Chapter 13 – The Cure is Restored, but at What Price?
The town was deserted. No one was around, not even members of Desther's cult. However, there was a cave nearby. It remained the only place that Donnia and Tomi had not fully explored.
"Do you really think they're in there?" Tomi asked as they approached the cave.
"It's all that's left. They have to be in there, or they're too far gone for us to find and all hope would be lost."
They cautiously entered the cave and found that it wasn't a cave at all, but merely a false front to a temple for the Helmites, Desther's cult.
The two entered as quietly as they could, but their presence did not go undetected. Undead people from the town outside had been summoned to do Desther's bidding. What Donnia had feared had become true; the town was not deserted by choice, but by death.
The undead were easily defeated, and Donnia and Tomi went farther into the temple. They had not gone very far when she found someone she had prayed would not be there.
"Fenthick, what happened?" Donnia asked the cleric.
"I defended him to people who doubted him. I said that his help would be invaluable. This is entirely my fault."
"Fenthick, where's Desther? Does he still have the cure?" Donnia prayed that he had not destroyed it in his rage.
"He's just up ahead in another room. What should I do?" Fenthick, for the first time, looked lost and afraid.
Donnia feared for him, for the people would not understand what he had tried to do. "Go back to Neverwinter. Lady Aribeth is waiting for you."
"What of Desther?" Fenthick still looked worried for his once-companion.
"I will take care of him and return him to Neverwinter for judgment. You must return and tell everyone what has happened. Please hurry. Tell them that hope still remains."
Fenthick acknowledged this and quickly ran out of the room, headed for Neverwinter.
Donnia prayed that he would be forgiven and that the people would not go against him for once supporting Desther.
They continued deeper into the temple before they reached a door that obviously was holding back great magic. "He must be in there," Donnia told Tomi.
"Let's get him," Tomi replied. Even for someone who did not always respect other people, he knew that his companion would not lead him into unwarranted danger. He knew he would be safe with her.
Donnia tried to open the door, but it was locked. Tomi tried all of his tricks, but could not open the door. Donnia knew that Desther knew they were there. All need for stealth was gone. With two carefully placed kicks, the door burst open and the two charged inside.
"You head for Desther, these zombies are mine," Tomi called to Donnia. Without another word, he was surrounded by undead, but there numbers were quickly falling.
Donnia headed straight for Desther, who was surrounded by more of his priests. She tried to enter the circle they had cast, but found she could not. The priests were in a trance so their deaths were quick and easy.
"Desther, you must pay for what you have done to the city. If you return now, I will not kill you, but leave your judgment to the people of Neverwinter and Lord Nasher," Donnia told him. She did not want to fight him. She knew that if she were to defeat him that he would, in essence, get off without paying for what he had done. She wanted him to face the people he had betrayed.
"I will do no such thing. If you want me to return to Neverwinter, you'll have to take my dead corpse." Immediately he began to cast his most powerful spells.
Tomi had defeated the zombies and was coming to her aid. He snuck in behind Desther's line of vision and was able to break his concentration long enough for Donnia to remove a small dagger from her pack and stab Desther in the shoulder. "Stop now, and I'll let you live," Donnia told him as she slowly turned the blade inside his flesh.
"You couldn't kill me. You're conscience won't let you," he sneered at Donnia.
"Think again." In a flash, Donnia had removed the dagger from his shoulder and held it to his tightly to his neck. "If you even breathe, this dagger will cut your flesh and spill your blood. I could walk away from this smiling, knowing your blood was drying on my weapon. Surrender to me now, and I will return you to Neverwinter where you'll wish I would have killed you when I had the chance."
Desther's breath was coming in short rasps. He could feel the blade, warm and wet from his own blood pressing against his neck. He tried to think of a spell that he could cast quickly and get her weapon away from his neck, but none would come to mind. Dejected, Desther conceded. "You win. I will return with you to Neverwinter."
Donnia's blade did not move from its lethal position. "And what of the cure?"
Sweat trickled down his face and the blade nicked his neck ever so lightly. "It will be returned to its rightful place in the Hall of Justice."
Despite the blood running from Desther's neck, Donnia did not move her blade. "Open a portal now and take us all back to Neverwinter. This blade will not leave your neck until your judgment has been passed."
Desther quickly opened a portal back to the Hall of Justice.
Lord Nasher came up to them. "Does he still carry the cure? Will it still work?"
Donnia looked to him, "Yes, the cure is here. What shall we do with him?"
"Burn him alive. Let him suffer as he has forced this city to suffer."
Donnia led Desther to city center where his pyre had already been built. As he was bound to the stake she whispered in his ear, "May whatever god you pray to look down on you in mercy, for no one else will."
The pyre was lit, the smell of burning flesh floated into the air, but the riots did not cease. During her search for the Waterdavian Creatures, rumors had spread of a cure, and many people were able to find out what had happened. Desther's death was not enough for them. They wanted more payment for what had happened.
When at last the fire burned down, the crowd still cried out for revenge. There was only one other person remaining who had supported Desther. The mob called out for Fenthick.
Donnia could not understand how they would want him to pay. He had no debt to the city. He had returned willingly. How could they be doing this?
The crowd called out louder, gaining belief in their ignorant pleas.
Donnia looked to Fenthick standing next to Lady Aribeth. There was slight panic in his eyes. He too did not understand what more the people could want. The man who was responsible was dead. But you believed in him when everyone else knew he was not what the city needed. It's your fault they believed in an outsider in the first place.
Lady Aribeth looked out at the city she fought for with all of the strength, the city she had promised to fight until her death. How can they want my Fenthick for a crime he did not commit? This is all wrong! He did nothing wrong! She looked to Lord Nasher hoping to find the same look of disbelief on his face. Instead she found acceptance, unerring, unwavering acceptance.
Slowly, acceptance washed over Fenthick's own features. He knew that the people would not cease in their lust for blood until his flowed freely from his body. He turned to Aribeth, a look of horror plastered to her face. He took her hand and began to softly whisper in her ear, My Last Breath – Evanescence "'Hold on to me, love. You know I can't stay long. All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid. Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms'?"
Aribeth nodded slowly, wrapping her arms tighter around Fenthick. How can this be happening? This is all wrong!
Fenthick continued on, though his throat closed around the words he desperately needed to say, "'Holding my last breath safe inside myself are my thoughts of you; sweet raptured light, it ends here tonight'."
Donnia looked to Lord Nasher. Surely he would not ask for Fenthick's death just to appease the city. Her fears were confirmed when he began ordering members of his guard to take Fenthick into custody to be hung.
A few snowflakes started falling slowly to the ground, melting on contact.
Fenthick looked up at the weeping sky, the clouds thick and dreary. "'I'll miss the winter, a world of fragile things'." Fenthick blinked a tear's escape from his eye. "'Look for me in the white forest, hiding in a hollow tree. Come find me'."
Aribeth squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what was happening and trying to absorb her last contact with her love all at once. Tears began to cascade down her porcelain cheeks.
Fenthick leaned forward and kissed her cheeks, pulling her tears into himself, holding on to her with all that he was. "'I know you hear me, I can taste it in your tears'."
Aribeth choked out, "Don't leave me! You can't leave me! I love you!"
Lord Nasher's guards came up to Fenthick, almost apologetically they took his arms and led him to the tree.
Fenthick still called out to his lady, "'Say goodnight. Don't be afraid'."
Lady Aribeth looked lost, torn between her love and her duty. She looked to Donnia, hoping that in her friend she would find some answers.
Donnia too was torn. How could the city that she fought so hard for be committing such a wrong? This was not right! She would have tried to approach Lord Nasher if she thought it would have done any good. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aribeth move toward the tree. She began to run, crying out for Fenthick. Donnia turned and caught her, stopping her before she too got herself in trouble with Lord Nasher. "Lady Aribeth, don't. Stay here with me."
The crowd cheered as the noose was fitted around Fenthick's neck.
Aribeth fell into Donnia's arms, crying with all her strength. Her sobs lost in the cacophony of cheers from the mob fell on Donnia's shoulder.
Donnia closed her eyes hoping that when she opened them that this would all be some horrible nightmare. This cannot be happening!
Fenthick called out one last time to his Lady Aribeth, "I love you. 'Don't be afraid'."
The sickening crack of his neck resounded throughout the city center. Aribeth's sobs quieted. The mob continued cheering. When his body stopped swinging they slowly began their walks home.
Donnia whispered to Aribeth, "You must be strong now. The city needs you to be strong now." Her words choked off as her throat closed around them, her own silent tears began to fall.
When at last all onlookers had abandoned the area Lady Aribeth knelt before her love whispering her last goodbye. Slowly she stood and turned toward Nasher's castle, Donnia following her, saying a silent prayer for Fenthick Moss.
Lady Aribeth was having nightmares. They were similar to her dreams earlier in her life when Tyr had appeared to her and asked her to become a paladin for him. Now, Tyr was appearing to her once again, telling her that he had been wrong to choose her, and that it should have been her blood spilled.
She had met up with Aarin Gend, another adventurer and friend to Lord Nasher, in Port Llast. She had asked Donnia to come with her, and Donnia had asked Tomi to continue their partnership. They were searching for clues for where the People of the Eye, the Helmites behind the spread of the plague, got their direction.
Every time Donnia would report back to Aribeth, she always seemed so distant, each time more than the last. Donnia knew of her nightmares and tried to comfort her, telling her it was from her grief of losing Fenthick, but nothing she said seemed to reach Aribeth. She feared she would lose her soon if something did not change.
One night when Donnia and Tomi had decided to stay in town Donnia was walking past Lady Aribeth's door and she could hear her friend crying inside. She stood there outside the door unsure of what to do. She wanted to go in and comfort her friend but she did not want to go where she was unwelcome. As Donnia weighed her decisions Lady Aribeth started chokingly to cry out her prayers.
Tourniquet – Evanescence
"'My wounds cry for the grave. My soul cries for deliverance. Will I be denied'? My almighty Tyr will you turn your back on me in this trying time of my life? I need your strength to flow through me. Without you I will lose this battle that I have fought for so long. Will you have me fail the city which I love? Those people need me as I need you. Without you we will all lose. 'My god, my tourniquet, return to me salvation'! Please stand with me, stay with me. I need your strength!"
Donnia was all but consumed by Aribeth's grief. The pain that her friend was forced to endure in secret was so great. At long last Donnia decided to at least try to comfort her. Softly, she knocked on the door.
A weak "come in" sounded from Aribeth.
Slowly Donnia pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Lady Aribeth, is there anything that I can do for you?"
Aribeth smiled weakly, "Donnia, you mustn't always address me as Lady. We're friends are we not? You can address me as such."
Donnia smiled softly in return. "Aribeth, is there anything at all that you would require of me? I did not mean to but I overheard your prayers standing in the hallway. I know that I do not understand your pain, but surely if you shared the load with someone it would not be so overpowering."
Aribeth lightly squeezed her eyes shut, freeing two tears to journey down her cheeks, following the river that had been forged by earlier tears all the way down to her chin before dripping off and falling onto her cloak.
She took a deep breath, tried to calm her shaking hands and voice. "I think if I had just lost Fenthick, I could deal with it. But these nightmares are going to be the end of me. It is as though reliving every moment back in Neverwinter during every waking moment of every day is not enough. I have to deal with my god reminding me of my failure, of him turning back on his decision to have me fight in his name. He told me himself that it was mistake coming to me.
"Fighting in Tyr's name is all I've known for so long. There is nothing else in my life. I was even set to marry a cl...a cleric of his service. It is in his name that I fought to defend Neverwinter. If he takes back his favor to me then everything I have done has been a mistake. Everything I've done, I've done through him. I don't want my life to be a mistake." A tear escaped her eye and forged a new path on her cheek.
Donnia took Aribeth's hand in hers, clasping it tightly. "They're just nightmares, Aribeth, just nightmares. What you have been forced to suffer alone would bring anyone to their knees. You've had to push all feelings of grief aside and fight for your city, for Lord Nasher. You doubt yourself because of what happened to Fenthick. I wish...I wish there was something I could do to ease your suffering. I wish that with every fiber of my being. Every time I return here to report on my progress I hope that I will see that spark in your eyes again. It's what kept me going back in Neverwinter. I never would have made it without you, without your support. It was together that we saved that city. Tyr choosing you was not a mistake just as your choosing me was not a mistake. Everything in your life has been right. It may have seemed wrong in the beginning but everyday we're one step closer to finding the real cause of the plague. Our being here is not a mistake. We will find those responsible and we will make them pay for all they have done. But I cannot do this without you. I too have wondered. I wonder every day if I'm doing the right thing. I left home. I left my father alone. He died alone. I should have been by his side. If I had stayed at home who knows what would have happened. I could have died along side him of the plague. Maybe no one else would have survived the attack on the Academy. Then where would we be? We were meant to fight this together. You must believe in that. If you lose faith in this it's all for nothing. I will always support you, believe in you. I will always fight by your side."
The candle's flame swayed in the slight breeze coming in from the window. Shadows danced across Aribeth's face. "Your support in me means everything, Donnia. I feel stronger when you're by my side. Just knowing that someone out there has faith in me makes it seem like I'm doing the right thing."
"You are doing the right thing. Never doubt yourself. I will never doubt you. If I lose faith in you I lose faith in myself."
Aribeth smiled again, this time warmly. "I will never doubt you. If I lose faith in myself I'll lose faith in you. I cannot allow them to win. I will make them pay for all of the innocent blood they have spilled. And Fenthick, my Fenthick," her voice began to crack softly, "may he forever rest in peace. I will find him again some day. We will be reunited and our love allowed to flourish as it once did."
Donnia lightly squeezed Aribeth's hand. "May you sleep peacefully tonight, Lady Aribeth." She placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, bidding her goodnight and left her to find her own rest.
In her searching, Donnia found that cult was based in Luskan, a city famous for its evil-side and law-breaking approaches to life. It was also known for its affiliation with the arcane. Powerful wizards once ruled the city and commanded fierce armies.
They decided to head their search from one of the inns inside the city that had not been overrun by the Helmites. They were just getting set up when Aarin came rushing to Donnia. "Have you seen Lady Aribeth?"
"Not since we arrived in the city, no. Where do you think she has gone?" Donnia prayed that her friend was okay. She was almost hoping that she had found the leader of these people and was seeking her personal revenge. Anything would have been better than the truth.
"I honestly don't know. Please find her. We will need her help if we are to defeat these cultists."
Donnia left the inn and headed for the most logical place to find the leader in this city, the Host Tower.
The Host Tower had been built as a school for training wizards and sorcerers. It was very tall, but most of the space could only be accessed by magical means.
Donnia led Tomi into the tower. Silence greeted them from all sides. Darkness reached out from all corners. Donnia prayed that Aribeth was not here. She knew that her friend would not be able to fight to defend herself against what Donnia feared hid in this tower.
She looked around the first floor of the tower, finding no one about and only finding a small stone. As she neared the center of the tower she saw a beam of light that reached from the floor all the way to the ceiling, at least 30 feet in the air.
In front of the beam of light there was a small cut-out in the floor that perfectly matched the stone. Donnia placed the stone in the hole and was immediately taken to another floor.
Tomi looked at her with surprise, "How'd you know to do that?"
Donnia was unsure of that herself. "It made sense, I suppose. Let's see if we can find another stone so we can search this building fully. I'm afraid, though, of what we will find."
Each floor they found a stone that seemed allow them passage further up in the tower. Donnia had yet to find another living being in the building. It was almost frightening in its emptiness. She did not know if it was good or bad that no one was trying to attack her.
At last, they were transported to a study that had no cut-out on the floor for another stone. Donnia looked to Tomi, "I guess this is the top. There doesn't seem to be a way to keep going, so let's look around here."
She searched the small desk in the study. It held a journal belonging to a Maugrim Korothir. Donnia quickly scanned some of the entries and learned much.
Maugrim had been responsible for releasing the plague on Neverwinter. He had been able to teach his cultists how to spread false blessings that would infect the people with the plague that he had received from an unknown source. He had guessed that when the first few people began to become ill, all of their friends would run to receive a blessing, further spreading the plague.
Donnia was unable to learn who had given Maugrim control over the plague, but she felt she had learned vital information even without that fact. She took the journal with her and left the study through the only door.
She came out on top of the tower on the opposite end of what seemed to be a large group of people. The nearer Donnia got to them she was able to identify Aribeth among them. At first, she was happy to have found Aribeth alive. She was waiting for what she assumed was an imminent attack on who she guessed was Maugrim, when everything Donnia had believed in collapsed around her.
Aribeth turned and saw Donnia staring at her. To Donnia, it was no longer Aribeth who was looking at her, but the shell of who she had once been. She turned to Maugrim and he cast a Time Stop. Donnia was frozen as Maugrim approached her.
"You think you have defeated me? You have no idea what you have stumbled upon. Her power will bring you to your knees if you persist in this little quest of yours. Aribeth and I are planning something quite spectacular for your little Neverwinter. Nothing you can do will be able to save it, adventurer. I do hope that we will meet again, for I shall enjoy killing you, little girl."
Just as his spell was fading, he and Aribeth escaped with their minions. Though no longer held by a spell, Donnia could not move. Her heart ached for Aribeth, the beautiful paladin who had betrayed everything she once loved. Donnia had seen Aribeth leaving with Maugrim, but she could not allow herself to believe it.
Donnia called out to Aribeth, though she knew it was too late, Taking Over Me – Evanescence "'I believe in you. I'll give up everything just to find you. I have to be with you to live, to breathe. You're taking over me. Have you forgotten all I know and all we had'? Why have you done this?! How can you turn your back on me, on everything we've fought for?!" Donnia fell to her knees. "'I believed in you'! How could you do this?!" Her sobs coursed through her body. Her despair was all consuming. "If you do this, if you go through with this, everything has been a mistake. I've been a mistake. FENTHICK WAS A MISTAKE!!"
Tomi stood back, not sure what he should do. When at last Donnia's crying quieted he softly spoke up, "We should...we should tell Aarin what happened."
Donnia's head hung down, her hair falling in front of her face, hiding her tears from him. It's all been a mistake. I was a mistake. She was a mistake. She sniffed once, blinked to clear her eyes and slowly rose to her feet. She said nothing to Tomi but went back into the room they had come from.
It's all been a mistake.