Rush Of Blood To The Head, part 5.6.
Once again we roam through the central and pretty much the only street of the svirfneblin village, I smile inwardly predicting the reactions of my friends in regards to my plan… I only hope that Jaheira won’t protest too much – it is only because of her that I did not inform my friends of the idea beforehand.
“This is the passage,” Jaheira stops and waves her head in the direction of a small side-tunnel.
“Good. However, we’re going that way,” I point the way that leads to the exit of the village.
“I do not understand. We do need that gem, remember?” Jaheira looks at me quizzically.
“Err… Jaheira?” Imoen interjects timidly, “Lo and behold!” With these words she produces a brightly shining gem from her pocket and quickly hides it again in order not to attract the attention.
“You… child, did you… steal the gem?” Jaheira asks in disbelief.
“I sure did, it was easier than steel a candy from a little child, hehe…” Imoen proudly declares, “Imoen, the thief extraordinaire at work!”
“What… what on earth possessed you to do that?” Jaheira continues her chastising.
“I did,” I reply instead of Imoen, “that was the plan, as simple as that. I distracted him and Immy took advantage while you all were staring at the portrait…”
“How cunning of you, abbil,” Viconia offers her praise, “I had no desire to do the bidding of lowly gnomes, the shear indignity of the very idea…”
“You do show at least some signs that would indicate that not all of your brain cells have completely atrophied,” Edwin adds.
“So… so, you just plan to go and leave these gnomes to their fate?” Jaheira looks at me angrily, “I… I am not sure if I can agree with this…”
“Jaheira… let me explain my reasons before you condemn me so quickly,” I take her by the hand and reluctantly she allows me to lead her a few paces away from the others.
“Do you think that Goldander has been honest with us or has he done all in his powers to solve this problem on their own?” I ask her quietly.
“I think he has not done enough and has been hiding truth from us, however that does not mean that we should answer him with a wrongful action of our own,” Jaheira looks at me accusingly, “Theodur… I do not know what to think. Is it really your decision or…”
“Jaheira… Bhaal has not taken over me, you can be sure about that… and I am only doing this to prevent him from ever taking over me,” I reply with certainty, considering the glare that I am facing, “tell me, why did they never actually tried to collapse that cavern upon the beast – it surely could not have made things worse if they have tried. Instead he has just been sitting with his hands in his lap, watching his comrades die and refusing to use a potential solution to his problem on the pretense that it ‘just might not work’…”
“That… that is true, but as I said – do we repay him with a betrayal, when it is help that he expects?” Jaheira is still trying to be convincing but I see that the doubts are creeping in her head…
“Betrayal? That is a touch too strong word to use, Jaheira,” I argue back, “and do you seriously believe that he does not know what type of monster they have released? I think he knows it all too well… Jaheira, he might be sending us to face a dragon or a… a Balor without us knowing it!”
Jaheira averts her piercing gaze and looks at the stone floor, as if unsure of what to say.
“I… I did not come here to lose you or to die myself doing some random errand… Jaheira, we have already taken too many risks, think of the mind flayers, and think of what is ahead of us - do we really want to pick a fight that we can avoid? And if I was to… lose you because of that… I could not forgive myself,” my hand lifts her chin upwards forcing her to look into my eyes as I speak, “Jaheira, maybe I am a selfish egotist and a bad man… but all I want to do is to avoid endangering you and myself without a necessity. I want us to survive this hell together… will you blame me for that?”
“No,” Jaheira manages a weary smile, “No, I can not blame you for that. And I do not think you a bad man or selfish, Theodur. I understand why you would want to do as such… I will not protest your decision. Even though, in my heart I wish we had helped them, I realize that we must help ourselves first. One thing, however…”
“What is it, dearest?” I smile with a sigh of relief.
“The scroll. You still have it and it is their only chance – you have to give it back to them,” she says.
“I had thought of that. I will give it to one of the guards at the entrance and ask him to return it to Goldander,” I reply and see recognition in her eyes “am I forgiven now?”
A sincere kiss is the most convincing response and it lasts for quite some time despite the comments coming from our companions…
The fair granithome has been left a fair way behind us as we now stand and face a dark entrance to a huge cavern, looming ahead of us. According to Goldander’s instructions this is our destination, the lair of the mysterious creature called Adalon.
I take the light gem from Imoen and holding it in my hand head into the darkness of the cavern, the others following me closely. For a long while we descend downwards surrounded by complete darkness and this time I am grateful for having those drops of elven blood in my veins… otherwise I would have as hard time as Edwin and Imoen who both stumble frequently and Edwin is even more frustrated by Viconia’s refusal to hold his hand…
The descent ends and gradually the cavern becomes more and more wider as we move forwards, it would seem that there is also a source of light ahead of us as the cavern around us has became brighter… Only this one slight turn ahead of us and then we will find out, who this Adalon really is…
The huge, at least forty feet tall creature that is sitting in the center of the huge cavern is indeed of a breathtaking beauty… a huge dragon, watching us with annoyed expression in its eyes.
“A Silver dragon…” Jaheira whispers, voice full of amazement.
“Welcome, welcome to my lair,” the wyrm addresses us in a booming voice, “I have watched your progress with great interest.”
“Errrm, what am I supposed to say?” I whisper to Jaheira, “I don’t know how to speak with a dragon.”
“Me neither, but I could try,” Jaheira looks rather pale, as she turns to address Adalon, “Thank you, My Lady.”
“Hold your tongue! My 'interest' does not mean my approval!” the anger in dragon’s voice makes my heart stop from fear, “In another time you would have encountered my tooth and claw instead of words! You have come here through trickery, without helping Goldander Blackenrock. He and his people will now fall to the Balor they unearthed.”
“Eeeeeep!” is Imoen’s reaction.
“Arrogant, self-righteous bitch,” Viconia mutters, “If she loves those damned svirfneblin so much, why does she not help them herself?”
“That is puzzling indeed,” Jaheira notes quietly, “perhaps she has her reasons…”
“A Balor… we couldn’t have taken him, even if we had attempted it…” I whisper, “Dearest, I hope you have no doubts about our chosen course of action? That is, if the dragon doesn’t eat us, eventually…”
Jaheira briefly nods before Adalon continues, “You are vile in many ways, but I have need of you,” Adalon speaks words that relieve a bit of the tension, I was already expecting her to slay us, “I am Adalon, the guardian of the ancient elven ruins above, a temple that marks a gateway to the Underdark.”
“So, there is exit to surface somewhere nearby… must keep that in mind,” Edwin mutters, not taking his eyes of the dragon.
“However, recent events have disrupted the fragile balance between the Drow and the surface elves, simply because I can no longer honor my commitment. I need your assistance and in return will grant you mine. The Drow of Ust Natha respected the borders of this place for centuries, only venturing out for sport and small skirmishes, never breaking the balance. However, those two you seek, this Bodhi and Jon Irenicus - I believe they have made a deal with the Drow for their own safe passage and offered a way to tip the scales against their Elven enemy,” Adalon explains.
“And this idiot in scales simply allowed them both to walk by, what an impeccable guardian she is,” Viconia snorts.
“I have to say, this is more complicated than I thought…” Jaheira sighs, “I had thought that silver dragons were ‘good’ and ‘righteous’, while this Adalon hardly seems to be that way…”
“You may ask why have I not done something to prevent it. I cannot do a thing as they have stolen my most prized possession, they have taken my eggs,” Adalon speaks and looks at us keenly.
“Umm… guys, I think she awaits some kind of ‘shocked’ reaction…” Imoen humbly suggests and immediately we fill the air with shouts of faked compassion and outrage…
“I have been informed that to move from my lair would mean the destruction of my eggs. It is the final straw in a long list of atrocities I have witnessed,” Adalon’s voice takes an angered tone.
“I suppose that is her excuse for not helping those svirfneblin weaklings,” Edwin snorts.
“Hmm, I don’t think that this gives her an excuse to reprimand us though – it’s not like we did not have anything to lose going against that Balor, whereas for her it would have been an easy battle,” I note.
“I know. She had her eggs to lose, I had you to lose…” Jaheira whispers to me, “we are no more in the wrong as she is, it seems like it is always about us making sacrifices… I am glad you convinced us against fighting the demon, though I still wish we could help the gnomes...”
“You must retrieve the eggs for me – if you do this, I will reveal a safe escape route out of the Underdark and it will lead you close to the place where Irenicus plots his next move. Additionally, I will consider rewarding you with an item from my horde and it will be an incredibly powerful item – even though I am unsure if you will use it to achieve righteous goals.”
“An elven temple and Irenicus plans his move nearby… she must be speaking of Suldanessellar,” Jaheira muses.
“How can we retrieve your eggs, we cannot face an entire Drow city… we will be slaughtered the next moment we walk through the gate…” I point to Adalon.
“Nothing so brutish, there is a much more subtle way to success. You will assume the identity of a group of Drow I dispatched recently, a war party heading from Chad Nesad to Ust Natha,” Adalon explains the plan.
“To become a Drow… I am not looking forward to that,” Jaheira sighs, “perhaps it will help me better understand the reasons for Viconia’s lack of morals …”
“You should look forward to that, Jaheira, it will be an improvement on your current form,” Viconia smirks.
“Cast your magic, Adalon,” I speak, “I am not ready, but I doubt I will ever be ready to become a Drow… let the masquerade begin!”
