Content warning: As usual, some monologue dialogue is right from the game. It's not mine.


"What is this! it seems like everyone's crashing in on the Thieves' Guild these days. First that huge armored guy, and now you! You better tell me what you're here about, and right quick, or you're in a lot of trouble!"

"We're tracking down Sarevok... The huge armored guy. Where did he go?"

Fingers pointed, and Damion turned to start heading in that direction before a hand on his arm stopped him.

"Abbil, we have used a great number of spells today already-"

"He's getting away, Viconia." Damion kept his eyes on the door, patient and on edge all at once. The cleric stepped in, lowering her voice.

"Abbil-"

"If you would like to stay behind and rest, by all means do so." The rogue reached to gently pull her hand off of his arm, still staring at the doorway. "But I will end this today, one way or another."

"At -least- let me go and get the rest of our gear, hmm? Before we get bounced by your Big Brother?"

The archer paused, looking down at himself ant taking stock of his effects. One winged serpent hidden in his shirt, a short sword and a dagger. Hesitating, he looked over to Baeloth and smiled slightly as the sorcerer adjusted his wineskins and waggled his eyebrows.

"... I'll scout ahead, then, but I won't go too far. Move quickly?"

"Not in these heels, are you trying to kill me!?"


He cheated when he got to the maze. Forewarned of the complexity, traps and monsters, he subtly inquired as to what side would lead down and out to wherever Sarevok would likely have gone, and was informed it would be an exit to the north west. That in mind, he stepped to the wall, carefully pried up the boards that made up the wall in the northern corner of the room and followed the stone wall until he came to an exit. There was a man who had taught Sarevok along the way, and he received a quick, merciful death.

The rest of the group had caught up to him by then, and they traveled down the winding stone path once he had donned his gear until it opened into a large cavern lit only sparsely with a cluster of torches near what looked to be a large building and some sort of arch closer towards them.

"Baeloth."

"Mmmyes?"

"Make us invisible, please."

The drow nodded quietly, weaving his hands and watching as Xzar snagged Edwin by the arm and then vanished. Glancing down, he kept track of the footprints as they started off.

"This cave... The torches are a good six hundred feet out. It's almost as if he's waiting for us."

"He probably is." Two sets of footprints - the necromancer and conjurer's, respectively - padded forward as Xzar hummed thoughtfully. "That... Is a temple to Bhaal. Look at the hooded figures. We'd heard there was a temple, but thought it was destroyed..."

"So there's a very good chance that he's going to hole up in there and wait for me?"

"Yes."

Damiondred shifted forward, before sighing. "Edwin, how are you for spells?"

"(As if we did not notice his counting.) I have enough for two or three minor skirmishes."

"The battle at the brothel took more than I would have liked out of all of us. I hate to admit it, but we might have to rest. I just don't want to lose him."

"Abbil, the broken city ahead is crawling with undead."

"Interesting, and useful with your skills. Xzar, do temples of Bhaal tend to have secret exits?"

Dirt scuffed slightly around where infravision could pick up the heat of footprints as the necromancer hummed thoughtfully once more. "Ye-ess...? Murder is frowned upon. Legally, anyways."

"Could you show me where they are?"

"Nnnooo..."

"Because you can't show me, or because you can't show me?"

"Ohh, emphasis... More the latter than the former, admittedly. It's very likely an underground tunnel, or series of them that - Probably? - lead to the harbor."

"Great. Baeloth, do you have anything for finding tunnels through the rock?"

"This is because I'm black, isn't it-"

"As one of the smartest people in the group, I think you're really the only one qualified and familiar with finding these sorts of things, considering you were probably smart enough to use them yourself. Viconia, Xzar and Edwin are going to be otherwise busy, too."

A moment of silence hung in the air before the male drow finally heaved a great sigh. "Alright. But not because you told me to."

"And what do you have in mind for the rest of us, O Great Leader? (Am I to be led around through the dark by the hand like a child? This is-)"

"Edwin, you're going to help me scout their defenses because out of everyone, you're the one person I trust to follow orders for a strategic retreat when I give them so long as you can see a good reason for it. Xzar and Viconia are going to round up as many undead as they can while we crack the door to see what they've got waiting for us. This also lets you work with the light they've already got down there. Once we've got an idea of what they're capable of and how many undead there are down here, Xzar and Viconia can trade off on undead herding duty and get some rest with the rest of us. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had."

"... Feh. (-Fine- then.)"


The party waiting for them put a -slight- hitch in their plan, but only insofar as the allocation of the undead forces they were rapidly gaining. Viconia mobbed them with the undead while Xzar tucked into one of the ruined buildings on the outskirts to meditate and rest. Edwin and Damion watched from a short distance away, taking advantage of the distraction to slip past and approach the torch-lined building.

"Do you have a familiar?"

"A familiar is a point of weakness for a wizard, and any truly intelligent one would -not- have one. (As if I would be so sloppy as to give my enemies the opportunity to weaken me!)

"What happens when one dies?"

"The recoil through the bond causes debilitating pain, incapacitating the wizard at worst, sapping their health at best. The stronger the familiar, the worse your recoil will be. You, foolish simian, invite disaster mid-combat by keeping your familiar on your person. (Unless he secretly has a death wish, of course...)

"Thank you. Xzar helped me with the summoning, but you're a Conjurer. You're an expert at this, and I wanted to know what I wasn't being told."

"To be expected, from someone who reputedly intends to kill you."

"I don't know if he does for sure. I know he's thinking about it. I'm sure all of you have, except maybe Viconia and only because I'm useful to her as a way to get around."

"And you -still- give us your back? (Maybe he -does- have a death wish.)"

"It's stupid of me, yeah. It's also why I have a job I'd like you to do for me. Trust me, I'll pay well and half in advance."

"... I am listening."


It turned out that Sarevok was, in fact, waiting for them in the temple. Not alone either, they realized, as an arrow ploughed into one of the zombies and then exploded with the same force as once of the fireballs from Xzar's wand. Some careful peeking into the doorway of the temple revealed a bored looking man in robes, Angelo (wielding a bow), a half ogre and Sarevok himself. The latter two waded into the waves of undead and dispatched them without a problem, joking back and forth. Eventually, after the third wave, the Bhaalspawn slammed his sword down into the ground point-first and started pummeling the undead with his fists.

"Come my cowardly brother! I can wait all night!"

They let the attacks of the undead come less frequently, after that. It wasn't something that was going to actually do anything worthwhile, after all, and they largely made sure to keep them up periodically to make sure he was still in the temple. His periodic cackles proved as much as the hours passed, and eventually the archer bit Viconia to sleep while he kept watch. She agreed, but only reluctantly, and he was left alone with his thoughts while the party slumbered on. Periodically, he looked to each of them and, eventually, shook his head.

It was a long six hours.


"I'm honestly surprised he's still in there."

"Doubtless the temple empowers him. And he knows you won't stop coming for him, now." Xzar yawned and stretched, blinking blearily as he sat up from his bedroll. Raking a hand back through his hair, he glanced around and then tilted his head at the visibility of the party before looking to the archer with an unspoken question.

"They have a wizard. I'm not going to ask Baeloth to blow a third tier spell when any wizard worth their spellbook probably has defenses against it. Breakfast?" Damion offered out a handful of jerky, which the necromancer ooh'd quietly and accepted to munch on contently while he fished out his spellbook to start to prepare for the day. "Plan's the one I mentioned before. The four of you take down the three with him, while I deal with Sarevok."

"And you truly think you can take him?" Xzar studied the archer for a long moment, quirking a brow. "You really do, don't you. He can rip you in half, but you think you can take him one on one. He's going to kill you."

"No Xzar. In fact, I'll make you a wager. Within twenty minutes of going into that building, he's going to be on the ground, and you're going to cut his throat." Damion smiled slightly at how the Zhent's eyes narrowed and he leaned back. The Bhaalspawn held out his familiar, the winged snake hissing quietly and flicking its tongue out curiously. "I'm serious. Here. If I don't, kill it. If the fight goes on any longer then that, I'm never going to be able to kill him anyway. At least in killing it, you'll have completed your job, and he'll let you go."

The necromancer blinked, looking from the snake to the archer, before reaching out to accept the snake and eased it into a sack, before tying it shut. "... You... Believe so firmly in this thing, that you trust I won't just kill it the moment we get in there and offer you up?"

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, you want to see how I'm going to do it, don't you?"

Xzar hummed, looking down at the sack in his hands before a wide grin spread across his face as he as good as admitted he did with a nod.

"Good then, that's settled. When you and Edwin are ready, let's go murder some people."


Not going to lie, I was going to post the big fight scene with this chapter but it was way too long.
I have no excuse for my absence beyond that I simply lacked the gumption to write. In re-reading the chapters, though, I felt that maybe I'd be able to do something. IF any of you are still reading these, then bless your hearts and faces. I would have given up on me a long time ago.
Questions? Comments? Consistency errors?
Leave a message after the tone,
-KD