Break Of Dawn, Chapter 2 (Astarion X Tiefling! Tav)

Break of Dawn, Chapter 2 (Astarion x Tiefling! Tav)

A/N: Okay second chapter and Astarion finally shows up lol. Featuring Tav's spidey sense immediately clocking something is Weird about this random elf and Shadowheart being really good at making friends. Feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated!

Warnings: None except for Shadowheart's snark. Expect smut and violence in later chapters.

WC: 5k

Thankfully, while she did wake up with a headache again, it wasn’t nearly as severe as the one that had roused her early. Tav groaned, feeling like she had just been at the receiving end of a rothé stampede, before remembering that what had actually happened wasn’t much better. It took a moment for her to wonder if the fall had killed her and she was now laying there waiting for Kelemevor’s judgement, but the distant sound of birds and what felt like sand beneath her fingers convinced her otherwise. With a great amount of effort, Tav peeled her eyes open, only to be immediately met with sunlight. It took everything she had not to curse Lathander and to instead be grateful that at least she was being blinded by the actual sun and not Avernus’s hellfire.

She let out a deep sigh and sat up. Looking around, she noticed that she was, in fact, on a beach, which explained the sand. The beach was also on fire. Or, at least, the wreckage scattered about the beach was on fire. Tav was almost shielded by the burnt remains of the illithid ship, now sinking into the tide, and she couldn’t help but think the mindflayers could have at least had the courtesy to crash the ship in a way that would’ve protected her eyes from the sun.           

Tav pulled herself to her feet and did her best to brush the sand and dirt from her clothes. Her breastplate was dented but intact, but her leather pants were ripped up and her boots needed a good repair. The tips of her hair were also singed, though she had needed a trim, anyways. After a general once-over, Tav determined that, while she was probably bruised from head to toe and would likely be walking with a limp for the foreseeable future, she had no grave wounds. She channeled some healing magic to patch together a gash on her upper arm, but the effort left her so drained that she didn’t bother with any of the other cuts. Tav knew she needed time and rest for her magic to replenish itself, and she could only hope she wouldn’t be tussling with any mindflayers before she got a nap in.

After gathering some herbs she’d noticed on the shoreline, Tav began the journey forward. She didn’t have a clue where she was but knew answers wouldn’t present themselves if she stayed in one place. However, she didn’t make it far before she stumbled on a familiar figure.

There, sprawled in the sand further up the beach, was Shadowheart. 

Tav jogged forward, hoping she was finding an unconscious ally rather than a dead one, and was relieved when she saw the slow rise and fall of Shadowheart’s chest. As Tav bent down to wake her, she took note of something clasped in the half-elf’s hand. Tav leaned closer to get a better view and realized it was a small, angular object, covered on all sides in what she recognized as gith script, though Tav couldn’t recall if it was of githyanki or githzerai origin. She figured that the object was what Shadowheart had paused to gather from her pod, and while her curiosity tempted her to snatch the artifact, Tav stamped the urge down and instead did gave Shadowheart’s arms a shake.

She woke slowly, grunting at the light much like Tav had, and when her green eyes focused, Tav caught a flash of surprise.

“You’re alive,” Shadowheart said, not sounding fully convinced. “I’m alive. How is this possible?”

Tav shrugged and helped Shadowheart to her feet, watching as she tucked the artifact back into a pocket.            

“Your guess is as good as mine. What matters is that we survived.”

Shadowheart huffed and began to dust off her armor, though the details were still smudged over with grime. “I suppose you’re right. Do you know where are?"

“I was hoping you may have an answer to that,” Tav replied. “I don’t recognize the area, though I haven’t gotten the chance to really look around yet. Maybe we’ll find something familiar.”         

“We?” Shadowheart raised an eyebrow. “You want to stay together?”

“It makes the most sense,” Tav said. “We’re both infected and need to find a cure. We stand a better chance surviving out here if we travel together.”

A wry smile crossed Shadowheart’s face, and it was only then, in the light and away from the turmoil of battle, that Tav took note of just how pretty the young woman was.       

“A logical plan. If you hadn’t been running around with that gith, I’d say you were pretty smart.” Tav snorted, but Shadowheart’s words did bring up something she hadn’t noticed yet.

“Speaking of, where is she? I saw you fall off the ship but I lost sight of her.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” Shadowheart said. “She wasn’t going to spare the energy to help me, so I won’t spare any energy on her.” Something flashed in Shadowheart’s eyes and she seemed to hesitate slightly before continuing. “On that note, I did want to thank you for that. Staying behind to free me. You didn’t have to, and it would’ve honestly been the smart move to save yourself instead of risking your neck for a stranger, but you did anyways. I’m grateful for that.”     

Tav smiled and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind a pointed ear.

“I wouldn’t have just walked away and let you die. I don’t think I could’ve lived with myself if I did.”

“Not many people would’ve shared that sentiment,” Shadowheart mused, and Tav couldn’t help but wonder if Shadowheart counted herself amongst that crowd. “Regardless of your reasoning, you saved my life. I won’t forget that.” 

Before Tav could say anything, Shadowheart looked around the beach and let out a deep breath.     

“Well, enough with the heart-to-hearts. We’re losing daylight. We should find somewhere to make camp for the night.”

Tav looked towards the horizon and noticed Shadowheart was right. With how low the sun was, she figured they maybe had a few hours before dark. In unfamiliar territory, Tav didn’t relish the idea of getting caught in the wilds when the sun went down. 

“Agreed. Let’s get moving, then.”   

The pair began moving up from the beach towards the tree line, taking note of a large stone door that appeared to lead into some kind of temple, but it was locked and neither could pick it, so they continued on. Tav said a small prayer to herself every time they passed the body of someone who had clearly been caught in the crash, which earned her a look from Shadowheart every time.

“You’re a cleric too, aren’t you?” Tav asked, to which Shadowheart nodded. “So then you know it is only natural to want to lay the dead to rest.”

Shadowheart paused a moment, pursed her lips, and said nothing.    

As they passed through the smoldering remains of the illithid vessel, Tav attempted to make small talk, but the conversation was stilted, with Shadowheart seemingly uncomfortable discussing herself. When Tav had pressed on which deity Shadowheart served, she had clammed up, stating that it was a private matter. Tav attempted to ease her worries by affirming her own worship of Lathander, but that only seemed to make Shadowheart more wary. After taking care of a few rogue intellect devourers in the wreckage and picking over the bodies, Tav began to run down a list of patrons in her head that would’ve commanded such secrecy. Kelemvor wasn’t off the table—given how nobody was particularly eager to befriend someone that hung out in cemeteries all day, Tav wouldn’t be surprised if Shadowheart wanted to keep that to herself—or perhaps her god was simply less popular. Loviatar, perhaps? Or Mask, maybe, though Shadowheart didn’t seem like much of a thief.

While Tav was pondering, she watched Shadowheart reach down into the pockets of a corpse and retrieve a piece of fabric, which she used to begin wiping down her armor. In the sunlight, Tav caught a glimpse at the front of Shadowheart’s breastplate. Blazoned right in the center was a large black circle decorated with golden arches almost resembling a setting sun. It wasn’t familiar to Tav, though as she began to take notice of Shadowheart’s other accessories, namely those revolving around more big black circles, a sick feeling curled up her spine. Shadowheart couldn’t be…could she?

“Are you just going to stand there and gawk or will you actually do something useful in the near future?”                   

Shadowheart’s quip broke Tav out of her train of thought. She blinked and smiled up at Shadowheart but could feel that it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Sorry, I…I think the tadpole is eating at my brain.”    

Shadowheart didn’t look entirely convinced but seemed not to care about what had caused Tav’s lapse in focus, since she just shrugged and hopped down from the ledge she’d been on.

“Alright, but if you plan on dying a horrible death, please do so from a safe distance away. I’ve fought enough mindflayers for one day.” 

Tav laughed. It didn’t shake the worry and suspicion that had started brewing in her stomach.

After looting what parts of the ship they could access, the pair started up a small cliff only to come across a large sigil sputtering against the side of the mountain. They glanced at each other before raising their hands and creeping closer, ready with magic if the situation called for it. Tav moved right to the front of it, while Shadowheart stayed further back. When Tav gave her a look, she said, “In case you need backup, of course,” accompanied by a wry smile. Tav curled her lip, but wasn’t able to say anything in response, as it was at that moment when a hand suddenly shot from the depths of the sigil. She yelped and stumbled back and the hand and its accompanying arm began to wave erratically.

“Hello?”

A voice called out, seemingly from deep within the rune itself. Tav approached, head tilted in curiosity, watching the hand move.

“Some help? For a wizard in need?"

Tav turned to look at Shadowheart, who seemed just as confused, before looking back at the hand.

"Are you okay?” she called, at a loss for what else to say.

“I assure you I will be, once a potentially kind soul helps me out of my current predicament!” the voice yelled back, sounding far more chipper than Tav would’ve expected for someone apparently stuck in a mountain.

She gave the rune a look and reached out with her own magic, asking Lathander for his guidance to lead her around the spell and calm its wrath. She followed his direction until she felt confident to raise her hands and began to channel a countercharm. Tav watched the jagged edges of the sigil begin to soften, and from inside, she heard the voice call out again.

“Whatever it is you’re doing, it’s doing the trick! A good tug should do it now."      

Tav grabbed the hand and, with Shadowheart behind gripping her shoulders, began to pull backwards. She could feel the sigil fighting back until, with a pop, its power sizzled out, and the pair fell backwards as the individual inside the rune sprang loose. Shadowheart stumbled away, but Tav landed in a heap—for the third time that day, she snarked to herself—with the stranger on top of her. She looked up and met the very surprised gaze of a man, who immediately began to stutter.

“Oh! By the Weave, I am so sorry, that was most unbecoming of a gentleman, I apologize, my lady.” He continued to ramble as he stood, reaching down to help Tav up in a reversal of their previous position.

“Really, I don’t normally tackle people who save my life by way of thanks. Not that my life is often in need of saving, mind you, I promise I am not some wayward adventurer, I’m just a humble wizard who got themselves into a spot of trouble with an errant group of illithid, and, well, we can all see how that went—”

Tav glanced over at Shadowheart, who looked like she really wished they had just ignored the rune, before turning back and holding up her hands.

“Hey!”

The man clamped his jaws shut, and Tav noticed a blush high on his cheeks. Whether out of embarrassment or from their earlier close proximity, she had no clue.

“Don’t worry about it. Seriously, it isn’t a big deal.”   

A smile broke out onto the man’s face, deepening the lines around his eyes and lips. He was handsome, in a scholarly sort of way, with dark hair curling around curved human ears and bright brown eyes indicative of all overly curious wizards.

“Oh, I think rescuing a rather unlucky wizard is a rather big deal, actually. But,” he held up his hands, “I can assure you that I am most grateful for your kindness. I just wish I had something in the way of thanks.”

Tav smiled. This man was odd, even for a wizard.

“Thank me by explaining how you wound up in that stone. Not a normal location to find someone.”

“A most unusual circumstance, to be certain,” he replied. “One in a long series of most unusual circumstances I have experienced today.” He raised a brow. “Circumstances I believe all three of us share? I saw you. On the mindflayers’ ship, I mean.” 

Tav glanced at Shadowheart, who very clearly did not want anything to do with the current situation, and realized she was going to have to do the talking.

“Yes, we were both on the ship, along with a gith woman who seems to have been lost in the crash.”            

The wizard’s eyes widened.

“So it was a gith attack that brought the ship down? I had my suspicions, but…” He trailed off before shaking his head. “Anyways, it was a tumble out of that ship that put me in the situation where I needed to find a way to spare myself the particularly quick death I was facing as the ground approached. When I sensed the magic in that stone, I reached out, hoping to slow my fall, which I was successful in doing so, at the cost of sending myself across the Weave and into the stone itself.” He shrugged. “Magic, eh? Never know where it will take you.                         

"But, sudden real life applications of the forces of gravity aside, since we were all unwilling passengers on the nautiloid, I imagine all three of us were at the receiving end of a spontaneous and unwanted insertion in the ocular region?”

It took a moment for Tav to decipher what on earth the man had just said, but when she did, she grimaced.        

“If you mean the tadpole, then yes. I take it you got one too?”               

The man smiled, but there wasn’t much mirth behind it.               

“Indeed. As much as I love getting firsthand experience with the lesser-known cultures of Faerûn, I can say this was one encounter I would have rather avoided. Are you aware of the…eh, shall we say violent conclusion such an infection brings?”     

Tav’s scowl deepened.

“Unfortunately. We have days, a week at best, before we’re mindflayers ourselves.”      

“Right you are,” the man responded. “Now, I can’t help but notice you bear the symbol of Lathander,” he pointed to the center of her breastplate where the Morninglord’s sun blazed, “which leads me to hope that you are perhaps a cleric skilled in the ways of much needed cerebral surgery?”        

“You seem to know enough about our condition to know that we’ll need more than a cleric to solve this problem,” Shadowheart suddenly butted in. The man gave a halfhearted chuckle.

“No harm in asking, I suppose.”

"Well, we were on our way to find some kind of civilization,” Tav said. “Since we’re all in the same boat, do you want to tag along?”

At the same moment, the man’s face split into a broad grin as Shadowheart scowled deeply.

“I did not want to impose on your hospitality—”            

“Then don’t,” Shadowheart muttered, to which Tav shot her a glare.

“—but I must admit I was rather worried I was going to have to figure this out on my own. It is a great relief to have found allies in arms. Or, tentacles, perhaps.”

Tav rolled her eyes and watched Shadowheart do the same before smiling.

“Great. I’m Tav, this is Shadowheart. And you are?”

The man’s eyes widened.

“Oh goodness, where are my manners?” He thrust out his hand. “Gale of Waterdeep, at your most grateful service.”                      

“Waterdeep?” Tav said as she shook the wizard's hand. “That’s where I’m coming from.”

"Ah!” Gale responded, his face bright, clearly happy to have someone else from his city nearby. “A resident of the Spires of the Morning, I take it? A beautiful temple indeed. Once, when I was a young and rather unwise student at Blackstaff, I spent the festival of Sornyn within those walls, and, well, perhaps got a little too indulgent in the celebrations, and…”

Gale continued to recount stories from his time at Blackstaff as the trio resumed the trek up the mountain.     

“Are you just going to pick up every stray we come across?” Shadowheart hissed out the corner of her mouth as Gale suddenly switched from stories about his student days to ruminations on illusion magic. Tav let a smile cross her features.

“I picked you up, didn’t I?"          

Shadowheart opened her mouth, probably to bite out a reply, but found no words, causing Tav to laugh.           

“Besides,” she continued, “a wizard is always useful to have around.” She glanced behind her, where Gale continued to ramble seemingly without the knowledge that he had no real audience. “Lack of social skills notwithstanding.”     

Shadowheart huffed. “Fine, but the moment a fireball gets too close to my eyebrows, I’m putting him back in that stone.”

Tav had rejoined Gale’s one-sided conversation about Waterdeep when, about half an hour of walking later, the sun now hanging low on the horizon, Shadowheart suddenly stopped up ahead of them and held up a hand.   

“Hold on,” she called back. “Someone’s up ahead.”          

Tav jogged up to Shadowheart, Gale hanging back with a quick excuse that he was the only one of them without armor or a big threatening weapon, and looked over her shoulder.        

Shadowheart was right. Further up the road, a lone figure stood in front of a few broken illithid pods. All she could make out from a distance was a deep maroon overcoat and a shock of white hair.

“Everything look alright?” Gale called, which apparently drew the stranger’s attention. The figure turned, causing Shadowheart to grumble.

“Great. Now we have to talk to him.”

“Maybe he’s another survivor?” Tav mused.

“Or maybe he’s a petty thief hoping to make a quick payday."

Tav sighed. “Only one way to find out.”    

Her grip tightened on her mace and she began to cross the gap between her and the stranger. Behind her, she heard Gale talking to Shadowheart.                      

“A rather brave soul, that one.” 

“You call it bravery. I call it idiocy.” 

“I’ve found the two often work hand in hand.”                           

Tav was too far away to hear Shadowheart’s inevitably rude reply.

As she got closer, she was able to make out more details of the stranger. He was a man, slightly shorter than both Shadowheart and Gale but taller than her without including her horns, with prominent elven ears poking out from beneath curly white hair. He was dressed in well-made clothes, complete with a ruffled collar and elegant belt, leading Tav to wonder if she’d stumbled across a hapless patriar.                 

“You there!” he called. Gods, even his accent was posh.

“Yes?” Tav replied, stopping once she was close enough to talk without yelling but not so close he could reach out and grab her if he felt inclined to. “What’s wrong?”

The elf gestured into the grass. “I’ve got one of those wretched brain things cornered in the brush, but I don’t have anything to kill it with. I hoped you may be a fair bit more capable than me.”      

“What’s going on?”

Tav turned to see Shadowheart and Gale approaching.

“He says there’s an intellect devourer in the grass. Must’ve escaped the crash.”

“Ah!” Gale said, a slight wince to his features. “Nasty things, intellect devourers. It’s said the greater the intelligence of a person, the more intellect devourers are drawn to feast.”

“Sounds like you won’t be having much trouble, then,” Shadowheart replied, earning an immediate stutter from Gale. Before they could bicker, Tav turned back to the elf, who was watching with a mix of amusement and confusion.

“Let me handle this."

She stepped forward, keeping a close eye on the man as he flashed her a charming grin and extended his arms in a mock bow. This close, with the setting sun shining directly on them, Tav got a better look at him. Unlike Gale, who was attractive in the same way that old libraries were—warm and comforting with an air of refinement earned with age—the elf was every bit a stereotypical lady-killer. Strong jaw, sharp nose, high cheekbones. He was a handsome man who clearly knew it, radiating confidence and oozing charisma. It was almost enough to distract her from his eyes.     

Tav stuttered in her steps when she met his gaze. It was piercing like the rest of him, but far from the usual greens or blues she’d expect from an elf. In the sun, his eyes were like wine, deep rich red. It was enough to make her heart stumble, but not from attraction or even arousal. Not when she was certain she caught a glimpse at a sharp tooth between his full lips.

“Losing your nerve, darling?” His voice was low, layered with a charm Tav knew was meant to ease her mind, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that had shot up her spine. All her training under her Dawnmaster, learning to spot the enemies of the Morninglord, telling her to be on her guard. There was a prickle behind her heart, and she almost let her instincts convince her that she was looking at a beast. But the sun was up, and the elf was standing directly in its light. She blinked. False alarm.

“No, of course not.” She stepped forward, shaking the feeling of everything she’d ever learned at the Spires crawling up her spine and nudging the parasite aside to scream into her ear that there was something wrong here—

A rustle in the bushes, and a boar sprinted out from the foliage. Tav let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and suddenly there was a knife at her throat and she was being pulled into the dirt.   

She saw both Shadowheart and Gale’s hands raise, fire blazing at the tips of their fingers, as the elf clutched her close to his chest, the silver of his blade digging into her scars.       

“Don’t move,” he hissed into her ear. “We don’t want to mark up that pretty neck of yours, now do we?"

“Watch yourself,” she heard Shadowheart call. “You’re outnumbered.”

“And I have your friend at knife point,” the elf responded. “You’ll stay back if you want her blood to stay inside her veins.”

Tav’s brain finally caught up with her. She shook herself and heard the elf bickering with Shadowheart and Gale. Her horns dug into the ground, her tail pinned beneath their combined weight. Tav scowled to herself. She was really off her game today. Even if the elf wasn’t what she thought he was, he still had a blade to her throat, and that made him a threat regardless.

She threw her head to the side while the elf was distracted with her companions and her horns collided with his chin. He hissed, and she took his moment of distraction to slip loose, coming to her feet with hands outstretched. She let holy fire spring to her fingertips despite how low her reserves were running. She really needed a nap.

The elf sprang up to mirror her, his knife clutched in his hands and his pretty face marred by a scowl.

“No weapon, huh?” Tav quipped, nodding to the blade. “If you wanted to rob us, you’re off to a bad start.” The elf’s expression went darker and she watched him squeeze the handle of his dagger.

“Don’t play games with me, tiefling” he growled, and once again Tav was sure she saw pointy teeth. “I saw you on the ship. Walking about without a care in the world. What did you do to me?” 

“What did I do?” Tav balked. “Do I look like a mindflayer? I was abducted just like you. Infected with one of their tadpoles.”           

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” he hissed back.                                      

“Do you really want me to answer that?” she responded with a smile.

Before he could snap back, the pain she was becoming begrudgingly familiar with flared up. She saw streets illuminated by streetlamps, the flash of sultry smiles. There were sheets under her hands twisted in ecstasy, lips against her neck, and...

Fear. So much fear that it was clogging her throat. A light against her eyes, terror in her heart, a pair of red eyes, the glint of something sharp—      

The connection severed and Tav was back in her own mind. She looked up and met the confused gaze of the elf.               

“What…what in the hells was that?” he said.

“The tadpole. It’s what the illithids put in our heads,” she replied. “It connects our brains, lets us see into each other’s minds.” 

The elf took a moment, staring at her and clearly wondering if she was telling the truth, but he eventually lowered his knife.              

“Well, that certainly…explains things.” He sniffed. “Is that all these worms do or are there other…side effects that you know of?"

“They are actually the first stage in the illithid life cycle,” Gale piped up from behind her. “Mindflayers require hosts for their larvae, given they do not have the biological requirements for sexual reproduction. After a brief but agonizing gestation period, the host body is consumed and a newborn illithid takes its place.”  

The elf blinked and turned to Tav. She sighed.

“They’ll turn us into mindflayers if we don’t remove them.”         

The man’s pale skin went even paler, and he opened and shut his mouth like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“Turn us into…?” He cut himself off with a harsh laugh. “Of course they will. Why did I expect anything different?” The elf shook his head and a wry smile crossed his face.     

“And here I was ready to decorate the ground with your insides. Apologies."          

Tav scrunched her nose and nodded, not quite willing to openly forgive him but having no stomach for another fight.             

“So, have you lovely people made any headway in figuring out how to control these things yet?” the elf continued. Tav drew her brows together.

“We need to remove them, not control them.”

The elf rolled his eyes. “Well, yes, obviously, but first things first.” 

Tav looked back at Shadowheart and Gale, who were already looking at her, clearly waiting for her to make a decision. She let a breath hiss through her teeth.     

“We only just got this problem, same as you. We were trying to find some sort of civilization to see if they’ve got a healer that could help, if you…” Tav trailed off, and she could practically feel Shadowheart’s glare against the back of her head. “If you wanted to tag along.” 

Shadowheart sighed.

The elf perked up, clearly pleased and surprised with the turn of events.

“Well, I was ready to go this alone, but who am I to turn down such wonderful company?” The charmer’s smile returned as he lowered into a half bow. “My name’s Astarion.”

“Tav,” she replied. “That’s Shadowheart and Gale.”

“A pleasure to meet your…well-armed acquaintance,” Gale said from behind them.

“Yes, well,” Astarion said, fully tucking away his dagger, “I suppose it is.”

He grinned, wrinkles creasing around his bright red eyes, and Tav was again struck by that feeling in her chest, like her Dawnmaster was somehow yelling at her all the way from Waterdeep that she was missing something. She frowned. Maybe he just had drow somewhere in his heritage. No reason to jump to conclusions.

“Well, that was lovely,” Shadowheart said, sounding like the past fifteen minutes were anything but, “though I feel the need to remind everyone that we are on a rather tight schedule and we’re running out of daylight. Shall we continue, or are there any more wayward vagabond you plan to pick up?”

“Vagabond?” Astarion gasped. “I am no such thing. Merely a simple bastard.”

Tav shook her head and turned the way they had been heading.

“Yes, let’s keep moving. We don’t want to find out what sort of monsters are out here at night.”

She couldn’t stop herself from looking at Astarion when she said that. He responded only with another salacious grin as the group began their journey again.

Tav mentally kicked herself. She’d been hoping for vampires all day. And as she looked up at Astarion’s back, she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she’d finally gotten her wish.