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Chapter 16

The calm before the storm

It was yet another warm morning in the woods north of Peldvale. Great weather to have cool drinks and take a dip in a lake or a bubbling stream. Not so great weather to be downwind of a camp full of unwashed mercenaries waiting to kill a lot of people.

Imoen pouted as she looked down at her hand. Dirt lay under the nails which weren't already chipped beyond aid. She'd braided her hair in the past few days since she couldn't tolerate the grease anymore. Months in the wilderness wasn't kind on the appearance. Clearly those adventure novels about heroines with immaculate skin and shining hair after months of adventuring were stuff and nonsense! She couldn't wait to go back to an inn and scrub everything off every inch of dirt and nature when this was all done.

She sobered at the thought of what was to come next. Once Raiken had led them as close as possible to the perimeter of the main bandit camp, they finally realised what they had been up against all along. Since yesterday, all talk had been on 'plan of attack' and 'engagement strategy'. They would need a pretty solid plan to overcome potentially a hundred men, hobgoblins and gnolls, give or take. She wondered if it was even possible.

"You think we're gonna be able to pull this off?" she asked Garrick next to her.

He shrugged. They were reclining cosily against a tree watching the rest of the camp from some distance. "Officer Vai seems like she knows what she's doing. And your friends are pretty good this whole killing bandits thing, too."

"Pfft. You mean Kivan. It's like him and Sorrel have some kind of tally going between 'em. What's Sorrel's problem, anyway? He's so devil-may-care one moment, and then crazy bandit hunter the next. Can't get a good read on him."

"He's a local man who's been investigating attacked caravans for quite a while." The bard sighed. "Saw terrible things happen to people he knew from town, from what I heard. Such things can change a man."

"Yeah? Since when did you get so wise to say stuff like that?" She nudged him.

"Did I sound wise?" He perked up. "I was hoping to inject more gravitas when I say things. Maybe it can get more people to take me seriously."

She gazed at him with fondness. "Maybe grow some facial hair first. Start small, ya know."

Garrick had been a pleasant surprise for her in all the recent muck. They'd hit it off practically from the get-go, their combined good cheer enough to drive away the others from the big group. Elene accused her of just going for his good looks, but in all seriousness, she needed that extra bit of light from someone, given that her own group were such sticks in the mud. If they were all going to die facing insurmountable odds, she'd want to have at least a bit of happiness before Kelemvor tolled the bell for her.

Although, his good looks did help.

"Won't be able to grow anything in time for tonight," Garrick rubbed at his clean chin. "Assuming they've landed on a plan."

"They're still going at it?" Imoen asked in wonder.

"They will have to land on something soon. Doubt the bandits will wait around once they realise they're short of two dozen Talons. Officer Vai doesn't intend to chase them into winter."

Imoen wondered about Officer Vai and her posse of Flaming Fists. Elene had said that they were law enforcers, and for the most part, she could see that. But some of their methods so far showed they were still mercenaries at heart, willing to do what was necessary to meet their objectives. Including torturing prisoners who had already surrendered and executing Raiken after he'd told them everything of value. She was glad Elene released the drow when she had the chance. She didn't think Vai and her men would be as merciful.

"There's supposed to be some kind of war council going on now. You're going for that?" Garrick asked, jarring her from her dark thoughts.

"Elene is," she replied. "I go where she goes."

Except when she ghosts off into the night with their angry ranger, not telling anyone where they went. Imoen was still sore about that. Even she had to agree with Jaheira that it was a pretty reckless thing to do. She wondered what was happening to her friend of late, her behaviour was becoming increasingly peculiar after the incident with Nimbul. As if something was haunting her, and she was looking for things to do to run away from whatever doing the haunting.

"Well, we may want to get moving." Garrick jerked his blonde head towards the main camp, where a few people had began to congregate around Vai's tent. "I think they're about to start."

Sighing, Imoen finished the last drop from her waterskin and allowed Garrick to help her to her feet. She let her hand linger in his for a moment, smiling up at him as she did. He cleared his throat, then released her with a shy smile and a jaunty bow, his blue eyes twinkling. Together, they made their way to join the dourer members of their group.

The rest of her party was already gathered in a clearing centered around a patch of barren ground, a few dozen strides away from the nearest cluster of sleeping tents. They had their early morning faces on, with Jaheira, Xan and Elene all looking like they hadn't had much rest the night before. Kivan was as stone-faced as ever. Khalid waved Imoen over when he saw her approach. She gladly took her position next to him, with Garrick on her other side.

"So, what's going on? Do we know what we're doing next?" she asked the warrior hopefully.

Khalid gave her a nervous smile. "We're about to find out."

"Haven't they been discussing this since yesterday?"

"There is a saying for this type of situation, Imoen. Too many cooks spoil the broth."

Imoen' brows furrrowed. She'd heard that from Winthrop enough times back in Candlekeep. Never thought it would apply in their current business. She glanced at the other familiar faces gathered. Kagain and Ajantis were also in the circle, along with Sorrel and Godric, all gravitating towards Vai, who stood there with her arms crossed.

After a moment, Vai nodded to Godric, who had taken over as the scout for the second group after Aoln's unfortunate demise. The half-elf crouched and began drawing lines and circles into the ground with a stick, outlining the rough layout of the bandit camp. A large, almost pavilion-like tent surrounded by many smaller tents, close to a pond and a rock structure which likely housed a cave for storage. It was a neat set-up, all in all, capable of supporting a hive of activity for a great number of people. To round out his crude map, Godric marked an X at a spot further south of the network of tents.

"I think we all know where we're situated, friend," Sorrel commented drily.

Godric shrugged as he stepped back, conceding the floor to Vai. The captain cleared her throat before she began.

"Thanks to Godric, we have the lay of the land now. Based on the size of the camp, we could be dealing with up to a hundred brigands, a mix of humans, hobgoblins and gnolls. I've sent for reinforcements, but it would take days before they arrive, by which these brigands would have scattered deeper into the wilds. It is imperative we mount an assault tonight before they notice Raiken and his group's disappearance."

Imoen glanced at Elene, who sat cross-legged in front of Jaheira. Her shirt was still stained with patches of dried blood that a quick wash couldn't get rid of. Despite the state of her attire, her face was clean, her hair neatly pulled back from her face. She seemed alert as the gears turned in her head, even though deep shadows lurked under her eyes. In that moment, the image reminded Imoen of a particular day Candlekeep, when she'd found the elf holed up in her room after days of trying to figure out the right ink mix for the best scribing experience.

Oh, how their problems have evolved since those simple halcyon days.

"An approach through the east is unlikely because of the thickness of the undergrowth. We would give ourselves away cutting a path through," Vai continued, pointing at the layout. "Sentries are posted at four points. The main thrust of attack should come through the southeast, close to the pavilion. We should aim to cut off the head quickly and visibly, then the rest will scatter."

"Tenhammer Khosann happens to be one of those heads," grunted Kagain. "Not gonna be easy to cut that one off."

"The trees to the east will bottleneck us," added Jaheira. "I assume you wish for another group to come from the southwest, by the pond."

"Precisely. Another force coming through there, with our best archers to sow chaos among their ranks."

The discussion continued from there, with Khalid stepping in to draw likely choke points they could stand and defend with shields. Yet the plan hinged very much on the group attacking the middle causing sufficient chaos for the vanguard group from the southeast to advance without triggering too many alarms. If that group was stalled, they could be hemmed in towards the trees, making them sitting ducks for Talon arrows.

"Why can't we all just box them in from the south?" Ajantis asked. "Strike with arrows first, then move up with shield walls."

Vai shook her head. "With that many bandits in the camp, the answering volley would be a rain of arrows. We'd need tower shields for that. And more men."

"More men would always be nice," sighed Sorrel.

"Misdirection works just as well," said Jaheira. "It makes sense to have them focus on the middle area while the main threat moves in from southeast, but how would we keep them focused there?"

"Fire always works," Xan commented mildly.

The druid quirked her eyebrow. "We'd need a raging fire. Right in the middle of their camp."

"A well-placed fireball could do that."

To Imoen's curiosity, Xan glanced at Elene as he spoke. The younger elf remained still as she studied the map, quietly contemplative. After a few moments, she seemed to have landed on something as she then addressed Godric.

"Did you see where they keep their alcohol stores?"

"Their booze?" Godric blinked, then pointed to an area in the middle of the bandit camp. "If I have to guess, around there, I reckon. Looked like kegs and barrels near the entrance of the cave."

"What does their booze have to do with anything?" Kagain wanted to know.

"Before the charm wore off, we asked Raiken where they got their ale from. He said, 'the boys' made their own moonshine."

"Yeah, so?"

Elene cracked a slight smile. "Moonshine fumes explode when they catch fire."

Imoen grinned as her friend flicked a knowing look her way. How could she forget the time she talked Elene into 'applying' her alchemy lessons on Winthrop's stores of ale. The fire they caused had put the Candlekeep Inn out of business for weeks.

The rest of the group stood straighter at that revelation. A flurry of scenarios were drawn out, on how much store of moonshine the bandits had, whether the resulting ball of flame would be enough to spread to the nearby tents and cause the most chaos. In the event that didn't work, alternatives were considered on how to set fire to a portion of the camp. If that could be achieved without looking like an attack, the sentries would be distracted. The bandits would then inevitably send men to the pond to put out the fire, making them easy targets for the Fist archers. With luck, the explosion on its own would take out enough men to soften them up for the main attack.

Then of course came the consideration of whom to send in to do the deed.

"Fire arrows would do it," Kivan commented, his eyes gleaming at the prospect.

"From afar?" Jaheira shook her head. "Then it wouldn't seem like an accident. They would know it was part of an attack and the direction the attack would come from."

"If you want to make it look like an accident, someone would have to go right in the middle of camp to light the fire," he shot back.

"Close enough to light it, but far enough to be out of the blast zone," mused Ajantis.

"We do have an invisibility potion," Elene piped up. "I could do it. Get in, fire off a cantrip and hide."

"I would imagine it would be difficult to hide with a giant ball of flame illuminating the same area," Xan remarked, gracing her with a questioning look.

"A Fire Bolt would give me enough clearance to hide," Elene replied, her tone firm. "I can do it."

Jaheira looked ready to object, but Vai spoke first. "Excellent idea. Then you can link up with either the strike team or the main force when the battle is joined."

Imoen shifted uncomfortably, wondering what Elene was thinking being so daring all of a sudden. Granted, Elene has proven to be remarkably good at sneaking around and trickery in their travels. If anyone could pull it off, it would have been her. But if she failed to conceal herself in time, the consequences would be dire.

"I say let the elf do it," Kagain harrumphed. "If she gets killed, we'll just use arrows anyway."

Jaheira glared at the dwarf. "This 'elf' is not some expendable tool of yours."

"We're not saying she is," Vai raised a hand placatingly. "It's a good strategy, gives us the edge we need to start the battle. We should pursue it, unless someone else has a better alternative?"

Imoen frowned as murmurs went around the group. If it wasn't Elene who had suggested it, she doubted Jaheira would have said anything. It was definitely a better idea than a hopeful bum-rush of shields and swords.

I should have learned that cantrip too. Then it wouldn't be all on Elene.

Despite Jaheira's resistance, it was eventually agreed that Elene would sneak in to put the plan in motion once no solid alternative was offered. The attack on the largest tent would be mounted by a mixed vanguard consisting of Vai, Jaheira, Kivan, Xan, three Fists and Ajantis. Meanwhile, Sorrel would lead Kagain, Khalid, Imoen, Garrick and the rest of the Fists on the main attack of the camp and keep the bulk of the forces occupied.

It was difficult to focus on the finer points once the discussion drifted off to timing, signals and exit routes. They would start the attack after midnight, when they hope most of the bandits would have bedded down for the night. Imoen got the gist of it, but whatever it was, she knew she would end up following Khalid anyway. Her gaze kept straying to her old friend, trying to get a sense of what she was thinking. But Elene said nothing after her initial contribution. She just sat there looking at the map, her expression unreadable.

"What do we do about those who've surrendered?" Ajantis asked as they were winding down.

Vai and Sorrel exchanged looks before the captain answered, "Deal with them as you see fit."

No prizes for guessing what that meant, Imoen thought. They had no intention of taking prisoners.

"Alright, I think we're all clear on what needs to be done," Vai concluded, nodding at the people gathered. "Prepare what you need for tonight and get whatever rest you can. Despite what we've planned, it will be a challenging encounter."

"As long as I find out what happened to that damned caravan," grumbled Kagain as he tottered off.

Ajantis ducked his head respectfully at Elene as he turned away. "Helm protect you, my lady. 'Tis a brave thing you're doing."

The group dispersed. Khalid tapped Imoen on the shoulder as she started to walk away. Turning, she saw Jaheira gesturing for a discussion for their own group. Imoen flashed Garrick an apologetic smile as she followed Khalid to join the rest of her party as they stood together before a large, branching tree.

Jaheira looked to Elene, her expression grim. "I hope you know what you're doing, child."

"Well, I have some hours to figure it out," the girl replied, sounding strangely calm despite the gravity of the situation. "Do you have any thoughts, Xan?"

The enchanter sighed. "A few choice ones, yes. But since you've already resigned yourself to this task..." Xan trailed off, thinking. "You will need means to hide in plain sight after you're done. An illusion or disguise. We can work on that."

"Not to mention have more flammable things ready in case they're out of moonshine," said Elene. "We have some leftover grease from the food stores. Combine that with a fireball, it would make for some interesting fireworks."

Jaheira forestalled their brainstorming with a raised hand. "Prepare what you must, let us know if you need anything. Godric was unable to tell us who the bandit leaders are and if they are still in the camp. We need to be ready for anything. If they had a powerful mage on their side, the tide could turn very quickly."

"Whatever we find, remember that Tazok is mine," Kivan growled.

"Not at the cost of all our lives," the druid snapped back. "We have a plan, we stick to it unless the situation changes."

"We need to keep our heads, Kivan," echoed Elene. "We're so close."

Kivan said nothing. It was unlikely their words got through.

"I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Xan.

Jaheira shot Khalid a knowing look before she spoke. "Elene, join with me when you've gotten clear. I will need you at the leaders' tent. Look out for letters, documents, correspondences, anything that can point us in the right direction if we cannot capture anyone alive. Once the battle ends, that will be the end of our mutual arrangement with the Fists."

"Alright."

"We will gather after supper." The druid's smile was grim. "Rest and make what you can of the day."

With the end of the discussion, Kivan stalked off into the trees. The half-elven pair strode away together back to the Fist encampment, heads close as they discussed how they would coordinate from different groups. The two elven mages remained by the tree to resume their discussion on the best combination of fire spells and flammable materials. As for Imoen, she hesitated, suddenly struck by the enormity of what they would undertake that night and wondering at her own mortality.

"Hey Im, you alright? You seem pretty quiet," Elene glanced up at her suddenly.

"Lene, you sure about this plan?" Imoen asked.

Elene returned her searching gaze evenly, her eyes finally reflecting the gentle scholar underneath, for the first time in many weeks. "At this point, no one's really sure of anything. Karan used to say no plan survives first contact with the enemy. We just need to have some contingencies in place for when that happens."

Her friend tried a reassuring smile, but Imoen can sense a dash of uncertainty behind the words. It seemed like one of those things her friend planned to improvise as she found more tools and ideas. Perfectly fine if she was merely mixing up a new batch of hangover remedy for Hull but probably a bit reckless when applied to their current situation.

"Ya know that's not what I'm really asking," she replied.

"I know." Elene pulled at her sleeve distractedly. "It's just…we've already come this far. It'd be silly to just sit back and let these men get away. If I can do something to help tip the balance in our favour, I should, right?"

Imoen blew out a long breath, making a little whistling sound as she did. "Yeah. I guess I see where yer coming from."

"Noble sentiments, liable to get you killed," Xan commented as he pulled out his slim container of scrolls. "So, let us temper it with proper preparation, shall we? I can already picture three dire scenarios before we even launch the attack."

Elene patted the ground next to her. "You should join us, Im. Maybe you can make a big distraction for the main group. They're going to need all the help they can get."

The human rogue settled down with Elene and Xan for the rest of the morning, assessing fire magic and illusions. She'd always enjoyed time spent with the two elves, even if Xan was the biggest mud-stick ever, because it felt like she learned more from those hours than the years she'd spent in Candlekeep. It's not like Gorion didn't try to give her magical instruction, just the way the lessons were taught drove Imoen mad with boredom. Back then, there was no way she'd be able to apply anything she learned, so she didn't see much point in going through the doldrum of it. Now, she definitely saw that magic could be the deciding factor between victory and certain death.

Once the day crept past mid-day, she sought out Garrick's company. Ostensibly, she did so to coordinate a clever spell with him for their attack but in truth, she needed the light-hearted company. Dread nestled heavily in her chest even after extensive strategising with Elene and Xan. She didn't know how Elene could handle being around Xan so much. His habit of highlighting all the things that could go wrong made her even more afraid for what will take place that night.

Garrick hummed as he oiled the trigger on his crossbow, pensive after hours of chatting with her. She unrolled the spell scroll in her hand for the umpteenth time that day. The words on the page were easy enough for her to recite once Xan had taught her how. She could do this, she thought. Her friends were counting on her.

The hours seemed to fly after that. Before she realised it, the sun was setting. Like the night before, dinner consisted of dried rations and whatever they could scrounge from the wilderness since they could not risk a fire so close to the bandit camp. Imoen watched as Elene collected their remaining cooking oil and grease into a waterskin, to complement the potion of explosions already at her belt. Elene would become a walking fire hazard before the night was through. Imoen counted the arrows in her quiver again, wondering what Gorion would have thought of his cultivated daughter becoming a Flaming Fist sapper of all things.

Once supper was ended, Imoen gathered her bow and quiver. The hour of attack was upon them.

Not much was said before they set out. Jaheira reminded them of their objectives, glaring meaningfully at Kivan at certain intervals. The ranger never responded, his eyes cold and unmoving through it all. Imoen gave Elene a tight hug before they split off into their respective groups, with Khalid and Imoen going with the main force following Godric to their objective.

They hung back in the cover of trees overlooking a large pond. Beyond the pond, a network of tents and makeshift structures loomed, illuminated by firelight. The stillness of the night was broken with sudden bursts of raucous laughter and barking, the commingling of human, hobgoblin and gnoll voices in the camp. Sorrel stood aloof at the head of their group, sword in hand but still as a statue. Now, all they could do was wait for the signal. The minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness, the air around them almost buzzing with tension.

Imoen started as a someone grabbed her hand in the dark. Her eyes widened as Garrick drew close.

"Imoen, I thought I'd tell you this, before…well, before. I think I really like you."

Despite the calcifying fear in her gut and the incredulous glances from the nearby Fists, she found herself grinning. "Yeah? Well, I like you too, Garrick."

"Music to my ears." Garrick pulled her in for a quick but passionate kiss, grinning like an idiot when he pulled away. "I've been meaning to do that for days."

"Oh well." Imoen chuckled. "Better late than never."

A ball of fire erupted over a cluster of tents. Imoen pulled away from the bard, eyes skimming over the chaos. Within seconds, shouts rang out across the camp. The light from the burning tents illuminated the men running to and fro as they began to coordinate efforts to put out the flames.

"Archers," Sorrel's voice was steady in the darkness.

Giddiness completely forgotten, Imoen swallowed as she nocked an arrow to her bow and stepped into formation next to Khalid. He gave her an encouraging nod before drawing his own bow. Sure enough, a half dozen men began running from the camp towards the pond before them, buckets in hand, shouting curses as they went. Sweat ran down her brow as she strained against her bow, waiting for the command, until Sorrel's voice resounded again.

"Loose."