"If Beshaba has set up magical alarms, it will be to warn her of the arrival of the minions of Tymora or Selune, mighty warriors and powerful mages. What could be more harmless than the priest of a god she has no reason to fear?" Joel insisted. "I can at least spy out the territory."
"He has a point," Winnie said.
Finder shot Winnie a withering glare.
Joel set a hand on his god's arm and said, "When you were forced to trade the Hand of Bane in return for your power, you let me make the decision. You trusted me to make the right one for all involved. I know your heart, Finder. Let me help."
"I'll go with Joel," Jas said. "I'll keep him out of trouble."
Finder looked at Jas with surprise. It was unlike the winged woman to volunteer for anything dangerous. "Why?" Finder asked.
Jas threw up her hands. "You heard Selune. If we don't stop this, the Realms will run out of good luck. Everyone will be at Beshaba's mercy. I've been away for ten years, but Toril is still my home." She shrugged. "Besides, Tymora tried to help me."
"Is this the same Abyss where the Queen of Darkness reigns?" Emilo asked.
"Who?" Joel asked.
Finder sighed. "On Emilo's world," the god explained, "all the Lower Planes are referred to as the Abyss. The Queen of Darkness inhabits a realm in a lower plane we refer to as Baator. When we speak of the Abyss, we mean a completely different plane."
"Then I'll go with them," Emilo said. "I've never been to that Abyss. I should take a look around."
"Perhaps you haven't been paying careful attention, Mr. Haversack," Winnie said sternly. "The Abyss is an evil, horrible place. No one goes there to 'take a look around.' Take my word for it."
"Have you been there?" Emilo asked.
"Once, which was one time too many," Winnie retorted.
"So you couldn't resist either," Emilo noted.
"Resist?" Winnie squeaked. "It had nothing to do with-" Finder put up his hand to silence the priestess. "Forget it, Winnie. A kender's curiosity can't be quenched with tales of horror. They're completely fearless. I think Mr. Haversack will make an excellent addition to the party. Joel and Jas could use someone older and wiser."
Winnie sighed. "Very well."
"The sooner we go, the better," Joel suggested.
"Wait here while I fetch some things you'll need," Winnie said. Once again she left them alone in the garden.
Finder pulled out half of the finder's stone. He sang a single note, and a blue light burst about his hand, then seeped into the stone. He handed the stone to Joel. "Take this," he said. "I've imbued it with enough power so it can serve you as a power key for a few days, at least."
"A what?" Joel asked.
"A power key," Finder repeated. "As I said before, in Beshaba's realm, your ability to cast priest spells will be greatly weakened. A power key will lessen that effect. It will also keep your spells from being twisted by the nature of the realm."
"Can I still use the finder's stone to find Beshaba?" Joel
Finder shook his head. "It can only locate people you know. I wouldn't recommend using it that way even if you could. Beshaba would be certain to detect it, and you don't want to attract her notice. Still, the stone has other powers I have never fully understood. Sometimes it functions as if it has a mind of its own, sending out a light to guide the lost. That may work for you. At the very least, it can serve you as a magical torch."
Selune reappeared before the party. "Lathander will do what he can to obscure Tymora's sensing ability in the Realms. Lathander suspects that Tymora's power has been overmanifesting itself all day."
"We've arranged a party to investigate Beshaba's realm," Joel said.
The goddess gave Joel a look of motherly reproach and said, "I may have been in another plane, but I had no trouble sensing the plans you were making here. There can be no doubt you are a priest of Finder. You're as reckless a fool as he."
Joel lowered his eyes, unable to face the goddess's disapproval.
Finder stepped between the goddess and his priest, "They stand as good a chance as any other adventurers. It would be no more difficult for Beshaba to destroy the strongest proxy in your court, my lady, than to destroy a lowly follower of mine. With any luck, Beshaba may take no note of their arrival."
"We may not be able to count on luck," Selune said darkly. She looked again at Joel and warned, "Do not lose the power key. It could be used against Finder as long as it holds some of his power. I hope you will guard it better than Finder did the last time he filled it with power."
"Yes, ma'am," Joel said nervously. Less than a month ago Finder had stored more than half his power in the stone, then had it stolen by the evil priestess Walinda, who had given it to her master, a crazed banelich. Joel and Finder had been forced to do the banelich's bidding until they'd managed to wrest it away from the evil undead creature.
"It would be impossible to guard it worse than I did," the god pointed out with a smile.
Selune gave a derisive snort.
Winnie returned, carrying a sheathed sword. Two human servants behind her carried backpacks of gear. The halfling stood before Jas.
"It is the custom of my lady to loan this sword to those who perform a mission for her," she explained to the winged woman. "It's a fine weapon, and it will bring you luck."
Jas looked at the others uncertainly.
"If you're intending to help Tymora, save the Realms, and keep Joel out of trouble," Selune said, "you'd better accept the sword."
Jas took the weapon from Winnie. She slid its sheath onto her weapons belt, then drew it out to examine it. She tested its balance and smiled.
"When you're ready to return, you can use the sword to wish your party back here," Winnie said. "Wish aloud, and wish carefully, so no one is left behind. A wish will attract the attention of everyone from Beshaba to the tanar'ri lords, so you don't want to remain in the Abyss after you've made one. Just use the wish to get home, nothing else," the priestess warned. "In the backpacks, you will find food and water, a tarp for shelter, a magical lantern, rope, some healing potions, and a few magical scrolls that you may find useful. There is also some gold; creatures in the Abyss are not above accepting bribes."
"Beshaba's realm is the thirteenth layer of the Abyss," Selune explained. "Long ago the layer was flooded to prevent the baatezu from ever invading it again. Umberlee, the evil goddess of the sea, makes her realm in those waters. Towering over the waters is the Blood Tor, a massive rocky peak that some sages say rivals Mt. Olympus in size. Beshaba and her court live in a cavern complex within the mountain, somewhere near the pinnacle. I will make you a gateway in the mountainside. You will have to discover your own route into Beshaba's caverns. Many other evil things live on and within the Blood Tor. Take care to avoid as many of them as you can."
Joel nodded.
"Finder and I will be able to detect what is going on throughout Beshaba's realm the moment you arrive, but the longer you stay, the more we can learn. You do not need to get close to Beshaba for us to sense her, but you may be safer near the heart of her realm," the goddess explained. "The fiends in the Abyss avoid tangling with the powers. If creatures there think you are one of Beshaba's minions, they will avoid you. You do not need to take risks. For now, we only need you to be our eyes, not our armies. Do you understand?"
Joel nodded in agreement.
Selune motioned with her hand, and a magical portal formed beside the root ball of the fallen birch tree. A barren wind-blasted slope appeared on the opposite side of the portal, and an unpleasant odor issued forth, which Joel recognized as the stench of blood.