Chapter Text
The walls and floors are covered with a pink flesh like texture, save for the dark gray metal pathway leading to and from all the rooms. Your eyes scan over the scene, watching as light floods the room you are currently in, allowing you to see the pods that circle around something thats similar to an unblossomed flower in regards to its appearance. Following after the light is a strange humanoid octopus creature who opens one of the pods upon entry, they then make some kind of gesture towards the 'flower' which opens up in response, revealing a sickly yellow-white fluid. The creature reaches in and grabs out what looks like a leach or some kind of tadpole. Floating over to the open pod the creature lifts their hand, holding the tadpole up to someones face- a githyanki woman, you note. Watching in slight discomfort as the tadpole crawls into the womans eye you lean back in your chair and sigh in disinterest. The creature closes her pod while yours opens and the process repeats. Once the tadpole slips into your eye, the screen goes black. The character creation screen then pops up, your eyes quickly scan over the screen before you begin customizing your character and then your guardian. Accepting your choices, your eyes tear away and instead turn to your phone that lays on top of your desk next to your computer. While the next cutscene starts you reach over and grab your phone and after unlocking it you mindlessly scroll through random social media looking for some kind of entertainment while the introduction cutscene plays out in the background.
After a few minutes the cutscene finally ends and your character pops out of their pod, signaling you to put your phone away in which you do. Sitting up, you place your hands on the keyboard and mouse, now being in control of your adventure. With practiced ease you collect everything in the area, meet Lae'zel, free Shadowheart and crash the mind flayer ship.
Moving forward you wake up Shadowheart, her giving you her gratitude before joining your team. You can't fight the smile that tugs at your lips, no matter how many times you've seen this scene you always feel a sense of joy and satisfaction when you collect the main companions but your eye glints in excitement for a particular member in your usual main crew, the vampire spawn, Astarion.
Quickly collecting all nearby loot and finishing the little fight against the brains you run straight to your favorite boy who was, as usual for every playthrough, yelling for "help". As if, you know this man is going to pull a knife on you but that doesn't make you any less excited to recruit him. Clicking on him, the dialogue starts. "Hurry, I've got one of those brain things cornered." Astarion turns around to point his finger towards some bushes, "There, in the grass. You can kill it, can't you? Like you killed the others." Selecting the first option, 1."Easily. Stand Back." Your character immediately moves forward while Astarion subtly moves behind you. "There, can you see it?" Your character looks all around the bushes in confusion, not seeing any of the familiar pink of the brain but instead seeing a hog run out of the place Astarion pointed at.
Succeeded: Perception
You frown as your character merely turns around instead of being tackled and held at knife point, the disappointment almost makes you want to reload your save just to try to get a fail. But instead you resist and settle for talking to Astarion like adults. 1."Put it away. We don't need to fight."
"Don't we? I saw you on the ship - free, scuttling about." With his dagger held high, he points accusingly at you. "You're in league with them, aren't you? Those tentacled - argh." Both your character and Astarion hold their heads in unison, a purple glow emitting from your heads signifying the tadpoles connection. *Your mind twists. You're looking out unfamiliar eyes, prowling dark, busy streets. You try to hold the memory, but it fades to the worm. The light. The fear.* The tadpoles connection fades, leaving the pale elf before you in confusion. "What was that? What's going on?"
1."It's the mind flayer's worm - it connected us."
"The worm.. of course. That explain things. Somewhat.." Astarions voice comes off far more emotional than you remembered, sounding more drawled out and confused, his body language seemed a little off to you too but you ignore the feeling when Astarion immediately snaps back into his normal position and his dialogue continues as it always did. "And to think I was ready to decorate the ground with your innards. Apologies."
1."Apology accepted. I might have done the same were the roles reversed."
"Ah, a kindred spirit. My name's Astarion. I was in Baldurs Gate when those beasts snatched me." Astarion ends his sentence with disgust heavily on his tongue. In return of his introduction, you tell him your own name and explain the tadpoles to him as well as ask him to join your party which he easily agrees and upon exiting the conversation, he quickly runs to your side, ready to be leveled up.
Now with your source of motivation in tow you make your way to the broken teleporter, smashing in a mind flayers head on the way there, of course. Interacting with the ancient rune causes the rift in it to allow access to a familiar hand you may or may not have cut off at some point in a previous game to pop out, flailing about. "A hand? Anyone?" Just for the fun of it, you click on 2.Slap the hand.
"Ow! Perhaps I should have clarified. A helping hand? Anyone?" You huff out a laugh, smiling at the humor of the interaction even though you've already seen it quite a few times. Knowing how this conversation goes you skip the questions and pull Gale out. The force of your tug causes your character to fall backwards and for Gale to fly out, nearly landing on you but your character was quick to stand up while Gale landed flat on his chest, taking his time to stand up and dust himself off. "Ooft, hello. I'm Gale of Waterdeep." Gale enthusiastically grabs your characters hand and shakes it. "Apologies, I'm usually better at this."
1."No need to apologize. Are you all right?"
"A bit shocked, but friend, it's a relief and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Say, but I know you, don't I? I also saw you on the nautiloid as well." You raise an eyebrow to that, wondering if you either have done something different somehow or your memory is just failing you, you'll have to look this up later. 1."I was, yes."
"Then I can only assume you too were on the receiving end of a rather unwelcome insertion in the ocular region." Gale points to the side of his head in demonstration. The conversation continues as normal and Gale has now been added to your party. With your party now full you make a quick stop by the Chapel Entrance and finish your business there before moving on to recruit Lae'zel who has been waiting rather impatiently in a cage suspended in the air with two tieflings chatting nearby.
"Zorru was right. Yellow as a toad, and twice as ugly." The male tiefling sneers at the githyanki. The girl next to him turns to him, "The thing's dangerous. Leave it for the goblins to kill." Apparently that upsets the male, his eyebrows furrow as he glares at the girl for suggesting that. "And if it escapes? How will you - Oh! A guest." The anger from his face is quickly swept off at the appearance of you and your group but its still obvious he isn't happy. *Your skull pounds in response to the prisoner's white-hot stare. Her lips don't move, yet you hear her voice.*
Lae'zel glares down at you, her lips tugging quite far down into a very displeased frown. "Get rid of them." She demands you. Not wanting to get into an unnecessary fight that'll prolong Lae'zels rescue, you pick an option that deceives/persuades the two tieflings to leave the githyanki to you. Succeeding in your roll, the two tieflings walk off and after the coast is clear, Lae'zel finds no need to use the tadpole connection. "Enough gawking - get me down."
2."Say 'please'."
"Never." She practically seethes and ends the conversation, queuing you to select your bow attack and shoot at the bottom of her cage until she falls out. Upon landing you enter another conversation with her where she mentions her confusion on the prolonging of the tadpoles effects, along with the 'cure' her people have created for it. Lae'zel practically demands to join your team which off puts Shadowheart, causing her to interrupt your conversation with Lae'zel, advising against her recruitment but both you and Lae'zel ignore her, accepting her request to join your party. Seeing that you are full, Lae'zel is sent to camp. Now with that out of the way, you and your party make your way towards the sound of what seems like people shouting to be let in. The start of Act 1's main quest, The Grove.