Quick snack break for anyone binging this story! Go hydrate and come back!
"Well, he was fun." Tav steps into Gale's tent, their eyes tracing over him before they sit at his opposite. "Was he your friend or something?"
Gale can't bring himself to smile despite the company that's joined him. Elminster's words creep into his mind, their meaning like a vice grip on his heart. The Netherese Orb is nothing in comparison to this pain. To know that his Goddess had sent Elminster for that particular message only rubs salt into the wound.
"The answer is a complex one," Gale says at last, his gaze still not meeting Tav's. "Elminster, like myself, is an archmage of Mystra's selection. We are more colleagues than friends, but I've respected him for a great deal of time, both before and after I had become Mystra's Chosen. He's a fine wizard to say the least and a fine man as well." He can already recall the evenings they spent talking about the Weave's potential. Elminster always set up a tray of cheeses for their discussions. It felt special until Gale realized Elminster does the same with all of his students and he just so happens to enjoy cheese a great deal.
But to send the one wizard Gale has felt at least comfortable around is...
No. No, he can't question Mystra's choice. It's not as if she would tell him herself. So, Elminster is a logical choice of messenger. Someone she can trust not to interfere with her decision.
And what a decision it is.
"So," Tav starts, their head tilted. "No more feeding off of my items, right? I've already given you some pretty useful gloves. I don't think I can keep you around if things continue, even with whatever we have between us." They're joking but Gale doesn't think it's entirely untrue. He knows his condition has put a strain on things and they did need those items.
"Rest assured, my condition is now stable. I won't ask any more of you- past the pleasures of your bedroll, of course." He tries to lighten the mood but the weight doesn't lift.
"Just how I like you." Tav smiles. They shuffle towards him, large horns guided carefully away from poking his eyes as they lean their head against his shoulder. "Are you going to do it? When the time comes, you'll destroy the Absolute?"
Gale swallows. "I don't see much choice in the matter. Mystra has asked this of me and to refuse would hold unknown consequences."
There's a frown in Tav's voice when they speak next. "I wish you'd stop talking about Mystra so much. You're mine, remember? My lover, my little wizard. It makes me worry when you bring her up so often."
Gale turns to Tav. Their position shifts, forcing them to face each other properly. Gale can see how Tav glares at him. No, not him, but just past him. Their hand reaches up to pull at his earring, the touch gentle yet daring. It sends a spike of fear through Gale and he pulls away quickly, how own hand touching the same ornament.
Tav's glare deepens.
"I promise you, my heart lies in your hands alone! I understand that my history with Mystra may not make me the most...appealing option laid before you, and I would be lying if I said that I never think back on my time with her as her Chosen, but you must believe me when I say that our time together is done. Even if I wished to return to Mystra's side, she would never have me."
"Then take off that damned earring." Tav challenges, their tone dripping with fury. "If she really means nothing, then why do you keep her gifts on your person?"
The rough pad of Gale's finger crosses over the eight-sided star carved of silver. Mystra's symbol. "Tav, she is my Goddess! Beyond our relations, Mystra is the very one who allows the Weave to flow in order and balance! My magic stems from her! My every spell and uttered word is because she allows me only a piece of her power! This earring holds those abilities! If I were to rid myself of it, I would...I would be deprived of magic in its entirety."
Tav's face softens. Their shoulders slump as they lean forward and knock their brows together. When they speak, the words are nothing more than a whisper. "I'm sorry. Let's just forget about Mystra and the orb and everything in between. We'll camp for the night. It's already been a long day." A hand reaches forward, callused fingers gentle as they hold Gale's face. A soft kiss, then a smirk. "We'll enjoy the night. Together."
Gale forces a smile, a gesture made for nothing but Tav's comfort and the end of this conversation.
He'll hold his tongue next time Mystra crosses his mind. It may cost him this fragile love he's found.
Eek!
Astarion looks up from his book. He stops, ears twitching as he listens for another sound. Ten seconds, twenty. A minute and nothing happens. Even so, Astarion's focus doesn't return to the story he was once so captivated by.
Something is out there, he knows. Many somethings, to be sure; but without the range of sight he needs, there's no way to predict what it may be. That sound could've come from anything between a flitting bat or a monster of the water, its maw already extended to engulf their ship.
He stands, then. He would cast a light spell from the locket he found in the captain's quarters to better, but Gale had so helpfully consumed its magic three hours ago. Astarion thought his hunger was obnoxious to tend to, but this condition of the human's has been far more pestilent.
So, he lifts their single lantern. Astarion stares out at the emptiness, his eyes narrowed to hopefully catch something at the edge of his vision. There's little to see, really. This darkness is unlike the pass of night or the shadows he once lived in when he worked for Cazador. This darkness is like a blanket, thick and impenetrable. Even his skilled eyes have difficulty seeing much further past the ship. If he weren't with a wizard, Astarion would assume this blackness was magical.
Suddenly, a rock overhang appears out of the shadows. The ship clears it easily, but the current changes speed. It carries them faster into a passageway, stone on all sides of them. It narrows and the spikes on either side of the ship leave scratches against the wet walls, wood against stone. The sound must bring Gale out of his sleep because not a full minute later, the human comes crawling out of the captain's quarters.
"What in the blazes-" The ship jolts as a few of the spikes are ripped clean off. They splinter and crack, while the others continue to carve deep lines into the rock, the sound it creates ringing in Astarion's sensitive ears. "Where are we?!" Gale holds fast to the nearest beam.
Astarion doesn't respond. Instead, he sets the lantern back in its place and holds the helm wheel in a white-knuckled grip. The water pushes them faster, forcing more of the spikes to break away. It nearly knocks Astarion off his feet.
The tunnel narrows further, and just as Astarion worries they'll get stuck, the water pushes them into a small opening. Astarion can see wide walls of stone on all sides and above. Unlike the walls of the previous caverns, this one is riddled with holes the size of a humanoid creature. They're grouped close together, like a wasp's nest. The thought of each one hiding some kind of beast makes Astarion restless.
"My word..." Gale stares, his mouth agape as he examines the same holes. "I've never seen anything quite like this. The patterns are similar to a honeycomb but far less organized. All the same, there's no doubt in my mind that these act as a resting place; and if this truly is a colony of some kind, we're better off leaving."
"What a genius idea." Atarion grins ever so widely. "I wonder how you figured that one." He goes ignored.
As Astarion navigates them through the cavern, Gale continues his observations aloud, seemingly unaware of how it grates on the vampire's nerves. Or perhaps he simply can't think past his own brilliance. "Very curious...I wonder if they've laid larvae here. It is a protected pocket, judging from the location alone. But if that were true, we would likely have met the adults by now-"
Eek!
"There!" Astarion freezes. "Did you hear that?!"
Gale's curiosity turns into unease, their gazes meeting. "Oh, this can't be good."
That's all Astarion needs to hear. He turns the wheel quickly and guides them as far from the walls as possible. But then another sound echoed through the cave, and another. Soon, the entire cave is filled with high-pitched screeches. They fill Astarion's head, his ears ringing as they bounce around his skull like shrapnel from a bomb.
He has to let go of the wheel to block the sound out. His head pounds with each shriek, the noise only getting louder and louder. Astarion grits his teeth, his knees giving out from under him. He can't move, not against the vicious attack on his senses.
Flashes cross his mind. Memories that clutch Astarion's throat and squeeze it tight. He breathes in quick bursts, the feeling of walls closing in around him too overwhelming to ignore.
When Astarion reaches out, his hand meets wood. It's the same no matter where he turns. He cannot escape it. Gritty sand begins to leak in from the cracks between each seam. It fills in all around him. The wooden roof gives and soil piles on Astarion, crushing him with its weight. He's trapped, unable to move. He can't breathe, can't see, can't can't cantcantca-
With strength not at all his own, Astarion pushes one fist forward. He claws at the soil, trying to clear it enough to push himself up. His arms shake with the effort, but once he's freed himself of the caved roof, he can pass through the soil with his legs. It's like swimming through solid ground, each desperate attempt only trapping another limb and filling his mouth with earth.
A single hand breaches into the open air and Astarion screams with relief. His lungs fill with dirt and something warm spills from his eyes, his fingers, everywhere, but he keeps pushing. Another fistful of soil, a push of his legs.
Astarion coughs roughly as his head breaks free, then the rest of him follows after. He shakes. The phantom feeling of being squeezed still lingers, but he can feel the chilling breeze whip past his cheek. He's free. He's free, he's-
"Pathetic creature."
Astarion looks up to the man standing before him. He has no words, nothing in his mind but fear, fear, fear-.
"From this point forward, you are mine, Spawn." The man- no- monster, says. His eyes glow red and his lips reveal sharpened teeth underneath. A vampire. "I will be your master for the rest of eternity."
Cazador. His master.
The tadpol squirms and Astarion is suddenly connecting to someone else.
The location is completely foreign, yet it isn't at all. He knows this place, deep within his mind. Moonrise Towers, the very place they were heading before...before...
His view shifts and Astarion is surprised to see himself looking back. But the marvel of his own face comes second to the pure terror in that expression. Astarion feels it too, the pressure building in his chest. He tries to touch it but his body is not his own. He is not witnessing his own memories.
This is Gale's.
Beside this vision's Astarion stands the companions from before. The fiery tiefling, Shadowheart, the githyanki, and the Balde of Frontiers. But then there's another face Astarion doesn't recognize; another tiefling with a strong build and intense eyes. They look directly at him, something silent crossing between them. The fear grows from within and his view turns to the glowing orb within his chest.
It pulses. Unlike the hunger for blood, this orb demands what it wants with the threat of destruction. Astarion can feel its angry claws tearing at the inside of his chest. It will consume his very existence, then explode his making outward.
A detonation the size of Waterdeep, as Gale had described it.
With a touch of magic, a dagger appears into existence between his fingers. He holds the handle with shaking hands but it does little to stop their path towards the orb. The sharpened end just barely touches skin, the sting almost preliminary. Then, he stops. Terror rolls over him in waves of cold, his heart beating painfully beside the raging orb.
He doesn't want to die.
Thoughts that are not Astarion's cycle through his mind. Thoughts of a goddess he does not worship, an order to kill himself and take the Absolute with him. A single word from a Tav that Astarion doesn't recognize, encourages him to do just that.
No tears fall as his resolve strengthens, but Astarion feels like screaming. He's trapped in this body, forced to experience an act neither selfless nor heroic. It's suicide.
When the dagger breaks through, the pain of before quickly becomes excruciating. His body doesn't know how to receive it or what to do with such a strong signal. But his hands push further, seating the blade fully.
It touches the orb and the reaction is delayed by only a second.
Astarion is thrust back into his own mind. He stumbles, his vision slowly clearing again as he looks across a wooden ship. Creatures surround him, human faces with bird-like features. The high-pitched sound from before escapes their lips, glowing eyes staring at him through the darkness. They step closer as long claws outstretch toward his exposed flesh.
Grabbing the first thing his hand can find on his person, Astarion stabs the sharp end into the creature closest to him. It screeches as it withdraws, the sound completely inhuman in its nature. It collapses with a syringe in its chest, the very same he stole from the drow infirmary. The rest back away as well, but their eyes peer into him. Astarion has perhaps a few seconds before he's overpowered.
Jumping to his feet, Astarion pulls a blade from his belt and cuts into the same creature from before, then hits the next behind it. He powers through the rest and stumbles down to Gale, who's just starting to rise. He's too disoriented to react, Astarion knows, so he does the wizard a favor and distracts the creatures from behind. They see him coming, however.
The battle starts.
The creatures scream as they slash at Astarion with their claws. The sound pierces his skull, leaving him vulnerable to their attacks. Astarion does what he can to stay focused, but with so many of them around and more coming, it's become a losing fight. Astarion cuts and slashes anything that comes close enough but they return with even more numbers. A claw drags Astarion to the ground and he tries to kick the creature off but its nails have dug deep into his shoulder.
He cries out, his attempts becoming desperate. Another pulls his leg, tearing the skin around his ankle. More surround him, nothing but feathers and wrinkled skin crossing his vision as he fights and fights. He won't last long, Astarion knows, but he can't stop. Each attack must be met. Every tear in his flesh must be punished.
"Get off!" A voice calls above and in an instant, everything clears. A wave of air crosses just over Astarion, taking every single creature with it and pushing them into the water. They scream and caw in protest, but strong hands are already pulling Astarion to his feet and offering him something to lean against. He breathes, his body covered in deep gashes, but he's alive. For that, he can be grateful.
"Were you...stalling on purpose, Wizard?" Astarion huffs. He tries for irritated but his relief crosses in.
Gale takes a stance, one hand wrapped around Astarion's waist and the other outstretched as he throws a bolt of lightning at the creatures flying in from above. "Now isn't the best time for conversation!"
Right. Mid-battle banter isn't advised, especially with a mage who will need his words.
Focusing, Astarion pulls his crossbow from off his back and nocks his first arrow. It flies true, striking one of the beasts just as it lands, then the next arrow kills one attempting to climb back on the boat.
A blow from behind knocks them both forward. Astarion's weight pulls them down and they go tumbling to the floor. They tip one of the many barrels as they go, its contents spilling across them and the ship. It stinks of cheap wine.
Gale pauses from pushing himself up, his eyes lighting up with an idea. "Astarion, this is flamable!" He smiles brightly, even in the darkness of the cave. "Come on! I know how to get rid of these vermin!" Astarion is more pulled than helped as Gale drags him across the ship. The wizard knocks over the rest of the barrels as they go, more and more wine covering the base of the ship. The creatures continue in their pursuit, unaware of the trap crafting itself around them.
With a flash, the two of them blink off of the ship and onto a rock ledge close by. Then, before Astarion can so much as think, a powerful wave of heat washes over him as it's thrown directly onto the ship. It exploses into a blazing inferno, taking the creatures with it. Their screams echo across the chamber, but they soon die out one by one, their corpses still burning.
Astarion looks up, the fire bright enough for him to see every detail of Gale's face. The bruises and trails of blood mean nothing against the brilliant grin on the wizard's face. And as much as he hates to say it, pride does look good on him.
It beats self-pity, anyway.
"Gods," Astarion hisses, his attention returning to his injuries with a zing in his shoulder. "Those damned things are sharper than they appear, both literally and not." He dares to touch the flesh and immediately regrets it. "Please tell me you know a few healing spells."
Gale's face falls as he too grimaces. He isn't nearly as hurt as Astarion, but those things certainly got a few good hits in. Blood trails down his cheek and Astarion gets the urge to sink his teeth in, to feed again after what feels like ages, but he resists. Damn Gale and his vile blood.
Standing, Astarion gazes out at the quickly returning darkness. "Well, Your Grace, what now? You've just destroyed our ship and I doubt anyone else will be sailing down here for a taste of adventure."
"Right." Gale sounds as if he hadn't considered that. Astarion doesn't resist the urge to sigh loudly. "It does happen that I know a few spells for this very dim situation. We will let that be our guide as we traverse forward on foot. Not an ideal solution, mind you, but there's little else to our disposal- which is in part my fault. That much I will take accountability for."
"Oh, a wonderful idea! We'll just walk to the surface." Astarion scowls. "Perhaps we could ask these beasties for a ride, while we're making up ridiculous ideas."
"Ah, that wouldn't be advised," Gale says with a shake of his head. "I highly doubt these creatures could bear our weight added onto their own. And even so, we've made quite an enemy of them."
He...can't be serious.
Astarion shoves past him, his bleeding ankle be damned. He'll walk, but only because there's no other choice.
Together, they step into the darkness again with nothing but the weapons on their backs and a single light to protect them. Gale mixes them healing potions as they walk and it does a little to take off some of that sting, but Astarion will have to live with his injuries a while longer. It's not enough to keep those good thoughts about Gale present and by the time they've left the cavern proper, Astarion has returned to his near-constant annoyance at depending on such a useless wizard.
The memories they shared are carefully shoved to the back of Astarion's mind, where he doesn't have to think about the life taken from him by Cazador or what may happen now that he's left Baldur's Gate for so long.
But Gale's memories? Those he mulls over. He considers them deeply before deciding to wait for the right time to bring them up. That Tav was most definitely not one he met and the fact that they came from a time that has not yet happened?
Well, it's all so curious.