Random Notes (BG3/Wiki Warrior)

[TheCynicalPogo]

Spoiler: The Rules

1. The System operates off of Origins, drawing from alternate realities for the lucky Roller's pulls! To begin, the Roller can pull items, powers, and even characters from an initial 20 Origins.

1. Bloodborne 2. Warhammer 40K/Fantasy/Sigmar 3. RWBY 4. Cyberpunk 5. World of Darkness 6. The Elder Scrolls 7. Devil May Cry 8. Megami Tensei 9. One Piece 10. Legend of Zelda

11. Destiny 12. Elden Ring 13. Final Fantasy 14. God of War 15. Yu-Gi-Oh 16. Dark Souls 17. The Witcher 18. Hades 19. Bleach 20. Type-MOON

2. There will be no time duration on Summons barring unique circumstances and rolls leading to particular interpretations from the System being necessary. Instead, a d20 will be used to instead determine the Power of a Summon, i.e how strong it is. For example, summoning a lightsaber on a 2 will lead to an ancient, damaged, and non-functional laser blade, while a summon on a 19 will gift the summoner with a pristine, recently built, and incredibly efficient and powerful lightsaber.

3. The exception to Rule 2 is Natural 1s and Natural 20s. On a Natural 20, not only will the summoned item, object, or person be enhanced or in their prime, but some other, positive effect will occur. This could be as simple as producing more of the item, or it could be something entirely unique to the summoned thing. No matter what however, the initial boost will always be positive for the summoner on a Natural 20. A Natural 1, however, can either simply be incredibly weak to the point of uselessness, or depending on what is actually summoned, the summoned thing could instead be just as strong as it would be if summoned by a Natural 20, and will come with an effect of its own. This effect will however be entirely negative to the summoner and possibly the world at large, though not immediately so.

3a. In terms of items, using the previous lightsaber, on a 20 this saber may be uniquely attuned to the Light Side of the Force, emanating an aura of tranquility, or could come with instructions on a lightsaber's construction. On a 1, however, the lightsaber may instead be attuned to the Dark Side, possibly even possessed by the dark spirit of a Sith Lord, and could even be deposited somewhere randomly in the world for some random passerby to pick up and be possessed by.

3b. For characters however, the System could roll Radahn, Conqueror of Stars, and on a 19 he would be brought into the world in his prime, before he was infected with the Scarlet Rot. On a 20 however, there is the chance the Radahn summoned would be a Radahn who lived through his years as a mindless beast, and has had his body and sanity restored, and has come out of this terrible experience possibly wiser and tempered, despite being a conqueror. On a 1, however, Radahn will be summoned in the state most are familiar with him in, a wild, rampaging berserker deposited into the world at large somewhere (but always far enough away that instantaneous harm will not befall the Roller, as per Rule 5).

4. Characters summoned by the System will be differentiated based on a few factors, such as personality and the circumstances of their summoning, as Companions and Acquaintances. Companions will be those joining the central "group" in a sense, having greater involvement in the Roller's actual story, while Acquaintances may end up just that: people or beings that may simply be too powerful, uncaring, or perhaps even evil to be directly involved in events. These labels will not be set in stone however, and story moments could lead to an Acquaintance becoming a Companion (and vice versa as well).

5. Some Summons are too abstract to directly summon, so they will instead be converted to some alternative power or effect. For example, if a patch update is summoned, this will likely be converted into some form of System Update.

6. The summoner cannot summon anything that poses an outright and immediate threat to themself or the world as a whole. For example, if a bomb is summoned, this bomb will not have a lit fuse. There are some exceptions to this (please refer to Rule 3b) but the limit will be things that would just immediately destroy the city, country, planet, etc. which the Roller resides in at the moment instantaneously. Such outcomes would be displeasing to the System.

7. Some things are outright too powerful to be summoned directly, such as Gods. The System is only near omnipotent after all! Instead, they will be interpreted and converted in some other form than direct summoning to the land, for better or worse! Lowercase gods however are summonable. One may call themselve's a god, but only Gods are Gods! Example: Kratos can be directly summoned, the Four cannot (to the gratitude of all things good).

8. To ensure maximum exposure and Chaos, there will be a limit upon the summons requiring each Origin to have been summoned from once before an Origin can be pulled from once again. In this way, every realm of existence will have their chance to showcase themselves!

9. Certain realities have been determined to be too dull for the System to pull from, and as such will not be included in the Origins ever. The System apologizes to all residents of "Normal Earth" for any offense, even if it cares not whether you are actually offended.

---

He tossed and turned, writhing on the formless ground beneath. He couldn't see, he couldn't think-his head throbbed, a sickening squelch of something crawling inside him but for the life of him he couldn't recall what as he squeezed his head, every thought calling for something, anything, to get it out get it out get it out-!

[Something answered.]

In an instant the headache ceased, the crawling, squirming, aching-it all...stopped, as silence spread. The world went silent, so silent even his thoughts grew quieter...quieter...quieter...

There was no light...

no sound...​

he simply was...

​

...drifting in the darkness until his eyes slowly flickered open in this...abyss?

But it wasn't an abyss that he saw before him. Pale clammy hands pressed against plain oak wood floors as he pushed himself up, and he looked around to see a sight he knew he had seen a thousand times, yet for the life of him he could not recall where. He sat on the floor of a simple tavern-wooden benches filled the room, a small, flickering candle atop each, unfilled wooden mugs placed before each space on the tables. He stood slowly, feeling as if he was missing something, forgetting...something...

But if it was something important, surely he wouldn't have forgotten it, right?

He shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his brain as he made to step towards the long bar of the tavern hall-but stopped as his eyes flicked to the right and saw something he could not help but walk towards.

On the far side of the hall, away from the bar, a raised platform stood-a stage, his mind idly provided, positioned before the benches and bar so that...so that a...his headache returned, like a spike driven straight into his mind-why did it hurt so much to think? What was wrong with his brain?

The pain subsided just as quickly as it came, but the memory of the ache lingered, and he cringed as he stepped forward, closer to the stage, drawn to it even as a part of him whispered that he should not get any closer. He paid it no heed, not thinking of whether that was because he did not want to or could not, trying not to think at all even, afraid that the writhing would return if he dared to.

Upon the stage, a small stool sat, and leant up against that stool was something he did not even have to think to know-an instrument, a lute to be specific, and before he knew it, he was reaching for it, gently wrapping his hand around the stick-no, the neck, his fingers brushing against the strings as he took a seat upon the stool, resting the rounded wooden head of the instrument on his knee. He slid his thumb along the metal, the tip just barely brushing against the string as he set his fingers against the lute in a way that he knew was familiar but could not recall, the memories stuck behind the drifting fog wrapped around his mind...

And he strummed the strings, playing out a simple chord that resounded through the tavern hall, the notes dancing across his ears, the music that felt so core to his very soul pushing against the fog-

Ah! Yes, that's what the stage was for. A bard! And he...was a bard? The fog still remained, pressed against by the music but still lingering...so he strummed again, following not his slowed, clouded thoughts but the instincts of his fingers, moving with their own will as they charted a course across the lute, dancing with the strings as he began a song...

"O sing a song of Balduran...who founded Baldur's Gaaaaaate..."

A thump echoed in time with his melody, and he glanced up-the tavern felt...different? Full...the mugs upon the tables all had filled in an instant, white suds frothing at the top as brown beer rose up within the wooden tankards. That...was that strange? It felt strange...but his fingers still had a performance in mind...

"Empire golden, built on trade, could not avert his faaaaaate..."

The thumps continued, as shadows swirled like a whirlwind across the hall, yet never disturbing the gently swaying candlelight with their passing.

"When three, though dead, assailed his port, transformed, he fell their thrallllllll..."

The shadows dipped down, coalescing atop the benches, swirling together as human forms began to take shape, dark silhouettes that took their places before their mugs of beer and soundlessly began to put on their own show.

"Succumbed as threat from nether years, arose to conquer alllllll..."

Mugs were raised to shadowless lips, cold beer disappearing into a void as the silhouettes silently made merry. Some raised their tankards, together, the wood meeting with a thunk, others stood, looking towards him and his song, swaying in pace with the candlelight as they listened, eyeless yet intent on his stage.

"Now hope is gone, or so it seems."

His finger's weaved a melody, a sharp, haunting thing as he drew his dancing audience of shadows into the story in the lyrics.

"The game's not over yet..."

"New cards are drawn..." Pluck "New hands are played..." Pluck "Newcomers place a beeeeeeeeeet..."

"A knave," Atop one of the tavern tables, cards were spread and silent groans echoed as a featureless yet grinning shyster swindled their fellows out of abyssal gold.

"A wizard," Empty mugs, drained by the jubilant tavergoers, levitated into the air, swirling and twirling as they arrived back to the bar for a shadowy bartender to refill for ever thirsty revelers.

"A devil," Across the hall from the stage, a fireplace roared to life, its light and warmth stretching across the hall, and in the wild flames he swore he could spot pointed horns and laughing maws...

"Gith..." Stars fell from the open ceiling, winking lights drawn from astral domains that shivered in time with the notes of his song.

"The odds are cast anew..."

The entire bar froze then, each and every one of the dancing silhouettes ceasing their revelry to watch him so intently. He shivered, goosebumps running down his skin. What did they see, staring at him? What did they want?

"And Baldur's fate now turns upon...the whims of fortune's fewwwwwww..."

For an instant he felt his fingers slow as the song approached its end-but suddenly, as if compelled by something other than the music in his soul, his fingers continued, strumming a new chord as lyrics bubbled up unbidden from the depths of his mind.

"So come now friend, pay heed to this..."

With each strum and each word sung, something coiled in his gut, something strange and unsure. He was going off-script, he knew this...the song was not meant to continue. But still he played, plucking at random strings, lyrics burbling forth unbidden as he sang...

"This Song of Baldur's Gate..."

The light began to dim, the everpresent candles finally flickering out, winking into the darkness one by one.

"As Chaos crawls from the abyss..."

The shadows spread, sweeping over the tavern-the darkness that he recalled, the abyss that he had dreamt of, swallowing it whole while the silhouettes faded into the background.

"It asks to play a gaaaaaa-aaaaa-aaame...."

Clack...

The tavern was gone, the lute was gone...was he even still there? He couldn't tell, couldn't think, couldn't feel...all he knew, all he saw, was a pair of dice, drifting across the abyssal shadows, rolling once, twice...

[8-20: Colors Flying High - The opening theme of Persona 5 Royal-a song that calls for one to have convictions and wave them true, no matter if you win or lose. With a Natural Power of 20, this roll will be translated into a unique trait-when Tav holds true to his convictions and ideals in the face of adversity where giving up the colors he flies would have served him better, he will receive a free Boosted Roll guaranteed to provide a way for him to overcome the hardships he faces, and see his convictions through! So choose your colors true and bright! As a hero, liege, or sinner, give it your all, and be the best-for nothing less will do!]

He heard a few notes dance in his mind, a tune that he had never heard resounding in his ears, lyrics so fresh and new yet so familiar he knew them by heart rising to his lips. "So choose the color you will fly..." He whispered to himself and he felt something burrowing into his soul, a writhing so much worse than the one in his head as it carved itself deep into the very parts of his being, so deep he could feel in his bones nothing could rid him of it as he fell to his knees, gasping for air.

His heart was pounding, his lungs burning as if he had swallowed fire. What was happening? Was he dying, or just being tortured?

"I don't think I very much care for this game..." He gasped, his eyes fluttering while his vision blurred, before the darkness rushed up beneath him as he closed his eyes...

[The System thanks you for your participation in its game, and congratulates the Roller on his first Roll! The System has high hopes for the Chaos to come!]

And Tav awoke to Hell.

[Good luck! You'll need it!]

 

[TheCynicalPogo]

As Tav's eyes slammed open, the first thing that he noticed was the stench-an acrid, sulfuric stench that stung his nostrils as he breathed in and immediately began to choke, hacking up his lungs.

The second thing he noticed was that he was falling-!

His knees slammed against the floor with a squelch, and instantly Tav cringed. Floors weren't supposed to make that sound…

He cautiously opened one eye, slowly peering out at his surroundings, and immediately wishing he hadn't.

The room he stood in was otherworldly in the worst of ways. The walls, the floors-everything had a writhing fleshiness to itself that made his skin crawl, tentacles of all things just about everywhere, sliding down the walls, spreading out from the pod that he had just fallen from…gods, where was he? The last thing he remembered, he had been on his way to a tavern to ply his trade for the day and-

Running breathlessly through the streets as stone and rubble collapsed all around him, a single writhing limb smashing through the streets in its single-minded pursuit. He watched as other tentacles met their prey and they burst apart in a shower of ash, gone in an instant, and he pushed his legs to run harder, faster, all to get away-!

But he wasn't fast enough.

The brush of the tentacle against his back was almost disconcertingly gentle-but what wasn't gentle was the sudden rush as his stomach dropped and he was ripped apart and recombined. The streets of Baldur's Gate disappeared, replaced by tight walls of flesh that held him tight in their grasp. Wracked with nausea and fighting to keep his lunch down, he tried to struggle, to push himself out, but the outside world was separated from him by a layer of glass that wouldn't crack no matter how hard he tried to hit it.

And then he saw them-cold purple eyes devoid of warmth, of mercy, of even the idea of kindness and soul within their dark depths as a force squeezed down on his body, forced him to stare as the writhing worm launched itself forward, needle-like teeth spread wide-!

He gasped. He remembered now-he'd been kidnapped off the streets of Baldur's Gate by bloody Mind Flayers of all things! And not simply just one, but an entire…gods, what did you call a group of Mind Flayers on a flying squid ship? A herd? A murder?

Bah, that didn't matter-what mattered was that the boogeymen of Faerûn had kidnapped him and shoved a worm in his eye! He didn't…exactly know what that meant for his health, but surely if it was something those tentacled monsters wanted it couldn't be good for him!

By Mystra's tits he hoped things couldn't get any worse…

Grrrr…

Clack…

[6-6: Daily Rewards/May 2019 - A table of the rewards offered to daily players of Elder Scrolls: Online in the month of May 2019. With a Power of 6, Tav receives 1,000 golden Septims, added to his own money pouch!]

A low, almost feral growl resounded through the room, carrying over the crackling flames and an odd clink that might have drawn Tav's attention more if not for the growling creature behind him. He very slowly began to turn about, and for the briefest of moments the tension almost left his body when he realized it was at least a person behind him and not some sort of monster…

Before he looked closer at the person behind him anyways.

Standing in front of another Mind Flayer pod, clutching his head with both hands, was just about the tallest Dragonborn Tav had ever laid eyes on.

Clearly of a chromatic lineage, the Dragonborn had scales paler than snow-almost bone like even. When paired with the bulging muscles beneath those scales alongside the dark red flesh that Tav could make out in places where the white of his scales gave way to it, he cut an imposingly macabre albino figure in the fine dark robes decorated with gold that draped his form.

A form made only fiercer with the intimidating crown of seven pointed horns jutting out from the back of his head, and a clenched draconic snout filled with rows of terrifyingly sharp fangs ground tightly together that made Tav wonder if this man would even need a weapon to tear him to pieces.

If he hadn't looked to be having an even worse migraine than Tav's own, he might have already found himself running for…well, not the hills but somewhere in this blasted ship. Instead, he shakily got to his feet and cautiously asked, "Ah, er, you alright there friend? Not uh, not interested in eating me, are you?"

The Dragonborn's eyes flashed open-

Clack…

[7-12: King Cerberus - A giant three headed demonic hound, all Cerberus demons are bound to serve as guard dogs within the depths of the Underworld-but none are as strong as their king and progenitor, King Cerberus, whose three maws are filled with ice, fire, and lightning. With a Power of 12, King Cerberus appears healthy and free of his restraints upon the Nautiloid.]

The second he locked eyes with the orbs of blood-red fire that stared back at him, a chill ran down his spine at the sheer ferocity he saw hidden in the depths of that gaze while his face scrunched up in pain-before it disappeared in a single blink, so quickly that Tav was almost able to convince himself that it was just his imagination-the stress of the situation combined with the shaking of the Mind Flayer ship playing tricks on his mind.

Almost, anyways.

But as the Dragonborn straightened up, shaking his head with a wince, the intimidating aura he held seemed to fade, particularly as he spoke.

"Well, I'm as fine as I can be, given where we are. And decidedly not interested in eating you-you look rather…stringy." Tav and the Dragonborn both blinked at one another then-the Dragonborn as his eyes darted away, deep in thought, Tav for…well, for a few reasons.

The Dragonborn's voice was smooth like silk-a quality entirely unexpected, Tav would admit, even if his sense of humor seemed a bit dark. He'd expected something…harsh and guttural, a deep, growling tone that made children flee, but the Dragonborn, while having quite the fearsome physique, sounded...almost normal, perhaps even charming, and Tav relaxed…well, not too much, given the circumstances, but a fair bit.

"Ha, yes…gods your face is entirely too serious for a joke like that…" Tav muttered mostly to himself before he continued. "But yes, well, anybody who's fine after getting kidnapped by Mind Flayers I think has more problems than that."

The Dragonborn cracked a grin at that, flashing the gleaming whites of his fangs. "You haven't even noticed how bad it is, have you?"

Tav's heart sank. "I-no, I thought we'd reached rock bottom…" Or well, he had hoped so anyways.

"Come now, don't you smell the sulfur, hear the screeches?" Tav had, but he had been trying not to think about what they meant. The Dragonborn raised one hand, pointing out behind Tav towards the crackling flames at his back. "Just turn 'round and you'll get it."

There was a part of his instincts, the kind that you earned growing up in one of the poorer parts of Baldur's Gate, that said he ought not turn his back to a stranger…but well, the Dragonborn seemed decent enough so far. Just...scary.

And he wouldn't really be doing himself favors ignoring the situation. Tav turned-

"Oh bloody Hells."

"Hah! Quite literally…"

Through a hole in the mind flayer ship, Tav could see rolling thunder clouds high above, stretching over a vast field of blasted wasteland. Far, far below he could see flashing firelight, like little infernal stars upon the blackened ground, and moving, twisting through the air, dark shadows twisted about one another-and with a start, Tav realized that those weren't singular entities, but an entire cloud of swarming, screeching imps hungry for blood.

And if the hellish wastes and literal clouds of imps hadn't been evidence enough, the three monolithic pillars of stone suspended in the air above the wastelands, jagged, brutal runes carved into them which glowed with an infernal light, served as plenty indication of just where they were.

"I, are we in-"

"One of the Hells?" The Dragonborn chuckled once more, though this time the sound was far more grim. "Most assuredly. In the pod I saw some dragons chasing the nautiloid-once one of the things ripped that hole there anyways. I think it's probably Avernus-"

Suddenly, the ship-or nautiloid, as the Dragonborn had called it (Tav made a mental note to ask just how he knew what the ship was called later) dipped as a booming howl echoed, followed by an even louder crash as something exploded, and the entire ship shuddered, turning on its side-

"Oh, shit!"

Clack…

[11-17: Karugul - A Hive Wizard of Savathun's Brood that once made her lair within the Methane Flush beneath the Siren's Watch outpost on Titan, she was once hunted and soon killed by Guardians in the endless war against the Darkness, a bounty placed upon her by the Spider. With a Power of 17, Karugul is pulled from her lair, and is greatly enhanced, evolving to the form of a Brood Queen of the Hive, a variant of Hive Wizard who wields immense power and are capable of birthing entire legions of Hive Thralls.]

Gravity took hold, and suddenly Tav was falling backwards, tossed and flailing through the air as he scrambled for any handholds-and just barely snagged a shattered edge of the hole in the ship, the flames at the edge licking at him just beneath.

"Oh, bloody bloody bloody heeeeells-!" His grip was loose, barely clinging on as he swung his free hand, trying to get another grip to pull himself up. Tav saw the Dragonborn across the way, clinging to one of the pods, his sharp claws digging into it, but even he was struggling to hold on.

Another explosion shook the ship, and it shuddered once, twice-and began to tilt, swaying as it swung itself back, just barely righting itself and sending both Tav and the Dragonborn flying towards a far wall.

They both collided with a heavy thump, the Dragonborn slamming his back into the wall, Tav colliding into the Dragonborn himself, and they both fell to the floor in a groaning heap.

"Gods, this is just-we need to get out of here." Tav murmured as he pulled himself to his feet, and the Dragonborn nodded as he pushed himself up off the ground.

Tav brushed himself off-and then paused, a thought popping up in his head before he rushed off back to the pod he fell out of. Gods, he hoped it was still there…

"Please please please, last thing I need today is to lose-aha!" He exclaimed, and the Dragonborn stared quizzically as Tav rifled through the pod, pulling out first a small bag that he quickly attached to his hip, and a large lute.

The instrument was plain and simple, some might even say cheap, but also clearly well-used, the wood worn in spite of the clear care that it had been given over the long years it had been used, and Tav quickly swung it over his shoulder and on his back.

Off to the side, the Dragonborn raised a scaly brow. "A bard, eh? Guess that explains the stringiness…" Though as he spoke, he winced once again, his headache from earlier seemingly returning.

Tav rolled his eyes. So he was a bit lanky-not everyone could be muscle bound dragon men! Really, that migraine the Dragonborn seemed to have ought to just be karma. "Oh, ha ha. By that logic, should I assume you're a dumb brute who hits stuff very hard?"

The Dragonborn smirked, the ache in his brain momentarily forgotten, and snapped his fingers, a spark of flame briefly bursting to life. "Easier to burn my foes, I say…and-" The Dragonborn suddenly cut himself off, his brow crinkling as he raised his hand to his head once more. "Ugh…and I'm realizing I never got your name…" Though whether that was what he was originally going to say, Tav had no idea.

Tav grimaced in sympathy. His head didn't feel all too good either, but at least he didn't seem to be getting these pounding aches like the Dragonborn. "Name's Gustav, though friends call me Tav. And you…"

The Dragonborn paused, thinking for a moment. "My head's a mess, but…call me Durge."

Tav gave 'Durge' a flat look. "Really now? Could you try to be more naturally intimidating with a name like that?"

Durge barked out a laugh, quick and harsh as he shrugged. "Hah! We don't choose how we're born…" He trailed off then as the nautiloid shook once more. "But we ought to save pleasantries for later. Best get moving now, before one of those quakes sends us flying again-or worse."

Tav could not agree more-he'd give anything to get off this damn ship. There was just one issue…

"You know the way out?"

Durge nodded, pointing off to the side across the room…and Tav let out a long sigh.

The door (if you could even call it that ) was more like a wall of flesh, made up of six segments, interconnected with each other, and Tav cringed as he watched the meat twitch as he and Durge drew nearer.

"I know it's the only way out, but just…does it have to look like a giant asshole? Like, you see it as well, right?"

Gods he hoped this got him out of here…

---

Since the Nautiloid has a lot of stuff going on, I'm breaking the opening into bits rather than writing and posting one massive chapter all at once. As such, expect...well, we'll see how many parts the Nautiloid ends up being once I have it all written hahaha

Anyways though, people familiar with BG3 will notice something different here. Normally in the game, Tav wakes up alone. But here, he's made a perfectly normal friend with absolutely no dark secrets whatsoever! We'll be having fun with this lol

And as for the rolls,
1. May 2019 wasn't anything too crazy-just a nice windfall. May be useful if they ever reach civilization!
2. And then it starts getting a bit crazier. King Cerberus ain't nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure-and now he's rampaging on the nautiloid alongside the dragons the Githyanki are riding. Surely this can only go well!
3. Now what could be worse than a giant three headed fire, ice, and lightning breathing dog? Well, some might say a flying space zombie wizard capable of asexual reproduction that's part of a genocidal hivemind whose race's entire religion revolves around killing people to grow stronger because only the strong deserve to exist may be even worse. I'd say its more fun for everyone!

 

[TheCynicalPogo]

The architecture of the ship remained just as disturbing past the sphincter as it did in the room full of pods behind them. The next room was thankfully fully enclosed with high, arching walls besides the clear exit at the far end-a blessing after his near brush with death…if not for the gaps in the floor around the room that peered downwards into the bowels of the ship.

What Tav was even less thankful about however, was what was actually in the room. Flat tables were arrayed in nooks-and though most of them were filled with rubble and flames that licked at the organic walls, he could perhaps guess they had been full of operating tables, given the mutilated corpse atop one of Tav wrinkled his nose as the pungent odor of a decomposing goblin hit his nose.

"Ugh, as if this wasn't disgusting enough…" He muttered, before something caught his eye. Resting on the table beside the goblin was a strange stone slate. It looked to be similar to the stoneworks that were mixed in with the flesh of the ship, only darker, with strange white markings on it. Curious, he pushed down his disgust towards the dead goblin and reached toward the slate, picking it up from its place on the table.

"Gah!"

Clack…

[3-18: Lionize - A song that plays in the Volume 6 Adam Short, it is a song of hatred and rage against one's oppressors, characterizing the individual it was written for-Adam Taurus, the passionate and dangerously deranged former leader of the White Fang. With a Power of 18, the song is translated into a unique trait for Tav. When he finds himself fighting against those who would oppress and enslave others, Tav will gain an incredible boost to his strength, scaling based on how much rage and fury he holds in his heart towards the oppressor. Mercy and weakness will lead to a nullification of the trait. Watch your foes fall, and be glorified-lionized-as the hero!]

The tablet clattered against the floor as Tav's mind cringed beneath the sudden rush of information-accompanied by harsh, screaming notes that seemed filled with hate and anger straight in his ears that only exacerbated the pounding. In an instant he saw fact after fact rush through his brain-information about goblins and their culture, their religion, their…biology, all gleaned over centuries of cold-hearted, impassionate study and harvesting of minds by the Mind Flayers that had written (could you even say that?) the tablet he had held.

"By the Nine…" Tav groaned, rubbing his temple. That hurt.

"We probably should be careful about touching anything." Durge said behind him, and Tav shot the Dragonborn a sharp glare.

"You don't have to tell me-that thing told me far more about goblins than I ever wanted to know…" Admittedly, the information was already fading from his mind, the volume and density of it all too much for his brain to accept so quickly, but still-he had briefly known facts about goblins he never, ever wished to know.

There were more tablets as well, gathered up on a large, twisted desk-and on the off chance that there might be something useful, Durge and (reluctantly) Tav decided to check them.

Prepared for the rush of information this time, the different tablets hurt less and proved…interesting, certainly. One tablet forced a thousand year history of elves and humans flash behind Tav's eyes, in such a quick blink that he could barely discern what was actually covered, while another made world after world appear in such absurd succession that he had no way of counting them. The one's Durge checked proved…odder. One spoke of some unconnected anomaly and offered little else-and the other showed a nautiloid hurtling through space wreathed in strange energies as it ventured across the stars.

It was the last one that proved particularly strange however-the moment Tav touched it, his mind opened up, and spread out before his mind's eye he saw…the very ship they stood upon? But not just the ship, he realized-the tablet delved so much deeper, exploring the depths of the craft's make, how it was formed, how it functioned…

"I think I found a blueprint…" Tav muttered, eyes unfocused as he tried to focus his mind on the images the tablet sent, while Durge seemed to perk up.

"Does it show a way out of here?" Durge asked, and Tav tried to examine the schematics, to see if he couldn't find some sort of…lifeboat, or anything that might be a way off this shaking ship-but the keyword there was tried.

Tav was a bard, not an artificer or a wizard; he barely knew how normal ships worked, much less something as alien as the nautiloid. It was less a vessel and more a living being, with its own sinews and nerves that stretched about throughout its frame.

"No, it's all so…so strange and alien…I can barely make heads or tails…" And as another violent shudder ran through the ship, he certainly knew he didn't have time to waste trying to parse through this-

'I'm hereeeee…'

…what was that sound?

'Help us…'

There it was again! For a moment, Tav thought he might just be going insane, but his questions died in his throat as he looked at Durge and saw the Dragonborn glancing about as well.

"You hear that too?" Durge asked, and Tav nodded. It was a voice, a child's voice even, high-pitched, airy and almost innocent in its tone, but he swore he wasn't hearing it with his ears. Instead, something felt as if it was speaking directly into his mind-and in a den of Mind Flayers, that realization only made his skin crawl.

"I think…is it coming from up above?" Durge said, pointing to another nook on a higher platform in the room. It did at least sound like the plea was coming from that direction-if indeed it could be said that it had a direction to it at all given it was in their minds.

"I…I think you're right…" He then glanced back towards the tablet, brushing his fingers up against it once more-and snapped his fingers. "And based on these, that ought to get us up there!"

That was a pedestal in the center of the room atop a hanging platform of what looked like stretched carapace, beneath which the depths of the nautiloid glowed an eerie red. Much like the rest of the ship, the pedestal was similarly disconcertingly organic. It looked like a strange, and certainly squishy, sea creature of some kind-but according to the schematics, these kinds of growths functioned as buttons all throughout the nautiloid.

So after slipping the tablet into the pouch at his hip, Tav scrunched up his eyes and reached out to the button, Durge watching curiously behind him-

And at his touch, the platform they stood upon suddenly shuddered, sliding up the wall. "Hah! Knew it was a button!" He cheered-

And his cheers died in his throat the second he reached the top. The blood drained from his face as Tav grew pale, his eyes locked on the figure before him-the being that had been calling for help.

It was a man, an elf too judging by the pointed ears, lying in a spiny stone chair, angled so he was partly lying down-but his body was drenched in blood, soaked in sweat as he twitched and shuddered. And where the top of his head should be, Tav could…could…

"Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick…"

The elf's brain was fully exposed to the open air, the pink organ pulsating and quivering. But it wasn't that that made Tav feel so nauseous (or just that, anyways). It was the elf's eyes, flickering wildly in their sockets as his body lay limp, his mouth slack and drooling as if he had no control-and perhaps he didn't, with his brain near out of its container-that made Tav feel so ill.

Striding past Tav, Durge stepped up to the body, and as he drew closer, the voice returned once more.

'Yes! You've come to save us from this place, from this place you'll free us.' Now that they were closer, Tav noticed there was more to the childlike voice. Beneath that high pitched tone, there was something…deeper, a second voice overlapping with the first, creating an echo that made Tav's brain twist.

"How do we save you then?" Tav asked, his eyes locked on the elf-only for Durge to shake his head.

"That's not who is talking to us, Tav." The Dragonborn said, his expression grim and jaw clenched-his hands were shaking, Tav noticed, and he couldn't help but wonder what the Dragonborn had realized, to make him so furious.

Still, Tav quirked his head. "I-what else could be speaking to us-!"

'Please, before they return! They return…' The voice spoke, panicked-and Tav watched as the brain quivered in time with the voice's words.

A pit opened up in his gut. "I…no, how-that's his brain, not some…some separate creature!"

Durge only shook his head however. "It's not his anymore." He turned towards the twitching cerebral matter. "Isn't that right, intellect devourerer?"

'I am us, yes-a newborn-born new from this husk.' The voice stated the fact so plainly-as if the writhing body on the operating table didn't matter in the slightest. 'Free us from this body-from this case you'll free us. Please.'

Tav stepped forward, pushing down the bile and nausea he was feeling and locking eyes with the Dragonborn. "I-Durge, you seem to know what these things are-what can we do to help him?"

But Durge scoffed. "Help him? Unless you're a remarkably powerful cleric in secret there's nothing either of us can do to help this wretch here. The parasite they gave him's already full grown and ready to pop out. It's not his anymore."

"I…" That felt…wrong, so wrong on so many levels that it just made his skin crawl-but then Tav paused, eyes widening. "Wait, weren't we given parasites?!"

Durge chuckled darkly, and that laugh did little to assuage Tav's worries. "Hah, no…our parasites are much worse…"

Before he could explain though, the ship rocked as another explosion rang out, sending another vicious shudder through the nautiloid that had both Tav and Durge swaying on their feet.

"Grah!" Durge bit out as he bumped into a pillar. "We have no time for proper explanations-but if we make it out of here alive, we can talk more. For now, help me with this brain!"

"I-" Tav had many questions-how Durge seemed to know so much about the Mind Flayers, how he could feel so seemingly fine standing over this butchery-but he settled on just one. "...what are we doing with that brain?"

Durge responded simply-by placing his hands on the sides of the exposed brain, ignoring the moist fluids that coated his palms and the sickening squelch as he made contact. "We're getting it out."

"What-why?!"

Durge rolled his eyes. "Because, thrall," He emphasized the word, nodding to the brain. "This thing will likely lead us to our masters-I doubt they want to be in Hell anymore than we do."

It took a moment for Tav to realize what Durge meant-but then his eyes widened in comprehension, and he nodded grimly. He wanted them to pretend to be obedient little mind flayer drones, on the off chance that would lead them to a way off the ship. And well…it was certainly a better plan than anything Tav could come up with right now.

"Ok, just…what do you need me to do?"

"Just hold him steady while I pull."

"...ahh."

Tav stepped up timidly to the operating chair and laid his hands on the elf's shoulders-and suddenly, those eyes that had been moving around the room so quickly suddenly focused entirely on Tav. They were brown, Tav realized, brown and full of terror, and another wave of nausea washed over Tav.

This was wrong, so so wrong…but he had no other choice besides killing the brain out of spite. Tav had some healing skill-well, he could cast Healing Word, but Healing Word wouldn't bring back this man's skull. And spitefully killing the brain would only leave them adrift in this crumbling nautiloid with even less chance of escape.

That still didn't mean those wide brown eyes wouldn't haunt him for a good long while.

Clack…

[15-4: Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei - An Earth Beast Warrior card, Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei is a warrior who charges forth with defense in mind, swapping to Defense Position after he attacks. With a Power of 4, a heavily wounded Lei Lei appears on the Nautiloid, joining the chaotic fray of combat aboard the vessel.]

Durge planted one boot on the base of the chair, and with a great heave he pulled on the brain while Tav pulled against him-and with a sickening splash of cerebral fluid and blood that sent Tav's stomach into a twist, the brain ripped free of its cord, and the light in the nameless elf's eyes went dim.

"Oh, gods this poor man…" Tav muttered as he pulled away from the warm corpse, wiping his hands off on his jerkin. "This could have been us, if we'd been unlucky, couldn't it have…"

Silence followed, and Tav looked up to see the Dragonborn still holding the quivering brain in his hands, his deep red eyes focused intently on the…creature. He held the creature soft in his grip, but Tav could see his fingers twitching against the soft flesh…

"...Durge?" Tav asked warily, and that seemed to snap the Dragonborn out of whatever spell he'd been under-as well as snap the creature in his hands to attention. The brain wriggled and suddenly leapt from Durge's hands, falling to the floor with a squish, before suddenly growths began to protrude against the brain alongside boney spines and a group of wiggling tentacles.

With a loud tear of meat and the crunch of bone, four clawed limbs burst forth from the brain as the organ suddenly became a spined torso for the little beast that it had birthed.

'We are free. Our freedom is ours! Friends!' The intellect devourer spoke loudly, its voice sounding almost excited…and then it paused, as if listening to something far away-and something behind Tav's eyes, wriggling and squirming in his own brain, seized, focusing on the parasite-born creature on the ground.

His skull ached at the psychic resonance, and in the corner of his eye he could see Durge was in the same state, his eyes scrunched up, finger to his temple, while something just out of earshot (and perhaps blessedly so) communed with the monster they had just helped be born.

'We must go to the helm! At the helm we are needed…' The intellect devourer spoke, its voice first urgent then slow and calm.

"...what's at the helm?" Tav asked carefully-and suddenly that presence was back, communing with the devourer as it relayed your query back to its masters.

'Do you not hear it? We will not survive here…there are enemies, so many enemies, enemies we do not recognize and yet are so strong! We are needed to navigate-we are needed to leave this realm…'

Tav had so many more questions for the beast, but Durge stepped forward, shaking off the psychic ache. "Then lead us to the helm, creature. It sounds we must hurry."

'Yes! To the helm we go! We are going to the helm…' The devourer spoke, before scampering off ahead of the both of them.

Durge made to follow right away, but Tav grabbed his shoulder, holding the Dragonborn back a moment. "I…are you alright, Durge? You looked…unwell, holding that brain."

Durge tensed for a moment-before his shoulders went slack, and he let out a long sigh. "I…yes, it is…not every day you hold another being's brain in your hand." He ran a hand over his scaly brow. "I'm doing my best to focus on escaping, but…I think you'd agree this is a nightmare…"

Tav nodded at that. He certainly could agree-a part of him was still hoping he might simply wake up in bed at an inn, two empty bottles of wine on the nightstand to explain this awful experience and a cute girl or handsome guy in bed beside him.

"Yes, I…I just wanted to ask. We have to stick together if we wish to survive, after all."

At that, Durge smiled slightly, nodding, though the expression did little to remove the exhausted pallor from his features. "Yes, exactly. And speaking of, we best follow that devourer."

"Ah-yes, we can't let it get too far ahead!" Tav shouted, and turned to run off, as Durge shook his head, smiling.

If Tav had stopped for a moment, however, he would have seen how the smile dropped, a bone-deep weariness settling into the Dragonborn's bones as he rubbed at the bridge of his snout, his left hand clenched hard and shaking, before he followed right behind Tav.

---

Hope y'all don't mind the slow setup so far-next chapter is when the action will really start though! For now, a short chapter of meeting Us (tho he has gone unnamed so far) and just two more rolls, one of which, to my utter shock, is another song. I dunno how this is happening lmao

1. Lionize: It actually took me a hot minute to decide on this one's effects but I think what I got feels right. Just absolutely crazy to me that Tav keeps getting music rolls haha
2. Lei Lei...he's not much really, but he's got a high Yugioh attack stat and he's another monster thrown into the fray on the nautiloid-a fray we will properly see next update.

Hope you all enjoy so far!

 

[TheCynicalPogo]

Tav rushed down the ramp, trying to keep pace with the intellect devourer as it skittered across the fleshy floor of the nautiloid, Durge not far behind him. Yet as they ran, Tav quickly began to feel as if following the creature may have been a mistake-primarily because of the sight that he was met with as he followed it through an opening, out onto an open part of the nautiloid's deck.

Outside, the shrieks of the clouds of imps only grew louder as the nautiloid shook beneath the sickeningly gray skies of Avernus, and suddenly, overhead, a godsdamned dragon soared, great gouts of fire spurting from its fanged maw and pouring over the flesh of the nautiloid.

"Fuck me, are we ever going to get a break?!" Tav shouted as he took in the sight, all while two more dragons flew past, the group of them circling the foul vessel the group stood upon.

Tav's only answer however was the flash of steel in the light of dragonfire.

A figure leaped from overhead, their silverine armor glinting as they gracefully flipped downwards, landing right before Tav-and the figure was like nothing Tav had ever seen before.

Exotic didn't even begin to describe her in Tav's mind-she seemed downright alien. Her skin was a yellowish-green, with large black accents beneath ochre-colored eyes that Tav could not tell whether they were paint or part of her skin-marred only by several scars, the most prominent one being a straight line carved straight from her thin nose down to her lips. Even her pointed ears were unlike any Tav had seen before, ridged and pointed compared to the smoothness of elves he had seen in the past. Auburn, braided hair hung down to her shoulders, and while she was armored, the half-plate revealed enough of her body that Tav could tell she had a wiry, athletic build, lean muscles tensed beneath her skin.

She was beautiful, Tav would admit, or perhaps handsome was the better word, in the way a muscular, fearsome warrior would entice a man or woman or whomever lay in between. That certainly would have been his first thought-if not for the steel longsword she had leveled towards him, paired with the wild, vicious look in her eyes that promised blood and violence to all who caught that gaze.

"Abominations!" She shouted, her voice hard and harsh, a hint of fervor in her tone that matched that all-too-terrifying glint Tav had noticed. "This is your-"

Crash!

Clack…

[16-4: Mushroom Child - An adolescent Mushroom being hailing from Darkroot Garden, which was once Lost Oolacile, they are weak and normally passive, either unable to, or uninterested in, communicating with other beings. With a Power of 4, the Mushroom Child is heavily injured, though not yet dying, as it appears on the nautiloid.]

A large crash echoed as the nautiloid shook again, swaying so hard that not only Tav, but Durge, the strange mushroom creature that seemed to fall from nowhere (wait, what?), and the woman as well, were sent falling to the ground, Tav crashing into the woman, though thankfully not into her sword, as everything went to hell once more.

Further ahead down the nautiloid path they stood upon, a large, open deck stood, where imps grazed on the meat of fallen thralls. The tiny creatures died near instantly however as the wall ahead exploded outward in a burst of charred rubble and lightning as brawling beings burst forth from the bowels of the nautiloid.

The first that was sent flying was a large being that Tav almost mistook for a man, if not for the large, furred and pawed legs alongside the tail that jutted from his rear. The rest of the being was entirely hairless and rippling with muscles, covered up only by a breastplate and elbow pads, his skin littered in scars. He crashed into the nautiloid, crushing an imp beneath his bulk as he skidded across the deck, slamming up against a wall and breathing heavily from a number of gaping wounds.

Yet the creature that emerged from the opening in the wall, an opening which closed as rubble crumbled downwards, made the bulky man look like an ant.

It was a dog, clearly, but one from…well, quite simply from hell-and as such, its demonic appearance fit in quite nicely in Avernus. Instead of fur it had scales of brimstone, bright red light glowing beneath its flesh while large spikes nearly as large as Tav himself jutted from its spine.

It was its head that drew the greatest attention-or rather, heads. It had three slavering maws jutting from its neck, each one snapping and growling at the warrior that lay against the wall, nearly identical if not for the elements that wreathed each head. On the left, hellfire spilled from between yellowed fangs, while on the right purple lightning crackled, the scent of ozone filling the air and mixing with the sulfuric odor of the Hells. In the middle, the air seemed to freeze with every breath of the hound, icy winds billowing forth as frost coated its form, eyes aglow with blue light.

With just a glance Tav knew what he looked upon-what bard worth their salt could not recognize one of the most famous (or rather, infamous) demonic beasts in all of the Nine Hells, after all? It was a Cerberus, clearly, and yet its form was so unlike any Cerberus Tav had ever heard of, its size incomparable to all the legends, that for a moment he doubted the tales he had heard and memorized of Cerberi.
Especially when it began to speak, as Tav knew Cerberi could not speak-!

"You fight with strength, certainly, foul-scented creature…" The fire-wreathed head intoned, its rumbling voice echoing past the dragon cries and impish shrieks.

"Yet all falls before the might of the King of the Cerberus!" Lightning crackled with every word as this one spoke, its sentences punctuated by thunder.

"...but the scent of the Underworld is wrong, foul! You will return us to our home, to our post, or we will freeze the flesh from your bones!" The center head crackled as frost snapped and refroze within it, ice breaking and freezing with every movement of its body.

"…I…gah…I told you already, mighty beast, I, Lei-Lei, am innocent of these crimes you level towards me!" The warrior, still slumped against the wall, replied, his voice strained by his wounds, but despite the blood seeping down upon the nautiloid, Tav could see the warrior pushing himself up from where he lay.

"Yet if it is a fight you wish, I will not fall here! To give up is to shame all who would call themselves warriors!" His shoulder was slumped, one arm looking near-broken as he stood, but in spite of his injuries the warrior, Lei-Lei stood proud before the terrifying beast that towered over him.

Yet his foe was not intimidated by any noble speeches.

"All break in the end, and you will be the same before our might!" All three heads spoke as one, and with a fearsome howl, the Cerberus charged while Lei-Lei readied himself, dropping into a fighter's stance.

Tav, Durge, the intellect devourer, and the woman all watched, either awe, fright, or both running through each of them as they took in the scene with wide eyes, as two beings beyond their strength began to clash.

"Tsk'va! They block the way to the helm with their duel…" The woman cursed.

"Yeah…fuck that's a big dog…" Tav muttered from his place lying atop her, and the woman blinked as she registered Tav's presence-before promptly snarling and shoving him off. Tav yelped as he was tossed to the side, bouncing on the flesh of the nautiloid, while the woman shot to her feet, scrambling for her sword.

"Insolent cur! You dare-" She began to speak once again, yet suddenly she stopped, hand flying to her head while Tav's went on his own as something…strange happened. He could feel a dangling string that he wasn't aware of before, loose in the wind and stretching from his mind, suddenly latch itself to another string-and in an instant he was looking out at the world through ochre colored eyes-a dragon's wing rushed past amidst the glint of a silver sword-before he suddenly saw…his own face?

The connection snapped abruptly as both Tav and the woman-gith-Lae'zel(but how did he know that?) rubbed at their temples.

"I…did you feel that?" Tav asked as the headache he felt began to fade, and Lae'zel nodded back.

"Yes…we…I saw through your eyes as you saw through mine." She seemed to study him for a moment, judging, before she nodded to herself. "You are no ghaik-Vlaakith blesses me this day!" A bit of the fervor found its way back into her eyes as she spoke that name, one he was unfamiliar with yet sent a chill down his spine hearing it nonetheless. "Together, we might survive."

"I agree." Durge said, stepping forward as he pushed himself back up off the ground. "More numbers is our best chance of making it out of here-and you seem strong enough, gith." The dragonborn said, his eyes roaming up and down her body.

"Hmph-of course I do." She said, her thin nose turned up towards the dragonborn as she sneered at him. "Hopefully you will prove more useful than you seem with those diminutive scales. You look like a half-formed failure."

Tav goggled at the sheer rudeness on display, and even Durge seemed taken aback, stepping back slightly while his hand went to his snout. "Diminutive…? Now see here-"

"No, no, wait!" Tav shouted as he pushed himself to his feet, interjecting before Durge could set off the clearly volatile githyanki further. "W-we will make no progress if we stand here insulting one another! We need to focus on escape now!"

"The fleshy, stringy one speaks the truth…" Lae'zel muttered, though her tone made it clear it was begrudging while Tav did his best to ignore the insults she spoke so easily. "However, the way to the helm is barred by those two…" She jerked her thumb towards the warrior and beast, locked in battle, right as a burst of fire exploded up ahead upon the cramped deck while the warrior dodged just shy of the inferno. Her gaze then lowered, as she stared down at the intellect devourer, and shouted. "Creature! Is there another way to reach the helm?"

The intellect devourer, silent up until now, seemed to jerk before its attention slipped towards something distant once again. "That is the way to the helm. At the helm we are needed…" It muttered, and Lae'zel cursed while Tav's spirits drooped.

"So we must find a way past…that?" Tav sighed. "How are we to even…?"

"We run, obviously." Durge strode forward, and Lae'zel nodded, following behind him.

"Hmm, we are surprisingly of the same mind. The clear solution is to run as fast as you can past them-stragglers will be left behind."

"I-I'm sorry, what?!" Tav couldn't believe what he was hearing-especially from Durge! The Dragonborn had seemed sensible enough. Was he simply surrounded by crazy people instead?

"Are you hard of hearing, or simply as stupid as the rest of your kind, pale one?" She glanced towards the intellect devourer once again. "The way to the helm is up those platforms, correct?"

The devourer throbbed as it replied, "Yes! Yes! To the helm we go, friends!", and though Lae'zel wrinkled her nose in disgust at its words, she nodded nonetheless.

"Then our course is clear-follow if you wish to live, and are not a coward."

Tav's head ached as he glanced about, towards the Dragonborn, the gith, the monsters fighting ahead, and the dragons still circling about-this was all chaos, an utter nightmare, and-

Something soft and fleshy bumped into his leg, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. "Fuck!"

Clack…

[13-8: Faeryl - a dragon that lived on the Archylte Steppe in an unknown period of time, Faeryl monsters are known for devouring crystals that ignite the flames they breath from their stomachs-and this one in particular once accidentally consumed a Black Hole Gem, mistaking it for a normal crystal. With a Power of 8, the dragon is slightly bleeding and enraged from skirmishing with a hero of another realm.]

A squishy, fleshy mushroom stood beside Tav, the same one that he had half-noticed when the Cerberus had burst forth from the wall, its meaty stump of a hand tugging on his trousers-and now that he had a good look at it, it certainly looked worse for wear. Chunks of its white flesh were missing across its body, and part of its mushroom cap had been cut away, thick, yellowish slime drooling from the openings.

"I-where the hell did this thing come from?!" Tav screeched, and both Durge and Lae'zel turned back towards him, eyebrows raised.

"It must have fallen from an upper level-this vessel has passed through multiple realms in our time here, it must have been scooped up along the way." Durge said, and Tav paused. That…that sounded reasonable, but something about it sounded wrong to Tav. Had it really simply fallen from out of sight? He had thought it appeared from…

But no, that was insane, wasn't it?

"This…thing matters not anyways. It clearly can't run, even without those wounds. Just ignore it-we have no time for stragg-"

Rooooaaaaaar!

A fierce wall of sound suddenly collided with the group as a dragon roared above them, and they all turned towards it-yet the sight they saw was not one of the red dragons flying about. In the air, a black dragon, its scales as black as pitch, hung in the air, faint wounds visible from where they looked upon it while its great wings flapped, keeping it alight. Yet something wasn't quite right…

"Is that black dragon breathing…fire?"

Gouts of flame spilled from between the wounded beast's-yet that couldn't be right, could it? Everyone knew black dragons breathed acid that melted their prey into piles of goop.

More time could not be spent trying to figure that out, however, as the dragon's head shifted, and the group could tell in an instant that its beady red eyes were now focused on one thing-them.

"Oh, shit, we should run now!" Tav shouted, and made to do the same-if not for another tug at his trouser leg. The small mushroom thing looked up at him, tiny blue eyes locking with his own…and Tav groaned. He should leave that thing behind, he should just run as Durge and Lae'zel already were…

---

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Tav shouted, a bleeding mushroom thing held in his arms, while a roaring dragon beared down on him from behind and he ran towards the melee ahead.

The battle between Lei-Lei and the Cerberus had been fierce-large patches of fire blazed, snuffed only by the chill of the middle head, and Lei-Lei had clearly already taken more wounds upon his body, burn marks from fire and lightning, and patches of frost each taking up large parts of his skin while he panted-yet even wounded, he remained unbowed.

Both Cerberus and Lei-Lei paused, however, as they caught sight of the great black dragon barrelling towards them-and while King Cerberus paid no heed to the gnats running from the dragon, Lei-Lei's eyes widened as he saw little people charging forward-and was that a child in one of their arms?!

"Gods, why are you so heavyyyyyyy!" Tav groaned as he tried to catch up to Lae'zel and Durge-yet they moved far faster than him, the both of them unburdened and, admittedly, far more physically fit. "Did they really have to leave me behind?!"

Really, he should have left the mushroom behind as well, just as his 'allies' were leaving him in the dust as they ran (and skittered) forwards, but…but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Sure, he had never seen a thing like it before, so he could not be sure, but the tug at his ankle, its small size, those clear-blue, disturbingly human eyes…it was too child-like for him to not have the thought that it may, in fact, be a child-and what kind of adventurer could call themselves such whilst leaving a child behind in this nightmare?

He could not bring himself to do it. It…it would be wrong, too wrong for him to stomach, and even if it killed him, at least he wouldn't betray himself to survive…

[Colors Flying High Activated! Boosted Roll Incoming! Searching for the power to overcome…]

Clack…

[4-5 20!: Sandevistan - Some might call this a 'rudimentary' piece of cyberware, but everyone who isn't a gonk knows the Sandevistan is a game changer. Military-grade, the device speeds up the user's awareness to the point that time itself seems to slow, allowing for precise aiming, dodging, and attacking while you move so fast that the enemy can fail to even register you before you blow their brains out. With a Boosted Roll of 20, the Sandevistan is automatically installed in Tav's spine with no pain-and its model is unique, experimental, and frighteningly powerful-the tool of a Night City Legend. To be able to cope with the strain of using such a powerful device, Tav's natural resilience to the effects of cyberware is upgraded as well. Some might even say he's 'special' now…]

And then-

-the-​

-world-

-slowed-​

down…​

A green light seemed to wash itself over his vision, while his body almost seemed to blur, and wherever he looked, Tav could see the world sliding to a snail's crawl. The Cerberus's monstrous paws moved barely an inch, while the warrior froze mid-air as he seemed to leap towards the dragon behind Tav-and even that had slowed, pausing just behind him, its mouth open wide to show its large, sharp fangs as fire began to ignite in its throat.

It was all so…slow.

Tav found himself slowing, even, his pace moving to a placid walk as he turned, marveling at the frozen world around him. Tav could feel lightning coursing through his body, his nerves alight with more energy than he had ever felt before. He felt he could run ten marathons in an instant, fight off a hundred monsters and come out on top.

What in the Hells was happening to him?

Despite any confusion though, he certainly wouldn't be caught complaining. He stepped past the stopped paw of the Cerberus and around a patch of flame, walking beneath the dog, and already catching up to Durge, the devourer, and Lae'zel, who had ran like hell towards the wall that had been destroyed, taking a curve around the platform while gambling that the dragon would distract it from them-a correct gamble, given that they were almost to the platform and as yet unscathed.

Tav stopped at the bottom of the platform, setting the mushroom thing down as he stretched-and suddenly something beeped in his ear, and the world sped up in an instant.

Lei-Lei unfroze, flying through the air as he shouted, "Worry not, little people! Indomitable Lei-Lei shall face these foes for you!", colliding with the black dragon's snout, all while the creature thrashed as its eyes were obscured by furry legs and muscular limbs. The flame on its tongue burst forth as it roared once again, a wave of fire that crashed towards the King Cerberus-yet the King merely burst through the flames, all three heads growling as ice, fire, and lightning crackled before it pounced towards the dragon. It's bulk carried it forward, and it collided with the dragon, and in a mess of massive limbs and explosive energy, the dragon, Lei-Lei, and King Cerberus all went flying over the edge of the shaking nautiloid, the howls of all three beings echoing as they disappeared towards the ground of Avernus.

Durge and Lae'zel arrived at the platforms, breathing hard, and both of them goggled at Tav, who had sat waiting, staring at his own hands in awe, barely even noticing as the three oversized beasts went careening over the edge.

"How…how the hell did a weakling like you get here first?" Lae'zel asked as she caught her breath after her and Durge's rush past the monsters. They had both barely dodged past massive limbs and bursts of elemental fury, surviving solely due to the dragon at their backs being a far more eye-catching target than them. It had tested their physical aptitude to the limits…and yet this stringy bard was sitting there as if nothing had happened? Even that strange mushroom thing had survived, seated next to the bard and staring forward, seemingly unbothered by the situation.

Tav didn't respond however, still caught in the moment. That had been…words struggled to come to mind to describe that feeling, and he was still marveling at the…the exhilaration that had coursed through his body as he moved like a blur. He only snapped out of it as scaly fingers snapped in his face, and he blinked to look up at Durge's fiery eyes, the dragonborn's visage stern and…concerned?

"Tav…? Can you hear me?" Durge asked, and Tav shook his head, shaking away the fugue he had been caught in.

"I-yes, yes, I…I was just caught up in my mind. I…I don't know how, but everything seemed to just…just slow, and I was moving so fast-" Tav shook his head again, stopping himself. "I-nevermind, we can-we can figure this all out once we're not here anyways."

Durge still looked concerned, but rather than argue he nodded. "You're right-we must keep moving. Hells, the githyanki's already on her way up."

Tav turned, and yep-while they had been talking, Lae'zel had already begun to climb up the platforms, caring little for wasting time chattering when the nautiloid was still careening through the air, the devourer scurrying right on her heels. Durge and Tav both stood, Tav scooping the mushroom into his arms once more-but as Durge stepped past them, he paused, looking back towards where the three beasts had fallen off.

Strange dragons, strange Cerberi, strange warriors…strange mushrooms, even, as he glanced at the wounded creature he held.

This situation was already strange, certainly-few could ever claim to have been captured by Mind Flayers and taken on a dangerous joy ride through the Hells, after all. Yet what he was seeing was even…stranger. Something…something was happening, beyond this whole mess he'd been caught in, Tav could feel it in his bones…

But the time for questions would have to come later, when he was safe and far away from any devils or mind flayers, or anything else trying to kill him.

For now, he had to keep moving, if he wanted to ever figure out what the Hells was going on.

 

[Whenyouseeyou]

Oh boy this is going swell

 

[M0rtimer]

It's very well and interestingly written, I'm watched.

 

[leo1811]

good shite so far gl to you

 

[Ggefg]

Pretty good, watched.