dragon's hide. A red cape fluttered behind the figure.
The body beneath the armor was even more alarming. The creature, Joel realized, had to be some sort of undead thing. Its skin was as creased as a crumpled piece of paper, yellowed with age and so translucent that brown bone showed from beneath the skin. The flesh around its mouth had worn away, leaving tatters of skin about the creature's brown teeth. Its tongue was black. The sagging flesh of each of its cheeks bore a tattoo of a red lightning bolt. Where its eyes should have been were deep wells with a glimmering white ember of undead hatred at the bottom of each. Dry shoots of white hair sprouted from its mostly bald head. Sparkling on its brow was a white diamond as large as a fingernail. 'I am the essence of Bane,' the creature said, its voice creaking like the iron gate of a crypt. 'See me and fear me.'
Joel flinched at the voice, while Holly covered her ears. Beneath her wings, Jas shuddered. Jedidiah bowed and said, 'Greetings, Bane. You're not looking so lively, even for an essence. I was wondering if you were going to show yourself.'
The creature gave a sharp, barking laugh and lurched forward. 'You aren't looking quite yourself, either, priest of Finder,' it said.
Jedidiah frowned and his brow furrowed.
The creature strode forward, and Walinda rose and stepped away from the chair. The creature reached out, and Walinda handed it the finder's stone. All the while, Joel noted, the priestess kept her head bowed and never raised it to look at the creature. The thing that claimed to be the essence of Bane sat down in the chair.
'I thought,' the creature said, 'to let my slave handle these negotiations. Once I realized who you were, however, I knew it would require someone with more skill to bargain with you. We will talk as one being of power to another.'
'I'll be prepared to talk,' Jedidiah replied, 'when you stop painwracking my companions with your petty magic.'
'It has always been my practice to begin my dealing from a position of strength, but if it will put you more at ease…' The creature shrugged.
Joel felt his fear and despair subside like an ocean tide. Holly was able to rise to her feet. Jas stirred beneath her wings and looked out at the creature with disgust.
'You've been duped, Walinda of Bane,' Jedidiah said. 'This isn't the spirit of Bane. It's a banelich, a former High Imperceptor of the church, made undead by Bane-a little gift Bane used to give to his most groveling mortal yes-men. They go a little mad when they realize there is no greater power in death than there was in their pathetic lives. This one obviously has delusions of grandeur.'
Walinda didn't look up at Jedidiah. Instead, she remained beside the creature with her head bowed.
'You are half right, priest of Finder,' the creature said. 'Centuries ago I was made a banelich by Lord Bane. Since the Time of Troubles, however, I have been much more. When Torm slew Bane, my god's spirit chose to honor me by housing itself in my form. I hold his personality, his ego, his essence. I can even grant this slave her clerical spells. I am now, for all intents and purposes, Bane.'
'What do you want from us?' Joel demanded, his patience with this horror wearing thin.
'Ah, well. It is only fitting that my slave'-he waved his hand in Walinda's direction-'should have slaves of her own. It is also practical. Loyal though she is, the tasks I must set for her may be beyond her powers. I thought to reward her with slaves who would amuse her'-the banelich motioned with his hand to indicate Joel-'as well as those who would be useful,' he added, waving his hand at Jedidiah, Holly, and Jas.
Walinda raised her head a fraction of an inch and met the young bard's look with a sly smile. Joel felt a flush rise to his face.
Holly stepped forward in front of Joel and declared hotly, 'We are not slaves, and we will never serve such as you!'
'How bravely you speak, little paladin of Lathander,' the banelich said with a gravely chuckle. 'But how little you know. This one,' he said, pointing at Jedidiah, 'would do anything to regain the finder's stone. And this one,' he said, pointing to Joel, 'will do anything to help him. He may even find serving my slave pleasurable.'
Joel caught Walinda watching him again, and he turned away, fixing his eyes firmly on Jedidiah. 'We'll perform a service in exchange for the finder's stone, but we will not serve you or yours,' Jedidiah said sharply. 'I presume the task you had in mind is retrieving the Hand of Bane.'
The banelich nodded. 'Naturally. You are familiar with some of the other planes, the homes of the gods and the tanar'ri and the archons. The outer planes share a common ground known as the Outlands. The hand of Bane is-'
'In Sigil,' Jedidiah interrupted. 'The Hub of the Universe, the Cage, City of Doors, Place of Mazes.'
'You are every bit as clever as your reputation,' the banelich said, its undead voice revealing the tiniest hint of surprise.
'Walinda said it was in a place where no god could steal it,' Jedidiah explained. 'That pretty much defines Sigil, doesn't it?'
The banelich nodded. 'You will fetch for me the Hand of Bane. Then I will reward you with this bauble,' he said, holding the finder's stone aloft in a skeletal hand. With that, the creature rose and walked back toward the darkness of the cabin.
Jedidiah stepped forward and called out, 'Banelich!”
The banelich turned, and Joel felt the bottom drop out of his stomach again. The creature's hatred was so oppressive Joel's joints ached from trying to stand, and he had trouble breathing. He heard Holly whimper and Jas growl.
'Yes?' the banelich asked.
'When I fetch the Hand of Bane,'Jedidiah said, 'it will be for myself. I'll exchange it for the finder's stone.'
The banelich pulled the tatters of its flesh back into a smile. It nodded in agreement to the subtle change Jedidiah had made to the wording of their bargain. Then it turned back to the door and disappeared into the cabin.
Joel breathed with relief when the weight of the creature's stare had been removed.
Walinda sat once again in the chair. 'It is so good to have you aboard, Poppin,' she said smiling at Joel. 'And the rest of you as well,' she added, her eyes settling maliciously on Jas.
'We will use this ship to fly over the Desertsmouth Mountains and into the Great Desert, Anauroch,' the priestess informed them. 'Buried under the sand are the ruins of the fabled kingdom of Netheril. There, among the debris of one of their ruined citadels, is a gate to the Outlands, the shared land of the outer planes. Our goal, the city of Sigil, rises from the center of the Outlands.'
The gate you speak of is called Cat's Gate. I know the place,' Jedidiah said. 'You can drop us off at the mouth of the River Ashaba. We'll meet you at Cat's Gate four days hence.'
'You will go with me to Netheril now,' Walinda declared.
Jedidiah strode behind the chair and leaned over the priestess's shoulder. 'Tell me, slave, can you surrender power and still wield it?' he asked sharply.
'No,' Walinda replied automatically. She looked up, startled, at the old priest. 'So you are acquainted with some of the tenets of my faith. What does that prove? You will still accompany me to Cat's Gate forthwith.'
Jedidiah leaned in close to the priestess's ear and whispered, 'When you held the finder's stone, you wielded power. But you surrendered that power to the disgusting monster you see fit to worship. Since it holds the finder's stone, I made my deal with it. I will recover the Hand of Bane because I must have the finder's stone back. If you want to help-and reap some of that abomination's gratitude-you will meet me at the gate. In the meantime, I will escort my friends to a place of safety where we can rest comfortably before the journey and I can gather together such items as we will need to find the Hand of Bane.'
Jedidiah strode over to the ship's railing. 'In any case, there is no way you can hold us against our will… unless you were to call on the banelich to aid you.' Walinda glared at the older priest, and Joel realized what Jedidiah must have already known: Walinda did not dare give the appearance of being weak before the banelich. The priestess shrugged and said, 'There is no need to get off at the River Ashaba. This ship can carry you to the Lost Vale. That is where you're headed, isn't it?'
Jedidiah chuckled. 'I'm not about to reveal the location of the Lost Vale to you, my dear. Finder has a temple
