Here it is. I am currently having some sick things going at school - a party for the third-years, many tests and an English competition, so I barely had any time to write. Still, I managed to finish this chapter where we, for the first time, see the very Neverwinter GAMES clash.

Oh, and don't you worry; The squad from the Underdark will be coming back, it's just they aren't coming to the surface... at least not yet.

The word count is just below 10 000

Enjoy !!!


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Chapter IX
The Stubborn Paladin

How long was it since he battled Baravar in his fortress ?
How long was he fighting in the name of Valsharess being rewarded only with the title of her “chosen” and a single show of “affection” ?
About a fortnight, probably.

But yet, finally, here it was – the drow forces were crawling their way to the surface world, leaving the Underdark behind. Valsharess was just making some last touches with her commanders, also leaving his most important… hindrances, the rest of the Red Triumvirate, behind to ensure Underdark remains under HER control in the time she spends on the surface.
Though, he wondered what were her actual reasons for coming to the surface with him.
Did she want to spent some time alone with him ? Or did she just want to control his
actions ?
Or did she fear his betrayal, too ?
Because it wouldn’t be too much of a profit for her to leave Underdark. If she’d spend too much time outside it, she would probably have to find a place on the surface to move Samael into as well.
Speaking of which, the fiend was really giving him creeps. His stare was always so penetrating like if he saw things invisible to others, even though Valsharess’ claimed that she would be able to block any attempt to penetrate anybody’s thoughts made by him. Despite this, the devil never made a single mistake – he was able to tell about how the enemies would react, or make quite good theories about HIS own actions.
Not to mention leaving the Underdark in someone’s else’s hands, even her own cousin’s, was risky and troublesome.
Speaking of which, he despised her cousin. The bitch seemed incredibly power-hungry, not open to any form of reason, completely set in her matriarchal view of the world and a total racist. She had a valuable trait of being loyal to Sinvyl, but he was capable of completely overlooking that in favor of recognizing her as annoying, bothersome, and to some extent, a danger to him. Phaere was never a cleric of Lloth – because of some family issues she was denied the position. Since the beginning she was trained as an assassin and this led to her current ability as well as long-held status as the Chosen of Valsharess and nominal leader of the Red Triumvirate. Also, soon after Valsharess summoned and bound Samael, she was granted warlock powers, which she probably planned to use to compliment and enhance her assassination abilities. Those traits made her a dangerous opponent – he was glad to get rid of her, at least for now.
Because, in the end, humans were not suited to be players in the drow’s political games.


Ilivarra was also a bother, but of a different kind. He always recognized her as being somewhat psychotic and far too battle-hungry, but now he had to cope with the fact that she had another facet to her personality as well, one she tried to hide, and that part of her personality has grown attached to him in a bizarre way. Ever since that unusual moment they had in Baravar’s fortress, he was unsure about how she would act. She was a drow, so she might as well backstab him for seeing her weaker side and acting like he did. Or she might become clingy and attempt to… become intimate with him again, which, if it would happen, might pretty much meant that at least one of them was dead and the other one screwed up once Valsharess would find out.
Either way, though in battle she was just as useful as before, he preferred to have her way from himself rather than close by. At least for now. Even if she was more able to develop a human-like feeling than Valsharess was, it would be risky.
Well, and Valsharess was the hotter one. She had both power and beauty, and he came to appreciate her mind as well. She was incredibly ambitious, but being able to see things in a wide spectrum and analyze them carefully, she knew pretty well how much she could advance her power in a set amount of time. Thus, while always expecting top performance from her underlings, she never demanded something completely unreasonable.

In his case, her ability to look forward somehow translated into a degree of protectiveness. She was apparently saving him for tougher things on the surface rather than in the Underdark and after the fight with Baravar, he wasn’t really exploited that much.
This annoyed him to some degree, but only until he heard he was being send to the surface. And my, where they were going to emerge ! In the Sword Mountains, near the very Mount Galardrym that was famous for some battle between the dwarves and the fire giants long ago.

So even if he wouldn’t be able to outright attack Neverwinter, he would definitely come into contact with the forces of the Lords’ Alliance.
He was already thinking about how to convince Valsharess that the best course of action would be to take down a certain city first.


Valsharess was quietly considering her actions, while packing her most important belongings up.
As long as they were in the Underdark, she attempted to get an advantage over Maenaz in all possible matters. First, she tested his ability against one of the so-called deities “chosen”. Then, she seduced him. And then, while she was siphoning her new power off her archfiend, she attempted to give the warlock relatively easy missions to hamper his growth, in order to gain a safe margin of power advantage over her new favorite…
Servant ? Companion ?
He had more than a single use, that’s for sure, but an intimate relationship with that kind of being certainly felt… different. Exquisite.
The ability to bind a being of this power to herself using seduction and similar means was intoxicating, nearly as much as having an archfiend bound to her service.
Males of her own race could never be treated in such a way. He was her match, on a whole different scale than them, and she had to be careful as she ensnared him in her web.
The sort of relationship they had… was pleasant. She could tell that the rivvin was growing attached to her in a mysterious way, and she also felt a certain need to… favor him.
Despite the power balance, the state of which was an entirely new thing for her, she recognized Maenaz bore no ill will towards her, was less traitorous than her own race.
This, combined with his power, actually made her feel safe around him. Something she never experienced with other drow, perhaps with the single exception of her cousin.
She felt certain remorse about having to demote Phaere, but it was necessary. Ilivarra, on the other hand, was delighted with her “demotion” as she now got the action whenever she wanted.
Yes, her servant certainly had a wild and barbaric personality. She should’ve checked whether she had any Orogs in her family tree. Possible since Ilivarra was once only one of the younger daughters of a lesser house in her city. It would also explain her freakish height and build. Despite those negative thoughts, she valued her dark female knight. She knew her place, or at least it seemed like that.

Now, however, she had to separate herself and her newest Chosen from Samael in order to observe what would happen on the surface, how dedicated Maenaz was to revenge and exactly against what sort of enemies they would be up against should she agree to his wish of attacking Neverwinter. Luckily, they would apparently enter the surface world close to that city of his, so they’re bound to fight against it’s forces soon.
- Samael.
- Yes, great Valsharess ?
- You know what to do in any case of an attempt to grab the power made by my servants. Watch out for any attacks against Phaere. You’re the guarantee of her survival, as she is the guarantee that the power remains in my hands. You should help her develop her abilities, it would certainly help if she had more than one method of dealing with powerful enemies.
- As you wish. Anything else ?
- Don’t try anything stupid. If you fail to uphold those commands, you will meet a grievous punishment when I return.

The fiend went silent. Did he still have any hopes of getting free ? He probably was too smart for that. Perhaps Samael would simply never get used to being ordered and threatened by something which he perceived as “mortal” and “lesser being”.
No point in getting used to it anyway, actually. He probably wouldn’t be alive once she was finished with him, anyway.



The next day…

Maenaz was glad he decided to use normal routes instead of hiding his presence. Surprisingly, he met a patrol which included Greycloaks in it’s ranks, which was odd since he remembered that the ground he was walking on used to be mostly under Luskan control, not Neverwinter’s. The ways also seemed better maintained than when he traveled the area to move into Luskan’s territory.
Bad memories. It was just before she…
Frustrated, he literally ripped the Grey Cloak that attacked him apart. Blood splashed onto his armor and his newly aquired cloak, one he received from Valsharess herself.
He turned his eyes toward the leader of the patrol, a Grey Cloak who apparently possessed some minor magical items and seemed to have actually SEEN some real battle rather than just being trained by someone who did. The warlock decided not to let him show off his skills on the members of his leading unit and take him off immediately. Rushing through the battlefield like a demon covered in blood, Maenaz finished by making an inhuman leap (courtesy of his warlock powers) onto the Greycloak, smashing Enserric against a hastily-put parade.
The greycloak happened to be an adult, if not yet middle-aged half elf or quarter-elf, and the Empress’ Chosen display apparently did not went unnoticed as his opponent’s eyes widened. Fear ? Maenaz grinned and licked his teeth.
- A human ? With the drow ? Betrayer !
- It was I who was betrayed !
The greycloak and the warlock lashed out against each other, and Maenaz couldn’t help but somewhat compliment the other man’s skill. He was above an average drow of Valsharess’ army, meaning he was miles before most Greycloaks he saw.
Maenaz pulled out a bit, consciously letting the Greycloak take initiative, and his opponent immediately took “advantage” of the perceived weakness. After dodging a few attacks, Maenaz blocked a slash from the side.
- Oooohhh… An aspiring hero or what… Such…
He withstood the force the Greycloak was pushing his blade onto him with, and smirked.
- … Power…
Maenaz pushed the older fighter’s blade away and forced it downwards, effectively blocking any possibility of another attack. It was harder than he had thought, but apparently he still possessed some strength advantage over this person. Maenaz raised his right hand and energy infused with a dark gray haze was charged in it.
- Don’t worry. You had no chance from the beginning.
He fired the blast into the Grecloaks body, the blast taking the man out of the fight if not killing him. Maenaz then proceeded to helping his men slaughter the remaining humans, and moved onto the place the leader should lay.
Unexpectedly, but not displeasingly, he was still alive. Maenaz approached him and lifted him off the ground with his left hand.
- Now you’ll answer my questions, starting with giving me your name.
- Heh… You’ll kill me anyways… What’s the point.
- The name. Now.
- Thomas Coaleye. And you, traitor ?
- Ohhh, sorry, I’m too well-known in this area to give my name to somebody who may yet survive. You will learn it only in return for your life, Thomas. So, tell me… Why are you here ? The lands around here were controlled by a lord of some keep around here, and he was from Luskan last time I checked…
- The Crossroad Keep is a part of the lands of Neverwinter for months now. It’s previous lord is dead, all thanks to the work of a few.
- Few ? So, Nasher raised some fresh meat to the grinder ? Is there any word about some plan to hang or decapitate their loved ones or something ? Or is it still too early ?
- I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
- Ohhhh, I guess you may don’t know. Or don’t want to remember. What interests me more is what you DO actually know. So tell me… Is this Crossroad Keep involved with any member of the Neverwinter Nine ?
- Why should I disclose information about the most elite…
Maenaz grabbed the man’s arm with his right hand and started releasing acid onto the man’s naked skin. Thomas screamed out in pain.
- I have no time for your stubbornness ! Give me the information that I want, or your death will be very, very painful. I believe you don’t fancy acid being released into your fuckin’ insides. I’ve never met anybody who did, but if you do, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.
- The current lord of the keep is… rumored to have discarded membership of the Neverwinter Nine. So, there is no more connection.
- Discarded… Somebody had the balls to do that ? Good riddance ! But you’re not fooling anybody. It means that there definitely was and perhaps still is a connection, as you did not mention anything of the lord leaving Neverwinter’s servitude altogether.
- …
- There is a station of the Nine in this fortress, am I right ?
- There isn’t.
- You’re a bad liar.
Maenaz quickly created a wall of fire next to them and started lowering the helpless fighter’s face into it.
- Admit it ! Is there a member of the freakin’ Nine in Crossroad Keep’s walls ?
- I am not telling you anything, you psycho !
- Which means there is !

The warlock let go of the man, throwing him into the flames.
- I am Maenaz Carn’renor, the Hero of Neverwinter… and Lord Nasher’s
nightmare !
Maenaz brought Eldritch Doom down upon the Greycloak, ending Thomas’ servitude to the Crossroad Keep.
He turned to find his drow subordinates a little freaked out by his display. It was fine. They had to learn who was in charge here. Thankfully, he could handpick his first squad among the soldiers he had taken to the surface, and he left most of the females to guard the supplies that were transported in their trail, taking only two assasins and a single priestess with him. Well, having a priestess at all was a luxury, since only a few of Valsharess’ chosen servants were being powered up with cleric abilities by Samael. Lloth’s disappearance must have been a major blow to the dark elven race. The lack of females meant that the chain of command was pretty clear, and nobody tried to oppose it.
- Get your shit together. Gather the scouts. I must have a better idea about where this Crossroad Keep’s influence ends, where it is exactly, and how strong ties does it have with Neverwinter. Send some people north of the Mount Galadrym, to check if there are any places where Sin… Jalil Valsharess might station with her guards. The rest should be sent west to scout about the keep. I need to know more about it before I start bashing my forces against a spot that might be well protected and worth nothing, in the end. Oh, and if you happen to fight and defeat anyone whose armor, coat, or both has a symbol of an eye on it, bring them to me… alive if possible.
- Siyo, Sut'rinos Maenaz !

Casavir was sitting in his desk. He never dared to sit upon the Captain’s throne, despite his effective status as the Keep’s caretaker, but rather focused on how he could help improving the Keep while Xardas was away. To both Casavir’s delight and worry, the keep functioned pretty good as it was left, with Kana being able to overseer most of it together with Master Veedle (who was still rebuilding it’s parts after the attack of King of Shadows’ forces). The patrols went well under Bevil, captain’s friend, and Light of Heavens together with Katriona pretty much took care of all problems as far as Greycloaks went, though he did notice a drop in Light’s motivation since Captain left. What was worrying him was that, in this situation, he had nothing to do. His only real problem was Jalboun’s last mission. Apparently there was a small criminal group specializing in drugs that recently appeared in the area. Since Jalboun was always responsible for “special missions” he was sent to track them down and destroy them, but the group proved much of a challenge. Apparently, the Two Blades finally took them down, but most of his own Greycloaks party was killed or heavily wounded, so he robbed them of all gold and took the drug supply for himself either for fun or for money and deserted the fortress. Casavir did not wish to move Bevil or Light to special assignments without Captain’s consent and so the whole area of work was effectively either down or took by anybody who had some time. Khelgar did lend a hand with a hobgoblin group that appeared but he was far too preoccupied with his clan to become a part of the Keep once again, and Sand was stationed in the city – not that the wizard would actually let himself become an agent of the Keep actually. Zhjaeve was nowhere to be found, and so was Elanee. Neeshka left on bad terms, and it was unknown where she went. Ammon Jerro disappeared while they escaped from the Keep, but Xardas dismissed it saying that “he was alive”.
And so, the team that saved the Sword Coast from the threat of the corrupted Guardian of Illefarn was effectively separated, if not shredded to pieces.

As he was deep in thought, Katriona immediately run inside the chamber. She was obviously agitated.
- Casavir, the patrol Thomas led…
- What is it ?
- It was… lost in action. Bevil discovered a bunch of corpses clad in the Keep’s colors near the Sword Mountains. One of them was wearing the ring that is the same as the ring Thomas got from his grandmother.
Casavir raised, but his eyes were staring at the ground. Thomas was one of the men that helped him in his fight against the orcs near the Old Owl Well, before joining the Keep’s forces together with Katriona.
- May Tyr look favorably upon his soul. Any information about who did it ?
- No, but there is a report coming from Highland… apparently a well-equipped unit went nearby the town, but it clearly wasn’t their objective. What is interesting – the group definitely consisted at least partially of dark elves.
- The drow ? On the surface ? I heard words of such in Waterdeep, I thought the problem was taken care of… And now, they are here ?
Kana spoke out.
- I wonder why did they go nearby Highcliff but did not do anything about it. This force doesn’t seem to be scouting.
- Could they be they knew the area in advance ? – Casavir was getting more and more agitated about the situation. The hobgoblins were pretty bad, but the drow ?
- I’d say we scout the nearby of the Highcliff Castle. They might make a camp there, if they really know where they’re going.
- I agree. Inform the nearby patrols.

His forces were already at a small disadvantage since it was dawn already. Ironically, they needed to wait for the sunset to be able to work at full throttle. Still, Maenaz was glad to see the grass and the sun once again. Courtesy of his knowledge of these territories, they could defend themselves pretty well in the former-Highcliff-castle if it was required.
It would probably be required. He deliberately left Highcliff alone to ensure someone would be informed of them stationing here. Since the whole place was probably considered by this lord of the Crossroad Keep as part of his jurisdiction, it was nearly assured that the forces that opposed them would be those of Neverwinter. Perfect.

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- Confirmed ! The forces of the drow are stationing at the ruins of the Highcliff Castle. They probably want to avoid traveling in daylight.
- Gather all the best Greycloaks we have, and ask Bevil to go there as fast as possible. Other patrols should retreat to the Keep to ensure it’s safety.
- Yes, Sir !

Light of Heavens stood in the hall, quietly, listening to the conversation. Another attack of dark forces on these lands. Did it ever end ? Was her and her Captain’s work all in vain ?
And he… simply left.
Katriona run into her. Light raised her eyes to meet her with an apathetic, bored gaze.
- You heard, didn’t you ?
- Yes, I did.
- Are you going to help out ?
- …
- Your help would be useful. And these drow…
- I am not going. The Captain’s orders for me were pretty clear. I am supposed to stay and train Greycloaks so they can handle such matters easily. Until Captain returns, I…
- There you go with this shit again ! You might show a little initiative from time to time ! Innocents may…
- I am merely trying to serve the Keep in the best possible way.
- You’re doing nothing ! You’ve been just sulking ever since Lord Xardas left ! Even the quality of your trainees has dropped ! You’re just a sad joke, Light, a shade of the woman I believed you were ! Fine, stay here, with your stupid orders, and do nothing to help continue Captain’s work in these lands ! I am going to fight with those drow !
Katriona left. Light felt something wet on her cheek.
A tear ? She wiped it off quickly and composed herself.
It was not her fault. It was all because in the end, it was as if there was no effect to his work, and instead of finishing what he started…
This man left them to fend for themselves.


So, only a single thing remained between them and whoever held the last artifact.
A friggin’ maze.
Xardas was really annoyed. His students were growing well enough, sure, but he still needed to test them. And the best test he could give them was pitting them against whatever, in his knowledge, opposed Tymofarrar.
But instead of doing just that, they had to beat a goddamn maze !
No point in whining, though.
He set off, waving at his companions to follow him. He sure hoped they were ready for such a challenge.
They’ve all grown. Dorna was now anything but clumsy, and her will to fight was increasing. Xanos has long since left him behind as far as sorcery went, even being able to overcome his supposed disadvantage in this area – the one who he had seen as set to fail seemed pretty ready to start adventuring by himself.
But it was Mischa whose progress he wanted to observe the most. And even she seemed to surpass his expectations. She was fearless in battle, and was already pretty capable as far as casting spells went.
Now, all she needed was time. Her potential might actually lead to becoming the leading paladin of Mystra, in his eyes. He wondered – she was the most capable of Drogan’s students, but when they met he claimed she wasn’t above the others, despite their apparently bad choice of professions. Why was that ?
Well, if she had ANY weak points, for a beginning adventurer of course, he would soon enough learn about them.


Casavir had the Highcliff “castle” surrounded, and hopefully his men would prove to be up to the task of fighting these drow. He knew that he should expect they would be both skilled and battle-hardened. The orcs he battled at the Old Well months ago were strong physically, but their actual combat ability would probably be far inferior to the dark elves he was just about to fight. Not to mention the wizards… or the priestesses.
Thankfully, the probability of encountering many females on the surface was very slight.
And “skilled and battle hardened”… was inferior to him and some of his commanders.
He would protect these lands and avenge Thomas.
As expected, Bevil’s platoon had little to no problem with breaking through the initial counter-attacking wave that flew from the keep’s ravaged walls. Bevil himself was cutting the drow down like he already did it before.
Despite their common place of birth, it was still nothing like what Xardas could do.
Just in case it would be incredibly useful to have him here. But… it felt like he SHOULD be allowed a little selfishness.
It’s just things seemed harder without him.
Casavir struck down the first drow he approached. He would get through this, even with this “I’m-starting-to-get-old” body of his and even though he wasn’t, technically, the “hero of Neverwinter”.
Drow were powerful, but they weren’t… Well, dragons. Or Night Walkers. Or worse.

Katriona’s platoon and Bevil’s party were already rushing through the broken walls, when something happened.
It was just wrong, but there was a flash of light and many of Katriona’s men just collapsed. Just after the flash, there was this scary sound.
Like a black dragon’s roar mixed with a lighting and a muffled screech.
Casavir concentrated. There was a lot of heavy bad feeling in the air, coming from the drow, like a giant smog, a black haze over the old castle. In a moment, the haze started to separate into little parts. Right now he was starting to feel the drow’s hostile, malice-filled souls as separate parts, different vibrations.
Over the years he grew pretty good at this.
Then, there was a counter – attack against the Katriona’s patrol which pushed them away, and in the charge of it was a man. A human male. Not a drow.
It would explain how they knew about the castle. However, something other was exceptional about that man. Casavir rushed towards him.
Six feet tall, maybe less. Long, black, flowing hair. Thin, athletically built, but it seemed like he could handle himself in melee.
But he was wielding the powers of a warlock. Just like that man he was forced to cooperate with to destroy the King of Shadows. Jerro.
Warlock powers were problematic. He couldn’t drop his guard.

Finally, just as the man impaled another one of Katriona’s men on his sword, they finally stood face to face. The human stood just before him. Casavir finally *felt* him clearly.
He clearly wasn't benevolent in his heart, as Casavir's sharpened
divine sense warned him about this man. However, the aura he radiated... It was insane,
in a way. The level of evil feeling was rapidly changing - it switched from a mild twinge like in case of Bishop to a stunning, dreadful level above the infernal-contracts packed Ammon Jerro in just a dozen of seconds. It was difficult to read why it was that way, but currently, he could only perceive this man as a threat - one he had to deal with if these lands were to be safe.
The man looked at him. Green eyes. Good thing they weren’t some sick color. At least he was sure that before him stood a human, not a freaking demon-in-the-making.
The man’s eyes widened. He immediately recognized Casavir as someone who was above the other troops.
- The Lord Captain of the Crossroad Keep ? The Ex-Neverwinter Nine ?
- Maybe.
The man’s “aura” of evil suddenly rose to one of those ridiculously high levels, and just fell a bit. It seemed that whether he was the lord of the Keep or not had some special importance to that man, and it could have some influence on how hard he would try to dispose of him.
- Yes or no ?
- I am not going to lie to you. I am not the true Lord of the Keep, I am only taking care of it on his orders. The Captain is away, currently.
- Where is he ?
- I am under no obligation to tell…
- WHERE IS HE !
- I plan on stopping you right here. I won’t tell you because you won’t need this information, among other reasons.
- Fine, then. I’ll force it out your fucking throat along with pitiful pleas for mercy, you moron !
Maenaz lashed out immediately with Eldritch Doom, trying to finish the thing quickly. The knight, however, seemed nearly unfazed by the power of the attack and charged straight at him, to his shock. Casavir’s hammer came crashing down, with Maenaz blocking it with his blade in the last moment out of sheer reflexive response and having to support the sword’s edge with his other hand. Despite his age, it seemed that this guy was no pushover at all.
Casavir forced his way through the warlock’s strained defense by smashing his shield against the relatively thin layers of skin and metal that made his opponents armor. Maenaz immediately lost his balance and was pushed backwards, barely dodging another strike of the hammer. He immediately countered with his Astral Blade, however, but to his surprise it didn’t have enough strength to penetrate the warrior’s armor.
[Just how much fucking enhancement they put on this thing ??]
The paladin swung his warhammer and this time even his extraordinary and enhanced reflex did not save the younger man from taking damage. He immediately tried to counter by blasting the paladin in the face, but it *almost* seemed like this man could read his moves. Either that, or he had god-like reflex for his age.
Or he fought a couple of warlocks before, which seemed impossible.
Maenaz blocked another hit with the hammer and tried to practically force the blast into the armored fighter’s body, but Casavir managed to block it in the last moment. He headbutted the ex-hero of Neverwinter and went for the kill, his hammer aimed at his opponent’s head. The warlock ducked at the last moment and suddenly Casavir found himself engulfed in green flames, an incantation he met with before, as it seemed Ammon Jerro’s abilities ironically didn’t differ all that much from the ones this young human learned.
He knew better than to jump straight at the enemy who had both the ability to blast things and a seemingly strong blade laced with magic, so he instead jumped backwards. Maenaz immediately fired another Eldritch Blast, this time infused with acid, but Casavir’s shield stood strong against the attack. When the holy warrior returned to the offensive battle stance by moving his shield away, he saw something which he did not exactly expect from this opponent.
The young man made a tremendous leap above his own wall of flames, flying through the air straight at him, his hand prepared to make a deadly swing with his sword.
So exposed…
Had Casavir been five years younger, probably this tactic would prove to be a terrible failure for Maenaz, but he moved just a moment too late. The blade struck his shoulder just as the older paladin smashed his hammer against the warlock, his relatively light body flying a good couple of meters from the accumulated strength of his leap and the paladin’s strike.
Maenaz felt the taste of blood in his mouth and something cracked in his chest area, probably a broken rib or two.
He stood up, however, and spit blood to the side, regaining his composure. He absolutely and totally underestimated this old geezer. His combat ability so far was at least as good as Daelan’s while he entered his battle rage, only that this paladin worked it all out rationally and remained incredibly concentrated.
And had better equipment than his half-orc comrade ever get.
Maenaz raised his blade and immediately created a wall of flames to block out Casavir’s possible charge. They both slowly moved to the side just as Maenaz immediately created another wall of fire, which Casavir dodged. Maenaz jumped over his own flames and immediately summoned up a Beshadowed Eldritch Doom, hoping to cripple his opponent’s fighting capability as much as possible.
Still, the Paladin got out of the blast’s most destructive range, and it’s blinding capability seemed to have been overcome that time. Instead, the armored warrior quickly moved in closer and attempted another hit with his hammer – it was evaded, though. Maenaz hit did not connect either – this man definitely had an idea of how to use his shield to full effect. The warlock swept his leg against the paladin’s, making him lose balance and throwing his right arm forward, attempting to blast Casavir. The hole warrior dodged and attempted another strike as he started to fall on the ground, his ability to maintain balance clearly spent.

Casavir couldn’t help but admire his opponent’s nimbleness, which if nothing else had approached Neeshka’s level, as he just barely moved out of the strike’s range, slightly leaping off the ground. The warlock used his feet against the paladin’s body to repel himself off the ground, jumping high and speaking the words of the incantation. Casavir found himself lying in the flames, which did not exactly did wonders to his health. He attempted to roll away, which was in no way easy with his heavy armor and shield. Maenaz quickly charged up and fired another blast against the paladin, this time hitting right on the mark.
His opponent stood up despite that.
[ What the hell ?! How fucking stubborn is he ? Or… Is it his normal endurance ? Impossible !
]
Casavir quickly rushed into melee, the warlock preparing to fight him head-on. A bad decision, as it soon turned out Casavir was the more proficient in close combat. Maenaz jumped back and put a wall of flames between them to give himself some breathing space, just as the older man did something which surprised him.
He cast a spell.
An intensifying blue light immediately struck out against the warlock, it’s force pushing Maenaz onto one knee, as he felt his life force melting away by the strange spell’s power. Other than that, he felt a strange feeling. First, he felt at peace, his spirit lifted, but then, an irrational fear struck him for a moment.
Must be one of those freaking spells which’s power was based on the targets so called “morality”.
Wait, did the fact that it struck him so hard meant he was evil ?
Well, compared to those freakin’ paladins, practically everything was evil. And, to be honest, he wasn’t surprised anymore.
Casavir healed himself and continued to cast some minor strength. Maenaz recognized Bull’s Strength, meaning he HAD to avoid that hammer of his, and some low-level clerical battle-enhancement.
Maenaz himself reached deep into the source of his powers, drawing out that dark vitality, as his body started regaining his strength and his mind filled with just one purpose.
The warlock’s eyes shone as he decided to kill the fucker right there and then.


Many miles away from Highcliff…

As they entered the chamber, Xardas saw a kind of elf he did not yet see in his life.
The female mage who apparently was responsible for at least part of his troubles did in fact look like an elf, but she had barely noticeable horns coming out from the edges of her frontal skull, delicately curving onto the outsides of her forehead. Her clothing had metal reinforcements sewn into it, but it’s lightness and the fact that it exposed part of her… chest… left no doubt whatsoever that she wasn’t used to fighting in close-quarters.
Probably the reason why she had so many bodyguards.
- So, you’re the one who killed Tymofarrar. I’ve been watching you through arcane divination. I am J’Nah, a Fey’ri, and demon blood runs in my veins along with the elven. This means my magical powers are far above your petty abilities, ranger… Though I will admit that the blade you possess has piqued my curiosity. I’ll tell you the truth, I cannot let you get out of here and tell everybody about my existence. However, if you’ll give me back the artifacts and your sword willingly, I will let either you or your pathetic comrades live, whichever you prefer…
- You have no idea who are you talking to after all. Not only you think that you can defeat somebody who you’ve seen slay a dragon, but you seem to be making a mistake when it comes to recognizing my abilities. And I regret to inform you that you wouldn’t be able to use this sword anyway.
- Does that mean you refuse to accept my generous offer ?
- It means go fuck yourself. My students should take you down by themselves by now, and you don’t seem to be as big of a fish as you think you are. I’m far more interested in that mistress of yours, so I’ll give you MY generous offer. We won’t reduce you to a pile of dust if you’ll give me your artifact and tell us what this mysterious cloaked figure is up to.
- I guess I can only respond one thing to this…
- Time to die ?
- My thoughts exactly.
- Xanos, Dorna, Mischa… this fight is for you guys. I will back you up only if you’re in a real pinch, or if this idiot stubbornly attacks me.
- To Xanos, it sounds like…
- I took down a freakin’ dragon. Surely, Xanos, you’re not afraid of a little elf ? Especially with a person who killed a dragon backing you up ?
- Yeah, let’s go, Xanos. Time to put all this training to good use.
Of course, it was Mischa leading the charge.

In the Highcliff Castle, amidst the battle…

As Maenaz flew away from the strength of a blow once again, he thought just one thing.
It shouldn’t be going on like this. That’s not how their fight should proceed.
[It’s fucking impossible.]
This guy, this paladin… He withstood three uses of Eldritch Doom, even taking one of them head-on, and he still did not waver, actually so far, he was winning.
And supposedly this guy’s boss would be stronger, right ?
Supposedly there would be others in the Neverwinter Nine who might be stronger, right ?
Just who the hell was this guy to possess this level of power ?

Maenaz refused to think that they could be equal, let alone to think that this old geezer could be superior to him. He refused to resort to Dark Foresight, but at the same time knew he had to be completely serious.
- I suppose you do possess a certain amount of power. However, if you were fighting against the Lord Captain, you would be defeated soundly. And among his traveling companions there was a warlock whose powers, I believe, surpassed yours.
- Just who the hell are you ?
- My name is Casavir, and I am a paladin who has once served Neverwinter… And now I am once more in it’s service. During the war with the King of Shadows which took place on these lands, I was a traveling companion to the Lord Captain of the Crossroad Keep, who became a hero of this very city and the one who ended this war.
Maenaz stood up. Casavir couldn’t help but notice that something in the man changed. His aura of evil got even higher, and he seemed completely focused.
- A Hero… of Neverwinter ?
- I suppose I should remember about those regenerative powers. Thankfully I have my own share of extra life energy as well. And yes… My Lord is truly a Hero of Neverwinter.
Maenaz frowned.
- So foolish.
- What do you mean ?
- Nothing good comes with that title. I suppose I should tell him that once we meet… if we meet. Guess nobody warned him about the fate of those who serve Neverwinter and make great deeds in it’s name.
- I do not understand what you’re talking about, but you’ll only ever meet Lord Captain if you surrender and wait in prison for his return.
- I suppose you do not understand. I’m the same as him. Perhaps I am what he will soon become if he remains faithful to Neverwinter for too long. And I have bad news for you, paladin. I cannot let you stop me.
A wall of flames followed by a blast. Blocked. Another blast. Dodged. Casavir run to his opponent, attacking him straight away. Maenaz lightly tumbled backwards and blocked the strike, putting his hand onto the paladin’s shield. Acid begun to eat through the metal, as Maenaz dodged the strike that aimed for his head, and ducked against the last desperate blow which left Casavir quite open.
The warlock pushed his right arm against the older man’s abdomen, firing a blast straight into his body and sending him airborne. In a tremendous leap, he propelled himself higher than the falling Paladin. Eldritch energies swirled in his right hand as he prepared his left one to slash at his enemy mercilessly. Casavir barely managed to block the blast which forced him into the ground anyway, and the Astral Blade tore through his armor, a groan of pain filling the air.

Casavir tried to swing his weapon as Maenaz started jumping away from him, and he got caught on fire again. As he raised, he had to block another blast from the warlock, who started to run across the battlefield with speed that the old paladin knew he couldn’t catch up to.
It’s like the man he was pushing into desperate defense a moment ago got possessed by some Abyssal Lord. The tables were suddenly turned. Casavir waited for the moment his opponent would make one leap too much and to close, and charged. Maenaz instead jumped again, as if he was ready to meet paladin in a deadly clash. He grinned psychotically as he just barely stopped, the tip of Casavir’s hammer almost reaching him as he suddenly propelled himself backwards, jumping away from the paladin twice. The older man gathered strength for another strike, but the warlock made another inhuman jump upwards, his right arm darting out from behind him and firing a blast which Casavir blocked in the last moment. When he once again prepared to strike, the warlock was already next to him, a quick slash breaking through his defenses. Casavir tapped him with his shield, throwing him off balance, but as he was shifting to lessen the impact of his fall, the warlock fired a cone of magical acid, the liquid coming down on the paladin in a mockery of heavy rain. The substitute Captain charged against his enemy again, but to no avail – Maenaz in a moment stood on his hands and propelled himself away from the paladin, leaving a wall of fire in his wake. Recognizing the chance, Casavir run through it anyway, finally smashing the young avenger once more. It was Maenaz’s turn to growl in pain, but he was quickly on his feet, shifting his sword.
- So… you are a demon in the making after all…
- I never made a deal with a demon, paladin. And there’s no reason there would be a single demon in my bloodline. I am unique. Special.
- You may like to think of yourself like this, but ultimately, you are doomed to fall against the might of righteousness.
- More paladin bullshit. It only sounded acceptable in the mouth of a single person. An thanks to your damn city…
Maenaz’s eyes were surrounded by a thick mist, a drip of blood mixed with acid going down his cheek. It seemed almost like a tear, but Casavir knew better.
- …I will never hear that voice again.
The paladin braced himself as a mass of acid came down on him.

Maenaz was gazing in awe as the figure of the paladin still stood there when the wind swept the dust and the tiny drops of acid in the air away. His shield was now just a piece of junk and he looked terribly, but his condition was improving.
Damn Paladins and their healing abilities.
- You possess a thundering power, young one. And you terribly misuse it. But it seems to be out of bitterness… You do say some curious things. And all this begs a question… Who are you ?
- Nasher’s nightmare.
- I suppose I do have to kill you after all…
- You’ll try. Things that you’ve only seen in your worst nightmares also tried. And failed.
Casavir threw the remains of his shield away and grabbed his hammer with both hands. Maenaz fired a blast against him, but he dodged and propelled himself forward at full speed, prepared to strike his enemy down. Maenaz couldn’t help but feel anxious. This hammer could prove deadly. He pulled out more flames and prepared to blast the charging paladin, but he kept running at him.
[Insane. This dude is insane.]
He fired his blast and Casavir tried to block it with his magical warhammer. A moment of struggle ensued. Maenaz focused to give the holy warrior another bath in acid… but something was wrong.
- I… will not lose… until the Lord Captain returns !
- Die, you idiot !
Acid indeed came down. Moments before, Casavir repelled his blast. Just before his bath could send him into death’s embrace, another struck of the hammer almost send Maenaz flying. He backed off, clutching his side.


J’nah was fighting already protected by a shield of fire as Dorna and Mischa were slowly dealing with her fighters. Xanos quickly attempted to draw her attention into a magical duel, firing some enhanced magic missiles against the woman. She responded with a barrage unleashed by the means of Isaac’s Missile Storm, and proceeded to increase her magical protections.
Xardas did not bother intervening. However, she immediately used a quickening spell on her minions and tried to take down Dorna with Melph’s Acid Arrow. Xanos repeated her move attempting to draw the attention to himself again, but she instead started slowly firing Magic Missiles against the successive members of the group, staring with Xardas.
The Half-Orc got annoyed that he wasn’t recognized as the obviously biggest threat (at least in his own opinion).
- I will teach you not to underestimate Xanos !
He braced himself and fired a Scorching Ray against the older sorceress, and it seemed she got pretty annoyed.
She fired a Lighting spell perfectly, hitting Dorna first, but it was Xanos who got the most damage. He tried to retaliate, but she already got herself a Shield spell and his Magic Missile proved ineffective. J’Nah prepared another spell to finish him off, and her true power was just about to be unveiled.

- You’re joking, right ?
Casavir got up from the ground. Was it his armor that kept him alive ? Or sheer force of will ? Or did his underestimation of the paladin really run so deep ?
Regardless, the old geezer could run as well as stand. He charger against the warlock again. Maenaz quickly charged and fired a cone filled with shadow, but even as darkness claimed his sight for a moment, Casavir did not waver. Maenaz shifted into a defensive position to attempt and block the strike as the paladin swung his hammer down on him stronger than his body should be able to, putting all his physical power, the might of the Bull’s Strength, and the very holy energy that paladins used to smite the creatures of evil into one strike.
A scream tore through the air, gaining the attention of human and drow alike.
The Astral Blade broke under the pressure, the hit going through the crushed metal that only managed to change it’s course a bit. It flew down onto the Warlock’s leg.
A loud crush and for a moment they both were blinded – one by magic and one by pain.
Casavir felt a sudden rush of evil power as the warlock let his rage control him. A quick charged blast was took head-on, as Casavir started to rise his hammer again.
- Die, you piece of metal shit !
- I refuse to give up to the likes of you !

Maenaz didn’t fully dodge the blow, and the blast had seemingly no effect. As he charged another, Casavir tackled him with his shoulder, bringing them both to the ground and he swung his hammer down again. Maenaz used his right hand to push the paladin away a bit just as his left hand grabbed the wrist of the hand that would otherwise smash his skull.
- Why… the hell… are you… so fucking stubborn…
- For all I stand for… For Neverwinter, Lord Captain, and the people of Highcliff…
- You idiot ! You hopeless moron ! Do you know who I am !?
Casavir felt sudden pain in his hand. Acid was flowing from the warlock’s palm onto his wrist and forearm, small drops falling where the Warlock’s heart should be.
- DO YOU FUCKING KNOW WHO I AM ?!

Casavir stared down as the young warlock’s face started changing. Dark shades came onto his eyelids and cheeks as his eyes started to get bloodshot, and something changed in his right pupil… a dark shape started dancing over the normally green iris. A strange mark of light just flashed on his forehead for a moment as the man hissed like a giant snake and slowly spoke out.
- Maenaz Carn’renor… and it is I who cannot afford to lose.
A mass of darkness lit into a red hue by some sinister star-like shapes that were inside it came down on both Maenaz and Casavir.

----


Well, of course, technically, some wizards DID gather a bunch of scrolls with spells they wouldn’t be able to use through their own power.
Only that using both Acid Fog and Bigby’s Clenched Fist in that manner was a bit more than he had anticipated.
Of course, Xanos was taken down by her Missile Storm a moment before and the Acid Fog might as well have killed him, and she proceeded to attack the other two students with spells.
With Mischa being stopped by the Bigby’s fist, the chances of his students looked very grim even if J’Nah was already hurt and there weren’t many opponents left to fight. So, he got rid of the Acid Fog.

J’Nah turned over to him to attack him, but he wasn’t there. Seemingly, he disappeared.

However, he suddenly appeared somewhere else, as she her last two men groan in pain as they were struck down. She immediately fired Melph’s Acid Arrow, but Xardas didn’t only cast Entangle on her - had his sword pointed at her. The blade morphed into a mass of shards and they immediately flew at her, cutting her up from different angles as they flew around the Fey’ri. She screamed in pain as she got cut up repeatedly and finally her body hit the floor, apparently lifeless, with her last words coming close to something like “What the fuck…”. Mischa runned over to Xanos, and Dorna simply didn’t have the strength to move so quickly.
- Master Xardas… Xanos, he…
- It was to be expected. I guess she was out of your league after all.
- You mean you knew we could die and yet…
- Oh, it’s fine since only one of you is dead. Misses, I am afraid I must ask you to leave the room.
- Why… is it ?
- You want Xanos to be alive, don’t you ?
- But…
- I’d rather not have you conflict me on the matter of how I bring the dead back to life.
- If you say so, Master…

They left the chamber, and he kneeled over Xanos’ body.
He knew nothing of the young half-orc’s faith, but he wondered about how this power would interact with the Wall. Or perhaps it would be simply a matter of his strength. Still, Xanos was dead for only a minute, so there was no way he would be in the Wall even if he was a Faithless. So, this would be a piece of cake.
Well, it might be a bit rough on his student.


--- ---


-That’s what you get for messing with me, paladin.
Maenaz shoved the body off him using his still healthy left leg, and, with some problems, stood up. The battle was pretty damn even so far, but he might be in trouble as the commanders of Neverwinter seemed to approach him with greater pace than his own commanders did. So, he put a wall of flames in front of them and started to retreat towards is own forces slowly. As he was just about to shout to them, he realized something was terribly wrong.
He heard a sound.
And then something moved.
It just WASN’T possible.
He turned around to find the paladin slowly but inevitably raise to his feet. His right arm was ruined from both the acid and the consecutive blast, but sooner or later someone of his status might get it repaired. Meaning he would better finish him off now.
- Sir Casavir !
A woman about Maenaz’s age rushed over to Casavir’s side, supporting him. She looked at the paladin’s latest opponent with a mix of anger, disgust, and something like grudging respect. Maenaz raised his hand, energy started to focus in it. It was starting to become harder to concentrate.
- You really are stubborn, paladin. But don’t think I’m letting you live just because of it.
The woman attempted to cover her senior, her piercing blue eyes meeting the vicious gaze of his green pools.
Then, a young men, seemingly from some countryside, rushed at him with his sword, attempting to stop him from blasting the pair. He quickly moved his hand towards him and fired the blast into him instead. The man instinctively attempted to block, but his blade gave way to the eldritch energy. It might have saved his life, but he still suffered some injuries.
His own commanders approached, but more and more of the Greycloaks gathered, ready to strike.
Dammit.
- Remember my name, Casavir of the Crossroad Keep… The next time you hear it, you’re a dead man. I will withdraw my forces from the vicinity of Highcliff now, and you should do the same. This battle is over.
- I don’t think I can… let you go…
- You’re the one whose ass is saved by the situation. Next time we meet, I’ll be as serious as I can get. And I guarantee you’ll regret it if we ever clash again.
- And I guarantee you that we will. I must finish the Captain’s work in these lands.
- You really are a stubborn idiot after all. But, so be it. Make good use of the time before you challenge me again, for these will be your last days.

The pressure could be felt heavily in the air, but it was a momentary truce. Continued battle wouldn’t prove anything, as both men who could shift the balance in either way were heavily incapacitated.

----

Drogan was already up on his legs, welcoming his three students and his partner who just came back from their first (in case of the students) serious adventure.
While Mischa and Dorna where still curious as to how it happened, Xanos kept his mouth shut about both the fight and his resurrection, as it seemed they both hurt his pride heavily. Drogan recognized the fact that the statue was broken as lucky and concluded the mysterious person in search of it will try to take it again.
Xardas and Drogan decided that they had to learn more of the artifact, and under constant pressure from their students, made the mission of escorting Xardas and the artifact to Drogan’s old friend Garrick Halassar, and, if possible, reaching the mysterious figure that was behind the whole thing their last test. However, Xardas decided that Xanos would remain with Drogan because of the fact that he already lost his life once and apparently needed additional training.
That meant Dorna’s and Mischa’s fates were in the hands of Xardas.


Light and Katriona had just finished patching up Casavir’s wounds. He would soon be fine, but his right hand was devastated. Only an exceptionally powerful healer could get the job done in this case. Before that, Casavir would have to fight using his left hand, and he could only carry a light shield.
- I had no idea that the among the drow there would be a human with the magnitude of power to fight Casavir equally. This is disturbing.
- So, you’d better come with us next time. Make yourself useful at last, Light.
- Whatever the case, I believe I have to defeat this Maenaz next time, and hopefully as quickly as possible. We’ll have to contact Sand to get some information and ask for additional forces.


Maenaz and his forces retreated into the vicinity of some ancient ruins. After fighting some orcs and defeating a force of bugbears, they took residence in a keep near some river which they occupied. Soon, word of Valsharess’ arrival came. Maenaz was lying on his bed calmly contemplating this day – he met someone who was practically his equal as far as fighting without the dark foresight went, and apparently the real Lord of the Keep was somebody more powerful. Those were some disturbing news, and it seemed like the quality of the Neverwinter Nine might have improved since he left.
Then, someone stormed into his chambers. Unless there was an attack, he doubted many would have the nerve to do that.
- Who the hell had broken your leg ?
- A comra… servant… of the one who apparently usurped the debt that the city I want vengeance on owes me. Apparently, the Crossroad Keep and Neverwinter itself now houses entities of far greater power than the last time.
- But the word is you were almost defeated, and that this opponent is still alive !
- It’s the truth.
Valsharess sat down on the edge of his bed, her voice turning snake-like.
- You will take vengeance upon him. Nobody breaks any parts of my Chosen. I want you WHOLE, and we’ll will butcher this man, or enslave and torture him.
Valsharess leaned down, stroked his cheek and then touched his broken leg. She cast a spell and he could feel that something was rebuilding with unnatural quickness inside his body.
- I’ll heal it once more tomorrow and it will be like new. And then we’ll go and find that bastard. And he’ll die on my eyes, or I’ll have him scream and beg for mercy. After that, we’ll consider what should we do with this… surface.
- So be it, Valsharess.

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For the next chapter, I will probably add a bit of info - maybe some additional tags for the incoming erotic scenes (since Maenaz will be getting more active in that department in the forthcoming period ;p I am planning a scene with Xardas as well).

I also plan on to add a bit of info on the characters since I did not describe all of them with the same precision. I believe i did not even mention Xardas' hair/eye color yet. So, expect some heights, weights & hair/eye colors next time around.

I am also hoping to get some more writing time in my mid-year holiday period, which will start at 15th February and last for two weeks.