„What the Heroes Get"
The afternoon began to change into evening when to party finally emerged over the last hill sheltering Imnesvale from the woods surrounding the long forgotten temple. Daria was the first to enter the village and to be greeted by the mayor forewarned of their arrival by those who saw them coming down from the forest. The chubby man looked uncertain whether the disappearance of the dark shroud was permanent and so were the rest of the townspeople. News traveled fast however, and apparently they could do so even without the help of gossipers, because mere minutes passed after the party left mayor's house, where they gave a detailed account of their actions in the temple, when a huge celebration, for a small village's capabilities at least, in honor of the new heroes began. Suddenly the best rooms were available to be resided by them, free of charge, and even the ever-scowling merchants began to smile. The remaining barrels, bottles and other containers were opened, along with all windows and doors much to Daria's delight. It looked as if the town began to breathe again after a month of living in terror.
The sun elf made her way to the bar, receiving numerous handshakes and pats, leaving her party to find their place in the world for themselves. Jaheira was there already of course. She knew her ward well and easily predicted what she's going to do.
"Ah, Jaheira. I was wondering if you could check out our new rooms for any bugs?" Daria gave her a practiced smile, a fruitless attempt to distract the druidess.
"I know what you are planning to do and I don't like it." Jaheira predictably ignored the question.
"Me neither" that wasn't a complete lie. She didn't enjoy what she was going to do. "But I'm not going to go through that vision again and that's the only way I won't, without staying awake whole night."
"Maybe if you told us what was your nightmare about that could be avoided."
"It was from Irenicus' dungeon." That silenced Jaheira. The druidess told her she witnessed some of the tortures Daria suffered, but she never pushed, or even mentioned anything related with it. Daria didn't know whether it was caused by fear or concern, but suspected the former. She didn't blame her. She could only feel the same were the situation different.
"At least wait until I come back" Jaheira said, her harsh expression disappearing, replaced by a softer one, but still far from soft.
"Alright, mum" Daria answered without a thought. Jaheira haven't as much as blinked an eye on her new nickname, but something appeared in her eyes, something too warm and welcoming to be annoyance. She left without saying another word, climbing the stairs leading to their rooms.
The diviner took an empty seat by the bar and ordered the strongest ale the bartender offered. She was treated with some poor choice jests about a fragile girl drinking strong alcohols, but received her drink nonetheless. She slowly began to gulp down the bitter liquid.
It was Jaheira's only defeat on the field of potion making. None of the salves or extracts she prepared, no matter how complicated or rare, could achieve what few cups common alcohol drinks could – block any divining capabilities Daria had. The side effects were mostly unpleasant however and included gigantic hangover the next day, loss of party's funds, being to blame for revealing few personal secrets of various party members and on one occasion - burned hands from attempting to take a grip at the Moonblade. And so the party developed a way to deal with such situations - every time the full moon was rising on the night's sky and Daria sat by the bar, the rest of the party draw lots in taking watch, taking sits close enough to keep an eye on the drunk elf, but not enough to overheard what she's saying. When Daria, or more often her guardian, decided she had enough, she was taken to her room, where she could sleep her dreamless slumber in peace.
Daria noticed someone moving towards her, but relaxed seeing it wasn't Jaheira. The druidess always insisted on her to at least restrain herself from the strongest alcohols, but the diviner preferred to be done with it quickly, instead of mulling over her drinks for half of the night.
"My lady, this is a very strong ale! Did the bartender get you this?" It was Anomen. He sat on a chair next to her beginning the 'protective male' talk.
"No, I ordered it." She felt she needs to explain herself seeing his uncertain look. "I need to get myself… more than tipsy if I want to avoid nightmares. There are still two more nights of full moon ahead and it's the worst time for me to sleep."
"I understand…" He appeared to be a bit distraught by this information, but last night's events made it clear that the matter was not to be taken lightly. "But, my lady, is there no other way to do that? Surely there are some counter-spells that could achieve the same result".
"None that I know of." She suddenly realized the reason of his distress recalling what he mentioned about his father. She tried to think of something to say to put him at ease. No enlightening came. She sighed.
"I'll be alright, but I don't want to endure another vision. Go and have some fun" she said, before realizing her mistake. No paladin would go and have fun, leaving a damsel in 'misery'. But Anomen was no knight at the moment and he complied with doubt written on his face. Daria saw a blurry image of the priest in his childhood years, standing before his father, but the portion of the ale she drunk already kicked in and the vision faded like a blown candle light before she could distinguish anything else. She watched him pushing his way back through the crowd.
She took a look around the mass of people gathered in the inn. Xan was sitting by the fireplace watching her with his usual gloomy expression – it seemed to be his turn on 'guard'. Minsc began to relate the tale of their adventure, 'herolising' it along the way, Nalia doing the same, cornered by the Imnesvale children. Mazzy was probably upstairs, not in a mood to celebrate victory. Others were nowhere to be seen and Daria decided that she would not be disturbed anymore. She gestured for another drink.
***
The inn was twisting strangely each time she moved her head, even if she changed place only a little. She shifted back and forth trying different combinations, looking at the common room from different perspectives, but stopped when she nearly fell from her chair. How could she be already so drunk? She was wondering. She only drank one pint of ale when the bartender brought her a strange drink in an odd little glass. She suspected it was pure water and that the barkeep wanted to con her, thinking she was drunk already, but changed her mind after trying the colorless liquid. It burned her throat like fire, but she gulped it down feeling tears coming to her eyes. She gestured for another one.
She didn't drink that much of the weird water. Most certainly less than the previous ale.
"Hello there lass" she barely distinguished the source of the words in the whirling inn. It seemed to be one of three villagers, who approached her secluded corner at the end of the counter. Or it could be one of the bottles talking. She thought the men probably had their share of the strange water too.
"You must feel pretty lonely in here" the biggest one gave her a grin. He missed few teeth. He was leaning his face so close to her that she could feel his oh-not-so-fresh breath on her face. The two others stood on her both sides, effectively cutting off any source of fresh air.
"You're starting with a hero of Imnesvale here, boys" the barkeep butted in. He was polishing a dirty glass with even dirtier rag, an universal sign of every tavern.
"It's a lot to say – hero" Daria articulated slowly. She hated all stammering and mumbling usually connected with drinking. "All we did was killing a ho-orde of bloodthirsty sha-adow monsters and blo-owing up a portal to their dark world" she snapped her fingers producing a tiny fireball, scorching few inches above her hand. All three men instantly took a step back. A drunken mage was another universal sign – a sign of trouble. Behind them stood Xan, his hand resting on the Moonblade hilt. They simultaneously decided they had something important to do right away.
"One more clear water, please" Daria threw a hopeful look at the barkeep. A fireball fell from between her fingers, luckily not hitting anything alive.
"I think you had enough for tonight." Xan moved his hand from his sword and sighed. It was his turn to get her to her room now. It was his bad luck that he was usually the one to drag the half-conscious sun elf to her room, listening about his companions' childhood crimes and trying to forget everything.
"Hi Xan!" She waved her hand before his face, earning another resigned sigh. "Would you like to have a drink with me?" she tried to sound well-mannered, pointing a chair previously occupied by Anomen, or rather a piece of floor where she thought the chair was.
"No, and you don't need any more either. Come on." The enchanter firmly took her by the arm. She threw a longing glance at the bar, but Xan's frown stopped the barkeeper, instantly reminding him he has other patrons to take care of.
"Are you sure? I want to be sure. Just a little bit more to be sure." Xan had to support her when her legs went in the opposite direction to where her hands extended. He threw her arm over his shoulder, balancing her meager weight and stopping her from reaching the bar. There was no trace of elven grace in her movements anymore.
"Daria. I assure you with all certainty that you are completely drunk" he muttered leading her up the stairs. He tried to ignore the laughing and congratulations of other patrons, leaving them behind in the common room.
"Well… if you say so." She sounded uncertain, lost. She rapidly turned to face him still being supported, what almost cost both of them to fall from the stairs. She raised her eyes at him, dark violet devoid of any silver glow. "I trust you. You know I trust you?" Her voice was child-like know. He knew he shouldn't let her talk too much. Her revelations, mostly learned accidentally using divinations, were not for his ears to hear. She was discreet only as long as she wasn't drunk. Like now. He began to drag her towards the doors of a room she shared with Jaheira. "I just don't want feel him touch me ever again" he heard her whisper. He momentary stopped, frozen in his tracks.
"Him?" he repeated feeling something very cold nestling inside him.
"Him. The monster. Irenicus." She lowered her eyes to the ground, falling silent. Xan caught an unguarded look of pain in her eyes, making him feel as if he was being torn to pieces. So that was her nightmare… He wanted to help her, to find out what was done to her, but questioning her when she was in such a state, even for good reasons, was low. And he wanted Irenicus to rot in hells for what he had done. It was hopeless wishing, but it was all he had. He decided to wait until she's ready to tell him everything herself and was going to keep to his promise. He wordlessly led her to her room, keeping her a bit closer this time.
"Do you have the key?" He asked her when they finally reached their destination.
"I have it in my pocket!" The question made her grin cheerfully forgeting about her gloominess instantly. She tried to put her hand into one of the pockets in her robes, but missed it barely. Xan sighed and reached inside drawing plain key.
"Come in, inside. Jaheira is gone and… she's gone?" Daria mumbled when they entered a simple, but tidy room furnished with two beds and a table.
"Yes, she's not here." He answered mechanically, seating her on one of the beds and kneeled to remove her shoes. There were ugly scars from shackles on her ankles.
"Xan…" Her tone changed to more sober. He instantly felt embarrassed for staring.
"Yes?" He put her to bed and covered her with a blanket. He felt like he was putting a child to sleep.
"Come closer." He sat at the side of her bed and leaned over her. He hoped it wasn't about another embarrassing secret. She circled her hands around his chest and slowly pulled him lower until their faces were only a breath away. His eyes were looking at her surprised, wide, dark like bottomless oceans. Just when he was about to ask something, or to back away she kissed him fully on the lips, clinging to him with all her strength. He drowned in smell of alcohol and jasmine, a component she used so often to improve her divinations, feeling her warmth through a blanket. The touch, the warmth, the smell, it was intoxicating, a lost, mad moment, and only when she sighed with pleasure he realized he's returning her kiss, his lips on her neck somehow, his arms circled around her. He leapt back blushing wildly.
Daria shifted slowly to her side, gave a half-moan, half-yawn and closed her eyes. She heard a loud thud of door being shut hastily, when Xan dashed out of the room. 'Pity I won't remember any of this in the morning' she thought to herself. 'After all, isn't that what all heroes get in return for their good deeds? Everlasting gratitude from the villagers and a kiss from their true love?' She smiled to her pillow at the ridiculous thought and fell asleep.
***
Xan tried to calm his thumping heart, leaning on the closed door leading to the room he just left. Only after a minute he gathered his thoughts enough to realize he left the key to the door inside, but he would rather face an angry red dragon armed with a stick, than enter the room again. He couldn't grasp the reality of what had happened only moments ago. 'Why did I do that?' he couldn't stop asking himself. He certainly didn't feel like babysitting a child anymore. He knew she was blind drunk and didn't control her actions, but he didn't drink anything tonight. It was sheer madness. Only the lowest scoundrel would take advantage of a woman this way, a best friend at that, and he thought he was better than that. He didn't plan it, it simply… happened. But why?
'I don't love her… that way' he stated to himself, trying to make at least one thing certain. 'I don't.' It didn't bring him any unexpected reassurance. He knew they get together well because their shared interest in magic arts, he considered her abilities above average and knew her good heart. He would entrust her with his life should it be necessary and protect her whenever he could. He suffered to see her hurt – he could remember only too clearly the torment he felt when she was calling his name with waning voice, deep in her nightmares, and he sat helpless by her side, unable to do anything before she wakes up. He wanted her to be happy, like when they were only beginning their travels together – a carefree girl delighted with every flowery meadow they found hidden in the forest, celebrating every rainbow and snowfall, laughing… But he didn't love her that way, did he? Unrelenting memories of breathing the sweet scent and feeling her warm shape in his arms attacked like a tenacious swarm of bees.
He closed his eyes in vain attempt to stop thinking, wishing it could make the world less complicated. I only served to make the matters worse, because when he opened them again he saw Jaheira giving him the deadliest look he ever saw her give.
"Your shirt is untied" she said with terrifying calmness. With horror he realized she's right – the top of his robe was open. It had to be Daria's doing, but when? It was only a moment… he only lost a track of time for few seconds back then! He felt thoughts speeding through his head, quickly correcting his clothing with shaking fingers, reddening under the druidess' sinister glare.
"Stay here" she barked. He immediately felt his legs becoming rooted in the wooden floor, but not because of the druidic magic. He felt an intuitive chilling dread travelling down his spine. It must have been the last thing a rabbit felt, looking in the eyes of a predator.
Jaheira disappeared in the room for few seconds. She came back with a stony expression.
"You may go" he heard her voice say, but somehow his mind digested it as 'You may live.'
"We will talk later" she said and went inside the room again, locking it from the inside. He realized he's been holding his breath and exhaled, feeling strangely shaky. There was one certain reason why he should never touch Daria without her clear-headed permission. Should he do so, Minsc and Jaheira would have his hide, Anomen most likely too, judging by the way he was looking at the elven diviner.
'But it would be worth it, wouldn't it?' a treacherous voice inside his head sounded. Xan did his best to ignore it.