Author note: sooo, I know I'm getting ahead of myself, because it will take a while before we get to the end of this story, but I have these little projects waiting in my computer and I would like to know your opinion on what I should work on first: 1) a post-BG2/Black Death crossover, set before the epilogue and with Sekhmet and Jan Jansen as additional members of Meg's party; 2) a Yu Yu Hakusho story; or 3) a Neverwinter Nights trilogy? What do you think of it? Please let me know your thoughts! ^ᴥ^
WARNING for swearing. It's kind of censored, but it's still there so I put the warning just to be on the safe side.
oxoxoxoxoxo
The adventurers gathered around the table to decide their next move, since there were still three out of the Five that they needed to take down, or if possible, reason with them. "Gromnir, you were one of them, do you know something about these three left?", Meg asked and the Half-Orc nodded. "Yes, Melissan once told me of them: the first is a monk in Amkhetran by the name of Balthazar, the second is a female by the name of Sendai and the third is named Abazigail". "And you don't know what they are?", Sarevok arched an eyebrow. "No, sorry big brother, I don't. Melissan didn't tell me, only their names".
"Well, Sendai sounds like a Drow name to me", Imoen piped up, "But Azazal…". "Abazigail", Jaheira corrected her and the pink-haired thief rolled her eyes. "Whatever, it's long and difficult, so I'm just gonna call him Bazzy from now on", she stated, causing her companions to chuckle. "It sounds like a Draconic name to me", Edwin commented, "Dragons have a tendency to use long and complicated names (Or, at least, complicated to the lesser minds)", he added with a small smirk. Yoshimo groaned, "Another Dragon? This would be the...", he thought for a moment, "The fourth one we kill, yes?". Daniel's eyes grew wide like saucers, "Hold on there pal, you killed three dragons already?", he asked, stunned.
Anomen nodded, "Yes, that's where our suits of armor come from: the shadow dragon in the Umar Hills, Firkraag the red dragon in the Windspear Hills and then the black dragon in Suldanesselar". "Holy crap! Shame that I wasn't there to help you, it would have been cool", he sighed. "You will be there when we kill Abazigail, that should be cool enough", Meg patted his back with a chuckle, "Anyway, who shall we meet first? The human monk, the drow lass or the dragon guy? Let's vote about it". Each one of them gave their answer and it turned out all of them were of the same mind: their next destination would be Amkethran. "The monk it is then".
oxoxoxoxoxo
The Portal, once again, did not bring them straight where they needed to be, but at the border between Calimshan and Tethyr, something which caused Meg's temper to flare up so bad that her eyes could be used to lighten up half the Underdark for how strongly they glowed. "That fu***ng c**k-su***ng Portal is a fraud!", she exploded, "Why the fu** ask me where I want to fu***ng go, if it always drops me in the middle of fu***ng nowhere anyway? WHY?!". All her companions looked at her in shock at that language, all save Daniel, who laughed and gave her a thumbs up. "Awesome swearing, sister. I give you a full ten out of ten", he commented cheerfully, earning himself a cuff on the head from Jaheira, "OW!".
"Shut up, boy, don't encourage her!", the druidess scolded him, then rounded on her blond daughter, "And you, stop using that foul language and calm down, or I swear to Silvanus I will personally wash your mouth with soap and a horse brush!". The Ilmatari pursed her lips, but at length the glow faded and she lowered her head, "Sorry. I'm just frustrated".
"I understand, but you need to keep calm and walk. I have travelled enough with Khalid to know that there must be an oasis nearby, I see some palm trees over there", Jaheira pointed to their right, where some palm trees could faintly be spotted in the distance, "We can ask for directions to someone, I'm sure there will be at least a caravan or two of merchants resting there". "Okay then". They began trudging along the road, cursing the burning hot sun beating down on them, until they finally reached the oasis and fastened their pace…Only for a bunch of armored men to bar their step, the one in the middle stepping forward with a scowl on his narrow face.
"Halt, travelers! State your name and your purpose here!". Meg sighed, "I'm Margaret Dawn and these here…". "The Bhaalspawn?", he cut her off, taking a parchment out of a pocket and studying it intently before glaring at her. "Well, yes, but…". "I am general Jamis Tombelthen of the Tethyrian army and on orders of the Queen of Tethyr, I am to put you and your companions under arrest for the attack on Saradush. Hand over your weapons and come quietly, or face the consequences".
Her face twisted in a snarl, "Excuse me? It was Yaga-Shura who attacked Saradush, not us! We've spent all of our healing spells to heal the injured, we've worked ourselves thin to help repairing the broken buildings and your bitch of a Queen dares to blame us for something we didn't do?!", she growled and all the soldiers readied to take out their swords. Luckily for everyone involved, an enthusiastic voice came from their right.
"My lady! I can't believe it, it's really you!", a man, a merchant judging by his clothes, approached them with a wide smile and went to shake the Ilmatari's hand, "Oh, blessed be Waukeen, I'm so glad you're all safe and sound!", he exclaimed, moving to shake hands with Anomen, Minsc, Yoshimo, Imoen, Jaheira and Aerie, while Edwin recoiled and hid his hands behind his back. "Not so fast", the Thayan snapped, eyeing the merchant suspiciously, "Who are you exactly? (Probably some lesser simian that Meg helped along the way…She really has a habit of collecting debts of gratitude everywhere she goes)", he muttered under his breath.
"Oh, of course, forgive me, I suppose I look different from last time we met, as I was not at my best: I'm Camaris Highcastle from Myratma, you saved me and my fellow merchants from the Mind-Flayers nearly a year ago". "Oh yeah, you're that guy from the Underdark!", Imoen realized suddenly, snapping her fingers, "Nice to see ya still alive and kicking".
"The sentiment is well shared, dear lady", Camaris replied bowing his head, then turned to Jamis, "General Tombelthen, these people are not a threat at all, I assure you: they fought and risked their lives to save me and the other merchants of my caravan from the Mind-Flayers. If not for them, we would have all died a nightmarish death down in the bowels of the Underdark and our families would have never even had the chance to bury our bodies. Please, let them stay at the oasis, I vouch for them". The general curled up his nose, "The Queen ordered that…".
"General", Gromnir intervened calmly, stepping forward until he was right in front of Jamis, "I am Gromnir Il-Khan, ruler of Saradush. I was there when big sister Meg, little sister Imoen and big brother Sarevok with all their friends arrived at my city and I assure you that it was not them who attacked it. It was Yaga-Shura, a Fire Giant and Bhaalspawn like us. They helped me and my people and they also killed Yaga-Shura, saving Saradush from destruction. They are not enemies, but heroes", he concluded, smiling at his siblings.
There was a long silence, the general was deep in thought, until he sighed and nodded, "So be it, then. I admit that I had heard rumors about your help in saving Suldanesselar as well, so I will give you all the benefit of doubt and allow you to stay. But if you hurt anyone here, I will not hesitate in following my orders and putting you under arrest", he warned them and Daniel opened his mouth for a snarky retort, only for Jaheira to kick him in the shin to shut him up. "Thank you, general, we'll prove ourselves worthy of your trust", Margaret Dawn bowed with a smile.
Camaris beamed, "Excellent! Now come, I will lead you to my colleagues! Oh, they will be so happy to see you all!", he said, skipping ahead. They followed him to a huge pavilion where a dozen other people sat in the shade and when the merchants noticed the party, their faces lightened up like sunshine. "It's them!", a woman squealed, jumping to her feet and clapping her hands. "Our saviors!", a young man added, awed. Camaris gestured for silence, "Now, now, calm down everyone. As you can see, the noble heroes who saved us from the Mind-Flayers are here with us! Let us show them our gratitude the way we do it in Myratma, folks!".
"YEEAAAAAAH!", came a collective shout and in a flurry of activity, the adventurers were pushed to sit on the soft pillows scattered around and cups full of fresh water were handed to them along with plenty of fruit. "Well, they certainly know how to show gratitude, ne?", Yoshimo commented, happily munching on a deliciously sweet, juicy date. Even Edwin, who had been lowkey sulking at being called a 'noble hero' once again, was now in a much better mood as he enjoyed the merchants' hospitality. "So, what brings you to this side of Tethyr, if I may ask?", Camaris inquired curiously.
Meg sighed, "Well, we're basically trying to stop three power-hungry scumbags from causing death and destruction to innocent people", she summed up, not wanting to go into too much detail and scare those poor souls with the prospect of a full-out war among the armies of three deranged demigods. "Ah, being heroes again, I see! May Waukeen bless you all for your bravery and generosity, this world needs more people like you, I say!", the man exclaimed, causing the Thayan to sulk once more. "And here I get slandered again…When will this end? (By the time this is all over, my reputation will be lying in ruins)", he muttered under his breath.
Sarevok chuckled and lightly elbowed him in the side, "If it really bothers you that much, how come you're still here? You could leave at any time, you know: Maggie is not the type to force anyone into following her", he reasoned and Edwin blushed and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I have my reasons. For example, I managed to acquire many powerful and rare spells while travelling with your sister, not to mention some special and equally rare magical treasures", he replied haughtily, shoving the Ring of Spell Turning in the other man's face, "See this? She gifted it to me while we were still in Athkatla and it's not just rare: it's unique. There is only one in the whole world and it's mine (Not that I didn't deserve such a precious and powerful item of course!)".
"I see", the Deathbringer nodded, but the amused smirk on his lips and the glint in his eyes said loud and clear that he knew there was more to it, "You will leave all your colleagues to pick their jaw off of the floor once you're back in Thay". "That I will", the Red Wizard smiled, dripping smugness and his eyes glazed slightly over as he imagined the look on the faces of all those pathetic simians who dared to call themselves 'wizards' back home, especially that obnoxious, empty-headed, flea-infested, self-important brainless baboon that went by the name of Asher Metron.
"Well, we need to get to Amkhetran first", Jaheira intervened in her usual pragmatic fashion, "And we can't get there if we don't know which route to take". Camaris waved a hand, "Oh, that is easily remedied! Here, take this map: it has all the best routes to take in this part of Tethyr", he said, offering them a rolled up scroll, "And don't worry, we have several copies of it". "Thank you", she smiled at him and looked at Meg, "See, child? Problem solved and without the need to resort to foul language". The Ilmatari blushed a little, "Yeah, well, we can leave then. Don't want to waste precious time", she stood and gestured to her companions, "Get up, guys, we're going". "Slave-driving, mutton-mongering riff-raff", Imoen muttered as they all got up and prepared to resume their journey.