„Nature's Ways"
„Fall defilers of nature! Faldorn and the Shadow Druids will put an end to your transgressions!" A man in dirty rags leaped at them from the shadow of trees, slashing a scimitar in the team's direction.
"Which one is this? Fifth? Sixth?" Daria brushed off the dust from her hands demonstratively, after serving the mad druid an Agannazar's Scorcher. She ended the words of the spell the exact moment the madman shot from his cover to attack them, evoking a line of fire just before the dashing man. Unfortunately for him he didn't manage to stop on time. "And who is this Faldorn anyway?"
"We met her briefly in the Cloakwood, no wonder you don't remember." Jaheira from the rear guard answered. Cernd only shook his head unknowingly.
'Yes, no wonder I don't remember' Daria repeated bitterly in her mind. There were other reasons why she wouldn't.
"We were trying to reach the mines to cut off Sarevok's supplies of iron and she wanted to stop us from reaching them, saying we're a 'fault' in nature's eyes". Jaheira rolled her eyes. All others suddenly tried to avoid eye contact. The phrase was somewhat familiar, even though they never met Faldorn. "You do remember Sarevok, right?" she added sarcastically.
"Ah, yes. Sarevok, the mage directing the mine from the lower levels. Of course I do."
Jaheira stopped suddenly. Minsc, walking alongside the elf looked at her puzzled.
Daria sweated seeing the druidess approaching her, looking like an angry mountain. She must have made a mistake… Who was Sarevok? She strained her memory trying to figure it out, before Jaheira made this final step. She should have left the question unanswered! It was just a figure of speech!
"I was just joking! Can't I?" she tried to buy herself some time.
"Then who was Sarevok?" Jaheira's eyes could power up the Sphere with the lightings they seemed to dart. It could spare them the demon hunting.
Daria heard this name before, she was certain, but 'where?' remained a question. She only had one option left. She covered her face with a hand fleetingly as if blinded with a sun and tried to divine. One glimpse was more than enough. Sarevok! How could she forget?! Jaheira's hand darted to grab her ward's and uncover the silver glow, exposing her little scheme.
"You don't remember, do you?" the druidess asked astounded. Daria saw a reproach for hiding holes in her memory dashing in her direction through time.
"I do. Sarevok, my mad half-brother."
Cernd watched the exchange between the druidess and her ward with a puzzled expression, as well as Mazzy, but all others were worrying from the safe distance from the druidess. Valygar's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why didn't you tell anybody you still have problems with memory?!" Jaheira glanced around the group as if provoking someone to admit he or she knew about it.
"Tell what, Jaheira?" Daria got genuinely mad. "'Sorry guys, I don't remember Sarevok?' It's getting better now and it will pass without anyone's help!"
"You don't know that!"
"I do! I'm a damned diviner! I know everything!" Daria wretched her hand free and began to walk, leaving the group behind. What was left of her common sense, made her check the bushes for any other shadow druid fanatics.
"Daria, wait" Xan caught up to her. They didn't talk since the time they came back from the clearing, both flushed deeply and covered with white fluff and grass. She smiled at the memory of them, trying to pick out all the fuzz from each other's hair. He immediately blushed, guessing without fail what was she thinking about.
"Lady Daria!" Anomen was just behind him, a bit slower in his full plate. Now she had her own honorary guard.
"You truly don't remember anything?" Xan put a hand on her shoulder. For a moment something in her wanted him to hold her, but she shook it off, knowing that probability that Xan would do it from his own initiative was small to none. At least unless she was in near-death state, but then it wasn't that pleasant.
"I remember a lot. The most, I think. Only some problems with names and places aren't worth mentioning, really. I certainly remember how Imoen tried to dye your hair pink" she giggled. A bit of a distraction was in order to change the topic.
"My lady, it would be wise to inform somebody about your condition." Anomen wasn't into distractions it seemed. He was the first person Daria encountered that wasn't even curious if Imoen succeeded. Even Kivan couldn't pass to hear the rest of the story. But now that the mood was a bit lighter she could disregard the whole issue.
"It's not that much of a problem, really. I'm a diviner, I said that already. If I don't recall something I can check it in less than five seconds. In some aspects I have much better memory than you."
"But…" Anomen tried again.
"I appreciate your concern, but that's not that serious as Jaheira want it to sound. And we should wait for the rest of the team. There's a group of druids ahead, standing by the entrance to a cave where Faldorn resides."
***
The cave wasn't dark or damp, which was more than unusual given a miniature underground river flowing right through its middle. It wasn't a great cavern, but big enough for a fanatic branch of pseudo nature protectors to form a sect trying to destroy a small town. Ahead of them a small alcove opened, but the major space of the cave was located to their left, running water separating them from…
A vision interrupted Daria's examination of the place. All around her the aura seemed different suddenly, though she couldn't put her finger on what exactly differed. The river, the cave, the alcove… The vision was unusual, like if she was looking not with her eyes, but instead tried to use her ears to see, making her head feel like overloaded factory where nobody knew what to do. Her companions weren't by her side, which wasn't unusual, but she wasn't there either, which was at least mildly strange. Most of the time her mind was creating image of her own self as a personalization of her wandering psyche. She couldn't think of any reason of why it wouldn't happen now.
But thinking never helped. Analyzing her visions was best to be left until the awakening. It was a lesson she learned in practice.
She saw two elves, lying in the alcove on a fur placed on the bare stone. It was some distance ahead of her, but her visions were known of doing strange things with time and space and Daria could see every little detail of their faces. A woman with unusual hair shade, a strange tone of blonde looking almost like gray, was sleeping or in a reverie, with her eyes closed. She had eagle feathers interlaced in her a bit messy hair, indicating that she might be a druid, and a content peaceful smile on her lips. It was also the only thing she was wearing. The man holding her was Xan, and Daria could see that he was in love with the woman lying next to him the moment she saw him. Not only because the only thing covering their bare skins was a rugged blanket. Not only because he was idly playing with locks of hair that fallen on her face. Not only because he held her so close, that made the diviner blush, as if she watched something she shouldn't, which was definitely the case. He looked at her like Daria never saw him look at anyone, with gentle devotion and admiration, a smile on his face. He was happy.
Daria staggered backward, landing on her rear end. Her world has just changed quite drastically to the present. Were she in a mood for jests, she'd say she just created a ripple in reality.
"I presume you know the outcome of the battle already?" Jaheira helped her up offering a hand. Daria managed to stay on her feet for good two seconds before landing on the ground again.
"No, I…" By the time she was helped up again everybody knew it was something more serious. Minsc moved to give her support. "Xan, have you ever been here?" she asked. How much depended on this question?
"I crossed Trademeet few years ago, during one of my missions, but never visited this grove, no." He didn't ask why she wanted to know. From her face he saw she wouldn't tell.
So it was the future.
"Jaheira, you're a temporary leader now. Minsc, could you take me outside?" Daria knew she was in no state to lead. The vision was the future and a distant one judging by the trembling of her hands and chaos in her head. She needed to get some air before she starts bleeding or fainting, or other some such nonsense again.
"Of course little Daria! But why do we leave our friends before the battle with evil druids?"
"I can't explain… I need to go out" The cave walls were beginning to close around her, signaling another attack of claustrophobia. She closed her eyes desperately trying to imagine a clearing full of flowers.
"My lady…"
"Faldorn is coming" Daria cut sharply.
Minsc led her out to the sun, mostly hidden behind the clouds. She sat on the grass and tried to confirm that all parts of her mind were in the same time using one of the meditation methods she learned in Candlekeep, more in need to focus on something than out of real need. The berserker stood guard, giving her space to think. She didn't know what to do with this space.
Gooseberry stirred in his pocket sensing his mistress emotions and got out on the sun. Daria huddled to her familiar, pressing the short-furred rat to her chest.
She liked people with bright future ahead of them, she liked to watch Anomen when he was talking about his order and she liked discovering happy events in her friends' futures. But she was different, she knew it. They would have their loves and homes, Anomen would get accepted in the order and Xan would find happiness in life. Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo… They would settle down or do as they please… She would keep them safe as much as she could.
She was stuck with sowing chaos, bringing death and destruction across the realms…
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair that her destiny was set from the moment she was born. It wasn't fair that people like Irenicus were chasing her only because of her blood and hurt her loved ones only because they were near. It wasn't fair that it would only end with her death. And…
It wasn't fair that Xan couldn't be happy with her.
Gooseberry bit her finger when she squeezed him a bit too much. She released him from her grasp, but he only climbed on her shoulder and rubbed against her face. His regrowing fur was soft and soothing. It reminded her that there was one being in this world she could tell everything.
Sometimes she dreamt about Xan, holding her hand, hearing her out and accepting her feelings. Long time ago, when Gorion was still alive, she used to dream about her mysterious father coming to Candlekeep, telling her that he had to leave her under Gorion's care because there was no other way and that he missed her and her mother every minute of his life. Both dreams turned out to be equally foolish and unreal.
But… She was a diviner. By knowing the future maybe she could change it. The course they all were on was leading to the events she saw in her vision. The ability to see the causes meant she could… destroy her best friend's happiness out of completely egotistical reasons without him ever finding out about it. It was plainly evil. And she wanted to be able to do it so much that it hurt. Only she couldn't… The memory of that smile on his face hurt much more.
Gooseberry was huddled to her neck like a scarf. He felt what she felt and knew what she knew. He was becoming more and more elf-like every day and his new fur wasn't gray as before. She suspected it wasn't soup that made him lose his fur in the first place like Jaheira claimed with reproach, but instead he was knowingly changing his appearance. She could feel his mute support and that he would go with her no matter what she decided.
Daria wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up. The destiny was there to challenge it, but for once she wasn't going to do it. If it was her place than she would stay alone, but at least she could do it quietly, without anyone's pity. A quick illusion ensured her that no trace of tears would be visible on her face.
Xan was her best friend. She could only repay him with the same.
***
The party perched on one side of the circular arena that served as a place for challenge rituals to take place. From the other side all that was left of the sect of the shadow druids was glaring at them.
"Come to meet your death!" Faldorn standing in one end of the arena began the ritual, not quite in accordance with tradition.
Two simple wooden quarterstaffs were thrown to the middle of arena, but Jaheira didn't even move in their direction, instantly beginning to chant. It was her element, the heart of the forest and though she didn't have a close connection with the grove like her opponent, the balance was her ally in this conflict.
Faldorn stood ahead summoning forth the energies of the grove to shield her from any wounds. She smirked knowing that the challenger didn't have that advantage. The shadow druid fruitlessly tried to find any sign of fear in the half-elven druidess posture, but the only emotion Jaheira showed was cold anger at the discord the shadow druids and their dark rituals ripping the energies from the Mother Nature wrought.
Bees and ants, cockroaches and fleas, all sort of bugs began to gather at Jaheira's call, crawling under shadow druid's clothes, craving to bite into her skin. Faldorn quickly suppressed the panic and began her own chant, but casting spells from under the layer of constantly biting insects proved impossible. By the time the magic finally got loose from her control, dispersing harmlessly in the air, Jaheira already was through with a second chant, summoning one more creature to her aid.
A dryad answered her call, appearing in the cave with a battle cry that would put Minsc to shame, even though shouted with a low and feminine voice. Now Faldorn had to face two spellcasters.
A fiery sword was the last of Jaheira's enchantments and she barely managed to finish it when Faldorn moved to attack, almost brushing her enemy's face with the wooden staff she picked from the ground in one fierce movement. The shadow druidess attacked with ferociousness of a wildest animal, knowing that if she gives Jaheira enough time to use her burning weapon it would put her in most dire situation. She swung and swirled, putting all her strength into her blows, without consideration, losing herself in her fury. The grove energies were adding to her muscles and her fury. She was invincible!
The dryad's charm hit her, paralyzing for a briefest second Jaheira needed to use her sword, hitting Faldorn in her face.
"You were a fault in nature's eyes! These parasitic rituals will not continue!" Jaheira wheezed, sweated and panting after the exchange of blows. She looked up just in time to see the last of the shadow druids disappearing in other the exit of the cave. They could cause more trouble in the area, but it was unlikely with their leader gone. Neither Daria nor Imoen were in the cave, so she received no cheers from the other side of the arena. She let her weapon extinguish and nodded to the dryad, thanking her for help. The forest creature smiled bizarrely and disappeared.
Daria waited by the entrance, once again in her hood and gloves. She looked in upcoming future, at Jaheira, who had just won against Faldorn, and at Cernd who stayed in the cave to talk to the druids taking care of the grove before it was taken by the sect, and who were forced to accept Faldorn as their leader. Looking through the stone or few seconds before or ahead in time the diviner could do almost effortlessly, but now her heart hurt strangely and her vision was blurry.
Minsc was standing beside her, but only let Boo sniff her for a moment before leaving her alone. Now they stood in silence, disturbed only by the hamster's quiet squeaks. Daria counted seconds under breath.
"I see you are better. What was the vision about?" Jaheira came out of the cave when the count ended, along with the rest of the team.
"Future. Distant. The kind I won't talk about" the diviner answered calmly without any trace of emotion.
Jaheira looked at her worried. She was used to Daria evading the answers, but she never said so calmly that she wouldn't say a thing.
"We have to go. It's getting late" Daria hurried them, just as calmly as before.
Jaheira watched her concerned as she moved ahead to lead her party minus Cernd back to Trademeet.