BBG: Chapter 46

As we continued to fight, something became invariably clear to me. Montaron was a better Swordsman than I was. This wasn't nearly the surprise it should have been, of course, Montaron had been at this a long time and had to be at least a few years older than I was. It still was an unpleasant realization to have, though. Thankfully, I was a hair more athletic than he was, which ensured I could, if not overcome him, at least lose slowly enough that I would be able to come up with something to pull a victory out of my ass. If nothing else, so long as I didn't lose too quickly, my Companions would hopefully be able to back me up after dealing with Xzar.

That said, as I parried a strike from Montaron's shortsword, dodging his second attack by a hair's breadth via sidestepping his follow-on thrust, Montaron flicked his wrist, and a Dagger of Shock Plus Two popped out of his bracer as if on some sort of spring-loaded contraption, falling into his waiting hand and allowing him to thrust the blade into my right thigh beneath the tassets of my armor. The blade punched through the meat of my thigh, numbing my right leg with electric shocks as it did so and causing me to stumble, my own thrust going wide in the process. I recovered, of course, the flesh wound wasn't enough to end the fight in Montaron's favor, but it forced me to improvise, turning my stumble into a forward shoulder roll, carrying me past the slashing blade of Montaron's Shortsword as he tried to capitalize. I was able to parry his second attack and take his next dagger thrust on my shield, though I was now fighting from a kneeling position.

"I must admit it, you are better than I am." I grinned as I parried his cuts.

"You're grinning, though. Why?" Questioned Montaron with a snarl as he sidestepped a thrust from Discordant Note.

"Because I know something you don't know." I responded, putting my shield in the way of a hacking chop of his shortsword.

"Oh, really? What's that?" Queried Montaron, leaning away from a cut at his face.

"I am not just a swordsman." I answered, parrying a dagger strike.

As soon as my paraphrasing of Inigo Montoya was finished, I dredged up mystic power and formed it into a Spell of Ear-Piercing Scream, letting out a mighty bellow that would have put any of the metal singers from back on Earth to shame. My Spellsinging abilities kicked in, merging the bellow and spell into a wave of sonic force that burst Montaron's eardrums and sent him stumbling to the side, opening him up for a thrust from Discordant Note. My Magical Rapier punched into his shoulder, sliding through the gaps between the studded leather spaulders and chestpiece, and punching deep into his shoulder with sonic force and the piercing bite of razor-sharp adamantine. It was the first telling blow I had struck in this entire battle, and as I wrenched my blade free of his shoulder, I could tell it would be the turning point, as Montaron dropped his dagger from a suddenly weak grip.

I began to move forward, pressing my luck with a cut to the throat, though Montaron managed to duck out of the way. His boots lent him further speed and allowed him to withdraw while tossing another throwing dagger my way, forcing me to tumble into a shoulder roll again to avoid the flashing blade of the thrown weapon. I came out of my roll on one knee and immediately had to parry a thrust from his shortsword, deflecting it out wide and trying to muscle the blade down into the dirt to pin it there. I didn't quite manage, though, as Montaron managed to weasel out of the winding and binding with a tumble of his own, tossing a third thrown knife at me from the side that I put my shield in the way of.

"You cheated with magic!" Accused Montaron.

"You cheated with that spring-loaded wrist sheath first." I retorted.

"If you think that will save you, you have another thing coming. See this blade?" Sneered Montaron, pointing at his shortsword.

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

"This blade I took off the corpse of a rival assassin. He had it made specially as a Mageslayer Weapon. All I have to do is activate those particular properties, and you'll be done for!" Snarled Montaron.

"Then I suppose it's a good job I don't plan to let you hit me again, isn't it?" I taunted.

"We'll see." Spat Montaron.

As he said that, Montaron pressed his thumb over the Red Garnet set in the blackened steel hilt of his shortsword. Suddenly, the razor-sharp, folded metal, blackened steel blade of his shortsword began to glow with a pale red light, and Montaron charged forward, letting out a cry as his boots urged him onward with an extra measure of speed. I let out a shout of my own, leaping headlong away from the flashing blade that was suddenly cutting for the tendons in the side of my left knee. I tucked myself into a shoulder roll as I did so, avoiding the flashing crimson glow surrounding his blade, coming up in a crouch only to have to parry another thrown dagger out of the air. Montaron advanced under the cover of his thrown blade, and it was all I could do to put my shield in the way of his shortsword.

My riposte in response was to take Discordant Note and pin the blade of his shortsword against my shield, trapping it. Montaron tried to tumble out of the way of this again, but I lashed out with a kick as he did so. My kick didn't do much damage, of course. Montaron was still wearing armor, but it did manage to throw off his attempt to tumble. As I kicked out, I hauled on his blade, wrenching it out of his grip and disarming him. I moved to ward him away from reclaiming his blade, rushing over to where it fell and stepping on it. Unfortunately, Montaron wasn't out of weapons yet, as he reached into his haversack to draw another Shortsword. This one was a Razor-Sharp Folded Metal Shortsword of Shock Plus Two, nothing as deadly as the one I had just disarmed, yet still the combat continued.

As he charged forth, I parried another cut and put my shield in the way of a thrust, only for Montaron to flip his blade about at the last second and turn his thrust into a cut that bit into the meat of my left calf, once more numbing the muscles in my leg and sending me stumbling. I rolled with the fall, turning my stumble into another tumble, and this time lashed out with a blind cut as I whirled around, expecting Montaron to try to attack my rear. Thankfully, by some stroke of luck, my cut managed to catch him before he could arrest his charge, cutting a gash along his right thigh, halting his momentum. In response, he hucked another thrown dagger at me from point-blank range that punched into the meat of the bicep of my sword arm.

I responded by smashing him in the face with the rim of my shield, not one of my usual tactics to be sure, but if I didn't make space here, I would lose. Thankfully, it worked, and his nose was squashed flat across half his face, broken as he stumbled back. As I reached into my coin purse and grabbed a trio of Gold Danter, I began to sing, infusing the Coins with mystical energy via the use of Spellsinging and the Spell of Coin Shot.

"Money, get away. You get a good job with more pay and you're OK. Money, it's a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash." I sang out, using Pink Floyd's Money, the Spell of Coinshot, and Spellsinging to turn the trio of coins into mystical thrown weapons.

As Montaron came back in at me, I hucked the trio of coins into his face at point-blank range, and they slashed, pierced, and blundgeoned into him, ruining his face and causing him to sink to his knees, letting out a screech of pain as he clutched at his wounds. I put him out of his misery with a thrust to the throat, then, before I turned to see how the others were doing against Xzar. The answer to that was surprisingly well, even despite all the Undead that Xzar had continued to summon using his Necromancy. The corpses of two Skeletal Trolls and a Zombie Wyvern lay bludgeoned, cut, and pierced to death. One more Zombie Wyvern looked to be on its last legs against Khalid, while Jaheria and Imoen were facing off against a pair of Ghouls and a Ghast. Mei, meanwhile, was exchanging arrow fire and spells with Xzar himself.

All four of my Companions had varying wounds, and neither Khalid nor Imoen looked so great, clearly having been stung by the Zombie Wyvern. I winced at seeing the mess that had been made of his recently acquired Mithril Breastplate Plus Two, as the Wyvern's Stinger, powered by undead strength, had literally punched right through the expensive metal of the Pauldron to inject its foul necrotic venom into Khalid. Meanwhile, Imoen looked pale, and it took me a moment to realize that she'd been struck by a Necromantic Attack Spell that had caused her to be sickened, likely something like the Spell of Finger of Agony. Jaheira, meanwhile, had claw marks on her face from one of the Skeletal Trolls, though Mei looked more or less untouched, though tired, having clearly been hit with a Spell of Ray of Exhaustion.

It was time to join the fray once again, and I charged for Xzar's undefended back as he traded spells against Mei, whose eyes were glowing with dual-layered spells of True Strike and Arrow Mind, making her next shot strike Xzar in the shoulder, spinning him about and causing him to loose his Spell of Ennervation into the dirt. He regained his feet just as I came in with a thrust with Discordant Note, my Rapier plunging into his torso, going straight through him, though not hitting anything vital, as he barked out a syllable in the Language of Magic and backhanded me, his hand crackling with a Spell of Vampiric Touch. I felt the life drain from my body and suffuse itself into him, falling to the ground at his feet, leaving Discordant Note stuck in Xzar's Body as I did so.

I felt cold, like I was dying, lying in the dirt at Xzar's Feet. Time slowed down as my vision began to go gray, little by little. Fortunately, I was able to hang on long enough for Jaheria to get to me just as my vision began to gray out, beseeching Nature in the language of the Druids and casting a spell of Cure Light Wounds on me. I sucked in a deep breath and sat up, realizing that the fight was over. We'd won, though it had cost me almost dying. The destroyed remnants of Xzar's Undead littered the field of battle while Xzar and Montaron lay in bloodied heaps in the dirt alongside them.

"Did we get him?" I questioned, stupidly.

"Of course. You think that corpse over there is for show?" Queried Jaheria with a smirk.

"Right. Is everyone alive?" I asked.

"We are, though you almost didn't make it." Frowned Mei.

"I avenged you, though, so it's all good." Chirped Imoen.

"You killed Xzar?" I questioned.

"I did." Affirmed Imoen.

"I-It's true." Added Khalid.

"Right, then you should get Montaron's Primary Blade. It should be somewhere over there." I gestured to the bushes where I'd sent Montaron's initial Shortsword.

"I'll get it." Offered Mei.

"Meanwhile, I should finish healing you." Intoned Jaheria.

"And I w-will retrieve your r-rapier." Stammered Khalid.

As I sat there, Jaheria continued to use her druidic magic to heal my wounds as best as she was able, and the others gathered what they could of Xzar and Montaron's Equipment, looting the bodies efficiently. I took Montaron's Boots of Speed and Cloak of Resistance Plus Two for myself, passing my Swashbuckler's Boots of Striding over to Jaheira. Meanwhile, Mei Took Montaron's Second Shortsword and his Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Two. Imoen took Xzar's Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Two and Montaron's Initial Shortsword, while Khalid took Montaron and Xzar's Daggers. The Studded Leather Armor that Montaron Wore and Xzar's Robes and Bracers of Armor Plus Six all went into the Bag of Holding for later Sale. Unfortunately, Xzar's Spellbook immolated itself on his death, or so I was told, meaning it wouldn't be possible for Imoen or Mei to learn spells from it, not that they were particularly inclined to learn Necromancy, mind you.

Of Course, in the end, I had to use a pair of Spells of Identify to fully figure out what Montaron's Mage-Killing Blade and Xzar's Robes truly were, though I would be glad I did, as not only would Imoen refuse to wield the Blade without knowing its properties in full, but Xzar's Robes would turn out to be unable to be worn unless the wearer was a Necromancer themselves, which was the sort of thing you should know about when selling items. After all, the Buyer might be put out that you kept that from them, as they may see it as keeping information back to get a better price and forcing them to spend the coin to figure out everything themselves.

It turned out to be the Sword of Horner Dustmantle, a Halfling Assassin and Cleric of Beshaba working for the Black Fingers, a Guild of Assassins composed entirely of Male Clergy Members of the Church of Beshaba. Apparently, Horner was known to take contracts on Wizards, Sorcerers, and other Spellcasters due to some inherent disdain for Arcane Magic, and had commissioned the blade from a Wizard in Yartar out in the Savage Frontier. Of course, he'd tested out the Magebane Properties by slaying the Wizard once the Blade had been finished instead of paying him. Horner had a pretty fruitful career using the blade, even managing to slay the Most Recent apprentice of Halaster Blackcloak, after Ibbelar Thrul and Nickademus had completed their own Apprenticeships. It was a Razor-Sharp, Folded Metal Magebane Shortsword of Eagerness Plus Three.

Meanwhile, Xzar's Robes turned out to be Robes of the Mummified Priest-King. They were created by a Necromancer in far-off Mulhorand, where the art of creating Mummies had been born. Said Necromancer had created them to get around the restrictions of preparing spells every day, as his duties to his Lord required him to perform certain Necromantic Rites each day in order to fulfill the terms of his employment. That Necromancer, however, was executed once it had been discovered that he hadn't been using his full powers to fulfill his contract and had in fact been fobbing his duties off on his newly-crafted robes, in contravention of the Spirit of his agreement with the Lord. The Robes then bounced around from owner to owner before ending up halfway across the world in the Markets of Westgate, where presumably, Xzar had picked them up. They gave the wearer an additional spell slot per level that could only be used for Necromancy Spells, along with granting the Wearer greater resistance to Necrotic Energy. Unfortunately, they could only be successfully utilized by Necromancers, which made them worthless for us.

At any rate, once we had everything stowed away and equipped, and Jahiera finished healing me up, we continued on our way toward Beregost. Luckily, the detour with Xzar and Montaron didn't take us too far out of our way, and by the time the sun had begun to set, we managed to enter the Town of Beregost only forty-five minutes or so after we had originally planned on arriving. Of course, being beat from the road and the encounter with the two Zhentarim Agents, along with the fact that I was still moderately wounded, if able to travel, meant that we immediately made a beeline for Feldpost's Inn.

We would explore what the town had to offer tomorrow, once we were refreshed and Jaheira had finished healing me. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. As it turns out, Xzar and Montaron were no pushovers in this timeline. This is largely based around the fact that with Mei's group being largely good-aligned, a pair of evil reporbates like Xzar and Montaron were never going to realistically join the party, meaning that I was free to make them the hardened Zhentarim Field Operatives their backstories would suggest, instead of keeping them at a similar level to Mei so they could be recruited as Companions. Both were Level Eight, with Xzar being a Specialist Wizard Necromancer and Montaron Being a Rogue Four/Fighter Four.

At any rate, the next chapter will have Robar and Company actually exploring Beregost and talking to Taerom Fuiruim at the Thunderhammer Smithy about everything, while also getting some local quests done. Then it will be off to Nashkel to deal with the Mines. I'll also have some images out after that as well.

Stay tuned. . .