Chapter Text
Hemlock may not remember much of the world, (although the enchanted diadem he had fished out of an ogre's gullet was helping to fill in some of the gaps) but the attitude of many towards his kin had been clear from the moment he stepped foot on the druid grove. The business of strangers was usually none of his concern, but the other tieflings, he had felt a duty of care towards. Especially the children. That Mol would go far, he was sure of it.
So it was hardly surprising, as they traveled onwards into the unknown, that he felt a particular fondness for his horned compatriots. Karlach's plight was honestly not so different from his own, he was sure if he knew of his past it would have likely been more bloodstained than hers, and her excitement at everything around them shone like a light in the darkness. Wyll, though, was a more complex matter. At first, the heroic persona and unshakeable righteousness had chafed, but after Mizora cursed him for his disobedience... The grief he had seen in Wyll's eyes, the pain at realizing the truth of the contract he was trapped in... Well, he could sympathise.
He didn't tend to bring them along as often as some of his other companions, which he might claim to be because they were too strong in their morality. But in truth, a part of him was afraid that if he lost control in battle, if the darkness within won out... The look on Wyll's face after Alfira's death was something he wished never to see again.
But back at camp, as the evenings wore on, they were the ones he found himself interacting with most. Lae'zel could never relax enough to cease her training, Shadowheart spent the twilight hour in prayer, and dear Astarion never truly let down his guard unless the two of them were alone. Even then, only barely. Gale would often join them, but his studies could never be fully neglected, and so most nights it was the three of them who cooked dinner for the troupe. Wyll's knack for flavor and Hemlock's talent for foraging ensured a good meal, and Karlach soon took to dancing around the campfire as it cooked, stoking the flame while letting off steam from the infernal engine within.
Suffice it to say, when Hemlock recieved a second scrap of infernal iron from a duergar stonemason, he was excited. Hopefully, this would be enough to shield and repair her burning heart.
~~~~~~~~~~
Now, they emerged from the underdark into the heart of the shadow-cursed lands, and as they lined their camp with torches to hold off the darkenss beyond, Karlach found him in a quiet corner. Her unquenchable smile was tempered with a gentle look of concern.
"Hey soldier, You doing alright? I noticed you and Fangs haven't been hanging out so much, recently."
It was true. Since they had reached Grymforge, Astarion had taking up brooding in his corner of the camp to an excessive degree. He had not stopped feeding; with the blood-filled beasts of the surface now far out of reach, he had little choice in the matter. But where once they would often meet at the edge of the camp for it, or else Hemlock would stir to greet him with a smile before the bite, in these past days there had been nothing more than a night of oblivion and a sore neck the next morning.
The reason for this, Hemlock couldn't be certain. Perhaps he had grown tired of their games, realized Hemlock was too weak of heart to be any real fun. Perhaps the zombies he had taken to raising after their battles disturbed him more than he was willing to admit. Maybe "wasting their time" rescuing gnomes had been the final straw for his patience. Or, Hemlock couldn't help but hope, it could simply be the scars onnhis back, the question of their meaning weighing on him.
Whatever the truth, there had been little time to discuss. The shadow curse held many dangers, and since they had emerged from the underdark their priority had been seeking protection more sturdy than the daylight Hemlock summoned from his staff each morning.
He sighed, looking up at Karlach with a sad smile. "You noticed?"
"Hate to break it to ya, but the two of you weren't as subtle as you seem to think. What happened?"
"In truth? Your guess is as good as mine. I have my hunches, but I won't push him. " Hemlock leant back against a tree, frustrated to find the usual comfort of nature was nowhere to be found in these lands.
"Aww, buddy! I wish I could give you a hug, gods knows you need one." Karlach bumped shoulders with him, drawing back before she did any real damage through the armour. "He's a spikey one, but I'm sure he'll come around. Realize what he's missing."
"Hmph." Would she still think that, if she'd been there when Alfira... He cut the thought off, doing his best to return her smile. "I hope so. And don't loose hope, we've more of that infernal iron now. If we can catch up to Dammon and the rest of the tieflings, maybe we'll be able to get you that hug yet."
"Gods, I hope we can-" She paused for a moment, grimacing as a flare of heat pulsed forth from the engine within her chest. "-cause, I gotta be honest, I'm not feeling too good. S-like it's gonna burn out of my chest."
Instinctively, Hemlock conjured a bolt of ice in the air, and tossed it to Karlach. "Won't last, but a moment's reprieve is better than none."
She pressed it to her chest, and it exploded into a cloud of ice, encrusting her in a thick coat of frost. She grunted through the pain, and relaxed once more as the heat ebbed away. "Thanks, soldier. I just hope Dammon can find a way to fix it. It keeps getting worse, and if we can't tune it up in time? I think it'll be lights out, Big K."
Hemlock reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of something alcoholic, taking a swig before passing it to Karlach. "We'll find him. I promise. I'm not letting you go just yet. And if Halsin is right, they will have had to come this way." He paused, looking out I to the darkness for a long moment. "I just hope they are safe."
"This place is fucking awful. If they ended up lost in it like we are it sure as hell won't end well for them." Karlach grimaced at the thought, taking a long drink from the bottle.
"A dark fate indeed. Let us pray the gods were on their side, for once."
"I'd say that sounds like Shadowheart's job, but if this curse is Shar's doing, maybe that wouldn't be the best idea." She paused, looking over Hemlock's shoulder, and he turned to follow her gaze. "Speaking of Fangs, looks like he might want to talk to ya after all."
It turned out, Hemlock's hopes had been at least somewhat founded. The scars had been plaguing Astarion's mind, and he had hope to seek out Raphael for answers. A task that proved easier as expected when they stumbled upon the Last Light Inn that next day. The tieflings had made it to some modicum of safety- at least some of them. And Raphael awaited, in the midst of some game with young Mol that Hemlock took great joy in sabotaging in her favour. He didn't give a full answer though, and the ominous whispers he shared of the scars left the vampire more on edge than ever. The devil would return, and soon.
That was not the only old friend they found there though, and when Karlach spotted Dammon in the old barn, she tore away from the group with a fervour, Hemlock close behind.
He seemed just as excited to see them, as they approached.
"Karlach! I thought you'd be in the city by now. We were ambushed by cultists. Half of us were captured, the other half ran here."
"Off of the anvil, into the forge." Karlach replied, smile bitter at the thought of what fate may await them at the hands of the Absolute. "We'll find them, hopefully."
"Before you run off into the belly if the beast, there's something I need to tell you. Well... two things. Good news and bad news."
Hemlock raised an eyebrow, eyeing up the blacksmith with an ounce of concern. "Which do you want it hear first, Karlach?"
"The good news, obviously!"
"I only need one more piece of infernal iron to craft an insulating chamber that would make it possible for Karlach to-"
She cut him off with a beaming smile, fire flickering bright in her hair. "-touch people?!"
"Exactly." He smiled too, and Hemlock felt it spreading to him as well. Karlach's enthusiasm truly was contagious.
"Oh my gods, it's really happening, We've got the iron- let's do this thing!"
"Hang on- I think you'll want to hear the bad news too." Dammon's eyes flickered to Hemlock, a barely masked look of desperation in his eyes
"Yeah, sure, but first, fix me. Please"
Hemlock hated to interfere with her excitement, but he could sense the tension in the blacksmith growing. Brushing things under the rug could be a dangerous thing. "Let's hear him out. This sounds important."
"Fine. Well, go on then." She pouted slightly, looking expectantly to Dammon.
"I don't enjoy saying this, Karlach, but there's no two ways about it: your engine is going to blow, and I can't fix it. I'm not sure anyone can. It's simply too hot to exist here in the mortal plane." His voice cracked slightly, but he did his best to keep his emotions under control as he delivered the sentance.
"Unless you return to Avernus - for good - this thing is going to blow. Sooner rather than later."
Hemlock's eyes were locked on Karlach's face as the words set in. He couldn't save her.
"But- but still, you can give me something that'll me touch again, right? Safely?"
"Yes, but-"
"That's all I need to know. Do it. Please."
Hemlock nodded to Dammon, a promise that they could discuss this later. She deserved to enjoy the good for now while she still could. He reached into his pack, pulling out the scrap of metal they had recovered. "Let's make this happen."
"Well - all right. This shouldn't take long."
As the blacksmith worked, Karlach paced excitedly around the barn, Hemlock close at hand with a spell on the tip of his tongue, ready to put out any fire she might start in her excitement. The tension was high, but Dammon was skilled in his craft, and it was not long before he turned to them, the finished casing held in his thick leather glove.
"Same as last time - you'll need to install it yourself. But this should do the trick."
They both watched carefully as she carefully slid it though an opening between two runs, carefully fitting it into place. A barely audible click, and it slotted in perfectly. For a second, they all just watched, as the glow emenating from her chest softened, fire in her hair crackling out.
"There. So did it... Work?"
Hemlock looked her over once more. It looked good, but..."Only one way to find out."
He reached forwards, and pulled her into a hug. She hesitated just a moment, but when no scream of pain was heard, she threw herself into it, wrapping her arms tight around Hemlock and lifting him a few inches off the floor. He could feel her grin over his shoulder as she span them both around, before setting him down once more.
As she drew back, there were tears in her eyes. "Thank you."
Then she turned to Dammon, whisking him up in a hug if his own. "I can't believe it. Thank you, Dammon. Thank you so much."
His cheeks were flushed as she set him down, ears sporting the teltalle redness Hemlock so often struggled with. "It's the least I can do. But Karlach, your engine, it's contained for now but it won't survive long. The environment here is just too cold to sustain metals like the ones inside if you. The only way you'll be able to survive is if you return to Avernus. For good."
"The minute I set foot back in Avernus, Zariel will force me back into her service. I'm not doing her bidding again. I'd rather die."
"I get that." He looked pained, all too aware that there was no good option on the horizon. "But don't rule it out. The world might just be better with you in it - even in Avernus. I won't stop trying to find a cure, but... At this point, I think we all have to face the inevitable."
Hemlock could feel for him, truly. Dammon's honesty was a kindness, and he had so clearly put all of himself into searching for a cure. But it did not do to dwell on loss that had not yet come, and at this point none of them could truly know what the future would hold. So he plastered on a smile, and looked to Karlach. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to make the inevitable, evitable then."
She beamed back at him "You read my mind."
Turning back to Dammon, she clapped a hand on his shoulder in appreciation. "Thanks Dammon. Really. You've given me more than I could ever repay."
The smile won over his fear, and he tentatively returned it. "It's been my pleasure. Good luck- both of you. Look after yourself, alright?"
Hemlock nodded, as they made their way back out into the courtyard, Karlach practicaly humming with excitement.
"This is the best day. The best day."
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into a side-hug as they walked. "I'm so happy for you, Karlach."
"I'm so happy for me too! Now I just need to find someone to snuggle up to tonight, and I'll be the happiest woman on the sword coast."
"Anyone in mind?" Hemlock couldn't help but smile as he glanced back, noticing the way Dammon's eyes were still trained on Karlach, even as he tried to return to his work.
"I'm not sure. Depends who's got me in mind. Withers was giving me the old eye last night. Then again, maybe it was just an old eye." She bumped her hip against his, grinning at her own joke.
Hemlock laughed. The idea of Withers in that sort of situation was not an image he had ever thought he would have asked to imagine, but it was certainly an...unique one. He would have to give Karlach a nudge in Dammon's direction. It wasn't hard to work out the blacksmith felt too much guilt around her situation to make the first move, but his interest was clear. Once they were free of this damned shadow curse...
He hesitated. "And... What about what Dammon said?"
Karlach drew back, letting go of their hug to look him in the eyes. "Listen. I'm never going back. If you said I could die right now or live a thousand years in the Hells, I'd choose to go out now, with my freedom intact. I don't expect anyone to understand that. But I've been dealt a hand most people don't have to contemplate playing."
It was true, he couldn't fully understand her situation. Whatever had come before, he had the questionable luck if not remembering it. And even so, the idea of returning to it, from the snippets of information he did have... He would probably make the same choice, in her stead. He nodded, holding her gaze. "If that is what you want, I shall stand by you in it. I know there are worse things than death."
"Thanks soldier. Your support means I have one less thing to worry about. That means a lot to me." She pulled him close once more, and it occured to Hemlock that he might have been almost as touch starved as her, as he basked in her warmth. There was more to intimacy, he realised, than simple touch. The trust, the openness that Karlach offered, was something he hadn't even realised he had been missing.
He wasn't sure, now he truly considered it, wether he had ever experienced such a thing. Even before. No memory within him stirred at the feeling, the way they had so many times before, even when he couldn't remember the source.
But this was not the time for mourning the past. Burying his face against Karlach's shoulder, he basked in the moment.
Kind words banished the last of his sad thoughts, as she hugged him tight. "You really are the best of the best. Of the best."