Chapter 109: Handling the Truth

Imoen was right, Ember thought numbly as she listened to Edwin's stammered confession. He really was up to something else.

As it turned out, when Edwin had told Imoen he was seeking old artifacts on the Sword Coast, he was really seeking Bhaalspawn. He'd come to suspect Ember might be one when he first saw her strange healing powers, and had asked to join her party in order to find out what she was (after all, as he said, in the worst case, he'd be following some other gifted being around). Once he'd verified his suspicions, he was supposed to bring her to Thay, or to leave the matter to his superiors. He'd done neither, on account of Imoen 'disrupting' him. And now, because his superiors had found out that that he'd travelled with a Bhaalspawn without reporting it, he was banished from Thay, his life was forfeit, and the Red Wizard Degardan had been sent forth to locate and eliminate him.

And he was telling her all of this now because he'd already told Anomen and Yoshimo, in drunken fragments, the night before.

Ember buried her face in her hands, and waited for Edwin to finish his story. "A rat," she muttered. "All this time, a rat!"

"(Er...)"

"Tell me one thing, Edwin. How could Ajantis not have seen this treachery in you?"

"(Treachery?)" he protested. "What treachery is there in being intrigued by someone's preternatural abilities? And," he added, "why should wanting to bring someone to Thay necessarily be an act of 'evil intent'?"

"When it's disguised as wanting Imoen to get better instruction, you mean?" she snapped. "How could you do that?! You exploited her friendship to try to bait me! You... you knew what might be wrong with me ALL ALONG!

He clutched his temples. "Don't yell..."

Yelling was the very least of the things she felt like doing to him at that moment. "Get out of my sight," she growled.

Edwin scurried out of the room.

Ember slumped down on her bed and stared blankly at the open door. The doorposts were adorned by subtle wood carvings; they reminded her of leafy vines, or of flames. The hallway beyond lay in shadow.

Now she knew why Anomen hadn't joined her and Minsc for his morning prayers that day.

-.-.-

Half an hour later, Ember entered one of the inn's upper parlours. The others were already there; Minsc greeted her by the door, while Anomen, Yoshimo and Mazzy had seated themselves around the large table that dominated that particular parlour. Minsc still looked just as bewildered as he'd been earlier, when she'd asked him to assemble the others there, and there was some confusion on Mazzy's face as well; they must not have been told yet. Yoshimo appeared more intrigued than anything else, and actually gave her a small smile. Anomen...

Anomen was not looking at her. His gaze was fixed on the small vase of flowers at the center of the table. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his expression was stony.

Her heart sank even more.

"Sit with me," she murmured to Minsc. He pulled out a chair for her at the head of the table, then another for himself, and they both sat down.

"Well," she said, and licked her parched lips. It didn't seem to do much good. "I... er... Mazzy?"

"Yes?"

"They... they haven't told you, have they?"

"No, my friend; all I know is that this pertains to the wizard, and to something he spoke of to Yoshimo and Anomen last night."

"Boo does not like the sound of this!" Minsc exclaimed. "What has the girl that was Edwin done now?"

"What he's done..." Ember looked at Mazzy. "He told them two things. The first was his mission in joining my company. He was supposed to find someone like me, and get that person to come with him to Thay - Minsc, sit down. Please. The Red Wizards want Edwin dead now because he failed to report that he'd found me, and failed to bring me to Thay. The second thing... the reason he was seeking someone like me..."

"He told?!" Minsc roared, standing up and slamming his massive fist on the table. "Spying, and telling?! How dare he do that to Minsc's witch! I will -"

"Minsc, stop!" Ember cried. "Let me deal with him."

"No! I must defend -"

"Promise me that you will not do anything to Edwin!"

"But -"

"Please, Minsc."

Minsc sat down again. "Minsc and Boo promise," he said miserably.

"Thank you," Ember said unsteadily, and squeezed Minsc's hand. Right now, she needed her friend, not her champion, and as tempting as it was, tearing Edwin to bloody shreds would solve absolutely nothing.

"Our friend Minsc knows already, then?" Yoshimo asked.

"Yes, he knows," Ember said. Her heart was pounding. "What Edwin told you last night... it was the truth." She looked down. I've waited too long already. "I am a child of Bhaal."

Silence filled the room.

"I never knew what I was until last autumn," she continued, not raising her eyes from the intricacies of the woodgrain pattern on the tabletop. It was easier than looking at her companions. "I never even suspected there was anything wrong with me until springtime, a little more than a year ago. Minsc has known the truth as long as I have. I asked him not to tell you. I... I was afraid you would refuse to help me rescue Imoen if you knew, and I didn't think it was necessary for you to know." She swallowed; a large lump was forming in her throat. "Later, I wanted to tell you, but... I was too scared of how you might react. I couldn't bring myself to say it. I am sorry."

"I do not understand," Mazzy said after a while. "I have heard of the prophecies regarding Bhaal and his offspring. As I recall them, they do not seem to fit you."

"And from what I have heard," Yoshimo said, "I thought a Bhaalspawn would be larger."

Ember laughed nervously. "Larger than Minsc, with glowing eyes and spiky armour and a massive sword, perhaps?"

"Aye, something like that."

"I've never wished to live up to such an image. Nor do I want to see those prophecies fulfilled. But, what I want won't change what's in my blood." She sighed. "Now... now that you know, what do you three intend to do?"

"Intend?" Yoshimo asked. "Are you no longer the young lady that led me out of Irenicus's dungeon? Nothing has truly changed between us; I may be a little more knowledgeable, perhaps, but that is all."

"I cannot fault your desire to keep this a secret, I suppose," Mazzy said. "I doubt... I cannot claim that I will be able to look upon you with the same eyes as before. But I do know that in the time that I have travelled with you, you have proven yourself to be a person with your heart in the right place. I shall stand by you while you stay on this path."

"I hope I won't disappoint you," Ember said quietly. It was as good a reaction from them as she could have hoped for.

"And what of you, friend Anomen?" Yoshimo asked. "What do you say?"

Anomen didn't answer at once. "I have pledged my honour to the rescue of Imoen," he said, slowly and stiffly. "My pledge stands yet."

His words felt like a blow to her chest. It was better than him leaving immediately, or taking a stand against her, but only barely. "I... see," she muttered. "I release you from that pledge, if you prefer."

"My pledge stands," he repeated.

"Boo is happy to hear this," Minsc said, but he spoke calmly, with none of his usual enthusiasm.

"None of us will depart from our current course, it seems," Yoshimo said, and stood up from the table. "Do not worry, my friend! You will see Imoen again, and Yoshimo will be by your side when you do."

"I need some time to gather my thoughts," Mazzy said as she followed suit, "but I would like to ask you more about this later."

"Of course, Mazzy."

Anomen was the last of the three to leave the table. He slowly got up and headed towards the door, still not looking at her. "I'm sorry," Ember murmured as he passed her. His step faltered, but only for a moment. He left the room.

The meeting was over.

"This has been the strangest of mornings!" Minsc declared. "But friends are still friends, and little Anomen will not be angry forever, or so Boo thinks. See the optimism in his eyes?" He took Ember's hand, turned it palm up, and gently placed the hamster in it. Boo snuffled once, twice, and scratched his whiskers with a tiny paw.

Ember wiped a tear from her cheek, and ran her fingers through the soft, warm fur on the hamster's back. "I hope you're right, Boo," she whispered dejectedly.

-.-.-

"You cannot abandon me here!" Edwin cried as soon as Ember entered his room. From the look of it, he'd been waiting for her ever since she'd dismissed him earlier that morning.

"And why not?" Ember asked coldly. "Is there anyone else you'll report me to if I do that?"

"No!"

"Is there somewhere else you'd rather I leave you, then?"

"(Isn't it obvious?) You may cast me aside whenever and wherever you like," Edwin said, gritting his teeth, "but you must wait until Imoen has been reclaimed!"

So that's it. "Why would I want to wait for that?"

"It is very simple," Edwin said, reverting to the tone of someone lecturing a stubborn child. "Would you rather go into a wizard nest without a practitioner of the arcane arts by your side, than go with someone who ultimately did not act against you?"

"Which you only did because of Imoen," Ember retorted. But he did have a point, she conceded to herself; none of them knew what kind of magic they might encounter. And to find another mage willing to help with the rescue, at this stage...

"Yes, because of Imoen! And I refuse to stand by and watch you fumble her rescue attempt; she will not rot in Spellhold on account of your folly!" Despair shone in his eyes; she almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"What if you reach her," he argued, "and find you cannot rescue her, merely for the lack of a wizard?"

She wavered.

"(Please...)"

"Damn you and your logic!" she snapped. "You can stay until Imoen is safe, then. But in the meantime, I will not accept a single complaint from you. I will have no more arguments, no more putting your mouth where it doesn't belong, and no more wasting time with trying to correct your blunder. Do not make me regret this."

"You won't."

She stomped out of the room, and slammed the door shut behind her.