The loved & the forgotten pt29 Part 28 here ——— Vivienne: *slowly blinks awake and smiles feeling his husbands both embracing him amongst the blankets and pillows, the bliss of waking up to his first day of married life almost enough to blot out the memory of what happened the previous evening, but not quite* … *glances at the door considering getting up to finally go investigate outside* … *glances back at taliesins sleeping face and smiles giving him a kiss, before looking up at Kaidan and nearly pissing himself in fright* KAI! Kaidan: *wide awake just smirking playfully at him* caught you thinking of sneaking off into trouble didn’t I~ Taliesin: *jolts awake and immediately groans and pouts as he cuddles vivienne tight while feeling around for Kaidan to pull him into the snuggle puddle* hnnnng noooo, it’s too earlyyyyy. And I’m sore… Kaidan: *lays his arm over both of them pulling them in tight, squishing vivienne between them* I know love, you danced quite a bit last night, and handled those reavers too… Vivienne: those rea- Kaidan: *leans down silencing him with a kiss, pulling away slowly with a soft whisper* shhhh… we’ll talk about it when nerevar and voryn get here… for now let me just hold you both and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist… just for a little while. Vivienne: *stares up at him, then back at Taliesin to see the high elfs tired green eyes peering at him from behind his pillow* …mm. *closes his eyes and stretches with a long drawn out yawn before melting into their embrace* okay. Taliesin: *smiles and nuzzles into his neck* Kaidan: *closes his eyes and hums contently as he brings them both in closer* thank you. *a few hours later* Vivienne: *now dressed and quietly inspecting outside the house before the rest of the settlement wakes, only to find it stripped of all evidence from the night before, no blood, no bones, no bodies, not even a track mark left by the lurkers, except for an odd shape beneath the ash* …hm?… *crouches down and dusts it away revealing a blade* oh?… *dusts more away and pulls up a rather unusual, jagged dagger from the earth* what the?… ???: Lost something? Vivienne: *looks up to see voryn & nerevar approaching* You know I haven’t… what happened last night? Who were those people really? Why are they after me?… Voryn: *furrows his brow and removes his chitin helm with a deep sigh, heart hurting at how vivienne immediately knows, not assumes, knows, he’s the one they’re after* let’s go inside. We’ll discuss it in there. Nerevar: *helps vivienne back to his feet and blinks seeing the dagger* Ethos? Vivienne: what? Oh is- this yours? I found it in the ash- Nerevar: I… it was mine, vivec gave it to me before the battle of red mountain, I found it once more during my time as the nerevarine but… it disappeared one day, along with Vivec’s sword and the mask. Vivienne: vivec had a sword? I?… if it disappeared then those people had it yeah? They brought it here then to use it against me? Nerevar: if they had intent to use it for violence then they’re no worshippers of vivec. *ushers him inside with voryn* it’s a tool of obligation, for bartering or negotiation. Vivienne: I… they intended to negotiate with me? *walks into the kitchen and sets it down on the table as Kaidan and Taliesin begin setting out breakfast* Taliesin: Weapons off the ta-… what is that? Kaidan: Weird looking knife is what it is. Morning you pair, many green faces around town today? Voryn: *chuckles as he sits down* oh yes~ we spotted a few outside the netch who’d celebrated a little too hard. Nerevar: *sits beside him* they were certainly putting the retching to the netch- *barfing from down the hall* Vivienne: it sounds like Sero is doing the same. *smiles giving kai and Taliesin a kiss each before sitting with them and looking at the blade* can I please be filled in on the people after me now? Before we take mannimarco to the temple to be cleansed?… please?… Nerevar: *looks at voryn & nods* Voryn: *sighs and places the artefacts brought to him by his men on the table, along with the tong assassins reports* Cultists of the tribunal had more of a foothold on the island than we’d anticipated… a temple dedicated to them was located a ways from the settlement and its occupants were dealt with. But unfortunately not all of said occupants were present, said unaccounted for cultists, turned up here last night, dressed as reavers minus their leader, who was dressed as in decommissioned royal guard armour. Vivienne: *eyes wide staring at the mask of Almalexia and the hopesfire blade, both now stripped of their magic but undeniably artefacts of the tribunal* wh-what?… *shakily picks the mask up and drops it as images of the foul murder return to his mind and his body seizes up* I- Nerevar: Vihn! Kaidan: Love?! Taliesin: Darling?! Voryn: *reaches across the table taking his hand in a firm grasp* Breathe vivienne… Vivienne: *draws in a sharp breath before opening his eyes and steadying himself* I’m- im fine… I’m, im fine… *shakily pulls back from voryns hand and grips onto Kaidan and Taliesin* I’m… im safe… I’m safe… *closes his eyes tight for a moment before opening them with a slow exhale* I’m okay. *looks down at the mask as nerevar pulls it away from him* I thought… I thought you said it was destroyed?… along with sotha sils? Nerevar: they’re supposed to be. I shattered them with my own hands. *casts a simple mage light and holds it behind it showing cracks all through the fanged face of his former wife* it seems they put it back together though… Vivienne: I’m worried what else they may have put back together… if they had such an established base here on such a small island… there could be more in morrowind… or as far as skyrim… there’s most likely branches in the empire as well… Taliesin: darling I’m sure it’s not that bad- Kaidan: No love, he’s right to be cautious. After the fall of the tribunal there’s no telling how far their followers spread. Especially since worship of them would lead the persecution. Taliesin: … *sighs* I suppose you’re right, I should know given the wide spread hidden talos worship I was assigned to track down- darling? Vivienne: *stands slowly and rubs his face* I’m going to go help Miraak prepare mannimarco… after he’s cleansed of what Bal did to him, I’m going to see the temple for myself- Everyone: NO! Vivienne: I wasn’t asking. *turns and walks out, his tone short and his tolerance for being kept in the dark any longer even shorter* *a few hours later* Vivienne: is he alright?… Miraak: *emerges from the temple holding mannimarco amongst a number of blankets, the high elf unconscious, but the markings left by Molag Bal now gone from his skin at last, and a strange serene look of peace across his sleeping face, contrasting the cold sweat left from the ritual* he survived. Whether or not he’s alright, we won’t know until he wakes. Vivienne: *gently fixes the blanket over the high elf a little more* take him back to the manor and keep an eye on him… Miraak: you’re serious about investigating this hidden temple then? On your own? Vivienne: I am… and you know as well as I, I won’t be alone. *looks back to see the rest of the group gathered nearby, prepared, and waiting to follow him* Whether they like it or not. I’m tired of running away, and fed up with hiding… and I’ll be damned if I let a group of cultists ruin my honeymoon any further.
See Also
BG3 Precision Attack: What It Does, Benefits, & DrawbacksBaldur's Gate 3 introduces its official modding toolkit in patch 7, arriving in September15 Things To Complete Before Finishing BG3 Act 1Baldur's Gate 3: Best Gloves (& How To Get Them)