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quintessencewrites · 1 year

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Vanish pt. 2

ShuRiri x Wakandan! fem! reader

“Aneka, you will lead this mission.

General,” the word comes off her tongue like a tease, knowing she’s driving a spear through Okoye’s heart. “Fall back.”

Warnings: ANGST! Explicit language, some violence, toxic!Shuri, mentions of blood, mentions of death.

Word Count: 4.3k+

Tags: @yvxmpire @zestgodtj @k3nn3dyxo @mlmilani @letitias-fav @doms-fav @sweetalittleselfish-honey @g4yforu @widowmakker @becauseimswagman1 @zayswriting @inmyheadimobsessed @laurensmabel1 @malltake12 @msudaku @faeriah-thv @fetchyourlife @mbakuetshurisprincess @sinsikoxo @honey-teaaaaaaaa @rxcently @pinkcorns @takeyaki @yamsthoughts @thethickerside @0hshoot1tsl4ni @shurisbathwater @shurismainbxtch @luvrzhearts @sadfreakx @shuri-my-love @justariellove @heartsforjojo @blackgirlfariy @tuesdaylovesu @chocoflagcutii @taiiunknown @zhanylai @ziayamikaelson @verachii @taiiunknown @beautybyfire @soearthquakequeen @remwritess @pinkwright @jenlouvre @letitiasleftfoot @christinabae

A/N: This is too good, yall! I wasn't originally gonna do a part 2, but then I got to writing and by the time I finished part one, the ideas for a sequel got to flowing. Translations are in the text. As always, ENJOY <3

Vanish Pt. 1 here

A moment of silence passed.

Riri stood frozen in place, shocked at her own words, knowing she didn’t mean them.

Shuri sobbed on her knees, silently pleading for Bast to not take another person out of her life.

Hell, even Griot was quiet, not announcing your departure as he was programmed to do.

“What are you waiting for?” Shuri stood and approached Riri so quickly, the smaller girl flinched. “Why are you standing here? Go after her!”

“Shuri, I-”

“Go get her!” The Queen growled, voice cracking as she begged.

Riri’s mouth opened and closed, her brain working double time for anything to say. “She-I didn’t-”

Her responses weren’t quick enough to extinguish Shuri’s anger. The Black Panther lifted Riri’s entire workstation in one hand and threw the table and all its contents.

Iron Heart ducked, praying the impact of the desk wouldn’t take her head off. It didn't; it hadn’t even hit her, instead crashing to the wall mere inches away from her body.

“Shuri, what the fu-”

But Shuri was already on her way out of the lab, ignoring Riri and shouting orders, “Griot!”

“Yes, My Queen?”

“Do I have any visuals on y/n’s location?”

“No, My Queen. Queen Y/n has abandoned her kimoyo bracelet here in the lab.”

“What about her earrings?”

“Left behind in your bedroom, Queen Shuri.”

“FUCK,” the explicit echoed in the lab, causing Riri to retreat into herself.

“Griot, summon Nakia, Okoye, Ayo, and Aneka. I need all hands for this mission. Tell them to meet me in the throne room.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Wait,” Riri called out, grimacing at how small her voice suddenly sounded. “What can I do?”

The doors to the lab’s entrance parted, letting Shuri leave without so much as opening her mouth to address Riri. The only sound then was that of dainty metal coming in contact with the steel floors.

Riri approached the door slowly to investigate what Shuri had left behind.

It was her wedding band.

“What is this about, My Queen?” Okoye asked, being the first to enter the throne room. Ayo and Aneka followed closely behind, their spears drawn at an unknown attacker.

Nakia was absent.

Shuri’s eyes were still puddled with tears and the anger radiating from her produced a heat the other girls could feel as soon as they approached.

Aneka looked down at Shuri’s hand, eyes searching for the wedding ring that never left it. Of course, it wasn’t there.

“Y/n is gone. We need to bring her back.”

“Gone?” Okoye mimicked. “Gone where? Who has taken her? What are we up against?”

“Sh-she left. She left us. Left behind her beads, even the earrings and her-”

“Her wedding band…” Aneka finished. “But, where is yours?”

Shuri looked down at her bare finger, unable to speak.

“My Queen,” Okoye started gently. “With all due respect, you are asking me to convene my army and explain to them our threat… Are your relationship issues?”

The Queen rose from her throne, so slowly, it gave Okoye ample time to retract her words; her steps shaking the mostly empty room.

“I am asking you to convene your army, General,” the words came out hot, burning Okoye to the core, even causing the couple standing behind her to wince.

“To ensure the safety and safe return of your Queen.”

“Shuri, she took her band off,” Okoye was a brave soul, not backing down.

“She is still your Queen! Regardless of the ring she wears. Mine is off, does that not make me your Queen, Okoye?”

“It’s not the same, Princess, and you know-”

“Queen.” Shuri’s thin body is shaking with the rage that fills it. She looks away from Okoye, even past Ayo to her friend Aneka.

“Aneka, you will lead this mission. General,” the word comes off her tongue like a tease, knowing she’s driving a spear through Okoye’s heart. “Fall back.”

The General’s eyes are wide but she nods at the command. Aneka steps forward, poised tall, and in stance. “Yes, My Queen.”

She offers a small smile to the royal, a sad, knowing one, but Shuri doesn’t return it. “Find y/n. I don’t care what it takes; resources, money, you have it all. Ensure she is safe. Br-” her voice finally breaks and the tears descend her cheeks. “Bring her home to me.”

“My Queen,” Ayo offers slowly. “What-what if she does not wish to return?”

Shuri’s chest retracts, all the air leaving her body. She hadn’t considered that; you not wanting to come home, not to Riri, nor even to her.

“I said bring her home.”

The command came out in a whisper, the Queen no longer being able to talk at a volume above that.

The Wakandan warriors brought their arms across their chest and back down, saluting their Queen before leaving the room. Only Aneka lingered.

When it was just the two of them, she rushed to Shuri, pulling her into a hug she clearly needed. “What happened?”

Shuri’s sobs swept her feet from under her and she fell to the floor, still arm-in-arm with her friend.

“She left us, Aneka. Sh-she left me.”

“Why?”

Shame rushed through the royal’s veins. “We-” she paused a beat, deciding herself unable to speak on Riri’s behalf. “I,” she corrected. “I haven’t been very supportive lately. I broke many promises. I let my work in the lab and with Riri take precedence and she felt forgotten… I even forgot her birthday…”

Aneka gasped “My Queen…”

Shuri nodded. “I’d been distracted. I let that get in the way, and now she’s gone.”

Aneka took Shuri’s left, ringless hand in her own. “That explains why she left her ring behind, but my Shuri, where is yours?”

A sinful scoff left Shuri’s lips “Probably still in the lab with Ri-Miss Williams, where I left it.”

“Miss Williams? Shuri, my dear friend, what is going on?”

Shuri is silent.

Aneka sighs “So when we bring y/n home, My Queen, will she be returning to you and Miss Williams?”

“No,” Shuri stands, tapping her necklace twice and allowing the Black Panther mask to swallow her face. “Just me.”

It’s been weeks.

Three weeks since the search for you began.

Shuri stormed into the lab, mask retracting as she entered.

“Queen Shuri has arrived.”

Riri’s head shot up from her new workstation; she hadn’t seen Shuri in days. She rarely came home anymore, spending days and nights looking for you and coming up short each time.

“Griot!” the agitated queen bellowed.

“Yes, My Queen?”

“Have we any updates via satellite? Has y/n been seen anywhere?”

“Unfortunately not, My Queen.”

Shuri’s shoulders slumped, weighing heavy with another defeat. “What about Nakia?”

“I’m afraid not, My Queen.”

“Bast!” Shuri allowed herself a second to rest her head in her hands before starting to mask up again.

“Wait!” Riri called out, approaching the Queen. “Wait, Shuri, let me help. Please, I want to find her too; I wanna know she's safe just as bad as you do.”

The Black Panther’s posture stiffened, though she didn’t speak. Riri tried again “Y-You don’t have Nakia. You need an extra pair of hands. I can help.”

Shuri laughed, an evil-sounding chuckle coming from her. “I do not need your help.” She approached Riri. “I would not even be searching for her, had you been able to hold your stupid tongue, hm?”

Riri cringed at the words Shuri spoke but didn’t shy away. “I want to help. She’s just as much my wife as she is yours, and I miss her.”

Shuri shook her head, but never let her eyes leave Riri’s face. “She is not. She will not be. When she comes home, she will be coming home to me. Damned to you.”

That rocked Riri to her core. “Shuri, come on, you don’t mean that.”

“I mean it. I mean it in the same way you meant it when you called her the forgotten wife.”

The smaller girl grimaced when her words were thrown back at her. She had been thinking over those words for weeks; losing sleep over how she spoke to you.

Before she could utter another word, Shuri left, leaving Riri where she stood, but not before the Queen noticed something that tugged at her stoned heart, only slightly.

Riri was still wearing her wedding ring.

Two weeks since Nakia returned.

“Queen Shuri, you are being summoned to the throne room.”

Shuri lifted her head, not realizing she’d dozed off in the Talon Fighter while on patrol. “Summoned? By who?” The girl asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“Nakia of The River Tribe,” Griot responded.

“Nakia? She is in the throne room? At the palace?”

“Yes, My Queen.”

“Griot, return me at once.”

“Yes, My Queen.”

Moments later, Shuri crashed through the doors to the sacred room. Nakia stood on the furthest side of the room, glancing sadly out the windows. The sight of her fueled the Queen’s anger. “Where the hell have you been?!”

The former spy didn’t even attempt a fake smile. “Hello to you too, sister,” she stated smoothly, turning to face the vexed royal.

“Where is she, Nakia?”

“She is safe. That is all you need to know; it is all that she requested I share with you.”

Shuri approached her brother’s lover with claws drawn. “Nakia, Bast help you, where is she?”

“Oy? Am I to tell you? Y/n came to me, crying, your majesty. She told me her wives wanted her no longer. Rejection from one partner hurts, can you imagine that from two partners?”

The Queen couldn’t speak; The warrior continued.

“I watched, as the two of you fell out of love with her. Prioritized each other over her. You didn’t even attend the school’s opening. We’d worked on that for years, Shuri. And her birthday?” she scoffed. “You were supposed to be better than that.”

Nakia closed the gap between her and Shuri, grabbing her claw-clad hands. “You must have forgotten. You’ve forgotten who you spent your childhood with. Who grew up alongside you,” she tapped Shuri’s temple as if to bring the memories to the forefront. “You seem to have trouble recalling who was there for you when Baba died. When T’Challa died. All before Miss Riri even came into the picture.”

Shuri’s head fell, shame a feeling she was all too familiar with these days. “I had forgotten. I am trying to fix it,” she whispered, recollections of the two of you flooding her. “But I can not fix it if I do not know where she is.”

Her eyes climbed to the smaller girl’s hopeful, begging, but when Nakia closed her lips tight and shook her head, Shuri’s anger reignited.

“Demethi wena (Damn you), Nakia!”

“Yehlisa umoya, sisi (Calm down, sister). Uzofika ekhaya xa sele elugile (She will come home when she is ready)-”

“Hayi, hayi (No, no)! Ndiyamdinga (I need her). Ndiyamdinga ekhaya ngoku (I need her home now)!”

“Uya kuba nethamsanqa ukuba angafika ekhaya (You will be lucky if she comes home at all)!”

Shuri spun, Nakia’s words recoiling against her. “Intoni (What)?”

When Nakia looks away, rather than speaking, Shuri marches toward her. “INTONI (WHAT)?!” she repeats.

She takes Nakia’s face in her hands, roughly. A line of scarlet flashes from Nakia’s cheek, where Shuri’s claw is digging, but neither girl moves. “Wena (You)-” the Queen croaks. “Wena undincedile ukumkanikazi wam ukuba andisindise (You have helped my queen escape me for good)?”

“Hayi, sisi (No, sister). Ndamncedisa wahmba ade alunge (I helped her leave until she is ready).”

Shuri extends her arm, throwing Nakia forcefully into the window. The thud of her sister’s body does nothing to calm her. Nakia is barely on her feet when Shuri speaks. “Hamba (Leave). Kwaye ungabuyi ade abuye umkam (And do not return until my wife does).”

The River Tribe Warrior is shocked. “Shuri, uthini (What are you saying)?”

The Queen’s lips curl around her next words. “ Elubhacweni (Exile).”

Nakia crumbles. “Sisi, ndiyacela (Sister, please). Likhaya lam eli (This is my home).”

“Was this your home when you missed my brother’s last days? His funeral? Was it your home when you hid my nephew from me for six years, the same way you hide my wife now?” Shuri questioned, switching tongues.

“Shuri, oko akufani (That is not the same)! It was my home when I saved you and your lover’s asses from Namor! When I risked my life, though I had a son to live for. It was my home when I laid there,” Nakia pointed to the now repaired spot on the throne room floor, the events of Queen Ramonda’s death no longer staining the place. “Resuscitating your wife! Trying to save umama (mama)!”

“Lishiye ibhotwe lam, Nakia (Leave my palace, Nakia).”

One week since Riri started her own search for you.

Shuri wasn’t speaking to her, ordering Okoye, Ayo, and Aneka to do the same. Riri’s communication was cut off, even Griot subjecting her to silence.

One night, she decided enough was enough. She hadn’t been able to sleep since you left and she was growing tired of being left in the dark.

If anyone needed to find you, it was Riri. She needed to be the one to locate you and retract her vile words. There wouldn’t be an apology great enough, but she sure would try.

So Iron Heart suited up and quietly left the palace. She didn’t bother removing her kimoyo beads, knowing Shuri was no longer keeping track of her. The realization stung, but it was well-deserved. She let her frustrations get to her and that Chicago attitude and pride presented themselves.

The words spilled from her big mouth before she had time to realize what she was saying. Riri was just as hurt as you were; feeling as though the love she and Shuri showed you were going unappreciated. Their time dedicated to the lab, their sleepless nights, and their repeat failures were just to keep you safe.

“C’mon baby, where’d you go?” Riri spoke lowly to no one, navigating the suit towards Haiti. It’d be a dumb place for you to hide; Shuri would have surely checked there already.

And of course, you weren’t there.

The following day, Riri searched the States. You had no reason to be in America, but that’s exactly why you’d seek refuge there. Again, her search came up short.

Today, Riri was ready to give up. She’d spent many days, many hours looking for you all alone. If Shuri and her team hadn’t found you yet, surely Riri wouldn’t all by her lonesome.

She sauntered through the village, sadness dragging in each of her steps. “Uxolo (Excuse us)!” children’s voices called as they ran across her path. Riri stopped short, avoiding running the tikes down. “Oh, um, sorry!” the girl spoke, understanding their simple word, yet still not knowing how to respond in their language.

One child, a young girl whose hair was adorned in barrettes, turned to give Riri a wave. When she skipped back to her group of friends, she spoke “Yiza, khawuleza (Come, hurry)! Utitshala Y/n ndiza kubuya namhlanje (Teacher Y/n is to return today).”

Riri understood not a single word from the girl’s sentence as they disappeared into your school. None except your name. So she followed.

“Uh, excuse me,” she called once she entered the building, searching desperately for an adult. “Uxolo (Excuse me)?”

“Hello, Your Majesty,” a tall gentleman spoke up, approaching the short royal.

Riri cringed, her royal title sounding foreign to her these days. “Mholweni (Hello), um, hi.”

“What can we do for you? We are very blessed to be acquainted with your presence, though we were not expecting you.”

“Yeah, um, I-” Riri stuttered, unable to form a sentence, the words scrambling around her mind too fast for her lips to keep up.

“My wife,” she finally choked out. “My wife, Y/n. Is she here?”

The older man’s eyes were saddened. “No, Your Majesty. She is not set to come back today.”

“Please,” Riri was close to tears as she begged. “Um, ndiyacela (please). I heard the children mention her name. I just-” The tears flowed. “I just want to know she’s safe.”

The man must’ve felt some pity for the lonely queen, crying in his hallway, pleading. A genuine chuckle released from his chest. “Your Xhosa is not very good.” His words shocked Riri and for the first time in weeks, she laughed a real, hearty laugh. “No, it’s not,” she sniffled.

“But you are trying.”

Her head bobs as she nods a confirmation to his words.

He sighs, grabbing Riri’s hands and pulling her out of reach of passing ears. “Your majesty, tonight the school is having an event. A banquet; to raise money for the Haiti institution. The Queen has promised her return for the event. She will be here then.”

More tears flow from the small girl’s pretty brown eyes. Her queen would be back, tonight.

Did Shuri know?

With a gentle squeeze, the fellow started to leave. “Wait,” Riri called. “Enkosi, mhlekazi (Thank you, sir). What is your name?”

“Emmanuel, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Emmanuel.”

Riri raced back to the palace on foot, too excited to wait for the Talon Fighter, though it would have been quicker. She sprinted into the throne room, hopeful that Shuri would be there.

She was, with Aneka. “Kufuneka sijonge iHaiti kwakhona (We need to check Haiti again). Ndiyazi Nakia umfihle apho (I know Nakia is hiding her there).”

“I found her!” Riri interrupts.

Aneka turns to the girl first, then back to her queen, who refuses to look up. “Aneka, sishiye (Leave us). Enkosi, mhlobo (Thank you, friend).”

With a nod and a salute, Aneka leaves the throne room, leaving the two queens who haven’t spoken in days.

“Shuri, baby, I found her.”

“Where is she?” the panther asks, still not making eye contact.

“She’ll be here tonight,” Riri takes slow, careful steps to Shuri, unable to gauge her emotions and not wanting to set her off. “The school’s having a fundraiser. She’ll be here.”

Shuri glances at her wife “How do you know this?”

“I went to the school.”

With a bite of her lip and a swift nod, Shuri dismisses Riri. “Thank you for the information. You may leave.”

“Leave? Shuri, what the hell do you mean leave?”

A deep, impatient sigh is brought forth by the Queen. “I know you know what leave means.”

“Nah, to hell with that, Shuri! I’m not leaving. I’m the one who gave you the intel. Imma be there with you. I’m a part of this mission now. I should have been from the start.”

Shuri steps closer to Riri, seemingly to intimidate her, though the girl doesn’t appear scared. “A mission that would have never come to pass had you not said what you did.”

Riri’s heart thumps hard in her chest. “And I’m trying to make up for it, Shuri. How am I supposed to apologize if you keep shutting me out?”

The question is rhetorical; Ri keeps talking. “You not entirely innocent in this either. You broke promises too. Ignored her just as much as I did. You,” she stabs a finger into Shuri’s armorless chest. “Forgot her birthday too, princess. Your shit stink too, Shuri. So forget that shit; y/n is my wife. That’s my girl and I been missing her heavy. So I’m coming tonight.”

A smirk sneaks its way across Shuri’s face. “There you go with that mouth again.”

“Yeah, here I go with my mouth again, a mouth I don’t know how to close and a mouth that don’t know how to hold its tongue. That’s why y’all was supposed to do it for me.”

Shuri shakes her head, frizzy curls swaying across her face. A bright smile, her first in weeks stretches her lips. “Alright, let’s bring our girl home.”

The night comes quickly and as present as you’re trying to appear at your function, anxiety is running through you. Being home brings forth a mix of emotions; excitement for the banquet, and familiarity at the faces you’ve missed. And worry that somehow word of the event that you swore your staff to secrecy over hadn’t remained confidential during your absence.

Nakia was at your side, acting as both a friend and a bodyguard. “You did not have to come,” you spoke to her. “I didn’t need protection. The queens; they will not hurt me. Shuri will be more upset at your presence than mine.”

The small scar on her cheek marked evidence of Shuri’s anger in the passing weeks. You’d apologized repeatedly to your dear friend, but she didn’t blame you. “Your wife has a temper. She always has. I’ll be fine, she just needs some time to calm down.”

Her eyes move towards the entrance of the school as the doors part and Aneka, along with Ayo and Okoye precede your wives. “Speaking of the queens…”

Hayi, akukho ndlela imbi (No, no fucking way). When you turn, the breath escapes you. Shuri and Riri. The Black Panther and Iron Heart. Their eyes locked intensely on you.

You look around at your staff, wondering which one had loose lips. “Nakia,” Shuri greeted when they approached. Nakia stays silent and Shuri continues. “I owe you an apology, for our disagreement those weeks ago. I am sorry, sisi.” To you, she switches tongues as she asks “Ikumkani wam (My queen), singathetha (can we talk)?” with an outstretched hand.

No, your heart screams, but your movements betray you. Placing your palm in hers, you allow Her Majesty to guide you outside, where the Royal Talon Fighter awaits, with Riri in tow.

None of you speak until the ship’s doors were encapsulated, providing all the privacy in the world. When they did, it was you to break the silence. A loud slap echoed in everyone’s ears, your hand coming in contact with Riri’s cheek. Breathing hard, you voiced “I’ve been waiting to do that for weeks. Sorry, Riri, I didn’t find a bitch to give your wishes of luck to.”

Shuri stood, slightly amused until her cheek was the next to be assaulted. “And you. You’re lucky I’m not skilled with any weapons for the way you returned my Nakia to me. Her face bloody, her ribs broken. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Though her face stung, Riri’s ears perked up. “Your Nakia?”

Shuri stared at you, her brain wondering the same.

“Put your petty jealousy to rest. It has been three weeks, do the two of you really think so little of me to find another lover in that short time, especially one who is so close to you, Shuri? We’ve known Nakia since we were kids.”

Shuri nods, clearing her head, and starts to open her mouth, but Riri beats her to it. She comes at you fast, throwing her arms around you so tightly, it steals your breaths. “I’m sorry, ma. I’m so fucking sorry.” The tears are already spilling down her cheeks. “I don’t know how I could have said those things to you.”

You unwrap her hold on you. “You said them because you meant them.”

Riri’s head shakes furiously. “I didn’t, y/n, my love. I swear I didn’t.”

Her eyes are swimming with sincerity and it breaks the cement that had formed around your heart. You grab her face. “You swear?”

She leans into your touch. “I will spend the rest of my life showing you I didn’t mean it, ma.”

You nod slowly. “You know I owe you more than just a slap, right? For speaking to me like I’m some bitch on the streets and not your wife of four years?”

A tiny smile crosses Riri’s features. “Let me suit up and you can take all the shots you want at me.”

“Uh, uh. You don’t get the suit.”

Your words bring a laugh from the small girl, one that passes onto you.

Shuri stands back, hands in her pocket, just watching. She’s silently wiping her own tears, but when you finally look upon her, she takes it as an in.

“Yiza apha, usana (Come here, baby).”

You obey, releasing Riri from your hold as you glide over to your queen. She pulls you in by your waist, holding your body tightly against hers. “Uyakhumbula xa ndivuma iimvakalelo zam ngawe (Do you remember when I confessed my feelings for you)?”

Your head bobs. “We were children; only about 12 years old.”

“Ewe, kukanikazi wam (Yes, my queen). And what did you tell me?”

A giggle escapes you as you recall. “Nditshate, ukuba uyandithanda (Marry me if you love me).”

Shuri shares your laughter. “Ewe, nkosazana (Yes, princess). Bendikuxelele ukuba ndizakwenza kamsinya kangangoko ndinako (I told you I would as soon as I could).”

“Kwaye wenze (And you did).”

“Nda (I did).”

The tears in Shuri’s eyes threaten to spill over. “I made that promise to you at 12 years old, and I kept it. However, for some reason, at our grown age, I made promises to you weeks ago that I did not keep.”

Your head drops just as the tears do, unable to look your wife in her face. Shuri’s having none of that though, gently grabbing your chin and pulling your gazes back into unison.

“Uxolo, sthandwa (I’m sorry, my love). Ndingu (I am). I’ve been slacking, but I won’t continue to. Please, come home. Ukukukhanya kwan (You are my light), and my world has been so dark these past few days. I can not bare it anymore.”

Her words crack any further hardening of your heart. “Ewe, sthandwa (Yes, my love). I’ll come home.”

Shuri buries her head in your neck, kissing and crying, “Enkosi,” repeating from her lips. Riri stands back, weeping harder at the display before her. You reach your hand out to her, “Yiza, ntombazana sisidenge.”

Riri stands still, eyebrows raised, brown, hopeful eyes piercing your own loving ones. “Translate?”

“Come here, silly girl.”

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blackjackkent · 4 months

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The building the fisherman sent us to is a large warehouse sitting right on the edge of the water.

Hm.

This oil-vs-blood thing is very strange. I'm still sticking with my theory that there's some fucked up Steel Watcher going around murdering people, but I don't think it's actually correct.

The warehouse is called Flymm Cargo, and its door is locked. Unlocking it reveals a bunch of dead goblins and some very, very angry worgs.

Not pictured, a number of local refugees who panicked when the fight started, which is super reasonable, and ran straight INTO the building and disappeared, which is not.

Not a terribly difficult fight. The worgs were named Gristle, Snarrrl, Rrrripper, Snapp, and Cuddleface(!), and stayed mostly grouped up so Minsc's AOE throw with Nyrulna did a lot of work. Also tried having him throw Boo into the fray for the first time; I'm not positive it had any tactical benefit but it was quite satisfying to see Boo squeaking his way through the air and slamming into an enemy.

Minsc also shouted "Buttkicking for goodness!" which brought my heart a lot of joy.

The combination of Hector, Karlach, and Minsc really makes for a juggernaut team comp (with Jaheira often alongside as a panther bc I am being a disappointment to Zen's guidance and making her go murder kitty all the time even though it's not optimal). XD

The warehouse seems to be otherwise abandoned except for the aforementioned dead goblins, who I assume owned the worgs. Hector was able to perceive a trapdoor under some cargo containers which seems to be the only likely path forward.

This at first led to what seemed like a fairly nondescript basement until I realized that it is lined with what appear to be prison cells. O.o Not sure what Flymm Cargo is hauling but it seems maybe a smidge concerning.

Thankfully there don't seem to be any people in any of the cells. (Or anything for that matter, except for one propaganda pamphlet about Gortash's new regime.) One small mystery solved, though - I now know where that "A Greasy, Smelly Climb Up..." area transition in the sewers would have led to:

Lovely. Thankfully we don't have to go that way; there's one other main door out of this area.

Hm. Machines that leak oil that looks like blood, perhaps?

Inside Machine Parts Storage we find:

Thieves' tools

Infernal iron (is there any point to carting this around anymore?)

Something called "G-Cube Lube"

Gross. Please tell me that's not what all the grease down in the sewers was.

Further on... I think we might have hit the jackpot.

...Is that a submarine? O.O

The area has one guard and is full of steaming pipes and cranking gears and seems very industrial compared to much of the city. There's a journal sitting on a desk in one corner:

Hm. First of all - Clockwork Escape Kayak is my new rock band name. Second - I'm assuming the "Cap" is the submarine, and I'm guessing to that it has something to do with the attack on Holli. What else around here would have made the sort of big wake that the fisherman was describing?

The journal is labeled "Redhammer's Journal" and the man by the sub is named "Redhammer the Deviser" so I'm guessing he's the man in charge.

"Oi, what's this? You ain't supposed to be down here, mate!"

Narrator: You spot a curious metal contraption - a submersible.

Hector has a few more intimidating/conflict-oriented dialogues here, but to start with he's just going to sate his own curiosity until the man tries to throw him out physically. "That submersible - why is it here? What is this place?"

"The only port in this whole bleedin' city that matters," the dwarf answers, unhelpfully. "Now why are you here? Did Gortash send you?"

As usual, Hector has no interest in lying, nor would he be much good at it. "You killed one of those servants of Umberlee," he says matter-of-factly. "Now they want you dead."

The dwarf raises an eyebrow - wary, but not afraid. "Oh yeah? And are you here to make good on that?"

Hector hesitates. Is he? Certainly he needs more information to know if he wants to kill this man in cold blood - his only true goals here are to impede Gortash's operation and to prevent any more innocent Umberlants from getting killed out in the water.

"I just want to know what happens in this port," he says firmly.

"Nothing without Lord Gortash's go-ahead," Redhammer says impatiently. "I transport whoever he needs taken to the Iron Throne. It's an underwater prison - most secure in the Realms. Lord Gortash keeps some Gondians there. Collateral to keep those working in the Steel Watch Foundry under control."

Hector's eyes widen. Oh, shit...

His brain starts working rapidly, parsing together a number of different facts all at once.

The Iron Throne - he knows from his own historical reading - is a name that goes back more than a century. Originally it belonged to a so-called merchant organization which orchestrated the iron crisis in Nashkel, a plan which was co-opted by the Bhaalspawn Sarevok in his attempted takeover of Baldur's Gate. How long has there been a prison named for it? Is it an official one, or a new one constructed under Gortash's leadership? Was the name a dark joke on Gortash's part? Or perhaps on Orin's?

And the Gondians...

He feels a flash of brutal vindication. He was right, and Wulbren was wrong. The Gondians are being coerced - their compatriots, or perhaps loved ones, being held imprisoned to secure their loyalty. To destroy the foundry wholesale would have been to kill trapped innocents.

And though he came here with the vague thought of assisting the Umberlants in their revenge, that thought has been replaced by another, far more important plan. Those prisoners need to be set free.

Not just because it is the right thing to do (though it is), but by doing so, they would destroy Gortash's leverage over the Gondians, and destroy the Foundry's support system. Having done that - it follows, theoretically at least - the Steel Watch will crumble, or at least be significantly weakened.

Hector feels a pulse of excitement starting to thud under his jaw - though his control holds, and none of it shows in his face. "You're going to take me to the Iron Throne," he says coolly. ""m getting the prisoners out."

The dwarf examines his impassive expression for a moment in silence, then shrugs. "I'll take you in," he agrees. Whether he is afraid of Hector's threat or simply doesn't give a shit is unclear; Hector supposes he'd take either. "But look-- there's some bad shit going down in there. You don't want to get involved. Neither did I, but it was them or me."

Hector opens his mouth to ask for clarification, but Redhammer turns away, shrugging him off. "I'll get Cap warmed up. Get in when you're ready."

-----

They all eye the little submersible rather warily as it starts to hum with power in the water.

"We are to go beneath the waves?" Minsc asks, some of his usual jovial humor missing from the question. "It is not that Minsc is afraid, you understand, but Boo does so very much dislike being wet..."

Hector smiles slightly. "I can't say I blame him, Minsc. On the bright side... this man is clearly as self-interested as they come, and therefore would likely not trust his own hide to that machine if it were not safe."

"The only true constant in the world," Jaheira murmurs dryly.

"Cheer up, Minsc," Karlach says with a grin from Hector's other side. She has been visibly excited to get a chance to talk to their new ranger companion whenever the opportunity presents, and this is no different; he can see the way her eyes are glowing with energy. "You heard what the dwarf said. It's an evil prison, and that means evil guards. You know what that means!"

Minsc brightens up at once and Boo, on his shoulder, gives a loud squeak. "You are right, my fiery friend! That is ever so many evil butts we may kick with both boots!"

#bjk plays baldur's gate 3 #hector carlisle #bjk writes her own party banter

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