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"Decent, all things considered. There’s a big temple to the Knowing Mentor. I’m not hardcore devoted like Vim is, but I went to a service the other day. I didn’t understand a single thing the priest said, but it was a nice vibe. I haven’t found anything for the Spider Queen though. I asked Vim about it and he said some...
"I’m glad," Ptem said.
"I also had a great night out at Elvendawn. It’s super easy to meet people," they said.
Ptem had stayed in while Djemari, Adhlea, and Lark celebrated the first emergence of the Elves into Exandria from the Feywild. He’d had enough unpleasant experiences with sober elves and she had no desire to encounter any after they’d been drinking. The others had had a good time and Lark had brought home the best wine...
Djemari had returned to the house at mid-morning the following day, looking very pleased with themselves. They’d spent the rest of the day meditating on and off.
"I’ve also gotten better at that whole "manifesting shades of myself from unrealized timelines’ thing," Djemari continued. "It’s very useful, having a soldier who doesn’t get tired or need sustenance. I use it to demonstrate partnered drills in the Military District. It’s also fun for sex. Swapping places with it drive...
"I can imagine," Ptem said. "Sorry for causing it to happen."
"Nah, it’s fine. Like I said, it’s useful." Djemari ate the last slice of pork on their plate.
Were Ptem in a better state, Djemari would have propositioned him again. They had enjoyed the time they spent together in Umar and now that they’d learned to use their echo for pleasure, they’d like to try it out with Ptem. But Ptem was still recovering from her ordeal in prison and Djemari didn’t want to hurt him.
"How are things with you?" Djemari asked her.
"Things are fine," Ptem said. She fished a chunk of seasoned tofu out of his bowl and enjoyed the way it came apart in his mouth, releasing all the flavours inside.
"No, I mean, how are you really?" Djemari tried again. "You don’t have to get into any personal shit if you don’t want to, but I have no idea what you’ve been up to. I’m asking in a "what’s new’ kind of sense."
Djemari wouldn’t usually push Ptem when he said she was fine, but they were genuinely curious about what was happening in his life. They knew that Ptem had weekly doctor’s appointments, therapy a couple of times a week, a job at the university, and that he’d joined some kind of crafting club, but they didn’t know any f...
"Um, you already know about Shaun Gilmore and the dildos," Ptem said, trying to remember what she had and hadn’t told Djemari previously. "Ramas introduced me to Swords & Spellslingers, a not-quite board game where everyone makes a character and they have a set of statistics that you pick, and you can build them to be...
"Sounds fun. What are you playing?" Djemari asked.
"I’m playing a human mage. Her name’s Li Hua. She’s quiet but she’s really good in battle. There’s a rule where you can choose not to give your character a stat boost and pick a talent instead, so I gave her more of her own class options. She can make magic answer to her and she doesn’t have to study," Ptem said excite...
Ptem was still getting used to the idea of taking on a character and roleplaying as them, but he’d picked up the mechanics easily and made her levelling choices with combat effectiveness in mind. He was pleased with her build and Ramas had joked that he needed to seriously step up his game when it came to creating thre...
"If only killing a wyrmling was as easy as rolling dice," Djemari joked.
Ptem laughed. "You can join us one night if you’d like. We’re a small party."
"I might take you up on that. Can I play a big, buff guy with a cause?"
"You can play anything," Ptem said. "Ramas can explain the rules better than I could. You’ll meet him and the rest of my friends from the university at Vim’s service next week, if you’re still going."
"Yeah, I’ll be there. You’ll have to do that spell on me again so I can understand what he’s saying and so I can tell him which bits I liked best. Are you still telling everyone we’re twins?"
When Ptem didn’t answer, Djemari said they’d keep up with the lie if it’s what Ptem wanted, but warned that it could get complicated. When Ptem asked for an example, Djemari pointed out that they’d have to come up with explanations for why they knew different languages and why they didn’t grow up with the same opportun...
Ptem suggested they could tell everyone that their parents separated when they were both children and each took one of them. Ptem went to the surface and Djemari stayed in the Underdark. "And we met because I was travelling in the Underdark and you recognized me. That part is true," Ptem said.
"I mean this in the nicest possible way—you’re a shit liar, Ptem," Djemari said.
Ptem let out a sigh. He was good at keeping secrets but terrible at telling outright falsehoods. "You’re right," she said. "But I don’t know what else to do. I can’t tell them about time travel. It’s not a conversation I want to have. Also, it’s not safe to tell them. I don’t want them getting interested in chronurgy m...
"Is there anything in the Chronurgy Code that says you can’t tell people about chronurgy magic? It exists here, so they might have heard of it already," Djemari said.
"It doesn’t say specifically. Even if it’s not in the code, the council could just decide to be angry that I told them," Ptem said.
"Right. I get it, but also that’s a huge part of your life that you won’t talk about. It must be tiring to keep it quiet," Djemari argued. They looked Ptem in the eye and saw her dejected expression. "Look, I said I’d go along with it—and I will—but you should seriously consider at least telling your friends that you’r...
"Maybe," Ptem said. "When does your ship leave for Rexxentrum?" he asked, changing the subject.
"On the first day of Sydenstar," Djemari said. "I’ve never been on a ship before."
Soon after they arrived in Emon, Djemari had headed down to the port and asked about chartering a vessel to Rexxentrum. They learned that they’d have to dock at Icehaven then take Havenpath Road through Yrrosa to get there. The deckhand they’d found had lamented the loss of Emon’s skyport, as Rexxentrum had one of its ...
The deckhand had fetched their captain—a member of the weaver’s guild—and she’d agreed to take Djemari aboard her merchant barge for a discounted fare in exchange for helping to crew it. The captain expected the journey to take a couple of months at least, but she could help find Djemari a ride to Yrrosa when they dise...
Ptem had offered to teleport Djemari directly to Rexxentrum as she’d found a book of sigil sequences and had copied down the ones for major settlements in Exandria. Djemari had thanked him and said they’d rather stay in Emon for the rest of the month to have more time with the party, and that they wanted to see the oce...
"Oh, you’ll be here for my birthday," Ptem said without thinking.
"Oh, yeah? When’s that? What are you doing for it?" Djemari asked.
"Brussendar thirty-first. And I don’t know yet. When’s yours?"
"Unndilar sixth," Djemari said. "I just had it."
"That was the day we arrived in Umar," Ptem said. "The first thing we saw was Daedalus’ execution on the wall."
"Yeah, Kárr’s uncle. Wild. It feels like a lifetime ago," Djemari said.
"It does," Ptem agreed. "Are you all finished here?" she asked, gesturing to Djemari’s empty bowl.
"Yeah, I’m good to go if you are," they said. Ptem nodded and Djemari left cash on the table for the both of them. They chatted some more on the way home about what kind of Swords & Spellslingers character Djemari would play and which spells and weapons they’d choose.
The house was empty when Ptem and Djemari got back. Vim was still out with his friends, Adhlea was staying late at the library, and Lark was probably burglarizing houses in the Cloudtop District.
Djemari threw themselves on the sofa and declared they were going to chill out with a book for a bit. It turned out that Pirates Without Sin was the first in a romance novel series and each book was more hilarious than the last. Djemari had found the whole set in a secondhand bookshop and was on the fourth installmen...
Ptem wished them a good night and went upstairs to his and Vim’s room. She parked her wheelchair in the corner and got out. He retrieved his shopping bag and laid his purchases on the bed along with the harness he’d made for Vim. Ptem picked up the lace body cage again and held it up, admiring the way it shimmered in t...
He went to the bathroom quickly to wash herself and clean his clothes, then slipped the garment on. Ptem ran her hands over her body and smiled to himself. He kept it on and redressed, buttoning her shirt over the lace. It could be a surprise for Vim when he came home, after she’d had the chance to talk to him about th...
Half an hour later, Ptem heard the key turn in the lock of the front door, followed by heavy footsteps up the stairs a couple of minutes later. Vim opened the door to their bedroom and put his bag down on top of the desk. He turned to find Ptem reading a hefty book on the bed.
"How was your day, love?" he asked as he began stripping out of his outside clothes.
"It was good," Ptem said, closing Mordin’s spellbook. "I got a lot done today. How was game night?"
"A lot of fun," Vim said. "Yalras kicked all our asses at every game we played and Crisliann sent me home with cookies for you." He fished a small box out of his pack and handed it to Ptem. "She wrapped them before we all got there so Kaltaar couldn’t eat them all."
"Please thank them for me," Ptem said. "Adhlea helped me with Mordin’s book and we found something useful that I’d like to tell you about. Are you okay to talk about time magic?"
"Sure," Vim replied. He was in a good enough mood that he thought he could handle it and Ptem didn’t seem particularly upset over whatever it was she’d discovered. "Want to join me for a bath and we can talk while I wash your hair?"
"I’ve already bathed, but I’ll keep you company," Ptem said. "Thank you, love."
Vim nodded and pressed a kiss to Ptem’s forehead before taking his dirty clothes to the washroom to throw in the hamper. He turned the faucet on and filled the tub with comfortably warm water and his cleansing oils. Ptem followed.
"What’d you and Adhlea find?" he asked as he lowered himself into his bath, stifling a groan as the water soothed his tired muscles. He rested his head on the lip of the tub and closed his eyes, letting his body sink further into the fragrant water.
Ptem explained that there was a magic flower native to the Feywild called the flower of the ages that he could use to travel to the correct point in time, consuming the flower in the process. She told Vim that she didn’t have a spell for it yet, but knowing that it was possible was enough to motivate Ptem to create one...
"The flower you gave me is magic and would work for this purpose, but they sell them in Syngorn," Ptem said. "I can get some if we visit there."
Vim opened his eyes and looked up at the blue and gold flower tucked behind Ptem’s ear. "So the pretty trinket I gave you was meant to be yours then," he said. "You can use it to go home or to bring us back here."
It unsettled him the number of times something like this had happened since Ptem fell into his life. He didn’t believe in fate. Erathis’ church taught that the world is shaped by people’s actions and any attempt to divine some sort of predestined path from it was a fruitless endeavour but between this and Ptem’s moonst...
"I’m keeping the one you gave me. It survived time prison," Ptem said. The flower was the first gift Vim had given her. It was a part of him and she couldn’t lose it.
"Your collar also survived time prison, love," Vim reminded him. "I can give you another flower for your hair. There are a few other varieties tied to my spear if you need that one to go home." It warmed him that Ptem wanted to keep the gift he’d given her, but Vim brought him flowers all the time. He wanted to be able...
"It doesn’t have to be the one you gave me," Ptem said. "I’ll need to find more anyway to put together a spell that works. You’re right; it was meant to be mine."
Vim was silent. He dipped his hand into the fancy scale scrub he’d bought from Crisliann and began massaging it into his legs while gathering his thoughts. He spent more time than he probably should have, anxiously buffing his scales while thoughts of losing Ptem to a chronurgy spell gone awry clouded his mind.
"Can you promise me something, love?" he finally asked, his voice so quiet it was barely audible. He paused, waiting for Ptem to respond. When she asked what he needed, Vim continued, unable to make himself look up at Ptem. "When you’re testing your spell, can you test it on both of us? I don’t want to lose you to anot...
He worried Ptem might think he didn’t believe she was good enough to succeed at travelling back home, but if she sent himself off again accidentally, Vim wouldn’t be able to follow and might never see her again. He didn’t want him to disappear without any warning. He moved to anxiously rubbing the scrub into his arms a...
Ptem got out of her chair and knelt by the tub. She cupped Vim’s jaw with one hand and gently turned him to face him. He pressed a kiss to the tip of his snout. "I’d never test it without you, love," she said. "Also, chronurgy magic isn’t something I can test multiple times. We’d both have to be prepared for it to work...
Vim nuzzled Ptem’s cheek and purred. "Thank you, love," he said softly.
"I also wanted to get your opinion on something tangentially related," Ptem said. "I haven’t told my friends here about my chronurgy situation. Djemari and my therapist think I should."
"What do you think?" Vim asked. He agreed with Djemari and Shilvik but wanted to gauge where Ptem was coming from before saying anything. If Ptem was asking him though, he had a feeling she was starting to question his decision to not share that part of herself.
"I haven’t told them because I don’t know how to do that without having to talk about everything else related to time travel. I also don’t want my friends offering to help and getting themselves in trouble with the Chronurgy Council," Ptem said.
"You could just tell them everything," Vim said gently. "You felt a lot better once you told me everything, did you not? If you’re worried about how they might react to your potential future war crimes, I don’t think you need to be. Any reasonable person would see you haven’t done anything yet and don’t want to make a ...
He’s right, Ptem thought. The anxiety constricting her heart had uncoiled after she told Vim about her future and his reasons for chronurgy magic. He’d felt similarly after she explained her circumstances to Adhlea, as the Chronurgy Council had mentioned his future crimes. Ptem had felt obligated to elaborate after th...
There was no reason to believe his new friends would react any differently to Vim and Adhlea. But the prospect of telling them everything made Ptem’s chest tighten and made her heart pound. He’d have to bear her guilt and apologize for lying.
"I did," Ptem said slowly. "I could tell them. But it would be a long, drawn-out conversation and I don’t know when I should bring it up. Also, I’ve been telling them that Djemari and I are twins and that’s a direct lie."
"It’d be less drawn-out than only telling them bits and pieces now and going back to tell them a little more later," Vim said. "You could move past it in one discussion. And I don’t think they’d be upset about the lie. It isn’t a harmful one and they’d probably understand that you thought it’d be easier than explaining...
Vim hoped Ptem would open up to her friends. He could see how much lying to them stressed her out. Ptem was a terrible liar and he was surprised she hadn’t yet tripped over all of the explanations he’d made up. He’d simply told his new friends that Ptem had fallen into his life when a teleportation spell he’d cast had ...
He was fine with the lie because for him it ultimately wasn’t important and because in his mind, time travel was a particularly volatile form of teleportation. He wasn’t concealing anything important about himself from Crisliann and the rest of the group. But chronurgy magic was an integral part of Ptem and hiding it...
"I suppose," Ptem said. "You don’t think it’s dangerous for me to tell them? They’d be under the jurisdiction of the Chronurgy Council if they tried to learn time magic."
"And we have plans to end the Chronurgy Council, love," Vim reminded her. "Ideally sooner rather than later. I think if you explain the risks to them, that should be enough until we succeed."
"Okay," Ptem replied. "I’ll think about it. Thank you for talking through this with me. I have one last thing. I finished a present for you today, but you’ll need to get out of the bath for it." She gave Vim a suggestive smile.
Vim smiled. "Hand me my towel, love?" he asked as he pulled the plug from the drain and stood.
Vim got himself dried off and moisturized before dressing for whatever evening plans Ptem had for them.
Mortal screams, utter destruction, and oily smoke heralded what was to be the final hour of Baldur’s Gate, and yet was not.
Slowly, the adrenaline rush coursing through her veins slowed as Yvonstra’s stood on the weather docks, her gaze swept over the smoldering ruins and carnage of what was once a vibrant city. For some time she stood there, uncertain of what there was now to do. With the NetherBrain defeated and the Crown out of reach, th...
But this was not Yvonstra’s city; these were not her people. With skin as inky black as the darkness of the depths of the Underdark and her bloodline faith in service to Lloth, Yvonstra was an outsider far from home. Standing there dripping wet, she felt alone and lost on the surface world.
Alone. She felt alone.
For the first time since the tadpole infection, she felt alone, and the sudden gravity of the emptiness was jarring. With the death of the Netherbrain and the infectious tadpoles dead, the ever-present psionic connection between the various party members" minds was gone.
Also missing was the connection shared with the enigmatic figure referred to as the Emperor.
Slowly but surely, the other shell-shocked survivors gathered, the wayward band of adventures coalescing once more so that they might look on with wonder and reflect upon what happened and what lay ahead. This was the start of a new chapter, and rebuilding would take time and effort. Standing on the surface in daylight...
As her jaw set and dark eyes hardened once more, her attention shifted to the only being present whose psionic absence weighted upon her the most. In turning her attention to address the illithid who had been her guardian and lover through the overwhelming odds their eyes would meet, her own dark gaze holding his fiery...
Yvonstra knew, without a spoken word, that her place in the ruins of this surface city was not to be. Though she loathed to admit it, there was an aching yearning to remain at his side, but this was not her world, and these were not her people. She was as much, if not more of an outsider in Baldur’s Gate than he was. U...
"And of you, what will you do now?" He broke the heavy silence between them with a question that carried much weight.
She considered her next words a moment before responding to him. "This seems like the hour of opportunity for political and business ventures in Baldur's Gate, does it not? A city in ruin needs supplies if it is to rebuild. Still, those supplies will demand connections found elsewhere. Perhaps, Amn? The local merchants...
"You are welcome to remain here. However, you are correct, trade and supplies during the reconstruction will fetch fine gold. Trade inroads will open many possibilities."
"When I return, I will find you." She kept her gaze forward without looking to him. Of those survivors gathered, there was only one whose gaze she could not meet as he looked upon her with his unwavering stare. One whose emotions and thoughts were now totally denied to her: the Emporer.
Elsewhere on the docks one of the party was giving a rallying speech, and it was during that speech that the rogue knew it wisest to depart back to the Elfsong Tavern to collect her things and leave. For a moment, she stood looking to the others, etching their faces and memories one last time into her memory before she...
It was time to leave; she did not belong among so many colnbluth. As she departed from the gathering on the dock, the Emporer observed as one of his favored pieces on his lanceboard walked away, leaving him with calculations to be made. He needed a replacement to fill the void that Duke Belynne Stelmane had left if he ...
There were only a few choices he could make, and the wisest for now was to let Yvonstra leave. The crisis of the city and its needs were more urgent, and for that, there were other pawns more easily accessed and brought under the heel that would meet his more immediate needs.
After all, the game of her seduction and real chase had already begun.
After everything, it was most fortunate that Elfsong still stood intact. Though uneventful, the return trip to the tavern was not without a good measure of carnage in the streets. Throughout the city, as a post-battle peace settled upon Baldur’s Gate, civilians and city guards were martialed to quell fires and clear th...

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