„The Bad Beginnings"
What could be described as a typical athkatlan day was usually quite stunning for anyone apart from a colorful mix of people commonly known as the Amnians. The heat of the south combined with sultry atmosphere of the city, which main income always was and would be trade, was unbearable to any Northerner visiting Athkatla for the first time. In spite of the clouds covering the sun in the moment it wasn't a pleasant place to be for Xan, standing in the middle of the busy Government District. It wasn't nice for Daria either, even though it felt like heaven compared to the horrors and torments of the dungeon she was locked in for gods knew how much time.
A morose expression on the enchanter's face was replaced with the one of surprise for a split second at the sight of a haggard group standing before him. He recognized Jaheira, the druidess holding a simple wooden quarterstaff instead of the magic one she wielded before, her armor also replaced by something only barely resembling protective covering. Beside her stood Minsc, pointing his hamster in direction of the elven mage, with his equipment in even worst condition than that of the half-elf. The oriental-looking man Xan did not recognize. The fourth member of the group was clad in a dark cloak and worn a hood over a face, but from the height and posture he guessed it could be Daria, his former student.
"What are you doing here?" he asked before he realized how it sounded. Not the best question to ask a group he hasn't seen for over four months. It felt like if he tried to run away from them and he didn't. He left because he had his duties, and it had nothing to do with any Bhaalspawn.
"The gloomy elf returns!" Minsc shout scared away few pigeons from a nearby tree. Boo added a squeak to mark his presence.
"Xan. It's good to see you" the voice from under the hood was definitely Daria's but it sounded strange. Something was wrong, though he could barely sense it. Something in her aura, or in the Spirit itself?
"Daria? Is that you?" he came closer and tried to see her face. Jaheira standing by her side looked as if she was to protest, but hesitated.
"The very same" Daria removed her hood. She forced a smile. The left side of her face was almost completely covered in burn marks.
He stared. He knew he did, but couldn't help it. Daria was as good-looking as most of his kin, with light brown skin characteristic to most of the sun elves and chestnut colored hair she usually kept in tight bun. Her smile was always drawing attention, but all he could look at now were dark shades under her swollen eyes and the red skin covered with blisters on her cheek. Such injury couldn't be inflicted in battle by a fire spell - it was precise and looked as if been dealt on purpose. It was a torture wound.
"Who did this to you?" he asked with a hoarse voice. She flinched at the question. "Where are Dynaheir, Khalid and Imoen?"
She hid her face again in the hood, but not fast enough for him not to notice tears rolling down her face. His stomach lurched in sudden dread and he shifted his gaze to Jaheira.
"Yes… Khalid has fallen" the change in always confident druid was less evident, but they traveled together for a long time, through many dire situations and he never saw the stoic half-elf resigned and forlorn, though she tried to cover it under a mask of her usual strength of character.
"And Dynaheir too, but Imoen is still alive and she needs our help" Daria seemed to compose herself a bit, though her voice was still shaky. Through all the times he knew her only once he heard her voice sounding as weak as now. It was made for telling jokes, giggling and singing, not for expressing pain and heavy fatigue. "She has been captured by the Cowled Wizards for unauthorized use of magic. We have to get to the Government building, to the Cowled Wizards officials and somehow persuade them to release her" her voice began to shake again. She sounded as if she was clinging to the only hope she had left, but knew already it would prove false. She never sounded like that before.
"Do you know how futile your task is?" Xan shook his head with resignation. Of course she didn't. "The Cowled Wizards hold a great influence on athkatlan politics. They rarely help in anyone's plights and release their prisoners rarer still. Those caught by them are considered to be lost."
Daria he knew months ago wouldn't be put off by that. The headstrong girl he knew would never agree to being defeated, she'd rather declare to everyone who listened, and to some that did not, that she would do everything to rescue a friend in need and no force in whole world can stop her.
Instead she quietly said "We will try." He sighed. Once more he was painfully reminded that there were no constant things in this chaotic life. The fact that life itself wasn't constant either didn't make him any happier.
"The Government Building is closed today, as I have already learned. A closed meeting of the Council of Six is taking place. You will have to wait until tomorrow if you even want to be let in, no matter how hopeless your query is." He had to stand in front of the building for over an hour, waiting for the guards to get bored enough to tell him why he couldn't enter.
Daria's shoulders slumped at the news. Last hours was like tearing through a hell for her. The final steps towards the freedom, towards the light, escaping from Irenicus' dungeon, a battle in the middle of Waukeen's Promenade, barely staying alive among the turmoil of the falling pieces of the destroyed northern gate – all the time she was forcing herself to make just one more step, hoping that it will be over soon. But when the dust cleared and Imoen was taken into custody for casting one simple Magic Missile spell along with their captor, who blew up half of the Promenade wall, she felt like the Gods have just found someone to vent on all their frustrations.
Yoshimo, who seemed to know Athkatla best, guided them to the place where the Cowled Wizards where supposed to have their official administrative center in the city. She realized she was deluding herself thinking that they would let go of her sister after she explained the situation. And waiting a whole day… her feet were bleeding after a recent run for life and her back was begging for mercy, but waiting seemed like abandoning Imoen to her fate – they could transport her on another side of Toril during that day!
Her legs decided to make the decision for her however suddenly giving up, and she fell to her knees. Xan and Minsc immediately hurried to her sides to support her. Unfortunately the enchanter caught her wounded arm, causing her to yelp in pain. 'Just my luck' she thought as he jumped back looking at the blood, which soaked through her robes, now staining his hand. 'What a wonderful and strong leader I make' she couldn't stop irony in her own thoughts. Irony was the last thing she had to keep her going and she knew exactly how pathetic was that.
"Don't worry about it" she said aloud answering elf's concerned expression.
"Child, you need to rest. We all do" it seemed Jaheira returned to her old habit of calling her 'child', but Daria knew the druid was right, at least with the 'resting' part. She couldn't help Imoen now and she would have to be rested if she wanted to be able to do anything tomorrow.
She nodded and turned to Xan. Only after a moment she realized he can't see her questioning look under the hood and she has to ask.
"Are you coming with us, mellonamin?" Xan taught her few basic worlds in elven along with Kivan, and she wanted to show him that she remember his lessons. She also wanted to prove herself that she can remember anything at all after what Irenicus did to her mind, but that she wouldn't acknowledge even to herself.
To her surprise the elf blushed slightly. Did she make a mistake in spelling? "I was robbed of all my possessions during the second night in here" he explained his predicament. "I'm afraid I am unable to offer any help, except a warning against sleeping in the Copper Coronet Inn."
Jaheira scowled at the mage. It was the place she was advising the party to go, before Daria decided they can't wait with contacting the Wizards.
"Don't worry my friend. Give me some time and I'll open the finest athkatlan markets for us." Xan blinked. Did she really just say that or was it only his imagination? He couldn't guess without seeing her face, but gave her an uncertain smile hoping for the former. The elven girl noticed with some relief that her legs weren't shaking anymore and carefully started walking towards the gates leading out of Government District. The oriental-looking man who stayed quiet during the previous conversation now approached the moon elf with curiosity.
"You used to travel together before, yes? Tell me…" Yoshimo began.
***
They ended up in Copper Coronet anyway. The look the innkeeper gave Xan when he entered the smelly place, resembled an ever-hungry vulture far too much for the enchanters liking, but he was too tired because of Yoshimo's questioning to make a comment. It seemed that the bounty hunter aimed to learn as much as he could in shortest possible time, probably already realizing that in this company he didn't have big chances of living to happy retirement. In exchange Xan listened to countless anecdotes about the distant land Yoshimo originated from and excitements of a bounty hunters' life. The enchanter listened only half-heartedly focusing on his friends leading the way. Minsc and Jeheira were walking on both Daria's sides ahead of them. He couldn't chase away the impression that they were there to catch her when her legs finally give up. Nothing of the sort happened fortunately and Daria walked into the inn on her own.
Before the nightfall they already had two more companions in their small group of misfits. The first one was a young woman, named Nalia, who promised to help them negotiating with The Cowled Wizards tomorrow in exchange for help in breaking a siege of her father's Keep, east from Athkatla. She claimed to have bigger chances of succeeding as a part of amnian nobility. The second addition to the team was Anomen - an arrogant priest of Helm, also noble born, looking for a band of adventurers to prove himself worthy of being knighted.
Daria left soon after acquiring place to sleep for the night. For as little money as they had, found during their escape from the dungeon, they could only afford two rooms, split between male and female part of the group. Jaheira bought fresh bandages for the few coppers they had left and went after her ward. Minsc stayed behind to fill in the rest of the team in what they were actually doing. He began with a shortened story of stopping the war in Baldur's Gate and Xan leaned over few magic scrolls that would have to make up for his stolen spellbook until he would find some better replacement. He decided to refrain from retiring to bed for now and find out how his esteemed companions got themselves in this mess.
Minsc was overdoing a little with the tale of the heroic saving the city of Baldur's Gate, but his listeners seemed to believe in his every word. Nalia looked like she was listening to a fairy tale with evil being punished and goodness triumphing against the odds, Anomen was failing horribly at looking unimpressed and Yoshimo seemed to be only barely restraining himself from making notes. Xan sighed. If this was their new party then they were all doomed.
"…and then little Daria smashed evil Sarevok with one spell and mighty Dynaheir helped her!" Another sigh escaped Xan's lips in reaction to Minsc's words. The battle was long and bloody. It was at best very far-fetched, at worst a complete lie, to say that it was ended with a single spell. His attention drifted away from the story as he saw Jaheira going down the stairs holding bloodied rags in her hands. She exchanged few words he couldn't hear with a man serving at the bar, who she apparently knew quite well. The man showed the half-elven druid a door beside the counter and she left swiftly only coming back after a minute without her load. Then she went upstairs again.
"…but we shall avenge our witch!" a shout made him blink and focus again at the berserker's story. Some of the tavern patrons glanced at them suspiciously before resuming their drinking. Nalia was crying by now. Xan noticed that Anomen was looking at the stairs as well.
"Evil mage has locked Minsc and Boo and Jaheira in cages" Minsc continued his story after additional shoulder-patting provided by Nalia and Yoshimo. "He even wanted to separate Minsc and Boo! And then he locked little Daria in a smaller cage and he was casting spells to make little Daria hurt! We shall avenge little Daria too!!!" the berserker's voice echoed through the common room again.
"Did you manage to escape from this horrible place?" Nalia seemed to overlook the fact that they were here now, not in a dungeon, though she could be fooled by the smell.
"Little Imoen freed us!" Minsc really couldn't speak quietly. "She opened the locks! But evil Irenicus caught little Imoen! And now we have to rescue her and make evil mage face righteous butt-kicking!" Series of squeaking noises stressed the speech. Xan's mind was occupied with something else. 'Irenicus? The Shattered One? The name was an elven word but could it mean that the 'evil mage' from Minsc's story was an elf?' Xan was about to ask but though better of it and decided to talk with Daria later.
"…and little Daria said it was her fault and she should have seen it coming. But Minsc and Boo know that evil Irenicus is to blame! Minsc will…"
"What do you mean 'see it coming'?" Yoshimo asked interrupting another speech about butt-kicking. "How could she predict something like this?"
"Little Daria sometimes sees things! Boo says it's pre-cog-nit-in, is that right Boo?"
"I see…" Yoshimo muttered, deep in thought.
Xan yawned. He found it hard to keep up with the conversation. He gathered his scrolls and departed to the room he shared with shifty Kara-turan, loud berserker and pompous priest. If he was lucky he would fall into reverie before any of them decide to follow his example.
He wasn't lucky.