Ishta: Blood Huntress Of Baldur's Gate

Prologue: Escape the Nautiloid

Author's Note.

This story aims to be the full journey of my 'Tav' from the video game Baldur's Gate 3. While I have tried to stay as faithful to the original source material as I can, I have made a few tweaks to the lore for a more engaging narrative flow. (I'm looking at you Withers and your OP resurrect spell...also you Vampires with your stupid no breathing and no heartbeat malarky) The tale will be told mainly from Ishta's POV as the protagonist, Astarion's as a main character and the other companions as supporting characters. I will be using dialogue from the game, sometimes word for word, other times paraphrased or altered. I take no credt for the fantastic job the writers at Larian Studios did with this story. They already put in all the hard work, I'm just retelling it from my Tav's point of view.
PS. If you want to skip to Astarion's intro it's in the next chapter....😉

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Well, you can't say today hasn't been interesting, Ishta thought, her gaze fixed upon the grotesque sight of the brain-on-legs currently communicating with her.

Moments before, she had extracted it from the skull of an unfortunate victim of a gruesome Mindflayer experiment.

Ishta shuddered at the thought that the elf's corpse, lying in the 'birthing chair,' could just as easily have been hers. "There but for the grace of Gith," she muttered under her breath.

The Red Dragon that had smashed its way into the chamber where her pod had been was long gone, but the cacophony of roars and clashes from outside the ship reminded Ishta of the dangers lurking beyond.

Self-consciously, she rubbed her left temple, uncomfortably aware of the recent unwanted addition to her brain. It was hard not to dwell on it amidst the sickly ambiance of the organic vessel, its walls dripping with viscous fluids and lined with writhing tentacles and other biological appendages.

Ishta reflected that Illithids certainly had a unique take on architecture - though it was certainly more appealing when engulfed in flames, as most of it currently was.

Forcing herself to focus, she tuned back into the telepathic communication with the bizarre creature before her. Ishta had encountered Intellect Devourers before, but this was the first time she had been a witness to the 'miracle' of one's birth.

"To the helm we go! We are going to the helm," the creature's disjointed 'voice' echoed in her mind.

"Yes, we are, you creepy little thing," Ishta nodded in reply, her stomach churning slightly at the thought of what might lie ahead. "Any idea where I might find this helm?"

The silence that followed was far from reassuring, prompting Ishta to turn and descend a ramp leading deeper into the ship. To her left, a path meandered further into the vessel's organic innards, and Ishta started to break into a jog down it.