As it turned out, Jan's spell could not make the cloud of stink retreat, but Aerie, Yoshimo, and Minsc had been close to their goal anyway. With Edwin, Jan, and the drow, who curtly introduced herself as Viconia DeVir, they started backtracking for about fifteen minutes or so, moving slowly as Jan carefully scanned the solid concrete wall with one gloved hand, holding a hollow, engraved brass sphere in the other palm.
As he worked, the sphere quietly clicked and whirred. A series of letters on the device glowed soft white in regular intervals, showing it was steadily working.
No one said much else, not wanting Edwin and Minsc to come to blows. They moved back through the storm drain, silent except for the movement of water around their feet. Aerie anxiously glanced forth and back between Minsc and Edwin, placing herself between them as though she thought Minsc would forget his wrath against Edwin if he couldn't see him.
Once or twice, Edwin started muttering something under his breath, but a sharp look from Viconia soon silenced him.
After they had backtracked about a quarter mile, the small ball's whirring grew faster and faster until it was nearly shaking. All seven letters engraved on the top glowed steadily.
Jan called the group to a halt, pointing out a spot that appeared to be solid concrete.
"This here seems like an ordinary wall," he said, "but as Golodon used to say, 'You can't trust your eyes, but a spell for detecting charms reveals all.' Though he held hours-long conversations with his plants and was convinced that the githyanki were after his spell components, so you had to take his word with a grain of salt."
"When we remove the charm on Mekrath's door," Yoshimo said, "do you think he'll notice it's gone?"
"If he's any level of competence, he likely has some kind of detection active," Edwin replied. "Bah, why dither about? I'm sure I could make short work of him."
Jan said, "If that's the case, he's probably got some magical ear out here."
They glanced at each other, then retreated to the opposite wall of the storm drain, about twelve feet distant.
"Much better," Jan said. "Now, does anyone have a plan, or shall we run about like one of Aunt Petunia's headless chickens? As she used to tell it —"
"We're here to find out what happened to an actor named Haer'Dalis and some gem he had with him," Yoshimo said. "His boss seemed to think he'd been taken prisoner here — Mekrath's given her no ransom, no message, nothing."
Jan touched the end of his short salt-and-pepper beard, momentarily deep in thought. Then, finally, he said, "Funny thing is, we're to pay Mekrath an unannounced visit, too, in a manner of speaking, and we'd prepared something if and when we should meet."
He pulled out a package wrapped in plain linen, then carefully unfolded it. Lying in his stubby hand was a mirror with an elegant, gold-framed handle. Though the glass had a series of long cracks down the middle, the mirror remained in its frame, sparkling with the reflection of water and lantern light.
"We've been learning more about our fine neighbor here for a tenday or so," Jan said, handing the mirror to Yoshimo. "One of his imps stole this little toy from him. We found the imp and relieved him of his ill-gotten gains. So while you keep Mekrath distracted — and maybe find out what the mirror is worth to him — we'll cloak ourselves, case the lair, and find your lost actor."
"Out of the goodness of your heart?" Yoshimo said with a grin. "Jan, you seem to think I've only started freelancing since the snow melted. What are you really here for?"
"Yoshi, Yoshi," Jan said, "you know I couldn't tell you that. That reminds me of the time Cousin Beealoo wanted me to —"
A flash of annoyance crossed Yoshimo's face at the nickname, but he didn't press on that point. Instead, he interrupted Jan's story and replied, "Let me rephrase, then. What does Mae'Var think he's doing? There can't be any other reason the Red Wizard is along."
"I'm here because these simians need my guidance, no more, no less," Edwin said. He muttered to himself, "Must I hold their hand through the simplest of tasks? I'm sorely tempted to start throwing fireballs, here, to move things along."
Viconia spoke up, startling Edwin: "Do that, and you won't leave this place alive."
"Boo thinks this pretty dark elf is very smart, too," Minsc chimed in.
"Nobody's throwing fireballs at anything," Yoshimo said, his voice only slightly raised.
Larry made a series of disappointed-sounding grumbles, muffled by Minsc's holster.
Jan said, "Look, I'd tell you if I could, but as long as there's still the folks at home, it's better not to ask questions. We're going to do what we need to here. Are you in or not?"
Yoshimo glanced back at Aerie. She said nothing, but the troubled look on her face spoke for her.
"Very well," he said to Jan. "We'll do it your way."
"All right. We'll start now — 'the archons cry over lost time,' as my Aunt Clementine used to say," Jan said. "Viconia?"
The dark elf folded her arms and approached the door.
Jan pulled out a piece of acacia resin, then stopped, turning to Yoshimo. "Just one thing before we start. Whatever you do, don't ask about the gem."
Viconia stood only five feet tall, was rather slight, and her black robe was faded except where it was wet to her knees, but she carried herself as though she were nobility. A hammered silver disk on a leather cord around her wrist; she took this symbol of her faith into her steel-blue hand and held it aloft.
She chanted, "Scio, didici, pecto!"
While she was working, Jan held out a piece of acacia resin and started a spell of his own: "Veritas, credo, oculos!"
Viconia's spell finished. A large ring forged from the ether issued from her hand, growing until it spread over the wall almost from top to bottom. The ring twisted, flashed a series of letters, then disappeared. A plain wooden door about eight feet tall and three feet wide appeared in the wall, its threshold about a foot above the water.
Almost simultaneously, Edwin, Viconia, and Jan disappeared from view, the only indication that they were still present being three sets of ripples in the water.
Yoshimo shot a reproachful look in Jan's direction, then raised his fist and knocked confidently on the door.
The man that answered was somewhat hunched over at the waist, as though he were walking into a strong wind. He seemed out of place here: he wore neat, brightly colored clothes, five rings on each hand, and a turban over his graying hair. In other words, he appeared more like any wealthy Athkatlan businessman one might pass in the Promenade, rather than a wizard festering in an underground lair, doing dark business away from the brightness of the warm spring day.
The room behind him was ill-lit, but there wasn't much to see there anyway — it was stern, austere, cold, hard, with bare walls and floor; the only signs that anyone lived here were a small, neat cot in the far left corner, a bucket in the other, and several cupboards along one wall.
Yoshimo half expected the place to be littered with all kinds of magical paraphernalia and off-book documents recording illicit transactions. Clearly all that kind of stuff was most likely out of view, perhaps hidden in a pocket dimension somewhere.
Closer to the door, the chair was pulled up to a long, sturdy table. All that anyone could see on the tabletop were a few alembics, a few carefully chosen tools, a few jars of spell components, and a large grimoire opened to a blank page.
Another slightly ajar door was immediately behind the man's right side. Within moments, it flicked open, then within moments it was set back to its rightful place.
The man spoke, his voice gruff: "What is this? Intruders?" His dark eyes gave Yoshimo a hard stare.
The man removed his right hand from the doorframe, curling it into a honey-colored fist, showing off the gems on his rings. "What brings you here? Speak quickly, for I do not suffer errant fools gladly."
"Mekrath, I presume?" Yoshimo said, with a polite bow. "Forgive the intrusion — we found something rather unusual down here, and when we saw it, we thought it belonged to a most powerful wizard here who might be generously inclined to those who returned his property."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, scoundrel," Mekrath said. "What is it you want?"
"Let me show what I have to you first, and see if you can claim it." Then, with both hands, he held the mirror up to Mekrath's skeptical face.
Mekrath recognized it once, exclaiming, "Ah, yes — this is the mirror I'm missing. Tch, that moronic imp has cracked it!"
Yoshimo handed it to Mekrath. The wizard examined the mirror by the finely engraved gold handle.
"Pfah, It shall take weeks to repair," he said. "I certainly hope you killed the imp for this indignity. It was a device I was experimenting upon — useless unless you know the proper incantations."
Mekrath glanced up. "But as you insinuated, its return merits some reward. Hm…I have a slave, a thief who stole into my sanctum. That should be more than adequate."
"I've little use for the man myself —" Yoshimo began.
"That is all you're going to get," Mekrath said. "I will not be lowered to petty bargaining. I have no use for him at all, so he is yours."
He flicked his free hand towards the slightly open door. "I believe I left him in the north storeroom, counting rice or some nonsense. Go and claim him; he is yours. Do whatever you wish with him. I care not."
Mekrath turned away from them, placing the mirror under the light on the table and examining it closely. Aerie and Minsc followed Yoshimo inside after some hesitation, passing through the door and turning down the hallway.
But before they heard the door shut behind them, they heard Mekrath speak one last time: "Warn the thief not to bother me again, or I shall be much harsher. And once you claim your prize, do not disturb me a second time."
The door seemed to shut behind them of its own accord, leaving them in a narrow hallway as plain, drab, and poorly lit as the room they had left. They went down the way, single file, the corridor bending around a curve until they approached a closed entrance.
Aerie spoke up, addressing Yoshimo: "How come — how come you didn't even try to find out about Baron Ployer?" she said angrily. "We came all this way and went to all this trouble —"
"Had I pushed Mekrath further," Yoshimo said, "all it would have earned us was one angry wizard. We've already spent the better part of today pursuing this. Sometimes, it's best to cut your losses and try again another day. And in any case, you were content to let me lead."
"I—You're right," Aerie said, somewhat deflated. "I'm sorry…It's just…thinking about Jaheira alone and sick with no one to help her…"
"Fear not, little Aerie!" Minsc says, "Boo says, when one door closes, it's time for Minsc to smash it open, find the dastardly beings that shut us in, and give their behinds a mighty kick!"
Aerie laughed a little. "Thanks, Minsc. It's not off the table."
"We'll find another way forward," Yoshimo said. "I didn't know Jaheira nearly as well as I would like, but I was there when she found her husband gone — I want to save her too if we can. "Besides," he said, "if I let her perish without doing anything about it, I expect her ghost will give me a stern talking-to every night for the rest of my life."