Throne Of Cards 73 – Of Hearts And Lights
Of course it matters which cards we draw, but it also matters how we place our bets. It was an important lesson to learn, that Bhaal’s legacy could be what I made of it, not what he or anybody else planned.
Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’
“So, that’s where we stand. Thoughts or suggestions?” Zaerini looked around the circle of her friends, all gathered by the campfire in the pocketplane. All of them had listened attentively enough, and with varying degrees of concern. Well, Minsc had spent the time busily grooming Boo’s fur but he probably had listened all the same.
“It is as you say,” Viconia said. “You are marked by divine attention, and that limits your options. Whatever this Melissan’s motivations are, your siblings will come after you sooner or later.”
“Not me!” Imoen piped up with a grin. “Not unless she tries to put down my glorious pocketplane decorating skills again.”
“I only said that maybe the pink heart-shaped flowervase in your quarters was a bit much,” Rini replied with a smile of her own. “It was totally gross and should be crushed into itty-bitty little pieces.”
“Ha! Fighting words! It’s a duel to the death now, Sis!”
“While that vase hardly sounds like something to my own tastes,” Dekaras said, “May I ask what elicited the strong reaction?”
“It was shaped like an actual human heart. The flowers went inside the aorta.”
“Oh,” The assassin said. “That sounds like an exceedingly impractical design.”
“Myeah,” Imoen admitted. “I was going for romantic, but I think the Bhaal bit underneath my own mind interfered. Anyway, as I was saying, I won’t be fighting Rini, and neither will Sarevok. Will you, Sarry?”
“I think,” Sarevok rumbled, “That we are past that point, are we not?” He gave Zaerini a nod which she returned. She was glad to see he seemed to be holding up well after their talk last night. He’d been looking rather thoughtful all morning, or whatever passed for morning in the pocketplane, but not unhappy or angry.
“That we are,” She agreed. “And maybe not all of our siblings will try to kill me, but I think it’s safe to say that those allied with Yaga-Shura will, and they’ll all be at least as powerful as he was. I may not have any other choice than to kill them before they kill me.”
“Which begs the question,” Dekaras said, “Why Melissan is so invested in aiming you at them. I think we can safely rule out altruistic reasons, but could she be a Bhaalspawn herself?”
“I thought about it,” Rini said. “And it would make logical sense, I agree, but somehow it doesn’t feel right. There’s something familiar about other Bhaalspawn, something I can sense now I know what I’m looking for, and I don’t sense it in her.”
“Next time she turns up like a recurring rash,” Edwin said, “let’s eliminate all potential for a later sudden yet inevitable betrayal, and simply send her head into orbit. (A spell aimed just so should do the trick.)”
“Oooh I like the sound of that. And if we hadn’t all been worn out from the battle last time, I’d have been tempted. But Bhaalspawn or not, I don’t want to underestimate her, and if we’ll have to fight her I want it to be on our terms if possible.” Rini cleared her throat. “I guess nobody objects to us going to this Amkethran place to meet Melissan’s contact? Minsc, you haven’t said anything yet, what do you think?”
“Minsc just has one question, Little Rini.”
“Yes?”
“What is behind the new door over there?”
“Right. The door.” Zaerini turned her head towards the object in question. It was indeed a door, a perfectly ordinary and mundane wooden door. What was less ordinary and mundane was the way it was standing on its own, with no surrounding walls, towards one side of the clearing. Earlier, when she’d first woken up and found it, she’d walked all the way around to the other side, but it had looked just the same from that angle. That’s when she had decided to keep it hidden from her friends until it was time to bring it up, just in case somebody got it into their head to wander through. I probably shouldn’t be surprised that Minsc saw right through the illusion. Or Boo did, I suppose. “I’m guessing that it’s the next challenge the Bhaal part of me has created,” She said with what she hoped was a plausibly reassuring smile. “You know, to prepare me. Just in case of ascension to godhood. Which hopefully won’t happen, but it’s there and I’m afraid I’ll have to go through it to deal with whatever’s inside. It will be something I need to learn. The rest of you don’t have to…”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Edwin interrupted her, his fingers reaching out to lightly tug on her hair. “There is no question of you going in alone, so do not even attempt to argue. You will face whatever horrors lie inside with the peerless magic of Edwin Odesseiron to support you, be it demons, dragons or worst of all the hideous and tasteless interior decorating skills of a Bhaalspawn of the pink persuasion.”
“Hey!” Imoen protested. “You didn’t even see my room, so nyah! Just for that you’re not getting a go on the bouncy castle.”
“He is quite right,” Dekaras said. “We – no, not about your room Imoen, I haven’t even seen it, remember? No, that does not mean I desire a guided tour right now.” He sighed and turned to Rini. “As I was about to say, we will of course accompany you, and I see no reason to delay it, since we are all as rested as possible.”
“All right,” Rini agreed, and she stood, smoothing her clothes down. “Let’s go and see what we’ve got. Just remember everyone, keep on your toes, whatever is inside is probably dangerous.” She waited until she was sure everybody was right behind her and ready for battle, and then she pulled the door open and stepped through. What she saw gave her pause, if only briefly. Well, that’s new, but maybe I should have seen it coming.
There was another her standing there, waiting for her in an empty place filled with screaming stars. The Other shared her slim build, her red hair, her gold eyes, even the small scar under her chin from when she’d fallen down a tree when she was seven. In other ways, the Other was very different. There was the armor, for one thing. Expensive, well-fitting, but also very black and very spiky. And horned helmets definitely aren’t my kind of thing. Especially horns with spikes on. Ugh. Then there was the malevolent glint in the Other’s eyes, and the cruel smile on her lips. She didn’t think she smiled like that, at least not often.
There were other people standing there with Other Her, but thankfully not twisted versions of her friends. Tamoko was there, instantly recognizable with her long black braid and the way she moved like a stalking cat, hands on her sword. And there was the wizard, Winski. His eyes were flat as he folded his hands inside his sleeves, but there was a slight smile on his face as he looked at something across her shoulder. Sarevok, I bet. Ouch. Just who is being tested here, anyway? There was another, younger wizard there as well, in dirty yellow robes and with an unsettling giggle, and the lumbering Tazok, ogre blood making him stand half as tall as the tallest man.
“Hello Zaerini,” Other Her said, sounding calm as anything. Is that what my voice sounds like? Huh, doesn’t sound like that in my head. “Do you require formal introductions?”
“The spikes are a bit of a dead giveaway,” She replied, deliberately making her own tone more flippant. “Sorry to have to say it, Other Me, but you look like you’re in the final stages of Bhaal Derangement Syndrome. Once the spikes set in, you’ll soon end up with a case of Very Dead, one way or another.”
“I am the you that followed a different path, entirely. The you taken in by the Iron Throne, rather than a Harper. The you that took full advantage of your heritage, rather than try to run away from it.”
“I’m done with running away from it. I don’t have that luxury anymore. That doesn’t mean I have to spontaneously erupt in spikes and villainous monologues.” And that’s it, isn’t it? That’s why I made this place, why I made her. To show myself that even if I learn to use the power, I don’t have to become her. I can do it differently. Sure, I’ll still have to be careful, but it’s not black and white.
Other Her nodded, seeming pleased. “Then,” She said, “It appears we are at an impasse. If you wish to proceed, to go deeper in, you have to get past me. Be warned, I will not go easy on you as we battle.”
I’d say that’s my cue.
Not bothering to engage in further threats, posturing or banter, Rini made her move. Other Her was clearly going to fight like Sarevok once had, and so engaging in in a melee seemed like a bad idea. Instead, the bard cast a quick illusion spell, creating a false image of herself. While the illusion was less powerful than herself, it could still cast a few spells of its own and it proceeded to Mirror Image itself, making the warrior woman pause in confusion as she suddenly faced five identical opponents. The real Rini used that confusion to dodge and weave between the illusions and a quick invisibility potion later she slipped away entirely. Much better.
Other Her turned on Sarevok instead, sword against sword. She shouldn’t have been able to stand against the tall man, but somehow she was holding on, matching him blow for blow. Perhaps it was the Bhaalpowers within her, but she definitely was pressing Sarevok hard. Meanwhile, Minsc faced off against Tazok, another even battle for now.
Let’s make it less even then.
She cast another spell, and Other Her blinked in confusion as she was suddenly teleported a short distance off to the side, her flank now open and vulnerable. Sarevok’s sword found its way into a crack in that spiky armor, and Other Her winced, blood trickling down her leg even as she snarled, her eyes glowing bright as fire. While she didn’t grow visibly larger, her blows became even fiercer than before, but the teleportation field still had her at a disadvantage. The same held true for Tazok, and Minsc also managed to get a few good blows in, though the hardy ogre wasn’t yet much slowed by this.
Moving in on Tamoko, Rini suddenly felt as if she’d run face first into a wall, and though she tried to curse not a single word escaped her. Stunning spell. That meant at least one of the enemy wizards must have managed to get a True Sight spell off to spot her. Speaking of the enemy wizards, the younger wizard in the yellow robe was pointing a finger at her with an unholy grin on his face, and then she could see a greenishblack blob of magical energy zooming through the air and straight for her face. She couldn’t tell what it was, but she didn’t doubt that it would be nasty. However, it harmlessly bounced off the magical sphere that suddenly sprang into existence around her, doing no damage at all.
Hamster ball time again? Thanks for having my back, Eddie.
She spared the wizard a quick nod and a wink, and he smiled back at her before launching into a complicated summoning spell, something to join the magical floating sword he’d already sent off to menace the enemy wizard. Imoen in turn was doing her best to distract Winski from spellcasting with a veritable hailstorm of enchanted arrows, and was doing a good job of it too, but then the older man’s contingency spells slid into place, and the arrows started bouncing harmlessly off several layers of magical shields. Able to act freely, Winski lobbed a spell straight into the melee, and the ground started to hiss and crackle, flames bursting out of it and forcing Minsc and Sarevok to move out of the area affected by the spell and also out of the teleportation field that had aided them so far.
At last, the protective sphere enclosing her wore off, but so had the stunning spell and she was free to move again. She slipped across the battlefield as quickly and quietly as possible, coming up at Tamoko from behind just as she was about to strike Viconia who was entirely preoccupied with keeping Minsc on his feet. Then she grabbed the other woman’s long braid in a tight grip and pulled as hard as she could. Tamoko staggered and stumbled backwards, and that was enough of a distraction for Rini to slip her sword neatly into the other woman’s back. Tamoko gave a quiet sigh, and fell, blood spurting from her open mouth. Viconia smiled and followed up with a finishing blow to the head, then proceeded to cast some sort of spell which made Tazok howl with pain before going back to her healing.
One down, four to go. And where is…
On the other side of the battlefield, Winski, who was in the process of finishing a perfectly aimed Horrid Wilting, startled with surprise as all of his magical shields suddenly winked out. Then a second mouth opened all along his throat, smiling a wide, red, deadly smile, severed cartilage glinting like teeth in its depth. The croaking sounds emerging from that second mouth didn’t sound much like any laughter Rini had ever heard before though, nor like any did she ever care to hear again. Behind the dying wizard a rippling shadow straightened and took on the form of a familiar silhouette, stark against the backdrop of howling and spinning green stars and drifting void.
Yep. There he is. He must have used a wand to take out Winski’s defenses. But that will mean…
To be sure, Dekaras was just tucking a slim wand away, but he was hunched over with pain, and clearly having trouble moving as swiftly as before. It could be just the damage she knew he normally would inflict on himself with wand usage, but she rather thought Winski might have gotten some final magical attack off as well. In the meantime, Edwin had finished his conjuration spell and a very angry pack of werewolves had materialized on top of the younger wizard in the yellow robe and proceeded to make a very large mess of him. As one of Imoen’s arrows pierced one of Tazok’s piggy eyes and a second his throat, Minsc’s sword bit deep into the half-ogre’s belly, nearly severing him in two.
And then there were one.
Other Her had clearly noticed the same, and she howled with rage and frustration. “Fool!” She cried. “Do you think you have won so easily? You’ve beaten these conjured shades, mere manifestations of power. Now that power returns to me. In a moment I will be fully healed – and in the meantime you begone!”
The stars were gone, and there was darkness all around. She couldn’t see anything at all, couldn’t feel any ground under her feet, couldn’t hear any voices or sounds of battle.
Am I dead?
No, that didn’t seem right. She wasn’t where she had been before, but she still had to be in the pocketplane. Other Her was part of it, and couldn’t very well send her anywhere else. This all had to be part of the test. As that thought came to her, some measure of vision returned as well. Other Her was floating before her in the void, eyes closed, surrounded by a sparkling green shield that seemed to pool and drip around her feet, rippling like water. Dark shapes slumped in those green pools, tentacles of power reaching out for them, gradually reducing them to empty husks. Her friends – no, not friends, she doesn’t have friends. Minions. She’s draining them of the power used to summon them, healing herself, powering up. I have to stop her before she’s done, somehow. But how?[/i]
Where were her own friends? She looked around desperately, calling out in vain. The pools were glowing more brightly now, her twisted twin looking healthier by the moment. I’m doing this wrong. This is a test, a test to help me grow into the power. What am I supposed to do? She reached out again, this time not with her voice, or with her sight, or with her ears, but with another sense entirely for which she had no proper name. Souls. Souls connected by blood, by love, by friendship and common purpose. She could ‘see’ something else now, not with her eyes but with her mind. The best way to comprehend it was by thinking of it in visual terms though. In the deep darkness, spinning past almost too quickly to notice them, were several small lights, shining in different colours. They didn’t seem to move according to any preordained pattern but rather erratically like fireflies, each one seemingly oblivious of the others. She didn’t doubt that they were. Each one of us is trapped, in an equal pocket of darkness. I don’t think the others can see, but I can. It’s my job to bring us together again.
How to do that though, and where to start? There must be some trick to this, some order. She observed the lights again. Two of them were a little brighter, a little larger than the others. One was the vivid pink of a blooming rose, the other deep gold. Immy and Sarevok. The Bhaalblood makes them look a little different. I can see it more clearly like this. And there was something else as well. The burning gold light representing Sarevok was pulled gradually closer to her outstretched hand, moving so easily because the connection was already there, established before birth. She knew something else now, something the blood was telling her. Bhaal’s power hadn’t been divided equally among his offspring, she’d already known that. But now she could also sense the truth of how it worked, how it had seeped into the tiny bodies of the god’s yet unborn children, choosing different entry points and always leaving some mark behind. In herself and Sarevok it had resulted in their matching eyes, and for a good reason too. They had received equal and identical parts of the divine spark, entirely matched like twins, though born to different mothers. Somehow, some part of them must have always known this, she thought. And so she started with her brother, already instinctively drawn to her as he was, pulling him in close. Imoen came next, her sister and dearest friend, almost as well known to her as her own soul. Then the others, one by one, and it was getting easier and easier now she knew what she was doing. Finally she was done, with them all closely orbiting her like planets around a sun and she could feel them so close to her, all of them, soul to soul.
Time to finish this.
“You’re such a loser,” She told Other Her, and the other woman’s eyes widened with fear. “You use the power to drain those around you like a vampire. I don’t do that. I don’t want to, and I don’t need to. I’m stronger than you, and I do [i]this.” The Bhaalpower exploded out of her and she shattered the darkness in a kaleidoscope of spinning lights, her own strength bouncing back and forth, magnified and reflected between herself and her friends as she seized control of it. Other Her shrieked as shards of light, sharp like daggers, pierced her body from all sides, and then she was gone, a puddle of black ooze on the ground all that remained.
“Whew,” Zaerini said, looking at her friends standing in a circle around her, all of them with slightly stunned looks on their faces. “That was pretty intense, huh? What say I try conjuring us a few drinks before we take off to the desert?”
“I think,” Sarevok slowly said, “after this little episode a full bar would seem more appropriate.”