closed, for: @chasingtitans muse: karlach cliffgate.
the past few weeks of karlach's life had been hectic, to say the least.
hectic, but free. free from avernus, free from zariel. and, hells, she would do anything if it meant staying far away from either of those.
she'd made some friends since escaping the nautiloid, at least. though their meeting had been messy and confusing, with so-called "paladins of tyr" staining her name with falsehoods, the band of adventurers that found her had become solid allies to have. karlach may not have known them for very long, but she already knew that she'd lay her life down for most of them. perhaps not all of them, not yet, but most of them. they'd stormed into a goblin camp together, saved a druid by the name of halsin, and then pressed further in. the goblins tried to fight back, but as the adventurers carved their way into their camp to reach halsin, they'd left nothing but goblin corpses and remains scattered behind them.
with the druid free, karlach ventured into the underdark with her fellow adventurers. it sounded like the safest option to traverse the underdark, rather than to travel above ground. most of the party agreed, though one in particular seemed less enthusiastic about the thought.
the underdark was unlike anything karlach had ever seen — particularly, the myconid colony. dark, illuminated mostly by the various luminescent shrooms, spores and vegetation, with few (though, not zero) lanterns hanging from the large mushrooms. the myconids were unlike any other beings karlach had seen, but their environment was serene and beautiful. she almost mourned the very thought of leaving.
when it came time to set up camp for the night, they had set it up on the myconids' terrain, though away from the center of their settlement. eyes were growing heavy, and feet were weary. karlach herself was exhausted, but the hellfire within the infernal engine locked away in her chest would not allow her to rest. it burned particularly hot, but she had no way of soothing its heat tonight.
when it was quieter and everyone had settled down for the night, karlach had anticipated being the only one awake. however, it was a surprise to her when she saw one adventurer still awake: keiko. the tiefling's restless feet carried her over to the drow's tent, the corners of her lips lifting into a friendly smile.
"hey, soldier!" karlach kept her voice soft, so not to spook keiko. after the topic of fear had briefly arisen before they had entered into the underdark, the last thing karlach wanted to do was make that fear any worse, if it lingered. nudging the dirt with her toe, she continued, "thought i'd be the last one awake. usually am."
lowering herself down onto the ground, karlach exhaled a deep, aching sigh. her chest was hot and uncomfortable, glowed a little brighter, and the flames licked a little more furiously at her red flesh — but it was nothing that she couldn't handle. "i think you sleep, anyway," she noted aloud, "you always look it." something to ponder later. with a tilt of her head, karlach's fiery irises drifted toward keiko, her smile softening into something of concern. leaning back with her palms planted in the dirt, karlach slowly asked, "are you alright...?"
