The Heroes of Baldur's Gate... and Me

Part 8: The Vampire

Luckily the day has turned out fair, the afternoon sun beating down on us as we walk the worn dirt road to the ruined village. From there we will head to the crossroads, where we will split up to our designated destinations.

Tav walks ahead, leading our little group with Gale and Lae'zel at her side. After them comes Shadowheart, then myself and Wyll, and Astarion guarding the rear.
As we walk the conversation flows easily in our mismatched band of adventurers.

Wyll and I walk together and he shares stories of his adventures with Cullen, including a fight with a Minotaur that graced him with his scar.
"... and the beast swings it's axe and sends me flying right into a pile of minotaur dung!" He tells me and we both laugh heartily at the image. "Cullen had a good laugh at that! I swear I stunk of cow for a week!"

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge and I feel Astarion's eyes burning into my back. I look over my shoulder and instantly meet his cool gaze, his expression void of any emotion. I give him a hesitant smile before turning my head back, as I puzzle over his behavior.

We enter the abandoned village and I see first hand the destruction the goblins had dealt. Buildings and businesses had been ransacked, their windows smashed and doors hang off their hinges. Furniture and belongings dragged out into the streets with some having been smashed to splinters. The smell of burning reaches me and I see the remains of small fires spread out through the village. I pause when I see on the cobblestones before me the chalk outlines of a hopscotch game. I look around the destroyed buildings and can't help but wonder what happened to the children that lived here. Did they make it out in time?

We continue to walk through the village towards the stone bridge that leads to the crossroads, when we hear strange noises coming from a barn to our right. Tav halts us and we pause to hear any further noises, when we hear a strained grunt from something inside.

"What is that?" Shadowheart whispers "It sounds like a wounded animal." Tav nods her head and moves towards the doors.

"It may be an animal in distress - I best check it out." she responds determinedly. As she reaches the door however, the grunts increase and are joined by another something groaning. Realisation hits us just as Tav pulls the door open.
"Uh... Tav...." Gale tries to warn her, but unfortunately he is too late and Tav has swung the doors open. We recoil at the sight in front of us - an ogre and a bugbear in the throes of passion.

Tav lets out a squeak of surprise, her face turning beetroot red in embarrassment. The orge's and Bugbear's heads snap towards her, and we see the anger grow on their faces.

"I'll just shut this..." mumbles Tav and she quickly shuts the door. She is hurriedly walking back to us when we hear a roar of rage shake the ground. "Time to go!" shouts Tav and we run as fast as we can over the bridge to the outside of town.

Once we reach the crossroads, we collapse into fits of laughter - except Lae'zel, who scowls at us and crosses her arms impatiently.
I am bent over, hands on my knees trying to regain my breath, my leg aching from the exertion.

Once we have caught our breath and composed ourselves, the tone turns serious as we finalise our plans. It's agreed we will all meet back at camp by evening tomorrow, and with that we all head in our separate directions: Lae'zel and Shadowheart to the North, Tav, Gale and Wyll to the East, and then Astarion and myself to the West.

Just as we are leaving Wyll pulls me into a quick hug. "Stay safe." He whispers before pulling away.
"Good luck" I reply, giving him an encouraging thumbs up. I see the warring emotions flit across his face, torn between his need to make sure I am safe but also to complete his sworn duty. Reluctantly he turns away and I watch his retreating form before turning to Astarion, who is watching me closely, and follow him down the rocky path.