It should be no real shock that in spite of Wyll's best efforts, the cult of Tiamat is alive and well in Baldur's Gate. Zevlor's plan to infiltrate them is solid enough, if perhaps a little simplistic: offering alliance on behalf of the tiefling refugees, in exchange for protection now, and power within the cult later. He has a few clandestine meetings, which he warns Ea about beforehand, though he tells no one else, and he returns with fragments of intel. Tiamat has long been a bitter enemy of Bane. Her worshippers have nothing good to say about Gortash, and plenty of terrible things to suggest.
It's not an alliance, though, and truthfully, Zevlor has no intention of pursuing the plan so doggedly he becomes oathbound to an evil deity, so it's inevitable that trouble occurs, and when it happens, it's sudden, swift, and violent. He returns in one piece, but not uninjured, dragging himself up to the room at the Elfsong and passing out on the floor as Isobel patches up several stab wounds that look cold-cauterized.
Of course, the fact that he's got a white abishai's disembodied head stuffed into the bottom of his bag suggests that he came off much better in the fight than whoever he was battling against, so there's that.
"Sorry," he mumbles when he starts to stir awake again. "Didn't expect any of them to recognize me. Stupid."
The thing about the cult of Tiamat is that cultists will always slide out of the woodworks no matter what young hero sacrifices their own safety for that of the many. It's a bitter truth, and if sages were to crack open books relating the many different heroes who laid down their lives to make sure the five-headed bitch did not rise, they would find that Wyll's name would be joined by another familiar to Ea. But sages don't crack open those books, and bards don't record the adventures of Jubelee Lowkey, so Ea does not know the irony of allowing her lover to walk down the same paths that her mother did.
It happens while Orin shows up in the sewers disguised as Lae'Zel, and truth be told she probably crosses paths with Zevlor - unknowingly at least - in the Undercity a couple of times while she tries to find the shapeshifter.
All she can think of, while infiltrating the Temple of Bhaal is that she is going to raze it to the ground. That she will turn the shapeshifter inside out for coming after her friends, for making threats at her loved ones, and for overall plotting to enslave the whole city and beyond.
It is a hard battle, one that nearly ends Ea a few times, but ultimately successful.
Ironically, two hours after returning to Elfsong and hearing the groan of protest from the Netherbrain below the city over this loss, a bloodied Zevlor stumbles through the door.
She's there when he wakes, hours later, bandaged up and laid out in his bed. She's sitting on the edge of it, one of his hands in both of hers, and when he speaks she leans over and kisses the corner of his mouth. Relief is putting it mildly.
"Thanks for the souvenir, but I'll accept flowers next time," she jokes near his lips. Sits up again, and checks him quickly. "Isobel said a full recovery is in the cards for you if you stay in bed until your wounds heal."
In a world where gods and devils routinely walk the earth to demand things of their followers, it's no surprise that cults are a problem. Tiamat's are particularly recurrent, springing up regularly, like toadstools in rainy weather, and usually equally poisonous. Zevlor has little fear of these things, because they're old foes. How many incursions into Elturgard was he a part of breaking up? More than he can count. Usually, though, his method was the battlefield, not spying. Hellriders don't excel at spying, they're very visible. Really, he should be proud that he played his part well enough to get away with it as long as he did. And he would be, if he hadn't gotten stabbed.
He will be concerned and sorrowful that he missed the battle with Orin, once he hears, but when he wakes now, Ea has no words of reproach for him. That in itself makes him smile and curl his fingers around hers.
"I hope that won't take long," he says. "There's more battle at hand yet. But I did take down half a dozen of the cultists, plus the demon, so at least there's that."
"He knew me. Recognized me from Avernus." He closes his eyes a moment, letting her check him over without protest.
Oh, thank gods, her quick kiss did not reopen any wounds - he is whole and wholly accounted for. And more lucid than he dragged himself here with a head in his bag, panting and bleeding and looking half-dead.
"There is always more battle ahead," she mutters under her breath, and brushes her thumb between his eyebrows to smooth away the furrow there. "I'm sorry I missed it, honestly." A little bit of humour in her voice, "You know I like watching you fight."
Competence does it for Ea Lowkey. Obviously.
Anyway, she's still recovering from her own wounds here so they're going to resist jumping right back into the fight until at least they stop bleeding. Or being poisoned.
"You know, maybe there's something to be said about letting the master thief sneak in and infiltrate cults - I had a knack for it when I was younger and all."
He's a quick healer, anyway. Most tieflings are, which is tragic if you think about the reasons for that for too long. He'd try to sit up right about now, but she's still leaning over him, stroking his forehead, every bit the nurse and protector. It's a side he hasn't seen of her before, but it doesn't entirely surprise him.
He chuckles softly. She likes watching him fight? That's flattering. "I'm getting better again. The smite is coming back to me, slowly but surely. I'm not sure what that means, but it's a gift I'm going to need, and I'm happy to see it."
He untangles his hand from the blankets, seeking out hers, threading their fingers together. "Gods know there are plenty of cults to go around. Once we put down the Absolute, I'm sure we can find more of them to fight if that's your fancy." This is optimism! They've going to destroy the Absolute and survive the experience themselves, right?
It melts away some of her raised walls when he thread their fingers together. Then again, he's been remarkably good at knocking down those walls so far.
She squeezes his hand, then leans over to kiss his forehead, drawing away with a final pat to his shoulder. "You'll live." Nurse Ea has concluded. Nurse Ea is not very professional a caretaker - if Isobel were to heal him this way, she'd have to have words with the cleric for instance - because the shoulder pat turns into a squeeze, then her hand on his jawline, her thumb sweeping over his cheekbone. Nurse Ea is a grabby bitch, clearly.
"Your smite is coming back, you said?" Not that she knows how paladin oaths work, but that's surely a good thing? "Wait, does this mean you went into the Cult of Tiamat without a way to defeat cultists?"
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timeasmymeasure
"please don't ironically join a cult"
Date: 2024-10-26 06:18 pm (UTC)It's not an alliance, though, and truthfully, Zevlor has no intention of pursuing the plan so doggedly he becomes oathbound to an evil deity, so it's inevitable that trouble occurs, and when it happens, it's sudden, swift, and violent. He returns in one piece, but not uninjured, dragging himself up to the room at the Elfsong and passing out on the floor as Isobel patches up several stab wounds that look cold-cauterized.
Of course, the fact that he's got a white abishai's disembodied head stuffed into the bottom of his bag suggests that he came off much better in the fight than whoever he was battling against, so there's that.
"Sorry," he mumbles when he starts to stir awake again. "Didn't expect any of them to recognize me. Stupid."
the CALLBACK
Date: 2024-10-28 12:44 pm (UTC)It happens while Orin shows up in the sewers disguised as Lae'Zel, and truth be told she probably crosses paths with Zevlor - unknowingly at least - in the Undercity a couple of times while she tries to find the shapeshifter.
All she can think of, while infiltrating the Temple of Bhaal is that she is going to raze it to the ground. That she will turn the shapeshifter inside out for coming after her friends, for making threats at her loved ones, and for overall plotting to enslave the whole city and beyond.
It is a hard battle, one that nearly ends Ea a few times, but ultimately successful.
Ironically, two hours after returning to Elfsong and hearing the groan of protest from the Netherbrain below the city over this loss, a bloodied Zevlor stumbles through the door.
She's there when he wakes, hours later, bandaged up and laid out in his bed. She's sitting on the edge of it, one of his hands in both of hers, and when he speaks she leans over and kisses the corner of his mouth. Relief is putting it mildly.
"Thanks for the souvenir, but I'll accept flowers next time," she jokes near his lips. Sits up again, and checks him quickly. "Isobel said a full recovery is in the cards for you if you stay in bed until your wounds heal."
I can do continuity sometimes if I try real hard!
Date: 2024-10-30 02:08 pm (UTC)He will be concerned and sorrowful that he missed the battle with Orin, once he hears, but when he wakes now, Ea has no words of reproach for him. That in itself makes him smile and curl his fingers around hers.
"I hope that won't take long," he says. "There's more battle at hand yet. But I did take down half a dozen of the cultists, plus the demon, so at least there's that."
"He knew me. Recognized me from Avernus." He closes his eyes a moment, letting her check him over without protest.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-30 02:54 pm (UTC)"There is always more battle ahead," she mutters under her breath, and brushes her thumb between his eyebrows to smooth away the furrow there. "I'm sorry I missed it, honestly." A little bit of humour in her voice, "You know I like watching you fight."
Competence does it for Ea Lowkey. Obviously.
Anyway, she's still recovering from her own wounds here so they're going to resist jumping right back into the fight until at least they stop bleeding. Or being poisoned.
"You know, maybe there's something to be said about letting the master thief sneak in and infiltrate cults - I had a knack for it when I was younger and all."
no subject
Date: 2024-11-04 01:31 pm (UTC)He chuckles softly. She likes watching him fight? That's flattering. "I'm getting better again. The smite is coming back to me, slowly but surely. I'm not sure what that means, but it's a gift I'm going to need, and I'm happy to see it."
He untangles his hand from the blankets, seeking out hers, threading their fingers together. "Gods know there are plenty of cults to go around. Once we put down the Absolute, I'm sure we can find more of them to fight if that's your fancy." This is optimism! They've going to destroy the Absolute and survive the experience themselves, right?
no subject
Date: 2024-11-04 06:44 pm (UTC)She squeezes his hand, then leans over to kiss his forehead, drawing away with a final pat to his shoulder. "You'll live." Nurse Ea has concluded. Nurse Ea is not very professional a caretaker - if Isobel were to heal him this way, she'd have to have words with the cleric for instance - because the shoulder pat turns into a squeeze, then her hand on his jawline, her thumb sweeping over his cheekbone. Nurse Ea is a grabby bitch, clearly.
"Your smite is coming back, you said?" Not that she knows how paladin oaths work, but that's surely a good thing? "Wait, does this mean you went into the Cult of Tiamat without a way to defeat cultists?"