tabitha42

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 64

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

“Unshackled from shadows, she will rise in moonlit glory and carve a path of brightness to the accursed one’s second death. So sayeth the wise Alaundo.” 

If this was foretold, then they couldn’t lose.

That was what Saff told herself as she charged with the Harpers into the tower, allowing Jaheira’s words to give her the comfort and confidence she needed to face the coming battle. Maybe there was some truth to the idea of fate after all. 

It served her well in the first fight at least. The grand hall of Moonrise Towers was littered with bodies and doused in blood as the group searched the dead for last minute supplies. Saff always hated this part and usually didn’t get involved, but this time she found herself prying a staff from the hands of a fallen mage. 

“Decided you need a weapon?” Gale asked as he approached her. 

“Yeah…” she murmured, grimacing as she looked at the bloodied handprints left on the staff. “Figured I should have one, just in case.” She turned and looked up at him. “You’ve got Malitas’s, right? Did he give it to you?” 

“He did indeed,” Gale confirmed, lifting it from his back and holding it in front of him. “A powerful artefact, I’m sure it will serve us well.” 

He looked at her for a moment, then moved to stand next to her and assumed a fighting stance. “Keep your leg forward, with your dominant arm part way up the staff, like this,” he explained. She followed his lead, then tried a few strikes at his instruction. It didn’t feel particularly natural to her, nor was she sure it would actually help much if she were forced into melee combat, but she supposed it was better than nothing. 

There was little time for practice as the group headed upstairs with Jaheira. They emerged onto the roof and found the battle raging, Ketheric with his undead minions facing down Aylin as she soared above them. Saff took a moment to prepare herself, then dived into the fight with the others. 

Before long victory was in reach, only to be snatched away again when Ketheric enlisted the Absolute’s help. Aylin was smashed down from the sky and teleported away, shortly before Ketheric made his own “tactical retreat”, as Jaheira put it. 

That left them staring down the dark pit that led to the Illithid colony beneath. Gale cast Featherfall on the group, and they jumped. 

When Saff had jumped down to the Underdark she’d been afraid, but had been left in awe by the beauty of the subterranean caverns that had surrounded her. When they’d jumped down the rocks that floated around the Shadowfell, she’d felt almost as if she was flying as she’d soared through the air. This jump came with no such reward, and by the time they reached the bottom, she was almost choking on the stench that filled the air. 

The ground squelched underneath her feet and left her boots soaked with putrid blood after each step. The walls seemed to writhe and twitch as if they were alive, and with a sinking feeling, she realised they were. Intellect devourers scurried along the endless corridors, paying them no mind, as if their group belonged there. Their tadpoles seemed to agree, squirming in reaction to the colony around them. The whole place felt so wrong… perhaps it was a good thing Saff physically could not turn around and walk out, or she might not have been able to force herself to follow the others forward. 

The battles took their toll on the group, both physically and mentally. The words chop, chop, chop echoed in Saff’s head as she saw the mind-controlled bugbear breathe his last. She watched in harrowed silence as the others plugged disembodied minds into alien machinery and the Absolute’s victims spoke through the lips of a pale, dead head. Mizora dashed their excitement when she announced Wyll would be forced to wait another six months before being released from his contract. Gale was surprisingly blasé about the news, though Saff couldn’t share his relaxed attitude on the matter. 

Even when they found Zevlor and the other prisoners, the joy of the moment was spoiled by the revelation they’d have to release the mind flayers at the same time. After giving themselves a moment to prepare, they commanded the pods to open and dived into the fight. 

As it turned out, mind flayers, even newly born ones, were some of the toughest enemies they’d come up against. The fight had barely begun when Saff, and several others, were caught in a Mind Blast. The world spun as she fell to the ground, the sounds of battle around her little more than a dull haze. Distant shouts echoed in her ears as she tried to stand, struggling on her hands and knees. Gradually the world around her began to come back into focus, and as it did, the first thing she saw was an intellect devourer as it leapt towards her. She threw her hands up defensively in front of her with a panicked gasp, and as she did, thorned vines burst from the ground and lashed around the creature. She could almost hear it screaming in pain in her head as the vines tightened and the thorns dug into it, before it finally went quiet. The vines released it and sunk back into the ground, leaving her staring at the corpse in front of her in surprise. 

A flash of movement from the side caught her attention and she saw another group of intellect devours scurrying towards them. A lingering magic sparked at her fingers and an incantation echoed in her mind. As she leapt to her feet she threw her arms up once more and shouted the word that danced on the tip of her tongue, bringing forth a cluster of thorns and vines that snapped around their attackers. Another incantation and she threw a fireball at them, incinerating the group as they struggled to escape. 

She was still left marvelling at the burnt remains of the vines once the battle was over, looking at her hands as she tried to commit the spell to memory. 

“Nicely done, cub,” Jaheira complimented as she walked past, nodding to the vines that littered the ground. She smiled to herself. Even now, after all their lessons together, she still felt like an excitable child when Jaheira complimented her. 

“This is the first non-healing druid spell you’ve cast, correct?” Gale asked as they followed the others deeper into the colony. 

“Yeah,” she answered, looking at her hands as she tried to mimic the somatic movements she’d done earlier. “Learning druidic magic is strange. It’s so different to wizardry. As wizards, we are shown the somatic and verbal components of a spell, then must practice them until we get it right. But with druidic magic, it’s more… instinctive? A spell will just kinda come to you, then you have to remember how to use it. It’s not about making the right movements, it’s about having the right feelings.” 

She dropped her hands to her side.

“I know it’s not the movements I need to practice, but it’s hard to get out of that mindset.” 

“It will come to you, I’m sure,” Gale assured her. “You’ll be speaking to animals and wildshaping in no time.” 

“Heh, I still feel like wildshaping is a world away,” she said with a sigh. “But, I suppose, I thought that about any druidic magic not so long ago.” 

“Exactly. With enough practice, you’ll get there,” he said with a confident smile. “I must say, it is fascinating to see up close how another type of magic is learnt.”

“I wonder if sorcery is similar…” she pondered, thinking back to what Malitas had told them about his family. “Clearly it doesn’t just come completely naturally. They need to learn to use their magic, just as we do.” 

“Hmm…” Gale murmured, deep in thought. “Well, something to ask Malitas once we get out of here.” 

If we get out of here, echoed a nagging voice in the back of his head.

The revelation that they could use the Illithid machinery to heal themselves would have been met with considerably more backlash, had they not been in such desperate need of healing by the time they reached it. Their tadpoles writhed and squirmed in anticipation and excitement as the group descended down to what they were now sure was the Heart of the Absolute. 

Saff looked up at Gale as the platform rumbled beneath them and took them down. She recognised the look in his eyes, and took his hand in hers.

“You’re not thinking about using the orb, are you?” She asked, keeping her voice down slightly while the others discussed battle tactics. “We’re ready. We can fight it.”

“I suggest we reserve judgement on that until we know what it is we’re going to be up against,” he said firmly, though she could hear the nervousness in his voice. 

“Whatever it is, we can face it… together,” she whispered, holding his arm as she leant into him. He said nothing as he leant his head against hers, hoping she was right. 

The platform reached the bottom with an echoing judder. Their tadpoles were almost screaming as they snuck forward through the crevice that led to the cavern within. It took Saff a moment to recognise the three figures ahead of them as those they’d seen in the vision back at the mountain pass, though she didn’t get much of a chance to process this before she was joining the others in trying to hold Karlach back from charging at Gortash the moment she realised it was him. Saff could hardly believe it herself - she knew Gortash to be a minor lord in the city, had seen his name mentioned in newspapers from time to time, but knew little more about him than that. Clearly whatever Karlach’s connection to him was, it was much more personal. 

Any shock about Gortash’s involvement, however, was quickly put aside as the ground began to rumble.

“The edict of Bane!” 

The pool ahead of them began to bubble and churn, the rumble growing stronger til rocks were plummeting down into the pool from the roof of the cave above.

“The lash of Bhaal!”

A great tentacle burst forth from the pool, smashing down onto the ground as whatever owned the tentacle pulled itself upwards. 

Saff watched in horror as from the water emerged a brain, pulsing with power as it rose up and hovered over them, casting the three Chosen that stood in front of it in its vast shadow. The magic that emanated from it took her breath away - it filled the air around her til she could sense nothing else, just the raw energy that radiated down over them.

“The testament of Myrkul!” 

She felt a clashing of magic in the air as the Chosen three dominated the great brain that floated above them. In her head, she heard the familiar echo of the dream guardian’s voice.

An elder brain… one of the cruellest and most powerful creatures in existence, enslaved by mere mortals.

She felt a deep sinking feeling. She’d read about such creatures before, but they were almost disregarded as little more than myth and legend in the texts she’d read about them. Now though, she was all too aware just how real they were. 

“Look at that crown…” 

She finally pried her eyes away from the brain to look over at Gale, who continued to stare up at it with even more awe and reverence than her. She realised at that moment that he was right - it wasn’t the brain she could feel, but the crown that sat atop it. 

“It radiates with power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. To have it… to hold… oh, if only I could…” he whispered, completely transfixed by it. 

“You want to hold it??” She gasped, only just remembering to keep her voice down. “I feel like my insides are going to boil just by standing near it!” 

He turned to her, his gaze flicking back and forth between her and the crown. 

“Think what we could do if we could control it… the power we’d have…” he said, before closing his eyes as a look of realisation dawned on him. “This must be what Mystra would have me destroy…” 

Her eyes snapped to him, focused once more. 

“You’re not gonna do it, right?” She asked quickly. “I know it’s powerful but… we’ll find another way!” 

He hesitated as he looked up at the crown once more, his mind racing. 

“Do we truly stand a chance against such a thing?” He whispered, almost more to himself than her. 

“We do,” she insisted, taking his hands in hers and pulling his attention towards her. “We can do this. Together.”

There were tears in her eyes as he met her gaze, and when his eyes flicked up to the rest of their companions he saw them watching nervously, awaiting his decision, knowing their lives hung in the balance. They were scared, knowing he might make the decision to end them all… but they needn’t be. His decision could be the one to save them, to end the elder brain without any of them risking their lives…

He closed his eyes. He could feel the sending stone Malitas had given him in his pocket, waiting for him to reach in and activate it. It would all be so quick, then none of them would have to face this again, they could be free. Saff would be hurt, but she’d move on, find someone new, and maybe some day she’d look back and realise he’d made the right decision…

Yet as he opened his eyes and met hers once more, as he saw the love and adoration through the tears, he knew he couldn’t do it. Not to her. If she had faith in him, if she believed they could do it, then so did he. 

“Alright,” he whispered, taking a deep breath as he allowed himself to make this decision. “Whether or not it condemns the world, for better or worse… I choose you.” 

She threw her arms round him as he pulled her into his, the two of them holding each other tightly. She didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between the Chosen ahead of them, or the whispers of her companions as they watched it play out. All she could think about was Gale, hoping that the tighter she held him, the more it might help convince him he’d made the right choice. 

They finally parted as the group advanced towards Ketheric. The brain and the other two Chosen were gone, leaving only the undying general watching them from above. Saff remained quiet as she listened to him talk, his voice unnervingly calm as he spoke of the atrocities he would commit in the name of his god, the god he followed so devoutly for granting him his daughter back. She had to remind herself of Malitas’s words back in the mausoleum - what he’s done is not out of grief, nor love for his daughter. Do not pity him or sympathise with him. He needs to die.

It was those words that gave her the conviction to fight as they drew their weapons and the battle began. 

Shadowheart ran for Aylin, trapped again in a soul cage at the far side of the cavern. Karlach and Lae’zel went for Ketheric, hoping to keep him busy long enough for Shadowheart to render him vulnerable once more. Saff joined the others in fighting off the rest of the creatures that came for them, undead and intellect devourers and mind flayers that swarmed them from above. 

The cavern echoed with the sounds of battle, blasts of magical energy and the roars of wildshapes, battle cries and clashing steel. Saff tried to focus on clearing a path for Shadowheart as she charged towards Aylin, but there were soon too many intellect devourers blocking the path for even Shadowheart’s Spirit Guardians to deal with. She realised Ketheric had focused his defenses on Aylin, and now Shadowheart was being pushed back. Saff’s eyes darted around as she tried to find some way to clear the enemies and open the way for Shadowheart, til they fell upon the empty platform above her. Maybe Shadowheart couldn’t get there, but she could. Aylin struggled against her restraints on another platform further ahead, too far to Misty Step, but if she could just get closer…

She raised her arms as she ran forward and jumped up in a Misty Step that landed her on the platform, but when she looked forward she swore under her breath as she realised the way ahead was obscured, blocking her view of Aylin. Her mind raced to find a solution as she ran forward, but only one possibility came to her. She’d almost fallen off a cliff last time she tried this spell, but now she raised her arms and spoke the words Gale had taught her with confidence. 

“Tibi do penna!” 

She leapt as the spell took hold and soared, her body this time moving as she commanded through the air. A gasp of glee escaped her lips as she flew upwards, weightless as she flung herself up over the wall that had blocked her view of Aylin, and now saw her once more below. 

Another Misty Step and she was down on the platform. Aylin looked up at her, determination in her eyes, ready to fight. Saff ran forward, closing the last few steps between them, and placed her hand on Ayin’s shoulder. 

She was almost knocked back by a blast of wind as Aylin spread her wings and launched into the air, screaming Ketheric’s name as she dived towards him. With a lunge Saff followed her up, the spell lifting her and propelling her back towards the fight. 

As she launched fireballs down at the enemies below, she saw Gale glance up at her with a proud smile before turning back to the fight ahead of him. It was exhilarating, soaring above the fight, and she had to wonder why wizards didn’t spend every fight in the air like this. 

She was given her answer when an arrow suddenly pierced her leg, a shock of pain shooting through her body and shattering her concentration. Her vision was blurred as she plummeted, spinning through the air, barely able to regain her focus as the ground rushed up to meet her…

In a panic she threw out her arms in a practiced gesture and cast Featherfall. For a brief moment everything slowed as the spell took effect until she slammed into the ground, having not had enough space for the spell to fully slow her down. She left a trail of blood in her wake as she rolled across the ground, before finally coming to a halt on her back. 

Every bone and muscle in her body screamed in pain til she could barely breathe. The world above her was a blur, the battle nothing more than a distant haze of noise. It took every ounce of strength she had left to raise her arms, clamp her hands together, and whisper an incantation. 

Healing magic washed over her and the pain receded in an instant. Most of the pain, at least. She sat up but quickly realised she couldn’t stand when her leg screamed in agony at the movement. The arrow was still lodged in her thigh, blood seeping from the wound. 

A vague sense of déjà vu hit her. She remembered the goblin grove, how she’d screamed as Wyll had pulled the arrow from her thigh and Halsin had healed her. It had only hurt for a second…

She wrapped her hand round the arrow, and pulled. 

Pain shot through her, but she forced the scream that tried to escape her lips into an incantation and pressed her hand to the wound. Once again the pain receded as healing magic poured into her, leaving only the blood that caked her clothes as evidence of the wound that had once been there. 

Stumbling to her feet, she looked back at the fight just in time to see Gale running towards her. 

“Saff!” He called as he reached her, holding her arms and looking her over. “Are you ok??”

“Yes! Nothing a bit of healing can’t fix,” she answered with a grin. 

“Heh, now you know why it isn’t always a good idea to fight from the air. I admit, I learnt that lesson myself in a similarly unpleasant manner,” he said with a laugh, then turned back to the fight once more. 

The pair charged forward to rejoin the fight, a dance of magic at their fingers as lightning tore through vine-trapped enemies. Intellect devourers struggled against thorns that burst from the ground beneath them, Magic Missiles weaved their way towards undead skeletons, and finally even the mind flayers that attacked them fell at their hands. 

A flash of moonlight from the platform above grabbed their attention as Aylin took one last swing at Ketheric before he dropped his hammer and stumbled back. 

“Enough! What a fool you are. You cannot kill me - I am eternal!” 

They gathered on the platform as he raised his arms and looked up. 

“Myrkul, Lord of Bones. I am here. I am ready. I am yours!” 

Saff gasped as he leant back and plummeted down into the chasm behind him. For a moment she dared to hope it was over… until she heard the deep, sinister voice that began to echo around them. 

“You dare end one that belongs to me?” 

Screams of the dead pierced their ears as a burst of green magic radiated from the chasm, spirits swirling above them. 

“I am the smile of the worm-cleansed skull. I am the regrets of those who remain, and the restlessness of those who are gone…” 

The ground shook beneath them, a deep shudder that rumbled up through the walls. 

“I am the haunt of mausoleums, the god of graves and age, of dust and dusk…” 

A great skeletal hand reached up from the chasm and slammed down on the ground, followed by another. Saff grabbed Gale’s arm as fear gripped her, stumbling backwards with the rest of them as the creature pulled itself out. 

“I am Myrkul, Lord of Bones, and you have slain my Chosen…”

Her eyes widened and the breath caught in her throat as watched what she could only assume to be Myrkul himself rising up from the ground, a towering skeleton clad in black shroud and cape, censors swinging from the outstretched hands of its skeletal crown, hate radiating from the dark, empty craters of its eyes. 

“But it is no matter. For I am Death. And I am not the end…”

It reached out, summoning a scythe wreathed in necrotic blue flames that flared with power as it readied itself in a fighting stance, looking down at its prey. 

“I am a beginning!”

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 63

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Silence fell over them as Balthazar’s remains blew away into the Shadowfell. 

Saff’s hands shook and her breaths were ragged. The cold air soothed her burnt skin, but did little to sooth her racing heart. She breathed deeply, trying to dispel the last of the fear that hung in her mind. Malitas still sat on the floor by the rock, blood running from his nose despite his best efforts to staunch it. A necrotic energy hung in the air around him from Balthazar’s attacks, though given the “quirks” Balthazar had mentioned about his wings, she wondered if it wasn’t the effects of Balthazar’s spells that he was suffering from. She wanted to go to him and heal him, but the lingering fear kept her feet rooted to the spot. 

The silence was finally broken by Aylin’s voice.

“Do my ears deceive me? Can it be so, that my saviour would call himself friends with such vile a creature as Balthazar?” She spat, staring down at Malitas from her barless cage. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes, but saying nothing before she continued. “Though perhaps I should not be surprised, given the rest of the company you keep.” 

She turned now to Shadowheart and narrowed her eyes. 

“I see you. You, who have come to seek the praise of your wicked goddess. You, who have come to drive a dagger through my heart!” 

As they watched the conversation play out between them, Saff felt the lingering fear turn now to anxiety as Shadowheart declared her intentions. Tension rose amongst them, and as they watched her approach Aylin, spear in hand, they looked between each other to see if anyone was going to stop her. Saff could see Gale and even Malitas going through the same thought process as her - should they stop it? What would be the best way to do so? Hold Person? A command spell? Surely they couldn’t let this go ahead…

In the end they didn’t need to, as Shadowheart threw the spear aside and sent it clattering down over the edge into the abyss. 

Saff had never felt more proud of anyone than she felt of Shadowheart in that moment, and watching Aylin grow her wings and take flight was all the confirmation she needed that Shadowheart had made the right choice. 

She ran up to her and threw her arms round her in a tight hug. 

“I’m so proud of you!” She squealed happily, practically jumping for joy as she hugged her. When she stepped back she saw the fearful look on Shadowheart’s face, and gave her a reassuring smile. “You did the right thing, Shadowheart. I promise you.” 

“You did indeed,” Gale agreed, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Shar may punish you, but she does not have claim on you any longer. Resisting her is a triumph in itself, however much it hurts.” 

Shadowheart nodded her thanks to them, but their reassurances didn’t alleviate her anxiety. 

“We need to leave. Lady Shar won’t stand for us to be here - not after what we did,” she said, looking up nervously at the Shadowfell around her. 

“Then let’s get the hell outta here!” Karlach agreed, marching towards the portal Aylin had left for them. 

As the others began to leave, Saff turned back to Malitas, still sat by the rock. He lowered his hand to push himself to his feet and she saw the blood that was smeared round his mouth and continued to run from his nose, and when she saw the way he winced as he tried to stand, she quickly ran to his side. 

He looked surprised as she took his arm and put it round her shoulders, and even more surprised when Gale appeared at his other side and did the same with his other arm. He smiled his thanks to them, and together they helped him to his feet and made their way towards the exit. 

The portal closed behind them and they found themselves with the others back outside the mausoleum. Saff led them towards a nearby rock and let Malitas sit down, looking at him in concern as he hunched over, breathing deeply. 

“Where’s Shadowheart?” Saff’s line of thought was interrupted by Astarion’s panicked voice. “I thought she came through already.”

The others stopped too and looked around when they all realised she was nowhere to be seen. 

“She came through with me, I swear,” Karlach said, a rising nervousness in her voice. 

There was a sudden flash and Shadowheart appeared, stumbling forward and falling to her knees. Astarion went quickly to her side, kneeling down next to her. 

“Gods, what happened to you? Are you alright?” He asked as she held her head and regained her bearings. 

They listened as she told them what had happened, how Shar had punished her for her defiance, drowned her in pain before banishing her with the knowledge that she would be alone, hunted and reviled by those she’d once called friends. 

Saff was the first to tell her she wasn’t alone, that they’d all be there for her. The others soon agreed, even Lae’zel, and gathered round her to offer their support. When Astarion joked about about how Shar doesn’t like losing despite being the Lady of Loss, a smile finally came to Shadowheart’s lips. 

When she eventually requested time and space to think on all that had happened, they acquiesced, and moved the conversation on. 

“So what now?” Karlach asked. “Aylin was heading for Moonrise, but it’ll take us hours to get there from here…”

“I can teleport you there,” Malitas said, his voice strained and breathless. “I just… need a few more minutes.”

“Malitas…” Saff started nervously as she watched him, “what’s happening to you?”

“Nothing to worry yourself about,” he said, shaking his head with a dismissive wave of his hand, the red scales that still dotted his cheeks and forehead catching the dim light. “It will take me a few minutes to be able to cast another spell. But… I will not be able to fight with you. Not after what I just did. I’m sorry.” 

“And what did you just do?” Gale asked curiously. “I have seen draconic sorcerers summon wings in such a manner before, but I have never seen it leave them weakened like this.” 

“Ah… that’s a long story,” Malitas murmured. 

“I think we’re all going to need a bit of time to rest before taking on Ketheric,” Shadowheart said, gesturing to the others, who nodded in agreement as they acknowledged their wounds. Malitas looked at her, mulling over the obvious implication in her words. 

“Very well,” he muttered, finally agreeing to tell the story. 

“My name is Malitas Draenis Auvrea'athem,” he started, the elven accent of his native tongue showing through as he spoke his name. “I come from a long line of draconic sorcerers, an ancient family based in Evereska. We can trace our lineage back millenia to a clan of powerful red dragons. It is from these dragons we inherit our powers - powers that have come to define every aspect of our lives. Growing up, milestones are defined not by learning to walk or talk, but by what spells you can cast. Not that I resented this at all. I loved it. I thrived in it. I dedicated myself to the pursuit of magic, finding a deep fascination in the Weave. So much so that I began to wonder what else was available outside of the sorcery of my bloodline. My family would have nothing to do with the wizards of the city, so when I announced I wished to apply to the Academy of Magic, it was seen as a slight against the family. An admission that I believed our powers to not be enough, to be inferior to what the ‘upjumped scholars’ had to offer. They saw it as a betrayal, an insult. But that could not be further from the truth - I revered our powers. I sought only to expand our knowledge of the Weave by looking beyond our own four walls. After some… heated conversations I managed to convince my family to accept my pursuit of wizardry, though it was an ever-present point of contention.”

“They ostracised you simply for wanting to learn?” Gale asked, equal parts surprised and disgusted. “How utterly ridiculous.”

“As ridiculous as ostracising someone for something they’re born with?” Malitas challenged. For once, Gale went quiet. His disdain for sorcerers was no secret, it was something he’d used against Malitas in the past. Now he began to question that mindset.

“I soon learnt that wizards are no more accepting of sorcerers than sorcerers are of wizards… and I could hardly hide my true nature from them,” he continued, gesturing to the scales on his face. “Years later I developed an illusion enchantment to hide my scales, though as you can see, it falters when I channel the power of my ancestors. At the time, of course, I hadn’t developed this yet, and so among the wizards of the academy I was left something of an outcast. But I did not let it deter me. Despite relentless disapproval from both sides my studies were largely successful, until…”

He trailed off slightly, sighing deeply. 

“Until my siblings grew their wings. My brother learnt to summon his first, as was to be expected - he was the eldest. But when my younger sister summoned hers before I did…”

He looked down and shook his head. 

“We have a saying in my family: nae drim kerradun ethir nha nae thun. ‘To fly without wings is to fall.’ Growing one’s wings is such an important event that the whole family gathers to celebrate. We take to the skies to commemorate and honour the ancestors that gave us these powers, while those that have yet to grow their wings are left on the ground, waiting for the day they can take flight and join their family in the skies. It is seen as a coming of age. So when I did not grow mine… rumours began to spread. My brother posited that the reason was that I had filled my head with wizardry, rather than dedicating myself to our sorcery as I should have done. He wondered if perhaps there is only so much magic one can learn, and that by studying wizardry I had forever lost the ability to summon my wings. This was seen as the ultimate betrayal, a disgrace to the family, but I would not believe it. I refused to accept that such a thing could be possible. I set out to prove them wrong, to learn to summon my wings through any means necessary. It took months of endless work, torturing myself as I forced my body to channel a magic that would not come to me. Then finally, one day, it worked. I forced every ounce of magic I had through my body and in a flash of fire, there they were. I ran to my parents to show them, and… they looked at me as if they finally had their son back…”

Saff had never seen Malitas get emotional before. But now as he spoke, she could swear she heard the slightest waver in his voice. 

“We went to the garden with my siblings, and together we took to the air. I’ll never forget what it felt like, to soar through the sky with them, to finally know I’d made the right choices and I wasn’t the disgraceful failure everyone had believed me to be…”

He looked down, closing his eyes as a pained look crossed his face. 

“And then the blood dripped from my nose, my vision darkened, and I fell. When I woke, my brother was the only one who would talk to me. As far as the others were concerned, this was proof that he was right - that my wings were lost to me, and I therefore was lost to them. I had insulted our gifts with a profane, broken perversion of what they should have been. I had betrayed and disgraced my family, made a mockery of our powers, and as such… I was no longer welcome there. My brother gave me some money, I gathered my belongings, and left.” 

He sighed as he leant back against the tree behind him. 

“All these centuries later and I still cannot summon my wings the way they can. It takes a toll on my body. I will recover, but it will take a few hours.” 

Saff had tears in her eyes as she listened to the story. She could hardly believe what she was hearing, that he’d been banished by his family simply because he chose a different route with magic…

“Did you ever see your family again?” She asked, her voice shaking. 

“Only my brother. We keep in touch, he visits from time to time. He brings me news of them, and them news of me. Not that they want to hear it most of the time, I’m sure. Apparently when he told them I’d married a human and had a half-elven child, they were disgusted that I would fraternise with ‘the lesser races’ and allow a ‘half-breed’ to inherit our powers. I’m sure they were thrilled when they heard she’d died with no ‘half-breed’ children of her own to continue the bloodline…” he muttered bitterly, grimacing as he spoke. 

“So they’re all racist pieces of shit?” Astarion said in an amused tone. “Sounds like you’re better off without them.” 

“Couldn’t agree more,” Shadowheart seethed, narrowing her eyes at the term ‘half-breed’. 

“So the one person you still talk to is the one who planted the seed in their minds that the problem was your study of wizardry?” Gale asked, clearly disagreeing with his brother’s analysis of the situation. 

“I believe that’s precisely the reason he will still speak to me - he regrets making the comment. He says he never would have said it had he thought for a moment it would have had such drastic consequences. Though as Balthazar said, perhaps he’s right… perhaps there is only so much one can learn…” he said with a sigh, staring into the distance. 

“From what I know of both Balthazar and your brother, I am inclined to put little stock into what either of them say,” Gale decided. “I believe there is always room for improvement, in all things.” 

A small smile came to Malitas’s face. 

“I do hope you’re right,” he said softly. Wyll was the next to speak, stepping forward as he did so.

“I know all too well the pain of being cast out by one’s family. I hope that, one day, you can reconcile with them,” he said sincerely. Malitas looked at him with a grateful nod.

“I appreciate the sentiment, though my parents died long ago, so any sort of reconciliation with them seems unlikely,” he replied with a small shrug. “I hope your efforts at reconciliation are more successful than mine. I’m sure rescuing your father from the clutches of a cult will help with that. To which end, please, heal yourselves up. I tried to control the flames, but I’m no evocation wizard, and I can see you’ve all been burnt. My apologies. In fact, on that note, I should also apologise for using the full force of the dragon’s aura against you all. You see, wings are not the only power we can channel from our ancestors - we can channel their presence too, filling those around us with a sense of dread. It tends to paralyse those subjected to it with fear, which in this case made it much easier to weave a firestorm around you all. Had I tried to do so while you were all still fighting, you likely would have all met the same fate as Balthazar’s undead, and I’d rather not incinerate any of you if I can avoid it. Still, I’m sure it can’t have been a pleasant experience, so, my apologies for that.” 

There was a murmur of understanding from the group as they all realised that the fear they’d felt had actually been amplified by magic.

“A pity it didn’t work on Balthazar,” Gale commented with a small shrug. “He was still perfectly capable of fighting you.” 

“Indeed… it never quite seems to have the same effect on someone after they’ve already experienced it, and he’s witnessed me channel that power several times.” 

“So if you do it again, we’ll be ok?” Karlach asked with a grin. “Cause it would be so cool to have a half-dragon flying above us raining fire down on anything we’re fighting!” 

Malitas gave an exasperated laugh.

“As cool as that would be, I would rather not, unless absolutely necessary. It is quite painful for me,” he objected. 

“Heh, yeah, I suppose the bleeding and the collapsing make it less cool,” she conceded. 

“Is that why you didn’t do all this in the library?” Shadowheart asked, clearly quite bitter about how that fight had played out. “Might have helped avoid certain outcomes,” she said, gesturing to Saff, who felt a pang of embarrassment. 

“Ah, yes… I admit, that was a misjudgement on my part,” he said, holding his hands up in acknowledgement of his mistake. “I thought we had everything in hand, until I took an axe to the face. By the time I was conscious again, Saffron was dead. I was left with two options - try to revivify her, or take out the rest of the skeletons. The choice was obvious.” 

“Hmm… well do try not to misjudge a fight again,” Shadowheart muttered. 

“I can assure you, I won’t. Now, as I said, please heal up. You’ve got a difficult fight ahead of you.”

Saff’s mind lingered on Malitas’s story as she joined Halsin to heal the group’s wounds. It was still strange to see him with the scales on his face, and strange to think that this was what he actually looked like, and what she’d got so used to seeing over the last three years with him was an illusion to hide them. The more she thought about it, she realised the spell he’d made for her to cover her scar must have been inspired by his own experiences. 

Her line of thought was interrupted when she saw Shadowheart joining them to heal everyone, though when questioned how this was possible, she seemed very reluctant to talk about where her divine powers were coming from now. 

Gale breathed a sigh of relief as Saff healed his wounds, then noticed Malitas waving him over when she moved on to heal Karlach. 

“Are you still without a staff?” Malitas asked as Gale approached. 

“Sadly yes - my staff met a rather unfortunate demise at the business end of a warhammer,” he answered. Malitas nodded, then held his hand out and in a familiar shimmer, his staff appeared in his grip. 

“I assume you know how to use a Staff of the Archmagi?” He asked, looking up at him from where he was sat.

“I do indeed - I’ve got one of my own back in Waterdeep,” Gale confirmed, realising where this was going as Malitas held the staff out for him. 

“I expect it back in pristine condition,” he said when Gale took it, eliciting a chuckle from Gale as he looked down at the staff, feeling the power pulsing through it. 

“On my honour,” he promised, stowing it away on his back. 

Malitas glanced towards Saff, who was busy healing Wyll, unaware of their conversation. He then looked back to Gale, and got to his feet with a pained wince. 

“Gale,” he said solemnly, noticeably keeping his voice down. “I may not be able to fight, but I am able to cast magic. My offer still stands. If you are forced to use the orb, send for me and I will get the others to safety.” 

A deep, sinking feeling gripped him at Malitas’s words. He was more determined than ever not to follow Mystra’s instruction, yet he still feared it may be their only option. 

He only nodded in response, choosing to say nothing more as they saw Saff approaching, her hands raised in a spell to heal Malitas.

“Save your magic, you will need it for the fights to come,” he said, holding up a hand to stop her.

She hesitated, then reluctantly lowered her hands. 

“Where will you go while we’re fighting Ketheric?”

“I’ll return to camp and rest until I’m ready to join you. I’m sure Tara will be wondering where you all are, I’ll let her know,” he answered, to Gale’s approval. 

“You sure you’ll be ok on your own?” She asked in concern, noting that he still looked quite weak. 

“I’m sure. We cleared out the undead, there’s little left down there now but rats,” he said confidently, though his smile faltered after a moment. “Saffron… I’m sorry I cannot be there to help you with this.”

“Oh, that’s ok,” she said quickly, though she couldn’t hide the fact that she was nervous about what was to come. Even had they all been there it would have worried her, but with an ally down, it made what they faced all the scarier. He clearly could see her nervousness, and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do not underestimate yourself, Saffron. You are a formidable wizard. Trust in yourself, trust in your allies, and you will emerge victorious.” 

A smile came to her lips. If he had faith in her, then perhaps she was strong enough for this. 

The group gathered once they were ready and Malitas made his way to the centre of the clearing. The bleeding had stopped now, though he winced as he cast the spell and created a portal in front of them. 

“Go, quick. I will see you when it is over.” 

One by one they entered the portal. Saff waited til the end, and Malitas gave her one last nod before she headed through. 

She found herself in front of Moonrise Towers once more. Bodies littered the bridge across the river - the Harpers were already here, and were fighting their way up to the top where Aylin battled, bathed in moonlight. 

The group looked at each other, taking a moment to gather their courage, then ran forward. As they crossed the bridge and approached the towers, their final words with Aylin ran through their minds. 

Are you ready?

Ready for what?

To kill Ketheric Thorm!

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 62

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

For once, Saff was glad for the morning. It brought with it fresh healing to close the remaining wounds, and her post-revivification nausea was gone. A combination of Mending and Prestidigitation repaired and cleaned their robes, and soon the group were ready to face whatever awaited them.

They watched as Shadowheart entered the dark, murky waters and seemingly disappeared into their depths. When she didn’t resurface they turned to each other with uneasy looks, before finally following her in. 

The pool she’d seen in her vision in the forest had been warm, welcoming, safe. This pool was not. As the water surrounded her and filled her lungs she struggled against the current and tried to turn back, but was pulled down into the darkness, deeper and deeper until she thought she would drown…

Then it was over and the water was gone. She opened her eyes to see the swirling of the Shadowfell ahead of her, an ominous purple darkness that stretched out around them. There was no ground to speak of, only a handful of floating rocks and an endless fall beneath them. 

“You did well.”

She gasped in surprise when she heard Balthazar’s voice behind them. He floated down next to them, a shroud of purple mist at his legs, keeping him aloft. 

“Now hurry along and bear witness to my masterpiece.” 

“This had better be worth it, Balthazar,” Malitas said, leaning over the edge of the rock slightly as he looked down beneath them.

“Do you doubt me, Malitas?” He replied playfully. “I assure you, it will be worth your trouble. But don’t take my word for it. Come. See for yourself.” 

He turned and floated downwards, leaving a trail of purple magic in his wake, and the others began to follow.

Saff hesitated as she stood at the edge. The swirling darkness beneath her felt like it was beckoning her down, waiting for her to fall into the abyss. Clearly there was little enough gravity here that no one was getting injured from the fall, yet the rock ahead of them seemed so tiny compared to the yawning chasm that awaited her should she miss her jump…

“Are you alright?” 

Gale’s voice next to her snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts, but did little to help calm her fears. 

“Y-yeah…” she stuttered, trying to muster up the courage to jump. Behind her, she heard him mutter to Malitas. 

“Can you cast Fly on her?” 

“No, I don’t have it prepared…” 

She felt a flash of annoyance. Not at them, but herself, for needing so much help. She didn’t want them to have to hold her hand through everything…

She ran forward and jumped. 

The air whistled past her ears as she soared, feeling a strange lurching in her stomach when she didn’t immediately plummet in the way her body expected her to. For just a moment she was flying, suspended at the peak of her jump where gravity had no hold on her, and even when it finally did start to pull her down, it wasn’t in a fall. She tried to angle her descent as she floated downwards, finally landing on the rock beneath. 

Her heart was racing, though she was surprised to realise it was from the thrill of the jump rather than the fear she’d expected. Either side of her she heard Gale and Malitas land. She glanced at Gale with a smile, then ran forward for the next jump. 

Balthazar was waiting for them at the bottom, and as they approached they realised this ‘masterpiece’ he’d been speaking of was no undead abomination, but something quite different. 

A woman stood in the middle of a large, glowing rune, dressed in rags, her grey-blue skin covered in golden cracks. Mage Hands appeared to hold her in place whenever she strayed too near the edge. They knew nothing about her, except for one thing that became very obvious very quickly - she was angry.

“Balthazar,” she sneered, shaking off the Mage Hands as she stepped back into the centre of the rune. “Come to add more bars to my cage?” Her gaze turned to Shadowheart, who was leading the group towards her. “Or perhaps to lead this would-be Justiciar’s blade directly to my heart!” She shouted accusingly, pointing at her as she stalked forward, the Mage Hands returning to restrain her once more.

Balthazar turned back to see them approach as the woman addressed them, and his grin widened.

“Malitas! Come, see my masterpiece, witness my genius,” he said, waving him forward. Malitas stepped forward ahead of the group, looking curiously at the sight ahead of him. 

“The Nightsong is a person?” He asked as he approached. 

“Person?” Balthazar objected as he looked at Malitas. “Please, you insult her. You insult me. Aylin is so much more than that. She is an aasimar, bound to… well, I’m sure you can figure it out.” 

Malitas looked down at the runes, studying them. 

“A soul cage…” he murmured after a moment, slowly realising what he was looking at. “A soul cage, binding an aasimar… that’s how Ketheric gets his immortality. He’s draining hers,” he realised, a slight look of surprise on his face as he looked at Aylin. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Balthazar said, marvelling at his own creation. 

Aylin narrowed her eyes, glaring at Malitas. 

“What’s this? Another vile magus, come to play at god?” She spat, before giving him a sarcastic smile. “A pleasure to have made your acquaintance, little mageling. We will meet again. I am eternal; I will be free one day, and I never forget a face,” she said, her expression dropping from a smile to a threat.  

“Enough Aylin, or I will cut out your tongue again,” Balthazar threatened, before turning to Malitas once more. “I should thank you, you know. Remember your research into the stasis effect on souls trapped in a magic jar? It came in most useful when creating this soul cage.”

“My research went into creating this? Oh wonderful,” he muttered disdainfully. 

“What’s wrong, Malitas? I’d have thought you’d be proud to be part of such a work of genius,” Balthazar said, turning to face him. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for our dear Aylin?” 

“Trapped in a soul cage for all eternity…” Malitas murmured, shaking his head. “Not a fate I would envy.” 

“Then you need not worry,” Aylin said with sarcastic politeness, “for when I am free I will grant you death.” 

“Enough bickering, we must be going,” Balthazar declared. “Stand back Malitas. I need to prepare Aylin for her journey,” he instructed, raising his hands to prepare the spell. 

Malitas did not stand back. He stood firm and folded his arms, and when Balthazar turned back to him, the look on Malitas’s face told him all he needed to know. 

“Oh you lying bastard,” he snapped, lowering his arms. “Really? You would rather destroy the cult than take the opportunity here? Why? You know I am not lying to you. We could be unstoppable, Malitas!”

“At what cost?” Malitas challenged, stepping forward. “Is this really what you want? For so many to suffer?” 

“Again with that saviour complex of yours,” He spat with disdain. “Is that why you’re here? To play the hero?” He sneered, then paused as realisation dawned over his face.

“No, I know why you’re here…” he said, turning to look at Saff with a smirk that sent a chill down her spine. “I did think you were terribly quick to defend her. I should have known. You always did have a soft spot for humans, didn’t you?” He said, turning back to Malitas.

“Some humans,” Malitas responded, looking pointedly at Balthazar, who barked a bitter laugh. Malitas watched him for a moment, his expression softening every so slightly. “Don’t do this, Balthazar. Don’t side with people who would see the world end, if for no other reason than that it can never succeed! Even if we fail to stop it, someone else will manage it. You will die in the service of a false god you don’t even believe in.” 

“You know as well as I do that I’m not going to destroy what I have spent so long creating,” Balthazar said simply, shaking his head. Malitas sighed deeply. 

“It seems we are at an impasse, then,” he said, a resigned tone to his voice. 

“It seems we are,” Balthazar agreed, the slightest hint of sadness at the edges of his voice, before he started chuckling. “Still, I do see one advantage to all this.” 

Malitas gave him a curious look, and he continued. 

“We’ll finally get the answer to our age-old question…” 

He gave Malitas an almost playful smile. 

“Fire or necromancy?” 

The rest happened so quickly Saff barely even saw them cast their spells. 

The ground shook as undead burst from the rock, the ancient, scattered bones around them snapping together into a small army of skeletons and zombies. Balthazar began to glow once more as he lifted off the ground, hovering above them with a grin on his lips. 

Magic shimmered at Malitas’s fingers as he summoned his staff and threw his arms up in a flurry of flames, launching a fireball into the air. 

She didn’t even have time to see if it hit its mark before a skeleton came down on her. She leapt back, grateful for the use of her magic in this fight as she blasted her attacker back with a clap of thunder. Gale was immediately next to her, the two of them fighting back to back against the waves of undead that came for them. Bones clattered to the floor as they were shattered by war axe and greatsword, Eldritch Blasts shot through the air accompanied by a bear’s roar, Spirit Guardians tore through undead while hidden daggers pried unsuspecting bones apart from behind. Above them Balthazar soared, shooting bolts of necrotic magic down towards Malitas, leaving either smoking craters of putrid energy where they missed and hit the ground next to him, or shattering his abjuration shields when they hit. He replied with attacks of his own, throwing Fireballs and Scorching Rays up into the sky between hurriedly cast Counterspells. 

Suddenly the air around her turned a putrid orange and every breath burnt the inside of her lungs. Tears streamed from her stinging eyes as she ran to escape the gas cloud, struggling to see through the thick vapour. When she finally burst free she found herself face to face with a huge skeleton that towered over her, its warhammer already mid-swing as it fell down upon her. She tried to dive out the way but felt it smashing into her back, sending her falling, winded, to the ground. Pain shot through her as she rolled onto her back, struggling to breathe. When she saw the skeleton above her again, warhammer raised once more ready to smash down on her, it was instinct that raised her hands. 

“Detono!” She cried, her voice barely audible but still enough to call upon the Weave, and the shockwave blasted her attacker back, clean off the edge of the rock. She sat for a moment, dazed and breathless, looking at the empty spot in front of her where the creature had just been. In the back of her mind somewhere, she wondered what would become of it, plummeting endlessly through the Shadowfell…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a blast across from her. She looked over to see Malitas running from a stream of necrotic rays, managing to catch one and absorb it into his staff before throwing a Fireball of his own out in return. The attack connected, bursting into a ring of flames as it hit Balthazar, but still he did not drop from the sky. Another Ray of Sickness shot out at Malitas, and this time he wasn’t quick enough to absorb it, and his shields were beginning to weaken as he was sent stumbling back from the attack. He raised his hands to cast a spell, only to have it Counterspelled, leaving the Weave fizzling on his fingers. 

“Come, Malitas!” Balthazar shouted down. “I know you can do better than this. You are holding out on me! FIGHT ME!!” 

Malitas responded only with another attack. 

Saff scrambled to her feet, ignoring the raging pain in her back. She saw Gale across from her on the other side of the gas cloud, bolts of lightning shooting from his fingers, tearing through the undead ahead of him. Yet every time they struck one down, Balthazar raised another…

“Qua dico facto!”

Malitas’s voice echoed and she felt a pulse of Weave. She turned and saw him with his arms raised to Balthazar, who struggled in the air above them against the Telekinesis spell Malitas had used on him. The two of them battled for dominance, Balthazar trying to keep himself airborne while Malitas worked to pull him down to the ground. 

She saw a flash of movement. One of the skeletons turned from where it had been fighting and instead charged to Malitas, sword held high. She didn’t hesitate as she ran forward to intercept its path. 

A clap of thunder erupted from her fingers as she threw a spell and sent its scattered bones flying off the edge of the rock, plummeting into the abyss. For the briefest moment Malitas looked over and their eyes met, and when he turned back to Balthazar it was with a renewed determination, confident that he could focus entirely on Balthazar while she protected him. 

She ran at each skeleton that charged for him, blasting them away. Above her she could hear Balthazar start to chuckle, though it was a pained laugh, interspersed with struggled grunts. 

“Is this all you’ve got, Malitas?!” He shouted, flitting between taunting pride and strained exertion as he fought against Malitas’s spell. “You used to be… so much… more! The years have made you weak! How far you have falle- ARG!” 

He gasped as he was yanked towards the ground, but still he resisted, managing to stay airborne. Saff dared a glance up at him, seeing him struggle against the Telekinesis, before turning back to her task. 

“Enough!” He shouted, and she felt a pulse of Weave from above as he began to channel another spell, but had no time to look up to see what he was doing as she dodged a battleaxe and raised her hands to push back her attacker. 

“You cannot win, Malitas…”

She blasted the skeleton back, then turned to the next. 

“...For I know your weakness.” 

She gasped, fearful of what this weakness could be. She spun and looked up at Balthazar to see what he was planning… and saw him looking directly at her. 

There was barely time to react as he launched his spell. 

Two rays of energy shot out from his hands. The first slammed into her and knocked her off her feet, but left no injury as the last of Malitas’s abjuration shields coalesced around her, shattering from the impact. 

The second slammed into Malitas with a force that sent him flying backwards in a burst of profane magic. His staff flew from his hand and skittered across the ground til it fell over the edge, plummeting down into the darkness. A moment later he too hit the ground, rolling from the momentum of the blast, leaving a trail of necrotic vapour in his wake as he flew towards the edge of the rock…

The last thing Saff saw was him scrabbling against the rocks for purchase, before he fell over the edge. 

“NO!!” She screamed, scrambling to her feet and racing forwards towards where he’d fallen. She fell to her knees at the edge and leaned over, hoping to see him clinging to the rock… but she saw only the swirling vortex of the Shadowfell. 

Behind her, she heard Balthazar laughing. 

“Such a pity,” he lamented with false sorrow. “Such a… disappointment.” 

Hot tears pricked her eyes. Her hands shook as she clenched the rock beneath her. 

He couldn’t be gone… 

An emptiness filled her, deep and visceral and clawing at her insides, grief so intense she felt like she would be sick. Around her the sounds of battle faded to a dull haze, and when she blinked the tears blurred her vision, turning the raging cyclone beneath to just a blur of black and purple and red…

Red. Red that flared in the clouds of darkness far below them, red that glowed unlike anything else in the Shadowfell, red that grew brighter with each passing moment and rose upwards, closer and closer towards her til she could feel the heat that radiated off it, hotter and hotter and hotter…

She leapt back from the edge as an explosion of fire erupted above them. A burning heat washed over her, like nothing she’d ever felt before. She winced against the blinding light of the fire, lifting her hand to shield her eyes. Eventually she opened them, and in the flames she saw him…

Malitas hovered above them, surrounded by a cyclone of fire, two great dragon wings emerging from his back. Red scales covered his face, iridescent in the firelight. With each beat of his wings another wave of heat came down on them, and as the flames that wreathed his body stretched up into the dark sky above they began to coalesce into an image. Her eyes widened as she looked into the fire above him and saw staring back at her the terrifying visage of an ancient dragon flickering in the flames. 

She fell to her knees, paralysed by fear. The cold and darkness of the Shadowfell were long gone now as the raging fire in front of her consumed her every sense. She could see the anger in his face, a fury that burnt with the heat of the dragonfire that surrounded him, and as he looked down at them and his eyes darted between them all, the realisation dawned on her with a terrifying sense of dread that he could kill each and every one of them in an instant, and there was nothing they could do to stop him…

Another beat of his wings, and he dived. 

She could do nothing but throw her arms over her head as he swooped over them, leaving a rush of heat and fire in his wake. Her hands were shaking as she managed to lift her head just enough to look across and see the others through the flames in the same position as her, on their knees, trembling in fear. Even Karlach, who had spent the last 10 years surrounded by the fires of Avernus, cowered now with the rest of them. 

The hot, dry air burnt her throat as she struggled to breathe, the intense heat burning her skin. The unnatural screams of the undead around them pierced through the raging fire as the skeletons roasted in the flames, crumbling to ash. Above her she heard another sound - the sound of battle. She looked up to see Malitas and Balthazar soaring around each other as they each launched their attacks against the other. Malitas’s wings flared as he swooped and dived, spiraling around Balthazar in a flurry of flames. As she watched them, she realised this was the fight Balthazar wanted. This was what he knew Malitas was capable of. 

She watched through her fingers as they fought viciously, blasts of necrotic energy met with rays of scorching fire. The two circled each other as they climbed higher and higher, fire trailing after Malitas that lit up the Shadowfell. With each fireball he threw, she could swear she heard the roar of a dragon above the flames. 

Eventually they flew high enough that she could barely see them, only the distant flares of fire and blasts of green energy enough to betray their position… til she saw them again, diving back down to the ground. At first she couldn’t make out what was happening, then she very quickly realised Malitas had Balthazar grappled from behind and was holding him in place with his staff while he dragged him down. Balthazar struggled to escape, but was left unable to cast spells with his arms pinned down.

Malitas swooped over them and threw Balthazar to the ground, which he hit with such force it shook the rock beneath them. Above them Malitas hovered, each beat of his wings fanning the flames as he lifted his arms in one last spell. He threw his hands down and rained a storm of Scorching Rays down at Balthazar, each one shaking the ground and making the flames around them burn higher and hotter, til all Saff could do was squeeze her eyes shut and curl up in terror, waiting for the fire to finally reach her…

But it never did. Instead the heat died down, and she felt the cold air of the Shadowfell against her burnt skin. Slowly she lowered her arms and raised her head. Around her the others were doing the same, each one of them left slightly burnt, but intact, unlike the incinerated piles of bones and ash that were all that was left of Balthazar’s undead army. And as for Balthazar himself…

She felt almost sick when she saw him. He lay slumped against a rock, his robes in singed tatters, his once grey skin now charred black, the burnt flesh sloughing from the bone. 

There was a gust of air, then another. She looked up to see Malitas descending down to them, sending the ash that dusted the ground into the air with each beat of his wings. His feet landed lightly on the ground, and as he walked towards Balthazar his wings folded neatly behind his back, before disappearing in a shimmer of magic and flame. 

Balthazar managed to open his eyes and look up at him, and when he spoke his voice was little more than a breathless croak. 

“That’s… the Malitas I know…” he wheezed, a small smile coming to his blackened lips. 

“Tell me…” he continued, speaking slowly as he struggled to get the words out. “Did you ever… figure out… the quirks… of those wings of yours? Ah, no… I see not…”

Saff followed Balthazar’s gaze to Malitas and felt a jolt of panic when she saw blood dripping from his nose. He only seemed to notice at that moment too, lifting his hand to touch his lips and seeing the blood on his fingertips. A flash of annoyance crossed his face as he wiped the blood on his sleeve. 

“You must… be struggling to stand…” Balthazar said, then weakly patted the ground next to him. “Come… sit with me…”

To her surprise, Malitas did so, wincing as he lowered himself down and leant against the rock with Balthazar. 

“All these centuries… and you have still… not worked it out…” Balthazar murmured, looking out into the distance. “I’m starting to think… your brother was right about you…”

“Perhaps he was…” Malitas muttered, lifting a knee to rest his elbow on it and hold his sleeve to his bleeding nose. Balthazar smiled again, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. 

“Look at us… the two black sheep…” Balthazar murmured wistfully as he sighed, his breaths wheezing with the rattle of a man in his dying moments. “It is… a shame. I was looking forward… to working with you again. I hope that… next time we meet… it can be on the same side…” 

“Stop allying with the likes of Ketheric Throm, and perhaps that will happen,” Malitas said, glancing over at him. 

Balthazar chuckled once more, but this time the laugh quickly turned to a retching cough. 

“Gods… I’d tell you to get it over with, but… I know you will drag this out…” he moaned, but Malitas shook his head. 

“For the sake of the friendship we once shared, I will make it quick,” he said, but Balthazar looked surprised by that as he turned to face him. “Once? Are we not… still friends, Malitas?” 

Malitas chuckled as he leant his head against the rock and closed his eyes. 

“Ask me next time we meet,” he said, raising a hand, “and I shall see how I feel.” 

Balthazar looked at him for a long moment, before finally also closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the rock. 

With a twitch of Malitas’s fingers, Balthazar slowly began to turn to dust, which gently blew away in the swirling wind of the Shadowfell. 

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 61

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

She opened her eyes to starlight.

A gentle wind caressed her skin, brushing the soft grass up against her where she lay. Above her, the night sky was alive with stars that shone brighter than she’d ever seen. Blue and purple auroras weaved their way across the sky, and in the centre, the moon bathed her in its light. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind a memory echoed, the soft words of a familiar voice. 

I love this time of night. There’s an almost reverent silence that accompanies the peak of darkness, when you’d almost believe the dawn will never break. The cradle of eternity.

A tear fell from her eye. Would she ever hear that voice again?

Movement above her snapped her out of her thoughts, and she saw the flit and flutter of a butterfly. A smile came to her lips as it dipped and swayed, and the stars seemed to dance as it fluttered to the moon. 

She sat up and looked around. The grass stretched out ahead of her, a grey-blue expanse dotted with wildflowers. Trees lined the field she sat in, their ancient branches swaying in the gentle breeze. Far in the distance mountains stretched over the horizon, their white peaks reaching up to the stars. 

Another flutter and she saw the butterfly once more, flitting above her, as if waiting for her to join. The grass was soft beneath her bare feet as she stood, her white dress almost silver in the moonlight. The butterfly took off towards the trees, and she found herself following. 

The air grew still within the forest, only the slightest breeze breaching the thick canopy of leaves above her, yet the starlight still shone through, dappling the ground in silver and blue. Onwards the butterfly fluttered through the trees, til she started to see fireflies dotted among glowing flowers, lighting her way. 

Finally the forest opened up to a clearing. Above her the moon shone bright in the night sky, surrounded by a thousand gleaming stars. The wind now blew through the gap in the trees and carried with it distant voices, singing on the breeze in a language she didn’t understand. Ancient pillars of stone circled a pool of water that lay in front of her, and with a gasp she realised where she was - this was the forest from the vision Thaniel had given her. 

The butterfly fluttered ahead of her, dipping downwards til it landed lightly on the water, sending out small ripples that glistened in the moonlight. As she walked forward she could feel the pool’s magic again, radiating out to her, filling her with a deep warmth.

She knelt by the pool’s edge and leant over, looking down at the rippling reflection of herself. In the distance the singing seemed to grow louder, welcoming words carried upon the wind in that unfamiliar language. She reached out, feeling magic gathering around her as her hand neared the water, and as her fingers touched the surface, her senses were suddenly overwhelmed. 

She saw a great ocean and heard the haunting song of the ancient creature that slumbered in its depths. She saw a forest, a flash of silver galloping through the trees. She saw the moon and heard the distant, echoing howl of a wolf. 

When she opened her eyes she found herself underwater, reflections of moonlight dancing on the water’s surface far above her. The water was cold, yet she felt warm. It took her a moment to notice that, despite being underwater, she was still breathing. 

The distant sound of singing came to her again, carried on the water’s currents, the words so quiet and muffled she wouldn’t be able to make them out even if she knew the language. She was alone here, and yet… she didn’t feel alone. It was as if there was someone there with her. 

“Hello?” She called out, her voice echoing into the water’s depths. There was little response, yet she could feel a presence. 

“Where am I?” She asked, and the answer came now in whispered words. 

“Diogel... gwarchodedig...”

She frowned, trying to understand, but the words meant nothing to her. 

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” she said, her voice cracking in desperation to know the answers to secrets that refused to reveal themselves. 

“Byddwch chi'n... ar ôl i chi ddod o hyd i'ch ffordd adref…”

She tried to focus on the words, hoping that even if she couldn’t understand them she might at least be able to recognise the language, but nothing came to her. 

There was a flare of light above her. She looked up to see the surface of the water churning, the once delicate moonlight now growing to a blinding radiance as the water began to flow upwards, lifting her to the surface. 

“Lledaenwch eich adenydd a dysgwch hedfan…”

Noise from above began to drown out the gentle singing, sounds of magic and clashing steel that grew louder the closer she was drawn to the surface. 

“Esgyn uwchben mor uchel iawn…”

She had to shield her eyes against the light that grew ever brighter. Frantic shouting and panicked gasps cut through the chaos of the noise above, louder and louder and louder…

“Ond gochelwch rhag y dreigiau yn yr awyr.”§

The surface burst open in a blinding white light.

“Te curo!”

Air filled her lungs as she gasped, her eyes snapping open. 

Everything hurt. The pain was more than she could comprehend in her dazed, addled mind. The sound around her was muffled, distant shouts and blasts of magic that felt like they were happening a thousand miles away. All she could see were blurred colours in front of her. Gradually, a shape began to form in the chaos. A person…

She heard a voice, but couldn’t make out what it was saying. The person above her had one arm raised, sparkling shimmers of powerful healing magic fading from their fingertips. Their other arm was round her shoulders, and she realised he was holding her in his arms where he knelt on the ground next to her. He? Yes, they were male, long hair, wizard’s robes, a great gash running from his ear to his jaw from which blood ran down his body…

“Saffron?”

She tried to respond, but all that came from her mouth was coughs and splutters. Pain wracked her body with each cough, leaving her whimpering. She looked up at him again, and through her blurred vision she could just about make out the expression of panic and worry on his face…

It was gone suddenly as he looked up, then raised his hand again, static gathering at his fingers. “Detono!” She only saw the skeletons for a brief moment in her peripheral vision before they were blasted away in a clap of thunder. He looked down at her again, his face drifting in and out of focus as she felt his hand on her cheek. 

“Saffron, can you hear me? Stay with me!” 

She felt a drip on her neck. Blood. Not her blood… his. As she looked at him now, she realised his cheek had been cut clean open. The sight of the gore would have terrified her, had she been coherent enough to fully understand what she was looking at. 

He looked up again, and she saw another figure standing above her, tall and broad, blurred shimmers of magic gathering in their hands. 

“Wait!” Malitas shouted, holding his hand up. “She’s stable. Save your magic. Find Gale!” 

His words echoed in her mind. Find Gale.

“Gale…”

He looked down at her again as the other figure left. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to speak, her voice barely audible over the noise of battle around them, her muddled mind struggling to find the words. 

“Book… shelf…” 

He looked up again quickly, scanning the room. Then he saw it.

“Halsin!” He shouted, pointing behind her. “The bookshelf!”

The exertion was too much. The world was growing dark and blurry again… but that was ok, right? They knew where Gale was. They could help him…

“Saffron?” 

She could no longer keep her eyes open, and finally they fluttered closed as the noise around her faded away. Perhaps she’d wake in the forest again…

“Saffron…!”

His words echoed as her world faded to only darkness and silence. 

Then… warmth. 

The smell of lavender and books. The feeling of soft blankets against her skin. The distant crackle of a campfire and muffled voices. A soft, orange light that greeted her as she slowly opened her eyes. 

“Oh, soldier!”

A familiar voice, a flash of a comforting, excitable smile. 

“You’re awake!”

Karlach’s face came into view, as did the roof of her tent. 

“Careful, don’t move too much. You got stabbed right through the gut! Even with all their healing, they still had to bandage you up. So take it easy, yeah?” 

“...Karlach…?”

She finally managed to speak, and this time it didn’t come with a helping of blood. 

“That’s me!” She said cheerfully. “Oh, and before you start panicking - Gale is fine. He’s just outside. We’ll go see him in a sec. Just be careful sitting up, ok?”

Her head was still spinning, memories of the vision in the forest clouding her mind, until they began to fade away like a distant dream. 

She focused on what Karlach had said. Gale… last she’d seen him, she’d been trying to reach him after the bookshelf fell on him. She let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that he was alright… until something occurred to her. 

“If he’s ok, why isn’t he here?” She asked, suddenly worried there was more than what Karlach was telling her. Surely he’d want to be with her when she woke up, wouldn’t he?

“He’s getting healed up. When I say he’s fine, I mean he’s not dead, but that bookshelf really did a number on him. Not only all the stone, but there was something glass on it that cut him up pretty bad… don’t worry though, he’ll be alright!” She said quickly, but her reassurances did little to help the pang of panic that shot through her. 

“I need to see him,” she said urgently, trying to sit up, but struggling against the pain. 

“Woah, woah, not so fast,” Karlach warned, moving to help support her. “Take it slow, ok?”

Karlach helped sit her up and gathered some pillows behind her for her to lean against. 

“I know you wanna go see him, but you need to be careful. Just give yourself a few minutes to see how much you can move.” 

As much as she wanted to run straight out to him, the pain was too great, and she relented and took Karlach’s advice. 

“How bad is he?” She asked, taking deep breaths to try to dissipate the pain.

“I’ve seen worse. I mean, I’ve seen you, for starters! Impaled right through the middle! That’ll be a hell of a story for the kids!” She laughed, and despite everything, Saff found herself laughing too. Karlach’s joy was always contagious. “I helped Shadowheart bandage you up, was a real doozy of a cut. One of those skellies, I assume? How’d it get ya?”

“Oh, I… to be honest I barely even remember…” she admitted, holding her head as she tried to think about it. “I was hit by a blast of lightning from the bookshelf that fell on Gale. I tried to get to him, then next thing I knew I was looking down at a sword…”

She trailed off slightly as she looked down at her stomach. She could feel it bandaged up underneath her shirt. She wasn’t wearing her robes anymore, either - Karlach and Shadowheart must have changed her clothes while they were treating her. 

“I fell to the ground and everything went black. And then…” 

She trailed off as she thought about the vision she’d seen. The forest bathed in moonlight, the magical pool, the voice that had spoken to her… 

What had come after that? She frowned, trying to remember what happened next. She didn’t just wake up back here, she was sure. There was something else. Someone holding her, healing her. And blood… so much blood…

She gasped in a panic as the memories suddenly came back to her. 

“Malitas! Oh my god, is he ok?? His face…!” She raised her hands to her cheek as she remembered the image of him leaning over her, his face cut open, blood pouring down his neck…

“Ok, calm down,” Karlach said quickly before she tried to move too quickly again. “He’s alright. He’s getting patched up by Halsin as we speak.”

She breathed another sigh of relief and leant back against the pillows once more. 

“Wait…” she murmured as she went through it all in her head. “He… healed me. I think?” That was what she saw, wasn’t it?

“Yeah, apparently he did. He resurrected you. I don’t know how, he did explain but to be honest I wasn’t really listening,” Karlach explained with a slightly embarrassed laugh. This time though, Saff couldn’t laugh along with her. 

“Resurrected?” She gasped in disbelief. “I… I died??” 

“Yeah. You didn’t think you survived being stabbed through the gut, did you?” Karlach laughed again. “Apparently dying and coming back can be pretty rough, so you’ll probably feel like shit til you’ve had a proper sleep. Turns out, dying is bad for you. Who’d have thought?” 

This time Saff did manage to laugh at Karlach’s joke. 

“Who’d have thought…” she echoed quietly, though her mind was racing. The vision she’d seen… was that the afterlife? It had been nothing like the descriptions she’d read of the Fugue Plane. She had so many questions… were the visions actually a real place? What was the voice she heard? Was the butterfly she’d seen the same one that had been in her dream, leading Gale through her memories? There was so much she had to think about, yet she was too dazed to focus on it right now. 

 “Gods, I can’t believe I actually died…” She murmured, holding her head as she looked downwards.

“Yeah, pretty wild huh? Rough fight for everyone it seems. When we reached you guys, Shadowheart was on her last legs, pinned into a corner. You and Gale were down for the count. Malitas had half his face falling off, though he was still fighting! Credit where it’s due, he’s a lot tougher than I thought he would be. Apparently he was the one that got the door open, destroyed a portal or something. You should have seen Gale having to admit that him being a sorcerer was actually useful!” She laughed, then gave Saff a more emotional look.

“Anyway… I’m glad you’re all ok now,” she said softly, putting her hand on Saff’s shoulder. 

Saff felt her heart melt at the sentimentality behind Karlach’s words, and put her arms out for a hug. Karlach gladly leant in, wrapping her arms round her in a surprisingly gentle hug compared to the usual bear hugs she gave people. She eventually sat back, then flashed Saff another playful smile. 

“And I’m glad you’re finally awake. I was getting so bored just sitting here that I nearly started reading one of these books! Ugh, can you imagine?” She joked, and this time Saff laughed heartily along with her. 

“Not reading, don’t subject yourself to that,” she joked, glad to feel that it was no longer hurting to laugh. She decided that was a sign she was ready. “I think it’s time to go see them.” 

Karlach nodded and stood up, offering Saff her hand. She took it gratefully, letting Karlach help her stand, glad for the support. Together they slowly made their way out of the tent. 

The others were gathered round the campfire. She was met with smiles and relieved looks to see her awake, but Gale was the only one she registered as she looked at them. He was sat shirtless in front of the fire, Tara in his lap comforting him as Shadowheart carefully extracted shards of glass from his back. He was covered with blood and bruises, but when he looked up at her, his face lit up in a smile. 

Her injuries were the last thing on her mind as she ran over to him, stumbling unsteadily til she finally reached him and fell to her knees in front of him. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, holding her tenderly, as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him but might break if he held her too tightly. She knew she couldn’t hug him back after seeing the wounds on his back, so instead she held his cheeks as they kissed. As their lips met they both knew the other wanted more, but between the pain they were both in and the company that watched them, they both wordlessly agreed to keep the kiss chaste for now. Yet, chastened though it was, it didn’t mean any less to either of them.

Even when the kiss ended they didn’t part, instead resting their foreheads together. She heard her name whispered on his lips, a hundred emotions in that one breath. There was a tingle in the back of her mind as her tadpole stirred and she saw a vision of herself in Malitas’s arms, lying in a pool of blood. She felt Gale’s fear at seeing her like that, his desperation to reach her despite his injuries, his guilt at not being able to protect her… and in turn she knew in that moment he was seeing himself crushed by the bookshelf, feeling her fear, her panic. Their eyes opened and met, a shared understanding of each other’s pain, soon replaced by a shared relief that the other had survived. They kissed again, this time a kiss of celebration rather than relief. 

Suddenly he gasped in pain and sat up, his eyes shooting wide with shock. 

“Sorry,” Shadowheart said from behind him, waving a large, blood-soaked shard of glass. “Thought I’d get the big one while you were distracted.”

Gale managed only a wordless exertion of pain in response. Saff leant over slightly to look at Shadowheart and realised that she too was battered and bruised, though in her camp clothes now she could see the bruising was significantly less where her armour had done its job of protecting her.

“Hope you’ve got some healing left in you Saff,” Shadowheart continued as she carefully pulled another shard out and dropped it in the bowl next to her, “cause Halsin and I are all out, and these two are going to need it.” 

Shadowheart gestured to both Gale and Malitas, and Saff finally turned to see her master. He was holding a large, blood-stained rag to his head that covered half of his face, and she realised that the axe had nearly cut the top of his ear off when she saw that Halsin was currently cleaning the blood from it. Malitas looked absolutely exhausted, a sickly pallor to his skin, yet he smiled when she looked at him. He didn’t speak, but she could tell he was relieved to see her. 

“Healing. Right,” she said, looking down at her hands, wondering if she could channel any more magic right now. She was weak, but she had to try. Gale’s back was peppered with lacerations, and while she couldn’t see Malitas’s wound right now, she didn’t need to. Visions of how he’d looked came back to her, his cheek sliced open, blood gushing down his neck… despite the haze of those memories, she knew how serious his wound was. 

“Saff,” Gale started, his voice hoarse. “Don’t force yourself. You need to rest.”

“I can do this,” she insisted, determined to help them. 

“Well go to Malitas first,” Shadowheart advised. “I need to get the rest of these shards out before you can heal Gale.” 

She glanced at Gale, wordlessly promising to heal him once Shadowheart was done, then moved over to Malitas. 

“Let me see,” she said, nodding to the rag he was holding to his face. 

He hesitated, and she knew why. He didn’t want her to see such a horrendous wound… yet in the end, he lowered the rag. 

She’d seen some pretty gruesome things in her adventures so far, yet seeing a wound like this on someone she cared about was quite different to seeing it on a goblin or a gnoll. It had been cleaned and was no longer bleeding as much, but still it was harrowing to see. With a deep breath, she managed to keep her composure and raised her hands. 

“Te curo,” she incanted, and watched as the light washed over Malitas and the skin knitted itself back together. He was left still bruised, but the worst of the injury was healed. 

“Aah,” he gasped in relief, stretching his jaw as he lifted his hand and touched his cheek where the cut had been. “Thank you.”

She smiled in relief as she lowered her hands. 

“Do you have any other injuries?” She asked, and he shook his head. She nodded, then turned and moved back towards Gale, who was wincing with each shard that was extracted from him. She took his hand in hers, letting him squeeze it and comforting him as best she could. The fact that he’d said barely a word since they’d reunited told her how much pain he was in. It was horrible to hear his gasps and see the tears welling in his eyes, and she was as relieved as him when Shadowheart finally announced she was done. She shifted into Shadowheart’s place behind him, inspected the damage, then gently placed her hands on his back. 

“Te curo,” she whispered, pouring the last of her magic into him, and once again she watched as the skin knitted itself back together. 

“Aaah, that is so much better. Thank you,” he said, turning round to kiss her once more. Like the others, he was still left bruised, but no longer bleeding. She moved back next to him and leant into him as he put his arm around her shoulders. 

“Good to have the whole gang back together again!” Karlach said happily. “Even if it’s looking a bit worse for wear.” 

“Oh, that reminds me,” Saff said, sitting up slightly as she looked at Malitas, “Karlach said you resurrected me… how did you do that?” 

“Ah, I did not resurrect you. I revivified you,” he answered. Karlach spoke before he could elaborate. 

“There’s a difference?” She asked, and both Gale and Malitas leant forward slightly, always eager for a discussion about magic. 

“There is indeed! It is a subtle but important distinction,” Gale said happily, before Malitas began his explanation. 

“You see, when the soul leaves the body-”

“Oh gods,” Astarion moaned before he could get any further. “The wizards have only just been healed and already they’re lecturing us on magic…” 

“You’re welcome to leave if you wish,” Malitas said to him, before continuing. “When the soul leaves the body, it lingers for a short time before going to the Fugue Plane. During that time revivification is possible, a relatively simple spell to pull the soul back into the body. However, after the soul has departed, resurrection is necessary to retrieve the soul from the Fugue Plane, a far more powerful spell that I’m afraid is quite out of my ability to cast. Even revivification is not something wizards or sorcerers are usually capable of - I was only able to do it because of an old Scroll of Revivify I found in my tower. Unfortunately such scrolls are not easily obtainable, so any future deaths may not be so easily remedied. And if I’m honest… I didn’t think it would work. I thought I had left it too long before reaching you. I was surprised the spell was successful.” 

“Hmm…” Gale murmured, stroking his chin. “It is a very small window indeed… I wonder if our old friend Bone Man is responsible for this. He did say he could bring us back from the dead. Perhaps he was able to help your spell succeed.” 

“I don’t think so…” Saff murmured. The others looked at her curiously. “I… I saw something, when I died…” “Ooh a death vision!” Karlach gasped excitedly. “What was it? Did you see the Fugue Plane? The City of the Dead? Kelemvor himself??” 

“No… nothing like that,” she answered with a shake of her head. “I woke up in a field at night, then saw a butterfly and followed it into a forest.” She glanced at Gale and saw the look of curiosity in his face, clearly having the same questions as her as to whether this was connected to her dream. “In the forest I saw the same place from the vision Thaniel gave me - a magical pool of water surrounded by standing stones. When I touched the water, I saw flashes of visions - an ocean, a forest, the moon. Then I was in the water, and I could hear a voice… when I spoke, it spoke back, but just like before, I didn’t know the language. I was then pulled to the surface, and I woke up when Malitas revivified me.” 

There was a moment of quiet among the group, an almost nervous hush as they processed what she’d said. 

“Curious…” Malitas murmured, stroking his chin. “Most curious…”

“Most curious indeed,” Gale agreed. “In everything I’ve read on the subject, I’ve not seen any accounts similar to this.” 

“Neither have I,” Halsin added. “But the fight against the Absolute has attracted the attention of at least two gods already,” he said, nodding to Gale and Lae’zel, before looking back to Saff, “perhaps Sylvanus has plans for you.”

She didn’t answer for a moment, then finally sighed and shook her head. 

“I don’t know… I’m too tired to think about it right now,” she said with a deep sigh, feeling the fatigue of revivification. “Thank you for reviving me,” she said to Malitas, wanting to leave the conversation at that for now. 

“You are most welcome,” he replied with a smile, though she could tell he was still distracted by thoughts of what her vision could mean. He’d have to ask her about it later if he wanted to know more, she decided. 

“Too bad we couldn’t use this opportunity to see if Bone Man really will resurrect us,” Astarion lamented with a sigh. 

“If you’re volunteering, I’d be happy to help test the theory,” Malitas offered, glancing over at him. 

“Ah, unfortunately as you said yourself, being undead complicates these things, doesn’t it?” Astarion replied with a grin. “You’ll have to find someone else.” 

“No one is dying,” Saff said firmly, then sighed slightly. “Except maybe me again if I don’t learn to use a weapon… I couldn’t do anything without my magic.”

“I’m sure between myself, Malitas and Halsin, we can teach you to wield a staff,” Gale offered, glancing at Malitas and Halsin, who nodded their agreement.

“Or if you prefer a different weapon, I’d be happy to teach you to use a rapier,” Wyll offered. 

“I’ll teach you to use a battleaxe!” Karlach declared happily, which Saff laughed at.

“Oh please, I wouldn’t even be able to lift it!”

“I think a bow and a pair of daggers would work well for you,” Astarion joked, drawing a round of chuckles from the others. 

“While we’re on the subject of lessons to be learnt from this,” Gale began in a stern tone, “Shadowheart, might I suggest not charging into a clearly enchanted room until we’ve had a moment to figure out what the enchantment is?”

Shadowheart bristled, but could find no argument against his point, and eventually sighed in defeat. 

“You’re right. I’m… sorry,” she muttered. “On that note, perhaps it might be wise to not have the three wizards in the same party next time?” 

“Yes… I suppose that would be prudent,” Gale murmured, though he didn’t like the idea of being split up from Saff. Though, he thought, maybe that was a thought leftover from the early days of their travels. She was a far more capable fighter now than she was then, much less in need of his guidance. He glanced at Malitas, who also looked slightly uncomfortable about the idea, but couldn’t deny the rationale behind it.

“We’ll all be together tomorrow anyway, right?” Saff asked, also not thrilled by the suggestion. “To fight Balthazar, or his creation, or whatever it is we’ll end up finding.” 

“Yes, we’ll need all our strength for that,” Malitas confirmed with a nod. “To which end, we should get some rest.” 

The others agreed, and the party set about turning in for the night. Tara said she wanted to stay by the warmth of the fire a little longer, knowing as always when Saff and Gale needed a bit of time together. 

The moment the tent door closed behind them, they were in each other’s arms. Gale stroked her hair as he held her, wishing he could squeeze her tighter than he dared with her injuries. Saff felt the same as she buried her face into his neck, taking in his scent, his warmth, everything about him. 

“I thought I’d lost you…” she whispered, her voice wavering as her mind went back to the image of him crushed under the bookshelf. 

“And I you,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion as he pulled back and met her eyes, his hand caressing her cheek. In the back of his mind, he wondered - should he tell her about the Scroll of True Resurrection he kept hidden away in his pouch? He knew for a fact that, despite its intended use, had they been left with no other way to resurrect her, he wouldn’t have thought twice about using it. It brought him some comfort to know they had it as an option, and he was sure it would bring her some comfort, too. Though as a smile came to her lips and a familiar look came to her eyes, he found himself deciding that was a conversation best left for another time. 

“You know…” she started, slowly trailing a finger down his bare chest, “I’ve never seen you use a staff like that before. It was very…”

She trailed off a bit, trying to think of how to finish her sentence as she bit her lip and looked up at him. 

“...It reminded me of that book you once read.” 

An amused smirk came to his lips.

“Oh, you liked it, did you?” He asked playfully.

“I did,” she answered, pulling him in. 

Their lips met in the kiss they’d wanted to share earlier, an outpouring of love that soon turned to lust as both their eager hands started pulling the other in and exploring their body. He lay her down gently on the soft blankets and pillows, before starting to lift the hem of her shirt. They finally broke the kiss to pull the shirt up over her head. He threw it aside and looked back down to her, but his smile faded when he saw the bandages that wrapped her stomach. Gently he lowered his hand to her waist, running his finger lightly over the dressing, wincing as he thought of the wound beneath. 

“Perhaps… tonight is not the best night for this,” he murmured, concern and disappointment both evident in his voice. 

“I’ll be alright,” she assured him. “Just… be gentle.” 

He smiled warmly as he leant over her once more and placed a soft kiss to her cheek. 

“I can do that.”

And so he did. He was gentle as he peppered her body with kisses, working his way down her neck, over her collarbone and chest, down each arm, across her bandaged waist. He was gentle with his touches, the lightest caresses across her skin, worshipping every inch of her. He was gentle removing the rest of her clothes, his touch so soft she almost didn’t notice he’d undressed her til she felt his lips against her bare skin. He was gentle with his tongue between her legs, taking it tantalisingly slow as he made sure her body could handle the sensations that drew the moans from her lips. And he was gentler still when he finally crawled up over her, their eyes locked together as he slowly entered her. Each thrust was light and delicate, accompanied by a kiss, a touch, a whispered word of love. 

By the time they were done, she barely felt the pain at all anymore.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 60

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

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Saff was relieved when the conversion finally moved on from her scar. She remained resolutely quiet on the subject, though she could see Karlach, Wyll and Halsin looking at her in concern and felt a twinge of guilt for not telling them. She hoped they understood it wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, she just couldn’t bring herself to go into it. Not now, when there was so much else going on. 

She was glad when the group dispersed and she could set about her usual job of setting up a small area for Scratch and the owlbear cub. After gathering the required materials she approached them and was surprised to see Shadowheart knelt down in front of the owlbear cub, smiling as she pet him. The smile quickly disappeared though once Shadowheart realised she was there. She jumped up and gave Saff her usual moody look. 

“I didn’t hear you coming. I was just… checking how big the owlbear had got. Making sure it hadn’t grown those talons enough to pose us a threat yet.”

Saff looked at her. She didn’t usually question what people told her, but in this case, she didn’t believe Shadowheart at all. It was clear enough that she was enjoying petting the owlbear, despite how often she’d objected to its presence in their camp. Weren’t Sharrans supposed to be good at lying? 

“Right,” Saff said after a moment. “And… he’s not too big yet, I assume?”

“Not yet,” she replied quickly. Saff’s eyes flicked down to the pair of animals that looked up at them expectantly, then back to Shadowheart. 

“Well… good,” she replied, shifting a bit awkwardly on the spot, before deciding to try to make something of this. “Hey, while you’re here, I’ve got some treats to give them, but sometimes they can get a bit rowdy and try to take the other’s food. Maybe it’ll be easier if you feed the owlbear cub and I feed Scratch.”

Shadowheart hesitated, glancing down at the cub. 

“Alright… if it helps avoid a fight.”

Saff handed her a piece of dried meat, then knelt down by Scratch and pulled another out for him. She cooed to him as she held out the treat, but her attention was really on Shadowheart as she subtly watched her smiling once more as she fed the owlbear cub. Once the food was gone, she shifted a bit closer to her, letting Scratch follow her over. 

“I’ve been trying to think of a name for him,” she said, nodding to the cub. “But I can’t decide on one.”

“Hmm… I suppose he should have a name…” Shadowheart murmured, stroking her chin slightly. 

“Halsin asked what his name was, but he said he didn’t have one. He didn’t even really know what a name was. Halsin explained it’s a word we use to identify you, so if you hear us say it, you know we’re talking to you. He added that it should be a word you like hearing. The cub said he liked hearing the word food! But we can’t call you that, can we?” She said with a laugh as she leant forward and scratched him behind the ear. Even Shadowheart chuckled, too. 

“We certainly can’t call him that,” she agreed. “Hmm… you know, I think I had a pet, once… a long time ago. I don’t really remember…”

Saff glanced over at her, feeling a pang of sympathy. 

“Because it was too long ago, or because Shar took that memory?”

“Shar took it,” she answered, the slightest hint of sadness showing in the creases in her brow.

“Hmm… seems an odd memory for Shar to want to take. You said they take memories to keep her secrets safe. Why would you having a pet be related to that?”

“I don’t know. But it’s not my place to question it,” she decided with a shrug. Saff was quiet for a moment as she looked at the two animals wagging their tails in front of her. 

“I used to think that too, that we shouldn’t question the gods,” she said softly. “But if we did that, then Lae’zel would have let Vlaakith’s soldiers kill you all, and herself. If we did that, Gale would blow himself up, along with the rest of us, once we find the heart of the Absolute. If I’ve learnt one thing from all this, it’s that sometimes we need to question the gods.” 

Shadowheart remained silent, staring forward, a look of deep contemplation on her face. Saff wanted to push the subject, ask her why she’d want to follow Shar given everything they’ve seen here, all the suffering she’s caused… but she also knew Shadowheart didn’t take kindly to being questioned about it all. Maybe what she’d said was enough for now. 

“Anyway, I need to set up a pen for these two and the others want to get going soon. Do you want to help? Would make things a lot quicker,” she offered. Shadowheart considered a moment, then nodded. 

“Alright, if it means we can get going quicker,” she said, though Saff was certain that wasn’t really her motivation for helping. 

Once they were done, they set out to find their way through the mausoleum to Balthazar’s ‘masterpiece’. Saff had expected it to be a difficult venture for the group. She hadn’t expected Shadowheart to insist on doing just about everything herself. 

They stood aside as she crept her way through the soft-step trial. They watched as she fought a shadow version of herself during the self-same trial. They called out directions to her from the map on the ground as she walked across the invisible bridge in the faith-leap trial. Then they all puzzled over the fact that they seemed to be missing an umbral gem. 

That was when they found Yugir. His Merregon army descended on them, and they soon understood why Raphael had warned them about him. It was a long, hard-fought battle that finally ended with Yurgir falling from the parapet and hitting the ground, burning to ash. 

Shadowheart was nonchalant as she retrieved the final umbral gem, though the others had other concerns. 

“Does that mean there’s still a Dark Justiciar here somewhere?” Saff asked, contemplating Yugir’s contract. “He said his contract hadn’t been fulfilled…” 

“If there is, I will either ally with them, or slay them if they prove to still be loyal to Ketheric,” Shadowheart replied confidently. “Whoever it is, they must be clever to have avoided Yugir all this time.” 

“Hopefully they’ll be clever enough to avoid us, too,” Gale muttered, massaging his shoulder after a particularly brutal hit from a Merragon. “We don’t need to go looking for fights.” 

“Agreed,” Malitas said with a nod. “We have enough umbral gems, and it’s getting late. We should be fully rested to take on whatever Balthazar’s ‘masterpiece’ is.” 

“Not yet,” Shadowheart insisted. “One more thing, before we head back to camp. There should be a library here somewhere, within which is the Spear of the Night. Only once I have that, can I become a Dark Justiciar.” 

There was a noticeable tension among the group at the idea of her doing such a thing, but they agreed nonetheless. 

The group split up to find the library. Saff joined Gale, Malitas, Shadowheart and Astarion while the others searched elsewhere. Shadowheart was getting somewhat annoyed at Astarion’s insistence on searching every single chest, box and body they went past, and in the end stopped waiting for him and simply led the others on while he started to lag behind. 

Her relentless vigour continued as they approached the large, intricate archway that led into the library. 

“This must be it,” she whispered in reverence, admiring the details of the architecture. She then turned and looked behind them. “Astarion! It’s here!” 

“Yes, darling, I’ll be right there!” Came his reply from another room, entirely devoid of urgency. 

She seethed in annoyance, then decided she wasn’t waiting for him and strode forward. Saff followed, but Malitas and Gale hung back for a moment. 

“I don’t like the look of that enchantment…” Gale murmured, eyeing the shimmer of magic around the edges of the archway. 

“Neither do I,” Malitas agreed, but they were both too late to stop Shadowheart as she marched through the door. They quickly ran in after them as Saff followed her through. 

“Saff, I think we should-”

Gale’s voice went silent as they crossed the threshold. 

Only once they were through the archway did it become clear what the enchantment was as all sound around them disappeared to a deafening silence, and only then did they see the undead justiciars that awaited them within.

Saff gasped in surprise at the unexpected silence and enemies that surrounded them, but when she turned to run back out she saw the doors had closed behind them. Malitas and Gale reached for their staffs, and she suddenly felt woefully under-equipped, having never learnt to use a weapon and relying only on magic to protect herself. Magic that would be lost to her now…

She turned back to see the skeletons nearly on top of them. Shadowheart was further down the stairs, armed with mace and shield, but weakened without the use of her magic, unable to stop the attackers that spread themselves across the group. 

A silent scream escaped Saff’s lips as a skeleton she hadn’t even registered was next to her suddenly came into her vision with the flash of a sword, only for it to deflect off Gale’s staff as he swung it down in front of her in a strike that sent the creature reeling backwards. She’d never seen Gale fight like this before and could only watch in awe as he brought his staff down once more against the creature, smashing the bones from each other and leaving them falling to the floor in a silent clatter.

Another flash of movement from the side, and she managed to jump away just before the blade cut into her. She’d never realised before how much she relied on sound to register enemies around her. Gale came to her defence once more, diving in front of her and blocking the second attack with his staff. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for anything she could use as a weapon, and fell on the sword left abandoned next to the pile of bones that had once been the skeleton Gale had just taken out. She ran forward and snatched it up from the ground, quickly getting used to the weight of it in her hands. It was dulled and rusting from decades of neglect, but it was better than nothing. 

She looked back to Gale, seeing him dodging or blocking the justiciar’s attacks as best he could. If the skeletons could use the silence to their advantage, then she could do the same. She darted out behind it, careful not to get caught in its peripheral vision, then ran for it. With a silent cry of exertion she brought the sword down on its head, sending its skull clattering to the ground as the rest of the bones crumbled beneath it. 

Their eyes met and she saw a proud smile on his lips, before he shifted his focus to the rest of the room. He pointed, saying something to her that she couldn’t hear, but she didn’t need to when she followed his gaze and saw what he was pointing to - a swirling portal in the centre of the room, through which more undead justiciars were pouring. Not only that, she could feel the magic radiating off it. That was the source of the Silence enchantment, she was sure of it, and they had to destroy it. 

She ran forward with Gale, letting him take the lead, ready to support him as best she could. To the side they saw Malitas sweep his staff under a skeleton’s legs, before bringing it down on its head. He raised his hand, light gathering and swirling around his fingers, a conversion of arcane magic to metamagic that allowed him to wordlessly launch a fireball at another two skeletons that charged towards him. A useful ability granted to him as a sorcerer that neither herself nor Gale could do. It did still serve to help them though - most of the undead in the room focused on Malitas as the greatest threat, leaving her and Gale almost free passage to the portal. It wasn’t til they got close did the justiciars start to turn their attention towards them. 

Gale charged at the first, slamming his staff into its chest. It replied with an attack of its own, a slash that Gale narrowly avoided the brunt of, but still managed to leave a painful cut down his side. Saff attacked from behind, and despite her somewhat clumsy handling of the sword, between them they were able to bring it down. In a joint effort they were able to take down the second too when it came for them. 

The third was another matter. The portal seemed to sense their growing proximity, and the next justiciar wielded not a sword, but a warhammer. 

It charged for Gale, whose staff was no match for it as the warhammer came down on him and smashed through his staff, sending the two splintered halves flying from his hands as he stumbled back. He jumped back from another attack, scrambling backwards to run from it. Instinctively Saff wanted to go with him, but she knew neither of them could fight it like this. But if she could destroy the portal…

She turned and ran for the portal, hoping Gale would be able to dodge the justiciar’s attacks long enough for her to destroy it. Her sword came down on it in the best attack she could manage, but the portal did little more than ripple as the rusted metal blade passed through the dark ball of magic. She swung again, and again saw little more than a ripple. She was barely damaging it, but as long as she was doing some damage with each swing, she could take it out…

A skeletal hand reached out of the portal, followed by another. With a gasp she jumped back from it as another justiciar emerged, empty eye sockets trained on her as it drew its sword, and charged. 

She threw her sword up protectively to block its attack, but couldn’t even keep the weapon in her hands as the force of its swing wrenched it from her grip and sent it skittering away on the stone floor. Stumbling back from the blow and barely able to keep her balance, she looked up at it again as it raised its sword for another attack.

In that moment, it was not the glint of an ancient sword that came for her, but the glint of a kitchen knife, and as she found herself back in that kitchen, scared for her life, she froze…

The blade hit her hard, sending her falling to the ground. But when she hit it, she felt no pain. She opened her eyes in surprise, seeing the final ripples of an abjuration shield shattering around her, having absorbed the blow. The skeleton came at her again, but before it could attack, a mote of fire smashed into it from the side, sending its burnt and broken bones flying across the room.

She looked over to see Malitas, arm outreached, moving to gather his magic again as his fingers began to shimmer white. His eyes went to the next justiciar that began to charge towards her… and not to the skeleton behind him that charged forwards, war axe held high. 

She tried to shout to him, but her words were lost. She waved, desperately trying to point behind him, telling him to run. 

He saw her and turned, just as the axe came down. 

Despite the silence, she could still hear the crunch of bone in her mind as the axe smashed through his shields in a clean blow to his head. Blood splattered across the floor and he was knocked down, his staff falling from his hand. She barely had a chance to scream his name, before the justiciar turned its attention towards her and charged. 

She scrambled to her feet and ran. In her peripheral vision she could see Shadowheart running for the portal, but she was flanked on all sides by enemies. Ahead of her Gale still fled from his pursuer, jumping over stone tables and searching for some way of fighting back. He skidded to a halt as another skeleton came at him from the front, pinning him against the wall between them, but by some stroke of luck and managed to duck out of the way of both their attacks, leaving the warhammer to smash through the justiciar ahead of him and crash into the bookshelf he’d been pinned against. 

Somewhere, lost in the silence, was the click of a trap detonating. 

Lightning leapt out from the bookshelf in an explosion of destabilised magic and tore through Saff. For a moment she saw only white as her body was wracked by the attack, searing hot pain shooting through her. By the time she could see again she was on the ground, her muscles spasming and twitching. Behind her the skeleton that had been pursuing her had been reduced to smouldering bones. She saw Gale on his knees in a similar state ahead of her, the justiciar that had been attacking him now also nothing but scattered bones. When he looked up, their eyes met. For a moment, with no attackers on their heels, she thought the two of them might finally have the chance to destroy the portal, if they could just reach it…

The bookshelf behind him cracked. Fractures began to spread from the impact of the warhammer, exacerbated by the explosion of magic, as the shelves started to crumble and books fell to the ground.

She could do nothing but silently scream his name as the whole bookshelf came falling down on top of him in a soundless crash, burying him under a pile of broken stone. 

Her body screamed in pain as she forced herself to her feet and ran for him, but she barely felt it over the panic that gripped her. She stumbled forward, her muscles still trembling from the lightning, everything around her fading away in her mind. Nothing mattered other than getting to Gale… 

She didn’t notice the movement next to her. She noticed only the sudden, overwhelming pain in her stomach. 

She looked down and saw the point of a blade, slick with blood, protruding from her belly. Liquid filled her mouth and she coughed, sending droplets of blood splattering the ground in front of her. For just a moment, time seemed to stand still… til suddenly the blade was ripped back out of her, and she fell to the ground. 

She couldn’t move. Unimaginable pain shot through her shaking body. Every laboured breath led to a choked cough and a splutter of blood. Tears fell from her eyes accompanied by silent, terrified whimpers. 

And yet, even as her muscles stopped trembling and the world began to fade to black, all that went through her mind was that she had to reach Gale, as her final breath left her lungs.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 59

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Hanging from chains, dripping with blood, a shadowed man and the glint of a knife…

Gale’s description of what he’d seen in her dream had left her harrowed, almost unable to join the conversation as the others discussed its possible meanings. 

“Most ominous indeed,” Halsin commented in concern. “Let us pray it is not a portent of the future…”

It isn’t, she thought to herself. Not a vision of the future, but an echo of the past.

Memories of her last meeting with Aryn flooded through her mind. The splatter of blood on the kitchen floor as the knife he held had come down on her, cutting through the flesh of her forehead. The warm trickle of liquid down her face, metallic on her tongue… 

She felt Gale glance over at her. He was having the same thoughts, no doubt, and wanted to correct Halsin’s suggestion. She was grateful he remained silent on the matter. It wasn’t a conversation she was ready to have with anyone other than him just yet. 

“Whatever it is, the curse is definitely related,” Gale said instead. “I could feel it interfering with the spell, pervading the dream. A strange, powerful magic I didn’t recognise.”

“I could feel it too,” Halsin added. “Even from outside the dream, I could feel that something was stopping our magic working as it should. It was more difficult than it should have been to keep the spell stable.” 

Saff could still find no words. Every mention of how powerful the curse was worried her further. Tara seemed to sense this, and placed a paw on her knee.

“Whatever these dreams are, whatever this curse is, we will get to the bottom of it,” she promised her. “If these dreams truly are visions of the future, then we will fight it with everything we have.” 

The others agreed, and despite the fear that hung over her, she still felt the comforting warmth of her friends’ support.

“Thank you,” she said softly, smiling gratefully to them. “I think… I need to sleep. I’m too tired to think about it all right now.” 

“The nightmares never seem to strike twice in one night,” Gale observed. “With any luck, the rest of the night will be peaceful.” 

Halsin departed and left the three of them alone. As she curled up in Gale’s arms and closed her eyes, she tried to focus on something other than the mental images of her nightmare. 

Morning always came too early, and that morning seemed to be particularly vicious. The lack of sleep, the mental weight of her nightmares and the not inconsiderable hangover left her feeling like she could barely move. It didn’t help that, despite having not seen the sun for nearly a month, her body still didn’t seem to respond to being woken up in the darkness. She needed the morning sun to truly wake up, and her body was refusing to adjust to life without it. 

She hadn’t even registered that Gale had left the tent til he returned with two plates of food. She forced herself to sit up, sweeping the tangled mess of her hair back over her shoulders as she took the plate with a mumbled word of thanks. Her mind ticked over the dream once more, thinking through what it could all mean as she picked at her food. Thaniel had said it wasn’t a curse, and the vision he’d given her had felt nothing like the nightmares. Perhaps they weren’t actually related at all…

“Saff?” 

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Gale spoke, and she looked at him to see the look of deep concern in his eyes. 

“Please… try to eat something,” he said softly. She glanced down at her plate, still mostly full of food, while his was now empty.

“Oh…” she murmured, having not noticed she’d barely had more than a few mouthfuls. She only now realised how little she actually wanted to eat anything. 

“Sorry, I…” she started, surprised to hear her voice starting to crack as she spoke. 

Outside she heard the sounds of tents and equipment being packed up and began to panic. People were getting ready to go, and she wasn’t even dressed yet. 

“Fuck, I need to get ready!” She gasped, quickly putting her plate aside and leaning over to the pile of their belongings at the side of the tent. She grabbed a hairbrush and started to rake it through her hair as she tried to gather her clothes, til she felt Gale take her by the shoulders and sit her back down on the blankets again. 

“Saff, calm down,” he said, firmly but not unkindly. “The others can wait a bit longer.” 

He picked up the plate she’d discarded and handed it back to her as he took the hairbrush from her hands. He then shifted and sat behind her, and she felt him gently start to brush her hair for her. She let out a breath, and with it started to feel the tension melting from her at his soft touches, closing her eyes and letting herself relax for a second.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. 

“You are more than welcome, my love,” he said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek from behind, then sitting back and focusing on her hair again. She smiled to herself, then finally picked up the untouched piece of bread and began to eat. 

“You were thinking about the dream,” he said after a few moments of quiet. 

“How did you know? The tadpole?” She asked, and he chuckled softly. 

“No, I could just tell,” he answered. “Talk to me, tell me what you’re thinking.” 

She was quiet for a moment, looking down at the food in front of her. 

“The same as you, I think,” she answered eventually. “It has to be Aryn, right? A male figure, a knife, blood. That’s what we thought before, too. I guess all these dreams must be about him…” 

“It does seem the most likely explanation,” he agreed, running his fingers through her hair as he brushed it. “Though, if that’s the case, I have to ask…” 

He paused for a moment, leaning forward to catch her eye. 

“You were hanging from chains over a pool of blood. Saff… did he ever-” 

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “He never did anything like that. He was violent sometimes, sure, but never even close to that. That must have just been exaggerated in the way dreams often are.” 

He breathed a sigh of relief and leant into her, their foreheads resting together. 

“I’m glad,” he said softly, giving her another quick kiss before sitting back once more. “Perhaps the chains in your dream were metaphorical - the chains of the relationship, the way he’d trapped you there.”

“Perhaps,” she murmured as he continued with her hair. “To be honest… it’s not the content of the dream that worries me most. It’s the why. Why would a curse from a spectator give me nightmares like this? Why can’t I remember them? Why does Thaniel think it’s a blessing? Is it even related to what Thaniel was talking about, or is all that something else entirely?”

“All very pertinent questions,” he agreed, reaching up to begin braiding her hair, “and all questions I’ve wondered about myself. Though I’ve come to realise that dwelling on such questions has limited benefit when we have so few answers. Especially when they’re upsetting you so much.”

“Mmm… I guess, but sometimes it’s hard to think about anything else…” she murmured, feeling him give up on the braid he was doing, run his fingers through her hair to undo it all, and start again. “Though I suppose it’s not like there’s a lack of other things to think about. Do you think we’ll find this mausoleum today?”

“It would certainly be preferable if we could, but given how long it took us to find Moonrise, I’m not getting my hopes up,” he answered, frowning slightly as he gave up on the braid again and undid it all. 

“Are you struggling?” She asked in a playfully teasing tone, turning slightly to glance back at him. 

“How do you do it?” He asked, looking at the strands of her hair he held in his hands. “I know how to do a basic plait. I thought you simply do the same procedure, drawing more hair in each time.” 

“That’s pretty much it, yeah,” she said, lifting her arms. “Like this.”

He watched as her fingers deftly worked through her hair, moving so quickly he could hardly tell what she was doing, a skill honed through years of practice. Before he knew it she’d reached the end of her hair and secured it with a hair band. 

“You make it look so simple,” he said, his tone one of genuine awe rather than simply a compliment, with a hint of disappointment that he was not able to do something that looked so easy. 

“You make magic look simple,” she retorted, pointing out it was not as easy as it looked. 

“Heh, point taken,” he conceded. “Ok, let me try the other side.”

She turned round and sat still as he set to work. Once again there were several false starts as  he got halfway round her head before giving up and starting again, but she wasn’t complaining. She simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his fingers in her hair, the small noises of concentration he made, the joy of a brief moment of normalcy among the horror they faced. 

“There,” he said, lowering his arms. “I would say it’s done, but… that might be overstating it slightly,” he said hesitantly, looking less than pleased with his work. 

“Can I see?” She asked with a chuckle, picking up a hand mirror. 

“If you must.” 

She lifted the mirror and looked. Technically, her hair was braided, though it looked like a child had done it. Stray hairs stuck out all along the braid, some parts were tight while others were loose, and it wasn’t remotely symmetrical to the other side. Nonetheless, she found it quite endearing, and couldn’t help but chuckle fondly. 

“I understand if you’d like to redo it yourself,” he conceded. 

“I quite like it,” she said, lowering the mirror. 

“While I appreciate that very much, I might actually request you redo it. I wouldn’t want the others thinking you’d forgotten how to dress yourself on account of my own lack of skills in this department. These fingers are well practised at many things, but sadly, this is not one of them.” 

She laughed and began undoing the braid. 

“Fine, as long as you promise to put those practised fingers to better use later tonight,” she said, flashing him a playful smile, which he happily mirrored. 

“You wish is my command.”

She was in a much better mood by the time they emerged, despite the impatient looks some of the others were giving them. 

Saying goodbye to Last Light felt like saying goodbye to their first campsite when they departed after the party. Again Saff found herself hoping they could return at some point, under the light of the sun next time. 

The journey across the Shadow Cursed Lands was long and arduous, though she was grateful for the in-depth conversations Gale and Malitas were having about the nature of the curse and other similar magic that helped keep her distracted. The others were all thoroughly uninterested, but she found it fascinating. She was also grateful for Malitas’s inclination towards fire magic, when the waves of warmth from his fireballs during the fights would offer welcome, albeit brief, respites from the chill of the curse.

By some miracle they managed to find the mausoleum before deciding to stop for the day. None of them were happy to see Raphael standing outside of it, except for Astarion, who wasted no time in demanding answers about his scars from the cambion. Raphael promised answers in exchange for killing whatever creature it was that lurked in the depths of the mausoleum, and Astarion quickly led them in after Raphael took his leave. 

“A devil is involved, too?” Malitas asked Saff in disbelief as the group began to head in. 

“...Yeah,” was the only answer she could give him, suddenly feeling bad for not having mentioned it before. He just sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know why I continue to be surprised by everything that befalls you,” he muttered as they followed the others inside. 

In the mausoleum the revelations came thick and fast as the group read through journals, notes and inscriptions. Not only had Katheric brought the curse to the land after his daughter died, but that daughter was named Isobel. 

“Do you think it could really be her?” Saff wondered as the group gathered to share their discoveries. 

“If it is, she was awfully quiet about it,” Shadowheart muttered disdainfully. 

“He used to follow Selûne, it would fit,” Gale considered. 

Saff felt a pang of sadness as everything started to fall into place in her mind. 

“All this… was out of grief for his daughter…” she murmured, surprised to find herself starting to feel sympathetic towards him. 

“That does not justify it,” Malitas said firmly, looking up from the book he was reading - one of Ketheric’s old journals. “Grief can do terrible things to a person, but it does not mean his actions here are forgivable.” 

Suddenly she realised - Ketheric was a man mourning the loss of his family. Not only that, an elf that outlived his human wife and half-elven daughter. How familiar this whole story must feel to Malitas…

It seemed Shadowheart had the same revelation. 

“You did not feel the pull of Lady Shar when you lost your family, then?” She asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I certainly did not,” he answered firmly. “To do so would have been a disgrace to their memories. And for him to have done this when his family were both Selûnites makes it all the worse. Make no mistake - what he’s done is not out of grief, nor love for his daughter. Do not pity him or sympathise with him. He needs to die.”

“That much we agree on, at least,” Shadowheart commented. “He betrayed the Nightsinger. He must die for that, and I will be the one to kill him.” 

Malitas gave no response, he simply chuckled to himself, which Shadowheart clearly was not happy about. 

“What is so funny?” She demanded, and he looked at her with an amused smile.

“Such fervour against the man that betrayed Shar. Yet you were quite happy to stand aside while Saffron and the others worked to lift the curse, knowing that once Thorm is dead their actions would allow these lands to be free of Shar’s control. Curious.” 

Shadowheart narrowed her eyes at him as he turned to continue further into the crypt, though gave no retort to his words. 

The group decided to make camp and rest for the night before descending further. It was hardly the nicest place to sleep, but the curse at least did not seem to penetrate the walls of the mausoleum. 

Saff prepared an area for Scratch and the owlbear cub as best she could. The two had followed the group once they moved camp, as they always did. She was playing with Scratch when she felt the presence of a figure looming behind her, and turned to see a familiar flash of white hair and red eyes. 

“I think you know what I’m here for,” he said in his usual drawl. 

“...To feed on me?” She asked, then suddenly realised something. “Wait, you haven’t fed on me in ages…” 

“Have you only just noticed? I’m wounded,” he lamented, dramatically clutching at his chest, before shaking his head with a laugh. “I found someone far tastier to snack on. No, that is not why I’m here. We’re likely to meet Balthazar tomorrow, and I for one don’t want you giving away who we really are and getting us all into a fight.” 

“Oh…” she murmured with a wince as she realised what he was getting at.

“That’s right, darling. Time for those lying lessons.” 

The two of them sat cross-legged opposite each other by the fire, Saff’s heart already racing from the prospect of having to learn to do something she knew she was terrible at.

“Oh don’t look so nervous,” Astarion said with a playful laugh. “You looked less worried when you agreed to let me feed on you for the first time.” 

“That was easier than this…” she murmured nervously. 

“This will be the easiest thing in the world by the time I’m done with you,” he said with a smirk. “And I know you’ve got it in you. You act like you can’t lie to save your life, but I’ve seen you lie to Gale, and he believed it.”

“What??” She gasped in surprise at the accusation. “When??”

“When you told him you felt some mysterious magic out in the forest and ran off, knowing he’d follow you. I certainly knew it wasn’t true, but it was enough to fool him.” 

“Oh, that…” she murmured. “That was different. It wasn’t really lying. It was more like… a game.”

“Life is a game, darling,” he drawled. “And I’m going to teach you how to play it.” 

As it turned out, Saff was much better at learning magic than she was at learning the complexities of social deception. Eventually, though, Astarion felt he’d spent enough time drumming into her that confidence was key, and decided it was time to try out what he’d taught her. 

“We’re going to play a little game. You tell two truths and one lie, and I have to figure out which is the lie.” “Ooh ok!” She said eagerly, excited to put what he’d taught her to the test. “Let’s see… hmm… ok, first one, I once found an injured pigeon, took it home and nursed it better,” she said, quite proudly. 

“Of course you did…” Astarion muttered, but she was too busy thinking of her next fact to notice. 

“Second… I once temporarily dyed my hair black, but then it turned out it wasn’t temporary, so I had black hair for weeks. And third… umm…”

She stroked her chin and looked up in thought.

“Err… hmmm…”

Astarion grew more exasperated as he watched her. 

“Ok, we’re clearly not ready for this,” he said, holding his hand up to stop her. “Let’s talk about coming up with a good lie, shall we?”

“Wha- hey, you don’t know either of those weren’t a lie!” She objected defensively. 

“Yes I do,” he said simply, then continued before she could object, “now, when trying to convince a person you’re someone you’re not - for example, trying to convince Balthazar you’re a True Soul - you need to know who you’re pretending to be. Have a persona clear in your mind. If you’re going to play a part, you need to know what that part is. Have a backstory, a motivation, get into character. So, who is True Soul Saff? Why does she follow the Absolute? How did she get involved with the cult? It’s a lot easier to lie about something if you already have what you’re going to say planned out and you’re not making it up on the spot. And you need to make that character believable. The most important rule is that the best lies have an element of truth. Remember when I told you I’m a magistrate in Baldur’s Gate? I told you that because I was a magistrate, back before Cazador turned me. It’s a lot easier to act a part you’ve already lived than to make up something completely new. So whatever persona you come up with, sprinkle a bit of truth in there. For example - it seems the Absolute always offers its followers something they want. Try to think of something you might actually be tempted by if the Absolute were to offer it. Though make it something an Absolutist would want. Don’t ask to be able to… I don’t know… grow the most beautiful flower or always make it sunny,” he said with an eye roll and a dismissive wave.

At first she was slightly annoyed with him for that, til she realised that anything she would want was definitely not anything an Absolutist would want. She went quiet for a long moment as she tried to think about it, but was interrupted by Gale’s voice across camp calling them all for dinner. Astarion sighed, then looked back at Saff.

“Well, do try to think of something before we meet Balthazar, won’t you?” 

She was quiet for most of dinner, thinking through Astarion’s advice, trying to come up with a believable persona she could use. She was so deep in thought she didn’t even notice Malitas approaching her until he spoke. 

“Saffron? Are you ok?”

“Oh! Yes, sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to say to Balthazar. Astarion was telling me what sort of things I should say to get him to believe I’m a True Soul. How I need to come up with a persona, know what I’m going to say, include elements of truth in my story…”

“All good advice,” he said with a nod. “Though better advice might be to simply not meet him. You could stay at camp while others explore the mausoleum.” 

“I don’t want to do that,” she said quickly, the words coming out before she even knew what she was saying. She surprised herself - it wasn’t so long ago she’d have much preferred to stay at camp, away from the danger. Now, though… she didn’t want to leave the others to do all the hard work. 

“Then I’ll leave you to work on your persona,” he said, which also took her by surprise somewhat. It also wasn’t so long ago that he was trying to convince her to go home, to leave behind the dangerous life of an adventurer. To know he trusted her to do this now gave her a small boost of confidence. “I’m heading back to the city, I’ve got some equipment I’d like to pick up for tomorrow. Do you want anything from home?”

She shook her head, then waved a quick goodbye as he set off through one of his portals, her mind going back to the task ahead of her. 

---

She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, vaguely aware of the movement across the room where Malitas was getting dressed. She knew she should focus, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that dream she had last night…

She’d fallen asleep in the window frame she’d been sat in, and by some miracle (or perhaps curse) she hadn’t fallen out. It was morning by the time she woke, the newly clear sky starting to show the first signs of sunlight. She’d still been soaking wet, yet somehow she hadn’t felt quite so alone anymore…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a grumble of annoyance from across the room. 

“What happened here?” 

She sat up and looked over at Malitas, who was frowning as he looked at the wet floorboards by the window. 

“Oh, sorry, I… left the window open last night.” 

Technically not a lie.

“I see. Do try not to leave the windows open during a thunderstorm,” he said, turning away from the window to resume getting dressed. 

She pulled up the covers round her as she shifted to sit back against the pillows, her eyes lingering on the shimmer of the red dragon scales that dotted his back as they caught the light before he covered them with his robes. 

“You’re really going to fight with them, then?” She asked, finally shaking the thoughts of her dream and focusing on the present.

“I am, yes,” he said, picking his belt up from the dresser. “Given what they’re up against, they’re going to need all the help they can get.” 

“And what are they up against?” She asked, leaning forward slightly. “You keep saying how everything they’re facing is different to anything you’ve seen before. What if it’s something you can’t beat?” 

He chuckled softly.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said confidently. 

“But what if it does?” She insisted. “I know your magic is powerful, but what if you can’t use it? What if you get silenced?” 

“Then I shall use metamagic. I need not always use an incantation,” he said casually. 

“What if that doesn’t work? I read that there’s flowers in the Underdark that can stop magic entirely. What if they use those against you?”

“Sussur blooms have a very small area of effect, I shall simply move away from them,” he answered as he adjusted his belt.

“What if you can’t? Or what if you come up against something that’s somehow immune to magic? Or-” 

She paused as he turned to face her, an amused look on his face. 

“I didn’t realise you were so worried about me.”

“Of course I’m worried about you,” she said softly. “I love you, how can I not be worried? Plus, if something happens to you, then what happens to me?” 

“Ah, so that’s what’s really worrying you,” he teased, sitting on the bed in front of her. “Nothing is going to happen to me. Even if we face something I cannot fight with magic, I will not be facing it alone - the group has plenty of skilled fighters that have no need for magic. So you can stop worrying.” 

She finally gave him a smile and a nod. He leant forward and gave her a kiss, before standing back up again. 

“I don’t know when I’ll be back next, I’ll likely need to save my magic for combat. I’ll return when I can. Until then, do try not to leave the windows open.” 

She chuckled softly and waved as he summoned a portal and headed through. Once he was gone, her smile faded as she leant back against the pillows. 

She glanced towards the window. No sign of a storm tonight, just the darkening sky as the sun began to set. Part of her wanted to just stay in bed and wallow in self-pity til she fell asleep. Then maybe do the same again tomorrow…

No. She shook her head and forced herself up, throwing the covers back as she rose from the bed. She chucked some clothes on, tied back her hair and headed for the door.

She’d shed enough tears, and there was work to be done.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 58

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Hanging from chains, dripping with blood, a shadowed man and the glint of a knife…

Gale’s description of what he’d seen in her dream had left her harrowed, almost unable to join the conversation as the others discussed its possible meanings. 

“Most ominous indeed,” Halsin commented in concern. “Let us pray it is not a portent of the future…”

It isn’t, she thought to herself. Not a vision of the future, but an echo of the past.

Memories of her last meeting with Aryn flooded through her mind. The splatter of blood on the kitchen floor as the knife he held had come down on her, cutting through the flesh of her forehead. The warm trickle of liquid down her face, metallic on her tongue… 

She felt Gale glance over at her. He was having the same thoughts, no doubt, and wanted to correct Halsin’s suggestion. She was grateful he remained silent on the matter. It wasn’t a conversation she was ready to have with anyone other than him just yet. 

“Whatever it is, the curse is definitely related,” Gale said instead. “I could feel it interfering with the spell, pervading the dream. A strange, powerful magic I didn’t recognise.”

“I could feel it too,” Halsin added. “Even from outside the dream, I could feel that something was stopping our magic working as it should. It was more difficult than it should have been to keep the spell stable.” 

Saff could still find no words. Every mention of how powerful the curse was worried her further. Tara seemed to sense this, and placed a paw on her knee.

“Whatever these dreams are, whatever this curse is, we will get to the bottom of it,” she promised her. “If these dreams truly are visions of the future, then we will fight it with everything we have.” 

The others agreed, and despite the fear that hung over her, she still felt the comforting warmth of her friends’ support.

“Thank you,” she said softly, smiling gratefully to them. “I think… I need to sleep. I’m too tired to think about it all right now.” 

“The nightmares never seem to strike twice in one night,” Gale observed. “With any luck, the rest of the night will be peaceful.” 

Halsin departed and left the three of them alone. As she curled up in Gale’s arms and closed her eyes, she tried to focus on something other than the mental images of her nightmare. 

Morning always came too early, and that morning seemed to be particularly vicious. The lack of sleep, the mental weight of her nightmares and the not inconsiderable hangover left her feeling like she could barely move. It didn’t help that, despite having not seen the sun for nearly a month, her body still didn’t seem to respond to being woken up in the darkness. She needed the morning sun to truly wake up, and her body was refusing to adjust to life without it. 

She hadn’t even registered that Gale had left the tent til he returned with two plates of food. She forced herself to sit up, sweeping the tangled mess of her hair back over her shoulders as she took the plate with a mumbled word of thanks. Her mind ticked over the dream once more, thinking through what it could all mean as she picked at her food. Thaniel had said it wasn’t a curse, and the vision he’d given her had felt nothing like the nightmares. Perhaps they weren’t actually related at all…

“Saff?” 

She was snapped out of her thoughts as Gale spoke, and she looked at him to see the look of deep concern in his eyes. 

“Please… try to eat something,” he said softly. She glanced down at her plate, still mostly full of food, while his was now empty.

“Oh…” she murmured, having not noticed she’d barely had more than a few mouthfuls. She only now realised how little she actually wanted to eat anything. 

“Sorry, I…” she started, surprised to hear her voice starting to crack as she spoke. 

Outside she heard the sounds of tents and equipment being packed up and began to panic. People were getting ready to go, and she wasn’t even dressed yet. 

“Fuck, I need to get ready!” She gasped, quickly putting her plate aside and leaning over to the pile of their belongings at the side of the tent. She grabbed a hairbrush and started to rake it through her hair as she tried to gather her clothes, til she felt Gale take her by the shoulders and sit her back down on the blankets again. 

“Saff, calm down,” he said, firmly but not unkindly. “The others can wait a bit longer.” 

He picked up the plate she’d discarded and handed it back to her as he took the hairbrush from her hands. He then shifted and sat behind her, and she felt him gently start to brush her hair for her. She let out a breath, and with it started to feel the tension melting from her at his soft touches, closing her eyes and letting herself relax for a second.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. 

“You are more than welcome, my love,” he said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek from behind, then sitting back and focusing on her hair again. She smiled to herself, then finally picked up the untouched piece of bread and began to eat. 

“You were thinking about the dream,” he said after a few moments of quiet. 

“How did you know? The tadpole?” She asked, and he chuckled softly. 

“No, I could just tell,” he answered. “Talk to me, tell me what you’re thinking.” 

She was quiet for a moment, looking down at the food in front of her. 

“The same as you, I think,” she answered eventually. “It has to be Aryn, right? A male figure, a knife, blood. That’s what we thought before, too. I guess all these dreams must be about him…” 

“It does seem the most likely explanation,” he agreed, running his fingers through her hair as he brushed it. “Though, if that’s the case, I have to ask…” 

He paused for a moment, leaning forward to catch her eye. 

“You were hanging from chains over a pool of blood. Saff… did he ever-” 

“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “He never did anything like that. He was violent sometimes, sure, but never even close to that. That must have just been exaggerated in the way dreams often are.” 

He breathed a sigh of relief and leant into her, their foreheads resting together. 

“I’m glad,” he said softly, giving her another quick kiss before sitting back once more. “Perhaps the chains in your dream were metaphorical - the chains of the relationship, the way he’d trapped you there.”

“Perhaps,” she murmured as he continued with her hair. “To be honest… it’s not the content of the dream that worries me most. It’s the why. Why would a curse from a spectator give me nightmares like this? Why can’t I remember them? Why does Thaniel think it’s a blessing? Is it even related to what Thaniel was talking about, or is all that something else entirely?”

“All very pertinent questions,” he agreed, reaching up to begin braiding her hair, “and all questions I’ve wondered about myself. Though I’ve come to realise that dwelling on such questions has limited benefit when we have so few answers. Especially when they’re upsetting you so much.”

“Mmm… I guess, but sometimes it’s hard to think about anything else…” she murmured, feeling him give up on the braid he was doing, run his fingers through her hair to undo it all, and start again. “Though I suppose it’s not like there’s a lack of other things to think about. Do you think we’ll find this mausoleum today?”

“It would certainly be preferable if we could, but given how long it took us to find Moonrise, I’m not getting my hopes up,” he answered, frowning slightly as he gave up on the braid again and undid it all. 

“Are you struggling?” She asked in a playfully teasing tone, turning slightly to glance back at him. 

“How do you do it?” He asked, looking at the strands of her hair he held in his hands. “I know how to do a basic plait. I thought you simply do the same procedure, drawing more hair in each time.” 

“That’s pretty much it, yeah,” she said, lifting her arms. “Like this.”

He watched as her fingers deftly worked through her hair, moving so quickly he could hardly tell what she was doing, a skill honed through years of practice. Before he knew it she’d reached the end of her hair and secured it with a hair band. 

“You make it look so simple,” he said, his tone one of genuine awe rather than simply a compliment, with a hint of disappointment that he was not able to do something that looked so easy. 

“You make magic look simple,” she retorted, pointing out it was not as easy as it looked. 

“Heh, point taken,” he conceded. “Ok, let me try the other side.”

She turned round and sat still as he set to work. Once again there were several false starts as  he got halfway round her head before giving up and starting again, but she wasn’t complaining. She simply closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his fingers in her hair, the small noises of concentration he made, the joy of a brief moment of normalcy among the horror they faced. 

“There,” he said, lowering his arms. “I would say it’s done, but… that might be overstating it slightly,” he said hesitantly, looking less than pleased with his work. 

“Can I see?” She asked with a chuckle, picking up a hand mirror. 

“If you must.” 

She lifted the mirror and looked. Technically, her hair was braided, though it looked like a child had done it. Stray hairs stuck out all along the braid, some parts were tight while others were loose, and it wasn’t remotely symmetrical to the other side. Nonetheless, she found it quite endearing, and couldn’t help but chuckle fondly. 

“I understand if you’d like to redo it yourself,” he conceded. 

“I quite like it,” she said, lowering the mirror. 

“While I appreciate that very much, I might actually request you redo it. I wouldn’t want the others thinking you’d forgotten how to dress yourself on account of my own lack of skills in this department. These fingers are well practised at many things, but sadly, this is not one of them.” 

She laughed and began undoing the braid. 

“Fine, as long as you promise to put those practised fingers to better use later tonight,” she said, flashing him a playful smile, which he happily mirrored. 

“You wish is my command.”

She was in a much better mood by the time they emerged, despite the impatient looks some of the others were giving them. 

Saying goodbye to Last Light felt like saying goodbye to their first campsite when they departed after the party. Again Saff found herself hoping they could return at some point, under the light of the sun next time. 

The journey across the Shadow Cursed Lands was long and arduous, though she was grateful for the in-depth conversations Gale and Malitas were having about the nature of the curse and other similar magic that helped keep her distracted. The others were all thoroughly uninterested, but she found it fascinating. She was also grateful for Malitas’s inclination towards fire magic, when the waves of warmth from his fireballs during the fights would offer welcome, albeit brief, respites from the chill of the curse.

By some miracle they managed to find the mausoleum before deciding to stop for the day. None of them were happy to see Raphael standing outside of it, except for Astarion, who wasted no time in demanding answers about his scars from the cambion. Raphael promised answers in exchange for killing whatever creature it was that lurked in the depths of the mausoleum, and Astarion quickly led them in after Raphael took his leave. 

“A devil is involved, too?” Malitas asked Saff in disbelief as the group began to head in. 

“...Yeah,” was the only answer she could give him, suddenly feeling bad for not having mentioned it before. He just sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know why I continue to be surprised by everything that befalls you,” he muttered as they followed the others inside. 

In the mausoleum the revelations came thick and fast as the group read through journals, notes and inscriptions. Not only had Katheric brought the curse to the land after his daughter died, but that daughter was named Isobel. 

“Do you think it could really be her?” Saff wondered as the group gathered to share their discoveries. 

“If it is, she was awfully quiet about it,” Shadowheart muttered disdainfully. 

“He used to follow Selûne, it would fit,” Gale considered. 

Saff felt a pang of sadness as everything started to fall into place in her mind. 

“All this… was out of grief for his daughter…” she murmured, surprised to find herself starting to feel sympathetic towards him. 

“That does not justify it,” Malitas said firmly, looking up from the book he was reading - one of Ketheric’s old journals. “Grief can do terrible things to a person, but it does not mean his actions here are forgivable.” 

Suddenly she realised - Ketheric was a man mourning the loss of his family. Not only that, an elf that outlived his human wife and half-elven daughter. How familiar this whole story must feel to Malitas…

It seemed Shadowheart had the same revelation. 

“You did not feel the pull of Lady Shar when you lost your family, then?” She asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I certainly did not,” he answered firmly. “To do so would have been a disgrace to their memories. And for him to have done this when his family were both Selûnites makes it all the worse. Make no mistake - what he’s done is not out of grief, nor love for his daughter. Do not pity him or sympathise with him. He needs to die.”

“That much we agree on, at least,” Shadowheart commented. “He betrayed the Nightsinger. He must die for that, and I will be the one to kill him.” 

Malitas gave no response, he simply chuckled to himself, which Shadowheart clearly was not happy about. 

“What is so funny?” She demanded, and he looked at her with an amused smile.

“Such fervour against the man that betrayed Shar. Yet you were quite happy to stand aside while Saffron and the others worked to lift the curse, knowing that once Thorm is dead their actions would allow these lands to be free of Shar’s control. Curious.” 

Shadowheart narrowed her eyes at him as he turned to continue further into the crypt, though gave no retort to his words. 

The group decided to make camp and rest for the night before descending further. It was hardly the nicest place to sleep, but the curse at least did not seem to penetrate the walls of the mausoleum. 

Saff prepared an area for Scratch and the owlbear cub as best she could. The two had followed the group once they moved camp, as they always did. She was playing with Scratch when she felt the presence of a figure looming behind her, and turned to see a familiar flash of white hair and red eyes. 

“I think you know what I’m here for,” he said in his usual drawl. 

“...To feed on me?” She asked, then suddenly realised something. “Wait, you haven’t fed on me in ages…” 

“Have you only just noticed? I’m wounded,” he lamented, dramatically clutching at his chest, before shaking his head with a laugh. “I found someone far tastier to snack on. No, that is not why I’m here. We’re likely to meet Balthazar tomorrow, and I for one don’t want you giving away who we really are and getting us all into a fight.” 

“Oh…” she murmured with a wince as she realised what he was getting at.

“That’s right, darling. Time for those lying lessons.” 

The two of them sat cross-legged opposite each other by the fire, Saff’s heart already racing from the prospect of having to learn to do something she knew she was terrible at.

“Oh don’t look so nervous,” Astarion said with a playful laugh. “You looked less worried when you agreed to let me feed on you for the first time.” 

“That was easier than this…” she murmured nervously. 

“This will be the easiest thing in the world by the time I’m done with you,” he said with a smirk. “And I know you’ve got it in you. You act like you can’t lie to save your life, but I’ve seen you lie to Gale, and he believed it.”

“What??” She gasped in surprise at the accusation. “When??”

“When you told him you felt some mysterious magic out in the forest and ran off, knowing he’d follow you. I certainly knew it wasn’t true, but it was enough to fool him.” 

“Oh, that…” she murmured. “That was different. It wasn’t really lying. It was more like… a game.”

“Life is a game, darling,” he drawled. “And I’m going to teach you how to play it.” 

As it turned out, Saff was much better at learning magic than she was at learning the complexities of social deception. Eventually, though, Astarion felt he’d spent enough time drumming into her that confidence was key, and decided it was time to try out what he’d taught her. 

“We’re going to play a little game. You tell two truths and one lie, and I have to figure out which is the lie.” “Ooh ok!” She said eagerly, excited to put what he’d taught her to the test. “Let’s see… hmm… ok, first one, I once found an injured pigeon, took it home and nursed it better,” she said, quite proudly. 

“Of course you did…” Astarion muttered, but she was too busy thinking of her next fact to notice. 

“Second… I once temporarily dyed my hair black, but then it turned out it wasn’t temporary, so I had black hair for weeks. And third… umm…”

She stroked her chin and looked up in thought.

“Err… hmmm…”

Astarion grew more exasperated as he watched her. 

“Ok, we’re clearly not ready for this,” he said, holding his hand up to stop her. “Let’s talk about coming up with a good lie, shall we?”

“Wha- hey, you don’t know either of those weren’t a lie!” She objected defensively. 

“Yes I do,” he said simply, then continued before she could object, “now, when trying to convince a person you’re someone you’re not - for example, trying to convince Balthazar you’re a True Soul - you need to know who you’re pretending to be. Have a persona clear in your mind. If you’re going to play a part, you need to know what that part is. Have a backstory, a motivation, get into character. So, who is True Soul Saff? Why does she follow the Absolute? How did she get involved with the cult? It’s a lot easier to lie about something if you already have what you’re going to say planned out and you’re not making it up on the spot. And you need to make that character believable. The most important rule is that the best lies have an element of truth. Remember when I told you I’m a magistrate in Baldur’s Gate? I told you that because I was a magistrate, back before Cazador turned me. It’s a lot easier to act a part you’ve already lived than to make up something completely new. So whatever persona you come up with, sprinkle a bit of truth in there. For example - it seems the Absolute always offers its followers something they want. Try to think of something you might actually be tempted by if the Absolute were to offer it. Though make it something an Absolutist would want. Don’t ask to be able to… I don’t know… grow the most beautiful flower or always make it sunny,” he said with an eye roll and a dismissive wave.

At first she was slightly annoyed with him for that, til she realised that anything she would want was definitely not anything an Absolutist would want. She went quiet for a long moment as she tried to think about it, but was interrupted by Gale’s voice across camp calling them all for dinner. Astarion sighed, then looked back at Saff.

“Well, do try to think of something before we meet Balthazar, won’t you?” 

She was quiet for most of dinner, thinking through Astarion’s advice, trying to come up with a believable persona she could use. She was so deep in thought she didn’t even notice Malitas approaching her until he spoke. 

“Saffron? Are you ok?”

“Oh! Yes, sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to say to Balthazar. Astarion was telling me what sort of things I should say to get him to believe I’m a True Soul. How I need to come up with a persona, know what I’m going to say, include elements of truth in my story…”

“All good advice,” he said with a nod. “Though better advice might be to simply not meet him. You could stay at camp while others explore the mausoleum.” 

“I don’t want to do that,” she said quickly, the words coming out before she even knew what she was saying. She surprised herself - it wasn’t so long ago she’d have much preferred to stay at camp, away from the danger. Now, though… she didn’t want to leave the others to do all the hard work. 

“Then I’ll leave you to work on your persona,” he said, which also took her by surprise somewhat. It also wasn’t so long ago that he was trying to convince her to go home, to leave behind the dangerous life of an adventurer. To know he trusted her to do this now gave her a small boost of confidence. “I’m heading back to the city, I’ve got some equipment I’d like to pick up for tomorrow. Do you want anything from home?”

She shook her head, then waved a quick goodbye as he set off through one of his portals, her mind going back to the task ahead of her. 

---

She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, vaguely aware of the movement across the room where Malitas was getting dressed. She knew she should focus, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that dream she had last night…

She’d fallen asleep in the window frame she’d been sat in, and by some miracle (or perhaps curse) she hadn’t fallen out. It was morning by the time she woke, the newly clear sky starting to show the first signs of sunlight. She’d still been soaking wet, yet somehow she hadn’t felt quite so alone anymore…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a grumble of annoyance from across the room. 

“What happened here?” 

She sat up and looked over at Malitas, who was frowning as he looked at the wet floorboards by the window. 

“Oh, sorry, I… left the window open last night.” 

Technically not a lie.

“I see. Do try not to leave the windows open during a thunderstorm,” he said, turning away from the window to resume getting dressed. 

She pulled up the covers round her as she shifted to sit back against the pillows, her eyes lingering on the shimmer of the red dragon scales that dotted his back as they caught the light before he covered them with his robes. 

“You’re really going to fight with them, then?” She asked, finally shaking the thoughts of her dream and focusing on the present.

“I am, yes,” he said, picking his belt up from the dresser. “Given what they’re up against, they’re going to need all the help they can get.” 

“And what are they up against?” She asked, leaning forward slightly. “You keep saying how everything they’re facing is different to anything you’ve seen before. What if it’s something you can’t beat?” 

He chuckled softly.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said confidently. 

“But what if it does?” She insisted. “I know your magic is powerful, but what if you can’t use it? What if you get silenced?” 

“Then I shall use metamagic. I need not always use an incantation,” he said casually. 

“What if that doesn’t work? I read that there’s flowers in the Underdark that can stop magic entirely. What if they use those against you?”

“Sussur blooms have a very small area of effect, I shall simply move away from them,” he answered as he adjusted his belt.

“What if you can’t? Or what if you come up against something that’s somehow immune to magic? Or-” 

She paused as he turned to face her, an amused look on his face. 

“I didn’t realise you were so worried about me.”

“Of course I’m worried about you,” she said softly. “I love you, how can I not be worried? Plus, if something happens to you, then what happens to me?” 

“Ah, so that’s what’s really worrying you,” he teased, sitting on the bed in front of her. “Nothing is going to happen to me. Even if we face something I cannot fight with magic, I will not be facing it alone - the group has plenty of skilled fighters that have no need for magic. So you can stop worrying.” 

She finally gave him a smile and a nod. He leant forward and gave her a kiss, before standing back up again. 

“I don’t know when I’ll be back next, I’ll likely need to save my magic for combat. I’ll return when I can. Until then, do try not to leave the windows open.” 

She chuckled softly and waved as he summoned a portal and headed through. Once he was gone, her smile faded as she leant back against the pillows. 

She glanced towards the window. No sign of a storm tonight, just the darkening sky as the sun began to set. Part of her wanted to just stay in bed and wallow in self-pity til she fell asleep. Then maybe do the same again tomorrow…

No. She shook her head and forced herself up, throwing the covers back as she rose from the bed. She chucked some clothes on, tied back her hair and headed for the door.

She’d shed enough tears, and there was work to be done.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 57

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

CW: themes of suicide

Saff sat huddled under a blanket near the campfire as her companions prepared for bed. Malitas had set up a tent of his own amongst theirs, though unlike their tents that were filled with various trinkets found over the course of their adventures in an attempt to craft an area that felt like home to them, his was decidedly minimalist. A bedroll, a candle and a couple of books were enough for him. Though, she supposed, given he could return to the city at any time, he didn’t exactly need to make it feel like home. She wondered briefly why he didn’t return home tonight. Maybe he’d used up all his magic during the day… or maybe he was simply too drunk to cast the spell.

Eventually Halsin was the last one left awake sitting by the fire with her. The others had retired to sleep, or trance, or in Astarion’s case, hunt. She’d told Gale she just wanted a bit longer by the campfire and she’d join him in the tent soon, but that had been quite a while ago and still she sat here, not able to pull herself away from the fire just yet. She was chatting to Halsin when Gale poked his head out of the tent to look for her. 

“Saff? As much as I don’t wish the night to end either, we do need to sleep,” he said with a small chuckle. She glanced over at him and hesitated. 

“Five more minutes?” She asked, trying to give him a smile. Of course, she was completely incapable of hiding how nervous she really was. Gale frowned in concern as he stood up and headed over to them, and briefly she caught a glimpse of the concerned look on Halsin’s face too.

“Are you ok?” Gale asked as he sat down next to her. 

“Y-yeah, I just…” she stuttered, curling up slightly. “It’s been such a perfect night. I don’t want to ruin it by waking up screaming again…” 

She felt Gale’s arm around her shoulders and leant into him gratefully. 

“I understand your trepidation,” he said softly, placing a kiss on her head, “but you cannot stay up all night. I will be there for you when you wake.” 

“That’s part of the problem… I don’t want to keep waking you up, either. And I know you’re gonna say it’s ok, but I still feel bad about it,” she murmured, well aware she was not the only one affected by this. It was a conversation they’d had many times by now, one that didn’t really have a resolution. With nothing left to say, Gale simply took her hand as he gave her a gentle squeeze. In the end, it was Halsin that spoke next. 

“This is related to the nightmares you mentioned?” He asked, and they both gave a nod. 

“Yeah… every night I wake up from a nightmare screaming or crying. I can never remember it, but I still feel awful for hours afterwards,” Saff explained. 

“Hmm… it may be something of an extreme solution, but have you tried using the spell Dream?” Halsin suggested. Saff sat up slightly at the suggestion. She hadn’t considered that, though Gale clearly had. 

“The thought has crossed my mind, but I don’t think I’d be able to cast a spell that powerful just yet, even with the orb stabilised. Plus, it is, well… a rather invasive spell,” he explained. 

“That’s true, but given the alternative, perhaps it would at least help to know what you’re dreaming about?” Halsin said, directing his question to Saff.

She was quiet for a long moment. It was a spell she’d only ever read about, one she thought she’d likely never see used. It gave the caster the ability to send themselves, or someone else, into the dreams of the target, during which they could either alter the dream, or simply observe. There was one particular nuance of the spell that she realised was particularly relevant for them now - upon waking, the target would always be able to remember the dream with perfect clarity. Perhaps, if the spell was used on her during the nightmare, she’d be able to remember it when she woke. Or failing that, Gale would see it and be able to tell her what she’d been dreaming about.

“How would you target the nightmares?” She asked as she considered it. “I still have normal dreams, too. You could end up in one of those.” 

“I'll just have to wait in your dreams for the nightmare to start,” Gale said with a slight shrug. “The spell lasts long enough. That is, if you don’t mind me seeing your dreams.”

She went quiet again as she thought about it. Part of her knew that such a thing should be seen as invasive, and yet, the thought of Gale entering her dreams didn’t worry her. They’d bonded in the Weave, connected body and soul, there was nothing of her he hadn’t already seen, and nothing of her she wished to hide from him. 

“I’m happy to do it if you are?” She asked, looking across at him.

“If you’re happy for me to do so then I gladly will, but as I say, with the orb, the tadpole, and, well… quite frankly, currently the alcohol, I’m not sure I’d be able to,” he lamented.

“I can help,” Halsin offered, “with both the spell and the alcohol.”

He raised his hand, incanted a healing spell, and a shimmer of golden light bathed Gale’s body. He looked down at himself, then at Halsin, in surprise. 

“You can cure drunkenness?” He asked, an impressed tone to his voice. “That is most useful indeed. And if you’re able to cast Dream,” he said as he stood up, “then we’d best make ourselves comfortable.” 

They’d given Tara quite the shock when all three of them entered their tent. 

“Oh, my!” She gasped as she looked up at Halsin. “Do you three… need some time alone?” 

“Tara!” Gale snapped, his face reddening. Saff stifled a laugh, and Halsin didn’t look entirely opposed to what had just been implicitly suggested. 

“That is not-” Gale started, massaging his temples in embarrassment. “Haslin is going to help me cast Dream to see what Saff’s nightmares are.” 

“Ah, I see,” she replied, growing more serious. “Are you sure about this, dear?” She asked, looking up at Saff. 

“I’m sure,” she confirmed, sitting down among the blankets. 

Though she quickly realised that, while she was comfortable enough allowing Gale into her dreams, trying to fall asleep with two people there watching her was a lot more difficult than she’d expected. It wasn’t til Gale positioned them so she had her head resting in his lap as he read aloud from one of the books they had to hand while gently stroking her hair did she finally drift off. 

Once he was sure she was asleep, Gale closed the book and placed it aside. Tara looked up at them, remaining quiet from where she was curled up in Saff’s arms. 

“Ready?” Halsin whispered, trying not to wake Saff. Gale nodded.

“I will cast what I can of the spell, I would like to have some control over it. If you could assist me with what I’m unable to cast, I’d appreciate it,” he replied. Halsin nodded his confirmation, then raised his arms. Magic and whispered incantations filled the tent, and as Gale felt the spell taking effect on him, he closed his eyes. 

When he opened them again he saw the mountain pass stretching out in front of him, the bright sunset casting the peaks in a deep orange. Saff stood ahead of him, her hair swaying gently in the wind. She turned back to him and smiled widely. 

“Is that you? Did it work?” She asked hopefully. 

“It’s me,” he said with a smile and a nod. “This is not the nightmare, I take it?” He added jokingly, and she laughed and shook her head. 

“No. I’ve dreamed of this place a lot since we came here. Of course when you’re with me, it’s not normally the real you,” she said with a chuckle. She turned back to look out over the mountains. “Do you remember what I said when we first came here?”

“I think you said quite a lot of things,” he replied. She flashed him a quick, playful smile, before looking forward again.

“I said how amazing it must be, to be able to come to a place like this, spread your wings, and soar…”

Little butterfly, tell me, What is it like,  To spread your wings and fly?

She held her arms out, a gust of wind tugging at her robes, as if it wanted to lift her into the air. 

He smiled as he watched her, and in the strange reality of the dream, he felt as if they both might take to the skies at any moment. A distant melody echoed in the back of his mind as he felt her excitement and wonder fill him.

Little butterfly, tell me,  How does it feel,  To look down from the sky?

He went to go over to her, but as he walked, he found he didn’t get any closer. He frowned, looking down at his feet. This sort of thing happened commonly enough in dreams, but wasn’t supposed to happen when using this spell…

Little butterfly, tell me,  What is life like, Upon a silken wing?

A wind blew again, harder this time, enough that he nearly fell to the ground. He looked up and saw the sunset now turning to night, though there were no stars in the darkening sky. Around him he began to feel some sort of magic building, thick in the air.

Little butterfly, tell me, As you fly past, Do you hear the song I sing?

“Do you think I could do it…?” 

He looked at Saff, still standing with her arms wide, looking out over the mountains. 

Little butterfly, tell me, Do the stars dance When you flutter to the moon?

“Do what?” He asked, suddenly feeling unexpectedly nervous as he looked at her. 

“Fly…” she whispered, reaching out ahead of her. 

Little butterfly, tell me, Can I grow wings, And flutter up with you?

The magic grew thicker, as did the anxiety that was slowly rising within him. He tried to walk forward, but still couldn’t move.  

“Saff…” he said, trying to reach out to her.

“If I jumped… do you think I’d make it to the sky?” 

Little butterfly, tell me, As I reach out, Do you hear my call?

“Saff!” He called urgently now, trying to bring her away from the edge as she seemed to draw ever closer to it. He watched with wide eyes as she stepped forward…

The magic grew stronger, and he realised that whatever this magic was, it was stopping his spell from working properly. He reached out to it, trying to figure out what it was, and felt it reaching out to him in return. Tendrils of invisible Weave snaked around his hand, and he grabbed it. 

Little butterfly, tell me, If I were to jump,  Would I fly or fall?

Saff jumped, and he fell. 

A clap of thunder echoed as he plummeted through the darkness, flailing and screaming, reaching out for salvation. He tried to cast a hurried Featherfall, but no magic came to his fingers, and his words were lost to the endless abyss…

Little butterfly, tell me, If I were to fall,  Would anybody mourn?

He hit the ground. Groaning, he opened his eyes and found himself in the darkness, surrounded by flowers covered in morning dew. For a moment he just lay there in pain, til he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to it and saw a pink and purple butterfly perched on a flower, its wings gently moving. 

Little butterfly, tell me,  If no tear is shed,  What becomes of me come the dawn?

Slowly he sat up, looking at the butterfly. Something about it captivated him, this beacon of beauty in the darkness. He found himself reaching out for it…

A flutter of wings and it was in the air, flitting and fluttering around him. He stood, watching it dart about, until it began to fly away. 

“Wait!” He called, following after it into the darkness. 

Little butterfly, tell me,  As the sun rose,  Would I melt into the ground?

The darkness coalesced into a stone pathway. He followed the butterfly ahead of him til they came to a tree, underneath which he saw a small girl reading a book. She was human, with long ginger hair, wearing old, hand-me-down clothes that were far too big for her. He realised it was Saff, reading a fairytale in the garden of the orphanage she grew up in. She was smiling to herself as she turned the page. He tried to walk towards her, but once again he found himself unable to move as his feet tried to leave the path. He realised this wasn’t Saff - not the real Saff currently dreaming - but a memory. What had that magic done to him? Left him lost in her subconscious…

The butterfly flew on, and he had no choice but to follow it. 

Little butterfly, tell me, How long will it take,  Til there’s no more of me to be found? 

The next vision was Saff again, a teenager this time, looking up in awe as she managed to cast Dancing Lights for the first time. Her face was lit up in elation, the same excitement he’d seen from her so many times during their lessons. It was a happy memory… so why did he feel so sad? 

The memory faded, and he continued on with the butterfly. 

Little butterfly, tell me, If I sink into the soil, Will I blossom with the flowers?

Another memory, this time he saw her in a tavern, wearing a waitress’s clothes, shaking hands with Malitas. This must have been the first time they met. She was beaming, but again, all he could feel was a lingering, unshakeable sadness as he continued on. 

Little butterfly, tell me,  If I grow with the grass, Will I bathe in the summer showers?

Ahead of him now the path reached a window. The butterfly bounced off it as it tried to fly to the sunshine outside. He walked up to it and unlocked the latch, then watched as the butterfly flew out, dancing in the midday sun. He glanced downwards and saw Saff and Malitas in the garden below, practising spells. Saff cheered in delight as she managed to successfully cast a spell, while Malitas watched proudly. 

Little butterfly, tell me,  If I bloom with the buds,  Will I finally feel the sun?

Gale shook his head and refocused himself. He shouldn’t be here… he needed to find her, find what she was really dreaming of, not let himself get lost in her subconscious like this. He looked up again and saw the butterfly ahead of him, fluttering in the breeze. 

He stepped back and raised his arms, reaching out for the magic he’d felt before. As he did, he could feel it gathering round him at his command, seeping into his hands. If he could just dispel it, he’d be able to find her…

He reached up, and threw his arms out. 

Little butterfly, tell me,  Can I grow wings? Or is this all that can be done? 

The magic charged around him in a clap of thunder, and in a blink the sunlight outside had turned to a thunderstorm. The butterfly still fluttered out there, struggling in the rain and the wind. Instinctively he reached out for it, gently cupping his hands around it as he took it back through the window. He opened his hands and saw the butterfly wet and injured, its wings battered from the storm. 

In the distance, he heard a scream. Saff’s voice… 

Little butterfly…

The sounds of the storm seemed to grow deafening, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the lightning flared blindingly through the window. As he did so, visions began to flash through his mind. He saw Saff standing in front of a broken mirror, the shattered glass leaving her reflection cracked and fragmented. Next he saw her standing at the cliff edge, holding her arms out as she looked over the mountain pass… and before the vision faded away, he could swear her shadow looked back at him…

Tell me…

He opened his eyes again and the window had disappeared. Ahead of him instead he saw Saff, curled up in the darkness, sobbing, her head buried in her arms. 

“Saff!” He called as he tried to run to her, but once again found himself rooted to the spot. This wasn’t her, just another memory… 

Another scream. A gut-wrenching, terrified scream… 

If I can resist…

The butterfly took to the air again. It struggled on broken wings, dipping and swaying, til eventually it managed to reach Saff and landed on her hand. She lifted her head to look at it and he saw the redness of her eyes and the tears on her cheeks, yet when she saw the butterfly, a smile finally came to her lips.

Will you wait with me til the dawn?

Another scream, louder this time…

He shook his head once more, forcing himself to focus. He had to find her, he had to find her…

He raised his hands and this time he forced the magic around him to listen to him, not to take him further down into her mind. He incanted his spell once more, focused and determined. The magic grew around him, enveloping him as the vision began to fade away…

He gasped and stumbled forward. Screams filled the air and the very darkness that surrounded him seemed to quake in turmoil. He held his head, almost screaming himself at the wave of emotion that washed over him, drowning him. He opened his eyes and saw a door… the door behind which the screams were coming from… 

The door Saff was behind. 

Little butterfly…

He tried to step forward, but it felt like he was trying to swim through thick, black goo. Fear, desperation, horror… emotion made physical…

He forced himself forward, wading through the screeching darkness that clawed at him. The screams grew louder behind the door, terrified cries of anguish and pain. He reached out for it, forcing his hand through the gnawing darkness, til finally he reached the door handle and pulled. 

Help me…

There he saw her, hanging from chains, blood dripping down her body into a pool on the floor below her. His heart stopped and his eyes widened, momentarily paralysed by fear at the sight ahead of him.

She looked over to him, her eyes barely visible through the curtain of hair that hung from her head, yet he could see the terror in them, the wordless cry for help. Finally he knew this was her, not just a memory anymore. He tried to shout out to her, but his words were lost to the deafening turmoil in the air around him.

 Are you still there?

She looked ahead of her, and as he followed her gaze the darkness that clung to him became almost suffocating. Ahead of her he saw a male figure in the darkness, a shadow that radiated malice. The screaming blackness around them grew ever louder, a cacophony of terror, as the shadow turned to them, and as the emotions crescendoed Gale saw in the figure’s hand the glint of a bloodied knife…

He gasped as his eyes snapped open and he found himself in their tent once more, sat next to Saff. She’d just woken too, shaking and crying. Wordlessly they grabbed each other, holding each other tightly as their racing hearts slowly settled down. In the back of his mind he heard that melody still echoing as distant, muffled, unfamiliar words faded along with the dream. 

Neu ydych chi wedi colli eich adenydd i'r dymestl?

“Are you both ok??” Halsin gasped, reaching out to comfort them if needed. Tara had seen this plenty of times before by now, and jumped into Saff’s arms to comfort her, as she always did. Saff hugged her gratefully, then finally took a deep breath as she leant back slightly from Gale. 

“Y-yeah…” she stuttered, waiting for her heart to calm down, before looking hopefully at Gale. “Did it work? Did you see it?”

“I…” Gale began, unsure for a moment how to describe what he’d seen. “You still don’t remember, then?”

She shook her head. 

“No. I… I remember we were in the mountain pass together. It was beautiful. Then… mmm… it gets kinda blurry after that. I think… it was night time? And then…”

She looked up at him, and smiled through her tears. 

“I dreamed I was a butterfly.”

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 56

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

CW: themes of suicide

By early evening the plans for the party were well underway. The group decided to pack up as much as they could now so they’d be ready to go in the morning, and it was while getting everyone’s belongings into the Bag of Holding that Saff spotted the Night Orchid at Shadowheart’s tent. 

“Ooh it’s beautiful!” She cooed as she knelt down to look at the small purple flower. “Where did you find it? I don’t remember you having a Night Orchid before!” 

“Astarion found it,” she answered with a small shrug. “I don’t know where exactly, you’d have to ask him.”

“Astarion!” She immediately called out to the tent next to Shadowheart’s. “Where did you find the Night Orchid?” 

“Hm?” He murmured, poking his head out of his tent. “Oh, the flower? Somewhere out in the forest, near the inn. I knew our dear Shadowheart had a soft spot for them, so I plucked it for her.” 

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” She said happily, clasping her hands together. She then turned as she heard her name called by Rolan from across the camp, before turning back to Shadowheart. 

“Oh, I gotta go, I’ll be back in a bit!” She said, they quickly hurried off. 

Shadowheart watched as she ran across the camp. 

“She really is the most oblivious person I’ve ever met,” she said as Astarion emerged from his tent and walked over to her.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You’ve met Gale, right?” He replied, glancing over to her with a smirk. She chuckled and couldn’t help but agree as she watched Rolan gather Saff, Gale and Malitas for something that seemed to have him terribly excited. 

Once the preparations were done, everyone gathered in the courtyard outside Last Light that evening as the party started. Drinks were already flowing as Saff, Gale, Malitas and Rolan approached the centre, all eyes on them. Rolan stepped forward and addressed the gathered crowd. 

“Many of you will remember the long nights spent in Avernus, staring at the sky and seeing nothing but darkness. You will remember the illusions we summoned, stars to remind us of home.”

He closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, a remorseful look crossing his face. 

“The wizards I summoned those stars with are no longer with us today… but the tradition will live on, from one starless sky to another,” he said, before turning to the others. They arranged themselves in a circle, facing each other, and raised their arms. 

Saff felt the charge of magic in the air as they spoke the familiar incantation and Weave began to encircle them, connecting them, as they pooled their powers together. Briefly she met Rolan’s eyes, both of them feeling a rush of power as Gale and Malitas - the two stronger mages of the group - leant the apprentices their strength. 

Gale was the first to move as he looked up to the sky and threw up his hands. Sparkles glimmered in the air at his fingertips, and above them the empty, black sky began to light up with a thousand stars. Excited gasps and whispers filled the air from the crowd around them, but Gale wasn’t done yet. With a flourish he flicked his hand and bright, gleaming auroras shimmered into existence around the stars, lighting up the sky, to a cheer from the crowd. 

Malitas stepped forward next as Gale stepped back. He raised his hands, and as he did so the ancient, run-down buildings of Last Light lit up as the torches blazed brightly. Cracks disappeared, peeling paint faded and broken walls mended themselves, revealing what now looked to be brand new buildings, beautiful and resplendent in the firelight. 

The crowd cheered once more as Malitas stepped back, and now it was Saff’s turn. She stepped forward, feeling a nervous excitement as all eyes fell to her. What she had planned was an illusion that would normally be well beyond her ability to create, but with their pooled magic, she knew she could do it. She raised her hands and around them the plants came to life, flowers and blossoms blooming among the trees and grass. The once ancient, black husks now teemed with plantlife, while birds and butterflies flew amongst the flora. The crowd’s cheers filled her with pride as she stepped back and looked to Rolan to finish the illusion. 

The crowd went quiet once more as he stepped forward and raised his arms. With a flourish a set of illusory instruments appeared hovering in the air above them and began playing. Light, upbeat music filled the courtyard, and once more the crowd cheered. Saff glanced over at Alfira and saw she looked delighted - Saff had to wonder if that was because she’d now have backing music for her songs, or if it was because it meant she could have the night off. 

They dispersed amongst the crowd as the party now truly started. Tara, who had been perched on the roof, swooped down and landed on Gale’s shoulders. 

“It is so good to finally see some light in this dreary old place,” she commented, looking round. “A pity you can’t keep this up permanently.” 

“We won’t need to soon,” Saff said confidently, reaching up to scritch Tara behind the ears. “Once we defeat Ketheric the curse will be lifted for good!” 

“My my, look at you, so confident!” Tara replied with a proud smile. “And rightly so. That man’s days are numbered, I have no doubts.” 

The group sat near Dammon’s forge and held their glasses out as Gale poured them each a generous helping of wine from one of the several bottles Malitas had procured from a quick trip back to Baldur’s Gate while the party was being prepared. 

“My gods, it’s a miracle,” Astarion said after taking a sip. “Wine that doesn’t taste like vinegar.” “It had better not, given how much it cost,” Malitas said, looking into his own newly-poured glass before taking a sip. 

“How much is this going to set us back, then?” Astarion asked, raising an eyebrow, but Malitas chuckled and shook his head. 

“It’s on me. Cheers,” he said, raising his glass. The rest of the group followed suit, clinking their glasses together and cheering. 

Conversation flowed as easily as the wine as the three wizards recounted to the others the tale of their daring prison escape. 

“You see?” Astarion said, sitting up with a start, “those scrying eyes are easy to miss!” “I’m not surprised Saff got caught by one,” Shadowheart said, “but I expect better from you.” 

Astarion scoffed and folded his arms. Saff had to admit, remembering that Astarion had also got caught by a scrying eye made her feel a lot better about the whole thing. 

“So you had to fight your way out?” Karlach asked, eager to hear the rest of the story. 

“We did indeed,” Gale confirmed. “It was a great cacophony of magic! Fire and lightning illuminated the dungeons as we fled. We were lucky enough to find a boat on the river behind the cells, which we had to resort to when Malitas took an arrow to the head and was unable to teleport us out.” The group looked at Malitas in surprise, who tapped on the bruise just above his eye.

“My shields absorbed the brunt of the damage, but it did mean teleportation was no longer an option, at least not until we escaped Moonrise,” he explained. “They tried to pursue us down the river, but it was nothing a well-placed Firestorm couldn’t take care of.”

Karlach gasped in shock.

“You used Firestorm and I missed it!?” She moaned, looking distraught to have missed such a spectacle, which Malitas chuckled at.

“Not to worry, if I accompany you to this mausoleum I’m sure there’ll be plenty of chances for you to see it again,” he assured her. 

“And if you’re excited about that, Karlach,” Gale started, leaning forward slightly, “just wait til you see what I’ll be able to cast once we’re rid of these tadpoles.” 

Saff giggled to herself. She was starting to rather enjoy the friendly rivalry that was growing between Gale and Malitas. 

Eventually the group dispersed among the party, and Saff took the opportunity to talk to Malitas alone. 

“Hey, Malitas,” she said as she walked up to him. “I just wanted to say thank you for what you said about my druidic magic. I was a bit… distracted, when you said it earlier.” 

He gave her a smile and a nod.

“You’re most welcome. You’ve come so far in these last few weeks, you should be very proud of yourself,” he said fondly. 

She smiled to herself, blushing slightly, as she always did when someone complimented her. 

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him gratefully. 

“In a matter of weeks you’ve come further than you did with me in three years. A poor reflection on my teaching, I think,” He joked, but she shook her head firmly. 

“Not at all. Yes, I’ve learnt more, but… only because I had to to survive. And… gods, it’s been difficult…” 

She trailed off slightly as she looked out to the sky, thinking back over the last few weeks. 

“You know, the first time we got into a fight, I had a breakdown. Gale had to help me through it. He taught me combat spells, but I only fully learnt how to use them when I was put in a fight and my life depended on it. I was only finally able to heal when my choices were to either heal Gale, or watch him bleed out. I’ve learnt so much, but with everything that’s happened, with how difficult it’s been… I suppose if you’d put me under the same pressure I’d have learnt faster, but… I’m glad you didn’t.” 

She went quiet, still staring at the sky as he looked at her. 

“Indeed you’re right - when we’re pushed to our limits, we discover what we’re truly capable of. And you have proved yourself capable of some truly incredible things. Not least of which, giving me a second chance after I only added to your struggles. After hearing how difficult this has been for you, I can only apologise again.” 

“Oh, that’s ok,” she said, looking up at him now with a smile. “You’re forgiven.” 

He met her smile with one of his own.

“I am glad to hear that,” he said gratefully. She lifted her glass, and he lightly clinked his against hers. 

As the two of them drank, Alfira came running up to them excitedly. “Saff!” She called eagerly, before pausing. “Oh, I’m not interrupting, am I?” 

“No, what’s up?” Saff said, shaking her head. 

“I’ve got an idea,” she answered with a big smile. “I wondered if you could help me with it?” 

“Of course!” She said happily. Malitas sipped his wine and watched curiously as Alfira waved for Saff to follow, and the two of them went running off. 

“I wonder what they’re up to.”

He nearly dropped his glass from the unexpected voice and turned to see Tara on the branch behind him. 

“How long have you been there?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I just flew over here. You’re not very observant, are you?” 

He scoffed slightly and looked forward again to where Saff and Alfira had disappeared off to. 

“I don’t have the slightest clue what they’re up to,” he answered, taking a sip of his wine. “Though now that you’re here, I did pick up more than just wine when I returned to the city.” 

He reached into his pocket, took something out and placed it on the branch next to Tara, who chuckled when she saw what it was. 

“You managed to get hold of some, then?” She asked, looking at him with an amused smile. 

“Indeed. There’s a terrible storm sweeping through the city right now, I got soaked to the bone getting that for you. I do hope it was worth it.”

She chuckled, then leant down and took a bite out of the chunk of beholder jerky he’d placed on the branch. 

“Mmm, most wonderful,” she said after swallowing the first mouthful. “I can certainly confirm it was worth it. Though you’ve still got some way to go before you can consider yourself fully forgiven.” 

“I’ll keep working on it, then.” 

“See that you do,” she said, taking another mouthful and savouring it before finally swallowing. “Mmm. If Baldur’s Gate can supply meals of this calibre, perhaps it is worth visiting after all.”

“Heh, it may be no City of Splendors, but the Gate has plenty to offer,” he said as he leant back against the tree. “Have you visited before?”

“I have not. Though I wonder if I might end up visiting very often soon…” she mused, deep in thought. Malitas glanced at her curiously. 

“You wouldn’t move with Gale if he chose to live there with Saffron?” He asked. 

“And leave his mother alone? Certainly not. Though I have been working on a new spell - Tara’s Catflap of Displacement - which would certainly make visiting a lot easier. It doesn’t quite have the range just yet, but it’s only a matter of time before I iron out the details.” 

The ensuing conversation about spell crafting was cut short when the crowd began to hush as Alfira and Saff made their way to the centre of the courtyard. Saff wore the white dress Halsin had gifted her, the long, silken ribbons floating gently in the breeze. Her hair hung loose down her back, falling in waves that were decorated with flowers. All eyes fell on them as Alfira readied her lute and addressed the crowd. 

“Everyone! We have a song we’d like to perform for you all,” she announced, glancing at Saff with an excited smile. Saff matched her excitement, feeling a rush of adrenaline as the crowd watched them in anticipation. They’d only just decided on the performance they were going to do and had never practised it before, but she was good at improvising when it came to dancing, and she knew the song Alfira planned to play well. 

As Alfira started to play the magical instruments around her joined the melody, creating a lilting harmony around them. Saff stepped forward, lifting her arms and swaying her hips to the music. Magic sparkled at her fingertips, a silvery shimmer that glistened like moonlight. Wildflowers bloomed on the ground in her wake, the grass blossoming with each step. As the music picked up she began to dip and sway to the melody, the fabric of her dress whirling round her with each spin. She heard the crowd starting to cheer and clap along, and she was soon wowing them with bursts of dancing lights and starlit sparkles that accented her dance. 

Near the edge of the crowd, Astarion and Shadowheart watched as they shared a bottle of wine, though Astarion’s focus drifted elsewhere as he stifled a laugh. 

“Gods, look at Gale,” he muttered to Shadowheart. “Someone needs to teach that man some tact.”

Shadowheart turned towards Gale to see him looking absolutely mesmerised as he watched Saff. 

“Can you blame him? She looks good,” she said with a shrug. 

“He’s staring at her like a starved dog would stare at a piece of meat, and if the noises coming from their tent every night are anything to go by, he is anything but starved. Didn’t he say he put a silence spell on their tent? I think someone should tell him it’s worn off,” Astarion said with a roll of his eyes. 

“He’s not the only one,” Shadowheart said with a chuckle. He looked at her in confusion for a moment, then followed her gaze to see Malitas leant against a tree, sipping from his wine glass. He was usually a hard one to read, but even he couldn’t hide the way his eyes followed Saff’s every movement. 

A smirk spread across Astarion’s face. 

“You know, I don’t think students should be allowed to dance like that in front of their teachers,” he said with a laugh. “It could provoke all sorts of… inappropriate thoughts.”

The music came to a crescendo as Saff spun in a shower of sparkles and light, finally throwing her arms up at the final beat of the song and releasing a flurry of illusory butterflies into the air. The crowd erupted into cheers, and she couldn’t help but blush as she gave them a bow. She waved Alfira over, and the two of them bowed together, before embracing each other in a celebratory hug. 

As the cheers died down, Saff walked over to join Gale and Halsin, who each gave her a hug in turn. 

“A marvellous show!” Halsin complimented, to which Gale readily agreed. 

“Most marvellous. Utterly mesmerising. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - you put the stars to shame. And that’s quite the compliment, considering I made these stars,” he said with a cheeky smile as he gestured to the sky, to which she laughed and teasingly pushed him away. 

They looked over as Malitas joined the group and gave her a proud smile.

“A most impressive display. I had no idea you could dance like that,” he complimented.

“Well you’ve never been to a party with me,” she replied playfully. 

“Ah, true,” he agreed. “Parties aren’t usually for me, but I have to admit, this one is proving quite enjoya-” 

“SAFF!!”

The conversation was interrupted as Karlach suddenly barrelled into Saff with a suffocating hug. 

“That was AMAZING!!” She gushed, squeezing her tightly. All that came in response was the muffled noise of Saff’s voice from where she was squashed into Karlach’s chest. 

“Karlach, I must remind you, she does need to breathe,” Gale pointed out. 

“Oh! Sorry,” Karlach said as she let go. Saff gasped as she stumbled back, slightly dazed. 

“Heh… thanks, Karlach…” she laughed as she caught her breath. Wyll followed closely after Karlach, chuckling softly. 

“I must agree with Karlach, though I think I’ll do so with slightly less enthusiasm,” he joked. “You know, your dancing wouldn’t be out of place in one of the great halls of Baldur’s Gate. I spent much of my youth ballroom dancing. Have you ever tried it? I think you’d enjoy it.”

“I’d love to try it!” Saff gushed with a gasp of excitement. “I’ve never been anywhere like that, but I always dreamed of it!” 

“Well, when we get back to Baldur’s Gate, I’ll have to see if I can pull some strings for you,” Wyll said with a smile. 

He began regaling her with stories of his youth, describing the grand halls that sat high in the Upper City and played host to endless balls, dances and soirees for the nobility of Baldur’s Gate. Saff was enraptured as she listened, reliving the stories she’d read as a child, staring out of the windows of the orphanage towards the Upper City and imagining what life might be like up there. As she’d grown up she’d realised most of it was just unrealistic fairy tales, but with the way Wyll described it all now, she started to wonder if maybe it wasn’t all so unrealistic after all. 

“Oh, Saff!” Karlach said in excitement once Wyll finished his stories. “All this talk of dancing reminds me - we were going to show these boys how to party,” she said with a grin.

“Oh yes!” Saff gasped, remembering their agreement to finally share the dances they’d all been denied at the last party. “Gale! We should-... where’s Gale?” She asked when she turned round and saw he was no longer with them. 

“I think he went in with Malitas to get some more wine,” Halsin said, nodding towards the inn. 

“I’ll go get him!” She declared, eagerly running off to the inn with a spring in her step. 

The inn was quiet as most of the inhabitants were outside celebrating, with only a handful of people at the bar refilling their drinks. Gale and Malitas, she quickly realised, were not among them. She looked around for them, wondering where they’d got to, til she spotted them sitting at the edge of the room either side of a lanceboard set, looking utterly engrossed in the game. 

“Oh my gods!” She gasped in disbelief as she walked up to them, snapping their attention towards her. “We’re at a party and you two are playing lanceboard??” 

She looked down at the table, leaning over slightly as she inspected the game. 

“Who’s winning?” 

By the time Karlach came in to find out where they’d all gone, Saff had pulled up a chair and was sitting at the board with them, now also engrossed in the game. 

“No way,” they heard Karlach say, all turning to face her. She grimaced and shook her head, then turned and called out as she headed back outside. “I found the nerds! They’re playing lanceboard!!” 

“Oh!” Saff gasped as she turned back to them. “I was meant to ask you to come dance with us, Gale!” 

“Ah,” Gale murmured, glancing back at the half-finished game in front of him. Malitas chuckled as he leant back. 

“You go dance, Gale. It’s the only way you’ll stop me taking your Mystra, after all,” he said with a small smirk. 

“Hah, take my Mystra and your Cyric is going to be left in dire peril,” he retorted confidently. 

“I think you’ll find my Cyric is perfectly well protected,” Malitas replied with equal confidence. 

“We shall see about that, in time. For now, though…” he stood up and offered Saff his hand. “Can I have this dance?” 

She grinned widely and took his hand, standing up with him as he led her out. 

They joined Wyll and Karlach on the dance floor, and soon both couples were dancing together, spinning and swaying to the music. Saff laughed giddily as Gale spun her under his arm then pulled her in close. Gone were the hesitancy and uncertainty of their last dance all that time ago, replaced by the confidence and excitement of love. She felt his hands on her waist as she twirled in front of him, leaning back into him with a smile as he stole a quick kiss to her neck, before spinning her back out again. 

As the song changed the two couples switched partners as Wyll offered his hand to Saff. His dancing was more traditional than Gale’s, closer to the ballroom dances he’d told her about earlier, and she was more than happy to mimic his movements as the two danced together. She imagined dancing in a grand hall as he led her through the steps, circling her round the small courtyard outside the inn.

Another song change and she now took Karlach’s hand. Karlach’s dancing was, unsurprisingly, miles different from both Wyll’s and Gale’s dances, instead being an improvised expression of pure emotion. Saff laughed as she spun and jumped with Karlach, twirling round her, squealing with excitement as Karlach lifted her clear off her feet at one point and held her up, carrying her through the air. 

“Gods, how am I supposed to compete with that?” Gale joked to Wyll as they watched Karlach lifting Saff clear over her head in twirls and spins.

“Heh, I’m sure Karlach would be more than willing to give you some work out tips,” Wyll joked back, which Gale grimaced at. 

“Hmm, I’m sure there’s a spell to help with this,” he decided. Despite his jokes though, it filled him with happiness to see Saff enjoying herself so much. 

Eventually the couples were back together. Saff was feeling light-headed, both from the dancing and the copious alcohol they’d been drinking, and nearly fell into Gale’s arms as she went back to him. She smiled to herself as she felt him kiss her on the forehead, then looked up to meet his eyes. 

“You’re not too drunk, are you?” Gale teased. “It would be terribly embarrassing for you if you were to fall over during our dance.”

She laughed as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. 

“That would be terribly embarrassing. You wouldn’t think less of me, would you?” She asked, a smile playing on her lips. 

“I could never,” he whispered, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms round his shoulders, leaning into the kiss, holding it as the music reached a crescendo. 

The four of them found a spot at the edge of the crowd and fell to the ground in a tired, drunken daze. The evening’s drinks were really catching up to them now, not that that stopped them pouring another round of wine. Saff leant into Gale’s arms as Tara flew over to them and cuddled up in their laps. The evening was starting to quieten down now as a soft calmness fell over the courtyard. Saff looked up at the stars and wondered if Gale had put the effort into making them accurate to the night sky, then when she spotted constellations of The Woman Warrior clashing with the Centaur, she realised how much of a fool she’d been to even question it. 

She looked over as nearby movement caught her eye and giggled to herself as she saw Tara batting at illusory butterflies from where she lay on her back in Gale’s lap. One of them fluttered away from the threat of Tara’s paws and landed on the back of Saff’s hand, its wings gently moving as it settled down. 

It was at that moment that she let out an excited gasp as she realised this butterfly was no illusion, but was real. She sat up, trying not to move too quickly to scare it off, and carefully lifted it to her face. 

“Look!” She whispered, holding it out for them to see. “This isn’t one of mine! It’s real!” 

“It’s real? Are you sure?” Gale asked, leaning forward slightly. 

“Yes! Thaniel was right, life is coming back to this place,” she said happily, admiring the little butterfly that sat on her hand. “Isn’t it beautiful?” 

“Cute little thing,” Karlach cooed as she leant down next to Saff. “I wonder if we’ll see many more.” 

“I hope so,” Saff replied softly. “When I was a kid, they used to sing nursery rhymes to us, and my favourite one was about a butterfly…” 

She’d never been a particularly good singer. Her singing was passable, perhaps, but she was certainly no bard. Unfortunately for the others, she was drunk enough to decide singing right now was a good idea. Fortunately for her, they were all also drunk enough to think her singing was actually pretty good. 

“Little butterfly, tell me,

What is it like, 

To spread your wings and fly?

Little butterfly, tell me,

How does it feel, 

To look down from the sky? 

Little butterfly, tell me,

What is life like,

Upon a silken wing?

Little butterfly, tell me,

As you fly past,

Do you hear the song I sing?

Little butterfly, tell me,

Do the stars dance

When you flutter to the moon?

Little butterfly, tell me,

Can I grow wings,

And flutter up with you?”

As if hearing her words, the butterfly took the air, fluttering up in the moonlight. Saff watched with a big smile as it joined the flurry of illusory butterflies above them and disappeared amongst the leaves of the trees. 

She leant back in Gale’s arms, enjoying the comfortable daze the alcohol left her in as the others discussed what this place might be like once the curse is lifted. 

Over time the others began to join them, til the group was all together once more. Halsin was the only one who hadn’t been drinking, declaring he rarely imbibed due to the dangerous risk of uncontrolled singing or declarations of love. When he saved Astarion from walking face-first into a tree, they decided it was probably a good thing to have at least one sober person between them. Even Malitas’s words were starting to slur now, a noticeable difference from his usually sharp manner of speech.

“You two both still need to finish your lance board game,” Saff pointed out as the thought suddenly occurred to her, gesturing to Gale and Malitas with her wine glass. 

The two men looked at each other and wordlessly acknowledged that they were both far too drunk by this point to have any sort of meaningful game. 

“Another time?” Gale suggested. 

“Another time,” Malitas agreed with a nod. “Your Mystra can stay safe a little while longer.” 

Gale laughed and pointed at Malitas.

“Ahh, you should be careful, my friend - pride comes before the fall,” he warned jokingly, taking another sip of wine. “I wonder if the harpers will mind if we take their lance board set.” 

“I’ve got a set at home we could use. How about we keep it as a celebration for when you all finally make it to the city,” Malitas offered. 

“Deal,” Gale agreed. The two of them clinked glasses, before taking another gulp. 

Saff smiled at the thought of finally getting back to the city. They’d all been through so much, and still had so many difficult battles ahead of them… but now, with the gentle music in the air and her companions’ laughter around her, she truly felt as if they could get through anything, as long as she had her friends by her side.

---

The storm swept over Baldur’s Gate, sending sheets of rain lashing against the stone walls of the city’s buildings. The night sky was a starless black, the thick rain clouds only becoming visible during brief flashes of lightning. Yesterday’s spring warmth seemed a distant memory as angry winds swept in bitterly cold gusts through the empty streets. 

She used to love storms. The comforting patter of the rain on the roof, the distant sounds of rolling thunder, the trickle of water down the gutters. She looked for that comfort again now as she held her head up to the sky and hoped the rain would wash the tears from her cheeks. 

By all rights, she should be freezing. The rain had soaked through her clothes and left her wet to the bone, but she didn’t shiver. She felt like she didn’t have the emotional capacity left to feel the cold. She felt only the turmoil that clutched at her heart and left her unable to breathe. 

Her hands trembled where they grasped the window ledge she sat on. Rainwater ran down her legs and dripped from her toes down to the garden below at the base of the tower. She couldn’t see it far beneath her in the darkness now, but she’d spent so many countless hours staring at that garden. How she longed to be one of those flowers, to blossom so beautifully, to spend her days basking in the sun, surrounded by birdsong and butterflies…

Maybe she could. Maybe if all that was left of her melted into the soil, she could grow with the flowers. All she needed to do was push herself forward, and gravity would do the rest…

She stifled a sob as she pressed her bare feet to the slick stone walls of the tower, willing herself forward. It would all be over so quickly. The pain, the heartache… all gone in an instant… 

Would anyone even know what happened? Anyone except Malitas, that was. How would he feel once he found out? Would he mourn for her? Would he feel sorrow or regret? Would he be surprised? Would he be angry? Or would he simply not care? She was glad he wasn’t here tonight - she couldn’t let him see this. He’d said they were throwing a party… gods, how she wished she could be there. Music, dancing, laughter… 

It had been so long since she’d heard music, she’d almost forgotten what it was like. 

She should have taken the time to learn an instrument when she was younger. It was too late now. It was too late for everything. Too late for her… another sob escaped her lips at the thought, then another, til her tears fell thick and fast and her sobs ravaged her shaking body. 

She stared down at the darkness beneath her, willing herself to jump. Make it end, make it all end… but she couldn’t. Of course she couldn’t. Her knuckles whitened as she squeezed the window frame, the jagged surface of the stone bricks digging into the soles of her feet as she tried to force herself forward, squeezing her eyes shut, pushing herself with everything she had… and when it wasn’t enough, she screamed out into the night, her voice lost in the unforgiving darkness. 

With a sob she hung her head, crying in defeat. Her matted hair clung to her soaked skin as she hunched forward and held her arms, weeping quietly to herself.

She tried to think of something, anything, to keep herself going. Some glimmer of light in the darkness, some beacon of hope… distantly she thought of the little butterfly, fluttering among the flowers in the midday sun.

As she opened her eyes and looked out over the windswept city, she wondered - was that little butterfly still out there somewhere, flying in the darkness?

Or had it lost its wings to the storm?

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 55

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

The pixie looked down at them in annoyance. 

“More blessings?!” She spat, throwing her arms up in frustration. “You did me one favour and now I’m going to be making up for it the rest of my life!” 

“Just these last two,” Saff pleaded with her. “Please, if we succeed we’ll get rid of this curse and you won’t have to bless anyone ever again!” 

The pixie narrowed her eyes, then finally relented. 

“Fine. But no more after this!” She decided, then showered Malitas and Rolan in a shimmer of light, before disappearing. 

“What a strange little creature,” Rolan commented, looking curiously at the bell as Saff put it back in her pocket. 

“I thought she was rather polite for a fey,” Malitas mused as they headed into the forest.

The shadows were hungry as they made their way to Moonrise, but it was nothing the four of them couldn’t handle.

“Where did you learn magic?” Malitas asked Rolan, making small talk between the fights. 

“I studied in an academy back in Elturel. Of course, after we were chased from the city that came to an end, but I have far greater things awaiting me at Baldur’s Gate,” he replied proudly. “I have been offered an apprenticeship with the renowned Lorroakan!” 

“Ugh,” Malitas lamented with a roll of his eyes. “Please tell me you’re joking.” 

Rolan bristled as he narrowed his eyes at Malitas. 

“Saff mentioned that you didn’t like him… I think you’ll find you’re quite mistaken,” he said defensively. 

“Please, the man’s a fraud. Even from what little I’ve seen of your magic I can tell you you deserve far better than anything he can offer. The only thing he’s good at is public relations,” Malitas argued, but Rolan just laughed. 

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you’re trying to poach his most promising apprentices,” he said with a smirk. 

“Hah, I can assure you I’d never do anything so underhanded. Especially not when my current apprentice is taking up so much of my time,” he said, a slightly teasing tone in his voice as he glanced back at Saff, who only managed a slightly embarrassed smile in response. 

Soon Moonrise towered above them, an ominous shadow against the black sky. 

“Let me do the talking,” Gale said, stepping forward to lead the group. 

“Once we find the prisoners I will need a few minutes to concentrate on creating a portal stable enough for everyone to use,” Malitas explained. “We should make sure to either find somewhere quiet where we won’t be seen, or take out any nearby guards beforehand.” 

The others agreed, and soon they were making their way across the bridge once more. 

Getting in was easy enough, the guards gave them no resistance once they felt the presence of Gale’s tadpole. Knowing where to go once they were inside though was another matter.

“Where are they being held?” Rolan asked, but neither Gale nor Saff had an answer. Malitas, however, did.

“This way,” he said confidently, turning to lead them through the hall.

They looked at him in surprise for a moment, before following him through a series of doors until they reached a staircase.

“The dungeons are down here. Be careful from this point on, most of the cultists would have no reason to be here,” he advised.

“How did you know this was the way?” Saff asked, but Gale had already figured it out. 

“Detect Thoughts,” he answered, and Malitas nodded. 

“It didn’t take long to find someone who knew what we needed,” he said, heading down the stairs. 

“But you didn't cast anything,” Rolan said in confusion as they followed Malitas down.

“I am a sorcerer as well as a wizard. That grants me certain advantages,” Malitas explained. He didn't need to look back to know there was a disdainful look on Rolan's face. 

The dungeons were even worse than the rest of the towers - the stench down there was almost suffocating, and that ominous feeling seemed to grow with every step they descended. 

It was all Saff could do to keep her composure as they walked past piles of bones and rotting corpses trapped in cages that hung from the ceiling. She felt as if they were watching her, but the corpses soon became the least of her problems as a guard came round the corner. She looked forward, forcing herself to be as confident as she could, ignoring the suspicious look the guard gave them as she walked past. 

They continued down, past empty cells, til Rolan suddenly gasped. 

“There!” he hissed to them, almost forgetting not to make too much noise, before running off ahead. Saff looked to where he’d been pointing, and her face lit up when she saw the tieflings in a cell ahead of them. 

“Cal! Lia!” Rolan called as he ran up to their cell. 

“Rolan!” Lia gasped in surprise. “What the hells are you doing here??” “Getting you out, what does it look like?” He snapped back. Lia looked at Saff and the others as they caught up, breathing a sigh of relief that Rolan wasn’t here on his own. 

“The gnomes a couple of cells over have a plan, and we’re in,” she said, nodding to the gnomes across from them. 

“Then we’d best find out what this plan is,” Malitas said, and Saff headed off with him and Gale to talk to the gnomes while Rolan stayed with his siblings. 

Wulbren went through his plan with them, explaining that if they could find his hammer he could break through the walls at the backs of their cells. 

“Perfect,” Malitas said with a nod. “Once we’re all hidden, I can teleport us out. I need just a few minutes to concentrate on the spell.” 

“We might not have a few minutes,” Wulbren warned. “The guards make regular passes past the cells. They’ll set off the alarm as soon as they notice we’re gone.”

“Leave that to me,” Gale said confidently. “Illusions are something of a specialty of mine. The guards will still see you there in your cells, and will never know the prisoners they’re looking at aren’t real.” 

“We can help,” Saff offered, gesturing to herself and Rolan. “We’ll make sure the guards don’t hear us.”

Wulbren nodded his contentment with the plan.

“Good, then it’s decided,” Malitas said with a nod of his own. “I will find the hammer.”

“I’ll check the rest of the cells for other prisoners,” Gale said, gesturing down further into the dungeons. 

“I’ll tell Rolan the plan,” Saff said, and the three nodded and headed off in their separate directions. She quickly headed over to Rolan, who looked at her expectantly. 

“Wulbren says he can knock down the back walls once we find his hammer. Malitas is looking for it now,” she said, gesturing to Malitas, who was heading towards the central tower nearby. “Then once we’re hidden, Gale will make illusions of the prisoners and we’ll need to use Silence to make sure the guards don’t hear Malitas’s spell.”

“Easy enough,” Rolan confirmed with a nod. 

“Don’t get cocky,” Lia warned, and Rolan chuckled. 

“Please, I can cast a simple illu-”

“Hey!”

They went quiet as a guard approached them - a female drow with a glare that made Saff’s blood run cold. 

“No talking to the prisoners. What are you doing down here?”

Saff felt a rush of panic. She’d never used the tadpole before… but now she didn’t have a choice. She could see a hint of fear in Rolan’s eyes as he looked at her, knowing how badly this could go for them if she couldn’t convince the guard they were supposed to be here. 

“W-we… we’re… Balthazar sent us,” she stuttered, incredibly unconvincingly, trying to call on the tadpole to influence the guard. Despite her best efforts, she could feel her nerves getting to her, her hands shaking as she tried to keep her composure. She began to wish she’d taken Astarion up on those lying lessons…

“Wait a second… I recognise you,” the guard said, narrowing her eyes. “You came in with the traitors this morning… you’re one of them!” 

“No, no!” Saff gasped, holding her hands up in a panic, as the guard reached for her sword…

“Keris!” Malitas called from behind them. Saff turned to look as he approached them from the warden’s tower. “I see you’ve met my friends, Saffron and Rolan.” He spoke so easily Saff briefly wondered when he’d had a chance to befriend her, before realising of course it was just part of the act, and he’d likely learnt her name with Detect Thoughts. 

“Your… friends?” The guard stuttered, frowning in confusion. “I saw her with the traitors this morning…”

“Ah, you must be mistaken,” he said confidently. “We were out in the field this morning, searching for the weapon on General Thorm’s orders. The person you saw with the traitors was someone different. We have worked with you for months, you know us to be trustworthy.” 

Keris looked at him for a long moment, her eyes almost glazed over, before she suddenly blinked and stepped back. 

“Oh, yes, of course!” She said quickly with a smile as she looked at Saff. “Sorry, from a distance I thought you were… well I was mistaken. My apologies, please forgive me.” 

“A simple mistake, easily made and easily forgiven,” Malitas said smoothly. “I am looking for two more prisoners - a human by the name of Ulder Ravengard and a tiefling child. Do you know where they are?” 

She paused, thinking for a moment, then shook her head. 

“No… I haven’t seen any prisoners like that here,” she said eventually. Malitas watched her for a long moment, and Saff realised he was digging into her mind. Finally he nodded. 

“I see. Thank you. Now, as Saffron said, we are here on Balthazar’s orders. I trust you will let us get on with our work with no more interruptions?”

“Yes sir,” she said quickly, bowing and hurrying off. 

Saff and Rolan both watched with wide eyes as she disappeared down the hall, before looking back to Malitas. 

“How did you…?” Saff whispered, realising that what she’d just witnessed was quite a bit more than just a convincing lie. 

“A simple charm spell, but it won’t last forever,” he said, the act he’d put on for the guard dropping immediately. “The other prisoners aren’t being held here, she didn’t even know of their existence. I don’t know what they want with the child, but Ulder Ravengard is likely being held somewhere more secure than this - somewhere we may not be able to get into without a fight. Without any leads and with limited time, I suggest we break out these prisoners first and return for the others if we can.” 

Saff hesitated, not liking the thought of leaving them there. 

“Can you scry on them? Try to see where they are?” She asked. He looked unsure, then glanced around.

“Alright… keep an eye out, stop me if a guard approaches,” he said, then closed his eyes as both Saff and Rolan watched either way down the corridor. 

“Ravengard is… gods, what is this place?” He murmured, grimacing in disgust. “I daresay it’s an Illithid colony… which could be anywhere, and is certainly not the sort of place we would want to try to sneak into,” he said, dismissing the spell. Saff winced in disappointment, knowing how upset Wyll would be to hear that. Malitas quickly moved onto the next question. “Who is the tiefling child? You said her name was Mol?”

“Yes,” Saff confirmed, “she’s about the same age as Arabella, wears an eyepatch, was acting as a leader for the rest of the children.”

“She’ll also swindle you out of your gold or steal everything you have on you given the slightest opportunity,” Rolan added, though there was a hint of fondness in his otherwise mostly disdainful tone. 

Malitas nodded, and closed his eyes again. This one took a bit longer, but eventually he spoke. 

“I see her. She is not imprisoned. In fact… I think she’s in Baldur’s Gate,” he said, frowning in confusion, before waving away the spell. “Wherever she is, it isn’t here.” 

“Baldur’s Gate?” Saff asked in surprise. “How did she get there?” 

“I don’t know, but we don’t have time to speculate,” he said urgently. “We need to hurry. They’re storing evidence taken from the prisoners upstairs,” he said, nodding to the central tower, “the hammer is likely there. I can distract the warden if one of you can sneak in and get it.” 

“I can,” Saff offered, deciding she didn’t want to stay out here where another guard might wander past. Malitas nodded. 

“Rolan, keep guard, alert us if anyone comes,” he said, and Rolan nodded. 

As they headed to the tower they saw Gale heading back. After a quick rendezvous and confirmation there were no other prisoners around, he agreed to join Rolan as look out while the two of them headed in. Saff whispered a quick invisibility incantation and snuck in after Malitas, who struck up conversation with the warden. As quietly as she could she climbed up the ladder, realising that Malitas was trying to guide the conversation to get the warden to speak more about the evidence they’d taken from the prisoners so she’d know where to look. 

Unfortunately, upon reaching the top floor, she realised most of the evidence was being held in locked chests. She’d never picked a lock in her life… if only Astarion were there. She knew Knock, but such a loud spell would surely alert the warden. She began to look around, hoping to find a key, but instead found something much better - Wulbren’s hammer.

She gasped in excitement as she picked it up, noticing the initials WB engraved on the side. This had to be it. Her invisibility spell dispelled as soon as she picked up the hammer, but that didn’t matter - there was a window from the tower right opposite Wulbren’s cell, she could throw the hammer down from here-

She froze as she turned to head to the window and came face to face with a scrying eye hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room. 

“No-!” She gasped, and before she could do anything the eye screamed. 

The magical screech rang out around them, alerting all guards to their presence. Saff fumbled with the hammer and quickly threw a firebolt at the eye that shattered it in one hit, but the damage had already been done. She heard a shout of “Dolor!” from below as Malitas dealt with the now hostile prison warden, then shouted up to her. 

“What in the Hells was that?!”

“A scrying eye!” She shouted back in a panic. “I didn’t see it! I’m sorry!” 

“Did you find the hammer??”

“Yes!”

“Get it to Wulbren!” 

She heard him run off towards the sounds of fighting that were now echoing outside the tower and ran off herself towards the window that overlooked Wulbren’s cell. Jumping onto the parapet outside the window she saw now the guards that were descending on them from both directions, with Gale and Rolan preparing to fight. 

“Wulbren!” She shouted, getting his attention before throwing the hammer down towards him. Wulbren grabbed it as it hit the ground behind him and ran to the back of the cell, sending a distinct cracking noise through the air as he slammed his hammer into the bricks. 

“Ex textura!” 

She looked down, hearing Malitas’s voice echoing as a large wall of solid stone appeared at one end of the corridor, blocking off the guards approaching from that direction. He then turned with Gale and Rolan to focus on their attackers coming the other way. Magic shimmered at his fingertips as he held his hand out and a long, bronze-coloured metal staff appeared in his grip, runes and sigils engraved along the side, the top splitting into dual branches that weaved upwards, joining and separating to create diamond-like patterns in the gaps. Magic seemed to hang in the air around it, far more powerful than the simple enchantments on the quarterstaffs Gale and Rolan wielded. The runes flared as he swung it and launched a fireball which exploded over their attackers with a greater heat and intensity than any spell Saff had ever seen before, incinerating a whole group of them instantly. 

With a quick cast of Featherfall she jumped down with the others and the four wizards launched magic at their attackers, blasts of fire, lighting and magic missiles sending waves of light and heat over the previously dark, cold dungeons. 

“Rolan!” 

They looked back as Lia called after her brother and saw Wulbren breaking through the wall behind the tieflings. With a synchronised casting of Misty Step the four of them teleported behind the bars of the cell and ran through the broken wall with the tieflings. They could hear shouting behind them as they disappeared behind the cells, following the caverns into the darkness. 

They emerged to an opening in the caves leading out to the river that bordered Moonrise. A boat was moored to a run-down pier, surrounded by Ironhand gnomes that worked to untie the ropes holding it in place. 

“Can you teleport us out??” Wulbren asked Malitas urgently as they came out to the river’s edge. 

“If they don’t get through to us first,” he replied, raising his hands to begin incanting his spell. 

A charge of magic filled the air as the beginnings of a portal appeared in front of them, growing gradually larger as his command, his hands moving in hurried but controlled gestures. The group watched in anticipation as the portal grew, listening out for their pursuers…

There was the sound of shattering magic as an arrow whistled through the air and struck Malitas, sending him stumbling backwards and the portal fizzling out of existence. The arrow clattered to the ground and Malitas growled as he held his head and glared in the direction the arrow had come from, blood seeping from his forehead through his fingers. For a moment Saff wondered how the arrow hadn’t killed him, til she realised the shattering magic hadn’t been the portal - it had been one of his shields. He’d spoken before about how he specialised in abjuration, weaving the residual magic of his spells into wards that protect him from harm. It hadn’t protected him completely, but had it not been for his shields, the arrow would have gone straight through his skull.

Echoing footsteps turned to shouted battlecries as the cultists emerged from the caverns, charging towards them. Wulbren called for the gnomes to continue freeing the boat while the others prepared for battle once more. 

The cultists were upon them almost immediately. Saff frantically repelled them with Thunderwave, knowing that should they get close enough to hit her, she wouldn’t stand a chance. She looked across to see Gale stood next to her, lightning dancing at his fingertips as his spells lit up the cavern. Rolan had Cal on one side and Lia on the other, all three fighting with everything they had. Lakrissa had picked up the bow of a fallen Cultist and joined the fight while Danis helped the Ironhand gnomes with the boat. Malitas battled a warlock, taking a brutal hit from her pact weapon that by rights should have taken his arm off, but instead merely knocked him back as another of his abjuration shields shattered, absorbing the brunt of the attack. 

“That’s it! Quick! On the boat!!” 

Behind them the boat was finally freed and was being pushed out to the water as Wulbren shouted to them. Saff turned and ran with the others, jumping on the boat just as it cleared the pier. One of the cultists managed to jump in with them, but was swiftly thrown into the water as Gale slammed his quaterstaff down on him. The warlock Malitas had been fighting launched an Eldritch Blast at him, but it didn’t connect as he held his staff out in front of him and the spell was absorbed into it, sending ripples of magic across the staff as the runes briefly flared with light. 

For a moment Saff dared to hope they’d made it far enough away, until they began to hear arrows whistling past them. 

The group ducked for cover, and she heard Gale and Malitas muttering incantations to protect them, but they clearly weren’t enough as a scream cut through their words. 

She looked over to see Lia on her back, clutching at an arrow that protruded from her chest. Rolan and Cal pushed through the others and fell to their knees by her side.

Rolan pressed his hands to her wound to try to staunch the flow of blood while Cal held her hand and pleaded with her to stay with them, telling her everything was going to be ok. Saff rushed over to them and crouched down beside them, trying to steady the frantic beating of her heart as she realised Lia’s life was in her hands. 

“When I say, pull the arrow out, ok?” She said to them, lifting her hands over Lia.

“What? Are you insane?? She’ll bleed out!” Rolan shouted back in a panic. 

“Just trust me!” She shouted back. Their eyes met, and finally he nodded and looked down. 

“1… 2… 3!” She counted, and Rolan ripped out the arrow. Lia’s scream of pain was gut-wrenching, but Saff forced herself not to hear it as she focused on the spell.

“Te curo!” 

Golden light bathed them and Lia gasped as the pain receded. She looked down at herself in surprise, then up at Rolan, who looked just as surprised as her. 

“You can heal??” He gasped as he looked at Saff. 

She didn’t get a chance to answer before hearing Wulbren’s voice next to her. 

“Oh… shit…” 

She looked at him to see him looking out behind them in fear, and when she turned to follow his gaze she saw why. 

Behind them a dozen boats were setting sail from Moonrise in pursuit, each one lit up by dots of orange as archers prepared fire arrows. 

“Seems they really don’t want you to escape,” Gale said, his mind going through their options as the boats began to catch up. 

“They know how important we are,” Wulbren replied, glancing back at his fellow gnomes, before looking forward at the boats again.

“What do we do??” Saff gasped, knowing they had no chance of outrunning the small army that sailed after them in such a small boat. 

“We fight fire with fire,” Malitas answered, getting to his feet from where he’d been crouched with the others. 

They watched as he stepped to the edge of the boat and raised his arms, a charge of Weave pulsing in the air. Flames danced at his fingertips as he lifted his hands, and when he spoke his voice seemed to echo around them. 

“Furens…”

There was a wave of heat as the flames at his fingertips flared, growing now to a ball of fire that burnt in his hands. 

“...Ignis…” 

He raised his hands above his head and his cloak began to billow in the swirl of Weave that gathered around him.

“...Tempestos!” 

He threw his arms out and the air around the boats erupted into flame, great sheets of roaring fire that burst into existence and engulfed the river. Heat washed over them along with an almost blinding light, the fires so intense that even from their distance the heat felt like it would burn. The once black sky now lit up orange as the firestorm reached up above them in a great swirling cyclone. Screams pierced through the roar of the flames as burning cultists tried to jump from their crumbling boats into the safety of the water, only to have already burnt to death by the time they breached the surface. 

Saff’s eyes widened and her heart raced. All she could see was the raging fire in front of her, around her, closing in on her, the smoke filling her lungs as the roar of the inferno overtook all her senses, nothing but heat and fear and panic as she scrambled amongst fire and flames til she finally burst free and found salvation on the shores of the beach, the flaming wreckage of the Nautiloid burning around her…

She blinked and was back in the present again, no longer lost in the flashback, watching as the raging firestorm now finally began to die down. The stench of burning flesh filled the air as the dissipating flames now revealed a river full of blackened corpses and burning boats, still aflame as they crumbled into the water. 

Any remaining cultists on the shore made no further attempt to follow as their boat floated soundlessly into the darkness. 

The silence on the boat was broken as Wulbren let out an impressed whistle. 

“I like you,” he said with a grin as he looked up at Malitas, who returned his look with a smile of his own as he sat back down with them. 

The others began to clap and give their thanks to the group for rescuing them, though Saff remained quiet through it all. It seemed she was the only one there quite so harrowed by what they’d just seen…

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Lakrissa asking if anyone had a healing potion, and realised she was clutching a wound on her leg. Saff quickly hurried over to heal her, trying to push the previous thoughts out of her head and focus instead on healing anyone that needed it. She made her way round the others and eventually got to Rolan, who was very curious about her magic. 

“So he’s secretly a sorcerer,” he said, nodding to Malitas, “and you’re secretly a… cleric?” 

She smiled slightly and shook her head. 

“I’m not secretly anything, I just know a bit of druidic magic,” she explained as she focused on healing his wounds. 

“Well, I must thank you for healing Lia. I’m not sure a healing potion alone would have been enough to save her,” he said sincerely. 

She met his gaze with a small smile.

“I’m just glad we all managed to get out,” she said, glancing at the others, before her smile faded. “But don’t thank me too quickly. She only got injured because I messed up… everything would have been fine if I hadn’t got spotted by that scrying eye…” 

“We don’t know that, any number of things could have gone wrong after that,” he replied. “Plus… that’s why we do these things with friends by our side, right? Because sometimes we need a bit of help,” He added with a smile, and she realised he was repeating her own advice she’d given him earlier back to her. 

“Yes… it is,” she said with a nod, smiling now as she looked back at him. He put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know he didn’t blame her at all, then sat back and nodded to Malitas. 

“Now you’d better go heal him before he bleeds out.” 

Malitas was sat at the end of the boat, chatting with Gale. The wound on his head still bled, enough that he was holding his sleeve to it, though he didn’t seem too bothered by it, as Saff realised from their conversation as she approached. 

“An impressive display,” Gale was saying, a slightly teasing smile coming to his lips, “for a sorcerer.” 

Malitas chuckled.

“You’re not jealous are you, Gale? I know it’s not an easy spell for wizards to learn.” 

“Ah, worry not, once I’m rid of this orb and the tadpole, Firestorm will be but a mere fraction of what I am able to cast.” 

Malitas was about to reply when he looked across and saw her approaching them. 

“Do you need some healing?” She asked, looking at the wound on his head. She winced as she saw the blood that dripped down his face and neck and soaked into his sleeve.

“Is everyone else healed?” He asked, glancing back at the others. She nodded. “In that case, I would appreciate it,” he said, removing his hand. 

She sat opposite him next to Gale and channelled the last of her magic into him, watching as the wound closed up, leaving little more than a faint bruise. 

“Thank you,” he said with a grateful nod. “It is most fascinating watching you cast druidic magic. You’ve picked it up quickly. Astute as always. I’m very happy for you, I know how much you’ve wanted to learn this.” 

She just gave a small smile and a nod in response, still distracted by her earlier thoughts. Gale and Malitas glanced at each other, knowing that was an uncharacteristically subdued response from her. 

“Saff? Are you ok?” Gale asked, gently putting his hand on her knee. 

“Y-yeah… I just…” she murmured, looking downwards with a sigh. “All that fire… I felt like I was back on the beach just after the Nautiloid crashed. And all those bodies…” 

A chill went down her spine as she thought about the corpses, blackened and charred, floating in the water. 

“Those people… the True Souls… they were like us, except they didn’t have a dream visitor to protect them. If we didn’t, we’d have been among them…”

She winced, realising now what they’d done and feeling awful about it. 

“It wasn’t their fault, and… we killed them all…” 

Gale and Malitas shared another quick look, realising this was going to be a difficult conversation. 

“Saff, I understand your concern, but we had no choice. It was fight them, or leave the prisoners. Surely you agree this is better?” Gale reasoned. 

“We wouldn’t have had to fight them if I hadn’t alerted the eye…” she murmured, but Malitas was unconvinced.

“If we hadn’t fought them now they likely would have fought us in defence of Ketheric Thorm once we remove his immortality. It is a tragedy what happened to them, but we cannot save everyone, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for not being able to do so, nor for alerting the eye. Learn from the mistake, do not wallow in guilt,” he said firmly. Saff glanced away slightly, looking conflicted. 

“We can’t save everyone if we don’t even try…” she said quietly. “And if we kill innocent people to stop the Absolute… are we really any better than them?” 

“If we don’t, the cult will kill or enslave far more people. If a few innocents have to die to save the many, then it is a sacrifice that must be made,” he replied. Saff held her arms as a flicker of anger crossed her face. 

“I’m sure Mystra feels the same…” she muttered bitterly. 

Her words hung heavy in the air, but before either of them could reply, the group were pulled into battle by shadows from the shoreline. Saff was rather grateful for enemies that she had no qualms with killing. 

Her mood hung over her as they pulled up to the shore and travelled back through Malitas’s portal, but once she saw the group reuniting back in Moonrise, she found her doubts beginning to melt away. 

She watched with a smile as Bex ran up to Danis and threw her arms around him while Lakrissa and Alfira embraced across from them. Rolan celebrated at the bar with Cal and Lia. The kids were thrilled to hear that Mol was safe and had managed to find her way to Baldur’s Gate, though Saff hoped the reason Mol had been able to do that hadn’t been related to a certain cambion that had shown too much interest in her. Barcus seemed happy to be reunited with Wulbren, despite his less-than-warm response to Barcus’s greetings. Wyll was disappointed to hear they hadn’t found his father, but remained optimistic they’d still find him eventually. 

While they’d been gone the others had found the way to the mausoleum. It was decided to leave first thing in the morning, which gave them one final night at Last Light before venturing off. With the tieflings already beginning to celebrate their reunion, this quickly led to plans being drawn up for the evening. 

“Another party?” Gale asked in surprise as Rolan, Cal and Lia announced their plans to the group. 

“I think we’ve got enough worth celebrating, don’t you?” Rolan replied with a grin. “And if you are to be leaving tomorrow, we need an appropriate send off.” 

“Fuck yes!” Karlach agreed excitedly. 

“I never knew tieflings were so into partying,” Shadowheart commented, glancing at Karlach before turning back to Rolan and the others. 

“If there’s one thing we’ve learnt since Elturel fell, it’s to celebrate good times when you have them,” Lia said with a smile. Shadowheart sighed, not sounding particularly thrilled about this, which Astarion seemed to take offence to. 

“Darling, didn’t you enjoy the last party?” He said, the playful smile on his lips somehow implying there were more to his words than the others knew. 

“Hmm… I suppose it was enjoyable enough. Though I think there’s room for improvement,” she said, looking back at him with a playful smile of her own. He gave her a look of mock surprise, before the smile returned to his lips. 

“Well, darling, I’m sure that can be arranged.”

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 54

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Saff didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep, all she knew was she woke up in his arms. 

“Welcome back,” he said softly, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

She opened her eyes and saw the stars above them, glistening amongst the auroras he’d made. They lay on the blanket still out in the clearing in the forest. As she looked at the sky she began to remember floating through the stars with Gale, resting in his arms as she gently drifted off to sleep. 

“Gale…” she whispered, still slightly drowsy, looking over to him. He gave her a smile, a deep warmth in his soft brown eyes. 

“How are you feeling, my love?” 

She looked at him for a long moment, blinking away the tiredness. 

“Gods, was that… did that actually just happen??” she asked with a laugh, almost unable to believe such a thing could be possible. 

“Oh yes,” he said with a proud smile. “I hope you enjoyed it?” 

“Enjoyed? I’m not sure words can even begin to describe it!” She said giddily as she leant into him, nuzzling into his chest. “It was… incredible. Mind blowing. I had no idea you were capable of anything like that.” 

“Oh there’s so much I haven’t shown you yet,” he said with a confident smile, then kissed her cheek as he wrapped his arms around her. “I am very glad to hear it. I just apologise that it is not the sort of thing I can do every night.”

“Oh gods, don’t apologise for that,” she said, looking up at him. “I wouldn’t want it every night. It was amazing, but… so is this,” she said with a loving smile, nuzzling into his chest again. He smiled, glad for the reassurance, and gave her a small squeeze of appreciation. 

“I’m glad. Still, I hope it was enough not just to woo you, but to wow you.”

She chuckled and leant up on his chest to look at him. 

“Oh, I think you wowed me a long time ago,” she said, her tone playful but her words sincere. 

“Is that so?” he asked, a curious smile on his lips as he brushed her fringe behind her ear. “I’m curious, how long ago? When were you first wowed?” 

“Hmm…” she murmured, looking upwards as she considered the answer. “I’d say it was definitely somewhere between when I pulled you out of the portal and when you hit the ground.” 

He barked a laugh. 

“Really? Love at first sight, was it?” He asked, equal parts surprised and touched. 

“Well, maybe not love I suppose, but… definitely something,” she said, casting her mind back. “You know, I spent that first evening wishing we’d only found enough supplies for one tent.”

His eyebrows shot up as an amused smile came to his lips. 

“Gosh, if only I’d known,” he said with a laugh. 

“Were you thinking the same?” she asked with an excited smirk. 

“I… can’t deny certain thoughts may have crossed my mind…” he answered, to her amusement. “Though at the time I dismissed it as little more than physical attraction. I’d only just met you, after all, and, well… regretfully, at that point, my heart still belonged to another.” 

She gave him a sympathetic nod. 

“When did that change?” she asked curiously. He hummed slightly as he thought about it. 

“Do you remember what you said to me the first time I needed an artefact?” he asked. She paused as she tried to remember, replaying the conversation in her mind. 

“Um…” she murmured, remembering vaguely what had been said, but not remembering anything exact. He took her hand in his and placed a kiss on her fingers. 

“You offered me the locket you’d been given for rescuing Arabella. At first I refused to take it, saying it was important to you. You said, ‘you’re more important to me’,” he spoke softly and gave her a loving smile. “No one has ever said anything so sincere to me.” 

Her heart melted at the way he looked at her, and she nuzzled into him once again. 

“It’s true,” she said, holding him tightly as she buried her face into his chest. “Nothing’s more important to me,” she whispered, trying to ignore the fear in the back of her mind that tomorrow the most important thing in her world might be taken away. 

Morning came with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The group were eager to finally get some answers, though none of them quite knew what to expect. One thing they hadn’t expected was a surprise visit from Mizora as they crossed the bridge towards the towers… or at least, a visit from a projection of her. 

She wasted no time in tasking Wyll with rescuing one of Zariel’s assets. The group didn’t even need to look at Karlach to know how angry she was about this, the waves of heat emanating from her were enough to tell them her feelings on the matter.

In the end though, it was Gale that stepped forward to respond to her commands. 

“It seems to me this is not just an order for Wyll, but in fact an order for all of us,” he said, prompting a curious look from Mizora. “If this highly important asset was captured by the cult, then surely it stands to reason that Wyll, as strong as he is, would not be able to rescue this asset alone. So for him to have any chance at succeeding, he would require our help. Thus you are asking this of us as much as you are asking it of him.” 

“Where are you going with this?” Mizora asked, just a hint of urgency creeping into her otherwise playful tone. 

“If you’re asking something of us, then it’s only fair we should ask something of you.” 

Saff felt a sudden pang of panic as she worried about exactly what Gale was going to ask of her. Mizora, on the other hand, started laughing. 

“Oh, are you looking for a pact too? Not satisfied with your own magic?” She asked, a confident smile on her lips. 

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Gale said with a confident smirk of his own. “I ask that, in return for us helping rescue this asset, you release Wyll from his pact.” 

A wave of surprise crossed the group, most of all from Mizora, who looked none too pleased with the unexpected bargain. 

“Bold of you to make such demands,” she spat, her playful tone completely gone now. 

“One must be bold to deal with devils, don’t you think?” Gale responded with a smirk. “So make your choice. You agree to these terms and we see to it that the asset is released, or you refuse, and Wyll surely falls trying to rescue this asset on his own.” 

The air was tense as Mizora glared at Gale, deciding whether or not to call his bluff. Saff was sure if she refused, Gale would still help Wyll anyway… at least, she hoped he would…

“Fine,” Mizora relented eventually through gritted teeth. “You have your bargain. Now get to it.” 

With that she disappeared once more and the group turned to Gale in surprise. 

“I can hardly believe that worked…” Wyll gasped. 

“All devils love a deal. If you’re going to do something for a devil, might as well get something out of it,” Gale said, clearly quite proud of himself for this. 

“Thank you, my friend,” Wyll said gratefully, taking Gale’s hand in an enthusiastic handshake. 

“Don’t celebrate too quickly,” Karlach warned. “I don’t like this. What if this asset is dangerous? Or worse, a runaway like me? You can’t bargain with devils. They never lose.” 

“If Wyll doesn’t fulfil this command, he becomes a lemure on the front lines of the Blood War,” Gale reminded her. “We’ve been given little choice on the matter. I’d have thought you’d be jumping at the chance to get Wyll out of his contract, Karlach?” 

“Of course I would jump at that chance,” she said sincerely, looking at Wyll for a moment, before looking back to Gale. “Wyll’s happiness is my happiness. But I know Mizora will not give him up easily. We need to be careful.” 

“Very true,” Wyll agreed. “We must keep our wits about us, and be prepared for whatever awaits us…” he said, looking ahead of them towards Moonrise. 

The group split and Saff stayed firmly at the back with Karlach to let Wyll and Gale talk their way in, while the others snuck off round the side to find another route. Luckily they were able to get in with little issue and soon found themselves in the entrance hall of Moonrise Towers. The once grand towers had fallen almost to ruin, with twisted trees forcing their way through the crumbling brickwork. Cobwebs covered ancient, broken furniture and the rotting remains of tapestries adorned the walls. The stink of death and decay hung heavy in the air. Beyond the rot and ruin around them, something deep in the walls, deep beneath their feet, left them with a profound, ominous dread that pooled in their stomachs… 

Saff found that dread was only amplified when she heard the dream visitor’s voice in her head. 

This is it. This is where we’ll find the Heart of the Absolute.

Her eyes met Gale’s, and silently they took each other’s hands. 

It wasn’t long before the others caught up with them, having found an unguarded side entrance, and the group headed through to the audience chamber. 

The name Ketheric Thorm had already been one that filled her with dread, and she now found herself rooted to the spot in fear as she watched him pull an axe out of his chest and walk over to the goblin that had thrown it at him. 

“Try again,” he ordered after dropping the axe at the goblin’s feet. Once more she attacked, nearly taking his head off, and once more he pulled the axe out and dropped it aside. 

Saff had to clap her hand to her mouth to stop herself from throwing up as she watched him crush the goblin’s skull in with his own hands, pounding and pummelling until there was nothing left of her. Saff might not have been able to stop herself objecting had she not been terrified into silence. 

She was infinitely relieved she wasn’t at the front of the group when they were tasked with dealing with the goblins after Ketheric departed. Instead it had been Lae’zel, and she’d wasted no time in talking out the goblins herself. The fight had been so quick Saff had barely even registered it had started by the time it was over. 

The others split up to either head upstairs to speak to Z’rell or explore what they could of the towers, but Saff followed neither group as she ran outside onto the walkway that overlooked the river. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to get the stink of blood out of her mind. 

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Gale looking at her in concern as he came out to meet her. 

“Are you ok?” he asked softly, putting his hand on her shoulder as he stood next to her. 

She leant into him, taking in his scent, his warmth, trying to calm her racing heart. 

“Yes,” she said eventually, nodding as she stood up straight again. “That was just… a lot. Gods, Jaheira was right, he really is immortal. How the hells do we kill him??” 

“The others are trying to find some clue as to what grants his immortality as we speak. Once we know what it is, we can figure out how to disable it,” he said, leaning forward on the stone fence and looking out over the water. Saff joined him, leaning on the fence as she rested her head on his shoulder. They both stayed quiet for a long moment as they looked out over the dark waters. 

“This place… there’s something wrong with it, I swear…” she said, feeling that dread rearing in her stomach again. 

“I feel it too. A deep sense of foreboding, almost emanating from the walls.” 

She hummed softly in agreement, her fingers brushing against his. 

“Or maybe that’s just our own foreboding…” she murmured, thinking of the decision she knew he’d have to make soon. Gently, his fingers began to intertwine with hers.

“Well, no sign of the Heart of the Absolute so far. I may yet live another day,” he joked with a small chuckle. 

“Do you even know what the Heart of the Absolute is?” she asked, looking up at him. 

“Not a clue I’m afraid.”

“Wonderful. Mystra couldn’t even be bothered to tell you what to look for before blowing yourself up,” she said disdainfully. “Not only do you have to kill yourself, the journey there has to be a struggle too. For someone who thinks the Absolute is such a dire threat, she’s not putting much effort into helping you stop it.” 

She let out an angry sigh and shook her head. 

“Maybe Tara’s right, we should take up crossbows so we don’t have to have anything to do with Mystra.” 

Gale looked over at her, expecting to see the slight smile of a joke on her lips, but was surprised to see her looking totally serious. 

“Would you actually want to do that?” He asked in surprise. “Would you seriously give up magic because of all this?”

She looked downwards, fiddling with her fingers. 

“I don’t know…” she admitted. “I… I spoke to Malitas about this the other day. He said I shouldn’t give up magic because of this, that using magic doesn’t reflect on me just because of Mystra’s actions. I guess I get that, but… it still doesn’t feel right to call myself a wizard knowing how she treats her most dedicated followers.”

“He’s right,” Gale said, catching her eye as she looked up at him. “You love magic, don’t give up on it because of this. If you don’t wish to follow Mystra there are other gods you can turn to, say… Azuth or Savras. Or perhaps Sylvanus, if you wish to focus more on the druidic side of your abilities. But you need not give up magic entirely.” 

She considered his words for a long moment, glancing out to the water once more. 

“And what about you?” She asked eventually, turning back to him. “Do you still consider yourself a follower of Mystra?”

“No… though I’ve yet to decide on another god to worship, if indeed I worship one at all,” he answered. 

“If that’s true, then… why do you still wear this?” She asked, raising a hand and gently brushing her fingers over the earring that hung from his ear. 

“Ah, that,” he said, reaching up and unhooking it from his ear. He held it in his palm as he looked down at it, gently running his thumb over it. 

“My mother gave it to me on the day I graduated,” he said softly, lost in thought. “A symbol of everything I’d worked for, everything I’d accomplished. A symbol of her belief in me, through everything. The eight-sided star may represent Mystra, but this earring represents so much more to me than her. Mystra has taken much from me… but I will not let her take from me what I have accomplished through my own hard work and dedication.” 

He turned to her, giving her a serious look. 

“And neither should you,” he said, meeting her eyes. 

She smiled softly, grateful for the reassurance. 

“I won’t,” she promised him. 

The moment was shattered by a sudden clap of thunder from behind them, followed by shouts and running footsteps. 

They both turned to the direction of the noise and saw the rest of their companions running out of Moonrise and across the bridge while guards chased after them. A mage threw another bolt of lightning at the group, nearly sending Astarion flying off the bridge and into the water below. 

Saff panicked and went to run after them, but Gale just sighed. 

“I guess their search didn’t go very well…” he muttered, shaking his head. They watched as the group disappeared into the town beyond the bridge, where the guards eventually gave up their pursuit. “I suppose we’d better go find them.” 

After some time spent searching the town, they eventually found the others patching up their wounds in one of the many abandoned buildings. 

“The search didn’t go to plan, then?” Gale asked as he and Saff walked up to the group. 

“You could say that,” Shadowheart answered, narrowing her eyes at Astarion. 

“I wasn’t expecting scrying eyes!” He snapped defensively. 

“Well thanks to you, we now can’t get back in,” she said, folding her arms. 

“Well that’s fine. We got what we wanted, we don’t need to go back,” he said dismissively. 

“Yes we do!” Saff objected. “We still need to get the tieflings out!” 

“And my father and Zariel’s asset,” Wyll added, also clearly not too pleased by this turn of events. 

Astarion rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. 

“Why does everyone around us always need rescuing?” He moaned. 

“Slow down,” Gale interrupted, holding his hands up to stop them. “You said we got what we needed. What did you discover?” 

Lae’zel was the one to answer him. 

“We were sent to find one named Balthazar and help him. We believe he may hold the answer to Ketheric’s immortality.” “Except now they’ll probably be sending someone else, since they know we’re enemies,” Shadowheart pointed out. “So we’ll need to beat them there.” 

“We also discovered Balthazar isn’t infected,” Wyll added. “There were notes in his study detailing his research into the tadpoles, so we can’t just use our parasites to convince him we’re on his side.” 

“Which means,” Astarion started, looking at Saff with a grin, “we’re going to need to finally get round to those lying lessons we keep talking about, darling.” 

Saff gulped nervously. 

“What about the prisoners?” She asked, trying to change the subject. “We can’t just leave them.”

“Well if you want to rescue them, that’s down to you and Gale now, none of us are getting back in there,” Astarion said with a shrug. 

She felt a deep sinking feeling, knowing there was no way she and Gale could do that on their own. 

The group eventually decided to head back to Last Light to plan their next steps, and it was while walking through the darkness of the forest that they heard fighting in the distance. They ran to investigate and found a lone figure cornered by shadows. 

“Is that… Rolan?” Saff wondered aloud as the group grew closer. Last time they’d seen him he was drowning his sorrows in Last Light, brushing off anyone who tried to talk to him. 

They made quick work of the shadows and she ran towards him to express her relief that he was ok, only to be stopped in her tracks when he suddenly snapped at her. 

“Gods damn it all!! I can do nothing right, not a damn thing!” He shouted, throwing his arms up in frustration. “I was trying to find Cal and Lia, and instead I find myself cornered by shadow-fiends and in need of rescue. From you, of all bloody people,” he spat, gesturing angrily at her. 

She looked at him in shock, and he could clearly see the hurt in her eyes. He shifted awkwardly, still too angry to apologise, but clearly feeling bad about his outburst. 

“I’ll return to Last Light. I know when I’m outmatched,” he muttered, starting to walk past them all. 

“We’re heading back too,” Saff said quickly, trying not to be too hurt by his words. “We’ll go with you.” 

“Wonderful,” he spat sarcastically, folding his arms as he walked off. 

He tried to seclude himself from the group as they headed back, staying close enough to be safe with them, but far enough away to make it clear he didn’t want to talk to them. Saff barely took her eyes off him as they made their way through the forest, and when they stopped for a rest, she eventually decided she had to try to speak to him.

“Hey, Rolan,” she said softly, walking over to sit next to him where he sat at the edges of their torches’ light. 

“What?” He spat, not turning to look at her. She tried to ignore the hurt she felt at his demeanour towards her and continue on. 

“Cal and Lia will be ok, we’re gonna find them,” she promised him, hoping that would make him feel better, but it soon became apparent that wasn’t the case.

“Of course you will, because you’re the hero,” he said with dramatic sarcasm, glaring at her for a brief moment before turning away again. 

She had to bite back tears that pricked her eyes. She hadn’t spent a huge amount of time with Rolan, but she considered him a friend after they’d spent a while chatting at the party, and it hurt now to hear him talk about her like this. 

“What… what do you… mean…?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. 

“You know exactly what I mean. The great hero who saved us from the goblins, who will now save us from the Absolute. You’re an apprentice, same as me, but you’re a hero and I’m useless. What good am I if I can’t even do this one thing… but it doesn’t matter, because you can do everything.” 

She stared at him in surprise, suddenly realising why he was acting this way. 

“Rolan… that’s not true. You’re not useless. You got this far on your own, through the shadows. I couldn’t have done that.” 

“Oh please, don’t lie to me to make me feel better. Of course you could have done,” he scoffed. 

“I’m not lying!” She insisted, with enough force that he finally turned to look at her. “I’m not this great hero you think I am. The only reason I’ve survived this long is them,” she said, nodding back towards the others. “I’d be dead a hundred times over if they hadn’t helped me. When this all started I couldn’t fight at all, Gale had to give me lessons. He’s still giving me lessons. The first fight we got into, I froze up and had a breakdown! If Gale hadn’t been there to help me, the goblins would have ripped me apart. I’ve learnt a lot since all this started, but gods I still couldn’t do all this on my own. I don’t think anyone could, even any of them.”

She leaned forward, catching his gaze with a sincere look, seeing the emotions in his eyes as her words sunk in. 

“So don’t feel bad because you couldn’t do it on your own. Don’t put that sort of pressure on yourself. We all got this far because we worked together. And we’re gonna need to work together to break out Cal, Lia and the others. In fact…” she glanced briefly at the rest of the group, then looked back to Rolan, “they all managed to get found out as not actually being True Souls. Gale and I are the only ones who can still get in. So if we’re going to break out the prisoners… we’re going to need some help.”

He looked at her in surprise for a moment as he realised what she was getting at. 

“You’re asking for my help?” 

“If you think you can talk your way in as an Absolutist.” 

A grin spread across his face. 

“Oh, if I can convince Lorroakan to take me on as his apprentice, I can convince them I follow the Absolute,” he said confidently. Saff happily mirrored his grin. 

“Then it’s decided,” she said, holding her hand out. He obliged and shook her hand. 

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “And I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok,” she said softly, before pulling him into a hug. He hugged her back gratefully, though looked at her seriously as they parted. 

“So that’s three of us, but it’s still risky,” he warned, and she nodded in agreement. 

“We’ll ask Halsin. He was hesitant to come to Moonrise, but if he’s the only hope we’ve got, I’m sure he’ll do it.”

Back at camp they found Halsin discussing the curse with Malitas and Saff wasted no time in explaining the plan to him. However, he was still hesitant. 

“I will come if you need me to, but I should warn you, I was not an unknown foot soldier when I fought here a hundred years ago. There may be people there that will recognise me.” 

Saff paused as she considered their options, wondering if it was worth the risk of him being recognised in order to have him there should they get into a fight. 

“How many prisoners are there?” Malitas asked, and Saff began to count on her fingers as she listed them. 

“Cal, Lia, Mol, Danis, Lakrissa, Wyll’s father, Wulbren, probably some other Ironhand gnomes,” she answered, and he nodded. 

“If I can get to them, I can teleport them out.”

She looked at him in surprise. 

“You’re offering to come?” She asked, and a smile came to his lips. 

“I’ve spent long enough buried in research. It’s about time I fought by your side, if you’ll have me?”

She grinned widely and nodded. 

“Of course!” 

She filled in the rest of the group of their plan over lunch, to mixed reactions. 

“We need to find this mausoleum Balthazar is in as quickly as possible,” Shadowheart objected. “They’ll have sent someone else to find him, we need to beat them to him.” 

“Then you look for that while we do this,” Saff retorted. “We can’t just leave the prisoners there. We’ll be back before evening.” 

Lae’zel scoffed and shook her head. 

“You’d better not end up needing us to break you out,” she warned. 

“We won’t. Malitas can teleport us out if it comes to that,” Saff said, glancing over to Malitas, who nodded in confirmation. 

“And if they kill you?” Lae’zel challenged, looking over at him. 

“They can try,” he said with a confident smirk. Lae’zel actually seemed to respect that enough to drop her objections. Astarion just sighed as he looked at them.

“Four wizards trying to sneak behind enemy lines to stealthily break out some prisoners?” He said with a roll of his eyes. “What could possibly go wrong?”

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 53

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

The evening had been spent planning their infiltration of Moonrise. Halsin had to remain at camp, being the only one of their group that couldn’t pass for a True Soul, and he was quite happy to stay and rest with Thaniel. The others decided to split into two groups - Saff, Gale, Wyll and Karlach would try to talk their way in as True Souls, while Astarion, Shadowheart and Lae’zel decided to see if they could find a way to sneak in. It was best to cover all their bases, they decided. 

Saff spent some time with Halsin and Thaniel after that, attempting to trigger the vision again, or perhaps see something else that might give her some answers, but nothing they tried helped. Eventually she gave up and headed back to her tent. 

She was intrigued to find what appeared to be an illusion of Gale standing outside the door. 

“Good evening!” he greeted with Gale’s usual cheery manner. “I am here on behalf of Gale of Waterdeep. He wishes to extend you an invitation for a private conversation in a more suitable locale.”

Saff looked at him for a long moment, narrowing her eyes slightly as she tried to figure out exactly what she was looking at. 

“Programmed Illusion?” She asked, but he shook his head. 

“Not quite, but a good guess. If I were a Programmed Illusion, I would simply be following a predetermined script, and I would not be able to respond to you like this.”

She hummed in thought as she stroked her chin. 

“Major Image?” 

“Another good guess, but no. Gale is quite too far out of range for that one.” 

“Too far out of range…” she murmured to herself as she went through the possibilities in her mind.

“Simulacrum?” She suggested, but quickly spoke again before he could reply. “No…” she said, reaching out to touch him, and finding her hand passing right through him. “You’re not physical.”

“Indeed. Simulacrums also possess all the original’s memories and personality, whereas I possess only a portion of his.”

She smiled to herself as she mused that the illusion clearly possessed the portion of his personality that enjoyed games like this. 

“Oh! I know!” she gasped suddenly in excitement, “Project Image!”

“Correct!” he said happily, touching his nose with one finger as he pointed at her with the other. “Though an imperfect casting of it, given the limitations the orb and the tadpole have placed on him.”

“Still looks pretty convincing to me,” she complimented.

“Ah, yet you saw through it immediately, did you not? A perfect casting would be almost indistinguishable from the original.” 

“Maybe I should be glad it’s not indistinguishable,” she considered. “I wouldn’t want to think I was speaking to Gale, only to find I was speaking to an illusion. Anyway, speaking of speaking to Gale, you mentioned an invitation?” 

“Ah, yes! Simply follow yonder path, and you will find him,” he said, gesturing to a path leading into the trees. It was a path she’d walked many times before now, leading to the clearing they often did their lessons in. 

“Thank you,” she said with a smile and a nod, then turned to follow the path, as requested. 

As she headed down the path she wondered what Gale had planned for them both. Perhaps it would be similar to their night together in the Underdark. He knew she’d been struggling with the constant darkness in this place, maybe he’d created another illusion for her. She couldn’t deny, she’d quite welcome that right now - even an illusion of the sun was better than no sun at all. 

She stepped out into the clearing to find the illusion he’d created, but she’d never expected anything on the scale of what awaited her.

Instead of the ever-present darkness that hung in the sky, a great starscape stretched out above her. Auroras shone amongst the glistening stars, bright and beautiful. It took her breath away, so much so that she almost didn’t notice Gale sitting on a blanket ahead of her, illuminated by magic, arms reaching up as he perfected the illusion above them. 

As she approached he lowered his arms and looked up at her, a fond smile on his lips. She returned the smile and sat down next to him. 

“I love this time of night. There’s an almost reverent silence that accompanies the peak of darkness, when you’d almost believe the dawn will never break. The cradle of eternity. The timelessness of lovers… that most beautiful of fantasies.”

She met his eyes at those words, her heart melting when she saw the way he looked at her. 

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, leaning in, losing herself in his eyes. He lifted a hand and gently brushed his fingers over her cheeks, sending shivers of excitement through her at the tenderness of his touch. 

He leant in and closed the gap between them, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. She lifted her hand and rested it on his chest as she felt the gentle, loving press of his lips against hers. They’d had so little time to dedicate to each other with everything else that had been happening, and even the times they had spent together since arriving here had often been somewhat rushed, or perhaps more lustful than loving. Not this time though. This time she could feel all his emotions in that kiss. The way his fingers so gently brushed over her cheek and ran through her hair. The way that even when they parted he stayed close, resting his forehead against hers. The way he held her, as if he never wanted to let go…

She opened her eyes and pulled back to look at him. Only now did she see the anguish in his eyes as he met her gaze. 

“Gale?” she whispered, lifting her hand to cup his cheek. “What’s wrong?” 

He winced and sat up from where he’d been leaning back with her. She sat up with him, watching as he looked up at the stars with a deep sigh. 

“Tomorrow we head to Moonrise. Tomorrow… we may find the heart of the Absolute. And I will have to make my choice,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. 

“What…? I thought you’d already made your choice,” she asked in disbelief. 

“I had. But… it is so easy to refuse your fate, when it is so very far away.” 

He closed his eyes for a long moment, before opening them again. 

“I have no desire for Mystra’s forgiveness. I would be quite happy living the rest of my life never speaking to her again. But… what if there is truly no other way? Malitas believes Mystra commands this because she wishes me dead, but I am not so sure. Perhaps I am being naive, but I don’t think we can discount the possibility that my using the orb is the only way to defeat the Absolute. And if that is the case…” 

He closed his eyes again, steeling himself against the thought of what he must do. 

“If that is the case, then I will not sacrifice the world to save myself. If that is the case… then this may be my last night alive.” 

He looked up at the sky, a distant look on his face. 

“And if this is the last night I have, then I want to spend it under a canopy of beauty and wonder. Not under the darkness Shar would shroud us in…” he said wistfully, staring up at the stars. 

“Gale,” Saff interrupted firmly, taking his hands in hers and bringing his attention to her. “This will not be your last night alive. We’ll find another way, no matter what it takes.” 

He smiled softly as he reached his hand up to her cheek. 

“Always so optimistic. One of the many things I love about you,” he said fondly, before his expression shifted to one more serious and he lowered his hand to hers. “But life is not a fairytale, you know that as well as I do. Not everyone gets their happily ever after. Plenty before me have had to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the world, as I’m sure plenty after me will too. We cannot ignore the fact that the threat we face is great enough that this may be our only way to defeat it. And if that proves to be the case… then I don’t want to squander my last night alive.” 

“Gale…” she whispered, her voice cracking. He could feel how tightly she was holding his hands, hers shaking slightly as she clung onto him. “Please… don’t think like this… there’s always another way…” 

“Saff,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “Believe me, I don’t want to do this. I want to live… with you.” His voice began to crack now as he started to think about everything he wished for, everything he longed for, that he might never get. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake every morning by your side and fall asleep every night with you in my arms. I want to come home every evening to you and share everything with you. The thought of not being able to do that, the thought of leaving you behind, alone… it breaks my heart more than I can say. But if that is to be our fate, then I wish tonight to be special. To be worthy of my last night with you. To experience as much as we can of that life in one night.”

She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to hear his words, refusing to believe that could be the case. He wouldn’t have to do this, they’d find another way, there was always another way…

Wasn’t there?

She thought of the books she’d read, both fairytales and real stories, told by those who’d lived them. The countless adventurers who had saved the world over the centuries. In fairytales there was always another way, but in the real world…?

Gale was right. Life was no fairytale. 

It broke her heart to think about the life they could never have if he had to use the orb. To think how unfair it was that he had to give up everything to save everyone. But if it were to happen, if she were to be left alone, with only memories of him to keep him alive… then she’d want to experience everything she possibly could with him now. 

Slowly she opened her eyes and met his gaze. There was so much concern in those deep, brown eyes of his… she couldn’t imagine never seeing them again after tomorrow. The thought made her heart ache, but she tried to focus on the present, rather than squander this time with him by worrying about the future. 

“Alright,” she said quietly, her voice wavering. “Let’s make tonight special.” 

He finally managed a smile, then leant in and kissed her on the forehead. 

“Thank you,” he whispered, then sat back again, squeezing her hands in his. “I want it to be perfect. To bond with you through more than just flesh - to bond in the way the gods do, intertwining our spirits in visions of the Weave.” 

She looked at him in surprise, trying to understand what he was proposing. 

“Gods? Oh, don’t bring the gods into this… I’m no goddess.” 

“Oh, you are. Believe me, I would know,” he said fondly. “But forget the gods then. Let this just be about us. What would be our perfect night, hm? After all this is done. I’ve spent so long imagining what we might do, where we might go. Where I would take you were we back home. So let’s imagine it, shall we? The perfect night in Waterdeep?” 

The perfect night in Waterdeep… she’d imagined many times what it might be like to return home with him. Her heart fluttered and she managed a smile, despite the tears that threatened to fall. She nodded, and he returned the smile, then stood up and offered her his hand once more. She wiped the tears and took his hand, standing with him. 

“The scene is this…” he started, turning and lifting his hand. As he did so, her eyes widened as she felt a charge of Weave in the air and the world around them shone white. As the light faded, she found they were standing in what appeared to be a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, and even more books were piled up on the floor. Paintings adorned the few spots on the walls that weren’t taken by bookshelves, and sculptures nestled in any gap they could find. She spotted a desk, covered in parchment and papers. Candles dotted the room, casting everything in a soft, orange light, while gentle piano music danced in the air. There was no doubting where this place was - Gale’s tower in Waterdeep. She felt a rush of warmth as she looked around. It was beautiful. Even the knocked over piles of books and haphazard stacks of papers made the place feel loved and lived in. 

“You and I stand in the room that is the centre of my universe,” he said as he began to walk forward, one hand ahead of him as he finalised the illusion, the other hand still in hers. “The sculptures, the paintings, the walls enlivened by the spines of a thousand books,” he said, gesturing proudly to his home as he walked forward with her. “The grand piano plays the Lliirian Suites all by itself, and as we look out beyond the arches that lead to the terrace, we see the weary sun take its daily dive into the sea.” 

She gasped slightly as the doors opened up to reveal the waterfront that stretched out ahead of them, the water glistening in the sunset. 

“Gods…” she whispered in awe as she walked up with him to the edge of the balcony and leant on the railing. “It’s… beautiful…” 

She allowed herself a moment to take in the sight ahead of her, before glancing back into the room behind them, now bathed in sunlight. 

“Is this really what your tower is like?” she asked, looking over at him.

“It is indeed,” he said happily, leaning against the railing. 

“It’s incredible,” she whispered, before a slightly sad smile came to her lips. “Though it could do with a few plants,” she said softly, trying to sound as if she were playfully teasing him, though she couldn’t stop her voice wavering at the realisation that all the things going through her mind, the idyllic fantasy of living here with him and calling this place her home, might never come true. 

“Yes, you’re right,” he said with a nod, his voice also wavering just slightly. “Then it would be perfect.” 

They held each other’s gaze for a moment, both trying to push away the creeping reality that threatened to shatter the fantasy they longed for. Saff eventually leant into him, resting her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and they both looked out to the sunset. They stayed there together for a long moment in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. 

“It’s even more beautiful than in the mountain pass,” Saff whispered eventually, deciding she wanted to lose herself in the fantasy just a bit longer. 

“You think so?” he asked, glancing down at her. 

“I do,” she replied firmly, looking up at him. “The mountain pass was amazing. But this, this is…” she trailed off slightly, looking out again as she leant into his chest. “This is home,” she whispered, a longing in her voice. Everything about this place felt perfect, felt right, even if it was just an illusion. 

She felt him squeeze her tightly at those words. Though he said nothing, she could tell how he was feeling in that moment. Delighted that she’d want to live with him here, distraught that she might never get the chance. 

“Home. Yes,” he said softly, as if trying to remind himself there was still a possibility he’d be able to come back here at some point. “You know, this balcony is my favourite spot. Many times, evening turned to night then back to daybreak once more while I sat there, lost in words,” he said, turning to nod at the bench behind them. 

“I can see why… I would do the same,” she said wistfully, then finally moved away from him to go sit down. She looked up at him with a smile, wordlessly beckoning him to join. He met her smile with one of his own as he walked over and sat down next to her. As he did she noticed the small table next to where he sat. 

“What’re you reading now?” she asked, nodding to the book that sat on the table. 

“Ah, this one is called ‘The Art of the Night’,” he said as he leant over and picked it up. “It details the first thousand nights of a newly wed king and queen.” He looked over at her with an excited smile. “They turned everything they did into an art. The art of taste. The art of conversation, time honoured and newly acquired. The art of the body. The exploration and acceptance of the self and the other. The art of the night itself.” He looked at her now with a twinkle in his eye. “I say we take a page from their book.” 

She looked at him in curiosity, still not quite understanding exactly what he was suggesting. 

“Can I see?” she asked, nodding to the book. 

“Of course,” he said, handing the book to her. 

She wasn’t quite sure what to expect when she opened it, but it certainly wasn’t what she saw. Her eyes widened as she read through and began to understand what Gale was proposing. 

“Are you able to do this?” she asked, looking back at him. This level of magic was well beyond anything she could ever hope to cast. 

“Yes,” he answered confidently. “It is not the sort of thing I can do all the time. This whole illusion is not something I’m able to do all the time, but for tonight, for you, I can,” he said, his voice almost a whisper.

“You don’t need to do all this just to impress me,” she replied, her voice soft as she met his eyes. 

“I know. Believe me, I know,” he said firmly, taking her hand in his. “You have stood by me through thick and thin. You have seen me at my lowest and stayed by my side. You have proved your love for me time and time again. I do not do this because I feel I need to impress you - I do this because I want to open myself to you, to show everything to you…” 

He leant in and lifted his hand to her cheek, cupping it gently as he looked into her eyes. 

“This may be my last night alive, my last night with you… and if it is, then let it be worth a lifetime.”

Her heart fluttered as she looked into his eyes, and finally, she nodded. 

“A lifetime,” she echoed, leaning in to rest her forehead against his. He closed the gap and kissed her, holding her close for a long moment, before pulling back. 

She met his eyes, then looked down at the book. Quickly she flicked through, til she found the pages she’d seen mentioned in what she’d read. Two handprints, one on each page. She glanced up to him to check she’d got it right, and he nodded, shifting back slightly on the bench to give her room to place the book down. She did so, then rested her hand on the page closest to him. She felt a charge of weave as her fingers began to glow blue, which intensified as he placed his hand next to hers. Their eyes met once more, a spark of connection, a flurry of warmth and belonging. 

She felt him take her hand, but when she looked down, it wasn’t her hand that she saw in his. Not quite. She looked up again to see Gale, not the way she knew him, but ethereal. Not his physical body, but his spirit, his very essence. As he leant back and floated upwards, she let him take her with him, feeling suddenly weightless as the two of them ascended into the sky. She looked down, seeing their bodies still there on that bench as Waterdeep faded away below them, and soon they were surrounded by endless stars. 

The view around them took her breath away. She’d never seen anything like it, never even imagined ever being able to feel like this. He floated next to her, holding her hand in his, smiling as she took in the beauty around her. 

Finally she looked over at him, feeling like he was her grounding in this otherwise impossible place. Were she here alone she’d be lost, scared… but with him, she knew she was safe. 

She pulled herself towards him and cupped his cheek. 

“It’s still you, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at the blue, spiritual eyes that looked back at her. 

“It’s still me,” he assured her, cupping her hand in his. 

As their hands touched she felt a spark pulse through her, a familiar warmth, a familiar love. It reminded her of the moment they’d spent in the Weave together, how she’d felt so completely in touch with him, lost in him, his feelings melting into hers until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. And now as he leant in and kissed her, she felt it again a thousandfold. A bonding of not just bodies, but souls. 

He leant back enough to meet her eyes again, and when he spoke now, the words did not come from his mouth, instead she heard them in her mind, his voice soft and delicate. 

“When you wake, it will be back at our camp. Back in our small, dirty, bloody patch of existence. But stay with me now. There are endless worlds out there. Countless ways to declare love. Infinite ways to express it. Too much for one night…”

He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers now, as they had done so many times before. 

“...But we shall try.”

He caught her eye for a moment, a smile on his lips. She could feel his excitement, his eagerness to share his world with her. 

He looked over as he lifted her hand with his and she followed his gaze. His fingers traced her skin, sending waves of tingling sensations, like ripples on the surface of water… until finally he dipped his fingers in. 

She gasped at the feeling of his hand merging with hers, becoming one with hers, the ethereal blue of their hands now shining a bright white. It was like she could feel him within her, not just physically, but… more than that. So much more than that. She leant her head back, shuddering slightly, getting used to these new sensations that ran through her. As her eyes closed she felt his lips on her neck, his hair against her skin, the familiar touches of physical love weaved with the unfamiliar warmth of the astral. 

She felt his hand on her thigh, lifting her leg, and as she bought her head forward, their eyes met. There was a moment between them, a silent question, a confirmation that she still wanted this. With an excited smile she nodded, and as their bodies came together all semblance of coherent thought melted away. 

She fell apart in his arms, in his warmth and his care, in everything that he was. She gave herself to him, as he gave himself to her. She was a great ocean and he the moonlight that danced on her surface, the sun that dived deep into her depths. They were the wind in the leaves, the cascade of the river, the sunset over the mountains. They were the singing of birds and the flutter of butterflies, the twinkle of stars and the gleam of auroras. The ripples of their love became waves in the endless sky and together they lit up the stars. 

Somewhere, where physicality met spirituality, she felt his hands over her body, the strokes of a hundred fingertips. His lips left kisses that echoed through her mind, through her soul, an endless melody. As his kisses reached her mouth and she kissed him back, she gradually began to grasp the magic around them. She raised her arms and wrapped them round his shoulders, every brush of skin and hair feeling like a blossoming warmth inside her. They parted from the kiss and their eyes met once more. She saw not the familiar brown of his, but she didn’t need to - she could feel him there, around her, within her, part of her. And, she knew, he felt the same. 

A smile came to her lips as she felt a breath on the back of her neck, despite looking at him in front of her. She glanced to the side to see another Gale, then to the other side to see another. 

Show off, she thought playfully.

Are you not impressed? He thought back.

You already know the answer to that.

She fell into him once more as he dived into her. More hands, more kisses, an intertwining of body and soul, lost together in the cosmos. Every thought, every emotion, touching the edges of infinity. 

The stars shone as the symphony inside her built to a crescendo. Somewhere she hoped Gale was feeling the same, and somewhere she knew he was. She held onto him tightly, in every way she could, riding the waves of their pleasure as far as they would take her, higher and higher and higher… 

Finally they crested the peak and together they soared on wings of starlight.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 52

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Gale wandered through the trees surrounding their campsite in search of Saff. She’d wanted a bit of time alone after dinner before they started that night’s lesson, so he’d agreed to come find her once he’d cleared up after dinner. Though in truth, their lessons were feeling less and less like lessons, and more like he was practising magic with a peer. He taught her new spells, while she helped him relearn the spells he once knew but had been left unable to cast thanks to the tadpole and the orb. 

When he emerged from the trees into the clearing he saw her practising the druidic dance Halsin had taught her, though she danced alone this time. She wore the white dress he’d given her, and Gale couldn’t help but wonder how she wasn’t cold. A stream of water followed after her as she danced, flowing with her movements. He smiled as he leant against a tree and watched, admiring both her beauty and her command of magic.

At first she didn’t notice him, too engrossed in her dance. It was only as she spun round and saw him out of the corner of her eye did she suddenly realise he was there, and yelped in surprise. With the loss of her concentration, the bubble above her fell down and burst over her head, soaking her in a wave of cold water. 

Shivering in the frigid air, she looked at Gale, who looked back at her with a look of shock equal to that of her own. 

“Sorry!” he called out as he came running over to her. He stood in front of her, realising how utterly drenched she was. A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he opened his mouth to speak, before she interrupted him. 

“If you’re going to make a joke about how you can get me wet by just being near me, you can close that mouth right now.” 

He closed his mouth. 

She couldn’t help but laugh, before looking down at herself and trying to wipe away some of the water. Gale’s eyes wandered downwards too, taking in the sight of the now nearly see-through white dress clinging to every curve of her body, leaving very little to the imagination. 

“Opted for no underwear again, I see,” he said, the smirk back on his lips. 

She looked up at him, her expression somewhere between annoyance and amusement. Lifting her arms, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He watched in surprise as the water began to rise up from her clothes, floating upwards in small droplets, gathering in a bubble above her head. Her magic wasn’t perfect - she was only able to get about half the water out - but he was impressed nonetheless. He was so impressed he didn’t notice the mischievous look on her face til suddenly the bubble was flying towards him. 

He raised his hands to shield himself and the bubble burst against them, showering him in cold water. He lowered his soaked arms and looked at her as she stifled a laugh. 

“Oh very mature,” he said, narrowing his eyes. He playfully flicked his fingers, and she giggled at the small splattering of droplets he sent at her. “Now we both have cold, wet clothes we need to get out of.”

“Whatever will we do?” she wondered as she stepped towards him. 

In the end, there wasn’t very much magic done in that night’s magic lesson.  

The next day, finding Thaniel’s other half had been easier than Saff had thought it would be - after just a few hours’ searching they were able to spot blossoming flowers through the darkness. Convincing him to rejoin Thaniel, however, had proved far more difficult than expected. When Saff had run through the portal with Halsin, the others closely following behind, she hadn’t expected to come out to a battle.

Halsin roared as he charged at the shadows in bear form, Karlach and Wyll diving in after him while Saff and Gale stayed at the back, slinging spells. She soon learnt that fighting shadows was hard enough, but fighting shadow children made the difficult feel impossible. She had to remind herself they were doing the right thing as Oliver screamed at them to stop, saying he just wanted to play…

Then she heard something… music? She looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. Her gaze fell on one of the shadows as it looked at her, but she felt no fear as her eyes met the deep pools of black that stared back at her. She felt only… calmness. Gradually the music coalesced until she realised that what she was hearing was singing.

Mm, mm, Thaniel and me,

Climb, climb, climbing up a tree…

Part of her knew to try to fight it, but she quickly found her eyelids growing heavy as the world began to fade and darken around her. 

We see shadows, they get darker, 

But our hiding place is brighter…

She barely even noticed as the ground came up to meet her. All was just darkness, emptiness, and that endless lullaby…

Do just what we please, together, 

Waiting for the sun, forever…

The song echoed around her, a haunting melody. 

Waiting for the sun forever…

Saff…

Was she waiting for the sun, too? 

Saff…!

Or was that someone else?

“Saff!!” 

She gasped and her eyes snapped open as Gale shook her awake. 

“Saff! Wake up!!”

She blinked as her vision slowly focused and she saw Gale kneeling over her, his hands on her shoulders. 

“Gale…” she murmured, her own voice lost in the din around her, til the figure that loomed behind Gale suddenly snapped her wide awake. 

“Gale!!” 

He turned and saw the shadow that towered over him just as it lifted its arm. He scrambled to cast a spell, but was thrown to the ground as dark claws slashed across him, cutting deep into his flesh. With a pained gasp he tried to defend himself with another spell, but the shadow was already above him, reaching out, and as it did a stream of magic flowed from Gale up to its hand. His hands shook, til finally his arms fell limp by his side as the strength was drained from him…

“Ardere!” 

Flames engulfed them, searing away the shadow as it screeched into the ether. The flames might have seared them away too, had Gale not taught her how to weave her magic around her allies, creating pockets of safety in her evocations. 

The fire flickered away and they were left in the coldness of the curse once more. Saff scrambled over to him, her turn now to shout his name in desperation, but unlike her, he didn’t wake. 

“Gale! Gale!!” she screamed desperately, but was met with no response. Her eyes went down to his chest where she saw three great claw marks in his skin, the flesh around them rotting and black. He was still breathing, but only just… 

She raised her hands, holding them over Gale’s wounds, and tried to focus. 

Remember what Halsin and Jaheira said. Balance…

She closed her eyes. When she opened them again her hands were glowing, and the words came to her as naturally as breathing. 

“Te curo.”

Gale gasped as he woke, reaching to his chest as he felt the claw marks healing. He met Saff’s gaze, but before he had a chance to thank her, an ear-piercing shriek cut through the air. 

They both turned to see Oliver’s newest summon - an owlbear, dark and ominous as the rest of the shadows that assailed them. Halsin met the owlbear’s challenge with a roar of his own, and charged at his foe. 

Saff and Gale scrambled to their feet and joined the fight once more, launching their spells at the owlbear as Halsin took the brunt of its attacks. An Eldritch Blast from Wyll shot through the air as Karlach ran at the owlbear from across the battlefield, turning her rage against their final target.

Another screech rattled them as the owlbear’s claws came down on Halsin, hitting him with a brutal attack that knocked him out of bear form. Before he could react, the owlbear tackled him to the ground, pinning him down. He raised his arms to try to defend himself, but could do little against the owlbear as it tore into him, mauling him mercilessly. 

“Halsin!! No!” Saff screamed in terror, reaching out to him. She hurled a fireball at the owlbear, focusing on not burning Halsin with her flames, but the creature persisted. Her heart raced as she raised her hands to try again, watching as Wyll and Gale’s spells also failed to take the owlbear down. It wasn’t til Karlach reached it and leapt at it with a vicious attack that it finally fell off of Halsin, screeching as it faded from existence. 

Finally, silence fell over the battlefield. Saff ran forward, panic rising in her as she saw the state Halsin had been left in. Before she could get to him, she heard a voice that brought her to a halt. 

“No…” 

Oliver looked at Halsin in terror, eyes wide. 

“I didn’t want this… I just wanted to play!” 

His voice cracked as he began to back away, then turned to run. 

“Oliver, wait!” Saff shouted after him. He paused and turned back to her, but looked like he might run again at any moment. She couldn’t let him leave… if he fled now, they might never find him again. 

“It’s ok, Oliver. You don’t need to run,” she said softly. She tried to come across as calm, but inside her heart was racing. She could see Oliver was hesitant, ready to run at any moment.

“Halsin’s fine, let me show you,” she assured him, though her actual belief in herself certainly didn’t match the confidence in her words and left her voice wavering. 

She turned to Halsin and raised her arms. For a moment she closed her eyes, tried to balance herself, and prayed this would work. 

“Te curo!” 

Halsin gasped as his eyes snapped open, his wounds knitting back together in the golden light.

Saff breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him sit up, then turned back to Oliver. 

“See? Everything’s ok. You don’t have to run, we’re not angry with you. We just want to talk.” 

Halsin stood up, wincing slightly from the injuries left unhealed, and walked over to them. 

“Oliver, it’s very important that you listen to me,” he said seriously. “You need to get back to Thaniel-”

“No! I don’t want to. I just want to stay here and play! I’m not going, you can’t make me!” 

Saff and Halsin glanced at each other, then back to Oliver as Halsin knelt down to him. 

“Oliver, nobody is making you leave - this is your home. But it is dark, empty... lonely. I don't want you to be alone. I want you to be with Thaniel.” “Why should I go back to him? He abandoned me!” Oliver shouted, throwing his arms up.

“No - you were stolen from each other. Neither of you are to blame. And I know your pain. I truly do. But you need not be alone any longer. You need not invent friends. Thaniel is back. He’s waiting for you.”

Saff knelt down next to Halsin as she saw Oliver’s uncertainty. 

“I know it seems scary,” she said softly, looking at him with a smile. “You must have gone through so much out here, all on your own. But it’ll all be ok. You’ll be so much happier once you’re back with him.” 

“But… would he even want me back?” Oliver asked, looking at her with a wince. “I’ve changed. A lot.” 

“But you’re still you, and he’ll see that,” she said softly, giving him a warm smile. “Change is good, as long as you don’t forget who you are. And you haven’t forgotten who you are, or who he is. He’ll still see you as the friends you’ve always been.” 

She reached out and gently put her hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ve changed a lot too, recently. So I get it. It can be really scary. But it’s been good for me, and it will be for you, too. And for Thaniel. Together, you two will become more than what you were before.” 

Finally, he managed a smile. 

“So I wouldn’t have to make up friends to play with anymore? I’d have someone real? I’d like that. And he would too, I think. Alright, I’ll do it. I want to do it!” 

Saff smiled widely, feeling her heart swell. 

“You’re gonna be so happy with him. Just you wait and see,” she said warmly, before standing up and stepping back from him. 

“Bye. And thank you,” Oliver said to them, then closed his eyes. A green light glowed around him as he began to lift off the ground, before fading away in a shimmer of gold and orange. 

They were left in darkness again once he was gone, but that didn’t dampen the grin that came to Saff’s lips. 

“We did it,” she whispered, almost in disbelief. “We did it!” 

She threw her arms round Halsin in a hug, who chuckled as he hugged her back. 

“Yes, it’s done at last,” he said, stepping back from her. “Soon the land will be unshrouded. We should return to Thaniel when we can.” 

“Yes! Let’s go!” she agreed, though her enthusiasm faded slightly as she looked around. “...Where are we?” 

After eventually figuring out their way back to camp, Saff was elated to see Thaniel awake and waiting for them at Halsin’s tent. She watched with the others as Halsin and Thaniel reunited, barely able to contain her happiness. Halsin turned to them, proud to introduce Thaniel to those who had helped save him. 

“These are my companions - Saff, Gale, Wyll and Karlach. They fought shadow and spite with me to help restore you. I could not have done it without their help.”

“Thank you, all of you,” Thaniel said to them. “A hundred years of sickness, almost ended. I feel every root that riddles the earth beginning to unfold. But there is one anchor still holding the shadows in place. The soul that brought it into being. For the land to heal, Ketheric Thorm must die.”

“Good thing he’s next on our list then!” Karlach said with a confident grin. 

“Indeed,” Halsin agreed. “With this done, we can focus all our attention on finding Moonrise.” 

The group agreed, though Saff couldn’t help but notice Thaniel seemed particularly focused on her. The others soon began to also notice the way he cocked his head at her in curiosity. 

“Who are you?” he asked. 

“Oh, I’m Saffron,” she answered with a smile, “though you can call me Saff. I‘m one of Halsin’s friends.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her for a long moment. 

“I can sense something on you. A magic… ancient… foreign, yet familiar…” he said, stepping closer as he tried to understand what he was sensing. 

At first she looked at him in surprise, til she suddenly realised what he must be talking about. 

“Oh, that’s… probably the curse,” she said quietly. “There’s a curse on me, but we don’t know exactly how I got it or what it does.” 

Thaniel frowned as he looked at her closely. 

“No… this is no curse,” he said, shaking his head, before a smile came to his lips. “This is a blessing.”  

“A blessing??” she gasped in disbelief. “But… how can this be a blessing? If it wasn’t for Gale and Malitas I’d be stuck petrified in the Underdark forever. I wake up screaming every night from nightmares I don’t even remember… I haven’t slept properly for days, and neither has Gale cause I keep waking him up…” 

Her voice cracked as she spoke. The others looked at her in shock, having not known about the nightmares until now. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. 

“Sorry…” she said quietly as she looked down and held her arms. “I… I just don’t see how this can be a good thing…”

Thaniel looked at her for a moment, then stepped forward and held his hand out. 

“Come,” he said softly. She looked at him hesitantly for a moment, before taking his hand. She knelt down with him as he took both her hands in his. 

“Close your eyes,” he instructed, and she did as she was told. “Now, open your heart.” 

The cold bite of the air around her began to fade to a comforting warmth as she felt something stir deep in her mind. Following Thaniel’s advice she tried to focus on it, to open her heart to it… 

Suddenly the feeling washed over her, and when she opened her eyes, she was no longer knelt in front of Thaniel in their camp in the Shadow Cursed lands. 

She stood in a clearing in a great forest. Above her the moon shone bright in the night sky, surrounded by a thousand gleaming stars. Fireflies and fey danced among glowing flowers. Behind her she could hear people, unfamiliar yet welcoming voices singing in a melodic language she didn’t understand. Ancient pillars of stone circled a pool of water that lay in front of her, glistening in the moonlight. She could feel the magic radiating off it. A magic unlike anything she’d ever felt before… 

“Lledaenwch eich adenydd a dysgwch hedfan…”

She stepped forward, feeling the soft grass beneath her bare feet. Her heart raced, but the gentle voices of those around her encouraged her on. As she grew closer to the pool she could feel the magic growing stronger, reaching out to her. 

“Lledaenwch eich adenydd ac ewch i'r awyr...”

She reached the water’s edge and looked at the reflection of the moon rippling on the surface. The pool beckoned to her, crystal-clear water that sent ripples of moonlight dancing on the stones. She knelt down and slowly reached out, leaning closer, the singing coming to a crescendo as her fingertips neared the water’s surface…

“Lledaenwch eich adenydd, glöyn byw bach!”

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped. Above her the others stood, looking down at her in concern. Gale was closest, and she realised she was lying in his arms. 

“Saff!” he exclaimed in relief. “Gods, are you ok??” 

She blinked several times, the distant echoing voices fading from her mind. 

“Y-yeah…” she stuttered, slowly sitting up with his help. “I had a vision… I was in a forest. It was beautiful. There were people around me singing, but I didn’t recognise the language. There was a magical pool of water in front of me… it felt like it was calling to me. Just as I was about to touch it, I woke up.”

She looked up at Thaniel. 

“What was that?” 

“I reached out to the power I felt inside you, and that was what it showed you,” he answered. “I’m afraid I know no more than that. Anything else, you’ll have to find yourself.”

Once again, she was left with more questions than answers. 

She explained the vision in more detail to the others as they cooked dinner, but they could offer no help or suggestions. She was deep in thought about it when Lae’zel, Shadowheart and Astarion finally returned. 

The group were shocked to see Shadowheart unconscious in Lae’zel’s arms, all three of them beaten and bloody. 

“Some healing?” Lae’zel said disdainfully, holding Shadowheart out to them. Halsin hurried over to them and cast a quick Healing Word on Shadowheart, who woke with a gasp. She looked up at Lae’zel, and just at the moment she realised what was going on, Lae’zel unceremoniously dropped her to the ground. 

“Let us never speak of this again,” sneered, walking away from Shadowheart. Astarion stifled a laugh as he watched them, which Lae’zel noticed. She turned on him with a glare. “You have nothing to laugh about. It is pathetic you were not able to carry her yourself.” 

“My sincerest apologies, darling,” Astarion said insincerely. Lae’zel rolled her eyes and turned away from him as Shadowheart stumbled to her feet, swaying from her still considerable injuries. 

“The shadows proving a bit too much for you all?” Gale teased, to the ire of all three of them. 

“We faced more than just shadows!” Lae’zel snapped, eager to defend her honour. “Two more creatures, twisted by the curse… but that is irrelevant, we have more pressing matters to discuss.” 

Saff and the others stood now and walked over as they realised how serious she was. 

“We have found Moonrise,” she announced. “South of the town across the water. We must head there with haste tomorrow.”

“Alright!” Karlach cheered excitedly, pumping her fist in the air. “Let’s finally get some damn answers!”

“And finally find my father and the tiefling prisoners,” Wyll added, nodding along with Karlach. 

The group grew excited, but Gale remained quiet. Elminster’s words echoed in his head. It is Mystra’s belief that only you can. 

He watched his friends celebrating. One step closer to being cured. One step closer to living the lives they’d all been fighting so hard for - lives that Malitas ensured they’d be able to live now even if he were to use the orb. He’d do anything for them all, anything to know they would be safe.

How easy it was, to deny your destiny when the moment of reckoning was so far away. When it felt like nothing more than a distant possibility. But now the time had come, and he could feel the depths of his responsibility weighing heavily on his shoulders. He cared not for Mystra’s forgiveness, but if it was the only way to save his friends, to save the world… 

Destiny was knocking, and what choice did he have but to answer?

[tabitha42]

I did a shoot with Daniel Bennett (https://www.danielbennett.uk/) at Fantasy Forest a few months ago and am finally getting round to uploading the photos! The location was amazing and the photos have come out beautifully!

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 51

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Saff clung to Gale’s hands as he led her back through the darkness. His angry rant about how foolish it was to run out alone into the curse had quickly come to a halt when he’d seen how shaken she looked. 

She hadn’t told him what happened yet. She was still processing it all herself. It felt like she’d been left with more questions than answers, and she didn’t know what to make of it all. 

They emerged from the darkness back into the safety of Selûne’s light. Saff ignored the questioning looks they got as they walked past the inn and let Gale guide her back to their tent. She followed him in and sat opposite him, breathing deeply as he took her hands in his and tried to catch her eye.

“Saff,” he said firmly, trying to drag her thoughts back to reality. “Tell me what happened.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to decide where to start. 

“I saw him,” she answered eventually. “The one Arabella talked about. Bone Man.” 

His eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“I see. I take it he didn’t try to kill you?” 

She shook her head. 

“No. He just… talked. He said Arabella had to follow her own path, and that I must follow mine. He said he’s an arbiter, one who oversees. He even said he’s been watching us and can bring people back from the dead.” 

Gale scoffed slightly. 

“I think we should take such claims with quite a pinch of salt, don’t you? A mysterious wraith-like creature living within an all-encompassing curse is hardly something I would jump to put my trust in.” 

“That’s not all he said…” 

She took another deep breath, before continuing.

“He said that Arabella would be safe, that the Weave and the powers of nature would aid and guide her… as they have me.” 

She finally met Gale’s eyes, and he could see how nervous she looked. 

“He started talking about every time I used druidic magic. When I healed you and Isobel, how I felt like something was calling out for help when we first got here, even when we found the owlbear cub he said I was following some magic and didn’t even realise. He said… the call heard through my whole life, drawing me to the forests. How could he know all that?” 

Gale paused a moment as he thought about it. 

“Hmm… a Detect Thoughts spell, perhaps? Digging into your mind to find something to make you trust him?” He suggested, lifting a hand to stroke his chin. 

“Maybe… I don’t know. He also said that if I follow my path I’ll find my answers, and my way home, and I’ll find her.”

“Her? Arabella?” Gale asked, and Saff shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I guess so? I don’t know who else it would be…” she murmured, looking away slightly. “And when he said I would find my way home… it felt like he wasn’t talking about Baldur’s Gate…” 

She looked up and met his eyes. 

“I think he knows who I am. Who I really am.” 

“Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Gale said, holding up a hand to stop her. “None of this means anything if we cannot trust this creature’s word.” 

“If we can’t trust his word, then Arabella’s still in danger…”

“Well, there is one spell that can answer that question for us,” Gale said confidently. “I cannot cast it again myself yet, but we know someone who can.” 

Saff had eagerly agreed to his plan, and after explaining everything to the others, wasted no time in sending for Malitas. She now stood with the rest of the group, watching him as he went through the motions of a Scrying spell. There was a flash of magic as he spoke the final word of the incantation, and when he opened his eyes, they glowed white. 

“She is alive,” he reported, his hands moving as he adjusted his view. “Still in the Shadow Cursed lands by the looks of things. Though I can’t say where exactly with any certainty. I see only trees around h-... oh.”

He looked surprised for a moment, then waved his hand and the spell dissipated. 

“I think she’ll be fine,” he said confidently. 

“Why do you say that?” Saff asked, slightly nervous about what his answer might be. 

“Behind her I saw a trail of shadows entangled in thorns, fighting to escape. Seems she can handle herself.” 

Saff breathed a sigh of relief, though she wished it didn’t have to be this way. Even though Arabella was able to defend herself, no child should have to fight for survival on their own. 

“Can you work out where she is, like you did with me?” she asked hopefully. 

“That… would be difficult,” he answered with a slight shake of his head. “The better you know someone, the easier it is to find them. I know you very well, but I’ve only met her twice.” 

“Ok… at least we know she’s safe,” Saff said quietly. She was happy about that, of course, but if that meant this Bone Man truly did speak the truth, then she had a lot to think about. 

“So just to be clear,” Astarion started, “if our good friend Bone Man is telling the truth, does that mean he’s really going to bring us back from the dead if we die?”

“That would certainly make things easier,” Shadowheart mused.

“Ch’k. We don’t need the empty promises of ghosts. We are mighty enough to prevail without the help of this Bone Man,” Lae’zel declared. 

“I agree,” Wyll said with a nod. “First the dream visitor, then Raphael, now Bone Man. We seem to have no shortage of extra-planar help being offered to us. Yet I believe we can face this threat with the merits of our own strengths alone.” 

“That does raise an interesting question,” Gale pondered, stroking his chin. “Raphael and the dream visitor both have something they want from us. The dream visitor claims to have the same goals as us, and though Raphael may have not yet made it clear exactly what it is he believes we can offer him, there is no doubt something. I’m sure our latest visitor is no different. So what is it he wants from us?” 

“I dread to think…” Malitas murmured. 

“As do I,” Halsin agreed. “Any such creature in this place is not trustworthy. I am very relieved to hear Arabella seems to be doing alright, but I don’t think that’s proof we should trust the one that sent her out there.” 

“Gods, you are a grim lot, aren’t you?” Karlach complained, looking round the group. “Arabella is fine and we might have someone who can bring us back to life if we die! Maybe I can even stop worrying about this thing so much,” she said, thumping her fist to her chest. 

“Hmm, you can trust him if you want, but I think I will approach this with a healthy dose of scepticism,” Gale decided. 

Most of the group murmured their agreements, though Gale noticed Saff remained quiet, a troubled look on her face. 

“Well, if that is all settled,” Malitas started, looking at Gale, “I have something I wish to talk to you about.” 

Gale looked to Saff again, unsure if she’d rather he stay with her for now.

“You go. I… need to think about everything. I’ll wait for you in the tent,” she said softly. 

Gale gave her a nod, looking at her in concern for a moment, then headed off with Malitas to find a quiet spot to talk as the group dispersed. 

“Curious business with this ‘Bone Man’,” Malitas commented as they walked. “A new mystery with you lot every day.” 

“We do like to keep things interesting,” Gale joked. “What do you make of it?”

“His statements regarding Saffron are curious. She mentioned he spoke of each time she’d used druidic magic,” he said, then looked at Gale. “Has she really been using druidic magic?”

“Oh yes, most definitely,” he answered with a proud nod. “I might have lost my arm were it not for her healing. She also healed Isobel, and I’ve seen her control the elements in a manner quite different to a wizard’s mastery of the Weave. Halsin says she is learning fast. It has been fascinating to see someone pick up a new form of magic so quickly.” 

Malitas didn’t hide the surprise on his face as he looked forward again. “I see. I suppose I should not be surprised, she’s always been a quick learner. Still, I am impressed… and I am happy for her. It’s always been her dream, yet it was not something I could teach her. Though if this creature speaks truly then it sounds like these powers are something more than standard druidic magic… I can’t help but wonder if some element of sorcery is involved. Perhaps it is worth seeing if she’s capable of using metamagic. And if this creature does truly know who her parents were, then I hope she will finally get some answers. I know she says she doesn’t care about her lineage, but everyone deserves to know where they come from. And as for Arabella… I’m glad she appears to be safe, but it is a great shame it had to be this way for her. An inquisitive mind like hers should be nurtured with care, not thrown out into the world like that.” He sighed deeply and looked out into the distance. “How cruel fate can be…” 

He shook his head, then stopped and turned to Gale. 

“Now, if I might get to the matter at hand.”

He lifted a hand and summoned a book, then handed it to Gale. 

“I came across this in my research. As you can see, I’ve made some notes. Tell me what you think.”

Gale looked at the cover - Netherese Mysteries - and laughed. 

“No prizes for guessing what this is related to,” he said as he opened the book and found Malitas’s notes. “I thought you were going to prioritise the other research avenues?”

“I have been, but have found little of use so far. And, if I’m completely honest, the orb intrigues me. Forgive me for indulging my curiosities.”

Gale could understand that. Once something was on his mind, he found it hard to think of anything else. 

He looked through the notes and the pages they related to, and as he began to piece it together, his eyes widened. 

“Is this… a proposal for how to remove it??” he asked in surprise as he looked up at Malitas. 

“It is the very early stages of such a proposal. There is much work to be done, but I wanted your opinion on what I’ve got so far.” 

Gale hadn’t been intending to spend much time out there with Malitas - he wanted to get back to Saff, knowing she was worried about what she’d been told. But time got away from him, as it so often did, once he was deep in his research. 

By the time their discussion drew to a close, they were sat side by side on a rock and several more pages of Malitas’s notebook were filled. 

“That’s given me a lot to think about,” Malitas said as he stood up with Gale. “I will keep you updated on my progress.”

“Thank you,” Gale said with a nod. “I appreciate this.” 

Malitas gave him a smile, though there was a slight look of hesitation on his face.

“Before I go…” he started, waving his notebook away, “there was one more thing I wished to discuss with you.” 

He reached into his pocket, took something out and handed it to Gale. 

“Another sending stone?” Gale asked as he took the small stone from Malitas’s hands. 

“Yes. Because I know Saffron will never allow you to use hers for what I’m about to propose.”

He looked up to Malitas, both curious and nervous about what he was planning to suggest. 

“And what’s that?”

Malitas took a deep breath, a look of sadness crossing his face.

“If it turns out Mystra is right, if there is truly no other way and you are forced to use the orb… then send for me. I will ensure Saffron, and the others, are taken to safety.”

A lump formed in Gale’s throat as he heard those words, as if Malitas’s offer made the prospect of having to use the orb more real. Maybe because it took away one of the consequences that had helped convince him not to use it…

“You know if it comes to that, Saff will never forgive you,” he said quietly.

“I know. But I would rather her be alive and angry at me, than dead.” 

Gale swallowed and as he looked at the stone. He didn’t wish to use the orb, but… at least now he knew the others wouldn’t suffer with him if it came to that. At least he knew Saff would live on.

With a deep sigh he put the stone in his pocket. 

“I hope you never have to use it,” Malitas said, stepping back from him. “Now I will let you get on with your evening. I think Saffron will appreciate your company.” 

The two said their goodbyes and Malitas disappeared once more. Gale tried to put the thoughts of having to use the stone out of his mind, trying to forget the mental images of Malitas forcibly teleporting Saff away, while she reached out to him and screamed for him not to do it…

The thoughts were finally pushed away as he entered the tent and found Saff curled up amongst the blankets. When she looked up at him, he saw tears on her cheeks.

He sat next to her and she wordlessly leaned into him as he put his arms around her. He said nothing as she cried, he just held her and stroked her hair, giving her all the time she needed. 

“Sorry…” she murmured, wiping her eyes and sitting up slightly as her sobs finally began to subside. 

“Don’t apologise,” he said softly. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” 

“Just… everything,” she answered with a deep sigh. “It’s so much. There’s so much death, so much suffering. Seeing what had become of those nurses, what they did to the surgeon… did you know there were two skeletons on the roof? Lovers, with a book of poetry. Do you think they stayed up there til the curse got them, so they could spend their last moments in each other’s arms? Then Arabella’s parents, and how upset she was… then everything with this Bone Man. If he’s telling the truth, then… what does that mean for me? I… I don’t know what to make of it all. And I’m so tired. With these nightmares I can barely sleep. And I know you say not to worry, but I feel awful for keeping you awake, too. And it’s always so dark… so cold…”

Her voice cracked as a tear rolled down her cheek. 

“I miss the sun… I miss the stars, and the moon, and flowers, and grass, and birds, and butterflies…” 

She trailed off as she leant back into him. He wrapped both arms around her and gave a tight squeeze, kissing the top of her head. 

“We will get through this, I promise you,” he whispered softly. “No matter how hopeless a situation may seem, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Do you know who taught me that?”

She sat up and shook her head as she looked at him.

“You did,” he said with a smile, wiping a tear from her eye. “When I thought I could face the world no more, there you were, my light at the end of the tunnel. Now allow me to be yours.” 

He pressed a loving kiss to her forehead, and when he pulled back, she was smiling.

“Take heart, my love. For there is no challenge we cannot face together,” he said, cupping her cheek in his hand. “We will get through this, and before you know it, we’ll be away from this cold dark land, and walking in the sun once more.”

“I can’t wait,” she whispered, leaning into his touch. “Sorry, I shouldn’t moan so much. I know there’s nothing you can do about any of this…”

“It’s ok. Sometimes we just need to get these things off our chests,” he said understandingly. She smiled gratefully and wiped her tears away, trying not to wallow in her sorrow anymore. 

“What did Malitas want? You two were gone for ages.”

“Ah, yes. He had a proposal for how to remove the orb.” 

Her face lit up. 

“Oh, finally some good news! Do you think it’ll work?”

“I don’t know. There’s still a lot of work to be done. But it looked like a viable start.” 

“Good,” she said with a deep breath of relief. “Even if it’s stabilised, you’re still better off without it.” 

“Couldn’t agree more,” he nodded. “But before then there are plenty of other matters to be addressed, the most pressing of which is dinner. Care to assist me?” he asked, and a wide smile came to her lips. Helping Gale with the cooking always made her forget the stresses of everything they were facing, and she always felt better after spending some time with the others in the evenings. 

“I’d love to.”

---

Sunset cast the city in a deep, orange light. It was breathtakingly beautiful - the cloudless sky glowed while the sea sparkled and glistened, like a thousand droplets of sunlight dancing on the water. She’d been so busy she’d not had a chance to take advantage of the beautiful day they’d had, by far the hottest of the year so far, and even now as the sun was setting it still cast bright rays of warm light through the window. 

She couldn’t stay here for too long, she knew. Not in sunlight like this. But as long as she was here only for a moment, it would be fine. 

Through the window she felt a gentle breeze cool her skin, and smiled as she watched the leaves that flew past in the wind. Briefly she wondered if the little butterfly flew amongst them in the sunlight…

She should really move. Just a moment longer wouldn’t hurt, right? 

She ignored the trickle of sweat down the back of her neck, the growing pain of the heat beating down on her skin, wanting to enjoy the sun’s light just a moment more…

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell and she quickly jumped up, making it to the door just as Malitas opened it. 

“Ah, there you are. I need you to-” 

He stopped in his tracks as he looked at her. 

“Have you been sitting in the sun again?” 

“Is it that obvio-” 

She looked down at her arms and went quiet. 

“Oh…” 

He sighed and gave her a pained look. 

“Didn’t I tell you not to sit in the sun?” 

“You said… don’t sit in the sun for too long…” she murmured, looking away slightly. “I didn’t think this would be too long. I was only there for a minute…”

He shook his head, wincing as he looked at the damage done to her arms. 

“Doesn’t it hurt?” he asked. She just nodded. “Then why do you do it?”

“Because I love the sun…” she whispered. He sighed again and pressed his fingers to his temples. 

“Well, from now on I suggest you love the sun from a safer distance.”

Her eyes snapped back to him. No, please…

“No more sunbathing. I won’t let you get yourself into this state again.”

Her mind raced and every fibre of her being screamed at her to beg him not to do this. To plead, to shout, to cry, whatever it took. Don’t take this from me, don’t take this from me, don’ttakethisfrommedon’ttakethisfromme…

“Of course,” she said with a smile and a nod.   

“Good. Then go have a cold shower, hopefully that’ll be enough to fix this. I’ll be in my study, come find me when you’re done.”

With that, he turned and left the room.

The moment the door closed, she fell to her knees and clapped a hand to her mouth to silence the cry of anguish that tried to escape her lips. Her hands shook as tears welled in her eyes. 

This couldn’t be happening, it couldn’t be… what else did she have left now?

Slowly she rose to her feet, letting the tears fall down her cheeks now as she walked to the bathroom. As she passed the window she paused and looked at the sun-bathed window seat from the shadows she stood in. 

Enjoy the sun for me, little butterfly.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 50

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Another night, another nightmare. She was beginning to feel bad about waking Gale so much, though he insisted it was fine and not to blame herself. She didn’t sleep talk during this nightmare, apparently. She just cried. She’d woken with tears on her cheeks and a deep sadness she still couldn’t shake the next morning. 

Though she soon found out the real nightmare was what they faced that day. 

They’d approached the House of Healing with hope after Saff had seen a vision of Art Cullagh there in one of the shadow vestiges, but witnessing Shadowheart convince the corrupted nurses to tear their master apart had left Saff harrowed. When the group had headed up to the top floor she’d gone outside onto the roof to try to catch her breath, only to find the skeletal remains of two lovers, an old book of poetry by their feet. Heartbroken by the scene in front of her, she headed back downstairs in search of a quiet room away from it all. 

That was when she found Arabella’s parents. 

She’d barely registered as the corrupted nurse spoke of healing the two corpses that lay on the beds either side of her. All she could do was run out of there, out of the twisted remains of the hospital, into the darkness. It was a stupid thing to do, she knew, but she just couldn’t face it anymore. 

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out in the graveyard that bordered the hospital, sitting on a rock staring into the distance, by the time Gale found her.

“There you are! You know I really wouldn’t advise wandering around here on your own, you never know when those shadows could…” he trailed off when he saw the look on her face and the redness of her eyes. 

“Saff? What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting down next to her. For a moment she couldn’t answer.

“I found Arabella’s parents…” she said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. A look of surprise crossed his face, before it turned to sorrow as he realised what her reaction must mean. 

“I see. They were in the hospital?” He asked, and she nodded distantly. 

“In one of the wings. There was a nurse there who said she was healing them…” she trailed off slightly, then closed her eyes in despair. 

“Poor Arabella,” Gale murmured sadly, shaking his head. “A cruel hand fate has dealt her. But we can give her what fate could not. We’ll protect her, as long as she needs it.” 

He took Saff’s hand in his as tears welled in her eyes. 

“How do I tell her…” she murmured, feeling at a loss.

“I can tell her, if you prefer,” Gale offered, but she shook her head firmly.

“No. I’m the one that’s been looking after her, the one who promised to find her parents… it should be me.” 

Saff was firm in her conviction, until the moment she saw Arabella. 

She was talking with Malitas again once they reached camp, and turned to look at Saff with an excited grin when she saw her. 

“You’re back!” she called, running over to her. “Did you find mom and pops??” 

I did! They’re waiting for you at the inn. Let’s go see them!

Her heart broke at the fantasy she’d played out in her head so many times since finding Arabella. The fantasy that could now never come true.

“Arabella…” she started, trying to keep her voice steady as she knelt down in front of her. She could see Malitas a few feet away, having already realised what she was about to say. He stood with Gale, the two of them watching her with sorrowful looks. 

“I… found your parents. But…” 

A look of hope crossed Arabella’s face at first, til it slowly began to dawn on her what Saff was about to say. 

“Arabella, I… I’m so sorry. They didn’t make it.” 

Her smile disappeared and was replaced by a fearful wince. 

“No…” she whispered, shaking her head “No no no… I don’t believe you!” 

It was all Saff could do to stop her eyes welling with tears as she tried to be strong for her. 

“Arabella… I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t say this to you if it wasn’t true. But we’re all here for you, and you can stay with us as long as you need-” “No!” she shouted suddenly, her voice echoing in the darkened campsite. “They’d never leave me! They promised!” 

“A-Arabella…” Saff stuttered, trying to reach out to comfort her, but she slapped her hand away. 

“Get away from me! Go!” she shouted, before suddenly turning and running off. 

“Arabella!” Saff tried to call after her, but she was already gone. 

Saff couldn’t stop the tears now that finally fell down her cheeks. She’d tried to prepare herself for what she knew would be a heartbreaking conversation, but this was even worse than she’d imagined. Gale and Malitas came over to her as she weakly stood up, and Gale took her into his arms. 

“Should I have said something different…?” she murmured, almost to herself, as she leant into Gale’s chest. 

“Nothing you could have said would have changed anything,” he said softly, stroking her hair. Malitas nodded in agreement as he put a hand on Saff’s shoulder.

“She is young and in shock. Give her time. She will come around,” he advised. Saff nodded weakly, hoping he was right. 

The mood was low that night in camp, with most of the group having witnessed Arabella’s reaction. Halsin tried to seek her out, but when he found her she rebuffed his offers of comfort, too. Karlach and Wyll tried to comfort Saff, telling her she’d done everything she could, but she still went to bed with a heavy heart that night. When she woke that sadness still hung over her, though she couldn’t tell if that was from concern for Arabella, or the nightmare she’d woken from in a panic. She felt a lot better, however, when Arabella greeted her with a smile. 

“Hey, you,” she said, walking up to her as she left the tent. She’d clearly been waiting for her to wake up. 

“Hey, Arabella,” she replied softly. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I mean… I will be. I, um… I wanted to say sorry about yesterday, for shouting at you like that…” she murmured, looking away slightly. 

“Oh sweetie, that’s ok,” Saff said, kneeling down to pull her into a gentle hug. Arabella smiled as she leant in and hugged her back. 

“Thanks,” she said with a relieved smile as they parted. 

“And I meant what I said. We’re here for you, and you can stay with us, if you want,” Saff offered, staying knelt down with her as she put a hand on her shoulder. 

“That’s nice of you, but it’s ok. I know what I need to do. Bone Man told me.” 

Saff’s smile faltered. 

“Bone Man…?” she asked, struggling to keep the reassuring look on her face. 

“Yeah! He came to me last night after I ran off. I thought he was weird at first but then he showed me my future. And I… I wish mum and pops was still here, but… I understand why they died now. And I know everything will be ok. I just have to go out there and follow the Weave.”

She now couldn’t hide the look of deep concern and fear that gripped her. 

“Um, Arabella… who is this ‘Bone Man’? What are you talking about?” she asked nervously, and was met with a confused look from Arabella.

“You know, Bone Man! He looks all withered, and he wears long blue robes that are all ripped and tattered and has gold jewellery on his face. You know him, right? He said he knows you.”

She felt a chill go down her spine at those words, but tried not to let the fear get to her. 

“Arabella, listen to me. This thing sounds like an undead, and trusting undead is not a good idea, especially in a place like this,” she said firmly, taking hold of Arabella’s other shoulder. “If you see him again you run, ok? And no matter what he says, do not go out there on your own.” “But…” Arabella started, looking conflicted. “He showed me my future. He helped me. He was nice…” 

“It sounds like he was trying to lure you out,” Saff said, trying to catch Arabella’s eyes. “You’ve seen what this curse can do. You can’t go out there, do you hear me? Promise me you’ll stay here, where it’s safe.” 

Arabella sighed sadly, but nodded. 

“Alright… I promise,” she murmured. 

Saff breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a grateful smile. 

“Good,” she said softly, pulling her into another hug. “Now I’ve gotta get ready. We’ll see you this evening, alright?” 

She pulled back to look at Arabella again, who gave her a nod. 

Saff was rather surprised when the day’s events turned out to involve saving another child, though this one was very different. 

She sat opposite Halsin in camp as he examined Thaniel, hovering his hand over him and bathing him in the orange glow of his magic. After a long moment he lowered his hand and sighed deeply. She listened intently as he explained his discovery - Thaniel had been split in two by the Shadow Curse, and his other half would have been left while he was taken to the Shadowfell. 

“Then we’ll find him,” she said confidently. “Whatever it takes.”

“Thank you,” he replied with a nod. “I can’t say how grateful I am to have you by my side through this.”

“Oh, well, you’re welcome, of course! It’s not just me though, everyone’s been helping,” she said quickly, glancing at the others round camp.

“That’s true, but you’re the one who sits here now, looking after Thaniel with me,” he said softly. “I think you feel it too, don’t you? The way the land calls for help.”

“Yes… I do,” she answered, almost in surprise. “When we first came here, it was like… something was reaching out. Was that Thaniel?”

“Most likely, and possibly his missing half. We need to find him as soon as we can, but I think we are all spent for the day. Thaniel needs to rest, as do you. I know that was no easy fight.” 

He was right - the shadows had seemed endless as they bombarded the group, and near the end she’d begun to fear they wouldn’t be able to hold them back and they’d be overwhelmed. It took a combined spell from herself and Gale to banish the rest of the shadows - a bolt of lightning that had lit up the area and torn through their attackers. 

She nodded in agreement.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” she said, wincing slightly from her injuries as she got to her feet. 

She knew Gale was waiting for her in their tent, and she looked forward to finally lying down and relaxing with him. He looked up at her with a smile as she walked through the door, that smile that could chase away all her fears. 

“How’s Thaniel?” he asked, putting down the book he’d been reading and placing his arm around her as she sat next to him. 

“Not good. Halsin says he was split when the curse took effect, and half of him is still here somewhere. Another child, twisted by the curse. We’ll need to find him.”

“That sounds easier said than done,” Gale lamented. “We still haven’t even found Moonrise yet, and that certainly will be easier to find than a single child.”

“Maybe the others will have had better luck finding Moonrise.” “Let us hope so. Oh! I nearly forgot…” 

She watched as he leant forward and picked up a piece of paper from the top of a pile of books. 

“This was in here. It’s for you,” he said, handing it to her. It was a letter, folded in half, with her name on the front. The writing was messy, undoubtedly that of a child, and the ink was fresh, recently written. She frowned slightly, then opened it and began reading.

Hey you. So, I owe you a lot. For one, I don’t know what the inside of a snake’s belly looks like. For another, you let me stay at your camp. And for ANOTHER another, you found out what happened to mom and pops. 

I’m sorry. I know I promised, but I have to do this. I can feel it. Bone Man says it’s a good thing, I just have to let the Weave guide me. I know you don’t trust him, but I do. And I trust the Weave. It’s leading me out, I know it is. Bone Man says we’ll meet again someday, so I’ll see you then!

Please don’t worry about me. I’ll be ok, I promise. 

- Arabella

“No…” she whispered, her hands shaking as she read the words. “Arabella!!” She shouted as she suddenly leapt to her feet and ran out of the tent. 

“Saff!” Gale called, reaching out, but only managed to brush his fingers against her sleeve as she ran. He picked up the letter she dropped and quickly read it, his eyes widening as he realised what this meant. He dropped the letter and scrambled to his feet, running out after her.

Saff ran through camp, up to the inn, then across the bridge leading out to the darkness, ignoring the strange looks from those she passed. 

“Arabella!” she shouted, her voice echoing in the darkness. “Arabella!!” 

She didn’t even consider how dangerous it was to be doing this. All she could think about was how, if she was quick enough, maybe she’d be able to catch up to Arabella and stop her leaving.

It was soon dark enough that even if Arabella had been standing right in front of her, she wouldn’t have been able to see her. She threw her hands up and cast a Light spell on herself, though that did little more than light barely a few feet around her. But she kept going, absolutely determined, as the twisted trees started to grow thicker around her and the biting cold left her breath misting in front of her…

Suddenly she saw a figure in the darkness. She skidded to a stop, raising her hands in preparation of a defensive spell, only now realising what a dire situation she’d got herself in. All alone, surrounded by the curse, drained and exhausted from battle… her heart raced as the figure began to approach her, stepping into the light…

She gasped.

Long, tattered blue robes. Withered skin, gold jewellery… 

This was him. The one Arabella had spoken of. Bone Man.

“Thou seeketh Arabella,” he said, an unnatural echo to his deep voice. She swallowed nervously, her hands shaking as his dark eyes bore into her. 

“Wh-where is she?” She asked, her voice wavering. 

No, she couldn’t be like this. She had to be fearless. 

She took a deep breath and stood up straight.

“Tell me where she is!” She shouted, her voice echoing in the darkness. 

“No,” he replied simply. She glared at him, summoning a bolt of fire in her hands and brandishing it threateningly. 

“Tell me!!” She shouted again, but the creature in front of her was unphased. 

“Arabella follows her own path now. Thou hath done all thy can for her, the rest she must do alone. She holds a power beyond reckoning - that of the decaying forest, and the seedling that bore it. But she is unbalanced. Her yoke is already heavy; if she walk thy path, it will surely break. Thy paths will cross again, but for now, they must diverge.” 

She slowly found herself growing conflicted. By all accounts she shouldn’t trust this creature, yet… there was something about him. 

“You expect me to just give up and let her go out on her own?” she challenged, ignoring the nagging feeling that she could trust him. 

“Yes. She will find her way to safety. It is fated.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” she said, shaking her head.  

“Fate spins along as it should, whether or not thou believeth in it.” 

“If fate is real, then nothing matters. Whatever happens is fate, we can’t change that. No choice is truly our own.”

“It is possible to defy fate,” he said whimsically, before his tone became far more serious. “I would not recommend defying thine at this juncture.”

“And who are you to say that?” she challenged, the fire bolt flaring in her hands. 

“An arbiter. One who oversees.”

She grimaced. Not a very helpful answer. 

“Arabella said that you told her you know me,” she said, hoping for a more useful answer. 

“I do. So too do I know thy companions. I have been watching thee, ensuring fate follows its path. Should thou stray, I will intervene. Should one of thy companions die, I will cleave soul to body once more.” “You can bring people back to life?” she asked sceptically. He nodded. “Then bring back Arabella’s parents.”

“No,” he replied again, no trace of emotion in his empty eyes. 

“Why not?!” She shouted, her voice cracking with emotion. 

“It is not their fate.”

“Screw fate!!” She screamed, the fire bolt in her hands flaring brighter as she threw her arms out in anger. “I will not let her suffer just because you think you know what should happen!”

“I do know,” he replied, unphased by her outburst. “The Weave, and the powers of nature, will aid and guide her - as they have thee.” 

She froze, her anger turning to confusion and fear at those last words. 

“What are you talking about?” she whispered, her voice starting to shake. 

“A companion healed on the words of a whispered voice. A cub rescued whilst unknowingly following unseen magics. A cry for help heard from these accursed lands. A cleric saved by untold instincts. The call heard through thine entire life, drawing thee to the forests…”

She stared at him with wide eyes as he seemed to look into her soul.

“Follow thy path, and find thy answers. Follow thy path, and find thy way home.” 

Home. Something told her he wasn’t talking about Baldur’s Gate…

The wind suddenly tugged at her robes and sent ancient, blackened leaves flying around her. 

“Follow thy path…”

She looked back to him, and realised he was beginning to fade, the wind a sign of his departure. 

“No, wait…” she gasped, the fire bolt flickering away as she reached out and ran forward. 

“Wait!!” 

One last final gust nearly knocked her off her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut against the wind and held her arms over her face, and in the flurry of wind and leaves around her, she could swear she heard his last words to her, echoing in the distance as he disappeared. 

“...and find her.”

She opened her eyes again and found herself alone. Her heart raced and her hands shook. Had that really just happened? Or had she dreamt the whole thing…? 

She looked up to the sky and watched as the last of the leaves blew off into the darkness.

[tabitha42]

The Wizard's Apprentice - Chapter 49

Saffron is just a lowly apprentice with barely a successful firebolt to her name. So what chance does she have with the arch mage she's slowly falling in love with?

Gale x Tav, slow burn, eventual smut

Chapter 1 Previous chapter Next chapter

Saff woke with a scream, scrambling back from the figure that loomed over her. Her heart raced as it came closer, raising its hands up to attack, chanting her name as it came for her, a look of anger in its cold eyes that shot fear through her heart…

She blinked, and the raging darkness around her faded to a soft orange light. 

Candles flickered gently in the comfort of their tent. Blankets were bundled round her, and she could feel the familiar softness of velvet against her skin. She finally realised the figure in front of her was no attacker at all, but was Gale, looking at her with deep concern in his soft brown eyes. His hands were not raised to attack, but were reaching out to comfort her. 

“Saff…?” he whispered, unsure if she’d snapped out of her dream yet or not. 

“Gale…” she murmured, then winced as she held her head, feeling the headache returning once more. “Gods, not again…”

He moved over to her and took her into his arms, stroking her hair as she leant into him. 

“Do you remember the dream this time?” he asked, but she shook her head. “And the headache is back again?”

“Yeah… same as before…” she muttered. Gale looked very troubled by that.

“Hmm… headaches and forgotten nightmares… this is a strange curse indeed.” 

“You think they’re both related to the curse?” She asked, looking up at him. 

“It seems likely if it’s the same headache. Unless you regularly have nightmares that you don’t remember upon waking?” She shook her head again. “Then I think we’d best keep our minds open to such a possibility.”

She supposed that made sense, but it only scared her more as she thought about what else the curse could be doing to her. 

When she left her tent the following morning she smiled as she saw Karlach happily singing to herself as she prepared for the day ahead. Saff grinned and sidled up to her, just as Karlach had done to her after she’d slept with Gale the first time. 

“Sooo,” she started, mimicking Karlach’s own words, “how was it??” 

Karlach laughed as she put her bag down and turned to face her. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to come ask,” she said with a wink. “Turns out, Wyll wants to take things slow. Real slow. So, we danced, then we sat under the stars and kissed, and fell asleep in each other’s arms. I’d have thought I’d be disappointed by that. But you know what, soldier? I loved it. I loved every moment. Gods, it feels so good to be able to do this! And if he wants to take it slow, that’s fine. I just hope my engine can last long enough…” she sighed sadly as she put her hand to her chest, then squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. “But I’m not gonna think about that now. I’m too happy to let that get me down.”

Karlach smiled widely as she looked over at Wyll across the camp, deep adoration in her eyes. Saff could feel her heart welling with happiness as she watched her. Karlach had deserved this for so long, and she was certain they’d find a solution for Karlach, just like she was certain they’d find one for Gale. 

“I’m so happy for you,” she said, reaching up to put a hand on Karlach’s shoulder. “The night sounds like it was magical. You finally got your dance! You and Wyll will have to dance with us next time we’re celebrating!”

“Oh, absolutely,” Karlach replied with a grin. “We’ll show those boys how to party!” 

Saff was in a good mood as she headed out with Karlach and ‘the boys’ to accompany the Harpers on an ambush mission. One pixie blessing later and they set out with the others deeper into the curse in search of Moonrise Towers. The Harpers could point them in the right direction, but without being able to venture that deep themselves, that was the best they could do. 

The group split to cover more ground, though as the shadows grew stronger, they began to wonder if that had been the best decision. The battles were long and arduous, and there was no way of telling when the shadows would suddenly attack. It was when they finally decided to call it a day and head back that they heard Arabella’s voice. 

Saff was shocked to see her out there all alone, then even more shocked when she trapped a pair of attacking shadows with summoned thorns. She wasted no time in comforting Arabella and agreeing to take her back to camp with them, without so much as a glance to any of the others to see what they thought on the matter. 

“So,” Gale started as he and Saff walked behind the others, watching Arabella happily walking along in front of them while chatting to Karlach and Wyll, “she stole an idol of Sylvanus and now appears to have druidic powers. Clearly you should have done that,” he joked. 

“If only I’d known it was so easy,” she joked back, shaking her head. 

Back at Last Light Arabella was happy to reunite with her friends, and proudly told them all how the hero-lady was going to find mum and pops. Saff could hardly contain her happiness to see Arabella so confident in her. She couldn’t wait to find her parents and see the family safe together once more. 

She spent the evening with Halsin and Jaheira again, finding her balance within the curse, until they headed back to camp for dinner. She found Malitas there, which she’d expected as he’d said he would return that evening to continue his research. What she hadn’t expected was the thousand yard stare on his face as Arabella bombarded him with questions. 

“You’re an elf, right? Are you hundreds of years old? Do you do magic too? Are you Saff’s master? Do you have other apprentices? Can I be your next apprentice?” 

Saff had to stifle a laugh as she watched, and she quickly came to learn everyone else was rather enjoying it too. When Malitas finally spoke, it was with a question of his own. 

“Why are you asking me all this? There are plenty of others here you can talk to. Why don’t you ask them?”

“Because you’re the most interesting one here!” 

Given the cheeky grin Arabella gave him when she said that, Saff had absolutely no doubt that that wasn’t her reason at all - she was actually asking him because he was the most fun to wind up. Given the look on his face, he was well aware of this too. 

The questions didn’t stop as they all sat round the campfire for dinner, though he eventually relented and started to answer them. 

“How old are you?” 

“600.”

“Wow! Exactly 600?”

“No, not exa-”

“What did you do for your 600th birthday?” 

“What? I don’t celebrate my birthdays.” “Why not?” 

“When you get to my age, you stop celebrating them.” “Well that’s dumb. What’s the point in living that long if you don’t have birthday parties?” 

Malitas found he didn’t have an answer for that one, so she kept going. 

“You’re studying the Shadow Curse, right?” “Yes, I am.”

“So do you just sit there all day in a dusty old tower reading books?” “My tower is not dusty-”

“Can you fight?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then why don’t you go exploring with the others?” 

“Perhaps I will, but right now my skills are better put to use with research.” 

“That sounds boring.” 

“To you, perhaps. I find it quite fascinating.” 

“Adventuring has gotta be way more fun. You should try it!” 

An amused smile came to his lips at that comment. 

“Oh, should I? And what makes you think I haven’t been adventuring before?” 

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at him. 

“Have you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. 

“Yes, I have. I spent 300 years travelling and adventuring.” 

Most of the group were quite surprised to hear that, but Saff was well aware. She’d heard some of his stories and seen the room in his tower where he kept the most valuable items he’d found during his adventuring days. 

“Really??” Arabella gasped excitedly, then grinned at this whole new avenue of questioning that just opened up to her. “What’s the most powerful thing you ever fought?” 

“Hmm… that would be an Ancient Red Dragon,” he answered, smiling slightly at the memory. Lae’zel narrowed her eyes disbelievingly. 

“Ch’k. I don’t believe you would be able to best one of my people’s great dragons,” she said, leaning forward as she looked at him accusingly. “It wasn’t aligned with the Githyanki, if that helps convince you,” he offered. That seemed to satisfy Lae’zel, who leaned back again.

“You really won, then?” Arabella asked. 

“No, it ate me,” he said sarcastically, a teasing smile on his lips, which she scoffed at.

“I meant, did you win or did you run away, not did you win or did you die! Obviously you didn’t die!”

He chuckled at her indignation.

“Yes, we won. Just about. We would have lost our barbarian, had our druid not known Revivify.” 

“That’s so cool. I’ve always wanted to see a dragon!” 

“Pray that if you do, it is not in battle,” he advised, which she chuckled at, before getting straight to the next question. 

“What’s the most powerful spell you know?”

“Ah, well that depends on what you think the most powerful school of magic is. Do you wish to see your enemies obliterated? Or protect your allies? Or turn your enemies against each oth-”

“Obliterated!!” She announced eagerly, to his amusement and, seemingly, approval. 

“In that case, Fire Storm.” 

Gale had to smirk to himself. Fire Storm was an undeniably powerful spell, but was certainly dwarfed by the most powerful spells he’d once been able to cast. Perhaps it was petty, but he couldn’t help but be happy knowing that, without the orb and the tadpole holding him back, he’d be quite significantly stronger than Malitas. Not only that, but Fire Storm was a spell that wizards found particularly difficult to learn, but came naturally to sorcerers. Of course his most powerful spell was one he did not need to put any effort into learning. 

Saff was also smiling to herself, though for quite different reasons. Arabella had a charm to her that even Malitas, despite how frustrated he’d looked at the beginning of the evening, couldn’t seem to resist as he now answered her questions with increasing enthusiasm. Though she wondered how much of that was down to the wine in his hands. 

“Did you like adventuring?” Arabella asked next.

“Yes, I did. It was challenging, rewarding and, well, profitable. Though it isn’t a vocation I’d recommend if you are not prepared.” 

“Why did you stop?” 

The smile on his lips turned from one of amusement to something else, something softer. He paused for a moment, looking into his wine, as if contemplating his answer. 

“I stopped to take on a very different sort of adventure,” he answered, then looked back up at them. “I had a daughter.” 

The answer took everyone by surprise, especially Saff, who had no idea about this. 

“You have a daughter??” she gasped, unable to hide the shock on her face. When Malitas looked at her to answer, the soft smile on his lips didn’t disappear, though there was a sadness to it that she didn’t see before. 

“Had,” he corrected. 

She felt her heart sink as she realised what he meant. 

“Oh, gods, I… I’m so sorry…” she said quietly. She’d been shocked he’d never spoken about this before, but now she realised why. “What… happened? If you don’t mind me asking…” 

“Nothing happened,” he said, shaking his head. “She and her mother lived long and happy lives. But…” he sighed slightly, staring into the distance, “the gods were cruel when they decided humans and half-elves should have such painfully short lifespans.” 

His words hung in the air for a moment, til he finished his drink and put his glass down. 

“Any further questions?” he asked Arabella, who for once remained quiet and shook her head. “Then I will return home, I have a lot of research to get through. Until tomorrow.” 

He gave them all a small nod, then stood up, summoned one of his portals and stepped through. The group were quiet for a long moment, until Arabella spoke. 

“I didn’t mean to upset him…” she said quietly, looking downwards. Saff walked over and sat down next to her, putting her arm around her shoulders. 

“You didn’t upset him,” she said softly, comforting Arabella. “I think he quite enjoyed answering all your questions.”

Arabella smiled as she looked up at Saff, who gave her a gentle squeeze.

“Now you’d better get some sleep. There’s a bed for you up at the inn, with the other kids. Get some rest, you’ve had a long day.” 

Arabella nodded, said goodnight to the others and headed off towards the inn. 

“So,” Astarion started with a smirk once she was gone, “a family huh? I didn’t see that one coming.”

Tara huffed slightly disapprovingly. 

“I hope he treated them better than he treated you,” she said to Gale. 

“Well I’m sure they never angered a goddess,” Gale replied. “I also think he’s been quite a lot more agreeable recently.” 

“Perhaps, but he’s still on thin ice as far as I’m concerned,” she said firmly. 

“I can’t believe he used to have a family…” Saff murmured quietly. “He’s never mentioned them.” 

“It is a difficult thing, to watch those you love grow old and die,” Halsin said softly, with an emotion in his voice that reminded Saff that, at 350 years old, he’d likely have gone through similar experiences himself. “Such memories are often not easily spoken of.” 

Astarion rolled his eyes.

“He knew what he was getting into when he chose a human,” he said with a shrug. 

“We cannot choose who we fall in love with,” Gale reasoned. 

“Yeah,” Karlach agreed. “Have a heart, Astarion.” 

“What’s left of my heart stopped beating a long time ago,” he replied dramatically, waving his hand dismissively. 

The conversation eventually moved on, though Saff couldn’t stop thinking about it. Slowly, she began to realise there was so much about Malitas that she didn’t know. 

---

She’d been dreaming of butterflies when she was woken by the sound of the teleportation spell. After quickly chucking some clothes on she’d gone off in search of Malitas, expecting to find him in his study as usual, but had found the room empty. After some searching she finally found him on the second highest floor in the observatory. But it wasn’t reading through the astronomy books that she found him, nor looking through the antique telescope or using any of the myriad of intricate tools that lined the shelves of the room. She found him on the balcony, simply looking up at the stars. She started to approach the balcony door, til she saw what he held in his hand. 

A small, golden locket. 

She knew that locket, and what was inside it. She’d seen it before. The tiny, centuries-old painting of the family he’d once had. He’d spoken of them only once, some time ago, when she’d accidentally found the locket while cleaning his study. She was surprised to see him with it again now, but figured this was not a time to interrupt him. 

Slowly she began to step back out of the room, but evidently wasn’t as stealthy as she thought she was, as he suddenly looked over and turned to see her. Their eyes met for a moment, and he waved for her to stay. She watched as he slipped the locket into his pocket and came in through the balcony door. 

“Evening,” he greeted, his tone a tad more melancholy than usual. 

“Evening,” she replied quietly, her eyes flicking down to his pocket. He noticed and chuckled softly. 

“No hiding anything from you, is there?” he said, taking the locket back out. He leant against the desk behind him, looking down at it as he ran his thumb over the gold engravings on the surface. 

“You don’t need to hide anything from me,” she said softly, walking up to him and gently putting her hand on his. His eyes flicked up to meet hers, before going back down again to the locket he held. There was a moment of quiet between them. 

“Why do you never speak of them?” She asked quietly. For a moment he didn't reply. 

“What is there to say?” he answered eventually. 

“You must have something to say about your family. About the daughter you raised, the woman you loved.” 

“Would you want to hear me talking about the woman I loved?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Would it not bother you if I still thought about her?”

“It would bother me if you didn’t,” she answered, a hint of surprise in her tone as she looked at him. “You loved her. The people we’ve loved and lost should always have a place in our hearts, even if we’ve moved on and found someone else.” 

A look of surprise crossed his face. 

“You really are something, aren’t you?” he said, lifting his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Selfless to a fault.”

“I hardly think it’s selfless to say you shouldn’t forget your family,” she objected.

“You’d be surprised,” he replied, lowering his hands and leaning back slightly on the desk. “Many would not be happy with anything less than the whole of their partner’s heart, even if the one who still owns a part of it is gone.” 

“Well… I think that would be unreasonable,” she said, folding her arms. “You shouldn’t just forget about them. I mean… if nothing else, you’ll see them again in the afterlife, right?”

He scoffed and looked aside. 

“What awaits me in the afterlife? Centuries ago I might have hoped Mystra would find my soul and lead it to Elysium. Now, though… I’m sure she’s heard the things I’ve said about her over the years. Likely all that awaits me is the Wall of the Faithless.”

She looked at him in shock. The Wall of the Faithless, the great barrier that protected the City of the Dead, made up of the souls of those who worshipped no god, left there by the divine to rot and wallow for all eternity. Few fates were worse than that. 

“Then why not find a new god?”

He grimaced.

“Ah, the plight of all mortals, to beg the divine for salvation from eternal damnation,” he muttered bitterly, shaking his head. “Perhaps Saffron can find a new god. I am not so sure about myself.”

“Saff? Why would she need a new god?” she asked, frowning in concern. 

“Mystra groomed Gale since he was a child to serve her, then left him to die when he stepped out of line. She now commands him to detonate the orb in his chest to destroy the Absolute, thus killing himself in the process.” Her eyes widened in shock as Malitas explained. 

“Saffron does not wish to follow her after this. I suppose you’re feeling similarly?”

She looked away and folded her arms as her thoughts were taken off Gale and turned instead to herself. 

“Why would I follow Mystra?” she muttered with a shrug. “Why would I follow any god… they have nothing to offer me.” 

She looked back at him, a look of concern returning to her face.

“Is Gale going to follow her orders?”

“He’s set against doing so. Though I can’t help but wonder what he will do if there is no other choice… I don’t think he would condemn the world for his own sake.” 

She looked downwards sadly, holding her arms. No one should have to sacrifice themselves for a god… and to hear what Mystra had done to him made her sick. Maybe Saff was right to turn away from her…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Malitas chuckle. 

“What?” she asked, looking up at him in confusion. 

“See? This is what I mean. Selfless to a fault. Look how worried you are, about someone you’ve never even met. And not just him, I’ve seen how much you worry for Saffron as well.” 

“Of course I worry about her,” she objected. “How could I not?”

“Not everyone in your position would,” he said, looking at her thoughtfully. “Some would become bitter, or jealous. But not you…” he lifted a hand and gently brushed his fingers over her cheek. “You could never feel that way. You can’t even comprehend wishing for anything but the best for them… for anyone.” 

He leant forward slightly and lay his other hand on her waist, the locket now left on the desk next to him. 

“As kind as you are beautiful. You’re perfect…” he whispered into her ear, leaning in close enough for her to feel his breath on her neck. 

“I think you have a very low bar for perfection,” she said as he brushed his lips over her skin and ran his hand down her body to her waist. 

“And modest, too,” he added with a chuckle. He pulled away just enough to look into her eyes. “You are… intoxicating.”

“You sure that’s not the wine?” she teased playfully, smelling it on his breath. He smiled as he leant in further. 

“I’m sure,” he whispered, closing the gap between them.

As he kissed her, her mind wandered back to his earlier words. Did he really think her such an innocent angel, who could show only love in the face of pain? Oh, how wrong he was. 

Sometimes it felt like bitterness and jealousy were all she knew.