Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [44]
"I could have told you this tale," Sarevok answered slowly, "but would any of you have believed me?"
The silence of Abdel and his companions was answer enough.
"Whatever the circumstances of your arrival, I am glad you are here now," Melissan said solemnly. "From what Sarevok has told me, you may be the only one who can save us from the army outside. They are led by a warrior named Yaga Shura."
"Yaga Shura?" For some reason, Abdel felt the name signified more than the leader of an army. The name had power within it.
"Yaga Shura is one of the Five," Melissan explained. "Like you, he is a child of Bhaal. Like you, he burns with the essence of your immortal father.
"Abdel," Melissan whispered, "you can save us from Yaga Shura."
Abdel honestly didn't know what he was going to do. He was drowning in the flood of information Melissan had poured forth. Her tale ran through his head in bits and pieces as he tried to bring some order to the chaos within his own mind.
"This is madness," Jaheira insisted. "This cannot be the way to free yourself from Bhaal's taint! More bloodshed is not the answer."
Dozens of Bhaalspawn had been slaughtered by the armies who secretly and unknowingly served the Five, and countless more had been killed in the riots and panic the Five had sown across Faerun. The children of Bhaal had fled in terror, seeking a savior, seeking sanctuary. They found Melissan.
Or rather, Melissan found them, and she led them all to Saradush.
"We can avoid this battle, Abdel," Imoen said, adding her support to Jaheira's sentiment. "I found a way to sneak us into this town, big brother, and I can find a way to sneak us out."
Many of the Bhaalspawn who followed Melissan were lowly commoners, everyday folk swept up in a storm they could never have imagined. If these were the only ones who had sought sanctuary in Saradush, perhaps Melissan could have succeeded in hiding them. Perhaps she could have kept them safe.
But others had come: powerful, influential figures, political and military leaders-even a high-ranking general in the army of Calimshan. When Gromnir and a company of his loyal troops marched to Saradush and demanded sanctuary, the predatory eyes of the Five were drawn with them.
"If you do not stand and fight now, the Five will hunt you across the entire face of Faerun, Abdel," Melissan cautioned him, her words much more calm and rational than the impassioned pleas of Jaheira and Imoen.
The town officials had ordered Gromnir and his troops to move on. They would not allow a foreign army to take up residence within their walls. Melissan had changed their minds, and they opened the gates and offered Gromnir the same sanctuary they had granted to all his less famous kin.
"They are drawn to your tainted blood, Abdel," Melissan continued. "Eventually they will find you-eventually you will have to fight. All you can do is choose the time and place of your battle. Why not choose here and now?"
Gromnir and his men had seized control of the town, ousting the civilian rulers under pretense of being better able to prepare Saradush for the hostile army that was only a few days march away, the army led by Yaga Shura, the army led by one of the Five.
The Saradush militia might have resisted the coup and the people could have taken up arms against the invading Calimshan general and his small band of troops. But the townsfolk were more afraid of the approaching soldiers of Yaga Shura and their savage efforts to wipe out the children of Bhaal.
Yaga Shura's army was a juggernaut, crushing everything in its path, leaving a wake of ravaged cities and burning corpses. So the people of Saradush endured the presence of Gromnir and his men, because it gave them the best chance to survive the coming onslaught and the inevitable siege that was to come.
"I have yet to meet an opponent who can best me in single combat," Abdel said, attempting to reassure his half-elf lover. "You have seen it: My wounds regenerate instantly."
"If you undertake this task you must not be overconfident,'' Melissan warned him. "No one knows