I've been replaying BG2 recently with some new mods, and this story was inspired by a couple of them, both available at the Gibberlings 3 site. One, "Alternatives" provides players with a more lawful option to earn their passage to Brynnlaw, by working for a mysterious paladin that (of course) has some tasks for your PC to complete. The second is "Romantic Encounters", which as the name implies adds a number of potential romantic encounters for both male and female PCs. One for female PCs is the option of a spending a night with Renal Bloodscalp, the rather charming and well-spoken Shadow Thief that appears in Chapter 2 of SoA. This story takes place several weeks after the PC's 'encounter' with Renal.

Chapter 1

Ephraela scanned the crowd surging around her on reflex, a habit ingrained after months of facing sudden and unexpected perils. Not that she thought they would be attacked here; the slum area around the Copper Coronet had become something close to their home ground in the last few weeks, the residents knowing very well that that she and her companions were heavily armed and quite able to defend themselves.

A slender man in black emerged suddenly from a nearby alley, the movement catching her eye. His face was concealed by a deep hood, and just as the first alarm bells began to sound in her head, her gaze traveled to his face. To her surprise, rather than attempting to keep his face hidden he turned to meet her eyes, one eyebrow raised in wry acknowledgement of her scrutiny. She gasped and stopped abruptly, she knew that face, and it was not one she had ever expected to see again. Unfortunately, she had not reckoned with habit of her companion, Sir Anomen Delryn, to walk protectively close behind her whenever they were in public. Her unexpected halt caught him unawares and he crashed into her with a loud clang of his armor against hers, and only his quick grab of her arm saved her from a tumble into the muck of the street.

"My lady! Are you injured?" he asked, worry clouding his eyes as he hauled her upright again. "Ephraela, a thousand pardons, I did not see that you had stopped until too late."

"I am fine, Anomen," she assured him, squeezing his hand in thanks for his assistance. "Though you could always try walking not quite so closely behind me," she said dryly, continuing a long standing disagreement between them.

"Hmph," he replied, unswayed by her reasoning as always. "My lady, I will give that suggestion all the consideration that it merits."

She pursed her lips on a smile and murmured, "See that you do, Anomen."

At some point during their conversation, his arm had found its way around her waist. He smiled warmly, his eyes intent on her face, but before he could reply another voice entered the conversation.

"Are you two quite through?" Jaheira asked testily, "I would like to get to the Coronet sometime tonight. Once we're aboard ship, there will be no opportunity for a bath, most likely not for a decent meal or a comfortable bed either. I am not going to miss this last chance for you two laggards."

"We're coming Jaheira," she replied, exchanging a rueful smile with Anomen. She glanced quickly to where the man in black had been standing; as she expected, he was long gone.

"What caused you to stop so suddenly, Ephraela?" Jaheira asked, "You should be more careful, the last thing we need is for one of us to be seriously injured when we're finally close to reaching Imoen."

"I…I just thought I recognized someone, but I must have been wrong," Ephraela assured her. But she knew hadn't been wrong, and as the made their way to the Coronet she considered what the man's appearance might mean. He was someone well able to avoid detection if he wished; he obviously intended her to see him, of that she was certain. She was far less certain, however, how she felt about seeing Renal Bloodscalp again, or what he could possibly want from her.

Some time later Ephraela was feeling relaxed once more, and had almost forgotten about the surprise meeting. She was leaning comfortably against Anomen's shoulder, listening to her friends chat and make plans for their journey the next day. She sighed contentedly; even though she suspected they had a long road ahead of them before they could rescue Imoen and punish the mad mage Irenicus for his crimes, it felt very good to be finally on their way after weeks of scrounging gold for this opportunity.

"So, young Anomen," Keldorn asked with a smile, "are you pleased with your new mace?"

"Oh, yes, sir, it is remarkable weapon!" Anomen replied enthusiastically. They had recovered a powerful mace, enchanted against the undead, during their attack on the vampire lair under the graveyard. Ephraela had it further enchanted by the dwarf smith Cromwell, and had presented it to Anomen as a surprise earlier that day. "It was already extremely well-balanced, and the ilithium coating seems to have added no weight all." He covered Ephraela's hand with own and gave her a loving smile, "It is a far more generous gift than I deserve, and I hope my lady knows how grateful I am."

The lady in question chuckled, "Considering you've thanked me at least ten times already, I think I can safely say that I know you appreciate it." She shook her head, "I suppose I should consider it an improvement that you're no longer fretting about using the ilithium for the mace rather than a sculpture for the temple."

Anomen chuckled apologetically, "I'm trying not to think about that, since it is past mending! But I do still worry that Helm might think it selfish to have done so."

Ephraela snorted, "Helm has always seemed a very practical deity to me. Why would he want the ilithium to be gathering dust in a temple when you could be using it to smite vampires back to the Nine Hells where they belong?"

Anomen sighed, "I hope you are correct, my lady."

"I think there is something to be said for her argument, Anomen," Keldorn said, looking thoughtful. "Although I am no expert on the teachings of Helm, I believe that he shares with Torm a deep hatred for the undead. Such a weapon is a powerful instrument of good; surely Helm would look favorably upon your use of it in his name."

"Thank you both," Anomen said, the relief clear on his face, "that eases my mind considerably."

"Well, now that that's settled," Jaheira put in sardonically, "I believe it is time for me to say goodnight. My bed here may not be the most comfortable I've ever slept in, but it will surely be better than the accommodations aboard ship, and I mean to appreciate it while I can."

After the group bid Jaheira goodnight, Anomen bent close to Ephraela, his beard soft against her cheek, "My lady," he murmured, "perhaps we should consider retiring soon as well. We sail at dawn, after all," he added, his eyes and his smile suggesting that he had more than sleep in mind.

"I'd like that very much, Anomen," she said, returning his smile. Under cover of the table she slid a hand down the length of his thigh; he gave a startled jump in response and turned to her with a beleaguered expression.

"Ephraela," he whispered urgently, "as I have told you before, I would very much appreciate it if you would wait until we have some degree of privacy before doing things of that sort!"

"Oops, sorry, Anomen, I forgot," she answered, favoring him with a wide-eyed look that was not at all contrite.

"Indeed," he replied, giving her a mock glare, "I assure you we will discuss that and…other matters later, when we are alone."

Ephraela excused herself to visit the jacks, and on the way back was stopped by one of the barmaids. "Message for you, my lady, Hendak says it came a short while ago." She pressed a folded parchment in Ephraela's hand and hurried away.

Her heart lurched, what could this be? She prayed it was not some crisis that would keep them in Athkatla and miss their chance to sail to Spellhold.

The message was brief and unsigned; it read:

I suspect that if you had wanted me dead, I would be. The reverse is true as well. We need to meet.

Written at the bottom of the message was a location in the slums not far from the Coronet, and a time less than a quarter-glass away.

Ephraela's mind worked furiously; the note must be from Renal Bloodscalp, but why did he want to speak to her? She would have to go…the Shadow Thief leader was dangerous and unpredictable, and she was not at all certain what he would do if she ignored his request for meeting.

She returned to her seat next to Anomen and considered her options; Anomen was far too protective to let her wander around the slums at night alone, he was certain to protest vehemently, especially if he knew who she was meeting. Besides, the prospect of speaking to Bloodscalp alone made her more than a little nervous for a number of reasons.

"Anomen," she said under her breath when she was certain the others were absorbed in their own conversations, "I need to go out. Would you come with me?"

"What?" he asked in surprise. "At this time of night? Surely there is nothing so urgent!"

"I do need to go, and yes, at this time of night," she countered, "but if you don't want to go, I can ask someone else…maybe Minsc, or Yoshimo."

As she had expected this threat alone was sufficient to gain Anomen's acquiescence. By and large he trusted their companions, but he also hated having her safety entrusted to any hands but his own. "Of course I will accompany you, Ephraela. But what is this about?"

"I'll explain on the way." She stood and addressed the others, Anomen following her lead, by habit taking his accustomed spot at her shoulder. "It's getting late, and Anomen wants to take a walk before we go to bed. Don't you, Anomen?"

"Ah, yes, a walk, just the thing," Anomen agreed, although not very convincingly.

This announcement was greeted with a startled silence from the others around the table. Yoshimo arched one eyebrow and said dryly, "I would not have expected the young samurai to be eager for any activity that does not require the privacy of your room." He smiled knowingly, a glint of amusement in his eyes, "But perhaps I've misjudged."

Anomen flushed and glanced at Keldorn; the fact that he spent his nights in Ephraela's room was an open secret among the companions, though still a recent enough development that Anomen worried that the senior knight might disapprove.

Instead, Keldorn nodded in agreement, "A brisk walk after an evening of food and drink is an excellent idea." He glanced up with a bland expression that did not conceal the twinkle in his eyes, "But I know you will excuse me if I do not join you, these old bones need some rest before the journey tomorrow. Do be cautious, however," he continued, his tone serious, "the slums at night aren't entirely safe, even for two as capable as you."

"Of course, sir," Anomen replied.

As soon as the door of the Coronet closed behind them, Anomen turned to Ephraela, arms crossed and face set, "My lady, I agreed to this because I could see that you are determined, but before we proceed further, I insist you tell me what this is about."

Ephraela sighed, "All right, Anomen." She put a hand on his arm and smiled tenderly at him, "I'm not trying to keep anything from you, love, it was just too complicated to explain to everyone. I got a message on the way back from the jacks that someone wanted to meet tonight." She took a deep breath, "Renal Bloodscalp."

Anomen's expression, which had been softening at her conciliatory tone, instantly changed to one of alarm and disbelief. "Renal Bloodscalp?" he repeated incredulously, moderating his tone when he realized that he was drawing the attention of passersby. "That…thief? Why in Helm's name would you want to speak to that villain? He is known to be a thief and is almost certainly a murderer as well!" He made an exasperated noise, "Wasn't he killed when we attacked their guild house? How do you even know it was him? He doesn't seem the sort to put his name on a message."

"I'm sure we didn't kill all the Shadow Thieves in Athkatla," she replied dryly, "even though it might have seemed like it at the time. He must have been…away from the guild house. As for how I know it was from him, well, I…saw him on way back to the Coronet earlier." She shrugged, "I didn't mention it because I didn't think it meant anything."

"But…but Ephraela, why? Why would he wish to speak to you, and why would you agree? He could be intending to do you harm!"

"I really don't think he is, but that's why I asked you to come with me, Anomen." She smiled at him entreatingly, "He won't dare try anything with you there. And I honestly don't know why he wants to meet, but it won't hurt to find out, right?"

Anomen growled and gathered her into a brief embrace, "So you say; I pray you are correct." He pulled away and met her eyes, "I do not like this and I do not understand why you would wish to speak to someone so…vile." He caressed her cheek, "But I will go with you and see you safe, my love."