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All That Glitters...39


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#1 Guest_Tenebrous_*

Posted 05 August 2003 - 05:04 AM

Usual note at the end of the chapter.

 

Chapter Thirty-Nine

By the time Kal finished his tale, however abridged, the sun had dropped out of sight and the dinnertime bustle at the Flagons had come and gone. Yoshimo had left once Kal had reached the part where he had joined. Searching for information, "just to keep in practice", he said, though Kal doubted he really needed any.

"I see that we will not lack for things to do while we wait for the sewers to clear," Keldorn said thoughtfully. "While receiving assistance from the Shadow Thieves is not, shall we say, ideal, I must agree that it is the only choice to end your sister's unjust imprisonment. If only the Order could help you in this...but we are too visible, too easy of a target to risk the Wizards' wrath."

Kal nodded. "I'm not particularly happy about it either, but my first priority is rescuing Imoen."

"And you keep your priorities very much in order. I would be glad to be of any assistance in helping you in this task. In truth, I - and the Order, as well - have never been comfortable with the way the Wizards imprison people without trial."

"Thank you, Keldorn."

"Now, it is late, and I must return to the High Hall. Good evening." Keldorn got up and left.

"So what do you think of Keldorn?" Kal asked Jaheira and Viconia after Keldorn was gone.

"In what way?" Jaheira asked. "If you mean as a replacement for Minsc - more than adequate. Though age has stolen some of his strength, you can see how easily he walks in that full plate - much of it remains."

"Not that, although it was a bit of concern. No, I mean as a person. I've had enough experiences with disruptive party members such that I don't want another. Do you think you could work with him? And him with us?"

"As you can tell, I have no problems with paladins," Jaheira said with a trace of a smile. "Keldorn has lived long enough to outgrow his starched-shirt stage, if ever he had one. I foresee no problems."

"What about you, Viconia?" Kal asked.

"I certainly will not be troubled by his presence. You may wish to ask him about he feels about mine, however. It is a valiant effort, but his prejudices appear to be quite...strong."

"Well...we'll see. He was at least civil towards you near the end, and maybe that means he'll get better as time goes on. If he can't overcome his prejudices, I'll ask the Order for someone else to work with."

The three of them then decided that sleep was in order, given the hour of the day, and they prepared for sleep and headed to their rooms with a minimum of fuss. They were all asleep in minutes. And Kal dreamed.




"You know," an eerily familiar voice said in a conversational tone, "that you possess real power. Real power is hard to quantify in this world; a king may be said to possess power over his kingdom, but what power has he to stop a single urchin thief in the largest city of his empire? None. So is it real? Perhaps...perhaps not. To an enemy nation, that king's power is great. To that little thief the king's power is as illusory as a mirage."

Irenicus came into view - or was it that Kal opened his eyes? Regardless, the man's face - could Kal see anything but his face? - was clear.

"Now, on the other hand, you have power incontestable. The power of death...to, at the least, deny someone else power. When one is dead, one cannot hold power - by definition. And when you have the power to destroy something you have the power to command it."

Irenicus studied Kal intently. "And what do you do with this power? You cure wounds. You slow poison. This is not the purpose to which you were born, Child of Bhaal. You carry within you the legacy of one who knew true power and wielded it across the Realms. You carry within you a fraction, and a not inconsiderable one, of that power. And you shall not misuse it any longer."

Images clashed above the dark canvas of Kal's mind - or were they truly images? Kal couldn't see, not really, just perceive...impressions. He heard screaming, the sickening crunch of blade into bone...a mad cackle of laughter.

Irenicus' voice, still calm, pierced through it all. "Ignore it and it shall be taken from you, by those who have the same potential but the knowledge to use it. Ignore it and you shall die. Very soon, Child of Bhaal. You cannot afford to ignore your potential. You will not."

Irenicus' face appeared again, and a hand, tracing an arcane motion, became visible. "Awaken, Child of Bhaal. You have slept for too long a time." He pointed.

Then there was that same roar within, as the fragment of Bhaal responded, once again, and Kal's mind filled with visions of blood....




With a start Kal sat up in bed, clutching sweat-soaked sheets. He was breathing rapidly in short gasps, and it took him a full five minutes to get back under control.

"Bad dream?" Cel asked.

"You could...say that," Kal said.

"Oh. One of those," she said, with some distaste.

"No, this one was...different, somehow. The others, they told me, they showed me to...the others, I made...I made choices that mattered. This time, I didn't...I couldn't choose anything, I just...." He shook his head. "I...can't remember. Why can't I remember...?"

He took a deep breath, and coughed. "It's stuffy in here. Let's go outside for a bit." He dressed quickly and put on his sword belt - though he wasn't about to throw on his armour for something as small as this, going unarmed was a bad idea, even more so in Athkatla.

He climbed the stairs to the roof, the best place to get some fresh air as opposed to what was often a torch-polluted miasma at ground level. City torches were often obtained from the lowest bidder, which meant that most of them gave off a thick, greasy smoke that stained the buildings black, and which wasn't exactly a pleasure to breathe.

Viconia turned around as Kal emerged from the stairs at the back of the roof, hands going to her hood. Then she smiled in obvious relief as she saw who it was.

"Couldn't sleep?" Kal asked.

"I did not feel like sleeping. And you?"

"I had...a disturbing dream."

"Ah." A long pause. "I...I wanted to thank you for what you said earlier."

Kal pondered that for a second. "I didn't think I'd said anything worth thanking."

"When you only thought of asking the Order for someone else, and not simply...." Her voice trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

"I said you'd always have a place by my side, and I meant it," Kal said. "Not everyone is itching to throw you overboard, you know."

"Yes, you've said that...before."

"This is the part where you say you don't believe it, and then add something about the Underdark, trust, foolishness and power in any order you choose, with an optional slap at the end, right?" Kal asked, only half jokingly.

"Stop that," Viconia said with a laugh. Actually, Kal considered, it was more of a giggle, but ‘giggle' was just one of those words that one did not apply to Viconia, no matter what she did. "I freely admit my previous...intransigence. You...win. This is a different world from that which I knew, and I should face it anew...and the first step is discarding what I thought was truth."

"I'm glad," Kal said. "But I'd rather you see it less as me winning...but rather, as you winning."

She considered that a moment. "Let us say...that we both win."

"So what were you doing up here?" Kal asked.

"I was watching the stars, if you must know." She paused and looked upward. "Twenty years on the surface, and not a single night did I ever look up and appreciate the beauty of the sky. It was always the certainty that it would swallow me up if I stared at it."

"Not so certain now?"

She shrugged. "If I spend the rest of my days hiding from the sky's vastness, always looking down, I will never learn anything about it. I will never learn not to fear it. Just like...trust."

"Is that really you?" Cel wondered out loud.

"Cel! I...I forgot you were here, I..." Kal stammered.

"Let her stay," Viconia said. "You trust her. I suppose it is an...acceptable next step."

"This is Viconia?" Cel asked, seeming a little stunned.

"Your manners are just bowling me over, Cel," Kal told her.

"I just...I mean, I was saying that, ah, um..." Cel sputtered.

"You can shut up any time now," Kal suggested. Cel promptly did, and Viconia returned to looking at the sky.

"It's been a long time, myself, since I've looked at the stars," Kal said. "Since they're always there...I guess I've partially forgotten about how beautiful they really can be."

"I wonder how...how many more simple beauties like the stars are here in this surface world. I never...thought about it, merely mourned over the beauties of the Underdark forever denied me. What time I have wasted...."

After a while, Cel stirred, unable to remain quiet for long. "Hmmm, the Bolts of Talos are late this year."

"Yes, they are, aren't they?" Kal agreed.

Viconia looked a little confused. "Pardon?"

Kal answered, "It's a constellation." At her blank look, he gave a better explanation. "A collection of stars, which are carefully identified because they seem to represent something. The Bolts of Talos are a collection which traditionally herald the coming of summertime; they trace a path across the sky from here," and he pointed, "to here. They're called the Bolts because they resemble Talos' holy symbol."

Viconia looked up, and appeared to peruse the stars for several moments. "It is...somewhat difficult to see."

"Yeah, it was hard the first time for me, too. It's up...here," Kal said, pointing.

She looked, then shook her head. Kal took her by the shoulders and gently turned her so she had the right angle, but she shook her head again.

"Here, I'll show you," Kal said. He took Viconia's hand and circled around her. Looking over her shoulder, he moved her pointing finger along the stars. "There...there...and there."

"Ah...the three bolts of lightning, now I see. Are there...other such...constellations?" Viconia looked up further, leaning back against him.

"Many. At least one named for each of the gods, and many more besides. You can't see them all at this time of year, but many of them come out nearer the middle of summer." He gently turned her to face a different direction and guided her finger. "That one's the one I'm most familiar with, Tyr's Scales. And the largest one at this time of year's the Purple Dragon...."

 

IRRELEVANT COMMENTARY BEGINS

Yeah, so that's it, and the answer is yes, it really is Viconia. In hindsight I suppose it's pretty obvious, given how Aerie was portrayed and the fact that I really can't write Jaheira, but I know I managed to keep a lot of people fooled until the last four or so chapters, which I think was pretty good.

That said, words cannot describe how frustrating writing this chapter was. I wrote it seven and a half months ago, and every time I opened up ATG I'd go to this chapter and fret for an hour over it, mainly trying to figure out where the line was between carefully understated and nonexistent. I'm still internally hemming and hawing about it, but if I waited until that was over you wouldn't see the next chapter earlier than 2006, which is not good in a variety of ways.

And finally. Copied from a certain movie? Well, I prefer to say inspired. And that really is all.

/IRRELEVANT COMMENTARY

#2 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 05 August 2003 - 05:56 AM

"This is the part where you say you don't believe it, and then add something about the Underdark, trust, foolishness and power in any order you choose, with an optional slap at the end, right?" Kal asked, only half jokingly.


"Stop that," Viconia said with a laugh. Actually, Kal considered, it was more of a giggle, but ‘giggle' was just one of those words that one did not apply to Viconia, no matter what she did. "I freely admit my previous...intransigence. You...win. This is a different world from that which I knew, and I should face it anew...and the first step is discarding what I thought was truth."


"I'm glad," Kal said. "But I'd rather you see it less as me winning...but rather, as you winning."


She considered that a moment. "Let us say...that we both win."


Yes, it is Viconia. I had my bets placed on her when I was reading the story before you resumed the posting and the trail was even more obvious from Chapter 36 onwards. Anyways, good job on teasing us.

Yeah, so that's it, and the answer is yes, it really is Viconia. In hindsight I suppose it's pretty obvious, given how Aerie was portrayed and the fact that I really can't write Jaheira, but I know I managed to keep a lot of people fooled until the last four or so chapters, which I think was pretty good.


Aw. I think you write a very good and solid Jaheira, but I understand why you would not go with her - there are plenty of Jaheira romances - Silrana, Slide, No One and me too, all of us write Jaheira romance.

Aww. Poor druid, though. I hope that the story will not be treating her badly and making her really depressed - she already has a very hard time with dealing with Khalid and those renegade Harpers. That would make it very hard to read for this rabid Jaheira fan. *sniffle* :)

#3 Guest_argan_*

Posted 05 August 2003 - 10:02 AM

This chapter came out bloody great, no matter what you say!

Awesome stuff :)

#4 Guest_Hunter_*

Posted 05 August 2003 - 03:02 PM

Kal answered, "It's a constellation." At her blank look, he gave a better explanation. "A collection of stars, which are carefully identified because they seem to represent something. The Bolts of Talos are a collection which traditionally herald the coming of summertime; they trace a path across the sky from here," and he pointed, "to here. They're called the Bolts because they resemble Talos' holy symbol."


But a constellation cannot be "late"

IRRELEVANT COMMENTARY BEGINS


And finally. Copied from a certain movie? Well, I prefer to say inspired. And that really is all.


Dune?

#5 Guest_Tenebrous_*

Posted 06 August 2003 - 05:50 AM

Yes, it is Viconia. I had my bets placed on her when I was reading the story before you resumed the posting and the trail was even more obvious from Chapter 36 onwards. Anyways, good job on teasing us.


Yes, Jaheira hasn't had much in the way of substantive dialogues for a while.

Aw. I think you write a very good and solid Jaheira, but I understand why you would not go with her - there are plenty of Jaheira romances - Silrana, Slide, No One and me too, all of us write Jaheira romance.


Well, I really don't write that well of a Jaheira, but I select my narrative to cover up that particular flaw. Jaheira interjects at the points where one would expect her to, variants little removed from comments she makes in the game.

Aww. Poor druid, though. I hope that the story will not be treating her badly and making her really depressed - she already has a very hard time with dealing with Khalid and those renegade Harpers. That would make it very hard to read for this rabid Jaheira fan. *sniffle* :twisted:


Uh oh. You see, I didn't plan ATG for Jaheira fans. Jaheira fans might be...disappointed.

#6 Guest_Tenebrous_*

Posted 06 August 2003 - 05:52 AM

This chapter came out bloody great, no matter what you say!

Awesome stuff :twisted:


Oh, I didn't say it didn't turn out well, just that this particular chapter hit the almost addiction-like compulsiveness of "one more rewrite" much harder than any other chapter. Thank you for the kind words.

#7 Guest_Tenebrous_*

Posted 06 August 2003 - 05:54 AM

But a constellation cannot be "late"


It can if the planet's orbit contains an irregularity which occurs on a random basis. And Realmspace has never been the most stable of crystal spheres.

Dune?


Not quite. But if you don't recognize it, all the better.




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