Freedom from Avernus

A warm breeze swept through Aym’s purple locks as she sat atop a  rock high above the Emerald Grove. She watched in silence as the  tieflings far below mingled together, training, bartering, and making  general merriment as they proceeded through their day. Tensions were  high between the tieflings and their druid hosts, but for now, at least,  there was a quiet peace between the two groups. 

“Ah, so this is where you squirreled away to, soldier!” 

Aym perked up as Karlach’s voice carried across the breeze. Her  face flushed with heat as she caught sight of the other tiefling.  Despite having only known each other a few days, Aym found her  attraction to Karlach almost dizzying at times. And it was extremely  apparent to the others at the camp, as Astarion’s incessant teasing had  revealed to Aym very quickly.

Karlach approached with a large grin on her face, hands resting on  her hips as she came to a stop. Her black hair framed her grinning  expression as it hung down to her shoulder, and Aym could make out  Karlach’s arm muscles even hidden beneath the new set of armor she was  wearing. Dear gods, she was so hot. 

“Caelen’s sorting out a few items with the druids before we follow  our next lead towards the goblin camp. Said I should come find you.”  That bastard. “I wasn’t sure where to start but luckily one of the little kids spotted you coming this way.” 

“Oh, my apologies. I came up here to get a better view of the  landscape ahead of us but I was distracted once I realized you could see  the whole grove from up here.” 

Karlach raised her eyebrows in interest and leaned forward a bit  to look at the grove below. “Well, I’ll be damned! Now this is a nice  fucking view.”

“Yeah, it is,” Aym said, not taking her eyes off of Karlach.  “Would you like to sit and watch for a bit? People watching can be quite  entertaining.”

Karlach’s eyes brightened for a moment before hesitation took  hold. She drew her lips together in a line and furrowed her brow as she  spoke. “Are you sure? There’s not a lot of space on that rock, soldier.  Wouldn’t want to burn you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Aym assured her, scooting over to make room. “Worst case I can just sit on the ground. Come on over.” 

Karlach didn’t need any further convincing. Taking a few steps  closer, Karlach took a seat on the large rock next to Aym. Warmth  radiated off her body, barely audible clicks and whirrs coming from the  engine inside her chest. A goofy grin plastered across her face as she  leaned forward to observe the occupants of the grove below. Aym couldn’t  take her eyes off her. 

Karlach whistled in excitement. “You really can see everything.  There’s Dammon at his forge, and there’s our little crew of criminal  kiddos over there, and the druids all mingling with the animals there.”  Her tail began to wag back and forth every so slightly as the engine  within her chest let out a soft glow. 

“It’s fun to watch them go about their day. Gives you an idea as  to what their lives might have been like before they were forced here.  And how strong they are for persisting through that despite everything  they’ve faced,” Aym mused. 

“I saw how quickly they took to you, especially the children,”  Karlach said with a wide smile. “Must be that kind streak you’ve got  running through you. That’s certainly what got me to like you so  quickly.”

Aym felt her heart jump into her throat and she quickly turned her  gaze towards the grove again in an attempt to hide how flushed her face  became at the compliment. Her tail somewhat betrayed her, kicking up a  bit of dirt as it wagged behind her. “Oh- uh, I don’t know about that,”  Aym said with a nervous laugh. “I think it’s because they recognize me  as a fellow native to Elturel, though I can’t claim to have met any of  them before. Big city and all.”

“No shit? Must be nice reuniting with some folks from your home then, even if you didn’t know them.”

Aym lowered her gaze to the ground a bit and fiddled with her  hands. “Yeah, it is. I just… hope I can help them make it out of this  alive.”

Karlach frowned a little, resting her arms on her knees so she  could lean slightly closer to Aym. “Agreed. I think they’ll like it in  Baldur’s Gate. You too, if you choose to stay there.” 

Aym felt her heart pounding in her ears. Was Karlach trying to  insinuate something or was she reading too much into it? Aym couldn’t  tell. “Well, I can’t exactly go back to Elturel, since they forced us  all out of there after the Descent.” She frowned a little at the memory.  “I was traveling with a convoy to Neverwinter originally since I have  family there, but the Mindflayers made sure that didn’t pan out,” Aym  said with a sigh. “I still intend to make my way there eventually but I  see no reason why I couldn’t stay in Baldur’s Gate for a time.” Aym  turned to look at Karlach and gave a nervous smile. “Especially if I’ve  got someone like you to be my tour guide.”

Flames began to lick Karlach’s shoulders and cover her head at  Aym’s final comment. Karlach looked away quickly, covering her mouth  with her hand as if she’d just thought something she was refraining from  voicing. Had Aym… flustered her? 

“Y-You don’t have to, if that’s too much to ask,” Aym quickly  added, “I just thought… it might be nice to have a friend show me  around.”

“I’d be happy to,” Karlach said, “fucking delighted actually. It’s  been so long since I’ve been to the city, I can’t wait to see it again  myself. Can’t promise I’ll make for a great tour guide, but I’ll do my  fucking best.” Karlach folded her hands together again and added, “I  hope it’ll treat you better than Elturel did.”

“I hope so too,” Aym agreed in a soft voice.

Karlach fumbled for a moment as an awkward silence settled over  them. “Um urm… I guess that explains why you never asked about Avernus.”

Aym visibly flinched at the mention of the foyer of the hells. A  misstep of a change in topic, but not one Aym would shut down right  away. “Yeah…” She hesitated awkwardly for a moment as she considered how  to answer. “Been there, done that, don’t really want to ever go back if  I don’t have to.” She offered Karlach a smile. “Something we have in  common I suppose, even if our circumstances aren’t anywhere near the  same.”

“What a shit thing to have in common,” Karlach mused. “I’m sorry  you had to experience that, soldier. I know from experience it couldn’t  have been easy finding yourself pitched into Avernus one day.”

Aym reached over and placed her hand next to Karlach, refraining  from touching her but keeping it close enough that Karlach could feel  her presence. “It wasn’t easy for either of us. I did things I’m not  proud of to ensure I survived. You did too, I’m sure. But what’s  important is that we made it. We’re here now, and we have the chance to  make up for the time we lost in the hells.”

Karlach’s expression lit up with hope. Her wide smile returned to  her face as she took some measure of comfort in Aym’s words. “That’s  true. And we can start by fixing this damn engine of mine.” Karlach hit  her chest lightly, a small echo of metal coming from the engine inside.  “Not being able to touch people is the worst! Not like the demons in  Avernus are very touchy-feely types anyway but sometimes you just want a  hug or something you know?”

Aym nodded in understanding. “You said you spent a decade in Avernus? Has it been that way the entire time?”

“Pretty much. As far as I can tell anyway. Didn’t exactly have  many options to test it with. Demons aren’t the friendly sort and any  sort of relationship with them is like walking on a fraying tightrope.  Everyone is out to get you and seeks every advantage for themselves.” 

“You must be really pent up then.” 

Karlach stared at her in shock as Aym quickly covered her mouth.  She hadn’t meant for that to slip out. Aym mentally began to kick  herself. You don’t just say that to people! Let alone ones you’ve only  just met. 

“I… yeah a bit,” Karlach admittedly rather sheepishly after a  moment. “I just try not to think about it. Gets hard when there’s  someone nearby who I find attractive but I’m a big girl. I can handle  myself.”

Aym felt her hand drop from her mouth to her lap. She stared at  Karlach, mouth slightly open in surprise. Her mind began to race. That  was flirting, right? That had to be. It had to be flirting. Right? Unless she was talking about someone else in the camp.  Shadowheart had commented about wanting Karlach to throw her over her  shoulder when they first met Karlach. Or maybe it was someone else in  the grove. Dammon had made a few somewhat flirtatious comments toward  Karlach as well. 

Karlach stared deep into Aym’s eyes as a silent moment between  them stretched into eternity. Aym was now painfully aware of how close  she was to Karlach. She could feel the heat coming off of Karlach’s  body, caressing her with warmth. Each breath was filled with Karlach’s  smell, mostly smoke, with hints of nutmeg and honey. It was a sweet  scent, befitting someone like Karlach. By the gods, Aym wanted to kiss  her so badly. 

“I’m sure you can,” Aym answered in a quiet voice after a moment.  “We’ll find another piece of infernal iron, or figure out something  else. You deserve to have your touch back, no matter how you choose to  use it.”

Karlach leaned closer to Aym, their breath intermingling as she  got as close as possible without burning her. “I’ll look forward to it,  soldier.”

A chill ran down Aym’s spine at the words. Definitely flirting with her. Definitely flirting with her! 

Aym stood as still as she could, relishing in Karlach’s warmth and  scent until the tiefling pulled back. She stood up, looking a bit  satisfied with herself as she gazed back towards Aym. “Come on, we  should circle back up with Caelen before he storms up here and ruins the  view.”

“R-Right-!” Aym said breathlessly. She watched as Karlach made her  way back down the dirt path toward the lower sections of the grove, her  heart still pounding as Karlach’s warmth lingered over her. Forget  exploring the city with her. Aym had a whole other place she wanted to  explore together in mind.