"They say they don't trust you, me, we, us
So we'll fall if we must, 'cause it's you, me
And it's all about, it's all about us
If they hurt you, they hurt me too
So we'll rise up, won't stop
And it's all about, it's all about us..."
After some time walking along the Risen Road, Del and the others came upon a wall of stone so covered with moss and ivy that it almost seemed part of the greenery around it. It didn't take long to trace the wall to a rough-hewn gate – a gate that had several humans banging their fists against it.
"Open the bloody gate!" One of them screamed up at a small figure peering down over the wall. "Those goblins will be here any second!"
The figure atop the wall disappeared, but the gate did not open. The other humans cursed, readying their weapons.
"A goblin attack?" Gale said. "We should help them! Well, you lot go on ahead. I'll cast from afar."
"Hey, I do best at a distance too," Astarion complained before seeming to melt into the shadows.
The rest of the group approached more closely. Del was about to ask for more information about these goblins, when suddenly they made themselves known. A whole ragged war-band of them, shrieking as they pelted between trees and leapfrogged over rocks.
The sight of the goblins rushing toward them triggered something in Del's memory. He was in the arena again, fighting what felt like half a tribe of the fierce little creatures. Caught from the surface or culled from one of the farms, most likely. Eldriss was there as a comforting influence at the back of his mind, but they had chosen to show off Del's prowess by leaving him mostly to his own devices. By contrast, the other competitor was demonstrating their multitasking skills, deftly steering all four goblins at once.
Del blinked, and the arena was gone. But he noticed that, unlike the dominated goblins, these creatures were taking on more distinct roles in the fight. As he prepared to meet the central band armed with melee weapons, others were taking up strategic positions and preparing to attack with bows and arrows.
"Above you!" Del called to the others, gesturing to the goblin bowmen climbing the rocks around them.
And then the central group was upon them.
"For the Absolute!" their leader shrieked as he attacked. Del briefly wondered why a goblin war band was rallying to the call of an illithid elder brain, but there was no time to entertain such thoughts as the battle began in earnest.
Just as he had that long-ago day in the arena, Del bared his teeth and let loose a fearsome war cry, launching himself toward the nearest goblin. Before the creature could prepare, Del had slipped under the reach of its club and embedded the blade of his axe in its chest.
When assuming direct control of Del, Eldriss had preferred to toy with their opponents - or at least they had at first, before they became more attached to him and made him their personal thrall. But whenever Del had control of his own body, he preferred a more direct approach. Kill them before they kill you, was the gist of his philosophy. There was no point in showmanship when bloody murder would suffice.
Del lost himself in a haze of red, hacking and stabbing and dodging. His axe was only good at short range, and until he replaced it with a better weapon he had to get up close and personal with each enemy. Arrows and blasts of magic rained down around him, but if he was injured he didn't feel it. At some point, he looked up to see Karlach fighting beside him, swinging her heavy weapon as if it weighed nothing. There was no time to speak, but Del found himself moving in an odd synergy with the flaming tiefling, as if thoughts were transmitted freely between them.
Some time later, Del pulled his axe free of a goblin corpse and looked up to see there were no more enemies left.
He sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling of euphoria that always followed a tough battle... but it didn't come. All he felt was the pounding of his heart and a dull sort of relief that he was still alive.
"Hells yeah!" Karlach crowed. "That really got the blood pumping."
"You all prove surprisingly adequate in battle," Lae'zel said with a grudging tone of approval.
It turned out that the wall belonged to the druids of the Emerald Grove, the same enclave that the tieflings from earlier had mentioned. The druids themselves were welcoming enough, since Del and his group had defended their gates from goblins... But Del could sense tension beneath the thin veneer of hospitality when the druids asked how long they were planning to stay.
"Just until we speak to your healer," Shadowheart told the tall woman with the frosty gaze named Kagha, who was serving as interim First Druid while their leader was absent.
"Good. There are enough leeches taking advantage of our goodwill already," Kagha said with barely-concealed malice. "We must care for our own. If you see Zevlor, let him know our hospitality has its limits. This grove will be sealed off three days from now, and those tieflings had better be gone by then if they know what's good for them. "
It turned out that the tieflings they'd seen earlier were only the tip of the iceberg. Dozens of them were sheltering here, refugees from an unfortunate event that had dragged their city into Avernus. They'd survived the catastrophe itself, but the rest of the citizenry had been firmly biased against anyone of hellish descent ever since. Their band had stopped over at the grove on its way to – where else – Baldur's Gate after being menaced by goblins on the road, but apparently had overstayed their welcome.
Del picked up all this through snippets of conversations with tieflings as they picked their way deeper into the grove, stopping along the way to barter or purchase various supplies. Del tuned out much of the actual haggling as he had done when traveling with Eldriss, going off into his own daydreams and only paying enough attention to sense by the tones of voice whether things were going smoothly. He wondered absently if the druids were doing the right thing by forcing the tieflings to leave the protection of their grove...
The druids' closed-off attitude didn't seem all that unusual to him, considering how much Oryndoll was cut off from the outside world. Back home, refugees like that would likely just be eaten or enthralled or thrown into the pits. These tieflings were lucky to have been shown even a little hospitality. But Del could tell by Gale and Karlach's reactions that not all of his companions shared this opinion.
From one of the tiefling traders, Del and the others received some disappointing news. It turned out that the grove's primary healer was also its leader, and this Halsin fellow was away on a mission that he had failed to return from. Maybe he was simply delayed, but the other druids were beginning to suspect that he had been captured by goblins. The swordsmen from the gate, who had accompanied him for at least part of the expedition, were less than forthcoming about exactly what had happened. But the end result was the same: Del and his group were forced to visit Halsin's apprentice, Nettie, who proved to be less than helpful.
In the healer's chambers, Del stayed quiet and let the others do the talking, afraid he would say the wrong thing or hesitate at a crucial moment when asking for her to remove the tadpole. But turned out not to have mattered anyway, since the only cure Nettie offered was the promise of a quick death. Del was left with nothing but a vial of poison and a promise to take it if things went sour. He didn't know if he could follow through with that promise, but wisely kept that to himself since he suspected the strong-willed dwarf woman would just poison him by force.
Of course, Del didn't want to undergo ceremorphosis, particularly into a servant of the Absolute. But he hadn't quite realized until now that these people considered it, quite literally, a fate worse than death.
"So what now?" Gale asked once they left the healer's chambers.
"I say we stop wasting our time and search for the créche," Lae'zel piped up. "These tief lings seem to think it's in the direction of the nearby mountain pass. If we do not go soon, I will find it alone."
"Personally, I could do with a nap." Astarion yawned dramatically, even though Del was pretty sure that full-blooded elves could go without sleep entirely.
Eventually Del himself spoke up. "I think we should go to the goblin camp," he said slowly. "Maybe a few of us just check it out first, try for a stealthy approach. That druid, Halsin, was headed there, right? Maybe they're keeping him prisoner or something. If we rescue him, we'll know more."
"Finally," Shadowheart sighed. "An idea that isn't completely awful. In fact, I was about to suggest it myself. But we'll have to be careful – who knows how many of them there are? They've got some kind of cult brewing up there; the druids were talking about it too. Did you hear them call upon something called the Absolute?"
Del's heart skipped a beat. He'd been too focused on the fight earlier to make out many details, but come to think of it, he did remember something of the sort. But why would goblins be rallying to the call of an elder brain in battle? Were they thralls, or did they carry tadpoles?
"I noticed that too," Gale said, the topic seeming to pique his academic curiosity. "I wonder, what is the nature of this Absolute? A new god, perhaps? Or merely a godlike leader? Del, any thoughts on the matter?"
Del didn't want to hold back valuable information, but neither did he want to explain exactly how he knew what the Absolute was. Besides, there was always the chance that he himself didn't have the full picture. "I heard something about it from the illithids on the ship," he said slowly. "Before I found Shadowheart and Lae'zel. I think it's their elder brain. But why would goblins be treating it like a god?"
"Worshipping an elder brain? Filthy ghaik thralls," Lae'zel said dismissively. "But then, how are these cultists acting independently of the mind flayers?"
Del bristled at the implication. "Not all thralls are mindless," he pointed out. "It's actually better to keep their minds intact, you can give broader instructions that way. Let them improvise a bit. Maybe these goblins were just told to start recruiting."
"I think there's still more going on here," Gale said. "Del, is this normal behavior for a mind flayer colony?"
"What makes you think I'd know?" he asked defensively. "I mean, I've never heard of them recruiting so widely, or just showing up on a nautiloid and sticking tadpoles in people's heads left and right. But I'm no expert , not like you and Lae'zel."
"All right, all right," Gale said, seeming to realize he'd overstepped some kind of boundary.
I don't know what you think I know, Del thought in Gale's – and only Gale's - direction. It had worked with Lae'zel before, so why not with the wizard? But I don't want to talk any more about this in front of the Gith.
Noted, Gale thought back, quickly picking up this mode of communication. Let us speak later then, when she leaves.
"No offense," said Astarion, choosing to ignore the sudden undercurrent of tension in the conversation. "But you said a quiet approach, and none of you are exactly stealthy. Maybe Shadowheart and I can handle it, but the fewer of us, the better."
"Well, I have no desire to go hunting for goblins," Gale agreed.
"My time is best spent looking for signs of the créche ," Lae'zel said.
Del was desperately tempted to volunteer for one of these missions to avoid the prospect of a confrontation with Gale. But, as if sensing his hesitation, Gale immediately asked if Del could help him go through and unpack the new supplies they had purchased that day.
When the others left, Del deliberately busied himself with domestic tasks, unpacking the weapons and provisions, then setting up their new tents even though it was only afternoon. He studiously avoided making eye contact with Gale, hoping the other man would get the hint and not bring up their conversation from earlier.
Eventually Del ran out of useful things to do and found himself pacing around the perimeter of his new tent like a caged animal. He needed to be doing something productive, something aimed toward finding a cure for their affliction, but for God-Brain's sake, what ? They'd already tried Nettie, and if Halsin was a prisoner of the goblins then Shadowheart and Astarion were right where they needed to be. The druids didn't know of any other healers nearby, and it's not like they were anywhere near a proper city...
"Everything all right, Del? Is this a bad time?"
Del stopped his pacing as the voice broke through his reverie. It was Gale, of course.
"Everything's great, Gale. Except for the part where we're just sitting here waiting to transform. Thought of any new leads on a healer?"
"The presence of this parasite really disturbs you, doesn't it?" The wizard's tone was deceptively gentle.
"Of course it does! Doesn't it disturb you a bit too?"
"Oh, certainly. Though perhaps the threat hangs lighter since I've become rather used to existential dread. But enough about me. After that vision we shared yesterday, I wanted to talk about you. I'm just a mite surprised at your reaction to the parasite," Gale continued. "With your, ahem, prior experiences, one would think you would be more accepting of your fate."
And there it was. Del's body tensed involuntarily, and he glanced around camp, looking for the nearest weapon in case things went south.
Gale's eyes followed his gaze. "Wait, wait. Stop and hear me out a moment. I'm not accusing you of anything, for Mystra's sake. I just want to make sure that I have all the information, and that I can be sure you're on our side. Tell me this honestly. Were you a prisoner of these mind flayers before the rest of us? And if so, do they still have any influence over you?"
Del opened his mouth to speak and found that no words would come out. He was brushing up against the edges of another compulsion; the one that prevented him from telling anyone he was a thrall.
"Not... these ..." he forced out. "Never served the Absolute, and never will."
"Not these, but others?"
Del's lack of reply spoke volumes. As Gale continued to look at him expectantly, he finally managed to give a tiny nod.
Damn, all he wanted was to get away from this man and this conversation. Despite all his fancy words, there was no way the wizard would understand. No way he would do anything but judge him at best and mark him as a traitor at worst.
"It's all right," Gale said, keeping up the kind act much to Del's surprise. "I've read about illithid mind control. I know you're not responsible for anything you may have done under their direction. But you're free now. Once these parasites are gone, you can start a new life. Or go back to whatever you were doing before."
"There is no before." Oh, Del could see it now... Gale thought he understood, but he still fell short of a full comprehension. "I was born to a drow father and a human mother in the Underdark. My mom was a slave, and she was put to death for having me. I would have been killed too as a baby, if Eldriss hadn't saved me."
Gale frowned, thinking over Del's story. "Your... master... bought you as a child, then? What use would the illithids have for a baby? And how would they care for it?"
Del shrugged. His memories of his childhood were pretty foggy, honestly. "Probably gave me to some of the other thralls to take care of. Then trained me as a fighter when I was old enough." For some reason, once he was past the initial mental block, he found that he was able to talk about his past more freely now.
"Okay..." Gale said, stroking the stubble where a beard was starting to grow over his chin. Del had the nonsensical thought that Gale was far from achieving a proper wizard's beard, and too young for it besides. "Do you mind if I try something? I believe you, of course, but I want to test a hypothesis. These tadpoles allow us to meld our minds on occasion, correct? Well, do you think we could attempt it deliberately?"
"Sure, but then what?" Del asked. "You tell everyone else in camp about where I'm from? They won't trust anyone who's been... like me, I mean. Even if I swear up and down it was to a different colony. Lae'zel will murder me in a heartbeat."
"No, no, this stays between us," Gale assured him. "At least while I do some research on how to help you. I know not everyone can be as open-minded as myself. But I can promise you, I've seen stranger things than whatever is knocking around in that head of yours. Trust me?"
Del hesitated. "Okay," he said slowly. "But you'd better keep your word, or I'll... I'll..." he struggled to think of an appropriate threat. "I'll show you the last thing my opponents ever saw in the arena."
Gale nodded. "Noted. All right, here goes nothing..."
The wizard's eyes hardened, boring into Del's own. He felt the other man's tadpole reaching out to touch his mind, and his own unwelcome passenger wriggled in response. Even though the connection was deliberate this time, neither of them could quite figure out how to control what was transmitted.
Del saw a disjointed sequence of images: A lecture hall, with half the students sleeping as a professor droned on for hours. The same hall, but this time everyone abuzz with barely-contained excitement at the thought of meeting their next guest speaker. A beautiful woman, her body lit from within by an unearthly glow. A thick dusty book, bound by chains. The same book, opened now, seeming ten times its size as it exuded a cloud of black smoke so thick that it obscured any words on the page... A smoke that wafted toward him and inside him, dragging him forward by the very heartstrings as it threatened to pull him into the book entirely, where he would be lost forever...
The connection broke, and the two men fell back from each other as if there had been a physical force holding them in close proximity.
"I... I think I've seen enough," Gale said, looking faintly ill. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. No one should have to go through that."
Del had been too focused on the wizard's memories to even know what Gale had seen that upset him so badly. "So our deal's still on, then?"
Gale nodded, visibly composing himself. "I can see you're no servant of the Absolute, and no threat to us now."
Del nodded. "All right, good talk. Now, are you planning to tell me more about what I saw in your mind? That magic looked like bad news."
And so Gale told Del his own sordid tale, starting with his youth as a magical prodigy and ending with the magic-devouring orb that now resided in his chest. Del similarly promised not to tell a soul about Gale's little problem, at least not until he was ready to share. Luckily, Gale wouldn't need to consume a magical item for several more days, at which point the cat might have to come out of the bag if one wasn't acquired by then.
The sun was near to setting and both of them were still reeling from the unexpected revelations when Shadowheart and Astarion returned. "What were you two gossiping about?" Shadowheart said as she took in the sight of Gale and Del sitting by the freshly-stoked fire. "Anything you'd care to share with the rest of us?"
Del and Gale locked eyes, each daring the other to fail this first, crucial test of their new arrangement.
"Oh, a bit of this and that. I was just telling Del here about the finer points of magical theory, and sharing some misadventures of my youth."
"What about you?" Del asked as Astarion came to join them, looking troubled. "Any news of the goblin camp?"
"Found it easily. Those goblins are buzzing like a beehive," Astarion said. "All Absolute this, Absolute that. They're led by a drow as well as their own leader, who's planning to mount an attack on the grove the day after tomorrow. And they've got that druid, Halsin, as their prisoner."
"Any way to break him out of there?"
"Not with a hundred goblins looking in every direction," Astarion said. "He's under heavy guard, since they know he can turn into an animal and try to escape. We'd have better luck with a rescue mission if we distract them somehow, or wait until they're otherwise occupied."
Troubled by this news, they left camp to inform the druids. Astarion hadn't seemed to think the goblins would attack quite yet, but the druids and tieflings held a war council immediately, planning the best way to fight the goblins and rescue their leader. Some of the tieflings thought they should seize the initiative and attack the goblins' camp before their own was at risk, but many others disagreed. The druids, on the other hand, maintained that they would be better defended within the grove itself. And, of course, the druids insisted on snubbing the tieflings at every turn.
Del and the others retired to camp before a final resolution was reached, sick of the infighting and aiming to catch a few hours of sleep before preparations for the battle began in earnest.
But, little did Del know, he would not be allowed to have an uninterrupted night's rest for quite some time.
