Part I—Chapter 7: Please Don't Kill the Kobold

Emily looked around cautiously. After passing through the imposing gate, the floor beneath her feet changed from harsh rock to smooth stone. Though the light was dim, there were enough torches guttering on the walls to render her own torch redundant. As she smothered it and placed it back in her pack, she noticed Deekin inspecting a red circular symbol on the ground.

"Deekin thinks this be some kind of magical trap. Best steer clear of it, Boss."

"Thanks, Deekin," Emily said as she approached the runes warily. She was bending over to see if she could translate them when Deekin suddenly shouted, "Boss! Deekin sees dead people!"

Startled by Deekin's outburst, Emily fell forward into the circle. She felt the magic of the runes piercing her skin as she quickly got to her feet, mace in hand. She looked about wildly, mentally preparing herself to turn the approaching undead, but there were no skeletons or zombies to be found. Oh, no. Maybe these runes have affected my eyesight somehow, she thought, trying not to panic. "Deekin, where are the monsters?" she cried.

Deekin tilted his head to the side as he watched his boss spinning in circles, waving her mace at imaginary enemies. He thought about pulling out his quill to make a quick sketch of her antics, but he decided against it, reasoning that she probably wouldn't let him put it in the book anyway. He sighed at the lost opportunity and shook his head at Emily. "Deekin not sees monsters, Boss," he said. "Deekin sees bard lady from inn. Remember her?"

Emily stopped her less-than-graceful twirling and looked past Deekin to see Sharwyn sprawled on the floor. She steeled herself as she stepped back over the magical runes and knelt beside the bard. All of the magical equipment the woman had been wearing in the inn was gone, and her armor had been torn to shreds. There was a longbow and a half-empty quiver lying by her side, and an arrow was sticking out of her chest. Emily delicately removed the arrow and concluded from the glowing green head that it had been poisoned. She placed it on the ground, careful to keep the arrowhead pointing away from her and her friends, and asked Deekin for some bandages.

"Why Boss need bandages?" Deekin asked as he pulled some out of his pack. "Bard Lady doesn't seem to need them anymore."

Emily took them from him and began to clean Sharwyn's wound. "That's true, Deekin. If I just raised her right now, she would be fine, but you see how her skin is discolored here?" she asked, pointing to where she had removed the arrow. "It would stay that sickly green color even after I brought her back to life. By cleaning her up first I can reduce the chance of there being any permanent damage. See?"

The wound was still bruised from the arrow's impact, but the skin no longer appeared poisoned. Deekin peered at it closely for a moment, and then resumed his writing. Emily wiped her hands and cast the spell that would bring Sharwyn's soul back to the land of the living.

Sharwyn's eyes fluttered open. She sat up quickly in surprise, too quickly apparently because she moaned in pain as she lay back down. Emily watched closely as the bard's face went pale as she realized where she was. "This… this is Undermountain!" she choked out. "How did I…?" Her eyes focused on Emily's. "What happened? Did I die? Who are you?"

Emily lightly stroked the bard's red hair, trying to calm her down. "You don't remember me?" she asked softly. "I spoke to you and your friends at the inn."

Sharwyn peered at Emily closely. "Of course," she said slowly. "You… you're Emily Emeraude. The cleric that Durnan was waiting for."

Emily smiled at her. "That's right, Sharwyn. What else do you remember?"

The bard furrowed her brow in concentration. "There was a fight when we chased that beholder down here… and I was hit by a poisoned arrow and killed."

She tried to sit up to look at the wound, but Emily eased her back down to her elbows. "Take it slowly, Sharwyn," she warned. "You may be alive, but that doesn't mean your strength is restored yet. Just keep talking to me. Do you know where the rest of your group is?"

Sharwyn shook her head sadly. "I've no idea. If my companions had been victorious, surely Linu would have raised me. They wouldn't have abandoned me here." She paused a moment and chuckled softly. "Well, Tomi maybe… but never Linu or Daelan. I can only assume they fled further into the dungeon… or died, perhaps."

Emily felt the woman shudder in her arms. "There, there, don't worry about them. I'm sure we'll find them soon, and if they aren't alive when we do they soon will be!" She smiled at the bard. Sharwyn smiled weakly back. "Let's try sitting up again, shall we?" Emily encouraged her.

The cleric slowly pushed Sharwyn into a sitting position. Confident the bard was able to support herself, she removed her arms. Sharwyn wobbled for a moment but didn't fall. The color seemed to be returning to her cheeks as she looked around, but suddenly her eyes went wide. "Kobold!" she screamed, and in an instant she had an arrow aimed and ready to fire.

Emily quickly forced the bard's bow down. "No, Sharwyn, that's Deekin! You remember Deekin, don't you?"

Deekin slowly pulled his book down from where it had been covering his face. "Deekin not mean any harm, Bard Lady," he said quietly.

Sharwyn eyed him closely, but she kept a death grip on her bow. "Deekin, sing!" Emily hissed, hoping that if Sharwyn didn't remember his face she would at least remember his song. Deekin complied, and as the off-key notes of the Doom Song rang through the hall Sharwyn dropped her bow and put her hands over her ears. "Alright, alright, I remember you!" she yelled over the singing. "Just please, make it stop!"

"Whatever Bard Lady asks," Deekin said with a smile, clearly quite pleased with himself. Emily laughed as she helped Sharwyn to her feet. "Sorry about that. I just couldn't let you shoot the poor guy."

Sharwyn smiled and nodded as she brushed the dust off of her legs. "I understand. Thank you, Emily, for bringing me back. I suppose I should go back to the inn now. I've no illusions about being able to make it through Undermountain on my own."

"Who says you'd be on your own?" Emily asked.

The bard seemed slightly surprised and arched an eyebrow. "Are you offering what I think you're offering? Most of my equipment appears to have been taken. I'm hardly in a state to be of much help to you, Emily."

Emily shrugged. "A little help is better than no help, and I'm sure there are plenty of other dead adventurers around here who would be happy to provide you with replacement equipment. Besides, you may have a more difficult time getting back to the inn than you might think…"

Sharwyn's eyebrow arched even higher at this last statement, but after a moment's consideration she grinned. "Well, I must admit I didn't want to stop the adventure this early in Undermountain. Lead on, Lady Emeraude!"

"Umm, she prefers Boss," muttered Deekin.

Emily shook her head at Sharwyn's questioning look. "No, actually, I don't," she whispered, "but don't tell Deekin that." Sharwyn winked in reply, and the three set off to explore Undermountain.

"Huzzah!" cried Deekin joyfully. He ran up to Emily, crossbow still in hand after their epic battle.

Emily was panting, trying to catch her breath as she looked at the dead blue dragon lying at her feet. "Huzzah, indeed, little buddy," she managed between breaths. She gave the kobold a weary smile.

Sharwyn's laughter echoed from behind her. "Well, Emily, if you're able to sustain this level of excitement throughout our whole adventure I'll be able to write hundreds of songs in your honor."

"Hey, Bard Lady," Deekin said, suddenly angry. "It be Deekin's job to chronicle Boss's adventures, not yours. Tell her, Boss."

"Now, Deekin," Emily said, "it's not really fair to forbid Sharwyn to write songs about our journey. She's a bard, too, after all." Sharwyn nodded in agreement. "Besides," Emily continued, "she said she would write songs, not a book. Surely that would be okay, right Deekin?"

Deekin crossed his arms and huffed. Sharwyn smiled her sweetest smile and knelt down before the kobold. "Deekin, I would never presume to usurp your title as chronicler of the great Emily Emeraude. If I promise to only write songs, and never to write a book, about our adventures together, will you be satisfied?"

Deekin looked at his competitor warily. "Umm… Deekin supposes so… as long as Bard Lady also promises not to sing the songs until after Deekin has published book and it becomes an inter-realms best-seller."

Sharwyn laughed and extended her hand. "It's a deal!" Deekin grudgingly shook her hand.

Emily rolled her eyes. "If you two are quite done licensing my life away, can we look for the treasure? We just killed a dragon! Think of what we could find!"

Unfortunately, the dragon's treasure was not nearly as abundant as Emily had been hoping. In fact, the most remarkable thing they found was not a weapon or a suit of armor but a magnifying glass; it was clearly magical, but even the combined bardic lore possessed by Deekin and Sharwyn could make no guesses as to its purpose. Emily twirled it in her hand as she watched her two companions get ready for the night's rest. Deekin was copying down sentences from his previously written dragon adventure, pleased that he now had a real dragon encounter to write about. Sharwyn was tuning the strings on her lute, humming softly to herself. The bard was looking much healthier now that she'd been alive for a little while. They had managed to find her some leather armor in a chest guarded by a group of drow and duergar, and her aim had gotten more accurate as the day went on. She was feeling so rejuvenated that she volunteered to take the first watch, but Emily was too energized from the day's dragon slaying to sleep.

Sharwyn put down her lute in frustration. "Ugh, why aren't there more words that rhyme with dragon?" she asked angrily. "Every hero immortalized in song who has ever slain a dragon is always drinking a flagon of ale as they pull away their wagon full of treasure. It's just so overdone!"

Emily laughed. "There are a lot of songs about dead dragons, are there?"

"Of course! Any hero worth remembering has a song about slaying a dragon, even if they actually haven't. That's how you know you've made it in the adventuring world."

Emily felt a sense of pride swelling up inside her. "So… does this mean I'm a real adventurer now?" she asked quietly.

Sharwyn pretended to consider the cleric for a moment. "I should say it does, Emily. Although, personally I would have considered the whole Undrentide scenario as a defining moment, but slaying a dragon can only help your legend grow. You're still not in Lavernica's league, however; she's slain at least three."

Emily's ears perked up at the mention of the Hero of Neverwinter's name. "That's right; I'd forgotten you said you came from Neverwinter."

Sharwyn resumed her strumming and nodded. "Yes, I was originally born there, though I spent much of my career away. I only returned to help save the city from the plague, and afterwards I decided to stay… For a little while," she amended with a frown.

Emily sat up eagerly. "I'm from Conyberry, and although I was away in Hilltop for much of the action I heard a lot about the plague in letters from my family back home. I'm always excited to meet someone who was actually a part of it. How did you help save Neverwinter?"

Sharwyn shrugged. "Same way I'm helping you now, I suppose. Fighting and casting spells when I'm not singing. I worked with Aribeth de Tylmarande, in fact."

Both women's faces grew somber. "I take it you've heard of her?" asked the bard. Emily nodded. Sharwyn sighed. "I don't blame her for what she did," she said softly. "Not all of it. It's a sad tale, really… especially how it all ended."

Emily pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "I heard she died…"

Sharwyn closed her eyes tightly, banishing painful images from her mind. "Isn't that how all these stories end?" she snapped angrily.

Emily felt bad for upsetting her friend, even though she was also a little upset herself. She tried to turn the topic to something happier. "Did you know Lavernica, too?"

Sharwyn's expression softened slightly. "I did. The revisionists like to play down her role in saving Neverwinter, but I was there… if it weren't for her, we would never have won the day."

"You know," Emily began cautiously, "in spite of all I've heard about Aribeth, I never met anyone who could tell me what happened to Lavernica. Do you know?"

Sharwyn shrugged and frowned. Clearly this topic was just as unpleasant as the last. "She left not long after the plague ended and Aribeth died. There were… differences with Lord Nasher as I recall."

Emily got the feeling that Sharwyn knew more about Lavernica's disappearance than she was telling, but she decided to leave the matter be for the moment. "Did you stay in Neverwinter long?" she asked instead.

"For a time I stayed, certainly," Sharwyn replied. "Lord Nasher was eager for all of us who had helped with the plague to stay and help rebuild the militia." Her voice grew wistful. "We were heroes, and it felt good. I had always wanted to be famous, so I was in my glory at the time. It just… didn't last very long."

"Why? What happened?"

Sharwyn spoke hesitantly, as though she was much less comfortable telling her own tale than telling the tales of others. "A… man I fell in love with left the city. He did not come back. Neverwinter just seemed so lonely after that. I know it does not sound very strong of me, but…"

Her voiced trailed off, but Emily was no longer paying attention. She saw herself standing on a bridge in the city of Athkatla, thousands of miles away, deep within the nation of Amn. It had only been a year since she left, but it seemed like so much longer. She had journeyed there to study at their renowned Temple of Lathander, and there she had met a man. He had never actually left Athkatla, at least not to Emily's knowledge, but he had certainly left her… "No, Sharwyn," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Strength has nothing to do with your ability to overcome…"

Heartbreak. The word hovered in the air, unspoken yet loud in their ears. Their eyes met, and both knew that nothing more would be said that night. Emily silently curled up under her cloak, pretending to fall asleep. Sharwyn laid aside her lute and picked up her bow, attempting to be an effective guard. The only thing that gave them comfort was the knowledge that they were not alone in their loneliness. But that was small comfort indeed.

Emily and her friends had been wandering around the southern part of the level for hours. They had come across a few battles between the ogres and fairies that Grovel had mentioned, but it felt like ages since something exciting had happened. Emily was beginning to wonder if they were walking in circles when something unusual caught Deekin's eye.

"Ooo!" he cried excitedly. "Look there, Boss! There be dead half-orc! Right there!" He pointed to a body lying just inside the next room.

"Daelan!" Sharwyn cried. The bard rushed to his side and laid her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat. After a few moments, she raised her head slowly and looked at Emily pleadingly.

"Don't worry, Sharwyn," Emily reassured her. "I'll be able to raise him, just like I raised you." Sharwyn smiled in relief as the cleric knelt down across from her. Daelan's body was covered in slices and cuts, but thankfully all of his limbs were still attached. Emily took a deep breath and cast the spell of resurrection.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, the half-orc's eyes snapped open wide. His head darted from side to side, as if he were looking for an enemy that was no longer there. Emily worried that he might try to attack one of them, but his expression calmed as he focused on Sharwyn's face.

"Daelan, it's me—Sharwyn," the bard said softly, gently stroking his cheek. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes…" he said slowly. "I know you, Sharwyn." Daelan smiled briefly, and then grimaced in pain at the effort. He turned his head to look at Emily. "And you… You're Emily Emeraude, the hero that Durnan was waiting for."

Sharwyn smiled down at him. "Yes, Daelan, very good. And this little fellow is Deekin," she said, indicating the kobold who had been keeping his distance. Daelan eyed him narrowly.

"He's a friend," Emily rushed to say. She didn't want a repeat of Sharwyn's attempt to kill the little bard. "He was at the inn, too. He's a bard, who sings—"

"But we don't need him to sing right now," Sharwyn interrupted pointedly. "Just know that he isn't going to hurt you, Daelan."

Daelan started at Deekin for a moment longer before slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Right… It's all coming back. The battle at Durnan's inn… I remember."

Emily could feel the half-orc's heart beginning to pick up speed. "Tell us what happened to you, but do it slowly," she instructed. "Getting yourself agitated again will only hurt your recovery."

Daelan nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. "I remember a beholder. We chased it down here, but we were being led into an ambush. There was a volley of arrows…" He looked guiltily at Sharwyn. "Everything happened so fast, there wasn't time to think…"

Sharwyn took his hand. "I know, Daelan. I'm alright now, that's what matters."

Daelan squeezed her hand. "I'm glad of that." Sharwyn's face turned ever-so-slightly red, and Daelan quickly turned back to Emily. "Enraged, I threw myself into the darkness to chase after them. I never did catch the cowards who ambushed us, and when I finally gave up the chase I realized that I had become separated from the rest of the group."

Emily had been cleaning the dried blood from his many wounds as he spoke. "How did you get killed, may I ask? Judging by your cuts you look to have been in a ferocious battle."

Daelan scoffed. "I was careless," he muttered. "While searching for a way out, I stumbled onto this room of mirrors." He gestured around him at the rows of mirrors on either side of the narrow room.

"Umm… Deekin not means to interrupt, but Deekin read about this place once. It be called the Hall of Mirrors, if Deekin remembers right… which he might nots… Room Deekin reads about be nearer to entrance, maybe…"

Emily could tell Deekin was starting to get lost in one of his meandering tales again, so she quickly cut in. "Never mind about the location, Deekin. What makes the Hall of Mirrors dangerous?"

"Hall itself not be dangerous, Boss. But you needs to be careful if you looks into mirrors… some of them does strange things. Bad stuff."

"The kobold is correct," Daelan said. "I looked into one and saw my own reflection, but I also thought I saw the reflection of glittering treasure at my feet. Intrigued, I approached it. One of those two." He pointed to the mirrors in the middle on the east wall. "To my horror, my own reflection stepped out from the mirror and attacked me!"

"Ooo, Deekin read about that mirror!" The others looked at him expectantly, waiting for more information. Deekin looked down at his feet. "Deekin not gots anything else to says. Deekin just remembers reading about it…" he mumbled.

Daelan cleared his throat and continued. "My vile twin was able to match and counter my every move. From the condition you found me in, it's obvious what the ultimate result of the fight was. That's the last thing I remember."

"Do you know where Linu and Tomi are?" Sharwyn asked.

Daelan shook his head ruefully. "No. I was hoping to come across them—and you—as I wandered the dungeon, but luck was not with me. I suspect they may have gone deeper into Undermountain." He sighed. "I hope they fared better than I did."

"Well, you're looking much better now than you did five minutes ago!" Emily said cheerfully. "What are you going to do now that you've rejoined the living?"

The half-orc furrowed his brow. "I've learned it's too dangerous for me to survive down here alone. I will probably go back to the inn."

"Don't be silly," said Sharwyn. "You'll come with us! That's all right, isn't it Emily?" The cleric nodded in agreement.

Daelan looked at Sharwyn in confusion. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Most of my equipment is gone, and I haven't had much luck here in Undermountain so far."

Sharwyn laughed. "What state do you think I was in when Emily found me? Thankfully, she seems to have enough luck down here for all of us."

"Luck?" Emily scoffed. "I thought I was just incredibly skilled!" She could only keep a straight face for a moment before she broke into a smile. "Truthfully, Daelan, we could use you. I'm sure we'll find some replacement equipment for you soon enough. If you can do to our enemies what your creepy mirror twin was able to do to you, you'll more than prove your value to our little group."

The half-orc grinned. "Thank you, Emily. The truth is, I wasn't ready to end my adventures here in Undermountain quite yet."

"Another adventurer joins the epic tale!" cried Deekin. "Huzzah!"

"Huzzah!" echoed Emily.

"Huzzah!" laughed Sharwyn, and she threw her arms around Daelan's neck and hugged him, thoroughly embarrassing the reserved barbarian.

Emily smirked at him and began examining the mirrors from a distance. She could see her own reflection, but the mirror showed a pile of treasure at her reflection's feet. She saw Deekin's reflection come up next to hers in the mirror. "Is that treasure real?" she asked him.

"Deekin thinks so, but Deekin not sure how you would gets it."

Emily twirled a red curl around her finger as she thought. "I guess we could try breaking the mirrors. See if anything falls out?"

"Deekin guesses you could, but there might be mirror here that not likes that much, though. It be lots of bad luck anyway, no?"

Emily looked down at her little friend. "I suppose we could always just leave them alone…"

The kobold looked up at her. "That should be okays… Though Deekin kind of thinks that be very boring…"

Emily smiled. "Boring? What's the point of having a boring adventure?" Deekin returned her smile, and before she could talk herself out of it Emily stepped up to the nearest mirror and placed her hand on its surface. The mirror rippled for a moment, and then her hand fell through. "Careful, Boss!" Deekin cried, but Emily thankfully kept her balance this time and quickly grabbed something from the pile of treasure. Once she pulled her hand back, the pile disappeared, and the surface of the mirror became smooth and dull. Emily slowly opened her clenched fist.

"Hey, I grabbed an emerald!" she cried happily. Emeralds were her favorite gemstone. She had stored all of the ones she had ever found in her pack, unwilling to sell them. Of course, the drow thief had stolen them along with the rest of her possessions, but at least now she could start her collection anew.

Daelan shook his head at her, unable to understand why she would take such a risk. Sharwyn poked his arm. "See?" she said. "I told you she was lucky."

Emily gazed into the stone and thought about the bard's remark. She certainly hadn't felt very lucky these past few days, but maybe she'd been looking at her situation all wrong. She had survived an assassination attempt, a vicious battle, and a beholder attack. She'd been reunited with one of her closest friends, and she had two new companions to adventure with. And now, she had found an emerald. She turned the stone in her hand and watched the green light reflected by the torches dance across the walls. Sharwyn's right, she thought with a smile. I'm pretty lucky after all.