"Any idea how do disarm them?"

"I could try. Imoen was always better at this than I was."

"Tell you what. I got an idea."

Damion glanced back as Ira disappeared around the bend, eyes widening as she hauled back a spider corpse.

"Gimme a hand with this, yeah?"

"What are we doing?" Damion hurried over, grabbing a pair of legs and helping her drag it over.

"Well. If you can't disarm it, I'm rolling it onto the trap."

"Oh. Al… Alright. Let me try, first."

"You got it, Kid."

Xzar giggled, sitting down and clapping his hands together.

"Corpses~!"

"Alright, so here's what we have to deal with, looks like. There's half a dozen kobold archers on the other side of a lake, and three on this side. There's a narrow stone walkway around what looks like a stone dome in the center of the lake, connected to our side with, surprise surprise another narrow walkway. Now, the archers have the black vests, so they're probably the ones with fire arrows."

"Punchy Nanny! Punchy Nanny! Rrreservations forrr two~?"

"Eh?"

"Round yon corner, yeet?"

"Thought I smelled something familiar. You got anything ranged that can take them out in one shot, Wizard?"

"Mmmmmnu."

Ira grimaced, before turning towards the drow.

"Viconia, you need to save your magic for healing. Could you use your shield to keep the Kid from eating arrows?"

"Yes, darthiir."

Ira rolled her eyes.

"Alright, Kid, it's your job to pick them off as quick as you can without getting shot. I'll tie up the three with swords. Place looks pretty heavily guarded, but no traps from what I could tell. Well lit, too. Xzar, how much noise would it take to draw the two diners out? We don't want them to crash our party."

"Proximity?"

"I mean, I couldn't see them from where I snuck out."

Xzar gnawed on his thumb for a moment, before shrugging and grunting.

"If it comes to it," Viconia traced a hand along her holy symbol, "I would like to try my hand at turning them. If I cannot control them, perhaps I can make them flee?"

"We'll call baiting them and you turning them to keep us safe the current 'plan bee' then."

"Ow."

Ira grimaced as Viconia spent another one of their precious healing spells digging a shortsword out of her thigh.

"The -good- news, is that the two diners didn't decide to join the party."

"They will sssmell the kobolds, they will be hunnngry~..."

"Maybe pile the kobold corpses up then along the walkway so they have to eat through them to get to us? I dunno."

Xzar clapped his hands with glee, before moving to go and start dragging the dead kobolds along.

"I have bad news."

"Kid, you're back. What'd you find?"

Damion shifted slightly, grimacing and trying not to look at how Ira was slowly oozing blood.

"Well… No traps that I could find, but inside that dome is three caves that all join right by the door. There's some human corpses in the one to the left, but straight ahead is… Well, an elf. Chained to a rock."

"Huh. And the third one?"

"Gaudy tapestries and rugs, as well as a big chair with a chest in front of it. There's also a really big guy there. Maybe a half-orc? I didn't want to get any closer to see if I could tell."

"Describe him?"

The archer glanced towards her before looking back towards the entrance to the stone dome they sat against, the ceiling, anywhere but where Viconia was digging a pair of arrows out of the brawler's stomach and murmuring a prayer of healing.

"Big shield, chain armor and a morningstar."

"Either a fighter or a war priest of some kind then. Okay, best case scenario it's a fighter and we punch him to death. Worst case scenario he's a war priest and can heal himself. Right?"

"Either way, Ira, what do you think about maybe seeing if we can't res-recruit the elf? They're in a bad way."

"Describe them?"

"Uhh… Long hair, looked greasy. Sort of purplish clothes, but they're all torn and tattered." He continued to shift from foot to foot, doing what he could to ignore the wet ripping sound as Ira peeled some of the charred flesh off of her hand.

"... Thin? Saggy skin like they lost a lot of weight rapidly?"

"I couldn't tell."

"Right. Probably not, then. Can you pick the lock?"

"I can try. Imoen was always-"

"Imoen's not here. It's you or nobody."

Damion grimaced, before nodding.

"... Alright. I'll try."

"Before you go, one thing." Ira pushed herself to her feet, nodding in thanks towards the drow as she brushed her hands off, minding the raw flesh. "So, if this elf doesn't look like they can fight then we need to plan for that. I don't do hostages very well, so we need to either arm them and hope they can fend for themselves or consider them useless baggage until we figure out what they can do."

"I can't just leave them there, Ira."

She peered at Damion for a long moment, quirking a brow as a look of amusement crossed her face.

"You're… Really soft, you know that?"

"I just… I know what it's like-"

"To have nobody there for you, yeah, you've mentioned." She waved him off, saking her head. "But unless this half-orc means to go and kill them out of spite they might be better off where they are until we deck the guy."

"I… You're right. But I can't."

"Don't be so down on yourself, Kid. You're doing better than you were before."

He nodded slightly, before looking back at the cave.

"So what's the plan, Kid?"

"... Alright. Here's what we're going to do."

Ira leaned casually against the wall, keeping an eye on the half-orc and taking in what she could information wise. Viconia and Xzar were in the cavern that branched left from the entrance, the necromancer clutching the few scrolls they had found in their travels and eyed the bile of miner corpses curiously while the cleric muttered prayers under her breath. Damion had just approached the shackled elf before crouching down and starting to look at the lock, clapping a hand over their mouth when violet eyes opened and… Didn't panic, instead seeming to almost look through the archer.

He flinched, turning away from the empty-seeming eyes and removing his hand as he whispered.

"Shh, it's going to be okay. We're getting you out of here."

A solid five minutes later, and he was helping the elf to their feet.

"Thank you for my freedom, friend, for I have dwelled too long within these dismal vaults."

Damion jerked, surprised and reaching to steady the elf as they - He, it seemed - staggered with the sudden lack of support.

"Uhh… Don't mention it? Just… Be quiet. We need to sneak past here."

The elf nodded, and as they carefully picked their way through the cave Ira held up a hand to stall their approach. A few moments later, and she beckoned them forward and they eased carefully past the well lit cave and into the one that Viconia and Xzar were waiting.

"Alright, I dunno how long we have until he leaves that cave. You don't wanna know what he's been doing. Viconia?"

They helped the elf over to lean him against the wall as Viconia approached cautiously.

"I mean you no harm, surfacer."

"There is nothing you could do to me that could surmount the trials I have already faced. As you are… Rescuing me, I will withhold any judgement on the very good chance that we do not make it."

"What can you tell us about the half-orc?"

Ira slipped over from where she had been keeping an eye out, only to blink as Damion turned to scowl at her.

"Ira, give him a moment. What's your name?"

As Viconia chanted softly in the background, the male elf closed his eyes and suppressed a look of pain.

"... Xan. I am… Was, a Greycloak. I was tasked with my kin to investigate the iron crisis. We… Failed. I failed. I fear that I am all that is left of our group."

"Right. What can you do?"

Xan closed his eyes, curling slightly as Viconia's healing magic pushed aside the worst of the pain.

"I am an enchanter. But without my moonblade, it is… Difficult, to cast."

"Xzar?"

The necromancer stepped closer, peering at Xan and offering out two of the scrolls almost shyly.

"Da-mi-on~, can dis be da cowpse dat ah take home?"

"He's, ah… Not dead yet, Xzar."

Xan cautiously accepted the scrolls as Xzar pouted, crossed his arms and stomped his foot.

"Viconia, how's he looking?"

"Underfed, but as far as I am able to tell, mostly whole."

"What is he missing?"

"Woah, Kid, aside from his dignity I'm not sure that's any've your business."

The archer turned back to Ira, opening his mouth to retort before a meek voice eeked out from behind him.

"His name is Mulahey." Xan reopened his eyes, looking somewhat sick as he turned towards Ira. "His name is Mulahey and he is a cleric of Cyric."

"Oh. Well shit."

"... Xzar? What are you doi-Oh no, Ira!"

"Filthy RABBIT!"

"Tactical lesson number one! The first casualty's always the plan!"

Ira turned and thundered towards the cave that Xzar had flatout bolted towards, cringing slightly at the enraged howl that burst from the necromancer. As he stepped over the threshold, passing under the arch an off-yellow glow suffused him and he froze on the spot, strained sounds of wrath eeking out from between his clenched teeth.

"My, how did YOU get in here?"

"Boy! Ignore these!"

Damion risked a glance towards where Viconia was raising her holy symbol towards the moving pile of bodies, raising the bow and partially turning while shouting over his shoulder.

"Ira! Keep Xzar alive! We'll be there soon!"

And then the floor was crawling with kobolds.

Damion brought the bow to bear as the corpses shed their flesh and stood, turning towards the group before Viconia once more raised her holy symbol and barked out a command towards them. As one, they turned and marched after where Ira seemed to have been buried by kobolds and started hacking at the smaller combatants, rusted picks slamming into scaled flesh and drawing yips of alarm and agony.

He thought perhaps Ira would make it, save for how she rather suddenly stopped and stared blankly, blinking while the half-orc sauntered up and brought the morning star across to catch her in the ribs and draw out a confused grunt.

"Viconia!"

"I must focus or we will lose our new forces!"

"Cupio, Virtus, Licet…"

Three of the kobolds dropped where they stood as the words echoed through the air, one snoring while the skeletons focused on the remaining two who were awake, and he sent a pair of arrows whistling through the ribs of the skeletons. He shifted targets to the half-orc, and was surprised when, after hitting Ira once more, something about the female elf seemed to snap.

A bellowing snarl burst from her maw as she turned towards Mulahey, arms spreading while she charged forward to take two heavy swipes. One connected, and Damion could see blood from where she had torn her hand on the chainmail while the other had caught the shield and torn it away, throwing it aside. Hesitating, he lowered the bow slightly only to bring it back up hastily as the cleric of Cyric caught her across the face with his morningstar and sent her sprawling.

He fired two shots towards the cleric, distracting him from where Mulahey had loomed over her as if to crush her skull and end her and backpedaling as he charged out.

He hadn't expected the half-orc to, while trying to wade through the two remaining skeletons and the one remaining kobold, to jerk suddenly and freeze in his tracks. An arrow thunked into the suddenly immobile target and as Damion knocked the next one he realized that blood was seeping from the clerics mouth.

The final kobold went down, and Xzar stepped around the half-orc with a bloodied dagger in hand, grinning even as he panted for breath.

"D-da-mi-on~... Can ah have dis won?"

Viconia frowned down at Ira, nudging the unconscious Ira with a boot before shaking her head and crouching to start bandaging her. They had regrouped, moved the corpses into the chamber Xan had been held in and started to lick their wounds while Damion investigated Mulahey's chamber. Xzar, from what she could tell, was in the chamber with the corpses while Xan hovered anxiously near Damion, eyes darting around with a glimmer of suppressed hope.

Taking a moment to peer at the scars along Ira's shoulder and neck, she paused and frowned, studying the body while snatches of conversation drifted to her from the other chamber.

"You found it! I had thought-... Oh, but I would not survived if he had…"

"Eh?"

Ira roused slightly, eyes flickering open to peer groggily towards the Drow.

"Why'sh your hand'n muh pands?"

"You have a concussion."

The brawler blinked blankly for a long moment, before starting to push herself up while Viconia shifted back.

"... One've theesh things're na like th'odder."

"Which are you, then?"

Ira squinted, before bringing her good hand to her head and feeling along her jaw and the swelling across the side of her face.

"Doesh it madder?"

The drow reflected on her words for a moment, before tilting her head.

"In my culture, females hold the power, and males do not."

"An'?"

Viconia blinked, leaning back slightly.

"... No, surfacer. I suppose it does not matter here. It is only a shame that you are less than proportional."

Grey eyes squinted at red ones, before Ira grunted and gingerly felt at her teeth.

Hoi, Nimloth! Good to see you again!
Thought I'd lost everyone with the Hiatus, so your review is most appreciated! With luck, I can keep at a pace of roughly a chapter a week and maintain my buffer without chewing through it like I was before. Heck yeah would Damion love to have Wolverine on his team! Unfortunately I'm nowhere near ready to write any sort of crossover stuff.
Just a warning, too, things are going to get... Darker, quickly. I'll try for content warnings, but I might miss a few.
Obligatory disclaimer, bla bla bla baldurs gate isn't mine, bla bla bla similarity to real people is coincidental bla bla bla.
As always, review, favourite, PM me, whatever you want to do to drop me a line about this story helps feed the Muse.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Leave a message after the tone.
-KD