Chapter 56: Abela
A large crowd had assembled outside the Sorcerous Sundries, forming a wide circle around two burnt and charred bodies that lay near the store's doorstep. Ember, Kivan, Minsc and Edwin arrived just as the bodies were being covered with old sheets and laden onto a cart.
"What happened here?" Ember asked.
"That's Arkion and Nemphre, that is!" a peasant woman replied. "They were lovers, once, but it ended badly."
"Aye. They was always fightin'. He said he wanted her ring, an' she said she wanted his amulet," a gruff-voiced man added.
"Love turned to hate, as it were," the woman said.
"They had a duel this mornin', right here in the street," the man said, "an' blew each other up."
"It's such a sad story. I hope they will be at peace now," the woman said.
The man shrugged. "It'll be peaceful around here, at least."
The cart was slowly pulled away by a pair of donkeys, and the crowd began to disperse.
"A shocking waste of talent. You agree, do you not?" a man with a smooth, oddly accented voice asked behind Ember. She turned and found herself face to face with an elderly man with a tanned and wrinkled face, silvery hair, and blood red robes.
"I suppose so," she said. "I did not know them."
"I understand perfectly. You be not from here, after all," the man said. "You and your compatriots be so obviously... well... I just say you no look like farmers or merchants." His accent had strong similarities to Edwin's, Ember noticed; he had to be yet another Red Wizard. She glanced at Edwin, who looked like he had just swallowed something foul-tasting.
"Yes, we have travelled," Ember said lightly.
"Allow me to be introduced. I am Ramazith!" he proclaimed.
He's the one who filled that tavern with green slimes the other day, isn't he? "Pleased to meet you," Ember lied.
"I've a service needing completion, and it require that which I think you have. I reward well. Interested, yes?"
"What is this service?" Ember asked.
"My proposition is thus; I would have you enter into the home of a colleague of mine, and effect the release of a creature he has imprisoned there," Ramazith said. "Ragefast be his name, and he has in his possession one of the most beautiful and useful creatures in all of Faerun. It be a nymph he captured some time ago. I know not what laughable plans he has for her, but I am sure she be more... productive in my care. I would go myself, but none know better how to defend against a wizard than another wizard. This require stealth and guile, or quick blade with muscle behind. You have; I lack. Simple, no?"
A nymph! Ember's mind reeled. She could think of a few reasons why a mage might want to have one, and none of them were pleasant. "Where does this Ragefast live?" she asked.
"Most agreeable!" the mage exclaimed. "Already you show intelligence needed to succeed! You will find Ragefast's home just west of the Hall of Wonders. It is in a small and ugly tower. We meet at my home when you complete your your task, yes? Do not tarry, for I have many plans." Ramazith bowed briefly and scurried off towards his tower.
"Boo does not trust this evil wizard," Minsc said.
"I fear he plans to use the nymph for spell components," Kivan said.
"(Of course he does!)" Edwin muttered.
"We cannot be part of such a deed," Kivan continued.
"We're not going to," Ember said. "We're going to free her from Ragefast." She turned and looked at Edwin. "You know Ramazith, don't you?"
"Why would you think that?" the wizard asked.
"I saw the look on your face. You looked even more upset than you did when we met the Red Wizards at that temple ruin in the forest."
"I was not upset!"
"Edwin, what do you know about Ramazith?"
"Ramazith is... my competitor," the wizard said between clenched teeth. "We have been assigned the same task. He is an inept fool who believes that greater age implies greater competence, and he would go to great lengths to impede my progress if given half a chance."
"And would this task have something to do with why there are so many Red Wizards around in general?" Ember asked.
"I will forgive your impudence in prying," the wizard huffed, "and you will content yourself with knowing that the Red Wizards of Thay are not involved in any of the petty schemes in this region. As for my task, it is a matter of personal advancement. (I swear, she is almost as annoying as Imoen!)"
Ember decided to let the matter lie, and other than Minsc's quiet chatter with Boo about the differences between evil wizards, they made their way across town to the Hall of Wonders in silence. Ragefast's home was easily identifiable; while it wasn't quite as tall as Ramazith's tower, its spire loomed over the surrounding houses. It had whitewashed walls and a thatch roof, and would almost have looked cozy if not for the large mechanical contraption that stuck out of one side of the tower. Ember hesitated outside the door; for all they knew, it could be trapped, and for all they knew, Ramazith might have been lying about the nymph. She was about to suggest that they go find Imoen and Alora before they tried to enter when they heard a pleading female voice through the walls.
"Listen, Boo! A damsel in distress, but not for long now that Minsc and Boo are here! Evil, watch your buttocks, for HERE COMES MY BOOT OF JUSTICE!" Minsc cried as he kicked in the door and stormed into the tower.
The entrance didn't appear to be trapped, and the others followed Minsc into a large chamber with multiple gadgets. A middle-aged mage in golden robes and a stunningly beautiful woman stood in the middle of the room, apparently in the middle of an argument. The woman was dressed in nothing but a gauzy wrap of shimmery blue fabric, and a delicate silver chain, held by the mage, was attached to a collar around her neck. There was a frailness to her beauty, almost as if she were a fine porcelain statue that'd shatter if she were touched, but it was still almost unbearable to look at her.
"What!? What bandit dares enter the home of Ragefast?! Identify your purpose here, that I might know what to put on thy tombstone!" the mage bellowed.
"Minsc and Boo and our Boots of Justice have come to teach you how to be nice to ladies!" Minsc shouted, waving his sword.
Ragefast stepped away from the giant ranger. "What nonsense is this?! Explain yourself!"
"We heard you were holding a nymph captive, and now we see it is true," Ember said. "How dare you commit such an atrocity?"
"No!" the mage shouted. "This wondrous being is my love and life! I would be hers as well, but it takes time! She will grow to care for me, as I her!"
"You do not cage those you care for," Kivan said. "You may break her spirit, and she will serve you, but this is not love."
"She will learn to be happy here!" Ragefast insisted. "We shall grow old together."
"Look unto me, Ragefast," the nymph said. "My beauty fades even now."
"Abela, thy beauty is as brilliant now as the day I found you. Say not such things!" the mage said.
The nymph shook her head. "'Tis flattering, but you are blinded by your passion. Truly see what is become of me. I should not age, but my spirit fades in this ugly place. Yours does as well, but from obsession over me."
"But we were meant for each other! Thy very words had said so!" Ragefast cried.
"In my glade, amidst the stars and moon," Abela said. "'Twas beauty in that, but I cannot be confined with thee. I am not human, and this is not my home."
"But this is MY home..." Ragefast whimpered.
"(Pathetic,)" Edwin muttered. Ember elbowed him.
"Abela will die if you keep her here," Kivan said. "If you truly feel as you do, you must set her free."
The mage slumped dejectedly. "I...it is so. Forgive me Abela, I have been a fool. I release you from my enchantments, and you are free to leave. Please do not think too harshly of me," Ragefast said. He reached for her collar and pulled it from her neck.
The nymph drew a deep breath and stretched as though she'd just woken up. "I am not without fault; 'tis my nature to breed obsession in people. I forgive you," she told the teary-eyed mage. "As for my impromptu saviors, my gratitude is boundless! Please, take a lock of hair to remember me by." Before anyone could object, she took a dagger from a nearby desk and cut off a rich golden lock, which she handed to Ember. The hair was softer than silk, and had a sheen that put all jewelry to shame.
"It will be good to feel the grass beneath my feet once more! I doubt I shall seek the company of man for some time. Goodbye," Abela said with a smile. She kissed Ragefast, cast a spell, and was gone.
"Farewell, my love," Ragefast whispered. He sat heavily down on a chair and collapsed in tears.
"I am sorry, but it had to be done," Ember told Ragefast. She was tempted to give him the lock of hair, but decided not to; he'd probably obsess over that in her stead, and never recover. Instead, she beckoned her companions towards the door. They left quietly, and closed the door behind them.
As they slowly walked back towards the Sorcerous Sundries, Ember coiled the lock of Abela's hair around her hand, and pulled her cloak around her to hide the treasure from would-be thieves. Minsc and Kivan were talking about the nymph, and Edwin kept mentioning new magical items they could make with the lock of hair. However, the wizard seemed distracted; he kept looking at his wands and pulling different ones out of his pack.
"Do you expect trouble from Ramazith?" Ember asked Edwin.
"(What a foolish question.) Of course! Fortunately, he is no match for my intellect."
It was not long before they found the other Red Wizard; when they entered an alley near the spell shop, they saw the mage waiting for them at the far end. "I see that you have returned, yes?" Ramazith said. "You need not say that you have betrayed me, for I scrye and spy! Certainly you are foolish to have come here after breaking our deal! I have many spells waiting for parts of nymph, and will be a long time looking for another. An expensive delay you have cost me, and compensation be from your hide!"
"In case you didn't notice, I never actually said we'd help you," Ember said.
"Fools! But what else to expect!" Ramazith growled. He raised his hands, shouted a few syllables, and a cloud of noxious fumes filled the alley. Ember fell to her knees, coughing and spitting to rid herself of the fire that flooded her mouth and nostrils.
"Indeed, what else to expect from you, Odesseiron?" Ramazith shouted. "How could you think you would not fail when you surround yourself with incompetent barbarians who do not know what good for them? Lower yourself like this... do not think the Zulkir will not know of your disgrace!" The mage paused. "Unless... ohhh. No, that cannot be; you are not-"
Three orcs materialized in front of Ramazith. The mage shrieked with surprise; moments later, a large club smashed his skull.
---
The library at the top of Ramazith's tower was very dusty, and smelled of spilled potions and old scrolls. Edwin rifled through the many keys on Ramazith's keychain (how fortunate that the inept fool had carried those with him) and selected the smallest one, which he tried on a locked chest. There was a tiny click, and the lock sprang open.
"(Too close,)" he mumbled quietly as he ruffled through the spell scrolls in the chest. There was no danger of anyone hearing him, as the others were searching the lower floors (after all, none of them were fit to evaluate arcane spellscrolls, and they would only be in his way. Imoen would have been useful company, though).
Had Ramazith truly guessed why he still travelled with Ember and Imoen? Edwin absentmindedly patted the wand of monster summoning that hung from his belt. Nobody would know, thanks to that wand and his perfect brain's ability to plan ahead, but it had still been far too close. He could not afford to let the others know the truth, or even suspect that there was a truth to be known.
He had to be more careful.
At the bottom of the chest, he found Ramazith's journal. Written in Thayvian, it was filled with notes about one Sarevok Anchev, a rising star in the Iron Throne hierarchy. Edwin recognized the name immediately; after all, it had been written all over the documents they'd found in Cloakwood. Here, in addition to the results of Ramazith's research, was yet another connection that supported his own theory! "Who is the failure now?" he muttered gleefully.
He stuffed the journal into his pack for later perusal, and headed for the bookshelves.
