General disclaimer: I own nothing, even Maiyn generally decides her own path.

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Returning to Athkatla

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A leaf slowly drifted to the ground, having fallen from the tree that Maiyn was staring intently at. She watched as it danced in the air, drifting to each side as it fluttered, unable to avoid its final destination. She sighed heavily, causing Anomen to throw her a concerned look from the side, where he was polishing one of his gauntlets.

The others were sleeping -- even Xan seemed to have managed to settle into a peaceful reverie, his serene but pale face free of the pain and anguish it had shown on every other occasion, recently. Since she'd awoken from her own rest she'd opted to stay awake. The pull back to reality had been provided by the enchanter, who gently coaxed her from the night of Gorion's death and into the land of the wakened, where the others were watching as tears ran freely down her face. Then the enchanter had reached for her, but she'd rolled away from him, from everyone, and crawled away to sit on her own. Imoen had appeared almost instantly by her side, and she'd huddled with her sister, only vaguely aware of Xan's heavy sigh. How long had passed after that, she didn't know, but eventually Jaheira pulled them gently apart and sent Imoen to bed before guiding Maiyn closer to the fire. The ranger had drawn herself from her melancholy enough, then, to insist she was fine for her own watch, and the druid had nodded, squeezing her shoulder before she also retired for the evening.

Anomen had only smiled at her since then. He'd immediately thrown himself into the duty of tending his armour and weapon, looking uncomfortable at the idea of sharing a watch with her, despite her steady smile over to him. It was at least an hour into the guard and his armour was shining in the light of the low burning fire. She decided to watch him for a while, rather than the tree, thinking he'd be slightly more interesting.

His eyes flickered up towards her briefly, before returning to the task at hand. His polishing seemed to get harder, and he shifted his seated position slightly. She frowned.

"Are you really that uncomfortable with my company?" she asked.

He looked up to her, seeming to be slightly surprised, though his eyes betrayed more than that -- concern, perhaps because she'd assumed correctly. "No, my lady, it's not that."

Her eyebrow rose. "No?"

His head shook. "No... really, it's not. I am just... well, I am a poor provider of comfort after an experience such as you underwent in your rest," he said, almost hesitantly, waving his hand over towards the sleeping forms of their companions. "The others are much... much better at that sort of... thing."

Maiyn grinned at him, causing him to flush even more. He concentrated on the hilt of his mace, seemingly intent on removing every bit of grime from it. "Nonsense. I'm sure you were able to comfort Imoen when you were captured by the sahuagin."

The knight cleared his throat but failed to look up from his work. "The Lady Imoen has a very positive outlook on things. She is very good for... morale."

Maiyn snorted with laughter, but tried to disguise it as a sneeze when the abashed young priest gave her a questioning look. "She, ahem, is, isn't she?" she agreed, managing to compose herself slightly. "I think she really likes you, too -- I mean, she's still talking to you after spending all that time alone with you."

He reddened and his whole posture seemed to stiffen. "We were hardly alone, my lady," he pointed out quickly. "There were usually other creatures around."

"Yes, yes, of course," she said with barely concealed amusement. "But you've become quite good friends, haven't you?"

He seemed to ponder this for a moment, pausing with his cloth in his hand. "Yes," he said thoughtfully. "I would say we were friends."

Maiyn smiled happily. "She's very special. Of course, she's my sister, so I can be a little protective of her, and Minsc's her Guardian now too, so..."

Anomen smiled in return. "She is very lucky to have such caring companions."

"Yes... yes she is." Maiyn frowned slightly. "Of course, if you mistreated her at all, you'd have to deal with me, but you know that, don't you? And since she's a Bhaalspawn too, I'm not sure there'd be much of you left for me to sort out..." She giggled at his wide eyes. "Oh, Anomen, I'm just teasing you!"

He swallowed hard. "I... I knew that," he protested, puffing himself up slightly and frowning. Inwardly she sniggered.

"Oh, did you?" she asked, lowering her voice so that it was barely more than a whisper, and masking her face with a cold, unfriendly expression. She hoped her eyes were gleaming -- that would just add wonderfully to the effect! He looked up, his eyes widening at her stare; and it was no use. She burst into laughter, and he merely glared at her, having returned to his polishing with extra vigour.

Her hilarity stopped abruptly when she heard the sound of a snapping twig. Instantly she sprang to her feet, looking into the darkness of the surrounding forest and trying to let her infravision take over after spending so much time staring into the fire that evening. She saw something -- slinking through the trees. Immediately she reached out for her bow, only pausing when the voice came.

You're back!

Verya?

Her hand withdrew, watching the shape grow closer. Anomen was also on his feet by this point, tensed and ready to act, but she shook her head to him, a smile on her face. He looked at her puzzled, but then a look of realisation crossed his face as the lynx bounded out from the shadows, leaping onto the ranger and knocking her to the ground as they play wrestled amongst a mass of squeals and playful growls. The knight settled himself back down, a smile across his face as Jaheira's voice called out from amidst the sleepers: "A happy reunion is always a pleasant sight, but some of us are trying to sleep, child!"

Maiyn sniffed at the rebuke, settling herself back down by the fire with her cat nestled against her side. Silently she listened to Verya's recital of what the feline had done in her companion's absence -- mostly a recounting of hunting and the occasional mention of her observances of the more interesting people she'd encountered in the wilds. Maiyn was just beginning to try and convey her experiences in a way the cat would understand when three tall figures appeared, seemingly from nowhere, bows drawn back and aiming straight for her.

"We heard you from afar, stranger," the middle one said calmly in elvish. "Noise travels quickly in the silence of the night -- you can draw all sorts of unwanted attention with such displays."

Maiyn frowned slightly, pushing Verya to the side and clambering to her feet, despite Anomen's warnings about staying still. "What do you want?" she asked in the same language, staring at the men -- all three were elves, of that she was sure, but they did not resemble Elhan's men in the slightest. They were dressed in a variety of clothes, mostly skins and furs, and their tattoos were enough to rival Minsc's own body paint. Leaves and beads adorned their hair, feathers stuck out from their quivers; they were feral elves. She pulled her cloak aside to allow her holy symbol to shine in the light. The three men looked at it, a moment's hesitation, before they quickly lowered their bows.

"Our apologies," offered the central figure with a slight bow of his head as he recognised the mark of one of his own deity's clerics. "We did not expect to find any others here." He was the tallest of the three, his dark eyes shining slightly from the limited light from the campfire.

"Why did you make yourselves known?" she asked. "I would not have expected you to reveal yourselves so readily."

They exchanged abashed looks. "We... we believed you were harming the creature," the leftmost elf said eventually. "She had been tailing us for almost three days, but would not approach us, even when we called to her. When we thought she was in danger..."

"Why is one of our own travelling in such strange company?" asked the rightmost elf, his suspicious eyes travelling across the sleeping forms of her companions, then settling on Anomen. The young human glared at him, oblivious to the conversationbeing held in an unfamiliar tongue. "If you are searching for your own kind, you will find little of them here in Tethyr."

"Forsake your companions and join with us, if you are," said his companion, standing furthest to the left. "We are heading to Chondalwood where many of our own remain."

A sudden wistfulness enveloped the ranger at their words, and for a split second she considered their invitation. True, she knew nothing of them, but these... these were her kin -- not the elves that had met them at the surface. She glanced quickly around at her companions; Imoen's peaceful face was scrunched up slightly as she dreamt, while Jaheira had drifted back into a light slumber beside the dream-twitching Sime. Minsc was snoring, as usual, and somehow, Kivan and Xan had drifted into reverie at either side of him, oblivious to the thunderous noises he made. Maiyn smiled softly as she turned back to the elves, noticing Anomen standing tensely, waiting to continue following her lead in how she acted towards them. "No, my friends, I cannot. I have... well, my path has already been set for me, and I cannot divert from it for now. But perhaps... perhaps one day, I will travel there and find the others."

The three elves nodded, then bowed their heads to her once more, allowing her to reply in kind. "Safe travels, our lady," the central figure said. The forests can be dangerous -- beware to the north, where many humans are marching to another of their petty squabbles."

"Thank you for the warning," she smiled. "Good hunting on your journeys."

"May your ways be green and golden," said the smallest elf, waving his hand as he followed his companions in their silent departure. Maiyn looked over to Anomen and grinned.

"You can stop glaring now," she said, sitting back down. "They meant us no harm."

"It didn't look like that, my lady," he muttered darkly, his eyes continually looking around the camp as if he expected a surprise attack at any moment.

"They thought I was hurting Verya," she explained quietly. "They're... they're my own kind, I think. Wild elves -- not part of the People." Anomen raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "They do not feel... a need, or an affinity I suppose, enough to live in an elven settlement. They... they're different."

The priest nodded slightly. "Like you and Kivan are different to Xan?" he asked slowly.

She smiled slightly. "I guess so... though I think Kivan could return to the People if he chose to. I've never been anything but an outcast from them... and I guess that's how I'm happiest."

The priest smiled warmly. "Then if you are happy, it is the best way," he said. Maiyn smiled back at him.

"Yes... yes, I think you're right."

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The group pressed on, covering much more distance than they should have been able to manage over the next few days as Maiyn set the pace, her determination bringing them closer and closer to Athkatla. She'd hardly spoken to anyone since her disturbed reverie and Xan was worried; the culmination of her lost soul, the pressure of finding and facing both Irenicus and Bodhi, and the hardships his kin were obviously suffering from were all weighing heavily on his mind. And that was before he even attempted to make any sense of his feelings for Maiyn... or what she must be feeling for him...

He shook his head as they walked. They weren't far from the city now, but any opportunity that there had been to talk to the ranger alone had evaporated almost as soon as it had presented itself, with usually either Imoen or Verya getting in before he could. And now she was caught in deep conversation with Sime, no doubt discussing the arrangements for when they got back -- the Shadow Thief had promised to enlist as many thieves as she could to aid them in the battle ahead, with Aran's goodwill. Anomen had also been quite enthusiastic about approaching the Order of the Radiant heart, and Maiyn had surprised them all by nodding her reluctant agreement.

He was in no mood to talk to anyone else -- Jaheira and Kivan were marching side by side, as they were wont to do recently, and Imoen was with Anomen as usual, leaving the large berserker as his own marching companion. Minsc, however, was quite content to stroll along in silence; and the truth be told, Xan was quite pleased to have someone there beside him. The loneliness he'd begun to feel in his sleep deprivation had been almost unbearable, and although conversation with the human was not something he desired at that point, his gratefulness for the large man's gentleness when offering assistance was still fresh in his mind; also, the conversations he'd witnessed the Rashemeni having with the others in the group -- simple, but loyal and supportive, had made him reconsider his views slightly. Less complex than the others in many ways, Minsc was complicated in his own right -- but Xan already had far too much on his mind to try and figure out the workings of Imoen's guardian.

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"You and Sime are gettin' on well," noted Imoen as they walked. Anomen gave her a quizzical look.

"She is... not how I expected her to be," he admitted. "And she is part of the group."

"You think she'll leave us when she gets back to the city?"

"I think she will find she has to, although perhaps not until we've faced Bodhi first. Her loyalty will be to her own family."

Imoen nodded. "What about you? Will you be going back to the Order when we're done with the vampires?"

Anomen shook his head. "Nay, if they permit it -- and I see no reason why they would not, unless something important has developed -- I will follow Maiyn and her companions for as long as she wishes me to."

Imoen smiled. "So you'll come back to Elhan with us, and help us fight Irenicus?"

"I certainly shall," he said confidently, his eyes sparkling as they met hers. She grinned impishly at him.

"I'm glad. I kinda like you being around, even if you are a stuffy old knight!"

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly -- the more time he'd spent in the young girl's company, the less likely he'd become to taking her jests to heart. "I'm not that much older than you, my Lady." He grinned back at her when she scowled at his way of addressing her.

Her scowl faded quite quickly. "How old are you, then?" she asked, her brow furrowing in thought instead of annoyance.

"Older than you," he replied teasingly. "Though, I'd estimate I've seen no more than half dozen more summers than you have."

"What about winters?" Imoen grinned.

"I'd wager the number would be fairly similar," he replied, letting a comfortable silence descend on them for a few minutes. Imoen's sigh broke the silence.

"It'll be winter soon," she remarked thoughtfully. "If we... well, when we get our souls back, I wonder where we'll go. It used to be so nice at Candlekeep, when it rolled round. The big banquet hall would be all set up for the Feast of the Moon, and the monks would take turns telling stories about all the older sages who'd lived and studied there, and me an' Maiyn'd sit beside Karan and Parda, beside the fire." Her tone had turned wistful, and Anomen smiled slightly at her.

"It sounds very pleasant," he said with a hint of envy in his tone. She quickly looked abashed.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to-"

He shook his head. "No, please -- keep telling me. It's... nice, to hear about your past. If you wish to tell me, that is."

"There's not much else to tell," she shrugged, frowning a little as she thought. "When the snow started to fall, we'd rush outside and throw ourselves down on the lawns to make snow angels. Gorion always told us we'd catch our death of colds, and try and herd us back inside, but we'd just run away from him gigglin'."

Anomen chuckled. "You must have been quite the pair."

"That's not even half of it," Imoen remarked knowingly. "Gorion an' Winthrop always said that we made each other worse." She sighed again. "I miss 'em."

Anomen gave her a concerned look, and hesitantly reached out, touching her hand with his fingers lightly. She smiled, allowing their hands to clasp together, and another comfortable silence fell on them as, gently, he squeezed her hand comfortingly.

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She could see the city ahead, much to her relief -- they would make it just before nightfall, and hopefully have enough time to secure rooms for the evening before trying to enlist help for their cause the next day. Maiyn was glad that they'd managed to avoid whatever mobilising of men the other elves had mentioned -- they'd encountered little in the way of hold-ups, and they'd made very good time indeed.

She knew the others were tired -- their pace had been steady and swift, and she too was feeling the fatigue from the journey. But they needed to get to Bodhi, for Imoen's sake, and she was determined to get there before too much time passed. Sime had been walking with her for the past hour, and they'd discussed the likelihood of Aran offering aid for the inevitable battle; Sime was certain he'd provide what assistance he could.

"And I'll be there, also," she said in her quiet voice, smiling over to the ranger. Maiyn grinned back -- the offer was more than enough to secure the friendship between the Shadow Thief and the ranger that had slowly developed through Brynnlaw, the asylum and the Underdark.

"Your aid will be greatly appreciated," replied Maiyn sincerely. "And any others who will stand with us will be welcome to. It worries me to think of the time she's had to prepare."

"She witnessed the strength your group has when you last destroyed her lair," Sime pointed out. "And since then..."

"She's seen what is really inside me," sighed Maiyn. "I cannot rely on that kind of power."

"I know. But you will not need to, if all goes well. You will have plenty of allies -- the knight, Anomen, will be able to enlist his comrades in arms, I am sure, and if they can suffer to work alongside my own..." She smiled dryly. "Never did I think I would be happy to work with such an organisation."

"Never did you think one of them would pray for many hours to bring you back to life," grinned Maiyn.

Sime nodded her agreement. "I am thankful for that. To all of you." Her dark eyes found Maiyn's. "You could have just left me there."

The ranger frowned slightly. "Even if there'd been no chance of returning you to life, I don't think I would have wanted to leave you there," she said quietly. "Not unless there had been no other option -- as it was, we were very fortunate to escape."

Sime nodded grimly. "It has made me consider the way my life has been taking me," she admitted. "I have not been... a good person, I suppose -- I mean, truly, what Shadow Thief could profess to being a pure soul? To think that Helm, of all the Gods, granted his worshipper the power to re-invest life in me... well it puzzles me slightly. I cannot change who, or what, I am, but I can take a good look at myself. Though I have never intentionally been malicious or cruel, there are areas of my life where I feel some shame. Perhaps, as gratitude for the service, I can ensure that I work more on my benevolent disposition."

"I am sure that Anomen would be delighted to hear such words," said Maiyn with a wink. Sime grinned.

"He certainly appeared to be enthusiastic about my potential salvation," she replied. "Though I did have to politely decline the chance to confess openly to my sins to him. I don't think he would have the stomach for some of it."

Maiyn chuckled. "Probably not, no," she agreed. "Will you be returning to your guildhall when we arrive at the city?"

Sime nodded. "I will make sure you find accommodation for the evening, then I will take my report to Aran," she stated. "If you would come to the hall tomorrow morning, we shall await you in his office -- if it is suitable."

Maiyn thought for a moment. "Perhaps we could make it the afternoon, instead?" she asked. "I know a few of us have errands, and so forth, that we wish to run -- and if we get them settled before we meet you, we can be ready to leave after our meeting, and go straight to the lair if needs be."

Sime nodded. "That will be fine. It shall also give me a chance to round up some of our more capable thieves to come with us. I feel that our strength and safety, this time around, will be in numbers."

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Hendak was only too pleased to offer them rooms when they arrived at the Copper Coronet. Maiyn had tried to persuade Verya to follow them into the city, but the cat had shied away, sulking slightly at having to part ways again so soon.

I'm sorry, Maiyn told her apologetically. But soon we'll be travelling back towards Tethyr, and I'll be sure to call for you.

The lynx was slightly appeased, allowing the ranger to hug her tightly before she stalked off to hunt overnight. The group, however, were exhausted -- when the rooms were sorted and paid for, they retired, one by one, while Maiyn finalised plans with Sime for the following day. Only Xan was left waiting for her when she turned towards the stairs, and she offered him a polite smile as they walked up to their rooms together.

"Thank you," she said at length. "For pulling me from the memory. You didn't have to."

"No, I didn't," he replied. "But I could not idly sit by and watch you suffer like that. I wished to thank you, in any regard -- for some reason, since then, I've found it easier to rest, and I think I may even have my full magical capabilities back with another night of reverie."

She nodded as she reached the room she was sharing with Imoen and Jaheira. "That is good to hear. Good night, Xan."

He watched as she closed the door after herself, letting out a long, mournful sigh as he walked the short way to the room he was sharing with Kivan. His elven companion was already in reverie when he opened the door, and the enchanter wasted no time in lying on his own bed, entering a similar state.

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Since Valygar had left the previous day, Coran had found himself with virtually no company. The ranger had been determined to move on, returning to his cabin near Imnesvale to prepare for his own mission, but wishing Coran the best in the elf's own endeavours. He'd waved the stalker off, slightly saddened by the loss of his company, even if it had been strained in the most recent days; Edwin had hidden himself somewhere since their arrival, and Nalia had thrown herself into her duties as lady of the lands.

Coran watched as Captain Arat led off Reynald and his men from the great hall; their first destination would be to show them their new permanent quarters in the keep, and then they'd visit the armoury to receive new armour and weapons for their positions. Horses were being fetched for them that day, to enable them to patrol the De Arnise lands more efficiently, and the fallen paladins seemed to be quite content with this.

Nalia was delighted; it was quite apparent by her enthusiasm to get everything arranged, and the smile that had adorned her face since both the Captain and the Major Domo had agreed that the men would make a valuable addition to the defences. Even now, several days later, she was excited by the prospect, and he watched her almost dancing as she dashed up to him.

"They should be ready for their first outing tomorrow!" she exclaimed. "And with them on horseback, they can keep an eye on those blasted Roenalls." Her face changed into a worried frown -- one of the hunters who lived close to the border between the lands had reported seeing mercenaries passing by, on their way to the Roenall fortress. No one knew what reason they had to be amassing a force, but it had worried the young girl immeasurably, despite Coran's assurances that it was nothing to concern them.

Coran just smiled, realising that any further attempts to put her mind to rest would prove to be futile until Reynald himself reported back on the situation, and since he would likely be doing so the next day, he decided it would be better to change the subject.

"Have you seen Edwin?"

Nalia snorted. "Not since we arrived," she said. "I believe he's in the library, once again -- cook has been taking dishes of food in there quite regularly, which is fine by me. It keeps him out of my way."

Coran grinned. "The sentiment is shared," he replied mischievously, turning around as his name was called by one of the keeps' guards.

"Master Coran -- there's a man here to see you. Says he's got a message he'll only hand over to you."

Nalia instantly paled, and Coran nodded, following the guardsman as he led the way outside, where the man was waiting beside the kennels, the reins to a large black steed in his hands. When he saw them approach, he moved forward, wordlessly holding the parchment out to the elf, then nodding once before he mounted his horse.

"Renal sends his warmest regards," he said in a gruff voice, turning his horse around, and galloping away across the drawbridge before anyone could reply. Coran hastily dismissed the guard, then stared at the letter in his hands. Nalia nudged him slightly.

"Open it," she urged.

He nodded, his hands shaking slightly as he carefully broke open the deliberately plain seal and unfurled the paper to reveal Renal's scripture. His mouth went dry, and he tried to clear his throat as Nalia stared at him curiously. He opened his mouth to read it out, but his voice cracked. Gently, the girl took it from him, her eyes skimming over the news inquisitively. When she'd done, her face was solemn, and she gave the parchment back to him.

"I'll go and get things ready to go," she said quietly. "Give me an hour to make the preparations here that I need to do, and to get Edwin away from those books."

He nodded, barely hearing her voice, and slowly sat down on the low stone wall that penned in the keep's hounds as she hurried inside. He looked at the letter once more, reading it again to allow the words to sink in.

My delightful friend, Coran,

It is with great pleasure that I write to you, to keep my end of the deal we struck. I can now reveal to you that the girl you have such an interest in shall be returning to Athkatla with all haste -- as I pen this, she is no more than a day or two from the city, I'd guess, still in the company of our own delightful comrade.

I do hope this finds you in the best possible health.

Renal.