I turned, and called out Morte's name. He drifted over to me.
"Uh, chief, what happened to your *voice?*"
I... AM SOMETHING ELSE NOW. TIME RUNS SHORT, AND SOON TIME AND FATE WILL CATCH UP WITH ME. I WILL RETURN YOU TO SIGIL, MORTE, IF YOU WISH IT.
"Wh --? Return me? What about *you?* Come on, chief, I may be a *coward,* but there's no way I'm leaving you in this place."
MANY ARE THE CRIMES THAT WERE COMMITTED WHEN MY MORTALITY AND I WERE SPLIT. THESE CRIMES CARRY A... PRICE. YOU MAY NOT GO WHERE I WILL SOON BE.
"Well, I *could* go with you anyway, chief, if you wanted me to - I mean, we've been through wors-"
NOT THIS TIME. PERHAPS ONE DAY YOU AND I WILL MEET AGAIN, ON ANOTHER PLANE. BUT NOT NOW. Morte stared at me for a moment, then sighed.
"Not to get all misty-eyed, but, uh, it's been a pleasure, chief."
FAREWELL, MORTE. I turned to Annah.
ANNAH. ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? Annah's eyes widened as I addressed her.
"Wh - what *happened* ta yeh? Yer voice - it's like echoes, it is."
I HAVE CHANGED. I AM SOMETHING ELSE NOW, AND I CANNOT REMAIN HERE MUCH LONGER. I WILL RETURN YOU TO SIGIL, IF YOU WISH IT.
"Wh-" Annah opened her mouth, then paused. "Wh -- Where are *yeh* goin'?"
MANY ARE THE CRIMES THAT WERE COMMITTED WHEN MY MORTALITY AND I WERE SPLIT. THESE CRIMES CARRY A... PRICE. THERE IS A PLACE RESERVED FOR ONES SUCH AS I ON THE LOWER PLANES. IT IS... PUNISHMENT OF A SORT.
"But I... I don't *want* yeh ta go."
I WILL NOT FORGET HOW MUCH YOU WERE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR ME, ANNAH.
Annah nodded. She looked like she was about to say something else, but then fell silent - but the unspoken thought remained in her mind, lingering.
I DO NOT NEED YOUR WORDS TO KNOW YOUR HEART, ANNAH. FAREWELL.
I turned to Dak'kon.
DAK'KON OF SHRA'KT'LOR, LAST WIELDER OF THE *KARACH* BLADE. As he heard my words, Dak'kon slowly nodded.
"Your voice... have you at last come to *know* yourself?"
YES. IT WAS A... DIFFICULT THING, AND IT COST MANY LIFETIMES. MANY SUFFERED SO THAT I MIGHT KNOW MYSELF AGAIN.
"The *knowing* of one's self is a difficult path."
IN KNOWING IT, I KNOW WHERE I SHALL SOON BE BOUND. TIME AND FATE COME HERE EVEN AS WE SPEAK, AND I WILL NOT BE HERE MUCH LONGER. I WILL RETURN YOU TO SIGIL, DAK'KON, IF YOU WISH. Dak'kon fell silent for a moment; when he spoke again, his voice was sharp, as if severing a link.
"*Know* that once I owed you a debt. *Know* that you saved my life, and *know* that I followed you to settle that debt. I have paid for your life with mine. The debt is settled."
VERY WELL, DAK'KON. OUR TWO DEATHS WERE AS ONE. YOU WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE WITH YOUR FREEDOM.
I faced our gentle tanar'ri.
FALL-FROM-GRACE. Fall-From-Grace looked up, and she held my eyes for a moment, then she smiled - but it was a slight smile, that carried more sadness than anything else.
"So you have found yourself at last?"
YES. THE PRICE WAS... HIGH. THE COST WAS MANY LIFETIMES, MINE AND OTHERS.
"The price of such a thing is seldom measured in copper." Fall-From-Grace studied my features. "Are you still -"
I AM STILL THE ONE YOU KNOW - BUT MY PERSPECTIVE HAS... CHANGED. I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU, IF THAT IS YOUR FEAR. Fall-From-Grace smiled again, the same sad smile as before.
"No, that was not my fear."
I CANNOT REMAIN HERE FOR MUCH LONGER. MY PUNISHMENT CALLS, AND FATE AND TIME SHALL SOON BE HERE. I WILL RETURN YOU TO SIGIL, IF YOU WISH.
"That is not my wish." Fall-From-Grace reached forward, and her hand lightly touched my arm. There was a slight tingling sensation, barely felt, then she took it away. "I *will* find you again, no matter where in the Lower Planes you will be - just as you shall be able to find me."
IT MAY BE A LONG TIME. WHERE I AM BOUND, TIME IS NOT MEASURED IN YEARS. AND THE CRIMES I HAVE COMMITTED ARE STRONGER THAN ANY CAGE.
"No cage shall separate us, and no Plane shall divide us." Fall-From-Grace's face became like stone. "Keep thinking of me, and we shall meet again."
I SHALL NOT FORGET ALL YOU SACRIFICED FOR ME.
She shook her head. "Just do not forget me."
TIME LAYS WASTE TO ALL THINGS. BUT I SHALL FIGHT IT AS LONG AS I CAN.
"Time is not your enemy. Forever is."
PERHAPS SO. FAREWELL, GRACE.
I turned to the last of my friends.
NORDOM.
Nordom blinked, the shutters of his eyes *kliking* rapidly, then the shutters contracted to points, as if he was squinting at me. "Your voice x-ceeds standard recognized parameters."
I HAVE BECOME... WHOLE AGAIN. I HAVE CHANGED, BUT I SHALL NOT BE HERE MUCH LONGER. I WILL RETURN YOU TO SIGIL, NORDOM, IF YOU WISH.
"Query: Where is your next destination? Nordom will follow and protect you."
I HAVE COMMITTED MANY CRIMES ACROSS MANY LIFETIMES. I GO NOW TO A PLACE OF PUNISHMENT. YOU CANNOT COME WITH ME.
"Branching query: Do you not (require) or do you not (want) presence of Nordom?"
YOU CANNOT FOLLOW, NORDOM. IT IS NOT MY CHOICE. THERE ARE OTHER POWERS THAT NOW RULE MY ACTIONS. THEY ALWAYS DID, BUT NOW THEY KNOW ME FOR WHAT I AM, AND THEY COME EVEN AS WE SPEAK. Nordom *whrrr-kliked* for a moment, then his crossbows begin *klikking* and *twanging* in his hands.
"Nordom surrenders gratitudes. You helped Nordom find his idemnity."
AS YOU HELPED ME FIND MINE. I GIVE YOU YOUR FREEDOM, NORDOM. EXPLORE, LEARN, GROW. WE MAY MEET AGAIN, ON ANOTHER PLANE, IN A TIME FAR FROM NOW.
"Response: Heard and acknowledged. Nordom now awaiting said day."
HOLD ON TO YOUR LOGIC, NORDOM. YOU WILL FIND IT A GREATER SHIELD THAN MOST OF THE PASSIONS THAT RULE THE PLANES.
"The issue no longer equals total logic."
FAREWELL, NORDOM.
A man, a mortal man, stood on the battlements of a fortress.
His friends had been sent to Sigil. The shadows which once roamed
the halls beneath him had been set free. The crenellated wall
his hands rested upon was no longer sharp-edged, but crumbling,
as if the regrets which once sustained it had faded away. The
man stared at nothing, thought of nothing, in a rare moment of
peace in his lives. Soon, his fate would catch up to him, and
he would take his place in the Blood War. But not just yet.