Chapter Text
From the outside, the Temple of Wisdom looked like nothing more than three cozy baguettes capped with a fancy dome, but the interior was coated in reflective colored glass and dangling quartz that sent light tinkling through every facet of it. It was a temple dedicated to the gnomish god Garl Glittergold, and run by high priestess Gellanna Mirroshade. She took one look at the two of them (with Aegis stooping to duck under the low doorway), and quickly ushered them into the rear of the little shrine.
It wasn't until her mail shirt, gambeson, and tunic were removed that Aegis could see the horrible dark black bruises where the magic missiles had hit her.
"Holy Oghma's Giant Ass," exclaimed Imoen as Madam Mirroshade tutted. "I done never seen marks so bad what weren't bleedin! You been whooped something rotten!"
"I'm spitting up blood," Aegis reminded her, letting the gnomish woman tilt her this way and that.
They exited the temple only a quarter of an hour later. Aegis rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms forward, back, and out to the side as she tried to work out some of the kinks. No healing magic was perfect, although clerics worked better miracles than healing potions.
Montaron looked to have already headed into the inn, but Xzar was leaning against the temple entrance and waiting for them. He had an intense stare and a serpentine smile about him.
While listening to Galena Mirroshade make supplications onto Garl for healing magics, it had eventually occurred to Aegis that Xzar might have indirectly saved her life that day. He hadn't healed her, no, and neither had he killed Tarnesh. Yet by accident or design, he had reacted swiftly and correctly guessed which of Tarnesh's images had been genuine, allowing the party to focus all of their attacks on the real thing.
Aegis was grateful, and felt it necessary to show her appreciation. So upon seeing the necromancer, she greeted him with a hug.
Every nerve in the man's body stiffened, till he was rigid as a board. He opened his mouth, and shrieked at the top of his lungs, at an ungodly pitch, "STOP TOUCHING ME!"
Aegis let go. Xzar stumbled backwards, tripped over his robe, stumbled, fell over a fence, and ended up falling backwards into a pig pen. Aegis and Imoen shared a look. Then Aegis came up to the fence and peered down at him. Xzar was still stiff as a board, covered in pig waste and mud, and had an utterly miserable expression on his face. His feet were still propped up on the fence.
"Dirty," he mumbled unhappily, as a pig came up to peruse his hair.
Aegis couldn't repress a laugh. She waved the pig away and reached down, grabbing the necromancer by both elbows and pulling him back over the fence. He debated himself, and looked about ready to complain all over again, but by the time he was sorted out enough to do so, he had been righted and Aegis had stepped back to give him some space.
He took note of the grime on his robes and seemed to shrink several inches as his spine compressed. He looked up at her with pale green eyes and pouted. "Dirty," he whimpered, and cringed when Urso padded up to sniff at him.
"Yeah..." Aegis smiled bashfully. "Come on, lets get inside the inn. We can purchase some bath water, I'm sure," she promised, beckoning him with a hand. He seemed oblivious or confused. She leaned left, and right, trying to decide how to move him without touching him, and eventually settled for tugging on his sleeve.
Success! He shuffled after her, looking miserable. She gestured to the inn, and after a few uncertain steps he walked beside her, with her.
"I'm sorry," she added, "I didn't mean to startle you. Should have just said: I'm very thankful you were there to help us today."
He seemed to brighten slightly at this. Montaron was nowhere to be seen, and Aegis assumed he was already inside, drinking. Aegis found this to be quite an injustice, and became determined to drink twice as much to make up for the delay.
"Can you hear them?" he asked distractedly. "The old bones and boulders. Calling up like wisps of smoke between the cracks of a newly consecrated foundation, scrubbed away yet never gone, at least, not in memory?"
"Can't say I do."
"Strange..."
First thing came first; Xzar needed someone to take care of him.
It only took Aegis a few copper pieces to buy an extra long tunic for Xzar to wear while the inn workers washed his robes, but she ended up spending two solid hours trying to convince Xzar to actually go into his room and take his bath, a time period during which the water had to be re-heated and re-paid-for three separate times. Her raccoon had long ago tired of this silly argument and had gone off to Aegis's room to sleep and investigate a previously unopened bag of sunflower seeds.
What the necromancer's problem with bathing was, Aegis wasn't certain. Xzar had an utterly maddening way of leading her through logic games (or illogic games, as the case may be) for a whole of fifteen minutes before she realized he'd gone radically off topic and tried to bring him back to the notion of bathing.
Was he dead-set against removing his own clothing, even when completely alone? Was he allergic to relaxation? Did water vex him, for some reason? Was he scared the water was somehow toxic?
Some of these guesses fit with the idea that the necromancer might be paranoid, but he was also very literally covered in pig shit, and at that point Aegis was beyond caring. One final (il)logic game culminated in her dragging Xzar into his own bedroom and pushing him fully clothed into the bath tub. Xzar shrieked, sputtered and tried to climb out, so Aegis grabbed him by the scruff of his robes and shoved him back in.
"Xzar," she snapped. "You need to-"
He tried to get out again, water was sloshing everywhere. She grabbed him by the hair, and once more threw him back in.
"You-"
He dove this time. She grabbed him by the arms and forced him down. At this point it wasn't so much a question of getting him clean as a matter of principle. She'd put too much effort into this to give up.
"Xzar," she growled.
The necromancer froze and looked up at her with big eyes.
"You're very, very dirty, Xzar," she said suddenly, latching onto an idea: What if she played along with the mage's strange (if inconsistent) preoccupation with 'dirt'?
It worked! Xzar shrank slowly down from her.
"Covered in all sorts of nasty dryad twigs, child boogers, pig filth and sweat from the brows of hardworking peasant farmers!"
He cowered and ducked into the water up to his nose. Aegis broke into a smile. She released his arms and shouldered off her pack, from which she produced his fresh clothes, and set them slowly, deliberately down beside the tub. "These are for you. Try not to get them wet or dirty. You need to change clothes so that we can wash your green robes. Okay? "
"But-"
"They're very dirty."
He swallowed whatever he was going to say and was quiet. Aegis eyed him critically a moment more, to see if he'd protest again, and then waved and turned, leaving the room. Xzar watched her go, and then looked at the clothing. He sighed.
"No respectable member of my family would ever be caught dead submitting to such an unnecessarily liquid-infused excuse for a 'bath'," he pouted. "And I got my spleens wet. But then I suppose they were already muddy..."
Aegis was dying for a pint by that point. Absolutely dying. But as she'd just argued with a crazy person for two hours and then thrown him fully clothed into a tub of water, she knew that the moral thing to do was to wait for him to finish bathing. With Xzar, she presumed this could take anywhere from five minutes to the next six days. And afterward he might streak naked through the inn, and she'd have to catch him and drag him back to his room, and well that would all be easier if she stayed by his door and didn't inebriate herself.
With a regretful sigh she sat down in a chair in the common area of the first floor. Would she get any ale at all that night, before bedtime came? She'd just have to wait and hope.
Xzar surprised her by emerging fully dressed with his hair combed only fifteen minutes later. If it weren't for the outlandish tattoos on his face he'd even seem presentable. She blinked and stood up to greet him. This was so anticlimactic that she was sure something else must have gone awry, and so waited patiently for the necromancer to reveal what had happened.
"You didn't buy me any undergarments," he whined, and that was true, because they weren't strictly necessary given a long tunic and a good belt. "Mine were soggy." Then his face brightened. "But you dropped your pack in the room so I took-"
Aegis facepalmed. "Okay," was all she said, as several inn patrons turned to glance at them in alarm. "Okay. Let's just go get something to eat."
His face brightened more, and he seemed to forget any hard feelings he might have harbored over the bathing episode. "Okay," he chimed, and proceeded to skip towards the stairs, almost exactly like Imoen. Aegis sighed and followed after him. At least she was going to get her ale.
Montaron was enjoying the company of several other halflings. They were all drinking at eating well, ribbing each other nastily and telling black jokes. They were all of them scoundrels if appearances were any guide, and not one of them had refrained from stealing coins from another during the course of their meal. They were laughing about the plights of the taller folk, and being generally mocking. One of them made the mistake of saying he could drink anyone present under the table.
An ale mug slammed down on their table, disturbing their humor. The halflings turned as one to see a human ranger, female and twice as broad as any decent female ought to be, with wild blonde hair and a complexion far to lean and hard to interest a halfling.
"You're on," Aegis declared, and sat down despite the hostile glares she was receiving. "Fifty gold says I can drink you under the table. And let's see, there's six of you. Three hundred gold says I can drink you all under, one at a time."
Evil grins gleamed. Montaron lifted a brow. It was shaping up to be an interesting night.
"Th-th-that's her," Kalid stated, more assuredly this time.
He'd watched for the last twenty minutes as the blonde ranger drank much more alcohol than he would have deemed safe. Now she was singing bawdy drinking songs with the roughest looking group in the tavern. But the halflings suddenly didn't seem so threatening anymore. They were all drunk, singing and hollering loudly for more food and ale, as if pacified by her rambunctious demeanor.
As much as Khalid might have wanted to dismiss her, as unimpressive and churlish as she might have seemed, an uncanny voice in the back of his head insisted. This was the girl they were looking for. She was blonde and blue eyed, as Khalid remembered her to be in infancy. Aegis had been a chunky baby; it was not far-fetched to think she'd become a broad-shouldered adult. "It has to be her. Sh-should we ap-p-proach?"
"I don't know, I'm still not convinced," Jaheira mused slowly, lips pursed. "She looks more like a thug than an acolyte. And aside from that, where is our friend?"
"A-anything c-could have happened on the road. All the m-more reason to ask her," he said, turning to his wife with wide eyes. "Perhaps they were separated! Come now, Jaheira, y-you noticed her the m-moment she entered the inn. She f-fits Gorion's description." He gestured rapidly with a hand. "G-gorion even briefly mentioned a-alcohol, and y-you j-joked yourself he might be c-covering up for a t-troublesome child, heh."
"As I went home on Monday night as drunk as drunk could be
I saw a horse outside the door where my old horse should be
Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me
Who owns that horse outside the door where my old horse should be?"
Jaheria shot him a look. "I didn't expect the story to enjoy striking up drinking competitions with unsavory bar patrons and then singing about infidelity, busty maidens, and the pleasure of being inebriated.
"Oh, You're drunk you're drunk, you silly old fool!
As drunk as drunk can be!
Why! That's a lovely sow which my mother just sent to me!"
"'Now many a-days I've traveled, a hundred miles or more, but...
A sow a-bearing a saddle is summat I've never done seen before!"
Khalid blushed a little bit. Some versions of this song had especially vulgar final versus. Perhaps Jaheira was right: This woman seemed a tad boisterous for someone who had grown up all their life within the safe walls of Candlekeep, and under the nose of such an overprotective parent as Gorion.
By the time Imoen realized Aegis was down on the main floor of the inn, it was because the other woman was singing loudly and well on her way to getting roaring drunk. Imoen was happy for her; Aegis deserved to relax for a night. Whiiiich of course meant Imoen needed to snag her gold purse before the halflings in her vicinity could rob her blind. She left Aegis with the copper and silvers she'd need to keep the ale coming, and then made herself scarce.
Imoen wanted to keep an eye on things from afar. It wasn't the halflings that worried her, exactly; Aegis was a sociable person and could make friends with almost anyone if given the time (and provided they didn't bait out a bar fight). Montaron had helped save her life not three hours before, and could probably be trusted to keep at least one eye on her.
But Imoen's big sister had been attacked once already that evening! Imms just wanted to be on the look out if any other danger was coming. She kept her eyes peeled and scanned the room over and over again. She watched whenever bar patrons left or entered.
Khalid sighed and turned to his own food, eating his bread and cheese in silence. To be honest, he was worried about Gorion. The wizard should have reached the inn a day or two past, and perhaps Khalid was chasing leads where there were none to be found. Gorion would make his way to the inn in his own good time. Perhaps his departure had been delayed, or maybe he'd left the main roads entirely and been slowed down by the frequent rains.
"Hello!" a bright voice chirped from near his shoulder. Khalid nearly leaped out of his seat. Jahiera, who had been similarly surprised, tensed to face the newcomer. They found themselves looking at a short, pink-or-purple-clad girl with a silly smile on her face and happy brown eyes. "I'm sorry, I was looking at your ears! You're elves, right?"
Khalid opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again. His heart was pounding from that mild surprise; she was, ah, very close for someone he hadn't heard approaching him. "Erm. H-half elves," he responded at last. "I-I'm sorry, d-do we know y-you?"
The girl seemed to perk up curiously at the sound of Khalid's speech impediment and he winced, looking to his wife for support. Jahiera's brow was furrowed and she immediately prompted, "Well? Speak up!"
"Oh! No I don't supposed you do, but, see, I done noticed you were watching my friend kiiiiinda closely, and she just got attacked just outside the inn a few hours ago, so I'm a weeeee bit paranoid!"
Her tone was deceptively happy, but Khalid perked up with concern; from what the other bar patrons had been saying, a wizard had pounced someone on the inn steps just prior to nightfall and been summarily dealt with.
"She's the loud one with the crazy blonde hair, drinking with all the disreputable halflings! Sooo, I was wondering, out of an abundance of caution, could I perhaps ask your names?"
Jahiera quirked a brow. She glanced briefly at her husband to ask a silent question, and then possibly thought better of actually needing the answer and looked back to the girl. "I am Jahiera," she answered simply; she wasn't much for games and has nothing to hide. "This is my husband, Khalid."
The girl's face brightened immediately. "Oh thank Oghma. You're the people Gorion was talking about! I'm very pleased to meet you!"
The name of their missing wizard piqued both half-elves' curiousity immediately. "P-pardon," said Khalid, now very worried. "D-do you k-know Gorion?"
The girl nodded and then frowned. She glanced back at her blonde-haired companion, and then looked back to the two half-elves. "Um. Well. I did. My name's Imoen. Could I sit down?"
Jahiera and Khalid exchanged a look, and then quickly made room for her to sit at their table. "Imoen," Jaheira repeated. "Gorion mentioned that name in his letters."
"Yeah, I'm Aegis' friend," Imoen clarified, sitting down and folding her hands in her lap and looking suddenly reluctant to meet their eyes. Still, that name: Aegis. It confirmed what the two of them had suspected.
"Then g-goodness child, what are you two doing h-here a-alone?" Khalid asked. "Wh-where is Gorion? He d-did not mention t-that you would be c-coming."
"Um, well I wasn't supposed to. I sort of snuck out after them. I couldn't let Aegis go on a huge adventure without me, now could I? And stay at home washing the inn? No way! I knew old Gorion would forgive me. And me and Aegis aren't alone! We made friends on the way," Imoen said, still refraining from eye contact and studying her own hands.
Khalid swallowed hard. "And G-gorion?"
"They, um, they got attacked just before I found them," Imoen told them quietly. "Aegis got away, but Mister Gorion didn't. It was awful. There was this huge, evil-looking knight, dressed in spike-covered armor. He had a wizard lady with him and two ogres."
Imoen looked up at the elves, and was happy(?) to see that they were both pale as ghosts and hanging on her every word. It seemed that they really were the people Gorion had told Aegis to meet.
"I found Aegis the next morning and we back-tracked and buried him. There wasn't any sign of the knight or his wizard. Aegis told me that Gorion had told her what to do if for any reason they were separated: He'd said to get to the Friendly Arm Inn, and meet up with two friends: Khalid and Jaheira. He said she needed to stay abroad, and to keep moving. So... well... here we are. Ready for a life-changing adventure," Imoen smiled weakly, ironically, but nevertheless charmingly.
Jahiera murmured something to herself in elfin and looked down for a moment, as if in prayer. Khalid sat back in his seat, look shocked by the news. But then, not a second later, he sat forward again. "I c-can only imagine what you a-are going through. T-to lose... forgive me, b-but Gorion was also a v-very good friend to us."
"Do you have any idea why a creepy knight wanted to kill him or Aegis?" Imoen asked hopefully. "We're still baffled."
"No. No idea," Jaheira answered, her voice low and suffused in some unnamable emotion. "Gorion was very... unspecific in his letters, and we always received the feeling that he was hiding something important. Writing would have been an insecure method of communicating sensitive information, and if he had meant to let us in on all his many secrets... he would have done so face to face. Now it seems whatever mysteries he kept have gone to the grave with him."
"Hey, look, that's why I had to come talk to you before Aegis noticed you were watching her," Imoen said. "Please try not to talk to her about it more than necessary, she was really close to the old man and well, that first day... I wasn't sure I could get her to leave him. It was awful. I've never seen her cry like that, and I've known her since we were toddlers."
"I s-see w-why she is d-drinking," Khalid murmured understandingly.
Imoen blinked and smiled to mask what she was really thinking: Aegis really just liked a good cup of beer. "She's been okay, as long as she doesn't think about him too much. She just keeps her head focused on whatever it is we're doing. So, um, what did you guys plan to do once you'd met up with Gorion?"
The two shared another painful look. Jaheira spoke. "We were planning—still plan—on traveling south to Naschel, to investigate the iron crisis. Although the road is dangerous, perhaps too dangerous for-"
"That's totally no problem!" Imoen assured her. "Look we can't go back to Candlekeep. That means everything, everyone, and everywhere we've ever known, basically disappeared from our book of options in just one night. Gorion said we could trust you guys, and also said we had to keep on the move. And I know Aegis, the best thing for her is going to be to focus on a goal. She always wanted to adventure some day! So we definitely want to head south with you."
Jahiera smiled tightly, in an expression that didn't meet her eyes. "I was going to say that: Although the road is dangerous, you would be in safe company. We will not be leaving the foster child of our dear friend alone on the road, not even in the best of times and certainly not when spike-covered knights are chasing her."
Imoen beamed. Then she sat forward over the table, and propped up her cheek on one finger, and did a think. "Naschel. Hey, we met two guys on the road. They also wanted to go to Naschel, to investigate the iron crisis. We told them we might not be able to make the trip south, but that we'd know once we got here. Well, now we know! I guess this means we can group up? Six is safer than four, right?"
Jahiera lifted a brow. "The problems in Naschel are drawing many adventurers. I'd like to meet these friends of yours."
Imoen smiled and opened her mouth to say something. Then she recalled exactly who she'd been spending the last two days traveling with. Somehow, she didn't think Jahiera would appreciate Xzar's particular brand of crazy...
...or the fact that Montaron occasionally tried to rob random passersby...
And it wasn't like Imoen was especially attached to either of them, or needed to travel south with them, exactly.
But Aegis might be another story.