This tale begins in the city of Athkatla in the world of Faerun.
Athkatla is home to every type of hero and villain known to the world. Here
is where the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart has their Stronghold,
sending their paladins and clerics to the corners of the world. This is
also home to the Shadow Thieves. This guild of thieves runs the black
market that sweeps the world from the far reaches of Neverwinter, to the
southern empire of Amn. However, Athkatla is home to much more then
mortals. The Undead control the graveyards of this town. At night one can
see skeletal beings rising from the dirt to do the biddings of their
necromancer masters. In the areas around the graveyards, rumors circulate
of a new vampire keep within the depths of the numerous crypts in the town.
This is a town that has seen this type of thing before. Five years prior, a
group of vampires had taken control of the crypts of Athkatla and began
summoning the dead to do their evil wishes. A group of mercenaries, led by
a fierce Bhaalspawn named Arek, slaughtered what they thought to be all of
the vampires. At the same time, the Shadow Thieves tried to use Arek to
take control of the town. Now, five years later, Arek has returned to
Athkatla. He is no longer just another mercenary. He has become a demy-God,
the new Lord of Murder. He is an Undead Hunter Paladin for the Order of the
Radiant Heart. In his company are his half brother Tavion, a Dragon Slayer,
Minsc, a Berserker Ranger/Thief, as well as Keara, Victoria and Valerine,
three of the best mages known through the realm of Amn. Arek, Tavion and
Minsc, all followers of the Rashemar Ranger Code, have sworn to protect
these mages, even willing to sacrifice themselves to keep them safe. The
beginning of this tale places the group at the Paladin Stronghold in the
Temple district of Athkatla..
Three men are standing in the road, looking at a statue in front of a massive building. Arek and his company have arrived at the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. Arek is a tall man, reaching 6'3" with a muscular build. He has short, fiery red hair with stunningly green eyes. Upon seeing the statue of Helm, the Order's God, Arek smiles to himself. He turns to Minsc saying "Ahh, the Stronghold. Feels weird to be back here doesn't it Minsc, especially after our previous adventures within this city."
"Aye, that it does Arek, that it does," replied Minsc. Minsc, reaching 6'6" has an overly muscular build to him. His bald head is decorated with strange tattoos from his homeland with dark brown eyes that have been trained to find every detail in any environment. Minsc then pulls out his hamster companion, Boo. "Don't you think so too, oh mighty Boo?" Minsc is a weird companion. Arek and the rest of the group believe he was hit to many times on the head as a young ranger and is suffering from it. He seems to believe that his hamster, Boo, is from a distant world.
Tavion joins with Arek by the statue. Tavion is Arek's brother and is likewise 6'3" with a muscular build. He, however, has brown hair and matching eyes. Tavion says to his brother, "So Arek, are we going to stand here reminiscing all day, or are we going to go in and meet up with the mages that we are supposed to be protecting?"
"Sorry Tavion, you are right. We should find these mages and take them begin our escort. I just wonder why the Order wants me to do it; I thought that they had revoked my Paladin hood after the Bhaalspawn trouble."
"Well, why are we waiting around here for, let's go find out for ourselves." Tavion heads for the entrance. When he opens the grand oak doors, he stands in awe at the site before him. A gold walled entrance hall waits before him, the gold reflecting the candles burning in the grand chandelier over head.
"Pretty impressive, isn't it brother?" Arek smiles at his younger brothers gaping jaw. Minsc on the other hand is looking at a painting of a muscle ripped warrior. He laughs loudly, but then stops when he notices Arek and Tavion looking strangely at him. "What is so funny about that, Minsc?" asks Arek.
"I just think that this man is a wimp when compared to the power of Boo." He holds Boo up to the painting, "Don't you think so too?"
"Err; right, yes, Boo is much more powerful. But we can talk about this another time; we have an appointment to meet with the Paladin Lords." Arek walks through the entrance hall and in to a grand lobby full of Paladins and Squires, hurrying about the hall to continue with the daily training routines. Arek, Tavion and Minsc walk to another set of double oak doors. "Well, this is it," Arek says as he walks through the doors in to a grand office filled with five gem-encrusted thrones. In these seats sit five battle hardened men, each the bearer of a great many battle scars across their features.
The Paladin seated at the middle chair stands up as he greets the trio. "Greetings Arek, I am Hrothgar. We have met before, although I was just an ordinary Paladin then. In the last five years, I have risen up to become the leader of the Order. I am sure that you have many questions on your mind, but I think I can answer a few of them without you asking. First and foremost, you are thinking that you had been stripped of you Paladin hood. Well, in light of what happened five years ago, a companion of yours, Sir Anomen, has spoken on your behalf and we have decided that to take away your Paladin hood would be a terrible loss to the Order." At these words, Arek's mood lightened. He had not seen nor heard from Anomen in five years, right after the end of the Bhaalspawn crisis. "Secondly," Hrothgar continued, "we haven't had the need to call on you because we know that the fate you chose for yourself has kept you quite busy; as well as the fact that there hasn't been any major crisis in the realm until now. And the last question to answer is, 'what are you doing here?' To answer that, I would like you to meet Victoria, Valerine, and Keara. They are three of the more powerful witches in Amn. They have been given the task of seeking out three different Shadow Thief guilds and putting a stop to their black market deals. We need you and your companions to protect them while they carry out their business. We have been following your travels and noticed that you have all taken up the Rashemar Ranger Code, so this should fulfill that code of honor. Do you accept this task that has been given to you?"
"If you'd give me a few moments to talk it over with my companions Hrothgar, I'll see what they think and then let you know."
"Take as much time as you need. When you have reached a decision, speak to Sir Hauk outside this hall and he will gather the other lords."
"My thanks, Sir Hrothgar." Arek leaves the hall, followed by Tavion and Minsc. They go off to a corner of the Great Hall and confer with one another. "So what do you think about this Tavion?"
"I think that we should accept this mission. After all, with what you told me about your dealings with the Shadow Thieves, I figured you would have said 'yes' from the get go."
"And you Minsc? What do you think we should do?"
"Boo and I would love to take on this mission. It would be just like having a witch again. This time I won't fail like I.failed.Dynheir.*sniff sniff*."
"Alright, well that settles it; we are going to take on this mission. Maybe now I can finally feel right in doing some mercenary work. Five years is a long time to have people ignoring you." Arek heads over to Sir Hauk. "We have reached a decision. We'd like to speak with the other lords." Sir Hauk walks back into the throne room while Arek, Tavion and Minsc follow him inside. Sirs Keldorn, Hauk, Arcexes, Augustus, and Hrothgar are waiting.
Hrothgar stands and addresses Arek, "So have you reached a decision."
"Yes we have Sir Hrothgar. We accept this mission and we will do everything in our power to protect the mages while they go about their task."
"Good. Sir Hauk, please bring the mages in." Sir Hauk goes off to an attaché chamber. He returns shortly followed by three stunningly beautiful women, all of medium heights between 5'5" and 5'9" The lead mage, Victoria, has dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The middle of the three, Keara, has dark red hair and hazel eyes. The third, Valerine, has blonde hair and blue eyes. They carry a sense of power with them and upon further inspection, Arek realizes that they are all wearing Elfish Mage armor, armor granted to only those mages who have done a great service to the Elf lords. That armor is as strong as Minsc's Blue Dragon Scale armor, or even Tavion's Red Dragon Scale armor, though nothing was as strong as his own Silver Dragon Scale armor. "Arek, may I present you to Victoria, Valerine and Keara. They are the mages that you will be escorting throughout Amn as they go to accomplish their tasks. Victoria is a mage that specializes in the physical aspects of magic, such as casting elemental spells or polymorphing spells as well as Haste and Invisibility. Keara specializes in the conjuration of beings, such as monsters or animals. And Valerine specializes in healing magic's, though she also is good with spells used in thievery, such as Knock or Detect Traps. Not to mention they all know Identity spells, should you need them during your travels. Since you and your brother Tavion are both Paladins, you have the special abilities that apply to your classes, and Minsc has his ranger abilities. So now that you have a background about the people you will be traveling with, I ask that you get prepared and depart immediately, you have much to uncover about the dealings of the Shadow Thieves."
"It shall be as you ask, Sir Hrothgar," Arek replies as he turns on his heel and walks swiftly from the room, followed closely by Tavion and Minsc, then by Victoria, Keara and Valerine. They make their way out of the Order's stronghold and once outside, Arek makes his way to an unfriendly part of Athkatla, the Slum district. Here one can find the infamous Copper Coronet. Arek leads the group inside and then finds a table. "Well, I figured that we should get a little better acquainted before we begin our journey. I am Arek. If you have never heard of me before, and I must ask where you have been if you have not heard of me, then I will give you a brief history of my life. I am a Bhaalspawn, though not just any spawn. I have taken over as the God of Murder. Why am I trusted so much by the Order? That is simple. I was the only spawn of Bhaal that wasn't trying to become a god. Tavion here just recently found out about his heritage. I've killed my brothers and sisters who tried to become Bhaal. I only accepted the God hood because I felt that I could help bring calm to this world. That is all you need to know, though if you want to know more, just ask me." Arek then sat down and looked to his brother to speak next.
"I am Tavion and as Arek said, I am his brother. After the Time of Troubles, Arek found me and told me what I was. I had no idea until then that I was a Bhaalspawn. I am a dragon slayer and also a Paladin to the Order of the Radiant Heart. I have been traveling with my brother for four years and I have seen and learned much about this world in my duties as a Paladin." Tavion then sits down just as Minsc stands up.
"I am Minsc. I am a Rashemar ranger. I met Arek six years ago down in the mining village of Nashkel. He helped me rescue my witch Dynheir from a stronghold of knolls and I have been traveling with him since. He and his brother have been accepted by my Rashemar clan and are considered my brothers. Oh, and this is Boo," holding up the hamster, "He is a strong creature who has helped Arek and I kill many terrible creatures." He sits down and pets Boo on the head. Arek then stands back up.
"Well, would the three of you like to introduce yourselves?" He looks around at the mages sitting at the table. Valerine is the first to stand up.
"I am Valerine. I am a mage that specializes in healing spells as well as thievery spells. I have been a mage for six years now and I actually met Arek in Beregost, or saw him rather. I was at the top of my class in the magician school in Tethyr." Valerine sits down as Keara rises.
"I am Keara. I specialize in the conjuration of beings. Many think that I should be considered a cleric, but I have many abilities that the clerics do not have. I have been a mage now for eight years, also at the top of my class in the magician school in Candlekeep." She sits down. Finally, the last mage rises. She is the most beautiful women that Arek has ever seen. And there is a sense of power around her that greatly intrigues Arek.
"I am Victoria. I specialize in the control of the physical aspects of magic. I have been a mage for almost ten years now, and I was taught by Elminister himself. I have great control and respect for the magic that I use. One thing that neither of my colleagues mentioned is that we are all respected by the Elves. We have fought with them against the Drow, even protecting Suldenesalar from the invading Drow. This is why we have the Elfish Mage armor." She sits down. Arek once again stands up to address the group.
"Well now that we all know each other, I think that it is fitting to toast to the success of our mission. To fair travels and sturdy steel." Arek raises his glass in toast then takes a long swig of his Dragonbreath Ale.
"Here, here!" Minsc yells. By now he is already drunk and the group laughs as they notice that Boo is stumbling around the table. They continue to laugh and talk until finally calling it a night. As Arek finally heads toward his room, he smiles, relishing in the feeling of traveling with a group once again.
Three men are standing in the road, looking at a statue in front of a massive building. Arek and his company have arrived at the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. Arek is a tall man, reaching 6'3" with a muscular build. He has short, fiery red hair with stunningly green eyes. Upon seeing the statue of Helm, the Order's God, Arek smiles to himself. He turns to Minsc saying "Ahh, the Stronghold. Feels weird to be back here doesn't it Minsc, especially after our previous adventures within this city."
"Aye, that it does Arek, that it does," replied Minsc. Minsc, reaching 6'6" has an overly muscular build to him. His bald head is decorated with strange tattoos from his homeland with dark brown eyes that have been trained to find every detail in any environment. Minsc then pulls out his hamster companion, Boo. "Don't you think so too, oh mighty Boo?" Minsc is a weird companion. Arek and the rest of the group believe he was hit to many times on the head as a young ranger and is suffering from it. He seems to believe that his hamster, Boo, is from a distant world.
Tavion joins with Arek by the statue. Tavion is Arek's brother and is likewise 6'3" with a muscular build. He, however, has brown hair and matching eyes. Tavion says to his brother, "So Arek, are we going to stand here reminiscing all day, or are we going to go in and meet up with the mages that we are supposed to be protecting?"
"Sorry Tavion, you are right. We should find these mages and take them begin our escort. I just wonder why the Order wants me to do it; I thought that they had revoked my Paladin hood after the Bhaalspawn trouble."
"Well, why are we waiting around here for, let's go find out for ourselves." Tavion heads for the entrance. When he opens the grand oak doors, he stands in awe at the site before him. A gold walled entrance hall waits before him, the gold reflecting the candles burning in the grand chandelier over head.
"Pretty impressive, isn't it brother?" Arek smiles at his younger brothers gaping jaw. Minsc on the other hand is looking at a painting of a muscle ripped warrior. He laughs loudly, but then stops when he notices Arek and Tavion looking strangely at him. "What is so funny about that, Minsc?" asks Arek.
"I just think that this man is a wimp when compared to the power of Boo." He holds Boo up to the painting, "Don't you think so too?"
"Err; right, yes, Boo is much more powerful. But we can talk about this another time; we have an appointment to meet with the Paladin Lords." Arek walks through the entrance hall and in to a grand lobby full of Paladins and Squires, hurrying about the hall to continue with the daily training routines. Arek, Tavion and Minsc walk to another set of double oak doors. "Well, this is it," Arek says as he walks through the doors in to a grand office filled with five gem-encrusted thrones. In these seats sit five battle hardened men, each the bearer of a great many battle scars across their features.
The Paladin seated at the middle chair stands up as he greets the trio. "Greetings Arek, I am Hrothgar. We have met before, although I was just an ordinary Paladin then. In the last five years, I have risen up to become the leader of the Order. I am sure that you have many questions on your mind, but I think I can answer a few of them without you asking. First and foremost, you are thinking that you had been stripped of you Paladin hood. Well, in light of what happened five years ago, a companion of yours, Sir Anomen, has spoken on your behalf and we have decided that to take away your Paladin hood would be a terrible loss to the Order." At these words, Arek's mood lightened. He had not seen nor heard from Anomen in five years, right after the end of the Bhaalspawn crisis. "Secondly," Hrothgar continued, "we haven't had the need to call on you because we know that the fate you chose for yourself has kept you quite busy; as well as the fact that there hasn't been any major crisis in the realm until now. And the last question to answer is, 'what are you doing here?' To answer that, I would like you to meet Victoria, Valerine, and Keara. They are three of the more powerful witches in Amn. They have been given the task of seeking out three different Shadow Thief guilds and putting a stop to their black market deals. We need you and your companions to protect them while they carry out their business. We have been following your travels and noticed that you have all taken up the Rashemar Ranger Code, so this should fulfill that code of honor. Do you accept this task that has been given to you?"
"If you'd give me a few moments to talk it over with my companions Hrothgar, I'll see what they think and then let you know."
"Take as much time as you need. When you have reached a decision, speak to Sir Hauk outside this hall and he will gather the other lords."
"My thanks, Sir Hrothgar." Arek leaves the hall, followed by Tavion and Minsc. They go off to a corner of the Great Hall and confer with one another. "So what do you think about this Tavion?"
"I think that we should accept this mission. After all, with what you told me about your dealings with the Shadow Thieves, I figured you would have said 'yes' from the get go."
"And you Minsc? What do you think we should do?"
"Boo and I would love to take on this mission. It would be just like having a witch again. This time I won't fail like I.failed.Dynheir.*sniff sniff*."
"Alright, well that settles it; we are going to take on this mission. Maybe now I can finally feel right in doing some mercenary work. Five years is a long time to have people ignoring you." Arek heads over to Sir Hauk. "We have reached a decision. We'd like to speak with the other lords." Sir Hauk walks back into the throne room while Arek, Tavion and Minsc follow him inside. Sirs Keldorn, Hauk, Arcexes, Augustus, and Hrothgar are waiting.
Hrothgar stands and addresses Arek, "So have you reached a decision."
"Yes we have Sir Hrothgar. We accept this mission and we will do everything in our power to protect the mages while they go about their task."
"Good. Sir Hauk, please bring the mages in." Sir Hauk goes off to an attaché chamber. He returns shortly followed by three stunningly beautiful women, all of medium heights between 5'5" and 5'9" The lead mage, Victoria, has dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The middle of the three, Keara, has dark red hair and hazel eyes. The third, Valerine, has blonde hair and blue eyes. They carry a sense of power with them and upon further inspection, Arek realizes that they are all wearing Elfish Mage armor, armor granted to only those mages who have done a great service to the Elf lords. That armor is as strong as Minsc's Blue Dragon Scale armor, or even Tavion's Red Dragon Scale armor, though nothing was as strong as his own Silver Dragon Scale armor. "Arek, may I present you to Victoria, Valerine and Keara. They are the mages that you will be escorting throughout Amn as they go to accomplish their tasks. Victoria is a mage that specializes in the physical aspects of magic, such as casting elemental spells or polymorphing spells as well as Haste and Invisibility. Keara specializes in the conjuration of beings, such as monsters or animals. And Valerine specializes in healing magic's, though she also is good with spells used in thievery, such as Knock or Detect Traps. Not to mention they all know Identity spells, should you need them during your travels. Since you and your brother Tavion are both Paladins, you have the special abilities that apply to your classes, and Minsc has his ranger abilities. So now that you have a background about the people you will be traveling with, I ask that you get prepared and depart immediately, you have much to uncover about the dealings of the Shadow Thieves."
"It shall be as you ask, Sir Hrothgar," Arek replies as he turns on his heel and walks swiftly from the room, followed closely by Tavion and Minsc, then by Victoria, Keara and Valerine. They make their way out of the Order's stronghold and once outside, Arek makes his way to an unfriendly part of Athkatla, the Slum district. Here one can find the infamous Copper Coronet. Arek leads the group inside and then finds a table. "Well, I figured that we should get a little better acquainted before we begin our journey. I am Arek. If you have never heard of me before, and I must ask where you have been if you have not heard of me, then I will give you a brief history of my life. I am a Bhaalspawn, though not just any spawn. I have taken over as the God of Murder. Why am I trusted so much by the Order? That is simple. I was the only spawn of Bhaal that wasn't trying to become a god. Tavion here just recently found out about his heritage. I've killed my brothers and sisters who tried to become Bhaal. I only accepted the God hood because I felt that I could help bring calm to this world. That is all you need to know, though if you want to know more, just ask me." Arek then sat down and looked to his brother to speak next.
"I am Tavion and as Arek said, I am his brother. After the Time of Troubles, Arek found me and told me what I was. I had no idea until then that I was a Bhaalspawn. I am a dragon slayer and also a Paladin to the Order of the Radiant Heart. I have been traveling with my brother for four years and I have seen and learned much about this world in my duties as a Paladin." Tavion then sits down just as Minsc stands up.
"I am Minsc. I am a Rashemar ranger. I met Arek six years ago down in the mining village of Nashkel. He helped me rescue my witch Dynheir from a stronghold of knolls and I have been traveling with him since. He and his brother have been accepted by my Rashemar clan and are considered my brothers. Oh, and this is Boo," holding up the hamster, "He is a strong creature who has helped Arek and I kill many terrible creatures." He sits down and pets Boo on the head. Arek then stands back up.
"Well, would the three of you like to introduce yourselves?" He looks around at the mages sitting at the table. Valerine is the first to stand up.
"I am Valerine. I am a mage that specializes in healing spells as well as thievery spells. I have been a mage for six years now and I actually met Arek in Beregost, or saw him rather. I was at the top of my class in the magician school in Tethyr." Valerine sits down as Keara rises.
"I am Keara. I specialize in the conjuration of beings. Many think that I should be considered a cleric, but I have many abilities that the clerics do not have. I have been a mage now for eight years, also at the top of my class in the magician school in Candlekeep." She sits down. Finally, the last mage rises. She is the most beautiful women that Arek has ever seen. And there is a sense of power around her that greatly intrigues Arek.
"I am Victoria. I specialize in the control of the physical aspects of magic. I have been a mage for almost ten years now, and I was taught by Elminister himself. I have great control and respect for the magic that I use. One thing that neither of my colleagues mentioned is that we are all respected by the Elves. We have fought with them against the Drow, even protecting Suldenesalar from the invading Drow. This is why we have the Elfish Mage armor." She sits down. Arek once again stands up to address the group.
"Well now that we all know each other, I think that it is fitting to toast to the success of our mission. To fair travels and sturdy steel." Arek raises his glass in toast then takes a long swig of his Dragonbreath Ale.
"Here, here!" Minsc yells. By now he is already drunk and the group laughs as they notice that Boo is stumbling around the table. They continue to laugh and talk until finally calling it a night. As Arek finally heads toward his room, he smiles, relishing in the feeling of traveling with a group once again.