Chapter Text
Astarion woke up on a beach. The sun shone down, warm on his skin and bright through his closed eyelids. It took him several minutes to remember what had happened, where he had been, who he was…
PANIC! He bolted upright, desperately looking for shade, anywhere he could go to get out of the sunlight before it destroyed him!
But… it didn’t. He felt fine. Apart from some minor aches and pains from the crash, he was fine. He wasn’t burning, the sunlight didn’t hurt him at all. It felt warm, gentle, nice. He relaxed.
How? How had he survived the crash? Why wasn’t he currently being charred to ash by the sun? Why did the fresh water lapping at his heels not burn him like acid? He felt an uncomfortable squirming in his head and got his answer. The worm - the one the mind flayers had infected him with after kidnapping him. Somehow, it was protecting him. How odd. Fortunate, but odd.
His stomach rumbled, but he ignored it. He was hungry, but he was always hungry, that was nothing new. And he could last a long time without blood if need be, a very long time he knew from unfortunate experience.
But where was he? More importantly, where was Cazador and how long would it take before his old master tracked him down and dragged him home to be tortured again. Punished for running away. Again. Astarion’s insides twisted from more than the worm still wriggling in his brain. Fear, intense and inescapable flooded his nervous system and he cowered for a moment, involuntarily curling into a fetal position as if waiting for the next blow to land.
But it didn’t. He was alone. Not safe, but not in immediate danger either. He relaxed again and began to look around, to take stock of his surroundings.
He was on a small beach littered with rocks and debris from the crash. Not far from him was a small wooden row boat, broken, with an equally mangled human body inside it. He rifled through the dead man’s pockets without a second thought, then found an abandoned backpack with some camp supplies nearby as well.
Snuffling noises from the bushes to his left alerted him to the presence of a wild boar. Maybe he wouldn’t have to go without food after all. He moved slowly to avoid starling his prey, inching forward carefully, quietly…
Shouting from behind him caught him off guard and he turned quickly, looking for the source of the noise. Multiple voices and the sound of fighting was coming from the other side of a large chunk of wreckage, a piece of the ship he had just been aboard. He crept closer and peered around the edge of the ship’s hull.
Two women were battling against three of the brain things he had seen on the ship. One woman was dark and one was pale, both with jet black hair. And both clerics… or was one of them a druid? He looked closer. The pale woman appeared to be a half-elf with a metal breastplate, shield, and a small mace. The darker woman was human, carried a wooden staff, and wore leather armor with a symbol of a unicorn on the front. And her black, curly hair was an absolute disaster. Something about her seemed oddly familiar though…
Her! He had seen her on the ship, pulling one of those brain creatures out of the dying husk of some poor soul who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like he had been. She was with THEM! Anger flashed in him quickly, she would die for what they had done to him!
But no… wait… perhaps he had a better idea. If she was with the mind flayers, that meant that she knew about the worm. Perhaps he could get information from her, get her to tell him how to control these things, how to keep it from harming him so he could stay in the sunlight a while longer…
And there was something else that made no sense. He had just watched the two women kill other brains. It didn’t add up. Unless the other woman didn’t know. Was she to become another unsuspecting victim? Only one way to find out…
Like a flash his predator brain kicked in. Hide and wait in ambush? No. It was too late, they had seen him. Switch tactics. Deception then…
“Hello? Over here! Hey! I need some help!” He called out as the women approached. “Hurry, I’ve got one of those brain things cornered. There, in the grass. You can kill it, can’t you? Like you killed the others?”
The dark woman came closer, “Yes, we can help. Where is it?” She looked past him, down the hill where he had indicated.
“There, can you see it?” He inched backwards, readying his knife as she moved forward to look. Wait for the right moment…
THERE! The wild boar he had been stalking spooked and bolted, the woman startled, and Astarion pounced. In a handful of seconds they were on the ground, his sharp blade pressed to the woman’s throat while he made hushing sounds in her ear, as if to soothe a frightened animal.
“Shhh, not a sound. Not if you want to keep that darling neck of yours,” he crooned softly. Next, he looked up at the other woman. Would she come to her companion’s defense, he wondered? Better to be safe. “And you, keep your distance. No need for this to get messy."
“I need her alive. Stow that blade or I’ll show you just how messy things can get,” the pale woman threatened.
“Promises, promises. But I have other business, I’m afraid.” He turned his focus back to the woman in his arms. She didn’t look like much, nothing that would stand out in a crowd - simple, ordinary, and non-threatening. Her nose was slightly too big and her chin slightly too weak to make her a true beauty, but she was pleasant looking enough. Apart from her curly, black hair that looked like something had made a nest in it and then died there.
But her eyes. He hadn’t noticed them before, but now that she was so close, lying on the ground underneath him, they were almost impossible to look away from. One eye was a dark, rich brown, like the earth beneath them. But the other eye was a bright, clear blue, the color of the sky on a sunny day. It was a color he almost never saw before today, looking up at the afternoon sky for the first time in his life that he could remember.
He had seen blue eyes before, of course, but none as bright and vibrant as hers. And there was something else about her eyes. He couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, but it held him transfixed for a few seconds until he caught himself. He needed to focus. She may not look it, but this woman was dangerous. He glared at her and said, “I saw you on the ship, didn’t I? Nod.”
A slight shift as she began to nod her head and then… BASH! He rolled away in surprise, holding his bruised face as he tried to regain his footing. “Argh! You wretched little…” And then more pain in his head, even worse than before. His mind twisted and he saw… a forest grove, unicorns, the city gates, and then the worm’s teeth as it burrowed into his eye…
“What was that? What’s going on?” he spluttered.
“It’s the mind flayer’s worm, it connected us,” she replied.
Wait, did that mean that she had been infected, too? Another victim of the illithids instead of their servant? “The worm, of course. That explains things. Somewhat.” He was still suspicious, but best to keep the mood light. Easier to catch flies with honey and all that. “And to think, I was ready to decorate the ground with your innards. Apologies.”
“Glad to see we’re all caught up now.”
“Indeed we are. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Astarion. I was in Baldur’s Gate when those beasts snatched me.”
“My name is Tav. I had just arrived in Baldur’s Gate when the mind flayers attacked. I was on my way to meet… someone I haven’t seen in a long time,” she said, her eyes growing distant.
Astarion leaned in, conspiratorial, friendly, “Oh, do tell, I love a good bit of drama! Who were you meeting? An ex-wife? Shady business contact? Sordid love affair?”
She shrugged and looked away, “Something like that.”
Oh well, not the time for idle gossip, he supposed. “So, did you learn anything about these worms while wandering the ship?”
“Yes, unfortunately. They’ll turn us into mind flayers.”
“Turn us into…” It was too much. All too much. He began to laugh, slowly at first and then more and more maniacally. “Of course it’ll turn me into a monster. What else did I expect?” Nothing good ever came to him without something wretched attached to it. But just maybe… “Although, it hasn’t happened yet. If we can find an expert - someone that can control these things - there might still be time.”
“Control it? We need to get rid of it.”
He sighed, “Well yes, of course. But first things first.”
“You should travel with us, our odds are better together,” Tav offered. “This is Shadowheart, by the way.” The half-elf standing behind her huffed in apparent exasperation and rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Astarion considered the two women for a minute. He didn’t know them and knew better than to trust random strangers, but they didn’t seem threatening. He thought he could probably hold his own if it came to a fight, long enough to get away at least. And they might have valuable supplies tucked away somewhere that he could steal once they had let their guard down. Besides, it wasn’t like he had a better plan at the moment. Or any plan at all really.
“You know, I was ready to go this alone, but maybe sticking with the herd isn’t such a bad idea. And anyone that can crash a mind flayer ship and walk away seems like a good person to know. Alright, I accept. Lead on.”
**********
What a strange day. A few hours after picking up Astarion, Tav found the Githyanki woman, Lae’zel, who had helped them fight on the illithid ship. They had also been joined by a wizard who had somehow gotten himself stuck in his own portal, but who also happened to be infected with a mind flayer tadpole. Gale of Waterdeep he said his name was. It was fortunate that so many of them had managed to survive the crash and find each other. Tav was glad that she wouldn’t have to figure out how to deal with everything on her own.
The party decided to camp for the night after a fight broke out between Lae’zel and Shadowheart about what to do when they reached the nearby druid grove. Shadowheart had insisted that they locate a healer as quickly as possible but Lae’zel had disagreed vehemently. She insisted that no istik healer could possibly help them and that finding a Githyanki creche was the only suitable option.
Tav and Gale had no luck in settling the argument despite their combined efforts. Astarion’s only contribution was to quietly smirk in the background, chuckling to himself while twirling one of his daggers. Ultimately, they decided to wait until the next morning, get some sleep, and hope that a decision could be reached once tempers had cooled down some.
Once they had finished setting up camp and getting an evening meal prepared, Tav found herself with nothing to do but sit by the campfire watching the flames. After a few minutes she began studying the charred clumps of her hair that were now several inches shorter than they had been this morning. One side of her head had caught fire while she was trying to climb out of that damn pod the illithids had trapped her in. Now the hair on the left was much shorter than the hair on the right, leaving her feeling lopsided. She thought about trying to braid it, tucking the shorter pieces into the longer ones, but the burned bits kept coming loose and she would have to start all over.
After the third attempt she gave up with a loud huff of frustration and buried her face in her hands. She was angry, she was tired, she was afraid, and all she wanted was to go home. Not that she had a home to go back to, not exactly. Tav had spent the last year travelling with a small group of wandering healers that belonged to the Order of the Unicorn’s Horn, clerics who served the nature goddess Mielikki. She had been training to become one of them and they were the closest thing she had to a family now. Grief flooded her as she wondered if she would ever see them again.
She had known that this day would be hard from the moment she had woken up that morning, but she had not expected this. She gave a short, ironic laugh and thought, At least I don’t have to deal with Ambrose yet. Maybe the mind flayers did me a favor. Tav had been on her way back into the city to have one final confrontation with her horrid ex-husband so that she could finally be free of him. But the mind flayers had other plans for her. And now here she was, miles away from anything familiar, with four odd strangers for company.
With grim determination she began to dig through her pack until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the dagger she had taken from a goblin corpse they had found that afternoon. It was dull and a bit rusty, but it was the only blade she had. This will have to do, I suppose. It’s not like I have anyone to impress here anyway.
She gathered up one of the longer chunks of her hair from the right side of her head and raised the dagger to it. She was just about to cut when a voice behind her cried out, “What in the sweet hells are you doing?”
She turned in surprise to see Astarion behind her with a look of abject horror on his face. “That blade is rusty!” He said with disgust before pulling it from her hand. “Here, let me do that before you make an even bigger mess of things!”
“Um, ok,” Tav responded, not quite sure what to make of Astarion’s offer. He had been aloof and unreadable all day, ever since he put his knife away and decided to join them. She still wasn’t quite sure how she felt about him. She certainly didn’t trust him, but she found him surprisingly entertaining. He would be silent and distant for long periods of time and then suddenly make an offhand comment that made her laugh unexpectedly. Laughter was a rare gift on such a wretched day, and Tav found that she was actually quite pleased that Astarion had offered to help her.
“What in the nine hells happened to you anyway?” he asked. “Your hair looks like it was attacked by rabid imps and then set on fire,” he said with derision.
“Yes,” she said simply. “That’s exactly what happened - except the fire came first and then I was attacked by imps. And a cambion. And then I fell out of the sky and a strange elf held a knife to my throat.”
“Oh, right.” At least he had the good graces to act slightly chagrined. He was quiet again while he began to comb through her thick curls with his fingers, assessing the damage. Then a fresh wave of horror came over his face and he exclaimed, “Is that viscera??? Oh gods! Come with me!”
Astarion grabbed Tav’s arm and started pulling her towards the small stream that ran through their camp. “Wash. Now. You’re disgusting. ” He shoved her towards the water and tossed a bar of soap at her. “Come find me when you’re no longer covered in entrails.” Then he sauntered back over to his tent and began sharpening one of his daggers.
Tav watched him go with a bemused look. Where had he gotten soap? She shrugged and waded into the stream to wash off the blood, grime, and other questionable bits of whatever she had gotten covered in while fighting that day.
Fifteen minutes later she was clean, or at least cleaner than she had been, and she wandered back over to Astarion’s tent. “Free of intestines yet?” he asked, without looking up from his blade.
“Gods, I hope so,” she replied and sat down next to him.
“Good. Turn,” he ordered. She obeyed, turning so that she was facing away from him while he started combing his fingers through her hair again.
“Not that I mind, but why are you helping me?” she asked.
“Because you’re so pathetic that I just couldn’t help myself. Besides, if I’m going to be travelling with you then I’m going to have to look at you for a while.” He leaned down closer to her ear, “And I would prefer to enjoy the view.” She smiled and rolled her eyes. How did this guy manage to be both charming and insulting at the same time?
Astarion leaned forward again and reached past Tav to grab the dagger sitting just beside her. The one he had been sharpening earlier. It flashed in the dim firelight as he brought the blade uncomfortably close to her neck and began to neatly slice through strands of her hair. “So tell me,” he said, “ Tav is it?”
“Mhmm,” she agreed. “Short for Tavennia, but Tav is fine.”
“And you’re a druid?”
“A cleric, actually. I serve the nature goddess, Mielikki.”
“Pardon,” he paused his cutting. “Your leaky what, exactly?”
Tav laughed, “No, that’s the name of my goddess. It’s not ‘my leaky’, it’s Mielikki.”
“Never heard of her.” He resumed his work on her hair.
“Not many people have. She’s known as a Daughter of Silvanus, but I don’t think they’re actually related. She’s a protector of wild, woodland spaces and is sometimes known as the Forest Queen or the Supreme Ranger.”
“Mhmm,” Astarion made a noncommittal sound. “So you’re a nature cleric, then. And how exactly did you end up on board that mindflayer ship?”
“The same way you did, I expect. I had just passed through the gates into the city, minding my own business. And then suddenly people were screaming and the next thing I knew I was stuck in that damn pod.”
“Hmmm, yes that’s what happened to me, too.” Astarion paused his cutting again, but didn’t lower his blade. Instead, he twirled it casually between his fingers and said, “I saw you, you know, on the ship. That’s why I held that knife to your throat earlier today. I saw you pull one of those brain creatures out of a dying man’s skull. Quite grotesque, really… An odd thing for a cleric to do, don’t you think?” The dagger twirling stopped.
Though it did make her a bit nervous, Tav did her best to ignore Astarion’s veiled threat. He had no more reason to hurt her now that he’d had that afternoon. And with Lae’zel sitting by her own tent less than thirty feet away, polishing her greatsword, Astarion was sure to suffer swift and lethal consequences if he killed her.
Most likely he was simply trying to intimidate her, testing her to see how easily he could put her off balance. And a year ago she might have fallen for it. But not anymore. She knew now that there were much scarier things in this world than a skinny elf with a fondness for daggers. She would show him how difficult it was to frighten her. She would call his bluff.
“Oh, that!” Tav said, trying to sound as unbothered as she could. “I had almost forgotten, given the rest of today’s horrors. I don’t know why I did it, honestly. It asked for my help, so I helped.”
He laughed, loud and sudden. “A dead man’s brain asked for help? So you just… decided to help? Not knowing if it was dangerous? While trying to flee a crashing ship after being kidnapped?”
She chuckled a bit to hide her embarrassment, “Yeah, I suppose it was an odd thing to do. It worked out, though. The little thing did lead me to the helm. It even helped me fight off some of those imps.”
“Lucky you. Let’s hope that luck stays with us, yes?”
“Agreed,” she answered. “And what about you? What were you doing before all of this?”
“I was a magistrate back in the city. Not much to tell, really.” Astarion resumed cutting her hair, but he seemed a bit distant.
Tav considered that for a moment. So he had been a magistrate? That fit. His clothing was well tailored and his mannerisms screamed high society. But something was off, too. His clothes seemed oddly old fashioned and Tav couldn’t remember ever hearing of a magistrate going by his name. Not that she would have known all of them, but Ambrose had been friendly with quite a few of the city’s officials. An insurance policy he had always said. But it had been at least a year since she had moved in those circles. Maybe Astarion was new.
Tav thought back to the flash of memory she had seen that afternoon when the tadpole had briefly connected her to Astarion’s mind. He had been sitting in a tavern, flirting with a handsome young man. “And you were on a date when the mind flayers grabbed you?” she teased.
“Something like that.” His tone was grim, which surprised her. She had been expecting something snarky or flirtatious.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Oh, it’s nothing!” His response was overly cheerful again, but his voice sounded off somehow. “Nothing that matters right now anyway.” With one final flick of his wrist, Astarion pronounced her finished and made Tav turn so he could inspect his work. “Well, you’ll never have the best hair in camp, but at least you’re somewhat presentable now.”
Tav grinned. “Thanks, I think,” she said. “How do you still look so polished? You were on that wreck too, but your hair is perfect.” It was true. Despite all they had been through that day, Astarion still looked like he was about to head out for a night on the town. Not a single one of his silver curls was out of place, and his black eyeliner was freshly applied. “You don’t even have a mirror do you?” she asked with a hint of awe.
“Oh, I don’t need a mirror, darling. I have more than enough practice.” He winked at her.
Tav shrugged and stood up. “Well, I guess I should start looking for a place to spread out my bedroll. It’s been a long day.”
“I suppose I should do the same…” Astarion suddenly looked a bit lost. “I’m not sure what I expected, really. This is all a little new. The night normally means bustling streets, bursting taverns. Curling up in the dirt and resting is… a little novel.”
Tav shrugged. “It’s no feather bed, but it will do.” Tav occasionally missed her feather bed, she had spent most of her life sleeping on one. But after a year of travelling, free from the pressures and confinement of high society life, she didn’t miss it much. These days she much preferred sleeping like this, outside and close to the earth. There was something almost magical about it that made her feel alive in a way she never felt when she slept indoors.
Astarion just looked at her blankly. Tav gave him a gentle, encouraging smile and urged, “Give it a try. We’ll need to be fresh tomorrow.”
“I’m in no place to rest yet. Today has been… a lot. I need some time to think things through. To process this. You sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
Tav still didn’t entirely trust Astarion, something about him put her on edge. He had a quality about him that reminded her of a wild cat with its paw caught in a sharp, metal trap. Even though he was smiling and clearly attempting to be friendly, something in his eyes made her wary. Like he could snap and strike out at any moment, at even the slightest provocation.
Still, she was fairly certain that he wouldn’t try to kill them in their sleep. And if he did… well, at least then she wouldn’t have to find out what turning into a mind flayer felt like. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll sleep better for that.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Sweet dreams.” Astarion nodded a farewell and Tavennia walked back over to the campfire where she had left her bedroll. She didn’t have a tent and the night was clear and relatively warm so she decided to sleep out in the open that night. She lay there for quite a while, staring up at the stars, before exhaustion finally claimed her and she drifted off to sleep.