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The Rest of the Story	By : Anesor Category: +M through R > Neverwinter Nights Views: 2558 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Neverwinter Nights nor the characters from the game, and I make no money from this.

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Many of these characters aren't mine, but I'm glad we can play with them.

x x

Crossroad Keep - - -

- - - Bevil

My gut hurt. My shoulder hurt, too. I don't even remember when I had been hit there. All I could remember was the attackers, coming at us with little pause. Fighting, encouraging my men, bandaging a few injuries, and dragging bodies back while trying not to see their faces, just for today.

After too many deaths, the attackers were all gone, finally. I saw Elondra, well the Commander, if I was speaking to others, touring the keep briefly after the fighting had ended. I heard the old mage who lived in the keep library, chattering about a chance to attack and looking for her or the paladin. I also heard wild rumors that the mages were trying to contact famous names to help in the fight or that we were completely surrounded by enemy and were gonna die. Those I slapped down. I heard a lot of things, some just stupid.

Soon enough, they left the keep again, leaving us with the wounded and the dead, to attack the cause of all this.

Not very many were aware that I'd known her a long time, and I wanted to keep it that way. I was afraid the bards would find out I'd fought with her once, but she always managed to hide from any visiting bards. I was just a Greycloak, aside from the handful who knew better. She'd advanced far and above a village militia that we'd both started in, but I didn't want attention of the things she'd fought.

Lord Nevalle, Captain of the Nine, was staying here, to command if there was another attack. Though without her group, I wasn't as sure we'd survive a large attack like that last one. Those Ironfists were busy repairing the gate and other key parts of the fortification, as were some of the spell-slingers from the city. Their magical repairs were too smooth, unlike the honest walls made by the excitable Veedle. Daeghun was going to lead a patrol, real soon now. At least I knew he wouldn't panic like some of the newer scouts or those from the city.

The light outside was dim, even though there were no visible clouds, but I kept touring the towers, to make sure the lookouts were keeping a sharp eye. One had passed out from exhaustion, and I sent him to find Kana to find a relief for him. My far sight wasn't that good, but I would have to do until some relief came up.

Coming back down through the stairwell later and exiting into the yard, the light hurt my eyes. It was brighter than it had been in days. Still cooler than it should be this time of the year, but my spirits lifted for the first time in I didn't know how many days. Then the whispers started, that the shadows must be defeated...

--- x ---

The next few days were a continuing nightmare. Protecting our visitors, extra patrols, extra deaths, healing and repairs. Unless you were seriously injured, you didn't get a full night's sleep. Before I knew it, a tenday had passed until I finally got a good night's sleep.

The next morning, all the people who were now dead or missing finally sank in. Some I'd never been that fond of, like Kana or the sorcerers. But no one had returned from Elondra's group, nothing had been heard from them since they left here. The darkness had faded, sure enough, but someone should have returned in the days since then. Too much of the captured lands had been between here and there.

The higher ups had left days ago, finally letting us relax a little. Lord Nevalle just left this morning, looking cross again at our less than matched equipment when he said his farewells. Not that many of us cared about it, I'd rather have a good solid weapon and armor than something that was pretty.

Left now to our own devices, we were falling into our routines from before the battle, even if it seemed everyone was watching for them to return. Patrols were larger and more frequent, and there were too many deaths reopening roads. We lost Kana, Chekkin, Tenuff, and Pyderson, as well as newer recruits or those from the city whose names I didn't really know. Nevalle took all the city troops when he left, but all our survivors had healed, some even were back on duty. Our patrols kept clearing and destroying more faded remnants of the king's army, but the Keep was secure. But no one had come out of the Mere, and we kept waiting.

We even had volunteers for sentry duty.

But all that netted us was a signal late in the evening that someone was approaching the outer gate. I hurried out, as well as Katriona, even though she was off shift. But it was only Daeghun.

Daeghun looking even more like he was carved of wood, more frozen than I'd ever seen him. For an instant in the lantern light, he looked a wreck. But the trick of the light was gone as he stepped closer.

“Some kind of underground space collapsed,” he announced in a calm, flat voice. “Their tracks led in, but there were no gaps or openings or disturbances in the debris. No group has come out within a distance of the core area around the entrance they used. A large complex would need more entrances. I only came long enough to give you notice that I do not expect to return until I have more definitive news.”

With that he turned and left again.

The guards and others of us who'd hurried, hoping for better news, just looked at each other. No one said anything. Bad news could wait until morning, and Katriona ordered such.

I went back to my room, pulling out a bottle of strong spirits I'd been saving, for my own little wake. The elf could live in his denials, as he had for all the years of my life. But that many people with spells and magic? They'd fail to come out only if they'd died.

Now there was only three who remembered West Harbor now. All the people I grew up among, the home my family had built and rebuilt, all were gone. The people: foolish, the wise, the gossips, the good dancers, the ones who could get lost in their own back yard, the petty arguments, the Harvest Fairs, my mother and sibs... There weren't even enough of us to even try to rebuild: a watchman who'd been gone to Neverwinter for many years, an elf who'd buried his emotions years ago, and me.

I didn't have any vision, any plans. I wanted to do the right things, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I came here, looking for my friend. My home was still gone, and this place was a fort. Once I'd wanted to travel, but decided my family needed me more. Was I being cursed with my younger wish?

That thought went with me as I drifted into a hazy sleep. I hadn't really passed out as my bottle wasn't that big, but that didn't mean my dreams were any kinder.

Waking, my head was pounding. No, the door and my head were pounding.

I hid my head under the pillow, and heard the door crash open, nearly splitting my skull open.

“Sergeant! You were supposed to be on duty an hour ago! What have you to say for your self?” Katriona shouted crisply.

I managed to sit up, and said while gritting my teeth, “I'm sorry, Sir. I should probably be put on sick call today.”

“You've been drinking,” she shrieked.

Holding my head very still, remaining calm was not a problem. She was probably speaking normally, as I felt I needed a level to make my head stay flat.

“Yes, of course I was drinking. I had to do a wake for my friend, for all the people who've died in that swamp,” I said, keeping my voice quiet.

After a long moment, Katriona sighed like a storm gust, “We still don't know that. They've been away from here longer than a tenday before.”

“That old stick of an elf made it there and back and found nothing. He found no evidence that they escaped that collapse, and he's a better tracker than that Bishop was. He would not have brought news, if he hadn't scouted the ruins with his companion quite thoroughly. Oh, he'll keep looking and waste years or decades on denying the truth, clinging to what he's lost, but that never did anyone else around him any good!” I had ended up nearly shouting, making my head hurt more.

Waving a hand at me so I would be more quiet, she nearly whispered, “Okay, Bevil. Take today on sick call, you haven't before. Any emergency bells and you're on duty, regardless, and you will be pulling extra duty for at least a tenday... And drink some water before you get back to sleep.”

She slammed the door before leaving.

I drank the tepid water in my pitcher, before falling asleep again curled up in a ball, again seeing all the now dead faces, starting with Amie.

The next day, I was doing my extra shift at the gate when the fiendling came up to the gate on a lathered horse. Asking sadly for news, I had none to give her, so she rushed inwards looking so pale her freckles looked like bloodstains on her face. I heard in the next day's report that there'd been a gate or something they'd fled through, but she'd appeared alone and hurried back. She began to hover at the gate, making some of the younger men nervous, but I made them settle. Any who fought with the Commander, could hover all they wanted.

A couple days later, I heard the elf mage appeared in the library by magic. I missed it, as I'd been out collecting the old coot Aldenon from the site of some heavy fighting outside the gate, where he said he was measuring residual shadow or negative plane energy or something. I might have believed him, but he was using a wire coil and a gingerbread cookie. He was pleased enough to see Sand, and their speech quickly became a mix of magic terms and elvish for all I knew.

The elf must have given a better report to Katriona, as the next day's reports said that most of the others had survived, including the Commander, according to a divination in a temple in Waterdeep. Three more days, and the gnome had returned with the elf from Neverwinter. I was not at all surprised to learn that we'd no new information from him other than he'd been far away.

What did come as a surprise were my orders, later in the day, from Katriona, to form a larger escort to help Aldenon return to the city. As he was nobility, and had provided valuable help in the war, he was to be accorded every courtesy. I was also to keep very close to him day and night, and make very sure he didn't wander off until I delivered him to his steward in the city.

I really wanted to stay here like everyone else, in almost a vigil, but I still had days left in my punishment and no other sergeants wanted to go. It took two days to get him packed, with all the things he absolutely could not travel without. Not as early as I would have liked, we left the keep, bound for Neverwinter.

I'd never been there, but I was stuck in the center of the escort, riding in the wagon with Aldenon. At least he created these soft and thick cushions that made the ride over sometimes damaged roads more tolerable. But the seats smelled a strange combination of mint and camphor that he couldn't seem to smell. I doubted I was going to catch a cold on this trip.

He spent most of the morning chattering about his garden in the city, and how the warmer weather helped all his plants weather the winter. Excepting the rhubarb, which he used cold spells on in their pots. I'm not even sure if all the things he named were plants. In the middle of telling me how he planned to change his tulip beds this year, he rhapsodized over the genius of his gardener's knowledge of compost and how to mix dragon dung to control mosquitoes in the summer in the swampy corner of his garden. I wasn't sure if he had a source for that or the griffin dung he wanted, but this much worry about dirt was amusing.

Happily eating his lunch that had been packed back in the Keep, the coot looked me in the eye, and said, “A late storm is coming.”

“Undead? Another army?” I asked. We didn't have anyone but Greycloaks in our group, and we had traveled too far to make a run back to the Keep.

He looked at me funny, and said, “No, no. Ice and snow. The weather will be changed chaotically from the taint and chill of undead to the land. I can feel the weather change in my knees.”

I signaled some of my juniors closer, and the more experienced travelers said it would be milder if we got closer to the city. So we increased the pace. Later the sky became greyer, confirming Aldenon's knees.

He was wailing about his man removing the straw too soon off some plants and them freezing from the storm. Then babbling about some kingdom centuries ago that had bred flowers that glowed in the evenings, not really of any interest to me in trying to decide when we should stop. Finally it was getting close to sundown, and I had the camp set up close together in the most sheltered place I'd seen. I also ordered fewer tents despite grumbling, warmth was more important than any shyness, when they were all staying dressed all night. I was in Aldenon's tent to enjoy his snoring. Sleet hitting the edges of the tents, tarps over the horses, and trees above us made that tinkling sound, that said ice storm.

We didn't travel the next day, and had to cut back on food. Aldenon was not taking the short rations and cold at all well. He got irrational, and started a tirade about several other families trying to buy and steal his mansion and putting pigeons in his patio to spy on him through the windows. I ended up giving him extra sweets which calmed him. I could go a little short a few days, and requested the others' sweets as well if he got bad. He also kept wanting to use the chamberpot constantly, like a child, making the tent rather smelly.

That did mean none of the others were very interested in sharing the larger tent that had the small brazier. It really wasn't that much worse than home was at certain times of the year.

The next morning, most of the slush had melted, and if we went slower we might make it to another village yet today. I was worried about Aldenon, he couldn't seem to get warmer, even with being bundled with extra blankets inside the wagon. I and a couple more went into the wagon to try to warm it with body warmth. He finally slept late afternoon, even as the wagon sometimes slid on the ice on the smoother roads. We reached a village just after dark, and commandeered barn space to get everyone out of the cold. For Aldenon, I used far too much money to rent him an interior room with a fireplace. I insisted on a receipt, and the villager almost spitefully wrote one out.

Checking on Aldenon, he called me Betrin, and patted my head. At least he was calmer when I went to sleep in front of the door.

In the morning, he seemed better. Greeting, me by name, correctly. When we ate, bought at ruinous prices with my own money as I hadn't been given that much, Aldenon was worrying again about cheats in the city trying to sue him to take his land and mansion and garden.

By mid-day we could see the city in gaps in the trees only a few miles away. Travel had gotten much better, with only wet and damp today. Aldenon was on the bench again, talking about examining the Illefarn ruins once summer came, and wondering if he could find and hire guides and guards anywhere, or if the spirits would be willing to guide him.

I could feel a pity, as he seemed to have no kin, only employees and his studies in the twilight of his life.

Mid-afternoon and we were entering Neverwinter. The streets were emptier than I'd expected, but we reached his house without any problems. The buildings were all fancy, and there were servants preparing for spring, all in plain uniforms. Some in richer clothing, were arguing with another servant at the doorway. Aldenon began shrieking at the one. After some yelling, that one left protesting, with clods of mud and weeds dangling in his clothing and hair. The old coot had good aim.

Aldenon complained some more and scurried into the house muttering. The one servant remaining, in the better clothing, was the estate steward, whatever they did. But he asked for any travel receipts and a report of the journey. Once that was done, we headed for the barracks and a good night's sleep after a quick report.

I decided we'd stay here a couple days before beginning our return trip. I turned in a report to D, another member of the Nine I remembered seeing once at the Keep. I didn't want to reveal that I'd never caught his name, and no one seemed to notice I never used it.

The others either went to buy treats they couldn't get at the keep, or to visit people they knew. I stayed in the barracks, relaxing for a change. Sitting back near the fire, very late, I was surprised to hear my name.

“Bevil Starling! What are you doing here?”

Opening my eyes, I realized it could only be Cormick, though he looked even bigger than when he'd left West Harbor. He was higher in rank, but he looked cheerful and glad to see me.

Startled out of my doze, I said, “Escort duty, to bring the sage back to his estate... Sir.”

“No need to be that formal, this late, Bevil. I'm glad to see you are well,” he said, sitting down beside me with a couple of large tankards. “I saw you got promoted, but hadn't seen anything else in any other reports.”

“Not much else to say, Cormick. I do mostly training, as Georg was good teaching us the basics,” I admitted.

“True enough,” Cormick said with a smile, looking around the empty hall. “I advanced quickly when I got here, as did Whyntll. Do you have any news about them? The rumors here have been getting pretty wild.”

With no urge to smile, I told him, “They didn't walk out of the collapsed area where there was some battle. Three of their group returned, only in the last few days before we left, but they got out before others like Elondra and Casavir through unknown gates. They didn't know anything about where the gates would send them. The mage says that divinations say most still live, but nothing else about what happened to them.”

He drank from his ale, and we sat there for a few minutes. Gates were dangerous in bard's tales, and appearing in a lake while wearing armor was an ugly way to die. Not that there were many pretty ways.

A few minutes more, and Cormick sighed, and put on a smile again, “Congratulate me, Bevil, I'm engaged!”

“Really? Congratulations!” I could say with a new smile.

His smile got sappy, as he told me all about her. A chandler, who worked in and with one of the temples, making special candles. She was beautiful and smart and charming and... I felt sure he was a little prejudiced, but he sounded happy enough.

Finally he asked, “Have you met anyone?”

My smile grew harder, and I said, “I almost reached an understanding with Amie, but she died in that earlier attack on West Harbor.”

“No one since then? That's, what, well over two years now? You sound like old Daeghun,” he said with a half-smile.

I could feel my face freeze as that struck my heart. It had been that long, hadn't it? It still didn't quite feel like she was dead until I'd had that little wake. But I'd never wanted to be like the elf in his stasis. Even he had finally left the swamp after his daughter, but I'd never quite left. I somehow thought I'd go back home after all this.

All this must have shown on my face, as he brought out a hip flask and shoved it in my hands. I drank a long slug of something stronger and gave it back with a muttered thanks.

After another long moment, I said, “I always expected to go back and serve in the militia on the family farm.”

Cormick shook his head, and told me, “We can't go back, there's nothing there.”

“Our family's memories and our homes,” I objected, feeling younger.

“You already have your memories, and those lands have been tainted by the shadowking. You rode with the sage, did he say anything that let you think it could be rebuilt?” Cormick asked.

Among the dross, the only thing I could remember was, “He wants to hire guards or get ghosts to show him things.”

Shaking his head, Cormick said, “As senile as he can be, he doesn't think there will be any settlers, only ghosts. Is that a place to live? Is that a place for family?”

That became a weight in my stomach, as he was right. I would have to make a life somewhere else. “But where should I go? I don't think I want to be a career soldier.”

“I can't tell you that. And making that kind of plan may depend more on other things and a girl. Patha is a city girl and the candles she makes are more for temples and wizards, so Neverwinter will be our home. Find a girl you like and decide then,” Cormick said, trying to be encouraging, I think.

After what happened to West Harbor, I didn't really want to fight the swamp anymore. A larger community might survive disasters better, too. But I didn't like the size of Neverwinter. There were too many people, and it was so loud.

He interrupted my thought, and said, “You don't have to decide tonight. You're still young enough to have some time. Just let West Harbor go.”

“It was my family! My home! My friends!” I said, getting angry.

“You think I don't know that? I lost all my kin there too!” he answered me, growling in kind. “Don't throw away your luck or blessings to have survived. Would Rhetta have wanted that? Merrig would be telling you to get out there and grab that second chance. Tarmas would just grumble at you. Georg would be tellin' you to hoist a large one for him, and then telling you about the lass who has her eye on you. Remembering them, doesn't mean you have to die too. A clean start won't betray their memories, while dying in a tainted land would.”

With a heavy sigh, he rose after a few minutes, clapped me on the shoulder and left me to the dying fire. I put more wood on and settled to think a while.

In the morning, I received recompense for the trip and I wandered through the city a bit, thinking there were a lot of shops. Then I was directed to the open Merchant district. I spent most of the money I'd saved and brought, buying clothing, tools, treats, and even a flask like Cormick had.

I saw more people in the merchant area, children running around and even shouting in the late afternoon sun. They looked a bit muddy as I'd remembered the three of us being that many years ago now, returning after we'd set up a prank on the Mossfields. We hadn't gotten in trouble, but Elondra'd been unable to see us for tendays.

But these kids didn't have that much mud, I remembered my mother washing my sibs of theirs many times. Grumbling, with a few swear words, but everyone knew she wasn't really upset. I missed having a family. I could farm, or I could do something else. What, didn't matter that much to me. But I missed having people to come home to.

I continued thinking about it when we left early the next day to return to the Keep. This trip went much faster this time, and when I got back to the Keep I realized the senior guard at the outer gate was eying me, and I smiled back at her. Making plans could wait until we were both off-duty.

--- x ---

A/N: Thanks to my beta reader, who's been kind enough to point out stupid flubs. Any typos that remain are not intentional... Reviews or a PM to let me know what you think would be very appreciated.
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