I just wanted to say that I've tried to focus on the character's social interactions with each other more in this story, so please let me know how I've done in a review! That said, I also wanted to inform my readers that there WILL be romancing between party members later on in the chapters (hopefully not too long from now) and it WILL be MUCH more interesting than the flat boring romance they have in the game. I love creating turmoil between characters, and I love jealousy, so keep an eye out for such pursuits later… I've got a whole romancing plan laid out in my head, hehe…
Tired of the chitchat? Me too. On with the story!
The DreamPain was all she could feel as she opened her eyes. Searing pain, aches, burns, and malevolent stones that bludgeoned her heart as a butcher hammers upon fresh meat. It was nearly unbearable, and she tried to scream but found that she had no voice within her throat. Was she dreaming again? Through her stunted vision she managed to see that she was in a dark room, and her excellent night vision instantly illuminated the dark abyss that formed before her eyes.
Caged. She was caged into a miniscule prison of cold metal bars, and beyond her walls was naught more than further darkness. She forced herself to stand; using the bars for stability as she foisted her poorly clothed self onto her feet. Her head felt light and dizziness made her body sway, though she suddenly snapped into awareness as a deep male voice startled her.
"So, the child of Bhaal has awoken."
Her head whirled to face the direction of the voice, her eyes piercing the shadows that engulfed the figure of this strange man. A bulky, well-muscled outline stood in front of her cage, looking down upon her with his arms folded across his chest. Though her vision was still quite fuzzy, there was something about his eyes that glowed evilly through the shadows, and she could see them clear as day.
The young woman squinted at him through her elven eyes, still quite confused about where she was. Her memory seemed to have been wiped away; like her entire life was nothing but a vague silhouette of a forgotten dream. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. It was clear that she had been magically Silenced.
"It is time for more… experiments," the man said darkly.
No! The man began uttering some kind of evocation under his breath, though the prisoner could not discern any magical words that she recognized. A tiny globe of light appeared and hovered before him under the shelter of his cradling hands. It grew steadily as he spoke his magic, pulsing and scintillating under the fuel of this mage's obvious expertise. Without a moment's notice, the man suddenly shoved orb of raw power towards his prisoner. Once free from the refuge of the wizard's hands, it exploded into great ball of red fire, which then continued to collide head-on with the helpless disoriented elf.
She tried to scream, but alas, her voice was still impaired and would not allow her to do so. She simply had to take the blow in silence, though her face clearly expressed the pain that her voice would have cried.
The fireball smashed into her body in a cloud of flame and smoke, though, like most magical fires, did not cause her clothes to catch aflame. Instead, it scorched her skin and burned her eyes, and the smoldering molten remains of the ball fell in a rainstorm of ash onto the metal floor of her cage. Her knees buckled and she fell once again, bearing her pain with nothing but clenched teeth and a grimace.
She much have been dreaming again. She must have. All she needed to do was wake up…
"Interesting. You have much untapped power," she heard her captor say calmly.
She pulled herself onto her feet once again, anger now seizing hold of her chest. She searched her brain for some of her own magic to retaliate, but she was so exhausted her mind could not even comprehend the idea.
"Do you even realize your potential?"
The prisoner's ears detected new footsteps. Big, heavy ones coming from the passage behind where her captor was currently standing. It sounded almost as if these new footsteps belonged to a man made of rock. A golem, perhaps? The elf craned her neck to look down the hall, but at that moment, her captor began throwing several more hostile spells into her cell.
Dozens of white, palm-sized orbs of lightning flew towards her body, sizzling with energy and heat. They pelted her like rocks, both shocking her and crushing her with the force they delivered together. She tried to shield herself with her arms, but they soon knocked her off her feet and she teetered backwards, hitting her head with a solid thump against the back bars of her cage. She fell limp into the ashy ground like a puppet with no strings. The prisoner had been knocked unconscious once again.
The mysterious man peered over her body nonchalantly, and huffed, frustrated. "It seems my Godchild has passed out again," he muttered to himself. "How disappointing. Just when I was beginning to have fun."
The owner of the thundering footsteps emerged from the shadows of the preceding hallway, and revealed himself to indeed be stone golem, just as the elf prisoner had suspected. The construct looked to be a giant composed of rock, boulders, and dirt, and it towered above the ground at a menacing nine feet height. It walked in a machinelike fashion as it approached its master, each stride the exact same length as the previous one, and its head always staring directly ahead. The man turned to face it inquisitively.
"More intruders have entered the complex, Master," the golem said, its deep voice mechanical and emotionless.
"They act sooner than we anticipated," the master replied, for the first time showing a slight amount of concern in his voice. "No matter; they will only prove a slight delay."
He then dismissed the golem and it turned back the way it came, expressionless and unresponsive as always. "Worry not, my young Godchild… there will be more time for you later." He muttered a few more words, accessing his expansive repertoire of magic, and was almost immediately whisked away in a flash of purple light; teleported off to another demanding task that called his attention.
"No… No! Stop… not… not again!" Kanara Erion screamed as she thrashed violently about on her bare sleeping mattress. Her bedcovers had long since been kicked off of her body because of her jerking, and now lay in a crumpled pile at the foot of her bed. Her pillow was obscured and almost falling off the bed's edge, and Kanara's wavy golden hair was tangled and matted like a rat's nest.
In moments, Jaheira had sprung up from her bed on the opposite wall and was shaking her elven friend from her night terror, perhaps a little more forcefully than she might have intended. Kanara's sapphire eyes opened wide from fear and she immediately sat bolt upright, startled from both her vivid dream and the sudden fierce shaking she was receiving from the druid.
"Where… where am I?" Kanara blurted out wildly, scouring the candlelit room over like a hawk.
"Kanara, calm yourself," Jaheira commanded, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. Aerie had now been roused from her sleep from all the commotion and joined the scene, her brow creased in concern.
"You are in the Mithrest Inn, Kanara," Jaheira explained. "We are in Athkatla. We arrived here yesterday."
Kanara's heavy breathing slowed and she leaned against the headboard of her bed. "I… must have…" she trailed off, now remembering the party's hasty escape from the wizard, Jon Irenicus' dungeon the previous day. "I just got a little confused, it seems."
"It's alright now," Jaheira soothed. "We're safe here. Minsc and Yoshimo are in the next room over."
Kanara closed her eyes. "I… had a nightmare. I'm sorry; did I wake the two of you?" she asked.
"I-I think you just awoke the entire inn with that screaming of yours," Aerie hesitantly interjected. "Almost sounded like you were being t-tortured."
Kanara rubbed her eyes tiredly, choosing not to inform the young Aerie of how correct she was. Aerie had only just become an addition to the party the previous day, and there was no use in worrying her about Kanara's past so early into their adventure. Aerie was fragile, and it would take time to harden her for the tasks ahead. They had to be careful not to rush things.
"There's no need to apologize, Kanara," Jaheira said. "We know you've had quite a painful experience these last few weeks. I'm not surprised it has left some… unseemly images in your head."
Kanara raised a brow slightly, eyeing Jaheira suspiciously. How did she know what she had been dreaming about? But, she supposed it was not strange for one to assume that's what her nightmare was composed of. Like Jaheira had said, she had had a remarkably agonizing few weeks. The elf discarded her suspicions.
"You may think an apology is not due, but I feel I must deliver one regardless," Kanara said. "Your sleep has been needlessly interrupted because of my foolish overactive imagination. I sincerely apologize and hope that it will not happen again."
"Oh, Kanara, you are much too formal," Aerie said with a giggle. "But, if it will quell your restless mind, I accept your apology."
"As do I," Jaheira repeated. "Now let us return to bed. Adventure does not coalesce well with a tired mind or body. We must sleep."
Kanara nodded with a smile. They turned around and retreated back to their beds, and Kanara reached down to where her bedcovers were crumpled and pulled them over her body. Jaheira snuffed out the candle on her nightstand and the room fell dark as the gloom brooding outside of the window. The shadows significantly calmed Kanara's still buzzing head, and it didn't take long before the peace of sleep took her body. The rest of their first night in Athkatla was uneventful.
That morning was the first serene awakening Kanara had experienced in weeks due to her underground imprisonment. Instead of being roused by the clanking of chains or the pain of torture, the elf was calmly stirred from her rest by golden rays of sunlight that beckoned her mind to wake and her body to arise. She felt surprisingly refreshed despite the occurrence of her dramatic nightmare, and almost immediately jumped out of her bed to enjoy the unique contentment the morning had to offer. Kanara had always been one to take pleasure in the morning hours; even when she was just a child in Candlekeep she could almost always be found awake at touch of even the earliest rays of the sunrise. Perhaps it had something to do with being a Golden Elf, or perhaps it was just her personality.
She slipped her socks and boots over her feet to repel the chills of the stone floor, pulled her light leather armor and hooded cloak over her body, and sheathed her dual longswords at both of her sides. She knew attachment to material items was something to try to avoid, especially in the adventuring business, but she couldn't help but miss the familiarity and expertise she had with her old equipment that had been stolen from her by Jon Irenicus. She had two magical longswords, Kathyra and Nightstar, so they were called, each of different enchantments and abilities. She would brandish one in each hand and they would give her perfect balance; nothing like the plain longswords she had now, which were battle-tattered and lopsided. It had taken her two years of searching for perfect equilibrium before she found those swords, and Irenicus had easily stolen and sold both of them. They could be anywhere in the realms by now.
Kanara shook her head. There was a much more valuable thing that Irenicus had stolen from her as well – Imoen, her best friend from childhood and faithful companion on the roads of adventure. Kanara would give anything to have her back. She felt almost empty traveling without Imoen at her side.
The elf pushed these thoughts from her mind as she slipped through the wooden door into the outside hallway without waking the still slumbering Aerie and Jaheira. The inn was silent at this hour of the morning; most of its guests were human, and as Kanara knew, humans often enjoyed sleeping through the first hours of the day. Minsc wouldn't be awake for at least another two hours or so, of this Kanara was sure. However, she didn't know the elusive Yoshimo nearly as well as Minsc or Jaheira, for he, much like Aerie, was a new member of the party whom they had come across in the dank tunnels of Irenicus' dungeon. The only thing Kanara really knew about him was that he was from Kara-Tur, a continent far from the land of Faerun, and his idea of adventure is whatever will increase the size of his wallet the most. Nevertheless, he seemed true enough to Kanara's cause, for the time being at any rate, and his skills of stealth and disarming traps was a needed addition to the party.
Kanara silently glided down the mahogany stairs that lead to the lounge and entry hall. The Mithrest Inn was a cozy one; wooden tables were scattered about the floor, some with playing cards strewn across their surfaces, and velvet drapes lined the windows; filtering the yellow rays of sunlight that shone from the east. Thick, regal carpets covered the shale floor tiles, and an inactive fireplace to the elf's left looked to be a warm retreat from a cold night. A piano stood deserted on a stage-like platform to her right, beckoning her to run her fingers over the ebony keys and play a tune to chase away the haunting memories of Irenicus' dungeon. With some amount of effort, she tore her eyes away from the musical instrument tried to forget it was there.
She ran her finger around the gold piece in her pocket that would buy her breakfast and turned to face the bartender's counter. She was surprised to see Yoshimo sitting on one of the barstools with a plate of food already in front of him; his armor fastened to his body and his sword at his side. He looked as though he was ready to march out the door at this very second to begin the day, only deterred by the fact that none of the other party members were yet awake. Kanara was just shocked to find that someone had actually awoken before she had.
She quietly moved toward the counter and sat down on the stool next to Yoshimo's, wondering if he had heard her approach. "Top of the morning to you, my friend," she greeted warmly. "My, you're up early."
He turned to her with a welcoming smile on his face. "Never hurts to be prepared for the day," Yoshimo responded. "I'm just surprised to see you awake at such an hour; after last night's… events."
Kanara felt her face redden. "I woke you up as well, did I?"
"You must have been having quite the night terror. I heard your screaming right through the walls, but after the horrors of that dungeon that we saw, I can hardly blame you."
"Aerie was right, I must have woken the entire inn with my infernal screaming," Kanara muttered.
"Not quite the whole inn, my elven friend. Minsc slept right through it. Waking him must be like trying to wake a sleeping giant, I'd imagine."
Kanara chuckled. "Aye, that it is. I know from experience. You must think him quite the odd man because of his… condition. I only hope that he does not irritate you."
"He and his hamster? Yes, they are an odd pair, though I have seen stranger things in my travels."
"That relieves me. I would hate to have the most bizarre creature we've come across to be fighting right alongside us. It is best to avoid tension within the chain that is our group, for one weak link in even the sturdiest chain can cause it to snap and its freight come crashing to the ground."
Yoshimo laughed softly. "You speak as though reading from a book of poetry, Kanara. You are a bard, are you not?"
"I suppose one could call me a bard if they so desired," Kanara answered. "Though the term 'bard' is very difficult to define because we 'bards' are so diverse."
"We travel together and yet I know so little about you. I would love to hear the details of your previous adventures first-hand one day, should you ever have time to speak them. Unless, of course, you think that such time could be better spent doing something else?"
"You're asking a bard if she'd pass up the chance to recount the bloody particulars of her exciting years of adventures to a willing listening audience? I'd sooner impale myself on the spikes of a Wyvern's tail."
"Ha! I like you, elf. You are a pleasure to talk to. I'm sure that I will enjoy traveling with you and the rest of your group. That is, if you'll have me."
"Your company would be appreciated, Yoshimo. Every group perhaps needs a little touch of the… unlawful arts from time to time. I have no objection to it. I'm not always so legitimate, myself," Kanara responded, referring to Yoshimo's obvious proficiency in the talents of thievery.
"Truly? You strike me as a good, law-abiding person."
"Ah, but that in itself is a skill, no?" Kanara said with a sly smirk, her icy blue eyes flashing deviously. "That I might fool anyone into thinking I'm someone I'm not, that I might distract even the sharpest eye with the magic of my right hand whilst I reached into his pocket with the other. There is always more to a person than meets the eye."
"Indeed. We are not so different, you and I. I will… most definitely will benefit from traveling with you, and I hope to become… a good friend of yours," Yoshimo said, almost hesitant of his words.
"Aye, but there be no honor among thieves," Kanara replied darkly, looking down at the counter in front of them. "Rest assured, friends we may become, but I know next to nothing about you or where you come from. I'll be keeping both eyes open when dealing with you."
Yoshimo was taken aback slightly at the sudden turn of the conversation, and chose not to reply. He turned his attention back to the plate of food before him and continued to eat, wondering if this was how Kanara treated all the new members of the party or just the ones with a questionable reputation. After a moment's pondering he shrugged it off. She was wise to be wary of him; he was, after all, a thief of no saintly repute, and he did come a land far away from Faerun. He would have acted the same way towards her under those circumstances.
Two sets of footsteps could then be heard climbing down the stairs behind them. Kanara turned to see Jaheira and Aerie fully dressed and rested, their eyes bright and makeshift equipment outfitted onto their bodies. Aerie held an unadorned wooden staff in her right hand and Jaheira wielded a crudely manufactured spear in hers, and both of their sets of leather armor was torn and frayed at the sleeves and bottom. Suddenly, Kanara wondered how their group possibly escaped from Irenicus' dungeon alive with the dilapidated gear they were presented with.
"Good morning," Kanara saluted, relieved that the uncomfortable moment with the now quieted Yoshimo had ended.
"And to you," Jaheira said, taking a seat next to Kanara. Aerie followed with the next stool over.
"You look well rested, Kanara," Aerie told her. "Despite the restlessness of l-last night."
"That was the first night I have spent in a real bed in weeks," Kanara replied. "I wasn't going to let a simple dream ruin such a pleasurable experience for me."
"As much my druid training loathes to admit it, I did find it very enjoyable to indulge in the material comfort of a warm bed," Jaheira said, almost ashamed of herself. "Druids are not supposed to cosset such a primitive and creature want, but after sleeping against the cold bars of my cage for the past few weeks, I couldn't help but feel satisfied by the soft caress of bed sheets against my skin."
"You worry far too much, Jaheira," Kanara said, signaling the innkeeper that she wished to order breakfast for her group. "There's no dishonor in spoiling oneself to physical comforts."
Jaheira ignored her and turned away towards the approaching innkeeper. The keeper was a fat woman wearing a green dress, her face was oily and her posture rigid. She had sullen bags under her eyes and wore a tired frown across her face, pursed lips and lackadaisical features. "Aye," she said blandly as she came close to the party's counter. "What can I getcha, elf woman?"
"Whatever you have to offer on a clean plate, if you please," Jaheira replied.
The innkeeper gave a small snort in the back of her throat. "And you, young ladies?" she addressed Aerie and Kanara.
They both dittoed Jaheira's request, and the innkeeper indifferently waddled through the kitchen door at the rear of the room. The door closed with a snap behind her.
"Charming innkeeper we have here, don't we?" Kanara commented sarcastically.
"That is to be expected in Athkatla," Jaheira replied. "Do not anticipate any welcome in this city, my friends… This is the City of Coin, so they say, and the people living here will do near anything to relieve us of our money or otherwise remove us as competition. Not to mention the overall hostility from even the simplest commoner towards adventures like ourselves."
"This all seems rather silly to me," Aerie said innocently. "Why these people feel s-so compelled to be rude to one another, I will n-never understand. Why can't they all just work together in their city in peace?"
"You are young and naïve, Aerie," Jaheira responded. "You know nothing of civilization or the real world. Cities are magnets for selfish people who wish to attack one another either financially or in power struggle, and the only way to survive is to fight back. Crime is almost part of the economy – if it was taken away, the large organizations would dominate the financial system because none of their money would be stolen, and there would then be less money for the average peasant. There is always prey and predator here; there is no way both teams can win."
"And… and people choose to live this way?" Aerie asked, creasing her brow.
"It's got nothing to do with what you choose. Much of people's lives happen without their choosing, even if they do not realize it. Take Kanara, for example," the druid said. "Kanara, did you choose to become the adventurer you are today?"
"Of course not," she answered. "I thought I would live in the halls of Candlekeep all of my life. Adventuring was forced upon me, though I choose to make the best of it."
"You see, Aerie? Choice is hard to define. The choices that really matter are the ones that you make because of the things that are forced on you. Kanara chose to try her best to enjoy her life as an adventurer rather than detest it because it was forced upon her."
"I… I think I understand…" Aerie murmured.
"Here's another example. Did you choose to have your wings taken from you?" Jaheira asked the Avariel elf.
"I most certainly did not!" Aerie cried.
"And yet you still choose to carry on with your life," Jaheira pointed out. "The sad thing about the residents of Athkatla is that most of them have very little choice in their lifestyle. Say you born into a peasant family living in the slums; you would have no choice but to work to put food on the table. Should you aspire to making enough money to move out of this city and into the suburbs, your money would most likely be stolen from you before you could make any attempt at such a move, and then you would be right back to where you started."
"That's awful!" Aerie exclaimed.
"That's life," Kanara put in, only half-listening.
"As awful as it may be, Aerie," Jaheira continued, "It does create an irreversible cycle between the power groups, the thieves, and the peasant folk. This is a balance, however primitive, and should not be dismissed for simple archaic and unlawful behavior. In many ways, the thieves of Athkatla are the ones who keep the balance, for they steal from the larger organizations and law and then become customers to the peasants, who pay taxes to the law and large organizations."
"I n-never thought of it that way," Aerie said.
"You have much to learn about the world," Jaheira said wisely. "As does Kanara."
The bard, who was facing straight forward and pretending to be fascinated with a rack of deer antlers hung on the wall, gave a barely audible huff of annoyance at Jaheira's words. She was about to respond with some kind of witty remark about druids' shortsighted obsession with neutrality, but quickly decided to keep the statement to herself. As she had previously said to Yoshimo, she did try her best to avoid turmoil within her party, as that hardly ever lead to any situation that she or the rest of the group could benefit from. Disorder was best left for when it was truly necessary, and, as Kanara was indeed quite a master manipulator, she knew picking a fight of wit and wordplay with Jaheira was uncalled for (even if she was positive she would win.) Though Jaheira did very often test her nerves so close to their breaking point…
After a few moments of silence from Kanara's part of the table, Yoshimo decided to make his viewpoint vocal, veritably saving Kanara from needing to respond. "But is that not why we all have come to the path of the adventurer?" he asked grandly. "To expand our minds to the truths of many dark secrets this land holds just under its skin? Even the wisest of us who claim to know all can still be awed by yet another morsel of information, and then be awed once again by discovering that they indeed did not know all there is to know!"
Jaheira narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, just barely enough that Kanara could tell that she was irritated by Yoshimo's veiled implication. She turned away and faced forward, dismissing the comment as if it was nothing more than the meaningless rabble of a small child. Kanara flashed Yoshimo a quick smile of both gratitude and triumph. He returned the barely noticeable grin just as quickly.
Aerie cleared her throat. "Wh-where is Minsc? Should we not be taking off as soon as possible?"
"My dear Aerie, with that ranger in the party, we'll not be 'taking off' any sooner than the late hours of morning on any given day. That man certainly likes his sleep," Kanara informed the wingless Avariel.
Aerie subconsciously gave a longing look towards the door. Kanara couldn't help but smile a bit. Despite her meager experience, Aerie was eager to see the city without the impediment of metal cage bars obstructing her vision.
"But worry not, fair Aerie," Kanara continued. "There will be naught to keep us from embarking on our epic voyage into the dark inner core of Athkatla once all of our company has gathered to eye and ear this fine morning. The anticipation of great adventure and treasure beckons our party into its sinister grasp, and my heartbeat quickens with just the thought of what kind of trouble we will get ourselves into."
Aerie giggled. "You've an odd way with words, Kanara, and yet somehow, I feel drawn to your articulate banter. It is… uplifting, and d-dare I say, inspirational."
"Why thank you, my affable elf," the bard beamed. "Your kind words are very much appreciated."
The foursome continued to talk amongst themselves over their food that arrived at the hands of the fat innkeeper, and Kanara managed to keep any of the four from ruffling up anyone else's feathers for the duration of the conversation. The dazzling sun continued to rise further and further into the sky outside as it too roused itself from its retirement of the night. The hustle and bustle of Waukeen's Promenade steadily grew with the brightening of the city; the storekeepers one by one began to man their posts at their tables full of mercantile goods, the early shoppers started to cruise the selections the merchants had to offer, and the inevitable thieves that stalked the shadowy streets of Athkatla retreated back into their lairs. Even the rats that scoured the pavement and under the produce market's tables in search of crumbs of food were replaced by cawing seagulls that soared overhead.
In Athkatla, everything changed when daybreak cast its revealing rays over the buildings. The beams shed light upon all of the lies and foul practices and robberies that plagued the streets during the pestilence of night, it drove all of the burglars and rapists and murderers back into the darkness where they belonged, but only for a little while. Night would always come again.
Such was life in a big city.
It was a little past noon before the heavy footsteps of Minsc were heard descending the stairs into the Mithrest Inn's common room. The ranger had most definitely been very physically strained from the group's flee from the dungeon, and the party was very understanding of his fatigue. He, after all, did provide most of the muscle in the group, and Kanara wasn't sure they would have escaped without him, for she had been wracked with exhaustion.
Minsc, of course, was carrying his hamster, Boo, on his shoulder as he approached the foursome, an amiable smile on his face and his demeanor its usual cheerful bearing. They all exchanged greetings and Minsc ate his breakfast quickly, occasionally feeding his hamster from his plate as he had often done in the past. Kanara gave little mind to it. She had grown tolerant of Minsc's foolish obsession with his hamster and kept him in the party simply because he was such an excellent melee fighter, and mostly ignored his sporadic advice which often sounded like the ravings of a madman. In general, she avoided insulting Minsc or his hamster, partly because Minsc was downright terrifying when he was angry, and he could easily cleave the bard in two should his berserking nature get the better of him.
Despite this, he was a good man; a mad, frenzied, and crazy man, but a good one nonetheless.
As Minsc finished the last few bites of his meal, the party eagerly marched out of the Mithrest Inn's front door and into the blazing heat of Waukeen's Promenade. Kanara squinted as her eyes adjusted to the overwhelming light and surveyed the marketplace vigilantly. From their elevated vantage point, she could see every inch of the esplanade from the circus tents down below to the vast arrays of fruit and produce being displayed on the far side of the bowl-like bazaar. Thin tarps covered the market stands to keep the sun away from the fish and vegetables, though on such a hot day as this, the meager shadows were doing little good to keep the food fresh. The shopkeepers seemed accustomed to this though, and the heat did little to deter them from conducting their business.
Kanara led the way down the white stone steps before them that lead to ground level, and she couldn't stop her eyes to be drawn to the massive avalanche of rocks and stones to her right where she and her party had emerged from Irenicus' dungeon just the previous day. The passage was now holed-up with rubble and could not be reached from their current side, but Kanara couldn't help but think that after all these years, there was a secret dungeon underneath Athkatla's promenade that no one knew about, not even the local guard, not even the Cowled Wizards, and no one had done a single thing about it. It made her wonder what other secrets Athkatla was harboring in its underside, and just thinking about it made her blood tingle with the excitement of unearthing such furtive explorations.
She watched as several children played innocently in the debris, weaving in and out of the rocks and seeing which one of them could scale one particularly large boulder. They were so carefree and lighthearted, while the whole time, a realm of torture and pain lay just underneath their feet. She wondered what the world had been doing while she was being tortured by that mad mage. She looked over the marketplace again. The people were same as always, just buying and selling, carrying on with their lives as if nothing else mattered, as if there was no evil and pain in the world. And that's just what they were doing as she was being brutally tortured and tormented – just as they always have and always will.
Such was life in a big city.
Kanara sighed and tore her eyes away. She continued to lead her group through the thick flurry of people that entangled the streets and flocked the stores, ignoring the frequent stares that she received from the townsfolk. They were unaccustomed to visitors, and from what Kanara could discern from their wary whispers to each other, a few of them recognized her group as the one that had surfaced from the massive black hole that had erupted from the ground, which their children now thought of as nothing more than a plaything. Kanara was used to such stares.
"Umm, Kanara," Aerie said as they walked through a particularly large crowd that immediately parted at the sight of them. "Have you given any thought to where it is that we are g-going?"
"That is indeed quite the correct question to ask," Jaheira said.
"We're going to find Irenicus," she stated blandly, not slowing her pace. "And make him pay," she muttered to herself, not loud enough for the others to hear.
"I don't want to be the one to point this out," Aerie continued, "but you don't really know your way around this city. I-I'd hate for us to get lost in the many buildings and houses that clutter the streets here, Kanara, not on the first day of our travels."
"Bah!" Minsc cried, his booming voice making Aerie jump. "You've seen one city, you've seen them all – worry not, little Aerie, Minsc and Boo will guide our group out of the vile stink of evil that clouds this town!"
"That's… that's very thoughtful of you, Minsc, but I believe it is Kanara who is to decide our c-course, and it for her to decide whether we will leave Athkatla or stay."
"Yes, it is ultimately Kanara's choice, but whether she'll make the right one remains to be seen," Jaheira put in.
Kanara groaned to herself quietly. What had she gotten herself into? She was now stuck in a party with a madman, an impossible-to-please druid, and an inexperienced elf girl who couldn't tell a kobold from a pixie. The only companion Kanara saw as a true asset was Yoshimo, but he was shifty character, and she didn't trust him entirely.
But, at the moment, she really didn't have much choice in the matter – she needed comrades if she wished to survive. Kanara was tolerable. It took a lot to push her over the edge, so she just decided to put up with the druid's criticism and Minsc's ravings for the time being.
"We're not leaving," Kanara announced, the crowds beginning to thin as they made their way to the edge of the fête.
The rest of the party didn't respond verbally. They just hoped she knew what she was doing.
A wide array of smells wafted into Kanara's nose as they passed the food market, some she recognized, others foreign. The odor of fish that had been left in the sun for too long lingered about the entire vicinity, but underneath this smell Kanara managed to uncover a wide variety of other fruity fragrances like apples and oranges and guavas. Other fruits on the shelves flaunted their unique characteristics, characteristics that Kanara thought she'd never see on a piece of fruit. Some were shaped almost like stars and others looked like cubical melons rather than their ovular counterparts. Kanara was suspicious of these fruits, and probably would not dare taste one if she were given the choice.
The ground beneath their feet changed from black pavement to brick road as they exited the promenade and began walking down the streets. The Amnish guards that were stationed at the entrances and exits to the bazaar regarded them with haughty glares as they passed; immediately judging them on sight and labeling them as troublemakers. Their eyes tracked them as they made their way down the street; watching for any kind of move or gesture that was in any way against Athkatla's laws. Kanara sensed the eyes on her and felt almost as though if she so much as sneezed improperly they wouldn't hesitate to assail her.
She swallowed and quickened her pace. She didn't want any more attention or hostility drawn to her than there already was.
"Might I offer some guidance, Kanara?" Yoshimo asked after several large strides to catch up with the bard.
"Guidance? You know your way around this city?" Kanara said, finally slowing her pace.
"A little," Yoshimo answered. "I have visited Athkatla on occasion, and I roughly know my way about."
"Why didn't you say anything of this before?"
"Because you did not ask." Kanara eyed him queerly. "I did not wish to assume any sort of leadership role in this journey," he continued. "It is clear that you are the head of this body, and I did not want to overstep my bounds. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't falsely assume that my knowledge of the area was any sort of challenge for leadership over the party. I prefer being in the background, but I also do not want us to get lost."
Kanara tilted her head. "I doubt I would have assume so, but I suppose it was rational for you to think I might," she said. "So where are we, then?"
Yoshimo looked around. "We're on the north edge of Waukeen's Promenade. That alcove over there," – he pointed to a stone arch off to their left – "leads to Athkatla's Slums. I would suggest that we head there first, for there is a well-known tavern called the Copper Coronet hidden amongst the filth. It may not be the cleanest or most upscale inn in town, but I'm sure that we might be able to find someone there who can help us with your quest, and it may serve as a good place to spend the night."
Kanara smiled. "Thank you, Yoshimo, I will certainly heed your well-thought-out advice. Perhaps we will go to this Copper Coronet of yours now, for I did not have any kind of real plan of action previously planned."
He nodded and they turned towards the alcove, Jaheira, Aerie, and Minsc closely following suit. They walked through the arch and marched down several streets, their scenery significantly becoming more and more dilapidated with each passing step. The pavement was littered with hay, dirt, and horse muck, and Kanara caught numerous glances out of the corner of her eye of rats scurrying in the shadows of the buildings. Alcohol bottles and garbage was scattered at their feet and had built up considerably near the drains in the roads, flies buzzed in their ears and eyes and the summoning calls of the street whores echoed between the houses.
Somehow, the blazing sun that beat down upon Waukeen's Promenade seemed to have vanished almost entirely. A thick shadow suffocated these slums, squeezing the cheer and life right out of the buildings. It was like time had just been set forward several hours; like it was a cloudy late afternoon while in reality it was just past midday. For some reason, this sudden change disturbed Kanara greatly, and she suddenly felt faintly afraid. The alteration was almost unnatural.
The bard pinched herself at her foolish notion of fear. She'd been underground far too long. This was the city; she had gone slumming countless times before in her travels and this one was no different. Slums were slums.
Despite her thoughts, a shadowy figure appeared from the darkness in beside her and caused her to jump. In moments, her swords were drawn and she was in a honed battle stance, and her companions were quick to follow her example.
The figure immediately put his hands up to his sides to show that he was unarmed, and walked forward several steps out of the shadows. "Coo!" the man said, staring fixedly at the many blades that were pointed towards his face. "Put down yer weapons, lass! I mean ye no harm!"
Kanara didn't make any motion to let down her guard. She arched an eyebrow, quickly looking the man over head to toe, considering his threat level. He was a medium-sized man, nimble and dexterous, and his hood was pulled up over his head. He was wearing leather armor that had been dyed jet black to blend into the shadows, and he hard large boots lined with studs along the sides and tongues. The man was quite obviously some sort of thief, but he didn't seem all that dangerous to Kanara – he was, after all, showing the palms of his empty hands to her innocently.
She adjusted the grips on both of her swords. "What do you want?" she demanded, signaling to the party not to attack with a flick of her wrist.
"I just wants to talk to you, lass, just words and that's all! Harmless little chat, no need to fight with me, I assure you!" he said hastily, not daring to remove his gaze from both of Kanara's swords.
Kanara looked him over again, a frown on her face. "Harmless, you say? How about you remove your pocket-dagger from your boot, then we'll talk."
The man met Kanara's scowl with incredulity in his eyes, hesitating before doing what she asked. His disbelief turned into a culpable smile, the words "You caught me," written across his face. He sighed quietly and kneeled down to his feet, reached into his left boot, and produced a small knife with a steel hilt. He tossed the dagger to Kanara's feet before finally drawing himself up to his full height again. Once standing, he returned his open hands into the air.
"Aye, they warned me you're a sharp one," he muttered.
"What do you want?" Kanara asked.
"I've been looking for you since you arrived in Athkatla, if I not be mistaken," the thief explained. "Kanara be your name, aye?"
"No, I'm afraid you are mistaken," she said stoutly.
"That so? I was thinking me sources of information infallible. Well, I suppose ye won't be wantin' any information on the young woman arrested by the Cowled Wizards when ye first came the Athkatla, aye?"
The bard narrowed her eyes. It seemed her arrival in this city had not been nearly as discreet as she had first thought. Before she could think of a response, Minsc had spoken up at the description of the young Imoen.
"You're speaking of Imoen?" he asked, brightening at her name. "What do you know of her?"
"Aha!" the man said enthusiastically as he looked Kanara dead in the eye. "So I does have you correctly. Coo! An' here I thought I be talking to a complete stranger. Wiping me brow, I am. Heh."
Kanara shot Minsc an irritated glare over her shoulder. He apologetically lowered his head slightly.
"Now, Imoen, aye… that be her name," the thief continued. "Young lass made the misfortune of castin' a spell or two in a city that frowns on such business. Bad timin', it was. You'd be thinkin' ye wants to find her, then?"
The elf shifted uneasily. Normally, a bard would want to her have her name be as well known as possible, but in the city of Athkatla and because of their current situation, Kanara was trying to keep her name and presence as secret as possible. Clearly someone else had different plans. "I'd rather know whom I'm dealing with, first," she said.
The thief jestingly slapped himself on the forehead with his hand. "Well, bless me for bein' an idiot if I haven't gone and forgotten me manners. My name be Gaelan Bayle. Ye needn't stretch you brain thinkin', I'm sure its name you haven't heard of."
Yoshimo stepped up behind Kanara and whispered into her ear. She tilted her head to listen but did not tear her eyes from the unarmed man. "I've heard of him, Kanara… at least a little," Yoshimo said softly. "He is a man with name connections amongst the underworld in this city. A man of his word, too, as far as that is worth."
Kanara gave a slight nod to show that she heard him correctly, but Yoshimo's words did not change any sort of caution she held for this Gaelan Bayle. He was a thief, and as honorable as his reputation depicted, Kanara wasn't about to throw up her arms and embrace the stranger in trust.
"Now that we've been through introductions, me Lady, might I ask that ye lower your blades? I ain't got any weapons, mind you, and unless you've got some sort of magic trick that will conjure a knife into me pocket, I don't believe there's any place 'round here I can get one."
Kanara angled her head suspiciously, but saw out of the corner of her eye that the rest of her party was already descending their weapons. She mentally shrugged and lowered her dual swords as well, but kept her grip tight around their hilts.
"I understand that ye might be untrusting of me, but I assure that all I want to do is help. You be renown enough that someone might be willin' to find this Imoen for ye, or maybe this wizard who held ye. Either way, they both went to the same place."
"How do you know all of this?" Kanara questioned.
"Coo! I knows very little meself, me Lady. I can, however, link ye up with a group that knows. Or can be findin' out," he added with a sly wink. "But this be not the best place to hold such a dialogue. I be having a place that would suit far better. It be just a short walk from here." He pointed down the street. "Why don't I take you there right now? Unless you've got some reason for not wantin' to come along."
Kanara looked back towards her party members inquisitively. Aerie shrugged and Minsc remained impassive, but Jaheira gave a wise nod.
"We need all the help we can get, Kanara," she said quietly. "The fact that aid has come to seek us out instead of the opposite is a good omen. We should at least see what he has to offer us."
"I am inclined to agree," Yoshimo put in. "This search for your friend will be no easy task. I wouldn't even know where to start. We should accept whatever assistance is presented to us."
Kanara looked to Aerie and Minsc. Neither of them seemed to have any objections.
"Alright, Gaelan Bayle," she said, turning back towards the hooded man. "Show us to your home."
Gaelan's face lightened up into a grin. "Coo! Come with me then!"
Gaelan waved for them to follow and then began to walk down the street towards his stronghold. Kanara and her group obediently followed like ducklings trailing their mother, whispering to each other warily.
The man walked briskly through the streets, paying no heed to the peasants and commoners and drunkards that were scattered about the roads. They all watched the group through expressionless gazes as the warriors past with their pricey armor and valuable weaponry, a secret flame of desire burning behind their eyes. Though their gear was almost useless by Kanara's standards, to the people of the Slums, it was the equivalent to a month of food on the table for their families. Kanara did her best to avoid eye contact with their longing stares.
Gaelan Bayle walked through the slums as easily as if it was his home, and had soon sped ahead of their group by nearly twenty feet. He gave no attention or pitying looks to the homeless or the poor, and glided down the road through the garbage and filth like the experienced street-thief that he was. Kanara couldn't help but notice that as they passed one solo Amnish guard, Gaelan turned his face the opposite direction and put his hand up to shield his features, albeit naturally and barely perceptibly. The guard seemed to take no notice.
Honorable reputation indeed.
The man approached a run-down ramshackle house crammed in between two larger buildings, opened the door, glanced left and right, and slipped inside. Kanara thought she almost wouldn't have noticed the house if she had not been led to it, for it appeared as though it had not been lived in for years.
The front door creaked as she pulled it open, but when she looked inside, she saw that the house's interior did not match up at all with the derelict exterior. The house's entry hall was tidy and clean, its floor mopped and shelves dusted. The faint scent of perfumes and colognes floated about the house, and the distant trickle of water spewing from a fountain could be heard through one of the hallway doors. Gaelan Bayle stood in the middle of the hall, watching them as they entered and were awed by the sudden change in landscape.
"Coo! It's good to be seeing ye once again, me Lady!" he addressed them cheerfully. "I see that ye were able to keep up with me alright, eh? I was afraid I'd lost ye there, heh…"
"I kept up just fine. Now tell me what this is all about," Kanara said curtly, reverting her attention from the house to the thief in front of her.
"Aye, I'll be doing that as quick as ye blink. I tell ye straight that I know of a powerful group that can be helping ye. They can be findin' the wizard and the young woman both they can." He saw Kanara arch her brow skeptically. "But they can be doing far better than the telling, my friend," he continued. "They can also affect the rescue of your lass, or the capture of the mage, to boot."
"Just what is this organization, anyway?" Kanara inquired.
A sullen expression crossed Gaelan's face. "This I cannot tell ye," he said. "Rest ye fine that they be willin' to help… and havin' enough power to challenge the Cowled Wizards. That's all ye be needin' to know."
Kanara furrowed her brow. "I see. And how much is this 'assistance' going to cost me?"
Gaelan hesitated. "It may seem costly, but think of the danger in crossin' the Cowled Wizards. A fair price, if ye think about it. It be twenty thousand gold pieces for their help."
Though Kanara did her best to keep her semblance neutral, her stomach twisted at such a large price. How did he expect her to produce such an enormous sum? Her party had two thousand coin's worth at the most at the moment, and reaching twenty thousand was a goal almost beyond sight. She noticed the rest of her party shift uneasily.
"Is there no way to lower the cost?" she asked casually.
"None. It be twenty thousand gold pieces or me friends canna' be helping ye."
"But we do not even know who will even be receiving it!" Minsc cried. "Boo thinks it's too much to ask. What if we were handing our money to an unjust organization? Kanara, there must be other more straightforward people who wish to help us."
Gaelan turned his attention to the ranger. "You might think so, but you'd wrong. There ain't nobody else who'd want to aid in the perils and dangers of this task; you'd just be wastin' your time searchin'. The offer I make is good whether you act on it now or not. You will come to see the reasonable nature of it, I am sure."
"He may be right, Kanara. It would take someone of power to find good information on the Cowled Wizards… this may be your only opportunity to find Imoen," Yoshimo said, his counsel astute as always.
"Spend not a coin now, then. Seek you fortune about the town, but remember that here is where your help is. Strangers are not always to be feared," Gaelan Bayle concluded, edging Kanara to accept.
"That is certainly not my experience in the past, but I suppose my friends are right in this instance," the elf sighed. "I'll be back with the money as soon as I have it."
"Aye, I'll wait for it. Brus'll be waitin' for ye outside. He's me nephew, an' he'll show you to the Copper Coronet. Ye'll find work easily enough there, ye will. Once ye've finished there, I'd check the Five Flagons in the Bridge District if you are looking for bardic work. There's a playhouse downstairs."
Kanara nodded.
"Fare ye well, then… an' give me greetings to Lehtinan if ye happens by 'im, heh…" Gaelan added, grinning sheepishly.
The party gave him several curious looks, but Kanara drew the group away from the mischievous thief as soon as he had finished. They followed her out the door, their armors clanking like shackles against the marble floor, and returned to the fumes and intoxicating filth of the outside slums.
Kanara couldn't help but feel somewhat overwhelmed by this whole encounter… Up until this point she thought she would be able to discreetly traverse the streets of Athkatla without attracting so much attention as she had been obligated to do in the past back in Baldur's Gate and the Sword Coast, but clearly that was not the case. Chaos haunted her at every turn, it seemed. But, at the same time, perhaps this was an occurrence that she could profit from, because Yoshimo was right – these people were probably the only ones who could help her find Imoen… in one piece, at any rate.
She sighed. Allies were expensive in the City of Coin, it seemed, though she wasn't surprised in the slightest. The thieves of Athkatla would plant a blade in someone's back for nothing more than a bag of coins, so obviously they could easily charge such an astounding price for their aid in such an astounding task.
Such was life in a big city.
Well, there's the first chapter! Please write me a review and tell me what you thought of it!
Forbidden Amber