Shade's Gate Part Six [Baldur's Gate 3/SI]
I could feel the weight of reality sink on my shoulders, or more precisely, gurgle from within my stomach. I was getting hungry. We hadn't stopped once since this morning, and while I didn't feel tiredness in my legs or feet, I didn't doubt for one singular iota of picosecond that I wouldn't, inevitably, collapse in a simpering heap of pain and agony when night finally came. But until that happened, I'd power on.
"We should probably try to get information about the Goblins," Shadowheart remarked once we left the cavern, while the other druids took charge of dragging the Shadow Druids' corpses out, probably destined for the closest compost heap, "Since you so generously offered us to fix this, Shade."
"I did not offer us to fix anything we wouldn't need to fix anyway, Shadowheart," I replied with a chuckle. "Where we're headed, we're gonna cross paths with them all the same-they came from the direction of the mountain pass, so..." I exhaled. "There's a couple of things closer here though that need our attention though-"
"We must quickly find my people," Lae'zel interrupted. "The more time we waste, the worse it will be. We must ask where they saw others like me."
"No reason we can't do both," I mused. "I can hear some music; and where I hear music, I see a chance to meet a fellow friendly Bard, bardically barding the bardest barded music," I hummed. "Someone wants to follow me?"
"Tsk'va! Enough words were spoken from you today, I refuse to hear more, especially if they are gibberish," Lae'zel snarled, clearly intending on going with Shadowheart.
"I would love a chance to bore myself to death, but I'll have to pass," Astarion said with a cheeky smile.
"I think that the trouble we are all in demands swift answer," Gale added, "I'm sure you can catch up to us, Shade."
I grinned, "Sure, I'll find you in a few minutes then." It wasn't like they could run away and go that far; I'd know where to find them soon after I handled the bits and pieces that Shadowheart didn't seem keen on completing for the sake of the Ceremorphosis countdown -which wasn't really a countdown, but how could they know? And how could I tell them that?
Hence, I simply trudged towards the source of the music. I avoided the spot where Volo and the bear were; I really didn't want to handle that just yet. Even so, I noticed Rath step outside and start talking to the closest druids, who began to cease in their chanting.
The figure of Alfira stood seated on a couple of pillows upon a large rock, pinching strings of her lute and attempting the song, "Dance upon the stars tonight-" she gently sang, but her words were drowned out by the screams of the squirrels nearby which filled my ears with something more than chirps.
"Enough with this!" a squirrel yelled. "It's horrible! Make her stop! Please, make her stop!"
I exhaled, and clicked my tongue in distaste at the small, furry animals. "Scram you lot, art requires time and patience...and agony, sometimes." Under my breath, I further added, "a lot of agony, though hopefully not too much."
"Gah! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" the squirrels shrieked anew, and then hastily dashed away. I blinked at the screams of sheer fright from those small critters, but I reckoned they simply couldn't handle a critic to their own criticism.
Alfira, meanwhile, had stopped plucking strings as she had indeed noticed my arrival and my dialogue with the small creatures of the undergrowth.
"Hello," Alfira said. "Was I bothering you with this song?"
"Not at all," I shook my head, "the creative process is always chaos incarnate, and sometimes even bits and bobs of suffering and artist block," I smiled as I drew near, "What's eating at you?"
"This song," Alfira said. "I just can't finish it. Something's missing, but I don't know what-" she hesitated. "You look like you know your way around music-I hear it in your voice."
"Oh?" I blinked. "My voice's melodic? You're the first one who said anything about it." I chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"It's just-you hit the right notes," Alfira said, "Like, you're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"
"I'm afraid not," I said. "The mind forgets, but the body remembers," I muttered. "I got a bit of a case of memory loss," I mused. "But if you say that I've got harmony in my voice, then I guess I can help you out if you want?"
"I'd like that-I have her-I have a spare lute," Alfira muttered, "We can pluck some strings together?"
I took a seat on the nearby rock, taking the proffered lute in my hands. It felt surprisingly light, and as I began to gently pinch a few strings, the music that the instrument emitted began to make sense to my ears. I didn't know whether it was intention or instinct, but something did most definitely guide my fingers across the instrument's surface, and like a loving father clutching its firstborn, I knew just the right amount of force to exercise.
"Dance upon the stars tonight, smile and pain will fade away~" I hummed as Alfira began to sing in turn, my fingers plucking through strings, witnessing my mind's eye find a path to follow across a musical sheet that was known only to me, and that I didn't even know could exist; it was like taking one step, then realizing that the second one was obvious, and then the third and the fourth; it was like breathing, as natural as blinking or staring at beauty itself.
Whatever this was, it couldn't be mine. Or if it was, it belonged to this new me. The old me? Tone deaf. Incapable of playing a stringed instrument -I did manage something on the piano, admittedly- and most definitely, I wouldn't be able to play and sing at the same time with startling ease, such that I could also think about other stuff while playing.
"Words of mine will turn to ash, when you call the last light down~" this time, I noticed that Alfira was no longer leading the song, but following it. She followed it with earnest gusto, because the words felt so right to her very soul; those were the words she'd have found by herself, after all, if only she had been encouraged to seek them out in the first place, rather than let another show them to her.
This triumph of creating this song was taken from her; forevermore, she'd think that she'd never be good enough to craft the perfection that this musical gift to her late teacher was. As my fingers moved, enraptured by the artistry of the song, and my mind screamed from the sheer realization that I was taking determination, triumph, the joy of creation and much more away from the Tiefling, I knew that I also couldn't stop.
Art demanded it be completed.
And I had to oblige it.
"Moon reminds me of your grace, all the love I can't repay. Rest and know that I will pray, farewell my dear old friend..." I dimly realized Alfira had stopped accompanying the song, and was simply standing seated, staring at me as I kept on singing. Word after word, tune after tune, string after string-by the time the last note, and the last word, and the last breath had been spoken, there were tears in her eyes and a wretched sob spilled from her throat.
She was back to that night when she saw her mentor dance under the pale moonlight, and all the beauty of that moment was forever etched anew in her soul. The pain and the grief of her loss was now raw and rubbed with the salt of reminiscence, and the smell of blood within her nostrils from the Gnolls' attack hit her mind like a freight train, drowning out the bile threatening to spill from her very throat.
She sobbed. The tears fell even as I simply looked down at the instrument in my hands, and exhaled. "Did I bore you to tears?" I said, kindly trying to crack a joke and break the atmosphere of sorrow.
"You sang with her voice," Alfira whispered. "It was like hearing her again."
I blinked at that. "I don't think I'm that capable," I muttered. "It must have been your mind playing tricks on you."
Alfira shook her head. "No, I'd know her voice-I'd never forget it. That was her voice. That was her. What useless apprentice I am-" she bitterly added, "To get their own mentor to come back from the dead to finish their own eulogy song-what wretched disgrace-"
"Enough!" I snapped. "You'd have finished this song yourself," I continued. "You'd have written the same words, sang the same tunes, played the same strings-do not belittle nor put you down! And instead of moping as if somebody killed your cat, I demand you practice this song a hundred times until you can make it even better!"
"Even that is just like her-" Alfira whispered. "You-You're channeling her, aren't you? You've got to be-can you talk to her? Do you hear her?"
I took a deep breath, and shook my head. "I am a fellow minstrel, Alfira, and I reckon that we do tend to be alike in certain things," I mused. "You've got skills. I'm sure you can be great-so," I gently rose and brought the lute forward, "Keep practicing, kiddo."
Alfira bit her lower lip and softly gave me a nod, before graciously accepting the lute back. "Wait, just a moment," she added, before hastily running over to a column nearby, opening a chest and then extending a hat in my direction, "take this."
"I didn't help you out for payment," I said.
"Even so," Alfira insisted, "Take it. It's been gathering dust since I got it, because horns and hats don't go together well," she smiled ever so slightly, and as the tiefling thrust the hat in my hands, I simply automatically placed it over my head.
"Does it cut me a dashing figure?" I mused.
"Probably, I'm not a hat tiefling," Alfira replied. "But now-now I think I've got enough inspiration to improve on the song-when next we meet, you'll hear it-my own improved version."
I smiled, "I cannot wait, then," and with a dapper bow while holding the hat in one hand, I wondered if I'd soon begin teleporting behind people while stating 'nothing personal, kid' while fighting with a katana in all-black.
I blinked at the thought. Was the hat technically a Fedora? No. No, it wasn't.
My way back down from the top of the cliff, I heard a different kind of music playing. This one was more...predatory. Vicious. Hungry.
"Oh fuck," I muttered, "the kid and the harpies."
Around me, there was just that useless Volo and the bear being questioned, while most of the druids had meanwhile stopped chanting and had left the ritual area unattended.
"I need a hand!" I spoke in bear-like voice to the bear nearby, "A kid is in danger by the beach! The harpies are hungry!"
The bear growled, "Silly cubs and their stupid timing-I'm being interviewed!" and even so, the bear roared and began to dash downwards, myself hot on its trail while Volo remained befuddled behind me.
"Shade!?" he all but exclaimed, but I was already running down the hill.
The winding path wasn't very long, and by the time I reached the end of it, it became clear that the harpies had indeed been inches away from snacking on a tiefling kid, if not for the big bad bear having intercepted just in time the closest one, who was now thrashing and screaming while in the water, gurgling and shrieking as blood filled the bear's maws and the salty sea shore.
"Run back kid!" I yelled at him passing him by as I noticed, within seconds really, that there were quite a few harpies that were now flying closer with shrieks and yells, "Get somewhere safe!"
The kid, admittedly, dashed away as fast as he could, but it just enticed a harpy who deemed him a tasty morsel to get on the fly.
"Tormentum!" I snarled in seconds, bolts of force striking wings and plucking feathers as the beast became a homing missile of broken bones and flesh, impacting against the sand with a sickening 'crunch' sound. The second one instead didn't seem to care much about her friend's demise and simply clawed at the spot where my head had been a second before, if not for the fact I bent down so hard, my knees threatened to refuse me further aid if I did it again.
By that point, the bear had finished the first harpy and was now growling and roaring against a second one of its own. There had been four in total, two were dead, but two more remained. As I began to skedaddle across the beach in an attempt to provide cover to the bear -in some way, shape or form- I realized that nasty gashes were making the poor beast bleed, the byproduct of the harpy's strikes, no doubt.
Now, if only I had the word for healing. Or knew how to make a bear inspired.
"I'm sure you'll taste like chicken once cooked!" I exclaimed, snapping one of my fingers towards the closest flying harpy, who shrieked in offense as something cut within her self-esteem, her expression now unwavering in her hunger and hatred towards the likes of me. She spun in mid-air and began to fall straight against me, claws extended.
In that moment, an arrow of acid tore through the air and struck the descending harpy on the side, marring its face into a mockery of skull and flesh, which collapsed against the sand with yet another wet squelch.
The last harpy screamed its anger, but did not choose to flee. An arrow once more well-placed took quickly care of her, and as the last of the creatures fell, I exhaled in relief.
"Thanks for the assist-" but there was no one on the ridge. Someone clearly had to have aimed and fired those arrows; but whoever it had been, they weren't there any longer.
A shy ranger? Perhaps one of the tieflings-or a druid? Still, by the time I managed to climb back up the hill and attempted to find either the mysterious helpful ranger or Volo, neither were present nor available for a quick chat. In comparison, the bear looked properly proud of himself, "When this is written, my chances of finding a mate next summer are going to increase!" he harrumphed proudly, "What manner of proper bear-lady does not cherish the thought of a strong cub-protecting-bear?"
"True enough," I said with a smile, "I thank you for your aid."
The bear calmly trudged away, leaving me with the unfortunate realization that I now had to play catch-up to the rest of the party. They definitely went deeper into the grove; probably where the other Tieflings were to find out about Lae'zel's friends. As they went that way, though, I also noticed a distinct lack of Wyll teaching the younglings. This meant Shadowheart had recruited him already.
My, if she moved fast.
While trekking towards the tiefling who had seen the Githyanki, I calmly came to a halt close to Ethel's shop. The hag wasn't there; she had probably already gone ahead too. Seriously, if I didn't catch up to the party soon enough, they'd get too far ahead.
"Anyone seen a bunch of strange characters moving together? Yes? That way? Perfect!" as I hastily began to jog, I finally, finally! caught up to them as Shadowheart had just finished telling Lae'zel to stand down and let her handle the interrogation.
"Shade-you caught up," Gale said cheerfully. "Wyll, meet Shade. Shade, meet Wyll, the Blade of the Frontiers!"
My eyes turned to Wyll, and I smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It is a pleasure," Wyll said, a smile on his lips. "One more sword arm is always welcomed."
"My sword-arm?" I blinked. "I'm afraid I'm more of a tongue-holder, in the sense that my favorite weapon are words, my second favorite weapon is crippling self-doubt, my third favorite weapon is-"
"Lung capacity, apparently," Astarion mused. "My, I do wonder how long you can hold your breath. We should experiment-"
"Sorry Astarion, I do not swing that way either," I said. "Though if you want some friendly advice, there's a time and a place for everything, and this isn't clearly the right time or place-"
"We have the location," Shadowheart said, "While you lot chatted, we did the work," she added. "Don't make me praise the Githyanki, Shade. Be better."
I mock-gasped, a hand brought to my chest, "I was busy saving a child from harpies and aiding a fellow bard with her music, forgive me if my brief distraction of what, five minutes, took precious time away from-" and she was already walking. Lae'zel was also walking.
My shoulders slumped as Gale gave me a smile that said 'what can you expect, really' and then walked too. Astarion chuckled, and walked in turn.
Finally, I turned to glance at Wyll. "We should hurry up," he said. "There's a very urgent reason for why we are all in a hurry-"
"Oh, don't tell me about urgent reasons, I know them all," I muttered as I began to walk, "Wouldn't be the first time someone's urgently in need of aid and I provide it."
"I would hope so," Wyll said. "Unless your name is a calculated risk?"
"Why would my name be a risk? Is it offensive?" I asked, puzzled.
"Not to us," Wyll said, "but there is a God that might take offense. The Self-Devouring Snake keeps a tight leash on the names meant for his Avatars."
"I'm sorry, would you mind repeating that last tidbit?" I asked, even as I noticed that were already leaving the druids' grove behind us, much to my consternation at the lack of all the other side-quests that Shadowheart was clearly determined to ignore. Like, what about the adventurers' group that meant to leave? What about the goblins in the side-tunnel? Shadowheart! Shadowheart, do not focus yourself on the main quest just yet! There's a thousand extra things you need to do!
"The Self-Devouring Snake," Wyll said. "His avatars have been pivotal in many events in this world; some even hundreds of years ago. He has an altar at the Stormshore Tabernacle in Baldur's Gate," he continued, "And more than a few followers."
"Followers? Eh. Fancy that. What's his deal all about?" I asked, feeling doubt criss-cross itself into my brain. I couldn't be a God for the very simple reason that I was relatively certain I needed to go take a leak, and also because I was still hungry, and most importantly because I could feel tiredness creep in my bones, and I wasn't zapping people to death with divine smiting.
"Words," Oh no, maybe I really was a God, "Crippling emotional damage," seriously, Wyll? Was that really a thing? He was looking pretty honest as he said that, was this one of those things where I actually did do that, but only to evil people? "acting," eh, I could get behind that, "death as the end of things and life as the birth of new things," that sounded a bit too pompous for my ears.
Was I really all of that?
No. I couldn't be all of that. I didn't feel all of that. "I doubt that's me," I said. "Not a lick of divine power within my body."
"Ah," Wyll chuckled, "I knew it. When I heard 'Shadowheart' and then you called yourself 'Shade' I knew there had to be a more logical reason than 'Divine Avatar', I guess you were all part of the same adventuring outfit? You didn't get...kidnapped by the nautiloid, however."
"No, no I didn't," I said. The conversation died out as I needed to preserve my breath for the inevitable trek through more forest-Shadowheart, Lae'zel, please, have mercy on my legs!
But what I did know was that I needed to have a talk with Withers the moment we set up camp.
A very quick, very precise, extremely poignant talk with Withers.
What do you mean I'm a God!?
And why do I definitely NOT feel like one!?
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