A/N: Sorry for the chapter delay. I got caught up in harvesting and prepping the results of my garden followed by playing with BG3 mods to actually create this warlock pact. Happily I'm almost done with that. I noticed that my underlined formatting didn't carry over into the posting and to be honest, unless someone complains I'm not going to bother going back and updating it. Some of the dialogue is going to be ripped straight from the game, usually first meetings and quest conversations. I had planned to finish all of Chapter 2 before posting it but the readers have been patient so here you go.

Groaning as his back hit the wall Xander looked around to find his companions struggling to hold on as the ship seemed to stream through glimmering nothingness. Gripping tightly to a nearby protrusion he struggled to not be flung out as he watched Lae'zel attempt to reconnect the transponder tentacles. Motion beside him drew his attention as he saw where Neville gripped was coming loose of the rest of the ship. A quick hand and Xander caught a firm grip on the collar of his coat. His arms and chest burned as he struggled to hold on with one hand when he felt the world shift again and he could see stars.

He felt the ship lurch as if it had impacted something and he lost his grip on Neville as he tumbled toward the opening the dragon had torn in the huil. Twisting and scrambling against the smooth deck Xander slammed into the wall next to the opening. Shaking his head clear he felt hi survival instincts kick into high gear as he caught the sight of a heavily injured illithid on the other side of the the opening into the sky. Before he could act he felt the heavy impact of debris impacting his head as he was flung into the breach.

The rush of blood to Xander's head woke him to see the world around him inverted, with debris floating in the air around him. As he tried to figure out why he was motionless and upside down he felt the phantom grip release him and he tumbled the rest of the way to the ground.

Groaning, he struggled to sit up. His left arm wasn't responding correctly, as it alternated between numb and a burning pain. An answering groan from a young male voice sounded nearby as he collapsed again. Deciding to wait a minute before he tried again Xander gazed into the blue sky and the occasional streamers of smoke and asked, "Neville, are you alive."

"Ow, mate. If death hurts this much I plan to live forever," came his young companion's voice from nearby.

Xander huffed a small laugh before responding, "Sorry, but it's only life that hurts this much. Only two things I learned growing up, life hurts and women are the more dangerous gender."

A groaning chuckle accompanied the sounds of shifting cloth as from the corner of his eye he saw the red coated form move into a seated position as Neville said, "Too right about that second one. One of the girls in my year, Hermione, is scary. Bloody brilliant, but absolutely terrifying."

"Silent and sneaky?" Xander asked.

"No, she's fairly smart and isn't shy about beating that knowledge into our heads. It's when she gets quiet and determined that she gets scarey. Then she whips out some spell as easy as I could butter a roll," Neville said.

"Yeah, I know someone like that," Xander said thinking of Willow.

Neville's form came into view, a little blurry around the edges from the head injury and Xander accepted the hand that helped him up. As he caught his balance Xander asked, "Any idea how we managed to survive that fall?"

Neville shook his head and answered, "No clue. It felt like something grabbed me and slowed the fall, but I didn't see anything. I saw a few other bodies tumble out as we fell."

"With any luck they survived too," Xander said, taking a look around.

As his vision cleared he could see he was on a rocky beach, smoke and fire was drifting from the wreck of the ship on one of the cliffs nearby. He didn't recognize the region, but considering the cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other it wasn't too shocking. Slowly he and Neville began to trudge along the beach with the hope of finding some form of shelter or civilization.

Not far from where he had woken he caught sight of a familiar brunette form laying on the beach, her armored boots just above the tide line. Picking up the pace from glacial crawl to shuffling walk the pair found themselves at Shadowheart's side. Neville kneeled down and gripped her shoulder with a gentle shake to attempt to wake her.

As she stirred her eyes opened and she said "You're alive. I''m alive. How is this possible…?"

"Kinda hoped you had some idea," Xander said.

She shook her head in a daze as she said, "I remember the ship, I remember falling… then nothing."

Neville helped her to stand and asked, "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"No… I don't recognize this place. But anything's an improvement on where we just came from. First things first - we need supplies, shelter, and most of all, a healer that can deal with these little monsters in our heads," she said.

"So I take it you want to stay together?" Xander asked.

The woman nodded, "We need each other, and we both know what's at stake. I can't think of better company."

Xander was suspicious, but he passed it off as bout of paranoia before he said, "Let's get going then. I need to find some way to tend to my arm."

"I might be able to help with that. I don't have the skill needed to deal with the other problem, but I can handle battlefield healing," Shadowheart said before she held a hand to his arm and began to chant in a musical language that he suspected was Elven.

As her hand began to glow softly Xander felt the aches in his head and the burning in his arm subside. As her magic went to work Shadowheart said, "One thing, just before we go. I wanted to thank you again, for freeing me. It would've been all too easy for you to run right past my pod, but you didn't. I'll remember that."

As she removed her hand Xander flexed his own. Other than tiredness he felt like he was able to continue. Receiving a nod from Neville he looked back to Shadowheart who gave a small smile and said, "Lead the way."

Grumbling to himself about somehow becoming the leader, Xander began to pick his way along the beach while checking the debris and bodies that became more prevalent as the group moved. None of the group had much idea where to go so Xander stated moving inland towards an opening in the ship. As they neared the opening Neville grabbed his shoulder and pointed with his other hand. Scuttling figures could be seen in the wreckage. As a breeze blew the smoke away he caught sight of one of the brains with legs running into the wreckage.

"And of course I dropped the bow back on the ship," Xander complained as he drew the pair of blades that was still secured to his back.

Trying to be stealthy the trio moved towards the entrance of the ship and looked in. Shadowheart pointed at a patch of luminescent purple liquid and said in a voice just above a whisper, "That looks flammable. I think I can catch two of them with a simple fire spell. Neville, can you get the third while Xander keeps them off of us?"

Neville looked around before he nodded and aimed his wand at a chunk of debris near the third and said, "I remember Ron saying he did this to a troll in first year."

Both spellcasters let loose with their spells. Shadowheart launched a bolt of fire that caused the flammable liquid, and nearby remains of an odd barrel to explode; while the debris Neville was targeting levitated into the air before he let it fall onto the other brain creature. Xander watched, but nothing else came leaping out to attack them. He did hear Neville's question to Shadowheart, "How are you able to cast magic without a wand?"

Her response drew a gobsmacked look from Neville, "I've never used a wand. I just channel the power of my deity and shape it. Most of the wizard's I've met don't even use a wand."

Xander interrupted with his own observation, "I think wands are used as a training tool to help you focus the magic. Some wizards use longer chants and I've even seen a few use crystal or gemstone orbs. Each magical tradition has a different method. In the end its a question of where you draw the power from and the intent you shape it into."

Neville got a contemplative look on his face as they began to explore the wreckage before he said, "From what I know the wizards and witches from home all use magic their bodies generate. Some have referred to it as a magical core."

Xander nodded, "That is one method, the other is to draw and shape the ambient energy through the body. Or in her case from a deity."

"How do you use magic then? I've never seen wandless conjuration like what you did," Neville asked.

"I bargained with a being that was once human. He kick started my body into forming pathways for me to channel the ambient magic and taught me the basics. In return I have to add the blueprints of new and interesting weapons to his stockpile," Xander explained.

"Seems fairly tame for a warlock pact," Shadowheart said.

"Oh there was a few other things involved, but most of those don't apply until I return home or are related to my conduct. Then there is the fact that he was only really good at three spells and the variations on those," Xander said.

The cleric nodded and said, "Ahh, so he isn't providing a large boon like some fiends will."

Xander waggled a hand in a so-so gesture as he said, "For my situation it was huge, but I think he's also getting compensated to make the deal. The middleman seems like someone who likes to meddle."

Before the conversation could get further derailed Xander held up a hand as he spotted a twitching figure on the ground in the wreckage. As they got closer they found the heavily injured mind flayer Xander had seen before falling from the ship. As they approached it he began to feel compassion towards it, nothing should suffer like this.

"Fuck," Xander said as he tried to shake his head clear.

He caught Neville edging forward towards the creature. At the first sign of it's tentacles twitching Xander pushed forward and brought a booted heel down onto it's head, purple blood splattering from the impact.

Neville shook his head clear with a groan, "Bloody hell mate, what was that."

"Empathic projection. He was making us feel compassionate towards him, I'm guessing so he could snack on one of our heads to recover his strength. I'm starting to get a major hate on for these things," Xander said.

"I concur," Shadowheart said.

After brief moment to shake the effects off; the group moved towards one of the large holes in the hull. Unfortunately that only lead to a cliff overlooking the water they had woken up next to. In the small clearing caused by the crash they saw a pale haired man crouching and looking into the undergrowth that hadn't been set alight. When he noticed them he said, "Hurry, I've got one of those brain things cornered"

Xander moved forward as the man said, "There, in the grass. You can kill it, can't you? Like you killed the others?"

As Xander moved slightly past the man he took a closer look. He had short messy blonde hair so pale it could be mistaken for white that framed the pointed ears of a full blooded elf, clothes that looked to be expensive if they weren't obviously worn from recent troubles. His skin was extremely pale and his eyes had a reddish tinge to them, all in all Xander was half expecting a game face like back home except for the bright sun shining down on them. Something was still triggering his instincts though and he replied, "You seem like the handy sort, I'm sure you can manage just fine."

Apparently his paranoia was justified as Xander saw the stranger's demeanor change and one pale hand revealed a hidden dagger as the man said, "I was so hoping for a kind soul. Well not to worry."

A quick twist and pivot brought Xander just out of reach of the man's dagger range. As he gripped the hilt of his own sword the man said, "I saw you on the ship, strutting about while I was trapped in that pod. What did you and those tentacled freaks do to me?"

"You're not alone in being grabbed by them, I was grabbed too," Xander said in a calm voice.

"I'm not an idiot. I saw.. argh." the man started but was cut off as a blinding pain ripped through both of them.

Xander felt his mind twist and he looked out of eyes not his own on dark streets filled with people. He tried to hold on but the vision fades and all he felt was the light, and the fear.

The pale elf shook the twisting sensation away and groaned out, "What was that? What's going on?"

Xander grunted out, "Stupid teeth worm connected us."

"The worm, of course. That explains things. Somewhat," the man said as he sheathed his dagger, "And to think I was ready to decorate the ground with your innards. Apologies."

Xander smirked and said, "Oh I wasn't worried, but the apology is accepted."

The man stiffened as he felt the tip of Neville's wand come to rest on the back of his neck and the boy's voice came out in a growl that would have done a bear proud, "I've had a really bad day mate. Play nice."

As Neville's wand was retracted that man put on a charming smile that Xander could see was forced as he said, "My name's Astarion. I was in Baldur'sGate when those beasts snatched me."

After a quick introduction by the others Xander explained what had happened so far. Astarion's eyes were slightly widened as he said, "My my, you've been busy. So did you learn anything about these worms while wandering the ship?"

Neville spoke up, "Yeah, we need to get them out before we sprout tentacles and hunger for brains."

Astarion cursed and said "Of course it'll turn me into a monster. What else did I expect? Although it hasn't happened yet. If we can find an expert - someone that can control these things - there might still be time."

"I'm more for trying to get them out or at the least killing them," Xander said.

Astarion nodded with a smile that set Xander's instincts on edge as he said, "Well yes, of course. But first things first."

"We need to move, are you sticking with us?" Xander asked.

Astarion said with the flair of a street performer, "I was ready to go this alone, but maybe sticking with the herd isn't a bad idea. Safety in numbers, after all."

Xander shook his head and headed back into the ship to try the other entrance, the back of his neck tingling slightly like it had back in Sunnydale. He knew he was missing something, but couldn't place it. The man's dagger hadn't given him any information, it was salvaged after the crash and before that it had been the apprentice practice of some smith in another part of the realm. The only thing that pleased him about the situation was he was getting better at grasping weapons by looking rather than touching.

Moving up the ramp towards an opening that didn't have lingering fires Xander caught the familiar coppery scent of blood and crouched as he advanced into the open. Three bodies of short humanoid figures in dirty hide armor and crudely crafted weapons were sprawled on the ground, each with wounds to the head and neck that had bled puddles onto the ground. As he was examining them Shadowheart said from close behind, moving rather stealthily in her armor, "Goblins, looks like a long range scouting party based on the supplies."

Xander took a moment to investigate the pack she had pointed out and saw that it contained basic dried foods, water skins, and some odds and ends were harder to improvise for camping. As none of it looked spoiled he passed it around so that each person carried some of the food and water. Neville asked, "Why split it all up?"

"Never keep a critical resource on one person in a group. If something happened to that person, or their bag, then the whole group is out," Xander explained as they continued moving.

It wasn't long before the next bit of strangeness was found though, as before them on the cliff wall was a vortex of purplish energy fluctuating from what looked like a time-worn sigil painted on the rock. Tentatively Xander rested his hand on the rock, trying to keep clear of the energy as he tried to understand.

Lines of magic stretched out in all directions, like a spider's web or a weavers project. The gaps filled with loose tendrils while the threads connected to earth and sky both existing and not existing. Scholars experimenting with trying to anchor the threads but falling into the lines and coming out elsewhere changed. Others take the experiment in a different direction, trying to make the lines safe to traverse. The sigil was an anchor and activation rolled into one, allowing for safe transit along the paths of magic. This one had been disrupted by the dimensional shearing of the mind-flayer craft crashing while bleeding off planar energies, but someone had ripped it open before they crashed into the cliff.

Xander was snapped out of his analysis as a caucasian hand appeared to be reaching out of the vortex, and a voice called out, "A hand? Anyone?"

Using his recent understanding of the phenomenon Xander adjusted the flow of his magic in an attempt to stabilize the rift. As the vortex began to behave less erratically he nodded to his companions and Astarion reached forward to grasp the hand by the wrist and pulled. From the portal a man in his middle years with dark brown hair hangs in waves to his shoulder with a short trimmed beard framing his face. He wore worn robes of a deep purple with what looked like a slight reinforcement around the shoulders. The crinkles around his blue eyes showed more as laugh lines and a wide smile was on his lips as he said, with the portal closing behind him now that it was unoccupied, "Ooft, hello. I'm Gale of Waterdeep. Apologies, I'm usually better at this."

Xander smirked and responded, "At introductions?"

Gale grinned and replied, "At magic."

The man seemed to consider something before he continued, "Say, but I know you, don't I? In a manner of speaking. You were on the nautiloid as well."

Warily Xander nodded. At his nod Gale said, "Then I can only assume you too were on the receiving end of a rather unwelcome insertion in the ocular region."

Astarion snorted and said, "That's a rather verbose way of putting it."

Gale replied, "No use sugarcoating it, is there? The inserted we speak of, this parasite - are you aware that after a period of excruciating gestation it will turn us into mindflayers?"

Gale continued as he saw the facial expressions confirm that the group already knew what was coming, "It's a process known as ceremorphosis, and let me assure you: it is to be avoided. You don't happen to be a cleric, by any chance, do you. A doctor? Surgeon? Uncannily adroit with a knitting needle?"

Shadowheart interjected before he could continue, "You seem to know enough about our condition to realize it is beyond most clerics' skills."

The man shrugged and said "Most, no doubt. But I find myself hoping to be in the presence of the few. You don't happen to be one of them?"

Xander shook his head and said, "No, my teacher might have something squirreled away that could deal with it; but I haven't been able to contact him directly since the ship."

Gale considered this and said, "Likely we are going to need a specialized healer, and soon too. Shall we lend each other a helping hand to look for one?"

Checking that the rest of the group was in agreement Xander said, "One more for the group than. Though I would like to confirm that your magic is more through study than instinct?"

Gale replied, "Well like any art, instinct plays a part; but most of my skill comes from knowledge yes. Why do you ask?"

Xander hooked a thumb at Neville, "My young friend here needs a tutor to help him keep up with his studies, and I suspect you may be able to share some spells that he hasn't heard of."

"Ahh, I see no reason I can't help him improve his knowledge. As long as he returns the favor," Gale agreed, before taking a closer look at Neville and saying, "Judging by your attire, if you didn't acquire it in captivity, I would assume you are from a rather distant region."

Neville said, "You could say that, and I don't mind sharing what I know. It's not exactly a lot with only three years of schooling."

"Excellent, we shall have time to talk as we travel," Gale said before turning back to the rest of the group and saying "Oh! But before you think you're about to embark on a journey with most ill-mannered a man: thank you for pulling me out of that stone. It was an act of foresighted kindness I assure you, for I have the feeling ample opportunities will present themselves for me to return the favor."

Shaking his head Xander adjusted his pack and began to move further along what looked like a foot trail inland. He could see what looked like the ruins of a temple further along the cliff's edge and wondered if there would be anyone there.

About an hour's walk brought them to the moss and ivy covered ruins, a courtyard was dominated by a statue of a robbed figure, hands lifted and palms up, but the head broken off and nowhere in sight. Approaching the statue the group could hear a high pitched male voice say "You're both twice as tall as me but have half the bloody backbone!"

A young man's voice responded, "But we don't know what that thing even is! AAnd what about the crypt?"

The earlier high pitched voice said, "I'm telling you - it's a ship. And the crypt can wait! Mari and Barton have been trying to break in for days. Now we - Stop!"

Xander froze as he met eyes with a man that stood only about three feet tall, cruel blue eyes on a weathered, but smooth face, and sandy brown hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. Next to the man, a gnome Xander realized, was a young human man in equally dirty leather clothing. Movement caught Xander's eye from above on both his right and left, up the stone stairs that lead to the courtyard. Not taking his eyes off the gnome Xander said, "Finally locals that aren't green and ornery."

The gnome spat to the side and said, "Got ourselves competition already! That's our ship."

Chuckling at the absurdity of that statement Xander said, "That ship is full of monsters. Mostly the brain eating kind, but I would be the first to admit that going looking for trouble with brain eating monsters might show a lack there off."

The gnome looked a bit worried before saying, "Well, uh, in that case… c'mon, you lot, no point in getting killed."

Looking around the gnome said, "There's no monsters here, but this is our claim."

Xander raised his hands and said, "You were here first, I assume you're running on salvage rules?"

At Neville's confused look the gnome seemed to take pity on the boy and explained, "That's right. And kid, salvage rules is basically a more formal meaning for finders keepers. Most regional leaders look the other way when a crew pokes their heads in old ruins and tombs looking for old salvage. It tends to be sold in their territory anyway, which gives them taxes. So long as you don't unleash some great plague, or piss off something that's going to eat the farmers your free to loot to your heart's content."

Xander snorted and said, "It's the difference between archeology and grave-robbing. Go poking in the tomb of the recently deceased will get you imprisoned, poke a centuries old ruin and your likely just going to get traps and whatever has made the ruin it's home."

Gale rested a hand on the youth's shoulder and said, "I'll explain during our tutoring sessions. Let's leave these gentlemen to their explorations. Though if they know the way to civilization we would appreciate directions."

The gnome nodded and pointed in the direction of the soon to be setting sun, "A few days travel west. You'll find a small village just after a bridge over the river. It's one of the few waypoints on the way to Baldur's Gate. An inn, blacksmith, apothecary, and a few local hunters and a small batch of crops. Barely a village but it's on the smaller trade routes along the coast so it does well enough. We stopped there a couple weeks ago. North of there across another bridge is the Risen Road which leads to the Gate."

Xander thought for a moment, trying to recall the maps he had seen after arriving before he nodded and said, "Okay, that gives me a vague idea of where we are. Not the most hospitable region, but at least it isn't the Cloakwood."

The gnome laughed and they bid farewell. Xander's mirth faded as they moved out of earshot of the other group. Pausing he shook himself like a dog removing water and let out a sigh. Shadowheart said from his side, "I feared you hadn't taken that seriously. You wear the mask of the fool well."

"Thanks I think. No, I was taking that very seriously. We outnumbered them, and Gale is pretty clearly a wizard if you pay attention. It would have been a fight if we pushed it, but it would have been a risk for both sides," Xander replied as he shook off the adrenaline the brief encounter had pumped into his system.

Looking to Neville he saw that the boy wasn't as shocked about the situation as he had feared, the young man said, "I would guess that this far from civilization people are as much a threat as the wildlife?"

The pale elf with them said, "People are always more of a threat than the wildlife."