Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence, undead and necromancy, blood and injury, magical assault, near-death experiences, implied character disappearance, themes of death and emotional repression.

She grips the strap of her pack and foists it into a better position on her shoulder. She hasn't been able to stop smiling as she follows me back to camp.

"Do you think they'll like me?"

I can't help but sneer at her playfully. "Is that what you care about? Whether or not they'll like you? Come on now Bex, they'll respect you for being an effective ranger, you can't be that desperate for approval. Unless..." I look her over, dramatically.

She chuckles, watching my theatrics. "What?"

"You aren't a bard in disguise, are you? Not smuggling a flute in your ass?"

She shoves me with playful indignation and we share a wry cackle. "Crude! How dare you assume I'm a bard!"

Our boisterous laughter suddenly fades as my attention settles on the camp. The air is heavy. The group is stoic and quiet.

I expected this. Hopefully I'm ready for what's coming.

Bex feels the tension and falls silent next to me.

I approach where everyone is gathered. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

Astarion rolls his eyes. "Oh good, another straggler. Is she going to vanish in the night too?"

"What do you mean?" I study him for any sign of suspicion.

Astarion gestures to the whole camp. "Alfira seems to have gone missing. Her things are still here though. You don't happen to know where she is, do you?" He asks in a very pointed manner.

Bex hesitates. "Alfira?"

I glance down at her. "Alfira came to us last night. I asked her to join our group, and she finally accepted. Did any of you see where she went?" My attention is back on the group.

Gale stands, dusting off his hands. "We were hoping you'd seen her. Lae'zel told us you had an early morning."

I lace my words with a gentle concern. "Unfortunately, no."

He nods but seems to hesitate before deciding to leave his words unspoken. He quickly puts together a plate of food.

I track his face to try to read what he's grappling with, before speaking again. "I'm sure she'll turn up; she couldn't have gone far."

He hands Bex the breakfast, keeping his eyes down. "Maybe she left for that little 'obligation' she mentioned previously."

Bex laughs lightly. "Thank you. Yes, that obligation's name is Lakrissa. They've been flirting the whole journey. It's turned into a real 'will they/won't they.' They will, of course."

I give a comforting smile. "Then maybe she made the right decision, heading back. I don't blame her. Love can be a fickle mistress. Let's keep an eye out for her all the same."

The tension settles a bit, though the matter seems far from resolved.

Shadowheart offers Bex a welcoming smile. "So, what brings you to our humble camp?"

Bex takes a moment to savor the warm food in her hands. "Oh, I've offered my services as a Ranger. I'm grateful that Vash accepted."

Shadowheart perks up. "A ranger? Where did you learn your skills?"

Bex sits with the others and fills Shadowheart in on her experience of being raised on the River Road near Elturel.

Gale shuffles over to me, guiding me to the traveler's chest. "I was able to produce some equipment from the merchants in the grove and goblin camp. The druid merchant, Arron, had some particularly interesting things."

He flips open the chest and begins to pull a few things. "But I think you'll be particularly interested in this." He pulls out a large war hammer, and I take it from him. "This I purchased from the goblin camp. It's called Doom Hammer. A strike from that acts like the bonechill spell. The one struck won't be able to heal for a marked amount of time. I thought it would be perfect for whatever chaos you want to sow."

I spin the hammer in my hand and stop, noting his audacious quip. It seems a bit out of character for him. "Chaos? Is that what I do?"

Gale recoils with nervous laughter, "No, no. Of course not. I just meant we have better gear for our adventures."

I look him in the eye and he swiftly looks away. "Is everything alright?"

Gale looks back with a pandering smile. This man is a bad liar. "Of course! Sorry, it's just indigestion."

Now that he mentions it, he does look a bit pale. I step up to the chest and pull a set of equipment for Bex, along with an extra set of leather armor.

Gale returns to his meal, sitting next to Lae'zel and staring intently at his food.

I walk over to Bex and present her with her new equipment. "Here, some proper attire."

She sets down her plate and takes the set from me, speechless for a moment.

"Real armor." She runs her hand over the leather and then picks up the bow. She sets everything down and grabs an arrow from the quiver. She nocks it and aims at one of the training dummies around camp. The arrow is loosed, and it hits, dead center. She breathes a sigh of relief.

It elicits a bit of pride in me, and I nudge her shoulder. "You have my respect."

She laughs. "Honestly, it's been a while since I've shot a bow. I was hoping I wouldn't immediately embarrass myself in front of a group of strangers."

My smile is broad, and I nod toward her new effects. "Get dressed, we'll head out once you're ready."

She picks up the gear and looks around. "Can I use one of your tents?"

Shadowheart is eager to offer up her privacy. She takes Bex back and helps her slip into the gear.

I look over at the rest of them, "Astarion, you and Shadowheart will be joining me on this one. We're headed west, following the lead from that note you gave me."

Astarion scoffs, "I'm sorry, the vague note about trees and swamps? How is that going to help us with the tadpoles?"

I lean into Astarion, lowering my voice. "Halsin may very well have the key to our cure, but what do you think will happen if he finds the grove shrouded in brambles? He'll be useless. Bringing Kagha to heel is the path of least resistance. Once we take care of the Rite, we can deal with the goblin camp."

I press the second set of leather armor into his chest. "Now strip out of that gaudy velvet monstrosity. You're going to get filthy." A devilish grin plays across my face.

He meets my eye. "Oh, will I?" His voice is flirtatious, and he drags his fingers across the leather with an innocent smile. "So, to be clear. I've found the solution to all our problems, and you're going to be in my debt forever? I accept and you're welcome." He snatches the armor from me and saunters over to his tent to change.

I watch him walk away before seeing Bex approach, fully clad. "Let's take a look." I walk up to her and inspect the fit. Adjusting her dagger holster, making sure the chest strap to her quiver is tight. "Turn."

She looks up at me. "What?" She says in a flat tone.

I give a short nod. "Go ahead, turn around."

She gives me an uninspired spin, but drags it out way too long, and folds her arms with a vague smirk.

Her attitude is admittedly endearing. "It doesn't look like the armor needs any adjusting."

Shadowheart walks up behind her. "Of course it doesn't. I know how to fit armor." She mutters. "Jackass."

A snort escapes me and Shadowheart smiles along. I turn my focus to Bex once again. "How does it feel?"

She lifts her arms and twists a little, testing the tension of the fit. "It feels natural." Her eyes flick to me. "Thank you."

Astarion soon emerges, similarly fit. The full leather armor looks great on him. He pulls out a few creases from the undergarments and holsters two short swords across his back. "I agree with Bex, this feel... Right."

"It looks like we're ready, then." I glance over at Lae'zel and Gale. "Stay safe, we won't be more than a few days."

They seem more than content to spend the time together, and the three of us head out.

As we head down the trail, Shadowheart steps next to Bex. "You're from Elturel. If you were out on the River Road, how in the hells did you get caught up in the Descent? I didn't think the land beyond the city's borders was taken."

Bex looks at her feet. "It's true. It didn't. I ended up in the city because I was chasing after Danis."

Shadowheart furrows her brow. "Danis made you go into the city?"

"No. He actually didn't know I was coming."

She's quiet for a moment.

"I remember the first day I saw him. He came to my father's caravan for some Calishite Dawnspice Tea. We caught each other's eye, and the next day he returned to buy a bundle of Licoriceroot. He struck up a conversation with me, and we talked for hours. It's like I had known him my whole life, and he was so handsome. After a few months of him coming and going, he finally asked my father for a job as a caravan guard. By then we knew him well enough and my father was more than happy to hire him.

Danis was so proud, and showed up dutifully for a few days, but on the third day my father got into a scuffle with a man trying to sell us some old boots. The man was screaming that my father was undercutting him. He grabbed my father by the shirt, on the verge of beating him down.

Danis was frozen. So, I grabbed my short bow and arrows. A warning shot landed at the man's feet. Then I aimed one at his head."

She holds up her arms, miming a nocked arrow. "These arrows are from Drow fletchers. Even a touch will take you down. Let my father go."

She lowers her arms and her eyes soften. "The man let go and grabbed the coin that was being offered. Danis left that very moment. He didn't say a word. He just packed up his things and left.

Of course, after a few days of not seeing him, I decided to go find him.

Call me stupid but I cared about him.

I tracked him down in the city. His family lived in a modest home near an enclave of Tieflings by the docks. It was a safe community, but it was a slum all the same. I pitched him a business proposal. I thought it would be nice to start a bakery together. He could make tea, and I could bake.

He was skeptical at first but eventually came around to my idea."

She falls silent for a moment. "Of course that was when Elturel was pulled into the hells. I saw it all.

The light of the companion turned this horrific red, and chains came from all directions to claim the city. One of the anchors latched onto the earth right next to the enclave and we all ran deeper into the city to save ourselves.

Not all of us made it. Danis lost his family when a building fell-" She chokes, reliving the moment.

"But still we found comfort with each other, and eventually, love. The months we spent in Avernus brought us closer and that's where we decided to get married."

A look of shock crosses Shadowheart. "So, you've only been married for a few months?"

Bex smiles and nods. "I guess you could say this little trip to Baldur's Gate is our Honeymoon. It's not exactly what I expected, but then again, nothing that's happened in the last year has been. I'm ready to start a new life with him.

Something safe.

Something peaceful."

She speaks the last words wistfully. Clinging to the dregs of hope in her empty heart.

As we cross the steadfast cobblestone walls of the blighted village, the desolation of the place sinks in.

Crumbling homes, scattered belongings, the vestiges of a raid from years ago. Shadowheart falls silent. I sense the same discomfort she had in the temple of Selûne.

The path leading to the western road is just up ahead. I glance at the others. "While we're here, we might as well scrounge for supplies. This place looks picked over, but who knows, maybe we'll find some wine."

Shadowheart seems to perk up at that idea, and we spread out. There are a few goblins still milling about and Bex is following me like a duckling. I glance back at her; her face twisted with uncertainty. "Are you alright?"

Her head is on a swivel, and her fist is clasped tightly in her palm. Nervous. Guarded. "Yyyeees. I just... haven't been this close to goblins before. I hope you don't mind if I stick close while I get my bearings."

"Of course not."

She glances at me from the corner of her eye. "Why aren't they attacking us?"

"No use in fighting a band of vagabonds, such as ourselves." I smile down at her before scanning the town's square. The surrounding building must be tradesmen's shops. The sign above us catches my eye. An Apothecary.

"Let's look through here. See if we can find any useful potions."

She eagerly follows and I walk up to the double doors that lead in. They seem to be stuck. I look at the seam of the door and see it isn't locked, but wedged in place as the structure settled, the doors are leaning into each other. I firmly push them with my foot, and they rattle open as they crack free.

The scent of dusty old furniture, and dried leaves wafts out. Bex waves her hand in front of her, trying to avoid the dust motes. She spots the hanging herbs displayed over the merchant's counter and begins gathering them.

I sift through a myriad of different empty bottles and useless books to find a few good antidotes and potions.

Bex finds a ledge and absent mindedly flips through the entries. She stops. "Vash."

I look over her shoulder and she points to an entry, underlined.

I lift my brows and catch her eye.

We immediately begin looking for the entrance to the cellar. It's not too hard to find. There is a hatch behind the counter. As I pull it open, dust and dirt cloud the air. A ladder leads down into the cellar.

Bex watches with anticipation as I test my weight on the step before carefully making my way down. I snap a blue flame into my palm. It illuminates the area and I hold it up for Bex to help her see.

"There's no need for that." She flicks her hand and conjures the same blue flames. "Asmodeus Tieflings. What are the odds?" She climbs down to me.

I know it was rhetorical, but I can't stop myself. "One in nine."

"Ha." She brushes past me with a dry smile. I follow her lead, spreading out once again and scanning the walls for anything of value.

More dusty books, more empty bottles.

A desk covered in flasks and kegs sit abandoned. An apothecary's workstation. A few potions, corrupted by time, sit festering. Likely to do more harm than good.

A book lays open, beckoning for ears to read it. I oblige, carefully flip through the aging pages. I find it's just a ledger of previous patients.

Sweet man.

Bex's voice rings through the silence. "Hey, I think I found something." I glance over to see her standing next to a tower of crates. "There's a lever, what do you think?"

I chuff. "Are you asking permission to pull it?" I close the book and walk over to her. "An apothecary with secret shipments, in an abandoned village." I give her a roguish grin. "Sounds risky. Give it a pull."

She smiles, takes a breath, and pulls it. The steel mechanism that works within the walls reels and clatters, shifting a bookcase to our right.

It was a hidden door.

We peer inside. Pitch black. I hold my hand up to illuminate what appears to be a tunnel. It's carved out with no masonry lining the walls. It was a cheap and quick dugout but still stands after all these years.

"Don't touch the walls. I don't know how fragile they are, and I'm not interested in getting trapped down here."

She nods and tucks her elbows in a precautionary measure.

We pass through and round a bend. Ahead is a faint light reflecting off the earthen walls.

There's an open cavern with a crack in the ceiling. Natural light spills through, with a blinding glow.

I snap away my flame, my vision taking a moment to adjust.

"A hidden morgue?" I mutter as coffins come into view.

Bex looks around, echoing my curiosity. "Morgue?"

"Only seems natural. I was thumbing through the apothecary's ledger. Seems he treated all sorts, even the dead. I wonder if the dead were boxed up with their valuables?"

Bex looks at a coffin resting to her left. "I guess... it wouldn't hurt to take a peek."

I lift the lead on the coffin nearest to me. There's no body, just a few useless odds and ends, but a spell scroll piques my interest. I unfurl it, to find a summoning spell. The image of an odd creature drawn crudely. Is that... a quasit?

I feel the Weave shift suddenly, and a dreadful crackling climbs my spine. I pause and gather my senses.

The silence of the morgue rings in my ears. A mingling of crypt rot and moist cave flora fill my senses. Then wooden boards burst open behind me.

I flinch and turn to see Bex falling backwards with a haunted gasp. "Eeewww! Good Gods!" She scrambles backward as a skeleton rises from the wreckage.

The skeleton climbs free and runs to the next coffin, breaking it open, raising its kin from the grave.

Bex and I watch in horror as each subsequent skeleton frees a new one.

Driven on instinct, I pull my greatsword and dash over to the nearest closed coffin. Just as a skeleton reaches it, I cut him off and slam my sword down, in an eruption of red light. The skeleton splinters and crumbles uselessly. I stand guarding the final coffins as Bex climbs to her feet.

Her hands are shaking, but she still manages to nock an arrow and hit a skeleton that had climbed the cave walls to gain advantage.

The arrow shatters against it and a haunting and rattled voice cries out from the abomination.

The air becomes sapped of life as a skeleton in a red robe climbs forth from his grave. My head pivots to witness it standing back, reaching, and chanting an incantation. Its power is perverse and unnatural.

My eyes go wide and I shout toward Bex. "Red Wizard!!!"

She is locked in a fight with one of the skeletons. Her daggers digging at its spine.

The Wizard unleashes four magic missiles, conjured artillery that cannot miss.

Bex and I are hit, two missiles each. She falls backward, clutching her chest, coughing. She tries desperately to get back to her feet, but faulters.

I am pummeled and clutch at my tunic. The pain in my chest is nearly unbearable. My breath is stolen, but I try to reach Bex. The moment I turn my back; I feel a shooting pain up my leg. The skeleton on the cave wall just landed a shot.

"Fuck!"

I fall forward, growling in pain, barely catching myself before my face collides with the ground.

We're being overwhelmed.

My jaw clenches tight and I pull two daggers from my cloak. Without missing a beat, I sling them with an assassin's precision.

"Fucking die!"

My voice seethes with a flash of madness. The first dagger pins the wretch, the second breaks its face. It finally crumbles.

We can hear the chanting from the Red Wizard as he casts a bony finger at Bex. She gets to her feet and dashes to me, pulling a healing potion, but is hit with a necrotic slap. She gasps deeply, arching her back, the color draining from her face.

The potion drops and shatters on the ground. I quickly pull the arrow from my leg and dip my fingers in the potion, allowing it to seep into my wound. It knits together well enough and I slowly climb to my feet.

Bex also reaches for the potion, but it does nothing to heal her. For the first time, I see real fear cross her face. "What in the hells? Why didn't it work?"

My eyes dart across her face, I'm drawn in by the hopelessness in her eyes. I breathe. "Stay down until you feel the cold leave your bones, then try again."

She holds her bow tight and swiftly nocks, then looses an arrow. It hits a skeleton that had charged in front of me with a mace. It screams and shatters, dropping it's mace with a heavy thud.

With a lurch, I feel the wizard slap me in the chest with another necrotic spell. The sapping power of the cantrip is ruthless, and I gasp for air.

No. I need to focus.

I clutch my sword and move. A torrential power grows within me as red lightning arches around my hands. A wild grin splits my face, and my mind narrows into a single refrain.

Batter. Beat. BUTCHER!

I charge the Wizard with a divine reckoning, swinging down, the edge of my blade almost whistling as it cuts the air. I hear a rasping cry echo throughout the chamber as cold red bolts spark forth from my smite.

A thunderous explosion.

Searing pain.

I hit the ground...