The party had decided this morning to go and explore the nearby human village. They were told the place had been overrun by goblins ; Wyll was hoping that they could encounter and interrogate their leader to know more about their forces and locate their hierarchy. How exactly would this information be ripped out of the unwilling goblins was still undefined and left up in the air.
They had decided that Gale was to stay at camp, to study the notes they had stolen from Halsin's secret library. To say that he was less than thrilled with this decision was an understatement. This has led to another interminable squabble between them ; but since Lae'zel and Shadowheart could not be put in the same room without entering multiple rounds of exchanged threats, the exploration party was still composed by Wyll, Mereana, Astarion and Shadowheart. There had been some comments upon Mereana's favorited presence by Lae'zel, who noticed that she seemed a bit sick this morning and also mentioned that she was still supposed to be a wizard as well, even though they could doubt her training since the gith had seen her clicked on various unknown buttons on the nautiloid just to see what would happen. This has led Mereana to lose her temper with the warrior, telling her that she wasn't there to stand orders from a lost githyanki rejected by her own kin. Shadowheart had approved and stood by her side, and then a fight broke off.
Murder was barely prevented by Wyll, who had to soothe down everyone's spirit for the next hour, especially Lae'zel who was keen on leaving the party. Astarion, probably feeling liable to Mereana for nearly killing her that night, had taken her defense, mentioning that he liked how she was "Less of a walking encyclopedia, more of a pyromaniac magic-missile type" kind of wizard. Gale probably didn't wish to throw any more fuel to the fire and had finally accepted to stay behind and study the notes. He had only mysteriously commented, after a while, "that it was probably for the best anyway" and asked them to talk with him about any kind of magical trinkets they could recover in their adventure. He also told Mereana that he wished to speak to her more privately tonight, but had not disclosed more information about what he was thinking.
Their never-ending quarrel amongst the party had put a gloomy and morose atmosphere over the camp. Even though Wyll managed to make Lae'zel stay - and Mereana had no clue how he succeeded in that -, they all felt the vulnerability of their temporary alliance and how difficult it was to maneuver with so many different and strong personalities. Wyll had tried to have a big talk about how important it was to stay united under the strain of fate, but even the heroic speech of the Blade had failed to persuade anyone. Much more pragmatically, Gale had taken over in explaining once more what was to become of them if they failed in their task to find a healer, and his eloquent and charismatic storytelling had been quite efficient in instillating a common purpose once more. A common purpose funded on fear and horror, but still.
The four of them had set for the village after that, and they did not speak up much as they travelled through the forest, each of them lost in thought. Mereana noticed, however, that they all seemed much more at ease with each other than with the others at camp. It was funny to see how, in a short period of time, they managed to organically work together though they would never have spoken to each other if given a choice in their old lives. They had spotted the main entrance to the village an hour ago, in the form of a bridge leading to an open wooden gate. They had prudently avoided the bridge and kept to the bushes, trailing down the elevation to find a shelter hidden from view in a nearby clearing. So they had agreed that the rogue and the cleric would scout ahead, to try and identify their foes and their composition, while the wizard and the blade waited behind.
They were supposed to wait in the nearby vegetation, but as heavy clouds started to gather above their heads and heavy rain fell down, they both decided to retreat towards a nearby cave and sat down behind a boulder of stone, hidden by its shadow, and had a snack of fruits and nuts while waiting for their companions to return. Quite surprisingly, they were joined by a stray dog fleeing from the rain that took cover with them in the cave ; Wyll immediately fell in love with, as he started petting the dog fondly and looking for some dried meat to feed it with.
" - Don't feed it. We don't even know what it is", grumbled Mereana, eyeing the dog suspiciously.
Wyll chuckled upon noticing her weary expression. " - What do you mean, "what it is" ? It's a dog, nothing more. Not everyone is secretly a vampire spawn in this place. Don't you agree, Mr. Scratch ?" Wyll proceeded on scratching the dog behind its ear as it whimpered softly, rubbing its head against the Blade's arm.
Mereana watched gloomily. The dog stinked with wet hair and seemed famished and dirty. Its paws left traces of mud on Wyll's leather armor, but the Blade didn't seem to care. She wasn't a dog person. And she wasn't fond of pets. Of course she liked her old cat, but mainly because it had an awful personality and would instill terror in everyone's heart. But somehow picturing Wyll getting friendly with stray dogs lost in wilderness kind of made sense. It fit with the "heroic" background. " - For all we know, "Scratch" here could well be a werewolf in disguise. And I just don't want our hiding place to be discovered, that's all."
" - Oh, come on, Mereana ! There's no one around here. And goblins are not known for their discretion, I can guarantee that. You will hear them long before they even surprise us. Damn, you're really grumpy this morning. Are you all right ?"
She sighed and laid herself back on the boulder, shooing the dog away as it went for her knees and tried to lick her face. " - You're right. I suppose the tadpole situation is getting to my nerves. "
" - That's why we need a dog."
" - We're not taking the dog with us, Wyll."
Wyll looked back at her, doe-eyed. " - But it's really fluffy and it's good for morale." He patted her knee with a devilish smile. " - Come on ! It obviously needs some help - don't we all ? Plus, it will remind me of my old dog. I really loved the beast."
" - Fine", she finally agreed, " - but I'm not going to take care of it. And don't cry on my shoulder if Astarion drinks it."
Wyll raised his hands in the air with a fake solemn air on his face. " - I swear on my honor that I'll feed and wash it, Ma'am. And I'm sure our vampire friend will soon grow accustomed to more tasty meats soon enough, preferably goblin meat. I know I wouldn't complain about that. "
Mereana tried to scoff, but couldn't help a chuckle to escape her tightened lips. She found Wyll's easy-going attitude familiar and comforting ; and though he was more righteous than Astarion and Shadowheart, he did seem pragmatic and just shadowy enough to fit in well with their party. Their back-and-forth felt natural, as if they had known each other for a long time. They didn't, but the prospect of living on the edge of incoming doom had managed to bind them together, and she could tell that he appreciated the relief from the quarrel of the morning.
They heard a distant chattering coming their way, and suddenly went quiet. The dog whimpered a little, but Wyll petted it onto its neck, gently pushing it to lay down and stay silent.
" - So, Shadowheart."
That was definitely Astarion's voice. Wyll and Mereana exchanged glances as they tried to figure out where exactly their companions were ; they could hear them bantering from afar, and could follow their steps above their heads, but they were nowhere to be seen. Mereana pointed to a hole in the ceiling of the cave they hadn't noticed before, as it was covered with bushes and plants. So they were hearing them as they troddled down the path to their location.
The rogue's intonation was sultry and flirty, and Mereana and Wyll instinctively bundled together to eavesdrop on their conversation. Wyll whispered very quietly to her : " - That should be good." The wizard nodded back with excitement, signaling him to stay quiet with a finger posed on her lips.
Back in Baldur's Gate, when she was younger, Mereana had spent countless evenings gossiping about her friends. She used to have a lot of friends : young girls of the aristocracy, like herself, for the most part, and every one of them was a backstabbing bitch - Mereana included. She loved the gossip and the mockery and she knew that it was shallow and superficial, but she wouldn't miss an opportunity to do it. She dropped the habit a while at the Academy, mostly because the other wizard apprentices judged her attitude to be immature and undignified. She was surprised at how happy she felt about eavesdropping on a conversation that definitely wasn't meant for her once more. Even more so when she realized that Wyll had the same instinct and was completely willing to jeer at whatever awkward flirt was going on over there.
Up over their heads, the banter continued.
" - Such a grim name for such a beautiful flower", said Astarion in a purring voice.
The Blade and Mereana looked at each other incredulously. The rogue had a certain charm about him, and he was very conscious of that ; he had strike them as a typical, saucy sassy rogue. To hear him commit such a bad pick-up line was unexpected. No one in their right mind would call Shadowheart "flower." Damn, even Gale had managed to flirt with the cleric in a better way, and he talked to her about the colour of her eyes, which was cheesy as hell. Mereana found a slight sense of comfort thinking that no one in their group seemed to be good at this game. Also, it looked like everyone was trying to seduce the others and that made her feel less lonesome. Wyll opened his mouth and silently prununced, exaggerating his articulation : 'So corny.'
Shadowheart seemed to agree with their silent and concerned observation, as she snapped back to the vampire :
" - Could you not stare so blatantly at my neck while you say that ? Plus, I heard you practicing that line this morning. It needs more work."
That seemed to shut down Astarion, at least at the moment, and Wyll and Mereana, back in their hiding place, found it hard not to laugh at the cleric's rebuttal.
" - Poor guy. Just got used to the sunlight and is already roasted", mumbled Mereana to Wyll's ear, and that made him lose his control and have a chuckle.
" - Shadowheart can sure be cold", he agreed.
Over their heads, the duo carried on their chattering, as Shadowheart inquired : " - If you were to have a choice, Astarion, which of us would you rather feed on ?"
" - Weird question", commented Wyll.
" - Ah, Wyll. No question. He's strong, fast, and righteous. I'm salivating already. But I could bite you as well, if that's what you want. "
Their voices were echoing from too far a distance to really listen up on Shadowheart's reply, but they would not have heard it anyway, as Wyll exclaimed with an over-dramatic outrage : " - The bastard !"
Mereana giggled at his infuriated expression, and added devilishly. " - Well, you're the monster hunter here. I suppose opposites attract."
Wyll looked even more hurt. " - I took the guy's defense this morning, and he's already talking about eating me. I can't believe it. The nerve of that man ! "
They got up and out of the cave, the dog trailing on Wyll's heels as the Blade complained a little more about Astarion's treachery. At least this inopportune eavesdropping had made them laugh a little and release their tensions.
" - You know," started Wyll, changing the subject while they were waiting for the scout party to find them " - talking like that behind people's back reminded me of my youth."
" - Oh, let me guess. You were a noble, sought-after teenager and you used to make fun of the least popular ones at every notorious event ?" inquired Mereana sarcastically.
This seemed to off-balance Wyll a little, as he scratched his head. " - Well, yes, that's what I was going to say. How did you guess ? I don't reckon I kept much of my past behavior. "
" - What, you're from the nobility ? " Mereana looked up to him, surprised. She had seen the man before, but never as anything else but the Blade. She tried to focus past his scars, missing eye, callous skin, past the rustic and adventurous dress-up, and to picture him as every other noble young man in Baldur's Gate, meaning a bit dull, with a colourful jabot and a condescending mannerism. Strangely enough, Astarion came to mind as a good representation, but certainly not Wyll.
" - I'm from nobility, yes, but I don't want to talk about it much. It's just...you kind of reminded me of these days. They're long gone for me now, but you have this way of asserting people…Don't get this wrong, but I'm sure I've seen you before, come to think of it. " he squinted his eyes at her.
" - You mean that you don't recognize me at all ?" she asked back. " - You were in my house. Twice. The ambassador's mansion. People threw you a party for saving a nearby village. You came in, ate the canapés, fled away before the official "thank-you" speech in front of everyone. I literally lived there. In the mansion, I mean. You don't remember ?"
"- Really ? I knew I've seen your face from somewhere !" he seemed excited. " - Couldn't quite put it right though. Wouldn't have put you for the ambassador's daughter. You did something to your hair, right ? It was longer before. Poshier. "
She nodded, as she glanced over Astarion and Shadowheart who were now joining them. She didn't feel very comfortable speaking about her background openly, though she supposed she had no big secret to hide, and she changed the subject as they drew closer :
" - Wyll wants to keep the dog."
Astarion and Shadowheart both looked surprised by this sudden, unrelated outburst, and glanced down on the stray dog who sat quietly by Wyll's side.
" - Fantastic. But why ?" asked the vampire rogue, visibly not really thrilled by the concept.
Shadowheart said nothing, only shaking her head sideways in apparent disapproval, but couldn't quite draw her eyes away from the lost animal.
" - I like it. Who wouldn't ? Also, Astarion, if you ever feel peckish, keep away from it. Or from me. I don't like you...what's the word... "salivating" around me."
The vampire scoffed and crossed his arms elegantly, as he understood that the monster hunter had overhead his conversation. " - I should be more than able to restrain myself, thank you. You seem a bit sour today."
" - Now that we're done with the banter," chimed in Mereana, holding back a chuckle at the vampire's offended attitude, " what did you see in the village ?"
" - Goblins, mostly. Ogres, as well. Oh, and a very amusing scene with a gnome tied to a windmill. I wanted to stay and watch longer, but our dear cleric there thought it would be too risky."
" - They were setting up for an ambush, and there are dozens of them in the village. They're looting the place apart, so they're not all gathered in the same place ; and they make an awful lot of noise. ", added Shadowheart more professionally. " - If we go through the bridge directly, they'll decimate us. But we might have a chance if we circle around them and take them down little by little. I don't think they would even hear us through their mess."
Fortunately, they had marked down a path on the eastern side of the village guarded over by only two goblins, one of which was profoundly asleep when they left, and the other one busy drinking some rancid wine. It would lead them in an alley behind a large house, where they could take down a first gathering of sentinels. From there, they could climb up the roof and sneak to a footbridge above the windmill. The fight would prove tedious, but with their ambushing advantage, maybe they could take down the goblins quickly before they had a chance to fight back. The difficult part was to keep their leader alive or at least unconscious, so that he could be interrogated later on.
" - Well", said Wyll at the end of their discussion, a smile tugged on his lips. " - It's a nice day for slaying goblins, I reckon."
And with that, they were gone up to the village, using the secret path they had discovered to set an ambush over the ambush the goblins had prepared.