The Betrayer's Mask: A tale of love, woe and revelation in which Bishop survives the encounter with the King of Shadows and goes in search of our hero…
© SuperUnexpected Girl
Author's note: This story in general is based on the premise that Bishop survives and rejoins our hero, competing with Gann for her affections. I always loved Bishop in the original campaign but also quite liked Gann in Mask of the Betrayer, so decided to join them up in a kind of love triangle ;) I've skipped parts of the story, situating the action within the narrative of Mask of the Betrayer, but concentrating on the relationships between the hero, Gann and Bishop. Obviously anyone who's played the game will understand ;) I used some of the text files from Mask of the Betrayer in order to get the dialogue, so parts of the dialogue, and in particular the voice over where Bishop is imprisoned in the Wall of the Faithless, are from the original game.
Sennah T'sha'balala is a human rogue and shadowdancer. One of the best. Slight and fleet-footed, she can do acrobatics, contort and get into tight spots most people wouldn't even dream of – but suddenly she has to put aside her rebellious nature and disdain of authority to battle the King of Shadows. And when that battle is over? What of her companions and the people she has loved along the way…? And what will happen when new ones come into her life, that force her to re-evaluate her feelings and face her true nature?
The Betrayer's Mask
CHAPTER 1
© SuperUnexpected Girl
When Bishop walked away, I thought my heart was going to tear apart, and not because of the damn shard in my chest. The problem of course lay in the fact that I couldn't concentrate on feeling lost and hurt, I had to attend to the matter at hand… the gods-damned King of Shadows… So I pushed the pain aside, and focussed on not dying… And yet, once that was over, and the temple was crashing down around me, companions calling to me, blood rushing in my ears, all I could think was that I hoped Bishop had got out in time… the bastard betrayed me. Set me up to die, and then just walked away. He was an arrogant, self-centred traitor. And gods I loved him.
And I woke up… not in the death god's halls, although in retrospect I'm uncertain as to whether or not that would have been a blessing or a curse, but in a spirit barrow surrounded by stones, the air heavy with the presence of spirits and a strange feeling of emptiness inside me. An emptiness that had nothing to do with the experiences of the past few weeks, and the love I had found and then lost in unexpected places. An emptiness that burned…
"Are you alright?" I struggle to focus on the voice, the pain in my body vicious. I open my eyes to a bald-headed, tattooed, red-robed wizard standing before me. "My mother sent me here to get you, we must move, it isn't safe. Oh, I'm Safiya by the way."
"I'm Sennah," I say warily. "You're a red wizard. Of Thay."
"Indeed, but let us not dwell on that fact. I'll be more than willing to answer your questions after we get out of here." She looks vaguely uncomfortable, and through the haze I dredge my memory for knowledge of the red wizards, remembering that they have a reputation for being rather bloody and vicious. This doesn't make me feel particularly comfortable, but it's not like I have another option at this point. "So is that where I am then? Thay? That's a long way from the Sword Coast…"
"Well actually you're in Rasheman, and they don't like my kind here, but as I'm here at a request… well, anyway, we'll discuss that later. Now we need to go." She starts walking away from me, not looking back to see if I'm following.
I stumble after her, attempting to focus on getting out, and trying a little too hard to not think about the events of the past few weeks that swirl through my mind like fog, settling maliciously in the crevices… and how I got here. Actually, that's a good point… How did I get here? I try to think back, try to force my memory into action. I remember clearly Aldanon transporting us to the temple… to fight the King of Shadows… The Sword of Gith, the shard… the shard! My heart jumps and I place my hand on my chest and look down at my scar. Oh gods, it appears to have been cut open! The raised line that ran down my chest used to be white and faded - Now it's an angry red, healing and raw. I dredge my memory frantically trying to figure out what happened, but come up blank. I have a vague recollection of white and red robes (red robes? I glance curiously at the wizard walking ahead of me), but nothing beyond that. Shit. Actually I want to mutter a few words a hell of a lot worse than that, but restrain myself in the presence of this new companion. Who knows, perhaps she's like Casavir and takes offence to expletives. Casavir… I smile at the thought of the paladin's self-righteous indignation, but then the first flicker of pain begins in my heart, and I have to stop and breathe for a moment.
"Is something wrong?" Safiya looks at me anxiously. "The spirits know we're here now, we must keep moving quickly if we are to avoid them." She talks quickly, nervously and I get the feeling that this is uncharacteristic behaviour for her. "Do you need healing? My magic is normally suited to more… ah… aggressive arts, but I can perform a few healing spells if needs be."
I smile at her weakly, forcing my face into a mask of emotion I don't feel. "Thanks, but I'm ok. We can move on." Yes. I'm ok. As long as I don't think about them too much. Of course that's exactly what my mind starts to do, trying to remember and put the pieces together. I take a deep breath. Damn… I'm going to have to do this now or it will drive me crazy. I exhale slowly, trying to regulate my breathing and stop my heart racing. Start from the beginning, Sennah, I tell myself. Ok, West Harbor, finding the shard, Khelgar, Neeshka, and Elanee. Then Neverwinter, Old Owl Well, Crossroad Keep, Jerro's Haven. There was so much… My heart starts to contract painfully at the thought of all the people who died because of me – all the people I'd come to care for. Casavir, Qara, Grobnar, Shandra, Zhjaeve and Ammon Jerro. And Bishop. Bishop… my heart lurches and I stumble. Safiya casts another worried glance at me as I mutter, "I'm fine, fine… don't worry." My eyes are scrunched shut in pain, and I can't open them to see where I'm going as the tears threaten. Bishop's betrayal still hurts. But I realise that I'm not angry… What's wrong with me!? Casavir was right about him! And yet, all I can think of is his dark eyes and the vulnerable moments when he… stop. Stop that. This isn't the time to be thinking about that. I pull my attention back to the present and look towards Safiya who is still walking carefully ahead. "So how exactly do we get out of here?" I ask.
She starts to answer as we go through another entrance, and then pulls up short. Standing in front of us, hackles raised is a spirit wolf, the light rippling and shimmering as it passes through the creature. "Careful," says Safiya softly, "the Telthor spirits aren't exactly happy to have us intruding on their territory. Tread lightly and try not to cause offence."
"I am Nakata, wizard. You intrude into our barrow," growls the wolf, eyes narrowed.
"My apologies spirit, I meant no harm, we will trouble you no further," replies Safiya, her stance tense and ready to attack if needs be.
"You passed alone on your way down, and now you return with this foul creature. We cannot allow it to pass."
Foul creature? It takes me a second to realise that this spirit is talking about me. "Foul creature? My name is Sennah, and I intend no harm. Let us pass and we will trouble you no further."
"I am afraid that is simply not possible. I cannot let you pass. You do not know what you are, and the destruction you will bring to this land…"
I open my mouth to protest, confusion clouding my mind at the open hostility of this creature, and at this proclamation, and then… then, my chest feels like it is tearing apart. My scar burns, my chest afire with pain – but with that come other feelings, ones not entirely my own – triumph, tinged with rage. My body rises into the air, my chest thrust forward and then a high-pitched keening assaults my ears. Just as it dawns on me that this noise is coming from me, grasping, dark tentacles reach out of my chest and attack Nakata, dragging the spirit towards me until it disappears into my body. My feet touch the earth again and, my knees weak, I collapse onto the ground. My mind is still clouded, echoes of the rage and intense hunger that enveloped me along still swirling. What the hells? After that I would have expected to feel weak, but I feel rejuvenated! Alive, and strong again, the aches that plagued me until five minutes ago gone.
"What did you do?" Safiya asks, looking at me warily and I notice her tense stance hasn't changed.
"I don't know," I say, feeling bewildered, "but I feel, strong, invigorated somehow… Anyway, as you said, we don't have time to talk, let's get moving and we can discuss it later." I pause, collecting my thoughts. Breathe Sennah, I tell myself closing my eyes. I take a couple of deep breaths and open my eyes. "So, as I was asking earlier, how do we get out of here? We must be on the right track if we're running into resistance."
Safiya stares at me a moment longer and then regains her composure. "There's a tunnel just around this, oh…" She stops, staring at a blank wall. "I stand corrected, there used to be a tunnel just around this corner… Well, if they didn't know from the show you just put on, the spirits definitely know we're here now, they've sealed the way back. We'll have to see if we can find another route."
"They've sealed it? How is that possible?"
"The spirits here are intimately connected to the land. We could hack away at that wall and it would reseal itself as fast as we damaged it… if we could damage it at all. Of course, there is an offering bowl here, and the people of Rasheman often make offerings to the spirits to appease them. If we could find something like incense, or meat or something to burn in it that might re-open the way…"
Logical as this suggestion sounds, I have to scoff at the absurdity of the situation. "What are we possibly supposed to burn? I have nothing. I had to borrow weapons from you, let alone anything else…"
"Well there are other side chambers here, we could always see what we can find…"
I sigh… Nothing is ever easy. I smile to myself at the thought. Of course it's not. This is me we're talking about… The trouble magnet…
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After searching for a few hours, and getting into more than a few fights with creatures that just didn't seem to be happy to have us around, we manage to find an offering pouch, and in an inexplicable turn of good luck, an Imaskari golem. Whilst I wasn't familiar with this one, the principle for reactivating it seemed to be the same as the Illefarn ones, and Safiya seemed to know what she was doing. I was too tired to protest, and was comfortable to let her lead the way. It was so nice to not have to be the one in charge… I sighed inwardly… of course, who knew how long that would last. I seemed to make a habit of attracting people to follow me, even when the attention was unwanted. Either way, it meant that we had another companion to help us defend ourselves even if we couldn't take it out of the barrow.
"Be on your guard, we are approaching the exit. The people worship a bear god called Okku, and I am sure there will be resistance to our departure."
I nod at Safiya's advice and ready the rapier I found in one of the rooms, far more comfortable with that weapon than the sword I'd borrowed from the wizard. I approach the large chamber in front of us, Safiya readying a spell and bringing up the rear. I tread softly, placing my feet carefully so as to make as little noise as possible, just like that damned ranger taught me. I smile ruefully to myself – at least some good things came out of that man.
As we walk into the chamber a massive, brightly coloured bear rears up and approaches us, hackles raised, his expression hostile. "Escape is now out of reach for you humans." He roars. I hold up my hands.
"What, no chance to explain myself? You don't even know who I am!" I say raising my voice, trying to make myself heard over the bear king's roar that echoes around the chamber.
"It does not matter who you are mortal. You are an abomination that should not be allowed to live. Ancestors, grant me your strength!"
With that final decree of my fate, Okku summons a number of Telthor spirit bears and attacks. Although unasked for and unexplained, the earlier encounter with the spirit wolf Nakata has left me feeling rejuvenated and I'm quick on my feet. "Focus on Okku first!" shouts Safiya "I'll take care of the other spirits!"
My rapier darts in and slices, elliciting a roar of pain from the Bear King. I dance around him thrusting swiftly and moving away before he has time to recover. For a large animal he is quick on his feet, but not quick enough and I can see my attacks are slowly wearing him down. Safiya's well-placed spells are keeping the other bears from attacking, although occasionally I have to watch myself from getting too close. A fireball narrowly misses my head and I duck, distractedly letting my guard slip, and Okku's claws rake my side as he sends me flying across the room. I land painfully, rolling out of the way as a huge paw comes towards me, smacking the ground and making it tremble where my head had been only moments before. I say a silent prayer that acrobatics had always been my strength. I leap to me feet and I am so close to Okku I can see the colours shimmering over his fur and feel the heat radiating from him. My heart beating wildly, I stab towards his neck with my rapier and he roars in pain and staggers. Suddenly he disappears, leaving me over extended and unbalanced. I turn to find Safiya holding off one bear whilst finishing another and recollecting my wits I hurry over to help her.
As the last bear goes down, I wipe my blade unceremoniously on my leathers. "Well that was eventful" I smirk, "Why is it that everywhere I go people are trying to kill me?" I laugh, slightly hysterically, "And here I am travelling with a Red Wizard, you'd think I would know better!"
Safiya expression doesn't look amused at my attempts to make light of the situation. Her face hardens bitterly, "Don't judge all of us by our reputation, not all red wizards revel in killing."
I backpedal mentallyy, an apology on the tip of my tongue, then sigh, tired of treading lightly for once. "I meant no offence" I say, "I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"Yes, I know," she says, softening slightly, "and I'm sorry. I am well aware of the impressions people have of us, but I'm anxious. We'd best be on our way if we want to get to Mulsantir soon." She looks around. "And be on your guard, Okku hasn't been defeated, he has merely retreated and he will rally an army of spirits to fight us. We don't want to be caught on the road when he reappears."
I slip my rapier into my belt, comfortable now at least that I have a weapon at my side. "Lead on then wizard…" I say and Safiya turns towards the exit.
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That was the beginning… Time passed… Events unfolded… They are the stuff of legend now…
The Shard-Bearer, now the Spiriteater, and her meeting of the Hathran, or witches, that rule the city of Mulsantir and Rashemen. A celestial, Kaelyn, one of the legendary Menagerie at her side, along with a spirit shaman, released from prison in order to defeat the great bear king and his army of spirits. The stories tell of how the Spiriteater spared the bear king's life, even though the hunger inside her tried to devour him. In return Okku, reminded of another promise he had made, vowed to help her defeat the presence inside that tormented her.
The party journeyed far, travelling through both the material and shadow planes, exploring the Temple of Myrkul in an attempt to contact the former Death God and investigate what was known as the Betrayer's Crusade. They searched for the Wood Man, and saved the Ashenwood. They travelled to the Sunken City in an attempt to gain an audience with the Sleeping Hags that controlled the dreams of Rashemen. In those dangerous, flooded dungeons, the shaman, a hagspawn himself, met a mother that loved him, and together, he and the Spiriteater destroyed the Sleeping Coven… All the while, along with her hunger, the Spiriteater's feelings for the shaman grew, but her mind always turned back to the ranger, Bishop, wondering if he was alive, or if the dreams she had in the Sunken City were real and he was dead, trapped in the Wall of the Faithless, his spirit devoured.
She was about to find out….
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