Chapter Text
Astarion stared at the portal swirling in the cramped office of the ridiculous woman who, for weeks, had been denying Gale the Annals of Karsus. It had taken that long for Gale to finally ask Astarion to sneak into her office. Apparently all Gale wanted was the key to get into the vault so he could find the damned thing. Astarion, Gale had promised, wouldn’t have to lift a finger beyond the office. Just get him that step closer to the information he needed.
Well, if that glowing portal was any indication, Astarion had a feeling he had found not just the key but the actual entrance to the vault while Gale was decidedly not here.
“Damn it all,” he grumbled as he walked forward. If not Gale, then Roslyn would admonish him for not taking the opportunity when it presented itself. So he stepped through the portal, brow furrowed and steps heavy.
47 minutes later, Astarion stepped back out. His clothes were just slightly burned and two of his health potions were drained, but clasped in his hands was the book.
“If you are not worth it, I am chucking you into the dirtiest part of the bay,” he warned the book as he tucked it away.
~*~
Roslyn was feeling good about things lately. Ever since taking care of Orin, Gortash had been hiding away in his tower, shaking in his boots… at least that’s what she and Karlach would imagine as they talked over their wine. It had given everyone the break they needed to pay attention to the things that had been building up. Right now, they were finally able to put the resources into getting the Annals of Karsus.
Roslyn was leaning against the pillar on the lower level of the Sourcer’s Sundries and watched a wizard cast another spell out in the courtyard.
“Parlor tricks compared to the knowledge we might attain with this book,” Gale commented, also leaning against the pillar and watching the crowd “oooh” and “ahhh.”
Roslyn shifted on her feet. “Gale, I-”
“Remind me, who is your favorite?” Astarion sing-songed as he appeared out of the shadows, waving the book in front of Gale’s face.
Gale grabbed the book out of the rogue’s hands, his eyes wide and greedy. Roslyn then grabbed it out of the wizard’s hands as he had opened it. “We are still in the damn shop you two, don’t get co*cky.” The two men gave her a flat look summing up the fact that Roz was probably the co*ckiest out of all of them.
In truth, Roslyn was avoiding giving the book to Gale. She felt this nervousness deep in her chest. She didn’t like the way his eyes gleamed. An after-effect of dealing with Astarion’s power trip, she was sure. But… wizards did have a bad habit of failing to realize that knowledge is easily just as destructive as power.
~*~
They were on their way to Dammon’s, strolling through the public garden when Gale finally broke. “Good Gods, Roslyn, we are quite a bit of a distance away from Sorcerer's Sundries! May I please have the book now?”
Roslyn turned around slowly to face the wizard with an eyebrow raised. “I mean, you could ask politely before using such dramatics, but I suppose you have been around the rest of us long enough.”
Astarion turned to Karlach. “Shall we continue? I have a feeling these two might need a moment.”
“Or three.” Karlach’s eyes dancing between the paladin and wizard. “Well, we will see you at the Elf Song! I’ll tell Dammon you say hi!” Karlach yelled over her shoulder as she and Astarion left the garden.
“Get me some lightning arrows!” Roslyn yelled back, her eyes not leaving the frowning wizard’s face.
Gale didn’t say anything. His eyes were complicated and hard to read. Roslyn sighed, glancing up, and prayed that the wizard would listen. She gestured to a bench. “Gale, did I ever tell you about the first war I fought in when I was young?”
Gale hesitated, but came and sat next to her. “You fought in a war? That oddly explains a bit.”
Roslyn nodded. “I was the head of Nysa’s army, actually. It was horrible and gruesome and the first time I ever led entire battalions of soldiers and not just a troop. A year before it broke out, my father’s aid, a very reputable and respectable wizard, decided to do research on some ancient tomes locked deep in the castle’s library. I will be honest with you, not even I know the contents. However, the research itself became expansive. Our wizard had other notable wizards brought in, even from other kingdoms. Father had been sure that the pursuit of knowledge was a noble cause. That nobody would betray the sanctity of it. Of course, this would not be a story if he was right. He wasn’t. The knowledge became power, as it usually does, and people became greedy, as they usually do. In the dead of night, one of the other kingdom’s wizards stole the research and fled. What followed was a war where thousands upon thousands lost their lives.”
“Roslyn, I do not wish–”
“I know, Gale.” Roslyn fished around her pack and pulled out the Annals of Karsus. She handed it over to her wizard. “I do trust you. I just know you wizards need reminders, sometimes, of the dangers of knowledge.”
Gale ran his hand over the cover reverently. “A lesson that the author of this book could have no doubt used. The Annals of Karsus… The preamble to a civilization’s downfall, committed to parchment by the very hand that wrought its destruction.”
“See? This is why reading can be bad for you.”
Gale gave Roz a look, and even though she was well over 100 years older than him, Roslyn felt scolded. His attention turned back to the book, “The truth of the crown, I hope, is within these pages. All that stands between us and enlightenment is the turn of a page.”
Rozlyn stood up, stretching her arms. “Shall we get back to the Elf Song before you start turning any pages and become frozen and immersed in knowledge amongst the flowers?”
Gale hesitated. He wanted to read it as soon as he could and that meant now.
“Come on, Gale. Just think how comfortable you will be there. With a cup of tea next to a roaring fire. Reading to your heart's content, soaking in all that knowledge.” Roslyn slowly walked backwards as she tried to encourage him to follow.
Gale got up. “That does sound tempting… but you must promise I will not be disturbed for the rest of the day.”
“Well, I can't make promises for others,” Roslyn smiled as her and Gale strode together, “but I won't bother you, I promise.”
“Well, I was mainly talking about you.” He peered at her with a slight smirk.
Roslyn laughed as they continued down the road.
~*~
It was as soon as they got to the Elf Song that Gale plopped himself down on one of the couches and opened the dusty tome. Some of the camp sat on the ground as they sharpened their weapons, Lae’zel discussing proper tools to use depending on the metals. Roz made her way over after grabbing her greatsword. Plopping herself down, she zoned out of the conversation and watched the wizard.
Maybe she was nervous, Roslyn would at least admit that. What she wouldn’t admit was the fact that the glint in Gale’s eyes was the thirst for power. At least with Astarion, his devious nature was evident and he didn’t think himself a hero. Gale… Gale always assumed what he did was the right thing because he had the right information to back him up. So when Gale’s eyes got big and his entire face lit up as he read, Roslyn’s pulse quickened. When he glanced both ways, somehow missing Roz’s obvious staring, and got up to go to his room… well, Roslyn’s dread followed her as she got up herself.
Needing an excuse to go into his room and casually talk to him without revealing all the worry that sat on her shoulders, the former aunt went down to the kitchens for a trick that had always worked in the past.
~*~
Roslyn was carrying a tray with a pot of tea, some fancy teacups, and biscuits up the stairs as Astarion was making his way down. “Ah, there you are. I had heard you and Gale made it back before Karlach and I, yet I could not find you.” He glanced down at the tray. “Is that for Gale?”
She co*cked an eyebrow. “It is… what makes it obvious?”
Astarion crossed his arms to play annoyed, but the concerned pinch in his brow argued otherwise. “Good. When I finally got in and went to my room, he was in his bed mumbling to himself while hunched horribly over that silly tome.” He glanced at Roz. “Perhaps some paladin righteousness is needed.”
“Are you worried?” Roslyn teased.
“I am not. I just… well, you are decent with showing those with a bit of tunnel vision some guiding light with well-chosen words.” Astarion looked at his fingernails.
Roslyn climbed a few steps up, just one above Astarion, and kissed him gently on the cheek. “You are very sweet.” She turned and continued up the stairs, yelling over her shoulder, “Wait until I tell Gale how you are looking out for his well-being. Shall I remind him to read with a light on, too?”
She laughed and hurried her steps as soon as she heard footsteps rushing up the stairs behind her. Roslyn reached the landing just as Astarion caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck with admonishments. It was only by the grace hounded in by those etiquette classes that kept the tray from tumbling out of her hands.
“Um, I hate to interrupt,” Roslyn turned to face a Gale stepping out from the door onto the landing, “but I do need to talk to you for a moment, Roslyn.” His lips were pressed and his jaw set.
Roz frowned at the sight, tone and use of her name. “Of course, Gale.” She shoved the tray into Astarion’s arms, the air getting knocked out of him as he had no choice but to accept it.
“I guess I shall take my leave.” When Astarion reached the door behind Gale’s back, he gave Roz a look over his nose with raised eyebrows before slipping into the group's common space and closing it behind him.
Gale wringed his hands as he approached Roz. “This book was not what I expected.” His eyes were already imploring her. “It is so much more. The Crown of Karsus. It is no mere journal–it contains Karsus’ original plans for the Crown’s construction. His designs for Godhood.”
“Which failed… because it killed him. That’s hardly Godhood.” Roslyn said beneath a forced casual air.
“Not exactly.” Roslyn crossed her arms. “It was what he did with it that sealed his fate, and for a time, that of magic itself. The Crown was merely the means.”
“Ah, much like a sword.”
Gale ignored her quip. “The book states that the Crown and Netherstones were originally one construct, seemingly sundered at the moment of Karsus’ downfall. If we collect the crown’s setting and the final Netherstone, and with the correct invocation of certain spells and gestures detailed in these notes… I think I could reforge it.”
“What?” Voice filled with shock, Roslyn blinked rapidly. “To what end?” This came out as a whisper.
Gale stepped forward. “To every end you can imagine, and a thousand more beyond. Just think of it.. The power of the gods in mortal hands at last. We’d be free of doctrine and dogma, confined only by the limits of our imaginations. I promise you, they will never grant us such a blessing, no matter how much we worship and adore them.”
“The Gods are just as varied as people, and our opinion of them can be too. I know your experience with Mystra–”
“You don’t know. I worshiped Mystra loyally for years, and in that time she granted me the barest sliver of the power I was ready to wield.” Roslyn had never seen Gale get this upset, a fire built from years in Mystra’s palm lit in his eyes. “Even with the fate of the world at stake, she had little more to offer me than the means of blowing myself up at a more convenient time. She’s done nothing to help us. Mystra wanted the brain obliterated because of this crown. She fears a world in which such power is beyond her control–ready to be claimed by Karsus’s successor.”
“Which is you, I guess?” Roz ran her hand through her hair.“I thought you were beyond caring what the gods thought. Don’t you understand what you will be sacrificing for this kind of power?”
“Neither of us can know what truly may be if we don’t at least try. Potential is nothing in and of itself–just a fleeting dream, unless we drag it into the waking world. Please at least think on it. Powerful as he was, Kasus lacked some advantages I can lay claim to.”
As he listed all the things he had that Karsus did not, Roz watched that glint in his eyes. He knew he could do it, and she was inclined to agree. But how could she convince him that didn’t mean he should? Here he was again, asking her with those eyes to think on it.
Roslyn, however, knew if she agreed to think on it, she was agreeing to it. So she set her shoulders and answered, “Gale, I am urging you to drop this. This Crown cannot be reforged. Not only for the vast amount of power it wields, but also because I do not wish you to be consumed by it.”
“This does not hurt anyone, Roslyn. Doesn’t sacrifice anyone.”
The silence held for a beat.
“A step too far.” Roslyn’s voice was steady, making it all the worse.
“What I am trying to get across–”
“I don’t care what point you are trying to make if you do it that way.”
Gale watched her for a second. “The point is this might allow us to win this. As you have so righteously pointed out, knowledge is power. I could wield this power and this doesn’t have to be such a struggle! Aren’t you tired of the gruesome battles and barely scraping by every time? Don’t you remember you died just–”
“I know!” Roslyn yelled. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths. “Of f*cking course I am tired, Gale… I am done with fighting all the time. I have been done for a very, very long time.” She finally opened her eyes, and for the first time Gale truly saw the years reflected back in purple hues. “But every time I have tried to satiate the hunger for peace, I end up completely lost. Life doesn’t work that way. Life is toil and misery and grief. But it gets folded into the fabric of all the joy of everything else. There is nothing but false gods and false promises in that book of knowledge.”
Gale released a barely audible sigh. “I am surprised at you. I thought you would be excited about the possibility of an upperhand.”
“When it sacrifices one of my dearest friends? I am worried about your impression of me.”
“It isn’t a sacrifice! Did you not hear me earlier?”
“All I am hearing is someone who’s only ever been told that he is as good as the magic he wields. I am here to tell you that you are so much more than that.”
Gale just stared at her, words escaping him.
“You are someone, Gale, beyond what you can do for this battle. Beyond what some Goddess has been whispering in your ear.”
Gale took a deep breath, the tension holding in the room. “I've spent so long feeling… inferior, shut out from my destiny over such a simple act of youthful enthusiasm.” He glanced up at Roz, “Perhaps I got carried away with the thought this Crown could give me back what Mystra took. Cure me, even.”
“Oh, my good friend, you can still tell her to shove it without sacrificing all your current lovely greatness. You are destined for many things, Gale, but you won’t find satisfaction with any of it chasing Karsus’ shadow.”
“You're right. There aren't many wizards who'd care to be mentioned In the same breath as him, or his folly.” Gathering his lips into a firm line, Gale brought the book back between them, holding it tightly, his eyes taking it in again before handing it to Roz. “Thank you for letting me read this. At least we can face our enemy armed with the knowledge of its true nature. And of the stakes, should we fail to defeat it.”
Roslyn hesitated before nodding and taking it from him. “I made tea a bit earlier. Shall we go inside and see if Jaheira and Halsin have already stolen it from Astarion?”
Gale gave a quick smile, not fully reaching his eyes. “Yes, alright.”
“Gale, I… I really cannot wait til this is all over and we can see what comes after.”
“Me too.” The smile felt a little more genuine this time.
~*~
The next day, Roslyn almost beat up Elminster. Luckily she had complained to Astarion heavily the night before, so he was able to preemptively catch her before she noticed the old man had appeared behind her.
Her flames of rage died out quickly enough, though, when Roslyn saw Gale’s reaction. He was doing everything he could to reel in the emotions on his face but they were evident enough through his hands–two white-knuckled fists.
A command to see Mystra was what the old wizard left them with. Roslyn watched Gale. One corner of his mouth was turned down and his eyes were cast. He looked so lost it broke her heart a little bit.
“You have done many ‘smart’ things, Gale, but I must say the smartest you have ever done is moving on from that mess.” Astarion left Roz and Gale standing there.
“You don’t have to go right now, and we can always come with you,” she spoke softly into the space between them.
Gale shook his head, eyes still staring off into the distance. “No… No, I think I need to do this myself.” He finally glanced at her. “But I appreciate the offer, Princess.”
“You can always tell her to shove it, but honestly I find that taking the higher ground is more fulfilling. You get to look down on them as they squirm.”
Gale let out a bark of a laugh. “Well, it would be nice to be better than a God.”
He left soon after.
~*~
Roz had been laying on her bed, wrapping wire around gems to hang, when a mop of red hair appeared in the corner of her eye. She frowned since she didn’t recognize it. Then the voices of Karlach and Wyll started to filter in. Roz sat up to see the two lead a girl with stark red hair to the couches by the fire.
The poor girl was crying, and Karlach whispered soothing words as Wyll went to put the kettle on. Karlach looked over her shoulder, eyes searching until she found Roslyn’s. Karlach’s motioning for Roz was urgent. Slipping off her bed, she approached the scene.
When the girl looked up and met Roz’s eyes, aunt mode was instantly activated.
“Hey there, sweetie. I am Roz. What’s your name?” She kneeled in front of the girl.
“Y-Yenna.”
“We found her out in Rivington. Her mother had gone out and went missing a few days ago,” Wyll said as he brought over a warm cup of tea, handing it to Yenna. Roslyn frowned, and caught Karlach’s eyes. The tiefling held sorrow as she shook her head discreetly.
“She said she was going to be back.” Yenna's voice was swallowed by grief.
“Do you have any family or friends that might you might be able to stay with?” Roz asked.
The girl shook her head. “I don’t have anyone.”
“Well, you do now. We got a pretty big group here, but it is a home you are more than welcome to.”
Yenna’s eyes looked up fully into Roslyn’s, hope brimming the edges. “R-Really?”
“Well, yeah, but I gotta warn ya, this guy,” Roz pointed to Wyll, “snores horribly. It rattles the windows!” She got at least a smile out of the grieving child.
“You said there are a lot of people? What if they… say no?” Yenna asked, face turning down again.
“Ah, this is Princess Roslyn, kid. They can’t go against a Princess,” Karlach said conspiratorially.
Yenna’s eyes went huge. “A Princess?”
Roslyn had been staring at Karlach with narrowed eyes until Yenna asked the question. “Uh, yeah. What I say goes around here, so don’t worry about it. This can be your home like it’s ours.”
“Oh, I promise I can help out! I can cook real good! I even have my own paring knife!”
“Well, I can’t wait to see those cutting skills–” Roslyn let out a yelp as something that was neither Scrath nor Rowen brushed up against her. A hiss revealed an also frightened cat.
“Oh that’s Grub. Could he stay here too? Please?” Well, there was no way Roslyn could say no to the face Yenna was making.
“Scratch and Rowen could use another friend, I am sure. Luckily for you,” Roz looked at the cat, “some of our group are out taking them for a walk. So you can have a moment to explore the place.”
As if cats could, Grub looked horrified.
~*~
Gale was haggard as he walked the cobblestones, barely registering where he was going. Meeting with Mystra had been so much of what he was expecting he was almost disappointed. She had stood there, indifferent as always. The thought of being on equal standing with her finally echoed through his mind again. Even though he had agreed to giving her the Crown of Karsus, it did not mean he had to necessarily carry through with that…
However, Roslyn had unfortunately made a poignant point yesterday that had haunted him since. Because now the question for him was, what was he without magic? He had been hand-picked by Mystra at so young of an age. All of his teachers, including her, had wrapped him so tightly into his talent for magic, that that was what he had become. Talent.
Would the Goddess of Magic have ever chosen him, laid with him, had he not showed promise? Would she have done any of the things she did for just…him? The mortal human? Once he liked to think she would have, but he saw that for what it was. A ribbon of hope tied over his eyes.
So now, for the first time, Gale was filled with curiosity not for magic, but for himself. Because who was he? He was used to always having an answer, but if he took out any answer that had to do with magic, he was left with nothing.
The realization made him stop. I don’t know myself at all. He looked up and was greeted with the Elf Song in front of him. Something warmed in his chest as he turned his attention to going inside and getting back to the people waiting for him.
~*~
Two steps into the common space, Gale was stopped by Roslyn. “How are you?”
“I think I need ponder the answer for that for a little while yet.” Gale caught sight of red hair. “Who–”
“So…” Her voice was too sweet. It was her ‘I want seconds’ voice. “Wyll and Karlach went to go enjoy the circus–”
“Again?”
“And they ended up coming across a girl who was recently orphaned.”
“And, let me guess, they brought her back.”
Roz nodded.
“She is very lucky that it wasn’t Astarion and Shadowheart.”
“Or Lae’zel,” Roslyn chuckled as she turned to look at Yenna. Jaheira was sitting with her, talking to the girl’s cat. “I told her she could live here.”
“Just for now?” Gale eyed Roz.
She only shrugged in response.
~*~
Much to Gale’s luck, Chef Roveer had ordered half a dozen fishes over the usual for the ElfSong. Offering it at half the market price, Gale finally had an idea for dinner. So here he was, seasoning what he assumed was some sort of cod to put over the fire.
Quick steps up to the table and a disheartened “Oh,” caught Gale’s attention, and he looked up.
“Uh, hello.” Gale paused in his mixing of seasonings.
The girl, Yenna, he believes is her name, frowns at what he is doing. “You’re making fish?”
“I am. Do you not like fish? I believe we have some chicken here somewhere…”
“I-I do. I just… umm…” She looked like she was getting emotional. “I just am terrible with fish and I promised the Princess that I would help out, and I know cooking… just not fish-cooking…”
“Well,” Gale smiled a wizardly smile, “not knowing is the perfect opportunity to learn something new. What do you know about fish?” He waved at her to pull up a chair.
Yenna smiled wide as she sat down and started talking about where to find the best fish. She had a general idea of how to cook them, although no idea for how long. She named a few herbs, a couple in the mix Gale had continued concocting, that she knew went well with fish. “But my mama hated fish because of the bones. So I didn’t make it much.”
Gale chuckled at the memory of Karlach choking on the small bones one of the first times he had ever made fish, back on the coast. “Yes, I definitely had to learn how to take them out myself.” Gale started to dive into the different tricks, branching into the best ways to handle fish over the flames, and how to know when it was done. Yenna’s eyes were wide as she listened, rapt with attention.
That night, dinner was extraordinary. Roslyn moaned with her first bite. “Gale, you have outdone yourself. One of your best meals yet.”
“While I shall accept that compliment, I will only take my part of it. I had a wonderful sous chef tonight!” Gale gestured to Yenna. Cheers echoed around the table.
