Taylor and her entourage marched forward across the surprisingly-sturdy rope bridge. Assaulting this place would've been a mistake: there were two goblins close enough to cut the ropes if necessary, with another up high scouting out any incoming forces, a drum by his side so that he could stir up the horde at a moment's notice. Another half-dozen goblins stood at attention near the large outer gate, bows in hand, and a couple worgs lounged around, saving their energy for in case a fight was needed. Two goblins atop the gate jumped to crank it open at Taylor's command, and she led her group deeper in, towards what looked to be almost a hundred goblins partying like it was the end of the world.
She glanced around. The goblins that had been sent to deal with them had been commandeered into their escort, but her authority was already well-established. "That's far enough, we can get the rest of the way on our own. Back to your stations," she said, and the goblins took her dismissal for what it was. Some took up positions just inside the gate, while others joined their fellows on the outer side of things, and the mounted ones took off to go hunting in the woods near Moonhaven. Taylor didn't bother tracking them; they were out of her hair for the foreseeable future.
The party was in full swing. There was a bonfire going with a spit slowly spinning above it. Every goblin present had a nice big goblet of booze. A makeshift stage had been erected, and a figure in fancy blue clothes was improvising a song celebrating 'Dror Ragzlin' that was about one-quarter completely made-up words.
"Oh gods," Gale muttered. "Don't make eye contact, he'll take it as encouragement."
"What?" Taylor asked. "Shouldn't we-"
"He'll be fine," Gale hissed back. [Don't blow our cover now,] he added mentally, and Taylor started. Apparently she wasn't the only one with mild telepathy. Taylor glanced at the man. He kept up his silly song, but his eyes pleaded with her. After a moment, she nodded to Gale and moved on; the man on stage would be free once they took down the leadership, she told herself. The lot of them passed the ogre guarding the main entrance, who made just as much trouble for them as everyone else - none at all. Inside were several goblins on guard duty, some of them up the rafters.
"Party's not your thing?" Taylor asked as she walked up.
The goblin in front snorted. "We've already had two surprises in two days. With that lot gettin' shitfaced, gotta have somebody makin' sure nobody sneaks in what ain't 'posed to be here."
"Too right," Taylor replied, applying light mental pressure to keep the goblins from questioning their presence. "If you can just direct me to the folks in charge, I'll be on my way."
"Another group from Moonrise? Wasn't expecting more," the guard muttered. "You'll be looking for the drow, I reckon. She's in the back, up the stairs and to the right," she said louder. "Come on lads, get the door for her."
Taylor walked forward, barely sparing a glance for the goblins that rushed to open the way. [I've found an empty room where we can plan things out,] she sent to each partymember one at a time. She led them up a set of stairs, past where some weirdo was busy whipping himself, and into a large room with a big cage in the center.
Taylor released a breath she'd barely realized she was holding. They'd made it all the way in without any trouble. "So. Four leaders, four locations." She focused her thoughts, and shifted a touch of mental focus to just tracking all the bugs she was aware of. In this place, broken and subterranean as it was, even the walls could be counted on to play host to thousands. She practically had a perfect map of this place in her head. If only she could share it. "...does anybody have any paper?" Taylor asked. Gale produced some parchment from his pack, as well as an inkwell and a quill. Taylor accepted the former while setting the latter aside as a backup, before fishing a hand into her pants pocket.
Most girls didn't really have pockets, but Taylor was an exception: she was tall enough that finding girl pants in her size wasn't always easy, especially when thrift shopping...but finding pants boys her size had outgrown was much easier. The bigger problem, she thought to herself as she pulled out her pens, was the waterlogged river landing. Did pens still work after that kind of submersion?
She tried the first one. Faint lines, barely visible. She grimaced and did a few test scribbles, but there was no change. She switched to the other one, almost feeling Lae'zel's impatience building...and it worked like a charm. With a small sigh of relief, she started doing a basic sketch of the temple, along with approximate troop positions. As she hunched over the small table, the tiny dragon shifted further back on her shoulders to avoid falling off.
"Alright, so. Priestess Gut is up front. She's got a dozen in her throne room with her, as well as the half-dozen in the entry way who will probably hear anything that goes down in there. There's maybe another half-dozen walking around near her that would be problems if we just gun straight for her." As she spoke, she marked places on the map. "Side rooms: there's the one we're in, the one with that guy whipping himself, the one with the guy on the rack, one full of barrels guarded by three people, and then a double that's filled up with crates. Behind the crate room there's a larger area that's been turned into a huge bedroom, and some tunnels leading deep into the earth."
"I saw the three guards as we were walking by," Shadowheart spoke up. "They're wearing Zhentarim emblems. Might be here as part of the cult, but they might just be here to trade. Something we can ask them about."
Taylor nodded. "If they're cultists, they're probably still acting as merchants. So before we start engaging everybody at once, we should have someone trade for anything they've got we really need, while figuring if they're gonna stick it out or cut and run when the fighting starts." Astarion and Shadowheart both looked up for that job. "As for that masochist out there-"
"He'll stay," Durge interrupted.
When they didn't elaborate, Taylor shrugged and took it in stride. "Alright, he'll stay to fight, so we'll have to keep that in mind for engaging Priestess Gut." She shifted the map and started focusing on the area further back, where a large red-skinned man was lounging on an even larger throne, with a crowd of partying goblins cavorting around him. Before she could start, Lae'zel interjected. "And what of the cattle cages? Unoccupied, or are there worgs within."
"Giant spiders," Taylor replied absentmindedly. "There's as many goblin bodies down there as others. They goblins won't be releasing them to fight."
"Perhaps we could release them to fight, if they like the taste of goblin," Astarion mused.
"Maybe," Taylor deflected, even as she could feel Wyll's gaze burning into her. Instead of addressing it further, she moved on. "The big one, Dror Ragzlin. He's got a half-dozen in there with him, with another few up in the rafters. Big problem is, there's an open door leading to the kitchen area. We fight him, they'll hear it, and then another score of them show up. They'll just have knives, but numbers matter."
"If we can get that door closed on the way in, that might be enough to keep the cooks where they are," Gale offered. "A kitchen is already a loud place, especially with twenty people working at once, and based on the scale of this map, they're a bit of distance away from Ragzlin regardless. Get a nice thick wooden door between them and the cacophony of combat, and they might simply fail to perceive any issue. If that's insufficient, I could also lay an arcane lock on the doors, completely preventing all methods of entry that aren't utterly destructive."
"Sounds like a plan." Taylor switched to a room that flanked Dror Ragzlin's throne room with the kitchens. "On the other side, we've got a library and a prison area. In the library, we've just got a few goblins with good arms and armor, consulting with what must be the drow." She cast a glance around. "Bit shorter than me, dark purple skin, white hair, armed to the teeth. Drow, yes?" She got a few nods of confirmation. "There's also a...thing flying around? Round, translucent, about this big?" she held her hands out maybe a foot apart.
Gale nodded. "That would be a scrying eye," he said authoritatively. "Someone elsewhere is monitoring the area. Outside chance it's Priestess Gut, not trusting the drow, but that guard implied she was from elsewhere - Moonrise? Another group associated with the Absolute, perhaps? Might be someone there is keeping an eye on their distant asset. The scrying eye will almost certainly be able to wail as well - a loud high-pitched noise that's sure to draw attention from any nearby guards."
Taylor sighed a bit. That was going to make things more difficult, but she moved on to finish the summary. "Over in the jail, there's a half-dozen guards chilling outside, another half-dozen chilling inside. The guards outside the jail might join either fight if we pick them one at a time. There's six cells. Three are empty, one has a trio of worgs inside, one has a bear, and one has...well, a source of immense heat."
"That would be Karlach," Anders replied, expression carved from stone.
"But why is she in one of the cages?" Gale mused. "Possibly it's the only place to sleep where her body won't melt any of her own troops?"
"Could be a trick," Durge pointed out. "She's already pretending to be a tiefling. In case someone tries to do a jailbreak or something, they'll take out the guards, open the door to release the damsel in distress, and suddenly have a devil stomping their guts. Element of surprise is a powerful thing."
"Regardless of why, we'll have to deal with her if we deal with the goblins in there," Wyll replied. "The druid Halsin was kidnapped from that adventurer group that scouted out the town initially. If he's still around, decent odds he's the bear in the cage."
Taylor nodded. "Doubt he's really busting out of his cell on his own, but another ally for the rest of this attack would be welcome." She looked down at the map, now full of little marks indicating enemy locations. "Splitting up to pick all these fights at once would be ideal if we could take them...but I don't think any of these can be handled with just a couple of us. We're going to have to do...at least one ahead of time, and probably two, to be safe."
Lae'zel glanced over the map. "The prison is the most isolated of the four, and the commander is already behind iron bars. Locking her in will buy us time to deal with the rest, even if she can burn through them. Clear away the goblin trash before they can release the devil or the worgs, and then we can overwhelm her with superior numbers and skill." She looked closer. "The drow and Dror Ragzlin are too close to each other, especially with the scrying eye patrolling. Any combat near one will draw the other in as well."
"I'm inclined to agree," Gale said. "Which would mean if a second leader is to be eliminated stealthily, it would need to be Priestess Gut. Short of the kitchen joining the hobgoblin, that has the most guards milling around ready to join in."
"About that," Shadowheart started. "Gut has to be the primary healer around here. It might be simple to get her isolated - just give her a medical problem that can't be dealt with by a mere touch. She'll have to take you to her lab, wherever that's set up, to use tools or potions to deal with the issue. Extracting the illithid tadpole would be perfect."
Taylor frowned. "She's infested too, though. She has to know that's not actually a problem."
"It's not a question of if she thinks it's a problem, it's a question of whether she believes you think it's one. She'll think you're a traitor, and try to isolate you from the rest of us. We stalk you both from the shadows, and strike once she's separated herself from her flock. "
"You want to use me as bait?" Taylor asked.
"Well it hardly has to be you," Shadowheart replied innocently. "If you like, I'll be bait, and you can be the one sneaking up behind her and bashing her brains in."
Taylor frowned at that...and then frowned harder at Lae'zel's light snort. "Fine, I'll be bait. We'll still want to try and clear out those merchants first if we can." She glanced around the room. "So me, Astarion, and Shadowheart go deal with the merchants and Gut."
"I'll see if I can get the kitchens busy working on something special to celebrate the arrival of so many True Souls," Gale spoke up. "I'll need a couple people to come with, to close that door leading to Dror Ragzlin." Lae'zel and Durge stepped up.
Wyll glanced at the three Tyr devotees. "...I'm not sure I'll be much help at any deception more involved than just looking the part from a distance, and I'm sure it's the same with these three," he said with a head jerk. "We'll hold the fort down here, and probably strategize the Karlach fight. See if we can't minimize injuries by thinking things through just a bit."
"Alright then. Split up and meet back here then."
It turned out, the Zhentarim agents weren't members of the cult, they were just morally bankrupt. They had some nice supplies, but Astarion didn't end up buying much from them, just some metal tools that sounded like they were designed for dealing with booby traps. He didn't even try to pull the routine he'd done at the grove - likely because the two guards didn't let their eyes leave the goods the whole time he was haggling. He finished up quickly, but instead of heading back out towards where Gut was, Astarion pulled the two of them into the room with all the crates.
"Before we continue, I had a bit of an idea for stacking the deck in our favor, but it's..." he trailed off, running a hand through his hair. He eyed Taylor, and there was an odd flicker of something within his gaze. "You're not going to be fighting much, even with everything on the line." As Lae'zel had the previous day, it was less a question and more of a statement. Nonetheless, Taylor nodded in agreement. "And this deception hinges on convincing the gobliness that you're quite ill and in need of assistance." She nodded again. "Well...I might be able to help with that."
Shadowheart raised an eyebrow. "What, do you have some secret stash of makeup tailored for looking like you're dying? And here I thought this was your natural pallor," she joked.
"It is," he replied, eyes not leaving Taylor's, and she quite suddenly realized what he was getting at. The look in his eyes was hunger.
"Won't that break your deal?" she asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shadowheart straighten, sensing a layer of conversation she wasn't privy to.
"Not if it's voluntary," Astarion replied carefully. "It sells the deception. And it helps in...other ways." At her stare, he clarified. "You'll still be tucked away safe in the back ranks, no less effective than you were going to be anyway," he said defensively. "But if we did, I would be more capable than I've been." Taylor hesitated, and he pressed. "We're going to have trouble as it is. People might get hurt. We struggled with one True Soul with a couple helpers before, and now the odds are stacked further against us. That guy was a mere lieutenant. Can we afford to be giving this anything less than our best efforts?" he asked.
Taylor didn't say out loud how tempting it was. Just a few years earlier, back before Emma had changed, the two of them had loved the Twilight series, even gone to the midnight premiere after much begging and pleading with their parents. Emma had always been more into it than Taylor had, but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been quite swept up in it too. But she was older now, more mature, and she could recognize that it was one thing to entertain a fantasy, and another to grapple with the actual consequences of such a decision. That didn't make him any less correct though: could she afford to hold him back, when death was on the table?
"What are the downsides?"
"Lightheadedness, lower body temperature, a sickly appearance. Nothing else, as long as we keep things...reasonable." Astarion's eyes flicked to Shadowheart for just a moment, then back to Taylor. "And I don't think that will be a problem, do you?"
The moment stretched on, as Taylor warred with herself. "...fine."
Astarion's face lit up with a grin, and he started moving behind her. The little dragon hissed lightly at him, but maneuvered out of the way. As he stood behind Taylor, she became more aware of the position she was in, and it was uncomfortable. "Don't make something of this that it isn't," she warned him.
She heard the flicker in Astarion's song as he pulled back slightly. He understood her meaning just fine. "Of course," he said softly. "I'm not a monster." And with that, he bit down. It was like two shards of ice driven straight into her neck. She twitched, but his strong arms held her fast. She could feel the life draining out of her, one drop at a time. Dimly, she was aware of the dragon on her shoulders starting to growl, the phase spiders still within her range twitching as she barely restrained from siccing them on the spawn. She'd seen the school do blood drives before, but she hadn't been able to donate at the time - eligibility issues. Was this always how it felt?
And then, quite suddenly, it ended. Astarion was rearing back...to avoid the tip of a spear that had found its way to his neck.
"That's enough of that," Shadowheart said coolly. "So. You and Wyll knew. Anyone else?" While her question was aimed at Taylor, her eyes never left Astarion.
"No," Taylor replied, her voice just a touch wheezy. She took a steadying breath. "At least, not that I'm aware of," she continued, sounding more like herself.
"I see." The woman was silent a moment. "She mentioned a deal. I take it our resident monster hunter laid down some ground rules?"
"Indeed," Astarion replied. Taylor could hear something in his voice - not tension, but the opposite, as if he was finally relaxed for the first time since she'd met him. He was utterly unconcerned with the weapon at his throat. "I don't bite anyone that isn't volunteering, I don't get stabbed."
"Does coercion count as not volunteering?" Shadowheart asked.
"The choice was hers. I just...made a good argument for it."
"Enough," Taylor interjected. "We've got a job to do. Are you going to betray us all now that you're at full power?" she asked Astarion. He shook his head. "Are you going to run him through here and now, with nobody to back you up?" she asked Shadowheart. The woman cocked her head to the side, but shook her head. "Then let's go see Gut." She started to leave the room, just barely keeping her balance from a sudden bout of vertigo.
"Wait a moment," Shadowheart said, lowering the spear. She touched Taylor's neck, and the bite marks healed up. "No need to let anyone else know what happened the second they see you. Best we keep this to ourselves for now."
As she carefully healed Taylor, Astarion cleared his throat. "Not making something of this that it isn't, but still...this was a gift. And I won't forget it." Taylor nodded, not sure what to say to that. His eyes had another odd tinge to them, and while gratitude was there, there was also something else she couldn't place, and it concerned her.
The three of them exited the room and descended the stairs towards Priestess Gut, with Taylor taking the lead as she had on the way in. The booyahg was in the process of branding a pair of goblins with the symbol of the Absolute. She glanced up as Taylor approached. "Wondered when you'd be coming to see me. New lot from Moonrise, then? Got new marching orders, I reckon."
Taylor nodded. "Indeed, although that's not why I'm here now. Orders will keep 'til we can get everyone together to discuss matters properly. I've come down with something on the way here, and it's been resisting basic healing. I'm to understand you've got a bit more oomph." She hesitated, before projecting a message to the goblin. [Got pinned down by an illithid, and it put something in my brain. A worm of some kind.]
The goblin woman's eyes narrowed, and she scratched her chin thoughtfully. She waved her hand, sparks trailing behind her fingers, and her eyes light up slightly. "Hmm...alright yeah, I think I see the problem. Tough, but solvable. Follow me." She hopped down from her throne and started making her way to the crate room. "You two," she barked at Taylor's companions. "Go find Piddle. He's out keeping an eye on the party, but I'm gonna need his help dealing with this bugger."
Astarion nodded. "Of course. Be back before you know it," he said cheerfully. Shadowheart stayed quiet, but she followed him out. As Gut led Taylor away, she wasn't worried. Gut was isolating her, which meant she wasn't trying to help, not really. The other two would pretend to go get Piddle, but really would circle back to follow Taylor and ambush Gut.
The two of them went through the room full of crates, and Gut produced a heavy key, unlocking the rooms behind it. As the two of them entered, she closed and locked the door once more. Taylor wasn't worried until the key clicked an extra time and a magical barrier flashed over the door. "I suppose Piddle can bypass that just fine?" she asked.
"Aye," Gut replied, leading her deeper into the room. There was an ogre here, a female one this time. She eyed Taylor, but didn't move from her position. Gut ignored her, instead focusing on a chest at the far wall. "Take a seat, this'll take a second..." she grumbled, unlocking the massive container and starting to dig around in the assorted junk within.
Taylor felt her companions trying and failing to pick the lock on the door. Shadowheart did something and then Astarion started slamming the door with his fists. It should've made an awful racket, but Taylor couldn't hear it even while straining her ears. Still, for all his newfound strength, it was very thick wood, and magically-enhanced to boot. He was making cracks, she could feel that much.
"Found it," Gut announced, withdrawing a set of manacles. She gave a sharp whistle, and the ogress surged forward, seizing Taylor in one massive fist and her dragon in the other. It let out a pathetic yelp, and Taylor's blood boiled at the distress she felt through their mental bond. "Now then. You seem to be havin' a bad reaction to the presence of the Absolute in your noggin. Why is that?" she asked mockingly. Taylor could barely hear her over the blood pounding in her ears. "Normally, I'd be disinclined to attack a fellow True Soul. But if it's not taking with you, gotta figure out why."
The ogress manhandled Taylor, presenting her limbs one at a time for Gut to lock her up. "Now we've got a bit of a line for the rack right now, but you'll get your turn on it soon enough. Until then..." Gut trailed off, leading the two of them over to a small cage. "...in you go!" And the two of them were deposited inside.
As the cage door slammed shut and the lock clicked shut, Taylor's breath caught in her throat. Her dragon rubbed against her cheek, and the confidence and trust she felt coming from it helped calm her nerves a touch. She steadied herself and tried to think through the rising claustrophobia. Astarion and Shadowheart would be bursting through within the minute, and the two of them could probably take Gut by surprise. But the ogress changed the equation, making the fight far more even - despite Astarion's clever little upgrade.
The rest of Taylor's allies were too far away to contact, even mentally. By the time they realized something was wrong, the whole temple would be up in arms against them. This was supposed to be an early strike taking out a major enemy before anyone was the wiser, but if it failed, the whole mission would fail with it. Taylor was going to have to even the odds herself. Astarion's words floated back through her mind - can we afford to give this anything less than our best efforts?
Taylor acted, before her resolve could falter, before she could think about what exactly it was she was committing to. With a thought, the air all around the bedroom shimmered, as phase spiders appeared in every open spot. Before the booyahg or the ogress could react, the spiders were literally and figuratively on top of them. Their movements were perfectly coordinated, allowing each of them to deliver a venomous payload on the larger target. The goblin woman screamed for help and tried to heal the other's wounds, but distance, thick walls, and whatever Shadowheart had done made her call for reinforcements too quiet. The spiders turned on her after a moment, and soon she would never scream again.
When the door finally splintered open, and Taylor's companions rushed in, they found her sitting calmly in her cell as two corpses lay cooling on the stone floor. "Could you get the locks?" Taylor asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "Or do I have to do everything myself?" she added jokingly.
The two of them stared at her, each with a calculating look in their eyes.