8 Mirtul, 1369 DR

I am sorry to make such an abrupt change from the words I had written above, dear sister, but the deed is finished. It seems years ago that I penned those fatuous maunderings about what turned out to be a simple miscommunication. We began our infiltration into the Keep just before dawn, and the fighting was hard from the first….

[Several folios omitted.]

…and so, Moira, we left Lady Delcia behind, and glad I was to part company with her! She has lost none of her vinegar over the years. Do her letters to you brim over with acid as well, or does she save her invective for the spoken word?

We were all conscious that the final battle must be drawing nigh. Our bid to regain the Keep must needs be won or lost by our deeds below. The first room we entered was empty, containing nothing more interesting than vegetable bins, though that strange little gnome seemed quite taken with one small basket of turnips.

Within the second chamber several trolls lay in wait for us, but we were able to dispatch them with a minimum of effort. Still, we were not entirely unharmed, and we hesitated to use what limited store of healing supplies remained to us. Patricia had taken care to give the weaker members of our party several short pauses for rest, but Nalia and Jan were visibly starting to flag. I must say that she is an attentive leader, ever mindful of the group’s needs, though perhaps a little lax on discipline. Still, these others are no soldiers drilled in unit action and accustomed to obeying orders, so a harsher approach might perhaps be unproductive, after all.

Patricia did find a clever means around the dilemma of the umber hulks. Rack our brains as we might, she and I had been unable to recall the details of their mode of attack. To avoid a close confrontation, she hit upon the plan of using a wand of cloudkill to remove them from a distance. The beasts were locked within a room that had once been the main quarters for the prison guards, according to Nalia, and all its exits had tight-fitting doors. Patricia positioned herself in front of the doorway that connected with the torture chamber, with Jan, Nalia, and Minsc fanned out behind her, bows at the ready. I opened the door quickly while Patricia triggered the wand’s power, then slammed it shut as soon as the spell discharged. This kept the umber hulks penned within the poisonous cloud, so that we merely needed to wait until the fumes dispersed. We counted six bodies afterwards; it was well that we did not face them one-to-one.

Moira, you can imagine how much excitement welled within me at the thought that soon we would face the heart of the evil within this place. I wished nothing more than to strike at once, but prudence dictated that we take some moments to assess the situation. Nalia told us that the final room within the Keep had once been the family crypt, as well as a chapel, but her grandfather had chosen to remove all her ancestors’ remains to a more fashionable location in Athkatla’s Cemetery District, at which time it fell into disuse as a chapel to Waukeen. Her father had rededicated it to Tyr when he inherited the title shortly after the Time of Troubles.

According to Nalia, the room was roughly rectangular, with the entrance on the short western side. There was little cover except for behind the shrine at the east end and behind the columns of a colonnade that ran along the northern side. After much debate and examination of our remaining resources, it was decided that Jan would try to make use of some spell known as “Minute Meteors”, while Nalia would concentrate on firing more conventional missiles of destruction. Patricia gave Minsc and myself potions of speed to drink before the battle commenced, so our blades might strike twice as often.

I began my part by calling upon the power of Helm for our protection as we readied ourselves to face this foe, then further drew upon His righteousness to enhance my own power and skill. Patricia appeared to be conducting some similar ritual herself, though I did not catch the words of her chant this time any more than I had in the courtyard.

At length we were prepared to begin our assault upon this last bastion of resistance. The battle was hard-fought indeed, sister, but by Helm’s grace our strength of righteousness did prevail. TorGal was a vile beast, and he and his minions used every wile learned by years of evil scheming to try to send us to our graves. If Patricia had not had the foresight to give Minsc and I the potions, I do not believe we would have succeeded; it was only the speed of our attack that saved us, for we were able to harm them grievously before they were ready to parry us.

Patricia’s blade and even her hands and feet seemed to be everywhere at once, blurring the air around TorGal himself. Jan’s glowing motes of fire kept the chief’s minions from regenerating while the Rashemite and I attacked them. Even with such magical aid, the two of us took many blows from their raking claws. Nalia confined herself to tormenting TorGal with acid arrows.

Yet there was little joy for us in our victory. We were too late for Lord de’Arnise. He had been savagely dealt with, and there was no hope of raising him. Lady Nalia was understandably distressed, but bore the sight better than I would have expected even this morning.

Only Jan came off unscratched. The rest of us all have wounds of one sort or another, but rather than use our precious store of healing potions, we shall all rest until the morrow, when the gods may see fit to restore our powers. Don’t worry overmuch, Moira. I shall be hale as ever soon. I’ve only some deep scratches and innumerable bruises. Within a few days I shall be back in Athkatla, and if you are willing to risk Father’s ire, you may meet me yourself to see my state. I do long to see you, and if the others return with me, perhaps you would like to meet these new companions of mine. I don’t expect that Lady Nalia will accompany us, though, since she will have so many other cares. I regret the loss of her father, but otherwise I can feel nothing but pride in the part we have played here. I grow hungry, and I think I shall see if there is any chance of getting a hot meal tonight. The Guards have returned already, and a few servants with them, as well as Lady Delcia.

Remember, I love you always. Do please try to see me this once; my Trial could come at any day now, and I’ve no guarantee that I will be able to send word to you then. I would like to have your counsel again, Moira. The past few days have allowed me much time to think of old words of yours that passed unheeded before, and now I begin dimly to see some of the ideas you wanted so much to instill in me. The nearer the time comes, the more I find myself composed of nothing so much as a strange mixture of fear and hope. I miss you very much, perhaps the more because some of the things Patricia has said have reminded me of you.

				Your devoted brother,
				Anomen