Chapter Text
Astarion glanced down at the sleeping figure leaning against his bare chest. The woman’s breath rose and fell rhythmically against him. Waves of her chestnut hair framed her sleeping face. She smelled faintly of the lilac perfume she so favored. The vampiric elf admired the length of the woman’s eyelashes, the dance of freckles across her nose and shoulders, and the gentle swell of her breasts beneath the covers. All Astarion could think about was how fragile this woman was; how he would now gladly give up his life for hers. A year prior, the very notion of sacrificing himself for someone else would have been completely unthinkable. It was amazing what a change a perilous adventure could make in one’s life.
Glancing at the curtained windows, tied closed by golden cords, the vampire realized the sun had just set beneath the horizon from the faint and cool light spilling past the edges of the fabric. Night had just begun. It was a melancholy feeling, not being able to feel the kiss of the sun against his pale skin since the illithid tadpole had faded away into nothingness. The experience was a brief taste of true, near-mortal freedom, sweet as blood, after suffering two hundred years of torture and enslavement with the vampiric horror known as Cazador Szarr.
Now, however, Astarion had embraced the darkness within himself. For so long, much longer than the years he had been mortal, the night had been his life; he belonged to it. He thrived in it. Why should he fight it so fiercely?
Besides… now he would not be alone.
He looked down again to the woman sleeping in his embrace and ran his fingers through her hair with soothing motions, tucking a strand behind her rounded ear. She had adopted his nocturnal lifestyle with ease, and as a devoted cleric of the Moonmaiden Selûne, she preferred things that way. Astarion remembered the calm smile she gave him as she looked up at him, telling him that the fates surely must have brought them both together. The very notion had taken him aback. Why would she consider it fate to be with him; a monster?
No. Astarion knew better now.
This girl had seen him. She did not try to change him. Not once. Never did she see him as something to fix or mold into her ideal image of him, instead accepting him for who he was, as he was.
The woman would always offer him alternative ways of thinking, true, and Astarion had found that he would often choose her way in the end, but only because he wanted to. She had encouraged him to make the right choice regarding the Ritual of Ascension. She knew that he would have lost the part of himself he had fought so hard to get back: his soul. Astarion knew now he would have become exactly what he hated about his former master, and bound to Mephistopheles, which in hindsight was a terrible price for another day in the sun.
This woman had crumbled those walls surrounding his unbeating heart in less than a year. She had fought to protect him time and again. He owed so much of his current happiness to simply meeting her. The idea that he was where he was in that current moment, next to someone he cared for, and at peace, left him speechless.
Deciding he missed her long enough, Astarion woke her.
“Tavrielle, my darling, the sun has finally set. Time to rise and greet the moon.”
The human stirred against his chest and gradually her brown eyes opened, soon looking up into his own. Her eyes were always so dark in the low candlelight.
“…Did I oversleep?” she groggily wondered.
“No. The night is still young.”
“Mmh,” she mumbled, “then… five more minutes.”
“Oh no, no, no,” the vampire chuckled, “you spoiled thing!” However, he held Tav even closer and kept her from rising. She made an adorable, contented noise as she was hugged.
“Now you’ve done it!” she joked, “I’ll never want to get up!”
Still, despite their laziness, they both arose and dressed for the road, with Tav procuring a hearty meal at the Elfsong.
The past few days had been unexpectedly hectic for the couple, reuniting with all their companions at a marvelous party hosted by Withers. They had all drank, sang, and danced with one another, glad they were together under much lighter circumstances than the ones that had united them in the first place.
Even the former Bhaalspawn had been in attendance, with the drow male celebrated for denying his evil father entirely and regaining his heart. He was soon kissing the usually taciturn Minthara next to him, which made her blossom into a rare smile.
The celebration was joyous. Every companion they had made had changed themselves in those past few months, but at heart they were all still as close as they had ever been. Withers had proven that to them, and that was the reason he had called them together in the first place.
Now, Tav and Astarion descended the steps outside the Elfsong and spared a fond glance back at it. Truthfully, Astarion would have been fine to spend the entire evening in bed with Tav, loving her, cherishing her, peppering her with tender kisses, but they both planned to leave Baldur’s Gate that very evening. Everything had been pre-arranged with a comprehensive itinerary, with magical waypoint locations courtesy of Gale, along with an interdimensional tent no less, filled with summoned (mortal) provisions. They would be riding through Elturgard, past Elturel, on the way to the Sea of Stars just before taking a portal into the lands beyond it. It would be a dangerous journey, but both lovers were determined to see it through. They had a mission.
Around his neck Astarion’s grave soil had been placed in a small pouch decorated with intricate swirled embroidery; a gift from Tav. Tav carried a similar pouch of the soil around her neck, explaining it made her feel closer to him to have it near her heart. Tav always recalled the night they had sat before Astarion’s grave. She never wanted to forget it.
Just outside of Rivington, they met up with Halsin.
Halsin, upon hearing of their upcoming and dangerous journey during the celebration, gave Tav an Amulet of Silvanus to take with her. The old wood elf knew that Astarion occasionally fed on the young human woman and knew that the restoration spell placed on the amulet would keep her from losing her strength even after losing her blood.
“Thay is a terrible destination, my friends, and I would suggest not overstaying,” Halsin had warned the pair, “lest you end up unwillingly conscripted into the Dread Legion.”
“You need not worry so much, Halsin. Compared with what we have faced here in Baldur’s Gate this past year, I doubt anything will stand in our way,” boasted Astarion, full of confidence, “And we have been up and down the Sword Coast from Luskan to Calimport visiting Red Wizard enclaves just these past six months . We sent souvenirs, darling, remember?”
The druid did not smile at that, instead nodding with solemnity. This journey was for the sake of Astarion in the small chance that he might be able to walk in the sun once more. Their journey was an important one.
Tav glanced up at the wood elf, “The Moonmaiden will guide us, Halsin, as she has on the paths we have taken thus far. I have prepared extensively since we even considered this trip to the eastern lands.”
“Yet I fear that the Moonmaiden’s grace may not penetrate the darkness over the land of Thay. It is rife with the undead, and slavery is rampant. Should you require help, none would be forthcoming,” and reaching into his satchel Halsin produced several scrolls and offered them over, “Scrolls of Seeming and Polymorph from the Emerald Grove. I advise you both use them well before you enter those accursed lands, and to use your lunar magic as little as possible, lest you be detected.”
“Thank you, Halsin,” Tav replied, giving the elf a warm grin, “I swear we will be careful,” and she deftly packed away the magical scrolls, “and as we’ve done before, we will do some Sendings along the way to let you and everyone else know how we’re progressing.”
“See that you do, dear friend, for we will all be worried for you,” and he held out his arms for a bear hug, which Tav gladly entered. The druid had always been a comfort to her during their fight against the Absolute.
“Worrying never solved anything, Halsin,” added Astarion.
“You are correct, Astarion, yet no matter who we are, we will always worry for those whom we hold dear to our hearts. I know you feel this way as well, my friend,” the druid countered, giving a knowing glance to Tav.
The vampire offered a nod after a moment of thought.
They both bid the druid farewell and rode off into the night with the intent of reaching their first waypoint in Elturgard before the dawn’s light broke the horizon. They traveled alongside the Chionthar River, against the current, as it reached to the east, just before it split into Scornubel. By the time the fingers of dawn were peeking over the horizon, they found their shelter for the day in a small thicket of trees at the edges of the Werewoods, just short of the ruins of Elturel, home of the tieflings they had rescued months past. They had set up their tent, drab, and brown in color, between the brush and underneath the shade of the trees to hide it from any passersby during the day. The horses rested and grazed nearby. Tav had set up a sanctuary spell, just in case.
“These woods were once long ago called the Glimmerwood,” remarked Astarion, faintly remembering a time far before Tav’s own, and he looked curiously at their map, “‘The Werewoods’ certainly has a different feel to it.”
“At least it says what it is on the label, right?” Tav chuckled, preparing their bed for their daylight repast.
“Quite.”
“Let us rest. We have another long night ahead of us, I am sure.”
“Very well… but if I hear one werewolf howl, we’re traveling through the Underdark from here on out.”
Astarion climbed into bed next to Tav and she curled up against him, head against his cool chest. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Tav playfully murmured “ awoooo! ” and was promptly bopped with a pillow.
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The daytime passed uneventfully. Astarion, as always, broke his reverie several hours before Tav awoke for the evening and so he was confined to the tent until dusk. Humans required so much rest. The vampire tilted his head at her, wondering what she could be dreaming about. Surely me, he thought indulgently. Why wouldn’t she?
As though she could still hear Astarion’s thoughts, Tav murmured something about playing fetch with Scratch, and a scowl clouded the elf’s face. The little minx.
Gingerly, he rose, taking care not to wake his lover, then felt the warmth on his skin where she had laid her head against his chest. Already her warmth was fading, and Astarion wondered if he would ever be able to feel the rays of the sun against his skin again.
Finding one of the overstuffed chairs the magical tent provided, the pale elf sat, braced himself mentally, and gingerly opened a frightful-looking book that had lain on a side table nearby. The Necromancy of Thay.
Astarion had been reading the book for months, against his better judgement and Tav’s protestations, learning as many necromantic secrets as his mind was able to hold. There just had to be something useful for him within the scrawling and indecipherable text within the book. Something to either cure him of his… affliction… or a way to extend Tav’s life.
He glanced at her, wondering if Tav would ever even allow him to use necromantic magic on her at all. Astarion certainly would not expect her to, given that during their visit to see Gale of Waterdeep, they visited the House of the Moon, and Tav all but gave up her soul to Selune. There, the high clergy appointed Tav with the title of ‘Silverstar’ for saving Baldur’s Gate from the illithid scourge and curing the Shadowlands with Isobel and Dame Aylin. The church commended Tav for doing so much in service to the Moonmaiden. Tav wept at the honor; her smile brighter than ever.
Astarion was genuinely happy for her, and he had always been fine with Tav being a cleric, but he felt nothing for the gods. Nothing for the pantheon that abandoned him, even when he was chained and caged like an animal and starved for a drop of blood. He would have few compunctions when it came to necromantic magic, but Tav would.
The vampire's eyes continued to study each page, the magic intense and invasive. Months of training with the book had made it much easier to read; the secrets unfolded much easier. Astarion wondered if he had lost a part of himself by continuing to read it, but the knowledge the book possessed was far too valuable to part with. It invigorated him.
Hours flew by like minutes, it seemed. Finally, unable to take the maddened whispers any longer, he closed the book. Astarion held the bridge of his nose and sorted through the chaos in his mind. A formula stood out to him. An elixir. The whispers imparted him with the knowledge of Zulkirs long since dead and gone.
“You’re still consulting the book?” came Tav’s soft voice, startling the normally unshakeable rogue.
A moment of guilt quickly came and went through his mind as he gazed upon his lover, “Uh… Yes. Darling, if there is something in here that could be of use to us, we could forego the entire jaunt to Thay, right?”
“You’re not wrong,” the groggy woman replied to him, “but you know the divinations I did said our quest takes us to Thay.”
“Using cards to tell the future seems as though there would be a margin of error.”
Tav sat up, awake, with a disapproving frown. She had taken the remark as an insult to her divination abilities.
Astarion went to her side, attempting to make things better.
“I am doing this for us, my love.”
“Reading that horrid book?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes. This quest of ours may be to help me see the sun once more, there is more that we can do. We could search for a way to extend your life.”
“Astarion, we have been over this, haven’t we? I do not want to become a vampire. I am glad to be yours with what limited time I have in this life.
The vampire scowled, “What about my feelings on the matter?”
“I understand how you feel about it, but there are some boundaries I cannot cross,” Tav insisted.
“You do not have to become a vampire, nor would I want you to become one. You would be enthralled to whomever turned you, besides. I am talking about alchemical means.”
“A potion of longevity?”
“Yes. Exactly that. We could find an alchemical way to extend your lifespan.”
Tav ran her finger along his chin, “I am human, Astarion. We are meant to burn brightly and fade quickly. It is the natural order of things.”
“I do not want you to fade… no. There are ways, Tav. The book tells me so.”
“…The book tells you so? That wicked thing speaks to you still?” Tav propped herself up on her elbow, “Anything from The Necromancy of Thay is sure to command a wicked price, alchemical or no.”
Astarion looked her in the eyes in the low candlelight, “I have read of the formulae. Magical concoctions to restore youth and vigor. An old Zulkir recipe.”
Tav looked at her lover, unconvinced.
“I’m serious, darling,” the vampire insisted, “there is a chance we can be together as long as we could ever hope. You must consider it, please.”
The woman studied her lover intently, and the thought of parting had admittedly always been upon her mind, and she was quiet for a while before finally replying, “I will consider it, for you, however, ” And she held up a finger before he could remark, “only after the mixture is researched thoroughly by Gale. I do not trust any concoction created by a Zulkir. There may be a terrible price to pay.”
Astarion climbed back into the bed, to lay beside Tav once more.
“Darling,” Astarion breathed, “I want you to never leave me… To stay by my side, always. Promise me this. I do not think I could ever bear to be in a world without you.”
Tav smiled after a moment, running her hand through his tangle of silver curls. She admired him with gentle eyes for a moment before she replied.
“Our time together will be short, but it will be rich with love and adventure. I do not know where my path will end, but I swear it will be with you by my side.”
Another frown graced his perfect face, but she put her forehead to his, “I made a vow. I will consider an elixir, should it be safe. You know me, I do not break my vows.”
“You break your vows with me regularly, darling,” Astarion purred to her, gently nibbling on Tav’s earlobe, sending her gasping for breath. Soft kisses promised even more.
“I suppose… you’re right… about that.”
“I am always right, my sweet,” came her reply and Astarion nuzzled against her neck, his cool breath sending further shivers down Tav’s spine. His tongue, petal-soft, licked along the vein thrumming in her neck, eager for a little taste.
Tav writhed under the lavish attention and soon the two of them gave themselves over to passion.