Adon in the lead. In the darkness of the subterranean corridors, the hakeashar appeared as a burst of light as it exited the turret.
Midnight realized that the corridor ahead of them was blocked by rubble at the same moment the hakeashar caught up with the adventurers. Turning to face the creature, she shouted for her fellows to move out of the way. She was already casting a spell as the creature filled the width of the corridor and stopped, its eyes blinking wildly as Kelemvor held up his sword and Cyric put on his cloak of displacement.
Suddenly a gust of wind surged through the corridor, originating at Midnight's fingertips. The wind cut through the creature, holding it at bay for a moment. Abruptly the wind died away.
The hakeashar slowly moved forward, the incredible power it had sensed in Midnight's pendant drawing it's attention.
Cyric walked forward, his cloak of displacement creating a dozen phantom images of him. The many eyes of the hakeashar fixated on the images created by the cloak as they wildly crossed one another to alter their vantages of the illusion.
'Besides managing to confuse this thing, what good have we done?' Kelemvor whispered to Midnight. The magic-user stepped away from the fighter just as the hands of the creature shot forward and grabbed the cloak from Cyric. The images disappeared as the cloak was devoured by the hakeashar.
A dozen new eyes and mouths opened as the creature grew larger.
'What are you waiting for?' Kelemvor said. 'Cast your spell!'
The hakeashar giggled, memories of feeding from the magic of the goddess flooding into its mind.
Midnight stopped, and turned to face the fighter. 'Kel.'
The hakeashar was drifting closer.
'Hack it to pieces,' Midnight said.
Kelemvor tightened his grip on the sword with his one good arm.
The hakeashar stopped.
Over a hundred images of the hairy human moving forward, sword in hand, registered in the hakeashar's brain. The beast was filled with an odd sense of curiosity. It moved five of its jaws over the human, clamped down, and was surprised that it did not receive any sustenance from the effort. The human began to laugh and a lancing pain cut through the creature as six of its eyes were shut forever in one mighty sweep of the human's sword.
The roars of the hakeashar echoed through Castle Kilgrave as the Black Lord knelt in the still water of his ruined scrying pool. Bane had summoned the creature and turned it loose in the castle to search for Mystra.
A small stone struck the puddle of water before Bane's face, causing the fallen god to look up.
A young girl he had never seen before stood in the doorway. She was smiling from ear to ear. A handful of stones that she had dislodged from the crumbling wall beside her rested comfortably in her hand.
'It's not pleasant, having your power turned against you, is it?' she said simply, and the voice was horribly familiar.
'Mystra!' Bane shouted, and lunged at the goddess-made-flesh. Mystra threw the handful of stones at the Black Lord, her voice rising as she began to cast a spell. The stones changed in midflight, becoming blue-white missiles that pierced the body of the Black Lord, sending him sprawling back to the floor of the dungeon.
Another roar sounded from the hallway, this one greater than the last. Mystra shuddered as she heard the sounds of the hakeashar, and Bane used the distraction to cast a spell himself. He tore a ruby from his gauntlet. Then the stone vanished and a blood-red shaft of light surged toward the Goddess of Magic.
Bane gasped as Mystra harmlessly absorbed the effects of Nezram's Ruby Ray, a spell that should have separated the goddess from her avatar. Then Bane shuddered as a red beam of light shot back at him and pierced his chest. The beam hung in the air between Mystra and Bane like a rope.
'You were foolish to try a complicated spell,' Mystra said. 'The magical chaos seems to have finally caught up to you.' With that, Mystra grabbed the beam with both hands.
Bane felt a horrible twisting inside. The red beam glowed brightly and a pulse of energy shot from his body to Mystra. The spell had misfired and was allowing Mystra to drain off his power.
Bane struggled to retain his senses as crimson bands grew from the beam and surrounded him, tugging at his flesh as if to tear it from his bones. He felt his ribs crack, one by one, as the force of the attack suddenly reversed itself, and threatened to crush the life from him. Mystra released the beam and it shot back at Bane.
The Black Lord's chest burst open and a flood of bluish white fires exploded from him and engulfed Mystra, who held her hands out to the flow of magic and welcomed it into her. The fires changed, becoming a blazing amber, then a bright, glowing red as Bane felt the last of the energies he had taken from Mystra leave him and the first of his own depart as well.
'You imprisoned the Goddess of Magic, you fool! Now you will pay in kind for what you did to me.'
Bane cried out as more of his energy left him. 'Mystra! I'm — '
'Dying?' she said. 'Aye, it would appear so. Do give my regards to Lord Myrkul. I don't believe he's ever had a god as one of his charges before. But you're not a god anymore, are you, Bane?'
Bane raised his hands imploringly.
'All right. Bane, I'll give you one chance to save yourself. Tell me where the Tablets of Fate are hidden, and I'll show you mercy.'
'You want them for yourself?' Bane gasped as another pulse of energy left him.
'No,' Mystra said. 'I want to return the tablets to Lord Ao and end the madness you've caused.'
There was movement in the corridor, and Mystra turned to see Kelemvor and his companions standing in the doorway.
Suddenly a spiralling black vortex appeared before the Black Lord and Tempus Blackthorne stepped from the rift his magic had created. Grasping the body of his wounded master, Blackthorne dragged Bane back into the vortex. Before Mystra could move to strike down the Black Lord and his emissary, they vanished. Mystra's spell was broken as the vortex closed, and a blast of chaotic energy threw the goddess against the wall. When she looked up, she found Kelemvor standing above her.
The fighter seemed pale. 'I knew you were made of stern stuff, little one, but even I am impressed.'
Mystra smiled as she felt the wild flow of power course through her.
'Caitlan,' Midnight said. 'Are you alright?' The magic-user leaned toward the avatar, and the star pendant flashed into view.
'The pendant. Give it to me!' Mystra cried.
Midnight stood back. 'Caitlan?'
Mystra looked at Midnight once more and realized that the pendant had grafted itself to the magic-user's skin to protect itself — keep itself from being taken from her if she were asleep or injured.
'We should get the child outside,' Midnight said.
'Wait a minute,' Cyric said. 'I want to know how she got out of camp that night, and why she left.'
'Please,' Adon said calmly. 'We should be worried about the poor girl's mistress.'
A sudden anger passed through the goddess. 'I am Mystra, Goddess of Magic! The creature I fought was Bane, God of Strife. Now give me that pendant! It's mine!'
Midnight and Adon stared at the avatar in shock. Kelemvor frowned. Cyric eyed Mystra suspiciously.
Kelemvor folded his arms. 'Perhaps the battle has addled her young brains.'
'Caitlan Moonsong and I have become one,' Mystra said calmly. I brought her to this place and merged our souls to save us both from Lord Bane. You aided her on her journey, so you have earned our thanks.'
'And a damn shade more,' Kelemvor said.
'The debt will be repaid,' Mystra said, and Kelemvor remembered the words of Caitlan on her sickbed.
She can cure you.
Mystra turned to Midnight. 'On Calanter's Way, you entered into a pact with me. I saved your life from those who wished you harm. In return, you promised to keep safe my trust. You have done so admirably.' Mystra reached out with her hand. 'But now it is time to return that trust.'
Midnight looked down and was shocked as she realized that the pendant hung away from her flesh. She took the pendant from around her neck and gave it to the girl, who instantly blazed with a ferocious blue-white fire.
Hanging back her head, the goddess indulged in a moment of absolute rapture as a portion of the power she had wielded in the Planes coursed through her body. As it had been before the time of Arrival, Mystra's will was again enough to bring magic into existence, and though she was still considerably weaker than she was before Ao
