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    Synopsis:

    Astarion returns to camp after being scratched up by a bear. He's not badly hurt, but feels invigorated - almost drunk - after drinking the beast's blood.


  • 45.
    Astarion
    : There you are! My friend. devnote
    • 44. Player: At your service.
      • 60.
        Astarion
        : Are you now? Don't make promises you can't keep, darling.
        • 28.
          Astarion
          : Thankfully I've had my needs met this evening. I found a bear.
          • 3.
            Astarion
            : He took a little of my blood, I took all of his.
            • 19. Player: Where did you find a bear down here?CAMP_WLDDUNABB_State_InRegion = False, CAMP_WLDCAVGRN_State_InRegion = False, CAMP_WLDMAIN_State_InRegion = False, CAMP_WLDBAS_State_InRegion = False, CAMP_WLDCAVSND_State_InRegion = False
              • 11.
                Astarion
                : I mean - I think it was a bear? Big head, four legs, hair that gets stuck in your teeth.
                • 31.
                  Astarion
                  : Whatever it was, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
            • 20. Player: Sounds like a dangerous meal.
              • 23.
                Astarion
                : So's any meal worth having.
                • 10.
                  Astarion
                  : It's nothing compared to - well, other things I could be dining on. But significantly better than the rats and bugs Cazador served me.
                  • 58. [Jump] Jump to Node 15 (2)
            • 25. Player: You seem happy. No need to drink humanoid blood, then?
              • 30.
                Astarion
                : You're comparing plonk to vintage wine. You can make merry with either, but they are not the same.
                • 27.
                  Astarion
                  : But Cazador fed me rats and bugs. And when you're used to drinking from a sewer, even plonk is a marked improvement.
                  • Link to Node 58
            • 33. Player: As long as you're leaving mine alone.
              • 14.
                Astarion
                : You think I'd kill you, just like that? Darling, I would never!
                • 34.
                  Astarion
                  : I still need you.
                  • 15.
                    Astarion
                    : Anyway, the bear will sustain me. And it's a marked improvement over the rats and flies Cazador would feed me.
                    • 35. Player: Sounds... delicious.
                      • 4.
                        Astarion
                        : It was exactly as appetising as you'd think.
                        • Link to Node 38
                    • 18. Player: Does it matter? Blood is blood, isn't it?
                      • 49.
                        Astarion
                        : Not at all! Blood is life essence. And some creatures have so much more life than others.
                        • 0.
                          Astarion
                          : Cazador gave me just enough to keep me - well, 'alive', for lack of a better word. But never more than that.
                          • 38.
                            Astarion
                            : Still, that was the past. I'll never have to grovel for him again.
                            • 50. Player: True, you can start over. You can be better than what he made you.
                              • 13.
                                Astarion
                                : Exactly! I can be better than him. Stronger. More powerful. More -
                                • 37.
                                  Astarion
                                  : - oh, you meant 'be kinder'? Pet bunnies, that sort of thing?
                                  • 59.
                                    Astarion
                                    : I've no objection to being nice, of course. Once I have the power to bend others to my will.
                                    • 36. [Jump] Jump to Node 41 (2)
                            • 1. Player: Maybe not, but you'll grovel before the mind flayers if you keep using the tadpole.
                              • 24.
                                Astarion
                                : I don't intend to grovel before anyone!
                                • 63.
                                  Astarion
                                  : The mind flayers gave us power, but left us to our own devices. Whatever they had planned for us, they failed.
                                  • 26.
                                    Astarion
                                    : And now I'm left with this gift: the strength to take my own freedom. I'm not afraid to use it, and you shouldn't be either.
                                    End
                            • 17. Player: You sound very sure.
                              • 42.
                                Astarion
                                : Well - look at us. We've never been more powerful.
                                • 22.
                                  Astarion
                                  : And being able to walk in the sunlight opens a lot of doors for me. Maybe some coffins too.
                                  • 16.
                                    Astarion
                                    : No, these tadpoles are a gift I intend to use to the fullest. You should do the same.
                                    End
                    • 6. Player: Rats? And what did you do to deserve that?
                      • 32.
                        Astarion
                        : I existed, that was enough for him. He revelled in having power over me.
                        • 41.
                          Astarion
                          : Because those with power can do whatever the hell they want.
                          • 52. Player: You think power lets you do anything, free from consequences?
                            • 8.
                              Astarion
                              : Well... yes.devnote
                              • 43.
                                Astarion
                                : You can't look at the world and tell me I'm wrong.
                                • Link to Node 61
                                • Link to Node 2
                                • Link to Node 55
                          • 21. Player: You're free now. That's what matters.
                            • 51.
                              Astarion
                              : Is it? What good is freedom if I'm always watching the shadows?
                              • 39.
                                Astarion
                                : No, I'll be safe when I'm powerful enough to grind Cazador into the dust. Powerful enough to do whatever the hell I want.<br>
                                • 61. Player: The strong have a duty to protect the weak.
                                  • 53.
                                    Astarion
                                    : They're doing a piss poor job, then.
                                    • 7.
                                      Astarion
                                      : The strong had two centuries to pluck me from torture, but no one came. No, it was the mind flayers that rescued me.
                                      • 29.
                                        Astarion
                                        : They gave me a gift: the strength to take my own freedom. I'm embracing this power - you should too.devnote
                                        End
                                • 2. Player: Power corrupts. You'd do well to remember that.
                                  • 54.
                                    Astarion
                                    : Oh I hope so. A little corruption sounds fun.
                                    • 9.
                                      Astarion
                                      : I spent centuries as the victim of a corrupt man. It was the mind flayers that plucked me away from that.
                                      • Link to Node 29
                                • 55. Player: Careful, there are heroes about. I'd hate for them to get the right idea about you.
                                  • 57.
                                    Astarion
                                    : Let them. Heroes are half the damn problem. Fools that believe in right and wrong - good and evil.devnote
                                    • 12.
                                      Astarion
                                      : Heroes didn't save me from Cazador: mind flayers did.
                                      • Link to Node 29
                          • 5. Player: We're not powerless. The tadpoles are quite the asset.
                            • 46.
                              Astarion
                              : Indeed they are. Now that I can walk in the sun - well, that opens all manner of doors.
                              • 56.
                                Astarion
                                : It could open some coffins too.
                                • Link to Node 16
    • 47. Player: What happened? Were you attacked?
      • 40.
        Astarion
        : Oh, that. A scratch. I ran afoul of a bear.
        • Link to Node 3
    • 48. Player: Are you drunk?
      • 62.
        Astarion
        : I have drunk. Not alcohol, of course. A bear.
        • Link to Node 3