Questions and a Few Answers

Swimming up through the darkness was easier this time. I opened my eyes to find myself still lying on the platform. Experimentally I lifted an arm. There was some pain and a lot of stiffness, but I could move it. That was definitely an improvement over the last time I'd been conscious. My legs were stiff but they also moved. I tried sitting up. As soon as I swung my legs over the side of the platform vertigo came crashing into my head. I collapsed back onto the bed, not terribly eager to try that again anytime soon.

A cursory examination of the skin that I could see revealed acid burns on my arms where they weren't covered by my armor. My armor was in tatters – the acid had eaten large holes through parts of the torso and sleeves. "Dammit!" I exclaimed. I had gone to great lengths to procure this armor. It would be difficult if not impossible to find its match here in Carceri.

The darkness came swimming back up again, but I fought it this time. My strength was returning. I was in that intermediate state between consciousness and sleep where you can sometimes dream without actually being asleep. I was dreaming of a glade in the mountains. A brook of fresh water coursed through the glade and it was filled with the bright white light of the sun back on Faerun. Birds were singing, cicadas were droning and I was lying in the grass, soaking it all in. Someone was next to me, enjoying the sunlight and the play of its beams on the water.

He looked at me, this person in my dream. At first I didn't recognize the face, and then I realized it was Bishop. But it also wasn't Bishop. There was something serene about his face – the perpetual scowl and the innate distrust of anyone other than himself seemed to be gone. He still wore his ranger's leathers, but he seemed so carefree and happy. I had never seen him that way. In truth, it disturbed me more than anything else. Why would my subconscious drag this up from the depths of my mind?

Some noise in the hallway snatched the dream away from me, and I became fully alert in a matter of seconds. I didn't move, but pretended to still be sleeping on the platform. Slowly the door opened and a face peered into the room through the crack. It was one of the giants: a female. A spell came to my lips, one that required no components to cast. I wasn't going to be taken out without a fight.

The giantess looked behind her, then slipped into our room and closed the door. She stared at me, her expression determined and grim. I closed my eyes, trying to remember the Abyssal that had come so recently to my mind.

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice taking on the harsh guttural sounds of the language of the abyss. I readied my spell in my mind in case conversation wasn't what she was here for.

She looked stunned, but composed herself quickly. "I live here," she replied. "I should be asking you why you are here."

"I'm just trying to find a way out of Carceri," I said.

"We mean you no harm," she said.

"Well, you'll excuse me if I don't believe you. I have yet to meet someone here who doesn't mean me exactly that. I've been hounded and hunted, and all I really want to do is leave."

"We can help you," she said.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, suspicious. I couldn't believe they would help without demanding a hefty price in exchange.

"We are the clerics of the muses – one of our goals is to collect knowledge and memories. We have the dark on how to escape Carceri, if that is your goal. It would come with a price, but it would be a fair price, and one you could easily pay."

I arched an eyebrow at her, propping myself up on my shoulder as I did so. Her offer was intriguing, but I didn't trust her for a second. I gestured for her to continue.

"I have spoken with the head of our order: he is willing to help you for a price."

"The last price I was given to escape Carceri was much too high," I responded. "I have yet to meet it. How do I know yours will be any better?"

"Who did you set a price with?" asked the giantess, her arms coming to rest in front of her in an easy grace. She sat down on the floor, and her head was level with mine.

"Information is power. What will you give me if I tell you?" I asked.

Her head tilted to the side and she gave me a careful, scrutinizing look. "You are in no position to negotiate with me. You will tell me because I ask," she replied.

"And if I don't?" I knew I was baiting a dragon, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't just hand over information to people I didn't know. I didn't just hand it over to people I knew, for that matter. There was always a price: for everyone.

"Then you will never escape Carceri, as you so dearly wish. Your companion will never be reunited with you, either. You will tell me what I ask, or his life is forfeit."

I tried not to show any surprise at what she said. They were more on top of things that I had realized if they knew about Bishop. And from what she said they either had him in their custody or knew exactly where he was. Or she was bluffing to get me to tell her where he was or that he existed. Either way, it was best if I neither confirmed nor denied what she said.

"The last price was given to me by a deva."

"Ah, that is it then. They always demand an enormous price for their services. Their goal is to save you from yourself, after all. They can do no less than ask for your salvation. Most people here find that incredibly difficult, if not impossible. No, our price is not that high. We ask only for your memories. We have been asleep for a long time. We need to know what has happened in the intervening years."

"Well, I'd love to hear your offer, but I'm afraid I won't be leaving this bed anytime soon," I said. It was true. This conversation was tiring me out and I didn't think I could handle much more without collapsing.

"You are injured. I will send in one of the healers, and then you will meet with me and the Tormunath. We will discuss prices and memories. Then you will leave." With that the giantess got up to her feet and left, barring the door behind her.

Slowly I lowered myself onto the bed, thoughts rushing through my head. It seemed like a small price to pay – my memories for the way out. And yet I couldn't help but feel it would be a far more difficult a price than I thought. Scenarios worked their way through my mind. Telling them everything I knew about Faerun, for example, didn't seem like information they'd be interested in. I really hadn't been in Carceri that long. I didn't really have anything of note to tell them. As I slipped into sleep, the deal got worse and worse, until I found myself hooked up to some strange machine that not only took my memories, but my life force as well. I realized I was dreaming, and settled down into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Sometime later a noise in the hall woke me up.