Chapter 22

As we advanced down the path, we followed the Duergar and Myconid corpses until we found ourselves looking over an old dock. The area looked like a rundown fishing port, the hill we stood on had wooden planks and huts built on it to hold nets and fish. I determined this from the rotted huts, broken nets and faint seafood smell. Looking down towards the water there was an old dock that held a single vessel, a large rowboat. The vessel looked intact and ready for use, the dueragr's vehicle no doubt. Before we could go any further a short, grey-skinned man in blue-coated chainmail came up behind us, "What, Gekh! Got someone sneaking up on us!" The Duergar wore the talisman with the symbol of the Absolute in the centre, a triangular outline with a skull in the middle, and a red handprint covering the ominous symbol.

I pulled my left hand out of my glove and announced, "I am a True Soul of the Absolute. Take me to your leader or be punished." I said in my most irritated lord tone.

The duergar seemed more annoyed than frightened, before saying, "Oh, one of you twat-souls then. This way, I'll let the boss deal with you."

The duergar led us down the hill to the dock, overlooking it on a plank walkway was another Underdark dwarf, garbed in similar but slightly better-looking armour than the guard. The dwarf man also sported a full silver beard and a half-shaved head, he was also wearing an Absolute medallion. "Gekh, I got some 'True Souls' 'ere. I'm guessing they want passage over the water." Our escort said putting an irritated emphasis on our titles.

Strange I thought members of the cult worshipped, or at the very least admired the True Souls. And come to think of it, I haven't felt any tingle of control coming from a parasite. So, they aren't infected. Hired help. Gale did say they were mercenaries. Gekh, the leader stared down at us, the arching of his back revealing a large golden axe strapped to his back. "You came in loud sun-scum. Too loud. Noice gets you eaten down here. If the sergeant weren't all buddie-buddies with your Absolute, I'd hush you."

"Well sorry to hear that. Guess you'll have to deal with the extra noise. Now what's going on over the water." I demanded.

Gekh chuckled darkly, "You new or something. You cult buggers hired us to help you transport merchandise through to the Shadowlands, through some lift in the old Shar temple. Haven't been paid yet either so I'd suggest not getting smart with me again. Or I might decide you never turned up 'ere. No ones around to tell your tale." I warned with a delighted grin. Looking around I saw two of his men on the walkway with him, two more by the dock and the guard behind us, giving a similar warning glare.

Acting unfazed I stared down the Duergar leader, a difficult feat for a man at least a story below, "What you all doing here? I don't see any cargo?"

"We're slave hunting. One of ours ran off, took Sergeant Thrinn's boots too. Got to kill the slave and fetch back the leather, or your bosses in Moonrise'll have Thrinn's hide." Gekh said a twinge of disgust in his voice. "Trouble is… slave's got protection- hiding up there in a myconid circle." Like a light bulb turning, an idea sprang on Gekh's face. "Hey… you cult bastards are decent fighters, and if you made your way here without our help- you can help us take care of the damn shrooms. Once it's done and the boots are recovered, I'll take you across the river to your bosses. If not, you can bloody well swim."

"A fair deal. Unfortunately, that's not going to work." I said a cheeky smile in my voice.

"Yeah, why the hell not." Gekh barked, irritated

"I'm a huge mycophile" I quipped before blasting the supports for the walkway to splinters. The walkway came crashing down to the blackened sand of the dock, but Gekh and his cronies were unharmed, floating harmlessly down. Gekh hand was glowing white, similar to how Gale's did when he employed the feather-fall spell. "This how you wanna play it, fine. What's a few more bodies to add to the pile?" Gekh growled as his hand glow went from a white to a deep green and a pile of corpses that was just behind the remains of the walkway exploded with gore. Rising from the pile were five husks of shambling flesh and muscle. The zombies were human-sized, with parts of their stomach and brain being exposed from their rotting grey skin. Gekh smiled manically at my surprise and pulled his axe from his back, ready for battle.

The zombies rushed us first, trying to rip us open with their rotted fingernails. I thrust my blasting rod at the shambling horde and cast, "Fuego!" A burst of red, green flame burst out towards the zombies, roasting the closest two into foul-smelling husks of flesh. But the remaining three were unperturbed, running at me with uncoordinated speed. Karlach shoved me out of the way, heat blazed in my shoulder, but my spell-shielded duster protected me from the worst of Karlach's burning touch. I watched as the blazing barbarian eviscerated the zombies, cutting on in half with her axe as the other two were set ablaze by her skin making them easy targets for her axe swing. But the zombies were merely a distraction as I saw Gekh cast at a distracted Karlach, she froze in place, body simmering with red energy. Gekh charged at Karlach axe held high, I thrust out of my right hand and set off the force rings throwing Gekh back several paces but not ending his concentration on the holding spell. I stepped in front of Karlach and faced down Gekh and his men.

"You got some good moves Twat-Soul. But this ends here, you ain't bumping us off just to get out of paying your debts!" Gekh snarled.

"I ain't a 'Twat-Soul". The Sovereign sends its regards you slaver sons of a bitch." I cried as I cast a blast of fire at the Duergar. One of the Duergar behind Gekh was able to dodge the blast while the third went up in smoke. Gekh jumped through the blast, singed and angry as he swung his axe down towards my head. I was able to block the weapon with my staff, but it was now my strength versus Gekh's as the tip of his axe inched closer to my neck.

"I'm not dying to some mushroom fucker. Die, in the name of the bloody Absolute." Gekh snarled through clenched teeth, struggling to push his axe down to slice my throat.

"Yeah, we'll you forgot something in all this excitement grey-ass." Gekh looked at me, rage distracting from my statement, "I've got nearly 3 feet on you bastard." And I kicked the dwarf as hard as I could in the chest. With my winter strength, I punted the 4-foot slaver clear into the rubble of the walkway. But in the distraction of the battle, I didn't catch the remaining dwarf firing his crossbow. The bolt hit the shoulder of my duster, but the projectile got stuck in the leather, and the sudden shock of impact drove me to my knees. Thankfully, my soccer kick knocked the focus out of the now emerging Gekh, so Karlach stepped beside me and rushed the crossbow-wielding Duergar taking a bolt to the chest and not slowing down she cleaved the dwarf in two. Gekh's stare boar into me as he charged, axe held high, rage quickening his steps and clouding his judgement. In his battle fury, Gekh forgot I was a wizard. I pointed my blasting rod at the dwarf and cast, "Pyro Fuego!" An almost solid lance of blue-green fire catapulted towards Gekh, searing a clear hole right through his snarling face and out the back of his skull.

The rest of the battle went smoothly, Astarion slashed the throat of the Duergar that led us down, while Gale and Shadowheart roasted the dwarves by the boat with radiant fire or crushed them with bolts of force.

After the battle was done and we searched the bodies, finding the poison anti-toxin on Gekh, we made our way back to the Myconid colony.

I approached the Sovereign, it's song a harrowing elegy, cheerless and dark. "We've slain the Duergar. The Rot is cleansed." I declared as I dropped Gekh's axe at Soverign's feet.

The music shifted, still melancholic, but now streaked with hope. "*Do you hear? A new harmony. Serenity. I name you Peace-Bringer.*" Fragrant spores waft through the air. My heart swelled as I bowed slightly to the mushroom monarch. "*Freely you have given to us, freely you may take*" Sovereign said pointing its hand towards the now-opened cave.

"Well, don't have to tell me twice," Astarion responded as he sauntered towards the entrance.

Karlach followed him, "I'll make sure he doesn't take all the reward." She said hurriedly as she caught up with the vampire.

"*I have another boon to ask of you, you have cut out the Duergar blight- but not its source*" Sovereign said as another vision engulfed us. A drow man with long silver and long blue robes adorned with the Absolute symbol, striding amongst myconid dead. "*Nere, this one is called, he hunted us- hunt him in turn. Bring me his head, and I will know my circle is safe.*"

"Wicked men. Slavers and murders such as he deserves a wicked end." Gale declared.

I couldn't agree more, "Very well, Nere is as good as plant food." I said a rye smirk forming on my face.

"*The drow lurks in the ruins beyond the lake. Bring him death and return.*" The Sovereign ordered.

I caught up with Astarion and Karlach who were able to grab a few potions and a hooded mask for Astarion that granted temporary invisibility. We all decided to get some rest at camp before going beyond the lake to the Shar temple.

We set up a new camp near the entrance to Selunite Temple under the shade of mushrooms as tall as oak trees. After everyone set up their tents I decided to go over to Halsin, the big elf was wearing what looked like a tank top coloured light brown in the centre and leaf green on the sides, along with some brown pants and sandals. "Evening Harry, what brings you by?" Halsin asked

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to ask about the Shadowcurse, and the effects it could have on people, but I needed to be prepared for what I might encounter… and what Maggie might be going through. "I want to know more about the Shadowcurse." I answered directly.

The smile on Halsin's lips lowered "Very well. The curse has had the region of around Moonrise Towers in a chokehold of darkness and despair for years now. Those who remained are shadow-cursed. If you don't die at their hands, you become one of them."

I pushed images of an infected Maggie out of my mind. Focus Dresden, Maggie will be okay. "Is there any way to reverse a shadow-cursed being? One that isn't already dead that is?" I asked trying to sound like a curious wizard rather than a desperate father.

Halsin looked at curiously for a moment, his eyes softened as he answered, "No, even if we were to rid the land of shadows. Those that are too heavily affected will be lost forever."

An ice pick drove into my heart with every word. Maggie has been in the shadowcursed lands for over a week, and the part of it I fell into felt hungry and dark enough to drown a universe of stars. If Maggie fell into that… no, no! Until I found a body it wasn't over.

"Is something wrong Harry?" Halsin asked concerned.

I focused back on Halsin, he may not be able to read my thoughts like the others but I doubt my poker-face held up enough to hide my pain. Distract him Harry, "Just thinking about the grove. After Kagha, are you sure it's a good time to go galivanting with a bunch of strays to dangerous places? Won't they need you?"

The mention of his old student hit the druid like locomotive, and I saw a flicker of anger in the elf's features. He knew I was trying to turn the conversation, but he let it ride for now, "I've chosen a new successor for First Druid- Francesca of the High Forest, I sent a bird to summon her."

"Whose she?"

"Precisely! Who indeed? You do not know, and neither do any of the others. The grove needs to move on beyond the mistakes of the past, both Kagha's and my own." Halsin said with the grief taking making his voice more solemn before regaining his footing to continue, "What it needs is an unknown quantity; an outsider who can enforce the Oak Father's teachings without bias. This is why I chose Francesca. She will restore simplicity and purity to the grove in my absence."

"You sure this won't cause problems. Especially with Kagha's 'cast out the foulbloods' Gestapo impression."

"Resentment will spring up like mushrooms no matter what I do. You cannot please everyone, and you'd be a fool to try. And besides…" Halsin leaned in slightly the anger even more present on his features, "… you and your friends killed the last group to get out of line with my wishes, so I doubt there will be much desire for resistance."

I met the elf's temper with a glare, "What happened with Kagha. It gonna be a problem?"

Halsin took a breath, visibly trying to calm himself, "No. What you did was necessary for both the tieflings and the grove. But despite her mistakes, I cared deeply for Kagha. So don't use her as ammunition to distract me from what you're hiding around Moonrise."

My glare evaporated in shame, I gave a nod of acknowledgement and apology before moving on to talk to the others.

I walked to my left and saw the tents set up by Shadowheart and Astarion. Shadowheart had already gone to sleep, so turned to greet the vampire. Astarion had his back turned, shirtless and was trying to feel a large and intricate scar that stretched the length of his back, "I-F- or is it an E? Is it even a letter? What damned language is this?" Astarion asked aloud, frustrated.

"None that I've ever seen, but the style looks demonic as all hell, pun not intended."

The pale elf nearly leapt out of his skin as he turned around, "Ah! What are you doing?"

"Looking up a library book, it's about yay high, written in a language that looks like a graffiti artist on a devil kick and is shaped like a skinny elf's back," I answered wittily.

Astarion glared at me, "Haha, you're hilarious Dresden. I was tracing the scars on my back, trying to read them by touch. But they may as well be written in Rashemi."

"Want me to take another look?" I asked dropping the sarcastic tone.

"I didn't ask you to do that," Astarion answered still annoyed.

"I know. Turn around."

Astarion's face softened a bit and obliged me. I looked closely at the swirling letters; they were crude, clearly hacked into the vampire's flesh over a matter of hours. A twinge of sympathetic pain ran through me at the thought of the process needed to create this macabre body art. I didn't recognise the language, but the style reminded me of certain demon contracts I'd seen over the years. The more dramatic contract holders always had the crude yet fancy lettering to drive home the soul-price.

"So? Anything?" Astarion asked impatiently

"I've no clue what language this is, but my gut says the lettering has some devil's claws all over it. Here I'll show you." I grabbed a stick from the ground and drew the symbols in the gathering dirt and dust on the cave floor.

Astarion turned around and shock ran across his face, "What in the hells? That's infernal. What did he do to me?"

"Any idea what it says?"

"I have absolutely no idea. But it's no poem."

"Is that what Cazador said he was writing."

"Yes. He said it was a piece of beautiful prose that had to be perfect. So, any mistake he made was… redone for hours." Astarion said hands clenching at the memory. "Two centuries carrying this, and I can finally see it

"I'm sorry. Did Cazador know Infernal to your knowledge?" I asked trying to get his mind back on question trail.

"No, I could have missed it of course, but I doubt it. Cazador was only figuratively hellish- there were never any devils hanging around the crypt. Whatever's been carved into my flesh, it's a mystery to me." Astarion said disappointment and worry lining his words, "Thank you, by the way. This is… well it's something."

"Don't mention it, and don't worry. Solving mysteries is my profession. Between the two of us, we'll figure it out." I said genuine smile creeping in.

"Will we? How… sweet." Astarion responded.

"Oh, don't get mushy on me now pale face. We still got a Sharran temple and a cult of illithid cultists between us and answers." I joked.

Astarion gave a genuine laugh at that, "Well, I guess we'd better get our rest. We won't find answers while sleep-deprived. See you in the morning darling."

After Astarion went into his tent, I walked to the other side of the camp. I found the target of my search deep in a book, "Gale, we need to talk." I spoke.

"Harry! You startled me. What do you want to talk about?" Gale responded putting the book down.

"Nertherise magic. What do you know about it?"

Gale's eyes lit up at the mention of the name, "Ah yes, the ever-mysterious magic around our tadpoles. To talk about that I need to tell you about Karsus." I gestured at my friend to continue and began his tale, "Karsus was perhaps the most powerful wizard that ever lived. The child that would be a god, the elves called him. And he tried. With a spell of his own devising, he endeavoured to usurp in one fell swoop the goddess of magic. Mystral, she was called then. Imagine what it must be like. To be a god. To know yourself to be untouchable. To be mistaken. As Karsus aimed his spell at her, she began to unravel, and with her, the entire Weave. Too late did he realise what he had unleashed. It would have been the end of everything had not Mystral sacrificed herself. The goddess of magic is all magic. By dying, the entire Weave was lost, and the spell that challenged a god failed. It was the end of Mystral, the end of Karsus, and the end of an entire civilisation. As the child who would be a god turned to stone, his empire came crashing down around him. The floating cities of Nertheril were no more. An event that came to be known as Karsus's folly."

"Netheril? So Netherise magic is… what? Scraps of Karsus's old magic?" I asked trying to put the pieces together.

"Precisely. Most fragments of Nethrise magic are in objects, and while they are powerful. They tend to be unstable. If the mindflayers figured out a way to use it, they must have an ungodly large source of it. But this brings up a larger question."

"What's that?"

"Why would mindflayers, a race that sees anything arcane as an abomination, be using a source of arcane power to protect their tadpoles?" Gale questioned

I pondered it myself. If the illithids didn't like magic, what could they gain by using it? Control? No, mindflayers have psychic powers in their own right and would only need to turn people the normal way to control a populace. Only one logical reason came to mind, "Someone else is behind the mindflayers, pulling the strings."

"Seems the only answer that doesn't go directly against the mindflayer's fundamental nature. But how? Who could control an entire colony of mindflayers?" Gale mused.

"I guess we'll find out when we get to Moonrise. Until then we need to be ready for anything." I said seriously

"Indeed. Anyone who can employ Netherise magic with this much precision is not to be taken lightly."

On that note, we said our goodnights. We needed the rest to confront whatever was coming next.

After drifting off to sleep I awoke in the Astral Plane, the Dream Visitor standing in front of me, still looking like a tiefling version of myself. "Oh joy. It's funhouse mirror time. What do you want?" I asked sass and exhaustion filling my words

"I promised I would be back, and we need to talk." The Dream Visitor said in my voice. "Don't worry I have things under control."

"Yes, because you are just a bastion of trust and honour. Nice horns by the way. Didn't think I could pull it off." I quipped as I got up to my feet.

"I apologize for my earlier deception it was…"

"Continued deception. That handsome face ain't yours either Freddie Krueger."

"It was… is a necessary precaution to ensure our continued freedom from the mindflayers."

"How? How could you not telling me who you are or using the mother of my child as a smoke screen protects us from the mindflayers." I snapped heat rising in my voice.

"Because I needed you to trust me! Clearly, that didn't work. But you need to listen to me, for no other reason than because I'm your only protection from the Absolute and transformation."

Well. I couldn't exactly argue with that. Argue over details sure, but for now, the Dream Vistor was my only protection. "What do we need to talk about?" I said flatly.

"You haven't used the power the tadpole gives you. You think you don't need it. But things haven't gone as you expected. You hoped a Druid as powerful as Halsin might be able to remove your tadpole. But he couldn't. You're desperate to be rid of it. Understandable, but you're looking for solutions in the wrong places."

"The mindflayer, Omeluuem. It said the tadpoles are protected by Netherise magic. You know anything about that?" I asked

"Yes. Omeluuem is correct. I knew the magic prevented the removal of the tadpole, but didn't know it was Netherise in origin. But this matters little, the tadpoles are merely a symptom of a larger sickness in Faerûn."

"The Absolute," I answered

"Exactly. The infected hear the voice of the Absolute and believe it to be a god. That is how the cult is spreading."

"And the True Souls all have a tadpole, like mine. Which they can use to control the lesser recruits." I said continuing the line of logic.

"It's worse than that. When the order to transform is given to any of the infected, it will not be a matter of days for conversion. They will be mindflayers in an instant." The Dream Vistor said as I focused on that line of thought. If the mind flayers, or whatever was behind the mindflayers, gave that order dozens if not hundreds of illithids would be created in an instant. Faerûn would be overrun. "Were it not for my protection, so would you." The Dream Visitor continued.

"Why are you helping us?" I asked trying to keep the heat out of my tone.

"It's complicated. But what you need to know is that I'm just like you. An adventurer, who was infected with a mindflayer parasite. And just like you I want to be rid of it."

"Be not afraid. We're not so different. Said the lion to the gazelle."

Before the Dream Visitor could respond to my banter, there was another crash in the distance, "Hells. They need me. I have to go. Get to Moonrise Towers. Use the power the parasite gives you to convince them you are one of them. And when you find the source of the magic, destroy it. Go. Our freedom depends on it."

And just like that I was cast back into a dreamless sleep.