Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General The Afflicted

Introduction

Kaedyn strode along the road. His mind was elsewhere. He had no idea where Tyr was leading him, and he frankly didn't care. He was free of the Church. He was free of the temple leaders who he had discovered were abusing their power. They were hypocrites; all of them. They told others how to be holy, but they were not living the life themselves.

"They didn't like me anyway," he told himself audibly. "Prejudiced, arrogant monsters. That's all they are. They treated me like a slave my whole life while other acolytes were treated like sons and daughters. At least I know Tyr is not that way. You can't blame the god for the behavior of the followers."

"I wonder what Drow are ACTUALLY like," he continued with his monologue. As he said this, he ran his charcoal colored fingers through his dusty blonde hair. He liked to part it down the middle and let his straight locks feather around his pointy ears. "They can't be as bad as people say. I mean, every race has wicked people. You can't tell me humans are any better."

He considered this a moment. He didn't really know much about his heritage. He had been left at the monastery of Tyr by his human father when he was very young. The priests had told him that his father had sprouted off some sort of tale about being the slave of a Drow woman. She had become pregnant by him in secret, and she must have cared about him and Kaedyn both. Apparently, she died helping them escape the Underdark. His father was an adventurer and he didn't want Kaedyn raised in normal society. After all, being Half-Drow would likely mean he'd be horribly rejected by most. He was sure it would be different with the Tyrites.

It wasn't. Kaedyn was always an outcast. Nevertheless, he firmly believed in Tyr and his ways. He believed that by helping others and fighting for justice, he was rising above his circumstances. He would win justice for himself by serving. One day, people would see that just because you were part Drow, or whatever, it didn't mean you were a certain way. "A person CHOOSES their own destiny," he muttered. "Their destiny is not fated to them just because of who their parents were."

A sharp, crackling noise suddenly interrupted his thoughts. Turning back in the direction of the sound, he looked up to see a flying ship descending out of the sky. Massive tentacles stretched out from it. "What in the Hells?" Kaedyn said, utterly stunned into inaction. It looked like a giant squid in the sky, and it was coming in his direction.

All at once, Kaedyn realized that he was in danger. He turned and began to flee. It was now looming over him. It was speeding across the sky so fast. Kaedyn's heart was pounding in his ears as he pumped his legs hard. Then, all at once, one of the tentacles swooped down. He barely caught sight of it just before it struck.

An instant later, he was in some sort of pod. He was trapped. He couldn't move. His mace at his right hip dug into his leg. His shield on his back was wedged tightly between the pod's walls. He struggled to worm his way free. It was no use. Something was gripping his wrists. Then, all at once, a hissing sound filled the chamber, and the sweet embrace of slumber wrapped itself around him.

Not long after this, deep in the Underdark, Vexir crouched in a dark recess as she observed her prey. She was at the bottom of a massive underground chasm filled with stalactites and stalagmites. They were like the massive teeth of a titan predator. Below her position, a group of goblins wound their way along. They had the markings of some new goddess on their shields and armor. Vexir had been sent with a unit of her best warriors by her mother to investigate. Well, that was not entirely true. Vexir had volunteered to go. She wanted to know if this new goddess was a threat to Lloth.

She glanced back at her unit and made a few gestures to indicate that she was about to lead the ambush. They would butcher them, eventually, but first they would keep as many alive as they could for interrogation. Several Drow had reportedly abandoned their faith in the Spider Queen, and this heresy needed to be put down immediately. Lloth would not stand for it. It was Vexir's duty to get to the root of the problem.

But she never got the chance. There was a snapping, crackling sound that thundered through the Underdark. A giant air ship drew everyone's attention. It smashed into several stalactites as it catapulted through the caverns. Boulders rained down on everything below. Instantly, the goblins fled back up the path. Before anyone could react, they were gone.

Vexir stood, as did her unit. They observed the vessel as if a beholder had just turned them to stone. It was coming right for them. In fear, her unit fled a moment later. She could hear them vanishing behind her. She drew her greataxe as if that would somehow help her against the mammoth, living nautiloid. A moment later, a tentacle came for her. She swung at it and then was gone.

"Why did I not run like the others?" she asked herself as unconsciousness took her. She received no answer. How can anyone ever explain why they do what they do during such situations?

Meanwhile, Ryth-Shan crouched at the top of a ridge. He was camouflaged by the bushes and trees around him. Below, a deer was quietly lapping at a gentle brook. The Githyanki Ranger pulled back on the string of his long bow. His turquoise-colored hair was spun into six tight braids that joined together at the base of his skull. These rested over a mostly shaved scalp. Many brown markings dotted his face on either side of his eyes, and he had a few turquoise tattoos on his chin that matched his hair color.

Well, that was not entirely true. It wasn't that the tattoos matched his hair color, per se. The truth was that his eyes were turquoise and he dyed his hair to match his eyes. The tattoos were runes of some sort that meant something to him, and he had them done in the same color because he thought it complemented his appearance rather well.

Not that he was particularly into his appearance. Ryth-Shan cared little what others thought of him. He was used to being alone with the animals in the woods. He cared more about them than people; for the most part. He had been hatched in a secret creche within the Wood of Sharp Teeth. He was only about six when the creche was discovered and utterly laid to waste by ghaik - Mind Flayers. How they had discovered his original home, he did not know, but it mattered little. From that day on, he had been forced to survive in the wilds.

He loosed the string. The deer died with one, clean shot. He was glad. He killed for meat, and he hated when his targets suffered. A few minutes after, he was hunkered over the kill, skinning and carving it with a knife. "Silvanus' blessings upon you," he remarked softly as he did his work. "Thank you for your unwilling sacrifice."

This was interrupted by a crackling explosion. Startled, he jumped to his feet and looked around. "A nautiloid!" he cried a moment later, for he saw it in the sky almost directly above him. He had only seen a ship like it once in his life. It was on the day his creche had been destroyed. "Ghaik!" Then he left his kill to try to find a hiding place somewhere in the woods.

It did him no good. Before he had gone very far, one of the massive tentacles swooped down. Ryth-Shan barely glanced back in time to see it coming at him. He tried to dive and roll away to escape, but it was no good. He was utterly disoriented when he found himself trapped inside a pod. Panic gripped him, but it vanished as a gas rendered him unconscious.

Prologue - Part 1

Kaedyn dreamed. The door to a dark chamber opened. A Mind Flayer glided within. There were several pods. He couldn't really see within the glass. A pedestal stood in the center of the circular room. It looked almost like an unopened flower made out of the shell of some crustacean.

The Mind Flayer came to the pedestal and waved his long-nailed hand over it. The flower opened. Within, a glowing pool bathed light all around the chamber. Tiny tadpoles swam around within. There was something about those little creatures. Kaedyn found that he both loved them and feared them at the same time. He wracked his brain, but nothing came to mind as to why they would produce such anxiety in him. He could just somehow sense that their intent and purpose was not good; for him.

The Mind Flayer dipped his hand into the pool and pulled out one of the wigglers. Then he turned towards a pod not too far from the Half-Drow. Slowly, the dream faded in and out. He was partly in his own body and partly watching the scene as if hovering freely in the chamber. The Mind Flayer floated over to the pod. There was a Githyanki woman inside. She was conscious and struggling to escape.

The Mind Flayer casually stretched out his hand and she froze. It was obvious that his psionic powers were holding her fast. She stared at him in barely controlled terror. He seemed almost as if he didn't notice her. Without hesitation, he placed the tadpole on her cheek. It crawled up, and much to Kaedyn's horror, it dove under her eyelid and vanished. The Gith growled in pain and fell unconscious. Then the Mind Flayer closed her pod with a wave of his hand.

Then he turned towards Kaedyn, sensing that he was awake. Kaedyn's pulse quickened. He started to breathe more rapidly. He couldn't think. He was too dazed and confused. He tried to struggle as fear clutched at his windpipe; its icicle, skeletal hands threatening to choke the life out of him. The Mind Flayer glided to the pool and snatched up another tadpole. Then, without pausing, he came over to Kaedyn and held the creature right in front of his eye. The last thing he remembered at that time was the tadpole jerking its "face" up in front of his vision. It bared its teeth and tendrils just before plunging into his eye.

"Who are you?" a strange feminine voice asked.

In a flash, Kaedyn's entire self flashed before his eyes. He was a 1.8 meter tall Half-Drow Cleric of Tyr. He was kind-hearted, and he always enjoyed a good laugh. He loved to help others, but unfortunately his lineage got in the way a lot. Sometimes, he got too carried away with helping people, and he often trusted others a bit too much.

He had dusty blonde hair and purple eyes. On his left cheek he had a dragon tattoo that was a soft blue. It almost glowed when the lighting hit it just right. His pointy ears barely stuck out past his straight locks, and he probably could have hidden his heritage if not for the fact that his skin was as dark as night.

As a Cleric, Kaedyn focused on the Life Domain. He knew Guidance, Sacred Flame, Sparing the Dying, Bless, Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word and Shield of Faith. He carried on his person a mace, shield and light crossbow. He wore chain mail and had in his pack a Prayer Book, Stick of Incense and Vestment. Under his armor he wore his normal street clothes and a Holy Symbol amulet of Tyr. He was knowledgeable in history, religion and medicine and was good at persuading, at investigating and was rather insightful at times.

"Who do you dream of at night?" the voice asked again. He was taken aback.

Instantly, the image of a human female came to his mind. She had long, black, wavy hair and crystal blue eyes. She was unbelievably beautiful; the most amazing being he'd ever seen. Her expression was warm and friendly. She was like a goddess of love and grace and elegance. He found himself instantly enamoured by her as her eyes met his. He barely remembered the gown she was wearing. It was something soft and silky, and she had golden bracelets and earrings and other jewelry. He didn't even really care what. All he could see was her.

Vexir was also in the chamber. Shortly after the Mind Flayer had placed the tadpole in Kaedyn's eye, he turned towards her. She was next. She had the same experience as those before her. Suddenly, her life flashed before her eyes as the voice spoke, "Who are you?"

She was 1.7 meters tall. She was a Drow Fighter, a Soldier of Lloth. She was strong and a no-nonsense kind of woman. She hated displays of weakness, and she hated failure; both her own and that of others. She was trying desperately to live up to her mother's expectations. Her mother was a Matron, and her father was a top ranking captain.

But deep down inside, though she put on a hard exterior, Vexir had a very sizeable flaw. She was just a bit soft-hearted. She didn't always approve of the overall lifestyle her people lived. She didn't like the idea of having a mate here or there to suit her whims. She didn't like fighting to prove herself over and over again. Though she was good at torturing people, she didn't enjoy it. She did these things because she wanted to drive that weak part of herself out. Nevertheless, she couldn't. It always remained no matter what she did to kill it.

As for her appearance, she had long, white, straight hair parted diagonally to the left and pulled back into a low ponytail. The end of the ponytail flared outward, almost as if it was a puff ball. A single strand hung loose near each ear as if framing her face. She had a hard expression more often than not with red eyes that were piercing and blazing like a fire.

She wore chain mail armor and carried a greataxe, usually on her back, with a longsword at her left hip. At her right hip was a quiver of bolts, and she wore a light crossbow on her back next to her greataxe's sheath. In her pack was a broken blade from an orc chieftain she'd killed some years back and a set of bone dice. She was intimidating, athletic and acrobatic, perceptive and skilled at survival.

Then she was asked, "Who do you dream of at night?" She was surprised by the question. She typically did not dream of anyone in particular. Romance was not something she generally thought about. A Drow male, strong and powerful looking, appeared before her. He was quite handsome with intelligent, red eyes. His white hair seemed to flow behind him as if carried on the wind. He sent chills through her. She immediately had desires coursing through her. She wanted him to dominate her. She wanted him to be stronger than her. No. That wasn't quite right. She wanted to wrestle with him for dominance. She wanted to compete to see who could rule over the other.

She was immensely intrigued. Who was he? Was he real? What was he like? Why was this happening? What did this mean?

Then it was Ryth-Shan's turn. As the Mind Flayer came within range of his pod, the Gith took the opportunity to spit in his face. The Mind Flayer was not at all pleased. Viciously, he slammed Ryth-Shan's head against the wall of the pod and then held him fast as the tadpole crawled up into his brain.

"Who are you?"

He was a two meter tall, one hundred kilogram Githyanki who was quite atypical. He did not serve Vlaakith. He honored Silvanus instead. He was a sarcastic smart-butt who loved animals and nature. He played the lute, was skilled at thieves tools, spoke Common, Gith, Ghaik and, of all things, Drow - for he had met a Drow druid once upon a time during his wanderings and he had taught Ryth-Shan the language - he was skilled with animal handling and survival, was perceptive and stealthy, and he was quite athletic. He wore a suite of scale mail armor, wielded two short swords, one on each hip, and his favored weapon was his longbow. He often carried a walking stick, though that was gone now after the abduction, and in his pack he had a hunting trap and a fine set of deer antlers from a buck he'd killed just a few months ago.

"Who do you dream of at night?" filled his head next. Stubbornly, Ryth-Shan fought against this. Whatever was happening, he didn't want any part of it. He tried to imagine something truly hideous. What was the worst thing he could think of? And so, at first, a Ghaik appeared before him. They were, in his mind, the worst beings imaginable. They were his favored enemies. He imagined it as if it was a female version of the species with ridiculously large breasts and wide hips. It was a repulsive sight to be sure. It wound up looking like a mix between a female ogre and a bloated Mind Flayer.

But then, something seemed to recognize that he was resisting. It pushed past his stubbornness and delved deep into his psyche. The nasty Ogre-Ghaik image vanished, and a gorgeous Githyanki female replaced it. She had black hair and bright black eyes. Her skin was rough and leathery and stunningly yellow. Her ears were like his, pointed and serrated in the back side. Indeed, she was everything that he longed for. She was everything that he wanted.

The dreams then shifted for all three. They were experiencing what their captors were experiencing. The head Mind Flayer who had just infected them floated out of the chamber. Then he was controlling the nautiloid as it dropped into yet another realm of existence. It descended over a highly populated city. There was a guard in a watch tower who quickly ran to sound the alarm. People in the streets were running everywhere to try to escape. A tentacle from the ship descended upon the watchtower and utterly crumbled it to ruin.

Then the tentacles were unleashed upon the citizens. Over and over again, people were snatched up and teleported into pods aboard the vessel. Dozens and dozens disappeared in black clouds of smoke as the tentacles touched them.

Then portals tore into the fabric of reality, and red dragons appeared in the skies. Riding on their backs were Githyanki warriors, Kith'raks, Vlaakith's elite knights. They swarmed the nautiloid and violently tore into it. The Mind Flayer Captain at the helm counter-attacked. One of the Kith'rak males was knocked free from his mount. He glided through the sky towards a swiftly approaching river. At the last second, his mount caught him and carried him back towards the battle.

Then one dragon landed atop the ship and breached the hull. A moment later, he breathed fire within. As a result, the ship lurched. The Mind Flayer Captain connected two of the "cables" for the transponder and plucked them like the string of an instrument. The nautiloid then escaped by porting to another realm. There were many ridges and canyons riddled with snow.

The dragons and Githyanki followed. They were Hells-bent on taking this ship down. Nothing would stop them until it was gone. As the ship bounced off of canyon walls, sending chunks of rock and debris everywhere, a gaping hole was torn into the portside aft underbelly. Then one of the dragons landed and stuck his head into the very chamber that Kaedyn, Vexir, Ryth-Shan and the Githyanki female were. He breathed fire right onto the glowing pool of tadpoles.

At the same time, Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan saw that the Githyanki female was awake and struggling to get free. As she saw the red dragon breathe upon the pool, the flames belched throughout the room. The Mind Flayer Captain fought to escape the attack. He plucked the string again on the transponder just as the red dragon attacker leaped into the air. The nautiloid was gone from that place, and the blazing landscape of Avernus became the reality that they were catapulted into.

All around, a war was being fought between devils. The heat was unimaginable. The Githyanki female was freed from her pod. The damage the dragon's flames had done must have been enough for her to escape. She fell and looked up at Kaedyn as if somehow feeling a connection with him. Then she pushed this aside and staggered to the gaping hole in the ship's portside. As she stared out at the scene, fear consumed her. Imps and demons had noticed the invading vessel, and they were joining the dragons in the chaotic assault.

Then all went black. The pods released them. Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan felt themselves tumble out of their prisons. They hit the floor hard. Someone or some-THING had given the command for the pods to let them go. They were needed, but by whom? It didn't matter. Consciousness began to return. They picked themselves up from the floor and began to look around.

"Oh my head!" Kaedyn replied as he shook himself. "Where am I?" All around, the chamber was ablaze with the remnants of dragon fire. Before he could really take in his surroundings, the pool of tadpoles exploded, and the light died instantly. Nasty fluid sprayed over the floor at his feet.

It was then that the three noticed one another. They were the only three left standing in the chamber. Nearby, a mind flayer lay dead on the floor, closer to Ryth-Shan's broken pod. A thrall of some kind was horribly burned to death on an upper platform. Other pods in the chamber were not open and were sparking with magical energy. Those who had been inside were blackened and charred. They must have died from the blast.

Kaedyn looked over at Vexir who was standing in front of her pod just to his right. She looked over at him at the same time. He was about to say something, but she took command of the situation. "Well. Don't just stand there. Search the room," she commanded. "See if you can find anything useful." Then she made eye contact with Ryth-Shan. "And you. Search the mind flayer near you and that upper platform. We obviously need to work together if we have any hope of surviving."

Kaedyn's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he decided that arguing would not help the situation. Let her be the one to take charge. Someone needed to. As long as she didn't order him to do something stupid or something he didn't agree with, why fight it?

Ryth-Shan was of the same mind. His right eyebrow raised as if he was merely amused by her. He thought of a retort but decided against it. She might just get mad and attack him. He wasn't sure. He had only known one Drow before in his life, and he had been a good friend. However, because of this friend, Ryth-Shan understood that Drow were generally not nice people.

With the three of them working together, they quickly searched the room. Collectively, they found six health potions, six revivify scrolls, a potion of speed, and approximately thirty gold pieces. Their packs had been jammed into their pods with them, so they had all of their own personal belongings as well. Once the search was through, they gathered near the room's only available exit.

"Well," said Ryth-Shan with a smug grin, "shall we at least exchange names, or would you like me to just call you Drow 1 and Drow 2?"

Kaedyn chuckled. "I'm Kaedyn, Cleric of Tyr. Pleasure to..."

"Vexir." She cut him off sharply. "Now let's get moving."

"I'm Ryth-Shan, if you care to know," he said, but she was already making her way through the strange, membranous door.

"Fine," said Vexir over her shoulder. She had her greataxe out and was already into the next chamber.

Ryth-Shan and Kaedyn exchanged glances with one another. "Should be interesting, if nothing else," the Githyanki said.

Kaedyn chuckled again. "She's right, though. We definitely need to work together if we hope to survive." And then, he ran to catch up.

Ryth-Shan sighed as he watched him disappear into the next chamber. "Well. At least I might get a chance to kill some Ghaik." Then, without further hesitation, he joined them in the larger chamber beyond.

Great read! <3 Well written!

Thank you.

is this what people call fan fiction?

yes. That is exactly what this is. For fun, I wanted to share my 3 custom character story. So this is based on me creating 3 custom characters using multi-player to put them all in the same party.

I also created all three using tabletop rules to see what the differences would be in gameplay. So I played the BG3 video game with them and then used tabletop to test the gameplay if they actually implemented 5e rules.

Looking forward to doing the same! (Not gonna share it here though c: ) - but I need sorcerer and paladin class first to get my full party gathered!

I have everything from complete backstory to personality already documented and stashed away, now I am just eagerly waiting to be able to play it out

Prologue - Part 2

Vexir was the first to enter the chamber beyond. Immediately, she noticed a couple of dead imps nearby. She rushed to examine them. "Imps," she commented as Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan joined her. "Are we in the Hells?"

Kaedyn then noticed the blazing light pouring in from the other side. "Looks like it," he muttered in response. Even as he stared, several more imps flew past. There was a knot in his stomach the size of a fist.

"Anyone have any ideas how to get back to Faerun?" Ryth-Shan asked. He was trying to mask his fear with humor. "I mean. I've always thought it might be fun to visit other realms and all, but..."

Vexir shot him a sharp look. "Like before. Look around. See what we can..."

"Help us!" they suddenly heard. All three froze. "We are here. Help us! We are trapped." It sounded like a strange female's voice.

"What in all the realms is that?" asked Ryth-Shan.

"Sounds like someone in trouble," Kaedyn replied. "I think it came from up there." He pointed to a platform to their left.

All characters made an Arcana skill check to see if they knew how to get to the upper platform. Because Gith are more familiar with Mind Flayers, Ryth-Shan's difficulty was lower; only a 10. Ryth-Shan also had selected Aberrations as his Favored Enemies, and since Mind Flayers were Aberrations, he gained Advantage on the roll. The difficulty for both Vexir and Kaedyn was 15 with no advantage. Kaedyn rolled a 7 with no bonus for skill. Vexir rolled a 9 with no bonus for skill. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2 and a 15 with no bonus for skill. Ryth-Shan succeeded.

"That's a lift device," Ryth-Shan pointed out. "The strange pedestal is the control mechanism. Press the weird eye-like button in the center."

"You familiar with all this?" asked Kaedyn.

Ryth-Shan grinned. "We are in a Ghaik vessel," he informed them. "Mind Flayers, I mean. They are the enemies of my people. I have studied them at length."

"You two investigate," Vexir ordered them. "I'll sweep the lower level here for anything useful."

"Agreed," said Kaedyn.

"We'll scream real loud-like if we're dying," Ryth-Shan said with a smirk.

Vexir gave him a dirty look but said nothing. She was already searching the imps and thralls in the room for valuables. She found a few more healing potions, some gold, and a crossbow. "Better take what I can carry," she muttered to herself. "Who knows when I'll be able to get back to the Underdark."

Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan hurried to the platform and the Githyanki pressed the switch. Immediately, the lift made a grinding sound and carried them up to the upper level. As they arrived, they spotted a gruesome scene. There were dead bodies around and brains in jars. In a chair, tilted back, there was a man with no shirt on and blood all over him. They could see his face which was wracked with pain. He was twitching.

Both men came around to the side of the person, gingerly stepping as if they were sneaking around behind him to avoid detection. When they saw his cranium, and the EXPOSED BRAIN, both grimaced in horror. "What the...?" asked Kaedyn in disgust. The smell was beyond repugnant. Ryth-Shan was speechless for several moments.

The exposed brain, and mouth of the man it was attached to, both spoke in unison. "Yes! You've come to free us from this place. From this place, you'll free us. Quickly! Before they return. They return..."

Both Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan made a Nature roll. Again, since Ryth-Shan was more familiar with Mind Flayers and their minions, his roll was 10 or higher with advantage. Kaedyn's was 15. Kaedyn rolled a 14.

"What is this thing?" he asked, still displaying his regret for investigating the voice.

Ryth-Shan rolled an 8 and 11. "It's an Intellect Devourer; a minion of the Mind Flayers. We should kill it."

Suddenly, the brain cried out. "No! You mustn't! We are needed at the helm. At the helm, we are needed. All of us. Can't you hear it? They are calling us. I am a newborn. Born new from this husk. Please hurry! Free us quickly. You must free us."

Ryth-Shan didn't wait for Kaedyn to respond. Instead, he drew his shortswords and stabbed. Blood spewed everywhere as the Intellect Devourer squealed in agony. The body of the man it was attached to jerked and strained violently as he died. Then they grew very still as Ryth-Shan withdrew his weapons.

Kaedyn stared at him in shock. The Githyanki seemed completely unaffected. He wiped the blood off of his face and hands with a cloth from his pack. "Intellect Devourers are extremely dangerous," he explained. "NEVER let one live. The host it was born from was already dead. It was controlling him."

Kaedyn wiped himself off with a cloth from his own pack. "How... vile!" he remarked, for he didn't know what else to say. "Tyr preserve us!"

"Let's take a quick look around and get out of here," Ryth-Shan advised. "By now, Vexir has probably already swept the entire first floor.

Indeed, she had. After searching the bodies, she found a few desks with some strange tomes and other Mind Flayer oddities. One such treasure was a set of magical pockets. As she picked one up, it flew from her fingers with a sparkle of white lights. Then it attached itself to her left hip. A strange aura encompassed her, and all of her gear vanished.

At first, she was alarmed. The only things she had left, as far as she could tell, were what she had equipped. This was her chain mail armor and her greataxe which she held in her hands. Her longsword and crossbow were gone, and so was her pack and everything in it.

But then she noticed the pocket. As she opened it, she saw her inventory as if it had been turned into tiny figurines. She sighed with relief. "Ah," she said. "It's like a bag of holding. What a strange version of it! This must be a new Mind Flayer invention. Well, there are three more here. I'll take these and give them to the others. Looks like we'll at least have to rely on one another for a time. Best if we are all travelling less encumbered."

They were just descending from the upper platform when she approached. "We found only a few more things up there that can help," Kaedyn informed her. "At least we acquired another speed potion and a few more gold coins."

"I found these," Vexir said, and she held them out for the two to take. "They're some sort of magic pockets, like bags of holding. They immediately attach themselves to your hip pants and..."

Both men grabbed one each, and they instantly flew to their left hips, just Vexir's had. They jumped in fright. Like her, all of their gear vanished except what they were wearing or what they had in their hands. Since neither were carrying their weapons at that moment, neither was armed.

"What the...!" Ryth-Shan cried, and he looked at Vexir as if she had just betrayed them.

Vexir barked, "I was trying to tell you. Relax. It's all in the pockets." She then opened her own. "Look in yours. See? I..."

Then she noticed that she had more items in her pocket. "What the..." Not it was her turn to be stunned.

The men looked into their own pockets as well. "That's way more gear than I was carrying," said Kaedyn. "I don't have a longsword or..."

"All of our gear is lumped together as if in one place," Vexir deduced. "Hells!"

Ryth-Shan chuckled. "I guess we can't rip one another off, now can we? We'll have to learn to trust each other."

Vexir once more shot him a dirty look. "I am not a thief," she said with disdain.

"Nor am I," said Ryth-Shan. "Relax. I was only kidding. You are too easily upset."

Kaedyn reached in and grabbed the longsword. When he pulled it out, Vexir looked upset. But the Cleric of Tyr had no intention of stealing anything. He was merely testing out the pockets. "Do you still have a longsword in your pocket?" he asked.

She examined hers, as did Ryth-Shan. "No," she replied.

Ryth-Shan also shook his head. "Nice. Looks like we'll have to communicate with one another to avoid grabbing for the same resource." The others were thinking the same thing.

"Well," said Vexir after a moment. "We have wasted enough time here. Let's get moving." Then she led the way as she bolted for the gaping, flaming hole in the side of the ship.

"She is not one to mince words," said Ryth-Shan as he followed her.

"No," said Kaedyn as he put the sword back in his magic pocket and joined him. "No, she sure is not."

Prologue - Part 3

Vexir ran out onto the edge of the nautiloid. All around her, the flames still licked at the portside underbelly where the dragon had smashed into it. Avernus rushed by. Her attention was drawn to the battles occurring on every side. Demons were battling one another for supremacy. Most, thankfully, did not even regard the wounded flying ship as it catapulted through their domain. They were content on the slaughter in front of them.

To her right, part of the walkway she was on had been destroyed. She assessed that she could make it if she did a running jump. Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan joined her then, evaluating their circumstances as well. She was just about to take off running for the gap when a red dragon dove past her with imps trailing behind.

All three of their hearts skipped several beats. "Blazing Hells!" Kaedyn cursed.

Vexir was thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to admit it. Therefore, she snapped, "Stay focused. Our only way is across this platform." Then she ran and jumped across. The difficulty of the jump was a 10. She had proficiency in Athletics, giving her a +4. She only needed a 6 or higher. She rolled an 8. Success. Vexir ran and jumped across without issue, deftly landing on the other side without so much as breaking a sweat.

Ryth-Shan didn't hesitate, and he jumped next. He also had proficiency, thus giving him a +4. He rolled a 17 and landed even more gracefully than Vexir. Kaedyn hated this kind of thing. He had no proficiency, and he only received a +2. Thus, he needed an 8 or higher to succeed. It was still better than a 50/50 chance, but he was rather uncomfortable with it. He took a running start and jumped.

He rolled a 4. BAM! He landed on the other side but face first on the platform. He took 1d6 points of damage. He rolled a 3. He had 9 HP total, so now he was reduced to 6.

Both Vexir and Ryth-Shan paused to look back at him. Vexir raised her right eyebrow with a sneer on her face. "Really?" she asked. "You couldn't even make that jump without kissing the ground?" Her nerves were on edge already. She really didn't need this.

Ryth-Shan chuckled, once again trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Not athletic. Good to know." He then turned to Vexir. "I'm sure he has some OTHER useful qualities somewhere."

Vexir snorted derisively. If Ryth-Shan thought it was possible, he would have believed that she was slightly amused by his comment.

Kaedyn picked himself up and brushed himself off. He was totally embarrassed and feeling like a fool. "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern," he said sarcastically.

Vexir rolled her eyes but said nothing further. She turned and resumed her flight across the walkway. The two men followed. There was another gaping hole in the portside underbelly not far away. Darkness cloaked the chamber beyond. They could see nothing within due to the harsh light of Avernus. They reached the opening and were just about to rush inside when someone dropped from above, blocking their path.

Perception rolls were made to determine if this person surprised them. An opposed roll was made. The person dropping in front of them rolled a Stealth roll of 13. She had Stealth +1 because she had no proficiency. She wore Half Plate armor, thus receiving a Disadvantage on Stealth. And so, she had to roll a second dice and take the lower of the two rolls. She rolled again and got a 7. 7+1=8. Her total Stealth was 8.

Kaedyn had no Perception proficiency, so his bonus was +2. He rolled a 7+2=9. Success. He was not surprised. Vexir had proficiency, but her bonus was +2 even with proficiency. She rolled a 6+2=8. Still a success. She also was not surprised. Ryth-Shan had proficiency and received a +4. He rolled a 2+4=6. He was surprised.

As a result, Kaedyn and Vexir stopped dead in their tracks with weapons drawn, ready to strike. Ryth-Shan was totally caught off guard and froze. He made no moves to raise his bow, which he now had equipped.

"Abomination! This is your end!" cried the Githyanki female. She was the same as the woman within the pod chamber who had escaped just prior to them. She had a fierce look on her face, and it was clear she was prepared to die trying to cut the three to pieces.

Before anyone could respond, a strange sensation overtook them. The four staggered, clutching their heads as their temples throbbed and their skin began to tingle. Visions rushed past: a dragon's wing, a silver sword, and a flash of their faces as if seen through the strange woman's eyes.

"Ah! My head. What is this...ngh," she said. "Tsk'va. You are no thralls. Vlaakith blesses me this day! Together, we might survive. Imps block the path forward." She then gestured into the opening beyond. Imps moved about in the darkness of the chamber. They were picking their way through the bodies as if searching for valuables. "You will assist me in destroying them," the Githyanki woman continued. "We must reach the helm before we transform."

Ryth-Shan stared at her dumbfounded. She was rather attractive to him, but her mannerism was brutish. She lacked any kind of refinement. He wasn't sure how to respond, for he knew that members of his race could be quite proud and arrogant. If he spoke out of turn, she might try to kill him.

Vexir had no such restraints. To her, the Githyanki woman was appalling and utterly disrespectful. She was an alpha female who was attempting to exert her dominance over them. Vexir was not about to allow that. "Oh? I have to assist you? Why should a sword spider assist a yipping puppy?"

Kaedyn saw the venomous look on the Githyanki woman's face. The two were about to exchange blows. He stepped between. "Wait! Let's not do this," he said, shield held up towards the Githyanki while mace held towards Vexir. He was not threatening in any way. He was merely attempting to mediate. "We don't gain anything from fighting one another."

He rolled a Persuasion roll. He had proficiency in this with a skill bonus of +3 total. The difficulty was 15, so he needed to roll at least a 12. Kaedyn rolled a 14. Success.

The Githyanki woman sneered. "This THING speaks true. So, yes. You WILL assist me. Do you have a choice? We don't have time to piss all over one another to determine who will lead us, DROW. I am in charge here. End of story."

Vexir was about to retort with something else that might spark a conflict between the two, but Kaedyn's successful Persuasion roll allowed him to maneuver the conversation away from the topic of "Who's in charge." A quick thought entered his mind. "Wait! What do you mean transform?" This worked. Thankfully, he changed the subject.

"We carry Mind Flayer parasites," the Githyanki woman replied. "Unless we escape - unless we are cleansed - our bodies and minds will be tainted and twisted. Within days, we will be Ghaik." Assuming that Kaedyn had no idea what a Ghaik was, she added, "Mind Flayers."

Vexir actually showed an emotion besides total contempt. She was obviously alarmed. "Mind Flayers? We're turning into MIND FLAYERS? Is there a cure?"

The Githyanki female shook her head. "We can do nothing until we escape. That must be our priority. Your only hope is to work with me."

Ryth-Shan finally stepped in. "Agreed. Let's not waste anymore time. She's right. Our only hope is together."

The Githyanki seemed pleased. She took on a look of superiority as she stared down her nose at Vexir. "First, we exterminate the imps. Then we find the helm and take control of the ship. We will address the matter of a cure for this infection once we reach the Material Plane."

Vexir clearly hated this woman already. "Fine." Then she gestures to the opening. "Lead on."

"What is your name?" asked Ryth-Shan.

"I am Lae'zel," she replied, "of creche K'liir."

"Ryth-Shan," he said in return, "of creche H'liyn."

"H'liyn?" asked Lae'zel. She was clearly stunned by this news. "H'liyn was destroyed. There were no survivors."

Ryth-Shan's brows furrowed. "I do not lie, Kin. I survived by escaping into the wilds. I didn't think anyone even came to investigate. Surely, if they did, they didn't look too hard."

"Can we get better acquainted later?" asked Vexir. "Or shall we stand about all day chit-chatting about senseless, useless information?"

Both Githyanki glared at her. Even Ryth-Shan, who was typically easy-going, was growing annoyed by the Drow's constant harassment. Once again, Kaedyn had to step in to keep the group together. "Imps, everyone," he said, gesturing into the opening with his mace. "Let's focus our aggressions on the true enemies. Shall we?" He made another Persuasion roll. This time the difficulty was 10. He rolled an 8+3=11. Success.

"Right," said Ryth-Shan, letting it go. Turning, he dropped into a crouch and crept his way towards the opening. He aimed for some debris that would make a good hiding place. "Let me first get into position. When I attack from the shadows, then rush in. Sound good?"

Vexir shrugged. "Fine."

Lae'zel also seemed to accept his plan. "Agreed."

Kaedyn sighed. His nerves were shot. He was feeling exhausted. "Keeping this group together is going to be an even greater challenge than escaping the Hells," he muttered under his breath. Then they all crept up to the opening just out of sight and waited for Ryth-Shan to take the first shot.

Prologue - Part 4

Ryth-Shan made a Stealth roll against one of the Imps. It was the only one who was in line of sight. It was not searching for him, so it only used its Passive Perception. Ryth-Shan gained a +2 extra bonus to his roll because there were many obstacles to help hide him. Passive Perception for the Imp was 11. With Ryth-Shan's extra +2, that makes a 9 or higher roll. His Stealth was +4 because he was proficient. So he only really needed a 5 or higher. He rolled a 12. He successfully slipped into a dark recess of the chamber within line of sight of all three imps milling about. Though by the end of his sneaking he was within line of sight of all three, the DM only made him roll once especially because he only came within line of sight at the end of his move. Because there were many obstacles in the way, the DM also gave him cover bonus for any ranged attacks made against him.

Ryth-Shan aimed at the imp closest to his companions. If he could weaken it enough for them to rush in and take it out quickly, that would dramatically reduce their enemies' chances. Imp Armor Class was 13, so he needed a 13 or higher to successfully hit. Ryth-Shan gets a +4 with his Longbow to see if he hits. That means he needs a 9 or higher. He rolled a 16. Hit! He did 1d8+2 damage. He rolled a 6+2=8 damage.

Ah, but imps have damage resistance. They only take half damage from such weapons. Therefore, the imp only lost 4 HP. Since it had a total of 12 to begin with, it now had 8 remaining.

The moment Ryth-Shan attacked, his companions also got a surprise round. They used it to run into the room thirty feet each with Vexir and Lae'zel leading the charge. With their own ranged weapons out, they also made attacks. Vexir took a shot with her light crossbow. She rolled a 19 on her die. Hit. She did 1d8+2 damage also, and rolled a 7+2=9. Another 4 HP off the imp. He only had 4 HP left. Lae'zel was next with her crossbow. She rolled a 7 and only got a +3 to hit with her crossbow. 10 total is a miss. She needed 13.

Last of all, Kaedyn maneuvered into position to hit one of the imps that was further away with a Guiding Bolt divine spell. A flash of light streaked across the room towards the imp. He got a +4 for his Spell Attack bonus. He rolled a Natural 20! That's double the hit dice for damage. Since Guiding Bolt would normally give him 4d6, he now rolled 8d6 for damage. With all 8 dice, he rolled a total of 30. The imp was clearly obliterated in a ball of white-hot light.

Two imps remained, and 1 only had 4 HP remaining. It was now the start of the first real round of combat. That was only the surprise round. Ryth-Shan was first in initiative order. He fired at the closest imp again. This time, he rolled a 17. Hit. For damage, he rolled a 3+2=5. Only 2 damage. It still had 2 HP left.

Next was Kaedyn's turn. He decided to save his last Guiding Bolt for perhaps a more difficult fight. Now that he was close enough, he charged at the injured imp with his mace and shield at the ready. He rolled a 13 to hit. His attack bonus was +4, but he hit with the roll alone. The mace did 1d6+2 damage, and he rolled a 3+2=5. That's 2 HP off, meaning the imp was dead. Only 1 imp remained.

Now it was Lae'zel's turn. She moved into position to fire another crossbow bolt at the last imp. She rolled an 11. Her attack bonus was +3. So a 14 total which beat the imp's AC of 13. Hit! She rolled a 1d8+1 for damage. She rolled a 2+1=3. Only 1 HP off. Fortunately, this imp only had 8 HP to begin with. It was hurt from a previous fight with Mind Flayers and thralls. So now it only had 7 HP left.

Finally, the imp's turn. Seeing it was outnumbered, the imp decided to flee up a stairway nearby to escape. It first used its Invisibility ability to disappear from sight. Then it fled 20 feet, its speed, towards the stairway. Since it was invisible, none of the heroes could see it.

It was now Vexir's turn. Her eyes narrowed as she deduced what the imp was up to. With no other allies in the chamber, she figured it was fleeing towards the room's only exit. One of the items she'd picked up while Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan had been playing with the Intellect Devourer was some sort of Mind Flayer mucous pod full of brine. She reached into her magic pocket and pulled it out. If she threw it in the direction she figured the creature had gone, it would likely hit the ground, explode, and spew the nasty chemical all over the area. Surely, that would reveal to her the imp's whereabouts.

She rolled a 17 to hit the area she was aiming for. Since the area itself had no AC, the difficult was 10. If she'd failed, the pod might have landed elsewhere besides her intended targeted location. But since she succeeded, it landed right where she wanted it to. The pod exploded, as she'd hoped, and it sprayed everything in a 10 foot radius with brine. This included the imp. She had guessed correctly.

The brine did poison damage. The imp was immune to poison. Nevertheless, the imp was exposed. It was no longer invisible because the brine coated it.

It was now back to the top of the initiative order as a new round began. Ryth-Shan moved to get into a better position against the imp. He then fired. He rolled an 8+4=12. Miss. Next, it was Kaedyn's turn. Since the imp was trying to make a run for it, it was closer to him. Thus, he was able to run 30 feet up to it and attack with his mace. Since the brine was all over the floor at his feet, it would have no poisoning effect. Only if it had gotten on his skin would it have affected him. He rolled a 5 and missed. Lae'zel was also close enough to run up and hit it. As she ran, she swiftly slung her crossbow over her shoulder and drew out her longsword. With both hands, she swung.

Lae'zel would now get advantage on her attack roll. After all, the imp was being flanked by two opponents. This meant that it didn't have the ability to defend very well against two people at the same time. Since Lae'zel got advantage, she rolled two 20-sided dice to see if she could hit. She took the highest of the two die rolls. She rolled a 2 and 18 and therefore hit. Since she used both hands with her longsword, and it was versatile, she got 1d10+3 damage. She rolled a 4+3=7. So she did 3 damage to the imp. It had 7. Now it only had 4 HP remaining.

The imp was now within melee range of both Kaedyn and Lae'zel. If he tried to move, he would invoke attacks of opportunity from both. Its only hope was to do a Disengage maneuver, if it wanted to still flee. This was an Action, and therefore it would not be able to attack in the same turn. Therefore, the imp resigned itself to its fate. It would at least take out one of them before it died. And so, it chose to attack and not flee.

Imps had tails with stingers on them. This was the imp's chosen form of attack. It swung its tail out at Lae'zel and rolled a 19+5=24 to hit. Lae'zel's AC was 17. Hit! It then rolled 1d4+3 for damage. It rolled a 3, so a total of 6 points off of Lae'zel. She had 12 HP to start, so she only had 6 HP remaining.

But, the imp's sting also did poison damage. Thus, Lae'zel needed to make a Constitution savings throw against a difficulty of 11. If she failed, she would take an additional 3d6 damage. If she succeeded, she would take half damage. Lae'zel rolled and only got a 2. Her Constitution save bonus was +4, so she only got 6 total. Not good! The imp rolled 3d6 for additional poison damage and rolled a total of 10. Lae'zel's HP was reduced from 6 to 0. She fell to the ground in the brine. She was dying.

Now it was Vexir's turn. Ignoring the fallen Githyanki, she slung her own crossbow over her shoulder and pulled out her greataxe. Rushing up to the imp, she took a swing. Like Lae'zel, she also got advantage on her roll because she and Kaedyn were flanking the imp. She rolled an 8 and a 1. With her greataxe, she got a +4 to hit. That's a total of 12. She missed.

Back to the top of a new round. Ryth-Shan moved again to get a better shot. With his allies flanking the imp, he also got advantage on his shot. He rolled an 11 and 6. He got a +4 to hit with his bow, so 11+4=15. Hit! He rolled 1d8+2 damage, rolled a 7, and did 7+2=9 off. With damage resistance, that was 4 HP damage. The imp only had 4 HP remaining. Therefore, it died.

With this combat ending, each player received 150 experience points (XP) a piece.

But Lae'zel was on the ground bleeding to death. She would die in just a few rounds if not aided. It was Kaedyn's turn. He grabbed Lae'zel and pulled her out of the brine and onto bare floor. That was his Action. Then, as a Bonus Action, he used Healing Word. He healed her 1d4+4 (for his Spellcasting modifier). He rolled a 1 and healed her 5 HP. She was saved.

Vexir looked around her for more enemies, but she found none. Seeing that they were safe, she turned towards Lae'zel as she picked herself up off the floor. "I'm glad we could establish who the better warrior is," she remarked with a smug grin.

Lae'zel's nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed with malicious intent. "I hope you die before we can escape so that I can leave you here to rot in the Hells," she replied.

Ryth-Shan ran to her side to help Kaedyn who was already giving her a hand. Lae'zel slapped their hands away defiantly. "I do not need your help," she snapped. "Let's just proceed to the helm."

Vexir gestured to a few of the fallen bodies nearby. "Search them," she ordered. "They may have even more valuable resources."

Lae'zel sneered at her. "We don't have time for that."

Vexir locked eyes with her. "We will MAKE time."

Ryth-Shan was the one to step between them this time. "I agree with Vexir," he said as he intercepted Lae'zel's doom-gaze. "Listen. We found some valuable items on some of the other fallen Mind Flayers. There's another one right there. It may also have some potions of speed or healing that we could use. If we are going to take the helm, don't you think we need whatever resources we can carry?"

He made a Persuasion roll. He had no proficiency or bonus of any kind. However, since Lae'zel was Githyanki, his difficulty was not as high. The DM set the difficulty to 10. He rolled a 1. Failure!

"Tsk'va!" Lae'zel cursed in his face. His Lae'zel Relationship Score was reduced by 2 for his failure. However, his Vexir Relationship Score increased by 2. "You would dare to side with the Drow instead of your own kin? Bah! You reek of the Material Plane. You are no Githyanki. You are a Githzerai!"

Ryth-Shan was taken aback. The Githzerai were members of his race that did not serve Vlaakith. They were mostly ascetics and philosophers. They typically pursued self-knowledge. Githyanki viewed them as traitors and weak. It was a sharp insult, and he was immediately inclined to retaliate.

"Brain-trader!" he snapped even before he considered what he was saying. This was an insult among their kind that referred to Gith and/ or barbarians who willingly sold brains to Mind Flayers. It was a serious insult to the honor of any Githyanki. But she had wounded him deeply with her own insult. He was also tired of the two women fighting for supremacy. Therefore, he lashed out at her.

Seeing her eyes widen in shock, he decided to press the advantage. "I am sick of you and her acting like you own us. I am not some Ghaik thrall that you can order around. You and you!" He jabbed his finger at Lae'zel and Vexir both. "Either kill each other and do us all a favor or both of you shut the Hells up!"

Then he stormed over to the charred Mind Flayer corpse without so much as a glance back. Kaedyn said nothing but decided to join him in searching the bodies. Vexir only smiled victoriously at Lae'zel as she sheathed her greataxe and folded her arms across her chest. Lae'zel scowled at her. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that grin off her face.

Instead, she turned in Ryth-Shan's direction and seethed at him. She was filled with a range of emotions. On the one hand, she wanted to run him through and twist the blade painfully so that his insides screamed. On the other, she found herself suddenly quite attracted to him. He had stood up to her and exuded a powerful aura that made her momentarily quiver. He had actually sent shivers of fear through her, and that thrilled her.

Still, the first desire was stronger. He'd insulted her honor twice. First, he sided with the Drow. Therefore, she felt betrayed by her own kin. Second, he had called her a "brain-trader". THAT was unforgivable. If she didn't need the three of them at that moment, she would have surely gutted them all. The Drow would have died first, she decided.

After a quick search of the room, the three gathered a few more gold pieces, a couple more potions of healing and a potion of speed. Lae'zel did nothing to assist. She merely stood there and watched, tapping her foot impatiently. When they were finished, she said, "That is a Mind Flayer Healing Apparatus." She then pointed at a chamber that had a glowing, blue aura. "It will help us all recover to full strength instantly. Even though I am the only one injured, you should also use it." She gestured to Kaedyn. "You expended some of your divine energy. It will recover it to full."

Kaedyn nodded. "I will, then. Thanks."

She sneered at him and strode over to the machine. After stepping inside, the glow increased and flashed. She then stepped out. "Your turn," she barked and she made for the stairs.

Kaedyn was next, and as he stepped inside, he noticed Vexir watching. "What?" he asked as the glow surrounded him.

"I was just wondering if you actually had a spine," she said. "It seems clear to me that your human heritage has made you a truly weak-willed individual. Do you always do as you are told?"

Kaedyn stepped out of the machine and smiled warmly at her. "Does being a witch ever bring you any real joy?" His Vexir Relationship Score was reduced by 1. His Lae'zel and Ryth-Shan Relationship Score was increased by 1.

Vexir's eyes became slits as Lae'zel and Ryth-Shan snickered. "How dare you speak to me that way, MALE?"

Kaedyn continued to smile at her as he shrugged. "I don't understand you. First you say I'm spineless and then you get angry when I show you that I have one, VEXIR." He emphasized her name as a way of pointing out that he, also, had a name. He did not enjoy her calling him "Male" as if he was beneath her.

"Now," he continued as he addressed them all more seriously. He noticed that Vexir was thinking of killing him where he stood, but he ignored her. "For your information, I have only been following orders because I figured it was pointless to try to argue with you two." He pointed at the two ladies. "My chances of survival here are far better if we work together. So, trying to challenge you for authority is pointless. All it would mean is we fight and one of us dies. Stupid. Like Ryth-Shan, here, I've had quite enough. If you two ladies want to kill one another to see who will come out on top of our little party of nothing, you go ahead. I'm going to do what I can to try to figure out how to get back to Faerun and out of AVERNUS. The way I see it, this ship brought us here FROM Faerun. Therefore, this ship is our best hope of getting BACK to Faerun. So, I am inclined to do what Lae'zel is suggesting and get to the helm so WE can control the ship and get back to the Material Plane."

"So," he concluded, "like Ryth-Shan said. 'Either kill each other and do us all a favor or both of you shut the Hells up!'" His Vexir Relationship Score was reduced by another 1 while his Lae'zel and Ryth-Shan Relationship Score was increased by 1.

Without another word, Kaedyn took the lead. He made his way up the stairs towards the chamber's only other exit. Lae'zel smugly grinned at Vexir as she followed. Ryth-Shan was stoic as he followed her. Vexir came last. Though she was furious, she couldn't help but admit to herself that he was right. It was unfortunate, but she needed them. Her demanding their obedience was also not helping. "Once I am free from this place, though," she mumbled to herself, "I will slit you all open slowly and watch you writhe until you die."

Prologue - Part 5

Kaedyn reached the top of the stairs. The others were trailing close behind him. There was a wide entranceway that opened up onto a lower deck of the nautiloid. As he made his way towards the opening, the roar of a dragon caught his attention. It shot past the hull breathing fire along the way. Thralls and intellect devourers screamed as they died. Then it dove onto one of the decks with such force that a large portion snapped. Mind Flayers, intellect devourers and thralls alike went tumbling into the hellish landscape. Imps that were on the deck fluttered away, and the dragon shot up into the air blasting right by the half-drow and his companions. Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan were knocked flat by the force of the dragon's passing.

Lae'zel casually walked out into the open. She was hardly phased by the titan monster. She had been last up the stairs and therefore partially inside when the powerful gusts from the dragon's wings had knocked the others flat. She smirked at them. "What's the matter? Have you never seen a red dragon before?"

Vexir picked herself up quickly. She was embarrassed that she had been knocked prone. Not having a witty retort, however, she kept silent. Ryth-Shan and Kaedyn also got to their feet. Kaedyn ran his fingers through his hair. He was not afraid to admit the truth. "I can safely say that I haven't. I had also hoped that I never would."

Ryth-Shan chuckled. "I don't mind meeting one, as long as it's on my side. I'm not entirely sure they are."

Lae'zel shot him a dirty look. "They are on the side of our kin," she remarked. "Therefore, they are on our side."

"Are they?" asked Ryth-Shan, clearly doubting this.

Vexir sighed heavily and started on her way. "We have no time for idle chit-chat. Move it, Gith!" Then she headed for the stairway on the starboard side. There were two stairways, in fact, leading up to one of the upper decks. One was on the starboard side of the entranceway they'd just exited through, and the other was on the port side. Vexir made up their minds for them. She reached the bottom of the starboard stairway with Kaedyn following close behind when she suddenly noticed that he stopped.

There was a red-haired woman there. She was clearly quite injured. Vexir hadn't even noticed her. She was of no consequence to her. Kaedyn, however, could not bring himself to pass her by without trying to assist. He stooped down over her to examine her.

Lae'zel rushed up to him with Ryth-Shan. "Leave her. She's a thrall. Her mind is lost."

"Bull got me...got me," the woman was muttering. "Right in the horns. Take care of the babes for me, will ya?"

Kaedyn looked up at them. "I'm not leaving an injured person to die."

"Don't waste your resources on her," Lae'zel snapped. "She's as good as dead anyway."

Kaedyn ignored her and cast Healing Word. Lae'zel's Relationship Score was reduced by 1. The red-haired woman glowed with a blue aura, and her bleeding stopped. The woman jumped to her feet, startling him. "Hah!" she cried. "Time to put that bull down before it hurts someone else." Then seeing the red dragon flying just under the starboard side of the ship, she bolted and leapt over the railing.

"No wait!" Kaedyn cried, making a lunge for her to stop her. Too late. She was already gone. As he came to the railing to see what happened to her, he saw her slam onto the back of the dragon. She tumbled and could not find a handhold, so she rolled off of it and towards the fiery river below. At the last second, the dragon's head twisted around and snatched her in its jaws. Crunch! Blood splattered everywhere. The woman was gone.

Kaedyn felt terrible. As he stood there, staring, he mourned the woman's loss. Even if no one else would, he wasn't going to let her die without a prayer.

Lae'zel snickered. "See? I told you. Perhaps now you will listen to me?"

"Can we stop wasting time now?" asked Vexir. For once, she and Lae'zel were in agreement. Lae'zel's Relationship Score for Vexir increased by 1. "How long do you think this ship is going to last?"

As if to emphasize this, several demons descended onto one of the upper decks. There were shouts and screams from above. "Agreed," said Ryth-Shan. "We're running out of time."

Then without another word, the four raced up the starboard stairway. Fires were everywhere. Off to the right, the upper deck was full of demons battling Mind Flayers, thralls and intellect devourers. The ship's canons were also there, firing at everything. Straight ahead was the primary viewport of the ship. The helm could be seen inside. To the right of the helm, on the port side, there were more imps and a fallen thrall. The imps were tormenting him. There was, once, an entrance into the inner sections of the ship on that side, but it was devastated now and on fire. The only way they could see to get into the helm area was off to the left past blazing walkways. Another doorway opened up into the starboard section of the main deck.

Vexir turned to glance at Kaedyn. "Can we just proceed to the helm now?" she asked. "Or are we going to try to save every idiot on the ship?"

Kaedyn's brows furrowed. He made it quite clear that he was unhappy with the whole situation and the attitudes of his companions. He gestured to the starboard entranceway. He wanted to call her and Lae'zel heartless witches, but instead he said, "After you."

Vexir was satisfied. She led the way towards the entranceway, weaving around the fires and ignoring the fallen. She no longer felt it wise to delay and search their bodies. Most were thralls anyway and not likely to have anything good on them. They entered a long hallway that led to a membranous doorway. It wouldn't open. Therefore, she took her greataxe and began to hack away at it. The others joined her. A few good hacks each and the doorway was tattered to pieces.

They rushed inside to find a strange mechanism at the center of the chamber. One of the glowing healing chambers was just off to the right. There was a control panel of sorts directly in front of them. Each button had a plaque over it. Strange writings were edged on the plaques. There were seats all around the primary mechanism. Three thralls were resting on the chairs off to the left. Wires were hooked up to them. There were several pods in the room, but only one was occupied. Strange magical energy was swirling about it. Another control panel was near it. There was a door off to the right that probably led further towards the helm and another on the far side. A desk with some objects on it was just to the right of that door.

"Tsk'va! Touch nothing without knowing its purpose," Lae'zel barked. She was clearly concerned that they would not listen to her. Something about the tone in her voice resonated with the others. They decided to heed the warning.

They hurried to the restoration chamber. Instantly, they were fully healed, one after the other. As each fully healed, they started making their way to the door on the right. Ryth-Shan glanced at the control panel as he walked by. Because Aberrations were his favored enemies, and Mind Flayers in particular, he had chosen at character creation to be able to speak Ghaik. Therefore, he understood without a roll exactly what the plaques said. One would obliterate their minds and leave them brain-dead. One would cause them to become hostile. The last would turn them into allies. He made a mental note but did nothing.

Just as they reached the door, there came a banging from the pod. Someone was crying out for help and banging on the reinforced glass. "Help! Help me! Please! Get me out of this thing!" a woman screamed from within.

Kaedyn stepped out of the healing chamber, for he was the last to use it. His attention was drawn to the woman. She wasn't one of the thralls. He could see that her eyes were clear. She was not living in some sort of dream-state. Vexir and the others noticed him staring at her, and they sighed. They knew there would be no way to deter him. He was going to do what he could to save her.

He ran to the pod, and they joined him. As the woman within saw him, she became more desperate. "Hey! You! Please! Help me! Get me out of this thing! Hurry! Don't leave me!"

Kaedyn examined the pod with the magical energy swirling about. He couldn't find any way to free her. "This is a waste of time," Lae'zel said, deciding to speak up regardless of knowing it wouldn't do any good. "We REALLY need to get to the helm. Leave her!"

Kaedyn ignored her and tried to grab what he thought was a latch on the side. The magical energy zapped him. He jumped back. It was not that painful, but it was definitely a warning.

Ryth-Shan decided to try to help him. "We're never getting out of here unless we help," he said to Lae'zel. Then he hurried to a control panel near the pod. There was a single button. The control panel was sparking with energy as well. It seemed it might have been damaged. "Do you think this will open it?" he asked.

Arcana rolls were made by all. The difficulty was 15. Kaedyn rolled a 10 with no bonus. Vexir rolled a 4 with no bonus. Ryth-Shan rolled a 13 and a 19 with no bonus. Again, he got advantage because it was a Mind Flayer device. Lae'zel rolled an 11 and 14, and since she got a +2 for her Arcana proficiency, she succeeded as well. So both her and Ryth-Shan determined that the panel did indeed unlock the pod. However, it was too damaged to function properly.

"I'm sorry," said Ryth-Shan to the woman in the pod. "There's nothing we can do."

"Can we leave, NOW?" asked Lae'zel. "I swear. I was probably better off without you all. By the time we reach the helm, the whole ship is going to be destroyed."

Kaedyn sighed and shook his head. Meeting the woman's gaze, he said, "I'm sorry. They're right. There seems to be nothing we can do. If we get out of this alive, we'll try to come back for you."

Vexir rolled her eyes. "I'm with the Gith. Let's MOVE!" Her Lae'zel Relationship Score increased again by 1. Meanwhile, because of Kaedyn's choice to once again stall them, his relationship score with all three decreased by 2. He was not making friends of his companions.

Turning, they began to head back towards the door leading to the helm. As they went, the woman within the pod cried out again. "No! Wait! Please! Don't leave me!" Kaedyn felt his heart wrench. He hated leaving her, but he really didn't have a choice.

Suddenly, the door near the desk opened, and an intellect devourer rushed into the chamber. All at once, it determined that they were enemies. Because Ryth-Shan had butchered the newborn, the collective mind decided that they were hostile. Instantly, it fell into an attack stance. Recognizing this, the entire party also prepared to fight.

Initiatives were rolled. Kaedyn rolled an 8 with a +2 for his Initiative bonus to get a 10. Vexir rolled a 4+2=6. Ryth-Shan rolled a 10+2=12. Lae'zel rolled a 13+1=14. The Intellect Devourer rolled a 16+2=18. Therefore, the initiative order was Intellect Devourer, Lae'zel, Ryth-Shan, Kaedyn and Vexir.

The Intellect Devourer decided to rush Vexir. She was the closest. He had a multiattack ability, allowing him to make one attack with its claws and also use Devour Intellect, another special ability. It rushed Vexir and rolled to hit with the claws. It rolled a 17. It's attack bonus was +4. It rolled a 21 total. Vexir had an Armor Class of 16. Hit. It did 2d4+2 damage and rolled a 5+2=7 total damage off her. She had 12 HP. Now she had 5 left.

Then the Intellect Devourer used its Devour Intellect ability. It targeted Vexir again. She was within 10 feet, so she was within range. She was forced to roll an Intelligence savings throw against a difficulty (DC) of 12. She rolled a 9. Her Intelligence savings throw bonus was 0. Therefore, she failed. As a result, she took an additional 2d10 damage. The Intellect Devourer rolled a 12 total. Vexir's HP was reduced to 0. She was now on the ground, dying.

But that was not the end of it. The Intellect Devourer rolled 3d6. It rolled a 13. Vexir's Intelligence Score was 10. Per the Devour Intellect rules, if the total of the 3d6 roll equaled or exceeded her Intelligence Score, her Intelligence Score would be reduced to 0. Therefore, her Intelligence was reduced to 0. She was stunned until she regained at least one point of Intelligence.

Now it was Lae'zel's turn. With a roar, she charged the Intellect Devourer and swung with both hands gripping her longsword. She rolled a 7. She got a +5 attack bonus. Fortunately, the Intellect Devourer's AC was 12. She hit! She rolled 1d10 (because she was using both hands) +3 for damage and rolled a 3+3=6. Intellect Devourers, like imps, had resistance to bludgeoning and piercing and slashing. Therefore, it only took half damage. It had 22 HP total to begin with and lost 3 HP. Therefore, it had 19 HP left.

It was now Ryth-Shan's turn. He remembered that he could turn the thralls into his allies. He rushed to the control panel not far from him and pressed the correct button. Instantly, magical energy surged into the thralls and they stood. He then commanded them, "Kill that thing!" and he pointed at the Intellect Devourer. All three twisted their heads like zombies towards the monster and immediately sprang into action. Ryth-Shan's turn was finished.

It was now the turn of the thralls. One rushed at the Intellect Devourer and attacked with fists. He rolled a 17 and hit. He did only 1 HP of damage total after resistance applied. It now had 18 HP left. The second was a magic user. She cast Magic Missile. Three missiles flew at the Intellect Devourer. He rolled 1d4+1 per missile doing a total of 7 damage. Since the monster was not resistant to magic, it lost a total of 7 HP so that it only had 11 HP left. Finally, the last thrall attacked. He rolled an 8 to hit with his bare fists. His attack bonus was +4. A total of 12. Hit. He did a total of 1 HP as well. The Intellect Devourer now only had 10 HP remaining.

It was Kaedyn's turn. He knew that Vexir was dying, but he needed to ensure that the Intellect Devourer didn't attack again. Therefore, he cast Guiding Bolt and hurled a fiery, golden missile at the beast. He rolled a 13+4 (his Spell Attack bonus) = 17. Hit! He then did 4d6 radiant damage off of the monster. He rolled an 8 total for damage. Bad roll! Though it took full damage, it still had 2 HP left.

Vexir's turn. She had to roll a Death savings throw. She rolled a 3 and failed. 1 Failure. She only had two more chances before she officially died.

The Intellect Devourer's turn. Using multiattack, it struck both of the thralls attacking it. Both died instantly. On Lae'zel's turn, she swung her longsword again with both hands. She rolled an 11+5=16. Hit. She rolled a 3+3=6 again. That's 3 HP off. It only had 2 remaining. It was dead.

Because one of their party was down, Turn-Based mode continued even though the enemies were dead. This allowed the heroes to make it to their fallen companion quickly before she had to roll again to see if she died. It was Ryth-Shan's turn again. However, he decided to use a Dash to bolt for the door the Intellect Devourer came through. He opened the door to see if the chamber beyond had any other surprise enemies. He readied his bow just in case but found no additional hostiles.

It was Kaedyn's turn. He hurried to Vexir and used Cure Wounds. He rolled a 1d8+4 and rolled a 6+4=10. Vexir recovered 10 HP. Turn-Based mode ended. After defeating the Intellect Devourer, each player received a total of 112 XP. Each now had 262 XP. They needed 300 XP to level up.

Her eyes fluttered open to see him hovering over her, his hand on her face. His eyes were closed as he focused Tyr's power into her. Seeing him there, she was momentarily stunned.

His eyes opened and he smiled at her. This surprised her even more. She could see that he cared. His concern for her was genuine. In spite of how much abuse she had dealt to him, he was actually happy to see that she was okay. It wasn't like the healers in her own society. They healed her out of obligation. Kaedyn, however, healed her because he truly wanted to. Vexir's Relationship Score with Kaedyn increased by 1.

He helped her sit up, but because of her Intelligence Score still being at 0, she was not able to function. She was still completely stunned.

Seeing this, Kaedyn said, "Let's get back to the restoration chamber and fully heal up," he advised. Then he wrapped his arms under her arms and around her waist. After that, he dragged her towards the chamber.

Lae'zel only watched for a moment. Then she joined Ryth-Shan at the door. The surviving thrall also joined them, but she said nothing. She was like a zombie mage, doing exactly what her master told her to. Lae'zel gazed into the chamber and was horrified. The chamber was filled with pods. They were too numerous to count. There was one locked into a floor mechanism in the center of the platform that overlooked the massive room. Other than that, she saw a dead thrall on the far side near another control panel.

"Tsk'va! How many thralls have these Ghaik infected?" she commented.

Ryth-Shan shook his head, unable to answer. As Kaedyn pulled Vexir into the restoration chamber, the two Githyanki dared to venture into the chamber full of pods. As they approached the center pod, they saw a woman asleep inside. Maneuvering around this, they came to the control panel. Ryth-Shan saw the plaque. It read, "Transform".

He pointed at the plaque. "Transform," he said. "What do you think it means?"

"Best not find out," she advised.

He agreed. "I'll search the body to see if she has anything good," he told her. "She looks like a mage. Might have something good on her."

"Fine," said Lae'zel. She was uncomfortable being there. "Then let's get out."

Ryth-Shan hurried to the body and found another potion of speed, some gold and a key. He held the key aloft. "Looks important," he commented.

"Perhaps," said Lae'zel. "Are you done?"

He nodded. "Let's get back to the others." He rejoined her, and the two made their way towards the door. As they went, he added, "You know, this would have gone a whole lot better if it had been just the two of us."

She snorted. "Agreed," she replied. Ryth-Shan and Lae'zel's Relationship Score increased by 1.

Meanwhile, Vexir fully recovered. She stood and stepped out of the chamber. Kaedyn was standing there, waiting. In the background, she could still hear the imprisoned woman screaming for them to help her. Vexir ignored her. "What happened exactly?" asked Vexir.

"You were dying," Kaedyn replied. "It hit you hard."

Vexir looked over at the fallen corpse of the monster. "I've decided I REALLY don't like those things."

Kaedyn followed her gaze as he stepped into the machine to be fully restored as well. "Me too," he replied. "We killed one when Ryth-Shan and I checked out the upper platform back when we first escaped the pods. I'm now very glad we did."

She looked back at him as the pod restored him. Their eyes met. Hers was a steely gaze, but it was softened. Her near-death experience had obviously had an impact. He just continued to smile warmly at her. She sighed. "Well, I appreciate you healing me and not leaving me for dead."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Is that genuine gratitude I detect?" Then he took on a playful, sinister grin. "Well, don't be too grateful. I only did it because I know I can't live without you."

A play on words! How cute! Did he mean that he knew he couldn't survive and capture the helm without her, or did he mean that he was falling in love with her and emotionally couldn't live without her? She figured it was an intentional attempt at flirting and decided to play along. Maybe it would increase her own control over him. "A wise choice," she replied coyly. "It is always best to recognize your superiors and aid them."

He chuckled and shook his head. Still, the pounding in the background continued. He was trying to ignore it, but it was messing with him. Nevertheless, this was the first time the two were actually getting along. Therefore, he wanted to make sure he didn't mess it up. "Naturally, My Lady," he said with a bow even as Ryth-Shan and Lae'zel returned with their mindless mage thrall. "Even facing that Intellect Devourer, it was only your sacrifice that allowed us to survive. You endured much to save us."

She couldn't help but smile back at him as he completed his bow. "Enough," she said, but her manner was no longer harsh. "Let's continue. The others have finally returned." His Relationship Score with her increased again by 2.

They then gathered by the desk with the items on it. There was an ornate chest and several necklaces and scrolls. Ryth-Shan produced the key for all of them to see. "Maybe it goes to the chest," Kaedyn suggested. Trying it, the lock popped open. The companions quickly gathered up the items on the desk and in the chest. Then they hurried for the door leading towards the helm. "Nice work, everyone," Kaedyn said, trying to encourage them. "I think we actually fight well together."

Vexir shook her head as they entered the last chamber before the helm. It was filled with brains in jars and another restoration chamber. They could still hear the strange woman locked in the pod banging and crying out for help as the door shut behind them. Vexir asked, "Are you always like this?" She said this as they paused at the door to the helm.

Kaedyn smiled at her again as their eyes met. "What? Happy? Yes. I am generally happy. Do you know what happy feels like?"

She broke eye contact and looked away, shaking her head once more. Without knowing what else to say, she simply opened the door and led the way inside. His Relationship Score with her increased once more by 1.

By the time they reached the helm, Kaedyn's Relationship Score with Vexir was 50. Though he had done some things to reduce it from 50, he had done some things to restore it to 50 by this point. His relationship with Ryth-Shan was 50 as well. His relationship with Lae'zel was 49.

As for Vexir, her relationship with Ryth-Shan was 52. Her relationship, surprisingly, with Lae'zel, was 50. Though she had pissed her off in the beginning by fighting for supremacy, reducing her score by 2, she had made up for it later by agreeing with her in regards to Kaedyn's constant delays. As for Ryth-Shan's relationship with Lae'zel, it was 49.

To determine Relationship Score levels, 26-75 is Neutral. 75-99 is Friendly. 100+ is Good Friends (also potential romantic interests). 1-25 is Barely Tolerated and 0 or less is Enemies. Thus far, none have truly done much in the way of building solid relationships with one another. Still, through these various interactions, they are learning more and more about each others' personalities.

Prologue - Part 6

The four companions made their way into the helm chamber. It was massive. There were, essentially, two sections. The furthest section contained the ship's transponder full of writhing tentacles. There was the viewport before it, as large as life. It allowed the blazing landscape of Avernus to shine into the entire room. The section they had just entered was more open with many platforms suspended over a the inner workings of the ship below. These platforms were mostly connected with stairs and lifts. There were desks and such with items on them also dotting the two sections.

But the most terrifying thing was that all four beheld the battle that was occurring within. Demons and Mind Flayers and imps and thralls and intellect devourers were tearing each other apart. One demon with a flaming sword, took a swing at the chief Mind Flayer. Another demon was coming to assist, but a Mind Flayer jumped him from behind, wrapped his tentacles around his head, bit down on his cranium, and crunched. There was a sickening slurping sound as the Mind Flayer gurgled in ecstasy. Then it tossed the dead demon to the floor.

Moments later, imps flew past the Mind Flayer, raking it with their claws until he, too died. These continued on to battle the thralls and Mind Flayers near the helm. It was clear they were seeking to take control. There wasn't much time left. Within minutes, the nautiloid would fall to the devils of Avernus.

The lead Mind Flayer blasted the demon he was fighting, knocking him to the floor. He then took a moment to turn to the four adventurers. "You there! Thrall! Quickly! Make your way to the helm's transponder. Get us out of here! Now!"

Lae'zel turned to her companions. "Do as he says. We will deal with our Ghaik captors after we seize control of the ship."

The others quickly exchanged glances. It didn't take much to communicate that they were, for once, in total agreement. Seeing the helm about to be taken by the imps, they knew their time was running out. There could be no more delay. Their only hope was to reach the transponder before the imps did.

Initiative was rolled. The last of the thralls in the first section of the chamber died just moments before the battle began. Thus, only 3 imps were left to battle in this area. Kaedyn rolled a 15+2=17. Vexir rolled a 19+2=21. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2+2=4. Lae'zel rolled a 12+1=13. Imp 1 rolled a 19+3=22, as did Imp 2. Imp 3 rolled an 8+3=11. So the order was: Imp 1, Imp 2, Vexir, Kaedyn, Lae'zel, Imp 3 and then Ryth-Shan. The thrall on their side, the female elven mage thrall Ryth-Shan activated in the previous chamber, would act on Ryth-Shan's turn.

Imp 1 saw them enter the room, and he flew to attack. With crossbow in hand, he fired at Vexir. He rolled a 12+5=17 to hit. Her AC was 16. Hit. He rolled 1d8+3 for damage. He rolled a 1+3=4. She had 8 HP left. Imp 2 also moved to attack, but he planned on using his stinger. He used Dash to close in on his enemies, flying right up to Vexir. Because Dash was an Action, he had no additional attacks to make.

Now it was Vexir's turn. She was thankful that the imp had rushed up to her. She was ticked and wanted revenge for her near-death experience against the intellect devourer. She rolled an 11 with her greataxe and got a total of 15 (+4 for attack). She hit. The imp's AC was 13. She rolled a 1d12+2 damage and rolled a 3+2=5. With damage resistance, the imp lost only 2 HP. It had 13 to start, so it was now down to 11.

Kaedyn didn't hold back. He was fully recovered and decided Guiding Bolt might be good to get them into the next section fast. He rolled a 17+4=21 to hit. Hit! Then he rolled 4d6 for damage and got an 11. He was attacking Imp 3. Imp 3 was already hurt, and he only had 9 HP. Therefore, because Guiding Bolt took full damage off, Imp 3 died as it screamed in agony. He expended 1 of his 2 Level 1 Spell Slots.

Now it was Lae'zel's turn. She rushed Imp 2 in order to assist Vexir. She had her longsword out ad rolled an 8+5=13. Hit. She did 1d10+3 damage and rolled an 8+3=11. That's 5 HP off Imp 2. He now has 6 HP remaining. Ryth-Shan's turn. He fired his longbow at Imp 2 and rolled a 2. But wait! His allies were flanking Imp 2. Therefore, he got advantage and rolled another 20-sided die. He got a 12+4=16. Hit. He then rolled a 1d8+2 for damage and got 3+2=5. He did 2 points of damage. The Imp now had only 4 HP remaining.

At the end of the round, the demon and the Mind Flayer exchanged attacks. Both were dwindling the other down in deadly combat. "For Zariel! This ship is mine!" the demon cried as he swung his two-handed flaming sword. The Mind Flayer dodged and shot back with a mental blast of energy. The demon resisted it and kept fighting.

Round 2. Imp 1 launched another crossbow bolt at Vexir. With an enemy flanking her, Imp 1 now had advantage. He rolled a 6 and a 9. 9+5=14. Vexir had 16 AC. Miss. Imp 2 then attacked. He rolled a 1. Critical Miss! This meant that no matter what the imp's attack bonus, he would miss.

Vexir's turn. She rolled an 8+4=12 to hit. She also got an advantage because Lae'zel was flanking. Therefore, she rolled again and got an 18. Hit. She rolled a 1d12+2 for damage and rolled a 7+2=9. That's 4 HP off. Imp 2 was dead. It died with a terrible scream. After killing the imp, as its body fell to the floor, she raced towards Imp 1. It was too far away, but she got within range for next round.

Kaedyn attacked. He used his last Spell Slot to attack with Guiding Bolt. He rolled a 5+4=9. Miss. "Dang! I'm out of spells now," he announced to his party members as he followed Vexir to rush the monster.

"Stop sucking!" Lae'zel snapped, and she charged towards Imp 1 as well because it was now her turn. Unlike Vexir and Kaedyn, she used a Dash Action to run all the way up to the imp. This gave Ryth-Shan advantage because she was now flanking the creature.

Ryth-Shan moved closer to get a better shot and fired. He rolled a 15 and a 14. Hit. He then rolled a 4 for damage with his longbow. With a +2, he did a total of 6 damage. Halved because of resistance, he did 3 HP off the imp. Imp 1 had 12 to begin with, so now it only had 9.

Just after, the demon and Mind Flayer exchanged another bout, but neither fell to the other. Beyond, in the next chamber, the imps were finishing off the remaining Mind Flayers and thralls. Time was running out!

Round 3. Imp 1 decided to sting Lae'zel. He rolled an 8+5=13. Miss. Lae'zel had 17 AC. Vexir attacked. She ran up to Imp 1 and swung with her greataxe. 10+4=14. Hit! She rolled 1d12+2 for damage and rolled 12+2=14. 7 HP off the imp. It now only had 2 remaining.

On Kaedyn's turn, he rushed up to the imp as well with his mace in hand. He rolled a 9+4=13 to hit. Hit! He rolled 1d6+2 damage and got 2+2=4. He took of 2 HP. He killed it, and it screamed as it died.

Turn-based, however, continued because the demon and Mind Flayer were still battling. It was now Lae'zel's turn. She did Dash again, racing up to the middle of the massive chamber between the two sections. As she did, the last of the thralls died. Three imps remained in this section as well, and they were near the helm. "Quickly! Just get to the transponder. I'll try to distract these," she cried, and it was loud enough for the imps to hear. New initiatives were rolled for these 3 imps. They would all go after Lae'zel. Not on this round, but on the next.

On Ryth-Shan's turn, he was too far away to attack the imps. Therefore, he used Dash as well to get closer. The demon and Mind Flayer continued to duel. And then, two more demons crashed into the chamber from the doorway they'd entered through. They saw the adventurers and the dueling demon and Mind Flayer. In that moment, they considered what to do next. They rolled initiatives and would go after Vexir.

Round 4. Vexir used Dash to catch up to Lae'zel. Her turn was over. Using Dash, the two demons ran up to Kaedyn. Kaedyn used Disengage, an Action, and ran as fast as he could to escape. He could only run 30 feet. "We're in serious trouble!" he cried. "Someone get to the transponder! Now!"

It was Lae'zel's turn. Hearing him say this, she glanced back to see the demons on his tail. She knew her initial plan to distract the imps was out of the question. Their only hope was that SHE reach the transponder as fast as she could. If not her, maybe Vexir or Ryth-Shan could. Therefore, she used Dash to run 60 feet. It was still not close enough. Next turn, if she survived, she might make it.

The three imps now got to attack. The first moved and fired a crossbow bolt at Lae'zel. It rolled a 3. Miss. The next was closer and moved into melee range. It rolled an 8+5=13. Miss. Lae'zel had 17 AC. The third fired a crossbow as well. 11+5=16. Miss. Lae'zel was playing her role well as the tank.

Now it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He used Dash as well to run as fast as he could. If Lae'zel didn't reach the transponder, he just might. The demon and Mind Flayer went at it again, still wearing each other down but not taking one another out.

Round 5. Vexir used Dash to get closer to Lae'zel. She was not within melee range of the imp that was trying to sting Lae'zel. She was close, but it was not technically in melee range. Now it was the turn of the two demons. Much to Kaedyn's relief, they decided to assist their demon lord against the Mind Flayer. Rushing up to it instead of Kaedyn, they attacked and damaged it. It was now doing quite poorly. Soon, the Mind Flayer would be dead, and the demons would have no opposition against the heroes.

On Kaedyn's turn, he used Dash to try to keep up with his companions. Then it was Lae'zel's turn. She decided to risk just using Dash again to get to the transponder. The imp near her rolled an Attack of Opportunity. It rolled 7+5=12 to sting her and missed. Lae'zel was free to reach the transponder. She rushed up to it. Turn-Based ended.

Lae'zel reached the ship's alien transponder. She made it just in time. Rushing to the tendrils that were hanging loose, she grabbed two and connected them. There was a spark of energy as the two ends met. Just then, a red dragon slammed onto the viewport, shaking the entire ship. The imps were coming at Lae'zel from behind to try to stop her, but they all froze with Dragon Fear. The mighty beast worked its way around to a gaping hole in the wall. As everyone's eyes widened, staring death in the face, the dragon stuck its head in and aimed at Lae'zel and everything around her.

No time! The dragon breathed fire right at the Githyanki woman's face, engulfing her, the transponder and everything else in the area. She was thrown backward onto the ground, dazed and confused. Somehow, she was alive, but she was utterly dazed. She was not dead, even though the flames engulfed her. There was a strange aura that surrounded her, protecting her from it temporarily. Near her, the imps shrieked angrily. They had completely forgotten about her. The dragon had effectively drawn their attention.

The dragon then leaped into the air, roaring loudly. The imps flew out after it. The ship lurched and tossed everyone inside. They slid about on the deck as the transponder came at them. Instinctively, as if directed by another force, Vexir reached out and grabbed the controls. Other than Lae'zel, she was the closest. Dangling with one arm from it, she found the strength to pull herself up to grab the connected tendrils. They had also survived the dragon's blast. Grabbing the connected tendrils, she plucked them like a string, and suddenly, the entire ship lurched again.

The Hells vanished as the ship bounced out of Avernus and into a darkened sky. Visions suddenly flew about in the minds of Kaedyn, Vexir, Ryth-Shan and Lae'zel. The ship was amongst the clouds in the night sky. A Tiefling girl with straight pink hair was viewing the ship through her telescope. She looked away from the eyepiece and gazed at the vessel with her own eyes. She was clearly frightened, and she ran off to warn others.

Their visions shifted. There was a ruins. Standing on the edge of a battlement was a hobgoblin. He stared up at the exploding nautiloid, and he grinned. A drow approached from behind. She was wearing Ring Mail, and she had straight, white hair. She glanced at the hobgoblin and smiled with wicked intent. The hobgoblin nodded at her. It was as if they exchanged thoughts. Then they turned to a goblin leader nearby and gesture with a nod. The goblin also did not need a verbal command. It called their forces together and rushed out the main gates of the ruins into the countryside.

All at once, the four were back in the helm of the ship. They staggered this way and that. Debris was flying everywhere as the ship descended at a rapid pace. Something hit Kaedyn in the head. He tumbled and slid backwards, slamming into the starboard wall of the chamber. There was a gaping hole there and debris was flying out. Glancing to his left, he spotted the Mind Flayer who had been battling the demons.

He blinked to try to clear his vision. The ship lurched again. Vexir and Ryth-Shan were both thrown out through the hole in the ship near Kaedyn. They were also so dazed that they didn't even scream as they went. There was no sign of Lae'zel or the demons.

Then he became acutely aware of the Mind Flayer glaring at him with a strange mix of hatred and adoration. Kaedyn wasn't quite sure what it is thinking, but he almost get the impression that it was trying to save him. Before he could ponder this further, a slab of metal broke loose from somewhere near the transponder. It flew and smacked Kaedyn in the head.

A few moments later, he was thrown out the hole in the wall as the ship lurched to that side. The next thing he knew, he was plummeting towards the ground. The world was spinning. He could hardly maintain conscious thought. He barely recognized that the ground was coming up towards him, quickly!

And then, all at once, his eyes shot open to see that he was hovering upside down above a beach just a foot off the ground. Near him, Vexir and Ryth-Shan were also floating there, upside down. Everything was glowing, including all three of them. They stared in shock at one another and in fear as they realized that they had somehow survived and had not cracked their heads open on the ground. All three struggled to try to right themselves, twisting upward just as the glowing died and they dropped hard onto the beach. Smacking their heads, they were each rendered unconscious. The last thought that they shared was that they had no idea how long they were unconscious before they finally woke.

End of the Prologue.

Chapter 1 begins.

Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan awoke on the beach. They were dazed and confused as they picked themselves up and brushed themselves off. They had awakened at the same time. How odd! Examining themselves briefly, they discovered that they were full health and that they were completely rested. There was not a scratch on them.

Then they looked around and noticed that it was mid-morning. Vaguely, they remembered that it had been night when they'd escaped the Hells. Therefore, they must have slept all night on the beach. Nearby, and all around them, the nautiloid lay in ruins. It crashed very close to them, and its parts and pieces were everywhere. nearby, they saw lots of bodies strewn along the beach. A wide river was sprawled out to the south and west. The ruined nautiloid blocked their path to the north. There was only one way to go. They could only head east along the beachfront past the dead bodies.

Kaedyn came up to Vexir first. "You okay?" he asked.

Once again, she was stunned by his concern. His relationship score increased by 1 to 51. "I'm fine," she replied. "You?"

Her relationship score with him went to 52. She actually was concerned about him, and he was relieved by this. "Fine. Not a scratch, actually." They both turned to Ryth-Shan. "You?" asked Kaedyn.

Ryth-Shan shook his head. "I survived the Hells and a Ghaik vessel," he replied. "I'd call that a good day." He grinned. His relationship with both of them increased by 1. They were all, actually treating each other well.

At this point, 300 XP was rewarded to each for defeating the 3 imps and successfully avoiding death from the other 3 imps near the transponder. Although they did not fight the imps, they received experience for avoiding the fight by getting to the transponder. Each, therefore, leveled up, for they now had a total of 562 XP.

Kaedyn leveled up and rolled a 1d8 to determine how many extra HP he would get. He rolled the highest he could and got an 8. With his Constitution bonus of +1, that meant he got 9 extra HP for a total of 18. He also got Channel Divinity: Turn Undead. As an Action, each undead that could see or hear him within 30 feet of him must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature failed, it would turn for 1 minute or until it took damage. The turned undead would have to flee as far from him as it could. It could willingly move into a space within 30 feet of him, and it also couldn't take reactions. Its action could only be to Dash or try to escape from an effect that prevented it from moving. If there was nowhere to move, the creature would just use the Dodge action.

He also got Channel Divinity: Preserve Life. With this, as an Action, he could present his holy symbol and evoke healing energy that could restore a number of hit points equal to five times his cleric level. Any creatures within 30 feet of him could be healed using this power. He would divide those hit points among them. This feature could restore a creature to no more than half of its hit point maximum. He also could not use this feature on an undead or construct.

Besides this, he also got 3 spell slots for Level 1 and he could prepare an additional spell. He chose to prepare the spell Purify Food and Drink. He figured that since they had no idea where they were and had no real food or sources of food, it might be good to have the ability to purify all nonmagical food and drink within a 5 foot radius sphere centered on a point of his choice within range. The food would immediately be rendered free from poison and disease.

As for Vexir's level up, she got a 1d10 for hit points. She rolled a 6+2 (for Constitution modifier) and thus got 8 more HP for a total of 20 HP. She also got Action Surge, allowing her to take an additional Action on top of her regular action and a possible Bonus Action. Once she used this feature, she must finish a short or long rest before she could use it again.

Ryth-Shan rolled terribly for his level up HP. He rolled a 1 and only got 1+1=2 more HP. Because the DM was nice, however, he allowed him to roll again. Some DM's will allow players to roll at least a third of their total potential max HP. Since he could roll 1d10, the DM would allow a roll of 4 or more. He rolled again and got a 7. Therefore, he increased his HP by 8 to a total of 19. He also got to choose what fighting style of Ranger he wanted to be. Being a long range fighter, for the most part, he chose Archery. As a result, he got to learn two 1st level spells with 2 spell slots. He also got a +2 bonus on his attack rolls when using a ranged weapon. For his Ranger spells, he chose Speak with Animals and Animal Friendship. He could now talk to animals and even charm an animal for up to 24 hours. He figured this could come in handy since they had no idea where they were. Maybe one of the animals in the area could give them some clues.

"I guess there's no other way to really go," Vexir commented as she surveyed the area around them. Several of the massive tentacles from the nautiloid arched over their only pathway. She shuttered from the memories. She was just so glad to be on the ground. She really didn't want to think any further about that entire, wretched series of events.

"I wonder if Lae'zel is okay," said Ryth-Shan. "I lost track of her shortly after the dragon blasted her. It looked like she survived the blast."

"Not sure how that happened," said Kaedyn. "If she's alive, she'll turn up. She's probably around here somewhere since the ship crashed here."

"I just hope we don't encounter anymore of those Mind Flayers, imps, demons or intellect devourers," said Vexir.

"Agreed," said Ryth-Shan vehemently. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll lead the way. I'm a Ranger, so tracking and wilderness travel is kinda my thing."

Vexir shrugged. Kaedyn did as well. "Be my guest," said the Half-Drow.

Ryth-Shan took the lead and started on his way along the beach. They moved past the first bodies; all fishermen. "They must have been caught in the crash or killed by some sort of creatures just recently," Ryth-Shan told them. "Blast! This one has claw marks on him. Probably intellect devourers. They must have survived the crash." He then searched the bodies and found a bit of odds and ends and a few coins. It was nothing substantial.

After passing under the nautiloids tentacles, the blazing mid-morning sun suddenly stabbed them all in the face. There were hardly any clouds in the sky. Immediately, Vexir sneered as she shielded her eyes with her hands. Her sun sensitivity was blinding her and making her sick.

Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan paused. "You okay?" asked the cleric.

Vexir shook her head. "Cursed surface! It's the sun. How do you people put up with it? It's so harsh and bright."

Kaedyn was sympathetic. He put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't even think about it; how it might affect you." He then turned to Ryth-Shan. "We'll have to keep this in mind. As long as she is in direct sunlight, she'll be at a disadvantage." Kaedyn's concern once more touched her. Their Relationship Score increased to 53.

Nevertheless, she responded by shrugging him off. "I'll be fine. I will NOT be a hindrance. Let's keep moving."

The two men did not argue. Instead, they continued on towards a small, wooden pier at the bend in the river just ahead. There were more bodies and crates and barrels and debris everywhere. As they went, they searched them all. "Never know what might be useful," Ryth-Shan commented. "Who knows when we'll see a shop or an inn? Anything could be useful for our survival." No one argued.

At last, they wound their way around the river bend, picking up a few random things here and there including a book to Umberlee and a pale of already starting to spoil fish. When asked about why he grabbed it, Kaedyn replied, "I have prepared the Purify Food and Drink spell now. When we make camp later, I might be able to purify the fish and provide us with a decent meal." Although none of them enjoyed the smell, they did like the idea of fish for breakfast.

As Kaedyn put the fish into his magic pocket, he suddenly discover that there was another magic pocket. He hadn't noticed before. It was in their collective inventory. "Hey! Look!" he said. "Lae'zel's magic pocket is in the inventory."

"I never gave her a magic pocket," said Vexir. "I didn't like her, so I kept it myself. I'm glad I did. Now, she's gone."

Then came a sudden pounding sound from further north of where they stood. Instinctively, they fell into a crouch and began to sneak towards it to investigate. As they moved around some shattered barrels and boats and dead bodies, they saw the front of a ruins. There was an entrance there, but it appeared to be locked because there was a woman pounding on it as if trying to bust it open.

The trio crept towards her, gathering other useless junk from fallen bodies and barrels and crates laying strewn about the beach as they went. Several fishing boats were also on the beach, but they were utterly destroyed. After taking their time to sneak about and gather everything from the bodies and debris, they reached the woman.

It was then that they recognized her. She was the strange woman from the pod Kaedyn had tried to save on the nautiloid. She was a Half-Elf with brown hair and a ponytail wearing some sort of custom plated armor. As they approached, quietly, she pounded a few more times on the door as she said, "Blasted door! I..."

Just then, she noticed them out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and cried, "Stop! Not another step or I'll..."

She broke off. A strange sensation caused everyone present to grab their temples and widen their stance so that they didn't grow too dizzy and fall. Their minds connected for a moment. They saw themselves trying to free the Half-Elf woman from her pod, and they caught a hint of gratitude from her.

The moment passed. The woman looked back at them as if in relief. "Ah! Did you feel that? Our minds connected. It must be the tadpoles they put in our heads. They're connecting us. Wait! I know you. You tried to save me on the ship." She said this as she made eye contact with Kaedyn. "Well, at least you put forth the effort. My name's Shadowheart. After the crash, I have been trying to gather as many supplies as I can in hopes of surviving. I was hoping this ruins might have some valuable things I could use. But it's no use. The door won't budge."

Ryth-Shan shrugged. "I'm proficient with thieves tools. I just don't have any on me. I could try to pick the lock if anyone found any lock picks or anything."

They looked around at one another, and it was clear that no one had thieves tools. Shadowheart then said, "Well, I certainly can't seem to get it open. Does this mean you'd like to travel together? It might increase our chances of survival. It would at least give us some company, if nothing else, for our final moments. You know, I think these tadpoles are going to turn us into Mind Flayers. We need to find ourselves a healer and fast."

"My name's Kaedyn," replied the Half-Drow. "This is Vexir and Ryth-Shan. I'm a cleric of Tyr, she's a fighter and Ryth-Shan is a Ranger."

"Pleasure!" said Shadowheart with a smile. "Well, if you can't get this door open either, let's try to see if there's another way in at the top of the cliff. That was my next move. Hopefully, we won't run into any more of these creatures along the way."

They followed her gesture and spotted a few intellect devourer corpses not far away on a path off to the west. That path led towards the ruins of the flaming nautiloid. Ryth-Shan grimaced. "Intellect devourers. Have you fought more of them?"

"One or two," she replied. "They were mostly dead already. The crash, I presume, did a number on them, and they were butchering a few locals when I ambushed them. It didn't take much. However, I will say, if we run into anymore of them, we should keep our distance. They are nasty up close."

Vexir grunted. "Tell me about it. We had our own run-in with one. Nasty little beast."

"At least they didn't take you over," Shadowheart said in reply. They can take control over people. I saw one doing so on the nautiloid before you arrived to try to free me."

Kaedyn shook his head. "After everything we had to go through on the ship, we still have to worry about these things. I was hoping we were free of it all."

Shadowheart shrugged. "Well, hopefully not. Who knows? Maybe I took out the last of them. Anyway, we should get going. Lead the way. I'll follow you and support you. I'm more of a ranged person who heals and protects myself."

"Oh? You're a cleric as well?" asked Kaedyn. "Who do you serve?"

Shadowheart seemed put out by the question, but the moment passed and she smiled warmly. "I serve a lesser goddess named Melira Taralen."

Each of the three made an Insight roll. Kaedyn rolled an 8+4=12. Vexir rolled a 16+2=18. Ryth-Shan rolled an 8+2=10. The DM rolled a 19 for Shadowheart's Deception roll, but it was done in secret so that the players would not know the roll was even made. That way, they wouldn't get a clue as to whether she was lying or not. Though the DM made them roll an Insight roll, it could have simply been to see if they got a generally good feeling about her.

And so, the DM informed them, "You get a generally good feeling about Shadowheart. She seems like a genuine person who is honest and straight forward.

Then another roll was made; a Religion roll. Kaedyn rolled a 14+2=16. Vexir rolled a 16+0=16. Ryth-Shan rolled a 12+0=12. Kaedyn and Vexir made the roll of 15 or higher. Thus, the DM informed them, "Melira Taralen was a minor elven goddess of bards and minstrels. She was a member of the Seldarine. Although she had no true foes of her own, she was opposed to the drow and goblinoid deities. She had a friendly rivalry with the god Milil due to some similarities with their portfolios. Melira Taralen was Chaotic Good, her symbol was the lute, and she dwelled on the plane of Arborea. She was a lover of poetry and song, and her domains were Knowledge, Life and Trickery."

Kaedyn grinned back at her. "Melira! I know her."

"Oh! Do you now?" said Shadowheart. "How wonderful! Well, perhaps we can chat about that some other time. Right now, don't you think we should get moving? Need I remind you that we have Mind Flayer tadpoles in our brains. We should really do our best to find a healer and fast. I don't know when they will start to mess with us, but it could be any moment. I'd really like to avoid that. Wouldn't you?"

The others agreed. Shadowheart's Relationship score with each of them increased to 51. "I've been taking the lead," said Ryth-Shan as he started on his way towards the west. "I'm a Ranger, so my skills at tracking and such may come in handy."

"Fine by me," said Shadowheart. "Like I said, I'm more of a support who likes to stay at the back."

Vexir paused a moment as Shadowheart stepped up to the group to join them. She debated something for only a moment. Then, deciding to go ahead, she slipped her hand into the magic pocket and handed the fourth pocket to Shadowheart. "Here," she told her. "It's a magic pocket like a bag of holding."

Shadowheart grabbed the pocket, and like the others, it immediately attached to her. All of her non-readied equipment vanished into the pocket. She responded very similarly to the others. "What? Where is all my..."

Vexir assured her. "In the pocket. We all have a collective inventory, now. We can grab any gear any of us is carrying."

Shadowheart seemed uncertain about this, but she opened the pocket and looked inside. "I see," she replied. "Well, I guess that's convenient. As long as we're traveling together, why not? Thank you." Shadowheart's Relationship Score with Vexir increased by 1 to 52.

Vexir shrugged. "Who knows how long we may have to travel together?" she said in return. Then she followed after Ryth-Shan.

As they headed off west, they immediately found more dead bodies. Two Intellect Devourers were near some of them, and they spotted the party. Without warning, the two darted into the devastated hull of the nautiloid.

"It appears to be the only way to go," Ryth-Shan explained to the others as he looted the bodies nearby. Again, he didn't find much. They only had a few gold coins at most. "We have no choice but to go through. I'll try to sneak into a good position. We'll do like we did on the ship. When I fire my first shot, then you join in. Agreed?"

Vexir and Kaedyn nodded. Shadowheart went along with it, even though she wasn't sure exactly what the plan was. Ryth-Shan made a Stealth roll. He only rolled a 3+4=7. He failed. Almost as soon as he started to creep into the nautiloid, the Intellect Devouers spodded him. There weren't just two. As soon as Ryth-Shan saw that they noticed him, he spotted movement from further inside the wreckage. There was a third one.

The battle began.

Chapter 1 - Intellect Devourer Battle

Initiative was rolled. Kaedyn rolled an 11+2=13. Vexir rolled a 9+2=11. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2+2=4, and Shadowheart rolled a 16+2=18. Intellect Devourer 3 rolled a 19+2=21. Intellect Devourer 1 rolled a 14+2=16 and Intellect Devourer 2 rolled a 13+2=15. The Initiative Order, therefore, was Intellect Devourer 3, Shadowheart, Intellect Devourer 1 and 2, then Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan.

It was Intellect Devourer 3's turn, and it used Dash Action to move 80 feet right up to Ryth-Shan. It had no ability to do any other action. Then it was Shadowheart's turn. The DM determined beforehand Shadowheart's stats at Level 2, choosing all her starter skills and Abilities and spells.

Shadowheart was created using the Point Buy system for Ability Scores. She had 12 for Strength, 14 for Dexterity, Wisdom and Charisma, 13 for Constitution and 8 for Intelligence. Her skill proficiencies were Deception, History, Insight, Medicine, Religion, and Stealth. She actually wore Custom Plated Armor that mirrored Scale Mail, giving her 14 + Dexterity (max 2) for AC. She also had a shield, giving her a total of 18 AC when she wielded her shield and 16 if she did not have her shield in hand.

She had 15 Gold Pieces (GP), a Mace, a Light Crossbow, a Priest's Pack, a Holy Symbol, a Prayer Book, 5 Sticks of Incense, a Vestment, a Set of Common Clothes and a Belt Pouch. Her automatically prepared spells, due to her Trickery Domain, were Charm Person and Disguise Self. She also had Blessing of the Trickster special ability, allowing her to use an Action to touch a willing creature other than herself to give them advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. The blessing would last for 1 hour or until she used it again.

Upon leveling her up, the DM rolled a 6 for hit points. Her Constitution bonus was +1, so she got an additional 7 HP for a total of 16 HP. She also learned Turn Undead, and Invoke Duplicity. With Invoke Duplicity, she could create a perfect illusion of herself that lasts for 1 minute, or until she lost concentration. The illusion could appear in an unoccupied space that she could see within 30 feet of her. As a Bonus action on her turn, she could move the illusion up to 30 feet to a space she could see, but it must remain within 120 feet of her. For the duration, she could cast spells as though she was in the illusion's space, but she must use her own senses. Additionally, when both she and her illusion were within 5 feet of a creature that could see the illusion, she would have advantage on attack rolls against that creature, given how distracting the illusion would be to the target.

The DM chose the following spells for her Cantrips: Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead and Word of Radiance. Then the DM chose for her Level 1 Spells: Bane, Command, Guiding Bolt and Inflict Wounds.

Seeing the Intellect Devourer within range of Ryth-Shan, Shadowheart moved to get a good shot at Intellect Devourer 3. She decided the best way to probably save him was to hit the creature with the Command Spell. With this spell, she could order the creature to either Drop, Flee, Grovel or Halt. She chose flee. The Intellect Devourer made a Wisdom savings throw. If it failed, it would have to obey her command on the next turn. Her spell save DC was 12, so it needed to roll 12 or higher. It rolled a 5 and got no bonus for Wisdom Savings Throw. It failed. On its next turn, it had to flee.

Intellect Devourer 1 and 2 also used Dash to try to get to Ryth-Shan, but they were not close enough. They would be next turn. Now it was Kaedyn's turn. Also seeking to try to save Ryth-Shan, he used Guiding Bolt. He rolled a 9+4=13 to hit. Devourer 3 had AC of 12. Hit! He did 4d6 damage off and rolled a total of 18. The next attack roll against this target would also get advantage thanks to the mystical dim light glittering on the target until the end of Kaedyn's next turn. The Devourer had 22 HP. It now had 4 HP.

Vexir's turn. With her greataxe, she rushed Devourer 3, getting into melee range by only moving 30 feet. She was now within the shadows of the ruined nautiloid, thus her sun sensitivity had no affect on her. Ryth-Shan really hadn't gone far before he was spotted. She rolled a 4+4=8 to hit. Miss! Ticked that she missed, she chose to use Action Surge. She attacked again with a 17+4=21 to hit. She did 1d12+2 damage and rolled a 3+2=5. The Devourer was resistant to her weapon, similar to the imps on the nautiloid. Therefore, it only took 2 damage. It still had 2 HP left. Vexir was NOT happy.

It as Ryth-Shan's turn. He slung his bow over his shoulder and drew both of his shortswords. Then he attacked Devourer 3 with his main hand. 12+4=16. Hit! He rolled 1d6+2 for damage and rolled a 2+2=4. 2 HP damage. Devourer 3 died. He could still hit with his off hand, but in order to do that he'd have to risk getting close to both Devourers 1 and 2. Instead, he chose to retreat. He backed off, leaving Vexir alone to potentially face the two Devourers. He ran 30 feet away so that next turn he could pull his bow back out and hit with it. By doing this, his Relationship Score with Vexir was reduced by 1. She had tried to save him, but he had fallen back to leave her alone against 2 enemies.

Round 2. It was Shadowheart's turn, since Devourer 3 was dead. "Guess I wasted that last spell," she said, a bit frustrated. Then she decided to use Guiding Bolt on Devourer 1. She rolled a 1. Critical Miss! She only had 1 spell slot left now.

Devourer 1 ran up to Vexir and attacked. It rolled a 12+4=16 with its claws. Vexir's AC was 16. Hit! It rolled 2d4+2 and rolled 4+2=6. Vexir's HP was reduced to 14. Then it used Devour Intellect. Vexir had to roll a 12 or higher with her Intelligence Savings Throw. She rolled a 6 with no bonus. The creature, therefore, did 2d10 psychic damage to her. It rolled an 11. She now only had 3 HP remaining. Then, the creature rolled 3d6 to see if it could render her stunned. It rolled a 14 total. Her Intelligence was reduced to 0 and therefore she was stunned. With a scream of agony, Vexir fell to the ground.

Devourer 2 then used Dash to run up to Kaedyn. It could not attack because it did this. If he tried to use his Guiding Bolt at that point, he'd get a disadvantage on his roll because the creature was too close. Therefore, he chose to simply attack with his mace and use Shield of Faith to help protect himself. That would give him +2 AC for up to 10 minutes as long as he maintained concentration. He attacked with a 10+4=14. Hit! He rolled 1d6 and got a 6+2=8 HP off. Again, damage resistance halved the damage, so he only took 4 HP off. It was down to 18 HP.

"These things are full health!" he cried, fear gripping his heart.

It was Vexir's turn, but she was out of the fight, utterly stunned until someone healed her Intelligence Score by at least 1 point. Ryth-Shan then went next. He pulled his bow out and fired at Devourer 2 who was on Kaedyn. He rolled a 1. Critical Miss! "Son of a..." he started to say, but he didn't complete the phrase as he tried to maneuver into a position further away from his foes. If he could just keep them away...

It was Shadowheart's turn again at the start of Round 3. She liked Ryth-Shan's idea of getting further away. She backed up and launched her last Level 1 Spell; Guiding Bolt again. She rolled a 12+4=16. Hit! She did 14 total damage, reducing it from 18 to 4 HP.

Devourer 1 rushed Kaedyn. It attacked with claws and rolled a 1. Critical Miss! Then it did Devour Intellect on him. He rolled a 6 with no proficiency bonus for Intelligence savings throw. It did 2d10 psychic damage to him, rolling a 10. He now had 8 HP left. Then it rolled the 3d6 against his Intelligence Score. It rolled an 11. Kaedyn's Intelligence was 10. Like Vexir, his Intelligence was reduced to 0 and he was rendered stunned and on the ground. He fell with a cry of anguish.

Now it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He fired his longbow again at Devourer 2 in the hopes of finishing it off. He rolled a 10+6=16 and hit. He then did 1d8+2 damage. He rolled a 5+2=7 and did 3 points of damage total. It only had 1 HP remaining. He then moved 30 feet away from the Devourers again.

Round 4. Shadowheart decided to use Invoke Duplicity. Then she fled 30 feet away from the enemies, leaving the illusion of herself standing there to face them. Then, she had the illusion run 30 feet using her Bonus action in a direction that would draw the creatures away from her and Ryth-Shan.

It worked. Both Devourer 1 and 2 rushed the illusionary Shadowheart and attacked. Both seemed confused. Though they could detect the location of any creature within 300 feet of them, their sight registered that there was a target close to them that they could attack. Thus, they tried, in vain, to kill illusion Shadowheart. It was Ryth-Shan's turn. He attacked again with his longbow and rolled a 4. Miss.

Round 5. Shadowheart pulled out her crossbow and fired at Devourer 2. She rolled a 13+4=17 and hit. She did 1d8+2, and rolled a 7+2=9. 4 HP off. It only had 1 HP remaining. Devourer 2 died. "Thank the gods!" she cried. "One more to go." Then she used her Bonus action to move her illusionary self again to lead the Devourer on a chase. It used its reaction to take a swipe, but missed. Sure enough, the Devourer followed the illusion and tried attacking again. On Ryth-Shan's turn, he rolled a 6+6=12 and hit. He rolled 1d8+2 damage and only rolled a 1+2=3. He did 1 HP off of it. It was the strongest of them all with 24 HP. Thus, it still had 23 remaining.

Round 6. Shadowheart attacked again, this time with a Cantrip called Toll the Dead. She pointed at Devourer 1 after moving within 60 feet to be in range. The sound of a dolorous bell filled the air around the creature for a moment. It rolled a 5 for Wisdom Savings Throw and failed. Since the creature was already injured, even by 1 HP, it took 1d12 damage instead of 1d8. Shadowheart rolled a 12 and reduced its HP from 23 to 11. She then used her Bonus action to move illusion Shadowheart again to try to distract it.

It didn't work this time. The creature rushed her, now viewing her as the most dangerous opponent. It used Dash to get to her, but it could not attack.

Ryth-Shan's turn. He fired his longbow again, hitting with a 11+6=17. He rolled 2+2=4 damage, reducing the creature from 11 to 9. He then moved another 30 feet away to try to put some reasonable distance between himself and it in case Shadowheart fell.

Round 7. Shadowheart was now too close. She used Toll the Dead again. The Devourer rolled a 6 and failed. She did 1d12 more damage off. She rolled a 9 exactly. The creature heard the dolorous bell and died. The party gained 337 XP each.

Shadowheart slumped to the ground in relief, allowing her illusionary self to vanish. Ryth-Shan gawked at her a moment. "I think I'm in love with you," he told her. "I think you are my new favorite person right now."

Shadowheart laughed to relieve some of the stress. "Oh really?" she said after she recovered. "Well, I..." She stopped. Her expression hardened. It was clear that she had forgotten who she was talking to. She sneered. "Oh. Right. It's you. I'd rather kiss an ogre's backside, thank you."

Ryth-Shan was stunned. Words could not form in his mind. What had he done? Why had she turned on him like that?

She read his expression and said, "I don't trust your kind, Gith. If it was up to me, I wouldn't even continue with you. I only tolerated you coming because you were with the other two. Speaking of which, we should check on them. I hope they're not dead." She then ran up to Kaedyn without another word to him. Ryth-Shan's Relationship Score with Shadowheart decreased by 4 to 47.

He watched her go and felt fire burning in his veins. She was obviously not someone to mess with. If it hadn't been for her, they'd all likely be dead. However, her prejudice and obvious sudden mood swing made him want to put an arrow in her back. "Oh, you are definitely a tricky one, aren't you," he muttered to himself. "I better warn the others about her. Sweet as pie when they were all around. As soon as we're alone, she's as nasty as a swamp hag." Then he hurried to catch up.

"They're just stunned," she told him as he approached. She was already dragging Kaedyn over to Vexir so that they were in one place. "We'd better get some rest and try to recover." She was talking to him in her sweet voice again. "Why don't you see if you can find us a camp or something. We should try to call it a day. I don't think we can go on right now."

Ryth-Shan nodded. "I'll see what I can find." Then he took off back towards the river, bow ready. When they had first met Shadowheart, he thought he saw a small path around the eastern side of the ruins hidden behind some rocks and such. It looked like it led to a cozy, little dead end that might make a defendable campsite. He hated leaving the others with Shadowheart, but he didn't have much choice. She was right. There wasn't any real way they were going to continue at that moment. They needed to find some sort of camp.

Sure enough, he skirted around the shore and waded only a little in the river to a dry spot beyond. It was removed enough that enemies shouldn't find them too easily, and even if they did, it looked pretty defendable. He hurried back to Shadowheart and helped her carry the two back. When they arrived, he said to her, "This looks like just as good a place as any. Yes? Let's get some rest."

Shadowheart only grunted as she lay Vexir down on the ground. "Fine," she replied. Then Ryth-Shan lay Kaedyn next to Vexir, and the two began to lay out bedrolls and set up camp.

Chapter 1 - The First Night

The day dragged on a bit with both Ryth-Shan and Shadowheart speaking very little to one another. The fish Kaedyn meant to purify were thoroughly rotten, and so Ryth-Shan took them back to the shore and dumped them. He and his companions had gathered a few less perishable food items from the fallen in just the short time they'd been on the beach, and so he shared what he had with Shadowheart to make at least a meal out of it. Kaedyn and Vexir were both like corpses, so neither ate. At one point, Ryth-Shan closed their eyes, for it unnerved them that they were staring as if dead.

They tidied up the campsite area and sprawled out tents and bedrolls and the like. In one open area, they built a campfire. Together, they also gathered several crates from the beach to use as their own personal storage. Then they spent some time going through the junk they'd picked up so that they could leave in their storage a reasonable amount of stuff they planned to sell, maybe, eventually, if they ever found a merchant. They considered just lugging it all around in their magic pockets, but what they soon discovered was that they still had to share the weight of all of that potentially useless junk. Therefore, leaving it at camp made the most sense.

At one point, Ryth-Shan discovered a strange, rather large, rune etched into the stone near the entrance to the ruins Shadowheart had been trying to bust into. She came to examine it as well. Both made Arcana rolls. Shadowheart rolled a 2 and Ryth-Shan rolled a 17. He succeeded and explained it was a Netherese portal rune. "There are likely more around the area. We could use these to transport ourselves from one place to another instantly."

"So you understand it?" asked Shadowheart.

"Indeed," said Ryth-Shan. He then taught her how to use it. "Convenient that it is near our campsite," he said with a smile.

Shadowheart rolled her eyes and just walked away. Her Relationship Score with him dropped another point to 46. He was trying to make friends with her, but she was not having it.

Finally, evening came, and they had lit a fire. Ryth-Shan spent some time fishing with some poles he found from the fishermen on the shore. There were also a few nets that were still intact. And so, he managed to catch them some fresh fish for the night with a successful 20 Survival check. This, at least, made things more tolerable that night, and his Relationship Score with Shadowheart increased back to 47 because he had proven useful to her.

The DM then called for a Nature roll of 15 or higher. Ryth-Shan rolled a 15 and succeeded. As they sat around the fire, eating, he looked upon Vexir and Kaedyn, lost in his own thoughts. Shadowheart noticed, and she was curious enough to ask, "What is it? You seem troubled."

Ryth-Shan looked at her and sighed. He replied, "None of this makes any sense. The Ghaik... er... Mind Flayers, I mean, and the nature of the intellect devourers... it's all wrong. The way everything happened. Something's not right."

Shadowheart seemed even more intrigued. She was sitting there with a guarded look and making it clear she still didn't trust him, but she seemed intensely interested. Their Relationship Score increased by 1 to 48. "What do you mean? What's all wrong exactly?"

Ryth-Shan's eyes roamed back to Vexir and Kaedyn who were laying between him and Shadowheart. Both appeared to be in a deep sleep. "Everything," he said. "For starters, the Ghaik were not normal. Did you notice their eyes?"

"What about their eyes?" asked Shadowheart.

"Their eyes are supposed to be pale and devoid of pupils. These Ghaik had fiery eyes, it seemed. It was as if there was something burning within their souls. It was... unnerving."

"That's it? You are upset about their eyes?" she asked.

Ryth-Shan looked at her again and chuckled. "I wish. No. Like I said. It was everything. One of the most disturbing parts was actually the intellect devourers. They used devour intellect to disable both Vexir and Kaedyn, but they didn't use body thief. That is their most deadly ability, and they didn't use it. They acted like they were going to, but then they didn't."

"Maybe it's because they have tadpoles in their heads," suggested Shadowheart. "Maybe they didn't want to harm someone they knew would soon be one of their masters."

Ryth-Shan's expression was unusually hard, and it unnerved Shadowheart. He said, "Then why did they attack us to begin with? Yes, I killed a newborn, an Ustilagor, but that shouldn't have turned them against us. Ghaik consider Ustilagor to be a delicacy. They eat them all the time. So if we are infected and we killed one, why would they attack us? The fact that we have Ghaik parasites in us should have meant that the intellect devourers shouldn't have even attacked us at all. It was as if... as if they were... disorganized."

"It was pretty chaotic up there," said Shadowheart. "Maybe they..."

Ryth-Shan cut her off. "I don't know. Maybe I didn't learn enough in my creche. I was pretty young when everyone I knew was killed. Still, my creche was rigid and strict. Ghaik lore was taught to us at a very young age. They are the sworn enemies of my people. Therefore, we learn a great deal about them almost as soon as we can learn how to talk."

"The Ghaik are individuals who believe that they are agents of "Order". They are forces of law who are driven to tame chaos. They detest disorder. They think they are the caretakers of the multiverse. They view mind control as the best way to remove freedom from others which in turn removes crime and lawlessness and disorder. For them to be so chaotic... it just doesn't make any sense."

Shadowheart said nothing to this. She was also now quite disturbed by what he was saying. Since she was silent, he continued. "They have a shared, collective mind. Knowledge equals power, and they would share vast amounts of information freely amongst one another. So if we're infected, and we are, we should have been viewed by all as ally, not enemy. Certainly, the intellect devourers shouldn't have even tried to devour intellect at all. They have the ability to sense and detect the presence and location of any creature within three hundred feet of them. I don't know. It was almost as if they were having a civil war amongst themselves. It was as if the collective mind was fragmenting into factions."

"And then, what's more," Ryth-Shan said after only a brief pause, "my people were pursuing that vessel even into the Hells! A Ghaik vessel is one of our most prized catches, but to pursue it into the hells, that is something unusual to say the least. There were so many thralls, the demons were SO bent on seizing the ship, my people were also so intent on it... no. There is something VERY strange about all this."

"On top of it all, as if all that isn't enough, the entire ceremorphosis process was done differently than normal," he concluded.

"How so?" she asked.

"It was sped up," he told her. "And yet, it is completely stalled. Normally, the Ghaik would secure the suitable host by rendering them docile with a mind blast. Then they would take a mature tadpole that was selected from the elder brain's brine pool after it had spent a decade there. Then, after a few hours of crawling around inside the host's cranium, the parasite would attach itself to their brain stem and replace their brain with its own tissue. Essentially, it would completely replace a host's personality with its own while still keeping the body alive for the second stage of the transformation."

"So, if what you're saying is true, we should not even be having this conversation right now," said Shadowheart.

"Exactly," he told her. "It is only possible to interrupt ceremorphosis to save a host before this initial stage is completed. That means we should have had to have been cleansed within a few hours in order to be saved. We shouldn't even be ourselves right now. We should be the tadpoles living through our bodies."

An uneasy silence followed. After a few moments, Shadowheart asked, "Do you know how to remove these things from our heads?"

He shrugged as he now played with the campfire. "I remember the horror stories as a child. The most effective method was to incinerate or crush the host's head."

Shadowheart's eyes bugged out. "Are you serious? The BEST way was to kill the person?"

Ryth-Shan's expression was solemn. "Yes. Utterly crush and destroy the head, parasite and all. Then the purifier would use resurrection spells to bring the person back to life. Finally, they would use restoration magic and heal spells to reconstruct the person's personality and so forth. But again, this would only be if the damage was not complete. After the initial stage, after just a few hours, the original creature would be utterly lost and beyond any hope of salvation. Only a miracle could bring them back."

"I can see, now, why you're upset," she said sarcastically. "Sounds like a truly exciting experience. I feel like I've been robbed of the pleasure."

Ryth-Shan gave her a chuckle. Their Relationship Score increased again by 1, back to 49. "I suppose I should be thankful. For whatever reason, the parasites are dormant or defective in some way."

"I'm also quite happy to know that even if we start to turn, we'll be basically dead before all the viciously awful stuff starts to happen. Right?" said Shadowheart.

Ryth-Shan nodded. "True. It is a small mercy. We'll cease to be us within hours long before our internal organs are reshaped and our faces split open to make room for the tentacles, and so forth."

She was silent again as she stared into the fire. "And they're just sleeping away now," she remarked after a bit as she gestured at their two comatose companions.

"Right," said the Gith. "They should be dead. Either via the parasites or the intellect devourers, their brains should have been consumed. We all should be dead. I just..."

She then met his gaze, her expression hard. "Let's get some rest. In the morning, let's make finding a healer our number one priority. Agreed? Forget the ruins here and all. We need to find someone who can fix us and them."

Ryth-Shan could not argue with that. "I agree wholeheartedly."

That night, Kaedyn and Vexir both had the strangest dream. Or was it real? They couldn't be certain. Either way, it was as if someone or something was calling to them. The voice sounded warm and inviting. "Where are you?" it asked. For Kaedyn, it was a woman's voice; sweet and sultry. For Vexir, it was a man's; strong and powerful. They each had the same reaction. They were on their feet in moments and running around the beach where they had landed after they'd escaped the nautiloid. The voice was calling to them from the horizon, but no matter what they did, they couldn't reach it.

They both awoke with a start at the same time. As a result, they woke Shadowheart. She was the only one who had been asleep. She had taken first watch and Ryth-Shan had taken second. Therefore, he was awake when they jerked upright. He was so startled that he jumped to his feet with bow ready. This movement woke Shadowheart who also jumped up with weapons drawn.

"What?" Vexir snapped, immediately furious that they were drawing their weapons. She searched for her own but didn't find them. She did NOT like that even more. "Calm down!" she barked. "Put your weapons down at once." She made an Intimidation roll at a disadvantage, for at that moment she was not that intimidating. She rolled a 7 and 13, so the 7 was taken because of disadvantage. 7+4=11. The DM then had Shadowheart and Ryth-Shan roll an Insight check to see if they could successfully see through her intimidation and determine if she was acting on her own or as a Mind Flayer tadpole. Ryth-Shan rolled an 8+2=10. Failure. He kept his weapons up. Her intimidation tactic worked in reverse of what she intended. He was afraid of her, and so he kept his bow up and ready.

Shadowheart, however, rolled a 13+4=17 and succeeded. She lowered her weapons. "It's okay," she told Ryth-Shan. "I think she's just lashing out in fear. It's her. It's not the tadpole." Ryth-Shan had a choice. Did he believe her and lower his weapon, or did he continue to not trust them.

He chose to trust Shadowheart. His Relationship Score with her went up by 1 to 50. He lowered his bow.

"What is going on?" asked Kaedyn. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You were rendered unconscious by intellect devourers," Ryth-Shan explained. "We dragged you both to this spot and made camp for the night." Then he shook his head and put his hand to his forehead. "Gods! You shouldn't even be awake right now. You had your intellects devoured. We should have needed to find a healer to use Greater Restoration to restore you. None of this makes any sense!"

Shadowheart ignored him. She smiled warmly. "He seems always upset about something. He never looks on the bright side. You're awake. This is good. All this is good. According to him, we should all be completely dead by now; taken over by the mind flayer tadpoles."

"What?" asked Vexir. "What do you mean? Explain."

"Well, last night, the Gith said..." Then Shadowheart told them all about what Ryth-Shan had said to her the previous night. As they sat around the camp and ate Ryth-Shan's latest catch of fish, she concluded, "So, none of us should be alive, but here we are. Our plan is to seek out a healer, though, and fast. Who knows when these things will decide to start consuming us."

"Agreed," said Vexir. She looked truly unwell. The sun was wearing on her already, and it had barely been an hour since they'd awakened. It was rather early, and the sun had barely been in the sky. Fortunately, a few clouds gave her some shelter from the harsh rays. "So we're skipping the ruins?"

"Unless you really think it's a good idea to search them," Ryth-Shan replied. "Seems rather unimportant right now. Our top priority is to get these things out of us."

"Well," said Kaedyn as he finished his last piece of fish and tossed the bones in the fire. He brushed himself off as he stood. "Then I say, 'Let's not delay.' Let's get an early start. We have a full day ahead of us."

"I still can't believe you're both standing right now and looking, well, good," said Ryth-Shan. "It's like you decided to just take a nice nap in a comfortable bed in an inn somewhere instead of having your minds sucked dry by intellect devourers."

"Again, small mercies," said Shadowheart with a pleasant smile. "Let's not sit here and dwell on it too long, shall we? I agree with... I'm sorry. What was your name again?"

"Kaedyn," he replied.

"Kaedyn. Right," she said. "I won't forget again." She then winked at him and set out. Kaedyn was surprised and didn't know how to respond to that. Vexir and Ryth-Shan both exchanged looks. Neither knew exactly what to think of that little exchange.

"Well," said Vexir after a moment. She searched her magic pocket and pulled out her greataxe, thankful that it was there. "Let's not dawdle. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting, now would we?" She shot Kaedyn a sneer. Still not knowing how to respond to this, he just gave her a blank stare in return as she turned her back on him and followed Shadowheart.

Ryth-Shan smirked and patted him on the shoulder. He then whispered, "Lady Killer," to him and kicked out the dying embers of the fire. After that, he followed the ladies out of the camp.

Kaedyn just stood there, dumbfounded, for a moment. Then, as he saw them all disappear around the bend at the far end of the camp, he shook his head and began to follow. With a sigh, he muttered to himself, "Please, Tyr. Give me strength." And with that, the party began their second day.

So perfectly detailed! Reminds me of my fan fiction about the adventures of my Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 custom character.

Thank you! I'm planning to continue updating it regularly. It's been a lot of fun to write.

Chapter 2 - The Suspicious Elf

It was early morning. The sun was not high over the eastern horizon. The four strangers made their way back to the crashed nautiloid. As they approached the location where they had faced the three intellect devourers, Kaedyn and Vexir both felt a shudder run down their spines. They couldn't help but remember what it was like to have their intellects devoured.

But the remainder of that section of the ship was empty of life. There were a few more bodies lying about. After a quick search, they found a Mind Flayer chest and a few Mind Flayer corpses. On them, they found another potion of speed and a few coins. There was a locket that belonged to some kid, or so they thought. It had some sort of inscription on it referring to "Daddy."

There were two ways to go. They could either continue on into the midst of the ruined ship, or they could head through to the west side via a massive, gaping hole in the hull. They chose the west side. None wanted to really explore the nautiloid further if they could help it.

On the far side, the river cut them off again, winding north a short ways into a cove. The rapids were moving too fast to swim across, but they could see that beyond there was some sort of bog in the distance. On the southern shore, just to their left, there were destroyed fishing boats and some crates strewn about the shoreline. Only one crate seemed to be of any importance. It was locked.

"Must have something good inside," Ryth-Shan commented. "Still don't have me any thieves tools, though. If I did, I'd try to pick the lock."

"We could just bash it open," suggested Vexir.

"Too much noise," Kaedyn cautioned. "We still don't know who might be around. I'd rather not draw unwanted attention."

"Also, we might destroy what's inside," said Shadowheart.

Perception rolls were made in secret by the DM for each character. Kaedyn rolled a 5, Vexir an 18, Ryth-Shan an 11 and Shadowheart a 3. The difficulty was 15, so Kaedyn and Shadowheart certainly didn't make it even with their skill bonuses. Vexir made it for sure even without looking at her bonus, and Ryth-Shan only barely made it because he got a +4 for his Perception skill for a total of 15.

Ryth-Shan and Vexir both spotted a set of thieves tools in the bushes not too far from the crate. "How convenient!" said Ryth-Shan as he ran up to them. "I wonder where they came from."

Vexir had been just about to point them out, but when she saw him already heading towards them she simply replied, "Who cares? Let's just see what's in the crate. You never know what could help us survive this."

Everyone agreed. Ryth-Shan grabbed the thieves tools and ran up to the crate. He rolled a 14+4=18 to succeed in picking the lock. Success! He needed a 15. The lock clicked open and he threw the lid off. He found a leather helmet, some gold, some food, and a few bottles of wine.

It was like a gift during the holidays for them. Ryth-Shan's Relationship Score increased by 2 for everyone. They were so happy with him for acquiring such a feast that they could hardly contain it. "You are truly one of the most valuable members of the party," Vexir commented as she snatched a bottle of wine from him.

"It is the simple things that matter most, sometimes, isn't it," said Shadowheart as she took another of the bottles.

Kaedyn grabbed an apple and some bread. "I like fish, and all, but this will due for a nice lunch and will even last us for supper."

They quickly stowed the food and such in their magic pockets, and then Ryth-Shan held the leather helmet. "Anyone want the helmet?"

"It's better than nothing, I suppose," said Vexir. "I'd better take it. I'm always the one up close." He then gave it to her without complaint. He was a ranged person, after all.

No one argued as she put it on. She had to take out her ponytail so that she could tuck her hair up inside the cap, but in the end, she fastened it on. She actually looked somewhat silly, but they knew that it would at least provide her with some protection if she suffered a blow to the head. Basically, in game terms, the DM decided that he would award her with a +2 Damage Resistance against Critical Hits. In other words, if someone scored a Critical Hit on her, she would take 2 less points of damage.

After this, the group made their way along a path to the north. They came upon another hole in the ship on their right and some bushes on the left. The path sloped up a bit until they spotted, in the distance, a pod just like the ones the Mind Flayers had put them in. It looked as if the pod had been ejected and had crashed there feet first. Like the nautiloid, it looked as if it had been on fire, but those fires were now burned out. It had, after all, been more than a day since the crash.

As they approached, they suddenly spotted a pale elf male with curly, white hair. His hair was combed back but looked wild and crazy. In spite of it being a bit messy, it looked rather good on him; as if he intended it to be that way. He was dressed somewhat like a nobleman, though he wore fancy padded armor and was armed with a rapier. It was clear he was not dressed for court. He was crouched over as if observing something beyond the foliage near him.

As he spotted the group, he said over his shoulder, "Ah! Good." He hissed in low tones. "Thank goodness you've arrived when you did. Please, can you help me? 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."

Nature rolls were made in secret by the DM. He rolled a 4 for Kaedyn, a 10 for Vexir, a 20 for Ryth-Shan and a 10 for Shadowheart. The difficulty was 15, so only Ryth-Shan made it. He actually got an advantage, since it was in regards to an aberration, but the DM didn't have to use that.

Kaedyn was about to step forward to help the man as he hefted his already readied mace and shield, but Ryth-Shan stopped him. "This could be an intellect devourer trick," he warned with his hand to Kaedyn's chest. "They have the body thief ability to steal someone's body. Remember? Basically, they could have devoured this guy's brain and taken him over. They often use the bodies of normal people like him to lure unsuspecting victims into a Mind Flayer trap, or to kill them outright."

The white-haired elf was appalled. "How dare you?" he scolded. "I..." Just then, a boar ran out of the bushes and fled further away along the shelf of land they were on. Seeing this, the elf replied, "Well, I was hoping for a kinder soul, but I guess I'll just have to improvise." He spoke charmingly enough, but everyone immediately sensed lethal intent.

Initiative was rolled. Kaedyn rolled an 8+2=10. Vexir also rolled an 8+2=10. Ryth-Shan rolled a 7+2=9. Shadowheart rolled a 16+2=18, and the elf rolled a 9+3=12. So the Initiative Order was Shadowheart, the elf, Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan.

A dagger suddenly appeared in the elf's hand. He made a move as if he was going to rush Kaedyn. Shadowheart, however, was quicker. With crossbow in hand, she took a shot. She rolled a 5+4=9. Miss. The elf had 14 AC. He dodged to the side deftly and rushed Kaedyn. Much to everyone's surprise, at the last second, he spun and came at Vexir. He then rolled an 11+5=16. Her AC was 16. Hit!

But that was the end of the battle. He didn't actually strike a blow. Instead, his dagger came up to her throat, just under her chin. Everyone froze. The tip was pressed against her skin with his free hand cupped around behind her head. He made it clear that he could kill her with a flick of his wrist, but he chose not to. He wanted answers, it seemed.

"Now then. That's better," the elf said, his voice strained. He was clearly rather desperate. "Shh! Shh! Not a sound; not if you want to keep that darling neck of yours. I have a few questions, and you will only speak when I ask them. If any of your friends try anything, you're dead. Everyone understand? Nod." He nodded as if trying to coax them along.

Vexir's eyes glanced about at her companions. They were poised and ready to attack the elf if she could somehow break free. Instead, she nodded carefully. They followed her lead. She was both terrified and quite furious. She did NOT like having this puny, cocky elf holding her at knife-point.

"Splendid!" said the elf as if they were the best of friends and he was having such a delightful conversation with her. "See? That wasn't so hard. Now. I saw you on the ship, didn't I? Nod." They all nodded again. "Delightful! See? Isn't this great fun? You know. I think you're getting the hang of this game. Next question. Well, actually, it's more of a statement." His voice and expression became instantly hostile and sinister. "You're going to tell me exactly what you and those tentacled freaks did to me."

Kaedyn spoke up. "You have it backwards. They took us prisoner, just like you."

The elf shot him a vicious look. "Don't lie to me! I... agh!"

Just then, their minds twisted. There was a flash of activity in their heads. All four of the adventurers were suddenly looking out of unfamiliar eyes, prowling dark, busy streets. They each tried to hold the memory, but it faded to the worm. The light. The fear.

The elf released Vexir and staggered away, clutching his head. "What was that? What's going on?" He brandished his dagger to ward them off, but he was like a drunk; bleary-eyed and staggering.

Vexir was about to pounce, when Kaedyn stepped in the way. "Wait! I think he's one of us. It's the Mind Flayer worm. It connected us."

The elf seemed to realize that he was right, as did the others. All weapons except for Vexir's lowered. The elf said, "You're not one of them. They took you, just the same as me. And to think, I was ready to decorate the ground with your innards. Apologies." He was back to being his usual charming, friendly persona.

"Glad to see we're all caught up," Ryth-Shan remarked offhandedly.

"Indeed, we are," said the elf, almost seductively. It somewhat gave Ryth-Shan a creepy feeling. He even felt a shudder run down his spine. "Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Astarion. I was in Baldur's Gate when those beasts snatched me."

"I'm Kaedyn," the Half-Drow replied. "This is Vexir." He touched the top of her axe and slowly lowered it for her. She gave him a steely gaze but let him. Their Relationship Score dropped to 52. "That's Ryth-Shan and Shadowheart." Then he proceeded to tell Astarion everything they had been through.

"Wonderful!" said Astarion. "Isn't this a happy occasion. Now we're all such good friends. My. My. You've been busy. So, did you learn anything about these worms while wandering the ship?"

"Yes," said Ryth-Shan. "Unfortunately, they'll turn us into Ghaik. Mind Flayers."

"Turn us into... Ha! Hahahaha!" His face then contorted to a teeth gritting scowl. "Of course it'll turn me into a monster. What else did I expect? 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!?" Ryth-Shan snapped. "Are you mad? We need to get rid of it. We're lucky that they haven't transformed us into Mind Flayers yet. We should have lost our minds, literally, and our personalities, within hours of infestation. We're living on borrowed time as it is."

"Well, yes. Of course," said Astarion as if completely unaffected by his response. "But first things first. Control it, THEN get it removed. Right?"

"You should travel with us," Kaedyn stated. "Our odds are better together. We all have these things in us. Maybe if we work together, we can overcome it." And with that, his Relationship Score with Astarion increased to 52.

"I was ready to go this alone, but maybe sticking with the herd isn't a bad idea. Safety in numbers, after all," said Astarion. "And I hate to turn down an invitation." Again, Ryth-Shan detected a creepy vibe. Why was an invitation something he delighted in a little TOO much? "All right, I accept. Lead on."

"Don't you think we should have discussed this first before you made a decision to add another party member?" asked Vexir. She did not seem pleased with this arrangement.

Ryth-Shan grunted. "He's decided that he's our leader now. Fall in line, Drow."

It was a joke, and Vexir caught it. She glanced at him with a smirk. Their Relationship Score increased to 54. "Watch your tone, Gith," she replied sharply, but it was clear that she was only returning in jest. Their score went up to 55.

"Sorry," said Kaedyn. "I just figured that if you disagreed, you'd let me know. Do we have to discuss everything in a committee? Are you disagreeing?"

Their eyes met. Vexir seemed uncertain. Then she sighed. "I admit that he's got skills. I wasn't expecting someone so soft and squishy looking to catch me off guard like that. It was impressive." Her Relationship Score with Astarion increased to 51. "Fine."

"I'm glad you approve, Darling," said Astarion graciously. "Again, you should also be pleased that I chose you as my primary target. It was most certainly because I viewed you as the greatest threat to me." His score with her increased to 52.

"Just don't do something like that again," she replied. "Come. Let's get moving. We've wasted enough time here."

"Wait," said Ryth-Shan. "That boar. I think I could maybe speak with him and see if he can help guide us around here. We might be able to get some answers about what's been happening here, too."

"Speaking of that," said Shadowheart. "Our new friend hasn't exactly been very forthcoming on information about what's happened to him since the crash and what he knows. Don't tell me you were in that pod the whole time. What have you been up to since we crashed over a day ago? What can YOU tell us?"

Astarion shrugged. "There's really not much to tell. I was stuck in that pod in the bowels of the ship. I saw you." He pointed at Ryth-Shan. "You came into the chamber my pod was in. There were explosions. The ship spun sideways. Pods were being thrown out the hole left and right. My pod was thrown out just as the ship was about to crash. It hit the ground hard here. The pod was heavily damaged, and it took some time to break free. I didn't feel well, so I staggered into the bushes and hid myself there."

"But then, there were people running about wildly," he continued. "They were in a frightful state. I wasn't sure if they were friend or foe, so I continued to stay hidden. Mind Flayers and those brain creatures were killing everyone still. It was madness. The fighting seemed to last forever. So many died. Apparently, the shores of this river were lined with people when the ship crashed. Must be a settlement or something nearby; a fishing village perhaps."

"A lot of them obviously had boats, though," said Ryth-Shan, gesturing back the way they'd come. "Could be more than one settlement along the river here. Maybe the fish are biting more on this side of the river."

"Do you think we could get across to the other side?" asked Kaedyn.

Ryth-Shan shook his head. "The currents are too strong. Without a boat, we'd risk having an undertow drag us under."

As they were discussing this, Shadowheart continued to regard Astarion warily. "What happened next?" she asked. It was as if she was interrogating him. Even her stance indicated this.

Astarion was a bit put out by her. "Well, then I noticed that dawn was coming. I will confess, I panicked." He seemed to get lost, for a moment, in his own thoughts, as if he was still pondering something that puzzled him. Then he shook this off and continued. "With dawn coming, my spot in the bushes wouldn't likely shield me forever, you see. I feared the light would expose me. So, I hunted around for a better hiding place. The only one I could find in time was one of the crates the fishermen had in their shattered boat just south of here. I popped open one of the unbroken ones and prayed no one found me."

"We saw the crates," remarked Kaedyn. "We found one had some food supplies inside. Ryth-Shan here had to pick the lock. He found some thieves tools in the bushes and..."

"My tools!" Astarion remarked. "Bravo, Dear Boy! I was wondering what happened to those. If you don't mind, I'd like to have those back. I guarantee I'm much better at them than you are." He grinned charmingly. "I'm somewhat of an expert."

Ryth-Shan hesitated, but he decided to pull them out and hand them to Astarion. His Relationship Score with Kaedyn decreased to 51. He was not pleased that Kaedyn had told him about the tools. "Fine by me," he lied. "Now. Maybe I can try to go have a chat with that boar."

"Sounds good to me," said Kaedyn. "Any help would be good."

Shadowheart was not content, though. Once more, she stopped them from moving on. She was obviously suspicious of Astarion. "So, were you hiding in the crate the whole time until we came along?"

Astarion now made it obvious that he was totally annoyed by her questions. "My Dear. You are an inquisitive one, aren't you?" He then sighed. "No. I will confess that I remained in the crate for some time as that first morning came. Those brain creatures continued going about hunting people. One came for me and smashed the crate open. It was all rather... terrifying, to say the least." He then became like a person who is haunted by some horrible trauma. "The light pierced my eyes as the beast's claws tore the lid off. I... I'll never forget that moment."

"I bet," said Kaedyn, sympathetically. "Vexir and I have recently had the unpleasant experience of having one of those things eat our intellects."

His words seemed to snap Astarion out of his nightmarish reverie. "Well, that's the thing," said Astarion. "You actually saved me. You came along just then and drew the creature's attention. They seemed more interested in you than me at that point. I saw you killing them. You were all quite good, I must say." He then glanced over at Shadowheart when he said this last bit.

"Why didn't you help us?" asked Shadowheart, still obviously suspicious.

"I admit, I was utterly terrified. I ran," he confessed sheepishly. "I'm dreadfully ashamed of my actions, but... well... after everything I'd been through... Bah! That's no excuse, and I am terribly sorry. It's just... well... I hope you'll forgive me."

"What did you do then?" Shadowheart continued.

Astarion sneered. "You ARE relentless, aren't you? I found another place to hide. There's a small alcove down there." He pointed to a path down the cliff on the west side that ran around to the cove. There was a little nook in the side of the cliff there that was bathed in shadow. "I was hoping beyond hope nothing would find me."

At this, the DM made secret Insight rolls against Astarion's Deception skill roll. Astarion rolled a 14+2=16. Kaedyn rolled a 9+4=13, Vexir a 20+2=22, Ryth-Shan a 10+2=12 and Shadowheart a 13+4=17.

The DM informed Vexir and Shadowheart that they notice that Astarion was not telling them everything. He was certainly, MOSTLY, telling the truth. However, there were little details he was leaving out that he did NOT want them to know about. It would take a lot to get the information out of him. They would either have to strap him down and being a full-blown interrogation or let the matter drop.

Vexir was the one, this time, to question him. "Can we trust you if you don't tell us the whole truth?" she asked. "You're hiding something important from us. What is it? Now!" Her Relationship Score with Shadowheart increased to 53.

Astarion sighed heavily. "Look. I understand what you're saying, but we all have our secrets, now don't we? Do I have to share ALL my secrets with everyone here right this moment? If so, I'd like to hear yours and hers." He gestured to Vexir first and then to Shadowheart.

Shadowheart fell silent. Vexir's eyes narrowed to slits. Her score with Astarion dropped to 50 again. "First you put a knife to my throat, and now you refuse to tell me what you're hiding. I'm rethinking this little arrangement. I think we're better off without him." Her score with him dropped to 48.

Astarion sneered. "Have it your way," he said, and he was clearly outraged.

He was about to walk away when Kaedyn stepped in. "Wait!" he said. "Vexir. Let's rethink this. Ryth-Shan even told us that things with these parasites are different. He's infected. We're infected. Don't you think it's more important that we stick together and work through this? He has a right to his privacy just as much as we do. Right? Can't we respect his privacy?"

They all considered this. Finally, Vexir agreed. "Fine. However," she said as she firmly locked eyes with Astarion, "if I find out you were withholding valuable information from us that we needed..."

Astarion bowed graciously, once more his charming self. "Darling, I assure you it is nothing like that. It is merely personal matters that I am keeping to myself. Nothing more."

"Good," said Kaedyn at last. "We're all in agreement. Ryth-Shan, will you please lead the way now? Hopefully the boar isn't gone."

Ryth-Shan chuckled. "No kidding! We've probably scared him halfway to Icewindale." Then he set out to follow the boars tracks. The rest followed.

Chapter 2 - Level Up

After the encounter with Astarion, the DM had determined that the adventurers had earned additional XP. There was a slight combat encounter with the elf, and they had roleplayed the scene well. They were only 1 XP shy of Level 3 anyway after the intellect devourer encounter, so the DM decided to award them 51 XP for their encounter with Astarion. This boosted them to 950 XP. He gave them that extra 1 point just to round them out.

Kaedyn rolled a 5 for HP. This increased his HP to 24. He now got 5 prepared spells, and he unlocked 4 level 1 spell slots and 2 level 2 spell slots. So now he could prepare level 2 spells. He also got Lessor Restoration and Spiritual Weapon as prepared for free because of his Domain. So he got to pick one more spell to prepare. He chose Prayer of Healing.

Vexir also rolled a 5. Her HP went up to 27. She chose Battlemaster as her Archtype. She then chose 3 Combat Maneuvers: Menacing Attack, Pushing Attack and Riposte.

Ryth-Shan rolled a 6. His HP score increased to 26. He chose the Beast Master Archery Archtype and received Primal Awareness. He could use an action and expend one ranger spell slot to focus his awareness on the region around him. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot he expended, he coudl sense whether the following types of creatures were present within 1 mile of him (or within up to 6 miles if he was in his favored, forested, terrain): aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. The feature did not reveal the creature's location or how many.

He also got 3 level 1 spell slots and new 3 level 1 spells. He already had Mage Hand as a Gith cantrip, and he had learned Animal Friendship and Speak with Animals. Because he was Githyanki, he received the Jump spell as well, now, because he was level 3. So he got to pick one more spell. He chose Hunter's Mark.

Finally, as a Beast Master, he got to choose a beast that was no larger than Medium. This beast would be his companion and travel with him, obey his commands, etc. He chose for himself a raven and called it Zriek. It had AC 12, 1 HP, could move 10 feet per move, STR 2, DEX 14, CON 8, INT 2, WIS 12, CHA 6, Perception +3 and had Mimicry and Beak with +4 to hit and 1 piercing damage.

Next was Shadowheart. The DM now allowed the players to level her up. She was already Level 2, so they just had to level her up to Level 3. One of the players rolled a 4 for her HP increase, and the DM accepted that. Her HP was now 21. Like Kaedyn, her spell slots increased to 4 level 1 slots and 2 level 2 slots. She also got to prepare one additional spell now that she was level 3. Her automatic level 2 spells because of her Trickery Domain were Mirror Image and Pass Without Trace. So, the players discussed and agreed that she would now learn Silence. They also liked the spells she already had prepared, so they didn't change them up.

Finally, it was time to level up Astarion. He was also already Level 2. This was no big deal because the first level up for a rogue doesn't really require any choices. Therefore, the players wouldn't have had any influence on his progression anyway. One player rolled a 3, and the DM accepted that for his HP increase. His HP would now be 21 because he got a +2 for Constitution bonus. Besides this, his Sneak Attack increased to 2d6 damage each time he used it. He also got to choose a Rogue Archtype. So the players discussed what Archtype they wanted to make him.

In the end, they chose Thief and thus Astarion acquired Fast Hands. This allowed him to use a Bonus Action to make Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks, to use thieves' tools to disarm a trap or open a lock, or take the Use an Object action. Thus, using potions and such would be a Bonus Action for Astarion only, not for all characters, making this ability meaningful.

Along with this ability, he also gained the Second-Story Work ability, allowing him to climb without costing extra movement. In addition, when he would make a running jump, the distance he covered now increased by a number of feet equal to his Dexterity modifier, allowing him to jump further.

Since the DM created Astarion, being a high elf, he received a Cantrip automatically. The DM decided to give the players a choice for that Cantrip now. Normally, that would have been done at character creation, but since this was the first time they got to see his character, the DM allowed them to pick. They discussed it and thought that Mage Hand would work best with Astarion's character. This would allow him to even be able to pick locks, retrieve items, etc. from a distance of 30 feet.

Astarion's level 3 stats, therefore, were: AC 14, HP 21, STR 8, DEX 17, CON 14, INT 13, WIS 13, CHA 10, Acrobatics +5, Deception +2, History +3, Perception +3, Persuasion +2, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +7 (one of his expertises), Thieves Tools +7 (his other expertise), he wore Padded Armor and was equipped with a Rapier, 2 Daggers, a Shortbow, Burglar's Pack, Thieves' Tools, Set of Fine Clothes, Signet Ring, Scroll of Pedigree, and a Purse with 25 GP in it. For spells, he knew Mage Hand. Unlike the others, he did not have a Magic Pocket, so whatever equipment he carried on him, it was not shared by all.



Chapter 2 - Animal Companions

Ryth-Shan led the others along the western ridge the jutted up out of the river below. As he went, he followed the boar's tracks easily enough. The DM didn't even make him roll because there was really no other place for the boar to go. As he came to the edge of the ridge, he found the animal cowering in the foliage. He was stuck there with no escape other than to jump off the cliff. After all, it was at least a ten foot drop on the east side and a twenty foot drop into the river on the west.

Ryth-Shan activated his Speak with Animals spell, using one of his 3 spell slots. He would only use Animal Friendship if he had to. He was hoping just talking to the boar would be enough. He gestured for the others to remain a good distance back, and he approached with body language that would likely communicate to the beast that he was friendly and meant no harm.

He made an Animal Handling roll of 16+4=20. The animal was quite afraid, and so he needed a 15 to succeed. Seeing him, the boar immediately began to relax. He did appear friendly.

"Back! Back, I say!" the boar still warned him. "I'm not afraid to charge you and gore you with my tusks."

"Easy, Friend," said Ryth-Shan, holding his hands up and stopping. "I just wanted to ask you some questions. It's been quite a rough couple of days. We were captured by the monsters in that thing there." He pointed to the nautiloid. "We managed to escape, and we're a bit worried we might run into more of those things. Can you tell me? Have you seen anymore of those brain creatures about? Have you seen anymore of their masters, the tentacle-faced creatures? What about more people like us?"

The boar became even more relaxed. Now that he knew that Ryth-Shan only wanted information, he felt that he could breathe easier. "It's been quiet today," he told him. "Yesterday, it was not so much so. People were running about wildly, fleeing for their lives. Those creatures were everywhere. There was lots of fighting. This creepy guy was slipping around from shadow to shadow. At one point, he hid in a box, but those things found him anyway."

Then the boar laughed. "I don't know what came over him. He acted really strange. When the box shattered, he screamed like a girl and stabbed at the brain creature as he fled towards the river. The brain creature seemed about ready to follow, but something lured it away. I saw all this from up here. I've been hiding here the whole time too. I'm too afraid to go into that thing to escape here, and the river is too swift to swim across. Besides, the bog on the other side is... well... not friendly. Steer clear of there."

"Thanks for the advice," said Ryth-Shan, mulling over what the boar was saying. Astarion's story, at least, seemed to check out.

Then the boar added, "The strange, creepy man ran into the river and started to smoke. I know it sounds crazy, but he actually started to sizzle. He hissed in pain and fled back onto the shore. Then, he seemed to be utterly confused. He kept looking at himself, as if examining himself for the first time. Something inside that thing drew his attention, and he moved closer to observe. Afterwards, he fled to the cove for a bit. He was still examining himself a lot. He is really odd."

Ryth-Shan was now even more puzzled. "He sizzled in the water?" he asked.

"Yep. Strangest thing. Even in the cove, he kept stepping into the shadows and then out into the light. Back and forth, he went, in and out of the light. Then he'd dip his toe in the river, hiss, and pull it out again. When night came, he crept through the thing over there and went off exploring, I think. I didn't even know he had returned this morning. I was minding my own business trying to get something to eat when you all startled me."

Ryth-Shan continued to take in what the boar was saying. "I'm so sorry to have startled you. So, quiet this morning, you say?"

"Yep. No sign of anymore of those brain things or the tentacle monsters. I know a few fishermen were inside that thing digging through debris. That's about it. They've been at it since yesterday. Not sure what they are really trying to get at. They seemed frantic."

"Hmmm," said Ryth-Shan. "This is all very helpful. So, what do you say? How about you tag along with us. Maybe I can lead you out of this area safely. I'm assuming if we can get through the ship there, maybe there's some place else you'd like to go?" Ryth-Shan made a Persuasion roll. The difficulty was only 5. After all, the boar wanted to leave the area they were in. Ryth-Shan was not proficient with Persuasion, so he had no bonus. There was still a chance of failure. He rolled a 7. He succeeded.

The boar perked up. "Absolutely! There's a Druid's Grove not too far from here. I could take you there."

Ryth-Shan was utterly relieved. "That would be wonderful, My Friend. You are the friendliest person I've met in days. I mean that! These people... well... I'm only with them because it makes the most sense right now. The sooner I can get away from them, the better."

The boar laughed. "Ah. Some of those types of people, eh? Haha! I get ya. People! Am I right?"

"You have NO idea," remarked Ryth-Shan. "Come on. I'll lead the way."

"Can I come too?" Just then, he heard the sound of a nasally male from above him. Looking into the tree, Ryth-Shan spotted a raven, as black as a moonless midnight.

He froze. "Hello, Friend," he replied in response. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Zriek," the bird replied. He then fluttered down out of the tree to land on a branch closer to Ryth-Shan's eye level. "And you are?"

"Ryth-Shan," he said. "And I would absolutely love to have another friend on this journey. But you don't need help to get out of here. Why would you want to join me?"

Zriek seemed to smile just at the corner of his beak. "Frankly, you are the friendliest face I've seen recently too. Something's not right around here. I've been observing strange things lately."

"Like what?" asked Ryth-Shan. He felt an uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.

"Lots of things," remarked the bird. "The most unnerving has to do with the Druid's Grove and the bog. Something unnatural is happening. No. Wait. The village is more unnerving. The villagers there are all dead now. They were being picked off one by one and then... No. Goblins in the ruins to the west. That's more strange." His head seemed to be spinning. "Gnolls on the highway and soldiers and Tiefling refugees and ogres... Oh! And the ruins to the east just beyond. There hasn't been any activity in those ruins for as long as I've been alive. Now. Something's stirring in there, and some mercenaries are there right now even. They're messing around in it. Not sure what they're up to."

Ryth-Shan once again took it all in. "Maybe those mercenaries know something that could help us. Maybe we should check out that ruins after all. I'll have to see what the others think." He then looked back at Zriek. "So, you want to come with me... why exactly?"

Zriek cocked his head to the side, almost as if he was shrugging. "I'm hoping you'll help put things back to normal. You're a nature-lover, that much is obvious. Maybe I can help you help the druids around here put things right. I can feel it in the air, especially in the bog. There's a blight on the land. It's growing every day. I mean, the bog's always been a bad place, but something has caused a taint upon the land outside the bog now. I want to help someone do something about it, but the druids are too busy right now with their own problems. Will you help?"

Ryth-Shan glanced back at the others. They seemed as if they were growing bored while waiting for him. Ryth-Shan turned back to the raven. "If I can, I will," he replied. "Right now, we have a rather pressing issue ourselves. WE'VE been infected with nasty parasites that could turn us into monsters. We need to find a healer before it's too late. That will be our top priority. I can't help put things right around here if I turn into one of those tentacle things. Right?"

"Eek!" said the boar. "Most certainly not."

"Agreed," said the raven. "But you'll help once we find a cure?"

Ryth-Shan nodded. "I'll do what I can, one way or another."

Zriek was pleased and flew to his shoulder. "Then let's not keep the others waiting. I'm fairly certain they're going to shank you if we don't get going."

Ryth-Shan chuckled. "Yeah. That, and my Speak with Animals spell is about to wear off. Thanks for the information, Friends," he said to them. "Let's get moving. Oh, and what's your name?" he asked the boar.

"Bomrush," replied the boar. "You can call me Bomrush. That's what one of the druids has always called me."

"Bomrush," repeated Ryth-Shan. "Well then, Zriek and Bomrush. Welcome to the party." Then they returned to the others, and Ryth-Shan informed them of everything he'd just learned from his two new animal companions.

Chapter 2 - The Battle of the Meat-Shields

The party searched everywhere around the nautiloid before daring to venture inside. They wound their way down to the cove Astarion had hidden in the day before just to see if there was any chance of climbing up from there.

The DM had everyone roll a Perception check. Everyone failed but Shadowheart and Astarion who both rolled more than 15, which was the difficulty. The cliffs were sheer with no handholds, and so no one could climb them. However, the two noticed that a rock had been moved recently.

"It's as if someone moved it to try to hide something underneath," Astarion pointed out. "If we could move it." He tried, but failed. "Well, it'll take someone with a lot more strength than me.

"Move aside," said Vexir. She stooped down, grabbed the rock, and hefted it easy enough. She had Strength 14, which was required to move it. She tossed it to the side. Beneath, they discovered a map and a tattered collection of reports held together with a moon-and-harp seal. There was frequent mention of sacrilegious activity among the local Selunite sect. Upon further examination of the map, there was a location almost directly above them, all the way at the top of the cliffs. Supposedly, there was some sort of camp or outpost there.

"Maybe we can find help there," Kaedyn suggested.

"Or trouble," said Vexir. "I don't trust it."

"Still, could be that they have a healer, maybe," said Ryth-Shan.

"Agreed," said Astarion. "It's worth a check."

Shadowheart seemed strangely curious. "There was mention about some sort of sacrilegious activity among the local Selunites. Might be trouble. We should look into it."

"If we get the chance, then," said Kaedyn, "are we agreed that we'll look into it?"

Vexir sighed. "Since I'm alone in this, I suppose."

"Good," said Kaedyn.

"Well, we're at a dead end," said Ryth-Shan. "Before my spell ended, Zriek mentioned that there is a way to get through the nautiloid and to the other side. We can navigate to a lot more areas from there. I think we have no choice. If we are careful, though, maybe we can avoid any other unpleasant encounters."

"Stealth it is!" Astarion added enthusiastically. "Granted, we have a few elephants with us, but I think we might still pull it off."

"Who are you calling an elephant?" Vexir said, eyes narrowing at him.

"Not you, Darling! Surely!" Astarion cried in alarm. He then gestured with a jabbing finger at Kaedyn and Shadowheart. As he did, he feigned that he was trying to hide the gesture with his other hand. "Those two, My Dear. Obviously."

Vexir and Ryth-Shan couldn't help but smile. Kaedyn did as well. He thought Astarion's levity was very much needed. Their Relationship Scores with the elf increased by 1.

Vexir then replied, "We should remove our armor, the three of us. It'll only hinder us with sneaking through the ship."

"I'll be fine," said Shadowheart, almost boastfully. "I have ways to negate the disadvantage armor usually gives to stealth."

"Oh really?" said Astarion with a raised brow. "A fellow connoisseur of the shadows. I never would have guessed."

She shrugged but said nothing else about this. Instead, she said, "Doesn't your armor also hinder stealth? You're wearing some sort of fancy Padded Armor."

Astarion replied, "Custom made. It's like wearing leather. Doesn't make a sound. Besides, stealth is one of my specialties. Like you, I also know ways to offset disadvantages to hiding and sneaking."

Ryth-Shan considered his own Scale Mail armor. He also received a disadvantage to stealth with it on. He'd been lucky so far. There had been a good deal of noise to offset the disadvantage when he'd been sneaking up on the imps in the nautiloid. On the ship, all the fighting on the decks outside and the fires and explosions had more than masked any sound his armor made. When trying to creep up on the intellect devourers, there were other sounds and smoke and such to also offset it; even though it didn't matter since he'd still been detected. He should have known. They could sense anything living within...

That was when it hit him, and he decided to add his own suggestion. "None of this will matter. Intellect devourers can sense living creatures within 300 feet of them. We might avoid Mind Flayers, but not intellect devourers. Even the chances of avoiding the Mind Flayers, if any are alive, are slim to none. I'd rather have our full armor on if we run into any trouble."

"Well, can't argue with that," said Astarion. "Who's taking the lead?"

"Who else?" said Vexir as she set off back along the path.

"Ah! She does make a darling meat-shield. Doesn't she?" commented Astarion to Kaedyn in quieter tones so that only he could hear. When he'd said this, he'd waved his hand toward her backside, drawing Kaedyn's attention to it momentarily. Then he set off to follow her, an almost wicked smile on his face.

Kaedyn shook his head to force his eyes off of her. It was highly inappropriate, and he certainly didn't want to make her angry with him. He wasn't at all sure how she would react. She could be quite scary at times, and he knew that she looked down on him for being half human.

The others were already making their way back, leaving him in the dust. Therefore, he hastened to catch up. In a few moments, he was at the front of the group. As he came up to walk next to Vexir, he said to her, "You know, I'm more of a melee person myself. In fact, you and I could make a great team. I am more of a defender than an attacker. Let me draw the enemy's attention first, taking the lead. Then you come up from behind and hit them hard."

"Maybe then she wouldn't die so quickly," Ryth-Shan remarked, keeping his comment between him, Astarion and Shadowheart. He increased his relationship with them by 1. They both snickered.

Vexir said, "I suppose that makes sense. I'm used to that, actually. In my unit, I had several males who would defend me and draw enemy attention to themselves. I would have suggested it myself, but I didn't think you could handle the task."

Kaedyn shook his head. "If we're going to be working together, you're going to have to trust me. I can handle it. It's one of the things I'm good at."

Vexir sighed. She seemed to be giving in. "I hope you realize how difficult this is for me. Letting you assume that role requires a great deal of trust from me. It is, for you, a great honor and gift. You are Half-Drow. Therefore, you would never be allowed to assume such a role under any other circumstance. Do not grow comfortable, Male. Today, I show you favor. Tomorrow, I may toss you to the dung heap." Her relationship with him dropped by 2 points to 50 again.

Kaedyn did not hide his anger this time. She'd hit a sensitive cord. He stepped in front of her and faced her; eye-to-eye. "Listen, Vexir. I respect you. You are obviously a skilled warrior. I want to work with you and form a solid, cohesive team here. It benefits us all to coordinate our abilities. Like it or not, you need me, just like you need the others and I need you."

"So, you're not in a position to be treating us like we're all your underlings and minions," he continued without a breath. "You WILL treat me with respect. I am NOT your male that you can just boss around because for some reason Drow women think that men are not equal to them. I don't give a flying rat's butt either that you think that just because I'm Half-Drow that I'm somehow inferior to you."

"Whether you decide to show me favor or not, I don't bloody care! I am going to take the role of defender and draw enemy attention to myself because you NEED me to do that. You keep running up to the enemy and drawing their attention to you and getting taken down. We NEED you do to YOUR role and we NEED you to let ME do MINE!" Then he turned his back on her and led the way up to the top of the cliff.

Vexir was so stunned that she couldn't even move. The others walked past her without a word, leaving her standing there staring at where Kaedyn had confronted her long after they had already reached the area where they'd first met Astarion. Never, in her life, had a male spoken to her in such a manner. None would have dared.

Outraged beyond belief, she finally snapped out of her stupor and charged up the cliff after him. The others saw her coming, and noticed just how hostile she was. Instinctively, they readied their weapons. Each looked at the others as if wondering which person they should side with if it came down to it.

Kaedyn also heard her coming. She made a lot of noise as she stormed up to him. He had shield and mace in hand as he fell into a defensive position. "Are we doing this?" he asked, preparing himself for her attack.

She saw his stance and stopped short. She was still fuming, but his determination and confidence caused her to hesitate at the last. All at once, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to just swing her axe at him and cut him to bloody pieces. Was it the blaring sun that caused her to stop? Was it the fact that she knew that he was right and that she needed him and them? She couldn't be sure.

Either way, she did not attack. She also did not say a word. She just stood there as her anger slowly drained away. Kaedyn seemed to notice that she was calming down, and he lowered his mace and shield slowly. He was ready to react in a moment, but he was trusting that she was now finished. The others also seemed to relax more, but they did not offer any aid. None wanted to get between the two.

"Thank you," Kaedyn said at last. "Thank you for not going there." His expression softened. His eyes were locked with hers and communicated his sincerity. "I REALLY want to fight alongside you. I honestly think we'll make a great team. So, can we put this behind us?"

Vexir broke eye contact. She looked away at the cove. She was still quite angry, and she couldn't speak. However, the moment was over. She was sure she could not bring herself to attack him. And so, she just sighed and shook her head.

"No?" said Kaedyn. "We can't put this behind us?"

Finally, she found her voice as she locked eyes with him again. "You are so annoying. Fine. We will put this behind us, but let's get one thing straight. We are NOT equals, and I am ONLY working with you because I have determined that I do, in fact, need this party to survive. After this is over, you will be QUITE fortunate if I don't cut you to ribbons."

Kaedyn closed his eyes to fight back his own fury. "Fully understood," he said through gritted teeth. Their Relationship Score dropped to 45 after all this. "Now. Can we get going?"

"Lead the way, Oh Fearless Leader," she snapped sarcastically. "You want to be everyone's favorite target so badly. Be my guest."

"Thank you," he replied with equal levels of sarcasm. Then he spun around, turning his back on her once more, and he stormed off towards the northern-most hole in the nautiloid. They'd all agreed that it was probably the best section to try to maneuver through, if they had to, for Zriek had told Ryth-Shan that another hole in the ship was directly on the other side. Most likely, one led to the other.

As they went, Astarion pulled Ryth-Shan to the side and fell back a few paces. He said in low tones, "Is this going to be a problem, do you think?"

Ryth-Shan shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I've never seen Kaedyn act like that, but we really don't know each other that well. She's bossy, and he's been relatively spineless. So, she must have really pissed him off."

Astarion then glanced back at the two they were discussing. There was a sudden shift in his expression. Ryth-Shan got the distinct impression that he was cataloging information about the two that he felt was vitally important. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the unusual elf was taking notes so that, in the future, he might have some sort of ammunition to use against them; just in case. It made him quite uneasy.

At last, they came to the hole in the ship, and the group paused to take one last look around to make sure that it was indeed the only real way for them to go. Then, they finally stepped into the shadows of the belly of the nautiloid.