"Lady Tymora, Lady Beshaba, welcome to Elysium," Lathander said with a low bow. "Please forgive me for your abduction and imprisonment, but it is for a good cause, I assure you."
"I don't give a damn about your 'good cause,' " Beshaba retorted. "Free me this instant, you arrogant peacock."
Lathander gave Beshaba a coldly polite smile and said, "I did not expect you to care, Lady Beshaba. But I will explain our plan for Lady Tymora's sake. Please feel free to listen."
Lady Beshaba scowled at the Morninglord.
"Do go on, Lord Lathander," Tymora said with mock sarcasm. "Some time ago," Lathander began, "Lord Sirrion petitioned me to become a patron of an important cause. He seemed to feel that there was an imbalance among the gods of Faerun that, if left unchecked, could lead to bloody wars on Toril."
"Sirrion isn't worshiped on Faerun," Beshaba said. "Why should he care?"
"Lord Sirrion," Lathander explained, "has reason to believe that an imbalance of good on Faerun would lead to an exodus of evil, which would end up on Krynn, where he does have worshipers. Krynn is already beset with much evil, and Lord Sirrion is anxious to avoid the influx of any more. From the first I found his arguments in favor of his plan quite compelling, but I didn't agree to sponsor him immediately. I am not as rash as many of the gods believe me to be."
"Please get to the point, Lathander," Tymora snapped. "My attention tends to wander when I'm a captive audience."
Joel peered around another corner of the altar so that he could view Lathander and Sirrion. Sirrion had started to manipulate the crystals and glass balls on the altar just outside the fusion chamber.
"Lord Sirrion seemed to feel that your church, Lady Tymora, was about to face a grave conflict with that of Lady Beshaba's, which would lead to horrendous wars. The only way to prevent this catastrophe," Lathander said resignedly, "was to bring the two of you, and hence your followers, together. To accomplish this, you need to be united once again in the form of Tyche, the goddess you once were."
Beshaba guffawed loudly. "Have you lost your wits?" she asked Lathander.
"Lathander," Tymora said with horror, "Tyche is dead. You can't mean you're going to try to resurrect her."
"No, Lady Tymora. Tyche is not dead. She lives in you and your sister, and when the two of you are fused into one with the aid of this machine and the power of our magic, Tyche will be whole again. Toril will remain at peace, and Krynn will not be disturbed by our troubles."
"But only at our expense," Tymora declared. "Lathander, I am happy as I am. I do not want to be united with Beshaba. You have no right to force this upon us."
"Yes. For a long time, that is what kept me from supporting Sirrion's plan. But then I was left to dwell on a matter of equal importance." The Morninglord looked away from Tymora and stared off into space with a haunted look. "An ancient wrong will be righted by this plan," he said. "Tyche was a great goddess. She should never have been destroyed. To this day, I blame myself for that tragedy. Had I not started the Dawn Cataclysm, Moander might never have corrupted Tyche, and she would yet live."
"It's a little late to think of that now," Beshaba said accusingly. "You tried to claim power that was not yours. Only a fool would be surprised the other gods of Faerun chose to war against you. By the time the Dawn Cataclysm ended, your allies had suffered more losses than the enemies you hoped to contain in your bid for leadership."
"You may come to regret this move as well," Tymora warned.
"I'm sorry you are unwilling, my lady," Lathander said, "but believe me, this is for the greater good. It will serve both Toril and Krynn as well as restore Tyche."
"Not to mention that it will help you assuage your guilt," Beshaba growled. "You're a complete fool, Lathander. It's no wonder the others wouldn't accept your leadership, nor that Tyche left you."
"Soon, Lady Beshaba," the Morninglord replied softly, "you will be free from the spite and malice that enslaves your heart. You will become happier and more beloved than you have ever been. Although I realize you would never agree, you, even more than Lady Tymora, should appreciate what I am about to do for you."
"Hear me, Lathander," Beshaba vowed. "If any part of me truly remains in Tyche, she will claw out your eyes the first chance she gets."
"Lathander, Selune will never let you get away with this," Tymora said fiercely. "You cannot hope to keep her from discovering this. She is your ally. She is aware of all that happens wherever you have followers, even here in your realm. Even if you've renounced your alliance, Finder's priest is here, and Finder is an ally of Selune's as well. Your scheme is already uncovered."
"Not really," Lathander said. "With Sirrion's aid, I have created a dark zone about this machine that makes it impossible for anyone, even a god, to sense what goes on within. Besides, Selune is far too busy searching for the elusive Iyachtu Xvim and helping keep your church on its feet in your absence."
"So you are in league with Xvim," Beshaba declared.
"Hardly," Lathander replied with a tone that suggested he found the idea extremely distasteful.
"Then how did he know when to attack my realm?" Beshaba demanded.
"That was an unfortunate mistake on my part, Lady Beshaba," Sirrion said. "The priests of Xvim had stolen one of your power keys from your temple in Waterdeep. The minion I sent to purchase it said far more than he should have, and the priests of Xvim figured out the rest. Thus, soon after rumors of Tymora's weakness began to spread, Xvim, realizing you, too, must also be weakened, took advantage of the knowledge to attack you. Unfortunately for him I had not yet drained as much power from you as I had from Tymora. He fled from your wrath and is hiding in Baator."
"And why is it necessary for you to drain away our power?" Beshaba asked.
"First, so that we could capture you," Lathander explained. "Second, so that the fusion chamber could handle the job of uniting the two of you. It's an ingenious device, but hardly up to the task of containing and fusing that much godly power. We returned some of your power so you would regain consciousness and I could explain to you what was about to happen. Now, however, we must drain you again so that you will once more fall unconscious and we can remove the bard from the fusion chamber. He couldn't possibly survive the fusion process."
"What's going to happen to all the power you drain from us?" Tymora asked bitterly.
"It's being transferred into the blue crystal sphere," Lathander said. "It was the last power key Tyche ever made."
"Yes, I remember," Tymora snapped. "When you and Beshaba are united, all the power will be restored to you," Lathander promised. "You will be more powerful than ever."
"Interesting," Beshaba said. Suddenly a great spear appeared in her hand. She drew it back and pointed it at Tymora, who was so engrossed with glaring at Lathander and Sirrion that she didn't seem to notice.
"Look out!" Joel cried out as Beshaba hurled the weapon. In the nick of time, he threw himself at Lady Luck, knocking her out of the spear's path.
"Beshaba, what are you doing?" Lathander shouted.
Tymora leapt to her feet and took cover with Joel behind a large shield she created from the chaos matter.
"If Tymora is dead, Lathander," Beshaba replied, "obviously you cannot shackle me to her side." She addressed Tymora. "You would do well to follow my lead, Sister. Soon we will be too weak to act on our own behalf. If you destroy me, so be it. I am willing to risk my life to spite this arrogant peacock. We are now at war," Beshaba declared. She pointed one hand at Tymora, and a bolt of lightning crashed down just to the left of Tymora.
Tymora responded by conjuring a magical dagger and hurling it at the Maid of Misfortune. As Beshaba ducked, Tymora grabbed Joel's hand and fled from the temple, flying into the chaos.