Throne of Cards 43 – Mother And Father

Is a harsh truth better, or a loving lie? Maybe there isn't one single true answer to that question.

Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'

"At least this time we're going to be well prepared," Zaerini said, eyeing her friends with satisfaction. They'd dug out all the fire resistance gear they had lying around, be it rings, armor or magic scrolls and coupled with their own spells they'd managed to achieve impressive results. It hadn't been enough to make all of them entirely fireproof, but it wasn't far off.

"Do not forget all of the rest of it," Viconia warned her. "We certainly aren't immune to giant fists or giant swords, so don't get too cocky."

"And then there is Yaga-Shura himself," Dekaras said. "The giant is a mage as well as a warrior, so there is no telling what he could get up to, especially since we know he is prone to…experimentation."

Rini nodded. "I know. We'd be best off trying to take him by surprise if we can. I can't promise to land us right on top of him, but hopefully we at least won't have to fight through all of his army to get to him." She went over her weapons one final time, and mentally checked her memorized spells. Everything seemed to be in order. "Everybody ready? Good." She grinned, feeling delicious heat flowing through her veins in expectation of the coming fight. "Then let's go. The seven of us against an army? I almost feel sorry for them, but only almost."

The first impression Zaerini got when she emerged from the pocket plane was one of noisiness. Somewhere not too far off there was an enormous din, metal clanging against metal, very large feet stomping against the ground, deep and angry roars. The sky was red and heavy with smoke, making her cough briefly and rub at her stinging eyes as she tried to get her bearings. Apparently, she had placed herself and her friends behind a large tent, and although there were no giants in immediate sight this was definitely part of their siege camp.

"Look!" Imoen said in a slightly shrill voice, pointing. Rini turned to see what she was looking at and couldn't hold back a quick intake of breath. Saradush was on fire, its crumbling towers licked by tall flames and choked by heavy smoke. Though the city walls were a fair bit in the distance, she could still see large boulders hitting them now and then, cracking them wider open and she could almost hear the projectiles whistling through the air. Since the giants were still attacking there had to be a few humans still left alive in the city, but they surely wouldn't last long.

And if they try to make a run for it, the giants will be waiting. Poor sods. And those Bhaalspawn who thought they'd found a safe haven, wonder how many of them will live to see tomorrow.

"This looks large enough and decorated enough to be the command tent," Dekaras remarked, carefully leaning closer to peak through a slit he'd made in the cloth. "Empty at this moment, though."

"We are witnessing the invasion's final push," Sarevok said. "He will be somewhere he can get a good view of the battle, unless he is the sort to fight at the frontline. I say we seek higher ground at first. If he isn't there, at least it may help us spot him."

This seemed like a reasonable idea, and the group carefully edged around the command tent, prepared for battle. They did run into a couple of giants, but those seemed more of lone couriers than hardened soldiers and they were easily dealt with. Then they proceeded towards the edge of the camp, and here there was indeed a hill, with a group of giants standing at the top. One of them was even taller than the others, with swelling muscles and a bright orange beard. He wore a crown of sorts, of gleaming bronze, and unlike his companions he wasn't wearing heavy armor. Fitting for a spell caster he had on a fine robe instead, open at the chest and covered with so many gems it was impossible to tell which colour it was supposed to be underneath. Zaerini thought she could just hear Edwin give a small sigh of envy.

Yaga-Shura hadn't spotted them yet, he was preoccupied with the battle raging beyond the siege camp, frequently giving orders to one of his officers who then proceeded to blow a large horn to signal the army. It was surely only a matter of time though. Rini nodded to her friends, indicating her intention to surprise the giant, and then she struck. The giants were big and strong, and a single blow from one of those great swords could potentially kill a human, so she'd decided that they should tilt the odds in their favor. The spell she cast would make the giants inclined to have bad luck, to fumble their blows, perhaps even to miss entirely, and make them more susceptible to hostile magic. Best of all, they wouldn't immediately notice it, since it did no overt damage. Viconia had access to something similar, even if that spell would affect only one target, and she aimed it at Yaga-Shura. Imoen and Dekaras had snuck off to do something which involved wire and weird metal contraptions. Rini wasn't sure exactly how they worked, but then she didn't really feel she needed to, as long as they did. Now Imoen signaled an 'all clear' from behind a pile of boxes, and Edwin got busy summoning a small army of various creatures. The largest one was a brawny earth elemental, but there were floating magical swords, a pack of snarling dire wolves, a couple of placid and rather stupid-looking ogres, and even a few goblins. Rini felt a bit sorry for those, but then again if somebody was going to be stomped into a pulp, she'd rather it be them than her or her friends.

Speaking of which, one of the giants had turned around at the sound of one of the ogres letting loose a very loud belch and cried out in alarm. Yaga-Shura himself turned around, and when he spotted the people at the foot of the hill, he smiled a wide smile.

"You," He said, not taking his eyes off Zaerini. "You're late. Yaga-Shura has been expecting you."

"Can somebody tell me," Rini said to nobody in particular, "Why these megalomaniac crazy people seem so fond of speaking of themselves in third person? And if I ever start doing that, feel free to smack me around some." She smiled a smile of her own and felt a deep tingle at the roots of her canines. "In fact, let's start out with tall, wide and ugly over there."

With that, mayhem ensued. Several giants started charging down the hill, clearly intent on smashing the half-elf and her companions into a bloody pulp. However, they didn't get far before they ran straight into a nearly invisible tripwire, which sent them tumbling head over heels down the hill like so many overly large barrels. Even better, the spot where they landed had been liberally sprinkled with various caltrops, laced with various poisons. Giants were groaning, whimpering, and in one memorable case, turning quickly black in the face. Perhaps nastiest of all was the trap which exploded outward like a blooming rose of large and very sharp spikes. One of the falling giants had landed on it face first, and Rini couldn't quite hold back a wince when she saw the results. She'd never have imagined it would be possible for a person's nose to end up dangling off his ear, but clearly this was going to be an educational day in many ways. Next to her Imoen let out a small squeal of glee, clapping her hands together, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Dekaras ruffle the other girl's pink hair quickly with an amused smile, before he moved in to help Minsc and Sarevok. The two brawniest members of the group had been quick to take advantage of the giants' predicament, and were quickly hacking away, reducing them to ex-giants.

Yaga-Shura had clearly been startled by the quick turn of the battle, but he was by no means ready to give up. Instead, he chanted a quick spell, enveloping himself in various magical protections including an aura of smoldering fire which even scorched the ground where he walked.

"You think you can defeat Yaga-Shura?" He snarled. "You know nothing! I am invulnerable! I am immortal! Practically a god already!"

"Careful there," Rini taunted him, readying her bow. "You forgot the third person; it makes you look rattled." She let the arrow fly, hitting the giant square in the throat. It wasn't enough to kill in itself, big as he was, but it definitely hurt. "Oops. Guess you're not as invulnerable as you figured. Want to bet on the immortality next? How about we ask for an expert opinion? How about…Nyalee? She seemed to know such a lot about it."

The giant's eyes widened briefly with shock, and perhaps a sliver of fear. Then he must have decided he was powerful enough to win even without his previous advantage. Sheets of fire, high as towering walls, rolled down the hill, consuming the luckless goblins and ogres. Edwin's other creatures had gone the long way around the hill though, and by now they were snapping at Yaga-Shura's heels, whacking him across the knees and even, in the case of one enraged dire wolf, trying to tear chunks out of his buttocks. This also wasn't enough to kill him, but it definitely proved a distraction. Yaga-Shura wasted valuable time and spells killing and dispelling the summoned monsters even as they were being rapidly replaced. Edwin was focusing on removing the giant's magical protections as fast as he could cast them, and Viconia had taken over summoning duties for now. Three skeletons, very large and indeed giant-sized skeletons, all of them still wielding enormous weapons were clawing out of the ground and advancing relentlessly on their former ruler and master.

However, the battle was still far from won. Not all of the giants had been killed by the traps, and the ones who remained were keeping her friends very busy. Rini knew that keeping Yaga-Shura's attention strictly on her would be the best move she could make for now, until the giant Bhaalspawn stood alone, and they could all focus on him.

In the meantime, let's have some more razzle and dazzle so he completely forgets he should be trying to take out the others. Here goes.

She had already been strengthened and hastened with all the spells available and so many combinations of potions she thought it was a wonder she wasn't burping rainbows. While she was no more invulnerable than Yaga-Shura was, it still counted for a lot. So, she sped up the hill, practically dancing around the furious giant even as she flourished her sword. These weren't moves intended to kill, exactly, she doubted she'd have the strength or skill to both get past his guard and penetrate his body in just the right spot. However, for all their flash and flourish, these particular moves were very good at taunting the giant even further, making him forget everything else, and now and then she did manage to nick him. Even better, a simple cantrip of flashing lights had managed to at least partially dazzle him, slowing him down. Yes, this was dangerous, but she was holding her own, and she wasn't tiring yet. She could keep it up, for as long as it…

Ping.

Her sword struck a smooth, immobile surface, clear as glass and yet hard as diamond. The impact made her arm shoot through with searing pain, all the way up to her shoulder, and the sword fell from her nerveless fingers, even as she dropped to her knees, little white spots flashing in front of her eyes.

What happened? What…

She reached her other hand out, touching that same impenetrable surface, and her stomach felt like a tiny, leaden ball as she realized what had happened. She was trapped, inside a transparent and very much impregnable sphere, making her feel a bit like a Bhaalspawn goldfish. The sphere was magical, that was for sure, and she had no way to get out of it. Otiluke's sphere spell? No…it's larger, the magic is far stronger. I can't break through.

"What were you saying, little one?" Yaga-Shura laughed in her face. "You wish to be Yaga-Shura's newest pet? Yaga-Shura will be happy to oblige! My magic is the most powerful, ha! That sphere is indestructible, stronger than anything! So much time spent, so many tests, all worth it. Let the little spawn burn in Saradush, Yaga-Shura has caught a great one! Yaga-Shura will catch them ALL, Sendai, Abazigal and the others, and you will help, yes you will! You are my slave now, little one, and if you serve me well Yaga-Shura will kill you last of all. First Yaga-Shura will kill your friends, then we go play."

Oh. Oh no. This is bad, so very bad.

Helplessly, she watched from inside her prison as the fire giant turned his attention on her friends, swiftly moving down the hill. This maybe wouldn't have been so bad if all the other giants had been dead by now, but they weren't, not yet. She couldn't make out all the details of what was going on from her position, but she knew she might not have much time, and though she tried to call out a warning it didn't seem as if anybody could hear her. She had to do something, anything, but what? Not even her familiar seemed to hear her, so the sphere must be blocking that line of communication as well.

It wouldn't surprise me if it could even keep Minsc from Boo, this is stronger than anything I've ever…

She blinked as an idea flashed through her head. Unlikely, yes. Crazy, possibly. The only thing she could think of, definitely.

Boo. Hamster. I remember now, Minsc bought that hamster ball for Boo to 'exercise' in, and Jaheira nearly broke a leg when he came down the stairs just as she was walking down them. Nothing for it, I have to try.

She rocked back and forth, frantically trying to shift her weight enough to get the magical sphere moving. It probably wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't been just on the cusp of the hill, practically on the slope already. As it was, the sphere was slowly, painfully slowly, beginning to rock with her, just like Boo's hamster ball that Jaheria had smashed with her staff. And I hope this thing works like an Otiluke's and keeps me from harm while I'm inside it, or I could get just as smashed.

Still, this wasn't the time for doubts. At the bottom of the hill, she could see Minsc and Sarevok battling the wildly swinging Yaga-Shura, while the others were fighting what giants still survived from before. She worried that it wouldn't be enough though, her friends were starting to look bloodied, and it would only take one clean hit from a giant sword to kill one of them.

ComeoncomeoncomeoncomeON!

By now she wasn't just rocking or jumping, she was running quickly from one side of the sphere to the other much as Boo had once done. The sphere was rocking wildly, faster and faster, and then…

OhSHITOHSHITOHSHIT BUGGERING HELLS!

The sphere tumbled down the steep hill, tossing her about like a small marble in a large bowl, so chaotically that she had no idea which way was up or down, and besides that seemed to be shifting about every other second, and her stomach wasn't liking this at all and the sphere was bouncing down, bouncing higher and higher and it was in the air by now, and was this how it felt to fly? If so, she couldn't get why birds ever wanted to do it, and there was a large figure directly underneath her so she'd managed to aim properly at least, probably partially due to her increased luck spell if she was completely honest about it, and wasn't Yaga-Shura looking astonished as he looked up at her bird-like (hamster-like?) antics?

The sound that followed resembled that of a very large man, with a very large hammer, smashing a very large fruit or vegetable, perhaps a melon or a pumpkin. Rini felt her teeth rattle as she was bounced a final time against the top half of the sphere, then against the bottom before she landed in a confused tangle of aching limbs. The sphere was…splattered with…with things. Some of them pink, others yellow-white and sharp, yet others grey and squishy. Then the sphere winked out of existence and was gone. She was alive, she was lying on top of something large, wet, and squelchy, and that was as much as she cared to know right now.

"Um, hi guys?" Zaerini said in a voice that sounded weak and trembling even to herself as she looked up at a ring of concerned faces. "Did I get him?"

"Oh, absolutely," Viconia said, looking at whatever she was lying on top of. "He…"

"…great. Awesome." There were wet and squelchy things in her hair too. And I only just washed it. "Just peachy." She raised an admonishing finger towards the concerned faces. "Just so you all know, I get bonus points for this one. Only fair." She nodded as firmly as she could, then promptly fainted.

When Zaerini woke up, she wasn't entirely sure that she had. For one thing, it was very dark, no sign of sun, moon or stars. For another, there was no sign of her friends anywhere, or of the battlefield. She was in an empty space, that was the best word for it, a pure expanse of nothingness. Gingerly she raised her hand towards her face, to see if she could see it. She could, but that fact was no relief at all. Her hand, fingers and arm were all transparent, and when she hurried to touch her face, she could feel nothing.

Oh. I died, did I? Didn't think I hit my head that hard. Poor Edwin, he'll be just…

"You are not dead, Child of Bhaal. This is merely a place of orientation."

"Ack!" Rini spun around, not sure exactly how she managed that when she couldn't sense her feet, and there was somebody else there with her. Glowing blue skin, flowing orange hair, and a rather annoying superior look on a beautiful and yet somehow bland face. "Oh. It's you. What do you want now?"

If the Solar was displeased with her lack of enthusiasm, it didn't show it. It floated towards her, its large wings flapping lazily. "Your journey progresses, Child of Bhaal. You have come here to take the next step. Are you prepared?"

"How should I know, when I don't know what it is? And I do have a name, you know."

"To determine the future, you must first know the past. Did you ever wonder about the past? About your mother, perhaps?"

Her mother. Zaerini felt suddenly cold, not sure if it was with dread or anticipation. She'd wondered, of course, and imagined. But how much did she really want to know? "Of course I did," She admitted. "But I never knew her, and I had Gorion. He told me some of her story – eventually."

"Yes. Some. You have come here to learn more, things that the divine part of you knows, but that you have made yourself forget."

Now, why does that sound like a horrible idea? "Look, I know what my sire did, to…to all the women. I don't need to see it. I don't want to see it, especially not done to my mother."

"You will not, Child of Bhaal. The events we are about to witness took place after your own conception, indeed after your birth. Now watch and take what you will from it."

With that, the empty space started taking on features, shapes and forms gradually appearing out of the nothingness. It was still dark, but not like before. There was the sense of thick stone walls all around, and of empty space above, and there were torches flickering along the walls.

A cave? No, it's too polished. Not just a cave, but it is underground, I think. A…a sanctuary? Is that chanting?

Then she saw something appear on the floor underneath her feet, an all too familiar symbol of a grinning skull surrounded by swirling tears, and she started to make out words within the distant chanting.

Bhaal. This is his temple, and these people, they're his worshippers.

Certainly, there were a large number of people present, both in the large hall she was in and in other, more distant rooms. They were wearing long, dark purple robes, with deep hoods, but she could see enough to tell that although they were all female, they were members of all sorts of races. There were humans, elves, dwarves, over there a gnome, here a half-orc, over there a couple of Drow. One of them stood out to her eyes though, a slender figure that was walking towards her with determined steps. Then the woman stopped and pushed her hood back to reveal long and curly red hair, and eerily familiar features. The eyes were pale green, not golden, but otherwise the similarity was almost frightening.

"M-mother?"

The woman – her mother, it had to be – smiled a small and secretive smile, then placed her finger across her lips and walked past.

"Her name was Alianna," The Solar commented in a dispassionate voice. "She was high within the ranks of Bhaal's priestesses."

Bhaal's priestesses. It wasn't what she had expected, what she had hoped for, not at all, and yet it made a horrible, horrible kind of sense. She wanted to believe it a lie, but it wasn't. She could feel that this was the truth. How much of what Gorion told me was true? Some of it? None of it?

The woman, Alianna, her mother, had walked inside a smaller room now, and was kneeling by an altar, praying. There was something lying on the altar, a long dagger with a very sharp blade and a nasty gleam to the edge. It was definitely enchanted, and it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Can you hear me, my Lord Bhaal?" Alianna whispered. "Do You still bide in my heart? I have obeyed, as commanded, and now I am well prepared, as are the others. It is all beginning, and soon it will be my turn. My own flesh and blood, Your final gift to me, will be returned to you, as will the others. How wise You were to predict and prepare so well what would be, to counteract what could not be avoided. As the blood of the Children is spilled, so will You rise again from the void, I swear it!"

My mother. Meant to kill me. With her own hands.

Her thoughts felt oddly disjointed, her mind was fighting against the knowledge, trying but failing to reject it, and the only thing she could feel in her wraith-like state was the deep, bitter, biting cold. Now the scene suddenly shifted, and she was in another part of the temple. There were no priestesses here, no sign of her mother. Instead, this great cavern was filled with children herded together, male and female, the youngest mere infants and the oldest seemingly no more than six or seven. There was something emanating from one particular part of the cave, a sense of…of warmth? Comfort? Silently she drifted closer, unseen by all, and then felt her mouth drop open as she saw what was there.

It wasn't all that hard to recognize herself, as strange as it was. The small toddler girl, probably no more than two, had her own signature red hair, pointed ears sticking out of it. Wide golden eyes stared directly back at her, seeing her in a way the spectre of her mother hadn't, and the little girl grinned and pointed a chubby hand straight at her. That was weird, but weirder still was seeing the older boy on whose lap the little girl was sitting and being bounced up and down. He had darker skin than hers, and scruffy black hair, his face was more closed and wary, but the shining golden eyes were just the same, twins to her own.

Sarevok. So, he was there as well. Some part of me must have remembered – I wonder if he does?

"Sssh," The young Sarevok said, gently tapping the little girl on her nose. "What's got into you all of a sudden? I know you don't like being quiet, but you've got to, so I can figure out a way to get us out of here before they…"

He fell suddenly quiet, listening intently, and the baby version of Zaerini went quiet as well, staring in puzzlement at her older sibling's worried face. "I…I thought I heard something," Sarevok muttered, his thin body shivering. "Sounded like a scream. But all the kids are still here. They haven't got started yet. Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe someone's come to help us?" He gave a short, bitter laugh. "No. Nobody will. Nobody cares." He hugged the little girl closer. "All we've got is each other."

Oh Sarevok. I'm so sorry. At least I didn't know what was happening. And you were trying so hard to be big and brave.

She wanted to reach out, to offer some comfort of her own in return, but she knew he wouldn't see her or hear her. She was here as an observer, nothing else. And now the scene changed again, and she was back in the previous room, once again facing her mother. This time, however, Alianna was not alone. There was somebody here with her, another person wearing an obscuring purple robe, and they were arguing furiously yet quietly. The other person had grasper her mother by the shoulders, even shaking her a little, and Alianna's pale cheeks were red with fury. Then the hood fell back, revealing yet another familiar face.

Gorion!

And it was her beloved foster father, younger than she remembered him, but instantly recognizable. There was a desperate, pleading look on his face, and his voice was rough with barely checked emotion.

"Alianna," He said, holding tightly onto the half-elven woman's shoulders. "Please. You don't mean it, you can't. Please, it's not too late. You can still make a different choice, you can…"

"Can do what?" Alianna scoffed. "Come with you? You and your Harper friends? Do you think to convert me? Please. I enjoyed what we shared, but that was all it was, enjoyment. I have a higher duty to my Lord, and I intend to fulfill it. For the sake of what we did share, I'll give you one final warning – get out. Now."

"I can't. I can't let you do this, Alianna, not to your own child. That child could have been ours, if…"

"If! If, if, if! It is not your child, and it never will be! She was made for a purpose. You will not stand between her and her destiny, do you hear me?"

"Alianna…"

"No! You will distract me no longer!" Alianna's eyes shone with cold rage. "Because that's what this is, isn't it? You betrayed me, Gorion! You pretended you came here alone, simply to speak with me, but I see the falsehood on your face, hear it in your voice. You brought them here! You would ruin everything, but I won't let you!" Quick as a striking cobra, she reached for the unholy dagger resting on the altar, and she struck. There was a short, yet vicious struggle, and then a quiet gasp as a robed body slid onto the floor, dark robes getting gradually darker across the chest. Gorion was standing still, staring in complete horror between the dead woman on the floor, and the bloody dagger in his hands.

"Alianna…no…why…"

But he was interrupted, for now there were other noises, far in the distance. Shouts, screams, metal clashing against metal, and yes, shrieking children. Gorion closed the dead woman's eyes, his fingertips lingering for a brief moment against her still warm cheek, and then he hurried out of the room, quickly and with great purpose.

The scenes flashed by almost too quickly to follow after that, becoming disjointed. There was Gorion, struggling to find his way through the temple, getting nearly killed more than once in the furious battle between Bhaal priestesses and what had to be Harpers. And Gorion again, clutching a small child to his chest, a small child with bright red hair. Running.

That's it. That's the first thing I remember. Running, in the dark. Gorion. And Sarevok? What happened to him, left behind in that horrible place?

"I was able to save but one," A heartbreakingly familiar voice said next to her, warm and full of sorrow. "Would that I could have done more, but there was no time. I made the choice, and I could not regret it. It gave me my daughter."

"Father." She turned around, and she could feel again, her eyes hot with tears about to fall. It was him this time, really him. She was no longer in the temple of Bhaal, but in what had to be the pocketplane, and her father was right in front of her, looking just as she remembered him. She threw herself into his arms, and he felt so real, warm and solid, even if she knew he was still dead. Maybe it was because she wasn't entirely real either, here and now. "I miss you so much. There's so much that happened…"

"Sssh, child. I know."

"I'm so sorry. I just ran, and you…you…"

He smiled, wiping the tears off her face. "I told you to run, if I recall correctly. You did well. More than well. I'm so very proud of you. You have done so much – not all of it exactly as I would have done it, no, but that is all right. You can face what lies ahead, know that. And know that I love you."

She hugged him closer, trying to inhale his scent, memorize every little sound of his voice. "I love you too, Gorion. Father. And Sarevok…is he…does he…"

"Does he remember?" Gorion said, his voice saddened once again. "You will have to ask him about that. It is a conversation the two of you need to have, I believe, to finally settle what was and what might have been before you face what is to be. Perhaps it is fitting that of all the Bhaalspawn who might have slain me, that lost little boy should be the one." He stroked her hair. "I must go, now. There is one more thing you need to learn about Sarevok and yourself. Another of these little challenges you have set for yourself."

"What's that?"

"I cannot tell you that, my dear. You must find it out for yourself, once you wake up and return here in the flesh. And now our time seems to have run out." He leaned forward, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Be well, my child, for you are my child. My little Zaerini."

Then he was gone, and the pocketplane was gone as well, and she was waking up to face reality once more, whether she wanted it or not.