Like Starlight and Wine (A Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion x Tav Fanfic)

2. A Nautiloid in Hell PT.2

As Us and I make our way through the ship, we turn a corner and find  ourselves in a part of the ship that is completely exposed to the air.  All walls have been burned and torn away, and beyond them, all around us is a desolate  mountainous wasteland. And above us, a battle wages on. A dragon flies by, dodging a  barrage of purple, magical ballistics. The ship itself is flying through  the air like a battered beast, it's massive tentacles waving before us like broken banners. I'm caught by surprise, but I don't have time to stop and gawk at the battle. I have to get off this thing.

Turbulent  wind whips my small ponytail about my neck as I press on, determined to find  my way to the helm, just as Us instructed. Though I don't know what  awaits for me there, I have no choice but to trust Us. It's that or die. 

I don't make it very far before I sense a sudden, hostile  presence nearby. Something much different than the cold illithid from earlier, not  foreboding or ominous. But hostile nonetheless. Full of fury. The presence is behind me. I hardly realize it in time, and I whip  around just in time to see a streak of movement. Someone vaulting from  somewhere overhead, flipping through the air, and landing on the ground  just in front of me, sword drawn.

I am more surprised than  anything to see a strange looking woman. She is about my height, but  more slender. Her eyes are unnatural, reptilian. And her skin green.  From what I can recall, she must be a githyanki woman; a member of a  humanoid species that hail from the Astral Plane. I'd only ever heard of  these people, but  from what little I can recall about my memories, I  don't think I've ever seen one. Until now.

I assume this woman is  one of the survivors, like me, who managed to get out of the pods during  the attack. But, with sword drawn, she doesn't seem so friendly.

"Abomination," the githyanki woman hisses. "This is your end!"

But  as she prepares to run me through with her sword, something stops us.  My head suddenly throbs, and my skin tingles. Visions rush past: a  dragon's wing, a silver sword - and a flash of my own face seen through  the strange woman's eyes.

"My head!" the woman says, her voice  muddled with confusion, apparently experiencing it right along with me.  It was like we'd just read each other's minds. Like we'd psychically  connected. "What is this... ngh." She sees something in her mind  too. Perhaps, she sees what I've seen, because she instantly drops her  guard, sheathing her sword, realizing that I am not a threat. "Tsk'va. You are no thrall," she says. "Vlaakith blesses me this day! Together we might survive."

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Who am I? Your only chance of survival."

"You'll  help me now," I persist, "But just a few seconds ago you were ready to  ram that sword straight through me. What made you think I was a thrall?"

"We carry Mind Flayer parasites," she replies bitterly. "Unless we escape - unless we are cleansed - our bodies and minds will be tainted and twisted. Within days we will be ghaik. Mind Flayers."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"First,  we exterminate the imps," she says, motioning over her shoulder to three tiny, winged, demonic looking creatures feeding off some nearby bodies.  "Then we find the helm and take control of the ship. As for that thing-"  she adds, her pointed gaze now fixing on the little brain creature  waiting next to me, Us. "It will remain tame as long as it believes we  are thralls. It may be of use in the fight to come."

The githyanki woman turns to face the horrid little creatures, drawing her sword again, and instinctively, I reach back for a weapon I didn't realize was there. I grip the handle of my war hammer in one hand, and my wooden shield in the other.