A/N: Hey guys, real quick!
Just here to say. The setting for BG3 is changed, though most if not all of the characters from the game will be included in this story. It will be set in Exandria. So Instead of Baldur's Gate being the destination of the party, it will be Emon. Other things might change but I want to hit most of the story bits in the game, as well as adding other stuff.
That's enough prattling, I will get on with it.
Enjoy
You ever get woken up with the worst smell imaginable? Or something so potent that it rips you from the land of the dreaming? Not that I was actively dreaming, or rather, not having a nice one. Being chased down a mountain by people who want you dead isn't necessarily enjoyable, and if my history of dreams is any indication, I probably was actually going through that last night.
That's besides the point however. Right now, the thing that woke me up is this pungent and... frankly disgusting odour. It smells of vinegar, week old meat, earthy minerals, a bit of mold, oddly enough a cloying sweetness, brine, and an overwhelming scent, familiar to me when there is a lightning storm... ozone? I have never smelled something like this, with this collection of scents, all in one place. I have smelled a lot of disgusting things, even rotting corpses, but this is... possibly the worst thing I've ever took a whiff of.
I open my eyes, hoping to get a sense of where I am and what in the hells is going on? Unfortunately, I am met with something I have never seen before.
What my eyes pick up is something I am not expecting. Where I thought that maybe I was in a building, or some similar structure, I find myself strapped down inside a container of some sorts, organic and mechanical in it's make up. This explains why I can't move.
I am more alert now that I am aware that I am no longer in the woods outside of Emon. I look around, and notice the rest of the chamber my pod resides in is made of similar materials, and all around the circular room are more pods, with some people in them. They are of various races, one in particular, I do not recognize at all. In the middle of the room is a pool of yellow mucus. Yes, mucus. I don't know why but that's what it apparently smells like. I can hear something swimming around in the fluid as well, which makes my hair stand on end. Wait, no. Something else... that smell from earlier, it's getting clo-
"Knowing Mistress! What the hells?!" Gliding across the room, coming into view from the side of my pod is a humanoid entity with grey-purple, slimy, hairless, skin, an elongated skull, and most importantly, tentacles on the lower half of it's face.
My expletive seems to catch it's attention as it looks at me with an intelligence that is much greater then any squid I've seen... not that squids are stupid, they are actually- that doesn't matter right now. It turns to the pool next to it and reaches in, pulling out a wriggling... tadpole? I don't understand, what is he... wait, he's approaching that humanoid I didn't recognize. I think it's a woman. She has yellowish-green skin with a bat like nose, long pointy ears, ridges in her skin, and long brown hair, that is partially braided and pulled back. She looks to be struggling as this other alien thing approaches her.
The floating squid like being holds the tadpole up to the woman's face, and it crawls on to her cheek, before making it's way up to her eye socket and... pries it open with small little tentacles as she tries to keep it closed, and then it crawls into her eye. She groans in discomfort, but ultimately, nothing seems to happen to her. Then the thing turns to me.
A certain warning bell goes off in my head. Don't let it put that thing in you. My mind is screaming at me to move, to break out and kill it, but I'm weakened. Something is keeping me bound and unable to fight back. I'm stronger than most, so whatever it is doing to me, it must be potent.
It doesn't matter. The creatures reaches into the pool again and walks over to me. I turn my head and close my eye to try and fight back, but I feel a wrap around me, the use of of some invisible force, makes me move my head back towards the monster, making me stare into it's cold, pink, eyes. I could not read it's face, it was too alien to me. The overpowering pungent smell of the creature begins to burn my nose hairs. This may actually be the worse thing I've ever smelled after all.
As I'm contemplating the various, horrific, odours I've encountered in the over two decades of life I've lived so far, the tadpole crawls along the creatures long bony fingers, which ended with elongated claws or fingernails, before scuttling across my face and up to my eye, forcing it open just like the last one did with the woman. I can see it screech at me as it prepares to slither into my eyeball. I snarl and bare my teeth but it's no use.
The invasive parasite glides over my eye ball like it is lubricated with salt water and vinegar, leaving a stinging sensation that only lasts for a few seconds, before I feel it wriggle behind my eye, and settle into my brain. A panic washes over me as I can feel the beast within, wrestle with the new tenant in my mind.
My vision goes blurry for a moment, before correcting itself. I notice my pod closes and the creature inspects me for a moment, before leaving the chamber. I make an attempt to break out of my pod, but it's no use. After a few seconds of making attempts, I hear something I can't even begin to describe, but it hurts my keen ears. It lasts for about 2-3 seconds, and then is over. Shortly after however, I begin to hear warning bells I haven't heard since I was a child.
"Emon?" The last time I heard the city bells was when the Chroma Conclave attacked, shortly after Vox Machina had returned from their battle with the Briarwoods in Whitestone. Now, the capital of Tal'Dorei was once again under attack. What was even attacking?
The thing I was in was definitely moving, I could feel the vibrations, though they were barely noticeable. Were we in some kind of sky ship? We have quite a few more of those now, but still, this i- wait are those people apparating into the empty pods?
Looking around, I could see that at least one of them was wearing the city guards uniform with the crest of Emon on their gambeson. We definitely were at Emon. Why? Did these things need people for something? Were we experiments? Food? No, well, maybe, but why put the tadpoles in us.
The next thing I know, I'm hearing the roars of dragons, and a tearing sound as the ships structure is breached. I can smell smoke and ash, taste the heated fury of the scaled creature, right before it unleashes it's wrath in the ship from probably 100 feet away and in the corridor connected on the other side of the next room. The flames erupt through the entrance to our chamber and spread across the room, covering a great many of the pods, roasting a lot of the captives inside.
Suddenly, there's a shift in the air, and I can no longer hear roars of the dragons. Something feels different, similar to the feeling I got when we arrived at Emon. I couldn't explain it, for I don't know that I've felt this before... ever.
It didn't take long for the screeching of the fire breathers to return. I realize at this point that these dragons are all young. More and more pieces of this puzzle were falling into place, and I was trying to remember my studies, knowing that I read something about these creatures when I was a boy. It was slipping my mind though, always at the tip of my tongue and then-
BBRGGSHHSHS!
Whatever we were in just slammed against something hard. Maybe a mountain, I don't know. Whatever it was, sounded like crystals shattering on the outside. The roars of the dragons continue, and I keep trying to break free of my restraints. My strength is starting to return to me, and I manage to rip one of my arms free.
Just as I do the ship slams against more mountains, and I knock my head against he back of my pod. It disorients me a bit. Frustrating... actually no, I think I'm...
A hole tears into the top of the chamber we are in, and soon after a dragon's head peaks through. It looks at the yellow woman, before turning it's head, and spews forth a flame to burn the glowing pool in the middle of the room. And explosion occurs, covering the room in further flame, but at the same time another shift happens, and through the ashen fire I am familiar with from red dragons, I smell something else. A different kind of inferno.
Brimstone, and blood. I can hear screeching I've never heard before in the distance, and I notice the woman has escaped her pod. She looks to me, a mild look of concern, before shaking it off an steeling herself. She gets up and walks to the new opening in the ship, and a look of confusion and alarm crosses her face. I highly doubt we are in the Material Plane any longer. She looks back at me again, a scowl on her face, before disregarding me and leaving the room.
"Wait!" She ignores my plea, leaving me to my fate. Of course she does. Why would she stick around and help a human she doesn't know?
Struggling against my restraints, I feel my anger getting the better of me. How could I be so stupid as to get caught like this. I should have been in an abandoned fort, or cave somewhere, especially since it was a full moon last night. I know better. But no, instead I nearly get caught by Remus and his bastards, and who knows what happened after...
Well, I do know. I'm here, and again I know that I know what this ship is, and what those creatures were, but it's still escaping my mind. Perhaps it will come to me after I go through the ship. Which, I am determined to do for I do not plan on staying in this pod any longer.
I give one last heave, and my arms rip the organic material binding me to my pod from it's anchor points, and I tear the rest away, freeing my body. Attempting to lift the bod's lid, I find that it is jammed. No time to waste, I fold myself almost in half, lifting my knees to my chest, and extending my legs as much as possible, planting them against he lid, and heeeave. The lid of this organic coffin begins to give, and I can hear it groan and tear as the material begins to surrender to my strength. After a few more seconds, and one final push, I kick the lid open, causing it to fly off the... I guess hinges, and it skitters across the floor of the chamber, just barely missing the now broken pool at he centre of the room.
I hop out of the pod, a little wobbly, but quickly gain balance and right myself. Looking around, the others didn't survive. Roasted in their pods, some of which, had been dislodged from their mounted positions in a neat row, and were scattered around the chamber. I briefly regard the pool, noticing there are now dead tadpoles floating at the surface, and decide to leave it be. It didn't look very stable after that dragon attack.
Reaching down to my waist, I notice my sickles are gone, and I curse. My weapons and my gear were no where in sight, because of course it wouldn't be that easy. This, on top of the fact that I still feel exhausted, were set backs I would have to overcome on my own. Luckily, I was trained in the Way of The Cobalt Soul, so my body can be a weapon all on it's own. I just don't know how well that will work against these creatures.
Nothing of valued appeared to be in the area, not even on the dead body of one of those squid beings. Good riddance. There is however a strange... well... what the hells is that? It is almost like a pod, but instead of being a container, it was open in the front, with blue, I feel tentacles may be over used here, feelers maybe? Yeah, blue glowing feelers that were dangling from the type, admitting a pale blue light.
I find myself drawn to it, reaching out, and placing my hand close enough that the feelers wrap around my arm. I feel a little anxious, but my concerns pass quickly as in mere moments it feels as if though I've rested hours. No longer was I disoriented, or drained of energy. Was this somehow a device made to heal and revitalize the weary and injured?
I shake my head, no time to lollygag. Gotta find my way out of here.
Moving over to the next room, I see a lift that leads up to a higher platform, as well as a few more bodies, some Illithid, some human or elf, and even some goblins. A few of the humanoids from the material plane were on tables, with implements in them suggesting a dissection or... something similar.
There are tablets on the table, ones that I can strangely read, though it does not match any script or language I am familiar with. They seem to hold irrelevant information pertaining to my current predicament, however I may be able to garner some favour with the Cobalt Soul if I return these recording of the squid captors to one of the Cobalt Reserves. Maybe that will get them off my back. I opt to carry the little slabs of metal, only willing to drop them if I need to fight.
I sniff the air, wondering if I can catch the scent of that yellow skinned woman, or the grey squid creature. I do, both scents leading me out the other side of the chamber I was currently in, but I catch the scent of a third person. Something fey-touched. Elves, half or otherwise, always smelled different from everything else. Some variation of tea, flowery and fruity scents, and even sometime smelled of moss. This of course, doesn't cover the more murderous creatures, though they would sometimes have similar smells, just blanketed by blood and death. I've only ever had the misfortune of running into an actual fey creature in my life, once.
A Displacer Beast is a deadly predator. Their ability to make an illusion of themselves throws off most, but thankfully my keen senses help reduce the effectiveness of such a trick. Sif and I were lucky that a few adventurers were around to help when we came across that deadly fey-cat. If it had just been the two of us, I don't think both of us would have survived the encounter.
Anyway, elves, or other fey-touched creatures tend to smell of milder aspects of the fey. I tend to avoid anything that smells of the fey when near a swamp or bog, not intending to let a hag get the better of me.
But other then the lilac and honeydew I smell, I also pick up a strong presence of copper, iron, and minerals. Brine. And that same cloying sweetness as before, although the scent wasn't as powerful, and was distinguishable from the squid captor present in our chamber earlier. Then I hear a voice.
"We are here." That did not come from any audible source. It almost sounds like it came from my own mind. But still, had the sense of being distant from me.
Curious as to what was up the lift, I walk over to what was likely the controls, and... well I place my hand against it. The aparatus has similar feelers to the one in the room before, but this was smaller, and they were glowing red. They wrapped around my hand and once again I felt that pull in my mind to will the lift to ascend. Once it starts to move it lets go of my hand and I just contemplate what this means. It was likely a clear indication that the thing in my brain could react to the ship. Though that could be useful, it made me wonder what exactly was happening to me now that the tadpole had buried itself into my brain.
Once I reach the top, I immediately notice various containers holding brains inside of them, along with other implements on the tables around this level. Across from the lift however, was an Elven man, strapped to a chair or surgical table that was reclined back. He did not look to be all there, but he was twitching. Maybe he needed my help. No, his heart beat was non-existent. I heard no breathing, he had to be dead. So what was the twitching about?
"We are trapped." Okay. Is it trying to escape. What exactly is trying to escape?
Ultimately, my time at the Cobalt Soul made me a curious animal, so I slowly stalked up to the dead Elf and made my way around the back. As I got a clearer view, it made sense why I could smell brains up here.
The top of this man's head was removed, exposing the brain, which was twitching on it's own. I scowl, searching my memories of the Reserves knowledge on what this might be, and draw a blank. I know they had information on this. Why can't I remem-
"Yes! You have come to save us from this place. From this place you will free us!" The voice in my head fluctuates in pitch and tone. Once I got a good look at the brain, and noticed that it twitched and made warbling sounds with every word, I started making the connections, and began to understand.
This was an Intellect Devourer. A psionic aberration that takes the form of walking brains. They normally had a set of four, bestial, double-jointed, bony, legs, with three stubby talons. If I remembered correctly they could take host bodies, and varied in size due to a psionic compression power. Ranging anywhere from 15 centimetres, or six inches, long, to about the size of dogs. Due to their power to consume intelligence, as their name sake suggests, and to possess host bodies, they were one of the most dreaded threats of the Underdark. Which makes me wonder how they got up here? More importantly however, what their purpose means in relation to why I'm on this ship, and what that tadpole is doing to me.
Intellect Devourers exist only to serve the Illithid, or better known as Mind Flayers. Sadistic aberrations hell bent on expanding their dominion on all other life forms. They are feared by basically everybody. According to the texts, not even the other denizens of the Underdark take them lightly. It is unknown where they originally come from, but it is widely believed, at least in Tal'Dorei, that they come from the Underdark. At the very least, that's where they mostly reside, but theories that they did not originate from the dark caverns below have been explored before, with no real headway being made. The smell of them though. The ozone, the power that they possessed. I had never been around them before. The yellow skinned creature smelled similarly, and I was starting to think I may have an idea as to what she is.
"Please! Before they return! They return." The creature seems afraid, anxious. In fact, I can smell the terror coming off of it as the Elven man's head twitches from side to side. I think the thing is trying to escape. The fact that it's talking to me and asking for help rather than lashing out makes me wonder if it truly is desperate enough to rely on my mercy, or if the tadpole in my head reacted to it the same way it reacts to the ship.
"Why do you sound so afraid. I can practically smell the terror emanating off you, among other things."
"The enemy! So many enemies." Enemies? Was it referring to the dragons? Why were they even attacking in the first place? Did they take their treasure? Some dragon eggs? "Remove us from this body! From this case, free us! Please!" It indeed sounded desperate, and despite my better judgment telling me to be cautious of the monster, I couldn't help but pity it.
Was I really going to do this?
I sigh as I investigate the creature and it's prison. I recognize that there is swelling of the brain creating pressure where it strains against the shell of the skull. I can't remember for the life of me what this is called though. It's been a long time since I've ready any medicinal material.
Regardless, I suppose I could show this thing mercy. I should kill it, but since it's asking for help, maybe I can get it to help me navigate the ship. Besides, it's defenceless, and I don't kill things that can't defend themselves.
Sighing I decide to attempt a cerebral extraction. Believe it or not the Cobalt Soul had me do this a few times when I was young, but not just with animals... their lessons were a bit... extreme. I had to be mindful of the swelling, and be gentle enough as to not damage or kill the aberration.
Placing my fingers along the ridges of the skull, I use the moisture the the thin membrane lined around the grey matter to slip my fingers in between the skull and creature. I apply just enough pressure to reduce it's size, and gently pull, sliding the thing out.
Now that it was free, I had this bestial urge to devour the Intellect Devourer. A sort of comedic irony that the animal inside of me found hilarious. I shook my head as I pushed those thoughts away, releasing the brain as it jumped out of my hands, and watch as legs rapidly sprout from it's form, along with some writhing feelers. I think those were feelers.
"We are free. You freed us." The creature seemed to be ready to speak again, how I knew that I wasn't sure, but then it pauses and the tadpole behind my eyes seizes in recognition. Recognition of what? The brain dog in front of me? No... it was the Intellect Devourer... it recognized me. As it's master? That didn't bode well. "We must go to the helm! At the helm we are needed."
Perfect. The helm is likely going to be full of Illithid. I probably would rather jump off the side and take my chances over facing a room full of those things. However, if this thing is escorting me as it's 'master', than maybe the Mind Flayers won't kill me on sight. But that doesn't make me any less uncomfortable. In fact, there's a deeper sense of dread that comes with the implications of such an outcome. Still, I have no idea what's at the helm, so I may as well ask.
"What's at he helm exactly? Shouldn't we abandon ship?" The creature waits a moment, and I get this distinct feeling it's querying another being it may be in contact with. Illithid and Intellect Devours, from what I can understand, can only communicate through telepathy. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was communicating with one of the Mind Flayers steering this vessel.
"Do you not hear it? We will not survive here. We are needed to navigate – we are needed to leave this realm." This realm. As I thought, we are likely somewhere other than the Prime Material Plane. Bollocks.
"Alright, what do I call you?"
"Us. We are us." Uh, alright.
"Alright let's go then, 'Us'." The brain dog now bearing the moniker of 'Us' wriggled in anticipation, declaring once again that we were going to the helm. It crawled towards the lift and I followed it, taken slightly aback when I saw the thing reach the edge of the platform and leap off. Making it to the ledge my self, I see that it landed safely, and was waiting for me.
I can't deny the efficiency.
Leaping from the platform myself I land next to Us and realize I still don't have my stuff. Just as it's about to scurry off against I call out to it and it looks back to me.
"What do you need?"
"Where's my equipment? My weapons and pack. I want them back if we are going to the helm together. Might have to kill some of these 'enemies' you warned about." The brain shuffles around in place, as if considering what to say. I'd rather it just tell me to begin with, but I feel like it's idea of me being it's 'master' was limited, and it answered to even a higher authority than whatever I had acquired with this tadpole.
"Over here!" It runs off to the corner of the chamber, leading me to this container that looks, oddly, like a chest.
It's metallic with organic red and pink material crawling all along it's surface. The centre of it looks exactly like the rest of the ships devices with feelers on the end, and I place my hand against it, having the purple appendages wrap around my wrist. I command the thing to open, which it does, and inside I could see various belongings that weren't mine. Digging through it all, I eventually find my back pack, my two sickles, and my throwing knives, much to my relief. Placing my bag and weapons down, I search the other packs and belongings for useful resources. Luckily, I find nearly 300 gold pieces, some rations, a couple of healing potions, and a potion I am unfamiliar with. Otherwise, I didn't see any use for the other stuff in the chest and leave it all be, taking the potions, gold and food, placing also the slabs of metal with recorded information on it in my bag, as well as a spiked bulbous object that looks interesting enough. Maybe the Reserve will like this as well.
Packing all I find necessary, I sling my pack over my shoulders and pick up my weapons. Two identical, larger than average, sickles. The curved blades were black as to keep them from reflecting light when trying to be stealthy, and the handles were made of oak wood with black leather wrapped around the surface. The bottoms of the handles have a slot to connect both weapons together, making it a double-sided sickle staff. When the ends are connected, the staff extends to be the length of a quarter staff, making this a more lethal monk weapon that causes slashing damage. If I want to be non-lethal, I just use my unarmed strikes instead.
Fastening each sickle to either side of my waist, I turn to Us and motion for him to lead the way. It anxiously hops around before turning towards the exit and heading out of the room.
What I assume was supposed to be a corridor is now a damaged portion of the ship, with the hull missing, leaving the interior exposed to the outside. For a brief moment I thought I smell that woman again but the powerful smell of fire, brimstone, and that iron-coppery scent of blood overwhelms my senses. The fire doesn't smell right either. It wasn't like any ash or smoke I had smelled before, no burning wood or chemical based fire, and given the screaming and screeching I was hearing down here, I am certain that we were in Hell. Or rather, one of the Hells.
My keen nose picked up the familiar smell of the flying beasts that had attacked the ship before, and my hearing picked up the beating of their wings, a roar was unleashed, loud and closer than was comfortable, as screeching imps flew past and the dragon descended from above, attacking them. The minute the dragon came into view, purple energy was being fired from the front of the ship, directed at the dragon, no dragons now, that followed us here. It was an all out war.
Looking upon the outside of the ship, I am astounded by it's make up. Unlike the sky ships in the material plane, this vessel didn't appear to have any propulsion systems, at least not visible to the naked eye. Most of the ship seems to be made of organic material, flesh, bone, sinew, even muscle, with some non-organic materials mixed in. Primarily organic however. At the fore of the ship are large, wriggling tentacles. I have no idea if they are responsible for moving forward, or if they are used for something else, but I do see that whenever they make contact with any of the infernal creatures that touch them, they turn to ash and disappear. It was similar to how the citizens of Emon apparated into their pods. So that's how they abduct people. Interesting.
Looking out to what I suppose passes for a horizon in this realm, I see red and black, with some orange. The sky is covered in smoke, there are floating monoliths of what could only be infernal design, and thousands of infernal creatures flying around battling both the Illithid ship and the dragons. Not what I expected to wake up to last night. However...
"You know, I always thought I'd end up here." As I lament my believed destination in the after life to Us, I hear movement from above, and look up just in time to see an attacker descending on me, with a blade pointed towards my head.
At the last possible second I lean my head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade, and pivot as I grab her wrist with one hand and use the other to toss her, using her own momentum to chuck her off the edge. At the last second however I alter the path I had initially intended and decided to show mercy, sending her down the organic ramp we were standing on. The woman was nimble for somebody wearing the armour she was in, and landed on her feet, sliding a bit as she readjusted herself and readied her weapon.
As she stood up, I could tell she was about 5'9, shorter than me by seven inches. She was slim, almost emaciated, despite the apparent strength and energy she had to fight. Her head was angular, a bit longer than human skulls, and I could make out some facial markings, maybe war paint, now that I could look at her directly.
"Abomination! This is your end!" She doesn't hesitate as she charges forward, and I reach for my sickles in order to defend myself. As she approached I bring up my weapons to deflect a swing she has wound up, only for the both of us to halt our actions the minute the tadpole in my head, and I suppose the one in hers, acts up.
My... no our heads throb, our skin tingles, and visions rush past our minds: My life in the wild, meeting Sif, taking her in, and that bastard Remus hunting me last night. From her I see A dragons wing, a silver sword, and a flash of my bearded face through her eyes. The thoughts she had at how strange I looked. My long curly white hair, tanned skin, my facial hair being thick and full, my yellow eyes, and my odd nose. She groans in pain, and growls in anger.
"My head... what is this. Ngh!" A good question. Though I suppose I have some theories, given who, or rather what, placed these tadpoles in our heads. Not that I have a chance to voice them. "Tsk'va. You are no thrall. Vlaakith blesses me this day! Together, we might survive." The woman places her sword on her back, though I see no seethe for it to slide into, strange. She relaxes, but only slightly, still tense and alert enough for any other danger that may arise.
It is at this moment that I realize I haven't spoken to a humanoid person for over a year, maybe two. Only speaking with animals, and this psionic Aberration. You'd think I was a druid that lived in isolation, save for his animal companions, and not a monk from the Cobalt Soul. Though I guess I never was formerly inducted, despite going through all that training. Anyway, this lack of interaction must have messed with my head, because her genuine smile at the idea that I'm not an enemy and we can get out of this alive, together, gave me an uncomfortable sense of longing. Not sexual or romantic, just... I'm not used to wanting to be around people. I tend to avoid it as much as possible.
Wait did she say Vlaakith? That name rings all kinds of bells in my head and I'm remembering there were rumours of some kind of alien Lich from another plane, but there isn't much information on her.
"Wait, did you think I was a thrall because I have a tadpole in my head? You have one to don't you? I saw it crawl into your eye." The woman scowls at me as if I insulted her, but seems to have some kind of patience with me that I am unsure she thinks I'm deserving of.
"So perceptive. We carry Mind Flayer Parasites. Unless we escape – unless we are cleansed – our bodies and minds will be tainted and twisted. Within days we will be ghaik. Mind Flayers." That is not good. I didn't know the Illithid were capable of such things. In fact, neither did the Order. Wait, she said ghaik, and Tsk'va. I recognize these words. Their from a language that originates from the Astral Plane. I don't remember what it's called, but, I'm pretty sure Githyanki are the ones that speak it.
Of course. Pale, yellow skin with brown or green undertones, elongated skulls, large ears, emaciated looking forms, tall, thin, she fits the description. It has been so long since I've seen a depiction of the Githyanki that I didn't even recognize that I was finally meeting one for the first time. Too bad it wasn't under better circumstances.
"So, how do we cleanse ourselves? What can we do?" She frowns, remorseful, and shakes her head.
"We can do nothing until we escape. That must be our first priority." Looking at our surroundings, I wonder where exactly we are going to try and escape to. We were in one of the nine hells, of which I had to guess, this was Avernus. My studies of the Nine Hells was not extensive for that was not my main interest, nor was it the focus of my mentors to teach me of the damned realms. I only remember a few and if I'm correct, this rocky realm of fire and blood rivers, with a choked out sky that would erupt in fireballs every so often was not the same as the volcanic realm of Phlegethos.
I push these thoughts aside as I nod my head to the Githyanki woman in agreement.
"We'll have to be careful though. There are imps down and around the corner there." The woman eyes me warily at my remarks.
"How does a human such as your self know such things. Are you a mage?" Damn it. You know better than to be careless with your abilities like that.
"I saw some fly into the ship after you tried attacking me. You didn't notice because you were facing me." Smooth. Smooth. Hopefully.
The Githyanki woman scrutinizes my explanation for a moment longer than I am comfortable with, but seems to take me at my word, for now, and nods her head.
"First, we exterminate the infernal beasts. Then, we find the helm and take control of the ship. As for that thing..." we both turn to look at Us. "...it will remain tame so long as it believes that we are thralls. It may prove to be of use in the fight to come." With that said, she draws her weapon again, and turns to head down the ramp. Alright, I suppose we are just heading down now. Kind of like that lack of hesitation.
Though I don't normally get chummy with just any stranger, this situation was a unique one, and we were relying on each other. So, I decided to introduce myself.
"Name's Alaric." The woman continues forward, unbothered by my attempts at introductions. I guess she doesn't care about names right now. Which is fair.
"I do not see the reason for introductions. When we are done, we will part ways. So long as you don't give me a reason to cut you down." She doesn't even look back at me to shut down the attempts at comraderie.
"Look, I'm intent on making it out of here alive. However, I'm not foolish enough to believe that there isn't a high chance that we will die here. If for whatever reason, I survive, and I know you're name, then maybe I can let those who would miss you know of your passing. And to remember you. Honour you. If you do not wish to do the same fore me, so be it. I don't expect anybody will anyway." The woman continues down the ramp silent, until we hit the entrance to the next room. It's wide open, due to the damage of the exterior of the ship, and the imps don't seem to notice us right away. She remains quiet at first, before turning back to me.
"We will not die here. If I do, I'm taking this ship down with me. In the name of my Queen." She turns away from me and waits a moment. "Are you prepared?"
I shake my head, realizing I really don't know what Githyanki are like at all. What their customs are or what have you. I just know they live in the Astral Plane, and very few of them live in the Prime Material Plane. Whatever their customs are when it comes to battle and necessary allies is beyond my purview. I suppose now's a good time to learn.
"Yeah. I'm ready." I draw my sickles, lethal force being the favoured approach with these creatures.
The woman ahead of me stands up and marches into the room. No stealth or anything. What a lunatic. We are out numbered. Though, I've never fought an imp before. They are small, but underestimating your opponent is a sure fire way to die sooner rather than later. Besides, these things are magical in nature, so I'm pretty sure they will actually do some damage to me.
I opt to stay hidden, hugging the wall around the side, as the imps focus on the Githyanki warrior. I look over to Us, and motion for it to follow my new ally, not wanting her to be alone. The two of them will draw their attention, and I will strike from the flank. We will make short work of them.
As I'm making my way around the room, I see that he imps were feeding on the dead bodies of man and elf alike, as well as an Illithid that was dead in the corner. I managed to escape their view before they looked up and spotted the woman intent on meeting them all head on. They all stand, and screech in anger as they converge on her and Us.
As the final one moves forward, I stand up and rush behind it. The thing doesn't even notice me as I cross my left arm over my chest and swing in a horizontal arc, decapitating it with one of my sickles. It's body plops to the ground as I see Us leap into the air, pouncing on one of them, as the other three surround the Githyanki.
Leaving Us to maul it's pray alone, I charge towards the three imps attacking my female companion from the Astral Plane. She manages to cut down one of them, but the next swing misses the other as it back up towards me. The thing was not paying attention to it's surroundings as I came up behind it and cross slashed it with both my sickles, twice, slicing it to ribbons.
Just as I finish doing so a fire bolt comes flying at my head from above, I hear the flame raging across the atmosphere before I feel the heat heading towards me. I try to step out of the way, but I'm met with another fire bolt hat hits me square in the chest. My already tattered clothes are singed and my skin vibrates in the heat, the painful throes of recognition that fire is not good for your skin causes me to wince a bit. If this had been regular fire I could have shrugged it off, but these fucking imps are casting magic, and I don't like getting hit by magic. I mean, most things don't, but I specifically hate it.
I pat the flames out as best I can before I realize the magical nature of the fire won't be put out by usual methods so I tear the front of my fabric off and toss it aside before looking up. I notice over a dozen more imps descending upon us from outside. Their red glowing eyes emanating the evil that conjured them, and their faces twisted with the hatred of the Infernal Planes from which they are born. I hear the woman give a battle cry as she cuts down the one remaining from the original batch, and I put both my weapons together to make the sickle staff. I wait patiently as the imps descend on us.
"Decimate them all!" Her violent cry is met with the screeching of the infernal creatures, as they attack us. I spin my staff in circular motions, rapidly twisting in every direction, trying to cover as many angles as possible. For every scratch I receive, I cut down the offending imp. The few that didn't come after me stayed back to throw more fire bolts resulting in my need to dodge and focus on avoiding the fire. Their claws were magic as well, but I didn't risk having my belongings burned to nothing if they opted to slash at me.
Some of the imps that landed their hits made it through unscathed, but most of that approached me died. The female Githyanki was holding her own, though not in much better shape than I was. She was getting hit more often, but her armour was taking the most of the beating for her. She would sometimes even let the imps get in and land a blow on purpose just so she could cleave them in half. Tough chick. I like her.
I dodge another fireball and roll to the side, getting up quickly and reaching into my holster, pull out throwing knives and toss them at the imps opting to attack from a distance. Most of my knives meet their mark but a few dodge my counter offensive. I have no time to think about that however as more imps swarm me from my flank.
Balancing my weight on the blade of my staff I swing myself up and do a reverse spinning heel kick. Sweeping across the group I catch three of them and send them careening to the floor, where Us pounces on all three, wrestling, clawing, and scratching them as best it can. It takes a few hits of it's own, but I am certain it would be alright. There was a reason why it's kind was so feared.
The few imps that avoided my kick are in for a rude awakening. Planting my feet back on the ground, I use the momentum to spin towards them and close the distance, using the opposite end of my staff to cut through them all at once. Luckily I keep these blades sharp, and four imps were cut down in one fell swoop.
I hear the crackling sound of fire flying through the air again and I lean to the side dodging the first bolt, turning that manoeuvre into a flip in order to dodge two more bolts. I growl in frustration at he imps flying above. Reaching into my pouch, I grab a few more throwing knives, but realize they are now flying too high. I can throw pretty far, but there is still a limit to what even I can do. Besides, it's not as if this is a realm of chaos, where I could just will the bladed projectiles to defy gravity. There were laws here, just like in the Material Plane. If this was the Astral Plane, it would be a different story.
"Over here!" I turn to look at my ally as she swings her sword with one hand, holding a crossbow in the other.
"Where'd you get that!" I dodge a few more fire bolts, cutting down a few imps that were stupid enough to approach me again. Their numbers were dwindling.
"Nevermind! Get these imps off me and I'll shoot those cowards down!" I liked that plan.
Without a word, I separate my sickles once again, and race toward the Githyanki. I immediately start cutting down a few unsuspecting imps, causing the rest that were attacking her to focus more on me. I use the acrobatic abilities honed from years of training as a Monk to dance around the Githyanki woman, cutting down each beast that attempts to blind her. Why they were fighting like this I wasn't sure. If they all flew up they would be able to bombard us, and we'd be quite screwed. However, if memory serves, most imps aren't all that smart. Whether that is actually true of most of them I don't know, but it clearly was the case here.
After a few more moments of fighting, the Githyanki Fighter shoots down the last of the imps that opted to shoot fire bolts at us, and Us has the last one that opted for close range combat impaled by it's bestial talons. I survey the area, and there were over two dozen imps that we killed in this fight. Looking down at my clothing, I become increasingly aware that I am going to have to get new clothes soon. Most of it has been burned away and torn to shreds.
"You prove surprisingly adequate in battle." What a back handed remark.
"Yeah, you didn't seem like much when you failed to ambush me, but you held your own." She growled at me, clearly she didn't like that I fired back at her. Too bad.
"To the helm!" Us shouts. Interrupting our stare down. I nod in agreement as I take a hair band from a side pocket of my pack and use it to tie my hair curly hair into a half ponytail.
Looking over to the woman, she spits on the ground, turning away from me and marches off. I am unsure if she knows where she is going, so I turn to Us and motion for him to continue. I know that whatever comes next will likely be more difficult, but we have to get out of here.
"Lead the way."