The adventure really began, of course, when Mereana fell off the flying ship.
She expected a gruesome death, but there again, she survived, though she had no idea how exactly.
She woke up on an abandoned beach, her legs hanging in the cold water. Brushing her hair aside her face, she slowly blinked through the sun rays and tried to make sense of what had just happened. She was still not back in her mansion, which was a con. But, she was alive, which was a pro. She had a vicious tadpole in her brain : gross, definitely a con. Her dress was all torn up and her beautiful coat full of mud and water, plus she had not taken a bath since at least a few days : bad, such a con. She found herself completely alone on the shore, on unknown territory, with just a few spells in her mind : con. And she had lost her purse in the water, so she was back to having only a dagger to fend for herself. Normally, she would not even cut her own meal, so there was no way she was going to know how to stab someone. That was what the githianky girl was for (that, and for the pleasure of her eyes, because Mereana thought Lae'zel was kinda hot at least when she was not speaking.) But Lae'zel was nowhere to be seen, unfortunately.
She got up shakily and tried to boost her own morale up. At least she was not dead or worse, disfigured for life. Surely people will fly to her rescue when they see her. She looked very pretty and innocent and inoffensive, making friends to protect her would be easy.
She did find a few companions quite quickly, considering everything. The first one she met was Shadowheart - who happened to be the half-elf she had poorly tried to save on the ship. This seemed to facilitate their encounter. The young half-elf was busy trying to pry open an old-looking door when she stumbled across her.
Just like her, Shadowheart had a tadpole problem and was willing to pursue a cure and a healer. This seemed like a good plan.
" - Maybe we could join forces", offered Mereana, showing off a confidence in her own survival and talents that she didn't really feel.
"- I guess some company would be nice", agreed the cleric. What Shadowheart did not say out loud, but that was clearly implicit, was : ' Great, I'd rather have someone to serve as a moving target instead of me.'
Mereana was thinking more or less along the same lines, so both the half-elves began their heroic travel, each one trying to stay behind each other's back during fights. The cleric always seemed to find herself somewhere else when the enemy tried to shred them to bits, the enemy being in this scenario a sort of brain devourer which was oddly cute and dog-looking for such an aberration.
She's the one with armor ! And she has a shield ! Mereana was fulminating in her thoughts. And she can heal herself. I can barely make it jumping around launching ice rays from my fingers ! She should be in the frontline.
But truth be told, Shadowheart was kind of...well...not really gifted in terms of grace and dexterity, and Mereana was indeed better at jumping around the place.
She dared not comment upon the obvious way Shadowheart used her a human shield though, out of fear to lose her only willing ally for now. Well, ally was a strong word to use about Shadowheart, whose name was explicit enough about how much trust anyone should put in her. The cleric had a sense of humor, in a very snarky and bitchy way which slightly reminded Mereana of her mother. Which tended to make her want to piss her off on purpose, which feeded the whole "I'm better than you" attitude of the cleric. It was obvious they were not going to get along fine.
Maybe that was the reason Shadowheart did not intervene at all when they spotted this strange looking pale-elf on the side of the road.
" - He doesn't look very trustworthy to me", commented the cleric, doing this strange thing with her mouth that she did when she was trying to give advice to her companion that she already knew they wouldn't follow. Ah, yes, a scowl. " - He may be one of those possessed illithid servants we crossed paths with."
" - I agree. He looks like the kind of slippery guy that you will definitely regret letting into your life. He has a "'sleep-with-him-and-get-stabbed' vibe. We should definitely avoid that. "
Shadowheart looked to her with a flicker of surprise in her expression, which had gone softer. " - You clearly have a lot of imagination….but I'm glad we agree on this. We should let him fend for himself. " She snuck back onto the tunnel they were walking in. " - I think that's the way up the cliff, we should go there to check our environment. Let him be."
" - Dangerous, shadowy, handsome. That's totally my type", Mereana added. She was pretty confident she had nothing to be afraid of. She got up from her hiding place and started walking towards the stranger.
" - What are you doing ?" cut in Shadowheart, from somewhere behind her. The cleric did not try to stop her, but she heard her fulminating behind her back as she strolled down the sunny path to the pale elf.
Mereana put on her best looking smiles, the innocent and honest looking one she knew made men a bit weak-minded around her, and she fluttered her eyes, trying to not look as if she had not gone through jumping off an illithid ship mid air.
" - Greetings, stranger", she began, but the elf cut int, completely unfazed by her charade and visibly freaking out :
" - I saw one of those tadpoles, just here, in the bushes !" The elf pointed to a nearby bush of shadowy vegetation and turned towards her with the most honest and innocent looking face he could muster. As honest and innocent as Mereana's smile itself. " Maybe you could go and...kill it before it escapes ?" he suggested.
Well, maybe Mereana was the kind of person who pushed magic buttons for fun, but she could recognize a liar when she met one. She looked to the handsome elf, then to the shadowy bushes, then to Shadowheart, who had chosen this exact moment to abandon her on the spot ; she was probably sneaking around the tunnel, observing the scene from afar. The elf kept looking at her with a touch of annoyance,as if wishing she would hurry up.
Not so handsome up close, she thought. Kind of weirdly pale looking and has "slippery eel" written on his weird albino forehead. Something's wrong with the teeth, looks like the sort of kid in the Gate that would dress up as an upper-class wannabe for fun. Yuck. Totally not my type after all.
Remembering the lesson learned by the magic button, Mereana decided to no make any rash decision and slowly backed up the road, heading towards Shadowheart's location.
" - Oh gosh, sorry, the time, I have to go, good luck out there", she said, still not losing any streak of confidence as she turned her back on the stranger and made her way up.
Which was about the time the elf jumped on her back, exposing her very delicate and precious throat to the blade of his weapon. Mereana freaked out and tried to slip out of his embrace. Fortunately, the guy wasn't very strong, and they both fell on the ground fighting each other off.
Shadowheart glady chose not to intervene at all (did she just...stand there watching the show ?) as she rolled on the ground with the crazy elf, but she did manage to repel him by herself, by using a very cheap tactic known as "I'll knock your nose with my head." It kind of hurt though.
It took a few seconds of mental confusion before they both realised that they were in the same predicament, meaning potential illithids in the becoming. It seemed to relieve the elf, as he started to introduce himself as if he had just no tried to kill her a few seconds before. They decided to travel together for now.
Truth be told, she offered because Astarion - as he was named - has mentioned his baldurian origin and she had felt relieved to meet someone who was maybe someone who'd like her.
" - Maybe you've heard of me", she added, hopeful.
" - I can't say I have. We probably...don't move in the same circles", he replied dismissively.
Asshole, she thought. She made him take the lead of their little crew, mainly because she wanted to have the backstabber's back in her line of sight.
" - He tried to kill you", murmured Shadowheart at her ears. " Why do you want him with us ? Nothing is preventing him from finishing the job."
" - We need a rogue like him in our fights", Mereana replied in the same hush tone. Plus, I'll totally let him be in the frontline in my place. And we both have someone to hide behind now, so you should be happy.
As they were walking up the cliff, Astarion pointed them to a circle of purple runes intertwining together on the wall.
Mereana scampered along to the rune to examine it closer, happy to find something to do where she could remind her companions that she was the only mage they knew of. It was time to show off her knowledge and studies, to let Astarion and Shadowheart think she was irreplaceable.
But someone, somewhere, had decided otherwise as the light started to vibrate alongside the rune. Mereana quickly backed off, unsure of what was going on, until a tall, beardy, human male appeared out of thin air.
Without losing a second, the wizard glanced at them with a smile, and greeted them as if they were long-term friends. Which they weren't.
The wizard turned his attention to Mereana, who was standing closest to him, acting as if she was the face of the party. At least that was comforting.
" - Last time I saw you, you were lying in a crucible of blood." He went on the gruesome depiction, which Mereana had totally forgot about, and introduced himself as Gale.
She had not wished to be reminded of this peculiar experience. Did a brain devourer truly tried to nibble at her ? She cleared her throat and confirmed that they were also refugees from the illithid ships. That's when the wizard decided to ramble around another awful description reminding her of the way the tadpole was inserted in her brain. The words "ocular penetration" were pronounced, which instantly drained any amiable feelings she might have felt with a potential fellow wizard.
Ah, yes, that's why I don't like other mages.
" - That was gross", she commented harshly at the end of his explanation.
This seemed to take him aback a little, but only for a little while, as he added :
" - Oh. You're looking at me like a Rashemi at a blackboard. I take it you're no wizard ?"
Mereana felt a surge of indignation taking over her. Who the hell was this guy ? He just...showed up and obviously thought she was a complete moron. She was not by any means a complete moron. She was certainly a powerful wizard, far better than he was. She glared at him very coldly and let a few seconds of silence pass by. She could hear faints murmurs between Astarion and Shadowheart behind her back, who were obviously commenting on the scene.
" - Actually, I am a wizard", she said, raising her chin up and defying the stranger.
Like everyone she had met, he totally ignored her manierism and dismissed her around, comparing her aura to a guts of faint breeze.
Great. I hate you now, stupid wizard.
She prepared to turn her back on him, not really willing to continue the conversation any longer, to the risk of her ego getting crushed. But Astarion and Shadowheart seemed to think otherwise and decided to intervene.
" - Do you have any clue as to how to cure the parasite ?" they asked tentatively.
Mereana opened her mouth, trying to find something to say, but was cut in by the other wizard who seemed to enjoy answering their questions. Hence a few minutes of lecture about ceremorphosis. The term seemed to impress Astarion a lot, who listened to the wizard with fascination, while Shadowheart remained faithful to herself and expressed no other feelings that a slight wave of distrust.
Mereana closed her mouth, crossed her arms and unwillingly listened to the process described by the wizard. Ceremorphosis, of course. Now I remember the name. I think I learnt about it in my third year. Well, she had had no memory of it before the wizard mentioned it. He seemed to know a great deal about it too. Unfortunately, his knowledge was very extended when it came to describe what could become of them as the tadpole took over their bodies, but not so much extended when talking about a potential cure.
Not only do I hate you, stupid wizard, I also deeply envy your superior knowledge that I am in no way going to acknowledge.
Plus, the wizard was flattering Shadowheart's eyes and...well, she ignored his flirt with disdain, but also with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Great. Not only is he better than me at wizardry, he's also a better flirt. Mereana tried to bite back her blatant discomfort and jealousy, which none of her companions seemed to have noticed, hopefully.
" - Maybe we should be off together", Gale suggested, looking back at her with enthusiasm.
" - Actually, you should probably wait at our camp", she answered steadily, trying not to show her disapproval.
" - Which camp ?" questioned Shadowheart. " - We don't have any yet."
" - I think it would be better for us to have some room in our small team for a warrior. You know. Not to have all the same talents in the same place", said Mereana with hope.
" - Nonsense. There's no use in waiting for another tagalong, while we are all so obviously good-fitted together", commented Astarion with confidence, perfectly knowing he was the tagalong that nobody really trusted and that someone with better martial prowess could take his place in the group.
" - I'd...understand if you need some time to consider your team's optimal composition, though I'd also question your intellectual abilities", said Gale with a slight tone of annoyance in his voice. " But since you do not have a camp to speak of, I suggest we make ways together at least until we reach the druid's grove."
" - There's a druid grove ?" Shadowheart asked.
" - Yes, I saw it earlier while investigating the crash. There's people in it, maybe a healer that we could consult for our condition", explained the wizard.
" - That is a good way to start ", commented Shadowheart.
Of course he's already found the local druid grove before me. We totally need this guy around. He's far more knowledgeable than I am. Slowly breathing in, Mereana pushed back her ego and said :
" - Excellent idea. Let's...go there… all together."
The scene seemed to amuse Astarion, who grew a crooked smile watching them both, and purposefully added to Gale : " - That's great. Please take the lead, my dear friend."
Gale smiled warmly to Mereana, brushing aside a strand of hair behind his ear. " - If you would let me, my lady ?"
Damnit, he is also cute. Why is everyone pretty and better than me in here ?
" - Of course", she groaned, not that anyone cared much, but strangely enough they reacted to her decision and decided to follow Gale to the grove.