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#1 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 24 August 2003 - 08:34 PM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.

Imoen ran through the streets, fighting panic down. She had wrapped Montaron’s clothes over his body. Without interference she arrived back at the inn. It wasn’t as busy as when they had left, so nobody commented when she rushed up the stairs to Khalid and Jaheira’s room and pounded on their door.

“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.

Khalid’s flushed face paled. “Get him on the bed. Jaheira, can you heal him?” Khalid quickly helped her putting the bleeding halfling on the bed. Jaheira had quickly wrapped her sheet around her like a toga and, shaking the last remnants of a dazed look out of her eyes, inspected the wounded halfling.

“He has lost a lot of blood. But I’ll try.” Jaheira’s voice sounded tense. She opened her mouth and song in the strange combination of melodic chants and guttural sounds of the druidic language. Nothing happened. Jaheira uttered a curse and started chanting again, stronger this time. Montaron’s blood was quickly dirtying the bed.

“What’s wrong? Why won’t it work?” Imoen asked panicky.

“This is a difficult healing under ideal circumstances child! It needs concentration.” Jaheira snapped “And being dragged out of be in the middle of the night is FAR from ideal circumstances. So keep silent if you don’t want to spoil his chances.”

“Uh... yes. Of course.”

“W...what happened?” Khalid asked her with a worried expression.

“Some dwarf attacked Talek in a bar and.... oh no, Talek. We have to go help him! He’s fighting.” Imoen’s eyes widened as she remembered.

Khalid nodded and reached for his clothes, trying to get a minimum of clothes on as quickly as possible.

Jaheira was still bent over Montaron, frustration painted across her face as she franticly chanted. Suddenly Montaron’s eyes fluttered open and met hers. Montaron’s eyes narrowed. Jaheira’s voice faltered for a moment, then resumed with greater intensity. The halfling grinned at her, then fell back into unconsciousness.

Khalid and Imoen were just about to head out when a shrieking voice stopped them. “MONTY! The rabbits are eating Monty. Don’t worry, I’ll save you. DIE RABBITS!” Xzar started moving his hands and chanting magical words himself. Imoen and Khalid reached for their weapons. Jaheira stopped in mid syllable. Then an arm came from behind and grabbed Xzar, breaking off the spell.

“Calm down Xzar. She’s helping him.” Talek was holding the necromancer in a tight hold. Talek’s face had a scratch on his forehead, and was covered with more blood then could have come from the superficial wound.

“Talek!” Imoen said “You’re okay!”

Xzar struggled against Xzar’s grip, screaming like he was being tortured. “Let me go, LET ME GO. Stop touching me! LET ME GO! Bad bunny, BAD, BAD BUNNY!” Xzar fought with all his might, but Talek’s grip didn’t budge.

“Xzar, calm down. It’s me, Talek. Not a bunny. There aren’t any bunnies here.”

“Yes there are. One of them is nibbling at Monty’s guts. Can’t you see their little red eyes. The long ears! They’re here to KILL US ALL!” he shrieked.

Talek looked confused at Montaron’s body. “That’s not a bunny either. That’s Jaheira, and she’s healing Montaron.”

“She is? Is she? Or is she feeding him to mommy? But Montaron is so small. He’s hardly a snack.” Xzar seemed to calm down.

“O...of course s...she’s healing him, y...you l...lunatic.” Khalid said. Despite his stuttering he sounded rather vehement.

“I will if you would keep quiet so I can concentrate.” Jaheira said. Even Xzar was silent as she chanted again. There was an echo in her voice now. Montaron’s body seemed to glow for a moment. His wound closed. The halfling coughed and opened his eyes.

“Ugh... remind me to keep stabbing dwarfs till they’ve stopped moving next time.” He got up woozily.

“You should be careful.” Jaheira said, but her voice didn’t hold a shred of concern. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Now, can someone tell me what happened?” Her voice got a sharp edge at the last word.

“Sure,” Talek started. “We were walking around the city, Montaron got us some gold from a drunk guy. Then there was this guy in a bar who started a fight so I had to kill the bastard. Oh, I forgot the rapist. We were...”

“Shut yer trap boy!” Montaron snarled, then grabbed his head dizzily a moment. “It’s.... none of her business.”

“Oh, but I think it IS.” Jaheira commented.

“Sure it is. It’s not like we did anything wrong. Well, not on purpose.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” The voice came from behind Talek. In the hallway, the old, cripple paladin held his quarterstaff ready in a battle stance. “I warned you about the consequences of villainy.” His hands tightened. “Yield to Helm’s justice or be prepared to be vanquished, cur.”

Talek’s hand went to his sword. “For your information, OLD MAN, I haven’t done anything wrong...” He hesitated a moment “...on purpose. And I’m not yielding to anyone. Least of all Helm.”

“Hah, your guilt is marked in red on your face, cur, and in black on your soul. Now prepare to...”

“E...Excuse me.”

Both the paladin and Talek looked at the four people in the room. They both seemed to have forgotten them.

“I...I’m certain that if w...we all remain c...calm and listen to w...what happened t...tonight there’s no n...need for fighting.” Khalid was holding his sword by the blade in a peaceful gesture.

“Talek... please, no more people dying tonight.” Imoen pleaded to Talek, who relaxed the grip on his sword. Montaron, who was still weakened, looked around for his crossbow.

The paladin frowned at Khalid. “Good sir half-elf, I know not your relation with this man, but as a paladin of Helm it is my responsibility...”

“You assume too much responsibility, paladin.” Jaheira raised herself o full heigth. Even dressed in a sheet and unarmed, she still managed to look intimidating. “The boy is my responsibility. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Your responsibility as what, good woman?”

“That too, doesn’t concern you. Rest assured that I will deal with this. Now please leave us.”

“D...dearest. C...couldn’t you have s...said that a bit more diplomatic?”

The paladin turned towards Imoen. “And you, milady. Don’t tell me you harbour this... this murderer.” Talek tensed.

“He is not a murderer. He’s like my little brother. And yeah, I’m harbouring him. For one, I know he’s innocent, cause I was with him all night.” She smirked.

The paladin’s eyes grew wide. “YOU? You can never be kin nor accomplice to this...” He pointed at Talek.

It was then that Talek had enough. He grabbed the paladin’s outstretched hand with his left hand and dragged him forward, kicked the wounded leg in the back so the paladin keeled over backwards. There was the sound of breaking bone, followed by shattering teeth as Talek’s right elbow smashed down in the man’s face. The paladin fell heavily and was still.

“HEY, he hadn’t asked Monty and me whether we were righteous citizens.” Xzar complained.

Talek spat on the unconscious paladin. “Bloody Helmite. He’s as bad as the damned Gatewarden. At least he’ll shut up now.”

“Khalid, you tie him up. As for you Talek and Imoen, you were about to tell me what on earth you were doing outside at this hour.” She looked at Montaron. “With him, I might add.”

Despite protests from Montaron, Talek and Imoen revealed the whole story of the night. Talek did most of the talking in animated voice while Imoen mainly calmed him down. Jaheira’s face was getting increasingly neutral as it advanced, while Khalid looked worried. Montaron just laid on the bed and rested with a fatalistic expression on his face, while Xzar just giggled. When Talek started a blow by blow explanation of the fight against the 5 street thugs. Jaheira interrupted him.

“I... I think that’s quite enough.” Her voice was now really, really calm, but her eyes seemed to shoot daggers at Montaron, who spared her one mocking smile. Talek just seemed disappointed his story was interrupted.

“Jaheira,” Khalid was quick to say. “why don’t I go speak to Talek?” Jaheira glared at him, but Khalid didn’t back down. “You talk with Montaron perhaps. I think you have much to discuss.”

Jaheira seemed to consider it a moment before nodding. “Very well. You, girl, go pack your gear. Considering the circumstances, we should leave immediately.” Imoen looked at Talek worriedly, but he just seemed curious about the proceedings. “Me and Montaron will stand guard in the hallway while we talk.”

“Ooooh... what about me, what about me?” Xzar piped up.

“Ye go and gather our stuff. The druid is right. With those 5 dead on the street, things aren’t healthy for us here.”

After the paladin was tied up, everyone but Talek and Khalid left the room. Xzar and Imoen returned to their own room while Jaheira and Montaron stood acorss each other in the hallway.

“Well druid, ye wanted to talk?”

“How much would I need to pay you, halfling, to take your pet necromancer and go away?” Jaheira spoke the words as if they tasted bad.

Montaron chuckled. “More then ye can afford, druid.”

“What IS your interest in them anyway?” Jaheira kept her voice quiet but her frustration could be heard in her voice.

“The boy’s strong, the girl’s smart. And I’m not crazy enough to go face whatever it is in Nashkel with only that gibbering idiot to cover my back. And if I can improve their odds by showing them how the world works, I ain’t gonna keep quiet. I like my targets to be naive fools, not the people I’m travelling with.”

“Why would a morally bankrupt halfling like you be interested in the iron crisis? There is much more gold to be gained in other places.” Jaheira narrowed her eyes.

“I could ask the same thing of ye, druid. I thought yer kind hated mines. Shouldn’t you be glad about all this?”

There was a mutual silence for a while as both people were trying to read the answers in each other’s eyes.

“Regardless, I think it would be better for everyone’s health if you WOULD leave.” Jaheira said. It was said as casual as she could.

“No need for threats, druid. I already know just how badly you want us gone.” He sneered at her. “Tell me, what does” he clumsily spoke a series of syllables “mean?”

Jaheira’s face froze at the words. “If you ask them, you know what they mean. How did you know that.” Her eyes blazed with fury.”

“Someone I knew used to be a tree-hugger before she got tired of squirrels and dancing naked through the trees. She didn’t have her powers, but she still knew the tongue. Whenever she got angry she’d start insulting people in druid. I don’t know what those words mean exactly, but I don’t reckon they’re part of any healing spell.” He grinned at her. “And I thought druids weren’t allowed a sense of humour.”

Jaheira’s face didn’t flinch. “It wasn’t meant to be humorous, you disgusting little toad. I’ve sworn Gorion that I’d keep Talek from harm, and by Silvanus, I WILL. And it’s not like I would expect more from you were our situations reversed.”

“Yeah, no harm, no foul right?” Montaron spread his hands. “It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this anyway, so it changes nothing. As I said, should have bought healing potions. But druid, next time you try, don’t change your mind halfway through. The two kids might believe you fumble your healing, they might also believe I fumbled a crossbow shot.”

“We shall see, halfling. We shall see. And Khalid would not.”

“Your little footmat? I’ve known 13 year old girls who’d eat him for breakfast. Ye must be pretty desperate if ye’re counting on him, druid.”

Jaheira smiled and might have made a remark, but then there was a sound from her and Khalid’s room.

...

Khalid waited till the door closed behind Jaheira. Talek leaned against the wall of the small room. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Talek, don’t you see anything wrong with what you did tonight?”

Talek scratched the back of his head. “Well... I guess I should have killed that rapist first time around.”

“NO!”

“What do you mean ‘no’? He got his friends and...”

“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”

“Four actually. That rapist guy couldn’t walk, let alone fight.” Talek thought for a moment. “And I guess that guy with the big mouth had lost his weapon.”

“But you killed him anyway?” Khalid’s face was getting uncharacteristically angry.

“Hey, they start the fight, they finish it. I didn’t ask for them to attack me. Everyone I killed attacked me, except those two thieves, but I THOUGHT they were.”

Khalid raised his voice. “It’s not about THAT Talek. It’s about your lack of concern for people’s lives!” Khalid was getting angry and his voice became high now and then.

Talek’s voice became louder as well. He came face to face with the red-haired half-elf. “Hey, I didn’t ask for trouble, okay? I just wanted a fun night on the town.”

“You didn’t exactly avoid them either, did you? I know you have a short temper, but you will have to learn how to hold back.”

Talek’s face grew darker. “I AM holding back.”

Khalid was really angry now. “Holding back? You’ve killed nine people and you’re telling me you’re holding back? You’re killing people like you don’t care. Gorion would be ashamed if he had to see this.”

Talek snarled and slammed Khalid against the wall with a loud thud, his arm pushed against his throat, cutting off the shorter man’s breath. His voice was low and angry. Behind them, they heard the door opening

“You don’t know anything about Gorion. And you don’t know anyhin about me. If I wasn’t holding back, I’d have killed that Silke bitch as soon as she laid a finger on Imoen, I’d have killed that damn farmer for what he said, and that retard cripple too.” He pointed at the tied up paladin with his free hand. “If I didn’t hold back, I’d have killed half of bloody Candlekeep a long time ago. I’ve NEVER killed anyone before two days before, and still they’re after me, and I’M THE ONE THAT HAS TO HOLD BACK?” Talek screamed the last words in Khalid’s face. The half elf was making choking sounds as he tried to remove Talek’s arm from his neck.

“Talek!”

Talek’s head swivelled around. Jaheira and Montaron were standing in the room and Imoen and Xzar peeped around the corner of the door. Xzar grinned, Imoen looked rather desperate. Montaron was looking unusually shocked. Jaheira, who had spoken, was holding her quarterstaff at the ready. There was some fear in her eyes as she looked over Talek’s shoulder at her choking husband. Talek followed her gaze and looked at the other man’s face as if had just seen it and released his hold. Khalid leaned heavily against the wall as he regained his breath. Jaheira rushed to his side to support him. Talek looked at them both. It seemed anger had faded now, replaced with a dark kind of resignation. The lack of sleep that night seemed to come down hard on him.

“And you know what else? I enjoyed it. I enjoyed killing that bloody wizard back then. I enjoyed killing the fool farmer, and I ESPECIALLY enjoyed finishing off the sobbing, rapist piece of trash.”

Imoen sighed, then looked sharply next to her where she heard giggling. Xzar was looking at Talek and nodding as if had expected it.

Talek breathed deeply a few times, looking at Jaheira and Khalid’s shocked faces. “So... you’ve got something to say.... say it then.”

Jaheira was the first to regain her voice. “Talek... we... we didn’t know. You should have told us. I didn’t know you needed help this much.”

“...help?” Talek sounded surprised.

Khalid put his hands on Talek’s shoulders. “Yes, Talek. Listen, sometimes people’s minds can have... problems. But that can be helped.”

“What... you’re telling me I’m insane?” On the background Xzar was giggling again.

“I think you’re... sick, Talek. But sickness can be cured. And we want to help you with it.” Talek hardly seemed to hear the words anymore.

Jaheira seemed to have recovered completely and returned to her usual confident self. “I wouldn’t be much of a druid if I would turn away people in need of healing.” She smiled. “And not much of a friend either.” Talek answered the smile weakly. “You go with Imoen and pack. We didn’t get much sleep tonight, but we’ll recover those hours in Nashkel.” She led the two to their room, making sure Montaron returned to his own room as well.

Talek looked at the small bedroom in a kind of a daze.. Imoen had all but finished packing.

“Immy... am I sick?”

“I don’t know what is wrong with you Talek. But whatever you are, you’re my friend. And whatever the problem is, we’ll deal with it.”

Talek nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

#2 Guest_Bjorn_*

Posted 24 August 2003 - 11:26 PM

“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.


Hmm - I know Monty's a halfling, but even so would Immy be able to carry him that far?

Poor Khalid - looks like Immy interrupted at a bad time :)

Khalid’s flushed face paled. “Get him on the bed. Jaheira, can you heal him?” Khalid quickly helped her putting the bleeding halfling on the bed. Jaheira had quickly wrapped her sheet around her like a toga and, shaking the last remnants of a dazed look out of her eyes, inspected the wounded halfling.


Fairly minor point, but you use 'quickly' twice in quick succession here - you might want to think about replacing one of them with a different word.

“This is a difficult healing under ideal circumstances child! It needs concentration.” Jaheira snapped “And being dragged out of be in the middle of the night is FAR from ideal circumstances. So keep silent if you don’t want to spoil his chances.”


Eep, someone's in a bad mood. Not Immy's fault Monty picked a rather inconvenient time to get injured.

“Calm down Xzar. She’s helping him.” Talek was holding the necromancer in a tight hold. Talek’s face had a scratch on his forehead, and was covered with more blood then could have come from the superficial wound.


Ah good, Talek made it.

“O...of course s...she’s healing him, y...you l...lunatic.” Khalid said. Despite his stuttering he sounded rather vehement.


I think trying to reason with Xzar is probably a waste of time, really.

“Sure,” Talek started. “We were walking around the city, Montaron got us some gold from a drunk guy. Then there was this guy in a bar who started a fight so I had to kill the bastard. Oh, I forgot the rapist. We were...”


Ok, if talek wants to stay out of trouble he should probably let Immy or Monty tell this story...

“I’ll be the judge of that.” The voice came from behind Talek. In the hallway, the old, cripple paladin held his quarterstaff ready in a battle stance. “I warned you about the consequences of villainy.” His hands tightened. “Yield to Helm’s justice or be prepared to be vanquished, cur.”


Oh, go away. No one asked you.

“That too, doesn’t concern you. Rest assured that I will deal with this. Now please leave us.”


“D...dearest. C...couldn’t you have s...said that a bit more diplomatic?”


Hey, given that it was Jaheira talking it wasn't a bad effort at diplomacy. And she's right, it is none of this guy's business.

The paladin turned towards Imoen. “And you, milady. Don’t tell me you harbour this... this murderer.” Talek tensed.


This isn't going to end well, is it.

“Khalid, you tie him up. As for you Talek and Imoen, you were about to tell me what on earth you were doing outside at this hour.” She looked at Montaron. “With him, I might add.”


Maybe this discussion should wait until morning, when everyone's calmed down a little bit...

“Ye go and gather our stuff. The druid is right. With those 5 dead on the street, things aren’t healthy for us here.”


Unfortunately i suspect that's the only thing that he and jaheira are going to agree on about the night's events...

“Yeah, no harm, no foul right?” Montaron spread his hands. “It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this anyway, so it changes nothing. As I said, should have bought healing potions. But druid, next time you try, don’t change your mind halfway through. The two kids might believe you fumble your healing, they might also believe I fumbled a crossbow shot.”


Well, she did heal him in the end. And I can understand why she might have been tempted not to.

“We shall see, halfling. We shall see. And Khalid would not.”


“Your little footmat? I’ve known 13 year old girls who’d eat him for breakfast. Ye must be pretty desperate if ye’re counting on him, druid.”


But if anything were to happen to Jaheira, Monty would very quickly see a different side of Khalid. And it wouldn't be a side he'd like very much.

Talek’s voice became louder as well. He came face to face with the red-haired half-elf. “Hey, I didn’t ask for trouble, okay? I just wanted a fun night on the town.”


:wink: Maybe, but a few more fun nights like that and you'll wind up dead or with every Flaming Fist in the district chasing you. Best listen to Khalid's advice, I think.

Khalid was really angry now. “Holding back? You’ve killed nine people and you’re telling me you’re holding back? You’re killing people like you don’t care. Gorion would be ashamed if he had to see this.”


:lol: That's going to make Talek angry, but it's probably true and hopefully Talek will realise that when he calms down a bit.

“You don’t know anything about Gorion. And you don’t know anyhin about me. If I wasn’t holding back, I’d have killed that Silke bitch as soon as she laid a finger on Imoen, I’d have killed that damn farmer for what he said, and that retard cripple too.” He pointed at the tied up paladin with his free hand. “If I didn’t hold back, I’d have killed half of bloody Candlekeep a long time ago. I’ve NEVER killed anyone before two days before, and still they’re after me, and I’M THE ONE THAT HAS TO HOLD BACK?” Talek screamed the last words in Khalid’s face. The half elf was making choking sounds as he tried to remove Talek’s arm from his neck.


I do feel sorry for talek, but killing Khalid as well certainly won't help anything...

Jaheira seemed to have recovered completely and returned to her usual confident self. “I wouldn’t be much of a druid if I would turn away people in need of healing.” She smiled. “And not much of a friend either.” Talek answered the smile weakly. “You go with Imoen and pack. We didn’t get much sleep tonight, but we’ll recover those hours in Nashkel.” She led the two to their room, making sure Montaron returned to his own room as well.


Aw, I'm glad Khalid and Jaheira took that attitude - Talek's going to need their help. And hopefully this conversation will make him more willing to accept their help than he was before.

“Immy... am I sick?”


“I don’t know what is wrong with you Talek. But whatever you are, you’re my friend. And whatever the problem is, we’ll deal with it.”


:) Not going to be easy, though. If anything, things will only get harder for Talek because the more he kills, the more hold the taint will have on him.

Great chapter - I didn't have any problems with the way you wrote Jaheira, I think it was perfectly in character for her to consider not healing Monty.

I guess there's going to be even more tension between the Zhents and the Harpers after this - if/when it does come to the party splitting up, it will be very hard on Talek, especially if he has to decide who to stay with.

#3 Guest_argan_*

Posted 25 August 2003 - 06:40 AM

Excellent chapter :oops:

#4 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 25 August 2003 - 06:44 AM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.


No probs. You've already established that in previous chapter and I've grown used to that. Can't go back now, gotta stay true to this characterization from now on.

“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.


Damn, Rand! You just had to interrupt them in such moment! And they don't have a lot of time left together, whatever happens... :shock:

Khalid’s flushed face paled. “Get him on the bed. Jaheira, can you heal him?” Khalid quickly helped her putting the bleeding halfling on the bed. Jaheira had quickly wrapped her sheet around her like a toga and, shaking the last remnants of a dazed look out of her eyes, inspected the wounded halfling.


Theo: Can I please finish off what Khalid started?

Scribe: Oh, dear... can't you think of anything else?

Khalid and Imoen were just about to head out when a shrieking voice stopped them. “MONTY! The rabbits are eating Monty. Don’t worry, I’ll save you. DIE RABBITS!” Xzar started moving his hands and chanting magical words himself. Imoen and Khalid reached for their weapons. Jaheira stopped in mid syllable. Then an arm came from behind and grabbed Xzar, breaking off the spell.


Xzar really has a deathwish.

“Calm down Xzar. She’s helping him.” Talek was holding the necromancer in a tight hold. Talek’s face had a scratch on his forehead, and was covered with more blood then could have come from the superficial wound.


“Talek!” Imoen said “You’re okay!”


Yeah, but those five thugs are not.

“You should be careful.” Jaheira said, but her voice didn’t hold a shred of concern. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Now, can someone tell me what happened?” Her voice got a sharp edge at the last word.


Yep, go ahead and explain...

“I’ll be the judge of that.” The voice came from behind Talek. In the hallway, the old, cripple paladin held his quarterstaff ready in a battle stance. “I warned you about the consequences of villainy.” His hands tightened. “Yield to Helm’s justice or be prepared to be vanquished, cur.”


Well, I have to say that the old fool has a point now... I think that aura of EEEEvilness around Talek is pretty easy to detect.

“You assume too much responsibility, paladin.” Jaheira raised herself o full heigth. Even dressed in a sheet and unarmed, she still managed to look intimidating. “The boy is my responsibility. This doesn’t concern you.”


Oooooh, I bet she looked really sexy... :oops:

“That too, doesn’t concern you. Rest assured that I will deal with this. Now please leave us.”


“D...dearest. C...couldn’t you have s...said that a bit more diplomatic?”


Why?

“He is not a murderer. He’s like my little brother. And yeah, I’m harbouring him. For one, I know he’s innocent, cause I was with him all night.” She smirked.


Innocent... really? I would not have minded the other killings, but the 'Feldepost thugs' spoiled my view, I'm afraid.

“Khalid, you tie him up. As for you Talek and Imoen, you were about to tell me what on earth you were doing outside at this hour.” She looked at Montaron. “With him, I might add.”


I'd think you need to clarify that it is Jaheira who is speaking. Sure she addresses Imoen and there are only two females in the group, so its no biggie, but still...

“Ye go and gather our stuff. The druid is right. With those 5 dead on the street, things aren’t healthy for us here.”


I think that's the first time Monty and Jaheira ever agreed on anything...

After the paladin was tied up, everyone but Talek and Khalid left the room. Xzar and Imoen returned to their own room while Jaheira and Montaron stood acorss each other in the hallway.


'across'

“No need for threats, druid. I already know just how badly you want us gone.” He sneered at her. “Tell me, what does” he clumsily spoke a series of syllables “mean?”


Jaheira’s face froze at the words. “If you ask them, you know what they mean. How did you know that.” Her eyes blazed with fury.”


Hmm...

“Someone I knew used to be a tree-hugger before she got tired of squirrels and dancing naked through the trees. She didn’t have her powers, but she still knew the tongue. Whenever she got angry she’d start insulting people in druid. I don’t know what those words mean exactly, but I don’t reckon they’re part of any healing spell.” He grinned at her. “And I thought druids weren’t allowed a sense of humour.”


Hehe... Monty isn't exactly stupid...

“Yeah, no harm, no foul right?” Montaron spread his hands. “It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this anyway, so it changes nothing. As I said, should have bought healing potions. But druid, next time you try, don’t change your mind halfway through. The two kids might believe you fumble your healing, they might also believe I fumbled a crossbow shot.”

“We shall see, halfling. We shall see. And Khalid would not.”


And Monty would not stand a chance against Khalid in a sword fight. If the halfling was a bit smarter, he would not underestimate Khalid.

“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”


Lemme see... Marl + three thugs + Silke + assassin + five other thugs... I get eleven... :D

That would make one helluva jail sentence.

“Four actually. That rapist guy couldn’t walk, let alone fight.” Talek thought for a moment. “And I guess that guy with the big mouth had lost his weapon.”


“But you killed him anyway?” Khalid’s face was getting uncharacteristically angry.


You tell him, Khalid!

Khalid was really angry now. “Holding back? You’ve killed nine people and you’re telling me you’re holding back? You’re killing people like you don’t care. Gorion would be ashamed if he had to see this.”


Yes, he would - I'm pretty sure of that.

Talek breathed deeply a few times, looking at Jaheira and Khalid’s shocked faces. “So... you’ve got something to say.... say it then.”


Please say that you are leaving this s.o.b. You will only be sorry if you stay in his company... of course, I'm hoping it won't be the case. :evil:

Talek looked at the small bedroom in a kind of a daze.. Imoen had all but finished packing.


“Immy... am I sick?”


“I don’t know what is wrong with you Talek. But whatever you are, you’re my friend. And whatever the problem is, we’ll deal with it.”


First cure would be to get rid of Monty and Xzar's influence, I think. That was one very disturbing experience they had in Beregost. :x

#5 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 25 August 2003 - 12:49 PM


“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.


Hmm - I know Monty's a halfling, but even so would Immy be able to carry him that far?


Hm, I always thought halflings were about the size of children? And I guess Imoen is pretty distressed.

Poor Khalid - looks like Immy interrupted at a bad time :oops:


Well, bad time for THEM. Imoen got an eyefull for a moment there.


Khalid’s flushed face paled. “Get him on the bed. Jaheira, can you heal him?” Khalid quickly helped her putting the bleeding halfling on the bed. Jaheira had quickly wrapped her sheet around her like a toga and, shaking the last remnants of a dazed look out of her eyes, inspected the wounded halfling.


Fairly minor point, but you use 'quickly' twice in quick succession here - you might want to think about replacing one of them with a different word.


D'OH. Good call, thanks.


“This is a difficult healing under ideal circumstances child! It needs concentration.” Jaheira snapped “And being dragged out of be in the middle of the night is FAR from ideal circumstances. So keep silent if you don’t want to spoil his chances.”


Eep, someone's in a bad mood. Not Immy's fault Monty picked a rather inconvenient time to get injured.


Jaheira: Damn that halfling. I'll kill him, JUST for that.


“Calm down Xzar. She’s helping him.” Talek was holding the necromancer in a tight hold. Talek’s face had a scratch on his forehead, and was covered with more blood then could have come from the superficial wound.


Ah good, Talek made it.


And in the nick of time.


“O...of course s...she’s healing him, y...you l...lunatic.” Khalid said. Despite his stuttering he sounded rather vehement.


I think trying to reason with Xzar is probably a waste of time, really.


Yeah, but Khalid doesn't take kindly to insults to his wife.


“Sure,” Talek started. “We were walking around the city, Montaron got us some gold from a drunk guy. Then there was this guy in a bar who started a fight so I had to kill the bastard. Oh, I forgot the rapist. We were...”


Ok, if talek wants to stay out of trouble he should probably let Immy or Monty tell this story...


Immy I'd think. Unlikely Montaron is gonna tell Jaheira much at all. And what he says Jaheira wouldn't believe.


“I’ll be the judge of that.” The voice came from behind Talek. In the hallway, the old, cripple paladin held his quarterstaff ready in a battle stance. “I warned you about the consequences of villainy.” His hands tightened. “Yield to Helm’s justice or be prepared to be vanquished, cur.”


Oh, go away. No one asked you.


Noone expects the Helmite Inquisition. *gets slapped with a large trout for that OLD, OLD joke.


“That too, doesn’t concern you. Rest assured that I will deal with this. Now please leave us.”


“D...dearest. C...couldn’t you have s...said that a bit more diplomatic?”


Hey, given that it was Jaheira talking it wasn't a bad effort at diplomacy. And she's right, it is none of this guy's business.


Yes, but unlike Gamejag, polite society in the Forgotten realms frowns on regularly beating the crap out of paladins.


The paladin turned towards Imoen. “And you, milady. Don’t tell me you harbour this... this murderer.” Talek tensed.


This isn't going to end well, is it.


If Imoen hadn't pleaded with Talek, he might very well have killed the paladin for that.


“Khalid, you tie him up. As for you Talek and Imoen, you were about to tell me what on earth you were doing outside at this hour.” She looked at Montaron. “With him, I might add.”


Maybe this discussion should wait until morning, when everyone's calmed down a little bit...


Yeah, but by then Montaron might have found the chance to 'advise' Talek. (though it's likely Talek wouldn't understand the advice anyway)


“Ye go and gather our stuff. The druid is right. With those 5 dead on the street, things aren’t healthy for us here.”


Unfortunately i suspect that's the only thing that he and jaheira are going to agree on about the night's events...


Likely.


“Yeah, no harm, no foul right?” Montaron spread his hands. “It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this anyway, so it changes nothing. As I said, should have bought healing potions. But druid, next time you try, don’t change your mind halfway through. The two kids might believe you fumble your healing, they might also believe I fumbled a crossbow shot.”


Well, she did heal him in the end. And I can understand why she might have been tempted not to.


Yep, more because of Khalid then anything else really.


“We shall see, halfling. We shall see. And Khalid would not.”


“Your little footmat? I’ve known 13 year old girls who’d eat him for breakfast. Ye must be pretty desperate if ye’re counting on him, druid.”


But if anything were to happen to Jaheira, Monty would very quickly see a different side of Khalid. And it wouldn't be a side he'd like very much.


Indeed, not a side he'd SURVIVE very long.


Talek’s voice became louder as well. He came face to face with the red-haired half-elf. “Hey, I didn’t ask for trouble, okay? I just wanted a fun night on the town.”


:D Maybe, but a few more fun nights like that and you'll wind up dead or with every Flaming Fist in the district chasing you. Best listen to Khalid's advice, I think.


That's Talek problem. He knows he can't trust his own judgement calls, so he looks to his friends. But his friends say different things.


Khalid was really angry now. “Holding back? You’ve killed nine people and you’re telling me you’re holding back? You’re killing people like you don’t care. Gorion would be ashamed if he had to see this.”


:shock: That's going to make Talek angry, but it's probably true and hopefully Talek will realise that when he calms down a bit.


Talek has grown up with people telling him that he shames Gorion. He's too scared of it being true to consider it.


“You don’t know anything about Gorion. And you don’t know anyhin about me. If I wasn’t holding back, I’d have killed that Silke bitch as soon as she laid a finger on Imoen, I’d have killed that damn farmer for what he said, and that retard cripple too.” He pointed at the tied up paladin with his free hand. “If I didn’t hold back, I’d have killed half of bloody Candlekeep a long time ago. I’ve NEVER killed anyone before two days before, and still they’re after me, and I’M THE ONE THAT HAS TO HOLD BACK?” Talek screamed the last words in Khalid’s face. The half elf was making choking sounds as he tried to remove Talek’s arm from his neck.


I do feel sorry for talek, but killing Khalid as well certainly won't help anything...


He wouldn't actually do it. Just has to vent. There's plenty of steam.


Jaheira seemed to have recovered completely and returned to her usual confident self. “I wouldn’t be much of a druid if I would turn away people in need of healing.” She smiled. “And not much of a friend either.” Talek answered the smile weakly. “You go with Imoen and pack. We didn’t get much sleep tonight, but we’ll recover those hours in Nashkel.” She led the two to their room, making sure Montaron returned to his own room as well.


Aw, I'm glad Khalid and Jaheira took that attitude - Talek's going to need their help. And hopefully this conversation will make him more willing to accept their help than he was before.


Yep, until now they were sailing blind, now at least they have some idea what they're up against.


“Immy... am I sick?”


“I don’t know what is wrong with you Talek. But whatever you are, you’re my friend. And whatever the problem is, we’ll deal with it.”


:evil: Not going to be easy, though. If anything, things will only get harder for Talek because the more he kills, the more hold the taint will have on him.


Yep, and the dreams will start soon.

Great chapter - I didn't have any problems with the way you wrote Jaheira, I think it was perfectly in character for her to consider not healing Monty.


Thanks, I know Jaheira leans to the good side of neutral, so I worried a bit about some people's enjoyment of the story because of it.

I guess there's going to be even more tension between the Zhents and the Harpers after this - if/when it does come to the party splitting up, it will be very hard on Talek, especially if he has to decide who to stay with.


Oh yes, this situation won't last forever. And it's not gonna be easy on Talek.

#6 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 25 August 2003 - 12:55 PM

Excellent chapter :oops:


Thanks, :D I hope I can keep it up.

#7 Laufey

Posted 25 August 2003 - 01:08 PM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.


I'm perfectly cool with that. :oops: My Jaheira is more like NG I guess, since that's how I think she mostly behaves in the game, but I have no problem with different interpretations. The only thing that I might find a bit tiresome would be if she had this obsession with an artificial 'balance' the way it's described in the TN alignment sheet.

Anyway, I enjoyed this look at Jaheira! She's a strong woman, and I believe she could be ruthless if she felt it was warranted enough. I didn't figure out until the end exactly what she was doing, actually. And Montaron's little conversation with her was very amusing, I see them coming to blows before long now.

Oh yes...and I also see Talek coming to blows with them soon, literally or not. With his short temper, I think it will happen sooner rather than later, unless Imoen holds him back.
Rogues do it from behind.

#8 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 25 August 2003 - 01:12 PM

[quote][quote] warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.
[/quote]

No probs. You've already established that in previous chapter and I've grown used to that. Can't go back now, gotta stay true to this characterization from now on. [/quote]

Right, heh, thought of you in the first place when I wrote this. Good to hear it doesn't irritate people.

[quote] [quote]
“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.
[/quote]

Damn, Rand! You just had to interrupt them in such moment! And they don't have a lot of time left together, whatever happens... :evil: [/quote]

Ah well, there'll be plenty of nights.

[quote] [quote]
Khalid’s flushed face paled. “Get him on the bed. Jaheira, can you heal him?” Khalid quickly helped her putting the bleeding halfling on the bed. Jaheira had quickly wrapped her sheet around her like a toga and, shaking the last remnants of a dazed look out of her eyes, inspected the wounded halfling.
[/quote]

Theo: Can I please finish off what Khalid started?

Scribe: Oh, dear... can't you think of anything else? [/quote]

Can any of us? But I DID think Jaheira said she needed concentration.

[quote] [quote]
Khalid and Imoen were just about to head out when a shrieking voice stopped them. “MONTY! The rabbits are eating Monty. Don’t worry, I’ll save you. DIE RABBITS!” Xzar started moving his hands and chanting magical words himself. Imoen and Khalid reached for their weapons. Jaheira stopped in mid syllable. Then an arm came from behind and grabbed Xzar, breaking off the spell.
[/quote]

Xzar really has a deathwish. [/quote]

Yep, though as it is, he might very well drag some people with him.

[quote] [quote]
“Calm down Xzar. She’s helping him.” Talek was holding the necromancer in a tight hold. Talek’s face had a scratch on his forehead, and was covered with more blood then could have come from the superficial wound.
[/quote]

[quote]
“Talek!” Imoen said “You’re okay!”
[/quote]

Yeah, but those five thugs are not. [/quote]

You bet.

[quote] [quote]
“You should be careful.” Jaheira said, but her voice didn’t hold a shred of concern. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. Now, can someone tell me what happened?” Her voice got a sharp edge at the last word.
[/quote]

Yep, go ahead and explain... [/quote]

Of course, Talek COMPLETELY misses that sharp edge.

[quote] [quote]
“I’ll be the judge of that.” The voice came from behind Talek. In the hallway, the old, cripple paladin held his quarterstaff ready in a battle stance. “I warned you about the consequences of villainy.” His hands tightened. “Yield to Helm’s justice or be prepared to be vanquished, cur.”
[/quote]

Well, I have to say that the old fool has a point now... I think that aura of EEEEvilness around Talek is pretty easy to detect. [/quote]

Hey, paladins can't be wrong ALL the time, can they. Of course, Talek is still trying not to be evil, so what he's doing is counter-productive.

[quote] [quote]
“You assume too much responsibility, paladin.” Jaheira raised herself o full heigth. Even dressed in a sheet and unarmed, she still managed to look intimidating. “The boy is my responsibility. This doesn’t concern you.”
[/quote]

Oooooh, I bet she looked really sexy... :oops: [/quote]

Was there a time she wasn't? :D

[quote] [quote]
“That too, doesn’t concern you. Rest assured that I will deal with this. Now please leave us.”
[/quote]

[quote]
“D...dearest. C...couldn’t you have s...said that a bit more diplomatic?”
[/quote]

Why? [/quote]

Polite society frowns on kicking the crap out of cripple old paladins.

[quote] [quote]
“He is not a murderer. He’s like my little brother. And yeah, I’m harbouring him. For one, I know he’s innocent, cause I was with him all night.” She smirked.
[/quote]

Innocent... really? I would not have minded the other killings, but the 'Feldepost thugs' spoiled my view, I'm afraid. [/quote]

He is innocent. In the literal 'doesn't know of any evil' meaning of the word. He honestly believed they were enchanters. Besides, Talek needs to know he has people backing him up on moments like this.

[quote] [quote]
“Khalid, you tie him up. As for you Talek and Imoen, you were about to tell me what on earth you were doing outside at this hour.” She looked at Montaron. “With him, I might add.”
[/quote]

I'd think you need to clarify that it is Jaheira who is speaking. Sure she addresses Imoen and there are only two females in the group, so its no biggie, but still... [/quote]

Check, I know I have a tendency to forget the reader can't see what's in my head.

[quote] [quote]
“Ye go and gather our stuff. The druid is right. With those 5 dead on the street, things aren’t healthy for us here.”
[/quote]

I think that's the first time Monty and Jaheira ever agreed on anything... [/quote]

And it might be the last time as well.

[quote] [quote]
After the paladin was tied up, everyone but Talek and Khalid left the room. Xzar and Imoen returned to their own room while Jaheira and Montaron stood acorss each other in the hallway.
[/quote]

'across' [/quote]

D'OH! :x

[quote] [quote]
“No need for threats, druid. I already know just how badly you want us gone.” He sneered at her. “Tell me, what does” he clumsily spoke a series of syllables “mean?”
[/quote]

[quote]
Jaheira’s face froze at the words. “If you ask them, you know what they mean. How did you know that.” Her eyes blazed with fury.”
[/quote]

Hmm... [/quote]

Heh, druidic is supposed to be her secret language. It's like Montaron suddenly pulled an ace out of her sleeve.

[quote] [quote]
“Someone I knew used to be a tree-hugger before she got tired of squirrels and dancing naked through the trees. She didn’t have her powers, but she still knew the tongue. Whenever she got angry she’d start insulting people in druid. I don’t know what those words mean exactly, but I don’t reckon they’re part of any healing spell.” He grinned at her. “And I thought druids weren’t allowed a sense of humour.”
[/quote]

Hehe... Monty isn't exactly stupid... [/quote]

Nope, in many ways not.

[quote] [quote]
“Yeah, no harm, no foul right?” Montaron spread his hands. “It’s not like I wasn’t expecting this anyway, so it changes nothing. As I said, should have bought healing potions. But druid, next time you try, don’t change your mind halfway through. The two kids might believe you fumble your healing, they might also believe I fumbled a crossbow shot.”

“We shall see, halfling. We shall see. And Khalid would not.”
[/quote]

And Monty would not stand a chance against Khalid in a sword fight. If the halfling was a bit smarter, he would not underestimate Khalid. [/quote]

And in other ways he is. Someone like Montaron would definately see Khalid's personality as 'weak'

[quote] [quote]
“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”
[/quote]

Lemme see... Marl + three thugs + Silke + assassin + five other thugs... I get eleven... :shock:

That would make one helluva jail sentence. [/quote]

Well, one of Feldepost's thugs and Silke were done in by Montaron. Still not easy to explain that to the Fist though.

[quote] [quote]
“Four actually. That rapist guy couldn’t walk, let alone fight.” Talek thought for a moment. “And I guess that guy with the big mouth had lost his weapon.”
[/quote]

[quote]
“But you killed him anyway?” Khalid’s face was getting uncharacteristically angry.
[/quote]

You tell him, Khalid! [/quote]

Yep, Khalid CAN get angry.

[quote] [quote]
Khalid was really angry now. “Holding back? You’ve killed nine people and you’re telling me you’re holding back? You’re killing people like you don’t care. Gorion would be ashamed if he had to see this.”
[/quote]

Yes, he would - I'm pretty sure of that. [/quote]

Probably, though Gorion would know more about the reason for Talek.

[quote] [quote]
Talek breathed deeply a few times, looking at Jaheira and Khalid’s shocked faces. “So... you’ve got something to say.... say it then.”
[/quote]

Please say that you are leaving this s.o.b. You will only be sorry if you stay in his company... of course, I'm hoping it won't be the case. :( [/quote]

You think Jaheira lets something trivial like her charge being mildly psychopathic stop her? Hah. Of course, Talek, expected them to leave.

[quote] [quote]
Talek looked at the small bedroom in a kind of a daze.. Imoen had all but finished packing.
[/quote]

[quote]
“Immy... am I sick?”
[/quote]

[quote]
“I don’t know what is wrong with you Talek. But whatever you are, you’re my friend. And whatever the problem is, we’ll deal with it.”
[/quote]

First cure would be to get rid of Monty and Xzar's influence, I think. That was one very disturbing experience they had in Beregost. :([/quote] [/quote]

Yep, but Talek doesn't have many friends. Never had. Not easy for him to let anyone go.

#9 Guest_Hunter_*

Posted 26 August 2003 - 07:33 AM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.


I could imagine that she would be.

“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.


So what.

Xzar struggled against Xzar’s grip, screaming like he was being tortured. “Let me go, LET ME GO. Stop touching me! LET ME GO! Bad bunny, BAD, BAD BUNNY!” Xzar fought with all his might, but Talek’s grip didn’t budge.


“Xzar, calm down. It’s me, Talek. Not a bunny. There aren’t any bunnies here.”


Totally lunatic.

“Shut yer trap boy!” Montaron snarled, then grabbed his head dizzily a moment. “It’s.... none of her business.”


“Oh, but I think it IS.” Jaheira commented.


Too late. Boss jaheira will want to know.

“Regardless, I think it would be better for everyone’s health if you WOULD leave.” Jaheira said. It was said as casual as she could.


Agreed.

“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”


Which makes him a simple murderer.

#10 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 26 August 2003 - 08:08 AM


“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”


Which makes him a simple murderer.


While I do agree that killing those three 'thugs' was not an act of righteousness and it did spoil my view on Talek a bit, I do see that there are a lot of mitigating circumstances that can be used to soften the otherwise quite horrible deed - I hope you do see at least some of them as well.

Overgeneralizing statements on author's original characters like 'bastard', 'bitch', 'murderer' are not exactly an example of feedback that an author wishes and expects to recieve. However, if you would elaborate on why do you see Talek the way you do, would hold much more useful information to the author.

Remember, the writers just might love their evil original characters too.

Just my 0.02.$

#11 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 26 August 2003 - 09:06 PM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.


I'm perfectly cool with that. :wink: My Jaheira is more like NG I guess, since that's how I think she mostly behaves in the game, but I have no problem with different interpretations. The only thing that I might find a bit tiresome would be if she had this obsession with an artificial 'balance' the way it's described in the TN alignment sheet.


Nah... she'd be a bit sceptic over all organisations claiming to 'eradicate all evil', and she might at some point make a mention ove rhow everything has his place, but she's not gonna... what's it called? Help hobgoblins when they're being threathened with extinction? She's just... really dedicated to keep Talek safe.

Anyway, I enjoyed this look at Jaheira! She's a strong woman, and I believe she could be ruthless if she felt it was warranted enough. I didn't figure out until the end exactly what she was doing, actually. And Montaron's little conversation with her was very amusing, I see them coming to blows before long now.


Yep; the clock is ticking under the party.

Oh yes...and I also see Talek coming to blows with them soon, literally or not. With his short temper, I think it will happen sooner rather than later, unless Imoen holds him back.


Yeah, though at the end of this chapter, he was emotionally drained. Any Paladins or Fists that want to call Talek a murderous thug WITHOUT getting an angry Talek might want to do it now.

#12 Guest_Rand Al'Tor_*

Posted 26 August 2003 - 09:23 PM

warning. I like to write Jaheira True Neutral. As in 'dedicated to the point of less then moral acts' and in this story, it shows.


I could imagine that she would be.


Good, so we're still talking about the same Jaheira. (I AM writing for an audience after all)


“JAHEIRA! KHALID! WAKE UP!” There were some screams from other rooms to keep quiet before the door went open. Khalid was standing in the opening, a pillow for modesty in one hand and a sword in the other. There was a brief moment when Imoen saw that his body was sweaty and Khalid looked VERY awake before worry overtook embarrassment again. “It’s Montaron. He’s been hurt.” She took off the cloak.


So what.


:wink: I just imagined Jaheira yelling 'give him an aspirin and call me if he isn't better in the morning'


Xzar struggled against Xzar’s grip, screaming like he was being tortured. “Let me go, LET ME GO. Stop touching me! LET ME GO! Bad bunny, BAD, BAD BUNNY!” Xzar fought with all his might, but Talek’s grip didn’t budge.


“Xzar, calm down. It’s me, Talek. Not a bunny. There aren’t any bunnies here.”


Totally lunatic.


At least Talek will know for sure he won't be the WORST lunatic.


“Shut yer trap boy!” Montaron snarled, then grabbed his head dizzily a moment. “It’s.... none of her business.”


“Oh, but I think it IS.” Jaheira commented.


Too late. Boss jaheira will want to know.


And Talek WANTS to tell. It involved swords.


“Regardless, I think it would be better for everyone’s health if you WOULD leave.” Jaheira said. It was said as casual as she could.


Agreed.


Jaheira, mistress of subtle threats.


“That’s not what I am talking about Talek. Do you realise you’ve killed nine people tonight? And three of them couldn’t defend themselves properly.”


Which makes him a simple murderer.


Well... legaly spoken, the two Feldpost thugs might be considered criminal negligence. He actually thought they were a threat. It would be like shooting people when someone had told you they had a gun, before actually SEEING the gun (But I'm no legal whiz) And I guess Marl still fits under self-defence. The rapist (and the mouthy rapist's friend) WERE murder though. Especially the rapist.

But hey, I don't expect Talek to be NEARLY as well liked as Rini, Laska or even Theodur. (liked as in 'being seen as a 'nice guy', not as in a 'good character.' Talek is NOT a nice guy and he's NOT generally likeable. So don't worry about any antipathic feelings you may have towards him. Just warn me when you start to find it unpleasant to read about him.

But as it stands, Talek IS a murderer. (then again, So is the universally loved Rini. Her personal vengeance on Rieltar can't really be called self-defence.) (in a way it was murder AND torture by proxy really, but I'm drifting) Of course, at the moment, he's a murderer that doesn't want to be one.




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