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Part 12


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#1 Guest_Flarn_*

Posted 19 May 2003 - 12:43 AM

"If you're going to use that scroll, you had better do it now," Nalia's soft voice interrupted Alyndria's reverie as she stared at the strange, silvery white lettering that adorned the scroll in her hands. "We're halfway back to Athkatla, and I don't think the Cowled Wizards are going to take kindly even to something so small."

The half-elf maid was still astounded by the other's generosity in letting them keep the spoils of their nightmarish journey through De'Arnise keep. "The Roenalls will take it anyway," had been Nalia's explanation, "I'd rather you take it. I know you will use it to help people, like you helped
me..."

"I don't know," Alyndria admitted, smiling despite herself as Nalia crouched down beside her to examine the intricate magical writings on the parchment. "It looks like a great responsibility, and a burden not to be undertaken lightly - this creature that I call, whatever it might be, will be linked to my life-force until one of us dies."

"And if it dies, your health will never again be what it was..." Nalia nodded. "But, a familiar can be a great help, a friend even, if you let it. They will protect you, and be your eyes and ears where you cannot go."

"If it's so fantastic why don't you take it?" Alyndria asked.

"I couldn't," Nalia said, "I find I prefer my life without a little creature dependant on me - besides, with my plan to help the needy, well, I couldn't necessarily trust them enough to bring a creature among them. Some of them are so hungry..." she trailed off meaningfully and Alyndria shuddered.

"What about you, Aerie?"

"I think I'm fine on my own as well..."

"Boo will be your familiar," Minsc announced cheerfully, skinning a large rabbit Yoshimo had caught earlier in one of his snares. Alyndria noticed a curious bond was beginning to form between the tall Ranger and the young avariel - the two were similar in some ways, both had suffered great losses, both seemed so strangely innocent despite the cares of the world which touched them as heavily as any member of her group. Perhaps Aerie had been right, perhaps there was something to be found here.

"Although," Aerie continued, "Uncle Quayle once told me that a good familiar can be a centering influence for a magic user. They're smarter than pets, but in some ways they are just the same - they love you no matter who you are and what you do. Just like Boo..." Sneaking up behind Minsc, she secured the aforementioned hamster who crept amiably from the big Ranger's shoulder plates into the girl's cupped hands. "Let's find you some pinecones - I bet they have nice nuts in there."

"What do you think, Khalid?" she asked the older half-elf, who was slowly coaxing more life into the beginnings of a fire.

"Mages have familiars," said Khalid, his voice soft and low, careful as not to disturb the flames he nurtured with bits of grass and small twigs, "priests don't. Which are you? One, the other, or both, as you claim?"

Had Khalid always been so...? The word insufferable came to mind, but that was hardly fair, or true for that matter. Alyndria chewed on her lip to keep from speaking her mind. How she had ever come to the mistaken notion that Khalid could not hold his own against Jaheira was quite beyond her - time had shown her that Khalid could be the equal of his opinionated wife, albeit usually in a far more subtle way. Gathering up the hem of her gown, she paused to unsnag the fabric from a link in her splint mail, then took her scroll and moved to the other side of the clearing, intending to study it more thoroughly while it was still light.

What kind of animal companion would she end up with? The specifics of the spell ranged from the mundane to the truly exotic. Gorion had never had a familiar, but then, raising a child would surely account for more than enough mischief. And he had the security of a home - all she had was a life on the road, a life of combat and chaos, which might not be so conductive to keeping a small creature alive.

Still, the appeal was there, and she couldn't deny it. Though in a year of travel she'd gotten more or less used to the uncertainty, there were times when the loneliness overwhelmed her... now, with Imoen gone, she didn't even have the last bastion of security, the not-so-small reassurance of someone who remembered the same home she did, someone who had been a lifelong friend. Was. Imoen was still her friend - she forced herself out of the trap of thinking of her in the past tense. She was not gone permanently - she would return, and the sooner the better.

Alyndria patted her pouch. They were closer to their goal than she had thought, what with Nalia allowing them to keep the spoils they'd gleaned in the keep, and then adding to that a generous ten thousand gold from the keep's hidden coffers. Still, she felt bad that they had not been able to do more. If Khalid had agreed to hold the keep... but he had not, and a part of her was selfishly glad that he had refused. Perhaps in some small way he needed her - Oghma knew the kinship she felt towards him had not diminished in a year's worth of travel. If anything, she needed him now more than ever, and in her heart, she knew, far more than was appropriate... He was grieving, he needed her friendship, not to be plagued with her petty concerns.

How she missed Jaheira, and Dynaheir... doubtless the more experienced Rashemi witch would have had something to say about the advisability of taking on the responsibility of a familiar, though she herself would not be able to benefit from such a spell, due to her specialization. She could almost hear her: 'Alyndria, thee must consider carefully thy choice of spells, for their effects can be far reaching.'

And Jaheira, well, the Druid would doubtless have had her own opinions about the ethics of magically compelling a wild creature to be one's companion and magical assistant. She would have said...

"I'm sorry."

No, *that* would not be a likely choice.

Khalid settled onto the ground beside her. "Yoshimo took over the fire for me," he explained hesitantly, "my heart just wasn't in it tonight. About what I said before... I wanted to apologise, it really isn't my place to prod you the way I have been. Ever since you told me about your fear of magic... I've wondered if there was some way I could help you to overcome it. I guess I got a bit overzealous." He drew in a shaky breath, glancing away towards the sun blazing its final light as it sank down towards the horizon. "When I stopped to actually think about what I said, I realized how much I sounded like Jaheira."

Alyndria bit her lip again and nodded. "I had thought of that. She... did she always have this transforming effect on people?"

"I think so," Khalid said. "As long as I knew her. She was hard on you sometimes... but you must know, it was only because she knew you could do better. The only time a person really had to worry around her was when she had nothing at all to say about them. She cared about you, Alyndria, as I do."

Alyndria took a deep breath to settle herself. "I know. It is so strange without her, and Dynaheir... they both had so much wisdom to share - I felt like I could make the right decisions when they were here to advise me." Khalid closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing as though a physical pain had touched him, and Alyndria felt a sickening swell of guilt. "Oh Khalid, I'm sorry... how careless of me, I shouldn't be bringing this up." She began to gather her things. "Why don't I let you have some time alone?"

A firm, yet gentle touch on her arm forestalled her. "Alyndria, don't," Khalid interrupted, "don't be sorry. Loving memories are healing, and should always be shared."

She gave the fighter a wan smile. "You're right. I just... I don't want to hurt you by bringing them up before the time is right."

"The time is always right," Khalid half-smiled though his eyes, like hers, held many unshed tears. "She was my joy, and I don't want to stop talking about her. Did you mind when we used to talk about Gorion?"

Alyndria shook her head, recalling the stories she had learned of her foster father in his younger days. "No, never. I think that was the best thing for me, being around people who cared about him as I did. Between you, and Jaheira and Imoen, I couldn't think of any better company when I needed it so much. I remember how you would always tell me how proud Gorion would be of me," she swallowed around a lump forming in her throat, "that helped me to keep going, even when I thought I couldn't stand it anymore."

"Gorion would be proud of you," Khalid said, "and Jaheira was proud of you.She told me so."

"Truly?"

Khalid nodded.

"Why... How is it that you always know the right things to say, even now?" Alyndria felt a single tear escape its confines, and brushed the remainder away impatiently with her sleeve.

"That would be you, Alyndria." The fighter smiled and shook his head. "I'm just a soldier who knows how to follow a good leader."

The last word startled her a moment. Leader. Was she the leader now? She had not really stopped to consider it, but upon reflection it was true. The rest were older for the most part, and with the exception of Aerie and Nalia, much more experienced in the ways of battle and adventuring life, and yet they followed her. She wondered why, but in the end, she supposed, it didn't really matter. The most important thing was that she didn't let them down.

Alyndria laughed softly. "You're still stubbornly holding on to that old idea that you should be second best. It's going to be a losing battle to convince you of anything else, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," said Khalid, "but the fact that you are the second woman in my life to believe otherwise has given me a lot to think about."

"Only the second?"

The crimson of the sunset couldn't quite hide the suggestion of a blush as he looked down for a moment, seeming suddenly far younger. "Jaheira was the first. I don't count my mother, she was rather... biased, as you might understand."

"And who says I am not?" she told him with a smile, unable to restrain a moment of boldness which gleefully overtook her for mere seconds. He glanced at her in wordless surprise, and it faded just as quickly, leaving her with an urge to flee.

Alyndria got to her feet as casually as she could, and gathered her things, but a tug on the hem of her skirt brought her up short when she would have left him to his thoughts.

Looking up at her Khalid shaded his eyes against the glare of the sun at her back - she could feel its dying rays, warm through her armour and her gown. "I think you should use the scroll." He released her skirt abruptly, and gave her an encouraging smile. "That's what I think."

She made her way towards the now cheerfully burning fire, settling onto a nearby log, starting in surprise as Aerie jumped daintily over the small obstacle to settle down beside her.

"Hello Aerie," Alyndria smiled at the avariel, "is Boo done foraging?"

Aerie giggled. "Yes, his cheeks are all stuffed like this," she puffed her own cheeks out in illustration.

"That's a good imitation," Alyndria laughed. "Minsc told me that's how he stores food to keep for a snack for later. If I tried to do something like that Gorion would have been very displeased with me."

Aerie sighed in contentment. "The sunsets are so much prettier here than in the city, don't you think?"

Alyndria nodded. "Growing up in Candlekeep I would scale the ramparts in the evenings to watch the sun fall into the sea..."

"Our childhoods were not so different, were they..." Aerie picked up a stick, tracing idle patterns in the dust and pine detritus of the clearing.

"I guess they must not have been," Alyndria replied, smiling. "Because like me you are a hopeless romantic. Halt, everyone!" She sprang to her feet suddenly. "Let us face west and have a moment's silence for the fading
sun!"

The rest of the group regarded her in stunned silence, except for Aerie, who, with a soft, musical laugh, had immediately taken to the suggestion.

"Come now," Alyndria laughed, "I'm serious."

The metallic rasp of a sword being drawn behind her cut quickly through her exuberance, and Alyndria pulled Twilight instinctively from her belt as she spun around... to see Yoshimo, standing alert, his strange sword - his katana, he had called it - held before his face in a solemn salute. Until he caught her eye, quite spoiling the effect with a wink.

Around the clearing, steel sang free of scabbard, once, twice, then a third time, as Alyndria saw her whimsical command obeyed. First Nalia, then Minsc, and finally Khalid, all drew their weapons as Yoshimo had done, standing like an honour guard to the passage of daylight.

The last, warm rays tumbled down on them like the blessings of a forgotten god - all the sweeter for the cold night wind already beginning to blow, for the chill and the dark creeping up against their backs. And as Alyndria stared into the light, she felt something she had not felt in a long time: a hint, a whisper of peace beyond comprehension.

Somewhere in that light, she suddenly knew, their lost ones were resting, their weariness passed, and watching them, guiding them on their own journey.

After a moment, Aerie giggled, and the mood was broken, as the group returned to their appointed tasks for the evening.

"Alyndria!" Nalia shouted. "Catch!"

A grey, knotted bag flew at her and Alyndria lifted her hands, fumbling to secure the bag, which seemed to leap from her hands and tumble to the ground. "Luckily there seems to be nothing breakable in there," she muttered in embarrassment, feeling the contents. "What is in there, Nalia?"

Nalia pulled out her spellbook, and closed the flap on her pack. "Spell components, in case you do want to cast that scroll. I wouldn't bother copying it into your spellbook, though."

Alyndria shuddered, and nodded. "If I lose the familiar re-casting the spell will be the least of my worries, but we won't think of that. I will just have to concentrate on keeping my new friend safe."

"So you *are* going to do it?" Nalia's tone of voice brightened and Aerie appeared beside her, as if summoned from thin air.

"Can we watch?" Aerie's eyes were hopeful.

Alyndria patted the bag of spell components. "I don't see why not."

Before long Alyndria had her materials set up a safe distance from the campfire where dinner was roasting, while Aerie and Nalia held torches to dispel the growing darkness.

Taking a deep breath she spoke the words of power on the scroll, watching as they seemed to race beneath the line of her gaze, disappearing as fast - almost faster - than she could read them. As she hit the last syllable, the scroll in her hands vanished, leaving only the faint scent of catnip and cinnamon lingering in the evening air. Purple sparks shot from her fingertips, dissipating quickly into darkness.

All was quiet as the last echoes of her voice faded away. The three girls waited, breathlessly, for any sign of a familiar's arrival.

And waited.

After a long silence, Alyndria glanced at her fellow mages. "Nothing is happening. Did I do it right?"

"Your intonation seemed fine," Nalia rubbed her chin. "Although your pronunciation was a little off - it could be your Northern accent."

She felt a pat on her shoulder and looked up to see Aerie grinning down at her. "Don't listen to her, Alyndria. Besides, I think the accent is cute..."

Alyndria rolled her eyes. "So I miscast... Ah well, I suppose it's for the
best. Imoen would probably be angry with me if I had one and didn't have a scroll so she could get one too." She got to her feet and started back towards the campfire.

"Imoen - that's your friend we're going to rescue?" Nalia fell into step beside Alyndria, her torch casting wild shadows across her pale skin, and across her hair, which in daylight was nearly as bright as the flame.

Alyndria nodded. "We grew up together at Candlekeep - we were more like sisters, really. And yes, often with all the rivalry that goes with it. I didn't tell you at first, but you remind me a little of her. You're both good with snares and locks, but decided to pursue magic instead... It's a rather dangerous thing for you to do, isn't it Nalia, when you're so close to Athkatla?"

Nalia glanced at Alyndria. "I never really thought about it too much until I started sneaking off to the city on a regular basis. I guess I was lucky that the Cowled Wizards generally don't concern themselves with the practice of magic outside the city limits, so my experiments when I was learning magic at home never really attracted their interest." As they reached the campfire, Nalia and Aerie passed off their torches to Minsc who put them out.

"So what attracted you to magic?" Alyndria persisted, "My father was a magic user, and he, and almost every other mage I met, well, they were all very quick to tell me how dangerous magic could be - even in experienced hands. The children I met were different, though," she recalled, remembering how they would flock to Dynaheir, who in her endless patience would do simple tricks for them. They would stare in wonder at the flashes of coloured light, or sometimes tiny winged pegasi, formed from clouds of thistledown, galloping majestically through the air, borne on wings as delicate as gossamer. "Most of them wanted to be mages, although I'm sure a few changed their minds."

"I think it was danger that made it so appealing," Nalia told her as they settled together on a log, of one accord, as Alyndria began re-donning her armour. She motioned Aerie to sit with them when the avariel hung back uncertainly. "Some women make very good fighters, but not all of them - I guess that's why we still have this foolish male inheritance law here in Amn. But magic is something that anyone can learn, whether they are physically strong or not, and it has the potential to put them on equal or greater footing with any opponent - even a large and heavily armed man."

The girl stared into the fire, and Alyndria thought she could see a glimmer of unshed tears. "You see, I thought magic would help me hold this land. I knew if I had that power, people would respect it, and me, and I could hold the keep by right of my mind - I think it's at least as good, if not better, than the minds of a lot of men I know."

"That's right!" Aerie chimed in. "Uncle Quayle often said underestimating a woman is the last mistake most men make. Ever."

Nalia's voice seemed to deepen from its childish lilt as she went on, her eyes alight with the fervor behind her words. "I had dreams, such grand dreams of what I would do - I could bring poor people from the city, give them farms, teach them to fish and hunt, let them build a life, and even a
little prosperity for themselves here. It would have worked, I know it..."

A short, bitter laugh escaped her lips, and she seemed suddenly smaller, curling inwards, her animation, her fire fading. "If I'd had more time. My father was a healthy man - I counted on being much older, and much stronger before..." She bit her lip, and said nothing more, freezing like a statue in the night.

When Alyndria reached out to touch her gently, it was as if a floodgate had opened, her facade quickly crumbling from stone into dust. Nalia did not resist as Alyndria enfolded her in her arms, didn't care that it was an armoured shoulder she wept upon, her body wracked by great, breathless, silent sobs that seemed about to shake her slender frame apart.

The world seemed to slow around Alyndria to a crawl, memories rising up in her even as they must be in Nalia. Khalid holding her thus... Imoen on that long ago day, pulling her unresisting form to her feet, forcing her to turn back, to see what they might find on Gorion's body that would give them a clue as to what they faced... Gorion, standing on the steps of the library - had the hand of Fate been poised over him even then, and she too blind to see it?

Dimly she realized that Nalia had calmed a little and was speaking to her. "Yoshimo told me... that you lost your father too."

Alyndria met Aerie's eyes over Nalia's shoulder, caught the question in them and shook her head mutely, mouthing the words 'I'll tell her later'. She stroked Nalia's hair - the copper-dark strands like fine silk, snapping with static under her touch, making sounds like the crackling of the fire nearby. "Last year," she whispered, "last year, this month. In Mirtul."

"I am glad to know that you've made it a year," Nalia whispered back, "because right now I feel like I want to die."

"You won't, Nalia. Nothing happens to us that we are not strong enough to face. The gods will help you find the strength," said Alyndria, and found herself believing it again as she realized it had been a year for her, and she had survived. "And with it you will grow stronger still."




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