Chapter 125: Understanding

When the group returned to Bayle's home to report, they were given a hearty welcome. Smiling broadly, Bayle ushered them into his still-darkened parlour, fetched a bottle of suspiciously fine wine and some goblets, and bid them wait there for 'but a moment'. He left, and a short while later the cloaked man they knew as Aran Linvail entered the room, accompanied by a young woman of slight build who, just like him, hid her face within a hood.

"So, you have returned," Linvail said cheerfully, seating himself; the woman positioned herself behind his chair. "My advance spies said that you confronted Bodhi in her lair. It must have been a bloody affair."

"So to speak," Yoshimo murmured.

"It was," Mazzy said. "We destroyed many of Bodhi's followers, but she herself eluded us."

"A pity, but it is of no real consequence. You have done well, and for that I am grateful," Linvail said. "I have already set things in motion for your departure. Yes, my friends, your ship will leave on the morning tide; you need not look so surprised."

"Considering the lengthy delay we have endured," Anomen said, "I feel some disbelief is still warranted."

"That may be so, my good knight, but even I cannot send a ship to Brynnlaw if there are none in the harbour that are willing to go."

"(Brynnlaw?)" Edwin muttered.

"The island where the Spellhold asylum is located. It is under its own rule, and even the Cowled Wizards are not certain of what becomes of those sent there," Linvail said. "It is not a place that anyone wants to be associated with; just booking passage there is difficult enough. That is what your gold was for."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Ember asked.

"You paid for our assistance, did you not?"

"Why was it offered in the first place?"

Linvail poured himself some wine. "You have earned an explanation, I suppose," he said. "It started with Bodhi, and her arrival in town. We did not even know her name at the time; what we did know was that our members were threatened and seduced into her guild, and then never seen again. It was not long after that that we came to learn of Irenicus and his strange dungeon. Without going into details, we had reason to believe he was linked to our losses, and struck against him." He sighed. "You know what happened next. In the aftermath, we found the remains of some of our people in his dungeon, but far from all of them were accounted for. We still don't know what became of the rest; even Bodhi's cadre could not have fed on them all."

"Thus you still seek your answers," Anomen said.

"We do," Linvail said. He raised his goblet to his lips and took a draught from it. "This is where you enter, or exit, as it were. Other than Irenicus and Imoen, you three," he gestured at Ember, Minsc and Yoshimo with the goblet, "were the only people to emerge from Irenicus's lair alive. Naturally, you caught our interest. We followed you. At first, we wondered if you might be his servants -"

"Never!" Minsc roared. "No hero would ever commit such wrongness! Minsc would sooner cut off his hands than let them serve evil! And what would Boo say?"

"Indeed," Linvail chuckled, "and it did not take us long to reach that conclusion ourselves. We'd hoped you might somehow lead us to Irenicus, and when we learned of your quest, we saw it as a most promising opportunity. You wanted Imoen, we wanted Irenicus, and they were both taken to the same place; our desires converged. With the way things were, we could not justify sending a full team of our own to Spellhold; aiding you, on the other hand, was fully feasible, and might well allow us to get what we seek after all."

"But I do not seek Irenicus," Ember said.

"Which would pose a problem, if I were to send you to Spellhold by yourself." Linvail turned towards the woman behind him, and gave her a slight nod. She stepped forward and pulled back her hood, revealing an attractive face with delicate features; a mischievous grin played in the corners of her dark eyes. "This is Sime," Linvail said. "She is to accompany you; she knows much of Brynnlaw and its denizens, which should make it easier to find a way to breach Spellhold itself. Once you have succeded in that, she is to learn what she can on our behalf."

Smiling, Sime bowed slightly. "Pleased to meet you," she said. "I hope our time together will prove fruitful."

"I am certain it will," Yoshimo said.

"I must have you know," Anomen said, "that I will not condone any untoward measures -"

"Good sir, you do not know Brynnlaw, or you would not speak like that," Sime said. "I know people who may be able to smooth the path for us, but do not forget: Brynnlaw is essentially lawless, and what little rule there is is thrust upon the place by a pirate lord. If you want to get anything done at all there, you'll have to dirty your hands a bit."

"I am no fool," Anomen huffed. "I merely expect us to do what must be done without unduly compromising ourselves. Do you understand my intent?"

"I do," she replied with a grin, "and I did."

"You made it sound as though you needed Ember as much as she needed you," Mazzy said to Linvail. "Why, then, the exorbitant price? Why the subterfuge?"

"We had to be sure of your loyalties and abilities," Linvail said. "We needed to know that those we sent to Brynnlaw would not turn on us, and that they were, at the very least, competent enough to have a chance at getting the task done. But make no mistake: your gold was much needed, as was the destruction of the vampire's lair."

"Our attacking her served as a final test of our qualities, I suppose?"

"Perhaps," Linvail said. He emptied his goblet and put it on the table in front of him. "Do you have any further questions?"

"No," Ember said. She didn't need to know if they knew what she was. They almost certainly did. And it didn't matter.

"Good. Now, there is much to do before your ship leaves. Go with Sime; she will handle the details." Linvail stood up from his chair and gave Ember a firm handshake. "You have my best wishes, Ember. May we all find what we seek."

-.-.-

The remainder of the day was spent in busy preparation. The group met with Saemon Havarian, the gratingly flamboyant captain of the ship that was to take them to Spellhold. They pored over a rough map of Brynnlaw along with Sime, who described the key locations on the island. They bought new supplies and readied their gear. They gathered for a final supper at the Copper Coronet.

By nightfall, there was nothing left to do.

Ember was in the middle of rearranging the contents of her pack for the fourth time when there was a knock on her door. She opened it; Anomen stood there with a look of concern on his face. Wordlessly, she let him enter.

"How do you fare, my lady?" he asked once he'd closed the door behind him.

She shrugged.

"Do you wish to speak of it?"

"What is there to say?" she asked. She picked up her spare tunic, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her pack. "I should have realized," she muttered.

"How is that?"

"So many things make sense now. The way she killed Sarevok... what Irenicus did to her... and judging by my dreams, my blood certainly knew!" The tunic still didn't fit in the pack the way she wanted; she pulled it out again. "Gorion must have known," she said. "Why didn't he tell us?"

"He was, perchance, prevented -"

"She didn't deserve this!" she shouted. "She never asked for it!"

"Neither did you, my lady."

Her chest ached. Hot, angry tears welled up in her eyes. "It's not fair," she whispered.

He put his arms around her and pulled her close to himself. The warmth of his body seemed to shatter the cold, hard lump that had been lodged in her chest ever since they left the lair; unable to hold back any longer, she broke down in tears. He held her close while she wept, whispering calming sounds and gently stroking her hair as he did so.

"Thank you," she murmured when she finished crying. She dried her face with her sleeve and added with an apologetic smile, "I think I've stained your tunic."

"An intractable disaster, I am sure," he said with a small laugh, and smoothed her hair away from her forehead. "I... I hope you feel a little better."

"I do, I suppose," she said, and sighed heavily. "I'm scared for her, Anomen."

"I know, my lady."

"It was bad enough before, but now... I can't stop wondering if she's having my nightmares. And does she even know? I don't think she knew before she was taken..." She shook her head. "She shouldn't be alone."

"She will not. Not for much longer."

"And what of her future? She's like me... we never laid any grand plans for what we wanted to do with ourselves - and that's perhaps for the best, all considering - but... it's different when you have no bounds, no limits." A fresh tear trickled down her cheek. "But she isn't free. She's bound by the same prophecies as I am."

"You know my feelings in regard to those prophecies," he said quietly, and wiped away the tear. His hand lingered by her cheek, just barely touching it, and his dark blue eyes fixed on hers. She gazed into them, unable to look away from what she saw there: more than loyalty, more than sympathy, and far more than friendship.

His cheeks flushed. "Ember..." he whispered.

She kissed him.

-.-.-

The group assembled on the docks just after sunrise the next morning. Sime met with them there, and led them to Havarian's ship, the Galante. The ship was bustling with activity as the sailors prepared it for departure.

"All accounted for?" Havarian asked, coming down the gangplank with a broad grin plastered on his face. "Good, good; we are fully staffed and ready to sail, and a fine day for it it is!"

"We will be reaching our destination in good time, then?" Sime asked.

"I have travelled this sea a good many times, and I foresee no troubles. Aye, four days, maybe five, should get us there - provided we do not encounter pirates of ill repute, of course."

"Of course," Sime said smoothly. "But you will do your best to prevent that from happening, I trust."

The Shadow Thief lowered her voice, as did the captain; Ember could no longer make out their conversation. Her attention moved to the ship. It was a small ship, with patched sails and a weather-beaten hull, and the nameplate on its prow appeared to be on the verge of falling off. Just looking at the ship made her uneasy. "It's so worn," she murmured.

"Worn, but well kept," Yoshimo said. "Every rift in the sails has been mended, every broken board replaced... trust me, my friend, this vessel will do nicely." He grinned. "It is far more sound than the ship that once brought me from Kara-Tur."

Sime and Havarian finished talking, and walked up the gangplank. The captain bellowed, "All aboard!"

"My lady, may I?" Anomen asked, offering her his hand. A pleasant warmth coursed through her as their eyes met, and her unease melted away as she took in the joy that lit up his face.

"You may," she said, smiling.

He took her hand in his, and they both blushed as he kissed it before escorting her up the gangplank. A gust of breeze ruffled her hair and made the sails billow slightly. She squeezed his hand, relishing in the touch.

It was as Minsc had told her; everything would be all right. The ship was sound. She had her friends with her. She had Anomen.

And soon, she would have her sister back!