Despair

by JCL1371

After killing Sarevok and defeating the Iron Throne things had to settle down. Imoen got married, and she and Jeral both looked forward to well deserved peace and happiness. Apparently Irenicus had other ideas. Set in the Baldur's Gate II game this is a follow on to 'Disappointment' and tells the story of Jeral the bard and his companions.

19. Into the Pit of Souls

Chapter 19: Into the Pit of Souls

The gaunt man turned to look at Viconia, his face remained utterly devoid of any life or emotion and his voice rang out monotonic and lifeless. "Very well, it is clear that you expect an in-depth response. Where shall I begin? We are all that remains of a once widespread religion lost in the wisps of time. We are destined to remain her until the end of days since our God no longer exists and we cannot enter the promised afterlife. We are fated to exist in this cavern for all time. Therefore you can understand my lack of enthusiasm for your arrival. Anything else you would like to know?"

"Pardon her lack of manners, she is a creature of darkness, you can expect nothing else." Keldorn pointed to the temple. "We have need of a relic that resides within, may we enter your temple?"

The man merely stared at the temple and then turned to look at Keldorn. "That is no temple. Once it was a home of our God, now it is an empty shell of its former self, as are we all. Enter, do not enter, it makes no difference to us."

Keldorn nodded respectfully and led the way into the temple. Stunned by the man's apathy Viconia could only shake her head in disgust as she passed the man, closely followed by Jeral. The interior of the temple was large and brightly lit by magical braziers that still burned around the walls of the temple even after the passage of so much time. As the party fanned out around the main chamber a bright red light appeared in the middle of the floor. The seven watched in horror as a large horned demon started crawling through the floor of the temple. It slowly pulled itself upright. It was over ten feet tall and stared at the party with an intense stare. The oddest thing about the creature was that the body was slightly translucent.

The demon screamed, "Feed the hate!" and raised its claws in a threatening manner. The voice echoed throughout the cavern and made the hair on Jeral's neck stand up on end. Transfixed with fear the party members readied for the demon's attack. The demon did not attack and instead screamed "Feed the hate!" again. The party still remained tensed and ready for an attack. The demon screamed again and gnashed his fangs but did not move to attack. Jeral lowered his blades and stared at the demon. Slowly he walked towards it.

"Jeral, have a care, that beast can slice you in half with those claws."

"Thank you for the words of warning Anomen but I know what I am doing." I think. Jeral slowly sheathed his swords and approached the demon. Standing squarely in front of the creature Jeral smiled and looked up at the beast.

"Let me guess, you can't attack us unless we attack you." The creature snarled and howled but made no move to strike. Jeral started to mutter quietly to himself. Channeling a bit of his essence he reached out and placed his hands in the shadowy mass of the demon. A rush of warmth left his hands as a minor healing spell coursed through the demon. The beast screamed in pain and slowly dissolved back into the floor.

Wiping his hands together Jeral smiled at the others and shrugged his shoulders.

"Sometimes I guess right."

"You are wise beyond your years Jeral of Candlekeep. I owe you and your friends a debt of gratitude."

Jeral whirled about and stumbled to the floor, startled by the deep imposing voice. A tall man clad in robes of a deep rich gold stood before the group. Smiling he glided over to stand in front of the group. "I am the avatar of this temple. You have defeated the guardian that torments me, and for that I am grateful. Sadly, he will return shortly so I must be brief. I know why you are here. Take this half of the rod and defeat the creature. Use the relic for some good and then return it to me. Only an act such as that can give my people what they so sorely lack."

"And what is that?" Keldorn asked.

"Why hope and faith, my good paladin; for those are the cornerstone of any theology. My followers need hope and faith if they ever wish to be free and enter the afterlife. I can say no more. Go and defeat the eyeless one and return to me." Without another word the avatar faded from view.

As Jeral and the others exited the temple the mass of people looked on dispassionately.

The gaunt man stepped forward again and spoke, "You see. There is nothing there anymore. These outsiders took the holy relic without any challenge at all. We are truly lost for all time."

Anomen stopped and surveyed the crowd slowly. "Know this good people," he said in a loud firm voice, "your God has given us the relic to fight a great evil. There is still goodness and power residing within."

The man ripped tufts of hair from his head as he screamed at Anomen. "Our God has forsaken us! Why should we believe you?"

Anomen smiled reassuringly as he turned to walk away. "When we return victorious you will have your sign." The crowd parted and stirred uneasily as the seven departed. Jeral quickly

led the others from the temple and back up to the upper level crypt. As the reentered the tomb Sasser lurched to his feet and staggered towards the group.

"You have the device! Well done, very well done. What will you do next?"

"Viconia, Yoshimo and I will present the device to Gall as requested and then we will infiltrate his cult and figure out a plan from there."

Sasser sucked in a deep breath and waved his hands about from side to side.

"You cannot do that. If Gaal gets the rod then all is lost."

"What are you not telling us Sasser?"

The blind ex cultist dropped down on his haunches and buried his head in his hands. "I was once as you are, young, full of hope and looking to make my mark on the realm. Gaal filled my head with visions of wonder and power and the unseeing eye game me powers beyond measure. I was sent on a mission with a few others to an abandoned temple far from here in the Umar Hills. There we recovered the other half of the rod you now hold in your hands. I presented it to Gaal and he immediately tried to destroy it. Nothing he did could so much as mark the relic, the powers within it were stronger that his. Enraged he threw it into the pit of souls to ensure no one could ever use it against the unseeing eye."

"So you have already said Gaal cannot destroy the rod so what is the concern?"

"He is smarter now, if he gets that rod he will send it far away and ensure the two pieces never meet; for assembled the rod can defeat the unseeing eye."

"Bah!" Keldorn scoffed, "armored with our faith we shall triumph, nothing else is necessary."

Sasser turned to stare at Keldorn, his eyeless sockets seemed to look right through the paladin. After a moment Sasser smiled, showing a mouthful of broken and decaying teeth. "You sound like a Tormite. Unfortunately, your faith is insufficient to carry you to victory here. We are deep underground, far from the sight of your surface deities. You need to assemble the rod and use it to strike down the creature. If you can destroy the unseeing eye then the cult will crumble."

Keldorn nodded gravely and bowed to the elderly man, "Rest assured that I will do as you say and destroy the beast."

Sasser chuckled and licked his cracked and bleeding lips. "You cannot wield the device and survive. Only that one can." He raised a withered arm and pointed it directly at Jeral. Keldorn stiffened and looked from Jeral to Sasser, "Why him?"

"The power in the relic is the remains of a long dead God. It is too much for a mere mortal. Only the child of Bhaal has any chance of survival."

Jeral stiffened as his hand dropped to the pommel of the Blade of Roses, "How can you possibly know that about me Sasser?"

"Peace child, I am no threat to you. I am indeed long blind Jeral but I have learned to see. I was one of the very first to join the cult long ago. I was a young priest of Helm and was frustrated by the tenants of the faith. The unseeing eye promised me power without limitations, without rules. To lose my eyes to gain true vision was a sacrifice I was willing to pay."

"But this so call god stripped you of your powers. So you are now doubly blind."

"That is true, but in my time here I have learned many things, I have finally gained the wisdom I desperately sought. I can sense things about people that others cannot. Somehow I can now see into a man's soul, I can see his very essence. Perhaps Helm has heard my prayers of repentance and granted me this gift, I know not."

"So what do you see when you look at us?" Jeral asked quietly.

Sasser ran his eyeless gaze over each member of the party in turn and then returned his gaze to Jeral. "This is a very powerful group you have assembled, each has a strong essence. But two stand out more than the others. The woman there," he said pointing directly at Viconia. "her essence is more than human, it burns more brightly, although the light and the darkness are in conflict with one another. She is struggling within herself to settle on a new path and leave the darkness behind."

Viconia snorted dismissively but moved to ensure that Minsc stood between her and the blind priest. Sasser returned his unsettling gaze to Jeral as he continued, "You, your essence is unique. There is darkness within you and it is incredibly powerful. It pulses as if it is alive and it is struggling, fighting, to come out. "Jeral shuddered at the man's words. "But there is light within you and it is bright, incredibly bright, almost impossibly bright. It may be enough to hold back the darkness. I cannot say. But what I can say is that you need to find the other half of the rod, assemble it and use it to strike down the unseeing eye."

Jeral nodded grimly and looked around at the group. "Very well, how can we get into the cultist's lair undetected and how do we enter this pit of souls?"

"Wait until the hour just before dawn. That is when most of the cultists will be in their chambers deep in prayer. The entrance should be lightly guarded. Kill the guards quietly and enter the lair. Take the walkway to the left once you enter and you will find a small set of stairs heading down. Take those and they will lead you to the pit of souls. Know that all sorts of foul creatures live there, I have heard of the undead, gauths, beholders and the mighty unseeing eye himself. The way will not be easy and be ready, for the instant you assemble the rod the unseeing eye will sense its presence and move to destroy you all."

There was nothing more to be said so the group settled down to rest. At the appointed hour Sasser rose and simply stated, "it is time. May Helm guide you and protect you." Wordlessly Jeral rose and led the way out of the chamber followed by the others. Sasser stood quietly as they filed past. When Yoshimo passed by Sasser's arm shot out and clenched his forearm in an iron grip. "There is dark magic inside you, it has wrapped itself around you very soul. If you do not remove it soon it may consume you."

Yoshimo gritted his teeth and drew his katana and few inches out of the scabbard. "Unhand me or die you old fool," he hissed. Sasser released his grip and shook his head. "There are ways to escape the darkness my child; you just need to ask for help. There are always those who will listen" Yoshimo spit at Sasser's feet and strode away. As he rounded the corner Sasser's sensitive ears could hear him muttering sadly to himself, "You are wrong old man, it is far too late for me. There is no escape."

The party made their way back to the entrance to the complex. Sasser was correct and only a pair of chain mail clad guards stood watch. The men stood unmoving, their backs to the heavy wooden double doors, as they held their halberds in mailed hands. Like Gaal both men had hollow empty sockets where their eyes should be.

"We need to kill the fools quietly Jeral, else our extremely dangerous plan becomes suicidal."

Jeral nodded slightly to Viconia as he stared at the guards across the chamber. Yoshimo patted Jeral on the shoulder and whispered, "Allow me Jeral." He quickly unsheathed his katana, took a sip of a potion, and disappeared from sight. The group waited at the far side of the chamber as they watched the guards for any sign of Yoshimo. Suddenly the left hand guard slashed downward with his halberd and Yoshimo uttered a muffled cry. Something about the attack dispelled his invisibility and the group watched in horror as the heavy axe head of the halberd cut deeply into his shoulder, tearing through armor, flesh and bone. The party watched him driven to the floor as a torrent of blood poured from the massive wound. The guard raised his halberd to deliver the killing blow and crowed with pride, "The unseeing eye grants us vision greater than that of any poor fool with two eyes. We see everything!" The second guard raised his halberd and the men gently tapped their weapons together in some version of a celebratory toast before finishing Yoshimo off.

The delay would save Yoshimo's life and cost the guards theirs. A hand axe came whirling end over end out of the darkness and caught the left hand guard in the center of the chest. The axe head buried deeply in his chest and hurled him against the wooden double doors. His lifeless body bounced off the doors and dropped to the floor where he lay unmoving in an ever expanding pool of blood. The second guard stood transfixed as he quickly moved his head between the corpse on the floor, Yoshimo, and the darkness at the far side of the chamber. A second hand axe whirled end over end out of the darkness heading for the second guard. Unlike the first hand axe this one glowed with an odd pinkish hue. The guard tilted his head to the side as he if was perplexed by the axe hurling towards him. At the last instant the guard allowed his legs to collapse and he dropped, looking to evade the axe. As he dropped the axe head missed his torso and instead tore into his face. The force behind the weapon caused the guard's head to explode like an overripe melon as the axe head continued on to bury itself in the door.

Minsc strode forward out of the darkness chuckling, "That was a good one Boo. The guards can see everything but they did not see that coming." Jeral watched in amazement as the pair of hand axes flew through the air and returned to Minsc as if on invisible strings. Anomen and Viconia quickly passed Minsc and the pair of healers squatted down on each side of Yoshimo to examine the badly wounded bounty hunter. After a cursory examination Viconia stood up and placed her hands on her hips while Anomen uttered a prayer and healed the worst of his wounds. "He cannot accompany us. He will live but it will be days until he can properly use his arm again. We must enter now before the dead guards are discovered."

Anomen rose to his feet and wiped his bloody hands on his tunic. "I fear that Viconia is correct Jeral, he is out of danger but he cannot fight or use the arm. We should leave him with Sasser. He has sufficient potions to allow himself to mend well enough until we can properly fix his shoulder." Yoshimo was pale from the loss of blood, embarrassed from his unexpected discovery, and in pain as he lay at Anomen's feet.

Jeral nodded grimly and was very unhappy to have lost his scout before they even entered the lair. Anomen and Keldorn helped Yoshimo back to the crypt that was Sasser's home. While the others waited Jeral turned to Minsc and asked, "Minsc, where did you get that second axe and why is it pink?" Smiling Minsc looked down at the axe and then over at Jeral. "After I helped Hendak build the stables he gave it to me as a gift. He said that it is very powerful and is designed to defeat the undead. He said that is was known as 'Azuredge' and he was sure I could put it to good use. Just like my other axe it returns after I throw it so it is a very good thing to have. And Boo says it is not pink, it is light red." Before Jeral could inquire further Anomen strode up to Jeral and handed him a small pouch full of potions. "Yoshimo asked me to give these potions to you. They will allow you to move unseen an act as the scout in his stead." Jeral gratefully took the pouch and tucked it into the small pack he carried.

Holding his breath Jeral pushed against the right hand door and it silently swung open on well oiled hinges. They cautiously entered and found that they were standing on a stone ledge inside a large natural cavern. A wooden platform wended its way around the outside of the cavern and led to dozens of small chambers. In other places the paths led to stone stairs carved in the rocks that led to cave openings well above their heads. The entire cavern was bathed in a faint yellow light as the same glowing lichens were present here as in the lower caverns. Mercifully the walkways all appeared deserted. Jeral immediately turned to the left and followed the walkway a few hundred paces before he came to a narrow set of stone stairs that led downwards into the darkness. As Jeral peered down into the darkness he inhaled and almost gagged. The air below reeked of rot and decay.

Jeral quickly conjured a pair of dark blue mage lights and sent them off to lead the way. Nalia conjured a pair of light green mage lights and set them hovering behind the group. Everyone readied their weapons and slowly, cautiously, descended the stairs. As Jeral stepped off the last stair his foot squished into the moist soft surface that passed for the ground in this portion of the cavern. The cavern was mercifully empty and the party slowly made their way across the cavern to a narrow tunnel opposite the stairs. The tunnel was wide enough to allow three to walk abreast and tall enough where Minsc could not raise his arm to touch the ceiling. It was just as well he could not touch the ceiling for every surface of the tunnel was covered in rotting flesh. The entire tunnel seemed alive and the smell of rot and decay was overwhelming as Jeral struggled to fight the bile rising in his throat.

Anomen bent over and nosily vomited on the tunnel floor. As he straightened back up his pale face looked around in horror. "What kind of abomination is this?" Viconia strode over to the wall and tore a chunk of flesh off the wall and held it close to her face and inhaled deeply. "This is powerful magic Anomen, powerful dark magic." Anomen looked at her questioningly so she continued, "This is death magic, many who practice the art of necromancy can create a place like this to better house their undead creatures. The heat and humidity help the creatures move more quickly. This type of construct also makes the undead more powerful and extremely resistant to clerical control or turning. If this unseeing eye created this he is extremely powerful. These are known as hives in my world, it appears that this pit of souls is a very dangerous place indeed."

"Leave it to a creature of darkness to know of this foul magic." Viconia sneered at the aged paladin as she replied venomously, "Unlike you grey one, I seek out knowledge about things I do not understand. My knowledge of this does not imply approval, I am merely trying to prepare the group for they will face. Keldorn's handsome face twisted in a scowl as he snapped at Viconia, "My faith is all I need to prepare me for any challenge." Viconia gave a mocking bow and motioned Keldorn forward. "Please let the way virtuous one, I am sure we will all benefit from your leadership." Muttering under his breath, Keldorn tightened his grip in his massive blade and stalked off down the tunnel. Jeral sent his mage lights forward to lead the way and Minsc and Anomen quickly followed the paladin.

Jeral locked eyes with Viconia, "Was that really necessary?" Viconia smiled and moved to stand next to Nalia. "Of course it was not necessary, but I do so enjoy watching pathetic males get so very frustrated." The smile left her face as she started intently at Jeral, "Know that I will not make any attempt on his life. But if he attacks me I will kill him without hesitation." Shaking his head Jeral trotted off down the tunnel after the three plate clad warriors and wondered what he could do to keep Viconia from killing Keldorn.

The passage ended in a large chamber that was home to a large number of undead creatures. They creatures spotted the party and attacked in waves. A mob of zombies and a large ghoul came first. The party made quick work of the lesser undead with the trio of plate clad warriors cutting through them like a scythe through wheat. The lesser undead were followed by a pair of mummies and a trio of massive skeleton warriors. The greater undead tore into the party's ranks and the front line of Jeral, Minsc, Anomen and Keldorn was hard pressed to hold against the large and powerful creatures. The mummies seemed almost impervious to damage and soon Minsc and Keldorn were bleeding from a number of wounds and Jeral was wholly on the defense as he dodged attack after attack.

"Fire!" He shouted. "The mummies are vulnerable to fire!"

Heeding Jeral's words Nalia unleashed a barrage of flaming arrows from her enchanted short bow against the mummies. As each arrow struck home the flames slowly took hold and started to spread over the creature. Muttering about how she hated wasting her valuable potions Viconia pulled out one of her special potion bottles and hurled it on the other side of the undead creatures. The blast from the explosion drove everyone off their feet. A wall of fire rolled towards the party and totally consumed the pair of mummies before winking out. The group quickly scrambled to their feet to defend against the trio of skeleton warriors who were unaffected by the flames. The trio of massive skeletons fought with massive two handed swords and the slammed into the front rank of fighters.

Anomen took a few steps back from the combat and started chanting. He was attempting to destroy the undead creatures.

"Anomen!" Viconia cried, "cease that foolishness! It will not work here. They are too powerful!" Anomen shook his head stubbornly and continued chanting. A faint glow surrounded the Helmite and flickered briefly before it winked out. Confused and disappointed Anomen looked around distractedly. His lack of attention was costly for one of the skeletons bulled past Keldorn and attacked Anomen. His sword smashed into Anomen's armored shoulder. The blade did not pierce his enchanted plate but the force of the blow caused him to cry in pain and drove him to the ground. As he hit the ground his flail slipped from his grasp and slid away. The beast redoubled its attacks and struck at Anomen on the ground. He barely managed to pull his shield over his face and intercept the strike.

Keldorn saw Anomen in danger and made a move to assist him but he found his way blocked by the other two skeleton warriors who were giving him, Minsc and Jeral all they could handle. Minsc was ineffectually chipping away at the skeleton warriors with his pair of small axes. They looked like toys in his massive armored fists. Keldorn watched in horror as the skeleton warrior pinned Anomen's shield arm to the side with a massive bony foot. Before the creature could press its advantage Viconia stepped over the prone Helmite and smashed her hammer into the creature's left hip. The hip cracked and small bone chips fell to the floor. The skeleton swung at Viconia and she easily ducked under the sweeping blow. She struck at the hip a second time and then a third. On the third strike the hip shattered and the beast toppled to the floor. Before it could recover she threw herself on the beast and shattered its skull with two rapid hammer strikes. As the skull shattered the bones fell to the floor, inanimate once again. Nodding once at Anomen Viconia leapt to her feet and strode towards the other two skeleton warriors twirling her hammer aggressively.

"Minsc!" she bellowed impatiently. "Put away those toys. Use Licaror to shatter their bones." Nodding once Minsc dropped the small axes and drew Licaror from the baldric that hung diagonally across his back. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Keldorn the two started bashing the left hand skeleton warrior while Jeral and Viconia fought the one on the right. Working together each pair managed to defeat the skeleton warrior opposing them without too much damage.

Panting from exertion Minsc and Keldorn each dropped to a knee as blood continued to flow from a handful of small wounds. Viconia and Nalia helped Anomen to his feet and Viconia quickly healed the minor wound in his shoulder. Nodding his thanks as he worked his arm to regain feeling in it Anomen strode over to heal Keldorn while Viconia tended to Minsc. As Anomen tended to Keldorn the aged paladin whispered to the Helmite, "How can you let that foul creature touch you Squire Anomen? Who know what damage her dark magics can do?"

"This is not the time or the place Sir Keldorn," Anomen replied in a whisper. "Viconia has been a loyal ally and I trust her." Keldorn stared into the Helmite's eyes. "Then I question your judgment Squire Anomen. I am not sure you are worthy of joining the Order." Surprising himself Anomen could only smile and walk away from the paladin. As he turned he looked back and smiled, "Helm approves of my path so I walk it knowing I am in the light. If Helm approves then that should be good enough for the Order as well Sir Keldorn."

While the healers tended to the wounded fighters, Nalia and Jeral poked around the chamber looking for anything of value or of use. Dozens of corpses lay around the room in various stages of decomposition. The majority of the corpses were dressed in robes from various temples, clearly the remains of individuals who wanted to join the cult but then had fatal second thoughts. A smaller number of fresh corpses were clad in well made sets of chain or splint mail and shattered swords and battles axes lay strewn around their position. It looked as if a small squad of soldiers had met their end within the very same chamber. Jeral waded through the pile of corpses picking up gems and coins from intact coin purses on some of the corpses. After a few moments his gaze settled on a pair of gauntlets on a pair of arms that lacked a corresponding body. The gloves were made of very supple dark brown leather and small metal discs covered the back of the hand and the area around the wrist. Jeral stepped forward and carefully removed the gauntlets from the arms and stared at them for a long moment. Smiling, he softly called Nalia's name and tossed the gauntlets to her. She rolled them over in her hands and then muttered an incantation. The gloves flashed yellow for an instant and smiling, she tossed the gauntlets back to Jeral.

"Are these what I think they are Nalia?" Nodding her head in agreement she smiled at Jeral. "Yes they are heavily enchanted gauntlets and make the wearer extremely agile. I know exactly who can make the most use of these." Nalia quickly took the gauntlets out of Jeral's hands and strode over to stand next to Anomen. Smiling up at the Helmite she extended her arms and presented him the gauntlets. "Anomen, please remove your gauntlets and put these on"

"My lady? Why would I want to wear gloves such as these? I have a fine set of metal gauntlets that are a perfect match for my armor. Those look more suitable for someone else." Nalia arched an eyebrow as she smiled innocently at the heavily armored Helmite. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet? When you listen to me and do what I ask you to do very good things happen. Very, very good things." Anomen's eyes widened in realization and he blushed furiously. Nodding in understanding he removed his metal gauntlets and replaced them with the leather ones from Nalia. He flexed his fingers into the gloves and looked at Nalia, "Satisfied?" He asked.

"Extremely, my dear. But how do the gauntlets feel?" He blushed even more than before as he struggled to speak, "They feel very comfortable my lady but they are less protection than my metal gauntlets."

Nalia turned to walk away, "Keep them one Anomen, you will see how they are beneficial. I promise." Looking skeptical Anomen picked up his old gauntlets and tucked them into his pack. Jeral and Viconia crossed the chamber and entered into a small tunnel that led them deeper into the hive.

The tunnel wended on for some time and then ended at yet another fleshy chamber. In the middle of the chamber was a pulsating pool of strange fluid.

"Prepare yourselves, my fellow warriors for good;" Keldorn intoned solemnly, "we are now in the lair of the beholders. Expect the great eye, lesser beholders and more of the gauths from earlier."

"How are you so well informed grey one?"

"Speak not to me foul drow!" After a pause Keldorn continued, "However since the question is relevant I will answer. The Order sent down a small force a week ago to conduct some reconnaissance. Many of them lay in that chamber we just passed through. They managed to capture some cultists, retreated to the surface, and brought them back to the Order. We learned much upon questioning them."

"So paladins are not above torture. How refreshing, perhaps I can teach the Order's tortures some tricks." Viconia purred.

Keldorn raised his two handed sword and faced the drow. "Speak not of the Order foul creature, lest I strike you down. We had mages compel them to speak with spells, we did not harm then in any way."

Viconia hefted her war hammer and tapped it lightly against her small shield. Smiling she taunted the paladin. "It has been some time since I killed a paladin. This should be enjoyable."

She spread her arms wide with a flourish and then assumed a defensive crouch as she dared the paladin to attack. Keldorn adjusted his grip on his blade and pulled it back in preparation of a strike.

"Enough." Jeral moved between the two potential combatants and raised his hands.

"Viconia, silence. Please." An imploring look followed his statement. Jeral then turned and faced Keldorn.

"And as for you, make no mistake. If it comes to blows I will side with Viconia and not with you."

"Misc and Boo are with the pretty dark one as well."

Jeral nodded in thanks and quickly continued, "I will not try to reason with you concerning your opinions about Viconia. However we are in the lair of a common enemy and have a job to do on behalf of the Temple of Helm. When the job is done we part ways."

With a sneer Keldorn nodded slightly and lowered his sword.

With that resolved Jeral drank a potion and winked from view. "Wait here," he told the others as he left to scout ahead. The others nervously waited with weapons ready as they readied to face whatever was next.

Returning almost an hour later the party started when they heard Jeral's disembodied voice.

"My apologies for taking so long but this hive is immense and I had to move very carefully. This place is a warren of tunnels and there are beholders and gauths everywhere. I found the other half of the rod and I found a path that avoids many but not all of the creatures down here. The rod is guarded by a beholder and there is a gauth and a band of blind cultists on the way. So long as I do not attack I can stay invisible and be your eyes." The others all nodded at the wisdom of his words.

"Up ahead around the corner is a single gauth. Can anyone summon any creatures?"

"Jeral, you know we cannot create skeletons within this place," Anomen said dejectedly. "Our abilities are limited here."

The disembodied voice responded, "Nalia do you have any conjuring spells memorized?"

"Sorry Jeral, I do not, I have never really gotten the hang of conjuring spells."

"Very well, I think we need to fall back on the old standby plan known as 'charge around the corner and kill it,' Anomen, think you can put those boots of yours to use?" Anomen nodded once, adjusted the grip on his great flail, and sprinted off around the corner. The group heard the sound of an energy blast followed by the sound of Anomen's flail striking wet flesh. After the sound of a few more blows a heavy object fell to the floor of the hive. Anomen walked back into view looking completely unscathed from the ordeal.

"Squire Anomen," Keldorn formally intoned. "How did you manage to defeat that creature and emerge unscathed? Its first energy blast should have left at least some mark on you."

Anomen nodded to the aged paladin but before he could reply Jeral's disembodied voice spoke again in an awestruck tone, "He dodged it. He dodged the creature's blast."

Nalia strode forward and rose up on her tiptoes so she could give Anomen a peck on his bearded cheek, "Those are gauntlets of dexterity. You are now as agile as any man in the realm. With your armor, my father's flail and now these gauntlets you are a formidable warrior indeed." Anomen nodded gravely but could not stop the smile that appeared on his face.

"Nalia and Viconia, can you come with me please?" Jeral placed himself between the pair, held hands with each of them and slowly walked deeper into the hive. After a short walk he stopped and released their arms. "See that light ahead?" He whispered and they both nodded in understanding. "There are a dozen heavily armed cultists milling around there. I think they are a patrol looking for us, they must have discovered the bodies at the door. Nalia, could you send a cloudkill their way? Viconia, could you toss one of your lovely potions?" The women looked at one another, smiled and nodded. Nalia started casting while Viconia pulled a large potion vial full of a bubbling yellow liquid out of her pouch. Nalia completed her spell and a large cloud of poison started floating down the corridor, once Viconia saw that appear she hurled the potion with all of her might. The explosion from the potion shook the hive and the screams of badly injured cultists echoed through the hive. The poison cloud settled over the injured cultists and added to their screams. After a few moments the screams ceased.

"Please stay here while I take a look," Jeral muttered. After a moment he returned and whispered to the pair of women, "You got all of them, very well done ladies. Let me take your hands and return you to the others." Once the party was back together Jeral drank another invisibility potion to ensure the affects did not wear off at an inopportune time.

"The way is clear to the rod. Viconia and I will lead the way." Jeral took Viconia by the hand and the party watched as the drow walked off down the tunnel accompanied by Jeral's mage lights. After carefully and quietly moving through the hive Jeral stopped them before the entrance to a small side chamber.

"The other half of the rod is in there guarded by a beholder. I am going in. Count to twenty and then enter. I will be right behind the creature so when you attack it try and not to miss." Jeral crept in and positioned himself behind the beholder as it floated in the center of the room. The remainder of the party rounded the corner and charged the beholder. Before Jeral could act the creature fired a lightning bolt out of its central eye. Everyone dove clear of the spell save Sir Keldorn; he took the full impact of the spell as it struck him on the center of his armored chest. Moaning in pain Keldorn staggered for a few steps and dropped to the ground. With no time to worry about the paladin Jeral slashed down with the Blade of Roses into the thick hide of the beholder. The heavily enchanted long sword cut deeply into the creature and the beholder whirled around to face the newly visible bard. As the creature turned Jeral stabbed out with the short sword in his left hand and drove it into the creature's large single eye. A pair of arrows and a sling bullet struck the beholder in it exposed back. Confused and angry it whirled back to face the original attackers in time to see Licaror and the Flail of Ages tear into it and deliver killing blows.

As the beholder crashed to the floor in a bloody mass of flesh and fluid Jeral stepped towards the pool of pulsating liquid in the center of the room. In the bottom of the shallow pool lay the other half of the rod. Jeral stared at the pool looking for possible threats or traps while Anomen tended to Keldorn.

"Viconia, Nalia, any ideas about this fluid? Is it safe?"

Nalia just shrugged her shoulders while Viconia put her sling away and smirked. "Jeral, nothing about this place is safe, why would this be any different? Regardless of the risk you know what you must do." Shaking his head and muttering to himself about the humor of drow Jeral took a deep breath and slowly dipped his arm into the pool. The liquid felt warm and very viscous, Jeral gasped in pain as the liquid started eating away at his flesh! The pool was filled with some strange fluid that was also a weak acid. Jeral watched in horror as his black leather glove started to dissolve. Gritting his teeth he forced his arm deeper into the pool and firmly grasped the other piece of the rod with rapidly blistering fingers. As he closed his hand around the enchanted device the entire room was bathed in a painfully bright light. It felt like a thousand suns were shining down into that very chamber. In an instant the light was gone and the room settled into near darkness, with Nalia's pair of light green mage lights the only source of light. As the group struggled to regain their vision and blink away the spots floating before their eyes they came to a terrible realization.

Jeral was gone!

Another cliffhanger ending! How exciting.

Not really, the chapter was getting way too long so I needed to cut it short. Stay tuned for the return of Jeral and the appearance of the unseeing eye.