Light Wrapped in Darkness

Magicman: If this was an anime, or indeed any other TV show, this would be the season finale. This chapter brings an end to the first part of my Baldurs Gate trilogy. I'd like to thank all reviewers who stuck with it during those times when I suffered from massive writer's block and other related illnesses.

Smokegirl: Or just plain laziness.

Magicman: A couple things that I thought I should mention. First of all, yes. Smokegirl is a massive fan of Star Wars. You should see the costume she wears to Sci-fi conventions.

Smokegirl: (cackles maniacally)

Magicman: And the other thing. Yes Locke, you did mention that Mystra was dead and everything I'd heard confirmed it. But when I went through Throne of Bhaal recently I noticed something interesting. During the conversation with Cyric in the Abyss he mentions that he is concerned about Mystra's intervention. He may be a god of insanity, along with evil, but he seemed pretty lucid in that conversation. Besides, since I've already written 99 of the fic I'm just going to stick with what's already written. (shrugs) Oh, and yeah I didn't have to write that last chapter but I thought it was an important part of the plot.

Daevan: On a side note, our esteemed author has been conducting an experiment…going through Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal with an all wizard party. It's working quite well; he just has Balthazar and Amelyssan left to kill. More on this later but for now, on with the plot!

IIIIIII

Beneath the asylum Jon Irenicus was in his laboratory. The light was dim and hurt his eyes but he could not stop writing. His quill pen flew across the parchment scroll, with half a dozen covered in his elegant and fluid writing lying to the side and another half-dozen fresh scrolls stacked in a neat pile. His eyes burned with a fever as he reflected on his eventful life and poured those reflections out onto the paper. He had begun this diary merely as a way to set his thoughts in order. But now he found it a channel for the release of decades of hatred and anger that had built up, with no ventilation possible in his soulless husk. Now that he could actually 'feel' those emotions for the first time in so long he embraced them as a lover.

For a moment Irenicus envied Taurus. The bhaalspawn had spent his entire life in possession of this marvelously erratic soul. It was so turbulent, filled with conflicting urges and emotions that all struggled for release. It was exhilarating to feel them surge to the surface, nearly uncontrolled. As an experiment he had selected one of the remaining prisoners from the Shadow Thieves and tortured the man slowly with an iron hook while using his magic to keep him conscious and alert. It had been amusing to feel disgust, horror, and moral outrage bubble up within him like the thief's blood. Obviously Taurus had been a 'good' person, and his soul reflected that. It was rather like having a completely different person inside of him.

But of course he would not allow such emotions to inhibit his revenge. Simply tapping into the deep well of hatred and lust for killing that was the Bhaal instincts would overwhelm any unwanted feelings.

He could definitely put THOSE particular emotions to very good use.

As he wrote the final sentence to this scroll he paused for a moment. Soon his revenge would be complete. The wretched fools would regret having cast him out. Suldanessalar, Ellesime, and the Seldarine itself would pay for what they did to him. The knowledge that his revenge was inevitable and that there was truly nothing that could stop him was sweet indeed. What was it humans said? Revenge is a dish best served cold?

Irenicus returned to his writing, a sadistic smile spreading across his face.

IIIIIII

It had been surprisingly simple for Taurus to turn the inmates of the asylum against Irenicus. It seemed that Havarian had been correct. The mad mage's torture victims hated him even more than they feared him. Once the bhaalspawn had released them from their cells and implanted the idea in their minds events took their own course. Goaded on by Wanev and Tiax the inmates took matters into their own hands. The strongest of the mad mages cast a group Dimension Door and both parties were drawn into the whirling magical forces.

As the swirling energy engulfed him, Taurus reflected on his unique position in life once again. He had been nearly unique, a spawn of Bhaal with a conscience. All his life, he had unconsciously resisted the urges to destroy and kill. He had wanted to be a good person, someone who could make his father, Gorion, proud of him. He thought he had succeeded. But it seemed that his nature was bent on mayhem despite his best efforts. And what was he now, now that he had no soul and was only a step away from becoming the Slayer, maybe for good? A demon? A monster? A threat to the world worthy of being put down?

No. He would not accept this destiny that fate had handed him.

As the magical portal drew him in Taurus Halfbreed knew what was necessary and what he would have to do. He would not allow himself to become the Slayer again. The power it brought came with too great a price.

No matter how divinely powerful, the Slayer was a monster.

And he would not die a monster.

IIIIIII

The party found itself standing in front of a surprised Irenicus. For perhaps the first time since Taurus had first laid eyes on him the mage had lost his confident demeanor. Instead his dried leather-skinned face had screwed up in an expression of surprise and annoyance. The dark laboratory could not hide the fact that the mage had been surprised at his writing; the desk behind him was littered with scrolls. But the surprise did not last long. The mage folded his hands together and smiled.

"So it is true what Bhodi told me" he mocked. "You have survived the maze more powerful than before."

Taurus stood his ground. He would not be bullied. "I want my soul back. Imoen's too."

"Why? As interesting an acquisition it is, you have power now. As I said, Bhodi told me of your transformation. I suspect that it was your soul that locked it away for so many years. And now you want to lock it away again?" Irenicus shook his head, seemingly surprised.

"It isn't right" Taurus countered, "And I think you know it. You have my soul now, so you know that I wouldn't want this power. It's evil."

Now Irenicus looked almost disappointed. "You've been all over Amn and up the Sword Coast and you still haven't learned life's most important lesson. Good and evil are relative, mere concepts used to justify and condemn. If you truly want to attain your goals, then you must abandon the restrictions and limits that people attach to things. Otherwise, you fail." The mage raised an eyebrow. "I hope you understand what I'm saying. If you want to kill me and save your soul you're going to have to use every weapon in your possession, including the strength of Bhaal that runs through you. If you can kill me at all."

"Well, I'll just have to find out."

Faster than the human eye could follow, Taurus' swords were out and he was moving. It took him perhaps two seconds to clear the distance between him and Irenicus but the mage was faster. Sadistic, crazed, and filled with an undeniable hatred, Irenicus was still an excellent mage. In less than a second he spoke three words of magic and completed two hand gestures that sent a glowing skull hurtling. The Skull Trap connected with Taurus chest and splintered, burying magical fragments deep in his chest and stopping him in his tracks. One shard skittered up against his armour and scored a deep gash from his jawbone to just beneath his right eye. The crintri grimaced as the blood began to flow.

Irenicus sneered. "Fool."

It was the cue for the battle to start.

All around the lab the air filled with the sound of chanting. The inmates of Spellhold had been oddly silent as Taurus and Irenicus goaded each other but now their moment had come. Sensing the need to act quickly, Jaheira darted forward and seized Taurus by the shoulder. She pulled him back to where the rest of the party waited tensely as a colossal magic showdown heated up quickly. Aerie and Viconia muttered a few defensive magics to protect the party but nothing else.

The inmates quickly proved themselves competent and the spells they cast were very powerful. Wanev in particular showed his credentials as the asylum's former warden by casting Time Stop and high level Symbol spells. Together the six mages hurled spell after spell at the man who had tortured them. For several minutes the air was so filled with magical energy that Taurus and the others could not look directly into the centre of the room.

But Irenicus would not allow himself to be conquered. He concentrated the magical energy in his body to deflect the worst of the attacks and concentrated on his most powerful spell. Rapture of the Father was a spell of his own creation that had taken over a century to develop and it would guarantee him victory over these madmen and fools. When the incantations and hand gestures were completed, he knew what would happen and watched his victims intently.

It began with Aphril, the young woman who could see through the planes. In the midst of striking at Irenicus with Horror, she gasped and clutched her throat. Her widened eyes stared sightlessly at nothing until a small white wisp of energy escaped from her gaping mouth. The white cloud was her life essence. Without it her lifeless shell could do nothing but fall over dead. The process spread quickly among the inmates and soon even the fearsome Wanev and the raging Tiax were stopped by the cold embrace of death. The gnome final spell, a gout of fire, continued to spout after his death, cremating the body.

Then the mage turned his attention on the adventurers who had come to stop him. His eyes were unconcerned. "So now your army of madness lies dead. I can deal with you just as easily."

"I don't think so!"

Startled, Irenicus turned toward the voice. Imoen leapt at him from the shadows, short sword extended and her face twisted in a mask of hate

While the battle had been fought between the mages, Imoen had cast a quiet Improved Invisibility on herself and crept through the magical melee until she was behind Irenicus. Finally she had whispered one more spell defence upon herself before attacking. Now as she dove at him, Irenicus frantically cast the first spell that came to mind and struck at her with a series of buzzing Magic Missiles. But they ricocheted off of Imoen's raised Spell Turning and she buried her blade deep into his left shoulder.

"I'll kill you, you bastard!" she screamed, pushing harder on the hilt and jamming the tip out the other side.

Snarling, Irenicus backhanded the thief/mage away from him, sending her sprawling and activated his contingencies and spell triggers. In half a second he was wreathed in flames, coated with stone, made immune to all weapons, magical or otherwise, and an illusory copy of himself was made to distract attackers. Just in time too; Taurus, Jaheira, and Minsc hit him like a tonne of bricks.

Safe for the moment, Irenicus observed his enemies' efforts. The crazed ranger was attacking his illusory copy. The druid was busy casting some divination magic, probably to dispel his invisibility. Taurus was circling behind the two, his eyes searching for a weakness in his armour of spells.

The greatest threat of the moment was the druid.

Irenicus turned to Jaheira, his hands already moving into the symbols necessary for an Invocation spell. Death Fog billowed out and engulfed the druid. Her spell was cut off by a fit of gagging. That threat temporarily neutralised, the mage attacked Minsc.

His next spell was complicated and his Mislead had worn off by the time it was finished. Power Word Stun froze the ranger in his tracks. Smirking, Irenicus dealt him a vicious blow to the head with his fist, knocking him off his feet. Now Taurus and the druid were attacking him together, the former whispering spell words under his breath.

Irenicus had excellent hearing and countered with spell words of his own. His Spell Trap went up half a second before Taurus' lightning bolt hit him and was absorbed into the spell. Also two bolts of fire dropped from the ceiling and struck him with a thunderbolt's force. Surprised, Irenicus jumped back from the two fighters and looked further back into the room's gloom. The elf clerics were back there, which explained the fire attack. He scowled. He would deal with them next.

Taurus' katana flashed down and Irenicus blocked it with his stone-clad arm. He allowed his fire shield to burn him while casting another spell. Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting belched forth, ignoring Taurus and the druid and detonating around the two elven clerics. That would deal with them.

The druid hit him again and his Stoneskin suddenly ran out. Cursing, Irenicus jumped back but Taurus tackled him. The mage managed to twist away but his balance was threatened. Shrieking more words to a spell he promptly vanished, even as the crintri slammed his sword into the space where the mage's head had been.

Silence reigned for seconds. Irenicus' gaseous spells dissipated leaving Aerie and Viconia rather worse for wear but alive. Jaheira went to check up on Imoen and Minsc as Taurus searched through the shadows. The mage was invisible, not gone. Taurus guessed that he was waiting to launch another attack.

Unfortunately he was right.

Three fireballs detonated near Taurus in succession. The crintri was blown clear off his feet and into a wall. His head struck a large metal container placed there and he slumped to the ground, his flesh still smoking.

Irenicus revealed himself near Viconia and Aerie. Viconia snarled and hefted her mace, her muscles tensing for a spring. Aerie just lay there, her frail form struggling to breathe from the last attack. Irenicus strode toward them, a new set of spell protections rising up about him. When Viconia leapt at him, Mauler's Arm poised to smite him he cast a Chaos spell.

The drow woman froze in confusion. What was she doing? Where was she? Sudden movement. An enemy! She went howling after the enemy, mace flailing. Her adversary was elusive. It darted away but she pursued relentlessly. She then stopped moving, confusion wrinkling her delicate brow. What was she doing?

Irenicus watched the drow in amusement before turning to the druid, who had recovered and was chanting a spell again, and the ranger who was slowly throwing off his stunned state. Another spell flashed and Chain lightning hit Jaheira in mid-casting. Jaheira hissed in pain, disrupting her spell and Minsc jerked at the shock, losing his powers of motion again.

Then a blast of flaring red energy struck Irenicus and tore down his Spell Trap. Surprised again, he turned to the elf girl and scowled. Aerie had forced herself to one knee and cast Ruby Ray of Reversal on him. Breathing hard now she began to cast another spell. Irenicus could tell that it was an Abjuration, probably a defensive one. Angrily he hurled another Skull Trap at her. She saw it coming and threw herself to the side. When the magic skull exploded, most of the pieces missed but a few struck her painfully in the side. She fell to the ground, blood soaking her robes.

Irenicus had no time to savour this victory though as another flash of energy ripped away the rest of his spell protections. This time it was Imoen, whom he had disregarded until now. He snarled and cast a powerful Finger of Death at her but he miscalculated badly. Her Spell Turning was still active and the deadly spell turned on him, striking him in the chest. He fell back two steps and grimaced in pain. Then he screamed when lightning struck him.

Taurus was back on his feet, his glowing katana crackling with a discharge of lightning. Now he gestured viciously to form a magical sword out of energy. Mordenkainen's Sword attacked the mage with Taurus following right behind it. Even Worse, the druid and Imoen had finished casting new spells. A hakeashar eyed him, hungry for his magical energy and a cloud of insects swarmed his way. Irenicus cursed angrily and evaded Taurus' vicious attack. He sprang back to his desk and slammed a palm down on a hidden button. The room suddenly hummed and light flooded the battle scene, revealing half a dozen metal cylinders. It was on one of these that Taurus had hit his head.

"Damn you all!" Irenicus cursed them. "You may have forced me to leave here but rest assured that my plans may be laid elsewhere. I will start anew and I will not be interrupted again! Here, fight among my creations knowing that you are dying on the inside! But rest assured that you will not be alone when I am done." The metal cylinders began to open, draining a strange green fluid and Irenicus hurriedly began casting a final spell. He completed it before his enemies reached him and threw himself into the magical portal. It closed behind him, sealing him away from Taurus and the rest.

Now the cylinders had opened completely. The green stuff had pooled out over the floor and beings had stepped from their captivity. Taurus was stunned as he looked into his own eyes. The creature he was facing was himself. Irenicus had taken the liberty of cloning the party when he had them in captivity.

Taurus wasn't over his shock when his copy rushed him. He reflexively raised Celestial Fury and the clone ran into it, impaling itself. The sword pierced its body all the way through but it didn't seem to feel it. The clone locked its hands around Taurus' neck and squeezed, cutting off his breath. The crintri thrashed under his attacker, trying to pry the fingers loose. For a moment it seemed as though he would buck the clone off of him, but it tightened its hold on his throat and regained its balance.

Now Taurus' vision was blurring. Desperately he slammed his fist into the fingers around his throat to no avail. He kept trying, unwilling to give up life. Even as the darkness dropped over his eyes like a veil he was still struggling to free himself from that grasp…

IIIIIII

"You came too late." The voice was cold yet familiar and Taurus was not surprised to see Imoen speaking to him. "Did I not say that you would come too late? You will learn to trust me."

Taurus glanced around at his surroundings and was also unsurprised to find himself back in Candlekeep. "So I take it that this means I'm alive" he said.

Imoen nodded. "It is fortunate that you are a powerful child. Had you died, we would have returned to your father's spirit."

Taurus raised a white eyebrow. "Isn't that the reason that I was brought into being in the first place?"

"Yes it was. Bhaal foresaw his own death and spawned his offspring to offset that. He seeded his children with a part of his essence with the intention of slaying them all. The massive amount of his essence returning to the Abyss would revitalise his spirit and bring him to back to life. That is why we exist." Imoen raised an eyebrow right back at Taurus. "But I am of Bhaal's essence, not Bhaal himself. I have no desire to abandon my existence and return to the whole."

"So you would be the essence of Bhaal in me." Taurus looked 'Imoen' up and down, an odd frown on his face. "You seem different from the Slayer and the Bhaal monster from my first dream."

"You mean you thought I'd be like this?"

The delicate form of Imoen rippled and burst into the Slayer's hideous frame. The beast roared in fury and Taurus stepped back, his hands dropping to his swords.

The monster's throat twisted and words, gruff but recognisable came out. "I am not the Slayer. The Slayer is a byproduct of what happens when I flood your body without control. Such as what happened in the maze." The monster then changed back into the unassuming form of Imoen. She paused significantly before continuing. "Here in your mind we can meet face to face and speak person to person. I picked this shape so you would recognize me as something important."

"That's a shame, because I have nothing to say to you." Taurus turned and found himself facing his inner demon, literally. He stepped back quickly. "What the-"

"No, we really need to talk."

Taurus frowned then relaxed the tiniest bit. There didn't seem to be much he could do, so he decided to go with it. "Do you have a name? Or should I just call you 'the Instinct'?"

She smirked for a moment, before considering. "I'm the darkest part of you, and I think we'll be spending a lot of time together. Call me Shadow."

Taurus nodded slightly. "So then what did you want to talk to me about?"

Shadow nodded slightly and got right to business. "You hate me. Don't bother denying it; I know everything that you know. You'd like to be rid of me but you obviously can't. So I'm going to offer you the next best thing; my cooperation."

Taurus snorted. "Oh yes. I believe you. You certainly aren't the type to take control of my body without warning."

"If you remember that then you remember that you were being attacked. By five vampires. In a narrow corridor with no room to manoeuvre. You were right at the front of your little group and would have had to fight all of them at once." Shadow shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of helplessness. "If you die, then I don't exist anymore. What did you expect from me? You're good but not that good. Unfortunately you decided to reject my help." She glared at Taurus reproachfully. "The Slayer would never have got out of control if you had just let me take care of things."

"But back to the point" she continued. "You don't like me but you need me. If I hadn't intervened those vampires would have ripped you apart."

"You don't know that!" Taurus protested.

"Care to bet your life on that?" she countered. "I wouldn't. I need you alive so that's why I'm offering my help. If you just accept me as a part of you then you could be so much more! You wouldn't have to fear for those you care about; with my power behind you, you could protect them from anything. All you have to do is use what you are, if only for a short time. And in the severe cases you and I can merge. We can become the Slayer." Her lips curved into a smirk. "Of course if that happens then I'll let you direct its actions. But I think I've made my case. What say you?"

Taurus frowned. "I'm shocked that you really expect I'd agree to this! Any sane person with an ounce of goodness in them would forget this dream ever happened! Or maybe pay a priest for an exorcism." His frown turned into a scowl as Shadow's smirk widened. "What do you really get out of this? And don't give me any shit about existing."

For a moment the smirk fell from Shadow's lips and Taurus knew he'd hit the mark right on the money. Then it was back up. "Let's just say that I'd REALLY like you to stay alive. Manage that and it will all be worth it in the end. For both of us."

Shadow stuck out her hand. "Shake on it. We'll both do our best to keep each other alive as long as possible."

"Really, how do I know I can trust you?"

"Can you afford not to? Can you take the chance?"

Taurus scowled. "If you're part of me then you know how much I hate being forced into things."

"Forgive me" Shadow said, her voice laced with sarcasm, "But I don't have much choice either."

"No, I suppose you don't. And neither do I." Taurus extended his hand and took Shadow's. Her hand was ice cold but her grip was strong. "A truce then. But I don't want you taking over my body. Mystra alone knows what would happen then."

"Very well." Taurus' new partner nodded. "And now I think you'd better rejoin the world of the conscious. I think your Drow lady is about to break your neck."

Taurus blinked. "Say what?"

Before his vision went black again the last thing he saw was Shadow's smiling visage and he wondered if he'd made a deal with the proverbial devil.

IIIIIII

"-Seriso! If you don't wake up right now I swear to Shar that I will rip out your spine through your throat!"

Taurus came to, and suddenly found himself being shaken by the collar. Viconia was screaming and swearing a blue streak. He winced as his head banged against the ground again. "Ow! Cut it out!"

When he spoke, he found himself wonderfully still for a moment and then jerk up into a fierce hug. Startled, he hugged Viconia back.

"Hey! Taurus is alive!"

Suddenly the crintri found himself on the bottom of a dog pile, consisting of Viconia, Aerie, and Imoen. Off to the side Jaheira approached but restrained herself from leaping on her friend. "Girls please try to remember that our omnipresent authority figure was just healed from some very severe injuries. Even with healing magic, third degree burns are not something that should be trifled with." She began to pull them all off one at a time and eventually reached Taurus at the bottom, looking like he'd been run over by a dragon on the move.

Jaheira helped him to his feet and watched him intently. "Are you alright?"

"More or less." He looked down at the corpse of his clone. Its face was fixed in an expression of blankness and its blood had long since stopped leaking through the gaping wound in its chest. All over the room similar clones of his friends lay dead in various ways. Minsc's was nearly cut in half and Aerie's had burn marks covering most of its body. "How long was I out?"

"A couple of hours. We were all worried about you. You just wouldn't wake up!" She looked almost helpless for a moment, and it worried Taurus. "I thought that the loss of your soul had finished what the clone started." She cleared her throat loudly. "It's good that you survived. I am glad."

Taurus couldn't help a grin, and he clapped Jaheira on the back. "I'm glad I'm alive too Jahs."

A ripple of cold laughter chimed through his mind, making Taurus shudder. Shadow's voice whispered in his ear. 'So am I Taurus. So am I. I'll keep in touch.'

Jaheira blinked at her friend's sudden strange behaviour. "Taurus? Are you alright? You just shivered as though you were cold."

Taurus sighed. "It's just a feeling I have, but I think things are going to get much worse, very soon."

IIIIIII

Magicman: And that, as they say, is that.

Daevan: Stay tuned for part two, where Taurus and company travel through the Underdark and finally catch up with Irenicus and Bhodi. Also, more issues arise revolving around our favourite crintri, including his relationships with Vicky, Aerie, and others. But I will say that we haven't seen that last of Shadow.

Taurus: I can't believe you turned me into a schizophrenic!

Magicman: In my defence, I wanted to try a different take on the dream sequences and the Instinct. I thought it made for interesting reading but that's just me, and my position is hardly unbiased.

Smokegirl: Anyway, the story continues in 'Flight from the Darkness' and will finish off in 'Blood Feud in the Darkness'. Until then, this is Smokegirl-

Magicman: Magicman-

Daevan: And others-

All: Saying 'C'ya for now!'

END