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...

9. Stop Using Sex As A Weapon

Chapter Nine: Stop Using Sex As A Weapon

I decided that the most advantageous purchase we could make, with our current ample funds, would be the highly-enchanted sling we had seen for sale in the Copper Coronet. On closer examination it was even more remarkable than I had first thought. Not only was it five-times enchanted but it created its own magical bullets out of thin air. It could be used with conventional bullets, if so desired, but the magical bullets could strike beings immune to damage from weapons with lesser enchantments. This sling would be capable of injuring Kangaxx! The price had come down considerably since our first visit, too, and we were able to purchase it for a mere (!) twenty thousand danter. The sword I had admired on that previous visit no longer appealed to me, for it had no advantages over the Dragon Blade or Lilarcor, but the Sling of Everard, as it was titled, was well worth even its exorbitant price. It went to Viconia, who passed on her Arla's Dragonbane to Jaheira, and we sold the twice-enchanted sling Jaheira had been using. I sold the Army Scythe crossbow, too, and kept the more highly-enchanted and powerful, but slower, weapon I had acquired from the cult of the Unseeing Eye.

We were all tired, and ready to retire for the night, but I decided not to sleep at the Coronet but to head for the Docks. I planned to stash the parts of Kangaxx's body in that area, so that they would be conveniently to hand when we made our assault on the demi-lich, and also the food and the best rooms at the Sea's Bounty were far superior to the fare offered at the Copper Coronet.

This may have been a mistake. We were intercepted on the way. Isaea Roenall blocked our path, as we passed the Shadow Thief guildhall, accompanied by four guards who wore Amnian army tabards over their plate mail.

"Nalia!" Isaea called. "I would ask that you drop this foolishness at once and return to your proper duties. Honor the commitment that you made to me!"

"I made my opinion of you quite clear, Isaea," Nalia replied, in icy tones. "I will not change my mind now."

"Then I have little choice but to forcefully show you the error of your ways," Isaea declared. "Nalia De'Arnise, I place you under arrest by order of the Amnian army."

"What?!" Nalia exclaimed.

"You are a danger to yourself and your lands," Isaea went on. "You have not been thinking straight since your father died. It is for your own good!"

"Who are you to decide that?" Nalia responded. "By what right?"

"I have every right," Isaea told her, the smug expression on his face making me want to wipe it off with the Dragon Blade. "I am an officer in the army and a liaison to the nobility. It is my function to see that everyone is well in their proper station. You have demonstrated that you are under some strange influence, no doubt from this… Drow… with whom you associate, and I must act to protect you."

"This is madness!" Nalia protested. "T'rissae will stop you!"

"No, she will not," Isaea said, his expression becoming even more smug. "I act with the full sanction of the military. Even if you were the type to attack guards, you would not survive the result. No, I am simply going to walk away, and there is nothing you can do. To attack would mean your death, as I am a respected officer."

I hated to admit it, but he spoke the truth. I had no doubt that I could kill him, and his guards in but a few strokes, using my Orb Alur style, even without the aid of my colleagues. To do so would put us outside the law and the full force of the city's authorities would descend upon us. Viconia was fuming, and uttering curses in Ilythiirra, but she too realized that we were helpless.

"I will find a way to stop you, usstan'sargh rivvil srow," I vowed.

"Bleat as you must," Isaea sneered, "but Nalia is under arrest. I will secrete her away so that you and your ilk can no longer poison her mind. Don't take it so hard; I am just better than you. Oh, do feel free to lodge a complaint with the proper authority. That would be… me."

His guards seized Nalia's arms and, despite her protests, hustled her away. Isaea gave me one last sneer and followed.

"Such corruption is not uncommon, and there is little we can do to help our young lovely now," Yoshimo lamented. "Unless, of course, we find proof of Isaea's true nature and bring it to his superiors…" He looked at me with a distinctly hopeful expression on his face.

"You are fond of Nalia, aren't you?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"More than fond, Jabbress," Yoshimo admitted. "I have never met anyone who stirs my heart as she does. I do not expect her to reciprocate, as she is far above the likes of me, but I care for her."

"Don't sell yourself short, Yoshimo," I said. "You are talented, and brave, and if we were to divide up our funds you would be very well off. I have no idea whether or not Nalia has feelings for you but, if she did, I doubt if she would let your status come between you."

Yoshimo shrugged. "She is of the samurai class and I… I might count as a ronin, at best, but more likely as a ninja or hinin. And I have done many things of which I am not proud. I will do my best to assist in freeing her but I do not have any expectations that we would ever be together."

"I am not the best person to advise you, for I have no experience in matters of the heart," I said. "I have never even been kissed. Yet you should not give up hope. Continue to treat her with respect, as you do, and you may yet win fair lady. But first we must free her. And, hopefully, find a way to make Isaea Roenall die in some horribly humiliating fashion."

"I am all for that," Viconia agreed. "I would pay good coin to see him devoured alive by rats."

"Boo says, the nasty man should receive a great big boot up the backside," Minsc bellowed, "and then taste the sword of justice!"

"I wish only to slap him across the face," Jaheira said, "but with a Harm spell. And then, perhaps, set an Insect Plague upon him."

Our musings on a suitable fate for Isaea Roenall were interrupted by the approach of a leather-clad man bearing a two-handed sword propped on his shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am," he addressed me, "but I have something I wish to say, and none must overhear."

"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of my trusted friends," I said. I didn't think this was an attempt to get me alone so that I could be attacked, but being cautious without need is far better than the reverse.

"Of course," said the man, "but not anyone else."

"Fair enough," I said. We were close to the house that had belonged to Xzar's apprentices, and I believed it would still be empty, and it would be a suitable private place. I led him, and my colleagues, there. "We can speak freely now," I said, once we were inside.

"I saw what happened, and I share your helplessness," the man said. "Any complaints about Officer Roenall must go through him, so you can imagine how many get through."

"I am aware of that," I said. "I take it you have more to offer than merely your sympathy?"

"Of course," he said. "I shall be brief. I know a way to get back at Isaea, one that will hurt him deeply. Isaea is quite corrupt and more than willing to exercise his power. You are not monitored as we, and so you can do something that I, or another guard, cannot."

So, this man was a guard, and no doubt one who had suffered some indignity or injustice from Isaea.

"Look to a man named Barg, who can be found here in the Docks, usually in or near the tavern," he advised. "Examine him, and what he does, and you are sure to see what I mean. You might also wish to pry into Isaea's personal records. They may reveal something of his fondness for gems. I did not tell you this… and I certainly did not say that his records are in his home northwest of the main government building in the Government District."

"I know it all too well," Viconia put in.

"Should anyone ask, I also wasn't the one who arranged to have the door to Isaea's estate unbarred," the man went on. "I cannot tell you more. They will question me if we are seen together. Remember, Isaea values his name over all else. Sully that, and his life is in your hands. I must go. Think on what I've said, and bring anything you learn to Corgeig Axehand in the Government District main building. He is Isaea's commander."

We let him go, waited a few minutes to minimize the chance of our meeting with him being noticed, and then set off in the direction of the Sea's Bounty in search of this 'Barg'. It wasn't hard to find him. A stallholder pointed him out to us as he stood near to the Sea's Bounty, almost exactly on the spot where the Harper assassin had killed Xzar, loudly singing a ribald sea shanty, alternating verses with swigs from a bottle of rum.

He was too drunk to watch his words, and a few simple questions prompted him to reveal far more than I could have hoped. Barg was a pirate, and Isaea financed and profited from the piracy, but Barg was an honorable pirate – at least in his own eyes – and wouldn't get involved in Isaea's slaver dealings. He denied ever having even talked to Isaea's slaver contact, Dirth, even though he spent hours in the Sea's Bounty where Dirth resided. By the end of the conversation Barg's rum bottle was empty and he staggered off to purchase another with my gift of five danter.

Thumb, the proprietor of the Sea's Bounty, regarded us as good customers by now and was happy to point Dirth out to us. Dirth was a tall man in full plate armor, standing in a corner, and he glared at us as we moved to box him in.

"Move along now," he growled. "I'm waiting for someone, and I don't need them scared off."

"I wanted to speak to you," I said. "We have a mutual friend."

"I doubt that this is so… Drow," he said. "Whom is it that you claim to know?"

"Isaea Roenall," I replied. "Certainly you know him."

"Well, indeed I know Isaea Roenall," he said. "I know him well enough to know that he would never tell our dealings to another… person…" His glare became a frown. "Wait a moment," he said. "I do know you. Oh, but you have some nerve to show your face to me! You're that Drow who killed Captain Hagen! You were clearly described to me. Come for another slaver, have you? Well, I'll not go without a fight!"

He drew his sword, Minsc and I drew ours, and I accidentally clipped Yoshimo with my blade as I performed the draw from my back-scabbard. "Oops, sorry!" I called, but continued with the move and struck Dirth a blow which glanced harmlessly from his armor.

It didn't make much difference. A blow from Minsc staggered Dirth, another strike from me activated the Dragon Blade's 'Slow' effect, and I half-sworded and drove my point through his face into his brain. I had rather hoped to get a confession from him, implicating Isaea, before we killed Dirth but it proved to be unnecessary. He had in his possession a document that was as incriminating as we could possibly desire.

It was a register of slaves recently sold to an outpost of slave lords located in the Temple District. It bore a signature in wax, impressed in by a signet ring, which was the greater crest of the family Roenall, along with the individualized markings of Isaea Roenall.

"So, as I suspected, he was more than just a 'favored customer' of the slavers," I said. "I think we have him. And I knew there had to be more of the slaver command structure still remaining, on top of the ones we killed, behind the attacks we suffered like the one when they tricked Suna Seni into helping them. We'll pay them a visit later. First, let's get this to Corgeig Axehand."

We stripped the armor from the body. He had thirty-eight danter in his pouch and I gave that to Thumb to cover disposal of the body and make up for the loss of his customer. I healed the cut I had given Yoshimo by accident, as we had not a single healing spell remaining, and then we left the tavern. We sold the armor, and the rest of Dirth's possessions, at the Thieves Guild and then headed for the Government District.

Isaea wasn't home, presumably being still busy with Nalia's imprisonment, and we were able to enter his house unnoticed. Viconia knew exactly where to look for his financial records and it didn't take long to find a ledger detailing transactions in jewelry and gems. The values shown seemed curiously low and I was fairly sure that the jewels had to be smuggled items, and Isaea was dodging city tariffs. A misdemeanor only, I thought, and unlikely to merit more than a slap on the wrist – one not including Jaheira's 'Harm' spell – but it might contribute something toward reducing Isaea's prestige in the eyes of the authorities.

We found Corgeig Axehand in the Government building and, at first, he tried to brush us off. He advised us to speak to Isaea Roenall.

"It is about him we wish to speak," I said. "You should investigate him more closely. He is not as he seems."

"So, you are suggesting that one of my officers has behaved inappropriately? What are your claims, and what is your evidence?"

I started with his arrest of Nalia to force her to submit to an arranged marriage. He replied that he was familiar with the young lady in question and did not regard her as wronged. He said that he had it on the authority of Isaea Roenall that she was distraught after the death of her father and he had placed her under his care as a protective measure. It was his word against mine, and no matter what I said about her motivations Isaea was the more credible claimant.

Not a good start. I moved on to the records of the dealings in smuggled jewelry. Corgeig dismissed them as possible clerical errors. Next, I told him of Barg's statement that Isaea financed pirates. Corgeig pointed out that Barg was a known scoundrel and his testimony was questionable. He appeared on the verge of dismissing us and then I revealed the truly damning evidence. The slaver documents. That got his attention.

"Any hint of association with the slave trade can ruin a man," Corgeig said, "and though your claims are circumstantial, there is enough here to warrant investigating officially. Remember that nothing is proven. Any number of factors could place his insignia there and not directly involve him."

I resisted the temptation to say "Oh? Name one."

"Whatever the truth is, we shall be sure to expose it," Corgeig went on. "It will take some time to fully investigate, but we should know within an hour if an inquiry is warranted. I suggest you return then. If the allegations you made are true, we owe you a debt. Such bad apples are a very destructive influence on our effectiveness. If your allegations are false, however, you may find yourselves indebted to Isaea. I will have Isaea summoned here, and we will see what course must be taken."

This had not gone as well as I had hoped but I kept calm and polite. We spent the next hour hanging around the government area, talking to officials and looking at publicly available documents, and I managed to find out a few things of interest. One of them was the location of a certain property in the Temple District. Eventually, long after I had grown bored, Corgeig Axehand returned. He had brought both Nalia and Isaea Roenall with him.

"T'rissae, I have reviewed this matter extensively," he said.

"The indignity!" Isaea spluttered. "I demand satisfaction!"

"You have not been wronged here, Isaea," Corgeig told him, reprovingly. "There has been no slander if the allegations are true."

"You believe the lies this… Drow ditch rat, this… associate of prostitutes, is spewing?" Isaea spat out. I seized Viconia's shoulder and stopped her from drawing the Flail of Ages. "Need I remind you how respected I am?" he continued. "I am Isaea Roenall!"

"And if it turns out that you have done what this person says, I will have you stripped of your rank, regardless of how 'respected' you might be," Corgeig said.

"This is preposterous!" Isaea protested.

"The matter is closed until further investigation," Corgeig Axehand declared. "Nalia, you are free to go. Isaea, you are not to leave Athkatla."

"An outrage!" Isaea cried.

"Don't whine, Isaea," Nalia said. One could almost taste the acid in her tone. "It makes you seem even less of a man."

"This is not over by any means!" Isaea shouted.

"You said you demand satisfaction," I reminded him. "Does that mean you are challenging me to a duel?"

He took a step backwards. "N… no," he said. "And you cannot challenge me. I am a noble! No mere… peasant Elf can challenge a noble of Amn."

"I am a noble in Drow terms," I said, "but I accept that it doesn't count here. But what about a knight of the Order of the Radiant Heart?"

"You? A knight of the Radiant Heart? Don't be ridiculous," Isaea scoffed.

"Not yet," I said, "but things may change. I will see you at another time, Roenall. You might wish to make out your will and pick out your funeral flowers."

Nalia's equipment had been taken from her and it was now in a sack. She re-equipped herself and joined us. "Thank you for all you have done," she said. "I will try to be less of a burden on the group in the future. I… I trust you still want me in the party?"

"Of course," I said. "We would not be without you, and you are no burden. Little could be further from the truth. Let us get out of here and get some rest. I have found something for us to do tomorrow. I shall tell you more as we walk."

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I could not face traipsing all the way back to the Sea's Bounty and decided we should go to the Bridge District, to try out the Five Flagons Inn, which Yoshimo had said was reputed to be the best in the city. The provender was indeed splendid and the proprietor, a halfling named Samuel Thunderburp, was able to give me a small piece of information about the location of Spellhold. He told me that he'd heard it was located in the Nelanthar, also known as the Pirate Isles, although he was unable to pin it down to a specific island.

We rested, and regained our spells, and made an early start in the morning. It was before sunrise and we had yet another confrontation with vampires. Three of them, this time, pursuing a Shadow Thief of Kara-Turan ethnicity. We slew the vampires and saved the thief. Safana was not among them; I had seen no sign of her since our encounter in the lair of Irenicus, and I was undecided as to whether this was a good sign or not. A short distance further on a group of four footpads surrounded us and demanded that we hand over our money. They should have known, from our armor, that we were not a safe target for robbery. We sold their gear to a merchant, who had also made an early start to his day, and resumed our journey.

Our destination was the Temple District, but not the Order chapter-house. We were going to the residence of the 'slaver lords' mentioned in the document we had taken from Dirth. It was not to be a social call.

It was a mansion, large and splendid, and we entered and found ourselves in a luxuriously furnished and very large hall. Doors opened off to the sides and twin staircases could be seen ahead. Two humans stood in the middle of the floor, one a male in the robes of a mage, the other a female clad in the leather armor of a thief. The mage spoke.

"Look who's come barging in! I should check the wards on the door, Ketta. I do believe that they've weakened enough to let the riff-raff in."

"It would appear so. An Ice Storm trap next time?" the woman, presumably Ketta, suggested.

"Now, as for you," the mage said, turning his attention to us. "This is private property, friend. You are not welcome here."

"I care not," I said. "I will give you a chance. Surrender, turn yourself over to the city authorities, and confess to your dealings with Isaea Roenall. That way, you live. Otherwise… well, it would be a shame to get your blood all over these fine carpets."

"How bold!" he exclaimed. "Ketta, shall we?" Before we could attack, they disappeared in swirls of magic energy. I suspected the mage had used Dimension Door or Teleport to flee. Perhaps to one of the side rooms, perhaps upstairs, or perhaps away from this house altogether.

I was not going to make for the stairs immediately, leaving doors behind through which foes could emerge and attack us from behind, and I led the party into the nearest room to the left. It held nothing of interest and we moved on to the next room, finding only a few coins and a spell scroll, and so we continued to the third, and last, room on the left-hand side. Just before we reached it a portal in the center of the main hall opened and monsters began to emerge.

We hastened into the side room, followed by two ogre berserkers and another, semi-insubstantial, vaguely humanoid-shaped creature that I did not recognize. We slew them; the other monsters from the portal did not follow us into the room and, from the sounds I heard, I guessed that they were fighting amongst themselves.

"We might as well wait here until those creatures finish killing each other," I said, "or until the summoning spell runs out and they disappear."

We kept ourselves occupied by searching the room. It was more rewarding than the last; a row of chests held some coin, a spell scroll, and a twice-enchanted morning star. Peeping out of the room, careful to try to keep ourselves concealed as much as possible, we saw a Glabrezu demon fighting an Efreet. The mangled body of an Ettercap lay nearby. We watched as the Glabrezu bludgeoned and clawed the Efreet to death and then stood, more or less motionless, doing nothing except posing a threat by its very presence.

"I would say that there is no point in risking combat when there is nothing to be gained," I said, "but I believe that my Protection From Evil spell would let me destroy the beast without it being able to retaliate. It would save enough time that I think the risk is worth it." I cast the spell and walked out to face the demon. It ignored me even when I struck it with my sword. I hacked it apart as it stood, apparently puzzled, and the kill was so easy and one-sided that I found myself feeling somewhat guilty.

With the demon disposed of we were free to explore the other side of the room. There was little of interest there, only a spell scroll and a small quantity of coin, and so we made for the staircase. I chose the left stair and led the way up. As we were dealing with foes including at least one mage, and a thief, Viconia cast True Seeing, before we started our ascent, to minimize the chance of our being ambushed and back-stabbed. Nalia had cast Stoneskin and Mirror Image on herself and Viconia and Jaheira both cast Armor of Faith.

The stairs took us up to a large room, with a tiled floor but otherwise not dissimilar to the one below, and a reception committee awaited us. Six foes; the mage and thief we had seen downstairs, an unarmored fighter who dual-wielded katanas, a plate-mail clad man wielding a mace whom I suspected might be a cleric, and two massive fighters, one a minotaur and the other an orog, in full plate.

"Traps!" Yoshimo warned, even as I was about to lead us forward to the attack. "Don't move!" We loosed missiles, concentrating on the presumed cleric as he was most exposed, and Nalia used her Wand of Monster Summoning to bring two ogres and a Dire Wolf to our aid. The unarmored warrior struck a blow at one ogre that made it freeze rigid and immobile and then slew it with his other sword. The other two monsters seemed likely to perish just as quickly. The cleric was faltering under our rain of missiles, but the mage seemed to have protections active, and the thief had disappeared from my view, although Viconia would be able to see her. The two huge fighters reached Minsc and at once began to give our Ranger friend a hard time. Nalia launched a Cloudkill into the area, aimed so that we would be outside its effects, and I decided that our position, pinned between traps and the stairs, was far from ideal.

"Back down the stairs!" I ordered, and we fled. "Keep going!" I yelled, when we reached the bottom. "Nalia, monsters!" She summoned creatures to cover our retreat and we did not turn until we were three-quarters of the way along the great hall. Our foes had followed us but the monsters gave us a breathing space. We used it to bombard them with bolts, arrows, and bullets and then, as the monsters fell, Minsc and I changed over to swords and charged.

The huge fighters were strong, well armored, and equipped with enchanted weapons. The smaller, unarmored, fighter was a highly skilled swordsman and it was clear that his katanas were enchanted. We struggled, but held our own. Viconia drew the Flail of Ages and engaged the thief, who was drinking potions of Invisibility after each attack, but Viconia kept her occupied and eventually slew her. The swordsman fell, then the mage, and once we could surround the two large fighters, hitting them from all sides, we were able to batter them down.

Viconia was so badly wounded that she was forced to cast a full Heal on herself. Jaheira used a Cure Critical Wounds on Yoshimo and the two healers both cast Cure Serious Wounds on Minsc. We did not stop to examine the equipment of our fallen foes but went back up the stairs to see what had become of the cleric. He lay dead upon the floor. Yoshimo disarmed the two traps that had kept us from advancing, we stripped the cleric's body, and then we went back down the stairs to check out the other group of our foes.

They were magnificently equipped. The slave business must have been very profitable. The two large fighters, one of whom was revealed as a minotaur once we removed his helm and the other as an orog, both wore once-enchanted full plate. The orog bore a twice-enchanted greatsword, the minotaur a twice-enchanted battle-axe and twice-enchanted shield. The orog's helm was a Helm of Charm Protection and the minotaur's was the Gift of Peace, another item that had once belonged to us. The thief's armor was thrice-enchanted and her short-sword twice-enchanted. The cleric, who had died upstairs, had carried a twice-enchanted mace and his plate mail was once-enchanted. All had carried several potions. The mage had worn only a basic Adventurer's Robe, poor by the standards of this company. The unarmed warrior's prime weapon impressed us most of all.

His facial features indicated that he was from Kara-Tur, perhaps from Kozakura like Yoshimo, but his clothing was local. His left-hand katana was of fine quality, but only once-enchanted, and lacked the special enchantment that made Yoshimo's weapon unable to be used by anyone else. His right-hand katana, however, was in a different class altogether. We found that it was a legendary blade named Celestial Fury, reputed to contain the soul of a celestial archon, and it was thrice-enchanted in the conventional sense. It had special powers that made it even more formidable and desirable. The power of Booming Thunder, which would reverberate through those struck by the blade and had a chance of freezing them rigid for a time, and the power of Shocking Blow, which some of the time would send a bolt of electricity through the recipient of the blow to increase the hurt caused. On top of that, once a day it could summon lightning down onto an opponent, and once a day could cause an opponent to be struck blind for a time. It was blindingly obvious that we should give this weapon to Yoshimo. Nalia, after rolling her eyes at my pun, took over the Daystar from him.

There was still more to be found in the rooms of the upper floor. On one side there seemed at first sight to be two rooms, in which we found only some coin and a single spell scroll – although a spell of the eighth level, valuable in itself – but then it occurred to me that the width of both rooms together did not match up to the length of the wall on that side. Checking the dividing wall carefully revealed secret doors leading to a room hidden between the two visible rooms. In that room, protected by traps, were two thrice-enchanted spears and a safe containing six hundred and sixty-six danter, a sheaf of fire arrows, and a Wand of Fear.

The rooms on the other side of the upper floor gave us more treasure. There was a hidden room on that side too but it contained nothing; not even furniture. From the other rooms we gained a twice-enchanted sling, enchanted sling bullets, crossbow bolts of lightning, envenomed arrows, and Wands of Frost and of Paralyzation.

This house had been a treasure trove indeed but most satisfying was that the slavers had, finally, met their ends. No doubt others would rise in their place, in time, but for a little while that evil was ended.

Jaheira took one of the suits of full plate armor, replacing the Delver's Plate, and Minsc took the other in place of his non-magical, and thus heavier, set. We left the slavers' house and descended into the sewers to sell our acquisitions to Roger the Fence.

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I now had a renewed motivation to seek membership of the Order of the Radiant Heart. The duties of a Silverhair Knight differed in some respects from those of a human paladin, and in the event of any clash I would always choose to follow the precepts of Eilistraee, but I did not expect any such situation would arise. And I might be prepared to make some slight compromises in the interests of gaining the legal right to challenge Isaea Roenall and then gut him like a fish.

This time we did manage to make it to the office of Prelate Wesselen without getting sidetracked. He greeted us in friendly fashion and made no reference to my race.

"I have heard much of your deeds, T'rissae," he said. "You have done well as a paladin without a patron. Garren speaks well of you, and he had a recommendation. He wished you to be honored for your heroics. You truly exemplify the paladin spirit, and I would have you demonstrate it further."

I could see a request to accomplish some quest coming. "I try my best," I said.

"You shall continue under the guidance of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart," he said. "You could ask for no better a patron. I bid you speak to William Reirrac. He shall be our liaison. The tasks you are given shall be for the causes of justice. Give them the attention they merit. Your life is still yours; do not neglect your own quests and crusades, but treat your assignments with the utmost urgency." Those two statements seemed to contradict each other, but I thought I saw what he meant. Once I had been given an assignment it would have to take precedence over my own business. I would have to avoid being here, thereby not being around to be given assignments, if I had something urgent to do of my own. "Go speak to William Reirrac."

As I had expected, Sir William did indeed have a task for us, and an urgent one. A unit of the knights had gone to the Umar Hills, suspecting a possible attack by forces of the Sythillisian Empire, and had discovered that the attack would come soon and with greater numbers than they had expected. They needed immediate reinforcement, and the Order had none to send, as most of their knights were fully engaged in trying to defuse a possible war between the churches of Talos and of Lathander. Now I had come at the perfect moment to fill the gap. He urged me not to tarry, for the peril was imminent.

I agreed, of course, without hesitation. I did make a slight diversion before leaving the city, to pick up the Shadow Dragon wardstone from where I had stashed it, for it rankled with me that I had left the dragon alive when it might still threaten Imnesvale. Hopefully I could kill two birds, or bats as the Drow idiom has it, with one stone.

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We reached the Umar Hills in the proverbial nick of time. The knights of the Order were under attack even as we arrived, and we found ourselves pitched into battle immediately. The enemy included orcs, ogre mages, and Ettins. I had not fought those two-headed giants before, as the only one I had encountered had been a ghost and he had not been hostile, and the force of their blows surprised me. I was quite badly hurt, as was Jaheira, and we required powerful healing spells once the fight was over. One of the knights fell, a veteran knight named Grady, but the rest lived and the enemy forces were wiped out.

We did not hasten back to the city, unlike the surviving knights, for I had other things in mind. Dragon-shaped things. We went into Imnesvale, and spent the night in the inn, and I was relieved to hear that there had been no sightings of any dragon. I would make sure that the dragon did not threaten the area in the future.

Off to the area of the ruined temple we trekked, and descended into the hall where the dragon had been. It was still there, in the center, and the wardstone again kept it from noticing us. We prepared for battle.

Yoshimo laid traps around the dragon and the rest of us cast preparatory spells, drank potions, and selected our deadliest weapons. When all was ready, we attacked.

The dragon was caught by surprise, and we were able to hurt it severely before it reacted, but then it struck back and sent Minsc flying across the room. I smote it mightily but, on my second blow, the blade bounced off as harmlessly as if it had been a non-magical weapon striking a foe only harmed by enchanted ones. The dragon had cast something on itself to make itself immune. Its head slammed into me, knocking me back and driving the wind from my body, but I forced myself to keep fighting. Then Nalia cast a spell of Breach, Viconia and Jaheira both used Dispel Magic upon the beast, and its protections were gone. Our weapons took effect once more and I hacked away until, at last, the great creature collapsed and lay still.

It had been guarding a treasure; not a great hoard, but valuable enough. Several gems, three thousand three hundred danter in coin, and a scroll. The scroll was not a spell scroll, as I at first thought, but was a set of instructions for the construction of a mighty weapon; the warhammer Crom Faeyr, reputed to bestow unmatched powers of destruction on its wielder. We did not possess the necessary components for the weapon but the scroll itself might be of value. I tucked it away safely and began the gory task of stripping away enough of the beast's skin and scales to make a suit of armor. The dwarf Cromwell had claimed to be able to perform that feat; once we returned to Athkatla, we would put his claim to the test.

It had been a hard fight, but perhaps not as hard as I had feared. I contemplated making a trip to the Windspear Hills, to rid the area of the menace of Firkraag, but decided against it for the time being. Firkraag was much bigger than the Shadow Dragon, and we had no wardstone to shield us from him until we were ready to strike, and a battle against him would be harder by an order of magnitude. It could well end with all of us dead. Better to leave that for another time. We headed for Athkatla, going straight there without passing through Imnesvale, and went to see Cromwell at the Docks.

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The hargluk was as good as his word. He charged us five thousand danter, and required us to labor alongside him at the forge, and took a full day. At the end, however, what he produced was a marvel. As protective as non-magical full plate, light of weight, giving its wearer protection from acid, and exceedingly smart in appearance. I was almost tempted to claim it for myself, but Yoshimo would make better use of it and so it was to him that it went. His armor the Night's Gift was set aside; Viconia did not wish us to sell it, as it had been blessed by her goddess, and it was so light in weight that keeping it in a pack would be no hardship. It might come in handy if we recruited another thief, a pure druid who was barred from the use of metal armor, a ranger such as Suna Seni who favored light armor, or even Minsc if he ever chose to set aside his plate so that he could scout ahead silently and hard to see.

We returned to the Order chapter-house fully healed, rested, and with Yoshimo wearing his new armor. Sir William Reirrac greeted us, praised our deeds, and spoke of Sir Grady who had fallen in the battle. Then he set us a new task.

This time it was to be one of sitting in judgement rather than combat. A baron had petitioned the Order to arbitrate in a land dispute. The noble, a Baron Metrich, claimed that squatters on his land had used violence against his men and he wanted the Order to remove them. Sir William wanted us to go there, resolve the situation, and restore order. The Baron would meet the Order's representative in a neutral place; the tavern in the village of Imnesvale, in the Umar Hills.

I managed to stop myself from groaning aloud, and rolled my eyes only a tiny bit. Back to Imnesvale, then, where we had been only a short time before.

One of Baron Metrich's retinue met us on the outskirts of the village, and tried to hustle us into the tavern without speaking to any of the 'squatters', the other side to the dispute. I took no notice. The nobility were no more to be trusted than anyone else, or less so if the Roenalls were taken as representative, and there was no way I was going to merely take the baron's word for who was in the right. And the so-called 'squatters' had a very different story to tell.

According to them, they were the rightful occupants of the land, and the baron had only recently taken possession. He was trying to force them out, apparently because he would rather have the lands as private hunting grounds than farms, by imposing harsh taxation and having the crops of those who refused to pay burned. They admitted that they had slain some of the baron's men but claimed that this had been in self-defense. Their leader, a man named Moreno, told me that he would not risk attending the meeting because the baron's men had been given orders to kill him on sight. None of them made any reference to my race. They saw the Order as the tool of the nobility, until I demonstrated that I was willing to listen to their case, and me being a Drow seemed to be, in their eyes, an irrelevant minor detail.

Baron Metrich, once we were inside, reacted differently. He was taken aback, refused at first to believe that I could be representing the Order, and seemed to struggle to control his distaste. His attempt to prevent me from hearing the other side of the case had already inclined me against him, and his attitude swayed me even more toward his opposition. Once he accepted my credentials, he seemed to regard me as merely being here to impose the evictions he desired, either by making them accept the authority of the Order or by force.

He was supported at first by a darthiir woman named Lanka. The farmers outside had mentioned her, speaking of her as one who had lived amongst them for years, but who had turned against them once the baron arrived and took over. She spoke up for Baron Metrich, at first, but wavered when I brought up the farmers' claims that the baron's men had burned their crops. She started to question him, saying that he had assured her that the affair would be settled without violence.

"What would be your concern?" Metrich sneered. "Your hands are far from clean in this matter, my dear. Your precious animals and environment have made you a turncoat."

So, Lanka was a druid, or at least a follower of their beliefs, and regarded a wild area used only for hunting as preferable to settlements and farms. I had met druids who would cheerfully have burnt the crops themselves, but then slain Metrich when he began to hunt in the newly wild lands; Lanka, however, was less of an extremist. More in line with the balanced opinions held by Jaheira, perhaps.

An argument between Lanka and Metrich began and escalated to the point where Metrich lost his temper completely and, in so doing, gave himself away.

"I begin to think you are not such a good steward for these lands after all," said Lanka.

"Are all of you imbeciles thinking now?" Baron Metrich yelled. "Who asked what you think? I've bought and sold better than you at market! No, this will go no further. I tried to play the caring figurehead, but you just kept pushing. Fine! We'll do this the old-fashioned way. I claim the land because I'm bloody rich and you're not!"

"I think you have just destroyed your own case, Metrich," I told him. "The land is not yours. Get your men off it. Pay recompense to those whose crops you have destroyed. No more taxes. That's my judgement."

"What?!" the baron exploded. "I brought the Order here to back me! I'm a noble, damn it! I refuse to accept the authority of some pointy-eared Drow slut! Kill the bitch!"

Metrich had a wizard and several men-at-arms backing him up. I had Minsc, Viconia, Jaheira, Yoshimo, and Nalia. And someone else joined in on our side; Suna Seni! The fight lasted less than a minute. None of us suffered even a scratch. Problem solved.

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The farmers departed, satisfied with the outcome, although I advised them to try non-violent methods of resolving any similar situations that might arise in the future. Once they were gone, I turned to Suna Seni.

"It is good to see you again, and I thank you for your assistance," I said.

"You hardly needed it," she said. "You have done well for yourselves since I saw you last, it would seem, to judge by your equipment."

"We have," I said, "and we have something for you, although we left it in Athkatla to save carrying it around. An enchanted longsword, a better match for the Sword of Agility you gave to us."

"You need give me nothing," she said, "although… perhaps you might be able to help us."

"When you say 'us', I take it that you mean yourself and Valygar Corthala?" I guessed.

"I do," she confirmed. "I've been staying with him since our encounter. I came into Imnesvale to buy supplies and was observing this meeting, my sympathies being with the farmers, when I saw you. His cabin is not all that far from Imnesvale. If you come with me, I will let him explain his situation for himself."

I was happy to agree. We left the inn together and found ourselves confronted by a much less welcome past acquaintance. The Harper, Dermin Courtierdale, who had tried to persuade Jaheira to turn against me, and had threatened her when she refused and renounced her Harper membership.

This was more of the same. He told her that she had been declared a killer of Harpers and a traitor, and a collaborator with known enemies, and her execution had been ordered. He said that we had faced little opposition from the Harpers so far but that was now over. There would be more attacks, of increasing severity, unless Jaheira surrendered and went with him. He said that it was an internal matter of justice, and no longer involved T'rissae, and that I would be spared future attacks if she submitted. She would receive a hearing but, if she refused, there would be no other warnings.

"Very well, Dermin, I shall think on this," Jaheira said, and Dermin departed.

Jaheira spoke little as we followed Suna Seni to Valygar Corthala's cabin. I could understand. She had much to think about. I tried, briefly, to get her to open up about her feelings but met with little success. Mostly I devoted myself to talking with Suna Seni until we reached the cabin.

Valygar Corthala was dark of skin by the standards of the local humans, although slightly less dark than Dynaheir had been, and it might have been difficult for him to blend into crowds. I could understand why he had hidden himself in the wilds. Suna Seni had mentioned us to him and, although a little wary at first, he soon relaxed and told his story.

He was the last surviving descendant of a necromancer named Lavok, who had built the Planar Sphere, a contrivance capable of traversing the Planes, and had departed in it saying he would be back in ten years. It had been gone for five hundred years and had returned to Faerûn only a month ago, reappearing in the Slums District, and crushing some buildings that had been built on its site during the intervening centuries. Only one of the Corthala bloodline could open the sphere and the Cowled Wizards, who wanted to learn its secrets, had tried to compel Valygar to give them access. They had resorted to violence when he refused, forcing him to slay two of them in self-defense, and he had had to flee the city and hide out.

I asked why he was so against opening the Sphere. He told me that his ancestor Lavok had extended his life for centuries, even before his departure in the Sphere, by possessing the bodies of his kin. Valygar did not want it to happen to him and so was loath to put himself in a position where he might be vulnerable to Lavok. Nor did he trust the Cowled Wizards not to misuse Lavok's secrets for their benefit and the woe of others. They believed that his dead body would serve as a key to the Sphere and were quite willing to kill him and use his corpse.

Despite his unwillingness to enter the Sphere, he had no wish to continue to live in hiding, nor to flee Amn altogether, and felt that entering the Sphere in the company of a well-armed and experienced party would be the best way to resolve the problem. If Lavok could be slain, permanently, then Valygar would no longer need to fear having his body possessed.

And, Suna Seni told me out of Valygar's hearing, removal of that threat might weaken Valygar's resolve to bring the Corthala bloodline to an end. That had been one factor in the break-up of their previous relationship and, though she had been working to repair it and get back together with him, that obstacle remained. If the threat of Lavok could be removed perhaps Valygar might be willing to marry her and even have children.

I decided that we should accompany them into the Planar Sphere. Valygar promised that we could take whatever treasures we might find inside; he had no interest in them, only in destroying Lavok and frustrating the plans of the Cowled Wizards. It sounded like a worthy cause, possibly profitable, and I would be happy to play a part in uniting the two lovers. My companions agreed, although Jaheira merely gave a terse assent without enthusiasm, and we spent the night in Valygar's cabin with our intention being to set off for Athkatla in the morning.

In the morning Jaheira was not with us. She had slipped out at some point during the night and had not returned. We were alarmed; had she been attacked and abducted, or slain, by the Harpers? We went out to see if there were any clues to her fate in the area around the cabin. The only thing we found was a man with a long white beard, with a wide-brimmed pointy hat on his head, and wearing mage robes of a bright red hue. I had seen, and spoken with, this wizard before. He was holding Jaheira's Dragon Helm and I feared that he was bringing bad news.

"Good morning, young lady," Elminster greeted me, his smile dispelling my fears at least to some extent. "Call me… Terminsel."

"Call me Sir East, then," I said, making an anagram of my own name to match the transparently obvious one he had used. "You are holding Jaheira's helm. Have you seen her?"

"Not as such," he said. "I was walking by and noticed this helmet, weighting down a letter, and I feared that the note would blow free and be lost." He handed me the helm and a sheet of paper. "It looks important, and I should not wish anyone to lose what is really important. Do ye hear what I am saying to thee? I thought so. Good luck." He turned and walked away. My past experiences of him had shown that trying to get Elminster to reveal more than he wished was futile, and so I let him go and concentrated on the letter.

It was from Jaheira, of course, and it was a farewell note. She had decided to return to the Harper Hold, to face their judgement, and had not told us in case we tried to stop her. She felt that she had a reasonable chance of receiving a fair hearing, as Galvarey had had detractors as well as supporters, and if not, then at least she would be reunited with Khalid in the afterlife. She asked me not to interfere, saying that there would be little or no gain for me, and that she believed that the Harpers would lose interest in me once she was in their hands.

Minsc wanted us to rush off to rescue Jaheira but I decided to respect her wishes. I might look into it later, especially as I was not so sure that the Harpers would not attack again, but first we would escort Valygar and Suna Seni to the Planar Sphere.

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We picked up the sword Namarra, and the Elven Court bow, from where we had stored them. I gave Namarra to Suna Seni, and loaned the Night's Gift armor to her also, although only after Viconia had questioned the darthiir girl about her religious allegiances and had determined that Shar would not be offended. The bow was superior to that which Valygar possessed, although inferior to Minsc's bow Heartseeker, and we gave it to Valygar.

The Planar Sphere was at the opposite side of the Slums to that where the Copper Coronet was located and we had not gone in that direction previously. We had seen the top of it from a distance but thought it only a dome-shaped roof. Only close up could its true spherical shape be plainly seen. We had to go through a partly-destroyed house in order to reach the Sphere's door. I tried to open it, as did Yoshimo, just to confirm Valygar's tale. Nothing we could do had any effect. Then Valygar touched it and it swung open.

The sphere was larger than the surrounding buildings but not huge. It covered an area not a great deal bigger than, for example, the Copper Coronet. We thought that exploring it, and locating Lavok if he still survived, would not take long at all. We were wrong.

We went in and proceeded along a corridor to a circular chamber with four doors, counting the one through which we had entered, leading off from it. The first door we tried took us to another chamber containing a steam mephit, which we killed, and a surface on which was projected a panoramic view of Athkatla as if seen from some vantage point far above. The second door defeated all our attempts to open it, not reacting to Valygar's touch either, and it appeared to have some vital piece missing. The third door revealed a store-room in which lurked a clay golem.

I hate fighting clay golems. It is customary for paladins to learn to use several different types of weapon. I have never followed that practice, instead honing my skills with the two-handed sword to the exclusion of almost anything else, other than a barely adequate facility with the crossbow. This gives me a great advantage in many fights but has a drawback. A foe that can only be harmed by blunt weapons negates my skill and leaves me vulnerable. I bashed away, clumsily, at the golem with a mace that had been Minsc's spare weapon and barely managed to keep it at bay. It took Minsc, wielding an enchanted mace in each hand, and Viconia with the Flail of Ages, to destroy the construct.

The storeroom held several crates mainly of mundane things, such as coal, plus a couple of spell scrolls, two score of enchanted sling bullets, a metal object shaped like a large human arm, and a rod that could well have been the missing piece from the other door. We tried it out and it fitted. The door opened…

…and all the lights went out and the chamber was plunged into darkness. I felt a breath of wind from behind us, in the direction from which we had entered, but saw nothing. Then I heard the outer door clang shut, the floor shook under us, and a disembodied voice announced:

"You have initiated planar travel. The inner door will now open. You may not leave the Sphere until the master allows it."

There was only one thing I could say to that. "Gi, vith!"

Glossary of Drow Phrases

Orb Alur = Drow combat system designed for fighting multiple opponents
usstan'sargh rivvil srow = arrogant human scum
Jabbress = female commander
hargluk = dwarf
darthiir = surface elf
Gi, vith! = Oh, fuck!