William let out a sharp, agonizing cry as he was struck with a force so immense and sudden that it felt like a wall of pure thunder had smashed against him.
Before he could even process what had happened, the world around him plunged into an overwhelming darkness, leaving everything gray and empty as it consumed him entirely.
Despite the oppressive grey haze and the howling winds, he was able to make out the unconscious form of Karlach plummeting downwards into the void, which was just a few feet away.
With a quick twist of his body, he aimed his body both towards her and directly below her at the same time, in an effort to reach her and provide some support as both continue to fall.
William collided with her unconscious body, resulting the two beginning a slow but chaotic spin.
Karlach's body was still hot to the touch, but in her unconscious state it was bearable, like a shower set to scalding during a cold winter day.
William wasted no time thinking about it; while he was quite aware that the hole they were falling into was incredibly deep, he had no illusions whatsoever that it would last much longer.
He reached for the pouch at his waist and pulled out a glowing blue potion with a feather in the stopper.
Wasting no time, he pulled the stopper and brought it to his mouth.
He didn't swallow, not yet.
Instead he pulled Karlach into a tight embrace and pressed his lips against hers.
He shared the potion with a kiss, not out of lust, but of necessity. He could smash the bottle, but the liquid would fly up and become useless. He could take it himself and hold on, but he would have to hold onto her for who knows how long, and his grip could falter.
No.
This was the only safe way to assure both of them survive the fall into the depths of Faerun
William and Karlach's fall slowed to a crawl as he shared the potion with a kiss.
Karlach's eyelids fluttered open and she found herself face-to-face with William, who was gently pressing his lips against hers.
As she looked at him, her expression shimmered with a deep and complex emotion.
Her mind was a whirlwind of different thoughts and feelings, all racing through it before she finally decided to simply close her eyes and reciprocate the gesture.
While this happened her tail swished left and right and with each rotation the end of her tail folded over, forming a loose image of a heart.
William felt a shiver go through his body as he noticed her tongue starting to move, initially in a very tentative and shy way.
However, it was her gentle, almost teasing touch as she began to massage his own that really caught his attention, and he found himself unable to keep his eyes closed any longer.
His eyes locked with hers, and in that instant, everything else around them faded away.
It felt like time and space ceased to exist, leaving behind only the present moment, the now, and the shared space between them.
However, the sudden, ear-splitting scream of another person who had just fallen pierced through their illusion, and they found themselves looking up to see Minthara hurtling towards them.
Her arms and legs were flailing wildly as she attempted to slow her descent.
She collided directly with them and, as part of the same swift movement, she quickly wrapped her arms around them, holding on firmly.
However, her unexpected contact resulted in their fall picking up momentum once more, although it wasn't nearly as severe as before.
It was still a speed that could easily cause serious harm if one of them landed improperly.
William noticed the faint but ever brightening glow of bioluminescent plants coming from below and frowned.
"This is going to hurt," he thought, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination.
He braced himself protectively against Karlach, his muscles tightening, and with all the strength he could muster, he twisted his body into a desperate attempt to redirect the downward force, converting it into horizontal momentum.
As the bioluminescent plants continued their descent through the vast, gaping hole they were falling through, the veins of glowing foliage began to emerge from their leaves, creeping upwards as if drinking from the very darkness itself, and the ground, which seemed to be approaching from below with an almost inevitable sense of urgency.
All three of them braced for the impact even as they spun.
The world rushed up to meet them.
Light exploded into pain.
William was the first to make contact with the ground, the force of the impact sending a shudder through his body that felt like a bell being struck with excessive force.
Beneath them, the bioluminescent growth flattened out with a wet, splintering crack, the glow of its veins erupting like crushed stars.
Even slowed by magic, the landing tore the breath from his lungs.
A sharp, popping sound echoed from his shoulder, accompanied by a blinding flash of white light in his vision.
His ribs responded with a deafening scream, as if they were being twisted and strained by unseen hands.
Karlach landed a heartbeat later, her weight slamming down directly into him as he twisted instinctively, turning himself into a makeshift brace for her impact.
The ground shook violently again, this time accompanied by a tremendous eruption of dirt, glowing spores, and coalesced flammable particulates that formed into a shimmering cloud.
Minthara was not so fortunate.
She hit like a dropped weapon.
The Feather Fall effects barely touched her.
She slammed into the stone at full force, her body bouncing once before going terrifyingly still.
The sound was wrong.
Too solid.
Too final.
Bone broke in multiple places with sickening clarity, and her mace skidded away, clattering uselessly into the glowing undergrowth.
A heavy silence descended, broken only by the shallow, ragged breathing of Minthara, who was still unconscious, and the faint, almost imperceptible hum of the bioluminescent plants surrounding them.
William lay there for a moment, staring up at the cavern ceiling, every breath a battle against his own lungs.
His arm felt completely stiff, and a sharp, intense pain shot through him whenever he attempted to move it, but a healing potion would instantly resolve the problem.
A groan escaped his lips as he forced himself onto his side, his vision spinning around him for a moment, before he immediately reached out towards Karlach.
"Karlach," he rasped.
She was already moving.
Karlach coughed, her voice surprisingly deep, and then sucked in a breath so powerful it almost sounded like a roar.
Her eyes, which had been shut just moments ago, suddenly snapped open, glowing faintly in the dim light. She then rolled onto her right elbow with a hiss, indicating some degree of pain.
"Hells… that sucked," she growled, voice rough but alive.
Relief hit William harder than the fall.
He laughed once, short and breathless, before it turned into a wince.
Karlach extended her gentle, almost delicate hand towards the rough, leather surface of his armor.
As she moved her hand, it brushed against the leather material, and the infernal heat she radiated with every beat of her heart vibrated through the armor, warming the damaged skin underneath and causing him to wince slightly, despite his best attempt to hold it in.
She gently assisted him in removing his armor, revealing his muscular chest and stomach, which were fit but not overly defined.
The sight of his physique sent a jolt of excitement through her, her eyes widening in surprise and her breathing quickening.
"You have a very... nice body," she said, her clawed hand gently moving along his skin.
She paused just before she reached a sensitive area, careful not to cause him any pain.
But she soon shook herself out of her reverie and took a potion from one of Williams satchels, and bit into the stopper before pulling.
Faint traces of healing potion splashed onto her face as the stopper came free.
Before she held it over his wounded abdomen as well as several deep but non-fatal gashes all over his body, the wounds sealed with a hiss as flesh knitted back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
William stayed still for a few more heartbeats, letting the magic settle fully into his bones.
The pain ebbed, retreating from a roaring inferno to a deep, manageable ache.
He rolled his shoulder.
It answered with a dull protest, but it answered.
That would do.
He reached into his satchel again and drew out another healing potion, the glass cool and faintly luminous in his grip.
Bracing himself, he pushed upright and turned toward Karlach, already about to offer it to her.
The words caught in his throat.
Karlach had pulled her shirt up and over her head.
The tattered garment she was wearing was bunched over her chest, exposing her upper body completely except for the very minimal wrappings that covered her breasts.
Under the eerie glow of the bioluminescence, her skin shimmered with a soft, almost ethereal warmth.
Deep, infernal scars, etched across her shoulders, collarbones, and ribs, glowed faintly, like molten runes set beneath the surface of her flesh.
Heat rolled off her in soft waves, distorting the air around her, turning the immediate area around them into something intimate and warm.
She didn't seem to notice him staring.
Instead, she was examining herself with a critical frown, one hand running along her side, then her shoulder, testing muscle and bone alike.
"Oof," she muttered. "Yeah… definitely bruised. Maybe cracked. Hard to tell when everything already feels like it's on fire."
William swallowed, his throat tightening, and forcing himself to look up from the rise and fall of her chest, meeting her gaze directly.
"Hold still," he said, his voice low but firm as he uncorked the potion. "Let's not gamble on 'maybe.'"
Karlach glanced up at him, then she glanced down at her own body, and only then did she truly realize just how exposed she was.
There was a brief moment where a flicker of surprise crossed her face, but it was quickly followed by something else, softer and more vulnerable.
She didn't rush to cover herself.
Instead of saying anything, she simply shrugged her left shoulder and waited for him to carefully pour the contents of the potion onto her wounded areas.
William tilted the vial with a steady hand, allowing the warm, vibrant red liquid to gently cascade over the fresh, raw wounds that marred her back.
The sound of magic interacting with the torn flesh echoed faintly in the cavern, causing Karlach's entire body to tremble.
A faint, almost startled sound escaped her lips, but she quickly suppressed it, pressing a clawed hand firmly over her mouth as if trying to completely erase any trace of it.
William could sense the subtle vibration of her response, the faint echo of something in her reaction.
A mischievous smirk curled up at the corner of his mouth and he didn't feel the need to say anything, his eyes held the answer perfectly.
Shifting slightly, he moved to the front of her body.
The red potion, its glow pulsating gently, traced along the contours of her muscular frame, its texture smooth against her skin.
It seemed to glide effortlessly over the bruised ribs, the shallow cuts, and the deep gashes, leaving no trace of its passage.
With each gentle movement of the liquid, it hummed with an unseen energy, seemingly knitting flesh together while simultaneously soothing the pain.
The speed at which this process occurred was astounding, leaving the wounds almost non-existent before Karlach's eyes could fully adjust.
She tensed up for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief as the magical energy began to spread throughout her torso.
The sensation felt strangely new but was altogether pleasant, almost like a gentle, insistent fire had ignited beneath the skin.
A very slight hesitation in her breathing caught William's attention, a subtle intake of air that she immediately attempted to stifle. However, as he always did, he managed to notice it.
As the potion worked, its light reflected in her eyes, highlighting the sharp planes of her face and the intensity of her gaze.
When the effects of the potion began to fade away, she leaned against his shoulder and released a soft, contented sigh.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible but her eyes filled with gratitude as she clutched his arms tightly.
She then lifted her face up to meet his gaze, and their eyes locked in a moment of intense connection.
Slowly but surely, her face drew closer and closer to his, and she finally delivered a soft yet incredibly sweet peck on his lips.
The heat emanating from her body caused the moisture in his lips to evaporate with a hiss before she pulled back.
The two share another meaningful moment staring into each other's eyes before they hear the faintest moan of pain from nearby and pull back.
They were going to need to make some quick decisions about Minthara and how to proceed.