-Anonymous peasant of Brynnlaw
My hair fluttered in the wind as Saemon shouted orders to his crew. The great ship slowed as its anchor was thrown overboard and its sails were furled, and finally the mooring rope was tied to the pier. We had arrived upon Brynnlaw.
Saemon and Bodhi awaited us at the top of the gangway. I noticed suppressed grimaces of distaste all through the group.
The captain spoke, his voice as always dripping with jovial charm. "So, we have arrived, and made excellent time to boot. Congratulations to all the crew."
"Indeed," remarked Yoshimo. "Though you may wish to give them a bonus instead of kind words, seeing as so much of their pay is now in my posession." He jingled the purse hanging at his side and flashed that contagious smirk of his.
A man after my own heart. Milei's laughing dragon eyes accompanied her remark.
"At least your cook should get a bonus," commented Valygar. "This morning's meal was enjoyable, especially compared to army rations."
The ranger grimaced as if in remembrance, and counted a few gold coins out of his purse and handed them over to the captain. "Faint praise, I'm sure, though the flavoring was quite memorable. Give him this, in return for helping me banish that memory." Yoshimo winced at Valygar's remark. Evidently, he disagreed with the ranger's assessment of breakfast.
"I shall convey your thanks to the galley, Lord Corthala."
"And keep the money for yourself, I'm sure."
Saemon ignored the jab and turned to me instead. "It has been a pleasure, Dallan, but we are safely arrived and I shall take my leave of you."
I looked questioningly from him to Bodhi. "Is there anything I should know about getting into the asylum?"
Bodhi answered first, in dismissive tone. "Saemon will guide you. I have my own business here. Enter, rescue your..friend, and I will meet you afterwards." And with that, she stalked off down the gangway and into town.
Saemon remained, looking nervous. "See Sanik at the Vulgar Monkey Inn. He will tell you what you want to know. I would do well not to be seen in this port...who would imagine pirates make such jealous husbands?"
Serves him right, the skirt-chaser.
Your druid glares a lot better than you do, kid. You've nothing to fear.
She is not my druid.
There is no man more blind than the one who refuses to see, Milei intoned piously. I ignored her.
Annoyed, I replied to Saemon, "And where, pray tell, would that be?"
"This is a small town, how many taverns could there be?"
"This is a small town full of sailors, so every building that isn't a tavern is probably a whorehouse. Now, where is it?"
"At the north end of the piers, there are stairs leading up to the second terrace, and the tavern is at the top."
"Why, thank you." And we descended the gangplank, on our legs and under our loads once more. Well, except Milei. She was soaring high above us, on the hot air rising from the beach sand of Brynnlaw in the late morning. I was quite uncomfortable in the heat, though I seemed to be alone in that, something I ascribed to my Evereskan heritage and my dark clothing. We walked northward along the docks.
Brynnlaw was a beautiful port town, all white stone and white sand and palm trees, though it smelt overpoweringly of fish. The idyll was somewhat spoiled by, among other things, the endless sound of badly-sung sea chanteys, the drunken pirates swaggering down the piers or sprawled in pools of their own vomit, and, of course, Spellhold, which loomed.
There was no other word for it. It loomed to the north like a great grey gargoyle stooping over prey, looking forbidding even at this distance. I felt a faint thrill of fear, looking at it, but quickly suppressed it. For a true friend like you, Imoen, I would venture into far worse places than this...
We climbed the stairs towards the tavern. Blocking the door was a group of about eight lounging pirates in varying stages of intoxication. One of the more coherent ones spotted us, and roused his fellows.
"Argh! Four strong rowing arms, and two likely lasses! Up, boys! Chremy says take them!"
The less conscious among the men began to rouse. Weapons on both sides came out, and the Other revelled, deep within me, at the prospect of slaughter.
You wish, Father.
"As you can see, Chremy," I said nonchalantly, one hand on the rose-patterned hilt of my blade, "we are no easy meat."
"Ah, friend, there I disagree. You are very easy meat. By nightfall, you four will be in chains on my lord's ship, and that wench in green'll be in my bed. I wager she knows a few tricks...she certainly looks the part."
Jaheira's knuckles went white on her grip on her staff, but I raised my right hand from my blade in signal, and she stayed her wrath. She glared at me, but was silent.
I was not, but instead spoke a Word. There was a bright blue flash, and then a crackling sound and the unpleasant smell of burnt human flesh. The bolt of lightning continued out to sea. Chremy's mouth opened wide in shock and pain, and a wisp of smoke arose from the newly-created burned patch at the front of his trousers.
I smirked unpleasantly. "Ah, friend, there I disagree. By nightfall, you will be wondering if you'll ever bed another woman again, let alone Jaheira. You likely won't, unless some healer owes you a favor. If the lightning didn't see to that, the burns will have. Tell me, Chremy, how does it feel to be a eunuch?"
I heard Aerie gasp. Chremy cursed at me, and crawled off, presumably to find a temple. I surveyed the rest of the pirates with a baleful glare.
"Anyone else have a death wish?" Hurried denials filled the air. "Then get out of my way." And the pirates literally scurried away, leaving the path clear. I bowed with a flourish and opened the door, and Jaheira led the rest of the group in, fighting laughter and losing. I heard her muttering under her breath. "A man after my own heart..."
The Other roared in frustration. I smirked at him too. I was in that kind of mood.
The Vulgar Monkey was a typical dockside tavern, with the typical decorations of ship plaques, trophy fish, and drunken, singing pirates along the walls. At the nearest table sat a lone man, an oddity in this company as he appeared to be stone sober. He appeared to be awaiting someone, and raised hopeful eyes to the door when we came in, only to lower them in morose disappointment.
I walked over to him. "Sanik, I presume?"
He raises his head and darted his eyes in panic. "How did you know my name?" At this confirmation, I waved the rest of the group over, and he relaxed, saying, "Well, you don't look like assassins. In fact, you look quite new to this island...which makes that question even more mysterious." We pulled up chairs and sat down at the table.
I then answered him, smiling drily. "Process of elimination. If you weren't Sanik, then I would have had to question the rest of these tankards on legs, a prospect I certainly wouldn't look forward to. I was told that you could tell me how to enter the Asylum."
Sanik looked around at the rest of the patrons, and laughed, a short, bitter laugh. "I imagine you wouldn't. So, ask your questions, friend. If it leads to one person leaving this Gods-forsaken island, it'll all be worth it."
Aerie looked at the man, concern written all over her face. "What's wrong?", she asked. "Why so glum?"
Sanik hesitated a little, before replying in an anguished tone. "I was supposed to meet my wife here so we could leave, but she is late! Galvena must have gotten her!"
A voice, mocking. "Aye, Galvena's got her! And she'll get you too!" I certainly know an assassin when I hear one, I thought, and dove out of my chair towards Sanik's beside me. The chair toppled under the impact, and I winced in some pain..but the crossbow bolt flew right through where Sanik's head would have been, and harmlessly into a wall.
Minsc and Valygar had bows out in a flash, and pinned the man to the far wall with arrows. There was a brief lull in the singng, and then it started up again.
Pride goeth before the fall, remarked Milei.
Hey, don't knock it. It's why I'm still alive.
Point.
I helped Sanik to his feet. "Interesting times, eh, Sanik? Now, who is this Galvena, and why does she want you dead?"
Sanik brushed the dust off his clothes. "Galvena is the mistress of the Courtesans Guild, and a powerful and ruthless woman indeed. My new wife, Claire, was one of her...employees."
Jaheira nodded knowingly. "And her mistress does not part with her employees easily, I imagine. Most likely, your Claire is still with her, and being punished for her presumption."
I winced at the image that conjured. "Perhaps we can help each other," I theorized. "This island won't be safe for you for very long, and I imagine you won't leave without your wife. We can rescue her from Galvena, and in return you can tell me how to get into Spellhold."
"A fair bargain indeed, friend, though I must wonder at your sanity in challenging Galvena."
"I'm not afraid of a madam with delusions of grandeur."
"And in helping a total stranger."
"Let's just say I'm a sucker for love stories." I ran my finger along one of the roses on my sword hilt, remembering the scent of sandalwood.
"And in entering the Asylum of your own free will."
"Well, then I'll fit right in, won't I? Besides, I've my own caged bird to free."
"I should warn you that Galvena has some magical hired help."
"So?"
"Very well. The Festhall is on the west side of town. Getting in is easy enough, but finding Galvena and Claire will likely require getting past some guards. I would talk to one of the other employees...she is hardly the best employer, they will be glad to betray her. I, of course, must stay here."
"So I imagine. Coming, friends?" And we left, with an almost foolhardy confidence. This, we could deal with. Petty people and their petty evils.
I religiously avoided looking up at the much larger evil that, yes, still loomed over us.
Beneath the sign reading "Lady Galvena's Festhall", stood a man and a woman, clothed in near-identical light robes of the same red-yellow color scheme. Though they must have helped reduce the heat of the late spring afternoon, I doubted that the welfare of her employees was Galvena's main concern.
Said main concern was quite well reflected in the near-transparency of the robes, along with the way they clung so tenacously to sweaty skin and curves. Quite distracting, all told. I looked to my companions. Minsc kept his eyes almost religiously on Aerie, Valygar's eyes refused to fall on her. Yoshimo stared openly and appraisingly. I kept my eyes on her face, with some effort.
Admirabe display of self-restraint for one yuur age.
She has nothing on some of the girls I saw in the Undercellar.
Or Jaheira?
I never said that.
As if you need to.
Turning around, I caught Jaheira and Aerie looking at each other and rolling their eyes.
The woman looked us over, and her eyes focused on me as a likely target. She walked up to me, teasing eyes flashing, placed her hand on my arm, and purred, "My, you're a pretty elf, aren't you? Care for some fun?".
I blushed blood-red. Jaheira gave a rather significant glance towards her quarterstaff, but the woman seemed not to notice, concerning herself instead with a rather enthusiastic invasion of my personal space. I managed to escape her grasp ong enough to stammer out, "Er..t-t-thanks for the offer, but no thanks." Yoshimo let a chuckle escape, but I glared him down.
Her reaction was not at all what I'd expected. She broke down in tears and collapsed weeping against my shoulder, choking out incomprehensible streams of words about a quota, beatings, and her brother between sobs. I stood there, stunned, for a moment, before trying to hold the sobbing girl up and reassure her without...shall we say, becoming too familiar.
"It'll be all right, girl, really. You won't be beaten. We're here to help, here to free you, and Claire, and all of you from that bitch Galvena. Really. What is your name, girl?" I tried to soothe the girl, and it eventually seemed to work, as her tears became fewer in number. I let her cry herself out before she trusted herself to speak.
"You're...here to free us? Honestly? Oh, anything is better than this! She barely feeds us, takes most of what little we earn, and has her pet mage torture us if we try and keep anything back! My name's Ginia, how can I help you?"
This would be that guild loyalty Sanik mentioned. "Tell me where Galvena has taken Claire. Help me get there. She won't give one of you up without a fight, and," I took on an obviously false expression of contrition. "I may have to kill her."
She let herself smile at that, and led us in, whispering her plan as we went.
The Festhall looked much like your average tavern, but the total lack of any staff besides the seemingly ubiquitous men and women in near-transparent robes gave the lie to that illusion. Ginia earned a series of rude hoots, cheers, and whistles as she led us through the main room of the Festhall.
We were quickly let through a false wall to a barracks-like series of rooms, and an even more unpleasant cell door at the end. Aerie's eyes went wide as she looked around. Ginia opened the nearest door and let us into a tastefully-enough appointed room, hung with tapestries and paintings, with an ominously large bed in the middle. Luckily, we wouldn't be needing it.
"There will be guards, and that cell is usually locked...the guard captain should have the key. Please, free us!"
Yoshimo withdrew a set of tools from his pouch. "Locks are merely a way to pretend to hide something. If one of our mages will keep the guard...busy, the lock will be no obstacle." And we left, weapons ready.
As we stepped out the door, Aerie covered us with an invisibility spell, and we proceeded as quietly as we could towards the cells at the far end. In truth, the place looked more like a dungeon than a house of ill-repute, though given the screams that pierced the air at random, it could have been either.
We reached the barred door in question, and by the time the guard could identify where Aerie's arcane whispers were in fact coming from, it was too late for him to cry out, and he was frozen, stiff as a statue. Yoshimo's tools made short work of the door, and we were inside.
The cell was in fact a cell block, and in its far corner three figures stood...well, two stood and one knelt. A woman in a silk dress and a man with a sigil-marked black robe stood over a weeping girl in torn clothes.
"Careful," I whispered. "The man's a mage. Get him first."
I could hear the woman's voice, hard and cruel, as we approached them.
"And as such a sentence of death has been imposed upon you, Claire."
The girl's sobbing voice. "Please, Galvena! I have served you for years! Why could you not let me go?"
"Silence, girl! Haven't you learned yet? Must I have Vadek punish you some more?"
Nearly there...just a few more steps and we have them.
The mage's head whipped around, and his fingers began to twist and writhe like pale snakes within the folds of his robe.
True Sight. He's going to reveal us. Caution to the wind.
Standard operating procedure, then?
Please, Milei. I'm busy. "Get them!" I shouted, and we rushed forward. I reached them first with the speed granted me by my boots, and Vadek cursed as the Blade of Roses bit into his arm, severing his connection to the Weave and dispersing his spell energy to the four winds. The attack rendered me visible again, but by now it was no matter. His staff managed to lay a few bruises on my arms and chest, but I was in little danger, and my inner voices thrilled in unison as the Blade of Roses severed his neck.
Without Vadek's spell support Galvena was defenceless. She screamed as Minsc's massive two-handed blade cut her in half at the waist.
Claire stared up at the saviors who had literally appeared out of thin air, as if wondering if we were real.
"Sanik sent us. Come, before we are discovered." We exited in some hurry, stopping to pick up Ginia on our way out. Things would likely be chaotic in the Festhall for a while.
We returned to the Vulgar Monkey in late afternoon. The air was cooling down, much to my joy, but there were still a few hours before dark. As we entered, Sanik gave no sign of having moved from the table, but his face thrilled at the sight of Claire. He sprang from the table to his lady's arms, and they kissed with a passion that quickly became embarassing to those of us who were watching.
Go ahead. Tell me how a peck on the cheek compares to that.
Thanks, Milei. Rub salt in the wound. I cleared my throat, and the couple disengaged, blushing furiously.
"I do so love a happy ending, but would appreciate your telling me what you know before your wife steals all the breath from your lungs." I said, smiling.
"Of course, friend. I was a merchant, supplying the Asylum, and they gave me this wardstone to pass the defences." He handed me a dull grey stone, and continued. "Truly, I feel guilty. You have done so much for me, and all I can give you is a ticket into that hellhole."
I shrugged. "What must be, must be. Though there is one more thing you can do in return."
"What?"
I pointed to Ginia, who had told me more of her sad tale, more coherently, during the walk from the Festhall. "Take her and her brother with you when you leave, if only to drop off at the next port. They deserve a chance at a new life." Ginia's eyes went wide, and then even wider as I handed her a pouch of coins. "And something to start it with."
Sanik nodded, and gestured to the still-shocked Ginia, who followed him and Claire out.
I looked around the inn. As the day waned, the place was filling up. The sea chanteys were already starting up, and I rolled my eyes.
"Let's go. We'll likely get more sleep outside anyways. Cursed pirates can't carry a tune."
And so we departed for Spellhold, with the sun sinking lower in the sky.
Later, I would realise that that had been a very bad sign.
And within Spellhold, a tall, slender man stood in front of a cell and opened a door.
"It is time." were his only words.
As far as generating fear goes, it was the most efficient sentence ever spoken.
In retrospect, there were a large number of things about to go wrong that I should have seen coming. Of course, if I'd seen them coming, that might just have meant I'd have lost hope a whole lot earlier. Ignorance is bliss.
-Excerpt from Of the Children of Murder.
