Author note: Heya my dearest readers! Ready for a new twist to the canon? There's a huge one in this chapter, though I admit that I left a small hint in my one-shot "The first dawn", so those of you who read that maybe guessed this would happen…And if you didn't, enjoy the surprise! ^-^
On a side note, if you are planning to join the Imgur community, don't bother: whatever image you post, it will be downvoted to the point that it will never get even the slightest chance of been seen again and you will be buried under a ton of insults and disparaging comments left by a bunch of miserable losers who don't have a life. I was there and had time to barely post a couple of my portraits before the bullies noticed me and targeted me. I had to cancel my account after not even a week because of those bastards.
oxoxoxoxoxo
The old prison was more crowded than they had expected it to be: as soon as they took three steps inside and locked the door behind them, five Vampires and eight Ghouls came from the shadows and attacked them, only to be slaughtered without too much effort by the adventurers, also thanks to the False Dawn spell cast by Aerie. "High quantity, but low quality, it seems", Daniel commented, dusting his robes, then shot a puzzled look at Imoen, Edwin and Aerie who were busy scooping up the ashes of the Vampires, "What in Shauntea's name are you guys doing?".
"Getting a very expensive and powerful spell component, of course!", the pink-haired thief replied cheerfully, "Vampire dust isn't that easy to find, ya know? And it makes our spells nearly three times more powerful, it's amazing! It stinks of mold, sure, but it's so worth it!". He nodded slowly, "Ah. I see. Well, I just hope you won't use my own ashes for that, should I ever kick the bucket", he said and everyone turned to look at the Red Wizard, who scowled. "What? Why are you all giving me that look, you goody-two-shoes simians?".
"Dunno, maybe 'cause you're using Illasera's ashes for your spells? And you didn't even share, ya greedy mutton-mongering riff-raff!", Imoen said, pouting and crossing her arms on her chest. "First of all, finders keepers, so cease your whining. And second, that's a completely different situation". "How so?". "Because Illasera was an enemy, while this pointy-eared monkey is one of us and I would never stoop so low as to use my companions as a source of spell components (Such disloyal behavior towards one's friends should be punished with death)", he muttered under his breath, nodding to himself.
Everyone was still gaping at the Thayan for calling them his 'friends', when a swirling white mist appeared in the corridor, slowly gathering until it took the shape of a man, emaciated and with such a sad, broken look in his eyes that they felt a tug at their heart. He gestured towards one of the closed doors with a hand, pointing to himself with the other, then he made a motion as if to remove his head and pointed to the corridor at their right. "Yeah…No, I don't get it", Imoen admitted, "What does he want?".
Oddly enough, it was Minsc who answered her question, "Boo says that the sad dead man wants us to find his head down there and bring it to the cell", he said, leaving his companions to stare at him for a brief moment in awed silence. "Well, it makes sense", Sarevok commented, "Anomen and I will go and take his skull, you stay here and open the cell: with our luck, it's probably the only trapped one of this Godsdamned place", he added under his breath, striding down the corridor with the Helmite in tow.
They came back quickly enough, their armor covered in Vampire dust and Ghoul entrails and carrying a human skull which was placed in a side cell, where it was finally reunited with the rest of the skeleton lying on the dirty floor. As soon as the bones made contact, the spirit reappeared, this time making a gesture as if to put a necklace on and pointed at another corridor to their left, his eyes begging for them to help once more. Edwin snorted, "It's not enough that we have to stop and help every living pitiful monkey around, now we have to do the same for the dead as well?", he grumbled under his breath.
To everyone's surprise, Daniel spoke up, his tone harsh, "Look, pal, I get that you're the 'me, myself and I' kind of guy, but giving a little help now and then won't kill you, you know. And besides, this poor sod looks like he's been trapped in here for ages! What do you think that feels like? If it were you, wouldn't you want someone to free your sorry ass?". At that, the Thayan paused and looked at the spirit, taking in for the first time the desperation etched on the dead man's face, "Well…I suppose we can spare a bit of time to get rid of this pest after all. Gromnir isn't going anywhere anyway", he said at length, turning on his heels and taking the corridor to the left, "Let's get this over with".
A brief search, more undead killed and a golden necklace found later, they went back inside the cell and placed the lost item on the bones, causing the ghost to reappear: this time he mimicked pouring something on the skeleton and joined his hands in prayer and Anomen smiled. "Of course, good man, at once", he said, taking a flask of holy water from his pack and pouring some of it on the bones and finally, the spirit beamed and bowed his head in gratitude, his mouth forming the words 'thank you' before he vanished in a swirl of light. "May his soul be at peace", Meg murmured, taking the dirty blanket off of the cot in the left corner of the cell and placing it on the corpse, "Let's go, guys".
oxoxoxoxoxo
After travelling through the abandoned prison, they reached the lower level of the castle, where they found a score of armed guards that were quickly put to sleep by Imoen, as Meg was adamant in her intentions to not kill any of Gromnir's men if they could avoid it: as far as they knew, those people were all honest guys doing their job to feed themselves and their families.
Aerie then turned the party invisible to allow them to climb the stairs up to the throne room where Gromnir sat and to their surprise, when they arrived there they saw Melissan in chains before him, flanked by six burly men heavily armed. Her face was sad, but the look was clearly forced and the anger and contempt she felt towards him still leaked through the cracks in her mask, "This is a mistake, Gromnir!", she exclaimed, "You have lost your mind! I am trying to protect you, it's the only reason why I brought you here!".
The Half-Orc scoffed, shaking his head, "Gromnir knows a group of foreigners entered the city, Melissan, a group with two Spawn. You think Gromnir so stupid as not to know that there is no way in or out of the city, mh? Gromnir is no idiot! I know you had this strangers come here to kill Gromnir!". "The strangers are friends, Gromnir, they want to help against Yaga-Shura…"
"Bah! Gromnir knows the truth! Melissan plots against me, against all Spawn! Led us all in a deadly trap! I don't believe you anymore, I know that you lie and cheat, Melissan. You think Gromnir a fool, but I have seen your true face. Take her to the dungeon! She will be hanged when the sun goes down", he ordered sharply to his guards, who bowed their heads and dragged the woman away, her face now contorting with open fury. "You will regret this, Gromnir!", she yelled at him, "Yaga-Shura will raze this place to the ground and you will be crushed under its ruins!". "Oh yeah, that's the sweet and loving mommy I remember", Daniel commented, chuckling and everyone glared at him as he had just given their presence away, "What?".
With a sigh, Meg dissolved the invisibility shrouding herself and her party and took a step towards the throne, "Hello, Gromnir, my name is Margaret Dawn. My family and I are here to…", she began, but the Half-Orc cut her off as his lips curved in a sad smile. "Ah, so the killers sent by Melissan come at last! How nice!", he exclaimed with a bitter laugh, but he stopped abruptly as his gaze fell on Sarevok and his face twisted with shock and hurt, "You…I remember your yellow eyes. You protected Gromnir in the Temple. And now you're here to kill me?", he said, his voice cracking.
The Deathbringer frowned, puzzled, then his amber eyes widened as he remembered an unnamed Half-Orc child from the old Temple of Bhaal, "So it was you…I didn't think we would meet again, little brother". Meg blinked and turned to him, "Is he who I think he is?". "I think so. You are…What, two years younger than me, brother?", he addressed Gromnir, who smiled.
"Yes, I am, big one. You were kind to me, I haven't forgotten. You protected us little ones, gave us food and water, stole blankets for when it was cold. And I see you still have the green-eyed one with you", the Half-Orc added, gesturing towards the Painbearer, "Always your favorite. Always hugging her, stroking her, kissing her and protecting her above all others. Loving her above all others. And now you choose to kill one of us for her". Sarevok shook his head, "No, brother, I am not here to kill you, but to talk to you. We do not do Melissan's bidding".
Gromnir's face lightened up and he bent forward in his throne, "So you know Melissan lies and cheats! You always were smart one among us. You offer help to Gromnir?". "I do. We can join forces and save this city from Yaga-Shura, together". "Yes. Yes! Gromnir, big one, green-eyed one, little pink one and small pointy-eared one all together will destroy Yaga-Shura!", he shouted enthusiastically, getting to his feet and going to shake Sarevok's hand with a huge smile, "Gromnir is happy to fight by side of big kind brother".
Imoen couldn't help snickering at the irony of hearing Gromnir call Sarevok 'big one', considering there was not that much difference in height between them and the Half-Orc was actually more muscular and heavily built than his human brother, but she decided not to comment on it for fear of pissing her sister off, "I guess this is what they call family business, uh?". "It always has been", Daniel replied, his tone oddly serious, "Ever since our sire set his plan in motion, it became a family business. He meant for us to destroy each other to fuel his rebirth, the old motherfu...", he trailed off and coughed, catching Jaheira's glare.
"Well, I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, Bhaal can suck my mace", the Ilmatari stated, earning herself stunned looks from everyone (and an approving grin from Daniel) at her choice of words, "We are a family and in a family, you help each other, take care of each other and protect one another, Bhaal's plans be damned". "Well said, Maggie", Sarevok smiled and kissed her hair tenderly, "We'll show the old bastard the strength that comes with being a family".