Chapter 52: Searching for Answers
The following morning was dull and grey, with clouds that promised rain later. The two druids headed to the edge of the forest after breakfast, accompanied by Khalid and Minsc. Jaheira sat down, with crossed legs, on a patch of dry grass,and beckoned for Ember to sit down in front of her; Khalid stood next to Jaheira, watching them both and smiling encouragingly. Minsc, on the other hand, stood a few feet away and scowled menacingly off into the distance, with Boo perched on his shoulder. The hamster's whiskers were quivering with excitement; it looked for all the world like Boo was trying to stand watch along with his owner.
"Are you ready?" Jaheira asked.
"I think so," Ember said. Will she see the flaw in me?
"Good. Do not heal me until I stretch out my hand towards you," Jaheira said. She rolled up a sleeve, displaying a slight, yellowish bruise on her lower arm. Ember had given it to her during practice a few days ago; Jaheira had insisted the injury was too light to hamper her, and had chosen to let it heal naturally rather than waste a spell or potion on a trivial thing, as she had put it.
"I won't," Ember said. If she could see something wrong in herself, who knew what Jaheira would be able to see? She watched as the other druid settled into her meditations. Jaheira's posture relaxed, and her face went slack, just like the other times Ember had watched her enter a trance.
Moving as though she was made of lead, Jaheira stretched out her hand. Ember nervously reached out for it, placed her own hands over the bruise, and healed it. Fire coursed through her, the blue radiance of a healing spell enveloped her hands, and Jaheira flinched. Ember immediately let go of the half-elf's hand and moved away from her. "What did she see?!"
"W-wait," Khalid said. "S-she is n-not back with us y-yet." They waited patiently, and it was not long before Jaheira drew a deep breath and opened her eyes.
"Did you learn anything?" Ember asked anxiously.
"Let me catch my breath," Jaheira said. Khalid crouched beside her and took her hand; she squeezed it tight and gave him a brief, reassuring smile. "Some of what I saw was as you told me; it acts exactly like a regular healing spell, and the energy that drives it does come from you," she told Ember. "From what I could tell, it does not deplete you in any way, nor does it impact the Balance, as it would have to if you truly drew such power from nothing. You... you must have a source of power within your very being that allows you to do this."
"Is that source good or bad?" Ember asked.
"Do I look like a paladin?" Jaheira asked wryly. "All I know with absolute certainty is that this spell came from you. If anything, I expect it is coloured according to your nature."
"But was there anything at all unnatural about it?" Ember asked doggedly, earning herself an odd look from the older druid.
"Beyond the fact that you can do it at all? No. I saw no unnatural energies in what you did," Jaheira said.
"I saw you flinch."
"You would have flinched as well. In the moment that you healed me, your presence flared like a beacon. You became almost blinding to my heightened awareness. But as soon as the healing spell had entered me, you became as before."
"And what was I before?"
"When you are not drawing upon this gift, you have a perfectly normal, human presence."
Ember picked up a fallen leaf and twirled it between her fingers, not sure if she should feel relieved or disappointed. "Well, now you've seen what I can do," she said. "Do you have any ideas as to why?"
Jaheira hesitated before answering. "Other than the chance that it might tie in with your parentage, there are no theories that would not be speculative. We simply do not know enough, and hazarding wild guesses would not be fruitful, I believe." She stood up and methodically brushed dirt and leaves off her clothes with her hands.
Ember let go of the leaf she'd been holding, and got up from the ground. A gust of wind took hold of the leaf, and it drifted a few feet away before landing on a mossy stone. "So, if we are not going to hazard any wild guesses," she said in a casual tone, wondering if Jaheira might have made some of those already, "I suppose I should try to find out what my parentage is."
"Yes, that is most likely the wisest course of investigation," Jaheira said, "especially since we know of one person who might know the answer."
A bird chirped from a nearby treebranch, almost obscuring the quiet murmuring of Minsc telling Boo about which enemies could be lurking behind the treetrunks.
"Are you seriously suggesting I try to track down Elminster?" Ember finally said.
"No. I am suggesting that Khalid and I attempt to find him."
Ember looked from Jaheira to Khalid and back to Jaheira. "You'd already decided to do this," she said.
"We t-talked about it last night," Khalid said. "You said you wanted to track the ass-s-sassins again, but you are w-welcome to come with us instead, if you like."
"How do you even expect to find him?" Ember asked. "As far as I know, he just pops up out of nowhere and says what he wants, then vanishes again."
"Oh, there are ways," Khalid said with a smile. "You m-may not have known, but Gorion was a Harper..."
---
The three travellers had returned to Gullykin that afternoon, in the middle of a heavy rainfall. All of them seemed pleased to learn they'd be returning to Baldur's Gate; the two mages were bound to prefer cities to wilderness, and Jaheira had learned that Kivan had a score of his own to settle with someone involved in the plot against Ember.
Alora was the only one who had seemed upset by the news of their departure. Imoen had asked the young halfling if she was sad to leave her relatives, but that was not the problem; she had thought they'd go back to the city without her. Ember and Imoen had allayed Alora's fears on that account, and her mood had immediately reversed; she had talked their ears off about all the fun stuff they'd do when they got back to the city. Jaheira had not been the least bit surprised to hear Kivan mutter that the halfling's chattering would drive them all insane.
Jaheira took a sip of her mulled wine and glanced across the hall. Upon hearing that they would leave the following day, Mayor Luckyfoot had immediately called for a farewell party, and the halfling village had arranged a feast in the winery faster than most humans would have made a simple dinner. There were bright streamers hanging from the ceiling beams, and a long table along one wall held a wide selection of hot and cold dishes; steaks, sausages, fruit, cakes, ale, puddings, and other delicacies. Ember and most of her friends sat around a large table in a corner near the entrance, talking loudly and laughing. Jaheira had walked past them as she fetched her wine, and judging by what she had heard, Ember and Imoen were exchanging tales of their separate adventures. The Red Wizard was rarely far from them; Jaheira only hoped Ember showed discretion in what she shared at the table.
"What are you thinking, my love?" Khalid asked. He sat down on the bench beside her and handed her one of two small pork pies he'd fetched from the long table.
"Thank you, dear. I'm just watching the children," Jaheira said as she accepted the pie. She bit into the hot, savoury morsel and smiled at Khalid. When they first arrived in the village, the mayor's wife, Gerta, had served them these little pies. Jaheira had taken a liking to them, and now Khalid went out of his way to obtain them for her when the opportunity arose.
"What are you thinking?" Khalid asked again as Jaheira brushed the last of the pie crumbs from her hands. She looked at him, then back at Ember's group.
"I wonder if we are doing the right thing," she said. "The Iron Throne is a formidable foe. They could use our assistance in that matter."
"She has c-capable friends. They will be fine, I am sure."
"But will she be fine? If our guess is correct..."
"Remember, my dear, you told her n-not to hazard wild guesses. You can't help her unless y-you know what is wrong."
"What if Entillis's people have no idea where Elminster may be?"
"Then we go to Waterdeep and look f-for leads. Don't worry, my love. We'll find him, and we'll get answers."
Jaheira sighed heavily. Ember had declined Khalid's offer of searching for Elminster with them, as Khalid had expected. As much as it concerned her, the girl was determined to continue investigating the assassination plot, and she had also doubted that Elminster would give her any answers. Apparently, they had not parted on the best terms, and Ember didn't think the old wizard would care at all to see her again. Elminster may mean well, but he's always been too fond of secrecy. And at this point, secrecy can no longer serve her. "If only we had known Gorion back when he found her," she said. "Maybe he would have let us know who she was and why she's so special, back then."
"I always imagined she was some kind of heiress who had to be kept h-hidden," Khalid said.
"A fine guess, my dear," Jaheira said with a brief smile, "especially if she truly is one of the Children." Again, she looked across the room to the table where Ember sat with her friends, smiling and laughing. The girl was already wearing the new armour her friends had bought for her in Beregost. It was clearly made by a skilled craftsman, and its reddish brown leather was deeply enchanted. It would protect her well. "Her presence is human... but it is brighter and stronger than most I have seen. It could be accounted for by her strong will-"
"Which we b-both know she has," Khalid commented.
"-or it could be a sign of her heritage," Jaheira continued. "Evil dreams, bloodlust, gifts of a divine nature and being pursued by her parentage... the one who wants her dead could be a sibling, perhaps. Nothing of what has happened to her contradicts the prophecies."
"H-how could a Bhaalspawn h-heal like that, though?"
"Who knows what can be done with divine blood?" She sighed. "Her ability to use it for good does not mean it could not have such a source, especially since this source did not willingly give it to her. It is truly hers, though. I think it is safe for her to use it."
Khalid put an arm around her. "Is she ready for us to part? Has she l-learned enough about the druidic ways?"
"I... think she will manage, for now," Jaheira said. "She has grasped the basics, and she takes the matter very seriously. I was worried about how she'd handle herself in combat, but no longer. And the two rangers will be of immeasurable aid to her."
"Should we tell her what we s-suspect?"
"No. If we are wrong, it could cause her much harm. She is troubled enough already; I do not want to burden her with further concerns."
The halfling musicians began playing a loud, merry tune, and people gathered in the middle of the floor to dance. Imoen and Alora dragged Ember from the table, and soon the three girls had joined a long daisy chain of dancers.
"I don't like leaving her like this," Jaheira said quietly.
"N-neither do I, my love."
---
The party didn't end until well past midnight. The rain had long stopped; the clouds were being torn apart by a soft breeze, and it was markedly colder than it'd been during the day. There was a chilly edge to the air.
As soon as the burrow was quiet and Imoen was asleep, Ember slipped out of their room and hurried to her meditation spot. They had planned on an early start in the morning, and she knew she should get her rest, but there was something she needed to do first.
She sat down on the pale, damp grass and reached out to her surroundings, listening rather than thinking. When her mind was quiet, she reached within, searching for the flaw she'd seen a few nights ago. It did not take long to find it; it seemed to be at the root of her being. The vibrant nimbus still obscured most of it, and almost seemed to cage it.
Struggling to maintain the trance, she focused her attention on the nimbus that surrounded the flaw. There was no wrongness to that, no alienness. It belonged to her, not to the flaw, she realized. Could it be...? She let herself become aware of her hands and of the latent gifts she held within her without leaving the trance or losing her focus, and commanded the fiery energy to heal a minor cut on the back of her hand.
The blinding rush of sensations knocked her forcefully out of the trance, and she fell backwards. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and looked up at the autumn sky. Her head hurt terribly, but it was worth it.
"The gifts don't come from the flaw. They come from its cage," she told the stars above.
