**********
"That has to be, without doubt, the ugliest bandit I have ever seen," Anomen said disdainfully as he assessed the unmoving bandit that had tried to assassinate Nalia, and probably would have succeeded if not for Anomen's quick thinking. He had just dispatched his foe with a downward slash from his longsword when he had heard Irlina's curse. Expecting to see Irlina under attack, he had turned his head towards her voice, but out of the corner of his eye he had seen the masked bandit within moments of cutting Nalia down after somehow shrugging off one of her spells.
Anomen had acted on instinct, reversing his follow-through and launching the sword backwards over his shoulder. He had hoped the sword would impale the bandit in a display of such skill that it surely would have brought him much renown in the great halls of the Order of the Radiant Heart, but it was not to be. His aim was not true and his skill was lacking; the tumbling sword hilt had clipped the bandit on the right temple, knocking him unconscious.
Anomen's companions had heaped praise on him for his resourcefulness and were awed by his ability to land such a perfect knockout blow from a distance, not knowing that the result wasn't exactly what he had intended. He didn't have the courage to tell them the truth, however, and merely accepted the compliments as humbly as an aspiring knight was supposed to. He knew he should have felt a measure of pride for his accidental accomplishment, but he only felt anger at his failure.
Irlina knelt beside the unconscious bandit and lowered the mask that hid the bottom half of his weather worn face. In all of Anomen's life, he had never seen a face covered with so many scars. There were the inevitable battle scars, of course, but there were also burn scars caused by either fire or acid (or both) and other scars with undeterminable causes. Most of the scars overlapped each other and appeared to be very old. There was very little of his face that didn't bear a scar of some sort, and it made it nearly impossible to determine his age.
"This man has led a difficult life," Irlina said with a hint of sympathy.
"My lady, it does not excuse the fact that he is a thief and murderer!" Anomen shot angrily. The girl's compassion for people who did not deserve it was truly galling at times. It was no wonder that she and Nalia had become such fast friends.
Irlina stood to her full height and faced Anomen, refusing to be cowed. "I never said it did! I merely made an observation, and you twist it to imply that I'm making excuses for him?"
"Are you saying that you weren't?"
"Of course I wasn't!" Irlina exclaimed. She pointed at the unconscious man at her feet. "But look at him and tell me you think this man has had an easy life, which was the only point I was making."
Anomen glanced down briefly at the dark-haired bandit's scarred face before returning his gaze to Irlina. "It matters not what I think. He made a choice to rob and kill. Now he will face justice for his crimes. He'll get no sympathy from me."
Irlina threw up her hands in frustration. "Gods, you are impossible! I didn't ask you to feel sympathy for him, now did I? And yes, maybe I do feel a little sympathy for him. So what? Don't you dare pass judgment on me for it! You are not yet a knight, Anomen!"
Anomen's righteous fury was punctured by her words as the years of frustration trying to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a knight of the Order came flooding back. She was right; he was no knight, no matter how badly he wanted to be one. He had no right to pass judgment on others when he himself was deemed unworthy in the eyes of the Order. The enduring shame of it deflated any argument he had left in him.
Jaheira broke the awkward silence that had fallen over the group. "What are we to do with him then?"
Irlina was lost in thought for a moment before she replied. "First, we'll bind him. Then we'll question him. Then we'll take him to Trademeet with us."
"And then we will turn him over to the authorities, yes?" Jaheira asked.
"I haven't decided yet," Irlina answered flatly, which was followed by the expected chorus of disbelief and outrage.
**********
Four hours later, Thayan awoke to find himself lying on his side with his hands tied behind is back and his feet bound with rope at the ankles. As he struggled to prop himself into a sitting position, a wave of pain and nausea rippled in his head, causing him to wince and groan. Over the crackling sounds of the fire he heard approaching footsteps. Thayan looked up at the female form standing over him, his right temple protesting in a jolt of pain at the movement.
"Awake at last, I see," the woman said. "Good. How are you feeling?"
"How do you think?!" Thayan spat angrily, causing another wave of pain and nausea.
"My name is Irlina," she said, apparently ignoring his ire. "What's yours?"
Thayan looked around at the camp to see if any of his comrades were prisoners, but only the sleeping forms of the adventurers were visible around the campfire. The ambush had failed, he realized, and he was their only prisoner. "So you killed them all?"
Irlina shook her head. "No, only six of them. The rest fled into the woods."
The thought of his comrades fleeing like frightened rabbits would have made Thayan chuckle if it wasn't for the fact that they had abandoned him while doing so. He realized she was watching him, still expecting an answer to her initial question. "Thayan," he said.
Irlina arched an eyebrow. "Is that your name or your nationality?"
"Both."
"Convenient. But that's not your real name, is it?" she asked bemusedly. He didn't answer. "Alright then, Thayan, how many more bandits are out there?"
"A thousand," he said with a straight face.
"Where's your base camp?"
"What base camp?"
"Look, Thayan, if you don't cooperate, I'll have no choice but to turn you over to the Trademeet militia. Give me some answers that I can pass on to them and I might be persuaded to keep you with us."
Thayan looked into Irlina's brown eyes. Living among thieves and liars for most of his life had trained him to spot the telltale signs of deceit in a person's body language, and even in the flickering fire light he could tell she was being sincere. She had obviously recognized his unique 'gift' and was offering him a chance at life in order to take advantage of it, exactly like Antonio had done two summers ago. But what kind of life was she offering? The life of an adventurer? A life on the road facing dangerous monsters and exploring old catacombs and ruins? Who knows what terrors they could face in those dank, dark tunnels…twisting endlessly downward…into the pit of the utter blackness...the passages narrowing…trapping…suffocating…
Thayan fought the surging wave of panic threatening to overwhelm him. He shook his head vehemently, despite the pain it caused. No, it wasn't possible. He'd rather die than endure that. It wasn't much of a choice at all.
"I'll take my chances with the militia," he said coldly.
Irlina was shocked by the answer. "But why? You know they'll execute you, right?"
Thayan simply nodded.
"And you know they'll probably interrogate you with a lot more…vigor than I am, right?" she hinted.
Thayan smiled without a trace of humor. "You offer me a choice between certainty and uncertainty. I choose certainty."
Irlina shrugged. "Fine, suit yourself. It's probably no less than you deserve."
Thayan had no doubts about that. In a way, he was relieved that it would finally be over, especially the sleepless nights. He would truly be free. It was comforting in a way.
The rest of the evening passed with barely a word exchanged between them as Irlina continued her watch. She offered him some food, but he refused. Only after she informed him that he had better keep his strength up for the long journey to Trademeet because he would be shouldering their heaviest pack did he finally agree to eat despite the lingering nausea from his head wound.
Thayan fell asleep shortly after midnight and drifted into the familiar embrace of the nightmares.
**********
A splash of cold water startled the bandit from his restless slumber.
"Rise and shine, scum," said Anomen with a self-satisfied smirk while holding an empty cup that had held water from a nearby brook but moments before.
Nalia, who was still in the process of packing her gear, shook her head and said, "Do you have to be so mean to him, Anomen? I'm the one he tried to kill, but you don't see me behaving like a lout, do you?"
"My lady, one day you will learn that not everyone is deserving of respect, least of all a bandit," Anomen stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes, yes, I know. No need to get into that again," said Nalia, rolling her eyes.
An hour later, the party was on the move again. Minsc led the way as usual, scouting well ahead of the group. Jaheira stayed at the head of the main group, as was her preference, followed by Nalia and Irlina. Their prisoner, whose wrists were still tied together, followed the two women. They had looped the straps from Anomen's heavy pack under Thayan's arms and over his shoulders so he couldn't throw off the pack and attempt to escape. If he tried to run away with the pack, the weight would ensure that he didn't get far before collapsing from exhaustion. Anomen brought up the rear of the group in order to keep a watchful eye on the bandit.
Irlina glanced back at Thayan. He was managing all right with the heavy pack, but the day was shaping up to be a warm one, and they were nearing the edge of the forest and the welcome shade would soon disappear. Most of the day's march would likely be under a cloudless sky over rolling hills. Still, she doubted he would slow them down much. Indeed, he seemed eager to face his fate in Trademeet.
It didn't make any sense to her. Thayan had chosen the certainty of death over the uncertainty of life with an adventuring party. What was it about the adventuring life that could instill such fear in a man? And it was definitely fear; she had seen it in his dark eyes for a brief moment as he contemplated her offer. Maybe he was a coward? No, his many battle scars attested to his bravery in combat. That wasn't it. What did adventuring parties do that bandits did not? Help people for one thing, she chuckled to herself. The thought that he would rather die than help people was laughable, though. Nobody was that evil.
One thing was certain: the bandit had a way of defeating magic that no one else in her company possessed; he would be an invaluable asset against an archmage like Irenicus. Even if they managed to avoid a confrontation with Irenicus, they would undoubtedly face other powerful spellcasters, maybe even the Cowled Wizards themselves, in their quest to free Imoen, so Thayan would still be extremely useful. She played with the idea of forcing him to join them before immediately rejecting the notion; no, that went against everything she stood for.
The only trick she had left was to appeal to his bandit nature. Irlina slowed her pace until Thayan had caught up to her, then adjusted her pace to match his.
"So, have you reconsidered my offer, by chance?" she asked.
"No," Thayan replied.
"I give everyone in my company a weekly stipend," she offered. "Plus, we evenly split what we make from selling the stuff we find. You could easily earn ten times what you did by robbing people."
Thayan looked at Irlina, studying her for any sign of deception. She returned his stare without flinching. "You're exaggerating," he said.
"Am I?" She gestured to her comrades. "Take a look around. Do you see anyone here that's wanting for anything?"
Thayan appraised Irlina's equipment. Her longbow, though not ornately decorated, was of the finest craftsmanship, he conceded. Her enchanted armor alone was probably worth a small fortune. In fact, everyone in the party wielded weapons and armor that most armies would envy. They certainly weren't destitute; it was why Antonio was so keen on ambushing them in the first place. In contrast, Thayan stood out like a sore thumb with his worn blue tunic and tattered gray trousers. He had thought that his clothes were better than the average bandit's, but walking amongst these people, he suddenly felt very poor.
"Well?" Irlina asked. "What do you say?"
She could see he was extremely tempted, but something was keeping him from jumping at the opportunity. Whatever was causing his fear of adventuring, it was powerful.
"Have you ventured into many, ah, dungeons?" he asked tentatively.
Irlina laughed. "Yes, that's where all the monsters live…with their treasures."
"I see," he said. After a few moments of consideration, Thayan finally shook his head and said, "I'm going to have to say no. Just hand me over to the militia."
Was it the dungeons he was afraid of or the monsters within? Irlina wouldn't begrudge him if it was either. Dungeons were the scariest places on Toril, after all. Only the brave or the foolish dared to explore dungeons, and she was convinced that she was equal parts of both.
Monster could be found just about anywhere, though, and he had asked specifically about dungeons. She decided to try a hunch. "You know," she began, "I've seen the cells in Trademeet."
"Really?" he asked, but his tone was of disinterest.
"Yes. Cernd was being held there when we arrived. He's a druid who was sent here to investigate the animal attacks that were going on. The good townsfolk of Trademeet thought he was causing the attacks, so they tried to lynch him. Fortunately for Cernd, the High Merchant had him arrested before anything drastic could happen. After questioning him, they realized that he was innocent."
Thayan made no indication that he either was interested in the story or was even listening to it, but she continued anyway.
"But they were worried what the mob would do if they released him, so he stayed in the cells for his own protection. That's when we showed up. The High Merchant asked us to escort him to the local druid grove, and we did. Turns out, the grove's leader was the one causing all the problems, but Cernd killed him in a duel and stayed behind to make sure everything got back to normal."
"Fascinating," Thayan said sarcastically.
Irlina pretended that she didn't notice the sarcasm. Now it was time for the hook. "Yes, I'm sure Cernd's a lot happier now being out of that tiny cell. He seemed really agitated when we first met him there. It was barely big enough for a bed and not having a window must have been torture for a druid, the poor thing."
She had noticed how Thayan had tensed slightly as she described the cell. So that was it.
"Well, I have to talk to Jaheira about something. Let me know if you need anything," she said cheerfully before jogging ahead to where the half-elf druid was walking, leaving the bandit with quite a lot to think about.