quickly from her to Mark, and back to her again, as she always did when the two were together. Mark had inherited her russet hair and hazel eyes. And her laugh. It was amazing how alike they were. Yet he had the delicate cheekbones of his father.

?So you won?t believe me when I say I?m doing this out of the goodness of my own heart??

?Nup,? Mark grinned at his mother. ?You?re planning something, I know it!?

Fiona gave a mock sigh. ?Well, if I?m not going to be believed, I?m not even going to try convincing you any more. Have fun.?

?Busted, Mark,? Peter chuckled.

?Too true,? Fiona agreed, smiling now. ?Now behave, all of you.?

As Fiona disappeared behind the doorway, Kathryn turned to her quiet friend.
?What?s wrong??

Damaris smiled tiredly, brushing a few strands of midnight hair out of her face. ?Nothing?s wrong, Kathryn. I?m just thinking.?

?You?re thinking?? gasped Mark. ?And you?re saying nothing?s wrong?!?

?Oh shut up, Mark,? Damon laughed.

Damaris watched, withdrawn, as her friends argued and ranted over whether they should reload, or just start the entire Multiplayer game over again. She let a small smile touch her lips.
She loved these people. They were her lifeblood.
Luke stimulated her to think.
Kathryn helped her to explore.
Peter encouraged her to fight.
Mark made her laugh.
Damon taught her to smile.
They all made her live.
Quietly, she settled down to just watch and drink in the company of her friends as the afternoon ticked slowly away.

***

The mud tasted disgusting; a mixture of normal earth and other indescribable matter pureed into a concoction only a madman would drink. Not only that, it smelt like the jelly experiment they had done in Science in Year 7? after three weeks in the sun.
In short, this was no normal mud.
In fact, she didn?t even want to think about what it was made of. The fact that she was half-covered in it was bad enough. Brown, sloppy streaks ran down her legs, near covered her school dress, and plastered half of her hair to her scalp.

?Damaris!?

Kathryn lurched forwards and dragged her up. Damaris felt her hand slip from her friend?s, slicked by the unmentionable. She fell again. This time, she struggled up herself, and that was when she realized she was in the no-man?s land of what was soon going to be a battlefield.
Slowly, Damaris carefully gauged her surroundings, already feeling an icy claw of fear climbing quickly up her spine. Zach, backed by the rest of his group, was already grinning with malice from where he?d stepped to intercept her. Kathryn, Damon, Peter, Mark, and Luke stood to her right, and for a split second, the anger written so plainly on their faces scared her.

?Good afternoon, Zach,? Luke greeted him coldly. ?May I inquire as to why you?re being so particularly uncouth today??

?Layman?s terms, Luke,? Damon reminded him, sarcasm dripping from his voice. ?I don?t think he?s got the brains to understand.?

?I understand, ogre,? Zach shot back. ?I?ve got more brain cells than you give me credit for.?

?Still below negative, then,? Peter returned politely.

?Honestly, Zach, if you were killed, the country?s average IQ would rocket up,? Mark grinned, laughter dancing in his hazel eyes.

?How about no?? Ian sneered, stepping up to Zach?s shoulder for moral support. Automatically, Damaris stepped back among the rest. Now it was just Ian and Zach in the middle. She wasn?t complaining.

?Is that the best comeback you can come up with?? Luke scoffed, never taking his blue eyes off Zach?s green ones.

?Well looks like you can?t come up with much better.?

Mark turned to Damon with a mock sigh. ?I can?t believe we?re in a verbal fight with these delinquents.?

?Neither can I,? Damon rolled his eyes. ?Why don?t we just not waste our time and get home? Damaris needs a change of clothes? and preferably a shower as well.?

The grin he shot at her almost made her smile. Almost. She was too busy quivering in fear, otherwise. The fear and the knowledge of what was about to happen. The icy grip that held her motionless, unable to move, as her heart was ripped out in front of her,

?Cowards,? Zach spat. ?You lot can?t even fight man to man.?

?Hard,? Kathryn finally spoke up, her emerald eyes flashing. ?Considering two of us are girls. Besides, Zach, you can?t exactly talk, can you??

?What do you mean?? Zach asked vacantly.

?Save the act,? Peter snorted dryly. ?You?re already dumb enough. What Kathryn was implying, thickhead, was that you were so scared of fighting us you had to bring along your? lackeys.?

?Fighting?? Zach looked innocent. ?Who ever said I wanted to fight? Damaris here just tripped, that?s all.?

?Helped by you, of course.?

?Me? I wouldn?t be so clumsy.?

?Stop acting stupid, Zach. It?s the same every time, no doubt because of your already limited imagination. Of course, you always bring?? Luke stopped to almost sneer, ?Extra backup because you were too spineless to face us with even numbers.?

?Oh, except this time, considering you basically threw Damaris into the mud, I think you might owe her an apology,? Damon added. ?It?s unsportsmanlike, you know.?

Zach turned slowly to her. She near wilted under his gaze.

Guys, please, I?m okay. Can we just forget this? Please? They outnumber us. I don?t want this to turn out like last time again. Please. It?s just me?

Why are you sticking up for me?!

She hated it how telepathy didn?t seem to work in the real world.


?An apology?? Zach twisted the words around in his mouth, and then decided he didn?t like them. He took one more step towards her, and then, still smiling, spat at her feet.

?I?ve got better aim.?

Mark stepped up and spat; directly in Zach?s face.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod?

He dodged aside as Zach snarled and leapt for his throat. Damon immediately stepped forwards, drawing himself up to his full height. Zach crashed into him, and then slowly looked up.
Damon was what might be called a biological deviation. While not impossibly tall, he was fifteen and stood two meters high. Zach, around a head and shoulders shorter, found the experience slightly intimidating. As such, he hastily backed away.

?Careful, Zach,? Peter said icily as he stepped up next to Damon, warning in his liquid amber eyes. ?You may have brought back-up and outnumber us, but do you really want to get into another fight??

?What, are you trying to back out, now, Chink?? Zach sneered, feeling his courage notch up each step he took away from them.

Peter stiffened at the insult, and was about to lash out when Damon beat him to it.

?You idiot,? Damon hissed almost contemptuously, letting the calmness in his eyes seep away to anger. ?We?re giving you a chance to get out of here before we have to fight you. Are you going to take it or not??

?Have to fight?? Zach smirked, savouring the moment now. ?Why do you have to fight??

Kathryn?s eyes narrowed. ?You know, Zach, unlike you and your pathetic, amoral thugs, we actually take care of our friends.?

?Why?? Zach taunted. ?It?s not as if she?s worth anything.?

?Even if she was, she?s still worth more than you,? Mark spat.

Luke only had time to swing around to Mark and hiss something along the lines of ?now you?ve done it!? before Ian and Zach had lunged with no particular grace at Damon and Peter, the closest. Ready, Damon clumsily dodged, the fist intended for his nose instead glancing off his cheekbone. Finding his balance, he threw an open-fisted blow, sending Ian reeling back, out of action for a moment.
Steadying himself, Peter punched straight under Zach?s ribs with a frighteningly powerful drive, his eyes devoid of emotion. Zach doubled over, but somehow managed to stay upright. The plight of Zach rallied the seven others he had brought along, but Mark and Luke joined simultaneously. Fists pounded, blood fell. Kathryn swore, and jumped into the fray herself, nails raking through skin. From everywhere, the dull thud of hard bone connecting with soft tissue echoed, the low groans mixing horribly with the sound of blood, slowly trickling down the gutter.

With the instinct of a pack of wary predators planning to take everyone down, they immediately went for the strongest. Peter did not keep his martial arts training a secret, after all, and was openly displaying them now.
But still he wasn?t highly trained enough to take on all three of those that had ganged up on him by himself. Soon, he was pinned to the ground.
It didn?t stop there. The muffled thump each time a fist connected beat a strange rhythm in Damaris? mind. As Peter ground his teeth to stave off the pain, the thwacks continued. On and on and on. Where had she heard that rhythm before?
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bone. Blood. Sweat. Pain.
She tried to block it out. With her hands. With her mind. With other thoughts. She even thought briefly of joining the brawl herself, but almost immediately brushed the idea out of her mind.
She didn?t know that she?d screamed until she heard it herself, and everyone stopped to stare at her.
And then she ran.


She didn?t know how long she ran for, but each beat of her runners hitting cement reminded her of what had just happened.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Bone. Blood. Sweat. Pain.
Every time her foot hit down on the path, it jarred her entire body, but she couldn?t stop running. She had to get away.


Hours, days, eons later, Damaris sat by the river. The grass was cold under her, but the sun was strangely warm as it beat upon her face. She lost herself in its feel, the wind slowly wrapping tendrils of her hair in its fingers, the river ever rushing past with its soothing ripples. She closed her eyes as the rustlings of the grass slowly grew louder.
She needed to think.
Her brain hurt, her body hurt, and her heart hurt; but most of all, her soul hurt. She couldn?t get rid of those sneering words. She just couldn?t.

It?s not as if she?s worth anything?

And he was right. The worst thing about it was that he was right. She closed her eyes as the tears threatened to leak out. She couldn?t believe she?d just run off and left them. The fight had started because of her, after all. They were her friends? her lip trembled as she remembered how they?d always stuck up for her. She finally succumbed to the tears as the power of their intense loyalty washed over her. They ran down her cheeks, mingling with the drying mud.
She must have sat there for at least an hour before she realized she could hear rasping breathing from behind the trees that surrounded the clearing.

?Damaris??

It was a barely audible croak, but still, she knew who it was. Who had come looking for her.

?Luke,? she cried. She scrambled to her feet, some of the dried mud cracking off at her movement, following the sound of his voice.

She found him, somehow standing, nearly falling on his feet. The sun cast a shadow over his face, but she could still see the blood.
Her consciousness shut off as she helped him to sit down by the river. She almost wept at the sight of him. As he turned around to face her, she finally saw the extent of his injuries.
A slowly blackening eyelid drooped uselessly as the whole region swelled. Blood ran in a small trickle down from a tattered lip, defying gravity to run down his throat. His blonde hair was stained lightly with crimson from a cut on his forehead. Bruises and scratches ran in all directions on the exposed skin that she could see. Through his ripped socks, she could already see the beginnings of a twisted ankle.

?Luke??

?Shut up Damaris,? he smiled crookedly. ?Don?t you dare apologize.?

?Why??

?Because this wasn?t your fault,? he touched his lip and winced.

?It was. And then I ran away, leaving you behind,? she whispered thickly.

?It wasn?t your fault,? he repeated slowly.

There was a silence. It was strange. There had never been a silence between them
before.

?Where?s everyone else??

?They wanted to come, but I demanded they get home and clean up before they scared their parents,? Luke closed his eyes. ?Hopefully they?ll make it back before work ends.?

?Why did? why did you come after me??

?Don?t kill yourself over this, okay? We all know what Zach said was absolute crap. Don?t believe him.? He playfully slapped her on the back. ?After all, Mark was right. You?ll always be worth more than him.?

?It?s just??

?Just nothing,? Luke interrupted. ?We?re damn proud to be your friends. So chin up, okay? One day?? he looked her in the eye. ?One day, you?re going to fight him. And you?re going to win.?

Damaris? stomach churned at the thought of fighting Zach alone. ?Really??

?Yes,? Luke grinned. ?And you?re going to kill him, Kensai.?

Damaris finally let a smile crack her face. Luke laughed. ?I knew I could do it! Okay, Damaryne, let?s get you home.?

?Let?s get you home first,? Damaris smiled. ?In case your parents see you before you clean up.?

Luke winced. ?Yeah, that?s probably a better idea.?

Getting unsteadily to her feet, Damaris offered Luke a hand, but he stood up himself. Immediately, he staggered sideways, and Damaris caught him just in time.

?You can lean on me,? Damaris offered.

Luke smiled wryly. ?No, it?s okay.?

Eventually, however, Luke swallowed his pride and leaned heavily on her as they made their way through the streets. Kids playing on front gardens openly stared and pointed as the two limped past slowly. One even ran up to them.

?Hey, are you boyfriend and girlfriend??

Luke and Damaris stared each other, and then began laughing hysterically.
The kid looked at them in puzzlement. When they could finally walk again, however, he was long gone.

?Sometimes I wish I could have kept a tally of how many times we?ve all been asked that,? Luke muttered.

?Why bother counting? We get it at least five times every day.?

For no apparent reason, they started laughing again. It was near sunset when they finally got to Luke?s house.

?Are you okay to get in?? Damaris asked anxiously.

?Yeah,? Luke swayed unsteadily. ?I?m fine. Don?t worry about me. Go.?

?Wait?? Damaris searched her pockets. ?Dad told me to always carry this around? here!?

She produced a tube of cream and handed it to him. His expression was unreadable as he studied the label.

?Thanks.?

?No.? Damaris stared back at him. ?I should thank you.?

Slowly, he nodded.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 04:47 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter III: The Healing

(Hello all. What, no reviews? . Please, I know that many of you have read this before, and it must be very boring for you, but some critical criticism or feedback on the way I've changed things would be nice. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter! )


Considering it was a relaxed suburb, it was easy for Damaris to slip out of her room that night as she always did. Pale as the moon that was scattered midst the clouds, she followed the still radiance that the street lamps provided. All around, she heard the sounds of a neighbourhood at night. A raucous house party some streets away blared music and laughter in the still silence. A gentle piano melody from the old lady, who was always so alone, sung softly along with it. A mother crooned over her two twins. A plethora of sounds and smells and sights wafted together, creating the humming blend of all sounds, and all sights, and all smells of the night.

But midst the grey concrete and the wilting grass of the nature strips, she felt incomplete. She longed for the loamy scent of old forests to creep into her nostrils, and the feel of solid bark caressing her skin as she flitted through majestic branches. And dry leaves, crackling under her touch. Normally in Autumn, the last of her wishes would have been able to be fulfilled, but now it was winter, and the trees were stripped bare. As to her second wish, all of the trees were stunted.
And her first wish was impossible in the busy suburbia. Hectare upon hectare of forests cleared away? leaving houses and schools and shopping centres in their wake. No matter how much she wanted to feel the forests, she knew she could not wish herself back to the past; before mankind had begun to destroy the earth. She?d never known why she felt such a strong pull to the earth. It had always been there, somehow. When things went wrong, she could run down to the river again, and lose herself in its clarity.
There?s that word again, she thought bitterly. Run. It?s what I do, isn?t it?

She brushed the thought aside. She always felt nostalgic here. That was why she loved wandering in the night. As shadows grew deeper and darkness fell, even in the suburbia everything hushed and somehow changed. The occasional party that drunken teenagers flocked to was common, and the heavy metal music penetrated the silence in within a kilometre?s radius, but once the sound died away, there only remained the sounds of love. Of caring. Of gentler music. Of sleep.
Of the night.
She leaned against a tree as she continued to listen to the old lady?s piano, and she imagined the spindly fingers caressing the keys lovingly as she played. The mother still crooned her lullaby, and the two songs, although so different, merged into a beautiful harmony.

?Night has fallen through silvery skies,
Hush, my children, close your tired eyes,
Sleep and dream in the shadow?s embrace,
Bathed in the light from the moon?s pearly face

The stars have come out and midst clouds they swim,
As shadows grow darker and house lights fall dim,
Small pinpricks of hope to guide you to light,
Chasing away all the fears of the night??

Damaris heard, even from this distance, one of the twins coo, and the mother laughed.

?Yes, the stars flicker with unearthly gleam,
For though they are small, they are more than they seem,
Though so slight in the sky, they glitter so bright,
Guiding sailors, adventurers, and travellers alike

So dream, my children, dream, and beware,
Don?t follow the path of the hidden nightmare,
Dream, instead, of the love that I sing,
Dream, instead, of the peace that night brings

Listen, my children, to the music night sighs,
Over and over, until the sunrise,
When light stains the sky with colours aflame,
Shining so brightly it puts gold to shame

So sleep, for night has fallen through silvery skies,
Hush, my children, close your tired eyes,
Sleep and dream in the shadow?s embrace,
Bathed in the light from the moon?s pearly face??


Damaris didn?t know how long she stood there; enraptured in the song. But then she saw a silhouette move in the window, drawing the curtains. The twins were asleep. Damaris softly smiled, and continued on her journey.
For once, she had a destination. Usually, she just wandered the streets aimlessly, as if she was trying to find something. However, tonight, she nervously fingered the tube of cream in her pocket and wondered what to do. She feared the reception she might get from the others. Because they all lived within five kilometres of each other, it was easy for her to visit them. They had done so countless times in the past. But tonight, she worried. It seemed completely ridiculous to visit them in the middle of the night, bearing extra painkiller cream from the medicine cupboard and apologies. In fact, she decided it was completely absurd. She turned to go home, but then something stopped her.
The memory of Luke, half-dead, still trying to comfort her.
She turned back, and continued forwards, a determined spring in her step.


Kathryn?s house was the closest; a mere two streets away. As always, her window was left slightly open for her nocturnal visitors. Damaris felt a flush of hope creep through her, tingling up into her spine. She was welcome.
Edging her fingers underneath and heaving upwards, Damaris was able to crawl through, landing softly on the carpeted floor.

?Kathryn??

Damaris padded over, wondering whether she should wake her deep-sleeping friend or not. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and instead, she pushed the curtains obscuring the window to let the moonlight stream through onto Kathryn?s face.
This time, Damaris was slightly prepared.
The blood had been washed off well, but the swelling and the contusions remained. Kathryn lay curled in a ball, half of her copper hair hiding her face. But through the strands, Damaris could see the purple and black colouring she was so familiar with now. She winced in sympathy as Kathryn rolled over, exposing her swollen cheekbone.
Quietly, Damaris leaned over, brushed a lock of hair away from Kathryn?s face, and produced the cream. Gently, feeling slightly ludicrous at the strangeness of her situation, she rubbed it on as quietly as she could. She couldn?t bring herself to wake her friend now? not in this state.
Bidding Kathryn farewell with a nod, Damaris slid out of the window, rearranged the curtains from outside, and then carefully eased it down. As she crept away from Kathryn?s house, she paused for a moment, debating whether she should visit Luke or not. She?d already given him the cream that afternoon, after all?
The night was short. She decided to anyway, and moved on. Ten houses down from Kathryn?s, she once again repeated the breaking-in process, and soon, she stood in Luke?s room. There was nothing much to do, however, save whisper a prayer of thanks. She knew from experience that both Kathryn and Luke, once they got to sleep, were near impossible to rouse. She smiled through a sudden rush of tears. They both looked so angelic when they slept. As if they hadn?t a care in the world. Normally, Luke went around with a permanently furrowed brow. In sleep, he looked three years younger.
It humbled her, in a way. The image of them sleeping so trustingly, so relaxed. They knew that at any moment, one of their group could climb through the window, and of all nights, they would have known it would be her. After all, when someone was sleeping, they were at their most vulnerable. And the bruises and hurts reminded her of their unwavering loyalty. Tears threatened again, but she shook them off.

Two streets away, Mark snapped his eyes open when she touched his window. Staggering to his feet, he helped her in as quietly as he could, and then the two friends stared at each other in the semi-darkness, the moon shining half on him, half on her.

?Mark??

?Damaris??

Mark chuckled quietly. ?You first.?

?No, you first,? she insisted.

?Very well. Are you okay??

Damaris stared at him. ?Am I okay? Of course I?m okay! I ran away like the coward I was, so??

?Damaris, you?re too predictable,? Mark sighed, grinning his ever-present, trademark grin. ?I knew you were going to come tonight to apologize, no matter what Luke said. Cheer up, okay? It?s not like we were hurt...?

Damaris looked at him. ?Well that?s got to be the understatement of the century. Mark, you?ve managed to get yourself two black eyes, and a broken lip. What did you end up saying to them to make them so angry??

?You didn?t let me finish. It?s not like we were hurt that badly. And what did I say? I compared Zach and his group to a clan of Neanderthals. I would have thought that that was a compliment, given their situation. Neanderthals were rumoured to be quite intelligent??

?You knew they would take that the wrong way, didn?t you??

?Of course,? he laughed. ?Otherwise I wouldn?t have dreamt of giving them such praise.?

?What else did you say?? she tried hard not to smile.

?Oh? a few things,? he waved his hands around vaguely. ?Comparing the others to sheep? Ian to a dog? Zach to a beached whale? After that one, I even started using some of Shakespeare?s insults on him. You know? ?You Prince of Wales!? ?You bull?s bollocks!? That kind of thing??

Damaris gave up, and started laughing. ? ?You Prince of Wales? ? How did he take that??

Mark laughed with her. ?He stopped punching me long enough to stare at me incredulously... and then he started punching me again.?

?Oh Mark, I?m so sor??

?Don?t you dare say that word,? he pointed at her imperiously, his smile ruining the look. ?I forbid you.?

?Okay, fine, I won?t.?

Mark looked at her curiously. ?By the way, why are you here? Besides the apologies, of course??

?Uh? um? oh yes. I brought this cream for you. It?s supposed to ease swelling and alleviate pain.?

?Are you telling me you?re going around at,? he checked his watch, ?Eleven o?clock at night, saying the ?S? word and playing Florence Nightingale??

?Well?? she squirmed slightly. ?When you put it that way? I guess? kind of??

He laughed again; that infectious, dancing laugh of his. ?Very well then, Damaris. I guess we all have to do something crazy for no particular reason sometimes.?

She handed over the cream, and he proceeded to slowly smooth it over his various wounds, grimacing as he went, but still talking. ?You know, we were lucky they didn?t fight dirty like last time.?

?Don?t they always fight dirty??

?Well, at least they didn?t try to gouge out any eyes,? he noted sardonically.

Damaris winced. ?That was horrible.?

?I know,? Mark agreed. ?But the good thing about it was that it generally left them wide open while they were busy trying to blind us.?

?They?re good fighters, though,? Damaris exhaled sadly.

?Good fighters?? Mark demanded unbelievingly. ?If they were good fighters, we?d be dead!? His voice turned slightly bitter. ?After all, they?re always too chicken to fight us with even numbers. That?s the only reason they manage to beat the crap out of us. We gave them almost as good as we got, though,? an almost animalistic grin spread over his face. ?Zach?s probably awake now, but he won?t be gloating. He?ll be nursing his chin and his cheek and his head? I got a nice one in there, and Kathryn did too. Peter must have killed half of them before they got him down. He actually knocked Zach out! As for Damon?? Mark began chuckling. ?I?ve got to say, the tall guy outdid himself. He laid waste to at least two of them.?

?I?m not surprised. You guys aren?t too bad at fighting yourselves.?

?I want to be better,? Mark clenched his fists. ?I want to be able to??

?What did your parents say?? Damaris queried, quickly changing the subject. She explored his face with her eyes, checking worriedly that he really was okay.

?They took it quite well,? Mark answered evasively.

Damaris just quietly let the silence fill the room.

Mark made a face. ?Okay, fine. They asked me who had done it and why I was fighting.?

?Anything else??

He pulled an even more comical face this time. ?They know me too well. They asked me what I?d said to start it off.?

Damaris started laughing again.

?And then, like little brothers are apt to do, Roy asked me to describe every single detail of the fight.?

?And you embellished it, didn?t you, Myrannor??

Mark smiled at her deliberate reference. ?I told him everything. Eye-gouging notwithstanding, they still pulled some other crooked moves on us.?

?Such as??

His grin should have warned her. ?Trying to sterilize us.?

?What do you mean? Oh??

Mark laughed wickedly as Damaris blushed bright red.


When she inched Damon?s window open, she was pleasantly surprised. Two tired, bruised faces greeted her instead of one.

?Couldn?t sleep,? Peter explained gruffly, looking down.

?Damaris? what are you doing here?? Damon asked, almost in unison with Peter.

?I came to say sorry? and give you two some cream for your bruises. It?s a mild painkiller and it takes down swelling,? she stuttered, holding the tube out.

A soft smile broke over Peter?s hard face. Damaris captured the memory and tucked it away in her mind. It was rare that Peter smiled so. Rare that he let down the tough façade he had carefully fabricated for himself. ?You don?t have to say sorry, Damaris.?

?Yes I do,? she returned. ?All the others have said the same thing, but I know I do. I got you into the fight, and then I ran away. I? ran away??

His eyes flashed angrily at that. ?They insulted all of us, Damaris. You don?t have to take the blame for all of this. Zach should. Zach, and bloody Zach alone.?

?It wasn?t your fault that Zach?s hand ?slipped? and pushed you into the mud,? Damon added. ?And it doesn?t matter that you don?t like violence. I?ll admit I don?t like it too much myself.?

?But you at least have the guts to stay and fight,? she looked down at her trembling hands, one still holding the cream. ?And you all stood up for me,? she studied their faces. ?You all stood up for me. Why??

Peter stared at her disbelievingly. ?You?re crazy, man. Why shouldn?t we stand up for you? You?re our friend.?

?You?re our friend,? Damon echoed. ?No matter what any one says, or what any one does, you?re our friend.?

She smiled crookedly. ?Thanks? but??

?No buts,? Peter cut her off. ?Now? you can give Damon the cream, you know.?

They laughed at that, and Damon accepted the medicine, studying the labels carefully.

?You know, I?ve always wondered about the Baldur?s Gate healing system,? he reflected aloud. ?How great would it be to devise a potion you could drink that could heal your wounds? How great would it be if you really could cast a spell that cured people entirely of diseases and everything? I would love to make something like that. So many people suffer every day? I?ve forgotten what the statistic was, but it?s something like ?every second, around the world, four people die?. That?s so sobering, really??

Peter sighed. ?Oh please, Damon. Don?t launch into another lecture about medicine.?

?Don?t tell me you don?t wonder?? Damon insisted. ?What would happen??

Peter?s eyebrow quirked. ?Yeah, the companies would twist it and sell it for prices none of those who really needed it could afford.?

Damon grimaced. ?I know. But if I was running it??

?You?d get swallowed up by the backstabbers and two-faced, cutthroat businessman,? Peter interrupted, a sardonic smile playing across his face. ?Come on, we all know you?re too nice.?

?Hey, I object to that.?

They laughed again, and then quieted. The two boys shared the tube between them, wincing as they ran fingers over bruised skin.

?Mark told me that you guys half-killed them.?

?Did he? Exaggerating, as usual??

?Oh, I wouldn?t say that,? Peter smiled coldly. ?You certainly used your height to your advantage. And I put Zach out of action. Together, we probably knocked three of them out.?

?Knocked out cold?? Damaris gasped involuntarily.

The icy smile stayed on his lips. ?Yep. And it was extraordinarily satisfying, as well. Unfortunately, they only stayed unconscious for a few seconds and then thrashed us.?

Damon looked long and hard into his friend?s eyes. ?Do you really? do you really get pleasure from doing that??

?Do you have a problem with that??

?I don?t have a problem,? Damon replied, but still with an odd intensity. ?It?s just? that? why do you get so much pleasure in causing them pain??

?They cause me pain, I cause them pain,? Peter shrugged. ?It balances out.?

The silence hung around them, until Damon broke it by looking concernedly at the time. ?Um? Damaris? It?s not like I?m ordering you to go, or anything, but shouldn?t you go back home? It?s late? and you look tired.?

?Well, if you?re not going to order her to go back home, I will,? Peter smiled dryly. ?It?s late? way past your bedtime, little girl.?

?Yes sir,? she laughed at his teasing.

They nodded. ?See you at school tomorrow.?

?Okay.?

She left them, somehow feeling lighter and happier than she had for the past year.

***
When she finally arrived home, it was near midnight. Like always, she?d meandered through the streets, taking the longest route. Sometimes she paused, just to revel in the peace. The house party still raged, but she quickly walked out of its range. Personally, she didn?t like heavy metal. And it seemed completely out of sync with the rest of the night.
Stifling a yawn, she climbed through her own window this time, clicked on the light, and viewed the room with sleepy amusement. Like always, it was a complete mess. She wasn?t as bad as Mark and Kathryn, though. At least she didn?t leave clothes strewn all over the floor and papers everywhere. She kept the clothes shoved firmly in her closet, and the papers in piles. Still, the whole room looked as if a bomb had exploded in the center, driving all of her junk to the sides. Tiredly, she changed into the long shirt she used as a nightie, and collapsed on her bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Despite her exhaustion, Damaris couldn?t get to sleep. She knew it would probably take her about an hour to finally close her eyes, so she thought of other things to fill the time. Damon, Kathryn, Luke, Peter, Mark, Zach?
She shuddered. Tonight of all nights, she didn?t want to think of Zach.

Trying to think about more pleasant things, she was startled to find herself visualizing the Multiplayer game. Time and time again, they?d fought Irenicus, but never succeeded. Damon and Peter were probably right. They needed to get more experience? their most powerful weapon when they fought was Mark?s Quivering Palm, and that was slightly disturbing. After that, they?d managed to secure two meagrely enchanted katanas for her. The rest of them fought with only +1 or, more rarely, +2 weapons. It was no wonder Irenicus and his allies kept on massacring them. And they were so low-level as well?
With a jolt, her thoughts went back to Zach. He and his allies kept massacring them as well?
Somehow, midst all of her jumbled thoughts, she managed to fall asleep.


There was nothing. There was only a void, where chaos swirled in a never-ending Danse Macabre. Figures formed, and then washed away as shapes of grinning skulls, skeletons, bone, blood, blades, darkness, cloaked shadows and more appeared in a haze of dust and then vanished under an assault of new images. A song seemed to weave in and out of this dimension, echoing softly, and then it would crescendo to a roar, blocking out all other sound. Yet still, no words could be heard. They blurred into one another, ever flowing, like a river determined to rush headlong into the sea. Even when it was a whisper, the words all blended, forming a single string of incomprehensible beauty. Beauty in this place of eternal madness. It seemed so strange, so? different. Yet the song and the setting seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, seamlessly intertwining into a single thread, which meandered its way through the tapestry of existence.
Why was she here?
The dream faded.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 04:50 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter IV: Teacher?s Pet

[Hello all. What can I say besides the next installment up? Don't worry, after this it gets a *lot* more centered on BG, as readers of the old one will know. However, I promise this time it'll be different.
Okay, enjoy, all! ]


Damaris woke, her head swirling. She could feel the fatigue, heavy in her bones, weighing down her every move. Still, she managed to manoeuvre her way out of her bed and into her damp school dress, thinking hard. The dream had unsettled her more than she cared to admit, and even now, the image of the grinning skull refused to leave her.

I?ve heard that what you do during the day sometimes influences your dreams, she mused. I wonder?

She threw open the curtains, wincing as the sunlight hit her sensitive eyes. Slowly, she packed her schoolbag, flinging in her books absentmindedly. As she opened the door of her room, however, she was confronted.

?Mother?? Damaris wiped the sleep from her eyes. ?What?s wrong??

?Damaris??

Ingrid was a small woman, not too much shorter than Damaris. Their black hair was the same however, and their features amazingly similar. Their eyes were the only striking difference between them, Ingrid?s being a deep, cobalt blue, and Damaris? amber. Damaris merely had to look at her mother to know how she would age. And just like Ingrid, Damaris was often at a loss for words. Many commented on how impossibly alike they were. Sometimes, however, for all their similarities, Damaris felt eons apart. Actually, scrap that. She always felt like they were eons apart. As if a gulf separated mother and daughter, but Damaris was the only one who could see it. And all she could do was waver on the edge, her voice a pitiful cry as the other walked away.

She shook her head quickly in an attempt to dispel those thoughts. ?What?s wrong, Mother??

?Damaris?? Ingrid looked her up and down. ?Have you been fighting??

?No, but??

?Damaris, Georgia called this morning. And then Christie. And then Fiona. And then Serina. And then Nikki. They?ve all been calling each other incessantly. In fact, we?re going to have morning tea together this morning.?

?Have fun, Mum,? Damaris nodded guardedly.

?Damaris! You?ve been spending too much time with Mark.?

?What do you mean?? Damaris asked, genuinely bewildered.

?The smart comments,? Ingrid sighed.

?That wasn?t smart,? Damaris objected, but her protest fell on deaf ears.

Ingrid changed tactics and cut straight to the point, as she always did when her business face melted over. ?We?re worried, Damaris. We?re worried. You?ll get yourselves into a fight, and then when all the bruises finally go away, you?ll get into another fight. I?m just glad you haven?t been hurt yet.?

Damaris averted her glance, a bitter smile crossing her face. ?I?m not hurt because I run away.?

Ingrid didn?t notice her daughter?s harsh tone. ?That?s probably cleverer than staying behind? And you never tell us! None of you ever tell us who hurts you! We should be able to go to the Principal, or at least do something??

You can?t do anything, Mum. None of you can.

With a great effort, Damaris controlled herself. ?So what did you want to say, Mother??

A small tear leaked out of the corner of Ingrid?s right eye as she enfolded her startled daughter in a hug. ?Oh, just be careful, Damaris. I don?t want you getting hurt. I don?t want you getting in any situations where you?re going to get hurt.?

Well then, Mum, I hope you never know what we have to go through every day. I hope you never know?

Ingrid wiped the tear away and ended the embrace abruptly, as if wondering what she had done. She looked at the small pearl drop on her index and stared at the foreign matter.

?Well, you?d best be off to school now,? she tried a bright smile. ?Sorry for that??

?It?s okay, Mum,? Damaris assumed a false grin of her own.

It was always okay. Wasn?t it?

She shivered as she walked away.

But what happens when the façade slips, and all of a sudden, everyone sees that it?s not?

***
?Hey Damaris,? Kathryn grinned crookedly when she walked through the school gates. Carefully, she touched her cheekbone, winced, and smiled again. ?Thanks for leaving your calling card.?

?How did you know?? Damaris asked, puzzled. ?I didn?t wake you up, did I??

?It just feels a lot better,? Kathryn laughed. ?Besides, Mark filled me in on your nocturnal activities last night.?

?Hey,? Mark waved from where he and Luke appeared to be deep in conversation. ?Come on??

They walked over, discussing battle tactics until Damon and Peter arrived, just as the bell rung.

?We?ve got Science now, right?? Peter queried.

?After rollcall,? Luke reminded him.

?Yeah, yeah,? Damon sighed.

They filed in to the hall, or, in Luke?s case, limped. Silently, heads down, they took their places, but when Damaris heard Peter?s knuckles crack, she instantly looked up.

So Mark wasn?t exaggerating?

Zach and his cronies certainly looked the worse for wear. Bruises liberally streaked their skin, but as they met her glance, ugly sneers crossed over their faces. Immediately, she looked down, her face burning. She heard the mocking laughter, and was about to slip into a bout of self-pity again, when Kathryn nudged her knowingly.

?Don?t even think about it,? she warned.

?Okay,? Damaris half-smiled back. Then she settled back for ten minutes as the roll was called, and they were filled in on the day?s news. Usually, they listened with only half an ear to the principal?s droning as he made announcements. In fact, today, they did. Unfortunately, or fortunately; Damaris couldn?t decide, the half an ear provided them with their names. Instantaneously, they snapped awake.

?? Zach Jones, Peter Lang, Damon Bryce, Luke Naylor, Kathryn Miralla, Damaris Smith, and Mark Kennedy? I?ll see you at ten o?clock sharp in my office.? The principal paused, and then resumed his speech. ?That?s all, folks,? he attempted to crack a joke and failed. ?Have a good day, and remember that here, ?Learning is fun!? ?

Today, they were too shocked to groan at the school?s incredibly stupid motto. Instead, they sat in their seats absorbing the news? and then got out of the hall as quickly as they could to find Zach. Understandably, it was not a task they relished.


?What the hell did you tell him?? Peter hissed when they cornered Zach by the lockers. He reached to grab Zach?s cuff, but with a broad grin, his target merely clicked his fingers and his entourage dodged from around the corner.

?Careful, Peter,? Zach smiled softly. Suddenly, he reminded Damaris of a hyena. A smiling, cackling carrion hunter. A hyena that only hunted those who were weaker? and her stomach clenched. ?You wouldn?t be wanting to participate in a re-enactment of yesterday, would you??

?I would, but I can?t speak for the others,? Peter snarled. ?Anything to feel the pleasure of knocking you unconscious again.?

?So does that re-enactment include Damaris running away?? he asked liquidly.

The silence was broken only by Kathryn as she surveyed Zach?s coterie. ?You guys are pathetic,? she addressed them derisively. ?He clicks his fingers and you come to him? What are you, dogs??

?Hono Sapiens, actually,? Ian corrected her.

?You remember what Mr. Reagan taught us yesterday?? Mark gasped melodramatically. ?No! It cannot be! Armageddon is..!?

?Or rather, you misremember?? Damon snorted, cutting off Mark?s theatricalities. ?It?s Homo Sapiens, idiot. And you?d better get your Frontal Lobes checked to see where your memory?s gone, if you had any in the first place.?

?Careful??

?And you even use the same words as your master,? Luke joined in the jeering. ?When did he brainwash you??

?They didn?t have any brains to begin with!? Mark laughed.

Ian stepped threateningly towards Mark, thrusting his face forwards until their noses almost met.

?Shut? up?? he clearly enunciated.

Mark wrinkled his nose. ?Your breath stinks.?

Ian was about to carry out Zach?s threat and start the re-enactment of yesterday?s fight when a tall shadow fell on him.

?Do you want to reschedule your meeting with me now instead of later?? the Principal asked mildly. A shadow of sudden doubt flitted across his face. ?Especially you, Ian.?

Zach?s face lost its smirk. ?Whatever suits you, Mr. Young,? he smiled sweetly.

The Principle studied each face in turn, and the shadow of doubt flickered across his face again as he took in Damaris? scared features, Peter?s hatred, Damon?s weariness, Luke?s determination, Kathryn?s protectiveness, and even Mark?s resignation. Most of all, he was hit with the smug grins that decorated the face of Zach and his group.
He nodded slowly. ?10 o?clock it is. Now go to class.?

They stayed frozen in that same position for a few seconds.

?Was there anything about ?now? that you lot didn?t understand??

?No sir,? they chorused in unison, and then split up.


Peter was predictably fuming when the entered Science ten minutes later, their books precariously perched on top of one another.

?Damn that slippery, arrogant??

?Obsequious, stuck-up?? Mark added.

?Cowardly, gutless??

?You know, reeling off a list of Zach?s failings is going to take all day,? Luke notified them dryly. ?I suggest??

?Your suggestions are always too peaceful for me,? Peter overrode him as he dumped his books down on his desk. Its leg cracked warningly. He gave it a murderous glance, and then sat down.

?You?re always too violent,? Kathryn returned. ?You can?t solve all of your problems with a fight.?

?Do you want to bet on that??

?Yes, actually, I do,? Mark grinned. ?Since when did violence solve your algebra??

Peter looked at him coolly. ?Not funny.?

They all promptly shut up when the Science teacher entered, and the raucous talking from all of the students died down.

?I?ve got a headache today, Year 9,? Mr. Reagan announced without warning, looking at all of them as if they were to blame. ?I will not tolerate anyone talking out of turn. Now, open your books to page 96??

The whole classroom rustled as thirty-five pages simultaneously turned. Damaris kept her head down.

?Damaris? are you okay?? Kathryn whispered.

?I?m? fine??

?It?s what that bastard said before, isn?t it? That?s what?s bothering you. Now listen here, don?t listen to??

?Who?s talking?!?

They continued on silently with their work, until, two minutes before the bell, Damaris suddenly heard Damon curse sharply under his breath. Almost in tandem, Peter leapt up and hurled himself across the room, leaving a thin path of blood droplets as he went. Damon and Luke lunged after him and pulled him back. It eventually took all of them to restrain him. Unfortunately, none of them thought to cover his mouth.

?Damn you, you..!?

Luke hastily utilized his handkerchief, effectively reducing all of Peter?s invective to a muted, incomprehensible stream of syllables.

?What is this?!? Mr. Reagan thundered, springing to his feet. ?What happened??

Damon turned to meet the approaching, extraordinarily angry teacher with his tightly controlled gaze, fire still blazing in cerulean depths. ?Zach threw a stone at Peter. It hit him on the forehead.?

?Zach couldn?t have thrown the stone,? Mr. Reagan looked from the innocently smiling scoundrel to the group still trying to hold the straining Peter, and then back to Zach. ?He wouldn?t have been able to throw it from that angle.?

?Then it was Ian,? Damaris said quietly.

?Ian?s sitting next to Zach.?

Luke?s eyes flamed. ?For Christ?s sake! Then it was Jordan!?

Mr. Reagan froze. Slowly, he turned to Luke.

?Detention.?

Luke?s jaw dropped. ?What did I do?!?

Mr. Reagan?s icy glare silenced him. Slowly, his eyes flicked to each of their faces.

?All of you. You?re staying in at recess to answer a few questions.?

?But?? Damaris tried.

?No buts.?

?We??

?This is non-negotiable.?

?The Principal!? Kathryn finally managed to get a word in edgewise.

?What about him??

?We have to meet with him at 10 o?clock!? they explained.

?I?m sure he?ll understand. I?ll let you go at ten past??

The bell rung, and twenty-one chairs scraped backwards. As the others exited, Damaris got one flash of Zach?s smug grin, and then they were left alone in the classroom with the Science teacher. Peter instantaneously wrenched himself free as they slackened their grips, and spat Luke?s handkerchief out onto his hand.

?Don?t tell me that was a used one,? he muttered.

?It wasn?t??

?Silence,? Mr. Reagan ordered.

When they quieted, he frowned at them with unsmiling eyes. ?Now, we can finally talk in peace. How did my six best students acquire all of these? injuries??

Luke exhaled. ?You mean..??

Mr. Reagan laughed; a short, barking laugh that rasped from his throat like he?d forgotten how to use it. ?I?m not that harsh. I just need to talk with you. I want to hear your side of the story.?

?Our side of the story? Do you mean???

?Mr. Young sat us all down in the staffroom to tell us,? the Science teacher answered dryly. ?Or, rather, he got Zach to tell us. Why do you think I?ve got this headache??

He waited as they tentatively laughed, and then continued. ?I?m the only one that doesn?t believe Zach?s story. Now you?d better give me some hard evidence to back my hunch up.?

Everyone looked at Damaris. Damaris turned to Kathryn. Kathryn flicked her eyes towards Mark. They all looked at Damon. Damon sighed irritably and pointedly stared at Luke. Luke looked at Peter. Peter raised his eyebrow, and then deliberately wiped away the blood on his forehead.

?Why is it always me?? Luke complained.

?Because you?re our wise leader, oh mighty Bhaalspawn,? Mark grinned. ?Now are you going to tell him or not??

Quickly, Luke recounted every single detail of yesterday?s fight, and briefly touched upon the seven other major skirmishes they?d had with Zach and his group over the past year. When he ended, Mr. Reagan nodded thoughtfully.

?Unsurprisingly, that doesn?t correlate to Zach?s tale. He said that you lot were always picking on him. He said that yesterday, you and you,? he pointed at Damon and Peter, ?threw him into the mud.?

?I think I can prove it was me who got thrown in the mud,? Damaris offered timidly. ?I couldn?t get all of it out.?

She turned around slowly, and they saw the faint brown stain that still clung to the heavy material like a disease.

?Well? since you were supposedly, according to Zach, fighting and clawed Zach?s cheek, you could have gotten mud on you accidentally?? Mr. Reagan said dubiously.

?What?! I made those scratches!? Kathryn cried, insulted that her credit had been taken away.

?My nails aren?t long enough,? Damaris surveyed her bitten-off fingernails. ?And I? ran away. That?s why I?m not injured.?

?You?ve convinced me,? Mr. Reagan decided shortly. ?I think I will talk to the Principal? you lot go off to recess.?

?But we have to meet with??

?He was only going to threaten you with expulsion,? Mr. Reagan shrugged. ?I think it would be better if you let me handle this.?

Damon studied Mr. Reagan suspiciously. ?Thank-you? but why are you doing this for us??

In reply, Mr. Reagan pushed his fringe away to reveal a long scar on his forehead. Then he walked away.


?Why did you hold me back?? Peter demanded once they reached the relative privacy of their lockers. ?I could have killed that? that??

?That would have landed you in juvenile detention and put all of us into a lot of trouble,? Damon glared at him exasperatedly. ?Damn it, could you learn to keep your temper under control??

?Read the anger management book I gave you for your birthday,? Mark advised, a smile dancing around his eyes.

Peter ignored him. ?I had every right to want to kill him at that moment.?

?Yes, every right to want to kill him. That doesn?t mean you actually try to do it!?

Peter locked gazes with Damon. Damon won.

?Fine,? Peter exhaled. ?Let?s play Brandy. I think I need to burn off some anger.?

?Just try not taking our heads off in the process,? Luke told him seriously.

Damon produced the tennis ball, lobbed it at Damaris, and they all scattered. Mark skipped aside neatly when Damaris attempted to hit him. As she ran to pick up the ball, however, Peter fled past her, slowly enough to be an enticing target. Quickly, she straightened up, spun around, and threw it at him. The green missile contacted with a loud thud.

?Thanks, Damaris!? Peter grinned, and then ran after Damon.

?Oh no,? Kathryn groaned. ?You?ve started off the vendetta again.?

?I think Peter needs to be angry anyway, just like he said,? Damaris explained.

?True enough. Let?s just make sure he doesn?t kill Damon while he?s at it.?

***

Kathryn needn?t have worried. Damon laughed delightedly as he dodged at the last moment once again, and Peter swore and ran to collect the ball.

?Come on, Peter!? Damon chuckled. ?That?s twice times you?ve missed? oomph??

?Third time lucky!? Peter yelled back as he raced away.

?Don?t say that too soon?? Damon scooped up the ball and ran after him. He skidded to a stop fifteen meters from his target, and then hurled it with amazing accuracy.

?Thwack!!?

?Hey, where?d it go??

The six of them stared stupidly at each other, and then started laughing.

?You must have thrown it so hard it broke the speed of light and turned time back,? Kathryn teased.

?No, even better,? Mark grinned. ?It disintegrated under the air pressure.?

?I can beat you all,? Luke almost doubled over with mirth. ?You threw it into another dimension!?

Out of the blue, the ball came from nowhere and hit Peter right in the head. He sprawled on the ground. ?What the??!?

Suddenly, everything faded to black.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 04:52 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter V: Awakenings

(Finally got around to Chapter V. . Hope you enjoy, people, because it's from here that I started veering wildly off track with the last one.
P.S. By the way, I'm going to be away for a week or so on camp, so I might be a little late in posting the next chapter. But for now, enjoy. )


?Ah, the Child of Bhaal has awoken. It is time for more? experiments.?

Pain. Pain exploded as the spell reached within her and ripped open shreds of her spirit. A single flash of fire blinded her eyes as it entered her, and then the agony hit. A multitude of colours seemed to smear themselves across her vision, each one blurring into the next as she struggled to keep conscious as her throat tore out scream after scream. It was a failing battle. All of the colours slowly merged into black?

?The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process??

Passing? She writhed in the throes of an epileptic fit as something grasped her mind and laid it open for her captor to see. She struggled to hold out against the invading force, clutching at her head in agony.
No! No? you cannot have me, dammit! No?
The world faded once more?

?Interesting, you have much untapped power??

A scream that echoed in her ears with throbbing frequency. The force tore inside her like a knife, shredding her flesh and mind to pieces. A sudden quick flash of foresight showed her the gibbering insanity she would suffer if she gave in. She only had time to visualize blankness to combat the mental scalpel before passing out again?

?Do you even realize your potential??

Stretched out on stone, she felt the blackness press in all around her, offering to engulf her once more in that void where there was no pain and no feeling. Yet some survival instinct told her to cling on. Her entire body ached, but she didn?t dare open her eyes again. Cold, ruthless orbs perused her intently. She could feel the gaze burning into her skin, through each and every layer of physical, mental, and spiritual being, as if those eyes were daggers. Daggers, making their smooth incisions through her flesh to lay open the secrets within. The very thought triggered the dizziness that she?d existed through for the past few? days? Months? Years? The torture spanned each second, elongating it into hours of pain that she could not cope with. Utterly exhausted, she had no idea how much time had passed when she heard the deep, gravely tones of?
She wasn?t sure what.

?More intruders have entered the complex, master.?

?They act sooner than anticipated? no matter, they shall only prove a slight delay??

Time and space merged into a senseless continuum with a single chant, and she felt in her mind the planes open for a brief second, and then the master disappeared to his destination. She opened her eyes, but the very light in the hostile dungeon seemed to attack her. She twitched involuntarily, and then just lay there as if she were already dead. She?d only been granted this reprieve? what? Once? Twice? Three times? She intended to savour it. Fires wracking her body with every single heartbeat, she breathed the air of a desperate captive. But thoughts of escape had been dashed long ago; ripped into unrecognizable tatters by the same scintillating torture that had broken down her willpower. She had been strong, once. So, so strong? but now?
Or? had she? Two memories clashed in her mind. For a split second, she remembered running away, but from what, she had no idea. She ached. She stopped thinking. It was better to simply exist until her captor came back to finish the job he?d drawn out for so long. But? yet? she wasn?t sure what it was.

Footsteps. Yes, that was it. She heard footsteps. A mental scream sounded inside her mind as a last vestige of sanity fought to make itself heard. But it was not her captor. She felt the life force of something move closer to her, almost close enough to touch, and then suddenly felt the horrendous wrench of death magic.
Her senses had been right. Whoever it was had been so close its dying shriek resounded on and on in her ears. A small wail rose in her parched throat, but it was forced back by the dryness and a sudden stubbornness in her. She wouldn?t give in. The five minutes she?d spent without being unconscious or tortured had already begun to heal her seriously injured strength. Her willpower. The instinct to survive that lay in the foundations of every mortal? but was amplified tenfold in her.

Why..?

Footsteps. Again. Lighter, this time. Fearful. A life force that was incredibly powerful? and incredibly familiar?

And with that, something seemed to implode from within her. With a gasp, she felt another life force wrench through the fabric of time and space itself to fall, gasping into her body. And as the two minds met, they spasmed simultaneously. Thousands of years of knowledge laid back and revealed from a single moment of joining their collective unconscious and tracing their lineage in a matter of seconds back to the beginning, and unloading upon them a dizzying grasp of correlating history that made their combined minds reel.

Responding to the sound of two dual voices.

?Wake up, you! Wake up! Come on! We have to get out of here!?

Friend? or? foe..? The words seemed to jolt her mind into sluggish production once again. With enormous determination, she opened her eyes, and dragged her physical shell upright, leaning on the bars of the prison that caged her. Dimly, her blurry eyes made out an outline of a young woman?
An extraordinarily familiar?
She rubbed her eyes, and everything snapped belatedly into focus.

?Who? who are you??

?Who am I? He messed with your head too, huh? I?m Imoen. We lived in??
All of a sudden, the young woman stopped abruptly, and she took the time to clear the last cobwebs she could out of her mind, and was able to finally study her. She had dull and lifeless emerald eyes, but there still remained the tiniest flicker of exuberance hidden away between the deadness. It was almost microscopic. She surprised that, with her still unfocused eyesight, she could see it. But it was there. And it brought back a sudden memory from the back of her mind.

?Are you???

A flash of something ignited in those eyes, and then died away. ?Sahara? What?? She clasped her head in her hands, groaning. ?No? all I remember is us getting jumped near Baldur?s Gate. It was quick??

The shadows had fallen, and foolishly, Sahara had decided to press on. The unnatural darkness of the woods had made her want to get out of there as quickly as possible, for a very good reason. It was only gut instinct that had warned her? a second too late. Figures had dropped from the branches, overpowering them with their numbers. Khalid and Jaheira had been swarmed under. Minsc and Dynaheir had almost gotten free, but had been forced back. Imoen and Sahara, standing back to back, had been the only ones conscious when the blackness engulfed them with one word.
One single word, spoken from one harsh voice. A voice that would haunt Sahara in the days to come.


?I? I? Sahara, I don?t remember? but Sahara, we have to get out of here! He?s been doing things? to us? it?s like my bones have made a little dagger inside of me that just won?t go away. Please? we need to get out of here! So are you coming??

?Of course. We?ll get out of here and then figure out what?s going on.?

She imagined the sound of the hinges slowly creaking as the door opened... it was the best sound she?d imagined in? days? months? years?. she smiled crookedly at the thought.

?How long have we been in this hellhole??

?I have no idea...? Imoen looked lost. ?But? Sahara, we have to get out of here. I? I just hurt.?

?We?ll get out of here as soon as you open my door,? she said with a faint smile. It was all she could manage at the moment. Even the half-hearted curve of her lip seemed to ignite a series of explosions in her head. Angrily, she shook herself, and felt the other life-force? cringe? She wasn?t used to being weak. Not this weak, at least.
Or had she?
Memories blurred, and she shook herself again to clear the blurs. ?Okay, Imoen, can you get me out of here??

?Sure thing?? Imoen drew out a thin lockpick, quickly inserting it, making minute moves until an audible click signalled her success. The door?s hinges creaked slowly open, and she stumbled out, nearly crashing into Imoen in her haste to escape the smooth steel bars that had caged her for the Gods knew how long.

?Thanks, Imoen,? she gasped, leaning on the outside of her cage. The thought seemed strange to her? true comprehension only dawned two seconds later.

?By the Gods? we have a chance now,? she whispered reverently.

Imoen smiled weakly. ?I know. So? what do we do now??

She felt the other panicking, and brutally pushed her back, though not unkindly. She had no time for her at the moment. Sahara took control.
She scanned their surroundings, noting the open door that she supposed Imoen had come through. To the far side, however, in the shadows, she saw two figures that looked extraordinarily familiar.

?Minsc! Jaheira!?

Remembered strength ran through her body as the adrenaline was released from that unknown place in her anatomy. Imoen struggled to keep up as Sahara near hurtled through the air towards Minsc?s cage, her aches, pains, and torture forgotten until she landed with a rather ungainly thump.

?Ouch,? Imoen winced in sympathy.

Sahara didn?t have time. ?Minsc! Minsc! It?s us??

The rest of her sentence was drowned out by the enraged roar that emanated from the depths of the cage.

?Aaahhh! Minsc and Boo will be free! These bonds will not hold our wrath! Butts will be liberally kicked in good measure!?

?Minsc?? Sahara struggled to her feet, and then looked at the caged ranger. ?Your warrior spirit must find these bonds unbearable??

Hang on a sec, I can?t believe this. I sound so? wait? I know. Strength? Minsc?s berserker strength!

?Minsc, hurry up and stop being ridiculous. I?ll leave you here if you don?t.?

Imoen looked at the suddenly unsure Sahara. ?Sahara! What are you???

?Shut up, Imoen,? she hissed back. ?Please! I know what I?m doing!?

The sarcastic look Imoen shot back at her almost made her wince.

?Well Minsc? You? you?re unworthy of our group. We?re leaving without you!?

?What?? Minsc looked in disbelief at her.

Think quick?

?We?re leaving without you, Minsc,? Sahara said coldly. ?We don?t have time to get you out of there.?

?You? you? you turn your back on those in need? You are no worse than those who killed Dynaheir! I will make sure you won?t live to betray more friends! I will? I will do all of this as soon as I get out of this cage! RAAARAGH!!!?

Sahara stepped back, definitely worried about her course of action now as the enraged berserker ranger began frothing at the mouth and slowly turned more and more crimson. Then, with a sickening shriek of torn metal, he ripped apart the door as if it were merely paper.

Where are the Boots of Speed when you need them?!

?Hah!? Minsc roared. ?Minsc and Boo are free!! Now you will? now? no??

The frothing stopped, and slowly, the ranger returned to a more normal colour. Sahara and Imoen looked at each other and collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

?Oooh? ohhh? you are a smart one! I understand now! You said what you did just to make me mad! Mad enough to break free! Ooohh? you are as smart as Boo sometimes!?

?Uhh? thanks for the compliment, Minsc.?

?Well, are we joining together once more? We can wipe the??

?Yes, yeah? that?d be great if you could join us, Minsc,? Sahara hastily interrupted. ?So? uh? yeah.?

Imoen rolled her eyes. ?Yes, oh eloquent, grand leader.?

Sahara shot her a dirty look, and Imoen giggled.


?We must get out of here quickly! I swear? travelling with you is never dull.?

?Jaheira?? Sahara rubbed her eyes, and then looked again. ?Oh? yeah? I remember the hairdresser??

Jaheira glared at her. ?Now is not the time to discuss such frivolities, child. Yes, I do regret changing the colour of my hair and having it made into cornrows. And no, child, now is not the time to discuss them!?

?Nah, don?t worry, Jaheira,? Imoen grinned. ?They look great.?

Jaheira snorted.

Sahara examined the lock critically. ?Imoen, could you pick this?? she asked, all business now. Imoen and Jaheira shared a knowing look. Sahara had slipped fully into leader mode.

Imoen gently pushed Sahara aside and studied it herself. ?No? I think there?s a key around here somewhere. There must be? somewhere close, at least.?

?Okay, we?ll be right back, Jaheira,? Sahara assured her. ?We?ll just go to find that key.?

Jaheira?s answer was lost as they began to tentatively explore their surroundings. The row of empty cages made Sahara shudder as they slowly moved to the open door Imoen had come through.

?I think there?s a pile of stuff in there,? Imoen muttered quietly. ?It?s not ours? most of our stuff has probably been sold. But at least it?s stuff??

?Heh, you always liked to describe everything as ?stuff?, didn?t you?? Sahara chuckled.

?Not always?? Imoen?s protest faded away as they were suddenly confronted by what seemed to be a huge hulk of? stone.

?Uhhhhh? go back to your??

?What?!? Minsc cried. ?What is this new evil? Minsc will??

?Minsc, calm down?? Imoen interrupted his battle cry. ?It?s just a golem? it?s master obviously didn?t order it to attack us.?

?So we go around it,? Sahara said determinedly.

?You?re the wise leader,? Imoen grinned.

Sahara was about to reply when the other sobbed inside their mind.
What?s happening? I? I never was. Luke was. He was. Why?

With a gasp, they both stumbled to their knees, and a whirl of thoughts encompassed them again, along with an aching, fusing pain. Dimly, they heard Imoen command Minsc to find Jaheira?s key and get her as quickly as possible, her voice only marred by the slightest hint of confusion and worry. They didn?t know how long it took, but soon, Jaheira was there, her cool hand resting on their feverish forehead.

As if she was miles away, they heard Jaheira gasp as she turned their head up to face her.

?Her eyes?? Jaheira pointed. ?Look at her eyes??

Imoen and Minsc clustered around, and they saw the Bhaalspawn?s irises flicker from amber to emerald and then back to amber again, finally settling on a confused hazel. With one last, nauseous twist of the world, they collapsed, and as soon as they hit the ground, their minds were clear.

?Damn!?

?Oh? oh? Gods??

?Stop whining!? she snarled angrily, unleashing her anger on her new companion.

?I?m not,? the other whispered petulantly.

?Oh? oh? Gods? just stay quiet then.?

Sahara lurched upwards to a standing position, and shook her head violently. ?I?m fine,? she lied shakily. ?Sorry about that? just? felt sick.?

Jaheira and Imoen both looked sceptical, but Sahara turned her back and began rifling through the weapons on the central table. Imoen, following her lead, began examining the two paintings that hung on the wall. They seemed strangely out of place in this dungeon? Sahara felt a sardonic smile cross her face. Their captor must be an art critic. How? totally? unlike the clichés.

?Hey, Sahara? there?s an??

Imoen was fiddling with one of the portraits, before Sahara stopped her. ?Careful, Imoen! They could be trapped!?

?Whoops,? Imoen laughed cheerfully. ?Didn?t think of that.?

Sahara moved back to sorting the weapons out while Imoen continued tweaking the portrait gently. Suddenly, she made both Minsc and Sahara jump as she let out a triumphant whoop.

?Yeah!? Imoen punched the air. ?Disarmed it! Now? let?s see??

Imoen reached behind the painting and began drawing out random objects that she tossed to Sahara. The first two blue vials knocked her on the head and were almost lost as she stumbled over, but Minsc gallantly caught her with one hand and rescued the two potions with the other. As Sahara was helped to her feet, a pair of pants sailed from Imoen?s general direction and wrapped itself around her face, effectively blinding her, and making her fall over again,

?Jeez, Imoen, could you be a little more careful..?? Sahara spluttered as she near ripped the pants from her face. ?And? no!! Don?t throw the?!?

?Heh, just kidding, Sahara,? Imoen flipped the dagger up and attempted to catch it, succeeding only in giving herself a nick. ?Ouch? anyway, I think this is a mildly enchanted Dagger, if that helps.?

?Great,? Sahara muttered. ?And what in the world are these pants doing here??

?They?re the Golden Pantaloons we nabbed from that noble accidentally, remember??

?Oh yeah,? she laughed. ?He wanted us to do his laundry? I was so tempted to throw it back in his face. We should have given it back to him, though??

?We did,? Minsc reminded her. ?Only Imoen was a naughty girl? and she stole it back.?

?Ah? yes?? Sahara couldn?t really care less at that point. ?Well, Minsc, here?s your two-handed sword, Immy, here?s your short sword??

They suddenly all collectively stopped at the sight of Jaheira, who had unnaturally remained silent this whole while, rolling her eyes.

?What??

?Even you two being tortured for Silvanus knows how long will never keep you three from playing,? Jaheira replied bluntly.

As it was intended, the words instantly put a damper on them, and their teasing banter faded. At the reminder of what had happened, Imoen?s eyes became lifeless again. The harsh tone somehow shocked her into retreating. The world spun?

?What the hell??

?Oh my God! I can?t believe this!?

?Huh? Who? who are you??

The other didn?t reply. Instead, their body began hyperventilating wildly.

?Jaheira!? Sahara?s voice was like a whip. ?Imoen!?

?This? this isn?t happening. It?s a dream. A dream, goddammit. Come on! Wake up already? dammit! Wake up! Wake up!?

?Imoen? What?s wrong??

?It?s her eyes,? Jaheira said sharply. ?What in Faerun?s name did that mage do to you?!?

?You heard the screams,? Sahara shot back, filled with a sudden anger fuelled by her worry. She knew what Imoen was going through at the moment. Or at least, she had an inkling?


?I mean it. Who the hell are you??

?Keep ignoring the voice. No voices in my head. No, no, no? and I?m not here. I?m not here. I?m in bed. Safe, warm, in bed where no-one can get me??

?Get out! Get out! Please? get out! Wake up! Whatever! Just make the pain stop!?

?Right?? the other voice exhaled. ?Okay? I gotta calm down. Then I?ll wake up??

?Damn right you?ve got to calm down!? Imoen was going into hysterics.

?How do we stop this??

?Go? down. Down. Stop talking!?

With mutual force, they pushed down into the abyss. And then she was back, back in the semi-darkness of the dungeon. The same thoughts echoing through their minds.

What the hell?

And with that, both Sahara and Imoen promptly fell unconscious.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 04:53 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter VI: The Chosen

(Hi again! Back from camp, and I had the most awesome time, so it really freed up any vestiges of writer's block I might have had. . So yes, here's the new chapter. Hope you enjoy!)

* * *

They say that in every dimension, there is another just like us, with the same wounds on their spirits and souls. And that if we ever managed to break the inter-dimensionary walls, we would become one with that person. This would result in the sharing of two minds in one body, as physical flesh cannot leap between dimensions except in possible theorised cases where the universe itself decides to send them across. These two minds would meld together, unless they were in turmoil at the time of the leap. If so, they would be fractured, growing together over a long period of time before finally melding.
Of course, this theory has yet to be tested on turnips, and so can be instantly discredited. Why, I remember waaaay back, when my old Uncle... ~ Dr. Janstein

* * *

?It is them, is it not??

?I do believe it is. Well, Sister, it appears that our first step hath been accomplished.?

?Remarkable.?

The voices were soothing, almost hypnotic. They touched the fourteen awed minds with gentle fingers, brushing back hair, caressing foreheads, bestowing light kisses on their skin.

?It is up to thee all, now. To repair what has gone wrong. To right the wrongs thine path hast once led thee to. Listen and be well.?

Then both voices joined together in a sweet harmony unlike anything they had ever heard before. The melody meshed together so perfectly it was as if a single voice was singing. In an intricately complex chord, their chant reached through and lightly imprinted upon their hearts a blessing.

The chosen, the ones, to set worlds right,
Maintain the balance,
Undo what hath been done,
Frail and mortal, immortal and strong,
Beauty and marred, flawless and weak,
The path to the heavens thou truly doth seek,
Reach unto the stars,
To save the worlds from terror?s grasp.

***

They woke up.

?What was that??

?I don?t know,? Sahara struggled awake, pushing the other down viciously as she came to surface again. ?It was like I just collapsed.?

Imoen?s paleness was more apparent than Sahara?s due to her dark skin. ?That was just? weird. There were like voices talking in my head? but they were so beautiful.?

?Yeah,? Sahara swallowed, and then roughly jerked herself upwards onto her feet. ?I?m sorry. How long have we been out??

?About three hours,? Jaheira replied dryly. ?I?ve sent Minsc on a scouting expedition because he wouldn?t stop hovering over you and asking Boo what was wrong. He should be back around??

?Sahara! Imoen! You are okay! I knew you would be! Boo said you were only sleeping, and as you know, Boo is a very smart hamster!?

?Thanks Minsc,? Imoen smiled wearily, before accepting Sahara?s hand to propel herself onto her feet. She patted Boo on the head.

?Well Minsc? Did you find anything??

?Well, well? we found a genie who would only speak to Sahara, if that helps of course. Oh! And we kicked the butt of evil several times!?

?Goblins and a Cambion,? Jaheira agreed. ?They tried to attack us several times before we beat them off.?

?Well then, are we ready to go??

?Shouldn?t we rest, Sahara?? Imoen asked shakily. ?I mean, I don?t know about you, but I?m just feeling a little bit exhausted at the moment.?

?I know, Imoen. It?s just that? we?ve already lost three hours. Any time our captor could be back. We need to get moving.?

?Yeah, I know,? Imoen shook herself. ?Sorry, don?t know what I was thinking.? A shadow of a smile flitted over her face. ?Where to, great leader??

?Don?t call me that,? Sahara said absentmindedly. ?Well? we?ll start with just exploring the place for now. Imoen, keep on the lookout for traps, will you??

Imoen snorted. ?Like you need to remind me.?

***

?Touch within yourself, child. Explore the knowledge bestowed upon you. Your body may be weak, yes. But your spirit and soul may be more powerful than a star.?

?B-b-but I c-c-can?t f-feel anything,? Aerie/Steph whispered.

?You can now. Can?t you??

Deep inside, a new voice unfurls so gently from within, saved from the abyss of despair and destruction to recognize a kindred spirit.

?Where am I??

?Who are you??

Questions float past in a knowledge of self-introspection, as answers are given.

And the world spins a gentle silence,
Enraptured by the flight,
Of rays of sun so powerful,
They chase away the night?

The will to fly,
The will to never fall,
The compassion intertwined in a heart,
So full of gold,
That people never see,
Never scratch the surface,
To see the glitter within,
Of pure magic,
Save one?


He smiles gently at the intense look on her face.

?Can you feel it??

?Y-yes. I can. I can feel it.?

And she never knew that the stutter half-vanished from her voice, nor took in her mentor?s gentle smile.

***
?Well, it?ll have to do, I suppose,? Jaheira sighed as she pulled the chainmail over her head. The interlocking rings fit perfectly as she reclaimed her staff from Minsc. Memories flooded through Sahara as she stared at the druid? memories of the first time they?d met with Khalid? Khalid?

?Khalid!? Sahara almost yelled. ?Jaheira, where?s Khalid??

?I don?t know,? Jaheira looked almost anguished. ?He was? alive? when we were caught.?

Imoen promptly bit her lip and looked away. None noticed, except for a very perceptive hamster.
They continued on into the darkness of the tunnels, searching, led mostly by Minsc?s finely-tuned ears, and Boo?s phenomenal eyes.

?I can?t believe this,? Sahara mouthed to Imoen as they turned in the direction Minsc had pointed in.

?Why not??

?We?re being led by a hamster!?

?Oh come on, Sahara,? Imoen patted Boo affectionately. ?He led us in the Ulcaster dungeons and Durlag?s tower.?

?He did?? Sahara looked confused for a second as she searched for the memory, and then she shook her head again. ?Of course he did. Why do I keep forgetting things??

Imoen looked at her childhood friend strangely. ?Are you okay, Sahara? You seem to be forgetting things a lot these days? it?s strange. You never used to forget things.?

?I know.?

***

?Can you feel it??

?What do you want me to find??

?The strength, the power, the wildness within you! Can?t you feel it? Reach inside. It is there. The wilderness and unpredictable nature of the power inside that is so strong you can channel energies beyond imagination.?

Reach. Deep inside. Hear the voice of fear even out to one of calm logic and clear-headedness, yet still feeling the turmoil of emotion and love deep within. Always diplomatic, always stubborn.

?Who are you??

?Well then, it appears that we have a problem.?

?What do you mean??

?Never mind??

Touch the deepness of surrealistic minds,
The fantasies that unwind,
Underneath the cool and calm so loyal,
The speaker within the mortal coil,
So never found within the speech,
Insecurities buried far too deep,
The leader walks in sleep?

Then the night comes crashing in,
Unprecedented by what is to come,
Can you feel the confusion?
Can you feel the despair?
Can you walk the dungeons?
And survive what?s there?
Inside yourself,
A part of yourself,
Life in blood and blood in life,
As like in one as stars?

?Can you feel it??

The wildness spiralling out of their depths. The energy they could seize with both hands and laugh wildly in pure and ecstatic joy of the shaman and the mage.

?Yes. Yes, I can,? Kalran/Luke rejoiced.

***
They continued on, battling and questing. Aiding the dryads, and freeing the djinni, even fighting the strange assassins and vampires that fell into their path, unswayed by words. Until they reached a very familiar room, and Imoen flinched.

?Khalid! Oh God. He?s here, he?s here!?

?Khalid?!? Jaheira asked sharply. ?What do you mean? What has happened?!?

Before Imoen could reply, Jaheira was there by her husband?s side quicker than lightning, a hoarse scream rising out of her throat.

?K-k-khalid?? she touched his pale face. ?Oh Khalid, what has he done to you??

Unbelievingly, she watched as the mutilated and tortured body of her husband slowly began to shine with an impossible light. Slowly, the blood shimmered away. Wounds closed. She reached out to him instinctively, then cried out as the light enveloped her for a brief second and shut her eyes against the intensity of it. When she looked again, Khalid was gone.

?Khalid! No! Khalid!?

***

The raw untouched anger still lay inside. The seething fire that bubbled in magma from grief and horror twisted into violence. The bloodied face of the boy who had dared insult his mother?s memory and mock him about the poor substitute his father had found. The quiet anger and bewilderment. The final answer; to control the vengeful spirit. To channel it and find his inner peace.

Peace?

?Can you feel it??

?No. Nothing,? I ground out.

?Yes, you do,? he persisted. ?Reach inside and find it underneath all of your anger.?

I do as he says. Concentrate. Delve into the unexplored territory beneath my heart as it beats, beneath my spirit as it sings, into the soul that I have never known. And I feel him. Just as violent, and tortured, and unknowing as I.

?I?m going to kill whoever did this to me!?

?Who are you??

?I have no clue at the moment. Who the hell are you??

The rising rage.

Fire fought with fire,
Will only create more hate,
As embers flare and rile,
For anger will not sate,
Remember flowing waters,
Remember ice-cold breath,
Before the ancient past,
Before innocence?s death,
Remember the thoughts that last,
Rediscover the inner love?

Mystical,
That deepness within connected so,
To the seasons of the earth that twist and turn,
The wood that breathes,
The rivers that caress,
Yet plunge in tumultuous waterfalls,
That wreak the slow destruction,
Of the strongest of all stone?

?Can you find it??

?No. And I never will.?

A faint, tolerant smile. ?Never say never.?

***
Sahara was the only one who kept her head in the following minutes. Jaheira, her normal self-restraint gone, burst into tears as she reached out unbelievingly to where Khalid had lain. Minsc began smashing up various objects. Imoen curled into a ball and began rocking back and forwards, chanting hysterically under her breath to try to suppress the horrors she had seen.

She pushed away the flood of emotions, brutally throwing them into the recesses of her mind. It wasn?t safe to stay in this room, with the now quiet portals, and the doors that snaked along the walls. It was a main centre of some kind. Jaheira and Imoen were most likely incapacitated, so they needed rest. She burst through doors, taking out assassins cold-bloodedly, until she?d found a small room safe enough and defensible enough for them to stay in. She then proceeded to drag Imoen and Jaheira in there, and then attempted to calm Minsc down.
Then, moving like a robot, she kept watch while the rest of them slumbered under nightmares real and imagined.

***

?To dance the fiery night away!
In the arms of thine true lady sway!
And laugh and twirl through night and day!
Until the joy doth kiss thine eyes,
And doth the golden sun slow rise,
Then down to sleep thine lady lay!?

The tavern was bright with roaring fire and flushed red with drunkards as they tripped over their own feet to the beat. A few coins to earn, and then back to the playhouse with radiant and defiant pride forever in my step.

She waits for me, there. Lounging against the doorway. Smiling the smile that captivates my heart. Knowing that she knows, and knowing that I can never touch her. Never come close to her. Breaking my heart.

?So? Did you find yourself??

?Still looking,? I toss back. The other voice agrees.

?Very well then,? she stretches languidly, and I deliberately turn my gaze away. She plays with me. Teasing me. I won?t fall to that. But I can?t help my heart constricting every time she does. She?s bewitching. ?The Gem??

?On its way,? I assure her. ?I?ve found out the location.?

?Well aren?t you fine,? she smiles again, and my heart stops.

?I am indeed,? I agree, although we all know that the words mock themselves.

I look up at the night sky. We see the stars as they shine down on us. So full of promised hope. So unreachable. I feel a sudden weariness eat away at my bones, and I turn to go past her to the coldness of my bed.

So empty?
So full of life and yet empty,
Of all that has passed, and all that has been,
A future ahead that no-one has seen,
Of bleakness, despair, covered by smiles,
The laughter that fooled everyone?s eyes?

She stops me for a second. I look at her, my heart in my mouth.

?You?re not ready. You know that is why. You will never be ready until you find yourself.?

She looks at me unreadably. I nod. After all, I agree.

?I know.?

I push past into oblivion.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:03 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter VII: Stone

[Next chapter, I hope you all enjoy. ]


Jaheira was death incarnate. Any who got in her way, assassins or goblins or duergar, she slaughtered mercilessly. Imoen was subdued. Minsc?s tears had finally flown in honour of his comrade. Sahara was rigid as ice. They battled through blazing mephits, wandered through mazes, and disarmed an elegantly carved death trap with the appropriate wands, until they came to three identical passages.

?The last one,? Imoen whispered. ?It leads to the outside!?

?How can you tell?? Jaheira queried, her voice dead.

?Oh come on!? Imoen laughed, a strangely joyful laugh. One that eased the horrors written across her face infinitely, making her the immortal child once again. ?Can?t you feel the air??

?Wait!? Jaheira frowned, restraining her from dashing outside through the passage. ?There?s something wrong. I can feel??

Before she could even finish her sentence, the entire dungeon seemed to shake. With a screeching noise, the entire passage before them collapsed in the violent throes of an explosion that sent them diving for cover. The noise was colossal. Their eardrums seemed to shatter with the sound and their very bodies shook with the agonized vibrations of the earth as it reeled from this sudden attack.

Numb and bleeding, they stood up after an eternity of afterquakes and explosions.

?Well,? Sahara said tightly. ?It looks like we?ll have to find another way out.?

***

?Send them in.?

Slithering, an orb of sheltered glass expanded to cover the side of the room. He watched in clinical detachment as they built up speed, burrowing deep into the heart of the earth. There was a darkness there that was beyond the night. Forever spiralling into whatever dervish lay ahead.

?They have arrived at the de'Arnise Keep, Master.?

?I noticed,? he replied casually. She moved sinuously behind him, pressing her fingers into the muscles that flexed above his shoulder blades.

?You?re not even tense,? she marvelled.

He turned to her, a glint in his eye. ?We?ll see,? he said neutrally. ?I believe, however, that this will work. Wouldn?t you say??

?Yes indeed,? she nodded vigorously. She had long ago learnt the consequence for disagreeing with him. ?You?ve planned it completely. It?ll work.?

He turned away from her to look at the dimensional mirror.

?Power blends in with nothing to create energy beyond imagination,
If you can only control it,
Own it,
Keep it,
You can crush dreams in your fist,
Stamp on life like it?s nothing,
Lord over the world,
Ignore all feeling,
Sense it coursing through you??

His voice was hypnotic. She swayed with it, entranced. A breath gasped from between her lips.

?What?? she whispered.

?Fear,? he murmured, and as he clenched his hands, the entire mirror exploded inwards in a wave of destruction, until it collapsed into a single swirling orb. And he smiled as she shivered.

***

They searched for only the Gods knew how long, until they finally stumbled across a small nondescript room. Minsc gave a great shout of joy. The exit portal. And there, a golden lamp sat proudly on the pedestal.

?Another trapped djinni?? Imoen wondered.

Before anyone could say anything, a spiralling cloud of smoke emerged from the lamp, and they fell back under its onslaught. When the fog had cleared, another djinni indeed floated before them, and the entire room had changed.

?Welcome,? Aataqah boomed. ?I?m terribly sorry to sound so clichéd, but I cannot let you pass through the portal until you pass my test.?

***

?Why am I not surprised?? Sahara asked dryly.

?We always have to pass a cryptic test for no apparent reason just to get out, don?t we?? agreed Imoen.

?It is indeed a test,? Aataqah affirmed. ?However, it is to judge your will and strength to unlock your secrets alone. Sahara, Imoen. Step up to the dais.?

The room they had first walked into had been small and completely empty save for the lamp and the exit portal. Now, however, trickling pools weaved their way through marbled, jagged rock, intricate patterns indecipherable from foreign words that seemed part of the very stone itself. A flickering candlelight seemed to light each of the pools. They gazed into them and saw worlds moving impossibly. The dais was comprised of one such pool. Haltingly, suspiciously, they moved forwards.

?Now look,? Aataqah instructed. ?Look deep within.?

Sahara and Imoen exchanged dubious glances with the rest of them, before finally acquiescing and staring into the depths.

Three bells sounded in a sonorous chorus as their consciousnesses were transported through time and dimensions to an altar, with nine golden steps reaching up to it. They stood at the foot of the steps, looking up in awe at the goddess that smiled down at them.

?Come forth the warrior, come forth the thief,
Come forth the sorceress and come forth the heart,
Come forth the sorrow, and come forth the grief??

They waited for her to finish, but she didn?t. Instead, she regarded them with an infinite wisdom they could not comprehend. A sparkle twinkled in her eye as she left the poem tantalizingly open. And suddenly, they knew what to do.

?And may the spirits solder, and never rend apart,? they chanted the last line.

In an instant, they were transported back. Their minds settled into their bodies with an amazing ease. Dizzy and bewildered, they reeled backwards to be caught by Minsc.

?Very well done,? Aataqah inclined his head. ?The way to freedom is open. Use it wisely,? he added cryptically.

Then he vanished.

?Yay,? Imoen grinned. A shadow of the laughter that used to cross her face.

The shimmering, mirror-like surface seemed to whisper as they looked at it. Determinedly, Sahara thrust the key into the keyhole on the side, and twisted it. The whole world was suddenly encompassed in swirling, reflected images. She could see Jaheira and Imoen and Minsc? but distorted. Imoen seemed to morph into another face, for an instant? but then it was done.
They were through.

***

?You have the path.?

?I have the path?? he asked, contempt twisting his voice. ?What kind of answer is that??

The old woman sighed as she watched the young man pace in front of her. ?You have felt it, I know you have. The best person to answer that is yourself.?

?Is that just a way of saying you don?t know?? he shot back.

She seemed to grow slightly in size as her face hardened. ?You may be young, boy,? she whispered softly. ?But you have no excuse to act like such a spoiled brat.?

He felt the power radiating off her words, and accepted the deserved rebuke. ?I? apologize,? he sighed. Grief weighed down his tone. ?I just? this is too soon.?

She looked at him compassionately once more. ?You have a great load for one so young,? she admitted. ?For now, before you must leave, focus with me one more time.?

He closed his ash-grey eyes, and concentrated. A slow drumbeat resounded in the room as the woman played, and he focused painstakingly on it. Every thud was his heartbeat, every sound was his breathing as he became one with it, and then let the rhythm soar him away.

***

The world blurred, twisted, and taunted? spinning in, and then directly out of her grasp. She knew that most portals didn?t have these after-effects, and hazily she wondered if it really was a side effect from the torture she had been subject to. When her sight finally stopped playing games, they stumbled forwards into the light. Such was their relief that they could taste the sweetness of day once again, they didn?t notice the debris at their feet, the remnants of a battle fought only moments before. Suddenly, there was a cry of absolute rage, and a massive explosion sounded from behind them. Dust flew everywhere, blinding and choking them even as the force of destruction sent them flying. They struggled to their feet. Through the dissipating clouds of dust, they could hear and faintly see the battle that had caused the dungeon?s demise. It was a battle that still raged. In the ruins of the underground dungeon, Sahara saw her captor? her torturer, and she shrunk back from him. His disfigured face was a mask of absolute fury as he studied his foes, a cold light shining from his eyes. When he spoke, it was with utter disbelief and rage.

?You dare to attack me here?? Chips of ice surveyed the group of black-hooded thieves. A few of them stirred uneasily, but they held fast. One notched an arrow to his bow, and sent it flying. Sahara held her breath, but she didn?t have to. He brushed it aside contemptuously, almost as if it were merely an insect, not a fletched missile of death. He sneered, but the anger still shone in his soulless eyes.

?Do you even know whom you face?!? he demanded. The answer shone implicitly from the thieves? features. They didn?t know? but they each had the look of someone who had already accepted that he would die. Irenicus? eyes tightened in rage.

?You will suffer! You will all suffer!?

It happened so quickly that none of them realized he had cast a spell until a thief stiffened into granite. Two rogues advanced on the mage, but neither got more than two steps. Out of the corner of Sahara?s vision, she saw a thief creep away, but Irenicus didn?t seem to notice. He was intent on slaughtering the rest of them. One fell with a howl, convulsing wretchedly in the stones. Another exploded in a geyser of flesh, blood and bone. At last, there seemed to be none left, but Irenicus wasn?t done yet. The one he?d earlier turned to stone splintered into a million pieces. At last, he was done. He turned to his audience, smiling.

?So, godchild, you have escaped,? he sounded quite amused. ?You are more resourceful than I thought.?

Imoen bridled at his condescending, almost patronizing tone. ?We?re not going to let you torture us anymore!?

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

Sahara spoke for the first time. A growl escaped her throat, and fire flared in her eyes.
?We don?t care what you?re doing, whoever you are.?

?Well you should,? the mage sneered. ?Considering it really does involve you.?

Imoen stared at him with hatred. ?Let us go! You have no right! Nothing!?

Irenicus? mocking voice vanished. ?I won?t let you leave, not when I?m so close to unlocking your power!?

When Imoen spoke, it was low. Low with rage and loathing.
?We don?t want anything from you.?

Before Sahara or Jaheira or anyone else could stop her, a shimmering mass of pure energy coalesced into five magic missiles in her palm. They leapt towards Irenicus, smashing into him, one after the other. He merely grimaced, but it was obvious that he had been hurt. Imoen was about to shoot off another spell when he interrupted.

?Enough!? he snarled. ?I will no longer listen to the babbling of ignorant children!?
His magical rejoinder left Imoen screaming. She convulsed in pain as fire licked into her very mind. Sahara ran to her, cradling her in her arms. Before any one could speak, though, four mages teleported in, their faces grave. Instantly, she recognized them as Cowled Wizards.

?This is an unsanctioned use of magical energy,? one pompously declared.

?All involved will be held,? another announced. ?This disturbance is over!?

?Must I be interrupted at every turn?? Irenicus swore, irritation creasing his features. ?Enough of this!?

As they watched, magic spread from his fingertips. The Cowled Wizards desperately tried protections, but it availed them naught. He spun around, literally throwing a ball of flaming energy at one. The Cowled Wizard collapsed, screaming. The three others gulped and began chanting simultaneously, but none of their spells ever finished. Irenicus pivoted on his foot and instantly disintegrated one with a single beam of magic, and imploded the other. The last Cowled Wizard faltered, and then renewed his casting with desperate fervour, but by then, it was too late. A spell slammed into him, and he only had time to scream once before his body was broken into a million pieces. The mage smiled satisfactorily, mercilessly, and then turned to the shocked five that stood there, frozen. Just as he was about to speak, however, four more Cowled Wizards teleported in a ring around him. The leader quickly noted the carnage around him, and horror crossed his face.

?This mage?s power is immense! We must overcome him quickly!?

Irenicus sneered at that. ?Enough! Your pathetic magics are useless! Let this end!?

He stiffened at that, and anger channelled in his tightly controlled voice. ?Even if we fall, our numbers are many. You will be overwhelmed.?

?You bore me, mageling,? Irenicus spat. ?Fine. You can take me, but you will take the girl as well.?

?What?? Imoen gasped as Irenicus? leering eyes fell on her. ?No? I?ve done nothing wrong!?

?You have been involved in illegal use of magic. You will come with us.?

?She hasn?t done anything!? Sahara echoed, disbelief in her voice. ?What are you doing? No! Imoen!?

?No! I?m not going with him!? Imoen turned to them, her eyes wide with terror, even as a Cowled wizard approached her from behind and secured her. ?I?m not going with him! Please!!?
Just before she vanished into the Dimension Door, Imoen desperately found Sahara?s face, and screamed.

?Please! Help me! Help me Damaris! Help me!!?

Damaris lunged for her too late.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:05 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter VIII: Disillusionment

(Sorry this chapter has taken so long to get up. The last week of school was hectic. :glare: . And I needed to edit this chapter as well. . Hopefully the (somewhat improved... I think) quality of this chapter will make up for the wait, though. That said, I hope you enjoy. )


I don?t remember much of what happened. Flashes, and then someone screaming from within, and our voices coming out of our mouth in a single, discordant harmony.

Then blackness.

?Come on, this is a dream, right? It?ll be like in all those clichéd, irritating books, where the hero is just about to die, and then they wake up and it?s a dream. Please? Please? This a dream?? Damaris chanted fervently.

Simultaneously:

?Come on, this is a dream, right? I?m just going to wake up and everything will be okay and Imoen will be here?? Sahara murmured.

Silence.

?It-it-it?s not a dream, is it??

?You think?? she snapped.

Stung. ?I?m sorry.?

?You?re sorry, are you? Well it doesn?t help much, does it??

Silence.

?Does it?!?

?No, it doesn?t. But I?m sorry anyway.?

?Stop saying sorry! It doesn?t help!?

Silence.

?I?m scared.?

?Coward.?

?I know.?

It was strange, having their dual consciousnesses melded like this. The anger of one superseding the other?s fear, but in the end, merging into one again. Both grappled with the concept of what they faced, and then decided to ignore it and attempt to wake up?

Slowly, she raised an eyelid, and then groaned. Quickly, she shut it, and then peeked again at this all-too-familiar world. Giving up on hoping, she opened her eyes fully, and sat up, grimacing as strained muscles and unhealed wounds complained loudly. She let loose a ragged gasp as one particular injury screamed as she shifted, biting her lip to somehow quell the pain.
Sahara looked around morosely, acquainting herself with the surroundings that had been so blurry the night before. As she looked, the dual parts of her mind struggled, both seeing an alien, yet easily recognizable environment. This wasn?t funny. This wasn?t funny at all?

She let her emerald eyes rove around the room, taking in everything. The smell of sweat and blood seemed to permeate everything here. It was on her clothes and on the sheets, and somehow seemed to be part of the very air of this place.
Sahara peeled the sheets off herself and then gagged again at the sight.
Entrails and other unidentifiable shreds of flesh spattered her clothes along with the blood that stained them. Although she was quite sure a fair amount of the blood was her own, she still choked. She barely had time to stagger to the bathroom before nausea overtook her and she retched into the wooden pail kept in there; again and again. When she?d emptied her stomach, she wiped her mouth clean, and then leant against the wall, feeling a strange sense of comfort in its solidity. She needed solidity right now? just to ground her from the thoughts that rose up, unbidden.
Imoen? Kathryn? school? Zach? Sarevok? the memories whirled in her mind so quickly she almost instantaneously began to develop a dull ache. Struggling, Sahara pushed all of the questions out of her mind and focused on the immediate problem. She stank. Her clothes stank. No? her clothes reeked, and even thinking about them made her sick. Clamping down on her disgust, she ripped off her tunic, and then her leggings and shirt. The cool air flowing in from the window assaulted her bare skin, bringing some of her senses back. She stoked the dying fire and then threw each and every garment she?d worn onto the smouldering wood, watching it burn.

?An interesting solution, Sahara, but what are you going to wear now??

?Jaheira?!? Sahara whirled around, mortified. Quickly, she grasped the bloodied bed sheets and wrapped herself in them, still blushing. The druidess snorted. She?d had the presence of mind to at least discard most of her ruined clothing before she?d collapsed into oblivion. Now, she dressed in the tatters again, mindful of her less than appealing image. Thoughtfully, she looked at her charge.

?I?ll bring breakfast up to you, and arrange baths,? Jaheira sniffed. ?And then we can go buy ourselves some more clothes. You, however, will be staying in here.?

Sahara blushed again. ?Thanks? thanks Jaheira.?

She sighed, and her voice became cold. ?And then we will discuss what to do about the mage and Imoen.?

Before Sahara could reply, the door closed behind the druidess with an ominous finality to it. Sahara sat, still enveloped in the bedsheets, feeling the untold hurt and anger in Jaheira?s voice wash over her. Staring into the fire, she watched as the blood and cloth burned away.

*********************

?So! Where to now?? Minsc asked when Jaheira came down the stairs. The ranger and his hamster were still tucking in to breakfast. Jaheira sighed and ran her hand through wet hair. She felt cleaner, now, but the clothes underneath her armour were still bloodstained.

?We need to get Sahara some new clothes and then scout around,? Jaheira answered crisply. ?So if you gentlemen could kindly finish??

?We?re done,? Minsc stood up, brushing his filthy chainmail breastplate in a lame attempt to dissuade breadcrumbs from sticking to the bloody mass. ?Let?s move out!?

***

The two walked out of the inn into the sunlight, exhaling the air of Waukeen?s Promenade. The place was bustling with customers, and the very world seemed to resound with the cries of merchants plying their wares. Browsing around, they were amazed by the sheer size of the place. Finally, they navigated their way to the small shop to the side of the larger Adventurer?s Mart. Jaheira made a mental note to visit it later. The scimitars gleaming from within the shadows lent by the doors had caught her eye. First, however, she busied herself with bargaining clothes for them all down to reasonable prices. Perhaps the presence of a hulking ranger and his hamster brought the cost down considerably? she would never know. When they?d packed up, exchanged coins, and walked back to the Inn of the Seven Vales, Sahara was waiting somewhat impatiently. As she?d bathed, she slid into her clothes without a fuss, listening to Jaheira?s summary.

?So now, we?re low on cash. We?ve still got around two hundred gold pieces, but I?m quite sure that we?ll need more to find Imoen.?

?What do you suggest we do?? Sahara asked uncharacteristically.

Jaheira looked surprised. It seemed like the first emotion she?d shown since Khalid. ?Taking advice from me?? she asked dryly. ?Your head really must be dented.?

Sahara noted the deliberate avoidance of Irenicus? name and respected it. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her midnight hair. ?Rescuing Imoen is our first priority,? she decided firmly, her emerald eyes hard. ?But you?re right. There?s got to be work around for the likes of us? we?ll investigate.?

Jaheira nodded. ?We heard some ruckus was going on at the Circus from the clothes store owner? although that could have been mere rumour.?

?We?ll check it out, then,? Sahara decided.

Jaheira moved to exit, but Sahara held her back. When Jaheira raised her eyebrow questioningly, she was at loss for words as she struggled to fight the other.

?Jaheira, about Khalid...?

The druidess stiffened, but something in her curbed her acerbic tongue. Instead, she merely shot an emotionless glare at her ward, and walked away.

Rebuffed, Sahara assumed the coldest expression her facial muscles could adhere to and sheathed her newly cleaned swords. She strode with false confidence out of the room to follow Jaheira downstairs to where Minsc was waiting. With a stranger. She started, but before she could say anything, he bowed to her with a flourish.

?Greetings, I am Yoshimo.?

?I see,? she replied, still slightly shocked. ?What do you want??

His smile was easy, but guarded underneath tanned skin and well-toned muscles. There was a wiriness to his frame that belied his casualness, and she could see the katana ripple from where it nestled, slung around his shoulder. He shrugged off her bluntness. ?I couldn?t help but see you emerge from that? place.?

Instantly, she was interested. ?Who are you? Why did you follow us here??

His chocolate-coloured eyes slightly hardened. ?I escaped from whoever captured me three days ago to find myself in a city I know, but twenty leagues from where I last was. To say the least, I was? curious to see you emerge from the rubble, and the consequent battle between the? bastard and you. And the outcome.?

?Wait,? Minsc interrupted. ?Do you mean to say the evil captured you as well? Irenicus! I spit on his... well, actually, I'd rather...?

?Is that his name?? the Kara-Turan interrupted softly. ?Well then, yes.?

?You want to take revenge, don?t you?? Sahara asked bluntly.

Yoshimo looked at the kensai quietly. ?This is very strange for me,? he admitted. ?Seven days ago, I blacked out, and then woke up in a hell. I do not know why this Irenicus took me, but all I know is that it hurt. Yes, I want revenge. And seeing as you survived the hellhole? from listening to you talk I assume you want revenge as well. And to find the girl who was taken with him.?

Sahara sat down. It was too sudden, too unreal. Too? out of place. Something screamed at her that this wasn?t right.

?Okay,? she said suddenly. ?You?re in.?

She didn?t know why it seemed right when he simply smiled, and she felt herself announcing what she had been about to say before this new surprise rushed in on her.

?Jaheira says that we?ll need money to find Imoen and Irenicus? there?s something going on at the circus,? she announced. ?Let?s check it out.?

?Of course!? Minsc cried, nodding eagerly. ?Any chance to kick the butts of evil? although Boo is wondering why evil would go to a circus??

?That?s what we have to find out? I guess,? Sahara stated.

********************************

The alien feeling swamped over Sahara again as she walked through the hordes of people, coupled with the other feeling that this was all normal. The whisper of the other in her mind quickly darkened her mood again. Angrily, she shoved it deep down inside, stifling it as she attempted to concentrate on the bright, almost garish colours of the circus tent to distract her. As it loomed larger and larger, however, she began to wonder why she felt so strange.
And that was when she realized. As they stepped into the immediate vicinity of the circus, the sounds of Waukeen?s Promenade seemed to dim, becoming background noise.
Where there should have been laughter and the seemingly universal circus music, they could only hear the clinking of armour and a lone, brightly painted mini-windmill, creaking in the breeze ominously. Near the tent, the air was suddenly rent with the sound of a lone child crying. Minsc ignored Jaheira?s half-hearted reprimand and ran in the direction of the weeping. They found him kneeling by a little boy, probably of no more than eight years, attempting to comfort him.

?Boo asks why you are crying, little boy,? Minsc said gently. ?Can we heroes help??

The kid slowly looked up in surprise, and then burst into tears again. ?My? my mummy, you see. She went into the circus? and? and none of them have come out! And the guard won?t let me in? and I? I want my mummy!?

?What?s happened, can you tell us, child?? Jaheira crouched by his side, gently wiping away his tears with her sleeve. The child wasn?t the only one to look at her in complete astonishment.

?Well? just what I said. The big man? the guard says I can?t go in? and so I?m all alone now? I just want my mummy??

Jaheira suppressed a sudden wave of irritation and desire to snap out ?have a backbone, kid? and merely kept stemming his tears. Minsc?s face glimmering with sympathy, and Sahara found herself speaking.
?Alright, you stay here, child. We?ll find your mummy for you, okay??

?Yes! We will get this evil and teach it a thing or two about decency, and keeping their hands off of other people?s parents!?

?O? okay, lady.?

?There?s a brave boy,? Sahara said. ?Now, stay put, remember??

They moved around the tent to confront the guard. When they reached the armoured Amnish officer, Sahara stepped forwards, but he spoke first.

?Stay away, citizen. I?ve got my orders to let no one into this tent.?

?There?s a boy out here? his mother?s in there,? Jaheira gestured towards the circus pavilion with her free hand. ?We?ve said that we?ll help him.?

?Unfortunately, that?s not my concern, citizen.?

?Maybe we can help,? Yoshimo added. ?After all, as you can see, officer, we are not without experience.?

He looked them over almost dubiously. ?Well? you see, the problem here is that there was a show, and many people went in for it, but none of them have come out. All the men we?ve sent in there haven?t come out either.?

?We can take care of ourselves!? Minsc declared. ?We heroes have no need to??

?Yes, Minsc is right,? Sahara agreed hurriedly. ?We can definitely take care of ourselves. We?ll go in there.?

?Well? I can?t stop you, citizen.?

?Thankyou,? Sahara responded simply.

The guard stiffly walked away, the metal plates clinking noisily as he went. He watched them with some trepidation as they examined the tent flap.

?It?s dark inside,? Sahara noted as she crouched down. ?Either that, or it?s been enchanted magically so that no-one can look inside.?

?It may be dangerous,? Yoshimo mused. ?After all, if the Amnish guards themselves have attempted to deal with it and failed??

?Nothing is too dangerous for us! Right Boo??

?Alright, then,? Sahara steeled herself with a deep breath. ?I?m going in, enchanted or not.?

Before any of them could say anything, she walked in. There was an audible *pop*, and then she vanished. Jaheira checked inside the tent flap again.

?She?s gone?! I can?t see her!?

?Well then, we must follow bravely??

Minsc was swallowed by the shadows. Jaheira cursed, and ran in after him. Soon, only Yoshimo stood in the sunlight. He could feel the Amnish Guard?s eyes boring into the back of his head.

?Well? why not?? the Kara-Turan shrugged elaborately.

And then, he too disappeared, engulfed by whatever magic lay in the circus.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:06 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter IX: Circus Arts

(Hey again. I'm glad people are still reading this... or at least appear to be. . I hope you're all enjoying this so far. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. )


One day ago...

?You need anything, handsome??

?Just a glass of water, please,? he murmured softly.

?What are you trying to do, handsome?? joked the tavern wench. ?Drink yourself to death??

He merely contemplated her with calmness. ?No, merely to sate my thirst.?

She winked, and served him. ?Nice to see some people in this city still have civil tongue in their heads,? she commented.

?Thank-you,? he replied, as he sipped his water. Surprisingly enough, given the conditions, it was clear and somewhat rejuvenated him. When he was done, he placed the glass down carefully, wincing when the table rattled and the saltcellar jumped a centimetre despite his efforts. The barmaid stared.

?Apologies,? he murmured, and then moved with a sinuous grace that belied his drunkenness to the staircase, where he vanished into a room to brood and plan.

She stared after him. There was a strange energy about him that seemed to call her. She shook her head to clear it, then sighed as she felt Lehtinan?s murderous glance, and kept moving.

****

The wind howled in this place? scything through Sahara?s clothes to breathe on her skin. Now both of her minds screamed that this place was foreign. For a second, her eyes flickered hazel, and then back to emerald again as she scanned her surroundings.
She seemed to be in some sort of subterranean cave; the water beneath the stone whispered in the shadows so she couldn?t quite see it. The inky blackness of the liquid suggested its depth, however, and she let a sense of uneasiness swamp her. How could this be inside the circus tent? In fact? she felt an almost otherworldly breath shudder down her spine. How could this place be in Athkatla?
Slowly, she raised her eyes upwards, and they widened as she caught sight of the enormous structure that this? cavern housed.
It was a wide dome, seemingly encompassing the entire area of this place. Instantly, Sahara knew that there was no way that this structure could fit inside the tent? or Waukeen?s Promenade. The very air seemed to taste of magic.

?Sahara??

?Minsc! Where are the others??

?Here,? Yoshimo grinned broadly. ?Now??

?Don?t do that again!? Jaheira overrode him angrily. ?Sahara, we didn?t know what we were walking into! It could have been a trap??

?The most important thing is that it wasn?t,? Sahara shrugged. ?Now? hey! We can?t get back!?

They turned, and saw she was right. There was no tent flap to be seen, only utter blackness behind them. It left them only one direction to go; forwards, over the ornate stone bridge that spanned the lurking water.

?What magic is this?? Jaheira muttered.

?Well, Toto, it looks like we?re not in Kansas anymore,? Sahara remarked.

They stared at her. ?What??

?I? um?? Sahara stuttered, flustered. ?It? it?s like we?re not in Athkatla anymore?? she tried.

Jaheira gave her a strange look.

?Let us find out,? Minsc suggested. ?And then we can go kick the butts of evil! Right Boo??

They all had to agree with that. Cautiously, they moved forwards, testing the bridge?s strength. They were only halfway through, however, when a djinni materialized out of nothing.

?Ah? more mortals who have come to gaze upon the mightiness of Kalah. I wonder if you shall prove yourselves worthy??

?Who is this Kalah?? Sahara demanded. ?And what has he done with the circus??

?Fools!? The djinni spat. ?There is no more circus! This is all Kalah?s personal realm, now? and you must be judged!?

?Judged?? Yoshimo queried, wary. ?I do not like the sound of that.?

?Well, judged you must be, mortal.?

?Wonderful,? Sahara sighed, her voice laden with sarcasm. ?How are we to be judged??

?I shall ask you a question. If you answer correctly, you will move one step closer to your goal. If, however, you answer incorrectly?? the djinni trailed off ominously.

?Ask your question.?

?The question is this; a princess and a prince are different ages. The princess? age doubled is quadruple the age of the prince ten years ago. The prince?s age is half of the princess? age in two decades. How old are they??

?How in the Gods? names are we going to answer that?? Jaheira demanded. ?It could be anything.?

There was a silence as the others shared Jaheira?s sentiments. The djinni?s smile grew broader. The seconds passed slowly, until he grew impatient. Just as he was about to speak, however, Sahara beat him to it.

?The princess is 40 and the prince is 30.?

?Wha?? the djinni?s jaw dropped, but then he recovered himself. ?Well? so you are worthy after all. Kalah enjoys those with fleetness of mind. Proceed.?

The djinni whirled itself out of sight, and Sahara felt her companions? eyes on her. She was wondering at herself as well.

?Sahara? how did you know that??

?I have no idea, but it?s not important right now,? the kensai brushed away their inquiring glances and continued as confidently as she could across the bridge. Before long, they all stood in front of the elaborately curved door leading inside the enormous dome.

Yoshimo ran a delicate finger across the supports. ?Pure gold,? he breathed in awe. ?This alone is worth a fortune.?

?This isn?t right,? Jaheira mused. ?How could this even be here? And? pure gold? Who could be rich enough to waste money on this???

?Can any of you see through the door?? Sahara asked briskly.

?No? even Boo cannot see through the door! And he has very sharp eyes!?

?Well, here goes.?

?No? not again Sahara!! Stop it??

Jaheira?s words were wasted, as once again, Sahara stepped through into darkness. Even while the druidess fumed, her two remaining companions looked at each other and followed.

***

?Who? who are you? Oh, whoever you are, you must go! He?s? he?s killed everyone else, you see!?

The four looked in utter amazement at the talking ogre, dressed in a delicate shade of orange and golden yellow. Terror filled its eyes and seemed to be saturated in its very aura. It took Sahara a split second to talk.

?Who?s killed everyone else??

?Kalah! Oh please? you must flee this place at once!?

?Who?s this Kalah? And? and why are you an ogre with a woman?s voice?? Yoshimo asked curiously.

?I?m not an ogre! No? Kalah?s chained an illusion on me, you see? I can?t cast my own magic??

?Chains? Boo doesn?t see any chains??

?No! Illusory chains? oh please, why don?t you run??

?We?re here to help,? Sahara declared firmly. ?We can take care of ourselves. Now how can we free you from your chains??

?Oh? okay then. But? are you sure? Okay? well, there are these peasants over there, but they?re not peasants! I?ve? I?ve seen them kill people! They have the key to my chains, in the form of a sword. But? you can?t trust anything here, see??

?We see. We?ll come back with the sword? um??

?Aerie. The name?s Aerie.?

?Okay, then. We?ll be back.?

The strange pathways they walked over seemed to be like glistening marble. The sheen was unearthly as they travelled in the direction the ogre had pointed. Sahara nudged Jaheira softly.

?Can we trust the ogre? This whole thing about a sword being the key to the illusion bothers me. Is it wise to give it a sword??

Jaheira simply stared at her in amazement. ?What?s wrong, Sahara? First you rush without heed into a possible trap twice, next, this is the second time you?ve asked me for advice, and then you of all people become paranoid??

?I?m usually paranoid!? Sahara jutted her chin out defiantly.

Jaheira rolled her eyes. ?Only when there?s been good reason.?

Before Sahara could argue, they were confronted by a giant spider. With a yell of surprise, Minsc almost brought his sword down, but Sahara stopped him instinctively.

?Stop, Minsc! This is the little boy?s mother!?

?Little boy?? The spider chattered. ?What? are you talking about my son? Is he safe? Is he okay??

?Yes, he?s waiting right outside the tent,? Jaheira reassured her. ?Now? what happened??

?I don?t know! I was just going in for the show, and then this gnome started trying something and his magic fizzled. We all started laughing? and I thought it was part of the show! But then everything started shifting? and it was so horrible! People were screaming and changing? I must have blacked out. And when I woke up? I was like this! *sob*?

?It?s okay, lady, Boo says that the ogre said that it?s all just an illusion. Now, we will go to kick evil?s butt and restore you!?

Leaving the spider behind, they crept forwards. Sahara flung her hand out after a few steps as her elven eyes peered at the two figures that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

?That?s them,? she whispered.

Yoshimo quietly notched an arrow to his bow. ?Here? I?ll snipe them and??

He was too late. Sahara walked calmly towards them, her hands casually on her sword hilts. There were two of them; a man and a woman. They both looked like your normal Amnish commoners? until one of the turned towards her.

?Hello,? the kensai nodded pleasantly. ?Do you possibly have a sword lying about we could borrow for???

She never got to finish her sentence. The woman smiled, a rather pleasant smile, actually, before lunging at her. Her opponent, however, merely nodded, and two swords materialized in her hands. The illusion melted away as the orc?s sword clanged on Sahara?s own. Even Jaheira looked amazed when the sweet Amnish girl was replaced by a slavering, green-skinned orc. Sahara swung her katana around, but it was blocked again, and the other ?commoner? moved to join in. But Minsc had arrived, roaring a near inaudible cry about his sword striking down evil. Soon, the orc found himself backed against the wall, facing an indestructible, very large blade bearing down on him, and an equally powerful staff. It was probably fairly safe to assume that the orc?s last thought was something along the lines of ?Help me.?
Sahara, on the other hand, was just about to finish off her orc when it quite suddenly sprouted feathers. Yoshimo smiled satisfactorily. The corpse collapsed limply on her but she shrugged it off, and produced a small sword from within a sheath. It glimmered faintly in her hand.

?I think I?ve found our friend?s ?key?,? she announced.

?If that?s what it is,? mused Jaheira. ?It?s seems weaponlike enough for me? is giving an ogre a weapon really the best of ideas??

?I think she was telling the truth,? Yoshimo commented carefully. ?Her voice was no ogre?s, after all. And we have seen many strange things inside these walls. No? I would not be surprised at all if she was telling the truth.?

?And who was accusing me of being paranoid?? Sahara deadpanned as Jaheira glared at her.

***

The magic twirled as he pulled it from that place inside and around, and the taste of wildness as he incanted the words imprinted into his mind. Something whispered past his ear, and he didn?t notice. Something stirred inside him, and he didn?t notice. Neither did the mentor. The target splintered as three bright missiles spun from his fingertips and smashed into the wood.

?There!?

?You controlled it,? he nodded approvingly at the elf. ?Good work. Now, try the fireball.?

Kalran/Luke took a deep breath, and the room seared and crackled with heat. This was child?s play on the outside, and they both knew it. But on the inside, as each surge was triggered, it was the most incredible struggle he had ever had to face. The wilderness bubbled inside him, simmering, and he forced it into submission. It protested, but he pushed it down with such ferocity it bended to his will.

Never again, he thought silently. Never fail again.

***

?You? you have the key! Or? or rather, the sword! Please, please give it to me so I can be rid of this illusory form at last!?

Sahara stared at her, her wariness suddenly back in full force. She was achingly weary, even though she?d had a long sleep. What?s wrong with me? She thought dully. I?ve never been like this before. Have I? Yes, I have. But? what?s wrong with me?

The ogre shrunk back.

?Oh please, you?ve got to believe me!?


?She?s??

?Shut up!? Sahara snarled.

?No, I won?t on this,? Damaris said quietly. ?She?s for real. Give her the sword.?

?Why the in the nine hells should I trust you??

?Because we?re kinda stuck??


Silently, she handed the sword over.

?Oh thank-you? thank-you! It isn?t really a sword you see??

Before the ogre had finished speaking, a brilliant burst of light flew down from the ceiling and enveloped her. The whirling energy seemed to shake the foundations of this strange place, throwing them to the floor. It was something that Sahara was grateful for later, as their eyes were turned to the floor when there was an explosion of intensive light. Still, they had to blink away spots before they could unsteadily resume their footing. Shaky, they looked at where a huge, green-skinned ogre had once stood.
And they didn?t see it.
No? instead, they saw a young elven woman. Her pale blonde hair, spun like the most delicate gold, cascaded down her back. She was dressed in flowing robes of a beautiful hue of orange contrasting with yellow, bespeaking instantly that she a magical adept.
But it wasn?t her fragile beauty that made Sahara?s jaw drop. It wasn?t even the fact that mere seconds ago, this elf had been an ogre. It wasn?t even shock from the huge flood of light that had temporarily blinded them all.
No? it was something completely different.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:08 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter X: Another

(Hello again . Back with a new chapter... I hope you all enjoy. Not sure if anyone is still reading this, but yes. Hope you enjoy. )


?My? my hands,? she stared in wonder. ?It?s? it?s real again. Oh thank Baervar! But? we must stop Kalah and find Quayle!?

Sahara ignored the Avariel elf?s exclamation, and instead, kept staring slack-jawed at her. ?Steph?!?

Aerie looked perplexed as Sahara gazed at her almost wildly. ?Um? what do you mean??

A bewildered look flashed briefly across her features. ?Steph, don?t you know? It?s me!?

?Steph?? Aerie queried in confusion. ?I?m? my? my name is Aerie.?

Jaheira saw a million emotions shape her charge?s face for a piece of eternity, and then it settled on an expression of such icy blankness, she herself shivered. Before she could reach out, however, Sahara was already speaking.

?No, I?m sorry, you just? reminded me of someone,? Sahara shook her head quickly. ?But you?re right. We need to stop Kalah, and soon. We don?t know what he?s doing. Do you have any idea where to start??

Yoshimo cleared his throat quietly. ?There is only one more door, Sahara.? The Bounty Hunter inclined his head towards the glittering arch.

?True enough?? Sahara studied the Avariel for a second. ?Well, would you like to show the way??

?Do you mean? do you want me to come with you?? she stuttered, surprised.

?We can save your uncle and everyone else in this place. Do you want to come with us? Your help would be appreciated.?

?Really?? she sounded unsure.

?Would you like to join us?? she asked, confidence suddenly flooding through her. This was important, she knew it. Like suddenly the frail Avariel in front of her just clicked with the rest of the confusing world as she? confusingly knew it.

?Would I?? Aerie?s eyes shone. ?Of? of course I would!?

?That?s good, but?? Sahara?s hazel eyes suddenly clouded. ?I? need to warn you before you join us. We?re on a dangerous quest to rescue a childhood friend of mine, Imoen, from a powerful wizard.?

?I?ll do anything, really. I?ll help you rescue Imoen again. Just? p-p-please, we n-need to help Uncle Quayle!?

?We will,? Sahara assured her.
Sahara stopped abruptly when a woman stepped out of the shadows, moving sinuously to show off her body. Aerie gulped as she saw her, and Minsc covered Boo?s eyes, muttering something about him being too young to see such things. Something inside Sahara flinched as her amber eyes surveyed the nearly nude woman basically screaming out her ?occupation?. The gauzy material that just barely covered her left nothing to the imagination.

?Greetings, fair wanderers. Kalah gives his blessings.?

?We do not accept them!? Minsc burst out involuntarily. ?Kalah is in no place to bless people when he cannot keep his hands off of other people?s parents! Right Boo??

The love slave?s unfocused eyes merely danced dreamily at him. ?Kalah has all power.?

?That wasn?t grammatically correct,? Yoshimo pointed out lightly.

The love slave ignored him. Instead, she suddenly smiled as her own orbs locked with Sahara?s green ones.
?Kalah?s blessings upon you, Lady.?

?What the hell do you want?? Sahara shot back bluntly.

The woman looked back at her, unfazed.

?I want nothing of you? I have all that I need from the great Kalah; he who rules this place.?

?Can you help us find Kalah?? Jaheira asked.

?Only the worthy find Kalah,? the love slave murmured, her grey eyes seeming to coalesce into blackness as they locked stares.

?And how is one deemed worthy?? the kensai questioned.

?Those who are not completely sure they are worthy fail. Do you doubt your worthiness??

There was a slight hesitation, and then her emerald eyes hardened. ?No.?

?Then enter the chambers? if you dare.?

Sahara locked stares with her. ?I dare.?

The love slave?s eyebrows arched. ?Do you??

Aerie?s eyes had been growing wider and wider as Sahara and the woman faced off. Slowly, her strangled gasps became audible.

?Sah? Sahara? I don?t think that?s??

?Not all is as it seems in Kalah?s palace,? the love slave stepped away from Sahara and smiled at Aerie. ?You should do well to remember that.?

?Thanks for the unnecessary warning,? Sahara almost snapped. ?Let?s go!?

?Not so ssssoonn??

Even Jaheira recoiled in revulsion as the love slave transmogrified into a Yuan-Ti, its forked tongue flickering mockingly. The short sword that had materialized in its front hand swiped down at Sahara, who leapt aside after a moment of shock. She cried out as it neatly sheared into her shoulder, and that was when Minsc?s sword plunged into the Yuan-Ti?s flesh, followed quickly by Jaheira?s staff. The Yuan-Ti screeched and pulled the blade out to parry its new attackers, spattering blood on the floor. Finally, Minsc sawed it neatly in half.
Jaheira immediately ran to Sahara, but Aerie, who had cowered in shock in the short, brutal battle, was already there. A faint whisper of healing magic sunk deep into Sahara?s flesh.

?Sahara, are you okay?? Jaheira almost shoved aside Aerie and sank her own magic into her charge.

Pain flashed in amber eyes as a low groan escaped from her lips. ?I?m fine?? she half-choked.

?Nonsense,? Jaheira replied crisply as she examined the wound. ?It?s very deep.?

?I-I c-c-can help to heal??

?I can handle it,? Jaheira brushed her aside. ?Go see if the others are hurt.?

Aerie couldn?t help bristling at that. ?I?m a healer too, Jaheira!?

Jaheira didn?t even deign to answer. She had already produced a roll of bandages and a strange looking potion. ?We might want to conserve our healing potions for now? it?s not that bad. This will make it a bit stiff in the morning, but good enough.?

?Are you suggesting we rest here?? Yoshimo arched an eyebrow. ??Tis? dangerous, to say the least. And time may differ here.?

?How long do you think it has been since we came in here?? Sahara asked somewhat dazedly from the floor. The effort of containing the pain had left her somewhat light-headed, even though on the scale of the injuries she?d received, it lingered near the low end of the spectrum. Still, the blood loss was making her feel?

?Boo says it?s been about an hour.?

?Only an hour?? Jaheira exclaimed in disbelief. ?Are you serious??

?Boo is never wrong!?

?If it?s only been about an hour, though,? Sahara tried to compute the numbers in her mind, but they kept fading away. ?That means? it?s around 11 o?clock in the morning,? she hazarded. ?So there?s no point in us resting. We need to move on.?

Jaheira raised an eyebrow.

?Um? if I c-can s-say something? I? think that the next room? illusions. S-some are real attackers, but o-others aren?t??

It was the wound, and her sudden impatience. ?Can you quit babbling for a moment and tell us straight what?s in the next room?? Sahara asked impatiently.

?We definitely need some rest,? Jaheira said loudly, before Aerie could lash back. ?I think we all need some rest? especially you, Aerie. Your ordeal as an ogre must have been traumatic.?

?Since when did she learn all those long words?? Sahara muttered to herself.

Jaheira fixed her charge with a glare. Sahara glared right back at her. Moving in unison, without another word, she helped the injured kensai to stagger to her feet, wrinkling her nose at the fresh Yuan-ti corpse. Together, they moved sluggishly off to the side of this strange, fantastical place. Even though barely four hours had passed since they had first woken, all of them passed easily into sleep, save for Yoshimo, who kept a careful, wary watch.

***

?Minsc! Behind you..!!?

Aerie?s clear, unfaltering voice faded away to a scream as another werewolf leapt on her from behind, sinking claws into her soft, untried skin. She screamed again as it savaged her shoulder, leaning towards her neck. Even as agonizing pain coursed along her veins, she was aware of a lithe figure leaping on to the werewolf and plunging two blades deep into its quivering flesh. With a howl, the werewolf released his grip on the Avariel, who slumped to the ground, consumed by pain. He spun around, throwing Sahara straight into the dark mass of a Shadow, who responded with its ominous hiss.

Stunned, the kensai struggled to keep the Shadow off her as Jaheira ran to help. She stopped the werewolf in its tracks as Sahara finally flipped herself upwards and rammed the mildly enchanted long sword into the Shadow?s gullet. Minsc finished off his shadow, only to be swamped by two werewolves that descended on him at once. Still struggling with her own werewolf, Jaheira looked around desperately for Yoshimo, but could find no trace of him.

?Yoshimo! Where are you??

When there was no reply, Jaheira only threw a more savage blow at the werewolf?s snarling face. However, her question was soon answered when Minsc let out a cry of rage and promptly went berserk. From the darkness lent by lack of sunlight directed through the intricate windows, Yoshimo stalked the hissing shadow that stalked Minsc in turn. With a quick twist of his blade, the Bounty Hunter brought it down on the Shadow?s back, but it saw his approach and whirled, spitting its strange invective as it moved to claw him down. Cursing, the thief began to parry with the shade, fuming over his lost chance to backstab.

The two werewolves slowly but surely backed Minsc against the wall, even in Minsc?s rage. Bleeding, but regenerating slowly, the slavering animals came in at him, falling back deftly from the wild, determined, inhuman swings of the Sword of Chaos, but leaping forwards when they saw an opening. Already profusely wounded, it was a miracle that the ranger kept going. Sahara looked around desperately.
Aerie was in a sodden heap of blood, most likely unconscious from the precious life fluids she had lost. Yoshimo was still lightly fencing with the clawing Shadow, a look of intense concentration etched on his face. Jaheira and herself were still holding off the werewolf, and Minsc was trapped and relatively close to death.
The situation couldn?t get any worse, could it?

The fireball exploded with such force that the badly wounded werewolves were actually ripped apart by the sheer ferocity of it, as close as they were to its centre. Minsc, in some sardonic twist of fate, had been saved from the brunt of the flame by the enemies that had tried to maul him, while Yoshimo?s shadow had screamed as the fire devoured its darkness. Jaheira and Sahara, however, swords impaled deep in werewolf flesh and a staff caught between flailing limbs, took the roaring blaze near the outskirts, yet still full on.

?See?? Sahara coughed, grinning at Jaheira sarcastically, yet there was a hint of grudging respect in her voice. ?She?s proving her worth already.?

Jaheira glared at her as she promptly collapsed.

***

?Did I irritate you, Jaheira?? Sahara laughed as Jaheira tended to her again.

?You?re getting injured too much. It?s not good? especially after your ordeal. It comes from not wearing armour? and not being careful.?

?You know I can?t wear armour, Jaheira. I can?t fight otherwise.?

?Well, you could try to be a little more careful.?

?Me? Careful??

Jaheira finished her spell and stalked away from Sahara?s side. When Yoshimo looked questioningly at her, she just muttered something about her charge being hysterical, delusional, or both.

***

Sahara woke and surveyed her surroundings with the same lopsided smile she?d gone to sleep with. She couldn?t help feeling elated? for no particular reason at all. A black cloud that had been hanging over her seemed to have receded for the time being. Then the memory of Aerie and the question that she posed. Her brown eyes mused unconsciously.

If Kathryn and Steph were here? then could the others? Could everyone here?? Imoen and Aerie? Herself? But how had they arrived here? Why? How could they..?

Sahara?s stream of questions were broken by a gentle sobbing, and then a wrenching cry. Bolting upright and then wishing she hadn?t as a million wounds screamed and blackened flesh cracked, Sahara somehow crawled her way over to where the Avariel elf writhed and screamed in the throes of what appeared to be a nightmare. It was only when she instinctively cradled the sobbing elf in her arms that she felt the rough texture of scar tissue through the thin robes, and a sudden memory wormed its way up from her dual subconscious.

That was when Sahara found herself singing. The words burst unconsciously from her lips, but they sounded strangely familiar.

?Night has fallen through silvery skies,
Hush, my children, close your tired eyes,
Sleep and dream in the shadow?s embrace,
Bathed in the light from the moon?s pearly face

The stars have come out and midst clouds they swim,
As shadows grow darker and house lights fall dim,
Small pinpricks of hope to guide you to light,
Chasing away all the fears of the night??

?Yes, the stars flicker with unearthly gleam,
For though they are small, they are more than they seem,
Though so slight in the sky, they glitter so bright,
Guiding sailors, adventurers, and travellers alike

So dream, my children, dream, and beware,
Don?t follow the path of the hidden nightmare,
Dream, instead, of the love that I sing,
Dream, instead, of the peace that night brings

Listen, my children, to the music night sighs,
Over and over, until the sunrise,
When light stains the sky with colours aflame,
Shining so brightly it puts gold to shame

So sleep, for night has fallen through silvery skies,
Hush, my children, close your tired eyes,
Sleep and dream in the shadow?s embrace,
Bathed in the light from the moon?s pearly face??


It was only when the soft strains of Sahara?s voice died away that she realized the Avariel elf had stopped weeping in her arms. Instead, Aerie?s tear-stained face was shining with an almost wonder.

?I thought you were a fighter, Sahara.?

Amber eyes explored her face above an almost bitter smile. ?I?m not much of a fighter.?

?I didn?t know you were a bard.?

?I?m not,? Sahara shook her head. ?I am? I don?t know what I am??

?Really??

?No? wait, I remember,? her voice suddenly became cold, near devoid of emotion. ?I am a Kensai. A Sword Saint driven by control. Every day I strive to have more control over myself. And every day, I come one step closer to??

She broke off abruptly, staring into space, and then shook her head again. ?What am I doing? Here I am, ranting on about myself. What was wrong, Aerie? Did you have a nightmare about your wings??

Miserably, she nodded. ?I? I c-can?t stop myself. It? I just remember it. It just hurt? so much. And? wait, how did you know about my wings??

For a moment, Sahara was tempted to unload everything she suspected onto Aerie?s head, but she knew that she couldn?t. Not now? it was the wrong time. Irrationally hating herself, she chose a believable lie.

?Before, when I hugged you? I felt the scar tissue. And you?re an Avariel, it?s plain to see.?

?I don?t know what I am any more,? Aerie whispered softly, starting to weep quietly again. ?How c-can I be an Avariel a-a-anymore with n-n-no w-wings??

?The slavers could take away your wings, but they can?t take away who you are, Aerie,? Sahara felt the leader and fighter in her slowly take over. ?They can never do that.?

?Y-yes they c-can. They? they break your spirit? and then they rip out your? soul??

Another memory surfaced amongst the confusion. A memory of the graceful, pale girl standing at the head of her English class, reading out her poetry in a clear, confident voice. Somehow, she knew why she?d instantly recognized her. Kathryn was very much like Imoen? no? wait? Kathryn?
The name stirred up the chaos in her mind once more as she absent-mindedly continued stroking Aerie?s hair and murmuring comfort. Then yet again, through the tumult, the memory surfaced.

The class stirred as Steph glided to the head of the room. Damaris watched her with near envious eyes. She was smart, elegant, and beautiful. Not beautiful like some teenagers their age whose beauty faded when they reached their twenties, or was spoiled by that tight, pinched look of cattiness. Not beautiful like the under-fed, malnourished, brittle models that graced the magazine pages. Damaris decided they weren?t even beautiful. No? she was beautiful with a glowing vitality, and an inner softness that shone in her face, proclaiming to the world that she was that rare thing; a truly good person. She was everything Damaris was not, and she knew it herself. Suddenly, something strange caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, and she turned. Peter was staring at Steph in rapt attention as she began, and Damaris shared a glance with Kathryn, who smiled knowingly. Quiet, intense, secretive Peter sometimes wasn?t as careful as he thought he was.
In a clear, confident voice, Steph began.

?Lost inside that aching void that hides so deep within,
Punished in a torture for a crime that has no sin,
A crime that no court can try and no judge can decide,
No jury in this living world to lock you all inside

For already are you trapped in there; that rotting, hidden cage,
Useless are your mournful cries and screams of angered rage,
For none are there to hear you, and none are there to share,
The agony and pain inside that you now know is there

Yet even behind gilded bars they cannot take your soul,
Can?t rip it out and spit on it and burn it in the coals,
For though they change the outside, they cannot change your heart,
They can hurt your body but they can?t rip you apart.?


Ignoring the class? stares as she strode back to her seat, Steph moved as cleanly and self-assuredly as she had before. This time, however, she left the teacher slack-jawed behind her. They all remembered her usual poems? generally far more optimistic. No-one knew how to deal with this new piece. They weren?t sure if she was crying out for help in the only way she knew, or if she merely had decided to write some darker poetry.
Looking into what she suddenly realized were haunted eyes, Damaris knew that maybe, just maybe, it was neither.
Maybe she was just lost.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:10 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XI: Shadows in Light

(Hey. . I'm sorry I took so long with this chapter... I wasn't really sure if people were still reading this. . I hope those who are enjoy this chapter, though. )


Damaris realized with a start that Aerie had fallen asleep on her shoulder, exhausted by her long cry. Emerging slowly from the near trance-like state she had slipped into as she?d travelled down memory lane, Damaris looked down at her tear-stained face. She hadn?t known immediately with Kathryn, her best friend? so how had she known with Steph? Soon, she realized it was Steph?s sheer presence. She didn?t know how much she remembered, if she remembered at all. How much Aerie was she, and how much of herself was she? Even through her weeping, there was a strange strength to it all. This Aerie stuttered, true. That was instinctive. But there was? just something?
Abruptly, Sahara lost her tenuous grip on her sudden clarity, and she was confused once again. She sighed in a mixture of frustration and fear. Then, slowly, ever-so-slowly, she inched Aerie back onto her pile of rugs they had scavenged from some luxurious looking chests, and crept quietly back to her own bed. Immediately, she sank into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Yoshimo watched silently, eyes hooded like a hawk?s.

*************************

?Are we ready?? Sahara demanded. She had woken up before the others, and was completely dressed and ready. Now, she was waiting impatiently for the others to follow her example.

?We will be soon,? Minsc assured her. ?Boo says that we must be nearing the evil! He can smell it! See his whiskers quivering??

?If so, we had best be extra careful,? Yoshimo warned them as he slid his muscular body into a new, clean pair of trousers. ?Who knows what stupid mousetraps await our toes in the dark??

?W-what will w-we do?? Aerie asked.

?What do you mean ?what will we do???? demanded Jaheira. ?We go in there, we kill Kalah. How much more simple could it be??

Aerie flushed. ?I didn?t ask you, Jaheira. I was asking Sahara.?

Sahara sighed, and cut across Jaheira?s heated response. ?I think that our best battle plan would be to go directly for Kalah. We know that his illusions are hard to fight, and are just that. Illusions. Who knows what will be real or not when we get in there. The safest thing is to head directly for him. Once we kill him, the illusions will be dispelled.?

?Since when were you such a battle expert?? Jaheira asked waspishly, still simmering from Aerie?s answer.

?You taught me a lot,? Sahara shrugged modestly.

The druidess? eyes smiled unexpectedly.

When they were ready, they ascended the stairs to the single door there, only to be blocked by another genie that had seemingly conjured itself out of nothing.

?Kalah has watched your progress with great interest. Will you enter, and be proven worthy or unworthy??

?I will enter,? Sahara said firmly, readying her blades inconspicuously in case the genie attacked them.

?You do show some courage, then,? the genie laughed as he bowed aside. ?Very well, enter!?

With a deep breath, Sahara took the time to look behind her at her companions for reassurance, and then pushed open the door, walking into?

Complete nothingness. Then their eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could make out a huge, hulking shape. It was tall, its horned helmet near grazing the ceiling. Next to it, they could see some sort of oozing mass? a slime, she hazarded. Before they could completely gather their senses and make out the forms of hissing shadows and werewolves, an unearthly laugh echoed through the room.

?Ah, my beast? you have led them here nicely.?

Aerie started as she realized the voice was addressing her. ?W-what do you mean? I?m not??

?You?re not what?? the voice chuckled. Then it grew violent. ?You?re not my beast?! But you are! You all are!?
It became wheedling, almost coaxing. ?You all are, don?t you see??

?A-Aerie?? this time, a rather familiar voice came from the general direction of the slime. ?A-Aerie? Is that you? I have no eyes? I cannot see??

?Uncle Quayle? Are you okay?!?

?Enough!? roared Kalah, but Aerie ignored him.

?Oh Uncle Quayle? what has he done to you?!?

?He?s? changed me??

?Enough!? Kalah shouted once again. Now, they heard the hissing and the low growls of the werewolves. Desperately, Aerie looked around.

?Be careful, Sahara! Some of these are real, and some of them aren?t!?

Kalah?s anger vanished at her words, and he laughed once more. ?Yes, it?s a regular three-ring circus, isn?t it, my beasts? Now go ahead and tear each other apart!?

The shadows and werewolves converged upon them before they could make a beeline for Kalah. With a cry, they launched themselves into battle, their weapons seeming to flicker in the mid-darkness. The werewolves? cries and the shadows? hisses mixed with the muffled cries of Quayle as Kalah began torturing him once more. The cries spurred them on as they fought, however. But Sahara knew in the darkness that they could barely see their opponents. As Aerie screamed in pain, something flashed in her mind, and she knew she only had one option available.
She dodged between two werewolves as they prepared to enfold her in a deadly embrace, and spun past another two shadows. Katana outstretched, she found her target in the blackness.
There was a long, hideous scream, and she felt her sword quiver as she thrust it into something solid. Then, everything went completely and utterly dark.


When light had returned, they found themselves in a large circus tent with some very confused people milling around. Some were bleeding profusely from inflicted wounds, and others were unharmed. Kalah lay on the ground, now in his true shape, with Sahara?s blade sunk deep into his chest. As far as Aerie could see, the wound was mortal. He would probably only last for about another minute or two. He seemed to know this, and his heart-wrenching cry reached out for the sky.

?Noooooooooooooo!!!!! This wasn?t supposed to happen! This isn?t what was promised to me!?

?Promised to you? What have you done, gnome?? Sahara demanded fiercely, glaring at the hapless gnome.

?Too long have I planned this,? Kalah coughed, ignoring her question. ?Too long have I planned this, for too long have I worked for this! Only to have it all ruined by you inbred Northern adventurers!?

?Inbred??!? Minsc began to protest.

Sahara shut him up with a glare. ?What happened here, Kalah?? she asked. ?Why did you do all of this??

?What?s happened? You?ve? you?ve killed Kalah with your misplaced morals and beastly greed for adventure! I? I just wanted to be respected??

The sword still quivered in his chest as his rasping breaths made the blade fall up and down in a strange, almost rhythmic motion. His ragged pants for oxygen grew weaker, but still he pressed grimly on as if he wanted to explain. Gasping, he somehow summoned the strength to keep going. From behind her, Sahara didn?t notice Jaheira studying her intently.

?Here, a magic user is looked down upon, and a gnome everywhere is a joke. Something to laugh at. Something ridiculous. For too long, I?ve been laughed at. For too long! In here? in the world I created, I was somebody. People? looked up to me. I had? power??

?But it was an illusion,? Yoshimo said softly. So softly, only Sahara and Aerie with their keen elven ears picked it up. With great difficulty, Kalah nodded slightly in his direction to indicate that he too had heard.

?Yes?? the blood burbled out of his mouth now. ?All an illusion, in the end. All an illusion??

The gnome began to weep with his last, dying breaths. The tears mixed with the blood as it ran down his face. Her own eyes suddenly brimming with tears, Sahara impulsively knelt down and took him by the hand. Unable to talk now, he just looked at her.

?What you did was wrong, Kalah. But I?ll track down the person who tricked you. I?ll make them pay. And I?ll make sure people remember you as? as who you are.?

Somehow, he worked his mouth again.

?Thank? you??

And then, with the five of them surrounding him, Kalah died. Quietly, and somehow, with Sahara?s words to him, peacefully.

Slowly, Sahara drew her blade out of him, wiped it and sheathed it. Then she crossed his arms so that he lay in a final semblance of peace.

Just as she stood up, however, she heard something snarl behind her, and something large barrelled into her. She only had time to feel fetid breath on her cheek before she felt a burning pain across her throat and instinctively threw herself backwards to hit her head against a solid wooden table. There was a sharp stab of agony, and she passed out.

***

He drummed his fingers impatiently on the ebony table, elongated nails scratching over the smooth, worn surface. With an angry sigh, the table dissolved under his skin, and he stood up, pacing along the carpeted floor.
So? Kalah was dead. Killed by a group of adventurers that people whispered were the Heroes of the Sword Coast. The legendary Heroes of the Sword Coast. Those who had stopped the Grand Dukes of Baldur?s Gate from warring with Amn in the grand plot of the Bhaalspawn, Sarevok. It was rumoured that the leader of the Heroes of the Sword Coast was a Bhaalspawn as well, and that the final confrontation had been horribly bloody. There were also rumours that?

He didn?t believe them. They were nothing more than that. A myth. The Grand Dukes of Baldur?s Gate most likely wished to make everyone believe they had a group of powerful warriors at their disposal. No? he didn?t believe them. Not in them, and not in the stories that surrounded them.
But these adventurers that had murdered Kalah were real, he was sure of it. And while they were ?real?, they would need to be dealt with, or else there was a slim possibility that they might disturb his real plot.
The Umber Hulk that had bowled Sahara over was still sitting on what appeared to be its haunches when he approached. The normally dangerous animal seemed almost mesmerized by the glowing rogue stone pendant that hung from his neck. Crooning, he reached out and held his hand to its head.

?I need those adventurers eliminated. Can you do it??

?It is done, master.?

?Good. Take all the reinforcements that you need??

?It is done, master.

As the creature loped off to begin arrangements of the assassination with its fellows, he walked back to his oaken chair and sprawled in it, tapping his fingers absentmindedly once more on the ebony table that had reappeared. But his mind was no longer on the adventurers that had so disrupted his prototype plan. His mind was on the real plan? that was already unfolding. The de'Arnise Keep would be his.

***

Aerie looked at Quayle, her eyes brimming with tears. ?Oh thank you, so much. You? you?re the wisest and bravest and smartest gnome I know.?

Quayle smiled, his owlish-ness accentuated by his large glasses perched on his nose. ?I? I wasn?t always wise and brave and smart, my Aerie. You taught me that. Now it?s time for you to go out in to the world and learn.?

?I will? and I?ll come back and visit you.?

?That? that would be good.?

The Avariel knelt down and embraced Quayle, and then stood, tears shimmering in her eyes. ?I?ll remember everything you taught me.?

?Then look after Sahara, she needs it now,? he told her gently.

With a final, quick, hug, Aerie picked up her robes and hurried outside, where Jaheira fussed over the still unconscious Sahara, Minsc stood, beaming, as mother and child embraced and thanked them over and over again, and Yoshimo smiled his enigmatic smile in the background. Briefly, the Avariel?s and the Kara-Turan?s eyes met, and she could almost see something bestial in them. She opened her mouth to cry out in surprise, but then it was gone.

?Aerie? Could you help me over here??

Cautiously, Aerie picked her way across to where Yoshimo stood by the side of the tent. He seemed to be examining his bow as she went, but when she arrived, he looked up at her carefully.

?Do you know what the creature was that rushed Sahara??

?No? do you??

Yoshimo slung his bow across his back, and stared off into the darkening sky. It was almost sunset, but rays of light still swept the city streets. An enormous melancholy seemed to encompass him as he surveyed the horizon, but then it too, vanished.

?It was an Umber Hulk,? he explained quietly. ?Extraordinarily strong subterranean burrowers. I don?t understand how one could be in Athkatla itself.?

?What about that snake thing?? Aerie asked. ?The Yuan-Ti? I?ve read about them? but Uncle Quayle told me that they?re almost never found inside Athkatla, either.?

?I don?t understand how they got here,? Yoshimo mused. ?Something is wrong. What is it that they say? Ah, yes. I smell a rat.?

?W-what do you mean??

He regarded her calmly. ?It doesn?t equate. Has Kalah ever been able to cast illusions so well??

?N-n-no? he mainly did a few magic tricks? like making illusory f-flowers appear and things.?

?The power to have created that? that almost separate dimension would have had to have been enormous.?

?How do you know so much about magic?? Aerie queried curiously.

Even in the near darkness, and without the help of her natural infravision, Aerie saw the Bounty Hunter stiffen. For a moment, he stood there, working his jaw, but then he finally spoke. ?My sister.?

?I?m? I?m s-sorry. What h-happened??

?Dead,? he told her abruptly.

The mood of the conversation seemed to sour, and Aerie fell silent and followed his gaze to the setting sun. They stayed there, for a while, watching the last of the golden orb slip beneath the sky.

?Jaheira probably needs some help.?

?We?ll help her, then.?

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:12 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XII: Do you remember?

[My... I must say. It's been a long while. *glances at the dates and shivers*. Apologies to any who have been waiting for this next installment. I blame exams, homework, and school. . Anyway, now I can't really use that excuse any more, so hopefully you'll be seeing more regular updates!
Anyway, without further ado, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. ]

?Just a nasty knock on the head,? Jaheira informed them as they knelt besides Sahara?s prone figure. ?She?ll live, albeit with fewer brain cells than she used to own. The main problem now is getting her to an inn.?

?W-w-when will she wake up??

?Soon, hopefully. Maybe in about an hour or so.?

?An hour? Then we?d best get her to the Mithrest,? Yoshimo looked at Minsc, who lifted her up with ease. It was a strange procession that twisted through Waukeen?s Promenade; Jaheira at the lead with her staff inconspicuously at the ready, Minsc carrying Sahara, and Aerie following them nervously in her flowing saffron and gold robes, and Yoshimo bringing up the rear. Their weapons definitely attracted stares as they moved as quickly as they could, the sunlight glinting off cold steel as they went.
They did not go unnoticed by many.

*************************

She was in a windswept place that looked vaguely familiar. An almost hurricane strength gale seemed to screech through the empty stone buildings, yet she remained standing upright. Slowly, she looked around. Gaping holes breathed a sickening void as she stumbled over, and then reeled backwards at the enormity of the emptiness. A small headache started to creep through her skull.
And then there was something? someone, in front of her.

?A dream? a dream of many things.?

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but the face swam in front of her eyes. Straining, Sahara slowly made out the image of a young woman? one that seemed even more familiar than the voice.

?Of friends and family and home??

The image suddenly coalesced before her eyes, and Sahara stifled a gasp.
?I? Imoen???

?These dreams always mean something, don?t they??

?Imoen? I don?t understand! What?s happening??

The image appeared to ignore her. Instead, a strange expression crossed over her face, as if she was trying desperately to remember something, but couldn?t. ?I? I used to know. Why don?t I know? Even those in the Cowls don?t know.?

?Imoen??

Her next words were almost a pitiful cry. ?Why don?t I know??

Sahara blinked, and then Damaris inhaled sharply.

?K? Kathryn??

Kathryn/Imoen swayed from side to side, her face ashen grey. Instinctively, Damaris stepped forwards to support her, but Kathryn shook her head. Helpless, Damaris let her hands fall by her side.

?Kathryn, where are we??

?I? don?t remember.?

Damaris looked around, and suddenly it hit her. Candlekeep. A dead, empty, Candlekeep. The fountains she and Imoen? Imoen/Kathryn had played by were empty, gaping, abysses of blackness. The flowerbeds and gardens had withered away to sighing shadow. As she turned back, she saw that Kathryn had been hit by the same realization.

?Yes! This was home for so long. But they wouldn?t have you now. They wouldn?t have me. Had no use??

The place faded, washed away by shifting sand, but then she saw herself and her companion again, this time, in a different location. Three statues stood in front of them, and Damaris recognized them as Gorion, Elminster, and Khelbun Blackstaff.

?Do you remember? Gorion? And the others??

?Kathryn, what?s? what?s going on??

But Kathryn ignored her. Instead, she traced a hand down Gorion?s face, staring at the stone as if trying to recollect something. Suddenly, she laughed.

?Yes, they were the guidance. And there was so much to learn. But it is too late, now. Something cuts deeper? memories should stay, shouldn?t they? But he cuts deeper? pushes everything aside??

Before Damaris? horrified eyes, all three of the living statues burst into flames, horrible death cries ringing in her ears.

?I don?t remember any of you,? Kathryn whispered.


The scene faded, but then, once more, another reappeared. Looking at the swirling, dead leaves which danced an foreboding waltz around her, Damaris began to feel nauseous and the slightest bit dizzy. Then her eyesight cleared as she saw a huge, armoured man that she remembered very well indeed? or at least Sahara did.
So did, it appeared, Imoen/Kathryn.

?Do you remember? Sarevok??

?Yes, I do, Imoen???

Imoen, once again, ignored her. ?He sought your death and mine. He, and all the others? they seemed so dangerous at the time. But something else is more dangerous? closer. I can? I can feel it.?

?Imoen, are you???

Imoen, who had been contemplating the strange dust patterns that whirled around her feet, suddenly snapped her head up to gaze deep into Sahara?s eyes. The tone of her voice caught at her throat, the mute pleading seeming to suffocate her with her own feelings of helplessness.

?Do you remember? me??

?Of course I remember you, Imoen. Please, what?s???

?I can almost?? she grasped at thin air, as if trying to reach something invisible. ?I want to? but, no. Too late.?

?What?! What?s too late? Imoen, talk to me!?

Suddenly, it was snapped. The unreal feeling dissolved, and they were standing in an empty void. Imoen reeled backwards.

?Gods? Sahara! Everything hurts??

Sahara tried to reach out to her, but her hands grasped ineffectually at thin air.

?I?m coming, dammit! I?m coming! Hold on!?

Kathryn sobbed as she collapsed on the dusty ground. ?What happened? I don?t understand??

?Neither do I, but hold on! I?m coming, I swear!?

The words seemed to bring back the unreality, and it was too late to come back. Imoen?s eyes blanked, and her voice came out so sure she was startled.

?Too late, you will come too? late??

?No, I won?t! Imoen, I?m going to save you??

Sahara abruptly stopped speaking as she saw Imoen freeze, and then a cold greyness slowly touch her pale skin. It crept up from her feet, immobilizing her. When it reached her throat, Sahara could see Imoen take one last, fevered gasp before she was turned to stone. Before she could rush over, someone else stepped from the shadows. Whirling around, she saw that it was her disfigured tormentor from the darkest depths of the dungeon that had only recently held her captive.

?She resists. She clings to her past as if it actually matters. She will learn.?

?What? what is this place??

?It is a crossing of time, the future, and the past. It is what may come to pass.?

?But? what are you doing here??

?Ask yourself. It is you, after all, who has brought us to the dream.?

?I didn?t bring anyone anywhere,? Sahara said angrily. ?Give me some answers, dammit! Why won?t anyone give me answers??

?They?re inside.?

She wanted to scream with frustration. She did.

?Why all these cryptic riddles?? she demanded. ?Why are you playing me?! Why??

Just before everything went dark as a spasm of pain shot through her and she heard Imoen scream, she saw Irenicus smile. A horrible, twisted, smile.

?Nothing is real??

She began to sink into oblivion.

?? yet??

*****************

?Breathe, child! ?Tis only a nightmare. Breathe!?

Gasping and choking, Sahara clawed her way out of the matrix of twisted sheets she had fallen into and sat up, panting with fear and drenched in sweat. Jaheira sat on her own bed, polishing her armour.

?It is good that you have woken, Sahara. While you were asleep, I went down to the slums with Yoshimo to get some information. We met a thief by the name of Gaelan Bayle.?

?Gaelan Bayle? that sounds familiar.?

?I?d never heard of him before? but he?s here, now.?

?He?s here?!? Sahara instinctively clutched at the bedsheets.

?No,? Jaheira looked amused. ?Downstairs, waiting. You best get clothed.?

Sahara quickly slung on a top and pants, ignoring the dull headache that still thumped painfully behind her temple. Jaheira seemed to notice, and a blue flash of magic crossed the air between them.

?Do you know what that? that thing was? What hit me??

?Yoshimo has ascertained that it was an Umber Hulk, although why it was there is a mystery. He says they?re not common, some sort of underground burrowers.?

?Underground? Strange? to find that in Waukeen?s Promenade??

?More than strange,? Jaheira disagreed. ?Downright suspicious.?

?Well? we?ll ponder it over once we talk to Gaelan.?


Sahara clattered down the stairs hurriedly dressed, complete with her katana and longsword slung across her shoulders. Jaheira followed at a more stately pace behind, her now gleaming armour reflecting every arc of light that bounced her way.
Gaelan was sitting at an inn table, surrounded by an eagerly grinning Minsc, a chuckling Yoshimo, and an awed looking Aerie. As they came closer, they began hearing audible snatches of Gaelan?s vivid stories.

?An? then, o? course, the basilisk just turned around an? petrified the poor guy.?

?Did you save him?? Aerie queried.

?O? course? after me an? my other pal stuck a couple o? knives into the big feller. I?m tellin? you, girl. Basilisks are a nasty sort.?

?Yes they are! Why, only last year Minsc and Boo and Sahara and Jaheira fought seven basilisks all at once!?

?Really?? Yoshimo asked. ?Well? an incredible feat, I must say.?

?How?d you do it??

?Well we did fight several, but the most we had was four at once,? Sahara looked at Gaelan. ?You wished to see me??

Instantly, Gaelan seemed to transform. The indolent storyteller they had glimpsed only a moment before straightened and hardened, instantly transforming into a man devoted to business and business alone. Sahara had to search his eyes for a moment before she could recall that glimmer of laughter as he addressed her.

?Coo! Well now, lass. It seems you?re the one I?ve been watchin? for.?

?Maybe, maybe not,? Yoshimo interjected guardedly. ?You said you had information.?

?That I do,? Gaelan looked Sahara in the eye. ?Now I?ll be tellin? ye straight, I?ve got information on both Irenicus and the lass he took with him.?

?Irenicus? Imoen??

?Aye? Imoen? that be her name. Young lass made the misfortune of castin? a couple of cantrips in a city that frowns on such business. Anyway, do ye be wanting to get her back, then??

?Do I want to get her back? Of course I do! How??

?Now I?ll be tellin? ye straight,? Gaelan repeated. ?I can hook ye up with a very powerful organization. They can deliver the lass, and the mage who took ?er to boot!?

?Where?s the catch?? Jaheira asked suspiciously.

?They don?t call Athkatla the City of Coin for nothin?, ye know. Anyway?? Gaelan looked furtively about. ?This ain?t the best place to be talkin? about these sensitive matters. I?ve got me a place close by that?ll serve, though. Are you with me??

?Do we have a choice?? Yoshimo asked.

?Coo! A choice ye always has. Come then, follow me!?

He slid out of his chair and walked away with nary a backward glance. Sahara looked at everyone uncertainly.

?Well? what do you guys think??

?Sahara??

?We?re going into this as a group, Jaheira,? Sahara pointed out practically. ?I want to know what you all think.?

?Well? he seemed nice enough,? Aerie commented.

?Boo says we should trust the nice man? even though we could all see he had many daggers down his back.?

?Yoshimo??

?I think we can trust him, Sahara.?

?Jaheira??

?We should really be more careful, but I think I?m outnumbered. Fine. Let us follow him soon, else we?ll lose him.?

Together, they trooped out of the inn, and saw Gaelan?s determined stride off in the distance. Hurrying, they caught up to him as he led them through and past the stately arches of Waukeen?s Promenade. Slowly, the environment around them began to change into squalor. Merchants? stalls gradually gave way to dilapidated houses groaning under the weight of ancient mould creeping over damp boards and rubbish left lying in the streets. The air became considerably more foul as they trekked on, until they finally reached a fully standing house. Gaelan slipped inside, and after a moment of uncertainty, they followed.

***

They stepped into a well-lit room, the arched windows expertly conducting the sun?s waning light into the shadows. Gaelan gestured extravagantly at the various couches scattered across the place, and then threw himself into an armchair, suddenly all business again.

?Coo! Well, it?s good to see you again, lass. I thought ye weren?t comin? until I felt your boot-tips on me boot-heels. Almost lost ye back there.?

?We kept up just fine. Now will you tell me what this is all about??

?I?ll be tellin? ye now. As I said, I can hook ye up with a very powerful organization that?ll help ye get your lass Imoen back and the mage as well. But it?ll cost ye.?

?Why would a powerful organization be wanting to help us?? Jaheira asked.

?Well now, I couldn?t be presumin? to know the minds of ?em, could I? Nay, lass, I have no idea. Suffice to say that they?re willin? to help ye, they just need the gold.?

Sahara went out on a limb. ?How much??

?Well now? let me see? I?d say it were fifty thousand gold they were after.?

?Fifty thousand?!? Aerie breathed.

?Fifty thousand. No more, no less.?

?Fifty thousand?!? they all echoed simultaneously.

?I?m sure ye?ve all spent and earnt as twice as much before,? Gaelan sounded irritated.

?Very well,? Sahara attempted to control herself. ?But how do you expect me to raise this money??

?It?s the City of Coin, lass! There?re plenty o? things to do to earn your bit o? gold. Sellin?? buyin?? stealin?? an? there be plenty o? odd jobs around that nobles would be happy to be payin? for.?

?We would be mercenaries?? Minsc asked with an odd edge of distaste to his voice.

?If it gets ye your gold, whyever not??

?Done, then,? Jaheira glanced at Sahara. ?Do you know where we could possibly get work??

?Well now,? Gaelan eyed her swords. ?Ye look to be the fighterish sort. Th? Copper Coronet be a good place to sniff around. Or th? Government District if ye think to be looking for the rich types. The preachy ones always have some errand to run as well.?

Sahara shook her head. ?I don?t have time to do this money crawling, Gaelan,? she snapped, her patience wearing thin. ?My best friend has been in Irenicus? clutches for two days now! I?m not wasting more time.?

?Well ye?d best get moving, then,? Gaelan murmured softly.

They stood for a tense moment of locked wills for a second, and surprisingly enough, tough, resilient Gaelan looked away. The steely glare hid an unnatural fire that burned, and he?d caught a glimpse of the devouring ferocity behind that flame.

?I ain?t the master, lass,? he proffered in what would probably be the nearest to a stiff apology they would get.

?I know,? she replied thinly. ?The Government District, you say? And the Copper Coronet??

He affirmed with a slight nod.

She turned on her heel, and they followed.

***
Sahara had been so intent on following Gaelan the first time that when she first stepped out, she was surprised at the conditions. The Athkatlan slums weren?t exactly the most beautiful place on Toril. Dilapidated houses stood ramshackle, leaning against each other in an attempt to stay upwards. Small children covered in dirt threaded their way through the traffic, shouts accompanying them as they went. Beggars sat disconsolately on filthy cobbles streaked with mud and other unmentionables. The only properly standing and weather-shielding buildings in the place seemed to be Gaelan?s and the huge inn in the centre, the Copper Coronet.

?How much gold did we get from the dungeon and the circus?? Sahara asked Jaheira softly.

?We?ve got 496 gold pieces,? Jaheira replied subduedly.

Sahara laughed dryly. ?Wonderful,? she said as she did some quick mental arithmetic in her mind. ?Only 49,504 to go.?

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:13 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XIII: Athkatla, City of Coin


[Oops. . I think it's a bit too late for this to be called the Christmas edition, but Merry Christmas to everyone anyway. I hope you enjoy this chapter! ]


?So ?ere?s the Copper Coronet. I trust ye can open the door and enter without me showin? ye how to do it??

?Of course we can! Many thanks for showing us here, little boy. Boo appreciates it.?

Brus scratched Boo?s belly again, flashed a grin, and disappeared amongst the winding streets and alleys, leaving them at the door of one of the most disreputable places in Athkatla. With a sigh, Jaheira opened the door, and they were flooded by the stink of stale alcohol lying thick in the air and unwashed bodies. Reluctantly, they entered.

Smoke from assorted pipes drifted lazily about them as they stepped into the smog lent by crackling fires at either end of the inn. Several tables clustered near the entrance, populated by both awake and snoring patrons, those awake constantly calling for more ale and pinching the serving girls. Loud raucous laughs echoed throughout the hazy atmosphere. Inwardly, Sahara groaned. Would there really be any work here?
Hesitantly, they walked past spilt ale and overturned tables, and then, almost as if on cue, they heard a young woman?s voice resound loudly over the chaos, pleading in her tone. It sounded remarkably out of place.

?Please, will anyone listen? Will anyone hear my plea? You all know me, I?ve helped some of you!?

Despite her cry, no-one seemed to answer. They all quickly looked at each other, and simultaneously started pushing their way towards her.

?Is this the thanks I get?? she demanded. ?I?ve helped so many of your kind!?

As they got closer, Sahara saw her. She was dressed in royal blue robes, with a short bow and a quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder. A shortsword peeked out from the girdle around her waist. Shoulder-length brown hair framed quite an attractive face, that was currently filled with helplessness. Suddenly, it flamed with hope.

?You! You over there! You look like the mercenary type! Please, will you listen to me??

It took Sahara a dazed second to realize that the woman was, in fact, talking to her. ?Y-yes? Oh? yes. We will listen.?

Ignoring Jaheira?s dirty look at her stuttering, for the druidess had long ago trained her out of it, Sahara pushed her way through the last of the drunken crowd to reach the noblewoman. Eventually, midst the bustling patrons, Aerie, Yoshimo, Jaheira, Minsc, and Sahara stood before her, waiting patiently for an explanation.

?It?s my? my home, you see. I?ve tried to get help here, but no-one will listen to me! And after all the things I?ve done for them??

?You?re clearly a noble,? Jaheira noted, observing the fine material of which her robes were made of. ?Why would you be amongst commoners, helping them??

?Why shouldn?t I?? she almost bristled. ?Look at them? barely able to live while all the nobles live in idle luxury??

?You being one of said nobles, my lady?? Yoshimo asked easily.

?Well? yes. I-I?m the daughter of Lord de?Arnise. But that isn?t the?!?

Yoshimo made some quick mental connections in his head, and her name popped up. ?Calm down, my Lady Nalia. Tell us what you need.?

?My? my keep?s been attacked. I was able to get out to go for help, but the last I saw, the soldiers were falling back to a palisade by the west. My father and my aunt are still in there, though. And many of our loyal servants, though quite a few were killed. We?ve got to get there quickly!?

?We will!? Minsc assured her. ?We will kick the butts of the evil who dare assault innocents! Right Boo??

?Squeak!!?

?Oh, is that a? is that a hamster??

?No, it is a miniature giant space hamster! He?s very smart?. Do you like him??

Sahara cleared her throat as Nalia stroked Boo, who seemed to be enjoying himself at her attention. ?How do we get to this keep of yours??

?Oh? I?ll mark it on your map.? Nalia quickly fished out a quill and outlined a rough sketch on the proffered parchment. When she was done, Sahara rolled it up and stuck it in her belt once more.

?Okay. Now can you tell me who?s attacking the keep??

?There?s no time! We?ve got to go now!?

?Alright,? Sahara tried to calm her again. ?We?ll need to go via the city gates.?

?Good??

Sahara cleared her throat again as her insides wrenched. She hated this. It went against her moral code. ?I?m sorry, Nalia, but we?re a little short of cash at the moment, and we?ll need??

?Yes, yes,? Nalia brushed it away. ?I can arrange money. But we must hurry! Can we go now??

The five looked at each other. ?We??

?Please, can I come? I?m not that bad a thief? I had to pick a few locks to come here! And I can cast a few spells. And I want to help my home??

Sahara deliberated over it for a second. ?Of course. Now? we?d best get moving.?

?Of course,? Nalia fell into line, her face beaming once again.


They wound their way out of the Copper Coronet and set off on the long trek to the City Gates and into the wilderness beyond. Something murmured in their minds, and a chill crossed her stomach.

?We?re not ready for this,? she whispered

?Who are you to say?? she asked belligerently.

?I know what?s going to happen? only? it?s changed.?

?Well, you obviously don?t know what?s going to happen then.?

?We?re not ready for this,? she insisted.

?I heard you the first time!?

She shrank back down. She pushed the other back with disgust.

***

He grumbled as he walked, his blistered feet protesting loudly. A rather nasty voice inside his head repeatedly taunted him with his own words. Words that he?d spoken with such confidence only a week ago, yet now, returned to haunt him.

?As you are yet to reach your final step of training, we will send you assistance.?

?None needed. I?ll do fine on my own.?

He?d saluted, then, and walked around. In a voice that he knew no-one could hear, he?d whispered, softly. ?I?ll make you proud of me.?


Now, he wasn?t sure of either of his two previous statements. As ?None needed, I?ll do fine on my own.? repetitively echoed in his head, he wished he could find something to bash it against. His head, that was, not the statement. If it was physically possible, though, he would have.
In a decidedly grumpy mood, and in constant pain as his unworn leather boots scraped against soft skin, he kept going. He?d anticipated that three days? of travelling would have gotten him there by now, but his horse had injured itself, and he?d had to leave it in a farmer?s capable hands, with promises that it would be returned to his family. Now, however, it had been an entire week, and the De?Arnise keep had yet to appear.
Abruptly, however, his head snapped up as he caught a glimpse of stone in front of him, and he immediately revised his last thought.

***

They had walked for almost an entire day, marching through the City Gates later that morning. Pausing briefly only to question a guard about a shipment of ?black lotus? and the resulting bribery they had witnessed, the hostile reply was enough to get them to shrug their shoulders and move on. Soon, the walls of Athkatla were only a grey smudge on a flaming horizon. The city surroundings gave way to rolling hills and farms, and for some reason, all of them seemed to instinctively relax, save one.
Nalia seemed to walk like one possessed. As a noble, she?d no doubt been schooled to hide the many tumultuous emotions that came with being mortal, but right now, she couldn?t care less how she looked. A wild pain seemed to swell in her features like waves upon the shore, combined with a helpless desperation that filled everything she did. She refused to eat, and when Jaheira even mentioned resting, her eyes went blank. Knowing they were all exhausted, Sahara watched, powerless, as Nalia kept going, almost like an automaton.
The others, noting the wildness in her eyes, steered clear of her. Aerie, however, seemed almost drawn to her by the agony that seemed burnt into every inch of Nalia?s skin. The wingless Avariel virtually hovered around her, gently offering food and water, murmuring thoughts of sleep. But Nalia shook them all off, intent on rescuing her home.
Sahara really couldn?t blame her.
But the way she walked, the way that she drove herself on even though they could all tell that she was almost tottering on her feet, said something different. The air that surrounded her only sunk her deeper into despair.
And it was only then, after a quick glance between Aerie and Nalia, one to Jaheira, who nodded, and one to Yoshimo, who bowed his head slightly, that she realized.
Nalia was walking the walk of one who was already defeated.

And so they travelled. Exhausted, grimy, sweaty, and frankly, not exactly smelling like flowers. Eventually, the stone Keep of the De?Arnise family graced their view, and even Jaheira who had seen much natural beauty had to catch her breath.
If this was De?Arnise Keep in war, what would it be like in peacetime?
The majestic grandeur of the arcing granite soared in the battlements, and the entire Keep seemed to almost breathe of nobility. Its surrounding lands, however, were what caught their eye. Meandering streams merged into rivers and lakes, while the surrounding trees seemed to whisper to the wind. A palisade relatively close to the Keep and the air of desperation that seemed to cloak the area were really the only things that pointed to war. That, of course, and the distinct metallic scent of blood in the air.
It was then that Nalia spoke. Her voice sounded dry and somewhat ancient as her parched throat tried to work.

?We? we should get to the palisade. See if anyone?s survived.?

Before anyone could even answer her, she moved woodenly down the slope to the almost circular palisade. Shrugging their shoulders helplessly once more, they followed her down.

***

Well? he?d reached his destination. That had to be an upside, right?
The young half-elf slumped against the Stone Keep with a sigh, all his confidence and, he had to admit, arrogance, washed out of him. He didn?t have any idea, really, of what to do. As a fledgling magic-user, he?d thought?
?No time to think about this now,? he muttered to himself as he ran his fingers along the rough-hewn rock. ?Plenty of time to think about this? after I get in/I don?t get in/I go home/or I die. Besides, I gotta remember, covert operation.?
And with those thoughts firmly in place, he set about trying to get in.

***

?Trolls. I. Hate. Trolls.?
Yoshimo?s word echoed above the clash of Sahara?s swords and troll claws and Jaheira?s duller blasts as her staff broke ribs and bones. Aerie stared in horror at the crowd of trolls, and then lifted her arms, ready to cast fireball again.
?No! Don?t?? Jaheira knew that Minsc was weak. The trolls were mostly taking their ire out on him. A fireball now would kill him.
Surprisingly, however, the numerous quivers of fire enchanted arrows that Nalia fired with deadly accuracy, saved the day. Soon, all ten normal and spirit trolls were on the floor.

?Hang on? I?m quite sure it?s not supposed to be like this. There aren?t supposed to be this many trolls. Why???

?Oh, so now you decide to tell me?? Sahara snapped, her patience already frayed.

?I tried before, but you didn?t believe me,? she said defensively.

?You?re pathetic.?

Silence.


The answer came barrelling down the staircase and sending her to her knees, just as she realized there was another army of trolls waiting for them upstairs.

***

He bounced. Up and down. The hard wood cracked in response. Pain. Pain. The humiliation of being used as a playing ball.

What had he been thinking? In the end, he had accidentally let off a small explosion, and in no time at all, the entire Keep was falling down around his ears. Troll after troll toyed with him, and his meagre protections had done nothing to save him. In the end, the cruel creatures became sick of just flinging him around, had opened the door, and sent him flying down the stairs.
Hence the expletives trailing behind him, judiciously mixed with grunts of pain.

And then? ?OOF!?

He felt his fall being broken by what appeared to be a slim, elven body. He lay there for a while, dazed, before he was roughly pushed aside into a corner. Beneath half-closed, bruised, lids, he watched in surprise as he saw flashes of troll-streaked blades fly through the air, the clashes deepening his already present headache. Seeing that these new fighters had the scene under control, the youth sighed, and promptly fell unconscious.

***

Okay, this had to mean he was mad. Perhaps he?d gotten concussion after his beating at the hands of the trolls?

The demon roared. Blood, entrails and other unidentifiable body parts from its last victim dripped liberally from gaping fangs as it bellowed a cry of craving hunger to the world. He shied away from it, gasping in soundless horror. He had seen these creatures in books. But drawn onto paper, they weren?t nearly as lifelike. Now, he could almost smell the scent of rotting meat pervading this? place.

Voices. People. Blood. Wavering and indistinct, until another scene hailed him.

A disfigured? man? Elf? Humanoid? Acknowledged him behind the swirling aura of magical protections with a villain?s grin that didn?t reach his half-dead eyes. A flame licked the black pupils, making him unconsciously tighten his hold on a dagger that had suddenly materialized in his hand as mocking taunts sounded in the cavity his soul had left behind. He repelled them with his thoughts.
A chant shook him out of his reverie. As he watched, behind the shields, the? humanoid began moving in an intricate dance that he didn?t quite recognize until?

?Wyverns!? he yelled hoarsely, all the magic that he was spending already exhausting him. ?Watch out!?

He watched as a slim figure, human, he vaguely surmised, backed up against a large boulder, and he felt his heart clench within him sickeningly. He looked around, desperately, for help. He didn?t know why, but that girl was important. More important than anything he?d ever known?

?Uh, guys, a little help here?? she gasped as the wyvern moved closer.

He measured the distance between them, and almost wept. He wasn?t close enough? but then, a blur moved in from outside of his peripheral vision.

?Do I have to do everything?? the new person moaned as he distracted the slavering creature.

Although he knew that he should feel jealous that this newcomer had saved this? goddess, instead of him, he was surprised that he felt only comradeship towards him. Brushing away these peculiar thoughts, he watched as the girl moved with an almost impossibly lithe grace for her race to climb to safety atop the large boulder she?d been backed up against, showering the creature below with arrows. His heart softened. An almost overwhelming feeling of relief took him by surprise as it crashed down upon him like a swirling tsunami, sweeping all his thoughts away. She was beautiful. He didn?t think he could stand it if something happened to her.

Fade in, fade out.

Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh?. Laugh the night away? through darkness and shadows and demons? the only weapon of both of the sides. Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh?

The nonsense jingle sung in his head, even as he heard a real, bone-shaking laugh chill his entire skeleton. It mingled almost unnaturally, harmonically, with a scream?

Her scream. Hers. hers.

And he heard himself scream along with her.

Inside, he dimly realized that the song had taken on a macabre twist as it whispered in his mind. Scream, scream, scream, scream? only when you fall to darkness. Only when the shadows call. Only when the demons die. Scream? for nothing can save you?
Nothing can save you?
But yourself?
.
As he watched her take her last convulsive shudder, something snapped within him. Piece by piece, the buildings of his plans, already wobbly, fell. It hadn?t meant to be like this. All alone? only the other girl running towards him now. Friend? friend? she would die, too. His heart seized. So much death?
But her death. That was what made everything snap. He felt a hilt materialize in is hand. He looked at it through blurred, stunned eyes, and vaguely comprehended that it was a dagger. A weapon. With a sharp point. That could sink through scales like butter. That could avenge his?
He charged. Blindly. Maybe he wasn?t too late! She could still, she could still be alive! She could!

Fuelled by a rage that boiled out of his depths like a wild animal, he ducked, swerved, and dodged. He?d never fought so well in his life. The moves came haltingly to him, but still, he persevered. Never consciously attacking, just letting that wildness within him fight for him.
But all the anger and fury in the world was nothing to the fully grown demon when its vessel was merely the breakable body of a physically weak mortal. He never felt the claws ripping down his side. Never felt talons raking his flesh, piercing vital organs. All that mattered to him was that when he fell, he was close. Close to her.
He closed his eyes.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:17 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XIV: Evolution

(Hey! Almost on schedule. Okay, not quite. But oh well. . I hope you enjoy this chapter.)


?Is he awake yet??

?He?s stirring,? Jaheira?s eyes were impossibly tired. The trolls they?d battled had near overwhelmed them. Had it not been for Aerie?s well-aimed fireballs, (she?d finally learnt how to fire them off) they could have been lost. As it was, the entire keep was now empty. Nalia had explained that there was a secret passage leading from her Aunt?s room. They?d found it, fought a painful battle with several golems, and found Nalia?s father?s old bodyguard, Glaicus, under mind-control.

What had followed had not been pretty.

Nalia had stood, stunned at the man who?d fought by her father?s side all her life as he?d raised his sword with a cruel smile to bring it down upon her head. Fortunately, Minsc was far too quick for him. As Glaicas? sword deflected of Minsc?s, Aerie managed to drag Nalia to safety, where she sat and sobbed in shocked amazement. Her entire life had been destroyed in one fell swoop, and she was not coping. Only one hope remained in her. She was going to save her father. Her father was alive.

They?d knocked the bodyguard out, and then had Aerie experiment on him with various charm spells. She was rapidly becoming more and more proficient at magic, a rate that stunned Sahara. A nagging voice at the back of her mind told her that it was not supposed to be like that. Aerie was supposed to be weak until further notice?
She almost laughed at the petulance of the voice, and then regarded the elf who?d fallen down the stairs and crashed into her. It had been four hours, and only now, he was waking up. She couldn?t really fault him, however. She suspected that the trolls had been having fun with him. She shuddered. No-one should ever, ever have to suffer through that kind of thing?

He woke. Fully. Groaned.

?Where am I? Where is she? Where is she?! WHERE IS SHE?!?

?Calming spell,? Aerie babbled. Dark rings were under her eyes, darker than everyone else?s. Yet still, she persevered. ?Maybe calming spell.?

Sahara wasn?t listening, however. Instead, she looked curiously at him, then reached out, and took his hand.
As if that one act had grounded him, he pushed himself up, groaning, and then looked around in surprise at the friendly faces around him. ?Where? where am I??

?Who were you yelling about, young man?? Jaheira asked bluntly. Surprisingly, though, Aerie noted that an uncharacteristic softness underlay her tone. She, too, had lost someone. Impossibly close. And still, impossibly recent.

?I? was yelling?? he asked, incomprehensively.

?Yes, you were.?

He shook his head, feeling the pounding pain. Vague images of his dreams haunted him, and his face shadowed. ?I? nightmares.?

?That was all?? Yoshimo asked quizzically. ?You were screaming quite a lot, my young friend.?

?Nightmares,? he half-spat. ?Bad nightmares.?

?Don?t attack us,? Jaheira said reasonably. ?All we did was save your life.?

Immediately, he crumpled down again. A small whisper.
?Sorry.?

?That?s okay,? Minsc forgave him. ?Boo says you are a good elf. That you will help us to defeat the trolls.?

He felt a flash of hatred as he heard the name of those who had played with him. ?I will,? he grated out. He pushed himself upwards again, and managed to stand up, shakily. ?When do we start??

?As soon as possible,? Nalia whispered. ?My? father.?

He looked at her curiously, and then bowed perfunctorily. ?Lady Nalia.?

?Don?t call me that!? she snapped. ?Just? just shut up and help me find my father!?

His eyes turned to ice, but he merely nodded. There was no trace of the innocent youth he?d been forty-eight hours ago. Pain had burnt it out of him. He?d deal later. Become the youth once more. But now, he was a mage. He felt the wildness coursing through him, and he almost smiled. The patterns of spells rose unbidden to his mind. He?d barely had time to fire off any of them before the trolls had been upon him. Stupid? stupid?
He wasn?t so naïve anymore.

?I can handle it myself.?

?Don?t be foolish, Kalran.?

?No, I won?t need back-up.?

?You?re an idiot to think so.?

?I?ll be fine.?

?You?ll never amount to anything.?

?Yes, I know. Reconnaissance only.?

?You know nothing.?

?One day, I?ll be the most powerful wizard in Faerun!?

?You?re only four??

?In your dreams, half-elf.?

?No wonder she left.?

No wonder she left?


?I?ll help,? he responded curtly, all business.

Sahara regarded him thoughtfully, wondering why his bearing reminded her of someone. ?We need to finish healing you, first. And rest. We are in no position to be fighting any trolls at the moment. We know nothing of what?s down in the? Cellars.?

He laughed, harshly, at that. ?You know nothing? I do. There are only three of them down there. Three of them, and Lord de?Arnise.?

?My father?? Nalia?s voice caught in her throat. ?Is he, is he still alive??

?He was when the trolls decided they were done with me.?

?So, do we keep going??

She was about to reply when she saw the stirring Glaicus. ?Hold on!? she said abruptly.

The large man groaned as he opened an eye to regard the stony circle of people that had suddenly materialized around him, weapons at the ready. He scanned through the unfamiliar faces until he gasped. Nalia?s tear-streaked features stared back at him.

?Lady? lady Nalia!?

She looked at him uncomprehendingly for a few seconds, but then a sudden hope rose in her eyes.

?Glai? Glaicus? Is it really you??

?Lady Nalia? Oh? oh Gods!?

She knew he was back. She flew into his arms and sobbed as the walls she?d built around herself cracked. He hugged her back, the two sharing in grief and terror and guilt.

Quietly, they withdrew to leave them some privacy.

*******
Glaicas produced the soiled map, unrolling it slowly. As he pointed out the passage, he looked at Nalia almost reproachfully.

?Lady? lady Nalia?. I still feel that I should accompany you??

Nalia shook her head firmly. ?No, Glaicas. Sahara?s right. You?ll be safe here. You?re wounded, and we don?t have time to spare now.?

Glaicas nodded resignedly, then handed the map to them. ?Good luck.?

Now armed with the last flail head, they left him in the room with his sword by his side. At the machine, the flail coalesced into her hands, the powerful weapon carrying with it a sense of unknown histories and blood.

?So, shall we keep going?? asked Yoshimo.

Sahara regarded the exhausted blonde, and then let her eyes trail over everyone. Wounds. Sunken eyes. Blood. Sweat. Vomit.

?We can put this whole nightmare behind us, and then rest. We?ve delayed long enough. There?s a good man down there, and we?re going to save him.?

She strode off, not waiting for them to follow her, and Jaheira inwardly mused. The last week or so, she?d been acting? strange. Very, very, very, strange. She?d had periods of fierce defensiveness and then downright paranoia, mixed with times when Jaheira would describe her as almost? soft and so impulsive she shuddered to think what could have happened. Not that Sahara had never been soft, innocent, and impulsive. She?d merely grown stronger. More sure of herself, more cautious. And the things she witnessed had destroyed her innocence.
With a sudden clarity, Jaheira remembered the Sahara fresh out of Candlekeep, with Imoen flanking her. Naiveté mixed with intense suspicion and grief, and caution piled up to the mountains. Like now, except for the last part?
But she was back again. Stronger than ever. And as Jaheira rose to follow her leader with ambivalence churning in her stomach, she wondered at this new, grim-faced man. Something had sparked between him and Sahara, and she had no idea why. Like they were? connected.

As if listening to her thoughts, Sahara stopped mid-stride, and turned, cocking her head to one side. ?What?s your name, by the way??

?Kalran,? he answered.

?Welcome to the group, Kalran. Now, we have some trolls to kill.?

A strange grin crossed his face. ?I?m ready??
As he said so, he stumbled. Clearly, the healing couldn?t do anything for his exhaustion, either. Sahara regarded him. Her eyes were now completely emerald, glistening with an energy none of them had ever seen. For one instant, they flickered hazel.

?You can lean on me,? Sahara offered.

Kalran smiled wryly. ?No, it?s okay.?

They descended into the darkness of the ?cellars?.

**********

"So this was the thing that knocked me over?!?

?Yes,? Yoshimo affirmed. ?An Umber Hulk.?

?Oh that is so not fair,? Sahara sulked, a hint of amber flashing in her eyes. ?Why couldn?t I have been steamrollered by something bigger? Then it would have been... I don't know... at least it wouldn't have been so embarrassing!?

?Steamrollered?? Jaheira snorted. ?Is that some new slang you?ve made up, Sahara??

Sahara blinked several times, and then swore as the Umber Hulk she was fighting swooped in under her defences and nearly barrelled over her. She yelped in surprise, but then with a huge bellow, it rolled off her.
She got up, wincing. I think I?ve broken something and prodded it gingerly with her katana. Dead. And still crackling with magical energy.

?Aerie?? she asked hesitantly.

Somebody coughed. ?No, actually, it was me.? There was a faint note of pride in his voice. ?It went right for once??

?Well of course it did,? Aerie said, puzzled, as Yoshimo took down the last Umber Hulk with a grunt of satisfaction.

?No, I?? Kalran sighed. ?Never mind. So? the Umber Hulks are down. Where to next??

?We defeated the trolls? and I can?t hear anything else after this door,? Jaheira reported.

?Then we?ve got to go in,? Nalia said, determined. ?My father?s there. He?s got to be!?

?He is,? Kalran reassured her. ?But? shouldn?t we be more careful? Nalia, I know you?re worried, but??

?We?re all injured and tired, Nalia. We can?t keep going now. We have no idea what?s behind that door.?

?No, Jaheira. We?ve got to keep going. If there?s something we can?t fight, we?ll run away and try again. Otherwise Lord de?Arnise might die during the time we rest. I can?t risk that.?

Even though Sahara wasn?t paying attention, Damaris was. In Jaheira?s sea-green eyes, something seemed to stretch, and then suddenly, snap.

?Sahara, you may have a death wish, but I don?t,? Jaheira disagreed crisply. ?You?ve been acting strangely for the past couple of days, Sahara. And I want an answer. Now.?

She spoke in a tone that brooked no opposition, but Sahara didn?t care. Damaris quailed as she spoke.
Oh God I can't believe what I'm saying...

?You?ll learn as soon as I do, Jaheira. But I?ve often thought that torture victims don?t generally come out the same as when they came in. Now we can discuss my theory later, but right now, there?s a life hanging on the line, and I intend to try to save it.?

Without waiting for an answer, Sahara opened the door, and strode through the passageway, leaving everybody in stunned silence.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:18 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XV: Clarity

?Who is this ?stronger???

TorGal merely leered at her hideously. ?Stronger is far stronger than you!? he bellowed. ?Beat you to a pulp, yes!?

?Well, that made sense,? Yoshimo muttered dryly.

"Look on the bright side," Kalran shrugged. "At least we can understand him. Unlike some of the others who roughed me..." he winced.

Yoshimo raised an eyebrow. "I guess they tortured you with inaudible grunts?"

"Tortured the Common Language," Kalran snorted. "That was bad enough."

Yoshimo grinned at the young half-elf. "I like you."

"Thanks..."

?I can make a deal with you,? Sahara tried, attempting to ignore the banter between her comrades. ?Surely??

?Bah, you offer gold. What use have we for gold? Stronger offers flesh and blood? you die!!?

At Jaheira?s eye-roll, Kalran had to smile wearily. ?That proves my previous point. At least he can talk.?

?Barely,? Jaheira grunted.

TorGal and his three troll cronies were on them in a flash,


Wild Mages were unpredictable. That?s what Sahara first realized when their new ally unleashed a flurry of pretty sparkles that burst through the air to shower down in radiant cascades. Kalran winced several times, and tried another spell, only to have it double the amount of pretty sparkles that filled the air. He winced again.

For some reason though, it seemed to irritate the trolls, who spent so much time attacking the falling specks of light that Jaheira and Yoshimo together managed to dispatch one, and Sahara and Minsc felled the other. In the midst of it all was Nalia, fire arrows blurring from her fingertips so fast they were a... well... blur. Most of them missed the trolls' vital points, but they were big enough targets to ensure that most of the flaming missiles hit, earning roars of pain. At last, it was only TorGal left in the ruins, howling with fury.

?Stronger helps me! Stronger fights with me! Stronger will defeat you all!?

Before Kalran could make a witty remark, TorGal roared, and his beady pupils flashed black. Quicker than lightning, he snatched up the newest addition to the party, and flung him bodily against the wall. The mage would have cried out, but he was unconscious by the time he reached the bottom.

?Oh dear,? Yoshimo remarked dryly.

Sahara almost turned to Jaheira for help like she had for the past few days, and then shook herself. What am I doing? she demanded herself. I never used to ask her for help except for in the really early days!

?Guys, get back. Watch out for his arms. Yoshimo, pepper him with your fire arrows. Aerie? Fireballs. Everyone else? Missiles. And keep out of the way.?

?What about you, Sahara?? Jaheira asked in concern.

Sahara grinned. ?I?m going to try out these new throwing knives??


The dust rose as TorGal?s body finally went through its final convulsions, and then lay still. When their sight was cleared, they saw Nalia slowly walking towards what appeared to be a stone monument? as they neared it, they saw it was actually a bloodstained torture device. She closed the distance, and then let out a stifled cry as she saw her father?s body.

?No? no no no no NO!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

?Child, calm yourself?? Jaheria started, her voice filled with compassion, but Aerie shook her head.

?I think she might need some alone time,? the Avariel suggested firmly, her timidity gone as the role of healer encompassed her completely. She gestured towards the door, surprised when they all complied. Yoshimo raised an eyebrow at her when she did not follow. Minsc shifted Kalran?s limp, lifeless, and broken body. Jaheira needed to rest first, and Aerie was completely out of healing spells?

?I don?t count,? she whispered.

He nodded, and slipped the door closed behind him. Aerie sighed and made her way to Nalia. In the short time that she?d joined the group and learnt their stories, she?d been saturated in enough death to last her for a lifetime. She felt her bottom lip trembling as she felt Nalia?s pain, stroked her hair, cradled her.
Felt Nalia?s tears stain her robes.

After a while, Aerie began to discern words amongst the sobs. She leaned in closer to listen.

?He? only? one? Aunt? Delcia? never? understood? miss? mother? why? both of them?? Why? it?s? not? fair??

Aerie only hugged her harder as she poured everything out.

?He was? only one??

Nalia sobbed harder.

?Feel like I?m? trapped? stupid rules? Not free anymore??

At that, Aerie froze, and then added her own tears to the mix.

*****************************************************

That night, as the fires burned down, they rested again. They were making awfully slow progress, but at least Kalran was marginally better now. At least he was conscious. Mostly. Exhausted by the turmoils of the week before, the room they camped in was soon completely silent.
Kalran and Aerie stayed awake, however, she watching over his broken form. Through the flickering flames, Sahara knew they were looking at her.
Suddenly, a clarity seized her, and she felt exultation bubbling through.

?Luke, Steph,? she said softly. ?I need to talk to you.?

It was as if an electric shock had passed through them. They spasmed, and then gasped, and she instantly knew it was them looking back at her.

?Hi guys,? she whispered, tears suddenly spilling over.

?Damaris!?

Luke made as if to lunge at her, but then gasped in pain and fell back on the pallet. She crawled towards him and hugged him instead, the tears running freely down her face. Impulsively, she hugged the shocked Steph as well.

?God, what?s happening??

?Do you have any idea???

?Why? do I have these memories??

?Who am I??

?Where are we??

?This wasn?t in the game??

Damaris felt a strange sense sweep over her as Sahara reasserted herself quietly inside. ?Hey, guys, we need to calm down.?

Luke looked at her strangely as he felt the authority in her voice. It sounded strikingly foreign coming from her mouth, and yet peculiarly, it also felt right, in some obscure way. Strange. He felt a small smile creep its way across his broken face, even as his half-collapsed lungs wheezed.

Ah. Who?d ever have guessed Damaris would be the Bhaalspawn?

?Time?s short. I?m not really sure how much of it that we have.?
They rolled out of her mouth so easily, and yet Damaris knew with a frantic certainty that she had never spoken this way before. It scared her. She longed for Luke to take control, but instead, he was looking at her, a strange gleam in his eye.

?First things first, then,? Steph said. ?Where are we??

?Ever heard of Baldur?s Gate?? Luke rasped.

?The computer game? The one I?ve seen on the shelves? You don?t mean to say??

?Ask Aerie,? Damaris advised. ?I?m sure she?s lurking around in there somewhere.?

?What? what do you mean??

?The Avariel elf,? Luke started, but then stopped as the pain grew too great. Damaris continued on for him. ?The one who?s form you?re in.?

Steph concentrated for a while, and then her eyes flew open, the irises changing rapidly between brown and blue. Windows to the soul?

?Oh Baervar!? she burst out suddenly. ?We?re in? Faerun? On Toril??

?That?s right. And you know the rest, I assume??

Steph paled under the blazing reds and golds of the light the flickering flame threw about in handfuls. ?My? my wings.?

They stopped speaking after that, each immersed in memories, consulting with their other sides. Fear swamped all of them, so tangible they felt as if they were drowning under its suffocating hold. But then, the slightest sense of comfort.
They were not alone.

They were out there. They could almost feel them. Sense them. Twin spirits and souls in one body, fractured by the dimensional leap they had all taken. There was almost a mental bond between them. They somehow knew it would only go stronger when they were all together. Grouped together, as they should be.

Slowly, almost unconsciously, they began to fall asleep on the mats already spread out. When they had finally drifted off into unconsciousness, to further explore their dual minds in dreams, they relaxed into peace.

What none of them realized, however, that as of the last fifteen minutes, Jaheira had been very much awake, and she had not been the only one eavesdropping. Yoshimo melted slowly out of the shadows, just as surely as he had disappeared into them. He and Jaheira shared a long, long glance.

?We will talk about this later,? her whisper trailed through the emptiness of the tunnel to him.

?We will indeed,? the Kara-Turan replied, fingering his katana unconsciously.

He, too, lay down upon his newly rolled out mat with the grace of a cat, and pulled the blankets over him, losing himself to sleep quicker than he could have imagined. Jaheira, however, stayed awake for a long time, thinking. Past when the fire burned down to nothing, and even the embers died. With no more light to beat the shadows back, they moved.

The darkness never faltered.

*********

They struggled into the light eventually, each step adding to their exhaustion. Sleeping on cold and hard floor hadn't helped, certainly. The bedrooms had all been raided anyway, the blankets and mattresses shredded and filled with the remains of those who had been killed while they were sleeping. They were the last places anyone wanted to rest. Sahara decided that when they were back in Athkatla, she would treat them all to a good night?s rest at an inn, perhaps in the noble lodgings. They deserved it, and now, she had the money for it as well. A little extravagance never did anyone harm...

The green grass and sunlight was a relief from the dark interior of the De'Arnise Keep. Once, Sahara was sure, the place had been beautiful. But as they emerged from its bowels, she only knew the smell of blood and remains of the trolls and Umber Hulks who had overrun the place, and the remains of those who had died. The clear air was heaven.

?Um, Sahara? A word with you??

The sunlight shone on the tear-stained yet determined face of Nalia de?Arnise. Sahara raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. ?Of course. What would you like to say??

?Um? in private, possibly??

The party looked on with curiosity as Nalia drew Sahara away to a safe distance, and began animatedly talking. Aerie couldn?t help but notice the strange similarity between the two. Nalia?s short, light brown hair and blue eyes were a contrast to Sahara?s dark brown hair and emerald eyes, yes. Yet they seemed to have a strange and mutual grief that shadowed them. Aerie couldn?t help but wonder what it was. They both seemed aged beyond their years.

Finally, the two came back, both smiling.

?I gather a conclusion has been made?? Jaheira asked.

Sahara merely grinned tiredly. ?How does Lady Nalia de?Arnise and Lady Sahara sound??

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:22 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XVI: Madness

(Apologies for taking so long to update. I'm ashamed to admit I'm letting school get the better of me at the moment. . Hope you enjoy. )


?Lady Sahara, eh?? Kalran croaked.

?Yeah,? Sahara nodded, feeling a strange kinship to the young wild mage. ?It?s pretty cool, huh??

Kalran laughed, a whistling, breathy sound as he tried to accommodate for his half-crushed lungs that weren?t fully healed yet. ?You sound like a little girl who?s just gotten her first candy,? he grinned.

?I know,? she admitted happily. Inwardly, Sahara frowned slightly. She?d never acted like this since? well? since she and Imoen were small children. Before Gorion?s death. She brushed that thought aside. Here with Kalran, she could let down a few guards. Not all of them, but a few.

?So? Lady Sahara,? he waved his hand dramatically, and then winced as it jarred his chest. ?What can I do for you??

?Rest,? she smiled. ?You?re still really weak. Jaheira and Aerie will probably come to you soon and dose you up.?

?Oh Gods,? he groaned. ?Again??

?Yeah, again,? Sahara laughed.

?But they taste bad,? he whined, still grinning at her.

?Of course they do. All medicine tastes bad??

?We heard that,? Aerie chuckled. Sahara started. It was the first time they had heard the tiny Avariel laugh? wasn?t it? It sounded like music.

?Well it?s true, isn?t it?? Sahara asked impishly.

Sahara was just too full of surprises these days, Jaheira decided wearily. She didn?t even want to try to unravel why she was looking so? happy?

?No it isn?t,? Aerie broke her thoughts. ?There are plenty of pleasant tasting medicines.?

?Really?? coughed Kalran. ?Then why haven?t I had any??

?Because they?re not for broken bones,? Jaheira replied. ?Now lie still. Sahara, I?m sure you need to talk to Nalia about something.?

A week ago, Sahara would have given the Nine Hells a good show with her high-pitched indignation at being dismissed so cavalierly by Jaheira, but now, she shrugged instead, and went. It was true. She did want to talk to Nalia about something.

?Nalia.?

Nalia looked incredibly weary, the dark circles under her eyes only enhancing that fact. She?d changed since her father?s death. Retreated more into herself. Or had she opened up? Sahara couldn?t really tell. Before, all she?d known was an entirely driven young woman, centred on saving her home.
Now? A confused woman, trying to repair the damages done to a home her family had lived in since time could remember.

?What?? Nalia rubbed her eyes as she turned. ?Oh, Sahara. What do you want??

?Nothing much,? Sahara swallowed, and then railed at herself. ?Pansy! Why am I acting like this?!?

?It?s normal if??

?Normal for you!?

Silence. Hurt.

?Stop lashing out at me. Please.?

?Please?? she sneered. ?What a??

?I was just going to say it?s normal in this situation,? she finished. ?Stop beating yourself up over it.?

?This is all your fault, you know.?

?How so??

?You?ve made me like this. You?ve? made me weak!?

?Or have I merely brought out the weakness in you??

Stalemate.

?Not today, Sahara. You can?t treat me like dirt and hurt me today. Because I know you?re feeling bad yourself.?

A bitter laugh. ?What are you? A therapist? A mind-worker??

?I?m a fourteen year-old kid, Sahara.?

?And I am a Bhaalspawn. What a pair we make.?

?Sahara? Sahara??

She snapped back to the present. ?Sorry, Nalia,? she said honestly. ?I was just wondering? the funeral is tomorrow. Shouldn?t we get ready to leave??

Nalia sucked in her breath sharply, and Sahara cursed inwardly as she knew she?d done something wrong. She began to panic?

?Oh Gods, oh Gods, what do I do? What do I???

?This is my realm. Shove over.?

?I?m sorry Nalia. I truly am,? Sahara reached out tenderly.

Nalia stood still, unmoving, frozen. Overcome by her grief.

So the other did the only thing she remembered from reaching out to fantasy worlds unexplored, and turned to song.

?A life has been taken, a life now is gone,
A life so well-lived, a life we will mourn,
And a life that?s still with us, wherever we turn,
From our love and our hearts and his memories we?ll learn??

It soared. Sahara had never been a singer. What else could the other do to fill the empty hours? A guitar that lay handy, and a piano that had lain untouched for too long lifted her above a world of homework and bullies and physical weakness, and propelled her straight into the world of fantasy. Solemn and twisting notes that danced around the still air as Nalia began silently crying again.

?Forever he?s with us, forever in soul,
Like flames dancing high in the eternal coals,
An angel in heaven from all that is known,
So you?ll never be truly, ever alone.?

Tears fell. The other held Nalia like a baby, whispering words of comfort, then letting the silence heal the gaping wounds ever so slowly.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Iseaea Roenal was a bastard. To say the least, he was a fop. Or an imbecile. Or a moron. Or maybe just a bastard.

?So you?ve taught it how to talk? How amazing, Nalia. Always knew you were a clever girl.?

?Then, I?m sure she always knew you were a smarmy idiot,? Sahara shot back, ignoring the other as she winced.

?Ah, but you neglected manners,? Iseaea tut-tutted. ?How foolish of you to forget.?

?Shame that you, with all your noble upbringing have forgotten your manners too!? Sahara snapped, her patience waning as she channelled Jaheira. ?Have you not forgotten this is Lord de?Arnises? funeral? Shame on you, you??

Nalia lay a hand on Sahara?s elbow, and she quietened, more out of respect than anything. In the short time they?d gotten to know each other, if there was one thing Sahara respected about her, it was Nalia?s pure determination. Besides, this was her battle.

?She?s right, Iseaea. Are you so enamoured with yourself and your own little world that you?ve forgotten we are indeed mourning my father??

Iseaea opened his mouth.

?In fact, don?t even answer that. Sahara and I are going out to get some fresh air.?

They stumbled out of the building, and Sahara was about to offer some awkward comfort again when, to her surprise, Nalia burst out laughing.

?Gods, thanks so much, Sahara,? she choked out midst her giggling.

?Why, what do you mean?? Sahara asked, bewildered.

When Nalia stopped gasping for breath, she replied. ?I?ve been wanting to tell that? that bastard everything you said for an age. He?s always been like that, you know. I never liked him, that?s why I asked you to be co-ruler. Hopefully, that will have stopped him getting his hands on my land. Hopefully.?

?I don?t know,? Sahara said dubiously. ?He seemed fairly determined.?

Nalia?s face became set. ?Not any more than I am,? she answered grimly. ?I will not marry him. Can you imagine it?? she shuddered. ?Gods, it would be horrible.?

Sahara grimaced. ?I?ll agree with you there.?

?Anyway, it?s done now,? Nalia decided. ?I?m not going back. It?s just the formalities, and Isaea was the last person we had to speak to anyway. Let?s head out.?

She was quiet for a moment, as they strode through the grey and marbled tombstones.

?Besides, I?ve got his real funeral here. Here in my heart.?

Sahara gulped, and tentatively put a hand around her shoulders.

**********************

They formally cleared up paperwork and other insignificant technicalities, before visiting Quayle for the rest of the day. Since they were in the vicinity, they also dropped into the Adventurer?s Mart to purchase better items. Sahara was so tight-fisted even Jaheira became impatient, but they knew it was because of Imoen, so they let it go. It was as they were leaving the shop to step into the evening, however, that real trouble began.

Teleporting from nowhere, Iseaea appeared, flanked by five guards and two wizards. A smug grin decorated his face, and even before Sahara raised her hand to stop everyone from moving, she?d crooked her finger slightly to also tell them to inconspicuously ready themselves for battle. She?d developed this system with Imoen long ago, and it worked like a charm. And, using the other?s sharp intuition, she?d felt trouble brewing the instant before they stepped out into the sunlight.

?Well, Nalia, I?ve caught up with you after all.?

Nalia groaned. ?Isaea, what do you want? I?ve already told you. I will not marry you. We no longer have any need for business with each other.?

His smug, ingratiating, irritating smile stayed firmly pasted on. ?Oh, but you do, Nalia. You do. After all, I?ve discussed the matter with my father, and as of late, you have been acting as if you were out of your mind. Your father?s death and the siege of your Keep must have been horribly traumatic??

?Not nearly as traumatic as talking to you again,? Nalia moved to push past him, but he grasped her tightly by the elbow, the smile still on his face belying the strength that clenched her as she gasped from the sudden pain.

?So,? he continued smoothly on, ?We?ve decided to take you under our protection until you have overcome your regrettable and temporary insanity.?

?What?!? Jaheira demanded. ?This is an outrage! You have no proof!?

?You can?t do that!? Nalia cried at the same time.

He ignored Jaheira, but he could not ignore Minsc as the large ranger moved ominously towards him, or Yoshimo?s casual but deadly stance. But still, he kept on smiling.

?Oh, but I can, Nalia. Your protection is all I am worried about, as your future husband.?

?You are not my future husband!? Nalia exclaimed. ?You will not get your dirty, lying, cheating hands on my??

He slapped her, sharply across the cheek. Instantly they all moved, but the Iseaea?s entourage stepped also, with a clank of steel and a rustle of robes and murmured incanting. They stopped when they realized that Sahara hadn?t stirred.

The Bhaalspawn?s face was a study of struggle. It was as if there were two people in there, battling for power. The fight for control seemed to be winning, but one look at her amber-flecked emerald eyes spoke of untold fury.

?So,? Iseaea said softly. ?You are not as much of a fool as the people you lead. Still, that doesn?t say much, does it??

Sahara glared at him, and he flinched back instinctively from the murder in her eyes, and the whisperings of her dark heritage. Instantly, the five guards pulled up around him, and their clank of armour injected false courage into his bravado.

?See?? he addressed Jaheira, Minsc, Kalran, Yoshimo, and Aerie smugly. ?Your leader knows that you cannot touch us. You would do well to follow her example. We will be going now. Any last words to Nalia?? he mocked.

Rigidly, the kensai turned to the shocked noblewoman as the two wizards encircled her. ?Don?t worry, Nalia. We?ll free you.?

Iseaea laughed. ?Ah, but humility is something the ape has left to learn, no? A pity that you will not be able to teach it.?

They would have leapt at him if not for Sahara?s icy control. ?But we will Iseaea. Count on it. Humility is a lesson that must be taught well to the lesser, after all.?

Iseaea?s eyes turned to flame at the insult. ?If you even try to come after her, you?ll have to go through? why, I believe you?ll have to go through me in government.?

Sahara merely smiled, matching his fire with ice. ?See you in a few days, Nalia.?

***

?What in the nine hells did you just make me do??

?Us,? she replied coolly. ?It?s us.?

?No, you?re wrong. You?re you, and I?m me, get it? We?re separate. We?re different??

A curious laugh. ?Do you really believe that? Haven?t you? felt it? The memories? Blending??

?No,? she snapped. ?And what in the nine hells did you just make me do??

?We?ll get Nalia back, don?t worry. But I don?t think it would have helped if you?d killed Iseaea.?

?I wasn?t going to kill him,? she lied.

Silence.

?You?ve forgotten we share each other?s thoughts??

?Contemplation doesn?t count? so what happens?? she forced herself to ask.

?Open your mind.?


When she?d recovered from the reeling headache and pure nausea, Iseaea, Nalia, and his entourage had vanished, not to mention the twilight had turned into darkness, and Jaheira and Aerie were bending over her in yet another inn with concern in their eyes. She shrugged them off with foul humour.

?I?m alright, okay? Dammit, let me breathe!?

They?d been slaving away for the seeming eternity of an hour trying to revive her. Added to that, the shock of Nalia?s sudden abduction and a long boiling rage that had been building up the last eight days, Jaheira?s temper snapped.

?I think I?ve just about had enough, Sahara! We?ve been here doing nothing but try to revive you since this morning! A little thanks wouldn?t hurt you!?

?Alright, thank-you!? Sahara yelled. ?Now leave!?

Aerie backed out of the room quietly, but she needn?t have worried. The druidess and the Bhaalspawn wouldn?t have noticed if she?d stomped out the door squealing like an Amnish guard the first time he or she came into contact with a gibberling.

?How dare you?? demanded Jaheira dangerously. ?I??

?No, I just meant? dammit! Please, I need to think! I just need you to leave!?

?You?re not getting off the hook that easily, Sahara! Don?t think I haven?t noticed everything!?

?Why bring ?everything? into it?? Sahara shouted back. ?I told you, as soon as I know, you?ll be the first I?ll tell!?

?You?re hiding things, Sahara! Things that could mean the death of us all!?

?What in the nine hells do you mean?? Sahara queried defensively.

Jaheira?s eyes glittered, and in them, Sahara saw the depths of an incredible anger born from grief and weariness. Suddenly, the Kensai was scared.

?I?ve noticed everything, Bhaalspawn,? she spat out, and Sahara flinched from the vitriol in that voice. ?Bringer of Death! Child of Murder!?

?What are you talking about, Jaheira?? she asked shakily.

The druidess smiled venomously. ?Who are you, Bhaalspawn? Or should I say, what are you??

?What are you talking about?? she repeated as she slowly began to back out of the room. Jaheira followed.

?No! Don?t you play coy with me! You aren?t Sahara! Who are you? What are you? What have you done with her?!?

?I don?t know??

?Save your excuses! I saw you! I saw you come out and push her away!?

The ground was suddenly whisked away from beneath her feet as she fell, unprepared for the wooden steps. She landed with a thud at the bottom, but still, the druidess advanced from above, moving down step by step with an ominous implacability. She was beyond control, now. Control had failed her. Control was no longer hers to be owned. It had been shredded away so finely over the years, becoming more brittle with every hardship. And now...

?Sahara wouldn?t have taken the risks you?ve taken in the last week! Sahara wouldn?t have been so foolhardy! Sahara wouldn?t have been so??

The words mocked her, ringing in her ears.

?She would have been stronger! She would have been braver!?

I always run away?

?She would have listened! She would have cared! She would have saved??

Weak, weak, weak, weak? But I do care? I do! But I?m too weak?[.i]

She gulped, and the taproom that had been bustling mere seconds ago was suddenly silent, as if all the volume had been switched off, save for the druidess? voice.

?What have you done with her?! Where is she?! Where is she?!?

Her words shrieked across the ceiling, scattering mice and rats from their hiding places.

?This isn?t you! This is the side? this is what killed Khalid!?

It was a punch. Almost a physical blow. She found herself gasping for air as their minds screamed. What?

Jaheira wasn?t sobbing yet, but she was close. ?This is the side that will bring death and destruction and murder to the realms! This is the side that languished in murder and bathed in blood!?

Sahara could no longer hear what she was saying, until the words broke through everything that hid her world. Shattered it as it screeched past the point of mortal endurance.

?You killed Khalid! You did! You killed him!?

She stumbled back, all of the blood draining out of her face. Her body became nerveless. It punched through her chest, seized her heart. Squeezed it, and then ripped it out.
A chair crashed behind her, recently vacated by a drunkard, who, although deep in his drink, still had had a sense of preservation. The entire table fell as she backed into it, and the glass pitcher of water shattered and broke, spilling its precious liquid everywhere.

?And Gorion! If he hadn?t been so good-hearted to save you, if we hadn?t followed you, they?d both be alive!?

Both of them howled in the mindspace. I ran away! I left Gorion to die!

The Bhaalspawn kept backing away. There was no thought now. Just a continuous screaming that filled her entire consciousness, penetrated only by Jaheira?s blind rage. There was no noise, save for Sahara?s frantic scrabbling and Jaheira?s voice. Just as she backed against the door, the druidess? words became coherent again.

?Think on that, Sahara! Think on that! You killed them, [i]you!?

The Bhaalspawn let loose one wretched sob as the door splintered behind her, and then she fled into the night.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:25 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XVII: Child

(*looks around and winces*. I'm really sorry, guys. I've had a major assessment task that counts for 10% of the final mark for my Maths so it's been killing me for the last couple of weeks. I'm back now, though. . Hopefully I'll be able to update quicker if there's anyone reading this and waiting . Hope you enjoy the chapter. )



She ran like there was no beginning. No end. Words crashed around in her mind like a howling tsunami. What had begun as guilt had stretched to encompass her mind and her heart, choking the breath out of her until it?
Snapped.
And now, she was running with the remnants of her sanity temporarily strewn around her like the debris of a battle.

It had always been with her, hadn?t it? Along with the devouring darker side that lay brooding beneath. The part that shied away, that had been hiding for so long from the horror of this world and the killing, the senseless slaughter. The part that was caring, shy, vulnerable. Childlike in the trusting naiveté, and so easily hurt the first instinct was to run. That had been the small innocent girl venturing out of Candlekeep, still grief-stricken and vowing for revenge. And then the other part that grew out of her half-sibling Sarevok?s plots. The other part that became hardened to it. The part that led with stubborn decisions, a clinical detachment that enabled her to make the best choices without emotions getting in the way, except in the small hours when Imoen would ghost in and out of reality in the flickering darkness, and both their guards would go down, and they were in Candlekeep again.
Only Imoen wasn?t there anymore. And each of the parts now had names. And the guilt wound around both of them, choking them in the bitter dust.

Down through the dark streets and cobbled stones, knees throbbing painfully at the speed in which she flew almost effortlessly, fuelled by despair and a shattering conscience that screamed at her. Buried under what it was meant to protect her from for so long? finally, it had found its lungs. It whispered no longer in her ear.
And, in her total grief and loss, the willpower it took to constantly stave off Bhaal?s alluring promises slowly wore down?

The last thing she remembered was shadows that blocked the starlight.

*****

I heaved the table upright, and then leaned on it tiredly, exhaustion seeping through my bones. The taproom had emptied long ago, and now that the peace had been restored at the 300 gold pieces demanded by the innkeeper for compensation paid, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I was tottering on my feet as it was when I heard something behind me. I jumped as Aerie tapped my shoulder timidly.

?S-s-sorry!? she stuttered. ?I didn?t mean to??

?Don?t worry,? I said easily, pulling out a chair for her to sit on. ?I guess we?re all a little high-strung at the moment.?

?What?ll we do about Jaheira?? Aerie asked softly. I noticed the change in her voice. It wasn?t a pleading tone, nor was it that of a student questioning the teacher. It was an equal speaking to an equal, and I wondered at the change. It could have been linked to the mystery the druidess and I had witnessed the other night.

?I don?t know,? I said honestly. ?Is she still crying??

?She wouldn?t let me come in,? she pulled her robes a little tighter to ward off a nonexistent chill. ?I don?t think she likes me that much.?

I chuckled dryly. ?For all it?s worth, I don?t think it?s personal.?

She gave me a startled smile. ?What do you mean??

I pondered the question awhile before I replied. ?I believe that she finds it a struggle to stay strong all the time,? I offered. ?I think that when she sees someone like you, it reminds her too much of how? vulnerable she is underneath.?

She looked at me with luminous eyes full of trust, and my heart jumped for a moment. Long ago, I had seen eyes like that. Brown eyes, full of warmth that told me that she trusted me to protect her with my life?

And I?d failed.

She must have seen the sudden change. ?Y-Yoshimo?? she asked hesitantly. ?Are you alright??

?I?m fine,? I brushed it away. ?However? have you seen the young mage about? I?d like to speak to both of you.?

She hesitated for a second. The merest breath. But then she complied. ?I?ll find him.?

?Good.?


It took her two minutes, but then she was back with the half-elf in tow. He looked at me curiously, and I wondered again at him. There was something in his eyes?

But then, isn?t there something in all of our eyes? A hidden secret, perhaps? An unwilling need to try to compensate? A repressed memory? Or even someone?s voice, constantly whispering. Telling you perhaps that you are unworthy, and always will be, because you keep failing to meet their standards. Or murmuring even more insidiously that they have dreams for you, and you have to fulfil them.
What happened to my own dreams?

I don?t know, I think I lost them among the way. And now I?m here, looking at a situation that has already veered out of control. My original goal has been buried in the chaos of these lands. But I plan to keep searching, forever if need be. The possibility that she?s dead has crossed my mind several times, but I refuse to believe it. Not her. Not her of the laughing brown eyes and the gentle smile.
How much has changed.

I glanced back to the two in front of me, and noticed that veil again. I have yet to meet someone without that look. That haunted or clinical mist that spreads through their eyes, that says they?re either running away or hiding. I know they?re both in mine, but even when I look hard in the mirror, I can never see it. I don?t know why. And because I can?t see it, I have no idea how to take it out.

?Where is the ranger?? I asked.

?I think he?s in his room,? he answered, and then a chuckle escaped his lips. ?Talking to his hamster.?

?He does that, I?ve noticed,? I replied laconically.

He looked at me directly. ?What do you want??

?Cut straight to the point, eh?? I studied him. Aerie sat down on the chair I?d pulled out for her, but he remained standing. The bar was dark, and I knew there was no-one there. Just the three of us, one wary, one confused, and I?
I don?t really know. And that always leaves me feeling uncomfortable.

?It?s about Nalia.?

?What about her?? Aerie queried.

?We?ve been followed ever since we left that funeral, but even after the Roenall took her, they still didn?t stop,? I answered. ?I saw them, even though I believe they were trying to be inconspicuous,? I shook my head resignedly. ?There are just too many amateurs today.?

?They followed us?? his eyes narrowed. ?Which means if we find them, we?ll be able to find out where he?s taking her.?

I nodded. ?But that?s not the only??

He saw where I was going, and ran with it. ?The only way to get her back is to discredit the bastard. So we follow up on these guys and see if they?re just hirelings, and then check out Iseaea?s haunts? I think that??

Suddenly, we all froze as the door creaked open from the outside, and a wave of cold air rushed at us. A figure slipped in, and instantly my hand went to my katana hilt. But he raised one hand and stopped us.

?Remember,? he said, speaking so quickly his words blurred together. ?You have never seen me before in your life and I am not here to tell you that Isaea has been dealing in shady business, nor to tell you that you will find his contact in the Sea?s Bounty as well as one of those you have seen following you outside of it by the name of Brag. Neither am I here to tell you that all documents you find should be given to Isaea?s superior in the Council Hall, nor that his home in the Government District will be unlocked tomorrow??

?Whoah, hang on a sec,? the mage interrupted his steady stream. ?Why are you helping us??

The man looked me in the eye. ?I am not telling you that many have suffered under Isaea?s hold, and that the entire city needs to be cleansed of those who are in his league. After all, you have never seen me.?

?Wait, what?s your?? Aerie tried, but then he was gone.

I sat back in the chair, a wry grin spreading across my face. ?Well, that was eventful. I wonder how he managed to fit all those words into one breath.?

?He just validated everything we suspected,? he said satisfactorily.

I looked at him again and remembered his words. A sharp mind. I would have to remember that. ?I believe so,? I chose my words carefully. ?We will have to watch our backs very closely while we investigate, however.?

I could almost see his mind working as he contemplated this. ?Indeed. We should probably stick close together and get ready for a fight while we?re at it. Leave someone on guard while we?re searching his house.?

?That would be a good idea,? I agreed, and then contemplated the two of them. They must?ve been more weary than I. ?Now we all know, I think
it would be best that we rested. Tomorrow will be a long day.?

*****************
Why?

Why?

I wanted to scream it to the heavens. Bring the worlds crashing down onto my open arms. Wreak the universe with the pain and anguish that had just claimed me. How long had it been since I cried?
I cast my mind back. Too long, far too long if I could not remember.
Ah, Tethyr.

Childhood.

Innocence.

It all came down to that, didn?t it? I used to be naïve. I had it torn out of me. I used to be weak. I was forced to be strong. I used to be able to cry. I had the ability ripped from my mind.
But now, I?m remembering.

Blame, guilt, blame, guilt, anger, anger?

I am the fire of a million,
Lost souls that die calling,
While they reach out to escape oblivion,
Unaware that they are falling

And the darkness rends my heart,
And the lava spills from flame,
And the mountains weigh me down,
Because I cannot bear the blame.

Oh Khalid? why did you go? Why did you leave me? You said you never would!!

Never leave me, never stop,
Never fall and never drop,
Never fear, never hate,
Never leave me, never stop?

What happened? Those years of bitterness when I wanted to say ?I love you?, but all that came out of my mouth was insults?

And why did I always find a way,
To hurt you sore, and every day,
You?d forgive me by the rising moon,
Knowing again I?d hurt you soon?

Why? It wasn?t fair, it wasn?t fair! Why didn?t you?

Never leave me?

Why didn?t you ever give me a chance to tell you again that I loved you?

I screamed. The sound echoed through streets of cobbled stone. The sound flew past glass and shattered steel. People around startled out of their sleep. One heart-wrenching cry that had screamed unsung in my heart ever since? so long ago. And I heard an echoing sob bounce back at me as the world blurred, and I remembered.

I am a child of the forests,
I am a child of the trees,
I am a child of the Mother,
I am a child of the seas

I am a child of the earth,
I am a child of the fire,
I am a child of the water,
I am a child of the air

I am a child.

The mother and the father,
All knowing in their splendour,
And the earth that claims me,
Through balance and through nature

So I can laugh like the wind,
I can dance as earth?s daughter,
I can fight like the flame,
I can weep like the water

I can scream in the storm,
I can live in the wild,
I am no longer drawn from stone,
I am Nature?s Child?

I didn?t have to be strong anymore.
So I broke down. That tear was for Gorion. That one was for Khalid. That one was for Sahara and Imoen. And this flood was for myself, for my parents and for all that I had lost but never allowed myself to mourn. And the Earth waited patiently for me to regain my balance, and understand all as it really should be.

******************
The day dawned bright and clear. Jaheira woke up and groaned, just in time for Aerie to timidly open the door.

?Jaheira, a-are you okay??

The druidess felt harsh words boiling out of her throat by instinct, but then another instinct found her choking them back. Uncharacteristically, she found herself smiling wearily.

?Yes, Aerie. Yes? I believe I am.?

She paused then, and studied the sunlight filtering through the window. The light trickled warmly onto the floor in pools of gold, highlighting the flying dust particles drifting in the air.

?Has? has Sahara come back yet??

Aerie sucked in a short breath. ?No. Not? yet.?

?Then we have to go find her,? Jaheira shrugged, pulling on her chainmail and striding downstairs.


A solemn scene met her upon her arrival. Aside from the scattering of patrons wary from last night?s drama, Yoshimo and Minsc drew an aura of grimness as they sat at a corner table, huddled in plans.

Jaheira ignored the fearful looks directed towards her and sat down, Aerie drifting behind her following suit. The four? five, travellers looked at each other.

Yoshimo, ever wary, was sunken in thought. Aerie was even paler than she usually was. Even Minsc looked grim. And Boo?s eyes had lost some of their sparkle.

?Any new leads?? Jaheira asked.

?One,? Yoshimo leaned back. ?A? messenger. Seems we have found a secret ally against Isaea.?

As they filled her in, she noticed that she couldn?t find the newest addition to their party anywhere. ?Where?s Kalran??

?Trying to find Sahara,? Yoshimo answered sardonically. ?He promised he?d be good.?

They shared a mutual look for a second, and then moved on. ?The main thing we must do at the moment is find Sahara,? Jaheira assumed the mantle of leader automatically. ?If we can find her, then??

The inn door banged, and several patrons gasped. The barkeep cursed silently, envisioning yet another day of meagre attendance, and perhaps even the forming of an unhealthy reputation. But after the initial shock, they all studiously averted their eyes as the blonde haired half-elf half-crawled through the door, leaving trails of blood on the polished wood.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:26 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XVIII: Sibling Rivalry

(I'm hopefully going to be installing BGII again soon (in the next three to four days) and then playing through slowly again, so that should most likely kill the rest of my writer's block. 'Til then, here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy. )
(Further note: No, I'm not gratuitously injuring certain characters. Really I'm not. )


?Kalran!? Jaheira was up and helping him to the privacy of the room immediately. The barman contemplated upping the rent.

They laid him on the bed gently, but he waved them away impatiently. ?Not as bad as I look,? he choked out. ?Just a bolt that got me??

A dark stain was spreading on his tunic, and they ripped the woven material to reveal an evil-looking wooden crossbow bolt buried just underneath one of his ribs. Jaheira swore.

?How did you get this??

Blood dripped from his mouth as he tried to gasp out incomprehensible words.

?They?ve gone through his lung,? Aerie knelt by his side. ?We have to get this out quickly.?

Yoshimo shook his head and gently pressed the half-elf down as he tried to rise. ?You do seem to have the knack of getting injured, don?t you??

An evil glare. ?It?s? not like I??

The words were cut off by a spasm of coughing, and Jaheira muttered curses again. ?Stop talking!? she ordered. ?Just lie down and relax, you?re making it harder for us!?

Even in his pain, he bristled. ?But??

Inspired, Aerie cast a Hold spell. Kalran froze in mid-speech, his eyes wide and surprised. Yoshimo chuckled quietly.

?Is there anything I can do to help?? he queried.

Jaheira?s relief at no longer having to deal with a stubborn patient quickly evaporated. ?We have to get the bolt out, or else when we heal him it?ll just stay in there and kill him anyway.?

?But we don?t have the instruments for that,? Aerie wailed.

The druidess?s eyes narrowed. ?Wait? Yoshimo, do we have two daggers??

?Yes we do,? Yoshimo unashamedly fished them out of his clothing. ?Why??

?Give them here.?

The rogue handed over the two blades, puzzled, and then watched with admiration as Jaheira linked the tapering blades together and squeezed, pulling upwards as she did so like medical tweezers. The bolt shifted a centimetre upwards. Kalran?s unmoving eyes fogged in pain as the blood spurted out liberally.

There was no more time for words. Catching the drift, the rogue knelt down and alternated with Jaheira until the bolt finally left the wild mage?s lungs with a sickening tear of flesh. Quickly, Aerie pressed a rumpled shirt to stem the bleeding, and then he was enveloped in soft blue light, again and again until the healers had exhausted their spells. Yoshimo reached for a potion, but a weary hand stopped him.

?He?s good,? Jaheira said roughly. Then, amazingly, she cast an approving look at Aerie. ?Well done, Child. You?re getting very strong.?

Aerie stared, and a small blush crept over her face at the unexpected praise. ?Thank-you, Jaheira,? she smiled.

The Hold spell wore off, and Kalran sat bolt upright, his protest dying on his lips as he surveyed the blood that still soaked his clothes.

?Well?? Yoshimo laughed.

Kalran prodded gingerly at his ribs. ?You could have done it without casting Hold,? he said petulantly.

?I doubt it,? Jaheira replied. ?Now what exactly did you do this time??

Kalran barely refrained from wincing as a premonition swept over him. He was going to hear that a lot in the future, apparently. ?I ran into a group of thugs in the Slums after? persuading someone to lead me to them.?

?And??

?I don?t think we?ll be able to link them to Roenal without evidence,? he said grimly. ?But I think that we won?t be finding Sahara anywhere on the streets, let?s just say.?

?What do you mean?? Jaheira demanded in a deadly voice.

Kalran leaned back and closed his eyes. ?I think Isaea?s got Sahara.?

***********************

?Don?t worry about this one. She can definitely fight.?

?How do you know?? he asked suspiciously.

He sipped his wine, savouring its rich flavour as he smiled at the entertainment provided, on the right a troupe of dancers, on the left a wizard?s eye that showed them a grey, dank cell and the two occupants with startling clarity.

?Just trust me, will you??

He looked at his partner warningly. ?If she isn?t worth all the trouble??

?Yes, yes, I know,? he waved his hand, brushing aside his words. ?But you won?t, because I can assure you she?ll be fine.?

?She?d better be.?

?You won?t be disappointed,? he returned smoothly, finishing the goblet with a flourish and placing it on the platter held out by a meek-faced human girl who whisked it away and soon returned with a pitcher to fill it up again. Without ever glancing her way, he picked up the goblet again and sipped.

?By the way, my friend. Have you considered the other proposition I had for you??

The other?s eyes narrowed warily. ?Yes. And why would the likes of you be wanting to make a deal like that??

?Call it business interest,? he shrugged off casually. ?Or? entertainment.?

He grinned. ?Entertainment? Hrrmm? I?m sure that we can provide for??

Even the trained dancers were startled when the one of the chained prisoners leapt upwards with a howl. It shrieked through their eardrums, even as she subsided with a sob.

?I told you she had fire,? he smirked.

?Fire,? the other licked his lips. ?It will be? hrrmm? interesting to see her in the arena.?

?Indeed. I assume my front row ticket is still available?? he asked smoothly.

?As always,? the other grinned.

?Well then,? he leaned back, luxuriating in the opulence of the evening. ?Tomorrow, let the games begin!?

***

There was nothing. There was only a void, where chaos swirled in a never-ending Danse Macabre. Figures formed, and then washed away as shapes of grinning skulls, skeletons, bone, blood, blades, darkness, cloaked shadows and more appeared in a haze of dust and then vanished under an assault of new images. A song seemed to weave in and out of this dimension, echoing softly, and then it would crescendo to a roar, blocking out all other sound. Yet still, no words could be heard. They blurred into one another, ever flowing, like a river determined to rush headlong into the sea. Even when it was a whisper, the words all blended, forming a single string of incomprehensible beauty. Beauty in this place of eternal madness. It seemed so strange, so? different. Yet the song and the setting seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, seamlessly intertwining into a single thread, which meandered its way through the tapestry of existence.
Why was she here?

Slowly, her eyes made out a figure coming through the chaos towards her. She staggered backwards in horror, before turning tail and fleeing. Breath rasped in her throat as she ran, hindered by the blazing white robes she wore. The ground constantly melted and reformed in front of her, making every step treacherous. The wind screamed, along with a cacophony of demonic cackling that seared her mind and spurred her on in mindless panic. She cast a fearful look behind her shoulder and tripped, the fall a combination of the shifting mass beneath her feet felling her and the utter, mind-wrenching terror as the bloodied menace glided ever closer.

And then?

Its? hand? She felt it grasp her shoulder and spin her around, even as she shrieked silently in pain. She felt her entire body spasm as air whirled around her, and she instinctively flung her hands up to shield herself, only to have them brutally forced down. She looked straight into the eyes of?

8 8 8

She screamed. Again.

He resisted the urge to attempt to shake her out of her tortured unconscious. Again. It would certainly have saved his eardrums some strain if he?d succeeded the fifth time. Scowling, he moved away, rubbing his bleeding arm. The blood flow had slowed down slightly, but it still dribbled occasionally in fitful bursts that seeped into the scraps of shirt he?d bound around it. He regarded it, stone-faced. It would probably infect, but there wasn?t really anything he could do about it at the moment. There was nothing he could do at the moment.

Except resist the urge to kill the girl. Who, at the moment, was shivering uncontrollably? and waking up.

About bloody time.

She coughed twice, violently, before spitting a globule of blood on the stone in front of her. Moaning, she tried to collect herself. Clinically, he noted her out-of-focus eyes swinging around wildly. No doubt she was experiencing a painful bout of double vision at the moment.

?Oh Selune?? she groaned. ?My eyes??

Yes, he could understand that. Now the pupils were rapidly shrinking. Very understandable.

She clambered upwards, trying to bring herself to her feet. As her blurred vision took in her surroundings, he saw her irises flash, and then an ungodly howl rose from her lips. She leapt at the walls, clawing, but the chains pulled her back brutally and she collapsed with a sob. He was already there, though. With his hands on her shoulders, shaking her in short jolts that sent pain spiralling up his arm.

?Snap out of it,? he hissed, but as her head flew up, he released her and took and instinctive step back. Despite all of his self-inflicted hardness, he felt fear creeping through his heart.

Her eyes were blood red.

?Brother?? she snarled, her hair wild and tangled as it drifted in knots before her face, illuminated in the eerie crimson light her eyes were emitting.

He backed away, shock settling in with a vengeance as a throbbing fear of the likes he?d never felt before surrounded him. Gone was his pride and aloofness, his strength flicked away as if it were no more than an annoying insect. He was a boy again. And those same red eyes?

?You told me she left!?

He sneered. ?You really believed that??

His eyes hardened to granite. Just as quickly as the surge had overwhelmed him, it receded. He lashed out before she could even react, faster than lightning, faster than thought. She stumbled backwards, reeling under his blow. The crimson light flickered briefly, and then went out.

?What??? she stumbled.

But now, it was his eyes devoid of anything, the irises and pupils swallowed up by blood. She screamed. He didn?t hear it.

?Sister?? he growled. His black hair spilled over his brow, framing a demonic visage that screamed of destruction.

She backed away, but he followed incessantly, hunting her. A cruel grin decorated his empty face, his slack features filled up only by the tautness of hatred.

Death. Destruction. Hatred. Fear. Murder.

?You?re unworthy.?

He roared, and his spike-riven armour rippled. ?You are unworthy to bear our father?s blood!?

?No I?m not,? she whispered.

?Look at you,? he smirked. ?Look at how pathetic you are. Never listening, always resisting.?

?It?s not you??

?Oh, it?s me alright,? he pressed her into the corner, teeth bloodstained in the crimson darkness emanating from his eyes. ?It?s me. You should have learnt that by now.?

?You will learn??

?I?m disappointed, actually,? he purred into her ear as his fingers pressed against her throat. ?You had so much promise.?

?You will learn??

She was frozen? unable to move?

?You still do, you know,? his eyes flashed an even darker crimson as he loosened his pressure on her air supply. ?We could rule the world in rivers of blood??

Something fought back.

?What, as father and son?? she choked and brought her knee sharply upwards. ?I don?t think so.?

He gasped and fell backwards, and agony replaced the hatred on his face. She watched as the blood drained away to reveal ash-grey irises staring back at her.

?What was that??

?You tell me.?

They stared at each other, for a moment all defences down. Vulnerable. Soft.

The next second everything was different again.

And yet, the same.
8 8 8

?Just how did you come to that conclusion?? the druidess asked bitingly. Yet a hint of fear and possibly guilt underlay it. The prospect was frightening.

?They? they knew who I was,? the half-elf lay back. ?Well, not really. But they said ?You?re the whelp with the girl he wanted?.?

?Surely you don?t propose we draw conclusions from that?? she snorted. ?It?s too vague.?

He looked at her. ?They also mentioned something about how I wouldn?t be seeing her again unless I had a taste for blood in those areas.?

?Blood?? Jaheira?s eyes narrowed, before widening as the hidden message behind the words hit her.

?What? Jaheira? What is it??

?You?d better hope that I?m wrong,? Jaheira said, a deadly glint in her eyes.

?Well, if you?re wrong, what other leads do we have?? he asked bluntly.

She didn?t deign to answer as she stalked out of the room.

8 8 8 8 8 8 8

?She?ll? she?ll come back, won?t she?? Aerie asked hesitantly.

Yoshimo, silhouetted in the morning light, did not reply.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 29 April 2006 - 05:28 AM.