Author note: heya my dearest readers! Just wanted to say that, for the battle against the Water Elementals, I based the "these elements are strong against water" reasoning both on the Pokemon type charts and on the elemental chakra circle from 'Naruto' (which type of chakra nature is strong against which). The part about necromantic magic was suggested to me by Dreyfuss, to whom goes my gratitude.^ᴥ^
On a side note, that sexy male Deva is someone from another fandom…Can you recognize him? ;-)
oxoxoxoxoxo
Once past the barrier, Draconis' severed head was quickly thrown into a corner and they moved forward, only to find themselves in a room with five huge pools and immediately went to inspect them. It turned out that one was filled with Breathing Potion, while the others were connected to long underwater tunnels, long enough that they feared getting lost in them. "We need something to lead us back here", Lothar noted, "Take out your ropes, guys: we'll tie them together and tie one end to that stalagmite over there". The mercenaries did as told, then everyone went to drink the breathing potion before diving into the closest pool, which led them to a small cave guarded by a dozen ice salamanders.
Dispatched the enemies with relative ease, they found another pool on the farthest corner of the room and decided to dive in, hoping that it would be the one connected to their enemy's inner lair…But of course, the tunnel led to just another set of rooms, filled to the brim with aggressive and rabid Kuo-Toa ready to fight. Since the room they were in was connected to the next by a narrow corridor, Meg yelled at her companions to stay back, so that the enemies would have to come at them only a handful at a time, while the mages and rangers rained spells and arrows on them from the back lines even as the clerics used their spells to protect the others from damage, be it magical or physical.
When at last the horde of bipedal amphibious creatures had been dispatched completely, Lothar sent one of his rangers to scout ahead just to be on the safe side. The young man gulped down a potion of invisibility, stalked silently forward and when he saw what awaited them at the end of the second room, he had to bite his tongue to avoid muttering a curse, sliding past the threat and walking on, to the third and final room, which was blissfully empty and sported a pool on the father corner and a door on the left side, the unmistakable kind of door that led to a cell.
He was tempted to open it immediately, but then he remembered the things hissing and snarling behind him and wisely decided to warn everyone first, hurrying back to the others, "There are three…I have no idea what they are, to be honest", he admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "The two on the sides look like snakes, with long fangs and a scaly crest, but they're made of water. I've never seen stuff like that in my whole life. And in the middle of them there's a bigger one, but this one looks…Well, it's like a huge wave with two pearls in the front, as if they were its eyes". "From what you say, the smaller two sound like Greater Water Elementals", Jaheira commented, "The third is unknown to me, though".
Edwin cleared his throat with a smug smile, "And here is where my vast knowledge comes in!", he said, dusting off his robe and straightening to his full height, "The creature he described sounds exactly like Olhydra, the Princess of Evil Water, also known as the Well of Endless Anguish and as the Crushing Wave (If my teacher were here, he would no doubt be proud of me and admit I deserve a cookie for studying so hard!)". "Thank you for sharing your knowledge, Edwin", Meg smiled at him, "Do you also know how we can kill her?".
At that, he hesitated and his cheeks turned slightly pink, "Er…O-of course I do! So, uhm…Earth is the element which is strongest against water", he said at length, "Lightning is also likely to weaken her. Fire is the worst possible idea, since water is at its strongest against fire. And necromantic magic is quite powerful against Water Elementals, Abu-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting in particular should work especially well".
"Good, this will help a lot. Mages, druids, do you have what we need to kick their butts?". Everyone nodded and the Ilmatari smirked, twirling her mace. "Mages, cast at those beasts like there's no tomorrow. Druids, summon Earth Elementals and send them forward, then cast lightning and ice-based spells. Thieves, rangers, you will use your enchanted arrows and bolts. Sarry, Gromnir, Minsc, each one of you will lead a third of our fighters and focus on one of the enemies. Clerics, shield our fighters from paralysis and poison, then shoot every damaging spell you have that is not fire-based. We'll move when everyone's ready".
oxoxoxoxoxo
The fight was not easy by any means, but despite the vast amount of wounds and broken bones they got, there were no casualties and the healing spells they had at their disposal were enough to bring everyone back to full health. They then moved to open the cell on the left side of the room and found a young man, a monk judging by his robes, who lay on the floor, his body sporting the signs of heavy torture. When he heard the door opening, he opened his jade green eyes a fraction and tried to lift his head, "Please…", he said in a broken whisper, his chapped and bloodied lips barely moving, "No more pain…Please…".
Meg immediately knelt at his side, "Stay still, I need to heal you". "It's…Useless…", the poor lad coughed blood, face twisting in agony, "My body is…Too broken…For that…Let me die". "No. Hells no, I'll save you", she said stubbornly and she wanted so badly to save him, that she did something very selfless but also very stupid: she summoned a Deva. The incredibly attractive dark-haired celestial appeared in the room, but because of the limited space he chose to be the same size of a human and he was dressed in clothes quite unusual for the Realms: he wore a black suit with a white shirt and a black tie and a long trenchcoat fluttered around his legs in the soft breeze, "I am here. What do you require?", he asked, turning his eyes made of sapphire blue light towards the Ilmatari.
"Please, heal this man", she begged, gesturing to the monk, "My powers are not enough to save him, but yours are!". He hummed and knelt next to the lad, placing his hands on the bloodied human's chest and a bright light enveloped them both for a couple of seconds, "Done. He is healthy once again". "Thank you, my lord", she smiled, bowing at the waist. "Is there anything else you need from me?". "No, that was all. Thank you again". He nodded and vanished in a flash of light, leaving the party members and mercenaries to stare at Meg with a mixture of admiration and annoyance. "That was our backup plan, sis", Imoen sighed, crossing her arms on her chest. "I did the right thing, so shut it!", the Painbearer snapped as she helped the monk up to his feet.
He smiled at her, the joy in his eyes was so great that the pink-haired thief felt guilty at having scolded her sister, "Thank you, I…I-I don't know what to say", he stuttered, a tear rolling down his cheek, "I thought I would end my days here, alone and in pain and now…Thank you". "You're welcome", she smiled back, then took out of her pack some rations, three full waterskins and two healing potions and stuffed all of that in his discarded satchel, "Here, these provisions should last long enough for you to reach Amkethran. Take this breathing potion and follow the tunnel to the surface, from there take the corridor and go out the huge archway. Amkethran is…". "I know the way, but I'm grateful for your care", he cut her off gently, "And for the provisions, of course. I'm brother Justin, by the way".
"Margaret Dawn, but just call me Meg". His eyes widened suddenly, "Wait, you are the Bhaalspawn that brother Balthazar always speaks of? But you've just saved my life! From what he says, you should be a heartless monster, a cruel and bloodthirsty murderer. I just…I don't understand", he admitted, confused, scratching his head. "It's okay, he's not the first to judge me without knowing me", she replied with a shrug, "Now drink the Potion of Breathing and get going, your brothers at the monastery must be worried about you".
"Before I go, you should know that Abazigail's inner sanctum is guarded by a dragoness who is under a Geas. If you can break it, I think she will let you pass without trouble", he said, then gulped down the potion, "I hope you'll defeat that bastard Abazigail. Good luck to you all and may the Gods watch over you!", he waved with a wide smile and jumped into the pool that would lead him to the exit. As soon as he was gone, Meg grimaced, "Seriously, how come that these days everyone and their dog is able to cast a Geas? I thought it was a high-level spell hard to obtain! Is it sales season for magical stuff or something?!", she asked, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Her outburst caused everyone to crack a smile, even Yoshimo, whose blood had run cold at the mere mention of the curse. Even after so long, he still had nightmares about it, sometimes waking up with a jolt fearing he was still cursed, only to realize with relief that he was safe and he knew it would take him years to get over that. "We need a way to break the Geas on the dragoness", Jaheira intervened, drumming her fingers on her arm as she reflected, "And we have exhausted our spells for the day because of those Water Elementals. Shall we move forward and risk it, or go back to the Pocket Plane to rest and recharge first?".
"I vote for resting", Lothar said, "Without healing spells ready, we may end up losing some men because of the wounds and then we would have to go back to revive them anyway. Going back now will save us time". Meg nodded, "He's right. Link hands and let's go and while we're at it, I think some food won't hurt".