Chapter 135: On an Eve

Harrian pushed open the door to the butler's room, having been roused from his eating of Anomen's meal by the general hubbub going on. The door had opened and closed a few times, footsteps had been heard on the stairs, and then he'd noted the unmistakeable sounds of somebody packing. It looked as if the events which had been rising lately had finally come to their conclusion.

Haer'Dalis glanced up as he shoved a few gaudily-coloured shirts into his small pack, and gave the party leader a smile Harrian knew had been pasted on. "My raven! I had not expected you to be wandering the corridors at this late hour. Can I help you?" He turned his back on Harrian and moved to gather up some stacked piles of parchment – presumably scripts.

Harrian blinked, folding his arms across his chest and leaning casually against the door-frame. "What, exactly, are you doing?" he asked slowly, frowning a little.

"Departing." Haer'Dalis straightened up, and hefted the pack onto his back. "Something I should have done a long time ago, my raven, and yet I only saw so now. My presence is no longer welcome, and there are other stages that this sparrow needs to view and act upon. My time here is done."

Harrian scratched the back of his neck, suddenly aware that he needed a haircut after the time in the Underdark. "You've argued with Anomen, haven't you," he said, sighing, though he wasn't entirely sure how the brusque Anomen could have won a battle of tongues with the quick-witted bard.

"No. Not at all." Haer'Dalis smiled thinly, and shook his head. "I have spoken to Imoen… I see that Aerie is leaving… and I see that I no longer have a place with you, no longer have a part to play. There is nothing worse than a character who does not know when the curtain drops for him. My curtain has dropped."

Harrian nodded. "Are you sure?" he said, straightening up. "You've been a valuable member of this party." To his slight surprise, Harrian was actually finding that he was loath to bid the bard farewell. They had travelled together for the last two months – fought at each others' side, drank and laughed with each other, and in this sombre business the tiefling had been one of the few specks of light-heartedness. Despite his infuriating nature, Harrian wasn't entirely sure the party could function without him.

Haer'Dalis nodded slowly. "I am sure. There are places I need to go, people I need to see." He started for the door, and Harrian let him past. "Though I shall regret not having the opportunity to record your greatness for posterity, my raven. It shall make a grand ballad, once the Tale of the Bhaalspawn is complete."

Harrian smiled thinly. "You're only the second bard I've ever travelled with. I think you'll have inside knowledge that will make your retelling one of the more accurate." He leaned forward to rest a hand on the tiefling's shoulder. "But if it ever gets to the stage where I'm seven feet tall and can kill Irenicus with one cold glare as I wave my overly-large broadsword around, then we're back to being hurled off buildings." The thin, forced smile gave way for a cheery smirk.

Haer'Dalis gave a brief, light chuckle. "Fear not, my raven! Yours is a tale which does not need embellishing. I have no doubt that… you can be a hero without the prattling of we bards."

"Once, I would have liked that. I set out from Candlekeep wanting to be a hero. Now I'm just here to…" Harrian's voice trailed off, and he shrugged. "I don't know. Survive. It's all I've been doing for the last year. Heroes have to have some grand cause."

"Heroes," Haer'Dalis declared haughtily, "have to do something heroic. Stopping a war was fairly heroic, no? And much easier for bards to write." He nodded slowly, more solemnly than Harrian had ever seen him do so, then smiled a surprisingly genuine smile. "I take my leave of you, Harrian Corias. I have no doubt that our paths shall meet again, but currently I have to go over the hills far away and see what I can see."

And with that, he turned on his heel and started down the corridor. As Harrian stood still for a few moments, he heard Haer'Dalis walk down the stairs, approach the front door, and slam it shut behind him. He was… actually gone. It seemed hard to believe.

We may be actually gone tomorrow, if we don't get some rest, Harrian told himself, frowning a little and heading further along the corridor. He stopped at Imoen's door, and knocked lightly. There was no answer.

He'd last seen Anomen heading up to deliver her meal, so she was probably asleep. But then again, if she wasn't… it wouldn't hurt to check up on her. Tomorrow would be hardest for her more than anyone.

With all the subtlety his profession required, Harrian eased the creaky door open and poked his head through the gap. Then he smiled and stepped in discreetly to extinguish the single candle dimly lighting the room before walking out and closing the door behind him. Anomen and Imoen lay sprawled on top of the bed, curled up together, fast asleep and unaware of his presence.

It was just as well that they were both fully clothed, as Harrian really didn't want to have to hit Anomen before a battle.

Aerie was apparently already asleep, so he lightly stepped down the stairs, hearing voices from the sitting room – quiet ones, hardly audible over the crashing of the rain upon the windows and the roof.

"Where to now, Boo?"

Reynald and Boo were, apparently, teaching Minsc how to play chess, Harrian discovered as he poked his head in. From the look of intense concentration on the Rashemani warrior's face and the slight expression of horror on the Fallen Paladin's, it seemed as if they were quite successful.

"Reynald, Minsc." Their heads whipped around to look at Harrian as he stood in the doorway. "Make sure you get some sleep tonight. I know it's quite early, but we have to be up just before dawn. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Anyone else in the party would have probably cracked a joke at him playing a maternal role, but it would not have occurred to Minsc and Reynald was the newcomer, not feeling in a place to mock the party leader. They merely nodded.

"Once Minsc here has finished destroying the armies of darkness," Reynald said dryly, gesturing hopelessly as a white castle took a black knight. "And you should, too. It is never wise for a party leader to be weary before leading his men into battle."

"Don't worry about me," Harrian replied, intentionally evasively, before moving through the sitting room for the door at the far end. It led to the cellars – also known as their armoury and workshop – which was where he assumed he would find the final member of the group.

Indeed, Jaheira was perched on a bench down there, polishing Belm with a rag until it gleamed. Harrian made sure his step was light as he descended the stairs, and paused at the foot of them, merely watching her for a few moments. Her movements were florid, confident and efficient – as they were in all things – and even when apparently alone, her expression was stiff and emotionless. He knew Jaheira would not be one to allow inner thoughts to rule at a time like this.

"I think it's only sunlight that kills them, not light reflected off a shining blade," Harrian commented quietly, smiling slightly as he stepped towards her softly.

If she was surprised, she didn't show any signs of it; merely set Belm down and turned to look at him. "A blade in poor condition is a tool unfit for any job," she told him mock-sternly, a smile tugging at her lips. Harrian remembered getting that lecture from Khalid when they had first started out on the road and his guardians had taken it upon themselves to turn a cocky, irritating boy into someone who might actually stay alive out in the big wide world.

"Yes, but you'd think we were going on parade," Harrian said, moving to sit next to her and gesturing to her gleaming set of chainmail that hung off the wall.

"Preparing equipment before battle… helps me focus my mind," Jaheira said at last, giving him a slow, thoughtful look. "As ensuring everyone's wellbeing seems to help focus you." She reached out to grip his hand firmly.

"It's easier to worry about everyone else rather than yourself. I know I can stay alive," Harrian told her.

"And you can't trust these other, seasoned warriors?" she asked.

He sighed. "This is the biggest battle we've been into since Sarevok. And there's an even bigger one on the horizon if… when we find Irenicus. The party's been lucky so far. I just… don't want to lose anyone. Anyone." He gave her a meaningful look for a moment, then shifted his glance away. "Haer'Dalis is gone."

"So now there really is nobody in the party you'd like to see die," Jaheira noted dryly, the smile appearing this time. She stood up and turned to face him, resting her hands on his shoulders. "You cannot guarantee that everyone shall live. Nobody can. All we have to do is believe that we will. If everyone makes sure that they survive, then we will all emerge alive."

She paused to trace a finger along his jaw, stroking his goatee lightly when she reached it. He automatically tensed, used to Imoen teasing him and then tugging painfully at it, but there was no threat in Jaheira's touch.

"So make sure that you're worrying about yourself and not just everyone else," she continued, her grey eyes sincerely locking with his dark ones. "You're not cut out for open combat. Do what you do best, and let Anomen and the others – with our horde of paladins, of course – take the brunt of the battle."

"I always do. I'll be slashing away with the Equaliser and the Daystar at the back." Harrian's expression hardened a little. "But Bodhi shall fall. I shall see to it."

"We will all see to it." Jaheira regarded him for a few moments. "You've been telling everyone that they need to sleep tonight, haven't you."

"Yes…"

"Do you intend to follow your own advice?" Her eyes were calm, serious.

Harrian shifted. "Probably. You know I don't always sleep well…"

Her hands moved to grasp his, and she pulled him to his feet. "You will sleep. I'll see to it," Jaheira told him solemnly. "It's the only way I can be sure that you won't be falling unconscious tomorrow and miss a vampire's claws."

Harrian smiled and shrugged in his practiced nonchalant way which he'd forgotten didn't fool her. "I know how to stay alive."

Jaheira pause, then shifted to look at him. "So just sleep to put my mind at ease."