cast her out of the heavens, Mystra was again linked to the weave of magic that surrounded Faerun. The feeling was glorious.
'Let us put some distance between ourselves and this place,' Mystra said as she addressed her rescuers. 'Then I will tell you all you wish to know.'
Moments later, the heroes felt the warmth of sunlight as they approached the gate of Castle Kilgrave, and they were blinded for a moment as they left the dark ruins. They walked from the castle with a leaden quality to their step, as if daring the castle to throw one last barrage of madness their way. But the castle was bleak and lifeless.
Mystra looked at the sky. She could see the sparkling Celestial Stairway as it rose toward the heavens, its aspects frequently changing. At times the goddess had a vague impression of a figure standing at the top of the stairway, but then it was gone, the image losing consistency after the briefest of instants.
The adventurers followed Mystra as she made her way toward a spot no more than five hundred feet from the entrance to the castle. Along the way, a heated argument had broken out.
'Have you taken leave of your senses?' Kelemvor shouted.
'I believe her,' Midnight said.
'Aye, you believe her. But can your 'goddess' prove her wild claims?'
Mystra commanded the party to wait for her as she turned toward the stairway. Kelemvor stormed forward, ranting about the riches they had been promised and the goddess stared at the man, her eyes blazing with a blue- white fire.
'You have the gratitude of a goddess,' Mystra said coldly. 'What more could you want?'
Kelemvor remembered his encounter with the goddess Tymora, after paying admission to gaze upon her.
'I'll settle for a decent meal, clothes on my back, and enough gold to buy my own kingdom!' Kelemvor shouted. 'I'd also like to be able to use my arm again!'
Suddenly Mystra cocked her head to one side. 'Is that all? I assumed you wished to be made into deities.'
Cyric's eyes narrowed. 'Is such a thing possible?'
Mystra smiled and glowing fireballs leaped from her hands. Kelemvor almost screamed as the crackling energy of the first fireball engulfed him from head to toe, and suddenly he felt a vitality he hadn't felt in days. The flames died away and Kelemvor lifted his arm, staring at his healed limb incredulously.
The second fireball struck the ground, bringing into existence two regal mounts to replace the ones that had been lost, and two packhorses carrying restocked supplies and a fortune in gold and precious stones. Then the goddess turned and walked to the stairway. She opened her hands, spread her arms, and lowered her head, as if in meditation.
Kelemvor stood beside Midnight, and soon their argument resumed. Cyric watched without interfering, and Adon stood, silently watching the goddess before him.
'Certainly she is powerful, and her tale of bonding with her mistress may well be true,' Kelemvor said.
'Then why do you deny your senses? Don't you appreciate Mystra's gifts of gratitude?' Midnight said.
'They were well earned!' Kelemvor said as he stuffed a large chunk of sweetbread in his mouth. 'But a powerful mage, such as Elminster of Shadowdale, could easily perform the same feats. I have seen another of these 'gods' and I'm not sure they aren't powerful lunatics!'
Mystra looked up at the mention of Elminster, and a smile played across her face as some private reverie amused her for a moment, then she returned to her preparations.
'And so you blaspheme in their presence!' Midnight shouted.
'I speak my mind!'
'I believe her!' Midnight screamed as she poked at Kelemvor's armored chest. 'You might never have regained full use of your arm if not for Mystra!'
Kelemvor seemed shaken. He thought of his father, retired from adventuring because of his wounds, prowling Lyonsbane Keep, making young Kelemvor's life a living hell.
'You're right,' Kelemvor said. 'I should be grateful. But… Caitlan, a god? You must admit, it stretches the imagination.'
Midnight looked back to Mystra. The goddess, cloaked in the form of the girl they had traveled with the previous day, was not an impressive sight.
'Yes,' Midnight said. 'But I know it's true.'
Behind Midnight and Kelemvor, unnoticed, Adon listened to their words, then turned away.
We have fought a god, he thought. And now we serve one, although the others haven't fully accepted it yet. Even as he experienced this revelation, Adon wondered why he was not filled with excitement and reverence. These were the gods themselves that walked the Realms!
Adon looked at the scrawny child kneeling in the dirt and felt a mild discomfort at the sight. Then he recalled the brief glimpse he had had of the abomination Mystra had identified as Bane, the Black Lord.
These are the gods themselves?
Across from the waiting adventurers, Mystra rose to her feet. She stood before the stairway, preparing herself for ascension. A slight smile inched its way across her avatar's face, and she realized the importance of this moment as she turned to address her rescuers.
'Before you, invisible to your human senses, is a Celestial Stairway,' Mystra said. 'The stairway is a means of traveling between the kingdoms of the gods and the humans. I am about to undertake a dangerous task. If I succeed, the four of you will be my witnesses as I return to the Planes. If I fail, at least one of you must carry my words to the world. This is a sacred task that I may only charge to one whose faith is unquestioning.'
Midnight stepped forward. 'Anything,' Midnight said. 'Tell me what must be done!'
Kelemvor shook his head and stood beside Midnight as he spoke to her. 'Haven't we done enough? We have risked our lives to save your goddess. Let's quit while we're ahead. There's an entire world to explore and a thousand ways to spend our reward. We should leave.'
'I'm staying,' Midnight said.
Adon stepped forward. 'I stand with Midnight.'
Kelemvor looked to Cyric, who merely shrugged. 'My curiosity roots me to the spot,' Cyric said in a half mocking tone.
Kelemvor gave up. 'What is it you have to say, goddess?'
'The Realms are in chaos,' Mystra said.
'That much we know.'
'Kel!' Midnight said.
'But do you know why?' Mystra said sternly. Kelemvor was silent.
Mystra continued. 'There is a power greater than even the gods. This force, which humans are not meant to know about, has cast the gods out of the heavens. Lord Helm, God of Guardians, blocks the gateway to the Planes, keeping us in the Realms. While we are here, we must take human hosts, avatars, or else we are little more than wandering spirits.
'We are paying the penalty for the crimes of two of our number. Lord Bane and Lord Myrkul stole the Tablets of Fate. At least one of these tablets has been hidden in the Realms, although I do not know where. We have been charged with the duty of finding these tablets and returning them to their rightful place in the heavens.'
Cyric seemed confused. 'But you don't have the tablets,' he said. 'What do you intend to do?'
'Barter the identities of the thieves for leniency toward those gods who are innocent of this crime,' Mystra said.
Kelemvor folded his arms over his chest and laughed as he leaned against his horse. 'This is absurd. She's making all this up as she goes along.'
Suddenly Mystra's words bore into the privacy of the fighter's mind.
I could have cured you, she said. Since you do not believe me, I will not.
Kelemvor's laughter stopped and his flesh became pale.
'Goddess! I would accompany you!' Midnight said, and Kelemvor looked to the magic-user in alarm.
Mystra weighed the offer carefully. A human witnessing sights only a god could comprehend? The woman would be driven mad. Caitlan's mind would be protected, but there was nothing she could do to protect
