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Shadowheart took that opportunity to interject, reminding the Wizard there were more people he was speaking with than the drow who seemed to have caught the entirety of his attention. "We haven’t a clue." |
"Fair enough." Gale replied. "But even so, I have the unfortunate suspicion your survival is still very much in jeopardy. Back on the ship, you too were on the receiving end of a rather unwelcome insertion in the ocular region, were you not?" |
The man was clearly in love with his own voice. An ego like that could lead to easy manipulation. Astarion wondered if Gale would insist on leadership of the little band, once Tav inevitably invited him to join them. Wizards, in Astarion’s experience, often thought they knew best at all times the same as clerics did. W... |
"Couldn’t have phrased it more repellently myself." Tav answered, a shiver of disgust moving through her entire body at the memory of the tadpole insertion. |
"No use sugarcoating it, is there?" Gale replied. "The insertee we speak of, this parasite - are you aware that after a period of excruciating gestation it will turn us into mind flayers? It’s a process known as ceremorphosis, and let me assure you: it is to be avoided." |
Tav blinked, uncertain how to reply to the man’s torrent of words. Shadowheart and Astarion scoffed in tandem, then glanced at each other in surprise. |
"You don’t happen to be a cleric, by any chance, do you?" Gale went on, "A doctor? Surgeon? Uncannily adroit with a knitting needle?" |
Shadowheart took pity on Tav, answering the question in her stead. "You seem to know enough about our condition to realize it is beyond most clerics’ skills." |
"Most, no doubt." Gale agreed cheerfully, "But I find myself hoping to be in the presence of the few. You don’t happen to be one of them? |
"I possess many gifts," Tav replied, "but tadpole extraction is not one of them. I cannot cure us." |
"As we’ve established, few enough can." Gale answered, not surprised but slight disappointment coloring his voice. "It’s not exactly a common affliction. We’re most certainly going to need a healer, and soon too. How about we lend each other a helping hand once more and look for a healer together?" |
Tav wouldn’t even need to extend an invitation; Gale was prepared to tag along, invite or no. The man was clearly intelligent, but in a book-learned way that lacked wisdom or social graces. So far, he was presenting himself to Astarion as the better mark of all three. |
"Sounds like a plan." Tav acknowledged, then made introductions. "I’m Tav, this is Shadowheart and Astarion." |
"Most excellent!" Gale’s enthusiasm was going to grow annoying in short order. "A parasite shared is a parasite halved. Or something to that effect." |
Tav turned away, preparing to continue on their journey with Gale in tow. The wizard grabbed her arm before she could step away. Her head came up sharply at the grasp, her features hardening into a well worn expression of faint anger, the expression she had leveled against Astarion himself when he had pressed his knife... |
"Oh! But before you think you’re about to embark on a journey with most ill-mannered a man: thank you for pulling me out of that stone" Gale blathered on, not noticing Tav’s reaction to the grip he had on her arm. "It was an act of foresighted kindness I assure you, for I have the feeling ample opportunities will prese... |
"Yes, yes. We’re all friends now." Astarion stepped in, distracting Gale enough that Tav was able to move out from his grasp without seeming rude. He was either saving Tav from Gale or Gale from Tav, either way gaining inroads to new allies. "Can we move on from this blasted wreckage?" |
"I agree, finding civilization would be our best step towards healing." Gale looked expectantly at Tav. Apparently, the drow would maintain her unofficial position as leader of their merry little band of misfits. With her leadership position solidifying with every new person she met, he would need to focus on her, stay... |
"Yes, this wreck is probably drawing all the wrong attention." Tav agreed, looking around. The path they were on curved north east, around the travel sigil Gale had found himself trapped in. "I suppose this way is as good as any." She set off, following the path away from the felled nautilus and deeper into the summer ... |
They hadn’t gone far before a plump brown rabbit jumped into the path before them. Tav stopped dead in her tracks to stare at the creature with wide eyes. |
"Is it safe?" She whispered to Shadowheart beside her. |
"It’s a rabbit." Confusion caused the half-elf to state the obvious. |
"What’s a rabbit?" Tav asked, not taking her eyes from the rabbit. |
"That is a rabbit." Astarion pointed at the animal, faintly amused. "It’s harmless, darling. First time on the surface, then?" |
"No. Not my first time. But I haven’t been up here for long." Tav’s cheeks darkened. She was blushing! The murderous drow was blushing! Adorable. "The rabbit looks very soft." |
As though sensing Tav’s desire to pet it, the rabbit startled and launched itself into a bush. The drow’s eyes followed its path, then lit upon something else. "Now this, I know!" She crowed in triumph before pushing into the near impenetrable bush and disappearing from sight. |
"Rogue’s Morsel!" Tav’s voice cried from deep in the tangle of branches and leaves. "A fantastic crop, too. What a find!" |
What in the world was Tav going on about? |
"Tav?" Shadowheart called. |
"Just a second!" Came the reply. A few moments passed, then the drow struggled free of the bush, holding a small pouch aloft in triumph. "I found Rogue’s Morsel!" She explained again, as though that meant anything, opening the pouch to reveal dirt-covered mushrooms. |
"Thinking of dinner already?" Astarion asked, suddenly thinking of a meal himself. How was he going to find sustenance without alerting the rest of the group? |
"No. Well, yes, I’m hungry." Tav admitted, "But Rogue’s Morsel isn’t for a meal. These can be used to make healing potions." |
"How do you know about mushrooms but not rabbits?" Gale asked. |
"These grow in the underdark too." Tav explained the obvious fact far more gently than Astarion ever would have. The Wizard was truly one exclusively of book smarts. |
"Are they edible for a meal, though?" The Wizard asked, looking rather hopeful. Tav shook her head and the man positively deflated. |
"We have... we found some fruit and cheese." Shadowheart offered, reaching into her pack. "Tav, would this be a good place to rest or should we keep going for a few moments?" |
"If we rest here, will the rabbit come back?" Tav asked, hope shining pure in her eyes. Most un-drow-like indeed. |
The party settled in on the road for a quick break, passing out cheese and apples from Shadowheart’s pack. Astarion took an apple, then pretended that nature called and moved off into the woods to dispose of it. Once out of sight, he paused for a moment, knowing he had to time it right before returning. Another rabbit,... |
"...I really like apples." Tav’s voice floated through the woods, caught in his ears by the enhancement a feed gave him. |
Well. Now he had one thing to dispose of. The apple slipped into his pack for later. The rabbit, he stuffed deep under a bush, before returning to the party. They dallied about a few more minutes before packing up and moving on. |
They had journeyed through forested paths for no more than an hour when a shout from farther up the path drew their attention. Sounds of people meant civilization and, hopefully, a cure. But the shout sounded frightened. Astarion hung back, slightly, letting Tav charge ahead. Let her get injured with foolish heroics, b... |
They came up behind two red-skinned tieflings, a man and woman in leather armor, staring at a wooden cage suspended over a small ravine. They appeared to be rangers, or scouts, checking on a trap they had set. A yellow-green skinned woman, brown-spotted face slashed in great black streaks of makeup, body encased in shi... |
"Lae’zel." Shadowheart said under her breath in a tone that said the woman could stay in the cage forever and Shadowheart wouldn’t mind at all. |
"A githyanki!" Gale observed with excitement. Clearly he wanted to study the woman. |
"Zorru was right." One of the tieflings, a male, was saying to the other. "Yellow as a toad, and twice as ugly." |
"The thing must be dangerous, Damays." The second tiefling replied, fear in her voice. "Leave it for the goblins to kill." |
"And if it escapes, Nymessa? How will you - oh!" Damays finally noticed the party coming up behind him. |
"Damays." Nymessa warned, her eyes widening at the sight of Tav, "Underelf." |
"My turn to be useful." Tav whispered to Astarion with a small smirk, before her entire body changed. She became commanding, authoritative with a dangerous air. She strode forward to the two tieflings, ignoring the swords they quickly removed from scabbards and leveled before her. |
"What is she doing?" Gale whispered. |
"Being useful," Shadowheart replied with a smirk. "Didn’t you hear?" |
"Your turn will be next," Astarion murmured. "Worry not." |
"She is mine." Tav was saying in a surprisingly harsh voice, every line of her body a threat of barely leashed violence. "Leave her to me if you value your life." |
The tieflings backed away, sheathing their swords. "Come, Nymessa." Damays snapped, pretending that leaving was his decision in an effort to retain some illusion of control over the situation. The two horned rangers took off at a jog, disappearing down a path, heading northwest. Once they were out of range, Tav’s body ... |
"Hello, Lae’zel!" She said brightly, with a little wave. |
"Enough gawking." The githyanki warrior spat. "Get me down." |
"Say please." Tav grinned. Astarion found himself grinning with her. |
"Never." Lae’zel was deeply unamused with the drow’s antics. "There is a bow on the ground below me. Take it and shoot this cage down." |
"I’ve got this, darling." Astarion assured Tav, happy to get his hands on a bow. He climbed down into the ravine and spotted the short bow near a massive flaming sword that must be what Tav and Shadowheart were talking about earlier. A prize from the hells. Scooping up the bow and quiver, he took aim and shot through t... |
"The tadpole hasn’t yet scrambled all your senses. Auspicious." Lae’zel hissed, though it seemed her regular manner of speaking. Astarion marked her as being the more bloodthirsty member of the group, quick to anger and quick to act. If she was willing to follow Tav, then his marking out Tav was an astute choice. |
"But the longer we wait, the more it consumes," The githyanki continued. "My people possess the cure for this infection. I must find a creche; you will join me." |
"A simple "thank you’ wouldn’t go amiss." Tav mused before Gale could begin interrogating Lae’zel about everything Githyanki. |
"You may as well suggest a wyvern bow to worms." Lae’zel replied. "The cure I offer will suffice as thanks." |
"What exactly is a Githyanki Creche?" Gale asked, unable to contain himself any longer. |
"It is many things. A hatchery, a training ground, a shelter." Lae’zel answered the wizard after the slightest of nods from Tav. "Githyanki protocol is clear: when infected with a ghaik tadpole, we must report to a ghustil for purification." |
"Alright." Tav agreed. "Let’s find this creche." |
"You have made an ally from Creche K’liir - few know such fortune. Call me Lae’zel." She announced to Gale and Astarion. Tav made introductions quickly, squinting in the harsh light of the low-hanging sun. |
"We should find somewhere to shelter for the night." Tav said, wiping tears of pain from her pale eyes. "We all need rest." |
"There appears to be ruins to the east." Lae’zel stated. "It could offer shelter." |
"Great idea." Tav acknowledged. "Lead on." |
The group moved a few hundred meters from the ravine eastward until broken gray stone walls stood before them. The sound of people moving about in the ruins could be heard, crashing and banging about. It sounded like an excavation was in progress. Too many strangers for them to trust, it didn’t seem safe. Just as Astar... |
"You!" A dirt-faced rock gnome in equally dirty leathers called out from his lookout perch on a stack of crates. "Not another step, hear me?" |
Tav obediently halted in place, regarding the gnome with an open curiosity. Her unarmed hands were open and relaxed at her side as she projected an air of innocence that clashed terribly with the inherent threat that was her Drow heritage. Shadowheart kept herself close to Tav, as she always did. The rest of them had y... |
"Boss!" The gnome cried out, directing his shout deeper into the ruins, "Got company up here!" |
"What’s this then?" Another gnome appeared, climbing up from where he had been observing a hole in the ground, they had clearly punched through with a massive block of granite tied to a complicated pulley system. The granite block hung suspended meters above the hole, safely restrained in three or four different ways, ... |
Tav gave a friendly smile and tried to respond, but the gnome cut her off. |
"Or is it the ship you’re after?" The Gnomes eyes glittered with avarice, "Don’t matter either way. It’s ours. All of it." |
Before Tav could say anything, Lae’zel’s flaming blade slashed out and sank into the Gnome’s shoulder with a hiss of extinguishing flames. |
"Vith, Lae’zel!" Tav swore at the Githyanki, as the Gnome shrieked in pain. Lae’zel pulled her sword free, the smell of charred flesh permeated the air. |
"Gymblebock!" The Rock Gnome cried out, catching everyone’s attention. The Half-elf readied his sword, thrusting towards Tav’s back. Astarion shot an arrow into his eye, then Shadowheart grabbed his arm. His entire body rotted, great chunks of flesh falling from bones before the bones themselves could even hit the grou... |
"What in the...?" Gale was as green-tinged as the rotting body on the ground, clearly not used to battle magic. |
"Make yourself useful, Gale!" Tav cried. A thunder clap drowned out anything else she may have said, as the spell that launched from her hands knocked the rock gnome from his high perch to fall to the stone-paved ground with a bone breaking crunch. Three red bolts slammed into Tav’s shoulder, spinning her body into the... |
Lae’zel’s sword flickered out again, taking the head off Gymblebock, blessedly ending his cries of pain. |
"Stay low," Tav warned, "I can’t see the magic user." |
The sun hung low in the western sky, illuminating them brilliantly, but doing nothing to give away the position of the caster in the long shadows of the ruins before them. Fog was rolling in from the nearby river, growing impossibly thicker. Soon, Astarion could hardly see his hand in front of his face. |
"Now they can’t see us either." Gale said, satisfaction heavy in his voice. He had summoned the fog and leveled the playing field. Now everyone was blind. |
"Brilliant." Tav whispered. "I can work with this. Be right back." |
And then the drow was gone, one with the fog and the growing darkness. The companions sat, blind and increasingly damp. Astarion estimated only ten minutes to have passed when voices called out from the fog, echoing and impossible to pin-point. |
"Warryn? What’s happening up there?" |
"I heard you casting, Quelenna!" |
A wet thump, followed by an ear-piercing shriek. "Quelenna! Oh gods, Quelenna!" |
A dark shape appeared behind Gale, resolving itself, silently, into Tav. She leaned forward, putting her lips almost to the wizard's ear, then whispering "you can let the spell go now" then leaping back with a laugh as Gale shrieked and flailed in surprise. |
The fog vanished so quickly its absence sucked in a breeze. |
"Astarion, would you be so kind?" Tav asked, pointing at the massive granite block above what was now a blood-splattered hole in the ground. |
Shouts were still echoing from the hole, the rest of the treasure hunters must all be in there. Astarion readied his bow and shot through the ropes suspending the heavy granite block. It crashed to the ground, smashing through the hole and silencing the shouts forever. |
"Good work, my friend." Tav clapped him on the shoulder, sharing a beautiful smile. Astarion tried not to feel warmed by the praise. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been treated like his contribution mattered. Praise was so foreign, he half expected a slap to the face or a dagger in the gut to follow it. Sure... |
A groan floated from the rock gnome's broken body. Shadowheart dropped her mace upon his head with a crunch. True silence settled over the ruins. |
"I think we should investigate that door, darling." Astarion offered to Tav, pointing deeper into the ruins at a heavy steel-banded oak door. Packs lay scattered near it along with the remains of a campfire. Now that the treasure hunters were no longer a concern, finding shelter for the night was paramount. |
"After you," Tav flourished a bow. |
Astarion started to climb into the ruins but found himself distracted by the harshly whispered conversation Tav and Lae’zel had begun. |
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