Author note: Only one more chapter left to go, dearest readers: the next one will be the epilogue, the final chapter of this trilogy. I hope to see you there! ^ᴥ^
oxoxoxoxoxo
The Solar appeared in front of the pillar of golden light, her eyes practically shooting frost as they fell on the dying Amelyssan, "It's over, Amelyssan the Black-hearted. This fight ends here". "N-no, NO! I'm…A Goddess…I ca-can't die…", the Deathstalker croaked in a trembling voice, blood and spit staining her lips as she lifted her head and tried to force out the words with her final breaths. "You are not a Goddess and never will be. Your time has come to an end". "No, n….", her eyes glazed over as her heart stopped beating and she flopped on the floor like a puppet with broken strings.
The celestial then addressed the elementals, abyssal creatures and fallen Deva that had been recruited by Meg, "This is not your place. Go back to your home, all of you: your part in this has come to an end", she ordered, as she didn't want to risk them interfering with the conclusion of the prophecy and they all complied without protest, satisfied with being allowed to leave with their life. After they vanished, the celestial turned to the eight Bhaalspawn, her coldness gone and replaced with an air of solemnity, "Now the time of the prophecy has come, Godchild", she told Meg, "But before you decide what to do with your Taint, your sister and brothers must choose their path", she added, "Each and every one of you must decide now".
Daniel bit his lower lip, "What choices do we have?". "You can choose to keep your Taint and fight your sister Margaret Dawn to the death for the Throne of your sire. Or you can surrender your Taint, let it be absorbed by her and in doing so, you will become mortals, free to forge your path and be forever rid of the shadow of your sire". "So…If I give it up, I'm gonna be just a regular Elf? Not a Bhaalspawn anymore, no voices in my head, no darkness in my soul and all that jazz?", he asked hopefully. "Yes".
He grinned and turned to the Ilmatari, "It's your lucky day, baby sis, I'm giving up all my Taint to you", he said and as soon as he had spoken the words, a burst of golden flames erupted from his chest and slammed into hers, only to be fully absorbed by her body. "Daniel Eliad, from this moment on, you are a mortal", the Solar announced. "I surrender my Taint as well", Balthazar announced, bowing his head, "Please free me from this burden, lady Solar". "As you wish", she nodded and the same golden fire moved out of his body and merged with Meg's.
"We surrender our Taint as well", Toop said, but the celestial shook her head. "Each one of you must speak their intentions on their own accord, you can't speak for them". He rolled his eyes and then he, Merlinious and Chinchilla all spoke in unison. "I surrender my Taint to my sister Margaret Dawn". Three small golden flames later, Imoen spoke up, cuddling Cespenar close to her chest. "Take it, sis. I don't want it, I've never wanted it. I surrender my Taint to you too".
Gromnir followed suit, "I surrender my Taint to my little green sister as well", he said, pointing at the Painbearer, who by now was glowing like a firefly and her eyes were a solid emerald color, similar to how Sarevok's had once been a solid gold back when the Taint had taken over him. Two more bursts of golden fire slammed into Meg and the glow intensified even more. "Wow. This feels…Different", she commented, looking down at herself and her voice had a slight echoing quality to it, "I feel like I'm about to burst at the seams with power".
The Solar nodded, "Now it's your time to choose, Godchild. You can relinquish your hold on the Taint, which will be sealed away until the end of times in the bowels of Mount Celestia. You will then become a mortal like your brothers and sister, a human, free of choosing your path…". "I give up the Taint", Meg cut her off and the celestial frowned. "I wasn't finished…". "The alternative would be to keep the Taint, become a Goddess and give up my family, right?". "Well yes, but…". "Then I give up the Taint. I want to become a mortal".
The Solar hummed, but nodded, "You made your choice, Godchild. Good luck for your life as a human", she said, then she put a hand on Meg's chest and with a horrible ripping sound, she took out all of the Essence of Bhaal, which appeared like a miniature blazing sun and she tossed it inside the pillar of golden light. At the contact, the pillar exploded in an enormous, deafening and spectacular explosion that would have made Daichi ecstatic, with multicolored sparks flying everywhere, leaving behind a huge smoking crater. "Ooooh my Gods, that was awesome!", Imoen squealed and clapped her hands enthusiastically, jumping up and down like an excited child, "It was like a show of fireworks, but, like, a thousand times bigger and flashier! Can you do it again, pleeeeeease?", she asked the Solar with puppy eyes.
The celestial arched an eyebrow, "No. Now, where do you wish to go?". The party members shared glances, unsure, then Minsc raised his hand. "Minsc and Boo want to go home in Rashemen, to sweet Tabatha and cute Mimi", he smiled apologetically at his leader, "Sorry, little Meg, but we have been away from home for a long, long time and we want to see our beloved ladies again". "You don't have to apologize at all, Minsc", Meg smiled back and hugged him tightly, "Thank you for all that you and Boo have done for me all this time. Maybe one of these days I'll come visit you, now that everything is over", she said and he nodded.
"Minsc would like it very much!", he agreed, then he took Imoen up in a bear hug, "Goodbye, little Imoen. Be nice and don't steal too much, okay?". The pink-haired thief chuckled, even as her eyes shone with tears, "I'll try, big guy. I'll miss you two a lot. Say hi to Tabatha and Mimi for me, will ya?". "We will!". Anomen was next, clasping Minsc's forearm with a smile, "It's been a pleasure and an honor to fight by your side and I'm proud to call you and Boo my friends. Until next time". "Until next time, friend Anomen. Take care of little Meg for us". "I will, rest assured".
The big Rashemi then turned to Edwin and offered him his right hand, "You're grumpy and rude, you always say nasty things and look like you just sucked on a lemon. But you have been a trusted friend to Minsc and Boo and we're happy to have met you, even if in the beginning we wanted to give you a righteous buttkicking", he said, surprising everyone. The Thayan frowned and cleared his throat, "Y-yes, well, you're a big lumbering oaf and have the mental capacity of a five year old. But…You and your rodent are not as insufferable as I thought at first", he admitted and shook hands with Minsc, leaving their companions to gape in shock at the gesture, "Try not to get yourself in trouble anytime soon, I don't want Meg to drag me all the way to Rashemen only to save your pitiful oafish hide".
"Don't worry, grumpy wizard, Minsc and Boo can take care of themselves!", the ranger exclaimed, then he moved to Yoshimo, "Goodbye, little man and thank you for having disarmed all those nasty traps before they could hurt Minsc and Boo!". "My pleasure, friend", the Kozakuran smiled warmly as they shook hands, "Have a good life with your lovely wife". Sarevok was next, clasping Minsc's forearm in a strong grip, "You're a great warrior and a good friend. Thank you for having taken care of my sisters when I couldn't be there for them. I will forever be in your debt for this".
"We were happy to protect little Meg and little Imoen, they're like little sisters to Minsc and Boo as well! And we're happy that now you're back with them, so little Meg can be happy too", the Rashemi added, then he turned to Jaheira, "Goodbye, Jaheira. Be happy and stay with little Meg and little Imoen, maybe help them when they will have little ones of their own". The druidess chuckled while her Ilmatari daughter and Anomen blushed scarlet, "Oh, I will, Minsc, I will. They won't get rid of me so easily". He nodded and looked at Aerie, but the Avariel was already smiling at him. "I'm coming with you". His eyebrows rose with a mixture of surprise and joy, "You are?".
"Of course! I'm your witch, after all and I'm looking forward to seeing the fields of Rashemen". Minsc beamed like sunshine and picked her up, spinning her around with a joyful laugh, "This is a great day, Boo! Our witch will come home with us!". The Solar cleared her throat, tapping her foot impatiently, "Have you said all your goodbyes, mortal?", she asked and Minsc nodded. "Yes, nice blue lady, we're…". "Then so be it. Farewell", she snapped her fingers and in a puff of smoke, Minsc, Boo and Aerie vanished before the Avariel even had the chance to say goodbye to their friends, "What of you?". Toop raised his hand, "We would like to go to a quiet place, one where we won't be hunted…If there even is such a place", he sighed.
"The Druid Grove near Trademeet would be a good place for you all", Jaheira commented, "You could live with the druids there, I'm sure that they will accept you without trouble". The Xvart smiled and bowed his head, "Thank you, Jaheira. And thank you to you all, for having accepted us in your party and treated us like people and not freaks. Solar, the three of us want to go to the Druid Grove near Trademeet". "So be it", the celestial once again snapped her fingers and they too vanished. "Well, I'll take my leave too then", Daniel said with his trademark grin, "It's been one hell of a ride with you lot, but now I need some peace and quiet, so I'm just gonna go back to the Gate".
"Is that where you want to go?". "Yeah, send me back to my papa's shop in Baldur's Gate, please". "Goodbye, Danny and thank you for everything!", Meg quickly said, just before he was teleported away by the Solar. Gromnir sighed, "I need to go back to Saradush: my people are recovering from Yaga-Shura's attack and Gromnir must be there to guide them and protect them while the city is rebuilt. Thank you all for saving my city from our evil brother". "It was our pleasure", Sarevok said, shaking hands with him. "Solar, I'm ready to go back to Saradush", the Half-Orc announced.
He poofed away and Edwin raised his hand. "I want to go back to my home in Thay". Meg bit her lower lip, "But…Right now? I thought…", she trailed off, her face falling. He sighed and his eyes softened as he gently grabbed her shoulders, "It was profitable to be in your party and I admit that your company is more than tolerable, but I miss my home and my family (Especially Sekhmet) I must go back, I have been away for too long". "What of the other Red Wizards, though? You're on their black list, have you already forgotten about that brainless lesser simian Degardan?", she shot back and he smirked at hearing her use his phrase.
"I haven't forgotten, but I have been informed by my teacher that I'm not considered a traitor any longer: I received a message while we were in Amkhetran saying I can safely go home". "What if it's a trap?". "It's not, it was written in a code only three people in the whole world know and those three people are myself, my teacher and Sekhmet. So there is no danger anymore". She sniffed and hugged him tightly, "I'll miss you", she choked out and he patted her back. "Of course you will (Who wouldn't? I am the great Edwin Odesseiron after all) Now let go, I don't want your snot on my favorite robe".
She chuckled as she stepped back, "Okay, okay, sorry. Thank you for everything, Edwin. I don't know what I would have done without you". "Died, probably", he said without missing a beat, "Take care, all of you. I will be busy building my career in Thay, so I won't have time to babysit you anymore", he added, trying to sound snippy and failing. "Ya take care too, or I swear I'll curse your robes to be forever pink, got it?", Imoen said and he nodded. "Of course. Goodbye", he turned to the celestial, "I'm ready to go. Now", he added, not wanting to linger for fear of changing his mind. "So be it", the Solar nodded and teleported him back to his family mansion in Thay, giving quite a scare to his poor butler in the process.
"I want to go back to my monastery", Balthazar said. "Are you going to lead them during the rebuilding?", Sarevok asked, but the monk shook his head. "No, all of this made me realize that I'm not fit to be a leader for my brothers of the monastery. I will leave the duty of leading our order to Brother Indra and Brother Asura, they will no doubt do a good job in rebuilding the city and restoring the faith of our people. Thank you for giving me the chance to redeem myself, sister", he smiled at Meg, who smiled back. "You're welcome. Put the share from Abazigail's hoard to good use, okay?". "I will, you have my word. Farewell, brother, sisters and friends". "Goodbye and good luck".
After he vanished, Imoen looked at those of them still there, "Now what? Where will we go?", she asked. Margaret Dawn pursed her lips, deep in thought, "What about your estate in Athkatla, beloved?", she asked Anomen, "There's enough space for everyone and it's safe". He smiled and nodded, "It's a wonderful idea, my love. And it's only fitting for my wife to finally step into her own estate as the lady of the house", he purred, wrapping his arms around her waist and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss, "I have been looking forward to this moment. Now we have the rest of our lives to spend together in peace". "It's a dream come true", she smiled back and moved to kiss him again, but the Solar cleared her throat irritably. "If you're done smooching, I will send you back now", she snapped.
"My apologies, lady Solar", the Helmite said, "Please, send us to the Delryn estate in Athkatla". "So be it. Farewell". There was a flash of light and they all found themselves inside the Delryn estate in the Government District of Athkatla, the warm afternoon sunlight filtering through the windows and the chirping of birds greeting them as they were finally back to the mortal world. "Soooo…Where were we?", Anomen asked with a mischievous grin and his wife giggled, still safely held in his strong arms. "Oh, I think I remember it". "Eeeeeewwww! Get a room, you two!".
