New chapter, making up for last chapter which was late ;)
Chapter XIV. Windspear Hills
As they approached the Windspear Hills, a feeling of strangeness progressively overcame Ilire. This was where her late husband had disappeared, so long ago. This was where his grave was, whatever it may look like, and a moment of self-flagellation made her think she had not even bothered to come once before to pay her respects. She pushed the silly thought aside forcefully; she had been concentrating her attention on trying to free Imoen.
A year after his disappearance, there she was at the place where he had disappeared, with a flower in her hair that had been put there by another man. She thought tartly that maybe seeing for herself that Ajantis was nowhere to be found would help her to let go of the past, move on, and find some sense of closure.
Silent, she looked around at the desolate sandy hills and followed Keldorn's lead. The paladin knew the place like the back of his hand for having spent weeks there in search of Ajantis. He deftly guided them towards the dryads' grove; Ilire was relieved to finally deliver the dryads' acorns to their queen.
Keldorn pointed a red-painted rock by the side of the road. "This marks the limits of the Windspear Hills proper. It is the frontier of the land belonging to Lord Firkraag."
Ilire nodded distractedly and they continued on their way, but Lord Firkraag's problem of ogres confronted them sooner than expected. They were less than a league inside the border when suddenly an aggressive-looking group comprising an ogre, an ogre-mage, a wyvern and two orcs made its way towards them purposefully.
"Careful, Ilire, I did not see where they came from," Jaheira warned, concerned that such a large group had managed to slip from her notice. It was not often that nature failed to alert her to the presence of danger in the wilderness.
Ilire's team stopped while they had the advantage of the slope. Ilire, Keldorn and Anomen stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the first line, with Yoshimo behind them, Aerie with a defensive spell ready, and Jaheira guarding the rear.
The monsters, unbidden, approached until they were within a mere thirty feet of them.
"We shall cleanse the lands from your scourge!"
Ilire's group exchanged surprised glances. This was a most unusual challenge, coming from a group of malefic creatures.
"Scourge?" Ilire echoed. "We are no scourge upon the land. We came here to –"
"No more lies! We will hear no more of your lies!"
The huge ogre leading the group ordered the attack with a move of his hand.
"Hold positions!" Ilire ordered. "Range weapons on the captain!"
Ilire's party reacted as one and, to tell the truth, they hardly needed her order. They were well used by then to the tactic. Anomen, Jaheira and Aerie rained bullets from their slings, Yoshimo let fly an arrow and Keldorn, a bolt. Ilire did not move on the front line, her two katanas drawn and ready. They always conducted a grouped ranged fire first, while out of enemy reach, and then they switched to melee when their opponents closed on them.
Four out of five missiles hit their target, among which Anomen's well-aimed bullet that hit the ogre straight on his helmet. The monster drew a staggering step backwards. Taking a hand up to his forehead, he looked at his lackeys running to the attack on each side of him. The first line of fighters of Ilire's party switched to close combat weapons.
"Hold!" he screamed.
The monsters drew to a grudging halt. The air quivered from tension. Ilire's blades hungered for blood, but an ogre stopping an ongoing attack was a highly unusual event that deserved investigation. So she remained still, but ready.
"Have you decided to reconsider your attack and discuss instead?" she said.
The huge ogre slowly pushed past his monsters, staggering slightly from the bullet to his head.
"Don't you recognize me, my lady?" the ogre responded.
"Recognize you? I'm sorry, I don't count many ogres in my acquaintances," she retorted.
"We are being played for fools. Do not fall for it. Can none of your companions dispel this magic? Can't Lady Dynaheir see through this illusion?"
Ilire staggered back a step and only held to her feet because of Anomen's and Keldorn's hands on her elbows.
"How do you know Dynaheir's name?"
Keldorn let go of her elbow and cast something. The ogre waited patiently and without moving until Keldorn's spell was finished.
Nothing happened.
"I cannot dispel this magic," Keldorn observed warily, "if magic there is."
"I have no reason now to suppose that you are truly a wyvern, so I would thank you not to do the same," the ogre observed wryly.
"S-sir Keldorn?", Aerie quipped from the rear of the party.
"Yes, Aerie?"
"Th-there is magic at work here."
The inquisitor turned to the cleric-mage. "Can you dispel it?"
"N-no. I think the m-mean m-man, Edwin, could, but I can't. I-I can a-almost identify it. I think you sh-should be able to get rid of it, Sir Keldorn. You w-would have a better chance with True Sight than Disp-pel Magic. Y-you would have to focus on the th-third gateway, though. This is a powerful spell. M-maybe you could unravel it by the ends of the alteration threads too, if you c-can't catch the wisps of illusion on the third gateway."
The old paladin stared for a moment at the so young-looking elf, reminded that she was not quite as naïve and inexperienced as she looked.
"I do not know what the third gateway is, Aerie," he said.
"You c-can distinguish the alteration school of magic from illusion, can't you?"
He nodded.
"Then instead of c-concentrating on dispelling illusion while casting True Sight, just lunge for alteration and hold onto it. That should t-tear the spell apart."
Keldorn smiled inwardly at the near disappearance of the girl's stutter when she was in charge of anything. He turned to the group of monsters and started to cast his spell, focusing on any wisp of alteration he caught around them.
He was not quite sure what he did, but when the white eye appeared above his head at the end of his spell, a seeming mist evaporated from the scene. He now stood in front of a group of paladins of the Order, wearing its crescent emblazoned on their armour.
And then he caught sight of exactly who stood in front of them, pale and a hand to his aching head because of Anomen's sling bullet. Worried for Ilire, he turned to see how she reacted to the reappearance of a husband she had given up on.
I should be too shocked to think, she reflected, looking at Ajantis' grave grey eyes. But she had already been shocked by Dynaheir's name earlier, and it seemed her brain could not sustain two moments of arrested thoughts in so short a time. It's not possible. It can't be him. How could he be here all this time? It's not fair! Why does he reappear just when I thought I was letting go?
Ajantis extended a hand towards a frozen Ilire, and gently touched her cheekbone just above the cut that bled all the way down to her jaw.
"My lady, what caused you such a grievous wound?"
Flinching at his touch, she roughly freed her elbow from Anomen's hand and planted both her blades in the scarce grass at her feet. Crossing her arms on her chest, she held herself up right before her husband and glared at him. She punched him with the palm of the hand square in the middle of the chest, with all her strength. She hurt her hand and the force of the blow drew Ajantis a step back.
"A grievous wound?" she repeated incredulously. Her eyes filled with tears. "You disappear for over a year and the best you can find to inquire about is the least of my concerns?"
She let out a sob, shoved Anomen and Yoshimo brutally out of her way, and started running back the road from whence they came.
Ajantis grimaced slightly while he touched the spot she had hit, and lifted his other hand to his head again. Taking a step forward, Anomen healed him before turning to Jaheira, who had uncharacteristically watched Ilire go without moving.
"Please, my lady, go find her?", Anomen asked the druid.
The half-elf stared at him pointedly. "I would think you would prefer to speak to her than to Ajantis."
The cleric took a breath. "My wishes are irrelevant, Jaheira. She needs you at the moment. Go find her and, please, heal the gash on her cheek and make sure it doesn't leave a scar on her face. We are unlikely to go any further today, and we might as well make use of our healing spells." Anomen sighed. "She carries enough scars as it is," he added under his breath.
The druid bowed her head curtly and left, tracking Ilire's steps in the dirt and the trampled grass.
ooooo
Ajantis felt intensely grateful when suddenly his thoughts were cleared with the touch of a healing spell. He did not know the cleric, but his armour bore the crescent identifying him as a fellow member of the Order.
Then reality hit him with more strength than Ilire's blow earlier.
"A year?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "What does she mean I've been gone for a year?"
He stared uncomprehendingly at her companions; he only recognized Jaheira and Keldorn, and had no idea who the Order cleric, the kara-turan or the elf in mage robes were. He looked from Sir Keldorn to the other man of the Order. The cleric's eyes turned to steel.
"She means exactly that, Squire Ajantis. You have been gone for a year, and you do inquire about the least of her concerns."
Sir Keldorn put a restraining hand on the younger man's arm.
"Anomen, Ajantis obviously was under the influence of a spell. There is no reason for such animosity."
Anomen relented slightly. "I am aware of that, Sir Keldorn." He turned to Ajantis. "Please forgive my harshness, but such treatment she has been subjected to fills me with anger."
"What treatment?" Ajantis tried again.
Keldorn and Anomen exchanged a look.
"Ajantis –" Keldorn began, only to be cut off by Anomen.
"I will tell him, Sir Keldorn. Please, see with the men if any other wife should be made aware that she is not indeed a widow."
Anomen took Ajantis by the elbow and guided him away from the others. When they were well out of earshot, Anomen released him and looked sadly at him a long time, apparently trying to determine where to begin.
"Forgive my earlier outburst, and please forgive my bullet to your head."
Ajantis cocked his head and crossed his arms. "There is nothing to forgive; you thought you were defending yourself against an ogre and you healed me. Could we not lose time on trivialities? Obviously I have been under some sort of spell and much as happened in my absence. Would you please fill in the blanks for me?"
Anomen took a breath. "Regarding the time before I met Lady Ilire, Sir Keldorn would be better suited to tell you everything in detail; he is the one who conducted the search for you. I only know that word reached Waterdeep that you had not returned from your mission in the Windspear Hills at the foreseen date. Lady Ilire decided to come south in search of you. Meanwhile, Keldorn left Athkatla for the Windspear Hills to look for any sign of you. He could find none and, when he went back to the Order headquarters, Lady Ilire too had disappeared, somewhere on the road."
Ajantis frowned. "Ilire had disappeared? Where?"
"Captured near Baldur's Gate," Anomen provided grimly. The livid rage etched on his features spoke clearer than any words the terrible consequences of Ilire's captivity.
"Captured? By whom?" Ajantis demanded angrily
"A madman by the name of Jon Irenicus," Anomen uttered through gritted teeth.
"And who is this Irenicus?"
"Little is known of him. He is an adept of the magical arts, and owned an underground complex beneath Waukeen's Promenade in Athkatla."
"But… more must be known of a man who managed to capture warriors such as Ilire and her companions."
Anomen's eyes hardened. "The man is a twisted bastard not worthy of rotting in the deepest dungeon there is to be found on the face of Faerûn. I even doubt he is worthy of spending the rest of eternity in the Abyss. Somehow a worse fate seems warranted for him. But nothing more is known of him."
The fierce hatred he heard in the voice of a righteous knight of the Order took Ajantis aback.
"Sir Anomen, such spiteful words do not become a man of the Order."
Anomen stared back at him with an unchanged expression. No abandonment to rage justified or excused his words, only the determination of a man who realizes exactly what he is saying. His voice low and menacing, he enumerated the list of Irenicus' crimes. "The twisted maniac killed Khalid and desecrated his body beyond hope for resurrection. He did it to show Imoen. He tortured Dynaheir to death before Ilire's and Minsc's eyes. I will spare you what he did to the living."
There was a silence.
"Minsc and Imoen are also missing from our old group," Ajantis observed, "aside from Khalid and Dynaheir. Where are they?"
"Minsc is the new ranger of the Umar Hills, maybe a ten hours' walk north of here. Imoen is currently the captive of the Cowled Wizards, along with Irenicus."
Ajantis frowned. "Imoen is full of mischief, but she wouldn't do anything to warrant –"
"When Ilire, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc and Yoshimo escaped from Irenicus' dungeon, the mage unleashed a great conflagration of magic in his battle against the Shadow Thieves. The Cowled Wizards intervened and seized any involved. Since Irenicus had killed all the thieves and a few of the Cowled Wizards, that left no magic users but himself and Imoen, and both were taken. Jaheira told me that Irenicus overpowered the Cowled Wizards and set a condition to his surrender: Imoen would come with them. The Cowled Wizards complied. Recently, we have purchased a way to the Cowled Wizards' Asylum with the Shadow Thieves –"
"The Shadow Thieves! How could Ilire fall so low as dealing with Shadow Thieves?"
"Offers of help to enter the Asylum did not exactly rain on us," Anomen remarked coldly. "As it was, we had a choice between vampires and the Shadow Thieves. What would you we have rather chosen?"
Ajantis raked his fingers through his hair. "The Shadow Thieves, I suppose," he conceded, "although it seems unlikely no one else was willing to help."
"As you must know, the Cowled Wizards are a powerful organization. Few are willing to test their wrath by aiding the liberation of one of their prisoners."
The paladin nodded wearily. "I guess. So, if you have purchased a way to the Asylum, why are you in the Windspear hills, and not on your way to rescue Imoen?"
"We did not dare go yet," the cleric answered simply. "We feared we would be brushed aside effortlessly by Irenicus should we make the attempt too soon."
Ajantis stared in silence, trying to digest all this.
"If it is the Cowled Wizards' Asylum, why do you fear facing Irenicus? Was he not taken prisoner?"
"He was, although Jaheira tells me he had sufficient power to bully the Cowled Wizards and set conditions to his surrender. It is unlikely he will sit in a cell and wait for his captors' good will. We prefer to suppose and prepare for the worst, so we will avoid unpleasant surprises."
Ajantis nodded. "That is wise. Who is this Yoshimo you mentioned, who escaped Irenicus dungeon with Ilire?"
"He is the Kara-turan you have seen in our company. He has also been a prisoner of Irenicus, although for only a short time, and did not suffer the full extent of the madman's 'care'. Aside from Sir Keldorn, whom you apparently know, our other companion is Aerie. She is a cleric of Bhaervan and a mage."
Ajantis nodded distractedly, at a loss to order his thoughts and all the questions he needed to ask. Furthermost in his heart, however, was worry for his lady.
"Was she… was Ilire hurt badly by this Irenicus?"
Anomen's eyes turned flinty. "Yes."
The silenced dragged on. "Could you elaborate?" Ajantis pressed.
"She was tortured. Gruesomely tortured. It took a week worth of my most powerful healing spells, combined with the restoration power of a High Watcher, to heal everything that had been done to her body. Unfortunately, there is little we can do about what was done to her mind. I think we can consider it a victory that she recently has begun to smile again."
"A week worth of healing spells? But what in the name of Helm had been done to her?"
"I do not suggest you ask her."
"That is why I am asking you," Ajantis pointed out.
"She only revealed the extent of her injuries to me so I could heal her, and I promised her never to repeat what she told me. Furthermore, I promised her that I would never act as though I knew anything of the tortures she endured. I broke my secret to an extent in revealing this to you; I feel justified in doing so because you must be warned, but I will tell you no more."
The absolute finality to Anomen's statement annoyed Ajantis; he was her husband, after all. The cleric apparently followed his train of thought, because he relented partly and added, "I do not refuse this to thwart you. Lady Ilire told me what had been done to her, but only because I needed to know so I could heal her. Irenicus held her in captivity for over six months. Her accounts of his tortures are like nothing I have ever heard, even though I have been in charge of knights of the Order who had been captured by various organizations for information. Unlike what is generally believed, torture is a lengthy process. The prisoners are starved, kept awake for days, kept in the cold and humidity, and so on, for weeks or months before their questioning begins. Irenicus did not proceed in this way. He attacked her body with a meticulous fury that I do not understand. I do not know what he tried to accomplish by it, but I can tell you that he spared nothing, nothing to Ilire. I was not making a figure of speech earlier when I said it is a victory she can smile again… There are plenty of scars on her already; please do not remind her of it needlessly by questioning her regarding them."
A sick and cold feeling nestled in the pit of Ajantis' stomach. "He spared her… spared her nothing, you say." His mind tried to imagine what would make a battle-hardened cleric pale at the mere mention of it.
Anomen shook his head.
"Why?" Ajantis whispered.
"I do not know," Anomen answered cautiously. "Lady Ilire mentioned that he spoke of her potential once, but nothing else."
Ajantis felt the need to sit down. "Her potential as a Bhaalspawn? Was it what he tried to liberate by hurting her?"
"I do not know," Anomen said, "but that is obviously a possibility."
There was a silence. Ajantis was lost in his swirling thoughts.
"How does my disappearance in the mists of a spell fit into all this?" he asked.
"I do not know. I merely told you what happened to Ilire while you were in the clutches of the illusion. As for the reasons of your disappearance, you should consult Sir Keldorn; I am sure he will understand what is going on."
Ajantis nodded and got up. "I think I must speak with Ilire first, however."
For the first time, Anomen averted his eyes as he nodded. "Of course."
Suddenly realization hit Ajantis. "There was a flower in Ilire's hair," he stated in a very accusatory manner.
Anomen took a while to bring his eyes back on Ajantis'. "There was," he agreed.
"Are you the one who put it there?"
Anomen wished he had spoken with Jaheira and asked her to pretend she was the one to have done it. He was not sure the druid would have agreed to any sort of lie, but since he had managed to get Ilire to speak and to be tended to by High Watcher Oisig, Jaheira had warmed up to him and held him in more respect. Maybe she would have agreed to preserve his dignity and save Ilire the pain of having to explain to her husband why there was a flower in her hair put there by another man.
Anomen took a breath. "Yes," he told the truth.
Ajantis' eyes narrowed.
"I just thought it might brighten her up, and make her forget about the battle for a while," Anomen defended himself.
Ajantis glared at the knight for a while, before he turned his back and strode back towards the others.