Finally she confronted Kelemvor as they stood near the bow, looking out at waves ahead and the dark craggy shoreline that they were fast approaching. It was a few hours after morningfeast.
'I am going with you,' Kelemvor told her simply. 'I have no destiny to fulfill, other than remaining at your side.' After a moment, he looked at the mage, a serious look on his face. 'You, on the other hand, seem to have a grand destiny, a path laid out for you by the gods themselves.'
'But isn't being dragged along in my wake, following me as I follow my destiny, just another curse, Kel?' Midnight asked somberly. 'You'll have less control of your life than you did before.'
The fighter took her in his arms and kissed her.
'I love you,' Midnight said softly, the words escaping her lips before she even realized what she was about to say.
'And I you,' Kelemvor whispered and kissed her again. The lovers stood in each other's arms for a moment. 'It won't be long before we land,' the green-eyed fighter sighed at last. 'We should alert Adon.' The lovers walked off, arm-in-arm.
Ten minutes later, Midnight and Kelemvor found Adon on the deck. Bjorn and Liane joined them. Tantras loomed in the distance.
'It's not as big as Scardale, but it's not that much different,' Bjorn told the heroes. 'Are you sure you wouldn't rather go to the Living City?'
'We have business in Tantras,' Adon said, the light in his eyes darkening as he spoke.
An hour later, the Queen of the Night entered Tantras harbor. The tip of a huge ridge hooked into the Dragon Reach, forming a natural breakwall, and the ship sailed toward a gap in the southern part of the wall. Massive catapults guarded the harbor from positions along the rocky inner wall. The harbor was filled to overflowing with ships, and watchmen signaled the Queen of the Night to fly its color.
'Full stop,' Bjorn ordered then turned to the heroes. ''We don't have any colors to fly, so we can't move any closer. You can use a rowboat to get to shore. They won't bother with us if we drop you then move off.'
'Fair enough,' Kelemvor agreed and slapped the captain on the back. Each of the heroes was given well- stocked travel bags, and their purses were filled with gold from the Zhentish ship's stores, compliments of Bjorn and the crew. Then the heroes climbed down the rope ladder into a row-boat. Midnight seemed nervous as she settled onto the small boat, and she stared toward land whenever possible. Kelemvor recalled her many near-fatal accidents on the Ashaba and covered her hand with his own.
'I'll row,' Adon said flatly, leaving the lovers to themselves. The cleric released the lines holding the boat in place then looked up at the Queen of the Night to see the captain waving farewell. Adon started to move the small boat toward Tantras.
'If we had stayed with Bjorn, it could have been a fresh beginning for us all,' Midnight said as she watched the stolen galley move away.
'I doubt it,' Kelemvor replied. 'We'd be fighting in a week in the close quarters of a ship, at each other's throats in a month.'
'You think so little of our relationship?' Midnight asked, genuinely surprised.
'Not at all,' the fighter said as he placed his arm around her waist. 'But we both need the hint of danger in the air and open spaces to roam, don't we? Makes life a bit more exciting.'
Midnight laughed a small, sharp, bitter laugh. 'I've talked to gods and seen them destroyed, been put on trial for the murder of the Dales' most powerful mage, and sentenced to death. I was nearly drowned in the Ashaba, and I've been hunted like a dog by the soldiers of a mad god. Boredom would not be unwelcome at this point, destiny or no.'
As the boat came within a hundred yards of the port, watchmen pointed the heroes to a small bay near the north end of the harbor. A small delegation of men, including two soldiers armed with swords and crossbows who wore the symbol of Torm — a metal gauntlet — met the heroes as they climbed from the ship and secured it to its moorings.
'Please state your business,' a middle-aged man at the head of the delegation asked them, a bored expression on his face.
Midnight explained all they had been through in Scardale although she left out their true purpose for journeying to Tantras.
'If you've made an enemy of the Black Lord, then you've made an ally of all of Tantras. My name's Faulkner,' the middle-aged man told them happily.
As he stepped onto the dock, Kelemvor turned to Faulkner and asked, 'What causes that odd light in the sky at night around here? We could see it from our ship when we were just halfway across the Dragon Reach!'
'Night?' Faulkner asked and snorted. 'Night doesn't come to Tantras anymore. Not since the time of Arrival, when Lord Torm, the God of Loyalty, revealed himself to us.'
'No night? It must be confusing,' Kelemvor muttered.
'Tantras is the city of eternal light,' Faulkner added and shrugged. 'Our god sets the hours of the day for us; he puts loyalty in our hearts and reason in our heads. There is nothing confusing about it.'
Midnight realized that Adon was trembling slightly. Whether it was fear or rage that had been locked within the scarred young man, his emotions had been stirred by Faulkner's words. Then the cleric turned and walked from the delegation in silence.
'You must excuse Adon,' Midnight told them desperately, her fear of insulting the soldiers evident in her voice. One of the other members of the delegation stepped forward.
'There's no need to worry,' a young soldier named Sian said. He was a younger man, with thin black eyebrows and curly, black hair. 'It's rather obvious your friend was a cleric. How long has it been since he lost the way?'
As they slowly followed Adon's path along the dock, Midnight explained how Adon had been scarred at the hands of the Gond worshipers in Tilverton, how he had lost his faith in himself and the Goddess of Beauty, whom he had worshiped most of his young life.
Sian nodded. 'Many have lost their faith now that the gods walk in Faerun instead of the Planes. Perhaps your friend will find the peace he so requires in our fair city.'
Midnight felt Elminster's sphere of detection resting against her back, through her backpack. 'I'm afraid we won't have much time for rest,' the mage said in a low voice as she turned and walked with Kelemvor and the delegation to the main buildings of the Port of Tantras. Adon was waiting with the watchmen when they got there.
In the next few hours, the heroes purchased fresh clothing and were given a brief description of the city's layout. Tantras, like most cities, was protected by a wall. In this case, the wall encompassed the vast port city, stretching in a winding path to the rocky shore. A series of towers lined the northern ridge, where the Citadel of Tantras was located. The Temple of Torm — the focus of the city ever since the god himself arrived there — was located in the northern section of town, and most of the streets that led to it were on a sharp incline. A huge bell tower lay at the southern end of the city, with a military complex close by, making the area off limits to civilians. There were several abandoned temples in the area, and a shrine to Mystra in the far south, near the bell tower.
'Other than these landmarks, Tantras is quite unremarkable,' Sian concluded.
'Not completely unremarkable,' Adon noted, his voice completely flat. 'It looks as if you're preparing for war.'
Sian narrowed his eyes and stared at the cleric for a moment. 'You've just come from Scardale, haven't you? We've had several reports that confirm your description of the city's condition. If Zhentil Keep and Lord Bane are trying to annex new territories and expand their evil empire, what makes you think they'll settle for controlling only half of the Dragon Reach?'
'It was just an observation,' Adon replied coldly. 'Besides, I would have expected Torm to protect you.'
'The city wasn't built with the idea of a resident deity,' Sian said. 'Torm's arrival is fairly recent. The presence of our god should be a deterrent to any enemy, but the people are prepared to fight for themselves anyway.'
'I notice a number of refugee camps in the area,' Midnight noted, changing the subject as quickly as she could.
'The chaos in the Realms has driven some of our neighbors to seek the protection of our city,' Sian replied.
