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Entry tags:	aribeth, fanfiction, neverwinter nights

The Aribeth I Know (Part Two)

"Have you ever been to Port Llast?" Fred asked. When both Elminster and Falconhand responded in the negative, Fred nodded. "I thought as much. Apparently, it was something to see, a thousand years ago. Now, it's so small that when our band set up camp there, we added a noticeable chunk to the population. When you travel around town, you can see ruins scattered among the farms and fields, where it used to be a city as large as Shadowdale. Now...if not for the harbor and the quarries, there'd be nothing there."

"I don't remember much from our time there," Aribeth said softly. "What I do remember is...well, flashes, I guess you'd say. Like the images that you get when lightning strikes on a stormy night, overwhelming your vision so you can't see anything else. I remember arguing with Fred. I remember waking in the night, my throat raw and the servants watching from my doorway, as if I were possessed. Mostly, though, I remember rage and despair, and the certainty that I had been cast out by Tyr."

"Why were you so certain?" Falconhand asked.

"It was the dreams," Aribeth said, shuddering. Fred slipped an arm around her and drew her close, shifting so she could easily rest against him. "I prayed every day for Tyr's guidance – for some sign that His justice was not a hollow promise, some way to find my way back to Him, despite my anger at the injustice done in His name."

"In his name?"

"Yes," Fred said. "When Nasher hung Fenthick, the Temple in Neverwinter supported his judgment. The high priest declared that Fenthick had surely been involved in Desther's conspiracy, and even if he had not been, justice required that he pay with his life for all those lives that had been lost because he had supported Desther and his false Helmites."

"And this was after you had raised the possibility Fenthick's mind was not his own?" Storm Silverhand asked, a look of disgust on her face.

"Oh yes," Fred said. "In fact, it was the high priest who gagged me during Fenthick's 'trial', so I couldn't raise anything that might question their pre-ordained verdict. So, you can see why I thought going to Port Llast would be a good thing. It would get Aribeth away from those bastards in Neverwinter, and it would keep them out of my reach."

"Yes, I do," Storm said. "Given what happened afterwards, I take it that just wasn't enough."

"We didn't realize how powerful Morag was," Fred said. "For that matter, I had forgotten the demonstration of her power that I had seen in my Dream. I still think, if I hadn't forgotten, I might have been able to do something to protect Aribeth."

"And I still say you are too hard on yourself, beloved," Aribeth said. "Morag's power was great enough that she could get away with impersonating a god."

"Not a good enough excuse," Fred growled. "She hurt you."

Aribeth smiled and gently kissed Fred's cheek. "I know, beloved. I've seen it in our time together. It's part of what makes you so easy to love."

Aribeth looked at those gathered in Falconhand's privy chambers and sighed softly, then said, with a teasing smile in Fred's direction, "I suppose I should start this part of the story, while my love gathers his wits and remembers that he already killed Morag once, so he can't kill her again."

Aribeth: We had just moved into the militia barracks in Port Llast, when I received orders from Lord Nasher that I would be working directly with Arin Gend. Now, I'd worked with him before, but only in terms of taking the information he gathered and using it to determine where to deploy my troops. To be working directly with him – each one of us second-guessing the other – seemed to me to be an insult to both our abilities.

"ARG! That man is infuriating!" Aribeth growled as she threw her traveling kit at her bed. "How does he expect any kind of results under these circumstances?"

"I quite agree," Aarin Gend said from the doorway. "Therefore, I suggest a solution you may appreciate."

"You!" Aribeth snapped, spinning to face Aarin. She paused as his words sank in. "You...agree? All right. You've always been one of the most reliable people I've worked with. Let's hear your idea."

"We simply do as we always have," Aarin said. "I send out agents to find the information you need to make plans. You use the information my agents gather, and make whatever plans are necessary to our success."

"You've done it again," Aribeth said, smiling. "I should have known I could count on you to see a way to make this work."

"Honestly," Aarin said, "I'm surprised you didn't think of it." He shook his head and muttered, "It still bothers me that so many people are going to know my face after this."

I...," Aribeth started, faltered, then started again. "I haven't entirely been myself lately, Aarin. Ever since Lord Nasher murdered Fenthick...."

"I know," Aarin said gently. "Under normal circumstances, the evidence used to hang Fenthick would only have been enough to have him sacked. Something about that whole situation was not right. But we have the people of Neverwinter to think of, regardless of the actions of Lord Nasher."

"Yes," Aribeth said, turning away from Aarin to unpack her kit. "The people of Neverwinter."

Fred: This is where I come in. When I got to Port Llast, I assumed I'd be working with Aribeth, the way I had in Neverwinter. When she introduced me to Aarin, I was....shall we say, less than amused?

"Let me see if I have this right," Fred said, looking between Aribeth and Aarin. "You've been sidelined, and I have to report to someone I neither know nor trust?"

"I don't know what 'sidelined' means," Aribeth said, "but, yes, you will be reporting to Aarin. He will analyze whatever information you gather, and out of it, he'll assemble reports that I'll be using to determine our next move."

Fred opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it, then visibly deflated. "Oh. Why didn't you say so in the first place? That makes perfect sense."

"Is he always like this," Aarin asked Aribeth quietly.

"Only when he's being overprotective," Aribeth quietly replied. "He seems to have decided it's his job to protect me."

"To...protect...you?" Aarin asked, as if in disbelief, then began laughing.

"Eh?" Fred asked, confused. "What's the joke?"

"Fred, let me tell you some things," Aarin said, draping an arm over Fred's shoulders. "I remember the first time I met Aribeth...."

Fred: By the time Aarin was done telling me stories about things he and Aribeth had done, I knew that he wouldn't do anything of his own will to hurt her. That was good enough for me. I'd like to think we became, if not friends, at least friendly teammates, while we were there. I know that Aarin was watching over Aribeth, too. The first time I got back from one of my field missions, he ordered me to take a few days before I went back out. Then he told me that he was worried about Aribeth's sleep – or lack thereof.

"It's worrying me, Fred," Aarin said. "Every night since you left on your assignment, she's woken, usually just a couple hours after going to bed, screaming like an army of demons had invaded her room. The first couple of nights, half the barracks jammed themselves in the doorway, rushing to her defense. Now, Kendrack has taken to suggesting we move her into one of the abandoned houses in the area, so his men can get some sleep."

"Do you have any idea what's causing it?" Fred asked, worried.

"I wish I did," Aarin said. "All I can do is guess that she's being bedeviled in her dreams. But what's doing it, I have no idea."

"Damn." Fred pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll see what I can do. If it comes to that, there is a house we can move her into. After we clean the werewolf stench out of it, anyway. I don't believe she should be alone, but I understand Kendrack's reasoning. If his men don't get enough sleep, they can't defend the town the way they should, and that leaves it open for invasion. Anyway, I'm going to find Aribeth."

"She's in her room," Aarin said. "I just had reports from my other operatives delivered to her. They'll keep her busy for the rest of the day, at least. Maybe into tomorrow, too, if we're lucky."

"If we're lucky?"

"Yes." Aarin shook his head sadly. "When she's not busy with work, she spends her time either on her knees in the temple, or stalking about like she's expecting something to leap on her from every shadow. We've already had to pay the innkeeper for a bag of flour she smote when it fell off the wagon that was carrying it from the harbor to the inn."

"She...smote...a bag of flour?" Fred asked, incredulously. "OK, she's in worse shape than I'd imagined from what you said."

"Good luck, Fred," Aarin said. "And, thank you."

Fred found Aribeth, not in her room as Aarin had thought, but in the temple, sobbing brokenly as she knelt, resting her forehead on the edge of the altar. He knelt beside her and simply kept watch with her for several minutes. When her tears did not appear to be ending, he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Tyr," Fred prayed, "I know I'm not one of your servants. Honestly, from what I've seen of your servants, I wouldn't particularly want to be one. But look at Aribeth. She is one of your servants. So why are you letting her suffer like this? Is it some kind of twisted test? Some kind of punishment for daring to love Fenthick? Are you trying to teach her that justice is not only blind, it's deaf, dumb, and incompetent, too? Have you thrown her out like garbage? Just why are you letting her suffer like this? It doesn't make any sense!"

"It's none of the above, Fred," Kelemvor said. "Tyr has been trying...."

Kelemvor's voice faded out, as if he were speaking from a very great distance, and the distance had suddenly gotten much greater.

"Father?" Fred called. "I can't hear you! Father!"

"It's happened to you, too?" Aribeth asked, rubbing at her cheeks with the palm of her hand. "Kelemvor doesn't answer you?"

"He answered," Fred said, "but then His voice faded away while He was talking. I don't understand it."

"At least you got something," Aribeth said sadly. She leaned against him and whispered, "I'm so tired, Fred. I..."

"Has your sleep really been that bad, Ari?"

"It has..." Aribeth started, then she sat up and glared at Fred. "Wait a minute! Did Aarin send you? He won't let up on me, just because I'm having some bad dreams!"

"Look at me," Fred said, gently reaching up to touch Aribeth's cheek. "I don't need Aarin to send me to you, not when I can sense that you are in pain. If I could, I would take your pain on myself, Ari. You know that, don't you?"

"I..." Aribeth started. Looking into Fred's eyes, she sighed and sank down against him. "I know. I just...I don't know what' s real and what isn't any more. At least I can count on you. Even Tyr has turned His back on me."

"Why do you say that? Kelemvor was saying that Tyr was trying, when I couldn't hear Him any more. I don't know what Tyr is trying, but whatever it is, I doubt that it involves turning His back on you."

"I've seen it," Aribeth said, huddling against Fred and crying softly. "In my dreams. I pray for justice, for understanding, for just a simple sign. And every time, Tyr just looks at me, then turns away, rejecting me."

"I can't believe that's Tyr," Fred said, while gently stroking Aribeth's hair. "Honestly, Ari. You have been nothing, if not faithful and devoted. Even when justice was perverted, you continued to hold on to your faith, to turn to Tyr. A god would have to be insane to reject that kind of devotion and faith."

"But," Aribeth said sadly, "It's happening. You know how you can tell the difference between an ordinary dream and one that was sent by your god?"

"Oy, do I ever," Fred said. "I hate Dreams. They're always a sign of something that'll mess up your life."

"These dreams, they're not just ordinary dreams, Fred. They were sent to me."

"Then they had to have been sent by an enemy, Ari. They can't have come from Tyr."

"But," Aribeth looked up at Fred, her eyes filled with hopelessness, "if that's the case, then Tyr has already rejected me. I'm a paladin, Fred. If Tyr were still my strength, then this enemy couldn't penetrate my dreams."

Fred sighed and hugged Aribeth close. "There has to be another answer, Ari. And I'll find it, no matter what it takes. For now...for the next few days...I'm going to be at your side, no matter what. Until Aarin sends me out on my next assignment, you're just going to have to put up with a crazy human who refuses to give up on you or let go of you, no matter what."

"I...I think I like that idea," Aribeth said, her gaze dropping and her cheeks going red. "Promise you'll stay with me, Fred? Always?"

"I promise, Ari," Fred said gently. He brushed her hair back from her face and looked into her eyes. "I, Fred MacManus, promise, in the presence of Tyr and Kelemvor, that as long as you will have me, I will always be at your side"

Aribeth let out a happy sob and threw her arms around Fred, then sat back and took a ring off her finger. "I know it's not much, but...would you take this ring as a token of my promise to you?"

Fred covered her hand with his own, taking the ring, as he said gently, "I would be honored, Ari." He slipped the ring on his smallest finger and whispered, "With this ring, I thee wed...."

Aribeth blushed at Fred's whisper, but remained silent for a few moments, simply resting against him, before softly saying, "Maybe we should go for a walk, before we upset the priests."

Neurik smiled indulgently at Aribeth and Fred as they stepped into the portal that led back to Port Llast.

Storm coughed, then asked, "Aribeth, how long did those nightmares go on?"

Aribeth thought for a minute, then turned to Fred. "When did I go to Luskan?"

"Hmmm..., " Fred mused, mentally calculating. "I'd say we were in Port Llast for...almost four months, maybe? At least, that's how long it was before we confirmed that Maugrim was in Luskan and we started our infiltration."

"There you have it," Aribeth said. "About four months."

"And you were having those nightmares every night?" Storm asked, appalled. "How did you maintain your sanity?"

"I didn't," Aribeth said, then looked down at her hands. "By the end, I didn't even know what day it was. I just knew that Tyr had rejected me, that Neverwinter had perverted everything I believed in, and that the only chance I had to set things right was to join forces with Maugrim to punish those who had made me what I had become."

Fred took Aribeth's hand and gently squeezed. She leaned against him and sobbed softly.

Storm rose from her chair and swept forward, embraced Aribeth, and gently brushed her hair back with one hand. "Do you realize how strong you had to have been to endure that for so long? Most people – for that matter, most paladins – would have broken within weeks, if not days. That you kept fighting for nearly four months tells me that you are one of the strongest people I will ever have the privilege of knowing."

"I...didn't do it alone," Aribeth said. "If Fred had not been with me, I couldn't have lasted as long as I did."

"So being married to him was more than just an expression of your love," Storm said. "It strengthened you, too."

"Oh!" Aribeth said, blushing deeply. "We're not married! Not that we don't want to be, but...we just haven't ever had the chance to have a proper ceremony."

Storm laughed and looked over to where a priest from the new Temple of Lathander sat. "Ingmir, what do you have to say about that?"

"I'd like to know where Lord Fred came up with the words to the vow he gave," Ingmir said, leaning forward intently. "It's an old vow that I haven't even seen reference to, save in some of my training as an acolyte."

"So you thought the same as I did, then?"

"Assuredly. These two have been married since that day, but apparently didn't know it."

"Not entirely true," Elminster pointed out, "else he would not have responded to her gift of her ring as he did."

Aribeth looked down at Fred's hand, on which that ring still rested, then to her own hand, where a matching ring could be found, then looked at Ingmir hopefully. "You mean, we are properly married?"

"As properly as I could do," Ingmir said, "although I dare say you could have a public ceremony, if you so desire."

"We so desire," Fred said, squeezing Aribeth's hand gently. "I want to repeat my vow in the presence of anyone who is willing to hear it." He gave Aribeth an adoring gaze and added, "I want to tell the world that this woman is the one I choose to devote my heart to."

"All right," Elminster grumbled. "If you're going to talk romance, I may as well go back to my tower. I have better things to do than waste my time with the foolishness of youth."

"Don't give me that line, old man," Storm chided, poking Elminster in the chest with a fingertip. "I know you're just as interested as the rest of us, so stop complaining. Or I may just tell Alassra you need more time away from your books."

"Ye're not too old for me to put over my knee," Elminster grumbled at Storm. "Not that it would do any good."

"All right, you two," Falconhand said, "we came here to hear their story, not listen to the two of you pick at each other."

"Don't worry, Azalar," Storm said, smiling. "I want to hear more of their story, too."

Elminster grumbled into his beard and took out his pipe.

"Damn," Fred said suddenly. "I left the one you loaned me back in our chambers. Do you mind if I get it back to you later?"

"Keep it, lad," Elminster said. "Ye'll find it does more than merely annoy your wife. If ye know how to tap its secrets, that is."

"I see." Fred's eyes lit up, and Aribeth groaned quietly.

"Why the groan?" Storm asked.

"I see that look in his eyes," Aribeth said. "That means I'm going to spend the next few weeks watching him get himself fried, electrocuted, trampled, or otherwise injured, as he tries to decipher this puzzle Elminster gave him."

"Just goes to show the lad has the right bent of mind to be a good wizard," Elminster said. "And, no, I did not offer to take him on as an apprentice."

"The story, people?" Falconhand prodded.

"Yes, the story," Aribeth said. "An excellent idea."

Aribeth: I honestly don't remember much from the time Fred brought the information that lead us to Luskan, until the time I was standing on the roof of the Arcane Brotherhood's tower, going through Morag's ritual. The first thing I clearly remember was seeing Fred in the distance and realizing that I had destroyed any hope I ever had of returning to him.

Aribeth stood on the roof of the Host Tower, surrounded by beings that called themselves "Creators" – beings that Maugrim had explained were of the same race as her new goddess, Morag. Tyr may have rejected her, Neverwinter may have betrayed her, but Morag had gathered her in, had sheltered and soothed her aching heart, had restored her faith in something greater than herself. Her only regret was that Fred was not with her, but Maugrim had assured her that it was better this way – that Fred also had betrayed her at the last, and was even now hunting her at the behest of that villainous beast, Nasher. A small tickle of uncertainty moved at the back of her mind at that, yet the visions Morag had shown her had confirmed what Maugrim had said, and she knew Morag would not lie to her – not after all she had done to restore her from the shattered state she had been in.

Even now, Aribeth could feel Morag's presence in her mind, soothing her and wiping away her uncertainties and questions in a way Tyr had never done. It was as if Morag knew her doubts and questions before they arose, and wiped them away, so that Morag could more perfectly guide her in her quest for true justice against those who had thought that they could get away with murdering innocents in the name of 'justice'. They would all pay, from "Lord" Nasher all the way down to the meanest beggar who had cried out for Fenthick's blood. She would make sure of it – Morag had promised it, and Aribeth knew, without a doubt, that she would deliver.

Fred: Linu and I were incredibly lucky. The Host Tower was mostly empty – acolytes, apprentices, and a few low-powered mages made up most of what we ran into on our way up. A single lich near the top of the tower gave us the final keys we needed to reach the pinnacle. It was his way of giving Maugrim a "fuck you" as he left to gather enough power to retake the Host Tower from Maugrim's people.

The air around the pinnacle of the Host Tower crackled with energy. The wind whipped about Fred like a hurricane, and lightning surged, crackling and crashing with repeated claps of thunder. He couldn't remember having been in a storm like this since Camille, and he had only been a child then. Across the roof, beyond a fence with magically sealed gates, stood Aribeth, surrounded by what looked to Fred like several squads of those annoying self-proclaimed "Creators". Still, none of them appeared to have any serious weaponry, and he had a few surprises up his sleeves – literally – so he didn't see any problem with taking them out.

"Aribeth!" Fred yelled. The wind and thunder made it impossible for Fred to hear his own voice, let alone hope that it would carry to Aribeth. He nodded to Linu, and the two crossed the roof toward Aribeth and the lizards, leaning forward until it felt as if they were climbing a cliff in their struggle to remain standing against the force of the wind.

Fred and Linu were no more than fifty feet from the fence when the howling of the wind suddenly ceased, and the sounds of voices carried across the roof to them.

"Do you renounce your false god of justice, Aribeth de Tylmarande?" Maugrim asked. It sounded to Fred like part of some sort of scripted ritual. "Do you renounce your god, your lord and your people who have betrayed you?"

"I... I do," Aribeth replied, her voice shaky, even uncertain. Fred felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he heard her speak and realized that the nightmares had finally broken her, despite his attempts to reinforce her strength of will during the times he had been with her, between his assignments.

"Will you lead our glorious army in the name of your new mistress?" Maugrim continued, as if Aribeth's answer had been delivered more surely. Now Fred was convinced he was performing a ritual – kind of like a ritual of conversion. No, not 'kind of like'...it was a ritual of conversion.

"I will," Aribeth said, the power of the ritual giving firmness and strength to her voice. "I will lead them."

"Then be the terrifying blackguard of our mistress Morag that you were meant to!" Maugrim exclaimed triumphantly. Aribeth's armor and sword crackled with energy – enough energy that even her hair flew wildly about her for a moment – and changed, not only in appearance, but also in essence, so that even from this distance, Fred could feel the evil in them.

"I shall!" Aribeth cried as the transformation ended. "Neverwinter will fall before our might!"

"Aribeth!" Fred screamed. Aribeth's head snapped around at his cry, and Fred's heart fell as he saw the look of hopelessness and betrayal in her eyes. It was as if she believed he had betrayed her somehow.

"Remember, Maugrim, that it is of great importance that the other Words of Power be located," the largest and most powerful-looking of the lizards said. "You must beware Haedraline, however, as she will – "

The lizard's head snapped around to glare directly at Fred.

"You have been lax, Maugrim. We have intruders." The lizard sounded angry as it berated Maugrim. "The Word of Power cannot fall into the hands of the enemy. Take Aribeth and leave now. I shall summon my own servants to deal with these... fools."

Maugrim grabbed Aribeth's arm and teleported away with her, leaving Fred with the image of Aribeth, staring at him with that look of hopelessness and betrayal. Moments later, the gates unlocked and sprang open, and the squads of lizards leapt to attack. Fred snapped his arms down, and a Wand of the Heavens dropped out of each sleeve into his hands. Linu saw the wands and nodded, then took up a position in front of Fred, ready to deal with any lizard that got too close for the wands. Fred began firing into the mass, calling down flamestrike after flamestrike. When the wands ran out of power, he tossed them aside and drew his sword, joining Linu in taking the fight to the remaining lizards in a much more personal manner.