Thank you to those who are reading this story, and to those who have reviewed - I am always very grateful for your comments. :)
I hope you like this installment - in which Korgan swears terribly in Old Norse (fair warning to those who may need it ;P.)
Chapter 13: The Road to Trademeet
The dawn light had awoken Elatharia, bright and piercing now that the sky was clear of clouds, filling the window with pure unbroken blue. The castle stood high enough upon the mountain face that the view from the window did not immediately render the hills to the south visible, even to someone standing normally before the glass. As it was, Elatharia gradually had come to realise that she was looking up at it. From an angle.
Shifting, she had realised that she and Edwin must have fallen asleep whilst discussing the many spells he had found, and as she moved the rustling of parchment was telling. As she had shifted she had also come to realise that she was not sleeping on the ground, or against the wall, but rather she had, much like the night before the ambush, fallen asleep whilst leaning against him. Now however she awoke with her head against his upper leg and a rather evident view of his boots, gleaming in the rising sun. His hand had settled upon her side, warm against her ribs through the robe of Vecna – twisting about slowly so as not to wake him she had seen that he was, thankfully, indeed still asleep.
It had been a difficult task to sit up without jostling him too much, not aided by the lingering fog of sleep. Somehow she had managed it, given that his sleeping position had been even more uncomfortable than hers, propped up against the wall beneath the window as he was, his head tilted back a little where the glass touched the frame. Dragging herself to her feet and stumbling across the floor to the table, attempting not to step on scattered parchment, the Transmuter had snatched up her mask and paused, noticing how little of the wine they had drunk. The bottle was more than three-quarters full.
Glancing back at him, she had been momentarily struck by how different he looked whilst sleeping. His sneers and frowns had been smoothed out, though years of schooling these expressions had left him with a few tell-tale lines to show for it. He just looked like a man in his late twenties who had fallen asleep distracted by studying his spells late into the night – and really the early morning. She often forgot that, although he was older than her, he was not quite as experienced in life as he liked others to believe. From what he had told her he was about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old – and in many ways he seemed younger.
Elatharia had left him sleeping there under the window surrounded by those parchments, knowing that it would be better if he woke on his own. For herself she had sought out one of the bedrooms, intending to sleep until the others arrived at the castle with Garren and his daughter. She and Edwin had been so deep in conversation, so animated by considering the new spells they had found, that they had not noticed the passing of time as the night sped by or even thought about finding beds to sleep in.
Viconia was sleeping in one of the double bedrooms furthest from the scenes of their ambushes by Firkraag's hobgoblins, and Elatharia chose the next room along. It was rather like the chamber the dragon-in-disguise had issued her – minus the hobgoblins and the ensuing disarray – with the bed made neatly and utterly untouched. Gratefully she had kicked off her boots and curled up on it, wrapped in Gorion's cloak. It had taken a little while to get back to sleep, still distracted by the memory of Edwin's hand resting warm on her side, fingers curved in accordance with her ribs, and his voice had drifted through her thoughts as she entered that half-waking trance before sleep…
"Elatharia."
Jaheira's voice pulled her from the void of sleep slowly, unwillingly, and the Transmuter sat up automatically, momentarily disorientated to see that the druid was standing in her partially open doorway, knocking on the door gently for good measure. The half-elf was watching a space in the wall above Elatharia's head rather than meeting her eyes, her expression carefully blank. Realising what the problem was, the Transmuter fumbled for her mask and eventually found it tangled in her cloak.
"W-What is it?" she asked blearily, swinging her legs onto the ground and trying to remember where she had left her boots, "What time is it?"
"The tenth hour of the morning, Elatharia," the druid answered, and the strain in her voice led the Transmuter to – eventually – look at her, "I take it you were not with the dwarf and the gnome last night?"
"No, why?"
"Their drunken foolery has left the wine cellar in disrepair. With Yoshimo's guidance, we found them fairly swimming in alcohol."
Elatharia laughed, though the druid's tone was hardly amused.
"Lord Windspear is unamused…and unsurprised. I do not know why you keep such brutes with you, especially after something like this," the frown and the tone were to be expected. Elatharia rolled her eyes and ignored Jaheira, pulling on her boots and standing with a yawn and a stretch.
"And I take it he wants to send us out now before they cause more madness?" the Transmuter prompted. It was Jaheira's turn to roll her eyes, opening the door and stepping back into the hallway as the Bhaalspawn approached.
"No. He is offering you breakfast and his thanks. I believe there is a discussion going on between him and Mazzy over who should keep the sword, Carsomyr."
"You woke me just for breakfast?" Elatharia could not help sounding incredulous…and a little annoyed, "Good luck getting the drow up this early when we don't even need to be on the road."
"I…would speak with you, in truth, Elatharia," Jaheira admitted, "There are…things we must discuss," she shifted from foot to foot, the uncertain gesture ill-suited to her usual manner.
For the first time, Elatharia considered that perhaps the druid's aggression had always been a mask for her own pain, and not really hatred at all. Her quietness after her confrontation with Haer'Dalis and her subsequent apology at Valygar's cabin all suggested something of this kind. But thinking back on the things they had said to each other…Elatharia found it hard not to look at the druid, who she had travelled with for over a year, with anything other than ill-hidden anger.
"What things?" the Transmuter snapped, and saw an answering frown appear on Jaheira's face as she moved inside the room, closing the door behind herself.
"I do not wish this to be an argument of the sort we had the night before you…met Edwin," the druid said as calmly as she knew how, keeping her eyes fixed somewhere behind Elatharia as she had when knocking, even though she wore her mask.
"That depends what this is about," Elatharia disagreed, folding her arms and expecting the worst.
"I have already apologised, and it did not come easily to me," Jaheira told her coolly, "I apologised for making assumptions, and even now I see in your eyes what I have denied – the truth that there are things…things which h-happened in Irenicus's dungeon of which you will not speak."
"I will not," Elatharia agreed, clearing her throat in vain when her words came out hoarse.
"I understand," Jaheira sighed, still not raising her eyes to look at the Transmuter, "We have never been close, certainly not as I became with Imoen, or anything like the bond the two of you have. But it is because I love her and she loves you that I feel I must speak with you. For her sake, if you would but spare a few heartbeats to listen to me," there was that more familiar hint of annoyance, the hardness which ironically made Elatharia more comfortable because it was something she could expect.
"I'm listening," she prompted, hugging herself more tightly and tangling her fingers in the edges of Gorion's cloak subconsciously.
"We have hardly spoken since…what passed in Irenicus's dungeon. And it is as much your fault as mine, do not deny it," Jaheira paused for a denial, and Elatharia did not oblige so she continued, "And when we have it has always descended into an argument. As I told you…what Haer'Dalis saw I have since been able to see as well, though I have been blinded by my own…my own…" her voice trembled imperceptibly and the druid waved the words away, gritting her teeth and standing straighter, "And I have apologised, as well as I know how. Which is better than what you have done."
Elatharia just shrugged, watching the dust motes behind Jaheira illuminated by the high circular window above the bed.
"Now, in light of what Firkraag said – and after one of your…one of the other Bhaalspawn found you…I think it is important that we make more of an effort to work together," Jaheira continued, her tone more imploring in the face of the Transmuter's continued silence, "As much as I cannot understand why you keep such company."
"You sound more like Edwin than you realise," Elatharia pointed out flippantly, smiling coldly back when the druid frowned.
"And you allow yourself to be taken in by his wiles," Jaheira told her flatly, "You always have. It is worse now – now that you believe yourself to be worldlier. He will still betray you. A man like that is out only for power, and he will only stay with us while that is possible."
"You think I don't know that?"
"You do, but you do not think sensibly. You do not realise how suddenly or unexpectedly he could turn on you, or what that would mean for the party, for Imoen's safety…and for you. Where he comes from it is standard practice to seduce, use and betray. In any and all of the ways that those words can be used. I know I am right when I say he is well on his way to achieving those objectives."
Elatharia's blood ran cold. She knew this. She did. But it was another thing to be reminded of it aloud by someone else, even by Jaheira whose motives still felt…unknowable and probably untrustworthy.
"I know this," she fairly snarled at last, looking at the door now and considering making a swift escape.
"No, wait," Jaheira stopped her, "I understand why you keep him…and the others; Korgan is a powerful fighter, Jan has many technical skills and more knowledge than he openly displays, and Edwin has great power. But you do not need them. They cause problems wherever we go, they are rude to others in the group, and selfish. Given enough gold they would all betray you in a moment."
"I thought you were saying we should all work together," Elatharia pointed out.
"I will try," Jaheira growled, taking a breath before mastering herself, "Since I know that you will not make any concessions at all. But…just remember that I warned you – or at least I tried to. You do not make this easy, Elatharia. How Gorion ever taught you anything is beyond me."
"What can I say? I'm not the girl I was. Something must have happened to make me realise why I shouldn't listen to him…or you," she pretended to think, "Oh wait, that's it – a giant man in spiked armour, I remember him. And then a mage with his face stitched to his head and a lot of knives. Him."
Jaheira had paled as the Transmuter spoke, the words pouring from her in a mocking tone and delivered with a smile that felt more akin to a grimace.
"You do this to push me away," the druid managed, "To make me leave you alone because you are afraid, and it is easier for you that way…you think," she sighed again, tugging at one of her braids and staring at nothing for a moment or two before continuing, "I…I want to help you. For Imoen's sake, and for Gorion. And…and Khalid. In spite of everything. Because they believed – believe – in you."
Elatharia did not know what to say. The words felt too true, so true that they filled her with automatic anger – but to act upon that would have been to prove Jaheira right, and it was hard to respond too aggressively when the druid was looking at her so imploringly, her voice so honest. That would have immediately put the Transmuter in the wrong and she was tired.
"V-Very well," she said at last, "But I won't keep to the company which you approve of, nor will I do things that you like. There will be times when I make a choice and you will regret knowing me, travelling with me, or believing in me for the sake of those fools who trust me." Trust is for the foolish…and the dead. Viconia's saying had never felt more right.
Garren Windspear seemed determined to reclaim his castle, rather than be driven from its cold labyrinthine sprawl with nothing but bad memories. Such an approach was admirable, if a little baffling to Aerie. She had helped him and Iltha prepare breakfast in the enormous kitchen once they had arrived, since the Lord of Windspear hardly seemed to know how to brew himself tea, let alone consider how to find, display and carry the appropriate cutlery and food items for breakfast.
She was very glad to hear from Yoshimo that he and Haer'Dalis had cleared the house of the gore and death they had left behind, except for Firkraag. The dragon was so big. The arriving group had also learned from the waiting Kara-Turan, who greeted them at the gates at the top of the stairs much as Firkraag had, that Korgan and Jan had become very drunk over the night thanks to the castle's extensive wine cellars. When they had found the gnome dozing by the stairs to the cellar and the dwarf sprawled snoring at the centre of the broken shelving in the room itself, Aerie had not known whether to laugh or not. Minsc had boomed something that sounded more impressed than angry, while Jaheira and Mazzy had made up for the others' lack of response, apologising effusively to an unsurprised Lord of Windspear.
Garren had sighed, and shrugged, and clearly compartmentalised this problem in his mind for later. Aerie understood. He had enough to think about as it was, and he was trying so valiantly to make the best of his situation.
After this, Mazzy had insisted upon returning the blade Carsomyr to Garren – and since no in the group could use it with any sort of ease he had eventually agreed. Elatharia would probably have wanted to t sell it, but that just seemed…wrong.
Eventually Jaheira had left to find Elatharia, since there was no sign of the Transmuter or Edwin – or in fact Haer'Dalis and Viconia. Leaving Anomen, the two rangers, Mazzy, Valygar and Yoshimo in the central hall, Aerie had gone to make breakfast with Garren. When she returned, the others looked up hopefully and she was glad not to disappoint them, helping spread one of the long tables in the impressively large room with trays of food and tea.
They all gathered round, a little less awkward than they had been two nights before even in the presence of Garren, who was talking fairly animatedly with Iltha and Anomen. Minsc was inquiring about something to Valygar, no doubt sharing rangerly knowledge, and Yoshimo was eating quietly whilst listening to Mazzy explain something to do with halfling customs – which had left Aerie with no company at all. Until Haer'Dalis appeared at her side, his hand brushing against her elbow as he sat on the bench beside her and pulled a plate and cup towards himself. Seeing him smiling at her, greeting her so warmly, had caused excitement and giddiness to bloom in her stomach and all of a sudden her breakfast had been forgotten. Perhaps he had just stayed because he had been injured that day, she told herself. It was hard to deny him anything when he looked at her like that.
"You must agree to partake in this play with me, my Mourning Dove," he told her, his deep voice with its unusual Sigil accent only making her heart pound harder – if that were possible. He glanced at her sidelong when she failed to respond immediately.
"I – I…Haer'Dalis I've already told you I don't think I would be all that good at acting. In front of so many people…I don't think I could do it. I'm not all that good at talking to people, not like you."
He smiled indulgently.
"Not every actor is the image of confidence, my Dove. 'Tis an escape. And you have a natural flare. A passion for life, and happiness. You empathise, and sympathise. You consider."
"I overthink," she corrected him with a giggle, a high-pitched sound that caught Anomen's attention from across the table. He looked around, eyeing Haer'Dalis with a faint frown.
"A boon! A gift! Few actors are blessed with such detailed insight," the bard promised, grinning.
"What is this?" Anomen inquired, his tone strangely forced.
"Haer'Dalis is trying to make me act in his play," Aerie told him, trying to ignore the twist of discomfort she felt over the higher pitch of her voice. She wanted to giggle again, and quelled it.
"Make? This humble Sparrow encourages," Haer'Dalis chided teasingly, and something about his tone sent a blush colouring Aerie's cheeks. Bashfully she looked down at her untouched breakfast and almost did not notice the lull in conversation between the tiefling and Anomen.
When she looked up it was to see Haer'Dalis watching the stairs over her head, his expression thoughtful; turning to follow his gaze she saw Viconia descending the broad stone stairs, once more wearing her moon elf disguise and wrapped in her striking yellow cloak. She made eye contact with no one, her face carefully expressionless, until she reached the end of the table and she looked up – straight past Aerie and towards Haer'Dalis. The look they shared was so intense, so clearly meaningful, that the avariel felt instantly guilty for noticing it. She was almost relieved when the tiefling stood, muttering something that was strangely inarticulate, and moved to speak with the drow. The sight of them talking so intently, of Viconia so quiet and introspective, made Aerie feel more than a little disappointed, just like always. He stood so close to the drow, his hand lingering at her elbow where it had merely brushed the avariel's in a fleeting touch. He ducked his head to speak with Viconia, their eyes locked in a way that…
"Ah, and here comes Jaheira," Anomen noted loudly enough to gain the attention of nearly everyone in the room. The tiefling and the drow failed to look around and Aerie tore her gaze from them, annoyed with herself, "It appears she has found Elatharia."
"Not so gods be damned loud, cleric," Korgan grumbled, stumbling up to the table and reaching all but blindly for his breakfast with one hand, rubbing his doubtlessly pounding head with the other, "Ye dinnae know how te celebrate, none o' ye. Had no one but the gnome to keep me company all night, but fer the snake there. N' he does nae count fer much but a starin' contest."
Yoshimo raised an eyebrow to be referred to in such a manner but did not rise to the bait.
Meanwhile, Jaheira and Elatharia were indeed descending the stairs. The Transmuter's expression was hard to read thanks to her mask, which veiled most of the area around her eyes, but there was something about the downward turn of her mouth that betrayed her tiredness. Her hair was in as much disarray as usual, curling wildly around her head in loose coils, dark brown but for the streak of gold on one side that the rain had betrayed. She was still dressed in the robe of Vecna and that grey cloak, with the two bags of holding on her hip a constant reminder of their aim: get money for Imoen's release. Not for the first time, Aerie worried that the Transmuter was too thin. She rarely ate, and when she did she struggled to focus on the task. The robe never hung tellingly loosely on her thanks to its enchantment, but Aerie could tell all the same. It drew a frown to her face.
The wizard and the druid separated as they reached the table, Jaheira moving to Valygar's side while Elatharia took Haer'Dalis's place by Aerie. The Transmuter struggled her way through conversation with Garren awkwardly, forcing a few smiles when the avariel attempted to make conversation as well.
"I take it you are returning to Athkatla next?" Garren was saying, "You must surely have acquired enough for your friend's rescue now?"
"Yes…and almost, I believe," Elatharia was agreeing, but Jaheira leaned forward.
"I was thinking we could go to the De'Arnise Hold on the way back," the druid suggested to the table in general, "And if so, perhaps we should stop off in Trademeet for supplies first."
"Ah, yes! The young lady Nalia who has been beset for so long by trouble with trolls!" Minsc agreed, "This would be a good thing to do!"
"There will be gold," Jaheira promised with a grimace in response to Elatharia's telling hesitation.
"Alright, we'll do it," Elatharia shrugged, and then turned to Valygar midway through pouring her tea, "And then we'll deal with your relative, as promised."
The ranger inclined his head and muttered something that might have been thanks.
"Then we will be leaving soon?" Aerie inquired, glancing at Garren with a smile.
"Yes," Elatharia nodded, ignoring Korgan's disapproving groan, "We will leave as soon as everyone is ready." She looked around for a moment, noticed Jan just dragging himself in to the hall to join them and then stood abruptly, picking up another plate and gathering some food at random.
"Going somewhere, leader?" Yoshimo asked as innocently as anyone could. Elatharia shot him an annoyed glance.
"I'm going to kick the Red Wizard awake," she told him acerbically, as if such a response might convince any of them of her intentions.
Aerie watched the Transmuter make her way back up the stairs, worrying over how close Elatharia and Edwin were. The two obviously knew each other fairly well; they had travelled together near Baldur's Gate. But he was more than rude and selfish. He was dangerous and something in his angry stares suggested that he could be cruel. The avariel wished their leader could see that for the problem that it was, rather than convincing herself that she needed to succeed through fear and rage.
A glance back down the table at Haer'Dalis and Viconia filled her with another bout of disappointment and she sighed, realising that Elatharia was not the only one who was prone to making poor choices, apparently.
The whole group was in agreement about Jaheira's suggestion that they stop off in Trademeet before going on to the De'Arnise Hold just outside of Athkatla. Korgan, Jan and Elatharia had taken as much of Garren Windspear's treasure as he would permit them to take; the Transmuter had deduced quite quickly that his lack of interest in how much they took from Firkraag's horde suggested that the true Lord of Windspear held most of his wealth elsewhere.
Since they knew that they would be stopping at Trademeet and most likely also the De'Arnise Hold, Elatharia had insisted that they travel as fast as they could. It would be tiring, but they would at least have an inn to rest in before reaching the Hold. As it was, little happened on their path to Trademeet; everyone was too tired to argue (for the most part) after each long day's walk and such a situation fostered a kind of weary comradeship which was a relief to see, however fleetingly. There was still a strong sense of preferences however; increasingly the divide within the group that had made itself evident on the topic of a reward for saving Iltha was leading to a divide in sleeping arrangements. This was of course complicated by the issues of Korgan and Minsc's snoring; no one really wanted to sleep near them, but the divide remained.
Aerie, Mazzy and Jaheira preferred to sleep next to each other, with Valygar and Anomen a little way off but still on their side of the fire. The ranger rarely seemed to sleep, staying watchful for most of the night. Minsc had been forced a little further out on their side, and only Korgan could stand to sleep anywhere near him – claiming that neither of them snored. Meanwhile Elatharia and Viconia tended to stay on the other side of the fire, mostly because the Transmuter preferred to keep some distance between herself and Jaheira – as well as Anomen – and because most of the others were still distrustful of Viconia. Since Minsc was on one side, Edwin stayed nearer to them, and because of Yoshimo's proximity to them Haer'Dalis was also wont to choose this half of their camps. Only Jan was a little changeable in this regard. The hot Amnish weather persisted as they left the hills, and rudimentary shelters were still preferred to tents.
When they were travelling, things were a little different – although certain personal rifts remained. Edwin would always avoid Minsc even more than he did most of the others, only really interacting successfully with Elatharia, Viconia and Haer'Dalis. If the Conjurer was not around, then Aerie would flit from the Transmuter to Anomen to Haer'Dalis – who was teaching her his play. Their talking was often the only continuous civilised discussion that the group could hear. Mazzy preferred the company of Anomen or Valygar and failing that would walk with Yoshimo when few others would. She did her best to avoid Korgan but increasingly the dwarf was learning how to catch her attention by lacing his stories with a strange combination of rudeness and flattery. Jan was most often to be found at the back of the group, fiddling with some small metal contraption. For their part, the rangers – and always Jaheira – often kept ahead of the others to scout out the land and choose the best paths.
While Aerie and Haer'Dalis kept up their conversations about his play, another less cheerful discussion had gradually emerged. It centred on the issue whereby Edwin had, with Haer'Dalis's help, managed to remove a large proportion of Firkraag's hide, complete with extremely valuable red dragon scales. This had led to a rather heated argument between himself and Korgan over what the best course of action would be; to sell the scales, use them for armour…or keep them for magical experimentation.
Even after several days of walking, with the Cloudpeaks far behind them, they still had not resolved the problem. The sun was beating down upon the travellers, unfettered by the clouds of the northern more mountainous countryside, and all the group could hear was the angry voices of Conjurer and dwarven berserker.
Edwin and Korgan's arguing had driven the others to such distraction that they had made a concerted effort to keep further along the road. It was a narrow footpath, the low-hanging branches of the trees around them creating natural shade for the road-weary travellers, as suggested by Jaheira. Elatharia had agreed since it would also serve as a shortcut to Trademeet, which they had caught a glimpse of just a few hours before from a ridge on their way down to the central Amnish plateau.
Athkatla was barely fifty miles southwest of this place but here it felt almost tropical and any reprieve from the endless heat was welcome, even though the air remained still and humid. Off in the distance Elatharia could hear the rush of a waterfall, even over the clamour of Edwin and Korgan out of sight further back down the path.
Aerie had been walking up ahead with Jaheira and Mazzy; the avariel gave a relieved cry suddenly and vanished around the next curve in the path, no doubt making straight for the waterfall and the promise of cooler air. The druid shook her head as if exasperated but Elatharia could tell from the speed at which she followed that Jaheira was just as pleased as Aerie. Hearing the excitable cries about the water, Haer'Dalis made after them, shouting something to the avariel that sent her high laughter ringing around the clearing in which the waterfall must have stood.
"Youthful exuberance has fortuitously lasted in our avariel," Yoshimo noted.
The bounty hunter emerged at Elatharia's side as she paused along the path, watching the others heading for the waterfall. Minsc seemed a little bemused by Aerie and Haer'Dalis's exuberance, but smiled and followed all the same, while Anomen trailed after them at a more dignified pace in spite of his heavy armour and how much he would undoubtedly be relieved to refill his canteen.
"She is too old for it," Viconia disagreed rather venomously, coming up to join them with a heavy sigh. She was hunched beneath her yellow cloak, her disguise temporarily down and her eyes their natural blue, squinting in the bright sunlight, "If she were amongst the drow such silliness would have been beaten out of her decades ago."
"Well I maintain that on this surface world it is an admirable trait," Yoshimo disagreed with an easy laugh as he and the drow headed up the road after the others.
Elatharia did not listen to Viconia's response, turning around and waiting for Korgan and Edwin to finally arrive around the corner. After a little while Jan puffed past, saluting her with weary humour as he passed her. She could still hear Edwin's voice, irate and rapid, though it took a little while before she could make out the words. Dwarf and Conjurer had still not come into view.
"How can you be such a wretched, mindless baboon to begin to think that turning something so precious into armour is the best possible use of red dragon scales?" Edwin was exclaiming.
"I've seen the amount o' hide yer carryin' wizard, an' I know there's plenty to be goin' around," Korgan was denying, his gruff voice loud but not ill-humoured. Elatharia wondered when the equally changeable dwarf might decide that a berserk rage was more in order than his current laughter.
"What? You know no such thing, dwarf," Edwin denied, "I removed it from the dragon and placed it directly into my bag of holding. There is no way you could have seen it since."
"Aye, but I saw when ye got the tiefling to do yer dirty work, wizard," Korgan chortled, "Though I were drinkin' fer all o' us at the time. Never mistake a drunken dwarf fer an inattentive dwarf."
"Ugh! I will not be relinquishing this precious treasure to any fool who thinks that it is appropriate to wear it over studying it!"
"Like I said, fool wizard, there be plenty to be goin' round. An' at least when I be wearin' the dragon scale it'll do me some good. You n' yer studyin' will only leave ye with nothin' but ashes an' disappointment."
"Oh fool is it now? Have you also become a philosopher in your spare time? I will not be relinquishing my dragon scales to your filthy hands, and that is non-negotiable."
"And ye've somehow got into ye skull that ye own all of it, do ye? And how can that be?"
"If it were not for me this rabble of a party would never have defeated the dragon," Edwin proclaimed, and Korgan barked a laugh.
"Ye were helpful, I won't deny it. Always willin' to admit when someone prove useful in a fight. But ye might find that yon Mazzy were just as guilty o' slayin' the beast, and ye would nae have had a chance to hurl yer spells without the rest of us!"
"I was still…" Edwin's shouted response ended suddenly with a strangled cry, and for a moment Elatharia thought that maybe Korgan had ended the argument with his axe – until she heard the dwarf's startled exclamation.
"Ai! Skaud at meire! Hvat í ǫllum heljunum?"
It seemed whatever had caught the arguing pair's attention was surprising enough for the dwarf to lose his command of the Common Tongue.
Edwin's voice rose now into the richer, more level tones of spellcasting, and Korgan gave a warning growl to whatever had them so threatened. For a confused moment, Elatharia stood frozen with indecision; did she turn and call for the others? Yoshimo and Viconia were not quite out of sight. Or did she run forwards and try to help? She could hear the spellwords Edwin was uttering and knew his impending fireball was about to set the forest alight. Eventually she decided to do both. Calling up a Fireshield with a familiar gesture and a single word of power, Elatharia took in a deep breath and called behind herself.
"Yoshimo! Viconia! We have a problem!"
And then she ran forwards, hearing the snarling of some large animal.
She had not expected to round the corner, her Fireshield crackling around her, and see a trio of bears pawing at the ground at various points around Edwin and Korgan. They were impressively large, larger than those that she had sometimes seen on the Coast Way. When the first one charged, Korgan pushed Edwin out of the way sharply – sending the wizard's spell sputtering out at the last second. With a puff of smoke and a curse Edwin stumbled backwards and fell hard…but out of the line of attack, keeping enough wits about him to call up a spellshield. For his part Korgan gave a mighty roar and raised his axe, meeting the bear's charge.
It was a peculiar scene, and in the cramped – and rather flammable – conditions, it was difficult to choose a sensible course of action that would not result in the deaths of both her friends either by action or inaction. As it was Korgan had been fortunate (or perhaps very adept) for he had landed a killing blow upon the first bear with his charge and turned just in time to roll out of the way of the second – by this time Elatharia had thought to send a Stun spell towards the third bear and the animal only struggled against the rising rings of magical power for a moment before freezing in its place. Edwin was scrambling to his feet, eyes blazing with rage, and fire began to gather in his palms as he fairly snarled the appropriate words. Recognising this incantation for a famous Alteration spell, Melf's Minute Meteors, Elatharia was concentrating on calling up a Cone of Cold to counter its incandescent effects upon the surrounding forest when she heard a snarl beside her.
"Elatharia!" Viconia's shout came a moment too late, followed by the whistle of one of Yoshimo's arrows.
Turning towards the succeeding yelp, Elatharia saw a wolf of all things listing into her view, newly wounded by Yoshimo's arrow. There was no hint of fear in its bearing, indeed its face was still twisted in a snarl and it was coming towards her through the trees in spite of the wound. Backing up and rethinking her next choice of spell, Elatharia did not expect to hear another growl from her opposite side or the searing pain as a second wolf's teeth sank into her forearm. Screaming, she staggered back and watched in horror as her Fireshield worked against her foe even as it clung on regardless, dying slowly and horribly and still not letting go even as its grip upon her arm sent her stumbling back, kicking and pulling and shrieking in pain.
Only once the animal had stopped moving, Yoshimo's arrows having dealt with the first wolf long before it could join its companion, did Elatharia manage to pry the wolf's jaws from her arm, whimpering from the pain and cursing viciously at the same time. By this time Edwin's fire-based spell had killed the last bear, with help from a newly bloodied Korgan, and set one of the trees alight. Jaheira was running into view shouting angrily at him even as she called upon the forces of the elements to bring forth rain and put out the flames.
Elatharia hardly noticed the voices of Viconia and Anomen until the Helmite crouched in front of her. He took hold of her upper arm and her wrist as gently as he could, though she could not tear her gaze from the slaughter that she, Edwin and Korgan had wrought. She was shaking with the pain of her wound, half-lying on the ground and with her bleeding arm stretched out before her – though she had no recollection of moving into this attitude.
"The…the animals ignored their pain," she heard herself saying, and ignored Anomen's answering words while Viconia chanted over her wound. One bear and one wolf were smouldering still from the fiery magics that she and Edwin had unleashed, the other two bears had been more neatly dealt with by Korgan's well-placed axe swings. "They should have retreated. They had no reason to attack us. They should have felt the pain…" As I did. As he made me feel. To unlock my potential. Part of a greater goal, a necessary evil.
Viconia caught her chin and turned the Transmuter's head to meet her blue eyes as the drow's healing spell coursed through her wound, stopping the bleeding and dulling the pain.
"You are not there," the priestess told her firmly, her thin fingers a little too tight upon Elatharia's chin, "You are not in Irenicus's dungeon. Pull yourself together, rivvil."
"My lady," Anomen was admonishing, stumbling over the polite term as if unsure if such a title was deserved by Viconia, just as Aerie ran into view with Haer'Dalis and Minsc. At some point Mazzy, Valygar and Jan had arrived as well although Elatharia could not recall when.
Angry with herself, Elatharia snarled some wordless warning towards Viconia, pulling away from Sharan priestess and then Helmite alike, dragging herself shakily to her feet and ignoring Anomen's protests. Jaheira was looking at the deaths they had caused with sorrow, bending to consider the bodies of the fallen animals much to Korgan's bemusement and Edwin's derision.
"The wolves should not have been here," Valygar noted quietly, and Minsc nodded ferociously by his side, frowning down at the bodies on the path.
Elatharia hissed when Anomen's second spell knitted together her torn muscles and skin, leaving behind brilliant bruising but nothing more serious. Viconia arched an eyebrow at her as she looked away from the Helmite, as if warning her not to make more of a fool of herself. The Transmuter could not agree more, but her embarrassment at being so caught unawares and proceeding to descend into momentary madness meant that she was as angry with the drow for noticing as she was with herself.
"Oh, by Baervan – why would they have come here?" Aerie asked, approaching Elatharia with a sympathetic look and a clean cloth in her hand. Anomen moved back a step to give her space on the narrow path and when Elatharia did not object the avariel began to help clean away the blood on her arm.
"The bears were all male," Jaheira noted, "And they should not have been working together – they do not look starved."
"You think some other druids did this?" Elatharia surmised, watching Edwin picking his way past the two dead bears and over the wolf which her Fireshield had killed, "They were certainly acting strangely. This one almost bit my arm off even when my Fireshield started to burn it alive." Such tenacity was admirable…but it also made her angry.
Jaheira nodded sombrely, sharing looks with Valygar and Minsc which suggested that both rangers agreed with this hypothesis.
"Perhaps we should make haste to Trademeet then, my Raven," Haer'Dalis put in, smirking a little as Edwin stalked past him glowering darkly and refusing to look at anyone.
The Red Wizard was evidently channelling his anger in order to hide his earlier shock – it did not help his case that he was limping so visibly after his fall. Elatharia nudged Viconia before responding to the tiefling, and although the drow rolled her eyes at the Conjurer's back she did go after him with a healing spell.
"That would be wise," Jaheira agreed grudgingly before Elatharia could speak.
When the others began to head off the druid lingered amongst the bodies of the animals, a thoughtful frown on her face. Elatharia watched her for a moment or two before Aerie tugged on her arm, insisting that they should hurry lest they be caught unawares in the close press of the forest once more. Any discussion on the matter, and what the druid was thinking, would have to wait for Trademeet.