Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [23]
"One of our own has fallen," the tattooed man announced. "We cannot wait for the others. We must perform the ritual before Illasera's essence is lost."
In perfect unison the three lifted their arms to the crumbling roof of Bhaal's abandoned temple. Eyes locked on the floor, and their voices rose up in an ancient chant muffled by the hoods still drawn over their faces and the heavy, dank air of Bhaal's shrine. Words of power tumbled from their lips, and the sputtering flames of the pit in the center of the room flared, arcing to the ceiling in response to the spell.
Heat erupted from the sudden inferno as leaping tongues of fire touched the corners of the room, bathing the gloomy temple in a blazing orange light. Insects and vermin foolish enough to have crept into the deserted ruin were incinerated, consumed by the burning intensity of a dead god's magic unleashed by the Five.
Yet amidst the conflagration the three figures stood unharmed, protected by the sacred words of their dark litany. Oblivious to the heat and flame, they continued the ancient ritual that had been passed down to them by the Anointed One-and passed down to the Anointed One by Bhaal himself.
The stench of death rolled out from the pit at the center of the room. Beneath the shooting flames the embers began to broil and churn. A banshee's wail split the night, the tortured shriek of spirits drawn to the accursed shrine of Bhaal by the irresistible necromancy of the Five. Like wisps of smoke, the souls of the newly dead rose up from the pit.
At first they were but a few, wafting to the ceiling singly or in pairs, but as the incantation deepened, their numbers became legion. Ghosts who had not yet passed to the realms beyond the material world, apparitions of those who were barred from their promised afterlife, phantoms of people so recently deceased they were not even aware of their own demise. The fire in the pit-the fire of Bhaal, the fire of the Abyss-consumed them all, obliterating their existence, incinerating them, feeding itself on their essence until only the echo of their agonized screams remained.
As suddenly as the ritual had begun, it was over. The scorching heat and blazing light vanished, replaced once more by the damp cold and oppressive shadows of the abandoned Temple. The rising flames sputtered and winked out, leaving only the embers burning as feebly as the last vestiges of a dead god's presence on the world.
"Illasera was not there." Despite her efforts, the drow could not keep her voice from betraying her surprise and confusion.
"The Huntress had slain many of Bhaal's children," the reptilian one ventured. "Without the others, without the Anointed One, we may lack the strength to summon the essence of one as powerful as Illasera."
"No, the ritual had power, the failure is not ours. Illasera's essence is… gone." The tattooed man spoke slowly, as if he was still pondering the implications of the statement he was making. "Someone else has swallowed her soul."
"Gorion'sss ward hasss grown too ssstrong!" The voice of the scaled man was barely intelligible. His tongue flickered in and out with suppressed rage, and his words were nearly lost in an angry hiss.
"We should have dealt with him long ago," the drow replied, her own voice husky with anger and fear.
"That fool's fate is sealed," the tattooed man assured them, though his own voice was shaky. "The Anointed One is leading him into certain death. We will seize the taint of Bhaal from the dying soul of Gorion's ward and reclaim the essence of Illasera for our immortal master."
The failed ritual had shaken the tattooed man. Like the Five, he was angry, confused, and afraid. He spoke with an explicit recklessness he would have shunned under normal circumstances. "Bhaal's Anointed has assured me that Abdel Adrian will meet his end at Saradush!"
* * * * *
Bhaal's Anointed, favored servant of the Lord of Murder, awoke from the nightmare bathed in sweat, biting back screams of