In The Cards

Never ever underestimate your familiar. It is more than a simple pet, and it will have powers of its own. The wise wizard will listen to his familiar's advice. Then he will make up his own mind.

Excerpt from 'On Familiars'

That first night in Nashkel Zaerini slept uneasily, haunted by dreams. Yet for all the nightly terrors that plagued her it was a dream of home that truly stood out in her mind afterwards.

Candlekeep. In the dream she stood outside the great fortress, its mighty walls rearing up high above her, making her feel like an insignificant ant. She knew somehow that she was dreaming, and yet it felt impossibly real. I have to get in, Zaerini thought. Must get help. Must help Gorion. She pounded on the gate, screamed for the Watchers to come and aid her, to aid her father. There was no reply, and the gate remained closed, mocking her with its silence. The walls were far too steep for her to climb, smooth and barren, offering no handhold. "No!" Rini screamed. "Gorion needs help! Let me in!"

You cannot go inside, kitten. Rini looked down to see her familiar calmly watching her from the ground. Softpaws watched her with unblinking glowing eyes, her tail neatly coiled around her paws. Look.

Zaerini pushed her wild red hair out of her eyes and looked across the wall in the direction the cat had indicated. She could see a light, faint and dim. The light inside her old room. Even as she looked the bricks of the walls drew together closing it off. "No…", she whispered. "I want to go home…"

"You cannot go back this way, child. You must go on." The voice was a familiar one, a beloved one, and one she had never expected to hear again. The half-elf spun around with a sudden hiss of breath to see her foster father standing next to her. But he was no more than a shadowy image, a mere ghost of his former self, almost invisible in the quiet darkness. Still, his voice was calm and kind, his eyes gentle. Smiling, he reached down to pet the small cat who was rubbing herself against his ankles. Zaerini couldn't help but wonder just how that was possible.

I'm a cat, Softpaws said. We live partly in the shadow worlds. Really, you should know that. Now pay attention. This is important.

Gorion smiled again and pointed towards the woods. Rini watched the dark trees with some trepidation. This was how the woods had looked on the night of Gorion's death. She had no particular desire to go inside. "I have to go, don't I?" she said. "Candlekeep…is no longer my home. I can only go forward from here."

As if in answer to her question a path formed before her, broad and smooth, safe and secure. The trees moved aside, offering her passage. The road called out to her, offering her safe passage, the goals of all her dreams. It pulled at the very core of her being. And yet she hesitated. It was all just a little bit too convenient. She looked at her familiar again. The cat was watching something behind the trees, something that Zaerini couldn't quite make out, and she was hissing softly.

A cat does not allow herself to be pushed or prodded, the familiar stated. She goes only where she wishes!

Yes, Zaerini thought. You are right. I will make my own path. She turned away from the broad road, pushing inside the forest, and she felt hot tears rising in her eyes at the sight of Gorion's proud smile of approval. As the trees closed in behind her she could her a whisper following her, ancient and malevolent. It spoke three words only, words that nevertheless filled her heart with cold dread. YOU WILL LEARN…

"No!" Zaerini exclaimed as she sat up in bed, her eyes wild and her bedclothes a hopeless tangle.

"Rini? What's wrong?" Imoen sounded worried as she too awoke, shaken out of sleep by her friend's distress.

"I…had a dream", the bard explained. "A bad one." She described it, leaving out no detail. "I don't know what it all means", she said once she had finished. "Except that we really cannot go home again. I know I said so before, but I don't think I really understood it."

"Yeah, I know. I miss it too, even if adventuring is fun and all." Imoen suddenly smiled. "Hey, what d'you think they'd say back home if they could see us now? Great adventurers, living the free life of the road. You'll become a master bard of course, a real artist. And me, I'll become a great and dashing rogue!" She grinned. "Think there's a Thieves Guild in Nashkel?" she asked. "I've read about them. They sound like really nifty places."

"I hardly think so", Zaerini said, feeling more lighthearted already at her friend's casual banter. "This place is way too small. What do you want with a Thieves Guild anyway?"

"Oh, you know… I figure I could do with some tips to improve myself. Help me get the hang of things, show me the ropes."

"Just be careful not to get yourself hanged. Walking up to people and asking them for the closest Thieves Guild is a great way to accomplish that."

Imoen laughed. "I promise I'll be careful", she said. "Anyway, we'd better go downstairs. Jaheira wanted to go see the Mayor today, remember? And she's the sort to be up at the crack of dawn to greet the rising sun…"

"Hmmpf", Zaerini muttered. "That's her problem. Nobody says I have to go along with her insane notions…" She did rise however, and started to slowly pull her clothes on. She was rather hungry, and right now breakfast sounded like a very good idea, even if it meant having to tackle the druid.

Khalid and Jaheira were almost finished with breakfast when the two girls came downstairs. The druid looked up to give them both an irritable look.

"There you are", she said. "I thought you intended to sleep the entire day away."

Zaerini took extra care too present the other woman with a wide and insolent yawn. "But Jaheira", she said in an innocent voice. "Our bodies spoke to us, and they told us that we needed the rest. And isn't it the natural thing to listen to your body?"

"And do you apply that same principle when it comes to choosing your food?"

"Of course. The body knows best. And right now it would like some bread and cheese, possibly an egg. Oh, and hot chocolate is always welcome."

"Well, you will not get it." The druid sounded both angry and strangely triumphant at the same time. "There is nothing except porridge today. The supplies are short now because of the troubles with the bandits and the mine. Apparently there were some eggs and bacon, but some other guests snagged those before we got here." She gave the fat innkeeper a hard glare that caused the man to start twitching gently. "And he says that room service is not a regular feature and that it is some sort of private arrangement with some earlier guests. He would not give in, even when I was firm with him."

"Th-there is some blueberry jam to go with t-the p-porridge though", Khalid interjected, his brown eyes a little worried as he watched his wife. "I-it's really quite g-good."

Zaerini sighed as she seated herself and watched the gray lumpy mass in the bowl in front of her. Jam or not, she had never been that fond of porridge. Well, at least it wasn't poisoned. Probably.

Nice dreams tonight? Softpaws asked and leapt onto the table. Remember the pretty and clever familiar you dreamed about? Do you have any treats for me?

What do you mean?

Treats. Goodies. Food.

No, I mean about the dreams. Were you really there? Inside my dream?

Of course, I was. Like I said, cats walk freely in shadows and dreams. I'm not about to let a confused kitten like you blunder about there unsupervised. Now listen up. The angry one is talking to you.

"Huh?" Zaerini said, immediately regretting that.

"I said that we really should get going", Jaheira said in an exasperated voice. "How can you sleep so long without getting rested? You look like you are about to drop headfirst into your porridge. The Mayor is expecting us. Now come." Without turning around the druid rose and strode out of the inn, Khalid following close behind. Imoen and Zaerini gave each other a look.

"Tetchy", Imoen said with a wink.

"Yes. You'd think somebody had shortchanged her bed or something."

Imoen's blue eyes were glittering with mischief. "Oh, good idea!" she said. "Maybe something else as well?"

"Nettles in her clothes?"

"Oh, that's a good one! Remember when we did that to old Ulraunt?"

Zaerini's smiled was blissful and her eyes dreamy. "Oh, yessss…." Then she shrugged. "Well, guess we'd better go before she decides to come back and drag us along."

The Mayor of Nashkel turned out to be a middle-aged man, with a rather nondescript face and thinning hair, but with an intelligent look about him. "Hello there!" he said. "I recognize Jaheira in your group, so you must be the adventurers I was expecting. I am Berrun Ghastkill, mayor of Nashkel, and I am happy to welcome you. I am sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."

"What exactly is the trouble here?" Zaerini asked, eager to show herself as the leader of the group before Jaheira could take over the conversation.

"I can't believe you haven't guessed. Have you heard of the iron shortage? Well, Nashkel is in the thick of it. Our mine is all but shut down because the workers continually go missing, and what ore we do get is tainted somehow. I would send in the town guards, but we need them to protect our citizens from the bandits that raid our caravans. We need you to find out what is wrong in the mines southeast of town."

"I've heard about that", Rini said. "Have you no idea at all about what is causing the trouble?"

"None. Oh, I daresay the miners and farmers around here will provide you with all sorts of fanciful rumors, about demons and dragons and whatnot. But nobody really knows what is going on, and I had better warn you that other adventurers have tried to look into the situation already."

"Well? What did they say?" Imoen asked.

The Mayor looked grim. "Nothing", he said. "They never returned. What do you say? Do you think you can help us?"

Zaerini hesitated a moment. The whole thing sounded more than a little ominous. And yet…intriguing. She admitted to herself that she was curious to find out the truth. Unbidden, the images from her dream floated into her mind. No way to go back, she thought. Only forward.

"Very well", Zaerini said, feeling as if she was about to jump off a cliff. "I accept."

Berrun Ghastkill looked immensely relieved at that. "Thank you!" he exclaimed. "You will be the toast of the town if you can help. Now, do you have any next of kin you would like me to notify? Just in case…"

Having told the Mayor that no such precautions would be necessary the group continued on their way. They were just passing the town barracks when a strangely accented voice called out to them. Zaerini turned her head to see the largest man she had ever seen swiftly coming towards her. Strangely enough, it wasn't his enormous size that was the most worrying thing about him, or even the huge sword strapped across his back, but rather the fact that there was a small and fluffy hamster perched on top of his shoulder.

If that turns out to be another assassin I'm going to scream out loud, Zaerini thought. One per day is quite enough thank you.