Last Seen Blogs
archie-asparagus
archibald asparagus my beloved
papibdsm
Papibeardsm
ultimate-happiness
Simply Irresistible
i-pytm
IPYTM !!!!!!!
mulheresnegrasbr-blog
Mulheres Negras
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 18
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The next morning she was, for once, not the last to wake up. She emerged from her tent to see the usual sight - people getting ready, Gale making everyone breakfast, but there was one person missing.
She went over to the campfire and sat down. Karlach was sat next to Gale, looking uncharacteristically sad this morning. Of course, Saff knew why.
“How is he?” she asked softly.
“Not good,” Karlach answered, glancing towards Wyll’s tent. “I spoke to him a bit earlier, but he just wanted to be left alone. I wonder if he might actually be better off going with the others today. Might give him something to take his mind off it.”
“Not a bad suggestion,” Gale agreed. “I suspect he won’t agree, though.”
Karlach hadn’t taken her eyes off his tent.
“I’m going to go talk to him again. See if I can convince him to eat anything.”
She stood up and headed off. Gale watched her leave, then looked over to Saff.
“And how are you feeling this morning?” he asked, serving up a plate of food and holding it out for her.
“Not as bad as last time,” she answered, taking the plate. “I hope Wyll’s ok…”
“The life of a warlock is not an easy one,” Gale said softly. “But he is strong. He will persevere.”
“I hope so,” she said quietly as she took the first bite of her food. She tried to think if there was anything they could do to help him, but knew it was likely just something that would take time.
As she was finishing her food the group were rather surprised when an eagle descended from the sky and landed in the middle of the camp, until that eagle changed in a flash of magic to a familiar elf.
“Halsin!” Saff said happily, putting her plate aside and standing up.
“Good morning,” he greeted them as they stood up.
“This is Halsin??” Astarion gasped as he looked up at the huge elf both with a look that was impressed, intimidated and slightly turned on. “You weren’t lying about him…”
Before Halsin could question that comment, Lae’zel spoke.
“So you are the one who would have us go to Moonrise?” she asked, clearly sceptical about this plan.
“Yes. That is where the tadpoles are coming from, where the cultists all go. That is where I believe we’ll find answers.”
“We don’t need to find the cultists. We need to get to the creche,” she insisted, as stubborn as ever.
“Ah yes, the githyanki creche? Zorru says he saw githyanki by the mountain pass. It is not a route I would recommend, but that way will take you to Moonrise Towers.”
Shadowheart looked curious now, realising they could use this to their advantage.
“So we can go via the creche?” she asked. “That makes things easy then. We will go to the creche first, and if the githyanki can’t cure us, we will continue to Moonrise.” She hoped that would get Lae’zel to shut up.
“They will cure us,” Lae’zel insisted.
“Hmm… not a bad plan, but heading to Moonrise via the mountain pass will be treacherous,” Halsin warned. “The area around Moonrise is cursed. There is another route through the Underdark which will get you a lot closer. It could be safer.”
“The Underdark? Safer??” Astarion laughed in surprise. “Well, never thought I’d hear those words together.”
“I hope that conveys just how dangerous the shadow curse is,” Halsin said seriously. “But let us speak of this later. For now I bring good news. Where are Wyll and Karlach?”
The group looked towards Wyll’s tent. Halsin could sense a tension in the air, though he didn’t know why.
“I’ll get them,” Saff said, hoping whatever this good news was might help cheer up Wyll. She headed over to the tent and softly called through.
“Wyll? Karlach? Halsin’s here, he has some good news for us all.”
There was a pause, then movement. She stepped back as Karlach stepped out, followed by Wyll.
“Ah, Karlach, Wy-” Halsin started, but stopped when he saw Wyll’s appearance. “By Sylvanus… what happened to you??”
“It’s… a long story,” Wyll said with a sigh. “I will explain later. I hear you have good news?”
“Ah, yes! The tieflings have been preparing and are ready to leave soon. But before they do, they want to properly thank you all and celebrate. They have proposed a party at your camp tonight, if you’d all be willing?”
Karlach’s eyes lit up.
“A party?? Fuck yes!” she said happily, punching her fist into the air. Saff was equally excited.
“That sounds amazing!” she said eagerly.
“I’m not normally one for parties, but after all we’ve been through, I think some merriment wouldn’t go amiss,” Gale agreed. The others were slightly less enthusiastic.
“Hmm… as long as they bring some good wine,” Shadowheart said, which caught Astarion’s attention.
“Oh, now we’re talking,” he agreed, a smile spreading across his lips.
“I will make sure to tell them good wine is a priority,” Halsin said with a chuckle. Lae’zel rolled her eyes.
“Very well, if we must…” she murmured. “But don’t expect me to sing and dance.”
The group looked to Wyll, the only one who hadn’t spoken yet, but he looked away.
“I… will sit out, if that’s ok,” he said quietly. “I don’t think the others will want to see me right now.”
“What?? Wyll…” Karlach started, surprised at first, before speaking more seriously. “Wyll, you saved them. They know you, they know you’re a good person. And I’ll tell them all why this happened - because you saved me. Because you did the right thing. They won’t be scared of you, they’ll want to see you!”
He finally looked back and their eyes met. She could tell he wanted to believe her, but was still hesitant.
“Plus,” she said softly, her voice getting a bit emotional. “They’re tieflings. And if there’s anything us tieflings know, it’s not to judge someone for a pair of horns.”
At first he looked surprised, til a small smile came to his face.
“Yes, you’re right, of course. Very well. I’ll be there,” he decided. There was still a slight sadness to his voice, he was still far from completely accepting what he had become, but he’d made the first step.
“Yes! That’s the spirit!” Karlach said happily, grinning widely. She knew he had a long way to go, but was glad for this at least.
“Yes, fine, good. Can we get going now? We are already late,” Lae’zel said firmly, annoyed by the delay.
They said their goodbyes and the group headed off, though Saff couldn’t help but notice the way Karlach looked back at Wyll as she disappeared into the trees.
The four of them sat by the campfire as Wyll explained what happened to Halsin. Halsin was shocked and sympathetic, lamenting how cruel life is to punish those that do the right thing. He tried healing Wyll of his affliction, but was no more able to do that than he had been able to heal the tadpoles.
After a while Wyll decided he needed some time to himself. He was also aware Halsin was there to teach Saff, and didn’t want to get in the way of their lessons. He decided to take a walk through the forest, hoping it would clear his mind.
Halsin, Saff and Gale headed to the river bank where she and Gale had practised before. The rock still had the burn marks from their previous lesson, though there was unlikely to be much fire involved in today’s lesson.
“I will leave you to it, then,” Gale said as Halsin found a good spot for them.
“You are welcome to stay if you wish,” Halsin said, looking over at him. “You are a man of magic and learning, correct? I cannot guarantee I’ll be able to teach you to cast any druidic magic, but you’re welcome to try.”
Saff’s face lit up and she looked at him, clearly wanting him to stay. His own smile mirrored hers as Halsin suggested that.
“I’d love to,” he said happily, moving to join them.
In truth, there was another reason Halsin asked him to stay - casting druidic magic was based on emotions, and he had a feeling he knew what emotion had driven Saff to be able to do it before. She would likely find it a lot easier to learn if the source of that emotion was there with her.
The first lesson was about getting into the right mindset. Both wizards and druids had to have a strong control over their minds, though both groups approached this in different ways. The two of them followed Halsin’s lead in meditation, focusing on emptying their mind and listening just to the sounds of nature. Halsin spoke of feeling a connection with the world around them, and Gale couldn’t help but feel there were a lot of similarities between the connection druids need to nature and the connection wizards need to the Weave, and wondered if channelling druidic magic wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
That was, until he actually tried it. Halsin held out his hands and they watched as a wave of orange magic flowed between them and out into the world. Similar to the Weave, and yet, different. He encouraged them both to try, but when they did, both could only summon the Weave. Gale’s magic was a strong flow of deep purple, beautiful and elegant. Saff’s was… less strong, dimmer and weaker, but still there. To her surprise, Halsin said that was a good thing - Gale was powerful to be sure, but the Weave was all he’d ever known. To learn a new way of channelling magic now would be almost impossible for him. But for her, whose mind was still learning, still open to something new, it might come easier.
After lunch, Wyll even decided to join them for a bit, partly out of curiosity, partly out of a desire to get his mind off other things. His grasp on magic was a world away from any of theirs, but it was interesting for him to get a glimpse into what other spellcasters needed to learn their craft.
After a while Wyll and Gale decided to give Saff some time to focus on the lessons alone. They headed down the river together, chatting once they were out of earshot.
“I consider myself quite a patient man, but I could never have been a wizard,” Wyll commented with a slight chuckle, musing on how much work must go into it. “At least with a blade it is clear what you need to improve upon. With magic it is too… abstract for my tastes.”
“It isn’t for everyone,” Gale agreed. “Though don’t put yourself down, Wyll. I think you could do it, given the time and lessons.”
“Hmph… I think I’d rather just wash my hands of magic entirely…” he said quietly, a sadness in his voice. Gale looked at him sympathetically, wishing he could do more to help his struggling friend.
“How are you feeling about… everything?” He asked softly. Wyll just shrugged.
“What else is there to say?” he said simply. Gale nodded understandingly. They’d spoken about it at length already - there was nothing more talking could do. All that could help was time. Gale put his hand on Wyll’s shoulder, offering him what comfort he could, a silent moment of support before the two continued on.
The conversation turned to what lay in the group’s future as they continued to wander.
“Even if the creche is able to cure us, I intend to continue to Moonrise,” Wyll said, looking up at the trees as he spoke. “There’s a conspiracy to be uncovered here. I hope you will join me?”
He waited for an answer. When one didn’t come he looked over to Gale, expecting to find him looking unsure what his decision would be in that scenario. Instead he was surprised to see Gale was no longer by his side. He looked back and found him lagging a few feet behind, looking rather pained as he walked.
“Gale? Are you alright?” he asked, walking back to him.
“Y-yes… I think… I will need another artefact once we get back to camp,” he said, slightly breathlessly. He clutched at his chest, wincing a bit in pain.
“Then let’s head back,” Wyll decided. “Good thing we’ve got plenty of items from the goblin camp.”
Gale nodded and turned to head back with him. They walked in silence for a bit, before Gale spoke again.
“Moonrise…” he started, trying to focus on the conversation they’d been having. “You’re right, the Absolutists pose a threat to everyone if they grow powerful enough. Taking down the cult would be the right thing to do. But…”
He trailed off slightly, looking away.
“But…?” Wyll prompted. Gale paused before continuing.
“But… even if I am able to cure myself of one parasite, I still have another inside me.”
He winced again, though this time it didn’t look like it was from physical pain.
“I… I had resigned myself to the fact that there may be no cure. I had accepted what would happen. But now…”
He lifted his head, and the slightest smile came to his lips.
“I have something that I didn’t have before. Something… to live for.”
Wyll found a smile coming to his lips as well when he saw Gale’s hope. It was bittersweet, in a way - knowing that Gale had lost all hope before, but to know he’d found it again now was heartwarming.
“I believe there’s a cure out there for you, Gale. And if I can, I will help you find it,” he promised him sincerely. Gale met his eyes, feeling truly honoured to have found such friends here.
“Thank you, Wyll.”
The walk back was long and difficult. They hadn’t realised quite how far they’d wandered from camp, and now with Gale struggling more with every step, reaching camp started to feel like an impossibility.
Eventually the pain grew too great. One final step and his legs almost gave way beneath him. He stumbled to the side and leant against a tree, clutching at his chest. Sweat dripped down his face, over his brow that furrowed in pain.
“Gale!” Wyll started, moving to support him.
“Sorry… I… just need… a moment…” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
“You need more than a moment,” Wyll said, not wanting him to try to continue walking in this state. “Listen, the camp’s not far now. You stay here and I’ll run back and grab an item for you. Ok?” Gale hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
Wyll helped lower him to the ground and got him sitting with his back resting against the tree, then quickly ran off back to camp, not wanting to leave him out there alone for any longer than necessary.
Halsin and Saff were meditating when they heard hurried footsteps. Saff opened her eyes and turned to see Wyll quickly run to Karlach’s tent and start rummaging through her bags.
“Wyll?” she called, standing up and hurrying over to him. “What’s wrong? Where’s Gale?”
“He’s not far from here, but he needs another artefact,” Wyll explained, looking through Karlach’s various bags. “Do you know where she put them?”
“Uuh…” Saff joined him looking through the bags as Halsin came up behind them. “I thought it was one of these?”
“Me too,” he said, starting to get a little bit panicked. Saff was getting similarly worried.
“Alright, Wyll, take Halsin to go get Gale and help him back here. I’ll find the artefacts,” she said, not wanting to leave him alone after what happened the other day with the gnoll. Wyll nodded and quickly ran off with Halsin while she continued to search.
It wasn’t long before they returned. Saff turned to see Halsin carrying Gale, who looked like he really would have rather not been carried but didn’t have a choice.
“Found them?” Wyll asked hopefully, but Saff shook her head in a panic.
“No… I checked every bag 3 times, they’re not here!” She was really starting to panic now, and Gale could see that as Halsin lowered him down in front of the campfire.
“Saff…” he rasped, trying to smile reassuringly despite how bad his condition looked. “It’s ok. I can wait til the others get back.”
“Are you sure?” she asked in concern, walking over to kneel next to him.
“Yes. They’ll be back soon. Trust me, I’ve gone for days like this before, it’s fine.”
“What if the items are missing? What if, I don’t know, someone snuck into camp and stole them??”
“Then… we shall have to hope Astarion will be willing to part with his new boots,” Gale said with a small smile, trying to reassure her with a bit of humour. He managed a small chuckle at his own joke, though it quickly turned into a cough. She picked up a waterskin and handed it to him, helping him drink from it.
Halsin and Wyll glanced at each other with knowing looks. As bad as the situation was, it was quite cute to see her look after him like this.
Saff decided to take the rest of the day off their lessons and stay with Gale to make sure he was ok. Halsin returned to the grove, partly to see if he could find the others and find out where the artefacts were, and partly to check if the party was still on track for that evening. He returned just over an hour later, flying back overhead again in eagle form before coming down to land. Wyll walked towards them as well from the riverbank where he’d been training and the three watched in hope as Halsin transformed back. To their relief, Halsin greeted them with a smile and a ring in his hand.
“Guess who accidentally took the wrong pack this morning,” he said, handing the ring to Gale.
“Karlach took the wrong bag??” Gale said in surprise as he took the ring. Halsin shrugged and nodded.
“Hah, that does sound like something she’d do,” Wyll laughed. Gale gratefully absorbed the ring and its powers, feeling the strength returning to him. Saff happily watched the colour return to his cheeks as the Weave flowed into his chest.
“Better?” she asked, relieved to see him looking like himself again.
“Yes, though… it’s still not quite sated. The hunger is dulled, but… still there…”
“Maybe you need another item?” Wyll suggested. Gale looked uncertain, but nodded. He decided it was best not to worry them for now.
“Maybe. I will see when the others are back. You found them, then?” he asked, turning to Halsin.
“Yes, they were at the grove, taking what looked like a much-needed rest. They wouldn’t go into detail about whatever it was they’d been fighting, they just said that Ethel couldn’t help.”
They were sad but unsurprised by this news. Curious too as to what they’d been fighting, but they figured it was probably just some last errant goblins wandering the area.
“Is the party still on?” Saff asked, hoping for some good news.
“Yes! The tieflings are very excited. Bex has baked cookies for everyone, Alfira says she’s written a new song for the party, even Rolan is excited for it. They’re going to start making their way over in the next hour or so.”
Saff couldn’t wait, and she knew that even though Gale wasn’t usually one for parties, he was looking forward to a night of frivolities to alleviate the struggles they’d all been through over the last few days. She just hoped Wyll would be able to enjoy himself, too.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 17
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
After a long, philosophical discussion, it was decided to let Shadowheart stay. Even though she clearly had a very different outlook on life to the rest of the group, she posed them no threat, and they all knew they needed her.
Eventually the subject moved back to the day’s events and onto the plan for the next day. It was decided that Wyll, Lae’zel, Shadowheart and Astarion would head to Ethel’s house. Lae'zel had said she wanted to see the looks on their face when they realised that this was yet another waste of time.
After dinner, Saff helped Gale clear away the cooking supplies as the group retired.
“You know, I think it’s unfair that the ones who did the cooking should also have to clean up. We should get some of the others to do it today,” she complained.
“As much as I wholeheartedly agree with you, I think convincing some of the others of that might be difficult,” Gale said with a chuckle. “Besides, the washing up doesn’t take that long.”
“That’s true… but if we leave now, we’d be able to watch the sunset,” she said with a playful smile. The sun was just beginning to dip below the trees, and their usual spot further down the river would give a beautiful view as the river stretched out west.
“Hmm… you make a good point… I’m sure Wyll and Karlach would be willing to take the cleaning up for today,” he said with a smile, looking forward to sharing such a view with her.
A sudden wind whipped at their robes. They ignored it at first, until another gust of wind so strong it nearly blew them off their feet swept through the camp. The rest of the group were taken by surprise too, wondering if a sudden storm was brewing, until they saw black tendrils of smoke blowing along the ground. The tendrils began to converge at a single point and the smoke grew, a strong charge of magic in the air. Anyone standing near it stumbled back as the smoke formed a circle that suddenly burst into flames, and a figure of what appeared to be some sort of black ooze began to rise out of the portal.
The group watched in shock and confusion as this played out before them - all but one, who had known this was coming and had been dreading it.
Wings suddenly unfurled from the figure and the ooze coalesced into the form of a devil.
Gale and Saff had spoken before about the lives of warlocks, bound by an unbreakable contract. Saff was horrified now to see first hand the consequences of breaking that contract.
Before they knew what was happening Wyll was left forever transformed, and with another flash of magic and fire the devil disappeared, leaving camp in silence once more.
“Wyll! Gods, are you alright??” Karlach gasped, running to his side, trying to look at him but forcing herself to remember not to touch him.
“I… by the Hells, what has she done to me…” he whispered, looking at his hands. He turned them over, seeing the ribs and markings in his skin.
“I swear, next time I see her I’ll remove that smug head from her neck!” Karlach swore angrily, clenching her fists, her fires starting to burn hotter.
“Careful, Karlach,” Gale warned. “Save that rage for when she’s here next.”
She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down, but it was no easy task.
“So… what exactly just happened?” Astarion asked, still at a bit of a loss as to what he just watched.
“That was Mizora. My patron,” Wyll explained with a deep sigh. “I vowed to slay Karlach. I broke that vow - and this is my punishment. She has turned me into one of her own. A devil.”
“You’re a devil now?” Astarion asked, sounding a bit too excited for just about anyone else’s liking. “Do you have a devil’s powers, too?”
“No. Just the appearance of one,” Wyll explained.
“Oh. A pity.” The glare Wyll gave Astarion at that moment could have killed, and it was only made worse by the red and black eye he now had. Even Astarion flinched at the glare, but Wyll sighed and looked away before he took the threat any further.
“Gods damn her back to the Hells!” he growled, deciding to turn his anger against her rather than Astarion. “I did what was right, and she made me pay for it. I’d be hunting devils and demons, she said. Traitors and hypocrites. But not… not Zariel’s victims. Not innocent tieflings.”
He shook his head, looking down sadly.
“Wyll…” Karlach said quietly, her rage turning to sadness as she saw the pain in his eyes. “I… I don’t know what to say. Other than thank you. No one’s ever stuck their neck out for me like that before. And… sorry…”
“Don’t apologise, please. This isn’t your fault,” he said quickly. “If this is what it takes to see you escape Zariel safely, then so be it.”
Karlach smiled, touched by his kindness. She knew that it wasn’t specifically for her, of course, he would make such a sacrifice for anyone innocent. And that made her like him even more.
Saff and Gale joined her in staying with Wyll after that, comforting him and listening as he spoke of all he could regarding his history with Mizora. He admitted he didn’t want to go back to the grove tomorrow, fearing how the others would react. Karlach offered to take his place instead, which he thanked her for. They suggested that maybe Halsin would have some way of helping him tomorrow when he arrived at camp, though they all knew that was even less likely than him being able to help with the tadpoles.
It was late by the time Wyll decided to call it a night. He thanked them deeply for being there for him - he wasn’t sure how well he’d have handled this had he not had such good friends to help him through it. Gale and Saff spoke to Karlach for a bit afterwards, about how she still couldn't believe he did that, how grateful she was, how happy she was to be travelling with someone like him. Eventually she headed off for bed too, saying that even though tomorrow should be a reasonably easy day if all they need to do is talk to Auntie Ethel, she should still make sure to get some rest anyway.
Gale and Saff slowly walked back to their tents. The camp was quiet now, the fire down to just the embers, moonlight illuminating the river. It was beautiful, but neither could appreciate it right now, their mood heavy with the knowledge of Wyll’s suffering.
“I suppose we’d better get some sleep too,” Gale said as they reached their tents. “Sorry we didn’t have time for a lesson tonight,” he said, knowing she’d been looking forward to that as much as he had been.
“I’m sure we’ll have time tomorrow,” she said with a small smile, trying to find some hope in their current bleak situation. “Though… I want to stay with Wyll as much as we can. He’s clearly struggling.”
“I agree,” he said with a nod. “I can’t imagine what he’s going through. We need to be there for him.”
They heard footsteps next to them and were taken by surprise by Astarion, who seemed to appear out of the darkness. Even when he wasn’t trying to be stealthy he couldn’t seem to help it.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, sounding… somewhat sincere. “Saff, I… was hoping to take you up on your offer.”
Gale narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You want to feed on her?”
“Well, Wyll had originally offered, but… it feels a bit impolite to ask him now,” he explained. Gale sighed, reluctantly agreeing with that logic.
“Wyll offered?” Saff asked in surprise. “I thought you were only going to feed on people staying in camp?”
“Yes, well, that came down to Gale, whose blood is poisoned, Karlach, whose blood is on fire, and you, who gave me blood last time. He didn’t want you to have to do it twice.”
Saff felt a pang of guilt knowing that Wyll had offered his blood so she didn’t have to, especially when he’d potentially have had to fight while dealing with the consequences. Gale had similar thoughts, and was cursing his affliction that he couldn’t take some of the burden himself.
“Alright, let’s get on with it then,” she said, turning to head to her tent.
Inside the tent they set up her bed roll and a few furs and blankets, which she lay down on. Astarion knelt to one side, while Gale knelt on the other, there to make sure he didn’t get carried away again.
“Ready?” Astarion asked. She felt Gale take her hand, and gently squeezed his hand in thanks.
“Ready,” she confirmed.
Astarion leant down, lingering over her neck for a moment, before she felt the pain again. It didn’t get any easier the second time, just as sudden and intense. She squeezed Gale’s hand hard and let out a whimper of pain, then felt as he began drinking.
Gale watched carefully. He could feel her squeezing his hand, knowing how much this hurt. Astarion drank, and just as Gale had been about to tell him to stop, he pulled away.
“Ahh! Wonderful,” he said, licking his blood-stained lips. “Thank you, again.”
Gale pressed a cloth to Saff’s neck as she opened her eyes and looked up at Astarion, giving him a small smile to say he was welcome.
“I will leave you to rest. See you both in the morning,” he said, then stood up and left the tent.
Saff closed her eyes again, waiting for the worst of the nausea to wear off. She felt Gale clean up her neck and put the cloth aside.
“I’d best be off too, let you get some sleep.”
She looked up at him, her head spinning slightly. It felt not too dissimilar to being drunk, though less pleasant. Given what she said next though, it seemed to have the same effect on her inhibitions.
“You could stay…”
He looked at her in surprise. Gods, he wanted to say yes. Every single fibre of his being was screaming at him to say yes. But he knew he couldn’t. Not only because of the orb (that even now simmered threateningly in his chest at just the thought of spending the night by her side), but it was clear from the way she spoke that she wasn’t exactly fully with it - her speech a bit slurred, a slightly glazed over look in her eyes. Had this been from alcohol he certainly would feel it wouldn’t be right to say yes, and delirium from blood loss felt like it shouldn’t be treated any differently.
“A tempting offer… but we both need to rest, and I fear we’d be up talking all night if I stayed here.”
She looked at him with an upset, almost pleading look, which took all his willpower to resist.
“Another night,” he promised her. That finally brought a smile to her lips.
“Another night,” she confirmed. She looked so beautiful in that moment, smiling up at him, illuminated by the soft moonlight through the tent door. He could feel the orb stirring as he let himself get lost in her beauty, reminding him of the consequences if he didn’t leave, but he wanted to stay just a moment more. He still held her hand, and gently he lifted it up and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. He saw her face light up with both surprise and happiness as he did that, and he wasn’t sure if the rush of excitement he was feeling himself was from the kiss or from seeing her reaction.
“Goodnight, Saff,” he said softly, holding her hand there just a moment more, before finally lowering it back down to the bed and leaving the tent. Once outside, he took a deep breath to calm the orb that now burnt inside his chest. He knew the orb had reacted to strong negative emotions before, but he was now sure it reacted to strong positive emotions, too. He just hadn’t had any positive emotions strong enough to make it react before meeting Saff. In that moment though, he didn’t care what the orb tried to do to him. He let himself get lost in thoughts of her as he headed back to his tent.
Saff’s heart fluttered and she felt giddy from excitement. It had been so unexpected, but so sweet and romantic… she almost had to laugh at herself for getting so excited over this, like a teenager getting excited because her crush said hi to her. She let herself feel it though. With all that had been happening to them, they deserved happiness wherever they could find it.
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
Stars
“You know, Karlach, there are other ways to express love, beyond run-of-the-mill physicality.”
“EEWWWW, are you going to try to teach me about exceptional uses for a mage hand or what?”
“...Well, actually, I was thinking of poetry.”
Gale helps Karlach write a poem for her love, and realises a few things about himself along the way.
Word count: 1,938
Karlach x Wyll, one shot, fluff
“You know, Karlach, there are other ways to express love, beyond run-of-the-mill physicality.”
“EEWWWW, are you going to try to teach me about exceptional uses for a mage hand or what?”
“...Well, actually, I was thinking of poetry.”
“Oops, sorry. Although, now that I think of it… is mage hand especially hard to learn?”
The blue, ethereal hand shimmered, its translucent surface showing a distorted reflection of the wide grin on Karlach’s face.
“Yess!!” She celebrated, throwing her hands into the air in triumph.
“Perfect!” Gale complimented, proud of both her for being able to learn it, and himself for being able to teach it to someone with next to no prior experience with magic. “That's the hard bit done. Now that you can summon it, you just need a bit of practice controlling it, and you'll be well away.”
She waved her hand and watched it move similarly. The movements were awkward and stuttered, unlike Gale's mage hand which moved with the same grace and control of his own practised gestures, but she was sure with a bit of practice she'd have it down in no time.
Eventually she dismissed it with the dismissal gesture he'd shown her previously, thrilled to see that that worked as well.
“Thanks, Gale. I can't wait to try this out!”
“You'll have to let me know how it goes. Within the limits of your own privacy, of course.”
“Heh, I don't mind telling you anything. Wyll might not appreciate that, though.”
“Very true. I will leave it to your discretion, and I will leave you to practice. Unless you'd like me to stay to offer any further advice I may think necessary to improve your casting technique?”
“Actually… there was another favour I was going to ask you for.”
His eyebrows raised in curiosity.
“My time is yours. What do you need?”
“Well… I was thinking, maybe it would be nice to write a poem… but I can’t write poems for shit. If you don’t mind, maybe you could help me write one?” She looked a bit awkward as she asked, worrying she’d already taken up too much of his time, but his eyes lit up at the request.
“‘If I don’t mind’? Karlach, first you ask me to teach you a spell, then you ask me to help you write a poem. This is quickly turning into my ideal evening!” He said excitedly.
“Wow, you and I have very different ideas of what makes an ideal evening,” she laughed. She liked Gale, but there was so much about him she could never get her head around.
“As we should. If we were all the same life would be quite dull. Now,” he produced, seemingly out of nowhere, a small book and a quill, and sat down cross-legged, “where shall we start?”
She sat down with him, chuckling to herself.
“Do you always keep an emergency book and quill with you?”
“At all times. So, what sort of poem shall we go for? Metre or free verse?”
She gave him a blank look.
“...Do you want it to rhyme or not?” he asked instead, deciding to start simple given the look of complete bewilderment on her face.
“Oh, well it's a poem, it has to rhyme!”
“Heh, not at all, there’s no requirement of a poem for it to rhyme. But we can certainly make it rhyme if you’d like,” he said, seeing the slight hint of disappointment in her face at the mere suggestion of a poem that doesn’t rhyme. “Now, for the metre. I’ve always been partial to the common metre myself, though I do like a bit of iambic pentameter. Or we could go completely wild and choose something like-”
He stopped as he saw the blank look turn increasingly to one of confusion, starting to borderline regret.
“You know what? Maybe I should worry about that. You just tell me what you want to go in the poem,” he said, much to her relief. She still wasn’t sure what the answer was, but she at least understood the question.
“I’m not really sure, to be honest…”
“Well, why don’t we start with what you like about Wyll?”
It didn’t take long before fond words of praise and adoration were falling from her lips, filled with her excitement, her enthusiasm, her love. She spoke about how she’d become so used to being surrounded by devils she’d forgotten there could be people as selfless as him. The conversation moved to what she wanted to do with him, how she longed to hug him, kiss him, dance with him… and other activities, of course. They spoke of her time in the Hells, her struggles, the pain, the loneliness, the endless fight to survive, the hope of escape that she never gave up on. She told him about the first night after they’d been taken, before she’d met any of their group, completely unable to sleep as she stared up at the stars, crying with happiness. She’d spent every night imagining them, longing to see them again, and now here they were. Of course, she’d spent every night imagining other things too, and now she was desperate to make those dreams a reality, to make up for the years of her life that she’d lost.
It ended up being a very emotional evening, more so than Gale had expected. He’d known about her past, of course, but they’d never discussed it in such great detail, and seeing such raw and painful emotion from her led to more than a few tears shed on both sides.
Eventually the poem was nearing completion. A few last tweaks, a final copy on a new page away from the scribbles and scattered ideas of the previous page, and it was ready.
“It’s done!” he said proudly, handing the book to Karlach. “Or at least, a first draft is done. We can edit or alter anything you wish. Also I’m afraid it may not quite be factually accurate in some places, such are our syllabic restrictions.”
She had no idea what a syllabic restriction was, but she didn’t ask for now as she took the book and began reading. As her eyes ran over his neat handwriting, she found tears starting to well in them once more.
3000 days I burnt inside,
Fire in my scars,
3000 days spent trapped below,
Dreaming of the stars.
Every night I longed to touch,
Each night I yearned to love,
And every fight I longed to find
Escape to life above.
Now finally I find I'm free,
Salvation came at last,
And now I sit beneath the trees
And look up at the stars.
But where before the love I sought
From anyone would do,
Now I find that in my mind
There's only thoughts of you.
Your kindness and your bravery,
Your courage and your wit,
Remind me there's good in the world,
And you're the source of it.
These scars of isolation burn,
But your touch holds the cure,
The hugs I've missed, a stolen kiss,
They fill my dreams and more.
3000 days I spent alone,
But these dreams will soon be ours,
And when they are we'll dance my dear,
Underneath the stars.
“Gale…” she whispered, in shock. She couldn’t believe how well he’d captured how she felt. “This is… incredible…”
“Thank you,” he said, inclining his head in a small bow. “I’m glad you like it. I hope you feel it’s accurately captured how you feel,” he added in a slightly softer tone. Writing a poem from someone else’s point of view wasn’t easy, especially someone who had been through so much. Though he did have some of his own experience of isolation that he could draw on… it was very different from hers of course, though there had been the odd thing she’d said that made him realise they had more in common than he’d thought.
“It has,” she assured him. “Wyll is never gonna believe I wrote this,” she said with a laugh, shaking her head.
“Well, tell him I helped you. Say we workshopped it,” he offered. She chuckled softly and looked at the poem again.
“I can’t believe you wrote it so quickly,” she commented.
“Ahh, well, I’ve had a lot of practice. Poetry has always been one of my favourite ways to express how I feel for the one I love,” he said, casting his mind back to the hours he’d spent on his balcony, writing poetry about whoever had captured his heart at the time, filled with love and inspiration.
“Yeah? Your partners are very lucky, this is so romantic!”
“Hmm, some were more appreciative than others,” he murmured, thinking mostly of Mystra, who’d never been interested in such things. He’d quickly given up writing any poems for her, she was far more interested in his magic.
“Well anyone who doesn’t appreciate it isn’t worth your time,” Karlach decided firmly. Gale went very quiet for a moment. He still didn’t know how he felt about Mystra… up until getting abducted he was still firmly in love with her and desperate for her to return, but since this little adventure started he’d found Mystra occupied his mind less and less, his thoughts instead turning to someone new.
“Perhaps you’re right…” he said quietly, though it wasn’t a revelation that came easily to him.
“I am right. You trust Mama K on this,” she told him with a warm smile that he couldn’t help but return.
“Thank you,” he said softly, touched that someone found his poetry to be worth appreciating. Karlach looked down at the book again, her eyes running over the words once more.
“Hmm… maybe there is one bit I can change, you know, to make it more me ,” she said, holding her hand out for the quill. He gave it to her and leant over as she wrote, curious to see what change she would make. He watched as she crossed out the last line and replaced it with “Til you’re seeing stars”.
“Perfect!” she declared happily. He had to chuckle slightly - he preferred his version from a poetic standpoint, but he had to admit, this was version definitely more Karlach.
“Can I borrow this book?” she asked, looking over at him. “Til I’ve memorised it.”
He waved for her to give the book back to him. She did so and he carefully ripped the page out and handed it to her. It was certainly not something he’d normally do to a book, but he didn’t want her to feel pressured into trying to memorise it as quickly as possible to get the book back to him.
“Thanks again, Gale,” she said, smiling as she looked at the page. “Once I can, I’m gonna give you a big ol’ hug for this!”
“I can’t wait,” he said sincerely. “I’ll let you get going, then. I expect a dramatic reading once it’s memorised.”
“You got it,” she said with a grin, then stood up and headed off.
He stayed there for a bit, just the gentle sounds of the rustling leaves around him as Karlach’s words echoed in his mind. He’d honestly forgotten how much he enjoyed writing poems after getting so out of the habit of it during his time with Mystra. Maybe it was something to pick up again… especially if he had someone who would appreciate it.
He looked down at the book, quill in hand, a small smile on his lips as he began writing an ode to the kind adventurer that had pulled him out of that portal not so long ago.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 16
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Back at camp, the others were surprised to hear they’d managed to take out the goblin leaders, but disappointed to hear Halsin couldn’t help. Well, Shadowheart and Astarion were, Lae’zel was unsurprised.
“Of course he couldn’t help. I told you, purification is the only way.”
“Well, we may have another way now,” Wyll said, peaking Shadowheart and Astarion’s attention while Lae’zel seethed and rolled her eyes. “An old woman at the grove claimed to be able to heal us. She said to head to her house tomorrow - by the edge of the forest, south of the village.”
“A waste of time,” Lae’zel snapped.
“Worth a try,” Shadowheart decided.
In the end Lae’zel begrudgingly agreed to give it a go, though she was convinced it would be pointless.
The group set about their tasks for the evening. Saff joined Gale to help with cooking dinner while the others prepared for the next day. While Karlach unpacked her bag, Shadowheart noticed the number of magical items she was taking out.
“Is this all from the goblin camp?” she asked as she walked over to her. She picked up a particularly interesting looking ring and inspected it. “These could be useful for us.”
“You can use them for a bit, but they’re for Gale,” Karlach said, not really thinking about whether she should have told Shadowheart that as she absent-mindedly unpacked.
“For Gale? Why?” she asked, looking over the equipment. Most of it looked like stuff a wizard would never need to use.
“Oh, uh…” Karlach stuttered, realising now Gale might not have wanted the others to know. Well, they’d find out sooner or later. “Gale has this… condition, where he has to consume magic items.”
Shadowheart looked at her in confusion.
“What?”
Karlach just shrugged.
“I don’t know. Magic wizard stuff. But he needs them or he gets ill. I saw it, he consumed a locket this morning, then a dagger. So you can use them til he needs them.”
Curious, Shadowheart thought to herself. She wondered if anyone else knew about this. Astarion was talking to Wyll, so she approached Lae’zel, who was at her tent on her own.
“Are you aware of Gale’s condition?” she asked. Lae’zel had been annoyed enough when she saw Shadowheart coming over, and grew more annoyed at the dull conversation subject.
“What condition?” she said, not taking her eyes off of the sword she was sharpening.
“Apparently he needs to consume magic items.”
That got her attention.
“...Consume them?” she asked, looking up at Shadowheart.
“That’s what Karlach said. Apparently he consumed a locket and a dagger. She’s got a bunch of magic items they found at the goblin hideout. Though I wonder what happens when they run out…” she mused, glancing towards Gale, wondering just how serious this ‘condition’ was.
“Ch’k. If I find a magic item it is mine, he’d better not come asking for it,” Lae’zel said firmly, looking back to her sword.
“Astarion found some magic boots the other day, didn’t he? If they go missing I guess we’ll know who to blame,” Shadowheart mused.
She hadn’t expected Lae’zel to take that quite so seriously.
“Lae’zel, darling,” Astarion greeted as he saw Lae’zel coming up to him.
“We must speak,” she said urgently, pulling him aside.
“What-”
“It is Gale,” she said bluntly, keeping her voice down. “He may want to steal your boots. You should guard them well.”
“My boots?” he said in surprise, glancing down at them briefly. The enchantment aided with stealth, not exactly something that would be useful for Gale. “Why?”
“He wishes to eat them.”
Astarion’s train of thought came to a grinding halt.
“He what?”
“He wishes to eat them.”
“Yes, I heard what you said. What do you mean he wants to eat them??”
“He has a condition and needs to eat magical items.”
Astarion still didn’t understand.
“I don’t think he can… eat a pair of boots…”
“Apparently he ate a dagger and a locket.”
His mind was reeling. What kind of bizarre magic was this??
“So watch your boots, Astarion,” Lae’zel warned, then turned and headed off, leaving him puzzling over what he just heard.
By the campfire Saff and Gale were chatting as they cooked, til Astarion came over and loomed over the fire, glaring at Gale. He leant down threateningly as the two of them went quiet and looked up at him.
“My boots are not edible,” he said firmly, then turned and left. It would have been quite a chilling threat had it not left the two of them completely baffled.
Over dinner it wasn’t long before the subject of Gale's magical diet came up. He was quick to explain that he didn’t eat the artefacts (and quick to promise Astarion his boots would remain undigested), though even after he gave the explanation as to why he needed the items, most of the group were still pretty confused about it. He waved it off as being the result of a magic experiment that had gone wrong, and was relieved when the conversation moved on.
Soon they were telling stories of the day. Karlach, Wyll and Gale were eager story tellers, and between them Saff couldn’t get a word in edgeways, though she didn’t mind - she was exhausted and more than happy to let them do the talking.
Karlach was thrilled to be able to tell them that Dammon had upgraded her engine and was hopeful of finding a permanent solution by the time they get to Baldur’s Gate. They mentioned giving Gale the first artefact on the way to the goblin camp (which he still felt bad about taking from Saff) and got to the part of the story the others were really interested in.
“Finally, we found them,” Wyll explained, talking dramatically as he set the scene. “We could see dozens of them from our vantage point, and that was only the ones outside. The rest were holed up in an old Temple of Selûne they’d repurposed into their camp.”
“Ugh,” Shadowheart murmured, rolling her eyes. “Now I’m glad I wasn’t there. Though a goblin camp sounds like a suitable use for such a temple.”
Gale raised an eyebrow.
“You’re really not a fan of Selûne, are you Shadowheart?” he said, a statement more than a question. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard her make a snide remark about the goddess.
“What gave it away?” she said sarcastically. “No, I’m not.”
Gale continued to watch her for a long moment, contemplating.
“Remind me, which god is it you follow again?”
The others looked at her, slowly starting to put the pieces together. With an annoyed sigh she realised she could keep this from them no longer.
“Alright. I follow Shar, Lady of Loss.”
The reactions had been as she expected. Astarion and Lae’zel didn’t seem to care that much. The others weren’t all too happy about it, though.
“Shar…” Saff whispered in shock. “But… why? She only wants people to suffer…”
“Ignorance at its finest. I expected a wizard to be a bit more knowledgeable. Don’t believe the lies the Selûnites tell you. Those that reject Shar fear darkness and sorrow… but we know it to be our freedom. ”
They looked at each other with uncertainty.
“Sharrans commit atrocities in the name of darkness and sorrow,” Wyll said accusingly, but Shadowheart was unphased.
“Only to the corrupt. Those that spread the lies you’ve all clearly believed,” she answered, though they still look unconvinced. “If you don’t believe me I can leave. My faith will keep me company. But if you think I’m the bloodthirsty psychopath so many think Sharrans to be, let me ask you - have I committed any atrocities while we’ve known each other?”
“Only the haircut,” Astarion teased. As it turned out, Shadowheart was completely fine with having her god and her way of life questioned, but insult her hair and you’ll experience the full wrath of Shar’s faithful.
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 15
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The walk back to the grove was long, and by the time they finally got there, everyone was exhausted. Even Saff was amazed at how much effort it took to remain upright on a horse, especially without a saddle and with an injured leg.
The gate was lifted as they approached and Zevlor ran to meet them.
“You’re back! How did it go??” He asked eagerly. The group looked at each other briefly, then Halsin knelt down again. Gale helped Saff down, carefully lifting her off the horse and giving her his arm to support herself once she was on the ground. Zevlor frowned for a moment, wondering why none of them would answer him, til his question was suddenly answered by what he’d thought was just a horse turning back into an elf.
“Halsin!!” he gasped happily, a grin breaking out across his face. Around them excitement began to grow among the other tieflings that had been watching.
“Zevlor. My apologies for disappearing and leaving you with Kagha. I have heard what she’s done - fear not, I will put an end to that right now,” he promised.
“You do not know how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” Zevlor said, eternally grateful. “You have my thanks.”
“Make sure you extend some of that gratitude to my saviours,” Halsin said, gesturing to the others. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. And not only did they rescue me, we took down the goblin leaders together. The roads will be safe for you and your people.”
Around them, cheers began erupting from the onlookers. To not only have Halsin back, but also to know it was finally safe to leave - it was a dream come true for them.
Halsin smiled as he heard the cheering. He knew what these people had been through, and it bought him such joy to finally be able to help them. He turned to Saff and the others.
“I’ll go talk to Kagha and will send Nettie up to heal the rest of your injuries,” he said, then turned and headed off into the grove. Zevlor led them further in and called for someone to bring them some food. They sat at a table and Zevlor said his thanks and promised someone would be over with food soon, before leaving them to rest.
They looked around at the excited tieflings, spreading the good news and celebrating.
“It’s gonna be quiet here once they’ve all left,” Wyll commented, smiling as he watched them all.
“I think the druids will quite like that,” Gale said with a small chuckle. Druids usually liked peace and quiet, which was something he could definitely relate to.
“Oh!!” Karlach suddenly gasped, pointing at a tiefling that just came round a corner into view. “There’s Dammon! I’m going to go talk to him about my engine!”
“Don’t you still need infernal iron before he can help?” Saff asked, and a smile spread across Karlach’s face.
“Magic items weren’t the only thing we found in the grove,” she said excitedly, reaching into her pack and pulling out a hunk of dark metal that seemed to glow red at the edges. Saff’s face lit up when she saw it, realising Karlach now had a very real chance of getting cured.
Karlach jumped up and ran over to Dammon, who was very happy to see her.
“Let’s hope that’s enough for what he needs to do,” Gale said as they watched.
“What if it’s not? The tieflings will be leaving soon, right?” Saff asked.
“They probably won’t leave just yet,” Wyll said, glancing round. “They have a lot to pack up, and it’s already getting late. I suspect they’ll spend tomorrow packing and preparing, then leave the next day. Gives us a bit of time to find more iron if Karlach needs it.”
She smiled, glad they had a bit more time if it was needed. As they watched Karlach run over with Dammon to his forge, the food was brought to them - a large tray with a few bowls of soup, some bread, and a bit of fresh fruit.
“There you go, dearies,” the old lady said as she placed the tray down on the table. “I hear you took out those goblin leaders. Very impressive! Oh, but… something’s wrong, isn’t it?” she said, looking suddenly very worried for them.
“What do you mean?” Saff asked, a bit nervously.
“There isn’t a bit of colour in those cheeks, and your eyes look like they don’t know the meaning of the word sleep! And this goes far deeper than just a fight against a few goblins. There’s something else, isn’t there?” she said, holding her chin as she looked at each of them, trying to figure out what it was.
“How do you know that?” Wyll asked, leaning forward a bit on the table.
“Oh, I can always tell, petal! I’ve been curing people of their ills since long before any of you were so much as a sparkle in your daddy’s eye! Whatever’s wrong, I can assure you, I’ve seen worse. So let Auntie Ethel know what ails you and I’ll see what I can do.”
The three of them looked at each other, a bit hesitantly. They didn’t exactly make a habit of telling everyone of their condition, especially given Nettie’s reaction.
“If you’d rather have a bit of privacy I understand,” she said, noticing their hesitation. “Pop over to my house any time, it’s on the edge of the forest, south of the village. I’m sure I can whip up something to help you. And after you’ve done so much to help all the darlings here, I think you deserve someone helping you out.”
She gave them a smile and headed off.
“Interesting,” Wyll commented as they reached for the food.
“Very interesting,” Gale agreed. “Do you think it’s worth pursuing?”
“Isn’t any potential cure worth pursuing?” Saff asked, finding the old lady quite trustworthy.
“An Illithid tadpole is no common ailment. If the druids here with all their knowledge can’t cure it, I’m not sure I’d expect her to be able to,” Gale said sceptically.
“Then again, what have we got to lose?” Wyll countered. “If she can’t help we’re no worse off than we are now.”
Gale had to agree with that logic, but they were interrupted by a very excited Karlach before he could voice it.
“It worked!” she declared happily, banging her fist on her chest. “Well, I mean, it helped. I still probably shouldn’t touch anyone, but it’s a lot more stable! Dammon said he’d keep thinking about it and to come find him in Baldur’s Gate when we get there, he was sure he’d be able to come up with some way of fixing it for good.”
“That’s brilliant Karlach!” Wyll said happily. She grinned widely, then quickly turned her attention to the food.
“We had another development while you were gone,” Gale said, getting Karlach’s attention. “The old lady over there, she claims to be able to heal anything.”
“We didn’t tell her about the tadpoles, but she could tell something was off about us,” Wyll added.
“You think she could cure them, then?” Karlach asked, mouth half-full of bread.
“We don’t know. We were just debating it,” Gale explained. Karlach shrugged.
“Well why not try?” she said, her mouth now somehow even more full than it had been before.
“We could see what Nettie thinks,” Saff suggested, looking over through the grove as Nettie walked towards them.
She arrived and healed them up, which Saff was particularly grateful for now that she could walk again. Once she was done they asked her opinion. She told them she didn't think Ethel would be able to help if Halsin couldn't, but it was worth a try.
In the end, that was the decision they made. They finished up their food and headed over to find her.
“Ah, you’re back!” she greeted them as they came over to her little spot in the grove. She stirred a huge cooking pot of soup and was surrounded by various potions and alchemical ingredients. “Decided to see if I can help with your little problem?”
“Yes, we have,” Wyll said, taking the lead as he usually did in conversations. “You see, the problem we have is… mind flayer tadpoles.”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“My, now that is a tricky one, isn’t it? You poor pet, my heart goes out to you, truly. I see no sign of a tentacle yet, but that could change in an instant! You need help, serious help. I’ve ne’er a potion or lotion that’ll help here, but… yes, I may have something at home!”
The group was rather surprised to hear that, given how difficult these things had been to get rid of so far.
“Such as?” Wyll asked, curious what she proposed could help them.
“I’ve collected some… interesting bits ‘n bobs over the years. Stop by my house and you can see. You remember where it is, yes?”
“South of the village, edge of the forest,” Wyll confirmed.
“Well that’s decided then! Pop over tomorrow, I’ll make sure everything’s ready. We’ll have you all good as new in no time!”
The group were sceptical as they walked away, but glad that they had another possible lead, at least.
“Shall we see how Halsin is getting on with Kagha?” Wyll suggested, glancing towards the steps that lead down towards the heart of the grove.
“I bet that was a fun reunion,” Gale commented with a small chuckle as they headed over.
The reunion looked to be as fun as they’d expected. They found the two of them arguing, before Halsin finally sent her off after telling her she was demoted to an initiate.
“Think you’ll need to keep an eye on her…” Gale said as they approached, still angry at her for threatening Arabella.
“I’m sure I will,” Halsin agreed as he turned to them. “But time will humble her, and the grove still needs her. You will soon see why. But enough of that for now - I owe you my thanks. The grove still stands and nature prevails. Speak to Rath - he will reward you for your efforts.”
“We didn’t do this for reward,” Wyll declared, holding up his hand to say they wouldn’t take it.
“That’s very kind of you. Still, we’d like to thank you somehow, and you have a hard battle ahead of you. Please, see what Rath has to offer and decide then if you would like to take any of it or not.”
Wyll hesitated, but eventually relented and the group headed inside to find Rath. They were given a rune and told to head down to the vault, where they’d be allowed to keep anything they wanted. Saff was particularly awed as the statue descended down, revealing the staircase. This was exactly the sort of thing she’d read about in druid enclaves but assumed she’d never get to see.
Down in the vault they found a collection of weapons, armour, potions, scrolls, all sorts. Saff was loving it, looking at every item, even admiring the room itself and being excited to be in such an exclusive place. Wyll and Karlach began looking through the boxes, looking to see if there was anything that Wyll wouldn’t feel bad about taking. Though Gale noticed the slightly disapproving look on Saff’s face whenever Karlach found something she thought they should take. He walked over to her and kept his voice down a bit as he spoke.
“You also think we shouldn’t be taking anything?” he asked her. She shifted a bit uncomfortably.
“This is their vault. It’s important to them. Sacred, even. I know they want to thank us, but… it doesn’t feel right to take any of this…”
“Halsin wouldn’t have offered it if he didn’t want us to make use of it. And he did say he wanted to thank us somehow. If someone had done something like that for me, I’d want to thank them in some way too, even if they said they didn’t do it for a reward.”
She was quiet for a moment as she looked at the potions and scrolls piling up on the table that Wyll and Karlach were looking through.
“There was something else I was considering asking of Halsin as thanks,” she said eventually, looking over at Gale.
“What is it?” he asked curiously.
“Well… if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from today, it’s how important healing is. Shadowheart is the only healer we have on the team, and she can’t be on the road every day. We were lucky Halsin was there today, or we’d have stood no chance. I managed to heal you yesterday, but I don’t think I could do it again. So I thought, maybe, if I had the right training, I could learn to heal properly. Be a second healer for the group.”
“You wish to ask him for lessons?” he said, sounding a bit surprised. It was a logical thing to ask for, undeniably. More healing was always a good thing. Yet there was part of him feeling a bit… threatened, perhaps, by the idea of her getting lessons from Halsin. The lessons had been one of the things that brought them together, they’d meant a lot to him. And it was something only he’d been able to give her… what else did he have to offer?
“Yes… do you think he’d be ok with that?” she asked, hearing the slight hesitation in his voice.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure. In fact I imagine he’ll love to do that. And you’re right, more people able to heal is always welcome,” he said quickly, hoping his own reservations weren’t too obvious. He didn’t want to stop her, nor even put the slightest idea in her head that he was uncomfortable about it. Even aside from the practicality of it, he knew how much she wanted to learn druidic magic, and this might be one of the only opportunities she would get. He wanted her to take it.
“Oh, brilliant! I’m glad you think so. I’ll ask if he’s free some time tomorrow,” she said happily. Despite his fears, it made him happy to see her so excited about this.
“He mentioned possibly coming to our camp tonight to meet everyone else. He might be able to give you some lessons then,” he suggested, but to his surprise she didn’t look keen on that.
“Oh, I… still wanted to do our lessons tonight… if you’re up for that,” she said, looking up at him. He was happy to hear that, of course, though rather surprised.
“Really? I’d have thought you’d jump at the chance to learn some druidic magic as soon as possible,” he commented.
“Well… yes… but not at the expense of learning arcane magic.”
“But you can learn that at any time. Druidic magic is far harder to learn by its very nature, and you won’t always have someone able to teach you. I think it would be wise to prioritise druidic magic over arca-”
“Gale,” she interrupted. He stopped and looked at her. She took a deep breath, figuring out how to word what she wanted to say. “The reason I want to keep our lesson tonight isn’t the magic… or the lesson,” she said, softly putting her hand on his arm.
His eyes widened in realisation as his fears melted away.
“Oh! Right, yes, ahem, well, we’d better be sure to do that then,” he said quickly, immediately realising he needn’t be worried or jealous about her having lessons with Halsin. She had to laugh at how flustered he suddenly was. It was adorable.
“WOOAAH look at THIS!” They were both interrupted as Karlach pulled a gleaming metal glaive from one of the boxes. She admired it for a moment, then adopted a fighting stance with it, getting the feel of using it with a few swipes and stabs.
“Be careful with that…” Wyll warned, taking a step back. Saff looked at the glaive as Karlach played with it - it was beautifully made, with a shimmer of magic to it.
“I don’t think we should take that,” she said after a few moments.
“Whaaat?? But look at it!” Karlach objected, holding it out for her to see.
“Exactly. It looks… important. I don’t think it’s right to take it from here,” Saff said, still firm in her opinion.
“But it’s magical. Gale could use it if we run out of other items,” Karlach argued, nodding to him. Saff hesitated, not wanting to take what looked like a sacred glaive, but also not wanting to put Gale in danger.
“It’s fine,” Gale said after a moment. “We found several items in the temple. They should keep me sated for a while.” Karlach sighed deeply.
“Fiiiine,” she moaned, putting it back. “Can we at least take this lot?” she asked, gesturing to the pile of scrolls and potions on the table.
“I suppose so…” Saff murmured, figuring at least stuff like that was replaceable.
They started packing up the pieces they were going to take, then took one last quick look round the room before heading out.
Back outside they passed Halsin again, who smiled when he saw them.
“Did you find anything useful?” he asked, clearly hoping they did.
“A few potions and scrolls that I’m sure we’ll make use of,” Wyll confirmed.
“Wonderful. The grove is also open to you any time, of course,” Halsin said, an offer they were sure they’d make use of. Saff hesitated for just a moment, then stepped forward.
“There was one other thing I wanted to ask of you,” she said. Wyll and Karlach looked at her in surprise, having not heard the conversation earlier.
“Go ahead,” Halsin said, happy to help and curious to hear her request.
“Well… for years I’ve been studying druidic magic. I was never able to cast it at all until yesterday. Gale was attacked by a gnoll and I managed to heal him. I’d love to be able to use druidic magic, but I don’t even know where to start. I wondered… might you be able to teach me?”
The others were surprised to hear she’d been able to use healing magic, especially Halsin, who had been under the impression that simply wasn’t possible for wizards.
“I can most certainly try,” he said, a smile coming to his lips. “I can’t guarantee anything, though.”
“Oh that’s fine! As long as we can try. Thank you so much!”
They agreed that Halsin would head to their camp the next day - he still had a lot to deal with in the grove tonight. With that decided, the group left the grove and headed off.
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 14
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Saff wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of crawling through a tiny crevasse to escape, but she certainly agreed it was better than facing more goblins.
Gale stood up and offered her a hand. She gladly took it, making sure to put her weight on her good leg as she stood up. As much as she wanted him to carry her, he wouldn’t be able to do that through this tunnel, and she could tell he was still feeling weak himself.
“I think I can walk, with a bit of help,” she said. Gale nodded and let her put her arm round his shoulders while he held her waist, keeping her steady and letting her lean her weight on him when she needed to.
Slowly they followed the others out. Gale held her carefully as she limped her way through the temple, but it was very clear this wasn’t a set up they’d be able to do forever. Moving her leg, even if the weight wasn’t on it, was painful. He had half a mind to actually try to pick her up and carry her to this tunnel, but before it went far enough for him to resort to that, they reached it.
“You’re… sure we can all fit through that?” Gale asked sceptically as he looked at the narrow passageway through a crack in the rocks.
“I’ll go first,” Karlach offered. “If I can fit through, you all can.”
“I certainly cannot, but I will take the form of a rat again. I will also scout it out before you all enter, ensure there’s still no danger on the other side,” Halsin said, then turned to Saff. “Do you think you’ll be able to get through with your leg?” he asked her.
Saff looked into the crevice. A deep, dark passageway that led down into blackness… it was like staring into the abyss. Even if her leg was fine she wouldn’t want to do it, but she knew if there were any other options they’d have suggested them.
“I’ll manage,” she said quietly. She could hold onto the walls to keep the pressure off her leg. It would be fine… right…?
The group could hear her uncertainty. Gale in particular wanted to object, but like the others, he knew they had little choice. It was better than fighting another horde of goblins - a fight they would surely lose.
“Then I shall head in. I will be back soon,” Halsin said, then transformed once more and disappeared into the crevice.
“Where does it come out?” Gale asked, peering into the darkness.
“Halsin said it came out in the forest,” Wyll answered, “far away from any goblins.”
“Perfect if we can fit through then,” he said, still sounding a bit sceptical about if that was possible. He could feel how tightly Saff was holding onto him, but knew she didn’t want to voice her fear. He was determined to help her through this.
Soon a rat came back out from the crack and waved for them to come through.
“It’s safe then?” Wyll asked, and the rat nodded and ran back in.
“Let’s dive on in then!” Karlach said, entering the crevice. Wyll waited a moment, then headed in after her.
“You go next. I’ll bring up the rear, in case any goblins come chasing after us,” Gale said to Saff. Numbly she nodded, staring as the others started to disappear into the darkness ahead of them. She really, really didn’t want to lose sight of the others, so forced herself to swallow her fear and follow them in.
Shifting her weight from Gale to the rocks, she clung onto them, using them for support. He watched as she unsteadily made her way in, then glanced around one more time to check they definitely weren’t being watched, before following her in.
The crevice was dark and claustrophobic. It wasn’t long before the already dim light from the temple disappeared behind them and they were left in darkness, with only the steady glow of Karlach’s chest for guidance. Unfortunately the pulsing red light on the rocks, while better than complete darkness, still created a rather unnerving atmosphere. Gale considered casting Light, but even though it was a simple cantrip, wasn’t sure how the orb would respond. He’d do it if needed, but didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Plus, in some ways, the darkness was better - it might almost be scarier to see just how small and cramped the space was.
The further they descended, the tighter the tunnel became. Soon they were really struggling, feeling the rocks scraping against their skin as they forced their way through. Gale could hear Saff’s laboured breathing - fear, or pain? Most likely both. He considered trying to talk to take her mind off things, but he knew that ultimately they all needed to be concentrating right now. The rocks underfoot were treacherous, the slightest misstep and you could lose your footing - particularly easy to do with an injured leg.
“Arg… fuck…”
The group stopped as they heard Karlach swear in front.
“Karlach? What’s wrong?” Wyll asked quickly.
“This damn rock… I can’t get past!” she grunted, trying to get herself through a particularly small gap. Wyll got a bit closer to try to help.
“Gods dammit… I can’t see anything…” he moaned as he tried to see where she was getting caught, which was made even more difficult as he couldn’t try to touch her to feel where she was stuck.
Gale sighed slightly, hoping the orb wouldn’t leave him incapacitated again after this.
“Fiat lux,” he incanted, reaching up to touch as high a rock as he could. He felt a jolt of pain from the orb, but luckily it was low enough level magic that the pain died down again quickly. The rocks above them lit up, causing them all to wince for a moment as their eyes adjusted to the new light.
As they opened their eyes again, his fears earlier were proven true. Now able to fully see around them, the true claustrophobic nature of their surroundings was revealed. They could barely even see each other through the tiny gap in the rocks, but it did allow Wyll and Karlach to see what they were doing.
“It’s a bit wider ahead, if I can just get through this bit we’ll be ok!” Karlach called back to them. Wyll could see her trying to push through, but she couldn’t get enough grip on the wet rocks beneath to get the force she needed.
“Alright - I’m going to try to push you through on 3, ok?”
“Wait, no! You can’t touch me, you’ll burn yourself!”
“I’d rather take that than being stuck in here! Now on 3!” Karlach knew he wasn’t going to back down on this, so prepared herself to try to push through. “1… 2… 3!”
He pushed his hand against her shoulder as hard as he could, and they heard the hiss of burning flesh as he cried out in pain, but he didn’t stop - feeling her slowly able to push through now with his added strength, he kept pushing til finally she slid through.
“Wyll! Are you ok??” she gasped once she was through, looking back to him.
“Ahhh… yes… heh, just a burn!” he assured her, clearly trying to hide the pain in his voice.
“Gods, Wyll…” she murmured, both somewhat angry at him for doing that, but also impressed and grateful.
“Keep going, let’s get the hell outta here,” he said. She nodded and continued on, glad for the slightly wider area. Wyll squeezed through the gap, quite frankly amazed Karlach was able to get through it given how difficult he found it.
Behind them, Saff had her eyes squeezed shut. She’d barely heard the conversation - all her mind could focus on was the walls as they felt like they were closing in on her. She’d never thought of herself as being claustrophobic, but she’d never been in a place like this. Her whole body ached, her leg was screaming in pain, and knowing Karlach got stuck was sending her mind into a spiral, imagining being stuck down here, slowly starving to death with no way out…
“Saff!”
She opened her eyes and tried to turn her head to see Gale, but the spot she was currently in was too thin even for that, her head sandwiched between the two walls of rock.
“G-Gale…” she whispered, his voice shaking. “I… I can’t…”
She felt him take her hand in his.
“You can do this. I know you can. Keep going.”
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of his hand, the way he gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. His words, his voice… eventually she managed to move on, forcing herself through.
The light faded behind them as they continued into the darkness. Saff pushed herself on, one foot after the other, forcing the thoughts of dread out of her mind…
“There! That’s it!!” Karlach called back to them. Finally, they could see a pinprick of light in the distance. Buoyed by the promise of escape being so close, the group pushed through the last bits, the light growing brighter and brighter. Saff watched as ahead of her Karlach’s figure disappeared into the bright light as she finally escaped, followed by Wyll’s. Once he was out the light felt almost blinding now, with no one in front of her to block it. It was welcome though, as she knew the nightmare was almost over.
Finally she took her first step out into the light. She stumbled forward, the light disorientating her, and now with nothing to hold onto to keep her balance. As she fell forward she felt strong arms suddenly catch her and gently lower her to the ground. Her eyes focused to see Halsin knelt in front of her.
“You did it!” he said happily. A smile spread across her face, realising she had indeed managed it and they were finally out. Quickly she looked back towards the crevice.
“Gale…” she whispered, til she saw his hand suddenly appear from the wall, giving her a slightly odd sense of déjà vu. This time though he followed after it, pulling himself out of the passage. He looked round for a moment before spotting her. When he did his face broke out into a smile and he ran over to her, dropping to his knees next to her. She immediately threw her arms round him and he threw his round her. Halsin smiled as he watched them for a moment, before standing up to go and help Wyll with his burns.
Saff melted into his arms as they hugged, holding him tightly. She buried her face into his neck and felt as he gently held the back of her head, softly stroking her hair. They stayed like that for a few long moments before he spoke.
“I knew you could do it,” he whispered proudly into her ear. She smiled to herself, finally sitting back and looked up at him, arms still round his shoulders.
“You were right,” she said breathlessly.
“I’m always right,” he joked. She laughed and shook her head, moving her hands to his chest to playfully push him away. He laughed as he leant back, moving his arms down from her back along her arms, til their hands met once more. She smiled as their fingers intertwined, and looked up to meet his eyes.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “For… everything.”
He smiled and lifted a hand to gently tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
“You’re more than welcome,” he said softly, his hand lingering at her cheek for a moment once more. His eyes flicked up behind her briefly where he saw the rest of the group getting ready to go after doing what they could for Wyll’s burn, then went back to her.
“I think we’d better be going,” he said, then stood up and offered her his hand. She took it again, leaning on him once more. She turned to the others, then looked into the forest ahead of them. They weren’t on any sort of path, and would have to rely on Halsin’s knowledge of these forests to get them out of here.
“I’m… not going to be able to walk very fast,” she warned them all. It had been difficult enough in the temple, but now they had to contend with the uneven forest floor. Gale was considering just how possible it would be for him to carry her, when Halsin stepped forward with another offer.
“I think I have one more wildshape left in me, if you’d like a ride?” Saff looked at him in surprise.
“A ride?” she asked, intrigued. He nodded, and with one last shimmer of magic, wildshaped into a horse. He walked in front of her and knelt down to make it easier for her to get on. Gale smiled, sure that this would be more comfortable for both of them than any attempt he could make to carry her, and helped her up onto Halsin’s back. She gasped and wobbled slightly as Halsin stood back up, and then they were off.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 13
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Saff could hear nothing but the ringing in her ears, and could see nothing but Gale collapsed face-down on the ground ahead of her. Across from them, Halsin was also out cold on the ground, bleeding from a wound in his side. Wyll was desperately trying to patch it up while Karlach tried to help as much as she could without touching either of them. Saff barely even registered them though, she could focus only on Gale. Desperately she tried to get to her feet, but pain ripped through her leg from the arrow and she fell to the ground again. With no other choice, she began to drag herself towards him, leaving a trail of blood smeared on the ground behind her.
As she got closer she saw sparks flickering across his body, and when she finally reached him she saw he looked deathly pale.
“Gale…” she whispered, barely able to speak. She reached out, her hand shaking as she placed it on his shoulder.
An electric jolt suddenly shot up her arm. She gasped and snatched her arm back, but was relieved to see the shock also woke Gale, whose eyes snapped open. He gasped for breath, unable to focus for a moment, before his eyes finally fell on her.
“S-Saff…”
His voice was rough and his breath ragged. A weak smile came to her lips, glad to see him awake, but the fear in her eyes over all that had happened, and over whether their injuries would be too much to recover from, was clear to him. He tried to reach out to her to comfort her, but could barely lift his arm. Instead he slowly inched his hand towards hers, until finally he lay it on hers, gently squeezing it. Her eyes flicked to his hand and she gently squeezed it back, before she looked back to him and they held each other’s gaze, taking comfort in each other, their fingers slowly intertwining.
There was a light from underneath him as the marking on his chest flared and a jolt of pain shot up both their arms. They pulled their hands away instinctively and Gale gasped as he rolled onto his back and clutched at his chest, sparks flickering between his fingers again. Saff watched in fear, wanting to help, but unable to move. She’d been getting weaker and weaker as blood continued to seep from her leg, to the point now that her vision was starting to darken and her ears ring. She tried to speak, but the last of her strength was draining and she could barely keep her eyes open. A whispered hint of his name was the last thing on her lips before her eyes slowly fluttered closed…
Suddenly the pain receded and she saw a golden light as her eyes snapped back open. As the light died away she saw Gale again, still lying in front of her in pain, but a wide smile now on his lips as he saw her wake up. His gaze then moved up to something behind her. She looked round to see what he was looking at, and was relieved to see Halsin now awake and sat up, the last vestiges of the healing spell he’d just cast on her shimmering on his fingertips. He, too, was in a pool of blood, a hastily-made bandage wrapped round his side. He was clearly exhausted, using the last of his magic to heal everyone as best he could. He looked to Gale and began to cast the spell again.
“No, don’t,” Gale stuttered, struggling to speak. “It won’t help. Don’t waste your magic on me. Heal someone else.”
“What is happening to you?” Halsin asked, frowning as he watched the orb flicker along with the sparks of static.
“I will… explain later…” he replied, wincing. “I need to deal with it… myself. Please. Heal the others.”
It was quickly decided to heal Saff’s leg first. Halsin warned her that he likely wouldn’t be able to heal it fully, but he would do what he could with what little magic he had left. Wyll readied himself to pull out the arrow and Halsin to heal her immediately afterwards. The pain would only last a second, he promised her.
Halsin was right - it only lasted a second before he healed the worst of the wound, but the scream that left her lips as the arrow was ripped out would haunt Gale as he watched her crying in pain. By the time it was done she was shaking and trying to hold back her tears. The wound was no longer a danger to her, but it still hurt like hell.
For a moment the group sat there, exhausted, battered, dazed… until finally Karlach broke the silence as she began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Wyll asked, looking at her in shock, feeling it was rather inappropriate to start laughing at such a time.
“We did it,” she said, a smile on her face as she looked at him. She then looked to the others. “We did it!!” She pumped her fist in the air in celebration, and Halsin found himself starting to laugh as well.
“That we did. I can hardly believe it. I thought for sure we’d be overrun,” he said, looking over all the bodies that surrounded them.
“Those fuckers couldn’t get through us!” Karlach said proudly, thumping her chest.
“We still need to get out of here,” Wyll reminded them. “There’s still all the goblins outside. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t think I could face another fight right now.”
Karlach seemed up for it, but the others definitely weren’t.
“There might be another exit,” Halsin suggested. “It’s a large temple, I’m sure if we search we’ll find something.”
“Let’s have a rest first,” Wyll suggested. He knew they couldn’t stay here long, but they all needed to recover some energy before they could head off again. The others were quick to agree, even Karlach.
“Are you sure I can’t do anything to help you, Gale? Magic isn’t the only healing I can offer,” Halsin asked after a while. Gale had managed to sit up now, along with Saff, though he was still hunched over, wincing occasionally as the orb flared.
“I’m quite sure,” he answered. “Though if you come across any magic items while we’re here, they would be of great help to me.”
Halsin frowned. It seemed an odd time to be asking for loot.
“He eats them,” Karlach said to Halsin, as if that explained everything.
“I do not eat them,” Gale said quickly, sounding almost a bit offended. “I… consume them. Absorb them. I do not eat them.”
This only served to confuse Halsin more. Gale sighed, knowing he’d need to explain it all again.
“I have a condition that requires me to absorb magic to sate it. Related to this marking on my chest. If I do not absorb magic, it starts to feed on my magic. And if I cast a spell powerful enough that it leaves me no magic to spare…”
He gestured to himself, implying that what was happening to him now was a result of casting too powerful a spell.
“So if we find you a magic item, you’ll be ok?” Karlach asked.
“I sincerely hope so,” Gale answered. “I have not dared cast such a powerful spell since acquiring this condition. I do not entirely know the side effects.”
“So we can’t rely on sudden thunderstorms every fight?” Karlach asked, a bit disappointed, a bit jokingly.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Gale replied.
“Shame, you took out at least a dozen goblins alone with that! Would make our lives a lot easier,” Karlach joked. He chuckled softly, though it quickly turned to a cough. Halsin looked at him in concern, still contemplating his ailment.
“I must say, I’ve never heard of such a condition,” Halsin admitted.
“I always like to keep my companions on their toes,” Gale joked, though there was a sadness to his tone that they all picked up on.
“So, a magic item and a way out?” Karlach said, standing up. “I’m going to start searching. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“I’ll come with you,” Wyll decided, standing up too.
“As will I,” Halsin added. “If there’s anyone here that’ll know of secret exits, it’ll be the rats. I’ll ask around.”
He might not have had any healing magic left, but he could wildshape a few more times. With a flash of magic the elf was gone and a rat stood in his place, which then scurried off.
“I hope he remembers we can’t all become rats,” Wyll joked, half expecting Halsin to tell them he’d found an exit that only a rat can fit through.
Wyll and Karlach headed off into the temple, leaving Saff and Gale together once more. He might have offered to join them, but he certainly wasn’t going to leave Saff on her own, and with her leg injured it was best not to make her do any extra walking. More importantly, he recognised the distant, fearful look in her eyes - she needed someone to help her through this.
She sat hugging her legs with her knees against her chest, resting her head in her arms. She’d been very quiet, saying almost nothing, just staring into the distance.
“Saff?” he said softly, shifting a bit closer to her. “Are you alright?”
She looked over at him, and he saw the tears in her eyes. Combined with the bruises and blood splatters that marked her face, it broke his heart to see her like that. He knew he probably didn’t look much better - the fall, along with a few good hits from goblin clubs before he’d managed to take them out, had left him feeling rather worse for wear. But right now, Saff’s wellbeing was more of a concern to him than his own.
He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her… maybe he could, as far as he could tell the sparks had died down. The orb still wasn’t very happy, but he didn’t think it posed any threat to her now if he were to touch her, unlike earlier.
Carefully he shifted next to her and put his arm round her shoulders. She leant into him, grateful for the comfort, resting her head on his shoulder. He looked at her sadly as he saw her close her eyes and the tears escape and slowly run tracks over the bruises and dirt on her cheeks.
Gradually, the tears began to dry up and he felt her slowly begin to relax against him, the tension in her muscles finally starting to fade. He gently stroked her shoulder with his thumb and leant his head on hers. After a moment he lifted his hand, almost hesitantly at first, and gently rested it on hers as he had done earlier. He didn’t see it, but a small smile came to her lips as she put her other hand on his, intertwining their fingers once more. It was a good thing she had her head against his shoulder and not his chest - he wouldn’t want her to hear how his heart raced right now, to have her in his arms like this, holding her hand. He didn’t know, of course, that her heart was racing too.
Behind them Karlach nearly ran back into the room to proudly proclaim to have found an enchanted dagger, til she skidded to a stop after seeing them both like that. She was behind them luckily and they didn’t see or hear her, so she breathed a sigh of relief to have not interrupted the moment. Carefully she stepped back, making sure not to make any noise, and decided to try again in a bit.
Unfortunately for them, while Karlach didn’t interrupt them, another flare from Gale’s chest did. He tried not to show it, not wanting to stop the moment, but Saff noticed the way he tensed up, the small gasp of air he inhaled. She sat up, looking at his chest in concern as he lowered his arm from her shoulders.
“Fuck… we should find you an artefact, we shouldn’t just be sitting here,” she decided. Before he could object she stood, but the moment she took the first step she cried out in pain and fell back to the ground as a wave of pain shot up from her leg and washed over her whole body.
“Gods, Saff!” he gasped, quickly shifting next to her again. She clutched at her leg, unable to stop the tears that fell from the pain. He put his arm round her again and felt her shaking, almost unable to breathe. He held her and tried to comfort her as they waited for the pain to subside. Eventually her breathing steadied and the shaking died down, though her voice still wavered as she spoke.
“Ok… maybe… I should just be sitting here…” she said, managing a small smile. Gale chuckled softly, relieved to see her making a joke.
“Let the others look,” he said softly to her, gently putting his hand on hers again. “We can stay here.”
She almost felt a bit giddy at those words… or maybe that was the blood loss. Whatever it was, she took his fingers in hers again, squeezing his hand.
“I can’t stay here forever. Gotta walk eventually,” she said, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of here.
“We’ll find a way to get you out. I’ll carry you if I must,” he said, only slightly joking. She sat up and looked at him, though stayed close enough that his arm remained round her shoulders.
“Oh, you think you could carry me?” she challenged, a bit of a smirk on her lips. Gale was not exactly the strongest person in the group… though she did quite like the thought of being carried by him.
“You think I couldn’t?” he challenged back. She chuckled softly. He could always make her laugh, even at times like this. It warmed his heart to see her laugh, despite the tears on her cheeks. He let go of her hand and for a moment she looked at him in surprise as he did that, til she realised what he was doing. Gently he wiped the tears away with his thumb, his hand lingering there as he tenderly caressed her cheek. Their eyes met again in the most intimate moment the two had shared. Saff felt her heart skip a beat at his touch, the way he looked at her and held her, how close they were. Gale felt the same, his heart racing, amazed at how, despite the blood and the bruises and the dirt, right now, she was the most beautiful, breathtaking person he’d ever seen. He wanted to tell her that carrying her wasn’t the only thing he could do for her. He could do so much more, show her things she’d never seen, give her everything she deserved, all to see her smile…
Again, the moment was broken as the orb flared, shooting pain through his body. He quickly took his hand away and clutched at his chest, cursing the orb both for the pain and for always flaring up at just the wrong time.
Then he felt her hand rest on his against his chest and opened his eyes to see her watching him with a look of concern that slowly turned to a warm smile.
“We’ll find you an artefact,” she promised softly, “then we’ll see if you can carry me,” she challenged playfully. Maybe the orb hadn’t quite ruined the moment, after all.
She finally shifted back from him and looked towards where the others had gone.
“Has anyone found anything?” she called out, her voice echoing down the corridors. “Gale’s getting worse!”
“Yes!!” they heard Karlach’s voice call back, moments before she came bounding into the room proudly holding a dagger. Wyll and Halsin followed in after her. “I got this! I think it’s magic?”
She came over and handed it to Gale, who smiled as he took it.
“Magic indeed. I can feel the Weave radiating off of it. Thank you, Karlach,” he said, before closing his eyes. Again they watched as the dagger began to glow, the purple light streaming into the marking as it shone brightly, before the dagger itself disintegrated and the light faded. Halsin was amazed, having never seen anything like it.
“Ahh,” Gale sighed, feeling the orb begin to calm in his chest. Though it wasn’t as calm as it usually was after absorbing something. “Hmm… it hasn’t quite had the same effect as the first item. I guess casting that spell really has angered it…” he said, thinking through what might be causing this different reaction. “Nonetheless, I feel a lot better for it. Thank you.” He then looked between Halsin and Karlach. “And you see? Absorbed, not eaten.”
“Indeed… a fascinating display,” Halsin agreed. “Well, with that done, I have some good news - we’ve found a tunnel that leads outside. The spiders were kind enough to tell me about it after we released them. It looks like it should be big enough for you all, but… it might be a squeeze.”
“Better than going out the front door,” Gale decided. “Let’s give it a go.”
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 12
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
“That’s… a lot of goblins,” Saff whispered in fear as the group looked down at the camp from the nearby vantage point they’d found.
“A lot of goblins to fuck up,” Karlach said with an eager grin.
“Can I suggest we don’t run in all spells blazing?” Gale said firmly. “If there’s any way we can get in without having to fight our way in, I would much prefer that option.”
“There’s goblins guarding the gate over there,” Wyll said, pointing towards a group of goblins in the distance. “That implies to me that, if we can get past them, the others will think we’ve been let in.”
“Or they’ll think we’ve killed them and will turn on us…” Saff murmured.
“Let’s at least go up to them and see if we’re able to talk to them,” Gale decided. “If they turn on us there’s only a few of them, we should be able to take them out. Then we can decide what to do from there.”
Miraculously, the plan worked. Wyll managed to convince the goblins they had an audience with one of the leaders and soon the group were walking unhindered into the goblin camp. Saff hung back with Gale while Wyll and Karlach took the lead. She was incredibly nervous - she could just about handle a fight with a few goblins now, but a whole camp? She was terrified.
The air was thick with smoke and various unpleasant smells, as well as the sounds of goblin revelry. They all grimaced at the sight of it, except Karlach, who seemed quite into the idea of a goblin party. Still, they convinced her there was no time to waste in joining in the festivities, and talked their way inside.
“So three leaders to take out,” Wyll said as they headed into the great hall of the temple. “A goblin priestess, a hobgoblin and a drow. The guard said the drow’s at the back, so guess we’ll have to find the other two.”
“Think we’ve found the first one,” Gale said, nodding up at the female goblin on the pedestal in the centre of the hall, blessing goblins as they lined up in front of her.
“Let’s go!” Karlach exclaimed as she reached for her axe.
“Let’s not ,” Gale interrupted quickly. “We’ll alert the whole temple. Maybe we can take out the other two in a more subtle location. That way we don’t have the entire goblin horde to fight on our way out.”
Sadly the others weren’t in much better positions. The hobgoblin had his own audience as he tried and failed to cast speak with dead on a mind flayer (Gale was quick to point out what he was doing wrong, and Wyll was quick to point out they maybe shouldn’t hang around in case the mind flayer outed them as being infected on the ship rather than being the ‘True Souls’ they were posing as) and the drow, while a bit more out of the way, still had an uncomfortable number of goblins around her.
They decided to continue searching the temple. They still had to find Halsin after all, and maybe they’d get lucky and find some other way to take out the leaders. They found and freed an adventurer from a torture rack, turned down the offer of a once-in-a-lifetime torture experience, helped Volo escape and came across an imprisoned goblin that refused to convert to the Absolute. They eventually made their way downstairs to find a group of goblins throwing rocks at an imprisoned bear. They didn’t really expect that telling the goblins to stop doing that would result in a huge fight, but when the bear managed to escape its cage, they were left with little choice.
Wyll and Karlach wasted no time diving into the fight, shouting battle cries as they charged in. Saff tried to stay back, but they were surrounded. She summoned a firebolt to try to defend herself against the three goblins that charged at her, but was only able to slow one down as the other two reached her…
A sudden gust and crack of thunder blasted from behind her, throwing her attackers back into the far wall, leaving rolling static across their skin as they slumped to the ground. She felt the wind tug at her hair and clothes, the spark of electricity around her, but was left safely on her feet rather than blasted into the air with the others. She turned to see Gale behind her, sparks dancing on his fingers. He wasted no time and grabbed her arm while pointing to a platform at the edge of the room.
“Up there! With me! Now!”
More goblins stood between them and the platform, charging at them, weapons raised, but that didn’t matter - Saff knew exactly what Gale was telling her to do. With a synchronised gesture and incantation, they both reappeared in a swirl of magic up on the platform, narrowly avoiding the weapons that came crashing down on the spot they’d just been stood in.
Gale caught Saff again as she stumbled, but the nausea faded quickly this time, and the two turned back to the fight. Wyll and Karlach almost looked like they didn’t need any help, til two worgs were released from their pens. With the advantage of the high ground Gale and Saff were able to rain fire down on them, but they weren’t invulnerable up there. Arrows flew up at them, most of which they could dodge, but not all. Saff felt one catch the side of her arm as it whistled past and could feel blood dripping down under her sleeve, but with the adrenaline of the battle she barely even noticed the pain.
The goblins decided arrows weren’t the solution and changed tactics, running for the ladder that led up to the other side of the ledge they were stood on. Gale only realised what they were doing as they began to climb, and quickly ran over, kicking the ladder down with the goblins on it. As they hit the ground Karlach and Wyll finished them off, finally leaving them with just the bear. They prepared to fight, til the bear suddenly reared up, and in a flash of magic, an elf was standing there instead.
And what an elf. Tall and muscled, glistening with sweat and blood… Gale might have got a bit jealous of the way Saff was staring at him, if he hadn’t been so busy staring at him himself.
“Pardon the viscera. One should cherish all of nature’s bounties… but goblin guts are quite far down the list,” he said as he wiped himself down. “You aided a bear without knowing if it would savage you? A true friend of nature! Or perhaps a lunatic. Either way, I owe thanks. I am the druid Halsin.”
“ You’re Halsin?” Wyll said, a mixture of surprise and relief. “We came looking for you. Thank the gods you’re still alive!”
“You did? I must say, I didn’t expect anyone to help. Unless…”
The conversation continued while Gale and Saff looked for a way to get down from their platform. The ladder had been an unintended victim of Karlach’s rage as she chopped at the goblins that were trapped underneath it after it fell, and they hoped to save as much of their magic as possible for the fights rather than using it for things like this. Eventually Gale carefully lowered himself down, grunting as he dropped down to the ground, before holding his arms out to catch Saff as she did the same.
Sadly they learnt Halsin wasn’t able to remove the tadpoles, but he was at least able to give them another lead in their search for a cure - Moonrise Towers. First thing’s first though - they had to kill the leaders and get out of there. Gale hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of Halsin joining them in his bear form if it meant they were to start a fight everywhere they went, but he couldn’t deny that having an extra team member would be pretty useful right now. Halsin healed them of any injuries they’d suffered during the fight, and together the group set out their plan of attack.
They decided to try to head for the drow first as she had the fewest goblins around her, but they would mostly have to follow Halsin’s lead while he was in bear form as he might not be able to make himself follow them. He also advised that if anyone was critically hurt he could transform back and heal them, but probably only after the battle was finished.
Soon their plan was ready and they decided to loot the bodies for anything useful before making their final preparations and heading out.
Saff knelt over a body, idly fiddling with a dagger it had on it, but her mind was elsewhere. She feared the upcoming fight - the few goblins in here hadn’t exactly been an easy fight, and there were so many more out there. Her arm was now healed, but she could still feel the blood that had seeped onto her sleeve. A stark reminder that, had she been stood just a few inches further over, she’d be dead now. All it took was one arrow…
She was taken out of her spiralling thoughts as someone knelt down next to her. She looked over and saw Gale looking at her in concern.
“You ok?” he asked softly, having clearly seen her getting lost in her own thoughts.
“Y-yeah. I’m just… nervous…” she admitted, her voice shaking slightly. “This is gonna be so much bigger than any fight we’ve ever done. There’s so many of them… even with Halsin, are we really going to be able to face them all?”
He looked at her sympathetically, understanding her fear. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous himself.
“It will be a difficult fight, for sure. But if we’re smart about this I believe we stand a chance. Remember - let the others go in first and get the goblins’ attention. Then there’s plenty of ledges and rafters for us to get to and stay safe, out of the way of the fight while still able to attack. Stay close to me - I’ll protect you.”
He put his hand on her shoulder as he said the last words, and once again she felt her heart flutter. He had a habit of doing this to her, a certain tone he spoke in that took her breath away. Sometimes it made her feel excited, or flustered… right now though, it made her feel safe , which she desperately needed if she was to be able to face this fight. She nodded, still nervous, but slightly more confident that they might stand a chance.
Ahead of them, the rest of the group were gathering.
“We ready to fuck up some goblins?!” Karlach shouted excitedly, raising her axe. Gale and Saff stood and joined them, reaching for their staffs, while Wyll readied his rapier. Halsin prepared his weapon too, morphing into a bear in a swirl of magic, then led the charge out the room. Gale and Saff shared one last look, before running out with the others.
The fight was immediate. The goblins just outside the door were swiftly taken down before they even knew what was happening, but those further away jumped to battle as soon as they heard the commotion. Saff followed Gale’s instructions and teleported up with him to a ledge in the rafters where they had a bird’s eye view of the fight below.
The pair of them focused on taking out any goblins that tried to break from the fight and run to alert the others. If no goblins were doing that, they took out ranged attackers like archers that the others couldn’t as easily get to. From their platform they were safe as the battle below unfolded, and soon the first group of goblins were dealt with.
Gale and Saff stayed in the rafters, using their vantage point to scout the best place to attack next. They found a secluded group of goblins, told the others where to go using the tadpole connection, and soon they were taken care of too.
They continued like this and for a while it was all going quite well… until one of the goblins managed to reach a war drum. None of them had even noticed it there, hidden round a corner, til they heard the sound echoing through the whole temple.
Dread fell over them as the goblin horde descended. They tried to clear out as many goblins as possible before they all arrived to stop themselves getting overwhelmed, but they soon found themselves swamped by goblins. Then just to prove that things could still get worse, the leaders appeared, incandescent with rage.
Gale and Saff tried to keep the goblins off the others while they focused on the leaders, but it wasn't easy. Halsin was finally knocked out of bear form, but that did at least give him the opportunity to give some much needed healing to Wyll and Karlach, who were taking a battering. Gale and Saff remained untouched as most of the fighting had been focused on the ground, but now goblins began to turn their attention towards them.
Arrows started flying past them, clattering into the wall behind them. Goblins were filling the room now, and Saff could feel the charge of magic in the air as Gale began to channel more powerful spells.
“Detono!”
A clap of thunder down on the ground swept through a whole group of them, taking them all out in one go. She looked over to Gale, seeing sparks flickering between his fingers. He cast another, and another group fell. She began to see how he must have looked in battle before the tadpole reduced his magic. How powerful he must have been…
She didn’t notice the fire arrow that flew past until it exploded as it hit the wall behind them, throwing her from the ledge in a blast of fire and sending her plummeting, dazed and defenceless, down to the ground.
The arrow caught Gale by surprise just as much as it did Saff. As he fell he instinctively cast featherfall, but he didn't have time to check if Saff was in range. All he could do was pray that she was.
The spell had little time to take effect and he hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to cause injury. Quickly he looked around for her, but soon started to panic when he couldn't see her. Then he saw the goblins descending on him…
On the other side of the ledge, Saff smashed through a wooden platform and hit the ground hard. Her head spun and her body ached, and as she forced her eyes open she saw the battle in front of her. Halsin, back in bear form, tore goblins to pieces while others tried to attack him from behind or jump on his back. Karlach and the drow leader were locked in battle, almost seeming to dance together between their attacks and dodges. Wyll finished off the hobgoblin then charged for the goblin priestess. She couldn't see Gale anywhere…
Then the goblins noticed her. Her eyes widened as they began charging towards her in an attack. Scrambling to her feet in a panic she tried to cast Misty Step once more to get to the high ground, but her magic failed. Falling back to simpler spells she raised her hands to cast Shockwave. This one succeeded and she managed to blast them back before they reached her, giving her just enough time to try to scramble away from them.
Gale ran through the piles of bodies, the area round him a sea of static. He saw Karlach finally embed her axe into the drow's chest, letting out a battle cry as she did so. He saw an Eldritch Blast from Wyll that ended the priestess. He saw as they both ran to help Halsin as he was ripped once more back into elf form. But he didn't see Saff…
Then he caught sight of her, running from the goblins as she desperately threw firebolts back at them. His heart stopped as he saw an arrow suddenly pierce the back of her thigh, sending her falling to the ground with a cry of pain. Everything seemed to slow down as he saw the goblins, now with nothing to stop them, descending on her, ready to rip her to pieces…
His hands seemed to move on their own, the gestures for a spell that used to come so naturally he didn't even think about it now as he began to cast. He knew the orb would react badly to this, but that didn't enter his mind right now. All he knew was he had to act. Static once again sparked at his fingertips as the Weave built up inside him, ready to be unleashed.
“Harures!”
Lighting burst from his fingers and streaked across the room as his voice echoed with the thunderclap that split their ears. Bolts of electricity tore through the goblins, jumping between them in a chain. Saff screamed as the goblins on top of her were suddenly fried by the lightning, then slumped down around her, their corpses smoking.
The lightning disappeared and they were left in silence, just the crackle of static and the charge of magic in the air. Saff’s eyes met Gale’s for just a second… before the mark on his chest flashed angrily. He gasped in pain, clutched at his chest and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 11
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Saff awoke to the sound of movement outside and the sunlight filtering in through the fabric of her tent, but it wasn’t today’s potential adventures or even Gale that was the first thing on her mind.
It was that dream. That impossibly handsome figure, telling her to embrace the powers of the tadpole. Just a dream, surely… though there was something different about it.
She put it out of her mind and tried to focus on other things. The lessons had helped for sure, but she wondered how useful they’d be when it actually came to a real battle. Would she just choke and freeze up again? She really hoped not… she was excited to travel with Wyll and Karlach at least, far more than she had been about Lae’zel and Astarion. Wyll and Karlach were both lovely, she’d spent ages last night talking to them both and she was sure they’d be more understanding than the others if she were to struggle in a fight. She hoped so, anyway.
At breakfast she learnt she wasn’t the only one to have such a dream. They all did, and were all given the same advice - the tadpoles could give them powers, and they should embrace them. Lae’zel, of course, immediately rejected it as an Illithid trick. Gale and Astarion were shocked to find they both had the same opinion and thought they should embrace the powers. Eventually the group agreed to at least wait until they understood the powers more before making any decisions.
With breakfast done it wasn’t long til they were off.
“So, how far to this grove?” Karlach asked. They’d agreed to go there first and see if Dammon could help with her infernal engine.
“It’s about an hour’s walk,” Wyll answered. “We’ll see if we can get any more supplies while we’re there, too. Then we’ll head to the village. I think we should search west of there for the goblin camp, it looked like there was more goblin activity in that direction.”
“Were there any survivors in the village?” Gale asked, but Wyll regretfully shook his head.
“Not that we could find. Goblins looked like they’d been there a long time. Best we can do for the villagers now is avenge them.”
“Poor bastards,” Karlach muttered. “Probably not the only ones, too. Whole area seems to be swarming with the little fuckers.”
“That’ll end once we take out the leaders,” Wyll said confidently.
The walk to the grove was largely uneventful, but luckily the conversation with Dammon was not, and infernal iron was added to their list of objectives. The group split up for a bit to ask around for any information or leads on the whereabouts of the goblin camp, as well as to gather whatever supplies they’d each need.
As Saff headed back to the rendezvous point she spotted Gale sat on a low wall in the corner of the grove. He was hunched over and at first she thought he might be looking at something, but as she approached she realised it looked like he was tired or even in pain. She increased her pace as she headed over, growing concerned for him.
“Gale?” she asked. His head snapped up in surprise as he heard his name.
“Oh, Saff! Got everything you need?” he asked as he stood up.
“Yes… are you ok?”
“Yes, yes, fine. Just a bit tired. Didn’t sleep well last. I blame that dream, couldn’t stop thinking about it afterwards,” he said as he led them back through the grove.
“Can’t believe you think you should use those powers…” she murmured disapprovingly.
“If we’re going to be stuck with these tadpoles anyway, then we might as well use any advantage offered to us. But I don’t deny the logic in taking a cautious approach. I just hope we keep an open mind about it.”
“I’ll keep an open mind, but it’s going to take something pretty convincing to make me give any more of my mind to the tadpole than it already has.”
“If you don’t wish to use it no one will force it on you. But if we can ascertain it will be safe - or, at least, safe within reasonable expectations - then I will consider it myself.”
She glanced at him for a moment in concern. She didn’t want to lose any more of his mind to the tadpole, either…
They reunited with Wyll and Karlach and soon were off. They headed westwards towards the village, the conversation mostly dominated by Karlach talking about how excited she was about potentially being able to touch people soon. Though Saff was growing ever more concerned as Gale was being uncharacteristically quiet and even starting to lag behind a bit.
Suddenly she was given something much more urgent to be concerned about as an arrow flew through the air and embedded itself into Karlach’s shoulder. She growled and pulled it out, looking in the direction it came from. A group of goblins came running out from their hiding places, hollering as they descended on the group.
With a battle cry and a flare of fire, Karlach grabbed her axe and ran towards them, ready to cut them to pieces. Wyll followed, rapier ready, diving into battle with her. Gale cast the first spell, a firebolt straight into the side of one of the goblins. For a moment, panic began to grip Saff’s heart again… but this time, she was ready. Going through the now practised movements, she summoned a firebolt of her own, chose a target, and threw it.
The fight barely even lasted a minute, but by the end she was exhilarated. Adrenaline pumped through her thumping heart, every sense alert. She’d never felt so alive. She knew not to get cocky - this had been an easy fight - but she still couldn’t help but look over at Gale with a big smile, proud of herself and hoping he felt the same.
Her smile disappeared when she saw him. Wincing and clutching at his chest, he coughed and gasped in pain.
“Gale!” she cried, terrified he’d been hit by an arrow. She quickly looked for wounds to try to heal, but didn’t see any. In fact, he looked totally untouched… then, to her surprise, the tattoo on his chest began to glow.
He gasped again, seemingly racked by more pain as the tattoo glimmered, and stumbled to the side, catching himself on the wall of the bridge they were on and sitting on it before his legs gave way beneath him.
“Is he ok??” Wyll called as he and Karlach ran over to them.
“I have a healing potion!” Karlach said quickly as she pulled it out of her pack, but Gale held his hand up to stop her and shook his head.
“No… that… won’t help…” he wheezed, his breath ragged.
“What’s happening? What do you need?” Saff asked quickly. She considered trying to heal him, but if a healing potion wouldn’t help, she didn’t see how a spell would either.
“I need… magic,” he said after a long pause, unsurprised by the confused looks on their faces. “Magic items, to be precise. I… I need to absorb the… Weave inside…”
The tattoo’s flickering continued, unabated by his attempts to calm it. The three of them looked at each other, putting aside the confusion and questions for now and just doing as he asked.
“I don’t have anything,” Wyll said quickly, looking hopeless.
“Me neither,” Karlach added. “There must be something round here…” she glanced round, hoping to spot anything that might help.
Saff turned from them back to Gale, then began taking the locket off from round her neck.
“No, Saff…” he whispered. He knew what that locket had come to mean to her - a symbol of her first victory as an adventurer. Not in battle, but achieving something just as heroic - saving a child’s life. She’d not taken it off since she got it.
“We don’t have anything else!”
“But it’s important to you…”
She pressed it into the palm of his hand and closed his fingers around it, holding his hand in both of hers as she met his eyes.
“You’re more important to me,” she said firmly, holding his gaze for a moment, before letting go of his hand and stepping back to let him do whatever he needed to do.
For a moment he couldn’t act, left in surprise by her touch, the way she’d looked at him, the sincerity in her words…
Another wave of pain through his body snapped him back to reality. He closed his eyes and lifted his hand to his chest, then the others watched in awe as a bright, purple light seeped through his fingers and into his chest. The tattoo shone brightly now, the light stretching all the way up his neck, seemingly fed by the magic from the artefact. As he opened his hand the locket itself disintegrated into light, flowing into him, then finally it all stopped and the light disappeared.
“Aahh…” he sighed, feeling the pain fade away, then finally opened his eyes and looked at Saff. “Thank you, Saff,” he said sincerely.
The three of them stared at him with wide eyes and open mouths.
“What in the HELLS was that?!” Karlach gasped in shock.
“I've never seen anything like that before…” Wyll whispered. Saff just remained quiet.
“Ah, yes, I'm sure you all have many questions. You see, I have this… condition. Very different to our tadpoles, but just as deadly. The essence of it is this: I must find magical artefacts and consume the Weave within,” he explained. The three continued to stare at him, dumbfounded.
“You… consume Wave??” Saff managed eventually. He nodded. “I… I didn’t know such a thing was… possible…”
“Yeah, I saw a lot in my time in the Hells, but didn’t see anyone doing that,” Karlach agreed.
“It is not a common affliction, true. In fact I would wager I’m likely the only one to have ever faced it. Which has made understanding and researching it quite difficult.”
“Wait, so you don’t even know what it is??” Saff gasped. Everything he said just made her worry more. “But… how did you get it? Or have you had it your whole life?”
“No, not my whole life. And I do know what it is, but trying to find a way to cure it is what has proved difficult. For now all I know is I need to consume magic to keep it at bay.”
“So what is it?” Saff asked. He felt their eyes on him, waiting for an answer… but he couldn’t face going into it right now. Not yet. He sighed and looked away sadly.
“The consequences of my mistakes…” he said quietly, a deep sadness in his voice. A quiet hung over them as they pondered the meaning of his words, til Karlach broke the silence.
“Well, if you need magic items, we’d better start looking! We’ll start with those goblins, never know what they might have on ‘em!”
Finally, Gale managed a smile.
“Thank you,” he said to her. “Thank you all, for understanding. I know I ask a lot with few answers in return, but please… know that your trust in me is well placed.”
Wyll smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.
“We look out for each other here,” he promised him, then turned to Karlach. “Let’s check those goblins. Saff, stay with Gale and make sure he’s alright.”
She nodded, but couldn’t manage a smile. Karlach and Wyll headed off to check the goblins, leaving the two of them alone together.
“You alright?” Gale asked, seeing how clearly worried she was.
“Are you??” she said quickly, rather surprised he would ask her that after what had just happened to him.
“I am now, yes. Thanks to you,” he said with a smile, but she didn’t return it. She looked away, a pained look on her face.
“Saff?” he asked, watching her for a moment, before she finally turned back.
“You said… deadly…” she almost whispered as she looked back at him. He realised now there were tears in her eyes. It pained him that he couldn’t comfort her without lying - it was the truth of his condition, after all.
“Only if I don’t get the artefacts I need,” he said, hoping that might offer some comfort to her.
“And if we don’t find any? Magic items aren’t exactly common…” she asked nervously.
“Then… I will find some other solution,” he said, sincerely hoping that was true. Unfortunately he knew the chances of finding another solution after he’d been searching for one for a year was… unlikely. It seemed Saff sensed that too. She looked away again, her lip shaking as if she was trying not to cry.
“Saff, it’s ok,” he said softly, putting his hand on her arm. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll be fine.”
She looked back at him, sniffing slightly as she tried to blink the tears away and take comfort in his words. Still, she had so many questions.
“Is this… related to your blood?” she asked after a moment, hoping he wouldn’t find her questions too intrusive. He didn’t rebuff her though, he just gave a solemn nod. In some ways she was glad she knew a bit more about that now, but in other ways she felt like she knew even less. Her eyes went down to the tattoo again. It was calm now, but it had seemed almost… angry, before.
“Is it the tattoo? It was glowing, and the Weave passed into it…”
“Ah, that’s not a tattoo,” he said, lightly brushing his fingers over it. “It’s… well, I’m not sure what I’d call it. A marking, I suppose.”
Slowly, without even thinking about it, she raised her hand and gently touched it as well, moving her fingers across the purple swirling lines. Now it became very clear it wasn’t a tattoo - the skin was indented slightly where it was marked, and she could feel it was definitely warmer than the rest of his skin.
Gale’s breath caught in his throat as she touched him. He wouldn’t let anyone else do that, that’s for sure. He too could feel the orb’s warmth emanating from the marking - it always felt like that for a while after absorbing a dose of Weave. Though, he wondered, was it slightly warmer than usual as he felt her fingertips brushing over his skin?
“Sorry,” she said quickly, suddenly pulling her hand away as she realised how intrusive that had been.
“It’s ok,” he assured her. “In fact, you’re welcome to study it. If you have any insights at all, I’d love to hear them.”
“That might be easier if I knew what it was,” she said, looking back up at him. She regretted saying that though as the pained look came back to him and he looked away slightly. “Sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it-”
“I do,” he interrupted. “Just… not right now. But I promise, I will tell you. When I can.”
She nodded, partly glad he wanted to tell her, but also worried about what could have been so bad he couldn’t bring himself to talk about it.
Meanwhile, Karlach had been watching them from the end of the bridge, getting distracted from her job of searching the bodies.
“Find anything yet?” Wyll called to her as he dutifully got on with his job.
“Oh, uh, no! Not yet!” she quickly called back. Wyll stood up from the goblin he’d been searching and gave her a knowing look.
“How are they?” he asked, stepping over the bodies to join her looking over at Saff and Gale.
“Just talking. Poor Saff… she looked devastated.”
“Can hardly blame her. I’m worried about him too,” he said softly. They watched as Saff gently touched Gale’s chest, leaving him looking a bit flustered for a moment.
“That light seemed to go into his tattoo. I’m starting to think I’m not the only one with some maleficent thing in my chest,” Karlach theorised.
“You could be right. Hard to say though, he didn’t tell us much about it. ‘The consequences of my mistakes’... wonder what he did.”
“Hah! Gods, he does like being dramatic, doesn’t he? But I suppose wizards can be a bit like that, dramatic and mysterious.” She watched as he and Saff shared a long look together. “Saff seems to like it, though…”
Wyll couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’re not wrong there,” he commented.
“They are cute, aren’t they? Our two wizards.” She then looked at him suddenly as she realised something. “Ooh wait, is this why you had her stay with him while we came to loot the bodies??”
“They looked like they could do with a moment together,” he said casually with a small shrug. He then headed over to meet Saff and Gale, who’d now stood up and were heading across the bridge to meet them.
“Sorry to say, no magic items,” he told Gale as the four regrouped.
“Unsurprising for goblins, I suppose,” Gale said, glancing at the bodies. “Oh, before we go any further - I must apologise to you all for not bringing this up sooner. I had not expected the cravings to come so soon, nor so suddenly. It is usually a build up over a number of days, rather than a single morning. Hopefully we will be granted more time before I need another.”
“Indeed. We’ll be sure to put any magic items we find aside for you,” Wyll promised him.
Gale said his thanks and the group continued, venturing into the village and beyond in search of the goblin camp.
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 10
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The group shared stories of the day as Gale cooked dinner. It turned out the goblin hideout had been rather more difficult to find than they’d expected, and instead of finding it and taking out the goblin leaders, they’d instead found Karlach and taken out a few fake paladins on her behalf. That wasn’t to say they hadn’t slain any goblins, though - a goblin-infested village was now significantly less infested.
After hearing the full story of the gnoll the group decided it was best to stick with having four people on the road so that three people could stay camp, seeing as camping here was clearly more dangerous than they’d hoped. There was talk of possibly moving the camp, but that was decided against for now. When it came to the decision of who was to stay at camp tomorrow, the initial choice had been Gale, Astarion and Lae’zel, til Gale had insisted his arm was fine and that it was only fair to swap someone out rather than give him two days in a row at camp. Shadowheart swapped out in the end, and so Saff, Gale, Wyll and Karlach were to seek out the goblin camp tomorrow. Or, as Lae’zel hastily reminded them, a safe way to the mountain pass.
Saff approached Gale as the group began to wind down after dinner and return to their tents to prepare for the next day. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.
“All ready for tomorrow?”
“Not even slightly,” she joked. Though she felt a lot more ready now than she had last time she’d set out. “I… wanted to thank you. For offering to come,” she said after a moment. She really didn’t like the idea of facing a fight again without his help and guidance.
“You’re more than welcome,” he said softly, in that tone that always made her feel giddy. But she had to check this was the right thing to do.
“Are you sure you should come, though? Your arm-”
“My arm is fine,” he insisted, holding it up and rotating his wrist around. “Perfectly able to cast spells, thanks to you and your healing. On that subject, I wanted to ask you something.” He put down what he was doing and turned to face her. “Would you be ok with the others knowing? I didn’t mention it earlier in case you weren’t comfortable with it. I know you said it is not a skill you’ve been able to do before, nor did you entirely know how you did it. I wouldn’t want to put any undue pressure or expectations on you until you’re more confident in this skill.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. This was actually the other thing she’d come to ask him about - she’d noticed when asked how his wound wasn’t worse given what they’d seen in the vision, he’d mostly brushed the question off by saying it was just luck. “I guess you’re right… I wouldn’t want them expecting anything I can’t do…” She already felt bad enough about that happening with the goblins at the grove, she didn’t want them now expecting her to be able to heal then not be able to. “You think I’ll get better at it, then?”
“Well, I certainly hope so, it would be an invaluable skill to have. It’s hard to say though. I know little about primal magic… but what I do know is that practice makes perfect. If you get the opportunity, it’s always worth trying again. Not that you need me to tell you that, I know you will anyway.”
“Oh do you now? You think I can’t resist practising a bit of magic?” she teased. Gale chuckled, but shook his head.
“Not, not that. I think you can’t resist helping someone in need,” he said, rather to her surprise.
“What makes you say that?” she asked, thinking she hadn’t done anything particularly heroic or selfless since meeting him. Or ever, really.
“Because it’s true. Since I’ve met you you’ve always looked out for people and wanted to help them. You stood up for Arabella. You voted for helping the tieflings. You even offered your neck to Astarion. And, of course, you pulled me out of that portal, and blasted that gnoll off me, and healed me up…” He looked at her with a smile full of warmth and fondness. “I think if you saw a friend get injured, you wouldn’t think twice about trying to help them.”
She hadn’t really thought of herself or her actions like that, but when he put it that way, it made her feel pretty good about herself. Still, she didn’t entirely agree with all of it.
“I think anyone wouldn’t think twice about helping their friend if they were injured.”
“True, but most people would think twice about offering their blood to a vampire.” She shifted a bit awkwardly.
“I did think twice about that. I thought many times about that before I said it. But he needed it, and it’s not his fault. It was the right thing to do.”
For a moment he didn’t reply. He just smiled as he looked at her, seemingly lost in his own thoughts…
“What?” she asked with an awkward laugh as she saw him staring at her.
“Sorry, nothing,” he said quickly, clearing his throat. “Do you need any help preparing for tomorrow?”
“Oh, I don’t think so, but I’ll shout if that changes.”
From across the camp, red eyes watched as she turned from Gale and headed back to her tent, noticing as Gale’s gaze lingered on her. Once she was back at her tent, Astarion headed over.
“Evening, darling,” he greeted in his usual suave drawl.
“Evening,” she answered, turning from what she’d been doing to talk to him.
“I wanted to apologise for interrupting earlier. I had only intended to find you both to tell you we were back. I hadn’t expected to come across such a… tender moment,” he said in a tone completely lacking in any sort of remorse.
“Hmm… is that really what you came here to say?” she challenged. His fake look of remorse turned to a smirk.
“I also wanted to ask if you found anything else out about the curious case of Gale’s blood.”
She sighed deeply, somewhat wishing they’d stayed on the other subject.
“No, I didn’t,” she answered simply, turning to continue sorting through the camp supplies the group had returned with.
“Really? He didn’t say anything?”
“Nope. Nothing.”
“Did you ask him?”
She didn’t answer. He watched her curiously for a moment, observing her expression and body language.
“Why didn’t you ask him?”
“It’s clearly private. If he doesn’t want to talk about it, he doesn’t have to.”
“You can get lessons in magic off him, darling, but you need to get lessons in lying off me.”
She stopped and turned to glare at him.
“Oh don’t look at me like that. For once I’m telling the truth,” he said innocently. “Now, why won’t you ask him?”
“Leave it, Astarion,” she said bluntly, turning back to the camp supplies once more. He watched her a few more moments.
“You’re afraid of the truth, aren’t you?”
“Please, just leave it,” she insisted, pointedly not looking at him, trying to focus on what she was doing. She didn’t want to have this conversation, and she hated arguing like this. She just wanted it to end.
“Alright, alright, as you wish,” he said, holding his hands up and taking a step back. “But I stand by what I said before.”
She glanced back at him and his expression and tone finally shifted to something heartfelt.
“Be careful with him, darling.”
He turned and walked away, leaving her with her thoughts. She sighed deeply, hanging her head, unsure what to do.
Later that night, Gale crouched by the riverside gathering water when he heard footsteps behind him. He stood up quickly and turned to see Astarion approaching.
“You’re up late,” Astarion commented.
“As are you.”
“A vampire needs to eat. Lovely as your stew is, it’s not really for me.”
“What do you want, Astarion?” he said bluntly, folding his arms. Astarion’s smirk grew a bit bigger, amused as he was by Gale’s impatience.
“That stew, of course, isn’t the only thing you’ve offered me to eat that wasn’t for me,” he said, sauntering over a bit closer. “Feel like telling me what’s wrong with your blood?”
“No,” he said simply, narrowing his eyes.
“I had a feeling you’d say that.” He began walking round him, much to Gale’s annoyance. “But if you won’t tell me, there’s someone else you really should tell.”
“Oh, and who would that be?” Gale said disbelievingly, figuring Astarion was having him on.
“Saff.”
The answer caught Gale by surprise.
“Saff? Why her?”
“She’s worried about you, darling. Worried you’re sick or cursed. She wants to know you’re ok.”
“If she wants to know she can ask.”
“Oh, but she won’t,” he said, finally stopping in front of Gale.
“And how would you know?” he challenged, still not quite believing anything he was saying.
“Because I’ve spoken to her about it. She’s worried her handsome, charming wizard isn’t all he’s made out to be,” he said, and despite his playful tone, Gale could tell his words were absolutely truthful. And that terrified him… he hated the thought of Saff being in any way unsure of or afraid of him.
Astarion stood back, his smirk gone, now replaced by a very threatening look.
“If you hurt her, it won’t matter how bad your blood tastes. I will drain you of it.”
That particularly took Gale by surprise.
“Astarion, do you… have feelings for her?”
“No, I don’t. So worry not, you’ll have no competition from me. She’s not… interesting enough for my tastes. But she did give me something no one else has given me for 200 years.”
Gale frowned slightly.
“Blood?” he guessed, but Astarion shook his head.
“No, darling,” he said, almost disdainful of that suggestion. Then his expression shifted to one more genuine. “She gave me a chance.”
Gale was surprised at first by his apparent honesty, and as the words began to sink in, he slowly began to trust him.
“She looked out for me,” Astarion continued, “So I’m doing the same for her.”
He nodded slowly, finding himself respecting Astarion for this.
“Well not to worry,” he assured him, “I would never hurt her.”
“Is that so?” he said suspiciously. “That blood of yours is nothing to be concerned about, then?”
“You let me worry about that,” he insisted, folding his arms.
“Very well, but remember Gale,” he started, leaning in slightly. “I don’t make idle threats.”
With that he turned and left, disappearing off into the darkness. Gale sighed solemnly, ultimately knowing Astarion’s suspicions were right. He had no idea how she’d react to the truth… and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her friendship. Even though he’d only known her for 3 days, she’d grown to mean so much to him. He was trying not to let his growing feelings make him do something he’d regret. They’d come so close, earlier… perhaps he should have thanked Astarion for interrupting. He wondered how the orb would have reacted had he given in to his desires…
Plus, that was probably all they were. Carnal desires, nothing deeper. She was the first person he’d spent any significant time with in over a year, and she was undeniably beautiful. Of course he would feel something , but could it possibly be anything deeper when he’d known her for such little time?
He decided to think about it more later, he was far too tired right now. Quickly he gathered the rest of the water he needed and returned to his tent, wondering what tomorrow’s adventures would bring.
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 9
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Saff stared intently at the tattered sleeve of Gale’s robe as she sewed it up as best she could. They’d managed to get all the blood out of it and now she was patching it up. The bracer was completely beyond repair though, for her at least. Perhaps a proper leatherworker could fix it or make a replacement.
Unfortunately not only was it quite difficult to repair, but she was also getting very distracted by the thought of Gale bathing in the river behind her. She tried to tell herself not to think about him. How would she like it if the tables were turned and he was thinking of her while she bathed, imagining the water running over her slick, naked body?
She’d quite like that, actually.
Again she shook her head, for the 10th time. She forced herself to focus on the sewing once more, yet as she did she found herself wondering how far down his body that tattoo on his chest extended…
“How’re they looking?”
She almost yelped in surprise as his voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she desperately hoped it hadn’t been obvious she’d been daydreaming about him.
“Wha- how, um, how’s what looking?” she stuttered, looking up at him.
“The robes,” he answered, stifling a chuckle at her flustered response.
“Oh! Um, yeah, mostly done,” she answered, holding the sleeve up for him to see. He sat down opposite her and took the robes to inspect the damage. He was wearing his camp clothes now, and though she couldn’t see much of the tattoo anymore, she could still see the lines reaching up his neck. Sometimes she swore it looked like it somehow continued under his skin up to his eye, though she wondered if that was just some oddly prominent veins. She should really ask him about that tattoo at some point and if it meant something.
“That gnoll really really did a number on this, didn’t it?” he mused as he handed it back to her. “Thank you for offering to fix it.”
“You’re welcome, though I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do much more than this. It’s always going to be pretty bad, unless you get someone to remake the whole sleeve.”
“Well, what’s an adventurer without a bit of battle damage?” he chuckled.
“Not looking forward to getting my battle damage,” she replied, half-jokingly.
“With any luck you won’t have to, and I won’t have to get any more. We should be far at the back, out of the range of fire. They call wizards glass canons for a reason, after all.”
“Mmm… easier said than done, when goblins are swarming round the whole group,” she murmured, remembering the one that nearly got her before Gale took care of it.
“Do you know Misty Step?” he asked, frowning a bit as she looked at her.
“I know of it, but I’ve never tried to cast it.”
“Let’s put that at the top of our priority for the next lesson, then. An extremely useful spell every wizard should know. As soon as combat starts you want to find a safe spot, preferably on the high ground, where you can pick off enemies but they can’t reach you. Misty Step will take you right there. It’ll also get you out of trouble in a pinch.”
“It’s quite a bit more difficult than just standard cantrips though, isn’t it?”
“It is, yes. But I think you’re up to the challenge.” She couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips, and Gale mirrored it as he continued. “I know you said you were out of magic for the day, but want to give it a quick try, just in case?”
Well how could she say no to him?
After showing her the movements and the incantation, the two returned to the river bank and stood a few metres apart.
“Now focus on the spot in front of me,” Gale called to her. “Have this spot in your head as you cast the spell, think of nothing but moving here. And remember, use the momentum of your movements to imagine yourself moving too,” he called to her. She nodded and took a deep breath to prepare herself. Finally, she lifted her arms.
“Inveniam viam!”
As usual, nothing happened the first time. But she didn’t let that deter her. She tried again, and again. Gale called the odd suggestion to her, a slight change in her position or change of pronunciation. Soon she started feeling a brush of magic with each attempt, growing stronger and stronger… til suddenly she felt a lurch and a flash as she said the words. In an instant the ground fell away, her body was pulled in one direction and her mind another, then suddenly she was back on the beach, stumbling forward disorientated, completely losing her balance.
Before she fell suddenly she was caught and she found herself in Gale’s arms, her hands on his chest as she leaned against him.
“Woah…” she whispered, looking up at him as the world spun around her.
“That’s it, you’re ok,” he said softly. “It can be a bit disorienting at first, but you did it!”
“A bit…” she laughed, feeling like Gale was wildly understating the extreme dizziness she was feeling right now.
“It’ll pass, don’t worry,” he assured her. She rest her head against his chest, feeling like she couldn’t stop her head swimming right now and needed to force it to stay still. After a few moments, as promised, the dizziness began to die down, and only then did she realise what position they were stood in.
She lifted her head and looked up at him, her hands still on his chest, his hands still on her waist where he’d caught her. Feeling his hands there, holding her so tenderly… it almost made her feel light-headed again, and this time not from the magic. As their eyes met her breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat.
“Feeling better?” he asked softly, the tenderness in his voice sending excited shivers down her spine. All she could manage was a small nod. Then she could swear, just for a split second, his eyes flicked down to her lips. Her heart raced in her chest as slowly, almost subconsciously, they drew closer together
There was a noise to the side and they both turned in surprise to see Astarion sitting on a large rock nearby, watching them.
“Oh, please continue, don’t let me stop you,” he said innocently. He then let out a yelp as two mage hands suddenly pushed him off the rock.
They returned to the tents to find the others just arriving - it seemed Astarion had walked on ahead a bit. But before Saff could think about her annoyance towards him any more, her attention was taken by the tiefling walking along with them.
She was incredibly tall, well-built, wearing black leather and carrying a greataxe, one horn broken off while the other curled around her dark hair.
Suddenly Saff recognised her.
“Wait, isn’t that-?!” she gasped, the words coming out before she thought about what she was saying.
“Yes, it is,” Wyll said with a sigh, knowing what she was getting at. “Turns out I was misled. Karlach is no devil, she is a tiefling, and infected the same as us.”
“You guys must be Saff and Gale!” Karlach said happily with a big grin. In the visions she’d looked terrifying, but now she had the warmest, most welcoming smile.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Gale said, walking towards her, lifting his hand for a handshake.
“Woah now, wouldn’t do that soldier. Not unless you wanna burn your hand off,” she warned, taking a step back before he got too close. Saff frowned as she followed Gale towards her.
“What do you mea-”
The pain, again. She saw Avernus, devils and imps, the Blood War… and felt Karlach’s fear as she cut through them all, desperate for escape.
“Arg, forgot that was gonna happen again,” Karlach said as the vision ended.
“We did try to warn you,” Wyll laughed.
“Yeah yeah, well I guess I can’t complain too much,” she said, turning back to Gale and Saff. “Without this little worm, that one would never have believed my story,” she explained, pointing to Wyll.
“I like to think I’m a good judge of character, but I fear you may be correct,” Wyll admitted, clearly not proud of it, but not going to hide it. “And what a mistake I’d have made. Heh, who’d have thought the tadpoles would prove useful?”
“Suppose I’ve got two things to thank the mind flayers for then,” Karlach joked. “Seeing people’s memories when I meet them is definitely a new one for me!”
The others chuckled and agreed, though Saff’s smile faded as a realisation suddenly dawned on her.
With a gasp she turned to Gale and found him looking back at her with a slightly nervous look on his face. He knew what she’d just realised…
With wide eyes she stepped back instinctively, and by this point the others had clearly noticed, and soon Gale felt all eyes on him, wondering what Saff was reacting to.
“Ah, yes, I wondered if you might ask about this…” he started, before Lae’zel interrupted.
“Ask about what??” she demanded, not wanting to be left in the dark. Meanwhile, Astarion looked quite excited.
“Ohh, we’ve only just got back and already there’s drama,” he whispered to Karlach, who happened to be standing next to him, and who looked significantly more concerned about all this.
“I didn’t see anything when I met Gale…” Saff whispered, the fear in her voice evidence of her fears about the reason behind that. “There was no connection, not like with everyone else…”
“Did everyone else not see Gale’s memories?” Wyll asked, trying to remember what he’d seen when they’d met. “I saw books and a wizard’s tower.”
“Those were my memories,” Saff said, knowing exactly which memories they’d seen as she’d seen them as well when their minds connected.
“If you’d just let me explain-”
“Kaincha!” Lae’zel spat, drawing her sword. “He’s lying! He’s not infected at all!”
“I assure you I am not lying!” Gale said quickly, holding his arms up in front of him defensively.
“What, then? Speak!”
“I just blocked it out! It’s not so different to Detect Thoughts and other such similar spells. I blocked out the tadpole the same way I would block out those spells.”
“Ch’k, you expect us to believe you can just block out the tadpoles with such ease?” Lae’zel sneered, not believing him. Shadowheart clearly thought similarly.
“The tadpoles are powerful magic,” she said, implying he wouldn’t be able to overpower them.
“And I’m a powerful wizard,” he replied, the hint of a threat at the edge of his tone. “To control one’s mind and defend it against such threats is basic training at any good wizardry academy. I won’t claim blocking out the tadpoles is easy, but it is possible.”
There was a moment of uneasy silence as they each weighed up whether or not to believe him.
“Bah, enough! I will settle this!” Lae’zel declared, then strode towards Gale. For a moment the group thought she was going to kill him there and then, til she stopped in front of him and the pain ripped through their heads once more.
They all felt it - Lae’zel trying to enter his mind. They felt her slashing the walls of his consciousness, trying to force her way in, as if trying to bash down a door… then suddenly they were all ejected as Gale’s defenses dropped like a portcullis.
“Out!” Gale shouted, holding his head. He glared at Lae’zel, and she at him.
“Ch’k, it didn’t connect. You have no tadpole!”
“I stopped you connecting!”
“And why should I believe you?” she demanded, raising her sword again in a threat.
“If you want me to prove it then just ask, don’t start trying to force your way in!”
“Very well. Prove it to us,” she demanded. Hardly the polite request Gale had meant, but better than having his mind forced open. At least this way he could control what they saw… he hoped.
“Fine…” he murmured, taking a moment to gather himself, before closing his eyes.
The feeling returned, but this time it wasn’t painful. Not like their minds suddenly clashing together, but instead of his mind willingly opening up to them and sharing with them. He tried to focus on an unimportant recent memory, but quickly found the tadpoles seemed to gravitate towards rather more impactful memories. He could focus it somewhat, keeping it to recent memories, but couldn’t control exactly what they saw.
The vision that came to them was that of a forest, though they felt his anxiety - then came the gnoll, jumping on him, throwing him to the ground. They saw its teeth, gnashing and tearing, sinking into his arm, blood and bile, searing pain, nothing but hunger behind the gnoll’s empty black eyes…
Then a blast of wind and thunder as the gnoll was thrown back. A blink and Saff was stood in front of him, protecting him as she hit the gnoll with everything she had, attack after attack. They felt his pain, his fear, his adrenaline… and maybe something else as he looked up at her…
The vision disappeared and they were back in the present. For a moment the group was quiet, some of them feeling a bit bad about turning on him so quickly when he’d been telling the truth, til Lae’zel spoke.
“You were attacked by one of those creatures?” she asked, a hint of familiarity in her tone - they’d faced them out on the road, too.
Gale lifted his sleeve and showed the bandages on his arm.
“I was. And I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for Saff,” he said, turning to her. For a moment she blushed as the rest of the group looked at her. Astarion and Lae’zel in particular looked surprised, having seen how she’d reacted to the goblins the day before. Astarion’s look of surprise turned to a smile as he stepped forward.
“Well then, a toast to your saviour is in order, is it not?” he said, taking his pack off and pulling out a bottle of wine.
“Fuck yes!” Karlach agreed, happy both about the fact that the misunderstanding between her new friends had been settled, and that one of them had a surprise bottle of wine in his bag.
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 8
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
For a moment neither of them moved as the creature’s call echoed in the air around them, dangerous, threatening, and getting closer.
Quickly Gale ran to his tent and grabbed the quarterstaff he’d got from the grove. Saff followed behind him but stayed back as he instructed her to. He stood in front of her protectively, watching the trees as the noise grew closer and closer…
Suddenly it came, faster than anything, a four-legged monstrosity charging towards them. Gale barely had time to react before the gnoll was on top of him and he was thrown to the ground, slamming onto his back. He managed to raise his staff just in time to catch it in the creature’s mouth, desperately holding it off as gnashing teeth came down at him.
“NO!” Saff screamed, reaching out to him. Quickly she gathered her wits and raised her hands.
“Ignis!!”
The firebolt slammed into the creature’s side, singing off its fur, but did nothing to deter it as it continued to claw at Gale, getting closer and closer as he could barely hold it off. She tried again and again, throwing firebolt after firebolt, but they seemed to do nothing.
Finally the creature reared up, ripping the staff from Gale’s hands and throwing it aside. It dived down again with a bite, and this time Gale had nothing but his arms to protect himself with. He screamed out in pain as teeth sunk through the leather of his bracer and into his flesh, blood gushing down his arm. Saff’s heart nearly stopped, and she didn’t even register what happened next - she acted on pure instinct. She ran towards them, raising her hands as she did, throwing all her body into the movement.
“Detono!!”
The sound of thunder rang through the camp as the creature was thrown into the air before hitting the ground hard, sparks of static rolling over its skin. It whimpered as it got back to its feet and glared at them, teeth bared, wanting revenge.
Saff wasted no time and ran in front of Gale, a ball of fire already burning in her hand.
“Ignis!”
The fire slammed into its side but again seemed to do little to it, and suddenly the creature was charging towards her.
That won’t work.
Her hands fumbled for a new gesture as she knew she had to try something else, and ice began to form at her fingertips.
“Glacies!”
The ice spear slammed into its leg and left it stumbling as frost formed over its paw. Quickly she summoned another, then another, each attack leaving it reeling. She took a step closer with every spell, throwing everything she had at it, until finally the creature turned and ran, whimpering as it retreated into the forest.
For a moment there was just the sound of her own breathing as the adrenaline gradually died down, her hands shaking as she watched the trees where it had disappeared.
Then she turned and ran back.
“Gale!!” she gasped as she jumped over the scattered camp supplies and fell to her knees by his side. He was sat on the ground, clutching his wounded arm, covered in blood.
“Gods…” she whispered in horror as she looked at the gore in front of her. But she knew she couldn’t let this get to her and had to act. Quickly she ran over to the supplies box and dug out the first aid kit they’d got from the grove, then ran back to him. She carefully began to remove the ruined bracer, trying not to let herself get distracted by his gasps of pain as she pulled the leather over the ripped flesh. Eventually she had it off, and after carefully peeling back the tattered, bloody remains of the sleeve, the severity of the wound was there to see. Huge lumps of flesh dug out, all the way down to the bone. She knew some basic first aid, but this was way beyond anything even a trained doctor could fix with such a basic first aid kit. A few bandages wasn’t going to help with this…
A feeling came to her. Something deep inside, telling her what to do, whispering a word to her. It wouldn’t work, she was sure… but that feeling told her to do it anyway…
She raised her hands and held them above his arm and closed her eyes.
Gale watched her in confusion, unsure what she was doing. It was hard to make himself hold his arm there when every instinct wanted him to do something, anything, to try to stop the pain and the bleeding… but he trusted her.
His eyes widened as he saw a golden light begin to envelop her hands.
“Te curo.”
Her voice seemed to echo as her hands grew brighter, bathing them in warm, golden light that wrapped round his arm. Under the light he could feel the skin knitting itself back together as the pain diminished, and after a few moments the light faded away. His arm was still covered in blood, but the worst of the wounds were pretty much healed. It wasn’t perfect - a few cuts remained - but compared to how it had been earlier, it felt to him to be good as new.
“You… you know Healing Word??” he gasped as he held his arm, looking at her in shock.
“It’s… never worked before…” she whispered, equally in shock, til a huge grin spread across her face. “It worked! I can’t believe it!”
He looked down at his arm again, looking at where the skin had knitted back together.
“But… healing spells can’t be cast with arcane magic…”
“No, but they can be cast with primal magic.”
He looked at her, realising what she was getting at.
“Druidic magic… you can cast druidic magic??”
“Apparently!” she couldn’t help but laugh, being almost giddy with excitement. “I never could before! But just then I, I don’t know, I felt something and… it just… happened!”
She looked at his arm again, and only now noticed the remaining cuts.
“Wait, is it actually healed?” she asked, suddenly panicking.
“More or less,” he answered, holding his arm out for her to see. She gently took it in her hands, carefully inspecting the wounds.
“There’s still a few cuts… but I think I can deal with those the old fashioned way,” she said, reaching for the med kit. She took out a rag and a bottle of clean water and began carefully cleaning his arm. He closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind elsewhere away from the pain, though she could still see him wincing slightly as she dabbed the wounds, and tried to keep her touch as light as possible.
As she washed the blood away she couldn’t help but wonder - had it tasted as bad to the gnoll as it had to Astarion? The gnoll didn’t seem to react at all, though maybe gnoll palettes just weren’t as discerning as a vampire’s. She considered asking him about it… he had said a story for another time, after all, and now was another time. Yet something stopped her. As if… she didn’t want to know the answer.
Eventually the blood was all washed away revealing the cuts fully. They’d probably be considered quite bad if they weren’t compared to the state his arm had been in before.
“I’m going to need to stitch some of these up,” she warned him. He just nodded, trying to keep his mind focused elsewhere.
The stitching process was long. She felt awful every time the needle pierced the skin and she saw him wince, but it had to be done. After what felt like an eternity it was finished, and she began bandaging his arm up. Eventually she was done and his arm was clean and treated, unlike the rest of him, which was still covered in blood.
“There,” she said softly, lowering his arm down. He finally opened his eyes and looked at the bandages, turning his arm over slightly. He was very quiet for a long moment, his breath still slightly raggedy.
“Are you alright?” she asked, gently putting her hand on his shoulder. He took his eyes off his arm and looked to her, finally managing a smile.
“Yes. Thanks to you,” he said gratefully. “Gods Saff, that was incredible! Not just the healing, but the way you fought that gnoll… I daresay the lessons have paid off,” he said with that smug grin again, and she knew from that he was definitely alright. “Though in hindsight perhaps teaching you the loudest first level spell in existence wasn’t the best idea…”
“You think it attracted the gnoll?”
“It’s a possibility we can’t ignore. Quieter spells from now on, I think.”
“I don’t think I can manage any more spells today anyway,” she said with a weary sigh. “And you definitely need to rest.”
“I think, more than that, I need to bathe,” he said, looking down at himself.
“As someone who also recently lost a lot of blood, I’d say you should stay seated for a bit longer. Even if it’s unpleasant,” she said, glancing down at his blood-soaked robes. He chuckled softly.
“As you say, doctor…?” he prompted, deciding to turn the roleplay around to learn her surname. She chuckled at the attempt, but shook her head.
“Doctor Saffron, I suppose. I don’t really have a surname.” He blinked in surprise.
“You… don’t have a surname?”
“Nope,” she started as she got up and began to prepare him some food and water. “I never knew my parents, I grew up in an orphanage. They said I was left on the doorstep in a box one morning with just a note that said “Saffron”. So either it's my name, or someone ordered some spices and were very disappointed when they received a baby instead,” she said with a laugh, though Gale couldn't join her in that. For a moment he was shocked into silence, until he finally spoke.
“I'm… sorry…” he said quietly.
“Don't be, it wasn't so bad,” She said, handing him a plate of food and a drink.
“Still, to not know your parents… do you have any idea who they were?”
“Nope, and I don't care,” She answered simply, sitting next to him. “My mother was probably a single mother, or teenager, or prostitute too poor to keep me. That was the case for most of the kids there. My father… gods only know. But it doesn't matter. The matriarchs at the orphanage were my parents, and the other kids there were my siblings. Even if I found out who my parents were, that wouldn't change.”
“Sounds like you were all very close,” he said with a smile as he ate. It was a nice change to the stereotypical idea of orphanages. “What was it like growing up there?”
“It was… well, to be honest I hated it at the time, but looking back now, with the knowledge of how bad some orphanages were, I was very lucky really. The matriarchs were kind. The building was clean, if a bit cold in the winter. Food was… not exactly abundant, but we didn’t starve. It all got a lot better when I was around 10 and some wealthy patron donated a huge stack of books to the orphanage. I read every single one, multiple times. I suppose they provided an escape. I loved them, especially the ones about adventurers. But there was one in particular that was my favourite. It was about magic. It covered all the different types of magic, and most importantly, it had instructions for casting a few basic spells. For months I tried to cast those spells. I started to think the book was actually wrong and I was wasting my time, but then finally it happened. Just a slight shimmer at first, but it was there. Maybe I should try to find out who that patron was, thank him for introducing me to magic.”
Gale smiled as he listened to her. It was a heartwarming story in a way, and he always loved hearing how people got into magic.
“To be able to teach yourself a spell at that age, even a basic one - that’s impressive,” he complimented.
“Thank you, though it was years before I could do anything more than a few shimmering lights. When I hit 18 I had to leave. I moved in with a few of the older girls I’d known in the orphanage and got a job serving tables at the local tavern. Spent most of my evenings in Sorcerous Sundries, reading all the books I could. Saved up to buy some of my own. Learnt some more spells, started looking into druidic magic. After a few years of that I met Malitas. He saw me clearing a table with mage hand and asked what a wizard was doing waiting tables. I told him about myself and my work and he said he'd take me as his apprentice. That was about three years ago now. He has a small annex on his tower that he said I could live in, gave me all the books I needed, told me to focus on my research with druidic magic.”
“And told you not to learn combat magic?” Gale asked, still a bit suspicious about that.
“He said every wizard in the world is researching combat magic, and that I've got something unique, and I should focus on that. Plus, he said he'd be furious if I accidentally burnt down his tower,” she said with a small chuckle.
Maybe it was as simple as that, the guy just didn't want errant fireballs flying around. Yet it still didn't sit right with Gale.
“I know you think it's odd,” Saff said, noticing his unease about it. “But he's given me everything I wanted. Lessons, a space of my own, the resources I need. I wouldn't know half the magic I do if it wasn't for him.”
“He taught you a lot, then?”
“Yes. And not just magic. Alchemy, too. And history, etiquette, all that sort of stuff. He always said if I was to become a full wizard I must learn to fit into wizard society. Be a proper lady, one no one would ever guess grew up in an orphanage and waited tables.”
“Hmph,” Gale murmured disapprovingly. “He makes it sound like those are bad things that you should be ashamed of.”
“He said they are, if I want to be a respected wizard. And that, while he didn’t agree with it himself, the most powerful wizards of the land wouldn’t accept someone with such a poor background and that I mustn’t tell such people where I really come from if I want to be accepted.”
“What a load of nonsense,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “Some of history’s most powerful wizards have come from humble backgrounds. I’m glad to see you didn’t believe him.”
She narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked at him.
“What makes you think I didn’t believe him?”
He looked back at her, slightly surprised.
“You told me everything without hesitation,” he answered. A smile came to her lips.
“Ah, yes. Well, I didn’t think you were like that,” she explained, bringing a smile to his lips that mirrored her own.
“I’m glad to hear it. I certainly wouldn’t want to give off that impression.”
“You don’t, don’t worry,” she said sincerely. There was a pause before she spoke again. “It’s really not true, then? Wizards aren’t like that?” she asked, sounding a bit surprised by that.
“Well… some wizards are like that. But any wizard as bigoted as that isn’t one you want to associate with. You will go far in wizard society based on your skills, not your background.”
She smiled to herself.
“Good. I’m glad to hear it,” she said softly. He looked at her for a moment in concern.
“I’m surprised he would tell you such a thing…”
“Well… you said some wizards are like that, right? I guess he didn’t want me to miss out on any opportunities with them. Plus, maybe it’s different in different places. Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate have plenty of differences, that could be one of them. He’s an elf too, so maybe it’s different in elven society.”
“Perhaps…” Gale murmured, less convinced. “Either way, I think a master should focus on teaching their apprentice magic, not… social etiquette.”
“Do you? Have you had many apprentices, then?” she challenged, not entirely agreeing with his critical appraisal of her master.
“Not many, no. I've tried teaching in the past, but if I'm honest, I would always get too frustrated if they proved inept.”
“Gosh… how are you putting up with me?”
“You are far from inept,” he said with a chuckle as he looked over at her. “Teaching you has been a joy, in fact.”
She couldn't help but smile to herself.
“Well, thank you. I'm glad,” She said, hoping he couldn't see the slight blush on her cheeks. “Did you ever have a master yourself? Or I suppose you knew everything already and didn't need one?” She asked jokingly.
“Heh, no, I did have masters. Several, throughout my time at Blackstaff Academy, including the Blackstaff himself in my later years. And others after that, various teachers and mentors. Some were… more helpful than others,” he said with a chuckle, before taking the last mouthful of food and finishing his drink.
“I’ll tell you about them sometime. Right now though, I think it’s about time I washed this blood off,” he decided, putting the plate aside and looking down at himself.
“Try not to get your arm too wet. Open wounds and river water don’t go well together…” she warned.
“Indeed they don’t. Not to fear, I’ll be careful. Wouldn’t want you to so valiantly fight off that gnoll only for me to die of an infection,” he joked as he stood up and headed to his tent.
“Don’t you dare,” she laughed, giving him a playful warning look.
“I assure you, I don’t plan on doing that,” he said, giving her a smile before disappearing into his tent to get changed.
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 7
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
She woke to the feeling of a hand gently rubbing her shoulder.
Groaning, she rolled over slightly to face the owner of the hand, squinting as she gradually opened her eyes. At first she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but when she saw that familiar smile and warm, brown eyes, somehow getting up didn’t feel like such an impossible task.
“Morning, Saff,” Gale said softly, giving her time to come round.
“Mmmph… morning…” she groaned, summoning the strength to sit up.
“How are you?”
“Been better…”
“Perhaps this will help.”
He reached over and picked up a plate full of cooked meat, bread and fresh fruit, along with a glass of juice, courtesy of the grove. The smell alone was enough to bring a smile to her face. She thanked him as she took the plate and began eating.
“The others will be heading off soon,” he informed her, glancing back out the tent. “They wanted to know you were alright before leaving.”
She smiled to herself, appreciating their concern.
“Give me a few minutes and I’ll be out.”
He nodded and left the tent to rejoin the others.
Gale had been right - the breakfast certainly had made her feel better. She was a bit light-headed perhaps, but mostly fine. She left the tent and found them armoured up and pretty much ready to go, just making a few last-minute preparations.
“Ah, you’re awake,” Wyll said happily as she joined them.
“There, you see? Told you she’d be fine,” Astarion said, ignoring the rolled eyes and slight glares from the others. He waited a moment to see if anyone else had anything to say to her, before heading over.
“You are fine, aren’t you?” he asked, keeping his voice down so the others couldn’t hear.
“I’ll live,” she answered with a small shrug. “And how are you? Still feeling… happy?”
“More than you know.” Before last night she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him look genuine, but he certainly was being genuine now.
“I… wanted to thank you. Not many would have been as understanding as you.”
She looked at him sympathetically, seeing this more vulnerable side of him.
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
“I thought you’d all be brandishing stakes if I did. Not many will accept a vampire spawn in their midsts.”
“I suppose you’re not wrong…” She wondered what life must be like for him, to be hunted by society. “So you’re a spawn, not a full vampire?”
“Indeed. All of the drawbacks with few of the benefits.”
“Is that why you’ve never fed on a human before?”
“No. That would be because my master never allowed it,” he said, his voice thick with bitterness.
“Your master?” she asked, and he grimaced at having to say the name.
“Cazador. A vampire lord in Baldur’s Gate. He saved my life by turning me, but after he did I became his plaything. Tortured for his amusement. And he would sooner see me feeding on putrid rats than humans.”
“Oh… gods…” she whispered in horror, her eyes widening. 200 years of torture? She had no idea his past was like this. Suddenly she understood why he’d never wanted to talk about himself much before.
“But I’m free now,” he continued, not wanting to linger on the horrors of his past. “And I intend to make the most of that freedom while I can.”
She looked at him and saw he was being completely truthful. He was finally given the chance to live after 200 years of torture, and he fully intended to use it. Her heart went out to him - she couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must have gone through.
“Astarion…” she whispered sadly, wanting to offer her sympathies, but she knew he didn’t want to linger on his past, so she wouldn’t either. “Listen… if you ever need to feed and no one else will let you… come to me.”
He looked rather surprised by that offer.
“Are you sure? Given the others’ reactions that could be… quite often.”
“I’m sure. I can handle a bit of a headache if it means you finally get to be happy after 200 years.”
She saw in his expression not only how shocked he was by that offer, but how touched he was, too.
“Thank you…” he said softly, genuinely. “This is a gift, you know. I won’t forget it.”
She gave him a smile, holding his gaze for a moment, before suddenly remembering something.
“Oh! And I wanted to ask. I know you don’t know exactly what’s going on, but… Gale’s blood…”
“Oh, that,” he said, the old smirk coming back to his lips. “That was an unexpected turn of events, wasn’t it? Unfortunately as you say, I don’t know what’s going on, other than that there’s something wrong with him.” She looked visibly concerned by that.
“Like, what? Do you think it could be a disease? A curse?”
“Perhaps, I suppose. But I’ve been a vampire for 200 years and I’ve never heard of anyone with blood like that before,” he replied, looking over at Gale, who was across the camp talking to Wyll. “I know this is rich coming from me, but darling… be careful of him.”
The seriousness of his tone caught her off guard.
“You… really think he could be dangerous?” she asked disbelievingly.
“Anyone keeping secrets is dangerous.”
“You kept secrets from us.”
“And I’m very dangerous,” he said with a playful, maybe even flirty, smile.
Behind them the others began to congregate and look towards Astarion.
“Ah, I think it’s time to go,” he said, walking over to them. “Ta-ta, darlings.”
The others said their goodbyes and soon the group was on their way, leaving Saff and Gale alone. She watched them leave with a heavy heart, lingering long after the group had disappeared into the trees.
“How do adventurers live like this every day…” she whispered, still watching the trees. “Watching their friends walk off, knowing they might never come back?”
“You must have faith in them,” Gale said, walking over to her. “They can handle themselves, Saff. Don’t worry. Goblins are no match for them. Wyll is a seasoned adventurer, Lae’zel is a trained warrior, Shadowheart has the magic of her god flowing through her and Astarion… well, vampires are hard to kill.”
“Spawn,” she corrected.
“Hm?”
“He’s a vampire spawn. Not a full vampire.”
“Ah… well, that explains some of the questions I had. How do you know that?”
“He told me.”
She finally took her eyes off the trees and turned to Gale.
“How much do you know about his past?”
“Only what he said last night.”
She went quiet and looked back towards the trees, wondering whether or not to tell him what Astarion had told her.
“Are you ok?” he asked, seeing the pain in her eyes.
“Yes. He… told me some stuff earlier, about what had happened to him. He’s gone through a lot more than I realised. I would tell you, but… it’s not really my place.”
“Of course, I understand,” he said, though he couldn’t help but wonder. Clearly whatever it was it had shaken her.
“I… told him to come to me if no one else let him feed on them. That he could always feed on me if he needed to.”
Gale looked just as surprised by that as Astarion had.
“Are you quite sure you want to do that??”
“Yes,” she said firmly, looking over at him. “What’s a headache against his need to eat?”
Gale went quiet and looked away slightly.
“I… don’t begrudge him what he is. We all have our burdens, one way or the other…” he said quietly, more sympathetically than she’d expected. He then looked back to her.
“Just be careful. Don’t let him take advantage of you.”
“I won’t,” she said with a smile, appreciating his concern.
“And make sure someone is always there. We don’t want him getting ‘swept up in the moment’ again.”
“Please don’t be angry at him for that. It wasn’t his fault,” she asked, taking a step towards him. “He’d never fed on a human before. If I’d spent 200 years eating rotting meat and was finally given some real food, I think I’d find it hard to control myself too.”
He sighed slightly, begrudgingly agreeing with her.
“I… understand why he reacted like that. Truly I do. I’m more angry at him for trying to bite you in the first place. If you hadn’t woken up and he’d had no one to stop him getting ‘swept up’...”
He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, but she could see how much the thought worried him. She walked up to him and gently placed a hand on his arm.
“Gale, it’s ok. I’m fine,” she said softly, giving him a reassuring smile. He looked at her, a look of fear in his deep, brown eyes… til he managed to return the smile.
“You’re right. And it doesn’t do to dwell on what could have been,” he decided, taking a deep breath to rid himself of those thoughts. Saff smiled, glad he wasn’t going to linger on that.
“Exactly! Now, if you’ll give me 10 minutes to get properly dressed, I’ll be ready for today’s lessons.”
He nodded and headed back to his tent as she headed off to get dressed. A small pile of books was beginning to grow outside his tent that he’d taken from the various places they’d been through, and he took the opportunity to start reading one.
Normally he’d be annoyed if someone disturbed his reading, but this time he was more than happy about the interruption.
“Ah, all ready?” he asked as he stood up.
“I am indeed! So what’s today’s first lesson then, Mr…” she trailed off a bit as she realised she didn’t know his surname. “Mr… Of Waterdeep,” she settled on, prompting a hell of a laugh from him.
“My surname,” he managed eventually, “is Dekarios.”
“Ah, Mr Dekarios then,” she said, though he didn’t seem very happy with that.
“Hmm… you know, I do hold several degrees. I’m pretty sure that should be Professor Dekarios.”
“Oh! Should it now?” she half-gasped half-laughed. That might be the most pompous thing he’d ever said, and there was quite some competition there. “Really getting into the roleplay now, are we?”
“Actually… I know someone who often calls me Mr Dekarios and, well… it feels a bit weird hearing it come from you,” he admitted.
“Oh, I see,” she said, somewhat relieved he wasn’t quite as pompous as she’d thought he was. “Dare I ask who that is?”
“My… companion, Tara,” he answered. She couldn’t help but notice the hesitation.
“Your… companion?” she asked, hoping her face wasn’t giving away just how she felt upon hearing that.
“Yes. She’s my oldest friend, my dearest confidant. She was my teacher for a long time, in fact, when I was younger. I owe a great deal of my magical knowledge to her,” he explained.
Saff couldn’t help but notice how gushing he was about her, and tried not to feel uneasy about it.
“I see. I’m surprised you’ve never mentioned her if she means that much to you…” she muttered, sounding just a tad more bitter than she intended. Luckily for her Gale didn’t seem to notice.
“Actually, I think I did mention her, shortly after we first met.”
She paused, wracking her brain to try to think of when he’d mentioned her. Then, her eyes widened.
“Oh my god, are you… are you talking about your cat??” she gasped, laughing at the absurdity of it all. Had she truly been jealous of a cat?
“She is not just any cat! She’s actually a tressym, I’ll have you know.” Her eyes widened even further.
“You have a tressym?!” Gale couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. “Why did you say she was a cat??”
“Well, most people don’t know what a tressym is, so it’s easier just to say cat,” he said with a shrug.
“And why did you awkwardly call her your ‘companion’?” she asked, still laughing slightly.
“Because… most people think it’s a bit weird to have such respect for your pets,” he admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed.
“Well most people are idiots,” she said bluntly, prompting another laugh from him. “I’ve always wanted to see a tressym in real life…” she mused longingly. She’d read about them, seen plenty of drawings, but never seen one in person.
“If we get out of this whole ordeal alive, I’d love for you to come meet Tara,” he said, a soft warmth in his voice that bought a smile to her lips.
“Hmm, I suppose meeting a tressym would be worth going to Waterdeep for,” she teased, which made him laugh.
“Indeed it would be, especially a tressym like Tara. Now, I think we’ve spent long enough talking, it’s about time we got on.”
“Ah, yes! So, Professor Dekarios, what’s the first lesson?”
The morning passed mostly practising cantrips, and by the end she’d got pretty good at them. They took a break while Gale made lunch (Saff did offer to help, but he insisted he didn’t need it and said she should rest instead), and come the afternoon they were ready to start on some 1st level spells.
“De-to-no,” Gale said, slowly and clearly.
“De-to-no,” she repeated carefully. “Detono.”
“Perfect. Now, the somatic component. Watch my movements carefully. Make sure you get the fingers right, it’s all in the details.”
She watched as he slowly replicated the required movement, then tried replicating it herself.
“Arms higher, fingers out… good. Now, put it all together, and…”
He turned to the three large sticks they’d wedged into the sand in front of him and raised his arms.
“Detono!”
The clap of thunder was joined with a gust of wind that tugged at her hair and clothes, even though she was well out of range of the spell. The three sticks went flying off into the river, along with a fairly significant amount of sand and stones.
As the wind died down again, he turned to her.
“Now you try.”
She turned to the second set of sticks in the ground in front of her. Slowly she raised her hands and took a deep breath.
“Detono!”
Nothing happened.
“Keep trying. No one gets a spell the first time. Except me, of course.”
She scoffed and shook her head.
“Are you always so full of yourself?”
“Only when it’s warranted.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“You seem to have suffered me well enough so far.”
“True, there was a lot of suffering.”
He couldn’t even come up with a good response to that and just made a noise in objection. She flashed him a playful smile, then turned back to the sticks.
“Detono!”
A slight wind, a hint of static.
“Yes! Keep going,” he encouraged, and she did so. Again, and again, and again. Each time the wind picked up more and gradually the static started to audibly crackle.
A noise echoed in the distance.
“What was tha-”
“Shh,” he hissed, listening out for it again.
Once more it came, louder this time. A strange noise, like an animal, but not one either of them recognised. High pitched, a sort of whine or winnie… whatever it was, it was getting closer, and it didn’t sound friendly.
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 6
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
This time it wasn’t morning that woke her. She couldn’t say what exactly it was that had roused her from her sleep, but she opened her eyes to find a figure looming over her, leaning down, teeth bared…
She screamed and pushed him back, scrambling out of the tent.
“Shit,” Astarion muttered to himself, before running out of the tent after her.
Outside the others had heard the scream and were rushing out of their tents to see what was happening. Lae’zel already had a dagger in hand, ready to fight off whatever threat was here. Saff was at Gale’s tent, panicking as he checked her over and comforted her. As Astarion left the tent she looked over, and only then did she realise it had been him.
“Astarion…?” she gasped in disbelief. She’d thought it was someone who’d snuck into their camp, not one of their group.
Anger spread across Gale’s face, and he stepped in front of her protectively, glaring at Astarion.
“What in the Hells do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted, clenching his fists.
“I think we all know what he was doing…” Shadowheart growled accusingly, the implication in her words obvious, picking up her mace.
“NO! No, I swear, it wasn’t like that,” Astarion said quickly, holding his hands up defensively as the group became increasingly hostile.
“He’s right… it wasn’t like that.”
The group stopped and turned to Saff, who didn’t take her eyes off Astarion.
“He… he wasn’t trying to…” her words were quiet and stuttered as she looked at him. The image of him leaning down, mouth open, replayed in her mind as her hand subconsciously went to her neck where she’d felt the brief scrape of something sharp before pushing him away. “He was going to… bite me…”
“I knew it!” Wyll spat, drawing his rapier and pointing it at Astarion. The signs had all been there, he’d long suspected it, and this was all the proof he needed. “He’s a vampire!”
“But how can you be a vampire if you can walk in the sun?” Shadowheart asked. She’d suspected it before as well, of course she had. But his ability to walk in sunlight had made her discount that possibility.
“I… don’t know. Since I got this tadpole, things have changed. I can stand in the sun, walk into houses uninvited… but I still have this hunger,” he admitted, for once sounding genuinely remorseful. A flicker of sympathy flashed across Gale’s face.
“That doesn’t mean you can feed on us,” Lae’zel hissed, brandishing her blade.
“I usually don’t! I feed on animals, boar, deer, whatever I can find. But… I’m too slow right now. Too weak. I can’t feed only on animals, not if I need to fight.”
An uneasy quiet fell across them. They knew the truth - they needed him. He was the only one in the group with his skills, and if he couldn’t fight, he was a risk. Astarion could see this realisation on their faces, and left it a moment to sink in before continuing.
“If I just had a little blood, I could think clearer. Fight better. Please,” he begged, surprisingly still sounding genuine.
The group looked at each other hesitantly.
“Ok,” came Saff’s voice, quiet and uncertain. Gale turned to her quickly.
“Saff, are you sure about this?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She looked to Astarion, considering for a moment, then nodded and turned to the others.
“I’m sure. We’re all in this together, right? We’ve got to help each other. And it’s not his fault he’s a vampire. Well, I assume?” she asked, looking back at him.
“I certainly didn’t choose it, no,” he confirmed.
“There we go then. If we’re in this together, we have to help each other. And, I mean, it’s not gonna kill me, right?”
“No, of course not. It might make you feel a bit weak for a while, but you’ll be fine.”
“Then I’ll do it.”
For the first time, she saw Astarion genuinely smile.
“Ch’k, fine, if it makes him stronger then so be it, those staying at camp can feed him each night. But no more surprises. If I wake up with so much as a drop of blood on my neck, you will find a stake through your heart,” Lae’zel growled, pointedly looking to Astarion as she threatened him.
“You have my word,” he promised solemnly.
“Maybe we could get him to wear a bell - dissuade any nighttime prowling,” Shadowheart suggested with a smirk. A small chuckle rippled through the party. Astarion didn’t seem keen on the idea, though he was glad it relieved some of the tension as weapons were lowered.
“Very well, but I’m keeping my eye on you,” Wyll warned. “And no wisecracks about having us for supper.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” he joked, joining in now with the more upbeat tone.
“Enough joking,” Lae’zel decreed. “We need rest for tomorrow. Feed on her Astarion and be done with it.”
Astarion nodded and looked towards Saff. She stepped forward, but Gale stopped her.
“He can feed on me tonight,” he declared. A smirk came to Astarion’s lips.
“Oh can I? How kind of you,” he said, knowing exactly why Gale was offering. At least, he thought he knew…
“Let’s get comfortable, shall we?”
He grabbed a spare bedroll and spread it out on the ground. He looked back up at Gale and saw the uncertain look on his face.
“I’ll only take a bit,” he promised him.
“You’d better.”
The others watched as Gale laid down on the bedroll, knowing this would likely be something they’d all also have to go through eventually. Saff found herself holding her breath as Astarion knelt over him, getting into position… then with a swift movement, sunk his teeth into Gale’s neck.
Then just as suddenly he ripped them out and stumbled backwards, coughing and spluttering.
“Ugh! Your blood tastes like bile! What is wrong with you??” He gasped, spitting and wiping his mouth. The others watched in surprise as Gale sat up, holding his neck.
“Let that be a lesson to you not to bite someone in the night without their consent,” he said firmly, and suddenly the group realised - this was Gale’s way of getting back at Astarion for what he nearly did to Saff.
“I said I was sorry!” Astarion argued defensively.
“Actually, I don’t think you did,” Gale countered as he stood up. Astarion was about to speak, then paused as he ran through the conversation in his head.
“Ah… well, sorry,” he said to Saff. “Unfortunately for you it seems Gale’s off the menu.”
Saff looked to Gale in a mixture of concern and fear.
“What… is wrong with your blood?” she asked tentatively. The others waited, curious to hear the answer. He felt their eyes on him, but feared their reactions if he told them the whole truth of it all now.
“That’s a long story… one best kept for another time,” he said eventually. Saff nodded slowly, noting the sadness in his voice. She tried not to think about it too much as she turned to Astarion and walked towards the bedroll. Gale watched her sadly - as much as he’d enjoyed getting back at Astarion, he’d much rather have been able to spare Saff this fate.
Nervously she laid down on the bedroll and looked up at Astarion. Behind her she heard Gale speak.
“Remember, only a bit,” he warned Astarion.
“Of course,” he agreed as he knelt down over her. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for what was to come… then she felt it, like two shards of ice in her neck. She let out a gasp of pain and whimpered softly as she felt her strength draining. She trusted him to stop before he took too much, but slowly the edges of her vision started to go dark and her ears began to ring…
“S-stop…” she whispered, the word barely audible as it left her lips. She tried to push him away, but barely had the strength to lift her arm. She felt him lift her up, his hand behind her head, sucking hungrily, as she began to fall limp in his arms…
“Enough!”
Astarion suddenly put her down and pulled away as Gale shouted and came towards them. He barely even noticed how angry Gale was over the feeling of elation he was experiencing, and for a moment all he could do was stand there in awe with wide eyes as he felt strength unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
Gale quickly knelt by Saff’s side and helped her sit up, supporting her in his arms. Wyll joined them with a rag to hold against her neck and a cup of water. Gale tried to offer the water to her as Wyll tended to her neck, but she was barely strong enough to even hold her head up.
“What happened to ‘just a bit’?!” he snapped at Astarion.
“Sorry, I… was just swept up in the moment,” he replied, which just made the others more angry with him.
“How do we know you won’t get ‘swept up in the moment’ in the future?” Shadowheart asked, starting to lose confidence in this plan of letting him feed on them.
“We shall have to always have someone watching,” Lae’zel decided, also not thrilled by this turn of events.
“It won’t happen again,” Astarion said quickly. “It’s just because I’ve never fed on a human before. It was… glorious,” his voice was almost a whisper, the effect on him clear to everyone in the camp.
“You’ve… never fed on a human before?” Wyll asked in disbelief.
“Not once. Always just animals. Rats, mostly.”
“How long have you been a vampire?”
“About… 200 years.”
A quiet fell over them.
“200 years of nothing but rats…” Wyll murmured, feeling a stab of sympathy for Astarion.
“Did it work…”
Saff’s voice was weak, only just loud enough for them to hear. Gale and Wyll looked to her as she slowly raised her head, looking up to Astarion, wanting to know if it had been worth it.
“It worked,” he confirmed with a smile. “I feel… good. Strong. Happy!”
“Good…” Saff whispered, managing a weak smile. Astarion’s smile faded slightly to a look of remorse.
“I’m… sorry about this. I got carried away. It won’t happen again,” he promised her, then looked round at the others. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find something more filling. I will see you all in the morning, bright and ready to take out some goblins,” he said with a slightly sadistic grin. With that he turned to leave, looking stronger, more confident, ready to hunt.
Lae’zel and Shadowheart watched him leave, still a bit wary of this whole arrangement, but decided they were content for now and headed back to their tents. Wyll and Gale stayed with Saff for now to make sure she was ok.
“Never expected to find myself teaming up with a vampire…” Wyll murmured.
“Never expected to find myself offering to get bitten by one,” Saff added with a weak chuckle. Wyll looked at them both.
“How does it feel?” he asked, directing the question at both of them.
“Awful,” they both answered in unison, to Wyll’s amusement.
“Something to look forward to, then,” he said, sighing slightly. “Anyway, I’d best get some rest. I’ll leave you in Gale’s capable hands,” he said to Saff, who couldn’t help but smile slightly at his phrasing. Gale nodded his thanks to Wyll for his help as he left, then turned his attention back to Saff.
“Let’s get you back to your tent,” he said, helping her to her feet. Somewhat wobbly and holding onto him for support she made her way back over, letting him gently lower her onto her bedroll once she was inside. He bought the cup of water, which she managed to drink some of, and placed it next to her as he sat down with her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.
“Woozy. But I’m sure I’ll be fine in the morning,” she said, her voice weak, but an optimistic smile on her lips. “Gotta be ready for our lessons tomorrow, after all,” she added playfully. He chuckled at first, then gave her a stern look.
“You get all the rest you need. Lessons can wait if you’re not feeling up to it.”
“Can they?”
She looked at him as her words hung between them. They both knew the severity of their situation, and they both knew she was a liability if she couldn’t defend herself.
“We will see how you feel in the morning,” he settled on. “For now, get some rest.”
She smiled and nodded.
“See you tomorrow,” he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment, holding her gaze… before finally standing up and leaving the tent.
She sighed deeply as she pulled a blanket over herself and closed her eyes. A vampire among them… as if things weren’t crazy enough. But she trusted Astarion now, and maybe this would be a good thing - vampires were powerful, after all. What actually worried her more was the question of Gale’s blood and what was wrong with it. Was it some sort of illness? Or curse?
She supposed there was no point in worrying about it now, but she hoped he’d tell them what it was sooner rather than later.
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 5
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
They decided to find a secluded spot for the lesson, one far enough away that the others wouldn’t be kept awake by the sounds of fireballs and lightning. It didn’t take them long to find somewhere - a nice clearing which would have made for a good camp spot had they not already chosen one.
“This looks ideal,” Gale decided as he looked round the area. “That rock will make for a perfect target. Far enough from the grass that we won’t risk starting any accidental forest fires,” he said, gesturing to a large rock in the sand by the river bank. “Now, show me your firebolt,” he instructed, standing back a few steps.
Saff nodded and took a deep breath. She was actually quite nervous, having someone assess her on something she knew she wasn’t very good at. Especially someone so good at it that she wanted to impress.
She raised her hands and began to make the movements.
“Ignis!”
She threw her arm forward and the firebolt launched from her hand, slamming into the rock and leaving a blackened mark. She smiled widely and turned to him, proud of herself.
“Good. Again,” he said, waving for her to continue. She did as she was told, throwing another firebolt. Slightly more off target this time, glancing off the side of the rock. “Keep going,” he instructed, holding his chin in his hand as he watched.
She continued, throwing them now until he said to stop. As she did he watched her movements, her gestures, her positioning, listened to the pronunciation and emphasis of her incantations.
“Alright, stop,” he ordered, and did so. “Your technique isn’t bad, but there is room for improvement. Show me your opening stance again.”
She did as instructed, raising her hands into the position. He stepped towards her and paused, seemingly contemplating something for a moment, before reaching out and gently raising her elbow.
“Have this arm just a little higher,” he advised, “and this one a little lower,” he added, lowering her other hand slightly. “Also, splay your fingers a bit more. Now try that.”
She did so, and was amazed when the firebolt that came out was notably bigger.
“Wow!” she gasped in surprise.
“Much better!” he said happily. “Do you know any other offensive spells?”
“Not really… I know the movements and incantation for Ray of Frost, though I’ve never tried to actually cast it.”
“There’s a first time for everything. Give it a go.”
She nodded, and once more raised her hands into the position.
“Glacies!”
“Wait-!”
Instead of forming a crystal lance to throw at the rock, the ice that erupted from her hands instead exploded, covering her in jagged ice and knocking her back off her feet. She fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her, shivering.
“Saff!” Gale gasped, running to her side and dropping to his knees. “By Mystra, are you ok??”
He gathered her into his arms and helped her sit up, feeling her shake from the cold. Quickly he summoned a small ball of flame in his hands and held it in front of her, letting it warm her up. Gradually the ice began to melt away, soaking into her clothes.
“S-sorry…” she stuttered, looking down in shame.
“Don’t be sorry,” he assured her. “After all, what’s a magic lesson without an unexpected explosion or two?”
Despite the shivering, she managed to laugh at that.
“It didn’t get you, did it?” she asked, looking up at him. To her relief, he shook his head.
“You rather bore the brunt of that one for me,” he said with a small chuckle.
“Well, good,” she said, softly chuckling to herself. She watched the fire in his hand for a few moments, enjoying its warmth.
“Perhaps we should have covered armour spells before going straight into attacks,” Gale mused. “Do you know Mage Armour?” She shook her head. “We will start with that once you’re better.”
She nodded, though something was on her mind.
“You said ‘wait’… you knew that was going to happen?” she asked eventually.
“Your pronunciation was all wrong,” he explained. “It’s glak-ius, with a hard C. Not… glay-sees.”
“Oh!” she gasped, a flush of embarrassment rising in her cheeks. “Well… I’d only ever read it… I’ve never heard it said out loud…”
His eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Wait, you’ve never heard it said out loud? Where did you learn these spells?”
“Well, I… learnt them myself,” she admitted, looking away slightly. “I never had the money to go to an academy. I learnt a few basic spells myself, then was picked up by a wizard in Baldur’s Gate who said he’d teach me. But he always said I shouldn’t learn combat spells, that it was too dangerous.”
“He… said you shouldn’t learn combat spells?” Gale said in surprise. That sounded odd to him. “Every wizard needs to learn combat spells…”
“Not according to Malitas,” she said with a small shrug. “He said I should focus on my druidic studies.”
“I see. Well, when we get to Baldur’s Gate, I’d love to meet him. I’d like to give him a piece of my mind,” he growled, the anger evident in his voice, which surprised her.
“You’re… angry at him?”
“Of course. He’s left you in a dangerous position, not being able to defend yourself. But, no matter. I can put that right,” he decided, quickly getting back to his usual upbeat tone. “Especially now that we have all day to practise.”
“Ah yes!” she laughed, looking up at him. “I need to thank you for that. I… am not sure I’m ready for another day on the road without some time to properly learn some combat spells.”
“Indeed. We’ll get you up to scratch, not to worry,” he assured her. She looked at him with a grateful smile, though all he could see were the painful, red marks on her face where the ice had hit. “For now though, let’s take a break, at least until you’re dry,” he decided. He leant forward and placed the orb of fire on the ground, then as he leant back performed a few hand gestures, growing the flames to the size of a campfire.
Saff leaned forward, getting the most of the heat. The ice had all melted now, but still left most of her clothes soaked in cold water.
“Gla-kius,” she said after a moment, then looked over at him. “Is that right? Glakius?”
“Perfect,” he complimented, smiling at her.
“And what about Chill Touch? Timere?”
“Less tim-ear, more tim-may.”
“Gods, I’ve got a lot to learn,” she despaired, though with a slight laugh, as she looked back to the fire.
“You’ll pick it up, I’m sure,” he said confidently.
“I hope so. I’m going to need it…” she murmured, a bit distantly, knowing what would face them in the future.
They sat quietly for a bit, staring into the fire, enjoying the serenity of the evening, til Saff spoke again.
“Oh! I meant to ask. You mentioned earlier the first time you had to fight…” she looked over at Gale, meeting his eyes. “What happened? If you don’t mind talking about it.”
“Don’t mind at all,” he said happily. “I was 15, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it was to impress a girl.”
She burst out laughing.
“Oh, of course it was! You really got yourself into mortal danger to impress a girl?”
“A tale as old as time,” he chuckled. “A trade caravan heading to Waterdeep had been plundered by goblins and she was devastated that a necklace she’d ordered from Baldur’s Gate had been taken. So I sought out the goblin cave and entered, set on finding the necklace and winning her heart. Needless to say, one 15 year old against a group of goblins was hardly a fair fight, even if that 15 year old was me. I was discovered trying to sneak through the cave and just about managed to escape with my life intact. Though the wrath of the goblins was nothing compared to the wrath of my mother,” he joked. Saff laughed along with him, shaking her head.
“I can’t believe you’d do that for a girl. I used to have so much respect for you.”
“Oh I assure you I’ve changed a lot since then. If that situation were to happen now, I’d be able to take out the goblins.”
She playfully pushed him away as she laughed.
“And what did she think of your daring deed? Did it impress her?”
“No, I’m sad to report. Had I succeeded perhaps it would have done, but she was thoroughly unimpressed. I was heartbroken.”
“Well I hope you learnt your lesson and you don’t do stupid things to impress girls anymore.”
His smile faded slightly and he looked back into the fire.
“Hmm… perhaps I haven’t changed as much as I thought…” he said quietly, a bit distantly. He then looked back at her with a smile before she could question it. “Think you’re ready to continue with the lesson?”
They started with Mage Armour, another essential in a wizard’s arsenal as far as Gale was concerned. After a few practised incantations and gestures Saff tried it out, and was amazed as a subtle shimmer of golden light shrouded her body.
“Perfect,” he complimented. “It’s not quite as effective as a full suit of armour, but it’s an awful lot better than just robes. Make sure to apply the spell every morning, it’ll last all day.”
After that they returned to combat spells. Following a few more attempts at carefully pronouncing the incantation, she was delighted to successfully cast ray of frost, and the blackened burnt spot on the rock soon became coated in ice. A few more rounds of firebolt to melt the ice and they decided it was time to call it for the night.
The two of them headed back down the river towards camp. It was fully dark now, the moonlight reflecting on the water’s surface while stars sparkled in the ripples. Wind gently rustled the tree leaves, accompanied by the occasional sounds of animals. Now that she wasn’t focusing on her lessons, she could see how beautiful it was.
“Too bad we have to go back. It’s beautiful out here,” she mused, looking up at the stars.
“It is, isn’t it?” Gale agreed, following her gaze. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been somewhere like this. I spend most of my time in the city.”
“Me too…” she whispered softly, trailing off a bit. She stopped walking, pausing to admire the beauty around her, not wanting it to disappear just yet. Gale stopped a few steps ahead of her and looked back once he realised she was no longer by his side. She looked deep in thought.
“This is why I wanted to study druidic magic, you know. Places like this, they just seem so… perfect…”
She walked over to the river’s edge and knelt down, looking into the water. She reached down and cupped some in her hands, lifting it out and watching as the surface settled and the reflection appeared, before letting it seep back out through her fingers.
“Sometimes I wish I was born a druid. I feel so… at peace here. Like everything is right with the world, despite how much I know it’s not.”
She stood again, her gaze lingering at the river a few moments longer, before finally turning back to Gale. When she caught his eye she saw how he was looking at her, the slight, unconscious smile on his lips, the look in his eyes… she felt her heart skip a beat once more. Though it was only there for a split second before he quickly composed himself.
“You’re quite right,” he said, looking around the forest and up to the stars as she had. “I really need to get out of my tower more. It’s too easy to forget places like this exist in the world.”
“You definitely need to get out more if you’re forgetting they exist,” she teased as she caught back up to him. He chuckled softly as he brought his gaze back down to her.
“Well, it’s easier to remember to do that if I’ve… ahem… got someone to enjoy the walk with,” he said softly. Her heart fluttered with excitement - was he… flirting with her?? Or was she reading too much into it? Gods she hoped he was. Everything about it swept her away - the soft, warm tone he spoke in, even the slightly awkward, nervous stutter in the middle of the sentence. It was strange to see Gale, who was usually so confident, get nervous about something. It was adorable.
“True… it’s always better with the right person,” she agreed, not taking her eyes off of his.
The two of them stood there for a long moment, staring into each other’s eyes… until he finally took a step back.
“Let’s hope we have many more walks like this, before we leave this place,” he said, inviting her to walk with him again down the river towards camp. She smiled and continued on with him, only now realising how fast her heart was beating with excitement.
By the time they reached camp the campfire had burnt down to just the embers. They stepped carefully over the various camp supplies outside everyone’s tents until they reached their own.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Gale whispered to her, careful to make sure no one else would hear. She smiled and nodded eagerly.
“Goodnight, Gale.”
“Goodnight, Saff.”
The blankets of her tent were much warmer and comfier now than the night before with the addition of various blankets and furs they’d got at the druid’s grove, but it was thoughts of Gale that truly warmed her heart tonight. Again, she tried to tell herself not to fall for a guy she just met, but just the way he whispered goodnight could completely drown out those thoughts. She closed her eyes, imagining what future walks along the river might bring.
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 4
Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?
Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut
Chapter 1
Previous chapter
Next chapter
The grove had quite a charm to it. It probably would have been a beautiful place, if everyone there didn’t have such an uneasy air about them.
Wyll explained the situation further as he led them deeper into the grove - how the druids had become less welcoming of the tieflings since Halsin left with the adventurers, even before they’d known he’d been captured. Kagha was quick to sink her claws in, and now because of her they didn’t let any outsiders into the heart of the grove. That was why he hadn’t been able to seek this healer himself yet, he wasn’t allowed in. But he hoped now that they’d fought off a goblin attack, maybe they’d be granted an audience. The whole thing seemed very off to Saff - most druids were very welcoming of visitors, and would brave the dangers of helping those in need. This Kagha seemed to go against all that.
As they descended the stone steps, they heard shouting. A couple of tieflings demanding to be let in - seemed the druids had their child. The whole argument ended with a roar of a wildshaped bear. Again, an unexpected turn of events for druids - holding children captive wasn’t usually an approach druids would take.
At first they were denied entry, as Wyll had suspected. That was, until it transpired that Kagha wanted to see them. They headed further in, past a group of druids performing some sort of ritual. Saff paused and watched the flow of magic from the druids’ hands to the statue, wondering what it was they were doing. She quickly hurried to catch them up though as they approached the great stone door into the inner sanctum.
The breath caught in Saff’s throat as she saw the scene playing out inside. A terrified child, cowering as a snake coiled its way towards her.
“Please, I’m sorry!” she begged the two druids standing over her, a man and a woman.
“This is madness, Kagha!” the man insisted. “She’s just a-”
“A what, Rath? A thief? A poison. A threat?” The woman spat back. “I will imprison the devil. And I will cast out every stranger!”
The snake hissed as it moved towards her. Saff knew well enough what that snake was, and what would happen if it bit her - which it looked poised to do if the child ran. As she looked back to the child a terrible realisation came over her as she saw the child’s eyes darting round, looking for an exit, ready to run.
“Wait!” she called out, before even realising what she was doing. Then all eyes in the room were on her.
“Th-this isn’t right. Druids should cherish harmony. Imprisoning a child, that’s not right, that’s not balance!”
Tension hung in the air. All eyes fell to Kagha now, who seemed to stare into Saff’s soul… til finally she relented.
“Very well, you’re right. Go, child - tell them how merciful I’ve been to you. Teela, to me!”
The girl nodded and quickly scurried out of the room as the snake returned to Kagha’s side.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, especially Saff. Wyll walked forward to talk to Kagha while Gale hung back and spoke to Saff.
“Nice one! I’m not sure even I could have convinced her out of that,” he said, prompting a laugh and head shake from Saff. “And you said you wouldn’t be able to talk us out of fights,” he added, giving her a smile and a playful nudge. He then looked back at Kagha as Wyll spoke to her. “That woman has more venom in her heart than a snake does in its fangs, but at least the child is safe. What is youth if not a time to be forgiven for one’s transgressions?”
“Or if not forgiven, at least not imprisoned and potentially killed!” Saff agreed. “That snake… it was about to strike, I swear. All for what? Some idol?” She shook her head. “It’s ridiculous…”
“Couldn’t agree more. The girl wasn’t innocent, but she didn’t deserve all that.”
Saff looked over as Kagha spoke, noticing as she glanced up at her for a moment, before looking back to Wyll.
“I don’t get it,” she said quietly, not wanting to be overheard. “This isn’t… right. Druids aren’t like this. There’s something strange going on here.”
“Hmm… we’d better keep our eyes and ears peeled then, look out for any signs of strange goings on,” he said, watching now as Wyll left Kagha and headed back up to them. “So? What did she want?” he asked as Wyll reached them. He sighed deeply.
“She plans to kick all the tieflings out and wants us to escort them to Baldur’s Gate. I told her we couldn’t possibly escort them all, she said then the tieflings shall die on the road.”
“Gods, she truly is a monster,” Gale muttered.
“There’s gotta be some way to convince her…” Saff started, but Wyll shook his head.
“I tried, she’s not hearing it. She did say we can see Nettie now, though,” he said, the one piece of good news in all this.
Unfortunately the good news didn’t last long as they soon learnt Nettie couldn’t help them. But she did at least decide against secretly trying to kill them, as she had apparently been planning after hearing they were infected.
The three of them looked at the bottle of wyvern poison in Wyll’s hand as they headed out, given to them under the promise they would use it if they started to feel themselves transforming.
“A bleak outlook…” Gale murmured.
“Guess we’re back to purification,” Saff said, realising Lae’zel’s words earlier had come true. Wyll sighed and put the bottle away.
“Let’s think about that later. For now we’d best speak to Zevlor about Kagha’s offer. He may have some ideas about what we can do.”
On their way out they ran into the girl’s parents. They thanked them dearly for saving Arabella, particularly Saff. Gale watched proudly as they presented Saff with an enchanted locket as thanks. He knew Saff had critically low confidence in her adventuring abilities, and he hoped this might boost that a bit. It hadn’t been combat, sure, but being a good adventurer meant more than just fighting. Saff happily put it round her neck, looking at Gale with a big, proud smile. The enchantment may be of little use to her, but the locket had a far deeper meaning to her, a symbol of her first victory as an adventurer. Soon they were on their way again.
It turned out Zevlor did have some ideas, but they didn’t sound much more doable than escorting the whole tiefling group all the way to Baldur’s Gate.
“Take out the goblin leaders??” Saff gasped as they headed back to meet up with Lae’zel and Astarion.
“That’s what he said,” Wyll answered with a small shrug. “And he’s right. If we take out the leaders the goblins will scatter. It’s probably the most viable option we have if we are to help them.”
“A tall order, but I think we’re up to the task,” Gale said confidently. Wyll seemed to match his confidence, but Saff less so.
Lae’zel and Astarion were waiting for them by the time they got back. Astarion was the first to speak as they approached.
“Judging by the grim looks on your faces, I’m guessing the healer couldn’t help?”
“Sadly not,” Wyll confirmed.
“Ch’k, just as I said. Do you believe me now when I say purification is the only way?” Lae’zel demanded. There was a moment of silence.
“Nettie said Halsin might be able to help…” Saff suggested, but that was met with a scoff from both Lae’zel and Astarion.
“Well it’s too bad he’s not here right now,” Astarion said, sounding bitter that everything seemed to be adding up against them.
“And even if he was, he wouldn’t be able to help,” Lae’zel added.
“What about you two then? Did you find out where this creche is?” Wyll asked, and finally a smile came to Lae’zel’s face.
“Yes! North east, near the mountain pass. We should head there at once.”
“The mountain pass? That’s a good few days’ walk from here,” Wyll warned.
“Then we’d best get started now,” Lae’zel replied, undeterred.
“A dangerous walk, too,” Wyll continued. “Particularly with all these goblins running round…”
Gale and Saff glanced at each other, realising where this was going. Lae’zel narrowed her eyes at him, sensing a hidden motive here.
“What are you getting at, istik?”
“The mountain pass is miles from here. But the goblin camp is close. If we take out their leaders and scatter the goblins, it will make our journey safer.”
Lae’zel looked shocked and Astarion nearly gagged at the suggestion.
“You want to take on a whole horde of goblins??” he gasped, but then paused and reconsidered. “Actually, that does sound kind of fun…”
“Fun?? We are not here for fun!” Lae’zel spat angrily. “And we are not here to take out goblins or help refugees. We should focus on the tadpoles.”
“If we kill the goblin leaders, we may also free Halsin. And like Astarion said earlier, we should consider all avenues,” Wyll argued, gesturing towards Astarion, who was now receiving another glare from Lae’zel.
“Kaincha! We will transform while the lot of you waste our time with these pointless endeavours!”
“You can head to the mountain pass yourself, if you prefer,” Wyll offered, sure that would be enough to get her on side. It worked, though she wasn’t happy about it. She had half a mind to go it alone, but she knew navigating these lands and facing their threats on her own wouldn’t be easy.
“Very well, but this better not take long. We only have a few days.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to become a mind flayer any more than you do,” Wyll assured her. “We should gather supplies and head to your camp, we can make plans there.”
“Ah yes, then you can meet Shadowheart,” Gale said. Wyll looked at him and paused.
“Sh… Shadowheart? That’s… someone’s name?”
“My thoughts exactly,” Astarion agreed as the group began to head towards the trader to get supplies. “Her parents never gave her a chance…”
They purchased what supplies they needed and had one last look round the grove for anything useful or to see if anyone else had any other leads. They found out about a relic called the Nightsong that the adventurers had been searching for, met a group of siblings and convinced them to stay and help the rest of the tieflings and helped a bard write a song. Sadly though, no more leads on potential tadpole cures.
Back at camp, Shadowheart sat in front of her tent, turning the artefact over and over in her hands.
“There must be some way to… open it…” she murmured to herself, frustratedly pulling at the corners and tapping at the faces. She’d been fiddling with it all day and nothing seemed to make any difference to it. Finally she heard voices in the distance and quickly hid the artefact away, standing to greet the others as they returned. Her eyebrows raised as she saw another member with them.
“I see our group has grown,” she commented as they entered the camp.
“Ah, you must be Shadowheart! I am Wyll, the Blade of Frontiers,” he announced proudly. Shadowheart didn’t look too impressed.
She also wasn’t impressed by their suggestion to take on the goblin leaders, but ultimately agreed to it when it was pointed out there may be a druid there who could help them. It seemed she didn’t have very much faith in this creche idea at all. She was at least happy with the supplies they’d bought back with them, allowing them a bit more comfort in their otherwise meagre camp. The group kitted out their tents a bit more and drew up plans over dinner. Everything was going quite smoothly, until the decision of who should go and who should stay at camp.
“The way I see it, the solution is obvious,” Gale said, his tone firm enough to break the arguing that had been happening up to that point. “Wyll has to go, he is the only one who knows the way. Astarion has to go, he is the only one stealthy enough to make a good scout-”
“Ugh, another day on the road? My feet could barely handle today,” Astarion moaned.
“Come now Astarion, you said it would be fun! Plus, believe me, my feet are hurting more than yours,” Gale argued. Astarion huffed and folded his arms.
“I suppose killing some goblins will be fun…” he relented after a few moments.
“That’s the spirit! Now, Shadowheart should go as we need to swap everyone out each day to make sure people are rested, and you will need a healer. Finally, Lae’zel should go as she knows the most about our condition, should Halsin need more information.”
“So you two conveniently get to stay at camp together all day?” Astarion teased, nodding to Gale and Saff.
“We will both join the day after. You can rest then, Astarion,” Gale offered, trying to deflect from the obvious implication Astarion was making.
“How kind of you,” he gushed, even more sarcastic than usual.
“Enough. The plan is made,” Lae’zel declared. Quite honestly she was glad for Gale’s suggestion - she’d seen what happened at the goblin fight, and she didn’t want to be taking on such a dangerous task with someone who couldn’t hold their own in a fight. She hoped Gale might take the time to teach Saff some useful spells. Astarion was pretty sure Gale was planning to take the time to do something quite different.
With that the group finished dinner and went their own ways for the night. Gale, Saff and Wyll chatted together as they did the washing and prepared any leftover food for storage, not noticing Astarion looking just a bit annoyed that there didn’t seem to be any interesting drama between them. Once they were done Wyll said he must be off to get some rest for the day to come, leaving Gale and Saff alone together.
“Now, don’t go thinking I’ve forgotten my promise earlier,” he said to her. “Time for our first lesson, if you’re still up for that?”
“Been looking forward to it all day,” she replied with a playful smile.
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
A handful of my favourite Gale screenshots. He looks so good in Astarion's shirt.
174 notes
·
View notes