The group hurried up the hill to see who was in need of help. As Aera approached, her distrust in the man was instantaneous. 

He was pale and handsome, almost too handsome. His white hair was wavy and seem to sit perfectly on his forehead. His red eyes were piercing, yet attractive. By the shape of his ears, Aera could tell he was an elf. 

"Hurry! I've got one of those brain things cornered." His voice was like velvet, deep and charming with a touch of pretentiousness. 

Aera looked at him with skepticism. 

"There, in the grass. You can kill it, can't you? Like you killed the others?" He looked at her with raised eyebrows, awaiting her answer.

Aera frowned. "Let me see..." 

She wasn't sure why she decided to look, to see what was in those bushes. But, as she approached, her main focus was to make sure she--and her newfound companions-- weren't in any danger. 

It wasn't long before a pig scurried away from them, Aera letting out a silent breath of relief. She heard Shadowheart cry out, but didn't get the chance to see what was happening because all of a sudden, she'd been grabbed and pulled to the ground. Aera yelped, hitting the dirt hard. A dagger was being held to her throat. The sharp tip of the blade poked her skin, threatening to draw blood if she moved. 

Gale and Shadowheart immediately stepped forward to help, but the elf looked up at them. "One more step and I slice her from ear to ear. Don't think I won't." 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Aera growled in anger. She began debating her options. Clearly this man had underestimated her, but to be fair, she was the one with a dagger to her throat. 

"We can all be friends here," Gale warned. His hand was extended at his side and a ball of fire was dancing in his palm. "But if you use that knife, I will incinerate you." 

This is my chance. 

The man looked down at Aera, giving her the time to head butt him and scramble to her feet. He groaned in pain, then hurried to his feet himself. 

"What the hells is wrong with you?" Aera shouted, backing away and into Gale. He moved to the side quickly. 

"Look," He started. "I saw you on the ship, strutting about while I was trapped in that pod. What did you and those tentacle freaks do to me?!"

"Put the knife away and maybe we can talk," Aera snapped back. 

As the elf went to speak, he groaned in pain. Aera does the same, images of his memories coming and going. Dark streets, crowds of people, wine and lavish parties.

What is this strange ability?

The memories faded away, the man looking at her in confusion. "What was that? What's going on?" 

"It's the Mind Flayer's worm," Aera said. "It's connected us." 

"The worm... of course, that explains things. Somewhat." He put the knife away, Gale allowing the ball of fire to extinguish from his palm. "And to think, I was ready to decorate the ground with your innards. My apologies." 

Aera was furious with the man but decided to hold her tongue. "Glad we're all caught up then."

"That we are," he said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Astarion. I was in Baldur's Gate when those beasts snatched me." 

"Wait, so they abducted us from more then one city?" Gale asked. 

"I think so. I mean, I was in Baldur's Gate as well," Shadowheart agreed. 

Aera nodded, then turned back to Astarion. "I'm Aera. This is Gale and Shadowheart." She gestured to her two companions. "Gale and I were in Waterdeep when we got taken." 

"Is that so? Clearly we move in different circles," Astarion said with a passive aggressive smirk. 

"Excuse me-?"

"So do you know anything about these worms?" 

Aera huffed in astonishment. 

"Yeah, actually. They'll turn us into Mind Flayers, according to Gale." 

Gale nodded in agreement. 

"Turn us into... ha! Ha ha ha." Astarion let out a forced laugh. "Of course it'll turn me into a monster. What else did I expect?" 

Aera glared at him, heart pounding as she tried not to let his pretentiousness get to her. 

"Although it hasn't happened yet." Astarion looked at her with hope in his eyes. "If we can find an expert, someone who can control these things, there might still be time." 

"Yeah, maybe," Aera said. 

"Maybe you should travel with us," Gale said. 

Aera flipped around and looked at Gale in shock. "Excuse me? What the hells are you on about?" 

"Well, the way I see it is we're all in the same situation. Strength in numbers is the smartest option right now." 

"Not when the numbers want to kill you," she snapped. 

"My dear, I wouldn't kill you," Astarion said, smirking. 

"Sure," Aera said, unbelieving of his words. 

Shadowheart studied Astarion. "You're a rogue, correct?" 

"I am," Astarion replied. 

Shadowheart looked at Aera. "We could use the diversity," she told her. "I mean we have a Wizard, Cleric, Bard, and now we could have a Rogue." 

"You're serious?" Aera asked. She looked between Gale and Shadowheart. "Did you not see what he just did to me?" 

"We're all a bit confused and scared right now," Gale said. 

Aera let out an annoyed sigh. She knew there was truth to their words. She turned to Astarion, who smiled at her. 

"Alright. But if you try anything, and I mean anything, I'll kill you personally." Aera's eyes held a promise of violence. Astarion noticed and seemed to understand. 

"Well, I was ready to go at this alone, but maybe sticking with the herd isn't a bad idea." He bowed slightly. "Alright, I accept. Lead the way." 

And just like that, their group had grown to four people. 

"I have a suggestion," Gale said. 

"And what would that be?" Aera muttered. She was annoyed at everyone's ignorance. Hopefully they wouldn't be the death of her. 

"I think at some point soon, we should set up camp. Try to relax and recuperate. I think it would do us all some good to be prepared." 

"I second that," Shadowheart says. "I'm starving." 

Aera looked at her counterparts, unused to such privilege. When she was on her own, she was lucky if she had one meal a day. Her backpack held enough supplies for her for a few days, but for four people? It would only last one. 

"Don't you think we should try to find civilization?" Aera asked. 

"We could," Gale agreed. "I just know that we need to be prepared for anything, especially a fight." 

"I wouldn't mind relaxing after such a tiring abduction," Astarion said. 

Aera sighed. "Okay. We can set up camp, but let's try to get a bit of ways away from this Nautiloid." 

The others seemed happy with her answer. 

After exploring the wreckage and stumbling across an injured Mind Flayer, Aera had to admit she was ready to relax. In their time with the Mind Flayer, it had tried to persuade Aera, to trick her into feeling love for the creature. Thankfully a swift stomp to the head ended the pity party for the Illithid. Everything she learned about them made her more nervous about what was to come. 

 She was mentally exhausted from their situation and the stress of so much change. She kept a close eye on Astarion. He tried to make small talk, but only Gale really tried entertaining it. 

They set up camp quite early in the day. 

******************

Aera had gone hunting nearby and had managed to kill a few rabbits for the group. It had been nice for Aera to get away from them. She was most comfortable in her solitude. 

When she got back, they were all sitting around a bonfire, talking amongst themselves. Aera gave them a slight nod of acknowledgement as she made her way over. 

"My my, we have a hunter in the group?" Astarion said. "I feel so spoiled." 

Aera ignored his words, cleaning the rabbits with little effort. She'd done it hundreds of times. 

"We were just trying to get to know each other a little better," Gale said. "We're going to be traveling together, so we might as well try to get along." 

Aera took a rag from her backpack and cleaned her knife as she looked up at the wizard. "Is that so?" 

He gave her a nod, his soft eyes almost pleading with her to trust him. 

Aera put the rabbits on the cooking rack she'd constructed before hunting then sat down, sighing. 

"Sure, we can talk." 

"Spendid," Gale said. 

"What were you talking about before I came back?" Aera asked, picking at her fingernails. 

"Well, we were just asking each other where we grew up," Gale said. "I'm from Waterdeep, Astarion from Baldur's Gate, and Shadowheart hasn't answered yet." 

"I think I'll pass on this one," Shadowheart said. 

"Me too," Aera replied. 

"Well, we do know one thing about you," Astarion said. Aera looked over at him, knowing what he was referring to before even meeting his eyes. He pointed to his chin, then smiled. 

Aera glared at him. 

"Leave it alone," Shadowheart said. "If she wanted to tell us, she would." 

Aera blinked and looked at Shadowheart in surprise. With a small nod, she tried to tell her she appreciated the backup. 

"Okay fine," Astarion said, letting out a dramatic sigh. "I was just looking for a good story." 

Aera shook her head, then met Gale's eyes. "I grew up in the High Forest." 

"By yourself?" Gale asked in shock.

"Not at first, no." 

"Wow. What brought you to Waterdeep?" 

"I'd rather not talk about that," Aera said, remembering Zevlor once more. She hoped he made it to safety, wherever he was. 

Gale nodded, clearly disappointed. "Very well." 

"Ugh, you two are so boring," Astarion groaned. "We've tadpoles in our heads that could change us into Mind Flayers at any moment and you're worried about your image?" 

Aera shrugged. "I'm just not the sharing type." 

"Okay Astarion, then why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself," Shadowheart said. 

Astarion chuckled. "I grew up in Baldur's Gate. I'm quite adored around the city. I have unfinished business there that I would like to get back to as soon as possible." 

"Don't we all," Gale agreed. 

Aera began rotating the stick so the rabbits would be cooked fully on each side. 

"I don't even know where to start with this," Gale said. "With the tadpole I mean. We don't even know where we are." 

"We'll explore more tomorrow," Aera said. "Surely there's something around here." 

"Is that positivity I hear in your voice?" Astarion joked. 

Aera chuckled but wasn't amused as she glanced up at him. "Are you always this annoying?" 

"Guys, please. Let's not fight," Gale said. "We have bigger issues at hand." 

The rabbits would take a while longer, but she found her appetite was going away on its own. Part of her wanted to just leave them all behind and venture forth by herself, but she wasn't so confident she'd be able to survive in this unknown place for long. She liked to think so, but she knew there was always someone bigger and badder. 

They sat in silence for a moment, everyone staring at the dancing flames of the fire. Aera thought of her moments before being abducted. She wasn't happy about their current circumstances, but part of her couldn't be upset about being pulled from such an environment. it was disgusting to see those things and to put on an act. Being out in the wild was always where Aera felt at home. 

The group ate, not saying much else for the rest of the night. When everyone else laid down to sleep, Aera snuck away to a nearby river. 

She needed to get away, if only for a moment.