Author note: heya, dearest readers! Bodhi's finally gonna get some righteous buttkicking today, so make yourself comfortable and enjoy the show!
Killian Gawainson is an original character of my creation. He's a Human male paladin, more specifically a Doomguide of Kelemvor and a long-standing member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart.
oxoxoxoxoxo
They all made their way to the lower floor, Renal's thieves cleaning the way for the others with quick efficiency, but before they could reach the door to the inner sanctum, a magical silver-lined shield flared into existence, blocking their path. Edwin, shrouded in protective magic of his own, quickly moved towards the translucent wall, "Uhm...Interesting", he murmured, "This is a ward created by a wizard of great power". "Irenicus, no doubt", the druidess spat, "He wants to protect his sister and to slow us down. Can you dispel it?".
He examined the barrier for a moment longer, then, to everyone's surprise, he shook his head, "No, I can't". "What?!". "I said that I can't! (Is her hearing as impaired as her mental faculties?)", he snapped, his olive skin flushing with embarrassment, "This magic is strong and...I don't have the power to take it down on my own". Margaret Dawn didn't bat an eyelid at that, "Aerie, Immy, join you powers to his and open the way", she ordered. The three spellcasters tried to grant her request, but much to their frustration, nothing seemed to work.
"Sorry, Meg, but we... ", the Avariel began to say, but it was obvious that the party leader was in no mood to listen: without hesitation, Meg roughly pushed them aside and slammed her enchanted mace on the barrier with all of her newfound strength and the shield shattered like glass as soon as the mace touched it. "Sometimes the direct approach is the best", she commented.
Minsc beamed, "Little Meg is finally learning the ways of the great warriors of Rashemen! Oh, joyous day! We must find you a hamster, or an ice weasel, if you prefer!", he exclaimed. She chuckled, "Thanks, but I'm more of a dog person, truth be told. Come, Anomen needs us". She and the Rashemi pushed the doors open and there, surrounded by dozens of Ghouls and lesser Vampires, stood Bodhi, a shocked expression on her face. "You are here? How?". "We tore down your shield, that's how", Meg answered.
"Impossible! My brother told me that it would incinerate every living creature who touched it!". "Well, seems like he was wrong...Or maybe he was lying", she smirked and waved her weapon, "See this lovely little mace? It's enchanted to destroy the Undead and guess how I knew how to enhance its powers? Because he wrote the instructions down for me". The Vampiress gaped, "No! You're lying! He would never...".
"Jon wants you dead, Bodhi", the Ilmatari said in a velvety voice, "And he wants us to kill you for him". Bodhi seemed to panic for a moment, then she regained her composure and squared her shoulders, "Well, let's see how willing you are to use your mace on my new servant then", she snapped her fingers and a young man walked outside the chapel behind her, coming to stand by her side. The Painbearer's heart skipped a beat, "Anomen!".
Indeed, the man was Anomen, or rather, what was left of him: his grey-blue eyes were glazed and unfocused, his lips had a bluish hue and long fangs peeked from under the upper lip, his once lightly tanned skin was now ashen and his cheek were hollow, as if he had lost too much weight.
The Vampiress chuckled, "Ah, yes, powerful Anomen. He is quite evil, deep inside, you know? Do not bother calling him, you will never be able to obtain the loyalty I got with just a bite and a gaze", she said, obviously pleased with herself, "He's not fully turned yet, but he will slay you where you stand, if I ord...". With a bestial roar, Meg lunged at Bodhi, quick as a poisonous snake and her enemy barely had time to dodge the mace to avoid having her skull crashed, though the weapon still managed to hit her left arm and break it.
As if that were a signal, both Bodhi's minions and Meg's allies threw themselves into the fray, while the thieves, unnoticed, slid from one blood pool to the next emptying the vials of Holy Water in them. The Slayer was delighted by all that chaos and carnage and by the Ilmatari's bloodlust, Yes! Go on, little Goddess, show this insolent pest who you call daddy!, it encouraged her enthusiastically.
The thing that once had been Anomen, seeing his new mistress in danger, let out a loud shriek and attacked the Ilmatari savagely, "I'll kill you! Die for my mistress!". Imoen, seeing that her half-sister stubbornly refused to acknowledge him as if he wasn't even there, readied her bow to take him down, but hesitated, unwilling despite everything to shoot him, so she called, "Sola! Keep him away from Meg!".
Solaufein, who had been locked in a fight with a Ghast, quickly finished his opponent off and moved to block Anomen's swipes with his scimitar: he had fought Vampires before and he knew how to deal with them, but a part of him rebelled at the thought of having to kill someone who had shown him nothing but friendship.
While he kept his enemy busy, the pink-haired thief shot arrow after arrow at Bodhi, watching with satisfaction the steam coming out of the wounds: before the fight, she had dipped the heads of her bolts in Holy Water and this was proving extremely effective against the Vampiress. "What's wrong, Bodhi?", Imoen mocked her, "Can't you stand against a...What was that you called us, before your brother stole my soul? Ah, yes, a handful of pathetic bugs, that's what".
Bodhi's head whipped around to shoot her a withering glare, but she could do nothing else, because Margaret Dawn was still striking mercilessly at her, the enchanted mace hammering down on her cold, bloodless flesh with the brute force of a wrecking ball.
After a long fight, Bodhi felt her strength waning and realized she was going to die, "No! NO! This life is MINE!", she cried in sudden panic and without warning, she turned to mist and rushed to hide inside her coffin. "Oh, don't even think about it!", Imoen promptly ran after her, slinging her bow across her back and taking a blessed stake out of her pack, "Gimme my soul back", she hissed, opening the lid of the coffin, then she plunged the stake deep into Bodhi's chest with all of her strength.
As soon as the wood pierced the heart, a violent burst of pink and golden flames erupted from the Vampiress' corpse and slammed right into Imoen so strongly that the young woman staggered back a step, then it vanished inside her body. "Immy!", her half-sister approached her, worried, "What happened? Are you okay?". The little thief blinked, searching inside herself for a moment and then she gave her sibling a beaming smile, "I...I got my soul back! I'm whole again!". "Thank Ilmater", Meg smiled too and hugged her, relieved, "I love you, Immy". "Love you too, sis".
"Okay, ready to get back to the party?". "Sure!", Imoen nodded and they both walked outside the chamber, only to find out that the fight was already over: all of the Undead had been slain and all of their companions were still alive, though they were far from being in full health. The Painbearer opened her mouth to ask about Anomen, but Solaufein approached her first, his beautiful features sad and solemn. "I am deeply sorry, abbil. I...I had no choice", he murmured, pointing to a body not far from them.
"What do you...", she trailed off as she saw her beloved's mangled corpse on the floor, "No...Ilmater have mercy, not again...", she sagged next to him and held him tightly to her chest, bowing her head and crying desperately: all of the strength and power she'd had until a moment ago seemed to vanish like mist in the wind and she felt empty, cold, hopeless and alone.
Stop crying, little Goddess, the Slayer said, but for once its tone was soothing and gentle, There is no reason to cry.
Her eyes flashed with anger, How can you say that? He's dead! Lost forever!
The creature shook its head, He's not lost. Dead, yes, but not lost, not yet. The Undead One said he wasn't fully turned, remember? And look, his body is still here, while those of the real Vampires turned to dust. This means you can still save him, little Goddess.
She swallowed her tears and a glint of hope shone in her eyes, Yes...He's still here. But what can I do? How..., an idea suddenly struck and she gently lay her betrothed on the floor, then she stood and looked at her allies, "He was not fully turned, so we can still heal him. Is there anyone among you who knows how to do this?".
One of the paladins, a tall, broad-shouldered man in black armour, with brown eyes and brown hair streaked with grey, nodded, "I think I do, young lady: during my training, I read many a book about Vampires and one of them was about a situation similar to this one". She smiled hopefully, "Please, do go on, sir...". "Sir Killian Gawainson, Doomguide of Kelemvor", he introduced himself with a small bow, "According to that text, there is a ritual which can bring back a person from this state of semi-undeath, but it involves the help of the old Sun God Amaunator".
"That is not a problem, sir Killian", Meg assured him, "How does the ritual work?". "You need to place both the body of the victim and the heart of the Vampire who bit them into the arms of a statue in a temple of Amaunator", the paladin explained, "I'm afraid I don't know where you could find such a temple, though...". "Well, we do. Immy, take the heart. Aerie, cast a spell of preservation on it. We're going to the Umar Hills", she ordered, casting a preservation spell on Anomen's body and proceeding to wrap him in her own tent, "Everyone else is free to go and I thank you with all my heart for the help you've given us in this fight".
Edwin frowned, "The journey to the Umar Hills will take time, you know? Are you sure you have enough time to do this, before your soulless state kills you? (Really, she should be the one to worry about this in the first place)". The young woman shrugged, "It is of no importance: Anomen will live, Immy will live and Sarry will live again too and that's all that matters to me".
Her companions exchanged puzzled glances at those words. "What in Silvanus' name does your brother have to do with this mess?", Jaheira asked, her tone clearly indicating that she thought her ward had lost her mind. "I...I've just found a way to save him, that's all", Meg answered evasively, taking the Helmite's body up in her arms, "Come, we have a long journey ahead of us".
Solaufein hesitated, "Meg, I...I will come with you if you ask me to, but...". She smiled, shaking her head, "Don't worry, I know. You'll always have my gratitude for your help and I wish you all the best, abbil. May Ilmater watch over you". The Drow warrior smiled back and bowed slightly, "May the Lady Silverhair's light always shine upon you, my friends. Maybe we will meet again someday", he said, then left the crypt together with Drizzt's group.
Renal looked around, "Well, it's time for us to go too. I've never thought the day would come when I would fight side by side with a bunch of paladins, but strangely enough, it's not been that bad", he commented with a small smile, then sobered, "I hope your young friend will be fine. Good luck and should you find yourself in Athkatla again, stop by to greet old Renal, eh?".
The Painbearer nodded, "We will. Thank you all and please bring our thanks to the Shadowmaster as well". As the Shadow Thieves left, Keldorn shot a look at his brother-in-arms, "Killian, I think you should go with them to the Umar Hills: among us, you're the one with more experience about Undead". The Doomguide nodded, "I will gladly join them, if they wish me to". "Meg? What say you?".
She smiled gratefully, "I would greatly appreciate your support and your company, sir Killian, until my beloved is back to the world of the living. Afterwards, you will be free to go back to Athkatla, while we...", she hesitated, turning to the Half-Elf, "Maybe I should go alone to the Elven city, after all it's my soul that's been...Taken".
The older woman snorted, "And you think we'll let you face Irenicus alone? You're not the only one with a score to settle with that monster", she growled, her hand reflexively tightening on her spear, "He killed my Khalid and I will have his black heart for it!". "And Boo and I will avenge Dynaheir's death! The evil wizard will receive the hardest buttkicking of his whole life!", Minsc promised and Boo squeaked loudly from where he was perched on the ranger's left shoulder. "Fine, fine, I get it: all of you are coming along. Let's not waste any more time, then: Anomen must be restored as soon as possible", the Ilmatari concluded, walking towards the exit of the crypt.
oxoxoxoxoxo
Doomguide of Kelemvor: a Doomguide is either a cleric or paladin of Kelemvor, God of the Dead. A Doomguide helps mortals deal with their fears of death and existence after the fact. In order to help combat these fears, many of which are tied to the works of necromancers, Doomguides also serve as elite divine spellcasters, who seek out necromancers and their Undead servants to destroy them and bring a measure of peace to the world.
