Warning: Offensive content.

Chapter 11: Perception

The rugs scattered about Mulahey's garish lair provided a surprisingly comfortable place to lay their bedrolls and the candle clock had already burned halfway down by the time it was Charmane's turn to keep watch. She was not surprised to see Edwin and Xan still wide awake, each engrossed in their own spellbook at opposite ends of the chamber.

Charmane leaned back against the wall, watching Edwin intently as he poured over his spellbook. She spoke softly to avoid waking the sleeping members of her party. "You know, Edwin," she said in a low voice. I find your obsession with power quite fascinating. It's almost as if you view it as the ultimate goal in life."

Edwin's eyes flicked up from his spellbook, annoyance etched on his features. "What do you want, Charmane? Can you not see I'm busy?" He let out a heavy sigh before continuing, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But by all means, do enlighten me with your thoughts on the nature of power. I'm sure they will be fascinating."

Charmane smirked at Edwin's annoyance, but she persisted. "You see, Edwin, I don't think power is enough. It may give you control over others, but it can also leave you alone at the top."

Edwin sneered, "Alone? Hardly. I will have the world at my feet. When you hold the reins of power, people will beg to be in your inner circle."

Charmane shook her head, "That's the thing, Edwin. You won't have real companions. You'll have fear and envy, but no one who genuinely cares about you. Wouldn't it be simpler to live the life of a rich hermit, enjoying all the luxuries you desire, without the constant need to look over your shoulder?"

Edwin raised an eyebrow, "And what, pray tell, do you hope to achieve by being a mere manipulator? You may gain the adoration of the masses, but they will never truly respect you."

Charmane shrugged nonchalantly, "Respect is overrated. What good is it if you're alone and unfulfilled? I'll take loyalty over respect any day."

Edwin snorted in disbelief, "Loyalty? From the sheep you've been manipulating? They will turn on you the moment they sense weakness. You will be left with nothing but a taste of bitterness."

Charmane's expression turned serious, "Perhaps you're right, Edwin. But at least I won't be alone."

Edwin snorted, "People are only with you for what you can offer them. Once you are no longer useful, they will leave you to rot."

Charmane leaned forward, her tone turning serious. "Not everyone is like that, Edwin. Imoen stood by me when I had nothing to offer her, no home, no guardian, not a penny to my name. And that's worth more than all the power in the world."

"Edwin scoffed, "Bah! The girl has merely imprinted on you. She follows you like a duckling follows its mother."

Charmane's voice grew stern. "Don't belittle her, Edwin. Imoen left her beloved foster father and everything she's ever known behind to help me. That takes courage and loyalty that not everyone possesses."

Edwin rolled his eyes, "Imoen's loyalty is the exception, not the rule. Most people only want what they can get from you,"

Charmane tilted her head thoughtfully, "Perhaps that's true. But that is proof enough that genuine connections can be formed, even in a world full of greed and ambition."

"Hmph, always has to have the last word." Edwin grumbled. "I'll concede that you have given me something to think about. Now leave me be."

Charmane smiled in satisfaction and settled back into her watch.

A few hours later, the party emerged from the cave and onto the cavern. To their surprise, sunlight was streaming down the far end of the cavern, illuminating the sandy shores that stretched along its edge. The party had come at night time, so they had not seen it before, but now the way out was clear. They would not have to trek back up the mine they had come through, as they had originally planned. Instead, they would make their way to the outside through the exit where the sunlight was pouring in.

Charmane grinned, feeling the thrill of adventure pulsing through her veins. "Looks like we found a shortcut, boys," she said, addressing the party. "Let's get moving."

As the party emerged from the cave after fighting minor oozes and ghouls, the blazing sun beat down upon them, casting the rugged terrain in a harsh light. To their right, sharp cacti sprouted from the barren land, their prickly spines gleaming in the scorching heat. Ahead, the land sloped gently downward, leading towards an unknown destination. Behind them, the cave's dark maw yawned like a gaping mouth, threatening to swallow them whole. Charmane, ever vigilant, crept up the grassy hill that rose behind the cave, her lithe form obscured by the shadows. Peering through the blades of grass, she caught sight of four women, armed to the teeth and ready for battle.

Drawing closer to the group, Charmane's sharp eyes took in the details of their armour. Two wore leather and held themselves with the poise only achievable by those in her profession. The other two were better equipped, but what caught Charmane's attention was not their heavy armour but the unmistakable emblem emblazoned on their tabards - a jawless skull over a purple sunburst. Her heart sank at the sight of the symbol, for she recognized it as the same one Mulahey had been wearing. It was the symbol of Cyric, the Mad God of Chaos. Charmane's grip tightened on her weapons and she carefully retreated to her group.

"I think it b-b-best we don't force a confrontation." Khalid said warily, as Charmane described what she had seen.

"Please, Khalid, leave the strategy to those with actual intelligence," Edwin sneered. "Why waste our efforts on avoiding a skirmish with mere goons."

"Goons they may be, but their loot… I mean… equipment appears quite formidable. Let's not underestimate them, shall we?" Charmane replied with a sly smile.

"You there, have you seen a black-haired woman in leather? About this tall?" a red-haired woman in plate armour demanded, menacingly. "Hurry up and answer. And it better be the truth, for your life depends upon it."

Edwin spoke up with a sneer on his face. "Oh, what do we have here? Little girls playing dress-up with their pretty little armour. How precious." He chuckled derisively. "Did your husbands let you out of the kitchen for the day? Now, why don't you scurry back to them and leave the real fighting to the professionals, hm?" He intoned, condescendingly, earning himself scowls from every women in the vicinity.

"You insolent pigs! You know not who you speak to. Your arrogance will cost you your lives." the Cyric priestess shouted, furiously.

Chaos erupted as the women began to chant. With their attention focused on Edwin, the women did not notice Charmane sneaking behind them. As Jaheira and Khalid charged forward deflecting the arrows aimed at the red mage, Charmane emerged from the shadows, her deadly blade plunging into the back of a white haired priestess, wearing chainmail, causing her to shriek in pain.

Meanwhile, Xan whispered a spell, causing one of the women in leather to stop dead in her tracks, her glazed-over eyes turning on the very same priestess who had been her ally moments before.

Edwin's magic missiles streaked through the air, hitting the same woman with lethal precision. Within moments she lay dead on the ground, blood pooling on the barren soil.

But the battle was far from over. Khalid was valiantly fending off fiery arrows when suddenly, a burst of divine energy enveloped him as the red-haired woman finished her spell. The half-elf tried to resist the soothing sensation, but it was too strong. Within seconds, he fell asleep, still standing.

That was all it took for disaster to strike. A fiery arrow struck Khalid in the chest, lodging deep and causing him to scream out in pain. Jaheira was quickly at his side, chanting a healing spell with desperate determination.

Xan cast another spell again, this time causing the archer to be charmed and her arrows now flew at the red-haired priestess.

But his previous target suddenly broke free of his charm spell and launched a flurry of deadly darts at Jaheira, her eyes gleaming with malice. The druid struggled to maintain her concentration on the healing spell, her hands trembling as the darts whizzed past her.

Edwin, his face set in a determined scowl, continued to cast his magic missiles at the red-haired priestess, which struck her with force, causing her to stumble back with a cry of pain. But she refused to back down, her eyes burning with fury as she lifted her hand to cast yet another spell.

With her arrows glancing off the plate armour, Imoen pulled out a wand and unleashed a her own magic missiles that streaked towards the priestess and almost knocked her off balance.

As Jaheira continued to cast, she watched in relief as Charmane ran past, her mere touch enveloping Khalid in a warm glow and brought some colour back to his face.

The next moment, Jaheira felt her body stiffen, her spell fizzling into nothingness. She watched in horror as darts came straight towards her, but oddly, the majority now either missed, or ricocheted harmlessly off her armour. Xan had imbued her with magical luck.

Charmane set her sights on the woman in plate, determined to disrupt her next spell. But the woman's defence was almost impenetrable, and she continued her chanting with unflinching resolve, a fierce look in her eyes.

Just as Charmane was about to strike, she noticed the direction of the woman's gaze, causing her to turn around. In a split second, a rush of deadly magic surged past her, and Charmane's instincts kicked in. "Scatter!" she screamed in desperation.

A blue glyph appeared on the ground beneath Imoen, Xan and Edwin, catching them off guard. They scrambled to get out of the way, but it was too late. The glyph triggered, sending a surge of electricity coursing through their bodies. Imoen and Edwin screamed out in agony, but Xan, unable to handle the shock, collapsed to the ground.

"Weakling." Edwin muttered through gritted teeth as he pulled out his own wand. "Move aside, rogue!" He shouted.

Charmane, who had been watching the scene with horror, jumped to the side, as a column of ice surged forth from Edwin's wand and hit the priestess square in the chest. The woman let out a bloodcurdling scream as she doubled over in agony.

Seeing an opening, Charmane seized the moment, rushing forward with her magical sword and plunging it through a gap in the priestess's armour. The woman cried out, her body now convulsing with pain and bleeding profusely. Charmane stepped back, her sword slick with blood, as the priestess's life force slowly drained away.

With the priestesses eliminated, Imoen, Edwin, Charmane, and Khalid dispatched the remaining rogues with ease. But the battle had taken a greater toll on them than anticipated. As soon as the enemies fell, Charmane and Jaheira rushed to Imoen and the mages.

Jaheira set about healing Xan, who was hanging on by a thread. Imoen felt a bit jittery from the shock but in better condition than the others.

"Strange." Edwin muttered, as he swayed on his feet. "I don't feel so well."

Charmane cursed under her breath, instinctively steadying him with an arm around his back. "Here," she said, handing him a healing potion. "That should help."

With Khalid still bleeding, the party had to rest for a few hours to patch up their wounds and wait for Xan to regain consciousness.

"I warned her he would not be worth the trouble." Edwin grumbled, irritably.

Jaheira pursed her lips in annoyance. "The gloomy elf makes for far more cheerful company than the likes of you. Your words earlier were crude and unnecessary. I suggest you think twice before spewing such vitriol in my presence."

"Why? Did it ring a bit too close to home?" Edwin retorted, a malicious grin spreading on his lips.

"Now, now, quit it you two." Charmane interrupted. "Edwin's acerbic wit helped us in the battle this time, so let's not dwell on it, okay? And let's be honest, he's no saint but if he truly believed all of that, he would never be taking orders from me." Charmane turned to the red mage and continued. "Actions speak louder than words, right Edwin?"

Edwin, however, stared back at her intensely, his expression unreadable. "Believe what you will," he finally said, dismissively. "If only she would use that perception to rid herself of this witless menagerie..." He grumbled, as he turned away.

Charmane rolled her eyes as she caught his words but couldn't help a smile tugging at her lips.