"A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us."

― Friedrich Nietzsche


He is still losing blood. His wounds have not healed. Without his innate Bhaalspawn ability to quickly heal his wounds at an abnormally quick rate like a troll, he will soon pass out from loss of blood, and eventually die. Though still grieving over Yoshimo's demise, Ralis struggled to stand up on his feet. It was difficult, it almost felt as if some force is weighing him down. And he could still feel that sickening numb burning feeling deep within his chest. Once he stood up straight on his legs, staring down at Yoshimo's corpse laying amongst the pool of blood belonging to him and Ralis' own blood, Ralis felt the urge to vomit, and he resisted, swallowing the sour bile back down his throat. He sheathed Albruin and noticed that Kondar is about 18 inches northwest away from Yoshimo's head. When Ralis noticed his dirk on the bloodied floor near Yoshimo's right hand, he knew what he had to do. It seriously pained Ralis more than the numb burning in his chest to even consider doing this, but he had to cut out Yoshimo's heart as a necessary step to save his soul. Ralis slowly crouched down on his knees, grabbed Avenger off of the bloodstained floor, then he let his knees touch the floor, standing above Yoshimo's body. Ralis hesitated for a moment, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Then, when he felt ready, he plunged Avenger's blade into Yoshimo's chest, stabbing his left ribcage. Ralis groaned in disgust and sadness as he forced the dirk blade to cut the layers of Yoshimo's studded leather body armor and the bones of his ribcage, which proved very difficult for the dirk's blade to do, so after exerting some of his energy cutting one bone of the ribcage, Ralis decided to instead start off by cutting a square piece of Yoshimo's body armor off, to expose his bare chest for easy access. Once Ralis did that, he was given a clear view of Yoshimo's bloodied chest, he saw the bloody wound where Albruin's blade punched right through, which dealt the fatal blow to Yoshimo, and the smaller wound above it where Ralis initially tried to cut open his chest. Ralis reluctantly resumed cutting open Yoshimo's chest, grimacing and groaning in disgust upon hearing bones snapping, flesh ripping apart, and the sickening sound of squelching wet blood, being careful not to cut the heart. Ralis obviously is not enjoying this at all. Before he finished cutting a square opening, he turned his head away and started vomiting violently.

Tears streamed down Ralis' face after he was done retching, the sour aftertaste of bile filled his mouth and the stench of decaying flesh and scent of sweet and sour vomit filled his nose, symbolizing his severe displeasure and grief of cutting his deceased former friend's chest open. Ralis reluctantly reached down and used his bloodstained hands to grab the edges of the square piece, lifted it off and exposed the blood covered, damaged insides of Yoshimo's chest, revealing the heart inside, surrounded by broken rib bones. Ralis turned away once again, giving in to a sudden gag reflex from seeing the gruesome sight he created and smelling the stench that permeated the room, then he started wailing like a newborn baby, unable to hold on to his sanity any longer. He couldn't do it, he didn't want to do it, this is too much for him to handle. Why? Why must he do this? Why must fate be so cruel to him?

Why must being a child of Bhaal feel like a curse he can't escape from?! It seems no matter how hard he tries, he can't save everyone. It seems that he is cursed to have more enemies than friends. And also those who become Ralis' enemy for the wrong reasons. Like Yoshimo... He was suckered into Irenicus' servitude under a lie that he had no reason to doubt. A lie that had enough truth to sell it. Ralis could have actually killed Tamoko two years ago, before his final battle against Sarevok, but he chose not to. When he had learned Tamoko and Yoshimo were siblings, he quickly revealed to Yoshimo that he never killed her. But in the end, it doesn't matter. None of it matters now. Ralis has killed the two people that Tamoko cherished in her life. Sarevok, her lover who was hopelessly driven by his instinctive lust for power, and Yoshimo, the brother she never knew spent many years searching for her. It seems that no matter how hard he tries to avoid it... he is a murderer even if he doesn't embrace it.

After nearly three minutes of sobbing, Ralis finally gathered the courage to turn his attention back to Yoshimo's corpse and try to extract his heart. Using Avenger and his free hand, he reached into the open square-shaped cavity he created and used his dagger to cut Yoshimo's arteries from their connection to his heart. Ralis struggled not to vomit again, but somehow, he managed, but his eyes are bloodshot red and moist from all the tears. After cutting off all the arteries, Ralis used his free hand to reach in, grab Yoshimo's heart and pull it out of the open cavity, being careful not to touch the lungs or any other organ within. Ralis slowly stood up, looking at the bloody fist sized organ in his right hand. Ralis struggled not to cry again, all he let out is a shuddering sigh.

He put Yoshimo's heart in his inventory bag, then headed over to the spot where his other sword, Kondar, lay, picked it up and placed it back in its scabbard. Now with both of his swords and dirk in his possession, Yoshimo's heart included, Ralis prepared to leave the room. However, after taking three uneasy steps, he froze suddenly, sensing danger nearby, in the shadows where the light can't shine.

"Here, mousey, mousey."

Ralis recognized that voice. Up ahead from the shadowed corners of the room where the brazier torch lights can't reach, Bodhi and four other vampires emerged from the shadows, eager to confront their prey They joined each other six feet directly in front of Ralis and stood before him.

"The hunt draws to a close here and now," Bodhi grinned, showing her vampire teeth, though Ralis' eye vision is steadily growing blurry.

Ralis growled in annoyance.

"I knew you were lying. You'd be a fool to let me reach Irenicus," Ralis said disdainfully while wobbling on his legs slightly, trying not to fall over from feeling dizzy as he placed his right hand on his abdomen where the dirk wound is.

"I know I'm early, but I just couldn't bear to see you leave. But I enjoyed watching you and the bounty hunter tear at each other's throats. I knew you would win, too. If he had killed you, I would have been severely disappointed, being deprived of the chance of having to kill a child of Bhaal with my own hands, but I do enjoy putting you to the test regardless," Bodhi replied as her fellow vampires surrounded Ralis, but she stayed directly ahead of Ralis, approaching him seductively.

"What are you talking about...?! You ordered Yoshimo to kill me, not Irenicus...?!" Ralis' eyes widened in shock, anger and disbelief.

Bodhi let out a sinister chuckle, flashing her fangs once again.

"He was not only under my brother's command, but also mine. My brother has lost all interest in you since he has taken what he wanted from you, but you interest me. You and your tasty brother Abdel. I wanted to see how you would react being forced to kill your own friend. A friend who did not willingly betray you. Seeing you squirm has been a real treat."

"You bitch!" Ralis tried to charge at Bodhi despite his weakened state, but a vampire jabbed him in the stomach, causing him to stumble to the ground, coughing and groaning.

He didn't feel good at all, the sickening feeling in his chest and stomach is getting worse. It felt almost like a fireball within him growing more and more powerful, making his blood boil, engulfing every part of his body. As if his increasing anger is doing... something. Something different. The four vampires surrounded Ralis.

"Get up, Bhaalspawn! Get up! Bodhi isn't done with you!" One vampire named Tirion said, then kicked Ralis, causing him to curl in a fetal position, and his friends joined in kicking downed Ralis.

Bodhi shook her head in depression. "This is pathetic. I expected to fight a warrior with a god's blood, not some simpering fool." She shrugged. "Oh well. I might as well end your miserable life," Bodhi said, then she walked towards Ralis even while he was getting kicked over and over by Tirion and the other three vampires.

Every kick delivered made his body burn more and more. Ralis found himself unable to think rationally anymore. All he felt is anger now. Pure, boiling, raw anger. All of it directed towards Bodhi. Even then the pain he felt from the kicks disappeared. He saw Bodhi approaching him and he barely noticed a red haze appearing before his eyes as he grew more enraged, and Bodhi stopped walking when she noticed that something strange is happening to Ralis. She saw that the sclera of his eyes have turned from bloodshot red to completely blood covered red covering even his irises in redness, his skin darkened ominously to a dark shade of gray, his heavy breathing changed into low growls like a feral beast. Then Ralis effortlessly stood up on his legs unfazed by the kicking of the vampires, causing them to back away a few inches, then he threw his head back and let out an enraged, otherworldly roar that even surprised Bodhi.

Then almost suddenly, dark gray orbs of arcane energy surrounded Ralis, completely engulfing his entire body, and when they disappeared, Ralis somehow transformed into a hideous six foot tall humanoid monster! The monster is truly a terrifying sight to behold, with sharp, feral teeth, bright red eyes with no pupils, dark gray colored skin inset with deep ivory colored lacerations, black ichor flowed along its body, and needle-like horns protruded from its head, back and shoulders, and six inch long sharp fingernails at the end of each finger, even the nails of his toes are long and sharp! He has become The Slayer!

"What the hell is that thing?!" One of the vampires exclaimed.

The monster Ralis had become roared again and Bodhi backed away in shock.

"What is this?! Child of Bhaal, what have you become?!" Bodhi exclaimed in utter surprise and fear.

She had no intention on staying in this room to find out, she knew she better get out of there fast before it's too late. She quickly turned on her heel and ran while the The Slayer started to attack Tirion and the other three vampires, she only caught a glimpse of grabbing Tirion by the throat while she turned to run. They never stood a chance even though they tried to defend themselves. Bodhi ran out the room heading down the corridor curving right, then she gracefully skidded on her feet and continued sprinting down the winding corridor, her ears couldn't escape the terrifying roars and snarls of the creature and the terror-stricken, bloodcurdling screams from Tirion and the other vampires as they were being mercilessly torn to pieces in the room she left them behind in. She never felt so terrified in her entire life, mostly because she knew that once The Slayer is done tearing Tirion and the other vampires apart, he will definitely come after her. Unfortunately for her, she was right; she could no longer hear the screams of Tiron and her other fellow vampires ceased thirteen seconds after she ditched them, and now her ears picked up the sound of somewhat distant thudding footsteps and guttural panting, those sounds told her what she had been fearing: The Slayer is coming for her now. Part of her wanted to inform her brother Irenicus of this completely unexpected outcome, and another part of her wanted to get out of Spellhold as soon as possible and leave this terrifying monstrosity breathing down her neck.

She came to a branching "T" junction and quickly decided to go right, hoping to lose Monster Ralis since he is not close enough behind her to see which route she decided to take. The passage curved left a few feet more, then she found herself in a new room... which happens to be a dead end, there is no way out other than an opening in the ceiling and the way she came in.

"Damn it! No!" Bodhi cursed.

She was about to panic until she remembered that as a vampire, she can polymorph herself into a bat. Relieved with that recollection but embarrassed at forgetting her ability to do this, she immediately transformed into a bat and flew up towards the hole in the ceiling, escaping Spellhold's labyrinth that way.


Meanwhile, in another part of the labyrinth, Imoen continued journeying with all of her half-brother Ralis' companions, getting brought up to speed on what has been happening ever since her abduction by the Cowled Wizards. Around the time Bodhi transformed into a bat and escaped the labyrinth, Imoen and the others had reached a long rectangular room which contains various treasure chests of varying sizes. The purpose of this room is to test a deviant's impulse, to see if their sanity is tempered enough that they can resist the urge to use their magic spells to check what is in the boxes, or to open the boxes to get at what is inside. Along the walls are paintings of what could be inside the treasure chests. The prizes can be gold, silver or copper, a scroll containing information on how to cast a certain magic spell, a free pass to spend a day outside of Spellhold in Brynnlaw under direct supervision of the Cowled Wizards. as for the negative prizes, some of the locked treasure chests are booby trapped, and some could actually be a mimic, which is an aberration of a monster that can either disguise itself as a treasure chest or mundane furnishings and household objects, standing motionless like a genuine treasure chest or other object until some greedy adventurer comes along and tries to open it. By the time the adventurer sees the sharp teeth, red tongue and gaping mouth of a mimic appear, it is all over. Normally Imoen would be curious enough to check a few of the treasure chests in this room to see what they have, but she had no interest in doing so, all she wanted to do no is get out of here with Abdel, Jaheira, Ralis, Minsc and everyone else with them.

"So Ralis picked up all of you guys just to rescue little old me? I'm flattered, really, but 20 people? That's overkill," Imoen stated, the tone of her voice nearly sullen while she walked alongside Abdel and Jaheira, passing by treasure chest after treasure chest on both sides of the long, wide open room.

"It wasn't easy, but he worked really hard at it," Nalia said.

Imoen looked over her left shoulder to look back at Nalia who is walking in between Rasaad and Anomen.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Nalia. Nalia Arnise. Does my name sound familiar to you?"

Imoen turned her head forward and shook her head.

"No. It doesn't," she said.

When no more words were said after that, Abdel took the time to take notice of how many treasure chests are in this room.

"What do you think the Cowled Wizards made this room for? Certainly not to train deviants in how to be thieves, that's for sure," he stated.

Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a distant roar. They froze as soon as they heard it.

"What the hells was that?" Edwin wondered aloud, feeling the hairs on his forearms stand up.

The group didn't find their weapons yet, so the only people who are able to defend themselves without melee weapons are the ones who can cast magic spells, Jan, Aerie, Viconia, Jaheira, Tashia and Imoen, who also still has her short sword and shortbow.

"Something monstrous... and hungry," Anomen replied to Edwin warily.

The unseen creature roared again, sounding a little closer this time.

Neera felt her legs begin to tremble.

"Uh... guys... I got a very bad feeling about this..." She said, her voice trembling.

"It does not sound like any creature I've heard from the forest," Cernd said.

"Whatever it may be, it is coming for us..." Viconia said grimly.

Neera glared at her.

"Hey, don't say that, unless you want me to wet my pants, and trust me, now is not a good time for me to wet myself," she said tersely.

"I am only stating a grim truth," Viconia retorted calmly.

Though Viconia doesn't like the truth of their predicament, she knew that sugarcoating it won't help anyone. Nalia looked back at Tashia and glanced at her bag strapped around her waist, and recalled that she has a figurine that calls her leopard.

"Tashia, call your leopard out," Nalia instructed.

"Huh?" Tashia looked at Nalia in confusion, but only briefly, she was too focused on the roars of a monster that is drawing nearer to them. "Oh, right!"

Right at the moment Tashia started digging her right hand into her bag for her figurine, the roars became much louder and closer now, and thudding footsteps can clearly be heard now. Everyone could now tell that the sounds is coming from the only new passageway out of the room 34 feet in front of them.

"It's coming!" Jaheira said.

Imoen readied her shortbow, preparing to fire an arrow at whatever will appear out of the passageway ahead. By the time Tashia had pulled her figuring out of the bag, the monster Ralis became entered the room on the other end. Abdel, Imoen and the others were in complete shock at the monster they are seeing.

"Oh gods...!" Jaheira whispered.

"By the Abyss...!" Dorn's eyes widened in shock.

"What is that thing?! Althir, tell me what the hells is that!" Neera exclaimed, jumping behind Althir using him as a shield.

"If I knew, I'd tell you, but I don't!" Althir retorted.

Cernd immediately began his transformation into a werewolf.

"Peanelian, go!" Tashia ordered, while holding the figurine, summoning her leopard.

Cernd, finishing his transformation, leaped over everyone, landing between them and The Slayer, then Peanelian jumped out of a portal next to him, and they both charged at The Slayer.

The Slayer ran for them, snarling like a feral beast. Peanelian jumped at The Slayer, claws outstretched, ready to attack! However, The Slayer having fairly long arms, swatted Peanelian away as if she were nothing, and she crashed into a cluster of treasure chests the moment Cernd in werewolf form got up close to The Slayer, grabbing its arms before it could react, then Cernd kicked out with this left leg, kicking The Slayer in the chest. The slayer staggered back a few feet but recovered and came at Cernd, trying to slash him up with its long claws, but every attack missed its mark because Cernd kept dodging. Peanelian recovered then jumped onto The slayer's back! The Slayer shrieked in pain as Peanelian dug her claws into its chest and Cernd slashed his claws at The slayer's chest, creating three horizontal slash marks, drawing blood that mingled with the ichor that covered The slayer's body!

"Get 'em, Peanelian! Go!" "Don't let up! You got this!" Tashia and Neera cheered.

Abdel, Jaheira, Mazzy and everyone else watched the fight while tensing their muscles, hoping that Peanelian and Cernd don't die fighting this strange monster. The slayer, angered at being overwhelmed by the teamwork of Cernd and Peanelian reached back, dug its claws into Peanelian's body, then threw her off, throwing her directly at Cernd, knocking them both down and they slid away from the creature about six feet away.

Then, to everyone's confusion, The Slayer relented. It simply stood there, as if frozen by a Hold Monster spell. At this moment, Ralis felt his consciousnesses slowly begin to come back. He could feel his blood cooling down, then the form of The slayer melted away, back to Ralis' human form. His wounds have healed, but his ankheg body armor is still in bad shape though. He sank to his knees, his head lowered toward the floor, breathing heavily. He had no idea what happened to him. One moment he was consumed by rage because of Bodhi, and then, the world turned red, then dark, and he lost consciousness. He had no idea how much time had passed, either. What happened to him is his anger overpowered his will. His will faltered, and the essence of Bhaal took advantage of that moment of weakness. The void where his soul once was overflowed with murderous fury, the mark of a deity that no longer exists. Apparently, the taint of Bhaal has affected Ralis differently from Imoen, fighting against his willpower's strength. Like the instinct told Ralis in the dream, there will be nothing left in him where his soul once was but his instinct to murder. Although thanks to the assistance of his soul, Ralis had managed to overpower his instinct as a Bhaalspawn in order to survive Irenicus' ritual, and the strength of his will is keeping him alive, but like Irenicus said, this will be the worst curse Ralis has ever endured. He needs to get his soul back from Irenicus before his instinct gains the strength to completely destroy his will, and then he will truly die.

After taking in enough air to calm his rapidly beating heart, Ralis lifted his head up to see all of his companions, including Imoen, looking at him with utter shock on their faces. No one said a word to him. Peanelian stood in front of them with Cernd who transformed back into his human form, and they looked surprised as well. More than surprised, actually. Ralis wondered why do they look like they've seen a ghost, but after a few seconds of wondering, he finally realized that they must have seen his monster form. He stood up on his legs, noticing that the wounds he endured from his fight against Yoshimo has somehow healed when he became The Slayer, and he doesn't feel as sickly as he did before.

"... Ralis? Are you... you?" Neera broke the silence finally.

Rals checked his body over, brushing his hands on his legs, waist and chest. Again, his ankheg armor is in need of repairs. Other than that, he feels fine. After checking himself over, he nodded towards everyone.

"Yes? Good, good. Glad to hear it," Neera said then exhaled a sigh of relief.

Then she stepped in front of Abdel and Jaheira.

"Now WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS WAS THAT THING YOU JUST TURNED INTO?" She raised her voice suddenly, causing Abdel, Peanelian, Mazzy, Anomen, Imoen and Edwin to jump slightly.

"She's right. You owe us an explanation, Ralis," Nalia said.

Ralis shook his head and stammered over a few words. No one heard what he clearly said, his words were unintelligible, but it sounded like he is trying to say "I don't know, I don't know what happened" or something like that. Neera raised her right hand at Ralis, signaling him to shut up now.

"You know what, I don't think I want to know. No, I definitely do not want to know. Just don't do it again, please," Neera said.

"Sorry, Neera," was the first intelligible words that came out of Ralis' mouth.

Imoen looked back at Neera.

"At least he remembers your name," she said.

Ralis started to cautiously approach everyone, holding his hands up at chest level. No one made a move, not even Peanelian, though she is crouching forward, but never growled or showed any outright signs of hostility, she is as uncertain as everyone else.

"It's me, guys. Imoen, you know it is. After we split up, I ran into Yoshimo. I..." Ralis stopped walking and lowered his head, looking down at his bloodstained hands covered in his own blood and Yoshimo's. "I had to kill him because Bodhi commanded him to. I know all of you see him as a traitor, but he was under Irenicus and Bodhi's control, he had no choice in the matter." He paused to lower his hands and look directly at his companions. "After that, Bodhi tried to attack me, and I got so angry, I felt my blood boiling, and I blacked out somehow even though I don't remember collapsing, and I think that was when I became that monster. I don't even remember what happened after I transformed, it felt like... I wasn't in control of myself..."

Ralis stopped talking to let this information sink into the minds of his companions. He could see they are processing this information with a lot of difficulty.

"Oh, by the way, Irenicus told me that Imoen is a Bhaalspawn too," Ralis added.

Everyone except Althir looked at Imoen in shock, including Dorn.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Tashia exclaimed then looked over at Dorn to see his reaction.

"How is this possible?! The girl is one too?!" Dorn was in shock at first, but then he started grinning at Ralis. "That means she is your half-sister," he said to him.

Ralis nodded in agreement. Abdel, Aerie, Jaheira, Tashia, Nalia, Viconia, Edwin and Valygar looked at Imoen in shock.

"Guys, come on, you're making me feel uncomfortable," Imoen said uneasily, feeling like a shy child.

"I... I don't believe it..." Jaheira said in a whisper of disbelief while staring at Imoen, wondering if Gorion knew that Imoen is a Bhaalspawn too, not just Ralis.

"That's not all he told me. Abdel is a child of Bhaal too," Ralis informed everyone.

"Guh...!" Jaheira recoiled in alarm and looked at Abdel with very wide eyes.

"What...?" Aerie gasped softly towards Ralis, then turned her wide-eyed gaze up at Abdel.

Abdel blinked six times in shock and looked around in bewilderment, then shook his head before uttering some profanity.

"All three of you? Really?!" Tashia pointed her finger at Ralis, Imoen, then Abdel. "This is too much..." She groaned while putting both of her hands on her head.

Neera brushed her left hand through her pink hair while holding her staff with her right hand and shook her head in mild disbelief.

"Yeesh. This is the freakiest family reunion I've ever seen..." Neera said, looking directly at Ralis in horror and awe, then she looked down at Jan next to her. "Don't you dare say a word about how this reminds you of your 20th cousin twice removed," she warned him.

Jan looked up at her while Ralis walked up to Abdel and smiled wryly at him.

"What made you think I would say such a thing?" Jan asked him while Ralis was speaking to Abdel.

"Look on the bright side. This means we are actually brothers," he said.

Abdel placed his right hand on his forehead and moaned while Neera responded to Jan's question.

"Huh? You know what, never mind," Neera shook her head, then muttered under her breath: "Fruitcakes..."

"What the hell is going on here, Ralis? You, me and Imoen are one of Bhaal's kids? How come Father Gorion didn't tell us this? He had all three of us together, Ralis! The three of us have the same heritage!" Abdel exclaimed while shaking his head as if in denial, then glanced at Jaheira, Imoen, then placed both hands on his head as if he is going to have a splitting headache from this revelation.

Then as if he had an epiphany at that moment, he lowered his hands from his head and slowly turned his head to look at Ralis with an inquisitive stare.

"... Ralis. How did you find out you are a Bhaalspawn?" He asked.

Ralis couldn't help wondered why Abdel is using that tone that hints he suspects him of lying about something.

"He told me in a letter when I returned to Candlekeep two years ago. Why?" Ralis asked in confusion.

Imoen gasped, realizing that Ralis had made a mistake telling Abdel that detail. Abdel began to scowl inquisitively at Ralis.

"A letter? Hmm, that's odd. He didn't tell you and Imoen your secret heritage personally? Why did he write it in a letter? What aren't you telling me, Ralis?" He asked.

Ralis' heart sank when he remembered that Abdel doesn't know that Gorion had died by Sarevok's hands, no one told him about it, not even Jaheira. By telling Abdel about the letter that revealed to Ralis that his true father is Bhaal himself, Abdel has become suspicious about Gorion's fate. Ralis looked over at Jaheira for help, then she crossed her arms and nodded at him, scowling softly. Ralis sighed and nodded in return, knowing that it is time to tell Abdel the truth. Ralis took a deep breath before speaking.

"Abdel... I don't know how to say this. I've kept this from you ever since we were in Irenicus' dungeon back in Athkatla... But... on Mirtul in the Year of the Banner... Father Gorion... died..."

The news hit Abdel like a hammerblow, it looked like. He staggered back a couple inches, his eyes wide in shock.

"What...? What...? Father..." Abdel whispered while trying to remain standing upright as if gravity is pushing him down and he is trying to resist it.

Ralis felt his eyes beginning to burn.

"He died protecting me. Assassins attempted to kill me in Candlekeep, forcing Gorion and I to leave. Imoen followed after us in secret. The man who hired the assassins, Sarevok, who was also a child of Bhaal like us, wanted me dead. Father and I ran into him in the forests later that night, and Father ordered me to run. I hid behind a tree and watched him fight Sarevok, but, in the end... Sarevok drove his sword right through him..."

Abdel finally dropped down to his knees, his own eyes becoming moist with tears.

"No... Father, no... Please..." He whimpered. "I never got a chance to see him again after all these years..."

Imoen felt sorry for Abdel. He departed Candlekeep to live his whatever life he wanted in 1360 DR. He hated living in a library fortress, he wanted to get out and see all of Faerun, but he never hated Gorion, he loved Gorion as much as she and Ralis do.

"He gave his life to save mine, Abdel... He would have done the same for you if you were there," Ralis came over to Abdel's side and consoled him.

Abdel sobbed for a few seconds, then he looked up at Ralis and said:

"Why did you lie to me...?"

Ralis frowned in confusion.

"Huh? I didn't lie. I-"

Ralis never got the chance to finish that sentence because Abdel suddenly jabbed his elbow into Ralis' belly, causing him to double over in pain, and all the air got knocked out of Ralis the moment he got assaulted. Then in a fit of rage, Abdel grabbed Ralis and threw him forward, forcing him to flip over and land on his back. Then Abdel placed both of his knees on Ralis' chest, pinning him to the hard floor, and holding his right arm, threatening to break it.

"LIAR!" Abdel screamed in rage when he threw Ralis down to the floor.

"Abdel, stop!" Jaheira exclaimed, rushing over to Abdel and trying to pull him off of Ralis, even with Imoen's help, but they could only make him budge, and that is not enough.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Valygar exclaimed to Abdel in shock.

"Abdel, no! Boo says calm down!" Minsc urged, and Boo made a shrill squeal in urgent agreement.

Abdel ignored their protests. It really angered him to feel betrayed by the man he trusted like a brother who turns out to actually be his brother.

"After all this time, you held a secret from me, leading me to believe that Father was alive. You hid the truth from me, Ralis! I did not deserve to be fed a lie, I deserved to know the truth!" He exclaimed in a mix of anger and sadness.

Ralis tried to talk, but he couldn't, Abdel is a heavy man, his knees put a lot of pressure on his chest so breathing was fairly difficult for him to do, and his stomach is still smarting from the unexpected jab, so all Ralis could do is try breathing in and out through his mouth, and even that is difficult.

"Do you understand how much this hurts me to know that you lied to me, Ralis? I have not seen Father in ten years!" Abdel cried.

Jan walked up to Abdel, possibly in an effort to console him.

"Abdel, if this makes you feel any better, I have not seen my pappy in 50 years. I know that isn't a long time for a gnome, but for a human, that's half a lifetime! You should consider yourself lucky, because-"

Abdel turned his head and glared at him.

"... That's a story for another day," Jan stepped back and walked away, heading towards the spot where Cernd is, sitting on a treasure chest, trying to recuperate from his recent scuffle with The Slayer.

"Abdel, he can barely breathe! Get off of him!" Mazzy exclaimed while Jan stood beside her to her left, putting himself between her and Korgan, which he did not like at all, but Jan started to placate him with a story he supposedly heard about Korgan's grandparents.

Aerie and Hexxat looked over at Viconia, expecting her to exclaim some kind of objection at Abdel for harming Ralis, but Viconia said nothing, she just watched Abdel pin Ralis to the floor in clear worry. They could see in Viconia's eyes that she is afraid for Ralis' life, but she doesn't know what to say or what to do.

"Viconia, do something! Aren't you afraid for his life?!" Aerie asked her incredulously.

"Of course I am, wingless one! How can you be so stupid to assume that?! I just... just..." Viconia let her voice trail off after retorting to Aerie.

"You don't know what to do, do you? What does your heart tell you to do?" Hexxat asked her.

Viconia watched in mild horror as Abdel continued to pin Ralis to the floor, holding his right hand up in preparation to break it while Jaheira, Rasaad, Imoen, Minsc, Anomen, Valygar, Tashia, Neera and Mazzy urged Abdel to calm down. She wanted to distance herself from her romantic feelings towards Ralis, but therein lies a problem. If she doesn't respond to her urge to rescue him, Abdel will likely break his arm soon, and chances are his soon-to-be broken arm will not heal since Irenicus has stolen his soul, and if she does rescue him, she will invite back the romantic feelings she has for him, making it all the more difficult for her to break up from Ralis and his party when the time comes. Fortunately she did not have to do anything. Minsc came over to Abdel and tried to pull him off of Ralis, with the assistance of Rasaad and Anomen.

"Get off of him, now!" Anomen exclaimed then strained, putting all of his strength into pulling a 239 pound, seven foot tall human off of Ralis.

But with Minsc help, Anomen and Rasaad did not need to struggle too much with Abdel's weight. Abdel calmed down by the time they pulled him off of Ralis. Rasaad and Anomen let go of Abdel as soon as he was off Ralis, but Minsc still held onto him, fearing that he will jump on Ralis again.

"Alright, alright, alright! Let me go!" Abdel demanded, scowling up at Minsc.

Boo squeaked forlornly on Minsc's right shoulder, and Minsc released his grip from under Abdel's arms, looking rather depressed at Abdel. Ralis slowly stood up on his feet, coughing multiple times while Valygar helped him up on his feet.

"I'm fine, Valygar, I'm fine," Ralis assured him, though his lungs still felt as if they are on fire.

"Are you sure? He hit you pretty good," Valygar said apprehensively.

"I was in worse shape before. Trust me, I'm fine," Ralis replied and gave him a reassuring wink.

Ralis looked over at Abdel, who is up on his feet too, glaring at him.

"Abdel, I'm sorry I hid this from you all year. I thought I was sparing you pain... but it turns out I was sparing myself pain. I've been through a lot of pain lately..."

"Like Yoshimo betraying you?" Jaheira asked.

Ralis nodded, looking rather grim.

"I hope that bastard rots in the Nine Hells," Jaheira said spitefully.

Ralis slapped her.

*WHAP!*

The sound of the back of Ralis' left hand smacking Jaheira's face echoed throughout the room, stunning everyone into silence, including Jaheira. She held her face in shock, looking at Ralis in complete disbelief. And when she looked into his eyes, she saw him glaring at her in mild contempt, something he has never, ever done to her before.

"Hold your tongue at your own risk, Jaheira," Ralis warned her.

Everyone was in shock at what Ralis just did, it is completely out of character for him to slap Jaheira, but Edwin, Dorn and Viconia, however, were indifferent to the scene. Abdel started to advance towards Ralis in outrage for slapping the half-elf he is madly in love with, but Minsc held him back. Imoen felt tensions rising among everyone, and she knew that everyone needs to get back on track on dealing with Irenicus and Bodhi and escaping Spellhold before its too late.

"Uh, this is all fine and whatever, but we should focus on getting out of this creepy place," she said, jumping in the center of everyone, getting their attention.

"Imoen is right," Neera chimed in. "This is no time for petty squabbling, we need to get out of here!"

Ralis looked around, and for the first time, noticed so many treasure chests around.

"There are a lot of treasure chests here. Did anyone open them to see what's inside?"

No one said a word.

"I thought not. Let's get out of here, then. The longer we argue, the more time Irenicus has to plan... whatever he is planning," Ralis said.


The reunited group headed for the passageway Ralis appeared from as The Slayer, since it is the only other way out of the room. They entered the narrow hallway, and followed its long, somewhat narrow path into another room, this room has a stone statue of a tall Minotaur wielding a double bladed ax. There are three new ways out of the room, there's a closed door directly behind the Minotaur, there is an open passageway directly in front of it, and another passageway directly to its left. Ralis and his party came into this room from the passageway to the Minotaur's right.

"Whoa. That's a big statue. It's two times bigger than Minsc and Abdel," Imoen said in awe as they entered the room with caution.

Tashia looked up at the Minotaur's head with Imoen and noticed something.

"Hey, Imoen, look at that."

"Look at what?"

"Look at the Minotaur's head. Its horns are missing," Tashia pointed out.

Imoen gasped softly when she saw that Tashia's eyes did not deceive her.

"You're right. But what does that mean?" She asked her.

Anomen noticed that the only closed door in this room is the passageway behind the Minotaur statue. Everyone else was tryign to decide which passageway to travel into. No one wanted to split the party up, apparently.

Anomen gazed at the closed double doors for a few moments, then looked up at the Minotaur, recalling that Imoen and Tashia noticed that its horns are missing. While the party were conversing over which path to take, Anomen checked the door to see if it is really unlocked.

"No! I am not splitting the party up! Never!" Anomen heard Ralis exclaim the moment Anomen placed his right hand on the doorknob and tried twisting it, only to discover that the door is indeed unlocked, and finding the horns of the Minotaur statue might be the key to unlocking it.

"Aha!" Anomen smiled, then he returned to his teammates, who are gathered in between the Minotaur statue and the passageway directly ahead of it.

"Comrades, I know the way out!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Everyone looked at him.

"Have you really?" Dorn said in feigned amusement.

Anomen nodded, then pointed at the doors behind the Minotaur statue.

"Aye. I believe those doors right there are a way out of this place. Problem is, it is locked, and I don't think the vampire or gnome can lockpick them either."

"Vampire?" Imoen looked around in fear.

"Do not underestimate my ability, Anomen," Hexxat said casually while Neera and Aerie explained to Imoen that though Hexxat is a vampire, she won't harm them... or at least try not to harm them.

"I don't think the measure of our abilities is a factor here," Anomen said without hesitation, then he pointed up at the Minotaur's hornless head. "The statue is missing its horns, and I believe that once we find the statue's horns, we will unlock the door."

"Well, then, let's not waste any more time and get started finding these missing horns," Ralis said.

"But where do we go? It could be anywhere. Hells, it could be in one of those treasure chests back in that room we were just in," Jaheira said.

Ralis shook his head.

"We go back there as a last resort," he said, then decided to go down the passageway in front of the Minotaur statue, and everyone followed him.

It is only by luck that Ralis decided to take the correct passage. If he chose to follow the passageway to the Minotaur statue's left, then they would have been retracing the route Ralis took when he was The Slayer, back when he lost track of Bodhi. They eventually made their way into a room with a single large porcelain water fountain sits in the middle of the room. It is the type of fountain that spouts water from the top small bowl down to the large middle bowl and down to the bottom bowl that is much larger than the ones above it, where most of the water rests. Out of curiosity, Ralis and Tashia peered into the water from the bowl's edge and they found the Minotaur statue's horns resting underwater. Ralis had to reach into the water and grab the horns, he didn't need to dive into the water, fortunately. Then everyone made their way back to the room where the Minotaur statue is. When they got back, Ralis instructed Aerie to stand up on Minsc's shoulders so that she can reach the Minotaur statue's head to put on the horns. So that's what she did. Boo hat to sit on the palm of Minsc's right hand, then Aerie climbed up on top of Minsc, then while looking face to face at the Minotaur statue's head, she fearlessly inserted the horns into the statue's head, and once she did, everyone heard a loud clicking noise, then the doors behind the statue opened.

"Ha ha! I knew it!" Anomen exclaimed happily.

"Congratulations, Ano," Jan said while everyone headed for the new way out.

Anomen grunted in frustration, recalling that humiliating story that Jan told him about last year, then he caught up with everyone, lagging behind Viconia and Hexxat, so Althir was the last person out.


The group cautiously descended down a flight of stairs now, and when they reached the end, they found themselves in a wide open room with four very thick pillars with intricate designs and patterns painted on them on all four corners of the room, and as far as Ralis could tell, there isn't much ground to walk on, so they need to watch their step or plummet into the darkness below. The middle of the room is "O" shaped, making it clear that there is no way out of this room, even though there are three "T" shaped platforms jutting out from the "O" shaped center, one up front, and two on the sides, which means the pillars in this room are connected to a ceiling and much lower floor below the platform edges even though they are shrouded in pitch blackness. However, before deciding to go back upstairs to the Minotaur statue room, a ghost of a Cowled Wizard appeared before them in the middle of the doughnut shaped center platform just mere seconds before Ralis decided to go back. The Cowled Wizard ghost is a pale shade of blue, he had no legs, but didn't need any since he is levitating.

"Here begins the tests of madness, of sanity and clarity. Presented with nonsense, how will you proceed?" The ghost asked the group of 20 people standing before him, his voice echoing throughout the room for a few seconds.

"What? You wish to test us? But this place is derelict. The directors are dead," Ralis rebuffed the ghost, recalling that even though this labyrinth was used to test the sanity of deviants, Irenicus has taken over Spellhold entirely, and his interests apparently do not align with the Cowled Wizards.

"The procedures laid down proceed regardless of time and circumstance. Such is the nature of this place. Protests are futile," the ghost replied.

The ghost could clearly see that Ralis and his party really do not want to be tested, that they have places to go, things to do, but the procedures the Cowled Wizards set down since the lifetime of their founder, Alisar, must be followed regardless.

"This area works on its own, allowing the directors to watch in safety. You are here, and there is no other way out. Comply or die. You are sane enough to understand that." The ghost paused for effect for a brief moment, then he continued on. "Now, when madness beckoned, how did you answer? Now comes the judgment, when we decide your fitness for life outside."

Ralis sighed.

"Very well, do as you must, specter. I will not protest if it is pointless," he conceded.

The ghost smiled in approval, but Ralis couldn't tell because of his thick facial hair almost concealing his lips.

"Very good. Restraint is a good sign. Perhaps you are closer to release than I thought. We shall see." The ghost faded away, then the entire room turned pitch black, even the pillars and platforms.

Ralis and his party were confused and wary, unsure of what may happen. After being enveloped in pitch blackness for eight seconds, new surroundings faded into view. Ralis and his party found themselves in what appears to be a forest of some kind. There are plants and mushrooms everywhere, and instead of standing on hard concrete, they are standing on semi hard soil.

"What the...?" Jaheira whispered in confusion.

"Are we... back outside...?" Cernd wondered aloud as he knelt down to touch the soil with his hands.

A few feet up ahead, Ralis took notice of a big mushroom, almost as big as a giant, and above the mushroom stood the Cowled Wizard ghost who intends on testing them somehow.

"Guys. He's up there," Ralis pointed out, and everyone took notice of the apparition above the giant mushroom.

Dorn, Hexxat, Viconia and Jaheira privately wondered why would the ghost want to stand in top of a mushroom instead of being down on the ground with them. But Viconia, however, is still feeling a bit hungry, unfortunately. Sharing sustenance with her soon to be born child is more taxing than she thought.

"Now comes a test of sense. A test... to see if madness... pollutes... 'Twas in the wood that I got it, so I sat me down to seek it. I could not find it no matter how hard I looked, and so I took it home with me. What is it?" The ghost announced.

Ralis struggled trying to think of the answer. What does a person get from wood? Firewood? He considered that possibility, but when he compared it to the next part of the riddle, "so I set me down to seek it", it became quickly clear to him that firewood is not the answer. Jaheira, however, being raised by druids, living in the forests, knew the answer already, because she has gotten a few splinters before when she was raised by her druid foster parents, when she tried to climb trees. She usually got splinters on her hands, and she used to get angry and stressed when she couldn't pull the splinter of wood out of her finger. Her druid foster parents would always remind her that nature knows where it belongs, and where it doesn't belong, meaning that she should be patient and understand that the splinter will realize that it doesn't belong buried into her skin, and will slowly push itself out. After hours of patient waiting, Jaheira's patience paid off and she was able to effortlessly remove the splinter.

With this recollection, Jaheira realized the significance of this riddle, and how it is relevant to testing the sanity of a deviant here in Spellhold. Instead of driving oneself mad trying to remove a splinter, removing a splinter takes time and patience, and this ghost is tasked to test the patience and sanity of deviants. She walked over to Ralis and whispered the answer into his ear. Ralis nodded at her, then turned his attention to the ghost above the giant mushroom.

"A splinter?" He asked the ghost.

The ghost clapped his spectral hands in approval at the answer.

"Clarity! You see through a muttering to pull the single piece of intelligence within... a sign of sanity? Or of understanding madness? More questions amidst the secret places!" He said.

Then before everyone knew what was happening, the entire forest environment faded into darkness. The next thing Ralis and his party knew, they found themselves where they very least expected to be. In a room that seems to be part of some rich person's house!

"What the...?!" Valygar immediately examined his surroundings in surprise.

In fact, everyone checked their new surroundings, in utter confusion, understandably. As far as they could tell, they are in a room with no windows, only torches hanging on the walls lit up the room, and decorative pillars lined the walls everywhere they turned to. In the middle of the room is a long rectangular table with ten tables placed on both sides, five on one side, five on another. And on this table sat a nice, steaming, juicy turkey in the center, along with a plate of neatly stacked pyramid of cooked corn on the cob with a block of butter on a smaller plate next to it, frosted fig cake, a plate full of green grapes, sliced pineapples, a large bowl full of fresh beans, another large plate full of fried chicken wings, legs and breasts, and many other foods and drinks surrounded by candles with white candle wax that made almost everyone, especially Viconia hungry, but she had to remind herself that this is all an illusion, and that eating any of the food on the table is not safe. Besides, the chairs around the long table is occupied, ten statues that bear a nearly uncanny resemblance to the apparition of the wizard testing them sits in each one of the chairs, making it impossible for Ralis and his party to sit in one of the chairs whether they wanted to or not.

"What is this place...?" Ralis heard Tashia say as he took a few steps forward away from everyone.

"There are no doors out of here. This must be an illusion," Jaheira was quick to point out.

Ralis noticed that there are four more chairs, separate from each other and separate from the dinner table, two faced the front and rear end of the dinner table, and the other two are placed almost near each other with a torch on the wall between them against the wall from the left side of the rectangular dinner table's long side. Statues of the wizard ghost sat in these chairs too. Out of curiosity, Ralis approached the closest statue sitting in one of the lone chairs while his companions were trying to figure out what they must do, and Tashia, Imoen, Aerie and Nalia had to talk some sense into Neera because she is so hungry that she wanted to eat the steaming turkey meat on the dinner table. As soon as Ralis got close to the statue, he heard a voice coming directly from it say:

"Found your way to this place, did you? What, I wonder, drove you here?"

Ralis gasped in surprise and recoiled back a few feet, not expecting the statue to talk, and the Cowled wizard ghost's voice caught the attention of his party, too.

"Wandering the edges of madness, did you expect to find sense and reason?" Another statue with the wizard ghost's voice said, the one that is seated to the right from the torch light at the left corner of the room, surprising Ralis and his party once again.

"None in this place, no matter how thorough the searching," the statue sitting near Ralis spoke again.

"To even suggest such a thing from the departed and deranged..."The statue sitting to the right from the torch near the statue that questioned Ralis about finding sense and reason in this room.

"Aye, it suggest imbalance, even in the asking," one of the seated statues around the dinner table spoke up next.

"Then what is the proper fate?" Another statue spoke up, confusing Ralis and his party even more.

"Answer nonsense with nonsense. Let a backstep of logic move them forward," another seated statue around the dinner table suggested.

"No sense to be had," the statue near Ralis spoke again. "Let us see how far into the strangeness you can stride. Answer me this, and decide where you end. It is better than the best of things, and worse than the worst of things. You love it more than life. You fear it more than death. The rich have need of it, and the poor have it in endless supply."

After the statue spoke, Ralis wondered carefully what the answer to this riddle may be. No matter what he thought of, none of it made sense, and maybe that's just it. The answer shouldn't have much logic or reason behind it. After 30 minutes of careful thinking, he finally decided to concede defeat with an unlikely answer.

"Nothing, really," Ralis said.

To his surprise, however, it was the right answer.

"Giddy I am with the clarity of your perception, but free you are not. Have my fellows questions for this young madman?" The statue near him said.

"That is more than certain," the statue seated to the left of the torch against the wall to the left of the dinner table said, and Ralis casually walked over to it while his party stood near the wall to the right from the dinner table.

"Another path of words to wander through and seek the end. It runs as it will, but never does it walk. There is a mouth to see, but never does it talk. A bed it surely owns, but never does it sleep. Possesses it a head, but not a one that weeps."

This riddle proved more difficult for Ralis to figure out. Maybe it is because he chose to sacrifice his intelligence during the dream, he couldn't come up with a single idea. Tashia, however, had an idea, and it could be a river. Water runs, but it does not have legs. Rivers do have a mouth or more, but not the kind of mouth that Ralis is thinking of, a river's mouth is where running water comes to an end. And there are such things as riverbeds and stream beds, too. Tashia ran over to Ralis and whispered the answer into his ear.

"Uh... a river," Ralis answered without hesitation after Tashia explained to him why she believes a river is the answer to the riddle.

"An answer that moves you forward, though only if you know where you began. Answer another from my kind to progress," the statue said.

Ralis exhaled in relief and Tashia patted his back to comfort him.

Now the next seated statue spoke up, and this time it is the one nearest to Ralis and Tashia.

"And know that though there is no sense, progression is measured by a scale unknown. Move on, move on."

Ralis and Tashia approached the speaking statue and stood directly in front of it, awaiting the riddle. Ralis tensed up a bit ,and Tashia took notice of that.

"Don't worry. I got your back," she whispered into his ear.

After seeing Tashia whisper to Ralis, Imoen glanced over at Viconia, expecting to see some kind of reaction from her, she expected to see the drow get angry upon seeing another woman next to her lover. But she didn't see much of a reaction from Viconia. All she did was turn away, and Imoen wondered why.

"I make you weak at the worst of all times, but in the end, I keep you safe. You'll sweat in my presence even as you grow cold. I dwell with the weak, rarely the brave, but without me, who can tell the difference?" The statue said, giving out the riddle.

Ralis looked at Tashia for answers, and he saw her smile at him. He felt at ease, knowing that she has an idea. She mouthed the word "fear" at him, and Ralis felt so embarrassed that he felt like slapping his head. This riddle is so easy, he believed that he could have figured out the riddle himself!

"Fear," Ralis said to the statue.

"A success that moves you towards goals you cannot know. Does it satisfy? Who can say?" The statue replied.

Now the statue seated against the fat pillar against the wall on the opposite end away from the statue who gave the first riddle spoke up.

"It does, though not enough. One last wordplay to see if you think as we. Then you shall get what you could not have had," the statue said as Ralis and Tashia approached it.

"Do your worst," Ralis challenged, even though the statue can do nothing but speak somehow.

"It brings back the lost though never gone, shines laughter or tears with light long since shone. A moment to make, a lifetime to shed, valued when, but lost when you're dead."

As soon as the riddle began, Ralis had a clear idea on what the answer may be. As the statue spoke the hints, Ralis' mind flashed back to some of the good memories of his life. His childhood with Abdel and Imoen, meeting Drizzt Do'Urden himself briefly... There are many memories, but he had to stop reminiscing to give the statue his answer.

"Memories," Ralis said without a shred of doubt in his tone, surprising Tashia.

"Your thoughts are clear and flowing, and free you are from here. Onward, to places secret and rewarding," the statue said approvingly.

"Yes, onward, and leave this festive place. You will see the unknown, and if willing, receive its gifts," the statue who gave the third riddle said.

"That makes very little sense at all," the statue who gave the second riddle admonished the other.

"Then it is more than I would have hoped from a room of the maddened dead," the statue who gave the first riddle said.

Then the arcane energies came into effect, a thick mist surrounded Ralis and his entire party, engulfing them and teleporting them out of the doorless room.


Next, they found themselves in what seems to be another pocket plane of existence that looks somewhat hellish. The ground is dark brown and dry, as if it hasn't been soaked by rain in months, the skies are cloudy, and there are mountainous walls erected on all sides, which makes the amount of space they are free to walk around in about ten kilometers wide. Before they could decide on where to go or what to do, the Cowled Wizard ghost materialized in front of them.

"This place is a momentary relapse. It has little to do with the testing. That you found your way here at all is interesting. We shall see how this affects your final evaluation. you are to proceed to judgment when ready," he told them.

An air of relief spread throughout Ralis and his party. They are all eager to get out of this crazy place.

"We are prepared to move to judgment," Ralis agreed.

The apparition nodded.

"Steel yourself. We go," he said, then he used his magic to teleport everyone out of this strange environment.


Now Ralis and his party found themselves in what appears to be the ruins of a temple or something similar to it, because broken pillars lie strewn about the area. They faced the apparition in front of them, awaiting his verdict.

"And now comes judgment. Have your thoughts been focused by your ordeal? Have you gained clarity? Who can say? It has been quite some time since the process has been refined. Really, I do not think you were intended to survive. But I will fulfill my purpose as best I can and use your own words to judge your fate."

After pausing for a few seconds, making Ralis and his party tense with anticipation, the verdict finally came.

"Your will is satisfactory. You have passed what tests I had to offer. This session is now done. You are free." After all has been said, the apparition disappeared.

Ralis, Imoen and Abdel felt the urge to celebrate, but they knew that there is more they have to do. Everyone noticed a door up ahead between two broken pillars.

"Where's the armory? We should get equipped to kick Irenicus' ass," Abdel said.

"One step at a time, Abdel. Let's just find familiar ground then plan ahead," Ralis said, then everyone approached the only doro out of this decrepit place and entered it.

Ralis, Abdel, Jaheira, Imoen, Neera, Minsc and Aerie, ahead of everyone else, found themselves in a perfectly wide corridor that curves to the right about eleven feet ahead of them. And Ralis saw Saemon Havarian himself resting his back against the wall as if he is waiting for someone. Without hesitation, he approached Saemon, and he noticed him coming, and smiled as if he is happy to see him, but as far as Ralis knew, it is a fake emotion from a traitor.

"Ah, there you are!" Saemon said happily like an old friend happy to see Ralis. "I see that you've weathered the s- guugh!" Saemon never finished that sentence because as soon as Ralis got close enough to him, Ralis pressed his right arm against Saemon's neck, pinning him against the wall, and Ralis held his dirk Avenger in his right hand, prepared to cut Saemon's guts open if he made a wrong move.

"I face treachery at every turn! Tell me why I shouldn't kill you!" Ralis exclaimed with venom in his voice, pressing his forearm against Saemon's neck so much they he couldn't breathe or talk.

Saemon tried to talk regardless, but all that came out was a sputtering, gagging noise, so Ralis released some pressure off of Saemon's neck, allowing him to talk, but he never removed his arm off of his neck, though. Saemon had to inhale a few breaths of air before speaking once Ralis eased up a little on him.

"Such hostility, and I wager it is well earned. It is, however, misdirected. I do not wish to be your enemy here," Saemon explained.

Ralis did not relent.

"You are well on your way to becoming my enemy, Havarian. Irenicus told us that the soup you and Yoshimo prepared had herbs in it that made us susceptible to be put to sleep. If you don't want me to direct my rage towards you, give me one good reason why my rage is misdirected before I decide it is rightfully directed," Ralis growled, gently pressing the blade of his dirk against Saemon's belly.

Dorn, Jaheira, Viconia, Abdel, and Korgan watched in approval as Ralis interrogated Saemon.

Saemon was afraid, but he managed to swallow his fears and tell Ralsi what he needed to know.

"Irenicus pushes ever forward, though I cannot see how I will profit. The blade he gave me is hardly compensation."

Ralis let go of Saemon and stepped back a few feet to see what blade he is talking about, in case Saemon decided to stab Ralis with it, and Saemon slowly revealed to Ralis something that he never expected to see.

A dagger. The same dagger Irenicus used to murder Skie Silvershield and imprison her soul. The Soultaker dagger. Ralis had seen the dagger before. Irenicus smugly showed it to him when he was jailed in the Flaming Fist headquarters.

"Oh my gods. That... that's the Soultaker dagger!" Ralis exclaimed excitedly.

"Huh?" Saemon and Abdel said in unison.

Ralis turned to Abdel with a hopeful smile on his face. This day has gone from terrible to somewhat good.

"Abdel, this is the weapon Irenicus used to murder Duke Silvershield's daughter!" Ralis said.

Saemon looked at the dagger in his right hand in confusion, and so did Abdel.

"That thing?" Abdel pointed at it, sharing the same puzzled frown as Saemon.

Ralis never felt so elated in his life. All the pain and torment he went through to try to clear his name in Baldur's Gate will finally pay off!

"You want this blade? Take it, I don't need it," Saemon said, reaching out to Ralis with the dagger in his hands.

"No, I'll take it," Abdel said, walking over to Saemon and taking the Soultaker dagger into his hands, which surprised and confused Ralis at first, then he remembered being told that the Grand Dukes did hire Abdel to find the dagger.

Now Saemon smiled with confidence at Ralis.

"So, you see? I want to earn your trust back. And I can do more than give you a wee dagger. I offer advice to foster trust, and you may determine the value as you wish. It is simple enough for the moment and will save you in the long run," Saemon said.

Ralis scowled at Saemon for a moment, then nodded at him.

"Make your words count. They will determine your lifespan," Ralis warned him.

Saemon exhaled and rubbed his hands together before speaking.

"Even though there is... one... two... three..." Saemon paused to count Ralis' party members by pointing at them one at a time, silently counting to himself. "... Twenty one of you people, I highly recommend that you do not face Irenicus in battle yet," he concluded, facing Ralis with a serious look on his face.

"Why?" Hexxat asked.

"Do ye expect us to run away like flea-bitten mutts, longlimbs?" Korgan asked, his voice rising with offended anger.

"No!" Saemon shook his head and hands in protest. "I expect you all to think strategically. I'm just saying don't rush in blades swinging and spells casting! Irenicus is a power indeed. I've seen no chips in his armor of spells. If all of you face him alone, I have no doubt he will destroy you all easily."

Ralis had to grudgingly admit that Saemon is right. He recalled last year seeing Irenicus kill thirteen Shadow Thief guild members all by himself without breaking a sweat, then afterwards, ten Cowled Wizards without getting scratched. An impossible feat for any mage except maybe for Elminster!

"No, guys, he's right. I've seen Irenicus kill thirteen armed thieves and ten skilled Cowled Wizards without breaking a sweat," Imoen told everyone in a conceding tone.

"Yeah, Imoen is right. I remember it all. I've never seen a mage fight off so many people alone without getting injured. He might be even more powerful than Elminster," Abdel said.

Dorn couldn't believe it. Are they really thinking about throwing in the towel?

"No mage is invincible," Dorn informed everyone, stepping up front, then drew his sword which is just a regular two handed sword that he found in the labyrinth. "If he can bleed, then he can die. Even demons and devils, powerful as they appear, are as mortal as we are," Dorn concluded, holding the blade up in front of his glaring eyes, facing Saemon, who nodded in agreement.

"I wholeheartedly agree with you, uh... whatever your name is. My point is, you would need an army to face him, and I suggest that there is one to be had," he said.

"Where?" Mazzy asked.

Saemon smiled in response to Mazzy's question.

"The inmates of this place are a resource to be tapped. Release them, and their anger and frustrations will strike at Irenicus," he said.

Everyone fell silent, considering Saemon's suggestion. He looked around, examining everyone, clearly seeing that they are taking his suggestion under serious consideration.

"So, let me get this straight," Althir broke the silence, speaking to Saemon while approaching him, his gray hood over his head. "You are suggesting to free every deviant in this gods forsaken place just to fight one mage?"

Ralis felt the need to remind Althir that it is most likely necessary to send every deviant Spellhold has against Irenicus since it is obvious the only way to defeat him is with sheer numbers, but he held his tongue and waited for Saemon to reply to Althir.

"That is my suggestion," Saemon replied to Althir with a firm nod. "And I leave the workings of it to you." He pointed up at the ceiling now. "Upstairs, your army awaits. Use it, or you will perish."

Rais felt seriously conflicted here. He knew that Saemon is not lying about how immensely powerful Irenicus is, but he did not want to trust the suggestions of a traitor.

"What do you think we should do, Ralis?" Aerie asked him.

Ralis shook his head slowly.

"I don't know. I don't trust Saemon, after what he did," Ralis said, making his disdain towards Saemon known to everyone.

Jaheira approached Ralis, looked him in the eyes and said:

"As much as I do not trust his advice, he may have a point, Ralis. There are powerful mages above who may be the difference between life and death," she said.

"Noted," Ralis nodded at her, then turned his attention to his party. "All right people, listen up. The climactic battle I have assembled you all for is close at hand. We have Imoen, we have the Soultaker dagger too. Now all that is left is to kill Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi, then when we leave Spellhold, you are all free to go your separate ways, while Jaheira, Imoen, Abdel and I return to Baldur's Gate with the Soultaker dagger."

"What about Viconia? You don't intend on taking her with you when this is all over?" Mazzy asked curiously.

Ralis hesitated, getting the strange feeling that a lump is growing inside his throat. He had almost forgotten that once this is all over, he and Viconia will have to go their separate ways. The only reason why she is still here is because she agreed to help him rescue Imoen and eliminate Jon Irenicus. Ralis struggled for a few seconds to come up with a response to Valygar. Part of him wanted to tell him to shut up about matters that are none of his concern, but instead, Ralis chose to ignore the question.

"Let's move. Time is of the essence, and we shouldn't waste them on trivial questions," he said.

Ralis and his party walked past Saemon and reached the end of the wide hall which is shaped like an inverted "L", where at the end they had to go right, down the narrow corridor towards a door. Ralis opened the door and carefully peeked outside, finding himself in a corridor lit by torches on both sides of the walls. To the left, the corridor extends down 16 feet away then curves right. To the right, the corridor extends 46 feet down to the end of the hall then curves left, but there is one door on the left side of the corridor not far from where he is. Ralis stepped out into the hallway first, then his party followed him as he cautiously led them down the right side of the hall towards the door up ahead to the left between two torches.

"Be careful where you lead us, Ralis," Jaheira warned him in a whisper. "We don't want to run into Irenicus when we are not ready," she said.

Ralis came to the realization that he has never been shown the layout of Spellhold, so he must be careful not to accidentally lead everyone to Irenicus before they've rallied all of Spellhold's deviants upstairs, but Irenicus could be anywhere, to be honest. And Ralis wanted to check if the door ahead could lead to the stairs to the upper floor where the prisoners of Spellhold are kept, but again, he knew that he need to exercise caution. As soon as Ralis got close to the door, he placed the index finger of his right hand up to his puckered lips while facing his companions, signaling them to stay as quiet as possible while he peeks into the next room that the door conceals. Then he placed his hand on the doorknob, twisted it slowly and carefully, then through the crack of the partially opened door, he peeked inside and saw a few empty glass tanks, which made him realize that this door leads back into the room where Irenicus had him in that glass tank before he stole his soul. He also caught a glimpse of Irenicus speaking to Bodhi. He couldn't clearly hear what they were discussing, so he could only guess what they were saying. Fortunately, they are far enough away to not notice that the only door out of the room they are in is partially cracked open.

"Brother, why do we need to enlist the assistance of the drow to weaken the military force of our home?" Bodhi asked Irenicus in an enraged tone as she paced around him angrily. "Earning their aid is a waste of time! You and I don't need their help! I feel powerful enough to take on an army with the girl's Bhaalspawn soul within me!" She exclaimed then snarled in rage, baring her vampire fangs at her brother even though he was unfazed at how scary Bodhi looks when she is mad.

"Divide and conquer, Bodhi," Irenicus simply said, crossing his arms.

Bodhi stopped pacing and looked at her brother in utter confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

Irenicus smirked.

"There is a human saying that I like. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". The drow of Ust Natha have no greater enemy than the elves of our home. We must weaken the defenses of our home, and we cannot do that alone. We need the help of the drow, and maybe the assistance of a chromatic dragon. With our home's military divided and weakened, we can exact our revenge without any disturbances from Commander Elhan's troops," he said.

"What about Ralis? He is still alive and somehow developed the ability to become some kind of monster I have never seen before!" Bodhi retorted.

Irenicus shook his head dismissively.

"The god child is no longer a concern of mine. Whatever has happened to him is a side effect caused by the loss of his soul. But if he somehow continues to be a persistent thorn in our side, you are free to deal with him however you deem necessary."

Ralis frowned, wondering where could Irenicus' home could possibly be, then closed the door slowly, being careful not to make a sound. Then he turned to his companions and whispered:

"Irenicus and Bodhi are in that room. Let's get out of here before they decide to leave."

He continued leading his group down the hall towards the end that curves to the they were walking, Viconia's hunger pains slightly increased, she desperately needs to consume enough food for herself and her soon-to-be-born child, and Neera's feet ached from doing so much walking, and Imoen felt a little nauseous, but not to the point where she feels that she might vomit, fortunately. When they reached the end and turned left, Ralis, Imoen, Jaheira and Abdel, who are ahead leading the group noticed four doors up ahead to their left, stretching down the hallway, and all four doors are placed in between two wall torches. Without hesitation, they ventured down the hallway. For Jaheira, Neera, Aerie and Tashia, it was easy for them to see that each of the doors to their left progressing down the hall are covered in very powerful magical wards- simply using a key to unlock the doors would not be enough, which led Jaheira to assume that these must be prison cells meant to hold deviants for use in experiments in the room that Irenicus and Bodhi are currently in.

When they reached the end of the hall, they were forced to turn left, and now this new hallway is 64 feet down to the end that curves left, which means this floor of the asylum is shaped like a rectangle, with the experiment room being in the middle, surrounded by individual special prison cells. There are six warded prison cells down this hallway to the left, and one double door to the right about 44 feet down the hall, which could lead to the stairs that will take them up to the prison level of the asylum. Wasting no time, Ralis and his party marched down the hall, approaching the double doors. When they got near it, Ralis carefully opened and peeked through the crack, checking inside. Then he gave his companions the all clear signal, then they entered the door, finding themselves in a short hall shaped like a backwards "L" just like the "L" shaped hall where they left Saemon Havarian on the other side. They also found the stairs and wasted no time going upstairs.


The stairs spiraled upwards until they found themselves in a square shaped room with nothing inside, no decorations, only one torch on the wall, and only one door out ahead of them. Ralis stepped outside the door first, and when he stepped out into the hall, he crashed into Lonk the Sane who was casually walking by!

"No!" Ralis cried as he stumbled over Lonk.

"What the?!" Lonk yelled.

Both Ralis and Lonk crashed face down to the floor, groaning and cursing in Common and Dwarvish.

"Ralis!" Imoen exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ralis said while getting up on his feet without much effort. Groaning, Lonk was holding his head as if he had just got a headache, then he looked up and noticed Ralis standing around him.

"What? What are you doing here? You should be in your cells with the rest of the wackos!" Lonk exclaimed.

Ralis shrugged, and before he could tell Lonk to blame Irenicus, Lonk spoke again before Ralis could.

"Lonk the Sane takes care of you, but you had better show respect!" The dwarf angrily said.

Ralis recalled that Lonk lets the deviants of Spellhold out of their cells during the day, but at night, they have to be put back in, which means it must be night. Lonk looked behind him and saw in the room behind the open door, Abdel and the others in the small room. Lonk sighed.

"Everyone gets locked down tonight. Too many people getting agitated. Always happens when the boss experiments. Makes them angry, I guess," Lonk said, calming down finally.

The gears in Ralis' head started turning when Lonk told him this. Irenicus has performed experiments on all the deviants of Spellhold, has he? Saemon was right to suggest turning the deviants of Spellhold against Irenicus, but he needs Lonk's keys to release the deviants, and he doesn't want to take the keys by force.

"Don't trouble yourself. Give me the keys, and I will lock me and my friends up myself," Ralis said, extending his right hand down towards the dwarf, palm open wide in preparation to be given the key.

Lonk glanced at Ralis' outstretched arm and shook his head, chuckling.

"There ain't but one "key", and you ain't getting it. now get to your cell, all of you, before I get angry. More tests for you if I get angry!" He warned Ralis mildly.

Ralis decided to try the bribery approach now.

"What would it be worth to get you to release them all?" He asked the dwarf.

Lonk frowned and arched his right eyebrow up. "Worth to me?" Then he scoffed and smiled wryly. "How much is a life going for these days? That new director Irenicus would have me quartered in his experiments." Lonk frowned sadly now. "He's done it before," he added, then lowered his head, his thoughts drifting back to memories that he does not want to recall because he has lived it for an entire year.

Ralis found the opening he was looking for and took advantage of it. This man clearly lives in fear of Irenicus. Maybe the promise of freeing him from the man he fears is enough to persuade him.

"You only follow him out of fear. I'll destroy him with the help of the inmates," Ralis said, kneeling down so that he can look Lonk directly without looking down at him.

Lonk looked at Ralis with burgeoning hope in his eyes.

"You think... you could?" He asked.

Ralis nodded.

"Hmmm..." Lonk stroked his gray beard, looking up at the ceiling in thought for a moment. "That's a new way to look at it. I don't like him much, and he's never been less than rude to me." Lonk then nodded firmly. "All right. I'll help you," he finally agreed.

"Great! Now tell me, where do you keep the belongings of me and my traveling companions?" Ralis asked.

Lonk the Sane smiled, then he said: "I'll show you."

A couple minutes later, Ralis and Lonk were a few feet ahead of everyone, marching down the hallway towards the room where Lonk keeps the belongings that every inmate had when they were captured by the Cowled Wizards. Ralis noticed that Lonk seems much more chipper than before, he seemed to bound with every step he took, like a happy, optimistic child, sort of.

"You know, I really preferred Wanev as director. It was a shame what Irenicus did to him. I just hope you are able to give Irenicus what he's got coming to him. Do you really think you can do it?" Lonk asked.

Ralis shrugged. "I've come this far, with so many people by my side giving me support. Victory for us is assured once we rally the inmates," Ralis said.

Lonk smiled up at the young human. "I never expected to hear words like that. In a strange way, I believe you. I get the feeling that you came here for a reason. Oh! Here we are!" Lonk stopped in front of a door and unlocked it with his key. "Your stuff should be inside. I'll leave you all to find it while I go release the inmates and tell them to meet with you in the R&R room."

"Thanks, Lonk, and good luck," Ralis waved goodbye at him while his companions jostled into the room, eager to get their weapons and belongings back.

Lonk waved back at Ralis and continued bounding down the hall happily. Meanwhile in the room where all belongings are held, it took Ralis and his group an hour to find their weapons and belongings. Imoen found her shadow studded leather body armor and her personal short sword and shortbow with several arrows in her quiver, Abdel found his broadsword and dagger, Dorn found found his sword, and as soon as he placed his hands on the hilt, he could feel the warm power emanating from the blade, power that comes directly from Ur-Gothoz and Azothet's souls trapped within it. Althirion found his two katanas, Jaheira found her +1 scimitar and +1 sling with a bag of sling bullets, Aerie found her shield with Chitikka Fastpaws' face painted on it, her +1 mace and +2 sling along with her bag of sling bullets.

Viconia found her brownish gold colored buckler, Mauler's Arm +2 mace and her own sling and bag of sling bullets. Valygar found his katana, longbow and and quiver containing 13 arrows, Jan found his Flasher Master Launcher, but he had to use a ladder to reach up to the top shelf to get it. Anomen found his newly acquired Daystar longsword which he obtained a month ago, and his shield with Helm's holy symbol painted on it. Cernd found his staff, Neera found her own staff, Hexxat found Arbane's Sword +2 and her shortbow with a few arrows in her quiver, Ralis found his Dead Shot longbow and quiver containing a few regular arrows and the remaining number of void-tipped arrows he hadn't used up yet. Edwin found his quarterstaff, dagger and spell book, Korgan found his war ax, Mazzy found her Sword of Arvoreen and shield, and Minsc found Lilarcor.

"Finally, it's about time! Where have you been, big man? I've been sitting up on that shelf for hours! Please tell me you're going to kill something soon, please!" Lilarcor pleaded.

"Don't worry, sword! There is an evil mage that needs a good butt kicking for goodness! And two for good measure!" Minsc said then sheathed Lilarcor into the scabbard, and Boo squeaked in agreement.

Lillarcor laughed in response. "Hahaha, yeah! It feels good to be back on the ol' grind!"

Nalia found her own shortbow, quiver of arrows and spell book. As for Rasaad, he wasn't carrying any weapons or important belongings.

"Everybody ready?" Ralis asked his group as he strapped his longbow around his body, and everyone nodded in agreement. "Good. Now let's go assemble our shock troops," he declared, then walked out the room first.

As thirteen minutes passed, Lonk freed every inmate in the asylum and told them to assemble in the Rest and Reclamation room, and they did. And now, though they are unsure of why they are gathered there, they waited and talked amongst themselves, wondering what is going on. There are over 48 inmates in the R&R room now. Forty-eight people plus Ralis and his 20 companions should be enough to overwhelm Irenicus.

"Tonight I'm someone free? What face should I wear for this?" Dili wondered to herself, walking by crowds of inmates she has never seen before.

Tiax, standing on a table to make himself appear as the master of the gathered inmates was close enough to hear what Dili said.

"You will wear what face Tiax orders! Today, he rules all!" Tiax declared proudly, his hands raised as if basking in the greatness of his charisma.

Dradeel, a disheveled man confronted Tiax angrily. "Silence yourself, diminutive one! Do you not hear the howling?! Around on all sides they are!" He looked around in bewilderment.

Tiax scowled at Dradeel and pointed an accusing, quivering finger at him exclaiming: "You will regret the day you crossed the will of Tiax! My conquest of all is not something to be mocked!"

"Is that the rule of all you survey or beyond?" Aphril chimed in, her eyes baggy as usual from not getting enough sleep. "W-w-what of those that walk inside or and around and through? That stand where you stand now?" She questioned him.

Tiax scoffed, smiling and placing his hands on his waist, causally posing like a man drunk on his own power.

"None stand where Tiax stands... lest he walk atop them! Mm-hm!" He said coolly, but his voice still having as much bravado as he does when raising his voice.

"As I see you do now, and beneath others." Aphril started looking around in fear, seeing things that no one else can see all around her. "Do you not see?! See them inside and behind and beyond?!" She wailed.

"No..." An inmate said fearfully, standing at a corner, and now everyone except Aphril turned to look at him.

This man is named Naljier Skal, a scrawny human man who looks malnourished and acts as if he has seen a ghost or a demon recently, trembling in the corner.

"Y-you speak too much of what can be seen. I wish to see only my pretties again. I won't look too far... I promise," he said meekly, trembling like something traumatized him.

Tiax waved his hand at everyone dismissively, and around that time, Ralis and his companions arrived in the R&R room, but a he hasn't noticed them come in yet, only a few inmates have.

"Bah! Tiax is surrounded by fools and madmen! Who is to blame for this outrage?! Who shall Tiax smite?!" He exclaimed.

Ralis saw this as the perfect moment to announce his arrival to the inmates. Stepping forward, he declared: "Why there is only one man that stands between you and your rule. Irenicus."

Upon hearing that name, nervous muttering resounded among the crowd of inmates, even Tiax seemed to hesitate, though he wanted to ask who this newcomer is who claimed Irenicus is the one he needs to smite.

"Irenicus?" Dili looked visibly nervous. "Oh, I took his face once. His punishment was..." Her voice trailed off and she turned away from Ralis.

Naljier shuddered. "To look at him is to see too far... I cannot look to him!" He exclaimed among the murmurs of other inmates.

Aphril approached Ralis and looked him dead in his eyes, which made Ralis' skin crawl because normally she is distracted by things no one else can see.

"He is cold through all the planes... none walk where he does, though they see him not!" She told Ralis, her eyes fearful yet focused.

"I would prefer to face the dogs of fire themselves! This Irenicus is surely a tool of the Gibberling Twelve!" Dradeel exclaimed.

Wanev started laughing, and everyone fell silent, looking at him, sitting at a table alone, laughing like a maniac.

"HeeheeheeheeHEEheeheehee... He did this... HE did this!" Wanev exclaimed. "I w- uh, *we* must find him! He is the cause! He is the one that brings the tests!" Wanev exclaimed then continued giggling in a deranged manner. "I will not rest until his head is mine and mine and mine alone!" Wanev stood up out of his chair, raising an arm up in the air.

More murmurs among the inmates started up after hearing what Wanev said. Somehow, despite his mental instability, it seems Wanev knows what is about to happen, and his words got some of the inmates muttering about starting a revolt. Now is the time to sweeten the idea of a revolt.

"Wanev is right!" Ralis raised his voice, walking over to Tiax's table and standing near it, but never climbing up to stand with him. "Irenicus is the culprit behind your woes and miseries! He has tortured the lot of you for no reason other than his sick entertainment! Arm yourselves with your best spells and help me kill this manipulative bastard!" Ralis exclaimed.

The inmates began to respond to Ralis' speech, cheering and yelling, to show that they are eager to take on Irenicus. Dili, Aphril and Naljier were the only inmates who did not shout with the crowd. Tiax eyed Ralis disdainfully while the shouting died down.

"Tiax shall face him alone. Tiax judges you not worthy of helping him. Though you may watch... if you wish," he said.

Ralis made no objections, he just shrugged and nodded.


Meanwhile, in the lower levels of Spellhold in the laboratory, Irenicus is busy making preparations to leave, shutting down the various machinery and looking for his spell book, but he somehow misplaced it. Bodhi had already left Spellhold via a dimensional portal in another room sixteen minutes ago so it is just Irenicus alone now. But he is not without a plan. This is what Irenicus plans to do. He and Bodhi are to split up temporarily and perform certain tasks that will lead to the crippling and downfall of Irenicus' home. Bodhi, using a portal is to go to the Underdark and spend a few weeks or months making her way through dark, dangerous tunnels and caverns to the drow city called "Ust Natha", meet with Matron Mother Ardulace Despana and inform her about the partnership Irenicus wishes to make with them while he uses the same portal Bodhi used to take him to a different destination: the surface of Amn and Tethyr, and once he is back to Faerun, he will search Amn and Tethyr high and low for a chromatic dragon who is willing to work with him in crippling his home city for a while.

But, even if the drow of Ust Natha agree to a partnership, they won't be able to get to the surface easily because there is a metallic dragon that prevents the drow from coming into conflict with the surface elves who live in Irenicus' home city. Irenicus does not remember much about his... previous life, but he remembers stories among his people that many centuries ago, somewhere between 500 or 600 years ago, Ellesime somehow befriended a silver dragon, who ever since that time has protected them from the drow of Ust Natha and Morndivver, the only two drow cities in the Old Shanatar region of the Underdark that is closest to Irenicus' home city, Morndivver being in the Upperdark, and Ust Natha in the Middledark but closest to Suldanessellar, making the drow of Ust Natha ideal for Irenicus and Bodhi to form an alliance with. On top of traveling through the Underdark, Bodhi will need to find a way to put the dragon defending Irenicus' home from the drow out of commission somehow. But Irenicus isn't worried. He knows that Bodhi will find a way to make their road to revenge much smoother.

Irenicus finally found his spellbook, which was somehow placed on the floor behind the control panel that operates the glass tanks all around the room, including the glass tank in the center that once held Imoen, and more recently held Ralis. By the time he picked up his spellbook, he heard a door slam open behind him. He quickly turned around to see Ralis, his 20 companions, and following them into the room were all of Spellhold's deviants, all 48 of them. The once that are still alive, at least. Irenicus' bright blue eyes widened in shock briefly. The number of people that Ralis brought with him is almost staggering!

"What is this? You have released all of my test subjects? How wonderfully mad of you. I did not expect this in the least, so dangerously risky it is," Irenicus said to Ralis who stood in front of the large crowds of people gathered behind him.

The lab is a large room, so fortunately Ralis was able to bring everyone inside without leaving anyone out in the hallway.

"I am glad I amuse you. Now I will end your plans and your life!" Ralis exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Irenicus.

Irenicus crossed his arms.

"As overeager as ever, but your boasting is wasted on me. You are no threat, not even with your army of madness. Your fate has been sealed with the curse I transferred to you. I have the souls of both you and Imoen, and they have healed Bodhi and myself. You will die in my place, or worse."

Ralis lowered his pointing arm. "Worse? There is a fate worse than death?" He asked Irenicus.

Irenicus nodded.

"Bodhi tells me you have exhibited a... transformation. With your will slowly fading, perhaps the essence of Bhaal will rise to take you. That would be a sight, I am sure."

Ralis had no idea how he can possibly take his soul back from Irenicus. He can't just grab Irenicus and yank his soul out, its not simple at all. All he does know is that Irenicus must die. For Skie, Dynaheir and Khalid.

"I'll take back what is mine now! I'll take it back! You perverted this place, and I'll take it back!" Wanev snarled, pushing his way past the crowd to stand next to Ralis so Irenicus can clearly see him.

Irenicus frowned at the former director of Spellhold, wondering what made him get so high and mighty like he has the moral high ground.

"You tortured those here long before I had arrived. I merely had more purpose to do it." Then Irenicus waved a hand dismissively when he remembered he is talking to a man who lost his sanity. "Bah, I speak with madmen when I should be at my revenge!"

Then Minsc stepped forward.

"Yes! Revenge! Revenge for precious Dynaheir! Tremble, wizard, for the mighty Boo will have your eyes! RAAAARRRGHHH!" Minsc roared, but he did not rush forward to attack yet, though he wanted to so badly, Ralis had told him beforehand to wait.

"What revenge do *you* have, wizard? You killed my Khalid with no more thought than one would give to a fly! I shall have *MY* revenge! Nature's fury shall strike you down!" Jaheira exclaimed, enraged.

"You framed me for a murder I never committed in Baldur's Gate! You killed Grand Duke Silvershield's daughter with a dagger that captured her soul and pinned the crime on me just so you could lure me out to Amn! You are about to get an ass kicking you'll never forget!" Ralis exclaimed.

Abdel looked at Ralis in confusion after he said that, because he never knew that Ralis is the one who is infamous in Baldur's Gate for the murder of Skie Silvershield all this time. He thought that "Rails Rutela" and the Ralis he knew from Candlekeep who had no surname were two different people. He now knows he thought wrong.

"You... you used me! You tore apart my soul, and then you ripped it from me! I'll kill you for that, Irenicus! I'll kill you!" Imoen exclaimed with so much spite in her voice it would have taken Ralis aback under normal circumstances.

"Bah! Your pathetic mewlings mean even less to me than Ralis'! Die, all of you! I have restored my soul and will work my revenge without your interference!" Irenicus exclaimed, then cast a spell while sprinkling dust of granite and diamond on himself for the Stoneskin spell to take effect.

"ATTACK!" Ralis yelled, and then Aerie, Tashia, Aphril every other mage who could do it cast the Bless spell on everyone while Irenicus next cast the spell Barrier on himself, using a piece of amethyst as the material component of the spell, then everyone went on the offensive!

"FIRST WAVE, GO!" Ralis exclaimed.

The first wave of inmates led by Tiax stepped forward and began casting harmful spells like Magic Missile, Melf's Acid Arrow, Flame Arrow, Ray of Frost, then the second wave of inmates tried casting spells that would weaken the defenses Irenicus set up around him. Valygar, Nalia, Hexxat, Ralis and Imoen, fired a volley of arrows at him, Aerie, Jaheira, Neera and Viconia threw sling bullets at him, everyone was attacking all at once with their own spells and ranged weapons!

Growing annoyed, Irenicus launched his own assault, casting Finger of Death while pointing directly at Tiax, and unfortunately for him, the spell had the fully fatal effect on him. Tiax collapsed to the ground, and before he expired, he weakly said: "Death... is but a minor inconvenience... to Tiax's plans... of ruling all..."

No one assisted Tiax, there was nothing anyone could do for him, because getting hit by the Finger of Death spell can be surprisingly fatal when it does not fail. Everyone focused on attacking Irenicus. Eventually Minsc, Korgan, Abdel, Rasaad, Dorn, Mazzy, Anomen and Althir came charging at Irenicus with their weapons drawn. Irenicus cast Hold Person on all of them, freezing them in their tracks, then he cast Chain Lightning, and the lightning bolt bounced all over the room, killing seven inmates including Dradeel. Everyone is hitting Irenicus with everything they got, but the protection spells that he had set up are protecting him from everything they are throwing at him. No spell or projectile can pierce his barrier, and even if Minsc, Abdel and the others could get up close to strike him with their melee weapons, Irenicus' gray hardened skin would protect him from fatal harm still. Even Ralis' void-tipped arrows can't shatter the barrier. Eventually he used up all of his void-tipped arrows. And even Jan firing his Flasher Master Bruiser bombs were not doing any good, the makeshift bombs just explode and flash around Irenicus' barrier.

Irenicus cast Ice Storm, causing a storm of large balls of hail to rain down on everyone from the ceiling. Many inmates got killed or knocked unconscious, others are surviving their injuries and continued with their barrage of magic spells.

"Ow! Oof!" Neera yelped when a ball of hail struck her shoulder, then another struck the back of her neck.

"He's too powerful!" Jaheira exclaimed, trying to fight the urge to cross her arms to keep herself warm in the suddenly frigid air and withstanding the balls of hail hitting her head.

"Don't let up, people!" Ralis exclaimed.

Nalia, struggling to stay conscious and continue fighting despite her injuries, tried casting Area Dispel Magic in an attempt to free Abdel and the others from the Hold Person spell and stop the magical hail storm, and when they were freed, a ball of hail struck Nalia in the back of her skull, knocking her unconscious. It took a while for Area Dispel to dispel the hail storm, but it eventually happened, and while Irenicus was preparing to cast another spell, Aerie cast Spell Thrust, which dispelled the barrier protecting Irenicus from spells and projectiles by causing the barrier to explode outwards in several shining spheres of light!

"What...?!" Irenicus gasped in surprise as he watched bright orbs of arcane magic that was once parts of his protective barrier explode away from him and fade away into thin air.

Then, before he knew it, Minsc, Rasaad, Abdel and Anomen were all over him, striking him with their swords and Rasaad trying to beat him down with his fiery fists. With his skin hard as granite thanks to Stoneskin, he can't be harmed, so he made no attempts to dodge their attacks often, but he deflected the sword strikes with his bare hands and arms, and tried attacking back with his right hand glowing bright blue because of the Shocking Grasp spell being activated. First he jabbed Anomen in the stomach, electrifying and paralyzing him, then he cast Color Spray up in the air, the multicolored spheres of magical light blinded Dorn, Minsc and Abdel, and knocked Anomen, Mazzy and Althir out unconscious- because he can't fight off so many people at close range all at once, a flaw that all mages face no matter how powerful they are, even he can't avoid that flaw regardless of his powerful spells.

But the attacks did not let up. Viconia cast the Breach spell on Irenicus the moment Ralis and Jaheira came running at him, yelling with their swords drawn. Irenicus felt his heart jump when he saw that his skin is transforming back to its original color, thanks to Viconia's Breach spell dispelling the protection. Jaheira reached Irenicus first, swinging with her scimitar but he dodged aside and Jaheira breezed past him, carried away by the momentum of her aggressive swing that would have cleaved Irenicus if he didn't evade the attack. Then he got hit by an inmate's magic missile!

"Agh! Agh!" Irenicus yelped as the two red arcane orbs struck his chest, he is so focused on dealing with the melee attackers that he forgot about the inmates and Wanev casting spells at him, and that left him completely unprepared to dodge Ralis who is coming after him next after Jaheira.

He tried to dodge to the left, but he did not make it unscathed, Kondar grazed Irenicus' right arm, where if he didn't try to move aside, Ralis would have driven Kondar right through his chest.

"Aah!" Irenicus yelled, feeling searing pain from his right arm.

Next, he had to avoid the melee weapon strikes from Korgan, Mazzy and Valygar while at the same time defending himself using Chill Touch with his left hand and Shocking Grasp with his right hand. He got thoroughly overwhelmed, getting nicked in the arms and legs several times, Korgan got punched in the face by Irenicus' Chill Touch hand, but he never faltered, keeping up the pressure with Mazzy and Valygar. Irenicus had to rely on his Shocking Grasp hand to stun them because in a matter of seconds, Ralis, Jaheira and the other melee attackers will come at him again and their greater numbers will overwhelm him in seconds. After being hit by a barrage of Magic Missiles cast by Wanev who cast Time Stop first to so that he could throw the barrage all in less than a second, he found the will to fight through the pain quickly and managed to stun Korgan, Valygar, Mazzy, and Jaheira by punching them with his Shocking Grasp hand as they tried to attack him, but by the time he had Ralis, Dorn, Abdel and Anomen to deal with, he found himself standing near Minsc who is still blinded by Color Spray. Minsc recovered from his blindness and found Irenicus standing right in front of him. Irenicus didn't know that Minsc recovered from Color Spray so soon, he had his back turned on the tall ranger, preparing to cast Burning Hands on Ralis, Dorn, Abdel, Anomen and Rasaad, who are advancing towards him. Then, before he knew it, Irenicus felt himself being picked up by big, heavy hands.

"What?! What the...?!" Irenicus gasped in shock as Minsc raised him high above his head.

The surviving inmates whooped and cheered upon seeing the tall man raise their oppressor high above his head.

"How does it feel to be a helpless bag of meat, baldy?!" Lilarcor taunted Irenicus.

"You days of evil end here, ugly wizard! Squeaky wheel gets the KICK!" Minsc exclaimed the moment he dropped Irenicus then kicked him forward like a football before he landed on the floor, sending him flying and yelling across the room towards a glass tank and *SMASH!* Irenicus' body shattered the tank upon impact and he landed on the ground, and liquid from the broken glass tank drenched his body.

Everyone stopped attacking him and paused to see what would Irenicus do after being kicked across the room. It took a few seconds for Irenicus to start moving. He slowly and groggily stood up, all wet, bruised and scratched up, blood dripped from all of his wounds to land on the wet floor littered with small and medium sized glass shards.

"Damn you all! Why do I fight over this place when my plans may be laid anywhere?! I must start anew!" Irenicus angrily exclaimed, feeling searing pain all over his body.

"Save it. You're all washed up," Ralis said.

Irenicus huffed angrily, then he started coughing because he felt a sudden but briefly severe pain burn within his chest.

"I concede defeat here, god child, but know that you are dying on the inside even now! Many will join you before I am done- my home will feel my wrath!" He said spitefully, then he cast Color Spray again, blinding or knocking out everyone in the room, but Ralis is the only person who barely resisted the blinding effects of seeing the flashing colorful orbs fly around the room, and through his blurry eye vision, he barely saw Irenicus run for the door and leave.

Without hesitation, Ralis gave chase even though his eyes haven't fully recovered from being blinded by the Color Spray light spheres, and Imoen followed him. When he reached the hallway, he found that he already lost track of Irenicus. He had no idea if he went down the one direction or the other. Ralis eventually decided to go right, passing by the door that leads to the small corridor Ralis found Saemon about 25 minutes ago, going down the hallway that curves right up ahead,and when he and Imoen reached the hall's end, they turned right, going down the shorter hallway with the intent of heading back upstairs, hoping to find Irenicus up there and cut him off.


However, when Ralis and Imoen reached the R&R room, he found it almost deserted, there wasn't a soul there but Saemon Havarian, for some reason. Apparently he has been casually wandering about Spellhold like the aimless rogue he is.

"You! Havarian! Where is Irenicus?!" Ralis demanded, his voice echoed a few seconds around the deserted room.

Saemon shrugged even as angry Ralis approached him with Imoen right behind him.

"Gone and off like the shadow flees the morn," Saemon said innocently with a shrug.

Ralis stepped up close to him and jabbed a finger on his chest, trying to fight the urge to rip this traitorous man's head off.

"You know something, do you? Tell me! Tell me where he has gone, or gods help me, I will punch the smugness off your face!" Ralis snarled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there's no need for senseless hostilities now, mate," Saemon said calmly, raising his hands up at chest level. "You may view me with suspicion, but please take a moment to see my situation for what it is."

Ralis started breathing slowly while glaring at Saemon, then backed away a couple feet.

"It's true that Bodhi employed me, but she ran away too, and I owe her "brother" no loyalty. The trinket blade you call the Soultaker dagger that they gave me was nice, but I have other needs. Besides, I know a little of his plans through a peek or two at his journal," Saemon revealed a few pieces of paper from his pocket, revealing it to Ralis. "It's little enough, but I figure we're all in trouble if he isn't stopped," Saemon added.

"I don't see why we should suddenly trust you," Imoen said warily at Saemon. "That certainly wasn't any risk... why are you so scared of Irenicus' plans now? He's said nothing of them," she added.

"No doubt he feels a villain is always undone in the exposition," Saemon replied, wrinkling his nose, then handed Irenicus' "journal" to Ralis. "I cannot say I blame him. I have many a dead friend that boasted when silence would have served. From what I saw of his journal and from overhearing chats with Bodhi, I know his destination to be an elven city in the Forest of Tethir... Suldanessellar," he explained while Ralis checked the journal.

"No doubt these texts will prove to be an embarrassing legacy, but I must order my thoughts herein lest they spill from my accursed mind.

Spellhold is in my control. Once recovered from my torpor, I made short work of of what defenses there were. Coordinator Wanev conveniently removed himself, suffering a peculiar reaction to a spell of mine. I forget what it was; perhaps something I heard in the temples of Suldanessellar... does it even matter now?

Spellhold has met my needs quite well. They had made a practice of experimenting on inmates here for quite some time, though in a barbaric fashion. I refined their instruments and have finished preparing the necessary rituals. I am quite through with preparing Imoen, though she can still serve as bait. I am certain Ralis will make an appearance sooner or later.

My condition grows worse, and what I remember of my "home" is fleeting. I see images of family and friends whose names I cannot recall and dream of emotions I no longer feel as vividly. On occasion, I sense nature as if she were my mother, as though never removed from her bosom, but such moments are few. I bear the hallmarks of senility with the rage an power of a young elf to lament it.

Bodhi endured the curse much better than I do now, but she was more focused, and more importantly, undead. She is now thoroughly seduced by her vampiric condition, despite its previous failure to counteract the death sentence she was under. She had embraced her mortality, excited by the urgency of it, but now she is confused. Imoen's soul had restored her, but her motives remain transparent, even simplistic. She revels in her carnal nature even as the elf within despises the creature she has become.

I would pity my "sister" if I were capable, but emotions come to me only in violent outbursts. Ellesime has taken my ability to truly feel, and I am left with the threadbare heart of a human, or some other short-lived vermin. I will not suffer this much longer.

Bodhi has delivered more assassins than I had asked for. I disposed of some in advance, but it seems such a waste. I think she has done this on purpose, as she has taken to releasing the extras in the labyrinth below and hunting at her leisure. I marvel at her hunger and how she seems so *alive* in her undeath. Perhaps it is the soul of Imoen. Soon I shall see for myself. Ralis had best hurry."

That was the first page. Now Ralis flipped to the other page.

"Victory! I am restored! Ralis has given exactly what I needed, exactly as I demanded, and now I see where Bodhi has found such fire! I feel the essence of the gods within me! Damn Ellesime's curse for the weak-minded spell that it was; now I am free. Ralis did not make proper use of the heritage given to him.

Now comes the time of retribution. I will not allow such a crime to go unpunished. The audacity of Ellesime, claiming my punishment was just, and the hypocrisy of "my" people, accepting such an act while decrying mine. I will not let this rest. I will take what I intended, and those that would stand before me will fall as they should. Today is a much better day. I will act at my leisure."

While Ralis was reading the journal, Saemon and Imoen were speaking to each other.

"Suldanessellar? What does he want from there? I don't get it," Imoen said.

"What he plans on doing there, exactly, I don't know, but he seems to expect to become more powerful than anything... than the gods, even, and that can't be good," Saemon replied.

Ralis looked up at Saemon and said: "Far as I can tell, he plans on using my Bhaalspawn soul to murder everyone in Suldanessellar, including this woman named Ellesime, who somehow wronged him."

Saemon nodded. "And apparently he wants more power at Suldanessellar to cause destruction on a massive scale. More power, more destruction. Exactly what I am afraid of. So I will offer my services to you, in the hopes that we can benefit from one another. I'm sure you can understand the motives of self-preservation, right?"

"True, but what could you possibly offer me?" Ralis asked, folding the papers and placing them in his inventory bag strapped to his belt.

Saemon chuckled, as if he remembered something important and is laughing at himself for not having the foresight to explain it sooner.

"Of course, I would not impose this upon you without a proper offering of peace. Let me first inform you of the ways you can escape this place."

Ralis crossed his arms inquisitively.

"I'm listening," he said.

"Irenicus escaped by using a magical portal in a secret room downstairs. Normally it would make sense for you to go in after him, but it could be trapped. For all I know, it could take you somewhere you don't want to be in, like the Underdark, for example. Not a safe place to go. Alternatively, if you trust me over a portal that is possibly rigged to take you to the Underdark, I suggest we go back to my ship. I know where Irenicus is headed... we may even cut him off."

"And what will you require in return? I suppose gold or the like?" Ralis asked.

Saemon shook his head. "Not this time. There are no secret conditions on my help. I merely seek your friendship, or at least your pardon. I require allies if I am to survive."

Ralis turned his head to look at Imoen.

"Imoen? Any suggestions?" Ralis asked her.

"I don't care which route we take. I want my... my soul back. And I want Irenicus to suffer for what he has done!" Imoen said.

"The choice is yours, mate. What'll it be?" Saemon asked Ralis.

The choice felt like a no-brainer to Ralis. He believed that it is better to shake hands with a devil he knows who has no reason to betray him twice over a portal that could send them someplace they are not yet prepared to be. Ralis had heard many stories about the Underdark, how it is one of the most dangerous places on the face of Toril, vast, deeply underground caverns and tunnels filled with dangerous creatures that don't exist on the surface.

"Very well, Saemon. Let me regroup with my party and you take us to your ship," Ralis finally agreed.

Saemon nodded in approval. "A sensible choice," he said.

Then Ralis and Imoen departed from Saemon, going back downstairs and headed back to the laboratory where they found Wanev commanding the inmates to clean up the lab. The rest of Ralis' companions were there, and he told them what Saemon suggested, how he chose to follow Saemon instead of jumping into a portal that might take them somewhere unsavory like the Underdark. Viconia is one of the few people who had no objections to Ralis' choice.

"I have no eagerness to return to my home realm, Ralis. I am unwelcome there. You made the right decision choosing the ship the pirate offers rather than brave its depths so lightly," she said.

Later, they returned upstairs and rejoined with Saemon, who led them out of Spellhold's front door, walking out into the cool, nighttime air. Aerie, Jaheira, Abdel and Ralis found relief at looking up at the dark blue, night sky as if they had been trapped in the asylum for months. As they crossed the bridge, Saemon started to give out instructions to the 21 people behind him.

"Go about the town and get what supplies you need. We shall meet at the tavern and make our plans for the voyage when you are ready," he said.

"Remember, Havarian, you are under scrutinizing eyes. Dorn, Jan and Hexxat will accompany you back to the tavern ,to make sure you don't try anything funny," Ralis said.

Saemon nodded. "Fair enough," he said, his voice showing no disdain.

Once everybody returned to Brynnlaw, Dorn, Jan and Hexxat escorted Saemon back to the Drunken Monkey tavern, while Ralis and the rest of his party searched for some shops in Brynnlaw to restock on arrows, crossbow bolts and sling bullets. Ralis had to buy a small ice box to hold Yoshimo's heart inside so that it won't decompose quickly and create a foul stench in the air. There are no clerics of Illmater in Brynnlaw, and there is no telling how long it will take for Saemon to sail everyone back to Amn. But right now, everyone is exhausted, and Viconia is still very hungry. By the time they returned to the Drunken Monkey tavern, Saemon and Ralis made sure to buy everyone some food to eat and some water, ale or mead to drink. Korgan personally wanted mead. After everyone was done eating and drinking, Ralis and Saemon rented some rooms for everyone to stay in. When Ralis lay in his hotel room bed by himself, all he could think about is Viconia, and how the future can possibly get brighter for both of them if she could just have more confidence in their relationship. He understood that she does not want to endanger his life with the Spider Queen hunting for her head and whatnot, but that is no reason for her to want to push him away, after everything they have been through. Ralis slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping that somewhere in the afterlife, Yoshimo's soul is waiting patiently for the day he will finally be released from the Geas spell to truly rest in peace.