A Strange Encounter Part 3- Finale?

The cave opening lay under a golden statue of a dragon’s head staring down at the ground. Aerie shivered under its imaginary gaze. “Firkraag must not want many visitors. I wouldn’t come here without good reason.”

Ajantis took her hand. “Fear not, for we fight on the side of good.”

They had searched for Taar after the battle, but no sign of the boy came up. They decided it was best to wait until morning to search again, yet at dawn they still found nothing. They had anxiously awaited Lord Windspear’s return to relate the bad news, tempered by Ajantis’ vow to rescue the boy from Lord Firkraag’s grasp.

Garren had reported successfully of his audience with the Radiant Heart, and the group’s names would remain unsullied provided they avenged the knights’ deaths on Lord Firkraag. And now that Garren’s hospitality had been repaid with kidnapping, the group had no choice but to venture into Firkraag’s stronghold to rescue Taar and confront the usurping lord.

“What kind of lord rules from a hole in the ground?” Ajantis grumbled, but did not make further comment as he led the party into the hill. He had taken on the rescuing as his own personal task, dedicated to repaying Garren for his aid and wishing bloody murder of the evil lord who was capable of such crimes.

They were greeted by a party of orcs and kobolds. “Firkraag waits, puny manlings!” one of the larger orcs bellowed, grinning as he advanced.

“Feel the sting of justice, monster!” Ajantis screamed in return, decapitating the orc in one blow. This halted the other opponents for a moment, but before they could decide whether to continue or flee, the group was upon them. Everyone resented Firkraag’s machinations against them, nonsensical as they seemed, and channeled their anger into their sword blows.

They forged their way through wave after wave of orc and kobold, with several wolfweres thrown in for more support. Ajantis thought he saw a rakshasa fall beneath his sword before continuing down a flight of stairs, but his vision was distorted and filled with bloodrage.

The group halted when they came to a set of iron doors bolted firmly shut. “Maybe…maybe we could take a break?” Aerie suggested between gasps. “I don’t know how much further I can go at this pace.”

Jaheira nodded. “Firkraag has more resources than mere orcs to throw at us. We must be thinking clearly if we are to reach Taar. This reckless pace will do no one any good.”

Ajantis chafed at the delay, but Aerie shushed him and healed some of his minor wounds.

Yoshimo stood from where he had been working at the iron doors, proudly pushing them open with a grin. “The way is clear, at least for the time being.”

What greeted them on the other side of the doors was not a fierce enemy, however, but a familiar face. “You must help me!” the girl cried as she recognized Tybalt and Ajantis.

“Lady Nalia?” Tybalt asked. “What are you doing here?”

Nalia was dirty and wore ragged clothes, looking to have been in the dungeon for a number of days, if not longer. “I was expelled from my castle by Isaea and have had to fend for myself since then.”

“Surely the Order would have taken pity and housed you,” Ajantis said. “Have you no protection or resources of your own?”

The noblewoman shook her head. “I lost everything when I left my keep. I had nowhere to go.”

“Then why would you be here of all places?” Jaheira demanded incredulously. “What could possess a girl to venture into such a place alone?”

“I-I read that there was an artifact in these caves which would reveal lies and dispel illusions. I thought that if I found it I could use it against Isaea and regain my lands. But the artifact is guarded by monsters which I cannot defeat on my own.”

“We would be happy to assist you,” Aerie said.

“But there is no need,” Valygar pointed out. “If what you said is true, Tybalt, the troll we encountered at the Druid Grove gave evidence of Isaea’s wrongdoing. We could testify on your behalf, lady Nalia. While I don’t pretend my name means much in Amn any longer, I might still have some influence on the courts, as might Sir Ajantis.”

Nalia shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I must find this artifact if I am to regain my home. This is the only way, nothing else will work.”

Haer’Dalis stared at her curiously. “I am not well-versed with your Prime’s laws, but in the Planes there is always more than one way to solve a problem. Surely this artifact is not the only thing of importance, here, for you to be so desperate. I wonder how such a weak and wounded songbird might have nested amongst these underground vultures for so long.”

“I know some magic,” Nalia explained. “I managed to sneak past most of the monsters, but the artifact is in the hands of a powerful elemental which I cannot face alone. Please, you must help me.”

Valygar frowned and spoke to Jaheira quietly. There was something wrong here, but neither of them could place it, so they had no choice but to help the girl. “Show us where the artifact is,” he told her.

Nalia smiled wanly. “Thank you, it’s right this way.” She led them into a maze of short dead-end hallways. She bypassed several traps and counted the number of openings until she reached a set of doors identical to the others in the dungeon. “Here. Behind here is the monster and the artifact.” She stepped back to let the group go ahead.

Yoshimo checked the door for locks or traps, then cautiously opened it. A fire elemental roared at them, standing in a small room with a chest at its back end.

Though the elemental was a challenge for Nalia alone, the group withstood its flames and felled it quickly. Yoshimo opened the chest and pulled out a glass lens. “Here, lovely, is your trinket.”

“Excellent, monkey, hand it over. (As I suspected, the goons were easy enough to use).” The familiar voice echoed from the hallway where Nalia stood.

Edwin smirked next to Nalia, several other people behind them. Nalia wore an insincere smile on her face. “Sorry to have deceived you,” she said, “but I didn’t think you’d help me if you knew my real reasons.”

“Lady Nalia!” Ajantis looked at the ruffians with the girl. Korgan, Tiax, and Shar-Teel, Edwin’s cronies, held weapons ready. “How could you associate with such filth? I had thought you smarter than that.”

Nalia’s face twisted. “That’s all you’re concerned about, isn’t it, your arrogant fool? You paladins and your false piety, cementing the class barriers while preaching of goodness and honor. Did you ever think of how only nobles or wealthy merchants can send their children to the Order for training? Why should there be favoritism for the powerful among knights, surely anyone can swing a sword.”

“Nalia,” Jaheira said firmly. “We can discuss politics later. Right now you must trust us and come here. The people you are with are murderers and care nothing for your ideals.”

Nalia sneered. “So now you’re going to tell me what to do, just like Isaea? I can make my own judgments, it’s my life. Just because Edwin isn’t afraid to take more drastic means to reach his goals doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. We’re going to use the artifact to fight against the corruption among the nobility, weed out the bad ones.”

“So you aren’t trying to regain your keep?” Tybalt asked.

“The keep is no longer an issue,” Nalia said. “I disintegrated Isaea and the rest of his odious family when they tried to take over. Now no one dares try to wrest control from me.”

Aerie gasped. “Y-you killed all of them? Surely some of them were innocent, no matter how nasty Isaea was. Was that really necessary?”

Edwin smiled thinly. “You obviously haven’t learned to rid yourself of all potential enemies, yet, wench. (Nor has she learned to curb that peculiar speech impediment, I see. She gives mages a bad name with her quirks.)”

Valygar drew his family blade with a sigh. “I am sorry it has come to this, Nalia, but you are just proof that magic corrupts. I cannot allow you to use this artifact to attack more innocent people. Come with us now or we shall be forced to fight.”

Tybalt drew his sword. “Edwin and the others must die for Minsc’s death, regardless. Spare yourself the same fate, Nalia.”

Korgan grunted. “Ye think ye can best us, lad? Me axe be ready.”

“And my sword,” Shar-Teel grimaced. “No pathetic little boy is going to beat me.”

Tiax will conquer you all and make you his slaves!” the gnome shouted. “You may give Tiax sponge baths” he told Aerie, who wrinkled her nose.

“Enough!” Nalia said. “I will have the lens. There is nothing you can say to change my mind.”

“Then I am sorry.” Valygar charged, followed closely by the others. Edwin and his group followed suit.

“And so the noble songbird falls amongst ashes,” Haer’Dalis mourned as Chaos and Entropy flashed to action.

Aerie couldn’t handle both Nalia and Edwin’s spellcasting, so Jaheira sent a swarm of insects to disrupt Nalia while Aerie tried to dispel Edwin’s protections and enchantments. Yoshimo fired arrows from the narrow hall while Ajantis, Tybalt, Valygar, and Haer’Dalis charged Korgan, Shar-Teel, and Tiax.

Haer’Dalis and Tybalt worked against Korgan, dodging vicious axe blows while looking for openings for their smaller swords. Ajantis faced off against Shar-Teel while Tiax and Valygar squared off. Valygar’s katana sliced through the minor magics the cleric raised, and soon the gnome lay unmoving on the floor. This first victory seemed to dishearten Edwin’s group somewhat, allowing Tybalt and Haer’Dalis to strike through the dwarf’s defenses and land stunning blows.

Jaheira had switched from spells to her staff, landing blows on Edwin as he struggled to defend himself. “Murderer!” she spat. “You killed Minsc and doubtless countless others. You are a perversion to Nature.”

“Hah! You would know perversions well, wouldn’t you, druid? I fail to see how you condemn me while protecting another such ‘perversion,’ however. A bit hypocritical, isn’t it? (As if she could even begin to understand my true intentions. Simple minded monkey couldn’t understand her way out of a paper bag.)”

“Tybalt is not a perversion!” she shouted, increasing her attack. The staff cracked against Edwin’s skull and he crumpled without another sound.

Jaheira breathed deeply as she regained control and looked around the battle. The rest of the group had defeated their own opponents without serious injury. The druid sadly looked at Nalia’s still form, wishing the girl hadn’t been so foolish.

Yoshimo rifled through the girl’s pockets and came up with an identical lens to the one they had found. “If I am not mistaken, these might be connected. Perhaps they are parts to a larger whole?” He compared the two lenses, and they were indeed the same size and shape. He carefully wrapped them in cloth before stowing them away. “They must be valuable if Nalia was willing to go to such lengths to get them.”

Aerie frowned. “How can you be so mercenary about this? We just killed a misguided girl over some pieces of glass.”

Valygar stared at Nalia’s body. “Misguided, or corrupted? Who knows whether we could have reasoned with her, even without Edwin to trick her? She had already fallen under magic’s sway; it guided her thoughts.”

Aerie crossed her arms. “Not all magic is bad. Magic can heal as well as harm.”

The ranger didn’t comment, only walked back out of the hallways toward the main hallway. The others followed; Aerie looked back toward the bodies as she moved out of sight.

Edwin peered around the corner as the last person disappeared from sight. He kicked his fallen simulacrum’s body in frustration. “Wonderful. The girl is dead and my flunkies once again prove their uselessness. (It was to be expected, they couldn’t manage to feed themselves let alone fetch a simple item.) I am beginning to get annoyed at that group, especially the druid.” He rubbed his head where Jaheira had struck his simulacrum. “Bitch.”