The morning after, they followed the path in hopes of it turning into a road. Alongside that path, disarmed and destroyed traps could be found. Someone had desperately tried to catch or kill someone – or something - else.
As they went on, Gale tried to initiate a conversation
„May I ask what each of you did before you were whisked away into the ship and given your little squiggly brain-lurker? I would like to know more about the people I'm sharing my fate with for good and for evil."
Shadowheart kept her mouth shut and so did Astarion – very unusual for him.
So Tsisk answered instead: „I cannot remember anything before the ship. It is all lost to me. Sometimes I get a glimpse or a hunch of a life before, but it is not much."
„That does not sound like a side effect of the tadpole, but memory loss can come from a great variety of conditions."
Shadowheart mused. „But about my life: I was on a mission for my convent when it got me."
They looked over expectantly at Astarion who answered pointedly annoyed „What's to tell? I'm a magistrate back in the city. It's all rather tedious."
It was obvious that neither one of the two would tell more about themselves. From here on out they made their way in silence until they could hear two people arguing:
„We should not let that thing stay here. It could ally with the Goblins and kill us. One of those killed Zorrus whole group."
„Let's just leave it. How do you even plan on transporting it?"
Behind a line of trees, Tsisk could make out two Tieflings, humanoids with infernal heritage that sported horns and tails and burning embers for eyes. She carefully sneaked closer, followed by Astarion.
Gale and Shadowheart readied themselves, but chose to stay back.
„Then we will have to kill it here and now, so it can't harm us anymore."
Tsisk now got close enough to see what they were arguing about.
The Githyanki woman from the ship stood in a cage, staring menacingly at the two Tieflings in front of her. She noticed Tsisks approach and made eye contact. As soon as she did, Tsisk could hear her voice in her head:
„Make them disappear!"
That was a somewhat disturbing sensation. It felt like another person invading her head for a moment, giving her a quick view of their thoughts and feelings and returning hers in kind. She could feel the tadpole stir in her head. It made her nauseous and inexplicably angry at the same time. She looked at the two Tieflings. They were no threat. Both looked worn out and wore clothes fit for citizens, not warriors. The weapons they held were mere decoration in their hands. Road dust had settled in every crease of their garments.
Time for a bold approach.
It suited her just fine.
She stood up and walked over in a threatening stance. The woman of the two flinched in surprise „Where do you come from? And what do you want?".
Tsisk stared her right in the eyes from above, using her height to her advantage and told her „That one is mine. Now go get lost before I hurt you."
The Tieflings looked her up and down, saw the threat and apparent bloodlust in her eyes and meekly retreated.
Tsisk felt the urge to follow them into the woods. Apparently, there were Goblins to blame if these two went missing. But by now, she had grown more accustomed to it and simply took a deep breath to put these thoughts away and focus on the Githyanki. Another ally to help her survival and one she knew to be powerful.
But before she could reach the cage the Githyanki was stuck in, Shadowheart interjected her.
„You can't trust her. She obviously sees your kindness as weakness. Don't let her take advantage."
Tsisk replied „You have seen her on the ship. She is a warrior and a great addition to our party. If she proves otherwise, we can kill her later on."
With that said, she went over and released the Gith.
The woman immediately said „I heard them talk about a Gith one of them saw. There must be a creche nearby. And if there is a creche, there is a device that can rid us of these tadpoles. The person who saw it is named Zorru. We must find him."
Tsisk thought about it. „I think a village or a camp is nearby. These did not look like people who would find their way through a wilderness, they would not venture very far. We should follow them."
„Very well then, let us go there. But head my words: We must find the creche, or the tadpoles will consume our minds piece by piece."
A very palpable tension accompanied their way from here on. Shadowheart made no secret for her disdain of the Githyanki and the Gith reacted to it with glowering stares.
Tsisk put herself between the two and asked the green-skinned woman, following Gales example from earlier on:
„So what's your name and where are you coming from?"
With great pride and pathos, the woman declared to be Lae'zel from Crèche K'liir, a warrior on her path to become Kith'rak. Tsisk did not know what that meant, but nodded in agreement.
From up close, she could see scars on Lae'zels face. Her lean body in heavy armor and her combat-ready demeanor and posture told her that she had quite a lot experience in those matters. And although she did not know exactly how young Githyanki looked, this one still had the lankyness of youth and their more rounded features.
Not even half an hour later, they came upon signs of civilisation. A pile of stones giving directions, a clearing that was obviously used as a gathering place. And from afar, shouting could be heard. It sounded anguished and fearful. They hurried closer to see what the ruccus was all about.
Three people were standing in front of a gate, pleading to get in. The Tieflings guarding the ramshackle gate however where apprehensive.
„Where is the druid? He was supposed to come back with you!" They exclaimed from atop.
The three who wanted in were near panicking by now, banging at the gate and shouting „Zevlor, the Goblins are coming! Let us in or they'll kill us!"
The leader of the gate-watchers had a pained look on his face, he hesitatet for precious moments. „You led the goblins to us? They will kill us all now!"
Only a short distance away, drums and a horn could be heard over the shouting. The people at the gate now hurriedly tried to open it, but it was too late. On the top of a nearby hill, goblins and wargen appaered, crooked, ugly creatures that loved to pick a fight when they had the superior numbers. They shot arrows at the defenders and hit the one that cranked the whinch to open the gate. It fell back down and now the three refugees outside had no other option than to fight.
The people who defended the gate picked up their own bows, but it was blaringly obvious that none of them had received any more than basic training. Tsisk came to the conclusion, that she had to help them or otherwise they could lose their only hope of healing to the goblins. And those where not known for their skilled priests or doctors.
She guided her little group to the top of a rocky mound, carefully choosing her path in its shadow, so as not to be seen by the goblins. Those now reached the gate and began fighting with the desperate three. Being on the mound meant a great advantage to them: they could easily see across the whole battlefield and keep track of its chaotic movements and the fights developments, it also meant their foe would have to squint upwards to perceive them.
But the goblins focus lay squarely on the enemies close by, which meant that Tsisk and her group could take position unhindered. Astarion hid in some bushes and readied a short bow he had appropriated from the bandits, while Gale took cover behind a rock and began weaving a spell, an act that deviated his focus from the battlefield temporarily.
Tsisk could see a goblin approaching the rocks and waited to let him come closer, before she jumped on top of him to throw her much smaller target to the ground and subdue it. With a surprised shriek he let go of his weapon, which she snatched up to deliver a deadly blow to his head.
By now, Gale had finished his weaving. A gooey substance covered the ground. Immediately, the goblins began to stumble and slip if they tried to walk on it. That maneuver bought the three people at the gate some time, since the goblins could not press in anymore.
Astarion and the defenders behind the gate made good use of their bows, but far too few arrows reached their targets and even less were able to halt one of them in their tracks. And more Goblins crested the hill, until their chief appeared, cheering them on with insults, threats and a rusty goblin-scimitar. Tsisk realized, that they would have a hard time defending against so many of them and steeled herself for a long and hard fight.
Just in that moment, a man jumped from the ledge where the gates defenders were positioned down onto the battlefield. He had a dark complexion and his hair was braided back, so as not to give his enemies something to hold on to. The clothes he wore were of fine quality and great fit. He wielded a rapier with casual ease that told of hundreds of hours of training.
His first victim was a goblin-shaman that stood too close to him. With a swift cut and stab, he left her laying on the ground. The man then proceeded to get closer to the other defenders so they could form a defensive line. Their spirits visibly rose with his presence and they plucked up their courage to stand against the onslaught.
The bigger part of the goblin-horde now went for the gate, while a small group turned towards Tsisk.
She seemed to stand alone, which made them cocky, overly sure to get a kill and some loot. She in turn gave them a play and backed off, looking afraid. And lured them closer to her friends and away from any help they could receive in time.
When she felt she was close enough, she assaulted them full force with her stolen weapon in hand. The goblins had not anticipated that and scattered, making it even easier for her to pick a target of her liking. She went for the weakest first.
Her bloodlust swept over her, blurred her vision and made her forget everything but the fight. With every blow rendered, it grew. The ecstasy she felt made her dizzy and exhilarated.
When she came back to her senses, all Goblins lay slain before her and she breathed heavy. Her friends must have helped her, since the bodies where singed from fire and arrows stuck in them and the ground near her. But they were also badly bludgeoned, skulls caved in and bones broken, more than necessary.
Lae'zeal had joined her fight and looked at her approvingly. „I did not know you had it in you, but you acted without hesitation and great prowess. I think we might even stand a chance to reach the crèche now."
A sweeping look at the gate told Tsisk that they also had done their work. The goblins and wargen were defeated. The chief lay to the feet of the newly arrived hero of the day who got cheered on by the others who were thankful for his appearance. He took their graces in stride, as if he was used to such displays.
She went over to the refugees to greet them herself. But before she could do so, the Tiefling named Zevlor approached the gate from within.
„Were you out of your minds? To lead the goblins back to the grove, how stupid could you be?"
The leader of the three refugees screamed back at him „You would have let us die out there, if the strangers had not appeared!"
„There are children here, I couldn't risk it! And you lost the druid. Unbelievable!"
Both of them looked ready to throw punches. As much as Tsisk would have delighted in such a display of violence, other matters where more pressing now. A cure for the tadpole in her head seemed close and she wanted to be free to roam again. Even if she did not know were she would go next if the treatment succeeded.
„You should ready yourselves for the next fight. The rest of the horde might not be far." She told them.
The human replied „She's right. I will leave and I reckon you should do the same, Horns."
„That's right. Lead them here then let the people deal with it that can't flee as readily as you, moron."
Tsisks bloodlust awakened again, when she saw those two squabble. She could sense the fight that hung in the air, her urges pushed her to partake in it and make it a bloody one. But she needed information, she reminded herself.
To defuse the situation and quieten herself down, she folded her arms to inconspicously tuck in her hands and growled out a threat:
„Stop it, or I will stop you."
The two men looked at her and saw how serious she was about it. Both had seen the Goblins she had killed by now. They were not eager to be on the receiving end of her wrath and called it a truce. The whole group got invited to rest at the druids grove by Zevlor. He was the leader of a group of Tieflings that had sought shelter and safety here.
Their presence gave life to the calm and austere atmosphere that it would have had otherwise. Tsisk wondered how she knew about the normal state of affairs, but was unable to pinpoint it. She must have been here at some point in her life.