"Why can't things be simple?" Evie was really starting to hate this abandoned village. Between the goblins who not so subtly tried to ambush them, to the creepy book in the Apothecary's basement and now they were face to face with a giant spider. She heard Astarion snicker behind her. "I really hate spiders." He watched her give an involuntary shiver and grip her hammer tighter.
"It's just a big bug that needs squashing, soldier." Karlach's happy demeanor couldn't save the feeling dread in the pit of Evie's stomach. The tiefling grinned and ran out of the passage they had been hiding in. Her battle cry echoed through this underground cavern.
"Well we best join her or she'll get herself killed." Shadowheart sighed and ran after their barbarian friend. Evie took a deep breath and felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly and saw Astarion giving her an encouraging smile.
"We shouldn't let those two have all the fun darling. I'll be right behind you guarding your back." She grit her teeth and nodded. Her feet began to move and she willed herself to run into the cavern. Karlach had already gotten a few hits in and the spider hissed at her. Without warning the large creature began to shake and then it was across the webbing and appeared between Evie and Astarion. It reared up and spit acid. Evie brought up her shield and blocked most of it. She let out a yelp as some splashed on her thigh and began to sizzle. The pain caused her vision to go red. Something in her seemed to snap and she rushed forward. Her shield blocked the snapping pincers as her hammer arched up and smacked into one of the thing's legs. A sickening crack sounded out around the stone. From behind the spider Astarion stabbed at it's soft under belly. It kicked out with one of it's back legs and he dodged it. Evie made another swing this time aiming at the spider's head. She felt heat to her left and knew Karlach was at her side. Shadowheart cast a fire bolt spell trying to blind the thing. The spider began to shake again and phased itself out of danger. Letting out a horrible shriek the creature called to a clutch of eggs and they burst open. "Shit!"
"Seriously, it can fucking do that?" Karlach growled next to Evie. "Now there are at least a dozen more."
"Shadowheart, Astarion, hit those little shits. Karlach and I will take down their bitch mother." Eve ran across the webbing to the other side of the cavern. She heard cursing behind her and turned to see Karlach caught up in the sticky webs.
"Keep going! I'll get myself out. Smash the bitch!" Evie continued running till she was face to face with the injured, infuriated spider. She readied herself and set her feet. The thing charged and was met by a divine smite Eve had charged through her hammer. The energy burst through the creature splitting it in half. It's dying scream rang in Evie's ears. She looked below and two smaller spiders scurried away. The sound of battle dimmed as the baby spiders didn't stand much of a chance against her friends. Karlach almost looked disappointed she didn't get to help kill the spider queen. "Damn that smite really packs a wallop. I almost feel sorry for the gobo's when we get to that temple." Evie chuckled a little. Her vision still felt like it had red surrounding it. Her hand twitched, wanting something else to kill, something to tear apart. "You alright soldier?" Karlach's concerned voice snapped her out of the blood fever she was feeling.
"I'm alright, just tired." Shadowheart clicked her tongue seeing the acid burn on their leader's thigh. The leather was eaten away, her skin was red and bubbled.
"You need to get that cleaned up so I can heal it. We should head back up to the village and camp. Between the goblins, the spiders and those damn undead guarding that creepy book all of us are exhausted." Evie nodded and put her hammer back in it's holder on her back. A slight glint caught her eye in the dim light.
"Let me check that out first then we will head back to the rest of our group." The cleric sighed and motioned for Astarion to follow Evie. They all know once her mind was set there was nothing to stop the paladin from doing something short of knocking her out. Her thigh ached and the skin pulled as she climbed down. She felt a warm sensation run down her leg and she knew her skin had opened up.
"Come now Darling, it won't do to bleed out for a shiny bauble." She reached the bottom and picked up a very large amethyst stone. It looked like it stone eyes in the locked skin book. She felt the rogue over her shoulder. "That looks like..."
"A key to that book." She handed the glowing gem to him. "The choice is yours." He nodded and put it in his pack.
"Time to go before more things come crawling out of this hole here." She looked over the edge, but lost sight a few meters down. Human eyes were not made to see in deep darkness. "If you want to jump, by all means you can go first."
"No I've had enough of damp underground holes for one day. Let's go back to the sunlight shall we."
"My Dear, I couldn't agree more."
OoO
Shadowheart had treated her wound and wrapped it to prevent infection. Evie opted to let it heal on its own and not waste the precious few potions they were able to buy at The Grove. Gale had offered to make dinner and the rest of them waited patiently around the campfire. Evie stared into the flames, the wood crackled and popped. It was quite soothing to her frayed nerves. The blood rage from earlier unsettled her. She hoped a good meal and some sleep would help. A loud rustling sound from behind her made her and Lae'zel jump to their feet.
"Hark! Hark!" A dark scaled dragonborn emerged from the bushes. "A camp, please say there are good hearted people who can spare a spot by the fire." Karlach walked forward and motioned for the girl to come closer. "I was attacked and all my things stolen."
"It's not a safe place to be wandering alone." Evie's voice was hard edged. She was not in the mood to babysit someone who clearly had no skills to take care of themselves. Her nerves were frayed at best.
"I know, but I was on my way to Baldur's Gate. Could I please stay the night? I won't be any trouble and I will leave at first light." The young dragonborn's eyes pleaded with the group.
"You know it's bad luck to send a bard away from your campfire." Evie sighed and she could have sworn she heard a couple of the others groan.
"You can stay the night. We will even give you a pack with some supplies for your journey." None of the others argued with Evie. She just wanted to sleep and have this girl gone. She was too innocent, so weak and helpless. It made her angry, made her skin itch. The dragonborn thanked them all and sat near the fire. She and Karlach began to talk while Evie put some distance between her and the newcomer. The rest of the early evening went by quietly. Everyone had gone off to their tents and bedrolls. Evie's head began throbbing as she laid down. She closed her eyes and tried to push the pain and nausea away. She didn't remember falling asleep.
OoO
The smell of blood filled her senses. Warmth bathed her hands, sticky and crimson. Evie woke with a lurch, she was standing up. Why was she standing? She remembered going to bed, the horrible headache, then nothing. Her eyes focused and the sight that greeted her turned her stomach. Quil, the young dragonborn was laying dead at her feet. Her body was brutalized to the point of being almost unrecognizable. Evie felt her stomach lurch and she quickly ran to the water's edge. She threw up in the sand. Her hands shook, her arm ached, everything was spinning. Did she kill that girl? Did someone come into their camp and kill her? That last thought filled her with dread. She rose to her feet and rushed back to check on her friends. She quickly and quietly looked at all her companions. All were breathing, alive and now her stomach dropped again. She was the one standing over the dead bard, she had to have been the one that did that to her. Trying to remember, trying to figure out what happened and nothing came. The sky was getting lighter and dawn would be breaking soon. Panic rose in her, should she hide the body, wash the blood from her hands and clothes, just face the music? Gods, her mind reeled and she looked back to the corpse. She saw no weapon around, just a strange symbol drawn in blood around the body. Evie fell to her knees and waited. She wasn't going to hide this. She heard someone stirring. She stayed kneeling, her heart raced waiting for the hammer to fall.
A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned her head. Crimson eyes met hers.
"Did you...?" His voice was low. The rest of their companions were still fast asleep. The scent of blood woke him from his trance. His eyes lingered on the corpse.
"I don't know what happened. I woke up standing over covered in blood and she was dead." Her voice barely a whisper. He saw the utter lost look on her face. He pulled her to her feet.
"We will talk about this later, right now you need to drag the body and hide it. I will get rid of this symbol on the ground. After the body is hidden go wash the blood off. I will tell everyone that you walked the bard to the road." She looked at him surprised.
"Why are you helping me?"
"I'm helping us. Without you I'm sure Wyll or Gale would love to end me being what I am. I need you here, leading us. So selfish as I am this helps me too. Now hurry, the other will be waking soon." She numbly nodded and began dragging the body away to hide it. Astarion swiftly took some leaved branches and used them to rake the sandy ground. In a matter of minutes he had the bloody symbol all gone. He went to the dying camp fire and sat down. His mind raced wondering what caused Evie who was kind to everyone they had met to kill a harmless bard. He knew her memories were lost she never made that a secret from any of their group. His ears twitched hearing the others waking up and moving. He was very good at lying. He hoped Evie was as well. He didn't want her to fall apart and leave him without his protector.
Oy, Astarion! Where is Quil?"
"She woke early and wanted to get a head start on the day. Evie made sure she got to the road safely. She should be back soon." He saw Karlach's face fall a little. She and the bard had made fast friends last night in their conversations. "She did tell me to tell you goodbye and that she wishes us well on our quests." That brought a smile to the barbarian's face and he did feel guilty lying to her. He liked Karlach. He heard Evie's footfalls coming down the path. When she appeared her face was a mask of calm. Her eyes looked worried and tired, but her face gave nothing away of what happened. The group gathered for breakfast. Evie picked at hers, but no one said anything. They probably thought it was nerves about going to the goblin camp. Astarion followed her to her tent after she gave up eating. He pulled her into the tent and closed the flap. "Alright start talking."
"I...it's how I told you earlier. I woke up standing over her. I was covered in blood, but I don't remember..." She put her head in her hands and let out a frustrated sigh. "All I remember is having a terrible headache before bed."
"Where is the weapon?" He gripped her shoulders almost painfully. She looked up at him and shook her head.
"I don't know." She pulled away from his grip and went to her belongings. She looked through her pack and took out her dagger. It was clean. Astarion took it and brought it close to his nose. He couldn't smell any blood on it.
"It's clean. I can't smell anything on it." He handed it back. "Alright, maybe whoever attacked her earlier found her again. Maybe you found her and in that state of gore your mind might have gone blank after trying to help her. Or maybe you killed her in your sleep. Whatever happened there is nothing to do for her now. We have bigger concerns. This goblin camp and the worms in our heads being the most pressing." Evie nodded numbly. Her gaze looked passed him to where the body had laid not more than an hour ago. She shook a little and tried to take a calming breath. His hand cupped her chin lifting her gaze to his. "You need to focus. We need you sharp."
"I...I will try."
OoO
The group broke camp and headed toward the old temple of Selune. Evie's steps felt heavy, her mind would not quiet. She worried that something was very wrong with her. Something very dark sat in her soul. She didn't trust herself and the thought of one of her friends hurt by her hand turned her stomach. She was quiet and lagged towards the back of the group. Lae'zel kept looking over to her as they headed down the path.
"Are you unwell?"
"Just tired. No symptoms of the parasite so ease your mind." The gith nodded and walked on catching up with Karlach. Even from this far away they could smell smoke, blood and the stench of goblin. The closer they stepped the more Evie was uneasy. She picked up her pace and fell into step with Gale. "Gale, could I ask a favor of you?" The wizard smiled and nodded. "I'm not at my best today. I want you to take point for a little while and lead."
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, just not sure I will be able to get us in that place without a fight. You have a better way with words. I'm more hit them till they stop moving." Gale chuckled.
"You do hit pretty hard. My poor hand can attest to that." When she found him in the malfunctioning portal she smacked his hand. A small part of her wanted to cut said hand off, but she pushed back the urge to hurt him. She was very glad of that, Gale was a kind man. A little egotistical, but his arcane prowess proved the ego was well earned. "I will gladly talk our way in."
"Thank you." She fell back to the back of the group. She caught Astarion glaring at her. He must have overheard her talking to Gale. She knew the two of them tolerated each other at best. She sighed, knowing no matter who she chose someone would be mad at her. As they walked she took up the rear of the group.
OoO
Evie was happy she chose well in picking Gale to talk their way in. His ego and big words tricked the goblins into letting their group in to the interior of the camp. She could hear the goblins celebrating their raid. She lagged behind the rest of her companions. Guilt twisting in her gut. She tried to focus, to remember what happened last night. Once her feet hit the bridge into the courtyard of the temple she felt pain shoot through her head. Her eyes caught the rest of the group was also brought to their knees. Her vision clouded, everything went dark. She couldn't see her friends anymore. All she felt was pain and control over her body. A voice sounded in her head and she wanted to scream.
"Hear my voice, obey my commands." She could hear the others around her grunting and whimpering in pain. Her eyes darted around, but she could see nothing but shadows. Suddenly figures appeared standing in front of her. An older male elf in armor, his stature exudes strength and regalia. Another behind him, a human man with a quick easy smile. Something about that smile felt so familiar. Lastly a young woman, in crimson, pale skin and even paler eyes. Anger and hate rose in Evie and she couldn't figure out why. "These are my chosen, they speak for me. Aid their search for the Prism and you will be worthy to stand beside them in my presence." Shadowheart pulled the strange little artifact from her pouch and held it up. Warmth and light returned to them all. The crushing weight of the voice lessened and Evie rose shakily to her feet. "My power grows. My forces gather. The reckoning draws near." Astarion broke the silence first.
"What in the sweet hells was that?" Evie turned to Shadowheart who was stowing the little sphere back in her pack.
"That little artifact seemed to chase the voice away. Keep it close. We need all the help we can get."
"Trust me Evie, I don't plan on letting it out of my sight." With the goblin camp just yards away the group moved on trying to shake the new sense of dread that gripped them all.