The Tale of Negrath Chapter XXXVI.

Climbing to his feet, Negrath pondered his weird surroundings…

Black, rocky walls, solid stone posing as ground, and a never-ending cacophony of moans and tortured cries, just faint enough to make ignoring it impossible… Arrayed around him were his friends, laying as they had fallen on that wooden stump were their final battle had played itself out. Moaning and coughing, they slowly came to, evidently having some difficulty trying to believe that they still had a semblance of life left… As they all rose to stand beside him, they looked around in puzzlement…

"Where is this?" Viconia queried, looking as though she found something familiar in their windless, yet chill surroundings...and wished she hadn't…

"Well, it's not heaven, that's for sure…" grunted Keldorn.

Looking at him askance, the Drow sneered;

"It would be for a survivor of the Spider Queen's wrath."

"…I reckon it would." The knight mumbled.

Minsc had turned to study the gigantic doors, decorated with a number of enormous, unblinking eyes, which unwavering, collective gaze seemed to see far more than the unfortunate adventurers ever would allow to be seen;

"Boo says he is in there."

"Who?" the others wondered, before coming to the same conclusion;

"Irenicus." The Ranger replied simply.

"OK, and how do we get in there?" Aerie queried; "Something about those eyes makes me nervous."

"I think the point is that he is to come out." Suggested Jaheira morosely, annoyed at the need for slaying the "matekiller" a second time.

Nodding, the fighters turned to what seemed to be a selection of stairs leading further down into the realm in which they found themselves. Sighing, Negrath made a query of how many agreed with him that the key to opening the door "safely" would have to be somewhere at the bottom of the stairs.

"Perhaps it is many keys? Or maybe one key spread through all the places the stairs leads to?" Imoen queried, wandering along the edge of the plain as though attempting to find the staircase that felt the least dangerous…

As she gave up, Negrath led them to the one at his far left, stopping momentarily to see if any of the others had objections… They all looked at him as though curious as to why they were still there, Jaheira impatiently pushing past him and disappearing down into the darkness below. Minsc rushing to follow her, Negrath decided to take back the lead, and hurried after them.

At the bottom, they were all greeted by a large beast of a demon, red, leathery wings adding to its already imposing height. Grinning widely, it saluted the Bhaalspawn as a long-awaited King of the land;

"Greetings, Master. I am here to tell You of the fearsome beast that holds what you Seek..."

"And what do I seek?" Negrath shot in.

"The Tear that will help you open the Door to your Destiny, of course…the creature that holds the Tear you find in the other room is bent on using it for it's own selfish goals, and do its Worst to keep it out of your hands! It is doubtful if it will even allow you to speak before it charges. The Wise thing to do would be to Attack First!"

"What makes you think I will trust a single word you speak, demonkin?"

"Because I am a loyal servant to the Ruler of this place…which You may yet prove to Be!"

"And if I were to go in there, unarmed, the creature will kill me?"

"Without question! Why would you make its Victory that easy?"

"What about invisibility?"

"Useless! The Creature Sees All and Knows All!"

"Then it knows my intent with the Tear, and will surrender it."

"…You will be a most successful Ruler of this Realm, Master." The monster rumbled, an almost subdued tone to its voice…and were gone.

Wandering into the next room, they were faced with a Dragon easily twice the size of the one they had fought near Suldanesselar, wings extended, ready to blow them right back up the stairs if so proved necessary. Its black scales glistening in the faded, omnipresent light, the impressive creature gazed maliciously at them with its burning, black orbs, before settling down, for all they could tell, to sleep;

"You are in Command of Yourself, and have Earned Your Tear."

Plucking it from a nearby cluster of glowing crystals, Imoen shivered, hurriedly handing it to Viconia. Studying it, the Drow casually tossed it in her pack, before turning back the way they had come;

"I believe there still are others to collect?"

Nodding their agreement, the others followed her back up the stairs, and almost immediately headed down the next.

In the room below, they were faced with what appeared to be the twin of the previous demon. Before it could speak, Negrath queried what problems would be connected to gaining the next Tear. The demon smiled as such were wont to do, and replied;

"Your travels up to this point no doubt have led to You feeling Fear you never before thought possible…to get at your Tear, You must pass through one of two halls; One challenging your courage in an impossible battle, the other making your worst Fear a joy in comparison…would You wish for me to Aid You in resisting either?"

"And how would you know to help me withstand fear, you who seem to have been made with the creation of Fear in mind?" Negrath wanted to know.

"Ah, but who would know it better?" the creature roared triumphantly.

"…"

Turning to look at his companions, Negrath shrugged;

"He got a point…"

"We don't know what form his help will take yet." Jaheira warned, just as Viconia were about to do the same.

Looking at the druid, the Drow chuckled derisively;

"Finally we agree on something."

Giving an ironic smile at the cleric, Jaheira turned back to Negrath;

"Make him show us his form of help. We do not accept gifts from permanent inhabitants of this place."

"Yes, show us your help," the Kensai nodded; "With what do you intend to help us?"

"This lovely Nymphs cloak, woven from the skin off of still-living Nymphs. Such Magic is sure to Aid your courage wherever You may go…"

Reeling back in unanimous contempt, the group roared forward to attack…but the creature was no longer there…

Peeking through one of the cave openings before them, Imoen reported to see naught but a closed chest on a stone brick, in a room of leering teeth. Deciding against the "Impossible battle", the spellcasters joined forces to bolster Minsc's already impressive courage, and the Ranger, voluntarily leaving Boo with Aerie, stepped into the supposedly Terror-inducing room. Presumably on advice from Boo, he held his head high, eyes locked on the other end of the split hall.

Momentarily ducking out of view behind the "doorframe" at the other end, the berserker soon waltzed back into the suddenly much cleaner atmosphere of the bizarrely "decorated" room. Noticing that, despite the dissipation of the spells cast on him, the room had no effect whatsoever, he stopped to crack open the chest, plucking with him its contents, before walking merrily along, almost cheerfully tossing the Tear at the Drow.

Giving a crooked smile, she ironically pondered;

"Why am I suddenly the group packbeast?"

Beside her in an instant, Negrath smiled;

"I'm probably the one best fit to use them, anyway. May I?"

"By all means." She chuckled, instructing Imoen to dig the other Tear from her pack, as she handed him the one she already held.

That taken care of, they returned to the great hall they first had awoken in. Pausing a bit to make sure no minor problems were being ignored, they settled down to rearrange their packs, studying what magical items they had that still held together, and generally making sure they met the near future as prepared as could be.

Gathering at the bottom of the staircase in the middle of the immense room, Aerie was spirited away as the rooms Keeper appeared, voice reverberating through the cave;

"CHOOSE! One way is Death of Friend. Another is Aid of Realm. CHOOSE!"

"Aerie will be returned. Whether by you or by us going through you is irrelevant…as is what aid this place may have to offer."

"A Cost there must Be! Sacrifice must be Paid!"

"Will this endanger my group?"

"Only You are to Pay the Price. Being what You are, your Death I can not cause. Do You Pay?"

"Do what you must, but replace my companion!"

"As You wish."

Reaching out, the great, red-winged monstrosity put a heavy, clawed hand on the Bhaalspawn's head, extending his other lethal appendage to point at the spot from where Aerie had disappeared moments before. Excruciating pain as an unknown measure of knowledge and skill were drained from his mind, Negrath were on his knees by the time he realized the demon were no longer there. Turning dazed eyes at his friends, he was glad to see his avariel mage returned, seemingly no worse for wear.

Almost rushing up the stairs, he found himself waiting for the others, spending the brief time alone doing a mental inventory check. A few areas were a little foggy, as though there should have been more there, and he found that he could remember moving a bit faster than he instinctively knew he now was able to.

Hoping that little difference wouldn't prove disastrous, he waved the others from the head of the middle staircase to the untried one beside it. Down there, they were faced with an ocean of lava, and yet another red beast, wings flapping excitedly;

"Finally You are Here! The fool holding the Tear You are after has Challenged You to Mortal Combat! You must Face him to get your Tear!"

"And I suppose you have help?"

By way of response, the Keeper brandished a black, slightly curved longblade, shimmering with a silver sheen of another world.

"This blade is the Only weapon able to Hurt your opponent. Use it, and Gain from his Loss!"

"May I turn it down?"

"You think, but Here that won't help! You need this blade to Get the Tear. There is No Other Way!"

With that, he showed the weapon into the Bhaalspawn's hands, and disappeared.

Dancing across the wading stones crossing the boiling ocean, The Kensai came upon a Djinn that showed eternal relief at his appearance;

"At last I may be freed from this tedious Plane. You have the Sword?"

"I have it. Now I'm wondering whether I can simply exchange it for the Tear you're guarding…?"

"I cannot tell."

"The blade will enable you to leave if it is used to kill you?"

"Yes."

"Are there another way?"

"I cannot tell."

"That means there is, doesn't it?"

"…"

Handing the creature the blade, Negrath extended his other hand;

"Here, then. My Tear?"

Smiling gratefully, the Djinn handed him his reward, before grasping the blade and fading from the Realm…

Hurrying back, across an ocean that somehow seemed to cool off and dissipate, now that it no longer served a purpose, he herded his friends back up the stairs with nary a word…now only one were left.

Stepping down the final staircase, they found themselves alone at the bottom. Assuming that no Keeper was needed, they wandered through the opening in front of them…

"There You are!" a voice suddenly roared in the silence.

Out of the shadows in the back of the room, a well-known, metal-clad form approached, glowing eyes fixed on Negrath;

"You are Here, and Here You will Die. Do You Deny this?"

"Of course...Sarevok," The Kensai replied, in a flash remembering all the things he had only had a vague recollection of up to that point, of the events leading to his half-brother's demise…supposed demise, judging by what now stood before him.

Aerie shying away from the imposing figure, which all to clearly showed to whom he owed his apparent power, Viconia stepped forward, slamming a hammer into the ground between the opposing Bhaalspawn's feet;

"As do I! Want me to test the strength of that armor of yours!"

For a moment, the armored man almost seemed confused, faced with such blatant opposition from a, to him, irrelevant source. Then he moved with an agility that told them of how little the armor truly hindered him, gripping the hammer by the head, positively tearing it from the Drow's hand, and tossing it over his shoulder;

"My struggle has nothing to do with you, Dark One. Leave us."

"Make me."

"As you wish," Sarevok began, his hands moving to form the gestures of a spell they all had learned to recognize…and fear; the all-powerful force of Disintegration.

"Minsc, Jaheira, Imoen; Get him!" Negrath yelled, only afterwards realizing how unnecessary it was;

By the time he finished, the eyes peering out from the frightening helmet had each been impaled on an arrow, courtesy of Imoen, one of his gesturing hands cut of at the wrist by Minsc's most recent, massive blade, and the other flung so far back by Jaheira's staff it went limp at the warmonger's side.

Negrath placed his katanas at the man's throat as Viconia, having retrieved her hammer, removed his helmet. Tiredly informing his sibling;

"You chose this path, not I."…he chopped.

Imoen, quickly locating the familiar cluster of crystals, plucked the Tear from them, and hurried first of all back up the stairs.

As they all gathered in front of the door, it was soundlessly agreed that it would be best to have a good rest before opening the immense barrier. In doing so, they would be giving their spellcasters a chance to memorize the spells most suited for a second battle with the Exile in this place, considering that the emotionless creep no doubt would have more help from their surroundings than they…

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Last modified on September 2, 2001
Copyright © 2001-2003 by Hans-Olav Bråtun. All rights reserved.