The silence was deafening as Piper stared at Astarion and Gale. Astarion furrowed his eyebrows before he also turned to Gale, who was at a loss for words. Astarion stepped away from Gale and closer to Piper before the wizard exhaled.

"Well, yes, that is our fate if we can't find anyone to remove the tadpoles. Although the process of ceremorphosis should have already taken place. We should be experiencing a lot more pain and change, but we're fine," Gale tried to reassure. Piper swallowed as she blinked.

"Why haven't we experienced the changes?" Astarion asked. Gale shrugged before he shook his head.

"I don't know. It's possible that these tadpoles are different than the ones I've studied. They could also be in stasis, waiting until the right moment to transform us," Gale continued. "But we should be focusing our energy on finding a healer, so we don't have to worry about turning."

"I don't think I can focus on much of anything other than a literal devil coming to tell us that we're going to turn into squid monsters. Not only that, but he seemed to have taken us to a different place entirely. Unless I was hallucinating?" Piper reminded, trying to keep her voice down.

"No, we were definitely transported away," Gale explained. Piper ran her hands through her hair before she started to pace.

"Great," Piper groaned.

"It's a good thing you didn't take his offer. I was wondering if you were going to take the risk," Gale mentioned. Piper sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

"I've heard fables about dealing with devils. I know enough that whatever they give you will be a trick, and they'll take every inch you give," Piper explained, turning towards Gale. "Never thought I would actually be offered to deal with a devil, though. Magic and devils aren't real on my planet."

"He did mention that he had been to your home, though," Gale brought up as Astarion crossed his arms.

"Yes, I remember. He seemed incredibly pleased with how I smell," she complained before shaking her head. "I lived in a big city with cars, so I guess it's not that farfetched."

"What are cars? He mentioned car exhaust, and I'm not sure what he means by that," the wizard questioned before he guided them back towards camp.

"Cars are large machines that allow you to move fast down roads. You use a, uh, liquid explosive called gasoline to fill the engine, and the chemical reaction in the engine makes it go fast. It's like a self-driving carriage for a lack of a better term," Piper tried to explain. She moved her hands in front of her, miming what she was trying to explain.

Gale kept asking questions about her home, hoping to distract her from her current problems. Astarion kept a healthy distance as he brought up the rear. He was interested enough to listen to her stories, but he was more concerned with the life-threatening creature currently burrowed in his skull.

~A~

They slowly made their way back to camp as Piper explained the use of cars within a city as well as explaining the other forms of transportation. Gale seemed interested in the concept of buses and underground trains. She also went over what a city looked like back home. While Gale said that Waterdeep had large towers and numerable buildings, they paled in comparison to the skyscrapers and endless structures Piper described.

"I almost wish I could visit your world. It sounds magnificent. Too bad the weave doesn't touch that plane," Gale commented. Piper shrugged.

"We make do without it. We've become rather resourceful without it. We might not have healing spells or potions, but we have medicine and talented doctors. A lot of the people in my world get heart and brain surgeries all the time," she explained with a sigh. "Depending on what the tadpole is, I bet a brain surgeon back home could help."

"What do you mean by that? Do they open the skull?"

"Exactly, they remove the skull cap to get to the brain. It's usually to remove a brain tumor or something malignant. Sometimes the person has to be conscious during the procedure."

"Now that's insane! How do they survive?"

"We've developed specific pain killers and techniques to accomplish it. Unfortunately, I don't know much else about it, I wasn't interested in healthcare," Piper informed with a chuckle.

"What were you interested in?" Gale wondered. Astarion came a little closer, but he decided that it wasn't because he wanted to know as well.

"A variety of things, I suppose. I have an interest in writing, but most artistic things weren't very lucrative unless you were really good at it. I would have loved to be an author or a screenwriter, but not many places would pay very well for it," she shrugged. "What I ended up doing was finding an office job that paid a fair wage. It's kind of hard to explain my job without a background on computers and corporations."

"Did you like that job at least?" Gale wondered. Piper held back a laugh, hoping that Gale wouldn't think that she was laughing at him.

"No, not really, but it kept a roof over my head and food on the table. Sometimes I could even make enough to travel," she answered before shaking her head. "If I make it back, I doubt they'll have that position available for me again. They probably already started interviewing other people for my job."

"Really? It's hardly been a tenday since you've disappeared from your plane."

"If you don't call or show up to your shift twice, you're fired from the position. Since I can't call and let them know that I've been abducted, I don't have that job anymore."

"Wouldn't they go searching for you?" Astarion wondered, a little confused. Piper pursed her lips.

"I doubt my coworkers would do more than gossip about my absence. It probably brought some intrigue to the office chatter," she replied as they saw camp in the distance.

"Surely someone is worried about you," Gale pressed.

"I'm sure my family is worried sick. My mom was always a little anxious about my moving to the city. Turns out she was right, in a round about sort of way," Piper chuckled. "I'm sure I have my picture on milk cartons around the city."

"I'm sure they're doing more than that."

"Who knows? I'll ask them if I ever see them again," she exhaled. "What about you? Anyone back home to miss you?"

"My mother and my tressym are probably concerned, but I've gone a couple of weeks without giving word about my whereabouts. But otherwise, I live alone in my tower in Waterdeep," Gale lamented before smiling. "It sits near the water, and it has the perfect view of the ocean on a cloudless day. I used to spend the days readying on my balcony and watching the ships come in."

"How fancy. What did you do to earn that?"

"I was the Arch Mage of the region and Mystra's chosen. I offered a few magic services, but it did come with a nice paycheck," Gale began to explain. Piper hummed before she glanced behind her at Astarion.

"What about you? What did you do before you were taken?" she asked him. Astarion paused, surprised that she had turned to speak with him.

"I was a magistrate in Baldur's Gate, nothing as interesting as Gale," he replied, dodging the question. Piper slowly nodded, hoping for something more of an explanation. "What?"

"I don't know what a magistrate does," she answered plainly. Gale and Astarion paused a moment, waiting for her to explain that she was joking.

"It's a pretty common job in most cities," Gale hinted.

"Cool. Not where I come from," Piper reminded.

"Ah, well, in my time as magistrate, I would go over court cases and legal contracts. Most of the time, we were able to reach a conclusion outside of the courts through bargaining. Sometimes we would bring the case in front of a judge to decide further," Astarion informed, surprised by her curtness. Piper hummed, recognizing that he was a fantasy lawyer. Things started to click into place then.

"Sounds like an intense job," Piper mentioned, glad that he wasn't some lost mystical prince or something. Gale seemed a little too grandiose with his title and tower. While Astarion would be in a vastly different tax bracket if they were on her plane, he would have a job he could fall back on.

"Depended on the day, although I am glad that I was able to get out of the city. It was starting to feel a little suffocating," Astarion mentioned. Piper nodded, understanding the sentiment. While she missed her family and her home, it was nice that she didn't have to go into the office anymore. She could write about her adventures when she got home, and then she would have her big break.

Gale commented on Astarion's career, which Astarion couldn't care less about. He hardly answered any questions, acting cagey about the subject. Piper guessed that it was a sensitive subject for whatever reason, but it was Astarion's business, not hers.

~A~

Once they were back to camp, Gale remarked on the lateness of the afternoon and decided that he would start planning dinner. Astarion went into his tent, grabbing the book he had been reading the last few days. Piper walked over to her own tent, but she found that she wasn't sure what to do with her down time.

She sat in front of her tent, playing with the grass, getting used to the stark brightness the plant sent through her fingertips. She still preferred the magic in the water, but she was a little hesitant since she had gotten stuck as a cat for most of the day.

Experimenting, she closed her eyes as she envisioned the grass growing around her. She wished for the grass to grow tall and thick, giving her some cover from the rest of the camp. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised that the grass had grown at all. It didn't grow as tall or think as she had expected, but it was a larger thicket that it was before. Humming, she stared at the grass as she wished for a flower to bloom.

Within a few minutes of hoping and picturing, she had grown three small flowers within the grass. They each had five yellow petals and had a very pale center. Piper wondered if she would be able to grow fruits and vegetables that she could eat eventually. She was sure that Gale would be excited about fresh ingredients for his meals.

With a sigh, she found that she was exhausted after the magic experimentation. She should have guessed that it would take her energy away. With an idea, she envisioned the last of her magic turning her into the little house cat she was last night. She could feel herself shrinking before her senses heightened again. As she finished her transformation, she found that she had a little more energy in her smaller body.

With a satisfied purr, she trotted back over to the campfire where Gale was gathering his things for dinner. She sat next to him as he grabbed the cauldron to put on the fire. He was startled at the sight of her before he smiled.

"Enjoying your new powers again? Or did you lose control?" Gale wondered. Piper grumbled as she narrowed her eyes. "The former then."

"Really? A cat again?" Astarion commented as he walked over to the fire. Piper flicked her tail playfully before nodding her head. "I thought you were going to try something more formidable."

"I'm sure that she's just trying to get comfortable in her magic," Gale defended her as she preened. "Besides, you should be grateful that she's in a small form."

"Why is that?" Astarion wondered, folding his arms on his chest.

"You two don't always see eye to eye. Do you want to fight her when she's a wolf or a bear?" the wizard mentioned. Astarion scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"We might not always get along, but I doubt she would take a swipe at me just because we're arguing. Although, she might at you," he countered. Piper exhaled before she walked away towards the river. She didn't want to listen to these two argue. "Ah, now look what you've done. You've chased her away."

"I chased her away? Both of us were sitting comfortably when you decided to show up," Gale argued, taking the bait.

~A~

Piper climbed on top of a rock near the river and basked in the sunlight as it started to sink in the sky. They still had a few hours of daylight left, and she hoped that the other two had found where the goblin camp was. The sooner they found Halsin, the better Piper would feel. Even if he couldn't heal them, he should have an idea on what to do. Plus, he could give her some pointers with her new magic.

Piper rolled onto her back, ignoring the bickering that was happening a few yards away from her. She relaxed on the warm rock before deciding that she would change back once dinner was ready. She had about fallen asleep when she had heard Wyll and Shadowheart return.

Then she heard a loud shriek next to her, making her jump to all fours. Piper glanced around and found a large tiefling woman with one horn. She couldn't help but notice that the woman's skin was also glowing a soft orange.

"I didn't know you have a cat!" the woman shouted, extremely excited to meet the feline. Piper stared at her as Wyll came up.

"No, that's our companion Piper," he explained before turning to Gale. "I thought you were going to help her turn her back?"

"We did, she's learned to control the change better," Gale called out. Piper jumped down from the rock. Once she had enough space, she envisioned herself becoming human again. As she focused, she could feel her body grow and come back to itself. Once she was back to her old self, she held out her hand with a smile.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted. The tiefling woman glanced at the outstretched hand, but she made no effort to shake it. Piper wondered if that was a strange greeting here and lowered her hand. "I'm Piper, as Wyll mentioned."

"I'm Karlach. Wyll told me a little bit about you all. Glad to see that you're able to control your magic," she mentioned as Piper shrugged.

"Still don't have a great handle on it yet, but I can at least get out of cat form now," Piper said. "What brings you to our camp?"

"Got a little wriggler, same as you all," Karlach replied, wiggling her finger by her forehead. "Wyll and Shadowheart said that you were looking for a cure, and I thought that it would be good to join the herd."

"Sounds good to me. Where is Shadowheart, anyway? I heard her come back, but I don't see her," Piper mentioned. Wyll groaned under his breath, glancing towards the woods.

"We picked up another tadpole host along the way. Her name is Laezel, and she and Shadowheart don't seem to get along very well. Laezel also wants to help us get rid of the worms, and she has a couple of ideas, too. I think Shadowheart is keeping a close eye on her," Wyll answered before Karlach scoffed.

"They've been at each other's throats the entire time since I met them. I'm sure both of them are genuinely nice on their own," Karlach chuckled.

"Also, Piper, she's a githyanki," Wyll commented as Piper stared at him.

"Okay," she replied with a shake of her head. "I don't know what that means."

"She's also an alien, but she's more humanoid. I don't think she would get offended by an odd look, but she seems to have a short temper all the same," he replied. Piper nodded, making a mental note not to piss off the second newcomer.

"You've never heard of githyanki? I've been stuck in the hells, and even I've heard of them," Karlach informed, giving Piper a quizzical look. Piper coughed under her breath, wondering where to start.

"Well, I'm not from this plane. I'm from a mirrored plane, I guess? My world only has humans as sentients," Piper explained, wringing her hands together. It sounded incredibly rude to mention a place where only one sentient species existed.

"Well, that place sounds exceptionally boring," Karlach laughed, not understanding Piper's predicament. "Glad to have you here, even if the circumstances aren't great."

"Same to you, I'm glad that we're finding people that are friendly enough. People aren't very trusting where I'm from," Piper sighed, relieved that Karlach didn't seem to care about her home world.

"That's not just your world, hon. There are plenty of places where trust is in short supply, but it is good to be in a place where trust is easy to find," Karlach smiled before shaking her head. "Anyway, what do you have to eat? I'm starved. I haven't had a decent meal in nearly a week."

"Gale usually whips something up, and it's usually delicious," Piper answered before she stretched. "But all this transforming for the day has got me beat. I'm going to rest at my tent. Will you let me know when dinner is ready?"

"You got it, soldier. I'm going to go introduce myself to the rest of the camp."

Piper watched as Karlach approached Astarion, who was immediately surprised by the size and friendliness of the tiefling. Piper laughed under her breath as she saw him try to hide his discomfort with disinterest and a smirk.