Chapter 55 Pieces of Safiya
Usual disclaimers: Most of the characters in this chapter are owned by a whole lot of people and not me, other than a bear and paladin-lovin' ranger and an occasional NPC. Also, once again I've had to use much more of the plot and dialog from MotB than I like. But that should change after this chapter;-)
The portal led to an antechamber that appeared to be built of the same brown sandstone as the Academy, as if they were connected somehow. Dee seemed only slightly aware of the attackers waiting for them once they crossed through the portal that would lead them to the Founder, nor did she bother to look behind herself to see if her companions had followed, being confident by now they were a cohesive fighting unit and knew their roles. And the sounds of battle and spellfire confirmed this. She charged ahead. Her bears were there on either side of her, their fur matted with blood, until they spotted another enemy and raced to get there first. Dee relentlessly slaughtered any Myrkulite who got in her way like an automaton, relying on muscle memory to guide her swords as her mind was focused on finding the Founder.
Besides priests, some of the Myrkulites were warlocks too. She recognized the magical signatures of their spells, which were similar to Ammon Jerro's but different from the other mages she had known. Those she dealt with first, if Okku and Cillian hadn't already targeted them. After defending Rashemen from Red Wizard invaders many times in his life, the bear god especially enjoyed shattering the bones of mages, then shredding them with his teeth and diamond-hard claws. But not all were spell casters. One man in black chain mail who had more skill than the rest locked blades with Dee, forcing them into a face to face standoff as they both strained to gain the upper hand. "Where do you go, now that I've sent your god to his eternal rest? Will Kelemvor have you, or is it the Wall for you?" she taunted.
He blinked, momentarily distracted by the question, and that careless second that was all she needed to draw up her knee and give him a vicious kick in the groin. She immediately followed through by raising her short sword to join her long sword and neatly scissored his head off then spun and looked around for more Myrkulites to kill. But they were all dead. She looked back at his corpse. "Guess you're gonna find out. May Kelemvor forgive you." She shook the blood off her swords and continued on down the hallway as the others caught up with her.
It wasn't long before their search brought them face to face with Araman, trying in vain to find a way to open a door with neither a key hole or a knob that they all instinctively knew must lead to The Founder herself. Dee snarled, "Step aside, priest of a dead god." But in the back of her mind, Dee questioned why Araman was still opposing her, and so she asked him. "Myrkul is gone. Isn't his geas on you also gone? Your quest is finished. Shouldn't you be living what's left of your life, now that at long last it's yours to live?"
The old man looked at her sternly as if she was a disobedient child as his Myrkulites spread out, trying to flank her. "I am no longer the callow youth I was when I blindly followed my brother in his crusade. I haven't spent lifetimes searching for the Red Woman only because of the geas, biding my time until she made another appearance in one form or other. No, I'm doing it because I've come to understand over time that what my brother did was wrong. I understand that now. Akachi was selfish to free her and put himself above his god, making an idol of her. And so was she, bringing you and so many before you into this in her foolish quest to free him from his just punishment. Myrkul tested my brother, and he failed, as did I when I followed him. But I lived to repent. No, I will stop her because she must be prevented from destroying any more lives."
Dee nodded in agreement. "I can respect that. No one understands that better than you and I do. But I won't let you kill her. She has the key I need to pass through the Betrayer's Gate so I can free my soul, and if I have to kill you to keep you from her, I will."
He frowned at her, and wagged his bony finger in her face. "I will not allow you to renew my brother's misguided, selfish crusade, young woman." He raised an arm, his fingers beginning weaving of a spell. He was both a priest and a mage, which made him doubly dangerous.
"Trust me, I have no intention of doing that, old man." She brought up her long sword to attack before he could complete the spell.
But a black bolt of eldritch energy flew overhead and slammed into him first, knocking him off his feet. She could hear Safiya softly chanting another spell, and she felt herself warm as the energy from it enveloped her, building a protective layer over her skin. Gann's arrows whizzed by as he, Okku and Cillian dealt with the rest. Araman and his priests were dead in mere heartbeats, in less time than it took for Dee's companions to walk across the room to join her.
She shook her head sadly looking down at the old man's body as Safiya handed her a healing potion for injuries she was just now beginning to feel now that the adrenaline was wearing off. "Should have stepped aside, old man. If your cause was truly just, I could have worked with you." She knelt and closed his eyes and prayed softly, "Kelemvor accept you into his presence and give you the peace that has eluded you for so long."
They paused then outside the door and took stock of their injuries, their remaining potions, and their remaining spells. Safiya frowned worriedly. "We cannot face another battle like this one. Perhaps we should find some place to rest, if the Hunger isn't too strong?"
Gann returned from retrieving what arrows he could find that were still usable. "It all depends on how much opposition we still face. However, it appears that Araman's followers are all dead. We could find somewhere to rest, if you feel up to it."
Dee hauled herself to her feet and ambled over to the door, where Kaji had been looking in vain for some kind of mechanism that would open it. She looked back at her companions to assess their condition. Gann had bound the rest of his wounds, Safiya sat against a wall, her tawny face ashen from exhaustion, and Cillian was licking at one of many wounds. Despite the healing potion Safiya had given her, she still hurt everywhere. Only Ammon Jerro, his tattoos glowing with an unholy fire, and Okku appeared to be relatively unscathed by the fight. But Dee had to agree that they badly needed rest. "We've come this far, but mayhap you're right."
However, as soon as she spoke, the door creaked ominously and opened inwards, as if they were being invited in. They all instinctively jumped right or left out of the line of fire. After a breathless few minutes during which no one and nothing came out, she motioned the others over. "Looks like she's waiting for us too."
"I would say that rest is no longer an option." Gann said grimly and nocked two arrows.
"Must you always state the obvious?" Okku grumbled, being tired and more cross than usual.
"Indeed. He's almost as annoying as that gnome back at Crossroad Keep," Ammon Jerro grumbled in agreement with Okku.
Safiya sent Kaji to scout ahead, and the creature flew back a few minutes later to report that apart from some inactive golems, only Safiya's mother was inside. Safiya was incredulous. "My mother is here? Are you sure, Kaji? How can that be?"
"You haven't figured that out?" Dee walked in without another word, provoking a curse and grumbling about her lack of caution from Ammon Jerro. Candles flared to life as she stepped over the threshold, her swords ready. However, there was no one in the room but a dessicated bald woman in red silk robes.
"You're certainly not my mother. Who are you!" Safiya demanded, though her gut told her the answer.
Dee drew closer to the crone. "The Founder, also known as the Red Woman, I presume?" She quickly glanced around the room and sized up the opposition. The only other things in the room besides comfortable chairs, a writing table, shelves and shelves of books and scrolls, and papers scattered about other tables were several stone golems lined up around the perimeter. They were inactive, but everyone was on guard, knowing they could be awakened with a word.
The crone clasped her hands under her chin and smiled sweetly at her. "Dearest! Here you are, at last! Come in! You must be tired and hungry. I've prepared some refreshments." She beamed at her and swept her hand at a table laden with clay goblets and a bowl of fresh fruits along with a basket of flatbread. The old woman toddled over and tried to touch Dee's cheek, chuckling lightly. "Ah, my dearest. It's so good to see you again. What a pair we are this time. I must be hideous to your eyes, and you wear the skin of a lady."
Dee recoiled from her touch as if it was venomous and brushed her hand away brusquely. She growled, "Are you insane? Give me one reason not to kill you right now! And for your information, my name is Dierdre Farlong, I'm a person, not a 'skin', and I'm not your Akachi!"
Her face fell, revealing a millennium of pain and sorrow. "Oh, I know he's gone, and that only a pale husk of my love remains. I am not blind to this. But hear me out. What I did was done for Love, a power greater than any other, even the gods themselves!"
Safiya, inched closer as she stared at the woman in wonder. "Safi?" Dee intercepted her with a hand on her shoulder, fearing she was in a trance, then turned her attention back to the old woman. "Love? What the hells are you talking about?"
"I have so many questions for her!" Safiya turned to face her and put a hand on Dee's chest right below her left shoulder and gazed at her with an entreating look.
Dee sheathed her swords then absently caressed her cheek with her thumb and gave her a brief embrace, their bickering earlier now forgotten. "Alright, Safi, I will hear her out for your sake."
A single tear rolled down the crone's cheek, having recognized gestures that she and Akachi had traded many times before. But as she had hoped, Akachi's influence over his host was very strong here. "I will answer all of your questions, dearest."
"Very well. Start talking, woman. And start by explaining Safiya's part in this to her satisfaction. I want all her questions answered." So Dee sat at the table putting her feet up as if she owned the place and poured herself a goblet of of dark, tangy pomegranate juice and handed one to Safiya.
Gann raised an eyebrow, noting how many of Dee's movements and expressions were subtly different here. He whispered his concerns to Okku then kept his eyes fixed on her though he wasn't certain what he could do on this plane to break Akachi's influence.
The Founder took another chair next to Dee, and Safiya sat next to her. Okku and Cillian chuffed at one another in bearspeak and spread out and covered the doors while Ammon stayed discretely back in spell range. They listened as Safiya asked her questions and The Founder explained to Safiya what she was, which was the reason for the voices that had plagued her since she was a child.
It was as Dee had suspected ever since she saw the main focus of research at the Academy. Myrkul's geas had also kept the Founder alive, but she had to hide from his loyal hounds like Araman in this secret sanctuary, which left her little time or energy to track the latest victim of the curse. Since she had been one of the pioneers in the study of splitting off facets of the soul before her death, she had created simulacrums of herself over the past millennium as they were needed. She split off then fused a part of her own soul to each. To Dee, this explained Safiya's fascination with creating homoculi. By doing this the Red Woman could remain in hiding while the fragments of herself, which she told them she thought of as her daughters, carried out most of the actual work of finding the latest spirit eater and trying to find a way to end the curse. As they died, or were killed by Araman or other Myrkulites, the fragment of her soul returned to her until she needed to split them off again.
Gann interrupted, sounding an outraged warning. "What you do not only dangerous but foolish, mage. The fragments may have returned, but the soul is fragmented and must be healed or the person will never be whole. You are like...like...a broken mirror, nearly impossible to make whole again."
She scowled at Gann's interruption. "I have had many years to perfect my study, spirit shaman. Scold me when you have lived half as long as I have."
"What part of you am I then?" Safiya leaned forward in her chair, looking fascinated by the concept but appalled at the same time.
The Founder smiled affectionately and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You are what is best of me, Safiya, as if I was saving the best for the last. You have some of my intellect, but also most of my passion. Anything that was good, or kind, or loving in me was placed in you. And when your friend frees Akachi from the curse, I can die, and what remains of me will find you, and you will be whole."
Gann muttered, "No she won't, not without quite a bit of soul healing."
The Founder ignored him as she stood stiffly and took a long, narrow box off a table in the back of the room then brought it before Dee. "And for you, I give you the Sword of Gith, which I have restored. Use it to open the portal in the death god's vault then go to the Gray City and free your soul from the Wall, and then free Akachi from this curse." She opened the box with a flourish.
Dee gasped despite her resentment and anger as she beheld the familiar shape, but missing the glowing lines of the fractures. It was whole. She couldn't stop herself from drawing it from the box then turning the gleaming blade in the light, where she looked at it in awe. "'Tis perfect." She ran her hand along the blade then stood and gave it a tentative swing. It was a fine blade to be sure, perfectly balanced, and she could feel the hum of the enchantments, though it felt different now. Ammon Jerro was overcome by curiosity and gave up his vigil by the door to examine the sword he too had once borne. But something was missing that Dee couldn't put her finger on. She lay it back down with a frown and turned back to the Founder.
"Now if you're finished, 'tis my turn. I thank you for returning the sword you took from me, though I could have done without this hideous scar on my chest from your...homoculi's careless surgery. Butchery is more like it. If not for my ring, I doubt I would have survived."
The Founder was only slightly defensive, and seemed even dismissive to Dee, as if what she had put her through had been insignificant. "Yes, but we knew you wore a ring of regeneration. Lienna and Nefris had many healing potions and would not have allowed you to die, but time was of the essence, and we couldn't trust the task of retrieving the shard to anyone else more...skilled in surgery on a living being. That was the reason for their haste and their butchery, as you call it."
"You couldn't have just asked me to help you?" But in her heart she knew the answer to that. Who in her right mind would agree to become the host for the curse and give up her life and her love...especially that. "And what if I can't end the curse? You've hurt not only me, but my love too. Or does Love only matter when it's about you?" Dee nodded at the warlock. "And what about Ammon? His only crime was trying to rescue me. What you did to him was despicable." The warlock, standing with his arms crossed, grunted in agreement.
The crone turned to acknowledge him. "We did what we had to do when you followed her through that portal. I recognized you from many years ago when you studied at the Academy, and I knew how skilled you must have become in the years since then. You were researching the Sword of Gith, and that made me remember you out of the countless students and scholars that have studied with us over the years. You might have been selected instead of her if you still bore the sword. We are not monsters, despite what you think. I couldn't take a chance that you would let me explain before you attacked to free your companion. And furthermore, you were never meant to languish in the soulless ward. We fully intended to restore you as soon as she arrived in Mulsantir so you could help her, but Araman moved against us first. Nefris expected his attack, but somehow he found out about Lienna and went to Mulsantir to kill her too."
Ammon muttered as he glowered at her, "I was not expecting an apology, not that you offered one. I might have done the same thing myself if I found myself in a similar circumstance, but I wouldn't have. But enough about me. I believe from her expression Captain Farlong has more to say to you."
"Yeah, I'm not finished with you by far. You say you did this all for love? I'm happy for you. But what about me and my husband? We weren't even married a tenday when you took me from him! Did you spare us a heartbeat's thought as you stole me away? And now he has no idea where I am or if he'll ever see me again. And he still might not, or even have a corpse to bury. You took that from us!" Her voice grew more strident, and a sob escaped her before she continued. "What about our child that this curse stole from me? Would it have made any difference in your plans if you had known? I doubt it! Did you think for one moment about the effect of your actions on me and my love, or did you only think about yourself!" She wiped away a cascade of angry tears, which was the only thing that kept her from drawing her swords and sending her immediately to face Kelemvor.
Safiya quickly moved to stand between them, torn between helping this foreign woman with whom she had formed a deep bond in a short few months, and The Founder, who she knew was part of herself. She put her hand on Dee's arm. "Please, Dee."
However, the crone was unmoved, and even defiant. "Lienna had found the last spirit eater, but he was too far gone by then. She helped him cast the glyphs in the barrow that would contain the curse to buy us time until we found the sword, and then found someone who could wield it. And we found you. Did we abduct you from that ruin and save you from death? Yes. Did I order you to be placed in that barrow as a host for Akachi? Yes, I did. We waited until after you had defeated the Shadow King. I am not a fool. Have I done evil for Akachi's sake? Guilty. Would I do it again if you fail? Yes, without hesitation. Strike me down if you feel you must satisfy your need for vengeance. But whether you do or not, take the sword and free the both of you. May you succeed where those who came before you have failed." She stood with her arms out, and closed her eyes, waiting for the death blow.
Dee shrugged Safiya's hand off her shoulder and snatched the sword from the table. Cillian growled and immediately ran to join her. Safiya screamed "No!" as Dee glared at The Founder and with a lightning-fast flick of her wrist swung the sword less than an inch from her throat. She held the blade there for several heartbeats then sighed and lowered the sword. "I will not let you make me like you! You deserve to die...but I don't kill old women. Besides, it wouldn't be right, because you were as much a tool as I am."
Safiya was crying softly as put her arms around Dee, whispering "Thank you." She nearly collapsed, leaning heavily on Dee.
Dee put an arm around her and helped her into her chair and sat beside her as their companions relaxed, though they still kept wary eyes on the golems and the Founder. Dee absently kissed the back of Safiya's hand, another gesture that was painfully familiar to The Founder, then lay the sword back down and put her other hand out to stroke Cillian's head, which always grounded her. "Don't thank me, Safi. You were there. You know what Myrkul did to Akachi to ensure his survival."
The Founder opened her eyes, surprised that she was still alive, and she also crumpled weakly into her chair like a puppet with its strings cut. But she soon sat up, composed herself and calmly took a drink before she spoke. "I'm a tool? What do you mean?"
Dee turned away from comforting Safiya, who was still crying softy, and paused for a drink too before she explained. "Do you remember the day you died?"
The crone leaned back in her chair and thought about it. "It was so very long ago...I remember I was in my laboratory attempting a difficult enchantment. It was difficult, but nothing I hadn't done before. Perhaps that made me complacent...I took my mind off what I was doing for only a moment, but with disastrous results...I remember a flash and searing pain. The next thing I remembered was Akachi using his power to restore me to life. But Myrkul was angry with him and decreed that he would take my place in the Wall of the Faithless, and then he cast him out to wander the land once it had consumed him."
Dee shook her head. "Trust me, you didn't escape the Wall without Myrkul's full knowledge and consent. He set the whole thing up. But if it hadn't been Akachi, it would have been his next high priest. Mayhap he saw the love for you in his priest's heart and was jealous, but in that case he could have just removed his favor from him or even struck him down. Instead he had him promoted to high priest. Hells, he even gave him everything he would need for his rebellion, including the sword, which conveniently was also the key that would allow his favored priest to open the portal to the Gray City. Your momentary distraction that ended your life? I see Myrkul's hand in that too. But as I said, if he had underestimated Akachi's loyalty to him and your lover had left you to oblivion in the wall, Myrkul would have just sought another tool amongst his priests. He needed someone to be cast alive into the Wall to be possessed and consumed, but bearing within the curse a fraction of Myrkul's life force that could conveniently be passed along to the next victim once it consumed the last. It would be there in the event of his death. Akachi was his contingency plan."
The Founder considered this and after a few minutes' thought answered. "Fascinating. You're right, I recall it was as if a shadow passed over my mind at the crucial moment during the casting. Unfortunately, he knew my beloved's heart far too well."
Dee stroked Cillian's rough fur absently. "Yes, it appears he did, and his plot to ensure his existence has led to misery for me and all those who were cursed before me. But I don't think he ever dreamed that his latest victim would figure out how to use his own power against him. I hardly believe it myself."
Dee stood and switched the Sword of Gith with her long sword, which she placed in the box and stowed away in her magic bag. "It's time to go. Even though I put Myrkul to rest, his curse still exists in me. And so it ends with me. Mayhap Myrkul could even come back given time, though only a shadow of his power remains. I won't take a chance on that happening. If I can't beat this curse, I'm resolved to beg Kelemvor to allow me to stay in the Gray City and contain it there, even if it means never seeing my love again. Either way, your part in this is finished, old woman." She turned on her heel and strode out the door without another word to her or her companions then through the structure to the portal to Mulsantir.
There was no question that they had to rest before they could even think of going on, though Dee was anxious to get it over with. They rested where they could on the shadow side of the theater, not wanting to alert anyone in Mulsantir that they had returned. Everyone had injuries that hadn't been healed, and more importantly, the spell casters needed to replenish their spells. The Hunger had increased, but it was still manageable. The Founder gave Safiya a collection of wands, rods, and scrolls as well as a pack of assorted potions before she hustled off to catch up to Dee. But it wouldn't be enough to allow them to take on whatever lay beyond the gate. In the morning when they awoke (not that there was any indication it was morning in the gloom), they traveled through the shadow city to Myrkul's temple.
There had never really been much of a question in Dee's mind of whether she would join Kaelyn in her crusade. Nonetheless, The Dove was waiting for them in front of the portal in the death god's vault. She entreated her to reconsider, her soft black eyes and gentle voice tugging at Dee's heart. "I don't look forward to fighting you, Dee. Are you sure you won't join us? Your generals are waiting at the gate, and you know in your heart our cause is just."
"Akachi's generals," Dee corrected her. She sighed. "Are you sure I can't talk you out of this rebellion? Yeah, I hate the Wall too, but this is the wrong way to go about it. Wouldn't it be better for you priests to win over the people so they don't end up there? I have a hard time believing Illmater approves of your plan. And I don't look forward to meeting you on the battlefield either." It occurred to Dee that she could refuse to let Kaelyn enter the portal, but she knew she couldn't stop her from following once the way was open. If they were to become enemies, she would rather have her out front where she could see her than coming up behind her.
Dee turned to her other companions and gave them the same speech she had given her companions at the Keep two months earlier. "What about the rest of you? Are you sure you want to do this? I wouldn't think any less of any of you if you left now."
Okku chuffed at her. "I will see you and my little brother through this last battle and end this evil forever, little one."
Gann scoffed. "What, shall I leave the theater before the final act? Never! I admit escaping certain doom is appealing, but I am very interested to see how this dream of yours ends."
Ammon snorted. "We're wasting time. Let's go."
Safiya smiled sweetly as she took Dee's hand and gazed into her eyes, her own eyes shining. "I will stay by your side. I've come to care for you deeply in the past few months, and I will see this through whatever happens."
Dee recognized that look. She had a moment of clarity, having seen it in Cas's eyes often enough, and it informed her that The Founder's feelings were influencing Safiya's mind as much as Akachi's had tried to overwhelm hers. At least she hoped that was what it was. "Safi, think about it for a moment. Is it for me you're doing this, or are you The Founder responding to Akachi inside me?"
Safiya blinked, taken aback, and dropped her hand. "I...I...I think...I don't...What a fool I've been! Of course that's what this is." But she smiled tightly after a minute, and responded with determination. "Perhaps it's true, but I feel I must see this out for The Founder if nothing else. And besides, I have grown fond of you, my friend, and that's Safiya talking to Dee."
Dee gave her a hug. "Thank you. Now let's see if this key really works." She offered a brief prayer to Meilikki, Tyr, and finally to Kelemvor then gingerly guided the sword into the narrow slot in the door. Immediately they were rewarded with a flash of blinding light followed by the telltale shimmer of a portal. She and Cillian stepped through, followed closely by the others.
Kaelyn was right. Akachi's general Zoab, another celestial, approached Kaelyn as soon as they neared the Supplicant's Gate. She introduced him, and after he explained the plans of the other two generals, Dee shook her head, being reminded of Rhetta's frequent admonition that two wrongs don't make a right. Of the three it seemed only Zoab had joined the Crusade to stop the injustice of the Wall, and not for personal gain like the other generals. But in Dee's mind even if they all had only the best of intentions, their crusade was still rebellion against all the gods, not just Kelemvor.
Dee took Kaelyn aside and argued with her one last time about the wrongness of this crusade and the foolishness of trusting Akachi's generals, particularly the lich and the dragon, who she thought were as likely to betray them once it was all finished as not. But Kaelyn would not be moved, not even when Dee pointed out the evil balors and their hezrou minions gathering outside the gate, who would serve as their shock troops. She was reminded too of one of Daeghun's admonitions during her childhood, which she repeated to her then, "The ends never justify the means if you must resort to doing wrong to achieve them." So they grimly parted company and joined the opposing forces.
Besides a number of paladins, divine champions, priests, and knights of Kelemvor, Araman joined them to defend the city. He had been accepted by Kelemvor into His service as soon as he walked through the Supplicant's Gate, and he took his place as a defender. In the ensuing battle at Eternity's End, Dee was grateful it was he who dealt the death blow to the Dove, while Okku and Cillian killed her siblings.
They fought through the city until they reached the Temple of Kelemvor at Eternity's End where they defeated the last of the generals, the arch lich Rammaq. With this latest Crusade put down, the Scrivner in the temple was happy to help Dee examine the Codex of the Doomed to find the exact place where her soul was imprisoned in the Wall. After what seemed like an hour, he came out of the stacks of scrolls with a map showing her where she needed to go. He warned her that the Wall had been designed to hold its prisoners and she would have to fight to get it free, however.
She muttered to Cillian, "The least Kelemvor could have done was to give us a hand," as they stormed out the door and back into the city. Where was he? They had successfully defended his city. But she willed herself not to let rancor distract her now that she was so close. The vast Wall seemed to go on for miles, but knowing where to look, she wasted no time in finding the place and attacking the Wall using Gith's sword to free her soul. But as she had been warned, the Wall refused to give it up without a fight, attacking them with bolts of energy that left them all bloodied and bruised.
Then finally there it was, lying prone on the ground, a silvery shadow of herself. It seemed like such a small thing, and she feared the fight to free it had damaged it. She murmured, "That's all there is to it? What does that say about me?" as she gently picked it up and held it to herself.
Gann replied, "They are small, but this is the real you, not this lanky shell that holds you. Now hold still." He put his hands on her head and chanted a guttural phrase that would help with reintegrating it within herself.
Before he even finished, she felt an electric shock that started in her head then made her fingers and toes tingle as it slid inside her, but she had no time to savor the feeling of being whole again. There was another blinding flash, and when her vision cleared, she found herself back at Crossroad Keep, or rather some sort of dream version of the Keep. Akachi would not be displaced so easily, it seemed, and the hardest battle by far would take place in her own mind. And she wasn't surprised to see that Gann was there with her and Cillian, brought into the dream.
Gann pointed out the first of Akachi's fragments, fighting Neeshka. "Quickly, we must help your alluring friend."
"Why is he doing this?"
She wasn't really expecting an answer as they sped to Neeshka, but Gann answered anyway. "It's hard to believe, but to him, you're the invader in his body. He's trying to force these foreign memories out."
They rescued Neeshka and were joined by Sand and Casavir as Akachi's fragments attacked anyone she had ever known. She wondered for a second if it was possible to protect them by not thinking about them, though trying made her think about them all the more. And once it seemed they had defeated him there, he retaliated by digging further into her memories of West Harbor, trying to destroy those as well.
"Where are we now?" Gann asked, as he fired an arrow at one of Akachi's fragments who had just killed Lewy Jons again.
"This is West Harbor, where I grew up." They charged that fragment, then found another fighting Georg and Brother Merring, which they quickly put down.
They strode through the village, looking for others, Cillian taking point and Gann at Dee's side. "I'm almost feel sorry for him. I can sense his confusion. I might even have shared my body with his soul if it was possible as long as I'm in charge, but there's no way of getting through to him."
Gann replied, "There's not much left of him left to communicate with. That old woman was right. He's just a husk, a shadow of his former self. He's working on a very basic, almost animal level trying to survive. That makes him all the more dangerous."
Akachi seemed to be defeated, as they walked around the village past the sleepy river, Gann pointed out another bright portal in the barley field. "He's gone through there." He cast healing spells on the three of them before they entered the portal, which led to a barren plane.
"Are we back on the Fugue Plane?" She didn't know, nor did she have time to care as he attacked, and she just caught Gann's shouted reply that this place was the very core of her soul. It was as if the earlier fights had only been practice; he fought like a demon this time, determined to thrust her out.
This time, however, she had as a weapon his own memories and those of his love and his brother, which The Red Woman had crafted into a dream mask, to force him to remember who he was and what had happened to him. It seemed that every time they defeated one of his manifestations, he regrouped and came back stronger. Cillian was struck down, and then Gann sunk to the ground after casting a final lightning spell, and Dee's legs were turning to jelly. The Sword of Gith, while whole, didn't follow her will as it had when it was broken, and she had had no time to figure out the new enchantments. Though her mouth was parched, she uttered a prayer to all the gods for the strength to raise her sword one more time, then swung it in a wide arc. Her sword sliced open the belly of the last image of Akachi, and he crumpled to the ground in a smoldering heap then dissolved into nothingness. She crumpled after he did, next to the still form of Cillian.
After another blinding flash, they were back beside the Wall of the Faithless. Dee looked around in disbelief then looked to make sure Cillian and Gann were with her. They were both struggling to their feet. "Have we done it?" A heartbeat later she became aware of the silence inside herself, for the first time in months as the Hunger was gone. It was eerie; she had never known this quiet before.
But there was no time to think more on that. She was swept up in the arms of her jubilant companions. It was truly over! Somehow Okku managed to rise up on his hind legs and give her a bearhug too. He chuffed, "You and the spirit shaman did it. I felt the instant the Hunger fled back into the Wall."
Even Ammon Jerro gave her an uncharacteristic hug once Okku moved aside then broke away, muttering, "Remember. Keep a low profile..." before he turned and walked purposefully off towards another portal in the distance. He glanced at her over his shoulder one last time, then after a grin that was more like a grimace, leaped through.
Dee hugged Safiya. "You're free too. Does she know?"
Safiya closed her eyes and concentrated for a few minutes then beamed at Dee. "Oh yes, she shares our joy, though it is temped with sorrow because Akachi is truly gone now. I don't think she will cling to life much longer, though I do sense she intends to spend the rest of her time repairing the damage done at the Academy. It's a fitting end to her life."
Okku nudged her towards a portal. "Come, little one. It's time we leave this place. You must go home, and I wish to return to my rest."
She murmured the word, "Home." But then she saw a masked figure approaching them from Eternity's End, filled with majesty that flowed from him in waves, making the air around Him shimmer. He wore a mask because a mortal could not look on His divine presence and live. She whispered, "Kelemvor."