The first thing Char felt was a horrible pain throughout her body as her head pounded. She could hear someone shouting something above her, but she wasn't even sure it was words. She thought about sitting up, but her muscles screamed. Her body was bruised, and a few of her ribs were broken. Broken? They had defeated the goblins, hadn't they? She didn't remember getting hit in the ribs.

There was more shouting above her, and it was louder and more panicked this time. Char almost wanted to tell whoever it was to shut up. Even though it felt like her ears were underwater, the noises were still giving her a headache. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the blur of a torch's glow around a decaying rock wall and a hole in the ceiling.

Oh, that's right. They were in the old temple, but she still wasn't sure exactly where she had ended up. She closed her eyes again as she groaned, trying to think. Char remembered finding the prison, and then they had found the druid. Then, they made camp for the night. What had she done after that?

Astarion had snuck off somewhere, and she had found him in the rafters. Had she fallen from the rafters? No, she remembered being careful and following him down the ladder. She also remembered arguing about something. They argued over so many different things, but he was running away from her and the argument. She had followed him out of the room and into the hallway. And then she remembered falling through the rotten wood.

Of course she would fall through the damn floor. Char groaned again, taking stock of her bones. Maybe three broken ribs, but she could at least move her toes. Her back was still fine at least. Her thigh radiated pain, though, which wasn't a good sign either. A broken leg and three broken ribs. At least the goblins were dead.

Char tried to relax her body when she heard the all too familiar chittering. She froze on instinct with her eyes flying open. Of course, Minthara had a spider pit. Char controlled her breathing, wondering if there was anything she could do. Trying to get up would be useless with her broken leg, not to mention she wasn't positive her rib wouldn't puncture her lung. She controlled her breathing as she found that her magic had been depleted from the day as well.

She stared at the upper ceiling of the temple, realizing that this might be her fate. Char steeled her nerves as a tear ran down her cheek. Part of her wanted to scream for Astarion, but she could only take shallow breaths. The spiders might not have seen her either and screaming would only alert them to her presence. Her only hope was that Astarion wouldn't leave her there to die.

Char knew he wouldn't, even if they were fighting. It was a stupid fight, but he would try to get help at least. She hoped that he would get to her in time. While she missed her late friends and family, she wasn't keen on meeting them in death so soon.

~C~

Astarion panicked for a moment as he saw Char's body nearly twenty feet beneath him. And then she opened her eyes as he called her name, and that meant that she was alive at least. But the spiders had heard the thud as well, which meant that he had very little time to get help. He turned toward the camp's direction and started toward it.

"Karlach! Shadowheart!" he screamed, starting to run across the room. He needed one to defend Char and the other to heal. The others could help too, but he needed those two first. He kept shouting, not caring if he woke up anything else in the abandoned temple.

"What's with the racket, Fangs?" Karlach complained as she turned the corner, rubbing her eye. Shadowheart walked next to her, silently waiting for an explanation. Usually, Astarion would give them lip about their attitude, but there wasn't time.

"Char's in trouble, the wood gave out and she fell," Astarion informed, pointing down the large hole in the floor. Both women stared at him a moment before they ran to the edge, peering down to see the drow lying prone.

"What the hells happened?" Shadowheart demanded, her voice filled with concern and suspicion. Karlach backed up before taking a running start, jumping into the pit the moment she saw the spiders.

"I told you; we were standing over here, and the floor gave out," Astarion insisted, now pointing at the broken board. Shadowheart frowned before she tried to heal Char from a far. It managed to hit the drow, but she was a little far from her target for the spell to be effective. The cleric cursed under her breath before seeing the gate near Char. She turned to Astarion and handed him a larger healing potion.

"I need you to get down there and open that gate. I'm going to get everyone else down here so we can take out those spiders. I can't open that gate, but you should be able to. Once you get to Char, give her that. That should help her heal enough to at least move her so we can fight the spiders," Shadowheart informed sternly. Astarion blinked once before he nodded, dashing towards the stairs leading towards the gate. The cleric watched as the rogue dashed away, silently vowing to end him if he had pushed Char into the spider pit.

Astarion jumped halfway down the stairs to the floor before rushing to the gate, hoping to pick the mechanism to get it to open. Karlach had stuck the landing when she jumped in, and now she was leading the spiders away from their easy drow meal. He could see Char near the gate, and her breathing was shallow and quick.

He got the gate to open with a loud crank as the gate disappeared into the floor, and he watched as the spiders saw what was happening. Astarion reached for his bow, ready to defend both Char and the exit until help arrived while Karlach tried to get their attention. She only managed it when she cut off one of their legs. Eventually, Astarion was able to hop the metal and run over to the drow, emptying the potion's contents down her throat. She barely had time to understand what was happening before she was drinking the sweet liquid.

"You made it," she whispered once she had finished the potion. Astarion sighed as he smirked, looking down at her.

"Of course I made it, darling. And I came with help," he informed as Wyll and Laezel rushed past them. Char sat up a little to watch them take on the spiders before Shadowheart appeared at her side.

"Gale's almost out of magic, but he said that he can offer some cantrip support from above," the cleric informed before producing another healing potion. Char graciously took it before gesturing towards the wizard.

"Next tavern we see, I owe you all a round," the drow smiled. Shadowheart grinned before helping Char up.

"We'll hold you to it. For now, let's get you out of here so we can assess just how bad you fell," the cleric suggested, putting her shoulder underneath Char's. Once secured, Char kept her weight off her bad leg, and they started out of the pit. "Astarion, I'm sure the others would appreciate your sharp aim."

"Keep her safe," he stated before he turned, readying an arrow. Char froze for a split second, surprised by the waver in his voice.

Shadowheart led her away from the battle and back to camp as Char tried to be quick. The potion was helpful, but it hadn't healed everything perfectly. The raging pain had dulled at least, letting her leave the danger. The cleric monitored the sorceress closely, making sure that she wasn't pushing herself needlessly.

Char settled into her bedroll once they returned to the camp while Shadowheart grabbed her healing supplies. Char placed her pack behind her pillow so she could sit up a little while the others were still out. A part of her wondered if they would rally behind a new leader after this. Wyll was certainly a logical choice, as was Laezel. Both were driven and goal oriented. Either could get them through this tadpole induced hell without being incapacitated at every turn.

With a sigh, Char decided that she would discuss it with them in the morning after everything calmed down and everyone had some sleep. Plus, they would be waylaid unless Shadowheart could heal her leg in the next few hours. Although maybe if they were just returning to the grove, Shadowheart could focus her magic on her femur and heal it fully. Char sighed, unsure if she would be willing to ask the cleric to use all of her daily magic just on her.

For now, she would drink what health potions they had, and she would hope for the best. Char doubted that they would leave for Moonrise Towers without her, especially if it only took a few days for her to heal. She just didn't want to feel completely useless during those few days while they searched for answers and solutions. She was getting tired of feeling like a burden.

"How are you feeling?" Shadowheart asked when she returned to Char's side. The drow shrugged before exhaling.

"A little sore, I guess. My leg and ribs still hurt, but I can breathe normally again," Char replied with a smile as she reached for Shadowheart's hand. The cleric nodded once, squeezing her hand back.

"That's good, that means that you are feeling better. I will say, you did not look well when we saw you down in the chasm," the cleric admitted with a shake of her head. "I want you to be honest with me, and I promise not to tell another soul."

"Okay," Char answered tentatively.

"Astarion didn't push you or anything, did he?"

"Oh gods, no! He would never. I promise, I just stepped back onto a rotten board and lost my footing. The worst fucking luck."

"I'm sorry, but I just had to ask."

"What would make you think that he would do that?"

"It's not that I think that he would specifically do that. I've seen spurned men do horrible things to women in the heat of the moment," Shadowheart informed as she started to go through her bag.

"Spurned?"

"You did go a little heart eyes for Halsin, hon. I don't think you meant to. None of us were expecting him. I think all of us were-"

"Expecting an aging old man?"

"Exactly," Shadowheart laughed a little. "And at least I noticed that Astarion seemed a little put off by that. I knew you two were growing closer, so I was worried that he would say something to you that he would regret. Then I was afraid that he had done something when he was calling out for us."

"Ah, well, I suppose that's fair, but no. I was just talking with Astarion when I fell through the floor," Char groaned before she put her head in her hands. "How am I supposed to be the leader when I fall through floorboards and into spider pits? I almost died back there."

"Sounds like it was an accident, like you said."

"None of you are accident prone like that. How many times have the others had to be taken care of like this? Gale gets beat up sometimes, but not like this."

"That's because Gale knows that he's an easy target and stays in the back," Shadowheart sighed before she shrugged. "And honestly, I think it's because we all trust you more than anyone else. We know that you'll have our back, no matter what."

"Even if I'm accident prone and fragile?"

"Even then. You got us into the goblin camp so easily, not even Volo could manage it. And we got Volo out, if you remember. Plus, we took out the leaders, and you led us through that, too. You sell yourself short."

"I'm just wondering if maybe Wyll should take the lead or something," Char sighed before Shadowheart laughed.

"If Wyll was leader, Karlach wouldn't have a head," the cleric reminded. The drow blinked as she recalled that confrontation.

"I forgot about that part," she sighed, leaning forward. "You really trust me to lead you through this?"

"More than I trust the others," Shadowheart teased with a wink. "You got us this far. We have a lead, and that's better than what we had before. We're making progress, and we're making allies along the way."

"I am good at finding allies," Char remarked. Shadowheart hummed in agreement before she gestured for the drow to take off her shirt.

"We need to ice the broken ribs, and I want to make sure that we're not putting too much pressure on them during the night," Shadowheart explained, helping Char. While the shirt wasn't too tight fitting, it wasn't loose either. "I would recommend sleeping on your stomach the next few nights just to keep the pressure off the fractures."

"Yes, ma'am," Char replied as she shifted in the bedroll. She turned as she lay on her belly, sliding her arms under her pillows and pushing the pack away.

"Once Gale gets back, I'll have him cast a cold spell on something so we can ice the area. That with the healing spells and potions, you should be right as rain in a few days," Shadowheart promised. Char sighed, burying her face in the pillow. "I know its not ideal, but I would prefer that these things healed properly instead of quickly. Quickly leads to complications, which means pain and more problems."

"I hate that you're right," Char grumbled as she peaked over the pillow. Shadowheart smirked down at her.

"I think you'll find that I'm usually right about these things," the cleric replied. "You better get some sleep. I'm going to find out what's taking the others so long."

"Alright, but hurry back, I don't like being in camp all by myself."

~C~

Shadowheart stood from Char, leaving most of her healing equipment in the drow's tent. The cleric walked around the corner and back towards the pit room, wondering where the rest of the group was. While giant spiders weren't easy to kill, having five experienced people should've helped the situation.

As she got closer, she could hear a waning battle. It sounded like they were down to one wounded spider, meaning that they were nearly done. Shadowheart walked up to Gale, who was still standing on the edge, dealing cantrips to the spider below. The wizard glanced at her with a nod as she looked down. She could see the other four still fighting, but it was clear that they were getting fatigued.

Another few spells and slices felled the spider as the group collapsed where they stood, all panting and exhausted. Shadowheart almost felt bad for leading Char away from the battle and not coming back sooner to help. Not that she had much else to offer other than her crossbow, which she was still getting the hang of. She could only hit her target maybe half the time.

With the very last of her magic, she cast a mass healing spell, giving a small energy boost to her companions. There was a collective sigh of relief and appreciation as she took a deep breath. She hated using all of her magic in one day, but they had taken out an entire goblin camp and two gigantic spiders. She just hoped that nothing else would happen that would need her healing before it replenished in the morning.

The few in the pit filtered back up the stairs and into the camp as they all filed back into their tents and bedrolls. Karlach patted Astarion's shoulder as she passed him before she fell back into her bed, passing out mid fall. Astarion watched as everyone went back to sleep after glancing to see Char in her tent. Even Shadowheart only did a cursory check before retiring.

Once he had taken off his armor and had changed into his regular clothes, he went to check in on Char. She had fallen asleep on her stomach, and he watched as she took deep normal breaths. Astarion exhaled, not realizing that he had been holding his own breath. He saw an iced blanket on her back, and he wondered what had happened.

Honestly, Astarion wondered what had happened with him that had caused all of this. It was out of character for him to feel jealous, even though he would never admit it. What he and Char had was never spoken nor established other than close friends or comrades. She had only sought him out to offer him her blood, which was an incredibly generous gift, and he had turned her away. He had out right ignored her at first, and then he had snapped at her.

The truth was he didn't want to talk about his jealousy because he didn't want to admit that he had feelings for her. Because he didn't, because he can't. He needed Char to come with him to Baldur's Gate to destroy Cazador as she promised. Jealousy had no room in that, and he needed to show her that he's the bigger and best man in all of this.

Realizing that he had been staring at her for far too long, he walked into her tent and sat next to her. Maybe he couldn't talk about it, but he could show her. He could show her that she should pick him over Halsin. She didn't know Halsin, but she knew him. He could be sweet when he wanted to be.

Another plan hatched in his mind as he hoped to woo her to his side. Char would see that he was the best choice. He would be the one to take care of her. She would forget all about this archdruid, and she would look at him with those big eyes that she gave Halsin. Astarion wished that he had more tact when they had first met up. He certainly wouldn't have had the dagger to her throat if he had known she had those big doe eyes.