by Kate Novak
As she slipped out of Selgaunt's harbor aboard her new ship, she breathed a sigh of pleasure. She was rid of this city of snobs forever.
"We're being flagged by one of Selgaunt's navy vessels, ma'am," the captain of the ship reported. "They're demanding to board us."
"Ignore them," Polly said.
"We may not be able to outrun them."
"I have every confidence in you, Captain," Polly said.
The captain left the ship owner to shout orders to the crew. Polly stood at the rail and once again called on her goddess. This time her request was more of a shout than a whisper. "Maid of Misfortune, pass by me; kiss my enemies."
Polly had no doubt Beshaba would come to her aid. She had made all the right offerings. She imagined a snapped rudder or perhaps a fallen mast, but Beshaba manifested her favor in a far more powerful way.
The ship rose and fell as a great swell passed beneath it. The swell grew as it approached the land. It caught the Selgaunt navy vessel chasing Polly's ship and carried it along on its crest. By the time it reached the city harbor, the swell had become a wall of water.
The water crashed down on Selgaunt, smashing the dockside buildings and depositing the navy vessel, plus several others, in the city streets. The Selgaunt docks were carried back out to sea.
Polly smiled wickedly.
"That's that," she said.
Then she heard a roar behind her. A second tidal wave, even more monstrous than the first, caught her ship on its gigantic crest and swept it inland at a breathtaking pace. Once more Polly called on Beshaba to take her enemies, but there were no enemies left. The water slammed into the Sembian peninsula two miles south of Selgaunt and heaved Polly's vessel inland a hundred feet, dashing it against a cliff. The ship splintered like a child's toy, and its crew and owner were scattered across the beach below. Their corpses were found mingled with the vessel's rare cargo; the farmer who buried them was richly rewarded.
Attending the opera would be interesting in Menzoberranzan. During the overture, the audience could place bets on whether more drow will die onstage or off.
— Liriel Baenre
ACT THREE SCENE 1
"How will we get to Gehenna?" Emilo asked, clearly eager to add another Lower Plane to his list of places he'd visited.
"We go back to Brightwater and have Selune open a gate for us," Joel said.
"Or I could take you back to Morning Glory with me, and Lord Lathander could open a gate for us," Holly said. "There's a portal at the top of this mountain that leads to his realm. There's a staircase at the end of this hall that leads straight up to it."
"That figures," Jas said. "We come in by a portal near the bottom of the mountain and have to climb for miles. Holly comes in at the top of the mountain and merely has to walk down a few steps."
"We can bring you back with us to Brightwater," Joel said to Holly. "I need to talk to Finder about what we've discovered."
Holly seemed to think a moment, then said, "Then we'll go your way."
The alu-fiend prisoner declared, "You will never make it out of here alive."
"I don't recall anyone asking your opinion," Jas said.
"Then perhaps you should ask," a woman's voice said.
Out of the shadows behind them stepped five more alu-fiends. Eight more appeared in the doorway through which they'd been spying.
Jas and Holly whirled back to back with their swords drawn. Joel slapped himself in the forehead. "How could I forget? Alu-fiends communicate telepathically. All this time our prisoner has been screaming for help."
Their former alu-fiend captive smiled at Joel and said, "Perhaps we will let you live a little while longer."
Holly grabbed the alu-fiend around the neck and, using her as a shield, advanced on the line of fiends blocking their exit.
Joel put his hand on Jas's arm. "The wish," he reminded her.
Jas nodded. She held out the sword Winnie had given her and announced, "I wish Holly, Joel, Emilo, and I were back in Tymora's garden in Brightwater."
The alu-fiends and the dark halls of the Blood Tor faded around them, to be replaced by flowers and sunshine. Holly found herself without an alu-fiend for a shield and her sword pointed at Finder's nose. Joel's god sat on a wooden bench beside the uprooted birch tree. Finder's eyebrow rose in amusement.
"Finder!" the paladin gasped.
"Welcome to Brightwater, Holly Harrowslough," Finder greeted her, "but I don't really need a shave," he joked, carefully pushing the paladin's curved blade away from his face.
Holly lowered her weapon, bowed her head, and said, "Excuse me, Lord Finder."
"One day in Morning Glory and suddenly I'm 'Lord' Finder. Just call me Finder, Holly," the god said.
The paladin looked up at Joel's god. "Not all gods are as informal as you," she pointed out.
"Not all gods are as reckless as I am," Finder replied, reminding the paladin of how she had chided him on her god's behalf the last time they had met.
"None of the gods are as reckless as you," Selune reprimanded. "Stop taunting the girl for having good manners, Finder. We have more important things to discuss."
Holly whirled to address the speaker, but when she beheld Selune, she fell speechless.
"Yes," the goddess said, as if in answer to Holly's unspoken question. "I am Selune. Sit down, paladin. We need to decide what is to be done next."
Selune sat on the bench beside Finder and Holly. Joel and Jas sat on the ground at the gods' feet. Emilo paced behind them.
"Beshaba wasn't at the Blood Tor," the kender reported excitedly. "The winged lady said she went to-"
"Gehenna. Yes, we know," Finder said. "Just as Selune said we would be, she and I were aware of everything occurring in the Blood Tor as soon as Joel arrived. Including what was going on in Beshaba's court."
"That's a really neat trick," Emilo said. "You never need to get a letter to know what's going on in your friends' lives, do you? But it must make it hard for them to surprise you. For birthdays and such."
"I am constantly surprised by what's in their hearts," Finder said, smiling at Joel.
"We don't know if the alu-fiend was telling the truth about the attack," Jas said.
"She was," Finder replied. "We sensed the attack on Beshaba."
"Where's Tymora?" Jas asked, having suddenly noticed that the goddess was not in the garden.
"Her minions have taken her someplace to keep her safe. It is probably best that you do not know where for now," Selune explained.
Jas looked down at the ground. "It's because I have the dark stalker in me, isn't it?" she asked.
"No," Finder said, lifting Jas's chin in the cup of his hand so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "It's because if you choose to travel to Gehenna, Iyachtu's minions might be able to read it inside your mind."
"So you're sure the hydroloths that attacked Beshaba were sent by Iyachtu Xvim?" Joel asked.
"That isn't something we could really tell," Finder explained. "Though Beshaba did curse his name before she fled her realm."
"If Xvim is behind this, then why did Tymora sense Beshaba instead of Xvim?" Joel asked. "And if Xvim is draining both of them, why did Tymora fall unconscious while Beshaba was able to teleport away?"
"As to the first question, we do not know," Selune answered. "As to the second… either Xvim started draining Tymora's power first or else Beshaba had more power in reserve. Tymora is extremely free with her gifts. She has endowed a number of items with her power and shared them with adventurers. She also gives out power keys to her priests who travel the planes. She has even lent her power to her ally gods and their priests. Beshaba, on the other hand, tends to hoard her power. She grants her priests their spells and spends a small portion of her power getting even with mortals who neglect her when they make large offerings to Tymora. It appears that Beshaba is indeed losing control of her power. In addition to the earthquake in her own realm, she is causing a good deal of destruction granting boons to some of her wo
rshipers on your world."
"But if we do another reconnaissance into Gehenna, you and Finder can sense what Xvim is up to, right?" Emilo asked.
Selune shot a disapproving glance at the eager kender. "Know this," she said. "When you arrived on the Blood Tor, Beshaba surely sensed your presence. You were simply not sufficiently interesting for her to take particular notice. She was intent on a story being told to her concerning the Sensates of Sigil. Eventually, she presumed, one of the many evil creatures who live on the surface of the mountain would dine on your flesh. If Beshaba had sensed you approaching an entrance to her underground fortress, she would have dispatched someone to destroy you. But she was forced to flee her realm to keep it from collapsing around her followers and petitioners. Had she been present, you would never have made it to her lower temple, let alone her court. We have no reason to expect you will be that lucky in Gehenna. Xvim trusts no one."
"But won't he be preoccupied with Beshaba?" Joel asked.
"If she is not already drained and unconscious," Finder said. "Furthermore, there is the question of Sirrion's involvement."
"Sirrion?" Holly asked with a start.
"Sirrion is a god of neutrality who dwells in Limbo," Finder explained to the paladin. "A power meant to balance good and evil in the world of Krynn, where Emilo is from. The manifestation he sent to speak with Emilo said it was interested in protecting Emilo. If that is true, why? Is he the reason Emilo appeared in Sigil? The powers of the Realms have had few dealings with the powers of Krynn thus far. Sirrion may have reason to involve himself in this affair, but if Iyachtu is using a god from an alien pantheon for some scheme against Tymora and Beshaba, he is violating the compact the powers of the Outer Planes have agreed upon. Beshaba may not have left Gehenna yet because Sirrion challenged her there. She is more powerful than Iyachtu Xvim, but Sirrion is her equal in power."
"All this is speculation," Joel said. "If we go to Gehenna, you'll have more information."
"The Blood Tor wasn't the worst the Abyss had to offer, and Gehenna is worse than the Abyss," Finder warned. "The Bastion of Hate, Xvim's realm, is perched on Chamada, the second mount of Gehenna. The land itself is violent. It gushes, bleeds, and seeps molten rock from every crack and pore. There is no flat place on the outer slope to rest, and the inner canyons are home to the shapeshifting barghests, the deadly gas phiuhl, the razor-winged slasrath, and the yugoloths, the most evil creatures known to the Outer Planes. Iyachtu hires yugoloths as mercenaries."
Joel listened carefully and nodded. "I presume, like the Abyss, the nature of Gehenna will weaken my ability to cast priestly spells."
"He learns fast," a voice said from behind them. It was Tymora's priestess, Winnie, with two human servants carrying a large rolled carpet.
Finder nodded in response to Joel's comment. "I will have to pour more power into the finder's stone," he explained, holding out his hand to take the stone from his priest. Once again he siphoned blue energy into the crystal. He handed the stone back to Joel. "Even now, with the stone as powerful as I dare make it, you will be able to cast only the simplest of your priestly spells."
At Winnie's signal, the human servants set the carpet down on the ground and unrolled it. The carpet was woven into a geometric pattern of red and gold.
"This flying carpet will keep your feet off the burning ground," the priestess of Tymora explained. "These rings," she added as she handed each of the four adventurers a silver ring, "are to help protect you from fire, should you get careless and fall off the flying carpet. The carpet's command word is "Airheart." Once it's off the ground, you need to tell it aloud which way to go, how fast, and how high."
"I would suggest you let Mr. Haversack take command of the carpet," Finder said. "He's less likely to be attacked and will have the best control."
"Why is he less likely to be attacked?" Holly asked. "I've observed that when Mr. Haversack isn't speaking, he tends to go unnoticed," Finder said. "Perhaps he can tell you why."
Holly looked at the kender.
Emilo shrugged. "We can't all stand out in a crowd," he said.
Odd words, Joel thought, coming from someone dressed in blue pants and shirt, a red vest, and an orange cloak. Remembering Finder's observation that Emilo had come to them under highly mysterious circumstances, the bard exchanged a glance with his god. Finder shook his head slightly, warning Joel not to question the kender further. The god still wasn't prepared to interfere with whoever or whatever had sent Emilo their way.
Joel changed the subject before Holly could pursue the subject of Emilo's background. "There was one other thing. I had a dream about Giogi Wyvernspur's children and their cousins," he told Finder. "I think they may be in trouble."
Selune tched. "If it weren't for Tymora's Luck," the goddess murmured, "that whole family would have died out years ago, even with my blessing. Present company included," she added, with a nod toward Finder. "I will look into it. Finder is busy helping Tymora's church."
Winnie loaded fresh water flasks and food into the backpacks, then began pulling out certain scrolls and replacing them with others. "Some of these spells will be useless in Gehenna," the halfling priestess explained, "while others that would not work in the Abyss will be effective in Gehenna."
Finder handed each adventurer a tiny harp carved from wood, "If you snap the harp in half and say 'Fermata,' you'll be returned instantly to my realm. With the harps, all of you do not have to return together, but if one of you is seriously injured or captured, you can escape."
"We have not exaggerated the dangers. None of you has to make this journey," Selune said. "There is no shame in remaining behind."
Jas looked at Holly and asked, "Are you sure Lathander would wish you to take this risk?"
"I was told to find Beshaba," Holly replied. "Just as Finder can sense Joel, Lord Lathander can sense all I do. If he wished me to abandon my quest, he would send a messenger to tell me so. He has not. I will go to Gehenna, whatever the risk."
"Jasmine, you are in the most danger from being in Xvim's realm. He considers you a runaway slave," Selune pointed out.
"Nothing's changed," Jas said. "Realmspace is still in danger of losing Tymora's Luck and Tymora and Beshaba losing control of their power."
"We're all of one mind," Joel said.
"Very well," Selune said. "I can create a portal to the second mount of Gehenna, but it has been some time since any of my followers ventured into Gehenna, so I'm not sure where Iyachtu Xvim's realm is. The portal could be some distance away from the Bastion of Hate. It doesn't matter. Once you have entered Gehenna, I'll be able to sense what is happening in Xvim's realm. Finder will contact you with further instructions after I have assessed the situation."
"You'll want to ride the carpet through the portal," Winnie explained. "Don't fly too high above the sides of the mountain or you could become lost. The mountain is surrounded by a dark, cold void that only the most holy lights or evil eyes can penetrate."
"There's one other thing that might help you," Finder said. "As Selune mentioned, when you arrived at the Blood Tor, Beshaba was listening to a report about the activities of the Sensates of Sigil. The report was given by Beshaba's newest priestess… someone you already know."
"Oh, no," Holly whispered. "Not Walinda?"
Finder nodded.
Jas cursed softly under her breath.
"When Beshaba teleported away, she took Walinda with her," Finder explained. "Since you know Walinda, you could use the finder's stone to track her and, presumably, to discover the whereabouts of her new mistress."
Jas's eyes narrowed. Walinda had tortured and murdered her spacejamming crew. Jas had sworn vengeance on the priestess, but Walinda had been under the protection of a banelich. Now she was under the protection of a goddess. It didn't matter. Jas would look for some way to get at the evil priestess.
"Let's go," the winged woman said in a gruff voice.
The adventurers seated themselves on the magic carpet, their
backpacks beside them. Selune motioned with her hand and another portal opened up.
The stench of sulfur and a smell like burnt human hair wafted from the planar opening. Inside the portal, it was very dark. Then suddenly a fountain of burning rock sprayed upward, lighting a barren slope. The Abyss seemed almost cheery compared to Gehenna.
"Airheart," Emilo announced as if the command word had been trying to burst from his lips all this while. The flying carpet rose several feet off the ground. "Forward," the kender ordered.
"Slowly," Joel prompted.
"Slowly," Emilo added with a sigh.
The flying carpet passed from Brightwater through the portal into the darkness of Gehenna.
Joel turned for one last look through the portal at Tymora's garden. The light from the opening shone like a star, then winked out suddenly as the portal closed.
"Back away from the slope five feet," Emilo ordered the carpet, "and remain in place."
The carpet hovered, not actually above the ground, but beside a steep mountain slope glowing with hot magma. It felt as if they were standing beside an open oven. No doubt it would have felt worse were they not wearing the rings Winnie had given them to protect them from fire.
As always in a new plane, Jas's wings had taken on a new form, the most unusual Joel had seen so far. Her wings had joined into a triangular sheet of black flesh, with the apex of the triangle hovering over her head while the other two corners fell downward in loose folds like a bridal train. When Jas stiffened the single wing, it fanned out to either side some ten feet. The flesh glittered with an oozy secretion. Jas let the wing droop about her ankles, then looked at it with disgust and sighed.
Joel pulled out the finder's stone and thought of Walinda. He had no trouble recalling her admittedly attractive features. Joel suspected she was far older than he, but some magic kept her looking young. She had long, silky black hair and dark eyes. Blood-red tattoos decorated her high cheekbones. She wasn't particularly tall, but very slender and very graceful. It was the way Walinda made Joel feel, however, that came more readily to mind.
