Within (BG2)

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I needed a new outlet for my meanderings and hope SP is what I'm looking for. This is based on the Anomen romance and no longer than a few months after the events in ToB.

There might be more, I'm not sure though. I'm waiting for Chapters to get the second book of the avatar trilogy so I can get more information. The book company is re-issuing them with different covers, which means I have to wait.

Comments are welcome, either here or via pm. Enjoy and thanks for reading.

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Within

By Kuemper (c) 2005


Anomen Delryn cautiously slipped from the arms of his wife, taking a moment to pause as she shifted in her sleep. She curled onto her side and hugged his pillow, remaining undisturbed by his departure. He padded across a short distance to his robe crumpled on the floor and eased the worn fabric around his muscular body. He knotted the sash twice and checked his wife again as a precaution. Her breathing was deep and even, her purring snore barely audible. He brushed a finger against her silken face and marveled at his fortune of marriage.

He'd been lost before Nessa Rose came into his life last year. Before then, he was a simple, directionless squire in the Radiant Heart. His brash and bragging ways earned him more than his share of harsh glares from other warriors and his lack of courtly skills removed him from the ladies' drawing rooms as well. The first words he'd spoken to the pretty half-elf were burned deeply in his memory: "Fair lady, what brings you to this cesspool of corruption?" The courage he found to accost her in the Copper Coronet still amazed him, yet, once he laid eyes on her, there was an instant connection that fired his blood.

Smiling smugly, Anomen reassured himself that all was well with Nessa. He crept quietly from the shared chamber and made his way to the room he refered to as 'the weapons locker'. It was a small room situated just off the library where all the weapons they'd gathered lay in wait. Many were magical in nature, with rich histories that fascinated the two of them. He'd wielded many in his training, although he continually found himself drawn to a war hammer with a golden glow.

He walked into the room and headed straight for his prefered melee instruments. He lifted his favorite hammer from its place and straddled a nearby bench. The muted, yellowish glow cast harsh shadows upon his face as he checked the shaft for any damage. The weapon was perfectly fine to his eyes, so he gathered a soft cloth and started polishing the metal head. They background behind this particular object struck a cord in him. "Ashideena," he whispered to himself. Anomen felt there was no higher sign of absolute devotion than what Dergat Wiltoon did for his bride by calling his weapon her name.

No candles were lit, so Anomen had no judge of how much time he spent here before hearing a muted cry. His head jerked upward and his calloused fingers tightened on the hammer's shaft. He stood up and quickly left the room, casting what he could as he stalked toward his bedroom. He listened at the closed door, hearing deep-throated, unrecognizable mumblings along with Nessa Rose's lilting replies. "No," he heard her groan repeatedly.

With his body sheathed in a white halo and Ashideena in his right hand, he pushed open the door. The chamber was empty, save for himself and his wife. Nessa lay still sleeping amongst tangled sheets, her shift soaked with sweat as she fought through a nightmare. The scene filled his gut with a familiar distain. The dreams had returned to once more torment his love. He'd thought them banished when the solar remade Nessa into a mortal being, buried in the ruins of the throne of blood.

He hurried to her side and bent over her twisted form. He placed a palm against her forehead, the heat searing his flesh before he could escape. "Nessa," he called. He swallowed through the haze of pain and gave her shoulder a firm shake to wake her. "Nessa Rose, it's Anomen. Wake up, please." His rumbling voice edged into a childish plea as he kept up his attempts to break her slumber. As a final resort and hating himself for it, he slapped her cheeks brusquely and his brown eyes widened at the result.

Her eyes popped open. Their normal hazel color was gone, replaced by a reddish stain that caused chills to dance along his spine. The knowledge that this was no longer his loving wife tore through Anomen. Reflexively, he raised his weapon to strike. She grabbed his wrist in a painful grip. The delicate bones crunched together under the new-found strength in her muscles. She spoke, a voice echoing a refrain from the past, "You. Will. Learn."

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Sweat beaded on Anomen's face over the excruciating pain in his wrist. The healings his now normal wife cast on the injured appendage mended the fractured bones, but the sorrowful tears which fell against his skin brought forth his guilt. He's been too young to protect his mother, too wrapped up in escaping his violent father to protect Moira and, now, too absorbed in himself to protect his wife. "I should not have gone with the knights to battle in Sembia," he mumbled to himself.

Nessa Rose's sharp hearing picked up on his grumbling. She peered into his eyes and saw the hurt in them. "Anomen, no," she whispered and gathered her husband against herself, taking care not to jolt his wrist. She kneeled up, kissed the
crown of his head and brushed a few stray locks into place. "This had nothing to do with you. Nothing."

"These mysterious dreams you had were finished months ago," he argued, his tone growing stoic with each word. Nessa bit back a small smile at this. "I have been beside you every second of the day and night and there has been nothing to
disturb your sleep. Then Sir Ryan asked me to join the campaign in Sembia." He drew away to stand and gingerly tested the strength of his wrist, slowly arcing the joint in circles. "When will this torment cease? How much longer must we battle your heritage before we are allowed the live in peace?"

"Hush." She gracefully found her feet and approached him. Her fingers soothed the wrinkled from his forehead and straightened the thick whiskers adorning his cheeks and chin. "Raving about a problem does nothing to solve it. We will work this out as we always have - together. As for these nightmares of mine, they never truly stopped." Anomen's face registered surprise. She shrugged with a half-smile in response. "Most of them were just visions of twisted, bloody places. Frankly, I'd gotten used to them coming to me that I never thought it strange that they remained. This was the first in a long while where the voice
spoke to me and manifested itself."

She hugged him tightly, finding solace in his embrace.

"I understand your need to protect me, Ani, and your frustration at not being able to do just that," she continued her speech as she rubbed circles on his back. Her ministrations were doing their job; his tense muscles gradually relaxed. "I feel the same when you go off to do business for the Order. Frankly, I've gotten used to being by your side that any separation is difficult."

Anomen set her away from him and gave her an imposing look. "You're coddling me, my lady, which is typically followed by a scheme you'd rather I was not party to." Nessa has the grace to blush when the comment struck home. She nodded like
a guilty child caught. He gripped her dainty chin lightly and tipped her face so he could read it better. Once again, this feature hid little from him. The small pucker between her green eyes, the chewed lip and the sheen of unshed tears: all
were signs of her lying and rarely noticed by others. "What of us working this out together?"

A sigh escaped her lungs. "You know me too well, Lord Delryn," she answered in a playful voice. "I don't want you hurt if my plan doesn't work." She moved away, walking across to one of the windows overlooking the garden she'd planted after
they'd been told the news of Lord Cor's death. The mind-numbing task of digging dirt gave her husband something to pour his anger into. Nature knew and forgave, drawing him into another passion. It may have been her idea of what to plant and proper maintenance, but Anomen zealously seized control of how things should be done. He'd even taken the initiative and built an enclosure in the middle to
house a dozen crimson rhodelias. Now, those special flowers drew her eye. The pre-dawn shafts of light glinted off the luscious flowers, dew glistening upon the leaves. "I'm traveling to Waterdeep this morning. I may have found a way to
end this."

Glancing over a shoulder, she committed to memory this knight of her heart. "I don't like the fact that you'll be with me. There's an even chance of my dying as living."

"Then I will be with you, Nessa," he answered. "Tell me what you need me to do as we pack."

She smiled and began the long tale of her latest discoveries as the pair gathered up what clothing and gear they thought necessary. "I found that facts can be more telling than prophecies. I decided to tackle this from another angle - poison." Anomen cocked a dark brow at this revelation. "From what I was able to glean, the basic story is that Cyric slew Bhaal at Boarskyr Bridge and Bhaal fell into the Winding Water River, forever poisoning it. As we both know, there are ways to counteract poison."

He sucked in a breath and halted. "Yes, I can see this, yet, how do you cleanse an entire river? It is impossible." He brushed a finger along her cheek. "Even for one as talented as yourself, my lady."

"Well, thank you. But it won't be just me; there'll be the five of us."

"Five?"

Nessa ticked off on her fingers, "You, me obviously, Imoen, Sarevok and Veikeg."

"Who?"

"Veikeg, the man who 'jumped' in Trademeet and I helped 'jump' out of Saradush?" Anomen nodded in husbandly agreement. "Anyway, those three plus myself are the only children of Bhaal still around that I know about. Somehow, the four of us being or working together feels...right. I can't explain it better than that." She shook head. Whenever she thought of the Bhaalspawn working together, there
grew a niggling worm in her brain which brought forth the memory of when Irenicus stripped her soul. The dream Imoen mentioned 'together we can battle your instinct'. Trembling, she pushed it aside and focused herself on the task at hand. "As you said, my plan is to cleanse the water of any poison and taint. I've written to many druidic people throughout the Realms and received many
responses concerning what we're about to do. It's not impossible, merely unachieved. No one's attempted to purify so much water without discovering and destroying the source. As Khalid was fond of saying, 'I can, but try.'"

"And if this doesn't work?" She shrugged in reply. "Ahh, it will be what it is, I suppose," Anomen stated with a gusty sigh as he tied up his filled pack. Dawn filtered through the room as they dressed for travel and shouldered their
knapsacks. They held hands while walking downstairs to the foyer, each differing in thinking. Anomen once again pondered the idea of a child with his ladylove while Nessa reviewed her betrayal of her knight.

In the main hall, they parted ways, allowing Anomen a brief moment of privacy with his sister's ashes. Nessa gripped her quarterstaff so hard her knuckles turned white. She heard a shortened cry of surprise, followed by a scuffle and several minutes of silence. A cloaked figure and a man armored in black materialized from thin air. "Is he secure?" Nessa asked in a choked voice.

"Questioning my competence, sister?" came the sarcastic reply from Sarevok. "He'll heal, if that's what's bothering you." He adjusted his spiked gauntlet, drawing Nessa's eyes to the fresh spatters of blood decorating the metal and
leather.

A familiar hand touched her shoulder and the hood fell back as Imoen spoke. "Hey, knighty boy is alright. I made sure Sari didn't smack him around too much before we tied him up."

Sarevok growled, "Don't refer to me with that silly nickname, brat, or it'll be your blood on my hand."

Nessa stepped between her two siblings, placing a hand on her brother's broad, armored chest. "Calm down. Where's Veikeg? Outside?" Imoen nodded. "Good, good. Time to get this over with."
She cast her pale eyes at the room where her husband lay helpless. "The sooner I can get back to my life, the happier I'll be."

As the trio exited the Delryn estate, Sarevok muttered in Nessa's ear, "Still planning on procreating with that pompous prig, sister dear? You can do much, much better than a righteous braggart with an inferiority complex." His warm
breath caressed her skin in a sensual manner.

Her movements were quick. She grasped his throat with her bare hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "Don't make me kill you a third time, *Sari*."

"Would you two knock it off, already? Geesh, I can't take you guys anywhere," Imoen grumbled. Nessa released her brother and they moved to opposites sides of Imoen. She gestured to a patch of shadows nearby. "He's over there." As they
approached, a slender young man stepped from the darkness and joined their party. "Good ta see ya, Veiky. Ready for a quick trip to the City of Splendors?" The others murmured their agreement and gathered closely around their magically
inclined sister. Imoen uttered an incantation with her eyes shut in fierce concentration. The air around the group shimmered with powerful magic as she cast a spell of instant teleportation.

The four reappeared on Boarskyr Bridge as planned. Nessa jerked her head at Sarevok. He stalked down to the bank and removed a stoppered vial from his belt. He dipped the open neck into the spoiled water, watching it fill while taking care to keep his fingers safe. When the vial was full, he tapped the cork back in and returned to the group. He handed the bottle to Veikeg, whose hands shook
with fear. The lone bard darted looks amongst his 'family' and found the courage to steel himself. "I'll be fine," he told them, tamping down the urge to flee.

"Good, then Immy and I will start in the marshes and work our way back here. About two hours I think."

"Don't I get a good-bye kiss first?" Sarevok demanded with a smug grin and a wink, enjoying the fact he could rile his tree-hugging sister so easily. 'If only,' he thought.

"In your dreams," Nessa retorted with a look of disgust.

"And that, my dearest sister, is quite the dilemma." Imoen managed to finish her casting before Nessa could reply to her brother's parting shot. The two women vanished and remained gone for the full, preset, two hours. During this time,
the two men kept an eye on the murky river water for any signs of change. Nothing looked to be happening on the surface. Leaning against the stone rail, he removed his helm and face Veikeg. "Why do you sacrifice yourself?"

The bard jerked. "I-I don't know, really. I guess for a chance to be normal and not jump at the first sign of trouble." He toyed with the vial in his hands. "I'm about ready to try anything."

The air shimmered at the end of the bridge, signaling the return of the ladies. Nessa glanced at Sarevok for confirmation. "Anything different here? The rest of the water did nothing except for a change in color." She walked to his side and
peeked over the railing down at the river for a clue. Sarevok grumbled in a negative way. "I best go down and test it myself."

He gripped her arm and held her back. "I'll go with you then."

"You ain't leaving me up here with Leap Frog," Imoen argued and quickly followed the pair to the bank. Veikeg trailed behind, continually eyeing the vial in his hands. Nessa knelt in the crusted mud, breathed deeply and thrust a hand into the water. "Well? Anything creepy going on in there? Skin peeling away and stuff?" She pulled it out and everyone looked hard at it. Her hand was the same as before. Imoen fiddled with her fancy cloak. "Oh, yeah, great. Good ta see you fine and dandy."

"Next thing to do is to taste it." Nessa Rose dipped a cupped hand and gathered some water. She brought it to her lips and, with a grimace, swallowed most of it. Both Sarevok and Imoen protested too late. "It's okay. Nothing's happened."

"Yet," growled Sarevok.

She rolled her eyes as she stood up. "Point taken, Sari. We'll wait for a bit."

"We could wait at the nearest inn," he replied and brushed his mouth close to her ear. "Or any private spot, sister. I'll gladly keep an eye on you." Nessa shoved him away and he chuckled.

Veikeg started to shift in place during this exchange and Imoen noticed. "Heya, I think Leap Frog is getting ants in his pants."

"I'm sorry. I just can't help myself!" Veikeg whined. He popped out the cork and tipped the vial's opening to his lips. The contents slide into his mouth and down his throat. He started to choke, dropping the glass bottle to the ground.
He clutched his stomach with both hands, groaning.

Nessa shot a glance at her sister. "It could be the poison doing this." She strode over to the sick bard to administer healing. Sarevok reached for her and jerked her back against his body. She huffed at the impact of flesh meeting metal, yet didn't struggle to break free. She fought her instinct to offer aid and urged herself to wait for a sign. "We need to see his face," she whispered. "Anomen mentioned how my eyes turned red when..."

The big man nodded and barked, "Miserable worm! Face me if you've got the guts!" Veikeg's head shot up at the taunting words and the trio gazed into the eyes of someone they never wanted to meet.

Their father.


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Finis
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Okay, all done now. Sorry for the two-parter bit. I wrote the first half, got stuck (due to lack of information grumble) and finally got the rest written up. It doesn't end how I intended, simple because I can't get my grubby hands on the complete Avatar series. Also, there isn't enough information in the D&D books I have about Bhaal's life, Tablets of Fate, etc. It's sort of like only knowing Lee Harvey Oswald shot John Kennedy. Erase everything about the second gunman theories, Jackie's pink dress and all other relevant details.

Anyway, hope more than two people read this. Sorry for the occasional offsetting lines. I can't figure out how to write in Wordpad, edit in Word, save as '.txt without line breaks', copy, review here, edit lines (again), review a third time and finally post. Why can my husband do it and not me?

 

I like it. I particularly like the way you handled Sarevok and Imoen. But Finis? Bhaal is back.

 

Finis as in end of story. I'm used to writing like I do for ASSM and like to let people reading that this is is 'complete'.

I tried to play Imoen as close to her character as possible - the silly nicknames. Sarevok just came out that way. He seemed like a guy who loved power and why not be attracted to the person who beat him *twice*.

Strangely, my inspiration for both Sarevok and Anomen was Chevalier (his comments on relationships).

 

Yes, I see Sarevok the way you portrayed him.

But I still question Finis. Bhaal is back and so we have a new beginning!. The true BG III...

 

Hey, I figured if Bane and Myrkul did it...

 

It's a good read, kuemper.

The interaction between the characters (esp. Immy) is very entertaining. I really must play through BG2 someday...