AN: With the support of Firilya, who's comments and emails keep me sane and Tasharene who keeps me safe from my own devices, grammatical and otherwise I have been able to finally accomplish the impossible… I have written a Baldur's Gate story. Finally. So without further adieu…
Mere Devotion
Chapter One "Sign of the Times"He had always lived with a certain amount of internal affliction embedded in him. It was ever-moving, always changing and yet never ceasing to calm its persistent torture on his small, wiry frame. He thought this was altogether natural… a by-product of life on Toril, a trait shared with all humanity.
It all changed, of course, when he had found outthat he was a part of something greater than himself, that he was a tool for the resurrection of evil in flesh and blood.
He had tried to run from his past… and then run from his future but eventually he ended up here… knowing this was the god's stop sign… knowing that this cage was a signal that he couldn't find anywhere…
"The pain will be passing… do not fret… you will most likely survive this 'procedure'."
He had never heard this voice before but he knew he would never forget its long, dragging, echoing pitch that commanded attention over all the hums and flares of the emulsion he was put in. He gritted his teeth as he pulled his arm back through the mixture he was lingering in and with a definitive motion swung at what he had assumed was a glass transom. He was wrong. Wave after wave shoot up his body and ran down his back and he felt his mind slowly slip back into blackness. With his last breath he cried out for the only person that ever seemed to almost understand him.
"…Imoen…"
XOXOXO
"Deo," there was a sudden tapping on the chamber door of his new room in his new home of Candlekeep… he wondered how long his welcome would be here. "May I come in?" A slightly raspy yet still quite young voice chimed.
He twisted the doorknob slowly and methodically, revealing the brown hair girl standing shrewd in front of it.
"Yeah, sure … what…"
"Whatever… I know. You are so predictable," the girl teased, "I'm Imoen. Gorion asked me to give you the Grand Tour of the place."
"I didn't ask for a tour…" Deo said as he blinked quickly.
"I think you should get that looked at," Imoen said, pointing at his eyes.
"They are fine… I've been this way my whole life… those that can see can't perceive anyway," Deo said, looking away from the girl.
"OH… I didn't know…"
"Of course not…" he said with a sense of sarcasm mixed in.
"No, no… it's just… I thought you were… well… I don't know," Imoen scratched the back of her head as she tried to think of a way to change the subject. "So, I heard that you were handy with a dagger."
Deo's face soured. "Who told you that?"
"Ah… no one in particular… it's just you kind of have a reputation… people that are famous blades for hire don't go unnoticed."
"I am not famous… I have killed a few people for gold but nothing amazing…"
"Your name is notorious up and down the Sword Coast…"
"Whatever… I'm tired… are you through?" Deo asked.
"Nope."
Deo ignored the comment. He turned away and sat in a chair pulling a book up to his nose. "You can let yourself out."
But I'm not even in, Imoen thought to herself. "What are you reading?" she asked, peering curiously into his room.
"It's in Elven… you wouldn't understand."
"So you're elven… that explains your green eyes."
"Half… elven, and what did you suspect… that I was some type of demon or something?"
"A little…"
"Thanks," Deo snapped with sarcasm all over it.
"I didn't mean… you know… I mean you've been here for a week and you never come out of your room. What would you suspect?"
"I'd suspect that I value my privacy." Deo shook his head.
"Well you've definitely come to the wrong place for that. Here, at Candlekeep, we're always scrying into each other business and, of course, sincegathering informationis my specialty… I know everything that goes around here," Imoen explained holding her head up slightly.
"That's good to know… so no girls after lights out, huh?"
"Unless it's me," Deo cracked a grin and the offhand comment. It was little and short-lived but Imoen caught it. Deo failed to admit that at the moment but he was slowly acknowledging that he had found a kindred spirit.
XOXOXO
The lights pierced into his eyes as he flickered them open.
"You have much untapped potential," the steel eyed mage said as he cast a cocktail of mid level spells over Deo's submerged body.
Deo put his hands up as a sign of defiance… he wasn't sure if it was his poor eyesight or the solution he was in but he couldn't see much of anything… not that he could see all that much in perfect light.
Feeling the pain of the spells pierce into his head… he started seeing flashes… glimpses into his life… parts he hated… watching his mother die of starvation… reliving everyone he killed to make enough gold to eat… and the worst was soon coming.
Gorion. He was the only father figure he had ever known and he watched him get killed at the hands of a man that claimed to be his own brother.
Sarevok… the thought of the name alone brought contempt into the face of Deo. After murdering his father, Sarevok explained their 'heritage' as Children of Bhaal… products of Times of Trouble. Of course, Sarevok soon found out never to piss off a trained killer that's adept at using magic as well.
"Do you even know the scope of your abilities?" Irenicus, the morbid mage said as he chanted more spells.
This is enough, Deo thought. He steadied himself and began to focus his mind… he listened closely to the sounds of his opponent's spell and something in him triggered as he quickly chanted a spell that countered the opposing mage's ones.
The dark eyed mage's lips curled as he saw his spell fizzle in dramatic fashion… smoke, stardust and sprinkles. Then, from seemingly nowhere a golem… at least three times the size of Deo, stomped in and informed the wizard that his "place of business" was under attack.
"They act sooner then I anticipated," is all he said as he cast a doorway spell and disappeared.
By Mystra's long locks, thought Deo, I swear he'd never leave.
Click. I heard a level released and the feeling of gravity started to overcome Deo at a moments notice.
"Come on, we gotta go," a voice all to familiar and yet much more different, more aged, more cosmopolitan cried out to him. Deo tried to focus his eyes but they couldn't make up the figure.
"Don't tell me you've already forgotten who I am. But what else should I have suspected…"
"Imoen?"
"The one and only… you look like crap by the way," she said, casting a spell to help dry the gunk off of him.
"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself. Where in the Nine Hells are we anyway?"
"You don't remember… we were captured shortly after starting our journey."
"There was this weird mage here…"
"Doing things to you… I know… he did the same to me. I think he wants something from us," Imoen said.
"I hope it ain't gold… cause he's in for a rude awakening," laughed Deo about the fact that the group together could hardly afford a cart or carriage to travel in.
"I doubt it was gold he was after… he wants something more priceless… something in our heads. Which feels like it on fire… it felt like he was trying to steal my memories."
"There's one thing neither of us have ever had stolen, huh."
"And would never want to, either… save yours Deo… I think they'd help me figure you out."
"And still it would be like putting a puzzle together with your feet," Deo laughed.
XOXOXO
Minsc, a wide framed ranger, with a set of strong arms and even stronger heart, was found and firmly 'convinced' to break out of his cage and along him there was his wise, 'space hamster' Boo…
Jaheira, a druid/ shape shifter of elven descent was also found near Deo. She was the wisest and most experienced of the bunch, although she had her faults as well. Now they were short of two companions to have their party complete again… Jaheira's beloved Khalid was still missing, as well as Deo's faithful but fun loving familiar Keiran, with its red eyes that shone over the ebony skin.
Deo was a scout. He'd been trained by the best to do this. What he lacked in pure vision he made up for in all his other senses. And right now he could smell something… something that wasn't right.
"Boo says, 'Slow feet give way to quick mind,'" Minsc announced as Deo startled to the danger he was sensing.
Jaheira shook her head, "Deo never listens. If he had then we'd never be in this type of mess."
"It's my fault too," Imoen said. "We should have rested so that I and Deo could prepare more spells."
"Do not beat yourself over the head," the druid said with a soft smile. "If any of us would have known this was going to happen then…"
"My sword would have stopped them dead in their tracks," Minsc said with an exaggerated swing of his blade.
A lightning-quick shadow flashed in front of them.
"What the hell was that?" Deo shouted.
Imoen screamed and let loose a fireball that ineptly exploded in a wall near Deo.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"Don't get snooty with me… if I was going to hit you… I would have hit you, mister."
"So I've advanced to a mister now…" Just as Deo made this comment, the shadowy creature jumped onto his shoulder and was quickly followed by a magical projectile from Imoen's shaking hands. The dexterous little shadow flipped out of the harm's way… Deo was not as lucky. Of course, it would have helped matters if Deo hadn't had barricaded himself behind a wall of wild energy… which unleashed it's wrath on Imoen who was now immobilized. A haunting, eerie laughter rolled across the room.
Deo smiled as a small amount of magic ran down his back. "Keiran, I had a feeling you were somewhere around here." The imp jumped onto the shoulder of the mage and point forward.
"I think he knows the way out," Minsc said.
Deo rolled his eyes and said, "Ya think."
XOXOXO
They turned the corner from a room that Imoen, Keiran and Deo de-trapped but they were still on edge and rightfully so…
"HEHEHEHEHE," they cried out their irritating war chant.
"More damn goblins… you'd think this guy was the Head of the Inter-kingdom Union of Brutish Goblinoid and other Non-Human Enforcers or something," Deo said as he disappeared into the shadows.
Minsc charged forward wielding a longsword that was still bloody from the last encounter and just started to hack away wildly. Jaheira took a more calculated approach as she cast a confusion cloud over a large group of them and started beating the dazed little buggers over the head with her quarterstaff. Imoen and Keiran, found themselves more effective behind the enemies than in front, so they had enough time to pinpoint their daggers into vital parts of the enemies. But they were all outnumbered by at least ten to one and were quickly being overrun…
Without the slightest inclination the room began to fill with a choking wind, silent but yet lethal. Everyone stopped fighting, goblin or not, and started fighting for their next breath. Everyone fell to the ground… save Deo, who was still hiding and holding his breath. The effect subsided as quickly as it came and Jaheira, the first one to catch her breath, crashed her staff against the head of the shadow-covered mage.
"What did I tell you about doing that?" she screamed.
"What?" Deo asked rubbing the bruise on his forehead.
"Casting your damn spells without giving us any warning…"
"They would know where I am… those spells take time to conjure and I…"
"And why don't you ever help the cause by… oh, let me think, fighting comes to mind," Jaheira said with her eyebrows furrowed.
"You know I can't fight… I don't even have a weapon…"
"And what was that I threw at you?"
Deo smiled a little as Imoen stood up. "Jaheira, he saved us… we would have gotten killed if it wasn't for him."
The druid threw her hands up. "Don't expect any healing spells from me."
Deo yawned, "I'm getting tired… that spell took a whole lot out of me."
"You're tired… you pompous little…""Now, now," Minsc said standing with his familiar in hand, "It is not Deo's fault that there were more goblins than blades."
Deo started preparing his spells as Jaheira looked at him, still filled with contempt. "I swear if the goblins don't kill us… or the evil mage around here somewhere… you'll probably do the job for them."
"I'll whistle," Deo said preparing his bedroll.
"What?"
"I'll whistle when I'm about to do your job…"
"Our job?"
"Yeah… your job. I track, scout, disarm traps, cast a few spells here and there and all you guys have to do is keep me safe," Deo said, leaning back.
"You're impossible… may Silvanus have mercy on you because I doubt I have much left."
XOXOXO
They had finally arrived to the next floor of the complex and after transmutating from a portal they were met with a quiet, yet powerful voice.
"Thank the Gods…" he cried after they had been fully materialized after a few seconds.
"Which Gods?" Deo asked without a flicker of emotion in his voice.
"I'm sorry?" the mysterious stranger ran his hand through his black hair.
"You said 'Thank the Gods'… which Gods should I be thinking of?"
"It's just a figure of speech…"
"And a figure of your imagination… and you might be?"
"I'm a famous bounty hunter from…"
"I don't really care."
"But you said…"
"It was a figure of speech."
"That's no way to talk to someone you've just meet," Jaheira said with a sour face.
"You trust this guy?" Deo asked.
"I haven't decided yet… but I do think he deserves a chance."
"He had one until I looked at him… swords shining and clean, his smug look… I bet he claims to have been held in here for months."
"Actually I have been."
"With no food or water… I seriously doubt it… unless you are working for these people."
"People?"
"Yeah, are you for us or against us?" Deo said with his green eyes squinted.
"For you," he said with no hesitation.
"Out of convince or necessity?"
"Ah… both really."
"Really."
"Yeah."
"What would you say if I told you that I didn't like the cut of your gem?"
"I'd say you were paranoid…"
"And rightfully so… I have many people who would pay a handsome price to see my body six feet under."
"Oh."
"Oh," Deo clenched his fists. "That's all you have to say for yourself… oh. Get the hell out of my sight."
"Huh?"
"Go away… don't look back, run fast and I might not come after you."
"Why?"
"I hate your kind… I hate you… and most of all I don't trust you."
The dark haired guy took this as a 'You're not welcome into our party,' message, so he turned and walked away. He sheathed his swords and slowly reached out for the door handle...
"We need all the aid that we.." Imoen began to say but was interrupted by the large acid ball launched from Deo's hands that collided into the hunter's back.
"D.T.A." Deo said, looking coldly ahead at the skeletal remains of the man with his hand still clutching the door. "Don't trust anybody." Just as the bones crumbled, a large orange orb floated over the decaying mound.
"What is that?" Minsc asked.
"It is... an enchantment of some type," Jaheira said calmly as she stared at the orb.
Deo poked it with the staff and it burst into little bubbles of orange magic and began to float away. "It's a quest spell of some type... he must have been forced into getting someone or something… bounty hunters are weak beings. I suppose now he can't do it."
"What in the Nine Hells is wrong with you?" Jaheira said with more than venom in her voice.
"I'm just trying to stay alive," Deo said, raising his hands up.
"At the price of everyone around you."
"You want me to go on my own," Deo said matter-of-factly.
"No, I want you to think before you do something you'll regret…"
"I don't feel regret…"
"And neither did Sarevok," Jaheira's voice echoed of every surface in the hallway.
"Leave die dogs lie…""Why?" Jaheira continued her verbal assault. "Because it doesn't feel good to be reminded of your heritage? Or does it hurt to think about all the things that Gorion had taught you, the things you are gradually betraying… honor, duty… self- control."
"I don't need a lecture…" Deo walked past the druid slowly.
Minsc, still standing near the portal, said, "Aye, I think you might. Killing for the sake of killing is not the way of the warrior, Boo says."
"Tell Boo to choke on a sunflower seed," Deo said, getting a stern squeak and a tongue sticking in his direction in reply from the rodent.
Imoen grabbed Deo's shivering hands and looked into his strict, green eyes. "Deo, let's get out of the place…" she pleaded. "It's making all of us crazy."
"Yes," Minsc said. "I agree with the little thieving mageling."
Jaheira grinned at the two old friends holding hands and said. "Which one?" she teased at the irony.
Minsc thought for a second and replied, "The female one with the brown hair."
XOXOXO
Deo found him first… he wasn't sure if it was all of him but he was sure of who it was. He sighed heavily before calling the party forward to see the scene.
"I've found something," was all he could get out.
"That is… not good," Minsc said, shaking his head.
Jaheira's mouth hung agape… it looked as if she was screaming but no sounds were coming out of her mouth. Then came the tears, like the Sword Coast rain… unending. After what seemed like an eternity of tears, the first sound came out. A mere whisper.
"…Khalid…"
"Perhaps we can revive him," Deo said, looking through his pack that tended to be filled with all kinds of knick-knacks but their "host" made sure to keep them safe.
"It would be fruitless," Jaheira explained gravely. "He is too far gone and his body is… just look at it."
Minsc kicked something that started a chain reaction of chaos in the room that ended in Keiran nearly being impaled. "I will gut whoever did this like a cheap market fish."
"He did this," Imoen explained with a glare in her eyes. "He showed me… I didn't believe… no one could suffer so much before they died. I guess I was mistaken… look at him. Peace, but at what cost…"
"Stop child," Jaheira demanded.
"I never knew why I was so fascinated with necromancy…" Imoen said, slowly looking around the room.
"Are you feeling well?" Minsc asked.
"But now I know that it's not the control of the dead that I was interested in… it was the death itself…"
"Silence her, Deo, " Jaheira pleaded. Deo stood still and seemed to be interested… not entertained, but wishing to be informed.
"He told me the death is meaningless if there is no agony… no strife… no pain. That is what death is… Khalid experienced all that and more…" Quickly, Deo lifted his left hand up and caused Imoen to become mute.
Jaheira leaned over and burying her face in her hands to hide the tears she said, "Let us leave now, Silvanus' blessing obviously is not here."
XOXOXO
They quickly climbed up the steps. The steps to freedom… to the light of the day, not knowing what was to come and not knowing if they were still within the grasp of the mage.
"Boo and I cannot wait to take a bath," Minsc said as he shoved the heavy door open. Jaheira chuckled, knowing that she had thought more than once that he needed a little lather and water.
Deo shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he said "I cannot wait to…" Then he heard it... and smelled it. A battle was raging… "Crap."