Out Of The Shadows
Chapter Fifteen:
Waking The Dead
In Aerie's world there were always a lot of questions. Sometimes about vegetables, sometimes not. For the first half life of her life she'd lived amongst the clouds amongst the intellectual caste of the avariel, given access to perhaps the best education on all Toril, at least outside of Candlekeep. And since the youngest age she could remember, she'd always been very curious, wanting to know how things worked, where did the sky end, and what was over the next peak. Yet she had always been aware, now more than ever, that no matter how many books she read or much she discovered, she actually knew very little. Perhaps it was that knowledge that always drove her. Her parents and all the older avariel had always warned her about the dangers of flying too far from home on her own. She hadn't listened; if anything, their warnings only made her more determined to find out what was there, and ultimately end up here.
Was there such a thing as fate? The idea that exactly when and how everything happens had already been decided before time began never really appealed to her. She was tired of being in a cage, other people deciding what happened to her. She wanted to choose her own path. Then there was destiny. As she had explained to Imoen before, this was subtly different from fate. It was more like there was potential for something to happen, but it was still up to people to actually make it happen, if at all. The gods guided you, deciding what destinies you could choose, and perhaps grew angry and punished you if you made a choice they didn't like… or at least it seemed like they did. Regardless of that, she usually felt like she had some choice in things, even her choices were limited in certain ways. Like whether or not she would have milk or tea, or both; but perhaps that was an illusion? Aerie suspected she might never know the answers to most these questions, but she often thought about how her life might have been had she never been caught and kept her wings. She'd have been given a second name by now, for a start, one relating to whatever profession she had chosen. Like if she'd written plays, she might be called Aerie Swiftquill, or Aerie Starwonder, if she had chosen astronomy or science like her father. She didn't know what name she would have if she had been given one in the circus; Aerie Expertexcrementremover? In any case, thinking about that inevitably led her back to the day she was captured, and if there was any way she could change it. Maybe if the air currents had taken her a different way, if the arrow had hit somewhere, but there was one inevitable conclusion; she had no choice. Not on that occasion, anyway. She had replayed the scene many times in her mind, and every time the instant she saw the boy running and scared there was only ever one course of action she would take. She was, she realised sadly, very predictable, at least to anyone who knew more than just the superficial details about her. And so when Imoen had told her she had to get out if things went wrong, the redhead must have known there was never any chance in any hell of that actually happening.
Aerie didn't know Edwin very well. She knew he was from Thay and that the Red Wizards had built their entire civilization on the backs of slaves. She also knew it was wrong to make assumptions based on where he was originally from or other such superficial details. Still, had she known him better, she would have found most of his actions were just as predictable as her own.
He was zipping and gliding back and forth and all around her, occasionally dumping things into her arms like scrolls and he flung a few bags over her head, muttering frantically to himself about what was needed and what he could leave behind. Aerie knew she had to somehow get to Imoen and help her get free, but she wasn't yet sure how she could do that. She had also been told to find Jaheira, Minsc and Yoshimo, but Edwin had told her it was already too late. Mae'Var's assassins had gassed or drugged all of them and were dragging them down to the cellar, and they would certainly be on their way up here next. They'd acted very fast, as if they had been waiting for Edwin's betrayal. In her moments of confusion as she tried to figure out what to do, Aerie found herself just going along with all the wizard's instructions, allowing him to use her like a mule to carry all his possessions. She hardly noticed.
"Come here!" He barked, pulling back a red curtain. She did so. "Excellent. Now there is not much time. Stand in the circle." And she did. She did look down and begin to examine the runes laid out in a ring around her, and realise she was stood in a teleportation circle. Under other circumstances, this would have excited her a great deal; she would have liked to examine it further, compare it to the writings and drawings in her books. But right now she had her mind elsewhere, while her body just went along, letting each thing happen like in a dream.
Edwin was stood next to her in the circle, speaking, but not to her. He was mumbling arcane words, activating the circle. It seemed to be taking a long time, and he was still going when the door exploded. Mae'Var must have had other mages working for him. Aerie heard smashing glass and felt a wave of hot her rush over her, causing her to shut her eyes. When she opened them again, the laboratory, the broken glass and the thieves were all gone. Wherever she was now, it was dark and chilly, and the air felt damp.
A flash startled and blinded her for a second, since her eyes had already begun to adjust to the low light. It was Edwin holding up a wand with a small flame on it, just like a candle really, but with the advantage of wax not burning his hands. She thought briefly how strange it was that such a small flame could drive back so much darkness, but then she realised that she should be more concerned about where she was and leaving the wonders of nature to another time.
It was a tunnel with curved brick walls. There was a step next to her, and below it the light from Edwin's candle reflected and danced across water. An underground river, perhaps?
"These canals were built two centuries ago," Edwin said as if reading her thoughts, "by diverting sections of the river to run beneath the city. Now they are mostly forgotten about, except by thieves who use to them to smuggle ill-gotten gains in and out of the city… might have been three centuries ago; I am afraid I never paid much attention to local history. It all pales in comparison to the glory of Thay."
Edwin led on down the tunnel, Aerie following without knowing why. Perhaps she hoped that Edwin had some plan to get Imoen and the others out. Perhaps she just didn't want to be left alone down here. For a creature whose ancestors had took to living among the clouds above the highest mountains millennia ago, it was fair to say that being underground felt very unnatural to her. And unsettling. Couldn't the ceiling fall down at any time? Was the tunnel getting smaller and smaller? The only thing keeping her from running and perhaps clawing her way to get out was the knowledge that Imoen still needed her help. Imoen, the nice girl who had helped her sneak laxatives into a bully's drink.
"Very talkative, aren't you?" The wizard smirked after a few moments of complete silence. "But that is good; so nice to have a lackey who doesn't interrupt all the time while I'm thinking. Indeed, I'd say that you and I are off to a most auspicious start." The tunnel was starting to lighten up ahead of them, and Edwin put out his candle. "Nothing's a clever thing to do and even cleverer thing to say, hmm?" He raised a hand suddenly as they reached a sharp turn in the wall and peered around. "Although, on this occasion you may well be right…"
He crept forward more and ducked behind some crates, Aerie just behind, and peeped over. Further down the canal was a barge, more of a raft, really, tied to the shore. There were a few men carrying boxes from it through an archway down a passage away from the water.
"More of Mae'Var's men," Edwin sneered, "this is where he gets his deliveries, all his payments from the Night Knives he uses to fund his little zombie army."
"W-what does he want with zombies?" Aerie asked.
"Assassins, my dear. Near indestructible assassins, with the added advantage that even when they're caught, they can't be made to say anything. Still, his control over them right now is very limited, as you saw. "
"The box…" Aerie remembered.
"It provides them with a scent, as it were. But it's far from perfect; clearly, he still requires an artefact that has come from the person he wishes destroyed. It will take him far longer to solve that limitation without my help, of course, but even a chimp given an infinite amount of time…" Edwin trailed off suddenly, and then started to mutter. "Have to get past. Get to the docks, board a ship… once I am far enough away perhaps then I can find a way to break this curse…"
"Wait," Aerie blinked, her dream starting to fade. "We… w-we're running away?" She looked down at herself, wondering why she was carrying all this garbage… well, some of it might be useful, but mostly it was just weighing her down and would make it more difficult to get to Imoen. She remembered what Imoen had done in Mae'Var's room; she must have figured it out already. Now Aerie had to do her part.
"I'm not hanging around to be gutted open by some low born cutthroat. I, the great Edwin Odesseirron? It would be far too inappropriate," he explained with a slight hissing. "Should really have put the other end of the teleport a little closer to the exit… but couldn't risk anyone finding it and realising what it was…"
The thieves had all gone, disappearing under the arch carrying various wares, and Edwin seized the opportunity to hurry them on. But Aerie didn't follow; she dropped the scrolls and lifted the straps up over her head, leaving it all on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Edwin demanded angrily.
"The passage leads back to that cellar, yes?" She asked, swallowing and trying to stay focused.
"Well, yes, I suppose…"
"T-then that is the way I have to go. Good bye, sir," she said, knowing by now that Edwin had no intention of helping any more. She wondered why he hadn't used this escape route a lot sooner. She supposed because he had lost control to Mae'Var, and he couldn't stand that. It was only now it seemed that Imoen had failed and the thieves had all turned on him that he had decided to retreat.
"Bah! I should known the chirpy chipmunk would have surrounded herself with other like minded imbeciles," the wizard huffed, leaning over his bags and scrolls. He was clearly most annoyed by having to carry them all himself. "Fine then; go ahead and die. Just remember it's your own fault."
"I-I promise, sir, I shant return to haunt you."
"No, but your corpse might," Edwin said, scratching the underside of his beard. Aerie had turned away from him then, but snapped her head back round when she heard some rustling. Bolts and arrows started to fly from further down the tunnel. The wizard gasped when something hit him; luckily for him it wasn't arrow. It was Aerie pushing him out of the way. His uttered exasperatedly as more bolts and arrows flew, but it was as if they were all caught by an invisible web and spun harmlessly to the ground. Edwin looked about to retaliate, but could see now there were just too many thieves crawling up the tunnel, accompanied by several mages, even for him. Apparently, Mae'Var had known about his escape plans. They were coming the other way too, leaving them with only one exit; through the arch, away from the canal. Now Edwin was going with her whether he wanted to or not.
They ran for it. The archway was over a heavy wooden door, which they slammed shut. Working together, they managed to slide a beam across it just as the thieves started slamming into the other side. Just to be extra safe, Edwin uttered another incantation, bonding the door magically to its frame.
"That should hold them back for a while," he sighed, relieved.
"Er, yes. Sir?" Aerie tugged on his sleeve.
"What is it now? Can you not see the great Edwin Odesseirron must now formulate a new… ah."
It was the three who had been outside earlier, collecting the boxes. Edwin began to cast, but they were so close he couldn't finish anything before being caught by that right hook and he slid back against the door, a most undignified amount of dribble spilling from his mouth. Aerie managed to slip under the fist flying at her and stumble away and to the side. She reached into the pouch on her belt, pulling out a small glass needle. She commanded it to grow, and then she was holding a sword.
"Give it up, girlie," one of them smiled. They could obviously see how tense she was, how her leg shook even as she stood with the blade held in front of her, trying to remain defiant. "We don't wanna hurt ya."
Aerie considered her options. She fought pretty well, when it was against Imoen, even though she had lost in the end. Against Jaheira, it had gone less well… these thieves were clearly a lot stronger than her, too. Probably more experienced. And there were three of them. But she couldn't be caught yet! Imoen was counting on her. Even if that wasn't the case, there was no way she would let anyone drag her into another one of those cages. Not without a fight. But she was so focused on the three of them, she didn't notice the fourth sneak up behind her. The first she knew of him was when he already had his strong arms wrapped around her face and body. She kicked and thrashed, but it was no use… the others started trying to pull the sword out of her hand, but she was holding onto it for life. She kept thinking about the cage, and did what she did the very first time someone had tried to put her in one. The man behind her screamed loudly as she bit into his flesh. Just as the first time however, she was thrown to the floor and they all started to punch and kick her while she tried to roll into a protective ball.
But now, they had become so focused on Aerie that they'd forgotten about Edwin. It was doubtful he was interested in saving the elf, only himself, but he realised his odds were better with her than with Mae'Var. Or maybe he was just infuriated about being punched in the face. Either way, he made the thieves realise they had seriously erred in counting him out so soon. A glittering orb struck one of them, shattering itself, and him, like he just turned to glass. Another one screamed as his clothes combusted and he fell to the floor with cracked and burnt skin. The others froze, wide eyed and helpless, too scared even to run.
There were others nearby who heard the commotion and came scampering down the dark corridor. Edwin turned his attention to them. In the meantime, Aerie stood up, praying to Baervar to guide her blade and give her strength, blood and tears mixed on her face. A volley of bright shining missiles struck one of the men who had attacked him, steam rising from the holes in his chest as he fell back. The other desperately drew his own blade and lunged at her. She parried the blow and stepped back, allowing his momentum to keep carrying him forward. He spun back, and lunged again, and she parried. They started moving around each other, prodding and looking for holes, like a dance. It was just like when she had fought the beasts in the circus tent. Her mind felt completely clear, focused entirely on here and now, all her worries washed away. Almost the same feeling she remembered from years ago when she flew and could see all the world as not fractured, but as one terrific being. It was exhilarating. She almost didn't want it to end.
But end it did, with a whimper. The man fell on her again, and his eyes went wide with shock. Aerie found herself drawn into them as he slumped and slid off her blade. Why was he looking at her? Surprised and scared. What… what had she done? He wasn't a beast! She remained transfixed by his eyes, wide and bright still. His hand went up and trembled around his neck… he kept looking at her, like he was pleading for something, What could she do?
"I-I'm sorry," she shook her head, "I… I don't understand…" and it was too late to. His eyes kept staring, long after he had drawn his last breath.
It was another moment later before she thought to look around his neck. There was chain there. A locket, tucked under his clothes. Aerie recognised the man, of course. She wondered who the woman was. Could have been a sister, but wife or lover seemed most likely; he had just wanted to see her. Either they were already married, or they were going to be. They might have settled somewhere, had children, raised them, did their best to keep them from making any of the mistakes they had made until those children left, got married, settled down, and so on down the years… but it had only taken her a second to take all that future away.
She had forgotten about Edwin and the other thieves who had come running down the corridor. Caught in such a narrow space, they wouldn't have stood a chance against his fireballs anyway. He just had a few to finish up, then he came and stood next to her.
"Dare day you've had some sort of epiphany about something," he sighed, "whatever it is, I suggest waiting until we have gotten me out of here…er, us out of here… before you linger any longer."
"I…I killed him," Aerie, not looking up, "this man… h-he wasn't a beast, but I killed him…"
"Yes," Edwin patted her on the shoulder, "well done. You killed him, too," he should, nodding to the one with all the holes in his chest, "so double well done. Of course, I killed several more, but we're not keeping score… are we?"
"He… he had a wife," Aerie said tearfully, "o-or a lover…"
"Or maybe they were one and the same person. I agree, it seems unlikely, but imagine!"
"How can you be so… so callous!" Aerie snapped angrily. "Don't you realise how important it is? G-getting to live and be free to make choices… n-no one should ever be able to take that away from anyone."
"Well, in answer to your first question, it's easy. In answer to the rest, he made a choice. He chose to be on the wrong side, and he died for his choice."
"But, m-maybe he didn't have a choice. Maybe this all happened by accident, or maybe it was the only way he could afford the things he wanted for her," Aerie had seen the slums. She could imagine people living in such a place would do anything to make their and their families lives better, even if that meant joining a man like Mae'Var.
"Now you are just not making sense. And what do you want to do? Find his wife, or lover, or whatever she is, say 'hello, I'm the girl who murdered your husband. Sorry about that'," Edwin shrugged. "I really don't know why we are wasting time here. What is done is done. No need to end up the same way. Besides, didn't you think when you joined the red haired brats little troupe that you might end up fighting, killing?"
"I-I did, but…" Aerie didn't understand all her feelings either. This was the first time she had seen death. Slaves died often, often left to rot in their cages. There had been many corpses in the circus after Kalah, including Kalah himself, and she had helped to kill him. She guessed this was the first time she been so close to someone who had died by her hand. "I didn't know it would be like this…"
"Rest assured that were it you lying on the ground, I doubt he would have felt so emotional about it."
"Well, no, b-but… that doesn't mean he's right," although Edwin did have a point, she was loathe to admit. It was going to be one of them on the ground, and she wanted to live as much as anyone else did. And it was foolish to stay here much longer… and still she had to help Imoen.
"Doesn't it? Whoever survives decides what's right, really."
"You… you're saying we have a duty to survive?" Maybe if he'd lived he would have murdered others for Mae'Var without ever questioning it… but she couldn't know that.
"Don't we all?"
"No," she shook her head. That wasn't going to do it; she couldn't kill again with that as her motivation. It seemed to require seeing other lives as less important than hers, and she didn't believe that at all. There was something else, however, that might get her to fight. "But… I-I do have a duty to others. To Imoen. I can't let her down, or let her die," she leant over, and gently closed the man's eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Maybe you had a lover you wanted to protect and provide for, but I have people I want to protect as well. I wish there could have been another way… so, I'm sorry."
"Good, so… now we can get on with escaping?"
Aerie nodded, and stood and started to set off along the darkened corridor that she assumed led back to the cellar where Mae'Var and Imoen would be.
"Of course," Edwin commented, "it is also possible that she is someone who died a very long ago…"
"Please shut up, sir."
"As I understood it," Yoshimo said, "the plan was to work our way up and gain Mae'Var's trust, yes?"
"Yeah," Imoen rolled the word off her tongue, sensing where this was going. "But, something came up and I had to improvise…"
The Kara-Turran pointedly kicked the cage door. "Good job," he said.
"Okay, it didn'texactly go like I'd hoped," the redhead shrugged, "but, Aerie and Edwin are still out there, at least."
"If I had known that self-serving scum sucker were here, I would have split his skull in two," Jaheira rasped. "Bah! If he had any sense, he is long gone. And you should have known better than to believe any word he says."
"He's not a liar, Jae," Imoen sighed, "he doesn't have the imagination for it."
"Even so, you cannot believe he has any intention of coming back to rescue us?"
"No," of course she didn't. But Imoen still clung to some hope. "There's still Aerie…"
"A mere child!" The druid paced. "Inexperienced, naïve… almost as bad as you. The wizard has most likely taken her too, as a servant. You should never have left them alone."
"You weren't there, Jae. At the circus, I mean, when all those crazy things started happening. She went straight in to find her Uncle; I don't think anything would have stopped her. She'll try to find us too… she won't have gone anywhere. And I've got a plan."
"A plan?" Jaheira raised a brow doubtfully.
"Of course! Sure, I'm not all sure how it's all going to come together yet, but I definitely have one. Kind of," all she really had to hope was that Aerie didn't find them too soon. Hopefully she would be cautious this time, and she had Edwin to slow her down.
"In other words, you are just making this plan up as you go along?"
"Those are the best plans. Because they can't find out and make their own counter-plan. And I'm really good at making things up as I go along."
"Now I just feel too depressed to strangle you."
"Minsc has full confidence in little Imoen!" The bald warrior declared. Jaheira turned and looked at him curiously.
"Why?" She asked. "What has she ever done to inspire confidence?"
Minsc tilted his head and looked about himself, confused. "Well, Minsc…er, Boo?" The hamster seemed to shrug. "We… just do," he seemed satisfied with that answer, even if Jaheira wasn't.
"It's just my charisma," the redhead grinned, "people love me and want to believe in me. People see me and think, 'she can't be real, can she?' But I assure you I am."
"It… is hard to believe," Jaheira rolled her eyes.
"Awww… just admit, Jae. You want to hug me too…"
"Try it, and I will tear your arm off and make you swallow it."
"You'll come round," Imoen said, stepping back. From anyone else, she would have known that was an empty, and quite silly, threat. From Jaheira, she believed somehow that she would actually do it. "They always do."
"You seem to be acting more like your old rambunctious self, at least," the druid noted, not entirely with disdain.
"Am I?" Imoen wondered. She felt different, somehow. Darker, maybe. Maybe just older, and that was the most scary thought. She felt like she wasn't enjoying being 'rambunctious' quite as much as she used to, maybe because she was more aware of the dire consequences her actions could have, even if unintended. Would there come a time when she stopped having fun and became just like every other adult? No; that would never happen. She was still Imoen.
"The girl's a totally wet blanket, from what I hear," Mae'Var swept past the cages, flanked by two lieutenants. Imoen wondered were Anishai was, if she was involved in all this… that woman was creepy, without a doubt. "Nothing to worry about. It's Edwin that concerns me. He's made me vexed. I don't care what happens to the elf, but I want him alive."
"Problems?" Imoen asked with her head pressed between the bars.
"Oh, I've never got any problems," he grinned and stepped toward her. "Challenges, maybe, but never any problems."
She had to make him mad at her; that was the only way she was getting out of this cage. She needed to be on the other side of these bars for her plan to work, whatever that plan was. She was sure she would figure it out when she got there. Childish insults alone wouldn't work; this was his 'turf' and he was completely in control here. She didn't matter to him. Someone else did though… she might have to lie a bit.
"Hm… like Renal being a much bigger man than you?" She said. "Doubt that's a challenge you'll ever be up to, I'm afraid."
"And you would know, would you?" He started eyeing her cravenly. "You do seem like his type… weak and girlie."
"Can't be too weak. You need a really strong abdomen to not break in two with the things he does…"
"Let me tell you about Renal Bloodscalp," Mae'Var snorted. "Years ago, we were both young rogues that got sent on a job. Simple, we thought; just had to break open a few crates in this old warehouse, grab some stuff and run. Turned out, there were more than just statues in those creatures. Soon as we split one open these little demon things appeared… must have been some magic protection. They fell on me first; knives didn't do nothing. But I thought it was okay; my ol'buddy will get me out. We were sworn brothers, after all. Pledged we'd stick with each other through thick and thin. But where was he? Turned out he'd ran… filthy bastard just ran and left me for dead! But I lived. Lost my eye, but I lived. But do you know what really, really, irked me about the whole thing? Rather than punish him for being a coward, he got promoted for getting the damn statue."
Imoen tilted her head, wondering if he wanted her to feel sorry for him or not. Pretty hard to do when he was holding her prisoner and a squad of zombies hidden behind a mechanical door. Besides, it was only one side of the story she'd heard so far. Whatever the truth, it was obvious Mae'Var had gone completely over the edge and had to be stopped before he could do any more harm.
"You think it should have been you?" She asked.
"Damn right!" He screamed, slamming his palm against the cage.
"You let yourself get taken down by a few little demons? That's pathetic. You're obviously not half the man he is."
"You want to find out?"
"You'd be wasting your time. Once you've ridden a racehorse, you just can't settle for a donkey again."
"Oh, you will be mine. Oh yes. Soon, I'll have everything that lying coward stole from me, and guess what? You'll be there to see it, and to obey my every command. Well, you might not feel like quite yourself anymore," he touched the bars with a dark wand. A sudden jolt and sparks made the cage's occupants jump back while he unlocked the door and slid it open. "Grab her!" He instructed his lieutenants. As Imoen made a show of appearing to resist, she shook her head to the others; they would have rushed and tried to intervene, but were all under the same geas and couldn't harm Mae'Var.
They dragged her back into cellar, towards the table he had experimented upon. And the knives next to it… she couldn't bring herself to look at them. But she had to make a show, still.
"Oh, what? You're going to torture me?" She said, raising the pitch of her voice. "I'm so scared…"
"No, not exactly," he said, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her head back while the lieutenants held her arms. "Your pain won't last very long at all," he held up a knife, and roughly sliced off a lock of her hair.
"Damn. I'm going to have to restyle it again."
"No, you won't," Mae'Var walked slowly away. "You might I'm setting you free, in a way. Free from your vanity and your lies." He opened the box, and dropped the hair in. Imoen what would happen if he pulled the lever on the wall…
"Yeah, well, cyclops" she started to say anything to buy a bit more time, it seemed. "You're forgetting one thing, aintcha? You son of a ogre and a cow. And that's… that's that Edwin and Aerie are still out there, and they'll find a way to break the contract and they'll come for you. Any time now they'll come for you and your little box and you will rue this day. That's right. I said rue… whatcha you gonna do about it, stinky pants?"
"You really want those to be your last words?" Mae'Var grinned, stepping back towards her confidently.
"It pretty much sums me up."
He stared hard at her, while she in turn tried to hold his gaze. But without warning he spun around, throwing a knife across the room. There was a door on the other side from the mechanical one, now opened. Aerie gasped, looked in surprise at the knife sticking out of her chest, and then rolled her head back and fell to the ground.
"Aerie!" Imoen screamed wildly. The men next to her were just as surprised by the turn of events, loosening their grip enough that she could kick free and dash across the room to where her friend had fallen. "Aerie, you… you bufflehead…" the redhead wept, kneeling beside her. "I told you to get away…"
"Edwin!" Mae'Var roared, ignoring the prone girls for the time being.
"Now, this is not how it looks," Edwin tried to explain, treading around the girls and bending his back submissively. "I… I brought her to you!" He insisted, pointing at Aerie.
"Edwin, you gangrenous goblin!" Imoen hissed tearfully.
"You see, they broke into my chamber," the wizard said, ignoring her. "Tried to make me help them, but I knew I could lead them into a trap… lead them to you."
"Why should he trust you, Edwin?" the redhead snapped. "You change sides more easily than the chosen of Mystra."
"You really think I would throw in my lot with you?" He snapped back. "You snot nosed little minx and harlot? Poor, deluded fool. Clearly, it is Mae'Var who has always held the stronger hand, and I always intend to be on the winning side."
Mae'Var started to walk forward. "I know you do, Edwin," he said, taking Edwin's collar and starting to twist it in his wrist, choking the wizard who could only groan helplessly. "Trouble is, I've got not use for a lying traitor," the thief suddenly headbutted him, holding the wizard up so he could keep doing it, "you-venomous-old-snake." He finally let go, and let Edwin spiral backwards to the floor. The thief then turned on Imoen, grabbing the redhead's hair and flinging her back away from Aerie. Imoen's scalp was burning, but she wasted no time and went straight for Edwin, punching, kicking, scratching, screaming… it took Mae'Var and both his lieutenants to pull her off.
"You'll get your chance, girl," the guildmaster said, "soon, actually. But first," he started heading toward the lever, "you're invited to lunch."
Well, that distraction had been enough. Looked like it was done. Imoen straigtened up, tidying her hair.
"Tell you what, Mae'Var," she said, "'cos I'm such a nice gal, I'll give you one last chance to surrender. You can turn yourself into guards; prison's probably a lot better than what the Shadow Thieves will do to you."
"Turn myself in?" He laughed. "Tell you what; make me laugh like that again, and I might let you live."
Imoen stared at him for several seconds. Not a single blink or flicker of her eyes. "I'm serious," she said.
"Sure you are," he shook his head and started to pull the lever, "goodbye, whoever you were."
"Yeah," Imoen smiled wickedly, "goodbye, Mae'Var."
As before, the zombies started to groan and shuffle their way into the room and then paused, examining Imoen, it seemed. She smiled and winked at them.
"What are you waiting for!" Mae'Var growled, "Get her!" Suddenly, their necks snapped toward the sound of the voice, and they emitted a feral snarl. "What… what are you doing?" Mae'Var's eye widened as he realised in horror that, somehow, he had become the target.
"Guess the dead are free from your contract, huh?" Imoen said. The zombies sprinted and jumped, falling on Mae'Var, gnashing, snarling, ripping off chunks of flesh… "Ohh… that's… that's nasty."
She ducked, just a magic orb flew over her head, disintegrating one of the lieutenants behind her. It had come from Aerie who, clearly, was not as mortally wounded as Mae'Var had been led to believe. The other lieutenant backed away, and was grabbed by Minsc who held him tight against the bars of the cage, while Yoshimo relieved him of his keys. Once he had unlocked the door and they were all out, Jaheira punched the man a few times. She didn't have to, she just felt like doing it.
"Best get upstairs," Imoen said, "no telling what the zombies will do now that they've turned on their master."
Of course, it was never that simple. More of Mae'Var's men heard the commotion and came running down, and the group had to fight their way through, staying ahead of the zombies who now that they'd finished with the guildmaster were randomly attacking others in the room. Edwin used his magic to help them clear a path… Imoen had almost forgotten about him. It didn't matter; he was helping them now, even if it was just to save his own skin again. She would deal with him later, maybe, or she wouldn't bother. He was a coward and therefore nothing to her.
Eventually, they all made it to the top of the stairs and slammed shut and bolted the cellar door behind them. There were groans and snarls and the odd scream as the remaining thieves trapped inside fought the zombies.
"Unnatural abominations," Jaheira said, "we shall have to go back and clean up the mess down there."
"Right," Imoen said, panting and with her hands on her knees. "Just… just let me catch my breath, first."
"Plus," Aerie was in a similar position to Imoen, "w-we still have to get those documents for Renal, don't we?"
"We do," Imoen nodded. Now Mae'Var was dead, it might look to people like Renal had him assassinated if he didn't have those documents.
"But why did they attack him?" Jaheira asked.
"Oh… he could only tell them who to kill using that magic box at the back of the cellar," Imoen explained, "he needed a piece of hair or a dagger or anything belonging to the person he wanted to put inside. Well, when I was in Mae'Var's room earlier it was easy to pick up some stuff and hide it on myself. Like a comb with his hair on it. And then Aerie, who you can see isn't really all that dead…"
"Hello!" Aerie grinned and waved to the party.
"Yes, hello."
"You cast your divine healing magic within an arcane contingency," Edwin nodded, "so when the knife struck you were instantly healed. Quite impressive for a tarsiiforme, I suppose."
"Right," Imoen nodded. The healing spell was still working when she'd pulled the knife out. Still quite a risk, though, even if it was unlikely a single knife could have killed her instantly. She would have to urge Aerie not to do that again, although she suspected it might be hard getting her to listen. "Even I wasn't sure about that until she winked at me. Anyway, then all I had to do was slip her the comb while she was playing dead, then provide a distraction so she could get up and swap my hair with Mae'Var's. Easy peasy lemon squeezy."
"It all came together, somehow," Jaheira sighed, "now, I just have to kill Edwin, and we can leave here…"
"Kill… kill me?" The wizard backed away as she approached, even while his voice tried to stay defiant. "I knew about the entire plan! Did you not see me in there, providing a distraction, hm? Why, I was the lynchpin to the entire scheme! They would never have pulled it off without me!"
"Sure, Eddy," Imoen rolled her eyes. Nevertheless, she stepped between the wizard and the druid. "C'mon Jae… he's not worth it."
"A-hem," a cough distracted the group, sparing Edwin for a moment at least. Anishai stood across from them. Imoen stared back at the dark haired woman, hand on the dagger she had picked up during their flight from the cellar, just in case. "I take it from all those delightful screams down there, and the fact you are still alive even though he made it clear to the guild you were not to be, something untoward has happened to Mae'Var?"
"Um… yeah," Imoen nodded. "He's dead."
"I see," Anishai nodded, then poured herself a drink.
"Um… that's… that's okay then, is it?"
"Yup, that's fine."
"You're not going to try to take revenge, or anything?"
"Nope."
"Oh… okay," Imoen relaxed her grip a little. "Good."
"Should probably tell Renal, though. It'll be the third… no, fourth change in management since I've been here. I never cared much for Mae'Var's style anyway."
"Yeah, we will. Just got to clean up a bit first."
"Oh, Edwin, dear?"
"What, yes?" The wizard couldn't take his eyes off Jaheira.
"About that other business we discussed… you'll find the property is vacant now."
"Really?" Edwin looked mildly surprised. "I was certain he would kill you…"
"In that case, glad to disappoint."
"Me too," Edwin grinned, then turned to the others, "I must bid you farewell for now, primates. Mae'Var is no longer a threat to my supremacy, but I still have much to do. Have to decorate my new home, to begin. (Among other things that are far beyond the scope and imagination of these hapless monkeys.)"
Aerie whispered to Imoen. "He… h-he does know we can hear when he talks to himself like that, doesn't he?" The redhead.
"Well then, I would say it has been nice seeing you all again. But, that would be a terrible lie, now, wouldn't it? Nevertheless, if you are very lucky, I may use you again sometime."
"Great," Imoen said through a false smile. "Think I'd throw myself off a cliff if I had that kind of luck too often."
Edwin bowed and left. Imoen gathered from the conversation that he might not be going too far. Not out of the city, anyway. Unfortunately. Still, Edwin didn't go out much so it was unlikely she would bump into him in the street at least. Now all that was left was for them to clean up like they'd said. Well, there was one other thing…
"Hey, Anishai," the redhead called across the room.
"Hello, yes?" The assassin looked up.
"Tell that cook he's fired."