Author note: Heya everyone! I've got a little question for you: have you ever played Icewind Dale2 with a Drow, Tiefling or Aasimar character in your party? And do you like IWD2 as a game? I haven't played it yet and I'm curious about it…
oxoxoxoxoxo
Their first introduction to Saradush was quite different from what they had imagined: after entering the portal, they found themselves in front of a huge castle, the entrance guarded by a handful of guards whose sweat-and-ash-streaked faces were the picture of exhaustion. The guards looked at the party which had just appeared out of nowhere with a mixture of fear and distrust and it took their leader a split second to decide the next move, while the civilians ran away in fear. "Spies of Yaga-Shura! Kill them, boys!".
Meg cursed under her breath, but before the two groups could cross swords, thick black vines emerged from the ground and trapped the guards, effectively preventing them from attacking. The party members as one turned to see Aerie with her arms outstretched and a satisfied smile on her lips. "Aerie, you're amazing!", the Ilmatari exclaimed, taking the Avariel up in a bear hug, "Excellent job!". "Oh, that's nothing, really, any good mage can do that", the Elven girl replied, brushing the dust off of her robe and shooting Edwin a quick smug glance, to which he responded with a glare worthy of an Uchiha.
Margaret Dawn gave her mace to Sarevok and walked up to the soldiers, keeping her open palms in front of her to show that she meant them no harm, "Look, we have no ill intentions towards you and we're not in league with this Yaga-Shura you mentioned. We are here to help. I'm a servant of the Crying God, see?", she added, showing them her Holy Symbol of Ilmater, "The spell binding you was cast only to protect you. We don't want to fight".
The leader of the guards relaxed instantly at seeing the silver pendant and nodded, "I see. Guys, they're okay! No need to fight them!", he shouted to his men, then turned to her, "Forgive our rash reaction, madam, but it's not every day that strangers appear out of nowhere in our city". "I understand", she smiled and dissolved the web holding them, "Can you tell us what is going on?".
He sighed, his face twisting with sadness and anger, "Saradush in under siege, madam. It's been for a while now and our people are dying even as we speak", he pointed to the city walls, "Yaga-Shura is a Fire Giant and a Bhaalspawn. He's keeping us under siege for reasons we don't know, his army constantly raining fiery boulders from outsGET DOWN!", he suddenly shouted, as one of the aforementioned boulders came whistling from the sky and crashed down in the middle of the square, leaving behind a small crater and sending in every direction countless flaming splinters which hit several citizens.
"Rats in a basket! Thanks for the warning, sir. Jae, Anomen, Aerie, we'll take care of the wounded", the Painbearer ordered, "The others will find a safe place to stay at". Sarevok frowned, "No way I'm leaving you alone in this mess!", he protested. Her head whipped around and she glared at him so fiercely that he nearly took a step back, "I've already lost you twice, so now shut up and bring your ass to a safe place, because I sure as Hell don't want to lose you again!", she snapped, eyes glowing golden, "GO!".
He was stunned by her outburst and wisely decided to just do as he was told, "All right, Maggie. You're in charge". "Damn right I am!", she confirmed as she approached a man whose left leg had been shattered by a large chunk of rock. After patching him up, she heard a child's cry and immediately went to check: a boy of no more than five was crying helplessly, while tugging on the arm of an obviously dead man lying on the ground.
"Daddy, please, wake up! We must go home!", the child sobbed, his tears leaving wet black lines on his ash-dirty cheeks. Margaret Dawn felt her heart clench in pity as she recalled being in roughly the same situation not so long ago, in the depths of Irenicus' dungeon, "What happened, little one?", she asked softly, kneeling at his side. The boy looked up at her, "I can't wake my daddy up! He was hit and then he fell and now he won't wake up! Please, help my daddy!".
She stroked his hair tenderly, "Of course, darling, now I'll wake him up, okay?", she promised, then she placed her hands on the corpse and intoned a Resurrection spell, silently thanking Ilmater for having memorized it the night before. A soft blue glow surrounded the man, the outline of a blooming rose rising for a moment from his body and slowly, his eyes opened and he blinked, confused, "What? I...".
"Daddy!", his son happily flung his little arms around his neck and hugged him, sobbing with joy, "You're awake!". The man smiled and hugged him back, "Don't cry, Tazit, it's all right now, I'm fine. Though I don't know how", he added and looking up, he saw Meg smiling at him. "How do you feel, sir?". "I'm fine, thank you. Did you bring me back?". "Yes".
"But…Resurrection spells are so expensive, I could have never afforded one! I can't repay you for this...". She shook her head as she stood, "You don't have to: your happiness is payment enough for me. May Ilmater be with you both". "I...Thank you, Sister. May Waukeen bless you for your kindness", he nodded his farewell and left with his son, who turned to wave at her while leaving. "Bye, madam! And thanks a lot!". "My pleasure, sweetie", she replied with a warm smile.
She was walking away, when a woman with bright red hair and sparkling jade-green eyes approached her. "Please, can I speak to you?". "Of course, madam, what can I do for you?". "My name is Melissan, I saw you appear out of nowhere in front of the castle", the redhead said, "If you can get into a city under siege, maybe you can also get out, you could be our only hope! But tell me…You are a Bhaalspawn, aren't you?". Meg stiffened, suddenly wary, "What if I were?", she asked and Melissan smiled.
"Oh, don't worry, I have no ill will towards your kin: on the contrary, I brought many of them here to keep them safe. Unfortunately, Yaga-Shura's army came and put the city under siege and now, I fear I won't be able to protect them anymore. But you, you seem powerful, maybe you could defeat him". The Ilmatari bit her lower lip, "I could", she agreed. "Oh, may the Gods be praised! Only…Some say Yaga-Shura is invulnerable". "What? And how do you expect me to defeat him then?", she snapped, eyes glowing golden and Melissan flinched slightly.
"Please, let me explain: there could be a way around his invulnerability. He was not born with it, he…He acquired it at some point. He spent his childhood in the Forest of Mir, in a Temple of Bhaal, so maybe the secret lies there. Please, if nobody stops him, this city and its people will be doomed…You serve Ilmater, you have to help us, please!", the older woman begged, joining her hands as if in prayer and looking desperate. Margaret Dawn narrowed her eyes, this seemed a little too convenient for her tastes, having a stranger drop such valuable information in her lap just like that, yet she couldn't deny that Melissan had a point about Yaga-Shura, "I see. Very well, I will try to take him down then".
The redhead brightened, "Excellent! But, you understand, we need to remove the inside threat first: Gromnir is completely mad, he has locked himself up in the castle and he doesn't care about his people's suffering. To truly save Saradush, you must get rid of him first". "Couldn't I just speak to him first? Maybe he isn't that far gone". "Oh, I wish it were so simple!", she sighed, her face twisting with sadness, "But he cannot be reasoned with, alas. I tried, I really tried, but he won't listen. No, sad as it sounds, you will have to kill him, Margaret Dawn", she added and the Painbearer's alarm bells went on like crazy.
She had never told her name to Melissan and in her experience, when someone knew your name without you telling them, that meant they were an enemy, even more so if you were a Bhaalspawn. Still, it would do neither her nor the people of Saradush any good to start a bloody confrontation now, so she just smiled and nodded, "All right then, I will get into the castle and deal with Gromnir. Thank you for your help, lady Melissan. Now please excuse me, but I have more people to heal", she bowed and left, her insides churning with fury: Melissan would regret dearly trying to manipulate her.