Irenicus
Spare the wizard.
Jayda's heart was pounding in her chest as she raced for the Temple of Rillifane. Minsc was ahead of her, hacking away at the summoned fiends that dared attempt to slow their charge and Jaheira was off to the left battling skeletal warriors that tried to flank them. Jayda slid beneath a golem's burly fist as it came down to crush her and then she was back on her feet and running again. As a rakshasa charged her, one of Gaelan's arrows sank into its throat and she leapt over the falling body.
Your father speaks so highly of you.
Haer'dalis and Demin ran to either side of Aerie. Elhan and his remaining soldiers headed up the rear, battling the pursuing patrols. They had decided that if they could just get into the Temple, they could barricade the doors and would have enough time to summon Rillifane. Unfortunately, they had stumbled across several patrols and the noise had alerted the enemy forces within Suldanessellar to their position.
I am here to see you come into your glory.
Standing guard at the great jade gate of the temple were two rakshasa warriors and one rakshasa mage. Jayda gave a shout of frustration, noting how an arrow almost immediately pinned one of the warriors to the door through his head. Fire Tooth struck the mage in the chest and reappeared in her hand as she swung her silver sword to meet the second warrior. They danced around the platform while she tried to keep the warrior between her and the recovering mage. He was bleeding but not wounded enough to cease casting.
Two more arrows struck the door but missed live targets. Haer'dalis called her name and she ducked under the rakshasa's swing and rolled for the mage. Her bard leapt into the fight with the abandoned warrior while she stuck her sword and dagger into the mage's abdomen and slender stomach. He screeched and growled at her, whipping back and forth in pain. Jayda turned and loosed Fire Tooth into the warrior's back and two-handed her sword to chop the mage's head off.
I can smell the death in you.
Haer'dalis finished his fight as her dagger reappeared in her hand and helped her push the heavy doors open far enough to create a gap large enough for a single person to go through.
"Demin!" Jayda shouted across the battlefield.
The elf was sprinting through unleashed magic and arrows, head down and arms held protectively over it. Elhan's men had spread out to form a perimeter around the temple's platform, reinforced by Jaheira, Minsc, and Gaelan's fierce prowess. Jayda pushed Demin inside first, Aerie next, and then ducked inside herself while Haer'dalis ran off to help hold the line.
A blast of energy landed right next to them, tearing up the ground into chunks and then traveling up the wall. Jayda tackled the elves to the ground and scrambled toward the statue in the center of the room, eyes wide and alert. Demin and Aerie crawled next to her and planted their backs against the statue.
"Stay… here…" Jayda mouthed to them, slowly standing. She looked around to find the culprit but could see no one. Her ears perked for some kind of noise but she heard only the battle outside.
I can smell the Slayer in you.
Finally, there was the hint of tiny stones being crunched. Her head jerked in the direction, ears detecting the soft and slow tap of footsteps as they tried to sneak around toward the door. Jayda held her index finger to her lips, warning Demin and Aerie to be quiet, and then she, too, snuck around the central statue.
The room was so quiet, she barely allowed herself to breathe. And then another jolt of magic struck the statue, raining chunks of stone and clouds of dust to the ground. Aerie and Demin screamed and Jayda, ducking her head, used the noise to dart farther around the statue. Through the patter of falling pebbles, she heard the scuffling of feet and matched the pace, mimicking the stranger's footsteps. When it stopped, she crept to the end of the statue and peered around. There was a mage not ten paces away peeking around at Demin and Aerie's hiding place.
With the wizard's death, so shall you claim your inheritance.
The mage jumped out and pointed his staff at the two elven women. "You are fools for coming here!" he exclaimed, and then he must've noticed there were only two of them, for his expression fell and his head snapped up in panic. Jayda spun around from the statue and loosed Fire Tooth. The blade stuck into his chest and forced the air from his lungs with a deep heave. The staff he carried slipped from his fingertips and clattered on the broken floor.
"Suneer," Demin whispered. "Why?"
But the life left his eyes before he could respond and he fell face-first into the ground. Fire Tooth returned to her hand and she snapped it onto her belt. When she went to help Aerie and Demin to their feet, the priestess looked at her somberly. Jayda wondered if it was anger or pity she saw there, or if either were just her imagination.
You are so much like your father.
"Start the ritual," she rasped, passing Demin the golden goblet.
Demin looked up at the broken statue of Rillifane above them and then slipped to the back of the main room and swept her arm across the altar, clearing it of junk and debris. As she went about her prayers and incantations and laid each relic onto the altar, Jayda peered outside to see how the others were fairing. Her jaw clenched in frustration. The perimeter had been pushed back and was even closer to the temple now.
"Hurry!" she hollered. "We're out of time!"
As the lights in the temple began to shift hues, Jayda kept her eyes on the battle. There was a rumble in the platform that went from a mild tremble to a fierce shake in just a few seconds. Drawing her silver sword, Jayda was about to leap through the gap in the door when Demin stopped her.
"Jayda!" she exclaimed, and the Bhaalspawn turned to the center of the room. She gasped and stumbled back so she was pressed into the door.
The statue in the center of the room drew the leftover water from the pools scattered around the room into itself, and stone became bark. A flower bloomed at the base of the great oak that appeared and golden spores of light were released from the petals. They rose into the air and floated around the great tree that grew taller with every ounce of water that filled his mossy limbs.
Demin fell to her knees immediately and Aerie dropped next to her seconds later. The great tree stretched and, with every movement, rumbled deeply. There was a deep inhale and then the tree lowered its leafy head to look at Jayda. She assumed he was looking at her. The space where one might expect eyes was filled with spinning balls of water, continuously drawing liquid out of the ropy branches that looped and tangled together to form his facial features.
"Ahhhh," he sighed. His voice was deep, causing the very walls to tremble. "The Exile has returned. Mmmmmmm," he grumbled deep within his trunk. "Once again he commits his sacrilege against the Tree of Life."
"No! Mighty Rillifane!" Demin exclaimed, lifting her head out of supplication only to beseech her deity. "Can you save the Tree?"
The avatar of the forest god rose and shrank, rose and shrank with each slow and deep inhale. His limbs swayed ever so gently and his churning eyes rolled this way and that, splashing droplets onto the ground. Water ran as rivers down the valleys and cracks of his body, dripping onto the flower petals at his feet.
"Mmmmmm," he rumbled after a long moment. "The Exile protects himself… with power that corrupts nature. I cannot touch him."
"What does he mean?" Aerie whimpered helplessly.
"The Exile seeks to join the Seldarine, as he did long ago when he was cursed," Demin explained. "He seeks to become a god by draining the power from the Tree of Life." Demin looked up at the Leaflord once more. "Mighty Rillifane, what of Ellisime, our queen? Has she been spared?"
"Mmmmmm." He drew a raspy breath through the jagged opening that was his mouth. "He holds she who is of my blood imprisoned within corruption. I can barely feel her now. Her spirit is… weak…"
"No! How could he?" Demin gasped.
"What?" Aerie asked, wide-eyed.
"He's using Ellesime's link to the Tree to drain its power. We must sever that link to stop him from killing the Tree."
"Yes," Rillifane agreed, but it was less of a spoken word and more of a bass whine of his branches. The pollen-like lights that hovered around him and mingled with his branches began swirling in a vortex. "Rise, spirits!" he boomed and the whole temple shook. "Rillifane Rallathil of the Seldarine calls you. Rise! Rise, spirits, and defend our children this day!"
The lights flew away from him and passed right through the walls of the temple as though they weren't even there, scattering amongst the city. Jayda remained where she was, back to the door, and stared at the great oak avatar of the Leaflord. She watched as his great trunk bent forward, branches sinking down to cover her, and he did not stop until his whirlpool eyes were directly in front of her, so close that she was being sprayed by the churning waters.
"You, mortal…" he began in his groan of a voice. "You despair. You sense your father in you. You bear his mark. Mmmmmmm." He tilted his mossy nose at her and sniffed. "Mmm, you bear resemblance, yes… but despair not, mortal. Your heart is not yet like his."
A single globe of light rose out of the flower and hovered along the great oak until it floated in front of Jayda's chest. Rillifane deeply inhaled and then gently blew. She felt a warm summer breeze caress her skin as the globe of light entered her body.
"The gates will open for you, mortal," he told her. "The fate of the Children of the Tree is in your hands. This was all I could do for you. I can do no more."
The Leaflord rose back to his full height. The flower at his feat curled up to be an unblossomed bud and the water that filled him dispersed as spinning streams of water, returning to their pools. As the water drained out of him, the mighty form of the avatar shrank back into a statue. Bark became stone, green became gray, and the flower disappeared altogether.
/
The sun was high in the sky and the sound of battle echoed through the forest when Anomen and Imoen rode up with the rest of the cavalry. They released their horses and joined the elves in a run up through the branches, quickly navigating the natural path until they reached the city. The battle was everywhere as far as the eye could see.
"What's happened?" one of the elves asked the man in charge as they rushed through the city gates and put their backs against the haphazard barricades. Magic assaulted the makeshift fort in screaming and colorful bursts while golems hurled chunks of stone over their walls and pounded against the gates.
"Elhan and the strangers went to the temple to invoke Rillifane!" the captain explained. "The Exile's whole army has mobilized to stop them!"
"Why remain here?" Anomen exclaimed. "Should we not be helping them?"
"We sent reinforcements, but someone had to hold the gates! By Elhan's instruction!" the captain replied. "They may have failed already! There's been no sign, and the bombardment is getting worse. We can't take much more of this!"
"Fire!" an elven soldier cried, causing Anomen to turn his head. They had collected one of the fragments thrown at them and sent it back over in a catapult. Another boulder came crashing down moments later, crushing two soldiers and then rolling into a fortified home and smashing through a corner of it.
Another rock was catapulted at the enemies. It sailed too high and crashed through a large branch, splintering it in half. The limb fell first, causing a rumble of chaos on the other side of the barricade. Then the platform above that was being partially supported by the felled branch began collapsing, and shouts of horror filled the air.
The tier they occupied shook when the stone and wood landed and they feared their own platform would collapse. After a moment, the shaking stopped, and the assault on the barricade ceased. The elves waited in the silence of a gasp, afraid to breathe, and then a shudder of relief worked its way through the resistance. They relaxed away from their walls for just a moment to better reinforce them and quickly repair the damage.
There was a great splintering off to the side perimeter and a host of golems crashed through, skeletons and fiends flowing in between their feet. The elves scattered, butchered in the surprise, and the ones who were far enough away to gather their wits had to collapse their barricades to escape into the city. The moment the walls came down, more monsters flowed into their camp. It was a slaughter as elves tried to scramble up the ramps and across the bridges.
Anomen and Imoen stumbled and ran with the flow, pushed and shoved in the mad panic to get to the next platform over. The golems behind them were causing so much shaking that the bridge they were on jumped several times. A couple of elves went over, screaming as they disappeared into the greenery below. When it jumped again, Imoen lost her footing and flipped over the rope. Anomen lunged and grabbed her, fighting the pain in his torso as she kicked and struggled and squealed in panic.
"Stay still!" he complained, straining to lift her. She obeyed for only a second and then began panicking.
"Anomen!" she cried, looking down the bridge. He followed her gaze and saw several skeletons coming their way, rusty swords held high over their heads. The elves that shared the bridge with them were running for safety, ignoring their plight.
"Just hold on!" he cried, letting go with one of his hands. He wasn't strong enough to hold her with one arm and his grasp slipped, causing her to scream as she dropped. He found a fold on her wrist, going down to one knee with the strain, and stretched out his free arm. "Helm," he murmured, "hear me."
The power rushed through his arm and surged forward like an invisible wave, knocking the undead creatures back across the bridge. Under the might of the gods, they disassembled into piles of bones and the golems stomping around crushed them into dust beneath their feet. Anomen hurriedly grasped Imoen with both hands again and pulled her over the rope. They scrambled across and, once on the other side, Imoen ripped her dagger off her belt and began sawing at the ropes.
"No time!" Anomen cried, pulled her away as she broke through the first rope. "They're coming!"
The left flank of the army was rushing up from another platform and storming theirs even as they tried to flee. Anomen tugged Imoen along as they made for a ramp up, but she was thrown to her feet, dragging him down to the ground. He looked back at her and saw the scorch marks of a spell on her armor.
"Imoen!" he cried, pulled her up.
"I'm okay," she promised, but it was too late. The horde was upon them.
Anomen whipped out his mace and pushed Imoen out of the way as a clay golem stomped over and brought his fist down to smash them. He struck the creature's knuckles and winced at the pain that spiked through his abdomen and sides. The golem reared back in shock, giving Imoen time to cast a spell that struck the creature in the chest. Anomen scrambled to his feet and struck the golem again as it tried to right its balance, causing both it and him to fall back onto the ground.
No sooner had the golem fallen than a massive beast with the head of a tiger pounced upon them, eyes gleaming and weapons flashing in the sunlight. Anomen blocked a few blows before his mace was batted away. Imoen rushed to his defense and he tried to warn her away but there was not enough time.
Suddenly a smoky blade was sticking out of the cat-beast's chest and armor. When it fell at Anomen's feet, an ethereal warrior with golden skin, flowing green hair, and solid emerald eyes stood before him, halfway sunk into the platform. As it rose up out of the stone, hundreds of spirits lifted out of the buildings and trees and tiers, turning their ghost-like weapons against the enemies.
"Be at peace, Children of the Tree," the hollow voices told them. "The Seldarine hear you."
The golems tried to crush these new foes, but their fists went right through their bodies. The cat-beasts attempted to spell them, but their magic dissipated against impossibly strong shields. The spirits of the Seldarine raised their weapons high and cut through the enemies with bloody precision, turning the tides of the battle until the army was on the run. The elves gave a cry of praise, raised their weapons high, and shouted thanks and glory to their gods.
"Are you okay, my lady?" Anomen asked Imoen when she came to help him to his feet.
"Have you ever seen anything like it?" she whispered in awe. He managed a small but brief smile.
"Not exactly," he admitted, wondering if the supernatural acts Jayda had committed counted. "Let's go!"
"Right," Imoen agreed, and they chased the masses deeper into the city.
/
The woodland spirits formed a protective circle around Jayda and her friends, and several raced ahead to kill any enemy that crossed their path. The palace gates—tall and elegantly forged from iron—were guarded with the last of Irenicus' army, but they fled in the face of the charging spirits. Elhan's resistance had spilled deeper into the city with their spiritual companions, startling the rakshasa into retreat.
Someone called out to Jayda but she didn't stop, didn't acknowledge or even recognize the voice. She kept going, taking deep breaths with every footfall. She threw herself into the gates, palm slamming into the barrier that sealed them. The light inside of her was released, rippling through the magical barrier and dissolving it with golden fire. And then the gates swung wide and Jayda and her companions raced up the winding walkway and burst through the ornate, cerulean doors.
Inside, the palace was empty. The soft, yellow-orange walls reflected sunlight streaming in through the rooftop made of greenery. Birds were chirping peacefully. As they crossed the marble floors carved to resemble the leaves above, they were astonished by the pristine and natural beauty seemingly untouched by Irenicus' evil.
They came to a giant oval room with a large fountain in the center. On either side was a statue. One held a stone harp, the other a horn. The pool had sunken in to form a spiral staircase leading down, and the waterfall poured down the open hole. Jayda inched closer and looked down, feeling a light sensation of vertigo. The drop was impossibly far down the great trunk of a tree. Jayda let her fingers skim the water as she debated how best to descend.
"The sacred tree," Demin whispered, coming up behind them. "The way is open."
"Who comes?" a voice called, weak and womanly. The apparition that appeared in front of the waterfall was of a tall and beautiful elf. Jayda instantly recognized her as the woman from her dream that warned her of Irenicus and the tragedy in Suldanessellar. "Who comes? Demin?"
"Ellesime!" the priestess cried, going to her knees in reverence.
"You," Jayda whispered, drawing the Queen's attention. "You were in my dreams."
"Ah," she sighed, her lovely brow wrinkled. She seemed so weak. "You are the Child of Bhaal, aren't you? You have come… You have come. I tried to reach you—used what power I had to call out to you. He boasted of killing you. I feared the worst…"
"Where are you, Ellesime?" Demin asked. "What is happening?"
"I am… at the base of the tree, trapped… beneath the tree. Parasites attached to it, draining it for him." She winced in pain and her image flickered. "Hurry. You must... stop them. Demin! Destroy the parasites… save… the Tree."
Ellesime cried out and, as she collapsed, her image faded. Demin gasped, shaking her head.
"No! Ellesime… We must hurry!" She got to her feet. "Jayda, beneath the tree is a chamber accessed at its base reserved for establishing deep connections to the Tree. That is where he holds her. Hurry! I will gather Elhan and the others to destroy these parasites! Go!"
As Demin ran off, Jayda gave her friends one last, long look as if to say, "are you sure?" Some smiled, some only nodded, but they readied their weapons and steeled their resolve. Jayda swallowed her emotion and took the stairs down.
The spiral ended at a great branch and they found themselves having to climb down branches and jump from one limb to the next. Above them, they could hear the frantic shuffling of the elves as they climbed down the tree and spread out to find the parasites. They had seen one on a distant branch as they worked their way down. It was a large, corrupted beetle-like creature; its legs burrowed deep into the wood while its mandibles nibbled away, drooling green sap. The farther down they went, the darker the forest became. Closer to the base of the tree, magical lamps were lit to illuminate the path.
Finally, they landed on soft grass. Lamps hung in rows to form a walkway into the center of the base of the tree. Between the massive, twisting roots were black hollows where one could look down. Steps formed from the dirt led downward into a dark room formed entirely by stones covered in moss. Beneath the tree, the roots were glowing. As Jayda and her friends spread out among the hollows to assess the situation, Gaelan grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He kissed her briefly but deeply, and said nothing. He just looked at her and that was enough. They joined the others by the roots.
A magical cage was at the core over an altar and inside hung Ellesime, suspended in magical bonds. Irenicus stood before her, eyes closed in a meditative trance. Jayda reached for Gaelan's bow and notched an arrow, taking aim even as hatred flooded her body. She narrowed her gaze on Irenicus' head and, at the last minute, lifted her arrow and released. It struck a root that wrapped around Ellesime's cage, causing it to snap off and shrink away.
"What?" Irenicus' head jerked up. "Who… who dares!"
"I dare!" Jayda hissed, and he turned to look at her as she jumped down into the chamber.
"You," he growled in disbelief. "You live yet? You have less than a fraction of your soul and yet somehow you continue to oppose me?"
Jayda drew her sword and dagger. "You underestimate me, Irenicus."
"And you overestimate yourself!" he spat back. "You are too late, child of Bhaal! I have nearly completed my task and then I—" He stopped suddenly, face twisting into confusion and then outrage. He whirled around and watched as Ellesime's cage dissipated and she slumped to the ground. "The power… the power of the Tree is gone from me…" he whispered in astonishment. "I feel it slipping away. What have you done?" He turned his glare back to her, flexing his fingers for spellcasting. "This ends now. I will take great pleasure in eradicating such a nuisance as you. And I shall re-establish my link, join with the Tree once again. I shall find a way, I shall have the power! And your efforts will have been for naught!"
As he reared back to strike at her, a frail voice stopped him.
"No…" Ellesime whispered. "No, Joneleth… don't…"
His complexion ran out of his face as he stiffened, eyes widened as though he'd seen a ghost, and his movements were like wood as he turned to face her. She was slumped on the mossy stone altar, fingers reaching weakly out to clutch the cracks and pull herself forward. Whatever elegance and strength this woman had once possessed had been drained out of her.
"Ellesime?" Irenicus barely whispered.
"Please, Jon… Do not do this… not again, not after you nearly destroyed us all. The Tree is beyond you now. Let it go, Joneleth…"
"Do not call me that!" he exclaimed, backing up as if trying to get away from a painful memory. "I lost all right to that name when the Seldarine stripped me of everything that was elven!"
"And what shall I call you instead?" she gasped breathlessly. "Irenicus? Shattered One?" The names only angered him more. "I know… It was a terrible punishment… but you had violated everything we hold dear! And for what? Power?" She pushed herself up, clutched at one of the tiny columns that surrounded the altar. "Is that all you exist for now, Jon? Power?"
"It is all I have now, Ellesime," he replied somewhat calmly. For just a moment, he had seemingly forgotten that Jayda was even in the room. "There is nothing else beyond my revenge. Revenge for what you did to me, what the Seldarine did to me!"
"And your revenge has poisoned your heart!" she spat. He only looked at her with empty eyes as if asking how she could have believed any different. Then, her angry face melted away and she looked upon him with desperate, pleading eyes. "The Tree touched you once, long ago… Do you remember nothing of it? Is there nothing in your heart that remembers love?" Tears filled her eyes. "Is there nothing within you that remembers our love?"
"I…" His face hardened as he gazed upon her. "I do not remember your love, Ellesime." And the words caused the tears in her eyes to fall down her cheeks. "I have tried. I have tried to recreate it, recreate the places and the moments and the feelings where we were together, but I cannot! For years I clung to the memory of you and what we shared, then to the memory of the memory, and then to nothing! The Seldarine took that from me, too, and now I look upon you and feel nothing! I remember nothing but you turning your back on me along with all the others!"
"You misremember so much!" she told him. "I begged you to see reason, but your thirst for power was everything! I remember you betraying me, forsaking our love. But I loved you still. Would that you had used your stolen mortal years to earn your return to this sacred place! I could have loved you anew…"
"Once, perhaps… but the time for that has passed. For you and for me." He lifted his chin, the cold and empty mask of Irenicus returning. "Once, my thirst for power was everything. And now I hunger only for revenge. And I… WILL... HAVE IT!"
He turned on Jayda even as Ellesime gave a whimpered shout of "no" and he summoned a globe of protection to surround him. His muscular arms flexed as his hands came before him to prepare more spells.
"I shall crush you!" he exclaimed. "I shall crush them all! You are empty and dying, alone and powerless! Stand before all that you should have been and die!"
"She is not alone!" Minsc declared and he jumped down into the room to stand next to her. "For Dynaheir and all fallen comrades, for what is good and right! Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes!"
Jaheira jumped down next, a smile on her face. "And death will come on wings of song," she sang. "A song of long and winding guile, and in the end your end I wend," her quarterstaff was gripped tight and the end thrust out threateningly in the wizard's direction, "and in the end, a harp will smile!"
Gaelan, Haer'dalis, and Aerie dropped down to join her. Irenicus snarled at them and began weaving a spell.
"It matters not," he declared. "You will suffer! You will all suffer!"
Jayda launched Fire Tooth at him as her friends rolled and scattered but the blade rebounded off his shield and was back in her hand. She rolled out of the way just as a ball of fire struck the space she had been standing. Minsc slashed the globe with a powerful swing of Lilarcor but his sword could not penetrate the magic.
"Breach!" Jaheira screamed.
Aerie's hands flashed and then suddenly Irenicus' protection went down. Jaheira rushed in and smashed his back with her quarterstaff, causing him to tumble forward. Gaelan launched a dagger at him that he barely managed to dodge. And then he had recovered and brought his defenses back up. His first task was to take out Aerie, but Minsc dodged in front of her and his back absorbed the harsh strike, knocking them both into the wall.
"Minsc!" Jayda exclaimed.
"I'm okay," he told her, pushing himself up and retrieving Lilarcor. He hunched for a moment, back scraped and bleeding, and then he recovered and charged in to attack Irenicus again.
The battle seemed to stretch on forever, though it likely lasted only minutes. They dodged magical attacks while looking for openings in his defenses. Aerie kept moving and it was everyone's job to protect her. Her breach spell downed his shields and allowed them to get a few hits in between shields. And though they did their best to avoid his strikes, they were not always fast enough. The fighting and running they had done earlier in combination with climbing down the Tree had been physically taxing and now they were exhausted.
Ellesime could do nothing to help them. She just laid there slumped against the column, staring in helplessness. She called out to them in warning should Irenicus nearly catch one of them off-guard, but that was the extent of her abilities. It was a wonder she was even conscious.
As Jayda rolled to dodge an attack, she felt something blast her off her feet. Irenicus had feigned his timing, catching her as she came up out of the roll. Even though her armor held strong, she felt the blood seeping between the cracks and knew she was injured.
"Jayda!" Gaelan called out to her as she tried to rise. Irenicus raised his hands to attack the thief, but Aerie's spell thrust took him by surprise. Haer'dalis danced in and placed two slices along the mage's back before he turned his angry glare upon the Avariel.
"Aerie, no!" Jaheira exclaimed, but it was too late. She had been vulnerable for a moment too long. The spell that caught her slammed her so hard into the wall, there was a loud crack and a bloody smear was left on the stones as she sank lifelessly to the ground. "Aerie!"
Minsc's roar seemed to shake the very earth.
"Aerie!" a man's voice gasped from among the roots. Jayda's head snapped up to see Anomen descending the earthen steps.
"Anomen?" Jayda balked in terror. "Get out! Get out!" The spell slammed into him and he crumbled into his chainmail, shield and mace clattering to the ground. "Anomen!"
He grunted but lifted his head, still alive. Imoen hopped down next to him and loosed a spell. For a moment, Irenicus was vulnerable and Minsc, lost in his berserker rage, capitalized on it. He hacked and slashed at the wizard's body, once managing to bury Lilarcor deep into his side. Irenicus growled and knocked Minsc back as Jayda forced herself to her feet. She ran to him but was not fast enough before his defenses came back up and he struck her in the chest with a bolt of energy. She screamed when she hit the ground and slid against the wall.
Irenicus slowly got to his feet, warping his dark magics beneath his fingertips. In a rage, he began slinging spell after spell in every direction, and eventually everyone was hit as they tried to dodge. Where he had found this energy was beyond them, but he had found it and unleashed it.
When the light show ended, Jayda coughed in the cloud of dust and slowly looked around. Anomen was sprawled, bleeding and in pain, with Imoen scraped and coughing next to him. Jaheira lay on the far side of the room, her staff splintered and half of it sticking out of her belly. Jayda coughed, choking on the dust and her tears. Haer'dalis was forcing himself to his feet, blood tricking down his glimmering armor. Aerie's body had been turned in the blast and her face was broken and smudged, lifeless. Minsc huddled next to her, one arm hanging limply at his side and the other reaching out to gently close the Avariel's eyes.
Gaelan. Gaelan was crawling toward her, as bloody and bruised as the rest of them. Tears dripped onto her hands as Irenicus slowly looked around to pick a target. She pulled herself to her feet. She let go of her restraint to let the Slayer off his chain, and the last thread of her self-control snapped.
"No!" she cried, voice cracking in despair. "Don't!" Something was convulsing through her, riding up through her lungs and throat and pouring out of her. Her fists clenched, breathing came in gasps and snorts, and something squeezed the inside of her stomach. She grunted. "Don't! Stay away… from them!" She cried out, resisted whatever was building up inside of her. It was hot, burning hot, like fire. It was overtaking her, distorting her hearing, interrupting her vision with black spots and streaks. "Stay. Away." The words choked out of her, the Slayer writhing beneath her skin, but he wasn't coming out. Even the Slayer was suppressed by this newness overwhelming her.
Jayda screamed, choked, and tears poured out of her. She tilted her head back and cried, shrieked, felt herself being undone by the power inside of her. It rattled her to the core, shook apart her organs and bones and broke open her flesh. There were voices joining with hers, people shouting her name, but all she could hear was a high-pitched screech.
Their faces flashed in front of her: Minsc's broad smile, Jaheira's coy smirk, Aerie's cheerful expression, Anomen's gentle face, Imoen's playful wink, Haer'dalis' knowing nod, and Gaelan… Gaelan's dark eyes and roguish grin stood out the most. She saw his serious expression as he made love to her, she saw his mouth open wide into a bright smile as he laughed, saw him gaze upon her in awe and love. She could see all of her companions' love and friendship and loyalty, see it shatter as Irenicus warped into her mind.
Jayda screamed and fell to her knees, felt the earth shaking and breaking apart. She saw their dead faces and lifeless eyes, each in turn. She would avenge them. She would destroy Irenicus for what he did to them! She would obliterate him!
You are your father's heir.
And then all of the power she had built up was released. The black energy swept across the room and consumed everything in its path—Irenicus, her, her friends. The explosion of power destroyed everything, razing the earth around them until all was rubble and ruin and corpses and darkness.
