Jump to content


22. Just Wow


  • Please log in to reply
No replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Kulyok_*

Posted 07 June 2005 - 12:31 PM

"Will this tunnel never end?" Imoen pouted. "I feel so cold and tired... wish we could stop for a bit." She stopped and leaned against the wall.
"We can't be in the mines now," Jaheira took out her map and squinted at it, but eventually folded it again. "Berrum never told us about this tunnel, and it is not on the map, either. I think Mulahey made these abominations cut it through from their nest."
"Their nest?" Khalid looked horrified. "We're going t-to their nest?"
"Cold feet, eh, treehugger?" Montaron snorted. "Ye'd better go back to prancing at the forest and leave killing to real adventurers." Jaheira looked murderous at these words.
"There's a light ahead, we could make it there and rest," Ala suggested hastily. "I don't think it's good to rest here, it's too easy to get ambushed in the dark. Are you that tired, Im?"
"I'm tired, but I'd rather not rest right here, too," Imoen sighed. "This place stinks."
"Then I'll go ahead and see what's there," Ala moved forward, but halted as a hand landed firmly on her shoulder.
"It's past time you became more careful with your escapades, child," Jaheira's voice was soft, but pressing. "Of course, it is not your fault that you run up against impossible odds every time you scout ahead, but please, do not let it happen this time."
Ala stared at the woman speechlessly, then nodded. "I'll be careful," she said. "Well, more careful than usual." With these words, she turned to leave. Jaheira followed the girl's slim figure with her eyes, and then nearly jumped as part of the wall sprang aside and an arrow flew out of there with a clang, nearly missing Ala's head.
"Stop!" Jaheira yelled. Xan and Imoen looked as if they were going to run to the girl, but Jaheira seized both of them by the collar. If any of them is killed here, that'll be the last straw. Ala saw her face, made a soothing gesture and descended to her knees, checking out possible traps.
"I don't understand," her voice boomed across the corridor, "there have been no traps during our journey, and now the whole corridor is unsafe! We are in another dungeon!"
"And we are not the only ones who have heard you," Xan absently commented as a dozen of dog-headed creatures blocked the light and began to move in Ala's direction.
"Imoen, help her disarm the traps from this side, or she'll be cut off!" Jaheira snapped. "And quickly, child, for Silvanus' sake!"
Imoen nodded and dropped on her belly, too. Within moments, both girls took care of the traps, as other party members were readying themselves for the fight. Montaron, Khalid and Jaheira stepped forward, shielding Imoen, and Ala quickly retreated under their cover, drawing out her bow as she ran.
Dispatching the kobolds was not difficult, but nasty fire arrows that monsters used created quite a bit of trouble. Imoen's clothes were smoking, Xzar and Khalid bore deep gashes on their faces, and almost all party members were wounded.
"We'll rest here," Ala breathed as they reached a small empty room. It looked as if it was a part of some old dungeon or a castle, but now there was no furniture, and the lamp in the corner had long been broken.
They unpacked their bedrolls and sat down. "Now, what are your plans, oh omnipresent authority figure?" Jaheira asked.
"I hope we can eliminate the monsters in here," Ala answered tiredly, "but if we find that we're not able to, I think blocking the tunnel we have come from would be a good idea. But we must find some other exit first."
"Yes, I really d-don't want to walk all the way up again," Khalid added. "B-but how are we going to seal it?"
"I... don't know." For a moment Ala looked like a little girl, alone and lost. Just like she looked like on the day they arrived at Friendly Arm Inn, Jaheira thought. The next moment, the girl smiled, and her previous diffidence vanished without a trace. "Oh, we'll think of something. By the way, where is Imoen?"

Imoen never thought she could have the time of her life in a dirty dungeon swarming with kobolds, in a company of a mad necromancer, but nevertheless, the girl was enjoying herself. She was studying magic! And real magic, something even Xan, a full mage, would never be able to produce: the school of Evocation! While they still lived in Candlekeep, Imoen had seen many mages' experiments and tricks, and the use of Fireball spell astounded her most of all.
"It is very easy," Xzar was saying. "You need to turn off all voices in your head", (that'll be easy, Imoen thought), "then you must use these the way it's written on the page".
Imoen took the page and began to pronounce the incantation until she got it right. "And now, I... can I use it?" Her throat went dry. Can I really cast a spell?
Xzar was watching her practicing with a glassy-eyed look. "Ah, her voice is ambrosia... Yes, yes, go ahead, but don't kill anyone yet!" He giggled.
"I won't!" Imoen concentrated on the wall in front of her, reached out for the spell components with one hand and extended another towards an old lamp. All set, she uttered the incantation. Nothing happened.
"Oh, no! I feel so empty, I don't have any magic in me!" the girl burst into tears angrily after she had tried the spell for the tenth time and failed.
"Don't say that, Imoen!" Xzar protested. "You simply don't know how it feels to be a mage! Take this." He thrust a wand into her hands.
"A wand of Magic Missiles?" A grin slowly crept back to Imoen's face. "I can use it, all right. But what about the spell? I've used the wand already and it doesn't seem nearly so much fun!"
"Just release it, say aloud the incantation, and remember the feeling well. Savor it as you would a rabbit stew. Mmm..." the necromancer smacked his lips.
"Buffle headed lamp, here I come!" Imoen pointed the wand at the wall and released the charge without thinking. The lamp burst to pieces.
"And again!" Xzar clapped his hands. The second bolt shattered a loose brick. Montaron jumped up from his bedroll as a fragment hit him, and shook his fist warningly.
"And... again!" This time the mage quickly snatched the wand from Imoen's fingers and pushed her left arm towards the spell components instead. Imoen blinked, but she was already half-through the incantation, and her hands completed the spell.
A red ball of magical energy crashed into the wall. "I... I did it?" Imoen asked in disbelief. "Wow! Just wow!" Her face lit up and she leaped at Xzar, who barely kept his balance. "Oh Xzar, you're the best!" She gave him a peck on the cheek and began to skip across the room. "I did it, I did it, I did it!!!"
Xzar touched his cheek with the same stunned expression that Imoen had only minutes ago, his mouth slightly open.
"Well, it seems to be our Imoen is to become the greatest mage in the Realms," Ala grinned as Imoen skipped past her, looking blissful.
"I hope she is only changing her profession and not her status," Jaheira observed dryly. "An insane member of Zhentarim order is not a match I would wish on anyone."
"A what? No, they can't-" Ala opened her mouth in protest and snapped it closed as soon as she had noticed Xzar's dreamy expression. "Oh my. We must get out of this dungeon really fast, lest I make some party arrangements even here." She thought a little. "On the other hand, now we have three mages in the party, which certainly makes us a powerful force." Jaheira glared at her darkly. "Yes, Jae. As soon as we leave the dungeon, we split. No Zhents in our party."
What have we here? Ala thought as the adventurers prepared to sleep. Both Jaheira and Xan insist that I dump Montaron and Xzar. And I can't agree more, traveling with Zhentarim who probably know that you're a child of a dead god is not a good thing for one's health.
Still, just this once, I wish I knew what The Black Network wants from a Child of Bhaal. Quietly, the girl crept up to Xan.
The elf sat in the corner with a spellbook on his lap, staring into space.
"Xan?" Ala whispered. "I've an unusual request for you. Can you delve into another person's mind? I need to know what exactly our Zhentish friends are up to. Montaron mentioned his allegiance only after I pressed him really hard, and Xzar would not admit even that. You're my last hope, and-" she stopped abruptly as she noticed the pained look in his eyes.
"The Charm spell doesn't work like that," Xan slowly shook his head. "Its victim perceives the caster as his best friend, and answers his every question. But delving into someone's mind and memory is different. It takes time, preparation and skill. Alas, it matters not." The elf absently ran his fingers through his hair. "Every time I concentrate on a spell, it gets disrupted. A hopeless effort if I ever saw one."
"Why... ah. Mulahey," Ala nodded, keeping her voice low, her face tight with anger. "So are you saying you cannot cast spells for now?"
"If only it was as easy as that..." the elf winced, idly twisting his fingers. The spellbook lay forgotten. "There are feelings, links, mental connections that got broken, got... lost. You wouldn't understand, being N'Tel'Quess, an outsider. You only have five senses. But for the elves, it's much more complicated. When the emotional chains are broken, it feels like walking blindfolded over a precipice. If I do not rehabilitate myself in several days, I am certainly doomed. The only thing left will be hanging myself."
Ala raised an eyebrow. "Xan, it's not that we cannot survive if I don't find out what these two want! Your well-being is much more important. And, honestly, while I can understand how the use of some extra senses can make you miserable, there's no reason for suicide, yet."
"A link, spiritual and emotional, is something one cannot have a relationship without," the girl was astonished to see the elf's face taking a dreamy expression and his lips actually smiling a little. "It is common among the partners to exchange images, memories and glimpses of emotional state between friends and lovers."
"The elves must have an interesting love life, then," the girl snickered.
Xan didn't seem to hear her. "Ah, what is the point of dwelling on it, anyway? Life would only seem more hollow afterwards," his voice took the familiar mournful edge as he rambled on, "one of Tel'Quessir blood, who has been stripped of elven traits and the connection to the communal Spirit, is no better off than a carrier of the plague. I have seen it happen once. A dreary fate. I doubt something of the sort awaits me, but losing a link with a soul mate is more than enough."
"You will still see, hear, talk and think, is it not enough?" Ala began to get irritated. These elves are far too arrogant for my taste.
"It is not," he shook his head. "You lose too much. You can no longer feel the grass breathing under your fingers, cannot hear the familiar voice from many miles away, you cannot even dwell in the past, shutting yourself in a dreamscape. For me it would be as if I became blind and deaf." The elf shrugged. "It is hard to explain to a someone of N'Tel'Quess ancestry, I suppose. But imagine if Gorion went blind? I went through something like this. A woman I love, Stai, lost her mentor. Her master. Joneleth committed a crime, and the Queen of Suldanessellar pronounced him N'Tel'Quess, severed his link with elvenkind through the Seldarine. It is a terrible punishment."
He took a deep breath.
"Now I wander in the dark, unable to cast the simplest spell, and... and I am afraid."
"I am sorry, Xan," Ala said quietly. "But you will be all right. I promise."
"I wish," he smiled. "Watch your companions, Ala. And have a good night's sleep."




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

Skin Designed By Evanescence at IBSkin.com