//------------------------------//
// Baldur's Redux: High Moor Danger 
// Story: Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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It took Rain and the others some time to get back to Baldur's Gate, giving them plenty of time to discuss what they had seen in Lyran's Hold, as in the arrival of Sleyvas and his guards, which required her telling her friends about the lizardman and her brief encounters with them. She informed them of what she knew, about how he helped her and her first friends by using his power to divert their path before setting all of them down the correct path, and using a path through the Plane of Water to enter the Onyx Tower, but now she knew better. Sleyvas had been using them to get what he, and his superiors, wanted, the death of Eldrith and the utter destruction of her powerful tower, all so someone else could come in, pick up the pieces, and restore the tower for another purpose, as while she didn't know the Zhentarim's true goal she knew that they were evil, or at least a lesser evil. Of course she knew that the others wondered if she was right, since Rain had slain him and both of his guards without getting too much out of him, but so far her instincts on certain things had been right and there was a fair chance that she was accurate in her statements, though Lyran agreed with her, based on what little he knew about the situation they were in.

She also knew it would take some time getting used to having the spirit of a lich following them, though Rain felt that he was just a seeker of knowledge and this was his way of prolonging his life to do just that, but she forced herself to focus when they reached the city, quickly discovering that Jherek was inside the warehouse still.

"You've returned! Does this mean what I think it means?" Jherek asked, because with Rain involved he was sure that nearly anything was possible, given her vast power and apparent luck in certain fields, as there was no other way to describe some of the things he had heard since she and her first group of friends left the city.

"We have recovered the Orb of Thunder." Rain replied, where she stood to the side as Dorn produced the artifact from his pack, as he had been picked to carry it, and held it out for the Harper to take, who smiled as he took it from him, as it was one more thing that the Zhentarim couldn't use against them, "Also, we found some agents of the Zhentarim, as there were two black armored knights escorting a lizardman, Sleyvas to be exact, to the peak of Lyran's Hold, who demanded that we hand over the Orb."

"Damn it. I thought we would be moving too fast for them to catch up... I should have known better." Jherek said, once more showing the others that he believed Rain's statement, even though they had been worried that she did away with someone who might have been an ally, but, based on his reaction, the black armored guards were definitely evil and that meant Rain was, once more, correct, "Very well, now you have a greater understanding of what is going on... I will, of course, raise the reward for the other three artifacts, to reflect the potential risk you might face if you decide to continue helping me."

With the Orb in hand Jherek opened a chest nearby and Rain found that it contained four slots, for the artifacts he and the Harpers wanted to collect, where he slipped the first inside before withdrawing the bags that contained their reward for this mission, which pleased the rest of her group.

"I don't see why not, if the reward is as good as this." Borador stated, reminding Rain that, of them all, he was the one that was far more interested in all of the gold that could be earned from this, because it would go towards paying back a large debt that his clan owed to a group of elves, which seemed to be his focus right now, "Out of curiosity, can you tell us anything else about the Zhentarim?"

"The Black Network began as a group of powerful merchants, but now their ranks include assassins, spies, and even an army, plus their backed by the Church of Bane, the god of strife and hatred." Jherek replied, though it was far too easy for them to tell that he was displeased with such a thing, especially since the organization seemed to work towards taking over the rest of the land, before he sighed as he focused on Rain and her friends once more, "They are always looking to gather artifacts of power and use them for their own foul purposes, so taking these artifacts from them will benefit the rest of the land, not just Baldur's Gate."

"You mentioned that you were looking to gather four artifacts, one of which was the Orb of Thunder. Can you tell us about the other three?" Allessia inquired, because if it would help keep the city safe, and deprive the dark organization of their prizes, she agreed with helping the Harpers out, regardless of whatever reward might be offered.

"In addition to the Orb of Thunder I am seeking the recovery of the Jade Octahedron, the Brazier of Eternal Flame, and the Oceanic Urn." Jherek answered, where Rain realized that they were, in fact, the Elemental Keys to awaken the Elemental Foundations, as he was looking for an artifact containing the power of earth, fire, and water, combined with air in the form of the artifact they had just delivered to him, "From what I've been able to determine the Jade Octahedron, a eight sided rune stone the size of a troll's fist, was last seen in the Halls of the Hammer, an abandoned dwarven stronghold located in the High Moor; the Brazier of Eternal Flame is a bronze firepot studded in sparkling jacinth, which was one located in the treasury of Dragonspear Castle, but now it's somewhere in the monster infested depths; and the Oceanic Urn is a golden urn that is studded in aquamarine, last seen in the hands of some pirates operating out of Seer's Cave, though I can ask Randalla to arrange for passage if you chose to chase it first."

Rain knew that tracking all three of them down was incredibly important, especially since the Zhentarim were after them as well, but staying together might be the best course of action, since they seemed to be guarded by powerful guards or monsters, to which she pulled back for a moment and glanced at her friends as they debated what to do. From what she was able to tell Borador wanted to head to the Halls of the Hammer, because of the fact that it was a place that his people had worked in before being driven out, while Dorn wanted to go to Dragonspear Castle, since the idea on a monster filled area excited him to no end.  Allessia, Vhaidra, and Ysuran, on the other hand, really didn't care where they went, because all of them seemed important in the grand scheme of things, where it seemed to come down to Rain, which was strange since she expected the others to have more of an opinion on the matter. In her mind the Oceanic Urn should be last, due to the fact that it didn't seem to be anywhere too dangerous or in the hands of anyone that would abuse it, in fact it really seemed like it was in a treasure trove, so that left a den of monsters or an abandoned stronghold.

"Very well then, we'll head out for the Jade Octahedron first, then the Brazier of Eternal Flame, and finally the Oceanic Urn to round the collection off." Rain said, because it would appease Borador, then Dorn, before everyone else could focus on the last artifact, because if they worked fast enough they could get ahead of the Zhentarim, activate the Foundations, and find a way to seal the Onyx Tower, where her blade might be the key.

"As you wish. I will speak to Randalla and see if she can get a private ship ready for when you're prepared to head out for Seer's Cave, and I'll make the other locations down for you." Jherek replied, where Rain held out her map and he marked down the locations of the Halls of the Hammer and Dragonspear Castle, the former confirmed by Borador as he looked at it for a few seconds, though she trusted Jherek's knowledge, and she found that the Harper smiled at them, "I'll be here, safeguarding the Orb of Thunder and preparing for the next stage of our operation, which I'll tell you about once we have all four important artifacts."

With that done the group returned to the inn for a time, allowing them to eat and get some rest so they could be ready for the next leg of their adventure, something that the others appreciated and flocked to as she spoke to Randalla, who told her that passage to their final destination would be available in two weeks time. Such a thing told her that they had to get the other two artifacts before that point, which might be hard to do given that they had to go to two different places first, but she was sure that, with her friends and their abilities, that they might make it in due time. Of course she also took the rest of the afternoon off as well, to rest after everything they had been through, but her focus was on why the Zhentarim wanted to gain control of the Onyx Tower and, more importantly, if there was anything she could do with it. There had to be more to the blade she carried, since it came from the heart of the tower, but there was no real way for her to tell since the structure was gone, for the time being anyway, hence another reason to get to it before their foes did.

When morning arrived the group departed before anyone else got up, starting on the road to reach the High Moor so they could find the dwarven stronghold that held the second artifact they were after, though just like before they were stopped by an ambush in the High Moor. This time it appeared that a new breed of lizardmen, with brown scales, wanted them all dead and attacked them on sight, causing everyone to get off their horses and engage them without delay, slashing and blasting their way through the ranks with ease. Rain wasn't too sure she was even needed, though she cut through those who came at her as she noticed something odd, there happened to be some wrecks off in the distance, like someone else had come through the area and got attacked by these odd enemies. With that in mind she focused on tracking down the people that were injured, finding that only one person was left, left in a state like how they found Kearia some time ago, with a drow warrior standing near him, one who wore mithril armor and carried two special blades with him.

Due to her past experience with drow part of her felt like striking him down, though Rain determined that this was, in fact, Drizzt Do'Urden, who took one look at her and informed her that troglodytes had attacked and ran off with someone of importance, something that caused Rain to join him as she told the others to move towards their destination.

Their destination was Brigand Hold, where Lady Cadmere was behind held, which was near their position and happened to be home to more troglodytes, though with her skills, Shadow's ability to pounce on her foes, and Drizzt's own abilities, as he moved like a god given form with his quick reflexes, the upper level enemies were nothing. Even the troglodytes in the lower levels of the ruins, the dungeons to be exact, weren't anything to worry about as the pair slashed through their opponents as Shadow wandered around, gathering gold and treasure for Rain to collect later on, as she determined that she wasn't needed. Even Rain realized that having just her and Drizzt was overkill, as these foes were less than the goblins and hobgoblins she had fought so far, to the point that she was thankful that she had told the others to continue onto the Halls of the Hammer, otherwise they would have overrun this place in no time at all. Still, it gave her a chance to see the mythical Drizzt Do'Urden in combat, how he moved with a level of grace that was beyond anything that the rest of his kind had used against her, and he, in turn, studied her as she fought, as both of them wanted to see if the tales of the other were true and found that each tale was true.

In the end they were able to rescue Lady Cadmere in no time at all, where Drizzt informed her that he'd escort her back to her destination, so she wouldn't have to worry about any harm befalling her, though as the lady got ahead of them, eager to get out of here, Rain found that her temporary companion had something to say.

"You fight well, Rain Shine, and you have a good heart." Drizzt remarked, as he sheathed his blades as he walked, which Rain did as well as Shadow returned with the loot she had collected while they were fighting, which the drow turned down when she offered some of it to him, as he didn't require wealth like some adventurers, "Maybe we'll fight side by side again in the future."

As Rain nodded her head Drizzt smiled before rejoining the lady, where they departed for her destination, Waterdeep, to which she chuckled a little as she and Shadow headed out to rejoin the others, as she was eager to see what sort of brand new dangers might be in the Halls of the Hammer.