Prototype's Gate

As soon as he stepped inside the inner sanctum, Alex realized something truly terrible must have happened. All the druids of the grove were crowded next to the door leading to the room where he last spoke with Halsin. The druid who fetched Alex parted the crowd and knocked on the door.

"I've come with the guest," the druid yelled.

A few moments later, the door slid down, revealing the reason for all this commotion.

Alex could hear gasps, swears, and prayers behind him.

Kagha and Halsin were lying on stone beds, their bodies covered with black splotches and yellow purulent blisters. Kagha was worse than Halsin, with more than half her body blackened.

Halsin slowly opened his eyes and moved his head to look at Alex.

"Leave us be," he whispered, the vigor he usually showed gone.

The two druids who were attending them, Nettie and a blonde half-elf man, stood up and left the room. The half-elf threw Alex an angry glare before leaving.

Alex stepped inside, and the door slid back up. He walked next to Halsin and took a seat in a chair.

Halsin opened his mouth to speak, but Alex raised his hand to stop him.

"It's easier this way," he said telepathically.

"Barely," Halsin replied, even his mind feeling tired.

"What happened to you and Kagha?"

"We were poisoned... a very deadly mixture. It happened in the morning after the party. I was in my chamber asleep when I felt something pierce my shoulder. I jerked awake and looked around, only to find that someone had stabbed me with a dagger coated in poison. Suddenly, I began to feel sleepy and almost collapsed on the floor before I could cast a cure on myself. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Whatever the poison was made from, it was highly resistant to magic. I crawled out of my room and found someone before I collapsed. When I opened my eyes, I was here, my body hurting as if trampled by a group of ogres. Kagha... wasn't that lucky. Whoever poisoned me went for her first. When they found her, it was already too late; the poison had sunk too deep into her body. I pray to All-Father for a miracle."

Alex stood up and grabbed Halsin's arm.

Halsin groaned, seeing pus pooling under his lifted arm.

"Stay calm," Alex commanded as his fingers shifted into sharp needles.

He pierced Halsin all over his arm, taking small samples of the poisoned tissue.

"What are you doing?" Halsin asked.

"Making a cure."

A few moments later, Alex pierced Halsin again, but this time injecting something into his body.

He then moved to Kagha.

"It should take a few minutes to take effect," Alex assured Halsin while he poked Kagha all over her body.

Halsin closed his eyes, hoping that what Alex said was true.

"She is far worse than Halsin," Alex thought. Her constitution wasn't even close to Halsin's, combined with the fact that she was found late—it was a miracle she was still alive.

More than half her organs had already failed, with her lungs and heart barely functioning. The black part of her body was necrotic tissue; he needed to get rid of it or she would go into septic shock. She had a few hours left at best. Injecting her with an antidote wasn't enough.

"Halsin," Alex spoke telepathically.

Halsin's eyes opened up, looking at Alex.

"I can save Kagha, but the process will be invasive. I will need to replace more than half her body."

Halsin seemed to think for a few moments.

"Do what you have to do," Halsin whispered.

Alex nodded and turned to Kagha. He put his hand on her chest. Flesh tendrils grew from his arms and started to sink and crawl all over her body, eating away at the poison and replacing the damaged tissues.

From the outside, it looked like worms were crawling under her skin.

Halsin watched in silence as the process unfolded.

When Alex retracted his tendrils, the black splotches and yellow blisters were gone. If someone looked at her now, they would think she was just sleeping, not that she had been at death's door.

Alex moved away to show Halsin that Kagha was cured.

"A miracle," he whispered.

Alex waited by Halsin's side until the effects of the antidote became visible. The splotches and blisters disappeared, and Halsin used his healing magic to restore himself to full strength.

"That's more like it," he said, his voice full of vigor.

Not long after, Kagha opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around and, spotting Halsin, fell to her knees.

"Master Halsin, forgive me, forgive me," she pleaded.

"What have you done, Kagha?" Halsin asked in a firm tone.

"Silvanus demands that we illuminate the shadow, not hide within it. How was I so blind? This is all my fault. I allied myself with shadow druids. They promised that they would make me an archdruid and let me rule over the grove. When I failed, they poisoned me."

"They poisoned me too, hoping that without you and me, the grove would be weakened enough that they could take over," Halsin deduced.

"Master, I'm so sorry," she said, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Almost dying seems to have shaken her a little," Alex commented telepathically.

"Kagha..." Halsin said, covering his eyes with one hand and shaking his head.

"We will speak about this later. We will need to find those shadow druids."

"I know where they are," Alex said telepathically.

Halsin looked at Alex, who was pointing below them.

Halsin turned to Kagha.

"Keep the door closed until I'm back," he said, grabbing a lever behind a bookshelf. The statue of a wolf in the middle of the room shook once before a staircase appeared, leading below.

Halsin started to walk down, followed by Alex.

Kagha felled to her kness and started to pray .

" All Father please protect them . "

...

Down below the grove, in a secret chamber, three white rats were talking.

"Do you think they're dead by now?" said Wren.

"Kagha for sure; Halsin, I doubt it. He wouldn't have lived so long if he was a weakling," said Pinta.

"Both of you, shut up! Someone is coming," Olodan said, looking at the spiral staircase.

"Yes, mistress Olodan," Wren and Pinta said in unison.

"How?" one of the rats whispered, seeing Halsin walking down the stairs. He had checked on him a few hours ago; he shouldn't have been able to even lift his head.

Halsin's piercing gaze scanned the room.

"Are you sure they're here?" he asked the hooded man a few steps behind him.

The man raised his finger and pointed to the exact location where they were hiding.

"They're behind that boulder," the hooded man said.

"They know we're here. What do we do, Mistress Olodan?" Pinta asked.

"Shadow druids don't cower. There are only two of them," Olodan said, walking out from behind the boulder.

The rats morphed back to their original forms, that of halflings. Their clothes were simple, made of hide, and their skin smeared with black mud.

"You defile the grove for the sake of harmony."

"Olodan, I should have known," Halsin said in a firm tone.

"You always welcomed untouchables in your midst, defiling the grove for the sake of 'harmony.' We've come from Cloakwood to correct your mistake," Olodan said as she signaled Pinta and Wren to prepare to attack.

Halsin brought forth his staff, and Alex unsheathed Phalar Aluve.

Pinta was the first to attack, shooting an arrow straight at Halsin. Despite his size, he swiftly dodged the arrow, which flew past him and embedded into the wall.

At the same time, Alex dashed towards Olodan, but before he could land a hit, she disappeared underground. Roots grew under his feet, rooting him in place. Wren came running towards him, his club raised high. Using his superior strength, Alex parried the halfling's blow, freed his leg with a powerful yank, and kicked Wren away like a soccer ball.

He looked behind him. Halsin, in his bear form, was fighting a badger. Fortunately, he was slowly overwhelming the badger, giving Alex the chance to get rid of the archer. She couldn't do much damage to him even if she managed to hit him in the head, but for Halsin, it was another story. Alex dashed to his right, deflecting Pinta's arrow with his blade that was heading to Halsin.

Another set of roots grew under his feet, this time feeling much stronger. Alex turned his head and saw a polar bear roaring and charging towards him.

He smirked.

"I've never fought a polar bear before."

The strengthened spell wasn't enough to keep Alex rooted. As the bear came closer, he front-flipped onto its back and wrapped his arms around its neck.

The polar bear thrashed around, trying to rid itself of the unwanted passenger, but it was in vain. The poison Alex had injected into Wren's body was already taking effect; it wouldn't be long before he collapsed.

Alex jumped off the bear's back and over an arrow, landing next to the badger. He grabbed the badger's tail and yanked it towards Pinta. Pinta swiftly dodged the improvised projectile. The badger, with no way to stop, smashed into the wall, not getting back up.

Deciding it was time to stop playing around, Alex began to attack Pinta's mind.

Realizing something was clawing at her mind, Pinta shifted into a white rat and started to run towards a small hole, but before she could reach it, Alex phased next to her and grabbed her by the tail.

"Don't move, or you're dead," Alex said, looking into the rat's eyes.

The rat started to shake before becoming flaccid in Alex's grip.

"Did you kill them?" Halsin asked, back in his human form.

"The badger is the most injured; the others just passed out." Halsin nodded and took a seat on a rock.

"To try to sacrifice so many lives just to keep the grove 'pure'... I can't believe they call themselves druids. They have no respect for life," Halsin said with a sigh. His gaze moved to Alex. "I am deeply in your debt. You have already saved the grove and my life twice. With this, you show me that you are worthy to follow."

Alex was tying up the polar bear and badger, who reverted back to their human forms.

"I take it you agree to fight by my side against the Absolute army?"

"I despise shedding blood, but in this case, I see no other way."

Alex stood up and walked next to Halsin .

"I'm going back to my camp at the beach. The others must be worried why I haven't come back yet. The sun has already started to rise."

Halsin showed him a smile.

"Go, my friend. You deserve some rest. I will take care of them."

...

Kagha came running to Alex as she spotted him climbing the spiraling stairs.

"What did you two do down in the secret chamber? Where is Master Halsin?" she asked, her voice full of worry.

"He is fine. We fought three shadow druids and won without even a scratch."

"Praise be the All-Father," she said, placing one hand on her chest.

Alex walked past her. "Can you open the door? I need to get some rest."

Kagha looked at the stairs leading to the underground chamber.

"Let him go!" Halsin's voice echoed.

Kagha nodded and opened the door. As the stone door slide in to the floor Alex was greeted by a crowd of druids.

"Where is Master Halsin?" someone asked.

Alex walked past the crowd until someone grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"I asked you, where is Master Halsin?" It was the blonde half-elf who had been treating Kagha and Halsin before Alex arrived.

Alex simply removed the hand from his shoulder and walked away.

"Hey, who the fu..." The man suddenly stopped.

Everyone's eyes were on Master Halsin, emerging from the secret chamber with three tied-up halflings who seemed unconscious.

The crowd rushed inside the room, circling around Halsin.

Alex walked away out of the grove and into the church.

At the camp, everyone was sleeping except Astarion. His upper back was bare, and with his right hand, he was tracing something that was carved into his back. The scars formed a symmetrical, circular pattern centered on the spine, resembling a sunburst or a mandala with rays extending outward. These rays had a stylized, almost runic appearance.

As Alex came closer, he could hear Astarion murmuring something.

"A line with a fork and one, two, three dots? Bloody infernal—how is anyone meant to read this garbage?" he said, frustrated.

Suddenly, Astarion turned around and looked at Alex.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I could ask the same," Alex replied.

Astarion sighed. "I've been tracing the scars on my back with my fingers, trying to read them by touch, but I can't. They might as well be written in Rashemi."

He looked down for a moment before raising his eyes to Alex.

"So... I was wondering if maybe—perhaps—you might be able to... CAN YOU READ WHAT'S ON MY DAMNED BACK? Please."

"I can give it a try."

"Thank you," Astarion said as he turned around.

Alex took a good look at the scars but couldn't make sense of them.

"And? What does it say?"

"I'm not sure. Hold still. I'll draw it for you," Alex said as he crouched down and started to draw in the dust. "Done."

"What in the hells... What did he do to me?"

"Who is he?" Alex asked.

"My master," Astarion said, clenching his teeth and hands. "Two centuries carrying this, and I can finally see it."

"You have no idea what this is?"

"Not at all. Cazador was only figuratively hellish—there were never any devils hanging about the crypt. What he left carved in my flesh is a mystery to me. Thank you, by the way. This is... well, it's something."

"Don't mention it."

"Given the subject matter, I probably won't."

"Have you spoken with the others about being a vampire spawn?"

"No, they insisted on waiting for you to come back. Wyll said that a druid came rushing, searching for you. Have you done something to anger them? You seem like the type that likes to seek trouble."

"No, Master Halsin just wanted to speak about something with me."

"All night long... Hmm?" Astarion asked coyly.

"Astarion?"

"What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"Shut the fuck up," Alex said as he walked past Astarion into his tent.