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Children of Bhaal	By : ConradKrausche Category: +A through F > Baldur's Gate Views: 13643 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Baldurs Gate, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Fourth
Interlude: A son of Bhaal, a daughter of Bhaal, a monk, Jaheira and the
Bhaalspawn-Killers

We camped in the woods a little east of
Candlekeep, in the morning we would reach the fortress of wisdom. Jaheira and I
agreed that the Bhaalspawn-Killers still might be around and so we set up a watch.
Jaheira went first, then Imoen and then I. When my
watch would be finished, I would wake Arkul Sazzari.

I was sitting by the fire and starred into it, my thoughts were with
some experiments I had been working on concerning a new kind of power I had
found: electricity. The first time I had thought about it was when I had watched
how a farmer�s wife had beheaded a chicken
and the chicken had run away, even without a head. What had made the legs move,
although the chicken had already been dead?

After some experimenting with animals I had found
that muscles react when electric impulses are sent through them. So I had made a
theory that the brain sends electric impulses via the nerves to command the
different body parts into action.

The matter had become even more fascinating
when I had invented electrolysis. Certain substances can be taken apart by letting electricity through
them. For example, a substance consisting of two elements can be taken apart that way, because one element
would go to the negative and the other element to the positive electric pole.
That had led me to the theory that the Undividables
consist of different parts themselves and aren�t as undividable as I had thought that they are. They have at least some parts which are negative or positive or else
electrolysis wouldn�t work. That meant that I had to rename the Undividables and so I had called them �Elementals�, because
the elements consist of them. The electrically loaded parts in the Elementals I had called �Electricers�.

Soon I had found that certain substances are more able to let electricity flow
through them. I had made a list of the substances and elements, the ones who are better with the flow of electricity
on the top. Experimenting with those substances I had found that I could create
a stable flow with some of them, at least for a time. And that I could use the
energy of the flow to do other things. One of the first things I had made
possible was light. I had used the electric energy to heat a wire and the wire had
lighted up. I had introduced electric light in all the regions controlled by
the de�Arnise family and now their towns and villages shown brightly even during
the night.

Lately another idea was bothering me: How could
I use electric energy to get a machine going? I saw the potential in
electricity, if I only found a way to power machines; many more possibilities
would open up for me�

Suddenly I heard a noise behind us and I rose,
changing my appearance in the process, taking on the werewolf-form. After everything that
had happened I had visited my clan, had given them the blood of Irenicus and
they had bound me to the clan so that I could now use the gift of Faenrryr as
fully as they could. I had of course stayed some time with them, teaching them
how to use my weapons and with thus we had been able to defeat some of the
enemies that had bothered my clan the most.

With the wolf-form my senses were sharpened greatly. I could smell and hear better, which was even better than
seeing, for those different senses worked together and gave me an even better
picture than when I was a mere human. The sword of Maddoc, my ancestor, almost
automatically entered my hand, glowing blue-gray in the darkness.

�Wake up! The enemy is near!� I gnarled and my companions awoke.

�Darn, what�s goin� on?�
Imoen asked me quietly.

�I smell and hear them, Bhaalspawn-Killers. They try
to encircle us right now. Ossar Maldik is with them, I can feel him.�

�And what do we do?� Jaheira asked.

�You hide in the bushes; they must not see you,
stay away from the fire. I will go hunting.�

With that I disappeared into the night like a shadow. I
wanted to kill Maldik, without their leader they would probably be helpless.

Sneaking through the bushes I approached. The
Bhaalspawn-Killers stepped into the light of the fire, surprised that no one
was there.

�Where are they? They must be here somewhere, search the woods!� Maldik commanded
angrily.

And then I jumped at him, raised my claws and
stroke at him, hitting his face. He screamed, blood flowing from his right
cheek. I wanted to thrust my sword at him and felt someone behind me, so I
kicked backwards, felt how the claws on my feet hit something and heard a scream. One enemy was down.

But others were coming from behind, so I turned
around and faced them. They stared at me in horror and some backed
away. Two tried to attack me; I raised my sword and jumped at them, thrusting
my sword right through the chest of one of them. Quickly I pushed the sword out
again and slashed with my claws at the other opponent at the same time. The
Killer backed away; I swung my sword low and cut off his feet, so he fell to
the ground. He tried to attack me, not yet realizing that he had no feet left
and then he looked down, saw the bloody stumps and screamed in terror and pain.
I grinned, swung my sword and beheaded him.

�Anyone else?� I growled.

I had forgotten about Maldik, he stood behind
me and I could hear a swishing noise, then I felt something hit my head and all went black.

When I awoke I was bound to a steel chair and was
back in my human form. I felt angry at myself for being so inattentive. I was a
werewolf; I should be able to react faster than every one of those
Bhaalspawn-Killers! I had been too self-confident, I guessed.

�Ah, the abomination has awoken!� I heard the voice of Maldik say.

�What do you want of me, scum?� I snarled at him.

�I thought that it was obvious: to kill you.
But not just like that, your soul must first be purified by pain.�

�So you want to torment me. Get on with it; you
won�t hear anything from my lips!�

Maldik laughed cruelly.

�I don�t think so, abomination! You haven�t met
our master of torment yet. He is an expert, I can assure you.�

�Can�t be better than Irenicus, the only true
master I ever knew��

�Irenicus? Oh, I remember� Well, if you say
so, son of Bhaal. But we shall see.�

Maldik waved to the door and a man entered. He
was long and thin, his face was pale and his eyes like ice.

�Rikor is his name. I
will leave you two so you can get on with your business��

Suddenly I heard screams outside and the
unsheathing of swords. A man stumbled into the room, blood covering his chest,
and he collapsed dead on the ground.

�What is this?� Maldik demanded.

The answer came in form of a lightning that hit
Rikor and left him a burnt corpse. It was definitely
Gesen�s bow, Imoen had come for me.

Maldik shrieked, drew his sword and pressed
himself flat against the wall. Outside I heard shouts, screams, clanging of
swords and the swishing of a bow. And then it was all silent, only the fast
breathing of Maldik could be heard.

Imoen appeared at the door, looking amused at
me.

�So, here ya are, yar divine lordship!�

With a scream Maldik jumped forward, thrusting his sword at Imoen, who
barely dodged and stumbled backwards, drawing her katana and letting
her bow fall to the ground. She stroke swiftly from side to side, driving
Maldik back, who barely was able to parry. But then he parried with some strength and pushed
aside Imoen�s sword, thrusting his immediately at her and then striking at her
feet. Imoen leaned backwards at the first and jumped at the second,
raised her katana and stroke at Maldik from above, who wasn�t prepared for that, and hit him on the
head, splitting his skull.

She pulled the sword out of the body, stepped
over to me and glared at me with an amused smile.

�Just look at ya, sittin� all here an� me doin� all
the work. C�me on, let�s get ya
out o� here!�

With several quick strokes she cut my bonds,
sheathed her katana, grabbed me at my arms, pulled me up and kissed me.

�So, do I get some thanks from ya or what?�

I smiled warmly, stroked her cheek and looked at
her. It was a sight I would never grow weary of. Her eyes were dark brown and full of life, but also
filled with deep feelings of sadness, but also love and kindness. They were
definitely a lot graver than they had been when we had been young. The eyebrows
were as dark as her eyes, thin and curved, a
long scar splitting the right one into two
halves. Her skin was smooth and had a bronze touch; her hair was red as fire
and as thick as mine. She had a straight, thin nose, as was the structure of
the face, which gave her an almost elfin grace. And her lips were full, but not
too big and of a light red, always smiling a little around the edges.

She was definitely more beautiful than I was; it
wasn�t that I was not attractive. Perhaps I could be, if I hadn�t this
sinister, menacing air around me. I was the kind of person people moved
out of the way on the streets when they saw me approach. What made me even more
grateful that I and Im shared our hearts and souls, bound by a love deeper
than anyone else could understand. For we weren�t
bound by our bodies, the bondage went right down into our very souls and
spirits. Deep down there we felt that we were one and that was what kept us together.

Gently I touched her hair and bent forward until our lips met in a
passionate, deep kiss. Finally we parted again, but kept looking into each others
eyes, into each others souls.

�Now I remember why I love you that much, Im. I
owe you one for that. Maldik just wanted to lock me in with his �master of torment�.�

�Hm, perhaps I should
�ave waited for a while. Some torment would do ya good.�

�Now don�t you overdo it, Im, I would never
forgive you for such a thing!� I warned her mockingly.

She laughed.

�Ah, c�me on, Darn, ya know
exactly I wouldn�t do that!�

�Yeah, I know, Im, I know, because you love me
too, right?� I replied quietly, hugged her and kissed her again, this time a
little longer.

�Yeah, that�s right an� don�t ya ever forget it� she whispered in between.

Suddenly Imoen pulled away and explained: �Wait
a sec, we need a little privacy here before we continue��

She turned around and stepped over to the door.

�A�right, nothin� happened t� �im!� she
shouted.

�Very well, glad to hear it!� I heard Jaheira call back.

�Now ya two leave us
for a while, go an� cook somethin�!�

�What for?� Arkul asked.

�None o� yer
business!� Imoen
growled sternly.

Jaheira laughed and replied: �Alright, we leave
you two, give you some privacy. Come on, Arkul, you slow-minded fossil!�

�But� but what is going on?� he demanded
uncertainly.

�If you can�t think of it yourself, my dear, a little off-the-world-monk, then
it is really none of your business� I heard Jaheira reply to that, laughing.

In the meantime I dragged the bodies of Mardik and Rikor
out and dropped them outside the room.

�How many did you kill, anyway?� I asked Imoen.

�Ehm, �bout ten or
so� I dunno exactly��

She closed the door and turned to me.

�Now, where were we?� she asked.

I pulled her towards me and kissed her.

�Here, I think��

�Hm, ya don�t mind all the blood?� she asked a little
critically.

�Been in worse places. And your presence definitely
increases the quality of the place to the point I wouldn�t mind a grave full of
rotting zombies� I replied, stroking her hair gently and then kissing the scar over her right eye.

She laughed.

�Ya ol� flatterer! Ya don�t need t� use
yer charms on me, but thanks anyway� she said, while
taking off her boots and then mine.

She kissed me, pressing her body at mine, so I
felt her warmth. Slowly I touched her breasts, moved my hand down until I got the
end of her brown shirt (she never wore armor, it would have made it impossible for her
to do magic). Gently I raised her arms and took off her shirt, then kissed her
again, feeling her bare skin now, smooth and warm. She pulled away and began taking off my own
shirt, while I moved my hand and my lips over her body, feeling her skin, her
scars. She had many of those, all over
her body, most of them caused by Irenicus� experiments. I had also scars, of course, but not as much as she
had. But I didn�t mind them at all. She smiled and touched my hair that was as
thick as a wolf�s fur. The more often I changed my form, the more my human form
began to take on wolfish characteristics. I always had had much hair on my
whole body, but since I had become a full werewolf it had increased, as had the
blue-gray color of my eyes that now shone coldly in the dark.

I embraced her and pressed her body close to
me, skin against skin, kissing her, moving over her body like an explorer in an
unknown country, while she opened my belt and then my trousers. My hands moved
down and touched her between her legs, feeling the warmth there. Gently I opened her own
trousers and pulled them down, she took them off herself. The temperature around us must have risen several
degrees because of our bodies, for I felt as hot as sand in the desert.

She pushed me down on the chair and sat on my
knees, her legs parted. I felt how I entered her, she leaned her whole body against me, her
hair hanging into my face and then kissing me passionately. I put my arms around her, pressing her firmly
against my body, while she pushed, first slowly, but then faster, our breathing
quickened as did the passion of our union, for right now we were as one, body,
soul and spirit. I forgot everything around us, there was only us, nothing else left
in the universe. And I felt our very souls, becoming one as our bodies. I don�t
think anyone else can experience it as we could, for we were indeed somehow the
same on a level I can�t explain. Later on, as I began researching the nature of the souls and
spirits, I realized that I and Imoen had the same pattern of soul, as if they
had been made of one piece and then parted.

But right now only the moment existed, our
love, burning like a fire in us, and the bond between our souls. I felt her as
if she was me and we were unified in our joy, the triumph of our love and
absolute passion as if it would last for eternity and would
always stay as young and fresh and bright as it was now. It all rose to
unknown heights of our perfect union onto levels unknown to other people. One
could describe it as the spiritual equivalent of sexuality, only that we had it
both at the same time. It is hard to describe it to anyone who hasn�t experienced
it. I felt like my and her spirit melted together and became one single spirit,
as were our bodies at the same time. Now imagine that the feeling of spiritual
and physical union was improved by increasing feelings of joy, triumph, passion
and love, at the end all shining and burning like the sun itself and all ending
in an explosion of all those feelings, so that it almost became unbearable.

It isn�t body chemistry I am talking about. Of
course, one part of it was that, but there was something entirely else also. Something much deeper, much more intense and purely spiritual.
If you were empathic or telepathic you might understand what I am talking
about. It is difficult to explain. Perhaps it is similar to what certain religious people feel
when they have made spiritual contact with their deity. Although what I and
Imoen had was between two equal spirits and therefore something different.

She still leaned against me, her head resting
on my chest, when it all was over. Still we could feel the warmth and our souls, but on a somewhat
calmer, more peaceful level. We rested there for hours and I guess I fell
asleep at one point. I definitely remember hearing Imoen�s slow breathing and the warmth of her breath on my skin.

These hours belonged to us alone; the
multiverse itself had been left out of the room. And I never forgot them, even
in my worst times, when I forgot most other things. I guess that it had been
what had kept me going at these times and it had been what had saved me in the
end. The memory always stayed clear with me, as if it just had happened, even when
all else had begun to fade.

But I am again going ahead of the story.

Part Five: Darkness

Darnoc: Adalon

My eyes began to adapt to the dim light in the
Underdark and I saw a vast system of caves
and caverns stretching in front of us. Pillars of stone, mirrors of clear water, lines of glimmer and
glittering on the walls could be seen. There was beauty here, but also a
feeling of a sinister threat lurking in the shadows.

�So that�s the Underdark� Can�t say that I like it, but
some o� the thin�s I can see �re quite beautif�l.� Imoen remarked.

�There is evil here, I can feel it� Although
right now it is distant� Keldorn added.

�Let us get moving, please� I want to spend as
little time as possible here, this place makes me shudder� Aerie whispered,
looking around uneasily.

I was at a total loss myself. Where should we
turn? Was Irenicus really here? And how the hell could we get back to the
surface as quickly as possible?

Some meters away from us I could see three
druegar with crates beside them. Probably
traders and it is common knowledge that traders know what is going on around them.

�Hey, you guys, do you know of any way up to
the surface?� I asked them.

�Welcome, strangers. Surfacers,
right? And you wanna get back up, I guess. If I were
you I would ask lady Adalon, she might be able to help you.�

�Who�s lady Adalon?�

�Ah, forgive me; you are strange to these lands. Lady
Adalon is a silver dragon and she is a guardian of the temple, a way to the
surface. She can lead you upwards.�

�And where might we find this dragon?�

�Ask the Svirfneblin, they can show you the
way. Their village is a little to the north of here.�
There was only one problem with that: Where the
hell was north down here?

So we wandered through the caves of Underdark, seeking the village of the
Svirfneblins, the deep-gnomes. We walked through deserted corridors of stone
without meeting anyone. Until we finally came to a stair
leading downwards.

Following the stair we found ourselves in a
place that looked strangely familiar to me. It was a small room with slimy,
red-green walls. And then it hit me: the Blind Eye! The Blind Eye had inhabited
a similar lair.

The inhabitant showed up soon enough, a huge
beholder came floating towards us.

�How dare you to enter my realm, human!� the thing
shouted in a booming voice and starred at me with its many eyes.

It was readying itself for using magic on us.
If we would allow it to use its spells, we would certainly die, for those
beasts could conjure several spells at the same time. In a matter of a moment,
all the different probabilities flashed in front of my inner eye, I saw
different ways, different ends. Well, it wasn�t really seeing. I saw numbers,
equations and formulas. And at the same time I knew what they meant. I saw the
universe from the mathematical point of view. I saw different outcomes and how
probable they were, what factors played a role in them. And I began to change,
to shape a path, which would lead to our survival. It was the first time this
happened and it continued to happen from then on, as if time suddenly stopped
and allowed me to choose the right path in order to survive. Thus I calculated
the best way to beat this beast and suddenly time began to flow normally again.

So I quickly drew out my fire-spiters and shot at it, my companions took out their
weapons and attacked also.

It wasn�t easy; the beast had a thick skin.
Keldorn, Anomen and Minsc began to hack its eyes off, which definitely showed some
success, for the beast howled in pain. I kept firing into its central part, trying to hit some vital part. Suddenly the beast howled and an
explosion of pure magic shook the cave, a stone fell on my shoulder and I
screamed in pain. Then it was over, the floating beholder fell dead to the
ground. But we had survived, as I had calculated and then acted upon.

Imoen rushed over to me and looked closely at
my shoulder.

�Ya�re lucky, Darn, nothin�s
broken. But it�ll hurt for some time, I guess. Aerie might help ya��

Nothing was ever certain. I had known that the
cave would probably collapse and that there was a certain probability we would
die. But somehow the factors I had chosen led to our survival, the beholder
hadn�t been able to destroy us in his death.

Aerie knelt beside me and also looked at the
shoulder. Then she took out some herbs and bandages from her backpack and began
treating the injury.

�It should heal soon enough, Darnoc. There�s no permanent damage, so
don�t worry� she explained.

I looked at the body of the beholder and saw
something glittering beneath it. So I went over to it and saw a blue blade that
reminded me of something. Suddenly I remembered: The knob of the Equalizer that
Jaheira had given me. Both the knob and the blade had the same color. When I
took it out and compared the two, Imoen and Aerie both gasped in awe as they recognized the parts of the powerful magical sword.

We left the lair of the beholder and went on searching for the village of the
deep-gnomes. After some wandering around we came to set of caves with strange
symbols on the floor.

�What is that?� I asked, turning around to my companions.

�Hm, might be
Kua-Toa�� Keldorn suggested.

�Kua-Toa? I heard o� those, they�re fish-like
creatures, aren�t they?�

�Yes, Imoen, you remember it correctly. They are also known for their violence, as are most creatures of the Underdark� Keldorn further explained.

After moving through several caves with those
strange signs, we found ourselves in a hall with a huge statue of a demon. At
its base there were words carved into the stone. One had to sacrifice a life
in order to bring the children of the god (the statue, I guessed) back to life.

�Hm, perhaps if I
just�� Imoen muttered and summoned a bear right onto the altar.

A flash of fire appeared and consumed the bear. Silence followed and we starred at each other.

�Is something supposed to be happening?� Anomen
asked.

The answer came immediately; the five smaller
statues behind us suddenly sprang to live: they were demon knights.

We drew our weapons and waited for the attack,
Aerie and Imoen encircled by us melee fighters. I had drawn my fire-spiters and shot one of the attacking demons, then they
were at us and I drew my Rose Blade.

One demon attacked me, swinging a huge
two-handed sword. He howled that my blood seemed to turn to ice, but I stayed
firm and awaited his attack. It came from above, for he was bigger than me, but
I managed to role under him and thrust my sword upwards, right between his legs and into
his innards. The demon screamed, but wasn�t
dead yet, although black blood dropped down on me.

Quickly I crawled away from him, but he turned around and tried to strike at me, but
I rolled away sideward, jumped to my feet, swung my sword and cut off his left hand. The
demon stumbled backwards and was suddenly hit by a lightning, which sent trembles through his
whole body. I immediately seized the chance and thrust my sword right into his
chest. Screaming the demon disappeared in a flame, leaving nothing behind.

Nothing except a strange belt, which
I took up and gave to Imoen.

�Oh my, it�s a belt o� frost-giant�s strength!�
she exclaimed.

�So this will give me superhuman strength?� I
asked.

�Yeah, that�s right.�

I put it on and suddenly felt as if I could
lift up a whole mountain.

�Man, what a magical artifact! Quite useful�� I muttered.

We walked back and found our way to caves which
did no longer have those strange signs on the floor. But after a while we came
to a very strange place indeed. Suddenly we walked into a hall, not a cave.

�What the�?� I exclaimed, but didn�t get
further, because suddenly three very strange creatures with tentacles hanging
out of their mouths appeared and I lost consciousness.

When I awoke, we were lying in a cell. I stood
up and walked over to the door, which was closed.

�What were those creatures?� I asked my
companions.

�Illithids, mind flayers� I�ve read about �em, they can read yar mind an� even change it, do thin�s with it. Horrible thin�s I
heard� Imoen whispered, the fear clearly showing her voice.

Suddenly the door opened and a huge ogre
stepped into our cell.

�Ah, you�re the new prisoners. Welcome to the arena of the Illithids, were you will
fight until you either die or are promoted to a position as servant. Your first
fight will come soon; it will be against a group of Githyanki. We�ll give you
some time to prepare. Oh, and if you want to talk with the Githyanki before you kill them,
they�re in the next cell��

And with this he left again, locking the door.
Anomen immediately went over to the door leading to the next cell and opened
it. Behind it we found our �old friends�, who had attacked us on Saemon�s ship.

�Yoo ahgain? Ahnd yoo prohbahblee
stihl hahve the hohlee swohrd. Buht ahnyway, wee ahre ihn the sahme
seetuhahteeohn rihght now ahnd hahve buht
noh choheece
thahn to wohrk tohgehther.�

�And how do you intend to escape from here?� I
asked the leader.

�Wee will oose our
powers to hohld the cuhrseed
Illithids aht bay. That shahll geeve yoo
the chahnce to geht ahway.�

�Alright, let�s do it!� Minsc exclaimed.

Soon the ogre came back in and motioned us to
leave the cell and enter the arena. Inside the Githyanki immediately went into
meditation, using their mental powers to keep the Illithids from this place.

The ogre looked stupidly at the Githyanki,
while Keldorn unsheathed his sword and beheaded him with one, strong stroke.
Then he bent down and took the ogre�s keys.

�Quick, I�ll open these doors!� he called and
went over to the other side of the arena, unlocking the doors with the keys.

Behind the doors was a room with a table and a
chair, a book laying open on it and a blue-glimmering hilt of a sword. It was
definitely the hilt of the Equalizer, now I had all the parts of the sword.

�OK, we�re out of the arena, but how do we get out of the
Illithids� realm? Boo doesn�t like it here�� Minsc asked.

�There are several doors here, we just have to try them
out� Anomen suggested.

The door left of the arena led back into the entrance hall,
but the gates were closed. Angrily I hit the gates with my fist, but with no
visible success, of course. Suddenly the Githyanki teleported
into the hall.

�Aaah, soh yoo mahde
eet. Wee weell leeve yoo now ahnd cohme
bahck lather to reclaim the seelver
blahde. Eef yoo ahre luhcky,
yoo�ll mahnahge to geht out. Eef noht,
wee�ll seemplee cohllect the blahde frohm yoor bohdy�
the leader explained and then they teleported away, leaving us to our fate.

�Damn those Githyanki! What do we do now?�
Keldorn exclaimed angrily.

�Well, the only thing left to do: Find a way to
open those gates� I suggested.

That wasn�t as easy as it was said. I was
perfectly aware that the Illithids were hunting us and if they would find us� Well, I
didn�t want to imagine what they would do to us, once they had caught us again.

Aerie suddenly had an idea: �Hey, perhaps there
are other prisoners or servants. One
of them might know how to open those gates.�

�Right you are, Aerie, let�s go and release the
prisoners!�

The cells of the prisoners were lying around the arena. We looked into the cells, some
of the creatures inside didn�t make a good impression and so we left them. But
in one we found a man, a barbarian from the north from the looks of him.

�Who� who�re ya?� he
asked us surprised.

�We are prisoners like you and we�re trying to escape
here. Can you tell us anything useful?�

�Well, I heard �em talk
�bout �the brain�. It�s their master, it controls everythin�,
ya know. Perhaps if ya kill
it, we can escape.�

�The brain? Hm, we
must search for it then. What�s your name?�

�I�m Hrundi. Can I travel with ya?�

�Certainly, we could use another sword.�

So we went on our search for the brain together with the barbarian Hrundi. We sneaked through the
corridors, Imoen up in front. She hid in the shadows and reported what was
ahead of us.

After several empty rooms she motioned us to
stop and sneaked ahead. We waited and I was just beginning to worry, when she
returned.

�Listen, fellars, the brain�s up front. But it�s guarded by lots o� Illithids, so we must
be cautious.�

�Just point the way, Lady, an� I�ll shove �em my sword down their fuckin�
throats. They killed all my companions an� they�re gonna
pay for it!� Hrundi growled.

�We must take heed; the Illithids have many
mental powers, which could overwhelm us. Aren�t there any precautions we can
take?� Keldorn asked.

Anomen had a suggestion: �I could be of some
service, the power of Helm grants immunity against mental spells and I can give
you Helm�s blessing too. Group around me so that I
can begin with it.�

He raised his arms, looked up to the ceiling and
prayed to Helm that he may grant us protection against the mental powers of the
Illithids. For some seconds nothing happened, but then a white light filled the
room and I felt energy flow through me and into my mind. My mind became clear and determined and I knew that
nothing could stop me. But how I came to this knowledge I couldn�t tell.

We went on, our weapons drawn, and entered the
hall of the brain. The brain was a huge grayish mass in a tank surrounded by
several Illithids, who immediately turned and glared at us with their yellowish eyes.

And then I heard the voice in my head: �DIE HUMAN!
YOU MAY NOT ENTER HERE! DIE!�

But the voice could only talk, it could not
hurt me. I laughed relieved and raised my fire-spiters.
The Illithids shrieked in fear and tried to conjure spells, but I shot two of
them and Imoen and Aerie took out two more. Hrundi jumped at them with a howl,
swinging his sword wildly, Minsc, Anomen and Keldorn followed. After I had put
my fire-spiters back into my belt, I also drew my
sword and entered close combat.

Without their mental powers the Illithids stood
no chance. We cut through them like butter, until they all lay dead on the
floor. Hrundi screamed in rage and jumped onto the brain, thrusting his sword
into its unprotected mass.

A gruesome scream sounded in my head, I fell to
the floor, covering my ears, but it was no use. Finally it died and when
I looked up I saw that the brain was dead, it no longer pulsated like before.
When we walked back to the entrance hall, its gates stood wide open. We were
free.

Hrundi breathed deeply and looked around the caves.

�Thanks, fellars, I�ll never forget this. But I want
t� explore those lands on my own for a while� he announced.

�But I�ll surely miss ya,
lassies� he added, winking at Aerie and Imoen.

�Good luck to you and may Torm always be with
you� Keldorn said.

�Perhaps we�ll see us again one day, who
knows?� was the last Hrundi said and then he turned and walked away into the darkness.

Again we tried to find the village of the
deep-gnomes and this time we had more luck than before, because after about an
hour or so we reached a bridge over a gorge, which was guarded by some Svirfneblins.

�Halt, strangers, what do you want?�

�We are seeking the silver dragon, Adalon.�

�Hah, then you are at the right place. Continue on
and talk to Goldander Blackenrock,
our chief. He�ll help you.�

The village of the deep-gnomes was of course
made of caverns filled with furniture and other useful things. In a greater
hall we met the chief of the tribe, Goldander Blackenrock, a strong deep-gnome, who was a little greater
than the usual deep-gnome.

�So you seek the Silver Lady? She dwells a
little to the east, but you can�t enter her lair, unless you have the stone of
light in your possession. Now I could give it to you, but it is a valuable
thing and I wouldn�t entrust it just to everyone. First you must prove that
you�re worthy.�

�And how did you have in mind we do that?�

�Well, we dug a little to east and released
this demon. If you kill it, I�ll hand you the stone of light. Deal?�

�Yeah, alright, we�ll take care of this demon. But first we wish
to rest for a while.�

�Oh, that isn�t a problem, just go to the house
next to mine, the innkeeper lives there.�

Thendle the innkeeper rented us some beds
and so we went to get some well-earned sleep after all the fights we had had. But
Imoen wanted to talk to me first, so we went back outside together.

�Look, ya told me all
�bout yar dreams, remember? Now there�s somethin� I want t� tell ya too��

�Yes, I�m listening, Im.�

�Well, I had dreams too. When I was in the hands
o� Irenicus, I dreamt of ya. I remember it clearly, one night I just wanted t� lie
down an� die, my whole body hurt an� I was full o� blood.
Ya came t� me during my sleep an� told me thin�s about our past. Ya said
that ya need me t� control yarself. Ya said
that without ya, ya
couldn�t control the evil inside o� ya. Two dreams I
had like that, where ya said, I am yar conscience. But the third dream was
different. It happened just before� before� ya know.
Somehow I must �ave
fallen asleep, �cause I suddenly was on this hill, the stars were
shining above me. I sat down an� cried, I remember that I was shaking all over.
An� then ya came t� me, held me in yar arms an� comforted me with the warmth o� yar body. Ya
told me that ya were comin�
for me an� that it soon�d be over. And that I needed
strength for the last part. Ya know, what I�m talkin� about,
right? An� then� well��

She grew silent, looking to the ground,
blushing.

�There�s nothing you have to hide from me, I
won�t have a grudge against you, whatever you tell me� I tried to encourage her
to continue.

�Ya kissed me, Darn. An� I liked it. It was� awkward. I mean, yar my brother an� I shouldn�t feel
like that. But then I didn�t care, I just buried my face in yar chest an� cried. But ya raised my chin an� told me that I needn�t worry an�
kissed me again. I just let it happen, feelin� happy
an� safe for a while. So I rested there, ya held me
in yar arms. It was the happiest I ever felt durin� my whole capture��

Somehow I felt that this wasn�t all. She was
holding something back, something she felt really embarrassed about.

�Look, it wasn�t that bad, you don�t need to
feel embarrassed, Im. But you are hiding something. What happened,
Im? What are you holding back?�

She muttered something, I couldn�t understand.

�Im, I can�t understand you��

She sighed and began to tell: �A�right, but please, don�t be angry with me, please? Ya didn�t stop there� Ya� ya undressed me, Darn. An� we made love there an� it was�
wonderful. I feel so stupid an� embarrassed, Darn, but� Without it, I guess I
wouldn�t �ave managed, what came the next day� For a
moment all the pain faded an� I was happy an� forgot about all those horrible thin�s. An� ya told me somethin� strange, ya told me t�
keep ya in my heart or else I�d lose myself. But ya were right, without it, I probably would �ave gone insane��

Understandably, she had been embarrassed about it. But still, the
thought didn�t leave me, if I had been able to talk or move in my dream, what
would have happened? The same as in Im�s dream? Was
there more between us than just being brother and sister?

Right now, I had other problems. Im felt embarrassed and ashamed and she needed
some help, she needed assurance that I didn�t feel� disgusted or something. So
I embraced her and held her in my arms.

�Don�t think I�m angry with you, Im, for I am
not. It was just a dream, so, forget about it, right? You also told me that
didn�t you? So, I am telling you now, it was just a dream.�

She seemed relieved and whispered: �I�m glad ya�ve no grudge against me, Darn, I really am��

A suspicion grew in me.

�Im, do you believe that somehow we
communicated through our dreams? That we actually met in our dreams? Is it
possible, Im?�

She looked long into my eyes and I into hers,
both trying to read the others mind. And it was then that I first felt the
connection between us. There was something, as if our very souls were chained
together and we both felt the absent of the others soul. Our souls had been
stolen, ripped away, but the connection was still there. I could feel the
hollowness inside Im and she could feel mine.

�Yes, somethin� binds
us together, Darn� Somethin�
deep inside us makes us one an� without the other we aren�t whole��

�And because the other wasn�t there, our souls
searched the other soul and so we found
each other in our dreams�.� I continued.

�We�re one, connected t� each other, a
connection that crosses space an� time��

�Perhaps even death himself
can�t destroy it��

�But who connected us an� why?�

�I don�t know, Im, but I know that we have been
bound together for all eternity. Should our bodies once be destroyed we shall
still be connected through our spirits and souls and wherever they go, they
will be together. Perhaps we can find out together, what purpose this connection
serves��

�I don�t care for the purpose, Darn, I only care for us an� that we stay together. Nobody�ll separate us, Darn, an� together we�ll reclaim our
souls. Whoever tries t� separate us we�ll kill!�

Even I was surprised by the firmness in Im�s
voice on this matter, but I fully agreed with her and so I continued: �We are one and we are the only thing that matters! I do
not care about anything else anymore,
except our unity. We must stay together and keep together, for our lives are one and the same. No one, not even
death, shall separate us!�

Now she starred at me in surprise.

�But how�re ya gonna conquerin� death? No one
can conquer �im!�

And then the images began to rush in, I saw the
future as clearly as I saw Im standing before me. In my head I could clearly hear Lilacor�s voice talking to me.

�So you finally unlocked the barrier in your mind and have reached
the final level. You have managed to reach the fourth dimension and can now see
all the possibilities, probabilities and follow the paths into all possible
futures, planning and changing them as you want to. You have become the master
of fate! You are the master of mentats, calculating
everything that is possible and change the variables of the universe itself. No
god can hinder you anymore, for you have gained more power than any of those
fools! Use your power and create your own future, my mentat!�

Images flew past me. I saw myself rise to the
status of a god and fall into the abyss in countless variations. I saw Im die and live for
eternity; I saw universes filled with gods and universes with no god at all. I
saw the end of the multiverse and its continuing evolution. But I rejected all
possibilities and began to create my future.

When I opened my eyes, not a moment seemed to
have passed. I starred at Im, who didn�t seem to have realized what had happened.

�Darn, what happened t� ya,
ya look so strange�� she whispered.

�I have found a way, a way that we can live
together for all eternity!� I exclaimed triumphantly.

�Be careful, Darn, whatever ya
may have seen, it can cheat ya. Perhaps ya seen the future, but there �re
always traps, thin�s ya
haven�t seen. It�s better t� not know the future an�
t� create it every day o� yar life.�

�But I can�t lose you, Im, and I will make sure
that it never happens, I must find a way!�

She stepped closer and touched my cheek,
smiling warmly.

�If there�s anyone who can find a way then it�s
ya, Darn� she whispered.

I should have realized that something was wrong
with all this. Normally siblings didn�t feel the way we did feel for each
other. Someone created our souls, changed them for a
purpose and I should have realized that sooner or later this creator would show
up and set his plan in motion. Still, I had this continuing feeling that I
wouldn�t like it, whatever the plan was. Someone wanted that we felt for each
other, for whatever reason. But at that moment I didn�t care for it, I only cared for us.

Im took my hand and we just stood there,
looking into each others eyes and with that into each others hearts. I could feel the deep, dark, cold emptiness behind Im�s body
and the pain and sorrow buried behind a shell of faked cheerfulness. She wasn�t
the same Im I grew up with, she was a woman now and the pain was there and
would stay there. And I knew she could see into me as well, seeing what really
drove me, my constant worry for her, my fixed idea of freeing everyone from
meddling gods and thus give all intelligent beings a chance to create their own
future, my feelings of guilt for having let her down and the dark thoughts of revenge and hatred
lurking inside me.

�I see clearer now, Darn. Whatever binds us together�s stronger than anythin�
else inside o� us, we both need the other t� be whole an� one. Our bond�s so
strong that everythin� we do�s driven by the worry for
the other side o� ourselves. We�re one, Darn, always were an� always will be.
There aren�t two of us, just two sides o�
one person.�

�Yes, Im, that is true. But you�re hiding
something from me� I know that you know now about me and my dreams. But it is
only one part, your part is missing. In order to see where this is leading, I need to know your
part in this. Then we can solve the
puzzle of our connection.�

She looked to the ground, struggling for an
explanation.

�Ya�re tryin� t� achieve freedom an� with that a future for both
us. Ya�re the one who breaks the bondages tryin� t� hold us down. But I�m the healer, I want t� go
out there an� help those who �ave been hurt, because
now I can understand their sufferin�. I wanna make thin�s whole. Ya�re the architect an� builder, but I�m the one who adds
the details an� strengthens the buildin�. Only
together we can build the future, Darn��

And then it struck me, again I began to see it.
It was an ingenious plan, a plan to change the nature of the whole multiverse,
an ancient plan, which now came to its logical conclusion. And I and Im were
the tools used by whoever set this plan in motion. The multiverse was in a
process of evolution and right now it was trying to reach the next level. We
two would trigger a reaction that would bring upon this next level.

I saw what would happen: new universes would
come into existence, universes of a very different kind. Those universes would
develop freely and without influence from outside and since the number of the
universes would be infinite the number of possibilities would be infinite.
Everything that was in fact possible would become possible. And those universes
would have the potential to actually grow and develop themselves.

There was one universe, which was the center of
everything. In this universe a very special planet existed, only inhabited by
one intelligent species. They would develop their own cultures from scratch,
beginning as cave-dwellers to explorers of the multiverse itself. And they
would do it all on their own. The beings living on this planet were humans, but
not exactly as the humans I knew. They would be far more adaptable than we were and
they would finally colonize the whole multiverse, creating infinite different
histories.

They would in the end achieve the highest goal,
the very reason for the existence of the multiverse. In the end they would start an evolution of consciousness,
destroying their own multiverse in the process, but creating infinite
multiverses at the same time. In those multiverses many different forms of
consciousness would appear, some I couldn�t even begin to imagine. And
they would develop and prosper, rising to levels unknown to me or anyone else.

The vision disappeared and I starred into Im�s eyes again and saw�
understanding. She had seen it too and she knew, she understood.

�Darn, is this what we must do? Is that why we
exist? Is that why we are like we are?� she whispered, almost not believing herself what she had seen.

�Yes, Im, it is what we were created for��

She sat down on a stone, starring to the ground.

�But how�?�

I sat down next to her and put my arm on her back.

�I don�t know yet. But together we�ll find
out��

We must have dropped off some time later, for
the next thing I remember was clearly not in the waking world, but a dream.
Although it wasn�t like the dreams I had before. In fact it was the least
dreamlike dream I ever had had before.

I was standing on a dune, surrounded by a sea
of sand. Next to me stood a figure with a sand-colored cloak, the hood drawn
over its head. I saw a mask covering its face and at its side hung a
white-shimmering knife. But the most fascinating thing about the figure was the
totally blue eyes.

And then I saw them: thousands of similar figures, all clothed in those
sand-colored cloaks. The one standing next to me seemed to be their leader, for
he raised his hand and suddenly all the figures just vanished. How they had
done it, I couldn�t tell.

The figure took off its mask and hood and I
could make out a young man with black hair and black beard, about my height.

�We are very alike, Darnoc. You have the same gift and that
is why we talk across the universes which separate us. I want to show you the
future. Follow me.�

�Who are you?� I asked the young man.

�A difficult question to answer. Some say that I am a prophet or a
messiah. Some say that I am the product of a genetic experiment spanning
millennia. But if you wish to know my name, this is also difficult. Best is to
call me Paul, for with this name I was born.�

Suddenly the sea of sand vanished and we were
standing in a street, lines of men standing in front of us, all carrying fire-tubes and fire-spiters.

I heard them chant: �Darnoc, Darnoc, Lord and God, save us from
evil! Holy Mother Imoen, may your foretold union with God come soon! Darnoc, Darnoc, rid our universe from all false
gods and all pagans and heretics! Darnoc, Darnoc, our savior!�

�What is this?� I asked Paul.

�This is the future. The future you will
create. And it will be as inevitable as my future. The really interesting thing
about all is that our futures aren�t that different. To know the future means
to be trapped by it, Darnoc. And as I you must find a way out.
The Golden path is the way out, Darnoc. What I and my son have done in
my universe on smaller scale, you must do in a larger scale in the whole multiverse.
You must ensure the survival of consciousness in the multiverse.�

A man stood next to us, clothed in green, a
golden fire-spiter stitched onto his cloak. In his
hands he held a wooden staff, which he now raised to the sky.

�I am Arkul, prophet of God! Listen to the holy
words of God and salvation shall come to you! Who is
the One and True God?�

�Darnoc is the One and True God!� the crowd shouted
back.

�What of the other gods?�

�False gods, tricksters, evil they are!� the crowd shouted.

�What of the mages and clerics?�

�They blind our eyes with cheap tricks, die
they must for their abominations!�

�What is the path to the foretold holy realm of
God?�

�Technology is the path to salvation; science
will lead the way to the holy realm of God!�

Suddenly a woman stumbled out of the crowd, her
hair a total mess, saliva covering her face, her eyes turned up. She was clearly in a deep trance or frenzy.

�The Holy Mother spoke to me! She no longer
tolerates the unholy presence of the temples in Baldur�s Gate and Atkatla! We
must burn them to the ground!�

�Hear to the words of the Holy Mother! I am Arkul,
prophet of God, and I say that this woman�s words are true!�

Paul turned to me, smiling.

�See? It happens over and over again. Religion
can be a powerful force, never underestimate the power of fanatics. But let me
show you what the results are.�

Suddenly the seen changed and I stood in the
middle of the temple district in Atkatla, only that now all temples were
burning. My followers (for they had to be that, they all shouted my name and
wore a miniature golden fire-spiter on a chain around their necks) were marching through the streets, stopping
everyone that didn�t have the sign. Then they told the people to either declare that I was the only god and Imoen
the only goddess and that all other gods were false or else be �purified by
death�. Those who refused were either killed instantly or dragged away for
execution elsewhere. I saw a group of Shadow Thieves (there were no paladins,
and I wondered why) try to fight off the religious fanatics, but they were
quickly slaughtered.

And then it seemed as if I was looking at Toril
from above. I saw how my religion spread, how mages, clerics, paladins and all
who refused to accept the new faith were killed. I saw how all temples of the
other gods were destroyed and how their followers were either killed or turned.
Soon the whole world of Toril was in the hands of my followers and then
technological advancement swept across Toril, cities grew and were soon covered
in the dirty clouds of industrialization and electric light illuminated the
night.

�Is this the future?� I asked Paul.

�One of the futures, but it is the one that is
going to pass, trust me. It is inevitable, it all has been planned. Of course
you have a choice, you always have one, but you don�t want to choose otherwise
and therefore it will happen. You have been chosen to find a way out of the
trap and you will succeed. The path has been laid in front of you, walk on it!�

�What trap are you speaking of?�

�The multiverse has reached a balance. But it
must not be, the multiverse must stay dynamic. If the
multiverse stagnates, everything will die in the end. You will give the
impulse, it is you, who will ensure the survival of the multiverse, by
unbalancing it totally and bringing dynamic back into it.�

I awoke, still hearing the voice of Paul in my head.
Minsc was standing in front of me, shaking me awake.

�Remember, we need to kill that demon� he said.

I yawned and gave Im a gentle blow with my
elbow.

�Time to wake up, sleepyhead!�

�Leave me, I�m tired� she muttered.

�Well, then we�ll go and try to kill the demon
ourselves, but without your bow and your magic we won�t stand a chance, we�ll
all die and you�ll be to blame for it.�

�Ah, al�right� she
replied and stretched her arms, yawning.

Some deep-gnomes led us to the entrance of a
cave and left us there, telling us that we would find the demon inside. Sighing
I drew my weapon, my companions followed my example and we entered the cave.

There was huge hole in there, going down far into nothingness. I could make out
a faint, red shine as if there was a fire down there somewhere.

�And where is this demon now?� Keldorn asked
me.

�Boo says that he can feel the beast�s present�
Minsc replied.

�It�s no use if we can�t find it� I muttered.

Suddenly flames flashed up in the hole, we heard a rumbling out of the deep and the
walls began to shake, stones fell from the ceiling. A high shriek sounded out
of the hole and a black mist appeared and assembled just next to the whole. Then
it began to take on a form, the form of a thing with two legs, two arms, a head
with many teeth. When it became clearer I could make out claws and scaly skin, fire
shining inside the demon�s head.

�Surfacers, why did
you disturb my peace? It matters not, though, for you shall die for your
intrusion!�

The thing stretched out its claws and hissed
menacingly, blowing fire from its nostrils. Suddenly a huge, flaming sword appeared in its right hand and it
attacked, shadows consuming the cave and the unholy light of the demon shining
on us.

Anomen raised his hands to the air and shouted
words I didn�t understand, but suddenly a pure, white light descended and
filled the cave, the demon shrieked and ducked under the unbearable light, letting go of his sword.
I immediately took the chance and thrust my sword into the demon�s chest. The
demon screamed in agony and struck me with his claws, I was flung against the
wall of the cave, hitting my head on the stone. Somehow I managed to stay
conscious, but I felt blood flowing from the back of my head.

Keldorn, Anomen and Minsc were hitting the
demon while I was standing up, Imoen and Aerie used their respective weapons. I
saw how Anomen swung his war hammer and let it crash onto the demon�s head,
what made the demon fall to its knees, where Keldorn and Minsc could thrust
their swords deep into it. The demon screamed horribly and its body was
consumed by flames, nothing remained.

Goldander Blackenstone
rushed into the cave; he had probably watched the whole scene from the shadows.

�You did it, you destroyed it, thank you, thank
you!� he shouted happily and gave me the stone of light.

�Now, where can we find Adalon?�

�Just follow this corridor and you�ll reach her
cave� Goldander explained.

We did as he told us and thus reached an
utterly black cave. If Goldander had been right, we
should be able to light our way into the cave and it worked. At the end of the
dark cave waited a huge hall and at its
other hand sat an impressive silver dragon.

�Surfacers? Why do you come to me?�

�We seek a way out of the Underdark, Milady� I answered her question.

�Ah, you seem to be a polite person. Not like
these cursed Drow� They stole my eggs with the help of this Irenicus and they want
to black mail me with them. They want that I let them through the temple, but I
am its guardian. If you help me to regain my
eggs I will lead you to the entrance, human.�

�How can we do this, Milady?�

�You must enter the city of Ust Natha a little to the northeast of here.
I will change your appearance so that you look like Drow. Do not fret,
for all shall be deceived and no one but me will be able to undo this magic.
But beware, for if you do not behave like
Drow, you shall be revealed nonetheless. So I suggest you begin to act like them,
which means cruel and selfish.�

With a wave of a hand she did it, I suddenly
felt a change coming over me, but it was different than the change into a
werewolf. My skin grew dark-blue, my hair white and my body was a little
slimmer. I also suddenly had pointy ears and a longer face and eyes.

�So, now we are Drow�� I remarked.

�Hmph, I do not like
it, but since there is no other way�� Keldorn added.

Finding Ust Natha was easy: One had just to
follow the increasing tracks of Drow architecture. On our way there we ran into our
�friends� again, the Githyanki.

�Oh, soh yoo mahnahged to ehscahpe een the ehnd? Thehn wee�ll hahve to ehnd thees
oursehlves: Keell thehm!� their leader shouted.

The Githyanki howled and drew their weapons, we
drew ours. They jumped at us, swinging their swords and howling, while we
waited, our swords raised. Imoen and Aerie shot two of the six; the other four
came close enough for our swords.

Their leader immediately attacked me, stroke
from above and then swung the sword low. I dodged both, stroke sideward and then kicked the leader into
his leg. He howled in pain and for a moment lowered his sword, so I thrust mine
at him and penetrated his stomach. Looking down he realized what had happened,
but wouldn�t just let me go like that. With some last strength he raised his
sword and stroke at me, I had to let go of my sword to dodge the blow. Then his
strength was gone and he fell dead to the ground.

�Hah, the traitors have finally got what was
coming to them! Am I not right, Aerie?� Minsc roared triumphantly.

�Right you are, my dear Minsc� the elf-maiden answered and
patted her sworn protector�s shoulder.

�Hm, I still wonder
where the hilt of the silver sword might be� I only have the blade and I guess
that it would make a powerful weapon.�

�Hmph, no
comparison to my power,
stupid, unintelligent swords!� Lilacor muttered.

�Are you going to get better again? Boo thinks
you might be ready again.�

�Not yet, not yet, have patience, my hamster-warrior��

�How long will you continue to get better? You are already one of the best swords in
Toril, I might guess� Anomen asked.

�I will get better as long as I can, trying to
learn more and more� That�s the point of
being an intelligent sword.�

�And you, don�t you forget: I am learning still, as are we all. And the more I learn, the more I will be able to help
you with your task� I heard Lilacor�s voice in my head.

Imoen:
Travels in darkness

I hated the Underdark. There was this horrible stench of
unclean air, it was all dark and wet and reminded me of Spellhold. I was
glad, when we finally left it after some while. But first, we needed to find a
way out. A group of druegars told us about a silver dragon, which could
help us in that regard. And that we needed to find the Svirfneblin in order to find Lady
Adalon.

We walked through countless caverns and
stumbled into some rather dangerous situations. Once we ran into a huge
beholder and Darnoc was wounded by a stone falling from the ceiling, when at the
beholder�s death a ray of magical energy was shot at it.

On another occasion, we thought a group of
demon-knights. Although I have to admit that it was my fault. I summoned the
damn beasts. Fortunately, it all ended well for us. And Darnoc even found a belt of
frost-giant�s strength.

But the strangest thing happened, when we
entered the realm of the Illithids, the mind-flayers. I still shudder, when I
think of them. They could enter your mind, a horrible feeling. And they took us
prisoners.

They wanted us to fight as gladiators. And
guess, against whom: Against the Githyanki, who had attacked us on Saemon�s
ship. Together we were able to escape, because the Githyanki also have mental
powers and they used them against the Illithids. But then those traitors deserted
us, leaving us no choice but to seek out the �the brain�, a being, which was in
fact just a monstrous brain and which controlled the Illithids. We also met
another prisoner, a barbarian called Hrundi, who helped us in
our task.

With the help of Anomen�s divine magic we were
able to destroy the brain and thus open the gates of the Illithids� realm.
Hrundi left us there and we continued our journey.

Finally we found the Svirfneblin and their
village; they greeted us and told us to speak to their leader, a certain Goldander Blackenrock. Their
chief told us about a problem with a demon. If we helped them with the demon,
he would lead us to Adalon.

Long had I thought about� things.
After Darnoc had told me about his dreams and
also the things Lilacor had told him, I had often brooded about everything. And
finally I had decided to tell Darnoc about my dreams also. Through the
connection between us, which seemed to grow stronger and stronger, he felt my
wish and followed me outside, without asking, what this was all about.

I told him everything, step after step. First I
told him only about the dreams, where he had shown me memories, but more and
more I began to reveal, what really happened, especially during the third
dream. I was really embarrassed about it, but Darnoc seemed to understand my
uneasiness, he just embraced me and told me that I shouldn�t worry, since it
had been just a dream and nothing more.

Suddenly he said something strange, a thought,
which also had occurred to me: �Im, do you believe that somehow we communicated
through our dreams? That we actually met in our dreams? Is it possible, Im?�

I looked into his eyes, glittering in the color
of steel, mixed with blue, in the darkness. And it was then that I felt, as if
something was behind them, as if I was falling into his eyes and going beyond,
into him. There was the nothingness, the absence of his soul; I felt it, like
it was my own. Something connected us, deep inside, as if we were one, our pain
was one, single pain, our sorrow we shared. I knew then that it was true, what I had
felt deep inside long ago: We needed each other, we were one and without the
other we weren�t whole. We were two opposites of the same being; together we
became� something else.

Darnoc uttered the words, which also circled in my
mind: �And because the other wasn�t there, our souls searched the other soul and so we found
each other in our dreams�.�

Our connection was eternal, it couldn�t be
destroyed by anything, it stretched over time and space and it stretched across
the whole of existence. Even if they would place us at opposite ends of the
multiverse, we would find each other. It is not possible to part, what is in fact one. But what about death? If one of us would die, if� Again I
couldn�t continue into this direction, I had this feeling, as if I�d choke on
it. Every time I thought about this, I had this sudden feeling of dread.
Somehow I always thought that I would die, not Darnoc, and I was afraid of what would
happen, if I�d die and he�d be left all alone. Something horrible, terrible
would happen, if I wouldn�t be there to help him.

�But who connected us an� why?� I asked in
order to avoid the death-question.

Darnoc tried to answer it: �I don�t know, Im, but
I know that we have been bound together for all eternity. Should our bodies
once be destroyed we shall still be connected through our spirits and souls and
wherever they go, they will be together. Perhaps we can find out together, what
purpose this connection serves��

I really hoped that it would be true. So,
perhaps death wasn�t that bad and we would be connected even in the afterlife,
whatever this was. I tried to hold on to this thought, forget about the
dreadful feelings I had had before. But to hell to all purposes, I didn�t care about them; I just wanted to be
with him, forgetting about everything! Hadn�t we suffered enough already,
couldn�t we just find a place for us and live in peace? Nobody and nothing
would ever separate us, nothing at all!

Then Darnoc finally said it: Death wouldn�t be able to
separate us. But how could we beat death?
The feelings of fear and dread returned to me. Nobody had ever conquered death!

Suddenly Darnoc seemed to pass out. Well, not
really, it was something else. It almost seemed, as if he was suddenly far away, in another place. I tried to
shake him, but he didn�t react, his spirit had gone away and I was left here. Darn, don�t leave me, please!

And then he opened his eyes and starred at me, feeling my fear and my relief that he was back.

�Darn, what happened t� ya,
ya look so strange��

�I have found a way, a way that we can live
together for all eternity!�

Had he really? Could it be true? Somehow I was
uneasy, the feeling of a unknown threat still was
there, the feeling of something horrible in the future.

�Be careful, Darn, whatever ya
may have seen, it can cheat ya. Perhaps ya seen the future, but there �re
always traps, thin�s ya
haven�t seen. It�s better t� not know the future an�
t� create it every day o� yar life.�

I saw the pain in his eyes, felt it inside of
him, he was clearly deeply troubled, as was I.

�But I can�t lose you, Im, and I will make sure
that it never happens, I must find a way!�

Again I felt the pain inside of him, the deep,
strong pain and sorrow, he clearly meant, what he said. I felt the same, if
we�d be separated, it would destroy us both. So I stepped closer, trying to comfort
him by stroking him gently.

I whispered to him: �If there�s anyone who can
find a way then it�s ya, Darn.�

We stood there, holding our hands and looking
into each others eyes, into each other�s heart, seeing, what was inside of us.
There was an urge in Darnoc, and urge to break the chains he perceived to be there. But were
there really chains or did he just imagine them? Still, it warmed my heart, when I realized, how deeply he
worried for me, he felt guilty, for not being able to spare me all the pain Irenicus had put
me through. And even deeper inside of him there was hatred, rage and thoughts
of revenge, the same feelings and thoughts I had. We would get our souls back;
we would pay Irenicus and Bodhi back, what they had done to us!

It was then that I realized with perfect clarity, what always had been, but which
I had not been able to admit: We were one, single being torn apart into two bodies. Our souls were
one soul, as were our spirits. But then I thought about bodily union and
suddenly felt disgusted of myself. No, it wouldn�t come to that, it couldn�t, we were siblings!

Still, I said to Darnoc: �I see clearer now, Darn. Whatever binds us together�s stronger than anythin�
else inside o� us, we both need the other t� be whole an� one. Our bond�s so
strong that everythin� we do�s driven by the worry
for the other side o� ourselves. We�re one, Darn, always were an� always will be.
There aren�t two of us, just two sides o�
one person.�

�Yes, Im, that is true. But you�re hiding something
from me� I know that you know now about me and my dreams. But it is only one part, your part is missing. In order to see where
this is leading, I need to know your part in this. Then we can solve the puzzle of our
connection.�

I was troubled by this, what should I tell him?
What did really drive me? What? And then I thought about, what had happened to
me. I would ensure that such things never happened again to anyone; I wanted to
go out and there and help those, who were suffering and had sorrow, pain and
worries, for now I understood them.

�Ya�re tryin� t� achieve freedom an� with that a future for both
us. Ya�re the one who breaks the bondages tryin� t� hold us down. But I�m the healer, I want t� go
out there an� help those who �ave been hurt, because
now I can understand their sufferin�. I wanna make thin�s whole. Ya�re the architect an� builder, but I�m the one who adds
the details an� strengthens the buildin�. Only
together we can build the future, Darn��

Suddenly Darnoc vanished in front of me and
everything was replaced by a vision, a vision so extraordinary and overwhelming that until this
day I am struggling to fully grasp, what had been revealed to me.

I saw our primary plane and then even the whole
multiverse. I saw, what would happen, if everything continued like that, I saw
the multiverse die in the end, stretching itself and
falling more and more apart, until it was no longer able to sustain
anything. And I understood that this was all wrong, it shouldn�t be like that.

It was then that I saw something inside the
multiverse, a very special primary plane. Once that primary plane had had gods like we had
them, but then the gods had left the plane, I didn�t know, why. But what
happened then, was extraordinary. There were only humans on this plane and
they began to develop freely. Yes, they had their sufferings and failures, many
horrible things happened, but more and more they evolved, they began to
colonize their own universe and in time the whole multiverse. With a sudden clarity I understood that this was what
should have been, but wasn�t, because the multiverse was stuck in a certain
phase of its existence and now needed to evolve once again.

And then somebody changed everything. Using all
the energy of the multiverse, this somebody destroyed the multiverse and
created it anew, but this time differently, all planes inside the multiverse
now able to develop and prosper freely. I saw things, which I can�t explain
until this day, saw wonders beyond any imagination, for now those free beings could
develop into what ever form they wanted to, reaching new ways of existence.
There no longer were any balancing forces to halt this development; it was all
chaotic and creative. There was of course destruction also, but constantly, new
and more evolved forms of existence erupted from the chaos and so it continued
on and on, without an end.

I found myself back in reality and was looking
into Darnoc�s eyes. And there I saw that he
had seen it also.

�Darn, is this what we must do? Is that why we
exist? Is that why we are like we are?�

�Yes, Im, it is what we were created for��

I guess it was a little bit too much. Did they
really expect of us to change the whole nature of the multiverse? I had to sit
down, I felt dizzy.

�But how�?� was the only thing I was able to
say, still overwhelmed by the vision.

Darn sat next to me and put his arms around me.

�I don�t know yet. But together we�ll find
out��

We kept sitting there; I rested against his
shoulder and finally fell asleep, forgetting those overwhelming thoughts for
some time.

The next morning we set out to kill the demon
and did so. After that we were given the stone of light, with which we were
able to enter the domain of Lady Adalon. She told us that her eggs had been
stolen by the Drow and she wanted them back. In exchange, she would bring us to
the exit. In order to accomplish our task, she changed our appearance into the one of Drow elves.

We entered the city of Ust Natha, pretending that we came from the
city of Ched Nasa and were greeted by the warrior Solaufein, who seemed to be
rather nice in comparison to other Drow. He commanded us to come with us and brought us to Imrae, the hand-maiden of the Mother. There we were given
the task of rescuing the daughter of the mother from the Illithids, who had
taken her captive.

Together with Solaufein we were able to free
Phaere, as the daughter of the Mother was called, but she turned out to be an arrogant bitch. And she seemed to have
taken an interest towards Darnoc, who had called himself �Danarij� as long as we were among the Drow. Just
keep your dirty hands of him, I thought, looking angrily at Phaere, but she
didn�t seem to notice.

The next task was given to us by Phaere
herself, we had to kill a beholder, who was smuggling adamant. This we did and
reported back to Phaere afterwards. The next task was to show the Svirfneblin
that they needed to show more respect for the Mother. Poor deep gnomes, they
hadn�t done anything to us. Fortunately, Darnoc was able to convince Solaufein
that we could do this alone and so we were able to simply talk to the
Svirfneblin, their leader gave us his helmet as �proof� that we had �killed�
them.

The last task this bitch gave us was to kill
poor Solaufein. Of course, Darnoc had no intention of doing so and he told
Solaufein about everything. Solaufein handed his cloak to us so that Phaere
would think, we really killed him.

After we returned with the cloak, Phaere smiled
at Darnoc and told him to follow her. I immediately
realized, what was on the mind of that filthy bitch. Suddenly I had this urge
to lay my hands around her throat and strangle her, my eyes blazed with pure hatred. But
luckily, I was able to restrain myself. I had to trust Darnoc, he wouldn�t fall for her. Or
would he? I had this awkward feeling that if he did it, the connection
between me and him would be destroyed. So I really hoped and tried to not rush
into there and kill her on the spot.

When Darnoc came out again so soon that they really
couldn�t have done it, I gave a sigh of relief. But still, if I ever would get
my hands on that bitch, I would kill her! I was somewhat surprised by the
strength of my feelings. Was this normal? Somehow I thought that it wasn�t, at
least not between siblings.

Next thing we had to meet Mother Ardulace, who
commanded us to bring her the blood of a Kua-Toa prince. We fought our way
through their realm, but better ask Darnoc about it, he was the one who led our
attack. In the end we were able to kill the prince and take his blood, although
Keldorn was wounded.

We returned with the blood and gave it to
Ardulace, who then explained to us that she wanted to seal the city now. Phaere
told us to follow her to her room, where she told us that her mother was in
fact trying to summon a demon and for this she wanted to sacrifice the eggs of
the silver dragon. But that bitch Phaere wanted to betray her own mother and
told us to replace the eggs with false ones and give the real ones to her.

When we were in front of the temple again,
Solaufein appeared and handed us another set of copies, which he wanted us to give to
Phaere and thus betray both mother and daughter. Served this bitch right, I
thought.

We stole the eggs and put the copies inside of
them, but to Phaere we gave the other set of copies given to us by Solaufein.
The real ones we kept.

The ritual was a disaster; the demon killed
both the mother and her daughter, what gave me quite a satisfaction. It startled me a little, though, that I
could take such pleasure in the death of someone.

After that we handed the eggs over to Lady
Adalon, who then brought us to the exit of the Underdark. Finally we left that horrible
place and entered sunlight lands again.

Darnoc: Ust
Natha

We entered the Drow city without much problem,
claiming that we came from the city of Ched Nasa, a city Keldorn had once read
about.

The city was quite a sinister place, but full
of life. Although the life inside wasn�t really to our liking. The Drow were arrogant and selfish and they had
strange pets like spiders and trolls. We even saw how a female Drow slaughtered
one of her son on the market, because he had killed one of her slave
(�Slaves are expensive, but sons cost nothing�
she remarked).

We strolled through the city, when we were
intercepted by a male Drow fighter. There was something about him that I liked
immediately. I thought that this was strange, for most Drow I had disliked at
first sight. But this one seemed a little less arrogant and self-centered than other
Drow.

�Halt, strangers, are you the new ones from Ched Nasa?�
he asked in a commanding tone.

�Yes, my name is Danarij and those are my companions. What do you want of
us?�

�I am Solaufein and I am here to tell you that
the mothers command you to follow me back to the market. The mothers think that you are able fighters and will be useful.
Follow me!�

At the market we were awaited by a haughty
Drow female, who didn�t even speak to us, but told Solaufein to explain us the
details.

�Imrae, hand-maiden
of the Mother, commands you to come with me and rescue one of the daughters of
the Mother from the hands of the Illithids. These are the wishes of the Mother, listen
and obey!�

I sighed and followed Solaufein, not having
much of a choice. The Mothers of the cities were in control of everything and
it was unwise to go against their wishes.

Solaufein led us out of the city and back to
the entrance of the Illithids� realm.

�What do we do now?� I asked him.

�I will try to interrupt the journey of the
Illithids through the astral plane. Make yourselves ready; attack them
immediately once they appear here. And of course I don�t have to tell you
that if the daughter of the Mother comes to harm you will be held responsible.�

We drew our weapons and waited. Solaufein was
muttering strange words, his eyes closed. And when he opened them, it happened.

Suddenly several Illithids appeared right in front of us, in their
midst a Drow female. Solaufein drew his sword and attacked, we followed. With
two quick strokes I killed two of the surprised Illithids and cut the bonds of
the Drow female. She reacted immediately and conjured a fireball onto the other
Illithids, which were consumed by the flames.

�Phaere, the Mother sends us� Solaufein
explained.

�That much I could guess myself,
Solaufein. But
who is this stranger who cut my bonds?�

�I am Danarij of Ched
Nasa and I�m new to Ust Natha� I explained.

�Very well, Danarij, meet me in the tavern of Ust
Natha. I can find my own way back to the city, Solaufein.�

�But, Milady, you were captured once already
and your safety has been entrusted to me!� Solaufein protested.

�That would be all, Solaufein� Phaere said and
teleported away.

�This arrogant bitch, sometimes I would like to��
Solaufein muttered.

�You won�t report that to her, right?� he said,
turning to me.

�Of course not, Solaufein� I can see your
point, you know.�

�Yeah, whatever, better go to the tavern or she
might demand your head or something. Phaere is quite impatient.�

So we went back to the city and searched the tavern, which we found
quickly, for it lay just behind the market and was clearly recognizable by the noise and smell
of alcohol.

Phaere awaited us in the upper, better parts of the tavern. I had finally time
to look at her more closely. She was a tall and stern woman, beautiful and
proud, cruel and self-centered. This I gathered from her look at me, which
showed me that she was rather pleased with what she saw.

�Ah, that was fast. I admire efficiency in a
male. Therefore I have another task for you, Danarij. There is a beholder smuggling
Adamant. This must not be allowed, the Mother commands
you to kill him. You will find him to the southeast.�

�As you command, Milady� I replied and left the
tavern.

After walking for about ten minutes we came to
a wide hall where indeed the beholder floated in the middle.

�What do you want, Drow?� the beholder asked
grumpily.

�It seems as if your� activities in this city
have caught the attention of the Mother. And I don�t mean this in a positive
sense.�

�Ah, I understand, you were sent to kill me.
I�ve expected that it must happen one day. Very well, let�s begin this, shall
we?�

He glared at us with his many eyes and his huge mouth
opened and began to utter words, dark and cruel words of powerful magic. But a
lightning from Imoen�s bow interrupted him, what gave us time to enter close
combat. Swords were more effective against beholders, I had realized after my
last encounter with them.

The best method against them was hacking off
their eyes and cutting off their tongue. If they couldn�t see you and could no
longer utter any spells they were helpless. Best was to first cut off the
tongue, though. I did this, when the beholder once again tried to conjure a
spell and I thrust my sword into this mouth. The beholder screamed in pain and
blood flowed out of his mouth. A tongue has lots of blood, I can tell you.

After that he was only able to bite in order to
hurt us, but he was no longer a real threat, so we began to cut off his eyes
and thrust our swords into his body, trying to hit the vital parts. After lots of stabbing and
cutting he finally dropped dead to the ground.

Phaere was very pleased with our success and
immediately sent us on another errand together with Solaufein. The Svirfneblin
had showed less respect lately the Mother thought and they needed a lesson.
Solaufein didn�t like this at all, thinking that this was no job for a sword master.
I agreed with him, but didn�t say anything.

I didn�t want to kill the deep-gnomes, they
weren�t evil creatures. Then I had an idea how I could avoid bloodshed.

�Solaufein, I realize you do not think this
task is worthy of your skill. Therefore I suggest that I do it and you are free to do whatever you want.�

�Alright, agreed. Thank you, Danarij, I won�t forget it.�

We awaited a patrol of deep-gnomes and blocked
their way.

�Now look, actually we were ordered to kill
you, because the Mother thinks you don�t show enough respect. But I don�t want
to do this, so here�s the deal. Hand over your helmets so that I can show them
as proof that I have killed you and we�ll let you go.�

�Th� thank you, M� M� Master Drow, you are too kind! Please, tell the Mother that
we would never show any disrespect, never!� the leader of the patrol said fearfully.

�Yeah, yeah, just hand over the helmets!�

They did as I had suggested to them and we
returned with them to Phaere.

�I am pleased with your achievements. There is
one last task I ask of you. Solaufein has grown tiresome, so kill him. Bring me
his cloak as proof! You�ll probably find him at the male fighter�s society.�

There had to be another way, I didn�t want to
murder Solaufein, of all the Drow he was the most decent. He was indeed at the
male fighter�s society and glared suspiciously at us when we entered.

�So she sent you to murder me. That filthy
bitch! It had to happen one day��

�No, I don�t want to murder you, Solaufein.
Just give me your cloak and it will suffice.�

He looked surprised at me.

�You let me go, just like that? Well, I owe you
my life, Danarij and I will never forget that, my word of honor. Take my cloak and
give it to her. We might meet again!�

He gave me the coat and left the house. My
companions sighed relieved; they also hadn�t liked the idea of murdering
someone.

When I returned and handed the cloak to Phaere,
she glared triumphantly at it and then
smiled at me.

�Well done, Danarij, well done. Ah, you are a truly remarkable male� Would you please follow
me for a moment?�

I motioned the others to wait outside and
followed her inside the female fighter�s society, where she led me to a
bedroom.

There she turned around and kissed me passionately,
pressing me against the wall.

�Do you want me, Danarij? I can see it that you want me,
come and be with me!� she whispered.

I must admit that I was heavily tempted; she
was a beautiful woman and had a strong personality. But there was something
that kept me, something stirred in the back of my mind. I felt the bond between
me and Im more than ever, as if it was made of burning ropes. I couldn�t do it;
I couldn�t risk cutting the bondage.

�I� I would like to, Phaere, but� You see,
there�s someone else. Someone who� there�s a bondage that holds us together.�

Again she kissed me, this time gentler and she
spoke firmly: �Then I will find a way to cut this bondage that keeps you from
me. Once the ritual has taken place, ah� I will have the power and then nothing
will stand between us� But right now my mother wishes to talk to you. Come,
follow me to the temple.�

Im glared at me on our way to the temple, came closer
to me and whispered: �I felt it, Darn� She wanted t� seduce ya, eh? Quite a beautif�l woman
she is� But I�m glad ya didn�t do it. Somehow I feel
it would �ave broken somethin�
if ya �ad done it.�

�Yes, I felt it and that�s why I didn�t do it,
Im. I couldn�t just cut the bond between us. Nothing must come between us,
remember?�

�I remember, Darn, an� I won�t forget. Ever.�

The temple was an impressive, but sinister
building. Mother Ardulace waited for us in its middle. I immediately recognized
the relation to Phaere, as her daughter Ardulace was beautiful and cruel.

�Ah, Danarij� My daughter has told me that you
are quite a useful male. There is a
special assignment I need you to accomplish. Bring me the blood of the Kua-Toa
prince!�

�As you command, Mother!� I replied and left the temple.

�The blood of a Kua-Toa prince? Where would we find such a prince?�
I asked my companions.

�Do you remember the demon knights we
encountered? There were those strange signs on the floor and Keldorn told us
that they were made by the Kua-Toa� Aerie replied.

�Yes, we need to find those caves again. Hm, the Svirfneblin might know where they are��

Darnoc: The
Ritual and the aftermath

We left Ust Natha and went back to the village
of the deep-gnomes. Goldander Blackenstone
didn�t recognize us, of course, but he had heard from the patrol that we spared. So he bowed low in front of us.

�In the name of our village I wish to thank you.�

Smiling, I replied: �Oh, no problem, my
pleasure. There�s something I wish to know: Where might we find a Kua-Toa
prince?�

�At the entrance of the village follow the path
along the gorge and you will come to a city of the fish-men. A prince lives
there, I am told.�

�Thank you, Goldander.
We�ll be on our way then.�

We followed the advice of Goldander
and walked on the path along the deep gorge.

�Long way down�� Minsc remarked.

�Indeed, don�t want t� fall down there�� Im
replied.

The path left the side of the gorge and we
entered a huge hall, those strange symbols were on the floor again. And several
Kua-Toa guards stood in front of a gate, looking not too pleased at us.

Their captain shrieked something in an unknown
tongue and they all attacked, their long spears pointing towards us.

�Minsc and Keldorn, get up front!� I called.

I had remembered that two-handed swords could
be used against spears.

Minsc and Keldorn stood in front of us, I and
Anomen came behind them and behind us were Im and Aerie. I heard a swishing sound, one of the guards dropped dead and then a lightning
zipped past me and hit another guard, killing him instantly from the raw, electric
energy. The rest of the guards made it, but Keldorn and Minsc dodged the
spears and cut them off with their
swords. The guards posed no problem after that, they had no backup weapons.

Minsc pushed the door open and we entered the
city of the Kua-Toa. Well, it wasn�t really a city at all, rather several
caverns chained together. We met some of the fish-men, but those who hadn�t
weapons shrieked and fled. Some guards tried to stop us, but most were killed by a
lightning before they even reached us.

Finally we entered a long hall with a throne at
its end. On it sat a Kua-Toa with impressive scale armor, glittering in the light of the
torches, a two-handed sword resting against the throne.

�Drow! So you came to kill me? Then try
it, dark elves!� he called to us and took
up the sword.

Suddenly several guards stepped out from behind the pillars in the hall, holding crossbows and
long swords hanging at their side.

�Duck!� I screamed at me companions, just
before the guards could let loose a volley.

I let myself fall flat on the floor and heard how the bolts flew over me, but
Keldorn hadn�t been so lucky, for I heard him scream in pain and looking back I saw a
bolt sticking in his side.

I had already drawn my fire-spiters
and shot two of the guards, Im and Aerie took out two more. Quickly I rose to my feet and
entered close combat, before they could shoot again, followed by Minsc and
Anomen, Keldorn stumbling behind us.

The prince hadn�t waited for us to recover and
led the attack, he went directly for Minsc. I had other problems, though,
because two guards attacked me with their long-swords. I dodged two blows and tried to
thrust my sword into the stomach of one of the guards, without success. Suddenly I heard something behind me and moved
sideward; therefore the blow only hit me
into my left shoulder.

A burning pain went through my shoulder, but
still I managed to turn around and use my momentum to slash the guard, who had wounded me, into the
chest. Blood was running down my arm, but I gnashed my teeth and turned around to the two other guards I had faced before, holding my
shield tighter.

One of them tried to get a blow at me from
above, but I blocked it with my shield and thrust my sword at him from the
right, driving it right into his stomach. At the same time the other guard tried to hack my sword-arm off, so had to let go of my sword,
but rammed my fist right into the second guard�s stomach. With a groan he bent
down, so kicked him into this face with my knee. Blood flowed from his nose and
for a moment he stumbled forward. This I used to pull out my sword from the
body of the first guard and then I swung around and thrust my sword right into the second
guard�s back, piercing his heart.

Panting I glanced around and saw that the other Kua-Toa were dead. Minsc was kneeling beside the body of the prince
and used a small bottle to take some of the prince�s blood. Keldorn leaned
against the wall, blood flowing from the bolt-wound. Anomen was just trying to
pull the bolt out.

�Some alcohol and then a hot iron would help�
Aerie suggested.

�Well, there is only one problem with that:
Drunk I cannot fight and we do not have the time to light a fire� Keldorn
replied, gnashing his teeth.

�Ya think ya can walk like that?� Im asked him.

�I must and so I will� was the brief answer.

Minsc handed the bottle with blood to me.

�We�ve got what we came for, now let�s move
out! I and Boo don�t like the place of those fish-men�� he commented.

�Yeah, this place�s weird� Im added to that.

I took the time to take a look around. There were basins of water
against the walls; the walls themselves were painted with strange picture of
fish-monster. Some of them were quite gruesome and showed pictures of those
fish-monsters eating other beings, like Drow or humans. Then there were
pictures of sacrifices and battles against Illithids and Drow.

�Indeed� Let�s move out here!� I said.

On our way back we didn�t meet many Kua-Toa,
some guards were still trying to stop us, but
it seemed as if the death of their prince scared the Kua-Toa. So we finally got
out of their city again and headed back for Ust Natha.

Mother Ardulace was quite pleased with our
success.

�Excellent, I�ll take that bottle. I have preparations to make; the city gates will
be sealed for the time being.�

With a wave of her hand she commanded us to go,
so we left.

But Phaere followed us and said, after we had
some distance between her and her mother: �Look, come with me to my quarters in the female fighter�s
society. There�s something we have to discuss��

�Alright, let�s go.�

Inside her chambers she turned around to me and began to explain: �My
mother wishes to summon a mighty demon in order to help us in our war against the accursed elves from
above. In order to accomplish this she wishes to offer the eggs of the silver
dragon to the demon as a sacrifice.
I have developed a plan how I can rise to power
and then nothing will be able to stop us, Danarij! Steal the real eggs and replace
them with some copies I have made!�

Ah, here have the eggs gone! Ardulace had
sealed the city, so there was no way out right now. But if I helped Phaere, I
would get my hands onto the real eggs.

�I will help you, Phaere.�

�I knew I could trust you. Here, take these
copies, bring the real eggs back to me, once you�ve got them. You will find
them inside the temple, in a guarded area to the right.�

So we headed back to the temple and took the
corridor to the right. There we saw two guards standing in front of a door. I
nodded to Im and she nodded back. We both stepped forward and I greeted the guards. When we were standing right
before them, we both drew our weapons and killed them with one quick stroke
each.

�Look if he�s got a key, mine hasn�t� I told
Im.

She bent down and looked through the guard�s pockets and finally took out a
small silver key. She smiled and went over to the door, unlocking it.

�Wait, don�t open it yet. Perhaps there are other guards inside there.�

Together with the three other fighters I
stepped to the door and opened the door. Looking in we saw three golems running
towards us. Quickly we all stepped into
the room, drawing our weapons.

I ran towards one of the golems, my sword and
shield raised and thrust my sword right into the golem�s chest, pulled it out
again and beheaded the beast with one, quick stroke. I turned around, but the other two golems had
already been brought down by my companions.

A sack hung on the wall and I went to look into
it. The eggs were lying inside, so I took them. Not much a problem with my new
belt of frost-giant�s strength. I placed the copies inside the sack.

When we left the temple, a figure materialized
out of the shadow: Solaufein.

�What are you doing here? You were supposed to leave
the city!� I exclaimed.

�I had to stay and stop the Mother from her
plan. Look, I know that this bitch Phaere wants to cheat her mother, but I�ll
give you a method to also cheat her. Here�s another set of false eggs, hand it
over to her and keep the real ones. When Ardulace summons the demon and both
she and Phaere are not able to give him a proper sacrifice, he will kill them both. Once
Ardulace is dead, the city gates will open again.�

�Solaufein, how can I ever thank you? Would you
like to come with us after we have finished this matter?�

�Go where? Ched Nasa?�

�No, to the surface.�

He looked at me in total astonishment.

�You are surfacers? And you
tell me this? I am honored by your trust, stranger. And I guess that your real
name isn�t Danarij��

�No, it is Darnoc. Do you wish to come with us?�

�As much as I would like that, I cannot. I must
stay here and try to help my people, although I will have to do this from
hiding. There are other Drow, you know. Drizzt Do�Urden has showed us that there are other ways and some of us believe
that he is right. I am one of them.�

�Then may Torm be always with you, Solaufein�
Keldorn remarked.

�I thank you, surfacer,
although I do not know the god you speak of. Darnoc, perhaps one day we will meet
again��

�Yes, I hope that too, Solaufein.�

He handed over a sack with another copy of eggs
to me and vanished back into the shadows. We went back to Phaere and I handed
the copies to her.

�Ah, now my mother will see that I am better
than she ever was! Come, let us finish this matter!�

Back at the temple Ardulace already waited for us. The false
eggs were lying in their sack in the middle of the room, the blood of the
Kua-Toa prince in its bottle right next to them.

�Finally, now the ritual can begin. Step back!�
the Mother shouted at us.

She raised her arms and began to speak sinister, evil
words, which sounded as if they were coming from the depths of the earth itself. Suddenly a circle of fire
appeared in mid-air and a demon
materialized in middle of it.

�Why have you called me, Mother of Ust Natha?�

�I summoned you to help us against the elves of
the surface. These eggs of a silver dragon should suffice as a sacrifice.�

The demon roared in cruel laughter.

�You fool; your daughter has deceived you!
These eggs aren�t the real eggs, they are mere copies. Now you must die!�

The demon raised his huge pranks, grabbed
Ardulace and tore apart in mid-air.

�Wait, demon, I have the real eggs, obey me!�
Phaere shouted.

The demon turned and looked with his burning
eyes at her.

�The one you call Danarij, but who isn�t really Danarij or Drow, but a human called Darnoc, has deceived you, daughter of
the Mother of Ust Natha! And for this you must die also!�

Phaere shrieked in panic and looked at me in
total terror. Suddenly the door of the temple and Solaufein entered, his face
was a grimace of hate.

�Ah, the deceiver is deceived. You wanted to
murder me, but Darnoc proved to be of righteous and good heart, unlike you, Phaere. Your heart is black, evil and selfish. And
now you will pay the price for your lust for power. Know that it was I who gave
Darnoc the false eggs you carry now. And know that your war against our brothers on the surface
will not succeed.�

The demon stepped over to Phaere, who had
backed away to the wall and ripped her apart like her mother. After it was
finished, Solaufein nodded at me and left the temple.

�Be gone, demon, I want nothing from you� I
said and the demon vanished again.

After that we went back to the hall of Lady
Adalon and handed over the eggs to her.

�I thank you, human. Now, let me turn you back
and bring you to the exit to the surface.�

With one wave of her hand she not only
teleported us to the exit, but also changed us back into our human forms.

�Here is the exit, if you follow it you will
come to the temple. I wish you farewell and the best of luck.�

And with that she teleported away,
leaving us to climb up to the surface. We walked through several corridors and met
several Drow guards along the way.

Suddenly we came to a hall that looked quite
different from the others; it had green and yellow decorations, which looked
like plants and flowers. Inside we saw several Drow fighting against other
elves with silver armor and blond hair. They were elves from the surface. We helped them in
their fight, which was quickly over after we entered it.

�Thank you, human. Who are you that you walk the lands
without sun?� one of the surface elves asked us.

�We have tried to find our enemy down here, but
it seems as if he has already went on to the surface� I replied.

�Whom do you speak of?�

�Irenicus.�

�Irenicus! Hah, indeed he has already arrived here. You better follow us and
talk with our General, Sovalidas.�

And so we followed the elves up to the surface.
Soon we came to the last tunnel and finally saw sunlight again.

�Ah, it�s good t� be back up �gain. Can ya feel it?� Im asked me.

�Yeah, I feel it and I�m also glad to be back
up again. Come on; let�s get out of this horrible Underdark.�

And so we left the Underdark, not knowing what would await us
on the surface. Irenicus seemed to already be up there, but what he had done we
didn�t know.
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Children of Bhaal