Chapter Text
“Behind you!”
Gale immediately whipped around at the sound of Wyll’s shout, only barely dodging a vicious strike from the gnoll now in front of him. He struck it with his quarterstaff, eliciting a whimper from the beast as Astarion snuck up behind it and slashed his dagger across its throat. It staggered to the ground, blood pooling on the grass as it took its final breath.
“Thank you, Astarion,” Gale exhaled, wiping his brow. “That was certainly a close call.”
“Of course.” Astarion knelt down beside the gnoll and sliced off the creature’s ears, pocketing them in his alchemy pouch. At Gale’s disgusted expression, he scoffed. “What? Have you never brewed a Potion of Speed before?”
“I didn’t know you took an interest in the alchemical arts.”
“Darling, there are many things you don’t know about me.” With that, the vampire stood up, dusted off his clothes, and sauntered off.
It had only been an hour or two since Gale’s first druid lesson with Tav had drawn to a close, and yet the peace that they had enjoyed that morning now seemed worlds away. Gale’s gaze drifted to the druid, who was kneeling and tending to a shoulder wound Wyll had just acquired.
These gnolls had proven some of their strongest foes yet, and they had all been woefully unprepared. Tav had noticed the hyenas first, but hesitated to kill them in spite of Gale and Wyll’s warnings – a few moments later, and it was too late. Newly birthed gnolls, already covered in gore, descended upon them like a flock of impatient vultures. Gale admired Tav’s kindness in most situations, but was for once inclined to agree with Astarion that now had not been the time. As for whether they’d learned their lesson, he was uncertain. If their party had any luck – and that was a big “if” – they would never have to deal with those foul beasts again.
“Thank you, Tav,” Wyll groaned, lifting up his arm as the blue healing aura subsided. He peered over his shoulder to observe the wound and winced. “Augh. They did a number on me, that’s for sure.”
“If only we had Shadowheart here,” Tav sighed. “I’m hardly a replacement for her skills.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Wyll stood up and stretched before reaching a hand out to help Tav up. “We’re still alive, aren’t we?”
“Barely,” Tav replied, but Gale could see the corners of their mouth twitching into a smile. The two of them seemed to get on swimmingly. Gale wondered for a moment why they hadn’t offered to teach him the druidic ways instead.
“Well, I’ve looted all the bodies,” Astarion reported, haphazardly flicking his dagger in the direction of the gnoll corpses. “As expected, not much of use beyond their ears. Darling –” he turned to face Tav specifically “–next time you decide to risk all our skins, at least try to make it worthwhile, hmm?”
Tav flinched at his words. “I’m sorry. It hadn’t been my intention to endanger us.”
“I suppose I’ll have to forgive you,” Astarion huffed.
The sound of distant shouting interrupted their conversation. Tav’s eyes widened as a scream rang out.
“What was that?” Tav immediately sprang back into action, rushing towards the commotion.
“What did I just say?” Astarion complained. The three remaining men exchanged glances before Wyll headed off after Tav, beckoning the other two to follow.
“Bleeding heart,” Astarion grumbled.
Wyll gave him a look. “Empathy is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Ha! You’re one to talk. Don’t forget, your empathy is the reason you’ve got those awful horns on your head.”
Wyll stopped dead in his tracks, stunned at Astarion’s words. “Excuse me?”
“Astarion,” Gale warned, but the vampire just sneered.
“What? It’s the truth. We all know it.”
“The truth is that Wyll sacrificed a great deal to save Karlach’s life,” Gale hissed. “I suppose we should all be grateful you weren’t put in such a position, since you clearly don’t care about anyone other than yourself.”
Astarion scoffed. “Ugh. You know what? I’m done. Have fun getting yourselves killed.”
“Astarion –” Wyll started, but the elf pushed past him, walking in the opposite direction they had been headed.
“Don’t listen to him,” Gale put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “He just likes to get a rise out of us.”
“I know, but –”
Another scream sounded in the distance, but something about it sounded distinctly familiar. Gale felt his blood run cold as the realisation hit him.
Tav.
He immediately broke into a sprint, Wyll close behind him. The two raced toward the sound.
There were more gnolls. Gale cursed the sight under his breath as his eyes frantically searched the area for a sign, any sign of where the scream had come from. The gnolls seemed to be surrounding something, but he couldn’t make out what it was from his current position. He glanced at Wyll. His face had gone pale.
“There are too many of them,” Wyll whispered. “We won’t be able to take them alone.”
“We can’t leave Tav here. They’ll be devoured.”
Wyll’s brow furrowed. “I… I know. Is that them there, surrounded by the gnolls?”
Gale took a few cautious steps forward, careful to avoid making any sounds. One of the gnolls sidestepped before attacking, allowing him a better view momentarily. Thank the gods , he thought, they were attacking another gnoll. A strange sight, to be sure, but there was no time to question it. He shook his head, and Wyll heaved a sigh of relief.
“Then we have some time,” the warlock said. “I’ll go back to camp and grab the others. Find Tav.” He paused for a moment, the exhaustion and fear obvious on his face. “ Please .”
Gale didn’t need further instruction. He used the last dregs of magic he could summon to Misty Step to a boulder he had spotted, still out of sight from the gnolls but close enough to better gauge the situation. There was blood everywhere, no indication who or what it came from. Gale could just make out two voices speaking in hushed Common from the nearby cave, but neither sounded like Tav. Still, they were probably his best bet at finding them. He crouched, sent out a silent prayer to whatever god might be watching, and rushed to the cave entrance he had spotted earlier.
After nearly being crushed by a boulder, Gale was finally inside. He could still hear the two voices still ahead, and after a moment of catching his breath, he started to head towards them.
Then: a weak, quiet cough.
Gale turned to see the origin of the sound and there, laying in a pool of blood, was –
“Tav,” he gasped, and hurried over.
He knelt beside them. Tav was crumpled into a ball, a deep gash on their side. They coughed again and winced as their body shuddered. More blood soaked through their torn clothes. Gale emptied his pack out onto the cave floor, combing through it for something, for anything that could be of use. Empty potion bottles clattered onto the floor. Gale paused for a moment, listening for any sign they had been heard, before continuing to search. An antidote, but they weren’t poisoned – an invisibility potion, a scroll for Flaming Sphere, miscellaneous books –
“Gale,” Tav croaked. He looked at them, and they offered him a weak smile. “Thank you,” they whispered.
Gale shook his head, guilt clawing up from inside his belly. “Don’t,” he whispered back. “I don’t have anything to heal you. I am so sorry.”
Tav blinked at him. He spotted a bottle of water from the corner of his vision and grabbed it, holding it out to them. They could barely lift their arm up to take it. Gale held their head up and with his other hand, helped them hold up the bottle as they drank.
“Wyll’s heading back to camp for reinforcements,” he informed them quietly. “Shadowheart will be here in no time at all, and Karlach and Lae’zel will take care of the gnolls. All will be well soon.”
Gale could hear the snarling of the gnolls from outside. The voices he had heard before were now yelling – he could smell distant smoke, hear the telltale cries of combat. The gnolls would be in the cave soon, then. He tried to lift up Tav, to move them somewhere safer, but his strength failed him. Instead, they just laid in his arms, now painted red in their blood. Tav’s eyes were locked onto his.
“Tav,” he whispered. “I have a Potion of Invisibility. You should drink it and hide. I’ve got a few cantrips I can still attack with, I’ll be able to hold my ground before the others –”
“No, Gale,” Tav rasped. “That’s suicide.”
“I’ve dealt with worse.” Gale’s retort was entirely unconvincing and he knew it. But he also knew that the way things were going, neither of them would survive. This way, at least, Tav might be able to.
“Don’t go,” they begged, quietly. Gale searched Tav’s eyes, still burning into his. “Please.”
He felt his shoulders sag in defeat. “I can’t help you like this,” he tried to say, but they shook their head in response, grimacing in pain as they did so.
“Please don’t leave me,” they whispered. Gale’s stomach dropped.
“I…” he gulped. “I won’t leave you,” he finally agreed.
Tav let out a quiet exhale. He could feel their breath on his face, feel the soft heaving of their body as their lungs struggled to function. Gale breathed in and out with them in what felt like an exceptionally grim sequel to their earlier meditation. Still, it seemed to calm Tav, at least just a little, enough for their eyes to flutter shut. Gale’s heart nearly stilled, but he could still feel their breaths, just enough to know that they were still alive.
Please don’t die, he wanted to beg them. Though he knew it would be useless, that his words wouldn’t help them at all.
He would keep them safe for as long as he could, hold them up so that they wouldn’t suffocate on their own blood. When – if the gnolls found them, he could pour the Potion of Invisibility down their throat. Shoot out a few Rays of Frost, slow down the inevitable. Pray that Tav could make it far enough in case the orb was detonated.
Gale kept as still as he possibly could, afraid that if he moved he might somehow further injure Tav. Where he was now was good; if he could just stay like this, then it would all be alright. Shadowheart would come with Wyll and cast Cure Wounds, perhaps wag her finger disapprovingly, but that would be the worst of it. They would survive this. They had survived a nautiloid crash, that battle with the ogres at the Blighted Village – they could deal with a few gnolls.
Minutes passed in silence. Tav kept their eyes shut, still in his arms, and Gale found himself regularly glancing down at their abdomen to make sure they were still breathing. The two of them had shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, Gale holding Tav more upright with his left arm while his right wrapped around their abdomen. It allowed for him to brush some of the bloodied hair out of their eyes and cast Prestidigitation to clean some of the blood off.
They were looking a little better for wear now, he thought. They just had to wait a little longer. Wyll would be back any second now –
“Shit!” he heard a familiar voice yell.
Karlach. Thank the gods.
By the time Tav was healed enough to leave the cave, it seemed that the group had come to the unanimous decision to leave further exploration for another day. Even Lae’zel, who usually insisted on pushing them past their limits, seemed to recognize what a close call the gnoll fight had been. They headed back to camp immediately.
Tav, all things considered, seemed to be doing fine. They even joined the rest of the group for dinner. Astarion had stalked back into camp at some point but had quickly retreated to his camp without any semblance of an apology to Wyll; normally, Gale would be more annoyed, but he couldn’t find the energy to care. They had faced much more pressing matters only hours prior.
For the first time that day, Gale finally had some time to himself. He sat on his bedroll, already having changed into his nightclothes, and picked up one of the books they had found at the Blighted Village a few days ago. It seemed to be some sort of fantasy novel, and though Gale hadn’t read anything of that sort for some time, he was just not in the right headspace for an educational read. He just wanted something light to help ease his mind before he slept.
It only took a few pages for him to realise that yes, it was a fictional novel as he had suspected; furthermore, it was a romance.
Hm.
But he kept reading. It proved a decent distraction from the events of the day, just like he had hoped. Though when the two protagonists embraced for the first time, he was reminded of the warmth of Tav’s body when he had held them earlier that day.