The wait was agonising.
It was almost silent; the chilly, dark corridors of the Asylum were devoid of any life in the wake of Irenicus' flight. Only the breathless gasps from the companions could be heard, as they tried to fight for control over their lungs following their frantic run.
Valygar glanced over to Imoen; she wasn't at all how he'd expected her to look. She was a slight figure, more bony than slender, but he supposed that was to be expected. How long had she spent imprisoned? First in the mage's dungeon under the city, and then here, in Spellhold. Her hair was limp and dirty, clinging to the sides of her head. It was dark at the roots, a shade that would have maybe been a warm brown colour when clean and shining. The ends were lighter; only the faintest traces of pink still lingered at the tips, while the rest -- almost grey in appearance -- looked bedraggled and knotted.
She was leaning against her brother, obviously weak, painfully tired. She'd managed to keep up with them as they ran through the maze of madmen with Bodhi in chase, though only with the aid of the others. The vampire had caught them easily enough due to their fatigue; but she hadn't counted on the apparent side-effects of Brevad losing his soul -- he'd become a monster, chasing her away into the darkness as his companions fearfully huddled together, readying their weapons as they realised they may have to defend themselves from him...
And when his control had returned, he'd been horrified, almost breaking down at the realisation of what had happened. His sister had sat with him for a few moments, and together they'd found a united strength -- both had been stripped of their souls by Irenicus, so that the mage and his undead sister could use them as their own. Without regaining them, both the paladin and the young sibling would surely die in time.
And so they'd escaped from the maze, finding Irenicus as he had prepared to leave. They'd joined with the forces of the Asylum's mad inmates and charged at their captor, relishing the opportunity to seek revenge for all he'd done to them. But they'd been too late -- the archmage fled through a gloomy portal that he'd already prepared, and none of them were able to get close to it because of the wards of protection in the room.
As if things could not get any worse, they'd searched for another exit, and found only Saemon Havarian; the captain of the ship that had brought them there in the first place -- the captain that had betrayed them to Irenicus at the earliest opportunity.
Now he was offering to help them get back to the mainland -- it was the only way, he'd said, save for following Irenicus through the Underdark via the portal. Aerie had cried out; the panic on her face was apparent, the thought of being so far underground was not appealing to the avariel. It was not appealing to any of them.
Valygar knew that it was with extreme reluctance that Brevad raised his head, and -- eventually -- nodded.
--
"The sea d-doesn't bother you, does it?"
Valygar glanced to his side and smiled to the avariel. She was looking nervously at the rolling waves, her slender hands gripping on tightly to the railing that stood between her and the expanse of the ocean.
"Not much," he admitted with a slight shrug. "I've sailed before, although the journeys have never been long."
"I had n-never been on a ship before," she admitted quietly, a small frown etched onto her pale face. "Until w-we sailed here l-last time, I mean..." She paused, seemingly unsure as to how to continue.
Valygar leaned onto the rail further, allowing the salty wind to whip past his face. It was refreshing; it also tended to be quiet here. The sailors would conduct their business with curt nods and limited conversation -- the result of being banded together with less than an hour of notice, the ranger mused. He wondered if they'd make it back to land before one of them incited some kind of mutiny.
Saemon was keeping his head down, as well. It was only to be expected -- neither of the knights would trust him at all, and the only reward he'd received when patting Nalia's rear, had been a badly burnt hand. Aerie, though, had felt sorry enough for him to bandage it up, ignoring his innuendo and suggestive comments while wearing a scowl. Whether it was a frown of concentration over the task at hand or annoyance at the pirate's determination was anyone's guess.
Cernd had been the only other to frequently spend time up in the fresh air. The man of nature had taken a liking to sailing, sitting and meditating on the rear deck while the wind blew his loose black hair around; he was calm, even when the roughest of waves caught them, and his features looked rosier and healthier than Valygar had ever seen them.
The ranger was disturbed from his quiet reverie as he noticed Aerie swaying gently by his side -- the sea, however, was completely calm.
"Come," he said, gently turning her around and guiding her to some of the more squat barrels. They sat down together; he, lazily leaning back against the firm frame of the ship, while she sat tersely, her hands gripping the rim tightly. To her credit, she'd not once been sick -- she only needed to get over her fear.
"It's so large, isn't it?" she said, as if she'd heard his thoughts. "So v-very large. It goes on and on for as f-far as the eye can see, and on it... in it, we're... we're s-smaller than insects! It could swallow us whole, and wh-who would ever know?"
"The people expecting us to arrive back on land, safely, would know," he said easily. "And there's no need to worry like that... you can swim, can't you?"
She shook her head, biting her lip. "I... I've never really had a reason to..." she said, somewhat weakly. "Before... b-before, when I had wings..." Her voice trailed off and she frowned, hesitating slightly before she spoke.
"You have someone expecting y-you to get back to them?" she asked, changing the topic swiftly. He smiled wryly; such a change from how she had once been, when the topic of her wings had caused her to withdraw into herself completely, or break down emotionally. There was hope, he thought, that one day she would be able to talk about the issue, rather than avoiding it any more -- to put it fully behind her, for once and for all.
He started when he noticed her looking at him, questioningly. "I..." A pause. "Not as such," he said quietly. "My butler -- my friend, Hervo, knows of my travels, but doesn't know when I'll be back, if at all. He must be used to it by now, I should think."
"Oh?"
"After I went on the run from the wizards."
"It... it must have b-been hard."
He levelled a quizzical look over at her. "What was hard, Aerie? Being hunted by mad fools, too drunk on the idea of power to realise the danger they were putting both themselves and innocent people into?"
She flushed, instantly directing her eyes down to the ground. "I m-meant having t-to run like that, and b-being put in that position."
There was a long silence between them. Eventually Valygar shrugged. "I did what I had to do. I already knew the corruptive powers that magic holds so when that damnable Sphere appeared, it was only a matter of time." He sighed heavily. "They yearned for the power they believed locked away inside so much that they lost all sense and reasoning. And -- always -- it's the same; the unspoken promise of greater magical power. That's why it corrupts -- that's why it's so dangerous."
She shook her head. "N-no," she argued; bravely, it seemed, to him. "That's not really t-true. You can seek g-greater power and n-not endanger anyone -- not even yourself -- and then use it f-for the greater good. Those people... those wizards sought the p-power because of who they w-were. They were already serving in a C-council and they s-seem to thrive on power. Whatever they d-did was part of them, not because of their m-magical ability."
He regarded her sceptically. "Then explain to me why the most ruthless of men always seem blessed with power of the arcane? Look at the mage we hunt with Brevad -- his power is immense, and yet he craved more -- he stole a soul."
She was frowning now. "A-and look at p-people like Nalia and I," she retorted hotly. "We are n-nothing like Irenicus, but w-we want to be as g-good as we can so we can help in the fight against p-people like him! Just because we learn a n-new spell, doesn't mean we're going to change how we are."
She glared idly over towards the ocean, but her face softened when she realised he was looking at her with a bemused expression. In the end she just shrugged.
"And a-anyway... Brevad t-told me of the man they fought in Baldur's G-gate -- Sarevok -- and he had no magical ability!" she finished triumphantly. Valygar couldn't help himself; he chuckled openly, and conceded defeat, for now, with a tilt of the head.
Another silence was only prevented by the gentle sloshing of the waves and the occasional calling of one of the sailors. Valygar sighed and looked up to the sky; there were ominous looking clouds forming in the distance, heavy and grey. He wondered if they'd be facing a storm any time soon.
"It's s-so quiet out here," the avariel remarked, her eyes closed as she still clung tightly to her seat. "I k-keep listening, hoping that we'll hear g-gulls soon. B-because that would mean we're close to land, w-wouldn't it?"
He chuckled. "It won't be long now, Aerie. The wind is in our favour, and I think we're making good time. And our captain won't want us to take any longer than necessary..."
"I-in case Anomen and B-Brevad follow through with their threats?"
"Exactly." They both smiled at that, and the elven girl seemed to relax a little. They turned back out to the sea, and Valygar noted, with dismay, that the clouds were fast approaching. Soon they'd have to go inside; but then...
"Aerie!" he exclaimed, standing up abruptly, and placing one hand on her back as she also stood, moving closer to her side. "Look -- do you see it?"
The avariel's wide eyes looked from him, and out to the greying sea, frowning as they tried to focus beyond the swirls, ripples and foam. Then, she gasped.
It came from the water; a large, dark shape -- graceful and shining, the light glistening on its skin as it arched through the air. It was impossibly huge for the manoeuvre it achieved, and the waves from its landing rocked the ship gently for several minutes after.
Valygar watched Aerie as she continued to stare out into the sea; she slowly moved, closer to the edge once again, with his gentle guidance. And then she was completely motionless, despite the ships movements, her hands gripping tightly to the railings. His eyes drifted back out to the sea, following the dark shape as it moved just below the surface of the water. Eventually, he saw her smiling.
"Th-that..."
"A whale," he nodded. "Amazing, wasn't it?"
"Yes," she whispered; then, suddenly, she jumped slightly, her hands flying free from the ship's fittings and landing on his arm in her excitement.
"Look!" she squealed, removing one of her hands from him to point at something else. He obeyed, squinting as he peered against the glare of the sun as it fought against the oppressive clouds. But then it became clear; another leaping figure, smaller this time, gliding through the air, almost as if in slow motion. Aerie was smiling, the excitement shining in her eyes as she watched the display. Valygar smiled on her behalf; perhaps going below deck wouldn't be so bad, now that they'd witnessed this.
They stood together watching the show for some time, only growing perplexed when the whales seemed to depart. But then they caught sight of the shadows under the water once more, and they both grinned; watching, waiting.
Neither of them expected what actually came.