You stare at the map with wide, fishlike eyes, those glassy red orbs lighting up as you point to a blacked out area to the south. Lowland. A swamp or some type of river basin. There is a crude drawing of a pointy nosed woman with an arrow pointing to it.
"What about here? Think it would be fun?" You ask Shadowheart, your second in command.
"Why are you treating the locations as tourist attractions? We're looking for a cure, Surge." She looks at you skeptically.
"What is that map, anyway? Why are there doodles all over it."
"I mugged a Goblin for it."
"You 'mugged' it?"
"Yep." You smile brightly, leaving it at that. You look up towards the distance, squinting at the mountains nearby, then you check the map to confirm.
"Says a 'target' lives here."
"Give me that..." Shadowheart swipes the map from you and reads it for herself.
"Yes, I see... They have no clue where the Druids are, naturally. However, there does seem to be a human manor here and... They are marked target. There is smoke rising in that direction so it's possible they're already gone. Shall we check on the off chance that they left someone alive that can help us?"
Astarion waltzes over to the two of you, flinging a dagger up to catch it when it falls. "Has our fearless figurehead been told where we are going yet?"
Shadowheart nodded. "Our leader has decided we'll be checking out a human settlement nearby."
"Oh human... That should be interesting. Surely we'll all be welcomed with open arms."
"They might all be dead." You comment.
"Even better! Let's check for valuables."
-
You arrive at a burned out Manor. Flames still lick from the roof and the windows of the main structure and the bodies look fresh. The attack must have happened the same day. You, and everyone else notices Drow bodies laying among the fallen of the Flaming Fist. You know immediately that it was a guard retinue from Baldurs gate, though they would not be here without a reason.
"First those poor sods at the bridge and now this? Bad time to be a guard." Karlach said grimly, mourning in her own way.
"They're still trying to pick people out!" She notices.
"Fire can't do anything to me that hasn't already been done. Mind if I go help out?"
"Go ahead." You wave her away. Karlach immediately sprinted off.
"I am going to speak to that poor mourning woman at the gate." You offer. The Flaming Fist member is knelt over a fallen comrade muttering a silent prayer.
Astarion and Shadowheart look at you in horror. "Oh yes!" he shouts.
"With all these Drow corpses lying about I'm guessing you want to add to them?" You smile coyly in response, scratching your cheek as you look to Shadowheart to see what she has to say.
"I am also at a loss for words. Planning to turn yourself in?"
You laugh heartily. "Oh relax. I'm great at fitting in with surface dwellers."
You see Astarion visibly shaking from annoyance. "No you are not!"
"Just watch. Back me up, I'll show you how a master does it."
They reluctantly follow you with dour faces, as if they were your funeral procession trailing behind your already fallen corpse. You approach the woman. She looks up at you as you come close, and seems startled for a moment, but your pale skin and red eyes could be that of a High Elf, or any kind, really. The presence of the Drow and the silliness of one walking up forces the possibility that you are one from her mind. You rest a hand on her shoulder.
"A prayer, child? This humble holy woman would join you in mourning. Though I do not know this man, his deeds have a weight on your soul. His life had meaning that I can see in your eyes without even needing to ask."
She begins to weep like a child. "Oh... Oh god. Thank you. Yes, you're right, he was a good man. Those bastards! I'll kill those bastards that took him."
You close your eyes and kneel, whispering a prayer. "Revenge is not the way to salvation. Do your duty, but he would wish for you to be safe, not hunting his murderers, no?"
She takes a long, drawn out breath before letting it go with a faint nod. "You're right." She rubs her eyes and stands.
"Thank you, Cleric. You've saved my mind from torment today. If you ever find your way to Baldur's Gate I will greet you and treat you to something nice. I should get to helping. There's much to do."
"Oh my, what?"
"They took the- the Duke! Dammit, I can't believe I got held up crying. I gotta go!" She ran off.
You stand, dusting your robes. You turn. The others offer a look of disbelief. Shadowheart grabs you by the collar angrily.
"You could fucking act normal this whole time!?"
You chuckle. "No... I just remembered I could act normal. I'm a spy! Can you believe that? Walking into a settlement to gather information after it was raided by my people stirred the memory in me." There is a long silence. In the background Karlach tackles her way through the front door and battles her way through fire, emerging with two Humans over her shoulder. It is quite a spectacle that is going completely unnoticed.
"Well, now that we know, we don't have to worry about you causing us any problems for us on the road-" Astarion stops speaking as soon as more shouting rises from the group. The guard you spoke to, after mingling back into her comrades, collapsed.
There were shouts from the Fists. "Poison! Drow poison! Dammit we have another one, get the antidote!"
His jaw drops. "You poisoned her?" He asks, leaning in with a lowered tone.
"How did you do it? I'm actually intrigued."
