#we headcanoned that time moves differently in Avernus so months passed on the material plane while the party was down there

[afterthedescent]

Kallan probably isn't doing so hot & end of Act 2 spoilers below the cut

I think a bit of background is needed before I dive into my thoughts on the end of Act 2.

In my Descent Into Avernus game, Kallan's soul was put into Teya's body after she died by Bane, so that she could become his Avatar/Chosen/whatever you want to call it. She has no memory of her life before waking up in Teya's body, nor does she have any idea why her soul was put there or by whom (or for what purpose). Soon after she came-to, a cleric of Ilmater (Samael and Tex took her to a temple of Ilmater because that was who Teya worshipped) told her that she was someone else inhabiting a body that did not belong to her. She also told her that she had heard of the gods claiming bodies and souls of those that have passed as avatars.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE that we/my DM obviously had no idea about the plot of BG3.

So she knows she doesn't belong in Teya's body, and she knows that divine intervention is likely the culprit. She also, because of some other things that happened, knows/highly suspects that it's not a good god behind all of this.

Before the final fight against Zariel, Desruc (a DMPC from a different campaign that briefly joined us) told Kallan that he could tell her some stuff, but that it had to wait until they got back to Elturel and she helped him with something (tit for tat and alladat). Well...Desruc wound up getting Banished in that fight, so...

All that to say that Kallan has very vague ideas about her whole deal.

She also has not shared that with the BG3 group - partially because there's been so much else going on, kinda because she hasn't heard any voices since she was resurrected in Tiamat's tower so it hasn't really been at the forefront of her mind, but also because telling them she stole Teya's body AND she hears creepy voices didn't seem like the best idea before, and now more time has passed so it's like...well shit, how do I tell them now?

So yeah, she's kept that card close to her chest.

But it all comes out during the fight with Myrkul. He sees Kallan, and since the Dead Three are working in tandem, he knows who she is - maybe even recognizes Bane's influence (however fleeting now) over her. He makes some comment about it being ironic that it's her facing him, she who was chosen by Bane, himself, and plucked from Avernus... This, of course, earns her looks from everyone with her (probably especially Aylin). He then goes on to say that it should have been her in Gortash's place and Descruc in Ketheric's, that she and Desruc would not have failed in their duty and ushered the Coast into a new era...

Fight ensues, we win, yada yada. They get yeeted back into Moonrise, where everyone (companions, NPCs, etc.) are waiting for them.

Shortly talking to a few people, Kallan tries to walk away, into an adjacent room. She can hear a dark voice in her head, followed by searing pain. She cries out and drops to her knees. I think Big Brother Wyll clocks it and rushes over to catch her, which draws others' attention. He puts his hands on her shoulders and straightens her out...eyes widening when he sees the imprint of a black hand stretching across her face. It's fleeting, but a few others see it as well before it fades.

"She needs rest," Halsin says from over Wyll's shoulder. For as long of a man as he is, how does he move about so silently? He wears a grim look. "Remnants of the shadow curse are trying to purge from her body." He scoops her up in his arms, earning himself a sharp look from Astarion, and takes her to a more secluded part of the tower, where the group has set up camp in her absence. By the time that he lays her in her tent, she's passed out. Astarion settles in just outside, to watch over her.

Sleep claims her for awhile, but it's not restful. Nightmares plague her, and she thrashes and cries out in her sleep. Astarion slips into her tent and tries to wake her. She screams as she comes to, and after a moment of tense panic, the two calm down. "I need air," she said, feeling claustrophobic all of a sudden, so they go out onto a balcony. Astarion doesn't press her to talk, so the silence stretches on for awhile. Finally, she unloads it all - what the cleric said, the voices she's heard, the late-night visitor that attacked her at the Calcabrina estate, the game of poker she played with another entity (Bane?) beneath Tymora's temple, what Myrkul said...all of it. Her voice is hoarse by the end, and she's exhausted.

I'll reblog and add more later once I ruminate on how the rest of that plays out. I'm thinking some soft Astarion stuff happens maybe.