The guardian spirit visited the party that night. Warning them that their time was limited. They looked at Astarion, giving him a personal warning.
"You should know, your leader is very devoted to you. She will give her life to give you everything you want. But without her soul, she won't last long." Astarion panicked.
"What do you mean? How long does she have? What can I do?!" They put their hands on the sides of his face. Astarion closed his eyes as he saw the vision.
They were in a grand room, the concrete under them broken. Astarion was on his knees on the ground, blood covering his beautiful porcelain skin. His screams of emotional pain were deafining. He looked through his tear filled vision at Cazadors body to his left, limp, Astarions favorite dagger sticking out of Cazadors ribs. To his right (F/N) laid limp. Blood was splattered on her as she glowed with black and green smoke. Her skin turning to ash.
-----
I stretched and grunted in pain, grabbing my side as it felt as if it was on fire. I lifted my shirt and saw discoloration on my skin, it was small, about the size of a golden coin. I casted a healing spell but it did nothing, my normally pale skin a light yellow-green almost like a bruse, something in my gut gave me a bad feeling about it. We packed and headed out once again fighting our way through the shadows. Eventually we ran into Harpes that fought with us and led us to the Last Light Inn. There was a sheild around the inn protecting it from the shadow curse. An angry white haired woman entrapped my legs in vines as she interrogated me.
"Who are you? Why are you here?!" Her accent thick.
"Oh, you know, just here on holiday. I quite enjoy being attacked my literal shadows!" I quipped at her. Astarion and Gale both chuckled behind me. "I'm here because a friend told us that this was on the way to Moonlight Towers."
"Are you cultists?" Her face angered before a Harpe stepped between us.
"Stop! They saved our asses on the road! If it wasn't for them we'd be dead. Please just let them pass through." She begged the accented elf. Her anger flowed through my mind, all the loved ones she's lost. All the wars she's been dragged into and managed to survive.
"So you're one of them huh?" The elf sneered. "You've yet to grown tentacles."
"And I wont if i can get to those towers."
"You guys have made it!" Halsin approached smiling, "Please, release my friends. If it wernt for them many people would have perished."
"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking around noticing more and more teiflings from the cove.
"The cove got attacked the day after you left. Those cultists came out of knowhere with crazy power and numbers. The safer choice was to run. Although they captured many still."
"I'm sorry sir Halsin. We'll help however we can." I smiled at him.
"Just Halsin, please. No need for titles after the help you've given me. Let me show you around, you must be starved."
I waved my hand destroying the vines that held my feet. "I am. Thank you." Astarion held his hand out for me to grab and step out of the mess leaving the elfs mouth open in suprise. "Thank you my love." I smiled at him as Halsin gave us a tour. We found our way to the dining hall as we sat and ate. Exchanging tales with some of the other teiflings. Astarion excused himself for a drink at the bar as he left the table.
Halsin elbowed me smiling, "I see you two figured things out." I blushed and nodded. "Good, anyone can see that you care greatly for eachother."
"I do very much." I looked for him but he was no where in sight.
"What are your plans for the towers?" Halsin raised an eyebrow at me.
"Use these altered parasites to lie our way in. See if we can get some answers without tearing the place apart."
"How would you feel allowing me to join you?"
"The more the merrier!" Gale smiled and lifted his drink in a toast.
"Then we should set off as soon as we can. We still have a long way to go."
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The party chattered as Astarion snuck around the corner. He knew he saw that bastards shirt around here.
"Stalking me are you? Looking to strike that deal perhaps Astarion?" Raphael smiled at him.
"Maybe a deal. Perhaps." He glared at Raphael. "What would it take..." Astarion hesitated as flashes of that vision played again. The physical pain deep in his chest when he sees her dead body turning to ashes. "To get her soul back." He finally finished.
Raphael's eyes widened in suprise before he laughed to himself, "did the spawn grow a heart? For a mere, little, doomed mortal? Oh how touching." They both looked at (F/N) sitting on the bench, talking with the others. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she glanced around clearly looking for her lover. "It's not going to be easy you know. That soul of hers, while broken beyond repair mind you, is truly one of a kind. An Enchantress soul, untouched by her magic."
"Think about it." Astarion snapped his glare back to the devil. "I'm serious."
Raphael nodded, "if I think of something, I'll let you know. Although I have to ask, what makes you think she wants it back?"
"She just does. I thought Devil's were just supposed to make deals, not ask 1,000 questions." Astarion huffed before walking away from the Devil and back towards her. Maybe this was the fate the parasites wanted them to change.
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Astarion finally came back into view, I smiled at him and waved him to me, "Halsin says there's a blacksmith here. We should go have our weapons sharpened." I suggested.
"That sounds like a splended idea." He smiled back at me as we excused ourselves. When we stepped outside I grabbed his hand and dashed us over to some trees off by the shore. "What the hells are you doing?" I hid us behind a tree as I looked up at him.
"You've been off since this morning. Paler than normal. I figured you should eat since you haven't since we gotten to this realm."
He looked into my eyes before smiling down at me, "always full of surprises my darling. You sure you don't mind?" He eyed my neck.
"I know you said no intimacy, and I can't help how I feel when you feed on me, but please," I put my hand on his cheek, "I need you to be okay and there's no wildlife here. So feed on me every night from now on." He leaned down and kissed my forehead softly before he moved my hair out of his way and bit into my neck. That feeling of ice and fire and pure pleasure rippled through my body. I gently put my hands on his back and held them there. Just to be close to him. Inhaling his scent mixed with the scent of my blood. He drank for a few minuets before he stopped on his own. Wiping his mouth as he smiled at me.
"What would I do without you treasure?" He cupped my cheek in his hand.
I smiled and leaned into his soft touch, "you probably would be fine, but I don't like imagining my life without you." We stared into each others eyes for a long moment before I sighed, "we really should go and get our weapons tuned up though. We don't know what we're walking into at Moonrise."
He nodded and we found our way to a nice teifling, Dammon who was happy to help us. "It will take me a minuet for this is not my normal set up."
We thanked him before Astarion looked at me, "what shal we do while we wait?"
"I would rather enjoy a moment on the shore with you." I blushed basically asking him out on a date.
He smiled before holding his hand out to me, "that sounds wonderful." I smiled as I took his hand and we walked down to the shore. The waves gently crashing on the sand. We found a nice spot to sit down.
------
She watched the water, the moonlight dancing on her skin, making her somehow more beautiful to Astarion. An idea crossed his mind that he decided to follow. He shifted and laid his head down in (F/N)'s lap, looking up at her and the sky. Her face flushed red as she smiled down at him before looking back at the water. She began to hum softly before gently stroking his hair, running her fingers through his curls. She began to softly sing almost to herself.
Sulfur on your breath
Granite in my chest
You will never have to talk about it
Fury too damn late
Reason dislocates
Soon we'll never have to talk about it
I never want to talk about it
I was more than just a body in your passenger seat
You were more that just somebody I was destined to meet
You say you want me but you know I'm not what you need
But I am
Acting like you only brought me in to get below me
Never mind the death threats
Knocking at the door
We'd rather be six feet under than be lonely again.
Her voice left him speachless, she wasn't casting a spell, just singing what she felt, and it spoke to Astarion deep down. She was able to sing about the pain they shared, somehow putting it into words, that made him feel closure in a way. With her, he felt truly seen for the first time in his life.
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"There you two are. We had begun to worry," Gale smiled as he approached.
I looked down at Astarion again, he was already smiling up at me, "I guess our moment is over." I blushed and smiled at him, getting lost in his eyes before he sat up.
"What do you want Gale?" He sighed clearly annoyed.
"We're packed and ready to go." Gale handed us our weapons, sharpened like they were brand new.
"Do we even know where these towers are? It's so hard to find anything in these shadows." I asked as we began to gather our things to go out once again.
"The road itself is unclear, but we do know what direction we should be heading." Lay'zel confirmed.
"We've worked with less. Everyone ready?"
"I would like to join you on your quest." Halsin asked, a bag of his own packed.
"Really? What about your people?" Shadowheart asked suprised.
"Some are being held prisoner at the towers. Plus I would like to help bring life back to these lands."
"Welp, I'm not gonna say no to some extra hands in combat! Welcome to the party!" I shook his hand as we set off on our adventure.