The Once and Future Champion (Baldur's Gate 3/Dragon Age)

[cliffc999]

I want to grab him and shake him. What if they can kill three, Gortash? What if they can kill Three!?

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To be fair to Gortash he only knows that the party probably wants to kill him (well, except for Karlach who he's 99.9+% sure wants to kill him, but he's not afraid of her by herself), and could very well be amenable to being bought off. Which is still a distinct improvement over the part where he knows that Orin definitely wants to kill him, very very slowly and in ways that would make the Joker vomit, and that she's an insane fanatic that can't be bribed or intimidated by anything he possesses.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

I like how he's going "After all, they'd already killed one of our triumvirate. So perhaps they could kill two."

I want to grab him and shake him. What if they can kill three, Gortash? What if they can kill Three!?

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Also he does have his steel watchers, and they are pretty tough customers. Just... with a very clear weakness he's not thinking about.

 

[BigBad]

Gortash has the same flaw that every man has who considers himself a logical and reasonable-minded fellow: the unalterable belief that he can persuade others of his correctness through reason and logic alone. Gortash has a number of quite logical reasons that the party should ally with him, and he even proves a true ally should they do so. Contrary to expectations, Gortash does not betray the party if they prove themselves to be competent and reliable rather than just lucky and powerful. He is not so wedded to the plot that he values it above himself, and he expects others to act in what he considers a rational fashion.

 

[cliffc999]

Plus, if you believe the Netherbrain (I don't), this whole scheme was arranged from the start by it.

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I believe it.

Spoiler: Bucket of spoilers

There's a secret encounter in Moonrise Towers where the Netherbrain straight-up tells you that it wants you to be a rogue element, so that you can break the hold the Chosen have over it.

There's also a readable in-game where Gortash writes down in one of his journals that he originally got the idea that the githyanki were a threat to his plans from a dream he'd had. The brain had subliminally prodded him to go looking for the Astral Prism in the first place.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

I believe it.

Spoiler: Bucket of spoilers

There's a secret encounter in Moonrise Towers where the Netherbrain straight-up tells you that it wants you to be a rogue element, so that you can break the hold the Chosen have over it.

There's also a readable in-game where Gortash writes down in one of his journals that he originally got the idea that the githyanki were a threat to his plans from a dream he'd had. The brain had subliminally prodded him to go looking for the Astral Prism in the first place.

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Yes, but if I believe it, then I have to believe the Netherbrain was both somehow brilliant enough to come up with this overly complicated plan (right down to being behind the idea to use the Crown of Karsus at all), and stupid enough to be beaten the way that it was, and I can't reconcile those two datapoints.

In general, I'm allergic to 'literally everything you've done up until the endgame was my plan wait how are you beating me at the last minute' as a plot point. So I may just be biased.

 

[EdroGrimshell]

Yes, but if I believe it, then I have to believe the Netherbrain was both somehow brilliant enough to come up with this overly complicated plan (right down to being behind the idea to use the Crown of Karsus at all), and stupid enough to be beaten the way that it was, and I can't reconcile those two datapoints.

In general, I'm allergic to 'literally everything you've done up until the endgame was my plan wait how are you beating me at the last minute' as a plot point. So I may just be biased.

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Very high Intelligence, elder brains are legitimately some of the most intelligent creatures in the entirety of D&D, being smarter than many gods. The issue is they are also incredibly arrogant, and the crown would amplify that, significantly. The end result of that is what happens to the Elder Brain in game. Plus, the illithids technically reset the timeline every time it's about to come to an end so they can try again. That's the Grand Design they are working towards. So...

(I watch a lot of deep lore dives on D&D, illithids are a popular topic)

 

[cliffc999]

Yes, but if I believe it, then I have to believe the Netherbrain was both somehow brilliant enough to come up with this overly complicated plan (right down to being behind the idea to use the Crown of Karsus at all), and stupid enough to be beaten the way that it was

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Oh no, it wasn't behind the idea to use the Crown of Karsus. That was entirely Gortash's and the Dark Urge's idea. The Netherbrain wasn't even conscious then.

That readable I had my peeps find in chapter 26, in the illithid colony? That's from the game. The elder brain that became the Netherbrain was in torpor underneath Moonrise, having entered a suspension state to avoid dying of starvation several centuries ago when the colony failed for lack of food supply. The Chosen of the Dead Three came along later, dug it up, slapped the crown on its head, and enslaved it. That was all them.

Then the elder brain dropped its suggestion about the Astral Prism into Gortash's subconscious, as its gambit to get free. It was under mind control but it apparently interpreted its orders just enough to go 'I'm allowed to warn my controllers of potential danger'. And so it did... in just the right manner to get them to go dig up the one thing that could fuck up their plans enough to let it break loose, and which would never have come into play if they hadn't gone and dug it up.

In general, I'm allergic to 'literally everything you've done up until the endgame was my plan wait how are you beating me at the last minute' as a plot point.

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I'm not opposed to it in this particular case because elder brains are supposed to be nigh-godlike super-intellects, so the fact that it actually gets to do something like that even once is one more time than most videogames manage to write in. And it lost at the end on, being fair, a miracle.

Besides, it's actually harder to write a story where you have master planners take imperfect gambles because the situation doesn't allow for a perfect way out than it is to write a story where the master planner has perfect setup conditions every time. Sure, the Netherbrain's plan had potential exploits. But it still damn sure beat just sitting still and letting Gortash and chums drive it around like a trolley car. Likewise, Gortash scheming to ally with the MC against Orin is still a gamble, but it damn sure beats sitting around and waiting for Orin's psychotic break to finally finish breaking his face.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

Oh no, it wasn't behind the idea to use the Crown of Karsus. That was entirely Gortash's and the Dark Urge's idea. The Netherbrain wasn't even conscious then.

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Yes, but it says it was behind even that. That's the issue.

EDIT: Found a video of the scene with the relevant dialogue

- YouTube

Profitez des vidéos et de la musique que vous aimez, mettez en ligne des contenus originaux, et partagez-les avec vos amis, vos proches et le monde entier.

youtu.be

It says it was after the crown the whole time.

 

[cliffc999]

It says it was after the crown the whole time.

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That does indeed have to be puree of bullshit, yes. There's no fucking way that thing was manipulating Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal, and those were ultimately the people who approved the plan to use the Crown.

Of course, my takeaway on viewing this scene is that right then the Netherbrain really wanted you to fail that willpower check, and the bad guys are allowed to lie.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

Of course, my takeaway on viewing this scene is that right then the Netherbrain really wanted you to fail that willpower check, and the bad guys are allowed to lie.

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I agree it's lying, which is what I started with in the first place.

 

[cliffc999]

I agree it's lying, which is what I started with in the first place.

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Ah, no, what I meant was that it was lying about setting up the part with the Crown. The rest of its statement, re: the Astral Prism, is the truth.

Of course the very best lies mix truth, lie, and half-truth, to the point it's almost impossible to distinguish them. Case in point, Raphael.

 

[BigBad]

Counterpoint: The Dead Three are extremely stupid, uncreative, and predictable. They are losers at heart. Their cleverness would be no obstacle at all to an elder brain.

Getting access to an avenue to manipulate them would be a challenge though.

 

[ZodiacDivine]

Counterpoint: The Dead Three are extremely stupid, uncreative, and predictable. They are losers at heart. Their cleverness would be no obstacle at all to an elder brain.

Getting access to an avenue to manipulate them would be a challenge though.

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Let us recall that the only reason those Aqua-tier divine dunderheads became as much of a problem as they did is that Jergal grew tired of managing his domain, so he threw it their way and told them "Figure this shit out amongst yourselves, kiddos, papa's going on vacation until Ao damn well needs him."

 

[LeonT]

>Clicks in excitement at sudden new update.
>It's all Gortash.

I have been tricked, backstabbed and quite possibly, bamboozled.

 

[Matrix Dragon]

Random amusing realization, for both this fic and BG3 in general. It's possible the only reason Mizora was captured by the Mind Flayers at all was because she came up to the mortal realm to torture Wyll about not killing Karlach, a mission she only gave him in the first place because of her own petty cruelty. She really screwed herself over there.

 

[cliffc999]

Random amusing realization, for both this fic and BG3 in general. It's possible the only reason Mizora was captured by the Mind Flayers at all was because she came up to the mortal realm to torture Wyll about not killing Karlach, a mission she only gave him in the first place because of her own petty cruelty. She really screwed herself over there.

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If you ask Mizora when you meet her at Wyrm's Rock how she got stuck in the pod, she'll say that she bamfed into the Shadow-Cursed Lands because Zariel had ordered her to scout out this 'Absolute' problem thingy... and she almost immediately got dropped by the Shadow Curse, because she very much had not realized how hard that stuff can hit if you walk into the wrong place. And when she woke up, she was already in a pod - apparently the Absolute's forces had happened across her while she was incapacitated.

 

[Matrix Dragon]

If you ask Mizora when you meet her at Wyrm's Rock how she got stuck in the pod, she'll say that she bamfed into the Shadow-Cursed Lands because Zariel had ordered her to scout out this 'Absolute' problem thingy... and she almost immediately got dropped by the Shadow Curse, because she very much had not realized how hard that stuff can hit if you walk into the wrong place. And when she woke up, she was already in a pod - apparently the Absolute's forces had happened across her while she was incapacitated.

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Yes, she says that, but I have doubts about how truthful she's being.

 

[DeadlySoren]

Damn this story is so good. Binged the entire thing in just a day.
I'm so happy to find a well written BG3 story where Shadowheart is the romantic interest. They are so very rare.

Can't wait to see how you decide to muddy up the third act! Maybe a glimpse at the upper city instead of just the lower?? I can only hope!

 

[Mizu]

I'm so happy to find a well written BG3 story where Shadowheart is the romantic interest. They are so very rare.

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What's the more common romance target, Karlach? Gale? I'm doubtful about Lae'zel but I suppose it's possible.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

What's the more common romance target, Karlach? Gale? I'm doubtful about Lae'zel but I suppose it's possible.

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Astarion. God that guy is all over the fandom. Even inside other characters tags, Astarion/Tav outnumbers other ships.

Among the women i'd suspect Shadowheart is the most popular tho.

 

[Balorak146]

What's the more common romance target, Karlach? Gale? I'm doubtful about Lae'zel but I suppose it's possible.

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Astarion. God that guy is all over the fandom. Even inside other characters tags, Astarion/Tav outnumbers other ships.

Among the women i'd suspect Shadowheart is the most popular tho.

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Larian reported on their Twitter last month that a whopping 51.3% of all players who'd finished the game had completed the Shadowheart Route, with Karlach and Lae'zel taking the #2 and #3 spots respectively.

I'm not sure if they really mean players or if they mean playthroughs, but...yeah.

 

[Kylia Quilor]

Weird that Astarion isn't so high, but I guess Astarion fans are overrepresented in fic writing. That or they get tripped up by how easy it is for him to reject you, apparently. I remember a meme shortly after the game came out about a huge portion of players getting rejected by Astarion.

 

[cliffc999]

"Elturel will not send any help." Jaheira said gravely.

It was the morning after the victory celebration and time and past time to get back to work. We were still at Last Light Inn rather than already on the march because before we moved, we'd first need to decide what direction to move in. Zevlor and the tiefling refugees had already departed, though - no matter what else the rest of us did their only practical destination was still Baldur's Gate.

"After the Descent upended their government and destroyed a substantial chunk of their military? That's not unexpected." Wyll agreed.

"I think we're barking up the wrong tree." I surprised everyone. "We shouldn't think in terms of getting military reinforcements to help relieve a siege on Baldur's Gate, because I don't think that's their plan." Off of everyone's expression I continued. "According to Aylin's aerial reconaissance the Absolute's army not only hasn't slowed down, it's setting an absolutely blistering forced-march pace possible only to fanatics. And it hasn't altered that pace in the slightest despite the death of its intended commanding officer yesterday."

"They are mind-controlled. They will not have suffer any internal problems from the unexpected change of command." Jaheira pointed out.

"Ketheric Thorm was one of the most experienced military commanders in Faerun, with decades of experience at not just battlefield tactics but also strategy and large-scale logistics. Hells, from what you said he was still winning the battle against the original Harper/druid alliance back when he was a Dark Justiciar, even though you'd outnumbered him substantially - until the head of the resistance in Reithwin dealt behind your backs with Raphael to unleash Yurgir on his Dark Justiciar barracks." I reminded Jaheira. "So even if we presume that he had managed to find or train enough competent officers in the months it took him to raise that horde, it's still not going to be anywhere near as effective without his leadership as it would have been with it. And while they did have a rather large horde Baldur's Gate is one of the largest cities on the Sword Coast with walls and defensive emplacements to match and the Flaming Fist are thousands strong and well-trained and well-equipped." I said. "Their odds of taking the city in a straightforward asasult were iffy enough even with Ketheric's leadership, and now they're operating without it. And yet his fellow Chosen haven't so much as paused their march to reorganize the column."

"But we already know Gortash and Orin have infiltrated the city with their tadpoled sleepers and are in a position to weaken its defenses." Wyll argued.

"I don't think that's what they're doing in the city." I countered.

"Wait." Jaheira realized. "Gortash's parting words, right before he teleported out-"

"You're supposed to be the fearsome General, come to conquer the city. And I am the hero who will save it." Shadowheart quoted. "So they don't care that their army is marching to a likely defeat because it was always intended to be defeated in the first place."

"But only after it's terrified the city enough that they're eager to put a crown on the head of whoever finally defeats the horrible army of the Absolute." I said. "And we already know it's not going to be Grand Duke Ravengard, because they went to considerable effort to abduct and tadpole him."

"They're gonna make the Grand Duke deliberately fuck it all up, and then just as everybody's panicking Gortash is going to step up with a brilliant idea of some kind that just happens to work like a miracle. Selling himself as the solution to a problem he secretly caused in the first place. And since he's tadpoled, Wyll's father will gladly resign his post to make up for his 'failure' and recommend Gortash as his successor." Karlach swore.

"Son of a bitch." Jaheira swore. "I am getting old! Sarevok did exactly this kind of bullshit the last time - secretly foment a crisis to make the city desperate for a solution, then decapitate the leadership of Baldur's Gate at a critical moment and leap into the vacancy by putting in his minion as the new head of the Flaming Fist, the man who could supposedly solve the crisis. Gortash isn't even doing anything really new!" I politely didn't mention that Jaheira's having told me that story last night is part of how I'd figured it out this morning.

"I would say that enslaving an elder brain is a distinctly novel achievement." Gale contributed.

"That is a pertinent factor indeed. One that means that regardless of what other decisions are made, those of us with ghaik tadpoles have to get our captured Netherstone and the Astral Prism to Baldur's Gate as soon as possible." Lae'zel contributed. "According to Minthara's testimony the elder brain does not necessarily know everything that its tadpoled victims do, but it must of a certainty know what its handlers have directly told it. And we overheard the Chosen on that platform - by this point in time they are aware that at least one small group of 'True Souls' is free of the elder brain's control via the Prism. So we must presume that the elder brain is now also aware of that."

"We certainly have to obtain the other two Netherstones and reunite it with ours to get control of the elder brain away from the Chosen, but from how you're talking that's not the only reason we need to head to Baldur's Gate immediately?" Shadowheart queried.

"The elder brain has ordered all of its 'True Souls' to march on Baldur's Gate." Lae'zel pointed out. "And while it may not know everything that happens to any bearer of a tadpole, we cannot be so reckless as to assume that it cannot at least roughly sense where they are."

"Up until now there were loyalist True Souls scattered all through the area in which we were working, both when we near the Grove and also here." Gale followed along. "But as soon as we fall far enough behind the army and stay there for long enough, it becomes obvious to the elder brain that our six particular tadpoles are not receiving the signal as intended - which means it then knows exactly which six tadpoles are the renegade Prism-bearers." Gale's face twisted in worry. "I can't say exactly what happens at that point, but it's overwhelmingly likely to be unpleasantly fatal."

"But before we just gallop blindly for Baldur's Gate, we have to try and anticipate what we'll be riding into and how best to get through it." I said. "So, putting ourselves in our enemy's shoes - what would you be doing if you were them?"

"Turning a big chunk of that army around and marching it right back here to reclaim the Astral Prism and the Netherstone by main force." Jaheira said immediately. "We couldn't possibly escape or hide from that many pairs of searching eyes, and we certainly couldn't survive against such odds long enough to draw a deep breath. Except that they are not doing that."

"What if they can't give new orders to the elder brain without all three Netherstones?" Gale said. "We saw how Gortash and Orin were struggling to control it, and how it only became docile when Ketheric joined his efforts to theirs. If so, that would mean that that right now the elder brain is like a golem running on its original programming but deaf to new orders. And it's last orders were to send the Absolute's army to Baldur's Gate while it waited near the city somewhere for its next set of instructions-"

"Gortash and Orin will know that we'll be coming after them and the other two Netherstones, which means they'll know where we'll be going." Wyll said. "And if they can't exercise precision control of their army anymore, then that means they have to wait for us at Baldur's Gate." She rubbed her chin. "You're assuming that by the time we get there Gortash will be ruling the city, correct?"

"Either publicly in his own persona or at a remove through your father, yes." I agreed.

"Then if I were Gortash I'd close the gates to refugees and force them all to camp immediately outside the city proper or in nearby towns and villages." Shadowheart said immediately. "And I'd then set up strict access controls on the city gates to prevent refugees from 'sneaking into the city' but in actuality to catch us."

"If we use the land route at all." I said. "Baldur's Gate is a port city, and we're sitting on the Chionthar right now. What stops us from taking a boat?"

"Even if the siege of the Absolute's army is intended to fail, we are presuming that it will still be necessary for their deceptions to rule Baldur's Gate under military siege conditions." Aylin contributed. "While obviously bulk maritime trade cannot be excessively interdicted - not least because the city will require food supplies with the land route out of service - we must presume that they will not neglect to police the docks as well."

"So we smuggle ourselves in- shit, no, that won't work." Karlach swore. "Gortash originally made his pile in smuggling. No way he still doesn't own as big a chunk of the 'irregular' trade as he possibly can."

"If Baldurian smugglers are anything like Kirkwall's were, there will always be independents - as well as a smuggler king or queen that Gortash will need to have displaced to gain any substantial market share in the first place. If any of them are still around, that's a route in." I thought out loud.

"The Guild under Nine-Fingers Keene has been around for many years, well before Gortash's rise to prominence. And I know that she is no friend of Gortash. Or of anyone else, either." Jaheira muttered darkly. "Still, I have done business with her before and she is reliable enough to stay bought. Using Guild smuggling channels to get ourselves inside the city discreetly would be expensive, but is still an option to explore."

"All right, that's at least one possible way in. Next up is the problem of moving around discreetly after we're already inside. Gale, I need a brief review of disguise magic." I said. "What tools do we potentially have available that I don't know about?"

Gale's brief lecture did detail several ways that we could disguise ourselves, but most of them were much like the Disguise Self spell I'd seen Shadowheart use. The best he could manage was the 'Seeming' spell that was rather taxing for a wizard but would allow him to disguise the entire party for as long as he maintained his concentration.

"That can get us through one checkpoint - if we have the proper paperwork." I thought out loud. "But Gale obviously can't keep it up forever, or even for more than a relatively brief encounter."

"Once we're inside we merely have to avoid casual notice, unless we're moving directly at or through a high-security area." Shadowheart pointed out. "Mundane disguise tricks can be useful for that. I'm quite skilled with them, and could teach you a few of the simpler ones. Many Sharrans train extensively in such methods to move discreetly in areas where we'd be unwelcome in our own right, and without requiring any magic that could be detected."

"Some of us could use those tricks." Karlach said. "But I tend to stand out just a bit, and Aylin's even worse. There's no non-magical diguise that could do a damn thing for either of us."

"And although my face is thankfully more publicly obscure than my name in Baldur's Gate, the cult is more than familiar with it." Jaheira agreed.

"I am also excessively conspicous." Lae'zel agreed. "Githyanki are not only rare enough that if I am known to travel with you our group can be readily caught out simply by looking for a lone githyanki traveling in the company of istik, but any githyanki would be an enemy that the Cult of the Absolute would already need to be most vigilant against due to their embrace of ghaik technology and methods."

"Plus Vlaakith's scout teams already having had hostile encounters against Absolutist forces near the Emerald Grove and Moonrise." I agreed. "So essentially... of our core group myself, Shadowheart, Wyll, Gale, Jaheira, and Isobel could get through anything short of a dedicated search with a simple non-magical diguise even if our two priestesses would need to dye their Selune-blessed hair color. Nothing short of a magical disguise will work for Lae'zel because she's a githyanki. Karlach is instantly recognizable even at a distance by anyone looking for a six-and-a-half-foot-tall tiefling woman. And Dame Aylin is effectively impossible to hide even if she retracts her wings and someone casts Disguise Self on her."

"You forgot the Blood of Lathander." Shadowheart said, briefly holding up the offending object. "It's been a lifesaver on multiple occasions, but it's also a big conspicuous mace that constantly emites a holy daylight aura dozens of feet away and is instantly recognizable to any reasonably educated devotee of any one of several religions. Even if the Cult of the Absolute still doesn't know we have it by now, and that's a big "if", it will still draw far too much attention if I go carrying it around on city streets."

"Plus, we've already removed the Myrkulite element of the Dead Three's little plot, and there's not as much room to deploy hordes of undead in an urban environment as there is out here. And we've just dispelled the Shadow Curse." Wyll agreed. "So all the reasons we originally 'borrowed' it are less urgent now."

"Well, we did always intend to return it sometime." I acknowledged. "And if there's a substantial church of Lathander in Baldur's Gate-"

"There is." Shadowheart and Jaheira both chorused.

"Then we hand it in to them - no, Jaheira hands it in to them, and claims some of her Harpers recovered it from the ruins of Rosymorn. And then she asks for their support against the Cult of the Absolute." I thought out loud.

"Sounds good." Jaheira said, reaching out to take the sacred artifact from Shadowheart. "But this leaves you without a magical weapon, Shadowheart. We'll need to find one for you here before we leave."

"I can take care of that after this meeting." Aylin volunteered.

"We have several possibilities but ultimately, we do not have sufficient information on exactly what we will be heading into. We will need to get closer to the city and study the situation before we decide exactly how to enter it." Jaheira said.

"So the last question to settle is what we do with the troops we have here." I asked. "If we all travel as a body, that's too conspicuous, but outside of using several as messengers to get the word out of everything we know so far... in case we stop reporting in..." I belabored the obvious.

"Again, we simply do not know enough to make plans." Jaheira said. "And I still do not think it is safe to use river travel - legitimate trade down the Chionthar was reduced to essentially nothing what with the resurgent threat of Moonrise Towers interdicting the river traffic here, and it will still be a while before word gets around of our victory and the trade begins to resume. If the Absolute's army so much as detaches a strong patrol or two to monitor the river-" she trailed off.

"So, marching in like we're just more refugees it is." I resigned myself to it.

"Wyrm's Lookout is an abandoned military outpost several hours' walk outside the city on a nearby ridgeline." Jaheira said. "It hasn't been used in decades - not even the walls are intact any longer. It's a bit off the main road so it's not used as a layover spot either. I left behind several cells of Harpers in the city to keep an eye on things even while I led my main force here. I will travel ahead and sneak into the city using one of my wild shape forms and query my network, as well as try to see if there are any possibilities in the Guild. Meanwhile, you all camp at Wyrm's Lookout and wait for me. Once I have up-to-date information on what conditions in the city are and what sort of security precautions we will need to evade, I will bring it to you there and we will form the next stage of our plans."

"Don't forget the Ironhand Gnomes." I reminded her. "Before they left for Baldur's Gate along with the refugees, Wulbren asked me to meet with him there to discuss how to fight 'the real threat to Baldur's Gate' even if he was being mysterious about what that was."

"That invitation was for you, not for me." Jaheira said. "Fortunately the meeting site he gave you was in Rivington, which is a satellite community just outside of the Wyrm's Crossing entrance to the city. So you will be able to attend that meeting on your own even if we have not found a way to smuggle you inside."

"And the troops?" I wondered.

"Outside of the ones detailed as couriers, they separate into several small inconspicuous groups and find safe places to wait near the city and in Rivington. A reserve element, in case we need more muscle. I don't want to take them back into Baldur's Gate right away, not until we know more about what we're heading into." Jaheira said.

"All right. Everybody get packed and get ready to march, we'll have to be on the road before mid-morning." I decided.

"Well, at least we had a nice breakfast first." Karlach joked, and we all got up and got ready to bid Last Light Inn farewell.

---

"You asked to see me?" Shadowheart asked Dame Aylin and Isobel as we entered Isobel's old room at Last Light. The aasimar and the priestess were busy packing up her things and getting ready to move, but they'd asked to have a word with us alone.

"Yes." Isobel said. "On my part I wanted to make sure you knew that as a High Initiate of the church of Selune I have the responsibility to make sure a new priestess such as yourself is provided with the religious instruction that will eventually prepare you to operate independently as a cleric of our church. Admittedly you have a substantial advantage over the typical Initiates in that your prior education in the church of Shar has already included a substantial amount of study regarding our doctrine and liturgy - from an external viewpoint."

"It also included more than a bit of training on how to impersonate a Selunite." Shadowheart admitted. "But all of that's still a far cry from actually understanding how to be one for real, particularly given the jaundiced viewpoint a lot of my prior curriculum had concerning Selune and Her followers."

"Oh yes." Isobel nodded. "Which is why our first order of business is to ask you if you want to be one for real." She smiled in reassurance. "Aylin bore witness to Selune claiming you as one of Her own the instant you rejected Shar. We both were present when She granted you her special blessing as one who'd earned substantial merit in Her eyes. But none of that requires you to worship Her if you don't actually want to. Unlike your prior allegiance we do not convert by either force or intimidation - we offer, but we do not demand. If you feel called to Lathander, or the Triad, or any other deity of... well, any other deity except Shar or similar gods of darkness... then I will not hesitate to make introductions for you at the nearest temple of said deity."

"Thank you." Shadowheart acknowledged. "And I won't deny that every time I think of myself as being a Selunite now I still don't feel like it's entirely real. You already know at least something of how Sharrans are raised to hate, fear, and suspect everything to do with Her - and I wasn't even a convert to the faith as an adult. I was raised from childhood in one of Shar's cloisters, and I can't remember anything before that."

"Indeed." Aylin chimed in soberly. "They trained you well and trained you hard. They ruthlessly chiselled away any part of your selfdom that did not suit their purposes, and took away your very memories. It is sinful to treat a person as if they were merely an object, and we promise you, we will never do the same."

"I know." Shadowheart agreed bravely. "I mean, right now I'm almost entirely operating on the basis that if Shar was so adamant that something was a bad idea then I probably want to look into it, because I'm having to assume virtually everything I was raised to believe was a lie..." her voice trailed off and she began to draw into herself, and I reached out and took her hand in mine. Her hand spasmed as her curse-wound began to flare up again, and I ruthlessly dispelled it.

Dame Aylin drew in a shocked breath. "What was that?" she demanded, looking intently at Shadowheart's hand. "I sensed something dolorous."

"A magical curse of some kind, almost certainly the work of Shar or her priests." Shadowheart replied. "Something they did to me as a child, I'm not sure exactly when. It's been there as long as I can remember, and it... punishes me, when I lapse. Hawke's anti-magical powers can suppress it temporarily, if he's present when it invokes."

"May I?" Aylin asked matter-of-factly, and at Shadowheart's nod took her right hand in between her own. "This is more dire than you know, Shadowheart. When I was trapped in the soul cage, a bond of pain tethered me to Ketheric Thorm. Whenever he suffered injury or ill, I felt it as fully as if I were he. This is a similar bond... it does not actually transfer life force like the parasitic link between me and Ketheric did, but it ensures that you share fully in the suffering of another whenever they are tormented. No... the link is to two people. Two specific people, who are days of travel distant from here. And.... somehow, this bond is linked to one of your memories as well." Aylin looked down at Shadowheart, her expression remote and grave. "I can attempt to unearth whatever memory lies suppressed underneath this seal of pain. I do not anticipate permanent damage, but I cannot guarantee-"

"Try it." Shadowheart said desperately. "Anything- anything to help me understand why they did this to me!"

Shadowheart's tadpole reached out and brushed against mine, wordlessly inviting me into a mental connection. Just like she had when sharing her memory of the wolf attack with me, I slipped into the vision alongside her. Thanks to the aasimar's own powers I could feel Aylin's own presence in the memory, and Isobel's as well-

We were back in the woods, in the original vision about the wolf attack. Just like last time the child-Shadowheart crept fearfully through the forest. Just like last time the menacing wolf slowly advanced towards Shadowheart out of the bushes, its gaze fixed with terrible intent. Just like last time the masked Sharrans came grimly out of the woods-

"Look there." Aylin's voice reached us as the vision froze. "Do you see that necklace your younger self was wearing? That is a moonstone pendant, identical to one that is often worn by worshippers of Selune."

"I was originally a Selunite when I was a child?" Shadowheart gaped.

"I believe so." Aylin agreed. "Particularly since I also see much that I am familiar with regarding your presence in these woods. In some Selunite communities there is a rite of passage for young postulants - to spend a night out in the wilderness alone, with only the light of the moon as their guide. Your younger self would appear to be undergoing this rite."

"Seems a bit hazardous." I commented. "She looks like she'd be ten years old.. at most."

"The rite doesn't require the wilderness in question to be dangerous or uncleared land. It merely must be outside city limits, without man-made structures, and in an area the postulant is not personally familiar with. Also, while the child is required to find their way alone to successfully pass the rite it is common practice for a responsible adult to secretly follow behind them and be prepared to offer assistance at need. After all, an innocent coming to harm is a far worse thing than their simply failing a test that can be taken again." Isobel answered reasonably.

But this time the vision was clearer. Sharper. More details were visible... and unlike the last time Shadowheart had shared this memory with me, the surrounded wolf was clearly visible over 'Mother Superior's' shoulder as she'd tried to block Shadowheart's view. Whoever had adjusted her memories had very definitely not wanted her to see this part-

-and her and I were both astonished as the wolf suddenly glowed and shifted into a man. Specifically, a middle-aged half elf. He lay on the ground, outnumbered and surrounded, and desperately reaching out for Shadowheart as 'Mother Superior' led her away. Shadowheart's last glimpse of him over her shoulder was of the Sharrans beating him unconscious with the hafts of their spears.

"A werewolf?" I gasped. as the vision faded.

"Apparently." Isobel agreed. "And one blessed by Selune to be able to control his change and his actions. She is, after all, the goddess of the moon."

"Who was that man?!?" Shadowheart asked desperately.

"Shadowheart." Aylin said gently. "Your heart already knows the answer. Who else would be watching so vigilantly over a child at night? Whose face would bear such a resemblance to your own features?"

"My father." Shadowheart whispered softly. "That was him?"

"That is him." Aylin said urgently. "He lives yet still, and your mother as well. They are the two people you are bonded to, I can see that now. That is why this moment in your mind was so intertwined with the curse-bond's magic."

"Every time I think that I've plumbed the depths of what they can do to someone-!" Isobel quietly fumed.

"But-but i'm an orphan." Shadowheart protested vainly.

"And who told you that lie?" Isobel replied firmly. "It's not your fault, Shadowheart. You were young. You didn't even know what was happening or who you really were. They kidnapped you because they wanted to break you and remake you."

"And my continued life is proof that they failed." Aylin proclaimed. "You have suffered much that no one should ever have, Shadowheart, but you have survived it with your spirit unbroken. You have found your way out of the darkness, on your own-"

"Hardly on my own!" Shadowheart protested.

"-and with the support of those who love you, and whom you love dearly." Aylin conceded with a smile. "You are a defenseless child no longer, but a woman - and one whose heart is strong and whose faith shines like a beacon in the dark, even if you do not yet entirely believe these things about yourself. You know what you need to do, and you are able to do it."

"My parents. I need to save them." Shadowheart declared.

"You could at least roughly sense the distance the curse-bond was operating over - can you also sense the direction?" I asked Aylin.

"Alas, no." Aylin sighed.

"No need." Shadowheart said grimly. "This bond was apparently put on me almost immediately after my kidnapping - and 'Mother Superior's' presence in that memory means that I was kidnapped by the Sharran temple in Baldur's Gate and not elsewhere. My parents have been held captive this entire time, in the very same place that I had been brainwashed into believing was my home." Her fist angrily clenched on thin air.

"We did not remotely expect matters to take this grave a turn when we originally asked to speak to you today." Isobel replied. "But you will have all the support in this matter that we can give you."

"Although I cannot enter the temple with you, as much as I would dearly wish to bring righteous judgment to their halls and help you rescue the innocent." Aylin said grimly. "My uninvited presence there would grant the Nightsinger license to dispatch a manifestation or divine servitors of her own to match me, and that would make my efforts more hindrance to you than help. The temple underneath Reithwin did not invoke such due to my imprisonment there at Shar's order implicitly granting me permission to enter... and even then you will recall that Shar strained the limits of her allowable intervention there."

"Pity." I sighed. "I'd have loved to see the expression on their faces when you kicked in the door." Aylin and Isobel both briefly quirked smiles at that one.

"You face a perilous journey." Aylin said to Shadowheart, her voice somber again. "You must return to the lair of those you have known for most of your life. People who you once thought of as comrades, mentors - possibly even lovers. But they will all be enemies now. And they will seek your death."

"I know." Shadowheart said. "I already knew that all their hands would be turned against me and Hawke the instant I decided to reject Shar. But if I must, then I must. And in answer to your earlier question - I'm still uncertain of a lot of things, but I entirely believe what you just showed me about my true past. And if the Moonmaiden never forgot me in all the time I was lost, I'd be both foolish and ungrateful to walk away from her now without even trying to find out what a life in her light would entail first." Shadowheart agreed.

"I'm very glad to hear that." Isobel gave her a comforting hug. "We'd miss you."

"And in fulfillment of my promise to you earlier today, I bring you a gift." Aylin said. She held out her hand and a spear materialized out of nothingness - a spear of a very familiar shape, only with a different divine icon emblazoned on the hilt and with its glossy blackness contrasted by a soft silvery corona of light that shone around the spear-head.

"The Spear of Night?" Shadowheart reached out and took it wonderingly. "But I threw this into the depths of the Shadowfell!"

"And I was able to retrieve it, before it sank into the depths of Shar's umbral domain." Aylin answered. "The Nightsinger is quick to discard that which she has no use for - you already know that better than most. But I felt its essence call to me as I took flight and so I bore it away with me. Selune and Shar are twin sisters for all their opposition, and in the primordial era it was the admixture of their essences that helped create this world. There is nothing in Toril or its adjunct spheres that Selune cannot adopt as her own if Shar rejects it - or vice versa. Bear this weapon with pride, Shadowheart. You have more than earned it."

Shadowheart slung Selune's Spear of Night on her back, its position mirroring Isobel's own weapon on her back. The silver light faded away as she released the haft. "Thank you. I'll do my best to put it to good use."

"I have every confidence that you will, Shadowheart." Aylin agreed. "But the hour draws near. Let us continue this conversation as we travel - we must depart."

---

It took days of brisk marching to reach Wyrm's Lookout, and from there we had a beautiful panoramic view of the entire city as it lay illuminated below us in the evening twilight. Jaheira had accompanied us most of the way, but had shifted to her bird-shape before flying on ahead of us for the last segment.

Wyrm's Lookout had been built on a ridge line south of the Chionthar, with the 'gate-town' of Rivington visible in a panoramic view below it. The giant stone spans of Wyrm's Crossing soared majestically high above the Chionthar, and were so wide that they actually had buildings on them lining both sides of the wide stone street. Despite their limited surface area they were still populous enough on their own to qualify as a small city district. In the middle of the river lay a substantial island, to which the north and south spans of Wyrm's Crossing both ran. On this island was the fortress of Wyrm's Rock - simultaneously the military headquarters of Baldur's Gate's southern defense, one of the larger garrisons of the Flaming Fist, and the main prison of Baldur's Gate. A massive drawbridge allowed the South Span of Wyrm's Crossing to be isolated from Wyrm's Rock and the rest of the city at need, and from this distance I could just barely make out that the drawbridge was currently up.

On the north side of the Chionthar stretched the bulk of Baldur's Gate. The imposing summit of Dusthawk Hill, large enough to qualify as a miniature mountain, stood between the north end of Wyrm's Crossing and the city proper. An arch of shantytowns and suburbs collectively called the 'Outer City' swept around north of Dusthawk Hill outside the main city walls, and the road to Baldur's Gate ran from Wyrm's Rock through these outdistricts to the walled gate that admitted one into the Lower City proper.

Baldur's Gate was massive, at least as large as Kirkwall and almost twice as large as Denerim. Built in the rough shape of a crescent moon wrapped around a wide harbor inlet in the north bank of the river, the packed districts of the Lower City surrounded the harbor district on all sides. At the northernmost arch of the crescent lay the walled enclave of the Upper City - exclusive domain of the noble patriar families of Baldur's Gate, along with the High Hall that served as the Grand Duke's residence and the official seat of the city government.

The walls of Baldur's Gate stood dozens of feet high and were so thick that you could have hollowed them out and lived comfortably inside of them. As soon as I saw the defenses with my own eyes I felt more than confirmed in my initial military evaluation - while the size of the Absolute's army that I'd seen could inflict much destruction on the city, particularly on the exposed portions outside the walls, they had no credible chance of taking the city by storm. However, as Moonrise Towers had been on the north side of the Chionthar then that was the direction they'd be attacking from. This was one of the several reasons that Jaheira had recommended we wait for her in a camp on the south side.

"The city still stands." Wyll said proudly from where he stood on the top of the old lookout tower with me. "Even though the Absolute's forces got here at least a day before we did."

"I can't see any lights that would be their campfires." I said, looking out north and past the Outer City. "Which could just mean that they're making a cold camp, or it could mean that they've already had their set-piece battle and been routed by Gortash's false 'heroics'."

"We'll find out tomorrow." Wyll said. "Jaheira said she should be done by then."

We both headed down and rejoined everyone else at the campfire. Shadowheart was still off with Isobel and Aylin continuing her new religious education, so after making sure they'd heard the chow call I set aside several portions for them to keep warm and the rest of us dug in.

"As you know, I've been doing my best to research the Crown of Karsus with the materials available from Ketheric's library." Gale said. "Simply obtaining the Netherstones might not be enough - if we're going to be attempting anything as formidable as dominating an elder brain, we'll need to know exactly what we're doing."

"Dominating it? I thought we were going to kill it." Karlach asked.

"Unless we intend to have Gale blow himself up and take most of the city with him, there's no way we can kill it without using the Crown to dominate it and make it helpless first." I reminded her. "So the primary mission is to find the other two Chosen, kill them, and take their stones."

"You had me at 'killing Gortash'." Karlach said cheerfully. "Just don't forget to invite me along for that one, all right?"

"The practical upshot is, even with the benefit of Ketheric's attempts to steal a march on his fellows my research materials regarding this matter are still incomplete." Gale said. "Fortunately, the place where we can remedy that deficiency is right here in Baldur's Gate. Sorcerous Sundries is one of the finest magical emporiums in northern Faerun and has been renowned among the wizarding community for centuries. Their collection of rare tomes is unparalleled - they're certain to have at least one dealing with the sort of ancient Netherese magic being employed here."

"We'll put it on the itinerary, then." I agreed. "Along with making sure to check in with Kith'rak Voss at Sharess' Caress."

"Don't forget my parents." Shadowheart reminded us as she, Isobel, and Aylin finally arrived to join us at the campfire. "Unfortunately, I can't lead you to the Temple of Shar. That was one of the memories they took when we set out on our mission - I don't even know exactly where the rendezvous with the person who was supposed to guide us back was. Our team leader didn't have a chance to tell me before he died."

"Any ideas on how to find it, then?" Wyll asked.

"To take advantage of the fact that right now they'll be trying very hard to find me, as well as Hawke." Shadowheart replied. "Shar will have warned Mother Superior that I've turned apostate, even if she can't simply reach out and smite me - or pinpoint my location for her followers - now that I enjoy Selune's protection. So Mother Superior will turn to mundane means of locating me, and one of the simplest would be to just stake out my likeliest return route and wait for me to come seeking my parents. And since the Absolute's army is currently on the north side of the river and all traffic to Baldur's Gate from the south has to go through Wyrm's Crossing, then if I were her I'd have at least one lookout down in Rivington. Blending in somehow, appearing harmless, but still in a position to keep an eye on anyone heading onto the South Span. If we can find them before they find us, they'll know where we need to go."

"If I might interrupt, I would have a word with thee." Withers startled us all.

"What in our Lady of Silver's name are you?" Aylin cried, leaping to her feet with one hand on her sword-hilt. "I cannot even see you clearly!"

"Stay thy hand, Sword of Selune." Withers faced her calmly. "I am here at the behest of higher powers, and in service to Balance."

"This is Withers." I introduced him to our newcomers. "I believe we mentioned him once or twice?"

"Yes, but I certainly hadn't expected this." Isobel agreed. "You said that you needed a word. What is it?"

"The Dead Three are allied and active once more. The Balance is shifting. These facts thou art already aware of, but thou hast not fully considered their implications." Withers asked us.

"The primary implication is that the Dead Three have chosen to make the opposite choice that the Moonmaiden, the Nightsinger, and most of the other gods of Faerun did after the Sundering." Isobel agreed. "Which was certainly a shock to discover, and yet the Avatar of Myrkul's direct manifestation on the Prime confirms it."

"A brief catch-up for the ignorant newcomer?" I requested.

"After the Sundering, the overpower Ao gave all gods a non-negotiable ultimatum." Aylin answered. "The reckless meddling of certain divinities on the Prime had brought calamity far too often, and so there would be no more blind eyes turned to such things as had been known to occur in earlier eras. Henceforth all deities must make a choice. First, to confine themselves to the higher realms and act on Faerun only through their servants and intermediaries, with direct divine manifestations allowed only within their own most sacred areas or for the purpose of exhorting their own worshippers. Or second, to accept a reduction from full divine status to that of a more intermediate existence - a quasi-deity, as it were. Greater than a demi-god yet still far less than true divinity, undying and more powerful than even the most puissant of mortals but yet still finite and limited. But in return for this reduction in status they would be allowed to act much more freely on the Prime."

"Like yourself?" I asked.

"No." Aylin demurred. "Although my blood is part-divine I am not even a true demi-god but merely the product of a union between Selune and a great captain of the celestial hosts. A privileged emissary of the higher realms only." She shrugged. "And Ao's compacts mean that even I must occasionally restrain my activities when on the Prime, lest I go too far and Shar be allowed similar license of her own to redress the Balance." she nodded towards Withers. "However, the crisis of the Absolute is a grave enough threat to the spheres that I am allowed essentially free rein to aid you against it."

"Indeed it is, moon-daughter, and a more grave threat than even thou knowest. I pose a simple question - do illithids possess souls?" Withers asked glacially.

"Of course not." Aylin scoffed. "They ultimately derive from aberrations of the Far Realms, and-" she suddenly broke off.

"I see what you mean about 'grave'." Isobel agreed somberly. "The Dead Three ultimately intend to amass a vast illithid army on the Prime that will allow them to conquer Faerun and amass vast temporal power. But the mass conversion of so much of Faerun's population would permanently remove a great many apostolic souls from the normal cycles of creation. By their inherent nature illithids can never empower gods by worship or be empowered by them, so the Dead Three will in the long run ultimately lose far more than they gain. And so why commit to such a strategy?"

"They can't even make up for it by conquering the world." Shadowheart agreed. "It's basic theology that acts of worship forced at swordspoint empower the gods far less than acts of sincere devotion do, and acts of worship compelled by mind control are utterly valueless. Their scheme with the 'Absolute' could turn every living person on Faerun into a fanatic slave, and yet lose everything they gained within a mortal generation."

"Correct." Withers said calmly. "It is in the answer to this conundrum that the keys to both the Dead Three's victory and defeat potentially lie. And it is this answer that thou must discover."

"I don't suppose you're allowed to hint?" I asked him.

"No." Withers stated flatly. "However, I am not specifically enjoined from... hinting... in an unrelated matter." His voice turned even more somber than his usual gravelike cadence. "Thou wilt be in grave peril soon. When it comes thou must remember to seek thy answers within, or thou shalt surely perish."

"Could you hopefully be a little clearer than- aaaand he's gone." I fumed. "Dame Aylin, you said you couldn't 'see' him clearly?"

"By virtue of being what I am, I can sense many things that others cannot. And yet Withers presented no information to my awareness, save via the mundane senses that I share with mortals. I have never before encountered the like." Aylin puzzled.

"When I first met him, I managed to briefly glimpse a spark of true divine power with him - an aspect of death, eternal and inescapable." Shadowheart answered. "Our best theory is that he's a Chosen of Jergal, particularly given that we originally found him in a crypt in a Jergalite sanctum."

"That would fit." Isobel agreed. "You didn't sense that he was hostile, did you?"

"No." Aylin agreed. "But he speaks truth in that his presence here is not against the bans of Ao - such a thing would have been obvious to my senses, had it been so." She shrugged. "If his intent is later revealed to have been malign we shall contest against him then. Until such comes to pass, we shall abide."

Despite our further discussions as darkness fell, we didn't brainstorm any further substantial insights. Eventually the hour grew late and we all turned in to go to sleep, while Aylin - who didn't really need to sleep - stood her unyielding vigil as our night-watch.

Hear me. Gather. The reckoning is upon us!

The thundering voice of the Absolute in our heads brought everyone with a tadpole awake and shouting in alarm.

"Tsk'va!" Lae'zel cursed, as she doubled over in pain. "The change... is upon us! My guts writhe with agony, my flesh crawls-!"

The city thirsts for domination! March! Join my power!

"What's happening?" Karlach cried. "Has the brain found us?"

A frantic look around at the horizon revealed nothing. A fresh wave of pain suddenly doubled me over, as the long-delayed ceremorphosis resumed at heightened speed-

"The Astral Prism!" I cried. "It's failing somehow!"

"What the hells do we do?" Wyll cried.

Isobel and Aylin, both of them of course unaffected by the Absolute's broadcast, were vainly trying to aid us. But there was nothing they could do.

"Seek... within..." Gale frantically thought out loud. "Within... within... within the Prism! That's what Withers must have meant! We already know there's an astral pocket inside there - something must have gone wrong!"

"That insufferable ghaik!" Lae'zel raged. "We imprisoned him in there, and now this is his revenge! No more reprieves! He must die now!"

"But how exactly do we get inside a sealed artifact? It's not like there's a githyanki planecaster just lying around we can use right now!" Shadowheart cried.

"I can try forcing our way in with a Dimension Door at point-blank range." Gale thought out loud. "It's a coin toss whether that will work or if it will just kill us, but-"

"But if we don't do something in the next few minutes, there'll be half a dozen newborn mind flayers in this camp that Aylin and Isobel will have to kill anyway in self-defense!" I decided. "Do it!"

"We shall guard the Astral Prism with our lives whilst you sojourn inside." Aylin agreed gravely. "Selune be with you!"

Gale's spell breached the planar barrier between the exterior of the Astral Prism and the astral pocket inside, and the force of the transition roiled our guts harder than our most recent brush with ceremorphosis.

"Anybody got any eye color changes? Skin color? New tentacles?" Gale queried as we picked ourselves up off the rocky ground.

"It appears as if we've cheated death once again." Shadowheart wisecracked as we all examined each other and discovered, to our relief, that we'd been just in time. The interior sealed space of the Astral Prism was proof against the broadcasts of the elder brain, and so for the moment we were safe. But if we ever wanted to be able to leave here, we'd have to find out what exactly had gone wrong and fix it.

"I swear by-" Lae'zel trailed off angrily. "I vow to have that insolent ghaik's head on a pole this time, or die trying!"

"No argument there." I agreed grimly. "He doesn't seem to be anywhere around, though. And this isn't where we entered last time."

Our jaws all dropped as soon as we started to look around, because the astral geography at our current location was notably different from where we'd last verbally sparred with 'The Guardian'. We seemed to be deeper inside the Prism, and the dominant feature here was a giant floating stone structure cast in the shape of a giant skull wearing Vlaakith's crown. A clear path down towards the entrance through the mouth of the skull was readably available to us via a few low-gravity leaps, but when we arrived down there we were confronted by the last thing we'd expected - a squad of elite githyanki.

"Thralls." their leader sneered. "You are too late to save your filthy master, you have come only to die alongside him!"

"How the hell did Vlaakith's assassins get in here?!?" I demanded out loud. "How did you even get past us?"

"Vlaakith?" the lead githyanki howled in rage. "How dare you mock our devotion to the True Heir, ghaik puppet?!? We would die rather than yield to the usurper!"

"Ska'kek kir Gith shabell'eth!" Lae'zel cried, immediately going down on her knee and laying her blade flat on the ground in front of her. "My blade rests! Mother Gith compels you to listen!"

"Ghaik thralls may not be allowed parley! Honor guard-!" the leader called.

"We are not thralls!" I roared. "The elder brain's voice did not command us, because the Astral Prism protected us! But that protection just failed, and so we fled in here for sanctuary! That is the only reason we're here!"

"Don't forget we also came in here to kill a certain mind flayer." Shadowheart reminded me.

"Lies!" the lead githyanki spat. "He held out against us for a long time, but your ghaik master has finally been brought low! His only hope was that his pawns would come to save him, and yet you are too late!"

"And you believed him when he said that?" Karlach scoffed. "Aren't you the people who taught the rest of the universe that you couldn't trust a mind flayer for anything?"

"I don't doubt that he tried to convince you of that." I agreed. "He tried to convince us of a lot of things too, but we wouldn't listen. The only reason we didn't come back in here and try to kill him earlier is because we were afraid he'd taken precautions that would trigger upon his death - ones that would harm the occupant of this prison."

"Hold! Bring them to me." a disembodied voice suddenly commanded... but not the voice of 'The Guardian', thank the Maker.

"Highness!" the leader protested. "We cannot risk-"

"We are all already at risk." the voice insisted. "I must see these visitors for myself. I must judge the truth of their words."

"As you command." the leader said reverently. "You - follow us! And know that to so much as touch a weapon, much less issue a threat, will mean your immediate death!"

"Take us to your leader." I replied, and surrounded by the ever-suspicious githyanki honor guard we strode down the entranceway and into the giant skull-building. As we entered the chamber we saw the familiar form of 'The Guardian' lying prone on the ground surrounded by pools of purple ichor, still alive but barely twitching. Multiple dead intellect devourers and several dead githyanki were still strewn around the chamber, which had clearly been the site of a desperate battle very recently.

"Hawke!" the 'Guardian's' mind voice came weakly to us. "You must-" And then suddenly his mental presence was gone, as if swept away by a cold wind.

And in the center of the chamber floated the source of that wind. He was a githyanki, suspended in mid-air by two brilliant arcs of red energy that leapt out from two giant red crystals set in the floor, one on each side. His eyes were open and alert, his gaze and presence somehow regal even despite his distressing confinement. Clearly this was the prisoner of the Astral Prism, the one that Kith'rak Voss had been so careful not to name to us-

"Sha'vah Orpheus!" all of the githyanki in the chamber save Lae'zel chanted, as they gave him a formal salute with their weapons. "All hail the Prince of the Comet! All hail Orpheus, the true heir of Mother Gith!"

---

Author's Note: You know, I was originally storyboarding an entire cat-and-mouse game between Hawke and the Emperor, as they both struggled for control and viciously intrigued against each other - and then I realized that since Orpheus' honor guard was still trapped in there with him and the canon start of Act Three is when the Emperor has to call Tav and company to bail him out because the honor guard had finally cornered him and he was about to lose, that meant with my Emperor was unable to call out thanks to what I had Voss do earlier there's really no way he could avoid getting the shit beaten out of him and Orpheus being awakened from his trance. Which of course precipitated this entire sequence. So yeah, looks like old squidface is becoming surplus to this narrative sooner than even the author had anticipated. I could weep. *one single tear of vast insincerity*

And yes, the game really doesn't give any answer why you can't just bring Aylin with you to the Temple of Shar and let her spend a happy afternoon smiting the shit out of the evil she was born to fight. So, yet again I have to bat cleanup there. But hey, 'blame Ao' is a valid solution for a lot of things in the Realms. A tremendous amount of things, actually. You also don't get any interaction between Aylin and Withers in the game, ever. Again, more missed opportunities. But hey, fanfic.

My replay of Act 3 still progresses slowly, but at least I can occasionally push a chapter out the farther I go. So updates will still not be as fast-paced as earlier, but they'll still happen.

 

[Azraelvongruber]

Seeing the Emperor getting fucked over is a true pleasure

 

[cliffc999]

Seeing the Emperor getting fucked over is a true pleasure

Click to shrink...

Have you ever been punched by those monks in Orpheus' honor guard? Those guys hit like freight trains. Squidface got his ass worked over like the speed bag in Rocky Balboa's gym.

... in Rocky 3.

The later part of Rocky 3.

 

[Tasser1989]

Great chapter. I was wondering how this scene was going to work out because the party was a lot more hostile to the Emperor than you are in the game at this point.
Having the honor guard win and Orpheus taking control inside the prism is not something i expected.
I like how this story is changing from canon in a way that makes sense from a lot of small changes.

 

[LeonT]

Emperor gets fucked. Shadowheart gets weapon.

This is good update.

 

[2 Hot Crown Subdues the Sinful]

Having Orpheus free early probably means we won't need to turn anyone into a squid face, probably.

No need to go to Bastet's Booby Bar either, since dude's free. Seems like it also cucks Raphael out of any possible leverage.

 

[cliffc999]

Note that while he's awake, he's still bound. They still need the Orphic Hammer to break his chains.

 

[RedX]

Nice to see Balduran's murderer finally face justice.