Fire and Water

by MorwennaTheWicked

NWN2 & MotB. You know the story. Dee is a ranger sent by her foster father on a quick errand to Neverwinter. She learns the difference between a bad man and a good man then meets someone who isn't a man at all as she tries to save her life and her soul.

26. Losing Shandra

Usual disclaimer plus: Quite a bit of dialog in this chapter is paraphrased from the NWN2 OC. I know, I hate that too, but it had to be done. In addition, all of the characters belong to Atari, WotC, Obsidian, and lots of other people, except for a bear-lovin' ranger.

Chapter 26 Losing Shandra

Sir Nevalle finger-combed his wind-mussed golden hair then flicked a few bits of travel detritus from his tabard before he entered the tavern. He saw Torio Claven near the entrance of the Nine's tower. She smirked at him and sent an invitation with a barely perceptible movement of her chin, and he smiled back but shook his head briskly. She would hear the news soon enough. He watched as she pouted and shrugged slightly and turned towards the Keep proper. He had just arrived from the city; he was exhausted and sore from the ride, and he certainly was not looking forward to getting back in the saddle Immediately, but he had his orders. He pulled open the door and looked around for Dee.

With her height and her pale hair she was difficult to miss as she stood leaning back against the wall, her arms folded across her chest. He thought the way she scowled when she was angry (and she looked furious) reminded him of his great aunt Tilly, which wasn't surprising since he had learned to his chagrin that their grandmothers had been cousins. This wasn't unusual either because much of the nobility of Neverwinter was thoroughly inbred. He just hadn't counted the Captain amongst their number.

Her mother had been notorious, climbing out her window and leaping to a nearby tree at seventeen to escape an arranged marriage before taking up a life of adventuring and performing, and not just in respectable festhalls. His branch of the family, under the direction of his mother, had not acknowledged her in their polite society. But he thought her daughter wasn't so bad since he had gotten to know her better. Someone had evidently taken the time to teach her manners, though her speech was still rather uncouth due to her rustic upbringing. This was coupled with a distasteful wildness he often observed in rangers. He had decided despite this that he would suggest to his mother that she be invited for tea once the ceremony was finished.

Dee was engaged in an intense conversation with a stranger, a robed man whose bald head and face were covered with unusual glowing runic tattoos. He echoed her pose, standing with his arms folded tightly across his chest and glowering dangerously as she spoke. With her height they stood eye to eye and glared at one another like two beasts sizing one another up before they fought to the death. It was more than a mere animal competition though; when they made eye contact (Nevalle observed the stranger stared into the fire for the most part and avoided meeting her eyes ) they looked at one another with something akin to hatred. The knight assumed he was some sort of spellcaster, and there was something vaguely familiar about him, but he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

It was otherwise oddly quiet in the tavern. Too quiet in fact, and that set his warrior's instinct on edge. The paladin sat nearby watching her every move, and her other companions were scattered about the room, most other than the ranger with with untouched drinks in front of them. He noticed that the tiefling was crying softly, and the dwarf was patting her hand. Besides the paladin and the ranger, the githzerai was also standing nearby watching the argument. The druidess had her arm around the shoulders of the gnome, who was staring at the table and muttering "I still don't understand. How could it have happened?" He had that awkward tingling sensation between his shoulder blades that one gets when entering in the middle of something that warns one to back away. He surveyed the room again. The occupants were dressed in what he supposed were their best clothes, and most of them wore mourning bands on their arms.

At the same moment Dee caught his attention when she got right in the stranger's face and snarled, "Was it really so hard to believe Shandra was still alive? How the hells did you think we were able to get in without Jerro blood? Or is it your habit to murder anyone who gets in your way and with no questions?" Nevalle missed most of the stranger's response, something accusatory along the lines of "Why did you bring her there," spoken in a deep, gravelly voice that rumbled up from deep in his chest. He said something about thinking all his family had been destroyed. The conversation, more of an inquisition, continued, and Nevalle caught snatches of it. The stranger accused her of "blundering in like a fool child," and she countered with, "You knew we had a common foe. You should have come to me after we met at the githyanki lair. We could have worked together. We should have, but no, you had to go it alone!"

The debate continued for several more minutes. As he waited with restrained impatience, Sir Nevalle noticed for the first time an insignificant man with a ferret-like face standing in the shadows near the door wearing the gaudy livery of the Luskan embassy, no doubt Sydney Natalle's dogsbody. Now there was a vulgar creature, and he shuddered at the memory of having had to make polite conversation with her at court and tactfully decline her invitation to dinner at the embassy as she cooed at him and stroked his arm. He wanted to bathe all night in scalding hot water after that encounter. Her dogsbody stood near the door watching the Captain nervously, shifting from foot to foot. He obviously desired an audience with her, but Nevalle would have her first. He wasted no time in dismissing him and stared him down until he scurried away.

Dee caught Sir Nevalle's attention again saying a bit too loudly, "Very well then. I agree since we both possess parts of the Ritual of Purification, we have no choice but to work together. Therefore you are not our prisoner, though you should be. Khel, escort him to her room. He can stay there." Her voice broke a bit at that, and the paladin raised an eyebrow and called her name as he walked quickly to her side. She shook him off as she wiped her sleeve across her eyes and stalked towards the door quickly as if all the fiends of the hells were at her back, the paladin hard behind her. First West Harbor, and now this. It was too much for her, and she wanted to run anywhere just to get away.

The pain of what they found in West Harbor had slowly subsided, though wounds like that leave scars for life. Dee had insisted that they bury the dead after they returned from the ruins in the swamp and found that not only had they had been thwarted in completing the ritual by that strange warlock, but the King of Shadows had sent them a greater enemy—Shadow Reavers. To her credit, Zhjaeve didn't say "I warned you," though Dee thought she could read that in her knitted eyebrows above her veil, and she felt the guilt to her marrow. The scene in West Harbor had been so surreal as it was accompanied by the wail of a phantom child that Dee asked Zhjaeve if it was really happening or if it was only a vision.

But the dead were real enough. Bishop was more bad tempered than usual and angrily insisted they leave before whatever struck here caught up with them too, and when Dee refused until their grim work was finished, he cursed at her and he and Karnwyr stormed out on their own. But he returned a short while later pale and distracted, though he bristled when Dee asked him what happened. Neeshka wrinkled her nose and muttered nervously that she smelled both demons and devils, though she didn't know if they were responsible for the carnage. There was a wrongness about the place, some horror that they could sense emanating from deep in the swamp. It set everyone, not just Bishop, on edge.

So with the help of summoned earth elementals, they quickly dug a pit and lay the dead to rest in a mass grave next to the Starling house. They found Rhetta and one of her twins, but there was no sign of the other twin, nor of Bevil. They fanned out in teams of two and conducted a quick search for survivors, though no one expected to find any. Sand noticed signs that Tarmas had packed up and fled, and Dee noticed right away Daeghun's duskwood bow, quiver, and pack were gone, but Brother Merring was lying outside his small shrine, his arm stretched out and his holy symbol held tightly in his hand. She was heartened by the number of those whose bodies weren't found—besides Bevil and her father, the Mossfield boys, the Buckmans, the Marshes, and several others weren't among the dead. She noted the names of everyone placed in the mass grave in her journal so they could make a marker later. Casavir said a Tyrran prayer for the dead as the elementals filled in the hole with a mound of dirt. Bishop suppressed a sardonic sneer; so much for the swamp wench's plans of marrying his holiness here in the fall.

Instead of using the song portal to return to Arvahn, they repeated her journey of a year and a half before. They found the inn on the edge of the Mere deserted but stopped there just until they were rested. They warned Commander Tann at Fort Locke, and Dee agreed to escort some of the refugees who had been camped at the fort to safety at the Keep. She met Orlen and his sons at their house when they returned and sent the sentry at the gate for the other Harbormen among the 'Cloaks. Telling Orlen and the boys about West Harbor was the hardest part by far. All of them lost at least one friend or family member. Dee hadn't cried, couldn't cry, and Casavir held her close as she lay awake trembling. He struggled too with the painful memories of his childhood that were stirred up, but his desire to comfort her overcame his own pain. Without his calming aura, she wouldn't have gotten any rest at all. Zhjaeve appeared at their room the second night back with a strong sleeping potion as a peace offering, which Dee gratefully accepted, sharing it with Casavir.

They settled back into some semblance of normal life, which for Dee meant throwing herself into her work. Yet it was as if part of her had been buried in that mass grave, and though she attended her duties, at odd moments during the next few days she was as unresponsive as Grobnar's construct. Aldanon and his assistants were tasked with not only trying to find Ammon Jerro's Haven, but also find a way to reforge the Sword of Gith. That was assuming they could even find enough shards to use, and Jacoby was doubtful that it could be done at all even if they had all the shards. Casavir treated her like a porcelain doll for the next several days, as if he was afraid to ask for more than hold her or kiss her gently on her cheek or forehead. After a few days of this, Dee took matters into her own hands. She smiled ruefully and led him to their bed. She talked about her feelings of guilt and loss and encouraged him to talk about his. They both had a good cry then made love like longtime companions.

They had their duties and their diversions while they waited for news from Aldanon. Dee had an old unused forge in the lower level of the Keep restored where she helped make swords for her 'Cloaks while Khelgar worked on chain mail. Dee gave the parts from the golem they had defeated and an odd rune-covered stone they had found to a delighted Grobnar, who set about repairing the construct. Shandra helped Orlen organize the spring planting. Casavir worked on the statue of Mielikki in his spare time when he wasn't working on duty rosters or training the 'Cloaks. In the time it took him to rough out the basic shape and sculpt the face, shoulders, and her right arm, his mentor had finished his statue of Chantea. Orlen built a small shed to serve as a shrine on the path to the fields and built another beside it for the eventual shrine to Meilikki. They held a dedication ceremony followed by a feast on the first of Tarsakh, commonly called Greengrass, with Orlen serving as a lay priest offering the prayers for a bountiful crop to Chantea. Dee promised Sand and Neeshka that shrines to Mystra and Tymora would follow.

Cillian awoke from his hibernation hungry as a bear who had just awakened from his hibernation. Aldanon had nothing to report for days, which stretched into tendays, and then a month and another. Dee was pleased with how the Keep was coming along. It looked like a real fortress now, not the "shitehole" ruin she first saw. All of her 'Cloaks now had good armor and weapons; the ones stationed at the gates or keeping watch on the wall wore plate. Life went on as it had, with only a vague threat of their enemy hanging over them. Looking back on this time later, Dee would curse herself for growing complacent and living as if she had all the time in the world.

The artist Pepin Pollo arrived with the portrait he had painted of Shandra, and Sir Nevalle observed that it was customary that Dee, as captain, sit for a portrait as well. She protested that she didn't have time but finally agreed as long as Cillian and Casavir pose on either side of her. Shandra's portrait was hung in her room though she groused that people would think her conceited to have a portrait of herself there and that she would much rather have a picture of her barn to look at, so Dee had it hung in the hallway outside Shandra's door instead. Dee's 'family' portrait was hung in the foyer of the Great Hall. As much as she had complained at the time, she was pleased enough with it that she commissioned a painting with all her companions, which he happily sketched out with only Bishop refusing to participate. He also sketched Neeshka lying nude on a fur throw for a painting commissioned to hang in the festhall. He happily returned to Neverwinter with the sketches and commissions for enough work for several months and a pouch full of gold in payment.

One morning after Dee had been needled again by Bishop after he came back from hunting about how she used to be a ranger and used to be free, she persuaded Casavir they should shirk their duties for once to take Cillian fishing at a secluded pond in the hills. It was about an hour away as the crow flies. Elanee had discovered it while she was flying in the hills around the Keep, which was becoming her favorite form of recreation. It took her no time at all to grab her pack, some bread and cheese from the kitchen, and a couple of fishing poles and leave before Kana had time to object.

The weather was still cool and changeable being early in the spring, but that didn't stop Cillian from plunging into the water to gorge himself on fat red-bellied trout. Dee looped Blossom's reins around the branch of a tree then cast her line and set the pole in the ground and quickly stripped out of her boots and her leather armor. Casavir watched her as she shed the rest of her clothing and flushed as he removed his hauberk and gambeson, looking around as if he expected the gnome, or worse, to spring suddenly out of the shrubbery. She slipped into the pond and gasped at the shock of the cold jolted her body then plunged under the water. Casavir decided it was good enough to strip down to his small clothes, though he didn't relish the discomfort of wearing them home wet. He picked his way barefoot over the stones and was about to dip a toe in the pond to test the water when Dee hauled herself out and ran over to him. He sighed in relief at the reprieve. "Finished already, my lady? Goodness, your lips are blue!"

She answered as she shook herself off and rubbed her arms, "Brrrr! Cold! Really cold! Too cold! Gods, I'm getting so soft!" She wrapped her arms around him as he did the same and murmured, "Mmmm, nice, you're warm and furry...you can warm my lips," as she pulled him into a kiss.

He he shivered at the erotic sensation caused by her cold body pressing against his, but they were out in the open in broad daylight! He glanced around and was going to protest that they mustn't, but they were indeed completely alone except for the horses grazing on the spring grass and the bear digging up tubers along the shore. He nuzzled her neck and ran a hand down her flank and squeezed a firm cheek as he murmured, "Yes, you're so soft...I like you soft. My lady, I think you had an ulterior motive in getting me up here to fish."

She gave him a coy smile. "Mmmm, and you're so very hard. I like you hard. 'Twas not entirely my intention, but 'tis a lovely idea."

His chuckled as his desire overcame his modesty. "It is indeed." He spread his cloak out then warmed her up in the best way he could think of. Afterwards as they spent a few lazy hours lying in the sun in one another's arms talking about everything and nothing, and forgetting all about fishing, she considered how far they had come that he could be like this with her.

But they weren't alone. Bishop had followed them and watched them from a vantage point in a broad-limbed oak tree. He took care to find a leafy perch out of sight and upwind of the bear and the horses and ordered Karnwyr to wait for him in a thicket of trees about a hundred paces away. It occurred to him to question what the hells he was doing here, but he cursed at himself and banished that thought. It wasn't crazy. It was all about survival—his. He had his orders to spy on the Captain's activities, though he knew this wasn't the kind of information he was supposed to obtain. He snorted as he watched them. His holiness was going to get his lily-white ass sunburned. He was positive he was bigger, and he was confident as he watched that he was better too. He reckoned it would be no time at all before she wanted more and cast his holiness aside as she had done with him, or before the paladin cast her aside by declaring with false piety that she was coming between him and his god.

Bishop hadn't failed to notice while they camped on the way to Arvahn that she was the one who talked as if she assumed they would marry, but his holiness never said much about the matter. There was something there he couldn't put his finger on, and then it occurred to him— despite all his piety, it wasjust a tryst, whether he realized it or not. Just like his holiness had accused her of having with him a year ago. That was why the paladin kept his own room even though he shared her bed. Bishop thought the paladin had that fearful look of an animal caught in a snare. Not at this particular moment when she was kissing her way down his chest to his navel. He was just a man, after all. But Bishop was sure he had seen it before when she wasn't looking. He almost pitied him as much as he could feel pity for anyone and felt compelled to warn him before he fell for good. Not that he wanted her back either, but he grinned at the thought of seeing her suffer when she learned the truth. He watched all he could stand then left so he could return to the Keep ahead of them.

They returned to the Keep before the sun set drowsy but content with a string of trout that Cillian had swatted out of the pond for Dee. She handed them to one of Wolf's minions to take to the cook. Dee told Casavir she was going to drop by Aldanon's study for her daily update. This had also become a habit with her. She expected the sage's usual long-winded, meandering explanation of their progress or rather lack thereof, and she wasn't disappointed. She was standing there nodding her head while her eyes glazed over, thinking that she was going to find a way to delegate dealing with him to Sand or Zhjaeve when one of the sage's research assistants, broke in.

He cleared his throat loudly enough to get even the sage's attention, and they turned to look at him curiously. "But Master Aldanon, don't you remember? We do think we finally isolated the location of the Haven." There was a note of urgency in his voice.

Aldanon peered at him through rheumy eyes as if seeing him for the first time and replied with a touch of condescension. "My boy, don't be ridiculous! I would certainly know if we had discovered its location, wouldn't I?"

His assistant looked confused and said desperately, "Don't you remember, sir? You thought we should search areas of high magical emanations and cross reference that with shipping company manifests? And rule out for now any in populated areas? Don't you remember? You narrowed it down to one place this afternoon?"

Aldanon smiled brightly. "Yes, yes, I did, of course I did! Now don't just stand there dawdling! Be a good lad and fetch that map for the Captain. Off with you!"

Casavir came to see what was keeping Dee, and knowing very well what was keeping her, to rescue her from the ancient sage diplomatically. He found her sitting at a table in the library peering at a map while Aldanon stood on one one side of her reading a document and muttering something about the price of cheese and Gyven of the Road sat on the other side looking through a magnifying glass and pointing to something on the map. She beamed at him, her eyes shining with excitement. "Can you go find the others, love? Sand and Shandra especially. They're likely at the festhall already. I think we've found it!"

It took several days to make the arrangements, then a tenday more to reach the location, all the while praying they weren't following another false lead. Then decided against taking the horses all the way in the end because of the rough terrain they would have to cross to reach the valley where they suspected Jerro's Haven was located. Shandra told Dee she was nervous about her mother's tale of the requirement of a "drop of Jerro blood" to enter the structure, and Dee gave her a hug and tried to reassure her. "It's scary I know, but I wouldn't ask if we didn't need it. In fact, why don't you stay behind after you prick you finger here to give us a few drops of blood. I'm almost positive Sand has a spell to preserve it until we need it."

Shandra rolled her eyes and replied tersely, "And what if it has to be fresh blood or more than a few drops? Then you'll travel all the way there for naught. I've gone with you this far. I'm not about to stay behind with Qara and Grobnar now. Besides, I have to admit I'm curious to see my grandfather's old hideaway."

Bishop and Karnwyr scouted ahead. He was more surly than usual (if that was possible), so no one minded much that he was gone most of the day, nor that he kept his own company at night. They traveled into barren hills. They had one encounter with trolls and another with orcs, but the journey was uneventful after that. The area was oddly devoid of life, except for a few vultures that circled around in the distance. At last when they were beginning to wonder if Aldanon was mistaken, Bishop came back to camp with the news that he spotted some kind of stone wall in a valley a few hills to the east.

They found an imposing gray granite structure built into the surrounding hills. Sand looked through Dee's spy glass and warned, "I suspect it won't be as easy to enter the Haven as disarming a few traps and picking a few rusty locks, dear girl. I know I would certainly have some rather nasty surprises to keep away unwanted visitors if I was a recluse." They had expected the challenges and were prepared for a tough fight. But no one suspected that this was the last time they would see Shandra alive. At the worst Dee was afraid that more than a few drops of blood would be required to open the door. As if she had a premonition, she gave Shandra a worried hug and said, "You don't have to do this unless you want to. There's got to be a back door or an unguarded window or a kitchen midden we can get through," even as Shandra hugged her back then ran a dagger across the palm of her hand.

Shandra started to say "There, 'tis done. Now wha..." But her words were cut off as she vanished!

Dee cursed and demanded of the gatekeeper, "What the hells? Where did she go?" But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she had a sudden sensation of nauseating dizziness and roaring in her ears as she found herself traveling through what looked like a dark tunnel. She hit the floor hard and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Cillian was snarling at something. The others were there also picking themselves up off the floor. She called out, "Shandra?" and blinked again as got to her feet and beheld a familiar face, but not the one she was seeking. "Mephasm. I'm surprised to see you here."

The blue-skinned fiend smiled benevolently. "Greetings, my friend. I've been expecting you. And you've brought little Neeshka."

They talked for longer than Dee liked, but he revealed more than she expected, confessing he had deceived her at the Githyanki lair to gain his freedom. He was very curious to know how they got in, and was surprised to learn about Shandra being Ammon Jerro's granddaughter, but as an afterthought he added "Blood attracts blood, after all. Everything has happened countless times before and the resolutions are just as predictable."

Dee thought, "So much for his assurance that he knew we would cross paths again because he had seen it all before. But he hadn't seen Shandra. This fiend was not omniscient, she reminded herself. His politeness was so off putting she also had to remind herself of what he was. She focused instead on the barely visible fangs and lethal claws. Yet he not only agreed to help them, but also informed her of the kind of devils and demons they would also have to gain the cooperation of, four in all, to open the portals and enter the master's laboratory at the center of the haven. Neeshka leaned close and warned her to be careful in making an agreement. Her tail had swayed anxiously since he had greeted her like a long-lost relation, and she edged closer to Casavir when Mephasm promised coolly she would see him again.

Sand thought the layout of the place was brilliant. He explained that whoever "the master" was (and there was quite a bit of debate about that) he had designed his summoning circles so that a Baat'zu was imprisoned next to a Tanar'ri, bringing the Blood War here on a small scale and using the energy caused by the resulting friction to power his magic. "This was no mere court wizard that set up these circles, dear girl. We must be doubly on our guard."

Baalbisan was the exact opposite of Mephasm, and it didn't take Dee long after he insulted her for being female to see they would have to go to the others for help. Neeshka hissed, "Half-breed? Doubly weak as a female? I hope that circle fits you nice and tight, you bone-gnawing, ichor-drinking glutton!"

Dee lay a hand on Neeshka's arm to calm the angry tiefling. "You have a point, Neesh, but remember he can summon lesser fiends to fight for him even if he's trapped in that circle, and we can't afford the time to fight 'em. Come on, let's see if we can make a better bargain with the erinyes. I read a book on demonology of the Prior's after the attack on Lord Taverick that the Baat'zu will be more inclined to bargain than the Tanar'ri."

Casavir warned, "Yes, but you must be careful of any agreements you make with them. If there's any way at all of twisting the terms of an agreement to their benefit, they will use it."

The price of Hezebel's cooperation, learning the name of Baalbisan's matron to give her power over him, seemed like an impossible task. Hezebel suggested if they taunted him enough he would blurt out the name as a curse, and Dee muttered, "Yeah, making him really angry sounds like a way to end up a grease spot on the floor." She sighed as Casavir squeezed her shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Only one out of three, and I don't have any hope of getting Zaxis' cooperation either. Gods, Cas...We're not doing so well." The worst part was that Shandra was nowhere to be found. Dee tried to resist thinking of her at the mercy of whoever was the current master of the Haven. She was frantic to find Shandra, calling out to her in every room and every hallway. Cillian reared up and sniffed the air and told Dee he caught her scent faintly, but there was no sign of Shandra herself. She turned desperately to Casavir. "I'm beginning to think that we'll never find her."

He kissed the top of her head and took her hands and called on the power of Tyr to calm her. "Don't give in to the dark energy of this place and to despair, my lady. Such creatures as are bound here feed off strong feelings. Let us pray for Tyr's aid. I'm certain he will hear us even in this evil place." They ignored Bishop's derisive snort and prayed together. Khelgar put a hand on Dee's elbow and joined in. Neeshka, Sand, and Elanee joined them in spirit if not in words.

Casavir caressed her cheek. "Is that better?"

She nodded and smiled sweetly. "Aye, 'tis. Come on, let's go see our old friend Zaxis."

They smelled the hezrou long before they reached him; his scent was like a combination of rotting meat and the offal of a hundred otyughs with an unusual and unexpected floral note. But they ignored the stench as best they could and approached Zaxis' chamber with a new resolve. As they expected he had less than fond memories of them from the Githyanki lair, and to make things worse Neeshka again got into a shouting match with the fiend. Dee winced as the tiefling squealed, "Tanar'ri hindlicker!" and she grabbed Neeshka around the waist and pulled her bodily towards the door of the chamber. Dee muttered to Sand that this was an unfortunate time to learn that Neeshka was of Baat'zu blood. Sand rolled his eyes and answered that they leave the more vocal members of their party outside the next time they entered a fiend-filled labyrinth of death. Zaxis summoned three lesser hezrou to fight them before they could leave, but fortunately none smelled quite as bad as their master. They fought their way out into the hallway beyond.

As if in answer to their prayer, Dee heard Shandra call out, "Can you hear me?"

Dee peered into the dark hallway. "Shandra? Where are you?" Her companions looked confused as they looked for Shandra then turned back to Dee and looked at her like she was losing her mind. "I hear her in my head."

Dee could hear the fear in Shandra's voice. "I don't know. I keep teleporting around this place. Dee, be careful. This place is sealed by demons and devils. They say their lord is unbeatable, and I don't think they're lying!"

Dee tried to keep the panic out of her voice. "Just stay where you are. We'll try to get to you!" Dee relayed what she had heard to the others. "Everyone ready? Let's find the last two fiends." Later while she lay awake in the middle of the night she would curse herself for not asking Shandra which of the fiends she was near so they could retrace their steps and find her.

Gaining the cooperation of the pit fiend Koroboros was surprisingly easy, since he only required that they find his pet imp which had gone missing, and by chance they had already found and freed the creature. Like Mephasm, he was genial and helpful, though Dee knew that if he wasn't bound by his circle, he wouldn't likely hesitate to slaughter them as quickly as Zaxis would. "That's two," Dee whispered as he opened his portal. She had a feeling of dread as they approached the lair of the last fiend knowing that she was the last and that they were running out of options.

Just before the door they saw three beautiful gray-skinned women with bat-like wings who appeared to be waiting for them. Neeshka leaned close and whispered, "Succubi. Be careful, they bore easily and they can't be trusted to keep a pact."

Dee patted her shoulder. "Guess that means we have to entertain them and hope that doesn't include more fightin'. We need to save what we can for their master."

Blooden was as flighty a creature as Neeshka had warned. Her attention was immediately drawn to the males of the party, and Dee rolled her eyes and pulled Sand back as he straightened his robe, grinning inanely and striding towards the succubus who beckoned him with a finger. Dee expected to have to hold Bishop back too, but she glanced at him and saw him standing far back keeping his distance from any of the succubi, and for that brief moment she saw not lust, but fear in his eyes. Blooden pouted and turned her attention to Casavir instead. He bore her taunts stoically though Dee wondered what the fiend meant by his "guilt" and "doubt." Was it a devil's lies, or was there more to it? He only lost his composure when she suggested she could take on Dee's form if that pleased him more. He shouted angrily, "Mocking me I will tolerate, but mocking her I will not stand!" as his hand slipped to his war hammer.

The succubus threw her head back and moaned in ecstasy, "Ah...such passion!" Sand and Casavir had warned the fiends could feed on their emotions, and Dee fumed to think that this wench was taking that kind of pleasure from her man! Dee growled, "Deal with me, not with him. We're only here because we need you to open the portal so we can reach your master."

She narrowed her eyes at Dee, but then she saw Neeshka standing just behind her. She arched a delicate eyebrow and purred, "What have we here. You, my dear, have a most unusual bloodline, little tiefling, most unusual." She smirked at Neeshka like a cat that has trapped a mouse. "Your grandsire...you have already met him. What I fail to see is why he would allow his bloodline to be so diminished in producing you. There is no benefit for him that I can see. Perhaps you may ask him when you see him again."

Neeshka blinked. "He's here?" She considered the baat'zu they had encountered and remembered the one which had been particularly interested in her with a shudder.

But the succubus was already bored with Neeshka and turned to Dee with the same smirk. "And you...you also have a most unusual heritage as well, my dear. If only you knew how unusual..." The succubus closed her eyes. It may have been true, and Dee could feel herself wanting to ask more of the creature. Her voice was so very seductive. Too seductive. Dee shook her head. "Look, I've no time for this. We need to find your master so we can kill him and save our friend."

Blooden threw her head back and laughed melodically. "Oh that's rich! Kill him? You? Oh it's not possible. Most likely he will kill you. But I will help you hasten your deaths if you do something for me first."

Dee suppressed a sigh, though she had known there would be a price. "Go on then."

So after leading a fight of Koroboros' hell hounds against her minions, Blooden was so pleased that she not only kept her bargain, but she also gave them the name of Baal'bisan's matron as if she knew it was the knowledge they needed to gain the assistance of the erinyes. She cooed as they turned to leave, "We females must stick together."

They linked hands and jumped through the portal as soon as Hezebel opened it. Dee blinked as a wave of nausea swept over her again. She didn't know how anyone could stand to travel by teleportation regularly. She looked around the chamber, and to her relief as much as her dismay, Shandra wasn't there. No one was, but that wouldn't last. Suddenly a deafening clanging echoed through the laboratory. Mere heartbeats later, there was a blinding flash and he was there. The one who murdered the lords in Blacklake, and Melia and the others who got in his way at the Moonstone Mask.

At the same moment, they shouted at each other, You!"

He growled ominously, "I don't know how you got in here, but you won't live long enough for me to worry about it. I see you've brought me a gift of the shards, including one lodged in your chest? Let me take them off your hands and off your corpse."

Dee snarled, "Only corpse around here is gonna be yours!"

They attacked with everything they had, but he had unbelievable resistance to most of their attacks, including Sand's most powerful spells and that monk trick that Khelgar did that Dee had seen make an opponent's heart explode. Her own swords barely wounded him. They might have been prop swords used by actors and not enchanted silver for all the damage they did. Still they pressed their attack until finally Neeshka got close enough for a backstab and he groaned and dropped to one knee. Later Dee would curse herself for not asking him then what he had done with Shandra Jerro. She told herself over and over again that if she had, if he had known she was there, Shandra might still be with them.

He glared at them. "You think you've beaten me? Fools! This fortress is the source of my power! Now you will die!" He stood straight, the runic tattoos on his head glowing bright as the sun. Dee heard Sand sigh "Oh my" before he began chanting a counter spell. Casavir sang a Tyrran battle prayer. With a few gestures from the warlock they were buffeted by a mighty wind that threw them around like leaves. There was no question of trying to fight him now. It was all Dee could do to keep her footing. She thought of Shandra and mentally asked her forgiveness. "I'm sorry Shandra. You were right, he's too strong. I've failed you."

Shandra answered, "You can't beat him. The only thing that can is blood being spilt—mine."

Dee shouted in horror, "Don't do it! There has to be another way!" as she lost her footing and slammed into the wall. She saw stars, and she tried to get her breath back as the warlock shouted he would turn the air in their lungs to fire.

Shandra said softly, "Too late. I'm not gonna let you die, not after all we've been through."

Dee and the warlock screamed "No!" simultaneously as she lost contact with Shandra and he felt his power fail, and he broke off his attack and leaped into the portal. Dee fell back and felt like she was choking, and some of her ribs were definitely broken. Her spectacles were lying across the room shattered. Cillian sat licking a wound on his flank. They all struggled to their feet. Sand's left arm was hanging awkwardly at his side, and Neeshka was carefully pouring a healing potion into Elanee's mouth. Bishop was kneeling beside Karnwyr, healing him. Blood was streaming from a wound on Casavir's head, though Dee could see the wound healing, as were her ribs, thanks to the Ring of Regeneration they both wore. Only Khelgar came through the attack relatively unscathed, using his monk training to go with the force of the wind rather than fight it. He broke out the healing potions he had in his rucksack and quickly passed them around. All of this took precious minutes, but it had to be done.

Elanee and Khelgar set Sand's shoulder as he drank a potion. "Dear girl, I don't think that warlock is the King of Shadows, but I'm grateful that something more compelling than murdering us caught his attention."

As soon as she could breathe again, Dee snatched her dropped short sword and limped to the portal. "I fear the thing that caught his attention was Shandra. Come on, we have to get to her!" She leaped through thinking of going to where Shandra was, and Casavir grabbed her arm and leaped in behind her. The others followed, but too late.

They came on the warlock standing over Shandra, her body burnt by magefire. Dee heard her last words, "I know, and I'm sorry, grandfather." Then she fell back and was still. Elanee and Dee went right to her side while Casavir and Khelgar went for the warlock who was muttering, "Grandfather? How?" Dee sobbed and pulled her onto her lap and forced her last healing potion into her blackened lips as she begged the gods to let her live. But Shandra was gone.

Elanee spoke in a horrified whisper. "Dee, I can't even feel her presence. Her spirit is no longer here!"

The warlock looked broken as he stared at them holding Shandra's body, but his defiance wasn't gone. The walls began to shake violently, threatening to collapse on them, and Dee was reminded of her nightmare of the falling stone. Regaining his composure he snarled at them, "Kill me and you'll bring this entire structure down on our heads. But enough of my power remains for us to teleport to safety if we go now!"

"We have no choice but to trust you. Cas, can you..." Dee gulped air as she fought back tears. Casavir wrapped his cloak around Shandra's body then picked her up as the warlock growled an incantation and they teleported back to the safety of the Keep.

She was laid in state in the temple of Tyr in a closed casket so everyone could pay their respects. She was the first one interred there in a crypt behind the altar, though Dee promised her she would bury her body at her farm when this was finished. Her death was sobering to them all. Dee had a simple stone shrine to the god of death, Kelemvor, set up near the temple of Tyr and placed candles there to light Shandra's way and left her favorite food as an offering for her wait in the god's queue. While she was doing this she tried not to think that Ammon Jerro might have sent her spirit to some of his allies in the hells.

The question they had been discussing when Sir Nevalle arrived was what to do with the warlock. Bishop and Neeshka were all for killing him right then and there. Bishop whispered, "Nobody has to know."

"Dee stared him in the eye and answered, "Yeah? Well, I would know. I won't have murder added to murder." She stood and stalked over to the warlock, who stared into the fire. "We need to talk, Jerro." It was at this moment that Sir Nevalle walked into the tavern. Dee saw him standing there waiting as she interrogated Ammon Jerro, but he could wait.

Sir Nevalle held up a gloved hand up to stop her as she tried to escape to the quiet of her room. "Captain, Lord Nasher has ordered you to Neverwinter. I don't know if you've heard—Fort Locke has fallen. You are to report to Castle Never at once. I'm having your bag fetched from your quarters and your horse made ready as we speak."

Dee blinked at the knight through puffy, red-rimmed eyes. "I can't leave the Keep right now. You don't know what's happened..."

Sir Nevalle cut her off. He felt a pang of guilt because of her obvious grief, but he had his orders, and he couldn't say anything to her without revealing the purpose of their journey. Everything had been arranged, and the court operated on a tight schedule. So much was happening so fast, and so much still had to be done. He decided to bluff despite a feeling of guilt, annoyed that she had the audacity to refuse a direct order from Lord Nasher. He wouldn't think of doing such a thing. He puffed out his chest and replied sternly, "Very well, Captain. However, might I remind you that this is Lord Nasher's Keep, not yours, and you serve here at his pleasure! If you disobey Lord Nasher's direct order, this Keep can have a new captain by twilight."

She laughed bitterly and put her hands on her hips. "Oh really? That better not be a threat. By all means, find some other fool to take it on. I've just laid my best friend in a tomb, and I don't aim to add another!" There was a time not long past when she would have answered his threat with a fist right in the middle of his perfect teeth and told him to consider that her resignation, but she had grown up a bit since then.

He was taken aback, not having expected her to call his bluff. Her earlier words sunk in and he noted the absence of the "squire's squire" who was always at her side. The faces of the two squires he had lost in Neverwinter's service flashed before his eyes, one his brother's son lost at his first battle. He softened his tone and replied with a new sympathy. "I spoke hastily. The loss of Fort Locke worries me greatly, and I fear this Keep will be next if you're not prepared. Captain, I didn't intend to threaten you, but Lord Nasher has ordered you to Neverwinter at once, and as your lord, he must be obeyed."

Her shoulders slumped and she sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "No, please forgive me, Sir Nevalle. You are right; I agreed to serve at Lord Nasher's will, and there is much more at stake here than my own loss. But must I come alone?" She gave him a pleading look, then looked longingly at Casavir then at her other companions, who were coming up behind them, their curiosity overcoming their grief.

Casavir stepped up beside her and wrapped his arm around protectively. "Sir Nevalle, the Captain is bound to me in the sight of Tyr, and we are...were to be...will be married in the fall, if she will have me. Therefore I claim the right of a husband to accompany her."

Sir Nevalle looked up at the paladin. He had known Casavir since they were schoolboys. He was another distant relation, an overly-tall, ill-dressed, shy, graceless boy who had kept to himself at the few social gatherings he attended with his spinster aunt or at school. He only came out of his shell on the playing field where he was a natural athlete, and now from what he knew of him as a man, he was most in his element on the battlefield. He thought they were a good match though, with strengths to balance the other's weaknesses. He said sympathetically, "You would indeed have the right by law if you were married, but you are not. Therefore, I must abide by Lord Nasher's orders." He was silent for a moment as he thought. "I do suppose...you could go to Neverwinter for some business of your own and wait for Captain Farlong in the gallery at Castle Never. You are free people, after all."

They stepped outside, and as the stable boy helped Sir Nevalle onto his horse, Dee turned to Casavir, kissed him fiercely, and whispered, "Yes." He blinked in confusion and then seized her as he comprehended her meaning. They shared another quick kiss, then she let him give her a leg up into the saddle. "I will marry you. Mayhap not in the fall in West Harbor out of my father's house, but somewhere." Sir Nevalle cleared his throat to get her attention then spurred his horse and galloped away, and she nudged Blossom with her knees and followed.

Neeshka grinned at Casavir and actually got close enough to touch his arm. "Come on then. I have a sudden desire for some new clothes and Duncan's stew. Khel and I'll get our packs while you get the horses, right Khel? Who else is coming?"