The heaviest toll of the most recent fight was Lidia's leather breastplate. Lidia had made emergency repairs to her equipment before; necessity and Khalid's instruction had expanded her repertoire. But the armor now had a large burned hole in the right shoulder. In the best times, the most she could have done was laboriously patch it up with inferior material. Right now, there was nothing that could be done.
It was a pity, too. Irenicus's laboratory had been short on decent sets of armor that actually fit. For example, they'd found a well-made piece of dark grey mail that had been made to the dimensions of a reanimated skeleton. It was too narrow to be useful to anyone except Imoen, and she preferred to travel light.
Fortunately, everything else was more easily fixed. Lidia had a few healing spells at her disposal, and her burns were mostly gone before long. Patching her tunic was more involved, and that took an hour or so.
Not long after she finished and put it back on, Jaheira let Yoshimo and Minsc into their room.
Minsc was a massive man. His bronze, bald head had a few nicks upon it, as well as a large purplish-blue circle tattooed over his left eye and forehead. He had been bodyguarding a Rashemaar witch, Dynaheir, and they had joined the group early on. He had discharged his duties faithfully until Irenicus killed Dynaheir. Minsc had a strained relationship with reality on his best days; this latest tragedy didn't help matters.
Still, Minsc was a loyal friend and a steady comrade, even if his sword occasionally had to be turned in the right direction. Besides, potential enemies often looked at him once and thought twice. Despite her smaller body, Lidia could usually achieve a similar effect by having him nearby.
He hardly seemed to notice that he'd walked into the room. He was hunched over a small ball of tawny fur in his closed hand, but looked up after a minute or two. He announced, "While evil is hard at work, there's no time for brave heroes to twiddle their thumbs. Something must be done to find this evil wizard. All that is goodness cries out for this!"
He held up the small ball of fur to his ear, and then uncurled his hand to reveal his small, tawny hamster. "Even little Boo, though he cannot cry out so loudly." Boo scrambled up Minsc's well-muscled arm and took his usual spot on his master's shoulder.
Yoshimo watched Minsc with an amused look, then turned to the others. "We shall need to step carefully," he said. "This city is dangerous for the weak and the lost."
When Yoshimo had joined the party, he shared their predicament: wandering Irenicus's dungeon unbound and trying to find a way out. He had been in the adventuring Life for years, and he had come to Athkatla some time ago from Kara-Tur, far in the east beyond where any of the others had traveled.
Lidia had learned her lesson the hard way after a few incidents: anytime someone new had joined up, she kept an eye out for any signs of possible trouble with them. But with Yoshimo, she had let go of her vigilance sooner than usual. He laughed easily, told good stories, pulled more than his weight in a fight or in camp, and embraced anything that the goddess of luck threw their way.
Lidia carefully considered what to tell them. Long ago, Jaheira had made it clear that her life as a Harper was her secret and hers alone to share, even to other members of the party.
She finally said, "Jaheira and I followed a possible source of information this morning, but it didn't work out."
"Did it involve a miniature dragon?" Yoshimo said, pointing to Lidia's ruined armor in the corner. "A horde of rampaging firenewts?"
"Ooh! Boo knows - it's one of his little fire-breathing cousins," Minsc said, going over to the armor and holding the hamster's nose close to them. "He can practically smell them."
Jaheira let out an exasperated sigh.
Lidia smiled for what felt like the first time in ages. "The truth isn't as exciting. As for finding Imoen, there's something else we could try."
She then told them about what she'd learned from Lieutenant Aegisfield and then about Gaelan Bayle's offer.
Yoshimo seemed to think back for a moment. "I've heard a little of this Gaelan. He is a man with many connections amongst the underworld in this city. A man of his word, too, as far as that is worth."
Jaheira cut in, "He's involved with the Shadow Thieves, then?"
"He probably knows a few," he said. "Lidia, what deal did he speak?"
"He offered me nothing but information, claiming that the only help could come from a group with enough power to cross the Cowled Wizards," Lidia said.
"This has the Thieves' fingerprints all over it. Who else could attempt such a thing?" Jaheira said.
Lidia looked over to Yoshimo. "Do you think so?" she asked.
Yoshimo said, "It's possible. If you must know, oh holy samurai, I have little to do with them, though I have had a couple of run-ins with them over the past few months. The Thieves have a hand in criminal activity in many parts of the Sword Coast. Their headquarters are in this city, or so it is said. There are whole districts where the guards only come in force."
Minsc held Boo up to his ear again, then announced, "We should do something! The wizard might be leering evilly over little Imoen even now!"
Jaheira said, "Do not be foolish, Minsc. We must know our enemies and the extent of our danger, here, before we rush into anything."
Lidia said, "Jaheira's right. It doesn't sound like Irenicus and Imoen are going anywhere, at least not yet. Maybe the Cowled Wizards will realize that they've made a mistake." She doubted it, even as she said it. "In any case, we can't do much unless we find work."
Yoshimo said, "Bernard mentioned that a Lord Jierdan Firkraag was asking after you; he said he had a job you would like. He's not reputed to be the nicest noble in Amn, but then, who is?"
"He asked for me, specifically?" she said. "That's strange. When will he be here next?"
"He comes by the Coronet every couple of days. We should run across him sooner rather than later."
Lidia inquired with Bernard as soon as the others left. Lord Jierdan Firkraag typically only stopped by every fourth day, as it turned out.
"We may have to stay longer than expected, then," she said. "We're short on coin, I'll admit - "
Bernard waved it off with his golden brown hand. "Think nothing of it," he said. "Jaheira was light on details, but it sounds like you lot have had a bad time of it. She be a friend to many, and some owe her more than others. You and any friend of hers are welcome here, come the hells or the falling skies. "
"I'd leave it at that if it were just Jaheira and me. But I know for a fact Minsc eats like an ogre, and my group is taking up two of your rooms."
He seemed to consider this. "Aye, true. You plan on waiting around for Lord Jierdan?"
"Right now, yes."
"In that case, I have something in mind."