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smolgloves · 5 months

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Tavern Brawl

Summary: Freya is back in Skaars Hollow, but trouble now greets the group.

Tw: alcohol consumption, murder/attempted murder, violence, blood drinking, dehumanizing language

The splitting headache from last night's fun had hit Freya harder than any drunk night had ever done before. She leaned back into Tav's neck, clutching her stomach as a wave of nausea hit; they were nice enough to find an old hooded cloak to put on for her to keep hidden from other travelers and the blinding light of the sun but no matter how careful they walked, their movements sent Freya's insides churning. “Please tell me we're almost there.”

“It won't be much longer.” Tav spoke. “How much did you drink last night?”

“I didn't keep track.”

“I believe it was four.” Wyll laughed. “You were trying to prove you could handle the wine better than Shadowheart.”

“I suppose that's why she's not with us right now.” Lae'zel spoke. “How pathetic of her to lose a drinking match with a tiny istik!”

Tav let out a gasp. “Gods, Freya, no wonder you feel like shit.”

A flamboyant voice gave a laugh. “Maybe we should have thought about this before offering alcohol to a girl the size of a mouse.”

Freya shot her head out of Tav's hood and locked eyes with the vampire. A devilish smirk twisted on his face caused a mix of shock and anger to knot up in Freya's gut. There he was walking along in the sunlight like it was a normal thing, his pale skin free of any burns! “What in the nine hells are you doing here?!” Freya snarled. “Shouldn't you be a pile of ash?”

Astarion's eyes nearly lit up. “I'm special, Darling. The sun cannot hurt me anymore.”

“It's more complicated than that…” Tav's voice fell into a whisper like they were debating on telling Freya what they meant. “Astarion has been infected with an illithid parasite… as have all of us.”

Freya waited for the punchline to come but everyone remained silent, waiting in bated breath for her response. “You're serious?!” She hissed out before her throat tightened. Tav spoke but their words were muffled by the millions of thoughts running through Freya's head. Mind flayers weren't something many borrowers faced but they were still a name that lurked in their nightmares nonetheless. She didn't even think when she made a leap from Tav's shoulder in an attempt to flee from the would-be mind flayers, but Tav swiftly caught Freya and kept her in a loose fist. No amount of writhing was going to free the borrower. “Put me down!”

“Bloody hells, Freya!” Tav exclaimed. “Just calm down and let us explain!”

“Not until you let me down!” Freya shouted, still squirming to break free. “I will not be in the grip of an illithid!”

“Okay, just don't run yet.” They dropped to their knees and set Freya on the ground, watching as she scrambled back for some distance. Freya almost expected them to reach out after her but Tav kept still. They didn't even flinch when she pulled her peashooter out and aimed at them.

“Gods, it's almost like the little thing likes to jump to her death!” Astarion laughed but annoyance laced his voice. Freya was tempted to shoot a pebble at his other eye, but Tav quickly shot him a glare that practically said: “Don't start.”

Freya's gray eyes darted between the group. “Someone better start talking!”

“So like I said, we were all infected with the illithid parasite.”

“For a while now.” Wyll added.

“How long?”

Tav turned to their comrades giving a silent exchange to one another before turning back to Freya. “Honestly, I lost track, must have been over a week now.”

Freya's knowledge on mind flayers was rather limited but she knew enough to know anyone who was infected should have turned by this time. “Why haven't you transformed yet?”

“That's what we're trying to figure out.” Tav replied. “We're hoping to find a cure and answers while traveling.”

“The creche is the only place where we'll find the cure.” Lae'zel narrowed her eyes at the borrower. “We mustn't waste our time with these distractions.”

“Skaars Hollow is on the way to the creche.” Tav responded bluntly. “Besides, taking out the goblins will help us earn some gold and we definitely need that for the road.”

“So you just expect me to trust your word?” Freya squeaked out.

Tav's softened when they looked over at her. “I wish I could give you a better answer.”

A debate stirred in Freya, she was already pushing her luck by talking with larger beings who kept around a vampire that could walk in the sunlight, now she was talking to time bombs who could sprout Tentacles at any moment?! Yet she really wanted to believe Tav. Freya weighed her options, the only other one was to split ways with them now and travel back to Skaars Hollow alone. A whole day would go by, before she makes it back home and that would only increase her odds of getting in more trouble with the council. As bad of an idea as it was, she knew that she would get back faster while traveling with Tav. If no one has transformed yet, then maybe they won't transform at all, or at least until Freya is safely back to the colony. “I suppose I can extend my trust a little longer since we won't be around much more.” it was. It didn't stop the glimmer of ache poking it's way through her relief. Despite everything she'd grown rather...fond of the odd band.

“Yeah, we'll be out of your hair soon enough.” Tav smiled to hide a fragile look on their face, but Freya could tell they didn't want to necessarily part with her either. If things were different, maybe Freya could imagine herself venturing with this group, but borrowers and larger beings don't belong together. Still it hurt to know this would likely be the last time she ever saw Tav again.

“It's so nice to see you come to your senses.” Astarion smiled but venom laced each word. “But we're burning daylight dealing with you.”

Freya clenched her jaw, on second thought, there could never be a lifetime where she could travel with a group where Astarion roamed freely.

~~~~

Everyone made it to Huskin's Tavern in one piece, goodbyes were said and Freya wished Tav well on their travels, before slipping in the a borrower entrance behind the tavern and started walking down the dark wooden halls. Now that her crazy journey was over, she could go back to doing her normal routine. Yet when Freya reached the borrower supply room located in the wine cellar, she couldn't help but feel alone. No one was there laughing and drinking wine, telling stories about their crazy adventures. Of course there wasn't anyone here, everyone should be at the colony, distributing this week's rations amongst each other. Freya knew she should get back to the colony before they noticed she was missing, if they haven't already. However, she wanted to see Tav one last time before they were gone for good.

The borrower ventured back into the walls and made her way to the shelves that held alcohol behind the counter, Freya kept to the shadows, hiding behind the towering bottles of liquor as she watched. Tav, Wyll, Lae'zel and Astarion were sitting at the bar, tense looks painted on their faces.

“We're not trying to cause any problems.” Wyll said, his voice carried a sense of hope. “We just want to help.”

“This plague is too much for the likes of you.” Huskin, the bartender, laughed. He was a rather large human whose face was covered in nasty scars from his youth. An elder once told Freya that he was part of a notorious gang back in Baulder's Gate years ago but left after shit went down. What happened was a mystery to this day.

“So you know something.” Tav asked, their patience was growing thin. They must have been pressing him for a little bit now.

Huskin leaned in close to the halfling. “Like I'd tell you, pipsqueak.”

Instead of decking him, Tav just gave a smirk and pulled out a small pouch from their pocket. “Oh, not even for a little bit of coin?”

The air grew silent as the two stared each other down. Freya couldn't see Huskin's face but she could just sense that cold smile still on his face. He turned towards Astarion who had remained eerily quiet during this discussion. “I think your friend's bounty is worth more than whatever you have, my friend.”

An icy glare shot towards Huskin, even in Freya's short time with Astarion, he never gave such a murderous look quite like this one.

Tav knocked back a shot. “I've already claimed his bounty.”

“Right… I suppose you always let your bounties roam freely with a sword strapped to their side.”

“He's useless to me, dead. Remember, the bounty calls for him alive.”

“Then perhaps we can make an arrangement.” He leaned in real close to Tav, their noses damn near touching. “Your friend for information about the plague.”

Tav gave a sly smile. “Deal.”

“What?!” Astarion shot up from his seat. “You're really going to do this and for what?!”

“Quiet!” Tav said in a cold tone. “I'm doing what's best for me!”

Underneath That scowl was pain that flickered in Astarion's eyes. Freya couldn't blame him, this was a completely different side of Tav! A side that made her stomach twist in a knot and question whether or not Tav was who she thought they were. Astarion may have been an ass, but he didn't deserve to be sold out by a friend. She watched in horror as two patrons of the bar came up behind the vampire and grabbed him by the shoulder. He was about to resist, but Tav halted them.

“Ah, you're not taking my bounty until you give me what I want.”

“There's a cave south of here.” Huskin replied. “A couple of interesting folks took camp there, this plague started ever since.”

Wyll raised an eyebrow. “And no one wanted to investigate that?”

Huskin Let out a boisterous laugh. “Even if anyone wanted to, they couldn't get past the barrier.”

“Barrier? What kind of barrier?” Tav asked.

“A magical one, obviously.” He scoffed. “Not to mention the goblins that lurk about, not many make it back from that place.”

Freya took in the information, she knew about that cave but never trekked that far. It was one of the forbidden places to go to, rumors of beasts lurking in the shadows waiting to make a meal out of curious borrowers were told of that place, but there were also rumors of rare plants that could be used to make potions stronger than anything Freya has made before. It was a herbalist's dream, but even Freya wasn't bold enough to venture that far out!

Tav leaned back in their chair. “Well, is there anything else I should know about this cave?”

“None that will keep you alive.” The bartender glared up at the vampire, forming a sinister smile. “Now since we're done here, I suggest the lot of ya fucks off. I don't wanna see you interfering with my bounty!”

The two thugs that held Astarion and went to drag him out the door, he was fighting to get out of their grasp but didn't utter a remark. Freya couldn't explain it but something felt off.

“We were just going,” Tav counted out a few coins in their hands, they frowned and turned towards Wyll. “Would you mind helping me with the tab?”

“With pleasure.” A devilish smirk formed upon Wyll's lips, he stood up but instead of reaching out to give gold, he spun to the two men dragging Astarion away and thrusted his hands forward, there was a sonic boom and both of the men were knocked back a few feet, crashing into a table. With his restraints free, Astarion drew his blade in an instant, followed by everyone else. Freya stood back, trying to wrap her head around what just happened. Her gray eyes darted from Tav to Astarion, they both possessed sly grins on their lips, clearly a deception method but Freya wondered if this was one they had performed multiple times. She didn't have time to dwell on it as Huskin shouted for the cooks to come out of the kitchen for backup.

“So this is how it's gonna be?” Huskin growled, grabbing a wine bottle from the top shelf and chucking it towards Tav. They narrowly dodged it, the glass bottle shattered on the wall behind them. Within seconds, Chaos ensued, more lackys burst out from the kitchen and blades clashed; Freya could hardly tell who had the advantage! She did, however, see Tav fighting off The thugs with only their hands. It was quite a sight to see, their limbs were burning with a bright flame that only scorched their enemies! Freya has heard of monks that used the elements as extensions of their fists, she couldn't believe she didn't realize it sooner! That would explain Tav's more gentle demeanor, a much different Tav than the fierce fighter she was witnessing this moment!

A scuffle caught the hidden borrower's attention, a half-orc had shoved Lae'zel back and pinned her to the bar, she snarled and grunted but even with her githyanki strength, the orc was much twice as big as her. He gave a toothy grin as he attempted to press her own blade into her throat. There wasn't much time to think, Freya reached for her peashooter and fired a pebble at the orc. She didn't get him in the eye like she hoped for but the small rock smacked him right in the cheek, causing him to flinch and search for the culprit. The split second of a distraction was all Lae'zel needed to shove him off of her and swing her sword, delivering a killing blow. She snapped her head over to the bar and locked onto the borrower with a fierce stare before turning back towards the fight. Freya could swear she saw a faint smile on the Githyanki. Adrenaline rushed through Freya, she couldn't do much but she could help Tav in little ways! The halfling was fighting off Huskin, Who swung an ax at them.They were nimble but even Freya understood the confined space was soon going to hinder them. She darted along the shelf with the intent of getting closer to get a better shot at Huskin, until a loud crash came behind her, causing the shelves to quake! She only looked back for a split second to see that one of the cooks was thrown into the wall. Everything happened so fast, in an instant, the wooden ground beneath Freya's feet collapsed on her, a scream erupted from her as she began her descent. She braced for a crude impact, yet she was blessed with a firm yet surprisingly soft landing. Freya opened her eyes to see she was on the chest of the cook that was thrown into the shelves she hid on. It was a bloody miracle she ended up there, but her luck was running out as he groaned and sat up; the borrower scrambled off him and made a break for it as soon as her feet hit the ground. She knew all the secret entrances like the back of her hand, if she can slip back into the walls, she could maybe get to another vantage point and help Tav before it's too late!

A hand slammed down in front of Freya and she skidded to a halt. A shadow loomed over her and dread squeezed her heart as she stared up at the man. He was a half elf with face tattoos, there wasn't much known about him but Freya had swore she once heard him mention a murder he once committed to the other cooks. His piercing blue eyes locked onto Freya and a sinister smile curled on his lips as his hand inched closer to her.

Before Freya could even react, pale fingers wrapped around the cook’s shoulders and yanked him back. Astarion's face came into view, a wicked smile curled on his lips before his mouth went agape and he pierced the neck with his sharp fangs. A guttural cry erupted from the elf's throat as the vampire seemed to sink his teeth further into his neck, finally, Astarion ripped away from his victim, taking a chunk of flesh with him. Blood gushed out of the elf and rained down on the Freya. The elf dropped to the ground, his lifeless face now twisted in fear. The borrower stared up in horror at Astarion, his mouth dripping With blood and a hungry look that Freya has only seen in predators who tried to make a meal out of her. Ice shot through her veins the moment his wild, hungry eyes locked onto her. Time slowed down, the only thing racing was Freya's mind thinking just how easily Astarion could snatch her up and make a quick meal out of her.

To her surprise, he never tried to reach for Freya. All he did was roll his eyes and rush back to the fight, leaving the borrower to herself. Freya felt like her heart was about to burst, the bar became a great shield for the tiny woman but the deafening sound of steel blades clashing steel made her jump now! She still wanted to help Tav, but she couldn't even think straight anymore with the stench of blood assaulting her nostrils!

First things first, get back in the walls! Staggering her way through puddles of blood and broken glass, Freya could hear Tav scream out in pain, followed by a loud crash!

“No, you can't die. Get up damn you!” Astarion yelled out.

Freya froze in her tracks, fearing the worst had happened. Was it already too late to save Tav? Could she have helped them if someone didn't throw that elf into the wall? Freya was so caught up in her dreadful thoughts that she didn't notice anyone coming up to her until a firm hand clasped her shoulder and pulled her back to the inside the walls.

“Where in the bloody hells have you been, Freya?!” The older woman snapped. “Your uncle and Kes have been freaking out!”

Freya locked eyes with the woman and instantly recognized her as Mirable, a woman who was the lead scouter for her colony. A trusted soldier that all listened too, the search party that followed behind her mirrored the same piercing glare Mirable gave to Freya. “I… got pinned here once this fight broke out.”

“Do not play ignorant, girl!” Mirable snarled, her grip on Freya's shoulder grew tighter. “That elf saw you, the gith saw you! You were gone a whole day and you returned the same time this violent group showed up?!”

She saw… of course she saw! Mirable was a master at stealth. To try and deceive her was a foolish act that could only benefit Freya if she was trying to look more guilty to the council when they hear about this. “It's not what it looks like, I swear!”

Screams grew more intense outside the walls, causing the borrowers to flinch back from the walls. Even Mirable let the stoic mask slip long enough for Freya to see fear in her brown eyes. “We must go!” She ordered her troops before shooting a frown at Freya. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

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loquaciousquark · 8 months

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Okay, if I want to have any kind of a good time in this playthrough, I have got to figure out the differences between these two characters in my head. A bunch of character rambling under the cut.

Tavish: rogue, survivalist, starts the game off very self-centered not necessarily out of a desire to have more than others, but because she knows if she doesn't take care of herself first, absolutely no one else will. Grew up in Baldur's Gate in a loving family with a younger brother who all died (I think of plague) when she was about ten or eleven. After that she was sent to live with her mother's sister, who absolutely hated having a kid kicking around her place, and spent most of her time drunk as a skunk and scamming the tourists & hoity-toity in the city.

Aunt used Tavish pretty regularly as a participant/face/distraction in these scams & that's where she picked up her light fingers. Aunt was violent in her drunken rages, & when Tavish was about fourteen she killed her aunt in self-defense. Hid the body and lived alone in the tiny (slum, probably) housing for as long as she could, hiding the fact that she was alone, until taxes came due and the whole story came out. At that point she took off on her own rather than go to some city-funded orphanage and spent the next several years living on the streets and trying not to step on the toes of the Thieves' Guild. Definitely got her bell rung a few times for picking the wrong target and wasn't quite good enough on her own to get into the Guild on her own merit. Once tadpoled, has lots of imposter syndrome and has no idea why anyone's asking her to lead this group (obviously should be Lae'zel). Just does what she needs to for herself and lets the rest of them follow along with some bemusement.

However, discovers as soon as she has an ounce of real power/ability that she can't bring herself to be as selfish as she was, that she has a genuine interest in helping others she perceives as weaker and in need of defense. A lot of pity, a lot of "let me extend my hand back into the muck I just crawled out of." Still talking a big talk, still saying all the hard selfish self-centered out-for-myself things, but when push comes to shove does the right thing and doesn't really care if she's thanked for it. Good at the "big-picture kindness," lousy at the one-on-one right thing when she's got her hand in someone's pockets.

It's why the tiefling abduction in Act 2 hits her so hard--saving them in Act 1 was the first real big gesture of altruism she ever managed in her life, and it felt like suddenly it didn't matter at all. However, Karlach especially gives her a lot of guidance on what it means to be kind despite the pain, and it's something she actively works on and becomes a lot better at it through Acts 2 & 3. By the end of the game, a perfectly reasonably mostly well-adjusted person who has a good time and mostly does the right thing.

Relationship with Astarion: built on recognition of mutual artifice. She knows he's using her from the start, and he knows she's letting him do it--he's fully aware she just wants the distraction and she knows he's ingratiating himself & they're both fine making that sort of trade. There's definitely a tangible attraction that starts the first night he feeds; she's surprised at how into she is and likes knowing she was his first humanoid bite even though she straight-up dies, lmao. I think they both enjoy their mocking flirtations because obviously they don't need them, they're already getting what they want anyway: a good time, mind off bigger matters, assurance of mutual protection in a fight. Only much later do they realize they've caught feelings. His comes somewhere around the arrival at Last Light Inn when she's very upset about the tieflings, and he takes her out in the woods and uses sex to help her forget her troubles for a bit, and her genuine gratitude afterwards is what kind of flips that switch in him from casual FWB to something he actually cares about preserving.

For her, she starts really caring for him about the same time, but it's not until he says something in early 3 about wanting to protect her and keep her safe that she gets hooked for good bc she's never really had anything like that since her parents died. Struggles to recognize her worth in the group outside of her utility; probably struggled with having overlapping skills with Astarion and really tried to make herself charismatic and winning in conversations to distinguish herself from him. Ride or die by the Cazador fight and has no idea what to do with this certainty that they're not going to give up on each other anytime soon, but genuinely eager to have some kind of future to look forward to for the first time since her parents died.

Overall, symmetry in the initial fwb -> genuine care pipeline, affection expressed as needling sarcasm and insults, feral defense when one is injured or in serious danger. Parallels in one spending centuries trying to climb out of the shadows and the other trying to hide herself deeper and deeper in them.

Tavaea: I'm still very early in Act 1 (just ran through the owlbear cave and met the tieflings), but I think where I'm landing is that she's playacting good out of a desperate attempt to counteract the dark urges. Ferociously needs to be in control and has an unspoken expectation (which she doesn't know the source of) that everyone will fall in line behind her. Of course she's the leader--why wouldn't she be? Of course Lae'zel should stand down with Zorru--how dare she speak up in the first place? Genuinely doesn't understand that not everyone sees it this way yet & really is clashing with Lae'zel a bit here.

Not really interested in the altruism of the deed--more interested in that it feels like the natural counterbalance to her desire to slaughter. If she's good enough with her actions, she'll balance out her ledger, right? Basically reactionary goodness. Even though she doesn't necessarily believe in what she's doing, has an unquestioned expectation for everyone else to obey her anyway and doesn't understand why they keep having opinions. Definitely is so wrapped up in her own problems she's not noticing any other party members' issues right now--I think the vampire reveal is going to be a genuine shocker.

Expected arc: starts doing right things for the right reasons, I think probably towards tail end of Act 2. I've read just enough to know to expect some NPC death(s) with this background, but I don't know when they occur, so I'll have to see how this shapes the narrative (and is probably the single biggest reason I can't bring this to be my canon Tav). I'd like to use this death as a catalytic event but that'll depend on the timing.

Expected relationship with Astarion: a surprise mutual understanding of compulsion and dependence and the desperate search for freedom and real autonomy. I'm not yet sure how the first night happens motivation-wise; I don't think she's capable of being attracted to anyone as she is right now. I think honestly she's going to be bemused by him more than anything--why is he flirting with her when there are so many more important things to be worried about & focused on?--and I'm hoping she'll be surprised enough to not run screaming for the hills. I do think she feels the easiest around him so far, just because she thinks he's least likely to be repulsed by the urges in her head, so that might help her acquiesce even if she doesn't find him sexy yet.

Interestingly, I haven't found her willing to share the presence of the dark urges to any party members yet (I have everyone recruited but Karlach), and very interestingly to me Astarion is one she actually CAN'T talk to about the urges! So far only Gale, Lae'zel, and Wyll have options for her to confess, and she hardly knows any of them yet. She doesn't trust any of them to not try to do anything risky and definitely doesn't trust herself not to retaliate, so I'm not sure when she's going to get herself over that hump.

Okay. I think that can get me enough to start with. Playacting good in a desperate attempt to get control of her life and balance out the evil she's walking around with in her head. We'll see if she ever gets to the heart of things as we progress!

#quark plays bg3 #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3

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blackjackkent · 7 months

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After the confrontation with Lae'zel, Hector retreats to his bedroll, near where the others are already sleeping. But despite his utter exhaustion, sleep does not come easily. The parasite is writhing and his body aches and he feels ill and feverish. Despite his assertion to Lae'zel, he does not think this is mere exhaustion. Something is happening.

Eventually, though, the exhaustion wins out, and sleep claims him, and with it, a dream. He feels himself to be outdoors, lying on cobbled stone, surrounded by a gentle breeze and the soft whisper of its movement through tall grass.

Dimly he is aware, within this dreamscape, of movement, a soft mutter of a spell. Pale blue light suffuses his vision and his eyes flicker open.

He finds, looking down at him, a woman he has never seen before, a broad-shouldered orc with jutting jaw and glimmering armor. Her voice is surprisingly soft as she speaks.

"I came just in time. You are transforming."

Imagery passes through him in an instant - the woman standing on the beach, looking at the wreckage of the flaming nautiloid. Then it is gone, and they are alone in the pale light again.

He is dimly aware that he should be afraid, but in the midst of this dream, he feels a strange sort of peace. Where the woman's spell has passed, the pain has eased, and he sits up slowly, looking around him with dazed wonder.

"I know your voice," he says softly, unsteadily. "I've heard it before."

She smiles, inclines her head slightly.

"Yes. You have. I saved you before. And I'm here to save you again."

A flash of images again - this time of the long, terrible fall from the nautiloid, and the magic that caught him, held him, cradled him to a landing before he passed out in the sand.

She stands and looks down at him. "Don't worry. You will not become a mind flayer. Not while I'm around. I'll protect you."

In spite of the fearsomeness of her appearance, her voice is gentle. He listens and lets it soothe and comfort him, and here, just for a moment, for the first time in days, he is not afraid.

She pulls him to his feet and he starts to look around with more clarity at this strange place. It is a garden, or almost one, but it sits atop a floating stone among many others drifting in a vast sea of stars.

Where are we? he wants to ask, but the strange woman is already moving ahead of him, still speaking.

"We haven't much time, so listen closely." The soothing note leaves her voice, replaced by urgency. "There is great potential within you. It comes from that parasite. Your influence is to resist the power it gives, but you must accept it, nurture it."

Hector looks at her with some alarm. Accept it? He has used the parasite's power a handful of times already and each time it has felt awful, invasive and dangerous. He has hated himself for indulging in the power, even when it meant the difference between life and death.

"I will keep it from consuming you," she goes on, and the urgency is unmistakeable now. "But for the sake of both of us, you must learn to wield it."

She turns and throws an arm behind her, gesturing out towards that wide starscape. And out of it emerges a shape, terrifying in its clarity.

A great behemoth of stone, resembling a giant crowned skull, drifts through the space, wreathed in multicolored, ever-shifting light. Among it drift glowing figures engaged in some pitched battle of magic.

"A battle for the fate of Faerun," his mysterious guide says grimly. "A fight we are losing. For now."

She looks towards him, watching as he stares at the vision, trying to comprehend it. "You can change that, but only if you embrace your potential."

He has so many questions. Who is we, and who are they fighting, and what is this thing of stone and light, and how can he, a lost monk with a staff and a worm in his head, possibly have any influence on such a war? But he cannot speak. His words feel frozen in his throat.

"I have to go," the woman mutters. "The enemy is closing in." Turning towards him, she fixes her eyes on his. "I will be back."

And as she finishes speaking, the whole area begins to glow with some deadly encroaching light. She throws up her hands, one blasting forwards with a shield to repel that incoming power, and the other catching Hector in the chest and knocking him backwards out of the dream.

Her voice follows him as he snaps awake on his bedroll.

"Wake now. You'll feel better - I promise."

And he does. He tests his limbs one at a time, feels them move without the ache. His stomach has settled. The fever has broken. He looks to his companions and sees them sleeping soundly, without the restless pain that had begun to take over them all.

But the image of that skull is seared into his mind. What was that? And who was she?

And what in all the hells does it have to do with me?

#bjk plays baldur's gate 3 #hector carlisle #yoooooooo this is getting so intense!

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cloudy-with-a-chance-of-chaos · 1 month

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The Baldurian Journal

Written based on my playthroughs in Baldur's Gate 3 - lemme make myself known as a sort of vanilla player Feel free to ask me about it on my askbox or on the comment section. ⚠️ Long read ⚠️

"I don't know what day is today. Actually I've been on the road for quite a while now and didn't manage to keep track of everything. It's part of the reason I'm writing it down now; not to be a Doomsday messenger, but if it comes to transforming, I think I should leave something behind, to at least show I didn't cave in easily. I also don't know if my trouble remembering things is due to the worm inside my head or just the general falling, crashing, fighting sequelae. Who knows? Had trouble figuring out how to write too. And for some reason, maybe a lapse of insanity, I figured I'd ask the elf for advice. Suffice to say he rolled his eyes, spit out "From the beginning. Where else?", and left me talking alone, wandering to God knows where he goes at night... I don't like this guy. I mean... I'm not fond of him. I can see his appeal — the red piercing eyes everytime he looks at me and, honestly, he's a good talker, and I do not take (much) pride in sharing some points of view with him. But he's so completely and overbearingly annoying. So extremely obnoxious. A girl cannot consider saving a child at peace, it always makes him moody. If he's so bothered why join? Everyone else seems on board with how I've been managing things in order to SURVIVE, but Mr. Magistrate rolls his eyes and barks at me. Well sir, bite me. The past few days have been absolute pandemonium. And as my darling "friend" suggested, I'll start from the beginning. My name is Alyah. I was on the shipwreck days ago. Me and the githyanki Lae'zel rescued this mysterious cleric named Shadowheart before bringing the ship down. People have mentioned it "fell" but I know well enough I crashed it. When I woke up at the beach, the githyanki had vanished; I don't know if she's survived. Astarion was the first one I found, by chance, looking around the debris to figure what the hell happened. And as charming as he is, got me in a headlock with a dagger to my face. To be honest I was quite surprised to be taken down by this frail looking elf; pale, thin and with eyes rather deep in his skull as if he hasn't eaten in days. He has some strength to him, I'll give him that, but it only took me longer to get rid of his paws because of the element of surprise. He said he was on the ship. He saw me there... And once I managed to get away from his dagger he looked... Scared. This was the last time I had a heart-fluttering sympathy for him. Ever since he started following me around like a lost puppy, he's bullied every single person I've talked to. Shadowheart was not amused to have him make fun of her name. Neither was Gale, Gale of Waterdeep, when the local red-eyed pet put his wizarding credentials at stake. Though I kind of agree with Astarion, getting stuck on his own portal was NOT a very crediting move. And as I feared, Gale as also on the ship. And is also stuck with a tadpole in his brains. Although he sounds, looks and behaves way too chirper to someone on the death row...

•••

We tried walking around the forest to explore and look for more survivors, but none in sight. To be honest we stranded so much from the ship I don't think either of us has any idea of how to go back — subconsciously, I think we're all trying to get away as far as possible from those things, even if there's one of them inside each of us.

– Stop. – Astarion grabbed my arm – Listen.

– And what should we be listening to? – Shadowheart mumbled and got the ugliest frown from him.

Elf versus half-elf. I suppose he has better hearing.

His hand pulled me, and the whole group, to the back of a rock to listen. People yelling. Someone asking to open the gate. I found myself staring at the three of them hiding with me and realized I was just a foot in front of the group. Astarion nodded to me.

– Go ahead. – he whispered.

Of course. It's not him who's gonna get killed on day one.

It took me a step. Just a step a bit to the side to try and see what was going on and suddenly all of the Nine Hells broke loose.

Goblins.

A couple of them right behind us, forcing us into battle.

If I recall correctly, Gale electrocuted two of them. I might be wrong. Astarion and Shadowheart had an unbelievable teamwork, given that they act with nothing but despise for each other.

And me. I finally had my hands on my axe after what seemed too long.

Though we were caught by surprise, I thought it was a refreshing battle. A good one. No losses, no harm done (to me and my own), but a nice way to put my body at work again.

The gate that person (I still don't know and actually don't care for whom it was) was asking to be opened, opened. They were wearing the same uniforms as the guards up on the watching.

– Easy to open now, that their own people is mutilated. – I grumbled, avoiding slipping on the fresh blood on the grass and I can swear I heard someone chuckle behind me. I would bet on Astarion, because he had a smirk on that face when I looked behind, but so did Gale.

Maybe I'm funny.

– Should we go inside? – Shadowheart asked, dusting her clothes.

– I don't see why not. – Gale stopped by my side – Hopefully there'll be a nice resting spot for us if they're willing to take in some disheveled travelers like ourselves.

– What if they don't, dear?

– You've seen how quick she runs, we'll be out there in no time. – I could see Gale smiling and Astarion frowning again.

– Or maybe we'll get our hands dirty again... – I said, expecting a reaction. Gale didn't give me one. Shadowheart looked rather annoyed. But Astarion spinned his dagger on his fingers and gestured at me with it.

– Well, if worse comes to worse, at least blood looks good on you, darling.

It sounded enticing, but looked menacing. I wasn't his darling, not if I dragged him into another meaningless fight.

Pity.

I like meaningless fights.

– Well... – I pulled my axe and pointed at him; this is a temporary alliance and it will come the day him and I will end up at each other's throats. But for now... – On you too. Now let's go inside.

#The Baldurian Journal #LauraFics #writing #fanfic #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 fic #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 #fic writing #Hohohohohohoohohoho i am EXCITED #can you tell how i'm taking this game?#hope i get to surprise someone #hehehe #creative writing #bg3 act 1 #bg3 tav #bg3 astarion #bg3 gale #bg3 shadowheart

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larkaloke · 9 months

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I finished my first Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough a couple days ago, so now it's time to talk about it, because I keep meaning to generally talk about my characters more and then I don't do that. So I'm doing it.

Things will get spoilery after the first couple of screenshots.

Yezka'al started as a githyanki fighter (who would become an eldritch knight) from a noble background. It's a little unclear in this game/5E context what noble means for githyanki, but certainly what it meant for Yezka'al was that they did not want to be bossed around by Lae'zel and butted heads with her a lot to begin with. I figure they got snatched by the nautiloid while on their first mind-flayer hunt.

Although, since you do get this line about calling Tu'narath your home, maybe my original interpretation of coming from a noble background as being one of the githyanki who lives in Tu'narath works still?

Anyway, Yezka'al made a lot of bad choices to begin with, because they didn't understand the prime or the people on it and also they were just extremely laser-focused on getting the tadpole out whatever way would work and getting back to killing a mind-flayer.

Not understanding that people don't usually like it when you just up and kill someone, even if that person was a bad person, led to everyone except Zevlor being dead in Emerald Grove, and that... kind of set the tone for things. People kept ending up dead where they went. They realized this was a problem eventually and were better about it after making the truly bad choice of letting Isobel get kidnapped for no real reason (since they, y'know, didn't actually try infiltration at any other point).

But generally their character arc went from this:

To this:

Honestly, I've never successfully played a character who went the self-sacrificing route before (the closest I came was one DA:O character who was all set up to do it but I knew by then that Alistair would just jump in her stead anyway), so that was new. Also tough. But the whole point of freeing Orpheus was so that he could overthrow the Lich Queen and free the githyanki, and how would he do that as an illithid? It turned out to be a satisfying if not completely good ending for Yezka'al.

(Apparently there's a third option if you have Karlach in your party, but unfortunately Yezka'al kind of cut her head off and turned it in for a cool sword, so they didn't have that option.)

People could be forgiven for assuming Yezka'al's hair was red because they were basically always covered in blood whenever they weren't in camp.

As for how the various companions fared (not including anyone I failed to even encounter):

Astarion: Yezka'al mostly took him around because they wanted to be able to get through locked doors and open chests, and also kept getting blown up by traps. They did not get along. Still, they figured maybe if he got a lot of power by becoming a Vampire Ascendant he'd be useful in stopping the Lich Queen and all that, but then he went full villain, so they killed him. RIP.

Gale: Generally just kind of existed? Yezka'al didn't do much with him, beyond pulling him out of a portal. They did say he could have the Crown of Karsus though, because that seemed way better than giving it to Raphael, which they went through a lot of trouble to not actually have to do.

Halsin: He said he'd meet Yezka'al at the camp but also it's fair that he didn't because he probably found out that they killed the entire rest of his druid circle and that's gotta be a bummer. (This also might have been a bug. I don't know, but it made sense.)

Jaheira: That little incident with letting Isobel get kidnapped caused the doom of absolutely everyone in the Last Light Inn except for Yezka'al and companions, and that included Jaheira. RIP.

Karlach: Wyll wanted to kill her, Yezka'al was offered a cool sword to do it, they did it. Then Wyll got all uncertain about it and they got annoyed. RIP.

Lae'zel: Became best friends and fellow rebels, after the intial "who's the better githyanki warrior who's actually destined for greatness" rivalry faded.

Minthara: Killed while generally rampaging through the goblin area, but I suspect that's pretty common. RIP?

Shadowheart: Despite the fact that Yezka'al's initial reaction to her was basically that they just did not care, she clearly took this as support, and eventually the two actually did end up getting along well. She became a cleric of Selune. (Yezka'al didn't care about killing the Nightsong or not, and just let her make the choice. They'd have been cool with the other way, too.)

Wyll: Kind of got left in camp for almost the whole game and just had bad things happen to him and around him, because Yezka'al just didn't much get along with him, and even after they killed Astarion Gale seemed more useful.

There was no explicit option to tell people "look, I'm going to become a mind-flayer to get this thing done, but once we've accomplished our goals kill me", but I figure they probably did tell Lae'zel that while coming to their decision and that's how it'll happen after the hopefully-successful rebellion. (I mean, if it's not successful, they'll probably be dead anyway.)

On that cheerful note, I'm on to my next playthrough!

This is Vethryn. He woke up with a really bad headache and can't remember anything but his name, and he has an urge to kill, but he's dressed as a paladin and has a book about paladin oaths, so that means he probably is one, right? Surely he would have been a good person and he just can't remember it? Yeah, that adds up.

He's probably actually going to end up killing less people and doing more miscellaneous quests than Yezka'al did, honestly, despite that little occasional murder problem... so that'll be interesting.

#baldur's gate 3 #oc #rpg character #games #bg3 oc #bg3 tav #githyanki #character rambles

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tired-pigeon789 · 2 months

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Just in case

hahahah I forgot I'm also writing a academic rivals-ish Gale X OC Tav Fic. figured I should post it here too lol.

Note: Gale X OCTav reader, first chapter is pretty short, word count 1315, nothing graphic but major spoiler warning for gales story. I don't write Fics often but hope you guys like it, this is VERY self indulgent lol.

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looking over at a hand sticking out of a cliff side along with my new travel partners in confusion and awe we just try to take in this weird event on this god awful day. “Just how does one mess up a portal spell like this?” I ask while I stabilize the weave coming from the portal. “I’ll tell you how but first it would be greatly appreciated if you pulled me out.” The voice rings as he takes a deep breath, “keep doing whatever it is you’re doing, it’s helping.” “I don’t understand why you’re even helping the fellow. If he’s too dim witted to get sucked in a portal then just let him suffer the consequences.” Astaron says as crosses his arms at the scene before him. “Well you and I don’t share the same philosophies then.” I say while I reach for the hand to pull the man out. He stumbles forward but catches himself and dust off his robes before looking up at me and my party. Right away he looks familiar but i just can’t seem to put my finger on it. I don’t expect him to be anyone I know Especially so fair out in where, well wherever we all are. “Sorry I’m usually better at that. I’m Gale of Waterdeep.” And just like that it clicks. “Gale Dekarios” I say right after him, softly and in awe. Out of all people to find stuck in rock, Gale Dekarios, I almost want to poke fun. the man looks at me surprised as I gaze at him in turn.

An awkward silence falls on the group and Gale before Shadowheart speaks up. “So, you know each other?” “You could say that. I suppose. Do you…remember me Gale?”I ask finally. “Minerva Del Roma. My, it’s been years since our university days.” I nod as I wrap my arms around my waist awkwardly. “So I take it, you're old school friends? Incredible we should get going now.” Astaron says dryly, clearly wanting to trek forward to, whatever can help us and our parasite. Before anything else could be said I feel the ache and buzz of the tadpoles communicating between me and Gale. “So they got you too? Any chance you have picked up on clerical magic since university? Any surgeon skills? Became uncannily adroit with a knitting needle?” Shaking my head I just shrugged. “No unfortunately, can only heal minor scrapes and wounds. Nothing like this.” I say. “I’m pretty sure no simple cleric could help us with this, it seems like you should know that.” shadowheart chirps out, making Gale sigh. “I suppose you’re right about that. Any ideas as to how you plan to get rid of our awful aliment ?” “Aside from just figuring out where we are first and not much, you can join along if you want. Hate to see my former acquaintance fall to an awful fate.” I offer as the awkwardness slips away, after all this no place for such a feeling.

“I was hoping you’d say that, glad at the very least to be traveling with someone I somewhat know. Given our years of no contact, I remember our university days fondly.” Gale says with a smile that I now recognize. Leading the way we find Lae'zel without having to kill anyone. Further up the road after helping some tieflings we enter a beautiful grove that needs some help with a goblin camp because of course it does. Granted they say that a druid healer got imprisoned there so this could be a lead to solving our problem. But this already is a lot of major things to do, especially given in one day, might as well put saving the world on the to-do list at this point. The sun starts to go down every one makes the choice to set up camp for the night just out side of the grove and near the river but even that takes a while to set up especially since we have a new member to our party. The blade of fronters, what name to such a gentle man. By the time dusk came about all the tents were set and the campfire was blazing I found my self just sitting at the front of my tent with a small loaf of bread and watered down wine.

“Is that really all you plan on eating?” Looking up I see Gale holding out 2 bowls of what looks to be soup. I shrugged as I broke off another piece of bread to eat. “All I had on hand. Since when did you make that if I may ask.” Gale sits down near me and hands me a bowl, I take it and dip my bread in the soup hum softly, it tastes good, kinda homey. “While you setting sit up your tent I got to cooking something for all of us. Hope it’s to your liking.” “It is, thank you.” I say with a small smile and bring the bowl to the lips to take a sip. I offer Gale a piece of bread as we both eat. After some silence between us Gale speaks up. “I know I already said this but it is nice to have someone I already know traveling to get rid of this ailment.” I nod. “Yeah, granted we didn’t really talk much during our school days, it's just nice to know someone.” “Oh we talk a bit, you peer reviewed my writings. We spoke at the library, I woke you up when you fell asleep in the library.” I chuckle as I hear Gale look back on those days. “I’m surprised you remember the library, I barely remember that. A lot has happened since then.” Gale nods as I point that out.

We truly didn’t speak much. Nothing against him, but back then Gale was much different, a tad arrogant and not exactly humble but gifted none the less, it was hard to talk to someone who thought they was the smartest in the room, even harder when it was true. Truthfully I was happy to just be considered a part of the top 5 students of our graduating class at Blackstaff but me and the other 3 were nowhere near Gales level, a born prodigy. Early in our school days I just accepted there's no point in competing for the top spot. Just study and for the sake of learning was enough but even if I wanted to talk to Gale he was always studying, researching, writing, who was I to interrupt that. That fact that we became each other's peer review partners was just something that happened, and by something I mean we sat next to each other in the lecture halls and just asked each other to not get up from our seats and actually talk to people.

Back to our actual conversation Gale leans back as he thinks of something to say. “So how have you been since our graduation?” He asks. “Kept writing articles about ethics of the weave. Somehow joined an adventurers party for a year and traveled across the country, and was on my way to become a professor at Blackstaff but then all of this happened. What about you? I’m horrible at keeping tabs on old classmates.” Gale's brow furrowed as I asked him Taking his time to answer my question. “I’ve just been studying, learning all I can about the weave.” he says plainly. I know that isn’t everything I don’t press any further. “Very like you.” I laugh softly. “If there was anyone I’d want on my side to help rid these tadpoles you’d be on the list.” Gale smiles at that sits back up. “Well, I hope this time around we become friends not just stay old acquaintances.” I nod as I think about for it bit. “As do I.”

#mick says shit #buldars gate 3 #gale dekarios x reader #gale x reader #gale dekarios #gale x tav #academia rivals kinda #be nice i haven't written in a fat minute #may edit this later idk

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