The headquarters of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart was an impressive building in the Temple District, built to host hundreds of people, but since at the moment most of the knights were out for some mission or another, it was nearly empty and the steps of the adventurers resounded in the main hall as if they were a herd of elephants.
An attractive man in full battle gear strode towards them, a cautious smile on his bearded face: he was nearly as tall as Minsc, close to his fiftieth winter, with greying black hair and dark blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight into their souls as he passed his gaze over every one of them.
His smile became genuine as he recognized the squire, "Squire Anomen, welcome back! I have heard some rumours about you these last weeks, you know? It seems like you've found yourself a skilled and honourable party to join forces with, lad".
The Helmite nodded, his own smile growing wider, "That I did, sir Ryan, that I did. Allow me to introduce my companions", he quickly made introductions, being careful not to mention either Edwin's membership among the Red Wizard, or Yoshimo's profession. It was quite useless, of course, since both could easily be guessed by taking even a passing glance at them.
The paladin didn't seem to mind, though and bowed slightly, "Pleased to meet you, ladies and gentlemen. I am sir Ryan Trawl, paladin of Torm. What brings you in our headquarters, if I may ask?". "We met one of your squires at the Coronet", Margaret Dawn answered, "Melvin, if I recall correctly and he...". Sir Ryan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Torm, give me strength...What did he do this time?".
She blinked, "He told us that the Order needs the services of an adventuring party to solve a problem. Why?". He relaxed and seemed to silently send a prayer of thanks to his God, "Oh, nothing, really. You are here to offer us your help, then?". "If we can, we'll be glad to assist you, but we need to know more, to better prepare ourselves".
He nodded, "Of course, of course. You see, my lady, this is an extremely delicate matter: the path of a paladin is not an easy one and some of us decided to leave it for a less strict lifestyle. Unfortunately, there were also those who didn't simply leave this path, but turned to the darkness".
Anomen's face twisted with sadness, "Yes, it's too common an occurrence, alas. It's sad to see that some of those we called brothers didn't have the strength to stay true to their path", he said. His mentor looked at him in surprise at hearing such an understanding tone from the younger man, when only a handful of weeks ago, that same squire would have spat out something harsh and scornful about the 'disgusting weakness' of such 'traitors'.
"Yes...Sad indeed", the Tormtar nodded, still a bit stunned, "But that is not the worst part of it: recently, we have learnt that one of our former officers is involved in the slave trade. Anarg, this is his name, has also convinced others to join him...And worse still, they pretend to still be part of the Order to mask their true operations, soiling our reputation". Meg bit her lower lip, "I see and I don't like it one bit. What do you want us to do, sir Ryan? Denounce them to the courts? Or...Dispose of them?".
"The Fallen Paladins, as they are called, would easily recognize any member of the Order and we have no wish to cause an open conflict in the streets with our old friends. What I ask of you, is that you pretend to join them as mercenaries and to reach Anarg himself if you can. After that, I trust your judgement on how to deal with them: I have heard about your noble deeds in Amn and of course I know about Baldur's Gate, so I am confident you will do the right thing".
The Painbearer flinched when he mentioned Baldur's Gate, but she bowed slightly, "We accept the task and you have my word that we will put an end to their illegal trade". "I'm glad to hear it. Thanks to his connection with the Shadow Thieves, Anarg has been able to maintain their base of operations in the Bridge District".
"We'll go at once. Oh, Edwin, Aerie, do you have a magic license? I'll need your magic for this mission". The Thayan nodded, "My former employer had one acquired for me when I associated myself with his guild". Aerie smiled, "I have one too: uncle Quayle had to buy one for each spellcaster in the circus, or the Cowled Wizards wouldn't have allowed us to stay in the city".
"Good. One more thing", Meg turned back to sir Ryan, "You said that they will recognize any member of the Order, right?". "Yes, they certainly would". She turned to the Helmite, "Anomen...". "Don't leave me behind, Meg!", the squire blurted out, "I can raise the cowl of my cloak, or... ".
The young woman silenced him by gently pressing her left hand to his lips, her smile both amused and tender, "Don't worry, I have no intention at all to leave you behind. What I wanted to say is that you'll have to drink a Potion of Invisibility, to make sure that they won't see you". "Oh", he relaxed and looked at his feet, embarrassed at his rash reaction, "I see. I...I'm sorry...". "No need to apologize. Come, the Bridge District awaits us".
oxoxoxoxoxo
Finding the Fallen Paladins was easier then they had foreseen: after taking a few steps away from the district entrance, they heard some angry voices coming from behind a nearby building and Yoshimo silently walked ahead to investigate. He came back after a while, "We found them, but they're not alone: I saw other people, probably their business associates". "How many?", Meg asked. "Fifteen in all".
"Okay, let's go and remember: we're simply nosy bypassers who happen to be mercenaries too. And Anomen, drink the potion and stay back". "But...", the Helmite tried to protest, but she cut him off. "Stay out of the fight, or the invisibility will dissolve. We can do it", she said and led the others towards the commotion.
Yoshimo was right: in a small alley, seven men wearing the Order armour were exchanging barbs and insults with eight men dressed in leathers, but when the party stepped in, the thugs' attention immediately shifted from the Fallen Paladins to the heavily armed intruders and they mistook them for the city guard.
"We've been caught!", one of the thugs shouted, panicking, "Kill them! Kill them all!". "Figures", the Ilmatari grumbled, parrying a blow from the nearest enemy and kicking him in the groin as hard as she could, only to snap his neck with her staff when he doubled over in pain.
The Fallen Paladins quickly joined the fight, siding with the adventurers and when it was over, only the thirteen of them still breathed. One of the armoured men took his helmet off, revealing a shock of flame red hair and smiled at the party, "Well, I don't know who you are, but I thank you for helping us getting rid of these wretches. May I know your name?".
The Painbearer smiled back, "I'm Margaret Dawn, but just call me Meg. And you are?". He bowed like a true knight, "I am Reynald de Chatillon, formerly of the Order and now under the command of Anarg. You look quite capable...Are you mercenaries?". "Mercenaries looking for a new job", she nodded.
"Then I have a proposal for you. If you are interested, we'll work together and if you're not, there will be no hard feelings. What do you say?". "I'm all ears". "Good! But first, I need a proof of your good faith, before telling you anything about it. Anarg is...Wary of newcomers. We've been betrayed before, you see", Reynald said, shaking his head sadly.
"Just say what kind of proof you need and we'll do our best to give it to you", the young woman said, but a part of her felt guilty: she had a feeling some of them were not truly evil, but simply fools led astray by a charismatic bastard. But maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part.
"I want you to bring me a cup from the Order's halls. It's not a common cup, it was given to Anarg when he became a paladin and...It was taken from him when he left the Order". "Is that all? Taking a cup? Pfeh!", the young woman smirked confidently, "We'll be back with it before you can say Gibberling! See you later, Reynald".
The party walked back to the Order Headquarters and asked sir Ryan to lend them the cup, but he shook his head. "I can't give it to you: Anarg lost the right to own it when he turned his back on us", he said decisively. Aerie bit her lower lip, "But we need it to prove our loyalty! If we don't give it to them, they won't accept us!". Meg intervened, "She's right, my lord. I give you my word that we'll bring it back as soon as possible, but we can't do this task without the cup".
The paladin mulled over it for a long moment, then nodded, "So be it: I will lend you Anarg's cup, but remember to bring it back, or you won't receive any reward at all". Gee, thanks a lot for the trust, the Ilmatari thought sarcastically, but she smiled regardless, putting the item into her pack, "Thank you, sir Ryan. Let's go, guys".