Cards Reshuffled

Freedom is certainly one of the most precious things in the world. You cannot really appreciate its true value until you have lost it, and once you have lost it you will do just about anything to regain it. And once you have regained it, you will fight to the death in order not to lose it again.

Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’

“You have the key! You have it! Thank the Gods! And thank you truly, my friend, for what you have done.” Hendak, the leader of the Copper Coronet slaves, was an impressive-looking warrior. Tall and muscular, his body was covered with scars that bore silent witness to the many battles he had lived through, and his face was hard and wary. Yet right now there were tears streaming freely down it, as Jaheira swiftly unlocked the doors to the other cells, and his hands were trembling as he grasped a sword that had belonged to one of the fallen guards. Other gladiators were coming up to him now, and he straightened up, raising his sword into the air. “We are free, my brothers! Go, now, and free the women! Hendak will strike his blade into the heart of our so-called owner, so that he shall never trouble you again! Go and savor your freedom!”

The rest of the slaves roared at his words, their faces filled with joy, but also with terrible anger. “Praise be! We are free! Free at last!”

“Free!”

“Free!”

“Death to the slaver! DEATH!”

Hendak momentarily turned towards the adventurers, and there were still traces of tears on his cheeks, but his eyes burned with a fierce light. “Thank you again, my friends. Now to the task of killing that fiend, Lehtinan. Assist me if you wish. Otherwise, stand and watch the vengeance of Hendak be fulfilled!” Once again, he addressed the slaves. “The time has come! Now, we go! For freedom!”

And the slaves roared again, a cry loud enough that it almost seemed to make the rotting foundations of the Copper Coronet tremble. “FREEDOM!”

The battle was short, but bitter. The slaves didn’t have too many weapons to start with, but between them they had many, many years experience of fighting for their lives, and they really had nothing to lose. The guards put up some resistance, but in the end they either fell or fled. Zaerini and her friends helped out as they could, smoothing the way for the rebelling slaves, granting them access into the inn proper. And so it came to be that Hendak the Gladiator came face to face with Lethinan at last, the cruel master of the Copper Coronet. The innkeeper’s face was twisted up with frustrated rage, and he was literally spitting as he spoke, threatening his former slave with death and terrible punishment. He was wrong of course. Without his mercenaries to back him up, Lethinan did not stand a chance against the warrior, and he soon died, vomiting his own blood up as he was impaled on Hendak’s blade.

Rini watched, trying to slow her own breathing after the battle. As had happened before, the sight of the blood, the sharp tang of it in her nostrils made her feel…excited. Her heart was beating faster, she wanted more of the smell, wanted it on her hands, on her face, to feel life extinguished by her blade, by the spells she could command, snuffed out like a candle and…No! No, I don’t want that! That’s not me, that’s the beast talking, the madness.

Steady kitten, Softpaws warned her, a soothing presence in her mind. Remember your brother.

Yes…Sarevok…don’t want to end up like Sarevok…

The battle is over, kitten. There is no more fighting here. Look, it is all over.

The half-elf blinked the sweat out of her eyes, looking about her in some confusion. Her familiar was right, the battle was indeed over, only the moans of the wounded and the blood on the ground remained. Dimly, she was aware of Hendak thanking her and the others for their help, offering some money and nice spell scrolls that Lethinan had kept on his person as reward. Apparently he intended to take over the tavern for himself, and to try to return as many slaves as possible to their former homes. Then his face turned grim. “I wish I did not have to ask, but there is one more task that needs doing. The slavers remain at large within Athkatla, hidden at their base here in the slums. They have many children, yet, that they retain as slaves. I would ask of you to rid the city of this infestation once and for all.”

Children…slaves…nobody should have to be a slave, but especially not a child. “I will,” she said, and there was something in her voice, an eagerness that once again reminded her uncomfortably of Sarevok at his most bloodthirsty.

The children, kitten, Softpaws, leaping into her mistress’ arms, looking steadily at her with her green eyes. They are the important thing, not the slavers. Don’t you agree?

The fires flickered and died as she recalled the hopeless looks on the faces of those children she had already found caged below the Copper Coronet. Yes…yes, of course they are. The children. Must help the children. “Yes,” she repeated, her voice calm once more, the fire in her blood mercifully dimmed. No longer did the smell of blood entice her, it revolted her and she was grateful for it. “Yes, we will try to help the children.”

Hendak smiled at her, his eyes warm. “I thought you would. I would go with you myself, but I must stay here, to keep this place a safe haven for those place too weak to defend themselves against the thugs on the street. I dare not leave at the moment. The compound is not far from here...a dry-docked boat just across the way on the east side of the slums. It may be risky to approach openly. There was talk of a secret passage to the sewer connecting the Coronet to the slaver base, but I do not know where it might be. I know nothing of the defenses of the place inside, however. My stay there was brief and very long ago.”

“Minsc is happy that we will save the little children!” the ranger stated. “But he is boiling with rage that children are kept in chains! That is not right, and little Boo is quivering with righteous Hamster Fury, so that Minsc is quite worried he will shake all his pretty fur off!” Then Zaerini could feel the giant berserker’s hand on her shoulder, steadying her. “Minsc also thinks his Witch needs some rest before the next battle. It is all right for Minsc to lose his head in a fight, he doesn’t use it anyway, but a Witch needs to be calm and rested. Minsc will tuck his Witch in good and make some nice hot Rasheman tea, using Boo’s best recipe.” Before the bard knew it, Minsc had easily picked her up in his enormous arms, and was carrying her towards the stairs. Eyes wide with surprise, she could only watch as the amused faces of her friends receded behind her, except for Softpaws, who padded silently behind the ranger, purring loudly. Clearly the cat agreed that she should get some rest. Is this really what leadership is supposed to be like? Somehow this sort of thing never happens in the stories…but I wouldn’t want to hurt Minsc’s feelings, and I guess I am pretty exhausted…

Rest certainly did feel good, and when Rini woke up some time later, she did feel much better. She yawned, stretching carefully to work all the kinks out of her back, and then got out of bed, carefully prodding the roof of her mouth with her tongue. The pitch-black tea that Minsc had brought her had no doubt been made with love, but it had also been blisteringly hot, not to mention strong enough to make her ears feel like they were about to wilt.

“Oh, Minsc is sorry!” Minsc had said. “Rasheman tea takes practice, Minsc should have said…”

“That’s…that’s all right, Minsc,” Zaerini had said, trying to catch her breath, wondering if the top of her head was about to come off. “I’m sure I’ll…get used to it…”

Minsc had beamed proudly at this, as if he was a mother duck and she was his favorite duckling. “Minsc will make it every night then, so his Witch will sleep real good and feel all hot and snuggly! It also is good for fur, Boo drinks it often and look how nice and shiny he is!” The half-elf had met the glittering black eyes of the hamster, and for a moment she thought Boo gave her a look of fellow suffering. Well, ‘shiny fur’ or not, at least the terrible tea had helped her sleep well, and now she felt about ready to go after those slavers. Having pulled her clothes on and brushed out the worst tangles in her hair, she decided to go search for her companions. The sun was low in the sky, so she must have slept for at least a couple of hours. Hopefully they hadn’t all wandered off while she slept.

As she approached the stairs she could hear voices coming from below, and easily recognized Minsc, Anomen and Jan. From what she could tell, it sounded as if Jan was telling a story, one involving soap, paladin basic training, and inflatable women. Anomen’s groans were clearly audible. Shaking her head, she decided to wait until a little later before joining them. As she was about to turn around to enter her room again she heard something behind her. “Oh, hi Edwina,” she said, not turning around.

“How did you know it was me?” Edwina asked, sounding rather put out. “I’ll have you know I was being extremely sneaky and stealthy, moving as quiet as a shadow. (Damn. This ‘stealth’ business is so much trickier than it looks.)”

“Well,” the half-elf said as she turned around, giving the wizard a small grin, “I guess you have to be really good in order to sneak in high-heeled sparkly red boots. Keep practicing though, you may get there eventually.”

“Hmpf,” Edwina said, tapping said sparkly red boot against the floor. “I suppose high fashion means sacrificing a little practicality…a pity. Still, it should be possible to outfit them with some sort of spell to muffle noise – or would that be cheating? Yes…it probably would. And besides, it could wear off at an awkward moment.” She twined her hair a little awkwardly between her fingers. “How is it that you are not downstairs, guzzling beer with all those witless barbarians and listening to the gnome tell tall tales about a family large enough to give even a rabbit pause and start thinking about contraceptives?”

“I just woke up,” Rini said in a reasonable voice. “How come you aren’t?”

There was perhaps just the slightest hint of hesitation before the wizard spoke, her voice laced with acid. “Why would I want to?” she said, her full lips curling into a disdainful sneer. “The crowd downstairs is composed entirely of raving monkeys with only one thing on their mind, and I do not mean bananas. It is hardly a place befitting my breeding and refinement, you know. Besides, I do not need that sort of company anyway. They would only distract me from my studies, most likely by making me ponder how so few brain cells can propel so many pounds of muscle forwards.”

And you wouldn’t want to run the risk of getting embarrassed again, would you? Oh dear… “All right,” the bard said in a neutral voice. “Whatever you say. But in that case, how about keeping me company for a while? Unlike you, I do need it now and then, and I don’t feel like going downstairs right now either, at least not until Jan finishes that story.”

Edwina blinked briefly, dark eyes somewhat confused. Then she rallied. “Certainly! Clearly you are in need of some intellectual conversation, with somebody capable of forming polysyllabic words, and of showering you with scintillating conversation and dazzling wit. And since I am, of course, the only possible choice, I suppose I shall have to sacrifice myself, simply in order to keep you sane.”

“Thank you Edwina,” Zaerini said, her voice perfectly serious. “Much obliged.” She motioned for the other woman to enter the bedroom, and then sat down on the bed, next to her. “I was just thinking,” she said, “that I ought to give this another try, now that we have the time.” She slowly reached her hand out towards the wizard’s neck.

“What?” Edwina almost shrieked, her eyes as wide as teacups.

“The amulet,” the bard clarified, teasing the ruby slowly out of the wizard’s robe by pulling at the chain. “If you don’t mind, I thought I could try another scrying of it.” Oh gods…her skin is so soft…and hot too…and…no no. Mustn’t spook her. But maybe if I can just get her used to me being close to her…

“Oh!” Edwina gasped, startling a little at the half-elf’s touch. “No, no…I don’t mind at all…please go ahead, it is all in the name of scientific research after all and…(Is it supposed to feel like this for a woman? I never realized…yes, further research is definitely required.)” Her eyes were half-closed by now, and she had unconsciously grasped Rini’s hand, pressing it against the amulet that was hanging around her throat. The bard could feel the smooth stone pressing into her palm, almost as hot as the skin surrounding it, and there was a pulsating rhythm to the flickering light within its depth, the same rhythm she had sensed before, as of the heartbeat of a living creature.

Is the amulet itself alive? No…no, I don’t think so. That seems wrong, somehow. And yet…there is definitely something there…something aware.

As she cast the scrying spell, focusing on the amulet, Rini briefly got the same impression as before, that of beautiful stars, swirling through the darkness. But this time, the vision was replaced by something else, as the scrying tried to show her the truth from a different angle.

She was wandering through a dark forest, where tall trees blotted out most of the sunlight coming from above, and thorny bushes tried to grasp for her feet. The wind whistled through the treetops, far above, and now and then she could her noises in the bushes as some animal passed. Some large animal, by the sound of it. The sun was already setting, and the red rays of the dying sun didn’t manage to do more than provide a faint contrast to the dark shadows lingering between the trees. Yes, a dark place, a place full of peril, she could sense that. Not evil though, not as such. There was life all around, she knew that as certainly as if Jaheira had been there to confirm her knowledge. Whatever this place was, it was natural. In its own wild way, it was even beautiful.

Natural, yes. But still dangerous. The sense of it increased with every step she took further into the forest, where the paths disappeared and she had to force her way deeper into the gloom. She could hear something…hear it in her bones rather than in her ears. A deep, throbbing sound. A heartbeat, the heartbeat of this very place, and as a sense of surprised disapproval washed over her, she knew that she had been noticed.

Who are you? The wind whispered it, the shadows hissed it, and the trees creaked it. Many voices, yet all of them were really the same, she thought. One single voice, multiplied, whispering. You are an intruder…you are not welcome here…

“I mean no harm,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “I seek only the truth.”

The truth? The voices were mocking now, yet bitter at the same time. What makes you think you can handle the truth? What makes you think you have the right to seek it? Go away, leave us alone. This intrusion displeases us…we will stand for it no longer.

“But I…” There was a light up ahead now, she could glimpse it between the trees. A beautiful, beautiful light, and somehow she knew that it contained all the truth she sought. But the heartbeat of the dark forest was increasing in pace, increasing in anger and resentment, and the wind was howling with fury. She took a step closer.

You will not go. The voices in the shadows were quiet now, and that made them somehow even more frightening, especially since they sounded closer than before. Very well. Then we will see you out. You will not approach against our will, nobody will. Never. There was a terrible growl coming from behind her, the growl of some large animal that sounded both angry and hungry, and she could feel hot breath against her back.

With a gasp, Rini managed to tear herself out of the scrying spell, half expecting to feel large teeth closing around her throat. “Oh gods…” she breathed. “Guess I wasn’t really welcome…”

“What is it?” Edwina asked, sounding worried. “What did you see?”

“I’m not sure…I can’t make sense of it. Except for one thing. The amulet itself may not be alive, but there is definitely a connection to something alive in there. Alive and dangerous.”