Adrian: Baldur's Gate

Edwin Odesserion was brooding. This in itself was not unusual for him, but he was brooding over the specifics of the situation.

They were on the way south from Baldur's Gate, towards Adrian's former home of candlekeep. It was in Candlekeep that, even now, the Iron Throne leader Reiltar was trying to form an alliance with the Knights of the Shield. Adrian was determined to get there and put an end to the Iron Throne conspiracy. By any means neccessary. And he wanted his brother Sarevok's head. Not neccesarily in that order, Edwin noted with wry amusement.

Then his mood darkened again. Between the evidence they'd found in Cloakwood, and the new evidence from the Throne tower, they finally had an idea of just what, exactly, in the Nine Hells the Throne was planning.

They had deliberately poisoned the iron coming out of Nashkel, the Sword Coast's primary source, and had sent bandits to raid the caravans from Waterdeep. Then, by mining their own pure iron in the Cloakwood mines, they could present these ores to the rulers of Baldur's Gate, and take the city and make it their own by economic dependence. The Dukes could elect whomever they liked, but if their existence depended on the Throne, the Throne would rule by proxy if not directly. Though Edwin did not doubt that this Reiltar, the head of the Swoard Coast branch of the Throne, would maneuver himself for election as a Grand Duke.

When the party had liberated the Nahskel mines from the poison taint, the bandits had been given double duty to raid these caravans as well. But then the party had destroyed that Bandit base, shut down the Cloakwood mines so the Throne could not profit, and then likewise eliminated the more organized warriors to the north blocking the Waterdeep caravans. The Throne were in dire straits.

Hence this alliance with the Knights of the Shield. Edwin was not a scholar of the political organizations of the western lands (though he knew the Zhentarim well enough), but he was sure that this would pose a problem. He could imagine his tutor's response to such inatentiveness, and grimaced.

But there was an undercurrent here. Sarevok. Clearly Adrian's half brother had his own agenda, independent of what the Throne wanted, and for the life of him Edwin couldn't fathom what it was. The Throne was still popular in Baldur's Gate, and the war tensions the Throne had stirred up in order to make their own cache of iron indespensible were still running high. And he knew, as Adrian surely did, that Sarevok was hoping to exploit that. But how?

He shook himself from such ruminations and eyed the rest of the party. Adrian's expression was stony. This was no true homecoming for him in any sense, it was clear. Adrian hadn't told Edwin or the others much about his past in Candlekeep, but from what little he had said, Edwin had gotten the idea it wasn't very pleasant.

It was hard, Edwin reflected, to play chess, when not only did the pawns have minds of their own, but you were playing more than one enemy at a time. It was though you were playing severeal different games at once, only all on the same board. There was Reiltar and the Throne, there was Sarevok, there were the Zhentarim, there was Adrian, the Harpers that precious little Imoen had allied herself with (another Bhaalspawn, who'd have thought), the Flaming Fist, and so on. Yes, it was definitely like playing chess in that way. But also, Edwin reflected morosely, while you were blindfolded.

And then there was Tiax. Edwin's eyes shifted to the mad little Gnome. Ever since the raid on the Throne tower, Tiax had started to get that gleam in his eyes. Edwin knew that gleam well, he and Xzar had shared it when they had plotted to use Adrian. Now, Edwin was sure, Tiax had made his own plans for the Bhaalspawn, in the name of the usurper of Bhaal that Tiax served.

Edwin snorted. Tiax was no chessplayer. More like a bratty child playing Blind Man's Bluff, and cheating. He fancied himself a manipulator, but he was not up to even Xzar's skills in that area. And Xzar, whatever else he might be, was not stupid. Mad, but not stupid. Tiax, from what Edwin saw, was both mad AND stupid.

What was more, Adrian had grown more cunning and powerful since Xzar and Edwin had played their games. He was on to Tiax already. Gods help the fool Gnome when Adrian had had enough.

He shifted his eyes to the Drow, Viconia. She too, was trying to manipulate Adrian. But not in terms of where he went or what he did, but rather how he did it. She felt, Edwin supposed, that she could guide him to his goals more efficiently, as a Drow woman. Edwin shrugged. Adrian had seen through Safana, he'd see through Viconia as well. There was more to their relationship than Adrian's tryst with Safana, but he still would not take to being commanded. By anyone.

Not that Edwin thought that they would break up, but Viconia would have to learn emotionally what she already knew intelectually, that Adrian was his own man. Not a Drow male to be subjugated.

All these machiavellian thoughts, however, were suddenly disrupted, when a colorful bolt of energy slammed home into the ground not five feet from the party.

They looked up, to see a ship floating in the air far above them.

"Halruaans," Edwin said. "The thieves told us they'd avenge the loss of their envoy."

"I'm open to suggestions!" Adrian shouted, jumping to one side and rolling to avoid another blast. Kagain was not so lucky, while it missed him the concussion of it blasted him off his feet.

"They'll have magical shielding against spells, even my spells," Edwin shouted back, as the whole party had scattered now, ducking and weaving. "But they won't be able to protect against your particular gifts!"

Adrian understood. He rolled, ducking another blast, then took a running charge to place him directly under the ship, which was coming down slowly, trying to get a closer range on it's targets. A lightning bolt slammed into the ground behind Viconia, who leaped to avoid it.

"Tiax will--" the Gnome began to shout, but an acid arrow found him and knocked him flat. Edwin shook his head scornfully.

Adrian reached a point directly under the ship, where they could not fire at him. He looked straight up at it, gray eyes narrowed, and inflated his lungs, and Bhaalscreamed.

The entire countryside shook with the thunder of that howl of primal rage. Edwin was staggered on his feet. The hull of the ship cracked in three places, and the Halruuan man-of-war began to list dangerously to port. A few unlucky crewmembers fell over, including a mage. He couldn't cast levitation in time to save himself or his lackeys, and they hit the ground in a series of sickening thuds.

"Viconia, dispel magic!" Adrian cried. She nodded and twisted her hands and prayed. Tiax was still down, shivering his way through the acid arrow's effects. It would not kill him, Edwin knew, but he was certainly out of the fight.

Viconia's dispelling struck the ship, and it groaned and began to tremble. It was magic, after all, that kept it aloft in the first place.

Without needing instructions, Edwin and Xzar fired off simultaneous fireballs at the man-of-war. They detonated simultaneously, finding the cracks in the hull.

The Halruuan craft exploded with a thunderous noise. flaming wood falling everywhere, as well as less pleasant debris.

But one mage had survived the carnage. The captain, Edwin presumed. Floating down on a magical disc of some sort, he launched a fireball of his own, straight at Edwin.

Edwin leaped to the left, but not quite far enough, and his robes caught fire. Xzar responded with a squeal of insane rage, and hurled a skull trap at the Halruuan. It did not touch him, but did a fine job of disrupting his defenses. Edwin's magic missiles and Adrian's Minor Drains found him shortly thereafter, and he fell off his disc, which faded into nothing. Landing hard on his back, the Halruaan had his wind knocked out. Viconia was there almost instnatly, pounding him flat.

"I think," said Adrian, breathing heavily, "That's enough excitment for one day."

"Oh yes, quite," Edwin agreed.

"We'll camp here tonight, and reach Candlekeep tomorrow."

At that very moment, Sarevok and Winski arrived at Candlekeep, with Winski of course having a tome to pass to the guards to let them through.

Someone else was watching. His name was Emirikol. He had been cast out, first from Baldur's Gate, then Ulgoth's Beard, for the vicious and wild attacks on others in public he performed with his magic. They would've killed him, had he not esacped the Fist. Now he did in the wilds, watching and waiting. He had observed the battle with the Halruaans, and was duly impressed.

"Finally a worthy enemy," he breathed. He would not attack, not yet. He would watch, and wait, for the moment of weakness