Disclaimer: I do not own 'Shadows of Amn', the 'Forgotten Realms' or any characters therein. Wizards of the Coast do, at my last check. Lucky them.
I do, however, own Fritha and certain other characters and plot points. Basically, if you don't recognise it from the game, it's probably mine.

– Blackcross & Taylor

An eye for an eye

'Sassar,' Fritha called brightly, her voice echoing slightly in the stairwell as she climbed, the others behind her, 'Sassar, we're back.'
She tripped up the last few steps, light from her lantern opening out the room beyond and Sassar stepped from the shadows, a hand outstretched towards her.

'You have returned, we- we dared not hope. You found the artefact?'

'Yes, eventually,' she answered, gently taking his hand to place the rod into it, the man starting slightly at the feel of the cool enamel. 'Though that's not all we found down there.'

The others had followed her into the room by now and they all took seats as they had before, Sassar next to her as Fritha told the story of their journey to the temple and the misery they had found there.

'But,' she continued, trying to cheer both the outcasts and her own companions after what had been a rather depressing tale, 'the avatar said if we return the artefact to it once we're done, it will free the guardians from their service. Which all fits nicely together, for we need to weaken the device first and I'm sure destroying the beholder will do just that; once we've the other half, of course. Have you any news of how we can reach it?'

Sassar nodded, smiling slightly and she could tell her attempt at brightness amused him.

'Indeed, child, I have. The Unseeing Eye stays mostly within the beholder tunnels that run beneath the sewers. Usually, the only way to enter them is through the temple, but there is another way, a staircase within this very complex in fact, and known only to the beholder.' He smiled wryly, 'or so it believes. I found the way by chance when I served as his priest, though it remains barred with wards and locks beyond the skills of most. However, we still have contacts in the beholder's service, ones who stayed to act spies despite the danger, and in your absence one of them has acquired for us the key…'

He drew a metal disc from the loose fraying folds of his robes and she waiting as he found her hand and pressed the key into it, one side smooth, the other an intricate pattern of grooves and barbs.

'The cult holds a mass in the hour before dawn that the beholder attends, leaving his lair unguarded. I have sentries ready to inform us when the ceremony begins.'

Fritha shrugged, taking her flask from her bag and shifting slightly in an effort to get more comfortable.
'Then I suppose all we do now is wait.'

And so they waited, night waning in the world above them. Jaheira and Anomen were busying themselves over Minsc, who was still suffering since the fight with the gauths, while Keldorn had moved out into the hall and Fritha suspected he was praying, she herself sat with the others, passing the time with idle talk.

'If we should die,' began Nalia, and Fritha smiled, the girl's conversational tone at odds with her words in a way that reminded her of Imoen, 'do you imagine the gods will stop the beholder? After all we will have given him something they themselves deemed no other should possess.'

'Well, they haven't pitched up to get us yet, have they?' countered Fritha with a laugh.

'No, but we've only got half the rod, just as the beholder has. Wouldn't it be ironic if we assemble the rod and Ao just arrives and kills us for doing so.'

Fritha and Nalia laughed, though Aerie did not look so amused and Sassar just sighed.

'I- I do not know, child. I would like to think the gods would read the good intent within your heart, but their motives can sometimes be beyond our mortal understanding. We must just put our faith in that whatever happen to us, they act for a greater purpose.'
He shook his head, a quiet sadness to his face, 'it is a lesson that can be difficult to learn…'

Silence fell over them, a melancholy to the air that no one felt able to disturb and after a moment, Nalia and Aerie went back to their quiet chatter, Fritha turning to the man next to her.

'Sassar…' she began in little more than a whisper, unwilling to let the others hear her, 'Sassar, if we do die, but the Beholder is destroyed along with us, will you find a way of returning the artefact to the temple. I know it's a lot to ask, but I couldn't stand the idea of the guardians all down there for another thousand years, growing only more bitter by the day and saying how they knew we wouldn't bring it back.'

Sassar smiled, patting her hand reassuringly.
'I will, child… they sound as though they have suffered beyond all imagining. It is a subtle torture, to lose one's faith. To every day feel further from the one you once loved so dearly, so desperately waiting for a sign, until you begin to question whether you had ever felt anything at all, whether you hadn't just been deluding yourself. And then, when your faith has gone; such loneliness. You wonder if you would not be better off dead.'

He turned to her, mouth twisted with a bitter smile.
'Can you believe, I found it a relief to serve the One God after such emptiness; if only I had known how much such a solace would cost me.'

xxx

Anomen stood, Minsc lain out at his feet while Jaheira finished adjusting his bandages, the criss-cross of bindings encircling the ranger's chest and shoulders. The attack by the gauths had cracked more than one rib, and while Anomen and the druid had managed to realign them soon after, it was imperative they did not shift again if they were to heal straight, though the tightness of the bindings left the man hard of breathing.

'There,' sighed Jaheira, straightening from where she had been crouched next to the ranger's chest, the fresh bandages that spanned it overly white in the gloom. 'I think we've done all we can. Rest is what you need now.'

'Yes, and Minsc and Boo will rest when evil does,' he laughed genially, wheezing slightly with the effort and Jaheira moved to pat his back.

Anomen turned away, feeling isolated by the quiet camaraderie that seemed to bond the rest of them; still a few more hours and it would no longer be his concern, and the next group he met he would not be so hasty to ally with.

Anomen shook himself, trying to banish the lingering resentment, letting his eyes drift listlessly over the room. Aerie and Nalia were buried in chatter as usual and Fritha was sat with Sassar, the man patting her hand with such a look of admiration on his face, he was surprised the man was not glowing.

'She has a good soul, that one,' came a familiar voice behind him and Anomen turned, ready for the look of self-assured piety on the old paladin's face; he was not disappointed.

Anomen glanced back to the pair with a disdainful snort.
'That is debateable, though if she does, it is wasted on the likes of him.'

'Is it indeed?' confirmed Keldorn mildly, 'the sages say you must walk in a man's shoes before you can truly judge him. But,' he continued, his voice sterner, 'whatever Sassar's crimes, you cannot doubt his desire to make reparation for them. I imagine serving a god who no longer acknowledges you is much harder than giving worship to one who manifests Himself, be it through powers or presence. And I am sure the encouragement of one of his own would mean much to him.'

Anomen blinked, hardly able to believe what the knight seemed to be insinuating.
'One of his own? You wish me to speak with him?'

Keldorn's face remained impassive.
'Sassar once held Helm's favour as you do; I merely wish you to look into your heart and consider what it and your faith would have you do.'

Anomen frowned, a guilty conflict writhing inside him. It wasn't an order and he could easily refuse the paladin. After all, Sassar was a heretic who had abandoned the worship of Helm to serve one of the most evil creatures to ever come within the city walls. But Sassar had also left the cult of his own volition and had been living in the sewers ever since trying to work against the sect, and a very small part of Anomen felt a certain sympathy towards the priest.

It was the same part that reminded him sometimes that he was neither the best of clerics nor indeed the best of men, and with reluctant steps Anomen moved to stand before the pair, Keldorn still at his back.

Fritha glanced up as he arrived, the girl looking wordlessly from him to the paladin and suddenly she was on her feet as well, smiling down at Sassar.

'Well, I should really check on my friend. Hey Minsc, how are you feeling?'
And without another glance to either of them, she was gone.

Sassar raised his face to them, the calm smile he had worn with Fritha still lingering.
'I sense you before me; speak if you will.'

Anomen straightened self-consciously and sank stiffly down beside the man, Keldorn moving off to join the girl and Minsc.
'I would talk to you, priest.'

If Sassar noticed the title, he pretended not to, the smile never wavering as he confirmed, 'ah, the squire isn't it? Now what did they call you… Anomen?'

Anomen frowned, the man's genial air angering him slightly. That the man could feel anything but wretched after such crimes seemed even more of an insult, though Sassar continued on oblivious.

'I recognise your voice from before, when I told your friends of my past. You spoke with a passion that once matched my own; you are of the Watchers, yes?'

'That is so,' Anomen confirmed, moving quickly to add, 'and just because I am here, do not think I excuse your heresy.'

Sassar shrugged serenely.
'It is not your forgiveness I seek.'

Silence fell between them; the moment's hanging on Anomen as he struggled with himself, before Sassar finally spoke again.
'Well, are you going to ask me?'

'Ask you what?' Anomen snapped, very aware of the question that was burning on his tongue. Why?
Sassar just smiled, amused and sad at the same time, and drawing a deep breath he began.

'As you know, I was once a priest of Helm and had been so for many years. I headed a small temple to Him on the edge of the slum district, offering guidance and protection to the people there. Then all changed… It was a year or so ago now; do you recall last summer when the Flamerule heat peaked and plague swept across the city? First my wife, then my young son came down the disease and despite my prayers and ministrations, after many agonising days they both died.'

'And you blamed Helm for not saving them,' concluded Anomen, an edge of disdain creeping into his voice.

'No, indeed, I did not!' Sassar snapped, angry for the first time Anomen had witnessed, though he mastered himself quickly, calmly continuing his tale.

'Many had died in the plague, why should Helm have saved my family over another's; that would have been unfair and I did not expect it. But you cannot know the grief their passing left me with. I know the Helmites can be accused of being cold and aloof, their wives more concerned with the duties of marriage, than the joys.'

Anomen swallowed, recalling his own mother and stalwart way she adhered to the vows that bound her to the cruel drunkard that was his father.

'But Miriam and I shared love of an intensity that would sometimes frighten me! And my dear Idris; barely three years he had been in the world, but already so bold and full of life. When they were taken from me I felt as though all joy had been leeched from the world; I was desolate, without hope. Yet still my faith did not waver. I spent day upon day in prayer to my god, barely rising from my knees to eat or sleep. All I wanted was some sign, some feeling that I was not alone, that he was with me still.'

Sassar shook his head.

'But one tenday slipped into two and before I realised it a month had passed and I still felt as empty and isolated as when I had first buried them. I found I began to pray less and less. Where once I exalted in the upkeep of the temple, I ignored my duties, doing only what was minimal. My services became habitual and passionless, and soon I stopped holding them altogether. What was the point in praying when there was no answer? I started to wonder if I had ever felt anything at all… And then… and then I met the cult, and I remember the feeling so clearly, the relief that filled me when I heard their teachings; the gods were a lie, they did not exist.'

The priest glanced to him, a sad smile pulling at his mouth.
'You see, it was easier to believe that there simply were no gods, than to believe the deity I had loved and worshiped so ardently my entire life could abandon me when I was most in need.'

Sassar shook himself and the melancholy was gone, replaced by a sudden an aura of strength.
'I still do not know why Helm did not console me; perhaps it was a test of my faith, or perhaps I was just too mired in grief to notice it. I only know now that I was wrong. That whether He chooses to show me or not, Helm does exist and He may ignore me for the rest of my days, my worship of Him will continue.'

And Anomen could hear the truth of it in his voice, the man's words spoken with a quiet conviction that held more power than a thousand zealous promises. The squire's eyes surveyed the room, taking in the intricate etching on Keldorn's armour; the gold of Aerie's hair; Nalia's smile. And Jaheira, sat opposite them and looking green and exotic in the light of her staff, Fritha dozing next to her, head resting upon the woman's shoulder, her lips parted slightly as she slept.

Everything that was now denied to the man… perhaps that was penance enough. Anomen swallowed dryly.

'I- I usually offer up my prayers before retiring, though since we have been here, I have yet to perform them… perhaps- perhaps we could give worship together.'

xxx

It did not feel as though she had done any more than close her eyes, when someone was shaking her and Fritha started to find movement all around her, her friends stood in the shadows, talking quietly and checking equipment, an air of urgency about them.

'Jaheira?'

'Come on, up!' the woman ordered, administering an encouraging poke to the ribs with her toe, 'before I kick some life into you. Sassar's men have given the signal; it's time.'

Fritha scrubbed a hand across her face, feeling all the more tired for the few hours sleep as she rose stiffly to join them, Sassar appearing in the doorway opposite.
'Please follow me.'

He led them back along the way they had first come, passing the door to the sewers and moving onwards, past other rooms and passages until at last he halted, a circular stone door in the wall next to him. The faint gap where it opened and the intricate carving at its centre were the only things to distinguish it from the surrounding walls and Fritha watched as Sassar took the key from his robes, fitting the disc over the indentations after a moment's fumbling and silently the door swung open, a staircase spiralling down into the darkness.

'This leads down to the tunnels. We believe the beholder's nest is the fifth chamber off the eastern passage. Helm watch over you.'

xxx

Fritha held her breath, the stale reek of rotting flesh making her long for the sewers as she led the way along the tunnel, Minsc just behind her with lantern muted; the group agreed that even with the beholder elsewhere, stealth was likely a good idea.

The floor creaked underfoot like old leather, uneven and slick, and Fritha had to fight to keep her hand at the wall, glad for the darkness as her fingers brushed the smooth veined surface, counting the openings as they passed them, her skin nearly crawling off her back when her hand was unlucky enough to stray across something that moved.

'There, the fifth break. This is the one,' she muttered to those behind her, snatching her hand back from the wall with relief and turning into the chamber.

The smell was much worse in there and it seemed the others agreed with her, murmurs of disgust and the sound of someone retching following her in. Fritha walked slowly onward, her foot catching on something in the darkness; it was time to find what they'd come for.
'Let's have some light, eh Minsc?'

The ranger retuned the lantern at her word, the others following suit and collective gasp seemed to leave the group as the shadows fell back. Carrion littered the floor, some bodies barely a few days old, others reduced to mere skeletons, but all covered in the same familiar teeth marks. Gauths.

Fritha looked down, stifling a shriek as she jumped back from the dismembered arm she had almost tripped over.

'I think we have just found what happens to those deemed unworthy,' said Jaheira, her contempt audible.

'Everyone spread out,' ordered Fritha, trying to regain her composure, 'find the artefact.'

The group dispersed about the chamber, Fritha stepping forward with Minsc, the lantern low between them, its light falling upon gore and bone, here and there catching upon some jewel or metal, until,

'I- I think- yes, I've found it!' came Nalia and Fritha straightened, turning with the others to watch her stoop, knocking aside a bone with her foot to retrieve a slender blue rod that was the image of the one she herself held.

The girl turned, holding it out to her and wordlessly Fritha took it, letting her eyes travel her friends' expectant faces before closing the two halves to make a whole. A soft click followed by silence, everyone holding their breath when somewhere far above them a distant roar of outrage howled through the tunnels.

Fritha swallowed, the rod suddenly slick in her hand.
'Oh, I hope that's not Ao.'

A sudden flash, and the creature was before them, a huge sphere of leathery flesh dominated by a single red eye, its halo of eyestalks writhing as it growled.
'Despair sighted, for death is thy familiar!'

'Oh, I think not,' countered Fritha with more grimace than grin, drawing back her hand, the rod within it thrumming with her will.

Blinding white energy discharged across the room to strike the beholder square in the eye, the creature roaring as it was blinded, the force of the blast knocking it back into the chamber wall.

'Thy end is nigh, mortals!' it choked, and to Fritha's alarm the creature began to chant, intoning the words of a spell, and she realised with fleeting humour that the avatar had been more than correct when he had surmised rod was no longer the threat it has once been.

The group was transfixed, the unexpected horror of their situation freezing them, when suddenly Aerie was at her side, eyes wide with fear and hands aloft, her fingers bent in on themselves with arthritic rigor as magic grew and crackled between them. A blink and the spell release, the force of it flooring everyone as it struck the beholder, the creature giving an anguished howl and then all was silent.

For a moment, all anyone seemed able to do was stare wordlessly from its body to each other, before one by one they rose slowly from the carrion strewn floor, all eyes turning to the elf.

'Oh,' gasped Nalia as she struggled to untangle herself from her robes, 'are anyone else's ears ringing?'

'Aerie,' breathed Jaheira, looking speechless for the first time Fritha could remember. The elf coloured and dipped her face, her mumble barely audible.

'S-Sorry…'

'Sorry?' Fritha cried, unable to contain herself a moment longer and laughing joyously as she threw an arm about the girl, 'Aerie that was magnificent! Though slightly scary.'

Agreement followed from every quarter and Aerie's colour intensified, though now her smile could have rivalled their leader's.
Fritha sighed happily, releasing the girl to twirl the rod light-heartedly between her fingers, filled with the twin joys of survival and success.

'Excellent work, everyone. Now let's go and spread the good news.'

xxx

Sassar was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, just where they'd left him, and Fritha could see him wringing his hands in the gloom as he shouted down to them.

'Have- have you done it? A-Are any of you hurt?'

Fritha drew a breath as she stepped at last into the tunnel, tired but more than happy as she answered him, her friends slowly gathering about them.

'The beholder is dead and we're all fine, -though we'd have been done for if it hadn't been for Aerie here,' she added with a laugh, and the elf flushed with pleasure.

'What has been happening here?' Came Jaheira behind her, Sassar turning to the sound.

'Well, we heard the roar as the beholder fell; it was so loud, I wonder if there are any that didn't! Our spies at the temple said they instantly knew something was wrong, for all suddenly lost the senses the beholder had gifted them. Apparently, a great panic arose in the temple and many of the cultists took flight, though Gaal was still trying to rally the faithful as our allies left to join us.'

Fritha nodded, the knowledge that most had fled pleasing her; she did not relish the idea of fighting the blind.
'Right. Well, back to the temple then?' Fritha sighed with a tired grin, turning to head for the stairs, but a hand at her arm halted her and she glanced back to see Sassar, his face earnest and uncertain as he began.

'Wait, Fritha, I have one last request if you will hear it; you have helped us here so much and we shall never be able to repay it, but I should like to begin. I have spoken to my brethren here and we wish to return the rod to the temple.'

Fritha felt a panicked guilt bubbling up inside her, the idea that her own earlier request had provoked such a dangerous offer.
'But, Sassar, I mean, I appreciate the thought, but the way's not clear, there are still traps and-'

The man shook his head, pressing her hand between both of his as though to will his own conviction into her.

'I understand your concern, child, but I believe we will be able. Ever since the idea came to me, I have felt a change within me -others have spoken of it too. Although I cannot see as once I did, a sense of my surroundings not unlike that the beholder once gifted me is returning. I cannot say whether it is the symptom of something more to come, or even if it will last, but I know in my heart it is to allow us to perform this service for you.'

He smiled gently, a warm confidence to his manner and Fritha wondered if this was the sign he had been waiting so patiently for.
'Please honour us in this; we will not fail you.'

She glanced about at faces of her friends, worried and doubtful in the gloom before turning back to press the long slender rod into his hands.
'Safe journey, Sassar.'

'And you, child. And you.'

xxx

The group left just as they had arrived, Fritha and Jaheira leading the way, retracing their steps back through the sewers looking for a grate large enough to leave by. No one had bothered with scarves this time though, everyone more than used to the smell, their magelights mixing with the pale light that filtered through the grates and illuminating the tunnels with a grey ethereal radiance.

Fritha noticed Jaheira glance to her, the werelight that glowed above her staff giving the druid a green tinge and Fritha was put in mind of the prints of dryads she had seen back in Candlekeep, though the woman looked pensive and she kept the thought to herself.

'So,' the woman began with uncharacteristic hesitation, 'do you think the outcasts will make it to the temple?'

Fritha shrugged; she knew her answer. It was just the reasoning behind that she was unsure of.

'I really don't know. But I had to let them… I looked at Sassar and I suddenly recalled all the times where it was the other way round and… and I just knew I had to let them go,' she finished weakly, sighing slightly to add 'I imagine it's the same feeling that others have when I ask them to put their faith in me.'

Jaheira smiled.
'Yes, when you get that earnest look, even I can not refuse you –and Khalid!' she added with a laugh that stopped suddenly, though she managed to finish, her voice almost a whisper. 'He could never say no to you…'

Fritha sighed and turned her attention back to their path, the sound of footsteps ahead catching her ear. She stopped, glancing to Jaheira and the woman frowned.
'Hold, who approaches?'

But the footsteps merely grew louder, Jaheira lowering her staff and at last the green glow fell upon the scarred twisted face of Gaal, checking his path with his own staff as he walked, half-dozen or so men stumbling along behind him.

'Ah, I recognise that voice,' the priest sneered as he halted before them, 'it is the heathens I sent to retrieve the rod. What have you done! Our Lord is silent and the temple lies in ruins!'

'Your lord?' Jaheira snorted contemptuously, 'you lied to these people, Gaal; it was no deity, it was a beholder!'

Gaal looked furious, though his voice remained fierce and dismissive.
'Listen not to her slander, brethren; she seeks to deceive you, just as the surface clerics did. The One God-'

'Is dead,' cut in Fritha, impatiently. 'I know this because we've just killed him and since we mere mortals could, I'm guessing he was not of the divine.'

Gaal just stared at them, mouth open and trembling with rage.
'You have sinned against the Universe itself!' he breathed finally and Fritha frowned, in no mood for any of his nonsense as she stepped forward.

'Gaal, stand down! I don't want to-'

The staff came out of the darkness with surprising speed and if Fritha had not dodged as she did, it would have probably left her dead. As it was, it still caught her sharply across the temple, pain exploding behind her eyes, and the world was suddenly reduced to a chaos of shouts and flashes as she lay sprawled on the tunnel floor, struggling to find her feet.

But, unsurprisingly, the fight did not last long, those wise enough to flee being allowed to do so and it was mere moments later Fritha was squinting in the glare of one of the magelights, strong hands helping her to her feet.

'Oh, I really could have done without that,' she groaned, Jaheira stepping in to give the wound a cursory examination, all the time furiously whispering admonishments at her ear. Fritha let noise wash over her, unfocused eyes travelling across the rest of them, all uninjured but a lot filthier than they had been just moments before.

Jaheira was dapping something at her temple now, the pain flaring with every touch and Fritha focused on the body just at her feet; Gaal's sightless face slack, an arrow buried in his neck.
'Good shot, Nalia.'

The girl nodded grimly and slowly they gathered themselves, Minsc finally finding a sewer grate and the group emerged, blinking in the thin dawn light.