Chapter 17

I woke up to a band of tiny miners smashing my skull in from the inside, who had apparently made a pact with the snake doing U-turns in my stomach. It was then I remembered the other reason I didn't like Fairy parties. Hangovers are a bitch. Suddenly an entire brass band started clanging in my eardrums when I saw Halsin was trying to talk to me.

"Shh, not so loud. Erg what was in that ale." I moaned trying to push any fluids down that were attempting to curtail my conversation.

"My apologies" Halsin chuckled at a volume that was only irritating rather than torturous. "I see that you've enjoyed your evening. After all your efforts, it was well deserved. It may be some time before you are afforded another such night. There is much to be done, and I promised I would help you however I could." As our conversation continued the rest of the camp wandered over to us. Everyone was looking like some variation of hungover, ranging from Karlach's pained expression to Gale's entire demeanour which made him look like he wished very much that the orb had killed him long ago. The only people looking completely fine were Astarion and Lae'zel. Astarion I could understand. He's a vampire, but Lae'zel. Guess she was as tough in her liquor tolerance as she was in everything else. "I'm certain a cure can be found at Moonrise Towers. But it's complicated. The journey specifically- it's extremely perilous. Though it seems you are well accustomed to navigating danger."

This was it. Halsin had to be talking about the shadowed land Maggie was thrown into, I desperately wanted to throw myself into asking about every detail of the place, but I had to remain calm and act like I'd never heard of the land before. "Why's it so dangerous?" I asked welding my poker face on with erratic fervour.

"To get to the Towers, you'll need to pass through a terrible place- a cursed place. This curse shrouds everything in shadow- you will not find life, light or anything natural there. Any who linger are twisted by the curse; they become shadow beings- tormented, dangerous souls." Halsin warned gravely.

My heart joined in the various tortures in my body. Maggie had been in this 'Shadow Curse' for almost a week now. Could she be twisted by the curse? Is she a 'shadow being' now? No. No, my daughter was alive and could be saved. If I start thinking otherwise, this trip means nothing. "We're going to the Shadowlands. Show us the path" I said with focused determination.

"There is only one clear and viable way to the Shadow Cursed lands. Somewhere in the ruined temple of Selune, leads to Moonrise Towers through the Underdark. Long ago, a man named Ketheric Throm built a secret stronghold deep down there, before rallying a whole army of Dark Justiciars- Shar worshippers."

"Dark Justiciars. I have to see this for myself." Shadowheart commented curiously.

"Aradin and his band were looking for a way down there-they were promised riches if they received a relic called the Nightsong. But I think there's more. From this stronghold, Ketheric's forces could access both the temple of Selune and Moonrise Towers- but he was defeated before he could launch an attack. If you can find this place, you will find a direct way to Moonrise Towers, and perhaps avoid the worst of the shadow curse."

"Do not forget, wizard that my people have a proven cure for the ghaik tadpole. We must find the creche. You gave your word we go in search of it when the druid was secured." Lae'zel cut in.

She was right, on both counts. I had given my word… and, while the truth of her people's teachings was probably not infallible, they knew more about the mindflayers than anyone else. If anyone had a direct cure it would be the Githyanki. But Maggie wasn't at the creche, she was in the shadowlands. On the other hand, if the tadpole turns me, or if our 'Dream visitor' decides our protection is not worth the trouble. I won't be able to help my daughter. "You're right Lae'zel. A deals a deal. We'll head for the creche and if doesn't work out… the shadowlands aren't going anywhere."

"Have you lost all sense! We can't trust her people, especially with the artifact they're searching for in hand." Shadowheart spat.

"My people can be trusted to all that are not thieves elf! And if you are so poor of one as to not hide the artifact effectively, you do not deserve to keep it." Lae'zel parried.

Shadowheart looked like she was about to throw herself at the gith when Karlach stepped in front of her, "Lae'zel's right. Her folks know best when it comes to the squid bastards, we should give 'em a chance. At least until we know they aren't an option."

Shadowheart threw her hands up in frustration and stomped back towards her tent. Wyll nodded to me and Karlach in agreement, Gale gave a non-committal shrug and Astarion said, "Well if our fearless leader and our strongest fighters are in agreement, there's no real point in arguing."

"Well if you believe that is your best course of action, I won't stop you. Either way, I would like to join your camp, if you allow me. I can offer my skills, my council. I do hope we end up going to Moonrise Towers, I've longed to return there. Hopefully, our fates will align." Halsin said

"Sounds good, we could use an elf of your skill and size if we are to succeed against these cultists. And don't worry, we're going to Moonrise after the creche. These cultists are too big of a threat to ignore even if we're cured" I said

"Excellent, I've already made arrangements with the grove. I'll set up immediately."

As Halsin set up his tent, I went over to Karlach, "Hey fire girl I gotta ask you something."

"Really? What's up, soldier?"

"Why do you always take Lae'zel's side?"

"What do you mean? You agreed to go to the creche first. I was just backing your play."

"But it's not just today. When we got that first piece of infernal iron, we could have gone back to the grove before checking out the giths. Why did you agree to delay what was a life or death treatment?"

Karlach looked hesitant to answer, embarrassment and trepidation flickering on her usually confident features, "Because I get how scary this must be for her. Think about it. From the legends I've heard, the Githyanki were slaves of the mindflayers for centuries before they got free and started fighting them. Centuries of a culture whose backbone is hating and fighting creatures that Lae'zel's turning into, that has to be her worst nightmare come to life." Karlach said a look of sympathy and pain settling on her face. "I know what it's like to be taken and turned into something against your will. So, I try not to judge the more… prickly side of Lae'zel. She's just scared and is trying her best to save herself and us."

I gave Karlach a surprised look, I had suspected some of the things she said about Lae'zel ever since the mind-melding on the night we almost turned. But if Karlach was right. Hells bells, I'd probably be worse than her. I don't know if I'd be so concerned with getting a bunch of strangers to the only sure I know, I'd just go running there without a second thought. "You're smarter than you look you know that," I said smirking at my tiefling friend.

"Yeah well, muscle alone won't help you survive in Avernus. You need to think your way out of some situations." Karlach said with a sad but confident smile. "We should probably be off, don't wanna keep Lae'zel waiting." And so, we went off in search of a githyanki creche.

We followed the path the gith knights ran off to and found a valley of hills and mountains. The view was breathtaking, the hills were covered in the green of sweet-smelling grass and large oak trees, and the mountain paths looked almost hand-craved by trail men looking for a scenic hiking route. The explanation for the latter feature was revealed by the temple in the distance, it looked old and abandoned even from a distance. But, unlike the temple to Jergel, the structure looked like it still had some dwindling life to it, an echo of the purpose and power the worshippers put into every stone, but long since faded by the years. Lae'zel looked at the structure with clerical detachment, "This is likely where my kin set up the creche. Abandoned or raided religious centres often hold the space and resources we need to set up various portals to and from the Astral Plane. Follow me and let me do the talking." I followed Lae'zel, the usual three, Shadowheart, Karlach and Gale trailing behind me.

After a quick hike, we ended up at the entrance to the temple. Lae'zel held up her hand to signal us to stay put and we watched two githyanki soldiers standing around three halflings, who were dressed in the symbol of the Absolute cult. "Where are you taking us?" The female halfling asked annoyance and fear mixing in her tone.

"If this is about that 'weapon' your friends was talking about, we don't have it, and we don't know shit about it!" The other halfling woman said, holding her hands up in placating surrender.

"Silence! Move." The male githyanki barked pushing the cultist forward with his crossbow.

"No. No no no. I'm not going in there. I won't!" One of the halfling cultist screamed as she pushed past the gith. The male githyanki nonchalantly aimed his crossbow and shot the escaping woman in the back.

"Anyone wants to join her?" The gith man asked and the other cultists looked at him in terrified silence, "As I thought. Through the doors. Now. The captain is expecting you."

Welp. I guess it's established the githyanki are definitely not on the cultist's side, whether they're on ours is soon to be determined.

Lae'zel went to begin testing the situation by walking up to the gith warriors, while we followed hands hovering over our weapons in case things went sideways. The female githyanki turned to us and signalled her companion to raise his weapon as she did, "State your purpose ishticks, or be destroyed!"

"Stand down, gish. Is it not Vlaakith's command to welcome her faithful?" Lae'zel responded.

The gith woman's stance lightened a fraction but she didn't disarm, "I expected no visitors, faithful or otherwise. Why have you come?"

"We seek the zaith'isk. Show me the way." Lae'zel commanded with barely hidden burning desperation.

"You are infected? A ghaik thrall is something to eradicate, not reason with."

"The faithful may be purified. This is Vlaakith's protocol."

"Chk. Fine- let the ghustil carry out your fate. I will send you to the infirmary, and step carefully. Creche Y'llek watches you." The gith woman warned before guiding us inside.

The inside of the creche looked livelier than the rest of the abandoned temple. The walls were adorned with weapons, banners of swords and paintings of an intricately, silver armoured gith woman, presumably Vlaakith. However, parts of the original temple still remained, revolving mostly around the sun-themed entrance gates and pillars that held up the underground section of the temple the githyanki converted. "This temple used to belong to Lathander. The Morninglord and god of life and light." Gale provided, either seeing the curious look on my face or catching a thought from my tadpole.

"Really, then how did it get in the hands of the githyanki? They seem… to not really mesh with that vibe." I asked both Gale and our gith escort.

"That is none of your concern ishtick! The infirmary is forward and to the left, go there and be grateful for purification." The gith said, disgusted as she left us to make our way to the infirmary.

I began to walk forward towards the infirmary, but before I turned left, I heard a man screaming in full fury. Curious I walked further forward and into what looked like a training ground, and in the centre of it was a tall, balding, grey-haired githyanki man with a goatee, kicking a downed githyanki boy.

"K'chakhi! We are training to fight ghaik. You think they will hesitate?" The older, apparently trainer githyanki screamed at the boy.

The boy got up, he was of a similar height to his teacher, with cropped brown hair, green eyes and brown leather training gear that covered most of his body aside from his stomach. "They won't need to if we keep killing each other for them! It's stupid! Orph- "

"Silence! It seems your childish prattling is attracting an audience." The teacher said gazing around at me, my companions and the other students before turning back to the boy. "You fight again. This time, daggers only. And to the death as instructed."

I looked at the githyanki student. Despite the difference in species, I knew the look of a teenager anywhere. The boy was probably barely older than Molly when I first started training her, and the rest of the class seemed around the same age. They were expected to fight their fellow classmates to the death? To what? Thin out the best to fight the mindflayers? Were the githyanki so desperate for the war that killing their own children was acceptable as long as stronger warriors were the result? The silent whirlwind in my chest that formed once I was told about Maggie's fate broiled up at the thought.

The bastard of a trainer looked around the room, "Who wants to challenge this snivelling is'tark."

I wanted to rip the trainer apart. To set his body ablaze with soulfire, just to test if enough of it would destroy his very soul so he would never reach whatever warrior paradise the gith were promised to justify this kind of savagery. And I could do it too, he was probably fast, skilled, maybe even with magic. But I was an unknown magically speaking, and the strength of the winter mantle would give me an edge. Maybe I wouldn't use magic at all. I could let the mantle in and tear the giths throat out with my teeth. The mantle screamed at me to just do it. Kill him, he deserved it. But… that wouldn't help the boy. If I killed the trainer, not only would that jeopardise my mission, dooming my daughter, it would doom the gith boy too. If he wasn't killed in association with my act, he'd just end up dying in another training exercise when he refused to slaughter his fellow classmates. I needed to get him out of there, so I did what wizards did. Came up with a plan.

"I'll fight the whelp!" I said, the anger towards the trainer assisting in the snarling intensity of my tone.

The trainer looked directly at me, a wickedly amused smile on his face, "Perfect. The kanyank doesn't deserve to be killed by a true githyanki."

"No weapons. I want to feel his death with my bare hands." I snarled, just barely saying, 'his' rather than 'yours. You demented fuck'."

My companions, especially Shadowheart looked at me surprised and horrified. I sent them a telepathic message, "Trust me and get ready to lie." I then handed Shadowheart my staff and rod and faced my opponent.

The kid was scared, he hid it behind the glare but I knew it, could see it in his body language. "Bring it! You bastard!" He challenged. Then the fight began. The boy was fast, I was barely able to block the first jab as he connected his other fist with my stomach. If not for the mantle I would have been on my back. He had some big disadvantages though, he was injured. It was easy enough to target the bruises in my strikes and when he winced, I was able to get him in a chokehold.

"I'm getting you out of here. Just follow my lead." I whispered in his ear, "Keep fighting but let me take you in another hold like this one. Blink twice if you're in." The boy looked confused at first, but quickly and desperately blinked twice. Smirking, I pushed him to the ground kicking him in the body. He got up and we exchanged blows for a bit longer before I got him in another chokehold. I squeezed harder than before, but before the boy could go unconscious, I whispered a spell in his ear, "Dorme, Dormius, Artis." The boy suddenly went limp and fell to the ground. The crowd erupted in cheer as the trainer came up to me.

"Well done, ishtick. Even killing a whelp like this one is an achievement for a human." He said slapping me on the shoulder.

I resisted the urge to headbutt the man as I said, "It is customary in my culture to take kills home with me. This boy will make a fine addition to my trophy room." I said in my best over-the-top hunter voice. "Wizard. transport the body to our camp." I instructed Gale. He looked confused, but did as he was told, waved his hand and made the boy disappear in a flash of purple light

The trainer smiled at me again as we left the room. And I suddenly heard Shadowheart's voice in my head, "What the hell was that, Harry!"

"The boy's okay. He'll wake up in camp. Cold but alive. The spell made him sleep and lowered his body temperature so his pulse would slow." I responded telepathically.

"That's bloody clever." Karlach said impressed

"Indeed. Ingenious." Gale agreed.

"But why was it necessary? We should not interfere with githyanki training it makes us stronger." Lae'zel countered.

"Killing children doesn't make you stronger. It only thins your numbers and turns you into worse monsters than the ones you're fighting. Lae'zel you have to know that." I said pleadingly.

It wasn't much, but there was a flicker of doubt in Lae'zels eyes at my words. It was gone in an instant though as she said aloud, "We need to get to the infirmary. Purification awaits."

We proceeded to the infirmary. Where to the left was a githynaki woman, studying a tadpole through what looked like a primitive microscope. magnifying glasses moving one on top of the other. "Do you have a question or are just going to stand there gawking?" The gith doctor asked annoyed.

"I am a child of Gith, not some discarded rat flesh. Am I not due your respect?" Lae'zel said insulted.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Let the ishtick with you speak, and I will decide what respect you are owed."

"We've all been infected with mindflayer tadpoles. But there have been no signs of infection. Lae'zel brought us here because she thinks you can help. Was she right?" I asked

"You are infected, but showing no signs of cerebral impairment? Fascinating." The gith doctor said in a hungry curiosity that went deeper than a simple medical concern. "Either your tadpole is special, or you are. We must find out which. Go to the zaith'sk I will ensure you're cured."

The doctor directed us to a device in the middle of the room. It looked as if Frankenstein and Zenomorph decided to design a chair. It was made of silver and flesh, the seat was made of purpled muscle, and the top of the device was insect-like, with knurled features and pincers. The device also seemed alive, and hungry. "The zaith'isk. Vlaakith's purity, distilled. My duty. My right." Lae'zel said in awe.

I looked at the device and then back at Lae'zel, "Go right on ahead. The Franken-chair is all yours. If lightning strikes, I'm totalling screaming 'It's alive'." I said in my best over the top hammy voice.

Lae'zel looked at me in confused annoyance and proceeded to sit on the device. The device reacted to her presence, moving down and revealing bat wings as the pincers moved towards Lae'zel's head. "You must focus on the parasite at all times. The zaith'isk will do the rest." The doctor informed Lae'zel as she strapped her in.

The tips of the device's pincers suddenly glowed and pain shot through Lae'zel's parasite and into ours. The impossible pain sears our bones and body in concert with Lae'zel's. The psionic forces of the device were battering Lae'zel's mind. The psychic damage it could do to her was bound to be immense. "Ngh! Vlaakith tavki na'zin. Vlaakith tavki na'zin!" Lae'zel chanted in agony.

"Hells bells! Lae'zel- get the hell out of that thing! It'll kill you!" I pleaded as I felt Lae'zel's mind rip and rupture.

"NO! I will be cleansed!" Lae'zel spat.

"Get her out of there!" Karlach screamed

I tried to call on my magic, But the pain was too much, it culled my concentration before it could even begin. I had one play to use. I sent a thought to the artifact "Help her, now!"

In response, a wave of energy erupted from the zaith'isk and it suddenly exploded throwing Lae'zel off of it. Lae'zel got up groggily and said "Damn it all, the parasite. I still feel it. I AM GITHYNAKI. I WILL NOT BE GHAIK!" Lae'zel bellowed with unchecked fury.

"My life's work gone." The gith doctor wailed. "And yet she lives, and so does her parasite." The doctor's voice went even further into mania. She wants that parasite, far more than she wants Lae'zel cured.

"Yeah, and your torture machine nearly killed her. The parasite's the reason she's still alive." I countered outraged.

"Yes. It is. It also destroyed a zaith'isk. Then it has even more unique than I thought. I must examine it. Since the zaith'isk did not extract we'll have to resort to more traditional means."

"Oh no, you ain't extracting anything crazy lady. Not until you explain what the hell that was." I demanded grabbing her arms.

"Unhand me ish…" Before she could finish that sentence Lae'zel had taken her head off with her sword in a desperate, almost mad battle cry.

Wiping the blood from my eyes I went to Lae'zel who was staring at the destroyed machine in dismay, "I followed protocol. I kept to my faith. Yet the zaith'isk might have killed me. The ghustil tampered with it. Traitor- and there may be more still! This must be reported to the kith'rak."

I looked at Lae'zel seriously, "I felt that machines… intentions. No amount of tampering could make it like that."

"Vlaakith does not abandon her githyanki. The zaith'isk was tampered with. There is no other explanation." Lae'zel said with fanatical surety. "We must go to the kith'rak and inform them of the doctor's sedition."

Lae'zel then ran off before I could get another word in.