Taylor was leading everyone through the winding village alleys once more. Durge had spotted a burning inn from atop the windmill, as well as some survivors they might be able to rescue. She liked the idea of more allies in theory, but her experience with Nightmare was all the proof she needed that sometimes you were better off without.
She still wasn't sure what to make of him; on the one hand, he'd been completely willing to let her transform and be murdered by the others when he thought she was nothing but a whiny obstacle; on the other hand, it was hard proof that he was indeed protecting the others from a very sudden transformation. She didn't want to leave them in his clutches, but even attempting to take just one of them under her wing would cause her to lose control of everything and then there would probably be two free illithids to fight instead of one that was asleep and restrained. For now, all she could do was exercise her power and slowly steal them away from him, until he had no further leverage over her new friends.
As she cast her gaze around the various hotspots of infestation within range, she noticed one that was quite different from the others: a small pile of goblin bodies hidden inside one of the houses, and three more heavily-infested figures lurking near the windows. She focused on the bug senses in that house: she had the vague outline of three figures, one clad in armor with a golden symbol on the front. More easily detected was the grime and blood they were covered with, for it stank to high heaven in a way that made them quite attractive to her swarm.
"Hey guys?" Taylor said, interrupting whatever they had been talking about before. Belatedly, she was a bit worried about how her new power split failed to let her keep track of conversations with her real ears. "I've got a small group of people here in town with nice shiny armor who don't get along with goblins. Main guy has..." she trailed off for a second, her senses elsewhere. "...his armor has a nice pattern on the front. A big hammer with a set of scales on top of them."
"Acolytes of Tyr," Wyll says, sounding enthused. "Perhaps even paladins. Oh, Tyr is the god of justice in these lands. We should meet up with them, they would make fine allies."
[Indeed,] Nightmare said within Taylor's mind. [They are likely to be strong of mind and body, more than willing to give the goblins exactly what they deserve.]
"Let's not be hasty," Astarion butted in. Taylor couldn't tell if Nightmare had spoken to anyone but her, since he already had his psychic fingers in all their metaphorical pies anyway. "I'm not generally against putting more people between the goblins and myself, but some friends can be worse than no friends at all. Paladins are particularly...stubborn, in my experience. If we're going to sneak in, we might well have to leave them behind, lest our 'dishonorable tactics' turn them against us when the fighting is finished." Taylor could see him catching Wyll's eye, and then her own in turn, and she knew this wasn't his true objection: he was worried that these possible-paladins would discover his secret and be unwilling to abide an undead abomination fighting by their side.
Gale scoffed. "Nonsense. Perhaps that used to be far more true, but oaths these days are far more flexible than they used to be. I suspect your experience with paladins is a bit out of date," he added with a chuckle.
"It's not just a matter of whether they'd turn against us," Shadowheart replied, "But of whether they'd be a detriment. It's going to be rough enough convincing the goblins we're all True Souls; many religious types tend to not have a deceptive bone in their body, and Tyr worshippers definitely count among that group. Even if they're friends who won't chastise us for our approach, that doesn't mean they should accompany us."
[We might not need subterfuge with three more strong blades,] Nightmare countered. Taylor grimaced, suspecting he just wanted more people around to lead around by the nose. Certainly if she wanted to manipulate people, religious zealots seemed like they would be easily baited in whatever direction she desired, since they were already primed to let others do the thinking for them.
"We're only sneaking in the first place out of cowardice," Lae'zel spat. "If these paladins bolstered our numbers, we could more confidently test ourselves against the goblin forces. For all we know, these knights might barely even need our help to storm the temple," she continued. Durge nodded along in agreement.
Taylor couldn't tell if Durge was agreeing because both he had an obvious thing with Lae'zel, if they both just happened to be bloodthirsty and looking for an excuse to fight instead of sneak, or if they had been influenced into this position by Nightmare. Still, she spoke her own thoughts. "There's a few goblin bodies in the room with them, so they're at least not helpless, but they're also hiding from a goblin patrol. So they're definitely not as good as all that, and might even be weak enough that joining us doesn't put blitzing the place on the menu."
Lae'zel looked ready to retort, but Gale spoke up first. "It sounds like that's four in favor and three against. If we're fine letting democracy decide, perhaps we could at least go meet them, see if they're willing to help, see if they're any good at fighting or sneaking, and see if we can stand them."
Taylor could feel smug satisfaction emanating from Nightmare, though he said nothing further. Despite herself, though, she couldn't think of any other argument to make other than the one Astarion had left unspoken - that they might be adding three allies, only to subtract one of their own. And truth be told, she wasn't sure if she'd rather have Astarion than the acolytes up ahead. It didn't help that she had an impression that Wyll would prefer a more straightforward assault as well...and unlike the rest, he knew that phase-spider support was on the table, if Taylor could bring herself to bite down with the parts of herself currently lurking in the ethereal.
Taylor began leading the group that way as Astarion pulled Wyll aside for a quick chat. She really wanted to listen in, but instead focused her senses on the various goblin patrols around the village, ensuring her party avoided them on the way to the acolytes. After a minute or so, they were getting close enough that she could start getting a headcount on the goblins who were inside the temple proper. There were maybe a couple hundred of them spread around inside, cots and hammocks filling up just about every nook and cranny of the temple. The size of the place had surprised her at first but it made more sense once she thought about it a bit.
Originally when the temple had been described, she was picturing a building that happened to be a church among the many other buildings. Instead, it was enormous, surrounded by cliff faces on one side and sturdy stone walls everywhere else. It was separated from the rest of the town by a rope bridge over a long chasm; far below, a river could be seen winding through what she now knew was called the Underdark. It wasn't a temple or at least it wasn't just a temple: it was a fallback position for the entire town, functioning the same way that a castle would in a feudalistic setup. It even had a moat!
Wyll broke away from Astarion. He grabbed Gale and led him to the front of the group - likely to take advantage of their combined reputations. Taylor shuddered at the memory of Gale consuming the ward. It didn't seem like most of the spells he cast, or the others for that matter; there was a feeling in the air that made it seem older and darker than all the rest of the magic she'd witnessed thus far. Gale hadn't seemed to make much issue of how the others expected him to be able to deal with the problem; if he was indeed some great wizard, he didn't seem to mind that his claims had been tested.
Taylor tabled her musings, for they had arrived. Wyll knocked an almost-musical pattern on the wooden door barely hanging onto its frame, before cautiously entering. He found a blade at his throat before the door was even halfway open, but it didn't seem to phase him. "In the name of the Wounded One, please hear us out," he declared, loudly enough Taylor worried some goblins nearby might hear him.
The sword was withdrawn, and the door opened fully. In front was the man she'd seem, standing tall and clad in thick, gleaming armor emblazoned with Tyr's holy symbol (or so she assumed, anyway). The song of his soul as a weeping violin, mourning some great loss unknown to Taylor. His eyes swept over Wyll, and his guarded expression relaxed. "The Blade Of Frontiers," he replied. "A true ally against all threats to the good folk of the realm. Come in...and bring your cohorts too," he added, as his eyes flicked over the group. "Quickly, don't want to raise an alarm."
Everybody shuffled inside, and the man shut the door behind them. "It's good to see friendly faces. I am Ser Anders. These are Cyrel-" he nodded to a petite redhead in blood-spattered blue robes, "-and Trynn," he nodded at a stout little woman not even three feet tall. "I can't imagine you've joined up with this cult of the Absolute, so I can only assume you're here to put an end to it. I hope your companions are more experienced than they look, or you may have a tough time of it."
Wyll nodded, not mentioning the other reason they had to oppose the cult - no need to bring ceremorphosis into the conversation. "And what brings you here? Investigating the silence from Moonhaven of late?"
"Indeed, although we received another task halfway here. Did you see an alien ship crash out east, far past the horizon? I received a vision that it had traveled to the hells and picked up several fiends before returning to the Material. One of them survived, a shock trooper in Zariel's inner circle. Such a beast cannot be allowed to roam free."
"Do you speak of the one-horn Karlach? Pretending at being a tiefling despite towering over all she meets?" Wyll asked. "Advocatus diaboli. I've been tracking her for some time - at first through the Hells themselves, but then we both got picked up by that nautiloid. I've rather lost track of her since the crash, unfortunately."
"We've seen her," Cyrel spoke up, a bitter tone on her voice. "You saw the burning tavern over yonder? She's what did it. The last remnants of Moonhaven were holed up there, a whole squad of Flaming Fists along with Ulder Ravengard himself." Taylor's breath hitched at the familiar surname, and she wasn't the only one. "Then she appeared. Tore right through the gate protecting the inn, and the Fists, and the walls. Set the whole damn place on fire with just the heat coming off her body. Knocked out a few support beams, damn near brought the whole place down then and there. Some drow with the goblins did away with Ravengard back through the temple. Some survivors escaped out the back, didn't see where they went though."
"I think I saw them," Durge spoke up. "They made it into one of the smaller storage huts. It's unclear what they expected to happen just hiding a few buildings over from a raging inferno."
"There's tunnels beneath that place that extend beyond what I can see," Taylor said, and Durge looked to her. "I think one of them knew about the secret exit."
"Probably the drow that accompanied them," Durge mused.
"A drow? Perhaps my missing rescuer," Gale added. "You could scarcely ask for a better guide through the Underdark than a drow, provided you could trust them."
"Yeah, well, that's a big 'if', innit?" Trynn said, while keeping an eye just above the windowsill peeking out at some nearby goblins. "But yeah, big red and nasty went away with the goblins. We can probably take her in a fight but it'd get messy. What we can't do is take the rest of the goblin camp if they're working with her."
"And we also can't just walk away," Anders said with a grimace. "Not just because we've been tasked with her death, but if there's a cult allied with such a powerful devil, that spells bad news for everyone nearby."
Astarion cleared his throat. "This fiend took on a whole squad of Fists and walked away victorious...and you believe you can take her?" he asked. At their expressions, he raised his hands defensively. "Not trying to sound skeptical, just trying to gauge your abilities. Do you really think if it was the three of you and her, nothing else involved, you'd come out ahead? Do you think if you had our help, you could storm this fortress?"
Anders frowned "I think we can take her. But the camp...even with your help, I don't think so. Maybe if we could find an Underdark route that leads inside?" he asked, glancing at Taylor. She shook her head; there were tunnels beneath, but she had no idea if they met up with any others she could sense, or what dangers awaited in between those two points. "But if we have to actually storm the bridge and the walls, by the time we get inside the horde will be roused and we'll have been whittled down. We'll face her and that damned Ragzlin backed up by dozens of goblins and wargs and who knows what else they've got in there."
Lae'zel looks angry, and Durge looked disappointed, but Taylor was relieved; they might be able to get out of this just killing the leaders that held the horde together. Of course, her good mood was instantly spoiled by Nightmare: [It is folly to fight the enemy where they are strong,] he said, in agreement with the paladin. Taylor wasn't sure if it was just him exercising good sense, or him trying to pretend to be reasonable to get her to relax around him.
Shadowheart smiled, and it reminded Taylor too much of Emma. "Well lucky for you, we think we've got a way in: we can fake being some of their elite members. Unluckily for you, that armor would be a detriment to such an approach. We can hardly walk into a cultist camp trumpeting allegiance to Tyr," she said, eyes flicking down to his chest plate. "And I can't imagine you want to head in unarmored. Don't suppose you've got some backup armor that's a bit more...subtle?" she asked innocently.
Anders either didn't notice the barely hidden disdain in her words, or ignored it. "Actually, we might. On the way in, we came across a tollhouse. There's a vault downstairs that we weren't able to open - likely where they kept contraband or excess supplies for the town. We later found what might be the key, but we haven't been confident enough to sneak back that way. Too visibly not cultists," he added, nodding to Shadowheart's point. "If you were accompanying us, and could keep the goblins off our backs, we could get the armor packed away and get over there. Find something more suitable, hopefully."
Nobody objected to the idea of gathering more supplies, so the three stripped away any marks identifying them as devotees of Tyr. The now-much-larger party quickly strode down the road, no longer hiding as they once had. They were spotted by a few goblins manning the walls of the village, and a horn was blown calling for reinforcements, but they were outside of bow range by the time a squad was assembled. As close as they were to the far north edge of the village, it took only a few minutes to reach the tollhouse and delve into the basement where the vault lay. Anders produced a large heavy iron key and turned it with some difficulty; once it clicked, however, the door swung open with barely a whisper.
Much of the food supplies within was rotted from months of disuse, giving the whole place a very noticeable stench, but there was also a good selection of arms and armor. They found some nice dark robes for the two ladies, and even a set of black-and-silver full plate Anders could wear comfortably enough. Taylor noticed Shadowheart had a rather pinched expression at the sight of Anders wearing it; she couldn't be that upset the paladins were coming along, could she? There was also a small basket of potions and scrolls that Gale confirmed were all suited for combat and likely required licenses, which were split evenly among the party. Lae'zel and Durge busied themselves collecting food for the journey ahead, not finding any interest in the weapons and armor compared to what they already possessed.
Taylor could feel a small section of the vault hidden behind what seemed to be a solid wall. Astarion and Trynn poked around for a few minutes before finding a pair of pressure plates that caused the whole thing to sink into the ground beneath. Wyll and Gale were left standing on the pressure plates while the two thievery-inclined members of the group poked and prodded at the ground. Eventually there was a click and a crack as what seemed like solid stone crumbled beneath Astarion's touch - yet another pressure plate, this one linked to several vents around the vault that would've spewed forth poisonous gas had they been triggered. The group looked through the small room. Astarion was able to pick the lock on a chest that had a few magical trinkets within - a pair of boots visibly bristling with static electricity he claimed for himself, as well as a gauntlet with Tyr's symbol that Anders claimed.
As the others wandered around the smaller hidden part of the vault, Taylor found her eyes drawn to a small chest sitting on a shelf, and she wandered over. She carefully lifted it down, being much heavier than it looked, and set it on the table. It was latched, but not locked. She flipped it open, and inside was a beautiful crystalline egg. The material of it was too precious to be natural, and yet there was no symmetry in its design beyond the overall general shape.
She could feel Astarion approaching from behind, having caught sight of the shiny she'd found. "And just what have you-" He stopped suddenly, for there was an audible crack. The thing had moved in time with the sound, wobbling beneath their combined gaze. A chorus of similar cracks rang out, building on each other as faults in the crystal's structures became more and more visible.
Astarion backed away quickly as one of the pieces was slowly raised up, and eyes like tiny chips of ice met Taylor's gaze. Its head raised up further, and blue-gray scales became visible in the vault's dim light. It's song was muted, almost inaudible, like it was still learning itself. It chirped, and a twang echoed through her mind, like a banjo trying to match the notes of her soul's flute solo. It crawled out of the egg with little issue. It was the size of a small cat; very compact when curled up in the tight confines of the egg, but now stretching to its full size. It flapped its wings experimentally and half-jumped onto Taylor's shoulders, startling her.
A dragon, Taylor thought to herself. A baby dragon! Truthfully, the world of magic she'd found herself in had seemed very dim and disappointing: all the really powerful magic was thousands of years gone, the world was constantly in one crisis or another, and the feats of magic she'd borne witness to just didn't measure up to the shenanigans capes got up to every evening on the news. Even getting to experience the world from the perspective of a phase spider hadn't helped. It wasn't that they were gross - creepy-crawlies barely bothered her anymore, else she could barely even use her powers - but at the end of the day they were essentially just ghost spiders. Very big ghost spiders, but still. They didn't feel right.
Some part of her had kept hoping for a silver lining in the dark cloud that was being trapped a world away from home - that something would put the spark back into the magic, and make it seem like some special thing she'd been given the privilege of witnessing. Thus far, most everything on her journey simply hadn't enflamed her imagination the way so many fantasy novels had done throughout her childhood.
But here, life was happening, and it was beautiful to witness: a baby dragon, born before her eyes and possibly imprinting on her? What did baby dragons eat? Did they hunt, or was that what the piles of gold were for? How big would it get, and how fast? Gale might know. She turned to ask-
Suddenly she realized everyone was crowding around her. She could barely move from how close everyone was, and they were all speaking at once - asking questions, spouting fun facts, cooing over the cute lil thing. It all washed over Taylor, she could barely hear a word of it over her heart slamming into high gear in her chest. She felt her breath catching again, this time from anxiety instead of awe. The little dragon curled its tail around her arm and arched its back like a cat, hissing slightly, but it was lost in the noise and pressure and pressing-
Of all people, it was Lae'zel that came to the rescue. "Enough gawking! There will time to waste staring later." She reached into the crowd and grabbed Taylor, dragging her out from all the unwanted attention. "Gather up everything worth anything and keep moving!" she barked at the others. "We've minutes at most before we're swarmed by goblins." That was enough to spur everyone back to their tasks. She spared a glance to Taylor and the dragon, but didn't say anything, instead stomping off back towards Durge.
Taylor helped the two of them gather up food, doing her best to move around with the extra weight on one shoulder. The dragon nuzzled her cheek, and she could almost feel the stress leaking out of her bit by bit. She smiled and booped her head against it, and was rewarded with another twang across her mind.
[I notice you aren't nearly so set against mental intrusion when it's a cute little creature,] Nightmare groused in the back of her head.
Taylor scowled at him ruining the first really good moment she'd had since arriving in this world. [Intent matters. It's a baby, it doesn't mean any harm, it's just feeling out the world. I can teach it to not be so intrusive. It's also not pulling memories out of my head to figure out if it should let me die, which is a definitely difference. Also, are you seriously being jealous of a baby right now? What, are you worried you're not gonna be mama's favorite anymore?] she said, putting as much mockery into her mental tone as she could manage. He scoffed, but didn't reply otherwise. She considered that a success.
There was a good twenty goblins up top, and about a half-dozen wargs. Taylor didn't want this to end in bloodshed. Not only would that be more blood on her hands, even as diluted as her share would be, but it would set them against the whole horde in a fight they couldn't win from out here.
[You will need to take command,] Nightmare spoke. [The key to any con is confidence. If you don't act like you believe it, how can you expect them to believe it?] Another pause. [I know you don't trust me, but you must believe this is my area of expertise. If even one senses hesitation, they will descend on you like a swarm of bees...and they will die just as pointlessly. Show them you're their new Queen.]
Taylor grit her teeth, but nodded all the same. She strode up the stairs, past the others, taking the lead. She faltered at the threshold, before a trill from her new dragon bolstered her spirit. She stepped before the crowd of well-armed monsters, each filthy and infested with an evil glint in their eyes. A large one up front was speaking, saying something, but she wasn't listening to them. She was listening to the music all around her, the music that had been trying to beat her into the shape of itself all day. She allowed the barest sliver of it to slip through her mind; even as she felt the worm twitch and grow minutely, she embraced the song. This [GRAND DESIGN] was the same [AUTHORITY] she had called upon in the nautiloid to free herself and Shadowheart. She felt the song of the Absolute echoing in all of the goblins, and pushed.
"Stow your weapons." Automatically, every single goblin she could see put their weapons away, their limbs moving to follow her command instead of their own desires. The trepidation that swept through the crowd was a symphony only she could enjoy. "I am a True Soul. I seek audience with your leaders." Her words were not a request or a plea, but a statement of fact, a declaration of what was going to occur, no different than declaring the sun would rise in the East. Her tone carried a challenge, daring anyone present to deny her what she sought.
Noone dared.