"I can play with you alive or dead," the nereid said, then stroked Adon"s face and giggled. "It makes no difference."
In desperation, Midnight picked up one of the canvas storage sacks. "We can give you something of great magic. But only we know how to use it."
Suddenly the tunnel collapsed, just as the skiff was about to enter it. The boat rocked violently, and a fine mist washed over the heroes. Neither Adon nor Cyric moved, nor did either stop staring at the woman.
"Show me," the nereid murmured. It rose to the top of the water and walked easily on its surface around the outside of the boat, oblivious to the craft"s motion. The creature seemed to glide over the waves, so that its feet never left the Ashaba.
Midnight contemplated the amount of time she would need to cast a single spell, but she decided against it. If only there were something in the bag I could use against this creature! Midnight thought desperately. Or better yet, something I could use to grab that shawl! If the legends were correct, then the nereid"s soul was encased in that piece of cloth. If Midnight could grab it, then she could command it to leave them alone.
"Show me!" the golden-haired creature cried, and the river came to life. Suddenly the water congealed into a dozen sparkling mirror images of the nereid. The water sprite"s doubles rose on either side of the small craft and grabbed the sides of the skiff, halting its motion completely.
As the golden-eyed sprite drew closer, Midnight noticed that it was not made of flesh and blood. Swirling, sparkling water, alive with streaks of lightning that darted back and forth, lay behind the sprite"s delicate features. The bright glow of the sky was trapped within the nereid"s body and shifted lazily as the creature moved. The sight reminded the mage of light pa.s.sing through a large block of ice. Midnight raised her hands to cast a spell. "Wait!" a voice cried weakly, and Midnight turned in surprise to see Adon reach out toward the nereid. The golden-eyed creature seemed intrigued and held its ground. "You are so beautiful," Adon murmured softly. Thoughts of Sune Firehair, the G.o.ddess of Beauty, the G.o.ddess he once served, floated through the scarred cleric"s mind.
The nereid smiled and reached back, running its hands through its hair. "I am indeed beautiful," the creature said. Suddenly its features began to run like wax beneath a flame. The youth and vitality drained away from its form, leaving the image of a withered hag in its place. "And now?" the nereid asked.
Adon seemed to straighten, and the amber sunlight fell upon his features, filling in the depression of the scar that lined his face. "There"s no difference," he said. "None whatsoever"
Again the nereid"s form turned waxen until it returned to the shape of a beautiful young woman. "You"re in love with me," it stated matter-of-factly. "You would do anything I say."
Once, when Adon, Midnight , Kelemvor, and Cyric had entered the ruins of Castle Kilgrave on a mission to rescue the G.o.ddess of Magic, the G.o.d of Strife had a.s.saulted the heroes with visions of their fondest desires. Adon had seen Sune Firehair - and he had nearly succ.u.mbed to the illusion. Only the intervention of his friends had saved him.
Now, as Adon stared at the nereid"s beautiful, mesmerizing eyes, something deep inside his mind recalled the memory of that illusion back to him. The cleric felt his lower lip tremble. "No...," he growled. "No, I don"t think I would." Adon sprang into lightning motion and quickly tore the shawl from the nereid"s shoulders.
"No!" the creature screamed as it tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the shawl back. As it did, the watery doubles of the nereid lifted the boat from the surface of the river.
Adon tumbled into Midnight , and they both fell to the bottom of the skiff in a tangle of arms and legs. Cyric, on the other hand, still stood in the stern. He, too, was reaching for the nereid"s shawl. Seeing the thief"s dagger within reach, Midnight grabbed the weapon, then s.n.a.t.c.hed the shawl from Adon.
"Put us down!" Midnight cried as she folded the shawl over the sharp blade.
All at once, the water creatures dropped the boat to the river. Cyric fell backward, b.u.mped his head, and stopped moving. The nereid cried out in pain. "Please!" the sprite screeched piteously. "Leave my shawl alone!"
"I thought you wanted to play," Midnight said, her voice low and cold.
For a moment, the only sound Adon and Midnight could hear was the steady gurgling of the river. Then suddenly a fine mist struck the back of their necks. The cleric turned to see the nearest of the nereid"s doubles contort its face into a terrible visage and hiss threateningly.
"Dispel your servants!" Midnight demanded, pressing the dagger against the shawl. "Let us go in peace!"
A series of strangled gasps escaped from the watery constructs as they dispersed with a m.u.f.fled splash. The golden eyes of the nereid narrowed, and suddenly the skiff was in motion once again. The creatures flanking the boat had returned to their original watery state.
"Adon, take the oars!" Midnight shouted as the flow of the river spun the boat around and dragged it upstream. The cleric grabbed the oars and tried to control the craft.
Cyric groaned and sat up in the stern of the skiff. Suddenly the nereid was beside the thief, clutching at his arms, trying to pull him out of the boat. Before the creature could claim its hostage, however, Adon locked both his hands tightly around Cyric"s right ankle.
At that moment, Midnight drove the dagger through the shawl.
The nereid froze in place momentarily, holding on to the groggy thief"s arms. Then violent, painful shudders wracked the creature"s body. Finally the sprite let out a high-pitched, whining sigh and collapsed into the water.
Adon dragged Cyric back into the skiff. The thief was badly shaken. The cleric stood over him, smiling, as Cyric rubbed his bruised head and looked around, trying to remember what had happened to him after the nereid had appeared.
The beautiful white shawl in Midnight "s hands gradually grew black, then started to crumble. The mage looked into the water, but the nereid was gone, returned to the Elemental Plane of Water. Shaking her head, Midnight dropped the decaying shawl into the Ashaba and watched it float away upstream.
Fzoul Chembryl lay, close to death, upon a rough straw mattress, staring up at the fading amber light of the afternoon sky through the shattered ceiling of a deserted farmhouse in Zhentilar-occupied Daggerdale. Despite the casualties to Bane"s armies in the Battle of Shadowdale, the dalesmen had not tried to drive the Zhentilar from their neighboring settlement to the west. For the moment, Fzoul felt safe.
What an ign.o.ble place to call my tomb, the wounded man thought. I, a powerful priest of the G.o.d of Strife, leader of the Zhentarim, second only to Manshoon, am to die in a stinking, burned-out hovel in a captured territory. For a moment, Fzoul wondered if the Zhentarim, a ma.s.sive, largely secret organization loyal to the G.o.d of Strife, would send someone to search for him. The priest smiled grimly and dismissed the idea, certain that most of the Zhentarim would be happy to see him dead.
"Our overconfidence cost us everything!" the red-haired priest muttered aloud, although he was alone. "And your greed, Bane. Your madness and your greed..."
Fzoul attempted to move, but he could not. The pain in his chest was not unlike a huge, vicious watchdog that pounced on him whenever he was foolish enough to forget the wound he had suffered in the attack on Shadowdale.
The high priest of Bane slipped into delirium, as he had done frequently in the last few days, and events of the recent past played through his mind. Fzoul suddenly remembered discovering that Tempus Blackthorne, Bane"s chosen a.s.sistant and emissary, had died, a victim of the omnipresent instability in magic. Bane then had chosen to split Blackthorne"s duties between Fzoul and his sometime rival, Sememmon of Darkhold.
Filled with plans of how he could exploit his new position and solidify his own power base, Fzoul had accepted the post with an enthusiasm he had not felt in years. But that enthusiasm faded quickly as he learned the secrets of the G.o.d-made-flesh. The Black Lord was forced to eat, drink, and sleep, like any other man. Wound the G.o.d, and he would bleed like any other man. Fzoul, much to his disgust, was forced to tend to his master"s human needs and protect the Black Lord"s secrets at all costs.
Fzoul"s mind raced ahead. Suddenly the preparations for the Battle of Shadowdale were underway, and Sememmon was chosen to ride with Lord Bane through Voonlar. Fzoul was a.s.signed the task of leading a five-hundred-man contingent across the Ashaba bridge to take the town from behind and capture theTwistedTower.
The defenders of Shadowdale had destroyed the bridge rather than allow Fzoul"s forces the easy victory that had been expected. Worse still, the priest had been trapped on the west side of the bridge when it fell, away from most of his troops. Then the lean, hawk-nosed, dark-haired leader of the dalesmen at the bridge fired an arrow into Fzoul"s chest. The high priest fell from the bridge to the roiling water below, where the unnatural tide swept him upstream, along with a handful of other survivors. The small band of soldiers struggled together to stay alive until they got to sh.o.r.e and found a squad of Zhentilar that had been posted to watch the supply route.
The wounds of the red-haired high priest had made travel back to Zhentil Keep impossible; Fzoul knew that he"d never survive the journey. The farmhouse was the closest shelter the Zhentish soldiers could find.
"I have spilled my own blood in your name, and you desert me!" Fzoul railed. "d.a.m.n you, Bane!"
Now, forced to place his life in the hands of his subordinates, Fzoul lay upon the dirty heap of straw and tried to force his thoughts away from the near certainty of his approaching demise. As he stared at the amber sky through the ruined ceiling, the high priest realized that the light was growing brighter and more intense. Finally the color of the sky deepened to blood red, and streaks of light pierced the darkness of the farmhouse as if the boarded-up windows had been torn open.
"Attend me!" Fzoul shouted as he tried to rise, despite the pain in his chest. A skeletal hand fell upon Fzoul"s chest, gently forcing him back down. The high priest found himself staring into a face that belonged more to a corpse left on a field of battle than to a living creature.
"Zhentilar! To my side!" Fzoul yelled as he tried to back away from the horrible, rotting thing that stood before him, its hand on his chest. The priest"s chest convulsed in pain after the effort of shouting.
The skeletal figure smiled a rictus grin. "Alas, Fzoul Chembryl, High Priest of Bane, the Zhentilar who were camped outside this hut are... gone." He removed his hand from the priest"s chest. "I trust you know who I am?"
"You"ve come for me at last, then," Fzoul whispered and closed his eyes.
"No need to be so melodramatic," Myrkul said. "All men know my touch sooner or later. But this need not be your time to enter my kingdom."
Fzoul tried to hide his fear. "What do you propose?" The G.o.d of the Dead raised his bony hand and drummed the tips of his fingers against his bleached white chin. The sound was high-pitched and sharp. "It is not my proposition you must entertain," Myrkul sighed. "I"m here as, let us say, an agent of your lord and G.o.d, the immortal G.o.d of Strife."
A short laugh escaped from the high priest. "Look at me," Fzoul said. "What could Lord Bane want with me? I can hardly breathe anymore."
"Lord Bane"s avatar was destroyed in the Battle of Shadowdale, in theTempleofLathander," Myrkul stated flatly. "You have been chosen for the high honor of being host for Lord Bane"s essence." The G.o.d of the Dead looked around the ruined hut and grinned again. "But my wounds -," Fzoul began.
"Are as nothing to a G.o.d. You can be healed, and you can live out the glory you dreamed about all your life," Myrkul sighed as he turned to look at the high priest. Concern flashed across the features of the priest. Myrkul shook his head, and a stray, fleshy strip flapped against his cheekbone. "Spare me your denials. Your self-serving machinations are well known." "Why doesn"t Bane just take me?" Fzoul said. The high priest tried to sit up again, but he couldn"t. "Obviously I could do nothing to stop him."
"If Lord Bane simply possessed you, your ident.i.ty and memories would be compromised. The Black Lord wishes to a.s.similate your being into his, but he cannot do so without your cooperation," Myrkul said, yawning.
The pain in Fzoul"s chest was terrible now, and the priest was panting hard. "Why - why didn"t he come himself?" he gasped between breaths.
"He did," Myrkul said softly, chuckling. "Look around you."
The blood-red haze that Fzoul had taken for the sky now flowed into the hut through the opening in the ceiling and slowly drifted toward the high priest.
"Death or life?" the skeletal man asked. "The choice is yours."
Fzoul watched as the red ma.s.s grew brighter, then started to pulse in time to the rhythm of his own heart. A black flame emerged from the center of the red cloud.
"I want to live!" Fzoul screamed as the flame shot through the air. The black energy entered his body through the wound in his chest.
"Alas, I knew you would," the G.o.d of the Dead sighed as he stepped back and watched Fzoul"s body writhe. Streamers of black and red light burst from the high priest"s eyes, nose, and mouth.
The high priest felt his flesh become numb as Bane"s dark essence coursed through his body. The flow of Fzoul"s blood slowed, then stopped for a moment as it was overwhelmed by the presence of the evil G.o.d. Then the priest"s internal organs were violated as the spark of G.o.dhood merged with humanity. Fzoul felt the tide of Bane"s evil rise within him, and he welcomed the sensation.
The pleasant feeling was short-lived, however. A sudden agony pierced Fzoul"s consciousness as his memories and desires were laid bare to the Black Lord. Then the pain subsided, and Bane"s voice eased into the high priest"s mind.
Have no doubts concerning who is in control, the G.o.d of Strife growled. The G.o.d"s mind stretched and shifted as it tried to grow accustomed to its new home. Your tasks will be simple. Fail me, or act in rebellion even once, and I will destroy you.
m.u.f.fled sensation returned, and Fzoul vaguely felt the chill of the night air as it drifted in from above. How long has this taken? he wondered, and he attempted to put voice to his query. Fzoul was only mildly surprised when the words did not come.
The high priest watched from somewhere deep inside his own mind as his hand rose up before his eyes. The hand clenched and became a fist, then opened and pa.s.sed over the priest"s b.l.o.o.d.y, wounded chest. Instantly the wound was gone, and Fzoul realized that he was sitting up.
"Myrkul," the Black Lord said with the voice of the high priest. He sat upon the rough straw mattress and stretched. "Attend me."
"There is no longer a need, Lord Bane," Myrkul said calmly as he bowed. "Once I have delivered you to Zhentil Keep, you will need to attend to your own needs. It is best you start now."
The Black Lord snarled. "You go too far, Myrkul! I will not stand for this insubordination!" As the G.o.d of the Dead bowed once more and spread his arms wide, Lord Bane considered striking the skeletal G.o.d. Or perhaps, he thought, I should cast a spell. Nothing too powerful, of course, but something strong enough to show Myrkul who is in command.
Looking out through eyes that were no longer his to control, Fzoul tried to scream. Bane would destroy them both if he attempted a spell and it backfired!
"Remember your place," Bane snapped. Myrkul nodded, and Fzoul found himself tumbling back into the recesses of his own mind.
"My apologies, Lord Bane," the G.o.d of the Dead murmured. "This has been a very difficult and tiring time for me. Are you ready to return to theDarkTemplein Zhentil Keep?"
Bane ran his hands over the body of his avatar. He had altered his previous incarnation into something more than a man, a horrible creature with sharp talons and hard, charred skin that only the sharpest of instruments could penetrate. The pale, vulnerable flesh of the high priest made the Dark G.o.d uneasy. Myrkul had argued in favor of Bane"s new appearance, reasoning that humans would trust the G.o.d more readily if he appeared to be one of them. Bane had reluctantly agreed. After all, his previous tactics - trying to frighten his forces into submission - had been a rather decided failure. After the defeat at Shadowdale, he would need to regain the confidence of his followers.
The G.o.d of Strife shivered as he realized that his power in the Realms was nothing more than the sum of all his worshipers. The thought was revolting. "Yes," the Black Lord sighed after a moment. "Take me to my temple in Zhentil Keep."
Creating a mystical gate, Myrkul stood aside and beckoned to Bane to come forward. Through the opening, the Black Lord saw the seemingly deserted streets of Zhentil Keep. Bane stepped through the opening. In a moment, the Black Lord was standing in a dark, rat-infested alley. A cut-purse let out a yell as Bane"s avatar suddenly appeared nearby. The grimy thief scurried out of the alley and ran down the street in panic.
"So it begins anew, Myrkul," Bane said as he gazed at the partially constructed spires of his temple in the distance. When he received no response, the Black Lord turned to find that the gate had vanished and the G.o.d of the Dead was nowhere to be seen.
It hardly matters, Bane thought as he left the alley. Myrkul has served his function for now.
Bane traveled through the city, shunning the poor and homeless people he pa.s.sed. Sounds that might have come from thieves or slavers falling upon new victims drifted from nearly every shadow and caused Bane to quicken his step, until finally he was running through the streets, the spires of his temple fixed in his eyes. As he turned one last corner and approached the temple, Bane spotted the figures of several temple guards ahead.
"Guards!" the Black Lord shouted with Fzoul"s voice, then stood motionless as one of the watchmen stepped forward, his weapon drawn.
"You"ll get no free meals here!" the guard growled, looking out at the tattered clothes of the avatar from under a black hand on a red field - Bane"s own symbol. "Off with you now!"
"Don"t you recognize me, Dier Ashlin?" Bane asked, running his hand through the tangle of red hair on his head.
The guard squinted as he examined the tired, grimy man who stood before him, wearing the tattered remains of an officer"s uniform. Blood spattered the redheaded man"s shirt, and his face was covered with sweat and dirt. But even the grime and blood could not hide Fzoul Chembryl from the guard for long. "L-Lord Fzoul!" Ashlin shouted and lowered his sword.
"Indeed," the G.o.d of Strife grumbled. "Get me inside. I have traveled all the way from the Dales since the battle."
"The slaughter, you mean," Ashlin mumbled as he turned and headed for the front of the temple.
The Black Lord longed to kill the guard without another word, but something inside him - Fzoul, perhaps - told him that now was not the time for bloodshed. Now was the time for the G.o.d of Strife to rebuild his kingdom.
As they entered the partially finishedDarkTemple, Lord Bane was impressed with the amount of work that had been accomplished since he had last been there. Unfortunately, the Battle of Shadowdale had diverted many of his men from the task of rebuilding his temple. In fact, now, with the exception of the guards, the wounded who had survived the journey from Shadowdale, and a handful of devout worshipers, the temple was deserted.
"Who is in charge, now that Bane has disappeared? I a.s.sumed Sememmon had taken the reigns of leadership," Bane said as he stopped and looked out a window.
Ashlin shrugged. "Sememmon was wounded on the field of battle in the Dales. Some of our men said they saw him dragged off, and that was the last anyone saw of him."
A chill ran up the avatar"s spine. "Then the city is once again in the hands of incompetents!" the G.o.d of Strife growled. Balling his hands into fists, Bane turned to the guard. "Lord Chess?"
"Aye," Ashlin muttered. "With Bane gone, you and Sememmon missing, and Manshoon off in hiding somewhere, Lord Chess could see little reason to continue work on the temple, and so it sits. Rumor has it that Chess, the filthy orc, wants to turn it into a brothel!"
The shoulders of the avatar tightened. "I would like to see Lord Chess," snapped the Black Lord. "Tonight." The G.o.d of Strife turned back to the window and looked out on the dirty, rubble-strewn streets around theDarkTemple.
"Yes, Lord Chembryl," Ashlin said, and he turned to leave.
"Wait! I haven"t dismissed you yet!" the Black Lord shouted without turning from the window. The guard froze in his tracks. "There are others who I wish you to summon..."
For the next several hours, Bane retired to his private chambers, hidden behind the throne room, and prepared himself for the meeting he had called. The ceremonial robes Fzoul had left in his quarters before the battle were brought to the Black Lord. He bathed, then dressed as his guests began to arrive.
When the noise from the outer chamber became a roar, Bane opened a small secret panel to the room and listened to the crowd. The members of the Zhentarim - Bane"s Black Network, some called them - were silent. Lord Chess"s men, the high-ranking city officials and the heads of the militia, were not.
"Lord Bane has forsaken us!" they cried. "Lord Chess should rule the city now!"
"Bane betrayed us!" another voice shouted. "Our forces were led into a deathtrap in Shadowdale! Then he abandoned us to be tortured by the dalesmen!"
A roar of approval went up from a group of militia standing close to Bane"s listening post. It"s time I made my entrance, the G.o.d of Strife thought. Now that they"ve worn themselves down, it shouldn"t be too hard to manipulate them.
As Bane"s avatar emerged from behind the large black throne that dominated the room, some of the cries were silenced. Still, a loud hum of conversation hung over the room, punctuated occasionally by a curse or threat. The Black Lord raised Fzoul"s hands, and the hum died away, too. "I am here to unify Zhentil Keep once again!" the avatar cried.
Slowly Bane walked to the black throne. He turned to the crowd, which was now almost completely silent, and flashed a wide, malicious grin. Then he sat down upon the throne.
The room erupted in a wave of gasps and cries of outrage. "This is an insult!" a dark-haired priest called out. "Have we been summoned from our homes in the dead of night to witness sacrilege? How do you explain this, Fzoul?"