Chapter 18

The sidetrack

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Xan stepped back, his moonblade hissing as he pulled it out of his opponent. The assassin crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, a gaping hole through his chest. Whatever illusions he'd conjured flickered and died along with him. For the next few seconds, nothing moved except for the flickering magical flames on Xan's blade, casting their surroundings in an eerie bluish light. Nashkel was still. No other threat seemed forthcoming. With that certainty, Kivan discarded his bow to rush forward, past Xan and the cooling corpse, just in time to catch Elene as she stumbled.

For one terrifying moment, all he could see was the blood – Gods, there was so much blood. And still more leaked out from the deep cut across her throat. She…how did she manage to stand and fight after such a wound? Was she going to make it?

Then her fingers clamped around his arm in a vice grip. His focus skittered upwards and met her eyes. There, he saw the raw, potent fear of a cornered animal. Underneath it, though, hope shone through, pressing him to help her. Save her. Rattled, he scrabbled for something, anything to staunch that river of red trickling down her front. Memories of dead eyes in a deserted forest came to the fore of his mind, of his past failure, of the other woman he had been too weak to save.

Reaching past Elene, he retrieved her fallen scarf and pressed it into her throat, willing the girl to live.

Kivan twitched out of reverie to a firm hand shaking his shoulder. His eyes opened to the sight of Yoshimo leaning over him. The circles under the other man's eyes appeared oddly pronounced in the low light of the flickering campfire.

"Your turn, my friend," whispered the Kara-Turan.

Yoshimo didn't wait for a reply, already moving off to his own bedroll on the other side of their makeshift firepit. Kivan took a deep breath to orient himself, savouring the clean night air. Then he glanced to his right, blinking as his eyes adjusted to low light.

Elene lay bundled in her bedroll facing him, with Jaheira's sleeping form on her other side. His gaze lingered on the elf's now-unmarred throat for a while, before straying to her face. A small crease wrinkled her brow even in rest. On top of that, her skin seemed paler than usual, almost pallid. Exhausted, no doubt, from the endless worries and stresses of the past days. Her bloodied form in his reverie flashed unbidden in his mind. Truly, what justice existed in a Realm that allowed such evil to befall people like her and…and Deheriana. He eased out of his bedroll, deciding that he would take Elene's turn for watch along with his own. Not like he needed much rest anyway.

The night was warm, for once a welcome change from the northern climes he was accustomed to. Evergreen trees grew in the region laden with large, rounded leaves. More insects chirped in the night, too. He settled on a rock at the edge of camp, listening intently. No movement within the immediate radius. He drew in a slow breath as he watched the treeline with the trained eyes of a hunter. Nothing. Not even a hare bounding through the undergrowth.

They were safe for now.

It was nice to be out of the city. He'd felt out of his element for weeks, trapped as he was in a jungle of stone and glass with traitors and thieves round every corner. If it wasn't for Imoen, he would have dragged Elene to disappear out in the wilderness, away from the maniacs grasping after her. As big as Athkatla was, he still felt it was dangerous for her to remain there for any length of time. The hardest target to hit was a moving one.

Gathering his weapons, he pushed off the rocky perch for his first patrol of the night. A relief to be alone after the rude intrusion of old memories. For weeks, he'd allowed the search for Elene and the others to consume him, and it kept out his dark thoughts of failure, of regret. In the end, only a fool would believe they could escape their past with such ease. He shook his head clear of melancholy, throwing himself into his task as he marked the passage of a wolf on a clay bed not far from camp.

Forward. He had to keep moving forward, for Imoen's sake if nothing else. Constant motion and struggling along had its advantages, even if all it did was to dam the tides just for one more day.

They'd gone off the beaten path, so their surroundings were filled with wildlife instead of fellow travellers. Bandits were less of an issue here than along the Sword Coast, so that was one less thing to be worried about. The air cooled in the final hour of twilight, but the familiar prickle of heat began to build with the first rays of orange in the eastern horizon. That was his sign to return to camp after his second patrol. He was unsurprised to be on the receiving end of a dirty look from Elene on arrival. Yet she didn't say a word about him taking her watch. There must be an element of gratitude in that, given how tired she'd been yesterday.

Anomen affirmed their destination on the map after a simple perfunctory breakfast, and off they went. Only a fool would have missed the undercurrent in the group after the secret meeting they'd returned from. Jaheira barely said a word to anyone since, while Kivan himself was still sore with her from the whole fiasco. He didn't miss the speculative looks from both Anomen and Yoshimo as they trekked. The only consolation was that they would detour to the de'Arnise Keep along the way. Speculation of what awaited at Nalia's home kept the rest of the group occupied, at least.

Like the day preceding, their journey was uneventful. Yoshimo tried his best to cajole Elene into various discussions as they walked. Elene's replies were noncommittal at best, non-existent otherwise, her eyes regularly wandering to Jaheira as they walked.

"Jaheira," she called out as they traversed past a glade with dense foliage. "Is that a dahlil flower?

The druid glanced at the patch of white flowers she was pointing at. Instead of subjecting the flora with her usual laser scrutiny, she only grazed the scenery with a cursory look.

"No, child. Dahlil wouldn't grow this far south besides," she replied.

No offer of alternatives to the flower in the region, no further explanation given. Elene nodded and let the matter drop. Clearly Jaheira wasn't in the mood for herb lore. Her mind dwelled on darker matters. Kivan didn't need to guess at what they might be.

"I see it," Jaheira announced after another hour of trekking.

Kivan quickened his pace to catch up until he caught sight of red-bricked turrets in the distance. A whole keep erected on a patch of fertile land. His eyebrows went up. This Nalia…her family alone could afford to live in a castle of that size? He suddenly found it hard to muster sympathy for a noblewoman swaddled in velvet and silk, likely hiding behind armed troops and hired swords.

"How do you beat that?" Elene wondered.

"By going over." Yoshimo thought for a moment. "Or under."

Murmured speculations continued. Defences, the strength of the attackers. As they approached, though, Kivan's ears caught the sound of activity nearby. Like a hive of people moving hither and thither. It reminded him of the Flaming Fist encampment in the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

"We have company," he said.

"I'll take a look," Elene volunteered, sounding grateful to fall into a familiar rhythm.

As any good scout will tell you, stealth was difficult in broad daylight. Elene had come a long way since her first lessons, though, pulling at the threads of natural shadows and fading from sight like a born disciple of Shar. In the next minutes, the party took up defensive positions as they awaited her return. From Nalia's entreaty, her enemies had been camped along the outer walls. The last thing they wanted was to walk into an encampment of hostile combatants.

Kivan chose not to be idle while they waited. He dumped his equipment at the foot of the largest tree in the vicinity. Then, he climbed. The foliage was thick enough to give him solid cover unless his presence was already expected. Once he was two-thirds up the branches, he settled into the bough, taking care to have one hand on the broadest branch just in case. The keep loomed as large as he'd estimated based on the turrets, spanning three to four acres of land, with outer walls as high as 40 feet. His sharp eyes meticulously combed the outer walls for insight on what they were dealing with. No guards. No movement. Too quiet for a keep supposedly under siege.

After a while, he tensed. Something green moved across the gap in the battlements. Though it was not so much the colour that startled him as he leaned forward for a better look. The creature loomed over the stone walls around nine feet tall, trundling forward with an odd loping gait. Its arms were long enough to almost touch the ground.

A troll.

He cursed under his breath. Fire. They needed fire. Acid, too, but fire was a lot easier to come by. Trolls possessed unnatural regeneration, capable of growing back lost limbs in a matter of hours, unless taken down with fire or acid. Combined with their size and brutish strength, if there was a horde of them in play, it came as no surprise that the defenders were overwhelmed in a matter of days. He wondered how they were to retake the keep from that kind of invader. Did trolls even invade human forts? His head spun from the number of questions that chased after one another. None of this made sense.

Had he known what they were up against, he would have shaken up that Ribald fellow for all the fire arrows he was worth.

Below, he heard Anomen's voice raised in a question. Elene must have returned. Adjusting his grip, he began the swift climb back to earth, in time to join the hurried discussion a few yards away. He picked up his discarded items, though his eyes never strayed from the half-circle forming around Elene. From her report, she'd made contact with Nalia and the remnants of the Keep's force not too far away, a force of about a few dozen strong. Some of the noblewoman's people were still within the Keep, unable to escape in time. Nalia had invited them to take shelter at her palisade to plan their assault in greater detail.

"Did she mention we're facing trolls?" Kivan asked abruptly.

A pregnant pause. And then…

"Trolls?" Jaheira exclaimed.

"They've taken the Keep? Why would trolls attack a human fort?" Anomen asked over her.

From Elene's wide eyes, it was apparent that Nalia had neglected to inform her that crucial fact. But that surprise quickly morphed into cold anger. "What is she playing at, keeping that kind of information from us?"

"If I were to guess, it's to avoid us saying 'no' straight away," Yoshimo muttered.

Jaheira glowered. "I don't know about this. As we are, we're not exactly equipped to face trolls. They are fearsome beasts, to be avoided unless necessary."

"We have some fire arrows, no? And Elene, you mentioned that your new spellbook has fire spells as well," said Anomen. "Combining forces with Nalia's men should be enough to turn the tide. She did say their numbers weren't many."

"Which she could also have been lying about," Yoshimo added.

Elene looked to Kivan. He twitched a shoulder. "I only saw the one."

"Doesn't fill me with confidence. There could be dozens more inside," she replied dryly.

"Elene, we must at least try to render aid. There are innocents still trapped behind the walls. We owe it to them to do something, if not to Nalia. Helm knows what those monsters are doing to them if the Keep is not retaken," Anomen implored.

For all his usual pomp and bluster, the knightling sounded genuinely sincere in his appeal. That gave Elene pause, her wary eyes straying back to the battlements, no doubt weighing the fate of the prisoners within against the mission they had to undertake in Trademeet. Since they were already there, Kivan could anticipate her decision – Anomen had pushed the right button. Elene was not that far gone to just walk away from this. Nalia's deception still stung, though. Kivan kicked himself as well for not pressing the woman harder for an explanation. He'd known there was something wrong from the start, just like with the Harpers. Next time, he was going to trust his instincts.

"The reward had better be worth it," Elene huffed at last. "Come on, Nalia's waiting."

As one, the group winced at the sounds the troll made in its death throes. Anyone or anything wandering the Keep's sprawling ground floor was sure to have heard that. For a moment, the combined forces of Nalia's men and Elene's stood in a loose semi-circle to catch their breath and prepare for what was about to come.

"Where to?" Elene asked, looking to Nalia.

"They would have taken my father to the dungeon, but we need to bring reinforcements in to have a chance." Nalia beckoned them to follow. "Here."

At the head of the group, she and her Captain of the Guard, Arat, pushed deeper into the Keep with a handful of militiamen. Anomen threw a glance over his shoulder at the rest of them before following, Jaheira and Elene close at his heels. Kivan stepped over the still-smoking troll carcass as he picked up his pace to remain in step. Behind him, Yoshimo switched to generic arrows, doing his best to conserve the acidic ones he'd been given by Captain Arat. Prudent. According to Nalia, there were likely a dozen more of these beasts lurking in her home, not counting umber hulks and hissing snake creatures.

"How averse are you to property damage?" Elene asked Nalia as they hurried on.

Nalia shot her an odd look. "What do you mean?"

"We may need to…level the playing field when things get hairy. I have some, ah," Elene cleared her throat. "…volatile substances that can help with that. The only issue is that it will damage your home."

"As long as you don't get us killed, do what you have to. I just want these monsters out!"

Kivan pondered if Nalia would come to rue her words by the end of the day. Their mission was straightforward: come in from behind, sow chaos within enemy ranks, and let reinforcements in through the Keep's enormous drawbridge. From there, they would fight their way up to the second floor, then press through the secret entrance to the cellar, where the enemy will logically hold out in the family vault with prize prisoners.

Experience, however, taught Kivan that straightforward missions had a habit of becoming complicated very quickly.

So far, entering via a secret entrance to the west of the Keep allowed them to catch the sentries off-guard. They overcame the inner defences quickly without any losses, even freeing a clutch of servants cowering in the storeroom. According to them, terrible fates had befallen servants unlucky enough to be caught in the open when the creatures broke through. The mangled bodies strewn about the hallway more than confirmed the survivors' story. Kivan wondered at the fate of Nalia's father, if these beasts knew enough to keep a 'prize prisoner' alive.

Wisely, he kept his doubts to himself.

The noise from their running battle inevitably drew their enemies to their location. He could hear heavy steps approaching. More trolls, or worse. At the door leading to the courtyard, Arat gave the signal. Gritting his teeth, he picked a defensible vantage point near the entrance, where he would hold the position with Anomen, Yoshimo, Jaheira and two of Arat's men while Elene and the others stormed the courtyard. The way must be kept open for reinforcements coming in from the drawbridge, or the strike team would be doomed. Yoshimo fingered the bright vials at his belt, brows furrowed in uncharacteristic seriousness.

A roar reverberated from the courtyard. The battle was joined.

From then on, enemies began pouring out of the audience chamber and adjacent hallways. Trolls, yuan-ti, even an umber hulk. Yoshimo hurled his collection of explosive potions toward the advancing monsters, bright flashes accompanying the blasts. It was fight or die at this point. In the mad rush, Kivan spent a few precious seconds to run his fingers on the feathered shaft of his remaining fire arrows. Sixteen left, meaning he'd used fourteen already. He'd have to make the remainder count, skipping conservation altogether. What was the point in saving up on special ammunition if he was too dead to use them?

Fifteen.

Off went the next arrow, straight through the throat of a giant sword-wielding yuan-ti that had turned the corner. He'd never fought such creatures before, wicked serpentfolk known to feast on humanoid flesh. Good thing the cooler clime of his home would be unwelcome to cold-blooded creatures. The creature hurtled back against the wall in shock and pain and ended up an easy target for Anomen's finishing slash.

Vines sprouted at the entryway to the main hall, stalling the charge of an angry-looking umber hulk. Kivan turned his sight so that he wouldn't look directly at it. Nalia had warned them that gazing into the eyes of an umber hulk could cause confusion, a psionic attack that severely dented the Keep's defences when her militiamen began to turn on one another in the initial onslaught. Piercing attacks won't do much against the creature's thick carapace anyway. Instead, his next target was a troll menacing Jaheira. This shot would be tricky, he needed to avoid hitting the druid's back in the fracas. On her other side, another yuan-ti suddenly slithered in, seeking to overwhelm her with sheer force of numbers.

In a split second, he switched his target.

Sixteen.

"To arms!"

A battle horn resounded in the distance. From behind him, armoured men and women in de'Arnise livery charged inside. They struck the front line slowly engulfing the defenders like waves hitting the shore. Yoshimo let out a relieved laugh as he eased off, allowing the main force to do their work. That had been close.

Elene flashed past Kivan with Nalia close behind. Both women shimmered with bluish light, a layer of magic keeping them protected in the battle in lieu of heavy armour. Instead of joining the battle in the main chamber, they cut through the northern corridor. Arat likewise split off from the main force to go with them. Kivan thought furiously for a moment, recalling Nalia's action plan before she kicked off this mad operation. The vault. They were heading for the vault. Turning to follow, he readied himself for a quick shot. Speed was of the essence.

"Anomen! We're moving!" he shouted.

He didn't wait for their melee fighters to catch up, squaring up for a clean shot on a surprised yuan-ti barring Elene's way.

Seventeen.

"To the kitchens!" Nalia called out over her shoulder.

He held his fire in the next dozen or so paces, too risky to chance a shot over Elene's head while he was on the move. Not that she needed the help. Her enchanted sword rose and fell in a vicious metronome as she cleared the path. It was the same ruthless efficiency she'd displayed when they slaughtered the bandit camp many months ago. Elene could be downright frightening when she hit her stride. Besides, Nalia was doing a good job sweeping up after her.

Until they reached the kitchen, that was. An enormous troll emerged from the stairwell, growling as it dragged its gangly arms behind it. Elene cursed as it took a test swing at her, dancing out of the way of a swift beheading. With a barked command work, a bolt of fire shot from her hand towards the troll's head. Her attack only grazed the beast, but its flesh sizzled from the flames. It reared up to full height, roaring in pain, claws stretched for its next attack.

Ideally, he should get out of the doorway to avoid blocking those behind him. The situation, however, was far from ideal. From the size of the thing, one opportune swing could turn the fight ugly. He drew the bowstring back, hopeful that no one would blunder into his elbow as he released the fire arrow.

Eighteen.

The beast fell back with a gurgle, clutching at its ruined eye. Given how long they've been fighting, the horrendous charred stench of burnt troll flesh no longer stung Kivan's nostrils. In fact, the smell mingled almost seamlessly with the other aroma coming from the kitchen area they were fighting in. He tried not to analyse that realisation too closely. Another arrow slid onto his bow, this one aimed for the troll's throat.

Nineteen.

"Keep moving! More coming!" Arat roared from corridor.

"We must block them from coming up the stairs! Or we'll be overrun on the second floor!" Nalia shouted as she stepped over the smouldering troll corpse.

Movement in the corner. Kivan swivelled on his heel, his mind recognising the threat before his eyes had even locked onto the target slithering in from the other doorway.

Twenty.

The yuan-ti kept its footing even with a shaft in its sternum, hissing in fury as he charged at Anomen in the rear. The man raised his shield to take the blow before bringing up his own sword for a decisive thrust into the creature's middle. Another arrow flew in from Yoshimo, eliminating their enemy in a quick strike. Tough little bastards, these snake things.

Elene grabbed Nalia's arm. "Lead them up. I'll bar the way."

Nalia goggled at her. "How?"

"Let me worry about that."

Turning away, Elene shot Jaheira a knowing look. The druid frowned but gestured to the others to follow. They raced up the stairs two steps at a time. Just beyond the doors, more shouting erupted as what seemed like a new wave of enemies surfaced from the barracks. Kivan paused halfway up the steps, hesitating as Elene cast a spell, enveloping herself in a reddish sheen. She shot a grim smile up at him once she was done, a familiar gleam in her eye. Her fingers were clasped tightly around a nondescript cylindrical tube from her utility belt.

"Go. I'll catch up."

Not a trace of worry in her voice. He didn't know what she was up to, but with magic back in her repertoire, he suspected she was up to her old tricks. Nodding, he continued his way up. Experience taught him that he didn't want to be anywhere near what she was about to do.

The second floor was already a warzone by the time he reached the landing. More snake things, despatched by the combined force of Anomen and Jaheira, with Nalia and Yoshimo sweeping up stragglers with ruthless efficiency. For a dainty little noblewoman, this de'Arnise woman really can fight. He advanced with a prayer to Shevarash on his lips. Spreading his feet, he nocked his bow and lined up his shot, aiming for a small troll that had just barrelled through the doorway. He was in his element. Fast, surgical fights meant to stun and incapacitate. That was the main success factor in their push, the same reason why they had to strike with small numbers in the first wave.

Twenty-one.

…and he found himself wobbling on his feet as the ground beneath him rocked from a terrific explosion. The heat against his back made him glance over his shoulder with dread. Flames licked up toward him from the stairs, the dull roar of fire drowning out all other noise.

"Kivan!" Jaheira shouted.

Cursing, he nocked another arrow and re-joined the battle. The troll had already torn Jaheira's shield from her grasp. Small it may be, but what it lacked in strength it made up for in speed. As it moved in for a vicious swipe, she angled away to give Kivan an opening. He took it.

Twenty-two.

The arrow ignited in the air as it sailed into the troll's eye socket. A guttural roar escaped the beast, cut short by Jaheira's flaming sword slashing in at an arc. The troll's mouth was still wide open when its head landed on the floor a few feet away with a wet thump. Nothing was going to regenerate back to life from that. For a moment, the room fell silent as the group caught their breath from non-stop pitched battles.

Kivan frowned as he caught the sound of footsteps behind him. Whirling in surprise, he witnessed Elene emerge from the ball of fire that was once the de'Arnise kitchen, still with that reddish sheen, now glistening over a layer of sweat built up from the blaze. Otherwise, though, she looked unharmed by the havoc she'd wrought below, even as flames licked at the rubble near her feet. As the adrenaline began to ease, he almost chuckled at the others' shocked expression at her appearance.

Yoshimo laughed. "Jan's little trinket packs a wallop, eh?"

Elene cleared her throat, nodding to Nalia.

"Sorry about your kitchen," she said.