Evie felt sleep lift from her, but she didn't want to move. She was comfortable, the gentle rise and fall of her lover's chest almost lulled her back to sleep. Her mind went back to all they had done last night and she smiled. The movement of her lips must have awakened her bed mate because she felt him stir under her. He let out a soft hum and stretched a little before his arms wrapped around her tightly. She lifted her head a little to look up into his crimson eyes and he gave her a soft smile.
"Good morning." She gave him a small sheepish smile.
"I didn't mean to wake you..." He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.
"I've been awake for a while now, but I didn't want to disturb you." She settled back into the crook of his neck and sighed. Her body felt a little sore from their lovemaking, but it was a welcome soreness.
"Can we just stay here? I'm not ready to face the day yet." Astarion gently traced circles on her bare skin. She sighed contently at his touch. The quiet intimacy of his tent seemed to make time stand still. He would never admit it, but he would give anything to stay right where they were for eternity. No tadpoles, no Absolute, no Cazador, just peace and love. He heard the stirring of the others and groaned a little. Their little haven wouldn't be able to shut out the world much longer, but he would a damned if he didn't make it last as long as he could.
"The others are waking, but I think we have a few minutes to enjoy each other one more time before the world demands our presence again." He pulled her on top of him and he sat up to claim her lips with his own. His hands went to her hips and he pulled her closer. "Let's give them something to talk about, shall we." Evie let out a laugh that turned into low moan as he thrust his hips up into her. All thoughts of anything else left her as she gave into his ministration. She didn't care who heard them, in this moment she was in pure bliss.
OoO
"I guess we press on the the Shadowlands?" Astarion stood next to her as the rest of their group gathered to break camp. His voice sounded mournful at the thought of staying in the dark. Evie stepped forward toward Lae'zel and her companions held their collective breath. The two women had been avoiding each other since the gith had attacked Evie for the right to lead. Even Lae'zel looked a little nervous as the paladin stepped in her direction.
"Before we try to head to the shadow cursed lands I want to try and find the gith c'reche. If they have a cure we should take that chance." Evie held out her hand to Lae'zel. "I will need your help Lae'zel. They are your people and I don't even know how to go about finding them other then they are somewhere along the Mountain Pass. Will you lead us?" The gith looked at Evie's outstretched hand and after a tense moment she clasps hers to it. Something passed between them, a quiet truce built on a mutual respect. Lae'zel said nothing, but she nodded her head and let Evie's hand go. The gith shrugged her pack over her shoulder and began walking to the entrance of the camp and waited for the others to follow.
"Olive branch?" Evie tilted her head to Astarion and gave a small smile.
"Of sorts. I figured you would enjoy some sunlight before we venture into the dark again." He gave her a grateful look and nudged her toward where Lae'zel stood waiting.
The way back to the surface was uneventful. Once they stepped out of the doors of the run down temple the group let out a grateful sigh. The warm sun shone down on them and it's warmth was a welcome feeling. Astarion paused and tilted his head up to take in it's rays. The fresh air bolstered the group's mood. They took a short rest to enjoy the daylight before heading off again to the Mountain Pass. Evie wandered toward the bridge where they had heard the Absolute's voice a couple of weeks ago. She noticed the stand of the now deceased goblin merchant. A lot of the left over wares were in rough shape, but she found a beautiful old music box and a lute that was in good condition. She wrapped the music box in a spare shirt she had picked up for under her armor and placed it in her pack. She reached out to move the lute and a passing flash of a memory of a man playing one in from of an old fireplace came to her mind. His voice steady and strong, made her smile. Before she realized what she was doing the lute was in her hands and she began strumming the notes to the song that had sounded in her memory. Her focus was so much on the music she didn't notice her companions staring at her. The lute was a little out of tune and her fingers deftly went to fix it before she continued playing. It felt natural and familiar to her, like an old friend she was just reunited with. Her fingers stilled on the strings and she was brought back to herself hearing clapping behind her. She turned and blushed seeing all her friends watching her. Karlach and Shadowheart were still clapping and she did a little bow.
"Where did you learn to play, soldier?"
"I...I don't remember." Her face scrunched in frustration, but a hand on her back cooled it. She saw Halsin give her a warm understanding smile.
"It would seem your memories might be trying to surface. Music has always been a way to ones soul. Keep playing when you find quiet moments and perhaps more memories will return." She gave the druid a grateful smile and nodded. She placed the lute into their traveler's chest for fear it would get damaged if she tried to carry it into battle. "I think we should press on and make it to the pass before we lose the light."
"I agree, we can camp once we scout out the terrain there. Hopefully we can find signs of the Githyanki c'reche and head there fresh in the morning." The group all got to their feet and headed to the next leg of their journey.
OoO
It did not take Lae'zel long to find trail markers left by those at the gith c'reche. After a small battle with a group of Death Knights and their pet ghouls the group decided a smaller group would have a better chance of finding and infiltrating the c'reche.
"How much further?" Astarion wiped sweat from his brow. The mountainous path was hard to traverse and it made the group's progress slow going. Lae'zel clucked her tongue at the rogue and marched forward. Nothing would stop her from getting the tadpole out of her head, especially a whiny bloodsucker. Evie held out her hands and pulled him and Gale up on the crag in front of them. The pace Lae'zel had set was even wearing on her. Once they were all up on the ledge Evie let out a small gasp. The sight was breathtaking, they could see the monastery was across the gorge. The gorge itself was covered in a fine mist from the waterfall that roared on the other side. Birds darted through the sky and trees dotted the landscape. At the edge of the gorge stood a very old cable car. A rusted turn wheel stood to it's left. Gale tried to give it a turn, but the wheel didn't budge.
"I think we will need to find another way around. This wheel is rusted stuck." Lae'zel scoffed and made an attempt to turn it. The metal groaned, but still wouldn't turn. Evie moved to grab it and help her. Both women grunted and cursed as they put their whole strength into this wheel. It seemed to hold, then all of a sudden the wheel turned and both women nearly fell over.
"Just needed a bit more muscle, no offense Gale." The wizard laughed and waved his hands.
"None taken, the mind is strong, but the body, well the body..."
"Couldn't fight its way out of a wet paper bag." Gale shot Astarion a withering look. Evie rolled her eyes at the elf and pushed him toward the cable car. "Wait, hold on, why am I the test dummy!?"
"Sassy comments like that volunteered you." He huffed and leaned back against her as his feet met the edge of the car. He sank all his weight back on her and they both tumbled backwards. Even though Astarion's weight knocking the wind out of her made Evie wheeze, she laughed and pushed him off her. "You dramatic jackass." He rolled and jumped to his feet, a mischievous smirk on his perfect lips. He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Apologies darling, all this trekking has made me faint." She rolled her eyes at him and bit her lip to stop her from chuckling. The sound of Lae'zel growling behind them made the two cringe a little.
"If you two children are done, we need to get across and find my people! Purification can not wait!" Astarion stepped aside and bowed.
"By all means, you go first." Lae'zel mumbled under her breath and stormed passed them onto the cable car. Gale followed and gave the two of them a look like a disapproving father. Astarion leaned closer to Evie and whispered. "I think we are in trouble. Shall we?" She nodded and they stepped on to the wooden car together. It groaned under their collective weight, but held. Gale turned the wheel on the car and they made their way across the gorge.
OoO
Things had not gone as planned. They were able to find the back entrance to the c'reche and Lae'zel had talked their way in. The group had found the infirmary and were greeted by the Ghustil. She was a bit too eager for Evie's liking. The machine looked alien, wrong, a disturbing mix of organic and metal. A sense of dread washed over her as Lae'zel sat herself in the contraption. The hope she once felt in a cure for their affliction quickly turned to a gnawing worry. She shifted on her feet as the machine powered up. Lae'zel gave her once last look before the machine reclined back. She could see doubt in the young warrior's eyes. She wanted to tell Lae'zel to get out of that thing, but she knew the gith wouldn't listen. The zaith'isk hummed and bright white tendrils of light flashed between the pincers on either side of Lae'zel's head. A sudden overwhelming pain hit Evie like an ax to the skull. She doubled over and grabbed her head. Through the blinding pain she felt fear, though it wasn't her own. She lifted her head and her eyes locked on to Lae'zel's writhing form. Their tadpoles had connected and she was feeling everything from the warrior. The pain was almost blinding, the fear made her heart race and she tried to focus. Using their connection she reached out to Lae'zel frantically.
"Lae'zel, get out of there! That thing is going to kill you!" Lae'zel screamed and her speech switched back to her native tongue. She tried valiantly to endure, but Evie's voice in her head made her fight against the machine's restraints. "We need you Lae'zel, please!" With a hefty lurch she snapped the straps that held her in the machine and jumped out. The machine's energy overloaded and just as Lae'zel cleared the steps it exploded into a ball of fire. Evie raised her shield and covered her companions from the shrapnel that flew through the room. The Ghustil let out a hysteric scream and turned to irately accuse them of destroying her machine. She told them to stay put and stormed away before any of them could make a move. Evie's attention quickly snapped to the hunched over form of Lae'zel. The young warrior's hands were balled into tight fists. Her body shaking with rage and pain. "Are you alright?" The gith rounded on Evie, but did not strike out. Her eyes were burning with pure fury.
"I am Githyanki, I will not be ghaik!"
"I'm sorry. We will find another way. Whatever that machine was supposed to do it wasn't a cure. It was a death sentence." Lae'zel sighed and her stance eased. Her eyes stared at the now closed door and she grit her teeth.
"The Ghustil...she must have tampered with the zaith'isk, she wanted us dead." Lae'zel paced to the middle of the room. "Why?"
"She seemed more interested in our parasites than curing us."
"Agreed, we need to speak with the Ch'r'ai. This attack on us can not be left to stand. The ghustil will pay for this." Lae'zel stormed to the door only to find it locked from the outside. "She locked us in." Evie stepped up beside her and leaned her ear to the door. She could hear someone speaking in clipped tones, but she couldn't understand the words. She motioned for Lae'zel to listen and the gith placed her ear to the door. Her face wrinkled in disgust. "They are planning to storm in here and kill us." Evie let out a growl and motioned for Gale and Astarion to join them near the door.
"Gale do you remember the layout of the room we passed though on the other side of this door?"
"Yes, why?" Evie smirked.
"Because I want you to dimension door yourself and Astarion to the entrance to that room. Once they open the door cast it and flank them from behind. Lae'zel and I will press from this side." They didn't have to wait long, they could hear the key click in the lock. Gale placed his hand on Astarion's shoulder and readied the spell. Evie and Lae'zel took their positions on the side the door would open toward, hoping it would buy them a few seconds before the gith were on them. The door slammed open and Gale released his spell. The gith didn't seem to notice the sudden flash as they ran into the room. From behind the door Evie quickly slammed her hammer into the head of the first warrior to come into view. Lae'zel stepped around her to slash at the one right behind the first attacker. The surprised yells from the other room told them their companions had surprised their attackers. Flames rose behind them as the two women pressed forward. The battle was brutal, but short. "Everyone alright?"
"That plan worked perfectly. I was wrong, you are a capable leader. I was wrong to attack you in the Underdark." Evie tilted her head and then nodded. She knew this was as close to an apology as she would get from Lae'zel. They stripped the bodies of anything that was useful before heading back into the main part of the c'reche. It would seem their battle had gone unnoticed by the rest of the gith in the monastery. It furthered Lae'zel's assumption that the ghustil was working on her own desires to claim their tadpoles. The group explored the rest of the section they were in and found the hatchery. With the use of Astarion's silver tongue and Evie's insistence they talked the Varsh into letting them take the egg that was taking it's sweet time to hatch. As they exited the hatchery Evie lovingly wrapped the egg in extra cloaks from her pack to keep it warm. Astarion stepped to her side and watched her in wonder.
"All that trouble for an egg that will probably never hatch." Evie looked up at him and gave a gentle smile.
"It deserves a chance even if it's slim. To just destroy it is horrific, even the runts of a litter can grow to be stronger than their bigger siblings. I want to give it the time it needs." Lae'zel came to her other side and stared at the shadow moving in the egg. Her hand gently touched the outside and she gave a small sigh.
"An egg is not a thing a warrior should be in the care of, but I admit I'm drawn to the warmth of it. Inside is a child of Gith, if it hatches I can train it in our ways. Keep it close and safe, it might just be a survivor." Evie nodded and gently put it in her pack. Something about wanting to care for this innocent life brought back a snippet of memory. Her as a young girl sitting with a tiny piglet in her lap. It was far smaller than it's stronger siblings and she was trying to feed it to keep it alive. The memory faded and she let a small smile grace her lips. She could feel pride in the memory and determination. Lae'zel's voice brought her back to the present. "We need to find the Ch'r'ai. He needs to know of the ghustil's treachery." Evie nodded and motioned for Lae'zel to take the lead.
OoO
"Well now that we have pissed off a literal god I'd say we need to get the hells out of this Gith warren." Evie couldn't agree more with her vampiric companion. The meeting with the Ch'r'ai has gone sideways when she refused to give him the astral prism. They were forced to fight him and his elite squad of gith warriors. They came out on the winning side, but it cost them. Lae'zel had taken an arrow to her shoulder and Astarion had a large gash across his chest. Evie cursed her decision to leave Shadowheart at camp. She could cast healing spells but hers were weak in comparison to their cleric's. She had just enough time to stop the profuse bleeding on her lover's chest. Then the spectral avatar of Vlaakith loomed over them. She ordered them to kill the being inside the prism that had been protecting them from turning into mindflayers. Evie agreed only to save her friends from being killed on the spot. They were then bid to enter the astral plane to face their protector. Evie went to confront them alone. She again refused to kill the entity that had been keeping them from their horrid fate. The guardian imparted some answers to why Vlaakith wanted them dead and promised to continue the protection they had given. Not killing the guardian had not sat well with Lae'zel, but Evie had quelled some of her ire for now.
"Let's try to rest a little and get you and Lae'zel healed a little more. The whole c'reche will be after us and I don't think we will be able to fight them all in our condition." She turned to Gale ans motioned for him to follow her. "Can you ward the doors?"
"I can, but I also suggest we try to barricade at least one of them. It would keep their way in narrow and give us the upper hand."
"I agree. I will start pushing some of the crates. Take the potion's pack and start getting that arrow out of Lae'zel's shoulder." Evie went and began moving boxes, barrels and anything else she could lift. She stacked them in front of the one side of the door hoping it would hold the gith off, if only for a little while. She found a chest and began loading it with rope, dishes and other mundane things to weigh it down. She might have done too good of a job, trying to lift the packed chest was nearly impossible. She strained to drag the chest to the door and had all but given up, when the other side lifted up. Her silver eyes met crimson ones and she gave their owner a exasperated look.
"You should be resting."
"Well, darling, we need you to not wear yourself out if those gith come for a fight, so I need to help." She sighed knowing he was right and even if she argued he was stubborn and would do it anyway.
"Alright." He gave her a cheeky grin and they moved the chest to the door. He helped her move whatever else they could till she was satisfied the door would hold long enough for them to hold off any gith that came for a fight. After Evie suggested they rest and try to recoup some strength while it was quiet. She lowered herself to sit where she could keep an eye on the doorway. Her muscles ached and all she wanted to do was sleep. Gale and Lae'zel broke out some dried meat and water from their packs and they too sat down to rest. Astarion on the other hand hated waiting. He wanted out of the gith warren. The anticipation of a fight made him antsy so he decided to look around. He found weapons and some gold in a little side room. Both helpful, but what he was hoping for was an escape route. He knew enough about history to know a lot of these old places had secret passages. Once he stowed away his finds he went to the other little room across the main chamber. Like the other little alcove, it had chests full of gold and other items their group could use or sell. In a ornate chest he found a hunk of amber with a streak of red running through it. It was a curious thing, the red looked like blood, but he had no idea how it could have gotten in there or what its purpose could be. He shrugged and placed it in his pack. His attention then fell on the two statues of Lathander. He wiped away the cobwebs and dust from the plaques and read the inscriptions. One said Lathander greeting the dawning sun, the other was him bidding the sun farewell as it sets. His sense of direction was thankfully still sharp even though he could not see the sun's position in the sky. He pushed lightly on the sunrise statue and it turned. He felt almost giddy at the prospect of finding more treasure or even better a way out of this deathtrap. He turned the statue till it faced east and he heard a faint click with his sensitive ears. He then went to the other statue and pushed against it. It held tight to its position. He looked along the pedestal and found rust from years of laying idle. He put more strength behind his next shove, but it still stayed locked in place. He would need help to get it moving if it was at all possible. He rushed out of the alcove and gently shook Evie's shoulder.
"I think I found something." She rose to her feet and followed him. "The mechanism is rusted stuck. Do you think you can help me push it?" She nodded and placed herself against the wall to give her leverage. Together they put steady pressure on the statue to get it to turn. The rusted metal groaned in protest, but after a few moments it relented and turned. Astarion turned it till it faced the west and the back wall of the room slid down revealing a secret passage. "Could be a way out."
"I'll get the others. Maybe we can get the hells out of here without fighting the whole damn c'reche."
"My thoughts exactly." Evie gave his arm a gentle squeeze before running to get the others. Astarion felt proud of himself. They might just leave this nightmare place yet.
OoO
"Gods were they trying to keep people in or out with those damn contraptions?" Astarion helped Evie to her feet after she was thrown into a stone wall by a force trap that lined the pathway. Thankfully Gale was able to use a shock spell to disable it before it got anyone else hurt. Evie winced as she tried to take in a deep breath. She was sure her ribs were at the very least bruised, if not maybe broken. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah, just can't breathe very well." Astarion frowned and helped her over to Lae'zel.
"Help her, I'll take point and make sure we don't get surprised by anymore traps." The gith wrapped her arm around Evie and helped her along. They came across one more trap and force barrier. Astarion and Gale worked together to disable both so they could continue on. On the other side of the barrier the chamber opened up to a grand vaulted cave. The path lead up to a dais with a column of light in it's center. Floating in the beam was a beautiful mace. It was golden in color and had a glow all it's own even with the lighted column around it.
"Let's look around for a way out first. Then we can come back and see if we can get that mace from it's pedestal." Evie could see Astarion's fingers twitch as he stared at the weapon. "He's as bad as a magpie. Always drawn to shiny things." The group spread out searching for a way out of the chamber, but the back wall was solid. Gale set to finding a lever or button hoping that there was another secret door. Lae'zel looked around the outside of the dais for anything helpful, while Evie looked up at the ceiling trying to make sense of the crystals hanging above the beam of light. Whoever built this place were architectural geniuses. She couldn't figure out it's function, but she respected their ingenuity.
"Found anything yet?" Astarion's voice echoed in the chamber. He had stayed close to the center, mesmerized by the weapon and the warm light around it. His fingers itched to reach out and touch it, but he fought the urge, at least for a little while. After about ten minutes of his companions searching his curiosity got the better of him. His fingers barely had touched the mace when a loud humming sound rose in the chamber. In the blink of an eye a force field surrounded the dais and the crystals above them began to move. Evie whipped around and groaned in annoyance.
"I told you not to touch anything!" She rushed to the force field and placed her hand on it. She hissed as a shock arched into her palm and she took a quick step back. Astarion mirrored her action and also pulled away when the energy caused him pain. "I told you your sticky fingers would get you in trouble one of these days." He glared at her, but she could see the fear in his eyes.
"I don't need a lecture sweetheart, get me the fuck out of this thing!" Evie heard the tremble in his voice and she pulled her hammer from her back.
"Stand back!" She swung with all her might and the hammer just bounced off the shield. The force sent a shock wave up her arms and into her torso. Her ribs protested, but she repeated the strikes a few more times in hopes of breaking through. Each time it bounced off and the force field held strong. "Gale!" The wizard rushed over and tried to make sense of the shield. Above them the mechanism kept moving into its final position. A large focus crystal clicked into place and began to glow.
"I think whatever he triggered is winding up to fire. We need to get out of here." Evie looked up and saw a portal where the solid back wall used to be. She hoped it was a way out and away from the danger of this trap. She shrugged her pack off her back and handed it to Lae'zel who was now at her side.
"Take my pack and make for that portal. I'm going to keep trying to get him out of this." Gale looked through his satchel quickly and handed her a scroll.
"Take this. It should help get you out if time runs out." She looked at the scroll and recognized the symbol on it. A scroll of misty step. She gave him a grateful smile and pushed him toward the portal. Gale and Lae'zel ran, but before he got to the portal he felt a tingle in his mind.
"I won't leave him alone. Get back to camp and talk to Withers if the worst happens. He will know what to do. There is coin in my pack if you need it." Gale turned and gave Evie a mournful look before stepping through the portal. He had no idea what she meant by Withers would know what to do, but he figured it was orders for them to carry on should she fall. Once she was sure they both were safely out of the chamber Evie turned her attention back to Astarion. She grit her teeth and began swinging with all her might again. Astarion beat his fists off the shield in desperation as the hum got louder. Evie knew it was hopeless as her blows just kept bouncing off and the shield held strong. She stopped and put the hammer away. Her body trembled from the effort.
"Please...please get me out of here." His broken voice tore at her heart. Her mind screamed for her to run, but her heart wouldn't let her. She took out the scroll and began reading the incantation out loud. "No! Please...don't leave me...!" Astarion fell to his knees and closed his eyes in defeat. He knew he was done for and that she was leaving him here to die. She finished and the spell set off. Instead of appearing near the portal she appeared inside the force field right beside Astarion. He jumped at the sudden flash of light. Evie pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arms around him.
"I would never leave you behind." His arms wrapped tightly around her, almost crushingly so. She felt his body tremble and the quiet sobs he was trying to hide. "It will be okay." He pulled back violently and gripped her shoulders painfully.
"How?! We are going to die!" Evie gave him a sad smile and raised her hand to cup his cheek.
"Yes, but we won't be alone." Her words struck him hard. He leaned into her palm and pulled her closer. She stood up on her toes and kissed him softly. The hum hit a crescendo and the chamber around them began to shake violently. They clung to each other keeping themselves steady on their feet. She pulled back just a fraction to whisper against his lips. "Close your eyes and just focus on my voice." She began to hum a melody softly. The loud sounds of cracking stone made him flinch, but she held him tight. His eyes slipped closed and he focused on her hum. Before pain and darkness claimed him he swore he heard her whisper. "I love you."