Chapter 20

I awoke to the sound of grinding metal, and opening my eyes I saw it was not quite light yet, which put me at around, time for sleep to oh god:30 am. Looking around blearily I saw no one else was awake. I looked to the source of my rude and premature awakening, it was Lae'zel who was sharpening her sword on her spinning stand. Her eyes were focused, and her technique was flawless, the result of a comfortable routine. But I could see the slump in the shoulders, the slight yawn she gave. Lae'zel was exhausted, she probably hadn't slept.

I went up to the tired gith, and upon sensing a presence, she spun her sword to hover just an inch from my exposed throat. "Well, doesn't this just bring back pleasant memories? Trouble sleeping?"

Lae'zel let out a breath and put the sword down. "'Vlaakith'ka sivim hrath krash't. Only in Vlaakith may we find light.' These were the first words I ever read on tir'su slate. But they were no mere aphorisms. They are law, they are creed- the root from which the ten-thousand protocols stem. 'Forsake on protocol and forsake Vlaakith. Forsake Vlaakith and be the blood and meat which sate her dragons.' If Voss spoke true- if ascension is a lie, if tadpole purification is a fairy tale, then I have not sinned against Vlaakith… she has sinned against me." Lae'zel snarled. "I have had trouble comprehending this new truth. So yes, sleep has not yet come to me."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. I've never had enough stoke in a god to be betrayed by one, but I know what it's like to have the person you built your life around be proven… inadequate." I said hoping to give her some common ground to build on.

She chk'd at me and spat, "If you are referring to the master you slew. I see very little in similarities in our situations."

"I wasn't talking about that master," I said with an old but mostly mended pain in my gut. "After DeMorne, I was taken in by another wizard, Ebenezer McCoy. He took me to his farm, and taught me, not how to do magic, but why I should use it. He taught me that magic is a source of life. A force that should be used to help and benefit your fellow man. That using it to destroy or control mindlessly was not only an abomination to the craft, but a harmful practice that would spiral into ruin. I built my beliefs, career and life's purpose on the foundation of these lessons… but Ebenezer was not as much of a paragon of his words as I thought. Years later, I learnt that he was my wizard's government version of an assassin. A singular agent who was able to break the laws of magic with impunity, and he had, on more occasions than he could readily count. It broke me to hear of McCoy's betrayal of the values I held as gospel. We may have reconciled afterwards but that discovery made me realise I couldn't allow someone else to be the centre of my morality or choices. I had to choose my beliefs; my path and I had to do it on my own. And now so do you."

Lae'zel looked at me for a long moment before saying, "Our situations still differ. Vlaakath is… was the goddess of the githyanki, the centre of all life and reason. But… your words are not untrue if the Undying Queen is simply a tyrant and I a vassal of a false deity. I must find my own centre beyond the promise of ascension."

"What was ascension meant to entail if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ascension is a young githyanki's greatest honour. Long ago, the ghaik enslaved my people. They dominated our minds and bred us for war until the great Mother Gith took a hammer to our chains. From the day of our hatching, young gith have one purpose: to train hard enough to slay a ghaik and take its head. Then we speak the Rite of Ascension, and a red dragon comes to fly us to Vlaakith in Tu'narath, City of the Death. We are honoured with an eternal home in the Astral, celebrated for our victory. We are ascended. Or so I believed.

"So, you agree with Voss then, Vlaakith is a tyrant?" I asked

"I'd never thought Vlaakith a tyrant or me as a vassal. She was the source of my might, and I the envoy of her will. A warrior. A champion. A destroyer. But what you showed me of… Ethniu" Lae'zel paused a moment looking slightly paler at the memory. "What I saw was proof of Vlaakith's inadequacy. If she is merely a lich who consumes the ascended to gain power… Then I am no destroyer. I am mere livestock, bred to be harvested and devoured. Every githyanki is a slave with a singular purpose. Not to cull the ghaik, not to prevent the Grand Design- but to raise Vlaakith to true godhood."

"I keep hearing the 'lich' be used, I have a version of it in my home. But can you explain it, they might differ." I asked hoping not to sound suspicious.

"A lich is an abomination of a spell-caster. One who would use profane ritual to make themselves endure as an undead creature for eternity. They must keep a phylactery to keep their power inside to maintain themselves. If Vlaakith is such a creature, she would likely be using the souls of my people as fuel for her phylactery." Lae'zel spat in disgust.

That was what I was feeling. The vacuum must have been her connection to this 'phylactery'. And using the souls of the willingly sacrificed. No wonder Vlaakith was so powerful. Enough souls… and she'd be pulling off the Dark Hallow in a slower progression, godhood through necromancy. Stars and stones. "Voss said the Dream Visitor was the key to Vlaakith's end. Any idea who they are?"

"I don't know. I can't know. And it drives me mad. At first, I thought them an illithid deception, a trick of the tadpole. But the Dream Figure is real. It lives in the Prism. Voss believes they are the seed of Vlaakith's demise and an agent of githyanki freedom. And I believe he may be right."

"Right or no. We shouldn't trust the Dream Figure outright; they're hiding their full intentions. Even hiding their true form."

"What do you mean?" Lae'zel asked with alarmed suspicion.

I showed her the part of my conversation with the Dream Visitor that was blocked from her view. Lae'zel stared at me with contempt, "You hid this from my view? Why?"

"If I had shown you. What would you have done?!" I said raising my voice to show her I wasn't backing down out of shame.

Lae'zel took a breath and thought, coming up with, "I likely would have killed you, and the others and attempted to finish Vlaakith's mission." Lae'zel finished almost humbly, before looking at me in confusion, "Why reveal this now?"

"Because, despite how much of a stubborn ass you are, I consider you a friend frog-face. And I try not to hide things from my friends… at least not forever, especially when it concerns them as much as this 'seed of Vlaakith's destruction' does to you."

Lae'zel looked even more confused, mouth hanging open slightly. I'd reduced the great Lae'zel of creche K'lir to speechlessness. Add that to the accolades. "I… That was cunning of you Dresden. As true allies we can better prepare for what Voss and the Dream Figure have in store for us, we should meet the kith'rak in Sharess's Caress as soon as we are able." Lae'zel said trying to regain control of the conversation.

"Aww. Love you to frog-face." I said teasingly. I chuckled when she chk'd at me and returned to her tenet apparently ready for sleep at last. I get no love. None at all.

Dawn came soon after, and we made our way back to the destroyed Selune temple to find the hidden entrance to the Underdark. I had brought my main three Gale, Shadowheart and Kalach, along with Astarion. I had asked Halsin to join us, but he said he'd tag along once we found the Sharran base. Halsin wanted to test some alternative methods of navigating the shadow curse before we made our way there. So, we went through the now barren entrance to the goblin's old base. We figured that the secret passageway would likely be hidden near one of the leaders' rooms, so we started with the alter room Gut led us too before we sneak attacked her. Sure enough, there was another door inside the collapsed room which led to what was probably the priestess' bedroom judging by the large rotting bedframe and mattress. Looking around the room we found another altar, some gold in the cupboards and mattress and another door. This led to a barren space that had little more than stone seats and pillars as decoration. In the centre of the room were four triangular patterns on the floor positioned around each other in a circular shape. Walking to the end of the room I felt a slight draft coming from the wall, I felt down the wall and found a slight divot at the bottom. This wall was a secret entrance.

"This wall is just screaming secret, movable entryway to me. And that weird mural on the ground has to be some kind of puzzle." I muttered to everyone, thinking aloud. I moved to get a closer look at the pattern. It was composed of black and white tiles, that were mixed randomly. I touched one of the tiles and then pushed it slightly, it moved in a circular motion changing to the tile next to it. "Ha ha! Pay dirt. Shadow you're the closest thing to a Selune expert we got. Any idea of the pattern we need."

Shadowheart looked at me slightly annoyed but began to think, "Followers of Selune believe themselves the burning light that will cast away Lady Shars eternal darkness. So… maybe try one triangle of white tiles behind three black, the light chasing away the dark."

I did as she suggested and there was a click and rumble as the wall groaned upwards to show a darkened entryway. "Yes! One of team Dresden! Great work Shadow" I exclaimed giving her a quick peak on the lips.

She suddenly looked very concerned, looking at our companions who were looking at us with looks ranging from Gale and Karlach's supportive gazes to Astarion's curious smirk. I connected to Shadowheart's tadpole, making sure to block the others from listening, "Sorry, got caught up in the moment. Didn't mean to spring that on you."

Shadowheart rolled her eyes as she responded telepathically, "It's fine Harry. Surprised me is all. I'm not used to being open with… anything really. And whatever this is, it's too new to be shared openly."

"Totally understood. I won't jump you like that again. You've my word." I said seriously.

"Well, I'm not against spontaneity. Just maybe wait until we're alone." She said sultrily.

My toes curled at the idea of what kind of 'spontaneous' activities we could undertake. I was snapped out of it by a quip, "If you two are done seductively smashing your worms together. We should be heading off." Astarion said sarcastically. We both shot him the bird before moving on to the darkened entrance.

Moving forward there was a ladder going down into a deep, deep hole in the stone of the temple. I felt the grip of the ladder, it was made of old rope and looked like it was designed for much smaller feet than mine. Goblins must have used it. I found an errant stone and threw it down the hole. I waited, one second, two, three, four. At about 15 seconds I heard a distant clatter of stone on rock. This hole had to be hundreds of feet deep. "Oh, that's not ideal." I quipped.

"Why? Feeling sentimental about a rock Dresden." Astarion teased.

"No, dumbass. That was an old farmer's trick. Throw a stone down a well to figure out how deep it is by timing the sound of the drop. And from my calculations, this hole is too deep to just jump it, and that ladder would collapse even under the weight of your skinny-ass, vampire."

Astarion scoffed at me in mock outrage, "Excuse me. That's sexy, skinny-ass, vampire to you."

"I believe I have a solution to this problem if everyone would get behind me," Gale said positioning us behind and around him, before raising his arms and spreading them around and behind him. I suddenly felt lighter, like I had no weight.

"Nice! A feather fall spell. Reckon it'll hold the whole drop?" Karlach asked.

"Only one way to find out," Gale said before stepping behind Astarion and shouldering him down the hole. We heard the vampire's curse all the way down the cavern. We all waited a moment, before hearing through the tadpole connection, "The spell held. What the hell was that about? Magic muncher."

"That was for throwing that spear at me, pretty boy," Gale responded before jumping down the hole himself. We all followed him; the experience was thrilling. I've fallen down long drops before, but the weightlessness of the spell made the experience feel like what astronauts must feel when jumping on the moon. We hit the ground with a light parting of dust, and I felt the spell rush out of me.

Looking around we found ourselves in the last broken section of the Selunite temple, the roof was gone so I saw the cave sky that overhung the Underdark. Twinkling lights and glowing mist covered it, making it look like the night sky. In front of us was a large statue of Selune and a locked gate leading out into the Underdark. The gate seemed to be held down magically by the light being shot out of the glowing moon on the staff held by the Selune statute. I pointed my staff at the sphere and shattered it with a quick strike of force, and the gate groaned up and opened. We walked out through the archway, and I gazed upon the wonder that was the Underdark. It was beautiful, in a dark, fungussy sort of way. The land was made up of dark and mossy cave floors and was covered in various types of mushrooms that secreted dust and fumes that, while smelling less than pleasant, gave the area a mysterious edge. Walking further, we strolled into a purplish mist that began to swirl. Suddenly in my head, I heard, "They are coming. They are coming. You are coming."

"What the hell was that?" I asked to the general area.

"Likely just some hallucinations caused by the spores down here. From what I can remember the purple mist varieties tend to be harmless on their own. Causing minor hallucinations and confusion. But they are usually followed by the orange variety or worse, the green mushroom known as Biberbang. Both react to outside presences by exploding."

"Confused by one, blown up by the other," Karlach confirmed.

"Great, explosive mushrooms. Mario eat your heart out." I grumbled.

"Sorry?" Astarion asked.

"I said Gale's right be on the lookout for any orange or green mushrooms." I corrected hastily.

We continued walking, going down a small hill, to discover a whole field filled with orange mushrooms. "So, we going to turn back and find another way or…?" Astarion asked hedging.

"These are the directions Halsin gave us, we stray from it, and we get lost down here. We're going forward. Now… anyone know how we do that?" I asked sheepishly.

"Well… shrooms can only blow up once," Karlach suggested.

"She's not wrong, it'll take at least a few months for the mushrooms to repopulate, so if one of us detonates them, we could get through." Gale agreed as everyone turned their gaze to me.

"Hey! Why do you all look at me?" I complained

"You've mentioned multiple times setting things on fire is your main move, Harry." Astarion chuckled.

"And you've got the most versatile shield out of all of us, you'll be fine. Probably." Shadowheart said trying to sound encouraging and failing.

"Fine, fine. Stand back, if this kills me… get the skeleton to bring me back so I can hit you, traitors." I whined as they all walked a few paces behind me and took cover behind some rocks.

This was going to be close; I had to set off a fire spell and then raise my shield in time to block the explosion. Unless… I delayed the explosion enough to raise it. I was a decent distance away from the mushrooms, if I sent my little ball of sunshine into it, I could put the shield up before the plants went kablowy. So, I raised my right hand palm up and placed my left over it. I whispered an "Ignus, Infusiarus" into my hands. The little ball of heat manifested in my crooked hand, and I let it out, pushing it towards the mushrooms with a sliver of will. I pulled my shield up as it floated lightly towards the deadly flora. When it finally arrived in the vicinity, the orange mushrooms began to swell and glow until they erupted into foul-smelling gas that ignited in an instant. This explosion set off the other mushrooms in the area and a wash of fire rammed my shield. The heat was intense but the shield held and now the ground was a burning but mushroom-less blackened field. Gale resolved the issue with the fire by using an ice blast, allowing us to proceed without further interruption. However, before we could make the turn towards the directed path, I felt a presence, similar to the voice we heard from the entrance to the Underdark. My curiosity got the better of me and I followed it forward and up some step-like rocks until I came face-to-face with a walking, bi-pedal mushroom. It was short, stout and made up of dark mossy skin and a head shaped like a mushroom cap. Looking forward I saw two other mushroom people and a shorter man with mushroom bits protruding out of his neck and torso. I once again heard the creature's voice in my mind, but now that I was closer, I could identify it wasn't just one voice, it was a chorus of them. So perfectly harmonised that it seemed like only one creature communicating, "*Sovereign, they have come, they are here.*" The voice was different to the one I heard at the entrance, it was higher and nervous.

Suddenly that voice spoke again far more brassy and commanding than the creature standing before me, "*I am Sovereign.*" Suddenly, a vision replaces the voice, my lifeless body wrapped in fungal roots. The Sovereign was threatening me, "*State your purpose*"

The way the Sovereign and his people communicated was not unlike how the mindflayers did, I needed to learn more. While they didn't begin with direct conflict, they may be working with the Absolute. I used my magical senses to push deeper into the psychic link the mushroom people created. I felt a distinct quiver in the notes of the Sovereign's speech. The creatures were in mourning, a recent tragedy. Then I tried to use the parasite to communicate with the mushrooms. Nothing there is no bond between it and the tadpole. "I can feel your fear, your pain of loss. Let me pass, and I may be able to aid you." I said respectfully.

I could feel the fungus rooting through my mind, searching for my intent. The melody suddenly became a cautious but welcoming drone, "*Descend to me. Let us speak in flesh.*"

I followed the mushroom up the last step and walked up to what looked like a platform made out of a giant purple mushroom. A tall, purple mushroom person was searching the body of a shorter man with grey skin. Feeling its presence I knew it to be Sovereign. It turned to me and communicated, "*Flesh-talker. We are the Myconids. I show you a memory. Watch and listen.*" Images begin to flash in my mind: another of the short grey men, now known to me as the Duergar- dark dwarves of the Underdark, chopping myconid remains. The dwarf was wearing a pendant with the symbol of the Absolute cult. " *They broke out peace. They killed our young. We laid waste to many. But intruders remain. Lakeward.*" The Sovereign paused. It scanned my party and me with its beady yet intense green eyes, "*I sense your resolve. You will find the Duergar invaders near the lake. Cleanse the Rot. Destroy them.*"

"Hmm, Duergar. They're mercenaries. Often violent. But not always a pure evil presence. Best to ask more questions before setting ourselves on a path to murder them." Gale suggested.

He was right. I never like to be simply told to murder someone. Current profession as Queen Mabs hatchet man notwithstanding. But the Duergar were using the Absolute symbol, so they had to be dealt with, one way or another. "Why did the dwarves attack you?" I asked the lumbering figure.

More images flood my mind, smaller people. Deep gnomes in mining gear, being chased by Duergar. "*The Duergar seek a gnome. It is a guest.*"

"You're harbouring a runaway slave? Honourable of you." I complimented bowing slightly to the myconid leader. It said nothing but I felt a hint of appreciation in the connection between us.

"Bloody slavers" Karlach hissed, "Let's go get 'em!"

"Yeah, we'll handle the Duergar for you." I agreed.

Another vision comes over me, a wall of vines opening to reveal glowing light. "*Riches of magic and might. Cleanse the Rot, and they are yours. Furtherly. Locate a bam for the poison of the Duergar. Our gnome guest is in great pain, and will likely die without treatment.*" I saw the Sovereign move away from the body it was searching through and saw it was a deep gnome, holding her stomach in pain.

"We will find an antidote. You have my word."

The Sovereign gave a brief note of gratitude before severing the connection. We decided to look around the Myconid camp before moving on to killing the Duergar. The space was filled with multi-coloured mushrooms which gave off sweet-smelling gases. Unique to the myconid and mushroom-covered men of the colony was a figure I recognised as a hobgoblin. He had the same red skin and facial features as Dror Ragzlin but had grey hair and was garbed in a blue wizard's robe. He smiled curiously at us when we approached, "It's curious to find a surfacer dweller has brought you down so deep?"

"We're hunting some Absolute cultists. They are slaves to the midflayers. We were all infected with their tadpoles." Gale supplied casually.

I scowled at Gale as I said in his mind, "What the hell man? TMI. Why are blurting out all our secrets!"

"This man is a member of the Society of Brilliance. We are safe. They are remarkable researchers and keep their sources private and well-respected." Gale said aloud in a praising tone.

"You were all infected with illithid tadpoles? It's a miracle you're still intact! You must be worried sick. But have no fear. I have a friend that may be able to assist ." The hobgoblin assured us as he used the myconid connections to call out to someone, "*Omeluum!*"

"*I hope this is important Blurg. My zukhwood samples need constant attention.*"

"It is! These adventures have illithid tadpoles inside their heads. But they haven't changed." Blurg said aloud.

Then from behind me a mindflayer, garbed in the same blue wizard robes, floated to stand beside Blurg, "No ceremorphosis? That's impossible. But intriguing." The mindflayer called Omeluum said inside my head as the tadpole wriggled in recognition of its kind. "Are you looking to have it extracted?"

I gripped my staff a bit tighter activating the runes on its surface, "By you squidface, no way. Your kind have done enough things with my head to last a lifetime. Now… please explain why I'm not cooking you into seafood." I quipped.

"Please hold. I understand your rage against my kin. One of my brethren forced a tadpole in your eye or ear perhaps? I assure you I stand with the Society of Brilliance, not the colonies of my people."

I took a deep breath and said, "The Myconids have been through enough, without me starting a firefight in their home. I'll listen, but even twitch the wrong way and I'll start blasting. Understood?"

"I ask only that you refrain from violence. I respect that your opinion of my kind may be… charged. If that settles matters, would you like a diagnosis?"

"Yeah, sure. But no funny business. And don't be looking at my movie collection it's… private." I said sarcastically.

I felt Omeluum enter my mind through the tadpole. As Omeluum connects with the parasite it feels ten times its usual size, alive, awake, almost smug. "This is most unusual. The incubation period should be complete, as should your transformation. But the larva is infused with strange magic. It appears to be in some form of stasis."

"Any chance you can get it out of our heads?"

"No. It appears to be shielded from physical and magical influence. And even without the shield the extraction would involve severe cranial trauma."

"Wonderful. Any clue what kind of magic could accomplish all this?" I asked dejectedly.

"None by the annals of Mystra could affect the tadpole so. This is Netherise magic. Only that could be so powerful and so malignant."

"Netherise magic?! That's… that is not good, not good at all." Gale breathed worried.

"What's Netherise magic? Why's it so bad?"

"I'll explain later, it's a rather long story," Gale assured.

"Regardless, I have an idea. There may be a way to bypass the stasis. There are many alchemical substances that can influence the mind."

"Woah, woah. Alchemical substances? You think a potion could bypass some ancient, cursed magic?" I asked sceptically.

"Since the connection will not destroy the stasis itself, merely commune with the tadpole, Yes it should bypass the Netherise protection."

"Alright. What ingredients do you need?"

"A tincture distilled from a collection of rare mushrooms. They have subtle psionic influence. I would require a fresh tongue of madness and timmask spores. But be warned. In their natural state, both of these mushrooms can be quite dangerous."

"Of course, they are… how do I find these mushrooms?" I asked annoyed.

"The Underdark of course. Although they are quite rare, and their discovery… perilous. Hm. I imagine Lenore would have some of them in her possession. She served Mystra as a cleric." Blurg cut in helpfully.

"Where does Lenore live?"

"In the southwest, when I last saw her. Although her tower has a habit of… moving." Blurg then quickly wrote up directions to the tower and descriptions of the mushrooms we needed. I looked at the notes conflicted. We should go after the Duergar first, but if Omeleuum could commune with the tadpole. It could give us the edge we desperately needed. The Duergar weren't going anywhere, and we needed more information.

"We'll be back with the mushrooms," I said more confidence in my voice than I necessarily felt and we went off in the direction of Lenore's tower.