And these next few chapters are going to be slightly dark, as it is finally time for Edwina to find out what she’s wanted to know about Kane’s past. The Nether Scroll Disaster: Part 13
Later that night, when he was sure that all his companions were either in their rooms or too occupied with their own business to notice if he wasn’t there, Benny slipped out of the Copper Coronet and made his way across the city to the Mithrest Inn. After leaving Renal, he had made enquires and soon learnt that the person who was searching for him was apparently staying there. The assassin wasn’t surprised, unlike most of the other city inns, the Mithrest only catered for those who had money and commoners and thugs were generally made unwelcome. Just the right place for one of Elminster’s status.
He wasn’t particularly looking forward to this meeting, already knowing more or less what the wizard wanted to discuss with him. Elminster and the Harpers just didn’t know when to give up and although Benny had contacts among them, in reality he couldn’t stand their meddling. And this was no exception.
As he entered the Promenade, the shapeshifter wasn’t surprised when three men stepped from the shadows, for he had heard them following him several minutes before, obviously believing that a lone cloaked figure would be an easy target. There was another in the shadows by the fountain, a crossbow in his hand, who was trying to hide himself in the darkness, but the assassin’s sharp eyes noticed him at once. They were thieves but young ones, not particularly experienced. Beneath his dark hood, Benny smiled slightly, remembering the days when he had been young and inexperienced, so many years ago. Everyone had to start somewhere he knew, and with the correct training, some of them went far. As long as they didn’t go around threatening people in the dark anyway. If you threatened the wrong person, it was one of the fastest ways to get yourself killed.
“Hold!” One of them ordered. “Hand over all of your valuables and maybe we’ll make your death quick.”
Benny made no move, merely sighed and wondered why so many thieves were such idiots. Had the hood of his cloak been down, revealing the scar on his face, perhaps they would have thought twice about challenging him…but then, perhaps not. Rumours about him were still whispered in the streets, but he knew that many chose to disregard the things said, chose to believe that he was no better than them, chose to believe that age was catching up with him.
“Well?” the man repeated impatiently. “Drop your weapons and give us anything you have of value. I’ll not ask again.”
Benny moved so quickly that the first man barely had a chance to realise what was happening until the assassin grabbed his wrist and twisted it hard, snapping the bone and sending the sword falling to the ground. A single blow to the jaw sent the man to the ground, only semi-conscious. Spinning around, lettin his cloak fly wild to catch the crossbow bolt fired by the man in the shadows, Benny drew his sword and waited for the other two to come in. And came they did. The assassin ducked between the two and came up behind them, grabbing one by the hair and kicking him swiftly in the back of the knees, jabbing his sword into the man’s back as he fell. Melting back into the shadows, he came up behind the man with the crossbow, who had just been ready to fire, and slitting his throat before the man even knew he was there. The fourth man, suddenly realising what he was up against, turned and fled. Benny made no attempt to go after him; he just didn’t see the point. Hopefully the youth would learn something from this encounter…though he doubted it.
Feeling better after the fight, much of his earlier tension gone, the assassin adjusted his cloak and continued to the inn. It didn’t take him long to spot Elminster, the place wasn’t crowded and the wizard’s red robes and hat could be spotted a mile away. So silently did he move that even the wizard didn’t notice Benny until the assassin was almost right in front of him.
“Greetings Scarface,” he greeted, addressing the assassin by his working name. “I was wondering when you would hear that I was looking for you and seek me out. It has been a while.”
“Indeed,” Benny shrugged off the greeting and sat opposite the wizard, leaning forward slightly, his muscles tense. “To tell you the truth, I am surprised to see you. I would have thought that there would be more important things for you to worry about than a single Bhaalspawn.”
“I was merely passing through,” As the assassin pulled down his hood; Elminster studied him for a moment. “I wanted to see for myself if the rumours that you had returned to Kane Theaza’s side really were true. And I feel that there is something you should know. The Harpers are uneasy having such a dangerous Bhaalspawn within the city, Benny. They fear him and consider him an enemy as he has murdered some of them in the past. Unless he leaves the city permanently, they are seriously considering taking steps to ensure that he will be no danger to them, the balance or anything else.”
“First the Red Wizards and then the Harpers,” Benny muttered, shaking his head. “Sometimes I wish that Kane would stop and think a little before doing things that make powerful organisations want to kill him. Is that what they are planning, or do they have something else in mind?”
“Permanent imprisonment,” Elminster said, though Benny could tell that he was more than a little reluctant to say. “And before you ask, shapeshifter, although I do not blame them for wanting a potential dangerous enemy out of the way, I am leaving the city tomorrow and will have no part in this. I would advise you to stand back too and not interfere. The Harpers care little for you and you know well that they are not a group to cross.”
“So you’re saying that I’m just supposed to stand back and let them imprison him?”
“It would be in your best interest to do so,” Elminster informed him. “The Harpers have no wish to fight you, Benny, and they want to harm no one else. They just wish for Kane to be locked away, where he can do no more harm. To them or anyone else.” The shapeshifter sat up straighter and started to speak, but the wizard held up his hand to silence him. “You know as well as I do the things he has done in the past. Gorion tried to help him and yet Kane still aided Sarevok in killing him. He murdered two Harpers, friends of Gorion’s, who would have helped him too if he had given them a chance.”
“Kane never would have trusted them,” Benny pointed out. “It isn’t in his nature to trust people.”
“And as his power grows,” the wizard continued, “the taint within him will be even harder for him to resist. He’ll be a danger to everyone he comes into contact with, including you. Is that really a risk worth taking?”
“Yes,” the assassin said simply. “Ten years I’ve been apart from him, ten long years. In letting Gorion take him, I thought I was doing the best for him, but the only thing it did was cause both of us pain and I spent all those years regretting it. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together. I won’t lose him again, not now.
“Your attachment to him worries me,” Elminster said thoughtfully. “He is not your son, Benny. No matter how much you wish he were-”
“Maybe not,” the assassin interrupted. “Maybe not in blood, no, but what does blood matter anyway? I’ll tell you this, Elminster, I love that boy more than anything in the world and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for him. And he loves me and trusts me because I am the only person who has ever really cared for him. I’d even fight you to keep him safe. And I can assure you too that I would not be standing alone. I have others who will fight to protect him, no matter what he has done in the past.” His voice softened slightly. “I do accept that you have no wish to be involved either way, however, and I thank you for giving me a warning. You have brought me some time, and I will not forget it.”
“I did not wish it to be this way,” Elminster stood up, “but I knew when I came here that you would not be persuaded to leave Kane again. I can only hope that things work out in the end, for you and for him. He is not a bad man despite what many think, merely a misguided and angry one. You are right of course, he listens to you and you alone, and maybe your love can keep him from the path of unredeemable evil in the future. I am sure that we will meet again sometime in the future, but take care of yourself and the boy.”
As the wizard left the tavern, Benny put his head in his hands and sighed. Things were beginning to get difficult, with the Red Wizards attacking from one side and the Harpers attacking from the other, and they had no group to rely on for aid, not with the Shadow Thieves being so badly weakened by the guild war. Unless…a small idea began to form in his mind. Unless they brought in some outside help. And he knew just the person…
**********
The following morning, Kane decided that it was time they tried the various temples in the city to see if Edwina’s curse could be removed. As he expected, Edwina was delighted at the prospect of possibly changing back to a male, though she was less than pleased when Viconia announced that she would be joining them as she had nothing else to do. Cory also decided that he would come with them, partly because he was curious to see if any priest would be able to succeed and partly because he was bored. The dwarves hadn’t yet got up, still recovering from their heavy drinking session the night before and Benny was nowhere to be found. Kane was briefly concerned, but he trusted the shapeshifter not to desert him again. He’d turn up again sooner or later, when he was ready.
First they tried the temple of Ilmater located above the Copper Coronet, but they had no luck. Because the Nether Scroll had been so powerful, it would take more than simple dispel magic to reverse it. Not a group to give up easily, they tried several more, but got the same result. No one seemed to have the power to help Edwina.
“So I guess this is it,” Edwina whispered finally. “There is no one who has the power to help me. I am never going to be changed back, am I?”
“Of course you are!” Kane said at once. “Don’t you dare say things like that. Kane Theaza never gives up and I will find a way to get you turned back. Trust me.”
“So the rumours are true,” a low female voice came suddenly from behind them. “Kane Theaza once again walks the streets of Athkatla.”
“I know that voice,” Kane growled, quickly turning around. “As I recall, it was a voice that I never wanted to hear again.”
“That’s not my fault!” the woman spat. “I didn’t think that I’d go to stay with friends in Trademeet and return to hear that Kane Theaza had returned to his home. I never exactly wanted to see your face again either!”
Cory looked confused and Viconia’s eyes narrowed slightly. At first Edwina couldn’t help but wonder who the woman was, since she could swear that she looked vaguely familiar. Then suddenly she had remembered an incident from a few months before, the woman and Kane had had a confrontation in Baldur’s Gate just after the wizard had joined Kane’s group. She had turned up in the city with a group of warriors while Kane had still been working for Sarevok, just before the Bhaalspawn had gone mad and met his death on the end of his brother’s sword. She looked different now though, thinner and more pale, and she had swapped the tunic and chain mail she had once worn for the simple clothes of a commoner, carrying only a single dagger for protection.
“You have a lot of nerve, Crystal.” Kane sounded half shocked and half annoyed by her sudden appearance. “Facing me alone…how brave.” He smirked cruelly. “I can’t help but notice that you’ve decided to follow the path of a peasant rather than a warrior, not that it surprises me. You never were any good at fighting.”
“I only trained in the hope that I might one day kill you,” she glared at him, hatred in her eyes. “Until I realised that as much as I hated you then and hate you still, my desire for revenge was turning me into something just like you. A monster. And that is something I never wanted to be. And in any case, I have a child who needs me now.”
“No father?” Kane taunted. “Let me guess, he’s one of the drunks sleeping in the gutter somewhere in the slums? Or did he walk out on you when he discovered that you were a good for nothing whore?”
“You’re a bastard!” Crystal spat, taking great care to keep quite a distance between her and the warrior. “You’ll never change and I pity any child who ends up calling you father.”
“Your words wound me deeply,” there could be no mistaking the sarcasm in Kane’s voice. Despite herself, Edwina could not help but feel some small amount of pity for the woman and she glanced round at the rest of her companions. Both were watching the scene with more than a little interest, but had the sense to stay nothing. When the wizard made a move to go forward, Cory put a hand on her arm and gently pulled her back.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “They have a personal feud and Kane will not welcome your interference. Let them deal with it themselves.”
“Kane!” Despite knowing that his young friend was most probably right, Edwina had to say something. This encounter was showing her a side of Kane that, although she had seen a few times before, she didn’t like. “Come on, let’s go. She isn’t worth our time.”
“No, I suppose I’m not,” As Kane hesitated and took a small step back, obviously trying to decide whether to carry on his argument with Crystal there or stop it for fear of upsetting his lover, the woman turned her eyes to Edwina. “You standing there in your expensive robes, a Red Wizard, I’ve heard the rumours, looking down at me because I’m not as good as you. I suppose you are Kane’s latest lover. Well I pity you too!”
“Crystal!” the Bhaalspawn warned. “Don’t push me!”
“You want to get away from him while you still can,” she continued, taking no notice of his warning. “This man is completely evil, I know him only as a murderer and a rapist, but there are those who call him many other names and none of them pleasant. He takes what he wants, when he wants it, regardless of who gets hurt in the process. He’s a monster, not capable of feeling anything, not for anyone. And sooner or later, he’ll hurt you, just like he hurts everyone else. He-”
She was cut off as Kane swiftly moved forward and backhanded her in the face, a hard blow that knocked her to the floor. Before she could rise, or indeed make any attempt to move, the warrior pulled out one of his long swords and pointed it at her, the tip just inches from her face, silently warning her of the consequences if she should move. Edwina glanced at Cory, confused and upset by everything she had just heard. The assassin shrugged and started to say something but then thought better of it, while Viconia just smirked coldly, obviously enjoying the scene before her.
“Your problem,” he said dangerously, “is that you never know when to shut up. Or back off for that matter. Carlo got exactly what he deserved and I don’t regret what I did to him or my father. And you’ll be next if I ever see your face again. Forget what happened and work harder on letting go of your anger, because next time I will kill you. Even if it’s just to get some bloody peace.”
Removing his sword and sliding it back into his scabbard, he turned without another word and walked off, back in the direction of the tavern. Cory raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Crystal, but still kept silent, not seeming the less bit surprised by the conversation he had just witnessed. Edwina followed them too, though the whole conversation had left her in more of a daze. What Crystal had said to her affected her more than anything. She was well aware that Kane had a very bad reputation, and not without reason but Crystal’s words wouldn’t leave her mind. The woman had said some terrible things and what Edwina wanted to know was if there had been any truth in what she had said. The woman was lying, she was almost certain of that, and yet she knew that she would never be completely satisfied until she had spoken to Kane. She needed answers from him and she needed them quickly.
Next chapter: Edwina learns more about her lover’s past as she attempts to get some much needed answers and Cory and Kagain get a shock when they discover why the Red Wizard is looking for Edwin.
