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Rush Of Blood To The Head, part 4.6.


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#1 Guest_Theodur_*

Posted 16 September 2003 - 04:36 PM

Rush Of Blood To The Head, part 4.6.

With a slightly lighter heart I lead Imoen over to our two other companions, still some quiet doubts linger in my mind. I am certain that Imoen will hold her promise and will not tell Jaheira a thing – in the same time, I know that sometimes words are not even necessary as actions can speak much more clearly…

“Heya, Vic,” Imoen greets the drow first, “I am so glad to see you again… how did you came to be here, anyways? I thought we parted for good in Baldur’s Gate…”

“I am starting to remember exactly why I found this pink one so annoying – she’s going to pester us with questions again, isn’t she?” Viconia sighs, “well, I have one for you – how do you feel suddenly discovering that you are not only an insipidly cheerful little girl, but also a soulless child of a dead god?”

“Viconia! This is not a laughing matter, keep your mouth shut unless you have something important to say,” Jaheira admonishes Viconia before turning her attention to Imoen, “child how do you feel, are you well?”

“Hello, Jaheira,” Imoen replies politely and reservedly, “I feel well enough, if a little dazed… your spells sure helped, thanks a bunch…” she says before allowing Jaheira to embrace her. I see that Imoen’s hands rise slowly and reluctantly to answer Jaheira’s hug, but maybe I am just getting slightly paranoid.

Jaheira does not pester Imoen with further questions and for that I am very thankful to her – instead she hands me my gear and gives Imoen some of the equipment we have gathered for her during our travels. I also give up my bow I picked from the Beastmaster’s dead body – since I am too busy in hand-to-hand fighting there is no need to carry around a very useful weaponry without putting it to its designed use. I remember that Immy has an excellent hand-to-eye coordination so she now gets to use the bow, even if she has not practiced archery as of late – ranged support will be helpful to us.

Before moving on through the maze, I feel obliged to clarify exactly how big is Imoen’s knowledge of magic – after all, that is a part of her that I simply do not know anything about and have not had a chance to explore. She explains that before Irenicus took control of the asylum, she has been picking up bits and pieces from the more sane inhabitants of the asylum… she has also used her rogue skills to help herself to some spell scrolls and the elderly elven mage, Dradeel, has lent some bits of advice to her. When he wasn’t too badly bothered by his wolfwere friends, that is.

I ask her about Edwin, but she replies that he was brought here in the last day of Wanev’s ruling and she hasn’t had any contacts with Eddie. My calculative mind is already scheming that it would be very convenient to get the Thaywian to help Imoen advance in her studies of magic – undoubtedly her progress would be much more faster then, rather than her own attempts, no doubt clumsy and costing us valuable time.

Having equipped ourselves and found out exactly what and how much support we can expect from Imoen, we tackle the labyrinths themselves. From what Bodhi told us, I understand that the idea of this maze was to test the mental condition of the asylum’s patients. Well, I think that by putting one in such a maze, his condition is inevitably only going to worsen. Being under imminent threat of death at every step, can’t help when dealing with mentally ill – it usually makes even a completely sane person go mad.

We move through the passageways carefully, they are filled with most dangerous creatures and sometimes our advancement depends on solving some tricky riddles – I am glad that we have Imoen back with us, as she is an expert when it comes to riddles. We are forced to take small breaks often to heal ourselves and recuperate – I use these moments to question Imoen about all that she has been made to endure during her stay here. Apparently, it was all very peaceful and she was mostly left alone and not abused, until Irenicus took control a week or so ago…

“Same things as in the dungeon…” she sniffs, “and worse… you know much of it yourself, Theo…”

Yes, I know what she means, but I fear that it has been much more harder for her. Irenicus mentioned that I was aware of my heritage… I shudder to think about what measures it took to make poor Imoen become aware of the taint inside her.

I use these little pauses to tell her about our rocky road to Spellhold and about our adventures in Athkatla. Even I feel a bit uneasy, I do not hesitate to tell her everything that could make her more sympathetic to Jaheira, the mention of rape making Imoen wince and hearing of Yoshimo’s involvement and his treachery eliciting tears from her eyes as she hugs me fiercely. Even though I have not lied or framed up a thing, I don’t feel very good about this little manipulation with Imoen’s feelings…

“I guess you weren’t telling a lie Theo, when you said that she needed you,” she whispers in my ear. I chose to remain silent, hoping that Imoen will eventually understand the depth of my feelings towards Jaheira, without the need of having me to explain it to her in words. And I feel the resolve to tell Jaheira the truth after all, growing… and then there will be no barriers between the three of us…

I snap out of my daydreaming with a chilling thought… there isn’t likely to be any happy ending however as Irenicus, Bodhi and this deadly maze will likely prove to be too much for us to handle.

Some of the monsters we encounter here are amongst the most dangerous foes that we have ever faced – for example the huge, growling umber hulks with their massive paws that can cause a world of hurt if one is careless around them, with their gaze being able to cause confusion so that the affected is unable to tell a friend from a foe. We have been able to defeat several batches of these creatures without taking much damage ourselves, Imoen proves to be a reliable scout indeed.

Different kinds of golems present another problem, Jaheira’s knowledge of golem lore proves crucial and her ironskin protection spell allows her to emerge from yet another battle victorious and unscathed. I am quite annoyed having to watch her and Viconia tackle the massive clay constructs alone as she has forbidden me to join them in fight as swords and other bladed weapons are useless against these types of creatures, besides it is absolutely suicidal to engage in melee with them without carrying a shield. I am forced to watch, dying from anxiety, as she and Viconia uses their clubs and maces to good effect and the large clay golems fall to pieces eventually.

“That’s one darn useful spell, I don’t remember her having something like that,” Immy comments on Jaheira’s ironskins as the last of the clay golems fall, “I wonder if it is the same as my stoneskin spell… boy, did it feel creepy when I cast it for the first time…”

“I guess it is quite similar,” I reply, feeling glad that Imoen is not giving into the depression that this place can erect so easily, “my heart is so much easier now that she can protect herself like that…”

“Heh, sure… but what happens if… well,” Imoen blushes slightly and lowers her voice to a whisper, “if you want to get… well… all mushy and she is… well, the spell is still active? Hehe…”

“Ha, how naughty of you, little sis…” I whisper back to the giggling Imoen, “she can discard it whenever she likes it… and no – you don’t need to cast dispel magic every time… that would be a pain as the spell can fail and I would be stuck with… eh… err…”

“Well, if you ask me she was an iron lady before,” Imoen giggles, “now she’s an iron lady in a literal sense of the word, hehe…”

The opposition proves to become tougher and more dangerous as we move forward - Viconia’s clerical powers help us to deal with some very dangerous undead monsters such as mummies, skeletal warriors and even a sole vampire, who didn’t look to be one of Bodhi’s underlings. There is not a lot of time to muse about it, for we have to make a run for our lives as we blindly stumble upon a lich… and nobody of us is really up to fight with something as powerful as a lich.

We battle through several other rooms and passageways filled with trolls and minotaurs and somehow I get the impression that we are nearing our destination whether it is an exit of this maze or ultimately – our death… Bodhi’s presence in the next room we enter only confirms my suspicions…

“Here, mousey mousey, the hunt draws to a close here and now,” Bodhi’s taunting words cut in my heart.

“I know that it was foolish of me to hope that you would actually give us any chance to escape,” I reply bitterly.

“Yes, I know that I am early, but I just couldn't bear to see you leave,” Bodhi flashes a toothy grin, “You performed most amusingly, but now the game is over. One last time, let our paths cross in blood!”

My heart clenches as the meaning of Bodhi’s words finally sinks in, as I look at her and her numerous underlings, I understand that we have no chance… the thought of losing everything in this dark, rotten place is unbearable… I look in Jaheira’s tense face, droplets of sweat dripping over her forehead and I know that she is not going to die without a fight… Imoen is looking slightly scared, but there is also a creepy, grim resolve in her ever-so-childish green eyes. Viconia glances at me somewhat accusingly as if to chastise me for dragging her into this whole mess, but I also see a glimpse of compassion and determination in her eyes.

“YOU DON’T HAVE TO DIE HERE.”

Suddenly I hear a booming voice ringing in my head and I recognize the source of it soon enough… daddy sure picks odd moments for a chat.

“Well, the odds are clearly against me,” I reply mentally, “looks like another two of your offsprings are going to bite it… sorry, I guess I was a disappointment all the way, dad…”

“SO, YOU WILL ALLOW THEM TO SLAUGHTER YOURSELF IN THIS DARK PLACE, JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR HELP?”

“Since when do you go around offering your help without asking anything in return, father? I don’t think I want to deal with the likes of you…”

“SO YOU WOULD RATHER DIE YOURSELF THAN ACCEPT MY HELP? AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE YOU CLAIM TO… LOVE? YOU COULD HELP THEM, IF YOU CHOSE TO.”

“How?” the question immediately springs in my mind.

“I CAN GRANT YOU THE POWER TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES. YOU AND YOUR COMPANIONS DO NOT HAVE TO DIE HERE. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO ASK… ASK ME TO GIVE YOU THE POWER.”

“Yes, father… yes, I agree… but this will be the only time I deal with you – I don’t think I can trust you… Grant me the power to crush Bodhi and her vampires,” I suddenly feel that the blood in my veins is growing hot and I realize that the only thing on my mind is to kill, to tear into someone’s soft flesh, to see the red blood flowing openly…

“Give me the power! GIVE ME THE POWER! GIVE ME THE POWER!” At first I do not realize that I am not conversing mentally with Bhaal anymore, but am screaming these words out aloud… the last thing I remember before images in my head become blurry is the expression of horror on Jaheira’s face as she grabs the shocked Imoen by the hand and drags her away down the passageway.

I have only vague memories of what transpired afterwards. I felt my hands digging into flesh, tearing up bodies and tossing around bloody body parts around the corridors… the screams of pain and panic of my victims around me only increased my hunger to kill… I stopped only when there was nobody alive in my sight…

After that… there is only darkness.




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