Loyalty of the Tiefling

by JHMLYNDALE

The events of Mask of the Betrayer, but with the twist of Neeshka having managed to follow her harbour-boy… who is hers rather than Elanee's. Prologue, 25 chapters, Epilogue.

14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Blake was not as sure as Gann about who was standing with whom and neither was he as sure about destroying this ancient shared dream. As they probed the dreamscape, reaching out to find the foundations on which it was built and the keystones that kept it from collapsing, the Hags seized on those doubts. Visions of ancient wisdom floated almost within Blake's reach. The chance to learn from the dreams of the wise and how they succeeded or from the nightmares of the unwise and how they failed. To learn magic that had been lost or how to prevent the rediscovery of magic that should remain lost. With an effort Blake drove those visions from his mind by summoning memories of the madness of Gann's mother and trying to imagine the slow dismembering of Gann's father.

As Gann began to chant Blake focussed on his friend's words and though they were in no language he understood the act of concentration seemed enough to let Gann guide both their efforts. Together their minds skimmed the dreamscape and felt out its shape. Feeling how thought and memory had been woven into a vast web that the Hags could crawl across and trap and weave more fragments of dream into. Layer upon layer of dream had been added but beneath it all were the ancient links that had let these Hags become a Coven of Nine rather than Three and let them join their power in eternal sleep.

The Hags were right that neither Gann nor Blake nor even them both had the power to stand against them. However they did not need to stand against them when Gann's insight let him find those connections that had been made without the strength of the group-mind as those were what had allowed the group-mind to be formed. Connections that had been formed by just their individual minds reaching out to each other and without the benefit of all the knowledge they'd gained in their long slumber. The Hags screamed in agony as Gann guided the attacks to tear at these weakest but most vital strands of their dream and as around them the dreamscape began to dissolve.

Those screams echoing in his skull made it hard for Blake to realise first that he was awake and then that his sweetheart Neeshka was speaking. "…ing up, yes, he's waking up," she was saying, her concerned face close to his as she cradled his chin in her hands to peer into his eyes. She glanced away, "so is Gann… oh Hells! So are the Hags!"

"Whur…" Blake began to say, not sure even himself if that would become 'what's happening?' or 'watch out'. Whichever he intended the words were cut off as Neeshka took advantage of their proximity to press a quick passionate kiss onto his mouth. This drove the last remnants of sleep from his mind and then as she pulled back and released his chin she suddenly yanked his chain hood up and plonked his helmet on his head. "Oomph," Blake protested, a little dazed at the sudden shifts from dreaming to kissing to being helmeted.

"More kissing later," Neeshka grinned, her slender deft fingers making quick work of the buckles and straps to secure Blake's helmet, "motivation to win this fight."

"A… a… fine motivation, I am sure," commented Gann, showing that the dream daze was as hard to shake without being kissed as it was with that 'aid'. "Though I thought your kiss would be to awaken him."

"I feel awake for it," Blake replied, looking at how the columns of light around the Hags were dissolving and lowering them to the floor.

"And I think I feel awake enough without you kissing me," smiled Gann, "though was kind of your lady to offer your services."

Rather than reply Blake just leaned to his left and slid his arm under the loose straps of his shield that was lying there ready. With an effort, and a helpful grab and yank from Neeshka, he rose to his feet and began tightening the straps to hold it firm. Neeshka looked a little worried as Blake swayed slightly. Her rapier hissed into her hand as she moved to place herself between her harbour-boy and the Hags. He needed protecting from them more than he needed her to stay within range to catch him if he wobbled too much and fell. Blake noticed this, that Gann was subtly leaning on his spear, and that Okku's entire spirit-form was one mass of tension ready to be released.

"Okku!" Blake called. "Rend and tear as many Hags as you want!"

"With pleasure, little one," growled the bear-god, springing with a ferocity that was almost as fearsome to have on your side as it was to attempt to fight.

Neeshka stepped a little to the side to be well clear of Okku's path and gave Blake a quick glance. Both to reassure herself how he was and to decide if he was simply letting Okku do what he was eager to do or if he was being over-protective of his sexy Tiefling again. Blake smiled back as he saw Neeshka looking at him and then began to chant an invocation. The Fat Fellow from the one dream and the Idiot Wizard from the other were huddling out of harm's way in a corner and the Illithid was, satisfyingly, a corpse lying where it had stood so it was only Okku he had to avoid hitting. It was a little disorientating whether or not spells cast in the dreamscape had actually been cast but Blake focussed through this and the fireball of a Firebrand formed, split, and arced in its separate 'brands' away from him.

Okku's jaws closed with a satisfying crunch on a Hag and he began to chew and worry at her as he shook his great head and his teeth sank deeper into the unexpectedly frail flesh. Then one fireball dipped and struck this Hag, almost surprising Okku into dropping her. "Careful little-one," he grumbled through the mouthful of Hag, "unlike you I do not need my meat cooked."

"Apologies," Blake said with a frown, seeing this and the effect of the other elements of his spell. He had not expected the Hags to dodge the magic but he'd not thought to stagger them that much or that, even with the lingering daze of sleep, Okku would have got such a good grip on one.

Blake drew his sword and advanced as Okku spat out the Hag, throwing her with one flex of his thick neck into her sisters who were slapping at the flames burning at their flesh or clothes, or who were simply screaming in pain if not on fire. The Coven's sisterhood did not extend to trying to catch a wounded sister but despite their efforts to dodge she still struck some of them. Then Okku sprang again and into the midst of the Coven, whirling and roaring and bowling them aside and heedless of the danger of their counter-attacks.

Gann joined Blake and Neeshka in climbing the broad short flight of stairs, taking his position on Blake's left to strike where Blake's shield was while Neeshka protected Blake's right where his shield was not. A Hag slid across the stone platform and almost into their feet as one of Okku's great paws struck her. Smoothly Blake twisted his arm around and stabbed his sword down into her chest before she could rise. There was a crunch of bone and the Hag convulsed as the blade pierced her heart and the magic on it discharged into her. Pulling his sword back and looking at the carnage Okku was inflicting Blake's frown deepened.

"I…I don't," Blake began to say.

"Consider this," interrupted Gann, thrusting forward with his spear as a Hag stumbled back from Okku and towards them. She dodged the bear-god's attack but the spearhead cut deep into her lower back and as it severed her spine and her legs no longer worked she fell. Gann pulled his spear back and then bent that motion into sweeping its butt through a vertical underarm arc and into the Hag's skull. "What have these hags been doing?"

"Preying on the dreams of Rash…" replied Blake, glancing at the fallen Hag and then cutting off his words as he cut out with his sword at another member of the Coven. Okku's blow landed a moment sooner though and moved the Hag so Blake's sword only glanced her. Of course it moved the Hag at the cost of her having those razor-sharp dagger-sized claws tear a great chunk from her flesh. "They have been asleep floating in columns of light," Blake continued in realisation, "while your mother…"

"Yes," Gann interrupted again, his lips tightening, "my mother. My mother they drove mad was hunting in the real world." With an effort Gann tried to regain some of his normal lightness of tone. "Which I must admit that, as unfortunate as it was for her prey, did seem to have been excellent exercise to keep her fast and strong."

Not fooled by Gann's effort but willing to accept that he did not want to talk or think about it Blake nodded and looked for a target. There were not many choices as even without the distraction of the spell of Firebrand it seemed Okku was far faster than these Hags with their atrophied muscles. It also seemed that as many Hags as the bear-god wanted to rend and tear was as many Hags as were available. Okku snapped forward and his great jaws closed on one Hag's face, nearly biting off the entire head as they did. Spitting out his gruesome mouthful Okku looked for fresh prey.

There was not really much the others could do to help Okku. Blake considered telling Gann and Neeshka to cover the other flights of stairs but before the words could leave his mouth he saw a Hag attempt to flee and the bear-god fell her with one swipe. All the Coven were either dead or grievously wounded, deep claw and tooth marks across most of them. The one Gann had killed looked neat by comparison despite the smashed in side of her skull distorting her face. Blake looked at them and at the happy Okku who paused in satisfaction as he saw no more standing Hags to knock down.

"I… mistrust these corpses," Blake finally said, "they were creatures of trickery and that Bheur was tough enough to be alive when I thought her dead."

"Simple to solve harbour-boy," said Neeshka, one corner of her mouth twitching in a sad smile that what seemed so obvious to her was not to her harbour-boy.

Deftly Neeshka sliced her previously clean rapier across the neck of one of the fallen and Blake nodded and began to follow suit. His larger sword went closer to decapitating his chosen Hags rather than simply cutting their throats. It did not take long when Gann also joined them in running the razor edge of his spearhead across throats or driving it into hearts or brains to work through the entire Coven to make sure they were dead. Okku had watched this all in amusement as he had more faith in his kills and that if these were not already dead they soon would have been. He could have taken offence at his two-legged companions having less faith but decided it was just another example of them being kind and thus granting the Hags a quicker rather than more lingering death.

"Justice for my parents," sighed Gann, slumping as the reaction to the events set in, "and no longer shall they haunt the dreaming world. It is done."

"It is well done," Okku corrected. "Now shall we leave this depressing place?"

"Aye," nodded Blake, "we found some clues and some answers in the dreams but nothing more for us here."

"Nothing more for anyone," Neeshka grinned, amused by something, "and I think only one way out of here? The way we'd have come in if we had queued?"

Blake looked puzzled, he liked it when his sweetheart was smiling but preferred it when he knew why. Sometimes it was something he'd not intended to be amusing that made her grin or giggle. "Yes…" he said slowly, "there does not seem a way out through the Skein, especially not with how it was collapsing."

"Just checking harbour-boy," Neeshka said, grinning wider as for once she was the one pointing out the implications. "After all I don't think the people in the queue are going to be too happy that we just killed the Hags they were waiting to see."

"I find their happiness, or unhappiness, a matter of supreme indifference to me," commented Gann.

"If those in the queue offer violence we will return it," Blake nodded, "if the guards try to avenge the Coven we will slay them, but we are leaving. Whether over their corpses or not."

"They will not bar the passage of a god-of-bears, or his allies," rumbled Okku, "or not for long."

As Neeshka recovered her traps from first the way to the Skein and then the way out, and Okku waited impatiently for her to finish so he could fling the stacked corpses aside to leave, Blake looked around for the two humans. They seemed to still be in shock. Being woken to be greeted by a bear-god rather than a Hagspawn guard had been surprise enough. To find the two strangers they had met in their dreams were alive and present had added to this. Then witnessing the death in reality of the infamous Slumbering Coven had finished the job.

They had been arguing in low voices in a corner but fell silent as Blake began to approach them. 'Dead men tell no tales, without a cleric to interpret' was an adage they had heard and even without the lurking mountainous presence of the bear-god and with his armour and sword still being relatively clean he was still quite imposing after what they had seen. To their relief Blake smiled rather than struck at them.

"Ah, Faras," Blake began, continuing when the Wizard nervously nodded, "hopefully dealing with Enzibur in the dreamscape was enough, but if you do have to deal with him in the waking world then I hope you remember the solution from the dream?"

"I…er… I do."

"And you," Blake added, turning slightly towards the fat fellow. "I don't think I heard your name with the game playing, and I'm not sure what purpose that dream had, but hopefully you'll remember that however proud you are of a game you 'invented' that doesn't mean someone else cannot play it well?"

"Of course sir," came the nervous reply, "and I admit the game does have similarities to others. So thank you for the lesson."

Blake looked at them for a moment, and at the fear in their eyes, before shrugging slightly in puzzlement. Glancing at Neeshka's progress, and taking a moment to admire her as she worked, Blake then looked back at the room they had entered through. "After avenging Gann's parents myself and my friends may be in for some fighting," said Blake, returning his gaze to the pair and worrying them that he might ask for help in this. "I'd suggest you wait in that room over there," he continued to their relief, "the stairs down lead to a place called the Skein, which does not seem an exit…"

"Yes sir, we overheard" Faras admitted before asking. "Did you say Gann? As in Gannayev?"

"Ah, you have heard of me?" oozed Gann, attracted by the idea and joining the conversation. "Good things I hope?"

"You, er, well, er…"

Gann's smile faltered a little as the Wizard searched for words rather than having ready compliments. Surely it was not that difficult to think of something flattering to say when speaking of him and all his enviable attributes? He was the nightmare of fathers only because he was the dream of their daughters and could show them such pleasures as even dreams could not otherwise bring. With the joy he had given so many, young and middle-aged, demure maiden and lusty widow, chaste and otherwise, as rake and raconteur there were surely tales of wonder about his exploits?

"Good things of course, sir," interrupted the fat fellow, taking pity on Faras. "Many good things."

"Yes, yes," Faras added. "Many many good things."

With a frown Gann considered asking for specifics and considered whether he really wanted to know what precisely these people had heard. He felt a moment of self-doubt as he remembered what his mother had said and how she had seemed as unimpressed as the Witches were by his exploits. It was only a moment though and as the frown seemed to be making this pair even more nervous Gann decided they were too pathetic for him to care what their reply would be. To their relief he turned and walked away.

"Give us several minutes to make our way out before you follow," Blake suggested.

"We, we will sir," replied the fat fellow nervously, Faras hastily nodding in agreement.

After another moment of looking at them Blake decided to leave them be as Okku had begun to fling corpses an impressive distance across the room. Neeshka gave Blake a brilliant grin as her harbour-boy rejoined her and Blake smiled back happily before they turned their attention to Okku's progress. Gann was paying less attention; instead he was gazing at where the Slumbering Coven lay. His expression was that of a man who had found the need for revenge and then found that revenge all in the space of a few hours and was wearied by it. However as the last corpse thudded to and slid across the floor Gann straightened and restored his posture of confidence and strength.

"Ready little-one?" Okku rumbled.

Blake nodded. "Neeshka?"

Neeshka winked and then, as quickly as most could with the key, deftly unlocked the door and stepped back as she triggered the opening magic. Okku as was his nature and preference charged through and at the clump of four Hagspawn who seemed to have been talking or arguing. They had barely reacted to the sudden opening of the door before the bear-god was upon them in all his fury and crushing one of them to the ground under his great forepaws. Okku's face dipped down beneath these and his jaws closed with a clack before he reared away and spat out the fatal chunk of flesh he had taken.

The other three Hagspawn were backing off and seemed to be getting slightly organised for a counterattack against Okku. Their conversation in the language of Hags became even more bitter sounding as they caught sight of Blake and the others and tried to decide what to do. Seeing Gann smile Blake wondered what they were saying and turned to his friend to ask. Before Blake could speak Gann anticipated the question.

"Simply put one is saying 'I told you so'," Gann commented, "or if you wish more detail?"

"If useful," replied Blake.

"They feared to investigate or raise the alarm because of the punishment they risked if that was a mistake, which shows the disadvantage of ruling through fear and severity."

One Hagspawn glared at Gann as he realised this pretty thing shared his parentage but would be admired rather than reviled. Then with a final flurry of what even to Blake sounded more like obscenities than useful discussion the Hagspawn guards finally decided on a plan. One unfortunate fellow was half-shoved towards Okku to hold him off while the other two charged to meet Blake and Gann and Neeshka. They were not well organised as the one that had glared at Gann was sufficiently eager to try to smash his skull in that he got a little ahead of his friend even in that short distance.

Gann flicked his spear out at the arm that was swinging down and the razor-sharp spearhead sliced across tendons and veins. The hand relaxed and the club arced away to clatter and bounce across the stone of the floor. It only took a moment for the Hagspawn to overcome his surprise and the pain and he started to twist to punch out with his other hand. As he did though Neeshka sliced at the side of his neck with her rapier and showed, again, that even tough Hagspawn flesh was no match for her harbour-boy's present to her. The Hagspawn reflexively grabbed at the wound but blood gushed out from between the fingers of that hand as he began to fall forward onto his knees.

Blake swung and his sword coming up met the Hagspawn's neck coming down. The impact nearly decapitated the Hagspawn even though it had to slice through the hand as well as the neck. It also knocked Blake's sword back and left him a little off-balance with his shield and sword out of line and seeing a chance the second of those Guards tried to club in at his head. Gann however had sidestepped a little and stabbed in at the other Hagspawn's knee and thigh. This was not a deep wound but was enough to make Blake's attacker stumble and give Blake a chance to regain his balance and counter-attack.

Taking a short step forward Blake slammed his shield into the stumbling Hagspawn and finished what Gann's attack had started. Neeshka bounded back in and stabbed down though the Hagspawn's hide armour and into his heart a moment before Gann's spear thrust back in and into the side of his skull. Bone crunched and flesh parted and magic discharged to worsen the wounds that even without that would have both been fatal. Meanwhile Okku had dealt with the last of that group of Guards and, ignoring a desperate attempt to club at him, had simply torn the Hagspawn's guts out with one swipe of a mighty paw.

The door to the next room was already open and looking through into it Blake's eyes met the dead ones of what appeared to be a Lich. It was hard to judge the expressions of a corpse, even one that was moving and still had some flesh on its skull, but Blake could feel the waves of malevolence coming towards them as the Lich moved further back into the shadows of that room. Cautiously he led the way to and through the doorway into the next room. For a moment the two groups looked at each other.

"This could be trouble," Blake muttered, ignoring Okku's grunt of disagreement. Those two female Vampires looked as tough as the ones he'd had some problems with back at Castle Never. Perhaps worse the armour protecting two of the other undead looked in good condition rather than, as in the barrow, being rusty or looking, as in Myrkul's temple, as if it had been worn when the occupant was burned and beaten to death.

"Fool, this is your death… not mere trouble," hissed the Lich, from safely behind its followers. "That you bypassed the queue was a grave enough mistake as it served to anger me. That you might have done what they accuse you of is just more reason to end your existence. Minions… kill!"

"Go to Kelemvor and death, all of you," Blake growled back.

Obedient to their master the Lich's minions charged forward. Obedient to his nature of disdaining hesitation or subtlety Okku counter-charged but had to pull up short, claws digging into the rough matting, as in perfect unison the two armoured undead stabbed their swords forward. The great haunches of the bear-god tensed to drive him forward again, past the swords or with them as they withdrew for another strike, but Blake could see the Vampires circling around to attack Okku's flanks. The mummies were also doing their best to charge but their shuffling progress was far slower than the Vampires' loping stride.

Too late Blake realised the Lich, unlike the Red Wizards in the Veil, was not content to leave things to its subordinates. Lightning arced from the Lich into Blake as it completed its spell and then arced from Blake into Gann and Neeshka. The pain of the electricity flowing through him was maddening enough but the pain of hearing the small noise of distress Neeshka made as it flowed into and through her sealed the Lich's fate. Focussing his own power and twisting the weave with his own incantation Blake sent a ray of Disintegrate back and through the Lich's robes into its undead body. The Lich was tough enough the spell did not cascade through it to reduce it to dust but it still staggered back with a crater burned from its dead flesh and bones.

The muscle spasms from the lightning and the pause to cast a spell back had delayed Blake and the others though and this gave the Vampires time to spring. They moved with impressive speed and suddenly the bear-god had one clinging to either side of him. His spirit form dimmed slightly where their claw-like fingernails dug in as their dark magic began to try to drain his near inexhaustible might. Okku shook himself like a dog trying to shed water but the Vampires clung on, their unnatural strength letting them not only keep their grip but threatening to let them draw themselves in to where they could use their fangs.

One of the armoured undead took advantage of Okku's distraction and with all the grace expected from a corpse in full plate stabbed forward again, drawing a dim line across Okku and proving his sword would also drain as well as wound. The cut began to close but slower than normal as the spirit-flesh had to first regain its energy and colour before it could heal. Okku rumbled in annoyance and his rage flowed into his healing.

"Damn," breathed Blake. "He's throwing them around too much to easily strike with a sword, but they're also too close for spells without risking hitting him."

"Throwing them around too much for you harbour-boy," Neeshka said, winking. "I'm not as slow and my sword's not as clumsy."

"Hmm, allow me," said Gann, sprinting off before Blake could respond.

Blake wasn't sure what Gann intended. His spear's longer reach might allow him to stay far enough from Okku to be out of the bear-god's way but still have the spearhead close enough for a Vampire to be shaken onto it. But that seemed unlikely and as Blake heard Gann begin to chant he realised that was not the idea. Then the spirits responded to Gann beseeching them for aid and Blake felt stupid. Gann had said he preferred to use the gifts of the spirits to heal rather than hurt and Okku's form did brighten a little with that aid. The Vampires though shrieked as the energy of life entered their undead forms and drove out some of the energy of death that gave them their unlife. It had not been that powerful a healing so they were not seriously affected, but the distraction of the pain was enough they lost their grip and were flung off into the shadows either side of Okku.

Gann retreated a little as he flinched back away from the flying Vampire and then as he saw how well she had landed. He'd hoped for a less grace and more injury rather than her rolling once and then back up onto her feet. The Vampire's red eyes narrowed and she hissed and exposed her fangs at Gann, angry at the pain he had caused her and her determination now fixing on this new victim. Gann brought his spear into line and took a cautious half step forward to meet the possible attack rather than letting this thing have all the initiative.

Meanwhile freed of the burden of a Vampire on either flank Okku had bounced forward to meet the attack of one of the armoured undead and had swung a huge paw into its side a moment before it could bring its sword in. As Blake had feared this armour was in good condition but armour that could withstand such a blow and the claws of a bear-god was something rarely found on mortals rather than other gods. Metal tore and crumpled and the undead's boots left the ground before it clattered to the stone floor and skidded a short way across it on its other side. The Mummies had finally reached the fight though and with them and the distance he'd knocked it Okku found himself unable to pounce and finish that prey.

Blake looked at Okku who was whirling and swiping and snapping and seemed to be doing well. The other Vampire had not landed as well as the one now facing Gann but she was back on her feet and beginning to move in to attack Okku again. Deciding to let the bear-god have room to work, and with a wave of his sword that showed not all his youthful enthusiasm had been driven out by experience and training, Blake began to charge towards this second Vampire. Neeshka hesitated a moment over whether to help Gann or her harbour-boy. It seemed Gann might need the help more but, with a shrug, Neeshka followed her heart and her sweetheart rather than her judgement.

Glancing over his shoulder Gann had somewhat mixed feelings about this. He supposed it meant they had faith in his abilities but a little less faith and a little more help might have been welcome. Another blur of clawed-hand swipes erupted from the Vampire and Gann parried with a flurry of spearthrusts, using the greater reach of his spear to try to compensate for the Vampire's greater speed. She was exceptionally fast and Gann hoped this was magic that might wear off soon rather than 'natural' unnatural speed or a spell the caster had learned to make persist all day.

Movement from the Lich almost distracted Blake fatally. To turn yourself into that sort of undead required significant arcane skill and power and Blake was worried about what other magic the Lich might know. There was a more pressing problem though so Blake quickly sidestepped and brought his shield across. Vampire claw-fingernails scraped across the magically resistant wood and struck a note off the metal blade ridge. He thrust his sword in counterattack but the Vampire twisted away and then jumped back outside the arc of Blake's backhanded sweep. Turning with that sweep had also let Blake bring his shield back in line though and as Neeshka arrived the Vampire had to dodge again to avoid a rapier blow.

The undead in the undamaged armour struck at Okku and managed to graze him. Ignoring this minor pain as beneath the notice of a god-of-bears Okku continued to turn to strike at and tear one of the Mummies apart. But the other armoured undead had managed to regain its feet and return. Had it been a living creature it would have been bleeding heavily from the rents in its breastplate and finding it very hard to breath with that many smashed ribs. Even as an undead it was badly slowed and the difference between it and the other armoured undead was noticeable as the two of them dabbed and feinted at Okku. With that distraction the Mummy Okku had wanted to attack managed to shuffle-throw itself forward and make contact briefly before being bounced aside. A slight tinge of leprous green tainted Okku's form where the Mummy had touched him but that very quickly faded.

"Ra-hah-hah-ha!" Okku roared in amusement. "I am a god-of-bears, not mere flesh to become diseased by your touch."

Gann frowned slightly as although he was pleased old father bear was having fun he did wish the same were true over here. The spell, if spell it was, showed no sign of fading and there had been a few attacks he'd come too close for his peace of mind to failing to parry. On the other hand, however well he could do the latter, it was words that were his strength rather than fighting and the quickness of the Vampires body might not be matched by her mind.

"Careful Madame," said Gann, trying to sound falsely concerned rather than out of breath. For a moment he envied Okku as a spirit not needing to breathe did not have the problem of being too breathless to speak. Though as a raging god-of-bears he did not have the problem of wanting to speak either. "With the small amount of fabric covering certain things you are more amply supplied with I fear, if you move too incautiously, you might reveal what you'd rather not."

The Vampire had paused in surprise, out of spear range, as Gann spoke but as she realised what he meant she snarled at him and jumped back to the attack. Her rage at mockery from something barely worthy to be her next meal, something that should be begging for mercy or worshipping her beauty, sped her blows but to Gann's relief these had become less controlled and easier to anticipate and parry.

Neeshka had been more able to match the other Vampire's speed and her rapier and the Vampire's talons were flickering back and forth between them. Gradually the speed of blow and counterblow had been increasing and they were pressing each other harder and harder. A fine flush of exertion began to spread across Neeshka's cheeks and forehead as the strain started to tell. And then Blake chopped in at the Vampire, slicing his sword into the join of shoulder and neck and almost diagonally out of the Vampire's side. Neeshka jumped a little at this sudden end to the fight.

"You took your time," complained Neeshka after a moment to recover. Then attempting to distract Blake from her having been almost as surprised as the Vampire she added. "Not that, Sharess willing, I mind you taking your time about some things but…"

"I was trying to keep an eye on the Lich," Blake explained, not distracted but not going to chide his beloved, "and besides giving her the few seconds of only trying to fend off you gave me surprise as her focus narrowed."

Ignoring the words of the little-ones and ignoring the swords of the armoured Undead Okku plunged forward to rend at a Mummy. However amused he had been by the failure of the attempt to infect him this was still a fine reason to rip this thing in half. The swords struck home and inflicted deeper wounds than they had before but Okku cared little as his claws sunk into the old dry fabric and the old dead dry flesh beneath. Snagging it back to his mouth Okku took a firm grip with his teeth, despite the terrible taste, and then reared his head back while stamping down with that paw. There was a tearing noise and Okku achieved his goal. The other Mummy shuffled back a little as the bear-god spat out the one half in its general direction.

To Gann's satisfaction the Vampire he was fighting suddenly slowed. She was still nearly as fast in her rage as she had been before Gann's comment but when magic rather than fury sped her attacks they'd been less wild and left her less vulnerable. Gann saw a chance and rather than stab out again with his spear to fend her off he instead swept the butt end of it around. This was a risk as it required him to step within arm's reach of her and even a glancing blow from her claw like fingernails would sap his strength. But without the extra speed of the magic, and with her not fighting as smart, it was a risk that paid off.

There was a crunch as the iron bands met the Vampire's knee and crushed undead bone and cartilage. She belatedly half-hopped back away from Gann and opened her mouth wide to hiss at him and show off her fangs. This hiss was truncated though as Gann, undistracted by anger or pain, smoothly brought his spear around as if it was a double-bladed paddle and then as the spearhead came in line thrust forward. He was rather glad that for all her speed and strength the skull of a Vampire was not as thick as that of a Wyvern as he remembered how his spear had become trapped the last time he had stabbed a hissing foe in the mouth.

Blake had advanced a little towards the Lich and had the satisfaction of seeing it retreat to try to keep the whirling mess of Okku's fight between them. That would suggest that even if it had not been destroyed it had still been badly affected by the Disintegrate. Unfortunately this room was barely better lit than the Skein and the dimness and shadows made it hard to tell if this had been more a wound to the body or to the Lich's self-confidence. Blake heard the hiss from the other side of the room, and its sudden end, but he also heard the Lich begin to chant. With how he tended to cast one spell and then try to get within sword range of foes with magic it was not a talent he often used but Blake concentrated and felt for how the weave was responding to the Lich's incantation. Then he began to chant and match the Lich's efforts, but match them with their exact opposite. Neeshka frowned as her harbour-boy stopped moving and began muttering in magic but took the chance to move so she was protecting him rather than him trying to shield her.

The Vampire had fallen forward as Gann withdrew his spear. Even if her skull was thinner there had been enough drag for her come a little way with the spear before its head slid free of the bone of hers. Gann glanced across to Okku and decided that however much old father bear would deny it he was looking dimmed enough to need some aid. First though Gann brought his spear vertical to thrust down like a piledriver and crush in the Vampire's skull with the butt and try to make sure her unlife was at an end. That done Gann began moving to assist.

Okku roared as another shallow wound was traced across his form. The two armoured undead had been managing to work annoyingly well together despite how one was slowed by its injuries. And though the draining effects of their swords were negligible compared with His strength they still stung. At least the surviving cloth-wrapped thing had moved away rather than be a distraction like it appeared the Hagspawn had just become. His rage, if not the blood he no longer had, singing in his ears Okku ignored whatever it was the Mummy was muttering and smashed his paw again into the armoured undead he had struck before. Already stressed by the previous blow leather straps snapped and buckles and rivets bent and popped so the breast and back plates clattered away in opposite directions. The chainmail beneath resisted being cut through by Okku's claws but bent around his paw rather than hinder it much on its way to shatter the undead's spine.

The other armoured undead lunged forward as Okku shook his paw. The bear-god's claws had become a little entangled in the chainmail links and it took him a moment to free them and send the smashed undead sliding away across the floor. That moment was long enough for the other undead to plunge his sword two-handed deep into Okku's side, between where his ribs would have been. Okku snarled and bucked in pain, ripping the sword from the undead's hands and sending it staggering back but leaving the sword embedded in him. A patch of dimness began to form and slowly spread around the blade to rob Okku's form of its colours.

Blake smiled in satisfaction as the Lich's spell failed. The tight dead flesh of the undead's face moved to snarl back in frustration.

"Er, harbour-boy…" Neeshka said, breaking the exchange.

Turning from the Lich Blake's smile faded as he saw the surviving Mummy had completed its prayer to whichever god still accepted its worship and that looked to have been Righteous Might. But it had grown a lot more than when Blake had seen that cast before. Rather than being half-again or double the height the Mummy was closer to triple and even with its stooped posture the ceiling seemed a little low. Blake would still have had confidence that Okku would tear it apart but he could see the sword jutting from him and that the bear-god was distracted with pain and being weakened like a mortal creature with a constantly bleeding wound.

"Help Okku," Blake said, concentrating and beginning to incantate.

Neeshka hesitated a moment. She could see the Lich had begun to try to cast something as well but she trusted her sweetheart and bounded away. Her sword was still clean so she slid it back into her scabbard as she crossed the short distance and leapt. Her strong slender legs took her up to land precisely on Okku and for a moment she rode his thrashing about as she had the spirit-badger back in his barrow, her lithe tail whipping about to help her keep her balance, before she grabbed at the sword hilt. She jumped again and away from Okku, drawing the sword out of his spirit-flesh with her and landing gracefully despite how the drag and weight of that weapon threw her off balance.

Blake could feel the Lich's efforts to do to him what he had done to it. But a ball of flame still formed in front of him in obedience to his spell of Fireball and streaked away and into the neck and upper chest of the giant Mummy. Cloth and flesh made dry by ages of death smouldered and blackened as this struck and burned at them. Feeling the heat of the impact Gann glanced over his shoulder with a slight sardonic smile.

"Careful," Gann chided, continuing to stab at the weaponless armoured undead, "I take good care of my hair… so I'd prefer it not scorched."

Acknowledging that with a brief nod Blake noted with satisfaction that as the flames of the fireball vanished this was only to be replaced by the flames of the Mummy having caught alight. It tried to claw away some of the burning wrapping but only managed a few swipes at itself before it found both hands on fire as well. As it staggered about a little Okku chuckled deep in his mighty chest. With how large the prayer had made the Mummy grow even Okku had difficulty reaching that high but relieved of his own pain he reared up and smashed a paw into and across its crotch. His claws carved a great furrow and the damage to its pelvis, the force of the impact, and whatever pain the undead felt from what would have been an emasculating blow drove it back.

Blake had been advancing on the Lich, both of them ready to cast a spell or try to prevent the other from casting, but now the Lich had another problem. It had just long enough to realise how the shadows in the room had shifted and to glance away from Blake and up before the giant Mummy finished losing its balance. There was a distinct crunch as the Mummy fell onto the Lich and then more snapping noises as old dead bone met unyielding stone. The Mummy twitched slightly and slightly raised itself back up before slumping back to the floor and continuing to just burn, the flames slowly spreading down its torso from where they had nearly consumed its shoulders and head.

Looking at how Gann was keeping the armoured undead occupied with his spear thrusts Neeshka considered the sword she was still holding. She hefted it a couple of times to feel the weight and balance. It was so heavy compared with hers, and how much heavier surprised her with how easy her harbour-boy made using this size sword look. But since this last undead was covered with armour and had no vital organs under that to stab perhaps it was time to use a little less finesse and a lot more metal than she preferred. Choosing her moment Neeshka twirled herself around in a two-handed horizontal sweep. She'd not even practised with a longsword, let alone one of the slightly larger swords like Blake's, and Gann had to flinch back a little from the swing. It did its task though, the undead's own sword cutting through its chainmail and through the bones that were all that remained of its neck.

The undead's severed head fell to the floor, the noise of helmet metal on stone merging with the clatter as the rest of it fell and struck the floor. Blake and Neeshka exchanged grins as she came to a stop. He couldn't help it. As much as he knew she had been carried around by her own momentum and the weight of the sword he so admired her grace that it still looked more like a dancer's pirouette than any mistake to him. Neeshka winked and dropped the sword with another clatter, subtly flexing her wrists after the unaccustomed strain, and began moving back towards Blake with a little more wiggle as he was watching and Gann was busy.

It was hard normally for Blake to not watch Neeshka as she moved so the extra sway she put into bosom and hips and the sort of smile she was giving him fixed his eyes firmly on her. Blake opened his mouth to make some comment as Neeshka got closer and as Gann finished beseeching the spirits to channel more power to Okku and heal the bear-god's wounds. Unfortunately his beloved's far more interesting movements had distracted him from noticing that the burning Mummy had been twitching with more than the effects of the fire. With a ripping noise like a dozen sails being shredded in a gale the two halves of its upper torso flew away from each other as the Lich freed himself from being impaled into his servant.

Fragments of burning and burnt cloth and flesh and bone littered the floor around his feet as he stood and glared at them past the more intact lower half of the Mummy. His robes were smouldering slightly and the crown that seemed a common affectation of Liches was askew on his undead head. He had been angered by them having seen the Coven before him and angered still more by the possibility the Coven had been slain and by Blake countering his spells, but this anger paled to insignificance compared with the rage now in his eyes. The Lich took a couple of limping steps away and out of the remains of the Mummy and if it still had lips to pull back to bare its teeth then it would have done as it looked at Blake.

"You will pay for this," the Lich hissed.

"I think not," Blake calmly replied, bringing his shield into guard position and readying himself.

The Lich sprang forward, having abandoned a duel of magic in favour of getting his skeletal hands on this impudent mortal. Blake moved to meet him and deny him a stationary target and, though he was moving with more caution, found he had the advantage of having spent the extra arcane power and effort to make his spell of Haste continue all day. With the Lich's charge and Blake's magic-enhanced speed they soon met and confirmed what the Mummy being torn apart had shown. The Lich was very strong and though Blake blocked the punch with his shield the force of it drove his shield back into him and his knees bent slightly as he was forced back and down a little.

Unfortunately for the Lich its strength was not matched by its durability. Blake had positioned his shield precisely enough that the blow had landed on the metal blade-ridge rather than the flat of the wood. It was blunt compared with a sword but still hard and narrow enough to shatter bone and let the Lich pulp its own fist on it as the bones of its hand were either crushed or split to either side of the ridge. Before the Lich could recover Blake pivoted in his semi-crouched position and swept his sword across. He grunted slightly as a flash of pain showed the Lich, like him, had an aura of Death Armour active but it was only a brief flash of pain as the blade passed through and severed the Lich's lower leg.

The Lich fell as Blake straightened but the undead rolled with the fall and having one foot cut out from beneath it and let that momentum carry it up onto its knees rather than lying prone. It swung another punch with its already ruined hand but with how it had moved it was no surprise to either the Lich or Blake that this missed. Blake set himself to attack again and take advantage of the longer reach his sword gave him and the greater mobility of still having both feet. Seeing this the Lich sneered again.

"Fool," taunted the Lich, "even if you hack this body apart with your crude weapon I shall live on and shall revenge!"

"Hah!" Okku snorted. "Let us tear this noisy thing's limbs from its body little-one and let it live on thus, here in this near abandoned city."

Blake paused and then his sword came in as he smashed the flat of the blade into the side of the Lich's skull to knock it prone. Fresh pain shot up his arm as the magical energy of the Death Armour conducted up his sword and through the leather of his gauntlet into his hand. It did not hurt as much as it might have done though. A slight glow from near his wrist and from the back of his hand and fingers showed at least some of the energy had been absorbed and was being re-radiated by the proofing that protected the plates of his armour.

"Thank you for the reminder," Blake said as the Lich tried to form fresh taunts with half its jaw and skull shattered.

Reaching inside himself Blake dug for the curse and dragged it out of the cage within his mind he had beaten it into. Freed of this cage the hunger began to struggle a little but the club of Blake's will struck at it and forced it back into cowering submission. For a moment though it rallied as it took advantage of Blake's own disgust at the mental image of beating something into that state. Blake had to remind himself that this was an unnatural curse rather than a person or animal worthy of compassion. Seizing the hunger he mercilessly wrenched at its form until it was moulded into the shape he wanted, and then he let it reach out and towards the Lich. Dark tentacles formed behind Blake and there was just enough time for the Lich to realise it had been over-confident and that this was its end before the tentacles writhed and unlife left the corpse.

"Grrrrrr," rumbled Okku in complaint. "Little-One. We agreed this curse was not to be lightly used, and that foe was defeated beneath your claws."

"But it also spoke truth," Blake replied, taking a few deep breaths as he caged the curse again. "A Lich's spirit can escape when its body is destroyed and take refuge in something called a 'phylactery' until a new body can be created. And if its body is only nearly destroyed the magics might regenerate even missing limbs."

"Hrmm," mused Okku reluctantly, "so you granted it the death it had tried to avoid."

"Tried to avoid at considerable cost and sacrifice, my friend," Blake smiled, before pausing and continuing in a firmer tone. "And I did say I would not use the curse unless the foe was both hostile and evil. Which that Lich was."

"So you did," conceded Okku at the reminder. "Very well little-one. I shall chide you no further."

Blake nodded and crossed to the armoured undead whose armour and spine Okku had smashed and which was still moving its arms a little. "And as much as the hunger was sated by the Lich I shall not allow it to feed again here," Blake replied as he swept his sword down and decapitated the undead. "Not when I can grant these others rest by other means."

Methodically he worked his way through the rest of their fallen foes. Both the armoured ones had now been decapitated and the Lich had destroyed enough of the burning Mummy's body in tearing itself free of that there had not been enough for the burnt neck and head to remain attached to. The other three though were subjected to a quick chop each from Blake as their heads were still attached and there was still a very slight twitch from his curse as it sensed something remained in their undead forms.

"Hmm," Neeshka mused, taking the time while her harbour-boy dealt with this to consider the armoured undead she'd decapitated. "This armour is not damaged… much… and might even be clean for once."

"Clean?" Gann asked in puzzlement.

"No blood to have spilt," Blake commented as he made his third and final sword sweep, "no bowels to have released in death." He turned to Neeshka as he began wiping his sword clean again. "But I know how you complain about the time it takes me to get dressed with all the buckles and straps and ties…"

Neeshka frowned down at the corpse. She was loath to give up this rare chance but it would take a while to strip it and not be pleasant. "Hmm, you're right," she admitted with a pretty shrug, "better to keep moving."

Of course to Neeshka 'keep moving' meant 'keep moving once the easier to take things had been taken' and under the indulgent gaze of her harbour-boy she happily stowed those things away. She might have decided to not take the armour but she could at least take the swords and unbuckle the armoured undead's sword belts to have the scabbards to go with them. And there were a few pieces of jewellery, magical and otherwise, that also seemed worth prying from fingers or sliding from around the truncated necks.

"Do you need those?" Gann asked as Neeshka slid a scabbarded sword into her Bag of Holding despite this being longer than the bag appeared to be deep.

"Probably not," replied Neeshka, giving Gann a slight smile.

Gann looked at Neeshka's expression and realised he should have asked 'want' rather than 'need' and then the reply would have been different. Knowing that her paramour was at least some sort of nobleman he did wonder if her acquisitive habits were outdated. Looting the dead seemed rather messy if you could live well without needing this as a source of income. Though he supposed that with the value of the enchanted items her actions were hardly scrabbling in plague victim's pouches for coppers.

Despite it having taken long enough for Gann's query and for Okku to have made at least one noise of impatience Neeshka was quite soon finished. The door into the next room was still closed and Blake reluctantly motioned Neeshka forward. He detested the idea of risking her but she did have the best eye for traps and the nimblest fingers for dealing with them and locks. A swift efficient check later and Neeshka nodded to Blake and stepped back as in response he moved to where he could trigger it open and Okku padded forward to be the first to lunge through it.

The sections of doors slid into the frame, the bear-god charged, the others followed, and they found themselves defending against nothing. "No guards," Blake commented needlessly before musing, "which is worrying as I'd expect some here, and for them to be guarding part of the queue."

"Can't you scent that little-one?" murmured Okku, before adding. "No, of course you can't. But my nose tells me that there have been Uthraki here, waiting with growing stench of impatience for some time."

"How old is that scent?" Blake asked, looking around into the shadows.

"Hours rather than days or tendays, and less hours perhaps than you and the Hagspawn slept."

"So if they left then so might have the guards," Blake nodded, "one alerting the other."

"As you said with the Lich," Gann commented to Blake, "this could be trouble. I'd prefer to not fight the 'queuers' or the guards all at once rather than piecemeal."

"And as I said back in the hag-chamber," growled Okku, "they would not bar our passage for long."

Neeshka had made a start on checking the next door and as she straightened from this she smiled to Blake. "Got to admit I'd prefer something more sneaky and subtle," she said, ignoring Okku's 'harrumph', "but follow the bear-god has worked well so far."

Blake smiled back and again he triggered the door and again they followed Okku through it, but again there were no guards. Ahead of them though was a trio of Ogres, one holding a staff that suggested he was a mage and two with clubs that looked pointlessly small compared with their massive hands and gangly arms. They were talking amongst themselves as a small human boy lurked nearby. A smell from one corner showed they had been here long enough at least one meal had passed through them and needed to be expelled.

"We may be able to pass," commented Gann quietly. "These do not seem to have noticed the sound of fighting."

"But I have noticed his slave," Okku rumbled back.

Nodding to them Blake advanced, keeping his sword in his hand but held more casually and with less obvious threat. Whether it was a clank from his Mithril Full Plate or the heavy tread of bear-god pads on stone floor something made the Ogre Mage turn and finally notice them.

"Kepob, too near!" complained the Ogre Mage, glancing down. "I smell you boy stink! Go 'way!"

"I smell 'him Ogre stink'," Neeshka whispered to Blake, "so him already too near."

Blake nodded to Neeshka as the Ogre Mage put a smile on his face and gestured in welcome. "Ah, you finished with Coven, yes?"

"We have, indeed," Gann replied, smiling in amusement at being able to mislead with the truth.

"Good, good," nodded the Ogre Mage, "queue is to move soon then. Uthraki left, grumbling about something, but we not moved to next room. No guard to tell us and not do without be told. Not want to lose place in queue like Genasi. Them Prince not want to make nature in room, him go outside to Privy and not be let back in. Funny. Much amuse."

"Quite amusing yes," Blake said politely.

"No wonder he looked so sour harbour-boy," commented Neeshka.

"Wait, wait," the Ogre Mage frowned as he worked through the logic, "how you know how him look? Him outside less time than Gawatha inside, so if you see then you outside when Gawatha already inside in queue…" Then a thought occurred to Gawatha and the frown was replaced by a wheedling expression. "But no argue. If you brought money, yes? Gawatha like money. More than fight. Just about."

"We have money," Blake replied, "but you have that boy… Kepob."

"Ah!" said Gawatha, thinking he understood. "You look at Kepob? You want trade Gawatha for him? As well as for not fight?"

Blake's sword twitched up a little. "No, it means no trade as I do not give gold to slavers. Prepare to die."

"You anger?" Gawatha asked in total bafflement over why that would make a difference. "I not understand. You want fight?"

"No…" growled Okku loudly as he began to prowl forward. "We want you dead, stupid Ogre keeper of slaves."

Finally realising these people were either insane, or at least insane enough to prefer to fight than to pay, Gawatha hurriedly cast one of Bigsby's spells and a huge green hand appeared and flung itself at Okku. This barely affected him in his rage but did slow him enough the other two Ogres were able to get in his way. A long Ogre arm swung and faintly coloured ripples spread out from where that club had bounced off the spirit-meat of Okku's right shoulder. This did not injure the bear-god but did draw his attention and Okku turned and pounced, the ripples having already faded to nothing in the moment that motion took.

As Okku's weight and power bore the unfortunate Ogre down onto the stone floor Gawatha hurriedly cast another spell. Those claws looked sharp and even Ogre hide was better protected with a layer of Stoneskin magic. Though that might not be enough if things continued to go ill. He was glad he have foresight and have emergency spell. Much useful when people insane and want fight just because Gawatha have Kepob boy.

Dropping his club the Ogre grabbed with both hands and their long fingers managed to get a grip and entangle themselves in the spirit-fur of Okku's cheeks. Okku thrust down with his weight and the power of his broad neck but the Ogre managed to hold the bear-god's jaws at bay, though his arms were quivering with the strain and both he and Okku knew he would soon tire. Frustrated at being hindered even for an instant Okku roared in the Ogre's face and the Ogre roared back with teeth that were almost as large and with breath that was far worse. The other Ogre tried to help his friend and began frantically clubbing Okku on the back of his head. This was a little counterproductive as Okku was able to ignore the blows but each impact hammered his head down a little against the efforts of the Ogre on the floor to keep him back.

As the clubbing Ogre brought his arm down again he saw a glint of light and too late recognised the source. The sword that was being swept up to meet his descending arm, and had caught the meagre light, was almost big enough for an Ogre and its edge with the combined impact had no trouble shearing through his wrist. Pain from his hand being severed and from the magic that had discharged from the blade on its way through stunned the Ogre a little. He stared for a moment at the stump and at the blood pulsing from it with every heartbeat where veins and arteries had not been burned shut by the energies.

Blake had already stepped back and as the Ogre stared at his wrist Gann moved in. He took advantage of that distraction to flick his spear into the Ogre's neck, the spearhead sliding in up under the jawbone before being quickly withdrawn. The Ogre staggered and his neck and chest became swiftly drenched with blood from the deep serious wound Gann had inflicted. He was still standing though so Neeshka darted forward for her turn. Pain dimmed eyes hazily turned in her direction but before the Ogre could even realise it might need to react Neeshka was already past him and had cut open his side with a deft thrust and slice as she passed. This was finally too much for the Ogre's stubbornness to overcome and he began to topple.

Okku suddenly reversed his efforts from pushing down to pulling back and away from the Ogre on the floor. That Ogre had been weakening but was still shoving hard enough for Okku to use this to give himself some extra momentum as he sprang off to one side. There was just enough time for the Ogre on the floor to begin to wonder why the bear-god had given up on trying to bite his face off before that question was answered as his friend fell on him and drove his breath from him with an 'oof'. Growling slightly to himself the Ogre tried to get his friend off him and his arms disentangled but had only halfway finished before Okku reached out one great paw and wiped its claws across the Ogre's face to remove it and the front of the Ogre's skull.

"Nicely done, my friend," Blake commented, as Okku shook that paw and something plopped from between the claws onto the floor. Seeing Gann and Neeshka develop nearly identical pouts Blake hurriedly corrected himself. "My friends, I mean… wait. Where did the other go? Or the boy?"

"Invisible?" asked Neeshka, giving her harbour-boy a brief frown that he'd had to be reminded to congratulate her.

"The door onwards has not opened," Gann pointed out as Neeshka stabbed the uppermost Ogre in the back and through the heart to make sure it was finished. "So they would not have escaped…"

"They have not," rumbled Okku, interrupting, "and…"

Okku suddenly whirled and snapped his massive teeth shut on what looked like thin air. They did not quite close and the bear-god shook his head around as if there was something there before he opened his jaws and there was a thud from the nearby wall. Okku turned slightly and began to advance towards where that noise had come from and suddenly Gawatha became visible as he swung his staff to fend Okku off and that hostile act dispelled his spell of Invisibility. That was as much as he could do though before collapsing down onto one elbow as even Stoneskin layered on with a Chain Shirt and his innate toughness could not prevent the teeth of a bear-god from tearing into his guts. Knowing that sort of disembowelling wound could take a long time to die from Gann had mercy and calmly stabbed Gawatha in the side of the skull where the bone was thin at the temples.

"And invisible maybe," continued Okku in satisfaction, "but what Bear would hunt by sight alone?"

Blake nodded at that truth. "And the boy?"

"Him I cannot scent," Okku admitted, "and his footsteps would be far lighter."

"Even I lost sight of him," added Neeshka with a rueful smile, "and I'm kind of an expert on sneaky."

"Well… if he didn't want to stay with us, and he's that sneaky," Blake said, giving Neeshka a slight smile back, "then he can get out of here by himself."

"I am not sure of the idea of abandoning a child," frowned Gann, not sure also whether he felt more strongly here for having been so recently reminded of his own abandonment in the Wilds of Rashemen.

"Neither am I," Blake replied, "but you can't give help where you can't find the person to aid."

"Believe me, my sweetie had the opposite problem with children," commented Neeshka as she finished wiping her sword and scabbarded it.

"Oh, don't remind me," Blake said, closing his eyes a moment in memory.

"Remind him of what?" asked Gann, willing to be distracted by something Blake did not want to hear.

"Well…" Neeshka teased, winking at Blake before turning her attention to checking over the door onwards. "You remember he was in the Neverwinter City Watch?"

"Yes?" asked Gann again, encouragingly.

"There were these street-kids," Neeshka continued, slender fingers and keen eyes searching for trigger wires, "and he was nice to them."

"Too nice," groused Blake. "I ended up with a gang of pickpockets and cutpurses deciding I was their friend and could have the joy of looking after them. They even followed me from Neverwinter to Crossroad Keep."

"Sounds like they knew a good thing when they saw it," Gann commented.

"Hrm," grunted Blake. He had given that little girl a second chance. His eyes had not been good enough for him to be sure he'd seen her take the coin purse but he had noticed the suspicious bulge in her boot cuff. Once the purse had been recovered and returned the owner and his friend seemed happy to leave with the assurance from Blake, as a Watchman, that it would be dealt with. Whether they would have been as happy if they'd known he was going to deal with it through a stern warning rather than dragging the girl back to the cells was another matter. The girl and the boy who'd arrived to defend her had seemed grateful for being given a chance and a lecture rather than prison.

But then there had been the thug and that same boy. As contemptible as the man was in demanding money from a child it was noticeable the boy's objection was whether he needed to pay a cut rather than denying they had been picking pockets in that gang's territory. Blake had been about to arrest the thug when the boy, noticing the passers-by, had started pretending the thug was his father and begging him to not beat him. This had angered Blake as it made him wonder if the boy, and the girl, had been just as insincere before and their assurances that they had taken the warning were only another example of their practised skill at lying.

Blake had intervened and bluntly told the small crowd the man was under arrest for attempted extortion and that the boy was lying to gain false sympathy. The boy had not seemed intimidated when Blake reminded him that he'd meant it when he said they had one chance. But he'd not protested and especially not after the thug tried to escape and got a warhammer in the knee from Khelgar for that trouble. Dragging the thug to the cells Blake had wondered if he had been too soft-hearted that he'd not brought the boy as well, Hold Person would have prevented his escape or him ditching the coin purses Blake was confident he'd have found on him.

When the boy and the girl and some of their friends turned up at the Sunken Flagon that seemed to confirm his mistake. Giving them a single chance had not meant he wanted to do them any more favours but turning them away from there, or later from Crossroad Keep, would likely have been the one deed that could have united Neeshka and Elanee in their condemnation. He'd let kindness overcome his responsibility to uphold the laws of Neverwinter and this was his punishment. It seemed Tyr had not thought this enough justice to counteract Torm's annoyance at this dereliction of his duty and obedience to his superiors in the City Watch.

Neeshka finished with the door and her smile of triumph dimmed very slightly as she saw Blake's very sour expression. She'd thought the little thief-lets were cute and that her harbour-boy was happy that he'd 'saved' them from a life of poverty or crime. It seemed he'd been rather less happy with the situation than he had let on and Neeshka decided it was even more fortunate she'd kept an eye on those kids to stop them falling into old habits. Or at least to stop them being caught with the one extra chance she gave them past Blake's to not disappoint her harbour-boy's trust. She didn't want him to be hurt and more selfishly, with her history, she didn't want him to start brooding on whether thieves could ever truly reform.

Shaking his head slightly to dispel the thoughts Blake moved forward and triggered the door. The door slid back into its frame and Okku began to advance but then stopped, raised his nose and sniffed and growled softly as he did. The others looked to him as the bear-god's expression soured a little in disappointment.

"Hrrrr," Okku complained, gesturing with his great head, "no foes here to fall beneath our claws little-one." Blake and the others moved closer as he continued. "But from further ahead the stench of Hagspawn is even worse than when we were going to enter the chamber of Hags." Okku turned one yellow eye on Blake. "We could just rend them but your mate and our own Hagspawn might prefer less straightforwardness."

"Not just them, my friend," Blake replied. "I am not as subtle as my sweetheart but I do favour trying to listen to the Red Knight and gaining whatever advantage I can wherever I can."

"What advantage could we gain here though?" asked Gann. "I doubt they would abandon whatever ambush they have planned if we simply asked."

"Depends how we ask," Neeshka grinned, opening a pouch and showing off the contents. Blake looked at those for a moment and then smiled and nodded.

Silently Neeshka slipped away down the short corridor, seeming to almost merge with the shadows along the left edge of it and then vanishing completely as she used her Ring of Invisibility. She'd not bothered with it against the Frost Giants as there'd been plenty of cover and it would have taken the fun out of the challenge. Here though were bare stone walls and enemies expecting the direction from which she was coming. Nonetheless she'd not been able to resist waiting here until there was the chance her harbour-boy might mistake the Ring's effect for her own sneakiness. As she approached the end of the short corridor her sharp ears began to pick up the murmur of quiet conversation coming from her right.

Very cautiously she crouched to peer around the corner to her left and at knee height where they'd not expect to see a head emerging. Crouching was probably a needless precaution but invisibility could be seen through and any extra sneakiness was worth performing. There didn't look to be any Hagspawn waiting there to ambush them as they entered the room so Neeshka slipped around that corner, staying silent and staying in the shadows. This let her see that waiting for them and clustered around a shadow portal that was probably the exit were what looked like twenty Hagspawn. They were beginning to show signs of impatience and straining her ears Neeshka thought she heard the word 'door' so it seemed they might have heard that open and be wondering what the delay was.

It seemed unkind to Neeshka to make them wait any longer. She reached into her pouch to take a sphere in each hand and then reached inside herself for one of the less visible gifts her ancestry had given her. As much as Blake seemed to delight in her and think her beautiful Neeshka was still reluctant to remind him there was more difference between them than the cosmetic. The years of being called 'goat-girl' or 'fiend' had left a mark almost as indelible as the spots around her horns but as reluctant as she was to use this power she was even more reluctant to risk her harbour-boy getting hurt. Darkness erupted to Neeshka's command and swept over the surprised Hagspawns. Then the no longer invisible but darkness hidden Neeshka lobbed with both hands.

The Hagspawn had begun to protest in surprise at the Darkness but those protests ended as it was lit by the detonation of the two Blastglobes. Flame burst out and over them and swirled in the air as the alchemy and magic created a cloud of sparks and fire. Neeshka retreated, trying to make enough noise to draw them in pursuit and managing to at least be only very quiet rather than silent. Hearing those footsteps despite the howls of pain from themselves and their friends the Hagspawn shouted encouragement to each other. At least if they chased whatever had attacked them they would be getting out of this cloud.

Blake had twitched as he heard the sudden screaming. Even the moment before he saw Neeshka running towards him with a strange slapping stride had felt too long to wait and he had to resist moving to meet her. Then as she reached him and, with a wink, retreated behind Okku the other end of the short corridor filled with Hagspawn. They paused slightly at the sight of the bear-god and gave Blake a chance to see the burns covering some of their hide and their hide armour. Then with a battle cry they charged and Blake began to incantate with as much calm as he could.

They were moving fast so they got more than halfway down the corridor before Blake's spell was complete. With how they were crowded together he doubted the fireballs of a spell of Firebrand would be able to find a path to strike their individual targets, though that would be little consolation to those Hagspawn unfortunate enough to get in the way of more than one. Instead a great plume of frost erupted from Blake's hand as a Cone of Cold froze moisture from the air and coated the damp walls and floor with a layer of ice. The Hagspawn at the front of the charge suddenly looked as if they had been caught in a blizzard. Those that did not collapse with the shock of the cold did stagger and then as their feet met the fresh ice some fell to join those that had collapsed in tripping those behind them.

The momentum of the charge was broken like cavalry finding a hidden ditch the hard way and Okku lunged forward to take advantage. He'd have done this even without Blake's spell as the narrowness of the corridor meant the Hagspawn could not surround him or attack him in more than twos or threes. But against foes already burned or frozen and slipping on ice that the bear-god's claws, their spirit-form undulled by wear, could easily pierce to gain grip? That made it almost insultingly easy and as he smashed a Hagspawn against the wall to leave a splatter of blood on the stonework Okku began to regret having allowed the mortals to gain them so much advantage.

Following the bear-god Blake found himself unable to do more than finish those few Hagspawn that still clung to life despite the horrific wounds of Okku's passage. Gann shrugged as he stabbed one feebly moving enemy in the heart and saw Blake glance at him. He had no objection to an easy fight after the trouble the Vampire had caused him and was glad of the unexpected simplicity. Ahead of them Okku reached the end of the corridor and plunged into what Gann realised was more than simple shadow as it even dimmed the colours of that ancient spirit. Screams of pain and fear echoed from within it as Okku dealt with those Hagspawn that had been too badly burned to escape the effects of the Blastglobes and had continued to be burned by this while lying there and waiting for it to end.

"I think," mused Gann, trying to ignore the noises and pointing with his spear at a large corpse with a larger chunk missing from its throat, "this fellow is the large one we saw outside."

Blake nodded. "There don't seem to be any others of similar stature, so he is unusual. Might be twins… do Hags have twins?"

"You know," admitted Gann, "I am not sure. But if they do I am quite certain that both babies would not survive. My mother's people are not very maternal."

The Darkness covering one side of the room faded to reveal Okku among the Hagspawn he'd scattered a little further from the shadow portal in dismembering and finishing them. Okku looked around and growled in satisfaction that this 'fight' was over and they could find something that would be a more worthy challenge for a god-of-bears. As Blake also looked around he took the chance to admire Neeshka as she bent to quickly check over the less gruesome corpses. He indulged himself in a moment of contemplating how this showed to advantage that Sune had blessed her so her legs and rear matched the rest of her in beauty. Then he reluctantly turned away to contemplate what lay ahead rather than his sweetheart's behind.

"Since 'outside' was in the Shadow Plane I suppose that portal was to be expected, and has the advantage that I don't think sound would travel through it like it would a door. Perhaps we might be able to leave in peace."

"Hmmm, I don't know harbour-boy," commented Neeshka, "if that is the large-and-leery guard from outside, and that one his smaller-but-still-leery friend, then them coming inside would have shown something was wrong."

"As would the fragments of various foes clinging to us," Gann added, glancing at the others and adding, "or rather clinging to us aside from our pristine old father bear and his self-cleansing spirit form."

"If you wish to become a Telthor then let me know, spawn-of-hags," rumbled Okku. "We could likely make do until you returned."

"A generous offer I am sure," Gann smiled, "but there is a joy in bathing as well as it being a necessity if one is to enjoy the other joys of flesh."

"The Shadow Plane is… well… shadowy," Blake said, ignoring the byplay, "and the lack of colour would also help details to be missed. I think a quick wipe off of some of the gore and Neeshka and I scabbarding our swords would…" He stopped as he thought. "Would, as you say, still not let us pass without a fight. And the Illithid would be better left dead anyway…"

"But you wish to try," interrupted Gann, "even if there is no real chance you prefer some degree of diplomacy."

"Was that why his sword was not in his hand when he faced me and my army?" Okku asked. "Or when he faced me in my barrow?"

"I'd assume so," replied Gann.

Okku murmured to himself in puzzlement at the strangeness of this little-one as Blake and the others tried to make it less obvious they'd been fighting. It had seemed so inconceivable to the bear-god that either confrontation could have ended with anything but battle that he had missed that attempted message. Perhaps if he used weapons himself then them being drawn or not would have meant more to him, or perhaps if the little-one had not been able to draw his sword quite so instantly it would have seemed more significant.

Soon the mortals had restored themselves to some degree of cleanliness and Blake stepped forward and into the Shadow Portal. The dull colours of the dreary slimy stonework became brilliant by comparison with the scene that formed as he and the others entered the Plane of Shadows again.

"You there!" a petulant voice demanded. Blake glanced in that direction and saw it was the best-dressed Genasi speaking. This was likely the Prince who Gawatha had mentioned and for some reason he was still loitering near the outhouse. "How did you get past me? I demand to know."

Neeshka caught Blake's eye and gave him a slight smile of sympathy. Blake returned it and then decided on the honest simple answer, "There was a side entrance."

"You dare to have barged in front of Royalty?" the Genasi Prince almost shrieked. Blake ignored this and began walking. "Peasant! Where are you going? You scum! Answer me! You dare to ignore me?"

Blake continued to ignore the gabbling and to walk but with a sinking heart he realised Neeshka was no longer keeping stride with him. He sighed as he turned and saw her a pace or two behind him. She was standing glaring at the Genasi Prince with her tail flicking from side to side like an angry and ready to pounce cat. The Prince was too certain of his own significance to take any heed of this but his servants were exchanging nervous looks behind his back. They at least seemed to have noticed that the only one of her group that was not well armed and armoured was the looming form of the bear-god, and that was because he would need no such aid.

"We 'dared' more than that," Neeshka spat, almost hissing the words and adding to the impression of an angry cat, "you might as well leave… the Coven is nothing more than corpses now."

"The insolence!" exploded the Genasi Prince, his voice rising even more towards a shriek at the tone as much as the words. "I have waited here so long and now you have made that a waste of Our time?"

"Wait… the Coven is dead?" the Ogre Merchant frowned. He had been watching with amusement but now the smile left his face. "That means no more visitors, and that means no more customers for Omaga to sell to or insult!"

'And the Illithid I wait for has not emerged,' 'said' the Mind Flayer, his facial tentacles writhing a little as he projected his thoughts. 'Ah, I mention that and I see in your surface thoughts that you slew him in dreams and this also killed him in reality…'

"Servants!" the Genasi Prince demanded. "Kill them!"

"Er…" said one Genasi as Neeshka took a step back towards the waiting Blake and they both drew their swords.

"You make Omaga have to find another place for shop," Omaga complained, bucking on a shield the size of Neeshka's that looked very tiny on his larger arm, "probably worse place, I hurt you for that!"

'And I shall punish you for striking at your betters,' thought the Illithid at them, 'pitiful members of slave races.'

Noticing his unarmed and unarmoured servants seemed reluctant to charge dangerous looking foes the Genasi Prince looked even more petulant and gestured them forward. "Well… go on!" he demanded again. "Help the Ogre and the Illithid! Move!"

Okku lost patience with all this hesitation and sprang towards the Mind Flayer. A brief expression of fear at having the bear-god suddenly looming above him was replaced by satisfaction as the Illithid pushed out with his telekinesis and managed to slow Okku's descent. Okku thrashed a little to try to break this mental grip, his spirit-claws digging gouges in the wood of the walkway but not getting much purchase as the Illithid was supporting most of his weight. Facial tentacles going taut with strain the Mind Flayer tried to do more than hold off the attack, tried to get the extra strength to divert Okku enough to miss him or even to go off the edge of the dock.

And then Gann interrupted this duel as his spear thrust out and into the Mind Flayer's gut. For a moment it seemed the Illithid had barely noticed with how great its concentration on holding Okku was but then the pain registered as Gann twisted his spear within its body. There was a slight quiver as Gann pulled his spear back and then the telekinetic hold slipped and Okku's interrupted pounce was finally completed. His great paws crashed down and there was a crunch as he almost pulped the Illithid's frail body flat beneath them.

Meanwhile Blake had continued to hesitate. He did not want to kill the Genasi as, aside from their Prince, they seemed to not want to fight. But that 'want' could change if they saw a way to fulfil their Prince's demands, such as the distraction of a charging Ogre. Despite the spell of Haste that Omaga had muttered after he pulled a Greatsword from one of his display barrels the Ogre still had far enough to run that Blake had a moment to spare. If he tried fighting the Genasi hand to hand there was a slender chance they might be able to brawl him off the edge of the walkway so instead he reached out to the Weave and chanted the words to create a Greater Missile Storm.

Magic energies formed around Blake's hand and then the missiles arced out and into the Genasi. They burned easily through the cloth of their clothing and deep into their bodies. Blake froze in astonishment as he saw the results. He'd hoped to wound them enough to further discourage them from attacking, to stagger them and knock some to their knees, but these missiles caused all of the Genasi to fall and Blake had seen enough people fall to know when they were unconscious or dead rather than just reeling in pain. He'd not been sure if Fire Genasi were immune to fire but he'd rejected Firebrand because if they weren't that was more likely to be fatal rather than disabling. However it seemed his restraint had only saved some arcane power rather than some lives.

Neeshka had realised her harbour-boy was spellcasting and had moved to meet Omaga and keep the Ogre at bay until Blake finished. There was not that much room and the planks were quite slippery but she managed to duck to one side and cut at Omaga's knee below where his long coat of chainmail reached. This was more painful than crippling but Omaga was diverted. He howled and swept his Greatsword across in a backhanded blow with enough power that it could have cut Neeshka in half. She frowned a little as she realised Blake had finished his spell but hadn't joined her yet.

"A little help?" asked Neeshka as she ducked under the blow, her left hand briefly bracing her as Omaga realised that he had swung too high.

Blake saw the Ogre begin to halt his sword to bring it back again. With the reach that blade and his own size gave him the walkway was not broad enough for Neeshka to dodge to the sides so she had to retreat back along it. An image of his sweetheart's body broken by a blow from Omaga flitted across Blake's mind and drove out the shock of having killed the Genasi. Delaying to deal with them had put Neeshka in more danger so for that they deserved to have died almost as much as this Ogre did for daring to strike at her. Blake charged with his own magically enhanced speed and a sword not much smaller than Omaga's.

Omaga noticed the heavier footsteps drumming on the planks and that he was fighting alone. The Genasi showed no signs of moving and it was even less likely that the mess that was all that remained of the Illithid would be of any help. It was not even in the right place for Omaga to hope one of these people would slip on it. Perhaps some discretion was in order so he could survive to find the place for another shop, even if so far they had hurt him rather than him hurting them as he had promised. Omaga turned and began to run with all the speed that his magic could give him despite his knee wound.

Seeing this Gann took a chance and with a slight grunt of effort launched his spear in an arc over Blake's head. He could not throw it far as it was sturdily built for stabbing rather than being a light javelin but within that limited range it struck hard and Gann's aim was good. The arc ended as the spearhead bit into Omaga's back between his shoulder blades but, to Gann's surprise, it did not bite deep. Rather than sink into the Ogre it seemed to barely pierce the chainmail and the flesh beneath before Omaga's pained convulsion jolted it free.

Unfortunately for him his reaction threw Omaga off-balance and gave Blake the chance to catch up and slice across the base of his back. Again the armour resisted and, even with the magic on it, Blake's sword did not cut cleanly through. Some chain links did not part so it was a few ragged shallow cuts rather than one deeper continuous wound. The energy discharging from the blade did penetrate though into Omaga's spine. He fell forward onto his face as his legs suddenly stopped working properly. For a moment he still had some hope as he could feel his toes tingling and so more sensation and use might return to his legs. Then Neeshka's firm grasp closed on Omaga's topknot and she hauled his head up and back with all her slender strength to expose his throat to slit it with her rapier.

"Mmm. I suppose that was necessary," said Gann with a little distaste. Part of this was the large quantity of blood spreading across the walkway to drip off the edges and through the gaps in the planks but part was that Omaga had been helpless and might have been willing to make a deal. Gann retrieved his spear before it could roll away with a splash and looking at the spearhead and Omaga's back went on. "Good armour, if damaged now, so does that also tempt our covetous Tiefling?"

"Have you smelt Ogre armour?" Neeshka asked, taking no offence at the description. "Even when they haven't crapped in it with dying?"

"A good point, and you and your paramour did mention how unusual it was for such to be clean."

"Can take his shield though," Neeshka grinned, putting deeds to words once she had wiped her rapier and scabbarded it.

Meanwhile Blake had returned to the Genasi to confirm he had killed rather than incapacitated them. To his annoyance there was no rise and fall of chests in breath and the eyes that remained open only did so in death. Having unbuckled and stowed the shield somewhere in her magic bags Neeshka joined him. She stood there companionably, looking at the corpses, as Blake finished wiping his sword. Then as he slid it back into its scabbard she gave Blake an enquiring tilt of her head and raise of her eyebrows. The finery on the Prince seemed to have especially caught her eye.

"Nothing too identifiable from them, especially their idiot master," Blake said with a sigh.

"Do I look like an amateur?" asked Neeshka taking mock insult. Blake smiled and acknowledged this with a wave.

"Would that matter?" Gann asked, hearing the exchange. Seeing the puzzled look Blake gave him, and the quick glance from Neeshka, Gann continued. "Whatever trinkets your lady takes or leaves the fat man and the idiot Wizard would see these corpses and likely tell their tales."

"Ah," breathed Blake, finally realising why they had looked so nervous. A moment more thought and he nodded. "They'd not know who had arrived while they were locked in dreams and was waiting out here. Have you finished with those my sweet?"

"They didn't have much," Neeshka complained, straightening with a grace that even under these circumstances still drew Blake's eyes.

"My friend," Blake said, turning to the silently waiting bear-god and gesturing at the Genasi, "can you please throw these as far as you can out into the lake. It is not proper burial to honour Jergal but it is at least returning their flesh to the eternal cycle."

"Hrrrrmmmm," Okku grumbled, "I dislike hiding my kills and my victories. They are something to be proud of and I do not shy away from the consequences of my deeds. I admit though that your curse is distraction enough without any others added on, so very well little-one. We shall do this."

Okku padded over and began throwing the Genasi off into the darkness with a delicate looking bite, grasping their clothes in his teeth like a mother cat grasping the scruff of a kitten, and a far less delicate looking motion of his great head and neck. After a few of these Gann turned from watching this and back to Blake.

"And the Illithid? Or the Ogre merchant?"

"The Mind Flayers would not be more angered by us having killed two than they would be by one," replied Blake, looking at the crushed mess Okku's paws had made before gazing down the walkway. "And I think the Ogre's corpse they'd expect as he'd not abandon his shop. On the other hand even if he is not bleeding as much now his heart is no longer pumping it out he is still bleeding."

"Not the most pleasant puddle to walk through," Gann commented, "but it does seem to be draining away."

"Which is the problem," said Blake with a rueful smile, "blood in the water can attract things. And though it would solve the problem of witnesses it would be unfriendly if our actions lured one of the tentacle-creatures too close before the two dreamers depart."

"Myself I am concerned also with them coming too close before we depart," Gann replied smoothly.

"Then let us place the bait elsewhere," Okku growled, shouldering past them and down the walkway.

Blake glanced at Neeshka, who smiled and winked. "Don't worry harbour-boy; I got the rest as well as the shield."

There was a heave and an impressively distant splash as Okku did not wait for permission. Omaga had only been a small Ogre but with the weight of his chainmail even a small Ogre was a considerable burden to even lift. That Okku had thrown him with such ease and to such a distance underlined again the strength of the bear-god. Seeing the glint of Omaga's Greatsword where it had skidded when he fell Blake began walking over to pick it up.

Hefting the sword and feeling its weight Blake commented. "Fine workmanship, though as big and clumsy as Neeshka calls my sword… and me… this is too much metal even for me."

"Glad you know your limits," Neeshka called, from where she had continued on to examine Omaga's shop, "you want to take it anyway? Found its scabbard."

Blake nodded and went to join his sweetheart. She handed him the scabbard and for a few moments they examined the other things on display and within the magically capacious barrels and chests of the shop. Blake could see how Neeshka's eyes were lighting up. The last time she'd had that sort of glow in them had been when they'd seen the vast hoard on Mount Galardyrm. It seemed he was going to have to caution and disappoint her in the same way again.

"Darling, there are some potions and scrolls and jewellery we can carry, and some tools for your talents, but we…"

Neeshka pounced and shut him up with a quick kiss. "But we don't have any Greycloaks to send and carry the rest?" Blake nodded and Neeshka's normal smile broadened into a dazzling grin. "Fine, been wanting to give this Bag of Holding you gave me a real test!"

"It had seemed it had been tested enough," Gann commented, a slight smile of amusement on his own face. "Or tested often enough at least."

Blake shrugged as Okku joined them in watching as Neeshka happily began loading an entire shop into her bags. This was slightly slowed by her having to unload the containers and reload their contents but she, and Blake, remembered Grobnar's tale about the unfortunate consequences of trying to put a magic container inside another magic container. Even with the many tales that had been told of the abilities of Bags of Holding it was startling how large shields and bundles of full sets or armour could vanish into its maw.

"Hmm, little-one," rumbled Okku, watching this and the swiftness with which Neeshka sorted things into different bags, "I begin to wonder how much was left of my barrow after you and your mate passed through it."

"Hah! He was concerned about angering you," Neeshka said, still a little annoyed and adding after a moment, "spoilsport."

"A misplaced concern, my rage was already so great that material things would not have mattered to it," replied Okku, confirming Neeshka had been right and drawing a sigh of disappointment at the missed opportunities from her.

"Nonetheless, we only took things from the Imaskari Ruins. And from the offering pile guarded by the Orglash so we had those offerings to appease rather than have to slay the spirit that had sealed the exit."

"Another misplaced concern," chuckled Okku, "in my barrow, under my guardianship, if that spirit wished to return then it would. And battling you would have been a pleasant diversion from its spirit-sleep."

Blake nodded to Okku, remembering how the bear-god had expressed his own delight at finding battle again. Okku's words though had reminded Blake of Neeshka's suggestion back at the barrow and for a moment he teetered on the edge of asking if Elanee taking the form of a female bear would have been an even more 'pleasant diversion'. She was a very attractive Elf so it seemed likely that when she shifted forms she would be attractive to males of the species she had changed into. But was that sort of attraction something that was lost when you became spirit rather than flesh? Shrugging Blake dismissed the question and turned to his beloved.

"You seem to have found much worth taking," Blake said, looking at magic bags that felt like they should be bulging from Neeshka's hard work and then at the happy satisfied look on her pretty face. "Anything of immediate use other than general supplies?"

"There was another shield like the one the Ogre was using," replied Neeshka, straightening and turning, "but you're the only one its magic would work well for, and I know you prefer to carry a door around with you to shelter behind."

"Interesting doorways you have in your land," Gann could not help but comment, casting a look at Blake's kite-shaped Tower Shield.

"Also some Gauntlets Khelgar would like," continued Neeshka, pausing and then trailing off, "if he was here, and if he'd become a monk… and if we'd not found the Gauntlets of Ironfist. But there is this Katana."

"That does look a fine sword, and I trust your judgement," Blake said, peering at it, "though would be hard for me to get used to the difference in balance or you to the extra weight so… erk."

"Harbour-boy?" asked Neeshka with sudden concern as Blake winced and his hand came up to his chest.

"Some sort of resonance," Blake replied as he straightened and held his hand out, "some part of the magic on this seems to almost hunger."

"I did notice the effect on old father bear of the swords wielded by those undead," commented Gann, "so…"

"So, can you pass me one of those please darling," Blake said to Neeshka, transferring the Katana to his shield-arm hand.

With visible reluctance Neeshka took one out of her magic bag and handed it over. Blake took it in his sword-hand and for a moment under her worried gaze he closed his eyes and his hands made slight up-and-down weighing motions. Then he nodded and held the Undead's sword out to Neeshka. She took it back and was stowing it away in her bag again, having noticed that Blake had transferred the Katana back to his sword-hand, when without warning Blake twisted like a discus thrower. The Katana went whirling off into the darkness.

"Hey! What?" protested Neeshka.

"The undead's sword does drain life from those it strikes," Blake said, reporting what he'd sensed, "but it feels mechanical, like a Golem. That Katana though, there was a malevolence."

"And the last thing our bearded leader needs," added Gann in rare support, "is something else hungering and resonating with his own curse."

"It would have been safe enough in a bag, wholly or partially in a pocket dimension," Neeshka pouted before her sunny nature broke through those clouds and she grinned at Gann. "Besides if you take his side then you don't get these."

Gann looked at the pair of bracers Neeshka had pulled from somewhere and decided trying to figure out how and where she could have hidden them was too hazardous. "Those are quite nice," he commented instead, "and though flesh cannot emulate old father bear's abilities those would help with grazes." Gann paused and smiled and then turned to Blake and said, with transparent insincerity, "Tut-tut. Throwing away a good sword. Shame on you."

"Good enough," Neeshka said, giving Blake a wink and Gann the bracers.

Blake watched as Neeshka gave the containers a final quick rummage before nodding happily to herself. "I wonder if Deekin is still around."

"Deekin?" asked Gann.

"Kobold Bard…" Blake began.

"With an awful singing voice," added Neeshka.

"But enough skill with a pen to have had some books of his adventures published," Blake continued, "and enough loot from those adventures he'd set up a shop first in Neverwinter and then at Crossroad Keep."

"It does seem you might, especially now, have enough for a similar deed," nodded Gann, adding smoothly and with a slight bow to Neeshka, "though of course I would prefer to deal with a lovely lady."

"So she could dazzle you with her smile into giving her a better deal?" Blake asked.

"Or I dazzle her with mine," Gann corrected, with a half-nod.

"True," admitted Blake, "and Deekin would likely have been more immune to even your charms. Still, as much as I think Neeshka could persuade people to buy for more or sell for less and be blessed by Waukeen as well as Sune I'd prefer to pay wages to a shopkeeper and have more of her company."

Neeshka gave Blake a salacious wink. "I can think of more fun things we could be doing than having me stand behind a counter."

"Ah," Gann mused, "but what about if you were sitting on the counter. Possibilities occur…" Gann stopped and, with another half-nod to Blake, smiled and continued to Neeshka. "Though of course they occur to me with some unnamed but attractive shop girl. I shudder at the consequences should I imagine them in relation to you."

"And I shudder at the consequences should they occur to me with that shop girl rather than Neeshka," Blake replied, making her giggle at his expression and the fear he put into his voice.

Neeshka continued to giggle for the several seconds it took them to walk down the wooden walkway and back onto the beach. Without the distraction of Fentomy and his words about the problems of seeing the Slumbering Coven Blake took a brief moment to look around and this time noticed a little flying thing. It seemed to be hovering protectively over a coffin and something about the shape and decoration struck a memory with Blake.

"Darling, does that look as much like a Vampire Coffin to you as it does to me?" Blake asked Neeshka. When she bit her lower lip nervously and nodded Blake explained to the others, "We found some when sallying from Crossroad Keep while it was under threat. Unfortunately for the Vampires their coffins were outside and although it was evening the sun had not yet set."

"Given we are somewhere the sun never rises," Gann commented, "this could be more complicated."

Blake nodded and began to approach the coffin. The little flying thing saw this approach and hurriedly flapped to place itself in Blake's path. This could have been considered either brave or foolish had Blake been alone, but with Okku looming behind him it seemed only foolish.

"Back, back!" the flying thing demanded. "Step away from Count Crowroost, filthy mortal."

"I am no mortal…gnat," growled Okku.

"Your lowly presence will still disturb the Count's slumber," the flying thing said, confirming it was foolish, "and he will awaken, angry and thirsty for your blood!"

"Thirsty for blood…" mused Blake, ignoring Okku's snarl, "definitely a Vampire then. Or something else equally worthy of death."

"You truly do not know the Count?" the flying thing asked in surprise before rallying back to its insults. "Then it is best you remain ignorant! For your sake back away now." Then a very faint sound from behind it drew its attention. Its wings whirled to spin it around. "You… what you do?"

Neeshka glanced at the flying thing from where she was crouched by the coffin and then met Blake's eyes. "Lock is fine work harbour-boy. I can jam it temporarily but it could take a while to open it."

"Then let us be less subtle," Okku rumbled, bringing one forepaw off the ground to flex it meaningfully.

"This is no mere coffin!" sneered the flying thing, spinning back to face Okku. "It was carved out of solid Ashenwood pine from a tree containing the essence of a genius loci. It was enchanted by the Count himself and is quite impenetrable." It span again to Neeshka. "And its lock can only be opened from within the coffin."

"Want to bet?" Neeshka smiled confidently back at it.

"I'd never bet against you my dear," said Blake, loosening the straps on his shield and sliding it off his arm, "but for now just jam it please. Hope you are feeling strong today Gann."

"And what raises that question?" Gann asked as Blake strapped his shield onto his back.

"You did say we were somewhere the sun never rose," smiled Blake, "fortunately we have legs and hands."

"And a bear-god," Gann pointed out, "but I suppose our legs and backs and magic may suffice."

Neeshka efficiently jiggled one of her finer lockpicks into the tumblers of the lock so they could not turn. Blake and Gann meanwhile dug a little away at the sand to be able to get their hands underneath and argued about who was getting the heavier end. They heaved and began waddle shuffling towards the portal with their burden, complaining as they did about the footing and the weight of solid pine and that there were normally more pall bearers. Okku rumbled as they made such heavy work of such a light task and Neeshka swatted at the flying thing as it tried to buzz around their faces.

"Curse you for laying brutish hands upon Count Crowroost's coffin," the flying thing screeched, diving in and having to dodge another swat. "When he awakens he will make you suffer!"

"Glad…" Blake grunted, ignoring the threat, "I have this belt…of strength."

"I… myself," replied Gann, his usual eloquence absent, "glad… prayed for extra."

The world shifted around them from the gloom of the Shadow Plane to the orange light of the very early morning sun. Blake nearly lost his balance in surprise and as a boot sunk further than expected into the sand. They staggered on a few more steps. "Down," Blake panted. They lowered the coffin and took several deep breaths each. "Surprised it's just past dawn," commented Blake as he got more breath back, "I was expecting to have to camp a little."

"You were asleep for hours harbour-boy," Neeshka replied.

"Time can flow strangely in dreams," added Gann, "minutes can seem like hours or hours like minutes. But I agree it did seem less time."

Blake glanced up the beach and seeing Fentomy waiting there in his true Dao form made sure his sword was sliding free in its scabbard. Then as the flying thing resumed its position over the coffin and resumed throwing curses at them Blake started walking towards Fentomy. The Dao put a welcoming smile on his face.

"Ah, you've returned", said Fentomy in greeting, "and the Earth Elemental is destroyed."

"You sound surprised," Blake noted, adding, "I hope it would also be a surprise if I told you it was serving a purpose. If I told you that destroying it caused the Skein to begin to collapse."

"Oh, I am sure that is a surprise," commented Gann. "That had we been killed in that collapse he would have gained his 'servant' without needing to pay us is something that never would have occurred to him."

"Which would be fortunate," Okku growled. "My spirit would have reformed in my barrow, but filled with rage at his interference with the oath of a god-of-bears. So that would not have been his intent would it?"

"No, of course not," said Fentomy hurriedly. "You were in there longer than I expected, that's all. I assumed the worst, but you are here so here is your reward. Prepared in anticipation of your return."

"Thank you," Blake said, taking the pouch of gold and gems.

"Pleasure doing business with you," added Fentomy with a weak but still smarmy smile, "but now I must return to my home plane to complete preparations for the new arrival. We may meet again, but I doubt it."

With that Fentomy vanished. Blake thought a moment and then lobbed the pouch to Gann, who caught it with a smile. "The adventure is often its own reward," Gann said smoothly, "but some travelling expenses can be welcome."

"Or a bit more than expenses," Neeshka grinned, winking at Blake.

"Which this Sunken City has certainly provided," replied Blake, with a small smile in return before he looked concerned and back at Gann. "My friend, you do understand that if there is anything we find that you want…"

"That I just need to speak up," Gann said, finishing Blake's sentence. "Be assured I would, but you have paid for the supplies so I have incurred little expense and with the hospitality people show me my needs are not great. I do trust that if there is something I need, or want, you would give that consideration."

"I would," confirmed Blake, "and I have, at least, a rough idea how much gold would be your fair share of what Neeshka has gathered. Assuming Okku needs none and that would be a third rather than quarter." Okku rumbled in confirmation and Blake looked back at the noisy flying thing and the coffin. "But another matter to be dealt with first."

"I could open that," Neeshka said, her gaze following her harbour-boy's, "need my finest picks and some trial-and-error, but I'd get it open."

"No you wouldn't!" hissed the flying thing.

"Would too," Neeshka responded, winking again at Blake.

"Would not!" replied the flying thing, falling into the trap.

"I think your mate would win this complex argument," Okku rumbled in amusement, "but little-one, little-ones, I suggest you take hold again and put that foul creature's coffin beneath that ridge. A head or so to the left of that clump of plants."

Blake glanced at that ridge at the rear of the beach and then at Okku. There seemed nothing special about that point but there was an area of disturbed sand further along beneath that ridge to their right. That disturbed sand looked to be a nest of giant beetles and if the undead meat was attractive to them or they simply wanted to clear the obstruction then the gnawing of their mandibles and the effect of whatever fire or acid they had might wear through this coffin. But Okku was already padding away and he seemed to have an idea so, with a sigh for the weight he was going to have to lift again, Blake moved to obey. A moment later Gann joined him and they lifted and staggered again, feet sliding in the dry sand as Neeshka protected them from the annoyance of the flying thing.

They reached where it seemed Okku indicated and, hoping the bear-god had meant the length of his own great head, Blake started to lower the coffin. Then he stopped and smiled to Gann at the other end. "Twist," Blake said, letting one hand drop far more than the other.

Gann nodded and they dropped the coffin so it rolled from their grasp and landed on its lid. Neeshka smiled and trotted in to retrieve her lockpick now it was no longer needed to jam the lock. There was a slight thud within the coffin as its contents settled.

"You…you…" the flying thing said incredulously. "You not only carry the Count, you tumble and drop him? He will make you pay for this. Once it gets dark."

"He might not get the chance," Blake said, glancing at the ridgeline and backing away with gestures to the others to do likewise.

Slowly a great boulder lurched into view as it rolled closer and closer to the edge of the ridge. The lip of grass across the top of the ridge sagged slightly under the weight with sand breaking away from the face and sliding down onto the beach. Whether the boulder came off the edge of the ridge or simply close enough that edge collapsed the effect was the same. The huge rock fell several feet, revealing the form of Okku behind it and landing squarely on top of the coffin. Solid Ashenwood pine it might have been but it still splintered and split along the lines of its grain as it flattened in the middle under the impact and each end fanned out.

Tendrils of smoke began to drift out from within the coffin as sunlight entered where the wood had been forced far enough apart. Blake could not be sure but he thought this Count Crowroost might have been unlucky that his coffin was so solid. Something built from planks of wood would have split along those joins and if planks had popped free then those wider gaps could have admitted enough light to swiftly kill him. How the single carved piece of wood had split was not giving him so merciful a death.

The boulder swayed as Crowroost struggled and tried to push it aside. Even crushed as he was within his coffin he still had enough of his unnatural strength to make the attempt and as much damage as the boulder had done it was at least blocking the sun where it lay on him. But this was to no avail as Crowroost found his arms crunching through the lid of his coffin and piercing into the sand rather than pushing him up against the weight. Frantically he tried to twist and either wobble the rock off him or turn where his spine was already powder so he could reach behind himself to try to get a grip.

Blake looked at the smoke and the movements of the coffin. Some of the wood was beginning to blacken a little as it was scorched by the flames sunlight created from Vampire flesh but this was taking a while. Letting Crowroost slowly burn might honour Kossuth and purification by fire but so would him burning more swiftly and something did not need to be worthy of mercy for you to show mercy to it. Besides this was boring. Now the coffin was split perhaps it would be possible to widen those splits to admit more light or use magic, or flint and tinder, to add to the flames.

Then the Vampire's struggles made intervention unnecessary. The boulder had been a little on edge and now it toppled, but rather than fall off him it fell to one side to flatten his legs. The splits at the head end of the coffin fanned out and spread wider and even more sunlight flooded in as Crowroost's pained writhing added to the damage done to his coffin. Wood could take a while to start burning as it had to warm up first but the unburied part of the coffin swiftly reached and passed that point. Crowroost began to scream as both sunlight and the flames of his burning coffin consumed his flesh. If the flames and smoke were intense then that burned him, if those became less intense then the smoke no longer blocked the sunlight and that burned him. The flying thing also screamed and spontaneously caught fire as the link that had let it share its master's invulnerability let it also share its master's fate.

It did not take long for the available fuel of coffin wood and cloth padding and Vampire flesh and clothes to be consumed and after a pause Blake crossed to look at the blackened wood and bone sticking out from the edge of the boulder. Foul smoke had smeared a path up the side of that rock and small cracks had appeared from the intensity of the heat. Neeshka joined him and tilted her head slightly as she tried to decide if she had seen a glint of something. Noticing this as the undead remains held little interest to him compared with the aesthetic pleasure of a lady in the light of the dawn Gann smiled.

"I think a concoction of undead flesh and pinewood," Gann commented, "all burnt from burning each other would be even less 'clean' than that Ogre's chainmail."

"The ashes of the furnace were quite unpleasant," added Blake, turning to his sweetheart, "and things there had long since become nothing but powder and metal eyelets and buckles and tiny fragments of teeth and bone and the like."

Neeshka nodded reluctantly. She was not enthusiastic about the idea of trying to search the small part of that corpse that was not out of reach under the boulder. It did look rather repellent and she did agree that bodies that had been thoroughly cremated were less foul than those that had been burned less completely. But it was the principle of the thing. From how the boulder had moved this had been a powerful Vampire and, if the flying thing had not been lying, also a Noble one so if any of its possessions had survived they could be rare and valuable. Passing on that chance rubbed Neeshka's instincts the wrong way.

But she shrugged and followed Blake as he started towards the path from the beach back towards the Golden Way. This was not the first chance they'd passed on and though she could have taken all those things from the barrow her harbour-boy had probably been right to suggest leaving the interesting looking vases and skeletons in the Death God's Vault alone and not take Dalenka at her word and clear out that garrison's stores. Even without those chances, and even before they came here, they'd still been doing well enough that Neeshka had been frustrated they'd not found anywhere her harbour-boy could spend some of that gold on pampering her as she deserved.

It did not take long to reach the Golden Way and then the first shelter back towards Mulsantir. Okku glanced at the Tiefling and decided to speak. "Hrrr, little-one," he rumbled, continuing when he had Blake's attention, "I need no sleep, and you and the Hagspawn at least had your bodies drowse while you fought in dreams, but your mate remained alert and awake the whole time."

"Then we shall rest a few hours."

"I'm fine, harbour-boy," Neeshka protested, "been awake longer than this before, so no need to be over-protective."

"True," admitted Blake, "but the same was true in the Chamber of Dreamers." Neeshka frowned prettily so Blake explained. "Where you were being over-protective by not leaving the guard duty to Okku."

"For myself a short break to at least break our fast would be welcome," Gann added diplomatically, "and a little cleaning of armour before the various residues set too hard might be wise."

Neeshka still looked annoyed at Okku. There was a difference between being pampered when things were safe and having Blake delay their journey by thinking she was too fragile to easily resist the effects of one sleepless night. She liked him being considerate of her and she liked claiming to be 'kind of' delicate but she didn't want him going too far as often there were better ways than sleeping to spend a night. But if they were all determined to rest then she had to admit that some food, some cleaning, and a few hours snuggled with her harbour-boy did sound good.

There was not much firewood to be found near the shelter as that area had been well picked over by other travellers. Fortunately a little gold bought a lot of firewood at market and the few twigs they found supplemented a bundle from Blake's magic bag nicely. Soon they had a little fire going and a stew bubbling over it while Blake scrubbed a little at the helmet and plates he'd removed and Gann frowned with distaste at the stains on his own leather armour. Neeshka, as befitted her grace, had managed to avoid almost all the gore despite her sword being shorter than Blake's and far shorter than Gann's spear. So lacking the need to do as much cleaning she took charge of the stew and it was quite cosy and domestic as Neeshka ladled out the stew into thirds and got smiles in return. A while of the scrape of spoons in bowls passed before Blake belched slightly, muttered 'pardon', and put his bowl to one side to reach into his pack.

Withdrawing the rough map he'd been able to buy Blake unrolled and glanced at it and nodded. "Hmm, does look like the path to these 'Wells of Lurue' would take us close to or past Mulsantir, so we may as well revisit the town. Unless Gann or Okku know of a shorter unmarked path?"

"That didn't work out so well when the tree-worshipper guided us off the road," Neeshka reminded him, "had to fight all those maddened animals…"

"The spirits could guide me more directly, perhaps," added Gann, swallowing a mouthful of stew first, "but my inclination is to stay with roads where people and their dreams may be encountered."

"And I could find my way there through any obstacle in my path," Okku rumbled from where he was watching the road rather than watch the mortals eat. "But I remember enough of flesh to know how difficult such a route could be for those that sleep and tire."

Blake nodded and rolled the map back up, putting it away and picking his stew back up. "Roads then," he said, before taking a mouthful of stew to chew and swallow as he thought. "Probably better for another reason as well. I have confidence that with your aid, all of you, this curse shall be ended… but in case not, in case we fail…"

"We are not going to fail, little one," Okku interrupted. "This curse will end."

"It would still be good to leave a record of what we've learned," continued Blake. "The Sunken Coven are certainly in no position to answer any more questions and if the Wood Man again needed aid before he could share his knowledge then someone without such valiant allies as you might not be able to manage."

"If… you intend to leave such information with the Witches then I would caution you," Gann said thoughtfully. "You have seen how some of them have reacted to you, it would only take one Witch of that mindset to decide this was 'tainted knowledge' to be burned rather than preserved."

"True enough, and I was not thinking of only leaving one copy," Blake admitted, taking his final spoonful of stew before continuing. "Who other than Sheva Whitefeather, and the Wood Man if we travel to Ashenwood again, could be trusted with the knowledge though I will have to think on."

"Soooo…" wheedled Neeshka. "You're talking about sharing what you have learned, so share. What happened between you going glassy eyed and us having to fight those Hags anyway?"

Blake reached into his pack again. "Well, one thing was seeing a vision of Bishop encased in the Wall of the Faithless, he had another fragment of that mask." Blake jiggled the two fragments and nodded as their edges matched. "Looks like more to be found," he added, before continuing with a brief expression of distaste, "and that it will be a hideous mask when complete…"

"That looks like what pops out of you," Neeshka commented.

"What?" said Blake, his brow creasing in surprise.

"When you use your spirit eater powers a thing appears behind you with writhing tentacles," Gann replied, adding with a smile, "but I suppose that is behind you so you would not have seen."

"I had the impression, out of the corner of my eyes, of some sort of arms waving about," nodded Blake, "but it is hard to know what I actually see and what are the images being conjured by the sensations of the curse. Like what you say of dreams Gann, what is truth and what is metaphor? Still, if this mask does bear a resemblance to that then that suggests a connection."

"You found something else," Neeshka pointed out, with her eye for loot, "new Bow?"

"New bow," Blake confirmed, "though it could shift to other weapons. There was a dream of a deserted Inn and when I won enough games against that fat fellow it broke his imprisonment there and I found it in my pack." He passed the bow over to Neeshka to examine. "I tried a few other forms but it makes a nice bow and the dream was otherwise insignificant."

Neeshka deftly strung the bow and then raised an eyebrow in surprise as an arrow appeared when she fiddled with the bowstring. "I thought I told you about bows like this…"

"And quite memorably too," Gann smiled, "almost as soon as he found this bow he mentioned your advice."

"And that these arrows are excellent ones, which I confirmed as the Dreamscape of the Wall was the one after the Inn, and this bow worked well enough on a Pit Fiend there."

"I wonder if we could set up a stall selling arrows…" Neeshka smiled.

"Which would be all profit," nodded Gann, "since he paid for that, as he kindly pointed out, with my boredom rather than his coin."

"Unfortunately," Blake said, taking the bow back, "these arrows vanish if not loosed or they might have fetched a high price."

"Boo!" said Neeshka, looking down as the arrow lying across her palm lost focus around its edges and shimmered slightly as it vanished. "But who wants honest work anyway. Still, so you saw Bishop and you rescued the fat guy… what else?"

Blake looked thoughtfully at the bow for a moment before reaching into his pack for a quiver of arrows and replying. "That Wizard, Faras, was trying to get out of an Infernal contract. We helped by pointing out that one condition had been met due to the Devil's interpretation of a wish, so as that had not been Faras' free will the contract was void."

"And, as that second Mind Flayer realised, we also entered the Mind Flayer's prison and killed him," Gann added. "Though our first dreamscape was of the Veil Theatre where they were putting on a play based on the Betrayer's Crusade."

"True," agreed Blake, looking annoyed as he found putting an arrow on the bowstring did not prevent one from materialising. Some people could loose more than one arrow at a time but he wasn't one of them and he didn't think you could form the special grip required for that if one of the arrows within it only appeared partway through the draw. "That they had reserved the part of the Betrayer for me did fit with all else about this curse and Akachi being connected."

"And there was the dream of that gate," Gann said as Blake put the arrows away.

"Aye, a dream of a Gate that leads to the Fugue Plane and the City of Judgement. The surroundings seemed to be those of the Death God's Vault in Shadow Mulsantir and what the dream-creatures said there further confirmed this curse is the punishment Myrkul was so proud of inflicting on Akachi."

"Indeed, as did our communication with the Coven before we woke them," nodded Gann before looking to Okku and Neeshka. "Both the Coven's own words and those of the dream-memories they showed us of Lienna and Nefris said the curse was Myrkul's creation and only he would know how to end it."

"They seemed confident they could find a way to speak with him, though those efforts might have been what got them killed. And I might have been wrong about their reasons for inflicting the curse on me."

"Explain, little one," rumbled Okku in mild surprise. "Your idea made sense, weaken Rashemen by unleashing the spirit-eater once more."

"Yes, but if they were being honest," Blake replied, "and the Coven did not alter what they showed…"

"The dream-memories were truthful," confirmed Gann.

"Then Lienna and Nefris sought a way to end the curse," Blake finished, "not a way to use it as a weapon."

"End it?" repeated Okku in disbelief. "By freeing it?"

"It can make sense god-of-bears," Gann argued smoothly. "Although the curse was trapped it was not dying… not coming to an end."

"And some of the memories I have seen or dreamed are not of my own mind," added Blake, poking at the campfire with a stick as he thought. "The Gate through which the Betrayer's Crusade passed is nothing I have seen, though it was similar to the one Kaelyn spent so much time staring at."

"And have a similar key," Gann reminded him. "A replica of the Sword of Gith to open the replica of the Gate, and the true sword to open the true gate."

"It does seem unlikely Akachi had two silver swords," nodded Blake, "so more reason to try to recover it."

"And another reason for them to have cut you open, harbour-boy," Neeshka scowled at the memory.

"Not the first people to try to tear the shard from me," shrugged Blake. "To try to get all the pieces, including that one."

"Leave them in pieces too," Neeshka muttered, "like that wrinkly Githyanki."

"But anyway," Blake continued, letting his sweetheart mutter and harbour bloody thoughts. "With those memories, and having met echoes of previous hosts during the Mosstone dream, it seems possible that all the time the curse was trapped in your barrow Okku there might also have been an echo of Akachi trapped in it. An echo they might be trying to give the release of death to."

"The Red Woman we saw in the dream of the Gate looked very similar to the one in the Mosstone dream," added Gann, gesturing to Blake, "and I am sure he also noted how much she also resembled Lienna and Nefris."

"And that the Red Woman claimed the Betrayer's Crusade was waged for her," nodded Blake, "for the love Akachi bore her. So if Akachi was condemned for their ancestor they may have an inherited obligation to try to help him. However they may also have inherited an enemy trying to prevent this and to hunt them down. In the dream of the Gate we also saw a man called Araman, who claimed both that he was Akachi's brother and that until he had corrected his brother's mistakes he would continue to live."

"So might be more to the coup than just Red Wizards being Red Wizards," mused Neeshka, "though not sure he has much motivation for success…"

"Presumably there would be some punishment if he tried remain undying by leaving a mistake uncorrected," Blake suggested thoughtfully, "and undying might not mean unaging. He might have to try to complete the task before he becomes too frail from age, even with his magic, to have any chance of more success."

"And be trapped in an ever more decrepit body for eternity?" shuddered Gann. "That sounds almost as nasty as that Wall, though on second thought at least the Wall of the Faithless might end the suffering quicker."

"The names could be a coincidence," Blake admitted. "I don't know how common a name 'Araman' is but it does seem if Araman was hunting the Red Woman then he'd also hunt her descendants."

"It does seem unfair to pass the sins of the mother on to the child," commented Gann, "and I speak as one with personal experience of such."

"I agree, or in my sweet Neeshka's case the sins of her grandfather. It could just be that Araman would wish to prevent them ending his brother's punishment since that was ordained by their god. What I did wonder though was if without the Crusade the Red Woman would have died childless."

"Ah," breathed Gann. "So as her being rescued to have children would be a result of this Crusade their existence might be considered a 'mistake' to be corrected?"

"And the existence of their children, and their children's children, and so on down through the centuries. I doubt Araman would be concerned with those who are ignorant of their ancestor but that could still be a lot of people. Though this is assuming the dream is true and there is a centuries-old wizard out there trying to make up for having supported his brother rather than his god. Even now his god is dead and his brother nothing but an echo within a curse."

"The dream did seem true," Gann replied, dashing Blake's faint hopes. "Whether it was memories drawn from the curse or insight drawn from the impressions those minds have left on the dreaming world I do not know, but I believe this Araman does exist in the form the dream suggested."

"Then… we have a problem," said Blake, briefly pinching the brow of his nose and getting a reassuring hand on his shoulder from Neeshka. Patting her hand where it lay he continued. "They have been feuding for centuries, had that long to build their power, personal and political and military. Tymorra willing we will be lucky and they will have been also been destroying each other's power rather than simply building and waiting."

"You hope it was a bloody victory for Araman, his coup?" Gann asked.

"Aye, that if that was the same Araman that it cost him dear," nodded Blake, "despite Nefris being distracted by her actions against me."

"And against me," grumbled Okku, eyes whirling in anger. "She undid the actions and sacrifices of a god-of-bears! If not for her Nakata would not have fallen prey to your unknowing hunger."

"You think she spent enough time and effort on this plot to have left herself vulnerable?" Gann asked again.

"I hope her efforts against me at least helped to get her killed," Blake said sourly, adding when he saw Neeshka pout, "I know my dear, you wanted her to live long enough for you to kill her yourself."

"A feeling I shared," Okku growled deeply.

Blake nodded. "I must admit I'd have preferred to do more than just hear of her death."

There was a moment or two of silence before Gann glanced at the other three. "I don't know why you are looking at me. It was not my sacrifice she spoiled, nor my love she kidnapped, nor me she had cursed." He paused again in thought. "I have seen how this curse has eaten at you Blake, I know how it could have affected the spirits of the land had you not been so stalwart in fighting it, and I sympathise with you all that you did not get to kill her yourselves. But I am just glad she is dead… if she is."

"Aye, that is the important thing. That she dies and not whether this is by our hand or by Araman's," Blake agreed, ignoring the almost matching noises of disagreement from Okku and Neeshka. "Confirming her death would be an argument for doing what the Slumbering Coven suggested, using the portal in Lienna's secret room to travel to Thay and that Academy."

"What other choice do we have?" asked Gann. "If we need to speak to whatever remains of Myrkul then any clues to why Nefris was so confident she could achieve this would be in her Academy."

"Clues, or even perhaps detailed records, if Araman has not destroyed them," Blake agreed, before continuing. "But also an entire Academy full of Red Wizards. Teachers skilled or lucky enough to survive their infighting and students that, even if they only know minor magics, would be dangerous with their numbers."

"Didn't seem that lucky or skilled in the barrow," Neeshka pointed out, with the satisfaction of memory.

Blake started to reply and then paused as he tried to think of how to say what he wanted to say. Modesty aside he knew how powerful his magic was compared with before he left West Harbour. Having to use it extensively almost every day and having the threat of death to motivate study and practice had made his progress quite rapid despite splitting his time between that and martial training and he owed Tarmas a lot for the solid foundation on which this had been built. Nevertheless it did make him concerned how powerful the Red Wizards might be. Within their Academy they would also practice every day and have the threat of death as a motivation. Moreover from what Blake had heard of Red Wizards they were very focussed in their studies. Not only would they have not spent time on martial training but, rather than be a generalist and spread their studies to whatever caught their attention, they specialised in one school of magic and then specialised again. That might limit the magic they could learn but it did also make them a lot more powerful in using the remaining spells. This could be very painful.

"I know, I know," Neeshka said, seeing Blake's expression and rolling her eyes a little. "One lone and unsuspecting Red Wizard is much easier to kill, with the advantage of surprise, than others might be in their own Academy. And especially with them having had a coup recently."

"They would be sleeping even lighter than usual," nodded Blake, "but to answer Gann's question the other choice would be Neverwinter. If speaking to Myrkul would be possible it is also possible someone else might have achieved something similar, and that record of such might be somewhere in the extensive libraries of the Mage Academy or the Many Starred Cloaks."

"Or it might not be," Gann commented, "or the answer might be too incomplete."

"Even if it is only a partial answer," nodded Blake again, "that may be enough for the Mages of Neverwinter, whether through Lord Nasher's order or through the challenge of solving the problem, to duplicate Nefris' research. Oghma has blessed them with much knowledge in using Mystra and Azuth's gifts of magic."

"Or it may not be," Neeshka said, echoing Gann slightly in her scepticism, "and we are hardly on good terms with the Mage Academy there."

"That is one way of putting it," Blake chuckled, before looking at Gann and Okku. "You remember me speaking of Qara?"

Okku looked blank as he had still been outside Mulsantir with his army then but Gann, with his memory for ladies names, nodded. "Ah yes," he said smoothly, "the girl who ignored her instructors but, for some reason, listened to you."

"And I still maintain that reason was because it was good advice and I was careful in how I phrased it, I tried to explain the reasons behind what I was saying. Even so she could be hard to speak to as the talent she had… has I hope…in the arcane arts made her rather disdainful of those less blessed."

"Yes," Gann replied, frowning slightly as he dug into his memory, "and I seem to recall she was disdainful enough she was expelled from that Academy and then subject to attacks from former classmates. I think you are understating the challenge, as you tend to do."

"I never said it was easy and, aye, she had made many enemies there, including one of the Magisters there. His daughter had been one of those students and had been involved in the first fight I stopped by, as a member of the City Watch, threatening to arrest his daughter for causing a public disturbance."

"I am sure that went down very well with him," Gann smiled. "Some Watchman telling his daughter what to do."

"He did seem outraged that I expected his daughter to abide by the laws of the city," agreed Blake, adding. "The Gods only know how outraged he'd have been if she'd not backed down and I had put her in a cell." Blake paused and one corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. "Come to think of it that cell would have been in the City Watch building in the Docks. So she'd have been in there when it was burned down and that would have increased his anger even if she'd survived."

"Hmm, from what you said he already seemed near as implacable as old father-bear," mused Gann, "but that might have made things worse."

"Was not my fault his daughter was breaking the law."

"Was not our fault the students were stupid enough to try to kill Qara while she was travelling with us," added Neeshka.

"From our travels that does seem stupid," Gann smiled, "you make a formidable team."

"Don't sell your contribution short my friend, or that of Okku," chided Blake, "we make a formidable team."

"Thank you little-one," rumbled Okku, "But as little patience as I have for this mutual congratulation I would remind you that you and your mate did defeat me. I was not at full strength, true, but that still shows the Hagspawn was just as correct as you."

"In any case, the Mage Academy has reason, as Neeshka said, to dislike me for arresting their students for public brawling and assault with deadly intent against an Officer of the Watch. Both that I did arrest them and that I showed how poorly they had been taught that I did survive to arrest them."

"I was going to say that your survival, even with your skill, argued against your caution regarding the Red Wizard students," Gann commented. "You seem to have some contempt for your own town's Mage Academy?"

Blake shrugged. "Perhaps I listened too much to Qara, and her attitude rubbed off. But her complaints about how much time they spent in the libraries had the opposite effect of confirming the extent of those."

"I doubt they would be open to you though, or that the Mages there would be willing to help. Your beloved did raise a good point."

"True enough they might not be happy to help, or open their libraries to us," Blake agreed. "But whether they are happy or not is irrelevant. Threatening a Lieutenant of the City Watch is trouble enough without refusing when that same Lieutenant, now a Knight of Neverwinter and member of the Neverwinter Nine after personally saving Lord Nasher's life, asks for help. Lord Nasher would support me in my request."

"Whoa there harbour-boy," whistled Neeshka, "don't be too sure of that. You know Nasher has no problem with not repaying debts, story of the Hero of Neverwinter ring any bells?"

"Not with us, so please explain," Gann said, giving her an enquiring look and eyebrow lift.

"Well, the way I heard it… there was this guy," explained Neeshka. "There was a plague and he'd arrived when they put out a call for adventurers to help search for clues to where it had come from. He'd survived an attack on where the adventurers were staying and then recovered the ingredients for the plague cure and then recovered the plague cure itself when it was stolen. Then he uncovered a plot against Neverwinter and… well, he did a lot of things."

"That would be why he was the Hero of Neverwinter," smiled Gann, "I suppose."

Blake nodded. "Even in West Harbour we heard the tales, and how they ended. How he came before Lord Nasher and made his final request. Neverwinter had been saved from both a Luskan invasion and the return of an ancient race of Lizardfolk. Now the city was safe he wanted just one thing, that Lord Nasher spare the fallen Paladin Lady Aribeth so that together they could seek her redemption. After all he had done was that so much to ask?"

"I take it from your tone that it was 'so much' and thus was denied?" Gann asked, without much query in his tone.

"It was. Lady Aribeth had been the leader of the invading army and so Lord Nasher had much to condemn her for," replied Blake. "So he sentenced her to death. Just as he had sentenced the man Aribeth loved, a cleric of Tyr called Fenthick, when all he had been guilty of was stupidity rather than actual treason. That Lord Nasher had broken faith with Aribeth first did not change that she had taken up arms against Neverwinter."

"You think he should have shown mercy?" Okku growled, his tone conveying his attitude towards traitors.

"I think that if your own actions destroy someone's loyalty to you, if insisting that their lover be buried in the Tomb of the Betrayers…"

"We had to fight Fenthick's ghost in there," Neeshka interjected.

"And the Church of Tyr agreeing to this, despite Fenthick being betrayed rather than betrayer," continued Blake, "is what destroyed their faith in Tyr's justice then you need to consider where true blame lies. I cannot say I would have decided differently as the law is the law but Lord Nasher did owe Lady Aribeth and Fenthick some gratitude for their past services and owed the Hero of Neverwinter a great deal more. More perhaps than he owes me."

"Asking to be let into a library does not seem as severe a request as asking for someone to not be executed," Gann commented.

"I agree that I'd not be asking for as much but I think Neeshka is right," frowned Blake. "Lord Nasher would sacrifice me, despite what I have done for him, if he decided the Mage Academy was more important to helping him maintain his power. Politics has little room for gratitude or sentiment."

"Remember how Sir Nevalle reacted when you were summoned to Neverwinter?" Neeshka asked.

"Ah, yes," recalled Blake sourly, "I asked what this summons was about…"

"And he told you Crossroad Keep could have a new Captain by Nightfall," nodded Neeshka, still offended on her harbour-boy's behalf.

"So the effort and the gold I had put into rebuilding the keep," continued Blake, "and a simple question intended so I could judge how long I would be absent and what orders I needed to leave was repaid with threats rather than appreciation. On the other hand that threat possibly came from Nevalle rather than Nasher as the reason for the summons was so I could be knighted."

"That does seem contradictory, a threat of removal on the eve of promotion," Gann agreed, "but in any case you returning to Neverwinter would take your curse to the Sword Coast and supposes the research of Nefris to be duplicable. You have said it yourself; these people have been warring for centuries so it could be it would take decades or longer to discover what Nefris already has."

"True, though it might still have to be done," mused Blake. "My studies of the arcane have focussed more on those spells useful in combat so if we do go to Thay we might still need help deciphering what we find. Of course that does also mean we might need less help to fight our way to finding those clues."

"You have a God-of-Bears as an ally," Okku rumbled, "what other help do you think you need?"

"Besides, we don't necessarily have to fight," Neeshka pointed out. "I managed to sneak in there and to the window of the Headmistress' tower."

"Unfortunately the rest of us are not as skilled in those arts, my sweet," Blake said with a fond proud smile. "Besides although I have no doubt that you could get in and out and take any item in that Academy there is the problem that we don't know what we are looking for exactly. We'd need to make a thorough search."

"Well," grinned Neeshka to Blake as she pulled some Red Wizard robes out of her pack, "I wonder what you would look like beardless and with a shaved head and tattoos. Might make a change."

"If it comes to that I could enter alone and unarmed and unarmoured," Blake nodded. "I have enough magic I'd not be helpless, unfortunate as it is that none of you could also try passing for Red Wizards. I doubt we could use makeup to alter Gann's skin tone enough, Okku is obvious, and Neeshka has her lovely perky horns…"

Neeshka's grin faltered and was replaced by concern as Blake took her suggestion seriously. "Joke! I was teasing you harbour-boy… do you really think I'd let you do that?"

"Maybe not," Blake admitted before adding, "but do you really think I'd be unwilling to do it if it would spare you danger?"

The two looked at each other for a moment and then with one quick gesture Neeshka threw the Red Wizard robes onto the campfire. These were still folded so they did not burn that well and at first it appeared more likely that they would smother the small fire instead. Then smoke began to rise from the weave of the cloth and from between the folds and suddenly the shelter became more brightly lit as flames began curling up around the edges.

"Not happening," Neeshka said with satisfaction, watching this. "Think of something else, and I don't mean where to find another set of robes."

"At least we do have time to consider," replied Blake, using a stick to poke some burning cloth back inside the ring of campfire stones. "We have some travelling and whatever we find at the Wells of Lurue to deal with. And though I have faith in Okku's might I'd prefer if we could get even more help before trying to kill an entire Thayan Academy. Perhaps the Witches or the Berserkers would provide aid, take the chance to strike at Thay…"

"They would appreciate the chance, but their involvement could heat the war up again," Gann said, ignoring Okku's 'harrumph' at the idea of needing more help. "And we would need to inform them of the portal if we are to travel that way, which would reveal Lienna's link to Nefris, a Red Wizard and enemy of Rashemen. That would do Lienna no harm, now, but could cause trouble for Magda and her actors for being associated with Lienna."

"Aye, and I did say that I would keep their secret if they kept mine," Blake nodded slowly. "They do seem to have been Lienna's cover rather than her co-conspirators so I'd not want them exiled or imprisoned or killed. But I have doubts how innocent they are, how much they suspected and could have told the Witches, so as much as Lord Nasher would sacrifice me I think I would sacrifice them for Okku's oath. If needed."