Out Of The Shadows

by Coutelier

Long ago, the infant child of Bhaal taken in by Gorion was killed in a dreadful accident. But all was not lost, for there was another Bhaalspawn hidden away in Candlekeep, and this is her story.

7. Ch 6: Castle of Illusion

Out Of The Shadows

Chapter Six:

Castle Of Illusion

They had brought this on themselves. Kalah gazed into the pool through his bright yellow eyes. He watched impassively as the waters showed him the people screaming, running, trampling each other as they tried desperately to escape the world changing around them; one man became entombed in a wall as it materialised around him. Others ran in terror from illusionary monsters; a few were brave enough to try to fight, shielding their families, children... but doing so only gave the illusions power, making them whole. They died. Kalah had no sympathy for them at all. They'd brought it on themselves.

"All this would be driving me up the wall," Kalah's eyes shot away from the pool to the old Gnome, Quayle. The younger Gnome turned the massive bulk of his new body toward the old fool, huge muscles twitching and flexing. "Er... if I wasn't up here already, that is."

Kalah sneered and growled. With a little wave of his hand the sparkling sphere pinning the old man high up near the ceiling of what was now Kalah's throne room fizzed out, dropping him. Quayle fumbled around for his spectacles before slowly rising to his feet.

"Kalah?" The old man squinted at the huge beast with brown and orange skin, hunched forwards with its back bent bow like by the weight of its own arms. "H-how, Kalah? Why?"

"Why?" The monster laughed rapturously. "You think to ask that now? Perhaps you should have paid attention before you made a clown out of me... instead of spending all your time with that wingless brat... you're no better than my father," Kalah's face contorted in contempt and rage, "I was the one destined for greatness, not her!"

"Oh, Kalah," Quayle shook his head sadly, "I tried to help you; I did. But magic was just not for you. Now if you'd gone into griffon breeding like I'd suggested, you'd have found it a very calming, rewarding..."

"You still dare to mock me, old man? Do you not see what I have accomplished," Kalah swept one of his massive limbs around the former circus tent, now a marble throne room with murals of women holding jugs adorning the floors and walls. "We are in a new realm, now. A realm where I am the master."

"I don't know what you've done, Kalah, but I know you couldn't have done it with your own power. This is a power you've borrowed, and as such you don't have the wisdom to remain master here for very long."

"My power here is absolute!"

"No one's power is absolute; what you have done here is light up a beacon that every wizard, sorcerer, wandering hero and adventurer is going to flock to. You might survive a few of them, but sooner or later you will be destroyed."

"No one will ever laugh at me again," Kalah hissed, "they will never mock me, treat me like I'm worthless..."

"Oh, stop trying to paint yourself as nothing but a victim," Quayle snapped back at the monster, "it's pitiful. Maybe people did laugh, maybe your father treated you badly... I don't know. I tried to help, but it was still up to you to find a way to break the cycle, make a conscious decision to be better, instead of just festering in your own self pity..."

"Be quiet!" The ogre rumbled in anger. "Beast, beast... you're all beasts!" His yellow eyes flashed, and Quayle watched in shocked horror his own hand starting to melt. His whole body spread and oozed, turning into a viscous jelly. "You see!" Kalah laughed.

"Well, this is most unsettling indeed," the Jelly still managed to speak, but Kalah turned away from it. He had a realm to master, after all; why waste his time on an insignificant, feeble old man? Perhaps he would have some more fun with him later though...

"Kalah, you fool!" Agitated, the Ogre stomped over to a pedestal and plucked the ring from it. There was no way it could fit now; it seemed so tiny, like the slightest pressure from his finger and thumb could grind it to dust. "You were supposed to make sure the girl was inside the Circus tent before you used the wish!"

"Fool, am I?" Kalah narrowed his yellow eyes. "You forget, 'my lord', I know these people. As soon as the wingless brat suspects her dear Uncle Quayle might be in trouble, she will come running to his protection... you see?"

The pool showed him the entrance to the Circus tent, and sure enough the flaps were blown inwards as Aerie burst through them. She paused a moment, her eyes peeling back in shock and awe at the sight greeting her, but then she tentatively stepped forwards again.

"I don't see why she's so important," the ogre grumbled, "she's just a worthless slave girl."

"I do not appreciate your tone, Gnome. The power you have now is but a fraction of all I possess; whatever I have given I can just as easily take away again."

"And yet this girl frightens you," Kalah grinned.

"So great is my power that I have seen the many paths that lead into the future, and every time mine crosses with hers, I... she must not live. I warn you not to dally, Kalah; finish her quickly!"

"If she were such a threat, why not finish her yourself?" The ogre glared at the girl; her, the worst beast of them all. The one who pretended to be so sympathetic, so nice... so utterly deceitful. She laughed like all the rest, mocked him behind his back. "Unless you can't... or you're too afraid, perhaps?"

"I wish for amusement... but I don't want you getting so caught up in your petty revenge and dreams of power that you forget what I want you to do..."

"What you want no longer matters to me," Kalah chuckled, "I no longer have a use for you... but don't worry; the girl will never be leaving here. But I'm going to use her for my own amusement first."

"No, Kalah! " The ring cried out desperately as the Ogre made a large glass bottle materialise as he stepped out on to a balcony at the top of his tower, overlooking his new realm; a rock floating above an abyss, the black sky only interrupted by occasional flashes of blue lightning. "If you don't listen to me you will almost certainly lose everything...she's far too dangerous to play games with," the Ogre shrugged, dropped the ring into the bottle and put a cork in it. He then went and put the bottle back on the pedestal.

"Now," Kalah clapped and rubbed his hands, heading back towards the pool with a triumphant smile, "come closer Quayle; I want you to hear all your niece's cries of pain. I do hope she's a screamer... in any case, let us get this show on the road..."

---

Imoen burst through the flaps of the Circus tent... and skidded to a halt.

"That's... not right," she stammered. She was standing on some rocky, a whole wide ring of rock she could see disappearing into the gloom encircling a berg of rock, on which stood a tall, white, tiered tower. At least Aerie had stopped running away from her as well, and had stopped just before a bridge across the gap between the ring and the berg, her face a mix of apprehension and wide eyed astonishment.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" The Elf gasped, probably hearing Imoen approach behind her.

"Like this?" Imoen thought back for a moment. "Erm... not... not exactly like this, no. Either the tent has suddenly gotten a lot bigger on the inside, or we're not in Athkatla anymore. Either way, whatever did this has gotta be way too powerful for us to deal with. We should go back. Now." Still troubled by the memory of escaping from Irenicus, no thanks to herself, she tried taking Aerie's arm, but the blonde shook the redhead off easily.

"Quayle must be in that tower somewhere," Aerie insisted, "I-I can't leave until I've found him."

"Why not just leave it to the guards and those Cowled Wizards?"

"The guards won't do anything," Aerie said with a bitter scowl, "a-and, after what happened to them earlier I doubt the wizards will be in a hurry to get here either... I'm not sure if their power could even reach inside this place. U-uncle Quayle might not have that long."

"You don't know what's in that tower!" Imoen headed off Aerie just before the Elf could set foot on the bridge. "And neither of us have any weapons."

"I..." Aerie hesitated for a second, but then was resolute again. "I have magic."

"Well that's swell, kiddo. But you ever tried casting a spell when you've got about twenty kobolds trying to chew your butt off? That kind of thing really breaks your concentration... you need some kind of back up."

Aerie paused for thought. Imoen could see all her doubts, nervousness, the Elf's whole body was tense so she was clearly afraid, which was wise in the circumstances... but she was still determined to go on. After a moment she reached into a little pocket on her belt and pulled out a small shard of glass or crystal. In response to Aerie's wishes, it seemed, the little shard grew in her hand, forming a hilt and then a long, sharp blade.

"Where did you get that?" Imoen asked. The weapon chimed as Aerie took a few tentative practice swings.

"B-Bentha gave it to me," the Elf answered, "she... she said I would need it, soon. This must be what she meant..."

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" The redhead asked, doubtfully.

"We... w-we have mock battles in the show sometimes," Aerie said, looking rather uncertainly at the blade herself, "I-I've watched them practice for it a few times..." the Elf swallowed back all her uncertainty again, turning it back into determination. "Y-you should go back... I have to go on."

"You'll just get yourself killed," Imoen grumbled, seeing now that there was no way of convincing Aerie out of this, short of punching and knocking her out, and Imoen wasn't confident she could do that very easily. The Avariel was absolutely determined. "You know that, don't you?"

"Quayle saved my life before," the elf said, trying and failing at a reassuring smile, "so... I-I have to try and save him. Goodbye, Imoen," she said with a small hug, "it was nice meeting you. We... we had fun, I think."

Imoen watched helplessly again as Aerie headed across the bridge, cautious, furtive, but with absolutely no doubt about her purpose. Imoen remembered her failure with the Duergar; she'd tried to help but just made it worse. She wasn't even supposed to be here, anyway; it was supposed to be some other, much stronger Bhaalspawn... but, she was here. And that was that really, wasn't it? Aerie could never abandon Quayle, and Imoen couldn't turn her back on some naive, inexperienced but ridiculously brave bufflehead who clearly needed all the help she could get. Imoen wasn't strong, or that tough really, or even particularly skilled with a sword... but she must have learnt something travelling with Jaheira that would improve their chances slightly.

"Oh no," she shook her head, running after Aerie again, "you don't get to go off being brave like that and leave me feeling all guilty. No. I'm coming with whether you like it or not."

"B-but..." Aerie started to protest.

"No buts, kid. Just remember," Imoen leant forward, poking the Elf in the shoulder, "if I get killed in here, it'll be your fault." The redhead harrumphed, suddenly taking the lead as they headed further into the realm. The Elf was rather confused, but she kept treading on as well.

"Er... thank you, I suppose," she said.

"No need to thank me," Imoen said, trying to appear non-chalant about it, "Little Imoen has never let a friend down, no sir! Well... okay, there was the whole thing when I nearly blew all my friends up... and another time when I may have accidently set fire to the tent Jaheira was sleeping in while trying to cook dinner... but those are isolated incidents. I'd say stuff like that only happens about once every three months, max."

"Uh... huh..."

They were nearly all the way across the bridge, when Imoen's hand shot up in front of Aerie. Before them had appeared a little swirl of pink smoke, like the whirlpools you saw if you unplugged something, only instead of draining away this was getting bigger. Much bigger, and wider. It then started to solidify, taking the form of a man sat cross legged on a little cloud with a spiky moustache and a turban on his head. Aerie gasped, stepping back and instinctively raising her sword, body tensed... but Imoen put a hand on her. The Elf turned to the redhead with a questioning gaze. Imoen shook her head; there was no point in fighting, yet.

She hadn't seen one before, but this looked to her like a Djinn, or a genie as some people called it. Very rare, very powerful... Although it might at least explain what had happened here; a Djinn that had been trapped in an object like a lamp or ring or anything was obligated to grant its master any wish. On the positive side though, it didn't seem to have much interest in fighting them, it was greeting them with a big friendly grin, and it probably had no love for its master. Djinns were notorious for being treacherous and unpredictable... well, Imoen would get grumpy too if she was forced to live in a lamp. Not a whole lot of space for entertaining guests.

"Greetings, little mortals!" The Genie said with a hearty laugh.

"Um... h-hello?" Aerie responded nervously.

"Excellent! Now enough friendly banter... there was something he wanted me to say... oh, yes!" The Djinn cleared his throat, "Oh, wayfarers who have come to amuse the mighty Lord Kalah! Before ye may proceed on your quest toward enlightenment, you must answer my riddle! It's a little bit cliché, I know, but I think when you do these genre pieces it's sometimes best to just really go for it unashamedly..."

"Ka... K-Kalah?" Aerie blinked in astonishment.

"The master, yes. But if you seek an audience you must first prove yourselves worthy."

"Kalah summoned you? But... h-how?"

"He is the Lord here. His word is law, his power absolute, his eyes see all, his brows... are the browiest. That is all you need to know. Now are you ready to answer the riddle?"

"I've only got sixty years left to live," Imoen muttered. They weren't going to learn anything from this Genie. Even if it wanted to tell them anything, it was likely that Kalah was actually watching them, probably from the top of that tower, and since the Genie was bound it couldn't say anything. It didn't matter; if Kalah had wished for all this then he was the only one who could undo it, one way or another. "Let's just get it over with."

"I'd say sixty years is a tad optimistic. But anyway... A princess is as old as the prince will be when the princess is twice as old as the prince was when the princess' age was half the sum of their present age. So, how old are they? And to prove you're not just copying the answer from somewhere you'll have to show me your working out, too."

"Heh... I've got this Aerrers," Imoen stepped forward, feeling a sudden surge of confidence, "it so happens that maths was my best subject back in Candlekeep... really, the only thing I ever got any praise for. Well, I was good at handstands, too; before I realised that the reason boys kept asking me to do them was less about admiring my dexterity and more to do with the skirts I wore back then..."

"So... the answer, please?"

"Ha! It's simple algebra, bufflehead. So, you got the Princess, A, who is as old as the Prince, B, will be in X number of years when the Princess will be twice as old as the Prince was Y years ago... so we've got four unknowns, but you can make three equations from them which you can then simplify as follows..."

"Um... actually, I've changed my mind. Could you just skip to the answer?"

"Well, I think any age when the Prince is three quarters the age of the Princess would work. Three and four, six and eight, twelve and sixteen..."

"Good!" The Djinn clapped his hands together in an effort to save everyone's sanity.

"I actually got a gold badge in my workbook for that... although it might have just been to cover up the picture of a naked man I'd drawn..."

"Er... y-yes. I think perhaps you should just go on in, now," the Djinn bowed and bid that them enter, "I know answering riddles can sometimes be tedious, but, when Kalah is done toying with you perhaps it will help you to consider how lucky you are that you won't have to answer another ever again," he puffed and vanished, although his voice lingered a few seconds longer, "be wary of the ring inside there. It would be a shame if that ruby red head of yours were damaged in any way..."

Ruby red? Imoen wouldn't have said her hair was that red. In this light it looked darker, maybe... in any case, Aerie wasn't stopping to dwell on these things; she was already marching up to the door of the tower.

At least she had her sword, various spell components stuffed in a little pouch on her belt, a medal in the shape of a Raccoon's head hanging around her neck beneath her dress that served to focus divine power. She was also still carrying the medicine case... all things considered she was remarkably well equipped to embark on a crazy solo mission, like maybe the Gods or fate or destiny or whatever had been guiding her to this point. They hadn't been so kind to Imoen; she had the wand she'd attacked Irenicus with, which Aerie had kindly returned, and... well, nothing really. She was wearing a tunic which, once any 'action' started, she had already used her math skills to calculate would offer no protection whatsoever.

Maybe she should ask Aerie to share her spell components. Magic required that you remember lots of incantations and gestures, but lots of spells also required a material element; little things that helped to further shape the magic. Like if you wanted to make fire, you needed something that had fire in it, like brimstone or maybe just a little piece of wood. It was all perfectly logical. But she didn't want to weaken and drain Aerie's resources. If only there was...

Something touched Imoen's foot. She looked down... now that was an extraordinary bit of good luck...

"What is it?" Aerie asked, looking back at her.

"Someone must have dropped this while they were running out," Imoen smiled back, picking up the pouch filled with little bits of chipped rock, wood, crystals and little sachets filled with alchemical substances. Now if she could remember her incantations correctly she might actually be able to defend herself in here.

"Strange... I-I didn't see any..." but before either could wonder any more about where the pouch had come from, they heard scream coming from inside the tower and instinctively both ran towards it, in the circumstances suggesting that their own survival instincts could have been better developed.

It wasn't a monster that had caused the scream, but another creature that could be equally as dangerous; especially now that it was free and had its eyes fixed upon its prey, its former tormentor, Tira. No chair was going to save her now, but Aerie did.

"Stay back!" The Lion tamer cried out desperately, crawling backwards away from the beast having lost her whip. She longer had any power over the animal, now eyeing her hungrily flexing its powerful just about to pounce... then a flash and a bang and the creature snarled, blinded and confused. It swiped at the air in front of it, but feeling nothing it turned and fled down one of the white corridors. Imoen arrived in time to see Aerie with her hand outstretched, slowly inhaling.

"You?" Tira turned her head and squinted, as if not sure what she was seeing. "H-how...? Why?"

"Because," Aerie walked around and offered a hand to the bully, "I'm not a beast. H-how is a little harder to explain. To be honest, I-I wasn't really thinking much about what I was doing..."

Tira took the hand and helped herself up, while giving Aerie a suspicious stare. As soon as she was on her feet she sneered, snapped her hand away from the Elf and with a little shove then turned and ran back the way Imoen and Aerie had came.

"Hey!" Imoen yelled, turning after her, "she just saved your life... ungrateful gulley penny..."

"Let her go," Aerie sighed, "s-she's just scared... a-and she's not why we're here, anyway."

"Hmph," Imoen folded her arms. It wasn't like they ever saved people for the gratitude, but treating Aerie like dirt like that... although the Elf was right, probably. Tira was scared, and with good reason, and... "oh... do you think she'll go back to her...?"

"Eh... probably..."

"You think, maybe... considering the circumstances, we should..."

"I have to find Quayle."

"Yeah..."

A low rumbling growl bounced down the corridor in front of them, freezing both young women to the spot.

"That... that wasn't a Lion, was it?" Imoen said, her eyelids still and unblinking.

"No," Aerie responded meekly, likewise unable to close her eyes.

"You scared?"

"A... a little..."

"Good. I mean... i-it's like Jaheira said to me; courage doesn't mean not ever getting scared. You've got to use fear; it'll keep you alert. Give you energy..." Imoen's motivating speech was cut short by the creature that appeared, stalking down the corridor on hind legs that bent forward like those of a dog, supporting a powerful upper body and arms with really, really big claws and a snout with huge, pointy teeth. Imoen's legs closed together, her knees bent like in a curtsy while she grimaced for an instant. "Ohh... it hasn't made me do that for a while though..."

The creature opened its jaw wide enough that it could swallow a head whole, screaming at them with a deafening roar. It was going to charge. Imoen immediately began an incantation; a bolt of lightning ought to cut the critter down to size...

"Wait!" Aerie suddenly cut in front of Imoen, standing there with her eyes closed and her arms outstretched. There was no time for the redhead to protest or quiz her about what the hell she thought she was doing... the creature rushed forward, its claw raised to come crashing down and slice the Elf down the middle. And then it vanished.

"Heh," the Elf opened her eyes, clearly scarcely believing it herself, "I... I-I was right," she grinned.

"Apparently," Imoen narrowed her eyes, not really that pleased at all. Aerie may have been right, and saved Imoen from wasting a spell, but still it was a pretty big risk to take. "How did you know it was an illusion?" The Elf pointed at the ground just behind the redhead; all she could see was the stone floor and... of course. "It hadn't any shadow. But, some of the people we saw running out had clearly been attacked..."

"T-trying to fight the illusions might give them power... m-make them solid."

"Which means there might already be quite a few 'solid' ones pestering about here," Imoen sighed, "listen Aerie, that was brave n'all, but... never do anything like that again unless you can run it by someone else first, okay?"

"I-I'm sorry," Aerie deflated, lowering her head.

"It's more important to me for you to be alive than for you to be right."

They continued into the tower, fully alert now to the presence of any danger. Although they were also aware of the possibility of there still being innocent people in here, which was just as well since the next thing they ran into, or rather almost ran into them, was a crying middle aged woman.

"You... you're not..." the sobbing woman touched their faces, "you're real! You... you have to help me! I... I lost my son in here..."

"We'll find him," Imoen tried to assure her. All they had to do was stop Kalah; then everything should go back to how it was and anyone still trapped inside should reappear inside the Circus tent. They didn't really need any more distractions like this. "Just run out the way we came; you'll find the exit over a bridge..."

"No! I can't leave my son trapped in here with all these... all these monsters!" She insisted, imploring Imoen through her tear stained eyes. There was no time for this...

"Look... you're an adult, so do what you want. Just make sure to stay well behind us, okay?"

The woman nodded and they proceeded, although her constant jumping and whimpering at every little sound was a little bit irritating. The next room they entered was vast; they were standing on a walkway that was like one of the spokes of a huge wheel, the abyss beneath them, and at the centre were the stairs leading up to the next level; they were still pretty certain that Kalah would be found overlooking his realm from the very top of the tower.

"Quite a nice place Kalah's made for himself here," Imoen gazed over the edge, into depths; she wondered if there might be someone on the 'other side', if there was one, looking back up at her. "Although... I prefer my rooms to be a bit more cosy."

"I-its the lack of railings that concerns me," Aerie said. There were railings, or at least a little wall made up of stone columns a couple of feet high, but there were lots of gaps in it which did seem like a bit of a health and safety issue.

The woman screamed suddenly, grabbing hold of Imoen and pointing desperately. It was another, although not like the one they'd seen in the corridor. This was one resembled a muscular human, but with green skin and a pig-like face; an Orc. It had no weapons, but it was running towards them flailing its arms, and it definitely was casting a shadow.

Imoen tried to shake off the woman, but she held fast, sobbing and whimpering piteously. It was left to Aerie; wide eyed and frightened, she raised her sword anyway, preparing to strike the creature as soon as it came in range... but she paused. The Orc had flinched, and then it raised its arms over itself protectively... that was strange behaviour for an illusionary monster. And then the illusion shattered and it was just an ordinary man fearing for his life... he must have just been asking them for help. Or trying to warn them. They heard laughter next; chortles. Just behind the redhead.

"Imoen!" Aerie gasped. The redhead managed to turn herself around to face the woman. She saw her white skin turn green, and then tear off most of her dress as muscle ballooned under it. The real Orc slapped her huge hands around Imoen's arms, lifting and then throwing her around, over the edge...

The redhead his the ground, skidded and then felt herself falling. But only for an instant; something had managed to get hold of her. She looked up and saw Aerie's head poking just over the ledge, holding onto Imoen's arm with both of her own. The Elf had managed to loop one of her arms around one of the little stone columns, the only thing preventing her from being over as well. But where was the Orc?

"Aerie!" Imoen cried out, but there was nothing the Elf could do without letting go of her. The Orc appeared over the blonde, having somehow obtained a spear, then chortled as it thrust the tip through Aerie's shoulder, twisting it around. The Elf winced in pain, her eyes watered, but still she refused to let go. "Duck!"

Aerie pulled her head in, while Imoen pointed up her wand unleashing a small sphere of charged energy that cracked through the air striking the Orc's face. It's hands went up to its head as it staggered back slightly, and then toppled forwards, just missing Imoen as it started its endless fall. The redhead grabbed hold of Aerie with her other hand, swung and got a foot on the ledge and then pulled the rest of herself over.

She didn't stop to rest; Aerie was still lying face down, a little pool of blood forming under her, breathing lightly. Imoen turned her over, resting the Elf's head on her lap as she fumbled through the medicine case. She pulled the cork out of a small blue bottle; it had a pleasant, fruity smell like wine. Although Imoen knew from far too much experience that it didn't taste nearly as sweet. She poured a little over Aerie's wound, and then held the bottle to the Elf's lips getting her to drink. A moment later, when Imoen had wiped away the blood, the hole the spear had made had almost completely closed, and the Elf had opened her eyes.

"Either you're one of the bravest people I've ever met," Imoen smiled gratefully, "or you have really got to start thinking things through more."

There was no time to celebrate; more of those dog creatures appeared, yapping and snarling, from every entrance to this central chamber, including the one they had used. Imoen pulled Aerie up and the two of them ran for the stairs; the Elf began an incantation as she was being pulled along, and once they reached the top of the staircase she turned around, pointing her sword back down. The creatures were only a second behind them, but the blonde finished and the glass sword lit up. A cloud of energy shot out, sparkling and filling the air with a strange metallic smell as it cut the first creature in two and then continued bouncing from wall to wall back down the staircase tearing through everything in its path.

It was a good move; showed great instinct in battle. Unfortunately, the battle was far from over.

"Yeah... we both ought to have thought this through," Imoen said. Around them the room was thick with even more creatures; some real, some illusions. They were pressed together so tightly that it was impossible to tell which was which.

Imoen locked her fingers together and turned her palms outwards. A fiery ball appeared between them, then shot outwards creating a column of bright yellow and orange flame into the oncoming monsters, moving it as she twisted her torso around the room so that it went through like a scythe. Behind her, Aerie began chanting, calling on Baervar to protect them before proceeding to cast other magic to harden their skins, create an aura around them that would absorb some damage like a suit of armour.

There were just too many of the creatures; quite a few fell instantly to Imoen's flame, but some carried on despite their fur being burned away, and they started to leap over the fire scythe. Aerie had to stop her incantations as a monster managed to run around the wall to her side. She swung her sword which cut through flesh and bone with ease, cutting off its snout. But still there were others coming.

Imoen had no weapon; all she could do was dodge and weave once the creatures had surrounded here. Of course, while she was doing she couldn't go on the offensive. She needed at least a few seconds to concentrate and coordinate her words and gestures enough to cast any more spells... they needed an exit strategy.

One of the badly burnt dog creatures was pulling itself along the floor; Imoen hadn't noticed it until it managed to catch her shin with its hand-like claw, flipping her over. She landed on her back and started to kick it in the face and snout with her free foot, but with very little effect. Others were closing, lips peeling back as they beared their teeth... really should have thought this whole thing through...

"Bad doggies! No bones for you!" The creatures turned their attention away from Imoen as a new, more dangerous foe entered the fray. "All you will get from Minsc is a good licking!"

The huge bald warrior ran into the middle of them, a huge axe in one hand and a warhammer in the other. The creatures jumped over each other, leaping at him... and went flying away again the instant they did. Jaheira was just behind him, slicing at one of the monsters with her scimitar, before delivering an uppercut with her shield to another one. And the other man they'd met in the dungeon, Yoshimo; he stood still for a moment as one of the creatures ran at him, his hand on the hilt of his sheathed weapon. And then just when it was close, he drew the sword which severed both the monsters arms straight out of the sheath.

Imoen didn't know how they'd got here, and now wasn't really the best time to ask. Fortune was on her side again, and with the creatures attention focused on the warriors she could join the battle with her spells. Monsters froze in place, others collapsed as she sucked from them all their energy, making them easy targets for her comrades. Spheres of white hot magic started to fly, blinding and punching holes through the beasts... with all of them working together the battle was over very quickly.

After the last of the dog creatures fell, the adventurers slowly turned themselves around surveying the piles of bodies, making sure there were no survivors. Eventually, Imoen's eyes met Jaheira's and she felt her heart contract suddenly. She couldn't read the druid's expression... was she pleased to see her? Was she still angry? Maybe she was still pumped up after the battle...

"Um... h-help?" A tiny voice cried out. It enabled Imoen to tear her eyes from Jaheira as she looked around for... Aerie. Where was she?

Minsc found her. One of the creatures had fallen on her sword, but had fallen on her as well pinning the Elf beneath its huge bulk. The Rashemi put aside his weapons and heaved it off her, allowing the Avariel to breathe.

"A pretty lady!" The warrior beamed.

"Er... l-lady?" She blinked in surprise.

"I am the mighty berserker, Minsc, and this," his hand went up to his shoulder, allowing the little hamster to climb onto it, "this is Boo."

"Right... h-hello, Boo," she said, talking like she was in a dream which could have been forgiven for thinking right now.

"Boo likes you! He has a very good feeling, and is rarely ever wrong about people."

"How're you feeling?" Imoen asked, helping the Elf up.

"Strange," Aerie swayed slightly. She looked at the fallen dog creature Minsc had pulled off her, breathing slowly. "I... I-I'm alive? I did... I did that?"

"That's not all you did. You might want to get this looked at it though," Imoen held out Aerie's arm examining the gashes there.

"Oh. I... I don't remember feeling anything..."

"That's adrenalin. It's normal. I used to think I could fly sometimes..." Imoen shared, but then remembered who she was actually talking to. "Oh... sorry, kid."

"Avariel... I mean, some o-older Avariel than I was back then," Aerie shared as well, "they would play this very dangerous game. T-two of them would fly as high as they could, and then they would contract their wings, allowing themselves to fall to the ground. The first to spread their wings and start to fly was deemed the loser... a-assuming they both managed to avoid going splat."

"Sounds dangerous."

"It is... extremely dangerous. I-I never understood why anyone ever wanted to do it... u-until now, that is..."

"It is when we face great danger that we become more united with nature than is possible at any other time," Jaheira said, sheathing her scimitar as she approached the little group. "Almost every animal that has ever lived has at some point to make the same decision; fight or flight. You become more aware, feel a deep connection to ancestors that existed long before recorded time... to some the feeling is intoxicating, and they go to great lengths to experience it again." The Druid stood before the Elf, whose blue eyes peeled back as she must have realised that this primeval instinct was exactly what she felt. "But there is never any point in risking your life just for some cheap thrill, child."

"No, ma'am... I-I know," Aerie nodded, responding to Jaheira's air of authority.

"But never mind about that. Which of you was it who threw a lightning bolt down the stairs? The one that nearly baked me like a spud... hm?"

"Oh, so that's what happened to Minsc's hair," Imoen nudged Aerie, who might not have understood that she was saving her from a lot of pain, "we used to make fun of him because he looked like a girl."

"Er... r-right," the Avariel looked doubtfully up at the huge bald warrior, who appeared to flutter his eyelids a few times.

"Anyway, Aerie, these are my friends. Well, two of them are; Minsc and Boo. And Lady Lovejoy here is Jaheira. And that's... Yoshimo?" Imoen looked suspiciously at the rogue she'd only met briefly before. "I kinda thought you'd have just taken off once we were all out of that place."

"I 'kinda thought' you wouldn't," Jaheira bore into the redhead.

"I'm... sorry Jae," Imoen gulped, "I was just so scared, I... I didn't know what to do. I wasn't exactly myself either; it all got a bit... Randall Tor, in there."

"Being sorry will not make things right," the Druid said, unimpressed.

"No, well... nothing can, can it?" The redhead gestured helplessly.

"No," Jaheira nodded thoughtfully as she exhaled, "you seem to be feeling a lot better, anyway, for which I am glad."

"I-I thought you'd," Imoen suddenly felt her lower lip quivering, "I... thought you'd gone," she sniffed.

"Don't be a fool, child," the Druid held Imoen, embraced her, "Khalid and I made a promise. Have I ever struck you as someone who breaks her word? I could never leave you without knowing you were safe." The redhead sobbed a few times as she embraced Jaheira as well. It was so obvious now; the Druid would always be there no matter what. How could she have ever believed otherwise? Meanwhile everyone else in the room looked around at the suddenly very interesting cracks and other patterns in the walls and ceiling, feeling they were intruding on a very private moment. "That being the case," Jaheira said at last, holding Imoen at arms length again, "what the bloody, bloody hell are you doing here?"

"What am I? Wha... what are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

"I saw the Circus tent light up; I think everyone in the city must have seen it. I had a feeling that your curiosity might get the better of you, too, drawing you in like a moth to a flame."

"Well... not exactly," Imoen looked back at the Avariel, "not this time, anyway. Where'd you get all the new armour and weapons?"

"It is not my first time in Amn. I met an old friend; runs a store now. I will tell you about him later. You still have not answered my question."

"Aerie has save my life at least twice today. I'm helping her to save another; her Uncle is trapped in here, somewhere."

"Ah, yes... the Avariel," Jaheira turned and scrutinised the blonde elf.

"You must forgive me; there is still much in these lands I am unfamiliar with," Yoshimo said, bowing towards Aerie, "what is an Avariel?"

"A very rare type of winged Elf," the Druid explained, "many thought they were extinct."

"Ah... you must forgive me again, then; I don't see any wings..."

"They were cut off quite a few years ago... w-when they became infected," Aerie sighed, "but i-it's not important right now. I-I have to find Uncle Quayle, and stop Kalah before he hurts any more people," she said urgently and insistently, putting her little foot down.

"Hm... plucky little thing, isn't she?" The Kara-Turran grinned.

"She is right," Jaheira nodded, drawing her weapon again, "we can chat more later. Now, let us end this," she said, heading towards the next staircase leading up.

"You're helping?" Imoen asked, as if she really needed to.

"We are here now, are we not? Besides, I could hardly ignore such an unnatural abomination as this. It needs to be cut out like any gangrenous tissue."

She received no argument from anyone. The rest of the journey up the tower was mostly uneventful; they were attacked by the odd stray dog creature but these were dispatched with ease. After a few levels and Imoen lost count of how many stairs, fatigue was starting to affect most of them. Well, Imoen anyway. Although Aerie, she suspected, was running on pure willpower and determination by this point.

"So, did Quayle teach you how to cast protection spells and lightning?" Imoen asked the Elf in an effort to stop herself thinking about how sore her legs were.

"N-no," Aerie shook her head, "he would only teach me illusions a-and Circus magic. But, I... I found one of his old spell books lying around from his adventuring days a-and memorised all the incantations."

"I doubt even Quayle would leave a thing like that 'lying around'. You mean you stole it, dontcha?" The redhead snerked.

"No!" The blonde protested too much. "I... I-I mean... well, he had so many he wasn't going to miss just one, was he? A-anyway, he hardly uses them anymore..."

"You naughty girl."

"Uncle Quayle would tell me stories about when he was an adventurer; a-about ancient temples and artefacts and o-other worlds. But he thinks I'm too soft to be an adventurer... but I-I don't want to spend the rest of my life trapped in the Circus. I want to explore and learn as much as I can about this world and others, and maybe I can find ways to use magic to really help some people. And I'm sure Baervar didn't give me his power just to help a few apes."

"You're not at all put off by all the monsters?"

"No. T-they frighten me, but I-I'm frightened pretty much all the time anyway. They say people are afraid of what they don't know, a-and there's so much I don't know yet. I think I've learnt all I can from the Circus. I don't think I'm weak, either; I've been hurt lots, a-and I've seen a lot of people die... good people who didn't deserve to. But I'm still here."

"That's good. Now all you've gotta do is say all that to your Uncle. He won't listen unless it comes from you."

"I know," Aerie sighed and shook her head helplessly.

"Shhh!" Jaheira turned round. "I think we are nearly there."

She was right. At the top of the staircase was a grand red door, which Minsc had to use all his weight on to creak open. Inside was a throne room with a balcony that overlooked the domain, and at the centre of it was a pool. Of course, being a Throne room it also had a throne and on it sat a huge orange skinned ogre, resting his head on his arms as if he was waiting... which he probably had been.

"Ah, my beasts, welcome!" The Ogre grinned evilly, bearing its tusks, "welcome to my domain."

"Kalah?" Aerie asked.

"Yes, my beast. May I say that I'm impressed; I very much doubted that you would survive, but it seems you do have some skill after all. But you and you're friends are no match for me; this is my world, you understand?"

"Wh-what have you done with Uncle Quayle?" The Elf demanded.

"I'm here, Aerie dear," it took everyone a few seconds to realise that it was jelly oozing about near the pool that was talking, "he speaks the truth, dear; he can't be defeated in here. You all need to run, now!"

"Oh no," as Kalah slowly rose to his feet, the door slammed shut, "this is a Circus with a twist; you are the ones who shall entertain me," he laughed at how funny he thought he'd just been.

The adventurers were done talking; Kalah was obviously mad, and they all knew what they had to do to put an end to all this. Minsc and Jaheira charged at him, slashing and bashing at him while Yoshimo fired bolt after bolt from his crossbow. Aerie and Imoen began casting spells, attacking him with magically charged bolts erupting from their fingertips... but Kalah didn't stop laughing. The bolts just bounced off him, and he swatted Jaheira and even Minsc away with a couple of swipes from his club-like arms. He then pointed at the spellcasters, a wave of fire erupting from his hands scorching the wall; they all just narrowly managed to jump out of the way.

The others kept attacking, although nothing seemed to have any effect on Kalah. Imoen had decided for once to think things through. She'd seen Kalah with magic; he was hopeless. That meant it wasn't his power he was using. It was most probably the Djinn's, who would be bound to some object... what was in that bottle on the pedestal? A ring... a ring with a red ruby. Yeah, it would be shame if it were to be damaged in any way; dame treacherous. She would have to remember to thank him if she saw him again.

For all his power, Kalah was still very stupid. He'd left it in plain sight and was too busy focusing on the others to notice Imoen until she had smashed the bottle open. At that point he turned, scowling and flinging an orb of energy at her. She dodged it and vanished from sight.

"Pssst... Minsc!" She reappeared seconds later on the other side of the room. "I need you to hit this with your hammer."

Imoen held out the ring; for a second she thought she saw an eye with a narrow slit like pupil looking through the jewel at her, but there was no time to investigate that. She placed it on the floor and stepped back, while Minsc brought his hammer crashing down, grinding the gem into dust. Then Kalah stopped laughing.

In fact he screamed as one of Yoshimo's bolts went through his hand. Without stopping to worry about why he had suddenly become vulnerable, Jaheira danced around him slashing at his legs with her scimitar and he slumped to his knees. Next, Aerie's Acid Arrow struck him in the chest, burning and melting away his skin.

"No!" Kalah screamed. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

"Is there a problem, Lord Kalah?" The Genie appeared sitting on his little cloud just in front of the throne, grinning far wider and more ominously than he was before.

"This... this isn't what was promised!" The Ogre crawled on his hands and knees towards the Djinn. "I was promised a world I could rule! Where... where none would dare to laugh..."

"And so you had one. Unfortunately obtaining power and holding on to it are quite different things. And now that your fun is over, I think that I shall start amusing myself... with you."

"No!" Kalah screamed once more. The Djinn hovered over him and in a blinding flash of light they were both gone. And so, Imoen saw when she opened her eyes, was the tower. They were all stood on the sandy ground in the middle of a large Circus tent. Not a dog creature in sight, although there were a few other commoners who had presumably been trapped in the tower.

"Where's Uncle Quayle?" Aerie looked around desperately.

"Unfortunately, Aerrers," Imoen sighed sadly, "he's... back to normal," she stood aside, revealing the old Gnome just as he was putting his spectacles back on.

"Uncle Quayle!" The Elf ran and scooped the Gnome up into her arms.

"Ohhh... my back!" He winced.

"Sorry, Uncle," she smiled sheepishly, putting him back down.

"It's fine, dear. I knew all along there was nothing to worry about; Kalah was bound to trip on himself eventually."

"Um," Imoen shook her head, "I quote; 'he can't be defeated... you all need to run'. Those were your exact words."

"Just staying in character; I didn't think any of you would be fooled so easily."

"Uh... huh..."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Uncle," Aerie beamed.

"Yes... well, about that," Quayle looked softly at the Elf for a moment, "you know you're the closest thing to a daughter I have ever or will ever have. But you know I... I heard everything in there," he said, turning away suddenly, "and I was of course thinking anyway that... that maybe you have learnt enough from me. Maybe... maybe it's time you left and started to learn on your own."

"Uncle?" The Elf said, her face full of not wholly unpleasant surprise.

"Maybe the Gods planned it this way; maybe you were supposed to leave here and help Imoen on her quests... I don't know. But I know now it was wrong of me to keep you here."

"So... you're... you're saying I can go? With Imoen?"

"With my blessing, girl."

"Oh... U-uncle... thank you!" She smiled widely even through her teary eyes. Quayle turned back around, likewise crying, as he embraced her again.

"You just remember to come back and visit me sometimes."

"I will. Take care of the circus while I'm away, okay?"

Imoen smiled too. Okay, so, it had been a less than perfect day, but now she really felt like there was a point in waking up tomorrow. It was cheesy, maybe... seeing all that genuine affection and emotion just made her feel good. Not that she cared if anyone else thought it was cheesy; screw those buffleheads, too buffleheaded to understand that some things in life really were just nice, okay?

"Am I to understand that this girl is coming with us, now?" Some things in life were tough as well, though. Imoen turned to Jaheira.

"Yup. That's what I've decided," Imoen blinked and nodded affirmatively.

"What you've decided?" The Druid arched an eyebrow.

"I've also decided that from now on I'm going to make a lot more decisions. I'm tired of just being led around, Jae. I'm glad you're here, and I hope you'll still help me, but... I want to start leading my own life."

"She seems so... inexperienced."

"She's a lot better than I was when we first met, remember? You saw how she can use magic... and she can actually keep a pretty level head in a crisis, too."

"But we should be pursuing Irenicus!" Jaheira insisted, "I have no time to babysit another naive child."

"You won't have to. I told you; it's my decision. As for... for him, don't think the Cowled Wizards will have already disposed of that?"

"Forgive the intrusion," Yoshimo said, having been listening to their conversation, "I know you probably think this is none of my business, but if there is any chance this Irenicus is still alive, then he will almost try to get you again. Better to track him down first, no? At least make sure the Cowled Wizards really have taken care of him."

"Yes... I do think it is none of your business," Jaheira said, then turned back to Imoen, "yet I have to agree with everything he just said. I have no real objection to the girl coming along; she clearly demonstrated that she has some promise. But it is in all our interests to make sure that Irenicus can no longer be threat."

Of course, Imoen couldn't help thinking that revenge was really what was foremost on Jaheira's mind right now. Which would have been perfectly understandable. But she felt far from ready to take on anyone that powerful, intelligent and cold hearted yet... she really hoped the Wizards had some sense and didn't just try to lock him up somewhere.

"Look... I'm tired, Jae. Let's just find a bed and sleep on it, okay?"