"If you call what you're doing now surviving."
We call it living actually.
"Hang on a minute." I asked. "You just let slip that kidnapping Shadowheart - and by extension, the decades of effort you put into conditioning and brainwashing her - were a project that you were assigned by Shar. And I went with Shadowheart through the Gauntlet of Shar, so I know that the Lady of Loss was intending that Shadowheart be raised as her champion. And you also just said that you were trying to get her killed off? You're castigating Shadowheart for turning away from Shar while simultaneously not being even a little worried at the consequences of your own disobedience?"
Either she's stupid, crazy, lying, or all of the above.
"Whenever they say 'Don't bring anyone', that is precisely when you always bring someone!" Wyll laughed as he mockingly saluted Viconia with a flourish of his rapier.
Wyll learnt the lesson the hard way, he'll happily take advantage it to be dramatic
"We infiltrated your sanctum via the cunning strategy of 'walking in a measured distance behind our initial distraction and killing all of your sentries before they had a chance to react'." Lae'zel drawled sarcastically. "A most challenging task, truly."
They didn't even need the 'Hide In The Prism' strategy. Shars minions were kinda pathetic here. But that's what depending on secrecy as the primary defense for a century does to you.
"Signaled how?" Viconia goggled. "Neither of you used any magic, and you certainly didn't go anywhere!"
"I had a hamster in my pocket." Shadowheart grinned. "He ran back to tell the others."
And once again, the day is saved thanks to Boo! All hail the true hero of the Baldur's Gate games!
"Oh heavens save us! Not darkness!" Isobel wailed sarcastically. "Who could ever have suspected such a diabolical trap to be enacted in the halls of Shar?"
Well, someone's having fun.
"Now be fair, Isobel. We'd be sweating this a lot more if we hadn't all been so busy the past couple of days that we hadn't actually had a chance to return something yet." Shadowheart said amusedly.
You know, I had been wondering if Jaheira got the chance to return the Blood before the Dopplegangers showed up. This is a fantastic way to show that she hadn't
"I ruled over an enclave in Waterdeep once, much grander than this. Lady Shar ordered me to raze it to the ground and kill all within. To claim to the rest of her worshippers that they had died for betraying Shar, for betraying me, when in fact I had slain those who'd shown nothing but loyalty. Shar bid me do that to cover my tracks. So that I could come here, and build all this. To prepare all this.
... Shar. Why have her cover her tracks like that? There are so many more effective ways that leave you with an army of loyal followers - oh right you're a bitch.
"Aylin is never going to forgive Ao's restrictions for not letting her in here to see this herself."
She's sitting on a bench outside the House undisguised, arms crossed, pouting furiously, to the confusion of every passerby.
No pleas to your new superior for mercy? None of that 'compassion' that Selunites pride themselves so much for?
"Her mercy is infinite. Our application of it has practical limitations."
But thanks to her you now all exist only to suffer, unless you can find your way back to my embrace.
For fucks sake, get some therapy and take some anti-depressants woman!
"Father." Shadowheart insisted "You're not thinking. Avoiding pain by abandoning family and love? Cutting others loose so as to ease your own life and future? Which goddess preaches that?"
Oh yeah, it's our girl!
She is going to make me look in the mirror again. She is going to take my memories. I do not want to forget who I am. I like flowers, I like animals, my name is -
*Sobs incoherently*
Nocturne's despairing thoughts that she really had no alternative but to seek out another cloister of Shar rather than face the church's wrath as an apostate died a quick death when we made it back outside to be met by an anxious - and very frustrated - Dame Aylin, who'd been stuck with the job of keeping anybody from leaving the building because of the divine restrictions that meant she couldn't enter the consecrated temple of a rival deity without either permisison or inviting Shar's retribution in kind.
Fully undisguised, arms crossed, lip sticking out in a full pout. And all her feathers out of place.
The idea that the Sword of Selune herself might be available to pursue a fugitive Sharran - even if Aylin didn't intend to do anything of the sort - terrified Nocturne into essentially placing herself under arrest as our prisoner instead, so we took her along. If nothing else, she could help look after the Hallowleafs - Shadowheart's parents were much better off than you'd expect after being prisoners and torture subjects in a Sharran enclave for several decades, but that did not mean they wouldn't need rehabilitation and recovery.
Shadowhearts getting a sister out of this, one way or another
"Are you familiar with Cazador Szarr?"
Oh good, that plotline will get resolved even without the main cast getting involved. And without the approach of most runs where you don't recruit Astarion, where the player basically randomly breaks into a mansion and crashes the ritutal, entirely by accident. And honestly, while Astarion is going to be in confiment at the church for a while here, at least they will likely have therapists to help the poor kid.
I know she hasn't exactly been doing it in his name or anything, but I am somewhat surprised that Shadowheart hasnt gotten even a minor blessing from Lathander after all that she's done with the Blood. Beating the piss out of Myrkul's avatar and blowing up a very important Sharran relic with the mace should be worth something, right?
If I remember right, Cliff said somethinh about her possibly speccing into light domain, even if that's usually not allowed with a cleric of Selune.
