Laezel and Gale confirmed that they had found the path to the goblin camp. While they didn't find any tracks, they followed the road that led to a decrepit temple crawling with goblins. And as Char had heard the night before, it had about three times as many goblins as they had anticipated. That meant that they couldn't bully their way in, especially while Char's eye was adjusting.
"I think we're going to have to lie our way in," Char exhaled, shaking her head.
"You want to lie to a bunch of goblins?" Gale replied, exasperated.
"Look, Zevlor said that they are more organized than they should be, and they have leaders that I'm guessing aren't goblins. At least, not all of them. Maybe we can say that we were hired by the leaders as mercenaries," Char suggested, running a hand through her hair. "Or we could use the parasites, but I would like to limit that as much as possible."
"It might make it easier," Gale countered.
"How far are you willing to go down that path, Gale? What if the more frequent use causes ceremorphosis to trigger?" Char reminded. "I don't want us to use these parasites unless it's a life-or-death situation."
"Alright, but I'm not good at lying."
"We just have to make us look convincing. We should wear the best armor we have with the sharpest weapons. I'll cover my bad eye with cloth in a makeshift eyepatch. We'll make us look as intimidating as possible, and then we'll try to convince the goblins that we belong,"
"It's not the worst idea we've had," Laezel conceded with her usual click of her tongue. Gale sighed and nodded.
"So, all seven of us will go in then? That's a fairly large mercenary group," the wizard reminded.
"I think all of us should go, yes. If it does come to a fight, I would rather we are together rather than separated. It'll make it easier to watch each other's backs as we go," Char insisted. She glanced over at Astarion, who was pretending to read over by his own tent. She had caught his eye once or twice during the discussion, but he offered no remark as his eyes returned to the page.
"Alright, so we go through the front and talk our way to the leaders. Then what?" Gale asked. Char clenched her jaw and shrugged.
"I think we need to find Halsin first, honestly. Once we know where the druid is, we can work from there. Maybe we can even get him to fight for us, if he's still in fighting shape," the drow offered with a frown. Archdruids tended to be the eldest of the druidic circles, so Char wasn't going to hold out too much hope for help on the battlefield.
"Mystra help us," Gale hissed under his breath disapprovingly. Char glanced again towards Astarion, who kept her gaze this time. He didn't look thrilled about the plan either.
"If anyone else has any better ideas, then let's hear them," Char offered with a sigh, leaning back against the boulder by the campfire.
"Why can't we just charge in again?" Laezel wondered. "It would be easiest to kill the goblins and then rescue the druid."
"In theory, yes, but we don't have the numbers for that kind of assault. If we had twenty more people, then maybe we could pull it off. We have to be sneaky about this, at least at first. If we can catch them by surprise if we do have to fight, we'll have the advantage," Char reminded. The gith frowned, but she didn't argue. While she hated this plan, she knew that they would be slaughtered before they reached the temple if they went in spells ablazing.
"I'll tell the others about the plan, then," Gale exhaled as he stood to his feet, stretching out his back. Char thanked him as Laezel returned to her tent.
Char rested against the boulder for a moment more before she used the rock to help her to her feet. She was feeling a lot better, but her depth perception was off. She hoped that when they reached the temple, she could take off the bandaging and let her eye adjust to the low light. Just as she was about to push off the boulder, a hand grabbed her elbow, startling her.
"I can help you to your tent," Astarion informed, guiding her hand through his arm. Char frowned, still unsure about this new side of the vampire. He had insisted that he was interested in more than just her blood, but she wasn't sure how far that interest expanded.
"I'm sure I could make it there by myself," she remarked. Char had half a mind to yank her arm from him to walk the rest of the way, but she knew that she would lose her footing in her state. She hated that he had the upper hand.
"I'm sure you could," he replied with a smirk. "But I did want to talk to you about something you mentioned to Gale."
"Oh?" Char asked as they stood outside her tent.
"Are you sure you don't want to see what the tadpoles can do? The pull to use them is sometimes irresistible, especially when the goblins are annoying," Astarion reminded as the drow sighed.
"While I can appreciate that they would make it easier, I'm worried about the aftermath of using them. We don't know the side effects. What if they take something from us every time we use them? Or what do we do if they speed up ceremorphosis?" Char reminded, nearly pleading with the vampire. "Let's just get to Halsin and see if he has any answers, okay? We've come so far together. I don't want to have to knife someone because they started to change."
"I suppose I can respect that perspective. It just seems a waste not to use that power," he groaned. Char resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she stared up at him.
"Once we know for certain that the parasites aren't going to turn us into grotesque monsters, you can use them as much as you'd like. Let's just make sure they're safe to use first," Char reiterated, reaching for his hand.
"Careful, one might think that you're going soft on me," he teased. She did roll her eyes that time. "We'll find this druid, and then we're one step closer to getting these out of our heads."
"Exactly! And then we can head back to Baldur's Gate," Char smiled, patting his hand.
"You'd disappear on me, just like that?"
"Well, most everyone else has lives to get back to, or so they've told me. Even secretive Shadowheart has been adamant that we get back to the city as soon as possible. I assumed you had important vampire business to get back to," Char replied with a shrug. Astarion's jaw clenched as he tried to brush it off. "You are welcome to continue to travel with me, of course. I didn't want you to think you were stuck with me. Although, I do have important business in the city myself."
"I suppose I do have important vampire business in the city, as you eloquently put it, I was just hoping for some support with it," Astarion explained, casually glancing around. He didn't want to spill his tale with the rest of their companions lingering about.
"I'm not sure what help I can be, but if I can help, I will," Char replied with a smile. Astarion stared at her, specifically at the covering over her eye. He wondered if she was still the best option for him, but she had held her own in most of the altercations they had found themselves in. He took a deep breath before nodding.
"Have I mentioned that I'm a vampire spawn?"
Char shook her head as Astarion explained his plight. He went over his transformation after being nearly beaten to death as well as Cazador's timely rescue. That rescue turned into two centuries of torture and unwilling prostitution to lure targets for Cazador to feast upon. He even went over how a spawn usually was unable to defy their master. That is, until Astarion was infected by the parasite. Now, he was far away from Cazador, and he was free from his master for the first time since that fateful night in the alleyway.
Char listened carefully as Astarion explained his tale. She hadn't expected this, especially since she didn't know that much about vampires in the first place. Anger grew within her as he continued about the torture and the pain he endured for so long. When he finished his tale, he glanced at her to see her hands tightened into fists and her jaw clenched. He nearly took a step back, almost thinking that she was angry with him.
"Alright then, once we get to the Gate, we have some objectives," she hissed as she met his gaze. "We're going to put Cazador so far under ground that the Hells won't even find him."
"He is a vampire lord. He's not going to be that easy to subdue."
"I'm not stupid to go in there without a plan, but we are going to take the fight to him," Char informed before she shook her head. "The nerve of that bastard."
"I think it's fairly common among vampires, darling."
"Then I might need to take up a new job. I'll be the true vampire hunter. Who knows how many people have had to endure the things you have?" she hissed before she turned to him again. He stared at her, puzzled. "What?"
"What are you talking about? You can't just become a vampire hunter," Astarion argued. "What, are you going to hunt me first?"
"I said true vampire, you dolt."
"Still not a good career move. They are dangerous creatures."
"Obviously, otherwise it wouldn't be good business," Char explained, now taking on a teasing tone. "I could travel the land, listening for stories and rumors of power-hungry creatures, and then going to slay them. Then their vampire spawn can live in peace."
"They'll still need blood, and they might go feral depending on the spawn," Astarion countered. Char waved her hand.
"That's a problem for the next adventurer. Now, look at me! I'm creating jobs, too," Char jested with a laugh. "The adventurers will help with the spawn who are too far gone, and I'll get the rest to safety."
"Sounds like a silly dream to me."
"I bet," Char sighed, sobering. Astarion sighed as he looked across the river. His face was stern, and Char wondered what he was thinking. She reached up and touched his chin, gently moving it so he faced her again. "We'll take care of Cazador, okay?"
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. And I'm sure our little band of misfits would enjoy a little side adventure as well if we asked them. Once we get these tadpoles out of our heads, we can make our way to the Gate. I think Gale and Laezel are the only ones who live elsewhere," Char reminded with a smile. Astarion scoffed softly, shaking his head.
"Taking on a vampire lord isn't going to be like taking on a pack of gnolls or a giant spider, you know. It's going to be a lot harder, and the stakes will be higher," Astarion warned.
"That's why we'll ask for the help. We didn't have everyone we do now during either of those fights."
"Let's just see how the goblin camp goes."
"Alright, I suppose that will make for a good test as any," Char conceded with a sigh. "You better go get your armor on. I think the plan is to go as soon as we're ready."
"Are you sure we don't need more planning?"
"Gale and Laezel worked with Wyll last night and came up with most of the game plan. We just didn't know what the best way to get inside was. But once we're inside, everything will fall into place," Char reassured. "Don't tell me you don't want to go now."
"I'm just not sure everyone is ready for a fight," Astarion replied, gesturing towards her eye.
"Plenty of adventurers have one eye, you know. Wyll has one eye, and he does a great job in battle."
"Wyll has also been adventuring with one eye for the better part of seven years."
"I'll stick to magic missile, how's that? It never misses," Char offered as Astarion smirked.
"It's certainly a start. Just stick close to me, and we'll find the good spots away from the close combat."
"Deal."
Char went into her tent and changed into her armor. She was lying if she said that she wasn't worried about her eye injury, but it did give her an edge. If she needed to intimidate someone, it wouldn't hurt. Plus, most people were wary of drow on the surface, which she could use to her advantage as well, as much as she disliked that idea. She had spent her entire life on the surface, but everyone just assumed that she was from Menzoberranzan.
Once she was properly dressed, she emerged and waited near the tree line. She flipped one of her two daggers around in the air idly, waiting for the rest of her crew to get ready. Most were just putting the rest of their armor on as Laezel ran her sword against the whetstone one last time before they left.
Char left a little nervous, especially since she hadn't been a part of the scouting team. While she was grateful that they had found Karlach and were able to get her to safety, Char wished that she had been the one to find the goblin camp. Then she would now what she was walking into, but she had to trust her companions. She found that while there were varying levels of trust for each of her companions, she found that she could trust Gale the most from the scouting group. Gale was trustworthy, even if he wouldn't explain why he needed the magical items. Char just assumed that he would tell her when he needed to.
The wizard had explained in great detail the outline of the area as well. There was the main gate that led to a bridge over a river, not a moat. Then there was the temple nestled in the mountain itself. He couldn't make out which god it was dedicated to, but it had been in ruins decades before the goblins had moved in. From what Gale could see, he estimated there were at least thirty goblins outside, and he had no idea how many more were crammed in the temple itself.
At least Char had a mental image, and she hoped it was going to be enough to navigate though effectively. Char was the most adept had persuasion and deception according to Gale, seeing as she was able to talk her way around the druid's grove and the tiefling camp. He had suggested that Char take the lead, which led to why she needed to up her intimidation factor. They usually treated her as the leader anyway, so she wasn't worried about the role.
"Getting nervous?" Wyll asked as he approached. Char smiled at him and shook her head.
"Not really. Well, not more than what we would expect, I suppose."
"Just think mean mercenary, and we're in."
"You think I can be mean?"
"Just look at every goblin and picture Astarion," Wyll teased, earning a laugh from Char.
"I'm right here, you know," Astarion complained as he sheathed his daggers in his belt.
"Good to know," Wyll informed before turning back to Char. "Don't argue with him on the way there. You need to be in prime shape when we get to the camp."
"I don't know, that might be kind of hard," Char groaned with a smile pulling at her lips. Astarion rolled his eyes.
"I'll start more than an argument if we don't get moving soon," the vampire complained.
"I'm sure the others will be along soon," Char placated as she stretched her arms.
Once the group was gathered together, they made their way through the forest and past the blighted village. They went around the walls of the town, hoping to keep under the radar as much as possible. Plus, Char didn't want to deal with anymore giant spiders popping up from the ground. Soon, Gale guided them through the rest of the forest to the edge of a cliff with a bridge.
"Here it is," he informed, gesturing to the vista.
Char took in the landscape, seeing the landmarks that Gale had described. The wizard was very astute in his observations, and Char felt a little less nervous that he had been very accurate. Once they deemed the rickety bridge wasn't going to fall out from beneath them, they made their way towards the gate. Char held her head high and placed a little extra swagger in her hips.
She played the part of the femme fatale mercenary as she walked up to the goblins and worgs. She gave them a moment as she stood in front of them, her hips cocked to one side and her hand resting on the extending hip. Before she could spin their tale, the goblin looked panicked and pushed the worg out of the way, yelling at the animal.
"My apologies, your ladyship. She's a bit overexcited. Go right on in," the goblin informed before bowing deeply. Char froze for a split second before raising her nose up, ignoring the goblin. She walked past the gates and towards the bridge.
Once they were out of earshot, Char stopped and glanced around, wondering what was going on. She half expected some sort of ambush or something. She never expected the goblins to let them in without a hint of an explanation. As she turned to her companions, they also looked just as mystified.
"So, have you been here before?" Gale asked before Char shook her head frantically.
"I definitely have not. I don't know what that was. I didn't even have to say anything," Char started to ramble before she shook her head. "We should keep moving."
"For now, yes, but I would like some answers to why that just happened," Shadowheart mentioned as Char nodded.
"Honestly, so would I," the drow whispered as they started across the bridge.