Author note: dearest readers, in this chapter, I added another of my OCs. It's with pride that I give you Lothar! ^ᴥ^

I added his portrait to the chapter on Ao3 as usual.

On a side note, to clear the air of any misunderstandings, you need to know the NWN story I'm working on is set in the first game, the one with the Wailing Death quest. I feel that this awesome game is too often overlooked in favor of NWN2 and I want to give it some love.

oxoxoxoxoxo

As they were nearing the inn, they heard shouts and soon saw a girl of maybe fourteen being roughly held by the arm by a man in full armor, three more men flanking him and a portly man dressed like a commoner next to the girl. "Little thieving bitch! We'll teach you to keep your hands away from our money!", the armored man growled, shaking the girl, who was crying and trembling. "Please, don't kill me! I beg you!". "Please, my daughter didn't want to do wrong. Her reasons are good, even if her actions are not", the portly man begged, but another mercenary shook his head. "Your daughter is a thief and she needs a lesson! Maybe if we kill her she would be a good example for the others!".

Anomen scowled and turned to Meg, "My love, we can't allow them to kill the girl". "Of course not. Hey, you! Yes, you, leave the girl alone!", the Painbearer yelled, attracting the attention of the small group. "Stay out of it, stranger. This is none of your business", a third mercenary snapped, but his arrogant attitude faded a bit as Minsc, Gromnir and Sarevok stepped forward cracking their knuckles. "I beg to differ", the Deathbringer said, amber eyes narrowed to icy slits. "This bitch stole our gold! We…", the merc was cut off by a loud whistle and looking in the direction of the sound, they all saw a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in blue-purplish armor of vague elven making striding towards them.

"What the heck is going on here?", he asked, his voice gruff and his gaze sharp as he stared at the mercenaries. "G-general Lothar, we, uh, t-this bi-uh, I mean, this girl here stole our gold and…". "They wanted to kill her", Yoshimo promptly ratted them out, earning himself a glare. "Let her go. Now", Lothar ordered. "Sure, sorry", the mercenary released his captive immediately as if her arm were made of scalding hot iron. "I thought I made it very clear that you must not, under any circumstances, harass or hurt the civilians. Did I not?", the leader growled and his men started sweating buckets.

One of them cleared his throat, "Y-ya did, boss, b-but, ya see, that's our gold, we worked hard to earn it!". Lothar hummed, then turned to the girl, his gaze softening, "I would like to hear your side of the story, if you don't mind". She relaxed slightly and blushed, looking down in shame, "Well, I did steal their money, it's true, but I did it for a good reason! I help at the orphanage, you see and I needed the gold to buy food for the children. Because of the high taxes, our funds are running dry and I…I had to do something", she confessed, wringing her hands. "You didn't have to take our money for it!", the first mercenary snapped, "We earned it fair and square, it's not our problem if your city is poor!", he added.

Lothar glared at him, but he was in a difficult position: on the one hand, he wanted to let the girl keep the gold, as it would go to a good cause; on the other hand, he knew that, if he did, his men would turn on him and the last thing he needed was a rebellion right now that he had finally gotten back into business. Luckily for him, Meg intervened, "What's your name, girl?". "It's Asana, madam", the girl said shyly. "Asana, please give the money back to these men". "But…". "Now", the Painbearer's tone was stern and the younger girl sighed and complied.

The mercenaries smirked and left, only Lothar remaining behind as he looked at Margaret Dawn with an odd look on his face. "Forgive me, miss, but…Have we met before? Your voice sounds familiar", he said. She studied him for a long moment, "Maybe? I'm sorry, I'm not really sure, we've travelled a lot in the last years", she shrugged, then rummaged through her pack and took out a small pouch which she handed to Asana with a smile, "Here, there's two thousand golds' worth in gems in this pouch. It should suffice for a while".

"Meg! You already gave the same sum to that priest of Waukeen not even two hours ago! (Seriously, this girl must stop acting as though gold grows on trees)", Edwin muttered, facepalming in exasperation, but she shrugged again. "That's money from my own share and I can do as I please with it. Besides, as an Ilmatari, helping those in need is my sacred duty. Hopefully this will convince my Lord not to smite my ass next time I step out of line". "Uhm. Well, it makes sense. Just don't even think of coming next to my share of the party riches for your charitable acts, all right? (Not that I believe she would ever really do it, but better safe than sorry)".

Lothar snapped his fingers, a smile suddenly lighting up his face, "Now I know who you are: you freed me and four other men of my company from the Drow in Ust Natha!", he exclaimed and that's when a light bulb went on in their heads. "Oh, yes, I remember. Now I see why that armor seemed so familiar to me, it's of Drow making", Jaheira nodded, "Apologies for not recognizing you sooner, but you look different without all that dirt and blood on you", she added and he laughed.

"Heh, yes, I suppose I do", he bowed deeply, "I will never thank you enough for what you did for us: if you hadn't freed us back then, my friends and I would have died a horrible death in that accursed city. Instead, we joined this company and I became the general of Balthazar's army, with more than three hundred men under my command, all thanks to you". Anomen smiled back at him, "You're most welcome". They all introduced themselves to him and he then slid his gaze from one to the other. "Who among you is, or was, Veldrin?". "It was me", Meg said.

"Ah, I was right then: your true self is even more beautiful than your fake Drow appearance. And I suppose you are her lover, the one who was so protective of her when I kissed her hand back then?", Lothar asked, turning to Anomen. "I'm her husband now", the Helmite said with obvious pride in his voice, slipping an arm around her waist. "You're a lucky man, Anomen. So, what brings you to this godsforsaken city?". "We're here to talk to Balthazar and see if he has any information about Sendai and Abazigail", Sarevok answered, "Unfortunately he refused to grant us an audience".

"Yes, he doesn't let anyone in and we get our orders from his underlings. As for the two you mentioned, I heard those names from one of the monks: Balthazar is still trying to recruit more mercenaries to attack them", he sighed, "No matter how many people he can recruit, he is still in way over his head, if you ask me". "Well, we're planning to take down those two, so if you know something about their skills and powers, it would help". "Sorry, I don't. But my men and I can join you when you'll go face them: it's the least I can do to repay you for saving us back then". "I don't…", Meg started, but Jaheira cut her off. "Your help will be much appreciated", he said.

The Ilmatari narrowed her eyes at her mother, but then relaxed, knowing that it was a good idea to have backup for their next fights, "Thank you for your support, Lothar. How about we go to the tavern and grab a fresh drink while we discuss this in further detail?", she proposed and everyone agreed, eager to get into the shade once more. They entered the only inn of the city, the Zephyr and got themselves a nice table in a corner to talk quietly, enjoying fresh beverages and a light but tasty meal as they started planning their next move, when a man dressed in what seemed to have been velvet finery but now showed the first signs of wear approached them.

His face was marked by deep stress lines and it was clear by the dark circles under his eyes that there was something weighting heavily on him, "Hello, may I talk to you, please?", he asked, his eyes fixing on the Holy Symbol of Ilmater hanging from Meg's neck before meeting her gaze. "Of course, what is it?". He relaxed and shot her a weak smile, "My name is Marlowe and I need help, my lady it's…It's very important. I heard from the priest of Waukeen of a group of brave and kind-hearted adventurers from the North, that is you, isn't it?".

Edwin rolled his eyes, "Here we go again: help one simian and the whole bunch will come whining for your assistance!", he grumbled under his breath, while the Ilmatari gestured towards one of the empty chairs. "That is us indeed. Please don't mind my friend, he had a bad day. Sit and tell us everything", she said with a gentle smile, but the stranger shook his head, looking frantically around. "No, not here, he…He could have spies and learn of it. Come to my house, please, it's not far from here", he begged.

As it was easy to predict, she nodded and stood, "Lead me there then". "Lead us, you mean, my love", Anomen corrected her as he stood as well, Sarevok and Jaheira following suit and a moment later, the whole party was on their feet. "There's no need…", Meg tried to say, but Daniel cut her off. "What if it's a trap? You're too trusting for your own good, sister, let me tell you. We're coming too". She sighed but smiled again, "Thank you. Lothar, wait for us here, please. Marlowe, show us the way".