The sky was made of grey and cold blue, a blacksmith was hammering a piece of metal into shape. The sun seemed absent since days and harsh wind bend the tree tops, made them bow before a storm that would come soon.

A tiefling mother and her child were hastening over the town square, they didn't want to catch the coming rain. The child suddenly stopped, nudging her mother's hand.

"Momma, who's that?" the child asked and pointed at the stone statue of a man.

"A hero. He once saved us all from certain death. I told you the story about the goblins and the cultists, yes? He's the one who freed us from them. The one who gave us a life."

"What happened to him? Is he dead?"

"Something worse."

"And momma, who's that?"

The mother grabbed the hand of her child tighter, so it wouldn't go closer to the statue and to the man who was walking towards it, bringing a few flowers to put them down at the statue's feet.

"Don't go near him," she said, "he is cursed. Everyone close to him dies. So make sure to avoid him, my child."

"But he doesn't look bad. He looks nice! And sad."

"Don't be fooled by his looks. He is a monster, an abomination."

A monster.

An abomination.

"Does he have a name?"

"Gale."

"Gale..."

"Gale! Wake up! Do you want to kill us all?!"

Like one of his daggers, Astarion's sharp voice cut through Gale's dream and pulled him out of it.

Gale gasped, his eyes wide open. He didn't feel good.

"What?" he mumbled confused, out of breath, like he'd just run a mile.

Astarion was kneeling next to him, both hands on Gale's shoulders, shaking him. Something was weird. Astarion actually looked seriously worried for a change – and what was that strange, green light that reflected in his eyes?

Then Gale felt it – and within a second he was fully awake. He sat up straight and looked at his hands and around himself. He could see it. Not only feel it. A menacing green fog was emitting from him, surrounded him in sickish faint light.

"This shouldn't be happening," he said and reached for his backpack, emptying it out on the ground.

"Well, something is happening, though, and I can tell you that it starts to sting," Astarion hissed.

"Then don't be so close to me..." Gale mumbled and then found it.

The amulet of Shar that Tav brought him two days ago. Gale held it against his chest and grit his teeth. He felt how it tore a way through him, its teeth, its claws, its eternal hunger reaching out. A moment later, the magic from the artifact was absorbed and Gale felt a calming chill. He closed his eyes, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Astarion looked around. No more green fog, no more necrotic energies.

"May it be that you are losing control over this... orb-thingy inside of you?"

"Never had control over it to begin with. You can't control something that is untameable. It just gets... harder to contain."

And that was bad. The intervals, in which he had to absorb Weave, were getting shorter. Gale was running out of time.

"Tell me when you're about to blow up, I would prefer to be on the other side of Faerûn then," Astarion said with raised eyebrows.

"Really? I am surprised you want to miss that," Gale answered and stood up. He couldn't say that he felt rested at all. And that dream...

Astarion hummed.

"True. It might even be worth to get vaporized by primeval magic just to watch how you get ripped apart from within!" he said happily.

"Thank you, Astarion. You really know how to cheer me up," Gale sighed and Astarion beamed a bright smile at him. "Any news from Halsin?"

"In fact, yes," Astarion nodded. "I was about to wake you up because he returned half an hour ago but then you decided to try and blow up the whole camp."

Gale let out another sigh but decided not to comment on that.

"The others showed up, too. Drawn by the same, strange calling," Astarion continued. "I sent Wyll with Shadowheart to town. She wasn't happy about it, but at first Wyll wanted to come with us and I really didn't want that to happen so I convinced him that Shadowheart shouldn't go alone to Baldur's Gate. Dangerous city for a girl alone. Totally appealed to his lame hero complex, worked like a charm."

"Good thinking. He probably would be more in the way than being helpful, yes," Gale said slowly and drew an amused laugh from Astarion.

"A kind way to say that he's useless. Lae'zel was wandering around, muttering and hissing like a snake, pointing out how we're just wasting time by trying to save Tav. I stopped listening to her banter after a second or two, so I have no clue where she is right now."

"So it comes down to you, me and Halsin."

"Exactly, darling."

Gale frowned and looked at Astarion carefully. One could still see where he'd been hit yesterday night.

"And you're not mad at me for punching you...?" he asked carefully.

Astarion gasped and clapped a hand to his heart.

"Me, mad? Please. It was merely a real punch. And I have to say... it was interesting to see what made you finally snap. You're a hard nut to crack on that matter, you know that?"

"So you won't try to kill me as some very arguable form of revenge?"

"Not for that, no."

"Very reassuring."

"Always a pleasure, Gale."

They found Halsin at the side of the camp, between the trees. He was in the company of two white deer, petting one of them gently on the head while feeding it some herbs.

"Ah. There you are," he said and turned around to face Astarion and Gale, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "I was searching the whole night, my senses sharp and focused on nothing but a basilisk. I prayed to Sylvanus to guide me and my prayers were heard – he showed me the way to a basilisk's lair in the mountains. It is almost half a day of marching away from here, which is why I brought some help. I asked them nicely and they agreed to carry you to the lair and back again. The basilisk hunts their herds and that's why they gladly help."

"Are you not joining us, Halsin?" Gale wanted to know.

"Afraid not. There is a lot of preparation I have to take care of, that will consume many hours of my time. I need to find the right plants and ingredients for the ointment. The gullet will be the last and final component."

"I've always wanted to ride a stag," hummed Astarion with a certain ambiguous undertone that made Halsin raise his eyebrows and let Gale put his face in his hand.

"What? I am talking about deer, of course. After all, I am an elf, don't you know the clichés?" Astarion said, rolling his eyes but then smirked one dangerous smirk. "Oh, this will be fun, Gale. Just you and me on an adventure."

"Yes. Sounds delightful indeed," Gale replied with a polite, yet distance smile.

"Don't try to murder each other. For Tav's sake," Halsin sighed.

Gale had to admit that riding a white stag was a new experience to him. And not a bad one. It didn't have the endurance and speed of a horse but it sure knew its way through the forest. He had to think about Tav and his unique connection to animals. Tav sure would've loved a ride on such a majestic creature as well... and he sure would've been their best weapon against a basilisk, knowing exactly how to fight such a beast.

Gale felt a tiny bit of confident hope that they would be able to actually save Tav. Something that seemed so impossible to imagine just yesterday, when Amina had turned Tav to stone and even Mystra herself had refused to break the spell. Yesterday. It had just been yesterday that Gale had been a selfish coward, just yesterday that Tav had decided to break up with him, just yesterday that everything had gone downhill. It was true, Gale had been lonely, for decades now, had felt abandoned by the one he'd desired and honoured the most. He'd wanted Tav for company and when things started to get serious, when Tav started to get serious – Gale had decided to be such a coward. Afraid of commitment, afraid of his old feelings for Mystra but also afraid to be alone and abandoned again.

Tav was more than just company. A shame it had to take losing him for Gale to realize that, but now he allowed himself to feel hope.

However, Gale had also hoped to travel in silence... but that was too much to hope for, apparently, because it didn't take Astarion long to open his mouth.

"You know... I never pictured myself as a hero. The one to ride out on a glorious white stag, slay the basilisk and return to save the prince," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe Tav will finally see me as the good person I really am."

"Oh, I am sure he already knows who you are. You're not quite subtle about being murderous, selfish and evil."

"Evil! That's mean, Gale. Murderous, I can live with that. And I am not the only selfish one, am I right? But evil! I mean... it's true, but it's mean when you say it. You usually only say nice things about people! Also: why would Tav still keep me around if it wasn't for my charm and wits and because I am such a good boy?"

Gale threw a quick glance at Astarion, riding side by side, before he ducked under a tree branch and focused back on the dark green in front of them.

"A friend of mine," Gale started to tell, "once found a stray, rabid dog. He took care of it, nursed it back to health, healed the rabies. But the dog grew old and mean. It was barking and growling often and liked to bite strangers. One day, it even bit my friend, its owner! My friend knew he couldn't set the dog free – it would just assault people and be killed eventually. He knew that he should take the dog down but he didn't have the heart to do that. After all, he also shared some good memories with his dog, yes? So he kept the dog at his side, even though it was a biting menace. It's sometimes hard to separate from something or someone we've grown used to, even though it would be better for everyone involved."

Astarion was silent for two, three seconds.

"Did you just compare me to a rabid dog?" he asked with a lurking tone in his voice.

"No, no. I just told a story. The interpretation is totally up to you," Gale hummed amused. "Also: you just called yourself a good boy, not me..."

Gale knew that they were getting close to the lair before any obvious signs even came in sight. There was sudden absence of any birdsong, no noises of smaller animals in the undergrowth either. Gale had learned from Tav what this meant. They were close to a beast that even birds and critters avoided.

The ominous silence also made the stags nervous so Astarion and Gale decided to let them go for now, approaching the lair on foot.

A foul stench drenched the air, an unsettling mix of sulphur and the sickeningly sweet smell of rotten flesh. Astarion pulled a scarf over his nose and drew his daggers as the two of them slowly approached the rocky mountainside. With a little bit of luck, the nocturnal beast was asleep in its lair right now.

Soon, they met the source of the horrible stench: the body of a bear, mostly turned to stone but the head and parts of the upper body were missing and showed rotten meat. Yet not even a fly dared to sit on it.

Gale frowned but examined the strange corpse with interest.

"The oil in a basilisk's gullet turns the porous stone back into flesh. Until now, I've only read in books about it. Never seen it myself."

"So it turns its prey to stone and when it feels like it, takes a bite. How practical," Astarion muffled and turned his head away. It was easily visible that his sensitive elfish senses, further sharpened because he was a vampire, were giving him troubles. He was even more pale than usual and looked like he would throw up any second.
"Well, give it to me, Gale. You sure know how to defeat a basilisk. You've probably written a poem about it. So, I have to avoid its gaze. Anything else you wish to add?"
"That's it. Avoid its gaze. Or you will share Tav's fate."
"Really, that's all?" Astarion sounded sceptical. "You're not going to point out that its jaws can crush stone so it can bite off our heads or other parts of our body with ease? Can't we just hold a mirror in front of its face? Heard that works."

"Sure, it is a very smart idea to turn the basilisk to stone, so we can cut out a stone gullet," Gale said dryly.

Astarion hissed.

"Why don't you just do what you did this morning, then," he said slightly annoyed. "Finally make some use with that orb in your chest and kill a beast for a change!"

They slowly climbed over rocks and gravel, carefully keeping sight of their surroundings. Gale trusted Astarion's sharp hearing to alert them from any lurking danger as they approached the gaping, dark entrance of a cave. The stench was getting worse and the statues of animals and other, undefinable victims were now plenty, creating a bizarre museum of terrors.

"I am not going to abuse the Netherese magic! You think that will help to keep it under control? This is nothing to play around with," Gale said with a deep frown.

Astarion turned around, his gaze piercing.

"Not even for Tav? Why hiding such powers instead of using them? It works well for me, doesn't it? Maybe you should start to embrace the darkness and not push it away... See, when I tasted human blood for the first time... I knew immediately what power lurked inside of it. So much more than mere animal blood. But that doesn't mean I am going to feast on every human I see now, does it? I have it under control."

"You can't compare your vampirism to ancient and primeval magic. It would be like... comparing a goblin playing with a torch to the infernal fire breath of a red dragon. And besides..." Gale grimaced in slight disgust while looking at Astarion "I am not like you."

Astarion was about to say something but then he lifted his hand and looked alerted.

"You hear that?" he asked with hushed voice.

Gale shook his head.

"Sounds almost like snoring," Astarion said and pointed at the cave entrance.

He started to sneak closer, carefully avoiding any gravel. Gale watched Astarion's steps and tried to follow him just as silently but some small stones got loose under his feet and started to roll, creating unwelcome noise.

Astarion threw him an alarmed look and Gale just shrugged apologetically. Then they moved on.

"Can you see something?" Gale whispered.

He didn't want to ignite a light spell, it would only draw attention of the beast, so he had to trust Astarion's eyes. In the darkness of the cave, they gained a faint, red shine.

Astarion nodded and then pointed at something that looked like a huge shadow in the darkness. At first Gale had taken it for just another rock but his eyes were slowly adjusting to the twilight in here and he noticed: the rock was breathing.

And snoring.

The sour and warm breath it snorted out was almost stifling.

Astarion approached the beast completely silently, showing that he, too, was a dangerous predator. He tried to sneak around, looking for a weak spot but unfortunately, the basilisk was lying on its soft belly, its head on two of its paws while the other six legs were spread out. Every time it breathed out, the large, red spikes on its back started to rattle slightly, filling the cave with odd noises.

Gale readied himself. His hands started to glow as he quietly mumbled a spell and held it back, ready to throw it the moment this reptilian horror would wake up. He could see Astarion's red eyes glowing in the dark and gave him a nod.

Then everything happened rather fast. With the deadly graze of a panther, Astarion jumped at the basilisk and rammed both daggers deep into its neck. A bloodcurling roar filled the whole cave, the walls started to rumble, gravel fell from the ceiling.

Gale immediately turned his head away and threw his hands forward. A Magic Missile always found its target – Gale didn't need to see the basilisk, he just had to focus his thoughts on it. A second roar followed, telling Gale that his spell had hit indeed. Then he heard something approaching him and he really had no interest to meet the crushing jaws of the monster.

"In veniu viam!" he chanted and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

Not a second later, he reappeared outside of the cave, behind a large rock where he sought cover.

He could hear the beast roaring. It probably was standing at the entrance of the cave, furious that it had only bitten into air instead of a wizard.

Gale could only hope that Astarion was alright. He didn't wish him death. Astarion might be a rabid dog but after all, he was their rabid dog, right?

Gale didn't dare to take a peek out of his cover, not wanting to meet the basilisk's gaze by accident but he also didn't want to yell Astarion's name. No reason to tell the beast where he was hiding.

"Et alibi," he mumbled and three translucent mirror images of his own self formed out of thin air. He sent them out to run out of cover and waited. And he didn't need to wait long.

The beast crushed into one mirror image, distorting it immediately, while it just chomped into air again instead of flesh. Gale knew he didn't have much time until all of these illusions were destroyed. He looked towards the cave – and noticed someone slowly coming out of it. Feeling relief, he quickly waved Astarion over.

A short moment later, both of them were hiding behind the rock while the basilisk searched the area for them.

"What now?!" Astarion hissed quietly. "My daggers are both stuck in its neck! That should've killed it!"

"Well, I had hoped that would do the trick, too," Gale mumbled. "I could throw a fireball at it but you need to distract it, I can't risk meeting its gaze while forming this spell..."

"Sure, and I stumble around blindly and either get torn into pieces or burned alive by your explosion, no, thank you! I say, you use this," Astarion whispered and poked Gale's chest, right where his heart was beating.

"I told you-" Gale started but Astarion interrupted him with a mean glare. For a second or two they both held still, not even daring to breath, hearing how the basilisk came closer – but then the beast seemed to trudge into a different direction.

"For Tav, right? Wouldn't you do anything for him? Doesn't he deserve that much after everything he'd done for you?"

Gale didn't answer.

So Astarion just went on.

"It was your fault, that he got turned to stone, wasn't it. I could smell the guilt you felt. I don't know exactly how it happened but it goes back to you. And now you feel horrible about it. So you should do everything to get him back... don't you think so? How much are your morale worth, your principles, if they keep you from helping the man you adore so much?"

Gale pressed his lips into a thin line, holding Astarion's gaze.

He was right. And that was the worst part.

"What about you?" Gale finally sighed.

"I am twice immortal. As a Vampire and elf. I think I will be able to stand this," Astarion claimed proudly.

Gale leaned with his back against the rock, staring into nothingness for one or two seconds until he nodded.

"Lure it towards us," he said in a serious yet defeated tone and concentrated on the pulsing, dark hunger that clutched his heart.

The last thing he heard, was Astarion throwing a few rocks out of cover. Then Gale faded everything around him out.

And just as that, he got pulled back into the dark. Its teeth, its claws, ripping through him to break through the surface, to break out of him.

Gale winced, his face distorted in pain, as the horrible necrotic aura exploded around him, once again. Tendrils made of green light erupted out of his whole body, ached for any living being, to suck out their energies.

Gale had his eyes closed, gritting his teeth. He could hear the roars of the basilisk close to himself but didn't dare to move, didn't dare to open his eyes either. Now it sounded more like howls of anguish, fear and pain. He knew that he didn't want to see this. It was bad enough that he felt it, just this time he didn't stop himself.

Eventually, it was Astarion's voice that pierced through the thick darkness in his mind.

"Gale...! Stop...! Stop it!" He sounded hurt, weak even...

Gale gasped, opened his eyes wide and contained the tainted magic inside of him again. Unlike Amina, Astarion didn't look older but rather famished.

"Dear gods... what have I done..." Gale mumbled in fright.

"You killed a basilisk, that's for sure," Astarion said and shook his head, blinking a few times. He still seemed wobbly on his feet. "Told you," he then said with his nose in the air, "I can take it."

Gale didn't say a word but he was certain: a couple of seconds more and Astarion would be dead too. And as the scare slowly faded, something else took its place: anger. Gale stepped up to Astarion and grabbed him at the collar.

"Dont you dare to ever make me do this again. If you ever use Tav to manipulate me like that again, I swear by the gods..."

A thin and evil smile curled up on Astarion's lips.

"It worked, didn't it?"

With a huff, Gale let go of Astarion and started to walk towards the rim of the forest.

"Cut out the gullet. Make sure not to destroy it. I will get the stags."

After he'd brought some distance between Astarion and himself, Gale put a hand over his heart and over the scroll under his clothes. A tormented look crossed his face.
It was about time to end this – once and for all.

The night was cold and clear. Both Astarion and Gale had just arrived back at the camp, tired, exhausted – but proud.

Well, at least Astarion looked like a child that got spoiled with a backpack full of chocolate.

Gale couldn't deny that he felt happiness too. Halsin had everything ready and prepared – and skilfully he handled the final ingredient, the gullet. Eventually, he'd prepared an ointment – a potion didn't work well on someone who was unable to swallow it.

And yet Gale's happiness was overshadowed by a pending doom, lurking inside of him. He'd hoped he would have more time but the fight against the basilisk had proven otherwise. At least he wanted to see Tav alive and well, one last time.

Everyone else, even Lae'zel, was gathered around Halsin and the Tav statue. They all shared the druid's optimism, that the ointment would work. Just Gale watched from afar, sitting at the campfire.

"Give it some time," Halsin said calmly after applying the ointment.

"Tsk... I don't have time to wait" Lae'zel hissed, acting like she couldn't care less and walked away, trying to appear busy by polishing her sword.

"Get some space," Halsin warned. "If he turns back, his memory will be exactly at the moment when he turned to stone. It might be, that he thinks he's still under attack."

Eventually something happened. First, Tav's hand got the warm colour of skin again. Then it slowly spread over his body, freeing him from the cold and stony imprisonment.

Some were able to hide their excitement better – like Shadowheart – and some just had to hold their breath and didn't even try to hide it – like Wyll.

And finally, Tav turned back completely.

"- love you," he blurted out.

Astarion chuckled.

"That is very kind of you to say but I suppose those words weren't meant for me," Halsin said with a warm smile.

Tav blinked irritated and looked around, with deep confusion written all over his face. Then he looked at his hands and finally noticed the faces around him.

"Halsin? Where am I? Where is this witch and what happened and how-"

"Welcome back among the living," Halsin said most heartily.

Tav looked around, frantically. He seemed to miss a face.

"Where's... where's Gale…? Is he alright...? She wanted to kill him, called him an abomination..." he mumbled, stressed out, until Halsin put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"He is fine. In fact, he helped to free you from this horrific spell."

"So did I!" Astarion pointed out.

Tav stood up, a little bit too fast and had to take Halsin's hand so not to lose balance. It took him a few moments to shake off the odd feeling. He glanced over Astarion's shoulder and noticed a smiling Gale at the campfire.

Not a moment later, Gale got pulled into a tight and deep embrace. Tav buried his face in Gale's neck, breathing out one whispered "you're alright..." before letting go of him. Tav's hands were still on Gale's shoulders and he'd never felt a stronger urge to just kiss the man in front of him but instead, he just offered a happy and earnest smile.

"I am. And so are you..."

"I thought she would kill you."

"She tried," Gale said and found it suddenly incredible hard to hold Tav's gaze. "And she would've succeeded if it wasn't for some... divine intervention."

"What... do you mean?"

"Mystra herself showed up to keep her beloved high priestess from destroying the whole city."

Tav's eyes widened and Gale just nodded. He still felt the hands on his shoulders and prayed that Tav wouldn't take them away.

"Does that mean...!" he said, excited, and his gaze fell down to Gale's chest, to his heart.

"No," Gale answered bitterly. "She could've done it with a snap. But that is not how gods work, I'm afraid... I am very much still on her naughty list."

"So... the only thing she was concerned about... was that a cleric of her church wouldn't be responsible for the destruction of Baldur's Gate...?"

Tav sounded angry and Gale couldn't blame him.

"If you want to say it like this, yes. However... she also offered me a chance. To change my destiny, she said." He pulled out the scroll. "Plane shift."

Tav took the scroll to take a look at it but the confusion on his face told Gale enough: Tav had no clue what he was reading.

"One of the most powerful spells known to me. Only archwizards are able to perform such a miracle and not even the greatest among them can do it with ease. But with this spell, a wizard can go... wherever. Can travel through planes, even. There is no limitation at all. The nine hells, the heavens..."

"Or the the astral plane. The orb would be rendered inactive there, like you said... you could get rid of it... and lock it away, back in the astral plane, far away from time and reality!" Tav said, excited.

Gale nodded.

"Yes. But..." A bitter and hurt smile crossed Gale's face. "She only gave me a one way ticket. If I use this scroll to enter the astral plane, I won't be able to use it a second time. Me and my folly, we would be stuck there forever. And forever is a long time in a place without any time."

"Then that's no option at all," Tav said firmly.

"There is a second possibility," Gale said, hesitant. "That I manage to learn the complex patterns of this spell the moment I use the scroll. Then, I would be able to come back, thanks to my own skill and knowledge. And if I manage that, if I manage to do the impossible, then... then she will forgive me. Mystra herself promised me a place in her court. To become a Magister. The most powerful wizard of all of Faerûn. A Chosen One, once again."

Now Gale felt how Tav's hands slowly slipped off his shoulders. There was only one word that came to his mind, seeing the look in Tav's eyes: broken.

"So... those are the two options. Either you will be stuck in the astral plane, gone forever... or you will come back, as the play toy of a goddess, once again." Tav's voice was trembling slightly and he swallowed hard, biting his lower lip while nodding slowly. "How about we... we just don't do that. Keep the scroll, don't use it. We will find another solution. A different solution."

"I am afraid that I am running out of time, Tav. I lose control, with every hour. I am afraid that... I can't contain this orb of destruction any longer. And the last thing I want is, to pull all of you with me into complete annihilation. I don't want you to pay for my arrogance, for my mistakes." Gale reached out with his hand to place it on Tav's cheek, slowly and afraid Tav would flinch away under the touch. And, indeed, Tav jerked away his head, still gnawing his bottom lip. "And trapped in the astral plane, I'm at least no harm to anyone anymore. And honestly... I start to think that might be for the best. I was never keen on giving up but... what is one man against such madness?"

"So. That's it, then. I see. Ex- excuse me, I think I need to throw up." Tav turned away with a pale face to wander off into the woods but this time Gale decided to follow him. This time he wouldn't let him walk away.

Before he could, Gale felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a judging "tsk, tsk, tsk..." behind him.

"Don't go after him, Gale. It is already bad enough as it is, don't you think?" Astarion said with sweet voice, placing an arm around Gale's shoulder and pressing him against his side for a moment.

"That's not for you to decide now, is it?" Gale sighed.

"True. But think for a moment. I couldn't help to listen to your little dispute, I mean... it wasn't like you two bothered to go somewhere private. Do you really think it's a good idea to follow him now? He's probably still crushed by that spell, needs time to process what happened to him! And then you crush him just again with such good news. You like to torture, don't you?" Astarion hummed. "And now what – want to run after him, tell him you love him? And then you vanish, never to be seen again! You know that I am all in for torture but that's a bit much, even for my taste."

Maybe Astarion was right. Maybe it was better, for Tav, to leave it at that. Everything else... would just make it worse... wouldn't it...?

"You know," Astarion continued and let go of Gale, "once you're finished breaking Tav's heart, he will seek comfort. He will need a shoulder to cry on and I gladly offer him that. And you know what they say about shoulders to cry on...?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, a shoulder to cry on becomes a dick to r-"

"I will stop you right there."

Gale stepped away from Astarion and took a good look at him.

"I recently learned a new spell, Astarion. Called Polymorph."

Astarion narrowed his eyes.

"You wouldn't dare."

"You would make for a fine goose, my friend!"

And with these words Gale left Astarion standing at the campfire and followed Tav into the darkness of the forest.

Gale was aware that Astarion was a manipulative bastard but he couldn't deny that there was some truth in his words. What use would it be to lay out his heart in front of Tav now, just to vanish to the astral plane and never return? Gale was very confident of his own abilities but he also knew his personal limits. There was no way that he would be able to pull off something incredibly powerful like a plane shift spell on his own. Tav had already taken the first step of moving on from Gale on his own. What kind of cruelty would it be to hold him back? What kind of cruelty would it be to tell him how he felt, to tell him: I dream of you, I desire you, I want a future with you? A future that would never be?

Still, Gale wasn't willing to say goodbye without saying that he was sorry, too.

Just like he'd said, Tav was throwing up into the bushes.

"After effects of the spell... feeling better?" Gale asked carefully.

"Can't really say that," Tav mumbled and grabbed the water flask at his belt.

"Tav, I..." Gale started but didn't really know how to say what he had to say, so he just sat down in the damp grass and waited for Tav to sit down next to him. "I'm sorry. For everything. For playing with your feelings... for getting you turned to stone... for hurting you like I did. Just know that I enjoyed the time we spent together. Every minute of it," he finally sighed.

Tav just hummed and said nothing.

For a while they shared silence.

"Seems like the two of us are not meant to be, don't you think... Maybe it's fate?" Tav wondered and looked up into the sky, through the treetops, watching the stars.

"You know that I don't believe in fate."

Tav scoffed and smiled lightly.

"Yeah, I know. But you believe in serendipity."

"Exactly," Gale said softly but failed to hide the sadness in his voice. "But even that is hard to believe in these days."

Tav turned his head, his gaze wandering over Gale's face, searching for something.

"Just promise me that you will come back. That's all I am asking for. I know it means that you will be back in Mystra's hand but... we need you. I need you."

"I can't-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you want to say. Don't say it. Don't say something like: I can't promise you that. Just do me a favour and promise, alright? This time I don't care if it's a lie," Tav interrupted him.

Gale looked up again, mildly surprised. He knew that his chances to make it back were rather low. Yet, looking into Tav's eyes, Gale felt a warm sensation settling in his stomach. A strange and calming sense of delight that told him everything would be alright, no matter the odds. Something that made him say these words with confidence.

"I will come back. I promise."