"You know, it might be a good idea to look around and loot the area-"
"You're disgusting." Shadowheart said to Astarion.
"What's the harm? All I'm saying is they're not going to need them anymore. And it doesn't seem to be stopping her." Astarion smirked and showed Shadowheart Vex who was busy looting some healing potions and some gold off some bodies.
"What are you doing?!" Shadowheart demanded. "These people should be left alone in some dignity they have left!"
"Astarion does have a point, Shadowheart. We're out here in the wilderness with no food, no shelter. If we're going to survive, we're going to need it." Vex spoke. Shadowheart stayed silent but helped with Vex and Astarion, looting the bodies finding some valuables such as gems to trade, some weapons, and found a chest with some more gold in it as well. Then Vex noticed some footprints in the dirt that looked like a fight broke out and some dead goblin bodies lying on the ground.
"Look up ahead, footprints and dead goblins. Someone must have survived the crash." She pointed out. Astarion and Shadowheart walked over seeing the bodies as well, wondering what happened. Suddenly, everyone saw a swirling purple vortex on a stone wall. "What's going on with that rune? Looks unstable somehow."
Vex stepped closer to the rune to get a closer look at it while Astarion and Shadowheart stayed back. "It wouldn't get too close to it." Shadowheart warned her. Magic glitters and swirls from it erratically, as if malfunctioning. It looks slightly dangerous. Vex slowly reached her hand out towards the sigil to touch it. Suddenly, a hand shot out from the vortex, startling her as well as Shadowheart and Astarion.
"A hand? Anyone?" There was a man trapped inside. Vex quickly grabbed the man's hand and pulled as hard as she could fighting against the vortex as it tried to suck them both into it. Vex turned back to the others. "Little help?" Shadowheart ran over, helping Vex to pull the man out while Astarion stood where he was.
"Just leave him. It's his own fault that he got himself stuck in there."
"Keep pulling!" The man shouted and Vex and Shadowheart pulled harder, and person was pulled out of the rune, landing on his stomach on the ground. Vex and Shadowheart stumbled back and regained their footing and the man stood up then brushed the sand off of him. He was a wizard with long brown hair reaching to his shoulders, beard, wearing a purple robe with brown cuffs and brown belt and boots.
"Hello. I'm Gale of the Waterdeep. Apologies, I'm usually better at this." He smiled at them.
"There's no need for apologies. Are you alright?" Vex asked him, concerned.
"A bit shocked, but friend, it's a relief and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Say, but I know you, don't I? In a manner of speaking. You were on that nautiloid as well."
"Forget about that. How did you end up getting stuck in that stone?" Vex questioned, wondering.
"I don't know how exactly, but the ship broke into pieces, and I suddenly found myself in free fall. As I was plummeting to certain death, I spied a glimmer quite near where I estimated my body to impact with less-than-savoury propulsion. Recognizing this glimmer to be a magical in nature, I reached out to it with a weaving of words and found myself on the other side as it were." Gale explained. "How about you? How did you survive the fall?"
"To be honest, I haven't a clue. I guess it was just luck."
"Fair enough. But even so, I have the unfortunate suspicion your survival is still very much in jeopardy. Back on the ship, you too were on the receiving end of a rather unwelcome insertion in the ocular region, were you not?" Vex nodded.
"Couldn't have phrased it more repellently myself."
"No use sugarcoating it, isn't there?" Gale snickered a little. "The insertee we speak of, this parasite-are you aware that after a period of excruciating gestation it will turn us into mind flayers? It's a process known as ceremorphsis and let me assure you: it is to be avoided." He told them. "You don't happen to be a cleric, by any chance, do you? A doctor? Surgeon? Uncannily adroit with a knitting needle."
"Well, I can stitch clothes." Vex joked. "From my experience with getting holes and tearing them."
"You seem to know enough about our condition to realize it is beyond most clerics' skills." Shadowheart spoke.
"Most, no doubt. But I find myself hoping to be in the presence of the few. You don't happen to be one of them?"
"I'm sorry, but no. I'm no stranger to high-stakes extractions, but these tadpoles are beyond even my light fingers. I can't cure us." Vex said.
"As we've established, few enough can. It's not exactly a common affliction. Which brings me to what I'm about to ask."
"What is it? Vex asked him.
"We're most certainly going to need a healer, and soon too. How about we lend each other a helping hand once more and look for a healer together?" Gale asked her.
"Welcome to the team." Vex smiled.
"Excellent! A parasite shared is a parasite halved or something to that effect. Oh, and before you think you're about to embark on a journey with the most ill-mannered man; I want to say thank you for pulling me out of that stone." Gale smiled back.
"No problem. Now let's go and investigate those tracks I want to know what killed those goblins." Vex said. The group continued following the tracks until they heard voices up ahead. As they got closer they saw two Tieflings talking to themselves and saw the female Githyanki captured in a cage. "It's the Githyanki from the ship. Those Tieflings captured her."
"Zorru was right. Yellow as a toad, and twice as ugly." The male Tiefling spoke.
"The thing's dangerous. Leave it for the goblins to kill." The female Tiefling spoke.
"And if it escapes? How will you-Oh! A guest." The male Tiefling noticed the group approaching them. Vex looked up at the cage to see the Githyanki's sunken, piercing eyes glaring down at her silently. Then Vex felt a sharp pain in her skull hearing the Githyanki communicating to her in her mind.
"Gid rid of them." Vex turned back to the two Tieflings who were eyeing at her suspiciously along with the rest of the group.
"This creature is dangerous. Get out of here-leave it to me!" Vex told the two Tieflings.
"She's right. Let's go-we need to check on that blast." The male Tielfing told his companion.
"A blast? What blast? Can you explain?" Vex asked.
"You didn't hear it? It shook our camp good, so we came for a look." The female Tielfing answered.
"Where is this camp of yours? We're in dire need of healing." Vex asked the two of them.
"Northwest. Look for Nettie. She might be able to help." The Tielfing told her and the two of the left. Vex turned back to the Githyanki in the cage.
"Enough gawking-get me down." She demanded.
"Now that they're out of earshot, sure." Vex told her. The female Githyanki looked on in disbelief as she watched Vex look around the area. Minutes went by and the Githyanki started to twitch a little in irritation. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to find a lever or something to lower you down." Vex called out.
"Shoot the bottom of the cage! How dumb are you!?" The Githyanki shouted at her. Vex stopped in her tracks, slapping her forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that! Sorry, I'll get you right down!" Vex aimed the bow, that the Tielfings had left behind, at the bottom of the cage and fired an arrow at it. The wood broke underneath the Githyanki and she fell to the ground, landing on her feet.
"The tadpole hasn't yet scrambled your senses. Auspicious. But the longer we wait the more it consumes. My people possess the cure for this infection. I must find a creche, you will join me."
"Careful-she obviously sees your kindness as a weakness. Don't let her take advantage." Shadowheart whispered to Vex in warning.
"It is many things. A hatchery, a training ground, a shelter. Githyanki protocol is clear: when infected with a ghaik tadpole, we must report to a ghustil for purification."
"What is your name?" Vex asked her.
"You don't need to know." The githyanki frowned.
"Listen, if we're going to be traveling together. I need to know. Unless you want to be called, you, it, or that thing-"
"Lae'zel." Lae'zel spoke.
"There that wasn't so hard. All right, we journey together. Let's find this creche. It might be worth checking out. There's also a camp not too far from here that might have a healer for our problems." Vex spoke.
"True. I have heard those Tieflings talking to themselves about this camp, that someone named Zorru has seen Githyanki. I must find him and interrogate him to find the location of the creche."
"But let's start to set up camp for the night. It's getting late." Vex replied. "We can start out in the morning."