Tide of Destiny - 140

Even THOUGH, once I've finished posting and implemented the updates, this will technically be Chapter 136... (seeing as some early chapters were ridiculously short, I adapted. And this editing lark is a pain in the arse! But once it's done, ToD shall be a fic where I'm happy with ALL of it. It's really not as bad as I remember when I look back...)

ANYWAY... like the title says:


Chapter 140: Ray of Hope

“You don’t have to be here, you know,” Anomen said gently as he saw Imoen shiver slightly when they walked into the final chamber of Bodhi’s crypts. The room, and all the rooms before it, were crawling with priests and paladins who were purging the place of all evil, and it seemed as if they had started with this final one. The blood and bodies were cleared, and by the entrance of one of the side rooms, a group of scholars from the Order was poring over some of the artefacts and large, hefty volumes that had been stored there.

“I know. I just… I feel I should.” Imoen took a deep breath of the musty air and closed her eyes. Technically, they had no reason to be here – the Order could deal with it all quite suitably – and they were even finished in any sort of supervision of the clearing of the crypts. But they had wordlessly headed for this final chamber, though why Anomen couldn’t say.

“I keep thinking that I’ll feel her. At any moment,” the pink-haired mage continued. “I mean… I feel like me. I feel more like me than I have in months, and that’s both wonderful and terrible. But at the same time, there’s this sort of darkness hanging around the edges… and I don’t know if it’s actually there, or if it’s just me being afraid of it being there.”

Anomen’s eyes flitted around the room cautiously. “Then maybe this is not the best place to be, my lady,” he suggested, frowning a very little. “We can get back to the estate at any time…”

She shook her head. “No. This is the perfect place to be. If I’ll feel anything of… of her… I’ll feel it here. A memory, a warmth, a scent, or something… there’ll be something of her.” She opened her eyes and looked around the room cautiously.

Anomen shifted his feet. “Anything?”

A thin smile crossed Imoen’s face. “No. Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway… this was… his workshop. Where he took mine and Harrian’s souls...” She started to walk about slowly. “But it looks so different now that the only memories I have of this place are of today.”

“I fear those memories are quite dark enough as it is.” It was Anomen’s turn to shiver. He could remember all too well what had happened in this room, today, and before. The vicious parallels. A soul had been taken from one being and given to another, and someone had died under a comrade’s blade. Different, and yet… similarly painful.

Imoen glanced over at him, suddenly realising that he seemed less comfortable even than her. “Do you want to go back?” she asked at last, raising an eyebrow.

Automatically, Anomen gave an unconcerned shrug, his ego briefly refusing to let him treat the idea with anything other than disdain, however tempting it might have been. Then he paused. This was her. Imoen. He just shook his head and grimaced sheepishly. “The alternative is the estate,” he said quietly. “And I am not sure I am up to facing Harrian at this moment.”

Imoen nodded, looking away again quickly. “I feel sorry for Reynald, Minsc and Aerie. And I feel sorry for Harrian, of course.” She sighed deeply. “I just… I can’t believe she’s gone. She was always… stronger than that. Stronger than any of us. Ever since the beginning, it’s been…” Imoen closed her eyes again, and Anomen, even though he was a little self-conscious and painfully aware of the scholars in the corner, stepped up to grip her shoulder lightly.

“Ever since the beginning, she’s been there. She made us grow up. She was like a mother, big sister, and friend all at once.” It was Imoen’s turn to try and shrug nonchalantly. “Well, to me, at least. To Harrian, she was more the friend; he had Khalid to play mentor. Which, considering, is just as well…” Imoen smiled a thin smile, evidently thinking the sort of thoughts which, under happier circumstances, would have caused laughter. Now they caused tears to come to her eyes, which she tried to blink away quickly and a little unsuccessfully.

“My lady…” Anomen moved around to face her, biting his lower lip as his mind raced futilely for some words of comfort.

“I don’t know whether to cry my eyes out or stand up and laugh and dance. Everything’s… louder, Anomen. Thoughts, emotions, sights, colours, sounds. The world seems more… real again. Like before was a dream, like I was flailing in wool before. And whilst that’s wonderful, it’s also terrible. I don’t know if I should be celebrating Bodhi’s defeat, laughing about having my soul back, or crying my eyes out over Jaheira…”

Taking a deep breath and resolving not to look at the scholars – though it didn’t occur to him that they’d be more interested in their books anyway – Anomen pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. “Very few victories are entirely happy. All have some price. But we won. You have to remember that. We won.”

“I think Harrian would have preferred to lose,” Imoen’s voice, muffled by his chest, came back.

“No. He knows that we have to go on. It’s not even about Irenicus anymore. There are greater forces at work. There’s the elven city to think about now. He is a madman that must be stopped. He has brought down the darkness upon us all, and we must be the light to chase it away,” Anomen said, reeling off something from the depths of his memory.

Imoen raised her head to look at him as she pulled back a little, a thin smile hovering around her lips. “You’ve been reading those awful books you keep in your library, haven’t you,” she said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Anomen grinned slightly and very sheepishly. “I have needed to while away the long nights some how, my lady. Though I do agree – the turgid volumes all sound as if they were written by Haer’Dalis.”

“Sir Anomen?”

They turned quickly to see one of the scholars, a small man with glasses and dark receding hair, grey creeping in at the temples, standing before them. He was clutching one of the books that he and his fellows had been examining intently since they’d arrived.

Anomen blinked. “Yes… Rendval. It is Rendval, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Rendval. I… am sorry to interrupt,” the man said quickly, opening the volume and rifling through it quickly yet delicately, “but I was wondering if this would interest you.” He thrust the book into Anomen’s unsuspecting hands.

The cleric stared at the pages blankly for a few seconds. “What… which bit am I supposed to find intriguing?” he asked after a few seconds.

“Ah…” Rendval moved forwards, and pointed with a worn finger at a passage on the right-hand page. “It was mentioned by Sir Eric… that one of your number was vampirised and had to be slain?”

Anomen was still staring in confusion as Imoen, peeking over his shoulder, gaped, realisation evidently setting in a lot quicker for her. “Anomen… do you know what this is?”

“No,” the cleric replied obtusely and a little sulkily.

Imoen grabbed the book impatiently, her eyes flitting over the words quickly. She turned the page with the speedy yet delicate skill of one who had spend much of her youth surrounded by delicate dusty volumes, then gasped and looked at Rendval. “This isn’t just a myth, right?”

The scholar shook his head. “There are records in the Order’s library of a great battle against the undead some decades ago, in which they detail the mass recovery of fallen knights. It is well-documented, and no myth. But the means by which it was done has been lost… until now.”

Imoen turned to Anomen, who was now starting to catch up. “You… you staked Bodhi, didn’t you.” Her voice shook a little as she spoke, but the urgency in her eyes pushed Anomen to overlook that. “Was there… anything left? Or did she just turn to dust?”

“None of us entered her chamber,” Rendval supplies helpfully.

Anomen grimaced a little. “All faded into the wind… save her black heart.”

Imoen’s expression became a mixture of glee and disgust. “We kinda need that heart.”

“I shall find some… container for you,” Rendval muttered, moving off.

“What is this for?” Anomen demanded of Imoen.

She looked at him. “You did read that page, didn’t you?”

“I am not entirely capable of reading dusty volumes with tiny writing without a pair of spectacles,” Anomen confessed, and it would have come out sheepishly if he hadn’t decided to counter it by straightening up haughtily.

Imoen paused. “I didn’t know you needed glasses.”

“Only to read,” Anomen retorted. “And I doubt, my lady, that you are in the habit of observing me when reading, as I tend to do it away from distractions.”

“I’m a distraction?”

“What is in the volume that has you so suddenly cheery?” he asked, sighing a long-suffering sigh.

Imoen grinned, almost hopping up and down on the spot with glee. “A solution. A cure. A means of resurrection. A way to get Jaheira back.”

Anomen stared for a moment, blinking in surprise. Then he took a deep breath. “All in one?”

Phew! I was beginning to worry that you'd concocted an evil and never-before-done twist that involved permanent death for Jaheira.

Great chapter!

Phew! I was beginning to worry that you'd concocted an evil and never-before-done twist that involved permanent death for Jaheira.

LOL! I'm not that evil. Quite. I do have some evil stuff up ahead... but I wouldn't kill off Jaheira! Who would I have to be sarcastic at the group, then?

Great chapter!

Cheers!

Even THOUGH, once I've finished posting and implemented the updates, this will technically be Chapter 136... (seeing as some early chapters were ridiculously short, I adapted. And this editing lark is a pain in the arse! But once it's done, ToD shall be a fic where I'm happy with ALL of it. It's really not as bad as I remember when I look back...)

Well, that's good...

Yeah, deciding when to combine things into chapter is annoying. It's a constant pest for BG/O, what with all the BG1 mini-encounters.

ANYWAY... like the title says:

Chapter 140: Ray of Hope

“You don’t have to be here, you know,” Anomen said gently as he saw Imoen shiver slightly when they walked into the final chamber of Bodhi’s crypts. The room, and all the rooms before it, were crawling with priests and paladins who were purging the place of all evil, and it seemed as if they had started with this final one. The blood and bodies were cleared, and by the entrance of one of the side rooms, a group of scholars from the Order was poring over some of the artefacts and large, hefty volumes that had been stored there.

yes!!! get the book!

“I fear those memories are quite dark enough as it is.” It was Anomen’s turn to shiver. He could remember all too well what had happened in this room, today, and before. The vicious parallels. A soul had been taken from one being and given to another, and someone had died under a comrade’s blade. Different, and yet… similarly painful.

Oooh, nice note.

“No. He knows that we have to go on. It’s not even about Irenicus anymore. There are greater forces at work. There’s the elven city to think about now. He is a madman that must be stopped. He has brought down the darkness upon us all, and we must be the light to chase it away,” Anomen said, reeling off something from the depths of his memory.

Imoen raised her head to look at him as she pulled back a little, a thin smile hovering around her lips. “You’ve been reading those awful books you keep in your library, haven’t you,” she said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

lol

Onyx: Nothin' wrong with it!

Anomen grinned slightly and very sheepishly. “I have needed to while away the long nights some how, my lady. Though I do agree – the turgid volumes all sound as if they were written by Haer’Dalis.”

ROFL!

“Yes, Rendval. I… am sorry to interrupt,” the man said quickly, opening the volume and rifling through it quickly yet delicately, “but I was wondering if this would interest you.” He thrust the book into Anomen’s unsuspecting hands.

Oh good! Vampirus Omnibus or whatever it was.

Imoen grabbed the book impatiently, her eyes flitting over the words quickly. She turned the page with the speedy yet delicate skill of one who had spend much of her youth surrounded by delicate dusty volumes, then gasped and looked at Rendval. “This isn’t just a myth, right?”

ah, nice note about C-Keep

Anomen grimaced a little. “All faded into the wind… save her black heart.”

bum-bum-bum....

Imoen’s expression became a mixture of glee and disgust. “We kinda need that heart.”

LOL

“I am not entirely capable of reading dusty volumes with tiny writing without a pair of spectacles,” Anomen confessed, and it would have come out sheepishly if he hadn’t decided to counter it by straightening up haughtily.

Ah, nice point. For some really strange reason, I always pegged Ano as not the keenest eyesight. Even more than stereotypical knight. Maybe it's the non-missiles thing (esp. with his shield.)

Imoen paused. “I didn’t know you needed glasses.”

“Only to read,” Anomen retorted. “And I doubt, my lady, that you are in the habit of observing me when reading, as I tend to do it away from distractions.”

“I’m a distraction?”

Ohhhh, the BEST kind!

“What is in the volume that has you so suddenly cheery?” he asked, sighing a long-suffering sigh.

Imoen grinned, almost hopping up and down on the spot with glee. “A solution. A cure. A means of resurrection. A way to get Jaheira back.”

Anomen stared for a moment, blinking in surprise. Then he took a deep breath. “All in one?”

heh

Even THOUGH, once I've finished posting and implemented the updates, this will technically be Chapter 136... (seeing as some early chapters were ridiculously short, I adapted. And this editing lark is a pain in the arse! But once it's done, ToD shall be a fic where I'm happy with ALL of it. It's really not as bad as I remember when I look back...)

That's a good feeling to have. I'm quite red in the face when I re-read the early episodes of Rush.

“You don’t have to be here, you know,” Anomen said gently as he saw Imoen shiver slightly when they walked into the final chamber of Bodhi’s crypts. The room, and all the rooms before it, were crawling with priests and paladins who were purging the place of all evil, and it seemed as if they had started with this final one. The blood and bodies were cleared, and by the entrance of one of the side rooms, a group of scholars from the Order was poring over some of the artefacts and large, hefty volumes that had been stored there.

Hopefully there are no bookburners there!

“I fear those memories are quite dark enough as it is.” It was Anomen’s turn to shiver. He could remember all too well what had happened in this room, today, and before. The vicious parallels. A soul had been taken from one being and given to another, and someone had died under a comrade’s blade. Different, and yet… similarly painful.

Yeah... and Jaheira's soul is in a very bad place, right now...

“Ever since the beginning, she’s been there. She made us grow up. She was like a mother, big sister, and friend all at once.” It was Imoen’s turn to try and shrug nonchalantly. “Well, to me, at least. To Harrian, she was more the friend; he had Khalid to play mentor. Which, considering, is just as well…” Imoen smiled a thin smile, evidently thinking the sort of thoughts which, under happier circumstances, would have caused laughter. Now they caused tears to come to her eyes, which she tried to blink away quickly and a little unsuccessfully.

Aww. I always wondered how Imoen would look at Jaheira, I would have loved to seen some reaction about PC-Jaheira romance in the game, it would come to her as quite the surprise after Spellhold. I doubt that she would be negatory, more like teasing towards them.

“I don’t know whether to cry my eyes out or stand up and laugh and dance. Everything’s… louder, Anomen. Thoughts, emotions, sights, colours, sounds. The world seems more… real again. Like before was a dream, like I was flailing in wool before. And whilst that’s wonderful, it’s also terrible. I don’t know if I should be celebrating Bodhi’s defeat, laughing about having my soul back, or crying my eyes out over Jaheira…”

Oh, don't worry, I think Harrian's fulfilled that quota.

Taking a deep breath and resolving not to look at the scholars – though it didn’t occur to him that they’d be more interested in their books anyway – Anomen pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. “Very few victories are entirely happy. All have some price. But we won. You have to remember that. We won.”

“I think Harrian would have preferred to lose,” Imoen’s voice, muffled by his chest, came back.

It's definitely a hard question to answer. To sacrifice Jaheira's life for Imoen's soul... err, I'm not sure if I want to ponder about this question.

“No. He knows that we have to go on. It’s not even about Irenicus anymore. There are greater forces at work. There’s the elven city to think about now. He is a madman that must be stopped. He has brought down the darkness upon us all, and we must be the light to chase it away,” Anomen said, reeling off something from the depths of his memory.

If not for the soul, I would find it terribly difficult to motivate Theo to help the elves. He is just so indifferent - I think that Harrian has that trait as well, but to lesser extent.

“Yes, Rendval. I… am sorry to interrupt,” the man said quickly, opening the volume and rifling through it quickly yet delicately, “but I was wondering if this would interest you.” He thrust the book into Anomen’s unsuspecting hands.

YAY! *wild cheering in the background*

“None of us entered her chamber,” Rendval supplies helpfully.

'supplied' - I'm the one who writes in present tense.

Anomen grimaced a little. “All faded into the wind… save her black heart.”

Imoen’s expression became a mixture of glee and disgust. “We kinda need that heart.”

Woohoo!

“I am not entirely capable of reading dusty volumes with tiny writing without a pair of spectacles,” Anomen confessed, and it would have come out sheepishly if he hadn’t decided to counter it by straightening up haughtily.

LOL! I would have never guessed! Though, he would look rather awkward with a monocle, don't you think?

“Only to read,” Anomen retorted. “And I doubt, my lady, that you are in the habit of observing me when reading, as I tend to do it away from distractions.”

“I’m a distraction?”

Yeah, and not only to those who romance you.

Imoen grinned, almost hopping up and down on the spot with glee. “A solution. A cure. A means of resurrection. A way to get Jaheira back.”

Anomen stared for a moment, blinking in surprise. Then he took a deep breath. “All in one?”

Well, I certainly hope you don't have any evil plots to revive only Jaheira's head for example! That would be kinda...uh, bad? We want her back, alive and kicking, in all her radiant beauty!

ANYWAY... like the title says:

Chapter 140: Ray of Hope

Yay!

“I know. I just… I feel I should.” Imoen took a deep breath of the musty air and closed her eyes. Technically, they had no reason to be here – the Order could deal with it all quite suitably – and they were even finished in any sort of supervision of the clearing of the crypts. But they had wordlessly headed for this final chamber, though why Anomen couldn’t say.

Just sort of...need to prove to yourself it's all over, I guess.

Automatically, Anomen gave an unconcerned shrug, his ego briefly refusing to let him treat the idea with anything other than disdain, however tempting it might have been.

Ano, after Haer'Dalis she's probably had enough of showing off. Just be yourself and see how that works out

Then he paused. This was her. Imoen. He just shook his head and grimaced sheepishly. “The alternative is the estate,” he said quietly. “And I am not sure I am up to facing Harrian at this moment.”

He might be bad company right now, but he needs his friends more than ever at the moment.

“Ever since the beginning, she’s been there. She made us grow up. She was like a mother, big sister, and friend all at once.” It was Imoen’s turn to try and shrug nonchalantly. “Well, to me, at least. To Harrian, she was more the friend; he had Khalid to play mentor. Which, considering, is just as well…” Imoen smiled a thin smile, evidently thinking the sort of thoughts which, under happier circumstances, would have caused laughter. Now they caused tears to come to her eyes, which she tried to blink away quickly and a little unsuccessfully.

“My lady…” Anomen moved around to face her, biting his lower lip as his mind raced futilely for some words of comfort.

Try a comforting hug instead, Ano.

“No. He knows that we have to go on. It’s not even about Irenicus anymore. There are greater forces at work. There’s the elven city to think about now. He is a madman that must be stopped. He has brought down the darkness upon us all, and we must be the light to chase it away,” Anomen said, reeling off something from the depths of his memory.

Okaaay. Now he sounds like a very bad bard...

Anomen grinned slightly and very sheepishly. “I have needed to while away the long nights some how, my lady. Though I do agree – the turgid volumes all sound as if they were written by Haer’Dalis.”

LOL!

“Yes, Rendval. I… am sorry to interrupt,” the man said quickly, opening the volume and rifling through it quickly yet delicately, “but I was wondering if this would interest you.” He thrust the book into Anomen’s unsuspecting hands.

Yes, it does! Give that man a reward.

Anomen was still staring in confusion as Imoen, peeking over his shoulder, gaped, realisation evidently setting in a lot quicker for her. “Anomen… do you know what this is?”

“No,” the cleric replied obtusely and a little sulkily.

Heh, sounds like it's a good job that Immy came along

“I am not entirely capable of reading dusty volumes with tiny writing without a pair of spectacles,” Anomen confessed, and it would have come out sheepishly if he hadn’t decided to counter it by straightening up haughtily.

LOL! Loved this little detail.

“Only to read,” Anomen retorted. “And I doubt, my lady, that you are in the habit of observing me when reading, as I tend to do it away from distractions.”

“I’m a distraction?”

To Ano, you most certainly are

Imoen grinned, almost hopping up and down on the spot with glee. “A solution. A cure. A means of resurrection. A way to get Jaheira back.”

Yay! Now you'd best go home and prepare very quickly for a long trip, because I can't see Harrian being very patient about this.

Nice chapter

It's really not as bad as I remember when I look back...

It's not bad at all!

“But at the same time, there’s this sort of darkness hanging around the edges… and I don’t know if it’s actually there, or if it’s just me being afraid of it being there.”

Are you gonna do something with this.. 'darkness'? Or is it even really there?

A thin smile crossed Imoen’s face. “No. Nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway… this was… his workshop. Where he took mine and Harrian’s souls...”

Uh... So, they didn't visit the.. place.. ugh, forgot the name. That place the stupid mages take Imoen. ( I don't know if they have visited the place, because I haven't been here when that happened.. or didn't happen. I was.. away..)

Do you understand anything I'm saying?

“And I am not sure I am up to facing Harrian at this moment.”

Why? You didn't do anything bad.. I think..

Now they caused tears to come to her eyes, which she tried to blink away quickly and a little unsuccessfully.

Well, they will have her back! And soon, I hope! *hint, hint, hint*

“Very few victories are entirely happy. All have some price. But we won. You have to remember that. We won.”

Hmmm.. Is this gonna go forward? I mean, will they become lovers or something?

“He is a madman that must be stopped. He has brought down the darkness upon us all, and we must be the light to chase it away,”

Um.. Might be that I'm exhausted, (A concert! Yippee!) but first I thought that that 'he' meant Harrian.. maybe you want to check it?

Imoen raised her head to look at him as she pulled back a little, a thin smile hovering around her lips. “You’ve been reading those awful books you keep in your library, haven’t you,” she said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Look who's talkin'! (Your Imoen does read too, right?)

“It was mentioned by Sir Eric… that one of your number was vampirised and had to be slain?”

Yes, yess?? Continue!

Imoen’s expression became a mixture of glee and disgust. “We kinda need that heart.”

Ugh.. Well, anything to bring J back!

“I am not entirely capable of reading dusty volumes with tiny writing without a pair of spectacles,” Anomen confessed, and it would have come out sheepishly if he hadn’t decided to counter it by straightening up haughtily.

Ouch, ouch! Sir Anomen's getting old..



A Great Episode again!

Well, that's good...

Yeah, deciding when to combine things into chapter is annoying. It's a constant pest for BG/O, what with all the BG1 mini-encounters.

Some of these are quite big jumps within chapters... just they're too small, looking back, to make a chapter in itself. 1,000 words does not one chapter make!

yes!!! get the book!

Patience, patience. That's not what they're there for.

Oooh, nice note.

Same room, similar circumstances. Although, true, Yoshimo had been asking Anomen to cut him down, whereas I don't think Jaheira was...

lol

Onyx: Nothin' wrong with it!

No. I just wrote the line, sat back, and thought "My GOD, that was exceptionally melodramatic!"

ROFL!

I think I'd been channelling Haer'Dalis at the time.

Oh good! Vampirus Omnibus or whatever it was.

Ayup!

ah, nice note about C-Keep

Well, Imoen doesn't have an Intelligence of 17 for nothing. One smart cookie... any protagonist is likely to similarly be better educated than the majority of people they'll meet.

LOL

Yes, such a cheerful thing to say - "Go fetch the black heart of the vampire, we need to cart it cross-country...!"

Ah, nice point. For some really strange reason, I always pegged Ano as not the keenest eyesight. Even more than stereotypical knight. Maybe it's the non-missiles thing (esp. with his shield.)

Well, the idea just popped into my head there and then, but it does seem to fit. Something about the low dexterity (which is, I know, completely irrelevant). He just doesn't strike you as a hawk-eye...

Ohhhh, the BEST kind!

To Ano, at least.

Cheers!!

That's a good feeling to have. I'm quite red in the face when I re-read the early episodes of Rush.

Happens to us all. My older stuff... blegh. No, the earlier parts of ToD aren't too bad, though some of it did need lots of editing. But there are a few turns of phrase where I can sit and think "Yeah. I wasn't completely clueless back then!"

Hopefully there are no bookburners there!

LOL! COULD go a bit badly...

Yeah... and Jaheira's soul is in a very bad place, right now...

Yeah. Not resting happily ever after...

Aww. I always wondered how Imoen would look at Jaheira, I would have loved to seen some reaction about PC-Jaheira romance in the game, it would come to her as quite the surprise after Spellhold. I doubt that she would be negatory, more like teasing towards them.

Yeah. Well, in this, Imoen was around to watch the development of the majority of the Harrian/Jaheira relationship, but she was always more teasing than negatory.

Oh, don't worry, I think Harrian's fulfilled that quota.

Yes...

It's definitely a hard question to answer. To sacrifice Jaheira's life for Imoen's soul... err, I'm not sure if I want to ponder about this question.

I'm not sure that Harrian would do things differently, because he, to some extent, KNOWS that the Rhynn Lanthorn is needed to save Suldanessellar and stop Irenicus. He's just REALLY not happy about it.

If not for the soul, I would find it terribly difficult to motivate Theo to help the elves. He is just so indifferent - I think that Harrian has that trait as well, but to lesser extent.

Yeah. Harrian's a little bit more motivated to take the good path for good's sake, I think, but he's never going to run off and save the world in the name of morality, honesty, and small fluffy puppies everywhere. It'll be more so that the people he loves will be safe.

Still, here, he wants to find Irenicus, and working with the elves is also the quickest way to do that.

YAY! *wild cheering in the background*

And the crowd goes wild!!

'supplied' - I'm the one who writes in present tense.

Ack. You have a bad influence on me.

Woohoo!

Twisted indeed.

LOL! I would have never guessed! Though, he would look rather awkward with a monocle, don't you think?

LOL! Ooh, I have to include that at some point...

Yeah, and not only to those who romance you.

Indeed. Serious matters when Imoen's around will not get done!

Well, I certainly hope you don't have any evil plots to revive only Jaheira's head for example! That would be kinda...uh, bad? We want her back, alive and kicking, in all her radiant beauty!

Anomen's just a bit stunned that the perfect solution's been dumped at their feet within seconds. And yes, I think Harrian would be a bit put out if there was only the head resurrected...


Cheers!

Yay!

Yep! Slight end to all the depression!

Just sort of...need to prove to yourself it's all over, I guess.

Yeah. A need for closure...

Ano, after Haer'Dalis she's probably had enough of showing off. Just be yourself and see how that works out

Exactly. That's what she wants - the real him. But I doubt he's happy to say that HE feels creeped out by the place when she's coping quite well.

He might be bad company right now, but he needs his friends more than ever at the moment.

True, but they know that Reynald, Aerie and Minsc are back there. And are currently giving him a bit of alone time until they help him.

Harrian is not the only one mourning Jaheira...

Try a comforting hug instead, Ano.

Too blastedly self-conscious... silly Ano...

Okaaay. Now he sounds like a very bad bard...

Yep! I realised that line was far too pompous when it came out.

LOL!

Well, Haer'Dalis was the best excuse for me to wax ridiculously lyrical...

Yes, it does! Give that man a reward.

*passes Rendval a doughnut...*

(What? It's what I'D want a reward!)

Heh, sounds like it's a good job that Immy came along

Yep! Anomen is doubtless well-educated, but is not a scholar by nature...

LOL! Loved this little detail.

It just seemed fitting.

To Ano, you most certainly are

Ohh yes.

Yay! Now you'd best go home and prepare very quickly for a long trip, because I can't see Harrian being very patient about this.

Nice chapter

Pretty much! And cheers.

It's not bad at all!

*bows*

Are you gonna do something with this.. 'darkness'? Or is it even really there?

Oh, I don't know... *twiddles thumbs innocently*

Uh... So, they didn't visit the.. place.. ugh, forgot the name. That place the stupid mages take Imoen. ( I don't know if they have visited the place, because I haven't been here when that happened.. or didn't happen. I was.. away..)

Do you understand anything I'm saying?

Yes. And you mean Spellhold. And no, they didn't go there - it's a long, long story...

Why? You didn't do anything bad.. I think..

True. But Harrian did throw him across the graveyard earlier...

Well, they will have her back! And soon, I hope! *hint, hint, hint*

Soon, soon, indeed!

Hmmm.. Is this gonna go forward? I mean, will they become lovers or something?

I don't give things away so easily. Just watch this space.

Um.. Might be that I'm exhausted, (A concert! Yippee!) but first I thought that that 'he' meant Harrian.. maybe you want to check it?

Hmm. It does make sense, but I can see how it could be misunderstood. I'll adjust.

Look who's talkin'! (Your Imoen does read too, right?)

LOL, yes. I don't know yet if she reads dire romances like most other Imoens out there, (maybe when she was happier and more innocent, but my Imoen can sometimes be downright morbid), but she probably does read some appalling stuff.

Yes, yess?? Continue!

Encourage the nice scholar...

Ugh.. Well, anything to bring J back!

Yes, though I doubt Ano's thrilled at the prospect of carting that around!

Ouch, ouch! Sir Anomen's getting old..

Anomen: What? I'll have you, you whippersnapper...!

A Great Episode again!

Cheers!!