AN: Right! The long-expected hop ahead in time! I know much of this may seem overwhelming, because it's a big leap of one month, but very little, ultimately, has taken place. That which has shall be explained. And don't moan at me for not going through the entire month -–it would have taken up another eighty odd chapters just to write it all, which would have completely disrupted the story flow. As I promised, when I'm done with this I'll write a 'Deleted Scenes' (probably including some inane and ridiculous 'blooper' scenes purely for my own silly enjoyment) which will include this month, along with things such as the Outer Planes quest and anything in the future which gets 'cut'. Enjoy.
On another note, the party has changed somewhat. I know it's quite pointless for those of you that have been paying attention, but this is how it stands right now:
Harrian: Neutral Good (though with distinctly Chaotic Neutral tendencies now his soul is gone) Human Swashbuckler. Single-wields Daystar, or, on occasion, Dual-wields Daystar and Peridan. Wears Shadow Dragon Armour.
Jaheira: True Neutral Half-Elven Fighter/Druid. Dual-wields Belm and Rashad's Talon. Wears Darkmail.
Minsc: Chaotic Good Human Ranger. Wields Lilarcor. Wears Red Dragon Armour.
Anomen: Alignment changed slightly. He's not LG, because he left the Order and he's blatantly… not, nor is he CN, as he left the Order of his own accord and isn't bitter. It's not right to leave him as LN, either, for his utter devotion to the laws has obviously faded. So I'm going to tentatively label him as N/CG. Any comments? Anyway, Human Fighter/Cleric. Wields Flail of Ages, with Delryn Family Shield. Wears Doomplate (I know, I know, you get the Doomplate in Spellhold. This story doesn't go to Spellhold! Anomen needs something special!)
Imoen: Neutral Good Human Thief/Mage. Wields Staff of the Magi. Wears Robe of Vecna.
Haer'Dalis: Chaotic Neutral Tiefling Blade. Dual-Wields Entropy and Chaos. Wears Bladesinger Elven Chain.
Edwin: Lawful Evil Human Conjuror. Wields Staff of Air Control. Wears Robe of the Evil Archmagi.
Mija, I know you don't like Edwin. I suggest you read Laufey's 'In the Cards' at the Attic (www.gamejag.com/Attic). He'll grow on you. Right now he's obnoxious, but he's had no chance to develop. Unfortunately, I don't think this story will be turning him into a woman. Time constraints.
Chapter 91: Hop, Skip, Jump
Bhaalspawn swashbuckler Harrian Corias threw open the door to the estate of Lord Anomen Delryn, priest of Helm, and marched in ceremoniously. It was bright outside, the sun shining in the fair weather the city of Athkatla had enjoyed for the past fortnight, and beams of light streaming through the open windows made his dark leather armour, fabricated from the scales of a Shadow Dragon, glitter slightly.
He strode into the lounge of the estate and threw a sack onto the table in front of the four people seated there. "Slavers are done and done," Harrian declared brightly, adjusting his armour and fiddling with his sword belt. On it hung the Daystar, still his weapon of choice, but strapped to his back was the fine blade of Peridan, the Dragonslayer, ever ready for a situation when a second, or possibly backup sword could be needed.
"Indeed!" the massive shape of Minsc, berserker ranger from Rashemen, bellowed from behind Harrian. "No more shall those evil men hurt or imprison innocent children! The righteous butt-kicking was administered, and all slavers shall see that to imprison others is to invoke the wrath of Minsc and Boo!"
"Hendak was most pleased, and I'm pretty sure this means that our banning from the Copper Coronet is over," Harrian continued brightly, sitting down in an overstuffed chair. "All of the former slaves have been given means to support themselves, one way or another, and life for them should hopefully carry on, even though many are a long way away from their former homes." He smiled slightly, more quietly content than exuberantly gleeful, and folded his arms across his chest. "Plus, we found a nifty trinket in the sewers."
"Trinket? Who're you calling a trinket? Can a trinket devastate vast armies of enemies like I can? I don't think so, buddy!" The source of this odd voice seemed to be from somewhere over Minsc's shoulder, but as the other party members looked around to see, there was nobody there.
Harrian grinned broadly again and stood up as Minsc unsheathed the massive, and new, two-handed sword that had been strapped to his back. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Lilarcor, the newest member of our party," he declared, placing his hand on the shining blade. "I have encountered many magical swords before, but none have been able to speak. He's… quite a character."
"A character? I should think so!" Lilarcor 'spat' with a tone of derision in his voice. "If you'd been stuck in a sewer for god-knows how long, I think you'd have been a little bubbly when you got free! And I'm so rusty! Metaphorically speaking, I mean – my blade's as shiny as it's ever been. Still, I'm getting better – we laid into those slavers like a hot knife through butter! Phew! Crazy!"
"We also collected quite a bit of gold from the slavers. We offered to give it over to Hendak, but he said that we should keep it; take something for our efforts. I would have said no, but we do need something to live off." Harrian sat back down again and regarded the others. "So, what happened to you? How did the encounter with Sir Sarles go?"
The other four members of the party had clearly only just returned, for they were fully kitted, as he was, and looking quite flustered and tired. There was an air of weariness about them that could only come from having been in a fight. Anomen's Doomplate had drops of blood on it, adding to the already slightly crimson tint of the armour.
The weary cleric shrugged and shook his head, reattaching the Flail of Ages to his belt. The weapon had been given to them by Lady Nalia de'Arnise as her thanks for their clearing her family home of trolls. The job had also come with a hefty fee, even though Nalia's father had perished during his imprisonment. The young noble, so as to escape being forced into a marriage with the loathsome Isaea Roenall, an aristocrat some of the party had encountered before, had subsequently fled Amn to start a fresh life for herself. Newly redeemed Harper Jaheira had pointed her in the direction of a few former comrades who might have been able to help Nalia in her quest for a new cause.
The past month had been kind to Anomen. Whilst he had taken part in his share of the party's adventures, he had also had more time to spare to devote to his clergy and his new status as Lord Delryn. The formerly confused cleric was now settling down a little more, accepting the harsh times his family and the Order of the Most Radiant Heart had put him through, finding his place in life.
Yet his position within the party had become increasingly unclear. Divides were arising, leaving Anomen in something of a corner. Harrian had become more withdrawn, talking privately almost solely to Imoen, and whilst he still talked to the cleric, gone was much of their camaraderie of the past. Imoen, similarly, spent most of the time she wasn't talking to the party leader talking to Haer'Dalis, another matter which set off Anomen's discomfort. Jaheira had become also withdrawn from the group, though had increased in dedication and determination to see the quest through, which cemented her standing in the company. Anomen had found himself bonding a little with Minsc, though this was a friendship that was limited in depth, unfortunately. Thus, he was questioning himself and his position. Whilst he could not, would not, and did not want to leave the party as it embarked on a massive quest, he knew he would have to think very carefully about his future, about the long-term. And he doubted it was with an adventuring party.
"Sir Sarles is an irritating, stuck-up, pompous buffoon I was most pleased to aggravate," Anomen told Harrian at last. "We have kept the illithium. Your good friend Cromwell says he may be able to construct an interesting weapon out of it; I suggest you talk to him later about that. We offered Sir Sarles that false illithium offered by the blacksmith, and he unfortunately saw through it. The temple is mildly displeased, but it is preferable to him giving his services to a different church." The cleric seemed surprisingly calm about this turn of events.
Harrian raised an eyebrow. "Illithium. Interesting." There was a brief pause as he regarded the piled metal that had been dumped ceremoniously in a corner. "Any… erm… ideas as to just what Cromwell will do with it?"
Jaheira leant forwards slightly, mimicking his facial expression. The druid had become happier in the three weeks since Elminster had arrived and declared that she was more than pardoned for her actions against the Harpers, and much of her dejected manner had faded, but there was still a melancholic air about her. The Harper pin she wore with pride was firmly attached to the Darkmail chain-shirt she wore, and the pair of vicious scimitars from Trademeet strapped to her sword-belt helped speak of how the party had developed in the past month.
"Illithium is mostly used for the enhancing of current weapons. If we were to coat a hammer or mace with it, for example, it could become more powerful. Potentially, even a blade could be forged or enhanced from it. If there is anything we need strengthening, or any weapon we could make use of, I suggest you use it for that," Jaheira suggested in her usual tone, that which plainly said that if Harrian ignored her advice he would be a fool indeed.
"I'll take a look at it later," the thief said lightly, nodding, not managing to make eye contact with the druid as he glanced at the last two members of the party. "Imoen? Haer'Dalis? Did you manage to get your hands on those components Edwin wanted?"
Since he had arrived and agreed to help the group on its quest, Edwin had locked himself in the cellars of the estate, turning it into – much to Anomen's horror – his own private workshop. He had emerged only to collect food which he would eat down there, and to say what components or items he needed. Despite the fact that the party had had little interaction with him, for the most part – save when they had travelled en masse to the Umar and Windspear Hills, and had insisted on joining them when they visited the Planar Sphere – his continuous, if peripheral presence had become quite usual. Nobody particularly liked the Red Wizard, but his sudden arrival, usually accompanied by a random insult at a random person, acquisition of whatever item he needed, and subsequent quick disappearance, had become a part of everyday life at the Delryn estate. Yet nobody had a clue how much progress he was making on his task.
Imoen shrugged. Her slender body now wore the magnificent mage Robes of Vecna, rather than the slightly scraggy garments she had been wearing after leaving Spellhold, and in her hand she casually clasped the Staff of the Magi, prize from a rather unfortunate fight in a secret, unknown location they had stumbled upon in an incident involving Imoen, a Rogue stone, Anomen's armour polish, a ballad of Haer'Dalis and the disappearance of Boo. The 'Twisted Rune' had been quite quick to fall to the experienced adventurers, quite taken aback as they were. Minsc had made them pay for the apparent theft of his miniature giant space hamster.
"We got our hands on some of the scrolls he needed – though why he wanted a Protection from Evil scroll and some chalk, I'm quite unsure. If we find any weird diagram on the floor of the cellar when we eventually get in there, I'm not checking it out," Imoen declared, chuckling a little nervously. Anomen groaned theatrically.
Haer'Dalis smiled brightly. "Whatever the sparrow-hawk is up to, it seems he has made himself quite busy. For all of our doubts, if he has managed to succeed in his endeavours, I am quite certain that the result shall be… spectacular."
The tiefling bard was probably the only member of the party, save Minsc, who had not changed in the past month. Imoen had spent as much time with him as ever, but as she became more comfortable with the idea of who and what she was, their time alone had been spent less with confession and comforting, and more with increasingly entertaining pursuits. They had been to plays at the Five Flagons, visited the park of the government district, and generally taken part in leisure activities 'normal' people did in Athkatla.
"I have no doubt that it will be spectacular, Haer'Dalis, I am simply unsure that it will be the result we want or need," Harrian exclaimed, shaking his head as Minsc removed his armour, constructed from the scales of the Red Dragon Firkraag, and sat down on the massive couch. "I have faith that the Thayvian can produce the goods, but we are running on something of a clock. Irenicus isn't going to take forever to –"
Boom.
A sudden loud, deafening noise, then perfect silence… or so it seemed. Even as Harrian watched the door on the far side of the lounge, leading to the steps down to the cellar, get blown completely off its hinges and go flying into the opposite wall, he couldn't quite hear the impact. His chair was overbalanced, he hit the ground with what had to have been a thud, then got the wind knocked out of him as Anomen landed on him, but all he could hear was a slight, distant, ringing noise.
Everything settled as the party members recovered from the sudden, unexpected explosion, picking themselves up off the floor and dusting themselves down. Harrian slowly realised that he must have been deafened by the explosion, and moved to reach within himself, tap into that small essence of his Bhaal heritage he found useful… but, as always, found only the dull ache of emptiness, and the hint of the Slayer within him.
A red blur shifted by the doorway, and Edwin burst from up the stairs, swatting at his flaming robes. What had to have been a mumbled incantation caused a small jet of water to emerge from his fingertips and doused the fire, then he turned and started to apparently speak. From the expression on his face, he seemed quite pleased with himself.
Harrian squinted, as if it would help him hear. "What?" he shouted, interrupting Edwin's monologue. Anomen grabbed him, lips moving, and before the swashbuckler could attempt to interrogate him too, a small flash of blue light enveloped him and restored his hearing.
"…fools, you were all fools for doubting me! Granted, there have been some unfortunate side-effects, but I have done it! What no mage thought they could achieve! I, Edwin Odesseiron, have built the one-and-only portal to the Underdark… although it is one-way. And I'd wager it would make you feel as if your insides have been turned inside out. But I have done it! Cower before my intense brilliance, monkeys! (though the vapid expressions on their faces suggest fish rather than simians. Hmm, I wonder…)"
Harrian stuck a finger in his ear, hoping the deafness would return. It didn't. Throwing Anomen a pained look, he took a step towards Edwin. "You managed to get us a route to the Underdark?" he asked tentatively.
Edwin smirked smugly. "Is that not what I just said?"
Harrian grimaced as he surveyed the damage done. The lounge appeared to be the only part of the estate, other than the cellar, that was affected, and even then the damage was minor. Granted, the door to the stairs was gone, and the furniture had been upturned and coated with a fine layer of plaster dust, but on the whole it was easily fixed. "I suppose so," he sighed, looking back at the mage. "But it's about bloody time."
Much had taken place since Edwin had been commissioned to construct the portal. They had battled dragons, taken on liches and beholders, defeated evil cults and confronted ancient enemies. They had become more powerful than they could have possibly anticipated, knowing they would need to hone their skills if they were to tackle the Underdark… and it seemed that this chapter of their quest was at an end. The waiting was over. It was time to step forth to the grim, hazy future.