Hello dearest readers! The party gets into Spellhold and there’s a homage to the one and only Bender Bending Rodriguez from “Futurama”.
Author note: Many, many, many heartfelt thanks to Laufey for her suggestion about Jonjon using Meg’s love for Sarry to his advantage during the soul-theft. This chapter wouldn’t have been half as good without it. Thanks so much! *smile*
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CHAPTER 35
…You know I'd do anything for you
Oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for you, baby…(Bruno Mars, “Grenade”)
After waking up, Margaret Dawn found herself in a glass tube, similar to the one in which Rielev was, "What...". "Ah, you’re awake. Good", Irenicus walked up to her, until he was nearly pressed against the glass, "I fear I was at an advantage on you: your arrival has been part of my plan since the...Incident in the Promenade of Athkatla.
It’s amazing what a single pinch of spell component in the crab soup can do, don’t you agree? It’s completely harmless, nothing more than a spice, until I say the triggering word". "That scumbag Havarian was one of your lackeys, then". "He was, yes. Now, Child of Bhaal, I have a proposal for you".
She blinked, surprised, "A proposal, you say? What could that be?". "I found my old diary in your pack. You read it, I assume, so you know that I need a half-god’s soul to free myself from this curse. And you...", he lowered his voice, his eyes seeming to look through her and straight into her soul, "You need your brother, don’t you?".
The Painbearer started, "How can you know?". "One of my lackeys has been watching you since you set foot outside Candlekeep. I kept track of many Bhaalspawn during the years and I even managed to experiment on some of them. Unfortunately, their Essence was too weak for my purposes, but their contribution was still crucial to my research". "I see. So what kind of proposal do you have for me?".
"I think we can make a barter that will satisfy both of us: you give me your divine soul and you have my word that, once I’ve achieved my goal, I will bring your brother back to the world of the living", he offered. "Deal", Meg answered immediately. She knew it was foolish to trust him, but she didn’t care: he was powerful, more than any other wizard she’d ever met and if there was even the slightest chance for Sarevok to live again, she had to try!
"Do you understand what accepting this exchange implies?". "It means that I’ll take your curse upon myself, while you will be healed and whole again thanks to my soul". Jon nodded, "Correct. Are you still willing to do it, knowing that?". "I’m willing, as long as you keep your end of the bargain".
"You will die, Child of Bhaal", he said, watching her intently, "And what little time you have left will be a living nightmare, as I know all too well". She shrugged, "I don’t care. I’m a Painbearer of Ilmater, remember? And His dogma says that: “The truly holy take on the suffering of others”. So that’s basically part of my job". "I see. The deal is sealed, then.
Don’t worry, Margaret Dawn", he said, calling her by name for the first time, "The extraction will be painful, but it won’t take long", he assured her. He then turned abruptly on his heels, strode to the control panel of the soul-extracting machine and lowered a lever at his left. Several shots of lighting hit her and the last thing she saw before losing consciousness was his ice-blue eyes fixed on her face.
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A gust of cold air started her awake and she saw that she was in the dream-Candlekeep again, this time in the courtyard, "Oh, come on, why do I always have to end up here?", she snorted, looking heavenwards. The wind became stronger and it carried to her the echo of a child’s voice, "Find me...You can’t fight alone...Find me inside...".
Her heart leapt in her throat: that voice! She knew it as she knew her own, but it had been such a long time since she had last heard it... "I’m coming", she promised, hurrying towards the library, "Wait for me, I’m coming!". Before the door to the library, she had to stop: an impressively large Demon, similar to a Tanar’ri, blocked her path. "You have to give up a part of yourself to pass. Do you want to pass?". Her lips curled in a snarl, "Of course I do!
And if you don’t remove your big fat ass from there right now, I will tear you apart!", the Ilmatari growled, despite being painfully aware that she lacked the strength to defeat such a monster on her own. The Demon just blinked, "You have to give up a part of yourself to pass. Do you want to pass?", he repeated. "I said move, you ugly beast!". "You have to give up a part of yourself to pass. Do you want to pass?", the creature said for the third time, completely unruffled.
"What? Oh, Hells, fine! What do you want?". "You must choose what to give up: your strength, your intelligence, your knowledge, your health, or your youth?". She thought about it: her youth allowed her to be fast and agile in combat, so no; without her health, she would be nothing but a burden to her friends, so no;
her strength was laughable enough as it was and surely she wasn’t about to give up the intelligence that her brother loved so much in her. Knowledge was expendable, all things considered: all she would have to do was learning again everything she would forget. "I give up my knowledge", she decided.
"Then you will know yourself through your mistakes, when you will surely fall because of your madness. Pass and fear not", the Demon said, then he vanished and she wasted no time in rushing into the library. "Where are you? Please, I need to see you!", she begged, looking around desperately. A tall, dark-haired seven-year-old boy descended the stairs, his skin was dark and his eyes were the colour of amber, "You’re here. And we can win, together".
Margaret Dawn fell to her knees and hugged the child tightly to her chest, overcome with happiness, "I found you. I found you. We will never be apart again, I swear", she murmured, stroking his hair with infinite tenderness. She knew something was amiss, but she didn’t care: it just didn’t matter, not when he was once again with her, not when she could see his chest rise and fall with each breath, not when she could feel the pounding of his heartbeat.
"We have no time", the boy took her face in his hands, "You must bring the beast here. You can’t defeat it alone, but together, we can win. I saw...We must face it together. It’s our only chance...And my last". "Okay, I will bring it here, I’ll be right back", the young woman promised, kissing his forehead, then she reluctantly walked outside the library.
As she was approaching the dried fountain in the withered garden, an armoured “man” walked towards her, a greatsword in his hands. "Kneel before me!", Bhaal roared, "You can’t fight me, I’m part of you!". "Kneeling before you? No way! Bite my shiny scale-clad ass!", the Painbearer sneered, turning and mockingly shaking her backside at him before running into the building and he ran after her without a second thought, enraged.
As soon as they were in the hall, the child-Sarevok shouted, "He’s in my line of sight! Attack him now, I will join my will to yours! It’s the only chance we have!". "Gods, I’ve been waiting for this", the Ilmatari didn’t need to be told twice: she turned on Bhaal with a war cry, unleashing years upon years of suppressed anger and frustration on him, like the fury of a dormant volcano finally finding release.
Bhaal staggered, incredulous, "No! How can you fight me? You...You’re different from your kin! But you’re empty inside...There’s nothing left. Nothing but the instinct...", he wheezed and fell to the floor, a pool of blood growing wider and wider under his body.
The child shook like a leaf, "There’s something wrong, I...No! NO! Not again!", he cried, falling to his knees as the library started to crumble. Meg immediately gathered him in her arms, shielding him with her own body and the last thing she heard was the deafening rumble of the walls collapsing around them.
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When the floor stopped shaking under her, she cautiously looked around, only to find herself alone and back in the glass tube, in Spellhold. Bitter tears filled her eyes as she realized that it had been just an illusion and that her brother was not there with her, "Sarry...".
Irenicus’ voice snapped her back to reality, "Good, you survived. Then again, your sister survived too and you’re much more resistant than her". "What...You have taken her soul too? Why?". "For my own sister", he gestured towards Bodhi, who stood at his side with a satisfied smirk on her red-painted lips, "As you know, she was cursed too".
Meg felt black fury rise in her chest and punched the glass, "Give it back! Immy’s soul wasn’t part of the deal!". The Vampiress laughed, "Whyever should I give it back, hm? After all, the girl will die soon, so she won’t need it anymore". "You Godsdamned bitch, I will tear you to pieces and rip it from your bloodless corpse, you can be sure of this!
And you", the Human girl turned to Jon, "Why in the Abyss did you heal her? She is as much at fault for your condition as Ellesime is and you know it!". "I did what I had to, nothing more. Now I must bid you farewell, Margaret Dawn: I have preparations to make. We will not meet again", he turned to his sister, "Bodhi, she and her friends are yours to feed upon. Do not disappoint me".
"I will dispose of them, brother", Bodhi assured him in a humble tone and as soon as he had left the room, she giggled like a schoolgirl and walked up to the Painbearer’s prison, "But I want to have some fun before killing all of you, mousey. It will be a nice game". "Burn in the Abyss, bitch", the priestess growled, "The only reason why I’m not spitting in your face is this glass". The Vampiress giggled again and one of her pale hands gestured to a corner of the room, a Clay Golem moving forward at the motion, "Take this insolent mouse out of there".
The creature obediently smashed the glass tube with a big fist and grabbed the young woman by the waist, then threw her over its shoulder, ignoring her punches and protests, so she had no choice but to resign herself to dangling in a very undignified manner from her perch. After a long walk, the Golem simply tossed her on the floor, making her land at the bottom of a high flight of stairs and the sudden impact knocked the wind out of her.
"Ooof!", she wheezed, "Ilmater...That hurt", she coughed and tried to sit up and she felt a pair of strong hands helping her up. "Thank Helm you’re alive", Anomen’s voice was filled with a mixture of relief and worry as he carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "I...I heard you scream...I had feared that...".
His betrothed smiled and leaned into him, "Beloved, I’m so glad to see you! Are you okay?". "Yes my love, we are all unharmed...Well, not all of us, but...", he turned to his right and following his gaze, she saw with relief that all of her companions were there, safe and sound. And among them...
"Immy!". "Bookferret!", the pink-haired thief ran to her and the two girls hugged tightly, "You came! I knew you would come for me!". "Of course I came, pixie", the Ilmatari said, stroking her friend’s hair with affection, "I would never abandon you: you’re my friend and now you’re my sister too".
Before Imoen could say a word, Bodhi’s hoarse voice came from the top of the stairs. "Oh, what a moving scene. I could throw up". The Painbearer’s head whipped around, her face twisted with rage, "I am really, really, really fed up with you, so either come here and fight, or go...", and here she added something so creatively vulgar that it would have made even a drunken Dwarven sailor blush like a maiden.
The Vampiress just laughed though, "Such language, I’m shocked. I won’t fight you, not yet: I want to play first. Do you see those doors? They lead into the deepest part of the asylum, a maze created by a coordinator who liked driving his inmates even crazier than they already were. If you can find the exit before three days have passed, I will let you go. If you can’t, I will feast upon your blood. Run, mousey, mousey, the hunt is on!", she taunted, then she turned into mist and vanished from sight.
"What’s the problem? You don’t have the guts to face us, uh?", Margaret Dawn yelled after her, enraged, her eyes glowing golden and her shadow twisting and starting to wrap itself around her like a snake made of pure darkness. "Woah, easy there, Meg", Imoen took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze, "It’s not like you to get so worked up. You’re scaring me".
The young priestess forced herself to calm down, hard as it was, "Yeah. Sorry. I’m just...". The pink-haired girl nodded her understanding, her brown eyes softening, "I know, it’s that ritual, right? He...He took your soul too". "He did, yes. How are you, Immy? Do you need healing?". "Nah, Jae there has already taken care of that. As much as she could, anyway", she added, her voice dropping to a whisper, "He...He showed me what I was, Meg...
And then he took it away and now I...I’m not sure if I know who I am anymore. I feel so empty and cold...". Meg hugged her half-sister, "It will be okay, I promise, I will make it alright", she murmured soothingly, "We will kill that bitch and get your soul back and then we will throw a big party with tons of sweets!". The little thief brightened at this, "Promise?".
"Promise: you’ll have them even if I have to give up all of my money to buy them". "You’re the best big sister ever", she grinned and kissed the Painbearer’s cheek, "Love ya, sis". "Same here, pixie. By the way, have you already seen your gifts?". "Gifts? Where? I wanna see ‘em!", she exclaimed enthusiastically.
Margaret Dawn went to retrieve her pack, silently thanking Ilmater for Jon not having stolen their valuable belongings again, then she took out of her Bag of Holding the items and clothes they had bought for Imoen, "Here you go, Immy". The little thief squealed with delight, "Ooooh, I love this leathers! And it’s pink! Oh and look at this bow!", her eyes shone with happiness as she regarded her new equipment, "Thanks a lot!".
Minsc smiled and sat down next to her, "Boo is glad to see little Imoen smiling again. And Minsc is glad too", he said, "We were worried about you, after the bad wizard took you away and escaped the righteous butt-kicking he deserved!". "Aw, thank you, guys, I missed ya too", she smiled back and gave him an affectionate hug, then she gently scratched the hamster on the head.
Aerie fidgeted, "I, uhm, I’m sorry to bother, but...". "What’s wrong, Aerie?", the Ilmatari asked. "Well...I’m hungry", the Avariel admitted, blushing. "Ah. Well, now that you mention it, I’m hungry too. I suggest we take a moment to rest and eat and then we’ll look for the exit", Meg decided, noticing how worn out her half-sister looked: though the lower part of Imoen’s hair was still a shocking pink, the roots were already back to their natural chocolate brown, her face was pale, she had lost some weight and the clothes she wore were stained and tattered.
I failed my brother, I will not fail my sister too. Even if I have to damn myself, I will save her, no matter the cost, the Painbearer thought, then she remembered something and took a small item from her pack, "Immy?". "Waffup?", the pink-haired thief asked around a mouthful of bread. "I know I’m a bit late for this and it’s not the happiest of moments, but...
Happy birthday", Margaret Dawn said, presenting her with a small bracelet made of pink and purple woven ribbons, identical to the one she’d gifted her the day when Imoen had arrived in Candlekeep. The other girl immediately tied it to her left wrist and threw her arms around the Ilmatari’s shoulders, moved, "I love you, Meg". "I love you too, little sister".
Edited by Nimloth, 04 July 2018 - 03:27 PM.
