'Others have fled south to Ravens Bluff or north to Calaunt. Hlintar has been practically deserted since an unnatural windstorm tore through the town and unearthed the graves of a few thousand of the town's former residents. The skeletons came to life, and now the dead rule the city.'
Ten minutes later, the heroes were alone on an avenue that paralleled the harbor then stretched off toward the business district to the south. A wandering band of mimes and showmen passed the heroes and performed snippets of a half dozen different stories that ranged from bawdy, ribald comedy, to dark tragedy. The heroes tried to ignore the performers, but they had to part with a few gold pieces before the artists left them alone.
Merchants also lined the street, hawking their wares at the tops of their lungs. From the looks of many of the tradesmen, the chaos in the Realms was affecting business for the worst. Kelemvor simply browsed, though, and Midnight found a new braid for her hair. Adon wandered to an outdoor eatery.
The cleric was sampling an odd-looking combination of bread, filleted meat, and a tangy red sauce topped with ground black peppers. 'Delicious,' the cleric told the vender, then passed the wooden bowl on to Kelemvor, who also sampled the food.
'There's an inn ten blocks from here that posted a vacancy sign this morning,' the vender told the heroes. 'You should get there before all the rooms are taken.'
The cleric paid for the food and thanked the vender for the information. Then the heroes went in search of the inn. After becoming lost three times in the winding city streets and receiving directions that only led them deeper into the twisted city center, the heroes found the Lazy Moon Inn. As they entered, a young man wearing a red frock with gold trim appeared before the heroes.
'How long will you be staying?' the boy asked, his voice cold and efficient.
'We don't know yet, but this should cover everything,' Kelemvor said gruffly and slapped a few coins into the boy's hand. 'We'll take two rooms,' the fighter added. 'At least until the end of the week.'
The inn was of a simplistic design, with a large taproom, kitchen, and storeroom on the ground floor, and guest rooms on the upper two floors. A shield bearing the symbol of Torm lay on its side in the corner, next to the boy.
The young man insisted on carrying the heroes' travel bags, although he was clearly struggling to keep his balance as he led Kelemvor, Midnight, and Adon up a wooden, spiral stairway that led to the third floor of the inn. After dismissing the boy and checking over their rooms, the heroes met in the taproom. It was well before eveningfeast, so few other people were present.
'Here we are,' Kelemvor said. 'Tantras.' A deep breath escaped the fighter. 'Midnight, how will we recognize this tablet of yours? Better still, what are we going to do with it once we find it?'
'If we find it,' Adon said darkly, drumming his fingers nervously on the greasy, unwashed table.
'We will find it,' Midnight noted firmly, turning to look at the cleric. 'The sphere of detection Lhaeo gave us will shatter when it's near an object of great magical power, such as the missing Tablets of Fate.' The mage paused and turned to Kelemvor. 'As to their appearance, Mystra's final message to me at Castle Kilgrave contained an image of the tablets. They are made of clay and stand less than two feet high. Fiery blue-white runes line their surfaces. They radiate powerful magic.'
'But magic is unreliable,' Kelemvor grumbled, waving for the barmaid to bring him an ale. 'Who's to say this sphere of yours is even going to work? And where will we look? We can't cover every square inch of this city on our own. It's far too large.' The green-eyed fighter scowled and looked away from his friends. 'Besides, we have to assume that Bane will send agents to find us. His people might even move the tablet before we can find it.'
Midnight ran her hands over her face and looked to the open doorway. The perfect sunlight from without had not changed since their arrival. 'If we are to believe the men who greeted us at the dock, we'll be able to search in daylight. That, at least, will work against many of Bane's agents.'
The barmaid brought the fighter's ale, and the heroes were silent until the pretty girl left them. As soon as she was out of earshot, though, Kelemvor pounded the table with his fist and hissed, 'We can't go completely without sleep. Do you want to leave yourself open to attack because you're too tired to properly defend yourself? We need a better plan than just searching the city at random until we find the damned tablet.'
'Then what do you suggest?' Midnight snapped, the weariness in her soul bleeding through to darken the tone of her words.
The fighter sighed and closed his eyes. 'First, we should split up,' Kelemvor said. 'We can cover far more ground that way.'
The mage shook her head. 'We have only one object capable of locating the tablet. If I take the sphere, what can you two possibly hope to accomplish on your own?'
Kelemvor ignored the edge in Midnight's voice and tried to calm himself. 'I tried to get Bane to tell me where the Tablet of Fate was hidden. He wouldn't tell me directly, but he did say something about 'having faith.' I didn't make anything of the remark at the time, but it could be an important clue.'
A thought shot into Adon's mind, and the cleric smiled. 'The temples,' he said simply. 'Bane could have been plating off the word 'faith.' Not unusual for a god these days.' Adon ran his hand over his scar. 'And Faulkner said there were a number of deserted temples in the city. The Tablet of Fate could be hidden in one of them.'
'Well, that's a start anyway,' Midnight told Adon, then turned to the fighter. 'As to your other question, Kel, there's only one thing we can do with the Tablet of Fate when we find it. Elminster explained that there are Celestial Stairways — paths to the Planes — scattered throughout Faerun. Only gods or mages of Elminster's class can see them and touch them. A mortal can walk through one of the stairways and not even know it's there.'
Midnight paused and considered her next statement carefully. 'I've seen two Celestial Stairways, and I think we should bring the Tablet of Fate to one of these paths and give it to Helm. But first, one of us must gain an audience with Torm. He'll know where the closest stairway can be found.' The mage paused again and put her hand on Adon's shoulder. 'This should be your task. As an experienced cleric — '
Adon rose from the table, his chair falling away behind him. 'I will not!' he shouted, and the few patrons in the taproom turned to stare at him. 'I cannot speak with a god!'
A few murmurs ran through the room, and Midnight hardened her heart to the sight of the frightened, childlike cleric. 'You must,' the raven-haired mage said at last. 'Kelemvor is needed to look for safe passage for us, so we can leave Tantras quickly — once we find the tablet.'
The fighter took a swig of ale. 'Aye,' he grumbled. 'We must assume the Celestial Stairway will be somewhere far from this city. If it's not, all well and good. But if it is, we must be prepared.'
The cleric's hands were trembling, and his flesh had gone pale. When he saw the inn's patrons staring at him, though, Adon picked up his chair and seated himself at the table once more.
'I intend to return the Tablet of Fate to the Planes,' Midnight said with a finality that frightened Kelemvor, though he couldn't tell why. 'It's the only chance we have of ending the madness that has infected Faerun. As for our immediate plans, we should start the search immediately, and meet back here in two days.'
'There's only one thing you're overlooking,' Adon noted softly, his hands covering his face as he spoke in a low, trembling voice.
'What's that?' Midnight asked.
'There are two Tablets of Fate,' Adon answered bitterly. 'What happens when you stand before the God of Guardians with only one of them and he demands to know what you've done with the other one?'
'I'll tell him the truth,' Midnight said flatly. 'Helm has no reason to harm me.'
Adon chuckled a strained, nervous laugh. 'Strange,' the scarred cleric commented. 'I remember Mystra trying to do the same thing you propose… before Helm tore her, limb from limb, that is.' Adon rose from the table and left his companions to ponder the observation alone in his room.
Eventually, though, Midnight and Kelemvor left the table to return to their rooms. The heroes had just reached the stairs, when a white-bearded minstrel carrying a harp entered the Lazy Moon and approached the bar.
'We do not perform charity work,' the innkeeper growled with a voice that reeked of snobbery. 'If free lodgings are what you seek, I would advise the local poorhouse.'
The heroes turned away and walked up the stairs, and the minstrel watched them until they had moved from sight. Only then did the white-bearded man turn his attentions to the innkeeper.
'I have money, and I have very little patience,' the minstrel snapped as he opened his hand and displayed a fistful of gold pieces.
'How long will you be staying?' the innkeeper asked politely, his back straightening, his tone instantly
