Partnerships and Possibilities

Shadowheart winced as she brushed sand from her armor, still looking a little shaky on her feet. I hovered nearby, keeping an eye on her until she finally glanced my way, her expression somewhere between guarded and exhausted.

"We need to work together if we're going to have any hope of removing these parasites," she said bluntly.

I smiled brightly. "I was thinking you'd say something like that."

Shadowheart gave me a look that suggested she was already reconsidering her offer, but after a moment she nodded. "Fine. For now."

As she moved to gather a small pile of gear half-buried nearby, muttering under her breath while sorting through the wreckage, I took the opportunity to discreetly open the UI. Might as well check out the new toys. A faint shimmer opened in my mind's eye, and there it was—Shadowheart’s profile:

[Approval - Neutral: 49] [Corruption: 8%]

I raised an eyebrow, a slow grin creeping across my face. Well, well, well. Looked like my little "field test" earlier had worked better than expected. The numbers didn’t lie, and if Shadowheart’s subconscious reaction was any indication, the groundwork was already being laid. I closed the window before she caught me gawking at an invisible menu like some mad Bhaal-spawn mid-vision. Oblivious to my scheming, Shadowheart secured her relic to her hip and turned back to me.

"You seem... disturbingly cheerful for someone infected with a mind flayer tadpole."

I shrugged with an easy grin. "Hey, it's all about attitude. If we're going to mutate into monsters, might as well have some fun first."

She didn’t look amused.

"Joking. Mostly," I added quickly.

She sighed and started trudging up the beach, and I fell into step beside her, casually sneaking a glance at her as we walked. Her armor hugged her athletic figure snugly, the sleek curves not lost on my very appreciative eyes—strictly professional curiosity, of course. The beach gradually gave way to a rise littered with twisted Nautiloid wreckage, strange organic remains jutting out from the sand like the bones of some ancient beast. Shadowheart glanced around, visibly wary.

"Any idea where to start?" she asked.

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Well, how about looking for a pissed-off, sword-happy alien warrior with trust issues? She's probably somewhere nearby still trying to kill things."

Shadowheart crossed her arms. "You mean the githyanki? I remember her. Loud. Arrogant. Tried to abandon me on the Nautiloid."

I chuckled. "Sounds about right."

"Bad idea. I don't trust her," Shadowheart said flatly.

"You don't have to trust her," I replied cheerfully. "You just have to help me get her out of whatever mess she's gotten herself into."

Shadowheart shot me a very skeptical look but said nothing as we began to move inland, pushing forward into the woods past fallen branches and the remains of shattered alien architecture.

After some time, faint voices reached our ears—not growls or shrieks, which was a promising change. Creeping closer, we spotted the source: two tieflings—horned, reddish-skinned humanoids—arguing heatedly below a crude wooden cage suspended between bent trees. Inside the cage, scowling so fiercely I half-expected her to ignite the wooden bars with sheer hatred, was Lae'zel.

Shadowheart stiffened beside me. "HER?" she said, practically snarling the word.

"Her!" I replied, maybe a bit too content. I didn’t need to look to know her expression was pure venom. Shadowheart loathed githyanki on a good day, and Lae'zel in this mood—half-deranged with fury and rattling her cage like a wild beast—was tailor-made to trigger her deepest contempt. Still, I couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Yep," I said with a shrug. "Still loud. Still furious. Still very much Lae'zel."

The tieflings below the cage were locked in a heated debate about what to do with her, while Lae'zel herself looked about ready to chew through the bars out of spite.

Shadowheart turned to me, disbelief written across her face. "You're not seriously thinking about helping her?"

I flashed a grin. "Not helping. Recruiting. Big difference. Come on, we both know she’ll be less of a problem inside the party than outside trying to decapitate us."

"She'll be a problem either way," Shadowheart hissed in a sharp whisper, grabbing my arm and nearly yanking me back. "You can't be serious! She's gith! She's unstable, dangerous—and she'd gut you in your sleep the first chance she got." Her voice, though hushed, edged dangerously close to drawing attention.

I held up both hands in a calming gesture, quickly stepping in front of her with a disarming smile. Her pupils were sharp, but I saw the flicker of doubt. Time to use Charm.

"Shadowheart, listen. I know exactly what she is. But that rage? That fire? That's the very thing we can use. Would you rather have her in front of us with a blade, or beside us with that blade pointed at someone else?" I let just enough warmth slip into my voice to soften the edge, leaning into the peculiar perk Graz'zt had gifted me: advantage when dealing with the females.

Her glare didn’t drop entirely, but her posture eased. Slowly.

"You’re too confident," she muttered.

"And you're too smart not to see the opportunity," I countered, letting the silence work for me.

She exhaled through her nose and stepped back. "Fine. But if she tries anything, I'm putting a dagger in her throat myself."

"Deal," I said, already turning toward the tieflings. Time to make some introductions.