Disclaimer: Of course none of this belongs to me. All characters/places etc. belong to their creators. The only one who is mine is Shi'van. Changed rating to M for future blood, gore and everything else that springs up in my sick little mind.
Around here somewhere it became really hard to break the story into chapters. Originally, I wanted to post this together with the previous chapter, but it would be way too big, so… The conversation in this one was pretty hard to write, but in the end, it turned out right I think. Hope you'll agree. ;) Oh, and the the verses at the end are from the same poem, "The Prayer", only this time applied to Valen.
The Clash of Shadows
chapter 11 – part two
Plans And Consequences
The following day passed in no better mood than the previous one. The Seer summoned Nathyrra, Osyyr and Valen early in the morning to discuss their next course of action in the light of the recent events. There was still a matter of the beholders to be dealt with, but Valen spent the better part of the meeting foaming at the mouth, cursing Vhaeraun for even existing, Tarnash for not being dead (and for not being allowed to kill him himself) but most of all, cursing Shi'van and swearing that he would take her head off as soon as he found her, regardless of what the Seer or anyone else had to say. Eventually, the Seer managed to calm him down enough that he settled for taking her head off only if he happened to see her, but he most definitely refused to have anything else to do with her… Ever. That presented somewhat of a problem, for it was Shi'van who operated the Relic of the Reaper and without her, there was no way for Valen to go to the beholders' lair and deal with the Eye Tyrant. Still, he claimed that he would rather take his chances storming through an entire horde of beholders than get himself anywhere near the shadowdancer.
The Seer let it go at that… for now. The beholders had to be dealt with and their original plan was the only one that had any chances of success. But still, she would give Valen a couple of days to calm down a bit and start thinking clearly again. Besides, they still needed to come up with several more protective enchantments.
Some time later, after the meeting was over and both Nathyra and Valen departed, Deekin entered the temple. The Seer observed him carefully, wandering whether he came here on behalf of his "boss" or was there something else he wanted himself. It turned out it was the later.
"Uhm… Deekin be wandering if you gots some bandages," he said as soon as he entered.
"Yes, of course Deekin," the Seer replied kindly. After all, the little kobold had nothing to do with Shi'van's actions and there was no need to be impolite to him. "It's for your poor kinsman, isn't it?" she asked as she gave him the bandages and a small bowl of healing salve on top.
"That be for Hrizz, yes... There be many like Hrizz there, you knows? In those caves…"
"Slaves to the beholders? Yes, I assumed there might be." She observed the worried look on the kobold's face closely. "And you would like to free them if you can, isn't that so?" She asked sympathetically.
"Deekin be thinking about it, though it hard to do now… Now you all hates the boss and goat man not wants to go and…"
The Seer knelt and put her hand gently on the kobold's shoulder. "He will go, Deekin. We just have to give him some time now. But he will go and he will kill as many of those beasts he can and I promise you, he will give you the chance to get as much of your kin out of there as possible."
"That be good. Deekin knows you keeps your promise. But how we gets there now, if boss not be going?"
"She will go there too," the Seer replied calmly, "but we must give her some time as well." She paused for a moment, carefully choosing her words. "I do not hate your boss, Deekin. I may not approve of what she has done, but I understand she had her reasons to do so. And I am still willing to give her a chance to prove to us all that she did the right thing… Or, at least, that what she did was for the good of all of us."
"So you not hates the boss? Deekin happy to know that," smiled the kobold, took the bandages and the salve and left.
The Seer rose to her feet. Deekin was among the most curious creatures she has yet seen, and she found that she liked the little kobold very much. But she didn't have the time to think about him too long. There was another one she had to speak with right now, and that one was far from being anything likable.
With a somewhat agitated sigh, the Seer walked into the corridor and went to see Tarnash.
Tarnash paced the room nervously. He wanted to get out. Ever since that shadowdancer brought him back and into the city, he had been in here, in this very room, hiding. Only the Seer, who gave him this shelter in the first place, knew about it, but even she came in here but once and Tarnash was beginning to grow sick of this waiting. He wanted out, out to the streets, out to the city, out to the Underdark even. He wanted to be anywhere but in this small room. It felt as if he was in prison and he perfectly hated that feeling. Once, long ago, he had been locked in a similar room for some minor offense he'd committed and for several long, agonizing days, he had to endure the punishment of a priestess of Lolth. He survived it of course, it was after all a really minor offence hehad committed, but the experience was not a pleasant one; and now, this situation he found himself in reminded him of it. He wasn't happy about it in the least.
The door flung open, snapping him from his thoughts, and the Seer walked in.
"When will I finally be allowed to leave this place?" he asked as soon as she entered.
"Soon. But not today."
Tarnash stared at her hard. What was this female thinking right now? Did she, perhaps, plan to keep him in here, not to let him out at all? He was pretty sure she wouldn't but… you never know with females, do you, even if they do follow Ellistraee.
"You will leave soon enough, Tarnash," she said as if she had been reading his very thoughts… And maybe she had? Tarnash shifted uncomfortably. "But there are some things we must discuss first."
"Such as?"
"Such as, for instance, what do you plan to tell your Matron Mother once you leave this place? Who will you say resurrected you?"
Tarnash had given this much thought already and recently, he came up with a quite satisfying answer.
"Gulthrys. He is a wizard and it is not beyond him to have in his possession such a thing as a resurrection rod."
The Seer raised an eyebrow "And will Gulthrys back up your story?"
"He will." Tarnash said assuredly "He is a wizard and we both know that if anyone is feeling held back and prevented from accomplishing anything greater than being just a walking magic item it's the wizards. You see," Tarnash eyed the Seer almost hostilely, "the wizards wield the magic no less powerful than the one wielded by the priestesses and in their fear of being outmatched, as many of them certainly would be, they keep the wizards on an even tighter leash than the rest of the males."
The Seer saw Tarnash's hostility clearly, but she let it pass. After all, he did speak the truth, but she had more pressing matters than to try and explain that she, even though a priestess herself, did not act like that. Normally, she would do her best to explain that to any oppressed creature she met, but Tarnash wouldn't believe a word of it.
"Very well then. Gulthrys it is. He has already proven he is pretty devoted to our cause…" she let the sentence linger.
Tarnash gave a knowing grin. "But I haven't." he finished. "And neither will I have a chance to do so as long as you keep me locked up in here."
"You are not locked up, Tarnash. You are here for your own protection and you know it."
"Protection from your own, Seer," Tarnash said gritting his teeth.
"Yes. Protection from my own. Only this morning did I finally get Nathyrra and Valen to consider not killing you."
"Why, I thank you ever so kindly for your efforts," Tarnash said ironically, sweeping into a deep bow.
"And you well should, Tarnash," replied the Seer coldly. "None of us, especially those two, forgot the role you played in Imloth's death. And they are not going to. On top of it all, Valen now refuses to be anywhere near Shi'van and the entire plan of dealing with the beholders is now endangered… all that on the account of you being here and alive."
Tarnash casually leaned back on the table. "Well, if the tiefling won't go, I could," he offered.
The Seer studied him intently for a while. "You would actually do it, Tarnash?"
"And why the hell not?" he shrugged "I'm already a dead man as it is… And don't forget I am no minor fighter myself. I wouldn't offer to do it normally but…" a sly look appeared on his face, "I know you have prepared many protective enchantments already and I also know they are the best they can be, since you were preparing them for one of your own… I doubt that you would go through that much trouble if they were for me, but now that yo'veu already prepared the proper ones…"
The Seer observed him carefully. He was wrong, of course. She would prepare equally good protections for anyone going against the Eye Tyrant… Or at least, she would try hard to do so. This was, after all, Imloth's killer she was talking to and he didn't make this offer because of his sense of duty and a kind heart.
"And if you go instead of Valen and manage to get the job done that would earn you enough respect and trust from our part for us to be willing not to take any revenge for Imloth's death and to even aid you after this is all over, right Tarnash?"
Tarnash didn't blink. Of course she knew what was on his mind. It wasn't like he made a big secret out of it, either.
"No, you will not go against the Eye Tyrant," the Seer decided at length "Valen will do that, as it was planned… Whether he likes it or not. And you, you have a job of your own to do. Tomorrow, you shall leave this place, go back to your house and deal with Saldrin. I will back up the story of him being the only guilty party in that… incident, and then you will be free to assume the command over all of our troops. But mind you, Tarnash," she leaned close to him and eyed him grimly"None of us will ever forget Imloth, or forgive you his death. You do this right and you will earn your life and my promise that, once this is over, me and my people will let you go without taking any vengeance on you. As far as helping you to get you and yours up on the surface however… You are on your own with that."
She didn't wait for him to reply before she left the room. Tarnash clenched his fists. Damn it, this wasn't going like it was planned. He'll have to talk to Shi'van about it. She did, after all, promise him that she would get the Seer and her people to help him, all the way. She said she would do it, and now she'd better do as she said.
He took a deep sigh and ran his hands through his hair. Well, one thing at least was good. He'll be out of here tomorrow. And not a moment too soon. He was really beginning to hate this place.
Valen sat with his head in his hands. Ever since that meeting yesterday, when he learned of what had happened, he could barely control himself… And today's meeting left him in no better mood. All he wanted to do was to storm out and thrash something. He was already on his way to the training grounds, when he remembered that Saldrin was there. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold his rage in check if he saw the firstboy Maeviir now. Also, he remembered the many times he felt this same way and how, every time he went to the training grounds to calm himself down, Imloth was waiting there. But now, Imloth was dead… And Tarnash was alive.
Valen gritted his teeth audibly. Yes, Tarnash was alive and it was Shi'van who brought him back. Entire array of emotions ranging from hatred to pain rose in his chest at that notion. Gods damn her black soul! How could she do that? And just to remember that she acted so casually all that time, in front of his very nose and all the while, she was only thinking about how to pull off her little scheme. And all that talk about Sigil and the Blood Wars and… He remembered her leaning close to him then and her words rang out in his mind:
"Ultimately, there is no taint in any of us, save for the one we make ourselves"
And how very true it was. Back then, it actually got him thinking. Could it be that he was wrong, after all? That his blood really didn't have that much, or even anything to do with his rage? Could it be that, in truth, it was the wars he had fought and not his blood that had so much effect on him, even now? Yes, he was thinking about all of those things, and more; but now, now he just thought about that sentence in the context of the shadowdancer. She was right when she said that, but the taint she spoke of was also her own.
Another thing she said popped up in his mind. The last words she spoke before they went back to the city.
"I'm still the same bitch," she said.
Damn it, how could he be so blind to it? Why didn't he hear those words for what they truly were, why didn't he… And just to think that back then, for the first time since she first came down here, he actually found the time he spent with her pleasant. For the first time, he was actually intrigued as to what kind of a person she really was… And now, he knew. And he hated her for it. Once again, he hated her, and more profoundly than ever before. He gritted his teeth even louder. And just to think that, at one point in time he actually found himself thinking that maybe he might even…
He threw himself hard on the bed. Damn it! Will this going from bad to worse ever end? First, there was that whole episode with Zesyyr, the episode that left him embarrassed, angry and deeply hurt. Then, there was Imloth's death, which hurt him even more and now, there was this thing Shi'van did. And the worse was yet to come. He still needed time to get himself to go and do his part in the beholder plan, but already he knew that he would have to do it. But that meant working with… (he gritted his teeth and let out a small growl)… Shi'van again, and he wasn't yet ready to even see her without coming in for the kill, let alone to get himself under control firmly enough to actually work with her. And then, after that job was done, he would have to come back and take Imloth's place in training the troops. And that meant working with none other than Tarnash, the very same Tarnash who had killed his friend. Even worse, it wasn't really Tarnash who landed the final blow, but the firstboy, Saldrin. And he wasn't allowed to go against him either. No, it will be Tarnash who will get to kill that one and all Valen could do was to sit and say nothing. Damn it! How much more can he handle? And how much more pain will he have to endure before all this is over?
Not being able to come up with an answer and afraid of that answer anyway, the pained and enraged tiefling closed his eyes and, breathing deeply, did his best to prevent the tears from flowing.
"Just how many blades can pierce the breast
And how much more blood can they bleed
How much more weight can they stand to bear
Until all the pain that they carry
Breaks out into a scream…"
"A Prayer," Shi'van Darkblade
"Ah, happiness is an inbox full of reviews." – one purring, satisfied Author. ;) Thanks people!
Yashal: Seems like I hit the mark. ;) Hope your speech returned to you. Brace yourself though, there will be quite a few more twists before the end.
Penname wa Silver B: Told you already – I wouldn't be me if I didn't put Vhaeraun into everything. ;) Yeah, poor girl… she brought it on herself though, so she really can't go around complaining about it, can she?
Black Sable: Ouch! Hope you found your jaw. Hmmm… all right, I'll try to live up to my reputation. ;) I looked that Sapkowski fellow up on the net last night. Seems his books are so far translated into Czech, Lithuanian, Slovakian (neither of which I speak), Russian (which I also don't speak, though I can understand every tenth word or so), Spanish, French (my close friends speak those, but not me) and German (which I should speak, but due to being damn lazy, I don't). A shame really – hope his books get translated to either English or Serbian sometime.
Night Vendiviel: Oh, yes – that's exactly how drow pay back their debts. Luckily enough, Shi'van is a bit difficult to kill – You don't believe me? Ask Valen! ;) And you're right, they are somewhat scared of her now… then again, wouldn't you be? Well, I always tried to keep this realistic, at least as far as characters and their mindset goes. Seems like I'm succeeding (gives herself two thumbs up) ;)
Essence Silverdragon: I love that quote! I wouldn't go so far as saying she sold her soul though… yet. Cruel on the other hand – definitely yes. But don't make the mistake thinking she's doing it for the sake of saving the world. Does she seem like that sort of a character to you? Hey, as far as Shi'van's concerned, whoever wants the world can have it – she's motivated by purely personal and selfish reasons (hmmm… I did imagine her as chaotic neutral at first – come to think of it, she's more along the lines of neutral evil really). And am I ever so glad someone at least figured out it was Vhaeraun! Hey, who else could it be anyway? And you figured him out perfectly – not only that he's on the constant prowl for worshipers, but now that L'loth is gone… of course he wants to butt in. He did have a damn good reason to answer Shi'van's call, didn't he? ;)
shadow0015: Oh, you have no idea – took me days to come up with it! …compared to Shi'van now I feel kinda lousy too – took her only half an' hour. ;) And of course personal feelings played a part there – it's not like she cares too much about anyone else's… most of the time. Btw, if you're a music freak, then there's two of us. ;) Oh, and I'd suggest you keep your friends – just make them listen to Tristania. ;) Glad you liked those lines, they're pretty indicative, not just for that chapter but for further story points too: "Enclasp my wrath in the prophecy of thine"
Indi-101: Shame on you for being so lazy. ;) Well, here's the chapter, hope you don't consider four or five days a long wait. Glad you too think the plan makes sense… there'll be a devious plotter out of me yet. ;)