Chapter Text
Arcane energies cracked from a portal made up of complicated symbols. A party of four stood before it - each of them wildly different from one another from size to wardrobe, but all wildly curious of the portal and its contents.
From out of the portal spawned a hand - a very demanding hand at that. It beckoned to the party, or rather, the man attached to the hand did, obviously.
Astarion watched from the back of the group, having already been ignored that they should press on and ignore the silly little thing. Shadowheart stood beside him, mild curiosity winning her over, though she wouldn’t have batted an eye to leaving the appendage to its own devices.
It was Saruin, the the elven paladin, who’d happened upon the anomaly first, and she’d been transfixed by the scene for long enough that Alissa, the gnome warlock of the party, had time to shove some herbs into the warriors pockets without being noticed.
“A hand? Anyone?”
Alissa prodded Saruin’s leg, casting an inquisitive hand upwards. “Are you going to help, or-“
The paladin, still entranced, gave the hand a limp slap.
“…”
The man’s hand drooped a moment, exasperation heavy in his tone. “Right, I should have been more specific. That one’s on me.”
Alissa looked back at the two bystanders, who only shrugged.
“Well don’t look at me - I wanted no part of this.” Astarion was proving to be… oh, so reliable.
The warlock took it upon herself to help the misfortuned, or try to. Her size and predilection for magic left her physical prowess somewhat lacking, but she certainly did try to hoist the man out of the portal. The grunting and straining was verging on embarrassing, so much that the hand seemed almost ready to retreat and surrender to the abyss.
The struggle only lasted so long - a hand on Alissa’s shoulder gave her pause, and the sudden backwards tug caused her to stumble back, nearly losing her footing.
“Finally,” she muttered, noticing a patch of local fauna she’d have to pluck up after this whole affair was done with. “But you didn’t have to-“
She stopped. The world froze. Astarion and Shadowheart felt it the same time she did. Their senses were assaulted, pelted with a nauseating sensation. Their vision blurs, and the world twists into something it isn’t. A fetid stench of rot reaches their senses, and in the center of it all was their mysterious paladin they were about to learn a little more about.
~~~~
The world is crimson.
Heartbeats bounding. Blood flowing, gushing. Bones snapping. Rot. Decay. Flesh. FLESH.
Saruin lifts the hand to her mouth, her tongue lazily lulling out and slowly lapping at the length of the digits. Her breaths were hot on the man’s skin, her saliva dribbling down as she savored the flavor of his flesh. One by one she took the fingers in her mouth, sucking, teasing, nibbling.
A moan rumbled in her throat - she licked from palm to nail, savoring every second. She was panting, trembling, THROBBING-
A sharp scream skin to a dying animal emanated from the portal. She’d bitten off his thumb, chewed it like a savory treat, swallowed it with a thrill of pure ecstasy.
It wasn’t enough - it wasn’t enough! Devour, devour, DEVOUR!
She sank her teeth in, ripping in and swallowing muscle tendons whole. Her dagger was in her hand suddenly, sawing at the wrist.
Trophy, Trophy! I take what is mine, the flesh is mine by right! Feast, devour, flesh, pleasure-
~~~~
“-uin! Saruin!”
The call of the paladin’s name broke her out of her revere. She blinked, a weary and tired haze starting to creep up on her.
“What-“ She licked her lips, her throat parched. “What’s wrong?”
Shadowheart - when did she move? - had a knife pressed to Saruin’s throat. Alissa had taken several paces back, magic crackling around her. Astarion wasn’t in view, but she could feel his gaze boring holes into the back of her skull.
The hand, the main character of the evening, was the only actor still at play. Struggling, pulling, desperate for escape. Cursing - and sobbing? - could be heard from the portal.
Saruin pushed the knife away - Shadowheart let her, though remained cautious. Coiled. Ready.
“… Did something…” She let the question trail off and shook her head. One deft movement later, she’d pulled the man out and watched him fall flat on his face, his body trembling with - fear?
Alissa was at his side, helping him up, both of them examining his hand. Why?
She turned away from Shadowheart to finally look at Astarion.
He was grinning.
Just what the hells had these people all wound up?
The paladin reacted only as someone who was socially inept and without any memories could.“I’m moving on.” She turned on her heel and left, just like that, leaving a bewildered, traumatized group in her wake.