m: I'm back to Baldur's Gate fiction! (dances around) No, I do not care if I have two or three more fics to write. I've been planning this for months. Disclaimer: The only characters I claim ownership over are Saronax Gallisone and Zake.

Chapter One

A man sat at a table in the Copper Coronet. When standing, he stood at 6'6 inches tall, and his hair fell to his shoulders. His eyes were ice blue, and his face was framed by a jet black beard. His hand rested on the hilt of a two-handed sword, suggesting that he was a fighting man.

Saronax Gallisone pushed several bangs out of his eyes and surveyed the room. His party was scattered all over the bar. Aerie and Minsc were engaged in conversation. Jan Jansen was attempting to sell something to the bartender. Jaheira was talking to Yoshimo.

His gaze fell upon the last member of his party. Viconia Devir was ordering a drink at the countertop. Saronax's lips curled into a scowl. He had traveled with Viconia previously but didn't know her very well. What he did know however, was that she was incredibly ruthless and malicious. She was gorgeous as well; her exotic drow beauty could cast a spell of lust on almost any man she spoke to. Saronax however, was not spellbound. He did not trust people easily, and was twice as guarded when near her.

After receiving her drink (and getting it for free when promising the bartender a night of pleasures that he would never receive), Viconia sat down across from Saronax. He frowned as she approached him. "What do you want?" He asked gruffly.

"No need to be hostile, Saronax." Viconia assured him, casually inspecting her nails. "I just wished to speak with you."

"Make it quick." He growled.

Annoyance flashed across Viconia's features. "I wished to know what draws you to this part of Faerun.Amn? Athkatla? I seem to recall you mentioning something about a mission or some bother."

"I have a bone to pick with Irenicus. I don't kindly to being attacked and then captured for the purposes of torture." Saronax said bitterly. Particularily when the bastard takes away Imoen.

"How are you going to hunt down these culprits who ambushed you? Vermin rarely leave scent or footstep."

"I'll find him. And when I do, I'm going to rip his lungs out."

Viconia smirked. "Is that so?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"Should I?"

"I hope you don't."

"That remains to be seen."

"I'll prove you wrong then."

"I never said I doubted you."

He stood up. "Good." Saronax walked off before Viconia could reply.

---

The next day, Saronax and the others made their way towards the city gates. It should take several days to reach the Windspear hills. Saronax thought as he walked. Viconia materialized next to him. Saronax said nothing, waiting for her to speak first. "

It's a strange time along this Sword Coast.The brink of war was averted, but the countryside remains hazardous to the citizenry." she commented.

"War? What the Hell are you talking about, Viconia?"

Before Viconia could retort, a voice near Saronax's waist shouted. "SHINY!" They both looked at Saronax's waist.

Zake spoke again. "The war of the shinys! Beware my power, infidels!" he cried. Saronax's sword had once been a man named Zake. He had been transformed into a sword by a wizard many years ago. The spell left him quite insane and gave him an obsession with shiny objects. Saronax had stumbled across Zake when he first started adventuring. No one knew why the fighter had kept the blade. Most assumed that Zake had grown on Saronax.

"Shiny, shiny, shiny, shiny-" Zake began but was silenced by Saronax unsheathing him, whacking him on a stone pillar, and then saying, "Shut up."

"Oww. If I weren't a sword I would cry, you meanie!" Zake exclaimed.

Saronax ignored the blade and sheathed him.

"Everything's going purple! Avenge my death, shiny brethren!" Zake cried as the sheath engulfed him.

Saronax turned back to Viconia. "Why bring it up? I killed Sarevok.The bastard'splans for war died with him. I made sure of that."

"Perhaps 'his' war died.That does not mean other conflicts won't arise. Perhaps I ramble on; if you wish I'll stop bothering you."

Saronax shrugged. "It's a long way to the Windspear Hills, what have you been up to since all the trouble with Sarevok?"

"I have been a lost soul.When your race is used as a bogeyman it is an uphill battle to even find a bag of dirt on a stable floor for the night. Children throwing apples, merchants loosing the hounds, hunters with their arrows...and for what? Tales around a dinner table, a few guffaws at a watering hole? It has been trying past endurance, Saronax.(sigh)"

"Could have been worse. Someone you loved could have been taken away." Saronax pointed out, referring to Imoen and Gorion.

Something flashed through Viconia's grey eyes. She spoke again before Saronax could think about it, "I survived because I made the attempt to purchase land on the outskirts of Beregost.I dropped your good name whenever necessary to remain on steady footing locally. I remained hooded at all times, and it was only a matter of time and materials before I would own my own homestead , away from prying eyes. I was not looking to be a farmer, of course.I just...wanted a place of my own.Where I could find peace. My neighbor was Roran Midfallow, a stout, sunburned farmer.We spoke often, and I allowed the male to bring me supplies that I needed but could not acquire."

Saronax looked at her. Viconia took this as an opportunity to continue. "Over time, we formed an awkward friendship.He did not ask why I wore my hood, and I slowly began to trust him. He wondered, though...that was obvious. The time to reveal myself as Drow came one late afternoon. A warm day; the sun was dappling along the south quarter of his farmland, and I pulled down my hood. Then he smiled a warm inviting smile. He mentioned that his oldest son, Jiscanan, was busy making a feast to burst the first button, and that I was invited. We walked to his farmhouse, where his other son, a surly oaf named Funnard, was sickling quackgrass in the front yard."

Viconia's lips curled into a sneer, and Saronax assumed that the storydid not have a pleasant ending."When I reached his farmhouse, I learned his true intentions. Somebody hit me in the back of my skull, and the ground rushed up to meet me. I had grown weak in my trust. They chortled as I lost consciousness, saying how easy it had been and congratulating each other on a fine...a fine catch."

Saronax's mouth formed a sneer. "The bastards who captured me did the same."

"I woke up to searing pain.While unconscious, they had abused and tortured me... then tried to bury their sins. I could see nothing except for the lid of a coffin. They had buried me alive... a mistake not to kill me outright. The fools knew the name 'Drow', but were ignorant of my true spirit. Pain is the handmaiden of my people; their tortures were amateurish in comparison. I split the coffin lid and let the earth in.I clawed to the surface, and pain did not slow me... I would not let weakness deter me from vengeance."

"What happened next?"

"I took my revenge, Saronax. I watched their house, listening to them celebrate their victory in the midst of drunkenness. I watched and I waited. Jiscanan, the younger son, left to use the outhouse. I jammed a stake in the door, trapping him inside.Then I set the building aflame. Roran came running, yelling to Funnard. As he stood helpless before the flames I wrapped a garrote around his neck... I whispered to him of his mistake, and mine; he had underestimated a Drow, and I had trusted foolishly. I tightened the wire until he breathed no more. By this time the elder son, Funnard, returned with a bucket from the well to find his father's corpse and his brother a smoldering ember. He dropped to his knees in shock, which afforded me a height advantage as I caved his head with a miner's mallet."

Saronax grinned. "Revenge is the sweetest cure for foolishness."

"I am drow. And I let myself be lulled, foolishly. The vengeance was bitter, Saronax, because my own stupidity had made it necessary."

----

A few hours later, the group made camp on the outskirts of the D'Arnise keep. Saronax was taking first watch. Viconia, Jan, and Zake were there as well.

"I like shinys, yes I do. I like shinys, how about you?" Zake sang.

Viconia narrowed her eyes. "I'd much ratherenjoy throwing you off a cliff."

"Wow, you're pissy! Has she always been like this, Jan?" Zake asked.

"I think it's because she's drow. You're a drow, right?"

"Speak not to your betters, surface slave." Viconia said coldly.

"My brother, Elgar Buttercup, had skin the shade of charcoal, too. Well, technically it WAS charcoal. He died in a nasty fire, you see."

"You do love the sound of your own voice, don't you gnome?"

"My own voice? Heartless wench! Do you not know? I am deaf! I have never heard the sound of my own voice. I read lips ... (sob) ... only lips."

"Deaf? Truly? In the Underdark the deaf are killed or used in pain threshold experiments."

"I heard that! In fact, it reminds me of the time I was eaten by an avatar of Lolth. I was stuck inside her stomach with a miserable drow called Biffle Chump for days. Of course, I was forced to eat him. A matter of survival, you understand. Nothing personal. He tasted a bit like chicken."

"Saronax, how is it that you travel with such a wee buffoon?"

Before Saronax could reply, Zake spoke up. "It all goes back to the time that Jan's cousin, Plooty paladin-piper, got caught in a nasty flesh golem eating contest ...and he used shiny forks!"

"Aye, Plooty had a way of attracting golems. Brilliant, really. You start with a saucer of milk - golems are suckers for milk ..."

"I refuse to listen to this." Viconia and Saronax said in unison.

"Fine, I'll leave." Jan said indignantly and stood up.

When she was certain Jan had left, Viconia turned towards Saronax. "I wish to...apologize...for attempting to unburden myself upon you before.I was foolish to be so weak in Beregost, and worse yet to speak to you about it."

"Yes, you were rather foolish.You should be more careful.I've had to rescue you on more than one occasion."

"Well, do tell me when it becomes a bother, Saronax, and I shall be sure to let your human kin tear me to pieces at their first opportunity." Viconia snapped sarcastically.

"I'll do that. In fact, I'm wondering why I've tolerated you for so long." He snarled.

"Speak to me in such a tone again and you will not live to regret it, jaluk."

"Try anything and I'll murder you before you can even start plotting my death."

"You insolent male! Were we in the Underdark I would kill you for such an insult!"

"Well, we're not in the Underdark, are we? You're on the surface now. Men can speak their minds. I'm not a slave to anyone. Get used to it." Saronax spat. He strode off to awaken Minsc for his watch shift.