Chapter 145: In Hell
Her chest hurt.
She lay on barren ground. It was littered with sharp stones.
Moving slowly, she sat up.
A rock ceiling vaulted high above her. Reddish mists obscured most of the surroundings, but just ahead, a long stretch of wall was in clear view. Loose boulders were scattered along its entire length, and in between jagged edges and crumbling cliff sections were clusters of elaborate carvings: depictions of monstrous heads, laughing fiends, gaping maws with vicious fangs... They almost seemed alive. They almost seemed to be watching -
"Em?"
She turned around, and saw an entirely different face. A human face.
A familiar face.
"Immy?" she whispered.
The other's worred expression gave way to a relieved grin. "Oh, Em!" she laughed, and hugged her tight. "You're you again, aren't you?"
"I... I'm not sure," Ember stammered. "I feel strange, and my chest hurts... and where are we?"
Imoen looked at her. "You don't know either? I saw you kill him, but then... there was this pulling, this force, and... and I knew it was you, and I had to come with you. And then we were here."
Ember closed her eyes. She had stabbed Irenicus, she knew that, and then... her broken blade in his chest, his hands around her throat, pain and fear and determination suddenly coursing through her; he had lost, but he refused to yield to her, refused to -
"He didn't let go," she murmured. "My soul came back, but he still has it, too. He pulled me with him... and I pulled you." She glanced at the horrible imagery that surrounded them. The imagery of Murder. "I think we're in Hell."
Imoen suppressed a shiver as she looked around. "We have to find a way out - hey, someone's coming!"
Quickly turning around, Ember drew her blade - somehow, it was whole again - and watched as a tall figure with a giant sword emerged from the mists.
"Ember! Imoen!"
Ember lowered her weapon. "Minsc?"
"I found you!" Minsc cried happily.
With a half choked sob, Imoen ran to him. He swept her up in a massive bear hug, and both of them laughed, talking too fast and disjointed for Ember to hear. She saw tears on Imoen's cheeks.
"What is wrong?" she asked slowly.
Imoen grimaced. "You didn't notice, did you? He... There was a spell..."
The Death spell. But hadn't that gone awry? She could recall Irenicus casting it, looking straight at her as he did, but nothing had come of it; it hadn't struck her.
It hadn't struck her.
"No," she whispered.
"There was no other way. There was no time to stop him," Minsc explained. "Boo and I were on our way to the Great Halls, but I felt you calling for me, so I came! Boo has gone ahead, to wait for me."
"No. No. You're not..." It felt hard to breathe. He is dead. Minsc is dead. Boo is dead. Something seemed to break inside of her; sobs wracked her as she fell to her knees. He is dead. He died for me. "You shouldn't have... you didn't need to..."
Minsc sat down beside her and hugged her tight. "It will be all right, little one," he said.
"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "It's all my fault."
"No it's not," Imoen said, gently wrapping her arms around Ember as she joined the embrace.
"I should have come for you sooner. I should have tried harder..."
"It's all right. You came when you could."
"But I failed you! I failed all of you!" I was too late. Minsc is dead. I killed Yoshimo. Boo is dead. I killed... I tried to... I almost... the Slayer... More tears came as a jumble of brittle memories raced through her mind, each triggering the emotions she hadn't been able to feel when they happened.
"Oh, Em, you haven't failed us," Imoen murmured in her ear. "You haven't. You... You were lost. That's all."
Surrendering to her grief, Ember buried her head against her sister's shoulder. They all sat together, her friends' arms securing her while she wept, until slowly, finally, the torrent of shock and sorrow abated. Her mind calmed down, and her tears gave way to steady, quiet breathing.
"Better now?" Minsc asked, studying her closely as she rubbed her face. She nodded, and managed to give him a slight smile.
"There's my little Ember!" he exclaimed happily. "Ah, it is good to have you back again!"
"You sound different, Minsc," Imoen remarked, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"I feel different, but it is not a bad thing. My thoughts are clear, like before my head injury," Minsc said, and hugged them both once more. "Oh, my witches! Don't be sad. I am here now, and I will help! What heroics are called for in this place?"
Ember drew a deep breath. "I need to find Irenicus. Again."
"He still has a bit of her soul; they're still linked," Imoen explained. "We think that's why we're here."
"And now he hides like the coward he is," Minsc said, his voice grim. "But this will not stand! We will find him, and we will end this!"
"He can't run forever. And we're not staying here," Imoen said firmly. "Em, can you still tell which way he is?"
Ember closed her eyes, concentrated on the tugging ache in her chest, and knew. "There," she pointed.
Minsc grinned. "Lead the way! My sword and I will follow!"
-.-.-
Their path was barred.
Ahead of them was a doorway, and Ember knew, with absolute certainty, that Irenicus was somewhere on the other side, but the massive black doors were sealed shut. In addition to the horrific statues, it was surrounded by five gigantic eyes, all of which seemed to be glaring at her. A small imp hovered in front of the doorway.
"So, you come to us at last, Child of Bhaal," the imp said. "You have come to claim your heritage, perhaps? And with a sibling in tow, no less. A pity that you are in pieces."
"What are you talking about?" Ember asked.
The imp seemed to raise an eyebrow at her. "This is Bhaal's realm, Child. You have not faded to join the former Lord of Murder's essence, have you? No... so your blood holds sway here."
Imoen's eyes met Ember's. "We're not dead, then," she said, her voice mirroring the relief Ember felt; evidently, both of them had worried about that possibility.
"Not quite," the imp lazily told Imoen, then turned its gaze back to Ember. "Your being, your birthright, holds power here... but that piece of you rests in both you and the other one, the wizard, doesn't it? You are tethered together, neither truly dead and neither truly alive. Most interesting, indeed."
"Interesting it may be," Ember said, "but how do I end this? Can you tell me how to reach him?"
"Why, you must gather the Tears of Bhaal, of course!"
"The what?"
"Death causes many tears to fall, Child, and Bhaal collected many while he lived. The Tears will close the eyes... and when the eyes close, the path will open."
"I see. Where can we find these Tears?"
With a grin, the imp vanished.
A low rumbling reverberated through the ground. A short distance away, some of the statues crumbled and fell away, revealing an opening. Ember and Imoen looked at each other. "As good a place to start as any," Imoen said with a slight shrug.
They went to the exposed opening and climbed over the statue rubble into a large hole. A rocky slope led downwards, and at the bottom of the slope stood a large demon, a Tanar'ri, in front of the opening to yet another cave. The Tanar'ri seemed to be waiting for them.
"Greetings, Child of Bhaal," it said.
"Er... hello," Ember replied.
"It is a good thing you have come to me. You alone hold the power to vanquish the terrible creature that holds one of your dead father's Tears here." The Tanar'ri seemed to be trying to smile at her. "I have heard of your prowess, Child... most impressive, for a mortal life. Creatures of great power thrown aside as if they were nothing! Beings any other mortal would quake before, you have fought against valiantly!"
"Well..."
"You are a wonder of destruction, Child of Bhaal! Go, and defeat the creature that lies in yonder cavern! Crush it beneath your heel and claim another victory!"
Ember sighed. Might as well get on with this. "What kind of creature is it?"
"Oh, it is a most powerful creature. One that only you can destroy! I am confident in your ability to deal death to this creature and take the Tear that is yours!"
Ember looked at the Tanar'ri. "You didn't answer my question. What is it?"
The Tanar'ri semeed puzzled. "Why, it is a creature that deserves death, Child of Bhaal. You are such a wondrous fighter, I simply thought that you could defeat it where others failed."
"Why does it deserve death?"
"Because... because it exists! It stands in your way!"
"Just because you say that it does? There's something more to this, isn't there?"
The Tanar'ri nodded slowly. "So be it, then," it said. "Despite your great deeds you are not ruled by pride, Child of Bhaal. Go forth, and claim your Tear as you will." The Tanar'ri vanished in a blast of smoke and fire, leaving the three of them alone in front of the cave entrance.
"I'm not sure I want to know what's in that cave," Imoen said.
"But we have to find out," Minsc said. "Come, my witches. I will go first!"
Keeping his hand near his sword hilt, Minsc led them through the rather narrow cave opening, around a bend, and into a truly immense cavern, larger even than Adalon's lair. And within it rested a giant, golden dragon.
Ember gasped. It wanted us to fight that?!
The dragon was looking straight at her. "Why have you come, Child?"
"I seek the Tears of Bhaal," Ember said, willing her voice to be calm. "I was told you have one. Er... could I have it?"
The dragon smiled. "Humility serves well those who wield it well," it said. A glittering, tear-shaped crystal the size of a closed fist appeared in Ember's hands. "The Tear of Bhaal is yours."
"Thank you," Ember said. She bowed to the dragon - it felt like the right thing to do - and left the chamber with her friends.
"That wasn't so bad after all," Imoen said cheerily as they climbed back up the rocky slope. "I'm glad we didn't have to fight... and I'm very glad it didn't care about Minsc's armour!"
Minsc glanced down at himself, at the red dragon scale armour he was still wearing, and laughed heartily.
-.-.-
They followed the rock wall for what seemed like an eternity. Doing their best to stay within sight of the wall, they scrutinized the unrelenting redness of their surroundings, searching for a spot that might lead them to the next Tear. The task was tedious, but also oddly peaceful, and it gave Ember and Imoen plenty of time to talk.
To Ember's relief, Imoen had been better off in Spellhold than she'd been in the dungeon she hadn't quite escaped. She'd been fed and sheltered, had been able to interact with other inmates, and the Cowlies that had guarded her had actually worked to ensure that nobody harmed themselves or others with wayward magic. "I mean, I didn't want to be there," Imoen said, "but somehow, I felt... safe, all the same."
"I'm glad it wasn't always the way it was when we arrived," Ember said quietly.
"Yeah." Imoen sighed. "We didn't even find out he had taken over until a few days before you got there."
Ember kicked a small rock aside; it clattered away with a brittle noise. Whether or not Irenicus had intended to be taken by the Cowled Wizards - as she had come to suspect - it clearly had not taken him long at all to turn their prison into his playground. "At least he can't build himself a new lair here."
"Probably won't stop him from trying, though. And... I bet he still has his magic. I have mine, after all."
"Dynaheir taught me about evil wizards," Minsc said. "You will never stop them as long as they have magic, and they will never stop themselves. So she told me."
"He'll be far from harmless," Ember agreed. "We need to think about what to do when we do find him."
All three were busily discussing how to deal with the heartless bastard when Imoen spotted a collapsed section of the wall. There, they found another hole, another rocky slope, and another Tanar'ri waiting for them at the bottom. Beyond it, though, was not a cave opening, but two doorways. "Here we go again," Imoen said in a low voice. "Let's be careful, now."
The Tanar'ri regarded them sternly as they approached. "Know that a Tear of Bhaal is in this place... yet there are two paths that lead to it," it said. "Two doors, two paths, yet both lead to your goal, yes?"
"If you say so," Ember said warily.
"You have made many choices on the journey that was your life. Many paths have you taken, and always they have had an effect on those around you... even when that was not your intention." The Tanar'ri looked intently at her. "Such is the fate of those born with Destiny... the consequences of the actions they take ripple about them throughout all that is reality. Perhaps the fate of others concerns you little. Perhaps it consumes your soul. That, too, is a choice."
Something about its words made Ember uneasy. "What does this have to do with the Tear?"
"The path that you take to the Tear will affect another this day. Another who is innocent of the action you take, and yet affected by it just the same." The Tanar'ri laughed, and Imoen vanished.
"Where did you take her?!" Ember shouted.
"YOU WILL BRING HER BACK!" Minsc bellowed.
"Be silent! A choice must be made, Child of Bhaal, and you must live with the consequences of that choice. Go to my left and sacrifice for the innocent. Go to my right and save yourself."
"I will go!" Minsc cried.
"Another choice."
"No! It's my task." Ember quickly headed to the Tanar'ri's left. Steeling herself, she touched the door, pulled it open, and stepped through. She fell to her knees as blinding pain jolted through her; strong arms lifted her up from behind. "Minsc," she murmured gratefully, then pulled the next door open before he could beat her to it. A wave of weakness rolled through her as she threw herself through the doorway. It was hard to think, hard to breathe, but Minsc was supporting her again; trembling, she raised her hand towards the next door -
The door flew open. Imoen stepped through, breathing heavily and with blood running from her nose.
"Immy," Ember gasped. "You didn't have to -"
"Oh yes I did," Imoen said, grinning weakly. "I think they forget that my blood holds sway here too. Look." She held a second glittering Tear in her hand.
"Selfless act upon selfless act, from those who willingly shoulder the burdens of Destiny," the Tanar'ri said as Minsc helped them both out of the trap. "The Tear is yours. Use it wisely."
The Tanar'ri vanished. They were alone in the cave.
Ember laughed weakly. "I'd have preferred fighting that dragon, I think."
"You shouldn't have charged in like that!" Imoen exclaimed. "Those doors could have killed you!"
"I don't think so..."
Imoen gave her a pointed look.
"Oh, all right! Maybe," Ember admitted. "But, even so..." She looked away. "Enough people have died for me already."
"My choice," Minsc said firmly, and lifted Ember up in his arms. "Come, let us leave this pit."
