"That figures," Jas said. "We come in by a portal near the bottom of the mountain and have to climb for miles. Holly comes in at the top of the mountain and merely has to walk down a few steps."
"We can bring you back with us to Brightwater," Joel said to Holly. "I need to talk to Finder about what we've discovered."
Holly seemed to think a moment, then said, "Then we'll go your way."
The alu-fiend prisoner declared, "You will never make it out of here alive."
"I don't recall anyone asking your opinion," Jas said.
"Then perhaps you should ask," a woman's voice said.
Out of the shadows behind them stepped five more alu-fiends. Eight more appeared in the doorway through which they'd been spying.
Jas and Holly whirled back to back with their swords drawn. Joel slapped himself in the forehead. "How could I forget? Alu-fiends communicate telepathically. All this time our prisoner has been screaming for help."
Their former alu-fiend captive smiled at Joel and said, "Perhaps we will let you live a little while longer."
Holly grabbed the alu-fiend around the neck and, using her as a shield, advanced on the line of fiends blocking their exit.
Joel put his hand on Jas's arm. "The wish," he reminded her.
Jas nodded. She held out the sword Winnie had given her and announced, "I wish Holly, Joel, Emilo, and I were back in Tymora's garden in Brightwater."
The alu-fiends and the dark halls of the Blood Tor faded around them, to be replaced by flowers and sunshine. Holly found herself without an alu-fiend for a shield and her sword pointed at Finder's nose. Joel's god sat on a wooden bench beside the uprooted birch tree. Finder's eyebrow rose in amusement.
"Finder!" the paladin gasped.
"Welcome to Brightwater, Holly Harrowslough," Finder greeted her, "but I don't really need a shave," he joked, carefully pushing the paladin's curved blade away from his face.
Holly lowered her weapon, bowed her head, and said, "Excuse me, Lord Finder."
"One day in Morning Glory and suddenly I'm 'Lord' Finder. Just call me Finder, Holly," the god said.
The paladin looked up at Joel's god. "Not all gods are as informal as you," she pointed out.
"Not all gods are as reckless as I am," Finder replied, reminding the paladin of how she had chided him on her god's behalf the last time they had met.
"None of the gods are as reckless as you," Selune reprimanded. "Stop taunting the girl for having good manners, Finder. We have more important things to discuss."
Holly whirled to address the speaker, but when she beheld Selune, she fell speechless.
"Yes," the goddess said, as if in answer to Holly's unspoken question. "I am Selune. Sit down, paladin. We need to decide what is to be done next."
Selune sat on the bench beside Finder and Holly. Joel and Jas sat on the ground at the gods' feet. Emilo paced behind them.
"Beshaba wasn't at the Blood Tor," the kender reported excitedly. "The winged lady said she went to-"
"Gehenna. Yes, we know," Finder said. "Just as Selune said we would be, she and I were aware of everything occurring in the Blood Tor as soon as Joel arrived. Including what was going on in Beshaba's court."
"That's a really neat trick," Emilo said. "You never need to get a letter to know what's going on in your friends' lives, do you? But it must make it hard for them to surprise you. For birthdays and such."
"I am constantly surprised by what's in their hearts," Finder said, smiling at Joel.
"We don't know if the alu-fiend was telling the truth about the attack," Jas said.
"She was," Finder replied. "We sensed the attack on Beshaba."
"Where's Tymora?" Jas asked, having suddenly noticed that the goddess was not in the garden.
"Her minions have taken her someplace to keep her safe. It is probably best that you do not know where for now," Selune explained.
Jas looked down at the ground. "It's because I have the dark stalker in me, isn't it?" she asked.
"No," Finder said, lifting Jas's chin in the cup of his hand so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "It's because if you choose to travel to Gehenna, Iyachtu's minions might be able to read it inside your mind."
"So you're sure the hydroloths that attacked Beshaba were sent by Iyachtu Xvim?" Joel asked.
"That isn't something we could really tell," Finder explained. "Though Beshaba did curse his name before she fled her realm."
"If Xvim is behind this, then why did Tymora sense Beshaba instead of Xvim?" Joel asked. "And if Xvim is draining both of them, why did Tymora fall unconscious while Beshaba was able to teleport away?"
"As to the first question, we do not know," Selune answered. "As to the second… either Xvim started draining Tymora's power first or else Beshaba had more power in reserve. Tymora is extremely free with her gifts. She has endowed a number of items with her power and shared them with adventurers. She also gives out power keys to her priests who travel the planes. She has even lent her power to her ally gods and their priests. Beshaba, on the other hand, tends to hoard her power. She grants her priests their spells and spends a small portion of her power getting even with mortals who neglect her when they make large offerings to Tymora. It appears that Beshaba is indeed losing control of her power. In addition to the earthquake in her own realm, she is causing a good deal of destruction granting boons to some of her worshipers on your world."
"But if we do another reconnaissance into Gehenna, you and Finder can sense what Xvim is up to, right?" Emilo asked.
Selune shot a disapproving glance at the eager kender. "Know this," she said. "When you arrived on the Blood Tor, Beshaba surely sensed your presence. You were simply not sufficiently interesting for her to take particular notice. She was intent on a story being told to her concerning the Sensates of Sigil. Eventually, she presumed, one of the many evil creatures who live on the surface of the mountain would dine on your flesh. If Beshaba had sensed you approaching an entrance to her underground fortress, she would have dispatched someone to destroy you. But she was forced to flee her realm to keep it from collapsing around her followers and petitioners. Had she been present, you would never have made it to her lower temple, let alone her court. We have no reason to expect you will be that lucky in Gehenna. Xvim trusts no one."
"But won't he be preoccupied with Beshaba?" Joel asked.
"If she is not already drained and unconscious," Finder said. "Furthermore, there is the question of Sirrion's involvement."
"Sirrion?" Holly asked with a start.
"Sirrion is a god of neutrality who dwells in Limbo," Finder explained to the paladin. "A power meant to balance good and evil in the world of Krynn, where Emilo is from. The manifestation he sent to speak with Emilo said it was interested in protecting Emilo. If that is true, why? Is he the reason Emilo appeared in Sigil? The powers of the Realms have had few dealings with the powers of Krynn thus far. Sirrion may have reason to involve himself in this affair, but if Iyachtu is using a god from an alien pantheon for some scheme against Tymora and Beshaba, he is violating the compact the powers of the Outer Planes have agreed upon. Beshaba may not have left Gehenna yet because Sirrion challenged her there. She is more powerful than Iyachtu Xvim, but Sirrion is her equal in power."
"All this is speculation," Joel said. "If we go to Gehenna, you'll have more information."
"The Blood Tor wasn't the worst the Abyss had to offer, and Gehenna is worse than the Abyss," Finder warned. "The Bastion of Hate, Xvim's realm, is perched on Chamada, the second mount of Gehenna. The land itself is violent. It gushes, bleeds, and seeps molten rock from every crack and pore. There is no flat place on the outer slope to rest, and the inner canyons are home to the shapeshifting barghests, the deadly gas phiuhl, the razor-winged slasrath, and the yugoloths, the most evil creatures known to the Outer Planes. Iyachtu hires yugoloths as mercenaries."