Night had fallen and the druids of the Emerald Grove had offered them a space to camp just outside of the Hollow, where the tieflings had set themselves up in a make shift town.
Everyone pulled together what they could to make their own little corner of the space their own. Lae'zel even dragged one of the training dummies over from the tiefling's training
area and her and Wyll were exchanging blows on it in silent martial companionship.
Astarion was lounging back on his bed roll, staring up at the stars, his tent on the edge of their space. Gale and Shadowheart were both buried in books that they managed to beg
from the druids, Gale taking furious notes in his own book and grumbling that he was going to run out of room and need another notebook before too long. Eirina took this moment
to slip to the edge of the river and watch the water, thinking back to the conversation with Nettie. She refused to accept that conclusion, that death was the only way out. Lae'zel had
been talking animatedly about the crèche, so that must be their next stop after they put the devil Wyll had been pursuing down. She sighed, dropping her head back to look up at the
dark sky. This was not the adventure she had sign up for. It had found her all on its own.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Gale had walked up beside her, quiet and respectful. Eirina shook her head.
"Just admiring the night sky," she responded, looking up at the moonless night. The last time she had looked at the sky, the moon had been waning, now it was nowhere to be seen.
"I watched you today," Gale continued to speak, "after the disappointing news from Nettie when you went down to the beach to clear your head, none of us would have let you go
alone if we had known about the harpies." Eirina grimaced. She had left the main sanctum of the grove, telling everyone she needed a minute, and walked down to the beach. She
had been extremely lucky that the child she had stopped from following the harpy's song had run back to get her companions for her, otherwise she would be lining the harpy nest
and not enjoying the necklace of feathers Astarion had made for her afterwards.
"I'm just grateful that you all came running when you did," she gave him a smile and went back to counting the stars. They stood like that for a few minutes, Gale obviously wanting
to say something, but was struggling to put the words in his mouth. Eirina smirked and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Cat got your tongue?" she asked, putting a little bit of humor into her voice. Gale snorted.
"My cat is the only other person who knows what I am about to tell you," the wizard drew in a deep breath and continued to speak, "I have a condition, one vastly different from the
one were are all presently afflicted with," he pointed towards his forehead, indicating their tadpoles, "and it has a much more…." He paused, looking for the right words, "apparent
demand than our change into other beings." Eirina looked at him and turned, crossing her arms as she faced him.
"Is it contagious?" The last thing they needed to face was the entire party being infected with something else just as deadly. Gale waved his hands, dismissing the thought.
"No!" The words was half forced, half scared, "nothing like that! It's something arcane, but it's contained. For the most part. It just requires that I consume part of the weave every
so often to keep it calm." Eirina wracked her brain for more information and drew nothing but blanks.
"I don't understand," she shifted on her feet, looking confused. She watched as Gale blushed before he continued.
"My affliction is such that if I don't consume a magical item every so often, consuming the Weave contained within it, then I run the risk of, well…" he flared his hands out, indicating
an explosion or a fireball. Eirina frowned.
"You're telling me that if you don't consume a magic item every couple of days you will resort to spontaneous human combustion?" The skepticism was not kept out of her voice, but
she was inclined to believe him, seeing as how his tone was earnest and not the flamboyant nature of how he had spoken when they had met earlier in the day.
"To sum it up, that explanation does quite nicely," Gale gave her a smile that seemed almost reluctant, "and there are powerful magic items everywhere up and down the Sword
Coast," his voice became more excited, "It should be too hard to find one of sufficient power that no one in our little rag tag team will require," his expression and tone dropped,
turning serious, "It has been several days since I have consumed a powerful part of the Weave," Gale rubbed his hand over his chest, "since several days before I found myself having
ocular surgery at the hands of the mind flayers." The words he didn't say hung heavy between them. He would need to consume a magical item, likely before the next night, or else
they would all be at risk from whatever condition he was afflicted with. Eirina studied him for a minute before giving him a nod.
"As soon as something adequate for your needs comes into our possession, consider it yours," she promised him. Gale gave her a brilliant smile and took her hand in his. Leaning
down, he gave her a lingering kiss on the back of her hand. His breath was warm as he spoke, his eyes lifting to look at hers.
"I thank you my lady," his voice was still low, intimate, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Eirina could see the sincerity in his words. He was truly grateful for her promise of
aid. She mentally snorted, what else was she going to do? Say no? That would be the same as condemning a man to death. She was still pondering Gale's retreating back when
Lae'zel's voice cut through her thoughts.
"It seems that we are all looking for a quiet place to admire the Tears," the githyanki's voice wasn't cutting for once, but contemplative. Eirina looked over at the shorter woman and
smiled.
"I have always found comfort in Selune's Tears," she looked up to the streak of stars racing across the night sky. She was not surprised to hear Lae'zel snort.
"Named after a false goddess and not worthy of their true beauty," Lae'zel's tone didn't change as she continued to talk, "there, in the astral sea, racing behind the norther star are
the Tears. And amongst them, my home, Crèche K'liir." There was a touch of something softer in Lae'zel's voice, something intimate that Eirina wasn't expecting.
"Do you miss it?" She asked of the gith, keeping her own tone soft. Lae'zel just glared at her, something that she was becoming accustomed to.
"Do not think me some weakling that grows homesick at the slightest moment," she snapped at Eirina, "I was battling amongst the astral sea long before you even knew my kind
existed. I once infiltrated a neogi spelljammer with several of my clutch and took command of it, riding it back to the Tears triumphantly," the pride in Lae'zel's voice made Eirina wish
she could see such a sight, Lae'zel standing tall at a ship's helm, commanding others with her sharp presence.
"That sounds amazing," Eirina meant it. The two women exchanged a glance before Lae'zel scoffed in her familiar way to hide her emotions, turning to walk back to her corner of the
camp.
"Seek your rest," she commanded to Eirina, "tomorrow we continue our search for the crèche said to be in these mountains." Eirina felt the dismissal but smiled. The gith was growing
on her. Like a fungus, but not necessarily a bad thing.
Astarion watched as Gale and Lae'zel both walked back from where Eirina had wandered off too. That was twice in the last few hours the woman had gone off on her own, only the
first time had caused the rest of them to go racing into battle unprepared and unaware.
"Harpies," he spat, thinking back to seeing Eirina hip deep in the water, lured in by their song. If the tiefling child hadn't come running into the grove screaming about bird women,
Eirina wouldn't be useful to him anymore. Astarion was waiting for everyone to go to their respective beds and Eirina to come back from wherever she had wandered off to after they
had eaten dinner. That particular experience had been awkward, since Eirina and Shadowheart had insisted on eating what they had foraged earlier. Wyll had seemed more than
content with eating such fare, supplemented by rations provided by the tieflings and the druids. He was still hungry, but he could wait until everyone else was asleep before looking
for more food.
He continued to wait, watching Shadowheart walk past the entrance to the path Eirina took, pause, and then continue to her bedroll. Astarion was waiting for the moment to talk to
Eirina, to keep moving forward with his plan. But he wasn't going to chase her, that wasn't part of the strategy. It was obvious that Gale and Lae'zel were both chasing after the elf,
but he was patient. And more practiced at it than they expected. He had centuries to hone his skills. And now all of the hunting he had done in the past was going to pay off. When
Eirina finally walked back into camp, looking more at peace than she had earlier, Astarion looked up at her and smiled.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" He tilted his head up to the sky, indicating the stars, but leaving the slightest hint in his voice that he was talking about her. Eirina looked up and smiled
when she looked back at him.
"Lae'zel said something similar to me just a few minutes ago," Eirina responded, sitting on the ground next to him, a few feet away, "She was born and raised there." Astarion looked
up to the Tears that chased the North Star.
"Well, she has traveled far and our journey will likely end tomorrow," he began, leaving his words open to an unspoken question. How Eirina answered it would determine how best
for him to proceed. Eirina sighed, tilting her head back to take in more of the sky. Astarion could see the pulse in her neck, was aware of the scent of her blood thrumming through
her veins. He carefully bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check. This was a long game.
"Yes," Eirina finally spoke, standing up and brushing her pants off, "and after we find the druid and deal with our parasites, we will be able to continue on our separate ways." There
was something sad in her tone. And that was what Astarion was going to latch on to.
"Don't discredit yourself so carelessly," He stood with her, maintaining eye contact, "You're a natural leader. And a powerful ally," he wasn't just referring to her lineage and her family
connections back in Baldur's gate, who she was an individual was charismatic and influential. His eyes searched hers, "Even tonight, you have spent time with each member of the
party, talking to them, getting to know them," he gave one of his more coy smiles, "even me. Though I doubt you stood so close to any of them." Astarion was less than a foot away
from her and he could smell the cool, clean skin. She had taken the time when she had left the party to bathe, unlike the gith and the little lordling, who could be scented boldly when
they walked past him. No, Eirina still had the tiny flecks of water dotting the back of her neck where she had pulled up her hair.
"You're too close," Eirina was looking at him, an expression on her face that said she could see him. She was quicker than he had given her credit for the first time they had met. And
much more insightful.
"Oh, you're no fun," he continued to step back, giving her a pout.
"If you want to get closer, you just need to ask," Eirina flirted back, showing that she was onto his game. Astarion perked up again. He gave an elaborate bow, sweeping close enough
to her hand that he could smell a faint hint of the wizard on her skin. Gale had touched her. There was something grinding at the back of Astarion's jaw and he relaxed into a lazy
smile, hiding the tension that had just snuck up on him unexpectedly. It seemed that he had competition to deal with. Astarion closed the distance again, only leaving a couple of
inches between the two of them. His hand came up, fingers just lightly grazing Eirina's soft skin, tucking the errant lock of her red hair behind her ear. Astarion leaned forward and
spoke softly, trying for a honest tone in his voice. He knew he had succeeded when he felt Eirina shiver.
"Sweet dreams darling."