Chapter 37

Natheran felt edgy but wasn't sure why. She had asked Sand and Khelgar to stay downstairs with Ballard and his men. She was upstairs with the rest guarding Tavorick's door. She was the one with tactical command, but only because of her rank. Not really knowing anything about setting up defenses, she had deferred to Ballard's judgement and allowed him to establish who was positioned where. She started pacing back and forth outside Tavorick's room again as the feeling got worse. Suddenly she stopped and closed her eyes, sensing that something was coming. "Follow me," she told the others shortly, and headed down the stairs to the main hall. Running out into the middle of the room she skidded to a stop, her body tense, listening for any sound to tell her where the threat would come from.

"Squire you're supposed to be upstairs," Ballard came running up, but came to an abrupt halt when he saw her face. Her eyes were glowing brightly with an almost feral light. The others were looking at her in concern.

"Send two of your men upstairs to Tavorick, now!" Natheran snarled at him causing everyone to jump at the vicious tone. She watched as Ballard simply waived two of the men towards the stairs without a word.

"Uh oh, were in trouble," Neeshka said in a low voice. She saw the others look at her, but didn't have a chance to explain.

Natheran looked at the tiefling and nodded. "Lower Planes blood is here, I feel their slinking presence," she hissed.

"Neeshka, what's wrong with her? I've never seen her behave like this," Khelgar whispered. Casavir and the others also looked to her in concern.

"She's descended from a celestial, the upper planes, angels, get it?" Neeshka rolled her eyes as if to imply it was obvious. "Minions from the lower planes can cause her to go bonkers. I'll also tell you this, whatever comes in here is going to be drawn to her first. Just don't get in her way, I don't know if she'll be able to control herself. She could hurt us without meaning to."

"Squire, there's a whole bunch of little demons coming, and there's a bigger one behind them," Guff shouted as he and Wetherly came in bleeding.

"Get behind me and take care of those wounds," Natheran ordered them and then whirled to face the demons that came charging in behind them. Several succubi and erinyes charged straight for her and soon she was lost in the battle. She was barely aware of anything other than the need to destroy these creatures. The fighting was intense, but brief, and soon there were no more. Looking around to see how everyone fared, she froze as a man's voice screamed. "Tavorick! Everyone upstairs now," she yelled and charged up without waiting for them, almost knocking Grobnar down in her haste. Reaching the old man's room she charged in to find a few mephits which were dispatched easily.

"Lord Tavorick are you hurt?" Natheran asked, peering closely in concern at him. Seeing him shake his head she sighed in relief.

"Here, this key opens the family crypt. The door has been warded against demons. It makes a more defensible place than here," Tavorick told her as he pushed it into her hand.

"Let's go then and stay close," she nodded in agreement and headed for the stairs. She hurried down only to stop and stare at the group of demons ringing the room.

"They're keeping their distance for now," Ballard said as he came over to them. "Lord Tavorick, it's good to see you safe," he said in relief.

Suddenly one of the erinyes screeched "Aasimar" and attacked. There weren't as many this time so it was over quickly. "We're heading for the crypt, let's go," Natheran told them and took off at a dead run, the others hurrying to catch up. She ran down the stairs to the basement and seeing more demons, kept running right for them, cutting them down. They finally reached the crypt and everyone hurried inside. She locked the door and stepped back. Looking around she saw the others looking at her strangely. "What?"

Before Khelgar could say anything Neeshka spoke up. "Forget it, it'll take too long to explain." They looked over as they heard heavy footsteps approach the door.

"I can smell you little lordling," a deep, cold voice rumbled. "And what else do I smell?" the voice growled in distaste. "Yes, hateful holy Aasimar."

"The feeling is mutual," Natheran snarled. "Tell me your name, foul demon," she demanded and waited for the creature to say something, but silence was her only answer. Suddenly her eyes widened as she discerned the threat it represented. "The wards won't stop him," she hissed to the others.

"I am Quaggoth-Yeg and I hunt at the bidding of my master," the evil voice finally growled, and with a loud crash the door was smashed back as a hulking monster filled the room glaring right at her. As she lunged at him, several other demons came in and the battle was on again. With a silent prayer to Helm she called down his power and she watched as the demons shrieked in pain at the bright light that was suddenly shining all around her. Even the big one she was fighting was bothered by it and in no time at all he was defeated. The remaining ones were easily dispatched, and looking around she saw that while wounded, everyone was still alive.

"That is the last of them, for now." Turning to Tavorick, Natheran saw a look of dismay on his face. "What is it? You still have the shard don't you?"

"I haven't had the shard since last night. It was Nasher's plan to trap the murderer and we were the bait," Tavorick told her as he wrung his hands anxiously.

"Where is it?" Feeling miffed at being kept in the dark, her voice was a little sharper than she would have liked.

"I gave it to Melia from the Moonstone Mask." He saw the looks of disbelief and quickly continued. "She's not a dancer, that's just her cover. She is actually one of the Nine. They must know by now that she has it. You have to get over there quick."

Closing her eyes she counted to ten. "Then let's heal our wounds and get over there." With everyone using their healing abilities it didn't take long. She felt a hand on her arm and looking up saw Casavir peering at her, his eyes full of concern. "I know you have questions but they will have to wait. Just know that I am okay." She smiled at him and he returned it, nodding acceptance of her words. Gripping their weapons tightly, they headed for the Merchant Quarter.

Natheran stood outside the Mask, shoulders slightly slumped, thinking about the mage who got away. He was the one who controlled all those demons and that meant that he was extremely powerful and dangerous. The worst part was that he had killed Melia and stolen the shard. At least they had protected Tavorick, but that was small consolation. "We're all tired I know, but I have to report to Lord Nasher immediately, so all of you head back to the Flagon to rest and get something to eat," she told her companions. Sand and Casavir both asked to accompany her and she agreed. They walked in silence for a while, until Sand spoke up.

"Natheran, I have studied many texts on Aasimars and Tieflings. I know that the celestial blood in you is very strong and I have some idea of what you must have felt back there. If you wish to talk about it at anytime, just ask." The wizard watched her face and saw a troubled frown cross it. e knew it bothered her that she seemed to lose control of her emotions around those creatures. While not as rigid as some paladins he had known, she still felt that she had to be calm and in control all the time. A popular, albeit misguided, belief that paladins held.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer very soon." She continued to walk for a while musing. "I knew they were coming long before they arrived. I felt them and their presence made my blood boil. Also, being a paladin puts extra pressure on me. All I could think about was ripping them to shreds." She realized they had arrived at the castle doors. "So I do need to find out more about why I feel this way, but it will have to wait until later." Entering the castle, she hurried down the hall to the throne room. Stopping in front of Lord Nasher she bowed and waited for him to speak.

"I am grateful you were able to protect Tavorick squire, but I heard there was fighting at the Mask. Melia?" Nasher's voice questioned.

"One of the Nine is dead my lord. Unfortunately I was unable to apprehend the one responsible. I can tell you that he must be an extremeful powerful and dangerous wizard to be able to control demons such as he does," Natheran said softly. "I wish I could have done more."

"I'm sure you did your best squire," Lord Nasher sighed. "At least we now have some idea of who we are up against. I will dispatch Cloak Tower mages to both places to look for answers, but it seems as if whoever this mage is he is out of our reach for now. Also, another matter has come to my attention."

"Forgive me, Lord Nasher, I know that the hour is late but this matter is too important to wait. Ah, this must be the squire, the Harborman I have heard so much about," a plump woman, of middle years had entered and stood near the doors.

Sand hissed out, "Careful, hosttower mage, and a powerful one at that."

"My Lord, if this is not an opportune time, I can return later," Natheran gave a little bow. Nasher's eyes gleamed with approval of her manners and he smiled a little.

"No, no please stay as this matter does require your attention. This is Sydney Natale our new ambassador from Luskan." He watched as the girl before him stiffened and her eyes narrowed in anger, and he wondered what she would do.

"I trust that you have not come here to put me on trial with another false accusation, Ambassador," Natheran's voice was smooth as honey, but the warning in it was quite clear. She walked over to the much shorter woman, causing Sydney to step back nervously.

Nasher found himself having to bite his lip to keep from grinning. After seeing her deal with Torio, he couldn't wait to see how she handled yet another Luskan emissary.

"Not at all, I am actually here to clear up some misunderstandings," Sydney replied just as smoothly. "You see your recent problems were caused by a man named Black Garius, self-styled Master of the Fifth Tower. As you can no doubt infer from the title, he thinks rather highly of himself, but he is not affiliated with the Hosttower or Luskan."

"So, you are claiming that Luskan had no involvement in the events at Ember, that you had no knowledge of it?" Natheran's voice implied doubt. "I find it hard to believe that the mages of the Hosttower are so inept that they allowed all of this to happen under their noses," she said silkily and watched the woman smolder at the insult.

Nasher looked at Nevalle and saw that he too was having a hard time not laughing at the way the girl played with Sydney. She really did have a silver tongue.

"I am afraid that it is true," Sydney almost choked on the admission. "However, there is a much more urgent matter that must be addressed. This Garius stole the Tome of Iltkazar from Ruathym, which is why they declared war on Luskan. He plans to use the tome to perform a powerful dark ritual that will allow him to steal powers from someone called the 'King of Shadows', a creature we know very little about."

"So this is a problem for Neverwinter because...," Natheran arched an eyebrow at the woman encouraging her to continue. Inside she was smoldering at how much the woman was lying and wondered what she was really up to and what her true motives for coming here were.

"He intends to perform the ritual inside Neverwinter Territory at Crossroad Keep. We felt that with the recent troubles you had with Luskan that it would be best if we allowed you to handle it. We don't know how much time there is to stop him." Sydney tried not to show how much the squire's orange eyes unsettled her. They seemed to be peering deep into her soul, as if to discover whatever dark secrets might be hidden there. She had never met an Aasimar before, and now she knew why so many tales had focused on the intensity of such a creature's stare.

"That means squire that I will need you to ride to Crossroad Keep as soon as possible," Nasher spoke up. "I will send mages from the Cloak Tower to assist you. Nevalle here will arrange for your horses, just inform him of how many you will need."

"My lord, while I understand the need for haste, it will serve no purpose if we are too tired to fight when we arrive. My companions and I will leave at dawn," Natheran countered firmly.

"Agreed squire. You may go." Nasher watched as she bowed and turned, paused once to glare at the ambassador, and then walked away. "You may leave as well ambassador," he ordered. Watching the woman leave he had to wonder why she really wanted to be so helpful. "Nevalle, the more I see and hear of my new squire the more I am impressed. It took a lot of effort not to laugh at the way she handled that Natale woman. See to it that her and her companions have everything they need."

"By your leave, my lord, I will see to it at once," Nevalle bowed and when Nasher nodded, left and headed straight to the Flagon.