Finally it's there :D
You might realize that my grammar, spelling and such in this chapter are a lot better than usually - thanks to Finduilas88, who did the beta and the editing. Thank you:)

Chapter Four

"Thinking about it," the goddess said with a slight frown, "I'd say that night was what made us friends instead of mere companions." She nodded absent-mindedly. "Well, during the days and weeks that followed, we started talking more to each other... and after a while he reluctantly dropped the reserve that he usually showed towards others. Don't get me wrong, he was the kind of person that seemed to enjoy himself when surrounded by other people, but when you took a closer look, you got the impression that he somehow distanced himself from the others in the group. He talked to them, but he didn't reveal much about himself apart from his opinion about recent events, and he did not often ask the others about personal things either."

The bard shifted in his armchair and bit his tongue to hold back a couple of comments – not his style, really, but yet he considered it maybe a little too blunt in this case to confront his friend with the statement that he had figured out what was going to happen a while ago, and that the story in his opinion served a number of clichés.

The goddess raised her eyebrows, looking thoughtful.

"Does it? Well then, you must forgive me, my cherished bard...or maybe you have just heard so many tales in your life that there is little that does not seem familiar now?"

He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. He had not said a word, had he?

"No, you have not," she said, looking a little amused now, "But being a greater power in the planes should have some advantages, don't you think so? I'm sure you have not spent the last decades without learning anything new either." She seemed to find it pretty entertaining to have rendered the sharp-tongued bard speechless. "Ah, but I think I should continue now..."

The overall mood in the group had been grim during the last couple of days. Jaheira had been cursed by an old enemy of hers, a noble and ex-slave-trader named Ployer, who had lost his wealth due to the Harper's involvement in his 'business'. Since then, Jaheira had been growing weaker and weaker—with every passing hour it seemed—and finally Taya had decided to split up the group. They brought Jaheira —in spite of her heavy protests— to the house of Cernd, whom they had met a few weeks earlier. The calm druid agreed to take care of Jaheira, who could hardly stand on her feet by now although she would rather have swallowed a raw troll-liver than admitted it. Meanwhile, the rest of the group set out to look for a cure. From the information that had gathered so far, they needed to get hold of Baron Ployer, and quickly. The remaining four decided to split up in pairs at noon, having agreed that the Baron could not be too dangerous by himself and was probably too poor to hire any henchmen.

Now, with just one hour to sunset, Taya, who was wandering through the slums at Yoshimo's side rather aimlessly, was becoming increasing frustrated and angry. After rushing around the city all day without success, they were running out of ideas where else to search. But Tays was determined not to give up—Jaheira had fought too many battles at her side to perish like an old and sick woman now! And although Jaheira was not that young anymore, she should have a decent half of a century left to live, since she was of half-elven blood, and the thought of having to carry on without her hurt Taya. Although the druid had always been blunt and not at all sparing with her criticism, and had, if anything, been bitter and even more severe after Khalid's death, she was still the person who had taken the role of a mother both for Taya and Imoen. She thought uncomfortably about how her foster-sister might react if she had to tell her the druid had died... Taya could not stop her thoughts anymore at this point, so they kept circling around Jaheira, around the time they had spent together, and around death.

When she arrived at the same frustrating point for the dozenth time, she asked into the silence between her and Yoshimo "Please tell me...what does it feel like...you know, to…to die."

The bounty-hunter turned his head to look at her and raised one eyebrow.

"I have realized that the others pay a lot of attention to not letting you die in combat —but you have really never experienced it?"

Taya felt uncomfortable.

"Well—no. It would be rather final for me, I guess."

Yoshimo smiled reassuringly.

"From what I've seen, Jaheira is a very capable healer. She would be able to resurrect you."

"No, she would not," Taya stated plainly. Yoshimo seemed to consider for a moment whether Taya was just being stubborn or whether there might be more to it.

"Why not?"

Taya took a while to answer, then decided to trust him with the truth.

"I'm not sure... it has something to do with my heritage, but I can only guess what exactly it is."

"Your heritage?"

Yoshimo looked interested, but she just shrugged.

"My father. He...oh, you wouldn't believe me."

He grinned.

"I've seen many strange things on my journeys. There is little that could still surprise me."

"Is that so?" Taya arched an eyebrow. "Well —fine. My father is the dead god Bhaal. He foresaw his own death and so sired a number of mortal children. But it seems that they have not only inherited certain features and powers of his, for Bhaal actually split up his soul and passed it to his... spawn... as they call us." She spoke the word with a certain measure of contempt.

Yoshimo did not answer at once, but he looked neither shocked nor surprised, but thoughtful.

"Bhaal... the god of murder, whom Cyric killed in the Time of Troubles?" he asked.

"Precisely."

He nodded. "That would explain a couple of things...", he said, more to himself than to Taya. She, however, sensed the opportunity for another small, bracing argument on this dismal day, slapped him on the arm and asked, "Now what's that supposed to mean? Do I act so god-of-murder-like already?" She pulled a face that might have scared little children—or, more probably, made them laugh. Which was also was Yoshimo did, after he had looked at her a little startled for a second and realized that he had just spoken his thoughts aloud.

"Of course," he said, grinning cheekily, "I am afraid of you. It makes me very nervous that the others left me alone with you..."

"Oooh, and I'd hope you'd be nervous due to my... marvelous beauty..." She performed a pirouette that was meant to look light and graceful, but unfortunately tripped over the seam of her robes and bumped into a small group of beggars by the side of the street, who immediately started complaining. Chuckling, Yoshimo watched Taya's attempts to apologize and calm the people, who obviously refused to listen. A tall, bearded man looked at her threateningly.

"Oh, it's only the poor, to them you can do that, right?"

"Sir, please, I was just--"

"Just what? You just felt like bullying some of us, huh?" He took a step towards her, and Taya could smell alcohol.

"Really, I did not mean to insult anyone, I just accidentally..."

"She did not mean to insult anyone," roared the man, "You folks with your pointed ears and stuck-up behaviour and pockets full of gold, you really make me..."

"Mister," Yoshimo spoke calmly, putting his arm protectively around Taya's shoulders, "Our pockets aren't quite as full as you believe, but I think we can dispense with some coins, and you can forget about this little incident." Although he was speaking in a light and friendly tone, Taya could sense Yoshimo's tension; he would draw his sword in a split second if need be.

The man seemed to consider whether he should take this as another insult, but his greed triumphed over the pleasure he obviously took in screaming. He held his hand out to Yoshimo, who smiled and handed him five gold coins. The rest of the people, who had become silent as they watched the argument, now realized their chance, and Yoshimo had to give another coin to each of them so they would finally let them go.

When they were out of ear-shot, Taya sighed. "How much did my clumsiness just cost us?"

"Twelve gold coins," Yoshimo replied immediately.

"You counted."

"Of course." He grinned. "When we find your Imoen, I'll hand her a list with all the money spent on your clumsiness and the consequential delay in her rescue."

Taya could smile only very slightly about this; the mention of Imoen did not exactly cheer her up. Yoshimo also seemed to realize that this had not been a good comment to make, and patted her shoulder. Taya noticed just then that he still had his arm around her.

"Hey, chin up. Your friend is going to be all right, I'm sure."

Taya nodded, but she was not at all convinced of this. Irenicus was cruel. Irenicus was unscrupulous. He was using Imoen as bait, and since the only way to find out if she was all right was going there, Imoen would - as much as Taya hated to think of this - do this job well no matter whether she was dead or alive. Taya shuddered and rested her head on Yoshimo's shoulder for a moment. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw that he looked a little surprised, but then he probably decided that she could use a bit of comfort and just patted her arm again. They walked a short way in silence, until she remembered her initial question.

"You still didn't tell me... well, if you don't want to talk about it it's all right, but, I was just thinking about death and all that..."

She gave him a little unsure sidelong glance. Yoshimo released her, cocked his head, thinking, and frowned slightly.

"Well... first, everything turns black, the pain goes, and all the things that you could probably think of yourself. Then it's like... hmm... as if I am awakening, and I find myself in a dark and wide space... a place that scares me, I admit. The clouds in the sky are dark and so thick that you believe you could touch them if you just reached up. The land is rough, infertile... all there is is an endless field of black, sharp stone all around me, and I stand on the edge of a cliff, or rather a split in the rocks. It's so deep that I cannot see the ground. But it's not dark down there... from the depth comes a cruel red light that hurts in my eyes..." He shuddered. "I usually turn and run half a mile before I realize what has happened... that I've died. Then I struggle to overcome my panic, sit down on the black rocks that would cut my clothes and flesh if I was still alive, and pray to all the gods whose names I can recall that someone will resurrect me because I know that something will happen after a while if no one brings me back to life; but I never want to find out what that something is ..."

His gaze was empty, and although his skin was brown from the sun he looked pale, almost ill.

"I'm sorry," Taya mumbled, "Maybe I shouldn't have asked..."

He shook his head, staring at the ground. "No, no... I suppose it's normal to be curious about what comes... after." The thoughts of things he feared seemed to wash away from him slowly, then he raised his head with a jerk and looked at her firmly. "Do I seem like a coward to you now?" he asked brusquely. Taya was rather surprised.

"No, of course you don't." She shook her head. "But in my mind, you care for others' opinion too much."

He looked at her seriously.

"It's about honor... well I suppose people here think differently about it. But I don't care about any fool's opinion, I care about yours."

Taya smiled, a little unsure, though. Yoshimo smiled back, then looked around.

"We agreed to meet the others again at sunset, didn't we? I think it's time to return to Cernd's... Taya?"

He turned around to see that the elf had stopped in her tracks. Then she seized his arm and pulled him behind a heap of boxes and casks before he even realized what was happening.

"Taya, what…"

"Shh!"

She impatiently put one hand over his mouth, and pointed the other at a man walking down the street.

"That's him!" she whispered, "Baron Ployer!"

Yoshimo smiled grimly. "And he's alone... come, this is our chance."

He gave her a sign to block Ployer's way near a narrow side street, then sneaked up behind the Baron. The moment he saw Taya standing there, Yoshimo closed up to him and said loudly, "Ployer, my old friend!" Taya vanished into the side-street while Yoshimo whispered into the Baron's ear "Do you realize that there is a dagger at your back? Good. Now follow her, or it will have an unpleasant encounter with your innards."

Ployer protested quietly, but followed Taya. She finally stopped in the middle of the narrow street, that was actually not much more than a passage way between two houses, and took a dagger out of her pocket. Her hand was shaking slightly because she was so angry.

"Lift the curse from Jaheira", she whispered, "Or else..."

Ployer snorted, but the beads of sweat on his forehead belied his unaffected mien.

"Or else what, little girl? If you kill me you will never be able to cure your friend... and if you even try to I fear I'll have to call upon those most capable mages who cursed that Harper-fool for me again."

He smirked when Taya shot Yoshimo, who was still standing behind Ployer, a short unsure glance.

"He's bluffing," stated the thief, and pressed the knife a little harder into Ployer's back.

"Ouch! Put that away, will you. And no, I'm not bluffing. Now think carefully on what you two want to do." He grinned again. "Your little elven friend there doesn't look like she'll be able to defend herself long in an open fight... remember, no magic here for those with no license..."

Taya was now seething with only grudgingly controlled anger. She lifted the still shaking dagger to Ployer's throat and looked into his eyes. "Lift that curse. Now."

He smiled cattily and leaned a little closer to her, which meant that he actually brought his throat closer to her knife.

"Aw, the little Bhaal-Spawn is really angry, hmm?"

This took her completely by surprise. How did he know of her father?

Ployer used her surprise, seized her hand and spun around, so that she was now standing between him and Yoshimo, her own dagger at her throat. Yoshimo stared at him angrily, while Taya struggled in his grip.

"How quickly the tide can turn." Ployer laughed. "And now – to save my honor and as proof I was speaking the truth–I think I will have my mages come to finish off the two of you."

"You could not tell honor from a piece of waste if it struck your face," Yoshimo growled, but slowly lowered the dagger, while Ployer chanted some magical words.

Taya twisted in his grip and said angrily, "Stop him, Yoshimo, you probably won't need him alive to cure that curse! The monks told us that we..."

She gasped as Baron Ployer tightened his grip on her and the dagger, and a thin red line tickled down her neck. He had finished his chanting and asked smugly, "Do you really want me to kill you right now? I would hate having to do that myself, but if you force me... you see, I had actually planned to leave you to a sportive competition with the wizards, that would be more fun for both of us."

Taya would have spit in his face had she been able to turn her head. "Do something, Yoshimo! Once those mages arrive we'll both be lost, and so will Jaheira!"

Yoshimo did not move. "Let her go," he said calmly.

"I cannot see why," Ployer replied simply. "Besides, I should point out that you're in no position to give orders right now. You see, the basic tactics in a situation like this should be…"

"So where are your mages? " Taya interrupted through gritted teeth. Maybe if he lost confidence, they would still be able to overwhelm him. "Taking their time, aren't they? "

"And if they are, I can wait like this." Ployer laughed again. "But I am sure they'll arrive in an instant..."

Yoshimo hesitated, then said slowly, "Fine. I don't want to be here when they arrive. " He took a step back and seemed to disappear in the shadow of the tall buildings to the left and right of them.

Ployer snickered. "A great friend that you have there. It's always good to have someone you can rely on... oh, is that a tear? You're such a foolish, naive little…" He never finished the sentence, because at that particular moment a sharp blade struck him between his shoulders. Yoshimo appeared behind him. "That was a close shave," he stated and swiftly cleaned his knife, "Now let's get what we need from him and then disappear; who knows, these mages may still turn up yet... "

He put the knife away and looked up – and felt as though he had just received a fair punch to the stomach. It seemed that the Baron had twitched rather badly in the moment of his death; Taya was lying on the ground next to him, unmoving and bleeding rather badly. "Oh my... " Yoshimo knelt down next to her and hastily took a phial of healing potion out of his pocket, then hesitated. "Taya? You must swallow this, you hear me, please... " She did not react. Yoshimo cursed having not listened when Jaheira and Cernd had talked about different methods healing only a few days ago, and at a lack of any other ideas poured some of the potion over the cut on Taya's throat. "Please, come on... " Most of the sticky liquid merely seeped into the ground. But some of it seemed to form a thin film on the cut, and at least the bleeding stopped almost completely. But the wound did not really heal, and Taya still did not move. Yoshimo groaned and carefully poured some more potion over it, but to no further effect. "Come on, you can't do this to me... he'll kill me if you die... "

The phial was empty now; he threw it aside and searched his pockets for another one, but found that he had none. He cursed. Everything had gone wrong today. He tried to recall where Taya kept her healing potions, but could not remember ever seeing her use one—after all, he had no time to stare at her during a fight. So he started rummaging through her bag and then her pockets, praying that she was not out of potions, too. When he almost believed that she was, he finally found some of the little phials in an inside pocket of her robes. He wanted to sigh with relief, but then realized that he still did not know how to make her swallow the potion. Fortunately, at that moment, Taya started coughing. The cut started bleeding again a little, but most of the potion seemed to do its job in keeping the wound closed. Yoshimo was so relieved that he could have kissed her. Taya sat up against the wall and looked down her bloodstained and half-open robes.

"Uh... you weren't trying to take advantage of that situation, were you?" she mumbled.

"What! Oh, do shut up and drink this." Yoshimo uncorked one of the little bottles and almost stuffed it into her mouth. Taya smiled and obediently drank the potion. The cut healed slowly, leaving only a white scar. She wanted to get up when she had emptied the bottle, but Yoshimo seized her shoulders and gently pushed her back down.

"You better stay seated for a little while longer."

Taya shrugged, sat back down and started searching trough Baron Ployer's belongings until she found a coil of blonde hair.

"Do you think this is what bound the curse?" she asked and handed Yoshimo the strand. He looked at it, then replied, "I think so." He offered her his hand to help her get up. "Shall we get going, then? The others sure will be pleased to hear we were successful." Taya nodded and let him help her to her feet. She still felt a little dizzy, but that would be gone after a night's rest. Yoshimo smiled and turned to leave the alley way, but Taya caught his sleeve. A little surprised, he turned around again.

"Thank you," she said slowly, "For saving both Jaheira's life, and my own." She quickly and a little clumsily kissed his cheek, then turned to leave. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"How did you know what happened while you were unconscious? Did he tell you later?"

The goddess nodded. "Obviously." She raised one eyebrow. "What I, or rather we, found out a bit later, too, was that Nalia and Minsc had paid Ployer's henchmen to stay away from him... otherwise I would not be here today, I assume." She smiled wryly. "Should have taught all of us a lesson about being so careless..."

"Hmm..." made the bard, then smirked. "Well, but I guessed correctly."

The goddess smiled back warmly, which was rather uncommon for her. "I suppose you can rely on your guess concerning tales," she said.