1.5 Arrival (Patreon)

1.5 Arrival

Taylor:

“I can’t believe this..”

Nettie, the Druid healer, was in fact a dwarf. They did exist here after all, along with gnomes and halflings. Why there were so many short people I had no idea, but they were a part of my new reality.

Nettie even had an Irish accent. Or, it sounded Irish to my ear. I doubted Ireland was a place here.

Nettie had made a good start on examining all of us, beginning with Durge. Shadowheart and Gale had gone under her magical hands after him, and seeing them all come out unscathed seemed to have steadied Madison, who currently lay on the healer's elaborate stone slab. Nettie passed her hands over Madison's face, frowning mightily. 

Astarion, Shadowheart and Emma were near the door, Emma sitting, Shadowheart leaning against the wall and Astarion… I’m not sure if you could call it standing, at least if you weren’t a diva on a catwalk or something. 

Lae’Zel paced back and forth, carving a trench into the dirt as Gale watched the process with rapt attention. 

"Oh child," she said, shaking her head. Her brows had scrunched up with what I thought might be frustration, though it was hard to tell. She gnawed on her lip, and then her thumbnail as she pulled her hands away. "It doesn't make sense."' 

Durge cleared his throat. “Perhaps you would like to elaborate?”

“Yes, can you remove the Ghaik parasite or not?” Lae’Zel sneered.

Nettie shook her head. “No. I haven't the skill, Master Halsin, is a far greater healer than I. But even so, we already tried once before, your tadpoles are like those; they can’t be removed.”

“Well I wouldn’t say can’t.” Gale smiled somewhat glibly at the druid. “With the right preparation there’s no magic that can’t be counteract-.”

“No.” Nettie shook her head interrupting him. “Ya don’t understand, Wizard.” She said the word like a slur. “It’s not about readin’ books, preparin’ rites or scribblin’ on a scroll. Our magic can’t touch these tadpoles. It’s like there’s a protective layer over them.”

“How many have you encountered before?” Shadowheart asked. 

“Once. There was an ambush not long ago, Drow.” Nettie nodded. “A week ago, perhaps?” She shrugged. “Sorry, days get funny in a cave.”

Gale frowned. “A week… That bodes ill. That would mean there’s another Nautiloid out there. Not seen since the Gith nearly wiped them out millennia ago, and now two separate sightings. This is trouble.”

“I’m more concerned with the magic than a second Nautiloid.” Durge dismissed. 

Nettie nodded. “And whatever that magic is, it’s no doubt causin’ the anomalies in the process of ceremorphosis.” 

The word scratched at my brain. I recognized it.

“What about the process?” I asked, eyes narrowing. “W-we have a week right? Before we turn?”

Nettie looked at me, her eyes taking on a look of pity as Madison sat up from the slab. 

Then she looked towards Durge and the other ‘adults’. “You haven’t told them?”

“Told us what!?” Now Sophia’s ire was stoked, and frankly for once I was in agreement. If they were keeping something from us-

“Your symptoms should have started long ago.” Nettie answered with direct bluntness, staring Sophia down. “This is your second day? The lot of you should barely be able to walk, let alone carry on as though there’s na’re a problem at all. 

“What?” Madison gasped. “B-but we had a week!”

“The process of Ceremorphosis begins within a single hour of infection,” Gale said, his smile replaced by a grave countenance. “Aches. Pains, Hot and cold swings, profuse sweating, sharp pain as your bones break. It’s excruciating.” He explained .”The fact that we haven’t experienced any of these, even after a full day- fortunate it might be but it is anomalous.”

Madison went pale, trembling on the slab. I looked to Nettie, then to the grim faced Durge and angry Lae’zel. Astarion and Shadowheart stood off to the side, trying to look unbothered, but that aloof pretense was betrayed by how they were staring at Nettie.

“So what do we do?” I asked. “Lets stop focusing on what isn’t working and what isn’t lining up, and start focusing on how we can actually solve the problem.”

“It’s beyond my power.” Nettie shook her head. “Only Master Halsin might have that capability and his research into the Tadpoles before he headed off might give more answers as to what’s affected them the way they have been. Because you should all be changing! There should be an army of mindflayers running about. ”

“Ok so where is he? Let’s go find him?” Sophia demanded.

“Halsin is the druid that the mercenaries lost track of when the Goblins attacked them,” Durge reminded us. “He may very well be dead for all we know.”

Fuck.

“Well he can’t be the only one with sparkle healing magic or whatever.” Sophia pressed. “Let’s go to the next town and find someone else!”

“The next town is leagues away at best,” Durge said. “Druids don’t settle near civilization.”

Nettie nodded again. “And a healer of Master Halsin’s skill doesn’t just fall off of a tree, Druid though he might be,” she joked, her smile strained before it fell away. “I pray he isn’t dead, and if he isn’t, frankly, he’s your best chance”

Astarion scoffed. “You just said your magic couldn’t affect these tadpoles.”

Nettie looked down, shifting from foot to foot. “No b-but, well, he was researching them. Whatever he found he can offer you if you find him; any information on your condition is beyond valuable.”

“Sounds to me like you want us to go on a rescue mission on little more than hopes and prayers,” Astarion accused.

“Right now, we’re running on hopes and prayers,” Durge reminded him with a pointed stare. Astarion looked away.

The Dragonborn sighed, claws rubbing at his head as if to stave off a headache. ”I need to think….”

“What about the ship?”

Everyone took a moment, eyes darting over to look at me.

Gathering what nerve I had, I shrugged, false confidence or bravado. I wasn’t sure which. “They took us on that ship, they had the Tadpoles there, maybe they have records, plans, something we can use to make sense of everything. 

Shadowheart shook her head. “If we double back there we’ll spend what, a day? Maybe two or even three, searching? If we find nothing we’ll effectively have used up all the time we have available.”

“Hmmm.” Gale answered with a negative-like sound. “Honestly, I’m in agreement with young Taylor. Given what little we can discern from our surroundings and the refugees here, we’re not far from where Elturel once stood, along the banks of the Chionthar, which would put us roughly a week's travel from Fort-Morning, to the East. If that is correct-”

“It is.” Nettie confirmed, much to Gale’s smug satisfaction.

“-Then that means we are three to five weeks’ travel from another qualified healer. Baldur’s gate would be at least a month’s travel away and that would be at an exceedingly swift pace. More realistically, two months.” 

“Correct again.” Nettie nodded. 

Gale’s smile was in his voice, even as he discussed a portent to our dire circumstances. “As such… I would say that given our lack of options, a ‘hope and a prayer’ that we can find some answers on the Nautiloid vessel, possibly even a means of removal, to be a valid gambit barring pure miracle.”

“The Ghaik would have no reason to keep a device that would remove their parasites or interfere with Ceremorphosis. It is a fool's errand.” Lae’zel growled. “We need to locate a Creche! They will have the Zaithisk, the only tool for purification!”

“And until we have any hint of where a Creche might be, that's searching for a needle in a hay-stack!” Durge snapped, beginning to pace, his tail lashing angrily at the floor. 

By my count, it took thirty seconds, maybe longer, before Durge stopped pacing.

“Alright.” The pale Dragonborn said. “We can do nothing without the essentials. Supplies, food, equipment. We won't get very far on the road without at least half-decent traveling gear.” 

“Chk. We can survive off the wilds if need be.”

“Unlikely, and pointless to try.” Durge shrugged. “As Gale pointed out, we’re months away from another sufficiently skilled healer. So our options are to find Halsin who might be dead, or somehow cut a month’s travel time down to two days while praying that the Tadpole’s symptom of brittle bone disease doesn’t leave us as invalids sometime tomorrow.” He shook his head. “Fact is, we have no choice but to hope that the Tadpoles will continue to be… benign. That whatever magic is preventing them from being removed is also blocking the process of ceremorphosis.”

“And if that isn’t the case?” Madison winced even as she said it.

Durge didn’t mince words. “Then we’re already dead and our concerns are academic at best.”

Madison’s eyes clenched shut, her legs rising so she could hug them, face pressing into her knees. She trembled and I got the distinct impression she was trying not to break down.

Durge looked to Nettie. “Do you have a map of the area?”

The Dwarf druid nodded. “Aye.” she said, then marched over to a small little desk, pulling an old, well-worn roll of paper free.

She spread it out on said desk, Durge, Gale and Lae’Zel gathered around.

“What’s this here?’ Durge asked. 

“An old village. Destroyed years ago,” Nettie explained before pointing to another spot. “This here is the Selunite temple. Also in ruins now.”

Under her breath, I heard Shadowheart mutter ‘Selune’ like some sort of vile curse; face twisting like she had tasted something vile. 

“This road here leads to Waukeen’s rest, an inn. Past it would be Baldur’s Gate.”

“And these?” 

“An ancient crypt,” Nettie confirmed. “It predates even Master Halsin and our coming here. Never had a reason to disturb it.”

“There’s reason now.” Durge affirmed, picking up the map and examining it. “Here’s what we’re going to do. Gale, Lae’zel, Taylor and I will go to the Nautiloid ship.” 

“I already told you that’s a waste of time.” Lae’Zel snarled.

“You also said your people will seek out the Ghaik wherever they may be,” he shot back. “If we return there, we might find your people searching the carcass themselves, and if they are then you can ask them to get us to a Zaithisk.”

That made her eyes light up, intrigue at the idea replacing her previous impatience.

That settled, Durge turned towards Shadowheart. 

“You, Astarion, and Sophia will search this crypt.”

“For what?” Sophia balked. 

“Crypts are often laden with valuables,” Gale explained, smirking as though he was having fun explaining that he’d deduced the thought before anyone else. “Our Dragonborn friend is right. We need supplies. Trading what we find within for things such as food, camping equipment like tents, provisions and so on will go a long way toward easing our travels. 

“You’re sending me into some dank mouldy crypt to scavenge like some beggar?” Astarion scoffed. “You must be joking.”

Durge shrugged. “Very well. You can take my place, and instead be covered in decaying brain juices and the stink of decomposing flesh.”

The elf blinked. “Beg pardon?”

Durge’s smile was all needle like teeth and savage malice. “The Nautiloid is a living creature, Astarion. It’s dead. Baking in the hot sun. I imagine the stench is rather putrid by now. But I’m sure the crypt will be fantastic for my own sensibilities-”

“Ahha-” Astarion’s laugh was high, airy and far too amusing to me given the circumstances. “No. Absolutely not, thank you. The crypt sounds just fine. You can enjoy your time in the guts of the squid.”

Apparently it was amusing to Durge too. “I thought so.”

“Wh-what about us?” Madison asked suddenly. She adjusted her place on the slab. “You-you never mentioned me or Emma.”

At the mention of Emma, I turned, looking to the girl who sat in a shadowed corner just beside Shadowheart. And… now that I noticed hadn’t said a word, not once since we landed, something I knew was very, very unlike her. 

“I didn't,” Durge answered blithely. “You’ll both be staying here, in the grove. To be frank, while Taylor and Sophia have their… parahuman abilities and can be trusted to somewhat defend themselves, you and Emma are far too weak to be of use as you are. You’d only be a hindrance.”

At the word weak I saw Emma flinch, and if I didn’t know any better I could have sworn her pupils shrank into pinpricks.

What the hell?

I pushed the thought aside. Whatever was wrong with her; she wasn’t worth my concern.

“This place is a refuge. You’ll be welcome here.” Nettie assured.

Given the attitudes I heard earlier regarding the Tieflings I wasn’t sure how accurate that statement was, but I was hardly going to argue or point that out right now. 

“You could have phrased that a mite more gently.” Gale chastised Durge who actually looked somewhat surprised, or maybe incredulous. Gale shook his head and looked to Madison again. “Rest assured, we will return for you, but as you’ve heard, speed is paramount at the moment.”

“N-no no. I- I get it.” Madison looked down at the floor. “Um… wh-when can we expect you back?”

Durge looked at the map. “Judging by the distance here, the crypt is about as far as the Nautiloid. Assuming they both take the same amount of time to search, then… two days. Absolutely no more than three.”

 Three days. 

That would be most of our week gone right there.

Durge was right. 

We were really running on hopes and prayers at this point.

—

The druids of the Grove offered us a few odds and ends that they could spare, as thanks for killing the Goblins before they could breach the gate.

The Tieflings, being refugees, couldn't offer much, but they managed to scrounge together a handful of hand me down supplies they had as a collective. A tent canvas from one person, a handful of nails from another, a rope from a third family, and so on.

From what I understood, their leader, Zevlor, was arguing with a Druid named Kahga. She wanted them gone, while he said that if they left now, with a marauding horde of Goblins infesting the roads, they’d all be killed.

That was pretty much all I learned.

We set up a ‘spot’ near the druids themselves. Said spot was on a path that was partway between what was, or at least what I assumed was the ‘Heart’ of the Druid Grove and path leading down to a cliffside beach.

Or more accurately, Cliffside Riverbank. 

Because I’d learned that the place we’d landed wasn’t a beach, it was the banks of a massive river called the Chionthar

Honestly a river so large it could almost look like an ocean when you stared across it was a bit mind bending for me. 

The ‘Heart of the Grove’ as I’d taken to calling it; reminded me of Stonehenge, in a way. The only difference was that the blocky square stone structure of the real Stonehenge had been replaced by pillars that had the heads of Wolves, Bears and Eagles carved into their tops. 

“You might want to get an early night.”

I flinched and twisted to look down at Durge .

I'd been sitting on a tall rock, watching the people down below, Tiefling and Druid both, trying to match my physical senses with what my bugs were sensing, trying to see if I could learn or acclimatize to the swarm senses by practice and correlation to what I could see. I hadn't expected Durge to bother me.

“We’ll be waking up as early tomorrow as we did today,” he said.

I figured that would be the case, and offered a nod. “By the way,” I called. “There’s someone else. Someone with a Tadpole.” I saw the slight surprise on his features and I pointed, one long finger showing the way. “Up there, with the Tieflings.”

“Hm. Any reason you didn’t say anything until now?”

I frowned, and I hadn’t realized just how frayed my temper was, because it very suddenly, very unexpectedly, snapped.

“I’m sorry, maybe you haven’t noticed but it’s been a bit of a day!” My arms were crossed, and I distantly felt my fingernails clenching around my biceps. The sharp pain leaving red welts as they bit into the flesh. But I couldn’t bring myself to care as my voice rose. “Between the worms, the attack, watching you slaughter half that mob with a smile on your face, the arguments, the fist fights, I have no way back home, instead I’m stuck here with the bitches three and now we have no cure I’m allowed to have a fucking moment! So excuse me, if I didn’t report like a good little soldier post haste! So you can take the information now, or you can just go fuck yourself!”

I wasn’t entirely sure when I had gotten to my feet, or when I had started shouting, but by the time I had finished my breathing was heavy and the whole of the group who had been setting up camp were staring at me. 

Oh,and the surrounding swarm was buzzing angrily enough that people around the grove and refugee camp were beginning to take notice.

“Well- our little insect controlling firecracker.” Astarion grinned. “What a delight.”

I felt heat creep up along my cheeks. Whether it was from anger or humiliation I couldn’t quite say. I glared at Astarion and looked towards the aforementioned ‘bitches three’. 

Emma and Madison weren’t even looking my way. Sophia flipped me the bird and in response I yanked on that Tadpole, sending a bolt of pain through her skull hard enough to make her hiss and flinch, anger lighting up on her features.

Fuck you too.

I’m not sure if she heard my thoughts through the tadpole, and I wasn’t sure which option would have been more satisfying

Durge, the one on the receiving end of my little tirade, didn’t do anything more than nod. “Fair enough,” he said with a simple, bored air, before stepping aside and gesturing with his arm. “Lead the way, if you please.”

I almost wanted to tell him off again just out of spite, but I wrestled my temper down anyway. 

Besides, the alternative was staying here.

Climbing down from my perch I marched past Durge and the others, moving to climb up the long long hill towards the refugees encampment. 

Just before I was out of earshot, I caught Gale’s whisper. I doubted he intended for me to hear it.

“There’s some enmity between you three and her isn’t there?”

I heard Sophia scoff and didn’t catch whatever Madison mumbled. 

“Well, we all get up to some mischief in our youth. I’m sure things will be right as rain before too long-”

I clenched my fist and had to fight the very real urge to march back there and punch the Wizard in the fucking face. I didn’t care if he could shoot fireballs. 

—

We found our latest Tadpole ‘victim’ with the Tiefling children, many of whom were busy training with wooden swords.

As I’d noticed at the gate he wasn’t a Tiefling himself. He was human, a black guy, hair braided. He had as many scars as Lae’zel, which was saying something. One eye had even been replaced by what looked like… maybe marble?

As we drew close, Durge’s Tadpole clenched and the man winced in slight discomfort before he blinked away the pain and turned his head, focusing on the two of us. 

“Well met,” the guy said, nodding. “I… take it, from what I just saw, that you were on the Nautiloid as well?”

Durge nodded, nonplussed. “Myself and several others. We’re searching for a cure. Thought I’d extend the invitation to you, should you wish.”

“Hmm. I’ve heard the tales of Ceremorphosis, not a process I would ever wish to undertake. I’d be a fool to decline.”

“I’m sensing a caveat.” I could almost hear the raised eyebrow… or brow-ridge in his case.

“Just the one.” The man smirked, before his features turned serious again. “Before I was infected, I was hunting a Devil. Karlach. Female, has one horn, a General in the Archdevil Zariel’s armies. She’s come to the sword coast. If we hear word of her, then we must track her down. She’s too dangerous to be let loose on the countryside.”

A devil… Devils are ‘real’ here too…

You know what- sure. Why the fuck not?

“Or at the very least, I be allowed to go and hunt her myself if it proves impossible for the group to divert.”

Durge shrugged. “We’re not running a prison or labor camp. Anyone can choose to stay or go as they please.”

The man nodded. “Very well.” He made something of a salute, fist to chest. “The Blade of Frontiers is at your service.”

The name meant nothing to me, but I could see Durge shift. 

“The Blade of Frontiers… Illustrious. Nice to put a face to the title.”

“Who is he?” I couldn’t help but ask. 

“Ouch.” The man smiled. “My fragile ego.”

The comment made me blush. “Sorry.”

“If it’s any consolation, she’s a Planeswalker, the Nautiloid captured her and her… classmates from an entirely different realm,” Durge explained.

Immediately Wyll’s expression shifted to one of pity. “Oh, I’m so sorry-”

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

“To answer your question.” Durge replied. “He’s a local… Hero, you might call him.” The word Hero carried weight, and I got the impression he was likening it to what I recognized as a hero. “Marches up and down the sword coast, righting wrongs and slaying monsters.”

“A pleasure.” The blade of Frontiers offered a half bow. “For proper introductions; my name is Will… With a Y.”

Will with a Y…

So… Wyll?

…

“Why a Y?” I couldn’t help but ask.

He just burst out laughing. (X)(X)(X)

And so we've reached the full release :)There will be another update later today along with a Zoltraak update.

We also have a discord where you can join and talk about these early access chapters if you wish here https://discord.gg/CAawuewfVNow for those of you who have played BG3 you might notice that events aren't as... front loaded as they are in the game. We'll be pacing things out a little bit rather than throwing every problem at our cast at once. We'll get there :3And dont worry, I know I've been a bit mum on the other girls but their POVs will be coming., Emma, Madison, Sophia will all be getting their treatments.

We're gonna have a lot of fun.