Chapter 12: Pride and Greed
As the dust settled and the immediate danger subsided, Charmane and her companions turned their attention to the spoils of their hard-won battle. The fallen foes yielded a wealth of treasures: deadly poison darts, enchanted fire arrows, an assortment of potions, and potentially an upgrade for Imoen's leather armour. Charmane's eyes lit up with desire when she spotted a potion of power amidst the hoard. She could not help but imagine the lethality of her strikes from just a single gulp of the reddish liquid. She pocketed the potion and switched her attention to the magic scroll she had found. But strangely, the letters remained a jumbled mess no matter how she looked at it.
Charmane felt a sudden jolt of surprise as Edwin spoke up. "Can't read a word, can you?" Edwin said, condescendingly, peering over her shoulder. "Let me see."
With a sigh, she shifted slightly to the side to give him room to read, anticipating the inevitable snide remarks. As he examined it, Charmane could not help but notice how close he was standing. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck. "No, I can't read it," Charmane replied, her mouth suddenly dry. "What does it say?"
After a few seconds, Edwin scoffed. "This is nothing but gibberish. Probably a divine spell. A waste of perfectly good parchment, if you ask me."
"Hmm... that's a point, Edwin." Charmane said thoughtfully. Charmane felt Edwin's gaze on her as she spoke. She shifted uneasily, but any delight she might have felt disappeared as she noticed his eyes flicker down to her cleavage. "We need a healer." she continued, irritably, as she moved away.
"What!?" Jaheira piped up, indignantly, she had been busy bandaging Khalid nearby.
"I meant to say 'another' healer." Charmane replied, sheepishly. "You're doing fantastic, Jaheira, but we need someone who will protect the back line when we are in the thick of battle."
Jaheira expression softened, "Very well," she conceded, "I suppose another healer would not hurt."
Charmane nodded, glad the half-elf had not taken offense.
"And what of the mage?" Edwin asked, with a scowl. "We cannot afford to waste hours waiting for sleeping beauty to wake up every time an enemy so much as looks at him."
Charmane's eyes narrowed in thought, "We shouldn't make any hasty decisions." Charmane said, then lifted her gaze to meet Edwin's. "But don't you worry, Edwin, despite everything…" she said trying to sound less irritated, "You're still my favourite mage… so far."
"Worry!? Pah!" Edwin scoffed, his nose in the air. "Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would see the undeniable superiority of Edwin Odesseiron," Edwin said, with a self-satisfied smirk. "But I am glad you have finally seen the light, my dear." He said, his voice low and dripping with honeyed arrogance.
Charmane chuckled, eyes now alight with amusement, "What would we ever do without you, Edwin?" she said, shaking her head in mock admiration.
Edwin preened under Charmane's words, his smirk growing even wider. "I am a treasure, my dear," he continued. "A rare gem amidst a sea of mediocrity."
Charmane rolled her eyes playfully, "Alright, enough flattery for today," she said, still chuckling. "Let's finish up here and move on."
The sun beat down mercilessly on Charmane and her companions as they trudged northwards, the cracked earth beneath their feet crunching with each step. However, their path was soon blocked by a deep gorge, the jagged edges and ominous depth seeming to stretch on forever. On the other side of the chasm, an eerie tower loomed into the sky. Its blackened stones and twisted spires gave it a haunted look, as if it had been plucked from a nightmare and planted in the midst of the desolate terrain.
"What do you think that is?" Charmane muttered.
"I'm not sure." Jaheira replied. "Maybe our travels will take us there one day."
"Perhaps..." Charmane trailed off, her mind wandering to the treasures that might lay hidden within the castle's ominous walls.
With the ominous castle behind them, the party decided to explore the area to the south. Ahead was a collection of buttes rising into the sky, their rocky surfaces casting deep shadows in the blazing sun. An opening in a butte's side led them into a small crypt, and the party came away with a small sack of gold buried deep in the sarcophagus.
As they trekked, the path began to slope downwards, leading them to a man wearing worn leather. He was fighting off a pack of wild dogs with a dagger, but he looked like he was losing. Upon spotting the party, the man cried out, "Please, no! Don't let him get me... please..." His voice was thick with desperation.
Without hesitation, the party sprang into action, battling the pack of wild dogs and quickly dispatching them. The man watched in fear as they approached him. "AHHH! Who are you?! Don't kill me! Please! I'm so sorry! I'll give it back, just don't kill me!" he cried out, his voice shaking.
Charmane approached the panicked man cautiously. "Relax. We are just passing by. What's wrong?" she asked, her tone gentle.
The man's eyes widened with fear as he looked up at her. "Wha... wrong?" he stammered. "What's wrong is the horrible death replaying in my mind! I canna concentrate, my mind is... my mind... I didn't mean it! I'll give it back! You! You can take it to him! Here! Give it back!" He thrust his dagger towards her, his hands shaking.
"If I am not mistaken," Xan interjected. "That maniac holds an accursed bloodied dagger. Take it, Charmane, if you wish to seal our doom." He warned. "Otherwise, let us just slowly back away from this man."
"Let me guess, you found it from one of these crypts?" Charmane asked, an odd glint in her eyes. "Where'd you find it?"
"A cave! It's but a short way's east... there was a grave... I opened... Oh, by all that's good, I disturbed its lonely slumber with my foolishness! It haunts me, and I get no rest in sleep! Please! I shall go mad if it is not returned! Take this dagger to the tomb… I just want to be rid of it... please!"
"Yes, yes, give it here," Charmane said impatiently, snatching the dagger from the thief's hand. The blade had a sharper edge than her own. She could already feel magic radiating from it. "Thank you for the information. We'll take it here." Without another word, Charmane turned and gestured for her companions to follow.
The cave in question was nestled at the bottom of a plateau only a few paces away. As soon as they entered, a strange looking ghoul hobbled towards them. It seemed a decayed and emaciated versions of its once-living self. Festering wounds were visible on the drawn, clammy skin covering its flesh. "Dagger! You have the dagger. Give to ME! Now can rest, rest forever…"
"What dagger are you talking about exactly?" Charmane asked, feigning innocence.
"The dagger... of he who murdered me... the dagger of Alatos…" the ghoul, replied, its voice a rasping whisper.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but the dagger is mine now. Return to your grave, where you belong!" Charmane declared, holding a sword in one hand and the dagger in another.
Charmane and her companions braced themselves as the ghoul hobbling towards them. Imoen fired off arrow after arrow, but they merely bounced off the creature.
The mages followed suit, shooting bullets, most of their magic spent in the previous fight. But the creature seemed impervious to their attacks. Khalid and Jaheira rushed in with their swords, but the creature was surprisingly quick, and soon they both stood paralyzed by its bite.
Charmane was left alone to face the fearsome revenant. She danced and dodged its attacks, striking back with her magical swords, she felt herself land blows but the creature was relentless.
Suddenly she felt a warm glow surround her, and her next slash took off the ghoul's arm, the ghoul lunged at her, only to land head first onto her dagger, impaling itself. "Thanks, Xan!" she exclaimed, relief flooding through her.
"We have merely delayed the inevitable." the elf replied morosely.
The team breathed a sigh of relief as the creature crumbled to the ground and the paralysis on the half-elven couple wore off.
Raiding the crypts proved to be a profitable venture. By the time they finished exploring all of them, they found what looked to be another magic wand and a number of expensive looking magical items.
Save for some easily dispatched ogrillons and wild dogs, their trek through the barren land was going fairly uneventfully, until the party stumbled upon a mage in bright green robes. He beckoned them over with a wave of his hand.
"Come quickly, you are just in time for my experiment!" the man said with a glint in his eye.
Charmane's curiosity was piqued. "What kind of experiment are you attempting?"
"I believe I have developed a spell to empathically control any gelatinous creature and bend it to your will," the mage exclaimed with a wild enthusiasm. "Slimes, jellies, oozes, all of these things that foul the cook's cellar and the adventurer's dungeon can now be controlled and eradicated with an ease and efficacy never before seen in the history of the realms." The mage paused for a moment before continuing. "It takes an entire hour to gain such control, but that time will be minimized with further experimentation, I am sure. In moments, that hour will be up for a small number of mustard jellies that I have released into the nearby woods. We shall soon bear witness to the results of my endeavour."
Edwin scoffed, "You have at your disposal the power to summon goblins, ogres, and demons capable of razing entire cities," Edwin's replied, his tone dripped with contempt, "Yet you waste your time on something as mundane as controlling repulsive slimes?"
"You fool! Do you not realize the potential of my discovery? With this spell, I can eradicate entire dungeons and clean up the filth that plagues our cities. Slimes may seem insignificant to you, but they are a critical piece of the ecosystem. Without them, the delicate balance of nature would be disrupted. You should be thanking me for my contribution to the world!"
"How do you feel about sharing this spell with us?" Charmane asked, before Edwin could continue the argument. "We could make use of it in our adventures."
The mage's face contorted with anger. "I have worked years for this, and you seek its benefits in mere seconds? Nay, you not only seek them, you expect them! The spell is mine, and you'll not take it from me! Come jellies, let us make our mark upon the world! Behold!"
Afraid of what would come next. Charmane, shadowstepped behind the mage and swung her weapons with deadly intent.
Her weapons pieced the mad mage's back but not before he summoned two mustard jellies that slithered towards the group.
Jaheira and Khalid ran towards the jelly, but Charmane had other ideas. "Mage first!" She shouted.
Her backstab had not been fatal. And the next second the mage disappeared with a muttered incantation.
With no other choice the team focused on the nearest mustard jelly. Projectiles got absorbed into the blobs, rendering them nearly useless. Sword seemed to be doing more but the ooze themselves were formidable.
Jaheira screamed in pain as the ooze spit poison at her. She began chanting and soon a golden glow enveloped her, neutralising the poison.
Soon an ominous incantation sounded behind Charmane, the mage had reappeared. "Get him!" Charmane shouted. She dropped back into stealth and stabbed the mage from the shadows once again. Arrows and bullets flew through the air and finished him off.
However, with his last breathe the mage sent forth a deadly lightning bolt. Charmane's eyes widened in terror as she watched it hurtling towards her. Her heart pounded in her chest as the bolt struck her with a deafening crack, sending waves of agony coursing through her body. Her muscles convulsed uncontrollably, and her vision blurred, threatening to fade into nothingness. As the world spun around her, she desperately reached out to her divine energy, feeling it surge within her veins. With fierce determination, she downed a healing potion and pushed herself back up, her legs shaking as she struggled to stay on her feet.
The lightning bolt had ricocheted towards Khalid and Jaheira, but the couple weathered the attack much better than Charmane. Jaheira's expression turned from shock to disgust as she calmly absorbed the sprays from the jellies, their poison no longer effective against her nature's protection. With the slimes distracted, the party was finally able to destroy them.
Exhausted and drained, Charmane collapsed onto her knees, unable to muster the energy to even check the mage's loot. With Jaheira's spells depleted and their meagre supply of healing potions dwindling, she knew she should not waste another. Gasping for air, she whispered through gritted teeth, "Rest," before finally succumbing to the darkness.