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

28. Our Fiery Friend

On the opposite side of the roaring river stands the a figure - red... engulfed in flame! She's hunched over, clearly in distress. Wyll heads the group, his rapier drawn, practically charging the flaming woman. He alights a log bridging the rushing waters that cut between us.

"Ngh..." the woman growls in warning.

I feel Astarion step closer to me, but I can't focus on his presence now. I keep my eyes ahead, readying myself, wondering what a battle with a devil is going to entail.

"One horn," Wyll points his weapon at the woman, as if he's pointing to the broken horn on her head. "The stink of Avernus. Advocatus diaboli."

"Well I'll be godsdamned," the devil woman breathes through gritted teeth. "The Blade of Frontiers. Thought I'd shaken you for good. That'll teach me to underestimate you."

"You're the devil we've been hunting?" I ask dubiously. "Karlach, right?" She doesn't look so much like a devil now that I take her in... just your average barbarian-sized tiefling on fire... with a red light glowing and throbbing inside her chest as if she swallowed a glowing torch... nothing too crazy.

"Bloody Right," Karlach grins dangerously. She looks like shes getting ready to fight. "An honor to be chased by the Blade of Frontiers. But- agh!"

Suddenly, our minds connect, our tadpoles finding their way to each other. Then I'm lost in visions of demonic armies as I tear through a landscape of fire and blood. The Blood War. I'd seen it from above as the nautiloid passed through Avernus - this woman was on the frontline."

"What was that?!" Karlach lurches, grabbing her head.

"Evidence," Wyll spits. He saw it through her eyes too. "Proof that you're a devil, a gladiator in the archdevil Zariel's Army."

"I can explain," Karlach urges. "But it's a whole situation. If you'd just hear me out, I can- Ngh"

Another vision rips through our minds. Karlach's blade raised, slicing through devils - Zariel's servants - as her eyes dart round, seeking escape. Her rage and desperation seep into me. She is a victim of the Blood War, not an agent of it.

"She's trying to trick us!" Wyll grunts through the vision. "Don't believe her lies!"

"You saw the truth," Karlach maintains. "I never wanted to serve Zariel. I was enlisted in her army against my will. Forced to fight, and fight I did. When I saw an opportunity to get away, I took it. I'm finally home - or near it, anyway."

"You served her." Wyll's grip on his sword tightens. "That's enough to damn you."

"Stand down, Wyll." I say it like an order. I don't want to see an innocent woman gutted over false accusations, particularly not by my companion's hand.

Wyll catches his breath, and his lips straighten. Sheer dread twists his face. "You- You odn't know what you're saying. You're asking me to trust a devil."

"Gods, you're stubborn." My frustrated words nearly come out as a growl. "Karlach's not a devil, and you know it. Just look at her... unusual, yes, but devil? Don't you know a tiefling when you see one?"

"Listen to sense, now." Karlach says. "I don't want this to end badly for either of us. You know monsters, right? Better than anyone. Look into my eyes. Can't you see I'm not what you think?"

"Shit." Wyll drops his shoulders in defeat, then slowly sheaths his sword. "You really are no devil, are you? I've... I've been deceived."

"Thank the gods," Karlach breathes in relief. "I thought I was going to have to take your head."