"The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his death he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos shall be sown in their footsteps."

So Sayeth the wise Alaundo.

---

Many months have passed since the Bhaalspawn Sarevok's defeat at the hands of his Bhaalspawn brother Ralis (pronounced "Ray-liss"). Ralis Rutela is a young human currently at the age of 22 who spent most of his youth behind the protective walls of the library fortress known as Candlekeep, under the tutelage of his foster father Gorion. But he wasn't the only orphan. There was another young human, but he left the protective walls of Candlekeep several years ago, and there's Imoen, a kindred spirit was also raised by Gorion. Both Ralis, Imoen, and Gorion's other foster child were all orphans, and while Ralis endlessly wondered about the identity of his parents, he never questioned Gorion where Imoen and the other child where they came from.

However, Gorion's murder at the hands of Sarevok brought answers to Ralis' questions; as he eventually realized that Sarevok is his brother. Ralis and Sarevok were a product of the Avatar Crisis, or better known as the Time of Troubles, a chaotic period that happened in 1358 DR, the Year of Shadows, when all Faerunian gods were forced to walk Faerun as mortals because neither Bane or Myrkul admitted responsibility to the overgod who maintains the balance of good and evil in the Realms, Ao (Pronounced "Ay-oh"), of stealing the Tablets of Fate, tablets created by Ao that sustains the balance of good, evil, law and chaos.

Angry with the gods for their habitual pursuit of power and negligence toward their mortal faithful, Lord Ao relegated every god (except Helm) to walk Faerun as mortals in hopes that they will learn to be content with the power they have. One of the deities made flesh, Bhaal, the Lord of Murder, somehow foresaw the events of the Time of Troubles, and his eventual death when he becomes a mortal, so he walked the lands of Faerun many decades before the Avatar Crisis, impregnating females of almost every race like humans, elves, orcs, dwarves, halflings, etc.

And as a result of this, he left a score of mortal offspring, who would keep pieces of his divine essence intact, as fuel for his rebirth. Ralis and Sarevok are one of Bhaal's many children. In 1368 DR, the Year of the Banner, Sarevok sought a war of sacrifice to prove his worth, believing that he would ascend as the new Lord of Murder, Ralis and his companions unveiled Sarevok's schemes little by little, and Ralis killed Sarevok, stopping his plans of ascension, sending his borrowed essence back to Bhaal.

After Sarevok's defeat, Ralis Rutela was proclaimed the "Hero of Baldur's Gate". Ralis and his companions celebrated their victory for a while. But unfortunately, a new conflict emerged in the northern regions of the Sword Coast, caused by an army of crusaders led by an aasimar woman known as Caelar Argent the Shining Lady. A few months after the Siege of Dragonspear Castle incident, Ralis and his group departed the city of Baldur's Gate because of circumstances more darker than anyone would believe... He has been framed for the murder of Duke Silvershield's daughter, Skie Silvershield. The mysterious hooded man that Ralis constantly encountered who has displayed interest in the young man during the fight against Caelar's crusade is the one truly responsible for Skie's death, using a special dagger called the Soultaker Dagger, trapping Skie's soul within it, and clerics cannot resurrect Skie without retrieving her soul first. Ralis managed to escape prison with the help of Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc and Dynaheir, and they set off south to find the mysterious hooded man, learn his motivations and bring him to justice.

Not long after they departed Baldur's Gate, they suddenly found themselves in the middle of an ambush by an unknown enemy. The figures were cloaked in the mists of the forest, almost as if they were illusions of the mind from Ralis' perspective since he was half asleep. The figures blurred the lines between consciousness and dreaming. Soon the mysterious figures captured Ralis and his companions without any resistance. There was no malice in their actions, no hatred, only quick capture. Where are his captors taking him and his friends? Only the captors know.

---

Ralis could remember nothing else after his unexpected capture. It is almost as if he is somewhere in between consciousness and unconsciousness. All he could remember is pitch blackness, which means he is either in a dark room or blindfolded, and he could hear whirring machinery, the sound of sharp metal like a knife or sickle cutting flesh, and the screams... So many screams. Some were his own. And he remembered the pain. So much hot, searing, excruciating pain burning his body. It all seemed endless. It seemed like there is no escape from it. But at some moment it all stopped. No more noise or anything. Having no clue how much time has passed, Ralis slowly regained consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy at first, and his eye vision is so blurry, he can't properly identify his surroundings. He realized that he is lying on his back and he could feel cold steel touching every part of his backside.

When his vision cleared as he stood up, he noticed that rusty bars surrounded him. It took him a moment to realize that he is in a large birdcage-like cage. The other cages in the empty room appeared to have nothing inside. But the cage that he is inside is big enough for him to walk around. Ralis looked down and realized that he is stark naked for some reason, and his body smelled sour, a sign that he hasn't bathed in days or weeks. He couldn't remember when and why he removed his armor and garb. His entire body felt weak, his arms and legs felt slightly numb, but at least he appeared unscathed. He tried to call for help but he choked on his dry, parched throat. Apparently it has been maybe two or three days since he last drank water. If that's true, he needs to find some water quickly before the third day ends. He looked down to his left and noticed a half empty bowl of water.

It should be full! Ralis didn't remember the last time he drank water. But he is in no position to be nitpicky. He grabbed the bowl, placed the rim of the bowl on his lips and poured what little water the bowl had into his mouth. The water didn't feel very cool or taste very fresh, and Ralis choked and gagged for a few seconds then wiped the drops of water off from around his lips. As soon as his hands touched his lips, he could feel facial hair around his lips. In confusion, he then touched the sides of his face and felt his newly grown facial hair connect up to his sideburns and long, shaggy hair. Facial hair... He never had facial hair before, and his hair has never grown this long before. He recalled having a little stubble on his face during the final days of the fight against Caelar Argent's crusaders, but now his facial hair has grown a bit more thicker. He began to wonder exactly how long he has been in this place even though it feels like its been a short time since he was jumped by those mysterious figures. He also wondered what became of Imoen, Minsc, Dynaheir, Khalid and Jaheira.

At that moment, Ralis heard footsteps walking on a metallic floor approaching. The footsteps became louder and soon a man came into view from an exit out of Ralis' view from the cage he is in. The man approached Ralis and looked at him. Ralis found this man very strange. He had no weapons sheathed anywhere on his body, which means he must be a mage. He wore what appears to be some kind of clothing that offered poor protection for his body, even for a mage, fully exposing his muscular chest, including his nipples, but what really caught Ralis' attention about this man is his face. His face has so many veins, and there is what appears to be a skull cap covering the back half of the man's head. His ears are covered too, so Ralis can't tell if this man is a human, elf or half-elf. Judging by his height, he is no dwarf or halfling, that's for sure. And his eyes... His bright cyan eyes... When you look into them, you feel no warmth in them. No emotion. Nothing.

"Ah, the child of Bhaal has awoken," the mysterious mage said.

Ralis frowned. How did this man know that he is a child of Bhaal? That is not exactly common knowledge unless he has been to Baldur's Gate recently.

"It is time for more... experiments."

Ralis didn't like the tone of the man's voice when he said that.

The mage began moving his arms, preparing to cast a spell on Ralis. His heart began racing. He has nowhere to run in this cage! The mage stretched his fingers at Ralis and jets of scorching fire shot out of the mage's fingers and thumbs, burning Ralis an a scorching wave. Ralis flailed around screaming as he felt his flesh slowly burned off. Occasionally his hands or arms hit the bars around him, but he never felt the pain of his hands slapping metal bars, the scorching fire is worse. He fell down on the surface of the cage in a futile attempt to dodge the wave of fire, but the mage lowered his fingers down so that the flames shooting out of his fingertips continued to burn Ralis. Then after thirteen seconds of burning the young man, the mage stopped, lowered his arms and saw that the flames have burned off most of the charred epidermis layers of Ralis' skin, burning off his hair and facial hair and almost burning into the dermis layer of his skin. Ralis is still alive, but in so much excruciating pain, because even after the mage stopped burning him, it still felt very painful for his burned body to touch the cold surface of the cage. Even his own tears stung his charred face.

"The pain will only be passing. You should survive the process," The mage assured Ralis, but there was no sympathy or comfort in his voice.

Then to the mage's amusement, Ralis' body began to heal. The epidermis layer of his skin quickly healed, the charred skin slowly transformed into healthy, unburned vanilla colored skin, and the hair on his head and face started to grow back. Somehow, Ralis is healing himself in a similar way how a troll heals its injuries, at a much faster rate than norma- injuries like this take days or weeks to heal. The mage watched in amusement while his "lab rat" continued rolling and screaming as his body healed its injuries. When the healing process was complete, the pain abated and faded away, but the intensity of the pain remained fresh in Ralis' memory. Breathless, he touched himself all over and felt no scars, burns, scorches or wounds on his body anymore. His throat ached badly from screaming a lot, but he wanted to know what this mage has done to him. He awkwardly stood up, and turned around to face the mage. The mage immediately casted another spell, a spell that caused bright green tentacles to magically shoot up from the surface of the cage and wrap themselves around Ralis' arms and legs, preventing him from moving or resisting. Then the mage stretched his right hand at Ralis and bolts of lightning fired out of his fingers, electrocuting Ralis. He couldn't move because of the green tentacles holding him. All he could do is feel the intense burning jolts from the lightning bolts. He screamed for a few seconds as he felt his arm and leg muscles involuntarily tense and become stiff, then he passed out.

A minute later when he regained consciousness and woke up, he saw that the mage had been standing outside the cage all this time, waiting for him to wake up.

"Interesting. You have much untapped power," The mage said in emotionless amusement.

The mage decided to cast more... dangerous spells on Ralis to see if his Bhaalspawn blood will do what normal human blood cannot. He casted a fireball spell on Ralis and the fireball hit him in the chest and set his body aflame. Again, his body developed serious burns and Ralis passed out, but somehow, he survived. When he woke up a few minutes later, his body is back to normal. fully healed, as if he had never really been burned or electrocuted, as if he had been experiencing layer upon layer of nightmares about the same thing over and over again: Pain and suffering. The question is, when will he really wake up? He saw the mage standing in the exact same spot as always.

"Do you even realize your potential?" The mage asked Ralis curiously.

Whoever this man is, he knows Ralis is a Bhaalspawn, and is personally interested in his power. But why? Before Ralis could try to speak, he heard odd footsteps coming and saw some kind of clay golem approaching the mage.

"Master, intruders have entered the complex," The clay golem informed the mage.

The mage looked visibly upset at the news. "They act sooner than we had anticipated."

But he quickly got over the bad news. "No matter, they will only prove a slight delay," The mage said to the golem.

Then the mage left the room by opening and stepping into a Dimensional Door and the clay golem walked out the room, leaving Ralis alone at last. A couple minutes passed and he could eventually hear the sounds of steel clashing, men shouting, and the sound of magic being casted. One man wearing dark, lightweight armor stumbled into the room, armed with a longbow and a quiver with 14 arrows. Apparently he is running away from something or someone. Whatever that something or someone is, it eliminated the man with the biggest chromatic orb he has ever seen. It blew the man up in dozens of pieces. He had nowhere to run or hide, but he had enough time to scream before the orb hit him, ending his life. Ralis felt so exhausted and weary, he laid down on the cool surface and let out an exhausted sigh. When he was half asleep, he heard a door nearby in the room swing open. Then a few seconds after he heard the door creak open he saw a girl a couple years younger than he is in front of the cage immediately start picking the lock with her lock picks.

"Wake up, Ralis! Wake up! Come on, we need to get out of here!" She exclaimed as she picked the lock.

Ralis' weary mind barely recognized her voice and neck length red hair. It's Imoen!

"What...? Imoen...?" Ralis' voice croaked weakly.

Imoen finally managed to unlock the cage and Ralis stumbled out, collapsing on the metal floor. Imoen crouched down, took his hands and helped him stand up.

"He messed with your head too, huh?" Imoen guessed.

"Wh... Where are..." Ralis tried to say through his tired, parched throat.

"All I know is we were near Baldur's Gate when we got jumped," Imoen told him.

"Who... who is he..." Ralis asked in a mild, raspy whisper.

"I don't know. I don't think I want to remember any of it. He's been... doing things... to us. Ralis, we need to get out of here!" Imoen replied, almost in a daze, which put a sense of dread and worry into Ralis's heart.

"All right... I'm aching all over, but I can move," Ralis managed to find his voice even though his throat is parched and sore, and he rubbed his throbbing head.

He also noticed that there is a small but visible scar above Imoen's right eye, a long, vertical scar that begins 2 inches above her right eyebrow travels through the middle of her eyebrow towards her eye, then ends at her bottom eyelid.

"Yeah, me too, but my head hurts the most. Yours too by the sound of the screaming," Imoen said.

"Imoen, you know me. I've faced worse than this. I won't let a headache slow me down," Ralis tried to shrug off the uneasy feelings, but for some reason, Imoen didn't smile.

For the first time in his life, he has noticed that Imoen is serious. He has never seen Imoen serious before. She would usually smile or say something that would put him at ease.

"It isn't like a normal pain, Ralis, it's on the inside, like my bones made a little dagger and it won't go away," Imoen said with uncertainty and some fear in her tone.

Ralis couldn't help wondering what has this mage done to damage the cheerful Imoen he once knew.

"Don't look at me like that, it just hurts, all right? Must have been the noise. There was a fight... assassins came after our captor, I think," Imoen continued, using the same tone that made Ralis worry.

"There's people dead all over and the fighting is still going on," Imoen continued.

When they fell silent, they could faintly hear the clashing of melee weapons and the fighting warriors shouting.

"We should get going and find my weapons and armor," Ralis said.

"We should look in that room to the west first, west and just a bit north. I think I saw some weapons in there. It's a room off the corner of this one. I'm not sure it's our gear, though," Imoen said.

"Let's go check and see," Ralis said.

---

Imoen and Ralis headed for the door at the northwestern section of the room. When they opened the door and stepped inside, they found themselves in some kind of armory room full of weapons and armor of different varieties.

"I really hope that mage and his goons didn't sell my bastard swords and ankheg armor," Ralis grumbled.

Imoen headed over to where different kinds of body armor are on display, checking to see if she can find her shadow armor. She found it in between two full plate armor.

"Hey, I found my armor!" Imoen exclaimed.

"Great. Do you see mine? It's green, in case you forgot," Ralis called back from the other end of the room looking for Kondar and Albruin, his two bastards swords, his Dead Shot +3 longbow, and Avenger, his two sided dirk. It took a few seconds to find them among so many weapons, but he managed to find them.

"Yes! I found my weapons!" Ralis exclaimed.

Then he dropped them on the floor and hurried over to where Imoen is to find his ankheg hide body armor. His armor is green colored, so it stood out from all the other body armors in the room.

"Yes!" He pulled the body armor off the stick figure wearing his armor.

Ralis smiled in relief as he put on his clothes first then his boots, then his ankheg hide armor and Legacy of The Masters gauntlets, then buckled his sheathed bastard swords and dirk around his waist. Even though Imoen found her armor, she couldn't find her favorite shortbow, so she had to get another one, a regular shortbow and grab a quiver that contained 30 arrows. Ralis grabbed his longbow and a quiver as well, which contained his remaining void-tipped arrows and a few regular arrows.

"Well, I guess we got everything," Ralis said, making sure his quiver is tightly strapped to his back.

"Yep, we do," Imoen nodded.

"Now, let's go find Minsc, Dynaheir, Khalid and Jaheira and get out of this hellhole," Ralis said.

Imoen and Ralis departed the room.

---

Meanwhile, in a jail cell not too far from where Ralis and Imoen currently are, Minsc and Jaheira are together in a jail cell. They were knocked out for a while, but they are just now waking up when they heard the sounds of several sword fights in some of the nearby rooms. Whatever is going on, the entire complex is in chaos. Minsc groggily stood up. When he saw metal bars in front of him blocking his only way out of this cramped room with Jaheira, he roared in anger, charged at the jail bars, grabbed them and try to pull them open.

"Justice must be served! RAAAGGHH!" Minsc yelled in rage as be tried to pull the bars apart.

They creaked, but never budged. Boo calmly stood on Minsc's right shoulder, squeaking. Jaheira just sat down on the floor.

"It's no use, Minsc. Those bars won't budge," She tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen.

Just then from across the hallway outside their jail cell, in another jail cell, a man stood up at the sound of Minsc's enraged yells and peered out from his own jail cell. He has long black hair, black eyes, a scar on the bridge of his nose and a neatly trimmed mustache. The shape of his face and eyes show that he is from Kara-Tur, possibly of Kozakura ancestry (Kozakura is an archipelago nation that resembles feudal Japan between the Kamakura and Sengoku periods). He saw Minsc and Jaheira across from him in another cell and said:

"Kamigami ni kansha (Thank the gods). So there is sanity in all of this madness. If you are not in league with the evil that dwells in this unholy place, then Yoshimo considers you as a friend."

"We serve no evil mages, no sir!" Minsc assured the man as he gently picked Boo off from his right shoulder and held him out so that Boo could get a good look at Yoshimo.

"... But Boo looks upon you with suspicion, little man. How is it you come to be here? Never have I seen Boo's whiskers quiver so!" Minsc said after a 4 second pause.

Yoshimo shook his head forlornly. "I am not sure how I came to be here... Like you, I suspect." He shrugged, trying to guess an answer even though he is as clueless as Minsc and Jaheira.

Suddenly the sounds of steel clashing became louder. Yoshimo, Minsc and Jaheira saw two stout, gray-skinned dwarf men in splint mail armor run past their cells, immediately followed by two arrows, which by the sound of steel and flesh being pierced by sharp arrowheads, hit both gray-skinned men in the chest. Then two other men, wearing dark armor walked by, armed with longbows. They are the ones who shot the pale men. When the two men stood in between Minsc, Jaheira and Yoshimo's jail cells, they saw one man get shot in the head by an arrow. The other man quickly responded to the sneak attack, turned around and tried to fire upon the ambushing assailant, but recieved an arrow between his eyes before he could fire his own arrow.

Then seconds later, Ralis and Imoen appeared in between Minsc, Jaheira and Yoshimo's jail cells. They had their bows in their hands, signifying they are the ones who shot the men in dark armor.

"Ralis! Imoen!" Minsc exclaimed.

"There you two are!" Imoen smiled, then started to unlock the jail cell, picking the keyhole.

Ralis stood beside Imoen and watched her pick the lock. "Minsc? Knowing your strength, I thought you would have broken out by now!" Ralis said.

"Aaargh! These bars will not hold my wrath forever! Butts will be liberally kicked in good measure!" Minsc snarled.

"We'll get these bastards, count on it! Hey, where's Dynaheir and Khalid?" Ralis asked.

Minsc held his head down in sadness.

"I'm not sure where Khalid is. That mage separated us." Jaheira informed Ralis.

"It's no good, I can't get the lock open!" Imoen told Ralis after she gave up picking the lock.

Ralis noticed that Minsc is beginning to cry for some reason. Ralis had a bad feeling that Minsc has some grave news.

"... D...D... Dynaheir... She will be avenged!" Minsc cried.

Ralis' gut felt like it is tightening now.

"What happened, Minsc? What happened to her?" He wanted to know, even though deep down he knew, and he deeply feared that truth.

"She... She is dead, Ralis, and I am a failure as her guard!" Minsc wiped a tear from his eye.

Ralis gasped, his brown eyes widening in shock.

"No...! No no no...!"

Ralis couldn't believe it, and neither could Jaheira and Imoen. Ralis wanted to say something else but no words came out of his mouth, he almost went into mental shock.

"I will exact penance from each and every wicked soul that dared lay a finger on... on..." Minsc's voice broke up in grief as he sat down on the stone floor sobbing.

"No..." Imoen whispered.

"They... They killed her and forced me to watch, you see? I know not who they were, but..." Minsc explained between sobs, hanging his head low ad Boo on his right shoulder looking at Minsc's ear as if he wanted to say something comforting to him.

Ralis turned away and yelled in rage, wanting to punch someone or something badly.

"Son of a bitch!" He shouted as loudly as his lungs could allow.

"Minsc, that is horrible! I am so sorry for you." Imoen said sympathetically.

Minsc shook his head and stood up, refusing to waste time crying when there are butts to be kicked.

"I won't cry for the dead anymore! I won't!" He said strongly. He looked back at Jaheira, then at Ralis who still had his back turned on him, except Imoen. "Ok, maybe a little, but I will staunch the flow of tears with righteous fury! Lullaby and goodnight, evil! Minsc will make you pay!" Minsc attempted to pull the bars apart again.

"If I can't unlock this, I doubt it can be pulled apart." Imoen said while Ralis managed to calm himself down.

"I am not worried!" Minsc proudly told Imoen. "I am proud that they feared me enough to imprison me permanently!"

"Then it'll be hard to get you and Jaheira out," Ralis said.

"But you will find something to free us, will you, Ralis?" Minsc asked him hopefully.

"No, I'll just leave you here," Ralis said, turning his back on Minsc again.

"Ralis!" Imoen couldn't believe what she heard.

Ralis looked at Imoen and winked at her.

"You... you would turn your back on those in need? You are abandoning me in my hour of shame? You... you are no better than those that killed Dynaheir! You are filth... Filth that I once called friend! Do not make me add your ass to the kicking list! I would do so reluctantly, but I will do it! Choose your path now!" Minsc exclaimed in growing rage.

Ralis turned around facing Minsc again. "Are you are threatening me? Another reason why I won't free a brain damaged brute like you," he said.

Minsc's face began to turn red in rage as he placed his hands on the bars of the prison cell and put all his strength into pulling the bars wide open.

"I will make sure you do not live long enough to abandon more friends! I will... I will... I will do all of this as soon as I get these bars open!" Minsc roared as he went all out on the bars!

And to Imoen, Ralis and Jaheira's surprise, the bars were beginning to give in to Minsc's immense strength, groaning and creaking loudly, creating an opening large enough for Minsc and Jaheira to step through!

"Yes! The bars have bended with my berserker strength! Now you will... now..." Minsc was about to advance towards Ralis and give him a black eye, but his voice trailed off when he saw Ralis smiling and applauding him for his performance.

Even with his low intellect, Minsc finally understood why Ralis made him angry.

"Oooh, you are a smart one, Ralis. I understand now! You said what you did to get me mad! Mad enough to break free! You are smart as Boo sometimes!" Minsc gave Ralis a bear hug.

"Aaaack! Put me down!" Ralis gagged then Minsc put him down.

Ralis took deep breaths to make sure his lungs aren't broken. "You don't know your own strength, do you, big man?" Ralis playfully slapped Minsc's left arm.

"How in the world is Boo still with you?" Ralis asked him.

"Don't ask questions better left to aged sages, Ralis. Boo is quick and evasive and there is ever so much of Minsc to search, there is no hope in getting us apart." Minsc replied.

Imoen frowned in disgust. "Eww... I really don't want to think about that too much," she groaned.

Then Jaheira stepped out next. "As much as I enjoy this warm reunion, we must quickly get out of here before whoever did this returns. I swear, Ralis, there is never a dull moment traveling with you," Jaheira said with a smirk.

Ralis nodded at her then looked up at Minsc.

"Ready to leave your boot print on some evil butts, Minsc?"

"You bet, my friend! Together we shall avenge Dynaheir!" Minsc nodded.

"Let's go back to the armory," Imoen said.

Before they could leave, Yoshimo called out: "Moshimoshi? (Hello?) I am in need of assistance, please," while waving his right arm out of his cell.

Ralis looked at him. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I am Yoshimo, bounty hunter and prisoner of this forsaken place, just like you. I have tried to escape, but my attempts were met with failure." Yoshimo told Ralis.

Ralis was unsure if this man could be trusted, but if he is a prisoner, then they are all in the same boat.

"You said you tried to escape? Do you know a way out?" Ralis questioned the Kozakuran man.

Yoshimo shook his head. "I do not know a way to escape this place. Perhaps we could search for this exit together," Yoshimo admitted.

"I would love to welcome another companion with me, but first, how did you get in here?" Ralis replied.

Yoshimo gripped his hands on the bars, looking up at the ceiling trying to think back at what he could remember. He sighed then said: "Chikushō... It is actually quite, uh... embarrassing. My profession does not leave itself open to those who are not wary yet, somehow I was caught unaware. I came to Athkatla years ago from Kara-Tur to seek my fortune. At some point, I went to bed in my room at the Copper Coronet and I awoke in a strange room with a very sore head. I do not know how long I was there before awaking."

"Do you believe that we are in Athkatla?" Ralis asked Yoshimo.

"I am unsure. I may have been drugged when I was brought here. I may have been unconscious... either way, I do not know how long." Yoshimo shrugged, clueless like everyone else. "If it was the former, this place could be anywhere. If it was the latter, then I don't imagine that I could have traveled very far without noticing," he added a second later.

"Then you too know the hardship of being set into a maze like a helpless hamster! We are comrades in peril!" Minsc exclaimed.

He looked at Boo for a second then said to Ralis: "Boo asks what you propose we do next, little man."

Ralis shrugged. "Imoen, go see if you can unlock his cell," he said.

"Gotcha," Imoen headed over to Yoshimo's cell, stepping over the corpses of the two men in black armor and picked the lock with ease unlike the last one.

The door swung open, freeing Yoshimo.

Yoshimo bowed respectfully at Ralis.

"Arigatō. (Thank you.) I shall be happy to lend my blade to your cause," Yoshimo said.

"Let's go back to the armory and get Minsc, Jaheira and Yoshimo equipped," Ralis said.

---

They returned to the armory near the room where Ralis and Imoen were held prisoner. Minsc put on a full plate mail armor, grabbed a broadsword, Yoshimo put on chain mail armor and took two katanas as his weapons, Jaheira grabbed and put on splint mail body armor and greaves and took a scimitar and small shield. Then they left the armory, charging through corridor after corridor, room after room. The fight between the mage's men and the unidentified men in black armor still has not died down. Everywhere they looked, they saw strange looking machines and devices and corpses of black armored and hooded thieves all over the place, the wounds on their bodies hinted that some have been slain by a powerful mage. Some appeared to have been pummeled by a barrage of magic missiles, pierced by magical acid or fire arrows, disintegrated or blown to bits of flesh. Whoever killed these men all over the hideout wasn't armed with a sword, war hammer or even a war axe. The deed was done by a mage whose power seems to rival Elminster himself.

"Shadow Thieves," Yoshimo said, kneeling down and checking the corpse near his feet.

"Eh?" Ralis looked down at Yoshimo, apparently puzzled at his sudden statement.

"These men. They are Shadow Thieves," Yoshimo said, taking some gold and silver coins from the corpse's pockets.

"That's a sign that we might be in Amn," Ralis concluded.

After picking the corpse's pockets for gold, silver and copper coins, Yoshimo stood up, placing the coins in his pockets.

"Be doubly careful, my friends. I'm sure all manner of stupid mousetraps await our toes in this dreary place," Yoshimo warned his companions.

---

After a few minutes of wandering through the complex, encountering more corpses of Shadow Thieves and hearing the distant sound of an intense battle somewhere nearby, Ralis, Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira and Yoshimo found themselves in a large room full of large glass tanks holding blue liquid connected by wires to strange machines. There are seven glass tanks, 21 of them in total, lined up in three rows.

"What... the... hell...?" Ralis was confused at the nature of this room, his eyes focused in confused astonishment at the glass tanks in the center of the room.

"I've never seen anything like this..." Yoshimo said.

Minsc peered into one of the large tanks full of blue liquid in the second row.

"What are these... things? Even Boo is clueless." Minsc wondered aloud.

He thought he saw something humanoid stirring inside, but the liquid is too misty for Minsc to see what is inside. Ralis walked over to the tank adjacent from the one Minsc is checking. He too thought he saw a humanoid figure inside. He slowly unsheathed Kondar and gently tapped his blade against the glass, making a high pitched *Ting, ting, ting* sound. The silhouette of the humanoid creature didn't react to the noise, but it is moving inside, in a gentle, almost lifeless manner. Imoen looked around in a disturbed daze.

"I... I know this room," she said sullenly.

Ralis, Yoshimo, Minsc and Jaheira looked at her.

"I've been in here..." Imoen continued, then looked at Ralis in a way that made him feel very uneasy. "... We both have," Imoen told him.

Ralis didn't say anything in reply, he had no memory of this room and wondered if Imoen is losing her sanity. Imoen pointed at the large glass containers in the room. There are 9 of them, and they are all connected by cords to two machines, one that looks like a large flask with some kind of liquid inside it, and another that looks like a 15 foot tall server.

"There are things in these tanks. They used to be people," Imoen told them.

"What...? How...?" Jaheira was confused, and so is Minsc, Yoshimo and Ralis.

"The bastard..." Ralis muttered.

"What kind of monster is this guy? Captures us easy as pie, kills whoever he wants... that could have been us in those glass things." Imoen said.

"I don't know who he is, and I don't care. The next time I see him, he is going to pay in blood," Ralis said angrily, especially when he thought about Dynaheir dying a slow death at the mage's hands.

Imoen shook her head while placing her right hand on her forehead.

"We don't even know where we are, and my head is still doing funny things... He said something... something about potential. He said something like "releasing power within you so it can be used," but if it means taking part in horrible things... I don't like this place. Can we go?"

"Yeah, let's get out of this place," Ralis said.

However, before they could leave, the figure stirring in the glass tank near Minsc spoke up so suddenly it startled everyone.

"Ah, so long I have lain. Behind this prison of glass I do weep and rage."

Ralis and Minsc cautiously stepped forward towards the glass tank while Jaheira, Imoen and Yoshimo hung back out of caution. Ralis wondered how could this... man, if the silhouetted figure inside the glass tank is a man, speak inside a glass jar with no water? Why hasn't he drowned?

"I have called out so many, many times to thee. Master! Master! Why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou left me in this bottle to wither? Why?" The unknown figure called out.

"Who is this master of yours? Why did he do this to you?" Ralis called to the figure in the tank.

"Be careful, Ralis..." Jaheira warned him.

"Master, thou didst place me here out of kindness, but thou hast forgotten me! Have I simply slipped from thy thoughts? Master, please hear me!" The figure exclaimed, his clear, somewhat muffled voice fraught with anxiety.

Ralis and Minsc realized that this figure in this giant bottle probably cannot hear them, even though they can hear him.

"Your master left you imprisoned in one of these bottles? What manner of person would do such a thing?" Ralis called, hoping to get some answers, hoping that this tormented figure can hear him.

"Thou could not cure what was done, but surely thy magics have increased, master! Thou didst care for me once- let me help in thy search... do not forget me here forever, pleeeaaaase!" The tormented figure wailed, his figure silhouetted by the misty water began thrashing about violently. "Why hast thou forgotten?! This is no boon, master- please do not leave me! WHY? I LONG TO HEAR YOUR WORDS, MASTER! WHY MUST YOU IGNORE ME?!"

Ralis looked back at Imoen and saw regret in her eyes, including Jaheira. Then he looked up at the thrashing figure who continually screamed for his master's attention, crying out for answers to why his torment must be prolonged.

"I... I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do to help you," was Ralis' solemn words to the figure in the glass tank.

"I would hate being forgotten in a bottle. It might depend somewhat on the type of bottle, but overall I expect the effect would be similar. It is not right," Minsc said sullenly, looking up at the increasingly insane, tormented man in the glass tank in pity.

Everyone retraced their steps back into the "L" shaped hallway and moved forward since they came from the right before the discovered the tank room.

---

Not long afterwards, they stumbled into a semi dark room with a single glass tank inside it. The eerie dark blue illumination of the room coming from the glass tank's blue liquid made Imoen's skin crawl.

"This place is too darn creepy... I really want out of here..." She shuddered nervously.

"Hold on..." Ralis said, his eyes glued on the glass tank in the room. "What's in here...?" He wondered as he cautiously approached it.

Ralis gently pulled Albruin out of its scabbard and gently tapped the blade against the glass tank. The disfigured creature inside woke up!

"Aaa... Who be thee? Servants of the master...?" The creature inside the tank wheezed, its voice partially muffled by the thick glass.

Ralis, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc and Yoshimo's eyes widened in shock and horror when the creature in the tank revealed itself to be a bodiless brain with only a spinal column attached to it and two blue eyes attached to the brain by retinal blood vessel cords. In short, the creature in this tank should not be alive at all, but against all odds, it is alive somehow, defying the laws of nature.

"Nantekotta...! (Oh my god...!)" Yoshimo gasped.

"By the gods... what happened to you, man?" Ralis asked and swallowed some saliva in his mouth, visibly disturbed by the fact this creature is alive with only its brain and eyes.

"I am dying... or I am dead. I cannot remember which. Where is the master?" The creature replied.

"Who is this master that you speak of?" Ralis asked him.

"He was my friend, I think... cast out and no longer one of us... I cannot remember. Are you to take my place?" The creature replied.

"Who are you... What are you?" Jaheira asked the creature in the tank.

The creature tried hard to remember its past in full detail. "It's... difficult to remember... I was Rielev... dead, I think," he replied.

"Rielev, do you have any idea how to get out of this place? We were prisoners here," Ralis explained.

"Prisoners be ye? Truly I have been dead, but not dead too long. I seek... release... I have been alone for too long... The master has forgotten about me..." Rielev said.

"What do you mean "forgotten"? How did you end up inside this tank?" Ralis asked, his heart beating fast in horror.

"I was a... faithful hound to the master. A friend, even. I was... dying... or dead, I can't remember which. Eternal... life... was to be my reward for faithful service. The master has suspended me until he can cure me... return my youth to me..."

"How long have you been like this, troubled creature?" Minsc asked Rielev.

"I know not... Days... Years... It's all the same and my mind cannot grasp it. All alone," Rielev replied forlornly.

"How could he possibly forget about you if you're his faithful servant?" Ralis couldn't grasp the fact that a mage, no matter how evil he is, would forget the loyalty of a servant.

"I... I begin to understand. The master left my side to study another. He seeks to awaken power... a study of life and death, but I cannot bear the roll of years. He has forgotten because he does not wish to remember... what was taken from him... I barely remember myself..."

Ralis felt sorry for Rielev, left to be suspended in time with no body and no hope of escape or release. "Do you want me to release you?" He asked.

Rielev's brain started nodding quickly in response. "Release... yes! Master! I- I no longer wish to come back! Let me slip into the oblivion that has been denied me! Please!" Rielev exclaimed happily and sadly at the same time.

Ralis looked around for something that would destroy the life support of the tank. He saw some kind of power generator nearby, at the top left corner of the room.

"Imoen, shoot your magic missiles at that." Ralis instructed.

Imoen stashed her short bow behind her back then casted two magic missiles at the power generator, destroying it, and as a result, the dark blue light inside Rielev's life tank powered down, and the room is now almost pitch black.

"I thank thee. Go and leave me to oblivion at last. Sweet sleep..." Rielev said weakly.

"Rielev...? Rielev...!" Ralis called to him but no reply came, the brain just floated lifelessly in the tank's liquid, the lidless eyes staring at them, giving the disturbing illusion that he is a still alive but ignoring them.

"He's... he's dead now...? This pathetic creature..." Imoen said sadly.

"Look away, Imoen. I can't take this either..." Ralis said feeling tears welling up in his eyes.

Imoen shook her head, still looking at the dead life support tank in morbid awe. "I can't look away, Ralis. I've seen death in our scuffles before, but here I did nothing but watch his life end... I can't look away," She said sullenly in an unsettling way.

"Death is not to be feared, I guess. But I would not wish to live like that," Ralis admitted.

Then they left the room, feeling as if their very minds have been violated by what they have just witnessed.

---

A few minutes later, they found themselves in a room which seems to be a library of some kind. Down every aisle of shelved books, corpses of Shadow Thieves are littered all over the floor in this room as well. Ralis, Jaheira, Imoen and Yoshimo had to watch where they stepped so they won't trip over a corpse as they navigated through the library maze. Imoen looked at all the dusty books in the old, rotten shelves around her.

"Oh... This reminds me so much of Candlekeep," Imoen smiled weakly as she walked by one of the shelves, raising her right hand at the lined up, alphabetized books, brushing her fingers on them, causing some of the collected dust to fly off the hard covers. "Dusty old tomes all over, bookcases nearly spilling... It's almost like we never left," Imoen seemed lost in her memories.

Then she looked at Ralis, standing near Jaheira who is alert for any ambushes from the enemy. "But we did leave, didn't we?" She asked him.

Ralis slowly nodded. "The books make it feel like home, but we are not home, Imoen," He said.

Imoen looked around in bewilderment. "I want to go home, Ralis. I don't care how, I don't care when, I just want to go home," She whimpered.

Ralis approached her and put comforting arms around her. "We'll return home one day, but I don't think its safe for us to return home anytime soon," He told her. Then they moved on.

Along the way they encountered a group of gray-skinned dwarves, or more commonly known as duergar. Ralis, Imoen, Yoshimo, Minsc and Jaheira had to fight their way through them. After the fight was over, Imoen looked at the duergar corpses in morbid fascination.

"These dwarves... I recognize them." Then she looked up at Ralis. "I studied about them on the day you were skipping lessons back in Candlekeep. Duergar, I think they are called," Imoen said.

Duergar are also known as gray dwarves, just like drow are also known as dark elves. Like the drow, the duergar have skin that is almost as dark as obsidian, they are a subterranean race, and they are just as evil as drow are, and they don't get along with their surface dwelling dwarf relatives either.

"Are you okay, Imoen?" Ralis asked her.

"I'm not sure. My head is still doing funny stuff, but I'm fine," Imoen nodded slowly.

---

When they turned left at the end of the hallway to find another hallway, Ralis heard voices in a room somewhere nearby. He drew his swords and checked the first room to his left. Inside, he saw a tall naked man whose wrists and legs are cuffed by iron manacles against the wall, and a short, fat man who smells awful talking to each other. Ralis burst into the room, startling the imprisoned man and the short chubby man speaking to him.

"Who are you?" Ralis asked the fat man.

"My name is Booter," The fat man replied.

Ralis could see thick, wet chest hair protruding from the collar of his shirt. His hair and beard is dirty and uneven as well.

"What have you been doing to this man here?" Ralis suspiciously asked Booter, pointing Kondar at the tall man.

Booter glanced over at the tall man shackled to the wall briefly then turned his head back to face Ralis.

"Why, I've been... taking care of him, of course, for my master," he explained.

"Who is your master?" Ralis asked Booter.

"Don't waste your breath. I asked him the same question seconds ago and he still hasn't answered my question," the tall man shackled to the wall said wearily.

Ralis found this imprisoned tall man familiar. Ralis crept closer to him, examining his face. The man has long black hair that partially masked his face, and no facial hair, as far as he could tell.

"... Abdel? Is that you?" Ralis asked him as he cautiously took a few steps forward.

At that moment, Imoen, Minsc, Yoshimo and Jaheira entered the room.

"Excuse me, I must be going," Booter said, gathering his materials in a leather bag and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Ralis grabbed Booter by the collar of his shirt with his left hand. "Release this man," he commanded.

Ralis let go of Booter, and then he pointed Kondar's blade at his face before he considered running away.

"That was a demand, by the way," Ralis added, giving Booter a serious glare.

The rotund torturer considered his options carefully then he sighed, finally deciding to concede defeat, though he couldn't help wondering if allowing his prisoner's release would hinder the mage master's experiment. The mage who runs this dungeon has developed a friendship with the guild that Booter works for as their torturer. But he can't do his job for anyone if this man's blade pierces his neck, he will die slowly and painfully from that.

"As you wish," Booter stuttered, his skin crawling from feeling the cold blade touching his left cheek.

He walked over to the wall where Abdel is chained and began to unlock the manacles fastening Abdel's hands to the wall by standing on a wooden stool so that he can reach the manacles, then he used his keys to unlock them.

"How do you know my name?" Abdel questioned the young man with the long, shabby brown hair.

Ralis shook his head while chuckling.

"Abdel, don't you recognize me? It's me, Ralis. You, me and Imoen grew up together before you left Candlekeep nine years ago in the Year of the Turret. Remember?" Ralis said.

Abdel blinked in surprise, because he had a hard time making his mind process the fact that Ralis let his hair grow out long and he now has facial hair.

"Ralis? Is that really you? Haha! By Torm, I can't believe it! You finally left Candlekeep, you little bastard!" Abdel smiled when he was freed.

When his arms were freed from the manacles Abdel never bothered to rub the ache of relief out of his wrists as he approached Ralis, and when they got close enough to each other, they laughed and hugged each other like two brothers who haven't seen each other in many years, which is true for the most part. Abdel is another one of Gorion's adopted children, he is four years older than Ralis, being born in the Year of the Boot (1343 DR), and stands seven feet tall with shoulder length black hair. He is also the first child Gorion adopted, Ralis and Imoen being second and third. As far as Ralis knew about Abdel's past, Gorion revealed that when Abdel was 2 years old, he was rescued by a paladin who is, or was a member of the Hands of Loyal Fury. But Gorion never revealed the name of the paladin to Ralis or even who or what the paladin rescued Abdel from, possibly because the paladin never told him who he was, or why he rescued Abdel.

"Wow, you look like hell. And smell like it," Abdel grinned, rubbing his right hand in Ralis's long brown hair like a big brother would to his little brother.

"Look whose talking with the bruised and battered body," Ralis responded, playfully swatting Abdel's right hand off his head.

Abdel looked over at Ralis' companions until he saw Imoen, and he gasped in surprise.

"Imoen is with you too?" Abdel said in surprise.

Imoen gasped in surprise. "Wow! Abe, is that you?! Long time no see!"

Jaheira, Minsc and Yoshimo simply stood back, allowing the three to catch up with each other, though Jaheira couldn't help wondering how is it that Ralis and Imoen know this man named Abdel when she had never heard of him.

"What have you been up to all this time?" Ralis asked Abdel, happy to see an old friend he nearly forgotten again.

"Well, you remember I didn't like living behind the fortress walls, studying those yawn inducing books, do you?" Abdel asked Ralis.

"Neither did I, and I tried to sneak off from my studies a few times, but not as often as YOU did," Ralis admitted.

Abdel chuckled at his little brother's remark.

"After I left Candlekeep, I spent the last nine years working as a mercenary for hire. I've been up and down the Sword Coast many times before. I've even been to Amn once or twice," He continued explaining.

"Wait a second. Gorion never told Khalid and I that he had another ward," Jaheira said.

Abdel took notice of Jaheira and found her very attractive. He liked her long, braided hair and light brown eyes. He almost lost his train of thought on Jaheira's question but fortunately he didn't forget to answer.

"... I, uh, I had already left Candlekeep, so I don't see why he has a reason to mention me when I've been gone for so long. How is the old man these days?" Abdel replied to Jaheira, then asked Ralis.

"Before I tell you, how did you end up here?" Ralis asked.

"Well, recently, when I came to Baldur's Gate after visiting Waterdeep, I received a job offer from the Grand Dukes. They hired me to hunt down and kill some guy named "Rails Rutela" who was once known as the hero of Baldur's Gate and now known as a Bhaalspawn, whatever that is, for 80,000 gold pieces. When I rested at the inn at Nashkel, I woke up and found myself here, naked and chained to that wall, being tortured by that fat pig who left for countless hours. So how is Gorion?" Abdel asked.

Ralis blinked. Abdel has likely been hired by Entar Silvershield to kill him, but what doesn't make sense is why Abdel mispronounced his name as "Rails" instead of "Ralis". Maybe it's because Abdel doesn't know that Rails Rutela and Ralis are the same person, since Ralis, like Abdel, never had a surname when they lived in Candlekeep. As for Gorion's fate, Ralis wasn't sure how Abdel would take it if he told him the truth, so he decided to tell a small lie.

"He's doing fine, Abdel," Ralis said.

"What are you..." Jaheira started to say but Ralis shot a look at her that told her that it may not be the right time to give Abdel the bad news.

"That's good. When we get out of here, let's go back to Candlekeep and pay him a visit, shall we? First, I need to find my clothes, weapons and armor," Abdel said.

"Follow us," Ralis instructed.

---

They retraced their steps all the way back to the armory so that Abdel can suit up in a black tunic and chainmail armor, and he chose a broadsword like Minsc as his weapon of choice, but Abdel's sword is less heavier than Minsc's sword, however.

"It's nice to meet a man who is as huge as I am," Minsc smiled at Abdel.

While fastening a belt around his waist, Abdel stared at the hamster sitting on Minsc's shoulder and scoffed at him.

"I may be tall like you, but I'm not the one who holds a... rodent on my shoulder," Abdel said, returning the smile while fastening his belt buckle around his waist.

"Watch your tongue, fellow huge man! Boo is much more than a rodent! He is a miniature giant space hamster! A very rare breed indeed," Minsc said proudly.

Abdel gave Minsc a puzzled frown. "What...? A giant what?"

"Don't worry about Minsc. He suffered a serious head injury once," Ralis told him.

"Oh... That explains it," Abdel slowly nodded, obviously still confused at how Boo can be a giant and miniature hamster at the same time. Then again they retraced their steps back near the room where they found Abdel and continued forward past that room.

---

In the next room ahead there is little light, except from the large red, green and yellow lanterns on the right side of the room, which are actually inactive mephit portals. If the lantern-like portals were active, they would constantly summon mephits, creatures that look like imps. In the middle of the room is a large table, and in the middle of a table is a corpse that seems to have been dissected almost in a ritualistic way, there are many scalpel cuts on the arms, legs and chest, his fingers have also been cut apart from his hands, and the head is severed three inches from the body.

"Another Shadow Thief corpse up ahead," Ralis called sarcastically as he approached the table.

His companions followed. He examined the corpse and found its face very familiar. Ralis looked carefully and found that he recognized the man! He gasped and stepped off the table and stepped back a few feet.

"What?" Jaheira wondered what made Ralis look like he just saw a ghost.

Ralis didn't reply, he didn't even look at Jaheira, his eyes were glued on the corpse laying on the table. She decided to take a look at the corpse to find out why Ralis is so spooked. She climbed onto the table and checked the corpse. She immediately recognized him when she saw his face.

"Kha... Khalid...?!" Jaheira whispered in utter shock.

Ralis sat down on the floor, putting both hands on his forehead. This is too much for him to bear. First Dynaheir, now Khalid?! What is going on here?!

"Khalid too? No...!" Imoen couldn't believe it either.

"Another good friend has fallen..." Minsc said solemnly.

"Damn it... Gods damn it..." Ralis cursed through gritted teeth.

Jaheira shook her head. She didn't want to believe that her husband is gone.

"No...! No... this must be an illusion... a dream... a bad dream..." She muttered, fighting back tears.

She looked up turning her head left and right as if she is looking for something. She climbed off the table and began marching around the room, tossing small furniture, chairs about and turning over old, dusty cabinets, causing a lot of loud noise.

"Where are the mirrors... the switches to pull to... to show where he is hidden...?" Jaheira muttered to herself as she turned the room upside down for clues that hint that this is some twisted joke, flipping over two dust covered tables, five chairs, and other objects she could throw.

There were no mirrors. This is no illusion. To make matters worse, though Khalid's head is close to his body, his head has been thoroughly decapitated, which means hiring a cleric to bring him back from the dead like what happened to Entar cannot be done, not for a severely mutilated body. Jaheira grew frustrated and kicked a chair with a broken leg aside and she collapsed on the floor.

"Khalid...!" She sobbed.

Ralis cursed again and shook his head, still burying his head in his hands, sitting in a fetal position on the floor. Yoshimo and Imoen watched sympathetically while Minsc looked at Khalid's badly dismembered corpse on the table sadly, silently mourning the loss of both him and Dynaheir. Abdel tried to console Ralis, but he shoved Abdel back, and Abdel stepped back away from Ralis out of respect.

"Damn... damn you..." Jaheira wept as she slammed her fist on the floor two times punctuating her words.

"I don't know why he is doing this... I don't know why... He made me watch stuff like this. He made me watch as he tortured people. He kept on talking about unlocking my power, he said that he needed me to watch so that I could understand..." Imoen said as if she is in a trance.

Ralis looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot red.

"Death is so... pretty..." Imoen shook her head after she said that. "...What made me think that?" Imoen wondered, seemingly back to her "sane" self.

"Damn you! I will have the heart of who has done this! I will tear their blackened heart from their... I will..." Jaheira tried to say but couldn't recover from her grief.

Ralis stood back up on his feet. He couldn't understand the motives of this mysterious mage. His actions make the motives of Sarevok seem like a lesser evil. Why is he doing all of this? For power? If so, how can power be gained from this? It makes no sense! He walked over to Jaheira.

"This... This can't be real, can it...?" Ralis asked her, his brain felt numb with confusion.

"Shut up! No more words! Words are nothing!" Jaheira suddenly snapped at Ralis.

Yoshimo, Abdel, Minsc and Imoen recoiled in shock. Yoshimo approached Jaheira.

"I knew him not, but I mourn for your loss," He said sympathetically to Jaheira as he placed his right hand on Jaheira's shoulder.

She swatted her right arm at Yoshimo but he jumped back in time.

"Stranger! Nobody! I will not hear your words! Leave me!" Jaheira shouted.

"Jaheira, the least you can do is accept our sympathies," Abdel said softly.

Jaheira glared at him. "What does a heartless mercenary like you know about love?! Nothing! All you do for a living is take away the lives nature gave!"

Abdel felt deeply disturbed by Jaheira's words, because all he knew is how to murder and kill people as a mercenary for hire. It's what he has done all these years since he left Candlekeep, and though it has been his sole job, he has never considered himself to be a heartless person.

"A brave man has fallen here, but that is no cause to hurl insults at the living. Here, Boo shall comfort you," Minsc tried to console Jaheira next.

Jaheira almost slapped Boo out of Minsc's shoulder but because of his reflexes, he dodged aside and Boo is unharmed.

"Imbecile! Affront to nature! What do you and your rodent know?! What can you know?!" Jaheira exclaimed.

She broke away from Ralis, Imoen, Yoshimo, Abdel and Minsc, walking away from them towards the table that held Khalid's corpse while fuming.

"No words! No more words! Save your speeches, save your proverbs! The only voice I wish to hear is... is dead! No more! No..." Jaheira's voice trailed off as she felt warm tears well up in her eyes. "No..." She took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes as a single tear fell from her right eye.

"Sil... Silvanus guide the light... to the source. Take this man to what he justly deserves. By... nature's will, what was given is returned, what was turmoil is now... is now peace. Khalid of my heart, let my love... my love guide the way..." Jaheira prayed.

After her prayer to her patron deity, she took a deep breath and let out a soft sigh.

"We... we must hurry before we are noticed. We must get out of this... this grave... and seek the light above. Let us go." Jaheira said calmly.

"Jaheira... Are you sure you're okay?" Ralis asked her.

She nodded. "Khalid lived a good life. Sometimes its best to try to move on."

"All right. We will honor Khalid with future deeds. He was a good friend, so I will do my best to honor his memory," Ralis said.

"That is the way of things. There will be... There will be payment for this crime, and I shall not rest until it is collected," Jaheira said.

"Indeed. Let's go," Ralis nodded.

As they walked out of the room, Imoen walked up to Jaheira, walking alongside her, sensing that she is still sad. She saw Jaheira's right hand gently grip the necklace around her neck that Khalid made for her a few months ago as an anniversary gift during their fight against Caelar Argent's crusade. Though Imoen was not with Ralis, Khalid and Jaheira to fight against Caelar Argent and her crusader armies, instead being trained by Grand Duke Liia Jannath to be a mage, dual classing as a thief and mage, she could tell that the necklace is important to Jaheira, as it is the only thing she has left from Khalid.

"Jaheira..." Imoen said softly.

Jaheira didn't even look at Imoen, she kept walking, following Ralis, Abdel, Yoshimo and Minsc.

"I want to say how sorry I am about Khalid... I... know this is hard..." Imoen said softly and slowly, as if choosing her words carefully.

"No! You do not know. This is not the time for this conversation, child," Jaheira said, replying almost curtly when she said "no".

Imoen frowned slightly. She hated that Jaheira called her "child" when she is basically a young adult in the human lifespan.

"Stop calling me "child". I'm only a couple years younger than Ralis, and Abdel is a few years older than both of us. Besides, I can tell you that Khalid did not suffer," Imoen said.

Jaheira sighed in impatience. "What are you babbling about, Imoen? I am not in the mood," She grumbled.

"I am not babbling! I saw him do this! Khalid was already dead when our captor started... doing those things to him!" Imoen exclaimed.

Everyone stopped walking down the hallway, including Jaheira, and they looked at Imoen.

"You saw this? You watched as it was done?" Jaheira asked Imoen, somewhat in disbelief.

"He... He showed me. I didn't want to look but he forced my eyes open. He made me watch as he... he... cut Khalid's body... I-"

"Stop," Jaheira held her right hand in front of Imoen's face. "I don't want to hear this,"

Imoen didn't stop, and what made Ralis's skin crawl is that Imoen's eyes were wide, as if she is staring directly into Jaheira soul or something.

"He said I should see, so I would understand, but I don't know what he wanted! He would cut and say: "Do you see?" Then cut again and say: "Do you see?""

"Be quiet, child! No more!" Jaheira yelled.

Imoen seemed to snap out of it. She blinked twice before nodding at Jaheira to let her know that she's done.

---

Several minutes later, Ralis and his companions found themselves in some kind of boiler room and encountered more duergar and more corpses of Shadow Thieves.

"It's the prisoners! They have escaped!" The leader of the group of duergar exclaimed.

"Anyone who is ready to get their butts kicked, step in line, there's plenty of room for everyone." Ralis sneered, pointing his swords at them.

"Kill them all!" The duergar leader exclaimed.

Ralis charged at them first, then Minsc.

"Kiai! Fear is for those of no confidence!" Yoshimo exclaimed as he wielded his katana.

"Go for their eyes, Boo! RAAAGHH!" Minsc yelled as he charged forward.

Then Abdel charged then Yoshimo charged at them next, then Jaheira. Imoen stayed behind and fired 4 magic missiles at one duergar, instantly killing it. Yoshimo swiftly sliced through the throats of 3 duergar. One duergar, with a throwing ax threw it at Yoshimo's head and he ducked down, dodging the cartwheeling ax and the blade struck the stone wall. Abdel, with his broadsword alongside Minsc deflected strikes from duergars armed with war axes and chopped them down. Abdel enjoyed doing this. He even managed to disarm one duergar, pick him up and throw him into the furnace.

After all the duergar have been defeated, they left the boiler room. In the next rooms, they encountered a group of Shadow Thieves, who have just a few seconds ago defeated a group of duergar.

"Look boys, they already sent reinforcements in! They don't look so tough!" One of the thieves said.

"Yeah, we can take them as easily as those pale skinned dwarves!" Another Shadow Thief grinned.

Ralis held his hands up. "Whoa whoa! We are not with these guys. We are just prisoners trying to get out of this hellhole!" Ralis tried to reason with you.

"They won't listen to reason, I know they won't," Abdel whispered.

The Shadow Thieves group leader pulled out his rapier and pointed it at Ralis and his companions. "You want freedom? We shall deliver it to you by the end of our blades! Your master started this war, kidnapping our friends for who knows what, and now he and everyone in his guild will pay for it in blood! No one crosses the Shadow Thieves and gets away with it!" He exclaimed.

Jaheira stepped forward. "You are mistaken about our allegiance, but I care not! Khalid will be avenged, whether you stand aside willingly or not!" She exclaimed to the assassins.

"You and your guild dies, no matter your words! Cut 'em down, boys!" The assassin leader exclaimed.

The battle against the assassins was brutal, but in the end, Ralis and his companions emerged victorious. Imoen and Abdel pick-pocketed the slain assassins for gold, silver and copper then moved on with the others.

---

Eventually Ralis, Imoen, Abdel, Jaheira, Minsc and Yoshimo found the exit which is at the end of a long, sloping tunnel. They could smell fresh early morning air finally!

"Tsuini! (Finally!) We found the exit!" Yoshimo exclaimed happily.

Abdel laughed happily.

Ralis felt so relieved to be almost out of this dark, evil complex that he hardly noticed the collection of corpses around him in the tunnel, the remnants of a battle fought a while ago. He just simply followed his companions towards the bright morning light at the end of the tunnel. When he paused to survey the carnage's aftermath, he heard a scream of rage behind him, and when he looked back, he saw a wall of fire coming at him!

"Run! Run! Don't look back!" Ralis yelled, sprinting as fast as he could.

Minsc, Yoshimo, Abdel, Imoen and Jaheira made it out first, then Ralis made it out last just seconds before the explosion jumped out the entrance after him, creating a smokescreen that made Ralis cough for a few seconds. When the smoke died down, Ralis could clearly hear the sound of swords clashing nearby. Abdel and Yoshimo helped Ralis stand back up on his feet. Nearby, in a large crater of concrete and stone, debris made from three levels of terraced walls of the stadium shaped building they are inside of. Ralis and his companions noticed crowds of people within this stadium like building keeping their distance from the carnage, and they saw the Shadow Thieves fighting a small group of duergar within the crater they are near, the sound of swords clashing against shields and swords ringing loudly in their ears. The duergar are losing quickly against the armed thieves, being felled one by one, by arrow or by sword. Soon the Shadow Thieves killed them all brutally, littering the crater with bloodied duergar corpses, some cut down by swords, others shot in the head or chest by arrows or crossbow bolts. Then seconds later, before the Shadow Thieves took notice of Ralis and his companions watching them, a dimensional door opened up in the crater's center and the same mage who tortured Ralis stepped out the magical portal and it disappeared into thin air.

Ralis had a strong feeling that the mage would die for sure, being outnumbered by 13 heavily armed Shadow Thieves. He would get shot down or cut down before he could cast one spell. The mage looked at the Shadow Thieves and they looked at him. They did not attack him straight away, they just stood there, either believing that they have the advantage, or there is something about this mage that unsettled them.

"You dare to attack me here?" The mage questioned the Shadow Thieves in a threatening, but calm tone.

None of the Shadow Thieves responded or replied in any way, they still just looked at the mage in a clueless manner. The mage sensed their ignorance and grew annoyed because of it.

"Do you even know who you face?!" The mage asked them again, his tone less calm than before which made some of the thieves grip the handles of their swords and their bows tighter.

Then the leader of the Shadow Thieves, Aran Linvail, stepped forward a few feet to speak to the mage. He has red hair and short, trimmed beard.

"We know of your treachery, Irenicus! Why have you taken our brethren?!" He demanded.

So his name is Irenicus... Ralis remarked in his thoughts. Another man on his list of people to kill. The hooded man for Skie, and Irenicus for Dynaheir and Khalid.

This mage named Irenicus, unbeknownst to Ralis and his group, is one and the same, the true identity of the mysterious hooded man who murdered Skie Silvershield. He started this guild war so that he could perform his experiment on Ralis. For the past three months after Ralis put a permanent end to Caelar Argent, Hephernaan and his master Belhifet, Irenicus has spent three months in Amn building up a rapport with the Shadow Thief guild there in preparation to hire them to subdue Ralis and his allies, and bring them here to Amn. But to conduct his experiment, he needed live subjects, and the members of Amn's Shadow Thief guild are the only suitable candidates. He lured out a few members of the Shadow Thieves, hiring them to perform a "job" for him, then he tasked his duergar minions to kidnap the Shadow Thieves members he baited and use them as test subjects. The people who were in those liquid filled glass tanks back in Irenicus's complex... some of them were people Irenicus "helped" from the slums of Athkatla, winning their trust and loyalty, and others in the glass tanks were members of the Shadow Thieves, which explains why Aran and his thief guild are feeling vengeful today, they are rightfully angry about Irenicus' sudden betrayal.

Irenicus knew that Aran and his Shadow Thieves would retaliate with revenge if he did this, but he didn't care. They don't understand the importance of his experiment. It is more important than maintaining a cordial partnership with an organization of thieves and cutthroats. Irenicus's annoyance at Aran and his men's ignorance reached a boiling point.

"You know nothing of me! You know nothing of what I must do! You will suffer! You will all suffer!" Irenicus exclaimed, then he cast Stoneskin on himself then his right hand seemed to burn as if it is on fire, and his left hand seemed to glow ice blue as if he held glittering ice in the palm of his left hand.

He made a punching motion at one of the thieves armed with a greatsword with his right hand, sending a fireball hurling at him. The fireball hit the thief, killing him.

"Men, kill him!" Aran ordered, and the remaining 12 Shadow Thieves immediately started to attack Irenicus.

Some fired arrows, crossbow bolts and sling bullets at him, but the arrows, crossbow bolts and sling bullets bounced harmlessly off Irenicus's body because of the Stoneskin spell made his skin hard as stone. Two thieves, one armed with a sword and another armed with a rapier charged at Irenicus together. He made punching motions at both of them, sending two balls of ice and fire at them. The ball of ice froze the thief armed with the rapier, and the fireball knocked the thief armed with a sword off his feet, setting his body ablaze. then he turned around, hearing the yells of another man armed with a melee weapon approaching. He cast a lightning bolt at the thief and he collapsed dead after painful electricity surged through his body. The remaining thieves are only armed with longbows, short bows, light and heavy crossbows and slings. Irenicus cast the Flame Arrow spell at one thief, the burning arrow pierced his heart and his body immediately sagged like a rag doll as his clothes and studded leather armor caught fire.

Irenicus wanted to finish this once and for all, so he decided to use the Sunfire spell to end this battle quickly. He began gesturing his arms in the air, summoning a ball of fire from the Elemental Plane of Fire a few feet above him and making it grow steadily larger. Aran saw this and had a nervous feeling in his gut. He turned around and ran away seconds before Irenicus made the fireball above his head explode. The fireball incinerated the last group of Shadow Thieves in one strike. Irenicus was in the middle of the explosion, but is unharmed by the blast. The explosion dissipated into such an intense smokescreen, it wafted over to where Ralis, Abdel, Yoshimo, Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira stood. They turned their heads away and closed their eyes as the smokescreen engulfed them.

When the smokescreen died down, Irenicus noticed that none of the Shadow Thieves have survived the blast, even the duergar bodies who were killed before his arrival around him were burned to a crisp. He looked around, still standing in the crater until he saw Ralis and Imoen looking down at him.

"So, godchild, you have escaped. You are more resourceful than I thought," Irenicus said to Ralis.

The nerve of this bastard... Ralis growled. "Yeah, I'm resourceful, all right. Resourceful enough to kick your ass back to whatever hellish plane you came from!"

Imoen never seen Ralis explode with so much anger before, but she understood why.

"You're not going to torture us any longer," Imoen said defiantly to Irenicus.

Irenicus looked at Imoen incredulously. "Torture? Silly girl, you just don't understand what I'm doing, do you?" Irenicus asked Imoen in a patronizing tone, like a parent lecturing a child who is ignorant of what is happening.

"I don't care what you're doing! Let us go!" Imoen demanded.

"I won't let you leave, not when I'm so close to unlocking your power," Irenicus protested firmly.

"We don't want anything from you!" Imoen said with hateful venom in her voice.

"Go to Hell. We'll send you there ourselves," Ralis sneered.

Then Imoen cast four magic missiles at Irenicus, the first spell she mastered during her tutelage under Grand Duke Liia Jannath, learning how to be an efficient dual classed thief and mage while Ralis was away fighting Caelar Argent's crusader army. He saw the attack coming and had enough seconds to put up a magical barrier around him that protects him from magic spells.

"Enough. I will no longer listen to the babbling of ignorant children," Irenicus said, then he pointed a finger at Imoen, casting a fireball the size of a softball at Imoen.

She got hit by the fireball and got knocked off her feet.

"No!" Minsc cried.

"Damn it!" Abdel hissed.

"Imoen! Imoen!" Ralis cried, kneeling next to Imoen checking to see if the fireball didn't kill her.

She is still alive, fortunately, just barely conscious. Ralis glared at Irenicus.

"You son of a bitch!"

Ralis was about to charge down at Irenicus as he pulled Kondar and Albruin out of their scabbards until 9 dimensional portals opened up around the rim of the crater. Then 9 wizards, all dressed in dark gray cowls appeared.

"This is an unsanctioned use of magical energy!" The wizard with the long gray beard exclaimed.

"All involved will be held! This disturbance is over!" Another wizard who has no facial hair announced.

Irenicus gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Must I be interrupted at every turn?! Enough of this!"

Irenicus fired six magic missiles at one wizard, killing him and invoking the wrath of his other fellow wizards. Ralis and his companions watched the battle ensue. Irenicus increased the power of his magical barrier so that the spells the wizards cast won't penetrate the barrier. Three wizards casted fireballs, bolts of electricity and magic missiles at Irenicus but his barrier flawlessly protected him from harm. Then Irenicus retaliated casting a high level spell known as Time Stop. Everyone became frozen in time. From Irenicus's point of view, it seemed like the wizards, Ralis and his companions have been frozen in time except himself, but from their point of view, Irenicus is moving too fast for their eyes to comprehend, casting spells at an impossible speed. Irenicus fired magic missiles at one mage, then Melf's Acid Arrow at another mage, then cast a powerful level 9 spell called Meteor Swarm, sending a dozen hail sized meteors to quickly rain down on the wizards, wiping out all but one wizard.

When time resumed, Ralis, his companions and the remaining wizard got the shock of their life. Irenicus killed all but one of the wizards in less than one second! Fortunately for the surviving wizard, his reinforcements arrived, 10 new wizards arrived on the scene and immediately began attacking Irenicus, but they proved no match for him, their spells couldn't pierce the barrier protecting him. Ralis and his companions watched in amazement as magic spells were thrown back and forth in the large crater. Some of the wizards cast their own barriers to protect themselves from Irenicus's powerful spells, but their efforts were in vain, because Irenicus used Spellstrike, a spell that dispels all protection spells the user's opponent has. Irenicus then cast the Chain Lightning spell on one wizard, and the lightning bolt did more than strike at the mage Irenicus targeted, it jumped from one wizard to another, either seriously injuring or killing them. The wizards screamed in pain as the bolts of electricity struck them one by one. One of the surviving mages casted a barrier on himself, but Irenicus cast the Breach spell on him to bring down his barrier then followed up firing 6 magic missiles, turning the mage's chest into a bloody pulp.

"This mage's power is immense! We must overcome him quickly!" One of the wizards said to his fellow wizard to his right.

After Irenicus killed another wizard using Larloch's Minor Drain, he finally gave up fighting the wizards.

"Enough! I haven't the time for this!" Irenicus said.

At that moment, a few more wizards teleported into the scene. Apparently almost too many for Irenicus to fight off alone, and he knew it.

"You will cease your spellcasting and come with us!" One of them said to Irenicus.

Irenicus looked at the wizard with a soft scowl.

"Your pathetic magics are useless. Let this end!" He said harshly.

"Even if we fall, our numbers are many. You will be overwhelmed," the wizard assured Irenicus without fear or doubt in his voice.

Irenicus was only half paying attention to the mage speaking to him because he glanced up at Imoen standing with Ralis and her other companions near the crater's edge for a few seconds. After the mage was finished speaking, Irenicus shook his head and let out a rough, harsh sigh.

"You bore me mageling," Irenicus spat curtly. "You may take me in, but you will take the girl as well," Irenicus said more calmly this time, pointing up at Imoen.

Ralis blinked in confusion. Imoen's heart felt like it is sinking down a bottomless pit when she saw all the wizards looking at her for a second then approaching her.

"What? No! I've done nothing wrong!" Imoen protested as two of the wizards surrounded her.

"You have been involved in illegal use of magic. You will come with us!" The wizard to Imoen's left told her.

"Hey! Unhand her! She's innocent!" Ralis declared.

The other wizards surrounded Irenicus and carried him into a dimensional door to who knows where.

"She is innocent! Please!" Ralis urged at the wizards.

"Your friend has been involved in the illegal use of spellcasting. Stand aside," One of the wizards said.

"I'm not going with him! I'm not! Ralis, help me, please!" Imoen cried as the wizards began to carry her into another dimensional door.

Ralis and his allies tried to stop them but it was no use.

"Wait! Come back! No!" Ralis cried.

But it is too late. The Dimensional door has closed up, and the wizards have taken Imoen along with Irenicus to a location unknown to anyone.

"Nooooooo!" Ralis yelled in despair as he dropped to his knees.

---

"No, this cannot be! The murderer of Dynaheir flees from righteous butt-kicking vengeance! And he takes Imoen with him too! Something must be done, Ralis! We must find this evil wizard!" Minsc urged Ralis.

Ralis looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Find her?! How?! I don't even know where to start looking, damn it!" Ralis exclaimed through sheer grief.

"I find it odd that this Irenicus would leave of his own volition. And why take Imoen, when it is Ralis he is so obviously interested in? Perhaps he expects us to give chase?" Jaheira guessed.

"No!" Minsc exclaimed to Jaheira. "We must go quickly and save our friend Imoen! The wizard may be leering over her evilly even now!"

"Do not be foolish, Minsc. We must know our enemies... and the extent of our danger here... before we rush into anything," Jaheira reasoned with Minsc.

"The druid is right, my large friend. The wizard obviously had great power, and I doubt we have seen the last of him. Perhaps we should see if allies can be found here." Yoshimo said to Minsc compassionately.

Minsc nodded at Yoshimo even though he hated the thought of leaving Imoen with Irenicus.

"... I know where we may find some allies," Abdel said.

Ralis and the others looked at him.

"You do?" Ralis asked in mild skepticism.

"Yes. I recognize this area. We are in Waukeen's Promenade of Athkatla," Abdel said.

"Do you know someone here who can help us, Abdel?" Jaheira asked him.

Abdel smiled.

"His name is Gaelan Bayle, he's an information broker and a regular at the Copper Coronet. His prices may be high, but the information he gives is worth it. I can set up an appointment for us to meet him on the morrow."

"Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?" Minsc wanted to know.

"He needs time to gather the info we need, that's why. For now, you can go sightseeing. There is an inn nearby if any of you need to rest." Abdel said as he walked down the stairs with a confident smile, intent on finding Gaelan and setting up a meeting with him tomorrow.

"Don't be too long." Ralis called out to him.