A Spark of Hope at Last Light Inn

Aym swished her tail anxiously as she stared into her mug. The mood at Last Light Inn was dour, and Aym couldn’t exactly claim she felt much better considering the gruesome scene they had encountered on their journey to it. Tieflings strewn about all over the ground, ambushed in the darkness, and slaughtered before they could put up much of a fight. These were not just any tieflings either. They were former residents of the grove, ones that Aym had worked tirelessly to free from the thumb of the goblin camp not but a few days prior. It made her feel sick.

Aym took a long drink from her mug, the bitter alcohol causing the inside of her throat and mouth to tingle. The taste was awful, but they couldn’t spare much else, and in times like this, Aym didn’t want to be picky. Putting the mug back down on the bar, Aym could feel Karlach’s eye watching her closely. She turned to look at the other tiefling, Karlach’s eyes burning with worry. 

“Are you feeling alright, soldier?” she asked, “You’ve lost that goofy grin of yours that I’ve come to adore.”

Aym’s purple cheeks flushed with color at the compliment. “How is it that you always manage to be so smooth at flirting?” she asked with a smile. 

“There’s that grin,” Karlach said happily, “Now come on, tell me what’s wrong.” Aym visibly hesitated, returning her gaze to her half-drunken ale. Karlach decided to wager a guess. “Was it the tieflings outside?” The way Aym shifted uncomfortably in her seat was all the confirmation Karlach needed to know the answer. “Soldier, you can’t blame yourself for that. You had no way of knowing they’d be ambushed as soon as they got within the borders of the Shadowlands.”

“I know,” Aym responded dryly. “Yet, I still feel at fault. Makes me wonder if I’d somehow negotiated with them to wait with the druids a little longer then maybe they’d all be alive.”

“They were living on borrowed time with the druids, you know that as well as I do. Tensions were high and they wanted to leave the grove just as much as the druids wanted them gone.” Karlach started to reach out to Aym in an attempt to comfort her but stopped just shy of actually touching her. Karlach internally cursed the damn infernal engine that prevented her from touching Aym and could only hope that the warmth she exerted was enough to convey the meaning behind the gesture. “You bought them extra time with their loved ones if nothing else. That’s more than they were guaranteed before. Plus, some of them were taken captive. Maybe when we visit Moonrise Towers, we can spring a prisonbreak while we’re there. I don’t know how but you and Caelen are always better with this plan stuff than I am.”

Aym twirled her mug around a bit in thought, watching as the ale swished around inside its container. The warmth from Karlach’s hand spread through her body, causing some of the tension in her shoulders to relax a bit. “I suppose it’s the least we could do given we’ll be headed there anyway to free Wulbren at Barcus’s behest. They deserve to be reunited with their families, or at least what’s left of them.”

“That’s the spirit! Now come on, we need to find Shadowheart and Caelen. They’ve been chatting around. Maybe they have some leads as to how we can get to Moonrise.” Karlach began to look around the room before spotting a familiar elf by the door. “Speak of the devil, Caelen, over here!” she called out, waving her arms. 

Caelen followed the sound of Karlach’s boisterous voice over to the bar, with Shadowheart right behind him. Aym raised her eyebrows a bit. He seemed more excited than usual, in the way only a normally snarky man could be. “What’s got you perkier than usual?” she asked.

“Come with me and see for yourselves. I think it’ll be of great interest to both of you,” he answered cryptically. 

Aym pursed her lips a bit in thought. A smirk was playing at Caelen’s lips as he spoke. He was up to something. Though that was certainly nothing new. Her warlock companion was  always up to something.

Karlach looked over at Aym expectantly, flames emerging from the vents in her skin and her tail wagging over so slightly in excitement.  ‘Cute.’ Aym thought to herself. “Fine, fine. Let’s go.” She tipped back the mug and finished off the rest of her ale before standing up from her seat at the bar. 

Caelen led the girls out from the inn and over towards the stables where the oxen currently rest. For better or worse, it seemed the cattle had survived the ambush. Aym narrowed her eyes at one ox in particular, and it returned the wary look.

“Moo,” the strange ox said, over-enunciating the word as if to mock the fact that it was well aware Aym could understand it.

“Moo to you too,” Aym retorted, “Surprised to see you actually made it.”

“I could say the same for you.” The ox chuffed a bit. “Now leave me to my hay.”

“I know something’s not right about you.” Aym leaned closer to the ox, getting into its face a bit. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re not an ox. Of that much I am certain.”

“Would you like a hint then?” The ox didn’t wait for Aym’s answer. Distorted images of flesh and corpses suddenly flashed into Aym’s mind, causing the tiefling to recoil in shock. The ox seemed to smirk at Aym’s surprised flailing. 

“What… what in the hells-?”

“You had your hint. Now leave me to my hay.” The statement seemed less of a request and more of a threat this time, so Aym decided to abide by the ox’s wishes. For now.

“Done speaking with the livestock?” Caelen asked, holding out a hand to help Aym up. 

Aym took his hand and stood up. “That thing is no livestock.”

“Yes, yes, you said as much in the grove too. We can handle it later. For now, I think this is much more important to your interests.” Caelen guided Aym to the other side of the stables where Karlach stood, grinning ear to ear. She was looking over the shoulder of another tiefling as he worked away at his anvil. 

“Dammon!” Aym quickly realized. 

The infernal iron smith turned around at Aym’s voice and bowed his head in greeting. “A good day to you as well, Aym. Glad to see your party is hale and hearty.”

“And you as well, Dammon,” Aym responded. “They’ve set up a forge for you here?”

“Can’t fight, can’t sleep, might as well hammer,” Dammon said simply with a shrug. He spoke with a defeated tone, like he felt guilty he hadn’t been able to do more during the ambush. Aym could relate. “But, I’m glad you found your way here safely. Did you happen to find any more infernal iron during your travels here by any chance?”

Hope flashed in Karlach’s eyes and flames began to lick her upper body. Aym felt the breath catch in her throat. “Yes, we have, actually. Have you…?” 

Aym hesitated in finishing the question. She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. They had managed to navigate their relationship without too much physical content thus far, often speaking of what they would do if they could touch each other properly. Between the occasional use of Mage Hand and copious amounts of hoarded fire-resistance potions and jugs of water, Karlach and Aym had created a few temporary solutions to their problem. It was all with the plan that once they reached Baldur’s Gate, hopefully, they’d be able to figure out something more permanent. 

Fortunately, Dammon didn’t need Aym to finish her question to know what she was asking. “I have both good news and bad news for you. Which would you prefer to hear first?”

Aym looked over at Karlach. Judging by the sheer heat of excitement that radiated off her, Aym could wager a guess as to which Karlach would likely want to hear first. “Good news, please. I think we could all use some good news right now.”

Dammon nodded his head in agreement before also turning his gaze to Karlach. “I’ve figured out how to upgrade your engine. It should stabilize the engine enough to where-”

“I can actually touch people?” Karlach exclaimed. “Well, then what the fuck are we waiting for? We’ve got the iron. You’ve got the tools. Let’s do this already!”

Dammon visibly hesitated. “Well, yes, but there is something I must tell you. The bad news is equally important here.”

Karlach groaned loudly and bounced on her toes a bit. “I don’t want to hear any fucking bad news right now, Dammon. Please, just fix my engine first!” 

Dammon cast Aym a pleading look in hopes that she’d be able to talk some reason into Karlach, but he was only met with a shrug. “Let’s fix the engine first. Then, I promise, we’ll hear the bad news.” Aym smiled at Karlach. “I think she’s waited long enough for this.”

Dammon let out a slightly exasperated sigh. “Alright, alright. On that at least we can agree. Now, your engine and the iron please.” 

Aym and Karlach fished out the requested items and watched in tense anticipation as Dammon got to work on the latest upgrade. Aym kept casting glances towards Karlach, her chest aching with excitement. It was happening. It was really happening! No more water, no more potions, no more spells. Just them. 

Dammon set down his hammer and inspected the infernal engine, giving a nod to himself in satisfaction at his work. “This should do it,” he said as he lifted the device and held it out towards Karlach. “If you would once again.”

Karlach practically snatched Dammon’s hand off as she eagerly took the engine back and fit it into the slot in her chest where her heart should be. She grunted a bit in discomfort, letting the engine settle back into place, before letting out a long sigh. Karlach looked between Aym and Dammon, an anxious energy rising from her. “That’s it then? I can touch people now?”

A yearning to touch Karlach rose from deep with Aym. She needed to feel Karlach’s face beneath her fingers. “Only one way to find out.” Aym closed the distance between them and took hold of Karlach, pulling her into a kiss. Karlach’s lips were warm, but for the first time since they met, they didn’t burn. 

Aym started to pull back to say something only for Karlach to move her hand behind Aym’s head to keep her from leaving the kiss too quickly. Aym felt Karlach’s other hand venture down her side, leaving a trail of shivers as it made its way to her waist. Aym’s hands quickly found Karlach’s own waist as she pulled herself closer into the other tiefling’s embrace. It was warm, so very very warm. 

Karlach’s grip on Aym finally relaxed, allowing the ranger to pull back from their kiss. Aym gasped for air, chest heaving a bit as she savored the moment. This hadn’t been like the quick pecks they had shared on occasion in the camp when they had enough water and fire resistance potions to spare. It was a loving embrace that sent warmth through Aym’s entire body the moment their lips connected. 

Aym looked up into Karlach’s fiery eyes. They were filled with a passion and love that burned brighter than any star in the night sky. Yet, beneath them was something else, something Aym couldn’t quite place. Worry began to weigh down on Aym’s chest. Was it despair? Hesitation? Had the moment not been what Karlach had been hoping for?

“Can we go to bed now?” Karlach asked suddenly, her voice cracking a bit with the request. 

Aym felt an arrow pierce straight through her heart. Karlach’s vulnerable tone struck down any doubts Aym held in an instant. She stared at Karlach, mouth slightly agape in surprise. Aym’s tail began to wag on its own. She hadn’t expected Karlach to be so forward, but she wouldn’t deny that she liked it. 

“Of course, Karlach. We can-”

“Ahem.” Caelen cleared his throat, snapping Aym back to reality a little. 

Right. There were others around. Oh by the Nine Hells, there were other people around. Aym felt her face flush with color as she looked over at Caelen sheepishly. “Sorry.” Aym turned back to Karlach and once again caught the longing gaze of her partner upon her. She leaned closer to Karlach’s ear and whispered, “Tonight, I promise.”

As Aym began to pull away, Karlach’s hand stopped her head again, allowing her to steal one last kiss from Aym before releasing her. “Fuck, fine. But as soon as we get back to camp, you’re mine.”

“I’d like nothing more.” A partial lie. Aym much more desperately wanted to be ridden until she saw stars like Karlach had once expressed. Curse her heroic duties. Still, she could settle for this for now. At least now they’d be able to steal kisses from one another when the others weren’t watching. “You were saying, Dammon? The bad news, right?”

“Right.” Dammon turned his attention to Karlach, his expression growing serious as he spoke. “Karlach, there’s no easy way to say this, but that engine of yours is running far too hot. I’ve done what I can for now but… you will need to return to Avernus eventually.”

“No-!” Karlach snapped, fire licking her shoulders. “I’m never going back. You can’t make me.”

“But Karlach, if you don’t, your infernal engine will explode and take you with it.”

“I don’t care!” The flames coating Karlach’s body began to rise, engulfing her shoulders and climbing up her head. “I’d rather die than spend another minute in that wretched place!”

Dammon let out a resigned sigh and looked at Aym in desperation. “Please, can you try to talk some sense into her? I think Aym and I can both agree that the world is better with you in it, Karlach.”

Karlach looked at Aym with pain-filled eyes. The way her body tensed up and shuddered at each mention of Avernus, every part of Karlach’s body was screaming. She couldn’t go back. She  wouldn’t  go back. She would rather die. 

Aym felt a sharp pain in her chest. How cruel, to have finally been granted the chance to finally embrace the woman she so deeply loved, only for it to come with the caveat that their time together would be limited. She didn’t want to let go of Karlach so quickly, not when she had just been granted the ability to grab hold of her. 

“I… do agree with Dammon that the world is better with you in it, Karlach,” Aym said after a moment. “I would be… devastated if… if you…” Aym felt a lump form in her throat. She couldn’t form the words. “Well, you know.” Karlach’s expression fell, causing Aym to raise her hand. “But,” she continued, “I would never  ever force you to return to Avernus. I don’t know the full extent of what they did to you down there, but I can see how it has affected you. You’ve already lost a decade there. I won’t make you lose another. If your wish is to spend your final days here, then I will stay at your side for as long as you’ll have me.”

Karlach’s face immediately lit up. Touched by Aym’s words, she quickly pulled the other tiefling into a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered, “thank you so much.”

“Of course.” Aym squeezed Karlach as tightly as she could manage. “We will figure this out. I promise, Karlach.” 

Aym swished her tail back and forth for a moment before intertwining it with Karlach’s. Karlach seemed a bit surprised at the touch, a jolt running up through her body, but not opposed to the gesture. She relaxed after a moment, squeezing Aym’s tail with hers. It was a gesture of comfort. They would get through this, Aym was going to make sure of it.