And we are back with another chapter and back where we left off! Now, seeing how many of you are following and favouriting this story in the past few weeks, I feel happy and will be obliged to make more for you to enjoy! Also, to my BG3 Fans, what do you guys think of patch 5? For me? I loved it, and Bing Bong is canon, and BG3 wins the game awards baby!

Also, I apologise for the late release. I got busy shifting house stuff around, and Christmas is getting closer.

So, before we begin, comments first, like always!

BeetleRUs: Normally, yes. But Arthur is human and not a full-on Servant. So, I wouldn't have to worry about the magic problem attracting attention to himself.

50 blessings: Then let us change that, shall we?

Doortolight47: Yeah, something like that. Making him a Servant from the start would earn him the attention of pretty much anyone who can sense magic. Don't get me started on the deities as well. But yeah, as the story goes on, Arthur will get stronger.

Nearsighted: Refer to my answers above. He would typically have it, yes. But not now, that's for sure. It's only the beginning of Act 1.

Stand Up Be Strong: Well… I'd like to imagine since his charisma stat in Fate is a B, it only makes sense that he will have high charisma in Baldur's Gate.

GaZe. Zero: Omg. Now, that's an adorable thing to imagine. Only time will see how much Arthur's relationship with Shadowheart and the rest of the gang grows. And as for his signature sword, Excalibur, no. Now, it's too early for him to get his sword, that's for sure. Perhaps Act 3 is where he gets his sword from a certain… Cambion…

Monkeylikespie: As I stated earlier, Arthur will be human. However, he may become a Demi-Servant as the story progresses. Too early to tell.

With that done, as with all my other stories, I do not own any of the content from the Fate series, nor do I own anything from Baldur's Gate. They all belonged to their respective owners, except for my OCs present.

Act 1: Chapter 3

The Ruined Shrine of Jergal

After picking up Gale and officially including him in our party, we began to make our way towards the ruins with me at the front, followed by Shadowheart, Gale, and Astarion. While the journey was relatively short due to how close the ruins were to where Gale was stuck in that portal thingy, I learned much.

That sigil Shadowheart I spotted when we initially woke up is known as Ancient Sigil Circles or, as Gale likes to call them, Waypoints. It is way better on the tongue than saying Ancient Sigil Circles. And according to Gale, these waypoints act like fast travel that connects the world. In addition, to utilise them, we have to imagine the location we wish to go to before interacting with it and Volla! A fast travel portal opens up, and you just walk into it.

Where was I?

Ah, right, going to the ruins.

Speaking of ruins, as the four of us walk ever closer to it, I realise something. Upon closer inspection, it looks more like a Church. Chapel? I think? It was clear as day to every one of us that the ruins Shadowheart and I stumbled across earlier were a place of worship. To whom exactly? There's only one way to find out.

"Stop. I hear noises." Astarion calls out before every one of us grounded to a halt.

And he's right.

While it is a bit tricky to hear, it sounds like an argument coming close from our position. "Oh… someone's mad." My white-haired companion observes before muttering out dismissively. "I'd suggest we avoid them and go around them. No point getting our hands dirty with them."

While the rest of us were silent about our next move, Gale rested one of his hands on his hip with the other scratching his beard, "I agree. Perhaps it is best we avoid them. Alternatively, we could see them and hope they could help us with our conditions. Assuming they are friendly, of course." He murmured before Shadowheart added her thoughts to the matter.

"I agree. But I'd prefer it if things don't get messy quickly. I'd rather not have blood on my hair." I get where she is coming from. But… The idea of killing another human? I don't know. Mind Flayers and demons are one thing, but an actual sentient being? Arthur has slain hundreds in his efforts to ensure Camelot's survival and prosperity.

But I'm not him. Not by a long shot.

I don't like this. If I can resolve my problems without bloodshed, good. If not… I pray to whichever god is out there to forgive me for taking a life. But… a part of me just knows this is just the beginning. It is likely in the coming days; I'll have to spill more blood just to survive in this strange new world. Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep breath before concluding.

"Whoever these people are, it is best we go meet them. If we're lucky and they're friendly, they may be able to point us towards the closest healer. If not, I'll try to convince them to back away or let us through without violence. But we will defend ourselves should they pull their weapons on us first." I explained to my companions, who seem content with my idea, except Astarion, who remained silent the whole time before shrugging.

"Well, I supposed that works. But don't expect me to fight if a fight breaks out."

Astarion, really? I'm starting to suspect that he's an asshole if he keeps this up. The team and I could only give him a dry look before he pouts from our continued staring. "Fine… I'll help out. Just don't expect me to fight them head-on." He said while I smirked.

"Good. Time we go meet these people." With a plan in motion, my companions followed close behind me and through the chapel entrance. Right after the statue was a man with ears similar to Shadowheart and a short man with pointy ears who appeared to be half the height of the half-elf yelling at him.

I think that short guy is a Gnome. Another species I remember seeing from the Illithid tablet back on the ship. He looks so tiny, to be honest. And from their choice of clothing… Leather armour and some sort of cotte as well. Either poorly equipped adventures or bandits. Either one.

And once I got within walking distance with my companions following after me, I could hear better what they were arguing about, though it was incomplete. "You're both twice as tall as me but have half the bloody backbone!" The Gnome yelled out before the half-elf pointed out.

"But we don't know what that thing even is! And what about the crypt?" He points at the entrance. So this is a tomb? And these people are busy trying to grave rob it? And did he seriously suggest they try to loot a bloody Nautiloid? Are they crazy, stupid or have a death wish?

"I'm telling you - it's a ship." The Gnome continues as he points to the ground beneath his feet. "And the Crypt can wait! Mari and Barton have been trying to break in for days. Now we- Stop!" He cried out when he finally saw us walking towards him without our weapons drawn.

"I hope you know what you are doing, friend. They look quite aggressive." Gale leans in before whispering into my ears.

"Just trust me on this." I quickly whisper back to Gale before the Gnome speaks to all of us with his arms open and claims this entire chapel as theirs to loot.

"Got ourselves competition already! That's our ship!" I found myself unable to hide my ludicrous look at him. Is this guy serious? Did he seriously think we're scavengers like him here to compete with the 'loot' onboard the Nautiloid? Then again, we do look like them. I think. Quickly glancing at my companions, I could see both Gale and Shadowheart tensed but not pulling out their weapons or magic in Gale's case.

But I also noticed another thing.

"Where's Astarion?" I silently wonder before glancing around and returning my attention to the Gnome watching me intently. No doubt he intends to fight us for the 'loot' with that great sword on his back. How does he even carry that to begin with in the first place? That bloody sword is taller than his entire frame!

"Oh, do go on in there." I found myself speaking sarcastically before continuing with an uncannily cheerful tone. It's better to scare them straight and get them out of the way. "I heard that it's filled to the brim with Mindflayers that will certainly infect you with their parasite worms and make you one of them. Oh! And how can I forget all those brain things called Intellect Devourers? I heard they can easily kill a normal person with a single attack!"

I had to hide a grin from my face when the Gnome skin became ever paler with fear from my explanation. Even his half-elf ally was understandably horrified by my answer. And while I was technically lying since Shadowheart and I didn't encounter any other survivors besides that one Mindflayer and a couple of Intellect Devourers, it was all I needed to scare them straight.

"Mind Flayer?!" The half-elf cried out before the Gnome mutters in terror.

"Well, uh, in that case…" He quickly turns over to his ally. C'mon, you lot, no point gettin' killed. Second worm gets the cheese, an' all." He says before the half-elf corrects him.

"Uh, second mouse gets the cheese, no?" Only to be quickly countered on the spot.

"Nobody's getting any damn cheese. Now move it!" He yells before he and every other nearby scavenger begin running for their lives. As for the three of us? I smirked after they passed by me and soon spotted Astarion on the high grounds. How did he get up there?

"Oh, you got it under control." His eyes blink as he leans on the stone after sheathing his dagger. "Here I thought I'd have to get my hands dirty gutting the fella up here if things got out of control. If you know what I mean." He says before I hear Shadowheart complimenting me from behind.

"You're more cunning than you look, Arthur. I thought we had a fight on our hands." She smiles at me before Gale adds in.

"I agree." He says after chuckling a bit. "When we encountered those thugs, I suspected a fight loomed on the horizon, but encouraging them to flee through psychological means was certainly inspiring to witness." I'm glad my companions are okay with what I'm doing. I was secretly worried they'd be against it.

"Most people forget that strength is not the only means to win a battle. Sometimes, you simply need to break their will to make them run from a fight." I found a chuckle coming out of my lips before Shadowheart smirked.

"I assume you have experience using that?"

"Something like that." I could only shrug at my companion before bringing my full attention to the wooden door that leads into the Crypt. "Now, I think we can quickly search the place for supplies before going for the door."

With that, all four of us quickly searched through what the scavenger left behind, and some were quite helpful. An additional sleeping bag and some more thieves' tools, which Astarion took because of his experience with them. There were also torches and ropes, which we took along. And once we had looted the place, we all gathered at the door before I knocked on it. And to our surprise, a muffled voice answers us.

"That you, Gimblebock? Everything all right out there?" The voice asks, and I am about to speak to whoever is on the other side of the door when Astarion stops me and simply signals with his finger for me to keep quiet. While I don't know his plans, I merely nod and step back with him now in my place.

With a soft cough, Astarion yells out. "Yes, it's me! Gimblebock triggered some trap over here! He needs help now!" What caught me off guard was how accurate his voice was to that half-elf. I never knew that Astarion was a good actor! Talk about fitting in with the rogue archetype right there.

What happened next was the muffled voice on the other side of the door speaking again. "You sound a bit shaken, Boss. Hang on while I find the key…" With a quick glance at my other companions, I can tell that Astarion's acting skills impress them favourably, and so did it for me. A click of the door unlocking was what we picked up right as my head turned to see Astarion brandishing his dagger as he shoved the door open and ran in without us.

"Who the Hell- Ack!" Rushing into the crypt after my ally to check if he was still okay, I, instead, was rewarded with the sight of Astarion with his hand over the man's face and dagger buried deep into his neck! Blood began to spill out of the man's neck while he choked on his blood before my companion ripped his dagger off his neck while the man collapsed onto the ground with his throat sliced cleanly.

"Clean kill…" I mutter grimly at the kill with a shudder while Astarion simply smirks at me as he takes a cloth out of his pocket and begins cleaning his blade with a dead body still next to him. I am not used to the sight of corpses yet. "Most importantly, good job on stopping him. I think he would have alerted his colleagues should he manage to slip by us." I said right as Shadowheart and Gale entered the room after me, while Astarion simply nodded silently at me.

Taking a breath in this old place immediately tells me that it has been abandoned for quite a while. The air is slightly musty, with a hint of copper coming from the now-dead scavenger near us. Though I still don't understand how I know how it smells, I have time later to figure all that out.

"A lot of old books here. I wonder what secrets this place holds?" Gale said out loud as we did a quick round of looting and securing more torches for ourselves. Thankfully, we didn't need a lighter since Shadowheart, Gale, and, to my surprise, Astarion can light our torches up fire bolt cantrips.

You know, when I have some time, perhaps I should ask Gale for some advice on magic. I believe he would help a fellow companion out?

And I can say that this 'Refectory', as Shadowheart calls it, has plaques with ancient text that none of us could understand. "I wonder who those prayers are for? Normally, the patron gods are obvious, not here, it seems." I pick up on Shadowheart's mumbling as I add my thoughts.

"Then we just have to go deeper to find out. Perhaps this patron god prefers obscurity to fame."

"I agree with you, Arthur." I heard Gale agreeing with me as I saw him flipping through some of these ancient books. "I have a feeling we'll find the answer lies within this crypt. However, many of these books are centuries old, and I've only seen a couple of them in the libraries of Waterdeep. And even they weren't as deeply written as these are."

"Curious…" I hummed before turning to see Astarion looting the chest and anything of value for himself. Come to think about it, we should probably come up with some sort of group funds or something. Alternatively, we all keep all the gold for whoever finds them first.

Perhaps it is best to bring this up whenever we make camp for the night.

In only five minutes, everyone had explored or looted the Refectory, and we were about to head for the next room. But at the moment, Astarion was peering through the keyhole while I walked towards him. "Let me guess, more bandits on the other side?" I ask with my arms folded as my companion gets back to his feet and addresses me.

"Hmm? Yes, I would say. There is also an oil barrel in the middle of the room." Oil barrel, you say? My eyebrow raised with interest. If there is an oil barrel in there, that means we have to be careful with it or use it to our advantage. Though I won't lie, the idea of roasting people to a crisp made my empty stomach churn slightly.

I don't even want to know what burned human meat smells like.

"I see… then hit that with a fire bolt, and boom it goes with them in the middle, and they will be dealt with easily… Seriously, why did they keep that in the open? It's a hazard." I unconsciously rubbed my chin in confusion while my companion found amusement in my response.

"Oh? I didn't know you're the type to give cruel fiery deaths to your opponents. I originally thought of you as a more honourable noble, if you know what I mean." What does he mea-? Oh.

Uh… How do I get out of this?

"On normal occasions, yes. But some are undeserving of such treatments." I kept it short while Astarion just watched me as if I was some sort of fascinating toy to play or study on. Thankfully, I won't have to worry about it, as it wasn't long till Shadowheart and Gale met up with us at the door.

"More bandits, I suppose?" Shadowheart asks me.

"Yes. There are some on the other side, but we should have the advantage of surprise should we engage with them. In addition, Astarion did observe that they were near an oil barrel in the room. I think we can use that to our advantage." I explain before reaching into my bag and grabbing that… Mindflayer suction cup grenade thing.

"I'm not sure what this does, but I aim to do it in the middle of the group and see what happens," I explain while holding it up while that thing pulses with life.

"You have no idea what that does, right?" Gale folds his arms with his eyes on me and the Illithid grenade in my hand.

"Nope," I admit. Seriously, I have no idea what this thing even does. If it explodes, that will no doubt cause a chain reaction and cause that oil barrel to explode. But if it causes a different type of effect. There's only one way to know. "But just in case this doesn't go as I expect it to, one of us should have a fire bolt ready."

Gale gave me a nod before immediately creating a ball of fire in his hand while Astarion, at the same time, stood back on his feet and walked over to a nearby statue before reaching over with his hand. "By the way, I found a button over here." He says before all of us hear a click from the door.

I think that unlocked it.

"Alright…" I took a deep breath before gently resting my free hand on the door. "One the count of three, I'll open the door and throw this thing, and Gale will hit that barrel of oil."

"Then Shadowheart and will go in, I suppose?" I then heard Astarion speak behind me as I nod at him.

"Something like that, do watch out for the fires, people." I took another breath. I'm… I'm going to kill people here. I'm going to send them to their deaths… Intellect Devourers, demons and Mindflayers are one thing, but sentient beings? Humans? Half-elves and other species like them? I don't like this. I don't like this at all…

But I had no choice. I can grieve about what I have to do later.

"Okay… Let's do this."

"One… Two… Three!" I count out before it becomes a yell as I shove the door open and toss the Illithid grenade into the middle of the room. And time seemed to slow as I saw the caught-off-guard looks of about five bandits to our sudden presence! Even more so was the Illithid grenade leaving my hand and flying straight for the oil barrel. And time resumes as the bandits could only draw their weapons from the sound of the door slamming open right before the grenade hit the oil barrel.

Then it happened.

The grenade I threw detonated and released purple energy that pulled everyone and everything into the centre of the impact. I think it's made for crowd control and thankfully, I wasn't caught by this energy. But I can't say the same for those bandits, as they all found themselves dragged close to the barrel of oil against their will. That was sort of what I wanted to happen when I threw this thing. What I did not expect was for the nearby lit Candelabrum to be dragged in as well!

"Oh no." Those were my thoughts as the barrel of oil exploded in a fiery bang of fire, and the screams of agony from the bandits filled the room. I found myself standing frozen there at the sight of every single one of them on the floor, with their flesh and skin slowly melting off their bones. The stench of burned pork filled the air quickly while I took a step back with horror at how brutal and painful it must be for them.

"Oh my. Didn't see that coming." I heard Astarion mutter softly to himself as my companions soon became visible to the corner of my eyes, and they bore various expressions. Shadowheart shows absolutely no emotion nor sympathy for their fate. Gale is unnerved by their screams of agony, and as for Astarion, he just grins at the sight and clearly enjoys himself with embers of light reflecting from his eyes.

But to my surprise, two out of the five bandits survived the explosion in varying degrees as a man with a now flaming club charges straight for us despite being on fire and a woman who I think is a wizard if I am to guess from her on her choice outfit.

And she looks relatively unharmed as that barrier fades around her. She still had embers of fire on her, but the war cry of a burning man charging straight at us made Gale yell out. "Tormentum!" Three magical projectiles come out of Gale's hand and slam into the man's chest before Astarion dashes into the room and past the roaring flames towards the wizard lady!

Wow, he's fast!

And all there is left is me and Shadowheart moving in to end the burning bandit out of his misery as he tries to slam his mace onto Shadowheart, but it misses her entirely and leaves him exposed to my decapitating strike! With a single slice of my blade, his burning head flew from his neck and onto the floor before I heard Gale calling out to me.

"Arthur, watch out!"

I could barely react to Gale's warning and the audible chant before I caught a glimpse of that bandit wizard firing a ray of sickly green magic at me before returning to Astarion! Unfortunately, I could not react in time due to my stunned state, and it only took a second before the spell made contact with my side and sent me stumbling back from the recoil.

"Ugh! Gods! What the hell?!" I feel awful! Whatever that spell was, it definitely did not sit well with my body because I'm starting to feel nauseous, and I think I am going to puke again at this rate! I quickly face that wizard woman who blasts me on the side, but everything is now blurry, and I feel my strength-sapping. What did that spell do to me?

"Are you alright?" I heard Shadowheart calling out to me before all of us heard the dying screams of that wizard who hit me with that spell. Oh yup. Astarion just shoves his dagger into her shoulder before ripping it out and stabbing her neck.

Killing her instantly.

"I'm not well after that. What was that?" I ask before Gale walks up to me.

"From the side effects you are experiencing at the moment, I believe you were hit by a Ray of Sickness spell. I won't worry about those side effects lasting forever, friend. They do not last long and you'll be in good health again in a few minutes." Ray of Sickness? It must be a basic spell to learn, but man does that suck to suffer through it.

"Alright. Thanks for the explanation." I mutter before walking over to the brunt bodies that occasionally groan and squirm before I plunge my sword through their necks to end their pain. No one should suffer through this before dying a horrible death…

"Hm. Honestly, I was expecting more, but you did all the work, it seems." Our white-haired companion says before he starts looting the corpse without us.

"Yeah. I did not expect that to happen when I used that grenade thing." I sigh at the sight of their burned corpses. I do not like this. Nor do I expect my first actual kill to be this painful to them. I'm probably going to hell for this. Then again, hell does exist in this bloody place, so I hope not.

"On the plus side, at least that fight ended quickly." Shadowheart hums as she sheaths her mace and shield while I take out a potion of healing to take a sip to patch me up. Reaching over to the potion bottle in my bag and opening the cap, I wonder. "What does it even smell or taste like? Most fictional stories I know had them smell and taste like shit. I'm not looking forward to this."

I brought it over my nose with a subtle gulp. But much to my surprise. The potion smelled like a mixture of honey and oranges! How pleasant! And taking a sip of it reinforces the lovely scent it has! How sweet! And I felt the potion's effects almost immediately after, with the blurriness of my eyes fading and my strength returning.

My eyes returned to see my companions beginning to explore this place, with Astarion walking through the door in front of us while Gale went into the door to our west. Shadowheart was in the room with me but appeared more interested in the books one of them was carrying.

We spent at least an hour in this crypt room for a short rest, and I needed it. Of course, the bodies were quickly disposed of with the help of some fire magic, and frankly, I haven't had anything since I puked it all out back on the Nautiloid.

I'm starving and could use a drink right now.

With what those bandits left behind, I had several slices of stale bread with cheese and apples. It's not what I would call a filling meal, but food is food in this world, and I can't afford to be picky with what I eat in this world. No matter how much I already miss modern food. Thankfully, those bandits were also packing some water bottles, so we gladly took them off their hands since they wouldn't need them anymore.

My companions also rested and ate a bit during our short rest. Strangely enough, Astarion did not join us in our meals and simply stated that he didn't need anything yet and would eat later in the day. Alright, suit himself then. We also chatted a bit and got to know more of each other, though I did earn the attention of everyone when Gale brought up Camelot and his curiosity as to what kingdom it was.

I've really dug myself a hole, haven't I? And from the looks of Shadowheart and Astarion, who at first appear disinterested before his eyes light up upon hearing Gale asking about my origins. I guess there's no way out.

With no other choice, I had to lie to my companions. It doesn't feel right, but everything I've been doing has been a farce. I'm no King Arthur, yet I wear his face and appear to have some of his swordsmanship skills. So, I told them how I am the king of Britain. The King of Knights and Camelot is the seat of my power.

"Curious…" Gale rubs his chin while on a chair. "I've never heard of this Camelot nor Britain before, Your Highness." I felt my eye twitch. I prefer no one to call me Highness. I'm no king. I'm just a pretender wearing his face. I raise my hand to get his attention.

"Please. Don't call me Your Highness Gale. Just call me by my name." I said before resting my hand on my chest. "While it is true that I am a king, yes. I am far from home. I do not belong to Faerûn. But a world called Earth. Unfortunately, I do not know how I found myself captured by Mindflayers, but I now simply wish to find a cure and a way home. I have many waiting for me at home."

"Earth? That's where you're from? Might as well call it dirt." Astarion comments while I give a half glare at him. Rude, mind you. So, what if my home world is called Earth, huh?

"Curious… But how do we know you're not lying?" Shadowheart then asks while I shake my head.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the means to back up my origins yet. Only my words at the moment." I sigh. I could share my memories of Earth, but I think it is unwise now. With a subtle shake of my head, I glance at Gale, who is in thought the whole time, as if he's searching through his memory for something.

"Earth… Hold on. I believe I heard about it before. Let me recall…"

"Wait, what? Does Earth exist here? Then how did I end up here so far from home?" I could only wonder to myself before feeling hope rising within me! I have a chance to return home! I just need to get myself cured and return home!

I watch with bated breath at Gale while Shadowheart and Astarion give curious looks at him. And it did not take long before our wizard companion snapped his fingers. "Of course! Now I recall! One of my friends briefly mentioned this world in one of our talks. He has travelled here on several occasions. I believe he has mentioned it, but in this world, magic is rumoured to be non-existent and machines capable of rivalling gnomish wonders!"

Holy! Earth does exist here!

"A world rumoured with no magic? And machines that rival Gnomes? How curious…" Our white-haired companion mutters with interest while I smile.

"Yes." I smile while hiding my excitement. That's where I belong; thus, this world is a new and fascinating place to find myself. Except for having a parasite inserted into my eye, of course." I then felt the worm in my head wriggle in response while I wince.

"But we can talk about my world another time. I think it is time we resume our exploration of this crypt."

"Of course. But should we have the time, I'd like to know more about Earth whenever we should stop for a moment to rest. My friend has been quite vague about that world." Gale smiled, and it wasn't long till we were back exploring the crypt. It did not take long to find massive heavy oak doors blocking the path and another room with a coffin in it.

The problem is, it was incredibly filled to the brim with traps, which was clear as day with the vents and gargoyle heads all over the goddamn place. Talk about some serious overkill. Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about it because I spotted a button on the wall, and once I pressed it to caution everyone, it deactivated every single trap in the room.

We ended up spending a bit looting the place, and we found a key that Shadowheart believed should unlock the Oak door on the other side of the door. Another thing we found was… some sort of large coin. It's pretty big for its size, but the type of metal used to mint it is beyond my understanding.

And upon passing it to Gale for study since he knows a bunch of stuff, he concludes that what we found was definitely of hellish origins. Though what, exactly, he doesn't know. Whatever it was, we decided to take it with us since, despite its hellish origins, it could be worth something.

And Astarion gets to keep it since he found it first.

His words, not mine.

Moving on to the final chamber in this crypt, we found skeletons and more chests everywhere. Strangely enough, there aren't any signs of struggle on their bones. As if they willingly die or something. "Scribes with swords? So much for the quill being mightier." I heard Astarion snark while I rolled my eyes and approached the statue in the middle of this chamber, which looked like the Grim Reaper.

"I wonder what was so subversive about their words that they commanded protection?" I heard Shadowheart wonder as she checked the bodies before I stood before the statue.

"Some sort of god of death?" I wonder in my head before I see Gale walking up next to me.

"Curious. While my knowledge of religion is above average at times. That's Jergal. The Old Scribe of the Dead. I'm surprised people still worshipped him till now. This site looks barely a few centuries old. I reckon people have stopped worshipping him." God of the dead? How interesting?

"Jergal, the god that gave up his divinity to three people, that became the dead three." Shadowheart said next, with a hint of disdain? "Myrkul, Lord of the Dead, Bane, Lord of Tyranny and Bhaal, Lord of Murder." She continued.

"Those three sound like perfect people to get along with…" I couldn't help but sarcastically say internally before it hit me. "Wait, wouldn't that make Jergal the original God of the Dead, Tyranny and Murder? Talk about a lot of jobs to take note of."

We explore this place a bit more before Gale stumbles across a unique book with a substantially sizable golden lock on it. "What is that book you have there?" I ask while Astarion looted more sarcophagus of their valuables. "Must be special to have this kind of lock on it."

"Frankly, I do not know. However, I should be able to open it up with ease with a simple incantation spell of mine." He explains before I hear Shadowheart walking in before my attention returns to Gale as he begins reciting words in an unknown tongue that I do not understand, and soon enough, the lock comes free.

Gale opened the book up and began flipping through the pages eagerly, but that didn't last longer than I thought it would be before he passed the book to me. I wasn't expecting the book to be surprisingly light for having such a large lock on it.

"Apologies for that. I sense magic emanating from every single parchment, but it appears I am unable to decipher its meaning. Perhaps you would like to have a go?" Gale explains before I glance at Shadowheart beside me. Perhaps she should have a look at it. I can't make heads or tails of what they meant.

"Would you like to have a chance at them?" I said while holding the book closer to my companion. "I can't read them, but I think you can." Shadowheart simply nods before she takes the book from my hands and begins delving into it before Gale and I witness her eyes widening.

What did she find in it?

"This is no ordinary book. It's a treasure of information." She mutters while I raise a curious eyebrow. As for Gale, it was clear that he was excited at the knowledge within.

"Care to tell us what you found in it?" I ask before my companion looks up at us.

"This is a list of gods that died or were brought back during the Second Sundering. All of it is recorded down in this book." Second Sundering? Okay. I will need to ask her about that later. A frown soon grew on Shadowheart's face. "But the last three names are undecipherable. I can study the book further at a later time."

She says before closing the book and keeping it in her bag before we leave the room to see Astarion staring at a button as he notices us.

"Ah, I was wondering what you people were doing. Done with it?" Yeah. At least he can wait until we are done with that book. Besides, all these skeletons scattered over this chamber room are making me feel nervous for some reason.

"I would say so. Thank you for waiting for us, by the way. What did you find there?" Gale said next to me before he walked towards Astarion while I turned and had my eyes bound around with caution.

"Is something wrong, Arthur? You seem vigilant over something." Shadowheart asks me as I glance at her.

"Yeah…" I simply whisper to my companion. "I can tell you, something is not right here. All these skeletons around here make me think an ambush is on the horizon when that button is pressed."

"Really?" Shadowheart's eyebrows curiously rise right as I pick up a click behind me and my eyes become as wide as plates. Oh no. What did they do? In a split second, I turn my neck to see Astarion with his finger on the button! And the reaction was instant. Firstly, we saw a door open to reveal a secret chamber in front of two of my companions, and the next, the sounds of something moving behind us!

Turning around, I spot those skeletons on the ground rising before one screech at us. Oh, I knew it! It only makes sense for the dead to defend this crypt of the old God of the Dead! "Ambush!" I cry out as I draw my sword and charge at one of the more heavily armed skeletons in my sight. I am glad my allies have quick reflexes because when they hear me yell and engage, they do the same and move in to join the fight!

In the corner of my eyes, I see Gale firing his magic, as did Shadowheart, while Astarion dashes past me, likely to one of the other skeleton ambushers. As for me, the skeleton warrior I am moving in to engage screeches at me as it swings its rusted but still sharp blade at me. But thanks to my reflexes, I immediately brought my sword up and threw it off from hitting me as I tried to counter it with my attack with a stab.

And it hit!

My sword found its mark and pierced cleanly through it. But now that I think about it, stabbing a skeleton is not a good way to kill it. Since well… It's dead and all bones and no flesh... "I really should have seen that coming before I chose to stab it." I thought to myself before I heard Gale calling out.

"Arthur, on your left!" Hearing my companion calling out to me, I dodge to the side right as a ray of teal flew past me and froze the ground! Whoa! Too close for comfort! Grabbing my sword again and with my fist, I punched the skeleton back right as I thanked him.

"Thanks for the heads up, Gale!" I quickly gave a thumbs up before blocking another attack and countering back. And knowing that stabbing won't work on them, I go for the alternative and straight for the skeleton's head, which I quickly and efficiently lop clean off! Ha! I grin as the skeleton collapses without its head, and I am about to move to help my companions.

Or at least that is my intention, but I suddenly felt drained, and my strength gave out before collapsing onto the floor with the muffled sounds of my companions calling out to me. "What was… that…?" My thoughts wane as my sight fades into black, and I fall unconscious.

I don't know how long I was out, but eventually, I knew I was awake again when I heard the muffled sounds coming towards me."He's coming on."

"Ugh… Mm… What happened?" I groan out and blink to see my companions checking on me. Gale and Shadowheart leaned over me while Astarion leaned calmly against the nearby pillar while glancing at his dagger. I blink and see that I am still in the crypt, and around us are the destroyed remains of skeletons. Then it hit me.

Right!

I passed out! But what happened?

I must have expressed the shock and panic on my face because Shadowheart quickly assured me by resting her hand on my shoulder. "It's alright, Arthur. We got it under control."

"What… What happened? Why did I suddenly fall asleep?" I ask before Gale gives me his hand and pulls me back up onto my feet, and as I take the opportunity to dust myself, Gale explains.

"Well, my friend, you were unfortunate enough to be hit with a sleep spell. Normally, it is a simple effort to resist it. But from the looks of your face, I think this might have been your first time experiencing it." A sleep spell?

Shit man.

"Then how am I awake again?" I ask next before my companion answers me.

"Well, it depends. Normally, the duration of sleep spells lasts for over twelve seconds, my friend. But the duration can be cut short should someone else wake you up. Thankfully, those skeletons are dealt with rather easily with my and the others' capable hands."

"Frankly, I was tempted to pour water on your face should you sleep any longer." Astarion voices his thoughts as I turn my head to see him sheathing his dagger away. "Since you're awake now, shouldn't we finish exploring this place?" He pointed out before I gave him a silent nod before bending down and picking up my weapon before sheathing it away.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone in there and looted it yet, Astarion. I don't think you're one to wait for me." I couldn't help but point out. From what I know of him so far, I expected him to have taken the opportunity to take all the good stuff for himself. So, seeing him waiting for me was somewhat surprising.

"Well, that was my intention, but Shadowheart insists we wake you first." He says dismissively while she rolls her eyes at him.

"Well then, since I'm awake now, let us not waste time." And with that, all four of us walk into the new secret room revealed by a button, which appears to be holding chests and another sarcophagus. Except it seems adorned with gold and jewellery.

With my companions beside me, we slowly approached the sarcophagus before I found my eyes on it, or more accurately, the plague on the floor of it. And thankfully, it's in English, and I'm happy I can read it.

"Here lies the Guardian to Tombs. Through knowledge comes atonement." I read out. Through knowledge comes atonement… What does it mean by that? But before we could speak or react, something inside the sarcophagus suddenly opened the prison it found itself in, and we all took several steps back with our guard up.

Soon, all four of us spot an undead emerging from the sarcophagus before levitating out of it and several metres off the ground. And I spotted some gold decorations that appeared to wrap over its face and upper torso and had ragged robes covering its body. Even more so was the appearance of a wooden staff hanging from its back and its limbs wrapped in cloth.

"What the glorious hell am I looking at?" I silently frowned as the undead's eyes opened and gazed at the four of us. After what felt like seconds passed, the undead calmly landed on the ground before us and began speaking melodically while taking several steps towards us. "So He has spoken, and so thou standest before me. Right as always."

It's not attacking us on sight. And it's speaking in a rather ancient tone. Rather fitting if I were to judge by how old it probably is. But… Who is this for? Me? Shadowheart? Gale or Astarion? Or could it be all of us? That alone just brings up more questions than answers about this particular undead.

Glancing at my companions, I can see that none of them know how to react to this particular undead standing before us. Astarion, in particular, was deathly silent the whole time. Thankfully, none of us chose to draw our blades on it, and the undead continued speaking.

"What a curious way to awaken," The undead says while I find myself ever more curious about it as it was to us. Clearly, this one is more conscious and somewhat human than the others, I think. Perhaps the withered-like appearance makes him seem unique and more of a Mummy compared to the skeletons from just now. "Now I have a question for thee: What is the worth of a single's mortal life?" The undead ask of us as my thoughts run through its question.

"Is that a riddle of sorts coming from him? Perhaps a secret test? Or is it curiosity?" My thoughts ran. "What is the worth of a single's mortal life… I think it's asking how much value one life is in the grand scheme of things…" Besides, if I were to answer it, it would be that it heavily depends from person to person. No one's life is equal, and it is their deeds that make their worth. Not who they are born into.

But before I could answer it, my companion Gale chose to speak before I could. "Before we answer that, my mysterious undead fellow, I am curious to know. Why did you not attack us? The others outside seem quite willing to do that, but why not you?" I can tell that Gale was trying to be polite, but what was interesting was the undead's response as it shook its head.

"Because it will be senseless." Huh… Curious. I guess that just proves that this undead is more than what it appears to be. "Wilt thou answer my questions?" It asks again before I pick up Astarion snarking in the background.

"Hah. I guess even the undead know that it is pointless to fight against us."

Alright. I guess it's my turn to say something. "Yes, I see no problems with that. Ask it away."

The undead quickly respond with the same question as earlier. "So I ask again: What is the worth of a single's mortal life?" It asked again as Shadowheart leaned over to my ear.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Something like that. It probably means no harm to us, and I think it wants an honest answer." I glance at the undead watching me expectantly before looking back at my companion. "Trust me on this."

"Okay." That was all my companion said before pulling away from me as I took a breath and answered its question.

"It depends from person to person. No one is born equal in this world, and only through one's deeds will one's worth be determined." After all, the worth of a good king or honest merchant is higher than that of a petty thief or mass murderer, in my opinion.

The undead began to nod its head upon hearing my answer. "Curious. I wonder how Thou's standards shall be judged?" It says before continuing. "Very well. I am satisfied. We have met and know thy face. We will see each other again at the proper time and place. Farewell." And so, the undead walked past us and out into the chamber while the four of us were puzzled, to say the least.

"Well… I can say for sure that that was quite the experience. Never in my life have I come across an undead like him." Gale says as I see Astarion shrugging his shoulders, as did Shadowheart, before looking through the coffin that undead came out of. At the same time, I go straight for the chest and find a special amulet that, upon further study by Gale since he is the magic specialist of the group, reveals that this amulet I found allows the wearer to talk to the dead!

Like actually speaking to the dead kind of thing! Gale even went further and explained that this grants a temporary semblance of life to a humanoid corpse and allows us to ask up to 5 questions from it! However, he mentions that the humanoid body must have a mouth to be able to talk and that you can't use it on those classified as Undead.

And what is classified as an Undead in this world? I need to learn when I get the chance. Actually, I need to know all I can in this world if I am to survive the coming challenges and find a cure for my parasitic infection. Keeping the amulet in my bag for now, I see my companion holding another of those large coins we found earlier, like before.

He lay claim to it since he found them first.

"There's something off about that undead…" I pick up on Shadowheart's mumbling.

"In what way, I may ask?" I ask as my companion shakes her head and glances at where the undead walk off to.

"I may be wrong, but I sense divine energy from it." Divine energy from that undead? Last I checked, the undead shouldn't have divine magic except if they are gods or some holy being. Does that mean that the undead that we just talked to is more remarkable in a way? The fact that it did not attack us on sight and instead asked philosophical questions must mean something.

But what exactly?

"And speaking of divine magic," My companion's voice broke me out of my thoughts as she tilted her head curiously at me, "I can't believe I never noticed it till now, but I'm sensing some in you. But it's strangely different from what I know, and it's sealed. Almost… as if someone locked it away inside you…" She frowned

…

Wait…

WHAT?!

And cut! I apologise for the delay and hope it's still up to your expectations! I have been busy and have had less time than I should have, unexpectedly, but yeah. I've been busy with life, and now that it is out, I hope you all liked it!

Now, we're officially introduced to our skelly boi Withers and the not-so-out-of-the-blue reveal that Arthur has magic in his system! That and his interactions with not only Shadowheart but also Astarion and Gale. I hope I got their personalities perfect because I've been nervous about whether I get them right.

Also, wow. Thanks to all who follow and favourite this story because I've been getting plenty of alerts of people doing that, and I'm happy to see it! In a way, it lets me know that you all want to see more of this story, and I'll be obliged to do my best!

And I'm done talking. If you want to see and keep track whenever I update this story, add it to your favourites and favourites! And while you're adding it, do leave a review as well! I do like reading them, and they motivate me to make more in the future!

And with that, I will see you all in the next chapter!

RGQC out!