"Aenwyn." She jumped at the sound of her name and spun around. This…this was a dream. Like the ones she had had in Spellhold, when she had fought off Bhaal with Imoen. Her sister, gone.

She had seen so little of Imoen in recent years, and now the chance to see her again was gone forever. Aenwyn clenched her hands and forced her eyes shut, not allowing any tears to fall. She would be strong until she could take vengeance on the Exile and his sister, and then there would be a chance to mourn. She had to keep moving.

But where was she? Her memory was hazy, but she remembered escaping the Underdark and emerging into sun, only to emerge into an elven army, one seemingly bent on implicating her as Irenicus' accomplice. The accusations and raised voices had floated over her, however, and she felt the emptiness inside of her scream out in agony, pleading with her for something…anything, just not darkness.

To her embarrassment, she had woken inside one of the elven officer's tents. Her illness had alleviated some of the army's doubts to her allegiance, but she was still under guard. She had woken up again, this time in a private bedroom. Branwen had been there, and explained that they were in Trademeet and would be safe. She didn't remember much after that.

So where was here? She was in a dark stone room with no doors. Faint light came from above but she couldn't tell its location or what it was. A scuttling sound came from above her and she peered out anxiously. There was no soul to speak to her now, only the remaining taint. Had her father come back to take control?

"Aenwyn, what are you doing?" She recognized that voice. It had haunted her for months, but she hadn't thought she would ever hear it again.

"You're not Imoen. Imoen is dead."

The voice chuckled, sending chills down Aenwyn's spine. "Part of me lives on, sister." She spat out the last word. "I cannot rest in death until I am whole. While I lay tormented in our father's realm, you ignore me, you ignore yourself. You escape from your troubles in sleep. Well, then, your troubles will just have to follow."

A shape broke through the shadows above her and then receded before Aenwyn could make it out.

"Imoen, I'm doing what I can. My soul…I can't-"

"Can't what? Can't go on? Are you going to give up and die? I had no choice, I was stolen from my home and locked in a warded asylum for months on end with only the insane to talk to. My choice ended a long time ago. But you are free, you have a chance. Are you going to spit on my memory by missing that chance?" Movement again flashed by, this time behind the woman.

"Are you-are you really in Bhaal's realm?" Aenwyn choked. She hadn't wanted to think about Imoen's fate; her sister's death was difficult enough without wondering whether there was now peace for her.

Imoen laughed again, but the voice was rough and ended in a cough. "I'm having a grand old time, thanks for asking. Sarevok says hi. I'm a bit worse for the wear right now so you'll excuse me if I don't come out and greet you."

"Oh, Im, I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this."

"It doesn't matter what you wanted! This is what has happened. I didn't come here to listen to you whine. I came to tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself and continue your life. I can't rest without my soul. And you'll join me soon if you don't find yours. You wouldn't like it here, Aen; you never did like hot weather."

The Bhaalspawn shook her head, hands over her ears. "No. No! This is a dream, you are not Imoen. I saw you before, but it was never Imoen. You're the taint, you're everything evil in me. I will not let you do this to me!" She shut her eyes.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she leapt away, seeing a blistered arm retreat back into the darkness. "I am real, Aenwyn. Say what you like, it won't change anything. We're connected, we were always connected, even in Candlekeep." Imoen's voice almost sounded like the happy girl Aenwyn used to know for a moment. "Remember, Aen? We always knew where each other was, and we promised to look after one another forever. You remember?"

But Aenwyn was shaking her head, now ignoring the tears streaming down her cheeks. "No no no no no. The real Imoen wouldn't taunt me like this. I don't know what you are, but you're not my sister."

"Are you so sure?" A face surfaced from the shadows and Aenwyn screamed.

Anomen sat by the bed, staring at Aenwyn's pale face. "My lady," he whispered. "You must come back to us. This group will fall to pieces if you're not here to keep us in line." He drew a deep breath and looked around the room, then leaned in. "I have already begun to feel the threads unraveling, my lady," he whispered. "I do not know what came over me, but I was speaking to lady Aerie-"

Aenwyn stirred and he immediately froze, concern and hesitation mixed in his features. She hadn't been awake for several days and had barely moved save for crying out at whatever dreams plagued her.

Now, as Anomen wondered whether he should get the others, Aenwyn sat straight up in bed and screamed. A rush of feet came from down the hall and soon the others stood in the doorway, expressions of fear, curiosity, and anger clustered in a knot. Aenwyn's screams turned to sobs, her eyes tightly shut.

"What did you do?" Branwen demanded, coming to her leader's side and trying to soothe her.

Anomen spread his hands defensively. "I was talking to her, nothing else! She must have had a dream."

"Do something!" Aerie cried, burying herself in Haer'Dalis' chest while the bard watched the scene in fascination. Anomen frowned but quickly replaced it with a blank expression.

Aenwyn had finally come out of the dream and looked around her with red eyes. "It was a dream," she murmured, ignoring Branwen's pleas to lie down. She noticed everyone staring at her and blushed. "I'm sorry, I've been having nightmares since Spellhold."

"We all have," Valygar said tonelessly.

The Bhaalspawn managed a smile. "You don't need to worry, I'll be fine. I just need some rest."

"You've been resting for days," Branwen rebuked, but there was deep worry in her eyes. "I feared you weren't going to get better."

Aenwyn paled at the news but said nothing. Aerie spoke up.

"We're going to find Bhodi soon and then go after Irenicus. Then you'll be better."

Aenwyn looked down at her thin form in the stained bed. 'How long do I have before I join Imoen?' she wondered. Aloud, she said, "When do we leave?"

The next morning, the group made its way to Trademeet's gates on horses Valygar had purchased from the innkeeper. As they neared the town's edge, they noticed a fight breaking out between the militia and what looked like wild animals. The scene placed everyone at unease.

"Why would animals be so close to civilization?" Valygar wondered. "And why would they be attacking humans without provocation?"

"Mayhap we have found the troubles our good friend the innkeeper spoke of," Haer'Dalis mused.

"Troubles?" Aenwyn asked.

Valygar shot Haer'Dalis a withering glance before answering. "We heard rumors of problems in town but knew that finding Bhodi was more important than investigating." He looked at Aerie, now, who sniffed and turned away.

If the Bhaalspawn noticed this, she said nothing, merely nodded as she rode to help. The others followed.

Branwen watched Aenwyn in concern. Not that she lacked faith in the warrior's abilities, but she had not seen her leader in combat since her collapse. She wondered whether the strain would be too much for the recently-recovered Bhaalspawn.

The animals were driven off easily enough, and Aenwyn's swordplay and spells helped in the battle, but she drooped in her saddle and was sweating heavily. She had sustained a slash to her leg which could have easily been avoided had she been paying better attention. The priestess frowned and healed the wound wordlessly.

Aenwyn asked the soldiers what was going on, and was directed to the mayor's house for more information.

"You can't be thinking of going there!" Branwen exclaimed. "You're in no shape to be dealing with these attacks. You're too weak!"

Aenwyn looked the priestess directly in the eyes. "If I'm too weak for this, how am I going to face Bhodi?"

"My lady," Anomen began, but Aenwyn held up her hand and he backed away. She looked ready to say something, but then swayed in her saddle. Valygar rushed over before she could fall and eased her to the ground.

"It seems Athkatla will have to wait," Haer'Dalis said as the others rushed to Aenwyn's side.

Thanks again for the comments. I will try to make the interactions as realistic as possible; it's most of my goal in writing this story. And I'm sure once I get a few chapters in I'll post this at the Attic. I like to have buffer chapters up in case things go slowly in the writing process. ;)