Wyll followed at a steady pace, watching Eirina as she strode through the grove. they had never met before, but he had heard of her. She was a little over ninety years old, young for her kind, but old enough
to have a fair bit of experience. She looked young, not much older than him. But he had seen a lot of battle and had lived a harder life than his father had probably intended for him. But there was no point in
dwelling on ancient history. Eirina seemed determined to deal with the parasites swimming around in their brains and he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He even felt a grudging respect for her
companions, even the unyielding gith.
"So, Wyll, where exactly are you from?" Shadowheart started conversationally. His parentage had been mentioned earlier by Eirina and anyone on the sword coast would know who his father was once the
name Ravengard had been mentioned.
"Baldur's Gate," he said simply, "but I haven't lived there for many years. They have needed able bodies up and down the coast helping out where there are less fortunate people, the need for champions to
defend the coast," He thought about the farm boy he had first saved from goblins, and the countless lives he has helped since. Not for the first time he wondered if there was a champion that could possibly
help him with his own dilemma.
"I have heard the name Ravengard before, any relation to Ulder Ravengard?" Astarion asked, genuinely curious. Wyll nodded.
"My father," he gave the same sad smile he always did when it was brought up, "but we haven't spoken in many years."
"I didn't know that the Duke had children," Shadowheart continued to engage him while Eirina asked directions from one of the children.
"Just one," Wyll put a slight edge into his voice, indicating that he was done with this conversation.
"Mmm," Shadowheart, more perceptive than the others, just hummed and dropped the subject. Wyll watched the interesting crew of people that had gathered around Eirina. He had always observed that
elves were generally more charismatic than not, with people naturally gravitating towards their inherent grace and beauty. In Eirina's case, she seemed to have been born to it.
They continued to walk through the grove, seeing tieflings training and druids gathering supplies. Wyll saw Eirina and one of the ox eying each other warily, but didn't think anything of it. It was as they
turned the last corner down towards the inner part of the grove that he noticed something was wrong. The shouting and angry words echoing up to them had him reaching for his weapon. No matter that the
druids were providing sanctuary to everyone here, the tieflings deserved a champion. And he was more than willing to step up to that cause.
Eirina could see the panic on the mother's face. Two tieflings were screaming at the druids to give her child back. The elf could feel all the hair on her body raise on end. It doesn't matter what the child did,
having no adult to advocate for them was unacceptable for Eirina. She held up her hands in a placating gesture and stepped forward.
"Calm, calm," she intoned, pushing her desire to calm the people into a wave of calming energy to blanket the angry druids and distraught parents.
"My daughter didn't mean to cause harm," the mother started to sob, the anger flowing out of her as Eirina continued to weave her calming influence.
"She attempted to steal the idol," one of the druids snapped, as the man next to her let out a roar and shifted into a large brown bear. Eirina hadn't spent a lot of time with druids, so this was a new
experience for her. Doing her best to mask her surprise at the change, she stepped between the parents and the druids.
"Go, take a breath," she said, "I'll see to getting your daughter back to you." A groan emitted from Astarion.
"We have our own problems," he snapped at Eirina, "stop borrowing everyone else's trouble and focus on getting to this healer." Eirina glared at him for a moment then turned to the druids.
"I've been advised to talk to Nettie," she said peacefully, lowering her hands slightly but keeping her palms raised, "after the ordeal at the gate, we were sent to see her." The druids began to whisper in their
secret language, with several gestures and grunts issuing forth from the bear.
"She's inside," the one druid stepped back, creating room for Eirina and her party to pass by, "but Kagha wants to see you first. Apparently your help at the gate did not go unnoticed by the first druid." The
druids stepped back to block the tiefling parents from stepping into the space again, allowing Eirina and her companions to walk through.
The grove was beautiful, filled with lush herbs growing in abundance and a small water feature surrounding a plinth in the middle of the space. Several druids were spaced around it, chanting with animated
hand gestures, focused on a ritual. On top of the plinth was a small idol, one that Eirina recognized as Silvanus, the Oak Father. Nodding her head in respect towards the idol, Eirina watched as the other
spread out, taking in their environment. Astarion moved towards a flamboyantly dressed man brandishing a feather quill as long as his arm. Wyll was watching the pale elf with moderate subtly, but even
Eirina was aware that Astarion likely had sticky fingers and questionable intentions. Shadowheart and Lae'zel both moved off towards the directions that were indicated by the druids, where they said Kagha
was supposed to be, along with Nettie. Gale pulled out a notebook and began to take feverish notes about the words and somatic components being used in this ritual. Leaving her companions to their own
devices, Eirina took a few minutes just to breath. They had made it to a healer that would be able to cure them. They would be able to remove these worms and then continue on whatever journey each of
them was on. She watched as Lae'zel began flapping her arms wildly, a bird flying about pecking at her.
"I told you to leave the nest alone," Shadowheart's amused voice drifted past. Eirina moved to the door that led into the inner rooms of the druid grove, leaving her new friends to explore as they desired. She
had told the parents of the little girl, Arabella they had called her, that she would see to helping their daughter. Stepping inside and walking slowly down the stairs, she saw that Astarion and Shadowheart had
left their curiosity behind and were joining her.
"Those paintings," Shadowheart pointed to massive murals covering the cave walls. Eirina looked up to see a story painted in great detail, an army closed in shadow and darkness, fighting druids in animal
forms, and green clad members of some society with a harp emblazoned on their clothes.
"Druids and Harpers," Astarion filled in the missing piece that Eirina hadn't connected, "fighting against an army." Watching her two companions, she saw Shadowheart's brow furrow and her mouth draw
tight. Shadowheart new who the shadowed figures in the murals were. But she wasn't ready to share those details with them.
"Come on," Eirina kept moving down the stairs, "let's resolve the issue with the tiefling child and then find Nettie." At the bottom of the steps, two druids stood a few feet apart, yelling at each other while a
small tiefling girl stood, a thick snake coiling around her feet. Eirina felt the anger and rage build within her at the sight.
"I'm looking for Kagha," Eirina stepped into the space, eyes fixed on the snake as it followed her every move.
"I am she," the female wood elf held her head high, looking up at Eirina. Eirina was a couple inches taller, but she could tell that Kagha was trying to seem tall and imposing to the new comers in her space.
"Maybe you can talk some sense into her," the other druid muttered, before stepping back to pet a wolf nearby. Eirina could see Shadowheart shudder and step back from the corner of her eye. The reaction
the Sharran had to the wolf was evident and quite visceral.
"What is the child's crime?" Eirina asked calmly, tilting her head down as if to show deference. She felt nothing of the sort to this angry woman, but she was used to playing the political games of her parent's
world.
"Attempting to steal the idol of Silvanus," Kagha snapped, glancing over at the snake, "Neela is keeping a close eye on her." Eirina could tell that there was no compassion in this woman, only a desire to be in
charge, to be proved right at any cost.
"An attempt she obviously failed at," Eirina said lowly, "perhaps the fear of your wrath has been punishment enough." Kagha snorted.
"These leeches eat our food, drink our water, and are here only because Halsin allowed them in before leaving. I am not so kind as to allow them to take advantage of us any further than they already have,"
the elf snapped at Eirina, causing the snake to coil tighter around the child's ankles. A terrified whimper emerged from the girl.
"Then show that you respect the balance of nature," Eirina looked into Kagha's eyes, keeping her own features soft, "show that you have compassion. And let this child speak of such things to the others. She
has seen your wrath, now let her see your mercy."
Everyone was silent for several moments, as if they were holding their breath, waiting see Kagha's reaction. Eventually, the first druid gave a smile. Not a gentle one, but one that showed her teeth in an
almost feral grin.
"You are wise for your young age," Kagha spoke, glancing over Eirina. Eirina could tell that there was easily a century or more between the two of them, that she was barely grown in Kagha's eyes. "Go." The
word was harsh and directed at Arabella, "tell the others of my generosity. And that next time I will not be so kind." The smile had fallen away and the look Kagha gave matched that of her snake: hungry
with a lust for violence.
"I understand the need to protect one's people," Eirina felt those words taste like ash in her mouth. She did not like or agree with Kagha's actions towards the tieflings, thinking that this was not how followers
of Silvanus should act, "my own people," she gestured to Astarion and Shadowheart, "and I are in need of a healer. Would you permit us an audience with Nettie?" She bowed her head, looking down and
playing the part of a supplicant. It felt wrong, but this woman had let the child go and Eirina needed to feel like she earned the right to be bowed to.
"Of course," Kagha's tone was magnanimous, "she's inside tending to a wounded bird." With a flick of her hand, she dismissed Eirina and her companions to go about their task.
They had stepped out of earshot when Astarion spoke, his voice filled with amusement.
"You submit so beautifully darling," he drawled, "I didn't think there was a side like that to you. I am pleasantly surprised." Shadowheart snorted and Eirina turned to level a look at Astarion.
"I've traveled in circles where playing a part you do not naturally take to can be more beneficial than acting according to your true nature," She let him ponder on those cryptic words as she pushed the door
open into the workroom Kagha had pointed them towards.
Inside it smelled of antiseptic, clean and sterile despite being in a cave. The dwarf stood bent over a table with a blue jay on it. The bird shuddered as Nettie poured her healing energy into the small creature.
Astarion moved forward, but Eirina and Shadowheart both threw their arms up to block the curious man. A huff from Astarion was accompanied by a pouting look, but he stopped his advance.
"There you go," Nettie said to the bird, turning to the three of them, "What can I do for you?" She gave them a smile that lit up her eyes, she seemed happy to see them.
"We all have a little problem that we could use a skilled healer to clear up for us," Eirina said, looking deep into Nettie's eyes. Nettie studied her for a minute, her smile fading and a frown furrowing her brow.
"Follow me," the woman said, leading them further into the cave. Astarion and Shadowheart followed the two of them into a room that none of them had realized was there. Inside was a laboratory of some
type, a drow lay dead on one of the raised stone slabs, the table next to it covered in jars and surgical tools. In the center of the table was a tall glass jar, a familiar looking worm wriggling around in the fluid
within it. A deep voice whispered from somewhere inside Eirina's mind.
"Take that. It will be useful." Eirina shook her head against the voice and looked to what Nettie was doing. She had turned around, a small branch with angry looking thorns in her hand.
"Tell me what happened," The statement was simple and yet complicated at the same time. Eirina took a deep breath and began the story from the beginning. She should hire a bard to write all of this down,
because the more she talked, the more fantastical the story became.
"Oh, that man Volo, out in the grove, would love to hear this," Astarion piped up during a pause, referring to the colorfully dressed man he had been talking to earlier, "this is much more riveting than the silly
story he had been making up involving the goblins and a big brass dragon." Shadowheart shushed him and Eirina continued with the story, detailing everything up until their arrival at Nettie's chambers.
"You're not violent," Nettie murmured, glancing over a the dead drow, "and you don't seem to be changing." She put the branch away, pulling a vial with a viscous green liquid in it out.
"May I ask what that stick was?" Eirina asked. She had enough experiencing healing people that she was genuinely curious as to why a thorn covered stick was even considered for healing them of their
parasites. Nettie sighed and held the vial out.
"This is wyvern venom," she placed the bottle in Eirina's hands, "swear to me that if you feel the change coming upon you that you will drink this potion. All of it." Eirina looked down at the toxin in her hands,
turning the vial over in her hands.
"Why?" Eirina felt a cold chill crawling up her spin. Nothing good could come of making this promise.
"Swear it!" Nettie pushed, stepping so her stance was a little bit wider, as if readying for battle. Eirina looked over her shoulder and saw Astarion and Shadowheart both frowning at her. This was a promise
she didn't want to make, because she would honor it if it came to it. Finally, after several long moments, Eirina gave the dwarf a steady gaze and pocketed the vial.
"By moonlight's grace, I swear it." She saw Nettie visibly relax even as she heard Astarion scoff and turn to pace to the other side of the room.
"Good," Nettie exhaled, having been holding in her breath, "Halsin and I encountered this drow and extracted the tadpole in an attempt to save him," she gestured to the tadpole writhing in the jar,
"unfortunately, the act killed him. There is magic that neither of us know surrounding the tadpole." Nettie's head dropped in defeat. "The only way to cure your affliction is currently death. Halsin was
determined to find the answers, but he went missing several days ago." That was not what Eirina was expecting to hear. She turned towards the door and saw that the others had joined her, overhearing their
death sentence.
"Well," Eirina gritted her teeth and rolled her shoulders, "damn."