Light Wrapped in Darkness 2
Magicman: Thanks so much for the kind words! As per your requests, I am going to continue this fic. Now a couple of things before I forget. First of all...
Disclaimer: I don't own Baldurs Gate, its characters, it concepts, or its lines that I use. But Taurus is MINE!
Magicman: Second of all, about the comment about Aerie vs. Viconia, lets just say that you won't expect what's coming. (Chuckles evilly.) Now shall I continue? I shall.
Taurus stumbled downstairs sleepily, barely seeing where he was going. Blinking a few times at nothing in particular, he let out a wide yawn and stretched the kinks out of his back. Looking about, he saw the others at a table by the bar and made his barely conscious way over to them. Once there he sat down and stared at the table, trance-like until Yoshimo said something.
"Good morning!"
Taurus mumbled something unintelligible and reached for the pot of tea.
"Not a morning person, huh?"
Taurus somehow managed to pour himself a glass without spilling any and reached for the sugar.
"Neither is Jaheira apparently." The thief sent a sidelong glance towards Jaheira's bedraggled looking form. "But I suppose that being up all night arguing with Miss Patricia will do that to you. Me, I'm always up at dawn. There's always a big day ahead of us and I like to have a leg up on things."
The thief prattled on while Taurus tried to collect himself. He sipped at his tea and tried to think of something to wake himself up. Jaheira lecturing him about balance. No, that wasn't working. Jaheira in a thong. Better. Jaheira in a thong winking seductively as she started to undress. Almost there. Sarevok in a thong winking seductively as he started to undress...
Taurus jumped out of his seat, spilling his tea over the table, and started breathing hard, trying to banish the picture from his mind. 'Note to self' he thought ruefully, 'Sarevok is your brother.'
Yoshimo seemed amused at the Crintri's sudden action. "Did the mind find the body?"
Taurus shrugged. "If that's what you want to call it."
Yoshimo nodded sympathetically. "You know what I do when I'm sleepy? I think of something that would shock me awake."
***
When everybody was awake, the whole group paid Miss Patricia and left (after apologising once again for the incident the night before).
It was a silent party that travelled through the Promenade. Jaheira was still grumbling at missing most of her sleeping time and Taurus was starting to feel guilty at dropping it all on her. Yoshimo was quietly discussing with Minsc about this and that while the ranger looked in awe at all the sights to see. They were all so wrapped up in their thoughts that they nearly walked into the side of a circus tent. Steering the group around it, Taurus nearly ran into to guard.
"Hold!" said the guard, "You can't come into this circus tent. Something terrible has transpired within.
Taurus raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Did the clowns finally get sick of being laughed at and kill a bunch of people?"
The guard frowned in disapproval. Jaheira promptly stepped on Taurus' foot and continued talking for him while he was trying to smother curses. "What exactly has happened here?"
The guard shrugged helplessly. "We don't know. Apparently no one who has come in has come out again. There've been rumours that some sort of powerful magic has occurred. I've been ordered to keep all visitors out to be on the safe side.
Taurus had recovered and was considering. "Hmm. We can handle ourselves pretty well. Maybe we could solve this problem for you."
"Well you may as well try. I won't stop you. Goodbye". The last was said with finality and the guard stepped aside.
Taurus was about to enter when Minsc called his attention to something. That something was a small boy, crying at the front of the tent. Touched, the half-drow crouched down before the child. "What's wrong child?" he asked softly.
The boy was beside himself. "My mama is in that tent! And she can't come out again!" That was all he got before he burst into tears.
Taurus smiled a rare smile. It showed his gentle side that rarely found expression in his wandering lifestyle. "Don't worry little friend" he soothed. "We'll find your mother. Just be brave for a while longer, okay?"
The boy sniffled a little then looked up at Taurus with complete and total trust in his eyes. "Alright sir. T-thank you."
Ignoring Minsc's promises to find his mother, Taurus stood and strode purposefully and without a pause into the tent. The others were quick to follow him. Jaheira shook her head ruefully. Just last night he had ducked getting yelled at and let her take the full force of Miss Patricia's wrath and now he was helping a child reunite with his mother.
'That man never ceases to amaze me'.
That was her thought before she ran into Taurus from behind. The two went down in a heap and were nearly stepped on by Minsc. Yoshimo promptly ran into Minsc from behind and fell backwards to the floor. It was very confusing for a second. Eventually Jaheira gained her feet and glared at her stumbling leader. "Why did you stop?!"
The druid followed the Crintri's pointing finger and stared at what she saw.
They had all stepped into another world. They stood on a long stone walkway leading towards a great dome. The edges of the walkway dropped off into an abyss of darkness that not even Jaheira and Taurus' keen eyes could pierce.
Taurus turned back to his party. "Correct me if I'm wrong" he began slowly, "But this isn't the circus, is it?"
Yoshimo whistled. "I don't think so Taurus. This would barely fit in the entire Promenade, let alone that tent. That guard was right; magic had been at work here."
"Perceptive, mortal".
As one, the gang spun to the sound of the voice. A great Genie hovered in the air, his eyes watching the little group keenly. He spoke in a deep bass voice. "You have entered the realm of Kalah. To continue you must cross this great walkway and to do that you must answer a riddle."
Taurus looked at the others in bafflement. "Who's Kalah?"
The genie laughed a great belly laugh. "You will find out eventually mortal. Now, will you try to advance or will you give up now?"
Taurus bristled. "I do not give up genie! Give me your riddle now so I can solve it and send you back to your lamp!"
Jaheira sighed in exasperation and raised her staff. Taurus' temper would get the whole lot of them killed one of these days.
Apparently it wasn't this day itself however. The genie merely recited the old 'Prince and Princess' riddle that had been going around for the past few centuries. Taurus got it in seconds and the genie smiled.
"Ah, good mortal! Lord Kalah respects those with a most agile mind! You may continue." And with that, the genie disappeared into thin air, leaving the travellers to wonder at the oddity of it all.
Taurus shrugged. "Well that wasn't so bad."
Yoshimo looked doubtful. "I don't know. I wouldn't take this Kalah guy for granted. He may be tougher than he seems. 'Always be prepared' is my motto."
Taurus nodded in acknowledgement before continuing along the path. "That's quite true Yoshimo, but there's no point in stressing over it, is there?"
The thief shook his head in bewilderment. Jaheira patted him on the shoulder in sympathy. "Don't worry about it" she soothed. "He knows what he's doing."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm never 100% sure about him, but yes I think he does."
"Huh".
Meanwhile Minsc was sniffing the air the way rangers will do. He wrinkled his nose. "Boo think that the air stinks of evil!"
Jaheira nodded, having learned the wisdom of Boo's advice. "Tell him that I'll be careful Minsc."
***
"Please, you must flee this place! He's killed everyone else who's come into this place...almost. Oh please run!"
This high-voiced warning from nowhere caused another slight pile up. Taurus managed to avoid it and stared incredulously at the large ogre who appeared to be ringing its hands in sorrow. He looked about suspiciously but saw no other that could have gave the warning. "...What's going on?" he said slowly, addressing the ogre. "How is it that an ogre has so sweet a voice?"
The ogre looked indignant. "I'm no ogre! I'm an elf! A winged elf!" The ogre then looked sad. "Or at least I was...But that's not important! You've got to get out of here before-"
"-Before Kalah comes and kills us all in some horrible fashion or another." Taurus waved his hand dismissively. Yoshimo gave Jaheira a look that said 'Are you SURE he knows what he's doing?' "Well if you're not an ogre then what the heck is going on here?!"
The ogre sighed. "Oh I hope you don't end up like the others. But alright." He/she sat down on the edge of a fountain and told its tale."
"My name is Aerie for starters" she (apparently) began, "And I live in the circus with my Uncle Quayle. He found me and took care of me. He's very dear to me. But one day the circus was performing, as it should when one of the acts came on. He...he..." Aerie shuddered. "It was Kalah. He used some magic I've never seen before and turned the circus into this monstrosity! I was knocked out and when I woke up I looked like this!"
Taurus frowned. "This is all an illusion?" He suddenly balled his fist and slammed it into the railing he was leaning on. "OW! Shit, that didn't feel like an illusion to me!"
Aerie smiled slightly before residing into gloom again. "It's a special kind of illusion. You have to believe in it for it to exist."
"Really? Than I refuse to believe that this exists!" He slammed his fist into the railing again. "OW! Mystra damn it to Hell!"
Aerie giggled a bit. "Well by hitting it you acknowledged that it exists. Therefore it becomes real."
"You speak as if you know something about magic, child. " Jaheira spoke up for the first time. Aerie straightened with pride.
"I'm a cleric/mage." She said proudly. "I know lots about magic."
"Except that you don't know how to dispel these illusions."
"Like I said, I've never seen this kind of magic before. But you could help me!"
Minsc pushed forward eagerly. "Help? We heroes of goodness will always help those who need it!"
"Y-you will? Oh thank you!" Aerie clapped her hands together in joy.
Taurus nodded, still nursing his hand. "Sure. You need it and we're the only ones to give it. How can we help you?"
"Well I'm locked up with these chains."
"Chains? I don't see any chains."
"They're part of the illusion. If you could get me the key I could dispel this illusion and unlock the chains at the same time."
Taurus nodded. "Fair enough. Where's this key?"
Aerie shook her head. "Oh it's not a key. It has an illusion on it too. It looks like a sword and some monsters at the end of this room have it. But they're not monsters. They look like peasants. They have illusions too."
Taurus stared, trying to keep up. "So we've got to acquire a sword...from dangerous illusionary peasants...to free a winged elf girl from the illusion that holds her captive?"
"Exactly".
"That makes perfect sense." He turned to his fellows. "Let's be off, shall we?"
"Good luck!" called Aerie as they left.
Whistling pleasantly, Taurus led the way to the end of the room, the others following.
Suddenly the half-drow stopped abruptly again, causing s third pile up. Swearing vehemently, he looked down at the cowering spider that stood in his way.
"P-please don't hurt me!" it squeaked, curling its legs up in terror.
Jaheira stared in shock. Never in all her years as a druid had she seen an animal that could speak to people and be understood. "You...don't seem like any creature I've ever seen before."
The spider stiffened. "I am NOT a creature! I'm just an ordinary peasant woman!"
Taurus by this time had spied the two peasants wandering aimlessly. He pointed them out to Minsc who screamed a battle cry and barrelled toward the two, followed by Taurus and Yoshimo, leaving Jaheira to talk to the spider.
"What is going on here?" she asked in frustration.
"Oh I don't know!" the spider answered, equally frustrated. "One minute I'm watching the show and the next I'm a spider! Is this Hell?"
"Do you remember much about this show?" The spider thought for a minute.
"Well" she said, "There was this gnome who was performing. It was obvious that whatever he was trying to do wasn't working. His magic fizzled all over. I thought it was part of the act so I laughed with everyone else. Then people started melting; becoming hideous monsters and I blacked out. When I woke up I was like this. I don't even know if my son got out in time!"
Jaheira smiled slightly, remembering the young boy. "Your son did manage to get outside. We met him on the way in. We'll try to get word to him that you're okay, alright?"
"He's okay? Of course! Thank you milady, thank you!"
Seeing that her companions had dispatched the peasants in fairly short order and were returning the sword to the elf girl, Jaheira excused herself and rejoined them as Aerie chanted a short magical spell.
The ogre was swirled in light for a second. When the light cleared the ogre had disappeared. A young elf girl stood in its place.
Long blonde hair flowed down her back and liquid blue eyes gazed at herself in astonishment. She was clad in a set of mage robes and her thin form seemed fragile and delicate. She exuded a sense of tender innocence and frailty and seemed likely to break at the slightest gust. But the light in her eyes bespoke a fierce determination to do what was right.
Aerie looked down at herself and gasped in wonder. "My hands!" she said, awe in her voice. "My skin, it's real again! Oh thank Baervan! We must find Quayle and stop Kalah before he does anymore harm!"
Taurus smiled. "Then I guess a welcome to the party is in order. The lady is Jaheira, our large friend is Minsc, and the bald one is Yoshimo."
The thief was indignant. "Hey! I'm not THAT bald, am I?"
Taurus bowed with a flourish, placing a kiss on Aerie's hand. "And I'm Taurus Half-breed. Pleased to make your acquaintance".
Aerie giggled then studied his face for a moment. "Forgive me for asking, but are you a drow?"
Taurus smirked while the rest of the group rolled their eyes and moved on down the hall. "Almost, but not quite. My grandmother was a drow warrior. On a raid of the surface a gang of human hunters captured her. They kept her prisoner for about a month, raping her as they pleased, before releasing her. As I gather, she was too ashamed at the whole incident to return to the Underdark and went into voluntary exile. It didn't work out very well though. She had become pregnant and gave birth to my mother, who was half a drow."
Aerie hesitated. "Then your father was half-drow too?"
Taurus burst into wild laughter. He laughed until tears came to his eyes while Aerie just stood there, trying to understand what was so funny.
Finally he subsided into a grin. "You wouldn't believe it even if I told you."
"Try me."
"Alright. My father was Bhaal, the ex-lord of murder."
Aerie just kind of stared at Taurus, her mouth slightly agape. Finally she managed to say something. "But you're so normal."
Taurus shrugged breezily and grinned. "Well I wouldn't say normal myself, but I see what you're getting at. You're basically asking why I don't kill and murder my way through life like my father, am I right?" Aerie nodded dumbly. "Well it's not like I couldn't you know. I am fully capable of picking you up with one hand and snapping your pretty little neck like a dry branch."
Taurus stretched his arms over his head and eyed Aerie shrewdly. To her credit she didn't back away, though she did start trembling. He nodded. "There a few reasons why I don't do that. First is common sense. If I did then everyone on Faerun would be out for my head and I get enough bounty hunters as it is." He snorted at that. "Second of all, what would be the point? After all of that mindless death and destruction would there be anything left? Any reason to go on? And finally" he sighed, "I hate killing. I've been around for a while and I've had to do my share of killing. Let me tell you that it's not fun, ending a life, but sometimes you have no choice. You just have to keep going."
For a moment Taurus wore a troubled look on his face, a look that said more than everything he'd said so far. Then it was gone and he was regarding Aerie with a slight smile. "So there you have it. Not only am I part drow, I'm a Bhaalspawn, one of the most despised and feared people on the planet. If you want to reconsider joining our little group I'd understand. It would be safer for you to wait here for us to take out Kalah anyway."
Aerie stood perfectly still for just a moment. Then she smiled tentatively. "You wouldn't mind if I came along, would you?"
Taurus laughed and slung a companionable arm around Aerie's shoulders. "I'd be delighted Aerie! Maybe later we can compare spell books, eh?"
Aerie blushed. "S-sure".
The two walked companionably after the others.
The mages found the rest of the party at the far end of the long chamber, face to face and talking to some naked woman. Taurus immediately started blushing and shut his eyes. Aerie smiled and took him by his arm to lead him past the naked woman.
They walked through a door into a long dark hall. After Taurus opened his eyes again the darkness was no trouble for the elves and they made their way on to the end of the hall. Peering inside they discovered that it opened up into a big room.
That was as far as they got. A trio of snarling monsters whirled and attacked immediately.
Taurus drew his swords and instinctively threw himself in front of Aerie. Once protecting the weaker elf, he faced his opponents and sized them up. Two were large and bulky, covered with matted fur and sporting wickedly hooked claws. The third was a shadow with burning red eyes. All of them snarled cruelly and attacked at once.
Taurus ducked the flailing claws of a furred beast and thrust, smiling as he felt his longsword strike home. He twisted away from the shadow's tendril like hands and slashed with his katana, pulling back his sword to block another attack. He heard a scream from Aerie and looked to see the second wolf beast advancing on her, teeth slavering. Without thinking, Taurus dropped his weapons tackled the beast from behind and rolled across the floor, striving to choke the life from that hideous form.
He heard the slithery snarl of the shadow and the roar of the beast behind him and he worried frantically for Aerie. That distraction cost him as the monster he fought suddenly twisted and buried its teeth into his arm. As pain split his world, Taurus heard the chanting of familiar arcane words in a female voice and felt the familiar rush of power as a spell was completed. The flash of light coincided with Taurus finally getting both hands on the beast's throat. As it clawed frantically at his arms, opening up long gashes, he dug in with his powerful fingers and heaved.
Taurus hadn't been exaggerating his strength to Aerie. The beast had a tougher skin and bones that the elf but the effect was similar to what he had described. It may have taken both hands and all of his strength but there was still the sickening crunch of the beasts bones being crushed in quick succession as Taurus wrung its neck. Its death throes threw the Crintri off of his victim and to the side. He watched as the beast thrashed about in agony before disappearing in a puff of mist. He was startled before realising that it was an illusion. Then the pain of his arm kicked in.
Gentle hands touched him as they helped him sit up. "Calm down and don't move" Aerie ordered. Taurus obeyed, not wanting to feel too much more pain.
Aerie leaned him up against the wall and began a chant. Her hands glowed with a soft light. She touched Taurus on his wounded arm and he flinched as the pain flared up again. Then to his surprise the pain faded away and he was left with a warm glow. He looked down at his arm, expecting to see the wound ripped clear through his arm. Instead his skin was whole and unscarred.
Taurus looked over at Aerie, this time with respect as well as companionship in his eyes. "Thank you. I really don't like pain." The elf girl just smiled, pleased to have helped.
They looked over at the other two monsters, still trapped within Aerie's Hold spell. Shall we deal with our charming friends?"
The question was answered quickly when Minsc barrelled into the room wielding the Sword of Chaos, quickly followed by Jaheira and Yoshimo. The ranger took one look at the scene and proceeded to smash apart the two frozen monsters.
Jaheira glared at them. "What did you two think you were doing, wandering off like that?! You have no idea what kind of dangers this place could hold!"
"We do now" pointed out Aerie, earning a glare from Jaheira.
"That's beside the point! You two could have been killed!"
Taurus shrugged. "It happens. Oh calm down Jaheira" he added, seeing her incredibly pissed off face. "It's not like we're totally defenceless. Aerie paralysed those monsters easily enough and I took out the third one. See us still standing?"
Jaheira's eye was twitching something fierce when she sighed gustily. "I do my best to keep you out of trouble and all you do is give me grey hairs."
Taurus smiled. "Gorion always said that grey hairs make people look more distinguished. Just try not to worry about it so much and you'll fend them off for a good while to come." He patted his old friend's shoulder sympathetically before going off.
Aerie walked up to Jaheira after Taurus had left. "He's very...different isn't he?"
Jaheira looked at the young elf with a look of kinship. "I know exactly what you're talking about girl. Trust me."
***
After disposing with a few more annoying monsters and resting for a bit, the group was ready to move when the genie appeared again, looking smug. "Ah, you have done well!" it said. "Master Kalah is most pleased and is willing to allow you to proceed to the next stage. Are you ready?"
Taurus looked at his companions, of which Aerie was now a part. There was a general shrug and he turned back to the genie. "Sure".
"Excellent. You do some courage. Then you may proceed." The genie disappeared into the air, leaving the party standing blinking.
"Well" said Aerie after a moment, "I guess we should keep moving, shouldn't we?"
That needing no answer, they all walked through the door the genie had been standing in front of.
***
The party found themselves in a round room with no exit. Two shadows and another beast monster slavered at their entry and a big human stood at the back wielding a flail. He stood next a quivering blob of jelly.
The tall heavyset man laughed cruelly at the sight of the companions and at Aerie in particular.
"Ah my beast!" he cackled. "You have led them here nicely!"
The elf was shaken. "W-what? I'm not-"
The man (presumably Kalah) cackled again. "You're not what? You're not my beast? Oh but you are! All of you are, don't you see?"
Aerie's eyes hardened. "What have you done with my Uncle Quayle?"
The blob of jelly quivered even more. "Aerie? Is that you? I have no eyes!"
Aerie's own eyes widened in shock. "Be careful Taurus! Some of these beasts are illusions and some are real. There's no way to tell the difference until they hit you."
Kalah cackled even more. "Yes, it's a regular three-ringed circus, isn't it my beasts? Now go ahead and tear each other apart!"
At his command the three monsters rushed at the companions. Kalah whirled and fired a series of magical missiles at the jellified Quayle. Quayle yelled in pain.
"Uncle Quayle!" Aerie cried out. She quickly chanted a spell and a Melf's Acid Arrow materialised and fired through the air, embedding itself into Kalah's shoulder. He winced in pain and glared furiously at the elf. "You can not hope to defeat me! Why even try?!" he yelled. He started chanting a spell, directing it at Aerie but more acid was pouring into the wound, breaking his concentration. He growled in frustration and lifted his flail.
Taurus dispatched his shadow with a quick thrust and slash and sprinted to help Aerie before suddenly pausing to see how she would handle it.
Aerie chanted another quick spell and suddenly several copies of herself appeared. Snarling like one of his beasts, he swung at one and one of the copies disappeared and she drove the end of her staff into his stomach, sending him reeling. Recovering, he swung again and screamed in pain as Aerie hit him full on with an Agnazzar's Scorcher spell. Thrashing wildly at the pain, Kalah managed to hit the real copy and Aerie cried out in pain, her illusions disappearing. The lord of these illusions hissed, gloating, and raised his flail to crush the elf's skull but his hesitation cost him. Aerie managed another illusion and Kalah's eyes widened as she winked out of sight. Then he screamed in pain as four Magic Missiles struck him in quick succession. He reeled back in pain, glaring hatefully at Aerie who had reappeared. "You" he growled, "How dare you?!"
The elf girl glared back. "You brought this upon yourself fiend! I refuse to stand by and let evil hurt innocent people! You're finished!"
Taurus grinned as Jaheira, Minsc, and Yoshimo dispatched the rest of the monsters. 'She's got a backbone' he noted. 'And she's so cute when she's angry!'
Kalah yelled back in fury. "You will regret this for eternity!" He turned to Quayle, who was quivering in place trying to understand what was going on, and raised his flail for a skull-crushing blow.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Aerie cried out. Kalah cackled as his flail descended. A katana flew through the air to embed itself into Kalah's back.
"Noooooooooo!" Screamed the tyrant and the room began to fade. The walls literally oozed off the walls, revealing the more normal circus tent and a lot of very confused looking people. Where Kalah had once stood lay a small gnome, bleeding to death at an alarming rate.
"This can not have happened" wheezed the gnome. "This is not what was promised to me!" The adventurers listened as Kalah began to rant his tale.
"I have planned this for too long. Only to have my plans shattered by some inbred northern adventurers. I-I just wanted to be respected!" Coughing up blood, Kalah glared hatefully at Taurus. "You've killed me! Destroyed Kalah with your misplaced morals and beastly greed for adventure!"
Taurus looked down on the gnome with a mixture of disgust and pity. "What has happened here gnome? You replaced the circus with your own private playground?"
"You fool!" gasped the gnome. "You truly know nothing! In Amn a mage is a criminal and a gnome is a spectacle. In here at least I was given a world I could rule!"
"And what of the people from the circus?"
"Indifference killed those fools. I treated them in death as they treated me in life. But now... All that I have done..." Kalah trailed off and his eyes gazed fixed upon the ceiling of the tent.
Aerie was stunned. A tear trickled down her cheek. "That poor little man." She said, sympathy lacing her voice. "Everyone did laugh at him but they didn't deserve to die. I just can't hate him, no matter what he did."
Taurus patted her shoulder comfortingly.
Jaheira frowned thoughtfully. "The gnome is dead and the secret of how he performed these great feats of illusion are dead with him. I suppose we shall never find out hoe he did it now."
Aerie looked up and suddenly a smile spilt her face. "Uncle Quayle! You're okay!"
The party looked over at a short gnome with white hair and a beard, decked out in purple and smiling jovially. "Hah! I knew Kalah would trip over himself eventually. I'm just glad he despised me enough to play with me than killing me outright like some of the others!"
"Oh Quayle" Aerie sighed happily. "What would I do without you?"
"I-I think that it's time for you to find out for yourself, my dear." Said Quayle, smiling sadly.
Aerie felt a clench in her heart as she realised what he was saying. "You're the wisest man I've ever known, Uncle Quayle."
"Ah, I wasn't always like that my dear. You changed all that. You made me happy. Maybe if you find happiness the pain of losing your wings will lessen." He turned to Taurus. "Do take care of her, won't you boy?"
Taurus nodded his head gravely. "You have my word."
Jaheira turned away from the scene, saddened as she remembered a loss of her own not too long ago. As she did, a woman came up to her and grabbed her arm.
"Oh thank you!" she gushed. "Thanks to you, I have legs and arms again! Thank you again!"
The druid smiled as she realised that this woman was the spider from the tent. "You need not give thanks. Now I believe that your son was looking for you?"
"Yes, of course, you're right. Mother's coming son!" The woman raced from the tent and Jaheira turned back as the rest of her group joined her by the entrance to the tent. Then they all stepped out into the bright light of the Promenade.
While Jaheira spoke with the soldier, Taurus went up to Aerie. The elf looked up at him when he approached.
"How did you feel when you first left home Taurus?" she asked.
The Crintri shrugged. "I was completely unaware as to what was going to happen to me. Life is full of surprises Aerie. I hope yours are better than mine."
As he walked off Aerie watched him, a curious look in her eyes. "So do I." She murmured before following.
Magicman: And so chapter two ends. Thanks for all the encouragement. By the way, there might be some ooc as I make up parts of the characters' personality when I can't remember or I think it would be good. Apart from that, goodnight and Godspeed!
Magicman: Thanks so much for the kind words! As per your requests, I am going to continue this fic. Now a couple of things before I forget. First of all...
Disclaimer: I don't own Baldurs Gate, its characters, it concepts, or its lines that I use. But Taurus is MINE!
Magicman: Second of all, about the comment about Aerie vs. Viconia, lets just say that you won't expect what's coming. (Chuckles evilly.) Now shall I continue? I shall.
Taurus stumbled downstairs sleepily, barely seeing where he was going. Blinking a few times at nothing in particular, he let out a wide yawn and stretched the kinks out of his back. Looking about, he saw the others at a table by the bar and made his barely conscious way over to them. Once there he sat down and stared at the table, trance-like until Yoshimo said something.
"Good morning!"
Taurus mumbled something unintelligible and reached for the pot of tea.
"Not a morning person, huh?"
Taurus somehow managed to pour himself a glass without spilling any and reached for the sugar.
"Neither is Jaheira apparently." The thief sent a sidelong glance towards Jaheira's bedraggled looking form. "But I suppose that being up all night arguing with Miss Patricia will do that to you. Me, I'm always up at dawn. There's always a big day ahead of us and I like to have a leg up on things."
The thief prattled on while Taurus tried to collect himself. He sipped at his tea and tried to think of something to wake himself up. Jaheira lecturing him about balance. No, that wasn't working. Jaheira in a thong. Better. Jaheira in a thong winking seductively as she started to undress. Almost there. Sarevok in a thong winking seductively as he started to undress...
Taurus jumped out of his seat, spilling his tea over the table, and started breathing hard, trying to banish the picture from his mind. 'Note to self' he thought ruefully, 'Sarevok is your brother.'
Yoshimo seemed amused at the Crintri's sudden action. "Did the mind find the body?"
Taurus shrugged. "If that's what you want to call it."
Yoshimo nodded sympathetically. "You know what I do when I'm sleepy? I think of something that would shock me awake."
***
When everybody was awake, the whole group paid Miss Patricia and left (after apologising once again for the incident the night before).
It was a silent party that travelled through the Promenade. Jaheira was still grumbling at missing most of her sleeping time and Taurus was starting to feel guilty at dropping it all on her. Yoshimo was quietly discussing with Minsc about this and that while the ranger looked in awe at all the sights to see. They were all so wrapped up in their thoughts that they nearly walked into the side of a circus tent. Steering the group around it, Taurus nearly ran into to guard.
"Hold!" said the guard, "You can't come into this circus tent. Something terrible has transpired within.
Taurus raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Did the clowns finally get sick of being laughed at and kill a bunch of people?"
The guard frowned in disapproval. Jaheira promptly stepped on Taurus' foot and continued talking for him while he was trying to smother curses. "What exactly has happened here?"
The guard shrugged helplessly. "We don't know. Apparently no one who has come in has come out again. There've been rumours that some sort of powerful magic has occurred. I've been ordered to keep all visitors out to be on the safe side.
Taurus had recovered and was considering. "Hmm. We can handle ourselves pretty well. Maybe we could solve this problem for you."
"Well you may as well try. I won't stop you. Goodbye". The last was said with finality and the guard stepped aside.
Taurus was about to enter when Minsc called his attention to something. That something was a small boy, crying at the front of the tent. Touched, the half-drow crouched down before the child. "What's wrong child?" he asked softly.
The boy was beside himself. "My mama is in that tent! And she can't come out again!" That was all he got before he burst into tears.
Taurus smiled a rare smile. It showed his gentle side that rarely found expression in his wandering lifestyle. "Don't worry little friend" he soothed. "We'll find your mother. Just be brave for a while longer, okay?"
The boy sniffled a little then looked up at Taurus with complete and total trust in his eyes. "Alright sir. T-thank you."
Ignoring Minsc's promises to find his mother, Taurus stood and strode purposefully and without a pause into the tent. The others were quick to follow him. Jaheira shook her head ruefully. Just last night he had ducked getting yelled at and let her take the full force of Miss Patricia's wrath and now he was helping a child reunite with his mother.
'That man never ceases to amaze me'.
That was her thought before she ran into Taurus from behind. The two went down in a heap and were nearly stepped on by Minsc. Yoshimo promptly ran into Minsc from behind and fell backwards to the floor. It was very confusing for a second. Eventually Jaheira gained her feet and glared at her stumbling leader. "Why did you stop?!"
The druid followed the Crintri's pointing finger and stared at what she saw.
They had all stepped into another world. They stood on a long stone walkway leading towards a great dome. The edges of the walkway dropped off into an abyss of darkness that not even Jaheira and Taurus' keen eyes could pierce.
Taurus turned back to his party. "Correct me if I'm wrong" he began slowly, "But this isn't the circus, is it?"
Yoshimo whistled. "I don't think so Taurus. This would barely fit in the entire Promenade, let alone that tent. That guard was right; magic had been at work here."
"Perceptive, mortal".
As one, the gang spun to the sound of the voice. A great Genie hovered in the air, his eyes watching the little group keenly. He spoke in a deep bass voice. "You have entered the realm of Kalah. To continue you must cross this great walkway and to do that you must answer a riddle."
Taurus looked at the others in bafflement. "Who's Kalah?"
The genie laughed a great belly laugh. "You will find out eventually mortal. Now, will you try to advance or will you give up now?"
Taurus bristled. "I do not give up genie! Give me your riddle now so I can solve it and send you back to your lamp!"
Jaheira sighed in exasperation and raised her staff. Taurus' temper would get the whole lot of them killed one of these days.
Apparently it wasn't this day itself however. The genie merely recited the old 'Prince and Princess' riddle that had been going around for the past few centuries. Taurus got it in seconds and the genie smiled.
"Ah, good mortal! Lord Kalah respects those with a most agile mind! You may continue." And with that, the genie disappeared into thin air, leaving the travellers to wonder at the oddity of it all.
Taurus shrugged. "Well that wasn't so bad."
Yoshimo looked doubtful. "I don't know. I wouldn't take this Kalah guy for granted. He may be tougher than he seems. 'Always be prepared' is my motto."
Taurus nodded in acknowledgement before continuing along the path. "That's quite true Yoshimo, but there's no point in stressing over it, is there?"
The thief shook his head in bewilderment. Jaheira patted him on the shoulder in sympathy. "Don't worry about it" she soothed. "He knows what he's doing."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm never 100% sure about him, but yes I think he does."
"Huh".
Meanwhile Minsc was sniffing the air the way rangers will do. He wrinkled his nose. "Boo think that the air stinks of evil!"
Jaheira nodded, having learned the wisdom of Boo's advice. "Tell him that I'll be careful Minsc."
***
"Please, you must flee this place! He's killed everyone else who's come into this place...almost. Oh please run!"
This high-voiced warning from nowhere caused another slight pile up. Taurus managed to avoid it and stared incredulously at the large ogre who appeared to be ringing its hands in sorrow. He looked about suspiciously but saw no other that could have gave the warning. "...What's going on?" he said slowly, addressing the ogre. "How is it that an ogre has so sweet a voice?"
The ogre looked indignant. "I'm no ogre! I'm an elf! A winged elf!" The ogre then looked sad. "Or at least I was...But that's not important! You've got to get out of here before-"
"-Before Kalah comes and kills us all in some horrible fashion or another." Taurus waved his hand dismissively. Yoshimo gave Jaheira a look that said 'Are you SURE he knows what he's doing?' "Well if you're not an ogre then what the heck is going on here?!"
The ogre sighed. "Oh I hope you don't end up like the others. But alright." He/she sat down on the edge of a fountain and told its tale."
"My name is Aerie for starters" she (apparently) began, "And I live in the circus with my Uncle Quayle. He found me and took care of me. He's very dear to me. But one day the circus was performing, as it should when one of the acts came on. He...he..." Aerie shuddered. "It was Kalah. He used some magic I've never seen before and turned the circus into this monstrosity! I was knocked out and when I woke up I looked like this!"
Taurus frowned. "This is all an illusion?" He suddenly balled his fist and slammed it into the railing he was leaning on. "OW! Shit, that didn't feel like an illusion to me!"
Aerie smiled slightly before residing into gloom again. "It's a special kind of illusion. You have to believe in it for it to exist."
"Really? Than I refuse to believe that this exists!" He slammed his fist into the railing again. "OW! Mystra damn it to Hell!"
Aerie giggled a bit. "Well by hitting it you acknowledged that it exists. Therefore it becomes real."
"You speak as if you know something about magic, child. " Jaheira spoke up for the first time. Aerie straightened with pride.
"I'm a cleric/mage." She said proudly. "I know lots about magic."
"Except that you don't know how to dispel these illusions."
"Like I said, I've never seen this kind of magic before. But you could help me!"
Minsc pushed forward eagerly. "Help? We heroes of goodness will always help those who need it!"
"Y-you will? Oh thank you!" Aerie clapped her hands together in joy.
Taurus nodded, still nursing his hand. "Sure. You need it and we're the only ones to give it. How can we help you?"
"Well I'm locked up with these chains."
"Chains? I don't see any chains."
"They're part of the illusion. If you could get me the key I could dispel this illusion and unlock the chains at the same time."
Taurus nodded. "Fair enough. Where's this key?"
Aerie shook her head. "Oh it's not a key. It has an illusion on it too. It looks like a sword and some monsters at the end of this room have it. But they're not monsters. They look like peasants. They have illusions too."
Taurus stared, trying to keep up. "So we've got to acquire a sword...from dangerous illusionary peasants...to free a winged elf girl from the illusion that holds her captive?"
"Exactly".
"That makes perfect sense." He turned to his fellows. "Let's be off, shall we?"
"Good luck!" called Aerie as they left.
Whistling pleasantly, Taurus led the way to the end of the room, the others following.
Suddenly the half-drow stopped abruptly again, causing s third pile up. Swearing vehemently, he looked down at the cowering spider that stood in his way.
"P-please don't hurt me!" it squeaked, curling its legs up in terror.
Jaheira stared in shock. Never in all her years as a druid had she seen an animal that could speak to people and be understood. "You...don't seem like any creature I've ever seen before."
The spider stiffened. "I am NOT a creature! I'm just an ordinary peasant woman!"
Taurus by this time had spied the two peasants wandering aimlessly. He pointed them out to Minsc who screamed a battle cry and barrelled toward the two, followed by Taurus and Yoshimo, leaving Jaheira to talk to the spider.
"What is going on here?" she asked in frustration.
"Oh I don't know!" the spider answered, equally frustrated. "One minute I'm watching the show and the next I'm a spider! Is this Hell?"
"Do you remember much about this show?" The spider thought for a minute.
"Well" she said, "There was this gnome who was performing. It was obvious that whatever he was trying to do wasn't working. His magic fizzled all over. I thought it was part of the act so I laughed with everyone else. Then people started melting; becoming hideous monsters and I blacked out. When I woke up I was like this. I don't even know if my son got out in time!"
Jaheira smiled slightly, remembering the young boy. "Your son did manage to get outside. We met him on the way in. We'll try to get word to him that you're okay, alright?"
"He's okay? Of course! Thank you milady, thank you!"
Seeing that her companions had dispatched the peasants in fairly short order and were returning the sword to the elf girl, Jaheira excused herself and rejoined them as Aerie chanted a short magical spell.
The ogre was swirled in light for a second. When the light cleared the ogre had disappeared. A young elf girl stood in its place.
Long blonde hair flowed down her back and liquid blue eyes gazed at herself in astonishment. She was clad in a set of mage robes and her thin form seemed fragile and delicate. She exuded a sense of tender innocence and frailty and seemed likely to break at the slightest gust. But the light in her eyes bespoke a fierce determination to do what was right.
Aerie looked down at herself and gasped in wonder. "My hands!" she said, awe in her voice. "My skin, it's real again! Oh thank Baervan! We must find Quayle and stop Kalah before he does anymore harm!"
Taurus smiled. "Then I guess a welcome to the party is in order. The lady is Jaheira, our large friend is Minsc, and the bald one is Yoshimo."
The thief was indignant. "Hey! I'm not THAT bald, am I?"
Taurus bowed with a flourish, placing a kiss on Aerie's hand. "And I'm Taurus Half-breed. Pleased to make your acquaintance".
Aerie giggled then studied his face for a moment. "Forgive me for asking, but are you a drow?"
Taurus smirked while the rest of the group rolled their eyes and moved on down the hall. "Almost, but not quite. My grandmother was a drow warrior. On a raid of the surface a gang of human hunters captured her. They kept her prisoner for about a month, raping her as they pleased, before releasing her. As I gather, she was too ashamed at the whole incident to return to the Underdark and went into voluntary exile. It didn't work out very well though. She had become pregnant and gave birth to my mother, who was half a drow."
Aerie hesitated. "Then your father was half-drow too?"
Taurus burst into wild laughter. He laughed until tears came to his eyes while Aerie just stood there, trying to understand what was so funny.
Finally he subsided into a grin. "You wouldn't believe it even if I told you."
"Try me."
"Alright. My father was Bhaal, the ex-lord of murder."
Aerie just kind of stared at Taurus, her mouth slightly agape. Finally she managed to say something. "But you're so normal."
Taurus shrugged breezily and grinned. "Well I wouldn't say normal myself, but I see what you're getting at. You're basically asking why I don't kill and murder my way through life like my father, am I right?" Aerie nodded dumbly. "Well it's not like I couldn't you know. I am fully capable of picking you up with one hand and snapping your pretty little neck like a dry branch."
Taurus stretched his arms over his head and eyed Aerie shrewdly. To her credit she didn't back away, though she did start trembling. He nodded. "There a few reasons why I don't do that. First is common sense. If I did then everyone on Faerun would be out for my head and I get enough bounty hunters as it is." He snorted at that. "Second of all, what would be the point? After all of that mindless death and destruction would there be anything left? Any reason to go on? And finally" he sighed, "I hate killing. I've been around for a while and I've had to do my share of killing. Let me tell you that it's not fun, ending a life, but sometimes you have no choice. You just have to keep going."
For a moment Taurus wore a troubled look on his face, a look that said more than everything he'd said so far. Then it was gone and he was regarding Aerie with a slight smile. "So there you have it. Not only am I part drow, I'm a Bhaalspawn, one of the most despised and feared people on the planet. If you want to reconsider joining our little group I'd understand. It would be safer for you to wait here for us to take out Kalah anyway."
Aerie stood perfectly still for just a moment. Then she smiled tentatively. "You wouldn't mind if I came along, would you?"
Taurus laughed and slung a companionable arm around Aerie's shoulders. "I'd be delighted Aerie! Maybe later we can compare spell books, eh?"
Aerie blushed. "S-sure".
The two walked companionably after the others.
The mages found the rest of the party at the far end of the long chamber, face to face and talking to some naked woman. Taurus immediately started blushing and shut his eyes. Aerie smiled and took him by his arm to lead him past the naked woman.
They walked through a door into a long dark hall. After Taurus opened his eyes again the darkness was no trouble for the elves and they made their way on to the end of the hall. Peering inside they discovered that it opened up into a big room.
That was as far as they got. A trio of snarling monsters whirled and attacked immediately.
Taurus drew his swords and instinctively threw himself in front of Aerie. Once protecting the weaker elf, he faced his opponents and sized them up. Two were large and bulky, covered with matted fur and sporting wickedly hooked claws. The third was a shadow with burning red eyes. All of them snarled cruelly and attacked at once.
Taurus ducked the flailing claws of a furred beast and thrust, smiling as he felt his longsword strike home. He twisted away from the shadow's tendril like hands and slashed with his katana, pulling back his sword to block another attack. He heard a scream from Aerie and looked to see the second wolf beast advancing on her, teeth slavering. Without thinking, Taurus dropped his weapons tackled the beast from behind and rolled across the floor, striving to choke the life from that hideous form.
He heard the slithery snarl of the shadow and the roar of the beast behind him and he worried frantically for Aerie. That distraction cost him as the monster he fought suddenly twisted and buried its teeth into his arm. As pain split his world, Taurus heard the chanting of familiar arcane words in a female voice and felt the familiar rush of power as a spell was completed. The flash of light coincided with Taurus finally getting both hands on the beast's throat. As it clawed frantically at his arms, opening up long gashes, he dug in with his powerful fingers and heaved.
Taurus hadn't been exaggerating his strength to Aerie. The beast had a tougher skin and bones that the elf but the effect was similar to what he had described. It may have taken both hands and all of his strength but there was still the sickening crunch of the beasts bones being crushed in quick succession as Taurus wrung its neck. Its death throes threw the Crintri off of his victim and to the side. He watched as the beast thrashed about in agony before disappearing in a puff of mist. He was startled before realising that it was an illusion. Then the pain of his arm kicked in.
Gentle hands touched him as they helped him sit up. "Calm down and don't move" Aerie ordered. Taurus obeyed, not wanting to feel too much more pain.
Aerie leaned him up against the wall and began a chant. Her hands glowed with a soft light. She touched Taurus on his wounded arm and he flinched as the pain flared up again. Then to his surprise the pain faded away and he was left with a warm glow. He looked down at his arm, expecting to see the wound ripped clear through his arm. Instead his skin was whole and unscarred.
Taurus looked over at Aerie, this time with respect as well as companionship in his eyes. "Thank you. I really don't like pain." The elf girl just smiled, pleased to have helped.
They looked over at the other two monsters, still trapped within Aerie's Hold spell. Shall we deal with our charming friends?"
The question was answered quickly when Minsc barrelled into the room wielding the Sword of Chaos, quickly followed by Jaheira and Yoshimo. The ranger took one look at the scene and proceeded to smash apart the two frozen monsters.
Jaheira glared at them. "What did you two think you were doing, wandering off like that?! You have no idea what kind of dangers this place could hold!"
"We do now" pointed out Aerie, earning a glare from Jaheira.
"That's beside the point! You two could have been killed!"
Taurus shrugged. "It happens. Oh calm down Jaheira" he added, seeing her incredibly pissed off face. "It's not like we're totally defenceless. Aerie paralysed those monsters easily enough and I took out the third one. See us still standing?"
Jaheira's eye was twitching something fierce when she sighed gustily. "I do my best to keep you out of trouble and all you do is give me grey hairs."
Taurus smiled. "Gorion always said that grey hairs make people look more distinguished. Just try not to worry about it so much and you'll fend them off for a good while to come." He patted his old friend's shoulder sympathetically before going off.
Aerie walked up to Jaheira after Taurus had left. "He's very...different isn't he?"
Jaheira looked at the young elf with a look of kinship. "I know exactly what you're talking about girl. Trust me."
***
After disposing with a few more annoying monsters and resting for a bit, the group was ready to move when the genie appeared again, looking smug. "Ah, you have done well!" it said. "Master Kalah is most pleased and is willing to allow you to proceed to the next stage. Are you ready?"
Taurus looked at his companions, of which Aerie was now a part. There was a general shrug and he turned back to the genie. "Sure".
"Excellent. You do some courage. Then you may proceed." The genie disappeared into the air, leaving the party standing blinking.
"Well" said Aerie after a moment, "I guess we should keep moving, shouldn't we?"
That needing no answer, they all walked through the door the genie had been standing in front of.
***
The party found themselves in a round room with no exit. Two shadows and another beast monster slavered at their entry and a big human stood at the back wielding a flail. He stood next a quivering blob of jelly.
The tall heavyset man laughed cruelly at the sight of the companions and at Aerie in particular.
"Ah my beast!" he cackled. "You have led them here nicely!"
The elf was shaken. "W-what? I'm not-"
The man (presumably Kalah) cackled again. "You're not what? You're not my beast? Oh but you are! All of you are, don't you see?"
Aerie's eyes hardened. "What have you done with my Uncle Quayle?"
The blob of jelly quivered even more. "Aerie? Is that you? I have no eyes!"
Aerie's own eyes widened in shock. "Be careful Taurus! Some of these beasts are illusions and some are real. There's no way to tell the difference until they hit you."
Kalah cackled even more. "Yes, it's a regular three-ringed circus, isn't it my beasts? Now go ahead and tear each other apart!"
At his command the three monsters rushed at the companions. Kalah whirled and fired a series of magical missiles at the jellified Quayle. Quayle yelled in pain.
"Uncle Quayle!" Aerie cried out. She quickly chanted a spell and a Melf's Acid Arrow materialised and fired through the air, embedding itself into Kalah's shoulder. He winced in pain and glared furiously at the elf. "You can not hope to defeat me! Why even try?!" he yelled. He started chanting a spell, directing it at Aerie but more acid was pouring into the wound, breaking his concentration. He growled in frustration and lifted his flail.
Taurus dispatched his shadow with a quick thrust and slash and sprinted to help Aerie before suddenly pausing to see how she would handle it.
Aerie chanted another quick spell and suddenly several copies of herself appeared. Snarling like one of his beasts, he swung at one and one of the copies disappeared and she drove the end of her staff into his stomach, sending him reeling. Recovering, he swung again and screamed in pain as Aerie hit him full on with an Agnazzar's Scorcher spell. Thrashing wildly at the pain, Kalah managed to hit the real copy and Aerie cried out in pain, her illusions disappearing. The lord of these illusions hissed, gloating, and raised his flail to crush the elf's skull but his hesitation cost him. Aerie managed another illusion and Kalah's eyes widened as she winked out of sight. Then he screamed in pain as four Magic Missiles struck him in quick succession. He reeled back in pain, glaring hatefully at Aerie who had reappeared. "You" he growled, "How dare you?!"
The elf girl glared back. "You brought this upon yourself fiend! I refuse to stand by and let evil hurt innocent people! You're finished!"
Taurus grinned as Jaheira, Minsc, and Yoshimo dispatched the rest of the monsters. 'She's got a backbone' he noted. 'And she's so cute when she's angry!'
Kalah yelled back in fury. "You will regret this for eternity!" He turned to Quayle, who was quivering in place trying to understand what was going on, and raised his flail for a skull-crushing blow.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Aerie cried out. Kalah cackled as his flail descended. A katana flew through the air to embed itself into Kalah's back.
"Noooooooooo!" Screamed the tyrant and the room began to fade. The walls literally oozed off the walls, revealing the more normal circus tent and a lot of very confused looking people. Where Kalah had once stood lay a small gnome, bleeding to death at an alarming rate.
"This can not have happened" wheezed the gnome. "This is not what was promised to me!" The adventurers listened as Kalah began to rant his tale.
"I have planned this for too long. Only to have my plans shattered by some inbred northern adventurers. I-I just wanted to be respected!" Coughing up blood, Kalah glared hatefully at Taurus. "You've killed me! Destroyed Kalah with your misplaced morals and beastly greed for adventure!"
Taurus looked down on the gnome with a mixture of disgust and pity. "What has happened here gnome? You replaced the circus with your own private playground?"
"You fool!" gasped the gnome. "You truly know nothing! In Amn a mage is a criminal and a gnome is a spectacle. In here at least I was given a world I could rule!"
"And what of the people from the circus?"
"Indifference killed those fools. I treated them in death as they treated me in life. But now... All that I have done..." Kalah trailed off and his eyes gazed fixed upon the ceiling of the tent.
Aerie was stunned. A tear trickled down her cheek. "That poor little man." She said, sympathy lacing her voice. "Everyone did laugh at him but they didn't deserve to die. I just can't hate him, no matter what he did."
Taurus patted her shoulder comfortingly.
Jaheira frowned thoughtfully. "The gnome is dead and the secret of how he performed these great feats of illusion are dead with him. I suppose we shall never find out hoe he did it now."
Aerie looked up and suddenly a smile spilt her face. "Uncle Quayle! You're okay!"
The party looked over at a short gnome with white hair and a beard, decked out in purple and smiling jovially. "Hah! I knew Kalah would trip over himself eventually. I'm just glad he despised me enough to play with me than killing me outright like some of the others!"
"Oh Quayle" Aerie sighed happily. "What would I do without you?"
"I-I think that it's time for you to find out for yourself, my dear." Said Quayle, smiling sadly.
Aerie felt a clench in her heart as she realised what he was saying. "You're the wisest man I've ever known, Uncle Quayle."
"Ah, I wasn't always like that my dear. You changed all that. You made me happy. Maybe if you find happiness the pain of losing your wings will lessen." He turned to Taurus. "Do take care of her, won't you boy?"
Taurus nodded his head gravely. "You have my word."
Jaheira turned away from the scene, saddened as she remembered a loss of her own not too long ago. As she did, a woman came up to her and grabbed her arm.
"Oh thank you!" she gushed. "Thanks to you, I have legs and arms again! Thank you again!"
The druid smiled as she realised that this woman was the spider from the tent. "You need not give thanks. Now I believe that your son was looking for you?"
"Yes, of course, you're right. Mother's coming son!" The woman raced from the tent and Jaheira turned back as the rest of her group joined her by the entrance to the tent. Then they all stepped out into the bright light of the Promenade.
While Jaheira spoke with the soldier, Taurus went up to Aerie. The elf looked up at him when he approached.
"How did you feel when you first left home Taurus?" she asked.
The Crintri shrugged. "I was completely unaware as to what was going to happen to me. Life is full of surprises Aerie. I hope yours are better than mine."
As he walked off Aerie watched him, a curious look in her eyes. "So do I." She murmured before following.
Magicman: And so chapter two ends. Thanks for all the encouragement. By the way, there might be some ooc as I make up parts of the characters' personality when I can't remember or I think it would be good. Apart from that, goodnight and Godspeed!