5.5 - Escalation (Patreon)

5.5 - Escalation

Sophia

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

Sophia was laying down on the roof of the barn, hands folded together over her navel as she watched from on high. as Karlach spoke to Hebert just a dozen or so feet to the east of the structure. 

Not like there was TV or internet or anything else here to do.

Next to the two were four of those massive Phase spiders. Wyll was helping Gale make tonight’s dinner, Lae’zel was training… again (because it bears repeating that there isn’t any TV or internet here) Astarion had gone for another of his walks… and she wasn’t sure what the others were doing.

Sue her, she didn’t have local omniscience.

The sun was setting now. The spelunking group had come back with a haul of items and a small army of spiders. 

Along with hundreds upon hundreds of spider eggs.

Hebert had an army of teleporting, venomous bugs.

They’d taken the time to test whether or not the spiders were ‘tame’ by just putting Hebert to sleep with a spell. They were tame.

And once that was confirmed, Gale, Barcus Durge and even Hebert herself wanted to experiment.

Because it turns out, they weren’t tame so much as the bugs kept on following the last orders Hebert gave them when she fell asleep.

So they’d had some of the spiders setting up a perimeter of thin, “warning webs” others were spinning row upon row of silk, and even more were setting up burrows to ambush if needed. 

And most of those ideas Hebert had come up with after they confirmed the bugs would follow those orders. 

Right now, Hebert was strapping on a pair of black boots on, the old beat up sneakers left to the side. “Just trying to see if this idea works.” Sophia heard her say to the fire woman. Shifting her weight around in the foreign footwear.

Just then a spider, one of those big teleporting Phase spiders walked on by, moving from its place beside its brethren under one tree, clear across to the other tree.

Hebert reached down, and seemingly swiped at empty air with her hand.

“Oh, hello, what exactly are each of you entertaining yourselves with?”

Barcus the gnome wandered on into her field of view, along with Madison, Emma and Scratch.

Apparently they’d been walking the dog.

Didn’t make much sense, the dog could shit literally anywhere no need to wal-

Oh… yeah. No TV or internet still applied. 

But immediately Sophia saw Hebert’s expression darken, she was turned away from Barcus, so he couldn’t see, but she could. Then that same expression shifted into utter and complete stillness. That blank stare that she’d all but perfected even before she got powers but now it was genuinely eerie just how unreadable she was, not even a hint of that hate and rage hiding behind her expression. 

Karlach turned, and the woman was aware of the sudden tension, unlike the gnome, but still she tried to be… diplomatic? Nice? Not making the new guy feel awkward?” “Oh just, testin some stuff out. You’re going where now?”

The gnome didn’t take the hint. 

“Oh, no we’re just returning.” He answered quite happily, petting the happily panting scratch. “I’ve heard of dogs. Never really met one. You don’t find any in the underdark.”

The subtle demand flew over shorty’s head, but not Emma’s. Sophia watched as the red-head, eyes fixed on Taylor who’s back was still turned for a very long long second before she turned away and started marching off without a word towards the barn.

That wasn’t like her…

The circlet glinted on her brow in the light of the setting sun reminding the Ward, quite sharply that her friend wasn’t ok.

The dog, tail wagging happily marched on up to Hebert, who watched it with that same blank expression before she reached up to pet it somewhat stiffly.

“What are you uh-” Madison, tried, very stifly to speak. “What are ya doing?”

“Got nothing to do?” Hebert finally spoke.

“Watch Scratch.”

…

Sophia had no idea if that was an honest answer. 

Hebert shook her head, scoffing. “Whatever.” as she stood up a second spider now walking by.

“Oh, does this have something to do with your insect control?” Barcus asked.

“Something like that-” Hebert answered him easily enough, and this time brought her boot up and seemed to try to… step on something?

But somewhere, her boot found resistance. Sophia squinted into the light, trying to see what was going on as Hebert… actually smiled.

And then stepped on empty air.

Hebert looked towards Karlach, and Sophia could hear the smile in her voice. “It worked!”

Karlach stared, blinking at the odd sight of Hebert walking on empty air. “How did you-” She looked towards the spider, blinking. “Oh- Oh you clever lil shit!” The fire woman started to laugh. 

Sophia still wasn’t getting the full picture.

“How are you-?” Barcus walked forward, crouching down to the floor, but suddenly, as his big ol head moved close, Hebert dropped.

But Barcus swiped at his face, grasping something Sophia…

No…

No she knew what he grabbed.

It was a universal sort of way everyone grabbed a random string of spider webbing.

“The webs!” Barcus smiled. “You can stand on the webbing!”

“Boots of web walking-” Hebert repeated the name of the boots in question. “If I’m ‘standing on it’ the webs will hold me up. But any other force like my hand of so on will break it. Potentially useful.”

As if to prove her point, smiling Hebert had the four spiders begin to teleport, and Sophia couldn’t see shit.

But Hebert moved and walked like she was climbing a staircase!

She saw Madison’s eyes go wide, and Karlach laugh, uproarious and delighted as Barcus nodded. “Very clever!”

It was clever.

Hebert had just given herself a freaking mover rating. 

Honestly it was… sobering, watching just how creative Twiggy could be.

And it made Sophia wonder just… when would she have applied it in school?

The locker must’ve been the trigger. Only thing that made sense. When would she have done something if they were back at Winslow? And… shit. They never would have seen it coming would they?

A black widow bite? A flying roach scaring Madison or Emma bad enough on the stairwell to make them trip, fall and break their necks.

Shit, Hebert had already had a scorpion on Sophia first night here, just a sting away from getting rid of her.

Sobering was definitely a very very fitting word.

The thought of getting rid of her, of killing her, crossed her mind again, but unlike before it barely even held her for a second before she dismissed it. Because she had to recognize it for what it was.

Fear. 

She was afraid.

Afraid of Hebert.

It was ridiculous, absurd.

And yet it wasn’t.

Because this world showed that it was a very very sane and realistic truth that Hebert’s power was dangerous.

And with her creativity, Hebert was dangerous.

…

Shit…

It not because  bridge wasn’t “burnt” so much as it was never built and the crossing was basically a lava flow by now, Sophia realized, very suddenly Hebert would actually be one of the few capes her own age, one of the few people her own age that she could actually get along with. 

She looked skyward. Thoughts rolling around in her skull and going nowhere.

—

When night came, the subject she hadn’t actually thought they were serious about; turns out, they were actually serious about. 

“Each of you must commend your souls to a God.” The Lizard said, red eyes passing over Hebert, Madison, Emma and Sophia herself. 

Each of the Faerunian’s, apart from Lae’zel and the Twink who were both watching in their own corners of the barn were looking almost grave at the severity of the discussion.

“I uhhh… think we’re missing something.” Emma spoke up with a thin, tense smile. 

“I do not know how it is in your world-” Healing girl spoke up archly. “But here, those who are faithless are condemned to the Fugue plane. Their souls wandering a grey, dead world incapable of leaving the city of Judgement for no God would lay claim to them.”

“Before long-” Boy Scout continued. “Those souls will lose their way, and be cast into the wall of the Faithless, writhing in tormented agony, their souls dissolving, being consumed by the structure, losing their identity and sense of self, an eternity of quiet despair forevermore.”

“Yeah and if that’s not bad enough, when a Devil needs a loan of Soul Coins they’ll do a quick run by the bank, and raid that wall for a couple thousand souls to make them currency.” Karlach added. “Ever want to be the way someone buys new underwear in hell?”

Were these people fucking for real?

Evidently- They were.

“This is known.” the Lizard said, staring straight at Hebert. “The Fugue plane is one that can be visited, the wall seen. Your safety is not guaranteed on this journey.”

Again, each of the Bet natives glanced at eachother, even Hebert looking at the three of them with that same, doubtful air.

“We uh… don’t even know what the Gods here are.” Madison shifted. “Like- we can say it but would it really make a difference?”

Shadowheart sighed. “You have not practiced any of their faiths and creeds, so the chances that they’ll take your souls is minimal but some chance is better than no chan-”

“I will carry your words.”

“JESUS FUCK!” There was no denying that Sophia jumped ten goddamn feet in the air with the fright she took. Withers suddenly appearing behind her from fucking nowhere. The walking Corpse staring at her before looking to Hebert, then Emma and Madison at last. 

“What you speak now will be heard.” The walking cadaver said in that same echoing voice he always had. “Should you perish, the God of your choosing will come to collect you from the halls of the city of Judgement.”

It was becoming a thing it seemed, because again, each of the girls had to take a moment to look at each other. 

Finally, Hebert sighed. “Who are the Gods then?”

And the group started talking.

And talking.

And talking. 

Because they had so very many many Gods. 

Amaunator, Bane, Auril, Cyric, Istishia, Tyr, Mystra, Myrkul, Torm, Azuth, Beshaba, Baast,  Selune, Shar, Shaundakul, Tymora, Kelemvor, Bhaal, Leira, Lliira, Chauntea, Gond, Helm, Deneir, Eldath, Grumbar, Hoar, Sune, Ilmater, Jergal, Tempus, Lathander, Mask, Loviatar, Malar, Mielikki, Oghma, Savraas, Silvanus, Talona, Talos, Umberlee, Valkur, Waukeen.

And on and on and on the list went.

Gods of the sun, water, magic, of justice, protection, song, death, murder, record keeping. Good Gods, Evil Gods, Neutral Gods. It looked like these people had Gods for every time they took a shit or something. 

She did notice something though-

“Some of these guys are from back home!”

“Huh?” Madison blinked, staring at her in open surprise. 

But Sophia nodded. “Yeah, you can only hear the Nazi fucks calling ‘Praise Odin’ or ‘Valhala’ so many times before you pick up a few things; Tyr.” She nodded. “He’s one of theirs from back home.”

“So’s Baast.” Hebert added. “Egypt.”

“It’s very likely then that the God of your world, the Abrahamic one you’ve described, is very much real. Likely he is the one claiming the majority of the souls lost there.” Mullet actually looked genuinely relieved. 

They were really freaking out about this. 

“Sitting on his ass more like.” She was just close enough to hear Hebert’s bitter utterance and… yeah. Yeah she had to agree. 

If Gods were real and they had one, then he really was sitting on his ass.

Maybe that’s why Scion had to step up or whatever. 

“Well.” Madison squirmed. “I-I guess since I’m trying to learn Magic by being a Bard, I should… follow them?” She looked at Shadowheart an apology in her expression. “Ummm… What was… err… her?”

“His name.” The half elf corrected. “Is Milil.”

“Then Milil.” Madison nodded and looked at Withers. “Um… I choose Milil.”

Withers nodded and then looked towards Sophia.

The corpse’s glowing silver eyes still gave her the creeps and Sophia tried, unsuccessfully to repress a shudder. “Fuck- give me a War god.” She blurted just to get the guy to look away, bran scrambling for the name. “Tempest.”

“Tempus.” Boy Scout said behind her.

“Yeah, him. Fine!” 

Withers nodded and looked away, and Sophia felt she could breathe again. 

When he looked to Emma, the red head stared back. “Let me… Let me think about it a bit.” Her friend smiled. “Seems like a big choice.”

Withers did not protest, instead looking to Hebert. 

Hebert just shrugged. “Tyr.”

Sophia turned towards her. “Going with the Nazi choice Hebert.”

“Just because the Nazi’s say it doesn’t make him theirs-” Hebert turned to glare at her. “Just like saying ‘Serve and protect’ doesn’t make you a Hero.”

Sophia snarled, turning and moving to march towards the twiggy bitch, but before she could even take a single half step, a living wall of fire and muscle was between her and Hebert, Karlach glaring, eyes glowing and a half second after that Wyll was between her and Karlach, hands held out as if to push the two of them away from each other.

“My word!” She heard Barcus exclaim somewhere off to the side, apparently finally getting the memo as to the tension.

Sophia growled, frustration tearing under her skin, and the back of her mind itched with the memory of her assessment just a few hours earlier. But her mouth moved on instinct, on reflex even as the rest of her was telling her otherwise. “She wants to talk big let her fucking square up on her own then!”

“Sophia.”

Surprisingly it was Emma who was calling to her, and Sophia turned to look, finding the Red head looking back with a serious expression; quietly shaking her head. Madison was looking down and away.

“Enough.” Durge’s voice rumbled like a thunderstorm off in the horizon. “One day you two will be allowed to have it out as you please. But tonight will not be that night.” 

“Oh I don’t know. Our evenings could always use more entertainment. An impromptu gladiator match would do wonders for how dreary the lot of you usually are.” Astarion giggled from his place on the second story, instigating with a fang toothed smirk. 

“Would you like to volunteer as a first act?” Durge answered with a dry look before shaking his head. “Everyone get some rest. Tomorrow, we leave for the temple at first light.”

Withers, was utterly unbothered. “Your words… have been heard.” He promised.

(X)(X)(X)

Taylor gets a new toy >:)

What could possibly go wrong?

And next chapter we get to the temple of Selune and this next arc CONCLUDES the "Druid Grove" at long last :D