In The Cards

Going undercover can be a great way to obtain useful information. Of course, if your cover should accidentally get blown, then you can expect to get into very deep excrement…

Excerpt from ‘Ruminations Of A Master Bard’

The Seven Suns trading house was a large, sober-looking building close by the Merchant’s League. Zaerini gave it a long look, pondering the best way to get inside. She’d be greatly surprised if the place didn’t turn out to be stuffed to the roof with doppelgangers, and she felt the need to formulate some sort of strategy. There was a pretty fountain close by, but away from the main street, surrounded by white marble benches and sweet-smelling flowers, and she sat down, hoping that the sound of the tinkling water would help soothe her and make her think better. The doppelgangers in the Merchant’s League had been dealt with, and Aldeth Sashenstar had been very grateful and offered a magical sword in return. She had a feeling this next job would be more difficult though.

“So,” she said to her friends. “Anybody got an idea about how to handle this?”

“Whatever we do, we should do it quickly,” Jaheira said. “Soon enough Sarevok will learned about the events at the Merchant’s League, and then he will put a stronger guard here.”

“We could always arrange for some sort of disguise,” Edwin suggested. “Some sort of false identities. As merchants, perhaps.”

Rini thought about this for a moment. “That would take time to do properly though, and as Jaheira says we don’t know how much time we have.” Then her eyes lit up, sparkling with mischief. “But I have another idea. I can always use my cat form to sneak inside. That way the doppelgangers won’t suspect a thing, and I can find out exactly what’s going on inside, and even let you guys in. It should be easy.”

Zaerini hadn’t known exactly what she expected her friends reaction to be. But what she hadn’t expected was for Edwin to practically leap to his feet, his face quite pale. “WHAT?” he practically screamed. “Are you insane? You can’t do that! Suppose they catch you? Suppose they hurt you? Suppose they…they kill you?” He had grasped her hand by now and was clutching it so hard that it was starting to hurt a little, and his dark eyes were wide with fear and anger.

“Edwin, calm down!” the bard said, more than a little taken aback. “I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Ha! Yes, that’s what you would say, isn’t it? Seems I’ve heard that one before. And then you’ll probably climb into the lap of Sarevok himself to…to steal food from his plate or something equally suicidal. (One is quite bad enough. I’m not having her stick her head in a noose.) No. You’re not going anywhere without me, I will not allow it.”

Rini had got to her feet now as well. She was practically nose-to-nose with the Red Wizard, and she felt her mouth twisting into a snarl. “What was that you said about not allowing me something? Have I become your slave all of a sudden? Or your pet? Do you see a leash and collar around my throat?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Oh, now I’m ridiculous am I? And how were you planning to stop me from doing what I want? Tying me up? Putting a spell on me, maybe?”

“Well, I might. Assuming there was a spell to keep people from acting as if they have a latent death wish.”

“Oh you’re a fine one to talk! And if you ever tried such a thing I’d smack you straight into next week, just so you know.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, you red-robed, interfering, aggravating idiot!”

“Why you…you ungrateful, pig-headed, willful vixen!”

“Posturing puff-fish!”

“Hapless hazard-seeker!”

“Meddler!”

“Brat!”

It was at this moment that Imoen cleared her throat loudly. “Um…guys?” she said. “You may want to continue this later.”

The bard and the Red Wizard broke off in mid argument; tearing themselves away from the intense and smoldering mutual glare they were sharing in order to give Imoen a confused look. Then, to their chagrin, they noticed that they had attracted a certain audience. A large crowd had formed around the fountain and was watching them intently, and there was even a disreputable man selling pieces of anonymous meat in hot buns, as well as several probable pickpockets working the crowd.

A small child of indeterminate age and gender was at the front of the crowd, watching them owlishly out of a grubby face. “Are you gonna kill each other?” it solemnly asked, sounding very expectant.

“Of course they aren’t!” said a larger child who was probably an older sister. “They’re gonna kiss and make up, you’ll see. That is so romantic…”

“Eeeeewwwww!”

Rini felt herself flushing furiously, and she could see that Edwin was in a similar state, too stunned to produce more than small and half-strangled noises. Please, oh please just let me sink through the ground right now. Or get struck by lightning. Anything but this.

What’s the problem? Softpaws asked. Everybody knows that courting is supposed to be noisy, public and involve some hissing and spitting before getting down to business.

“Go on, dearies!” cried a friendly-looking matron a little further into the crowd, her eager voice echoing the candid images sent by the amused familiar. “Don’t keep us waiting!”

Jaheira shot the mass of people an annoyed look. “That will be quite enough,” she said. “The show is over. Go on, everybody. There is nothing to see here. Move along.” Thankfully enough, there was something about her voice and the look in her eyes that made the crowd disperse, despite a certain amount of grumbling. “There you go, children,” she told Zaerini and Edwin. “They will not bother you again. But please try to keep your voices down a little. We do not want the guards arresting you for disturbing the peace.”

Rini gave Edwin a look. He was still looking highly embarrassed, but he no longer seemed angry. “I…may have overreacted just a little bit,” he grudgingly admitted. “Though you should not ignore the analyses offered by my massively developed intellect, one might argue that I could have presented my arguments more effectively if I hadn’t attempted to issue direct orders.”

And that’s likely as much of an apology as I’m going to get. “I don’t mind you worrying,” the half-elf quietly told the wizard. “Quite…quite the opposite. But I won’t allow you to order me about. You can come with me you know, as long as you can stay out of sight. All you really had to do was to ask.”

Something about the simultaneously relieved and befuddled look in the wizard’s eyes made her feel as if her heart was melting inside her chest. That is so…so…so absolutely adorable.

“I…I can?” Edwin asked. “Oh. Well. It…it just so happens that I have a spell of invisibility handy, actually…”

“Can I come too?” Imoen asked. “You’ll need me you know, in case you need to open any locks.”

“Sure,” Rini said. “But the rest of you better wait here.”

“I do not like this,” Jaheira protested. “We should be there to protect you.”

“We’ll manage. And if something should go wrong, we’ll make certain to be noisy enough to alert you…”

Getting inside the Seven Suns proved relatively simple. The guard in the entry hall looked up when he heard a faint noise at his feet, and then snorted with annoyance at the sight of a bright red cat watching him. Cursing he kicked out at the animal, but the cat swiftly darted out of the way and deeper into the building. For a moment the guard considered following. But that would mean leaving the door unguarded, and it wasn’t as if the beast could do any serious harm. Then he frowned a little. The door was just a little bit ajar. Probably it had been the wind.

Rini’s initial general impression of the Seven Suns was one of marble. Vast and cold marble floors, and wide marble pillars. Merchants could be glimpsed here and there, going about their business, and their quiet voices turned into whispering echoes beneath the tall roof. She quietly slipped along the walls, keeping out of sight, following Softpaws’ lead. She was getting more acquainted with being a cat, but her familiar was after all born as one and knew how to move about unseen. Imoen was doing a fine job of keeping to the shadows as well, and as for Edwin he was of course completely invisible. Zaerini constantly worried that he wasn’t keeping up and he’d almost tripped over her twice since she kept going back to check. Eventually they found a staircase leading down, and they followed it into deeper darkness. What they found below was a small prison, traditionally dark and damp, with a few cramped cells. The guards were a bit more unconventional though. Doppelgangers, two of them. They were standing in front of one of the cells, and inside Rini could glimpse a human shape.

If he’s a prisoner of the doppelgangers, then he’s a potential ally, she thought. We should try to get him out. Besides, I don’t like prisons.

Softpaws’ green eyes shone eagerly in the darkness. Come then, kitten. Now we hunt.

Both cats crept along the walls, and then got onto one of the tall chests standing near the wall. Then, once they were close enough, they leapt. Rini hadn’t really fought that much in cat form, but it seemed her body instinctively knew what to do. Sharp claws buried themselves in the doppelgangers silver eyes and raked deep furrows in its gray face amidst a frenzy of hissing and spitting, and her familiar was doing the same. The doppelganger flailed its arms up, trying to tear her off, but it was already half blind, and she easily leapt out of reach. Then one of the two shapechangers sagged to the floor, its throat cut cleanly through by Imoen’s blade, even as an Acid Arrow cast by the suddenly visible Edwin took out the other one.

The bard changed back into her own shape in time to see Imoen picking the lock of the dungeon cell. The man inside was thin and looked rather ill, and he had clearly been abused recently. Still, he hadn’t been broken, for there was still a look of defiance in his eyes. “More of you?” he spat. “Fighting among yourselves now, are you? No matter. Kill me if you must, and be done with it.”

“We aren’t doppelgangers!” Imoen hastily assured him. “We’re going to let you out.”

“Ha! And why should I believe you? I saw what you just did. You are shapeshifters, same as they.”

“Look,” Rini said. “It would be way too complicated to explain everything. But I’m really not a doppelganger, honestly. Scar sent us here, to search for somebody named Jhasso.”

The man’s eyes lit up eagerly. “Scar sent you? Could it be? Is my torment really ending? I am Jhasso, and I am the leader of the Seven Suns. Those creatures, the shape shifters, started infiltrating the Seven Suns some months ago. They must have started with some of the less important members of my coster. Eventually they captured me and their leader took my face. They've been keeping me alive in order to gain information that they need through torture. I don't know what their purpose is, but they have been running my business very badly. All of you will be well rewarded for rescuing me. When you meet Scar again, he will give you my reward. I must be off now, as there is much of the monsters work to be undone. I assume you've dealt with the other monsters upstairs; if you haven't I'll get the Flaming Fist to clear out the rest. It'll probably be weeks before we can clean out their stench.”

“Actually we came straight down here,” Imoen said. “Are you sure you’ll be able to get out all right?”

“Oh, certainly.” Jhasso moved to one of the chests, unlocking it. “A potion of invisibility should help with that. I thank you again, friends.” He waved at them, and disappeared from sight.

It was then that Zaerini spotted the inherent flaw of their plan. “Edwin?” she said. “Do you have any more invisibility spells memorized?”

“No,” the wizard said. “Why do you…” He turned his head and noticed the two dead doppelgangers on the floor. “…ask? Oh.” His face fell as he realized the implications.

Blast! There are likely tons of doppelgangers upstairs, and he’ll stand out like a Red Dragon at a dancing lesson. They can’t help but notice him. Her mouth set into a very determined expression that Gorion would have known spelt trouble for anyone obstructing her way. Well, I won’t let them hurt him. Not them, not anybody. And whoever tries is going to be very sorry, be it doppelgangers or Elminster himself.