Chapter 124: Comprehension

The vampires' lair had been built in a series of catacombs that lay buried beneath the current graveyard. While neither as old nor as expansive as the catacombs under the Temple district, the interlinked chambers still spanned a considerable area; a hundred men could easily have hidden within the lair. Almost every single chamber contained something horrific; gutted and drained corpses, bloodstains on the floors and walls, knives of all shapes and sizes. The smell of blood was thick in the air, and even as it made Ember's stomach turn, she could feel how her own tainted blood was drawn to it. The feeling repulsed her as much as the lair itself did; she couldn't wait for them to be done with the place.

At first, the group encountered nothing but a few ghouls, feeding off of the remnants of dead bodies, but when they continued deeper into the lair, they soon found the vampires. The creatures were different from any undead Ember had seen before; some of them seemed like little more than animated corpses, others looked as nearly normal as Bodhi, but they all had long, sharp fangs, and they all had a preternatural strength that easily rivalled Minsc's. Where other undead were near mindless, the vampires moved and acted with a clear purpose, and several of them had a striking, almost domineering presence. It was little wonder that the Shadow Thieves didn't want to confront them themselves; the vampires made for quite formidable foes.

As Linvail had suggested, Anomen's abilities against the undead came as a blessing. While he couldn't destroy the vampires the way he'd destroyed the ghouls, he was able to make them fearful and bewildered, which made their job far easier than it otherwise might have been. The creatures still fought ferociously, but by advancing carefully and focusing their efforts, the group made steady progress; one by one, the vampires were forced to abandon their physical forms and flee to their coffins.

After a while, the group halted in one of the larger chambers in order to replenish their protective spells. It was a strange place, even when compared with the rest of the lair, and appeared more than anything like a mad alchemist's workroom. Shelves stacked with potted entrails and glowing powders lined the walls, competing for space with workbenches full of tools that reminded Ember uncomfortably of Irenicus's dungeon. One workbench held a meticulously dissected corpse while another bench seemed fairly innocuous, holding only a few small jars and a pile of books, all of which were bound in smooth black leather.

"(Conjur Ota Servanta. Dea Vampir Becomos. The Vampiricus Omnibus: Unabridged,)" Edwin muttered, reading the titles off the books' spines. He reached out to pick up one of the books, but withdrew his hand with a disgusted yelp; the book he had touched was drenched in blood.

One object in the room seemed oddly out of place; a gleaming mace lay on in a puddle of dried blood in one of the corners. It looked almost like the vampires had attempted to douse the weapon with blood, but while the handle was completely covered by a brittle, brown coating, there wasn't a single speck on the mace's head.

"How strange," Mazzy said, carefully picking up the mace. "Do you think it is illithium?"

"(Is she blind?) Of course it is!" Edwin said sourly. "And yes, it will ward you, just like the amulet."

"Excellent," Mazzy said, and poured holy water on the blood-encrusted handle. The old, dried blood crumbled to dust and fell away from the weapon. "Ah, much better. Here, my friend; you know best how to wield this," she said, and gave the mace to Anomen.

The mace soon proved its worth; its touch seemed to burn through the undead flesh of the vampires, harming them in a way the group's other weapons never could have. The most dramatic demonstration of the mace's abilities came when the group confronted a female vampire with mage powers. She summoned illusory copies of herself to mislead the group while she attacked them with acid and lightning, but Anomen managed to see through her illusions, and when he struck her real form with the illithium mace, her body was destroyed.

Before long, they'd passed through the entire lair, ending up in a large chamber that was held nothing but several closed coffins. This, then, was the retreat of the vampires they'd bested, the place that their ghostly essences would have fled to in order to rest and restore their physical bodies. All told, there were almost two dozen of them.

"Where might Bodhi be?" Ember wondered. "There hasn't been a trace of her so far, and she can't possibly be out in the daylight."

"Who cares?" Edwin snapped. "Let us finish what we came for, and begone!"

"Boo wonders if she is in one of the coffins," Minsc said. "And if she is, she will meet the buttkicking stake of goodness, just like the rest of them!" He charged at the closest coffin and effortlessly ripped the lid off. One of the vampires they'd bested earlier lay within, his recuperating body looking as frail as a pile of sculpted ashes. Minsc pulled a stake from his belt and put it through the vampire's heart. The body crumbled away, now truly a pile of ashes and dust.

"Be at peace," Mazzy murmured, and sprinkled the coffin and its contents with holy water.

One by one, they opened the coffins. Some of the vampires were in a state of recovery, some were sleeping, some woke up as their resting place was disturbed; for Minsc, it made no difference. He thrust stakes through their chests with an almost frightening efficiency, and in their true deaths, they all ended up as similar piles of ashes.

They were down to the last few coffins when Bodhi arrived.

-.-.-

Out of nowhere, Bodhi appeared in the doorway to the chamber. The vampire leaned casually against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest and a mildly displeased look on her face; apparently, the destruction of almost a score of her minions didn't warrant any stronger reaction. "Hmm... I had hoped it would not come to this, but you are set in your path, aren't you," she said, gazing coldly at Ember.

"What would you know of my 'path'?" Ember replied, trying to not show any surprise at Bodhi's sudden arrival.

"I know about many things; about you, your employers, what they intend. Can you say as much? Do you truly know these people cloaked in shadow?"

"We know enough, evil woman!" Minsc cried. "We know they are not as wicked as you!"

"You may believe what I say, or not. I have little concern about the matter," the vampire said, ignoring Minsc and keeping her gaze fixed on Ember. "Tell me, have the Shadow Thieves done more than promise? Have they delivered anything, or have they simply made certain you are always within reach?"

Ember didn't reply, but her face must have given her away; the vampire smiled knowingly at her.

"I do not blame you for being confused as to what their goals are. Have they said why they sought your service? Why they offered to help you?"

"I don't care," Ember said. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?" The vampire smiled again, revealing her fangs. "Even if their interest in you should be more than simply mercenary? Would it matter, I wonder, if they knew full well who you are... and what you are?"

Ember stared at Bodhi.

"You look surprised," the vampire purred. "Yes, I know what you are, child of Bhaal. Irenicus told me. Imagine how much more he might have learned of you, awakened in you, had not the thieves interrupted him."

"I knew it! You've been in league with him all along!" Ember shouted.

"Remarkably perceptive for one who sees so little," Bodhi said lazily. "Why, even Imoen escaped your notice."

Ember's world froze. In a single, horrible moment of clarity, she understood exactly what Bodhi meant.

"Yes," Bodhi laughed. "There is much to learn about you both. Battle can teach as well." She beckoned Ember closer with a long, pale finger. "Come, let us both learn a thing or two."

Minsc needed no further encouragement. With a bloodcurdling roar, he charged at Bodhi; she sidestepped him with one swift movement and raked her talonlike nails across his cheek. Almost simultaneously, Mazzy stabbed at her thigh with her short sword, while Anomen swung his mace at her. The vampire easily dodged the mace, but Mazzy's sword struck true. Bodhi hissed with pain, turned, and gave Mazzy a vicious kick that sent her tumbling across the floor. A red glow filled the room as Edwin hurled a cluster of magic missiles at the vampire, making him the second one to manage to injure the vampire, a feat for which he was rewarded with a brutal punch in the chest.

Bodhi smiled, almost laughed, as she seemed to dance between her foes, avoiding almost every attack that was aimed at her while lashing out with powerful blows of her own. She was far stronger and more agile than any of her destroyed minions; even without weapons, she was toying with them.

Ember roused herself. "Thrice-cursed abomination!" she shouted, so full of hatred that she felt like she might burst, and rushed forward to slash across the vampire's belly. Her blade grazed the pale skin, making a long, shallow cut. Black blood welled forth from it. Not enough; she wanted more! She raised her arm to strike again, but with a quick thrust, Bodhi blocked her blade, then hurled her against one of the coffins. The force was enough to knock the breath out of her, and she narrowly avoided hitting her head on the corner of the coffin lid.

Bodhi leaped, kicked Anomen's shield arm out of her way, and was suddenly well outside the doorway again. "Well, that certainly was... educational," she said. "I have seen enough, and I am done with you... for now."

"What manner of creature are you?" Mazzy cried, clutching her elbow. "Is this all a game to you?"

"Perhaps, but games can be deadly serious, especially when I keep the rules to myself." Bodhi smiled icily at them, then her body contorted violently. In an instant, she had vanished, and a small black bat flitted away down a darkened corridor.

-.-.-

Bodhi was gone. The lair was silent.

Ember got back on her feet and went to Minsc. "Let me see your face," she told him. The claw marks on his cheek were still bleeding; she had to tend to them.

"My lady! Are you injured?" Anomen asked behind her. She shook her head and said a simple healing spell over Minsc's cuts, studiously avoiding meeting his gaze as she did so. If she worked quickly, the marks might not scar...

Minsc put a massive hand on her shoulder, commanding her attention. "Don't be afraid, little Ember," he said quietly. "Boo says it will be all right."

She lowered her hands. They were trembling.

"What did she mean?!" Edwin asked, his voice edged with panic. "What does she know? (She must have been lying!)"

"Imoen," Ember said. "Imoen is... like me."

Mazzy gasped.

"This changes nothing! Nothing at all!" Edwin shrieked. "And I will personally immolate anyone cowardly enough to desert her now!" His hands were glowing with latent fire.

"Easy now, wizard. Who said anything about leaving?" Yoshimo said calmly. "I, for one, must see this through to the end. Mustn't we all?" He looked around the room.

"It is as Yoshimo says," Mazzy said. "None of us could, in good conscience, abandon the group at this point."

"Swear it!" Edwin demanded.

"Edwin! Let it lie," Ember snapped, then sighed deeply. She desperately needed fresh air. She needed to see the sun. "Please, let us just leave this place."