Chapter 97: Fire and Brimstone
The party came to a halt as they stood at the entrance to the mine shafts of the Svirfneblin city. Packs had been abandoned with Goldander, and only the necessary weapons were at hand. They brought nothing which could be a hindrance. Nothing was to go wrong here.
Harrian was at the front, Daystar in one hand, a flaming torch to illuminate the gloom of the deeper parts of the Underdark in the other as the others gathered behind him, equipped with their various arms and armour, ready to go.
The swashbuckler sighed as he peered ahead of them, unable to make out too much in the darkness. "There could be anything in there," he pointed out unhappily. "A creature of nightmares, he said… well, there are many, many of them in this world. I should know; I've seen a few of them."
The others didn't respond, and the silence was only broken by Anomen casting Protection from Evil on himself. Even if this spell would have no effect on whatever it was they were fighting, it caused Edwin to give the Helmite a wide berth, much to Harrian's amusement.
At last, it was Imoen who chirped up. "Well, sitting here wondering isn't going to get us anywhere," the pink-haired mage pointed out. "No, we don't know, but there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" She notched an arrow onto her shortbow, favouring the range it offered here over the powers of the Staff of the Magi, which she had temporarily loaned to Edwin.
Harrian sighed, raising both torch and sword again as he nodded. "Alright… alright… let's do this. We need to do this," he whispered, almost to himself as he walked forwards, slowly but purposefully, nerves threatening to have him run screaming at the slightest shock.
He hated mines. Ever since Nashkel, in one of his first serious fights against the hundreds of screaming kobolds, with their flaming arrows and dangerous little blades, he had hated the underground, and especially mines. But here he strode willingly into one, to face an unknown creature of nightmares for a cause which wasn't even his own. He had to have been crazy.
A deep rumble from one of the shafts on the left told him which direction to take and, as Anomen and Minsc moved to stand up front with him, he turned that way, treading slowly and purposefully, fear still rising within him.
The ground trembled, and there was a dull thump from up ahead. He stepped up the pace, knowing that if he went any slower he'd come to a complete halt. A sort of snort could be heard, and as they finally reached the central mine shaft, a large illuminated cavern, Harrian was terrified for a moment that they were dealing with a dragon.
But no. The party had killed two dragons before, and besides, the Svirfneblin would doubtless know a dragon if they saw one. What awaited them as they entered the final room was… nothing.
The room was empty. But not for long, it seemed, as the stomping and rumbling could still be heard, emanating from a deep pit in the centre of the cavern. The party cautiously took up positions, Edwin, Imoen and Haer'Dalis hanging near the back, the other four assembling within a safe distance of the pit. There was a long pause.
"Brace yourselves," Harrian murmured, tossing the torch to the ground as he tightened his grip on the Daystar, then shuffled his feet around, finding a suitably solid rock on the floor… and kicked it into the pit.
There was another loud snort, this one sounding moderately indignant, then, as they watched with rising horror, a huge, hulking creature began to emerge over the top of the pit. Of horned head and flaming wings, it was, as Goldander had said… something out of nightmares.
Harrian heard Anomen's quick intake of air. "What is this devilry?" the priest mumbled numbly, tightening his grip on the Flail of Ages.
"A balor, fool," was Edwin's curt reply, but most of the venom had been sapped from his voice by the fear they were all feeling as the balor emerged fully from the pit and straightened up, wings stretching as it let out an ominous roar.
Harrian stared at the balor in absolute horror, not having expected anything like this. It was only Jaheira's calm, confident voice in his ear which returned his strength and his resolve as she murmured, "What do we do now, Harrian?"
This asking for orders whilst being so calm filled the swashbuckler with determination and something which could well have been courage as he raised the Daystar, securing his hold on the hilt as he felt it slip in his sweaty grip. "Now? We attack."
He waited for a moment as the two frontline fighters of Minsc and Anomen launched themselves forwards, contemplating using one of his throwing knives but reasoning that it would probably do absolutely nothing to this enemy.
As he threw himself forwards, sword upraised, he saw two shining balls of magic fly overhead and strike the balor as Edwin and Imoen used their spells to attempt to lower the demon's resistance to their attacks. In the next second, a flaming arrow came from Haer'Dalis, doing remarkably little damage, and thus the blade drew his two short swords and leapt into the fray.
With a roar, Minsc swung his Warblade at the balor, and although it connected with the demon's hide, there was precious little damage done. Beside him, the Flail of Ages crashed into the balor's foot as Anomen commenced his attack, with a similar amount of success, and Jaheira's twin scimitars flashed as she struck twice, her assaults having little affect on the balor.
Harrian dropped into a sideways roll to avoid the balor's flaming sword as it crashed against the spot he'd been standing at a moment before, and hopped onto the massive wrist of the creature, driving the Daystar into the flesh of the beast, hacking and stabbing for all he was worth. It seemed so futile.
It seemed even more futile when a massive clawed hand clattered into him, sending him flying across the cavern and smashing into a wall, his head cracking against the rock face, the impact knocking the breath out of him and possibly breaking a few ribs.
He slid to the floor falteringly, his vision blurring, barely aware of what was going on. As he rolled over, trying to stand up again, he looked over at the fight in time to see Minsc get scooped up in a massive, demonic fist, which convulsed once then dropped the ranger limply to the floor. Haer'Dalis was already prone on the floor, the irregular rising and dropping of his chest the only thing to suggest he was still alive. From the back, Edwin threw spell after spell at the balor with varying effects as Imoen, looking absolutely livid, did little more than rain arrow after arrow upon the beast.
Jaheira, however, was uninjured, dancing away from the balor's blows at the last second, moving quicker than Harrian, in his groggy state, could register as she weaved around the demon, attacking strongly and swiftly then withdrawing before retaliation could come. Anomen was…
He suddenly felt strong hands pull him to his feet, and the all-too familiar voice of the Helmite was heard in his ear as he murmured a quick healing spell, lessening the thudding of his head and the burning in his chest.
Harrian turned to look the cleric in the eye, not wasting time as he merely nodded once, then the two of them turned and hurried forwards, weapons in hand, ready to fight yet again. As they watched, the balor scooped up Minsc again, then turned and physically hurled him at the two mages near the back, sending them all flying into a dazed and wounded pile.
The swashbuckler slowed and turned to Anomen. "See to the others. You're more use in getting them able to fight than in being just one more sword arm right now. See if you can get Minsc up and active again, and make sure Immy and Edwin aren't too badly injured…"
As Anomen nodded and hurried towards the others, Harrian turned back in time to see Jaheira get hit, mercifully with the flat of the balor's sword as she dodged in the wrong direction. The blow sent her flying back, but from the way she hit the ground and how she quickly rolled back to her feet, she didn't seem too badly injured.
This left only Harrian and the balor, and the thief was particularly aware of how much he was at a disadvantage here. The beast turned to face him, and for a moment he thought it was mocking him, staring and hardly moving, lowering its flaming sword.
**This is not your fight, manling,** a strange noise, voice was heard, and Harrian didn't know if the creature was speaking or if it was just in his head. **This is not your place. Who are you to defy me?**
Harrian drew himself to his full, rather pathetic considering the circumstances, height, an odd feeling of calm coming over him. But at the same time the calm was accompanied by a rising darkness, a bubbling maelstrom of emotion from below, which he found comforting and intoxicating all at once. "I am the son of Bhaal!" he yelled, pointing the Daystar at the balor. "And I'll do all the defying I wish."
The darkness was pressing forwards now, along with the swirling confusion and intoxicating power, but he felt it come to a halt, reigned in by his own control and tranquillity of mind. He felt that he could either dismiss this new, potential strength, or accept it and turn it to his own needs.
Harrian looked around him. Jaheira had finally clambered to his feet and stood, blades at the ready, but merely watching, a mixture of fear and confusion on her face as she looked upon him. Haer'Dalis was still unconscious on the floor, but beyond Anomen was pulling Imoen to her feet. The pink-haired mage was pushing him away, gesturing at the still unconscious Minsc and a dazed Edwin.
He had a sudden moment of clarity of mind. It will kill them all, he realised, for his friends would not run, and they would not win. They would fight, and they would die, and he was the only one who could do anything about it.
He accepted the dark power.
Jaheira looked on in horror as she saw him begin to change, his limbs lengthening, skin reddening as he grew in stature, the man she knew disappearing and being replaced with the hulking monster she feared even more than the balor.
The Slayer, although smaller than the balor, at least matched it in ferocity, and launched itself at the extraplanar beast, claws whirling, teeth bared. There were the most horrific shrieks and roars as the two creatures met in battle, and for a while in the gloom all could be seen were two red blurs.
Imoen stumbled up to stand next to Jaheira, her face a mask of shock and fear. "What… what happened? He just stood there, then he… he changed…" she whispered, her voice hoarse and strained.
Jaheira shook her head numbly. "I do not know, child. I thought he was in control… I thought he was stronger than this," she replied as it slowly dawned upon her that she had no reason to be even vaguely aware of the state of Harrian's inner psyche. After all, he didn't let her in there.
"It's taking him over," Imoen continued, aware that they were just standing as the battle raged before. Harrian had been newly healed before changing. The balor had already been beaten down, magically and physically. The Slayer had the upper hand.
Then, suddenly, there was an almighty roar from one the two monsters before them as one fell, collapsing into the dust, sprawled across the rock, twitching only a little as the very life seeped out of it.
The victor raised its head and let out an inhuman roar of triumph… then slowly began to shrink in size. The beast shifted, changing form, until before them stood Harrian, scuffed, bloodied and beaten, but standing tall and upright. He turned slowly to face them, his expression composed and calm, and he stepped over slowly, adjusting his sword belt and straightening his cloak.
Jaheira took a cautious step forwards, looking amazed. "You… we thought we had lost you. We thought you had lost control and the Slayer had taken over," she breathed in absolute wonder and shock.
Harrian shook his head, still calm and worn but looking moderately cheerful. "No. I was in complete control the whole time," he explained vaguely, shrugging, and as he stepped over to where Anomen, Minsc and Edwin stood, Jaheira realised that this answer was considerably more disturbing than what she had feared before.