Disclaimer: I do not own 'Baldur's Gate', the 'Forgotten Realms' or any characters therein. Wizards of the Coast do, at my last check. Lucky them. Nor do own 'Oh! Blame Not' by Thomas Moore. 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

Seeking asylum

Fritha opened her eyes to find herself alone and curled on a cold metal floor, that strange feeling of being closed in hanging on the edge of her senses and a familiar dread welled within her heart. This was not her cage though -at least, not the one in Irenicus's dungeon. Fritha sat slowly, her head aching, the girl using the glass walls of the cylindrical case that surrounded her to steady her shaking legs as she rose and took in her surroundings. The room was large and well-lit by many bright lamps, the walls smooth with the same plain grey plaster as the rest of the asylum had been.

Her own glass chamber was in its centre, two rows of similar glass cases lining the walls either side of her and from what she could see, they were occupied too, though the people in them seemed drugged -either that or wholly resigned to whatever Fate had in store- the men and women standing docile as they waited. Irenicus himself was standing at the end of the leftmost row with his back to her, the man giving quiet instructions to Bodhi and Fritha swallowed, her burning throat and the pain in her head fading as her panic rose, the girl casting frantically about her for some means of escape when her eyes caught on a familiar pink bob.

Imoen was standing on the other side of the chamber and looking barely more aware of her surroundings than those unfortunate people in the cases that encircled them. That did not, however, deter Fritha from trying to get her attention, the girl jumping about, waving madly, and doing everything short of beating on the glass to raise some response. But Imoen just stared back at her, her eyes blank.

'Ah, and you have awakened, Fritha,' came the smooth emotionless voice and Fritha felt her blood chill, turning to face the man who had been her tormentor in person once and in dreams ever since, what could have almost been a smile lighting his heavy-lidded eyes, though his face remained, as ever, impassive as he continued. 'Havarian should be commended; he seems to have anticipated the dosage just right.'

Fritha ignored him, a desperate moan gurgling unbidden from her throat as she whirled sharply back to Imoen and hammered frantically on the glass.

'Imoen! Imoen, please!'

'Do not waste your efforts,' Irenicus cut in, 'she is quite beyond coming to your aid at the moment. Her temper has been appalling of late -not an unexpected side-effect, but with her newfound skill, a dangerous one. We have been keeping her sedated. You were so close to reaching her in time,' the mage offered contemplatively, seemingly imagining how close he had come to failure. 'She needed much more work before she was ready; why, I only performed the procedure less than a tenday ago. And as you can see, she survived the process; this bodes well for you.'

Fritha did not know what to say to this, her mind still reeling as it tried to think of some way to avert her fate, Irenicus quite oblivious as he continued, 'I must admit, I am pleased to find you like this, Fritha. You were as she was once: bright and alive of spirit even as you knew of the darkness within. Before you arrived, I wondered whether I would have to resume my experiments upon you; how delighted I was to find you quite well traumatised by the last few months.'

Fritha's instinctive reaction to this news was 'good!'; she did not want to be the subject of any more of the mage's experiments. But then the time it would have taken may have given her friends a chance to escape, perhaps to rescue them. But that assumed they were still alive. Fritha felt the tears well in her frustration. Things were all going too quickly, her doom rushing up to meet her as her mind dithered and searched in vain for an escape, and behind it all that pressing overwhelmingly fierce knowledge that she did not want to die.

Fritha finally drew her gaze from her friend, reluctantly giving up on Imoen's help as she croaked, 'What- what did you do to her?'

But the mage just shook his bald scarred head. 'That is not for you to know. Suffice to say that I regret what must occur. I know the pain you will feel once I am done, but Imoen has suffered what she must for my cause and now you will, as well.' He stepped closer, his face distorted by the glass between them, though even that could not disguise the sudden hunger to his eyes. 'I expect something quite great from you, Fritha; you are stronger, more focused and you are aware.'

'Aware of what?' breathed Fritha; if she could only somehow keep him talking, then perhaps the others…

Irenicus had turned away again, the man moving off making a last few checks on the surrounding chambers as he continued with his exposition. 'Aware of your nature, child of Bhaal. You are aware, as she was not.'

And for an instant, all her fears gave way to utter disbelief as Fritha blurted, 'Imoen is a Bhaalspawn?'

Irenicus nodded mildly. 'Yes, you truly did not suspect? She was brought to Candlekeep and kept secluded as you were, was she not? Though I can understand why did you not deduce it; the mark of Bhaal is not as strong upon her as it is you, and her innocent nature suppressed the darkness.'

Imoen was gazing back at her, head to one side and eyes vacant like a milk cow out to pasture.

'I fear I had to show her some very dark things indeed to coax it out. And now it is your turn.'

Fritha felt her head whip back to the mage, Irenicus sweeping a well-muscled arm along the line of chambers behind him. 'Do you see the thieves about you? They are the fruits of Bodhi's guild war and their deaths, if performed correctly, will force the divine soul from your body. Do not be afraid, Fritha, I suspect this will be mercifully quick.'

'What? No! Wait!'

And suddenly his hands were moving in a slow complex pattern, a shimmering white dust gathering between them as the man in the first case began to shake and moan.

'Imoen!' Fritha screamed, pounding on the glass with all her might, 'Imoen, do something! Imoen!'

And suddenly her focus changed and it was no longer Imoen at whom she was staring so intently, but her own face, the faint reflection of it in the glass before her, screwed up in her rage and desperation, and it was then she decided it. She would not die screaming, brim full of bitter anger. Fritha drew a shaky breath, closed her eyes and, all at once, she was back there, gulls crying overhead as the salt wind tore at her clothes, the warmth of his body just behind hers.

xxx

Fritha opened her eyes to a bright blue arc of sky, cotton wisp clouds drifting lazily across the sinking yellow sun, the body next to her providing just enough shade to shield her from its glare. The sand beneath her was warm and dry, the long grass whispering as a breeze rolled over the dunes and she felt the body at her side shift closer, fitting so seamlessly next to hers it was as though they had been made to match. Her head was resting comfortable in the crook of his arm, her whole world reduced to the sky and sand and that arm about her. She did not straighten to see his face. She had no will to move and no desire to either; she knew where she was.

'Am I dead?' she asked curiously. All things considered, this was not a bad way to spend eternity: laid in the arms of the first boy you loved.

There was laughter in his voice, fond and warm, and she could feel the rumble it sent through his chest.

'No, no, dear one, you are not dead, just resting; your body will awaken soon.' He sighed slightly and Fritha sensed his gaze shifting up to the sky as he asked, 'Do you remember when we were here together on the island? It was my whole world and then you arrived I suddenly realised it was not enough.'

'And yet, before you could even leave, it was all taken away from you… all because of me…'

'Ah, come now,' he scolded kindly, the arm about her tightening for a brief blissful instant, 'we all make our own decisions. That is what I must talk to you of really. You are going to face some difficult choices in the times to come, but just remember who you are, cling to it when all else seems lost.' The smile was back to his voice as he continued, 'You were something wonderful, you know, some spark I never before realised existed in the world and you were worth what happened; I did not regret it then and I still don't… remember that, Fritha…'

'Fritha?'

Someone was stroking her forehead, callused hands gently brushing the stray hair from it.

'Fritha?'

'Durlyle?'

She opened her eyes to meet the two pale blue ones staring down at her. It was Anomen. Fritha swallowed, and immediately choked back a cough, her throat scored and tickly. She lifted her head slightly from the folded cloak it had been laid upon, expecting pain, though nothing came, the others who were gathered about them, little more than outlines in the gloom.

'What happened? Is everyone here? Is everyone-'

'We are all unharmed, Fritha,' Jaheira's familiar tones cut in to halt her rising panic. 'We all awoke together in this chamber some time ago. You were here too, though many hours have passed before you showed any sign of stirring.'

Fritha nodded, trying to take this all in and feeling strange in her body as she struggled to sit.

'Anomen, Jaheira, help me stand.'

Jaheira hovered at her arm as the knight gently heaved her to her feet, Fritha getting her first proper look at the room they had been left in. It was long and quite wide, not unlike a cellar or tomb, though the air was dry, the many torches throwing light upon floor and walls all of the same smooth sandstone slabs, another six doorways leading from there. Fritha let her eyes travel upwards. The room was at least two storeys high, a wide ledge running the edge at the point where the first ceiling should have been, shuttered apertures set at intervals the walls above it and putting her in mind of the popular courtyard gardens of Amn.

Those about her looked shaken but resolute, and Fritha rather wished she could feel more shocked by this disaster as well, but very little seemed to surprise her anymore -especially if it was bad. Aerie and Haer'Dalis were standing close to each other, the elf gazing up at the high ceiling like she was trying not to imagine how far she was from the sun, Valygar's hand clenching and unclenching over the hip where the hilt of katana usually rested, Imoen stood a little way from the others, arms folded and shoulders hunched as though she was cold, though the room felt stifling. Minsc was the first to leave those gathered, the ranger striding forward, his broad face contorted with concern as he lay a tentative hand upon her shoulder, his customary rib-cracking embrace clearly deemed too fierce for her current state.

'Oh, young Fritha, Boo was so troubled when you would not awaken.'

Fritha patted the hand and tried to summon him a smile. 'Yes, well, not to worry; I'm awake now.'

'But are you uninjured?' pressed Anomen, and she could tell from his tone that he already knew the answer. Fritha just shook her head, wishing she could move away from the pair, the two men towering over her with their suffocating concern. Something inside felt wrong. If only she could get some room, get a chance to think. Jaheira frowned, stepping forward to take her shoulders and force her to look up at her.

'Fritha, what did Irenicus do to you?'

'I told you,' snapped Imoen, sending the woman a mutinous glare from the edge of their circle, 'the same as what he did to me!'

A wary glance travelled those about her; the mood Imoen was in at the moment, they had clearly been reluctant to believe her.

'He- he spoke of taking my soul,' Fritha explained. 'I would not believe it possible either except…' she swallowed dryly, rubbing her chest, trying to get at some indefinable ache within, 'something's not right.'

It seemed her words had confirmed his worst fears; Anomen looked instantly beside himself, arms rigid at his sides as though he would have pulled her to him, but he was scared she would just crumble where she stood. They had not time for such things though. Fritha moved past him without a glance as the others gathered instinctively about her.

'Right, you say we've been here for a while now –has anyone tried any of these doors?'

'All of them,' answered Jaheira rather brusquely, seemingly insulted at her questioning something so obvious, 'And all are sealed.'

Fritha cast about her, the bare stone room offering no clues. 'This makes no sense. If Irenicus has what he wants now, then why not just kill us? Why leave us here?'

'Perhaps he has a further use for us yet,' offered Valygar gravely. The tiefling at his side shrugged.

'Or perhaps the mage is merely content in the knowledge of our pitiless immurement. '

Imoen snorted with a cold mirth, though Aerie reproached shrilly, 'Oh, don't, Haer'Dalis! I don't like to think of it. If I am to die, at least let it be under the sky.'

'No one is going to die!' snapped Jaheira.

'At least not yet, I hope,' echoed a familiar girlish giggle above them, Fritha whipping around and almost overbalancing in her haste. And there she was in that tattered gown that seemed to hang about her like a black mist: Bodhi.

The vampire was standing on the ledge high above them with no discernable way of managing to have got up there, the woman's grey face alight with a smile as she gazed down at them all.

'You are all awake now? Excellent! And the childhood friends are reunited once more –tell me, Imoen, was this reunion all you dreamt it would be, after so many nights here, afraid, alone-'

'Shut up! ' Imoen shrieked with a feral anger, 'I'll tear your eyes from your filthy face!'

But Bodhi merely sent her an indulgent smile. 'Ah, dear Imoen: queen of the impotent threat. At least your soul now has a worthy vessel, while your friend, here, served well for my brother. You were always his first choice, Fritha,' the vampire informed her, clearly thinking she should at least feel honoured by the distinction. 'At least you managed to actually act against us, rather than just sitting here waiting to be rescued.'

'Shut up!' screamed Imoen.

'Tricking Parisa and murdering poor Reed; it was cleverly done even if all for naught.' The vampire smiled that familiar predatory grin. 'I told you that you would serve my purpose yet, Fritha. And so, your life is to come to an end. A pity. You have proven resilient beyond all expectations and I will admit, it is appealing to me.'

'Spare us your words, vampire,' growled Valygar, 'and finish us if that is what you intend.'

Bodhi let her eyes run over the ranger with an undisguised pleasure, a seductive swagger to her stance as she shifted her hips.

'Irenicus does indeed wish you dead. But he is my brother, not my master, and now you are subject to my will. Irenicus can be so dour when he wishes. He is set upon revenge and can think of nothing else. A failing of his mind remaining flesh, I suspect. Undeath has given me focus and an interest in powerful creatures…' the woman turned her gaze again upon Fritha, 'An interest, in short, in you -and since you are already practically dead, I would have you finish the thing in an entertaining fashion.'

'We will not die for your sport!' fumed Anomen, though a raised hand from Fritha quelled any further outbursts, the girl regarding Bohdi with narrowed calculating eyes.

'What do you have in mind?'

'A game that you have no choice but to play. Do you see this room about you? It is the darkest part of the asylum and its history: test of clarity for its prisoners by a director that delighted in dissecting the mind. It is a masterpiece of madness that you will come to know intimately. It has been some time since I have given chase to a worth foe. Enter the maze of this place and seek an exit. I will give you a head start, say four hours, after which I come to feed.'

Jaheira snorted. 'And what makes you think we will cooperate in this? We are already dead, after all.'

Bodhi smiled, idly playing with the tattered silk ribbons that laced closed the front of her corset.

'Because there is a slim chance that you can change your fate; you may yet foil Irenicus if you can catch him… your little Bhaal twins are dead anyway, if you do not.'

'Godless bitch-fiend!' roared Anomen, 'I'll see you dead yet!'

'Calm, Anomen,' soothed Fritha, though Bodhi's eye was already caught, the vampire turning to him, her face aglow.

'Such anger! It would almost be a waste to kill you. My offer is this, knightling, when I do finally catch up with you, I will take you into my clan of blood as one of our own. What do you say to being my pet for all eternity? I promise you the experience will be an enjoyable one.'

The knight looked furious all over again, calling her something that made Aerie gasp 'Anomen!', and Bodhi laughed delightedly.

'Yes, we will definitely be keeping you. Now, enough of this; your equipment is in the storeroom behind you. The game is begun.'

Anomen's rage was not so easily dismissed though, the knight still screaming threats at the fading smoke.

'Unholy whore of blood! By Helm, I will tear out your un-beating heart!'

'Anomen, calm down, please,' breathed Fritha, holding onto his arm as much for her own balance as to bring him around. 'Getting yourself in such a state, it can't be good for you.'

'It will not be good for her either!' he snapped, finally dragging his gaze down to her, his face twisting in his misery as he moved a hand up to her cheek. 'Gods, Fritha, what have they done to you? I swore I would protect you and now-'

'No one could have stopped this, Anomen. You heard Bodhi; there's still a chance.'

Anomen just shook his head, crossing the room to where Jaheira was already passing out their equipment, the knight soon returning with his own belongings, as well as Fritha's sword and old leather pack.

'Do you need any help?' he fussed, as she leaned back against the wall, freeing her hands to buckle the blade at her hip. Fritha laughed wearily.

'No, now stop fretting.'

But he was still frowning as he threw on his own pack and stooped to shoulder hers as well. Fritha held out her hand expectantly.

'Come on, Anomen, hand it over.'

'But, Fritha-'

'Come on,' she insisted, ignoring his pained look, 'let me carry while I can; I may well be surrendering it to you soon enough.'

He sighed defeatedly, passing it to her and proffering her his arm for balance as she heaved the bag into place with a wince.

'Are you in pain, dearest?'

'No, not as such, it feels… it feels like a hole, just a deep aching hole.'

Anomen looked stricken all over again, Fritha nearly overbalancing as an arm was suddenly scooped about her, Anomen pressing her to him as he murmured into the top of her head, 'We will get you back, Fritha.'

'Yes, of course,' she muttered, embarrassed as she felt Imoen's glare upon them, 'don't fuss.'

'Well, it seems Bohdi is keeping up her end of this bargain, so far,' came Jaheira, Fritha glancing up to find her and the others all gathering expectantly about the mouth of the storeroom, and the girl gently disengaged herself from Anomen to join them. 'All our equipment is here -Imoen's belongings, too. The vampire even provided some armour and a sword for her.'

'Of course,' mused Haer'Dalis bitterly, 'we will require all the props if we are to enact a decent entertainment for her.'

Fritha nodded, trying to ignore the queasy feeling that was rising in her stomach. 'All right, we should start by getting our bearings.' She turned to her friend, 'Imoen, are you all right to travel?'

'Yes!' the girl snapped defiantly, Bodhi's taunts clearly doing nothing for her mood.

'Well, everyone pair off then, we'll try the doors and get a feel of our surroundings –everyone back here in a quarter hour. Come on, Imoen, we can try this one.'

Fritha led the way, blade already drawn, Imoen behind her looking unfamiliar in the new chain shirt, a fine short sword still sheathed at her hip. The door Fritha had picked opened onto a long narrow corridor, no break to the smooth walls until they reached another door, a simple symbol of three crossed lines painted upon the wooden surface, and it was quite the disappointment when Fritha tentatively pushed it open onto another small storeroom, a chaos of vases, rugs and a couple of dusty linen chests set against the walls.

'Just some mouldy old chests,' muttered Imoen, 'let's get back to the others.'

'Wait, there could be something useful inside.'

Imoen heaved a sigh, but made no further protest -though Fritha noticed she did not join her either as she crouched to root through the first.

'So, you finally got yourself a bloke then.'

Fritha glanced up from the parchment she had been rifling through to find Imoen leant back against the opposite wall, arms folded and eyes cool.

'Sorry? Oh, yes, I suppose so…'

'Been travelling a lot, have you? Going on adventures? Making lots of interesting new friends?'

Fritha frowned, straightening slowly, Imoen's strained air of polite inquiry leaving her tense.

'Imoen, what-?'

'Four months, I've been here! Four! And never a day without that mage! Always inside my head, at me, cutting and twisting and making me watch, making me see, while you were out there, playing the hero, just leaving me to rot!'

Silence and then Fritha's laughter, hopeless and empty, the girl slowly shaking her head. 'Gods, I should have known you'd be like this. So, he showed you a few mangled corpses, did he? Murdered a few thieves and gave you nightmares, eh?'

Imoen was trembling in her indignation. 'You have no idea-'

'No, you have no idea! Look around! Khalid and Dynaheir are dead! Do you know what it's been like having to keep Jaheira and Minsc together? The things I had to do to raise the coin for your whereabouts? No, it's all me, me, me, he got inside my head, showed me dark things, cut, cut, cut. Well, it was mehe was cutting, Imoen! Day after day in that cage being tortured; I only had to close my eyes after we first escaped and I was back there! But I forged on, we all did… for you… to get you back. So, I'm sorry… I'm sorry if that's not good enough.'

Imoen was shaking, her pale face flushed as the tears began to fall, the girl collapsing to her knees to sob into her hands.

'Oh Fritha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'

Fritha watched her cry, the usual stirrings of sympathy quite absent, replaced by a vague irritation that yet again it was she who had to be the stronger of the pair; the one who had to come to the rescue.

She is a burden to you.

'I know.'

Fritha dropped to her knees and put a gentle arm about the girl, slowly rubbing her back. That she did not feel herself at the moment was true enough, but the unwavering love for her friend, that Fritha still remembered.

'Shhh, Imoen; I know, I know.'

'Oh, what has happened to me?' Imoen sniffed, 'To us? I can't believe I'm like you now: a- a Bhaalspawn…'

Fritha increased the pressure of her rubbing, her voice soft. 'There now, don't worry, Imoen; it's not so bad. I mean, it doesn't really change anything, does it?'

'How can you say that!' snapped Imoen, angrily wrenching away from her touch, 'Gods, Fritha, could you be any less sensitive?'

'Sorry', Fritha apologised flatly, not disposed to be sympathetic when that was the exact same thing the girl had said to her back in Candlekeep when she had first discovered it. Imoen did not hear her tone though, the girl burying her head in her hands once more and Fritha put the arm back about her, gathering her closer as her friend began to sob.

'Why is this happening to us? Why does this always happen to us?'

But Fritha said nothing this time. There was no answer to make.

xxx

They returned to the others after a few moments, no mention made of this delay. Aerie and Haer'Dalis had had the most luck, their doorway east leading up some steps to another door that had been sealed by some simple puzzle, and the group went on from there, the occasional skirmish with the assortment of creatures that had taken residence in the place, only thing to break up the tedium of the endless riddles and games that sealed every door and Fritha had to wonder at the logic of it. A maze created to assess mental stability that was so infuriating, thateven if you were quite sane when went in there, you would likely be a raving lunatic by the time you had managed to work your way out.

They were halted in yet another small plain room now, three doors leading from it, two of which had already been unlocked. Aerie was knelt in the room's centre drawing an arrangement of runes upon the stone floor which she hoped would conjured them a map of the place, Haer'Dalis still away with Jaheira and Minsc as they scouted ahead. Anomen and Valygar were talking in the far corner, having returned from their own search with reports of another dead-end, while Fritha and Imoen were busy working together on unlocking the last door. It seemed simple enough, a door with not one keyhole, but four, the keys to which were probably dispensed by the tile game on wall behind them. But even the usually diverted Imoen was heartily sick of puzzles by this point, and the pair had taken it upon themselves just to pick the locks instead, Imoen's entire selection of picks spread out at their feet, the girl stretched up and working on the first as Fritha crouched at her knees struggling with the lowest one.

'So…' came Imoen's voice above her.

'So what?'

Imoen glanced pointedly over to Anomen and raised an eyebrow, a familiar smirk pulling at her mouth, and Fritha couldn't seem to help but return the gesture as she shook her head.

'Oh, Imoen, of all the times I would have missed you, this one was the time.'

'Believe me, I am just as sorry I missed it as you are!' the girl cried, 'Come on then, let's have all the gory details –well not all the details; I'm still a bit wobbly.'

'Imoen!' Fritha laughed, their conversation put on hold a moment as she was lost to another bout of coughing, the girl finally catching her breath to offer hoarsely, 'There is nothing gory to report on. We have not been together long -things have been… complicated… Anomen and I, well, it's complicated.'

'Well, complicated or not, I'm impressed,' Imoen grinned, sending another appraising look over her shoulder, 'he's really handsome!'

'Is he?'

'Fritha!' her friend cried, the pair seeming to turn as one to where the knight was still in conversation with Valygar, the ranger clearly mentioning their interest, for Anomen glanced back to send her a smile and Fritha considered he did look quite nice -not that Imoen needed to know that.

'Well, he's not horrible, I suppose.'

Imoen sighed deeply. 'Really, Fritha, not horrible. He's gorgeous and he's clearly wasted on you! …So, do you love him?' Imoen asked, after a pause had allowed them to both return to their work, her question opening the sort of conversation only had when two people were paying attention to something else. Fritha sighed, struggling to hook the second pick under the unseen mechanism within and trying to gather up enough feeling to determine an answer from the cool churning void now within her.

'If I do, it is quite unlike how I ever imagined it would be. I do not know if it can last though; he is knight to an Order stationed in Amn, and Amn -well, let's just say after four months adventuring, I'm not so popular there at the moment.'

Above her, Imoen moved on to the next lock with a downcast look.

'I'm sorry; this is all my fault'

'What?' Fritha cried, the second pick chiming against the floor as it slipped from her struggling fingers, 'Imoen, you can't be serious- Really, do you think I ever thought that for a moment? It could have been any one of us in the same situation. Even I know enough magic to get myself into trouble when necessary.'

'Yes, but-'

'Oh, ifs and buts; we can play that game all night, but I'll start. If I had been taken instead of you, would anything have stopped you coming for me?'

Imoen smiled. 'Nothing.'

'Well, there you go then,' Fritha confirmed with a sanctimonious nod, a satisfying click from the lock she was working on punctuating the sentence. 'You ready?'

Imoen nodded, Fritha moving out to the way as she deftly unpicked the third and final lock, the pair pushing the door open on-

'And it's… another storeroom,' sighed Fritha. Imoen scowled at the chaos of chests and old furniture within, clearly feeling betrayed after so much effort.

'What is with this place? Did they just run out of space in the attics and decide to dump all their rubbish down here?'

'Probably. Come on, let's see if we can't find something of use.'

…

Anomen smiled, the two girls opposite turning back to the door they were working upon with a shared laugh.

'Be wary of that look, friend,' warned Valygar with a smile of his own, 'it always means trouble.'

Anomen had been about to tell the man that was one of the things he liked most about Fritha, though Jaheira's call from the other room cut him off.

'Valygar? Minsc has found tracks he wishes you to look at.'

The ranger excused himself with a nod, Anomen finding himself almost alone, Aerie looking like she would not appreciate any disruption as she worked on her runes, while the two girls had finally managed to open the door and had disappeared into the room beyond.

Anomen could hear them as he approached, their soft chatter echoing slightly in the bare stone of the chamber as they examined the contents of the chests and jars. Fritha was fingering a scrap of cloth she had found, fine and faded in the torchlight.

'…says he would see me clad in Calimshite cotton and Kara-Turan silk,' Fritha smiled, shaking her head in a bemused sort of way as she tossed it back into the chest at her feet.

'Ha! The only thing he wants to see wrapped around you are crisp linen sheets!'

'Imoen!' Fritha choked, colouring as she began to cough and turning only to go an even deeper shade of pink as she finally noticed him stood in the doorway. 'Anomen!'

Her friend snorted, lost to laughter, Fritha looking at first like she would have joined her, but the coughing became more insistent, the girl throwing a hand against the wall for support as she began to retch. Anomen crossed to her side, a hand upon her back.

'Just breathe deeply, dearest.'

'Er, I'll, ah…' Imoen made herself scarce.

'How are you feeling?' he asked quietly, as she finally calmed, Fritha collapsing to sit heavily on the dusty chest behind her.

'I'm fine -don't fuss,' she croaked impatiently, battling away his hand as he tried to feel her flushed forehead, 'I'm just a bit queasy.'

Anomen sighed, dropping to sit next to her. 'You seem strained.'

'Are we surprised?' she barked, already shaking her head in apology, 'I'm sorry, Anomen, I didn't mean to snap, I'm not feeling myself.'

'It is to be expected,' he assured her gently, 'you have undergone much.'

Fritha looked for a moment torn, her lips pressed together as she turned from him to confess, 'Yes, but it's not just what Irenicus has done… When I came here, to Spellhold, it wasn't just about rescuing Imoen. I mean, it was, it's just… I was supposed to get her back and then I would be free too. I've put so much of my life on hold since leaving Candlekeep; there always seemed to be something more important than me that I had to focus on: stopping Sarevok, averting the war, rescuing Imoen and now… now I'm dying.' She glanced to him, her eyes overly bright. 'What if we don't reach Irenicus in time, Anomen? There was so much I wanted to do and see; I will have wasted my life…'

'Oh, Fritha…'

'Please, don't,' she muttered, leaning back from the embrace he would have closed her in, 'I'm just being silly.'

'We will get your soul back,' he pressed, trying not to feel hurt by her rejection, but she just nodded.

'Yes, I know.'

She drew a deep breath, presumably to calm herself, though it did nothing but start another round of coughing.

'Here,' he sighed, passing her his flask. The girl just stared at it with watery eyes.

'You recall, Anomen, what Jaheira said about rationing out our water? '

'Yes.'

'And you see the reason to it?'

'Yes.'

'Anomen, I can't; what she said made sense.'

'Yes, it did,' he agreed, 'There was much sense and reason to what she proposed… but, I am not a man of reason, not when you are like this. Please, dearest,' he sighed, pressing the flask into her hand, 'you look half-dead.'

'I- Thank you, Anomen' she conceded, tipping it back for a quick draft, her eyes going wide as it caught her throat. 'Oh, b-bad ide-ha.'

…

'How's it going there, Aerie?'

Aerie glanced up, the intense concentration leaving her momentarily lost as she stared up into an unfamiliar pale face; it was Imoen.

'Hmm? Oh, fine -should you not be with Fritha?' she added with a frown, but the girl shook her head, pink hair dancing.

'Nah, she's being sick. Doesn't need any more people gawping at her -only make a bad situation worse. Oh look, now even Anomen has been dismissed –can't be pretty.'

Aerie watched as a very harrowed Anomen appeared the doorway opposite, the man running a hand through his short brown hair and looking much older than she was used to seeing him as he lent against the frame. The elf sighed; it was not easy to watch those cared for suffer.

'So, what are you doing?' Imoen asked, bringing her attention back to the circle of chalk runes before them.

'I was just trying to summon a map by using the latent magic that may have seeped into the stones down here over the years to create a scaled down image of all the boundaries.'

'Oh, you're using Halukiln's theory of Inert Absorption and a Transference Circle, are you?'

'You've heard of them?' Aerie confirmed, more than surprised, 'Fritha said you were educated in the Art, though I did not think it was to this level.'

Imoen laughed. 'Yes… well, four months in a magical insane asylum and you're bound to pick up a few insights here and there.' She dropped green eyes to the circle at their feet, the ring of seventeen complex chalk runes running about the edge. 'This should work -oh, except you've got the rune for power after the rune for sight -they need to be the other way around.' And Aerie let her take the chalk from her unresisting fingers, Imoen smudging out the two runes to redraw them with a flourish, 'There!'

Aerie was astounded. 'How did you-?'

'Ah, you've probably just been looking at it too long,' the girl dismissed briskly.

'Too long? Perhaps so, I've been studying rune magic for the past month; I can easily see why one so far untrained would be able to just come in and realign a half hour's worth of work.'

Imoen flushed, rolling the chalk between thumb and forefinger. 'I've been learning more ever since I got here really. The others -the other inmates- would show me. So would some of the mages –the nicer ones, anyway… But since it's been gone -my soul, I mean- well, it comes much more easily.'

'The magic?'

The girl shrugged, looking uncomfortable. 'Yes, mostly. It's like my mind is quieter and I can see links and patterns more clearly. Sometimes when I'm casting, I can even feel the magic inside, feel the route it wants to go, to make it stronger, or to change it. Irenicus was interested in the side effect -he showed me things, said I was special, said that now I was aware, my power could be limitless…'

'Because of the Bhaal essence,' confirmed Aerie. Imoen nodded, a determined frown creasing her broad forehead.

'Yeah, and if that is where this power comes from then I don't want it! Hells, it could make me Queen of all Toril and I still wouldn't want it! I just want my soul back -and I'm going to get it too!'

'For someone who has lost their soul, you seem remarkably positive,' offered Aerie. Imoen shrugged.

'Well, I could just angst about being miserable, but I leave that to Fritha.'

'I heard that!' barked a voice behind them, the pair whirling to see Fritha, flushed, though thankfully smiling, Imoen straightening with a grin as she and Anomen approached.

'Ah, you look much better, Fritha; I always said pink was your colour. And just in time too,' Imoen laughed as Minsc appeared in the doorway, Jaheira, Haer'Dalis and Valygar just behind him.'

'Did you find the way through?' asked Fritha eagerly. Valygar nodded once.

'We believe so.'

'Well, gather round,' announced Imoen, 'because Aerie's just about to go one better.'

Aerie smiled, the girl's good humour was infectious, and she felt the others assemble around her as she summoned her magics and lightly tapped the first rune to set off a surge of power, each rune igniting the next as light swept around the circle and a plan of glowing blue lines was suddenly etched within.

'Ta-da!' sang Imoen.

'Is that a map?' gasped Jaheira. Fritha looked overjoyed.

'That's brilliant, Aerie!'

'Well, it wasn't just me; Imoen helped.'

'Either way, someone make a sketch; I do not want to be in here when Bodhi begins her hunt.'

But there seemed still little risk of that. Aerie's plan had speeded up their advance considerably and Jaheira estimated they had been down there for about three hours with their goal but a few rooms away, the group heading for a likely looking set of stairs that led up out of the labyrinth. They were making swift progress and hopes of catching Irenicus were high… which was clearly causing concern for someone.

'All right, which way is it?' asked Fritha as they reached yet another crossroads, Jaheira frowning at the parchment she held.

'Left, perhaps…'

Imoen skipped over to the door, which thankfully required nothing more than the twist of the handle.

'Nope, another store- Ooo, books.'

'Doesn't the map say?' sighed Valygar.

'Well, it should, but the lines here are smudged,' explained Jaheira with an accusatory glare to their blue-haired cartographer.

'Oh! Blame not the bard -Anomen knocked into me.'

'I did not!'

'Here, this way,' decided Jaheira, pointing to the doors opposite, Fritha stepping forward to push them wide, the shadows beyond seeming to swirl in the rush of air.

'Oh, you weren't thinking of leaving were you?' trilled that high voice and Fritha danced hastily back, drawing her sword as Bodhi stepped from the darkness, a cadre of three of her fellows at her back. 'I'm afraid this hunt draws to a close here and now.'

'What?' shouted Imoen, 'It's not been four hours!'

Bodhi sent her a girlish pout. 'I know I'm early, but I just couldn't bear to see you leave.' The vampire stooped slightly, body tensed and ready to pounce, 'You were an interesting diversion, but this game is over!'

At any other time, Fritha would have been immediately shouting orders to the rest of them, but it seemed all that was able to pass through her anger at this utter injustice was a single word, screamed with the ferocity of any battle cry.

'YOU!'

Bodhi drew back her arms, ready to welcome the girl, the smile rigid on the vampire's face as Fritha stumbled, her blade clattering to the stone tiles as she writhed and twisted, hands tearing at her own skin, and her scream pierced the air as a creature twice her size suddenly burst from her body, as though she had just turned inside out.

Everyone froze, seemingly transfixed by the beast that had taken her place, all black bone and viscera, long clawed arms swinging to its knees, its spiked muzzle holding row upon row of needle sharp teeth. Bodhi looked petrified, the vampire pushing one of her brethren before her as shield as she turned to flee, her back spattered with blood and innards as her comrade was shredded between its claws.

Bodhi and her remaining companions were gone in an instant, the beast whirling in the smoke they left, its rage instantly focused upon those behind it. The group were already scrambling for the door, Jaheira's orders echoing about them.

'Everyone, fall back to the next room, bar the-'

Anomen's scream cut her off, his mace skidding across the floor as the creature leapt forward with a speed none could have anticipated, claws tearing through his armour to leave his arm a tattered mess of flesh. Jaheira dove before him, staff whistling through the air to catch the beast ineffectually across the shoulder, the creature ignoring her as it stepped back to ready its final strike.

It lunged and she fell, the room silent as they stared at their beast, now no more than a heap of limps and bright auburn curls. Fritha was groaning quietly, struggling to raise herself on twitching limbs, every jerked movement causing a start from those gathered about her, their weapons still drawn.

Anomen watched her from his position a yard or so away, lent back against the wall with a hand clamped about his arm in an effort to slow the bleeding, the pain and the nauseating feeling of that slick mess of torn muscle under his palm making him faint.

On unsteady legs she finally stood, Fritha gazing about them all as though trying to make sense of who they were, when her eyes caught on him and he could see the dawning realisation as her face fell, a trembling hand held over her mouth as she breathed, 'Oh gods… oh, Anomen… I- I'm so sorry, I…'

He stared down at her, this girl who but an instant before had worn the twisted snarling face of his imminent death, his voice barely a whisper as the words left his lips.

'You- you are a monster…'

She looked like he had slapped her. Panic filled him, a bloody hand thrown out to grab her arm as she turned away.

'Now, Fritha, my heart- my love- I did not mean- Fritha, please!'

She shook him off without a backward glance, continuing her steady limp towards the nearest door. Imoen broke from the others and closed to her side, throwing a comforting arm about her shoulders, but the girl gently shrugged her off with a shake of her head, slipping through the door alone and Imoen's focus redirected instantly.

'You!' she shrieked, storming over to Anomen and Jaheira nodded to Minsc just in time, the ranger stepping forward to scoop her about the waist.

'Come, little Imoen, Minsc and Boo would have words with you,' he rumbled genially, pulling her off back down the corridor they had just travelled, Haer'Dalis and Aerie gathering in the corner opposite, the former sending him a poisonous glare as Valygar offered uncomfortably, 'I will go and scout ahead.'

Anomen started at the touch; Jaheira was at his arm.

'Here, let me look at that.'

Anomen shook his head, still dazed as he made to follow Fritha. 'No, I have to speak to her, I have to-'

A gentle hand against his chest halted him, Jaheira's eyes dark with sympathy.

'Not just now, Anomen, she will need a moment.'

xxx

The door clicked shut behind her, the sounds of the others echoing in the stone corridor beyond suddenly muffled and in the silence Fritha, at last, felt able to breathe. She stood there, the storeroom about her lined with shelves all filled with decaying books and leaving her with the strange sense she was back in the archives. It was as though all the energy had seeped from her limbs, Fritha collapsing against the nearest bookcase, fingers clasped weakly about one of the shelves as she began to sob, alone save for the dust and vellum.

Her legs buckled and suddenly she was on her knees, howling in her misery like some wounded animal, her tears falling to bead on the moth-eaten rug beneath her. The pain inside was no longer dull, but a fierce ache, her hands pressed to her chest as she struggled with the urge to just reach inside and tear it from her. What was happening to her? Why? Why did it always happen to her?

Ah, my lamb, my pet, I know, I know, don't cry.

And why had he said that? Of all he could have said, why that?

Oh, there now, it's not your fault. We should have known this was coming. You worked so hard, through Nalia's desertion and Jaheira's betrayal, all so you could come here and have Imoen spit on your efforts! And the knight; well, it is not the first time he has called you such, is it? He has likely always borne these feeling in his heart.

They came rushing back to her in an instant, Fritha feeling every old betrayal and crossed-word with a fresh sting, but where came the usual forgiveness there was only anger- cold and hateful.

It's not their fault; they are weak. But you can't rely upon them anymore, not if you want to survive this; you understand that, don't you?

Fritha's tears had ebbed by now, giving way to shaky hiccupped breathing, her body still trembling with the emotions as she whispered, 'Yes.'

Good. Ah, don't worry, my petal, we will get through this -just you and I.

Fritha nodded again, her head dipped as fresh tears began to well.

'Yes.'

xxx

Aerie watched the pair on the far side of the room, Anomen still bloody and dazed as Jaheira slowly wound the bandage about his arm. How small they both looked; how small and lost, just like she was. Had it even been but a day or so before they were all still upon that ship, full of hope and plans. At her side, Haer'Dalis was watching the pair too, or one of them at least, the tiefling shaking his head as he glared at the knight.

'Ah, the hound ever was one for speaking his mind –unfortunately.'

'Haer'Dalis, he clearly did not mean it.'

A snort behind them. Imoen and Minsc had returned, the girl shifting unforgiving eyes back to Anomen.

'He said it, didn't he?'

'Boo knew it would be so, that the knight was not strong enough to court our Fritha, but none would hear him.'

'That is unfair!' cried Aerie, unhappy at discovering she was surrounded by such callousness. 'It was such a shock for him, for all of us –that she could just become that- that creature; who among us might not have said the same in similar circumstances?'

'Well, as far as I can see, none of us,' sneered Imoen, utterly unmoved, 'We were all there when she changed; only Anomen started banding about the M-word.'

Aerie dipped her face to rub her forehead with a weary hand, giving up on trying to convince them. 'Ah, how much worse can things get?'

'Well, don't look at me,' snapped Imoen, 'my soul's been gone for days and I've never so much as sprouted a single talon.'

'What was that creature?' asked Haer'Dalis. The pink-haired girl shrugged.

'I'm thinking some sort of avatar of Bhaal.'

'Truly?' Aerie gasped, 'But for Fritha to be taking on divine representation of a god, she can't just be tainted by the Bhaal's essence, she would be little else!'

Imoen looked supremely unconcerned. 'You take someone's soul, what's going to be left?'

Haer'Dalis looked in awed. 'The living embodiment of destruction and death; I always knew she was special.'

'Steady on there, lover,' Imoen snorted.

'Imoen!'

'Boo says that was not funny.'

'Yeah, well from where I'm stood, not a lot is.' Imoen sighed, gaze drifting over to the door opposite. 'Someone needs to go and talk to her.'

'I will go; Minsc and Boo have nothing to fear from young Fritha.'

But before he could even get one pace from them, the door swung back of its own accord, Fritha stood in the mouth looking small, pink-faced and rigid in herself. She raised a hand instantly to forestall the rush of questions and reassurances, her voice hoarse and gurgling with her still running nose.

'Bodhi will likely be telling all to Irenicus as we speak. Come, we should hurry.'

Valygar met their advance, the man returning with news that the way to the exit was clear and they followed him through the last few rooms to finally gather before a dark stairwell, the air there cooler and slightly brackish.

'Here,' the ranger offered, his eyes gazing unseeing up into the darkness, 'I believe this leads up to the main levels of the asylum.'

Fritha nodded, clearly trying to force a resolute confidence to her stance as she turned to address them. 'Right, Irenicus may well be up there, and his sister too; prepare for a fight.'

The stairs were dark and cool; every step upwards should have felt like one out of Hell and yet how could it when he was carrying the feeling with him. Anomen closed his eyes, enjoying the pain in his shoulder and having to wrestle himself away from the desire to catch it against the wall next to him, a pain of one sort to mask the pain of another, his guilt at what he had said leaving him feeling so wretched, it was all he could do not to curl in upon himself as he watched the head of auburn curls bobbing just above him.

The word left his mouth in a croak. 'Fritha?'

The girl halted on the step above him, her face still pink and blotchy, even in the gloom, and much more imperious than he had ever recalled seeing it.

'Yes?'

The coldness to her voice was almost more than he could bear.

'Fritha, please, what I said, I-'

'Do you wish to apologise?'

'Yes!' he shouted, the cry echoing about them, 'Yes, of course, I do! Fritha, I am so sorry, I-'

'Fine, apology accepted,' she cut in abruptly. 'Now you must do something for me, Anomen: stay away. Don't touch me, don't talk to me, don't even look at me, because I can't control my temper like I used to and I really can't say what I'll do.' She was still staring down at him, eyes wide and body stiff, a blink dislodging tears that were duly ignored. 'Understand?'

He said nothing, not trusting himself to speak as he watched her stood before him, angry and defiant and crying.

'Well?' she continued, her voice gaining a shrill edge as her temper rose and he managed a stiff nod. It was as though something snapped within her. She sighed once and nodded as well, dapping her eyes on the sleeve of her tunic as she turned away from him, sweeping up the last few steps at a pace that took her to their head, the girl immediately throwing open the doors as though to welcome all Spellhold could throw at her.

In the corridor beyond, Saemon Havarian froze mid-step.

'Oh, ah,' he faltered, glancing briefly back to the corridor before him and clearly trying to assess whether he could make a run for it. He quickly came to the conclusion he could not, turning to greet them with his customary winning smile. 'Well, hello there, I see that you have weathered the storms of this place with reasonable pluck and health. It does me good to see you all alive.'

Fritha stared at him a moment, his face a smiling mask just mocking the emptiness within her. Her fist came out of nowhere. Saemon staggered back, a hand cradling his nose as blood gushed onto his fine linen shirt.

'Oh, Umberlee's teat, my nose! You've broken my bloody nose!'

Fritha already had him by the collar, the whole head's difference in their height proving no obstacle as she shook him violently, his blood spattering them both as he struggled.

'Yes, and your neck'll be next if you don't give me an astoundingly good reason not to!'

'Please, I do not wish to be your enemy here, I only followed orders; once I was in his service there was no leaving it outside of death.'

'And where is your master now?' demanded Jaheira.

'Gone! He and his bloodsucking sister fled as soon as she'd returned. They murdered the last surviving prisoners here, the jailor too, then took a portal in his private chambers -it leads to the Underdark.'

A mutter of surprise and reluctance rippled about them. Fritha released him, her gaze cool.

'That is… unfortunate. Well, it looks as though you have just outlived your usefulness, Saemon.'

She was drawing her sword, the captain hastening to stall her.

'No, wait, wait! I have another plan should you not wish to follow him so directly.'

'Make your words count, Havarian, they will determine how long you live.'

'I- I have a ship. I will take you back to the mainland and you can get the Shadowmaster, the Cowled Ones, even the Order as allies in this hunt. Many will desire revenge for what happened here, and there is more than one route into the darkness.'

Fritha glanced about her. As ideas went, even through her anger, she could see it wasn't a bad one; the Underdark held worse dangers than Irenicus and ones they were ill-equipped to face just then. And it seemed from the round of nods that the others were in agreement. Fritha let her blade slide slowly back into its scabbard.

'All right then, after you, Saemon.'

He nodded nervously, straightening his shirt and producing a handkerchief for his dripping nose, something of his previous swagger returned as he made to lead them out.

Fritha followed, though her heart was hardly in it. All that she had done, all that she had suffered to get there and now she was likely going to die, eaten away by the emptiness within.

What a joke life was; what a cruel, miserable joke. And the last sound to echo about those desolate halls was not the raving of the mad or even the chants of the mages, but her laughter: shrill and loud and as hollow as her heart.