#Astarion scrambles her brain in a good way ;3

[mogwaei]

sketchy of Astarion and my Dark Urge Zjinn...flirting, ig? They're both terribly broken and don't know how to people properly. Sooo they flirt in weird ways. Criticising each other's murder methods? Morbid bard rhymes? Exchanging pickup lines while standing over a pile of entrails? They'll get there eventually. I think.

[sheloves-toomuch]

Chapter 3: The Mirror, The Apple, and The Vision

This chapter borrows themes from Grimm's Fairytales, and Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid. Raphael, the son of Mephistopheles is a prince of sorts, if that makes sense? We discover a lot more about the siren and her dark urge, along with Astarion's motivations moving forward.

I'd like to thank @bloody-cute-yandere for helping me come up with a lot of the ideas in this chapter. You're the best!

I still haven't decided on a title- maybe something simple like The Siren and the Vampire? Let me know what you think!

TW for language, adult themes, blood and violence.

“The only way we can bring her to safety is if we face the hag herself!” Wyll shouted, arms crossed. He was pacing in front of the fire at camp while the others thought intensely. The silence was thick, and there was tension in the air among the party members.

When Zenosyne had fallen into a deep slumber and the once bitten apple fell with a hollow thud in the grass, the hag hastily appeared. The bark of the large tree morphed ever so slightly before their eyes. A hunched creature with broken sticks in her hair and long clawed fingers separated from its thick trunk. She retrieved the siren with a deafening cackle and disappeared in a shimmering green cloud of fog. They hadn’t seen her since.

Gale was silently racking his brain for all the knowledge he could muster on hags and their tricks. Lae’zel had chided him for not knowing more off the top of his head.

“Tch’k! Have your brains been scrambled since the parasite took up residence there? I would have expected the ‘well-read wizard’ to know these things.”

Shadowheart sat with her cheek rested on her open palm, slouching forward with a pensive look etched into her brow.

Astarion lay quietly on his back, facing the stars as he tossed an apple in the air, then caught it, repeatedly. His other arm rested curled behind his silver locs.

Karlach stood back from the flames, warm enough already from her own furnace of a heart.

“I don’t think she had a clue she was a siren.” Karlach said, hands on her hips. She looked at the ground and kicked the dirt nervously. “I don’t think she was trying to deceive us, is what I’m trying to say.”

“There was a time I would have slain her on the spot- but, as we’ve established, these are unusual times, and I’m finding allies in the most unlikely of people.” Wyll added.

Astarion grimaced at Wyll’s words. He knew Wyll would have slain him too, at one point- but it was rather inconsiderate to keep brining up the fact.

“I suppose you’re doing many of us a favor, then, not cutting our throats in our sleep. Is that what you’re saying?” He asked pointedly, but his face still lazily looked up at the stars- eyes following the apple as it made its way back down to his hand. Were it not for his sharp words he would have seemed altogether unbothered.

“Let’s not argue, Astarion, when we have more pressing matters at hand.”

“Yes, let’s not.” Astarion echoed.

“I have to agree, Karlach.” Shadowheart inserted herself into the conversation in hopes of breaking some of the growing tension. “I don’t think she knew any more than we did. That’s… not the parasite’s doing, either. I may not have memories… but I know why my memories are gone. The rest of you know who you are and remember your past.” She sighed, “I think we should go back for her.”

“Her bloodlust is a danger to us all- she clearly has trouble keeping it in check. If she cannot keep herself in line, then perhaps it is a good thing that she is gone.” Lae’zel stated coldly.

“Coming from the Githyanki, that is quite the statement” Shadowheart murmured. It would seem she tried to break up tensions only to create her own.

“I keep my blades sharp, but I do not strike without purpose, Shadowheart.” Lae’zel’s tone never changed.

Gale finally spoke up,

“Those talking sheep were clearly some kind of illusion. We have to find out exactly how much of our surroundings back there were illusory. I can try to dispel the magic, but ultimately, we will have to find the hag’s hiding place. Finding a way to wake Zenosyne will be another matter altogether.”

There was another heavy silence.

“That is to say, I do intend to go back there. I think she is a formidable ally, one whose favor we would do well to keep.” Gale added.

“I agree!” Astarion exclaimed. “She was able to turn a Gur into a drooling mess in seconds. That’s a skill we could use to our benefit in the future.” He let out a throaty laugh. “Hah, the way he walked into the river without question. Right into her blade.”

Though he looked calm, Astarion's mind was moving quickly and in many directions. With each toss of the apple into the air he was met with a new question. Zenosyne was powerful, he thought to himself, and she had no idea. That was a dangerous thing. To be able to control other beings with ease and make them bend to your will- it had taken him the better part of 200 years to be able to charm and seduce people with ease, and even then, he couldn’t convince someone to walk without question into his blade. Yes, she was gifted, and he would be sure that her gifts worked to protect him. Its just a matter of charming her instead of the other way around... he thought.

After all, he had absently complimented her upon their first meeting on the wrecked beach. Her naïve smile had spoken volumes more than the few words she stuttered afterwards. It should be simple enough, Astarion thought to himself.

“But will she turn her siren’s gaze towards us?” Wyll thought out loud, breaking Astarion’s train of thought.

“I don’t think she would.” Karlach said firmly. “She’s just as confused as the rest of us, if not more. I genuinely think anyone thick enough to bite into a mysterious hag’s apple without question is probably not a devious mastermind.”

“At first light, we go then.” Gale said firmly.

_________

Single file, the party quietly made their way to the spot where Zenosyne had been taken by the hag, Ethel. Two of the sheep stood facing each other, as if staring one another down. Certainly not typical sheep behavior.

Gale quietly whispered a few words, and like a great paintbrush was pulling away strokes of wet paint from a canvas, the bright and beautiful glade became a muggy and damp swamp. The sheep were redcaps in disguise. Evil fae creatures that followed Ethel around in their sweet disguises. They seemed to be altogether oblivious to the fact that they had been discovered.

“Baa” one of them said.

Stepping through the thick mud one by one, the party finally laid their eyes upon the hag’s home. It resembled the creature herself, overgrown with vines and moss. It smelled faintly like sulfurous eggs.

Stepping up on to the steps of the hag’s home, the door wide open- Astarion cautiously peeked inside. Usually, an invitation was required for him to cross the threshold of someone’s house. It seemed that walking in the sun was not the only freedom he could now enjoy thanks to the wriggling worm in his brain.

Perhaps if we wake her up, and rescue her, I can sweep in and begin my charming little act. He thought, She seems a bit like the empty-headed fairytale type. Granted, empty headed and extremely dangerous.

“There’s no hag here.” Karlach said, cautiously. “But those coals near the hearth are still warm.”

“It’s a false wall.” Astarion said passively, as though it were obvious. The others turned to him in surprise.

“What? You can’t tell? Look at those bricks. They don’t match the ones behind it, and it’s set out just a bit too far to be a simple hearth.” He explained. “Tsk. Honestly, it’s a wonder that you all could find your way back to camp.”

Karlach pushed the still warm bricks until they budged gently. “He’s right” she said, and with a great swing of her hammer, the wall came tumbling down to reveal a dark and moldy passageway. They descended carefully into the musty, odiferous stairway into a damp and uninviting cave. Green light occasionally glowing just enough to give them guidance on where to step.

“You’ve come to retrieve the little mermaid, then?” A chilling voice rose up from the cave walls. Auntie Ethel. It seemed to permeate through the rocks and echo from every direction. At the end of the tunnel was a room of sorts- a table with alchemy ingredients spread lazily about, and just past it- a large, ornate mirror that showed no reflection.

“Hush” the disembodied voice continued, “She dreams now.”

The mirror looked as though it were a window to the ocean. Waves crashed inside, and a tiny glow was suddenly visible within the chaos. The glow became brighter, and brighter, until finally it pushed aside the waves and the vision of Zenosyne was shown. She was asleep, dreaming deeply. Now, her minds eye was opened and her dreams were visible.

Zenosyne cradled a beautiful jewelry box in her hands, sifting through the contents with an empty and distant stare.

“Gods, all I have of the beauty from the world up there is in this room.” She mused, and hummed a quiet melody. “I bet you up there, they don’t reprimand their daughters for being kind.”

An unnaturally pale woman with swirls of red that danced with otherworldly magic on her skin lay on her stomach, thumbing through the pages of an old book with little interest. Her hair was in a long, blonde braid that snaked down her back. A large, beautiful bed made atop the open face of an opalescent shell came into view. The room’s beauty was beyond description. There were glass ornaments everywhere. Colors of green, blue, pink and purple shimmered in the glow of the dim light from above like stars. Jewelry was strewn without care on the vanity, on a lavish table, on the nightstand by the elegant bed- beautiful, ornate bottles that held unknown things were organized loosely beside her on the vanity, and several mother of pearl combs were laid out neatly in a row. In the middle of the room was a glistening pool that made the colors around her dance vividly in its reflection. Silk skirts and beaded fabrics peeked out from a massive wardrobe carved from light blue marble.

“You have everything you need down here.” The pale girl said, clearly annoyed. White, empty eyes finally meeting Zenosyne’s back. “The least you could do is put in the effort to make father proud. Just one or two souls and I’m sure he’d be just thrilled.” She rolled her eyes in disdain.

At the word father, Zenosyne flinched.

“I mean…” She went on, “I bring in the trophies of the slain every day. You don’t even lift a finger to do his bidding. And yet here you are… favored…. Somehow.” There was hostility and passive aggression in her voice.

Zenosyne was clearly thinking, but she decided against speaking out. Suddenly, a very small creature that was clearly from the hells emerged from the massive doors to her room. She looked at the eccentric, frankly horrifyingly grotesque creature through the mirror.

“Sceleritas Vel” She said, “Any news?”

“Just that your father wishes you to emerge from your room, your highness. Prince Raphael will be leaving soon.” His voice was respectful and refined despite his appearance.

“I don’t want to see Raphael, just bid him farewell for me.” Zenosyne said in a depressed tone.

“Highness, Your father wishes you to at least come out for yourself. His lordship, Prince Raphael, seemed very pleased to see you.” Sceleritas said, clawed, thin hands clasped together tightly.

“Very pleased indeed” The pale woman tossed the book over her shoulder, and it landed on a silk pillow. “Don’t fuck this one up, please, Zeno. He is the son of Mephistopheles. Do you know how many—”

“Enough, Orin! Out of here, both of you!” Zenosyne said, both hands up in the air. She sat up straighter but her back remained turned to them. Her voice was oddly melodic and soft for someone who was trapped within the hells. Perhaps that was part of her siren’s instincts. “I will have none of this.”

Once they had cleared from her room, Zenosyne let out a deep, pained sigh.

“Some charming prince.” She muttered, sarcastically.

The vision from the mirror went dark, and they were all left in silence. Shadowheart blinked a few times in disbelief.

“She was trapped in the hells? All along?” Karlach whispered, “A bit like myself… Just treated much, much better.”

Astarion swallowed, finding it difficult to place the feelings he was experiencing. She was just as sweet as she seemed to be, and she was destined to be held in the beautiful prison her father had made for her. No wonder she was drawn to death and destruction- she was from the hells. He did not want to think about what would happen if this “father” of hers showed up. Did he feel guilt? Or was it fear? She clearly fought against her nature and tried to be kind in the face of others’ disapproval.

No, he would stick to his plan, he decided. He would make sure "her highness" thought highly of him. She clearly wanted a proper dashing hero to help her out. I could play that part, he thought to himself, pushing away the other details. I’ll worry about the rest of the of the plan later.

With no warning, the hag emerged from behind them, reaching out a gnarled claw.

Zenosyne was visible just beyond her- in a quiet alcove. She was laid out on a stone table, quietly resting as if she were still beneath the apple tree.

Gale lifted his voice, casting mage armour on himself. Karlach wasted no time in lunging forward, crying out in rage with her terrifying might. Her hammer came down upon the hag, right through her, then down upon the ground where the hag was standing. She had suddenly disappeared into a cloudy haze. The hag let out a high pitched cackle at the attempt.

“My little mermaid has so many secrets! What a fine price she’d fetch if only her daddy knew where she was. Or maybe even that prince!” Ethel mused.

An arrow whizzed by Karlach’s ear. With a loud twang, Astarion’s bow fired. The hag jumped out of the way just in time, her shrill laugh making them all grimace in pain.

A fireball came hurling at them all, singing their clothing in a bright blaze. Karlach was undeterred and tumbled through the inferno- crying out with resolve. While the hag finished her spell, Karlach landed a heavy blow- on the real hag this time. She had not been expecting such a quick recovery from her opponent.

Ethel tumbled back, and in her confusion, Gale aimed an ice knife in her direction. It pierced her just in time, before she could run away from Karlach.

Shadowheart aimed a glowing guiding bolt towards her, but it landed on cold stone.

“Where is she?” Shadowheart cried out. The others looked around nervously, panting from the exertion.

“Awww, Did the rat catcher want to be the handsome prince? Did he want to be the hero?” Ethel's voice teased. The others weren't sure to whom she was referring, but Astarion spoke up anyway.

“I AM handsome, thank you” He spat with fury in his voice. He would not give the hag the pleasure of believing she could insult him.

The hag reappeared, and with a great swing of her staff, knocked Gale off his feet. Wyll took the opportunity to bring his sword down on her gangly arm, and with a crunch of bones she wailed. Lae’zel leapt onto the table. She knocked the roots and herbs out from under het feet, and jumped into the air, arms drawn back, ready to strike the hag. She landed with a tearing sound onto Ethel’s hunched form, but was flung off to the side. Lae’zel landed nearby, the air knocked out of her lungs.

Very mortally wounded now, Ethel screamed out a curse- but before she could summon any horrific creatures to fight alongside her, Shadowheart landed the guiding bolt she had been wanting so desperately to let go of. The hag cried out again, and fell backwards into the mirror- shattering it to pieces. Instead of falling forward- she fell backwards into it’s many broken shards. Her haggard feet the last thing they saw as she tumbled into a black oblivion. There was a second of peace. Then, the sound of the shattered mirror rang out again, and all of its fragments were restored to their former places. The cracks became threads of glowing magic, and it was as if the mirror had never been broken at all.

A gasp was heard. Zenosyne was awake. The party all rushed over to the stone table where she lay.

Without hesitation, Astarion leapt into action. Just as she was opening her eyes he pushed the others aside, emerging from the crowded adventurers. He looked down at her terrified face, and tried to smile. He placed his hands on her shaking shoulders.

"It's alright. You're safe, darling" he said, gently. His voice soothing. He took her face in his cold hands and she reached up to hold them.

"I think..." she spoke, but fell into a gasping, coughing fit. The long, deep sleep had left her weak and afraid.

Astarion reached down, one arm behind her back, the other beneath her knees, and lifted her up from the table.

"Don't think now, darling. There will be plenty of time for that later. Rest now." He whispered, and carried her up the steps into the hag's cottage.

[showyoumyfavoriteobsession]

WELL.

I just finished my first playthrough and like. holy shit. I'm still kind of reeling bc even though I think I got a "good ending" main story-wise (destroyed the elder brain and all the tadpoles), the companions' epilogues were not as positive!

I fucked up Gale's story at some point - I was trying to romance him, but I also didn't want him to take the crown for himself, and I think I must have picked an option that backed him up at some point thinking I could convince him later. When we got to the epilogue, we just got in an argument and he stormed off to go claim godhood for himself. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ My (vague) understanding is that each companion has at least two endings? And I did quicksave during that conversation so I may go back and see what happens if I back him up - probably not the ending I was aiming for, but something different at least. I also never got his act 3 romance scene, but I'm not sure if that's because of this or because I started romancing him too late (I didn't get his act 1 scene at the party either).

*Quick edit since I just went back and loaded up that last save: there wasn't anything I could do in that conversation to change the outcome of Gale leaving. I think I must have started his stuff too late, so I couldn't get all the scenes, plus probably a few bad dialogue choices on the way. It's a shame, I really do like Gale and he has an interesting story, and that’s not the way I was hoping to end it (even if I wasn't romancing him).

I didn't actively do very much of Karlach's story (got her stabilized in act 2 and that was about it), but GOD her epilogue scene made me cry like a baby. Saying goodbye to the sun and the ocean... telling herself she did her best... 😭 I'm still feeling unwell about it.

I don't think I would have done anything different on this playthrough for Astarion (helped him kill Cazador and disrupt the ritual) but I did feel bad when he had to go scrambling away from the sunlight. I'm planning to romance him for an evil playthrough so I might just go full evil and let him complete the ritual then - we'll see.

But overall I really really loved this game! Absolutely one of the biggest, most captivating experiences I've had in a game. I understand why people are upset about the abruptness of the epilogue, but (at least for now) it really didn't bother me. I think if it were much longer, it would have felt like it was dragging, especially when you have a lot of emotional scenes one after the other - I think they erred on the correct side. The story felt so detailed and interwoven and compelling and still managed to be... manageable. Understandable and relatively easy to keep track of, despite being both sprawling and deep. The script and the acting elicited a huge amount of emotional reactions from me all the way through the game - this has taken me about a month, mostly playing a couple hours each evening, and I was still laughing at the dialogue and cringing at my bad rolls and invested in battles almost every time I booted up the game. That was a pretty cool feeling.

It's wild to me that every time I watch other people play this game, they're always finding things that I never found - there's just so. much. game. I expect any subsequent playthroughs will go a good bit faster; eventually I'll probably just watch parts that I'm curious about instead of playing through it over and over with slight changes, but I am curious to do at least one more playthrough with a very different approach to see how different the game becomes. I'm going to be thinking (and posting lol) about this for a while.

Oh! Randomly, I feel like I should mention that I played the whole game on the easiest mode and it was great. This is the first CRPG I've ever played, I have very little experience with turn-based combat or DnD, and I wanted to keep having fun! It was still plenty challenging - there were still a couple times that my whole team died, it's certainly not a story-only mode - but it ended up being perfect for my play style.