NWN2 - A Draconian Encounter
(A completed thread put together, written by @shinycollectingteifling as Aku and myself, @cunninginstinct as Sand.)
Fiction is T-rated Genre: Comedy, Fluff Word Count: 3836
Warnings for: Implied Romance, Nausea-Related Sickness, Combat
Neverwinter Nights 2, Act 3: Akumamika (the Barbarian Tiefling Knight-Captain) and Sand begin their descent down Mount Galardrym post-Tholapsyx. Alive - and somehow each still in one piece! Along the way, however, they run into some less-than-friendly obstacles... Is nothing ever easy?!
shinycollectingteifling
The roars could be heard for miles around the mountain, for several minutes it was the loudest sound anywhere near the mountain. Until an almighty crack of thunder silenced them, the sickening crunch of scale and bone went unheard, as did the heavy breathing.
A little scratched up and singed but otherwise looking alright, the blue teifling panted hard until her rage subsided, leaving her a bit shaky for a few moments. It took some effort to uncurl her fingers from her hammer, leaving it in what was once the face of a young but arrogant red dragon.
While the group were picking each other up and heading back to the path down with what they could carry from the disappointing pile of treasures she turned and spotted her favourite wizard nearby. She waved to the others to keep going, that she’d catch up in a few minutes. Not too worried since most of the dangers up here had been quite thoroughly dealt with.
Moving quietly so as to not alarm him any more than he seemed to be already she crouched before him and tried to offer a reassuring smile, somewhat diminished by the smears of crimson across her face and chest. Her one working eye flicking over the elf to make sure he’d been unharmed, and her shoulders dropped with releif.
“Hey...”
cunninginstinct
Sand could never remember so desperately flinging spells in his life. The incantations left his lips with little pause between one and the next, he must have gone through at least twenty potions, and on more than one occasion he found himself hiding behind Khelgar - Khelgar! Of all people!
And at the forefront of the battle was Aku, incandescent with rage, her muscles visibly straining under taut scarred blue flesh. She leaped and struck with all the proficiency of a warrior of her caliber. The fact that she faced a dragon seemed to daunt her very little at all. Sand did not have enough time between screaming wards and protections to envy this about her.
Together, a force combined into one synergistic effort, they vanquished dread Tholapsyx at last. Sand had been hanging on with great effort to the remains of rational strategy up until the telltale crack of bone. He stood there for many moments, panting heavily, and his shoulders eventually relaxed. With relief he shakily sank down onto the top of a rugged chunk of volcanic stone, gathering his bearings.
Distantly Sand heard the voice of the knight captain trying to reach him. His eyes were still wide with terror, somewhat glazed as he reached up to rub his forehead. Every part of him was still intact. Singed, but intact. He never thought he would be so happy to find everything just the way he’d left it.
Shakily, he ducked his head and held up a hand to brandish a gloved finger. “Aku, darling,” he gulped. “Give me three seconds - my life is almost finished flashing before my eyes.” And it was just as underwhelming as he remembered it… well. Aside from his recollections of misadventures in the hosttower and running along after Aku.
shinycollectingteifling
While it would be the easiest thing in the world to assume Aku possessed all the intellect of a drunken chimp with the power of speech, she did in fact pick up on things very quickly. Some things at least. It was more her priorities for giving things thought were a little different, and she certainly wasn’t (as someone once said to her face before his got broken) a heartless killing machine.
She nodded and waited on her haunches for Sand to recover, poised ready to help if she was needed. Though she was smiling, her eyes held a great deal of worry for him.
Thinking maybe her state might be a bit unsettling she emptied a bit of her waterskin into he rhand to get most of the blood off of her face, but realised it would take a bit more effort than they had time for up here. At least her face was clean now.
Glancing up again at Sand she thought for a moment then offered the skin to him, remembering their earlier battles the gentle reminders to drink water after all the excitement, which made it easier to recover. Hoping it would have the same affect now.
cunninginstinct
Sand eased his eyes towards Aku again. She was squatting before him, and in her calloused hand she held a waterskin. His mouth suddenly felt very dry - another reminder that he was still living and breathing. “Oh… why, thank you, dear girl.” With a wan smile, he reached out to accept the offering of a drink and their fingertips lightly brushed against each other.
His hand shook as he rose it to his lips and drank steadily, though he took care to leave plenty for Aku to slake her own thirst. For many moments after he finished taking a drink, he blinked at the scorched earth where spatters of blood painted the scenery. Now that he’d found the time to ground himself, he became acutely aware of his heart hammering in his chest.
“We’re alive,” Sand acknowledged at last. He wheezed in something that might have been a chuckle, were he not so exhausted. “Aku, how in the realms did you muster this kind of fortitude…?”
shinycollectingteifling
The teifling let out a breath she’d been holding, and relaxed a bit, though looked around to make sure nothing else would be making an attempt to munch on them unawares. Looking back only to take the waterskin back, corking it and tying the loop back to her belt.
“Yes we’re alive. I promised I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.” She grinned,but it faded with the follow up question. She shifted a little uncomfortable while thinking how to answer that.
“Uh I think you probably wont like the answer. Short answer would be I got into fights a lot, like probably way more than I should’ve. Even as a kid. Not my fault. Guess I wasn’t too popular.” She tried a weak smile for him and bounced a little,eager to get going.
“You gonna be alright?” She leaned forward a bit and in a motion as tender as she could make it, placed her hand over Sand’s forehead, growing worried again.
cunninginstinct
“Hm? Oh - yes,” said Sand, reaching up to close his fingers over the tiefling’s rugged hand. “Quite fine. Nothing like a little fresh volcanic air to really set one righ–” Seconds after this incomplete utterance he turned approximately the color of the Waterdhavian algae that he sold in his shop. Unceremoniously he lurched to the side and heaved, puking up the lunch he’d picked at earlier that day. “…To set one r–”
Again, he retched. And again. Only twice more did he attempt to repeat his unfinished sentence before he gave up. At last Sand spat up the last of the foulness and he groaned. Suddenly he felt very faint and beset upon by the violent onset of vertigo. The sight before him dimmed as he swayed in his seated position. Before eventually tipping over, he faintly recalled murmuring: “Aku, would you be a dear and catch me before I flounder in my own vomit? Thank you…”
shinycollectingteifling
Seeing what was coming, Aku moved aside and very carefully pulled Sand’s hair aside, and held onto his arm. Politely looking away till he seemed to regain himself. She began to ask him a question but she could see the lights going out and quickly looped her arms around him.
It took a bit of careful maneuvering, but eventually she got him up on one arm, using her tail to keep him upright and pulled his arm over one shoulder. Satisfied he was secure she began to long trek back down the mountainside, taking things a considerably more careful path so she wouldn’t jostle Sand around too much. While dragging her hammer behind her as well.
The heat began to diminish after a while and the air was not as thick and noxious. The heavy clouds above them began opening up and a (Thankfully) cool drizzle started to soak them through. As much as Aku hated water and the rain she kept going, able to see the camp a ways further down.
cunninginstinct
Were Sand in a more controlled state, he would have recoiled to see himself giving in to such graceless displays. However, his hero was there to rescue him before he could splash about in the remains of his lunch and dignity on the scorched stone below. Suddenly he felt himself moving through the air, held above the ground by a firm, muscular arm. As reality slipped away from him, he sighed and pressed his cheek to Aku’s forehead and finally went still.
He did not shift around a lot at all and his eyes remained closed throughout most of the trip down Mount Galardrym. Even as the rain started he was still retreated into reverie for the most part. Every now and then his fingers would shift along Aku’s skin where they made contact.
If Sand were ‘awake’ he would have spared them both with a spell to protect them from the elements… except they were all used up in the scrap against Tholapsyx. Burning, scorching fire? Or a little bit of drizzle? Still, once he would finally stir from his state of semi-consciousness, they would have the luxury of being able to avoid the misty raining.
shinycollectingteifling
The slow walk down, while wet and slippery, not to mention dangerously narrow pathways, was made bearable. At least in Akuma’s mind. Finding she quite liked being this close to her favourite wizard.
A slight prickling feeling ran up her spine as she edged her way very carefully over a narrow rock pass over a very painful looking drop below. She turned just enough at the way she’d come from and felt ice drop into her stomach.
Clearly on their way up they hadn’t quite finished off one of the giants who had been hindering their progress all damn day. This one, while not the largest by any means looked angry. His flaming beard flickering as the weather turned from drizzle to a downpour, muscles bulging as he began charging at them and this narrow little bridge.
Had she been on her own Aku would have charged right back, but… She looked at Sand in her arm and at her hammer in the other and whimpered for a moment. She shouldered her weapon and pulled Sand closer to her chest as she began to run across the bridge, flinching as she heard a loud crack behind her.
Her hooves clicked rapidly across the stone and her tail thrashed side to side to help her keep her balance, she began muttering under her breath. “Don’t panic, I’ve got you I’ve got you, I promised. I promised.” Trying desperately to look only at the end of the bridge and not at Sand or what was coming behind them.
cunninginstinct
Sand’s eyes snapped open and he tilted his head upwards, furrowing his brow against the intensifying rain. He recalled fighting the dread Tholapsyx - and surviving, successfully subverting expectation - and his exhaustion suddenly and rather nauseatingly catching up with him on the mountaintop. Everything past that was beyond his mental reach. Except… Aku caught him, held him, carried him. He recalled comfort and bliss in her arms. And she was still lofting him around, but at a scurry rather than a leisurely trot.
Sudden lightning highlighted the giant behind them and his eyes widened.
“Oh for the love of the Seldarine,” he croaked.
At least the wizard’s impromptu rest did him some good to replenish his spells. As Aku hurdled down the stone path, the elf she carried with her hurriedly chanted a haste spell on her. Hopefully that should put some distance between her and the fire giant, but it would not be enough… Without missing a beat, he began to rattle out the incantation to Polar Ray, aiming true at their cranky pursuer.
shinycollectingteifling
As the magic took a hold of her, Aku took the hint and began a full on dash across the bridge, legs blurring as she crashed through the driving rain. The edge was in sight, and she felt the creeping cold from behind her and heard an almighty roar and something heavy hitting the bridge. Which then shook.
The giant had run right into the spell and started to slip, unable to hold his balance fell backwards and hit the bridge with such a force that it was beginning to crack under his weight. He shook his head and sat up to hurl his axe at the retreating duo, just as the rock gave way and his yells quickly grew quiet then silent.
The teifling glanced back and let out another whimper before looking at her companion. “I am so so sorry about this.” She twisted and spun around, launching the wizard towards the safe end of the bridge in an upwards arc, biting on her lower lip with worry while she made a much less graceful but much faster sprint across. Sliding the last few feet on her side.
She sprung up at the last moment, arms up and got bowled over backwards in her attempt to catch Sand on his return to the ground. Going horn over tail down the muddy slope.
When they came to a stop she slowly uncurled herself from around the elf, breathing hard, and looking up to make sure they weren’t still being hunted then looked down at him, ears turned downward, and a very apologetic look on her face.
cunninginstinct
If moon elves were meant to fly they’d be avariel. That’s what Sand always thought, anyways. Yet here he was, airborne, without so much as a hint of a plan of what in the realms Akuma thought she was doing. So, he did what he’d naturally do - he screamed.
Now whatever mystique he built up over the years was gone, but dire life-threatening situations had a certain way about them that put a person’s true priorities into order. And this? This was the least of his concerns at the moment.
The wind tore at his lungs as he sailed gracelessly in an arc through the air, wailing all the while. At last gravity caught up to him and he began his journey (perhaps not so much that as it was a harsh plummet) earthwards. The ground was coming close. By Mystra, there had to be something there between his sharp ears that would save him from a squashed state! However, even with all the racing his mind was doing in that moment, all he could begin to think of was whatever eulogy he’d get once whatever smears was left of him could be collected and buried. Here lies Sand, hedge-wizard, unconventional lawyer, elven pancake.
Serendipity by the name of Aku saved him from his perilous descent through the air. His yelp was cut short quite abruptly. A mass of blue muscle tumbled into him, Sand’s ragdoll body held tight against the knight captain in a protective grasp. For a while yet they traveled, but at last when their surroundings ceased its spinning Sand found he was still, miraculously, alive.
His breathing was ragged. The twitch in his left eye was sustained for several moments until his gaze found Aku. The elf’s chest continued to heave with greedy gulps of air.
“Thank you. And also never,” Sand groaned hoarsely, “ever, throw me again.” His palm found his forehead shakily, pressing against the surface in a fed up manner. “But… more importantly, thank you.”
shinycollectingteifling
Akuma let out a sigh of relief at hearing him speak and sounding (all things considered) fine. She nodded, agreeing to his terms. “You’re welcome. I uh, wasn’t exactly thinking…just sort of uhm…” She shut up quickly, not wanting to be any more of an idiot than she was making herself already. Besides, ‘Wanted to get you across safe’ didn’t want to leave her thoughts via words anyway.
Once the adrenaline wore off, she checked Sand for any obvious injuries, though there wouldn’t be much she could do about that at the moment. Satisfied nothing life threatening was going on she began to shift to stand up but hissed softly. Seems sliding over bare rock was not an ideal method of travel. She grit her teeth for a moment and tried again, managing to get upright and offered her hand for her companion. Wishing she could do something about the rain.
“I don’t think the camp is that far away now, we got quite a bit of distance covered.” She picked up her hammer, looking around the pass, it didn’t look quite the same in the dark, since her vision only made things black and white in the low light. Yet while she was figuring out where they were her gaze kept being drawn back to the hedge wizard.
Another flash of lightning impressed the urgency of the situation. So she took point and picked out the safer places to step down along the path, not quite going as quick as she would’ve liked.
She checked back over her shoulder fairly frequently, making sure Sand was still there. Feeling the need to lighten the mood somewhat she smiled. “You know, If anyone asks I’ll say that was me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you be that loud before.”
cunninginstinct
“Well! At least some part of my dignity is maintained.” Sand rolled his eyes heavanward in fond exasperation. A delicate elven hand found the side of her face, fingertips lightly tracing her cheekbone. “Aku, dear girl,” he sighed with a sly little half-smile, “what ever am I going to do with you?” Rivulets of water trailed down the surface of her face like tears at his touch.
There was a pause and his ears twitched, soon afterwards his keen eyes zoned in on the commotion of camp quite a ways below them. His smile was slow to broaden, but it found inspiration with the offer of her hand. The wizard’s fingers closed around her palm, but not before he took advantage of the lack of surveillance upon the two of them to kiss where he caressed her cheek earlier. “Consider this the first part of my payment for saving our lives.”
He ran his fingers through his coal black hair and frowned in distaste at the sodden texture. “Mm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “And consider this the next part.” While still grasping her hand, he wove a spell to protect them from the elements for the duration of the rest of their descent. And if Tymora smiled upon them, hopefully it would be a slower and less treacherous one. “You saved me from a dragon, so naturally I must rescue you from the clutches of a dreadful cold. Ah, don’t thank me all at once.”
shinycollectingteifling
Seeing the hand close to her face she couldn’t help flinch slightly but relaxed almost immediately.
It was the strangest most surreal thing in the world to her that with the barest hint of a touch Sand could make her simply melt against his palm, eyes closing for a few moments.
She couldn’t have answered his question even if she wanted to, her brain and stomach were becoming quite fuzzy, enough to distract her until the brief kiss against her cheek.
Then the fuzz became a blaze of heat and she felt like she’d been stunned for a good while, and simply followed where he was leading her, hoping the walk down to the camp wouldn’t be too short after all, and for once thankful the dark was hiding the new colour on her face.
“Uhm yeah rescue the cold from a dragon…” She grinned, clearly hadn’t paid quite full attention and walked a little closer, looking far too happy in the dark and pouring rain when usually she’d be the first to complain about the weather. “Best wizard ever.”
cunninginstinct
Sand chuckled. “I’ll take that as a ‘thank you’.” He was not so disoriented that he would miss the flush spreading across her face, but he accepted his success with a smug, knowing smile.
They strode down the path steadily, hand in hand, protected from the rain by a magical bubble. Still he took care with his steps... it would not do well to ruin the moment by taking another impromptu tumble down the slippery hill. There would always be a better time and place for the two of them to be sprawling, and the rocks here were not looking particularly comfortable for it. With a twinge of amusement he tucked that thought away for a different time.
The gods graced the rest of their journey without any more dragons or giants, or even sudden natural disasters, that would have no doubt put a damper on their walk. Despite the dark and the rain he would dare say he even enjoyed these moments, more since they were not burdened with the risk of being watched by prying eyes. They were for each other in this simple stroll. Any lingering fire giants would just have to form a queue and wait until Aku and Sand’s precious rare time alone was over.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, and far too soon it seemed. The camp was within reasonable distance and the risk of being seen together like they were was too much of a risk for comfort. Quietly Sand kissed her hand before releasing it, gazing about warily as they continued on. The last thing they needed was a tattletale, and it was blessing enough to not be caught by any further enemies on their journey down.
