Chapter 16: Torm, Tyr and the Vigilant One
Anomen tried the door to the Tanner's shop. "Locked," he declared at last, and all eyes turned towards Yoshimo. The bounty hunter sighed, moving forwards and pulling his lock-picking tools from out of his pocket before setting to work.
"Is this not a little noisy?" Haer'Dalis asked. "Anyone waiting inside could hear the clicking of our thief's work, and flee through a different exit?" Everyone stopped and stared at him, including Yoshimo.
Minsc stepped forwards. "Boo agrees. This is a time when a butt-kicking must be administered immediately!" he declared loudly, then charged forward, giving Yoshimo a mere second to get out of the way as he knocked the door down, sword swinging dangerously as he burst into the shop. His comrades came right behind him, Anomen baring his dangerous mace, Haer'Dalis brandishing his two short swords, and Yoshimo taking up the rear, an arrow already on his bow.
The room was small and quite cramped, with bare wooden floors, unstable-looking stone walls, but with at least two doors leading to separate rooms – or rather, Anomen amended after considering the shape of the building from outside, leading to staircases to different floors. It was dim, lit only by two torches on the wall and a candle at a table.
A man recognisable as the local tanner and with a build fitting the silhouette in the alleyway sat at the table, working on something that was most definitely not leather, and looked up in complete amazement. "Who…?"
"Your evil murders are over, villain!" Anomen declared, pointing his mace at him. "You will either surrender, or be prepared to defend yourself against the forces of righteousness, starting with us!"
Incredibly, the tanner smiled. "I don't think so. You see, I have things very much in hand," he continued, as six ogres burst through the door behind him, brandishing battleaxes and looking very much as they meant business.
Anomen diverted his attention from the tanner immediately, and charged at the first of the monsters, his mace swinging even before he got there. Minsc, bellowing a battle cry, was already in their midst, his sword flashing in the dim light.
Behind them, Yoshimo aimed at one of the ogres, then noticed the tanner limping – for he had already been struck in the leg with an arrow that night – towards a door out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and let the arrow fly. It caught the murderer in the throat, and with a gurgle he fell back, no longer an issue. Yoshimo latched another arrow onto his bow, then let metal and wooden rain fall upon the ogres.
Anomen was beating an ogre already on its knees over the head with all of his strength, pummelling it into unconsciousness or, preferably, until its skull split. Behind him, another monster approached, axe bared, ready to bring it down upon the squire's unsuspecting back.
Nearby Haer'Dalis saw this, and quickly dispatched one of the ogres with a flashy but highly effective stab, before kicking it away. Leaping up onto the table to get a clearer sight, it was but a moment's work to cast a magic missile and shoot it at the ogre attacking Anomen.
Delryn had just dispatched his own monster, and turned to face the second, albeit too late. But the magic missile raced across the room and thudded into the ogre's eye. With a bellow, it staggered back, leaving Anomen open to smash it to the hells and back with his mace.
The squire turned to face Haer'Dalis, grinning his thanks. "You see, tiefling, that is your strength. I am also capable of fending for myself in a battle," he yelled over the screams of the ogres and the clashing of metal as Minsc dealt with some of the remaining ogres, then leapt to join the giant ranger.
The blade rolled his eyes, then thrust Entropy into the chest of an ogre Yoshimo had just shot an arrow into. The remaining two ogres were presently dealt with by Minsc, a quick swing of the Sword of Chaos relieving them of their lives.
Anomen stopped, his chest heaving as he surveyed the carnage they had dealt. The tanner shop looked as if it had been hit by a bomb. Six ogre carcasses littered the floor, and, further off, the body of the tanner lying a little way off. "Did you have to kill him?" he demanded of Yoshimo. "It would have been better were he alive!"
"To bribe a judge and escape 'justice'?" the bounty hunter mocked. "No, it is best this way. This is the best justice; the only justice denizens of the underworld like him understand." He returned an arrow to his quiver coolly.
"This is murder. This is not justice. He would have faced a life of prison were he alive; now there is no evidence to even support us!" Anomen declared, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration.
"See? The system does not work." Yoshimo shrugged. "He is dead, and there is nothing we can do about it. As for evidence… well, we do not have to come forward, do we? The murderer cannot kill anymore, and we just have to keep our heads down."
"I agree with Yoshimo, Squire Anomen," Haer'Dalis interjected. "It is best to be an unsung hero than a known villain. If we flee, there shall be an investigation, which I am sure shall uncover evidence. If it does not, then… nothing links us to his death. It is not murder… this is a justice, just not the one you sought. Let us fly, my ravens!"
Unhappily, Anomen nodded, and the four of them hurried out of the building, Yoshimo stopping only to pluck the purse of the tanner from his body. It had started to rain, and the light was still as dim outside as it had ever been, and a look at the clock confirmed it was midnight. Harrian and Jaheira would be back soon.
"Boo says we should go back to the inn," Minsc rumbled, slinging his sword over his back and protecting the hamster from the rain with his hands. "It is wet and cold, and no time for righteous heroes to be wandering streets."
"Let us return to the Five Flagons," Haer'Dalis concurred. "And wait the return of our valiant leader on his errand to further his quest. Who knows what information the Cowled One has uncovered?"
They stopped as an armoured man emerged from behind the tanner shop, and weapons were drawn in a second, ready to fight even before they had established whether or not this was a threat.
Finally, light fell upon the new arrival, and Anomen gasped in surprise. "Sir Keldorn?" he queried numbly, then glared at the others. "Put down your weapons! It is Sir Keldorn, of the Order of the Radiant Heart."
Keldorn had not moved a muscle in the display of weaponry, but now moved forwards. "My thanks, Squire Anomen," he replied unsmilingly, arms folded across his chest. "I take it these are your new friends?"
"My new comrades and travelling companions, yes," Anomen responded, nodding courteously. "Our leader is not here at the moment… we were simply…" His voice trailed off as he wondered how to explain a broken door and a collection of bodies to an Inquisitor.
"Dealing with the skinner murderer, yes. I saw." Keldorn nodded briefly. "It was well-handled," he conceded. "Although you should not have allowed yourself to be distracted by the lady of the night as you were." Anomen opened his mouth for an angry retort, then caught the slightly wry smile on Keldorn's face.
Yoshimo decided to join in the debate at that moment. "You have been following us?" he asked suspiciously, his hand on the hilt of his half-drawn katana, a deep frown on his face, clearly not fully trusting Keldorn as Anomen did.
"I work in Torm's name," Keldorn started, "for the Order in keeping a close eye on the Bhaalspawn you all travel with. His destiny is undecided, his place in the realm unclear, but he is a potential source of great evil, one that must be watched."
"A Bhaalspawn?" Anomen repeated, and for some reason, everyone except Minsc turned to look questioningly at Yoshimo. There was a brief silence, and the squire shook his head. "It is Harrian, is it not? He is a spawn of Bhaal?"
"You did not know this?" Keldorn queried, genuinely surprised. "Aye, his is a Bhaalspawn, and a most powerful one at that. You are free to travel with him, young Anomen," he added hastily, at the squire's slightly panicked expression. "But be aware that I am watching you, and him. I have been since his arrival in Athkatla; this is the first time I could talk to his companions without him detecting my presence."
"To what end?" Yoshimo asked suspiciously, still not releasing his blade. "He has shown no signs of evil in all the time we have travelled with him. This is the Order meddling in affairs which are not its concern."
"Brigand, if he were to turn to the path of evil, he would be a force more powerful than any of us could imagine! He is a Bhaalspawn! The power and potential for evil that is within him is immeasurable!" Keldorn exclaimed. "If he is a man of good, then I shall watch him passively, and maybe even lend my sword to his cause if the Gods will it. But if he is a force of evil, then the Order must be informed."
Anomen glared at him a little. "Why was I not informed? I travel with him. I am a squire of the Order. Even if I was not to watch him, I believe I should have been told of the situation!" he barked.
"That is not the issue here, Squire Anomen," Keldorn sighed. "I am here to tell you that you are being watched, and to warn you. If Harrian Corias turns to the path of evil, you will have a choice – you can flee and leave him for the Order to deal with; you can stand with the Order to eradicate his evil… or you can stand with the Bhaalspawn and be eradicated with him." He straightened up. "It does not matter if you tell him or not. It may even be beneficial that he knows he is being watched."
Anomen glowered at the experienced paladin. "We bid you good day, Sir Keldorn," he barked, before whirling on his heel and storming off, his three companions tagging along absently, not quite sure of what to make of the encounter.
"Anomen!" Keldorn called after him. "If you care for your test, then watch the path you take. Tyr is not the most forgiving of Gods – an alliance with a force for evil, even a latent force for evil may doom your soul!"
The squire stopped, and looked at the inquisitor for a moment. "I thank you for your advice, Sir Keldorn, but I can deal with this myself. The Vigilant One guides my hand and my actions; if I am true to Him, if I remain His Watcher, then my soul shall never have a need to be redeemed," he intoned, before carrying on through the rain, into the night.