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

Years of afternoon

Aerie glanced to the window, the room dark as rain clouds gathered outside, though she could not seem to stir herself to light the lamps, just sat watching the bed as the woman within writhed in the gloom. Jaheira was deteriorating much quicker than she had expected, her breathing becoming more laboured as the morning had worn on, though she did not awaken; the room silent apart from the druid's tormented muttering, jumbles of names and places the elf did not recognise.

Aerie sighed deeply, dropping her gaze to her hands, the fire guttering as a gust of wind found its way down the chimney. As confident as she had been for Fritha's sake, there really was nothing she could do until the curse was lifted and Aerie had spent the few hours since the others had left just sat feeling increasingly helpless, occasionally feeding Jaheira another cup of her elixir. Though the woman never really came round properly, often calling her Fritha or by other names she did not recognise, and Aerie wondered in the end whether she acted for the woman's comfort or her own, doing anything more bearable that just sat watching Jaheira die.

Aerie closed her eyes, feeling almost sick as she imagined having to tell the others it was too late. But as awful as it felt just waiting, there really was little else she could do and though the memories were painful, she could not help but recall the timeless few days before her mother had finally succumb to her own illness all those years ago. The woman lain unmoving in her bed, clerics from the temple bustling in and out, their faces grim. Aerie could remember how she had sat on the stairs outside her mother's bedroom listening to her heavy laboured breathing. Held rapt by the knowledge that each breath could be the last while the house stood silent about her, no one speaking above a whisper and Aerie could still remember how quiet her home had seemed without Euripal's singing.

Aerie pulled her mind away and glanced to her iron cooking pot, now stood on the desk, the last dregs of her elixir cooling within; she would have to brew some more soon…

The sudden creak of the door and Aerie was instantly on her feet to receive a grim looking Fritha, Anomen appearing a couple of steps behind.

'Fritha!' she cried, unable to stop herself from rushing over to her, the girl smiling tiredly and Aerie finally felt able to breath.

'We found him, we have it,' the girl confirmed, glancing briefly in the bed to add quietly, 'how has she been?'

Aerie shrugged, not really sure herself.

'Slowly fading. She hasn't come too, just mutters things in her sleep. She- she says one more than most, a man's name, K-Khalid.'

Fritha sent the sleeping woman a pained looked, her voice quiet.

'He was her husband.'

Silence held the room a moment before Fritha shook herself, turning back to her. 'So, what do we do now?'

Aerie glanced to her patient again, fingering the soft lock of hair as she considered her course. The treatment of hexes was not something she had much experience with, but Aerie had a fair idea of the principles, and since she would be treating Jaheira in any case, it seemed unnecessarily cruel to worry Fritha with needless hesitation

'Well,' Aerie began in the firm confident tone she had heard the girl herself use on many an occasion, 'I think us just having this hair back should negate the curse, though I'll mix a little into the elixir I've been giving her to be sure. Here,' she continued, cutting a little of the hair into the last of tonic, and passing the lock back to Fritha, 'that should be enough, just keep the rest safe; I'll take the charm off it later once she's recovered. I wouldn't like to risk it now, with her so weak.'

Fritha nodded and Aerie spooned the tonic into the waiting cup, passing it to the girl, Fritha moving to sit on the bed, gently shaking the woman awake.

'Jaheira?'

A deep rasping breath and Jaheira stirred, struggling to sit as she saw the girl.
'Fri- Fritha…'

Fritha smiled, slipping an arm about the woman to help her sit as she passed her the cup.
'We found him. We have the cure. Here, drink.'

Jaheira did as she was bid, not speaking again until she had finished, handing the girl the empty cup and settling her back onto the pillows to ask, 'Belgrade?'

Fritha shook her head tiredly.
'I- I'm sorry. Minsc and Nalia went to look for him and I just spoke to them in the tavern; he is dead.'

'A pity,' the druid sighed, sinking deeper into the pillows, her voice growing quieter as she closed her eyes, 'he was a good man.'

Aerie watched as her breathing slowed, moving to straighten the blankets as Fritha rose from the bed, unable to help a slight smile as the woman began to snore gently.

'There,' Aerie sighed, the cold weight finally gone from her stomach as she turned to the girl behind her, 'she seems to be sleeping peacefully now. I'll sit with her if you want to get some rest yourself; you look drawn.'

'Hmm? No, I'm fine,' Fritha smiled and Anomen saw exactly what the elf meant, the girl's skin taking on a grey tinge as she approached the window, where droplets were already patting lightly against the glass. 'And look at that; I said the rain would break this afternoon, did I not.'

xxx

Anomen lay upon his bed, the remains of his dinner still on the desk awaiting the maid. Fritha had refused both his and Aerie's offers to sit with Jaheira and in the end he had given up and returned to his room, leaving the girls sat either side of the bed watching her sleep.
He had meant to catch up on some reading that afternoon. The campaign diaries of the paladin Baerigar were considered essential study by most in the Order, but he had awoken some hours later, very thirsty and with the book open on the pillow next to him.

Anomen sighed, trying to press on with his study, though he felt as though he had been reading the same page for the last hour, his mind drifting back to the events of the day as soon as his concentration wavered.
Seeing a women as strong as Jaheira so frail and ill had been unnerving. But even that had paled next to Fritha's reaction to her friend's sickness.

Anomen felt a familiar unease rise in his stomach as he considered what his response would have been had any of his friends been so aggrieved. He would have been out for blood and no less would have sufficed. But Fritha…

Anomen shifted slightly, trying to pull his mind back to the pages before him. If he was honest, Fritha's mercy towards Ployer had bothered him. It was not that he did not understand those who were angered easily, for indeed he was the same. But, he could not imagine getting as angry as she clearly had and being able to just put it aside.

And when she had spoken of life; that awful moment of honesty in the darkness of the tunnel, guilt rising quickly within him as he recalled the emptiness of her look once he had dismissed her.

Though no doubt prompted by her worry for Jaheira, her question had not been about that and it had been unkind to pretend he'd thought otherwise, though why she had tried to speak to him of all people about it, he could not fathom. But, nevertheless, it was a thought that left him feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Still, his mind reasoned, though he was walking the path to knighthood, he was a cleric first and foremost; why should she not seek solace with him?

And, Anomen considered further, if looked at like that, he had failed not only her in this, but also his faith … perhaps he should try to broach the subject with her again. He quelled the fierce reluctance that rose within him at the thought and dropped his eyes back to his book.

Anomen sighed. It was no good. Excellent tactician though Baerigar was, the man was no lyricist, the dry prose doing nothing to distract him and Anomen at last admitted defeat, leaving the room with the vague idea of finding one of the others. But neither Minsc, nor Nalia were in their rooms and, barring the usual gathering of patrons, the tavern was empty as well, and he was moving along the hall back to his room when Fritha appeared in her doorway, her head dipped as she pressed a square of thick cloth about the ends of her damp hair.

'Ah, Fritha.'

She glanced up at the address, smiling as she saw him.
'Hello Anomen.'

'How is Jaheira now?' he asked as he approached her, the girl straightening to toss the cloth carelessly back into her room and close the door. 'I could not find anyone to ask them.'

'Jaheira's fine, much better for her sleep. Everyone is gathered in her room, and she's been driving them all mad demanding to be entertained.' She laughed gently, clearly glad the druid seemed to have fully recovered from her ordeal in both body and spirit. 'I'm heading there now; you'll come?'

He nodded and followed her down the hall to the woman's room, his apprehension, embarrassment and the intense desire to confirm Fritha was well all fighting for control and Anomen struggled with himself, her hand was almost at the handle when he broke the silence.

'A- About what you said before,' he began quickly, his voice coming strangled and wavering, as though he had not be expecting to speak. 'When you spoke of life…'

She turned back to him, frowning slightly, before a smile lit her features.

'Sor-? Oh yes, I can't think what I was talking about now; just some nonsense born from my worry for Jaheira, no doubt. But as you said, we found Ployer in the end.'

Anomen felt another twinge of guilt, his mind quick to recall his earlier avoidance of the subject and he wondered briefly it that had been her intention; a little shame to make him less willing to press the subject. He looked down at her now, giving him a warm if slightly bemused smile, the reluctance still writhing in his stomach and he wanted more than anything to believe her…
'Well, if you are sure, my lady.'

Fritha just rolled her eyes with an easy smile, turning back to the door and they entered to find their four companions sat about Jaheira's bed playing cards, though three looked up with relief as they appeared.

'Fritha!'

'And Anomen, too!'

The room was warm and bright now, lit by the fire and several lamps and a stark contrast to the dismal scene through the rain pelted window. Jaheira straightened in the bed at their arrival with the air of an aged queen, stiffly levering herself into a more upright position to demand, 'Fritha, have you been outside? Your hair is damp.'

Fritha smiled, shaking her head as she moved into the room.
'No, I've been down in the bathhouse trying to warm up. I don't know what it is about weather like this, but I can be sat next to a fire and I still feel all shivery. Speaking of fires,' she smiled, sinking onto the hearthrug and taking a comb and a small bottle from her pocket, and Anomen sat down beside her.

'I'm glad you've arrived,' continued the druid in authoritative tones as Fritha settled into her combing, 'I tire of cards and even the kind-hearted Nalia is growing weary of beating me at backgammon. You can entertain us with a story.'

Fritha frowned slightly, pausing in her brushing to give the druid a look, but Jaheira just smiled back and in the end she relented with a sigh.

'As you wish. Anything in particular?'

'Boo wants a story of grand adventure.'

'It should have a moral foundation.'

'Something romantic.'

'With a happy conclusion.'

'By Milil, you lot don't want much, do you?' the girl cried, looking round at them all before turning back to the druid. 'And have you any stipulations, fair patron?'

Jaheira just smiled, shaking her head.
'None, bar that you do the telling.'

Fritha smiled too, finishing her brushing to lay her comb gently on the hearth behind her and begin the ancient Kara-Turan tale of the fox and the monk, which fulfilled all their whims at least in part and left everyone with a half-smile.

Dusk had fallen by now and Fritha declared it was time for Jaheira to get some rest, ignoring the druid's objections and dimming the lamps as Aerie ushered the others into the hall, Fritha about to leave herself when the woman called her back.

'Come now,' Jaheira sighed, patting the bed and the girl sank obediently down next to her, 'another few minutes awake will not kill me, though I wonder about you.'

Fritha frowned slightly.
'And what's that supposed to mean?'

'You don't look well; hypocritical I know, but at least I have some sort of excuse.' Jaheira leant forward, peering at her face. 'You are not sleeping?'

Fritha shook her head, forcing herself to meet the woman's gaze.
'No, no, I'm sleeping fine. Much better than I was.'

Silence fell between them, Fritha just about to haul herself up and bid her goodnight when Jaheira spoke again, her voice unusually quiet.

'Fritha, what would you have done if you had not found Ployer in time?'

'You mean if you had died…' she confirmed, dropping her gaze to her hands as she considered the question. 'I would have taken you out of the city, found some nice place, a grove of trees or the like, and Minsc and I would have buried you. And the next day I would have dragged the rest of us back to the city and carried on raising the coin for Imoen. I could have gone on, what other choice have I? But it would have only been in body. To lose you so soon after the others, I think my spirit would have finally given up.' She snorted humourlessly. 'And they think I'm strong.'

'You are strong,' assured Jaheira, giving her forearm a heartening squeeze, but Fritha just shrugged.

'Perhaps, but it is easy to be strong when you know that you don't have to be, that if anything ever went seriously wrong, there is someone there to fall back on. Like you.'

Jaheira smiled, her face looking older in the flickering firelight, the gentle patter of the rain the only sound.

'I note you make no mention of Ployer though,' she continued, eyes watching her shrewdly, 'you would not seek revenge?'

'I don't know. Laying you to rest would have been my first priority; then rescuing Imoen. I suppose if the opportunity was presented to me…' Fritha trailed off, unable to envision just what she would do.

Jaheira sent her contemplative look.
'Yes, I heard you did not kill him.'

'Are you angry?'

'No,' she answered slowly, after a pause. 'Not to say I would not have killed him, but I am glad you did not. I do wonder why though…'

Fritha shrugged loosely.
'It was not for any moral reason, though he was unarmed and cowering at my feet,' she admitted with a snort. 'I simply did not wish to kill him. To be honest, it's rare I want to kill anyone. I know he could do more harm than good still alive, but on the other hand, no one is beyond redemption.'

Jaheira raised an eyebrow.
'No one? Even Irenicus?'

Fritha's skin bristled at the thought of her callous torturer, and for a moment she could have almost been back there, staring up at the scarred mask of a face from the floor of her filthy cage. But, though he had not cared that his experiments were the cause of a great deal of pain for her, he had not been sadistic in their application. In fact, he did not seem to take any pleasure in life at all… an existence devoid of any emotion other than the cold thirst that seemed to drive him.
What would someone have to suffer to make them so empty?

Fritha met the woman's gaze.
'Even he.'

Jaheira eyed her a moment longer, as though trying to discern the truth of this, before nodding once, though whether she approved or not, Fritha couldn't tell.

'So,' the druid continued after a moment, settling back onto her pillows, 'how did you find Ployer in the end? Aerie was not sure of the details.'

And so Fritha told her, relating everything she could remember from when she found her collapsed outside the guild house, the druid remaining silent right up until she got to her meeting with the clerk.

'You paid them for my whereabouts?' she confirmed, and Fritha watched the realisation dawning on her face, 'the monies from the temple... Five hundred gold pieces?'

'No, not all of it,' Fritha soothed, trying to play up her "silver lining", 'for I had already settled our account downstairs and paid Anomen and the girls.'

'But all the money we had earned,' Jaheira sighed, 'could you not have bargained with him?'

'And risked him saying no and leaving again?' Fritha snapped. Didn't she realise how awful it had been, rushing about the city trying to find some way of saving her? 'It tore my heart enough to have to admit I hadn't the thousand he first asked for! I wasn't about to haggle when your life hung in the balance!'

Jaheira looked taken aback, and Fritha was sure a cutting reply was but seconds away, when the woman nodded once, gently patting her arm as she sank back onto the pillows.

'Peace, child, I am sorry… One thing still puzzles me though, when you first returned here with me, how did you get into my room?'

'Er,' began Fritha with a bemused frown, turning to point the door behind her.

'Yes, I know "through the door",' sighed the woman impatiently, but Fritha was sure she saw her lips twitch all the same. 'But did you stop to consider that it was locked?'

'No, it wasn't, I just turned the handle and it opened.'

Jaheira sent her a measured look.
'I have been staying in inns long enough, girl, to know to always lock your door upon leaving.'

Fritha swallowed, recalling the way the knob had turned easily in her hand.
'Then…'

Jaheira nodded curtly.
'As I suspected, your magic is exhibiting itself once more. Have you been practising?'

'Well,' Fritha began slowly, still trying to accustom herself to the fact she had cast without even a thought, 'I've been trying to heat water when I get the chance, but it never seems to work.'

'Perhaps you are more susceptible to casting when in a higher emotional state,' offered the druid casually. 'This worries you, doesn't it.'

Fritha started from her thoughts; was she that obvious?
'I look worried?'

'Indeed, no,' Jaheira assured with a slightly bitter laugh, the disapproval clear in her voice, 'I don't expect you to ever show your emotions so plainly. But we have been together a while now, I can always tell. You get this absent look- as though you were dropped on your head as a child,' she added with a slight smirk and Fritha grinned.

'Ah Jaheira, flattery will get you nowhere. Besides, I wasn't worrying, I was considering,' she lied, giving the woman a sanctimonious nod for good measure. 'To be able to unconsciously work my will upon the world may not be the greatest of gifts. I can't see it being very good for morale when Anomen spontaneously combusts during our next argument.'

Jaheira gave a bark of laughter.
'Ha! You have been friends with Imoen for years and not a spark. I think the squire is quite safe…' the woman paused to send her a gentle look, 'we will travel with her again, you know.'

'Yes, I know,' Fritha smiled, finally rising to proffer the woman a cheek to kiss in the customary gesture of respect between child and elder, the woman chuckling slightly as she obliged her.

'Night Jaheira.'

'Goodnight, child.'

xxx

Fritha awoke with a start, feeling disorientated and sick, her heart pounding in her chest as she took in her room at the inn, a warm yellow in the morning sunlight. Another dream.

She had been somewhere dark, strapped face down to a table, hands tied roughly underneath it and back bared just as she had been in the dungeon on occasion. Only this time her friends were looking on, Imoen watching with an absent smile and Jaheira telling her over and over about how no one was beyond redemption as she'd sensed his presence looming over her.
'Ah, the child of Bhaal has awoken.'

Fritha swallowed, reaching for the cup of water on her bedside table though she did not drink, merely glad to have the comfort of something solid in her hand as the sensations returned to her.
The whisper of metal on metal as the knife was selected and drawn, those awful few seconds just waiting for it to begin, and she'd awoken with the searing pain of that first deep score along her back.

A knock at the door made Fritha jump enough to spill her water, anger at herself rising as she struggled from the bedclothes, throwing open the door to reveal Aerie and Nalia, both looking fair and cheerful.

'Yes?'

'Good morning Fritha,' greeted Nalia brightly, the beginnings of a frown slowly creeping across her brow, 'are you well?'

'I'm fine! What-' she began tersely, stopping herself at their surprised expressions and drawing a breath to continue more gently, 'what is it?'

Aerie swallowed, sending a glance to the girl next to her before tentatively replying, 'm-my uncle has sent for me, he- he asks that we all come.'

xxx

Fritha shielded her eyes with a hand, scanning along the wide street, the sky a clear arc of blue above her. The rains had at last taken some of the humidity from the air, and Fritha was finding it quite pleasant stood in the morning's bustle as they searched for the inn Quayle had directed them to, the gnome explaining when they had visited him at the circus, that some old actor friends were currently using the theatre there and could use their help.

Fritha smiled absently. Aerie had agreed before anyone else had drawn breath, not that she had minded; it wasn't as though they had any other plans for the day.

And so, the group had made their way to the Bridge district, the local name for the main bridge that spanned the river that split Athkatla, linking the working city of the south to the myriad of council buildings, courts and noble houses of the northern districts. And Fritha could see why the locals would count it as a district in its own right, the bridge wide enough for houses, inns and temples to line either side, the poorer buildings little more than wooden huts and jetties clinging to the stone piers just above the water level.

Being the main link between the two halves kept it busy at most hours, a fact many merchants seemed to have taken advantage of, every other building supporting some bright canopy, wares laid out on tables underneath.

Fritha turned, scanning back along the way they had come, her eyes catching on the tall figure of Jaheira, the woman leaning heavily on her staff and frowning in the sunlight. Fritha and the druid had had differing opinions that morning about whether she was recovered enough to accompany them, an argument that Jaheira had won in the end, but only after promising to return to the inn if things got too arduous. The woman noticed her watching and sent her glare, clearly not pleased at being minded so, and Fritha turned back to the street before her with a smile as Nalia cried, 'Isn't that it?'

Fritha glanced to the girl at her side who was pointing to a large sandstone building across the street as she continued. 'Yes, I can see the sign.'

She followed her hand to a large painted board, half hidden behind the canopy of the nearest shop and she could only make out two of the five painted flagons from where she stood, though it was enough to convince her.
'Let's go then.'

Fritha looked about her, taking in the open airy room, the shelves behind the bar a glittering chaos of coloured bottles, clearly offering drinks from all over Faerûn, while frescos of scenes from popular plays covered the walls. The Five Flagons Inn was easily the nicest tavern she had visited since her stay at the Elfsong in the Gate, and Fritha wandered unhurriedly up to the bar to ask after the theatre, a cheery halfling server directing them to the basement with a smile.

Downstairs, the room was larger than she'd expected and brighter as well, a huge wooden chandelier hanging from the ceiling and lamps lining the walls. Rows of benches led up to the stage, putting her in mind of the pews in a temple and Fritha walked down the central aisle, the others at her back.

She hadn't been sure what she had been expecting for her first visit to a theatre; something much busier, perhaps with rehearsals going on while people hurried about with armfuls of props and costumes and scripts. But the room couldn't have been quieter, a small group of who she presumed were actors sat talking softly on the edge of the stage, though they looked up as she approached.

'Good day, miss,' began one man and Fritha looked up into a pale angular face, his dark hair and beard neatly cropped. 'I'm afraid the play has been cancelled until further notice.'

Fritha smiled, trying to quell the strange unease that seemed to arise within her, something about the man's clothes and bearing somehow unsettling.
'I'm not here for that, I've been sent to see Raelis.'

The actors shared a wordless look and at last the speaker nodded, rising with a smile.
'I'll take you to her then. This way, please.'

The man walked across the stage to the steps, waiting for them to ascend before leading them through the jumble of scenery and props to the backstage. The theatre was much more dilapidated back there, paint peeling from the walls and the furniture scratched and frayed, the man finally pushing open a door onto a shabby dressing room, a very pale petite woman with vivid auburn hair, her sharp features pulled into a frown as she considered the papers on the dresser before her. One last nod and the man departed without announcing them, Fritha taking a tentative step into the room.

'Hello, Raelis?'

The woman glanced up and Fritha was surprised by the intense blue of her eyes; there was something unnatural in the vibrant mix of colours in the woman's hair and skin and eyes that left her feeling uncomfortable.

'I'm sorry,' Raelis sighed, her voice thick with an accent she could not place, 'if you are looking for a refund-'

'Er, no…' Fritha cut in with a smile, gesturing to the elf at her side, 'Aerie's uncle, Quayle, has sent us. He said you've been having trouble an-'

'You are here to help us?' Raelis cried, suddenly on her feet with her arms thrown wide and Fritha took an unintentional step backwards. 'I thank you for coming to our aid. Gather round my birds and I shall tell you our sorry tale.'

The woman waited patiently until everyone had found a seat, leaning forward slightly, bright auburn hair spilling across her shoulders as she began her story.

'One of our actors, Haer'Dalis, was kidnapped four days ago by a wizard native to this city, a mage by the name of Mekrath. No doubt his greed called him to Haer'Dalis' beloved gem… something our sparrow would not gladly surrender, and so he has stolen both away and there is nothing we can do,' she finished with a desolate sigh, reclining in her chair as though she were about to faint from the sheer despair of it.

Fritha shrugged, glancing round at her group for any sign of dissent before turning back to the woman with a smile.
'Well, I'm sure we could look into it for you. Any idea where we could start our search?'

The woman brightened in an instant, straightening in her chair to clasp her hands together, beaming.
'Ah, Fate smiles upon us! We have heard rumours that Mekrath holds a stronghold within the sewers near to here.'

Fritha's face must have been a picture.

'You are joking!'