Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

[Crystal Keep, Cloud Peak Mountains]

The fiery woman finally topples the magical Frost Giant, letting out a sight of relief. She bends down to pick up something the giant dropped then straightens herself back up.

And then it come.

Out of the blue, without any thought of knowing, the cantation for a Bigsby's Grasping Hand. The Genasi barely had enough time to spin around.

Caught in death's clutches.

She can't move, she can't do anything but eye her attacker. It's a woman, one she's even seen before. One she's had conversations with, even dance lessons with! Oh how Nari wants to call out, to understand what is going on, why this is happening, but nothing. She can only become the target for magical Missile Storms.

Pelted again and again, unrelenting the missiles teamed with the Grasping Hand maul the fiery woman. The hand finally lets go and Nari drops to the ground, utterly battered and on the verge of death. Her attacker approaches slowly and quietly, giving Nari a last look of the person who brought her demise. It was that person. The sorceress with whom she's chatted with by the fire, shared lessons with and more.

The woman looks down on Nari and speaks softly, "I'm sorry...I didn't want it to come to this..."

Nari looks back up to the woman with her tormented, pained eyes. She finally had the power for words one last time and uses them like so,
"It...it...will...be alright."

Nari's final living action was giving her murderer a kind, soft smile. Her final regret is not being able to tell everyone that she loved them and cherished all they've done for her. Not being able to tell Gareut that she loved him or a "goodbye".

She gave into her wounds, alone in the cold.

It is as she said though, it will be alright. She'll get to see her mother after all.

The woman's body still lies lifeless in the same place where it was left, the cold, icy floor of the Frost Giant's keep.

[ LAKE WENG ]

It was a morning like Randall likes them. Dark clouds in the sky, a bit of wind that blows on the lasting embers in the campfire, the roaring growls of thunder. It was calm, peacefull. Near the lake Weng, that's where she made her camp. Where she used to stay, when traveling to Amn to seek employment when things weren't great in Baldurs or Nashkel. But this time, it wasn't the purpose of her presence. Since a few days from now, she's been watching the surroundings of the lake, to make sure that no one would come back to that cave she went in a few days ago with somes hooded people.

"Erh.. Seems no ones came back here. I should go back to Candlekeep to see if thoses.. scholars found something on that foggy beast."

The tall woman cooked a piece of a wierd bird she killed the night before, and ate a bit before gathering her gears and put on her spiked plate. She then headed to go trough the mountain, by the ice passage. Suddently, the sky became a bit darker, and the wind started to blow with more ferocity. The woman wasn't the kind to wear hoods, but when the wind got into her ears, she wished she had one. The visibility was very poor, as the snow started to fall. She couldn't even hear her own footsteps.

"Damnit ! As much as I don't like it, I need to find a shelter, erh.. Damned snow, damned gods who controls it !"


[ ICE KEEP ]

Walking a few moments in that blizzard, the woman finally percieve a big form a bit further. She remembered the place. The Ice Keep. Last time she's been in there, it was with her friends Cirkus and Nari, when they had killed their leader, and a few blue dragons. The woman thought that perhaps the place would be safe, unless the keep would have been seized by some other monsters, or people. But anyway, it was probably safer, out of that blizzard where she wouldn't be able to see or hear any giant wolfs or polar bears. She then headed in, and opened the door, closing it behind her, as she sat a moment, laying her back on it to keep it close.

"Hey there, ol' Mel. I met yer nephew the other day, eh.. That damned kel is always the same."

After talking a bit with an immobile squelleton sitting near a pillar, the woman went a bit further inside the keep. Surprisingly, there was somes giant bodies laying on the frozen ground, freshly killed. After inspecting the bodies, Randall went to inspect the area, to take care of any threats there could be. As he went in the throne room. the woman noticed a bumb on the ground, with some blood nears it. A bump covered by a thin layer of snow. After reaching it, the tall woman kneeled near it and started to wipe off the snow. A pale blue face, frozen, smiling, then appeared.

"No.."

Some tears rolled down the woman's cheeks, as she recognized her. It was Nari. She growled, then her head rested on the dead woman a few moments as she cried, petting the white hair with her hand.

"It's not.. yer time.. Nari. There must be somethin'.. somethin' I can do."

Randall did her best to take off Nari from the ice, trying to do it softly. She then lifted her, and looked at her dead body.

"The holy ones.. right.. They'll be able to help her."


[ NASHKEL / TRADEWAY ]

The woman went out of the keep, with the fire genasis in her arms. She braved the blizzard, not without some troubles, and finally got down the icy mountain pass, to the hills near Nashkel. She walked trough the small town, without looking much at the people who stared at her, carrying the body, and she headed north on the tradeway. Near Candlekeep, the thought of the temple of Ogmha came to her mind, but she decided to bring Nari to Baldurs instead. As much as she disliked the order of priest and paladins there, she knew that Nari would feels better if they were the ones who would be surrounding her if something could be done to bring her back to the world of the living.

"I.. need to bring her to the temple."


[ BALDUR'S GATE ]


Walking trough the merchant camp, she didn't stop much to explain the situation at the fist guardsmens. But they were used to that, with the number of harmed adventurers in that region. Randall reached the temple of Torm, felt on her knees in front of the door, extenued.

"I need help.. someone.."

"Why did she have to say that?"
Narasida walked out of the keep, slowly with still shaking hands, she knew she could walk slowly, she had followed Nari all the way, watched over her as she killed all the giants...waited until she could strike safely, she knew she acted coward, in some way she always did.

Memories of the past came up to her, that one incident with Misti and how it was hunting her, how Misti's revenge was following her even after Misti was gone for so long.
"You will get the punishment you deserve, witch" it had been long ago, a night when they were all coming for her, it was already the 6th or 7th paladin who threatened her on Mistis behalf. A wrong word, being seen summoning the wrong creature and they would all be on her. Maybe not even that, maybe they would take vigilantism on her, can't trust those paladins....

And than He had been there, maybe as a sign of Shar she met him, a masked man, just a few words were needed and both knew they stood on the same side. "Come join us" he said to her "I will seal your membership with my own blood and we shall protect you from them."
It sounded like a good offer. Protection from all these aggressive fools with their false sense of superiority...

Back in the keep Narasida walked faster, she knew no one would come here the next hours, chances were low...she just couldn't stand the walls anymore, this was not what she had planned...not Nari....

She always wanted to learn dancing, her mother...her first one before Shar never taught her, she was just all about helping people...when she heard about dancing lessons at the White Mask Theatre she run immedietly, she could have stood above Mistis unconscious body and would have immedietly turned around to not miss anything.
Afterwards she so much wished for everyone who shared that lessons with her to see as a friend but first Celia, now Nari... life had never given her what she wanted.

"Firehead Nari has to die by your hands, thus you shall prove your loyalty and rise within our ranks" the voice caught her by surprise, it was the masked man, she set up her best fake smile to hide how her heart was racing..."Sure, know her, will be dead" She knew protection would have a price to pay, and she knew she could not forever use that protection...this people, in her own favor without paying a price in the end...everything has a price attached to it, you just don't ever see how high it is...Narasida knew that since long ago.

Her mouth tasted like gall, that's what it tastes to vomit with nothing in the stomach, stupid diet, stupid Ivaris. She tried to tell herself that she just vomited because of the smell of the giants dung, as she was close to Nashkel already, but she knew it wasn't true, she had collected that countless times for that stupid Imp...she had killed so many and felt so few, but it was different to kill someone whom she didn't want to, to kill someone she wanted to be friends with..the next load came up...stupid dance lessons, stupid Ivaris stupid Nari...stupid Narasida

She had immediately recognized the Firehead, she followed her once before, but stumbled into a large group of people talking hostile to some peaceful Orcs...oh how happy she was secretly to have lost Nari after listening to the dispute. But today was different..no excuses, it was Nari and it was her to kill that Firehead, her price to pay for all the swords and magic she could unleash upon her enemies if needed. "Maybe the contract isn't valid anymore...maybe i should turn around...and check that....maybe i...i could talk to Nari about the dancing lessons...those were fun...maybe i can tell her to run and never return..." but she knew it wasn't true, she knew what to do...she would follow Nari, observe her, her strengths, her weaknesses and...that was her chance, that frost giant just dispelled her, her back was turned her..the back, just like with mo-...it went all so fast, she had done it countless times with other creatures...but this time, she felt no better to let someone else suffer in her place...watching her die to confirm her death was more like a torture to her than a relief..she should say somthing..anything.. "I'm sorry...I didn't want it to come to this..." was all she got out...and that stupid Firehead was even pitting her...now..."It...it...will...be alright."

That was the last load, her mouth tasted like gall, her knees felt weak, she was thankful she could turn invisible while she approached Nashkel, wouldn't want people to see her like this...but still..before entering the small city she stopped, closed her eyes, set up her best smile.... "It will all have been worth it in the end...it..will all have been worth it....in the end"

As Randallona falls in front of the door at the Temple of Torm the door opens. Aethor steps through the doorway and looks down at Randall and Nari. His eyes widen as he notices Nari's condition. Without even looking at Randall he takes his glove off and kneels down. He presses two fingers to an area at the edge of her mandible leading into her neck. No life pulses through her arteries.

Aethor looks up at Randall as he fishes through his pack, searching for a white rod.

"Randall....Who did this...?" The words seem to come through his teeth, the anger rather apparent.

Before Randallona even has a chance to respond to his question, he pulls the white rod from his pack and points it at Nari. Closing his eyes and whispering a short prayer under his breath, the rod flashes and a small beam of white light erupts from the end of the rod and into Nari's body.

He looks back up at Randall, his face having grown stern in between the point at which he looked away from Randall and used the rod.

[Temple of Torm]

The glowing light.

The woman shoots her eyes open with a large gasping for air and the light enters her, color slowly starts to return to her face as her heart starts to beat faster and faster, blood soon starts flowing through her body again.

Breath comes slowly to her once more as her chest rises and falls softly with each one's passing.

Nari's blurred, newly restored eyes finally look up to the rescuer holding her in her arms. A smile slowly rises on her face as she rests her head on Randy's shoulder. In her dazed, newly risen state, she can't help but misinterpret what is going on around her. She slowly uses her recovering strength to put her arms around poor Randy's neck.

"I just knew you would save me, Gareut...I knew it..." She pipes up softly as she closes her eyes again momentarily.

Poor Randy and Aethor. She hasn't even realized Aethor's standing right there as well and that -he- was the one who brought her back to the living realm. However thoughts and cognition are slowly coming back to her, so it won't be long until the situation mends itself.

[ TEMPLE OF TORM ]

"I.. found her like this.. In the ice keep.."

The extenued woman, still holding Nari, lets out a sigh of relief as she sees the life coming back into the fire genasi. Randall didn't want her to stay in the other world. She has so much more to do in this one. It was a wierd feeling for the usually meany woman, to fear the lost of a friend, and she didn't knew how to deal with it.

"I just knew you would save me, Gareut...I knew it..."

Randall smiled, but inside she felt a bit of sorrow. But it was normal, after all. Who would think that the beast would even think about bringing someone into such place as a temple, and ask holy ones for help? She carried Nari to a bench, then layed her down softly. The tall woman then reached her backpack, and took out the blanket she used when camping in the wild, she put it under Nari's head and patted the genasi's hair a moment.

"Rest.. Ye'r safe now. Ye'r with friends."

The woman then looked at Aethor and nodded.

"Thanks." She let out a sighs as she took her backpack and put it on her shoulder.

"There was no livin' soul near her body.. Quite strange, I had no giants to kill or anythin'. Ye'll.. keep her safe, right ? Let her believe what she want. I'll.. go back outside, I'd be a nuisance here."

Randall then walked at the door, glanced at Nari and waited a few seconds before she finally opened the door.