I have had some more ideas for the setting and the characters. Please enjoy these continuing adventures. I make no claim to Bioware or their property which is theirs exclusively. In these continuing chapters I have strayed far beyond what was written in the game.
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Two Become One
Dawn came early, the sun rising and gilding the surface of the ocean. Valen opened his eyes and looked down at his lover. The sun gilded her pale skin and she purred, stretching from finger tips to her toes, snuggling up to him and murmuring an endearment, turning her face away from the sun to steal a few more minutes sleep.
Smiling indulgently he held her close and thought about their joining. He had thought that the golden warmth of the bond between them was a gift beyond price but nothing had prepared him for what had happened when they had loved. Throughout the night, under the clear sky and twinkling stars the bond had changed, had grown and become something that was not wholly of her. It became something that was of both of them in equal parts.
The raging and chaotic tempest that was his, his emotions, his heritage, the irresistible force of his personality and will had met their match in her immovable calmness and the all encompassing warmth of her love. In her own deep passions and the force of her will the tempest had not been tamed, never that, but guided and given new direction.
Perhaps he had dreamed it; he the tempest encountering her, his golden sun and suddenly becoming ordered, taking on structure where there had only been chaos reigned in by sheer force of indomitable will. Now it whirled around a still center, the calm eye of a hurricane; a place where she found strength and protection, and he found peace and wholeness.
He would have been content to hold her the day through and simply watch her sleep, exploring the newfound peace within himself and for once looking forward to whatever the future might hold for them.
It was not to be.
Soon enough his acute hearing picked up the sound of quiet footsteps climbing the stairs to the hidden door. "Tia, my love," he gently woke her. "I believe your sister has gotten herself another key to this refuge and even now is getting ready to unlock the door."
The effect on her was electrifying; she rolled out of his embrace and scrambled into her clothes in record time blushing from the roots of her hair all the way down as far as he could tell. Shaking his head he got dressed too, although without the same haste.
Her shyness touched him. She was no coarse woman of the world, bold as brass and without shame. Completely different from the Matron Mothers of the Drow, or even the women he'd encountered in Sigil was his Hypatia.
Cimmera had indeed gotten the other key and came marching onto the rooftop with a certain amount of mischief in her twinkling eyes. If she was disappointed to not have caught them without their clothing on she didn't let it show. She merely looked them over with a critical eye and then teased her sister just a little, "My dearest sister….you are glowing. Between that and the smile on his face it won't take a spell to figure out what's going on between the two of you."
Hypatia looked up at him with wide eyes, blushing even more and giving him a shy half smile. He smiled down on her before schooling his expression into something unreadable, as was more his custom.
With a bit of a giggle Cimmera beckoned them to follow her, speaking as she led them down off the roof. "We've gotten some visitors. Word is travelling quickly about what happened in Waterdeep. Those mages gossip worse than little old ladies and I suspect they take a child-like delight in using magic to do so."
She led them down to breakfast and then left them alone for the rest of the day while she saw to her duties as High Priestess.
So their days and nights went for the better part of two weeks while they both rested and recovered from the ordeals they had been through. Finally the day came when Hypatia woke, stretched along his length and said, "Today I must see about my own duties to my goddess."
He looked down at her, "Why did you wait to do this, my love? I would have thought you would do that first thing."
Her smile faltered slightly and she toyed with a lock of his hair before running her fingers up the edge of one of his elegantly pointed ears, "I needed to recover before I could take up my duties. Had I gone to the temple of Mystra first I would have been thrust into the tasks and duties of my own priesthood straight away and I was too weak and exhausted for that."
She raised slightly worried eyes to his, "And, just before I left for Hilltop there was a new High Priest sent to replace the old one. I do not like him very much. He seems cruel and cold." Sliding off the bed she began to get dressed, choosing a very plain priestess robe. "I have no real complaint though, just my own impressions and some small observations I made before I left."
Frowning he rose and got dressed too. "Can you go to another temple then?"
Smiling she shook her head, "I could but this is the one I consider my home. It is enough that he too follows the Lady of Mysteries. We do not all have to have the most pleasant of personalities. We follow the same goddess and respect one another."
She began to brush out her hair humming a love song as she did. Once done she braided it into one thick braid which she left hanging down her back. This disguised the uneven ends. "Today though I think I will go into the slums and do works of charity in the name of the goddess. That is also an acceptable duty and one that I enjoy. The children have great needs and it pleases me to give them what little aid I can."
"I will go with you, my love," He smiled somehow unsurprised to hear that she undertook such duty willingly.
She led them to an open air market where she spent some gold buying all the food he could carry, which was quite a bit, truth be told. He did not go unnoticed through the streets and more than one city guard made a special point of telling him not to cause any trouble. One glared up at his stern expression half hoping he would start something. Most people recognized Hypatia's priestess robes and kept their suspicions to themselves even if they did cross to the other side of the street when they saw them coming.
The slums were like the poor districts of almost every city. They were squalid and filthy, inhabited by half starving children and desperate, despairing adults. Ramshackled buildings shoddily made of straw or scraps from other buildings filled in as crowded homes for the unfortunate and forgotten. Thieves and pick-pockets awaited the unwary and Valen bristled as more than one desperate looking man started to follow along behind them. Most opportunists, while thinking the priestess might be an easy target quickly changed their mind once they caught sight of the glowering tiefling standing protectively over her.
Hypatia wove her way through the warren of lean-tos and huts, deftly ducking under a line of ratty washing drying and made her way to a small square that had been cleared out. A group of bone thin children with dirty faces were playing with an equally skinny puppy, tossing a rag ball to it, laughing and giggling as it scampered on clumsy paws after the ball.
Their entrance into the little area caused the children to scatter, diving into hiding places; their ball forgotten and the puppy whining in the arms of some child who could be heard trying to shush it. It brought back memories of his own childhood for Valen to see them scatter at the sight of a strange adult so.
"It is alright, little ones. It is I, Hypatia, and I have brought food for you and healing for those who have need," Her gentle voice carried through the clearing but was pitched not to carry too far beyond the small space.
"Hypatia?" A small boy peaked out from around an empty crate, "Is it really you?" He edged out and as he did so the others also began to peak out from their hiding places.
"Zak?" Hypatia took some bread from the bundle of food Valen was carrying and offered it to the child, "Where is Zebbidaiah?"
With that question the children swarmed out and surrounded them, their fear forgotten. Several of the more bold ones helped themselves to food, taking it themselves from the bundle before Valen could offer it to them. He couldn't help but wonder how many lives were going to be different for the small amount of food, kindness and most importantly hope that his Hypatia was giving here in this forgotten corner of the city. Once again his heart filled with love for her and while he still felt unworthy he no longer questioned it, he was simply grateful that someone tainted like him could be loved by someone as good hearted as she.
Soon enough all of the food had been given out, even the puppy had gotten his fill for once; and the children were leading reluctant parents to meet Hypatia and be healed of their diseases and hurts. Most of them, Hypatia informed him in a whisper while they were waiting for their next patient, were the result of chronic hunger.
It was then, when they were expected to be distracted that the two desperate men who had followed them chose to strike, leaping out with rusty short swords drawn. Valen leaped in front of Hypatia without hesitation, his flail already unhooked and swinging. And the men had a sudden and total change of heart, dropping their swords and turning tail to run as fast as they could.
The sun was just setting when Hypatia used her last spell to heal the father of Zebbidaiah, who had broken his leg on the docks and subsequently found himself out of work as a result. Zeb had taken over the job to keep what little coin he could coming into the family but now with their father healed they stood a decent chance of getting themselves out of the poor district.
Weary from a day filled with casting spells and persuading reluctant parents to allow her to help them, Hypatia took Valen's hand and led him out of the poor district. Once back in one of the better districts of the city they once more encountered the subtle bigotry that followed Valen wherever he went.
One young nobleman riding a fine horse went so far as to sniff and look down his nose at them, though Valen's scowling expression was forbidding enough that he kept whatever comments he might have spoken to himself.
They got back to the temple of Sune and met Cimmera and her love for supper. Hypatia told Cimmera all about her day in the poor district. Then, because she knew her sister was curious and news was travelling rapidly, she told them of her adventures in Undermountain. She told them of her transport to the Underdark, meeting the Seer, Nathyrra and, Valen. She left nothing out, telling parts of the tale that even Valen hadn't heard and he blushed more than once, believing that she made him out to be far more heroic than he was.
Her sister and some few others of the priesthood listened with rapt attention as she told them of being trapped in the hells and their arduous trek across the frozen wastes of Cania. The weeks spent in the bitter cold fighting the horrors of the hells. She told them of her fear that her weakness would cost Valen his life and doom her own world to destruction and the ruthless suppression of herself so that she could be strong and keep him and them safe. Finally she told them of their triumph over the dread Arch Devil, which brought them to the part of the tale they already knew.
Leaving them to contemplate the tale she'd just told them she excused herself to return to the apartment her sister continued to let her occupy.
While she was brushing her hair out, Hypatia brought up something that she knew she would have to, and in truth wanted to; "Valen?"
"Yes my love," He was polishing his armor and flail and watching her, content and relaxed. He was still surprised by the glimpse of himself as seen through her eyes he had gotten by listening to her tell the tale of her adventure.
"I must tithe tomorrow and give my report to my own priesthood. After that I think, if you would like, that maybe we could seek out the Seer and make sure she's ok and see our friends amongst the followers of Eiliastraee."
Valen looked at her, smiling, "I would like that, my love." He thought for a moment his expression growing more serious, "I do not know where they would be. It could take us a while to find them."
She shrugged, "I've got no pressing matters after I've tithed."
Nodding once he agreed, "Then let us find our friends once you've completed your duty to your goddess."
The following morning Hypatia dressed in her plain priestess robes and deliberately left the large majority of her possessions in the rooms they occupied in the temple of Sune. She took a large pile of scrolls she'd saved from the dracolich treasure, the strange core of the obelisk of the antimagic caverns, several heavily enchanted weapons and some robes, magical staffs and named armor they'd taken from foes and assorted found treasures in the hells. Her tithe was very rich, more than the required 10% and it was almost entirely comprised of magical items.
She ate a hasty breakfast and guided Valen to the temple library, leaving him in the hands of a capable librarian whom she pressed into service going through the scrolls and tomes seeking any mention of where there might be surface shrines or even temples to Eilastraee. She promised to return soon, then hurried out the doors of the temple to go to the shrine of Mystra and tithe and give her report.