Hey there! In the style of The Ultimate Choice, here is the first of my prequels! Hope you like it . . .

Anywho, none of this belongs to me, not the characters the situations, not even the dialogue (!), so thppt! It's all belongs to Black isle and associates, etc, etc. Please read and review, even if it's just to say hello!

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . .

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SHADOWS OF AMN - A BARD'S TALE

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Pain. Pain that seemed to fill every pore in her body. Even breathing introduced her nervous system to injuries she was certain hadn't been there the last time she was conscious. Her head was on fire, pinpricks of white hot flame lashing out at her mind. What was going on?

Dark figures, dropping from the trees around them. Duran groaned, remembering how Khalid had pushed her to one side, taking a sword thrust that was meant for her. Jaheira had run to his defence, leaving Minsc to protect herself and . . . Imoen.

Sudden worry filled her being. Where was her young friend? Was she in this place? Duran daren't open her eyes for fear that she would be attacked again. She had vague memories of a man, a man whose face seemed stapled on, shooting fire from his fingertips. His laughter as she had writhed in agony at his feet, his smug countenance as he told her that she had much untapped power.

Anger washed through her. The Bhaal essence, of course. What else in her had the potential to be so fascinating to a sadist like her captor? As always, her long dead sire haunted her steps, throwing her and her innocent companions into situations that were no choice of her own.

A door opened nearby, and Duran went still, her body relaxing limply onto the cold metal floor of her prison. Whoever it was made straight for her, opening another door, this time closer, and kneeling beside her. She could feel the warmth from the body above her.

A hand latched onto her shoulder, and shook her gently, sending waves of agonising pain through her head. She was prepared to ignore the intruder, until a very familiar voice said,

'Wake up, you. Wake up! Come on, we have to get out of here.'

Duran's eyes flew open, and there, kneeling beside her, looking tired and frightened, was Imoen.

She batted her friend's hand away, sitting up with a grimace. Imoen's face relaxed momentarily into a relieved grin, before she grasped her friend's arm again, and began trying to pull her to her feet. Duran hissed as the pain intensified, yanking her arm from Imoen's grip.

'Keep . . . keep your greaves on, I'll move when I'm ready,' she complained, groaning as the searing agony subsided.

'You'd better make yourself ready right quick, you goon!' Imoen exclaimed, her voice sounding uncharacteristically harsh and frightened. 'Don't you remember getting dragged here?'

Duran frowned, trying to force her hazy memories that far back. The thief/mage sighed, and knelt beside her, prepared to spend a little time talking her friend through what had happened.

'I guess I can't blame you for forgetting. All I remember is us getting jumped near Baldur's Gate. It was quick . . . I don't think I want to remember it all. He's been . . . doing things . . . to us. Duran, we have to get out of here!'

'Alright, I'm moving,' the bard protested, dragging herself to her feet and leaning heavily against the wall. 'I ache all over, though.'

Imoen was nodding.

'Yeah, me too, but my head hurts the most. Yours too, by the sound of the screaming.'

She shuddered, trying to block out the memory of hearing her strong friend screaming for pity and mercy as the mage who held them wove spells through her. She blinked, fixing pale brown eyes on Duran.

'We have to get out of here.'

Duran rolled her eyes.

'Alright already,' she complained. 'I get the picture. How did you get free in the first place?'

Imoen bit her lip. She should have known Duran wouldn't just up and follow her, no questions asked. That just wasn't her way. Even if she was standing on top of a volcano about to blow, Imoen was willing to bet good money that her childhood friend would hang about, asking questions.

'There was fighting,' she said, glancing about. 'My cell was damaged. I don't know if I could get out again. The pain in my head is getting worse.'

She grimaced, groaning in pain. Cold fingers touched her temples and she slowly relaxed as Duran rubbed away the stress, if not the actual pain.

'Thanks,' she grinned sheepishly. 'It isn't like a normal pain. Duran, it's on the inside, like my bones made a little dagger, and it won't go away.'

Silence. She opened her eyes to see Duran staring at her, openly incredulous as she took in this description.

'Don't look at me like that, it just hurts, alright? Must have been the noise. There was a fight . . . assassins came after our captor, I think. There's people dead all over, and the fighting is still going on. I could hear it.'

She fixed her friend with a no nonsense stare.

'Are you going to get moving or do I leave without you?'

Duran grinned suddenly, catching the younger girl off-guard with the familiar sparkle that returned to her eyes as she realised that they were on yet another adventure.

'Right you are,' she agreed. 'Let's go.'

Caught up in her friend's sudden good humour, Imoen allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, following Duran as she slipped out of the cell into the gallery beyond. She stepped closer to the half-elf, towering over her tiny frame as Duran took in the scene around them.

'Do you know who's in those cages over there?' she asked softly.

Imoen frowned. She hadn't noticed any cages on her way, but then, she'd been intent on finding Duran.

'No,' she admitted, 'but there's one way to find out.'

Smiling at Imoen's statement of the blatantly obvious, Duran advanced towards the cages, her pace quickening when she realised who it was.

'Jaheira!'

The elven druid squinted at her through the bars.

'Quickly, we must get out of here before whoever did this returns. I swear, travelling with you is never dull.'

The girls exchanged a glance, unspoken words passing between them. Imoen knelt quickly, fishing in her boots for her lockpick. Duran leant against the metal.

'Any ideas why we're here?' she asked, not really expecting a helpful answer.

Jaheira shook her head, her eyes on Imoen as the young thief fiddled with the lock.

'No, I don't,' she said abruptly, and Duran knew her well enough to know not to even try and push the subject. 'We have friends to find and, in time, enemies to punish.'

An image of a slightly worried elven face smiling at her from under a large helmet suddenly floated in front of Duran's eyes. Khalid.

'Where is Khalid?' she asked bluntly. 'He is not with you?'

Jaheira looked troubled, and Duran instantly regretted her words, trying to clamp down on the sudden feeling that she would never again see Khalid smiling at her from under his huge helmet.

'I do not know where he is, and it worries me. No doubt he was taken as we were, though it seems we were all meant for different fates. You look as though you have been treated most unfavourably, and I should not like to think of Khalid receiving the same.'

Imoen rocked back on her heels, looking defeated.

'Jaheira, it looks like your cage is magically sealed.'

The elf sighed in exasperation.

'Search for the key,' she instructed, drawing a dark glare from the young thief. 'Do try to hurry. The ease of our capture suggests it would be beyond our power to resist, should the owner return sometime soon.'

The two girls gave her their assurance that they would return with the key, exchanging weary glances as they walked down the line of cages.

'She seems to enjoy belittling me,' Imoen muttered, provoking a snort of laughter from Duran.

'Well, I always fight back, so you're the only one she can belittle without fear of retribution, Im.'

'Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better.'

There was a roar from the cage on their right, and both girls leapt to one side in sudden shock and fright as a tall figure threw himself at the bars.

'Minsc will be free! These bonds will not hold my wrath! Butts will be liberally kicked in good measure!'

Duran felt an incredulously pleased smile burst upon her face, echoed by the one she saw brightening her friend's countenance.

'Minsc?'

The Rasheman ranger paused in his howling, peering through the bars at the two girls before him. A grin broke across his face.

'Duran! My butt-kicking friend!'

He strode forward to embrace her, knocked back by the metal bars of his cage. Instantly his good humour evaporated, and he roared at the confines of his prison. Duran and Imoen exchanged an alarmed look. They'd seen Minsc Berserk before, but never truly angry with anything. It was odd, to say the least.

'Can you control your anger long enough to safely leave this place?' Duran asked him cautiously, ready to throw herself out of the way should the bars suddenly break under his fury.

'My anger is under complete control!' Minsc insisted. 'Complete! I will control it as I rip limb from limb, I will control it as I pound head after head, and I will control . . . NO!'

Duran jumped backwards, almost falling as she stumbled into Imoen.

'No control! No mercy! I will avenge . . . avenge . . . Dynaheir!'

Imoen peered over Duran's shoulder, making sure to keep her friend between her and the raving ranger.

'Dynaheir?' she asked. 'Is she trapped here too?'

The ranger's face froze suddenly, and his eyes shone suspiciously bright.

'Trapped?' he said, his voice suddenly soft with grief. 'Her spirit . . . her spirit is trapped in a cage created by my failure. I was to guard her, but she . . . she . . .'

A sob escaped him, and the two girls watched in horror as he gave in to tears that wracked his strong body.

'They . . . they killed her as I watched, you see? I know not who they were, but . . . I will redeem myself!'

Imoen's face was stricken as she stepped forward to touch his hand through the bars of his cage.

'Minsc, that is horrible! I am so sorry for you.'

He squeezed her hand, releasing it when she squeaked in pain.

'I won't cry for the dead!' he shouted suddenly. 'I won't! Okay, maybe a little, but I will stanch the flow of tears with righteous fury! Lullaby and goodnight, evil! Minsc will make you pay!'

He drew in a deep breath, and Duran found herself on the receiving end of an imploring gaze, disconcerting from the strongest man she knew. Minsc bent down until he was on a level with the young half-elf, reaching through the bars to grasp her hand.

'Will you help me? We must join together once more, and our fury will be such that bards will run their quills dry! Yes, ink will be scarce where e'er we go!'

Amid Imoen's sudden giggles, Duran freed her hand from his grip, smiling up at her big friend.

'Yes, Minsc, I will do what I can. Don't get yourself excited.'

A smile spread over the Rasheman ranger's face as he realised that they weren't going to leave him.

'I can't help it! Freedom is to be mine, and not even my permanently welded cell will deter you!'

He caught the sudden despairing look passed between the two girls.

'Yes, no lock at all!' he confirmed as Imoen glanced at the melted metal. 'They feared me that much, and I am proud!'

Duran backed up a step or two, dragging Imoen with her.

'I'm going to try something here. Be ready to run.'

'Why?'

Duran glanced at her, returning her attention to Minsc where he stood, his hands braced on the bars of his cage.

'Okay, Minsc, but it's going to be difficult if the bars are permanently closed.'

'But you will keep looking, of course!' Minsc enthused. 'You would never give up, I know this! A hero always succeeds and a hero never stops short of his goal!'

Duran injected a note of false anger into her voice, hoping Minsc would realise why she was doing this. If all else failed, she could run fairly quickly, even in her current condition.

'He also needs the key or the switch!' she snapped. 'I don't know where they are!'

Sudden fury infused Minsc's being, and Imoen's grip on Duran tightened.

'I hope you know what you're doing,' she whispered, not at all encouraged when she received the reply, 'So do I.'

The ranger's face was crimson with anger, all of which was directed at Duran.

'You . . . have brushed me aside with your words. You won't help . . . Boo can see it now! You do not intend to cut my chains! You only intend to yank them!'

He glared with venom at the young half-elf, taking a firmer grip on the bars before him. In the cell beside him, Jaheira put her head in her hands, backing away from the furious berserker.

'I will make sure you do not live long enough to abandon more friends!'

He roared suddenly, and the metal beneath his hands began to bend and twist as he forced them out of his way. Duran and Imoen exchanged a look, and bolted in opposite directions, taking cover and hiding behind anything that looked like it might protect them from their enraged friend. The door to the cell crumpled beneath his berserker strength, finally falling away from him with a clatter.

'MINSC AND BOO ARE FREE!' he shouted, his voice echoing through the complex. He looked around wildly, noticing Duran's boot sticking out from behind the metal door to a cell further down. He advanced on her, his eyes flashing with anger. 'Now you will . . . n . . . now . . .'

His voice trailed off as he looked around him, comprehension dawning as he towered over Duran. A grin broke onto his face, and he lifted her to her feet gently.

'Ooooh, you are a smart one!' he declared, as she tried to quell her shaking. 'You said what you did just to get me mad! Mad enough to break free!'

He laughed, pulling her into a throttling hug.

'You are as smart as Boo sometimes!'

He spotted Imoen lurking nearby, and released Duran, sweeping the young thief up into his arms. As the bard gasped in huge lungfuls of air, Imoen flailed about in his hug before being replaced on her feet once again. Minsc clamped hands on their shoulders, squeezing painfully hard.

'Now we can resume our travels together! There are friends to avenge and villains to smack about the face and neck!'

Stopping suddenly, he peered into his jerkin with an enquiring expression.

'Right, Boo?'

Imoen rolled her eyes, silently laughing as Duran slapped Minsc's shoulder.

'Together we shall make our enemies answer for our fallen,' the bard promised him, and immediately found herself swung up into the air and brought back down again for another crushing embrace.

'Answer they will, and my sword shall be the question! We shall have fistfuls of sweet, sweet justice, and our enemies will be stains beneath our feet! What?'

He paused for a moment, talking into his jerkin again.

'Yes, but . . . but . . . alright.'

He looked up at the girls with a smile.

'Boo tells me I am raving again. I did not notice a difference, but I shall heed his words nonetheless.'

A small hamster was watching Duran from the neck of Minsc's jerkin, and she had the oddest impression that it was laughing at her.

'I see you still have that . . . rodent,' she said, smothering a laugh as Imoen squeaked in fright. She'd never gotten used to being around Boo. 'Dare I ask how you have kept it hidden from our captors?'

Minsc waved a finger under her nose reprovingly.

'Never ask questions better left to aged sages. Boo is quick and evasive, and there is ever so much of Minsc to search, there is no hope of getting us apart.'

Duran couldn't control it any longer, and fell about laughing, doubling over to hold her aching stomach as Imoen backed away even further, a disgusted expression on her face.

'Ewww, I . . . really don't want to think about that too much,' she said, her face twisted into a distasteful grimace.

Minsc smiled at her, not understanding either girls' reaction to his hamster.

'Minsc and Boo are Minsc and Boo, and we shall not be separated!' he insisted. 'Shall we go? The butts of evil await my bootprint!'

'Right you are, Minsc!' Duran declared, throwing herself into the moment. 'Where e'er evil dost lay its dirty feet, we shall mop the floor with its buttocks!'

The ranger gave her an odd look.

'I have lost myself in your words, but Boo says you are just ducky.'

Amid Duran's howls of laughter and Imoen's helpless giggles, he strode forward towards one of the doors set in the wall nearest to them.

'Onward!' he ordered, and still giggling slightly, the two girls followed him, sharing highly amused grins.