As we walk through the grove that day, I can't help but notice the way Astarion eyes me from my peripheral, stealing glances in my direction every now and then. No doubt he's remembering the way my blood tasted in his mouth last night as he fed on me - at least, he seemed to have enjoyed it quite a lot.
Astarion knows what I taste like... why does the idea of that feel so... intimate?
Heat blooms beneath the surface of my skin, crawling its way up the back of my neck, and I turn away quickly so my companions won't see my reddening complexion. I really don't need them to ask questions. Especially not Astarion. He fed on me for strength. Nothing more. Nothing less. I just... need to get out of my head.
Get ahold of yourself, Tav, I grumble to myself. What is wrong with you? This is no time for distractions. You have more important things to turn your attention to. You're running out of time to cure yourself of the tadpole. You must stay focused!
Fortunately for me, a sudden commotion up ahead is all I need to pull myself out of my not-so-normal thoughts about my vampire-elf companion.
There, at the foot of the spiral stone steps that lead to the heart of the grove, a group of tieflings are shouting at a couple of druids guarding the entrance.
"Let me daughter go - right now!" A tiefling woman screams in rage.
One of the druid guards spits at the ground near her feet. "She's a thief, hellspawn. You will wait for Kagha's judgment. Now get back!"
"Argh!" the tiefling woman roars. "Let me through, mragreshem, or I'll rip your damned throat out!"
In response, the other druid guard wildshapes suddenly, transforming himself into a large cave bear. He stomps aggressively at the tieflings, the ground quaking under his large paws, then he lets out mighty roar, not only to match the tiefling mother's, but to shatter it. The tieflings recoil in fear, then fall back reluctantly, knowing they will not be able to pass. Though they don't leave, hanging around near the foot of the stone steps, fretting, pacing the ground uneasily.
We make our way down the stone steps, passing the group of tieflings and up ahead through the stone archway that is being so carefully guarded, an impressive scene opens up before us. A large, circular formation covered in the most vivid green moss and at the heart of it, a statue on a pedistil. An idol. Surrounding the idol are a handful of druids preforming some sort of ritual. This must be the rite that everyone has been talking about - the one that will close Emerald Grove off from outsiders forever.
It's all very fascinating, but we do have more pressing matters at hand - for us. We don't have time to help -- we don't have time to be hero's, as terrible as that sounds. We are just passing through. We just came here for a healer and for information, that was all. I shouldn't care, right? So then why does the sight of this druid ritual give me such a bad feeling.
"I bet the healer Nettie is somewhere in there," Gale proposes quietly so that only we can hear him.
"Or, if nothing else, the second druid Kagha - the one Zevlor mentioned before," I mutter back. "Maybe she'll have some information. Think we should check it out?"
"Probably," Astarion says. "But I don't know if those druid guards will let so much as a flea walk past."
"Only one way to find out," I shrug.
As we approach, just as anticipated, the druid guards put up their defenses. The wildshape bear attempts his roar on us, his grizzly voice tearing through the stillness of the air. But it's not so effective this time. I cross my arms, refusing to budge.
"Calm, Maggran," the female druid says to the bear. "Give them a chance." Then, turning to me, she gives me the opportunity to obey her order before she lets the bear rip into me. "You - get back." She commands.
I don't.
"If it weren't for me," I challenge instead, "you'd be overrun by goblins by now. I'll go where I please. And right now, there's someone I need to see."
"Keep back," the druid growls, her eyes flashing a warning at me. "Force my hand and I'll show you its claws."
"Wait," another druid calls out, suddenly approaching form somewhere off to the side. "A moment, Jeorna"
Jeorna, the female druid, bends over to let him whisper something in her ear.
"What...?" her face goes blank. "Oh. I understand."
Then she turns to us. "You - apparently Kagha wants to see you. Go ahead."
With that, the druids step aside and let us enter. "Come with me," the third druid says, leading the way to Kagha. As we walk through the heart of the grove, passing by the ritual site - the druids chanting and siting their incantations, the air becomes thicker, heavier with magic. It's almost oppressive. Something doesn't feel right here.
The druid leads us to what looks like a regular old cliff face, but what turns out to be a hidden, stone door that opens up into a cavern. Is this where Nettie's been hiding? No wonder we couldn't find her.
As we step inside, a disturbing scene plays out before us.
At the center of the room, a druid woman is looming over a young tiefling child. The woman appears to be seething with anger, and girl is cowering in fear. Distress. At the sight my stomach churns, but the Dark Urge inside of me writhes, awakening.
"Please," the girl begs. "I'm sorry!"
A druid man hangs around near the woman and the child, wringing his hands. "This is madness, Kagha," he says insistently. "She's just a-"
"A what, Rath?" The druid woman - Kagha - snaps at him. "A thief? A poison? A threat?" I will imprison this devil. And I will cast out every stranger."
On a stone table behind them, I see something stir. The slithering movements of a snake writhing along the surface of the slab. A death viper. At the sight, a memory claws its way up to the surface from the dark chasm of my amnesia. I have milked their poison before. A dingle drop of it could kill a child in a heartbeat.
"Thief?" I say as I approach. "Poison? What's the girl's actual crime?"
"Girl?" Kagha's menacing glare lifts to meet my gaze. "You mean parasite. She eats our food, drinks our water. Then she steals our most holy idol int hanks! Rath, lock her up. She remains here until the rite is complete."
The young tiefling girl squirms in response, looking for all the world like she wants to run.
"Keep still, devil," Kagha orders, eyeing the viper that slithers impatiently behind the child. Teela is restless."
"Com, Kagha," Rath pleads. "We took back the idol. Surely-"
"Do it!" Kagha cuts him off, her sharp words echoing off the cold, stone walls of the cavern.
The snake's hiss of approval reveals its intentions. Should the child struggle, it is poised to strike. In response, the darkness inside of me quivers with anticipation. The death of a child. A timeless tragedy that never grows old. My mind longs for the snake to kill the child, but my heart doesn't. I shake my head. Snap out of it, Tav! Her life matters more than satiating my dark fantasies. I focus, an in a moment, they're gone. But clearly, this child's life is still in danger. I have to think fast.
"Don't druids cherish harmony?" I say, pushing my luck. "Jailing the girl disrupts nature's balance."
At my words, Kagha's hot blood cools a few degrees, though her deep-seeded hatred doesn't disappear completely. "I hear the Treefather's spirit in your words," she says reluctantly. "It is as you say. Then she turns to the viper. "Ssifisv," she speaks to it in some strange serpent tongue. "Teela, to me." I can feel the snake's frustration, but it obeys, slithering over to Kagha as commanded, away from the child.
"Out, theif," Kagha barks at the child. "My grace has its limits."
And as the child flees from the woman's presence, the look on Rath's face is nothing but pure relief. "Thank you, Kagha. Master Halsin would-"
"Halsin isn't here," she snaps. "Keep his name off your tongue, lest Teela pierce it."
Rath obeys, silencing his tongue as he bows and takes his leave. But I don't. Standing there, staring at Kagha, she can feel her eyes on me.
"Go on," she mutters. "Say it. You think I'm a monster."
"Only a monster would threaten a child."
"Yes - you would say so," Kagha scoffs bitterly. "I know your kind. You see only villains and victims. A viper bares her fangs defending her brood. I call her mother. You call her monster. No matter. I took back the Idol of Silvanus and the rite has resumed. We will seal the grove. Free from harm. Free from intruders."
"This rite must be born of powerful magic," I remark, remembering its thick, oppressiveness as we walked by.
"The Rite of Thorns," Kagha answers. "It is the Treefather's gift, that none come to harm. When we speak the final prayer, the Great Vine will sprout forth. The grove will be cloaked in bramble and thorn. No one enters, no one leaves. Sanctuary. But none of this can happen while outlanders infect us. Silvanus demands that we choke them out."
"And you're telling me all this because...?" I raise an eyebrow suspiciously.
"You showed great mettle at the gate," she says. "The mettle of a skilled sword for hire. I want you to provide your services to Zevlor. Offer to guide the outlanders out of the grove. I'm sure they'll reward you well. They're to be gone before final prayer. If they are not... the viper must strike."