#where he says that illithids don't have souls
Text
im taking a deal with raphael to free orpheus, i will probably regret it, but the emperor just gives me bad vibes and he wants me to become mind flayer so bad and i don't love that
#like i just keep thinking about the conversation you have it withers#where he says that illithids don't have souls#like would tav lose themself entirely if they became a mind flayer or even half illithid?#i feel like emperor is tricking them or trying to control them for constantly being like 'hey being a mindflayer is great you should try it'#no thank you dude#i'm like 80% sure if you go the half illithid route you will turn at some point in the game? maybe at the end#literally all sirius has wanted the whole game is to get rid of the parasite. he let auntie ethel have his eye and everything#BUT i don't trust raphael either#i don't want him to have the crown like i think that's a REALLY bad idea#but what happens if you dishonor the deal?#idk if i did the right thing at all this game stresses me tf out#💬#bg3 ramblings#bg3 spoilers
21 notes
·
View notes
Note
Could I request Raphael having an 'Oh, fuck' moment of realization regarding the fact he has fallen for his little mouse? He would definitely realize that this is something that others could use against him.
I may have forgotten about one part of the prompt. 😅
Enby Tav without body configuratiion.
Find it on AO3
Sharess' Caress' Super Special
"I knew you would be back." Raphael couldn't help the smug satisfaction mirrored in his smile. He had laid the perfect trap for his little mouse. And as much as Tav tried to evade it, they simply could not. He had made sure of that.
"You waited patiently." Tav sauntered across the room as if they owned it.
"As an immortal, I have all the time in the world. Unlike you." He leant against the desk and looked them over. No signs of transformation were visible on his little mouse. The illithid tried and failed where he, Raphael, would triumph – seducing Tav to his side.
"I'm making the most of it." Tav looked around the room. "Do you?"
"Whatever gave you the impression I am idle just because I reserve special treatment for my favourite future client?" He poured a glass of wine and held it out to them.
"The room doesn't look as if it sees a lot of action." Tav ignored the wine and idly kicked at the petals. "A shame, really. People will promise you anything just before coming."
Raphael took a deep breath. "I do not need to rely on such – crude methods. I reap more than enough souls with less effort."
"Works, though. And, in case you wonder, I don't think I own my soul any longer." Tav grinned insolently. "Promised it to the drow twins. Repeatedly, I think."
Cold acid accumulated in Raphael's stomach. Those charlatans. Not even real twins but counting on the inability of other races to keep drow apart. To think that those two had their hands, and more, all over his client enraged Raphael disproportionally. The fact that Tav enjoyed it enough to offer up their soul-
It was an information to keep close at hand. Nothing else. Not an insult, not an invitation. Though it should be one. He would show that mouse what the worth of their soul was. They'd be begging, crying for release under his hands.
Raphael balled his right into a careful fist. That was not the kind of thought he should be having. Yet the vision would not leave. Tav. Dishevelled. Flushed. Pupils dilated, mouth half open. No. Mouth forming his name and dropping it syllable by syllable to his rhythm.
His nails dug into the flesh of his palms and for once, Raphael was glad not to be in his true form. This was unworthy of him. Just because the room he rented was in a brothel- But that wasn't it. Nobody else had coaxed this reaction from him. He glared at Tav who still stood in the middle of the room, scrutinising the set-up.
"If you would rather exchange pleasure of the flesh for your soul instead of the Orphic Hammer for the Crown of Karsus, something can be arranged." Raphael was proud of his disinterested tone.
Finally, Tav looked at him, at the goblet of wine in his hand. They tilted their head. "Is that an exclusionary decision? Only one or the other?"
Raphael swallowed. The hot flash of anger, certainly anger, at hearing about Tav's exploits had led him to make an unwise offer. Still. Tav was this close to give up their soul. He smiled. "Would you like it to be?"
Tav closed the distance and plucked the cup from his hand. They took a slow sip, savouring the heavy taste of the carefully chosen wine. "If it is, you know I have to choose the Orphic Hammer. To save the world and defer my own desires."
"Such a pity." He lowered his voice and ran a finger along Tav's jaw.
"Says he who almost throws a hissy fit when he hears I fuck somebody else. And enjoy it." Tav grinned and caught his finger with a flick of their head.
Soft lips closed around the tip of his finger and after a wicked wink, Tav circled it with their tongue. Raphael suppressed a moan. Damned mortal. And he did not throw a hissy fit. Tav was free to fuck whoever they wanted – as long as that was him. They were his little mouse and he would give them all they needed. All he wanted.
Raphael pushed his index finger behind Tav's teeth, curled it and pulled them close. "Did your mother never teach not to taunt a devil?" he growled.
"Even if she did, she never dealt with a devil like you." Tav spoke around his finger, tongue teasing him recklessly.
The sensations ran through Raphael's body unchecked, pooling between his legs and parching his mouth. He caught Tav's jaw between his thumb and middle finger, probing their mouth and tongue. Tav held his gaze and suspicion rose in the devil that their confession was not as innocent as they pretended.
"Neither have you." He retrieved his finger and watched as Tav's tongue followed it, still sneaking around its tip. "But since you seem so eager to, that can be arranged."
"Took your sweet time." Tav pressed against him to place the goblet on the desk behind him. Then their hands settled over his ass. When he squirmed, Tav rocked their hips against his, still grinning greedily. "Not that I regret what I had to do to get here, mind you. The twins are good."
Raphael growled. He'd show Tav that those were nothing compared to a devil who did you.
#bg3#bg3 raphael#raphael x tav#bg3 fanfiction#sleazy second-hand car dealer#anon answered#writing prompt#mel writes fanfic
90 notes
·
View notes
Text
I recently learned that apparently Cazador not only let Astarion be buried, but he left him there in his grave for a year before going to retrieve him. (I know this info is found by using the Astral Tadpole. I think he'll tell you if you're trying to convince him or once he's convinced to take it.) Edit: This is actually untrue. I originally heard this over on twitter and didn't look up a clip to verify. The person I heard this from actually misinterpreted this scene, in which you use the Illithid powers to search his mind and you find the memory where he was locked in a tomb for disobeying. I think they thought it was a memory about how Cazador left him dead and buried rather than another way to find out about the harshest punishment Cazador ever gave him. Doesn't have too much of an affect on the rest of the post, but I want to correct myself. Tho I will say Cazador leaving him dead and buried for a year before finally awakening him as a spawn is a neat headcanon, and like I said before, WOULD make a lot of sense. People would be sure to notice that the recently murdered magistrate is suddenly back and luring commoners back to the Szarr palace.
Anyway, I had thoughts regarding the whole thing.
Astarion's body had to be tended to and prepped for a burial, and those bite marks are not subtle even 200 years later. Do you think Cazador paid off or threatened whoever dealt with his body? Or maybe he just had one of his servants do the preparations. Maybe he approached Astarion's grieving family and offered to not just pay for the burial expenses, but to deal with the whole process "so the family could grieve in peace." Anything so people don't think there are vampires roaming and so his family thinks he's dead and gone for good.
Astarion also destroyed his own coffin just a year later when Cazador woke him up. I wonder if his family thought his grave had been defiled and robbed of the corpse inside. Maybe people blame the Gur. They were the ones who killed him (from everyone else's perspective). They also took issue with his ruling, which led to the attack in the first place. To everyone else, it would make perfect sense for the Gur to rob his grave. Not just for revenge, but with all the rumors around, I bet people speculated that they used the young magistrate's body as bait for a monster or that they performed some ritual on it so his soul would suffer for eternity. Perhaps Cazador is even responsible for starting these rumors and stoking the fires to keep suspicion of him low.
Speaking more on his family, I wonder if the reason his grave is overgrown and unkempt is bc they left Baldur's Gate, either after the murder or after his grave was "robbed." As in, it wasn't bad enough to lose their child, but then he couldn't even rest in peace, and they couldn't bear to be in the wretched city anymore after the tragedy. Or perhaps Cazador forced them from the city via string pulling. It just further ties up any loose ends and gets rid of people Astarion could reach out to for help.
Anyway, I think that's about all I wanted to say. The whole thing with him being turned is so vague that I couldn't help but turn some ideas in my head.
#bg3#baldurs gate 3#astarion#baldur's gate 3#baldurs gate#bg3 astarion#baldurs gate astarion#baldur’s gate iii#astarion ancunin#baldur’s gate astarion#baldur's gate astarion#cazador szarr#bg3 cazador
56 notes
·
View notes
Text
I have to pause my playthrough and scream about the options I think the game is suggesting might be possible for endgame here. Cutting for major, major Act 3 spoilers.
When I got to the Raphael conversation in the brothel, I really thought the game was only giving you two choices here. Sign the contract and turn over the crown, or side with the illithid and have to resist the tadpole/let Orpheus remain imprisoned forever. Both terrible choices, but in this grimdark real-life world and the state of current media within it, I can see how they'd go that route. Fine, I like Raphael better than the Emperor anyway, and it's better than signing away my soul, I guess.
But then Karlach offers you a way to break that contract - to go into the House of Hope and destroy the contract within Raphael's house. The game's opened a door for me to free myself of the contract, keep the hammer, free Orpheus, and still not be forced to give the crown to Raphael (or Gale, geez louise have you learned NOTHING, stop ASKING). I truly can't believe this is a route they're allowing you to take, this thin little strand of hope that might get you out of the hellscape you're stuck in (metaphorically and literally) and not bind you to despair in at least some facet.
I'm so, so, so interested to see if this will allow those who want to keep the parasites (Astarion) safely longterm. My Tav wants it out yesterday, but it has such a meaningful and tangible benefit to Astarion! I hate the idea that doing this will force him to be restricted to the night again; the idea that he might not be able to enjoy the sunlight like he does after the first romance scene just kills me. Just last night I had the event where the vamp family attacks during the long rest, and saints alive, I tell you I've been thinking about his conversation afterwards all darn day. Every interaction I had with a student this morning in lab, I had his voice playing on loop in the background talking about the year he spent starving in the cell, the months wishing he was dead and clawing at the door.
I played through pretty much every iteration of that conversation you can have, and it's utterly FASCINATING to me how different his reads are for the same lines given a slightly different setup. You can only get the dialogue option where he tells you about the year in solitary if you choose to "say nothing" to his lie to the family; if you persuade him or deceive them, that choice isn't even available to ask. And the choices which ARE available after persuade/deceive all end up with him kind of cackling about the idea of taking the ritual from Cazador, stealing his life's work; it's so gleeful and angry! And then if you take the year-in-solitary option, the read of that same line afterwards is AGONIZING, raw and desperate and furious and utterly despairing, and I can't believe the range and motion capture they've captured with him here. I don't intend to allow him to sacrifice his family (they're too real and sad and desperate!), but I confess I'm seriously concerned about the implications for the romance/his vampiric nature long-term if the main plot requires disabling or removing the parasites. It would be very very sad for Tavish and me both if we save the world but he has to go back to living only at night because I didn't let him ascend.
I'm just so excited about this game! This plot! I can't believe they give you a way out of the contract! I can't believe you might get to eat AND HAVE the cake! Maybe, maybe this will be the case for Astarion too? Maybe? Could Larian be that kind in more than one plotline?
I cannot WAIT to find out!!
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Another restless night. The promise of hunting down Ragzlin with Halsin has the beast in Rakha's head hungry, and her attempts at rest are laced with squirming images of dead and dying goblins. She is beginning to think there will be no sleep for her at all, when suddenly...
...everything goes quiet.
She sits up with a sharp snap, drawing in a hoarse breath of cold, still air. She is back in the dreamscape the visitor brought her to before, and the beast and the tadpole lie dormant - or perhaps frightened into submission.
"I promised I'd be back."
The dream visitor is standing nearby, looking out at the starscape. She turns slightly, hearing Rakha stir, and looks down at her with an inscrutable, almost sad expression.
"Don't worry," she says softly. "I have things under control. For now."
It is hypnotic, the sense of peace in this place. The woman's voice is soothing. The emptiness in her mind is soporific. Rakha stands up very slowly; the guardian watches her steadily, appraisingly.
"I see you've been using the powers the tadpole gives you," she says approvingly. "Good." A pause. Her expression turns grim. "But things haven't gone as you expected. You hoped a druid as powerful as Halsin might be able to remove your tadpole. But he couldn't."
She takes a step forward, rests a hand gently on Rakha's shoulder. Her touch is light and cool as the air around her, and there is sympathy in her gaze. "You're desperate to be rid of it. Understandable, but you're looking for solutions in the wrong places."
(A/N: I really enjoy the Durge-specific dialogue option here: "I don't care about the tadpole. I have been offered a greater power by my butler." Which is just. An absolutely incredible sentence out of context. 😂 )
Rakha nods slowly, as if she understands - though of course she doesn't. Nothing about this makes sense. She has so many questions. Who is this woman? How does she know Rakha? What does she want? How is she soothing the beast that Rakha can't restrain herself?
"Tell me who you are," she says. It emerges as a harsh mutter, as if the words are being swallowed up by the infinite, quiet vastness of this place.
The guardian tips her head with the faintest hint of amusement. "It's complicated," she says noncommittally. "But I'm an adventurer, just like you. Just like you. Just like you, I was infected with a mind flayer parasite. Just like you, I seek to be free of it."
Rakha nods again. This is, she realizes, not an answer. It seems sincere enough, and what the guardian has already done for her is unmistakably positive. But it is certainly not the whole truth. Even I had a name when I woke up, even if I had nothing else. You have one as well.
The woman is still talking. "But to do that, we'll need to think beyond local healers. Your parasite is unusual - it is wrapped in magic that prevents its removal. Until the source of the tadpole's magic is destroyed, any attempt to remove it will kill you." She smiles faintly. "You were lucky that Halsin knew this. His instincts are right. The parasites are merely a symptom of a greater sickness in Faerun."
Rakha frowns. The guardian and Halsin are, at the very least, confirming each other's stories - but all of this is still more vague implications without details. "What is the sickness?" she asks bluntly.
The guardian's calm demeanor flickers for a brief moment, revealing a hint of troubled waters underneath. "The Absolute's aims are not yet clear to me," she says pensively. "But its progress towards domination is clear. These parasites are more than illithid spawn. They are vessels for control. The infected hear the voice of the Absolute, and believe it to be a god. That is how the cult of the Absolute is spreading."
She gestures towards Rakha's right eye where the parasite lies, soothed into stillness by the dream. "The highest of their rank - the True Souls - carry a tadpole just like yours. It is how they receive their oders. It is what makes them obey. When the order to transform is given, it will not be a matter of days - they will be mind flayers in an instant."
She takes a step closer, looks up into Rakha's eyes intently. "Were it not for my protection, so would you."
Rakha's eyes drift half-closed. She feels a soft shudder of discomfort in her head, and then stillness again. Yes. That protection is unmistakable. There are still so many questions, but she cannot escape the fact that whoever this woman is, whatever she is not saying - this part, the moment of peace, is a true thing.
But it is only so certain here, in the dreamscape. In the real world...the beast is never so quiet.
"My mind tells me to do foul things," she whispers. "Are you sure your protection is working?"
Again that sad, gentle smile. "I protect you from becoming a mind flayer," the guardian says softly. "I cannot protect you from yourself. But I know what it is like to be burdened by forces outside of your control. We are alike, you and I." She inclines her head slightly forward. "I've been trying to escape from this evil for a long time. Once, I almost succeeded. Now - through you - I've been given a new chance. You can go where I cannot. And I can protect you from that evil. If we work together, we may turn this around."
In the unusual stillness, Rakha's brain feels as if it has been wrapped in wool. She struggles to parse all of this with her usual alacrity. The guardian... has no control over the beast, and yet the beast is quiet here. And the guardian understands about it, nevertheless. They are alike, she says.
There is something here to be found, some answer not yet given, some explanation for the howling chaos that is Rakha's mind.
There must be.
She has her mouth open to ask another question, to demand an answer, when a low rumble echoes through the air and the guardian starts as if she's been struck. "Hells. They need me. I have to go."
No. I need to know what you know. Please. "Tell me where I can find you," Rakha snaps - but this only seems to drive the guardian's sudden agitation higher.
"No!" she says urgently. "It isn't safe." A pause, and then she goes on hurriedly, "The power I use to protect you - I stole it from someone. They want it back. I will hold them off for as long as I can, but sooner or later I will be worn down. You must discover the source of the magic that controls the parasites before that happens."
She holds Rakha's gaze with an intensity that is so overwhelming that Rakha feels herself nod almost without her own volition.
At that, the guardian seems to relax a little. "The cultists are gathering at Moonrise Towers," she says, echoing Halsin's words from the warg pens. "Use the powers your parasite gives you to convince them you are one of them. And when you find the source of their magic, destroy it."
Again her fingers land briefly on Rakha's shoulder, then release, pushing her backwards. "Go. Our freedom depends on it."
Rakha snaps awake in her bunk, staring into the dirty, cracked stone ceiling of the temple antechamber where they've made camp. For a long time, she does not move a muscle, lost in thought.
Damn it. You have such power, but who are you? What do you know of me? What aren't you saying?
#bjk plays bg3 durge#rakha the dark urge#i have come to the realization that the emperor is absolutely playing rakha like a FIDDLE and it's kind of wild to see#hector was not averse to the original guardian but he definitely had some skepticism right from the beginning#but rakha... it is pushing all of her buttons so expertly#shutting off the voices in her head#giving her a place of peace - kind of like a drug tbh#giving just enough indication (falsely i think?) that it knows who she is and what the dark urge is#seeming to have answers without actually telling her anything she doesn't already know#and in doing so it's undermining her connection with lae'zel also which lae'zel can't possibly be happy about#much more drama here than with hector lol
7 notes
·
View notes
Note
Wondering if you can answer #5 in the couples ask game for Naomi and Astarion?
This is @just-hereto-blog and thank you for the ask! I am working on it right now - coming as anon because I don't want to appear as my simblr lol
Absolutely -- thanks for asking! :) (And no problem re: sending on anon!)
[Couples Ask Game]
5. How do they sleep?
When they sleep (or trance) together, they're wound up so tight around the other, it's like they're trying to use their own body to blanket burrito the other person 😂 They are wrapped. They both want to big spoon and little spoon at the same time and this is the result.
I HC Astarion as a closet cuddle-lover. He takes to "sleeping together" with Naomi after the confession in Act 2. He might act stingy about snuggles initially, but once he's tried it, he can't get enough. There are a couple incidents pre-confession where they fell asleep near or next to/leaning on each other. The seeds of that sort of ease were there early on. More than just the touch itself, the warmth and the sound of her heartbeat are really soothing to him.
For Naomi's part, my poor girl is cursed (I say, as if I didn't make this up and foist it on her). Part of her curse is hearing this ongoing song that feels tip-of-your-tongue familiar, but she can never place the memory or recreate the tune. Even when that's leaving her be, the curse's other side effects make restful sleep and/or trancing very difficult. Astarion having absolutely no heartbeat at all is like a salve to her soul. It helps her drown out everything else that's haunting her head. I haven't gotten a chance to play that out very much in their longfic, Midnight Chimes, just yet, but it does come up in one of the early scenes:
The tadpole connection hums, all at once familiar and foreign. Listen, she says back, with the same smile in her thoughts as on her lips. He lets the connection pull him through and stifles a soft sound of awe in the back of his throat.
Quiet. Blessed, blissful quiet. Like none she’s ever known.
Naomi’s ear rests over his heart, but it doesn’t beat for her. Not literally, at least. He’d still heavily negotiate any figurative sense of the matter. But it doesn’t matter that it isn’t beating. It’s not what she wants. Not what she…needs.
He feels the ache of it, as she lifts her cheek, briefly, and music flits, frenetic, though her mind. Spells and stanzas and half-remembered rhymes in mangled cacophony. She lays her head back down, and lets out a long breath. Astarion echoes the sound, unbidden, as the connection withdraws, and he’s left with the pluck of her heartbeat in his head again.
It’s never quiet. Not in her head. But it can be. With him. If he hadn’t prayed so hard to them already, he’d swear the gods gifted him this woman. Astarion knows better. The illithids did.
#thanks for letting me ramble on about these two <3#tavstarion#astarion#astarion ancunin#bg3#naomi tavriel#astarion x tav#tav x astarion#otp: you were doomed but just enough#midnight chimes
9 notes
·
View notes
Note
3, 4, 17, and 40 for the bg3 asks!
Has your Character been using their illithid powers? (3)
Very minorly! I think there were a few moments at the goblin camp that they used the powers to avoid conflict (getting goblins to stand down/let them through/etc), and early on they used the detect thoughts a few time. Once with Gale, impulsively, which Gale stopped them from doing and they apologized profusely for, once with Lae'zel when she was about to slit their throat assuming they were transforming.
There were only two moments that they kinda went a bit far with them, first being with Edowin, the True Soul dwarf outside the grove, because they failed some saving throws, though all the happened really was they took Edowin's parasite (though they refused to consume it, despite the Dream Visitor's urging).
The second time was actually in Act 2, and I won't detail it much because of spoilers, but they did use the powers to kill some people while trying to pass as a True Soul.
Do you remember in which order you recruited your companions? Which companion introduction would have felt the most familiar / like home to your Tav / Character? (4)
I believe the order I had was Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion, Lae'zel, Wyll, Karlach, Halsin.
With who felt most familiar/like home, part of me is tempted to say Halsin, because Majexatli is a Druid, but if anything I think Halsin being a Druid intimidated Majexatli (given how they themselves don't consider themselves a Druid, since they left their Circle like 2 decades ago) so if anything his introduction was probably the most stressful. Like, yes Lae'zel was going to kill Majexatli on the Nautiloid, and Astarion held a dagger to their throat, but I don't think any of that even slightly fazed Majexatli.
I think genuinely it was Karlach, because if I'm honest, Majexatli's reaction to meeting Karlach first was Oh thank gods, another tiefling. Because especially after visiting the Grove where all the Druids treated them like shit since they're a tiefling, and Lae'zel's remarks about tieflings, Majexatli is genuinely so relieved to meet more tieflings. Didn't even bother Majexatli that she was on fire or that she matched the description of the devil Wyll was supposed to hunt, Karlach asked for help and Majexatli did not hesitate and was so glad that they would have another tiefling at camp.
What does your Character think of Withers? (17)
So, Majexatli didn't explore the temple until like, after the tiefling party and the grove. So Withers did just show up to camp one day, and also in complete Honesty, Majexatli didn't even talk to Withers until like the second night he was at camp. And when they did talk to him, they were just like, yeah sure why not this might as well happen. No further questions, are you going to help with any camp duties or just stand there, either is fine I just need to know for planning.
They haven't had a need to use Withers' services yet (getting hirelings, changing class, reviving companions) so he's just a weird guy at camp that they're chill with.
Is your Character used to strange dreams from before the events of the adventure? (40)
Ooooh. That's a good question. I suppose it depends on your definition of strange dreams, but in general, I don't think so. A fair amount of their dreams are just classic reliving trauma or stress dreams, so the Dreams that the Dream Visitor bring are immediately suspicious to them because they're like "My dreams are never this coherent and free of trauma, something's deeply wrong".
Prior to the Nautiloid, Majexatli wasn't really an adventurer, so they weren't really coming across much in the way of magic or gods or curses, they were mainly just ambling around the woods for a couple decades.
I do, however, think that perhaps they had some strange dreams when they were a teen, or at least Druid Dreams with Messages From Spirits of Nature or something of the like, but those stopped about the time that they left their Druid circle (which would have been about age 19, very shortly after the owlbear attack that left them with the scars on their chest).
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
I finished the ascendant ending tonight finally.
Some random thoughts/observations/screenshots below the cut. Nothing special if you've already gone through it, I just thought it'd be fun to document my own playthrough a little.
He's a lot more entitled when he complains in it for certain lines, like when the stones don't work he says this, but in the spawn version it's more along the lines of "I really thought the stones would work".
I don't think this was ever a line in the spawn route, but I'm not entirely sure. Just like a bougie vampire to judge lair decor:
Also this was very funny to me.
My dude, we are broke and so are you. I traded our gold for health potions to cover your fragile ass. (Also, murder pit wow, he's like the closest thing to corrupt magistrate here and I'm kind of for it.)
THIS was cool though, I didn't expect he was going to have an actual power beyond the Ascendant bite.
He actually summoned werewolves!!! Wow! I am weirdly proud of this shitty cat. It seemed like such an OP out of reach thing for him in Act 1 ("He can summon wolves, turn into mist" etc etc) but now he can do it himself! I mean, at the cost of his identity and soul yada yada but y'know. It's just neat. Also, if it's a different character, in my case Lae'zel, she says "Awaken your undead servants, Astarion!" during the summon. Neither his nor her lines seem to be voiced, they only appear as text. But it's still a nice detail I enjoyed.
When we got to the part where you can betray whoever the illithid is and take over the Absolute, he said this:
Which I thought to mean he wanted Tav to take over, but it seems like that wasn't what he meant...
It just ends up in him becoming enthralled...
Then I went back and killed the Netherbrain properly. Got to the end scene, and wow, this bitch doesn't even let us break up with him LOL. Alas... my toxic malewife whomst I wish to divorce...
I kind of was hoping to see him throw a bit of a bitch fit but this is good too, it's accurate to his delusional need to feel "safety" forever. I feel like ascendant ending wasn't as rewarding narratively to me as his spawn ending, which is surprising because I'm usually such an edge lord I have to be dragged kicking and screaming into happy endings. But still, it has its charms. The murder gremlin-ness, the deviousness. And... I don't think this was the intended effect, I think it's just my Astarion-bullying-streak coming in again, but I find his ambitions to be hilariously misguided. Like they're endearing in an "awww, baby's first time trying to rule the world" way. He wishes he was as nasty as he thinks he is lmao.
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
I'm so so so tempted to just let Elamrael have one good fuckup in the middle of the game
Mid game spoilers below
They met Raphael, were offered a way to get Orpheus out of the prism, a way to stop relying on the tadpoles, an ally who has the power to fight an elder brain-
And Ela takes it. Signs away either a powerful weapon or his own soul, because he finally broke. Voss didn't bother to tell him what it was they were trying to get from Raphael, he went into the discussion fully blind. Ela got put on the spot; no one was giving him any help aside from one saying take it and one saying don't. He heard someone else broke into a demon's vault, but those were much more powerful beings against a much less ambitious demon. That didn't even register as an option for him, not against Raphael.
He'd just fought against being coerced into evolving into an illithid, nearly failed, and that shook him. He's hated every minute of having a tadpole, of having a voice in his head pressuring him and manipulating him.
The stakes keep getting higher and higher and higher and so do everyone's expectations of him. There's an army marching on the city with the intention of ending the world, and he can't see a way they would have the means or time to seek another way to free Orpheus or find a better alternative. Everyone was waiting for him to make a choice that could ultimately lead to the salvation or damnation of the world. He falters, and cracks, and makes the wrong one under the pressure.
Of course he gets an earful for it, and the people who care about him go on the warpath to get the contract nullified. Only after he's signed does anyone suggest their group goes to the hells to steal the hammer (now knowing what they need and where it is), and they seem actually intent on finding a way to make it happen, rather than just offering it as a suggestion.
(He'll still be the one doing most of the work, designated leader and all, but at least it feels like the others are bearing some of the mental and emotional weight. It feels urgent now, and like he's not alone in making the choices. They want to go raid Raphael's lair, of their own volition, not because he said to).
It's going to weigh on him for a long time, that he signed. And in the end it's not going to be the quickest option either. They still get to go find a diabolist, break into the House of Hope. Pray it all works. All because he fucked up. But his team is the one leading the charge now, because they care about him and want to help fix his mistake. Not because he's forcing them to take the hard route. He's already done that plenty.
He tried to throw himself into the pit to make his loved one's lives easier, but they're yelling at him while pulling him back out. As much as it hurts, and as horrible as he feels about it, it's nice to finally get a shoulder to lean on.
#baldur's gate 3#baldur's gate 3 spoilers#magical boy ela#about the oc: elamreal#he was trying to avoid pulling people into more and more and more work#and they said fuck that we're pulling you out of the mess you got yourself in#gonna be honest#sometimes i love when the wrong answers feel in character even for a person with good intentions#let there be heartache and doubt and shame#and let them get help fixing it#bg3
5 notes
·
View notes
Note
tav q's! 1, 3, 4, 5, and 14!
thank you for asking!! i'm gonna do this for nedwyss since she's the one i'm playing as rn
1. Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?
nedwyss is a cleric of lathander, light domain. she's a seldarine drow and goes by she/her. she was raised in the underdark, as most drow, but later left to join the clergy. i think her family were the stereotypical drow™, praising cruelty, ambition and competition. nedwyss was decent at playing pretend for that role for a while, but eventually decided she couldn't go on, and that's why she became a cleric of the morninglord. she's not a dark urge because i wanted to save that storyline for someone who wasn't made with the goal of being a tentacle enjoyer. nothing wrong with enjoying some tentacles, but y'know.
3. Has your Character been using their illithid powers?
in lore/headcanon? yes, she starts using them because she believes it's a way to go good. the source of the powers may suck, but she has them regardless, might as well use them to protect innocents. but i haven't really been using them in-game, mostly bc i haven't unlocked any truly fun ones yet.
4. Do you remember in which order you recruited your companions? Which companion introduction would have felt the most familiar / like home to your Tav / Character?
i don't recall the exact order, but it was probably something like shadowheart, gale, astarion, lae'zel, wyll, karlach. wyll is probably the companion she feels is most like her, they share the kindness and the desire to protect innocents, but lae'zel (and perhaps later shadowheart) reminded her of her childhood, the cruel and unforgiving society she was raised in. so wyll was "home" in a way that home is where your heart is, but lae'zel was home in a way her literal home was like.
5. Do you remember the first humanoid enemy your Character killed? Was it the first person they've ever killed, in your opinion? Would they have been bothered by it?
the forgotten realms wiki says goblins are humanoid, so the first one she killed was the bunch that attacked the grove when you first visit it. i don't think it was her first kill, but she definitely doesn't have a high count of souls she took at that point. killing that particular bunch didn't really upset her -- they attacked first, after all -- but she was bothered by having to slaughter the goblin camp, including the children. in nedwyss' mind, there is a difference between defending innocents from an attacker and going into someone's territory and becoming the attacker herself. so for her, it was no different from what the goblins attacking the grove did, and she felt awful, no matter how illogical that was.
14. Do you have another NPC you loved from a faction not mentioned above? What about your Character?
i mean we both know the answer don't we. of course it's the emperor/guardian. brainrot maximized. he's so friend shaped. i loved him because on my first playthrough i was playing as a clone of my character from another game and made the guardian look like her LI from that game. brainrot carryover y'know. he is incredibly fun on his own too, but i think it's that blorbo familiarity that led to me loving the guardian (and afterwards the emperor) so much. as for nedwyss, she shares my adoration because she was literally tailor made for empy romance shenanigans because the first time she saw the guardian was just after clearing out the goblin camp, and as i said, having to do that really upset her. his presence was comforting, reassuring, he was protecting her from turning into a mind flayer and generally was a kind, supportive person, he was exactly what she needed in that moment of distress. so she had a silly little crush that is going to turn into a corruption arc <3 i haven't decided yet whether i'll make a happy ending (or something as close to it as possible, considering the fucked upness of it all) for these two, partially because i'm not sure if that's a pussy move, partially because i actually don't know what happens in the "control the netherbrain, become the absolute" ending. we'll see.
#ask#sangre#baldur's gate 3#bg3 spoilers#oc: nedwyss#she's so nice and kind i can't wait for her to break <3#seeing the guardian is fixing me but making her worse
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
okie i know i said i will be full focus today, but im waiting for my laptop to update because Of Course it had to be at the moment when i needed her the most. so im just sitting here and watching an ascended astarion playthrough and [this got way too long so im putting it under read more]
??? seriously??? ascension only brings a more powerful bite and gaseous form?? that kinda feels weak in comparison to 7000 souls he sacrificed lmao. like in terms of gameplay, using the illithid powers for example presents a real dilemma imo. the powers ARE strong enough to justify your choices if you decide to go that path. but this feels lacking in terms of gameplay. maybe focusing only on the story and post-canon can justify it, but still i think not really? because you know, lore-wise, there ARE ways to cure the vampiric curse? like your only way of seeing the sun again isnt just killing 7000 souls technically. i also know that 1) they can't/don't have to implement all of these choices to the game because act3 is massive enough as it is (ie, i would rather see the improvement of already existing plot points and quests instead of adding more of them) and also 2) giving way more feats/powers etc to ascended astarion would create a Big power imbalance in the party which is not really fun - although im not very familiar with the other companions' "dark" endings yet (i only completed astarion shart and jaheira so far, im not even familiar with most of their "good" endings yet lmao 💀) so im guessing it Technically could be balanced with crazy power ups for all the evil bitches in the party? but idk?
what im trying to say is, this way, it kinda doesn't make sense how you can just pop a little tadpole in your head and gain insane powers. while sacrificing 7000 souls is what? just a new attack and an already existing spell? it feels kinda anticlimactic... maybe they shouldnt have raised the stakes that much then?? i know story-wise, astarion being finally "free" of cazador and his vampiric curse may sound satisfying, but then again when you look at the narrative, it seems to me he still is not free (still in the cycle of abuse yk) so ... idek what i would want as an alternative, but i was expecting a greater tradeoff as a player because that's the vibe the game keeps giving until you reach that point
(i know his dialogue changes a lot in two paths, which might be enough for some people but what aboutttt the power consistency of the universe and stuff lol... im that kinda person yk)
(btw im saying all this but Definitely want to have a run where tav looks kinda like cazador and then astarion ascends and makes tav a spawn so yehawww cycle of abuse really can be like a cycle sometimes)
1 note
·
View note
Text
My face when my phone has done nothing but ding in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers jingle all day
Now then uhhhh... Weekly recap?
Sunday game:
Our replacement for our Owlin Monk has showed up, they're an Assassin Rogue/Drakewarden and they're suspicious as hell. My dragon hating Drow is already barely stomaching one dragon in the party, now we have Spooky Toothless and their pet noble.
Now why is this suspicious you ask? They're from the capital city, so far behind enemy lines that there is no reasonable explanation for how they got there... And hunting displacer beasts sure as hell ain't it.
Our Drow Monk got feebleminded and unfeebleminded in the span of like two sessions. She's basically a cat when at 1int
Our Witch( hag wizard) is so low on resources that it's not funny, I don't think we could squeeze a spell slot out of her if we tried.
Kobold Paladin is just chilling, also might be the key to reintroducing a lost magic used by the divine to create souls to the world.. where did souls come from before this? Great question couldn't tell you if you had a gun to my head
Me? Drow Fighter also just chilling nothing to say other than, tried to earn the trust of a Gloomstalker(Explorers Guide to Wildmount creature, not the really good ranger subclass) after one tried to once again kindnap the Owlin didn't go so well sadly..
(Dog)Centaur Ranger helping us navigate this mess of an underground labyrinth, can't really say anything bad is happening to him he's just rolling survival really.
When this session ended we had found an abandoned minecart station full of intricate clockwork, and at the far end there was a shadow dragon seemingly stuck in a time loop? Or causing one? It pings as Winter Fey, Dragon, and Undead to the ranger. The party wants me to do something given my alleged Winter Court affiliation. So yeah that'll be fun
Tuesday game:
Aka I swear hand on a holy book of your choice it's not Fate
No session this week so a recap of last, we basically hot dropped into the center of the Woad warrior tribe our Fighter is from, and things were hell chaos creatures being vomited out of multiple purple worms, and an impenetrable barrier keeping anyone from escaping.
Our Illithid friend remarked about how dangerous it was for the choir to be away from the capital city, and offered to get us into the central command worm in exchange for allowing them to evacuate the choir. We agree even though we know this will make our lives harder and get ported into the worm and lead into a kill chamber with a red dracolich under the control of a Illithid wizard with a Roman name I can't even remember off hand.
We spend time whittling away at the dragon in our various ways, including our Woad Fighter burning an ability to reroll key events allowing me to crit a shot from my Spelljammers main cannon (20d10+4d8 my DMs face was such a meme, literally slap it on a sticker I swear)
Unfortunately for us the keyword of Dracolich is infact lich so even after all that and our Hobgoblin Irish king with no serial numbers filed off with a dragon slaying sword beating on it, it still gets back up. However our Squidly friend goes full Senate on the wizard and stabs him in the back telling him Caesar sends his regards and breaks the Dracolich's phylactery. Session ends before we see this choir, we'll deal with this next time.
Lancer:
⚠️⚠️We're playing Stolen Crown I can't really spoiler tag so you've been warned⚠️⚠️
• We stop one Ragnarok themed Mecha Kaiju assault, only for two more to kick off, despite us being very dumb we did decide to not split the party and sadly could only directly help one clan that was under attack. Cue Eikþyrnir, which would have had so much advantage, and could have collapsed the caves we were in, except one two many things first of all being I don't care about your Razor Swarms DM I have a Tempest Charged Blade, two we have a Manticore, Three our Sherman is going to use the full reactor or else.
So our Manticore swapped places with Eikþyrnir, and I ran up and Structured it with one swing, triggered executioner and hit the Silverhoof with the back swing and Molten Wreath. Bless our Death's Head's heart, the lad is in constant suffering after getting Gallagher'd by Jörmungandr last session but did pop Eikþyrnir which basically let us take our time, also fuck hornets all my homies hate hornets.
The underground Kaiju fighter clan is saved temporary reward get!
• Cue mysterious radio broadcast, The guerilla insurgent that still thought they were fighting Seccom reaches out to negotiate, we agree to meet.
The DM improvises us a whole narrative clock check system trying to get this person to understand that times have changed and if the people of Sparr really wanted out of Union while it would take time the request would be honored. This whole scene mostly consisted of our single actual Union employee being fed information from the two mercenary Sparraboos known as Coyote and Vermin.
Despite Foundry's best efforts we pass and flipped Yennval's most radicalized guerilla.
• Which leads to us being warned about Huginn and Muninn and having backup in the form of an ace pilot, Yennval is redirecting power somewhere we have to stop this.. now if you've seen my last post... And I repeat who are you people? You'll know that I've been using a liberal interpretation of how [Total Strength Suite I] works, meaning I've been running, dashing, throwing a cover halfway through the second dash, then using [Xaioli's Ingenuity/Tenacity] for more movement by breaking the rock, triggering it again and hitting another target on the map to reset my counter to break the power poles while the most epic of ace combat dogfights is going on in the background.
Unfortunately we didn't stop Yennval from doing her thing, now like some unhinged 3D vtuber concert she's rising from her hidden bunker on the back of a spaceship shouting some unhinged shit..
I don't wanna kill this local god entity I'll be real, and I feel like that'll polarize the locals, but uhhh she's been off her gourd for over 500 years and something's gotta give.
Next session tomorrow the DM is hype and so are we, I think they've found this shit blog too from the meme so by all means expand anything you think I skimmed too much.
#dnd#5e#dnd 5e#lancer rpg#lancerttrpg#new teammates are scary#why are the Illithids so Roman#NHP are eldritch vtubers prove me wrong#I pray the rest of my groups do not find this blog#if you know me no you don't
1 note
·
View note
Text
Thankfully, we're able to take a short rest inside the Astral Sea before heading over to the skull (tm) to try and help out the guardian, which is good because Gale was sitting at a comfy 1 hit point.
I hope the rest of the team is doing okay back at camp. We kind of left them with a big githyanki problem.
(I actually briefly reloaded back to when I chugged that hill giant potion that then got lost, so I could keep it for these fights instead and actually try out Hector's Tavern Brawler feat properly. :P )
The Astral Sea definitely seems calm in comparison to the chaos they just left, especially given that the Absolute isn't screaming in their heads anymore, but there's still quite a lot going on, and a lot of it quite confusing.
Our first encounter is with a couple of githyanki who are in the process of beating up some illithid intellect devourers. So far so normal, but here's the weird part: the intellect devourers are listed as allies.
I'm starting to formulate a new theory on the fly that our guardian is a rogue mind flayer trying to take down the elder brain and using a disguise this whole time. Maybe she and Omeluum can be buddies.
(I'm not sure if I actually think this is true but I'm mentioning it here so if I turn out to be right I can look like a genius. XD )
This is going to be a rough fight when we get to the skull. These people hit just as hard as their counter parts in camp did. And I was feeling all proud of myself that I had fixed Hector's AC so he would be less squishy but he still kind of keeps getting flattened.
But FORWARD! TO THE SKULL!
Arriving on the skull, we see a battlefield full of dead intellect devourers and githyanki, as well as... this:
Um.
...Holy shit, was I right?
ARE YOU MY GUARDIAN, MR SQUID? O.O
I liked you better as a hot orc lady.
Whoever this "Emperor" is, he's standing there watching some githyanki fight some intellect devourers.
This then led to a VERY dramatic cutscene of all the githyanki and the emperor and the intellect devourers fighting for a bit.
Specifically, the githyanki seem to be trying to get at this one specific githyanki who is trapped in a smaller version of the rainbow shield that was wrapping the whole skull.
As Hector approaches, the light glowing in the trapped githyanki's eyes fades, and the others disappear, leaving only the Emperor sprawled on the ground where it fell after being struck.
"Before you do anything..." it growls. "I am your *ally.*"
The whole group goes utterly still. Hector feels his breath catch. He is no fool; he can see where this is leading - and he doesn't like it at all.
"We are in DANGER," the monster hisses.
"Oh, shit," mumbles Karlach at Hector's side. "A mind flayer."
The illithid crawls slowly to its feet, its eyes never leaving Hector's face.
"The githyanki is the source of our protection against the Absolute. I MUST subdue him, or everything we've worked towards is lost."
It takes a step towards Hector, who backpedals rapidly away before it can close with him. "Don't let my form deceive you," it groans out. "I am the one that's been protecting you. I am the one that came to you in your dreams. Help me."
Hector's heart is hammering like a drum in his ears. Deep down, on some level, he always knew that there was something more to the guardian than he was aware of... but this... he never imagined this.
He remembers Omeluum, the rogue mind flayer in the depths of the Underdark. It is possible for such a creature to have its own intentions beyond that of the hive mind... but to what end would this one help him for so long?
"Prove to me," he says unsteadily, "that you are who you say."
"You saved a child from a viper, back in the druids' grove." The creature's voice is ragged and rough, like sandpaper on wood. "You saved the aasmiar Nightsong from her soul cage."
A pause, and then it goes on, more quietly. "You let me live, last time you were here. Though it brought Vlaakith's wrath upon you."
Hector watches the creature's pale, glowing eyes with puzzlement. Withers said that mind flayers have no souls, that they are husks of creatures without spirit or emotion. But there is a pathos in both voice and expression here that he would not credit to an unthinking beast. He has seen it in the orcish disguise the illithid wore... and he sees it now.
"Your continued existence as yourself, and not a mind flayer, should be all the proof you need," the mind flayer goes on, and the intensity of desperation creeps into its voice now. "Now HELP ME!"
Hector swallows. This is madness, everything that is happening. And he has barely slept; he tossed and turned for hours, thinking of the city ahead, and had barely closed his eyes when the githyanki struck...
If it is true - and he suspects that it is - that this is the guardian who has protected him, then he has no choice. He had already been acutely aware that without her - it - he and the others would not survive the war ahead. That her face has changed into a monster does not make it less true.
"How do I help?" he asks hollowly.
"The guard," the mind flayer hisses. "Destroy the guard. They prevent me from subduing their master. Do it. NOW!"
The guard - the githyanki, presumably. Hector frowns. He wishes Lae'zel had come through the portal with him - or perhaps it is a very good thing that she did not. Either way, she will have some very strong opinions about the situation when she hears about it... if she is even still alive back in camp.
And the trapped githyanki in its cage... Hector wants to ask what he is doing there, what he is being subjected to, but there is no time, no time... Even after this massive revelation there are still more secrets, more uncertainties, and he is so tired of it...
But what choice does he have?
Join the mind flayer's fight.
A mind flayer cannot smile, and yet Hector believes he can see some strange flash of warmth in the creature's eyes as it inclines its head toward him.
"Together, we can turn the tide."
#bjk plays baldur's gate 3#hector carlisle#category 4 plot thickening event#ahhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHH#i KNEW there was a twist coming up with the guardian and i wasn't sure what it was gonna be#but goddammmmmmmn#ahhhhhhhh#hector is freaking out and i am freaking out and it's just a lot
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
An unexpectedly busy night. After the chaos of Wyll's transformation, when Hector finally finds his way to sleep...there's more waiting for him in his dreams.
"I promised I'd be back."
He is back in that strange, shifting landscape of void and rock. His visitor - his guardian - is standing looking out at the view, but turns to face him as soon as he stirs from his position on the ground.
"Don't worry," she says, that soft gentle tone that is so incongruous with the intimidating form she presents. "I have things under control, for now."
She watches as he stands; her eyes drift half-closed for a moment, then open wide with an expression of disappointment. "You haven't been using the parasite's power. You think you don't need it. But things haven't gone as you expected." She begins to pace restlessly back and forth before him. "You hoped a druid as powerful as Halsin might be able to remove your tadpole - but he couldn't. You're desperate to be rid of it. Understandable, but you're looking for solutions in the wrong places."
"Tell me who you are," Hector demands. He has his voice this time, more solidly, and the question pours out at once. How can you ask me to make decisions without the information you clearly have?
The woman smiles with a touch of sadness, a touch of indulgence like a parent hearing the inconsequential questions of an anxious child. "It's complicated. But I'm an adventurer, just like you. Just like you, I was infected with a mind flayer parasite. Just like you, I seek to be free of it. But to do that, we'll need to think beyond local healers."
She takes a step closer to him, looks intently into his eyes - his right eye, where the parasite squirms as if aware of the scrutiny. "Your parasite is unusual," she says flatly. "It is wrapped in magic that prevents its removal. Until the source of the tadpole's magic is destroyed, any attempt to remove it will kill you. You were lucky that Halsin knew this. His instincts were right."
Drawing back again, she looks over her shoulder at the slowly shifting stars. "The parasites are merely a symptom of a greater sickness in Faerun."
"What is the sickness?" Hector presses fiercely, his frustration with the secrecy bleeding out in his tone. Answer me, damn you. No more riddles and half-truths...
But she shrugs again - and this time, it is perhaps not with deflection but true uncertainty.
"The Absolute's aims are not yet clear to me. But its progress towards domination is clear. These parasites are more than illithid spawn - they are vessels for control. The infected hear the voice of the Absolute and believe it to be a god. That is how the cult of the Absolute is spreading."
She looks to Hector, waits until he nods - yes, this agrees with what little he has managed to learn himself.
What she says next chills his blood.
"The highest of their rank, the True Souls, carry a tadpole just like yours. It is how they receive their orders. It is what makes them *obey*. When the order to transform is given, it will not be a matter of days - they will be mind flayers in an instant." Her jaw sets. "Were it not for my protection, so would you."
Hector shifts uncomfortably. He remembers the feeling of his bones moving under his skin, the fever and nausea, the call - the call that she stayed in another dream.
And yet there is so much he doesn't know. He remembers Wyll and Lae'zel's words of caution, Gale's skepticism. Is it possible this really is just a trick of the worm? To what end?
"Why should I believe you?" he finally asks slowly.
She smiles slightly, clearly aware of his caution, but shrugs again and gives the only answer she has - or at least the only one she is willing to offer him.
"Because we share a common cause and a common enemy. We are alike, you and I. I've been trying to escape from this evil for a long time. Once, I almost succeeded."
She frowns, shakes her head slightly as if trying to dislodge some uncomfortable memory, before continuing. "Now, through you, I've been given a new chance. You can go where I cannot. And I can protect you from that evil. If we work together, we may turn this around."
He has his mouth open to ask another question when she suddenly jerks back, turns her head listening to a sound he cannot hear. "Hells. They need me. I have to go."
Hector's frustration flares again. He has so much more he needs to ask, to understand. "What is going on over there?" he snaps.
She is unphased by his irritation; all her anxiety is for that unheard sound, that unseen threat.
"The power I use to protect you - I stole it from someone. They want it back." She turns away from him, sets herself in a battle stance. "I will hold them off for as long as I can, but sooner or later I will be worn down. You must discover the source of the magic that controls the parasites before that happens."
"But how--" he starts to say, but she cuts him off, the words tumbling over each other urgently.
"The cultists are gathering at Moonrise Towers. Use the powers your parasite gives you to convince them you are one of them. And when you find the source of their magic, destroy it."
"But--"
"Go!" She turns long enough to meet his eyes again, forceful and intent. "Our freedom depends on it."
He snaps awake in his bedroll in camp, aware suddenly of the crackling of the fire, the soft breaths of his companions, and all the questions in his mind. Every day, it seems, there are more of them.
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
The battle to free Halsin went quite well! We intercepted the goblins who were trying to escape the area, which would have lit up the whole temple against us, and no one took a ton of damage.
My favorite part was when Halsin slipped and completely ate shit on the ice left by Gale's Ray of Frost and Gale kind of stood there and stared at him:
Everyone's making super tired noises, so the plan is to get Halsin out as quickly and quietly as possible and then make camp on the road.
Time to have a chat with Mr. Bear.
As Hector approaches him, the bear's form shifts and twists, resolving itself slowly into the most massive elf Hector has ever seen.
Halsin stands at least a head over Hector's six feet, a broad-shouldered and thick-muscled stone wall of a man. His face is scarred, bearing the record of a thousand fights, but he looks down at the group of his rescuers with an air of benevolence, and his voice is kind as he dusts himself off.
"Pardon the viscera. One should cherish all of nature's bounty...but goblin guts are quite far down on the list." He grins crookedly at Hector. "You aided a bear without knowing if it would savage you? A true friend of nature - or perhaps a lunatic." He inclines his head slowly. "Either way, I owe thanks. I am the druid Halsin."
Hector squints at him. "You're Halsin - the Master Halsin of the Emerald Grove?"
Halsin smiles. "Yes, but just Halsin will suffice. Unbecoming to demand honorifics from the one who saved my hide."
"I've been to the Emerald Grove. It's in danger." The words spill out of Hector perhaps a little too quickly. He desperately wants to be gone from this place, to impress upon Halsin the urgency of leaving as soon as possible.
His words elicit a frown from Halsin, but no surprise. "I am aware," he says sadly. "I foolishly left it vulnerable to this rabble. There's work to be done." He hesitates, then looks more closely at Hector and the others. His frown deepens sharply. "Hrm. That look in your eyes. I've seen it before. Are you feeling all right?"
Without waiting for an answer, he lifts a hand and sends a burst of golden energy surging over Hector, closing his eyes as if listening for something only he can hear.
When he lets his hand fall and the light fade, he looks grim.
"Oak Father preserve you, child... You're infected, aren't you? The mind flayers' spawn..."
It has been, at the very least, twenty years since anyone referred to Hector as 'child' - but it reminds him of the elders at the monastery, the affection and concern of those who were not his parents and yet were his family. Hector feels something loosen in his chest with relief, and he nods wearily.
Halsin is still watching him thoughtfully. "But...something's different. You're aware of the monster inside you. You don't bow to the Absolute, like the True Souls do. How is this possible...?"
He begins to circle the group slowly, examining them from all sides.
"I escaped from an illithid ship after being infected," Hector says. "Maybe the process was interrupted."
Halsin grunts pensively. "Perhaps. But I wouldn't want to place all my faith in blind luck. It's no coincidence that you found me here, I'll wager? You're after a cure for the parasite."
Again a silent nod from Hector, and this time he can't hide the plea for assistance in his eyes. Halsin sighs. "I've been studying these parasites for a while now. Ever since I discovered these so-called True Souls are infected with them. Someone is using very powerful magic to modify these tadpoles. They are using them to exert control over the infected." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry to say, I can't undo that magic, which means I can't cure you." He sees Hector's gaze sink, and adds gently, "But that doesn't mean I can't help."
He looks around at the battered bodies of the dead goblins. "I didn't find what I came here for - a way to remove the tadpoles - but I found the next best thing. I found out where they come from. That must be where these enchantments are placed on them, and it's where you'll find your cure."
Hector straightens a little, hope flaring in him again. So far, Halsin seems to know the most of anyone they've talked to about exactly what they're up against. "Tell me what you've learned about the tadpoles' origins."
"I overheard that the cultists are sending all of their captives to Moonrise Towers. Innocents go in, True Souls come out. Given that all of these True Souls are infected, it has to be the source of this magic." Halsin snuffs out a breath in a manner reminiscent of the bear he just was, and looks at Hector intently. "If you want to find a cure, you must head there and discover how the tadpoles are being manipulated."
Hector nods slowly. This tracks with what he heard from the Zhent trader outside, and it's a plan, the clearest they've had so far. "You seem to know a lot about this," he says hopefully. "Will you come with me to Moonrise?"
Halsin shakes his head. "I wish I could, but there's still work I"ve yet to finish." His eyes harden, a flicker of the beast behind the placid exterior. "Blood I've yet to spill." He hesitates, then goes on, looking between his four rescuers. "I've no right to ask more of you, but if you could help me...I'd be free to join your journey to Moonrise. I cannot allow these butchers to threaten my grove. The natural order must be preserved."
Hector seizes on this eagerly. He wanted to help the grove anyway and wasn't really interested in leaving until that situation was dealt with - and Halsin is seeming like a more useful traveling companion all the time. "All right," he says. "How do I help?"
Halsin seems to relax, and a smile flicks across his face. "My thanks. If you prevail, I'll owe you the debt of a lifetime." He glances towards the door leading to the upper floors. "Rare is the beast that survives decapitation. Help me eliminate the drow Minthara, the hobgoblin Dror Ragzlin, and that perversion of a priestess, Gut. They are the ones holding these parasites together. Remove them and nature will cure itself."
Hector grimaces thoughtfully. He has seen all three of these people, but none of them are alone in a scenario where killing them individually seems likely. For all their caution earlier, it feels like open battle may be the only option, if destroying those three is the goal. "Having a shapeshifting bear-druid at my side might make things easier."
Halsin smiles ruefully. "Be warned. My presence could make things much more difficult. I can only restrain my bear form so much. I won't be able to help but attack goblins." He shakes his head. "If I join you, we'll likely have to slaughter this entire place. You may want to use discretion when approaching the goblin leaders."
That gives Hector some pause. He doesn't relish the idea of fighting the whole place, and maybe there is a chance of tricking all three leaders individually. On the other hand...he has neither skill nor inclination for deception (particularly trickery with the parasite, which seems the most effective option, but his skin is still crawling from the last attempt with Ragzlin), and it's just as likely to lead to a straight fight anyway if he fails - and Halsin would be a strong asset to have in that case.
And...this is a temple of Selune. A place so like his home. These blasphemous things should be driven out of it.
He draws a slow breath and lets it out. "Come with me," he says firmly.
Halsin inclines his head, moments before the bear transformation begins to take hold of him again.
"So be it. May Silvanus lend us nature's fury."
#bjk plays baldur's gate 3#hector carlisle#wellp guess we're fighting our way out#halsin seems nice tho c:#hopefully he is not also holding a Giant Secret that will make Hector uncomfortable :P
13 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
cinderrellas
The key to all heaven is mine
thekingfarm
Welcome to King Farm
shoup-man
Shoup_Man Blog
bisexualgirlfriend
and we got to get ourselves back to the garden
a-krfvdo
Bruce Fudō