Cards Reshuffled

Just because a creature is powerful, and immune to many things, that doesn't make it invulnerable in any way. Difficult to kill, maybe. But anything that lives, be it a Tarrasque or a Chosen of Mystra, can be got at in one way or another, under the right circumstances, and if you're lucky enough. You simply need to learn to think around the conventional patterns.

Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’

There was an odd tang to the air, Zaerini thought. It felt almost electrically charged, as if lightning had just struck. It made her skin tingle. The interior of the cave was fairly large, and there was a soft green light illuminating the way of the adventurers as they made their way further inside. She could hear the bubbling sound of running water too, soothing and relaxing. However, she seriously doubted that whatever awaited them inside would be relaxing at all. She could remember the previous encounter with Faldorn all too well. Shadow Druids. Crazy people, trying to destroy all of civilization. Should we all live in caves then, and dress in animal skins? Probably not wash either, from what I remember of Faldorn. Total nutter, that woman. And Jaheira means to fight her alone…The half-elf nervously bit her lip. She was worried about her friend, seriously worried. Jaheira was a powerful druid of course, but it seemed that Faldorn had access to strange gifts at the moment, powers beyond those of any regular druid. Jaheira still wasn’t certain exactly what the Shadow Druid had done, only that it was dangerous. She’d better be careful, that’s all I say. I’ve lost enough friends, I won’t lose her too.

Now she could see the water, a crystal clear stream pouring out of the cliff wall, collecting in a small but deep pool. It was funny…the water was so clear that she should have been able to see the bottom of the pool clearly, but for some reason she couldn’t. The water simply went on and on, and staring into it was enough to make her head spin. Jaheira bent down next to the pool, gathering a little water into her hands, sniffing it gingerly and then tasting it. “The source…” she said. “Something is interfering with the holy fount, the center of the Grove. It has to be…”

Low and rasping laughter drifted towards the adventurers out of the mist floating above and around the pool, and then there was a female shape walking towards her. Zaerini stared at the woman heading for her, her mouth slightly open with surprise. She recognized Faldorn all right, from the tangled brown hair that probably hadn’t seen a comb in years, to the cold and fanatical look in her eyes. This time Faldorn wasn’t dirty however. Instead there was water streaming off her hair and body, as if she had just stepped out of the pool. Her worn brown tunic was completely soaked, and her bare legs were glistening. She looked thinner than before too, almost half-starved, but still more powerful than Rini remembered her. Something about the way she moved, as if she were a queen in her castle. “Well, what have we here?” Faldorn said with a contemptuous sneer. “Some fool come to stop the righteous force of nature? Laughable. Say what you must and then we shall purge the earth of your filth.”

“Hey, Faldorn, don’t be a stranger now!” the bard said and flashed the other woman a quick grin, much like the display of a bared blade. “You know us, we beat you up once before, or did you get so badly thrashed that you’ve suffered a memory lapse? And speaking of purging, I’m happy to see you’ve finally got around to taking a bath. That would be the first in, what…ten years or so? I’m surprised you lived through the shock.”

“I recall you, little gnat,” Faldorn scoffed. “You do not interest me. Begone, and you may live yet a while, before the nature's wrath catches up with you and your wicked city ways.”

Zaerini was just about to reply to this, when she found herself gently pushed aside. Jaheira was stepping forward, a steely look in her green eyes, and when she spoke her voice was as biting as the north wind. “Do you also remember me, cur?” the half-elven druid spoke. “You ran from me once, with your tail between your legs as the dog you are. I will see you run again, or else dead for what you have done here.” The druid’s teeth were bared in a snarl now, and she was gripping her staff tightly. “I have sensed what you have done here, Shadow Druid. You are draining this place of life, using it for your own twisted purposes. You have perverted the plants and animals, forcing them into senseless attacks against the people of Trademeet, causing much death and pain on both sides. You will not be allowed to continue with these atrocities.” Her voice was even stronger now, and held a clear challenge. “I make claim that you are an affront to all nature. You are a disruption that will not be allowed, and I will fight with the power of my faith and conviction.”

Faldorn laughed again, her eyes gleaming with triumph. “Poor, pitiful traitor. I am stronger than ever with the aid of this grove. No harm can come to me here. Such bonding is frowned upon as it drains energy from the earth, but the mother feeds me that I might fight for her!”

Jaheira’s eyes didn’t leave those of the other druid for a second. “That is not so. You are starving the earth, whether you know it or not, perverting the life forces of all the creatures of this swamp. Yet the old rituals still rule this place, for without them your rule is empty and signifies nothing. If you dare not meet my challenge, and meet it on equal terms, then all your followers will know you for the weakling coward that you are. I will not have this place remain in your 'care'! By the great mother, you will not leave the duel alive!”

Faldorn was still smiling, her hands confidently resting on her hips. “You are mistaken, of course. I revel in the combat of the rituals, and I welcome the chance to end your miserable existence. Come, to your death!”

The ritual battleground was basically a wide pit, with smooth and high walls all around it. None other than the two combatants were allowed inside, and they were also allowed no weapons or armor other than a plain quarterstaff. Rini watched as Jaheira silently stripped her armor off, finally standing there in only her plain green tunic and brown leggings. Even her feet were bare. The druid carefully checked her hair, securing some of the small braids in it, so that they wouldn’t get into her eyes as she fought, and then flexed her muscles several times before picking the quarterstaff up. She weighed it in her hands, checking the balance of it, then swung it experimentally through the air a couple of times.

Faldorn was watching idly from the other side of the pit, a small and satisfied smile on her lips.

I don’t like this, Rini thought. She seems far too confident. I bet she’s planning to cheat somehow, but Jaheira will never back off. If only I could help somehow…

You can’t interfere with the fight itself, Softpaws said from her perch on the bard’s shoulder, rubbing her head against Rini’s neck. She would never let you.

I know. And I won’t. But if Faldorn tries anything…then I’ll do what I’ll have to do. I’d rather have Jaheira mad at me than have her dead, after all.

That is the best way, kitten. You think first, you do what you have to do, and then you deal with the results. Me, I rather look forward to this. The druid is skilled in a fight, I will enjoy seeing her shed some blood. Females always fight more viciously than males, you know.

I didn’t know that – but I believe you.

And now the two combatants were stepping into the pit, glaring at each other across the expanse of tightly packed earth that separated them. There was no signal given, but something passed between the two women, a challenge met and answered, and then the fight was on. At once a metallic sheen sprung up around Jaheira's body, a protective outer layer of skin, as hard as iron. Faldorn did the same, and then followed up with another spell. A burning sword appeared in her hand, composed entirely of flickering flames, and she lunged for Jaheira in a savage attack. Jaheira brought her staff up to meet it, but the magical sword burned clear through it, and forced her to leap aside, her weapon cloven into two useless stumps.

"Fool woman, your staff is broken!" Faldorn mocked. "You may as well give up."

Jaheira didn't answer. Instead she dodged another swipe from the burning sword, rolling away to the other side of the pit, and then sprang to her feet again, her arms stretched out in front of her. As she chanted a spell of her own an orange light appeared between her outspread fingers, and then coalesced into a vaguely humanoid shape, a being of pure fire. The fire elemental hissed, and then headed for Faldorn, causing the Shadow Druid to retreat in turn. "I need no staff to beat you, Shadow Druid," Jaheira said, her voice low and husky. "I will be pleased to strangle you with my bare hands."

Faldorn was warily backing away from the elemental, but she hardly seemed in a mood to give up. "I think not," she said. "But since you mention strangling…I took the liberty of preparing a special little surprise for you." She raised her voice, and it rang out like the hunting call of a bird of prey, a falcon perhaps. "Rise to serve me, spirit of the swamp! Rise to serve me, oh Great Old One! Your seed is strong, and it is planted deeply. Rise, and crush my foe!"

There was a deep rumbling sound coming from the ground. The dirt floor of the fighting pit trembled, then shook. And then it erupted outwards, as a creature three times the size of a large bear climbed out of it. It had two arms, two legs, and a head, but apart from that it didn't look particularly human. A strong smell of rotting vegetation emanated from it, which wasn't all that surprising, given that it seemed to be a form of plant, rather than an animal, and it even had some leaves and vines hanging off it in places. The head was fairly flat, with no neck whatsoever, the wide mouth lacked teeth, and there were no obvious eyes, though they might have been hidden beneath the odd ridges that covered the forehead. It had long arms that practically dragged on the ground like those of a gorilla, and enormous fists.

"Oh my…" Jan breathed. "That sure does look like Swamp Turnip…I had no idea my relative lived in these parts. Think some Jansen family values still live inside that green body of his?"

"I doubt it," Edwina said, not taking her eyes off the thing. "That beast was never a gnome. It is a Shambling Mound. Very dangerous plant-creature. Weapons have little effect on it, it is so wet that it is partially resistant to fire and it isn't very vulnerable to cold either."

"Lightning?" Rini asked, her heart in her mouth as she watched Jaheira dodge a blow from one of those big fists.

"Only makes it grow larger, I'm afraid. (I learned that to my sorrow in a memorable game of Wizard in the Dungeon…and my poor character had almost reached level 20 too…)"

Down in the fighting pit, Jaheira agilely dodged again, rolling swiftly between the legs of the Shambling Mound to come up on the other side. The fire elemental was attacking the larger beast by now, but not faring too well. Its flames did little or no harm, and it took only two blows to make it scream and collapse into nothing, its fire extinguished as it returned to its own plane. "Shadow Druid!" Jaheira cried out. "You have broken the law of the Challenge, that spell must be prepared in advance! You planted that seed as soon as you knew I was coming, did you not?"

"Of course I did," Faldorn replied, her voice indifferent. "And I rule here…the law is what I say it is."

"That is not so, and I will show it to you!"

"Bah! You will be dead in moments, traitor. You are alone against a Shambling Mound, there is nothing you can do." She barked out a few commands to the hulking plant creature, and it lurched after Jaheira again, obeying the will of its summoner.

All right, that does it, Rini thought. Faldorn is obviously cheating, so I don't think even Jaheira can blame me for evening the odds out a little. At least I can give her more room to attack.

"Hey, Faldorn!" she cried out. "Since you hate people so much, why don't you take Plant Guy down there for your new boyfriend? All you need to do is water him to keep him growing, and you'll soon have dozens of little homicidal sprouts popping out!"

Faldorn twisted her head around, glaring at the bard. "What did you say?"

"Of course," Zaerini went on, "you probably can't match his intellectual capacity, and he does smell better than you. Quite frankly you remind me of a dead rat, both in looks and olfactory sensations. I'd rather see this place ruled by a cockroach than by you, you fanatical flower freak. Though perhaps I shouldn't worry, your actions so far have really made everybody within miles hate you and all druids, and there are far more non-druids than there are druids in the world…but I guess counting beyond the number of your fingers and toes is beyond you. How much would that be, anyway? Twelve or so, you inbred offspring of village idiots? You may want to close your mouth now, you'll start drooling any second, and considering the state of your teeth I don't doubt that your spit is corrosive…"

Faldorn really was standing there with her mouth open, her face turning redder and redder at the steady stream of rapid insults. The Shambling Mound hesitated, looking confused as her control over it slackened a bit. That was when Jaheira struck. Under her breath, she muttered a complex spell, and as she finished it off a sickly green light emanated from her fingertips, striking the Shambling Mound straight in the chest. It shuddered violently, grunted with pain and clawed at its chest with its large hands, as if in great pain.

"No!" Faldorn cried out as the large green humanoid staggered towards her, its heavy feet making wet, slurping noises. "NO!"

The Shambling Mound opened its mouth in a soundless scream, and then it toppled, decomposing even as it fell, rotting plant matter falling in on itself. Faldorn's final scream was cut off as the mound of compost landed on top of her, effectively drowning her. The remnants of a plant leg twitched a few times, and then it too dissolved.

"She is gone," Jaheira said once a couple of minutes of silence had passed. She stared at the still lightly quivering mound of compost, her face intensely focused. "I can no longer sense any life within. And the strain upon the Grove is gone…this place will return to normal now." She shook her head. "A filthy death…but she brought it upon herself, literally."

"But what spell was that?" Anomen asked. "How did you bring the beast down?"

"A spell of decomposition…the creature had rot at its core already. I simply sped up the process."

"Oh, a great battle, a very great battle!" Minsc cheered. "You fought bravely, Boo says, and now that the Evil Druid is all gone, the poor little animals will be free, yes?"

Jaheira nodded. Then she smiled briefly at Rini. "Thank you, child. I could likely have dealt with her anyway, but your distraction made it easier. Well done. You certainly have a - way with words."

The half-elf smiled back at her friend, and then happened to turn her head to see Edwina watching her with a starry look in her eyes and a dreamy smile on her face. "Oh yes..." the wizard murmured. "She certainly does…"