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[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XIX: Take the Dare
(Hey! Another chapter up according (well, it was close ) to schedule, and a longer one than usual too. . I must admit, I am a bit worried though. Three chapters, with as much plot as I could throw in, and no reviews. . If I'm doing something wrong or if I'm doing anything that could be improved, please comment here. It would do me a world of good. It might even make me write faster

That said, I do hope you all enjoy. )

Make a pledge and strike a deal,
Sign with blood and darkened steel,
But don?t forget to say a prayer,
When you?re the one to take the dare

* * *

The Court of Bronislav was dark and smoke-filled, like some nightmare painting brought to life in vivid oranges and reds. Cormin physically flinched backwards from the glare, before clenching his teeth and moving forwards. It was hotter than he?d remembered, the forever-burning fires that lined the hall stoked by slaves giving off a fierce heat. Grimly, he wondered if perhaps his first trip to the Lower Planes had actually taken place on the Prime. The noise that was assaulting his ears now seemed reminiscent of the fiendish shrieks he recalled. There were thieves and slaves everywhere, scattered over the expanse of the huge space, the former arguing and laughing with ruddy cheeks and the latter scurrying around like ghosts, serving and disappearing. It never did any good to bring attention to oneself here.

Cormin shuddered, briefly, and then raised his eyes to scan across the room again. Almost everything was like he remembered... if it hadn?t been for the different and older faces and the sudden sickness in his chest, it could have been just yesterday that he?d walked in all those years ago. Even the table that spanned the length of the underground cavern was unchanged, its surface stained with the same patterns of old feasts and knife marks that gashed into the wood. Its sides were still lined with the same chairs, both abandoned and filled by casual thieves and footpads, not unlike the five amateurs that were flanked behind him presently. The floor was still covered with rushes and hidden filth that the slaves cleaned up in the daylight hours, even though no sun had ever penetrated this deep into the shadows since it was built.

It was in this place that Lavan strode ahead without looking back, arrogance lacing every step. How he managed to walk so unnerringly quickly through all this smoke was a mystery. Cormin felt his eyes stinging and he blinked rapidly to clear them, not wanting to move his hands anywhere near his face. One wrong move here could be catastrophic. And with a past and present hell surrounding him, the foremost thought in his mind was staying alive. So he put one foot in front of the other, stopped his nervously roving eyes, and fixed them ahead to their destination.

It wasn?t long before the figure sitting at the head of the table on the far side of the room appeared, and that was when he almost stopped. Every muscle in his body that wasn?t already tensed sprung to attention. And he remembered, oh he remembered.

The corpulent man had grown bigger, crueler, and older since the last time he had seen him, but he could still recognise the cold glint in the eyes above that smiling face. Bronislav was lucky to still be alive, but then again, Cormin thought briefly, Lavan and his ?nobles? were as loyal as thieves could be. A normal dagger probably couldn?t puncture the enchanted armour he no doubt wore under his Lord?s clothing anyway, let alone through all the layers of fat that surrounded him. His thinning brown hair lay gleaming on his head in the firelight, accentuating the sharpness of his mouth in the midst of his rounded face. An untrained eye could have easily thought him to be just another gregarious old man, but Cormin shivered.

?Ah,? ?Lord Bronis? spoke softly, belying his great appearance. ?It has been too long? my friend.?

It took the leader of the Night Knives partnership perhaps five seconds to murmur his words, but as if by magic, the entire hall suddenly quietened. Cormin heard his pulse throb in his throat as even the raucous laughing died. The only sound left was the wood slowly sizzling in the fireplaces and the odd sigh as Bronislav locked eyes with the elf who had once served him.

?Well?? he said at last, after a seemingly unbroken silence. His voice was a shade colder than it had been the first time. ?Have you no words to say to your Lord??

Cormin clenched his jaw, before inclining his head shortly, to the point that it would have been perfunctory had he not held it a second longer. Lavan, who had taken up his ages-old position behind his leader, narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

?You have summoned me to repay my debt, Bronislav??

?So that?s how this will play, will it?? the Lord asked archly. ?Quick and clean, in and out, so? businesslike. You always were, weren?t you? Except, of course, when??

?I apologise, my lord,? Cormin interrupted quickly. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his forehead, and it wasn?t just the intense heat from the fire that was causing them. Internally, he swore at himself. He was in no position to play power games. ?I meant no disrespect. I? as I am sure your men will have reported, I am just anxious to fulfil my duty and return to my current ones.?

Bronislav held his gaze for a moment, before giving a gracious nod. ?Yes, the Bhaalspawn lass. One understands the calls of duty, my friend, but do remember that at this moment you are here at my behest,? his voice grew cold again. ?And thus, for the next three days, you will concentrate solely on fufilling your duty to me, do you understand??

?Yes, my lord.?

?Ah?? he purred. ?So good that we still work so well together, yes? Well, without further ado, I shall tell you what I require of you. A gnome by the name of Haemish Delprastar borrowed from me a year and a half ago. I understand that the amount he owes now, with interest of course, is quite astronomical. Unfortunately, I believe that he understands that too. Three months ago, he vanished from his home in the Slums District, and none of my best men have been able to find him. Of course, then I heard of your return to Athkatla, in the company of a Bhaalspawn, no less! And I remembered what you owed me, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to resolve two debts. The Gods must be smiling on me for you to have returned so fortuitously!?

Cormin didn?t know whether to heave or laugh at the absurdity of it all. ?With all due respect, my Lord? I am surprised that you have assigned this to me as the task I must undertake to repay you. We both know that what you did for me is worth far more than chasing down an errant borrower. And I must admit that I find it hard to believe that your best men have not succeeded. If I do recall, even Lavan here is at the very least competent.?

The face of the murderer in question twitched, and Bronislav chuckled delightedly, knowing without needing to turn around of his lieutenant?s sudden discomfort. ?Ah, Cormin, I have missed you!?

Had a bucket been available, Cormin would have decided to be sick right then and there. The brittle falseness of Bronislav?s silky voice was nauseous. He couldn?t stand it. He couldn?t stand being here after all this time, being forced to remember everything, and it was only by the slimmest shreds of willpower that he managed to stop himself from doing something that would probably end up in a bloodbath.
Clenching his jaw again, he waited for the man to stop laughing.

?Oh my Cormin, you misunderstand. This is no ordinary errant borrower. Let?s just say that Haemish was an investment. And I don?t like being cheated out of either gold or time. Suffice to say that if you return him to me within three days, you will have not only earned your complete freedom from me, but also information for the? interesting company you travel in.?

Cormin tensed. Again. He wondered briefly if he did some more, whether his muscles would snap. ?If you please, my lord, may I ask why you would give me the latter as well??

Bronislav paused for a moment, even as Lavan stepped forwards and finally spoke. ?You have grown arrogant to question the Lord, Cormin!? he hissed. ?Years ago that would have meant the loss of your tongue!?

?Petty threatenings are beyond us now,? Cormin shot back before he could stop himself. ?You know as well as I, Lavan, that there is no cause for a tongue to be cut out unless it is already extended licking somebody?s boots!?

?Desist!? Bronislav boomed, his unnaturally raised voice stopping Lavan in his tracks just before he launched himself at his antagonist. Almost snarling, the murderer backed down before the incensed glare of his master. ?I did not entrust you with the task of bringing him back for this squabbling to take place! Understand, you will gain no favour for your actions. You and every other person of use here failed to return Haemish. Remember that!?

Still shooting daggers at Cormin, Lavan bowed his head. ?I am sorry, master. I mistook my place.?

?I will deal with you later,? was the ominous reply, before the man turned back to face his prey. ?And in response to your question, indulge me this once, Cormin. You travel in august presence, a heroine that is known to bring death to all those around her. An old man like myself always likes to see a pretty girl get ahead in the world.?

He had not known it was possible for him to become more tense, but he knew at the same time that he couldn?t afford to kill Bronislav now. Swearing silently in his mind that if he ever got the chance he would do what he should have done years ago and slice the Lord?s stomach open, Cormin kept his eyes fixed on the scars at the back of his hands. ?Very well, my Lord. So, in summary, you wish for me to follow a three-month cold trail with no other information than what you have already given me??

If his voice had been hingeing on sarcastic, well? he had self-control, certainly, but only so much of it. Luckily for him though, Bronislav?s mercurial temper continued to favour him. ?Well, my friend, I trust that reputation and experience have not deserted you. Even after you left our presence here I heard tales of the great Cormin the Bloody. It should be a simple job for you, with a most fulfilling end result for the both of us.?

?Indeed,? he kept his voice neutral this time. ?In that case, my Lord, with the three-day time period you have given me, I should probably begin immediately. I ask permission to take my leave.?

?Capital!? Bronislav clapped his bejewelled fingers together. ?Yes, the sooner you are done, the sooner all of us will be happy. Go swiftly, Cormin the Bloody, with all of my blessings!?

Cormin inclined his head again, but Bronislav had already turned around. ?Lavan? Escort him out and then escort yourself to my private quarters. I will be waiting to administer your punishment there.?

?Yes, my Lord,? a suddenly pale Lavan bowed again, before straightening and meeting Cormin?s eyes with a glance of pure hatred. Stiffly, he began to walk back towards the passageway that would lead them back up to the surface, and Cormin followed, eager to breathe fresh air once again. They had only gotten halfway, however, before Bronislav stopped them again.

?Oh, and Cormin??

Apprehensively, Cormin turned to face him again, body at the ready to fight or flee or both. Bronislav smiled at him carelessly. ?I don?t need to remind you of the consequences of failing or disappearing, now, do I??

Slowly and deliberately, so that even Bronislav?s human eyes could pick out his movements across the distance between them, Cormin swung his head towards where a black gap in the wall of the cavern led off into the darkness. Imagined screams filtered through his mind and a cold spasm ran through his frame. He had been down there once and once before, and never wanted to go there again.

?Excellent!? Bronislav clapped his hands again. ?We all understand each other!?

Cormin?s nearly inaudible ?Yes, my Lord,? never reached his ears; the leader of the Night Knives partnership had already begun to walk towards his private chambers, followed by his contingent of closest advisors.

* * *

She was beginning to think that somebody up there had it in for her in a big way. Scowling, Nika kicked off her ruined leather boots as she sat on the ground of the Temple District, watching them sail off into the darkness of the sewers with a ?plop?. ?Clothes shoppin?,? she said through gritted teeth. ?After all of this, we?ll have t? go bloody clothes shoppin?.?

The temporary addition to their party laughed, showing his slightly sharpened teeth at the back of his mouth. ?I sense you have had this experience one too many times before, my raven.?

Minsc nodded his great head in affirmation. ?Indeed we have, little man. But trudging in and out of the dankness to kick the butt of evil surely balances itself out.?

?That is most debatable, my large friend,? Yoshimo said dryly, following Nika?s example and discarding his stinking shoes. ?And I for one will be glad to rid myself of this stink tonight.?

?I?m half tempted t? let Raelis wait ?til mornin? and clean up now,? Danika grumbled.

?I-I?m sure that she won?t mind if we take a rest at the Five Flagons afterwards,? Aerie said.

Danika nodded in consideration, and Jaheira snorted. ?We?d best get going, then. This lack of sleep is beginning to affect me.?

The Bhaalspawn winced at the pointed tone in the druiddess? voice. ?You did say it was alright before we went, you know. And we can be sleepin? as soon as we get our errant actor back where he belongs.?

?This sparrow couldn?t agree more,? Haer?Dalis flashed a smile at her.


The walk to the Five Flagons seemed much longer than the walk out had been. The adventurers moved closely together in the darkness, partly because of the cold and partly because of the whisperings about guild wars and the skin-flaying murderer. When the creaky sign of the Five Flagons appeared in a circle of liquid light, they were more than happy to stumble towards it. Danika was quickly beginning to regret her eagerness in investigating the missing actor Aerie had spoken about.

?So, down t? Raelis first and then upstairs to sleep??

?A wonderful plan, fair leader,? Yoshimo yawned.

Danika shot him an irritated glare as they passed the threshold. ?You have been hangin? out with Geraint way too much, you know.?

Jaheira laughed dryly at the mention, and the Blade winced. ?Perhaps we all have. But no matter. Let us get this done quickly.?

The Playhouse was deserted when they descended the stairs, but Haer?Dalis quickly and confidently led them to the backstage. Pausing briefly to admire the stage props that were piled in the dusty corners, Nika finally turned her gaze back to the incredibly beautiful Raelis talking animatedly with her returned comrade. She raised an eyebrow in question when Jaheira approached her.

?Well Jaheira? Don?t just stand there and look at me like I?ve done somethin? wrong. Because I?m innocent. For now.?

Jaheira rolled her eyes. ?For now indeed. Raelis wishes for us to protect the dimensional portal when they leave.?

?And when are they plannin? to leave??

The woman in question drifted over. ?As soon as possible, good Danika. I understand that we have taken much of your time already and that you are weary, but we must leave quickly before our enemies find us.?

?Very well. How long will this be takin???

Raelis watched as the Bard tried very hard not to look at all the wonders of the theatre scattered around her and laughed. ?It will not take long. Now that you have returned the gem and Haer?Dalis to us, we can depart within the hour.?

Nika turned a questioning glance at the rest of the group. They all nodded in response and she grinned back. ?You can start your ritual now, then.?

Raelis smiled in gratitude, and then turned to the rest of her troupe, speaking in a flowing tongue that Danika couldn?t understand. They soon assembled around the glowing door. The half-elf frowned as she eyed it. Strange, indistinct figures seemed to flicker in and out of the mirroring surface, as if they were shadows playing on the wall. She turned to catch Jaheira?s eyes, and felt the druiddess? worry too. ?Is this supposed to be happenin???

Jaheira opened her mouth to reply, when a band of men suddenly appeared out of the door. Raelis stumbled back, stunned. As one, the party rushed forwards with Minsc in the lead, only to be repelled by an invisible forcefield. He smashed Lilarcor against it in frustration as the actors were taken.

?Inter-dimensional bounty hunters,? Yoshimo breathed once they had winked out of sight.

?Oh hells!? Danika clenched her katana in frustration. ?We promised to protect them!?

And before anyone could stop her, the Bard leapt headlong into the glimmering door.

* * *

?I could kill you now.?

Cormin felt his two hundred and twenty-three years hang around his neck like a millstone. ?Empty threats, Lavan. Like always.?

He heard the old murderer mutter something under his breath and ignored it. He could smell fresh air now, and after almost half an hour in the stench and smoke of Bronislav?s court, the scent was intoxicating. He strode forwards, yearning towards the night. It was only when they were outside with the breeze flowing through the Government District that Lavan spoke again.

?The three days starts now. Good luck, but not for your sake.? He spat into the ground and turned to face him with burning eyes. ?Betray Lord Bronislav, and you know you will??

?Spare me,? Cormin said coldly. ?We both know what will happen. I will succeed where you failed. Begone and let me work.?

Lavan paused, and then laughed abruptly. ?Good to know that some things don?t change. You?re still full of it.?

?As are you.?

?Well, for once, I hope that you can do it,? Lavan turned away and began walking back, his body straight and sure. Cormin almost pitied him for a moment, before casting the thought away. Bronislav could be harsh, even with his right-hand man. ?Because if you don?t??

He was getting tired of all of the threats, whether empty, implied, or straight out. Suddenly, the longing that had gnawed at him all night burned fiercer. To be away from here, and back in company where he knew they would watch his back, not stab it. Lavan?s words died on the air as Cormin the Bloody ran. Ran with his face thrown back and his dark hair trailing in the wind like a predator on the scent of blood.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 24 June 2007 - 03:56 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XX: Far away from Home
(Hey, I'm sorry that I'm a few days late, but considering the strange block I half-developed, I guess I'm lucky I even got it up this week. Special thanks to 'Usually Lurking' ( ) for his review for my last chapter. If I hadn't had that, I probably wouldn't have been able to push through. So please, do review/post constructive criticism. It really does help.

That said, I do hope that you all enjoy this chapter. )

Through twisting stars and gaping space,
There lies a place within my heart,
That?s carved with steel in love-worn stone,
So I?ll remember every spark,
Of fate that?s led me to this place,
So far away from home
* * *

?Okay,? Nika said decisively. ?Bein? stuck on some random plane that isn?t ours when we?re nearly out of spells, exhausted, and still smell like th? sewers is not on my list of happy things t? do.?

Jaheira refrained, barely, from giving her ward a dirty look as she wiped off her staff on the shirt of a fallen bounty hunter. ?Then we should get to this Warden and his underlings as quickly as possible before we fall,? she responded crisply. ?There is no point in merely standing around and waiting for the Warden to appear. We should go after the Master of Thralls soon.?

Tagget, the gnome with the faulty thrall collar who had been a terrified witness to their first entrance into the Planar Prison, nodded feverishly. ?If there?s any hope for ye at all, any hope, ye need to take down the Warden for all of us to escape this horrible place!?

?Yes, let?s,? Aerie said quietly, her face pale from exertion. ?I need to be out of this place soon, the heat is stifling.?

Minsc wiped away a sweat drop and grimaced. ?I agree. This place is too full of the stinking reek of badness to tarry in for too long. Let us strike the butt of evil and be done with it.?

?Good t? see we?re all in agreement,? Nika smiled briefly when Yoshimo dipped his head once in a wry nod. ?Let?s get t? it, then.?

They moved cautiously down the pathway to the openings ahead, pausing only once for Aerie to swing the enchanted Cloak of the Shield around her thin shoulders and for Danika to wiggle into the Melodic chain they had claimed from the ring of dead hunters. She knew that she couldn?t afford the occasional stray glance at her new armour, but she did anyway, whistling quietly in admiration each time at the beautiful craftsmanship. The protective mail felt like water on her skin, smooth and nearly weightless as it melded to her body and quietened somewhat her constant worry. She didn?t quite feel invincible, but it felt a lot better than wearing only a suit of leather for protection.

Soon, they were eyeing a thin corridor littered with pulsating holes in the floor. A team of thralls lay unconscious behind them, and Yoshimo checked quickly to see if they were still down for the count before turning back to Nika. ?I would advise against falling down one of these gaping openings, dear leader. They are such obvious mousetraps that they cannot be for good.?

?Yeah,? she responded dryly. ?I don?t fancy takin? a fall either. Any suggestions??

Minsc looked them all over with a measured eye, bringing Boo to shoulder-height. ?Boo thinks they close long enough for the forces of good to leap over one by one, but it will be a close call.?

?I shall begin, then,? the druiddess dug her staff experimentally into the rolling ground. ?Wish me luck.?

The series of the three strangely swirling holes looked far more imposing when one was stumbling on the edge. Danika gritted her teeth for a moment, glancing up ahead to where Jaheira was already standing, waving impatiently. Then, sucking in the burning humidity of the place, she began to run.

Surprisingly, with her past record of luck, the Bhaalspawn managed to make it over all three of them. Stumbling forwards as she was yanked firmly to safety by the druiddess, she turned in time to see Minsc sweep Aerie up, pack and all, and take a mighty jump. He staggered slightly on the last one, but they were already there to steady him. By the time they looked up, Yoshimo was agilely dodging and ducking the hot blasts of air the hellholes expelled, until he landed with a soft thump next to them.

?Well that was excitin?.?

?Indeed,? Jaheira was already looking ahead. ?Does anyone else feel that the heat of this place has increased??

They moved into the next room, knocking out any thralls that crossed their path again until they reached the glowing structure in the center. Aerie flinched back from the intense fire of the brazier. ?I wonder what this is doing here.?

?Perhaps we can use it for somethin? later,? Danika gave it a curious look. Without turning back, she spoke aloud as she studied the intricately carved metal designs that seemed to depict a frozen hand of claws. ?Yoshimo? Search the thralls for anything that might be of use while Minsc and I go scoutin? ahead.?

She was expecting one of his usual quips, or at the very least some form of the verbal repartee that he usually tossed carelessly at her when she gave him an order. When there was silence, she glanced surprisedly at him.

She couldn?t tell whether he had heard her or not. All she knew was that the beads of perspiration that were dropping down his forehead seemed to gleam strangely around the hollow blackness in his eyes as he glanced at the closest thrall. He was human, his eyes closed and blood dripping from his nose where Minsc had punched him out. The Kara-Turan?s gaze was fixed upon those slack and tanned features with such a burning expression that Danika almost stepped back.

?Yoshi?? she asked quietly.

It took him a few seconds to snap out of it, and his bitter chocolatl eyes suddenly tremored. ?I have t-told you not to call me that, Danika.?

?Whoops,? she whacked her palm against her forehead for dramatic effect, her theatrics hiding the worry that had seeped into her eyes. ?Sorry old chap. I forgot.?

?That? that is all right,? he said too quickly. ?It is easy to forget. Just don?t do it again, hmm??

?There will be no callin? you bed names, I swear,? she replied, a smile forced onto her face. ?Don?t worry, my friend, I don?t think of you that way.?

?A relief,? he forced a smile onto his face as well, but she could see the strain underneath his eyes. ?Anyway, I apologise. I was lost in memories. What would you have of me??

?Just t? search these folks for anythin? they?ve got that might be of use while Minsc and I go scoutin?. Everyone else? Rest for a short while, yeah??

She paused long enough to see his abrupt nod, and then began to move forwards cautiously, always keeping the large ranger in front of her as he melded into the heatwaves and shadows with surprising ease given his large size. Behind them, Jaheira turned a slightly haggard face to the Avariel. ?Aerie? I am afraid that I am out of healing spells after this last fight. If anything goes amiss in the next few battles, will you be alright??

The elf nodded, slightly surprised. ?I should h-have enough, I think. As long as no one gets too injured.?

The druiddess sighed. ?That will have to do, I suppose. Yoshimo??

The last was said in an oddly gentle tone, but the recipient did not glance her way as he bent over a female thrall and relieved her of a shining short sword. ?Yes??

?Were you wounded in our last battle??

?No.? The bounty hunter stood up stiffly as he studied his newest acquirement. ?And I believe I am done here. Everything they have here I recognise, like these enchanted gauntlets and the protective ring, yet I cannot seem to place this blade.?

Aerie gave it a measured glance. ?I think? yes. I?ve heard of this? Kundane?s short sword. That would? explain the speed with which she attacked.?

?Yes it would.?

Jaheira looked at the bounty hunter sharply, but before she could open her mouth to voice her concern, Danika and Minsc had snuck back. ?Th? Master guy is up ahead, and he seems t? have this thing with air elementals.?

?Air elementals, you say?? Jaheira smiled grimly. ?Let us proceed.?

* * *
I chose not how to walk this road,
I only stumbled on the path,
Wrong choices served to make the load,
I carry with each passing step,
Like shadow blood that stains me yet,
And darkens all my soul
* * *

He could feel them behind him, lurking in the shadows and tiptoeing across flagstones. Cormin rolled his eyes and kept moving. Amateurs. Not only were they beginning to distract him, their presence was also stopping him from going directly to where he wanted to go first. He frowned briefly. What did Bronislav hope to accomplish by this? If he had been truly watching for a while, which he had almost admitted openly, it would not have been using this method, certainly. He couldn?t recall any time in the last few weeks that he?d spied Bronislav?s men following him. Shadow thieves and others, certainly, but none carrying the distinct amulet that so marked the Night Knives? members. He smirked a little, at that. One would think that thieves accustomed to the night would realise that one small side-effect of shining metal was that it flashed.

That posed the question, however, of how he?d been doing it in the first place. Cormin?s brow darkened and he paused abruptly, a dark slash against the balmy Athkatlan night. Magic. None of them had even suspected something of the sort before.

That changed his plans considerably.

Abruptly and without hesitation, Cormin began to sprint. Behind him, he heard a soft yelp of surprise from one of his followers before soft footsteps began to echo behind him. He shook his head. Their ineptness worried him. Perhaps this was a training exercise; Bronislav couldn?t have been serious sending them after him. No matter, they were merely a minor annoyance now. He ducked and weaved through the Bridge District, heading unerringly towards Waukeen?s Promenade. It was a good thing that the Adventurer?s Mart never closed; waiting was probably impossible on the little time budget he had. His lip curled in annoyance at the remembrance, and he doubled his pace even though he knew that he had left his shadowers behind a while ago.

And then a sudden thought that he?d been avoiding this entire night hit him, and the annoyance fell away to be replaced by something akin to both apprehension and outright fear.

Why?

Why now?

He had thought that he was getting somewhere with Danika and her group. It was? it was the contact that he had craved for so long. But if he admitted it to himself, it was far more than just contact. Far more than mere interaction. Cormin the Bloody felt alive now, in such an inexplicable and mysterious way that he could almost swear his skin was singing as he ran and remembered. He couldn?t describe how? peculiarly right it felt to travel with the group. The odd feeling that had gripped at his chest for all those years of? unsavoury associations seemed to have been dislodged. He couldn?t quite understand the hows and whys of it, but he knew dimly that it was more to do with the uniqueness of the group that he was travelling with than the fact that he was out in the world again. His mind ran over all of them. Minsc, the unswerving warrior of justice. Aerie, the pathetic? no that wasn?t quite right. There was a new strength in her eyes that had not been there the first time he had seen her. Jaheira, the sharp-eyed druiddess who was at the very least worthy of his respect. Yoshimo, the laconic bounty hunter. He frowned at the thought, briefly. Was that what he?d been? A bounty hunter, and not an assassin? Did that make any difference, really? Whether he?d killed or he?d captured? He couldn?t seem to remember any missions he?d undergone where all he?d had to do was capture. No, it had always ended in blood, and especially at the beginning, he had been nothing but a well-trained knife wielded by those too weak to do it themselves.

Oh, and of course, he could not forget Danika.

Danika. Danika Gorionova. The name rolled gently on his tongue and he shook his head at himself this time. How could he describe her? Bhaalspawn? Half-elf? Bard?

Friend??

No, that was possibly too incomprehensible. He went slightly pale at the thought. He? in those last years, only Iestyn had been a friend. And then Iestyn had left. Had left when he?d found out. Had told him that what he was doing was wrong, and that?

It was with a strange sense of gratefulness when he saw the Adventurer?s Mart appear at the edge of his vision. Thought gradually turned back towards the present and he calmed. Perhaps? the past could bear dealing with later. It was enough to continue with his quest now, get it over and done with so he could get back.

Ribald was leaning against the front desk when he came in, and the man straightened when he saw the new arrival. ?Ribald Barterman at your service, stranger,? he said with a weathered smile. Then the old adventurer frowned and peered closer. ?Or perhaps not so much a stranger. I recognise you.?

?You should,? Cormin smiled wryly. Something about Barterman?s easygoing personality had always managed to strip away some of his defences. ?I was in here not a few days ago in the company of Danika.?

?So you were,? he acknowledged. ?What can I do for you??

Cormin glanced around the darkness of the shop quickly, and then decided he really had no choice but to forge ahead anyway. It was too late to step back now. ?That Cloak of Non-detection that I saw last time I was here. Do you still have it??

The shopkeeper thought for a second, his forehead creasing as he ran through a mental inventory of his stock. Cormin tensed, worried. He hadn?t really thought of what might happen if it had already been sold. An inner voice chided him emotionlessly from somewhere deep inside the recesses of his memories. He was getting severely out of practice if he didn?t have a back-up plan immediately to follow his first.

Then again, he? he wasn?t sure if he wanted to be back in practice with that part of himself any more. Cormin felt the blood drain from his face at the realisation. What was happening to him?

Luckily, Ribald didn?t seem to have noticed his customer catch himself on the front of the desk as he swayed on his feet. ?I think you?re in luck, my good elf,? he moved out towards the back of the shop. ?There was one other enquiry, I think, but the lad didn?t have the money to back up his interest. Here.?

He passed the meticulously folded up material to Cormin, who let the dark blue fabric unroll from his fingertips to reach the ground. The shimmering midnight sky cloak glimmered in the dim light of the shop. Cormin smiled, briefly. ?How much??

Ribald smiled and moved back to the desk. ?It?s got some pretty neat enchantments on it, but then again, I guess you already know that by the looks of it. Three thousand.?

He didn?t even consider. ?Done.?

The exchange was made, and he thanked the deities that he?d gotten his fair share of the treasure from the Shadow Temple in gold pieces so that he didn?t have to worry himself with bartering. Thanking the proprietor briefly, he swung back into the night, pausing for just a second to scan his surroundings before swirling the cloak out and securing it firmly around his neck. As it settled around his shoulders, he felt its magical influence surround him and smiled coldly. Bronislav could try to scry as much as he wanted, now. All he?d get would be a picture of the night sky.

Wholly appropriate.

With his new countermeasures on hand, Cormin took a brief breath and mentally calculated his plans ahead. Now that he was relatively safe, he could do what he?d known he would have to do the second that he?d stepped into a certain room only hours ago. A room of beauty, mirrors, carpets and water that could have been the dwelling of any fine noble, but like so many things that he?d had to deal with in his life, was far, far more than it seemed.

Striding quickly against the chill of the night, Cormin the Bloody made his way to meet the Shadowmaster of Athkatla.

* * *
The night is young, though moon is old,
So warmth can kiss without the cold,
And yet, and yet, a star awaits,
I feel it twixt my blood and bones,
A star awaits, to draw the gates,
And lead me back to home
* * *

Edited by Shadowhawke, 04 July 2007 - 04:23 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXI: Threads of a Colour
(Hello again! I know that I'm late with this one (surprise, surprise), but it's for a very good reason. And this time, it was mainly because I was working out the backstory. For those wanting to know a bit more about our resident brooding elf Cormin, I certainly hope this will whet your appetite for now, because I'm afraid that from here until the beginning of December, my chapters will be erratic at best. My final exams are looming, and they have to take precedence, unfortunately. But I hope that this chapter will be enough for now. Thank you for everyone who has borne with me until this point. I hope everyone will enjoy; I certainly had a great time writing this one. Oh, and please, please do review. )

Threads of a colour do weave one another,
Creating the veil of time,
Yet tales interlinking can bring without thinking,
A light to this present of thine
* * *

?Don?t. Move.?

Cormin stood, his hands outspread to show that they were empty as a blindingly bright light appeared in the thin corridor. He blinked against it, managing to see imprinted against his retinas the vague image of a Shadow Thief Mage holding some spell component aloft in his hand. Well, that certainly explained it.

?There was a reason that I came here so openly, Aran,? he called out to the dark expanse beyond the light. ?I need your help.?

?Don?t move,? the Shadowmaster repeated again, bodiless in the blackness. ?You have about ten archers trained on you right now.?

The elf rolled his eyes. ?Do you honestly think that if I meant you harm I would have strolled in through the front door??

?All I need to know is that your epithet is ?the Bloody?,? Aran replied, ?And that the last time my men saw you, you were in the company of six Night Knives scum.?

He winced, and thought quickly. This he hadn?t anticipated. Was he really so old, so out of practice, or so unguarded? Or was it instead that he?d gotten too overconfident over the years? ?Linvail, if you have been watching me, you should know that my actions have always been to protect Danika. If I wished ill against you, I would have? acted otherwise.?

An empty silence greeted those words for a few short seconds. ?You keep the company of one of my worst enemies.?

?But if I wanted to hurt you,? Cormin retorted, ?I had my chance when you were debriefing Danika.?

He really wished that the mage would turn that light off. He hated not having his vision here, when he knew that they were all around him, ready to kill him at any wrong movement. ?You might not want to harm me,? Aran said at last, ?But I know Bronislav does.?

?Then we are at an impasse,? he returned almost immediately, getting his mind off the sudden image that had flashed into his head of a certain half-elf. ?We could stand here all night, but somehow I believe that neither of us have the time. Why don?t you ask your men to at least escort me to your rooms where we can talk away from most of the prying ears that run this place??

He shifted, slightly, and spread his empty hands out even further as he waited. Finally, there were some whispers and the mage?s light was extinguished. A few seconds later, the normal corridor torches flamed anew and he could see the squadron of Shadow Thieves crouching around him, their bows already drawn. Carefully, so that everyone could see what he was doing, he began to walk in the direction of the Shadowmaster. Their steps were clipped and measured against the stone floor, a steady, almost metronomic beat as they made their way inch by inch to Aran?s rooms. As soon as they reached the entrance, the Shadowmaster strode quickly through, before turning and slowly seating himself on a high-backed leather chair behind an ornately carved wooden desk. His eyes never left Cormin?s face as he gestured towards the seat about two feet opposite. The ten archers and the mage fanned around him, watching.

Cormin sank into the chair with a small sigh, and then cast an amused glance at the closest, and obviously nervous, archer. ?Surely we can dispense with some of these, Shadowmaster,? he said mildly. ?Eleven is slightly overdoing it.?

?I?ve heard of you, Cormin,? Aran retorted, closing a lean fist over a letter opener on his table. ?If half of the stories that my predecessor told me were true, then I should have half an army in here.?

?They were probably all exaggerations, then,? the elf replied. ?The last time I tried, I found that one arrow can quite sufficiently kill a man. But that?s not what I?m here for.?

Aran?s ice blue eyes darkened. ?Indeed.?

Cormin gave the man across the table a measured glance, and then leaned forwards in his chair and spread his hands. One of the Shadow Thieves behind him stirred at the movement, but he paid him no attention. ?The situation is this, Aran. If you?ve followed me at all, you should know that I worked for Bronislav for only two years. And that was because he caught me doing something else and demanded payment. The only problem is that when I left, I still hadn?t finished ?repaying? him according to his books. He?s got one last assignment for me. To track down a Halfling called Haemish Delprastar??

?This is all very well and good,? the Shadowmaster interrupted him, ?But none of it explains what you?re doing here.?

?I?m getting there,? Cormin bit the inside of his cheek. ?Look, I know that despite the fact the Shadow Thieves basically rule Athkatla at the moment, you?re beset on two sides by Bodhi and her vampires as well as by Bronislav and company. You need Danika to wipe out the first one, and I?m with her.?

He hesitated then, to gather his thoughts. A new possibility had just dawned at the dim corner of his mind, and his stomach roiled in the mixed fear and anticipation that came with it. ?If you can tell me anything you know about this Haemish Delprastar, then I?ll be able to get back to Danika quicker, Bodhi will be wiped out quicker, and we?ll both be the happier for it.?

He could almost see the cogs turning in Aran?s mind, but unfortunately he couldn?t see the direction. The Shadowmaster kept his face completely emotionless as he thought, and Cormin couldn?t help but hold his breath. Perhaps he had pitched too much upon this venture. Damn Bronislav and his cheating heart for having sent him on this errand in the first place.

?I have not heard any reports of a Delprastar,? Aran admitted at last. ?The name is unfamiliar to me, so he will not have been involved in anything illegal.?

Cormin?s brow furrowed, even as inwardly he despaired. If Haemish was not connected to something illegal, then most of his contacts would be useless. ?But then why would Bronislav have any interest in him??

The Shadowmaster cast him a sharp glance. ?That is your own problem,? he snapped at the mention of the other?s name, before becoming reflective. ?I know nothing of this, but I may be able to point you in the right direction.?

?Any help would be appreciated,? he sighed. ?All I wish to do is get this business over and done with.?

The master thief?s eyes flickered, and he idly drew the flat of the blade of the letter opener over his index. ?Hendak. We have followed his case with great interest that has not been diminished in the last tenday. Enough to know that he has contacts as well. Perhaps he might be able to help you.?

Cormin thought over the logic of that for a second, and then nodded abruptly. ?I thank you then. I will take my leave now if you call your men off.?

The dark-clad elf made as if to stand, but as he did, Linvail?s knuckles whitened on the handle of his letter opener. In the blink of an eye, the Shadowmaster?s stance turned from businesslike to that of an assassin. Cormin froze in his stance half-way up from the chair, all too aware that the rather sharp-looking dagger could find its way through his throat within an instant.

?I didn?t say that you could go,? Aran said mildly. ?Sit.?

His jaw clenched, he obeyed, beginning to wonder if his sense had taken leave of him to subject himself to two such powerful guildmasters in the space of an hour. He didn?t know if he could take being ordered around for much longer without killing someone. Slowly. Or quickly. It didn?t matter.

He waited in mutinous silence as the leader of the Shadow Thieves contemplated him. The skin on his face prickled as Aran searched what seemed to be every molecule of his features. The fire was dying in the far corner, but the magically enchanted smokeless torches set in the walls threw light into every inch of the room, including the smooth planes of his face. He clenched his teeth again and tried to be patient while the seconds, such precious seconds, were ticking past. Three days was far too little.

?You?re an intelligent elf, Cormin,? Linvail twirled his dagger between his fingers, sending the reflected light into a blur of steel. ?If I doubted the stories I?ve heard about you, what your actions tonight have proven that.?

?Are you going anywhere with this?? he asked, a touch of sullenness in his voice.

A smile of cold amusement crossed Aran?s face at that, but he continued as if the assassin sitting opposite him hadn?t spoken at all. ?You are intelligent, and therefore you will understand the choice in front of me. Danika is very important in my cause against Irenicus and Bodhi. She is powerful, she has free agency, and I must admit, I do rather like her spirit.?

Cormin was about to bite off a truculent ?So?? when it began to dawn on him exactly what Aran was leaving out. His eyes widened. ?You said yourself that your men have seen me do nothing but aid her!?

?That may be so,? the Shadowmaster shrugged, catching the hilt of the knife suddenly and stopping all motion. ?But you said yourself earlier that you are in Bronislav?s debt, and I find it hard to believe that one such as you just happened to stumble upon the Heroine of the Sword Coast. Furthermore, I find it even harder to believe my men?s reports that you follow her orders. I can see the strain in you even now being subjected to my will,? he punctuated his words with a mirthless smile, ?So I am surprised that our mutual friend seems to have Cormin the Bloody completely under control.?

?I am not some dog that obeys a click of the fingers,? Cormin hissed, anger sparking in his eyes. ?Chance arranged our meeting, chance led me to join her company, and chance has landed me in this whole sorry affair with you!?

?Or is it merely that your chequered past has managed to catch up with you?? Linvail suggested calmly, barely restraining a smirk as rage twisted his captive audience?s mouth.

Driven beyond his normally iron-hard grip on clarity in his frustration, he spoke without thinking. ?What would you know of my past?? Cormin spat.

The dying embers of the fire crackled. The bowstring of one of the thieves behind him tautened. The mage stirred, his robes swishing against his ankles as he no doubt readied a spell. Time seemed to eclipse as the Shadowmaster locked gazes with the Master Assassin of a century gone by. Until finally, Aran relented.

?They called you ?Corwin? at the start,? he said softly. ?Friend of the heart. I can still remember the look on my grandfather?s face when he told me about you. And he?d heard it from his father. I was only five summers old, but you had appeared in his home village one day out of the blue. Bleeding, he said. A strange look in your eyes. You didn?t speak for two months, until the Mayor?s sister took you in. And then five years later, they came for you. They?d heard that you were there, somehow. Tracked you down. Laid siege to a village, to a country village! It was only luck that they had not pulled down the walls of an earlier town, a fortress keep that some old cleric of some forgotten god had built. There had been plans to. But the walls saved them for two tenday until they found out who those men were looking for.?

?Stop,? Cormin whispered but no one could have possibly heard him.

Aran continued, a strange, sad smile pulling at his lips. ?You were scared of death, weren?t you? Who wouldn?t be? Weren?t you only a teenager? Young even in human years.?

?Stop,? the elf said louder, but his voice was still almost inaudible.

?But you tried anyway. She?d been teaching you how to use a bow. Was that the first time you killed? I don?t know. But the first time was in defense of everything you loved. And then when it got worse and people started dying, you had to face the villagers who wanted to throw you to the wolves. It was too late, though, wasn?t it? They broke through the walls that night. How ironic, how beautifully ironic that you survived while almost everyone else was killed. Except for my great-grandfather and the Armourer?s daughter.?

?Stop it,? Cormin said, his voice thick. This time, even the thief farthest away from him heard.

?Yes, they called you Corwin,? Aran?s voice was soft. ?But then when you got your taste for killing, you changed your name. It wasn?t enough, though, was it? As the years went by, you got more names. The Bloody. The Shadow. Killer. Thief. Murderer.?

The elf flinched back at each one.

?And then this last one? ?the Stranger?,? Aran?s voice lingered on it lovingly. ?That?s what fascinated me about you. To have people who worked alongside you for decades call you? ?the Stranger?.?

?Enough,? he said hoarsely. ?Enough? you?ve made your point.? Cormin shook his head to clear his fogged up mind, beating back the moisture that had seeped so treacherously from his memories into his eyes. He tried desperately to push everything away and focus dimly upon what Aran had said at the beginning of this all. ?If you? know my tale so well, why did you not kill me when you first saw me meet Danika??

?Ah, yes,? the Shadowmaster looked at him keenly. ?I should have, shouldn?t I? But my grandfather was not the only one who told me of you. I don?t suppose you remember a young woman called Sime??

Cormin made to shake his head, before he froze. Sime. Dear Gods? it couldn?t be. ?The woman in the forest,? he said wonderingly. ?How???

?Her baby died, unfortunately. But when she joined my group of Shadow thieves you would never have suspected she was once a mother. Rather bent on revenge, I must say. Suspicious. Paranoid of everyone. It took me months before she began to confide in me, and you were the last person she told me about. The elf in the forest who appeared out of nowhere to save her and her child from starvation. Who only told her that his name was Cormin. I have to say, I was shocked. But it fits, doesn?t it? Certainly, it explains your disappearance.?

?Is she still alive?? the words spilt from his lips before he could stop them.

?She is away on a mission,? Aran replied. ?But I have no doubt that your paths will cross soon enough. If I decide to let you live, that is.?

This night was beginning to resemble a twisted dream, and he couldn?t decide whether it was nightmare or not. ?I??

He subsided, unsure, and Aran filled the void. ?You see, Cormin, I have lived in awe of your story for most of my life,? he explained. ?And yet, I cannot seem to? reconcile all of the different images together. On the one hand, you are one of the most efficient and coldhearted killers to walk Toril. On the other, you have proven yourself to have a heart? or at least the forgotten shreds of one. Ever since Sime told me her story, I have been thinking that if I met you, I would at last see. Understand. Yet now that I have met you, I am beginning to think you don?t even know yourself.?

The last words slammed him back into reality, and Cormin laughed. Hollowly. Aran Linvail was the Shadowmaster, and here he was subject to his power. And yet somewhere in the Master thief?s mind, a young child still lurked who couldn?t decide whether to be repulsed or fascinated by this mythic figure who had stalked through his dreams for as long as he could remember. ?Retain your position, Aran. You would not be able to fall back upon being a psychologist.?

The Shadowmaster chuckled. ?Perhaps. I am known to be an excellent judge of character. And at any rate, I have made my decision. Danika is of importance to me, true, but only until she rids me of Irenicus and Bodhi. You are in my debt for my guidance in this matter of your quest, but you can repay it by swearing to keep her alive until that time.? He shrugged indifferently. ?Then, you can follow your other master and kill her. I care not. If she proves difficult later, I might even employ you to kill her myself.?

Cormin saw red. Aran readied his blade and threw up his spare hand to signal his thieves to leave it to him even as the centuries-old elf leapt to his feet and sent his chair crashing to the floor behind him. ?You treacherous liar!? he snarled. ?If you or any of your men lay a finger on her, I will hunt you down, and the stories you?ve heard will pale in comparison to what I will do to you! I have kept a person alive for weeks in pain, but I will keep you alive for years in agony! I will kill every last one of you and bring your precious organisation to its knees! I will??

He swayed back onto his heels, disbelievingly, as it penetrated his consciousness that Aran Linvail was laughing. He clung onto the table to steady himself. The Shadowmaster kept laughing, even as he waved his hand again and signalled his men to put down their weapons and he himself dropped the letter opener he had been playing with for so long.

?Ah, Cormin,? he gasped at last, choking the words out through his mirth. ?You have surpassed all of my expectations. You are free to leave. Go. Good luck on your search.?

?What?? the elf demanded.

Aran wiped his eyes. It looked to be the first time that the Master Thief had laughed in eons, and it certainly seemed to have done him no harm. The lines around his eyes had smoothed out, and he suddenly looked years younger with the sparkle in his grin. ?I said you?re free to go. And give Bodhi a good hit for me when you?re helping Danika clear her out, won?t you??

?Wait, I?? Cormin shook his head again, searching for words. Finally, he laughed himself, albeit a touch ruefully. He could not believe how alive and how drained he felt. So many emotions compacted into such little time. ?What changed your mind??

?You?re in love with her, Geraint,? Aran chuckled. ?I didn?t think you had it in you after all this time. Although really, you should tell them your real name, you know.? A wry look suddenly crossed his face. ?Or at least one of your real names.?

Cormin opened his mouth. An unbidden image of her flashed into his mind and he closed it. He had no way of knowing that presently, she was romping through the back rooms of the Playhouse with impunity, followed by a gaily laughing Haer?Dalis and an embarrassed and curious Aerie, yet somehow the picture of her delighted crowing was startlingly accurate. He angrily pushed the image away and opened his mouth again. ?You are insane,? he decided. ?Just because I follow her does not mean? that? your line of work requires you to make conclusions, yes. But this is ridiculous.?

?Oh?? Aran looked amused. ?As I said, I?m known to be an excellent judge of character. But have it your way.?

He couldn?t find anything to say to that without furthering this nonsensical charade, and so Cormin abruptly turned and stumbled out. At a gesture from Aran, nine of the thieves detached from the contingent to escort him. And the Shadowmaster was left with his two main bodyguards, musing.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 06 December 2007 - 02:54 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXII: Through Mist
(Hey. . I'm back again with this fic, and this time I really do plan to stay. This fic is nearing it's completion, but as I've planned it to only be one in a series, the story shall continue. I really do apologise for the lack of chapters for six entire months, but the necessity of the end of High School and incredibly important exams and projects kind of forced my hand.
That said, thank you to all of you still reading this. It's been a long, erratic haul, but your reviews and your comments have helped me keep going. So I'm posting this chapter, rather long in the making, as a kind of slightly pre-emptive Christmas present for you all.
As always, comments and constructive criticism are more than welcome! I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope that everyone has a Merry, Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holiday. )

Look through shadow,
Search through mist,
Scrape your way through death and dust.

See the mirror,
Liquid truth,
And finally see yourself in trust.

* * *

Cormin fled into the night, burying memories and thoughts behind him as he went. Throughout the years, he had managed to train himself to switch to a near meditative state in seconds, a handy skill that had no doubt saved his sanity and thus his life on too many occasions to count. He was using it now, quashing down feelings and starts and recriminations that seemed to boil in his very bloodstream, rushing along his veins to pulse painfully in his heart. His childhood? Currently a black empty void in his mind. His adulthood? Nothing of it was conscious except for the quest that lay ahead of him. To get to the Copper Coronet.

It was only when he was halfway through the door that he remembered the presence of the others that should still be here. But by then it was too late. He sailed through the archway and caught himself two or three steps into the inn, eyes scanning the place like a wolf surrounded by baying hounds. It was with an incredible sense of relief mixed with astonishment that he realised that they were gone, or at least not present, for better or worse. Worry and curiousity began to seep in simultaneously, but he cast them aside in a second, his mind zeroing in on the Northerner watching his inn with a keen eye.

?Hendak,? he called, exerting all possible control available to him to stop the gasps from his run colouring his voice. The ex-slave turned at the sound, and a small smile lit his lined face. Cormin did not give himself time to be surprised, or even a little awed at that simple greeting. ?I need your help.?

?Geraint? If you are looking for Danika and the ozers, zey left a few hours ago.?

To where? he wondered, but the thought was quickly pushed away. ?No, I?m not looking for them right now. I??

All too quickly, he remembered the curious ears and eyes around them. He bit his tongue and considered his options. Hendak was looking at him quizzically now, and he felt time beat an incessant pulse at the back of his head. There were no Night Knives here tonight, he was sure of it. So perhaps he could risk it?

He took the plunge, unwilling to waste any second of precious time. ?Haemish Delprastar,? he lowered his voice a fraction, and Hendak leant in to hear with curiousity gleaming in his eyes. ?I?m looking for a gnome named Haemish Delprastar. He apparently lives here in the Slums? at least until a few months ago.?

He caught a flicker in the other man?s face, and then nothing. ?Why are you looking for him??

Unconsciously, Cormin bit the inside of his cheek. That single tremor that had passed Hendak?s face was enough to tell him that he had to move slowly now, and dammit, he didn?t want to move slowly. With a sudden renewed rush of weariness, he wondered whether he was getting too old for this. Or too out of practice. In the past few hours, the lines between honesty and deceit had blurred together so closely that it was difficult to choose how far to follow each one. And between Bronislav and Aran, he was feeling a little averse to both paths.

But there were so many answers he could give to Hendak?s question. And ultimately, he didn?t have to think about it. Because that?s who I am. A person who tracks others down to their doom.

He opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

His hand flew up to touch his soundless lips, eyes widening in sudden shock. Hendak either pretended not to notice, or was genuinely oblivious to the nothingness emanating from the elf in front of him. The Northerner?s brow furrowed, and he thought.

?Haemish Delprastar?? he murmured quietly. ?And why would Danika be interested in a gnome like Haemish Delprastar?? he asked quietly.

Cormin stumbled. ?Well? she?s not? exactly? I? Look, Hendak? please. I need your help in this. I just need to find out where he is, and from what you have said, I am sure that you know at least something that can aid me.?

Hendak stared keenly into his eyes, deliberating. Cormin felt lost. His character had been pulled apart and examined by too many eyes holding him in their power today. But for now, he could do nothing but look back. Helplessness was welling in him now, as cold and slick as poison, and he was too tired to fight its alien presence.

The elf sagged. Hendak would have raised a hand out to support him, but he knew that it wouldn?t have helped. In his time, the warrior had had to stare into a million eyes, some anguished, some sad, some resigned, some still fighting. It had built a hardness in him, something that had allowed him to stand back and observe away from himself and his conflicting emotions. He did not know Geraint, save from a few stilted conversations during the group?s stay at the inn, and from seeing his shadow glide smoothly from place to place as he spoke to Danika and the others. Hendak?s inherent wariness, beaten into him by the slavers, had sounded a faint alert every time he tried to track down the elf in front of him. But tonight, it had never been so easy. There was a strange, hollow openness in the elf?s eyes, that looked as if you would fall into an abyss of mourning night if you tried to step into them. He had never looked so vulnerable, so mortal, and Hendak couldn?t help but see the difference. The elf who had stalked into the inn had been assured, confident, deadly. Hendak had seen him enter out of the corner of his eye, and recognised the taint of death that he carried. But now, closer, he could see the elf was collapsing in on himself. Hendak could recognise shock, but more importantly, he could recognise the faint look of desperation and pleading in the other?s eyes.

There was more. More than Hendak could possibly explain in words, or even try to understand. But it was enough that the elf in front of him had an exhausted honesty written on his face. For the moment that Hendak looked into his eyes, the elf was not a killer, he was just an elf, and strangely enough, that made the Northerner trust him.

?I only know of Haemish through stories zat ozers have told me,? he said quietly. The elf in front of him staggered, stilled, and the Northerner continued. ?He is an inventor of sorts who used to live in ze Slums, but a few months ago, his house was burned to ze ground.?

Cormin wet his lips. ?Do you have any idea of where he is now, then?? he asked.

Hendak slowly shook his head. ?None, I am afraid??

There were more words, but they sounded like far-off echoes in the recesses of his mind. He had no links, he had no clues. Hendak, his last hope, had proven futile. He had three days before all hell was rained down on him. Three days to find and follow a trail three months old? and dammit, while he was pretty good, he couldn?t make miracles happen. Shaking within, Cormin clenched his fists and tried to think of his options. He could try? but he?d fail. He could kill? but he couldn?t. He could run? but then Danika would surely pay. At that thought, he wanted to howl in frustration and anger and rage. He was trapped, trapped on all sides and he wished that he?d never?

?? but she might.?

Cormin?s head jerked up. He felt Hendak?s hand at his back, turning him towards a small gnomish girl cleaning empty tables in the dark corner of the inn. Falteringly, he took a step forwards, his eyes twisted back in question as Hendak nodded slightly. ?His youngest sister. She was one of zose who escaped whoever attacked zeir house.?

?Thank you,? Cormin said wonderingly, and before he knew it, his steps were
carrying him to the corner of the taproom, towards her. She did not pause in her wiping and stacking as he approached, but the quickest of glances told him that she was watching.

?Ethella?? he asked, dredging the name up from the near inaudible murmurs Hendak?s words had become during his crisis of faith.

?How may I help you?? she queried briskly.

He felt uncomfortable staring down at her, and so he crouched somewhat, bringing himself to her eye level. She made no acknowledgement of his sudden shift in position save for a short nod. Then he was left to wonder how on Faerun he was going to broach his topic.

?I?m looking for your brother.?

The words froze the smile on her face. ?Which one?? she asked flippantly, turning away from him to busy herself with the dishes. ?I?ve got five, I?d have you know. Old Auntie Esther was always going on about??

?You know who I?m looking for,? he kept his voice soft. ?Haemish.?

She kept her back to him. ?Well if you know that I know who you?re looking for, then you?d know that you don?t have a hope in the nine hells of getting what you want. Because I know that no common Night Knives murderer is getting anywhere near my brother. So goodbye.?

She had spirit. He had to give her that. But that thought remained at the back of his mind as he rested on the back of his feet.
A common Night Knives murderer? Is that all I am? Who I am?

Suddenly, everything that had happened came crashing down on him. The blood. The death. The murder. The final assassination, after which he?d turned his back on the organisation at last, sickened with himself and sickened with it. How close he?d been to committing that final murder of himself. The pain and the agony and the pathos that had happened since then, when the woods weren?t enough to cleanse his mind and no amount of washing in the sweet springs gushing out from the earth was enough to wash off the blood on his hands and on his skin and on his soul.

And how the silence of the woods, while it wasn?t enough to drown out the memories of screaming in his head, had softened something within him. How the hands that had killed began to help things grow; seeds, saplings, trees that arced into the sky as a solid memorial to life. There had been little to no meat in those days; he?d lost his taste for it. After a while, it was just the fruits and leaves and greenery he could forage with the old skills he had nearly forgotten, as over those thirty-two years he slowly remembered that, before he was a killer, he brought things to life.

And now. Less than two weeks with a band of adventurers more insane than him, he felt something strange unfurl within. He had remembered how to laugh. How to smile. He had even remembered that strange bond he?d abandoned after Iestyn? that thing called friendship. Sharp-eyed Jaheira, gentle Minsc, dark-lit Yoshimo, wide-eyed Aerie? and Danika. The five who had taught him how to breathe again.

And for who he?d faced up to Bronislav and survived. There was no doubt in his mind now. It was for her, for them, that he was doing this. Not for Bronislav. Not for the putrid old man who presided amongst a court of rogues too weak or too banal to challenge the might of Aran Linvail.

So was he a common Night Knives murderer? After tonight, he didn?t have to think twice about that answer.

No.

Because none of the Night Knives, whether common or murderers, had ever gotten this far. He closed his eyes briefly. If Ethella was still alive, standing in front of him, then not even Lavan had come this close to the target. He?d had to force himself under Bronislav?s hand once more, deal with the Shadowmaster of Athkatla and be ripped to near shreds, and held his soul out to Hendak to peruse? but because of it, he was closer to Haemish in the space of a few hours. All using methods, techniques that he?d never used, never thought of, never dreamed of in those long years of killing that had made his name?

He wasn?t sure who he was any more. But whoever he was, something was happening that felt right.

?If I promised you??

He let the words drift out softly, gently. They were foreign, but he assumed he?d get used to it. Like he?d gotten used to his? friends.

?If I promised you I wouldn?t hurt him, would you tell me where he is??

?No, because I wouldn?t trust you,? the gnomish girl spun around and looked at him accusingly. ?Look, don?t even try. I know you?re working for the Night Knives. If you think I?d tell any one of you scum where my brother is, you?re off your nut. You monsters burned down our house and almost killed us all.?

He lifted his chin. ?I am not working for the Night Knives.?

She lifted her chin. ?You?re a liar.?

?No. I am not,? he said, and something in his voice made her look at him again. He leaned forward, his hands falling on the either side of the table around her, his eyes intense. ?I might have started out that way, but I am not any more.?

The murmurs and clinking of cutlery and drinks filled the silence as she scrutinised him again, and he felt his soul laid bare for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. Silently, he had to chuckle at the thought, all resistance sucked from him as he finally realised who he was here for.

She was thinking. He looked once more into her. ?Ethella, if you know the name of the Night Knives, then you know that as long as your brother lives, he will be hunted. And once he dies, his family and descendants will be hunted still if the debt has not been repaid.?

The truth rang out in his head, clear as a bell, and he could have laughed at the irony. ?I am his only chance.?

She was young. He realised this as a million thoughts raced across her smooth face, and he wondered how much she had known of Haemish?s involvement. And how much the Night Knives had affected her with their indiscriminate revenge. Her eyes spoke of weariness and worry and fear that should have been worn by one at least a decade older, but which seemed quite settled, like old ghosts, on her features. And because he was watching her so closely, tracing the minutiae of her years, he saw the exact moment that she made her decision.

The tiny muscles around her eyelids sagged. Her skin tightened across her cheekbones. Her lips turned downwards, a small declivity that was barely noticeable.

?What do you need to know??

* * *

?Where now, my raven??

?Do we have t? even be goin? anywhere?? Danika groused. ?I mean, we?ve got another two bloody days before Geraint gets his secretive ass back to us.?

Jaheira sighed, and ran her hand absentmindedly on the Playhouse seat upon which she watched her charge romping around the stage. A few slivers of wood brushed from her fingers and fell to the floor. One day inside had been more than enough to recover from the gruelling journey the day before. She was restless now, and her dancing fingers showed it. ?We still have to make prepareations, Danika,? she noted crisply. ?Once Geraint returns, if we wish to get Imoen back as quickly as possible, it would be best if we used the time now to plan ahead.?

?Stop bein? logical,? the Bhaalspawn muttered, but there was no heart in her retort. ?Righto then. I seem t? recall us bein? on our way to shoppin? a couple of days ago? before we were interrupted.?

?Interrupted?? Haer?Dalis inquired. ?How so??

?The little boy Delon saw us great heroes, and told us his sorry tale,? Minsc shredded a piece of celery with his fingernails and poked it at Boo?s mouth. The hamster twitched his whiskers and nibbled. ?So we swooped down upon Imnesvale to rescue the town from the shadow of the Shade Lord, where little Danika saved us all by defeating the dragon. We applied much force with the boot of goodness that day!?

?A dragon?? Haer?Dalis? lashes flitted to the other Blade. ?Please do expand, dear ranger. That sounds like a tale fit for these theatrical halls.?

?You?ve been listenin? to Mazzy?s exaggerations too much, Minsc,? Danika snorted. ?It was hardly me doin? anythin? other than runnin? point blank at the stupid thing and gettin? myself chomped on.?

?And yet you are alive to tell the tale,? the tiefling smiled, twisting the tattoos on his face into dancing shapes. He was about to go further, when his gaze shifted right and he saw Jaheira?s eyebrows arched around her forehead. ?? but perhaps that can be left for another time.?

Danika patted her hand against the stage wall regretfully. ?I guess. It?s not like this place is goin? anywhere, anyway.? She flipped off the stage gracefully, stumbled slightly on the landing, and then coughed to cover it. ?So. Shoppin?. Waukeen?s Promenade, then. Or maybe th? Docks? Bargainin? is always fun.?

?To the Docks first, perhaps, and then Waukeen?s Promenade for anything we cannot find there,? Jaheira mused.

?Sounds g-good,? Aerie offered her opinion, and then gave a tinkling laugh. ?But knowing us, things p-probably won?t go to plan.?


Ten minutes later, Nika dodged under a clumsy sword blow and buried her katana in the chest cavity of the hard-eyed man who?d attacked her. ?Y?know, Aerie,? she called out over her shoulder, ?I think you might have jinxed us.?

The Avariel didn?t have time to respond. Three magic missiles coalesced in her hand, and then with one sharp utterance, she threw them out at the imperious female mage still screaming the last words of her spell. The balls of magic crashed into the last layers of her stoneskin with a sharp crack, and the invoker howled even as fire blossomed from the palm of her hand and enveloped all of them.

Jaheira bit her lip and forged through the flames, staff gripped firmly in her hands as she blocked the enemy cleric?s club. Minsc roared in pain and half-staggered, saved only from the descending blade by Yoshimo as the Bounty Hunter unleashed a neat riposte. Reflexively, Nika held up the dying fighter to shield herself from the fireball, then dropped to her knees as his friend?s blade missed her by a centimetre. The poisoned man whom they?d leapt in to save struggled up onto his elbows, then collapsed again.

But Aerie noticed none of this. As she flinched away from the flames, a haggard-faced half-elf with only dirty tatters of leather as protection moved out from the shadows and plunged his rusted knife into her back.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 23 December 2007 - 11:41 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXIII: Trust a Shadow
(Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, as promised, although I apologise for its lateness due to being away during New Year's and various other issues such as me having to juggle two fics as well as organising my transition into university! *dances excited jig* . Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this new chapter, and thanks to all of you for sticking with me and this fic. )

Trust a shadow,
Deal with prayers,
Notch an arrow,
Trust the air

To catch your falling,
To live your breath,
To shield your calling,
And sway your death.
* * *

The thief was dead before he hit the ground. Jaheira dragged Aerie out of the way as Minsc?s berserker howl echoed out over the sidestreets of the city, sending errant pigeons squawking up to the rooftops and beggar-children scattering away. The rest of them scrambled clear, Nika taking a brief second to watch grimly as Minsc slaughtered the rest of the attackers before leaping lithely to the druidess? side.

?What can I do?? she demanded, her voice sick as she took in the extent of Aerie?s awful injury.

?Hold this,? Jaheira grasped her hands and pressed them down upon the wound. Aerie screamed out a hoarse cry, her teeth gritted and eyes wild. Yoshimo pulled a bottle from his belt and forced it to the Avariel?s lips as Jaheira rooted through her hastily opened pack, cursing as she shoved aside currently useless items in her search. Nika could only stay frozen, Aerie?s blood spilling out from between her fingers.

?Hurry, Jaheira!?

Yoshimo searched his belt again, his fingers dipping in and out of empty pockets quickly. Jaheira dug further, her hands reaching out in the depths of clothes and weapons and potions and herbs. Nika counted the pulses of blood beneath her hand and knew neither were quick enough.

?Yoshimo! My belt!?

The Bounty Hunter abruptly slid onto his knees and reached around the Bhaalspawn?s waist. Danika would have almost laughed at the awkwardness of the situation if it hadn?t been so terribly serious. The Kara-Turan?s fingers pressed against the leather belt until they found another healing vial, and Yoshimo quickly pulled it out, uncorked it, and thrust it once more to Aerie?s lips.

The Avariel?s eyes were rolled back in her head from pain, but instinct took over as she gulped down the bluish liquid, her Adam?s apple bobbing back and forth as Nika and Yoshimo watched anxiously on. As the seconds passed in a feverish rush, Nika could swear that the blood between her fingers ebbed out just that little bit slower. But it was still not enough. Aerie?s face was drained white, paler than they?d ever seen her, and the pulse underneath that skin was fluttering.

?Jaheira!?

?Found it!? the druidess uttered a sharp cry of triumph, before Yoshimo was unceremoniously elbowed out of the way and Jaheira crouched at Aerie?s side. Without further hesitation, she smoothed out the furled scroll and began to read, her voice climbing ever higher and louder. As she spoke the last words, the paper devoured itself, blue flame leaping from the scroll to encircle the gaping, torn hole in Aerie?s fragile back.

Slowly, before their anxious eyes, the wound began to close up. From the inside out, the tendrils of Jaheira?s healing magic knit flesh and tissue back together, until all that was left was a mess of blood sticking together the ripped shreds of Aerie?s robe, just managing to shield most of the twisted scar tissue on her shoulderblades from their view. Aerie?s breath rose up shuddering in a gasp, and then returned to low, deep breaths as the Avariel mercifully passed out. There was an awed and thankful silence for a moment, and then the peace was broken by a loud crash of metal.

Danika craned her neck around just in time to see the great ranger topple to his knees, following the path of his massive broadsword as he clattered to the ground. The detritus of their battle was strewn around him. She didn?t look too closely at any of the fallen bodies. Minsc had done his job, and now he was panting, half-crying.

At the nod of okay from Jaheira, the Bhaalspawn gingerly removed her hands from Aerie?s back, drying blood gluing her skin together, and crawled towards the Rashemen. He raised his face as she approached, a tear running freely down his face.

?Is she all right??

?She?ll live,? Danika replied. She took a deep, shaky breath. ?But we need t? be gettin? her somewhere safe. Soon. Th? closest inn will have t? do.?

Minsc rose to his feet, picking up his crimson-streaked sword, sheathing it without a care for how difficult it was going to be to clean later, and faltered over to where Aerie lay. ?Let me. Me and Boo. We can take care of our witch.?

Jaheira nodded again, curtly. ?The Sea?s Bounty is the closest inn around. We?ll meet up with you there in about an hour. We must also take care of this man, and Aerie just needs rest and care now.?

Minsc bowed his great head, and then picked up the fallen Avariel with a sweeping tenderness. As he began to walk, the druiddess turned back to the rest of them.

?Yoshimo, go search the bodies for anything that might tell us who they are and what they were doing. Danika, help me.?

The Bounty Hunter instantly acquiesced, moving off to where the corpses lay. Nika and Jaheira went to the side of the man they?d first leapt in to rescue, the former wondering wryly just who was leader around here.

?Rylock,? the name came out with a faint rasp. ?You must take me to Rylock.?

?What?s wrong?? Jaheira asked brusquely, laying the back of her hand against his forehead.

?And why were these guys attackin? you?? Danika chimed in.

?My name is Renfield,? the man coughed out, struggling once again to raise himself up and failing. ?That group followed me and poisoned me, and I feel my time is running out. You must take me to my brother Rylock in the Docks, quickly.?

Jaheira immediately started chanting, and Nika laid a comforting hand on his arm. ?Hey, don?t worry. My friend here can heal th? poison.?

?Please,? Renfield rasped. ?Conventional healing spells will not work. I? I need Rylock.?

The druiddess frowned as her magic faded into the man?s body to no effect. ?Very well then. Danika? Take his left arm. I?ll take his right. We can drag him between us. The Docks are not very far.?

?Let me,? Yoshimo appeared in front of them, his fingers stained with red and his pockets heavier. ?Between the three of us, it will be a very short journey.?


They walked, stumbled, dragged and tripped their way to the bottom of the Docks, occasionally following Renfield?s wheezing directions. Passing sailors and tradesmen raised their eyebrows at the strange sight of two half-elves and a Kara-Turan slinging the limp body of a man between them, but none ventured towards them. Even the guardsmen turned away, and Danika couldn?t help but roll her eyes at their silent acceptance. At last, they reached a rather grand and slightly garish building that towered above the lines of small slate-roofed houses that mainly dominated the area. Jaheira raised her eyebrow at the ornate decorations on the brightly coloured doorway, and Danika followed suit at the well-dressed man guarding the front, his face a study of boredom.

?Rylock!?

The man turned around, the nonchalant expression still hanging over his face, before widening his eyes at the sight in front of him. ?Renfield! Oh Gods, Renfield! What happened??

As Danika opened her mouth to explain, he quickly came towards them and laid his hand on his brother?s forehead. ?Hells! I have to get you inside quickly, what happened??

As Danika gathered her breath to explain again, Rylock quickly took Renfield out of their hands and supported him, staggering, inside the building. The door closed in their face. The Bhaalspawn rolled her eyes. ?Well, sheesh? if he?d just given us a second or so t? make with the explainin?, he wouldn?t have had t? waste his breath.?

?Indeed,? Jaheira remarked dryly. ?Ah well, our duty is done. Let us make our way to the Sea?s Bounty to??

?Thank you ever so much for finding him!? Rylock interrupted as he emerged out of the doorway again, eyes shining with gratitude. ?Gods, he can barely speak! Tell me, what happened??

?We found your brother bein? attacked by some group of people,? the Bhaalspawn informed him. ?They?d poisoned him, and were just about t? leave him t? die when we showed up.?

?Poison? Thank the Gods for your speedy assistance!? Rylock dug in his pocket for a moment, and withdrew a small leather bag of coins. ?I don?t have much, but please, take this for all your troubles. And thank you again for returning my brother to me.?

At the memory of Aerie lying bleeding in the street, Danika swallowed the protest that had instinctively welled up in her throat and accepted the pouch with a nod. ?Good luck to him and his healing.?

Rylock smiled once more in gratitude, before disappearing into the building again. Danika shook the bag once, next to her ear, and grinned at the clinking of the coins inside. ?Not that I do this stuff for th? money, but hopefully this can net us another one of those scrolls. They might come in handy.?

?Indeed,? Jaheira said dryly. ?Although I would hope we will not be in too many dire circumstances before I can cast the spell with the power of Silvanus behind me.?

?I agree,? Yoshimo nodded as they slowly began to move off towards the Sea?s Bounty. ?Prevention is better than a cure, no??

?Of course,? Danika pocketed the coins. ?But knowin? us, somethin? bad will probably happen.? She frowned suddenly. ?I wonder why those men were so intent on killin? Renfield.?

A harsh bark of laughter greeted her before she could move another step. ?You don?t know what on Toril you?ve gotten into, do you? Then again, I wouldn?t have expected the likes of you fraternizing with the Harpers.?

Danika swung around to find the source of that faintly recognizable voice, and found herself face to face with a tattoed wizard sporting loud yellow and green robes.

?Xzar?? she said in disbelief.
8 8 8
She had told him to go North, and then had outlined a number of rather vague landmarks he could use to negotiate his way. Eighteen hours later, he stalked his way through a thick grassland under the blazing sun, fatigue draped over his shoulders. He hadn?t stopped to sleep or eat. The only times his elven stride had paused for the last day had been as he?d fumbled for his water flask, drained a mouthful, and then hung it once more at his belt.

It was hot. Out in this savannah, where trees were spread sparsely over the great expanse, there was nothing to shield the living heat of the golden orb in the sky, and Cormin wished intermittently that he could unsling the Cloak of Non-detection and be rid of its heavy weight. But as much as he longed to do so, it was not a very difficult choice between remaining uncomfortably warm and having his every action subjected to Bronislav?s scrying orb.

He paused for a moment, and scowled against the sky. He?d passed the last landmark forty-five minutes ago, and yet there was no sign of Haemish?s hideout. The grass swayed dreamily against his legs, stretching out to as far as he could see, with only a few staggered bushes and bowed trees breaking the uniform landscape. This wasn?t looking good. Two days was not nearly enough to search this vast place. He clenched his fists, swore, and wracked his memory. He?d gone North. He?d found the grassland. He?d passed five rolling hills, turned to his left, walked until the gnarled tree stump, and turned right, but after that there had been nothing.

Perhaps there had been something he?d forgotten? Something she?d missed out? A cold hand of terror grasped his heart at the last, and unbidden, the exhausted elf sunk to his knees. He thought he?d been so lucky, so incredibly lucky to have taken the route of going to the Shadowmaster, then Hendak, and then finding a prize in the form of his target?s sister. He thought that these new methods had worked, had changed, had opened up another path for him to explore the dichotomy of good and evil that he?d struggled against so often. But maybe he?d just been naïve. Trusted too much in a girl who had no reason to help him. Trusted too much in her looking into his eyes and trusting him.

He stumbled upwards, moving blindly. If she?d misled him, he was near finished. She would have sent him as far away as possible from her brother, so he had little time? too little time?
Just as he was about to give into despair, his right foot sunk into a strange depression in the ground, hidden by the grass. Before Cormin could catch himself, a magical chain snaked itself around his ankle and pulled. With a cry of surprise, the assassin fell five feet through what appeared to be solid ground and landed with a painful thud on a dirt floor.

Staggering to his feet, Cormin had two seconds to regain his balance before he heard the shriek of metal and threw himself to the ground again. When he looked up, choking on the dust and dirt, thick metal bars criss-crossed his vision. He pulled himself to his knees, then carefully to his feet, and studied his surroundings. He was entirely surrounded by the metal cage, just tall enough for him to stand up in, and just wide enough for him to half spread his arms. The trapdoor or whatever he had fallen through was slightly raised, just enough to let a few cracks of sunlight seep through and dimly illuminate the underground passage. He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head in grudging admiration. He?d been looking out for illusions, since it was a gnome he was tracking. But this one had been almost perfect.

?D-d-don?t move.?

Cormin spun around, abandoning his scrutiny of his undignified entry and almost knocking his head on the cage that surrounded him. Squinting through the holes, he saw what looked to be a youthful gnome, his shaking hands clasped around a light crossbow. He looked somewhat scandalised as the elf regarded him.

?Y-you moved? What are you, crazy? I could have shot you!?

Cormin had to smother the laugh that had risen up reflexively in his throat. ?I apologise. It was instinct. You are Haemish Delprastar??

Despite the five meters and a thick layer of criss-crossing metal bars that separated them, Cormin could see the gnome tighten his grip on the crossbow nervously. ?You?re from the Night Knives, aren?t you? I should? I should??

Without another word, his fingers touched on the trigger, and Cormin swore and flattened himself against the left side of the cage as a bolt whistled through the air, miraculously made its way through the holes which the horizontal and vertical crossing metal bars left, and clanged harmlessly against the other side.

?Stop!? Cormin shouted. ?I?m not your enemy. Your sister Ethella sent me. I swear, I mean you no harm!?

?Ethella?? Haemish?s voice rose an octave, and the gnome loosed another bolt. Cormin just managed to duck his head in time, and its passage parted his hair. ?What d-did you do to her, you monster?! Ethella would never tell! What did you do to her??

?Nothing!? Cormin reached his hands out imploringly. Words poured out of him then, words he?d never expected to use as he looked into the other?s eyes and recognised the look of a caged animal. ?Look, please listen to me. It?s complicated, but I really don?t mean you any harm. I just? I just want to help you resolve this business with Bronislav so that you and your family can rest in peace.?

Haemish?s trembling lessened, and he lowered his crossbow slightly. ?Ethella?? he asked timidly.

?She?s fine,? Cormin said gently. ?She?s working in the Copper Coronet??

At the gnome?s sudden stiffening, he hastened to continue. ?Under Hendak. She?s in good hands. The Copper Coronet has changed since you left. She?s safe.?

?I? I see,? Haemish lowered the crossbow completely now, staring at the elf in front of him with a slightly lost expression. ?But? but how can I trust you? You have the look of the Night Knives about you. Why would you even be searching for me if you were not somehow affiliated with them? Out of the goodness of your heart??

Cormin closed his eyes briefly. ?As I said. It?s complicated. Will you hear me out.?

The young gnome snorted slightly, and then laid the crossbow on a table next to him. ?Do I really have any choice??

Cormin smiled briefly, and then frowned. How in the Nine Hells could he go about this and not get killed, even if the gnome was clearly more adept at illusions than he was with a crossbow? ?As I said, it?s complicated. You?ll need to know a little of my past.?

?Well get on with it.?

?I?m getting there,? he said, slightly annoyed. ?Well, I used to work for Bronislav. A long time ago??

?I knew it!? Haemish sprung to his feet and grasped the crossbow again, loosing another bolt without even bothering to aim properly. Cormin threw himself at the right side of the cage and felt the air passage of the bolt brush against his back. Shaken, the elf stumbled back into the middle, facing the gnome once more.

?Nine hells!? he swore. ?Will you listen to me or not? I swear I mean you no harm, I just need to explain!?

?I? I?m sorry,? Haemish put the crossbow down again. ?I?m just a little? understandably? highstrung. Please, do continue.?

Cormin rolled his eyes and gathered his thoughts again. ?Fine. At the most basic level, the reason I?m here is because when I left Bronislav, I left with a job unfinished, and therefore I owe him a debt. He found me recently again saying that you had a debt to him, and that none of his other men had managed to find you. So he planned to resolve both our debts by me hunting you down.?

?Where does you helping me come into this?? Haemish asked, warily.

Cormin sighed, and clenched his fist against his temple. ?I don?t know. All I know is that, from what I?ve heard from Ethella, and from what I know of myself? I don?t want to bring you back. This? this goes against everything I used to be. But it feels? right with who I am now. I don?t want to bring you back. There must be another way. Bronislav is a harsh taskmaster.?

?He burned down our house,? the gnome said softly. ?He struck back at my family.?

?He will do worse if your debt is not repaid,? Cormin muttered, and then paused. ?I? wait. Bringing you back was not technically conditional in his request of me. Or even if it was, surely he would be content if you just managed to repay his debt somehow? I?? he couldn?t believe he was saying this ?I could be the one to give him whatever you owe him.?

?Impossible,? Haemish said flatly. ?Otherwise, I would have done that myself a long time ago.?

Cormin frowned again. ?What do you mean??

Through the bars, he saw the gnome waver in a moment?s hesitation, and then sigh. All the tension caught up in his body evaporated, and he turned away from the elf reached his hand out. Cormin heard the creak of a lever, and then suddenly the cage was rising off the ground, and he was free.

?Come with me,? Haemish said without looking back.

Cautiously, Cormin followed the gnome through the dark tunnel, feeling the walls of dirt pressing against his mind. Suddenly, the thought of all the open grassland above seemed inviting, even though down here, it was black and cool against his skin. They walked for less than a minute, Cormin marvelling at the construction of this place, before the narrow passage widened out into a small, circular room, a glowing pedestal in the center. The assassin gasped as he saw what lay on it.

?I first met Lord Bronis in my little shop,? Haemish said quietly, his voice coming out of the shadows cast by the pedestal. ?He said he had heard of my inventions and wished to commission a special item. I was both intrigued and humbled. I had never had a noble in my shop before, only adventurers and others of that ilk.?

?I personally find adventurers much more palatable,? Cormin muttered, but Haemish didn?t seem to have heard him.

?I specialise in enchantments, illusions, and construction,? Haemish continued, a faraway look in his eyes. ?I had never before contemplated the proposal that Lord Bronis put before me, but he seemed like a decent sort, and I figured that he would only put such a powerful item to good use.?

?You might want to reconsider your first impression.?

?I know,? Haemish acknowledged. ?But I didn?t know then. I worked on it straight for two months using the money and resources he provided me. It was the only thing I worked on, such was the commission that he offered me. I would have been rich once I finally completed it and sold it to him.?

?But???

?But things changed,? the gnome said softly, gazing at the object lying innocently before them. ?I changed. When at last I went to deliver the item to Lord Bronis, I arrived unannounced, hoping to surprise him. He had been very kind, and I thought of him almost as a friend then.?

?Bronislav can be deceiving.?

?I knocked on the door,? the gnome?s voice had dropped to a whisper, ?But no one answered. I opened it, sure he would welcome me. The corridor was empty. I walked in and found a secret passage in the wall had been left open. I entered.?

Cormin winced.

Haemish?s voice was low, and filled with pain. ?What I saw when I reached the bottom? was something I had never thought I?d see associated with Lord Bronis. Still, it didn?t prove anything. But he wasn?t there with the rest of the thieves, so I cast invisibility on myself and explored further, hoping to find him.?

Inwardly, Cormin recoiled.

?When I did? it shattered me. I looked, and I realised I could never give this man what I had made, unless I wanted to unleash a terrible evil. I escaped, still invisible, and hid, not knowing what to do. Lord Bronis eventually realised I did not plan to ever give him the object after a month of stalling. That was when he set his men on my family. And when I made my final escape to my secret workshop, here, hoping that they would follow me in vain and leave them alone.?

?And now??

?Now?? The little gnome shrugged helplessly. ?I understand now with my calculations that I owe Lord Bronis? Bronislav close to 100,000 gold pieces??
He walked over to the pedestal and stroked it with a sad hand. ?Even if I could bear to sell this to a stranger to get the gold to repay him, who could I find who would have the amount of money? Let alone the courage and the propensity to bear this wisely??

There was a breath. An instant. And then Cormin closed his eyes and swore internally at himself for what he was about to say.

?Me.?

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXIV: A Promise Made
(I know, I can barely believe it either... finally, a chapter both on schedule and on time! . I do hope you all enjoy it, and thank you again for your patience in keeping up with this fic.
As always, constructive criticism and anything else helpful you want to say is welcome here. )

A promise made,
A promise kept,
A knowledge held,
A conscience slept

Within a mind,
Where horror?s leapt,
Freedom is blind,
And so is debt.
* * *

Morning crept across the sky, lighting up the pale and windswept clouds hovering in the air. A shadow of black underlined Nika?s eyes as she sat by Aerie?s bedside. Minsc had finally listened to her and had staggered off to sleep in the room he shared with Yoshimo. She glanced briefly outside the window and shook her head.

It was the morning of the third day.

She shifted slightly as there was a creak by the door. She eyed it mildly, expecting Yoshimo or perhaps even Jaheira (although she doubted it) to walk in. Perhaps even Geraint? her heart thudded painfully in her chest. That last moment before he?d walked away had been filled with unspoken words. Part of her wanted to hear them, the other half wanted to run in the other direction. There had been a darkness in his eyes, but it wasn?t the usual kind. She didn?t know what to think.

A slender, callused hand crept around the door, light blue-grey tattoos on the skin almost hidden in the morning light, and she expelled a breath. No, it wasn?t him, then. Instead, Haer?Dalis slipped carefully in, closing the door behind him quietly. The tiefling looked around and then walked to her.

?I?ve found you at last it seems, my raven. This sparrow had to walk nigh on an hour after his business was cleaned up at the Five Flagons to find word of your passing.?

She smiled at his melodic voice. It?d certainly take some getting used to, but hey, she expected people to get used to the way that she talked, so she couldn?t say anything. ?I?m surprised, actually. I?d have thought enough happened that quite a few passers-by would be talkin? about our latest ventures.?

?Enough happened?? Haer?Dalis said slowly, glancing from her drawn face to Aerie?s still impossibly pale one under the sheets. The Avariel chose at that moment to shift in her sleep, a light groan emanating from her lips. The tiefling frowned.

?What happened, my raven? It must be quite the tale to tell if it all occurred in the breath of time I was gone.?

?Well, let me see?? the Bhaalspawn ticked things off with her fingers. ?We were on our way to th? Docks, we intervened t? save some poisoned guy from dyin?, Aerie got backstabbed, Jaheira just managed t? heal her, Minsc brought Aerie here while we took th? poinsoned guy back t? his brother, on th? way back here we got accosted by an old acquaintance who told us the guy we?d just managed to save was part of th? Harpers??

She paused to take a breath, and Haer?Dalis chuckled quietly even as he bent over Aerie with concern in his eye.

?And all in the manner of one night. Truly, it will be exciting travelling with you.?

?I hope it?s not this excitin? all the time,? Danika said dryly. ?We had t? run around and kill some mages t? gain entrance to th? Harper?s bloody Hold, then we had t? explore the place, solve th? rather cryptic clues, find out that th? friend we were supposed t? find for th? old acquaintance had been turned into a bird, then deliver th? bird back t? Xzar only t? find out we?d been used by th? Harpers t? deliver an assassin who killed Xzar on th? spot. And then another Harper showed up t? call Jaheira away.?

?Convoluted indeed,? Haer?Dalis murmured, drawing back from his examination of the Avariel. ?Tell me, do we know when the druidess will return? I have little knowledge of the healing arts, but I worry.?

Nika pulled a face. ?Jaheira didn?t say when she?d be back. She could turn up any time between now and th? next week. But don?t you go worryin? yourself,? she hastened to add at the look on his face. ?Before Minsc took Aerie here, Jaheira said she was all healed up. She just needs to rest.?

?How long has she slept??

?She?s been sleepin? ever since she first passed out? after Jaheira healed her.?

Haer?Dalis settled into the chair on the opposite side of the bed and gazed at her. ?And you have been by her bedside ever since. You are truly a dedicated friend, my raven.?

?Not really,? Danika shook her head ruefully. ?If I?d been better, I wouldn?t have put her in this situation in th? first place. Still, she knew the dangers I guess.?

?As do we all,? the tiefling nodded. ?But there is something else besides your two companions that is troubling you. I can see it written in your face, like some light featherings of ink on parchment.?

The Bhaalspawn snorted and linked her fingers together, sinking deeper into her chair and flexing her toes to keep the blood moving through them. ?Some light featherings. You?ll be meetin? him soon enough, if he keeps his bloody promise.?

?Ah,? a smile crossed the other Blade?s face. ?It is a man who troubles your heart.?

?Don?t say it like that!? Danika cried out in alarm, and then quietened down instantly as Aerie stirred. ?For Selune?s sake,? she continued, her voice now a hoarse whisper. ?Don?t say it like that, it makes us sound like??

She swallowed and pulled a face, unable to even finish the sentence. Haer?Dalis laughed quietly. ?Matters of the heart are always complex. Tell me, my raven, if he is not close to your fire-lit soul, then why do you speak of him with such fervour??

?More like bloody annoyance,? she muttered. ?It?s complicated.?

He observed her silently as she twisted in her seat, the movement pulling the loose material of her tunic tight against her wrists. ?You need not reveal more if you do not wish it,? he murmured. ?Some shadows are meant to remain in their place.?

?It?s not quite that bad,? she smirked slightly. ?He?s just th? broodiest, most soddin? powerful fighter I?ve met, which really is sayin? somethin?. All dark and mysterious like, see. And I trust him.?

She shook her head again. The trail of midnight locks that she?d painstakingly scooped behind her ear fell lightly across her face. ?I?ve got no choice. I need t? get t? Imoen soon. And I think we?ll be needin? someone like Geraint since gettin? Imoen means seein? Irenicus again.?

?Is he really so untrustworthy??

?I don?t know,? Danika almost wailed. ?All I know is that he?s aggravatin? and I need him, and I don?t really know anythin? about him? th? last bein? somethin? he?s supposed to rectify if he keeps his bloody promise and shows up sometime today. A-and there?s just something about him? something I can?t quite put my finger on??

Unseen by the Bhaalspawn as she tucked her knees against her chest and mused, Haer?Dalis raised his eyebrow. He had known the half-elf for little under three days now, but never once had he had cause to question her presented character; upfront and sardonically righteous. But if he hadn?t been mistaken, her last words had been surprisingly free of her normal tone. And it could have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn that he?d just seen a glint of red in her irises.

?Uh? Haer?Dalis? Why are you starin? at me??

The tiefling shook himself and let a smooth smile cross his face. ?I must confess I was admiring your solemn beauty, my raven. Truly, my heart is glad you have professed your own heart unbeholden to any one man? yet.?

A million answers floated into her mind, and then she laughed, making a conscious effort to banish thoughts of Geraint from her mind. She had enough other things to worry about now? she could think about him if? when he returned.

?Are you insinuatin? something, Haer?Dalis?? she said amusedly, flicking her hair back over her shoulder theatrically.

?Perhaps I am,? the tiefling smiled roguishly. ?What would you have to say to that, my raven??

?Why, we?ve only just met, fellow Blade,? Danika dropped all traces of her southern accent and arched her eyebrow elegantly. In a light, duskly lilted voice, she continued. ?How daring a suitor art thou to make a move so soon??

?Well, well,? the tiefling chuckled admiringly. ?There are hidden layers to your gemstone, facets not even revealed in your spirited gaze??

And a Bhaalspawn, no less.

He smiled again, bringing his left hand up to play idly with the collar of his shirt. ?This shall truly be interesting.?

* * *

He was no bard. He knew that. But as Cormin wound his way down the dark staircase, he knew that he had little choice but to act. He closed his eyes briefly and paused his steps. What he was about to do was possibly insane, but then, he?d made up his mind back in the underground tunnels of Haemish?s workshop.

He didn?t have the time to turn back now.

And furthermore, even if he did, he wouldn?t. Steeling himself, Cormin rehearsed the idea in his mind as he felt for the next foothold. All he had to do was play the game right. Act the showman for a short while, just long enough to convince Bronislav how exchangeable 100,000 gold was for a promised bounty?

?Ah, Cormin! It is good to see you once again.?

Cormin?s head snapped up abruptly as his right foot descended off the bottom step to meet the left foot that he?d just placed on the stone floor. Bronislav was seated in his customary pseudo-throne only about fifty feet ahead, but how he?d managed to see through the heavy wisps of smoke was beyond him. Carefully, he willed his heartbeat to steady again. Nerves had no place here, he knew that. And he couldn?t afford them even if they did.

?Greetings, my Lord?? Cormin said almost inaudibly.

?Oh, hurry up and come closer, my friend!? Bronislav cut him off with an oily laugh. ?I?m eager to hear of your travels?!?

Cormin swallowed and began to walk quickly towards the corpulent Lord. That last sentence had sounded a bit too jovial for his liking. Seeing nothing by the night sky every time he attempted to scry must have infuriated him. Cormin fervently hoped the 100,000 gold pieces and the seal he now carried in the magically enchanted pouch twined around his belt would be enough to soothe Bronislav?s annoyance. If it wasn?t, then he might have just landed himself in serious trouble.

It took him only a few short moments to reach his destination. Precisely four feet away from the edge of Bronislav?s faux-regal chair, he inclined his head jerkily. He saw Lavan, standing on his Lord?s right hand side, frown.

?Greetings my Lord,? Cormin repeated again, slightly louder, but before he could speak further, he was interrupted once again.

?Well, get on with it! You have much to explain!? the false brightness was still in Bronislav?s tone, and it made Cormin?s heart stutter. ?You must have plenty to tell! It?s been sixty-eight hours since you?ve been here? sixty-eight hours that I?m sure were filled with exciting tales.?

The elf resisted the urge to raise his eyebrow. ?I know I have not been present for many years, my Lord, but I had thought it your custom to not be concerned with the minutiae of the details? and only be appreciative of whether the job was finished or not.?

He lingered on the last few words, looking closely to see the man?s reaction, but the leader of the Night Knives waved it aside.
?Yes, yes, yes,? Bronislav said impatiently. ?But that was when I could satisfy my curiosity!? the Lord fixed his beady gaze on the suddenly sweating elf. ?That?s a fine new cloak, Cormin. A good purchase for one such as you.?

He had not slept now for over three days, and he had to force his eyes to remain wide and clear as Bronislav gazed into them. And he knew without looking that a vicious grin was now decorating Lavan?s face. ?I bought the Cloak of Non-detection to protect the secrecy of your task, my Lord,? he inclined his head once again. ?I feared that the company I travelled with might become curious as to my location and attempt to scry, thereby putting the Night Knives in potential jeopardy.?

He waited with his breath in his throat to see whether Bronislav would buy it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the grin on Lavan?s face turn into a scowl, and Cormin allowed himself a brief moment to smile. But then he was back on his guard, calculatedly studying each inch of Bronislav?s features to try to gauge what was happening. The noise of the hall rose up unbearably and he strained his eyes to see any clue that might leak out of the man?s expressionless face.

?My Lord,? Cormin said quietly, when it looked like nothing more would be forthcoming. His voice grew louder. ?I will not bore you with the details, but I have completed the task you sent me.?

He heard Lavan hiss between his teeth. He heard the volume of sound produced by the motley collection of Night Knives increase. He spared himself a quick look at them, before switching his gaze back to their leader.
Bronislav still seemed to be brooding, his eyes fixed in the blue and silver lining of Cormin?s cloak. Cormin bit the inside of his cheek, and then made his choice.

?My Lord,? Cormin?s voice was stronger this time, and it rang throughout the hall. Behind him, the gathering of thieves quietened. The assassin waited for just the right amount of hush, prolonging Bronislav?s tension, before whipping the magical pouch from his belt and holding it in the air with a flourish. ?I bear 100,000 gold from the pockets of a certain Haemish Delprastar.?

There was a complete and utter silence. Only the crackling of the fireplaces could be heard, accompanied by Lavan?s harsh breathing. Inside, in the quietness of his own soul, Cormin prayed that this would work. Fixing his eyes on the leader of the Night Knives, he continued triumphantly. ?I hope that this resolves both of our debts.?

Mesmerised, Cormin watched as Bronislav?s Adam?s Apple bobbed up and down. Then the big man licked his lips. In the hush still surrounding them, the big man spoke softly.

?Prove it.?

There was a sudden outpouring of voices, Lavan?s rising high above them, but Cormin paid them no heed and reached into the pouch, feeling around swiftly for the object he?d placed on top, before whipping it out and brandishing it for the entire Court to see. ?Haemish?s seal,? he cried out, cutting through the noise and returning the hall to silence again. ?Dotted with his own magic signature.?

Bronislav reached forwards slightly shaking, bejewelled hand and snatched it from Cormin?s grasp. The elf let his own hand drop as the Lord examined the seal carefully. Time seemed to stretch out in increments, until there was a moment that scorched Cormin?s throat dry, where indecision flickered in Bronislav?s eyes, and the big man?s lips turned downwards.

And then it passed. A wide smile broke itself across the leader of the Night Knives? face, and Cormin expelled the breath he?d been holding for the past three days. Whatever it meant, Bronislav was happy, and that couldn?t be a bad thing.

?Oh, my friend? you have surpassed all of my expectations!? the happiness was genuine now, and the elf almost sagged in relief. ?You have done what no one else in this hall could; returned my investment to me!?

He waited for Bronislav to go on, but the man said nothing, the bright smile transfixed on his face. Cormin sighed inwardly. It seemed like he?d have to fight for answers every inch of the way.

?And my debt?? Cormin said carefully around the slight lump in his throat.

Bronislav beamed. ?Now nonexistent, and deservedly so.? He gestured with his right hand, and Lavan stepped forwards. Now almost completely relaxed, Cormin couldn?t help but let the tiniest hint of a grin show as his old rival grudgingly took the magic pouch from his hands. As their fingers brushed, a bolt of pure hatred seemed to pass through them, enough for Cormin to tense up again. He did not fear Lavan. But nonetheless, he?d now made him an even worse enemy than before. And he had the welfare of others besides himself to worry about now.

Speaking of which?

?And the information??

Bronislav steepled his fingertips thoughtfully, and then broke the delicate formation to heave himself to his feet. ?It?s definitely been earned, my friend,? he smiled. ?Here. Follow me.?

Cormin fell into step behind the Lord, even as four other thieves including Lavan formed a guarded procession behind them. Bronislav moved quickly for a man of his size, and Cormin found himself increasing his pace to keep up even as they approached the black gap in the cavern wall that made every inner instinct in him scream. He bit his lip and kept walking, steeling himself to the point that he didn?t even flinch when he passed through into the narrowing stone corridor that snaked and turned until it reached the only destination possible.

Cormin blinked. He?d been on the inside of this room once before, but somehow it had changed. He couldn?t quite put his finger on it. Frowning, he cast his gaze around, trying to pinpoint what exactly it was that had changed.

The arched doorway was the same, curving upwards half a foot above his head in an elegantly cruel design. He could almost imagine the words imprinted into the stone, perhaps not written on the actual rock, but nonetheless imprinted there by the thoughts of all of the hapless people who had found their way inside because of the wrong reasons. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

Perhaps he was being melodramatic. Cormin shook his head to clear it and straightened. It was not fifty years ago, it was now. There was a difference, and that insurmountable difference was that he was walking in here a free elf, no longer bidden to obey anyone except for himself.

An image of Danika flashed into his mind and he grimaced. That was a choice, he reminded himself. A choice he had been? and still was, happy to make.

It was an uncomfortable thought. He shoved it down to the back of his mind where it belonged, and resumed his study. The carpet was the same off-red, brownish colour? presumably so it could soak up a decent amount of blood without needing to be washed. The candlelabra too was in the identical place it had been since he?d last stepped in here; a little to the right of the center of this domed room, casting flickering shadows over the rest of it except for?

The left corner. He sucked in his breath quietly. So that was what had changed. Although it?d really only taken a couple of seconds to assess his surroundings, he was surprised it?d taken this long to notice. The rack that had used to occupy pride of place was gone. Instead, a single pair of shackles hung dangling from the roof.

He felt like being sick.

?Cormin??

His mind jerked back to attention. He could dwell upon, or rather, attempt to completely ignore those memories later. He looked up to see Bronislav standing on the far side of the room in front of his scrying pool. Hesitantly, Cormin approached.

The enchanted water was completely flat and lifeless, seemingly suspended like a mirror above the black rock that encased it to the surrounding wall and floor. The stone was unnaturally smooth, broken only by the sharp, jagged spikes of jet that wound themselves from the bottom of the basin to the water?s edge like bulging veins. Cormin took a brief glance, and then looked up at Bronislav?s face, eerily back-lit from the candles.

?Well? What are you waiting for??

Hesitantly, almost as if against his will, he looked into the water. At first, it seemed like nothing was there. And then, like clouds dissolving into mist and then into rain, an image swum up in front of him.

As if his voice was coming from a mile away, Cormin heard Bronislav laugh.

?Here?s the information for your lady friend, Cormin??

Disbelief rang in his ears and shattered his eyes.

?? she?d best not go into that alleyway she?s about to turn into.?

Cormin took one more look, and ran.

He did not stop to question why Bronislav kept the passage open for him. He did not stop to kill himself for his own stupidity and naivety. He did not stop to rage against the betrayal. He did not stop for anything.

He just ran.

Ran as if he were pursuing the hounds of hell.

And hoped to all the Gods that had always turned their back on him...

That he?d make it in time.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 23 January 2008 - 12:25 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXV: A Promise Kept
(Apologies for being a few days late. That was just to ensure that I have the final few chapters of this planned and ready, hopefully so that everything else shall be delivered on schedule. Admittedly, this chapter was also a difficult one to write, so as always, reviews and constructive criticism are very, very welcome.

I hope you all enjoy finally getting a few answers .)

A promise kept,
A promise made,
Can fade to naught,
When you?re betrayed

But when loyalty?s true,
And all else has failed,
Then a promise unspoken,
Can only prevail

* * *

The passage was thin and unremarkably normal, an alleyway between the houses of the Docks that entertained little thoroughfare due to its rather obvious dead end. The cobblestones were crookedly placed, as if the stonemason had been tired. The dwellings on either side of the entrance were probably the only hint of the darker side of this seemingly innocuous place; with thickly curtained windows and a brooding air that suggested the presence of unsavoury secrets lurking inside. No guards patrolled the area, and the place was far enough from the main cluster of buildings in the Docks for the screams and cries of the death and dying to take place without attracting too much notice.

Or perhaps that was just because they were in the Docks.

Yoshimo grunted as he fended off a blow with his katana. ?Of course,? he muttered to himself. ?The suspiciously dressed man asking for help leads us into an alley and an ambush. How unoriginal.?

Danika spun, decapitated, and groaned; half because a man?s elbow had just grazed her side when she?d dodged too late, and half because of the Kara-turan. ?If you stop making smart comments now, I swear I?ll never not listen to you again.?

?Concentrate!? Jaheira snarled at them as three more men tried to back her into a corner. ?We can?t afford this banter!?

The druiddess sent a man flying with a ferocious jab of her staff, and then retreated back to cast Defensive Harmony. She?d barely managed to complete the spell when a badly fired arrow plunged into her shoulder and she cried out in pain.

She was already tired; she hadn?t slept since Meronia had called her away to the Harpers? meeting, and she?d been looking forwards to it after taking Danika to visit Galvarey. But of course, they always had to be interrupted mid-journey.

It was just their luck, after all.

With an inhuman effort lent by adrenaline, Jaheira wrenched out the arrowshaft and threw it at an approaching attacker, before setting up her stance for defense once more. As the druiddess chanted her spells and fought with all her might, she didn?t need to spare a glance at the other members of her party to know they were losing.

Yoshimo was on the far side of the alley, closer to the entrance, his katana a whir of motion as he deflected, dodged, and twisted around the assailants. A stone-skinned Haer?Dalis was dancing lightly near the center of the passageway amidst a throng of thieves, his twin blades fully occupied with defense. And Danika?

The Bhaalspawn ducked a sword coming straight for her shoulder nimbly. They were losing. Danika knew that even as an arrow nearly took her head off and disrupted another of her spells. She swore loudly and dodged another sword blow, raking out her katana in a wide arc and hitting flesh. The ambush had been clever, so clever. A smattering of archers up on the roofs, an virtual army of enemies that had appeared out of the shadows? the attackers would have had them then and there on that first strike if Yoshimo hadn?t been so on guard. Her eyes were bleak as she twisted and thrust, lunged and slashed. There must be about fifty of them, she realised grimly as her eyes roved over the twisting mass of bodies in the alleyway. Fifty against four. The odds were impossible.

There was a gurgling cry above them, and then the last archer fell, his hands clutched to his throat. She wondered briefly who had done it, but then concentrated on her own fight. The arrows had been both distracting and deadly, and now that they were gone there chances were somewhat better. But still. The only reason that the melee fighters hadn?t yet taken them down was, ironically enough, due to the narrow width of the alleyway. It was only in this respect that the terrain was working in their favour; the tightly enclosed area prevented too many thieves from attacking one of them at the same time. But still. For every thief she took down, there was another one who moved up to take his place.

And she was ever conscious of the layers of stoneskins as they fell and shattered to the ground, one by one. She dodged and leapt and stabbed and slashed again. A growing pile of bodies grew at her feet, but more live ones trampled over them to face her. Her face was streaked with blood and sweat, and her right arm stung from three livid slashes that carelessness had earned her. It was a miracle they hadn?t been taken down yet?

?Danika!? Jaheira screamed in warning, but then the druidess was pressed back by the three men surrounding her and her terror turned into a cry of pain. The Bhaalspawn fell even as she heard her friend?s voice ringing in her ears. There was a solid pain in her gut, and agony laced her arm. She looked up to see at least five of them locking her into the corner, all with swords about to strike.

?No!? Yoshimo shouted, but he was too far away. Jaheira was couldn?t be seen now, so lost was she in the center of thieves only kept at bay by the swinging of her staff and the rapid chanting of her spells. He looked around desperately, and his gaze fell on the tiefling. Their eyes met; one pair fearful, the other determined, and then with a Herculean effort, Haer?Dalis leapt forward, trying to fend off four men to reach his leader, knowing he?d be too late?

And then, he came.

A white streak of light appeared from nowhere to smash into the mass of thieves surrounding the fallen Danika. The tiefling watched in shock as bodies literally flew into the air from the impact of the crash. His opponents, likewise stunned by the sheer brutality of the new arrival, lowered their weapons uncertainly.

That was a mistake. Haer?Dalis saw the openings and danced amongst them. Within seconds, all four were corpses at his feet, and he had a clear view of what had shocked them so. Frowning, he narrowed his eyes and picked out the shadow of a form amongst the light so incredibly blinding that he could barely look at it. There was a person in the middle of that light, he realised, a person who was moving with all the fury and grace of a God.

Haer?Dalis had no time to ponder what was happening. With the knowledge that they now had an ally, however unknown, he turned back his full attention to his own battle. The tide was turning.


Cormin had never felt anything like this before. The energy that danced along his veins was electric. It ran through his body with sheer power, past any spell or any magic that he?d ever known. Combined with his own talent, he knew with a certainty he was near unstoppable. He tore through the Night Knives footpads with a ferocity and a strength that he?d never possessed, leaping so quickly from opponent to opponent that if the white light encasing his body had vanished, he still would have been a blur. He punched and kicked and elbowed and stabbed and slashed and killed in a rush of motion, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. Blood flew through the air and burned to nothingness upon contact with the energy aura surrounding him. He moved too quickly for any of the hapless thugs to even land a blow. All he knew was the feeling of bodies and flesh and bone bending and twisting under his knuckles and his daggers and feet, and the sound of death cries in his ears?

And then there was nothing. He looked around and saw nobody standing. The alley was a pile of corpses, each splash of blood and unseeing face livid in his heightened sight. He realised he was breathing, long and low and harsh so it sounded like the grinding of stone in his ears. And then he extended his senses.

Fear began to clutch at his heart. There was no-one standing, no-one in the entire alleyway of gore and destruction standing except for him. Desperately, he tried to listen past his own breathing and heartbeat. He had to have been in time, he had to have been?

There. Four more breaths. He turned towards the weakest of them by instinct, in the far left corner of the alleyway. The energy lent by Haemish?s invention clutched in his hand heightened his senses to the point that when Danika whispered to him across the alley that had become a battlefield, he heard her as if she were right next to him. And he heard every nuance of her voice. The adrenaline, the weakness, the pain. She was injured, he realised. Badly. The thought twisted his heart and almost made him fall. But then, she was alive, and while she was alive?

?Geraint? Geraint? It?s over. We?ve won.?

He processed her words as though in a dream. Slowly, the white light faded from him, leaving pure exhaustion in his wake. Cormin had enough time to feel a shudder of relief pass through him before he collapsed; first onto his knees, then onto his front, and the world darkened out into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

He couldn?t tell the exact moment when he woke, but he inhaled sharply as the world jolted into awareness around him. He groaned quietly and watched sparks of dull pain dance behind his eyes.

?? awake now, I think.?

?Or muttering in his sleep.? The voices drifted towards him as though they were spoken through water, blurred and nearly indistinct. ?Either way, he should be fine.?

Slowly, his ears started working again, and the voices became louder. ?Since I am not needed here anymore, I will return to Aerie. She is still worryingly weak.?

?I?m sorry, Jaheira. About everything.?

?Don?t apologise, child, it?s not your fault. Besides, Galvarey can wait. What is most important now is that we ensure everyone is healed and ready. I detest having us all so weak.?

?Those guys really did a number on us,? he was conscious enough now to detect the tinge of hatred infiltrating Danika?s voice. ?I?m going to make them pay, I swear it.?

At the same time, he also realised her tone was now utterly devoid of her usual accent, and he wondered.

?We will all make them pay,? he heard Jaheira say coldly. ?But for now, you and Geraint both need to rest.?

There was a slight pause, and then the Bhaalspawn spoke again. ?How are the others doing??

?Yoshimo?s alive. Haer?Dalis managed to escape any serious injury. Minsc is berating himself over not being there for us, and Aerie?s apologising. All in all, I suppose it could have turned out worse.?

?What about you, Jaheira? You?ve barely sat down or taken a moment to catch your breath since we got back.?

A silence crept over them at that, and Cormin extended his senses once more. Danika?s breathing swum into his awareness; low and harsh and pained. The memory of her slumped amidst the dead, her midnight hair clinging to her pale face and smeared with blood hit him sharply and he groaned again, quietly. This time, neither of them seemed to hear him as they continued talking.

?I, too, will live,? the druidess replied shortly. ?These flesh wounds have no effect on my healing.?

?You should still look after them.?

?I will be fine, Danika. Stop worrying and rest some more yourself.?

There was the sound of footsteps, and then a doorknob turning. He only dared to open his eyes when the sound of the door closing resounded in his ears. As his vision cleared, Danika swam into view at the corner of his line of sight, a troubled look in her gaze as she looked towards where the druidess had just exited. Although he couldn?t quite see her clearly, her mere existence was enough to send tremors of relief running through his body. He?d been so afraid that he?d been too late. He?d run so fast, so far? he?d never run that fast in his life. He had streaked across the city so quickly that it had been a blur behind him, his mind ever focused on reaching that alleyway he?d seen in Bronislav?s scrying pool. He?d run? and she was alive. He sucked in a long, shuddering breath.

?So you?re awake.?

Her voice startled him out of his thoughts, and he tried to turn his head properly towards her but found he couldn?t. Startled, he realised that his muscles were heavy with a fatigue he had never known. But he pushed that thought out of his mind as she moved closer, towards the center of his vision. His eyes fell on her body, her torn and tattered clothing, and the blood mixed across her tanned skin.

?You?re hurt,? he said, hollow.

?So are you,? she smiled tiredly.

His gaze moved down to his own body, covered by the blanket, and tried to concentrate on the sensations of his skin. When none of the glancing pain associated with injuries came, he glanced back at her, confused. ?How??

The Blade bit her lip. ?T? be honest, I don?t really understand,? she admitted. ?From what I gather of what Jaheira told me, it seems t? be related t? that? thing you were usin?. Somethin? about so much energy bein? contained in you when you fought that your body was under a fair bit of strain. So I guess you?re not really hurt as such, but your muscles are probably feelin? like they just sprinted three marathons one after the other in full plate.?

?I? see,? Cormin gasped as he tried to lift an arm. It rose perhaps half an inch off the mattress before flopping back down again, useless. ?Did she say how long this would last??

?She doesn?t have a clue,? Nika shrugged helplessly. ?She said she?d never come across anything like that thing before, so she couldn?t make a judgement. It could be anything from an hour to a week.?

Cormin groaned. ?But we do not have a week. We have your sister to save. I have delayed you enough already.?

?Yeah,? Danika said slowly, her eyes never leaving his. ?And now that we?re onto that subject??

She left it hanging in the air like poisoned fruit, and Cormin would have flinched away from it if he could. Instead, he just lay there, confined by the exhaustion in his muscles, and knowing with a grim irony that he couldn?t walk away from her this time.

But now that he was caught, what could he say?

What could he say? That he wasn?t who she thought he was, that he?d been caught up for so long with the dark underbelly of Athkatla and Faerun that he didn?t know if he?d ever be able to struggle free? His eyes slitted at the memory of Bronislav, but then he froze under the pain and realisation of what it truly meant.

Could he tell her? that the ambush was partially, mostly? his fault?

He hadn?t realised how long he?d remained silent as he brooded until he heard her clear her throat impatiently. ?Come on, spill. I?ve waited three days. And you did promise to tell me.?
She paused, and he saw her eyes harden. ?And I didn?t take you as someone who?d break a promise, Geraint.?

This time, he did flinch, forgetting the leaden weight in his muscles as he shied away from the guilt inside. The name. His first lie. Which almost made his travels with them a lie in itself. He squeezed his eyes shut.

?Well??

He opened them. ?I?m? sorry. I?m just wondering when to start. It is? long. And complicated.?

Inside, he laughed hollowly at the reality of it all. More long and complicated than he could ever say, but he?d have to try anyway. She deserved as much.

?Well, seein? as you?re not about t? be goin? anywhere soon, then we?ve got time,? stubbornness set her face. ?So you might as well get goin?.?

He closed his eyes briefly again, the residual image of the cracked plaster ceiling above him dancing on his retinas, and wondered where on Faerun he could start. He had so much to tell her. So much that he knew he should tell her? so much he didn?t want to.

And then unbidden, Aran?s voice roise into his head.

?Really, you should tell them your real name, you know. Or at least one of your real names.?

He opened his eyes.

?Right. First things first,? he breathed shakily. ?I have been lying.?

Her tone was devoid of any emotion. ?How??

?My name? isn?t Geraint.?

He struggled to raise himself to his elbows, desperate to get a closer look at her face to properly gauge the situation. To his surprise, he succeeded after a fair amount of effort. It seemed as if the effect of using Haemish?s invention was already wearing off. He flexed his muscles experimentally. At this rate, he?d probably only need a few more hours to become fully functional again.

Her face, when he looked, was expressionless. ?What is it, then??

He gazed into her eyes, as if searching for the answer to the question he hadn?t even asked yet, knowing full well the weight of what he was about to say.

?My name is Cormin. Or, uh, as some people call me? Cormin the Bloody.?

The door slammed open.

Startled, Danika half-rose to her feet, before lowering herself painfully back into the chair. ?Jaheira?? she asked in disbelief. Then she laughed as it struck her. ?Now this is classic. I didn?t ever take you for one t? eavesdrop behind a closed door, Jah.?

Jaheira ignored her. ?Cormin the Bloody,? she hissed. ?Silvanus! I should have known, I should have recognised you.?

Her voice hit him like a slap, and he flinched back again as he felt a wave of numbness spread inside his stomach. Someone would have known, Cormin had come to terms with that. It was why he?d unconsciously lied to them in the first place. But he?d thought it would have been Yoshimo, someone who would have been likely to understand. Jaheira, on the other hand?

This was going to be difficult.

?Jaheira?? all the humour had drained out of Nika?s voice as she took in the look of blazing fury on the druidess? face, and the guilty withdrawal on Ger? Cormin?s. ?What?s happening? You know him??

?Heard of him,? the druidess spat, advancing on the assassin in anger. ?One of the worst, lowlife murderers that have ever existed! For one hundred years you were almost a legend. I worked with the Harpers to flush people like you out, to end your existence after we took care of the Slavers!?

Cormin bowed his head, denying nothing.

?You kill for money! For pleasure! Innocents and guilty alike? it means nothing to people like you! And if common murderers weren?t enough? no. You made it an art, the Master Assassin. Destroying lives and good people. You?re? repulsive.?

His eyes flew up. ?I?ve changed,? he said hoarsely. ?I?m not that person any more.?

?Somehow your reputation doesn?t lead me to trust that,? Jaheira said with biting sarcasm. ?I heard of your last exploit before you vanished. A two year old child.?

Her voice lashed out like a whip. ?You sicken me.?

?That? that was a mistake,? he closed his eyes against the memory. ?I know it was. That was all a mistake. It was why I stopped. I did. I realised. I left the job half-done.?

?Half-done was far too much already,? Jaheira hissed.

?No,? he shook his head, dizziness clouding his mind. ?I?m not that? I?m not that person any more.?

Her eyes sharpened. ?Why have you followed us for so long??

The sudden change threw him. He gaped at her, his thoughts blank, and for the umpteenth time since he?d awoken, he wondered what on earth he could possibly say.

Jaheira?s stare bored in to him. He turned away and looked at Danika. The Bhaalspawn was silent, watching, her hardened features unreadable.

?Why have you followed us for so long???

? ?You?re in love with her.?

He shook away the echo of the Shadowmaster?s voice and groped for an answer.

?Because? after my last? assignment? I couldn?t take it any more,? he said softly, his eyes settling on the whiteness of the blanket covering him. ?Because I guess? I finally realised. It finally broke through. I couldn?t. So I went away. Vanished. Left the death and despair behind. I? wanted to find myself again. The voice in my head that told me what was wrong and what was right.?

He raised his gaze to meet hers, but didn?t flinch away this time.

?It took me over three decades. To find that voice. To nurture it and let it grow. To start bringing life around me instead of death. To? forget the hatred. To? forget the coldness.?

At her disbelieving look, he bowed his head slightly.

?It?s still a part of me. I know that. The hatred. The coldness. The death. I am still Cormin the Bloody. Nothing can wash my hands or my soul clean of what I?ve done. But after thirty-two years??

He bit his lip, and looked up at her again.

?I can?t change what I?ve done,? he said, his voice low. ?But I can change what I do now. I saw you fight in the Copper Coronet and something in me knew I was meant to join you. To fight? this time? for? good.?

There was a pause, a silence, and then the dam broke.

?For good? For good?? Jaheira demanded furiously. ?How could someone like you even begin to comprehend what is good? You? pretend to reaquire a human conscience, and that somehow absolves a lifetime of evil? You decide to keep killing, but this time for ?good?? We?re supposed to just suddenly trust you after everything you?ve told us??

?Yes.?

It shattered through their stances, and Jaheira and Cormin turned incredulously to see the Bhaalspawn standing implacably, regarding the both of them with a steely eye. ?Yes,? she repeated again, her voice unwavering in the face of their shock. ?We?re going to trust you, because we have to.?

Cormin worked his voice around the dryness of his throat.

?Why?? he croaked.

?Because after we meet the Harpers tonight, we?re taking on Bodhi tomorrow,? Danika declared flatly, before turning on her heel and limping out the door.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 01 February 2008 - 02:46 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter XXVI: A Mortal, Endless Path
(Apologies for the slight lateness. The last few chapters of this fic are now well and truly planned out and semi-written, so I should be on schedule for the next few. Thank you again to quinlan and Dark-Mage for your recent reviews, everyone who has reviewed, as well as to everyone who has followed this story from beginning to end. It's been a pretty long haul, so thanks again for your commitment . I hope you all enjoy this chapter.)

Creation and destruction beat a mortal, endless path,
Transcendent beyond spirits and descendants of the realms,
Twin opposites; they bear the sword and shield of day and night,
While the gems of death and time within glow brightly from their helms
* * *

Well, Danika exhaled as she leaned against the wall. That should have scored at least 7 out of 10 for a dramatic exit.

The corridor was cool against her back and she relaxed into it. Dimly, she could feel the vibrations of Jaheira and Geraint ? Cormin still talking inside, and shook her head.

Eavesdropping never hurt.

She pricked her ears and concentrated, but soon found that she needn?t have bothered. ?I swear to you,? Jaheira?s snarl punched through the walls. ?If I see you doing anything, anything that suggests you might betray us or return to your former ways, I will end your existence permanently.?

A light smile lifted her lips, but it didn?t shift the shadow on her face. Well, nothing too interesting there. She turned back to her own thoughts, already knowing the script that was running inside the room. There was no more point in paying attention. No. What troubled her now was the script that had been, and the script to come.
Cormin the Bloody. Geraint. Cormin the Bloody. Geraint.

Somehow? she?d known. They?d known. Known from the second they laid eyes on him that someone like him, such an efficient, ruthless killer, would have a history. Known that there was something he was hiding. Known that he wasn?t all that he seemed.

She hadn?t quite been expecting something on this level, however.

Cormin the Bloody. Jaheira?s ringing words had jarred some long-forgotten memory in her head and she frowned. Rumours had reached the sheltered walls of Candlekeep nearly constantly, every visiting outsider happy to talk to the eager insiders cloistered away from the world with their books. Life grew staid and static in the fortress, and it was this fresh news that was like lifeblood, pulling and pushing everyone within. In fact, it seemed that most of Oghma?s monks had thrived on word detailing the vast realms outside their library fortress, no matter how fantastical they were.

Cormin the Bloody had been one of them. Such was Candlekeep?s relative isolation from the big cities, they hadn?t even heard of him until? had she been seven? Seven, then. When she and Imoen had been scampering amongst the forbidden shelves and had hidden at the sound of passing voices.

?? thirty-two bodies, they said.?

?Who is this man??

?They call him ?the Stranger?. No-one really knows what his real name is.?

?Actually, I?ve heard rumours. He calls himself Cormin the Bloody.?

?Fitting. That attack twenty years ago was the second mass-scale strike we?ve seen. He must have been getting bold then.?

?Who was he working for??

?Why do you assume he?s even working for someone? By the sounds of it, the man is a murderer! Just a serial killer on the loose.?

?No. It was too organised, too political for that. He?s working for someone.?

?I wonder??

A snort. ?I don?t wonder. I just hope they get caught.?

?It?s all right though, isn?t it? There?s been no word of him for seventeen years. Maybe he?s dead.?

?And maybe gibberlings fly. Someone like that don?t just disappear. He?ll be coming back one day. I just hope nobody I know will get in his way.?

Cormin the Bloody. She tried to reconcile the rumours and Jaheira?s words with the elf she?d been travelling with these last weeks. He?d been sullen. Argumentative. Insensitive. He?d shown himself to be a cold-blooded killer, never thinking twice before landing the final blow. He?d shown himself as a hidden soul, not easily trusted.

And yet, they had met across the dying screams of the corrupted era of the Copper Coronet. He?d saved her life first, and then she, his. He had taken out the Slavers with them, and healed her wounds then with nary a scar nor a request. He had survived the Shadow temple, and in the end, had taken out the Shade Lord and most of his army himself.

And the look in his eyes as he?d followed her through those shadows, as he?d fought with the Shadow Dragon at her side, and as he?d seen her in the aftermath of his near suicidal attempt to eliminate the problems of Umar Hills?

Those looks had been indescribable.

She almost didn?t want to think about it. It was easier to dwell upon the darkness in his eyes than the light; the former seemed so settled in his gaze, as if he had borne it for most of his two centuries. The latter seemed almost foreign. She closed her own eyes and brought the picture back in her mind. It had softened him. Lent a vulnerability, and widened the blackness of his gaze so that he almost looked like an innocent. A real, warm-blooded person. Someone she could trust.

But it didn?t matter, anyway. Because she did.

It was not the first time that realisation had struck home, and she groaned again at the annoyance of it. Dammit, if things had to be complicated all the time. Even the simple goal as she?d emerged from the bowels of the dungeon had become overshadowed by layers of complexity. Find Imoen, find Irenicus, kill him painfully in several different ways had turned into raise 20,000 gold, fix some of the ridiculous amount of problems residing in Athkatla?s heart while doing so, and work for the Shadow Thieves for passage.

It just wasn?t fair.

She sighed, and then straightened. Well, the choice was clear, and she?d made it weeks ago. She wanted Imoen back. She wanted Irenicus painfully dead. Cormin the Bloody would fit well in that plan if he stayed loyal, and judging by his recent actions and his recent actions alone, that didn?t seem to be a question.

Danika set her teeth and moved away, preparing herself mentally for the tasks ahead.


It wasn?t long until she was interrupted, however. Aerie appeared out of her room on the right into the passageway, her eyes luminous as she studied her leader for a few seconds.

?Danika??

?Hmm?? the Bhaalspawn turned. ?Oh, Aerie. Do you know if everyone?s ready to go to the Harper?s Hold soon??

?Yoshimo?s already paying the bill downstairs in the basement with Haer?Dalis,? she reported. ?Minsc is ready, and s-so am I, so I?m sure everything will b-be okay.?

Danika nodded, and moved back towards the room where she was sure Jaheira and Cormin were still arguing. Aerie paused as she watched her go. ?But? Danika??

?Hmm??

?Will you be all right?? the Avariel asked uncertainly. ?Your shoulder still isn?t healed properly, and you?re not m-moving right. M-maybe you should let me have a look at that stab wound on your abdomen again??

The Bhaalspawn shook her head. ?Thanks for th? concern, Aerie,? she said lightly. ?But really, I?m fine. The Harpers?ll just be talkin? at us.?

At her worried look, she laughed. ?Believe me Aerie, I?ve dealt with the Harpers before. But I?ll take you up on that offer later, and I?m sure a few of our other erstwhile companions will too. We?ll want t? be in top form for tomorrow.?

There was a step behind them, and Danika swung around to see Jaheira stalking out of the room, with Cormin following slowly but steadily in the shadows. The sight lifted her spirits for a moment. So he was up. That was good. She didn?t need any delays, and his full strength wouldn?t be needed until tomorrow. She wondered whether he?d asked Jaheira to cast a Restoration on him briefly? and then cast the thought away. He was far too proud for that.

?In that case, we?ll be wanting to visit Galvarey as soon as possible so we can have as much time for resting and healing later,? the druidess said crisply, bringing her thoughts back to the moment at hand. ?But still, Nika, it will be difficult to be in top form tomorrow after everything that?s happened today. Perhaps Bodhi can wait??

?No.? Danika said firmly. ?We?ve waited long enough. We can and will crush her, and then we?ll move on to find Irenicus and rescue Imoen.?

No-one argued with her words as Minsc emerged from his room, and the quiet footfalls on the staircase announced Yoshimo and Haer?Dalis? return. Slowly, the entire party assembled around Danika, eyes trained on her.

She scanned their faces, nodded, and they moved together as one towards the upstairs door of the Sea?s Bounty. As they stepped outside into the sunlight together and began making their way towards the Harper?s Hold, Danika matched her pace to Cormin?s. A little uncomfortable, he glanced at her questioningly. She caught his apprehension and smiled a little.

?Geraint?? Cormin.?

He winced, knowing that he was going to have to face that slip-up appearing on the lips of his comrades for the next few weeks at least. ?Yes, my lady?? he asked stiffly.

Her face shadowed and the tiny smile disappeared. He suddenly wished he could bring it back again, a little bemused as to where and why it had gone. She read his troubled countenance and her lips turned downwards a little more.

?So, it?s back t? that, is it??

He looked at her, genuine confusion colouring his voice. ?I don?t know what you mean.?

She was implacable. ?Well, never mind. I just wanted to ask you for somethin?.?

He nodded, and she continued. ?From th? sounds of what Jaheira was accusin? you about, you should have a few tricks up your sleeve that I might be needin? soon.?

Wariness crept over his countenance. Did she really have any idea what she was dealing with? She hadn?t even heard of him before, after all. ?What ?tricks? might these be? and why??

Her mouth set grimly. ?Let?s just say that I didn?t like how the Harpers used us last time we ran into them. I want to take a few? precautions.?

* * *

The entrance hall of the Harper Hold in Athkatla was grand. The ceiling towered over the swirling marble floor, accentuated by soft golden light. In the distance, one could vaguely pick out the sepulchral chanting of the Spectral Harpers tucked away in the library on top of the sweeping staircase. The symbol of the Harpers hung proudly at the back, setting off the motif of the sun and moon carved onto the floor.

For all of its overdone beauty, the room also had commendable acoustics.

?Tell me,? Danika said, the annoyance in her voice carrying to all four corners of the room, ?What th? bloody hell my favourite colour has t? do with whether you think I?m ?good? enough.?

Galvarey drew himself up in his high-backed chair, a picture of arrogance and pride as he surveyed the comparatively diminuitive half-elf. ?I should have expected such behaviour from a Bhaalspawn. Impulsive, hotheaded, fiery and rude. Just the qualities needed for a path into destruction.?

Her fingers grasping the arms of the chair besides Danika, the druidess scowled. ?You would do well to end soon, Galvarey,? Jaheira said ominously, leaning forwards across the table that separated them to emphasise her point. ?This does not appear to be leading us anywhere productive.?

?The speed at which we move is entirely dependent upon your? charge? here,? Galvarey looked at Nika distastefully. ?We have a selection of questions, and she keeps taking an inordinate amount of time to answer them while challenging us every step of the way. Which, might I add, is a convincing display of possible destructive behaviour that may occur later on if we Harpers do not step in.?

?To be fair,? Yoshimo murmured from where he was seated behind both Danika and Jaheira, who were the closest to the table, ?Our fair leader only begun her? spirited responses to your questions after you analysed her favourite song as ?bearing messages of evil and annihilation.??

?Yeah,? the Blade in question chimed in. ?I mean, for Selune?s sake! Never mind the fact that Rose Red by the great Bardess Emilie Autumn is my favourite song for this week, it?s about a journey of self-realisation and strength more than anything!?

The Harper?s eyes narrowed at her mini-outburst. ?So you worship Selune, do you, Bhaalspawn? Tell me, how on Faerun does Selune?s message coincide with your destructive nature??

Danika scowled amd tightened her fists. This man was really beginning to get on her nerves. ?Being a Bhaalspawn doesn?t mean that I can?t appreciate th? beauty of the moon or the stars. It doesn?t mean that I also can?t appreciate Lathander?s light. Both Selune and Lathander show me that I can chart a course for myself t? reach a dawn beyond imagining, a sunrise that will be worth all the pain and suffering I?ve had to pay. It shows me that I?ve always got?? her voice quietened. ?Hope.?

?Chart your own course,? he murmured as if to himself. ?To a sunrise? so your ethos is to control your fate to lead to the rising of your destructive power. How? unsurprising.?

There was a stunned silence at that particular journey into the realm of the unbelievable, and then it was broken. ?Galvarey!? Jaheira cried. ?Listen to yourself as you twist her words! Selune and Lathander are both worthy gods for a worthy cause. How can you possibly justify twisting the beauty of the moonlight and the rebirth of spring into your? pathetic conclusions?!?

She would have gone on, but she stopped suddenly at her charge?s raised hand. Danika?s eyes had never left Galvarey?s, and now she spoke softly, but with such authority that the other Harpers guarding the hall with ever-watchful eyes stirred in response.

?You seem to like the word ?destruction? a lot, Galvarey,? a nasty smile crossed her face. ?Why don?t you just admit you worship Talos??

There was the beat of a collectively indrawn breath, and then Galvarey staggered to his feet. ?How dare you suggest such a thing?!? he roared, puce colouring his cheeks. ?How dare you question my faith, Bhaalspawn?!?

At the sight of the Harper?s anger, Danika smirked. ?How dare you question mine, then?? she asked, an affective nonchalance now colouring her tone.

?You are a Bhaalspawn!? Galvarey tried to keep himself under control, but failed miserably.

?That doesn?t make me any less a person,? Nika said, her voice soft and dangerous as she leaned forwards with her hands on the desk, matching his glare with her own. ?Furthermore, it does not define my identity. I am sick of you calling me thus. My name is Danika Gorionova, Heroine of the Sword Coast. Use it.?

The Harper?s lips twitched convulsively. Lowering his clenched fists, he seated himself once more and tried to reacquire his impersonation of the aura of a wise judge.

?Very well,? a look of distaste crossed his features, ?Danika Gorionova. Well, I still have a few more questions for you. I?m warning you however, that at the moment, your outlook does not look good.?

?Oh?? she arched an elegant eyebrow. ?And what happens if you deem me unworthy, Galvarey??

?You will be imprisoned, of course,? Galvarey shrugged. ?It will be dangerous to let one such as you loose on the world?? he paused, and let a smirk cross his face. ?We Harpers must keep the balance, after all.?

Behind them, Cormin saw red, but he knew this wasn?t his fight. Jaheira, however, had no compunctions whatsoever. ?This is not about keeping the balance, Galvarey! Don?t think I don?t know. This is about your promotion, and nothing less! What you are doing is wrong, and it is an abomination against everything we Harper?s stand for! Danika works to keep the balance not to??

?I believe this is between me and the Bhaalspawn,? Galvarey said quietly. ?I do not need a lecture from you about what the Harpers stand for. Perhaps you have travelled too long with this? natural aberration. It seems your judgement is clouding.?

?How dare you??

?Jaheira,? Danika?s voice overlaid hers. ?We can get t? this later. I?m still interested in this imprisonment business.?

Galvarey sat proudly under the sweeping, searching gaze she cast at him. ?Just what prison do you think could hold me?? she asked him with a small hint of amusement. Then her eyes grew cold. ?I even managed to escape from Irenicus. After that, believe me? you?ll have nothing on him.?

The Harper laughed lightly. ?Oh, you mistake me. I did not mean imprisonment as such, I meant Imprisonment, the spell. You will be kept in a magical sphere several meters below the earth. I understand that it is impossible to break out of.?

Danika sat in silence. He widened his lips in a reptilian smile. ?So. Now that you know the consequences, let us continue with our? review.?

She tried to imagine. A smooth wall around her, barely enough room to move. Throwing herself against the unrelenting surface. Screaming until she burst her own eardrums and felt blood trickle out of her head, but with no one else hearing. Feeling the earth closing around her, burying her under, for all of eternity?

?No. I?m sick of your questions,? the Blade stood abruptly, sending the chair shrieking across the marble. Her eyes locked with the Harper?s as her hands curled into fists around her hips. ?You have no right to judge me. You have no soddin? idea what it?s like to have the blood of the God of Murder runnin? in your veins. You have nothin? t? say worth even expendin? your breath upon. So goodbye. I?ve got an evil, bloodthirsty vampire to eviscerate tomorrow mornin?, and I?m not goin? t? waste my time beforehand with you.?

Galvarey leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. ?I did anticipate this happening,? he murmured reflectively, and then smiled up at them.

?Very well. Harpers, arrest the Bhaalspawn.?

?What?!? Jaheira shrieked, springing to her feet and sending her chair crashing to the ground. ?Galvarey, you cannot be serious!?

Her locked her gaze. ?Jaheira, as a member of the Harpers, I am ordering you to help arrest the Bhaalspawn.?

Jaheira paused, shocked. Danika slowly unsheathed her katanas, the sliding hiss of steel reverberating through the hall. Behind her, she head Haer?Dalis, Minsc, Yoshimo and Cormin follow suit, and Aerie began chanting softly in readiness.

The Bhaalspawn smiled grimly at the approaching guards, and then turned to her friend.

?Jah??

The simple word was heavy with all the other words unspoken, and the druidess shifted. There was no judgement in her ward?s eyes. Just a simple question.

Jaheira tightened her lips, drew her staff, and cracked Galvarey across the head before he could blink.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 08 February 2008 - 03:45 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter 27: Old masks
(Okay, no one can officially accuse me of ever posting short chapters again![/jk] I did consider splitting this up into two, but I reconsidered since it seemed to flow together so well. So I do hope you all enjoy, and thank you so much to quinlan, K'aeloree, and Dark-Mage again for your reviews!

Also, a warning. For anyone who can get squeamish reading about blood, I suggest you tread rather carefully here and skip the part near the middle.)

If time is a river,
Then the past can be blood,
Old masks and old memories,
Can be leaves in the mud

Of the bend in the present,
And the water stretch dance
While the future lies waiting,
An ocean of chance
* * *

It seemed almost incomprehensible to her that the morning had dawned exactly the same way it had dawned yesterday, when everything was different. Exactly twenty-four hours ago, she had been by Aerie?s side, and all that was needed to make the world semi-right was if Gerai... Cormin had returned so that they could eliminate Bodhi and be on their way to Imoen.

Now?

Danika cast her glance around at the six people following her into the graveyard. They picked their way across the vast stretch of tombstones, this group of hers whom she?d come to appreciate and? care for so much. They were different from last night; their faces more somber, skin more drawn. Perhaps it could be put down to the fact that they were about to face an extraordinarily powerful (from the rumours, anyway, which Jaheira had guardedly questioned) vampiress, but she didn?t think that cause alone weighed them down. No. They hadn?t been like this until after? last night.

They had left the Harpers stunned or unconscious, their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged. A single, hovering ball of energy now lit up the hall, directly above Galvarey?s head. Danika smiled at the memory. There really were a few perks to having a former Master assassin-murderer-spy in the party. Whoever entered the hall now and touched the orb would be treated to an exact recording, voices, actions and all, of what had occurred in the hall, and nothing Galvarey could say would sway that.

Galvarey. Her eyes hardened. The lightness of her mood was questionable enough without bringing him into the composition. She shook her head and kept moving, her thoughts back on track. Even after the shock of the Harpers? betrayal, even after the hurt in Jaheira?s eyes as she?d turned her back on the organisation that had defined a part of her life for so long? her companions had not been like this.

A shadow ghosted along at the edge of her vision and she sighed. It always lead back to him.

Haer?Dalis had shrugged with aplomb. He was a Doomguard, after all. Hearing that Cormin had been a Master Asssasin that had terrorised Faerun for over a century didn?t appear to change his opinion of the elf too much. ?From the moment I laid eyes upon your countenance, I knew you were a falcon, and a falcon you remain.?

Minsc and Aerie had taken the news warily, but with comparatively little consequence. Neither had heard the stories. In Minsc?s words, ?As long as you are now a buttkicker of evil, then we can guide you along the lily-white path of goodness! Of course, we have to make sure you are no longer evil yourself.?

Cormin had gone a very strange shade of white. Aerie, never taking her faltering eyes off him, had mentioned very quietly about a spell that had not affected him, and the strange, almost sick recognition in his face had confirmed it in her mind. And for the Rashemen and the Avariel, that was that.

Jaheira had been the one to explain, much to Danika?s dismay. She had planned it out in her head, a careful introduction on her part that would finally lead Cormin himself to fill in the rest. It was his past after all, not hers. And perhaps it would be better for him, from his perspective, if he?d been the one to say it.

But while the group had gathered to discuss battle strategies and to finish healing, Jaheira?s voice had lashed out like a whip. Taking on a vampiress murderer should be simple with a murderer of the dark along with us. For once, Jaheira hadn?t even flinched in guilt at her charge?s furious gaze. Murder was such a delicate word amongs them, after all. In the company of a Bhaalspawn, it could mean everything and nothing at once.

But she?d calmed herself. Nika was proud that she?d calmed herself. After all, it wasn?t about her this time. It was about him. And while Haer?Dalis, Minsc, and Aerie had said their part in between Jaheira?s near hysteric anger, she couldn?t help but notice that Yoshimo had said nothing.

He had gasped, once. But it had been lost in the sound of the druiddess denouncing the centuries-old elf again. After that he had drawn back, away from the fires, so that Danika could hardly read his face. But the shadows hadn?t hidden the drops of sweat that reflected the light, or the barely perceptible tremors of his hands.

Danika swam back to the present and glanced around again; first at the crypts, then at her friends. Jaheira and Cormin walked as far apart as possible without leaving the path. Yoshimo was far ahead, his back adamantly to all of them as he scouted. Minsc strode at her side, while Haer?Dalis steadied Aerie when she tripped. The air seemed to be ripe with unsaid words just waiting to be plucked from the atmosphere.

?Jaheira??

?The entrance to the underground crypts is quite near,? the druidess said crisply, her eyes never leaving Yoshimo?s form. ?We should make haste to meet the mage Aran has sent us.?

Well fine, Danika scowled to herself. The druidess clearly hadn?t forgotten or even come close to forgiving what had happened last night. The Bhaalspawn?s hands jerked down to her belt and she clasped the stakes there, feeling their reassuring weight against her skin. If Jaheira could shove it all away to pretend she was focusing on today?s objective, then so could she. She sneaked one last observing glance at her friends, and wondered ironically how they would all be able to survive the week-long journey ahead of them to Brynnlaw.

?My lady??

Her scowl deepened. ?Yes??

?Yoshimo.?

She looked upwards, just in time to see the Bounty Hunter gesture towards the stone crypt to his left. The door had been pulled open, and the blackness at its maw was convincing enough for Danika to unsheathe one katana.

?Well,? the Bhaalspawn said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. ?Looks like we?re finally going in.?

* * *

First, there was darkness. Then there was traps and chests. And then, of course, came the vampires and the undead. They fought and sweated and bled and tried not to breathe in the bone-dust that was all that remained of the Grimwarders guarding the entry. And through all of it, there was a semi-darkness that was eerie even when their eyes had adjusted to the shadows.

Danika batted half-heartedly at the gaseous form leading them slowly back to where the coffins lay. The group rounded a corner and finally exhaled a sigh of relief. Four biers lay before them in the darkness, three in the corners and one on the side leaving one corner empty, shrouded by cobwebs and strange mosaic designs that reminded her of spiders. A stench of fresh and rotting blood rose up from them, and Danika held out the stakes and felt them vanish from her hands.

She was not surprised when Minsc and Jaheira marched off with determination. She was a little curious when Yoshimo did the same, except with the walk of a defeated man. She was shocked when she felt Cormin?s fingers brush up against hers and clench so tightly around the wood she thought it might snap.

?Cormin??

He moved in the shadows like he belonged with them, and so he was by the side of the coffin he?d chosen for himself before he?d had the chance to hear her. Blackness covered his face as he raised a hand to touch its side. The wood was old and cracking, splintered in several places so that the blue, white and black mosaic designs were broken. He traced a finger over them briefly. The pattern of death had been interrupted on this coffin from use, from age, and from anger, and in his heart he understood so painfully that he wondered why he was standing there. Was it stupidity that had propelled his legs forwards like a marionette to claim the last stake before the tiefling could, or even their leader herself? Or was it the self-hatred, the guilt beginning to swim up in his soul and drown his senses?

Perhaps it was both. But primarily stupidity. He pushed aside the case of the coffin abruptly and heard the hinges rebound creakily in protest. There were no spiderwebs inside. Nothing but cold wood and red cushion, and a sleeping vampire that reeked power from his every limb.

He recognised the vampire instantly, even as he readied the stake. It was an old one, a strong one that had given them a decent amount of trouble in the passageways as he?d taunted and evaded and drained from the shadows. It was only when he?d gotten too greedy, took a gulp instead of a sip, that he had come face to face with an elf as used to the darkness as himself and finally met his corporeal end.

And now the vampire was lying in front of him, Aerie?s blood still glinting from his teeth and no doubt her scream still ringing in his ears. There was a satisfied smirk on those dead lips, like her blood had ran like a sweet wine worth the indignity of being beheaded and stabbed for. Those small crimson droplets smeared on the vampire?s skin was enough to make Cormin?s hands tighten on the stake.

He had never looked like that. He knew he hadn?t. For one, he never bit. He was not a vampire. But the cold cruelty drawn across the vampire?s face, the smirk and sneer of the predator, the enjoyment of the blood?

Cormin swallowed and didn?t realise his hands shook. He gazed, locked in stasis, at the vampire?s closed eyes, and didn?t feel time trickling against his skin like grains of sand. So engrossed was he that he didn?t even register that everyone had drawn up behind the Bhaalspawn, their self-assigned tasks completed, or that he was now the subject of a calculating perusal by normally dancing eyes. Now, he was far too consumed in the simple action of raising up his arm and plunging it down.

Danika watched him, but she was not the only one. Jaheira?s eyes were hard as they pinned his back to the dusty wall. As Cormin finished the job and turned around, she opened her mouth to say something. Before she could, however, the druiddess was interrupted by a swirl of robes and a soft cry.

?Light!? Aerie breathed with joy. ?Up ahead of us, there?s light!?

The grim adventurers fell into formation, weapons at the ready, but each one of them felt a wave of relief as they stepped from the cold darkness of the stone passageways to the lighted marble room. There was warmth after the cold, light after the dark, and even as their eyes blinked to readjust to their new surroundings, they instantly felt safer.
That is, until they saw the centrepiece.

A pool, not unlike the communal bathing rooms installed in the finer inns of Athkatla, lay in the centre of the room. Marble steps lounged indolently against it, slipping from its edge to the ground invitingly. But the normally white marble was dyed a strange, flecking colour of off-red, and there was something that didn?t quite feel right?

As the entire party froze, a few fledgling vampires who had been relaxing by the side of the pool turned and snarled at their entry. They picked themselves up from blood-red cushions and advanced. But the adventurers did not stir, because under the suddenly glaring light, the horror of what it was that lay in that pool washed over them.

Blood.

The viscous liquid almost seemed to bubble as it lapped lazily against the edges, a stark reminder of exactly what they were dealing with. As one, those who needed to breathe in the room drew in a gasp of sickened horror, before raising their weapons.

The rushing vampires met steel and wood with a sudden clash. As fledgelings, they had never had a chance against them, but now, with rage pumping through living veins, the mortals were stronger than the immortals could even imagine. Haer?Dalis whirled around and decapitated two vampires with a flourish of steel. Aerie?s chanting sent waves of scathing holy magic amongst their ranks. Jaheira?s staff reintroduced them to wood, and Danika and Cormin?s blades bit into them as precisely as fangs. The inhuman shrieks rippled across the stone surrounding them, and before long a stream of new enemies barraged into the room with an undeadly grace.

Just in time to meet Yoshimo?s fleet of arrows, soaring through the air and through unbeating hearts quicker than even their supernatural reflexes.

As befitting the fleeting stretch of life most of the vampires had actually lived, it was over quickly. An unholy mist settled in the room, swirling around the adventurers sluggishly. Those of the living shied back, clammy hands batting the tendrils away.

Except for one.

Nika looked up sharply from the cloud of mist she was staggering back from at a small, strange noise. When her eyes found its source, she swallowed. Cormin?s quiet gasp still echoed through the chamber as the vampires? mist gathered around him. He was frozen in the center of their swirls, eyes hypnotised by their strange movements, and Danika wanted to call out to him.

Unseen from the corner of the room, Yoshimo reached his hand towards his friend as if to claw the mist away, but then as he gazed at his shaking fingers, his arm dropped.

Slowly, tremblingly, Cormin approached the centre of the room as if drawn against his will. They watched silently as his faltering steps finally took him to the edge of the pool. There, he glanced over, saw a horribly distorted reflection of himself, and almost choked.

?Is this how much innocent life you?ve spilt??

Cormin spun around, the spell broken. The mist dissipated and began to gather elsewhere, away from mortal eyes. The druidess gripped the edge of the pool like she was trying to throttle something, and he stepped falteringly backwards, away from her mute fury.

?No, I??

?Why are you almost attracted to it?? she spat out. ?Does this bring back everything you were??

His mouth gaped. ?It? I??

?Or does it bring back everything you are?? her voice was venomous.

He was wordless, broken. She saw that, and delivered her final cut.

?You?re no better than the vampires we have just dispatched!?

Silence. Then?

?No.? Words reasserted themselves in his mind, guided his tongue. Cormin shook his head, his throat dry. ?No that?s not true??

He bent double over the pool at the thought, fingers slick with sweat and his senses unseeing. And it was at that moment of weakness that Jaheira, hard-eyed and stone-cold, pushed him forwards and stepped back before anyone could so much as yell a warning. The air seemed to haze down around him as slowly, slowly his face fell closer to the horror.

Cormin collapsed headfirst into the pool, a silent scream bubbling out of his mouth even as the blood closed over his skin. It rushed through into his throat, bathed every shaft of hair, seemed to penetrate every particle of his skin. He screamed again as he tasted that oh-so-familiar iron taste, the taste of metal and salt. The blood was warm, at body temperature, and it covered him slickly, like so many other memories. It weighed him down, brought his thrashing, mindless body to the bottom even as he kept screaming in all of his horror. It brought him down to the bottom, where he jerked against the tiles and his flailing limbs brushed against something hard.

In an instant, Cormin?s fingers closed over it like a lifeline. It was heavy, solid and real. The pressure of the liquid pressing against him, dragging him down to the bottom with the intent to drown him under a sea of blood, lifted slightly.

It was enough for him to regain his shocked senses and push upwards with all of his might. It was enough for him to burst out of the pool of blood like some demon, revulsion widening his eyes and dripping from his skin. It was enough for him to stagger out, hands still clasped around the bloody object he had brought from the pool and cradling it to his chest, and then collapse on the ground when his legs couldn?t take him any further.


And Danika could no longer look on silently.

?Jaheira!? The Bhaalspawn screamed. The druidess turned away from the pool, the front of her armour splashed with the blood Cormin had sprayed into the air with his violent re-entrance. Her brown eyes were wide and soft, as if the druidess had just shocked herself with her actions. She was unprepared for her charge to grab her bodily by the front and send her spinning away from the pool and the crouching, blood-drenched elf on the floor.

?Jaheira!? Danika repeated, her voice now low and full of a barely-controlled rage. ?What in th? nine hells did you think you were doing?!?

Her voice seemed to wake the druidess from her stupor. ?I do not have to explain myself to you, Danika.?

?No, you bloody well do!? The Bhaalspawn yelled furiously. ?Not only have you just made Cormin a walking vamp-magnet, you? you? you soddin? pushed him into a??

?Pool of blood,? Jaheira was fully recovered now, and her beautiful eyes flashed. ?Yes, I pushed him into a pool of blood. Perhaps that will wake him up to the true horror of the crimes he has committed!?

A hearbeat. ?I don?t believe you! I don?t believe you! Where do you get off, tellin? me t? be careful and t? withhold all trust because someone?s actin? funny, and then goin? off and drownin? him in some sick edifice t? monsters completely out of balance with your precious Nature??

A scowl. ?As I said, perhaps this will wake him up to the true horror of the crimes he has committed. I have yet to see a reason in all the days he has travelled with us for me to trust him. And my distrust has been proved by him revealing to us who he is! Are you so blinded by your desperation as to not see?! Look! Look at him! This is who he is, a monster covered with blood!?

?Yes, covered in blood no thanks t? you! I know you didn?t trust him, but couldn?t you trust me? Couldn?t you trust enough in me and in my soddin? judgement to just let me have time to work things through??

?Time?! We have no time! You?ve given us no time with your crazy plan to run after Imoen tomorrow, no matter what happens!?

?And you already know the reason for that! We?ve had this talk a million times, Jaheira, and you know that we just can?t afford t? let this?!?

?Nika,? Yoshimo?s voice came from behind, and the two feuding women whirled around. The Bounty Hunter squirmed uncomfortably under their murderous glances, and he coughed. ?I? I only wished to say that the amount of noise we are creating would wake up the dead, let alone the undead.?

He smiled encouragingly as their postures relaxed, as his message got through. ?Perhaps we should all move on and work this matter out later in the safety of our own rooms.?

Danika opened her mouth, and then thought about it.

?No.? She made up her mind. They had walked into the crypts with a plan, and now all she needed to do was alter a little of it. For practicality?s sake. ?I?ll stay with him and guard our perimeters. The rest of you, go t? th? downstairs level and see what you can find.?
She took a breath, and then her eyes rested solely on Jaheira. ?You will all follow Minsc without question. Until you get a grip on yourself, I don?t trust your judgement.?

The druidess? mouth opened in anger, and then clamped shut. She shared Danika?s gaze for a second, flicked her line of vision to the bloody elf, and then back. The Bhaalspawn nodded at the sudden flash of guilt and uncertainty in her friend?s eyes and stepped backwards.


Danika did not watch the backs of her companions as they retreated into the darkness. She looked down instead at the elf at her feet, and then at the blood in the pool.

?Come on,? she said, regretting it as it came out sounding harder than she?d intended. ?Let?s get out of this cursed room.?

His eyes were still on the floor as his shoulders spasmed at her words. Her frown turned into confusion, and then into a smile that felt small and worn and tiny as she crouched down next to him, extending her right hand in front of his face. He gasped, out of wonder instead of horror this time, and she pretended not to notice as he clutched onto her like a lifeline.

Uncomfortably, awkwardly, they made their way back into the darkness, into the room where the now-empty coffins lay. The rancidness from the air was fading already, helped along by a few sprinkles of Holy Water that Aerie had left after performing the rites while the others had staked the vampires earlier. Danika felt the bulge of Holy Water strapped to her own belt and led him to the only empty corner, as far away from the coffins as they could get.

He collapsed. Grateful. Their hands slid free of each other, accompanied by a crusting of drying blood. Danika wrinkled her nose before edging her canteen out of her pack with her clean hand and clearing her skin.

It was only after she?d finished that she felt his gaze on her, and she felt a little guilty. She crawled closed to him in the semi-darkness and took in his state. Every inch of him was still covered in blood, and the smell of it alone disgusted her. But she was more concerned about the blank look in his eyes.

?Cormin,? she said softly. ?Cormin, are you all right??

It was a stupid question. He coughed once, low and dry, and she didn?t even think as she raised her hand and offered him the rest of the water in her canteen. He didn?t think either, as he tilted his head back, swirled the water around the inside of his mouth, and then spat it all out.

She watched as he repeated the rinsing a few times, until the taste of blood had completely vacated. Then, he took a few shuddering breaths and swallowed the water for the first time, before pushing the canteen back at her.

His words were rough as they rose out of the blackness at his heart. ?Nothing. Nothing can ever wash me free of what I?ve done. I knew that. I knew that when I lied to myself and I said it was all right. I knew that when I let myself finally see the truth. I knew that, but I didn?t quite expect??

His voice faded away.

?You never expected it to hurt so much,? Danika finished for him, and then she moved in the darkness.

Instantly he was alert. He listened, relying more on his ears than his eyes in this place as she shifted and smoothed, and each movement that he didn?t know the reason for made him suddenly more on edge.

?What are you doing?? he demanded.

Her voice was gentle. ?This.?

He was about to retort that he had no idea of what ?this? meant, and if he did, he wouldn?t have asked in the first place, when he felt something cool against his face. He jerked back in reflex, sending the back of his head crashing against the stone wall and summoning dancing specks of light in his eyes. Through his sudden pain and disorientation, he heard her swear.

?Bloody hell! I?m not meanin? to hurt you. Just sit still, would you??

He couldn?t really do anything else until the ringing went away from his brain. So he sat there as he felt another cool touch, more hesitant and gentle this time, and then felt the trickle of liquid against his face.

Realisation crashed over him like a ten-ton dragon.

She was washing the blood off.

She was washing the blood off, and he opened his eyes to look through the semi-darkness in awe as her soft hands cleared away the blood from his face. The jar of Holy Water was steady in her other hand as she wiped away every last remnant of the crimson liquid up to his hairline, down to the point of his chin, from curved and pointed ear to curved and pointed ear. And then, she moved on to his hands, sending a stream of soothing, magical, enchanted liquid that spoke more to him than words of wary trust ever could.

The Holy Water left tingles in its wake, woke up his skin and made it feel alive again as it sloughed off the blood and the despair that had grabbed him and held him under. From the moment it made contact with his body, chilled by its sudden exit from the warm pool of blood, it worked its way through layers of skin, muscle and bone, and finally to his heart, exuding a gentle heat along the way. He drew in a breath, and then another as he relaxed into the feeling and felt alive, felt the darkness that had been weighing him down for so long, so awfully long, begin to lift.


It was over far too quickly. Her fingers left his skin and he heard her recork the bottle. There was a slight hesitation to the move, asi f she was guilty that she couldn?t use the rest of it to wash his hair, to wash his clothes, to wash the rest of him, but they both knew there was not enough. It didn?t matter though. There was a smile on his lips that he hadn?t noticed appearing, and he saw her smiling back at him,

He suddenly reached out, and grasped her hand in the darkness.

?Thank you,? his voice shivered. ?Thank you.?

She swallowed down her surprise and her instinct to pull away, and made her hand relax in his grip. ?You?re welcome,? she said softly, gazing into his eyes. Good. That blank look was gone. In there was something different, something indescribable, and she recognised it with a wry smile. It was the wide, awed look that made him appear centuries younger. That opened his eyes into his soul and reassured her that something was definitely, heartbreakingly there.

On an impulse, she leaned closer. It was a rare and beautiful thing to see, and she moved in until they were inches away. It was only when she felt the heat of his breath on her cheek that she?d realised how far she?d gone.

There was a silence between them. He was gazing back into her as she was into him, and a spark of energy ran through both of their bodies. They were close. So close now that she could turn her head and she?d brush against him, and who knew what could happen next?

?Wait.?

She jerked back, and suddenly he was on his feet, eyes scanning the darkness. She rose after him, a strange feeling of disappointment hammering in her heart that would have been greater except that his hand was still holding her own, and now it was squeezing.

?I thought I heard something,? he said. She spun around in response and searched for her katanas, letting go of his fingers. The loss of her heat made him feel bereft for a moment, but as soon as the thought hit him he pressed his lips into a cold frown and steeled himself. There was something out there. He was sure of it. He?d heard a sound, and now he was just waiting, shoulders tensed and muscles ready.

?And here you are? finally.?

The voice was like ripped black silk. It shimmied along the walls and the space between them, and stopped. Before their eyes, a shadow detached itself from a shadow, and then gradually, in the semi-darkness, emerged into a shape. Danika tightened her grip on the katanas that seemed to have almost leapt into her hands.

?Bodhi,? she said, her voice flat.

Somehow, the vampiress was exactly what she?d imagined her to be. She was small, a little shorter than Danika, her deathless skin tinged with blue and pulled tightly around angular cheekbones. Fine black hair like spun ebony dripped from her forehead, wrapped up tightly with an elegant fastening before cascading down her back. She was beautiful, powerful, and evil, and Danika didn?t even realise that she was taking up a protective stance, widening her legs and bringing her swords out in front of her, shielding the elf behind.

There were words. Danika knew there were words even as her senses focused on protecting herself and the elf behind her from the psychotic vampiress in front of them. She knew there were words about the Shadow Thieves, words about her travels in Athkatla, words about plots, power and cryptic intrigue, and she responded in kind, her mind on sarcastic auto-pilot. There were words about her heritage that she?d grown used to, having heard them in a different form so many times that she?d lost count. There were words about a future and a partnership that she didn?t quite understand. There were words about Imoen that made her stiffen and lash out. And there were words about??

?Irenicus!? the Bhaalspawn snarled, lifting her katanas up higher. ?What do you know of Irenicus?!?

?Many, many things that will never concern you,? the vampiress waved her away, and then grinned with a flash of fang. ?But of course, many things that do concern you as well.?

?Tell me if you value your unlife,? the Bhaalspawn ground out, and the undead laughed in response.

?Oh, but that?s private information,? her eyes lit up in speculation as she extended her tongue and tasted the air. ?And? oh, oh? you?re not alone.?

Bodhi walked around the Bhaalspawn as if she were a stone column and her lidded eyes found the assassin standing in the corner. An unneeded breath hitched in her throat as she took him in, still covered in blood and wrapped in the shadows.

?And who are you?? she asked with casual amusement, a tinge of interest in her voice.

He didn?t answer, a cloak covering his gaze that she peered into and laughed at.

?Oh well. The strong, silent type? I?ve gotten quite used to it.? She circled him sinuously, pressing her body up against his side. Danika had spun around by now, her katanas still at the ready, and her blazing eyes met his mute ones.

Help me.

?Took a swim, did you?? Bodhi laughed lightly, oblivious to their silent exchange as she circled her nails around his bloodstained throat. He stiffened and tried to slow down his heartbeat. He. Hated. Vampires.

?Hmm. Not fresh. But you still look so tasty??

She. Hated. Vampires. Danika?s eyes glowed red as Bodhi reached up and licked a long line of dried blood off Cormin?s neck. The assassin made a strangled sound. The Bhaalspawn uttered a sharp cry and moved in for the attack, but the vampiress saw it coming out of the corner of her reptilian eyes. Before him, Cormin watched her ridged nails extend, watched her claws begin to curve out towards Danika?s flesh and ready for a strike?

He never realised he was still holding the heavy object that had saved him from drowning in the ocean of blood. He only brought his arm up, swung, and slammed it into the vampiress? midsection. Danika had enough time to relish the sudden, shocked ?o? that Bodhi?s bloodless lips formed before she brought her own katana down.

Borrowed blood spattered around them. Bodhi shrieked in anger and rage. With one powerful sweep, the vampires sent Cormin flying against the wall and Danika skidding across the floor before leaping up onto one of the coffins and surveying them.

?This grows boring. I have gotten what I have come for, and now it ends. I will be seeing you again, Bhaalspawn!?

Her sensual, hate-filled voice penetrated the stone. It was loud enough to linger in echoes long after the vampiress herself vanished, and for Danika to glance up when Jaheira and the rest of them arrived to see that they had heard every single word.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 19 February 2008 - 10:09 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter 28: Sight
(And here it is at last... apologies if this chapter seems a little rough; it was originally part of the final chapter, and I also haven't had time to edit it to my liking due to my first year of Uni starting. I do hope it is still enjoyable though.

Again, thanks for sticking with me all this while. Only a little left to go...)

When shadows mix with night,
In that strange and deadly brew,
Intoxication shies away from breath and sight,
Knowing, knowing?
There will be blood.
* * *

The Shadowmaster of Athkatla surveyed them all keenly. The slight Avariel was pale and grimy, a few bloodstains still flaking off her neck where he could see two tiny puncture points. The hulking Rashemen?s armour was covered with livid scratches, but there were few showing on actual skin. The freelancer Bounty Hunter was tired, blood and sweat making his ponytail droop and his face close. The druidess looked old, leaning on her staff as she stared off into the wall behind him, an inner turmoil evident in her unstable stance. The Bhaalspawn was tired. And angry. But he was not worried, because she was there and she hadn?t drawn a sword on him yet, so it would be all right.

And the Master Assassin? He was covered in blood. Aran arched his eyebrow slightly as he studied him. Apart from his face and his hands which shone clean, hair, clothing, and skin alike was matted with thick blood. The Shadowmaster sniffed the air disapprovingly and wondered how on Faerun they had made it from the Graveyard to the Docks without being stopped.

?Haz has already returned to report you victorious,? he said, businesslike.

?Well,? Nika?s posture was deceptively calm. ?He was partly in th? right. We?ve cleared out th? crypts of vampires, but Bodhi herself was only interested in a little chit-chat and a weapons display before she vanished.?

His lips thinned, and he sat down slowly into his chair. ?That certainly is not the best news I could hear, but I am somehow not surprised. Bodhi has shown herself to be a mistress of evasion. I have no doubt she will return again.?

?I have no doubt either,? Danika said darkly, and Aran had to wonder at what exactly had transpired as his gaze flicked from a stiffening Cormin to a scowling Bhaalspawn. ?But while she was hanging around, she had some rather interesting things to say.?

This had been partially expected as well. Aran sighed and took in the adventurers once more. They had clearly marched straight from the vampires? den to his own. He was surprised they had not yet dropped from exhaustion. Certainly, the Avariel looked as if she were about to. He steepled his fingertips and made his decision.

With a few flicks of his hand, two Shadow thieves appeared, seemingly from nowhere, carrying six chairs. They silently placed them on the ground, and then vanished once more. Aran gestured resignedly at them as the adventurers in front of him surveyed both him and the chairs suspiciously.

?Sit down,? Aran said, a trace of irony in his voice. ?Not only are you rightfully tired from your efforts today, this is the sort of news that can be taken better when there is nowhere to fall.?

None of them could argue with the logic in that, and so they sat. But it was only when Danika had settled into the cushion with a sigh for her aching feet that she realised one problem.

?Uh, Aran? I would have thought the Shadowmaster of Athkatla would know how to count.?

A smile tugged at Aran?s lips as he regarded Cormin hanging at the back, still standing, his face expressionless.

?Rest assured, Danika, that your assumptions are correct. However, while I?m sure that the rest of you can live comfortably for the next fifteen minutes talking, I doubt the same can be said of our mutual friend.?

Another wave, and another Shadow Thief appeared from the passage. ?Gilbert, take Cormin the? Bloody to the baths. And give him a spare set of clothes. And maybe a bucket to wash anything else of his that might have accompanied him into the? bloodbath.?

Startled, Cormin looked swiftly to Danika. She studied both him and the Shadowmaster intently for a moment, and then shrugged. ?Go ahead,? she grinned. ?Old Shadowmaster?s right. You stink.?

To her delight, the assassin made a face and followed the thief out into the passageway, muttering under his breath. Well really, what did they all expect? Dried blood as a perfume did not make one a bed of roses.


Aran?s predictions turned out to be startlingly correct. It did indeed take them approximately fifteen minutes to hash out the accusals of following and distrust and being used. In the span of that time, they also managed to clear up passage to Spellhold, as well as the issue of Irenicus and Imoen. The Bhaalspawn found herself surprisingly grateful to Aran as he gestured to them that the meeting was finished until tomorrow morning, when he would see them off at the Docks and give them a few last parting gifts.

As they turned to leave, however, Danika paused when she realised one person was still missing. Turning around, she opened her mouth to enquire where exactly the baths were when she saw Aran?s steady gaze directed towards the corner. She followed its direction, and wasn?t sure whether she was surprised or not when she saw Cormin leaning against the wall with his clean arms crossed on his clean chest. He looked like he?d been there for a while. She followed his gaze back to Aran?s, feeling the unspoken messages passing through their eyes, and stepped forwards uncertainly.

?Cormin??

He didn?t look away from the Shadowmaster. ?Go, I?ll catch up with you tonight. I have a few things I need to do.?

Warily, she looked up at him. ?Careful,? she said, forcing lightness into her tone. ?Last time you said somethin? like that, you were gone for three days and we were ambushed by your old friends.?

A pained grin tugged at his features. ?Nothing like that this time. I promise.?

She scanned his face for truth, and then nodded decisively. ?Fine. But don?t take too long, okay? We?re still leavin? tomorrow.?

He nodded and they left, walking through the tunnels below the Docks and into the afternoon sun, leaving Aran and Cormin to speak alone.


The fire crackled across the room, and Cormin felt its warmth on his still drying skin. He was clean. He never thought he?d be so grateful in his life just to be clean, but he was. His new black pants and tunic were soft and hardy, and the white shirt inside kept enough body heat trapped inside that he was comfortable. He wondered distractedly who had picked out the raiment. Whoever it was, he wasn?t sure whether he appreciated the rather obvious symbolism.

?I take it you were not successful in Bronislav?s quest,? Aran said at last.

Cormin startled. ?What gave you that impression?? the assassin demanded.

?Oh. So Bronislav betrayed you then,? Aran shook his head. ?I really should have known.?

The assassin walked forwards, closer to the Shadowmaster?s desk. ?That was what I told myself,? Cormin said dryly, taking a seat.

It was not a replay of the last time they had met like this. There was no protective entourage ready to shoot Cormin down this time. It was just the two men, and a guard lurking in the passageway outside.

?So, Cormin. Why have you stayed behind??

?Can you give me any information?? Cormin asked immediately. ?About Bronislav?s current state.?

?You mean to take revenge, don?t you?? Aran cocked his head. His blue-gray eyes studied Cormin intently.

Cormin nodded, and then a thought struck him. ?Well, that is, if you have no objections,? he said hesitantly.

Aran laughed. ?You?ll hear no objections from me. The Night Knives have been a thorn in my side for a while. It will be my pleasure to see you take them down.?

Cormin nodded again, this time in relief and acknowledgement. In response, the Shadowmaster?s face suddenly smoothed out into a wicked smile. ?I knew I was right. You do love her.?

The assassin rolled his eyes to cover his slight recoil. ?Can you give me any information?? Cormin repeated, deliberately ignoring him.

Aran cocked his head to the side, amusement still rippling over him. ?I have only kept a few men assessing the Night Knives situation, but from their most recent reports, they are already in a rather dire situation.?

Cormin?s ears pricked. That didn?t seem to match at all with the numbers of thieves he had seen in the hall both times he?d been there. Then again, the hall had been noticeably emptier the last time, but he?d brushed that aside, thinking perhaps they?d been sent on missions. ?How??

?Bodhi has not only affected the Shadow Thieves. Her vampires have been using the Night Knives as a food supply it seems? you yourself know that our Shadow Thieves are far better trained and less obvious in the night. From the report I received yesterday, it also seems that Bronislav actually used the bulk of his remaining thieves in the failed attack against Danika.?

?He wanted to kill her that badly,? Cormin said softly to himself, not even as a question. ?Why??

?There could be any number of factors,? Aran said. ?The fact that she was so closely aligned with us Shadow Thieves is probably a major one. The fact that she was closely aligned with you could be another.?

?Me?? he blinked. ?Why in the nine hells would that make Bronislav want to kill her??

Aran leaned back in his chair. ?When you vanished, the fortunes of the Night Knives took a massive downturn,? the Shadowmaster explained simply. ?They had already been treading on dangerous ground, but with you gone, they were nearly finished. They?ve had to fight to regain the strength they have now for the past thirty-two years. I doubt that Bronislav thought very kindly of you when you returned in the tow of a Bhaalspawn. From what I hear of him, he can be a very bitter man.?

?Indeed. Thank you.?

The Shadowmaster gazed into the shadows long after Cormin had gone, and then he laughed softly and continued with his work.

He had been right. Black and white really did suit him.

* * *

?I wouldn?t have shown my face in here again if I were you!?

Lavan?s voice hissed through the darkness, but Cormin did not even pause as he walked down the final step and into the firelight. His eyes roved the room, and some of the tension in his back disappeared. It seemed Aran?s reports had been correct. The massive table, at which Bronislav sat at the head, was less than a quarter full with thieves. Abandoned goblets and chairs were strewn over the hall. The remaining Night Knives huddeld together, close to their leader, despondency and grimness settled in their features. Where there had been loud raucous laughter and talking and noise, there was now a quiet hush that had been caused by Lavan?s words His eyes flicked over further empty spaces. So. Those who had died, had died. Those who were going to desert, had deserted. It was only the die-hard loyalists left now; those who would never stop until every last enemy of the Night Knives had been destroyed, and their organisation was rebuilt anew.

He smiled darkly, and his voice carried over the silence. ?But I am not you, Lavan. I never was, and I never will be.?

He continued forwards, stepping to one side when he heard someone spit in the darkness. The droplets narrowly missed him, but he continued undeterred. Saliva was not the bodily fluid he was looking for tonight. Only one thing would satisfy him, and everyone here knew what that was.

Finally, he was standing before Bronislav?s dais once more. It was different this time, from all the past times he had stood here. The head of the Night Knives stared at him through bloated and bloodshot eyes as he sat, sagged in the chair.

?Well, Cormin,? he did not force anything into his voice this time, and it sounded brittle and bare. ?So we meet once again.?

Cormin the Bloody kept smiling. ?As you knew we would? or perhaps not.?

The silence stretched between them. Then suddenly, the old, fat man contorted in his chair in a rage and sat up properly, throwing his finger out to stab accusingly at the air.

?You! You I will not underestimate again. I should have known this would happen! You weren?t content with bringing us down all those years ago, were you, when you left your task unfinished and our organisation to rot?!?

Cormin gazed at him implacably. ?No. You brought this upon yourself, Bronislav. Do not forget that now.?

Bronislav expelled a low, furious snarl. ?You dare. You dare??

?Yes. I dare,? Cormin stepped forward again, and he noted with an almost clinical pleasure that his former master actually flinched back. ?I took the bait and paid for it. Now it is your turn.?

?My turn?! I should have sent others out long ago to finish the job!? Lord Bronislav shook his head in disbelief, and then his piggish eyes hardened.

?Night Knives, attack!?

He had been waiting for this. Cormin smiled again, but it wasn?t pleasant. As the horde of thieves let out a piercing battle cry and rushed towards him, he reached into his pocket and brought forth a simple metallic sphere into view. Slowly, his lips moved. He spoke one word, and then felt it begin. Through the growing haze of white flame licking around him, he saw Bronislav?s eyes widen, and then tighten in fury and horror.

After that, it was all over quickly.


He left them where they lay and started up the tunnel again, extinguishing every torch as he passed it. No living thing needed that light now. Moving systematically upwards, he put one foot in front of the other until the secret opening back into the innocuous residence above ground was behind him.

He pressed the discarded halberd back into the suit of armour?s steely grip, and then stared at the closed expanse of wall in front of him now. Bronislav?s architect had been brilliant. There was no hint whatsoever of what lay beneath.

Cormin the Bloody briefly touched the rock once, before turning away. He knew what would happen. Someone would eventually realise the house was abandoned. It would take a year or so for somebody new to move in. Perhaps another month before someone began complaining about a strange, sickly smell. Another year before its source, or rather, sources, was found.

By then, Bronislav and his court of blood would be no more.

* * *

He had one more thing left to do.

The little gnome came out to greet him, his eyes tired and his face lined.

?It?s over, isn?t it??

Cormin nodded, once, and watched as tears of relief spilled down Haemish?s cheeks.

[Shadowhawke]

Chapter 29: When the Light comes?
(And finally... it's arrived.

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this, and all those who have taken the time to review. It means a lot to me that I've had so many people stay with me on this journey, and I hope every one of you has enjoyed it as much as I have, through all of the strange and dark times as well as the good.

This chapter is for me, and for all of you.)

All alone in the dark,
We sometimes wonder,
And think,
We are the only,
Ones there,
In the night.
* * *

The Copper Coronet was loud in her ears, but Danika decided that tonight, of all nights, she liked it that way. There had been silence in the Shadow Temple, before the very darkness seemed to splinter and attack them. There had been silence in the crypts, before the hisses of the sinuous undead woke their stone-stifled minds. Now, there was sound, and she revelled in it. Sound that wasn?t the screech of metal or the dull thud of weapons hitting flesh. Sound that wasn?t the screams of the dying. No, tonight there was laughter and some modicum of happiness, and she clung to that.

A smile lit her face as her eyes settled on Minsc and Aerie. The Rashemen and the Avariel sat together at the far corner of their table, conversing softly and taking turns in petting Boo. The hamster?s squeaks of appreciation and adoration made her smile even more. Damn, he was cute.

Her eyes turned to Yoshimo and Haer?Dalis. They looked so unlikely together; the shady Kara-Turan and the planar being, but just as a dark, upswept ponytail set off a mane of silver hair, the two played off each other, exchanging stories more outrageous than the last. There was a simple undercurrent between them, a casual camaraderie that she had never seen between the Bounty hunter and their resident assassin. That last thought faded the smile a little on her, as it brought her mind to another.

Jaheira had long ago pledged tiredness and the need to wash and clean. It was now over an hour since she?d seen the druidess, and Nika excused herself from the rest of her party with a crinkled brow. It wasn?t like her old friend, she thought, as she clunked wearily up the staircase. It wasn?t like her at all?

The instant she pushed open the door to their shared room, she knew something was wrong.


Jaheira sat on the bed, her eyes wide and vacant as they stared into the fire. Her hair was still wet and out of its normal braids and cornrows, and that was an oddity in itself. It tumbled over her back in a drying veil, but it did nothing to hide her strangely hunched posture. Her knees were cradled up to her chest, her arms locked around them, and in that instant, the woman Danika had always thought of as almost a mother, or at the very least a much older sister, looked like a child.

A single syllable dropped from her lips.

?Jah.?

Grief slowed the druidess? reactions, and so by the time she lifted her head to look, her ward was already across the room and her tiny arms were open and engulfing the older woman in their embrace. Jaheira had no time to think as she responded, fiercely clutching back, grasping at loose clothing like a lifeline and burying her face into Danika?s stomach. The Blade staggered slightly, unprepared for the ferocity of her reaction, but then straightened herself. Jaheira had done the same thing for her time and time again when she?d needed it? and now it was her turn to repay the favour.

Slowly, falteringly, the Bhaalspawn?s battle-calloused hands reached up and stroked through Jaheira?s hair. They fluttered down her back, unsure at first, and then with deep, long movements that offered a comforting contrast to Jaheira?s twitches as she jerked and breathed and choked back harsh sobs. They half-stood, half-sat like that for minutes, each second breaking over them like a wave, expanding, and then stealing back time. Finally, Jaheira stilled, and Nika felt the wetness seep into her tunic.

It was a long while before she spoke. ?My parents??

She stopped. She choked. Breathed. Forged forwards again. ?My parent were killed by an assassin.?

The words were muffled against Nika?s garments, and for a moment the druidess hoped that her charge hadn?t heard. But Danika felt them, moving slow and visceral from her belly, where Jaheira?s head rested, to her heart. Her grip on her friend tightened, and Jaheira felt an unexplained surge of comfort radiating through her skin at the touch.

?You know the bones of the tale. There was unrest in Tethyr. War. My parents? were nobles, important enough? to be killed.?

The fire crackled, and the night quieted its dance of sounds outside their window, as if in respect.

?I was at home that night, but no-one let me see. All I knew was? screaming. But it wasn?t even their voices. It was the servants, and then? before I could? understand? people had come to take me away.?

In the far, far distance, Nika heard armour clang as soldiers patrolled.

?They told me? little. Perhaps to spare my feelings, but they never understood it just made it worse. I imagined? and imagination can be worse than reality.?

Shadows clouded Nika?s mind, and she remembered a scarred face, an emotionless smile, and the cutting of pain into her flesh.

?Monsters. Dripping blood. Visions that came thick at night, and were worse, one after the other. I couldn?t sleep without dreaming. I couldn?t wake without remembering. Finally, it got so bad that one of the druids took pity on me.?

Nika didn?t think it was possible for her arms to hug her friend tighter, but apparently it was.

?One night, he woke me up and told me he was bringing me back to Tethyr. For a visit. We travelled a few days, and then we were back. Back where it all began.?

Nika thought of returning to Candlekeep, the horrors that had lain within, and felt a single shiver pass through her body.

?We made? enquiries. Or rather, I, a little girl, watched as he spoke.?

The druidess paused, her face still hidden, and took in a deep, tremulous breath.

?There wasn?t much left, but there was some information. It had been one assassin. Just one. And there was a name.?

Danika froze, and her mouth opened wordlessly to form the word No before the druidess spoke.

?Cormin? the Bloody.?

It was like a sigh, like a dirtied prayer, and Danika twisted around her. ?Jaheira??

Jaheira took one last second of solace, of comfort, in her charge?s embrace, and then pushed lightly back. Her face emerged, slightly puffy, still tear-streaked, but her eyes were strong and determined again.

?Don?t think it, Danika. Don?t even begin,? she ordered quietly. ?It nearly drove me mad as a child. Until I grew older, and when distance made the dreams grow less??

The breath was less trembled this time, and more sure. ?And I realised that it proved nothing. It meant nothing. The myth of Cormin the Bloody was at its highest around then. Assassinations everywhere were credited to his name, so much that it were impossible. One man, no matter how skilled in his art, cannot kill three people in the space of one night when they live in Tethyr, Luskan, and Baldur?s Gate respectively.?

Nika?s face was troubled. ?But perhaps they were right this time, perhaps he did??

?No,? Jaheira sat up, back straight and slender, posture proud. ?When I was older, much, much later, I made my own enquiries. I was already travelling with the Harpers, and things were much easier than I?d thought. Cormin? he had a valid alibi that placed him in Athkatla at that time. It wasn?t him.?

?But you still hate him.?

The druidess lifted her chin, looked into her charge?s eyes, and hardened her jaw.

?Whether he did it or not, his name has become synonymous in my mind with pain and the death of innocents. And for that, he deserves to suffer.?

Danika?s gaze became unreadable. ?A bath of blood, Jaheira??

She stiffened. ?A punishment to fit the crime. Do not think that it will end there, Danika. He has much left to pay. Much. And if you? insist on this course of idiocy, of letting him? accompany us, then he will continue to pay.?

?Judge, jury, and executioner,? the Bhaalspawn said softly. She turned her head to face the window, seeking out the stars. ?Is that fair, Jaheira??

The druidess leapt to her feet. ?Fair? You presume to tell me about? fairness and justice when you are the one letting him travel with us?!?

?I have no choice.?

She threw up her hands. ?Silvanus! I have just told you? told you more than I should have. More than I ever wanted to. You know now at least an inch of his bloody history, and you are still going to defend him??

Nika spun back sharply on her heel. ?How can I not?!? the Bhaalspawn shouted. ?Jaheira, I love you, dammit. Ever since I stumbled out of Candlekeep and into the Friendly Arm, the image of Gorion?s body still imprinted across my retinas, you?ve been there. You?ve? held me and? helped me, helped me lead, helped me grow and? and taught me to fight and to stand and to make sense of this stupid world I was thrust into. You fought by me and guided me against Bhaal and taught me to do what was right for the world and for the balance. You? Selune?s sake, you squeezed my shoulder and you understood when I woke up screaming. I love you like the mother I never had and the older sister that will never try to kill me for my father?s power. I love you because you never let me wallow in my pain, you never let me lose myself in what I am. And now, I?m begging you, I?m begging you to let me do the same.?

Jaheira stood, stock still. She licked her lips against the sudden dryness in her throat. ?What do you mean, child??

As abruptly as she?d moved to face her, Danika now moved back. The Bhaalspawn turned and gripped the wooden sill of the window overlooking the Slums, feeling splinters dig into her palm. ?You taught me to trust my instincts, Jaheira,? she said to the night. ?If Cormin was the elf you say he is, drowned so far in blood that he can never wade back to shore, than I?d have cast him out long ago. Not just for you, but for me too.?

A swallow. ?What do you mean?? she repeated.

She leaned on the sill, feeling her body sway slightly from tiredness and a numb exhaustion that matched the coldness of her tear-stained tunic. ?Cormin can kill. I know that. He?s rather good at it, too,? a hint of her lilted accent that had been strangely absent for a long while now crept back into her voice. ?He?s bloody good at it, actually. Logically, he?s the perfect ally against Irenicus.?

Disappointment shook Jaheira?s core. ?We?ve been over this, Danika.?

The Bard held up a hand. ?I?m not done yet,? she said softly. ?That?s the argument I?ve been telling myself for ages. But it?s only now, after what happened today, that I realise what that argument has been covering all along.?

Jaheira?s questions died on her lips as she saw an ancient look sweep across the youth of her charge?s face.

?I knelt in dust and stone today, and I washed off blood from his face with Holy Water. I watched rivulets of pink run down his skin? and I watched his eyes while it did.?

?What did you see??

Nika threw her head back, letting her hair fall across her shoulders and the moonlight fall across her face. ?I saw me,? she whispered. ?I saw my own eyes staring back at me. The Holy Water touched my hands as I rubbed away the blood? and I saw this? awful pain inside him. This pain that was? waking up, that was stirring. That was remembering all of the things he?d done, all of the blood he?d spilt??

She allowed herself a steadying breath, and it saved her.

?? and I saw how afraid he was that he could even be offered something as simple as hope, let alone redemption.?

Jaheira?s wordlesness softened her throat as Danika turned back, away from the night, to face her.

?We?re not that different, Cormin and I. He has the blood of hundreds? maybe even more, on his hands. But I have the blood of thousands on my soul.?

At Jaheira?s questioning gaze, Danika smiled, hollowly.

?Not just what I?ve done, and I?ve done things I?m not proud of. I?m talking about Bhaal.?

Pity swept over Jaheira like a sudden tsunami. ?Child? you cannot bear responsibility for what Bhaal and the other Bhaalspawn have done.?

The Blade shook her head, her face earnest against the backdrop of the moonlight. ?No, it?s not like that. The deaths are inside me, Jaheira. They run in my blood. I am the essence of murder, and each one gives me power. And I can?t help it, because it seems that no matter what I do, no matter how much I try, there?s always someone around the corner who I need to kill. And it?ll never stop. Not until I?m dust.?

An old, old sorrow pressed against Jaheira?s features. ?But what does that have to do with him??

A tiny smile, shedding barely enough sparks to light up her eyes, crossed her face.

?Because sometimes it?s hard, and I almost lose myself in the darkness even with all of you around me. But when I look at him, I know I?m not alone. And if he can try after all these years, after a century and more, to be better, to become something better? then so can I.?

Silence settled over them. Jaheira stared at her in the moonlight, and Nika met her gaze calmly back. But then, slowly, slowly, the two women relaxed as they realised that the silence was gentler now; rougher in its own way, but still gentler overall, and that whatever happened, it would be all right.

?So that?s it then,? Jaheira said, her normally strident voice almost a whisper. ?He will travel with us.?

A glimmer of half-amusement flickered in Danika?s eyes. ?Yes. But your importance to me has never been questioned. I?d? ask you to? I wouldn?t say get along, because I can understand what you told me before, and I can understand the power of dreams. But perhaps? maybe? if you could just stop pushing him into baths of blood??

Jaheira smiled at that; a crooked, strong, and beautiful smile. ?For you, my child, I can do that.?

* * *
But then,
When the light comes,
Turns on again, and illuminates?
We can see.
That we were surrounded by love,
Or what may be, can be love,
All the time
* * *

His steps sagged as he entered the Copper Coronet, for hopefully the final time in a long while. Nine Hells, he was tired. Bone-tired. But in a strange way. Because Haemish had offered him water, and he?d washed for the second time that day.

Cormin stepped and felt his body solidly around him. He was tired, but now, it was like there was a strange light inside of him as well. A light that he couldn?t explain, and wasn?t sure whether he wanted to. He frowned slightly at the thought, and then remembered why he was here. Casting his eyes around the patrons, he smiled when his gaze rested on a familiar figure.

And then he realised what he was doing.

Slowly, Cormin?s fingers reached up to touch his face. His trembling fingertips traced the curve of his lips, and he imagined it in his mind.

It wasn?t like he?d never smiled before. They?d been few and far between, but he knew that he had. No, it was different this time. His fingers finally reached the end of the curve and again, a pang of realisation shot through him.

There was no bitter twist. No sardonic curve at the last moment. No dark shadow under his lower lip. He was smiling, a true, gentle smile that held only happiness and hope as he stared at his leader, at this tiny Bhaalspawn he?d chosen to follow.

And he thought back to all the other paths he had taken. Following Shankshood. Following Grithwate. Following Bronislav.

This was by far the best choice he?d ever made. But it was more than that. It dawned on him, slowly, with the tremulous strength of Spring?s first kiss. As he looked at her, face tired but her eyes laughing, he felt as if was drowning. Drowning beneath the blackness of her midnight hair, drowning in what should have been so familiar to him ? the night. And yet, through her eyes, his entire world seemed to have shifted. The night was still full of blood and his past, but now it had her as well.

It was at that moment that she glanced up, and their gazes leapt across the barroom floor with a flurry of sparks. She leapt to her feet, and when he felt his heart thud once, painfully, in his chest, his denial finally succumbed to the wave of feelings inside him, and he knew that he loved her.

?Well finally!? she called out in greeting to him, her hands placed firmly on her hips. ?Took your bloody time, didn?t you??

He pushed the idiotic grin surfacing on his face to the very depths of his being. ?I am sorry, I just??

She didn?t seem to have heard him. ?We?re ready t? move!? she called out, a dancing shimmer of joy in her eyes. ?You?d better get some sleep, Cormin! We?re goin? at dawn tomorrow!? For Imoen!

He closed the distance between them, slowly, walking in a dream. The exuberance on her face faded to puzzlement at that strange look on his face, one that she couldn?t describe.

Danika lost for words was never a frequent occasion. She was a Bard, for Selune?s sake! But she had nothing to say as he moved ever closer, a light in his eyes that widened his gaze and made him look almost?

Handsome. She blinked. She had not just thought that. Besides, it wasn?t as if he weren?t handsome normally. In a deadly killer kind of way. Which she hadn?t noticed. There had been no noticing of any good looks on her part. Not at all. There hadn?t been any time between people trying to kill them, restraining herself from killing him, more people trying to kill them, and him restraining himself from killing her. Besides, even if he did have good looks, that didn?t mean anything. It certainly didn?t explain why her mouth was suddenly dry and the world was fading out around them, centred primarily on the assassin in front of her. It didn?t explain why she couldn?t seem to move, couldn?t seem to do anything except for stare at this dark mirror to her soul.

His sudden close proximity as he stepped forwards once more cut off the stream of ridiculous thoughts in her head. He halted, then, and gazed down at her. She swallowed and tried to figure out what was happening. Around them, the revelries continued, and no-one?s eyes were on them save for a furry hamster?s, a druidess?, and a surreptitious Kara-Turan?s.

He bent down, next to her ear, and her heart skipped a beat as she felt his warm breath against her skin.

?I don?t need sleep, I?ve just woken.?

And with those cryptic words, he pulled himself a chair and sat down amongst his? friends. There was uncomfortableness, there was wariness, there was even pure distrust and an unexplainable feeling of vitriol held back on the druidess? side, but at that moment he knew with a certainty it could be overcome.

Friends.

Danika blinked as he sat and then wordlessly followed suit, still feeling the pulse of electricity that she swore had hovered in the air for just a second.

He was still smiling, she realised. A gentle, soft smile that matched the light in his eyes. A smile that only reaffirmed her trust in him, and that made her heart sigh quietly in relief. Wordlessly, he matched her gaze, and they shared a moment of silent understanding.

Tomorrow would indeed be a new dawn.

THE END


... for now.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 09 March 2008 - 02:50 AM.