Chapter XIV: Beating the Odds

Harrian poked his head around the door of his room at the inn, ironically for once respecting privacy when he had no real need to. The window was thrown open to air out the stuffiness of the room from the southern heat, and Jaheira stood before it, arms folded across her chest, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Rays of the dying sun had fought to make their way through gaps of the rooftops beyond the window, and the few shards that had made it through played streaks of fire in her hair. His feet felt like lead for a long moment as he tried to move forward, not wishing to disturb the scene; all he could do was watch her.

"Hey," he managed to say at last, stepping in and approaching her discreetly. "Are you alright? You… sort of fled back there." He regarded her thoughtfully, feeling the warming southern breeze in his hair as he stood behind her, and realised with a jolt that they had actually moved a hundred or so miles south of Suldanessellar, at least. More and more to unknown climes, with every further step they took on this quest. The north – the land around Baldur's Gate, which he had been intimately familiar with, where he had grown up – seemed like a dream now, and he wasn't even entirely sure it hadn't been a figment of his imagination. He didn't dare wonder if he'd see it again.

"It has been a long day," Jaheira acknowledged slowly, not resisting as his hands slipped around her waist and he rested his chin on her shoulder. Yet again, he marvelled at how well they fit together; the average human and the slender half-elf. "And I merely anticipate there being… longer still on the horizon, if matters continue as I think they will." Her voice was pensive, slightly dark.

"That's a prediction I won't argue with," Harrian replied dolefully, then sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. We said we wouldn't do this anymore." He paused, kissing her neck just beneath her ear, and contemplated the accuracy of this statement. No… he wasn't quite correct. "I said I wouldn't do this any more."

"I'm not angry with you," she said, distinctly to his surprise, and he straightened up slightly. "Just… just angry with the way fate seems to deny us anything but only the briefest of respites. There shall be no time we can lay down our arms for good, I fear."

"Matters do seem set to continue the same they ever did," Harrian agreed, shrugging a little. "And all we can do is allow ourselves to be pushed downstream, doing our best to avoid getting beaten to pulps by the rocks. We're good at that, though. We've been doing it for a while." He tried to inject some levity into his voice, failing miserably.

"It's not the rocks. It's where the river will drag us to," Jaheira twisted gently in his grip to face him, her hand coming up to lightly stroke his beard. Despite her words, he couldn't help but smile a little at her touch, and made a mental note to not anger her right then – a tug on the goatee was often a quick route to pain. "I cannot help but fear there will be a fork ahead," the druid continued, "taking us different ways."

"I'm not leaving you, Jaheira," Harrian said firmly, and raised his hands to grip hers. "We've seen how far I got without you in the past. It's not an idea that worked." He managed a wry smile that only slightly allayed her faint grimace.

"I'm not talking about a choice," she said quietly, and not without the faintest touch of irritation. For once, though, he knew it wasn't directed at him specifically. "I'm just afraid that the heightening of your destiny… the prophecies coming to pass… you may be led, by your fate, to a place where I cannot follow."

Harrian stared at her for a long moment, the intention and implication of her words sinking in slowly as he mulled them over. "My fate's not taking me anywhere I don't want to go. And anywhere without you is not worth it," he said with fierce conviction at last. "I'm still in control."

"And right now, every other Bhaalspawn is saying the same thing. When the actions of one affect all the others, nobody can be in total control." Jaheira sighed as he rested his forehead against hers, and she shifted a little closer in his gentle hold. "We are fighting for survival, and even if we win I know not how this will end."

She paused, uncertainty traced across her face entirely. A slight smile battled with a faint frown for superiority, until she gave up on deciding and leaned forward to kiss him delicately. "Even if we live at the end, I do not know if we win. But whatever happens, I swear I am here for you." Her fingers traced his jaw lightly.

"It's too early to know, now," Harrian insisted, catching her hand again and kissing the inside of her palm. "All we can do is…"

"Carry on as we ever did. I know. But after all of this time, all of these struggles, I can't… I won't lose you again. Not to your fate, not to your taint, not to death, and not to your own stupidity," Jaheira told him vehemently, shaking her head a little.

"Well, I intend to make sure it doesn't happen. I can't vote for my intelligence, mind, but I should do okay." Her gave her a wavering smile. "Being alive at the end of this will be living. I know, we're fighting for more than just our own survival here… the fate of Saradush is still lurking over our heads, and being very important right now. These Bhaalspawn armies on the march are still a concern. But we've fought powerful foes, and won before."

"These may be more powerful than anything we have already faced," Jaheira pointed out darkly, giving him an evaluating look.

"And we're more powerful than we were when we faced them. Fair's fair. The stakes are higher, but I'm not entirely sure that the odds are any worse than they ever were," Harrian pointed out, shrugging.

Jaheira stopped at last, a wry smile playing across her lips. "That isn't necessarily saying particularly much. We have… a habit of beating the odds. I simply hope destiny can keep us safe long enough to keep doing it."

"No. Just my incredible skills and charm will see us through," Harrian replied, smirking.

"If we have to rely on your charms, we're already beaten," Jaheira retorted, chuckling wryly. She kissed him quickly anyway.

"Alright, fine. Then I'll stab them until they die. Does that work as a more likely and successful strategy to see us through this?" he asked, his smirk broadening even more. "Well, we'll get Anomen to pummel things as well, of course, because stabbing alone won't do it, and then to balance things out…"

He stopped blathering as she kissed him again, and it proved to be quite a suitable cease to any rubbish he felt like spouting. But when they pulled apart, he gave her a long mock-glower. "Don't do that."

Jaheira grinned innocently at him. "Do what?"

"Interrupt me," Harrian retorted. "I don't like being interrupted."

"You looked as if you needed it," Jaheira said with an idle shrug. "After all, sometimes it gets to the stage where I must simply tune out and watch your jaw work aimlessly around some pointless…"

It was her turn to stop as he held her face in his hands and kissed her back firmly. The joint smirks that crossed their faces at this made the kiss break quickly, but the point was definitely made.

"See?" Harrian pointed out, looking triumphant. "Not everything has to be doom and gloom. And I'm still me. I'll always be me."

"More's the pity," Jaheira retorted, but nodded a little. "We never actually joined up on what we discovered in the city today. All of us… too busy lurking in our respective concerns around the table. Did you find any possible approaches to Gromnir?"

"We did," Harrian said, also nodding slowly. "We found our way to a temple… I forget which God…" He grimaced as she swatted him on the arm lightly. "But anyway, she said that there were really two ways to get into the keep, other than the main entrances. One of them is the sewers…"

"The sewers?" Jaheira repeated, looking less than pleased at that prospect.

"I know, I've had enough of sewers to last me a lifetime," Harrian agreed. "But if we could get a key and get down there, there's a passageway leading to one of the dungeons. The other way is through the crypts of the city. Also requiring a key."

"Crypts," Jaheira said, now feeling yet more like an echo. "Crypts, as in places where we're likely to find skeletons, ghouls, vampires, and all manner of undead monstrosities that will need to be wiped out?"

"Yeah. Considering vampires… I'd rather take my chances with sewer slime," Harrian told her. His slight tightening of his grip on her was subtle, but noticeable. "Regardless, I think we just have to take whatever route we can to gain access to. Perhaps talk to one of the city guards about getting a key to one of those places."

"I can see that conversation going well. 'Excuse me, we're a group lead by a Bhaalspawn, with another Bhaalspawn amongst us, and we want to break into your sewers or your crypts to kill your leader. Who pays your wages'." Jaheira rolled her eyes at him a little.

"Hey, I wouldn't say it like that. I'd not remind them Gromnir hired them in the first place, of course. But I doubt the populace at large is amazingly in love with Il-Khan as it is. Killing him might do them all a favour," Harrian said, wearing the expression on his face that plainly said he was rolling the idea around his head.

"We'll see what's most available tomorrow. If we stock up on holy water and stakes from the temple, vampires might not be so bad," Jaheira said, nodding a little.

"'Not so bad'?" Harrian echoed dryly.

She gave him a look. "Compared to sewer slime. At least they turn to dust and I don't need to shower for days after spending any time in a graveyard, crypt, or tomb. Lesser of two evils. And if we can wipe out vampires… it sounds like a better idea." She smiled a feral smile.

"Alright. We'll do some scouting out in the morning," Harrian agreed, nodding. "But if, by any chance, we find a viable alternative to sewer slime or vampires, I'm much more inclined to take it."

"I doubt anyone will complain overmuch about that," Jaheira agreed dryly.

"Well, they will. They all complain about anything. Imoen will mock me because she's bored and it's what she does, Anomen will make scathing comments because he's in a foul mood over Haer'Dalis being back, Reynald will make annoying, unnecessary and perfectly valid and logical criticisms of my plans, Sarevok will… well, I don't know what Sarevok will do yet, and you'll just…"

He stopped as, yet again, she interrupted him with a quick kiss.

"If you want to do that when everyone's making fun of me tomorrow, feel free," Harrian said at last, smirking a little. "It does get rather trying when everyone's mocking me any way they can, not to mention…"

This time, Jaheira stopped him with a raised hand to his lips, giving him a wry look. "You're just rambling now so that I'll kiss you, aren't you," she said, clearly resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him.

"Well, yes," Harrian conceded sheepishly. "Besides, you get all cute when you're annoyed with me – just before you decided to attempt to kill me, that is, and it's always worth…" Another kiss, though this one he pulled back from with his own scathing expression and mock-haughty glare. "Hey! That time I actually had something to say."

Jaheira raised an eyebrow at him, an evaluating look on her face. "Really? Was it important?" she asked dubiously.

Harrian considered this for a long moment. "I… well… no, not really. And I can't remember what I was saying anyway," he admitted, leaning down quickly for their lips to meet one final time. None of what they had discussed was forgotten, but they had both learnt long ago to take the moments they could get and savour them for as long as possible, just in case their time did not last forever.

Though they would fight to make it so.