Author note: In this chapter, an original character of my creation joins the party: dearest readers, meet Daniel Eliad, a male Elf druid of True Neutral alignment! ^-^
oxoxoxoxoxo
Meanwhile, Sarevok, Imoen, Minsc (and Boo), Yoshimo and Edwin sat at a corner table at the inn, silently waiting with both anxiety and hope for their companions to join them. "Hey there", a male voice startled them, "Mind if I sit with you?". The speaker was nearly as tall as Anomen, he had a slender frame, pointed ears marking him as an Elf, hazel eyes with a beauty mark under his right eye and long hazel hair with short bangs on his forehead, he wore a simple deep blue robe and carried an enchanted staff.
"Not at all", Sarevok replied, observing the man warily, "Take a sit, brother", he added and his friends started. The stranger grinned, eyes shining with amusement, "Thank you, brother", he said, grabbing a nearby chair and turning it backwards before sitting down, resting his arms on its back, "Name's Daniel Eliad, by the way and I'm a druid. Nice to meet you". "You have guts, to approach us so casually: the other Spawn here looked like they would piss themselves, when we got in".
He laughed, "They did the same when I got here. Guess they're afraid of us big fishes…Especially of you, Sarevok Anchev". The Deathbringer's eyes narrowed, "How do you know my name?". "Hard not to recognize you! I was in the Gate before you kicked the bucket, worked in an herbalist shop and I saw you when you once came to buy some healing potions". "You were lucky, then, that I didn't notice your heritage, or you would have died long ago".
The druid shrugged, "Quite likely", he admitted, "But I was smart enough to keep a low profile and I knew how to hide my Taint from others like me: the old bastard Bhaal taught me the trick when I was eleven". Imoen cleared her throat, "Excuse me, but I'm a Bhaalspawn too!", she protested, feeling ignored and he chuckled. "In name, yes, but your Taint can't be compared to mine, even less to his…Well, to the amount he had in the old days, at least. And I've heard of your sister, that Margaret Dawn: from what they say, hers is as strong as yours was", he added, turning back to Sarevok.
"It's grown even stronger now. But if you're planning to…". He raised his open palms, "Wow, easy! I don't plan to hurt her, or this slip of a girl for that matter". "HEY!", the pink-haired thief shouted, offended, but he ignored her. "I'm here because I've an offer to make: there's a bitch in this city, goes by the name of Melissan, who's planning to have all the Spawn trapped inside the city killed by the army of the Fire Giant Piece of Shit out there". Edwin arched an eyebrow, "And how do you know of her plans? (Probably he's in league with her and this is a trap)".
"Shut that yap, grown-ups are talking", Daniel dismissed him without missing a beat, "Thing is, I know her from the Temple where I was born: her real name's Amelyssan the Blackhearted and she's a Deathstalker. My mom, also, not that it made any difference to her: bitch was still ready to slit my throat on the damned altar without batting an eyelid. So you see, I've a good reason to help you out: I want to return the favor to her. Can I join your merry band?", he asked with a grin.
Minsc, who had been strangely silent during the whole exchange, intervened, "Before we can consider your offer to join us, Boo must sniff you and decide if you are good or bad", he declared, taking the hamster from where he'd been nibbling on some cheese and placing him in front of the druid. "Uh...Sorry, what?", Daniel asked, baffled, shooting a quick look at his half-brother, who snickered quietly.
"This is Boo, the resident Miniature Giant Space Hamster and Minsc's faithful animal companion. Believe it or not, but he's an impressively good judge of character, so if he likes you, it will be a point in your favour". "Oh, okay", the druid shrugged and leaned forward, so that Boo could sniff him more easily. The hamster set to his task and after a while, squeaked loudly and the Rashemi ranger beamed. "Boo says you are a good man", he translated and the Elf released a breath he had not known he was holding. "Great, does that mean I'm in then?".
"I said it is a point in your favour, not that it's a yes", the Deathbringer replied, "Maggie is our leader, so you'll have to wait for her to come here and if she says no, you'll have to live with it. Is that clear, brother?". "Yeah, I got it: you all take orders from a chick. Quite open-minded I'd say, I like that", Daniel commented, grinning. "Good to hear, though I would advise against calling her a 'chick' in front of her husband, if you don't want him to flatten your nose like that of a bulldog".
"Ooooh, he's that type of guy, uh?", he nodded, "Thanks for the advice, brother. So, how many members does this marry band count apart from you lot?". "Four more: Maggie, her husband, her mother and Aerie. Now that I think of it, we never made introductions: you already know me. This is our sister Imoen. That is Minsc, a ranger from Rashemen. The man to his right is Yoshimo, a bounty hunter from Kara-Tur. And this is Edwin, a...". "The, not a, you simian!", the Thayan snapped haughtily and Sarevok rolled his eyes.
"Fine, the Red Wizard from Thay", he amended, then his full lips curved in a mischievous smile, "The Red Wizard from Thay who is going to be in for a lot of pain if I tell Maggie that you've just called me a simian", he added, swallowing down a laugh at seeing Edwin pale and gulp nervously. "I most definitely did not". "Yes you did". "No I didn't! (Damn my big mouth!)". "Did too". "Did not!". "Did too". "Did what?", Meg's voice came from a few steps away, causing poor Edwin to nearly jump out of his skin. "Nothing!", he lied quickly, "So, are you done saving every street rat in sight?".
She chuckled as she, Jaheira, Aerie and Anomen took a seat, all four of them tired and covered in ashes and blood (not their own luckily), "Yes, we're done, at least for the moment. We have exhausted our healing spells for the day though", she answered, then looked at Daniel curiously, "Oh, hello, brother". Her half-brother smiled, "Hello, sister, I'm Daniel Eliad, nice to meet you at last. I've heard much about you".
She smiled back, "All of it good, I hope. Allow me to introduce those of us you don't know yet: Jaheira, Aerie and my beloved husband Anomen". "Charmed, ladies and pal". Anomen's eyebrows rose, but his grey-blue eyes sparkled with amusement at the nickname, "Pleasure is mine, buddy", he replied and he and the Bhaalspawn druid shared a laugh. "So, sister, I offered to join your group, but Big Brother here said it's up to you if I'm in or not...". "Boo said he is nice!", Minsc cut Daniel off enthusiastically.
Margaret Dawn titled her head to the side. "Well, if Boo gave his seal of approval, who am I to disagree? Okay, Daniel, welcome to the family", she said, extending her right and her half-brother shook it. "Thank you, sister. I'll pull my weight, you can be sure of it". "I have no doubt about that. But we'll talk more later, if you don't mind: we need a bath and some food first". "Sure, go ahead. I'll see you later".
oxoxoxoxoxo
After a blessedly warm bath, the party members ordered some food and gathered again around the table in the common room, where Daniel informed them of what he knew about Melissan/Amelyssan and her plan. "What of the city ruler? Why does he allow her to use his city as a slaughterhouse?", Meg asked, frowning.
"Well, I've heard rumors saying he's one of the Bhaalspawn she 'saved' and that it was her who brought him here in the first place, two years ago. His name's Gromnir Il-Khan and he's a Half-Orc. Rumors say that he's gone crazy and doesn't give shit about the city anymore, so he's locked himself up in his castle because he's just a heartless, selfish motherfu…", Daniel began, but his colorful language earned him a hard cuff on the head from Jaheira who sat on his left. "Language, boy!". "Ow! Hey, now, that wasn't necessary", he protested and everyone else laughed. "Congratulations, brother, now you're officially one of the family", Imoen commented, amused.
"Yeah, well, I'd have preferred another way to make it official", he muttered, but his lips curved in a grin, "Anyway, as I was saying, the people here think he's given up on Saradush and of course mommy dear makes it worse by going around wailing about how 'poor Gromnir' has lost his sanity, but that's a pile of bulls-ahem, I mean, that's a bunch of big fat lies. I visited the city ten months ago, way before she started her charade and Saradush was more than fine, let me tell you: Gromnir ruled it fairly and protected it the best he could.
I seriously doubt he would just flip and go insane from dawn to dusk, besides I've heard one of the guards of the castle telling mommy dear that she is not welcome to even come close to the doors and they have orders to kill her if she tries to get in. But when it's one of the commoners approaching the doors, the guards simply tell them to leave and if words aren't enough, they push the citizens away, but not once I've seen them use their weapons against the people".
"So it's only Amelyssan whom Gromnir considers a threat", Yoshimo concluded, "And he still cares for his people". "Yeah, that's what I thought too", the druid nodded, "My guess? He locked himself up because he knows she wants to get all the Spawn in the city killed, him included and as long as he's in there, he should be safe". Sarevok frowned, his lips twisting with disgust, "That's his plan? Hiding like a rat for the rest of his life, instead of fighting her openly? That's a cowardly move, if you ask me". His half-brother shrugged, "Not everyone is as badass as you are, man. Besides, Amelyssan's a powerful bitch and even with all his guards, Gromnir's basically on his own against her".
"Not anymore", Meg intervened, emerald eyes burning with determination, "If we joined forces with him, we could take Amelyssan down". "We could…But one, the castle is sealed, so no way to get in and two, there's still the little problem of Yaga-Shura out there trying to raze Saradush to the ground", Daniel reminded her. "I haven't forgotten, brother. And Yaga-Shura is the most dangerous threat at the moment, considering the Deathstalker hasn't attacked the city directly yet…But we still need to speak to Gromnir, he may have some useful insight to offer: this is his city after all". He leaned back in his seat and sighed, "We gotta find a way in, then".
"Maybe the innkeeper knows something, I'll try and ask him", she stood and went to the bar, giving the portly man on the other side her most charming smile, "Hello, sir". "Oh, hello, ma'am! I'm Pyrgam Aleson, at your service!", he smiled back, eyeing her appreciatively, "What can I do for you? Want some beer? No, a lady like yourself is more the type to drink red wine, yes? I've just got the thing, a special reserve of Sembian wine that…". "No, actually, I need some information", she cut him off, "You see, I want to help this city and I need to get into the castle to speak to Gromnir".
His smile dropped and he looked at her with sudden suspicion, "And why would you do that?". She showed him her Holy Symbol of Ilmater, "I was tasked by my superiors to try and persuade the ruler of this city to take better care of his citizens, but he has locked himself up into the castle and this makes my job so much more difficult", she sighed, her full lips curving in an enticing pout, "I do not want to let the people of Saradush down, but I don't know what to do".
"Oh, well, in that case, maybe I can help you", the innkeeper said, relaxing as soon as he saw the symbol of the Crying God, "There is an old abandoned prison under the city, Count Santele used it to get rid of his political rivals long ago and it's said to be connected to the castle through a tunnel. But I've heard that it's haunted by undead now and so Sister Farielle had to seal it to protect the city". "I see. Where can I find this Sister Farielle?". "She's the head of the Temple of Waukeen, you can't miss it, just take the road to the left from here, take the second to the right, then up until the third to the left and you're there".
Meg nodded with a warm smile, "Thank you, good sir. We will go at once", she went back to her companions and repeated the information she had received. Imoen frowned, "More Undead, bleargh. At least this time it's not sewers". Daniel arched an eyebrow, intrigued, "You've trudged through sewers at some point?". "Unfortunately so", Jaheira grumbled, "First in Baldur's Gate, then in Athkatla. I sincerely hope we won't have to do it again anytime soon". "Yes, Boo too doesn't want to see another sewer for a long, long time", Minsc nodded, "It took two baths to take the stench out of his fur!".
"Guys", the Ilmatari intervened, "I share your feelings on the matter, but whatever it takes to save this city, we will do it, is that clear?". Edwin scowled and crossed his arms on his chest, "Not if it involves sewers! I am not going to set even a single toe in one for the rest of my life and this is all! And don't you dare try to change my mind, because I won't: I am a Red Wizard and a daeron, not some lowly inferior monkey for you to lead around on a leash!", he stated with absolute finality, more serious than they had seen him in a while.
She blinked at his sharp tone and bit her lower lip, looking guilty, "Well…Fair enough. I suppose I should have remembered that you are a member of nobility. How about this: if it comes to that, you will wait in the Pocket Plane while the rest of us trudge through the old, smelly and dirty sewers. Is that acceptable to you?", she asked and he nodded. "It is". "Good. Let's go and seek out this Sister Farielle then".
oxoxoxoxoxo
Daeron = nobleman, male member of the nobility, noble-born man (Thayan)
Author note: you may have noticed that Edwin mentioned being a Red Wizard before reminding Meg of his nobility. That is because he values his status as a Red Wizard more than his status as a noble, since the former is something he earned through years of hard work, an achievement he is proud of, while the latter is simply something that was dropped in his lap without any merit on his part.