Author note: Okay, so I gathered the votes and the winner is…Drumroll please…The Neverwinter Nights trilogy! I already have the title and basic plotline ready, plus I have created the protagonists and the story covers for each part of the trilogy. It will take time to write it, but I'll do my best to have at least the first chapter ready for when I'm finished with Meg's story! ^ᴥ^
oxoxoxoxoxo
Amkethran was definitely less glamorous than what they had imagined: built in a rocky landscape, it looked rundown, the few people in the street were dressed in clothes that had seen better days and the very air was thick with the feeling of hopelessness. "Just what the hell is going on here?", Sarevok wondered out loud, "Even the people of Saradush didn't seem so desperate". "It must be Balthazar's fault", Meg gritted her teeth in anger, "He's the ruler of this place, if his people are suffering then he's the one responsible for it". "If he is making good people feel bad, he deserves a round of mighty butt-kicking!", Minsc exclaimed and she nodded. "And we'll deliver it soon, rest assured. But first, we must at least try to reason with him, no matter how useless it will be".
They moved towards the huge monastery that loomed over the city, casting its ominous shadow over the houses from a higher position in a similar fashion than the Temple of Llolth in Ust Natha. Suddenly, they heard a commotion and when they went to investigate, they found four young monks surrounding an old man dressed in what had once been a luxurious set of golden priestly robes, but was now tattered and dirty.
"Your monastery once cared for the people of this city!", the priest said accusingly, "But now that Balthazar leads you, you have abandoned us! Our people are starving while he uses our money to recruit mercenaries and mages to create an army! How can that help the citizens?". One of the monks scoffed, "You can't understand, old man", he spat, "You have no idea of what is really going on. Balthazar has more important things to care about, so cease your whining and go back to praying your useless dead goddess".
The priest's cheeks flushed with anger, "No! I demand a meeting with Balthazar! This can't go on and I…", his words were cut short when the monk grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up with a snarl. "I said: cease your whining and go back to your prayers, old man", the younger man said, but his arrogance faded a little when he felt a blade press against his neck. "Well, Boo says you must let go of the little old man, or you will feel the Boot of Justice on your backside", Minsc informed him calmly. The other three monks tried to intervene, but they too were stopped, one by the blade of the Sword of Chaos at his throat, one by the tip of Jaheira's spear against his groin and the last by Yoshimo's katana at the nape of his head.
"You can't do this!", one of the monks shouted, his face red with both anger and embarrassment at his predicament, "Balthazar will be informed of your attack and…". "I don't give a snap about what he will do or say about this", Meg cut him off sharply, "If we find any of you harassing this man again, you will die, is that clear? And now scram". The four men fumed, but wisely decided to do as she said, walking away with furious scowls on their faces. "I didn't like Balthazar before, but now I hate his guts and I've yet to meet him. That's a new record", the Ilmatari commented, shaking her head, then she turned to the priest, "Are you all right?".
He smiled kindly at her, "I am, thank you so much for your intervention! Not many people would have had the courage to oppose those thugs. Please, come inside, I will at least offer you a glass of fresh water and some respite from the glare of the sun". The party followed him inside the temple, noticing that the columns sported several holes and scratches, there were no gems or pieces of art in sight nor tapestries on the wall.
"It doesn't look like a temple of Waukeen", Imoen commented, "The one in Saradush was lavishly decorated with tons of gems everywhere, why aren't there any here?". "I had to carve them out and sell them to feed our starving people", the priest answered, filling several simple glasses with fresh water and passing them around to the adventurers. "What do you mean?", Jaheira asked.
He lowered his head, "Things were not always as they are now, you see: once, the head of the monastery, Brother Nasir, was a fair ruler for the city and he cared for us all. After his death, though, Balthazar took the lead of the order and he has been amassing an army, using all the money he had to the purpose of recruiting mercenaries. But the money from the taxes was not enough, so he raised them and now…", he sighed sadly, "The citizens don't have enough to both buy food and pay the taxes he demands. I used the temple funds to buy food at the black market, I even began selling the gems, tapestries and silverware the temple had to get more money, but our coffers are still running dry quickly".
Daniel arched an eyebrow, "Hold on there, are you even allowed to do that? Last time I checked, Waukeen was all about making money, not giving it away for good causes! That's the job of Ilmatari, like my dear baby sister here", he added, pointing at Margaret Dawn with his thumb. The Waukeenar smirked, "Ah, yes, the Merchant's Friend does focus mainly on making profit, that much I can't deny. And yet, She also considers it important to contribute to the circulation of money and encourage business, which is what I'm doing by buying food from the smugglers. It's not a fully legal business, but it still qualifies, so my Goddess can't complain".
There was a brief, surprised silence, then the male druid laughed out loud, "Oh, I like this guy!". "I was born and raised in this city, young man. I've helped many mothers give birth to their children, celebrated several marriages and burial rites over the years. Amkethran is my home and I will not let its people suffer if I can help it and if Waukeen does not approve of my actions, then it's Her problem", the priest stated firmly.
Meg nodded with a smile, "I fully agree with you and I want to give my own contribution to the cause", she rummaged into her black Bag of Holding and took out a huge handful of gems that came straight from her share of Firkraag's hoard, "These are worth about two thousand gold coins, I hope it will help feed the citizens for a while". Edwin sighed and shook his head, "Of course. Always the same, hopeless goody-two-shoes kitten rescuer (She will never change)", he muttered under his breath as a small yet fond smile curved his lips.
"You…Oh, may Waukeen bless you!", the priest cried happily, his eyes lighting up as he accepted the offer, "This will allow me to buy food for many weeks to come! I will spread word of your generosity to the people, they deserve to know of the kind foreigner who ensured their wellbeing". "Ah, don't mention it, it's my sacred duty as a servant of the Crying God", she replied, showing him her Holy Symbol of Ilmater and he nodded. "I have to say, you are a perfect example of what an Ilmatari should be", he commented and Imoen snickered. "Yeah, when she's not in a bad mood anyway! Then she's more like a perfect example of what a Bha-".
Jaheira quickly closed her mouth with her hand, "Enough, child, now is not the time for jokes", she said sternly, then she addressed the priest, "What can you tell us about Balthazar, aside the fact that he is an awful ruler?". "He is young, not older than twenty-four I think. Normally, nobody his age would be accepted as the leader of the order, but…", he hesitated, "Well, rumors say that he is a Spawn of Bhaal. If that is true, I understand why they did not complain when he demanded to become their new leader".
"Anything else? Something about his personality maybe". "I only met him once, in passing, so I can't tell you much, but from what I've heard, his eyes are cold and he never smiles. He is obsessed with two people named Abazigail and Sendai and he's amassing an army to attack them and destroy them, but…I don't think he will succeed. Oh and he has refused an audience with anyone who had requested it ever since he took the lead of the monastery". "This may be a problem", Yoshimo commented, biting his thumb fingernail as always when reflecting, "If we can't meet him, how are we supposed to talk to him and if needed, kill him?".
Meg crossed her arms on her chest, "He must have a way to give his orders to the mercenaries he recruited. Maybe they will be kind enough to help us out". Imoen snorted, "Fat chance! He's the one paying them, I don't think they'll let us kill him". "Obviously we will simply say we want to talk to him". "What if they don't want to talk to us?", Anomen asked and she shrugged. "Then we'll have to…Persuade them", she smirked and shot a look at Chinchilla, "You have a mind-controlling spell memorized, right?". The chicken nodded, "I do". "Perfect. But first I suggest trying to request an audience at the monastery: if that fails, then it's plan B".
They bid farewell to the priest and walked to the monastery, only for the impressively huge doors to open when they were still a couple of feet away from it and seven monks moved to greet them. "What business do you have with our order?", the monk in the middle asked in a snappy tone, he was shorter than the others and had a stocky build with porcine black eyes and a flat, piggy-like nose. Meg bowed her head, "Greetings. My name is Margaret Dawn and…".
"Ah, the one sent by Melissan then", he cut her off with a dismissing wave of his hand, "We were informed of your arrival. Here is a map with the location of the lairs of both Sendai and Abazigail, as requested by the lady. Good luck for your battles", he concluded, tossing her a scroll, then he and his companions turned on their heels to leave.
"Wha-wait a second there!", Daniel protested, "You're sending us to fight them, even if you have a godsdamned army at your beck and call? What kind of an asshole move is that, pal?!". The monk turned his head to shoot him a flat look, "Our army will move only if you fail. These are Brother Balthazar's orders. That is all. We're finished here".
The male druid was about to let out a heavy curse, when Meg intervened. "Thank you for the map, we'll just go now. Farewell", she said quickly, grabbing her brother by the arm and dragging him away before he could start a brawl. Still, he managed to shout one last 'c**k-su***rs!' at the retreating backs of the monks, luckily when they were already out of earshot. "Plan B it is, I suppose", Jaheira sighed, cuffing Daniel on the head while passing by him, "Let's go to the inn first, I'm still thirsty".