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smolgloves · 10 days ago

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The Wizard and The Herbalist

Summary: Gale and Freya put their skills together for the perfect potion

Tw: mentions of crushing? Nothing too crazy, this is all fluff

I think I got it!” The wizard exclaimed as he paced around his tent with a book in hand. Curiosity had taken hold of Freya near the campfire, Gale was so engrossed in whatever he was reading that he was absentmindedly walking around for the past hour. She didn't dare go near him during his trance lest she wanted to get stepped on, he normally was more aware of the borrower's presence but after that one time involving the fish barrel… Pushing those thoughts aside, Freya ambled over to Gale.

“What are you on about?”

Gale smiled down at the borrower. “Ah Freya, I was just about to look for you.”

“I was near the campfire.” She giggled, then raised an eyebrow at him. “But tell me, why were you going to look for me?”

Gale knelt down on the terrain, stifling a groan along the way down and flipped the book over to Freya. She noticed the images of Sylvan stone and a Gauth eye. “I think I have found a way to make the size reduction spells more effective!”

Freya cocked an eyebrow. “Effective how?”

There was a joyful gleam in the wizard's eye. "I could reduce the height of one of our companions to a range closer to your height.”

She stared up at Gale with wide eyes. There wasn't many times others had shrunk down; if they needed to sneak into any place that required crawling through a crack in the wall, Freya was always the first to volunteer, but when they shrunk, they still towered over her. Freya only reached their knees, which was less daunting than the usual, but it still wasn't like talking to a borrower. She missed being able to talk to someone in the eyes without craning her neck or being able to wrap her arms around someone in a full embrace. As comforting as it can be to be held in a hand, physical contact was still so much different than before, she never would have realized how much she would miss the little things like that. “You're kidding.”

“Quite the contrary.” Gale pointed at the eye on the page. “The Gauth eye is said to make spells much more potent. So say we add ingredients that are used to make potions that deal with size shifting and I drink it….”

“Then you can do a more powerful reduction spell!” She beamed.

“Spot on.” His smile grew. “And I think I know of a little herbalist who could help me.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!”

~~~~

Back at home, Freya spent time in the greenhouse making potions and salves all day, but she never brewed anything beyond healing elixirs before. Skaars Hollow never had any type of ingredients that could let her experiment with doing anything as advanced as transmutation! Gale gathered the supplies and went to work grinding up the gauth eye and sylvan stone, while Freya oversaw the progress of it all, making sure the ingredients were mashed to perfection before they began the potion brewing.

At last, the potion was complete, it stood tall over the borrower, holding an orange liquid within. Freya stared at with wide eyes. “Do you think it's ready?”

“I believe we gave it enough time to settle.” Rubbing his chin, Gale tentatively grabbed the bottle and popped off the lid. “In a normal trial, one would run tests to make sure this was safe to drink… but I trust your expertise.”

Freya couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face. “You're the one who did the work.”

He smiled. “True, but your guidance was instrumental to the success of this.”

Despite the swelling pride growing in her, Freya couldn't help but shy away from the praise. “I think you should talk less and drink the potion.”

Gale laughed under his breath before pressing the bottle to his lips. The orange liquid disappeared down his gullet, no drop was left behind. Gale took a breath. “Not the worst potion I've drank, but the taste is left to be desired.”

“But did it work?” The anticipation in her voice was palpable.

“There's only one way to find out.” With a flick of the wrist, Gale's hand lit up, a pale blue light snaked down from his fingertips to his palm. He pressed his hand to his chest and with a smile, he uttered a phrase: “Diminue.”

Gale dwindled in size before Freya's very eyes, she watched as he disappeared beneath the table, normally a larger one would just reach a low table such as the one by the wizard's tent. Freya dashed to the edge and peered over it. There Gale was, waving up at her at tiny height, this needed to be seen up close! Freya undid her grappling hook and descended down to the rocky ground.

It almost felt like a dream walking up to Gale; a larger being now reduced to five inches. This should have been a work of fiction, but when she reached out with a shaky hand and brushed against his arm she realized just how real this was.

“Gale, you beautiful bastard, you did it!” The shrill joy could not be contained! Freya pulled him into an embrace.

“Well this certainly is more comfortable than staying on one's knees for an extended amount of time.” Gale said with a titter.

“Or constantly looking up.”

Gale pulled away, glancing around the world around them, his tent loomed over like a building, his books became towers, and rocks became boulders. “I must say, the world feels vastly different from your point of view.”

Freya raised a brow. “Care to elaborate?”

“Sometimes, this world feels small, like you could explore Faerun before your life is over.” Gale fixated past the sandy beach to the murky waters ahead, his brown eyes wide with wonder. “But at this height, I'm looking at a world I'm familiar with, and I'm coming to the realization that there is so much more to this world than I have ever known.”

“I'd agree with you, but I've only ever known this perspective of the world.” Freya stood beside Gale, his wonder had spread to her. “Maybe one day you could show me that side of the world.”

“It would be my honor.” A smirk spread across his face. “But first, I want to explore the campgrounds through your eyes.”

“But of course.” Freya began walking, motioning for him to follow her. She was accustomed to walking around this rocky terrain, stepping over pebbles that would have been missed by larger beings. If only Gale was as aware. He stepped onto some loose rubble and nearly stumbled into Freya. Immediately, he began to revert back to his normal height.

Freya gasped out, for a moment, she feared the wizard would fall into her but he fortunately braced himself, his arms on either side of her and his face a mere inches from the tiny lady.

“Gods, I'm terribly sorry, Freya.” Gale quickly sat up to give her some space. “It seems this spell requires more concentration than a normal reduce spell.”

Despite the near death experience, Freya couldn't help but laugh. The spell was short lived but there was hope. “I think we'll have to do a few more trials before we attempt that again.”

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smolgloves · 10 months ago

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The Trial

Summary: Freya is reunited with her cousin, but must face a trial for breaking the rules

Tw: mentions of death, mentions of slavery, transphobia/enbyphobia, deadnaming

Deep underground, unbeknownst to the people of Skaars Hollow, was a colony of borrowers. Tunnels were painstakingly carved by the tiny people to keep such a large group hidden from the larger beings. Uncle Eskel said it was better that way, but after sitting in the empty room with only four dirt walls to keep her trapped, Freya started to wonder if this way was truly keeping her people safe or if this was merely a way to keep them sheltered.

The door creaked open and a figure not much taller than Freya slipped in. “I can't stay here long but you need to tell me everything.”

“Kes!” Freya jumped up from the bedroll and practically tackled her cousin into a hug. His arms wrapped around her and she was fully embraced in the familiar scent of smoke and ash that clung to him. “I was worried sick about you.” He said, trying to sound stern but the crack in his voice gave himself away.

“I know, I'm sorry.” Freya pulled away from Kes to meet his gray eyes. Soot smeared his round cheeks; when Freya slipped out of the border, he was still in the forge. Gods, he must have been searching for her since last night! “I thought I could get more supplies beyond the border.”

“I figured that much,” Kes sighed, taking Freya by the hand and sitting down on the bedroll with her. “But I need to know if you were spotted by that group that caused havoc in Huskin's Tavern.”

Freya tucked her knees to her chest, despite being close to Kes, she still struggled to meet his worrisome gaze. Unlike her, Kes was a more cautious and secluded borrower who didn't care to leave the safety of the walls. To him, there was uncertainty when one ventured out to larger being territory, and he refused to be put in a position where he might get caught. So he opted to be the colony's blacksmith, while Freya looked for supplies for him. They made a pretty good team, but that still didn't make telling Kes what happened any easier. “I got caught last night by that group.”

“By the gods, are you alright?!” Kes grabbed onto her shoulders and began studying her for any signs of injuries. “One of the scouts said you were covered in blood! Which one hurt you?!”

“I'm fine, really!” Freya shoved her cousin away, but flashed a smile. “It takes more than a few travelers to knock me down.”

“I'm glad this experience hasn't shaken your confidence, but this is serious.” He sighed. “What happened out there?”

“They didn't want me to head back home alone, and agreed to escort me back.” Freya avoided eye contact as she uttered those words, yet the horror that radiated off of him was palpable. “They were already planning on coming to town for some business.”

“What kind of business?”

“They were going after the goblins that terrorize the outskirts of the town and their leader wants to investigate the plague.” Freya took a shaky breath, fearing Kes’ reaction. “I think they're going to help us.”

Kes stared at her like she was suddenly growing horns and a tail. “Help us or help the real townsfolk?”

“All of us, Kes!” She exclaimed. “They seem like… good people.”

“Large ones don't help borrowers.” He clenched his jaw. “And if they do, it's never for the right reasons.”

Freya was no stranger when Kes acted this way, she knew what he had been through and thirteen years later, he still was traumatized by the raid of their colony. Normally, Freya would leave him alone to mourn his losses, but in a few hours, Freya would have to stand before the elders and face a trial that may not stand in her favor. Her only hope was to persuade Kes into seeing her point of view. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I don't know how else to explain it, but they're different.” Freya sighed softly, thinking about how Tav treated her, and wondered of their fate. Did they survive or were they already dead? Freya had to push those thoughts out of her head, Tav had to be fine. If they haven't fallen to the illithid parasite, then surely they wouldn't fall to Huskin! “Their leader speaks with such passion and kindness.”

Kes hastily shushed her. “You know better than to talk like that!”

“I'm just thinking about our colony!” Freya retorted. “We've been hurt by the plague too, and they have a lead on how to end it, maybe if we asked-!”

“You're going to get exiled or executed If you keep talking like this!” Kes hissed out, a fierce glare met locked onto her before fading away. He sighed. “Look, maybe there are nice large ones out there, but you need to play this smart. Tell them you were scared, be vague, do that and your punishment might not be so severe. Please, I can't lose you, Freya.”

“Okay.” Freya nodded, there was no getting through to him. Pride and fear kept a lot of borrowers in line, it was usually a life saver but Freya feared that would soon be their downfall if the plague continued to spread.

~~~~

Freya tugged at the sleeves of her green blouse, the questions had been relentless since the trial began, it didn't help when the entire colony had gathered around to listen to her brush with danger. She told them the story about getting caught by Astarion, meeting Tav and the rest of the group, and having to stay until morning; she of course, left out certain details that might make the colony panic more, but the main story was the truth.

“And they just let you go?” Asked uncle Eskel.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Uncle Eskel's stone gray eyes bore into Freya. He was definitely the spitting Image of Kes, but where her cousin showed more kindness and sympathy when he looked at Freya, uncle Eskel only showed a stern disapproval. The two quarreled for a long time, as to why, that remained a mystery. Whatever the reason, Freya knew she wouldn't get any pardons for simply being the elder's niece.

“They… didn't see a use in keeping me.” Freya sighed. “The group had better things to do than keep a borrower around.”

Murmurs spread around the room speculating how a borrower would simply be let go. Then one elder named Whitcomb broke through the crowd. “Preposterous, a larger being wouldn't let a borrower go!” He shook a bony fist in the air. “We are too valuable on the black market.”

“Ta- The halfling showed empathy when they met me.” Quizzical looks painted the faces of the five elders, none of them could wrap their heads around a larger one being nice to a borrower. “Their priority was to figure out what was causing the plague in Skaars Hollow, they had no time to… sell me off.”

“Why are they curious about the plague?” The elder named Petrona asked. She was a woman in her forties, the youngest elder of the five. The only reason she was appointed was because her mother- the previous elder, had gotten sick from the very plague and was likely to die.

“They want to cure the town of this ailment.” Freya glanced over to Kes, his jaw clenched tightly as he stared at her with wide eyes. She wished she could read his mind right now, was he mentally screaming at her for speaking too much or just filled with general anxiety?

“So Freya got lucky and was spared by kind travelers?” The elder known as Veron said, running his fingers through his graying beard. Things seemed to be going Freya's way, the hammering in her chest was slowly easing up.

But Mirable cleared her throat and stood up. “I'd like to remind the council that Freya lingered in the tavern after she was free.” Freya cursed under her breath, of course Mirable would rat her out!

“Is this true, Freya?” Uncle Eskel's voice cut through like a blade, ready to pierce her heart if she even utters the wrong words.

“I did,” She let out a heavy sigh. “I wanted to know more about the plague to see if I could learn anything that might help us.”

For a moment, the crowd seemed to approve of Freya's logic. That maybe the young borrower was only risking herself for the sake of her people, surely she shouldn't be punished so severely for thinking about the fate of her people, right? But Mirable only glared at Freya with dagger-like eyes. “Oh? If that's the case then explain why you attacked the one who tried to kill the Gith?”

Gasps dispersed around the room, Kes looked as though he might rip out his own dark hair. If the ground decided to open up below Freya's feet, she would gladly let herself be swallowed up to avoid this trial.

“Answer the question, Freya.” Uncle Eskel snapped.

“She was aiding in learning more about this plague.” It took everything in Freya to keep her voice from trembling. “I wanted to do my part in aiding them to that.”

“Borrowers are forbidden to aid larger beings no matter the reason!” Her uncle shouted. “You know this, yet you defied the very law that has kept our people safe!”

“Standing back and watching them die could only hurt our people!” Freya retorted.

“Father…” Kes cleared his throat, his hands shook more than Freya did. “Perhaps, Freya's intentions should be… considered over her nativity?”

“Silence Kan… Kestrel!” Uncle Eskel shot a piercing glare at his child. “All of Freya's actions will be judged!”

Nails dug into Freya's clenched fists, even ten years after Kes began his transition, Uncle Eskel's efforts to use his child's true name was lacking. Years of arguing with him wore him down enough to use the correct name to keep the house civil, yet they all knew uncle wasn't keen on the change. Anger boiling, Freya was ready to lash out at her uncle, but her eyes glanced over to her older cousin, who shook his head at her. She didn't need to read minds to know Kes was telling her not to start this now, and as much as she hated it, she knew he was right, the correction can wait until after she is given a penalty.

Petrona glanced over at uncle Eskel. “I hate to say it, but Kes has a point. If the travelers mean to seek aid for this plague then surely Freya should meet a less severe punishment?”

Loza, the other female elder scoffed. “Even if the large ones aid this town, we will not obtain such gratification.”

“That's not true!” Freya blurted out, all eyes fell on her now. Her throat threatened to close in an attempt to seal her true words from leaving her lips, but the searing glares from the elders kept her from freezing up. She had to speak up, to vouch for Tav and their companions. “I mean… their leader seemed keen on helping everyone affected by the plague. Perhaps, aid could even… reach us.”

The collective gasp wasn't at all surprising but it was disheartening, the quiet murmurs became full blown clamors, people spoke of theories of what the group did to Freya to make her say such a blasphemous thing.

“Are you suggesting that we reveal ourselves to those travelers just because a few of our own are ill?” Whitcomb bellowed out.

“Absolutely not!” Her breathing became more ragged, her mind racking for ideas that could win the colony over. “But maybe… I could… ask for the assistance myself.”

“No!” Kes shouted out, terror flickered in his eyes. His fear was reasonable, but Freya only gave him an apologetic look before continuing. “I heard they're going to investigate the cave south of here. If I go there, I could get the answers and hopefully, a cure for this plague. I would be the only borrower they interact with during the whole journey.”

“Have you gone mad, girl?! You're asking to befriend the very beings that have oppressed our people!” Fury was painted on uncle Eskels's face; there was no doubt he wanted to do nothing more than to scream at the top of his lungs for even hearing such a suggesting, but he maintained a professional decorum. “Have you forgotten the last time a borrower befriended a large one?” He asked in an eerily calm tone.

“Of course I haven't.” Freya's jaw clenched, how dare her uncle question her loyalty, she was not like the boy from thirteen years ago. The boy who befriended the larger being only to be betrayed and hunted down along with the rest of her colony for a quick profit. The very raid that took the lives of her parents, and the lives of Kes’ mother and younger brother. She wasn't stupid, she knew what larger beings were capable of, but if the fate of her colony rests in the hands of Tav, then she must do everything she can to make sure her people survive, even if such methods were… unconventional.

“I worry about Freya's alliance.” Mirable's cold voice silenced the crowd. “There was another questionable character amongst the travelers. The pale elf had a bounty on him, Huskin and his grunts wanted him, and the way he fought... He used more than blades to slaughter his enemies, he also tore into the neck of one of the cooks. I've only heard of vampires doing such a thing.” The scout studied Freya for a moment, she saw the guilt written on her. “I'm right, aren't I?”

She couldn't face anyone, not Mirable, not the elders, not even Kestrel. There was no good way to explain why Tav kept a vampire around, Freya couldn't even fully understand why. Her silence was all the confirmation the crowd needed.

“By the gods!” Uncle Eskel shouted. “You would have us put our trust in a group who lets a vampire roam free?!”

“One that walks in the sun too!” Veron added.

“Did he charm you?” Petrona gasped.

“Of course not!” Freya scrunched her nose. “The halfling is the one who leads the charge and he listens to them.”

“A vampire will always listen to their instincts.” Whitcomb warned. “And a colony of borrowers will satisfy their hunger for a bit.”

The panic in the crowd grew like a pot of water boiling over. Youngsters mentioned second hand stories about vampires, while the elderly feared they must uproot their lives and leave Skaars Hollow, and mothers cried out for the safety of their children. It was chaos that couldn't be contained.

“You have put our colony in danger with your recklessness!” Uncle Eskel shouted.

“Everything I have ever done was for the colony!” She snapped back.

“It was for your own selfish desire to seek out adventure, like your father!” Her uncle screamed out, his voice silenced the crowd, they watched in bated breath realizing this was no longer just a trial of a borrower who broke the rules, but a family affair being put on display. When Freya didn't retort back, uncle Eskel cleared his throat of all the rage he had pented up. “I have given you a pass due to it being the very thing that saved you from the raid, but now I see my leniency has put us at risk.”

Freya tensed up. “What are you saying?”

Uncle Eskel took a deep breath. “As of tonight, you are no longer welcome as a member of our colony. You will be escorted beyond the border where you will continue your exile alone.”

Yo-you can't do this!” Freya shrieked, her eyes locked onto her older cousin's, who shared the same look of fear as her. Neither of them should be surprised yet they were gutted by the verdict no less!

“Are we sure we should let her go freely,” Loza scowled. “Where she could always return with… unwanted guests.”

“I will not sentence the daughter of my sister to be executed.” While still stern, a glimpse of pity shone in his eyes. It was easier to pretend her uncle hated her, but deep down, Freya knew he had a soft spot for her just for looking like her mother.

“There must be another way, father!” Kes pleaded, tears pricked his eyes. “What if we forbade her from leaving the walls.”

“No!” Uncle Eskel bellowed. “She will continue to sneak out and cause trouble!” His cold glare fell onto his niece. “If you won't abide by the rules that kept your ancestors alive, then you can live on your own where your actions will only get yourself killed!”

“All I did was try to help!” There was no holding back tears anymore, she looked back to Kes, meeting his eyes one last time before Mirable pushed Freya along to send her out in the wilderness.

A/N: Hey, I just wanted to take a moment and say this was my first time writing transphobia in a story and while I took time to consult with people about the topic before hand, I will still admit that this is a topic that I wanted to tread carefully on. I didn't want to shoehorn the topic in but also not downplay the affects of misgendering/deadnaming. If anyone has more advice on how to write such a delicate topic. Let me know! Also Kes is trans-masc and would use he/they pronouns, I'm not quite sure how to write a character with multiple pronouns. So if anyone has any tips on that, feel free to let me know. Thank you for your support!

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