Chapter Text
Scythe woke up her head pounding as she climbed out of the now open pod unable to remember anything, but she knew she was in danger and after saying the only thing she knew which was her name out loud she explored the room she was in walking up to a brine pool in the center of the room
From what she could tell the casing seemed fragile so she left it alone instead examining a nearby mind flayer corpse for supplies thankful the creature was dead.
‘Where the hells am I?’ She said out loud after catching a glimpse of Avernus through a gaping hole in the ship while making her way up to where another pod was being kept, the unfortunate or fortunate individual inside had died glass shards covering their face and torso so she continued along the balcony-like path quickly coming across a rune slate that projected visions of a nautiloid hurting through the planes then she went back down to the main area of the room exiting through a circular door into a much bigger and more cavernous room where she scrounged through rune slates hoping to find something to help her escape
‘HeLp Us…’ a voice said coming from a nearby lift
Scythe cautiously made her way over to it gently prodding the neural apparatus, once it had brought her onto the top platform she made her way over to the body the voice was coming from eyeing the brains suspended in glass orbs as she did so.
’YeS! YoU’vE cOmE tO sAvE uS fRoM tHiS PlAcE! FrOm ThIs PlAcE yOu’Ll FrEe Us! a brain said quivering in expectation
’You sound afraid, Why?’ Scythe asked hoping for more information
’ThE eNeMy! So MaNy EnEmIeS!’ it responded anxiously
‘Are you this person who’s laying on this operation table or something else entirely?’ She asked
’A nEwBoRn… BoRn NeW fRoM tHiS hUsK’ it responded
’Wait this must be an intellect devourer… huh it’s much cuter than I would’ve expected, maybe I should play along for now’ Scythe thought to herself
’So how do I free you?’ she asked
’ReMoVe Us FrOm ThIs BoDy FrOm ThIs CaSe, PlEaSe!’ the intellect devourer pleaded
Scythe inspected the brain searching for some way to pry it from the skull but she couldn’t see any way to do so without harming the little guy so instead she decided to break the skull smiling as the intellect devourer leapt onto the ground seemingly beaming with joy
’We ArE FrEe! OuR fReEdOm Is OuRs, FrIeNd!’ it said before pausing suddenly
’We MuSt Go To ThE hElM, aT tHe HeLm We ArE nEeDeD!’ it said
’Sure but what should I call you?’ Scythe asked
’Us, We ArE uS’ Us responded
’Alright let’s go’ she said her and Us making their way to the lift. As the both of them made their way to a massive opening a dragon roared past causing the both of them to pause as it dodged purple orbs of light coming from a cannon.
Taking a deep breath the two of them continued only stopping when a Githyanki woman leapt onto the path in front of them her sword drawn
‘Abomination this is your end!’ Said ready to spear Scythe through the chest when suddenly their minds intertwined
’What is this?! Tsk’va, You are no thrall Vlaakith blesses me this day! Together we might survive’ she said
’What made you think I was a thrall?’ Scythe asked
’We carry mind flayer parasites, unless we are saved, unless we are cleansed we will be ghaik, Mind flayers’ she responded
’ok what do you suggest?’ Scythe responded
’First we exterminate the imps down there than we take control the helm, as for that thing it’ll remain tame as long as it believes we are thralls’ She said
The three of them then made their way down the open tunnel into a lower room where three Imps were feasting on the corpses inside, one of them glanced up glowering at them before letting out a fierce shriek.
Lea’zel charged at one of the two Imps in front of them taking it down with a single strike while Scythe severely injured the second one with a bolt of decay and Us charged at the third one tearing its wings and neck to shreds as he lunged at it
The surviving Imp then flung a fireball at Lea’zel as it tried desperately to fly away but she quickly caught up and cut it in half so after looting every body in the room the trio made their way up two sets of fleshy ladders as the dragons outside ruthlessly attacked the ship.
Making their way inside a more intact section of the ship Scythe noticed a fleshy console with three buttons ahead of them
’Ghaik machinery, I can make no sense of it’ Lea’zel hissed as Scythe examined the three sigils above the buttons only able to understand the first two, however she was quickly distracted by the sounds of pleading and begging coming from a pod in the room so she hurried over there with Us and Lea’zel behind her
’We have no time for stragglers!’ Lea’zel scolded her voice twinged with desperation as Scythe searched for a latch that might open the lid to the pod
’This ship is crashing, do you intend to die for a stranger?!’ She asked aggravated
’We still have time to try!… I’ll go look around there must be some way to get this open’ Scythe said to the captive
’Try that contraption next to the pod, they did something to it when they sealed me in’ the captive said pointing to a console next to the pod
Scythe didn’t know why but something dark inside her made her want to leave the captive trapped in here desperately clinging to the promise of freedom. Ignoring that feeling she examined the console the entire thing unrecognizable until she spied an empty socket, Scythe gently hit it hoping to kickstart it into working unfortunately that didn’t work so she searched the room even going back to the first console and pressing the release button which only freed the two catatonic individuals laying on the examination tables inside the room as psionic energy radiated from them.
The three of them then made their way into another room near the pod with the captive only to find many more pods lining the walls with one in the center, the trio made their way past it over to another console built into the wall
‘Don’t press that!’ Lea’zel said as Scythes hand hovered forward
’But won’t it just free the captive?’ she responded referring to the pod in the center of the room ‘I don’t know, But something feels off about it so don’t press it’ Lea’zel responded
Instead of pressing the button Scythe made her way up a set of steps to a stage like area of the room where she located a corpse with an elderich rune poking out of it’s pocket, it’s shape looked similar to the empty socket from before so she picked it up and they made their way back to the console that held the first captive inside.
The console hummed to life as she inserted the rune into the socket but before placing her hand inside she decided to examine it just to be safe but nothing betrayed its purpose
Suddenly she felt a hideous squirming in her head as the parasite connected with the pod but quickly as it came it faded instead replaced by a feeling of connection and she was able to open the pod a shiver running across her mind as it opened
’I thought that damn thing was going to be my coffin, Thank you’ she said standing up her relief quickly replaced with wariness when she saw Lea’zel
’You keep dangerous company’ she said cautiously
’What’s wrong with Githyanki?’ Scythe asked
’Nothing except that Gith always have a problem with everyone else’ she responded
’But we have more pressing matters right now, let me come with you we can get off this ship and watch each other’s backs along the way’ she continued
‘All right let’s get going, I’m Scythe’ Scythe said
’Shadowheart, one moment…’ Shadowheart said going to retrieve something from the pod but Scythe decided to mind her own business, besides she could ask later when they were safe
’Finally…’ Lea’zel muttered
As the four of them made their way through a more obscured door Lea’zel spoke ‘We’re nearing the helm once inside do as I say’ she said
’Who put you in charge?’ Shadowheart asked
‘Kainyank’ she responded as the four of them continued down a hallway and into the helm where two mind flayer were facing off against a cambion whose brain was quickly devoured by the closest one who was quickly killed by a second cambion that turned around to face the mind flayer with a missing tentacle
’Thralls… connect the nerves to the transponders… We must escape… now…’ it ordered as the cambion summoned a lesser hellsboar and two imps, Scythe didn’t know why but something about the mind flayer made her want to tear it to pieces
’Connect the transponder we will deal with the Ghaik after’ Lea’zel said
’NeRvEs! NeRvEs! We WiLl CoNnEcT tHeM!’ Us said in response before running at the Imp to their right only for it to dodge out of the way so Shadowheart hit it with her mace while Lea’zel stabbed the Hellsboar through the neck and chest with her sword
Scythe then ran forward and used bursting sinew on the corpse of an Imp right next to the second one killing it in an explosion of bone shards and flesh and while the Illithid lashed out with a wave of psychic energy at the cambion it stabbed at the mind flayer with its flaming sword
‘Take this ship or Zariel will have your head!’ It roared at the remaining Imp
’Well that’s not very fair on them…’ Scythe thought to herself as Us finished off the Imp. The mind flayer dodged another attack from the cambion as it hit it with another smaller blast of psychic energy
‘Tsk’va! Hurry, before they strike’ Lea’zel said as a dragon flew past the window, in response to this the cambion summoned another two Imps one of which was incinerated by a ball of fire Shadowheart had thrown and a second Hellsboar
Lea’zel shot at the remaining Imp nearly killing it as Scythe finished it off with a ray of sickness
‘We’re nearly out of sky, it’s now or never’ Shadowheart warned as the cambion struck the mind flayer once more
Shadowheart and Us ran at the Hellsboar which was guarding the transponder and hit it with a fireball while Lea’zel and Scythe followed behind
Lea’zel shot at the Hellsboar missing it as the ship shook so Scythe darted ahead and spewed venom upon it killing the creature as the Illithid once again struck at the cambion only to be slashed across the chest by its sword nearly killing it as the four of them ran for the transponder Scythe managing to grab it just in time
she had just connected two of the tendrils when a dragon landed on the front of the ship snaking it’s head inside to breathe fire at her and causing the ship to tilt upwards, fortunately she climbed her way to it and grabbed the tendril and yanked it back watching as a portal opened up in front of them just as Scythe lost her grip and fell.