Shadows Of The Knight

by Speaker-to-Customers

Sequel to Black Knight but you don't need to wait for that one to be completed before reading this. Captured by Irenicus, with some of her friends slain and even worse having been done to others, T'rissae must work with Jaheira to survive and rescue Viconia and Imoen. The mutual dislike between them is going to make that difficult...

6. Paying the Cost to be the Boss

Chapter Six: Paying the Cost to be the Boss

Despite my misgivings the theft of the amulet did, indeed, prove to be straightforward. We engaged the guard outside in conversation, asking him about the warning that one of the priests had given us previously concerning the danger of being on the streets at night, and whilst he was distracted Yoshimo slipped past unnoticed, made his way to the bedchamber of the Weathermistress, and was able to pick the lock on her personal chest and take the amulet entirely unseen.

Then, when we returned to Mae'Var and presented him with the locket, he dismissed it as a flashy gewgaw and said that he might use it as a decoration on his dog's collar. It had been nothing more than a test, as I had suspected. He said he had nothing more for us to do for the moment but his right-hand man, a spell-caster named Edwin, might have a job for us. He sent us up to the third floor where this 'Edwin' could be found.

We had met a spellcaster named Edwin before, the young Red Wizard of Thay whom Minsc had thrown into a river once, and I wondered if it could be the same man. It seemed unlikely but not impossible.

The main room on the second floor was set up as a thief's training ground. Two of the walls had doors leaning against them, all locked and some trapped, with coin or valuables stored behind them. The supervisor of the room told us that anyone who could open the locks and disarm the traps was free to take the rewards behind. Yoshimo was keen to try his luck and, although it seemed a little unfair for someone of his experience to attempt tasks intended for novices, I granted him leave to do so. He suggested that Nalia should try her hand at the course first, with him standing by to guide her if necessary, and that seemed to me to be an even better idea.

Nalia successfully opened ten out of fifteen locks, and disarmed all the traps, but five locks defeated her despite Yoshimo's coaching. His attitude towards her, as he guided and encouraged her through the necessary steps, struck me as more caring than strictly professional. I was no expert in romantic matters, far from it, but I felt it likely that Yoshimo was somewhat smitten with the attractive young noble. There was nothing wrong with that in my eyes, as Nalia was unattached apart from her unwanted betrothal, and it was far less likely to cause awkward complications than if he had fallen for me, Viconia, or – worst of all – for Jaheira.

The proceeds of this exercise were several hundred danter in cash, some gems including an extremely valuable Rogue Stone, a set of enchanted studded leather armor, and a twice-enchanted short-sword. Not bad for a quarter-hour's work with little danger.

After that we ascended the final flight of stairs to where Edwin awaited us. Edwin Odesseiron, Red Wizard of Thay, turning up in my life yet again. I was not altogether displeased. He was Evil, and could be irritating, and it was fairly obvious that his mission in Baldur's Gate had been to spy on Dynaheir and perhaps on me once my identity as a Bhaalspawn had been revealed, but there were plenty of people far more Evil and he had, after all, performed quite well in the campaign against the Crusade. I'd even overheard him, during my trial, loudly expressing his opinion that it was ridiculous to think that I could be guilty of murdering Skie Silvershield. I greeted him with, not exactly friendship, but at least neutrality and held Minsc back from attacking him when Edwin spoke dismissively of Dynaheir.

He admitted that he had come to Athkatla only because he had heard that Minsc and Dynaheir would be escorting me into exile here. On arrival he had come into conflict with one of the Cowled Wizards, a mage named Rayic Gethras, and his presence in this guild was because they could protect him from Gethras. He wanted us to slay Gethras and to extract from him as much information about the Cowled Wizards as we could. He recommended the use of torture, although he scornfully said that I would be too soft-hearted for such an act.

"You are correct, I will not use torture," I told him, "and neither will I commit murder. I'll call upon him and ask him questions, and I will slay him in self-defense if he attacks us, but that is all."

"That will be sufficient, T'rissae," he said. "Hah! I knew the foolish Drow would not see the necessity, although given her lineage such an attitude continues to surprise me," he added, in one of his asides that he seemed to regard as inaudible to anyone but himself. "I am sure that the inferior wizard will give you cause to end his miserable life. His residence is a gray three-story house along the west wall of the docks, across the market-place from here. Go now."

The house of Rayic Gethras was heavily guarded. We had to fight our way through a horde of mephits, and two stone golems, before we could reach the wizard himself. Then, as Edwin had predicted, he attacked before we could even get half-way through explaining that we wanted to ask him questions. In his defense we were intruding, and we had slaughtered his guardians, but the door had been open and the mephits could easily have killed some local urchin intruding on a dare or to engage in some petty pilfering. I felt justified in fighting back although, at first, it was completely without effect. He activated a spell trigger and instantly was protected from almost all forms of attack. Once shielded against us he unleashed his own offenses.

Thus began a frantic period of running up and down the stairs, trying to avoid the spells he threw at us, and waiting for his protections to expire. They did, eventually, and he went down under a rain of blows from swords and a mace. Not an entirely satisfactory outcome, from our point of view, but at least Edwin would be satisfied. We consoled ourselves with the twice-enchanted quarterstaff and Wand of Fire we took from the deceased wizard.

Edwin had another task for us and this one was more to my taste. We had to get some documents from a merchant named Marcus in the Sea's Bounty inn. Edwin didn't care how we did it, as long as we were discreet about it, and there should be no need for any bloodshed.

In the event it was about as far from bloodshed as could be. I asked him straight out if I could purchase the documents, he asked for two hundred and fifty danter, and I flirted with him – a skill I'd never tried before, and I was relying on techniques I had read about in romantic novels – and managed to persuade him to hand them over in exchange for having dinner with me. I took off my helm, and let down my hair, and the dinner wasn't even an ordeal. I was hungry anyway and the reputation of the Sea's Bounty for fine seafood proved to be well-founded. I entertained Marcus with an account of the iron crisis, and pretended to be interested in his anecdotes about life as a merchant in Athkatla, and he seemed well content with the deal; as Viconia's experience with Isaea Roenall had demonstrated, men seem to regard being seen in public in the company of an attractive woman as something worth paying for. My companions dined at another table, as they waited for me, and we returned to Edwin with our hunger sated and the documents successfully obtained.

With that done Edwin sent us back to Mae'Var, who now had a task for us. We descended to his lair and were told that we had to kill a traitor to the guild. We would find the man, a Shadow Thief named Embarl, in the upper floor of the Sea's Bounty. We were to kill him and bring back his dagger as proof of the deed.

I guessed that the 'treachery' in question might well involve Embarl having reported on Mae'Var's activities to Renal Bloodscalp. If so, or if he had committed any one of numerous things that might count as sins to the Shadow Thieves but would be praiseworthy in normal society, there was no way that I was going to kill him. And my guess was proven correct.

Embarl revealed that he had overheard Mae'Var talking with his inner circle of Guild members about his intention of killing Renal Bloodscalp. He hadn't even told anyone, merely given away his presence, and Mae'Var wanted to silence a witness rather than to punish treachery. I tried to persuade Embarl to take his story to Bloodscalp but he said that, without proof other than his word, the other Guildmaster might not believe him and then he would have no protection from Mae'Var. He intended to flee the city as soon as he could get together enough money to travel.

I solved his problem, and mine, by buying his dagger from him for a hundred danter. He set off at once and I led the party back to report to Mae'Var. It was risky, to some extent, as it was possible that we were under surveillance and my deception might be uncovered, but Yoshimo had seen no sign of such surveillance. If he was wrong, and if Mae'Var decided to take action to punish us for this act of mercy… well, I had wanted to kill him since we saw him torturing his cousin on the rack and that would be all the excuse I needed.

In the event, Mae'Var accepted my story without question, hardly even seeming interested, and sent me back up to Edwin in case he had something for me to do. I was getting fed up of this traipsing around, achieving little, but it would soon be over.

Edwin revealed that he knew perfectly well that I was only here to spy on Mae'Var. He had the advantage that he was aware of my paladin status, and that I was hardly likely to be a genuine mercenary in the service of the Shadow Thieves, but he had no real loyalty to Mae'Var himself and had no intention of betraying me. That he was also well aware of my capabilities, and that betraying me would not be conducive to a long life, was, no doubt, a contributing factor. He told me that he knew that Mae'Var had been plotting with the Night Knives, an order of assassins based in Westgate but looking to expand, to remove Renal, and that there were documents detailing the plot stored in Mae'Var's strongbox to which Edwin had acquired a key. He didn't even ask for anything in return but revealed that he, too, would profit by Mae'Var's downfall. He told us that, should we require his services in the future, we would find him in the Copper Coronet. I told him I would keep it in mind, although I doubted if such circumstances would arise, and we parted on reasonably amicable terms.

With the key in our possession, we located and opened the strongbox and took the contents; the documents, which were as incriminating as Edwin had claimed, and a pair of Boots of Stealth that went to Yoshimo. No-one paid any attention as we left the guildhall to deliver the evidence to Renal Bloodscalp; curiosity about comings and goings didn't seem to be a trait that was encouraged under Mae'Var's regime.

Renal was delighted with the success of our mission, as far as retrieval of the evidence went, but claimed that our task was not yet complete. He wanted us to go back and kill Mae'Var. I was not happy about acting as his assassin but couldn't help feeling that killing the murderous torturer would be justified. Renal pointed out that, as long as Mae'Var was alive, he would seek to avenge my 'betrayal' and it was in my own interests that he died as soon as possible. I had to concede that this was a valid point and so, reluctantly, I agreed to go back and slay Mae'Var.

No sooner had we reentered Mae'Var's guildhall than Bloodscalp's point was proven correct. We must have been observed going into the other guildhall and we were attacked immediately. We had to fight our way past several thieves to reach the stairs down to Mae'Var's sanctum. We readied ourselves for the fight as we went down, Viconia summoning her Skeleton Warrior and casting a Chant spell, and we entered the chamber well prepared. I noticed that the Skeleton Warrior was larger, and appeared more formidable, than the last time she had summoned it; it appeared that Shar still looked upon her with favor.

Mae'Var and his bodyguards fought to the last but, with nowhere to hide and no way to flee, could not hope to prevail against our superior armor and weaponry. Mae'Var had been wearing Shadow Armor, as protective as Yoshimo's current ugly orcish armor but better suited to hiding in shadows, and my Kozakuran friend donned it with great pleasure. I had hoped to rescue Mae'Var's cousin, who still lay upon the torture rack, but the man was already dead. There was a prisoner in one of the cells, a man named Kamuzu, who had been imprisoned for ten years merely for not showing Mae'Var sufficient respect. I freed him, gave him some money and clothing from the dead bodyguards, and wished him luck.

We went back upstairs, and continued up to the second and third floors, intending to tell the remaining thieves that Mae'Var was dead, that the guild would be under new management, and there was no further reason to fight. This might have been a mistake, as they refused to listen and attacked us anyway. We were forced to slay them all; at least it removed the possibility of revenge attempts by Mae'Var loyalists in the future. We gained a substantial amount of loot from corpses, and from chests that we had ignored on our previous visits, and I acquired enough crossbow bolts to see me through a battle against the great horde of Yamun Khahan. I would rather the fight had not been necessary but what was done was done.

Back to Renal Bloodscalp we went, to report success, and he rewarded us with ten thousand danter, plus an extra bonus of five hundred, and a thrice-enchanted short-sword. I tried to leverage his gratitude into divulging more about the offer of aid in the rescue of Imoen but he insisted that his lips were sealed. Only by paying the fifteen thousand to Gaelan Bayle would we learn more. I hadn't really expected anything else but it had been worth a try.

We sold off our surplus gear to the guild fence and paid to have a Wand of Cloudkill recharged. We still had not gathered equipment up to the standard of what we had lost but we were getting there. With our business with Renal Bloodscalp concluded it was time to rest. We took rooms at the Sea's Bounty, the finest the establishment possessed, and settled down to sleep.

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I had another nightmare. Again Irenicus appeared, and talked of me claiming my power and my 'birthright'. He showed me visions of me defeating various creatures with ease by the use of magic; a poorly chosen temptation, because all the monsters he chose were ones that I had already faced and overcome by the old faithful technique of shoving three feet of enchanted steel through their bodies. The dream ended with a vision of him torturing Imoen with spells; no doubt intended to spur me on to hasten to her rescue, but I saw no point in rushing in ill-prepared. Only when I was sure that we were stronger than we had been when captured would I make a move.

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In the morning Jaheira turned up again. She apologized for her absence, citing orders from the Harpers, and said that they had told her to bring me to them at the Harper Hold for a meeting. I was not wildly enthusiastic at the prospect but saw no reason to refuse. It was only at the other side of the market-place, after all, and a visit would be only a minor inconvenience.

Hah.

We arrived to be confronted by a man named Galvarey, apparently a senior figure in the organization, and it was he who had ordered Jaheira to bring me before him. He had spoken in the name of a Harper Herald, one of their top officers, but when Jaheira questioned him, Galvarey let slip that it was his own idea; there was no Herald with authority over Athkatla and he planned to rise to that office. This brought to my mind my idea that the 'menace' represented by Xzar and his teenage apprentices had been hugely exaggerated for internal political purposes; it seemed I was correct, and it was Galvarey who intended to benefit.

Galvarey set about questioning me. He raised the issue of my parentage, unsurprisingly, and then asked me about my earliest memories. This was a sore point, as I suspected that Gorion had erased my memories, but I answered as well as I could.

"The earliest thing that I remember at all clearly," I said, "is of running away from something, I know not what, although I suspect it was from the temple where I believe my mother was murdered. My adoptive father Gorion led the way."

"I remember Gorion, the idealist," Galvarey mused. "I was with those who thought his actions a mistake. Ah, well, I will clarify later. As a Child of Bhaal, do you have violent thoughts?"

"No more than the next person," I told him. "I use violence where I must, and avoid it when I can."

"Hmm. Must use violence… to be expected from one with such a despicable heritage."

I regarded that as a slur on my mother. To be wary of a Child of Bhaal was one thing, but to regard a Priestess of Eilistraee as 'despicable' was quite another. He might have been disregarding her, perhaps, but I was fairly sure that the Drow side of me was as contemptible in his eyes as the God of Murder side.

"You are twisting her words, Galvarey," Jaheira spoke up. "That is not what she meant."

"Deception is woven into her very being, Jaheira," Galvarey replied. "Can you comprehend the thoughts of an illithid, or a beholder? T'rissae is akin to those."

"Only in your mind, Galvarey," Jaheira said. "This is a farce!"

"The questions will continue nonetheless," Galvarey said. "I do hope there will be no further outbursts. Now then, T'rissae, what is your favorite color?"

"What has that to do with anything?" Jaheira asked.

"Jaheira!" Galvarey snapped. "I question your loyalty to our cause. My method will become clear in the end. I ask again, T'rissae, what is your favorite color?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," I admitted. "I like black and silver, of course, but if I ever get the chance to wear a dress, at some occasion where I can be free of armor for once, I think I'd choose… a dark red, to match my eyes. I think I'd look as good in that as Viconia does in her gown of green silk."

"Better, abbil," Viconia remarked, "for I am not ashamed to admit that you are prettier than I."

"Red! The color of blood!" Galvarey exclaimed. "I should have guessed."

"And also of apples, and of the rose, and, as she said, of her own eyes," Jaheira responded. "You are so intent on seeing what you wish to see that the answer does not matter."

"I suppose in part it does not matter," Galvarey conceded. "Obviously, this… person… causes much disturbance wherever she goes. My interview is just to clarify the matter."

"But you were to see T'rissae as she is, not as you expected her to be! I was to bring her here so…"

"You were to bring her here so that we might have her here, nothing more," Galvarey said. "The course of action was always clear."

"Excuse me," I said, "but I am still in the room. Do not talk about me as if I was not here. What is it that you intend?" This was looking ominous and I began to size up what faced us. Galvarey was clad in plate mail and held a two-handed sword, both armor and sword looking as if they were enchanted. He was accompanied by two obvious mages, a halfling in studded leather armor, and a human woman who wore no armor but had a katana tucked through a waist sash in a fashion closely resembling the way Yoshimo wore his blade. I had seen him draw and strike all in one move, with lightning speed, and I guessed this woman would be capable of similar feats. I used the Silent Tongue to signal Viconia to ready herself for a fight.

"Indeed, Galvarey, what is it you intend?" said Jaheira. "This is not as we had discussed."

"No, but you only needed to know enough to bring them here," Galvarey said. "Extraneous information would have endangered the mission. As Harpers we…"

"As Harpers, we respect others!" Jaheira snapped.

"We have a greater duty to maintain the balance," Galvarey said. "How can you, as a Harper… as a Druid… sanction the freedom of this… person?"

"When you say 'person', in such a sneering tone, you mean 'Drow', don't you?" I put in.

Galvarey ignored me. "What will she do to the balance?" he asked Jaheira.

"And what if she will restore the balance?" Jaheira countered. "What if her intent is good? She is a paladin, to all intents and purposes, and I have seen her go out of her way to spare lives. She even refused to kill dogs, and put her life in peril as a result."

There was a slight crackling sound as Nalia cast a Stoneskin spell on herself. Viconia cast Armor of Faith on herself. I palmed an envenomed crossbow bolt ready to slot it home, bring up the weapon, and loose.

"It is simply not worth the risk," Galvarey said. "No, there is simply no choice in the matter. T'rissae, you are to be… confined."

"That is as good as death and you know it, Galvarey!" Jaheira protested.

"Nothing so barbaric," Galvarey said. "Imprisonment to contain the chaos she might sow, either intentionally or unwittingly. It is the humane solution."

"And where am I to be locked away?" I asked. Yoshimo's left hand was pushing forward against the guard of his katana and his right was poised over the grip. Minsc was frowning and listening to Boo squeaking to him. His hand raised as if to scratch his ear, putting it within inches of Lilarcor's hilt. "I hope someplace with a view."

"No, T'rissae, I mean the spell 'Imprisonment'," Galvarey explained, in the patronizing tones one might use to a rather dull child. "You will find yourself in a small container a few leagues under the ground. Quite peaceful."

"You are welcome to try," I warned, "but you won't succeed. I will give you a chance to back down. Turn around, and don't interfere as we walk out of here, and you live. If you insist on this course… you will learn how Sarevok died."

"Certainly you can fight," Galvarey conceded, "but there are six Harpers to contend with. The odds are quite clearly…"

"Nay, Galvarey, there are but you and your four lackeys," Jaheira cut in. "I will have no part in your scheme. T'rissae, you are my comrade in arms. I know you are good and true in heart. I will fight with you against this… idiotic and evil action."

"You have made a mistake, Jaheira," Galvarey growled. "With her imprisonment, I could get sponsored as Herald! But now you fight the Harpers with this monster!"

"Harpers may interfere, but for the greater good," Jaheira said, not realizing how much I hated that phrase. "Not this! I don't know you!"

"Take them!" Galvarey commanded.

I brought up the Army Scythe, put an envenomed bolt into the nearest mage, and then dropped the crossbow and drew sword. Nalia sent a Magic Missile at the other mage, but he was Shielded and her spell fizzled out harmlessly. Spells and missiles flew and I found myself dueling Galvarey, sword to sword, as the room became the site of a confused melee.

I couldn't keep track of everything that was happening. I saw that Nalia was Mirror Imaged, as well as Stoneskinned, and felt confident that she was reasonably safe. Their thief disappeared from view and I realized that he had turned invisible, which worried me, and the Shielded mage cast a Confusion spell that took Yoshimo out of the fight. Jaheira was hit by a Dart of Stunning and froze motionless. A summoned Earth Elemental attacked Minsc. Their katana-wielding warrior went for Viconia but seemed to be getting the worst of that exchange. One of their mages went down and stayed down. I drove Galvarey back, gained a moment of respite, and used my Ring of Elemental Command to wrest control of the Earth Elemental from the remaining mage. I commanded it to attack him and his own creature pounded him into the ground. Galvarey came at me again, I feinted high and struck low, and cut his left leg open. Minsc hit him from behind, he fell to the ground, and I half-sworded and drove the point of my sword through his visor. I looked around for other opponents and saw none still standing. The previously invisible thief lay visible and clearly dead. Minsc and I hacked the Earth Elemental apart before the spell from my ring expired. The fight was over.

Minsc was quite badly injured, and Yoshimo had suffered some nasty cuts, but the rest of us were almost unscathed. We stripped the bodies of our fallen foes and gained some nice items. Galvarey's plate mail was once-enchanted, with a size-changing enchantment, and Jaheira took it in place of the non-magical suit she had taken from the Beastmaster in the Copper Coronet. His two-handed sword was once-enchanted also, as was the katana the woman warrior had wielded, and the thief had carried a sheaf of once-enchanted arrows. Perhaps the most valuable of our acquisitions was a ring called the Reaching Ring, a ring for mages, which bestowed upon the wearer the ability to memorize an extra spell of fifth, sixth, and seventh levels. Nalia could not yet cast spells of the seventh level, but the additional lesser spells would be beneficial indeed, and no doubt she would gain the greater spell in time.

With the Harpers dead I saw no reason not to ransack the place. We looted all the chests and cupboards we had passed by on our first visit and then ascended to the second floor. The Spectral Harpists had departed and there was nothing to prevent us from ransacking that too. In a room we had not entered previously we found, in a locked chest, the dead body of a halfling thief. Jaheira confirmed that it was Montaron. He had never been turned into a bird at all, merely killed outright, and the whole story had been a lie.

We left the Harper Hold richer in coin, and with some useful additions to our equipment, but with our spirits lowered. I had been used as a pawn by someone who blackened my name for his political advantage, and we had been forced to kill people who should have been our allies if not for one man's schemes. I guessed that Galvarey would have told lies and half-truths about me to his associates and superiors, and it was likely that other Harpers would come after us to avenge someone who deserved only to be buried and forgotten. This was no victory worth celebrating. I threw the 'Harper amulet' I had worn onto Galvarey's corpse as we left.

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I remembered that a Lord Jierdan Firkraag, at the Copper Coronet, had offered to pay us a large sum to clear ogres and trolls from his lands. It was likely that he had found someone else for the job, by now, but the offer might still be open. We had spent a lot of our funds on getting wands recharged and, although we still had plenty for expenses, there were still things I would like to buy that were out of our current reach. A well-paid job, fighting foes that we could fight with no qualms, seemed to be just what we needed.

The news of our conflict with the Harpers had reached the Copper Coronet before we arrived there. Bernard warned us that we could expect trouble from them; nothing I hadn't guessed. We found Lord Jierdan still in the tavern and his job offer still stood. He began by flattering me, which did not impress me, but moved on to the meat of the matter. He was the lord of lands outside Athkatla, in the Windspear Hills, and there had been an invasion of ogres and trolls; something to do with the Sythillisian Uprising of which I had heard, I guessed. He wanted my party to drive out the monsters, and free his tenants from the danger they posed, and was willing to pay us ten thousand danter on completion of the mission.

"Ten thousand danter is an astounding sum for simple monster-hunting," I said. "Why me? You could hire a small army for that price."

"I believe in paying for quality," he said, "and I am not one to count the coppers. You will be wealthy in my service, rest assured."

My companions were in favor of accepting the offer; or most of them were. Minsc was always eager to raise his sword against Evil and Yoshimo believed it was an offer too good to refuse. Viconia was neutral. Nalia was opposed; she said she had heard of Lord Jierdan Firkraag and he was reputed to be brutal. She said it was unlike him to be so protective of his people and she didn't like the sound of it. Jaheira was eager to get out of the city, especially after the bad experience we had just gone through with the Harpers, and reminded me that we had promised to return the acorns, belonging to the dryads held captive in the lair of Irenicus, to the Fairy Queen in the Windspear Hills; exactly where Lord Jierdan wanted us to go.

That decided the matter. I told Lord Jierdan Firkraag that we accepted his offer and he provided us with a map giving directions. We sold off everything we didn't want, left things for which we had no immediate use but wanted to keep, such as the Golden Torso and the incomplete Gesen bow, with Hendak for safe keeping, and set off out of the city.

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The Windspear Hills were a full day's march from Athkatla and we had to rest on the way. We were attacked by bandits, as I'd almost come to expect, but they were a rag-tag band and didn't hurt us. When we arrived in the area shown on the map we faced a more serious challenge.

Five monsters confronted us; two ogres, an ogre mage, a gnoll and a young wyvern. We drew our weapons, of course, but one of the monsters addressed us before the fighting started and his words seemed uncharacteristic enough to give me pause.

"Beasts! Curs!" an ogre bellowed. "Your terror ends here."

"Wait!" I commanded my comrades, then spoke to the creature. "You are awfully eloquent for a beast," I said. "Something is wrong. We should talk." I cast Detect Evil and the 'monsters' did not show the expected red glow.

"No more words, Drow!" the ogre yelled. "Your lies will taint this land no longer; your crimes will trouble the people not a second more!"

Something was seriously wrong here. "Illusions!" I shouted. "Dispel them!"

It was too late. The 'monsters' attacked, giving our cleric and druid no chance to cast, and we were forced to defend ourselves. I tried to restrict myself to parrying only but found myself pressed hard. As I had learnt from hard experience, in a fight where one seeks to kill and the other only to subdue the one with lethal intent has a massive advantage. Reluctantly, I found myself forced to strike to kill and my comrades followed suit. Soon all our opponents lay dead and it was then that the illusion lifted.

The bodies on the ground were not monsters, but humans. Warriors armored in plate mail, splint mail, and chain. "I feared as much," I said. "No doubt they saw us as monsters too, although Viconia and I may have retained our own appearance. We have been tricked into slaying innocents, probably ones told the same story as us by Lord Jierdan."

Even as we stood looking at the results of this malicious trick a man came running up to us. A human, clad in mail, whose hair was gray and who looked to be a little past his prime. "What goes on here?" he asked. "I've seen many a strange thing in my time, but the events of the past few moments tops them all. Who are you that can change shape so readily, and why have you slain these beasts that have become men?"

I cast Detect Evil again and he came up clear. It was unlikely that he was the one responsible for the illusions. "My name is T'rissae," I said, "and it appears that we have been tricked into slaying these knights. We saw them as monsters, and I would guess they saw us likewise. I tried to avoid the fight but they gave us no chance and we were forced to fight back."

"You are a Drow!" he exclaimed.

"I am a Silverhair Knight of Eilistraee," I said. "A Paladin in all but name. Do not hold my race against me."

"I have heard of Eilistraee," he said, "and none of you show as Evil to my spell." He, too, was a paladin, then. "It seems you have indeed been tricked, but I fear that the priests of Helm will not believe what has happened. They will seek justice, and only your heads will do."

"You may well be correct," I said. "I am at a loss to know what to do about this dire situation."

"Are you… Lord Windspear?" Nalia put in. "I thought I recognized you."

"Garren Windspear, late of the Order of the Radiant Heart, at your service, my lady," he said. "You're… Lord De'Arnise's daughter, are you not? I have not seen you since you were little more than a child. Is your father well?"

"He is dead," Nalia said. "Murdered, and my lands taken over by the Roenall family, and myself forced to become an adventurer to escape marriage to a despicable cad."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lady Nalia," Garren said. "Come, let us go to my cabin, which is but a short distance south of here, and try to work out how this unfortunate situation has come about and what we can do to right this wrong."

Calling it an 'unfortunate situation' seemed a severe understatement. "We shall be honored to accept your hospitality," I said, and we followed as he led us to his home. His son, a handsome youth of perhaps some sixteen or seventeen years, greeted us there and put a kettle on the stove for tea.

"You are not the first to suffer because of falsehoods and trickery," Garren Windspear told us, once we were sat at his table. "I have undergone the same, although my trial was less bloody. I was once lord of this land, and had many holds across Amn. Taken from me, it was, almost overnight, and I still bear the scars in my dreams. I am content now, having found solace in the quiet of the wood, but I will forever curse the name of Lord Jierdan Firkraag."

"He is the one who hired me to 'rid this land of its ogre menace'," I said. "No doubt he recruited those knights on the same pretext, and used illusions to set us against each other."

"I shall take care to have True Seeing active in future encounters, Jabbress," Viconia assured me.

"It is true to his style, organizing an elaborate plot to discredit a rival," Garren said. "I do not understand why he would target you, however. My case was obvious. He sought my lands, so he discredited me. There were missing people only he could find, bandits only he could stop. Solutions to problems I am sure he caused."

"I thought he became wealthy and powerful too quickly to be legitimate," Nalia said. "I wonder why he's turned his attention to us?"

"I don't think it is anything to do with Irenicus," I said. "I am sure he wants us to follow him to the prison called Spellhold as soon as possible. He would not want the delay this affair will cause. Unless he thinks it will get me driven out of Athkatla…"

"In the end," Garren continued, "my properties were razed in a single night. My people lost faith in me, my influence crumbled, and he was able to take over. Now, it would seem, he has targeted you. Perhaps you have slighted him in some way, without even knowing."

"I don't see how," I said. "I have only been in Amn for seven days, not counting the time when the wizard Irenicus had me imprisoned in his lair. Unless Nalia is his true target?"

"Or me," said Yoshimo, "although I am sure I am too humble a character to come to the notice of a lord. Unless I captured someone important to him for a bounty…"

"I suspect he'd have been more direct if it was you whom he was after," I said. "I've been targeted indirectly before. Sarevok tried to frame me for murder, as did Irenicus, and Hephernaan set me and Caelar Argent against each other. This is not dissimilar."

"Whatever his reasons, he is not the worst of your worries," Garren said. "The Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart will seek your death if something is not done quickly. I still have friends among the Order. I will speak with them as quickly as possible. Perhaps I can persuade them to look upon you with mercy. I can but try."

"That is most kind of you," I said, "but they are based in Athkatla, are they not? To travel there and return would mean two days of hard travel at the least, and it seems a lot of trouble to go to for strangers. Perhaps we should see what we can find out in this area, and avoid Athkatla, until we can find some evidence to clear our name."

"The travel is no problem," Garren assured me. "My steed will bear me there and back in half the time you say." Not being able to ride myself, and never having used a horse as other than a pack animal, I sometimes overlooked their potential use for speedier travel. "I have found peace where I am," he went on, "but any enemy of Lord Jierdan's is a friend of mine. Make my home your own until I return with good news. I would advise you, however, to not go far afield whilst I am gone. There may be more knights, or adventurers, lured here by the lies of Jierdan Firkraag and should you encounter them, and another such fight take place, things might become even more grave."

"Sage advice," I agreed. "We must visit a dryad grove that we believe is in this area. Do you know of it?"

"Not a dryad grove, no, but there is an ancient stone ring, a short distance to the east, within which is a pool said to be sacred to the forest spirits," Garren said. "Perhaps that is the place you seek."

"It may be the place," I agreed, "and I shall go there." If the dryads could not leave the vicinity of their tree until the acorns were delivered, they would still be trapped inside the complex where Irenicus had imprisoned us, now sealed off from the rest of the world by the collapsed tunnel. I did not want to leave them there longer than was absolutely necessary.

"Very well," said Garren Windspear, "but do not tarry there over long, or wander too far. I shall return as soon as I can. I leave you in the hands of my son Taar."

And so we stayed at the cabin to await Garren Windspear's return. I risked a trip to the stone circle and found that it was indeed the abode of the Fairy Queen. We presented her with the acorns and the three dryads appeared. They were freed from their imprisonment and they, and the Queen, were fulsome in their thanks. We did not receive any concrete rewards but the satisfaction of a good deed done was enough for me, and for Jaheira, although Viconia voiced some minor grumbles.

Young Taar seemed to be somewhat smitten by me. He talked to me in preference to any of the others, and complimented me on my beauty and nobility, but always in respectful terms so that I did not feel too uncomfortable. He even proposed that he should take the role of my betrothed, as he said a lady paladin should always have a betrothed, in whose name she performed her deeds of valor, but that did make me uncomfortable. Nalia's betrothal and the problems it had caused was a horrible warning and I felt that even an unofficial token betrothal might have unforeseen consequences. I tried to let him down lightly and he seemed to take it in good part. At least, when I went out in the night to perform my naked dance in honor of Eilistraee, the young man did not sneak out to spy upon me. He had the honor to be expected in one whose father had been a paladin, and had he been a few years older I might have been not unreceptive to his advances. This period of inaction was not altogether unpleasant.

And then it all went horribly wrong. In the early evening of the next day, at around the time when Taar Windspear said that he expected his father to return, a halfling rushed into the cabin.

"Run! Hide!" he cried. "There is trouble, I'm sure!"

"Quiet yourself, Jum, you do not want to alarm our guests," Taar said. "What is the matter?"

"Bandits!" Jum cried. "I saw them. They try not to be seen, but I saw them! Nearly here!"

Taar tried to calm him and my party prepared to fight. I was not seriously alarmed; we were well capable of overcoming most threats, as long as we were not taken by surprise. The attack, when it came, indeed managed to surprise us despite our forewarning.

The 'bandits' did not enter through the door but appeared in our midst by teleportation or some other magical means. One of them seized Taar, before any of us could react, and disappeared with him in a swirl of magic. The remaining attackers faced off against us. They were an armored dwarf, two orcs, and an unarmored rivvil woman wielding a quarterstaff.

"We have taken Garren's child!" the woman cried triumphantly. "Now it is time for his bothersome friends to die!"

"Before we kill you," I said, "tell me why you are doing this."

"To shatter the peace, to ruin your name, to torment that old fool Garren," she answered. "Above all, we are to deliver a message, a message to you. A challenge is given! Your ruin continues with the devastation of Garren Windspear in your name. Away goes his child from under your nose, and I wonder who shall bear the blame. Lord Firkraag watches with amusement as you die a public death again and again. So much more entertaining than simple killing!"

"Where have you sent Taar Windspear?" I asked. I had been moving closer, even as we talked, and it seemed that she had not realized that I was now within sword range.

"To where he awaits you, if you survive," she answered. "That is all I shall reveal."

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other," I said, and I drove my sword-point through her throat.

My companions slew the dwarf and orcs almost as quickly. I began to search the bodies, looking not for loot but for clues to their identity and origin, and was still engaged in that task when Garren Windspear returned. His arrival followed so closely on the attack that I suspected it had been planned that way, and our foes had been watching for him to come into sight.

He was confused, and distraught, of course, but accepted our account of what had transpired. He told us that his mission to the Radiant Heart had been successful, and we were free from the threat of attack from them, which was one small mercy. And, of course, he begged us to rescue his son. And I, of course, promised that we would.

We had found no clues as to where to look, and I could think of no better course than to scour the surrounding area, but as soon as we left the cabin, we were approached by the halfling Jum. He gave us a letter and revealed that the attackers had given it to him but told him, with threats, not to say anything about it to Garren. The letter read:

T'rissae, I give you the chance to earn back your honor, and more. This game is interesting, but it drags on and on. Come, let us meet and decide who is the better 'person'. In the northeast is our battleground. You will know it to see it. Yes, I think you will know.

Glossary of Drow Phrases

abbil = friend

rivvil = human