As Shadowheart had suggested, everything had turned out to be fine. When we arrived back at Moonrise Towers, we'd found that Jaheira and her Harpers had secured the entrance and defeated numerous enemies. After our arrival, we planned to march in and secure the ground floor. It ended up being a brutal fight, with a few casualties on our side.
When we finally took the fight to Ketheric, we saw that Aylin was there and ready to fight him. Before we could finish him off, he had some illithid contraption take Aylin down the hole it emerged from. Ketheric followed.
We followed. It was a gods damned illithid colony, and there were so many nautiloids ready to launch an assault. We didn't have much time to gawk- we found Aylin and Ketheric. Aylin was chained, her immortality once again tapped by Ketheric, so we'd have to free her. There were two others with them- Gortash and Orin, we learned. They left quickly with Ketheric's promise to handle us.
"You will die here today," Ketheric said, waving a hand. With that wave, he had four undead acolytes, a mindflayer, and four intellect devourers set on us. The four intellect devourers rushed over to us, and Gale used misty step to get over to Aylin fast. He set to work on her chains.
Astarion stabbed two of the intellect devourers, and they curled in on themselves with screeches of pain. Two of the acolytes sent spells hurling toward Shadowheart and I, and we both managed to dodge out of the way in time.
Once Gale had Aylin freed, the rest of the fight sailed smoothly until Ketheric shifted forms and became the Apostle of Myrkul. There was a moment when I thought we were all going to die, and Shadowheart and Gale came close to it- they were unconscious on the ground. Aylin landed the killing blow on Ketheric's new form though, and we were finally able to lay him to rest.
We used some healing potions to bring Shadowheart and Gale back, and we used the portal Aylin had brought up to leave. We were exhausted, but alive. When we emerged, we found that everyone from Last Light Inn had gathered. Everyone was celebrating.
Aylin and Isobel embraced when they found each other, revealing they held much history together. Ketheric had been Isobel's father, and he hadn't approved of their relationship. They were finally free to be together without his influence. Aylin offered to aid us in defeating the Absolute.
We had no time to rest though everyone continued to celebrate; even with Ketheric defeated, there was still a land in need of healing. We had to find the other half of Thaniel's spirit. Halsin joined us in the search, and within the remainder of the day we found him: a boy named Oliver. He resisted going back to Thaniel at first, but then agreed that it would be great to have a playmate. Halsin went off to be with them.
"Well, what now?" Gale asked. We were sat around the house of flowers, leaning against or perched on crates and walls.
Shadowheart rubbed her forehead and let out a long sigh, before she said, "I vote we set up camp. I am beyond exhausted. I need rest before this pounding headache utterly destroys me."
Astarion's eyes slowly shifted to me as he and Gale nodded in agreement. I swallowed lightly and pulled my gaze from Astarion's, looking over toward Shadowheart. I scratched the back of my neck.
"I wouldn't mind some rest," I said with a nod. I saw Astarion's smirk in the corner of my eye; one fang just barely poking out over his lip.
"Then it's settled," Shadowheart said with another long sigh.
"I couldn't agree more," Gale said with a smile and a small nod of his head. He stood up slowly, stretching out his body as he went. "I am looking forward to a bit of rest myself."
With that, we started setting up our tents. As always was the trend lately, Astarion and I set our tent up a little ways off from the other two. Shadowheart lifted a brow at me, as if to ask, seriously? Again? I simply looked away and pretended not to notice. We bid each other good night, and each ducked into our respective tents.
After Astarion and I had stripped off our gear down to our plain clothes, we just stood there a moment, looking at each other. He was so still, his gaze locked on mine.
"Raphael pulled me away in our sleep last night," he said quietly. I froze at the news; information on the scars on Astarion's back. He continued to hold my gaze as he went on. "Cazador plans to ascend, and he has to sacrifice all his spawn- me included- in order to do so. He would have the night at his command. Be able to walk in the sun, without need of a parasite. He would no longer know that... damned, burning thirst. The hunger..."
Astarion looked at the ground as he finished, a look of pure disgust- and jealousy- on his face. I followed his gaze to a spot on the ground. And then he looked back up at me, a sort of frenzy now in his gaze.
"But I could take all that power for myself," he said slowly. There was an edge developing in his gaze. His eyes glazed over a little as he thought it over. "I will figure out how to do it. It has to be possible. I would no longer have to fear the sun... The hunger..."
"I'm with you every step of the way," I said, loosing a breath. Astarion met my gaze again. "If you think we should go there, bring the fight to him, and then usurp his ritual- then I'm with you every step of the way."
He took a step closer to me, as if he half expected me to step back. I held my ground and his gaze.
"You mean that?" he whispered. "Even if our- other friends don't approve?"
"Why wouldn't they approve?" I asked, furrowing my brows. Astarion took a few more steps closer to me.
"Because there are exactly seven thousand souls to be sacrificed," he said, still quiet. "That's not something just anyone can stomach the thought of."
I glanced down, taking a tiny moment to think. I didn't think it mattered... What had started as mere lust for this silver haired, pale elf had bloomed into something else entirely. I looked back up at him.
"If it's possible, if you want to take Cazador's place in this ascension..." I started. Astarion's lips parted slightly as he listened. "I will help you every step of the way. In whatever way I can. Even if our friends choose to abandon us afterward."
Astarion closed the remainder of the distance between us, pulling me against him. His mouth came to mine, claiming it in deep kiss. His arms wound around me, just as my fingers wound through his hair, tugging lightly and trying to pull him closer against me. One of his hands slowly found its way to cup my face, the other digging his nails into my lower back.
I sighed as we continued to kiss, content to just be like that forever. Through the haze of it, he gently brought me to the ground. One moment we were clothed and making out, and the next we were naked and writhing and panting, and trying our best to keep quiet. At one point his fangs found my neck, and for that I definitely had to muffle a moan against his shoulder.
When we laid curled up together amongst the blankets and pillows, I drifted off to sleep wondering what an ascended vampire Astarion would be like.