Very sorry about the length, I couldn’t cut it any more than I already have and it turned out pretty long. Hopefully the middle part, the dream bit, makes sense, I’m a little worried that it might be confusing. Slightly disturbing scenes in the middle, they’re probably nothing but I’m putting a warning to be on the safe side. The Nether Scroll Disaster: Part 16
When Benny arrived back at the Copper Coronet, he found Viconia waiting in his room. His wound was still bleeding fairly heavily, a coldness was beginning to settle over him and his strength had all but gone. The drow’s eyes widened considerably in shock as she saw the state he was in.
“What happened to you?” She asked. He started to speak, but she shook her head. “Never mind. Take your shirt off and lie down and I will see what I can do for you.”
He did as he was told and she carefully cleaned the wound before casting a basic healing spell to close the flesh and stop the bleeding. Then she cast another spell and the shapeshifter gradually felt his strength return.
“You need rest now, shapeshifter,” she spoke firmly but gently. “You will regain your strength quicker if you just relax. You cannot deny yourself a few hours of sleep and we need you stronger, mentally as well as physically. With Kane’s mood swings recently, sometimes I really believe that it’s you holding the whole group together.”
“You aren’t the only one.” Benny sighed and shook his head. “Things certainly haven’t been good recently and I can’t help worrying about both Kane and Edwina.”
“Well stop it!” she said at once. “Not tonight, worry about yourself for a change. You know well that wound could have been fatal.”
“Yes,” the assassin agreed. “I know that. Bloody vampires and their bloody strength draining ability.” He sat up and ran his hand across his injury. It still felt painful, but he could handle pain. “All right, I’ll relax. But stay with me for a while, will you? Talk to me.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I want to know more about you,” Benny admitted. “You were born in the Underdark, right? It must have been difficult for you when you came to the surface.”
“It was very difficult,” Viconia seemed reluctant to say any more, but she did. “I was a lost soul. People fear the drow, Benny, and although I wore a hood at all times, tried to keep my identity hidden, it was not always easy. No matter where I tried to settle, there were always people who would try to run me out of town. Mostly I travelled with caravans, protected by merchants whom I paid with…sexual favours. I did stay in Beregost for a time too, just before I met Kane, but that didn’t work out either.”
“Why? What happened?”
“My own foolishness.” Viconia laughed bitterly. “I struck up a friendship with a farmer, who didn’t know what I was at first. I trusted him, but when I revealed myself, they knocked me unconscious, raped me and then buried me alive.”
“Unfortunately that is all too common,” Benny shook his head sadly. “I suppose we can all be quick to judge others at times, but that was completely uncalled for.”
“I got my revenge,” she continued quietly, turning her head away from him. “They are all dead now, I killed them all. It…”
“Was what they deserved,” the assassin finished. “You did what you had to do, you can’t be blamed for that.” He paused for a moment and reached for a hand. She still didn’t look at him, but made no attempt to pull away. “You never did tell me why you left the Underdark,” he said finally. “I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I admit that I’m curious. Was it to do with your brother?”
“A little, yes,” Viconia hesitated briefly. “I suppose it would not hurt to tell you the story if you wish to hear it.”
“I do.”
“Very well then, I shall tell you. I had worshipped the Spider Queen for an age and a half, but there came a time when my faith in Lolth was no more. I lapsed when a child...a baby...was to die: it would not have made Lolth stronger or more influential or made her a greater deity. I lost my will that day. One of the lesser priestesses noticed my hesitation and she took the babe's life, herself, eager to usurp my place in Lolth's favor. My House fell into disfavor with the Dark Queen as a result of my actions, and the word soon spread throughout the city. My mother scrambled to make sacrifices of wealth and servants to appease Lolth, but the goddess would have none of it. As is custom among the drow, the weak become the prey of the faithful. A lesser House jumped at the opportunity and began a war with ours. Lolth was pleased at the House's aggression...and ours had to fight twice as hard to survive and regain Lolth's favor. My mother wished me to recant, to prostate myself before the Spider Queen and beg forgiveness. She was desperate that I do so, in fact. But I refused. I was disgusted with my Queen, so I cursed my mother and endangered my House. In my naiveté I thought that I would survive after my actions.”
“It must have been very difficult for you. How did you survive?”
“Valas saved me,” There was no mistaking the sadness in the drow’s voice. “My poor, foolish brother, Valas. My mother did the only thing she thought she could do. She commanded that I be offered as a sacrifice to appease the Spider Queen. I was surrounded by male soldiers, who attempted to cart me off to the temple. I hated my mother, but I knew that she did the right thing. I knew that my Queen would indeed be pleased at one of her daughters being offered to her. I fought grandly, killing many of the males...but it was futile. I was overwhelmed, dragged to the temple, and splayed across the altar in preparation for the priestesses to take my life.”
“Sounds frightening,” Benny said gently, still holding her hand. “Pretty barbaric too.”
“It was frightening,” Viconia admitted. “I was terrified, and not without reason. I would have died, were it not for...Valas. He used his magic to free me...and when my mother became enraged and tried to stop him from ruining the House, he killed her. It was the ultimate act of defiance for a drow male, and Lolth did what she does to all males who defy her. She transformed him into a drider, a half-drow half-spider creature of pure malice and base instinct. Valas was wiped away, replaced by this...monstrous thing. I cursed Lolth's name for what she had done to him. I renounced the Dark Queen with every fiber of my being...and she was not pleased. She abandoned me, left me completely without power. I was forced to flee the Underdark, making my way quickly to the surface before the other drow could stop me, cursing and crying the entire way…”
Her voice began to tremble and she broke off. Not entirely sure what to do, Benny ran his hand up her arm and rested it hesitantly on her shoulder. Viconia gave an abandoned sob and collapsed against him. His arms encircled her, holding her against him as he gently rubbed her back and muttered soothing words.
“It’s all right,” he said over and over again. “Things have been hard for you, I know, but that’s all behind you now. Kane and I, we aren’t going to let anyone hurt you again. We care about you, you’re one of us now.”
Gradually her sobs stopped, though she stayed where she was for a moment or two, her head resting on his shoulder, before reluctantly pulling away from his embrace.
“I apologise for that…foolish display,” she said weakly. “I…forgot myself for a moment there. What happened has happened and it was silly of me to get so upset.” There was a brief pause, during which she tried to collect herself and gather her thoughts. “So now you know,” she said finally. “And as I said before, things have been far from easy on the surface. I am not human, Benny, and will never fit in with their kind, and yet I can no longer consider myself truly a drow either. I realised that when I…when I fell in love with Kane. I tried to fight it, I tried to convince myself that I had no feelings for him, then I attempted to push them away. But it didn’t work, I loved him and I needed him.”
“And that is not the way of the drow.”
“No,” Viconia gave a weary sigh. “In our race it is taught that the females are the most powerful and they should always be in control. Males are weak and only there to do the bidding of females. And yet with Kane, that was all different. He was…everything a woman could want in a man: strong, powerful, brave…and cruel. Oh yes, I always did love his evil side. He was almost always in control and I accepted that, I didn’t mind. He was always much more than a lowly surface male…he is one worthy of my respect. I loved him…I suppose I still do, and like you said, that is not the way of the drow! And yet…even though he never loved me, even though he hurt me, I still feel as though every moment I spent with him was worth it.”
“As far as I know, Kane has always managed to have that effect on women.” Benny told her. “Some of them have tried to change him, others like the danger of being involved with him, some are just out for a bit of fun like he’s always been. Never really been one for settling down, that boy. Not until Edwin anyway.”
“Those two are welcome to each other,” the drow shrugged and turned her attention back to him. “Now you know all about me, how I came to the surface, about my brother and some of my more…unpleasant experiences with surface males, but I still know little about you.
“You already know more about me than many people do,” Now it was the assassin’s turn to shrug. “I am not a man who trusts easily or one who shares his secrets willingly.”
“Yes, you certainly are a man who likes his secrets,” Viconia purred. If his answer had offended her, she didn’t show it. “No matter, Kane was always the same. I suppose it is the way you assassins like to live, hmm?”
“A skilled assassin can afford to let nothing slip about his personal life or his feelings that might be used against him.” Benny said at once. “Some assassins don’t live by that rule, but most do and I am one of them. The name Scarface is well known across Faerun, as is the scar on my face. This city is one of the only places I am really safe now that Mae’Var is dead. Wherever I go there are people who want to kill me, for revenge, out of fear, to prove that they are better than me. And if they were know certain things about me, maybe they could use that information against me.”
“But there are some people you trust, aren’t there? Kane for one and there must be others.”
“A few, yes.” Benny agreed. “But most of them are assassins too, people who I have known many years in some cases. Renal Bloodscalp, he’s always been on hand to give me information I need, to warn me if he heard that someone was trying to kill me. Artemis Entreri, he trusts hardly anyone, but there has always been a strong level of trust between us; he’s like a brother to me and I would place my life in his hands. There was another assassin too, but he’s dead now, a bit of a troublemaker but you could depend on him to watch your back. And then there’s Edwin’s teacher of course, Vadrak Dekaras. Five people I can really trust in the whole of Faerun and they trust me in return, it works out.”
“That seems pretty obvious, I suppose. There are so few people you can trust in these times that it makes sense that one so high in your profession needs to take care. Perhaps one day, I will be one of those people.”
“If you play your cards right.” He winked at her and she smiled. “I’ve grown fond of you of late, Viconia, and I am not afraid to admit it. So maybe one day…” he shrugged carelessly, leaving his sentence unfinished and leaving her to draw her own conclusion. For a moment, the drow stared at him silently.
“Though I believed that I had learnt my lesson after Kane,” she said finally. “I must admit that I hold a degree of affection for you as well, Benny. But I think that this conversation should end here for now. It is getting very late and both you and I need some rest. I only hope that I shall not…be troubled by nightmares this night.”
“Suffer from them often, do you?”
“At times,” she admitted. Somehow she felt as though she could trust him, that he would not laugh at her for her weaknesses, but she still turned her head away from him once again. “I dream that I am back in the Underdark…”
“You don’t have to go,” Again the shapeshifter reached for her hand and again she let him take it. “Look at me,” he commanded, and she did. “You don’t have to go,” he repeated. “Stay here tonight.”
“I can’t. It’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?” Gently he pulled her towards him and the drow offered resistance. “I can’t perform for you, that’s true, but stay here tonight and just let me hold you instead.” His mouth brushed her ear and she shivered against her will. “I know that you are afraid of affection and I can understand that, but,” softly he kissed her dark lips and drew back ever so slightly, “stay with me tonight and let me show you how it can be.”
*********
Kane paced up and down the floor of his small room for what seemed like hours. A half empty whiskey bottle was standing next to the empty one on the table. His talk with Benny had calmed him for a while, but now he was agitated again, worried about his teacher, angry and upset with Edwina and himself. When he finally got tired of pacing the floor, he flung himself on the bed, still fully dressed and lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Though he believed that he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he tried, natural weariness and the alcohol soon forced his eyes closed…
He had another of his strange dreams again, though it was not a dream so much as a memory. He was a boy again, back in the kitchen of his old house, the dark shadow of his father looming over him.
“You aren’t one of us!” the man spat. “You are a useless waste of space, you should never have been born. Why don’t you go and kill yourself, brat? You’d do this whole world a huge favour.”
Kane spat at him and received a blow to the side of the head that knocked him back against the wall. Then there was the kick in the chest that knocked all the breath from his body before the man grabbed him by the collar and roughly hurled him up, slamming him against the wall again and scowled at him.
“I didn’t have to take you in,” he snarled. “But I did and it’s time you started showing some gratitude. You’re nothing, you’re worthless and no one else would have ever wanted someone like you. You’d do well to remember that.”
He released his grip and Kane crumpled to the floor, desperately trying to get his breath back. His head hurt and he felt dizzy, but he bit back the tears of pain. No, he wouldn’t cry, he was stronger than that. He felt the anger surge through him. One day he’d show his father, one day he’d show them all…
The scene changed and Kane found himself lying in bed next to his younger sister, just the one thin blanket to keep them warm. Lucie was very thin, little more than skin and bone, deathly pale and her cheeks were damp with tears.
“My chest feels funny,” she whispered through her tears. “Everywhere hurts, Kane.”
“I know,” Not knowing what else to do, he hugged her closer to him. “I know it hurts. But try…try to get some sleep and you’ll feel better tomorrow.”
“Kane?” She looked up at him, tears still sparkling in her eyes. “What if I don’t wake up?”
“Don’t say that!” Kane said at once, a little sharper than he had intended. “Don’t say that,” he repeated, softer this time. “You aren’t going to die, I won’t let you. I’ve always told you that I’ll protect you and I will. Even from death.”
“You promise?” She clung to him, so young and so trusting. “You really promise?”
“I promise.” He kissed her forehead and gently stroked back her damp hair. “Now go to sleep, Luc. I’ll be right here with you.”
Still holding him as tightly as she could, her eyes closed and she slowly drifted off to sleep. Kane continued to stroke her hair, not taking his eyes off her for a moment. She was very sick, and though he hoped with all his heart that things would turn out all right, he knew that she was dying. He knew and there was nothing he could do to save her, or to ease her pain. He was too weak…
The scene changed again. This time he was older, about fourteen, and in a bedroom that was familiar and frightening. It was practically bare, no personal objects were lying around, though a selection of very sharp daggers were hanging on the wall. The curtains were drawn against the late afternoon light, throwing the room into shadow. A feeling of dread was settled in the pit of his stomach, even before he felt a cold metal blade pressing against his throat.
“Randal,” he hissed, freezing instantly. He didn’t think the assassin would risk the wrath of Mae’Var by killing him, but Randal was so unpredictable at times that it was hard to be sure. “I have come as you asked. What do you intend to do to me?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” the assassin teased. “You should have known better than to piss me off, Kane. Didn’t Scarface warn you about me?”
“Benny told me not to get on the wrong side of you, yes.”
“And yet you still thought you knew best?” Randal chuckled darkly. “That’s your problem, Kane, you’re too cocky for your own good, always think you know best. Well maybe it is time you learnt to respect your elders, huh?”
“This isn’t about wanting to teach me a lesson or anything else!” Kane growled angrily. “You’ve been watching me, waiting for this ever since I first joined the guild, haven’t you?”
“Indeed,” Randal made no effort to hide the obvious amusement in his voice. “I admit that I have been waiting a long time for this.”
“Because you want to hurt Benny! I’m not stupid, you’re too scared of him to touch him, so you want to get to him by hurting me!”
In answer, Randal’s free hand gripped his long hair, yanking his head back roughly as the knife pressed deeper into his flesh, drawing just a small trickle of blood.
“You certainly are intelligent enough, though I would expected no less from one of your blood,” he said calmly. Just a little too calmly. “Scarface hurt me once, long ago, hurt me more than one like you could ever imagine. What better way to hurt him than to mark the one thing he is truly fond of? You, Kane Theaza!”
Kane awoke, damp with sweat and yet still shivering, the assassin’s laughter still ringing in his ears. Dreams about things that could happen or things that would happen were one thing, those he was used to and could just about deal with, but dreaming about things he had spent years trying to forget was something he couldn’t cope with. He hadn’t needed to, it happened so rarely. Only when…
He felt a familiar presence in his head and suddenly understood. For that night at least, his dreams had not been his own.
Greetings Father. Would I be correct in thinking that what I dreamt tonight would be down to you?
I NEEDED TO SHOW YOU, TO REMIND YOU, OF WHAT YOU WERE BEFORE I CAME ALONG. I MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE NOW, CHANGED YOU FROM A WEAK AND WORTHLESS LITTLE CREATURE TO A WARRIOR, FEARED BY ALL WHO FIGHT YOU.
I know that, father. And I am grateful.
ARE YOU? SINCE THE WIZARD AND THE SHAPESHIFTER CAME ALONG, YOU HAVEN’T TALKED TO ME; YOU SHUT ME OUT OF YOUR HEAD. COULD IT BE THAT YOU ARE LOSING INTEREST IN THE POWER THAT COULD ONE DAY BE YOURS?
No! I shut you out of my head because you confuse me. To fight Irenicus, I need my thoughts to be clear; I need to know that they are my own. That is the only reason.
THE WIZARD, HE DOES NOT LOVE YOU, YOU KNOW. HE IS MERELY TRYING TO GET CLOSE TO YOU IN THE HOPE THAT HE MAY EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO OBTAIN SOME OF YOUR POWER.
You’re wrong. Edwin loves me; he loves me because who I am, not because I’m a Bhaalspawn. I know that is the truth and you’ll never get me to believe differently.
THEN WHERE IS HE NOW? IF HE REALLY LOVED YOU, WOULD HE NOT WANT TO BE HERE WITH YOU? WOULD HE NOT BE WILLING TO ACCEPT YOUR FAULTS AND NOT JUDGE YOU ON THINGS YOU DID LONG BEFORE YOU MET HIM?
I don’t want to hear this! Shut up…just shut up!
YOU DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS THE TRUTH. HE IS MESSING WITH YOUR HEAD AND YOU ARE A FOOL IF YOU SIT BACK AND LET HIM DO IT. HE’LL TAKE WHAT HE CAN GET AND THEN WALK AWAY WITHOUT LOOKING BACK.
Perhaps… perhaps not. I don’t believe that, but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
THE SHAPESHIFTER, YOU MUST KEEP YOUR EYE ON HIM TOO. DEMONS ARE SLY AND UNTRUSTWORTHY, HE HAS BAD BLOOD IN HIS VEINS AND HE WILL BETRAY YOU IN THE END. HE DOES NOT WANT YOU TO HAVE THE POWER YOU ARE OWED AND HE WILL DO WHATEVER IS POSSIBLE TO STOP YOU FROM TAKING IT.
Always you tell me that and always I tell you that you’re wrong. I would trust Benny with my life.
THEN YOU ARE A BIGGER FOOL THAN I THOUGHT YOU WERE. YOU CANNOT TRUST ANY OF THEM. THEY ARE ALL WORKING TOGETHER, PLOTTING AGAINST YOU AND ALL YOU ARE DOING IS MAKING IT EASIER FOR THEM. ONE OF YOUR BLOOD CANNOT EVER LET HIS GUARD DOWN, CANNOT EVER TRUST ANYONE!
Well I have to trust my companions, I have no choice, and if that makes me a fool then so be it. And in any case, I never asked to be born; I never asked to be what I am.
BUT IT’S MY BLOOD THAT MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE, KANE! STRONG, POWERFUL, FEARED BY THOSE WHO KNOW OF YOU. YOU WERE NOTHING WITHOUT ME AND YOU WILL BE NOTHING AGAIN IF YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON THE POWER I CAN OFFER.
I know that. I like having power and I have no intention of turning my back on it. My companions are tools to help me get there, that is all. Trust me, father, I know what I’m doing.
WE SHALL SEE. YOU ARE CURRENTLY THE MOST PROMISING OF MY CHILDREN, PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF BEING A GOOD GOD OF MURDER, AND IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF YOU WERE TO GET KILLED, ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS BY SOMEONE YOU…TRUSTED. STILL, SHOULD YOU FAIL, THERE IS ALWAYS YOUR SISTER.
You mean Imoen? You leave her alone, father!
UNTIL RECENTLY SHE HAD RESISTED ME ADMIRABLY, BUT LATELY HER MIND SEEMS TO BE WEAKENED AND IT IS GROWING EASIER FOR ME TO GAIN ACCESS. WE SHALL SEE…
You leave my sister alone! And get out of my head! Just get out!
Bhaal’s response was no more than mocking laughter, which soon stopped when Kane began to sing an old song he had learnt on his travels. He had learnt many years before that his father hated singing and would quickly go away, it was a trick that he had used more than once when his father’s presence got too annoying.
He sung in his head over and over again, until he felt normal again and could be sure that his father had gone. Then he got out of bed, went over to the basin in the corner and was violently sick, the combination of his father’s words and the vast amount of alcohol he had drunk that evening taking a strong and sudden effect on his stomach. When he had finished, he opened the window and crawled back into bed, still fully dressed. But his father’s words were still echoing in his head, little bits of truth twisted with lies, and sleep came very hard to him.
*******
When Cory rolled over, not opening his eyes, he was very startled when he felt a warm body against his. Quickly he opened his eyes and was relieved to see that it was just Edwina. The wizard, fully robed, was fast asleep and actually looked rather peaceful. Cory smiled briefly and settled back down, pondering the events of the previous night.
He had stayed with her after the others had left and listened to her as she went on about how upset and confused she was about Kane and the Red Wizards, trying his best to say the right things in the right places. She really had had a rough time of it recently, what with being turned into a woman, discovering things about Kane’s past that she didn’t like very much and learning that the Red Wizards considered her a traitor. She deserves some luck for a change, I wish there was something more I could do to help her.
He knew though that he was probably doing enough for Edwina just by being there and listening to her, that was what she really needed just then. He was loyal to Kane and couldn’t quite understand why she was so upset about his past, but he tried not to be judgemental, he just listened and did his best to assure her that things would turn out all right in the end, though he wasn’t sure that she had been convinced.
Glancing at Edwina once again, he decided to let her sleep for a while longer. It was still early yet and besides, she needed some uninterrupted rest. Quietly he rolled off the bed, pulled on his boots and picked up his weapons, being as quiet as possible. Then he slipped out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him, and made his way downstairs.
There weren’t many people around, it was still too early for that, and Kagain and Korgan were the only two of his companions around. They appeared deep in conversation, only pausing to occasionally grab a piece of bread from the plate in the middle of the table and eat it nosily, spraying crumbs everywhere as they both tried to talk with their mouths full. Cory couldn’t help wondering if they had been up all night. He crossed over to their table and sat down, taking a bit of bread for himself.
“Hey!” Korgan objected. “Get yer own!”
“Leave ‘im, Korgan!” Kagain shook his head. “One bit don’t make much difference. How’s this morning find you, young Cory?”
“Well enough, I guess,” the young half-elf shrugged. “Yourselves?”
“Eager for a bit o’ excitement!” Korgan said at once. “Our leader still in bed?”
“I assume so.” Cory shrugged again. “Why?”
“You reckon he’d be objecting if we went out and did a bit o’ searching for this Red Wizard?”
“I couldn’t say,” the assassin admitted. “Depends on his mood, you know what Kane’s like.”
“Aye,” Kagain agreed. “I say we just go, leave ‘im a note or something.”
“Now that be an idea!” Korgan grinned, snatching the last piece of bread and cramming it all into his mouth. “Ye coming, Cory?”
“I suppose so,” Cory glanced around the practically empty tavern, then pulled out a small piece of parchment and scribbled a few words on it. “I’ll just give this to Bernard and tell him to give it to Kane or Benny, then I’ll be with you.”
Not knowing where the wizard would be, the assassin and two dwarves just took to wandering around the city, leaving the slums and passing the graveyard. They ended up near the city gates, where quite a crowd of people had gathered around the small inn. They seemed both excited and scared by something, so the adventurers moved closer to try and find out what was going on.
“There’s a lich!” A woman screamed, almost in Cory’s ear. He flinched away from her, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “A lich in the stables!”
“Someone do something!” they were all shouting now. “Call the guards!”
“How…how did it get there?”
“A wizard spell…someone must have put it there…but why?”
“Forget the guards, get the Cowled Wizards. They’ll know what to do. A lich!”
“What be a lich doin’ in an inn stable?” Kagain scratched his beard as the group of commoners hurried off. “Normally they like dark, damp places underground.”
“I want to be knowing how it got in there,” Korgan growled. “There be something funny ‘bout this.”
“Well,” Cory glanced over to the stable door that was standing slightly ajar. No sound came from within, either it had decided that it was best to stay quiet for now or the commoners had been mistaken. There was only one way to find out. “Let’s go and see, shall we?” Not waiting for a reply, he crossed the street and slipped through the door. The dwarves exchanged a glance and then followed him inside.
Next Part: As Cory and the dwarves continue their adventure, Kane causes trouble in the Government District and the party run across a very unpleasant character as they begin the hunt for the Red Wizard.
