Chapter 53: Clear as Mist
"Shaella sees through the mists of the Lady that you are strong and worthy adventurers," a cowled, husky-voiced woman said as Ember and her companions entered the Blade and Stars inn. Khalid and Jaheira were no longer with them; they had parted at the gates to the inner city less than half an hour earlier. The next step for Ember's group was to contact Commander Scar, but it was a cold, windy afternoon, and everyone was eager for a hot meal before going to the Fist headquarters.
"Shaella sees very clearly!" Minsc replied. "Did you hear that, Boo? Strange ladies see that we are heroes!"
The 'strange lady' lowered her head slightly, letting her face vanish even deeper into the cowl of her dull, rust-coloured robes. "Shaella sees not clearly but dimly, ever peering through the mists of Leira."
"(An eye condition, perhaps. That would certainly explain her wardrobe,)" Edwin muttered.
"Minsc does not see any mist," Minsc said in a bewildered tone, glancing at the corners of the inn.
"Stare deep into the Mistshadow, and mark your devotion to Leira, Mistress of Mists and Lady of the Unknowing," Shaella said. "Stare into it and know that knowledge is unknowable."
Ember started to move towards the Leiran, wanting to interrupt the disturbing conversation, but Imoen held her back. "Wait," Imoen said in a low voice.
"Boo is confused," Minsc said. "If you know that you know nothing, then you do know something. How can this be?"
"More or less precisely my point."
"Boo says that that is not a point. He says you are just trying to confuse him with words. Boo wonders why a pretty lady like you doesn't want to talk about real things," Minsc said, holding the hamster protectively in his palm.
For a moment, the woman seemed to be at a loss for words. "Insolence!" she cried. "Begone, all who seek to dispel the mists of Leira!" She gathered her robes around her and stormed out of the inn.
"Did Minsc upset the strange lady?" Minsc asked.
"I think she just confused herself," Imoen said, patting the large ranger's arm.
"You and Boo did great, you did!" Alora exclaimed.
Minsc beamed happily at his friends. "People should talk about proper things," he said, "things like swords, and food, and honour, and how soft and fuzzy the belly of a happy hamster is. Right, Boo?"
Grinning, Ember looked around the room in search of a table large enough for all six of them. Things did not look promising; most of the tables were barely large enough for four, and a lot of them appeared to be rickety as well as filthy.
The man at the nearest table was staring at her.
He was an elderly man, with thinning hair and a weary, wrinkled face, but his eyes were alert and bright as a youngster's. "You..." he said hoarsely, "are a light entering darkness. You... are a seeker of truths. You... are more than you realize."
Ember involuntarily took a step backwards.
"The Seer has spoken it because the Seer knows the fear you harbour, the fear you shall yet become," the man continued.
"What do you want?" she asked warily.
"In the lair of the basilisk, you will find a sphene gem... You would do well to bring it to me."
"A basilisk?"
"When you are ready, it will come to you," the man said, and turned his attention towards the mug of what appeared to be water that stood before him. He tapped its side, creating ripples on the surface of the mug. He studied the ripples as intently as he had studied Ember only a few moments earlier.
Ember shook her head slowly in disbelief and turned back to her friends. "Why don't we find another inn?" she suggested.
---
"Did the insanity level of this town increase while we were away, or was I just fortunate enough to avoid the worst of it before? (Come to think of it, there was that elf, the Halruuan, the child poisoner, Elminster... I suppose it always was like this,)" Edwin growled as they left Ye Olde Inn. What had awaited them there had been even worse than in the Blade and Stars; four green slimes were in the kitchen, terrorizing the staff and customers alike. Ember and her friends helped kill the slimes and attend to the bartender, who had been hit by their ooze and barely survived. As a customer told them, a local mage named Ramazith had been arguing with the bartender about something. The mage had lost his temper, summoned the creatures, and stormed out of the inn.
"We'll eat at the Elfsong after we talk to Scar. We should be used to the insanity of that inn, right?" Imoen said, patting Edwin's shoulder. The wizard nodded distractedly.
The Flaming Fist headquarters were but a short walk from Ye Olde Inn, and it was not long before they were waiting for Scar in one of the many windowless chambers inside the Fist building. The commander looked weary when he arrived, escorted by a junior Fist soldier, but he seemed genuinely pleased to see Ember's group again.
"It's good to see you again!" Scar exclaimed. "I hope your journeys have been fruitful?"
"They have," Kivan said. "Have you any news for us?"
"Unfortunately, there have been no tangible developments with regards to the Iron Throne. We discovered another doppelganger infiltration, though, in the Merchant's League. Notes were found, sketching the takeover plan, but there were no names," Scar told them as he wrote a brief message on a piece of parchment. He handed the message to the junior soldier, who bowed deeply and hurried out of the chamber.
Alora gasped. "Poor merchants! Were they all taken?" she asked.
"Not all of them," Scar said, "but many were lost. However, one of their leaders died in a hunting accident recently, and the other two were away for his funeral when this takeover happened, so they live still. In fact, they have entered talks with Jhasso of the Seven Suns; the two costers will work together to maintain business while they rebuild."
"So some semblance of free trade is maintained, despite the Iron Throne's tactics," Ember said.
"Now, now, we have no proof that they engaged the doppelgangers," Scar said. "But on to other matters. Things have been unstable in town these past weeks. There are more and more rumours that Amn is preparing for war, and a string of kidnappings has unnerved people. We tracked down the ogre mage that was responsible for that only yesterday, in the sewers. As you understand, my resources have been spread thin, and I would have your assistance once again. Ah, come in," he said, beckoning to the junior soldier, who had reappeared in the doorway. The youngster hurried in with a piece of parchment, which he handed to Scar with a deep bow. The commander read the message as the soldier left the room.
"My commander, Grand Duke Eltan, has expressed an interest in meeting with all of you. It has to do with your previous involvement with the Iron Throne. My note was to inform him that you have returned to town, and this note requests that you meet with him here tomorrow at midday," Scar said, gesturing at the note he'd just received. "What shall I tell the Duke?"
"We will come," Kivan said.
"Good, good," Scar said, his face relaxing into a smile. "Meet me here at the noonday bell, and I will take you to his chambers. We will talk more then, and hopefully, we will all benefit."
"Until tomorrow, then," Kivan said, clasping hands with the commander.
"Aye, until tomorrow," Scar said.
They made their farewells and headed out of the Fist headquarters. The wind had died down somewhat, but it was still cold, and Minsc informed them that Boo had a rumbly belly. They were busily discussing what to order once they arrived at the Elfsong when they saw a dozen men and women run screaming out of a nearby warehouse.
"Run away! Run away!! There's a basilisk loose! Get out while you're still able!" someone screamed.
A basilisk? Just like that 'Seer' said... Ember hurried towards the warehouse entrance, where a very nervous halfling was struggling with the lock. "How did a basilisk get into a warehouse in the center of the city?" she asked him.
"Gorpel Hind and his adventuring band, the Merry Fools, captured the beast a week ago," the halfling said, not taking his eyes off the door. "It was to be transported to Waterdeep - what they were going to do with it there, I know not - and now it's woken up from its magical slumber before it was supposed to! Two of my workers have become statues!"
"Is there anything that can be done?" Ember asked.
The halfling looked at her for the first time, then over her shoulder at the rest of the group. "More adventurers, eh? Can you kill such a beast?"
"We can," Ember said.
"Be my guests, then," the halfling said as he undid the lock. "Don't trap it, just kill the thing. I will not have such dangerous merchandise on my property, no matter the pay!" He withdrew the key and ran up the street.
"We must plan this before we enter," Kivan said.
"We have two potions of Mirrored Eyes," Imoen said. "How about you and Minsc drink them and draw its attention? The rest of us can attack it from afar."
"A good plan," Kivan said.
"What about Boo?" Minsc asked.
"I can hold him for you, if you don't mind," Imoen said.
"Minsc does not mind, and Boo does not mind, either!"
The fight did not last long. With eyes that glowed like silver pools from the potion, the two rangers entered the warehouse ahead of the others. The basilisk was wandering around inside, randomly smashing crates, but was soon distracted when Kivan and Minsc attacked it with hammer and sword. Ember and Alora used their slings, Imoen and Edwin used their spells, and the creature was dead within a minute.
"Poor thing," Alora said, patting the dead basilisk's head. "It probably just wanted to go home."
"But where would home be, and who would take it there?" Ember asked as she searched a large, hay-filled crate, which appeared to be the crate the basilisk had been in.
"It is better off dead than captive," Kivan said.
"It'd be better off if it'd never been captured at all," Ember said. Something glinted in a corner of the crate. She reached in and picked up the small, smooth object; it glowed in dull, mottled greens in the faint light in the warehouse. It was a beautifully cut sphene gem.
---
The road to the Blade and Stars was only a small detour away. Ember went there, only accompanied by Kivan, while the rest headed to the Elfsong to order a longed-for dinner for all of them. The Leiran had not returned, but the seer was still there, sitting in the exact same place as when they had left.
"The sphene gem!" the seer cried, visibly pleased, as Ember placed the gemstone on the table before him. "Indeed, then... you are more than you appear." He gestured to her to come closer.
"Someday," he said in a very low voice as he gazed deeply into her eyes, "you must journey further through the muck and mire of this place, for it will tell you as much or more than all of fabled Candlekeep... Like yourself, this city is more than it appears. There are cities below cities, dreams beneath dreams, the past laying buried beneath the crushing weight of the present... Go now, wanderer, for the time will come when you must walk through the darkness to find the light." The seer sat back, an exhausted look on his face.
"Thank you," Ember said quietly. What he had said made little sense, but somehow it felt like she had been told something useful and comforting. And at least he didn't shrink away from me or run away in a panic, like that palm reader we once met.
She smiled at Kivan. "Let's go get dinner," she said. The ranger theatrically offered her his hand, and escorted her out of the inn.
