Part III: Farewell
Sunkissed
A wall of cold air greeted Karlach once she had made it through to the other side of the portal. What was a perfectly normal temperature on the material plane felt positively frigid compared to the heat of the hell she had just left.
She found herself standing in a cellar full of mostly empty wine bottle racks, the few remaining bottles covered in dust, with some crates and casks lining the sides.
The Hellriders and Dammon were nearby, and had been watching the portal with weapons drawn. They relaxed when they saw Karlach and the unconscious druid she carried.
"Thank the gods you made it," said Yssylt, breathing out a sigh of relief.
"Was just thinking the same thing," said Karlach.
"Now all that remains is to seal this door to hell forever," said Zevlor grimly.
Raphane came around with a gasp. "We made it?"
Karlach was opening her mouth to answer when a high pitched droning sounded behind herself. She turned and backed away from the gateway. In short order, its glassy surface cracked and shattered, the broken shards spinning in a spiraling pattern before the entire thing collapsed in on itself, reducing to a single point before vanishing altogether, frame and all.
"Well that took care of itself didn't it?" asked Odan, lowering his hammer.
"I think you can put me down now," Raphane said to Karlach.
The berserker laughed, 'Right, darling. Of course. Hey, is it hot in here?"
Raphane blinked at Karlach as she was set down, suddenly worried. "No," she answered.
"Funny that," said Karlach. Sweat beaded on her brow before the heat vents on her shoulders let out a searing burst of flame. Karlach clenched her teeth and fell to her knees with a gasp as she held a hand against her chest. "Oh, fuck. Not again."
Raphane dropped down in front of Karlach, eyes wide with panic. "Dammon!" she called over her shoulder.
"Not too close," warned Karlach, beads of sweat became rivulets that ran down her face as she gasped for breath.
The infernal mechanic pushed past the onlooking Hellriders. "I don't understand," he said as he looked Karlach over. "The coolant should have worked. We need to get her armor off. I need to see what's happening to her engine."
Karlach managed a nod and started unfastening her armor before she was rocked by a powerful sneeze. The berserker blinked and raised her eyes to meet the puzzled faces of Raphane and Dammon-right before she was wracked by an entire series of sneezes.
"Gods," she muttered once the sneezing fit was finally over. Her palms no longer glowed molten orange and her heat vents had settled down. She raised her eyes to look at the rest of the group. "Does anyone have a towel or a kerchief or rag? Anything?"
"I think the engine just needed to equalize," said Dammon as he pulled a rag from his pack before handing it to Karlach. "That said, I'd like to have a look at it anyway. Just to be sure it's settling out alright. No, you can keep the rag."
Karlach groaned impatiently. "If you must. I really want to see the sun again. Just be quick about it, okay?"
Raphane had gone upstairs with the Hellriders to talk while Dammon checked Karlach's engine. It didn't take long to confirm his suspicions. It seemed the engine had just needed to adjust to the material plane. Dammon took some measurements. The engine was still running hotter than it had in Avernus, but cooler than he had ever before measured it running on the material plane.
"Just remember," said Dammon as he was packing up his tools. "This is just a temporary measure."
"Trust me, I couldn't possibly forget," said Karlach. "I am long past ready to be done with this thing for good. But, uhm. How are you holding up, Dammon? With everything that happened at the House?"
Dammon hesitated. It was obvious what Karlach was referring to. "Yssylt lied for me, you know. She told the other Hellriders that Ilkin died covering our escape. Not… not what actually happened. I don't think it's sunk in just yet. It's not like I've never killed anything before or anyone. But… this was different."
Dammon kept talking while Karlach listened. "I don't feel right about it. He wasn't a bloodthirsty imp or a marauding goblin. He was just a man, a man scared out of his wits." Dammon sighed. "And so was I." He looked at Karlach, "Did I do the right thing?"
"You made a hard choice," said Karlach. "Maybe the right words were out there somewhere that could have convinced Ilkin to back down from the edge, but I didn't know what they were. Yssylt didn't know what they were. You took the only choice that he left us."
"I couldn't let that devil take you, Karlach," said Dammon.
"Neither could I," said Karlach with a rueful smile. "You're a good man, Dammon. And if you ever need to talk, just say the word. I'll come running."
Raphane was by herself when Karlach came up the stairs out of the cellar. By now the druid had cleaned the blood off her face and healed most of her bruises down to mild discolorations.
The upstairs room was mostly empty except for a long table that Raphane was sitting on and a couple chairs scattered about. Narrow slashes of golden daylight pierced through drawn shutters to illuminate the floor and walls.
Karlach had heard about these places from Raphane and the Hellriders. Each of the gates from the House of Hope was, or had been, located inside one of these sorts of, mostly unremarkable, properties. Given how ostentatious Raphael had been about practically everything else he did, it was a fair guess that he never entertained at these locations, only using them for himself and his servants in order to travel quickly and discreetly.
"Where did the Hellriders go?" asked Karlach.
"They had a lot to talk about," said Raphane. "Their mission in Avernus is over. They need to figure out what they're going to do next."
Raphane hopped down off the table and stepped over to where Karlach stood. "But how are you feeling? And how is..?" she tapped a claw against Karlach's chest to finish the question.
"Dammon gave me a clean bill of health," Karlach answered.
"It's a beautiful day out there. Are you ready to see the sun again?" asked Raphane with a bright smile.
"You've no idea," said Karlach.
Raphane took Karlach's hand and led her outside. Karlach found herself closing her eyes as the warm sunlight bathed her face and let out a long sigh. She breathed in again.
"Gods it's so good to be back and out of the shit stink of Avernus. What is that smell? It's divine."
"A fish market. We're near the waterfront."
"Oh my gods!" shouted Karlach, making Raphane jump, "Fresh caught fish! Let's go!"
After a quick bite, they spent hours wandering the lower city. Karlach had a blissful smile on her face as she drank in the sights, smells and sounds. It was good to be back.
Only when they were passing through the park did Raphane notice a twinge in Karlach's knee. "Stop, you're hurt," she said.
"Oh, that. Narzugon smacked my knee with a hammer."
"And you didn't say? On that bench right now! Let me have a look."
"There's something I can't stop thinking about," said Karlach, while Raphane was weaving healing magics around her knee. "Florenta could have been in the House for days. Skulking in the shadows, sniggering and laughing at us."
Raphane finished her work on Karlach's knee. She was quiet for a moment, considering, before she spoke, "Karlach, we've never kept secrets from each other before and I don't want to start now. I'd better tell you what Florenta said."
"Why?" Karlach asked guardedly, "what did she say?"
"Her exact words: 'Keep my Karlie warm, little tart. I'll be along for her in time.'"
Karlach seethed with contempt just hearing the words repeated. "The bloody nerve of her."
"I think she knew." Karlach blinked as she refocused on what Raphane was saying. "That is, I think Florenta knows we found a fix for your engine. She said she had orders that she had to carry out but I think she waited until she knew you had a way to escape the House."
"But she didn't make it easy, did she?" asked Karlach with a bitter laugh.
"It's like you said about her," offered Raphane, "She'll help with one hand so long as she can claw at your heart with the other."
Karlach let out a sigh. "Fucking devils. I am so. Fucking. Tired. Of devils."
Raphane held her arms open for Karlach. The larger woman laid her head wearily in Raphane's lap as the druid stroked her hair.
"We'll keep an eye out for her," said Raphane. "But for now, try to relax."
"It's such a shame about Hope," said Karlach regretfully.
"I. I don't actually know this," admitted Raphane, "But I'm not sure she's gone. Not completely."
"What do you mean?" asked Karlach.
"There was a force, a will I think, that was keeping what was left of the house together," explained Raphane. "Slowing its descent. Giving us time to escape. Despite all of the damage and devastation, almost all of us made it out alive. That can't have just been chance."
"I thought we were just good," said Karlach.
"Well, we are that," commented Raphane with a smirk.
"So you think Hope what, became the House?"
"She was bonded with the House for a long time. I think in ways even she may not have realized."
"There is no death?" ventured Karlach.
"Only change," Raphane finished.
Karlach closed her eyes and listened to the ambiance of the park and the lower city surrounding it: people talking, birdsong, barking dogs, all while the sunlight and a gentle breeze caressed her face.
"Karlach?" Raphane ventured quietly. The berserker didn't answer, just kept breathing slowly and evenly while her head rested in the druid's lap. Raphane smiled and leaned back contentedly against the park bench.
True to her word, the restaurant Karlach picked for lunch was not one listed on any travel parchments. Located down a narrow lower city sidestreet, the restaurant was a converted rowhouse. With low lighting and a relatively quiet clientele, the ambiance was nicely subdued.
"Not normally like you to drink this early in the day," observed Karlach as she watched Raphane take a sip of her beer.
"Special exception," said Raphane once she had lowered her drink. "It's not exactly been a normal day. But we got you out of Avernus! And soon we'll be at the Selûnite enclave."
"I never did ask," started Karlach. "When that cornugon surrounded us, and then all the devils started fighting each other, that was you, wasn't it?"
Raphane smiled sheepishly. "Yep." She took another drink.
"Well don't be modest. How'd you do it?"
"Boarded one of the flying fortresses, stormed the command deck-"
"What? By yourself?"
"It was easier than you might think. The ship was practically empty. Almost all of the devils were out scouring the House for survivors. I wasn't alone either. I had a myrmidon, Berry and a wood woad with me"
"How is Berry?"
"Evergreen. She says 'hi,' by the by. Where was I?"
"Storming the command deck." Karlach was leaning toward Raphane across the table, listening eagerly.
"Right, so, I bound the devil in charge-"
"What sort of devil? Another cornugon?"
"No. She had wings. White feathered ones. Not the usual leathery wings you see down there. White and gold armor."
"Sounds like an erinyes. Every one of them I ever met was a toffee-nosed prat. A real uppity lot."
"Anyway, after I cast the binding spell on her, she had to do as I said, and I commanded her to sic her devils on the other devils and attack the other flying fortress."
Karlach laughed and slapped the table. "Hah! I'll bet that stuck in her craw."
"It most certainly did," said Raphane, "She managed to shake off the spell in the end. She seized her sword. She could have attacked me. She could probably have countermanded all of the orders I had made her issue. Instead, she set her flying fortress to ram the other one then fell on her sword. Literally."
"She what!?"
Raphane raised her hands, accepting the skepticism. "I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it happen myself. She said the 'dishonor would never wash clean' or something along those lines."
"Devils and their pride," Karlach shook her head, "What'd I tell you?" She gave Raphane a sideways smile and reached across the table to hold her hand. "You know, I should be furious at you for running off."
"Why aren't you?"
"I don't know. Maybe I knew you could handle whatever you ran into. Maybe I'm just too happy to be home to be mad."
"Room for one more?" a voice inquired.
"Look, mate," Karlach started, annoyed, "I don't want to have to tell another one of you, my lady and I aren't looking for some sausage in the mid-WYLL!"
Karlach recognized the hooded man mid-tirade and surged to her feet to squeeze him in a hug.
"I hope you weren't in disguise," said Raphane, taking note of Wyll's hood and plain traveling clothes, hardly the attire one might expect of a grand duke intending to look the part.
"I might have been," said Wyll before glancing around the restaurant.
"Grand duke! Grand duke! Hey everyone, we got a grand duke here!" Karlach called out.
A few people looked up from their plates for a second or two before getting back to their food. One person shushed her.
"See?" said Karlach, "No one cares."
"The food's too good," said Raphane as she pulled up a third chair and motioned for Wyll to take a seat across from Karlach and herself.
"How did you find us?" asked Karlach.
"The short-tall, red-green tiefling couple with only a single set of horns between them?"
"Hang on a minute, are you trying to say we're easy to spot?" asked Karlach.
"I'm not that short," protested Raphane. "I'm-"
"Average for Beregost," Karlach and Wyll finished for her.
Raphane glared at Karlach, "Whose side are you on? I'm going to need another drink if you're both going to gang up on me like this."
"Slow down darling or I'll have to carry you out for the second time today," teased Karlach.
"Then I shall have had my revenge," Raphane shot back.
"I have something for you, Karlach," said Wyll while Raphane was flagging down a waiter. "Consider it a welcome back gift."
He removed a pouch from his belt and slid it across the table to Karlach. She opened it and her eyes opened wide. "Darling," she said to Raphane. "Wyll just got me a diamond. What did you get me?"
"If he wants you that badly he can keep you," Raphane deadpanned.
"Aww. Do you hear that Wyllie? We can finally be together."
"Another beer please," Raphane told the waiter once he had arrived. "Would you like anything to eat or drink, Mister Cliffgate?" she asked Wyll.
"A beer will do me just fine," he said to the waiter, lips twisted in wry amusement. "So sadly Karlach, I'm afraid it can never be, for I fear that if I deviate in the slightest, my githyanki beloved will descend upon this plane with a fury that would lay waste to a thousand cities, including the one dearest to me."
"Oh, drat," said Karlach, "I was looking forward to being a duchess. Raphane, darling, will you take me back?"
"Nope," said Raphane, feigning indifference.
"Oh, come on," said Karlach, "you don't mean that." She leaned toward Raphane and rested her chin on the green tiefling's shoulder, staring up at her, golden cat's eyes wide and imploring.
Raphane turned her head to look down at Karlach and chortled.
"Made you laugh!" Karlach chirped. "Anyhow, what's the deal with the diamond?"
"It's for the resurrection," said Raphane, lowering her voice.
"A diamond? Bit steep isn't it?"
"Oh no, the Selûnites aren't charging us," Raphane explained, "The diamond is a necessary component to perform the resurrection spell. We've been asked to provide it, and Wyll volunteered to get one for us. Thank you, Wyll."
"Shit. You hold onto it," said Karlach, passing the diamond to Raphane, "Afraid I'll lose it. Thanks, Wyll."
"It's the least that I, and the city, can do," he said with a smile.
"How is the city?" asked Karlach. "Walking around it looked to me like there was still a good bit of work going on. Lots of scaffolding and whatnot."
Wyll nodded grimly. "The battle did a great deal of damage. Jaheira is actually helping to coordinate the reconstruction here in the lower city."
"Is she!?" Karlach blurted out, "We should go see her! Wait. No. Nevermind. I'm sure she's busy with important… Uh. Stuff."
"Aww. You're still intimidated by her," teased Raphane. "That's adorable."
"Well pardon me for having heroes," said Karlach. "Legendary druid and all."
"Oh, and I'm not?" scoffed Raphane.
Karlach made a "so-so" motion with her hand.
"Thank you," said Raphane, with a sarcastic edge to her voice.
"Well someone needs to keep you humble," said Karlach.
"Because I'm in such danger of becoming a raving megalomaniac?"
"It's so good that you can admit that, darling." Karlach met Raphane's scowl with a bright smile.
"So how long are you in the Gate for?" asked Wyll.
"Just tonight," said Raphane. "Dammon and the Gondians are getting their equipment and supplies together. Tomorrow we travel to the Selûnite enclave outside the city."
"Well any time you're in the city, you're welcome to stay at the Ravenguard house," said Wyll.
Karlach brightened then grinned at Raphane. "A night in a ducal palace? Not a bad way to start off back on the material plane."
"It's only myself and a few servants living there at the moment," said Wyll, "And there are plenty of guestrooms."
"We'll only need one," Karlach promised.
"I might have guessed." Wyll smirked. "I'll be coming and going dealing with matters of the city but feel free to make yourselves at home."
"Not like that," Raphane said to Karlach.
The red skinned tiefling sighed, "So uptight."
Wyll glanced between the two tieflings, certain he was missing something, before continuing, "The servants already know to expect you. I need to be on my way, delegation from Iriaebor, but I hope to see you both for dinner."
After lunch, Karlach and Raphane went to visit Fytz the Firecracker, one of Karlach's old friends. They spent a couple hours catching up and meeting her family before Karlach and Fytz headed to the local pub with Raphane in tow.
It was an hour during which most of the city was finished working for the day and the pub quickly filled up with faces Karlach knew and she found herself becoming a local celebrity as she recounted tales of her many battles against Zariel's devils and the sinister machinations of the Absolute.
The handful of skeptics, who tried to claim that the battle against the Absolute had actually been an Infernal conspiracy used to supplant the legitimate Archduke Gortash and install Zariel's puppet Wyll in his place, were promptly shouted down and their ringleader thrown out of the pub by none other than Karlach herself; she might have tolerated such slander against herself, but not against Wyll and certainly not if it lionized Gortash.
Raphane mostly kept out of the way, sipping her drink at a tall table by the window, while Karlach commanded the attention of the pub with her stories. For the most part Raphane was sitting alone, although at one point she was joined by an old man who tried to tell her that the Absolute had in fact been an Amnian conspiracy hatched by the Cowled Wizards to seize control of Baldur's Gate. Karlach shooed him away from Raphane in between rounds of storytelling, whilst assuring Raphane that he was a harmless old regular.
It was getting dark outside by the time Karlach had finished saying her lengthy farewells and she and Raphane left the pub.
Karlach held Raphane's hand as they walked down the street. "Thank you, darling. Pubs aren't really your thing are they?"
"What gave it away?" asked Raphane with a small chuckle. "I'm glad you could catch up with your old friends though."
"Me too," said Karlach before she stopped short to stare at a narrow row house.
"Is something wrong?" Raphane asked, suddenly concerned.
"No. I just… I grew up in that house. Right up until a little while after I lost dad. Told the landlord I could make the rent. Just needed a few more days. He said 'fine.' I thanked him. Went to work a double. Came home to find everything tossed out on the street and the locks changed; mum's porcelain broken to pieces; just about all of dad's tools had been stolen."
"That's horrible," said Raphane.
"It's life, isn't it? I caught up with the landlord. Can't even remember what he said or what I said but, in the end, it took four Flaming Fists to drag me off him. Gave him a black eye and knocked out half his teeth." She laughed and shook her head before looking sidelong at Raphane. "If you think I have a temper now? Hah! Gods, I was so angry back then."
"That was the first stint I did in a Flaming Fist jail. Can't say I recommend it. Decor's not bad but the food is terrible. And the service?" She shook her head.
Raphane looked at the facade of the humble home. It looked old, but well-kept.
"Bah. Listen to me going on," said Karlach ruefully. "There were plenty of good memories in that house too. I just wish they were as clear as the bad ones."
"Did you want to..?"
"No. Let's just go. It's someone else's home now. Someone else's life. High time I got on with my own."
Karlach and Raphane took their time making their way to the Ravenguard ducal palace. The servant let them in with only a very slight wrinkling of his nose. Raphane didn't doubt that Avernus, the battle they had fought to escape it, and also the day's wanderings spent in the lower city had all given Karlach and herself a distinct bouquet.
After politely acquiescing to the tieflings' insistence that they could carry their own packs, the servant showed them to their suite and politely suggested that they may wish to freshen up before dinner, which he said would be in about an hour.
"Well it's big I'll grant," said Karlach, looking the room over, "But where's the bed?"
"You and your one-track mind," teased Raphane. "This is just the sitting room."
"I know that!" said Karlach. "I did live here once. In that dream I had."
"Let's hope Wyll doesn't blow up the city this time," said Raphane with a smirk before she opened a set of double doors leading into the lavishly appointed bedroom.
Raphane was still taking it in when Karlach let out a loud "Woo!" as she charged the bed and leapt onto it.
Raphane gasped, scared for a moment that she was going to have to explain to Wyll how the bed became broken, but the sturdy frame held with only a slight groan of protest as Karlach bounced and laughed.
"Karlach, boots!" Raphane cried. "You're getting dirt all over those covers."
"Fine," said Karlach as she unlaced her boots and kicked them off. "You know, for a druid, you're not very earthy."
"Well I am terribly sorry that I don't strut around naked in public or heap dirt on my sheets," said Raphane, crossing her arms.
"So do you want to..?" Karlach patted the spot on the bed beside herself.
"What about after dinner?" suggested Raphane.
"I was eyeing that couch in the sitting room for after dinner," said Karlach with a grin.
"Why stop there? There's also the settee and the chairs."
"Yeah," said Karlach, her grin getting wider.
Raphane blinked in disbelief. "You mean it? You really want to have it off on every piece of furniture in this suite?"
"We're only here for one night," said Karlach with a shrug of her shoulders. "Seems like a good use of our time."
"With the invitation to come back whenever we're in the Gate," said Raphane, sitting down on the edge of the settee. Karlach crawled toward the edge of the bed. Raphane continued, "You love this city. I thought you would be wanting to spend a lot of time here. Maybe not in this room but in the city, I mean."
"I do love this city," said Karlach, "But I." Her grin flickered and vanished. "I don't know. I'm not ready to think of the future yet. Not until I'm sure I've got one."
"Karlach, it's going to work. You've got a future."
"The present is all that any of us have really got," Karlach said, before leaning down to kiss Raphane where she sat on the settee. "So what do you say?" she asked, before laying flat on the bed, a smirk on her face as her tail swayed back and forth. "Want to join me up here?"
"I am going to go have a bath," said Raphane, standing up off the settee.
Karlach pouted but soon found Raphane's face hovering inches away from her own. The green tiefling said quietly, "And if you want to waste my being naked, wet, slippery and pliant, feel free to keep pouting right here."
It was Raphane's turn to grin as she walked away from Karlach and toward the suite's washroom, undoing the laces on her armor as she walked and listening to the sounds of the berserker scrambling off the bed to follow.
"You're sure you don't want to run a brush through your hair?" Raphane asked Karlach as they were walking down the stairs.
"Noo," Karlach answered. "I look damned good."
"You look like you just had sex."
"I did just have sex," said Karlach with a carefree grin, "And I don't give a damn who knows."
Raphane sighed hopelessly.
"I mean really," Karlach chuckled as they approached the dining room doors. "It's just going to be us and Wyll-"
A pair of servants opened the double doors for the two tieflings while a butler announced their arrival to polite applause. Wyll was there. So was a smattering of others: Florrick, Alfira, Lakrissa, Dammon, Rolan and finally, Karlach all but panicked to see, Jaheira.
"Shit," Karlach whispered to Raphane. "Jaheira's here! Does my hair look okay?"
'Really?' Raphane asked Karlach with her facial expression alone.
"Karlach, Raphane," said Wyll, "I invited some old allies to welcome you back to Faerûn. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind? Of course not. Why would I mind?" sputtered Karlach.
"Thank you all so much for coming," said Raphane, casting her eyes over the attendees. Most of them had wine glasses in hand and looked to have been mingling before her and Karlach's arrival. "It means a lot to us to see you all safe and I can't wait to hear what you've all been up to."
"Well spoken," said Wyll. "We have some minutes more before the first course is ready. Please feel free to visit. No need for formalities here."
Raphane and Karlach made their rounds. Generally, everyone there was thriving. Alfira was running a music school, with Lakrissa's help, Rolan and his siblings were all settled in at Ramazith's tower. Florrick was now a grand duke. During all of those conversations, Karlach's eyes kept flitting nervously toward Jaheira.
When the berserker finally came face to face with the veteran druid, she blurted out, "Nice to meet you. Again–err–I–uh–see I mean–nice to see you again. Uhm. Jaheira!"
"Oh no, you broke her," Raphane chimed in, then swallowed her lower lip at Karlach's sudden glare.
The corner of Jaheira's lips curled in a slight smile, "You look less radiant than the last time I saw you, Karlach. This is perhaps a good thing."
"Oh, uh, right. Because I was burning to death. Hah!"
Karlach's laugh was much louder than she meant for it to be and the room was silent for a moment as everyone looked in her direction.
"Well it is good to see you made it back, Karlach." Jaheira looked at Raphane, "And you, cub? Have you learned any new shapes since last we met?"
"I've mostly stuck to the old classics. I'm sure you can appreciate that, crow. But I did finally figure out the giant eagle form."
"Keep in practice. I have certainly known my own abilities to wane during idle years. Let me know if you ever want to spar together. Wyll can tell you where to find me."
"I'll do just that," said Raphane before Jaheira stepped away from Karlach and herself.
"Gods, that was humiliating," groaned Karlach. "Excuse me. I'm just going to crawl back to the hells now." The towering berserker slouched as she tried to make herself look as small as possible.
"Sweetheart, listen to me," said Raphane, putting a hand on each side of the taller tiefling's face as she made her meet her gaze. "Jaheira may be your hero but she's also your peer, and, when the histories of this age are written, the names Jaheira and Karlach will share a page."
"You really think so?"
"I know it."
Karlach breathed in. "Thank you, darling. I. Uh. I'll be okay."
"You'll be better than okay. When the first course comes you'll be sitting down at that dining table right next to Jaheira and before the night's over you are going to have had a proper conversation with her."
"Hang on, are you trying to set me up with another woman?"
"Only if I can watch."
Raphane managed to hold Karlach's gaze with a straight face for several seconds before she cracked a smile and shared a laugh with Karlach.
"You are so bad at that," said Karlach with a grin as she played with a lock of Raphane's hair, "But it's cute. Come on, let's get back to the party."
One successful dinner party later, Karlach and Raphane were back in their suite.
Raphane turned to loop her arms around Karlach's neck once the doors were shut.
"Well you turned that around quite well," she said to Karlach.
"Yeah," said Karlach, "Turns out it's pretty easy to get Jaheira talking about Minsc."
They shared a kiss before Karlach pulled her head back to say, "Hey, Raphane. Something's been worrying me."
"What is it?" asked Raphane, suddenly worried herself. She followed Karlach to sit with her on the couch.
"Well, we've been pretty good about being honest with each other. Not keeping secrets or anything. But what about secrets that aren't mine to tell?"
Raphane raised a brow. "Well. I." She hesitated. Chewed the thought for a few seconds before she answered. "I trust you, Karlach. If you don't think I need to know then–" She didn't get to finish the sentence before Karlach interrupted her.
"Alright you've forced it out of me!' Karlach lowered her voice. What was a whisper for Karlach was still loud enough that Raphane didn't need to lean in to hear her; but she did anyway. "I know you didn't spend as much time as me with the Hellriders but you remember Ilkin, right? Cleric of Lathandar?"
"I do. Yssylt said he died covering your escape," said Raphane, sympathetically.
"Yssylt was being kind," said Karlach. "The cornugon Bulvyr and his devils had us surrounded. He offered to let the others go if they turned on me."
Raphane blinked, "Oh. No. Yssylt didn't say anything about that."
"Ilkin put a knife to my throat," Karlach continued, "I knew you must have something up your sleeve so I tried to stall but Dammon ran him through."
"Well I can't say I'm too sorry to hear that," said Raphane.
"He was scared," said Karlach sternly.
"Sorry," said Raphane. "I guess my sympathies don't go very far for anyone who threatens you."
"I just wish I could have talked Ilkin down," said Karlach.
Raphane let out a sigh and stroked a hand along Karlach's cheek, "Dearheart, you're too good for this world."
"Well it's lucky the world's good enough for me," said Karlach, leaning into the gesture. She smiled, but it faltered rather quickly. "I'm worried about Dammon though."
"How's he taking it?"
"He seems okay," answered Karlach, "I just can't help the feeling the other shoe hasn't dropped yet."
"He had seemed different since Avernus. I didn't think to read into it. What happened at the House would have been a harrowing experience for anyone."
"Let's just look out for him, you know? We owe him that much."
"And more," said Raphane. "Of course. Now, Is there anything else you need to unburden yourself of?"
Karlach pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe just a few more things," she said, before pulling her shirt up and over her head then fixing her eyes on Raphane intently.
Raphane smirked at Karlach and slid closer to her on the couch before stroking a finger from Karlach's collarbone down the length of her torso, tracing the glowing channel of the engine beneath her skin. "You're going to be insatiable tonight, aren't you?" Raphane asked.
"That depends on how well you can satiate me," answered Karlach. Her lips locked together with Raphane's, then she let out a moan shortly after the druid's wandering fingers slid down into her trousers.
It was hours later when Karlach was finally willing to entertain the notion of going to bed. Once they had laid down. Karlach couldn't help but notice that Raphane seemed to be tossing and turning quite a bit. "Is something wrong, darling?" she asked.
Raphane hesitated, pursed her lips. "It's silly," she said.
"I can do silly," said Karlach with a grin. "Let's hear it."
"I'm not sure why," Raphane started, "But I had this idea that our first night together on this plane we'd be sleeping under the stars." She turned her head to look at Karlach. "See? Silly. Only I would complain about spending a night in a ducal mansion. I suppose I just missed you the most on those nights traveling, sleeping under the stars by myself. I couldn't wait to have you with me again."
Karlach smiled. "On your feet, Raphane. I've got an idea."
Within a few minutes, mattress and bedding had been moved out onto the balcony with Raphane resting comfortably under the canopy of stars. She smiled blissfully. "Better," she remarked.
The night air was cool and crisp without being cold. Karlach provided all the heat Raphane could have wanted as she snuggled against her.
"We're going to have to move this back inside tomorrow morning, you know," Raphane commented as her eyelids were getting heavy.
"I don't see why," said Karlach. "We could start a whole new trend in upper city balcony bedding."