The Soulstone - A BG2 Spin-Off from 2002...

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So I was going though some of my old computer stuff, and I came across an old backup CD that was labeled "Game Stuff 2002". On it I found several patches, walkthoughs, etc...but I also found an old story I wrote. It's a spin-off of BG2. The writing is not very good, and it's nowhere near being finished...and it probably never will be...but I though I'd post it anyway for old time's sake.

The Soulstone

***********

It was just after eight in the morning when Kitrax awoke. His face slightly damp from the morning dew, he wiped his eyes and rolled over to find his lover, Aerie, still sleeping. This was one of the first nights she was able to sleep through the entire night without having a horrible nightmare of her past. He usually finds her awake trembling with fear, but this morning she is sleeping peacefully. He did not want to disrupt her, so he quietly rolled out of bed and crept out of the room he had rented at the inn.

He walked across the hall to the other room he had rented for the other two members of his party. He quietly knocked on the door, which creaked open slightly. Imoen, Kitrax’s half-sister, opened it the rest of the way. She had just taken a bath, and was only wearing an oversized grey tunic. There was water still dripping from her bright red hair, and she began to shiver from the cold air coming down the hallway.

“How soon will you and Jaheria be ready?” He asked.

“She’s been ready for the past hour. After gettin’ up, she left and went down to the tavern…to talk to one of her friends, a druid I think.”

“Ah, that must be Cernd. She spoke of him yesterday; he might have some useful information about where to find Sharlaxx, and possibly Irenicus.” He paused, and then snapped, “And what about you? Will we be forced to take on the road late again because of your morning ‘routine’?”

“Nah, all I have to do is throw on my gear and I’ll be set. You and yours might take awhile though, seeing as how you just woke up. Where is she anyway?” She said jokingly.

“She actually slept through the night…I thought it best not to wake her. That reminds me, keep your voice down!” He whispered loudly as he pushed Imoen back in to the room, closing the door in her face.

It opened immediately afterwards followed by Imoen throwing a wet cloth at him. It hit him right in the face and fell in to his hands.

“Thanks,” he joked, “I needed to wash my face anyway!”

He returned to his room and closed the door behind him quietly, tossing the cloth on to the table. He turned around to find Aerie awake, silently watching him. Her warm elvish eyes were admiring him as he stood there for a second, and watched him walk over to her. He bent over and kissed her on the lips, and sat down beside her. She sat up and flopped across his lap, looking up at him. He brushed his long muscular fingers through her golden blond hair, moving it away from the front of her face.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Mmmm, perfectly! I haven’t slept so well in a fortnight…and you?” she said with a yawn.

“Good enough, though I would have liked it to last a while longer.”

He put his arm behind her and sat her upright. She pulled his head toward hers and kissed him. Kissing back, he stood up, taking her with him. Their lips parted, and she flopped back down on the bed.

“Come, we must be getting ready.” he explained, as he tossed on his tunic and fastened his belt.

“I know. Just give me a second longer.” She said falling backward.

“Aye. I will be down in the tavern if you need me.” He said as he attached his sword to the belt.

“I’ll be down shortly.” She yawned as Kitrax opened the door to leave.

Downstairs, the tavern was already full of people eating, drinking, and talking. No one paid any attention to him as he walked past the tables. He spotted Jaheria the same time she and Cernd saw him. She motioned at him, and he nodded his head as he turned towards them. He was well greeted by Cernd as he sat.

“How do thee fare this beautiful morn, Kitrax?” Cernd questioned.

“Just fine. And you?”

“I am well, considering the circumstances.” Cernd replied.

“Yes, well I thank you for meeting us here.”

“Enough with the small talk, lets just get down to business already!” Jaheria snapped.

“As you wish,” Cernd said, “Kitrax, I know of the stone you and your friends seek. I first heard of it a few months ago. The story has changed quite a bit since then, but one thing has always stayed the same: those who posses the stone, and who seeks it--”

“Irenicus!” Kitrax shouted as he slammed his fist on the table.

The entire tavern suddenly became silent, and all eyes fell on Kitrax. Every person in the tavern knew that name, it is synonymous with the most pure evil. The silence didn’t last for long though as the patrons quickly went back to what they were doing.

~~~~

Irenicus is the only mortal known to have joined forces with Demigorgon, the Prince of Demons. Several thousand years ago, Demigorgon was imprisoned by the Gods for the total annihilation of every living, good aligned, creature on a plane that no longer exists. The gods were forced to destroy it because of the taint that was seeping in to every neighboring plane. Not all of it was destroyed though. Demigorgon’s throne couldn’t be damaged, and thus, it was decided to be used as his prison. His physical form was sealed within his throne; his tainted soul however was kept safe with the gods themselves.

The throne-plane drifted through the void untouched for over a millennium due to powerful protective spells cast upon it by three Gods: Amunator, Baal, and Rillifane. Each had a different kind of protection to offer, and so they were chosen by Ao. The protection spells faded when Baal and Amunator died. With Rillifane as the only god protecting it, Demigorgon was able to call out for help to anyone that could hear. Irenicus, seeing his chance to get even with Rillifane, for casting him out of Elven society, seized the opportunity. Being a powerful spellcaster, he was able to pierce a small enough hole in the protection spell, that he could teleport inside, but still not be detected by Rillifane. The two decided on a plan that would free Demigorgon, and make Irenicus something like a god himself, powerful enough to take on Rillifane and probably win. To free Demigorgon though, Irenicus would either have to get Demigorgon’s soul, or another’s that would be able to thrive within Demigorgon. The soul of a god, or godling would fit the bill. Irenicus had one such being in mind…Kitrax.

Baal, one of the protectors of the throne-plane had spread his seed across the prime material plane during the Time of Troubles, and as such, Kitrax was born. More powerful than most of his half brothers and sisters, Irenicus thought Kitrax as the perfect ‘donor’. During the night Irenicus’ henchmen captured Kitrax and drug his badly beaten body to Irenicus. Through a long and tedious ritual, he stole Kitrax’s divine soul and placed it within a magical crystal shard that became known as the Soulstone. Once he had Kitrax’s soul, all Irenicus had to do was teleport back to Demigorgon’s prison with it to free him. But Rillifane had learned of the portal that Irenicus had built to teleport in to the prison, and it was destroyed.

Rillifane sent a small army of celestials, mainly Solars and Archons, to retrieve the Soulstone from Irenicus. Several of them did not even make it into the depths of Irenicus’ dungeon, due to his army of henchmen, traps, and monsters he kept in his dungeon. When the Celestial army met up with him, a massive battle erupted. So large in fact, that a portion of the city above the dungeon was destroyed during one of the many magical explosions. In the end, Irenicus fled, and the Soulstone was recovered by the few remaining celestials. It was given to a group of six holly paladins, to be taken to a forgotten altar of Baal so it could be destroyed, letting Kitrax slowly waste away from the inside out. It was a choice the gods decided was best for all creation, save for Kitrax and his loved ones; but that was a price the Gods were willing to pay. Kitrax however had devised a plan to not only get his divine soul back, but also to seal Demigorgon inside the prison for all eternity, as well as punish Irenicus for his crimes.

His plan required powerful magic, and even divine intervention…but it was doable, with the help of Sharlaxx, a lich who used to be a high priest of Baal. Once Kitrax retrieved the Soulstone from the paladins he would bring it to Sharlaxx. The lich would use his ancient magics to remove all but an unnoticeable fraction of Kitrax’s soul from it and place a fraction of his own inside. Finally it would require Rillafane to seal Irenicus’ essence inside the stone. The stone itself would become a prison for Irenicus and the two fractions of Kitrax’s and Sharlaxx’s sould would bear enough of Baal’s essence to reinforce Baal’s protection on Demigorgon’s Throne Plane. The reinforcement of Baal’s protection spells on the Throne-Plane would last forever so long as the Soulstone remained untouched – hidden – within Demigorgon’s prison.

~~~~

Jaheira slapped her forehead and shook it. “Would you please keep quiet! We don’t need any unneeded attention!”

“I would agree. I am taking a great risk by being here…there are sever Shadow Druids that wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if they were to spot me. I still have much to do in this life, and I am not yet ready to give my Self to nature just yet.” Cernd said looking behind his back.

Kitrax slid back in to his seat. “I’m sorry. But-“

“It is understandable. I hate to think of what it must feel like to have your soul stolen as it was.” Jaheira cut off.

“Let’s just gets back to business.” Kitrax snapped.

Cernd nodded, “As you would have it. As I said, I know those who posses the Soulstone. They are paladins of Helm based in the city of Westgate…which is where they were heading. But there is not an altar of Baal there. It is written that Cyric personally destroyed that altar, and made sure that most others were to.”

“But if that is true, then why are they going to Westgate?” Kitrax questioned.

“They are going to get the sacred hammer that they must use to destroy the Soulstone. Once they have it, they will take a long journey across Faerûn. I have…acquired a copy of the map they are using. Their entire journey has been planned out. They follow a trail to the south of the Sea of Fallen Stars, to the City of the Dead, which is just west of the Dragonsword Mountains. There is an altar of Baal within the city, untouched by Cyric.”

“We are most fortunate that the paladins must go such a distance Kitrax, we will surely have enough time to catch up to them!” Jaheira boasted.

Clearing his throat, Cernd pulled out his copy of the paladin’s map. “True enough, though you would be chasing them across the face of Faerûn for most of the time. What I would suggest is an ambush. And I know of just the perfect place for one.” He unfolded the map on the table and pointed to the Tethyrian city of Saradush. The paladins had drawn a line of the trails they would be following and not only did the line go right through Saradush, there was a note next to the city that reminded the paladins that they should take a days rest within the safety of the city.

“An excellent idea Cernd! If we leave today, we can make it to Saradush at least 2 days before them!” Kitrax said with a smile on his face.

“Aye, but there is one problem, if the pass through the Snowflake Mountains is closed off by snow, then they will surly take the road that goes between the Orsraun and the Deepwing Mountains to the city of Hlondeth, where they could be ferried across the Vilhon Reach to the city of Arrabar. From there they would meet up with their proposed rout following the Road of Dust.” Cernd said tracing his finger along the map. “As you can see, if the pass is closed, your only hope would be to out run them to the port city of Innarlith. I have sent a runner to the town of Riatavin to see if the pass is closed yet, as well as get any other relevant information. He is to meet you somewhere in between Riatavin and Brost to give you the information you require. His name Eldoth by the way. If the pass is closed, you will have to delay rest as much as possible until you reach Innarlith, if you hope to catch up with them.

“That presents a problem…but I thank you for the geography lesson, although it was unneeded…I know those parts like the back of my hand.” Kitrax sarcastically remarked.

“Do you now?” Jaheria questioned. “I don’t remember you ever mentioning that you were ever in the land of Tethyr.”

“I may have been sheltered while I was growing up in Candlekeep, but Gorion traveled that rout a lot, and I was with him one more than one occasion.”

Jaheria nodded, “I see. I’m sorry to have pried.”

“Not a problem Jaheira.” He turned his gaze back to Cernd, “I think you fro this information, we shall leave as soon as possible to meet this Eldoh of yours.”

~~~~

A man whistled across the tavern, by a nearby table full of peasants followed suit. Kitrax glanced over to see Aerie and Imoen walking down the stairs together.

“This should be interesting.” Jaheira mumbled to Cernd.

As the two women walked through the tavern towards the table where Kitrax and the others were sitting, a man reached out and put his hand on Aerie’s waist, pulling her backward and on to his lap. He used his other hand of try to pull her head near his puckering lips. She slapped him across the face and squirmed out of his grasp, while Imoen drew her sword, keeping the others at bay.

Aerie moved a few paces away and cast a Hold Person spell on the man who grabbed her. To the man’s horror, he could not move as Aerie kicked him squarely in the crotch.

Every man watching suddenly let out some sort of moan. Feeling content with the situation, Imoen sheathed her sword, and the two women proceeded to the table.

“Heh heh, you two never cease to amaze me with the attention you bring towards yourselves!” Jaheira joked.

“Yes, well be that as it may, we are ready to go when you are.” Aerie said as she sat next to Kitrax, placing her slender hand on his leg under the table.

Imoen looked at Cernd and then to Jaheira and said, “Yeah, we would have been down earlier to join you for this little meeting of yours, but Aerie decided to hide my clean under-things while I was still bathing!”

“W-What! I never--” Aerie started to reply. Her face turned bright red as everyone eys at the table fell on her.

“Oh you know I’m kidding…geeze!” Imoen laughed as she patted Aerie’s back.

Cernd rose and said, “Well, that was most entertaining, but I must take my leave of you and your party Kitrax, the sun is high in the sky, and I have other matters I must see to this day. Fare thee well Kitrax!” And with that he moved across the tavern, past the man still held by Aerie’s spell, and out the door.

Aerie turned to Kitrax, “So, did he have the information you need. W-Will we be able to stop the paladins from destroying the stone?”

“Yes my love. If everything goes as planned, we will be able to stop them…and if we set out now, we will have a better chance too.” Kitrax replied to his wife.

“So what are we waiting for?” Imoen remarked.

Kitrax turned to her and jokingly said, “You of course!”

“Ha! The joke’s on you, I’m all ready!” She snapped back.

“Is that so? Then why are you still standing around doing nothing, when you should be upstairs getting you pack ready to go, and making sure you have all your gear in order? I don’t want to have to make an unnecessary 4 hour trip back once you realize that you forgot your ring of protection I gave you!”

“Imoen put her hands on her hips and said, “You aren’t going to let me live that one down are you?

“No! Now get you butt upstairs!”

“Fine!” she said as she slapped Kitrax’s shoulder. Jaheira and Aerie couldn’t resist any longer as Imoen turned towards the stairs and let out a little laugh.

***********

So there it is...untouched for 6-7 years. After reading it, I saw several errors and some things that need to be changed to improve the continuity of the story/setting...but it is what it is.

Also, if you'd like some more stuff I wrote back in the day, check out my blog entry, Return to Menzoberranzan.