Chapter Text
Astarion should have known that some things were too good to be true. Namely, the comfortable almost-relationship blossoming between himself and the paladin he’d been traveling with, Amanita. Ever since leaving Moonrise, there had been a change in their demeanor.. Which, in fairness, he was hardly thrilled about returning to Baldur’s Gate either, but this was different. It was as if they were resigned to something they were unwilling to say aloud, and all they could do was brace for impact.
He hadn’t asked. Perhaps he should have, but what they had now was so fragile, he didn’t want to risk prying, at least not so soon. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, after all, and Amanita had never pried into his. If it truly mattered, he would find out eventually.
‘Eventually’ happened to mean when they entered the coronation hall in Wyrm’s Rock. The room was filled with nearly every major noble in the city, but despite that, all eyes were on one singular person.
Enver Gortash. Chosen of Bane, soon to be Archduke of Baldur’s Gate. And one of the heads of the Absolute plot they’d come to the city to stop.
Astarion could imagine a thousand different reactions he could have to their arrival. Hostility, for spoiling his plans. Feigned disinterest. Maybe even guarded diplomacy, though that could easily end with a knife in their backs.
The reaction he gave was none of those.
“My favorite assassin! Gods, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” Astarion darted his eyes across the room, trying subtly to see who exactly Gortash would address with such a statement, because surely it wasn’t any of their group. There wasn’t anyone else it could be, though, and while both Shadowheart and Taliyah, the party’s amnesiac bard seemed startled by his words, Amanita merely narrowed their eyes and glowered at the man.
“You… know me?” It was unusual to see Taliyah at such a loss for words. She usually had something of substance to say, even if it was just a snarky comment about a missed shot or a pledge to take the stupidest, most ‘heroic’ course of action she could muster.
“So Orin didn’t lie– your past is lost to you. Let me clear up some mysteries, then. We share so much history together.”
As the two continued to talk, Astarion began putting the puzzle together. Taliyah was a Bhaalspawn. Not just any Bhaalspawn, but Bhaal’s Chosen herself, betrayed, brutalized and tadpoled so Orin could take power in the cult.
It all made… an unfortunate amount of sense. He’d seen how capable she was at killing when she chose to be, how she reveled in violence so long as it could be justified.
“I am very glad you’ve returned.” It sounded as if Gortash genuinely meant it, which could mean a lucrative alliance, if they played their cards right. “Though I can’t help but notice that while you have tried to reinvent yourself since your deposement, your hunting dog has stayed all but the same.”
“My hunting dog?”
The last piece fell into place. Amanita had been cagey about their past, and loyal to Taliyah. Of course part of him had known that they must have known each other before all of this, but it hadn’t been important before now.
It put a new perspective on Amanita’s oath, too. He’d remembered questioning why a paladin would break their oath by saving Taliyah’s life, but if Bhaal had turned his back on his previous Chosen, and the oath had been sworn in his name, that made a lot more sense. And how Amanita prayed for forgiveness not after killing, but healing, it all painted a picture of a thoroughly murderous god to serve.
It wasn’t great, especially considering that they were so loyal to one of the people directly responsible for the Absolute, but it shouldn’t have been a dealbreaker. After all, one had to know their enemy, and Amanita certainly had that knowledge. They weren’t strangers to having worshippers of evil gods in their camp either.
The real issue was that everyone was only finding out now. Within the first week the party had known he was a vampire, or that Shadowheart had been a Shar worshipper. The fact that they hadn’t said anything about something so important, was a problem. Astarion wouldn’t go so far as to consider it a betrayal, but as he glanced over at Shadowheart, it was obvious some of the others might.
On the way back to camp from the coronation, everyone was quiet. He looked over at Amanita a few times, but still couldn’t read anything from their expression apart from grim determination.
As expected, the little gaggle of mostly heroic types Taliyah had amassed didn’t take the revelation well. Taliyah herself had an excuse for the secrecy though, seeing as she found out right about when everyone else did. This left Amanita, who had known the whole time, as the only possible scapegoat.
For their part, they didn’t push back on any of it. All they did was listen, and when the rest of the group agreed it was getting too late and they should figure out what to do in the morning, they went to their own tent.
Unfortunate, since Astarion had just been getting used to having easy access to their neck to drink from.
The next morning, they were gone. Everyone had suspicions, that they’d turned traitor or decided to go hunt down Orin or the brain by themself, but Astarion noticed, with a jolt of concern, that nearly all of their belongings had been left behind.
Wherever they’d gone, they had left in a hurry. He really didn't like what that implied.
In the following days, Astarion tried to act like their disappearance didn’t bother him. The role of heavy hitter Amanita had played in fights was filled by others, and the party was still making progress towards obtaining the two Netherstones they needed. He could almost pretend his sadness was just hunger with no reliable source of blood.
That was, of course, until he picked a lock leading down into the sewer and was met face-to-face with Amanita. They were soaked in blood, their eyes were glassy, and when they tried to move towards him, they nearly fell into him.
“What happened?” He asked, knowing they might not even be lucid enough to answer.
“Orin,” They hissed, “I thought I could fight her, that if I could take her by surprise I could kill her. But I couldn’t. I failed. Taliyah?”
“Yes?” In the moments since opening the door, Taliyah had come up from behind Astarion, just as curious and nervous as he was.
“Run. You couldn’t face her before, you won’t be able to now. Your only way to survive is fleeing.”
That wasn’t right. None of this sounded right out of Amanita’s mouth. Something had to be wrong.
Astarion’s skepticism was, unfortunately, well-founded. Amanita’s body twisted and writhed, bones snapping until the person standing before them, still coated in blood, was Orin herself.
Taliyah gasped in horror. "What did you do to them?"
“So, Blood-kin misses her little pet. I think that means we can make a deal.”