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The world came into focus with a flare of fire and a sudden spike of claustrophobia. My hands slammed into cold glass; my feet kicking desperately as I fought to escape the suffocating shell I’d awoken in. Panic clawed its way up my throat, invoking an ear splitting scream as the pod burst open with a hydraulic hiss. The relief of freedom caused my knees to buckle, bringing me to my hands and knees on the hard metal floor beside my unexpected prison.
The ground shook as an explosion sounded in the distance, vibrating through the floor. Panting with residual adrenaline, I pushed myself up to my feet. My eyes flitted over my surroundings in an attempt to identify my location. The walls and floor were a horrifying amalgamation of metal and flesh that pulsed with an eerie red light that spilled through the damaged structure. My feet carried me forward carefully so that I could peek out through a large fissure across the room.
Crimson, burning landscape greeted me, flying by at impossible speeds. I was a ship; a biomechanical monstrosity that flew over what appeared to be some layer of the hells. I stumbled back, mind racing as I tried to make sense of the situation I’d found myself in. Too many questions came to mind. Where was I? How had I come to be in this nightmarish place? And most importantly, who was I?
The realization that my memories were lost to me came as a shock that made me pause. I stared down at my shaking hands, turning them this way and that in horror. The pale skin was marked by calluses and near invisible scars, but nothing that sparked any sort of familiarity. Lifting my hands to trace my face did nothing but give me a vague idea of my appearance; soft, with a full mouth and large eyes, and the delicately pointed ears that marked me as an elf.
I dropped my hands with a frustrated huff. I could take the time to brood over my missing identity later. Right now, my only priority was to escape, as I doubted that an ally would have locked me in a slimy, cramped pod. I made my way across the dimly lit floor, avoiding piles of burning debris and broken pods. One other pod was standing open and empty to the left of mine, making me wonder if someone else had gotten out.
In the center of the room, a half crumbled tank caught my eye. The yellow shell looked as if it would collapse at the slightest touch, prompting me to take extra care as I peered into the murky liquid held within. Faceless, limbless creatures darted back and forth mindlessly, seeming unaware of the danger around them.
Mind Flayer tadpoles, whispered a voice in the back of my mind. I spun quickly, thinking that someone had snuck up behind me in my distraction, but I was still alone. I shook my head, dismissing the voice as a product of my own imagination. At the very least, the words had unlocked a small amount of knowledge inside the mess of my brain. Mind Flayer tadpoles were the spawn of the Illithid, a race of murderous aliens with purple skin and tentacles where their mouths should be that used their psychonic abilities to hunt down their victims. If I was on an Illithid ship, then there were only three reasons they’d taken me: for food, to use as a slave, or to infect me with one of their disgusting parasites of a spawn.
Sharp pain flared behind my eyes, causing me to falter and nearly trip over the half mangled body of an Illithid that I hadn’t noticed before. A flash of memory burned in my mind; the Illithid on the floor, standing before me with a squirming tadpole in its grasp as it used its other hand to hold my head in place. Searing pain, and the sounds of my own screams as the parasite burrowed its way behind my eye, twisting and stretching itself to allow it entry without damaging my eye. If I didn’t get the damnedable thing out, I would turn into a Mind Flayer myself through a process known as ceremorphosis.
Violent shivers overtook my body, nearly forcing me to my knees as I fought the rising panic. I didn’t have time for this, I reminded myself silently, struggling to stop hyperventilating. Another explosion boomed in the distance, along with a screech from what was doubtlessly some other horrifying creature. I forced myself to take several deep breaths, counting to ten before I continued towards a fleshy barrier that somewhat resembled a door. A glowing orange button on the wall beside it opened the door with a wet squelch that made me cringe.
The adjoining room was just as gut-wrenching as the first, but I kept moving, searching every dark corner for anything useful. A table to my right held the body of a small green creature with sharp, crooked teeth from which I was able to nab a wicked looking shortsword in a shoddy scabbard and a handful of gold coins. Rune stones littered the workspaces nearby, projecting psychonic visions at me any time my hands brushed against them. The ship, the Nautiloid, hurtling through the planes, decimating world after world along the way. The history of a realm called Faerun filled with elves, humans, Githyanki, and other humanoid races. An anomaly, disconnected from the hive mind of the Illithid, silently advising caution.
Both disturbed and satisfied with my discoveries, I moved towards an open archway across the room, intending to continue my search for a way out, but was stopped once again by an echoing call for aid sounded above my head. I turned, gaze lifting to lock onto a platform hidden above my head. I hesitated, unsure if this might be a trap set by my captors. My every instinct warned me to move on, to ignore the voice, but I couldn’t resist the urge to investigate. The voice had sounded so young, and the thought that a child could be in danger drove me to dart to the lift just below the platform.
The space was darker than the floor down below, only lit by the glow of several horticulture tanks that highlighted the twitching corpse of a male elf laid out on another table. The top of his head had been removed, exposing his brain, which pulsed and shivered despite the elf very obviously being dead.
“Yes,” the echoing voice whispered, and I realized that the voice was not physical, but a psychic projection coming from the brain. “You’ve come to free us from this place.” The words sunk into my mind with a seductive influence that pulled me closer. I peered carefully at the wriggling flesh as it continued to whisper into my head, attempting to convince me that I should pull the brain from the elf’s skull.
I realized that I was witnessing the birth of an intellect devourer, a minion of the Illithid that I’d learned of from the rune stones down below. If I allowed this creature to fully transform, it would become a brain-shaped quadruped with dangerous claws and the ability to psychically attack its enemies. Additionally, it could alert its masters of my presence at any moment. I couldn’t allow the creature to live.
I plunged my stolen short sword into the very center of the elf’s skull, twisting quickly to do as much damage as quickly as I could. The intellect devourer shrieked once, the sound bouncing painfully though my head before it fell silent for good. A shiver ran down my spine as I pulled the blade free, wiping the blade on the edge of my tunic with a grimace before stowing it securely back in its sheath. While I regretted the act of violence, it sparked a familiar feeling of peace that I couldn’t identify. I simply felt as though I’d done something good.
After deciding that there was nothing of use up on the platform, I made my way back to the lower level and stalked to the opening that led to an open air pathway. The fiery red landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see, and I slowed to take it in. The Nautiloid soared high above the mountains at breathtaking speeds that made my legs shake. Scaled, winged behemoths rocketed past in sweeping arcs as they attempted to take down the Illithid ship. Dragons, my mind supplied before I could wonder too much. In my distraction, I failed to notice the presence of another until it was mid-leap, twirling in a graceful arc before landing before me in a flash of gleaming metal.
“Abomination,” the yellow-green Githyanki hissed, her reptilian face twisted in a snarl, “this is your end!” I had no time to react as she lifted her greatsword to attack, but the blow never came. Pain exploded through my head once more as the Illithid tadpole apparently recognized one of its own and connected my mind to the Githyanki before me. Memories, her memories, invaded my senses as psychonic energy shimmered between us from our tadpoles. This alien woman was a victim, same as me; taken from her people by our captors.
The link vanished without warning, allowing us to make hastened introductions. The Githyanki woman was called Lae’zel, and she promised a cure to our parasites if I aided her in her mission to take control of the helm, which would allow us to transport the ship somewhere safer and escape. Seeing no other option, I agreed to assist her.
Lae’zel and I dashed through the halls of the burning Nautiloid, taking down any enemies that were unlucky enough to cross our path. White noise rushed in my ears with every kill, blood coated my hands and spattered my face, and an anxious sort of exhilaration took over. The feeling of familiarity was disturbing when combined with my state of amnesia. I couldn’t help but wonder what my life had been before this. What horrors had I faced that made bloodshed feel like something I needed to survive? I didn’t take any pleasure in it, not in the slightest. It felt more like I was hoping for the approval of something unknown. I silently vowed to do whatever it took to recover my memories, and to right the wrongs that I was certain I must have committed.
Room after room filled with prisoners passed us by as we searched for the helm. Every so often, a voice would cry out for help; a gorgeous pale elf with silken white curls who’s hands pressed against the glass of his pod, a dark haired woman who screamed at us when we darted past without stopping, a man in the draping robes of a wizard and a tattoo peeking out from his collar who watched us in surprise as we took down a surprised Mind Flayer. Despite my efforts to convince her otherwise, Lae’zel insisted that we prioritize taking the helm. If we didn’t get to the helm soon, she argued, the countless lives on the ship would be lost regardless. As much as I didn’t enjoy the thought of leaving them, I heard the wisdom in her insistence. It was safer for them if we released them after the Illithid had been defeated and we had guided the ship safely back to Faerun.
The helm was hidden down a long hallway near the bow of the ship. My companion hissed at me to follow her lead as the final door between us and control of the Nautiloid came into view. Muffled sounds of a struggle reached us as we came closer. I cast a quick glance towards my ally to ensure we were ready, swords in hand, and then slammed my fist against the button next to the door.
Lae’zel and I darted forward without hesitation, only to come to a complete standstill just past the entrance. Two figures, one Illithid and the other a demonic-looking humanoid, stood across the way from us, locked in an intense battle. Corpses of both races and their respective minions littered the floor around them, being picked apart by more demonic-looking creatures that Lae’zel had identified in passing earlier as inhabitants of this realm.
“Thrall, connect the nerves of the transponder. We must escape.” The voice of the Illithid echoed in my mind, and I smirked as I realized that the thing thought we were mind-controlled slaves it could use as allies. I heard Lae’zel snarl before she was shooting past me, bringing her sword down on the nearest minion she came across. I quickly followed suit, cutting down an approaching demon with brutal grace. We worked swiftly, our blades swinging in tandem as we easily defeated the laughably weak creatures.
With the path clear, we split up. Lae’zel jumped on the back of the tall demon that the Illithid was attempting to take down, stabbing a dagger through his eye and into his brain, killing him instantly in his distraction. She then turned her attention to the Mind Flayer, keeping him occupied as I darted towards the Nautiloid’s control console. I hesitated before it, my eyes roaming the mass of tentacles that reached up towards the ceiling, connecting to more tentacles that were suspended above the console. One set was disconnected, the suckered ends flailing wildly in opposite directions. I took hold of each tentacle, trying not to cringe at the slimy feel of them as I connected them.
The console hummed to life, and I felt a pulse from the tadpole in my head as it instinctively provided the knowledge I needed to activate the teleportation matrix that would whisk the ship to whichever realm I thought of when it activated. Before I had the chance to do so, I caught movement from the corner of my eye, making my hands slip as I whipped around to face its source. A dragon had latched onto the side of the Nautiloid, its sharp claws digging into flesh of the ship as it stuck its head into the helm through a hole to my left. My eyes widened as its great maw opened, the glow of dragon fire igniting at the back of its throat.
I dived out of the way just in time, my hands covering my head as intense heat exploded over my head. The Nautiloid shuddered under the heat before tilting sideways; the dragon’s attack doing enough damage to cause the ship to lose altitude. My hands scrambled for purchase as gravity pulled me away from the console and threw me against the far wall. Hard metal slammed into my back, stealing my breath and momentarily disorienting me. Another shift as the Nautiloid spun in the air threw me back towards the console.
I was just able to grasp the edge of the console as I fell past it, my shoulder screaming in pain as it was forced to catch the weight of my entire body. Tears streamed down my face from the pain, but I pushed through it and reached out towards the tentacles that I had previously connected. My first attempt was pathetically off, my fingertips barely brushing against the squirming cables. I adjusted my position as best I could, shoving myself up as best I could before I reached out again. A cry of pure adrenaline ripped from my throat as my hand wrapped around the tentacle, my eyes squeezing shut as I used my mind to direct the ship to another realm; Faerun.
For a breathless moment, nothing happened. Then, the Nautiloid emitted a low-pitched groan as waves of psychonic energy teleported the ship away from the bleeding landscape of the hells. The lighting dimmed as we reappeared in a dark sky filled with stars. I was thrown through the air once more as the ship continued its too rapid descent towards the earth below us. I landed near the edge of a broken wall, the sharp edges cutting into my arm as I crashed against it. My teary eyes locked onto the slumped figure of the Mind Flayer that Lae’zel had been battling, its beady orange eyes glaring at me with contempt. It reached a hand out in my direction, intent on finishing me off regardless of its own fate.
Pain burst in my side as a flying piece of debris suddenly slammed into me, throwing me out of the ship and into the night sky. The stars sparkled around me as I fell, unable to do anything but accept my fate. I thought of Lae’zel, hoping that she would survive and aid any survivors, if there were any. My missing past felt irrelevant now. No matter what I had done in my past, I had done something good today, and that was enough to give me peace. I closed my eyes and let the exhaustion that sat deep in my bones take hold. Just before my consciousness failed me, I heard a voice whispering in my mind, “Sleep now, child of the Selune, for a new adventure awaits with the dawn.”
End