Tymora's Luck - Kate Novak [37]
"My ability to sense things is even more powerful than Finder's. I am aware of what occurs around the worshipers of my allies as well as my own worshipers," Tymora explained. "Lathander is one of my allies," she explained.
"You know all this from Holly?" Jas realized aloud.
And from me, Joel realized silently. Since Finder was also an ally of Tymora's, the goddess would sense things that happened to Finder's worshipers.
"I know you're here to rid yourself of the dark stalker. But since Holly wasn't with you when the priests of Xvim captured you, I don't know how they came to transform you," Tymora said.
Jas stared into the darkness for several moments without replying. Then she sighed and began. "The priests of Iyachtu Xvim gave me a choice-die or agree to be transformed into a dark stalker. I let them transform me. Then they sent me to Sigil to hunt down Walinda, Joel, and Holly. The priests told me once I killed someone, the transformation would be complete and I would be able to sense the power of my prey. But I didn't want to kill anyone. Except Walinda."
"So you attacked Walinda, and Holly got in the way, and you thought you'd killed her. Is that the first time you sensed the dark stalker in you?" Tymora asked.
Jas closed her eyes, trying to remember back. "I think so, yes."
"Even though you hadn't killed anyone yet?" Tymora asked.
"If Holly's friend Bors hadn't healed her, Holly would have died," Jas insisted.
"When the priests of Iyachtu Xvim transformed you, how did they do it?"
"They used a spell," Jas said.
"A mage spell or a priest spell?" Tymora asked.
"A mage spell. They had this crazy wizard with them. He kept tearing off his clothes and throwing fireballs at monsters that only he could see. He talked to himself and to people who weren't there. Just being near him was scary. They told me not to resist when he cast his spell. If I didn't transform, then they'd kill me." Jas shrugged. "Maybe I resisted a little, and that's why I could partially control the transformation by keeping calm."
Tymora exchanged a glance with Finder.
"I managed to transform Jasmine back to her true form," Finder explained, "but she can still sense the dark stalker within her."
"I see," Tymora said. Her brow furrowed with concern.
"But I suspect that since you're a far greater power than Iyachtu Xvim, you should have no trouble removing the curse from her soul," Finder said to Tymora.
The goddess raised an eyebrow. "Indeed," she replied.
At that moment, the halfling priestess, Winnie, appeared, followed by two human servants carrying trays of food and drink.
"Winnie, your timing is excellent, as always," Tymora said. "Jasmine, drink some of the wine; it will make the ordeal to come easier to bear." The goddess stood up. "Winnie, Finder, I need to have a word with both of you," she said. She led the halfling and the god some distance away from the bench beneath the birch tree.
The human servants set the trays of wine and food on the bench beside Jas, then left without a word.
Jas looked at the wine as if it might be poisoned. Joel laughed. He stood up and filled three goblets. He sampled the drink and sighed. "Only the finest, as my grandfather used to say." He handed goblet to Jas. "To your happiness, lady," he said.
Jas took a swallow from the goblet as if it were filled with water. A moment later she gasped and her eyes grew round. "It is good," she whispered.
Told you so," Joel said. He turned around with a goblet for Emilo, but the kender wasn't there. "Where did Emilo go?"
Jas looked about her, but not with much effort. "Don't know," she said. She took another deep swallow from her goblet, then held it out to Joel. "More, please," she requested.
Joel looked at the winged woman with surprise. He'd never seen her drink anything stronger than ale, and then she always nursed her drink carefully. It was possible that the quality of the wine was behind her current lack of self-restraint, but the bard suspected it had more to do with her anxiety. He filled her goblet halfway. Jas took another long swallow.
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