Mazzy approached the giant stone bust in the small room warily, but as soon as she was within a metre of distance, it activated and a cold voice came from inside it, "Child of the Sun, are you ready to face the Trial of the Sacred Ritual?". "I...I don't know...", she frowned, looking at the rest of the party and Meg came to stand beside her. "I'll do it, you get as far from this thing as possible. I am ready to face the Trial", she then addressed statue, while Mazzy moved away from it.
The voice spoke again, "How does the Morning Ritual begin?". "I, uhm...I shall say a...A prayer to the Light?", she said tentatively, trying hard to remember the old book she had read so long ago in Candlekeep. "How does the Morning Ritual proceed?". "I shall hold the holy book and...The Sun will bless it?".
The voice became a shout, "WRONG! You can't make fun of the sacred ritual!", it exclaimed and a column of flame came from nowhere and struck her, leaving her burned and bloodied. "Meg!", the Halfling ran back to her side, worried, "How are you? I'm sorry, it should have been me...".
The Human girl shook her head, already healing her own wounds, "I'm in charge here, so it's my job to protect all of you from harm". Jaheira frowned, "It's not your job to be injured in our stead!". "Isn't it? I'm a Painbearer, you know", her ward replied with an impish grin. "Oh, do shut up!". The Ilmatari sobered and sighed, "Well, let's try again. Heya, stoney, I'm ready for round two here".
The statue reactivated, its voice once more calm and cold, "How does the Morning Ritual begin?". "Are you kidding me? I just told you! Oh, fine, I shall say a prayer to the Light". "How does the Morning Ritual proceed?".
Edwin intervened, trying to hide his worry behind a scowl, "You'd better say it right this time (I really don't want to see you hurt again...No! I can't tell her!)". She smiled warmly at him, then turned again to the statue, "I shall…Hold high the holy book, that…The Sun…Might bless it".
"How does the Morning Ritual end?". Rats, this is hard,"I shall thi…Reflect on...The glory of the Light as…As it...Conquers the Dark?". The stone bust was silent a moment and she braced herself for another strike, then it spoke, "So does the Morning Ritual end. Come back when you are ready to face the other trials". "Ilmater be praised! Wait, more trials? Come on!".
"Maybe we should just walk on and ignore it", Yoshimo suggested, shooting the statue a dirty look, "It seems there is no use for it, apart from striking the unfaithful". "I don't know, if this thing wants me to pass these trials, there must be a reason. Maybe it can even give us a weapon to fight the Shade Lord, as a reward". "What if it doesn't?". She shrugged, "Then I will personally break its nose with a hammer".
Anomen joined her in front of the stone bust, "My lady, let me face the other trials in your stead". "No, Anomen, I can't". "Please. I...I can't just stand by and watch as you are hurt". She smiled and squeezed his hand gently, "It's very sweet of you, but the answer is still no. If you want to help me, take a look around and see if you can find a way to pass the barrier in the main corridor".
He opened his mouth to argue, but the Half-Elf intervened. "There's no reasoning with her when she is like this, boy. Trust me, I know it better than anyone. Let's just do as she says, you'll never succeed in changing her mind". The squire bit his lower lip, but nodded reluctantly and left, turning only to give one last worried look at his leader.
At the end of the three trials, Margaret Dawn found herself sore and tired, having had to heal her burns twice more. All the reward she got was a carved piece of stone of a triangular shape, with two straight sides and a rounded one, while her friends came back from their exploration with a yellow gem that glowed softly. Thankfully, it was just what they needed to dispel the barrier and she put it in her pack with a satisfied smile: now the way was open.
oxoxoxoxoxo
The adventurers were a bit surprised to find another Bone Golem in the next room, but having already defeated one of those beasts, by now they knew how to kill it without taking too much of a beating. When the creature fell in a clatter of old bones, they sat on the floor to rest and finally noticed a small sarcophagus on the right side of the room.
Minsc immediately got up and looked inside, "It's empty. This must be the little girl's tomb! Now we can put her to rest!", he smiled and carefully took the child's remains from his pack and lowered them on the purple velvet. As soon as the bones touched the cloth, a light mist appeared and gradually became thicker, until they found themselves staring at the ghost of a black-haired little girl.
"Thank you, thank you so much!", the spirit said, a beaming smile on her little face, "You saved my bones!". The Rashemi smiled back, "You're welcome, little one. Minsc and Boo are happy to see you at peace". "Yes, now I can join my Lord at last.
I am...I was Amuana, the last priestess of Amaunator. I was born to protect this place from the Shade Lord, but it was too late and his Shades killed me. I can't do anything to stop him now, but you can! Will you help me?". "Of course!".
Amuana clapped her ghostly hands, "Good! I have something that can help you: this is a part of the Holy Symbol of my Lord", she handed him another stone triangle, "And this is a stone to prevent the Shadow Dragon from seeing you. Keep it with you and you will pass safely", she added, this time giving him a black oval gem with silver streaks.
"Thank you, little Amuana. We promise to kick the evil Shade Lord's backside for you", the ranger said solemnly and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a ghostly hug. "Be careful. May Amaunator bless you for your kindness. Now I must go", she released him and waved her tiny hand, dissolving to join her God into his Sun Fortress.
Aerie sniffed, drying her cheeks with a sleeve, "Oh, I-I'm so glad that the poor child is finally free!". "And she also gave us a useful stone to avoid having to fight the dragon", Edwin added, keeping his head a bit low to prevent the others from seeing the suspicious shine in his eyes.
Mazzy strangely agreed with him, "Yes, it's good to have it: I'm not in a hurry to face that monster again, it's too powerful". "Bah! Maybe for you, half-pint, but not for a Red Wizard! (Though I'm not in a hurry to face it either...Better safe than sorry)".
"Half-pint?! How dare you...", the Halfling shouted, ready to draw her sword, but Meg hastily put herself between them. "Mazzy, please, don't get angry, Edwin didn't mean to offend, it's just...He's always like that with everyone, there's nothing personal, really".
"With everyone but you", the tiny warrior retorted, relaxing only a fraction and moving her hand away from the hilt of her sword, "But for now I will ignore his insult. If he does it again, though, he will regret it". The Thayan snorted, "Oooh, I'm so scared, I'm shaking with fear (She couldn't even cut my fingernails properly with that sword of hers)", he muttered, dripping sarcasm.
The Painbearer pressed her lips in a thin line, "Edwin, stop it, I mean it. Or do you want to wash up the dishes every single day from now on?". He shut his mouth and shook his head: if there was one thing he hated, it was washing up the dishes. "Good. Are you all ready to proceed? Let's go then".
oxoxoxoxoxo
After killing another handful of Shades and two Skeleton Warriors, the party got the third part of the Holy Symbol of Amaunator and also a second Light Gem, this one glowing with a soft peach-coloured light. By placing the Holy Symbol in the indentation that served as a lock, they opened the door to the Dragon's lair and carefully slipped inside.
The creature was enormous, its scales were of such an intense shade of black that they looked like they were made of pure darkness, its red eyes glowed like burning coals and its fangs, which the adventurers saw when it yawned, were nearly as long as Minsc's legs.
But despite all of this, the Shadow Dragon didn't look much terrifying, not when it was so busy farting and scratching its head with a back paw like a huge flea-bitten dog. Holding their noses, they walked quietly past the monster without it even noticing, exited its cave and finally, reached their target: the Shade Lord.
It stood next to a dark stone altar, surrounded by swirling black smoke that smelled of rotten flesh and when it heard them approach, it turned and chuckled, the sound reminding them of the rustle of dried leaves in the wind. "My servant is back", it said in a hissing voice, "And with new souls I can feed upon. Welcome, all of you".
"Perverted Demon!", Mazzy shouted, drawing her sword, "Only death could stop me from avenging the souls of those you killed!". "Your time has come, you blasphemous creature!", Anomen growled, grabbing more tightly the hilt of his Flail. The Shade Lord merely arched an eyebrow, "Oh, I don't think so. Raise, my Shades! These fools are strong. And you", it pointed a gnarled finger at Meg, "You will be a perfect consort, God-child".
"Yeah, keep on dreaming, shady", she scoffed, making a face, "Minsc, Anomen, Edwin: take care of the Altar. Mazzy, Yoshimo, Jae: you kill the Shades. Aerie, go with the False Dawn spell and then target the Shade Lord with all the offensive spells you have", she ordered, running forward and striking the Shade Lord's knee with her Flaming Sword.
A blinding light exploded in the area after a couple of moments, courtesy of Aerie, making some of the Shades burn instantly and stunning the Shade Lord for some precious seconds. The battle was hard, but in the end, the Shadow Altar was destroyed and the Shade Lord was killed. Sadly, Merella died with it, because her body was too weakened by its dark power to survive, but the party members had better luck: their wounds were very bad, but not life-threatening.
Well, that was true for nearly all of them: when the Red Wizard turned to survey the now quiet battlefield, he saw Meg lying on the ground, blood pouring out of a gash in her throat.
"Kossuth! Jaheira, come here, fast!". "What's wrong?", the Half-Elf asked, but no words were needed and she immediately cast her most powerful healing spell, releasing a sigh of relief when she saw the wound close completely, "Thank Silvanus".
The Painbearer vomited a lump of blood, then smiled, "Thanks, Jae. I had a close shave...I couldn't cast the spell myself". "You are a fool!", the druidess snapped, cuffing her on the head, "You must never, never let your guard down, do you hear me? You know what would happen, should you die!". "I know, I'm sorry".
Edwin took a handkerchief from a pocket, "Do something like this again and I swear I'll turn you into a frog and keep you as my familiar! (Foolish girl)", he grumbled, cleaning the blood from the Human girl's chin. "But...". "Another but and you'll croak for the rest of your days! Did I make myself clear?". "Sir, yes, sir!", Meg giggled, playfully saluting him and the ghost of a smile touched his lips.
"We'll make camp here", Jaheira decided, "You will stay here and rest, child. Aerie will look for some aromatic herbs, Yoshimo will hunt our dinner, Anomen will collect the firewood, Minsc will raise the tents, I will get the water and...Whose turn is it to cook?". "Please, let me take care of the cooking", Mazzy offered, "You freed me and helped me avenge my beloved and my friends, it's the least I can do". The druidess nodded, "Fine, then".
After collecting the herbs, the Avariel sat down next to her leader, "How are you, Meg?". "I'm fine, thanks, Aerie. It's weird, you know: I nearly died the same way Sarry did. My brother", the Ilmatari explained, seeing the blank stare her friend was giving her. "Was Sarry his name? It's a funny name...No offence meant".
"None taken. Sarry is just the nickname I gave him when we were children: his full name is Sarevok". Aerie didn't even bat an eyelid, since she'd never heard that name before, but Anomen paled and dropped his firewood, shocked. "Sarevok? Your brother was Sarevok Anchev? The evil man who nearly caused a war between Amn and the North?".
Margaret Dawn stood abruptly, her eyes burning like fire, "That isn't him! It was the Taint, moving his body like it was a puppet! Sarry fought with all of his strength against the beast, he tried to stop it until the end!
People don't know the truth and they don't even care: they call him monster, murderer, but THAT ISN'T HIM! It's not his fault...", she fell to her knees, fighting back her tears, "They don't know how sweet and gentle he is, they have no idea...He is the best man there ever was...And now he's gone".
The squire felt his chest tighten at seeing her pain, "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...". "Oh, shut up, you useless simian!", Edwin hissed, sitting on the Painbearer's other side, "And you pull yourself together, Meg. Do you want me to fireball him?", he asked hopefully, "(Say yes, I've wanted to fireball that pompous monkey since I first met him)".
She couldn't help chuckling at that, "Oh, no need, Edwin, but thank you for the offer. Now I feel better...And famished! Let's just have dinner, okay?". "Umpf. As you wish (Maybe next time, then. There's always next time)".
Meanwhile, Yoshimo had managed to catch a nice fat deer and was back to the campsite with his prey, "I have our meal". "Wow! It looks so appetizing...Very nice work, Yoshimo!", Meg complimented him and he bowed. "Your lovely smile is the best praise of all, sekai no hikari", he said, earning himself a withering glare from the Helmite, to which he was completely oblivious.
After a delicious dinner, the Kara-Turan wandered to the Statue of Amaunator, formerly Shadow Altar and now back to its original shape and his eyes fell on a hidden panel in its side: he immediately unsheathed one of his pocket knives and put it in the small crack, until he heard a soft metallic sound and the panel slid sideways, revealing a pile of assorted gems.
He let out a Kozakuran exclamation of wonder and Aerie ran to his side, worried. "What's wrong?". Yoshimo smiled brightly, showing her the small treasure, composed of Rubies, Star Sapphires, a Diamond and even a Bejuril, "I think young Imoen will soon be free".