Mazzy studied her new allies as they set off once more, reflecting how humiliating it was to be the damsel in distress. They’d shown her respect, though, which was more than many had done over the years. None of them seemed even faintly surprised that a halfling woman had gone adventuring in the first place. Anomen had asked her a few questions about her skills while Patricia and Nalia rummaged around in the next cell, eventually returning with her own armor and weapons. That had been a huge piece of luck, as it was hard to find armor for a woman her size.

In fact, they’d even presented her with a better bow than she already had, one equipped with a minor enchantment to improve accuracy, and added two full sets of enchanted arrows. Once they’d seen to it that she had the equipment she needed, all six had set off down the nearby passage to the room where Mazzy had learned the first light gem was located. There had been more Shadows lurking in the passageway, but they were prepared for the encounter, and no one took serious damage. She took little pride in the victory. She wanted to wreak vengeance against the Shade Lord, not his hapless minions.

Now they had just used the light gem to open the first force wall in the main passage. From there they turned into the next open doorway and found themselves on a rickety wooden staircase. Inevitably, they were attacked again as soon as they were well strung out along its treads. Mazzy was in the middle of the group, just ahead of Nalia and Jan. At Nalia’s shriek she turned around, to find that three Shadows had materialized between herself and the spellcasters. “Behind me, Jan!” she ordered from force of habit. “Nalia, get off the stairs and back in the hall!” She concentrated on parrying the creatures, occupying their attention while Nalia and Jan conjured up small globes of fire that they then hurled at the Shadows.

They managed to take down one of the creatures before she took a chilling blow to her left thigh. She nearly fell, but Jan managed to catch her even as the ranger’s giant two-handed sword fell through the air over her head to cleave the nearest Shadow neatly in half. The gnome helped her drag herself down another step or two, allowing Minsc to put himself between them and the remaining foes. Patricia came flying past as well, slashes on her face flowing crimson, blade at the ready.

Anomen paused to examine Mazzy’s leg, finding nothing worse than a few deep scratches. “If you sit still, the numbness will pass off in a while,” he told her. “I’ll tend to the rest later.” Even as he spoke, Minsc sent the last of the creatures back to the dead with a roar of triumph.

The others washed and bandaged their own minor wounds while they waited for her strength to return. Mazzy felt embarrassed at being the cause of the delay, until Patricia remarked off-handedly, “It only took ten minutes for the weakness to pass off for me, Mazzy, so Jan and I are going to scout ahead a bit. I saw a room with a pit of boiling lava in it opening off the bottom of the stairs before the Shadows fell on us. I’m not sure if we can get through there or not.”

Mazzy was grateful for the understanding, and for not being the first of the group to succumb to the Shadows’ power. Pride was about all she had left to fuel her now, pride and revenge. She wanted justice. The kind that involved a lot of suffering on the part of the evildoer. She was able to stand on her own by the time the others had returned.

“The route’s dangerous, but navigable,” Patricia reported. “There’s a ledge about eighteen inches wide all the way around the edges. We’ll have to jump around the support columns, but Jan made it easily. The heat coming off of the lava pool is pretty bad, but it won’t singe you. I’m not even sure it’s really lava; you’d think it would have melted the stone around the edges. Jan believes it’s some kind of enchantment. He went so far as to jump out onto a column fragment that had fallen out into the middle of the pool, and the heat wasn’t any worse there.”

“Found some interesting stuff, too,” Jan said smugly. “I’ll check it out later.”

“You point, Minsc follows,” the ranger said with a goofy grin.

“I am quite ready,” Mazzy added at once. Old habits died hard; she was used to appearing outwardly unruffled in the face of danger in order to bolster her party’s spirits. She admired Patricia’s aura of calm competence.

One by one they crept round the pool. The only real danger was posed by the columns spaced every fifteen feet or so, but that just slowed them down. They all realized there would be no swift retreat from this room, however, and paused for some time outside a doorway on the north wall. Hard as they listened, no one heard anything moving beyond.

Patricia knelt down on the ledge and peered cautiously around the edge of the opening. In a split second she pushed off her knees like a sprinter off the starting blocks and darted straight into the room, yelling “Skeleton warriors! Quick, get in here away from the lava!” even as she let fly with fists and feet.

Mazzy shook her head even as she charged into the room. She’d thought the woman might have been a kensai, a rare enough breed in this part of the world, but to see someone wreak so much havoc with nothing more than their bare hands! Patricia struck blows near as fast as she herself could fire arrows. Everyone took the human woman’s advice and rushed through the door. Mazzy teamed up with Minsc on one of the huge skeletons, smiling grimly as it acted confused by the disparity in the size of its attackers. Their weapons wound up at such different heights that it could not parry both swords at once. She concentrated on making horizontal swipes at the skeleton’s knees from behind while Minsc aimed more at the neck.

Suddenly she heard a startled shout from Jan. “Look out! It’s another one! Behind you, Ano!” Out of the corner of her eye she saw a huge bony forelimb slam into the priest’s back with a sickening thud. In a single swift movement, Patricia spun between Anomen and the new assailant, launching a foot at it with a deep, gut-wrenching cry. The woman connected with a resounding thud that sent the bone golem staggering backwards, stunned. The halfling abandoned her own target to help Patricia take on the new foe, while Jan and Nalia took out their daggers and advanced on the warrior threatening the downed priest.

The situation was growing dire: their healer badly injured, all the others hurt to some degree, and magic unable to do much damage to these creatures. Grimly they battled on, Patricia and Mazzy both using the bone golem’s momentary confusion to rain a hail of blows upon it. Behind them, Minsc let out a shout of triumph as the first warrior fell. Mazzy saw Nalia squeal in pain as the skeleton warrior caught her across the right shoulder with the tip of his blade. Minsc thumped over to defend the mage, while Patricia moved a fraction too slowly and was caught on the knee by one of the spurs on the golem’s skeletal arms. Yet even as the other woman went down, she threw herself into a sideways roll that carried her away from the golem. As the golem moved forward to follow its prey, it automatically raised its forelimbs in order to bring them crashing down on Patricia. Mazzy saw her opening and lunged upwards desperately, practically jumping up onto the golem as she struck hard at its breastbone. The blade of her short sword actually wavered a fraction, so great was the impact, and then she herself had to scuttle backwards to avoid being brained by bones falling away from the creature as it collapsed.

Mazzy moved on to the last opponent at once. Minsc had taken several long but shallow cuts that bled copiously, but together they were able to drag the second skeleton warrior down. As she paused to catch her breath, the halfling became aware of a stinging on her nose, and found to her dismay that she, too, had been marked during the battle. She turned around to look for the Watcher, only to find that Patricia had somehow managed to drag herself over to him. Mazzy watched with a horrified fascination as tongues of flame raced down Patricia’s arms and into the priest’s body. What in Arvoreen’s name was the woman doing? He gave a huge gasp even as Patricia turned her head aside and retched on the stone floor, shoulders shaking.

Jan gestured to the halfling, and she helped him support Anomen into a sitting position. The gnome gave the dazed man a look she didn’t quite understand and said forcefully, “Ano, you gotta pull yourself together. We’re hurt pretty bad, and if I have to stitch these wounds closed the scars’ll look like we were attacked by a flock of rabid chickens. Tisha had to call up The Thing just to get you conscious, so don’t blow it, okay?”

The woman’s name seemed to pull Anomen out of his daze. “Where?” he demanded, then grimaced as he tried to turn his head.

“She’s here,” Nalia said. “Her knee’s pretty bad, though.” Mazzy looked over and saw the mage wiping the other woman’s forehead with a damp cloth. There was nothing but a red mass where Patricia’s right knee should have been. The woman’s face was ashen, but almost inhumanly calm. Mazzy envied her that, though she couldn’t understand how the woman who had wept with her earlier could remain so detached now.

“Anomen,” Patricia said, her gaze riveted on the priest, “you must heal yourself first, or you won’t be able to do anything for the rest of us. I don’t want to use any more potions than we have to; there may be even worse trouble ahead. Do you understand?”

He waved a hand in acquiescence. His lips moved rapidly in silent prayer, and almost before the glow had ended he was walking stiffly towards Patricia. His hands rested gently on either side of her shattered patella as he made another incantation. Mazzy felt someone walk up behind her, and turned to see Minsc in the process of sitting down. The ranger reached across and gave her a handful of fresh berries. “Minsc can help, too,” he said proudly. “Eat these and you will feel better. Pretty Mielikki showed me how.”

The halfling meant to munch as quickly as she could, but found herself chewing slowly to make the flavor last longer. The sweetest, juiciest blackberries she’d ever eaten--- wait a minute! It wasn’t even Kythorn yet; how could he have found fresh blackberries? The bushes were still in bloom! She looked over at the Rashemani.

“The Pretty One can bring them back to life when they have dried,” he told her around his own mouthful. “That’s how they give you life, too.” She was feeling better. Cautiously she touched her face again, detecting no trace of the cuts.

Patricia staggered to her feet, and Anomen moved on to Nalia. Jan was peering intently at something that looked like a stone monument set against the wall on the east side of the room. Mazzy watched Patricia join the gnome in a careful scrutiny of every inch.

“Got it!” Jan exclaimed triumphantly. “See, Tish, I told ya there had to be a trap! Check out these hieroglyphs--- that sequence means ‘a hail of fire upon my enemies’, or my Uncle Spanky’s thumbs aren’t double-jointed!”

Patricia nodded. “I see it, Jan, but can you negate it?”

“Of course! Just a second.” He extracted a small tool from a vest pocket, then probed at a crack. “Aw, blazing wyverns!” he said, as the thin wire snapped. “Tish, lemme have a hairpin,” he asked, extending a hand without looking around. Mazzy noticed that the monk fumbled in a belt pouch to find one, rather than just removing one of the many that pinned her braids. The gnome had a small secret cavity opened in a few more seconds, whistling tunelessly as he examined his finds.

“Well, well, what have we here… some sort of priesty-type scroll, a nice bit o’ coin, and… hey, I know what this is!” he exclaimed. “Nally, c’mere!”

The other mage wandered over, still rubbing her shoulder. “What?” she asked, a little sourly it seemed to Mazzy.

“Gen-u-wine Wand o’ Lightning here, girl,” Jan replied. “Here, look, you can recognize one every time by these symbols carved here and here. Very useful, but you gotta be careful with your aim. Old Minsc might go berserk again if you turn him into a lightning rod.” The two wizards wandered off into a technical discussion Mazzy couldn’t follow. She looked around at a bit of a loss. Anomen and Minsc were tossing all the bones into the lava pit outside. She frowned. What was all this footling around? The Shade Lord awaited!

Patricia appeared by her side. “Mazzy, do have any idea how long you were in that cell?” she asked.

The halfling shrugged. “Not long. Perhaps a day; hunger and thirst were just beginning to plague me when you showed up.”

“Did you get much rest?” the monk continued. “Because we’ve been going for quite a while now, and I don’t care to face another fight unprepared. We had to force our way through many Shadows just to reach the temple, and there were two more of those skeleton warriors in a room just before we found you. Anomen has drawn upon nearly everything he has, Jan and Nalia have used all the spells they had stored in their memories that have proved effective against these monstrosities, and even Minsc and I have exhausted our own small boons.”

Mazzy burned with impatience, but forced herself to think through the situation as she would if her own friends were still alive about her. Patricia was right; if they fought another battle and received more deep wounds, they would be easy pickings for anything that fell upon them while they tried to rest. Better to call a halt now, while they could still defend themselves. The Shade Lord wasn’t going anywhere, after all, nor would anything they could do bring back the fallen. The lore was clear on that point: the only redemption for those that had fallen to the power of Shadow was a true death.

“I tried to conserve as much of my energies as I could, yes,” Mazzy answered. “If you insist on calling a halt, I have no choice but to agree.” Though if we stop, I will inevitably begin to think; and if I think, I will remember; and if I remember, my heart will break. She roused from her grim thoughts to hear Patricia speaking again.

“Well, if you’re rested, there is one thing you and I can do while the others settle as best they can. There is another doorway on the other side of the lava pool, and I think we had best examine it. We’ll have to hurry, though; Anomen and Jan cannot set their traps and wards on the entrance to this room until we return.”

Mazzy was happy to do anything rather than sit still. “By all means! Let’s go at once.”

They found the ledge on the wall between the two doorways much the easiest to navigate, as there were no columns to be sidled around on that side. Mazzy noted that Patricia made a silent and sure-footed passage, her boots making no more noise than the halfling’s own bare feet and her dark clothing fading into the shadows. The monk examined the doorway for a full five minutes before gesturing Mazzy to follow.

Both let out soft, startled cries at the sight that awaited them. The apparitions of two armored men floated a foot above the mosaic floor of a once-grand room. The ghosts extended pleading hands, and in the softest of rustling whispers the women heard voices in the still air of the chamber.

“Help us…” they begged. “We were once the protectors of Amuana, the Child of Prophecy, the Daughter of Light that was to renew the power of the Keeper of the Sun. But the Shade Lord burst the ancient bonds Amaunator placed about him before we were ready, and we were struck down as we strove to defend her. His minions feasted upon her, and they have hidden her bones. We cannot leave this room, but we are still bound to our task. Please, if you have any mercy, bring us Prophetess Amuana’s remains, that we may all rest!”

Mazzy and Patricia exchanged glances, and each saw a reflection of her own disgust and outrage in the other’s eyes. “Of course we will aid you,” Mazzy said. “Where might the poor child’s body be?”

Patricia cleared her throat, and Mazzy blushed in the gloom. I must remember that I no longer am a leader, but an unproven follower taken on by the others’ favor. She knew she would have kindly but firmly pointed out such a lapse on her friends’ part, and determined to submit to the correction with good grace.

The halfling was almost chagrined when Patricia addressed not her, but the ghosts. “I believe I know where she may be found. One of us already found her resting place, a priest who took care to bless the spot so her remains could not be further defiled. Yet if moving her is the only way to set you all free, we will bring Amuana here.”

“Yes…” the voices replied in chorus, “we felt the evil being pushed back around her, the return of a flicker of light to this wretched darkness. That is why we did not attack you at once. Those we kill at least go to a clean death, and do not swell the ranks of the Shade Lord’s army. May the blessings of the Keeper of the Sun be with you on your quest. Bring the Child of Light quickly! Place her within the cenotaph that awaits her there.” They pointed to a rectangular stone structure abutting one wall. “Then shall we be free of this eternal darkness!” The glowing shapes faded out, indicating they had no more to say for now.

“Mazzy, are you up for doing this by ourselves?” Patricia asked. “I want to get it over with, and the sooner we go, the less likely it is that the Shade Lord will have discovered your escape and set more guards. The two of us have a better chance of sneaking past unseen than Anomen and Minsc, and I don’t want to interrupt Jan and Nalia’s studies.”

The halfling was surprised, but eager for the challenge. She couldn’t help issuing a word of caution, though. Picking her words carefully, she said, “I am glad you find me worthy of your trust, Patricia, but… I wonder if perhaps you sometimes choose your allies a little too quickly. Did you not wonder whether I had been planted by the Shade Lord to lure the innocent?”

The monk looked at her with surprise. “No, Mazzy, I had no doubts once I felt the sorrow of your soul. There is no way you could have feigned such misery. The tears, yes, the tremor in the voice--- those might have been the work of a good actress, but not the weight in your heart. There was another sign, too,” she said enigmatically. “I’ll… explain later,” she added with evident reluctance. “For that matter, why did you come so readily with us?”

Mazzy thought for a few moments. “Respect and revenge,” she answered finally. “You didn’t pat my head and say ‘poor little halfling’. I despise that, and foolish talls have said it once too often. And I must see my friends… get a proper ending. I cannot face their families otherwise, nor would Arvoreen approve of any other course.”

Patricia flashed a quick, sad smile. “Well, let’s go see if we can give these poor spirits the ending they long for, at least.”