The Heat of the Moment

Chapter IV: Me and the Devil

The victorious band had made their way back to camp, no worse for the wear as Shadowheart had patched them up quite efficiently after their small battle. No sooner had they stepped foot into the circle of haphazard tents, Wyll spotted Karlach as she walked toward the back of their troupe - laughing and reliving the encounter along with Shadowheart and Astarion. Wyll, with a look of outrage and betrayal plastered across his face, grabbed his rapier and stomped his way toward them - Diana stopped short and Gale ran right into her before he noticed the scene unfolding before him.

"How dare you bring this monster to our camp? After all I had shared with you about her - you throw my caution into the very wind and stomp on the shreds of my life's mission as if it were NOTHING!" Wyll roared, finally coming to a halt in front of Diana and pointing a damning finger at her.

"Wyll, if you would just let me explain," Diana started, raising her hands up in surrender and eyeing the tip of the blade pointed at her chest. As she focused on de-escalating the raging Warlock in front of her, she had not noticed that Karlach had approached until she came to stand in front of her, dangerously close to the sharpened point of the sword.

"Ah, the Blade of Frontiers - protector of the Sword Coast and slayer of monsters." Karlach quipped, folding her arms and staring down at the shorter man. She leaned her weight on one hip, tail swaying behind her in irritation. "I was trying to steer clear of you, you know? I guess you showed me for underestimating you."

Karlach had taken another small step closer as if pressing her luck, or playing a game of chicken to test Wyll's resolve.

The warlock was absolutely fuming, anger billowing off of him just as sure as the tide ebbs in the sea.

"One horn, the stink of Avernus; Advocatus diaboli." Wyll jeered, his voice rising as he fought to control the very tenuous leash that he chained his anger to. "Karlach: Zariel's gladiator. Come to burn the Sword Coast to Ash?"

Diana had heard enough out of him, frustration and anger bubbling up inside of her as he continued to accuse her newfound companion - as he continued to pick at the crumbling facade that Karlach held together so diligently. Using the back of her short bow, she gently pressed it against Karlach's arm to show her that she would like to move beside her. Karlach looked down in shock at the feeling of something touching her - the bow hadn't stood much of a chance and the well-maintained wood immediately charred. She quickly shuffled to the side to allow Diana enough room to stand beside her without burning her too.

"You've got it all wrong, Wyll. Karlachs' not going to hurt anyone." Diana intervened.

Her eyes begged him to understand; she knew that he was going to have a hard time wrapping his mind around the turn of events and accepting the fact that the devil he had been relentlessly hunting was, in fact, a good person. Not the villain in this war, but a victim of it.

"Well, not counting the fuckers that need a good hurting." Karlach chimed in, looking down at Diana and shooting her a mischievous grin. Diana returned the favor by smacking her arm lightly with the already burnt limb of the bow - the weapon already well beyond saving. Karlach's grin only widened.

Wyll watched their familiar interaction with an intense gaze, his facial expression shifting between stunned silence and wrath.

"Shut it, Devil! I know your kind - A heart darker than a shadow's nightmares. You'd cut the throat of a child just to taste the blood." He spat, his grip tightening on the sword as he continued to point it at her. His eyes only held the steely cold of resolve, as if he had prepared for this very moment for a lifetime.

"A devil? I didn't take the blade for a fool. I'm —" Karlach gasped, her mind connecting painfully to the entire group in a flash of pain.

As if watching the war-lord tiefling from a distance, Karlach rages among the front lines of the Blood War, leaving a trail of brutalized bodies in her wake. With every swing of her ax, she fulfills Zariel's purpose seamlessly. It was like watching a tornado ravage the land, destroying everything that it came into contact with.