An Enjoyable Partnership: Familiarnapped
Part Four
Andorel spat out a mouthful of beer in a guffaw. “You want help from us? Oh, that is just priceless! That plant thing you ate must have rotted your brain!” He snorted and shook his head. “Last time we met, Valygar…oh, do shut up, Valy…offered to chop your head off, Keldorn was gonna impale ya, and Minsc…well, don’t think I’ll repeat that one.”
“Minsc will repeat it! I was going to take my sword, cover it with mustard, and shove…”
“Yes, yes, we remember.” Anomen murmured.
“I think we have established repeatedly the fact that your group of retarded simians and I do not see eye to eye, but I am asking for your help on behalf of someone else towards whom you may be more favourably disposed: Nalia de’Arnise.”
“Nalia?” Keldorn asked. “I remember her. A pleasant enough girl, concerned for the needs of others, though lacking in experience and wisdom.”
“Oh yeah!” Andorel said. “That one! Can’t remember why she left our group now. Bit prissy, but heart in the right place. Did she get that troll problem sorted?”
“She did, yes. However, since then she has been kidnapped. I wish to rescue her.”
“You?” Anomen said in an incredulous voice. “Since when have you cared about anything outside of your own selfish desires?”
“Oh, I can guess!” Jan chuckled. “Taken a fancy to little Nalia, have we, mageling? Or, is it more than a fancy by now? Got a tiny Red Wizard on the way? No, that can’t be right- you’d have scarpered by now if that was true, hmm?”
“No!” Edwin said, trying to stay calm. “Keep your puerile imagination to yourself, gnome. Nalia and I have a…professional relationship.”
“Suuuure!” Andorel crowed. “We believe ya! Oh, budge up, Keldorn, let the nutty wizard sit down. Nice robe, by the way. Looks like an angel’s puked on it.”
Keldorn grudgingly moved along the bench, leaving just enough room for Edwin to teeter on the edge of the seat.
Edwin took a deep breath. “Nalia…is my familiar.”
“Your familiar what?” Jan asked.
“He means she’s his magical familiar,” Valygar said in a low, quiet voice. “Occasionally, wizards gain human familiars. Rare, but not unheard of.”
Edwin raised an eyebrow. “You know about such things?”
“It is always best to know your enemy.”
“It is slightly more complicated than that. Not only is she my familiar…I am hers.” Six identical gormless stares greeted him at this remark. “It is perfectly simple, she and I happened to cast ‘Find Familiar’ while within a few miles of each other. We found ourselves bound to each other for life.”
“Oh, a familiar find eh? It’s quite a common occurrence in my family. Let me think, now: Auntie Yvonne was my cousin Erb’s familiar. Unfortunately, she died in a sad accident involving a cabbage and four tons of salmon, and Erb headed off north to, erm, Luskan, I think it was, to find some girls, or so he said. Who else was there, now? My great-grandfather Harry, now, his familiar is my young niece Milly. Slight age gap there, he’s 430 and she’s 6, but they get along just fine, once he has his ear trumpet in place. Interestingly enough, they both need rubber sheets at night, which just goes to show that familiars always have something in common.”
There was a brief silence.
“You finished?” Andorel asked pointedly. “So, let me get this straight in my orcish noggin: Nalia, your familiar, has been kidnapped, right?”
“It never ceases to amaze me how you are able to assimilate new ideas at a rate that puts continental drift to shame. That is the jist of it, yes. Isaea Roenall has arrested her, supposedly to keep her safe from me.”
“A good idea.” Valygar murmured.
“A damson in distress!” Minsc boomed. “Or is that a small blue fruit? Minsc cannot remember. Ah, Boo says he thinks damsons are tasty, so Minsc must have got it wrong.” He lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
“Roenall, Roenall…” Keldorn mused. “I know Lord Farthington fairly well, I presume Isaea is his eldest son. Hmm. I have heard rumours about that one, unpleasant rumours.”
“Damsels! It is damsels that get distressed. Minsc remembers now. Damsons could get distressed though, Minsc presumes, if someone trod on them.”
“When did this happen, Eddie? I haven’t seen Nalia for a few weeks. Her fruity-looking cousin was in here the other week, utterly out of his skull. Looked very like her, actually. He was in here with that woman in red that Minsc fancied…” Andorel suddenly stopped, a yellow-toothed grin of delight spreading across his face. Jan grinned too. Keldorn raised his eyebrows in surprise, but the rest of the team just looked puzzled.
“I’ve heard of getting in touch with your feminine side, but isn’t that taking it a bit too far?” Jan sniggered.
Edwin propped his elbows on the table and covered his face. This was turning out even worse than he had suspected it would be. He wished Nalia was there- she never humiliated him on purpose like this. Well, actually, she did, but that was different. In some way Edwin couldn’t quite understand, she had earned the right.
***
At the Roenall estate, Nalia was sleeping, fitfully. She muttered to herself and her arms flailed, before being still again. Her eyelids flickered.
She had been called into the Council of the Zulkirs. Her heart was beating fast, and she felt sick with nerves. As she walked into the circular, marble-clad room of the ultimate powers of Thay, she felt like she was floating along above the ground. She was simply unable to feel her feet on the cold stone floor anymore. She swallowed. She was as prepared for this as she could be; the moment all her dreams and hopes were going to die.
As she entered, the eight Zulkirs looked up at her disdainfully. Behind them, the lesser Aulkirs were ranged, the highly skilled mages of the elementalist Arts. All the mages there radiated power- the Zulkirs of Abjuration and Necromancy floated serenely above the floor, the Zulkir of Transmutation’s robes billowed in a private breeze, and the Aulkir of Fire had a halo of flame roaring around his head, its crackling easily audible in the quiet room.
She almost didn’t notice Feredain, standing as quietly as a statue next to the wall of the room. Feredain had been the one who had alerted the Council to her schemes. She should have been more careful, more circumspect; that was obvious now that it was too late. Why Feredain hated her so much, she had never understood. The feeling was mutual, though, and now they would forever be enemies. The Zulkir of Conjuration stepped forward.
“Edwin Odesseiron, you know why you have been called here.”
She stayed silent. There was nothing she could say that would improve her dire situation, tempting though it was to let loose a stream of imprecations.
“We have decided to give you a choice: Hand over the amulet and your spellbook, and you shall be forever exiled from Thay. Keep the amulet, and you will suffer death by disintegration. Choose.”
“I choose…” Her voice cracked with nervousness and regret. “Exile.” She took the amulet from around her neck, and snapped it in half, tossing it onto the floor. She then threw her spellbook after it, a hefty tome that she had worked over and treasured since she was ten. The Zulkir pointed, and both the amulet and the book were gone in a flash of orange light.
“Then, you shall leave Thay and never return. Set foot within the borders, and you will face disintegration. You will leave with nothing more than you are currently carrying.”
She bowed her head and closed her eyes, ignoring the lump in her throat that came at the thought of never seeing her family again, the thought of losing all that she loved about Thayvian culture. She was scarcely aware of the white light that gathered around her, and then she was lifted, flying through a white void, weightless, free, joyful for one last instance before she landed on a grassy hummock, doubtless far outside the borders of her home country. She stood up, reached inside her calf-length boots, and took out the amulet, the real one, the one she had worked and slaved over for the past two years. She put it around her neck, and stood up, lifting her head in pride.
She may have been exiled, but she was still a Red Wizard, and she would soon rebuild her spellbook. The skills she had honed over the years would see to that. Maybe, one day, the Council would realise that the amulet she had handed over was a fake, but by then she would be hundreds of miles from her homeland, and ready for them.
She looked up at the brightly shining sun, did a quick mental calculation, and set off into the west.
Nalia shuddered, and woke up. The strange, sweetly compelling combination of regret and determination hung around her for a few seconds, before they evaporated. The dream stayed with her, though, and gave her a feeling of hope: Edwin was still alive, somewhere, and their familiar link was not entirely dead. The contents of the dream gave her much to think about, too.
***
Edwin pulled his robe on over his head, and then tweaked the creases and folds of the heavily embroidered cloth into exactly the right places for maximum impact. There was no mirror in this tatty room in the Copper Coronet, but he was used to arranging his robes by feel. He had had to do so for months while living in that vile cave. The rest of the party were staying in rooms that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a noble’s mansion, but Edwin had refused their charity, and had paid for his own room with the meagre amount of money he had been carrying.
He folded his arms, glumly. It was no good, he was as ready as he could possibly be and he would have to go and meet up with Andorel and his vile party at the breakfast table. He had forgotten just how unpleasant they were- not just the dreadful eating habits, but the constant snipes and taunts, the comments that bordered on cruel. Not that they bothered him, of course. He was a Red Wizard, above such petty concerns. He lifted his head in pride, and swept out of the room.
The Copper Coronet was much quieter in the morning than at other times of the day. The only people about were the servants, clearing up after the night before and removing any broken furniture or severed limbs left behind by patrons. A few customers sat down for breakfast, but most lurked in their rooms, nursing hangovers until midday. Edwin frowned when he spotted Andorel’s team. The party were breakfasting at one of the window tables, and a soldier in the colour of the Amnian guard stood over them. The stairs creaked beneath Edwin’s feet, and Andorel turned round at the noise.
“Ah, there he is! Come and join us, wizard. Oh, I suppose I can’t really call you that at the moment, can I?” Andorel sniggered.
Snarling under his breath, Edwin carefully walked down the remaining stairs, and joined the table. He noticed with relief that Andorel had finished eating. The soldier looked at him hopefully.
“Are you Edwin Odesseiron, sir?”
“Who I am is none of your concern.” Edwin said, cautiously.
“Oh don’t piss about, Eddie! Yes, that’s Edwin, Khellor. Khellor here has got some news for you.”
“I believe you are interested in rescuing the Lady Nalia, yes? I am…one of Isaea’s guards. I think I can help you.” Khellor said, nervously.
“Oh yes, and why would you help us?” Edwin said, eyes narrowed.
“I once worked for Lord de’Arnise. He was a just and fair employer, but, well, a job with the government offered more money, so I left his service. Let’s just say I wouldn’t object to having a different boss, though. I have some information on Isaea I’d like to give you.”
“Oh, really? Very well, then, spill your guts.”
“Isaea isn’t an honest man. He’s utterly corrupt. I can’t prove it, though: we guards are monitored constantly, and any overt move against him would make me lose my job!”
“Oh, so you think he is corrupt? What exactly aroused your suspicions? The way he regularly poisons people, or his habit of kidnapping innocent nobles?”
“Um, I…”
“Edwin, this guard came out of the goodness of his heart, the least you can do is be polite!” Anomen warned.
Edwin frowned bad-temperedly at the interruption. “Why do you think he is corrupt, soldier?”
“Talk to Barg in the docks. He’ll tell you more, I think. And Isaea’s personal records in Roenall estate are worth seeing. I can tell you the combination to his trapped safe. I’m not sure how you’ll get in to see it, though, it’s deep within the estate.”
Jan chuckled. “I think that can be arranged. Give me a day, and I’ll place them in your hand.”
“If you find anything,” The young soldier continued, “Go and tell Corgeig Axehand. He’ll know what to do.” He looked around suddenly at the sound of a patrol outside. “I must go. I didn’t tell you any of this, understand? Um, good luck!” He darted away from the seated party.
“I would consider it my responsibility to investigate these claims even without Edwin’s request for help. It is my duty and my joy to track down all evil and corruption.” Keldorn said, pulling on his gauntlets.
“Well then,” Andorel said, clapping his hands together loudly enough to make Edwin wince, “I guess that’s today’s schedule sorted.”
