followed.
They found themselves in a vast room opulently decorated with red carpeting and crystal chandeliers. Crowds of people stood or sat about tables of polished obsidian playing every game of chance known to the Realms, including some games Joel had never seen before. Their ears were assaulted with the din of the gamblers' voices. Some were calling out wagers; others announced the outcomes of freshly rolled dice; still others called for extra cards to be dealt. Within a minute, though, the din had subsided to a hushed murmur as the gamblers turned their attention from their games and focused on Finder and his party.
As Finder moved forward, people stepped aside until there was a clear path between him and a table at the back of the room. Seated at the table, on a high stool, was a slender woman with short, dark hair. She wore a short, gold-trimmed tunic of white satin, a brown leather vest, and high leather boots, which hugged a pair of shapely legs. A slender silver coronet encircled her head and glittered in the light. The woman turned about on the stool as Finder approached.
Joel would have known her for the goddess of good fortune were she dressed as a scullery maid. The songs of her grace and charm were not exaggerated. The bard could understand immediately why Finder put so much faith in her. Joel himself was instantly smitten, and he halted in his tracks a little afraid of how eager he felt to approach her. Jas remained beside Joel as Finder continued forward. Undaunted, Emilo followed close on the heels of Joel's god.
Three paces before the goddess, Finder stopped. He made a very low and formal bow, then stepped up to accept the hand that Tymora held out to him. He brushed his lips against her fingertips.
'Finder, you reckless fool,' the goddess greeted him. She ran her hand over the god's beard and tugged playfully at it. 'What mischief have you been up to? I have heard the most alarming and unbelievable stories,' she teased. 'Since you know me, lady, you no doubt believe them,' Finder replied.
'Oh, yes,' Tymora agreed.
Emilo laughed.
Tymora leaned to one side to get a better look at Emilo. 'And who is this gentleman?' she asked.
'My lady, allow me to present Emilo Haversack of Ten-grapes,' Finder said.
Emilo imitated Finder's bow. 'Pleased to meet you, lady,' he said when he'd risen.
'And how did you come to be in the entourage of this godling rogue, Mr. Haversack?' Tymora asked the kender.
'Well, first I stepped through a magical vortex to the city of Sigil. That's where I met Jas and Joel. Joel offered to bring me to Finder so he could help me to go home, but when Joel and Jas said they were coming here, I asked to come with them so I could see you, too,' Emilo replied. 'I'd never met a goddess before-that I know of, anyway. But having met you, I realize it would be hard not to know, since you just seem to shine…'
Tymora laughed softly and the babbling kender's voice trailed off.
'Does Mr. Haversack refer to Joel the Rebel Bard?' Tymora asked Finder. 'Your very young and very talented protege?'
Finder motioned for Joel to step forward. The bard joined his god and bowed before the goddess. 'I am Finder's very charmed protege, lady,' Joel said.
Tymora laughed with delight. 'Finder has told me so much about you,' she said, 'though he failed to mention how very handsome you are.'
Joel felt his cheeks warm as they flushed with color.
'And the last member of my entourage I believe you know,' Finder said, motioning toward Jas.
Jas remained frozen in place. Joel could sense the anxiety and anger in her.
'Yes,' Tymora said softly, sliding off her stool. She strode forward and stopped just before the winged- woman.
Uncertainty gripped Joel. Although he'd told Jas that making this visit was her decision, he'd given her every reason in its favor without really knowing how Tymora felt about Jas.
Then Lady Luck kissed Jas on the forehead and said, 'Welcome to Brightwater, Jasmine. You have grown since last we met.'
Joel breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Jas bowed her head and muttered a reply that Joel couldn't hear. Tymora took the winged woman's arm. 'Let's go out into the garden, shall we? Finder, you can follow behind with these gentlemen,' the goddess said, nodding at Joel at Emilo. 'Winnie, will you bring us refreshments?' she requested of a halfling priestess seated at a nearby table.
'My pleasure,' the priestess replied. She laid down her hand of cards-four queens and a goddess-and hurried off.
Tymora led Jas from the Hall of Chance. Finder followed in Lady Luck's wake, and Joel and Emilo brought up the rear.
The garden was a hodgepodge of plantings, as if someone had just thrown seeds anywhere and left them to thrive or not on their own. In the deepening twilight, Joel could discern no real paths. Tymora just picked her way through some of the shorter growth. Tymora stopped beside a wooden bench beneath a birch tree. The tree's white bark seemed to glow in the light of the rising moon, and the stars twinkled through the slender branches. Fireflies sparked all around them. The goddess sat down on the bench, with Jas at her side. Finder settled on the ground at Tymora's feet, and Joel and Emilo did likewise.
'Your parents were great favorites of mine,' the goddess told Jas. 'So passionate, so daring. It really irritated me to learn that their daughter was traveling with a weasel like Chaos Carter.'
'Well, the wings got rid of him fast enough,' Jas noted. Her tone was completely neutral. Joel couldn't even fathom a guess at what she was feeling.
'But you still ran from your grief,' Tymora noted. 'Saerloon wasn't far enough from Waterdeep, so you had to leave Realmspace and travel to other spheres.' 'I tried going home a couple times,' Jas said. 'Things just kept coming up.'
'And when you finally returned to Realmspace, your crew was murdered and you were abducted by a mad priestess of Bane,' Tymora added, 'who delivered you to the priests of Iyachtu Xvim for sacrifice. You escaped, but then you were recaptured and transformed into a dark stalker.'
'I guess Finder's told you everything,' Jas said, giving the god a sharp look.
'No,' Finder said. 'I kept your confidences, as you asked.'
'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
