#But Karlach? I sobbed before they updated her ending

[shyspider]

I keep seeing stuff on balders gate! Is it any good?

It is now 😍

[its-jaytothemee]

Until I Met You - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: All Burns Heal

Pairings: Halsin x Tav

Word count: 4,865

Rating: Currently M, will be Explicit in later chapters.

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Summary: Tav comforts Karlach after she's recovered from her burns. The group learns that another gnome may have been left behind and must decide if they can go back to Grymforge and save them. Part 17 of the slow burn fic. Tav and Halsin POVs.

Tags: Slow burn, mutual pining, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, fluff, eventual love confessions, eventual smut, angst, implied past rape/non-con and abuse, graphic description of injuries, brief suicidal thoughts.

A/N: Very dialogue heavy chapter incoming, but half of it is fun and sweet Karlach & Tav fluff <3 Getting ever closer to the end of act 1! Another update should be coming within the next couple of days. Thanks as always for the kind words and your continued reading! <3

Tav made a quick change of clothes in her tent before heading over to Karlach’s. She found Wyll sitting there beside her, Karlach’s back turned to the rest of camp, and she could hear some soft sniffles.

“Karlach?” She called out with no response. Wyll whispered something unintelligible before standing up to greet her.

“Glad to see you doing better.” He clapped her on the shoulder.

“Thanks. How is she?”

Wyll looked over his shoulder to their friend, still curled up on the ground and facing away from them. “Her wounds are healed, but she feels awful, Tav.”

“I know she does.” Tav sighed. “Do you think she’s ready to talk?”

“Isn’t she always?” Wyll chuckled. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit.” He gave Karlach one last look and Tav could have sworn she saw a bit of longing in his one good eye.

“Karlach, love? Can you talk to me?”

“I…” Her soft sobs made it hard to understand what she was saying. “I’m so sorry, Tav.”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for, Karlach.” Tav kept her voice low and gentle as she sat on the other side of her. “You didn’t make me touch you, I chose to on my own. I wasn’t going to let you die in agony on the floor in front of me.”

“This stupid fucking engine!” Karlach cried. “If I get hurt too bad, you guys can’t even get me out without nearly killing yourselves. I hate that you have to make that choice.”

“For what it’s worth,” Tav grabbed Clive who was sitting on the ground nearby, “I’d make the same choice again.”

She turned around to face her at that.

“You would?”

“Every damn time.” She took Clive’s snout and used it to give Karlach a kiss on the cheek. “You’re my best girl.”

“Really?” She sniffled as she took the stuffed bear into her arms.

“Really, really. We’re going to find a way to get that thing fixed, Karlach. And I’m going to make sure you survive long enough for us to find it.” Tav promised.

“Gods I want to hug you right now.”

“I’m counting down the days, my friend. You’ll just have to keep hugging Clive until then.”

Karlach finally sat up next to her.

“Thank you, Tav.” She said quietly as she clutched the small bear to her chest. “You didn’t have to do that. But I’m glad you did, soldier.”

“Anytime, love.”

And she meant it. With a choice between suffering horrible burns and watching Karlach die, it was no choice at all, really. She would do it one hundred times over to make sure her friend lived.

“Lemme see your neck.” Karlach scooted a little closer to her. Tav leaned forward to show the spot where she had been burnt before. “Huh, I can’t even tell where the burn was now. Halsin did good.”

“I figured it would be fine. If he could practically regrow my leg after our first time in the Underdark, a burn must have been nothing.” Tav chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“I mean if anything, the burns give you an excuse to spend some time with him, eh?” Karlach pumped her eyebrows up and down at Tav, causing another laugh from her.

“I think we get plenty of time together while the rest of you are sleeping. Common quirk of us elves.” She started absentmindedly drawing shapes in the dirt near her feet.

“Oh? I haven’t heard much about this yet. Spill the beans, sister!” Karlach pulled a pillow out from behind her and put it underneath her elbows so she could lay down on her stomach and look up at Tav.

“Well, we have been a bit busy lately, and you’ve been going to bed awfully early.”

“Yeah well, I’m awake now. Spill!” Karlach urged.

“Okay, fine.” She would be lying if she said she hadn’t missed gossiping a bit with Karlach. Tav laid down and propped her own elbows on one of Karlach’s spare pillows to face her.

How does she have so many?

She started to fill her friend in on the past few mornings of conversations between her and Halsin, starting with the glowing pond he showed her.

“I’m sorry, he took you to a glowing pond, you kissed him, he told you he thought that you were beautiful, and you didn’t tell me?!” Karlach yelled.

“For fucks’ sake, Karlach!” Tav laughed. “Keep it down at least a little. And it was just a friendly kiss on the cheek.”

“Oh please, as slow as you’ve been moving you may has well have ripped off his clothes then and there!” The volume of her voice didn’t change in the slightest.

Tav buried her face in the pillow beneath her, letting her feet that were kicking behind her fall to the ground.

“So, what now, you’re just ignoring that little intimate encounter?” Karlach asked.

“I’m not ignoring it.” The words were muffled by the pillow smothering her face.

“Then what gives?” She wiggled the pillow underneath Tav’s head causing her to look up from her hiding place.

“It’s like I told you back when we were camping in the Mountain Pass. I just can’t quite figure him out. He goes from telling me I’m beautiful to panicking over me holding his hand. There’s something there but it’s…blocked.”

“Want me to set him straight?”

“Gods no.” Tav begged.

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you guys figure it out or whatever.” Karlach rolled her eyes playfully. “Tell you what, if you need an excuse to get close to him though I can always give you a friendly pat. You know, give you an excuse to go for a little healing.” She gave an exaggerated wink.

Tav let out a snorting laugh. “So that might not be the best idea…” She could feel the blush from earlier returning to her face and chest.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, first of all it was rather painful. Second…he uh…he called me a ‘good lass’ and I nearly passed out.” Tav turned away as her face reddened further, Karlach’s hyena cackle wasn’t helping with the embarrassment.

“Oh, my gods…oh my…Ha!” She couldn’t even talk she was laughing so hard, her fists hitting the ground as she worked through her fit of laughter. “You’re one of those girls, huh? Give you a little praise and you melt into a puddle?”

“I hate you.” Tav shoved her face back into the pillow.

“No, Tav. I think it’s sweet.” She wiped the joyful tears from her eyes.

“What’s sweet?”

Karlach and Tav both screamed in alarm as another voice had joined their conversation. They looked to their side to see Astarion laying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows to match them, a sly grin on his face.

“How are you so quiet?” Tav’s heart pounded against her ribs.

“One of the few perks of being a vampire. Now what are you two talking about? You’re not gossiping without me, are you?” He stuck his lip out in an exaggerated pout.

“Nothing important, love.” Tav tried to shoot a sneaky look at Karlach to keep her mouth shut.

“Fucking liar.” Astarion shot back. “Give me one of those pillows, darling.” He pointed to the small pile behind Karlach and she happily obliged.

“Tav kissed Halsin.” Karlach blurted out.

“Oh? Is that why he was such a flustered mess the other day.” Astarion giggled as he slipped the pillow beneath his arms.

“It was just a quick peck on the cheek, it wasn’t that big of a deal!” Tav glared at Karlach.

“If you say so. You left him in quite a state that morning after…” Astarion trailed off.

“The morning after you drank the blood of some unidentifiable monstrosity and came stumbling into camp drunk as a sailor?” Tav batted her eyelashes at him.

They locked their eyes in a stare down, each waiting for the other to blink. Astarion won, of course.

Damn vampires.

“So, you and the druid…” Astarion’s smug grin was still shining on his face.

Before Tav could make a snarky comment back at him, their conversation was interrupted by Gale.

“Sorry to interrupt your little slumber party,” he had his arms folded across his chest, “but the gnomes from Grymforge are ready to speak with you.”

“Don’t be jealous, Gale.” Astarion giggled as Tav stood back up.

“I’m not jealous.” Gale replied, obviously jealous.

“Don’t worry, Gale. Next time we decide to have a little gossip session, we’ll make sure to invite you too. That make you feel better?” Karlach offered.

“…yes.” He muttered.

Tav couldn’t help but smile as she walked away to talk with their newly free gnome friends. A gnome in a red tunic, Beldron, approached her first.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet us here. We had some rather grave injuries that needed tending.” Tav held a hand out for him to shake.

“The least we could do, I suppose.” He gave her hand a couple of curt shakes. “Gaerdal Ironhand you may not be, but you damn well fight like him.” She smiled back at him.

“Why would a True Soul free slaves? I’m grateful, don’t mistake me, but…”

“The cult thinks they own me. I beg to differ.” Tav shrugged.

“Hurry it up! We need to find Wulbren – now.” Barcus was trying to sound commanding, but the nervous edge to his voice undercut any authority he hoped to project.

“You’re too late, Barcus. He’s already been sent to Moonrise Towers. He…knows things. Things they’ll want to know too.” Beldron’s slight waver as he eyed her from the side told Tav that he knew more than he was letting on.

“This is no time to be coy. What does Wulbren know?” Tav knelt to look Beldron in the eyes. “Whatever the cult wants, whatever those slavers wanted, I can almost guarantee that I want the opposite.”

He considered her words for a moment before responding. “Fine. Wulbren has found the formula for runepowder.”

“What?!” Barcus yelled back.

“Aye. A fistful of the powder could wipe out half an army if the stories were to be believed. But Wulbren thought those were more than legend, so he went and actually found it.” Beldron’s excitement was palpable in his way of speaking. “He had just made sense of the old manuscript when the cult jumped us – so he burned the damn thing.”

“So, if the cult wants to know how to make runepowder…” Tav started.

“Then they’ll have to pry it from Wulbren’s head.” Beldron finished.

Tav shuddered to think of what the cult could do with such a terrible explosive. A weapon of such mass destruction could hardly be trusted in the hands of those with the best intentions, let alone those who served a mind flayer cult.

“Then we’ll have to get to him first. We’ll be leaving for Moonrise the day after next, we could travel together and find him.” She offered.

“My people can barely stand. And we have business in the city, we can’t lose time chasing after false hopes.”

“And just like that, you’d leave Wulbren behind?” Barcus interjected, the hurt look on his face twisting his expression. “I knew you lot were foolish, but I didn’t think you were cruel.”

“If you knew half as much as you think, Barcus, Wulbren might have kept you around.” Beldron snapped back.

The two gnomes continued to bicker in front of her about their next steps. Beldron was adamant that they needed to leave for Baldur’s Gate, Barcus held his ground that Wulbren should be their priority.

“Enough, this fighting won’t help anyone.” Tav rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Our path will take us to Moonrise, I’ll do what I can to free him if he’s still alive. Thulla is waiting in a nearby colony of myconids, we can escort you there so you can take your leave when you’re ready.”

“Wulbren would admire your resolve. Should you find yourself in Baldur’s Gate, seek us out.” He gave a small nod before walking away to join the others.

If I find myself in Baldur’s Gate again, I’ll have need of all the friends I can get.

“Done me a decent turn again. It was most amusing watching you wallop those greylings.” Barcus remained standing at her side.

“It was nothing.” Tav tried to muster a smile to reassure him. “How did you find yourself captured by duergar since our last meeting?”

“I came down here looking for Wulbren. I suspected he and his little friends might’ve come to this region, and I was right.” Barcus shook his head lightly. “But I was too late. Wulbren had already been taken to Moonrise Towers. The rest you saw had been put to work.”

Tav nodded along as she listened, sensing something else troubling the skittish gnome. He shifted in place as his eyes darted to the other gnomes just out of earshot.

“What’s on your mind, Barcus?” She asked, keeping her voice quiet.

“These other gnomes, they call themselves ‘Ironhand Gnomes.’ You won’t find a worse gaggle of rare-do-wells than them.” His voice was a nervous whisper, keeping an eye on the others to make sure they wouldn’t hear.

Tav glanced over at the others as well. Barcus saw a group of ruffians where she saw a battered and exhausted group of gnomes.

“They’re desperate to recreate that runepowder, to bring ‘glory’ back to our people. They’ll stop at nothing and wait for no one to achieve their goals. You see the extent of their loyalty. They’re not even going after him. I wish I were surprised.” Barcus shot a glare at Beldron and the other gnomes. “And so…to Moonrise Towers I go.”

His sudden resolve startled Tav, but she still caught the hint of uncertainty that clouded his tone.

“First things first – you’re exhausted. You should stay here and rest. We can travel to Moonrise together.” Tav gestured back at their camp.

“Certainly not!” He took a step back in offense. “My friend has been taken captive. He needs me.”

“Come now, this is no place to travel alone, the land around Moonrise is even more dangerous. I don’t want to have to rescue you a third time.” She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Or find out I was too late to rescue you a third time.”

“I was only unlucky twice, slim chance it’ll happen again. Although…” He looked over to where Wyll and Halsin sat by the fire, snacking on a few nuts and dried sausages they had stashed away. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to take a brief moment of respite, let me think.”

Tav waited patiently as Barcus paced back and forth, every now and then letting out a pensive hum as he thought through his options. The fatigue of the day was already catching up to her despite their short time away from camp.

“Very well, I suppose if you’re going to Moonrise anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to have some company.”

“Glad to hear it. Find a spot, settle in. We’ll only be down here a couple more nights.” He seemed to relax a bit, but his eyes still darted around him.

“Is there something else?”

“I think one last gnome was left behind.” Barcus wrung his hands as he spoke with her.

“We still have some exploring to do, we can look for them.” Tav assured him.

“It would be most appreciated. His name is Skickpit, he wasn’t mining with the rest of us.”

“We’ll make our way back and find him.” Tav stood back up.

“That is most kind of you. Now, I think I’ll have a seat for a moment. It’s quite nice to not be surrounded by lava.” Barcus took a few steps toward the fire before turning to look back. “And, erm…thank you.”

Tav nodded back and followed him over to the fire to speak with Wyll and Halsin. If one of the gnome slaves had been left behind, she wasn’t going to leave them there to be tortured alone.

“What’s the word, Tav?” Wyll was finishing up his midday snack.

“One of the gnomes was left behind, he wasn’t mining with the others. I think we should go back and get him.”

“Today?” The concern in Halsin’s voice was obvious.

“I mean, we still have plenty of daylight, er, daytime…” She furrowed her brow. “Whatever you want to call it down here.”

“And you were just half dragged back to camp an hour ago, my friend.” Halsin countered, his voice ever gentle, yet firm.

“That was my own fault for touching Karlach. We took care of the duergar and Nere easily enough, getting one more gnome out should be no trouble at all.”

“If that’s true, then I’m sure the others could manage without you so you can rest.” Halsin still insisted.

“I don’t need to rest, you got me all healed up.” Tav was smiling, but her words came out through gritted teeth.

“You said your magic is spent for the day.”

“Yeah? And do you think I carry this bow around just for show?”

He just pursed his lips in response, those smoldering eyes trying to burn into her soul. Despite how weak it made her knees feel, she held his gaze.

Wyll cleared his throat, startling them out of their staring contest.

“I can’t help but agree with Tav. If the other duergar there catch wind of our little fight, that lone gnome could pay a heavy price.” His eyes shifted uneasily between the two elves as they exchanged their concerned glares.

“Exactly, thank you Wyll.” Tav crossed her arms. “I won’t let a slave we left behind pay for our attack.”

“Of course, forgive me.” Halsin stood up and gave her his typical fisted salute over his chest before walking away from them, sending a stab of guilt through her gut.

She had really thought he would understand. Surely Halsin of all people wouldn’t want them to leave someone behind in slavery, to be left as the sole bearer of retribution for the others’ escape?

“Would you see if Karlach will stay here? I don’t think we want to risk another incident with her engine.”

“Sure thing, shouldn’t take too much convincing.” Wyll slapped his knees as he stood up. “Perhaps we should split up. Leave a couple of people here to deliver Nere’s head while the rest re-infiltrate Grymforge?”

“Good plan. I’ll go get ready.” She had to go find her armor and load back up on potions and–

“Tav?”

She spun around to look at him again.

“You know no one here doubts your skills, right? Even so, sometimes we…worry about you. We can’t help it. Just as I’m sure you worry about us.” His eyes glanced at Halsin who was kneeling over his bag not far away, fighting to keep Scratch’s nose out of a pack of herbs.

“I know. It’s just…” She let out a frustrated grunt. Dealing with this underground slave ring was taking a toll on her, but she couldn’t tell them why. Not yet.

It was all getting to be too much. The tadpoles. Her family coming back to haunt her. Each new friend that had a long list of ailments and problems. Every day was two steps forward, one step back. Slowing their progress and gnawing endlessly at her subconscious.

“Do you ever feel that no matter how much good we do, no matter how much evil we see come to light, it really does feel as if it’s all for nothing? You said you’ve lived what, two hundred years? I’d wager that it would take some days for the two of us to recount the good deeds we’ve done yet it still feels like it’s but a drop of rain in the sea.” The sudden change in Wyll’s tone snapped her out of her spiral.

More from you than me I’m afraid.

“Yes.”

He gave a forlorn nod, averting his eyes to the ground.

“It’s easy to think that way when we spend so much of our lives fighting those evils. People like us don’t get breaks. We don’t get time to recover. We just keep pushing forward. But today?” She walked over to place a hand on his arm. “Today, we can see here in front of us the lives that we’ve changed for the better. And we know there’s one more that needs us.”

“It’s not just the gnomes here today that have you to thank.” Tav jumped as Halsin reappeared behind her. “You forget that I too would have met my demise if not for your kindness and bravery. Not to mention countless tieflings and druids at the Emerald Grove. Wyll, I want to be able to tell you that the weight upon your shoulders becomes lighter as time goes on but…” He trailed off to look at Tav again.

“Sometimes the best we can hope for instead is to find someone else willing to help bear it alongside us.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing I’ve found so many broad-shouldered friends.” Wyll’s dashing smile had returned at Halsin’s reassurance.

“What can I say? I’m happy to help where I can.”

“Thank you. Both of you.” He gave another small nod before running off toward the others.

“Sometimes I forget how young he is, even by human standards.” Tav watched as he jogged up to Karlach’s tent, where Gale had taken her place on the ground.

Oh gods, what are they talking about now?

“He’s right, you know.” Halsin rubbed the back of his neck before running the hand through his hair. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“We do worry about you.” He paused. “I…worry about you.”

“I know.” A small smile pulled at her lips.

“I don’t want to stop you from doing what you think is right. I just have a difficult time seeing you return in such a state is all.” He shifted nervously in place.

“And yet, I’m more comfortable putting myself in danger when I know I have you waiting here to help me.”

“Always.” He whispered the word, almost as if he didn’t mean to speak it aloud.

For a moment, the air between them was charged again. Unspoken, crackling desire pulsing to the same rhythm as their heartbeats. She almost dared not touch him, worried that it would send another spark to tease the fire always burning low in her stomach. But he reached out anyway.

The familiar feel of his arm around her shoulders as he pulled her into a hug caused an involuntary sigh.

“Please don’t take this old fool’s worries as a distrust of your abilities.” His voice was quiet when he pulled away from her. “Just try to be careful.”

Tav hugged herself back against his side.

“I’ll try.”

***

Tav took off to go and put her armor back on before they left for Grymforge again. Halsin felt a bout of shame rip through him. Once again, his personal feelings trying to cloud decisions being made for the good of the group, for the good of other innocents they were trying to help. Of course she could handle herself, and it was obvious that the others would also protect her. Yet for the second time, he watched as she was dragged back into camp horribly injured and the scene upset him more than he would have expected.

He was a healer, and a skilled one at that. Many of the injuries he had seen and tended to in his long life would churn even the strongest stomachs. But each time Tav was barely able to stumble back into camp whether it be from gashes, burns, or fatigue, the sight caused him to lose all reason and critical thought.

Knowing she was out risking her life each day made it all the more difficult to stay behind in camp. He wanted to help, he wanted to go explore and be by her side to support her. To support all of them. But he knew he couldn’t risk it. He had seen the state of their return on multiple occasions, he knew how many close calls they had already endured.

Regardless of the perils they faced in their daily outings, his priority had to be making it to Moonrise alive. He was the only one who could banish those shadows, Silvanus had made that clear. For now, he had to stay behind for the more dangerous parts of their journey. He had to stay alive and well for Thaniel and everyone touched by that wicked curse. Though little comfort it was to him, he told himself he could at least be here in camp ready to tend to their wounds.

When he looked up, Tav was trotting back over to the rest of them, her hands weaving the thick strands of her hair together behind her head to fix it back into her signature braid.

Wyll and Gale caught Tav and the others up on the items they found on Nere’s body. Astarion claimed a dagger and a pair of boots, while Wyll claimed a rather fine rapier. Tav plucked the mind flayer tadpole that had been harvested into a small vial and stored it away with the others they collected. He wasn’t quite sure why they were keeping them; they had already refused to consume any to further their illithid powers.

Otherwise, there was a good number of valuables on the drow that they could at least sell. One last item seemed to catch Tav’s eye – a broken lantern.

“Have you figured out what left this residue?” She asked the others.

“I haven’t investigated it hardly at all, just pulled it off Nere’s body with the rest of the items.” Gale shrugged before holding out his hand to request the lantern.

He turned the odd contraption over in his hands as he studied the iron frames. One of his fingers drew a line in the dust before pinching the soft powder between his index finger and thumb.

“May I?” Halsin held his hand out as well. He held it up to his nose and lightly inhaled before also rolling a bit of the powder between his fingers. Based on the thin layer of dust inside of it, it didn’t appear to run on oil or even fire. This was more…shimmery? As if ground from pearls. He would have expected to see ash or scorch marks, but instead just that small gathering of powder in the cage. On the few glass panels that weren’t broken, there were grooves on the inside that almost looked like scratch marks.

“Is this…?” Gale hesitated. “Is this pixie dust?”

“By Silvanus…it is pixie dust. Wily little creatures.” He handed the lantern back to Tav. “Why would a drow have been carrying a pixie around in an old lantern?”

“I’ve no clue. We’ll keep an eye out once we go back across the lake.” Tav set the lantern back down.

“That means you’ll have to leave some of the duergar living long enough for us to ask about it, Tav.” Astarion was sitting on the ground next to them, trying on the boots he nabbed from their spoils. She shot a glare back at him in response.

“We can question them first, but regardless we will be leaving with that final captive gnome. If that means we kill the rest of the duergar, so be it.” She spat the words with a particularly vicious venom that caused the others to exchange nervous glances.

Something else was bothering Tav, Halsin was sure of it. The pure vitriol seeping from her when she spoke of the slavers…

The contempt in her voice was such a stark difference from her typical demeanor. She had said her father was a cruel man, could he have been tied to a slavery business? Or gods forbid could she have been part of one herself? A shudder ran though his body, shaking the thoughts away. Best not to let his mind run amok right now.

“Okay, then. Karlach and Wyll are staying here to deliver Nere’s head and escort the gnomes to the myconid colony. The rest of us will go across the lake again. Once we have the area cleared and the last gnome rescued, Gale will set a travel rune so we can bring the rest of you as well.” Tav recounted their plan with effortless clarity while she also checked the tension of her bow and adjusted the straps of her armor. Every time he sat and watched her command the attention of a large group, he found himself in awe of her.

“See you soon, gang!” Karlach waved as they started to make their way past camp then turned to Halsin. “Feel like talking a walk with us, bear man?” She smiled at him as she slung the cloth containing the drow head over her shoulder.

“I’d be happy to.” The myconids were close by, and taking a short walk might help clear his head. But for just the briefest moment, he could have sworn he saw disappointment flash across Wyll’s face.

[breelandwalker]

THE FINAL UPDATE:

Y'all know that feeling when you get onto a rollercoaster and you think you're ready and you're all braced for shit, and then you just get thrown around and windwhipped to hell and back and you scream your head off, and then suddenly the ride is over and you're sitting at the depot like tf just happened.

That's kind of how the last stretch of missions went.

With as few spoilers as possible, highlights include:

closure and reconciliation for Wyll and his dad (YES. ULDER. YOUR SON IS A GODDAMN HERO. SHOW SOME RESPECT.)

meeting Voss' dragon pal

finally beating the shit out of Gortash (good GODS if ever a man needed his entire ass kicked up and down the entirety of the Sword Coast TWICE)

sobbing my entire heart out over the ensuing conversation with Karlach (my sweet bestie, the narrative did you so dirty, you deserve the fucking world 😭)

classic puzzle-solving dungeon crawl under Wyrm's Rock with a rotating crew bc different things need different skillsets and maybe i wanted to pretend the whole gang was there don't judge me (but we are judging the SHIT out of Astarion for apparently being a REAL asshole in his previous career, you sure your last name is Ancunin and not Turpin? no more gavel for you)

DRAGON DRAGON DRAGO-....oh. that's gonna complicate things.

WAIT NEVERMIND

....i'm sorry, the Emperor is WHOMST??????

welp.

props to Wyll for coming into his own and also Blade of Avernus sounds way more badass than Blade of Frontiers (also I see you and Karlach vibing back there, don't think we didn't notice 😏)

So then there was nothing left to do but one last supply run, one last round of hugs and kisses in camp, and then off to fight the big brain. (For those wanting to know, my final fight team was Karlach, Astarion, and Shadowheart.) We got thrashed for a bit, then it was into the prism to regroup. We did choose to free Orpheus, which didn't go over well with Tall, Dark, and Squidly.

From there, we portaled back to the Gate for one last rally, walked into the High Hall like Aragorn returning to Edoras, and....wow, I had no idea we had so many allies. Like I knew we'd helped a lot of people but DAMN. The entire room was full!

AND MY BABY OWLBEAR WAS ALL GROWN UP AND ARMORED! Omg my sweet floofy boy, all ready to rip and tear. Mama's so proud! Also SO much tiefling solidarity. All my peeps from Arabella to Zevlor turned up and I know it's game canon but my girl couldn't help having a moment of I Think I Have Done A Good For My People Here.

Then it was all a blur of stairs and fighting and dodging artillery and calling on allies and okay can we BREATHE for five seconds? Angelic Reprieve, Hero's Feast, and....here we fuckin go.

The last fight is BRUTAL. Even in Explorer, it pulls no punches and it took me a few tries. But in the end, WE WON. The big brain went squish, the floating mind palace fell into the river, and we all washed up like half-drowned rats to find a whole lot of dead mindflayers and a city that is once more safe...for now.

The Aftermath: (Spoilers for endgame)

Orpheus asked for an honorable death and bequeathed his dragons and his mission to Lae'zel, who promptly took off for the Astral Sea to liberate her people. Cue my tiefling waving goodbye like, you're still an insufferable cunt, but I respect you.

Gale decided to be a bit of a dick about the crown and sort of just...walked away to become a god. (And then was even MORE of a dick at the reunion party later.) So much for that. Guess my tiefling made the right choice after all.

With the tadpoles out of commission, Astarion became allergic to the sun again and had to SCAMPER away from the docks before he burned up. We'll catch up with him later.

Karlach's engine finally gave out and as she was starting to burn, Wyll stepped in and offered to escort her back to Avernus to save her life, promising he'd keep her safe from Zariel. Then we got a nice little cutscene of the two of them preparing to kick INFERNAL amounts of ass together. (I SHIP IT SO HARD. LARIEN YOU COWARDS, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN AMAZING DLC.)

Once everything calmed down and the remaining party members retreated to the Elfsong for some heavy drink and a good night's sleep, we got our romantic epilogue. And of COURSE, my tiefling is staying with her bitchy feral tomcat of a vampire, who is SO much happier now, and they'll be setting out on a quest to find him a way to walk in the sun again. And is it a coincidence that the Til Death Do Us Part ring is on her finger? No it is not. 🥰

Six months later, we catch up with everyone at the reunion party, learn some fun new developments (AGAIN, MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR DLC), read some grateful letters from the people we helped, and rest on our laurels for the time being.

Bit of a shame we have to wait until the party to find out how things went for Halsin, but as predicted, Papa Bear (DADDY HALSIN gfdi devs you did that on purpose) has built a refuge in Reithwin for anyone who needs a place to go and is raising several dozen orphaned children as a single dad. And yes, he will be seeing his tiefling honey there very soon to help with storytime. Among other things. 😏

So that's the end! We saved the world, we saved everyone we could possibly save, the whole party made it out alive and they lived happily ever after. What a glow-up it's been. My tiefling started out with nothing, just a broke homeless druid from the Gate, and wound up becoming a hero, saving the realm, making some amazing friends, elevating her people, and finding love not once, but twice.

Fabulous game, 100/10, will play again and again and again. Feel free to drop questions in my inbox if you have them.

Until next time!

Tfw you're nearing the end of Act II in your BG3 run and you realize you've fallen into the exact trap you said you were going to avoid FROM THE BEGINNING.

The devs knew exactly what they were doing, didn't they.

[soldiermom1973]

It's over.

Y'all, when I say I cried, I fucking mean I cried.

The fight was much easier than I thought it would be. Having a guide helped tremendously - the final fight (with the psyche) took less than one turn, thanks to Gale's Artistry of War. I'm really glad I read about that tidbit weeks ago & held on to the info. I also focused on the dragon first, mainly for the achievement, and it went down fairly quick (not sure if the Dragon Slaying arrows I hoarded for Astarion helped or not). If I do an honour run, I might use the orb, just to make sure some bug or something doesn't cost me a run. I've seen read too many stupid ways people's HM runs have ended and if I make it that far, I'm not leaving anything to chance. I love Gale to pieces, but that's a sacrifice I'll be willing to make. I also didn't have to use all of my allies. I either got really lucky or I really underestimated myself.

AND MY TAV LOOKS NORMAL AGAIN. I will never do the half illiithid thing again. Except maybe for an honour run. Maybe.

And of course, she & Gale got married. Which reminds me - Tara is quite the passive-aggressive jealous tressym, isn't she?

I sent Karlach back to Avernus with Wyll. I honest to god thought she was going to die and I sat in my chair ugly sobbing, trying to figure out what I did wrong when Wyll stepped up & said about them traveling together. But then there was a cut scene that made it seem like Tav was with them and she wasn't. It was weird and broken and I don't know why.

I had Gale give the crown to Mystra. I was hoping there was a cut scene for that, but I didn't get one. Just the proposal scene & him without the orb. I'm not super worried about it, though. I'm quite pleased with what I got.

And can we talk about the reunion at camp? It was so nice to catch up with everyone. I got to hug Shadowheart even though I never really took her anywhere. I got to hug Halsin because of course I did. I would have liked to have asked Astarion for a hug, too. And I'm so mad I couldn't 'talk' to my owlbear or Scratch. I'd used potions before (or switched to Karlach & had her cast the spell) and I couldn't do either. Ugh. I was still able to send the owlbear with Halsin, though.

Withers absolutely fascinates me. I don't know much of anything about D&D lore outside of BG3, but the things he knows and is able to do just really intrigues me. I do wish more people had been at the reunion. Maybe some surviving allies? I dunno. I shouldn't complain - I really was happy with what Larian gave us.

I was talking to my kiddo the other day about the fact there won't be any DLC. When I first heard it, I was still in the early stages of the game and was disappointed. Now that I've finished and I realize just HOW FUCKING MUCH THERE IS, it's understandable. I really think any DLC would have to happen in-game, so to speak. There are far too many endings and variables to account for to make a good post-game DLC.

So I'm sitting here in my chair, so caught up in my emotions about freaking fictional characters again. I'm still near tears about it all and have so many plot bunnies it's stupid. But you know what's worse? I said I wasn't probably going to so another playthrough until winter when I was down to working just one job. I think I might have been kidding myself because I'm starting another playthrough right now. I have a better understanding of the mechanics and damn it I just want more of the characters. I might even save Lae'zel this time. Plus there are other achievements & things I missed this first time around.

Thank you to everyone who tolerated or maybe even enjoyed my updates. I might blog the next playthrough, too, and I'll try to come up with a unique tag you can filter out if you don't want to see my drivel about it.

Oh, and please relax your jaw, drink some water, and take your meds if you haven't yet.

My youngest got me BG3 for my birthday. I want to like this game so much... I hope I don't have the same problems with it like I did the witcher.