Would you know, this chapter contains even *more* Evil Avariel! Aren't I naughty...please take care not to let her get her claws into you.
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Cards Reshuffled 15 – Ogre Disenchanted
Sometimes I really wish Minsc had chopped the head off that ogre when we first encountered it. That would certainly have saved us all a lot of trouble. I can almost see it now, the head rolling along the floor, changing back after the fact to stare at the ceiling with that familiar vapid gaze. Wishful thinking, and poor Minsc would have felt dreadful, but dreaming never hurt anybody. Excerpt from 'Ruminations Of A Master Bard'
Zaerini looked about her, trying to make some sense of the place she found herself in. The day really had taken a turn for the worse, it seemed. And it hadn't been that wonderful to start with. She had woken up from a deep and mostly dreamless sleep to find herself in a bed in some place called the Mithrest Inn, and the moment she woke up the memories came crashing home. Irenicus. Khalid. Imoen. Most of all, Imoen. Weak as she was, she had somehow managed to but her clothes on, sad and pitiful rags that they were, and stumbled downstairs. There, she had found her companions and been practically force-fed by Jaheira who kept muttering about how she wasn't nearly recovered yet and needed her strength. She was hungry, but she couldn't eat that much without feeling queasy and had to tell the druid to step unless she wanted to be vomited on.
It turned out that Yoshimo and Minsc had been out and about already, selling what things they had managed to come across during their trek through Irenicus' dungeon. Not the scrolls though, for which she was immensely grateful. She had kept all of those herself, even the ones that she was unable to comprehend yet. They might fetch some money, but she really didn't want to part with them. A suit of lightly enchanted chain armor had brought in enough coin that Minsc had been able to buy a platemail that actually fitted on his large frame, and Jaheira had a new leather armor. Yoshimo's was still in good shape. As for Rini, she wore none, since she didn't want it to interfere with her spell casting, and armor that would suit a magic user was rare indeed.
And speaking of magic…information had apparently been gained as well while she rested. This was Athkatla, the City of Coin, the Jewel of Amn. Irenicus had brought them quite a long way, it seemed. And one of the main things about Amn, of course, was the fear and revulsion that Amnians felt for magic. So much did they hate and fear it that it was actually outlawed, and you could actually get arrested for using magic in the streets, if you didn't have one of those ridiculously expensive 'licenses' to show. Which was what had happened to Imoen, and to Irenicus, if you wanted to believe that. But it makes no sense. Immy isn't a mage! I don't know what she did, it looked like magic, but she couldn't…why couldn't they just let her explain? What kind of people are these…these Cowled Wizards that Jaheira speaks of, that seem to think they own magic and all those who would use it? How dare they! And Irenicus…why did he agree to come with them? And why Immy? And where have they been taken?
So many questions, and so far so few answers. What little she had learnt of the Cowled Wizards so far had come from Yoshimo, who knew the city well, and from Jaheira who had apparently visited here before. The bard thought of just how little she really knew of Jaheira and…and of Khalid. She had known they were Harpers of course, and friends of Gorion before they were her friends, but she hadn't really thought about what they had done before they met her. Selfish little fool that I was. Too busy with myself to pay attention to anybody else. And Immy…I knew something was very wrong, I saw her use that magic or whatever it was before, but I didn't stop to think about it. Another mistake.
But mistake or not, she had to find her friend, as quickly as possible. Jaheira had suggested that they should head for a place she knew in the slums, which tended to be frequented by adventurers. It seemed logical. They would stand a better chance of freeing Imoen if they had other people to help them. A cleric maybe, to complement Jaheira. Maybe a wizard, to replace the slain Dynaheir. Although no wizard could ever replace…him. No! Mustn't think about him. He's gone. He ran off. Although…that dream I had…
Rini sighed. That dream had been very nice, she could feel her cheeks heating even as she thought of it. I'm not over him. Not by any means. But I can't stand here daydreaming, that could get us all killed.
On their way across the vast mercantile plaza called 'Waukeen's Promenade', where they had first emerged from Irenicus' dark tunnels, they had passed by a circus tent, incongruously guarded by a nervous member of the City Watch. And it was Minsc who had been approached by a little boy crying for his mother, who had apparently been lost within, when some nameless horror had struck said circus. The Rashemani berserker hadn't even stopped to ask questions before rushing inside, and Zaerini had felt she had no choice other than to follow. The big man was a friend, and she felt responsible for him. So she had followed, only to find the circus tent infinitely larger within than without, and turned into some sort of demented pleasure palace by a mysterious entity called 'Kalah' by the annoying genie that had popped up just inside the entrance and disappeared after asking her an irrelevant riddle.
This would be the third genie, of course. The one who asked about the button and the sibling, the one who gave me Sarevok's sword, and now this one? What was it he said, the first one I met? 'The second aids one who would destroy you, and those dear to you. The worm in the apple, the canker in the rose, that one will not be turned aside…not by you. The outcome is still uncertain. There is the mask, and the face beneath. Which will you see? Which will it be?' I suppose this Kalah person is dangerous, but I don't even know him. Why would he want to destroy me? Though I suppose that not knowing me never stopped people before. I wonder if that ogre who claims to be an elf knows anything?
Now that was another oddity. It seemed that in this place nothing was what it appeared to be at first glance. Perhaps it made perfect sense that an elf would be an ogre, or the other way around. Whatever she was, she certainly had a more annoying voice than any ogre Rini had ever encountered. The half-elf decided that she would almost prefer the normal grunts and shouts of 'Me crush you to goo!' rather than that sickly sweet cooing. At least you knew where you stood with somebody who wanted to crush you to goo and admitted it openly.
The half-elf suddenly heard Minsc's voice holler from up ahead. “Little Rini! Minsc and Boo have found a spider that isn't a spider! Come see!”
A spider that isn't a spider? Perhaps it will claim to be a dragon or something. Or a tax collector.
Once Zaerini made her way over to the dark corner where Minsc was standing, she found the large ranger proudly pointing at what did indeed look like a spider. A large green spider big enough to reach him to the knees, with eight hairy legs and protruding eyes. “Yes, Minsc?” Rini said. “If this isn't a spider, then what is it?”
“I am not a spider!” the spider said in a highly insulted voice. “Of all the nerve! I hate the ugly things, I'm afraid of them and…” The spider caught sight of one of its own legs and shrieked loudly. “Oh! I don't know how much more of this I can take! Have you any idea what it's like to be afraid of yourself?”
“Actually, I do,” Zaerini said, thinking of the voice of Bhaal within her. “Who are you then?”
“My name is Hannah,” the spider said. “I came here to see the circus with my little boy. My little Geiran…” She started sobbing. “We just came to see the circus…but it all went wrong. There was this gnome doing magic, and everybody started changing into hideous creatures and there was screaming everywhere. I tried to run but then I suddenly had too many legs and…and I don't know where my child is!”
“We met your boy outside,” Jaheira said, patting the spider a little awkwardly on its hairy body. “He is safe, and he asked us to find you.”
“That is right!” Minsc said. “First we must dispense swift Hamster Justice on the evil wizard, and then there'll be rejoicing as mothers and small children are returned. Spiders, no! Mothers, yes!”
“Right,” Rini said. “That more or less sums it up, I suppose.” She gave the spider a questioning look. “You haven't seen any odd people around here, have you? Apart from the ogre with the baby voice?”
The spider clicked its mandibles together as if in thought. “There are two others,” it said. “A man in a woman, and they do not seem to be able to speak normally. They just grunt a lot, and make strange noises.”
“Those would be the ones we are looking for,” Yoshimo said, bowing politely to the spider. “Our thanks, gracious lady.”
“Oh my,” Hannah the Spider said to herself as the adventurers disappeared into the shadows. “Gracious lady…why, if I wasn't a married woman I'd sure like to wrap my legs around that one…”
Further along into the enormous marble-domed hall, Rini spotted two people standing idly, looking remarkably calm considering the strange place they were in. A man and a woman, they both looked very ordinary, with faces you wouldn't look at twice, and simple clothes. “Hello!” Minsc called out. “Are you good or evil? If you're good, we will rescue you from the evil wizard, if you're evil your backsides will be kicked by the righteous boot of Minsc and the also very righteous claws of Boo.”
As the two people turned to give the adventurers a blank look of incomprehension Rini put her hand across her forehead. It's his head wound. He can't help it.
Who cares about good or evil? Softpaws asked. What really matters is if they're 'friend', 'enemy' or 'food'. Let's just say that in this case 'food' is definitely not an option.
Then the strangers grunted loudly and charged towards Zaerini and her friends, swearing in a snarling language that didn't sound at all human. Well. Guess we can rule out 'friend' as well then.
The battle wasn't particularly difficult, though Rini had to force herself to hold back apart from a Magic Missile delivered to the face of the man. Yoshimo's katana neatly slipped into the back of the man like a knife into hot butter, and as the stranger dropped to the floor his face shimmered and was replaced with the greenish skin and protruding tusks of an orc. A crushing blow of Jaheira's staff to the woman's temple took her out as well, and a second orc joined the first on the floor. “This would be the sword the ogre requested,” Yoshimo said, his slanted eyes glittering with keen interest as he picked up a short blade with an elegantly decorated hilt from the body of the first orc. “Very nice. See, the handle is carved in the shape of an elven woman? Praying, I think. Look, she holds an offering.”
Rini took a closer look. The handle was indeed formed like a lovely elf, with long hair flowing down along her back, her face raised towards her upraised hands, smiling beatifically. She couldn't quite make out what the tiny woman was holding, except that it was small. “Nice,” she said. “Well, let's go back to that ogre. I'd really like to get this over with as soon as possible.”
When they returned to the central chamber, Zaerini walked directly up to the ogre, displaying the sword. “Here you go,” she said. “Now what?”
The ogre's eyes widened with delight, and she eagerly spoke, her voice once more making Rini wince inwardly. “You...you have the key! Or, rather...the sword! Please...please give it to me and I can be rid of this illusionary form at last!”
“Yes, yes. I said I would, didn't I?”
Aerie nodded feverishly. “Yes, and your trust gladdens me. This sword is actually a key…it unlocks the invisible chain that powers this horrible illusion. Soon, I will be free!” Strangely, her stutter seemed to have temporarily disappeared, despite her obvious excitement. The ogre took the sword, carefully manipulating it between her thick fingers, and then bent down to fiddle with something invisible between her legs. Then she changed. She rapidly shrank; becoming shorter and slimmer, hair sprouted from her head and disappeared from the warts on her face, along with the warts themselves.
When the transformation was over, a woman had taken the place of the ogre. She was a full elf, with the marked features and elegantly tapering ears typical for the race, and with a pretty flush across her soft cheeks. Golden locks flowed from her head and to the small of her back, her rosy lips were slightly open in an expression of naïve surprise as she raised her tiny hands to touch her face. She stared at the adventurers with enormous blue eyes, as wide and surprised as those of a child seeing the world for the first time and then she squealed with joy, hugging herself. “My… My hands...my skin, it's real again! Thank Baervar! Oh, we must find Quayle...and stop Kalah before he does any more harm!”
“Quayle?” Rini asked. Now that she thought about it, the woman had mentioned the name before, but she hadn't made the connection. “This Quayle of yours…is he an elf?”
“No…he is a gnome. And the kindest and sweetest and most lovely gnome there…why do you ask?”
“We met a Quayle some time ago,” Jaheira explained. She was glaring at Aerie but that was hardly surprising. It was her first reaction to just about any new person. “Perhaps it is the same one.”
Aerie smiled brightly. “Perhaps…but Uncle Quayle meets so many new people. I…I'm not sure he'd remember you.”
He'd remember me, Rini thought. I did pull his hat down over his eyes for being an obnoxious little twerp, after all. “We'll see about that when we find him, I guess,” she said. “You should be safe here in the meantime.”
“Oh!” Aerie cried out, her hands clutching Rini's arm imploringly. “I…I really don't want t-to be left alone here…there's that nasty s-spider and Kalah might come back and…and I want to help save Uncle Quayle!”
“You?” Jaheira asked, sounding skeptical. “What makes you think you would be any use in that task? We do not have time to baby-sit you, you know.”
Aerie's flush deepened a little, but when she spoke again it was in that same, meek voice. “I…I know I am small and…and w-weak, not a tough warrior like you…but Uncle Quayle taught me well! I know I can be of great use to you! I am a priestess, and can h-heal you if you should need it…and I can do magic too! See!” She waved her hands about and glittering sparkles filled the air. Suddenly, a swarm of tweeting little blue birds were flying all about her, one of them landing on her upraised little finger to sing lovingly at her. Aerie smiled and responded with a few clear notes of her own, and the bird puffed itself up with pride and adoration. Meanwhile a large number of fluffy white little rabbits had appeared out of nowhere and were clustered around the Avariel's feet, watching her worshipfully with moist brown eyes. “See?” Aerie repeated. “That was just a…a little spell I like to do sometimes…for fun…but I can do more…really.”
Minsc was applauding; his face filled with such a level of wonder that it made him resemble one of the worshipping rabbits. “Oh, that was so pretty!” he cried out. “Almost as pretty as Aerie herself…and she likes little animals too! Boo will approve, I'm sure. Boo, come out and say hello to Aerie…” He looked puzzled. “He says he doesn't want to. Perhaps Boo is being shy because Aerie is so very pretty.”
“Another healer could be useful,” Yoshimo remarked. “Not to cast any shadow over the talents of our Fierce One, of course.” Jaheira snorted.
Zaerini thought for a moment. Softy? What do you think? I don't like her much
That was true enough. “All right,” Rini said, nodding to the elf. “You can join us for now, and we'll see how things work out. We could use another healer I suppose…and a mage.” But you are not the one I want. Not the one I want at all.
“Oh, that's so lovely!” Aerie exclaimed, baring all her pearly white little teeth in a wide smile. “We will make great friends, I just know it. And I really th-think that I'll be able to…to surprise you all with what I'm…what I'm capable of.”
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Next: Fairy Tales, Aerie style...
In The Cards