Fourth Wall

Three: Rude Awakening

Chloe stretched in her sleep, a noise of discontentment leaving her throat as she suddenly realized why she was uncomfortable. Her pillow, which had been soft and fluffy when she'd laid down to sleep, suddenly felt hard and lumpy. Something was digging into her rib. And perhaps worst, she was cold and there seemed to no longer be any sheets covering her body.

Still half-asleep, she reached down to blindly feel for her covers, intending to pull them over her shoulders and go right back to sleep.

But her fingers found no sheets. Instead, her hands passed over her fully-clothed body. This was enough to wake Chloe up. She'd never go to bed in all her clothes. She sat bolt upright as her eyes shot open to survey the scene around her.

Where the fuck am I? She thought, suddenly on high alert. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, having expected to find the four corners of her apartment bedroom and instead finding a night sky full of stars and a dying campfire's glowing embers still crackling faintly a few feet away from where she lay.

Had she been kidnapped? Dragged away while unconscious? Neither seemed likely, but nor did anything else.

The faint glow from the dying fire barely provided Chloe with enough light to see, but she could make out the figures of several others asleep on similar bedrolls to the one she lay atop. One, two, three... four others.

What is happening right now?? Chloe's mind raced as she dragged a hand over her face.
"What the hell?" Chloe murmured under her breath as she pulled her hand away to examine it. "Holy shit." She whispered incredulously as she realized the smoke-like tattoo markings she had chosen for her avatar in Baldur's Gate 3 now decorated the skin of her arms. She turned her hands over in front of her. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears.

This can't be real, she thought.
Her gaze drifted over the sleeping figures once again. She could see that two were, by appearance, human. The third had yellow-ish green skin and long pointed ears that appeared almost serrated. One of them stirred, and Chloe whipped her head to the left to see a familiar face.

Shadowheart squinted at Chloe for a moment as if not seeing her before she mumbled, "What is it?"

Oh my God, Chloe thought. Shadowheart. She's real. She's in front of me. Her brain seemed to stutter and skip instead of forming cohesive thoughts, and she stared at Shadowheart with both hands hovering over her gaping mouth. Shadowheart blinked in confusion.
After a long moment, Shadowheart asked again, "What's wrong?"

"What's... wrong?" Chloe repeated slowly.

"You woke me," Shadowheart said flatly.

"I woke you," Chloe repeated dumbly. Shadowheart's expression became guarded as she propped herself up on her elbows, her long black braid falling over her shoulder.

"Has the mindflayer tadpole finally broken you?" She asked, her voice betraying a surprising amount of concern for Chloe. Surprising for the secretive daughter of Shar Chloe had come to know through the game, that is.

Chloe looked at the others again.
If that's Shadowheart, she thought as she sat dumbstruck, eyes roaming over the sleeping strangers. ...then that must be Wyll...and Lae'zel...and Astarion. Oh my God. Is this the most realistic lucid dream I've ever had? How am I here?

Chloe could feel her hands begin to tremble.

"Hey," Shadowheart said sharply, drawing Chloe's attention back to her.

"I'm... I don't..." Chloe trailed off.
But it seemed Chloe had used up her available leeway with Shadowheart, who rolled to a kneel, grabbing for her dagger.