Chapter 15

As I dreamed, I found myself transported to what seemed to be a giant casino with magnificently plush silk carpets dyed richly in blue and silver. All around me were games of chance going on, as tables of expensive Darkwood bore velvet coverings marking out various dice games, or had spinning roulette wheels of weirwood and brass. Plus leather chairs were seated around every table, as various people gambled and drank rich golden wines from crystal goblets. The whole thing was lit by silvery lights from a massive platinum chandelier.

Presiding over everything was Tymora, the Goddess of luck was seated on a divan high up on a balcony overlooking the gambling pit, a cup of wine in her hand. This, then, had to be the Hall of Chance, Tymora's seat of power in the Divine Realm of Brightwater, where various Goddesses dwelt. Not just Tymora, but also Sune, Sharess, Waukeen, and Lliira. It was, if I recalled the Lore correctly, largely a place for Chaotic Good deities to dwell, though Waukeen was an exception, being that she was neutral.

I had to wonder why I was here, though it seemed that question would be answered soon enough, as Tymora got off her divan and made her way down the stairs from the balcony into the gaming pit toward me. She cracked a knowing smile at me and nodded in greeting as she descended the staircase, which I returned, nodding just a bit deeper than she had nodded to me. After all, she was a being of fantastical cosmic power, which was something to respect, even if she hadn't effectively become my patron in all but name.

"I suppose you're wondering why I brought you here?" She questioned as she reached me.

"The thought had crossed my mind." I confirmed.

"I brought you here to show you something that is germane to the reason I brought you to Toril in the first place." Informed Tymora.

"All right, what?" I queried.

"Follow me." Intoned Tymora.

Then she turned on her heels and strode up the stairs again. I had little choice but to follow, and trailed the diminutive Goddess of Good Luck up the richly carpeted, hardwood, staircase. As soon as we reached the balcony, however, the room shifted as if space had warped completely. Divine mutability was a thing when it came to Divine Realms, after all. Tymora must have shifted us through the realm to our destination. Knowing that didn't stop my stomach from roiling and threatening to overwhelm me, but thankfully I didn't puke. Largely, I suspect, that was down to Tymora not wanting me to throw up. She was omnipotent inside her own Divine Realm, after all. If she wanted me to not throw up, I wouldn't.

Regardless when the plane settled back down, I found myself staring at a large pool of water. It was a sort of reflecting pool, with silvery water reflecting the light off its surface as it sat within a basin tiled in lapis lazuli tiles. However, though I could scarcely tell how it worked since my knowledge skills weren't quite that good, I at least knew a scrying pool when I saw one. True it was a lot more richly decorated than I was used to seeing, but then, Tymora was a Goddess, and deities tended to be a touch theatrical at the best of times.

"Watch, I will show you happenings in Candlekeep and Baldur's Gate. Stymieing Umberlee's plans is all well and good, but you cannot allow the current problems to distract you from the main reason you are here." Insisted Tymora.

As she said that, Tymora waved her hand over the scrying pool and the silvery water whirled up and churned into a froth of foam. There was a burst of divine power as Tymora dipped her hand into the pool and the waters started to still, foam fading away. When the foam had died down, the pool of silvery water had smoothed out into a uniform surface that looked similar to a pane of glass. It was through that pane of glass that I watched as a scene began to unfold.

A slightly chubby Asian Girl in glasses, who was perhaps seventeen or eighteen, was pouring over a tome in a vast library. As I watched, I could tell she was studying hard. From the look of the book, however, it was no ordinary volume. The mystical language that I saw in the pane of glass meant that this had to be a grimoire. Curiously, she also had a bow and quiver of arrows on her back and was wearing a padded jack which was something I never associated with wizards. As she nodded to herself, I saw her retrieve a small vial from a belt pouch. It was stoppered with cork and contained a bit of luminescent moss.

Uncorking the vial, the Girl grabbed the moss in a pinching motion and began to mutter an incantation. The incantation was short, only a few syllables, as the Girl thrust her hand out and drew on the power of light held within the luminescent moss. Suddenly, the moss flared up bright like a torch, illuminating the corner of the great library that the Girl was seated in. She let out a cute squeal of triumph and did a happy little dance as she successfully cast the Light Cantrip. It wasn't to last, however, as a man who looked like a wizardly version of Liam Neeson arrived in the library.

"Mei, Fuller is waiting for you to begin your Archery Lesson for the day." Intoned the Wizardly Man.

"Oh! I must have lost track of time! Shoot, I'll be right down!" Blinked the Girl, Mei.

"Reshelve that Grimoire first, please." Nodded the Wizardly Man.

"I will! Thank you, Father!" Called Mei.

As she made her way with the Grimoire toward the Library's front desk, I realized that the Wizardly Man had to be Gorion, it was the only reason for Mei to call him Father as she hurriedly placed the book in the to-be-shelved pile on the front desk and hurried out of the doors. The scene didn't follow her, however, it simply stayed with Gorion as another Wizardly Man strode forth. This One bore a long, white, beard, red robes, and a red, pointed, hat. I couldn't fail to recognize Elminster Aumar, Chosen of Mystra. He was simply too recognizable to anyone who knew anything about the Forgotten Realms.

"So that's Mei?" Asked Elminster.

"It is. She can be quite forgetful sometimes, but that doesn't stop her from being brilliant. She simply throws herself into her studies with her whole heart from the jump." Nodded Gorion.

"Still, learning a Cantrip from a book is no mean feat. And she is also walking the Path of the Ranger as well?" Questioned Elminster.

"I think if she could, she would tread every path simply to learn all she could before moving on." Answered Gorion.

"It's the Blood of Bhaal. The sort of divine power inherent in such a lineage can only help her to master any task she puts her mind to. The question we need to be asking is if having such skills is detrimental to the well-being of Faerun." Came another Voice.

The Pane of Glass whirled about to show a Sinister-Looking Wizard with black hair and a black beard that were both beginning to go gray. The spaces under his eyes were lined with purple kohl, while his robes were similarly black and purple. It was the staff that gave away his identity, however. A length of long ebony wood, gnarled with bulbs and topped by a curved, claw-like, branch. Khelben Arunsun, AKA the Blackstaff. With him, Elminster, and Gorion here at once, it was clear that something was happening. I focused on the trio's discussion, hoping to find out more.

"She's still just a child, Khelben!" Scowled Gorion.

"She's a potential threat to all life." Retorted the Blackstaff.

"Not this again. Khelben, you know as well as the rest of us that such things are not as cut and dry as they may appear. It is possible that Mei will turn out to be a force for good." Chided Elminster.

"Are you willing to take that risk? She could just as easily become fuel for a more traditional Bhaalspawn to increase their powers, or worse. Could you live with yourself if that happened?" Queried the Blackstaff.

"More than I could live with myself should we slaughter an innocent child. What about you, Gorion?" Asked Elminster.

"I doubt very much that Khelben's fears will come to pass." Huffed Gorion.

"Is that so? Did you not hear the news?" Questioned the Blackstaff.

"What news?" Queried Gorion.

"Commander Kulurauk, one of the Principal Captains of the Flaming Fist and a staunch supporter of Duke Eltan is missing, presumed dead." Answered the Blackstaff.

"And you believe a Bhaalspawn is in play?" Asked Elminster.

"It would make sense for a child of the Lord of Murder to involve themselves in political murder, and the Iron Throne currently is having a dispute with the Merchant's League." Nodded the Blackstaff.

"It wasn't Mei, I can account for her whereabouts if need be." Grunted Gorion, clearly not having any of this nonsense from the Blackstaff.

"I didn't say it was. However, events are moving at a rapid pace. As more and more of the Iron in the Nashkel Mines comes back corrupted, I think it may be best to eliminate a potential future problem just in case. There are already enough knives being juggled locally right now, after all." Insisted the Blackstaff.

"No. I will not allow it!" Hissed Gorion.

"It's unconscionable, even if she had completely given in to her Father's Blood." Scoffed Elminster.

"Very well. I'll not challenge the Chosen of Mystra, but be warned, Gorion. The time fast approaches when Candlekeep is unlikely to remain safe. Already, the Nobility and Merchants of Baldur's Gate are sharpening their knives. It is a situation that could be exploited by a savvy Bhaalspawn. If that happens, then Mei will need to leave Candlekeep, or else she may wind up empowering her erstwhile brother or sister." Cautioned the Blackstaff.

Suddenly, the Scene Shifted. I spotted a man in full plate armor frantically battling it out with a man in razored plate, his helmet full of spikes and shaped like the grinning maw of a Demon. As they did so, a third combatant, an Asian Woman in Blackened Plate Armor stood off to the side, blades coated in the blood of a quartet of clearly dead Flaming Fist Mercenaries who had been cut to ribbons by something sharp.

This was Sarevok and Tomoko, which likely meant the man who was fighting them was Commander Kulurauk. He was losing. . .badly. However, if I recalled my canon character right, Kulurauk was level nine which meant that if Sarevok could take him apart so easily, he had clearly been buffed to Hell and Back. I watched as Kulurauk tried to swing for Sarevok's Leg with his bastard sword, only for Sarevok to sidestep. The Blade of Chaos flashed out, cut through Kulurauk's neck, and practically decapitated Kulurauk, whose head was connected to his neck by just a flap of skin now. Kulurauk went down and Tomoko moved to join Sarevok.

"We're one step closer to our goal. Tazok reports he's had some success in finding mercenaries willing to turn bandit for enough Danter." Reported Tomoko.

"Excellent. With the Mercenaries attacking trade caravans, we can truly begin to get this plan underway." Rumbled Sarevok.

"Why kill him, though? Surely such command and control measures are pointless? They will simply promote a new Commander." Questioned Tomoko.

"We have our own candidate." Intoned Sarevok.

"Angelo Dosan?" Queried Tomoko.

"Precisely. The man was completely willing to acquiesce to our planned coup if we would help him into the Commander Role of the Flaming Fist." Concurred Sarevok.

And with that, the scrying cut out, jolting me out of my thoughts. As the Scrying Pool Water returned to its normal, non-Scrying, form of water, Tymora spoke up, nodding at me and making a gesture with her hand as she did so.

"As you can clearly see, things are proceeding rapidly. In perhaps six months, the worst stretch of the Iron Crisis is about to become a reality. Whatever this is that you're doing with the Umberlaints, it needs to be wrapped up as swiftly as you can manage." Informed Tymora.

"I'll be ready. I just need to be able to get an audience with Magnus Ullrsson." I insisted.

"That time may be coming sooner than you'd think." Smirked Tymora.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

There was no response, however. Instead, I felt and heard a pounding noise, like a gauntleted fist on oaken planks. That immediately jostled me out of the dreamlike state Tymora had put me into in order to astral travel me to Riverhome. My head began to throb in time with the rhythmic pounding as the Dream World faded and I bolted upright.

Returning to the waking world, I grimaced at the pain and moved to throw open the Doors. It was a Boy, maybe twelve or thirteen, wearing the livery of the Jarl's Castle. A Messenger from Magnus Ullrsson, saying the Prince wanted to meet with us as soon as was convenient for us.

Groaning, I pulled on my gear, the others doing likewise. We would head out for the Jarl's Castle, hoping that Magnus Ullrsson was actually well-disposed toward us. If not, this was likely to be a very short audience. We didn't know it yet, but there would be others in the Court of Jarl Finehair who would seek to prevent the meeting from being a success. Those of the Umberlaint Persuasion, who sought nothing less than the tacit acceptance of Umberlee Worship as the primary religion of Jannathstaad. Fortunately, most of those ideologues would not be present. As we entered the Castle Hall, with its walls covered in shields, weapons, and tattered banners from vanquished foes, I looked around, making sure to take in all the details.

If this failed, I wasn't likely to ever see the inside of this Hall again, save as a prisoner, after all. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have a bit of a foreshadowing of what's going on in the background. Mei, the Bhaalspawn, is currently a Ranger/Wizard Multiclass. She's only got one level of each, however. Eventually, I plan for her to go down the Arcane Archer Tree. Meanwhile, Sarevok is advancing his plans with the Iron Crisis about to grow worse now that Tavok has some mercs ready to sign a contract.

At the same time, it seems that the deaths of Rognvaldr, Thorkell, and the Crew of the Hammerdown have all combined to finally get Prince Magnus Ullrsson to notice the group. He's sent a messenger letting them know that he wants to meet them. And really, you don't keep a prince waiting like that. That's a good thing because Robar is now on a time limit. He has to get to the Mainland in the next six or so months, after all.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the meeting with Prince Magnus Ullrsson.

Stay tuned. . .