The next morning when she emerged into the Common Room her companions gasped, shocked by her appearance. She looked pale and tired and her once luscious locks had been cut raggedly to her shoulders.
"Maria, what have you done!" Cried Neeshka, "Your beautiful hair..."
"I was sick of people using it as leverage against me, this way they'll have less to grab onto when they try to slit my throat."
Her harsh tone cut through the air, silencing any more thoughts on the subject. It wasn't just about that though, she had been awake since before dawn, staring at herself in the mirror. Slowly, and without hesitation, she took up her dagger and began to hack methodically at the locks, getting more aggressive with each handful. In her mind it was not just her hair she was hacking away, but the cancer of her old life, her old feelings. Today she was different, today she would start anew.
"You're a tough one to catch!" came a voice from behind her, it was the boy Wolf, she had saved him once from an overzealous guard.
"Got a message for you from that Aldanon fellow."
"Aldanon the Sage?" she remembered the bumbling, slightly confused old man from a few months ago.
"What does he want?"
"Came in here all rattled he did, mumblin' something about some silver shard. Said he needed to talk to you right quick."
"When was this?" she asked,hoping the man was alright, she wouldn't put it past him to get lost in his own house!
"Two days ago maybe, Dory tried to get to you but those snobby old priests chucked her out."
"I guess i'd better go see what he wants," she sighed. She didn't really need more drama in her life at the moment but as always, what she wanted didn't factor into the matter. As they approached the old man's house a commotion outside made her move quicker.
"I said stay back!" called a rough looking man standing on the doorstep, he had a knife to Marshal Cormick's throat, "Anyone steps into the yard and we kill him!"
Sergeant Brockenburn could do naught but look on helplessly, when he sa he he sighed in relief and came rushing over.
"What in the hells is going on?"
"It's a botched robbery near as I can tell. The thieves were inside the house when Cormick knocked, must have noticed that the old sages wards were down and went to have a look. Poor fellow never tood a chance, shot him with a wand then took him hostage. Now they say they'll kill him if we come any closer. It's an impasse and a sticky one at that."
"Let me try to talk to them."
"Be my guest," he replied pushing her forward, "I'm a soldier, not a negotiator, I'm hardly any use."
To the awe and amazement of all she managed to talk the thieves down and get them to leave Cormick alone, though she had to procure their freedom to do it. Brockenburn wasn't too happy about this but yielded for the sake of the Marshal.
"You should have just charged those stinking amatuers," Cormick chided softly as he rubbed his throat.
"And let them kill you?" she asked with mock incredulity, "You know me better then that."
She questioned him about what he knew of the thieves and found that a dwarf named 'Old Scab' held hostages in the basement.
"Guess that's my cue," she turned to her companions, "I'm guessing covert is better, Neeshka, you're coming with me."
"As am I," added the Paladin, the look on his face leaving no room or argument, she nodded and led them into the house. Casavir was surprisingly quiet for someone wearing full plate armour and a giant hammer. The tiefling was easily able to dispatch any guards, it seemed no one was expecting them or watching out for them so it didn't take long for them to find the basement and 'Old Scab.' She killed the dwarf and his remaining guards easily, torching them to a crisp, she felt a slight pang of disappointment that it had been so easy, other then the githyanki mage she had never found her equal in battle. After thanking them profusely Aldanon's manservant addressed her.
"The Master was looking for you...before the thieves came. It's something we've discovered in the archives, a matter of great urgency."
"Yes, i'd hoped to find him here," replied the wizard curiously, "Where is he?"
"Kidnapped," stuttered the man, "They were on us in seconds. They said...they said they had a message from you. We'd been looking for you so of course we believed them. He – that is we – had been researching the silver shards at the archive. We found an old reference to a shard in Neverwinter, discovered shortly after the war with the King of Shadows."
"Great," she muttered to herself, "Another one."
"This shard was held by a fraternity of lords, wealthy men who dabbled in matters arcane. According to the tome only four still lived...Lords Dlren, Brennick, Hawkes and Tavorick."
"Wait – aren't those the men whose deaths caused the shutdown of this district?"
"Yes, all but Tavorick. We reasoned that the lords have passed the shard from one to the next, just ahead of the demons. If our guess is correct the Lord Tavorick has the shard, and he is in considerable danger. Aldanon tried to send word to him, but the man is stubborn. He urged me to go away, said I shouldn't return until I was 'younger and female.'"
"I think we should report this to Lord Nasher," murmured Casavir and Maria nodded in agreement.
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"It seems one event follows another," sighed Nasher as they approached the throne, "The trial with Luskan has been settled, but now I hear Aldanon has been kidnapped?"
"That is correct," she replied, "And we have news of the murdered nobles as well, all three – Dalren, Brennick and Hawkes – were in possession of a silver shard...That is now held by Lord Tavorick."
"Cryan?" he exclaimed surprised, "I will not allow him to suffer the same fate as the others...I want you to report to Lord Tavorick's estate at once! I am sending Captain Ballard and a detachment of guards to meet you there."
"Black Ballard?" asked the Paladin curiously.
"The very same, I think he will prove to be an asset."
As they rushed over to the old lords house Maria prayed the old man was alright. As they arrived she could hear bangs and crashes coming from inside. They rushed in to find furniture overturned and a squad of men protecting a cowering old man. A man in his early forties with a long blond ponytail motioned her forward and she saw that their attackers were demons and imps.
"Captin Andrey Ballard at your command squire!" he called over the ruckus, "No time for formal introductions, we need to keep m'lord safe."
"Listen to me!" cried Tavorick suddenly, "Our only chance is the crypt! I had the place warded...they'll only be able to come through the door, and it should take them some time to penetrate the wards."
"All right," she nodded, "Stay close milord."
"We are making a break for the crypt!" her voice carried over the noise with strength, catching everyone's attention, "Protect Tavorick!"
They all looked to Ballard who nodded his assent, slowly they began herding the old man towards the back of the manse. Maria stood at the rear, shooting fireballs and lightning at the attackers. She was the last through the door and slammed it close behind her, breathing hard.
"predictable creatures, demons," the old man said, "Can't abide wards, not when they are done right. Now they'll have to come at us through-"
He stopped short as a foul stench wafted around them.
"Oghma's Eyes! What is that stench!"
A disembodied voice spoke through the door, a demon.
"I can smell you little lordling, I can scent your craven soul amidst the dust of your ancestors."
"And we can smell you!" Maria called out, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "This place is warded against you demon!"
"And who are you my mortal friend?" the voice asked curiously, "You have a wonderful anarchic scent about you. Beneath your weariness and your sweat, you smell of lives shattered and hopes trod underfoot...perhaps I could smell you better...if only I could come...a little closer..."
The voice was taunting and the door began to creak and groan under the weight of the creature. Suddenly it burst forward showering them with splinters and a massive, spiked monster stormed through the opening. It roared straight towards her, flinging her across the room. She landed with a hard thud against the wall, the breath knocked out of her and momentarily dazed. She heard ringing in her ears and had to shake her head to clear it. They were throwing everything they had at the demon but it didn't seem to be slowing down. In a last ditch effort she concentrated all her power on the thing, it stopped, crying out in pain. Its skin began to blister and boil and it clawed at its chest, she was literally boiling it from the inside out. It collapsed to the floor before shuddering and lying still, all eyes were on her.
"That thing...it must have a master! I told Nasher this hoodwinking business wouldn't work! But does he listen to the eighty-four year old? Of course not."
The girl's stomach dropped as she realised the implications of what he had said.
"You don't have the shard, do you?"
"Not since yesterday. Passed it to my girl Melia before you got here. Whole thing was a diversion, to get whoever is seeking the shard to reveal himself. Instead he sent that brute." he said referring to the steaming pile of demon mush.
"Nasher wasn't honest with me, was he?" she felt betrayed, why had he not thought to share this information with her? Didn't he trust her?
"Oh i'm sure he had the best of intentions," he replied matter-of-factly, "Lords always do. But no he wasn't. Melia is one of the Nine. She is holed up at the Moonstone Mask with the shard and half a dozen guards posing as patrons, only the demons master has seen through our ruse. The man himself is on his way to claim the shard, i'd bet my heirs on it -if I had any."
"We'd better get to the Mask and warn Melia," she replied grimly feeling slightly sick, something in her gut told her they were going to be too late, but it didn't stop her from rushing over anyway.
She was right, she could smell the smoke and hear the commotion of fighting from two streets away. As they entered a woman saw her and pointed up the stairs, the demon minions did their best to hinder her but she just blasted them out of the way. The last room they came to contained a man with glowing tattoos...and the body of Melia.
"Ah...reinforcements. I'm afraid you are too late to save this one. And if it is the shard you are after...I'm afraid that I have that as well. It seems to me all you have left is your life...but that is easily corrected."
A faint golden circle glowed on the floor beneath him and he summoned two gigantic demon wolves to his aid before disappearing in a burst of light. Maria wanted to scream she was so frustrated., if Nasher had entrusted her with this in the first place, all this could have been avoided. The wolves were killed swiftly, their bodies vanishing upon their deaths. It was time to visit Nasher.