Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [19]
"He claims he has changed. He claims the taint of Bhaal has been purged from his soul. I think…" Abdel had to pause, and collect his breath before he could continue. "I think he could show me how to do the same."
Lowering her eyes to the ground, Jaheira shook her head in a mute rejection of Abdel's request. Abdel reached out and cupped her chin in his enormous palm and brought her head up until he could look into her eyes. She was crying.
The death of Khalid had brought Abdel and Jaheira together, and the big man knew the guilt and grief over the circumstances of her husband's death still ached in Jaheira's mind. He had always been careful never to press her, never to force her to try and reconcile the contradiction of their love being the result of such a tragedy. Now he was asking Jaheira to forgive the man who had killed her husband for the sake of the man that had taken Khalid's place in her heart. No matter how intensely Abdel longed to free himself from Bhaal's taint, he had no right to put the woman he loved in this position.
Disgusted at his own selfishness, Abdel released her chin and turned away. "I'm sorry, Jaheira. I should never have asked. I will not speak of this again."
* * * * *
Jaheira knew the fight with the wolves and the archer had drained the energy of the three companions. Once the rush of the battle had worn off they would be even more exhausted than they had been when she had demanded they stop to rest earlier in the night. Despite the unease the druid felt within the now-corrupted nature of the clearing, it would be foolish to travel onward.
Abdel might have slain the archer, but they all knew there were many, many more enemies hunting them down. Their days of running were far from over. She would have to send Imoen to seek out more of the mint leaves she had gathered earlier-the ones in her pouch had been spoiled by the spell.
"You must venture beyond the edges of the dead trees," Jaheira explained to the younger woman. "You will need to find fresh, living vegetation." She pressed a single dead leaf into the small hand of the girl. "Like this, but bright green."
Imoen nodded, her eyes still bright with the rush of the recent encounter. "Don't worry, I'll make sure I stay well hidden."
With Abdel's half sister gone, Jaheira could now turn her attention to her lover's wounded arm. She had seen the remarkable regenerative powers of Abdel's body many times over the past months. Injuries that would have crippled or even killed a normal man had barely even slowed the giant warrior down. Even during the fight with the wolves he had sustained grave wounds that had vanished almost instantly. For some reason the arrows of the archer had torn his flesh, rending it in such a way that it would not heal.
"Those arrows," she explained to Abdel as she bandaged his arm and whispered a simple spell to aid the healing process, "were marked with powerful runes and sigils. It is almost as if this woman knew of your ability and knew how to counteract it."
Abdel winced slightly at the touch of her soft hands on the sensitive under-layer of his flesh. "Perhaps there are other Bhaalspawn like me, ones with special powers because of Bhaal's blood. Maybe some of them were captured and experimented on until a weakness was found."
Jaheira nodded. "That may be true, my love. There may indeed be others who share your lineage who have been blessed with similar regenerative powers."
"Blessed?" Abdel muttered in soft surprise. "Nothing of Bhaal's taint is a blessing."
She finished wrapping his arm in silence, mulling over his words. What right did she have to deny him a chance to free himself from the curse of his blood? If there was a chance for Abdel and Imoen, she reminded herself, to escape the awful legacy of the Lord of Murder, how could she stand in their way?
"How must it be done?" she whispered, knowing Abdel would understand her meaning.
The big man shifted his position to gaze in her eyes. Jaheira hoped he could see her steadfast resolution in them. In Abdel's