Okay so I've been playing the heck out of Pillars of Eternity, and it's so goddamn good. I legit managed to reach halfway through Act III before Uni and life burnt me out lol I really hope y'all enjoy this little story!

I do not own or have the rights to Pillars of Eternity, it belongs to the amazing and wonderful Obsidian.

A light snowfall had fallen upon Russetwood, dusting the old trees and the ground with snow. A sign of an impending snowstorm, most hunters and trappers had already made their way back to Stalwart Village. What was eye drawing though was near a pile of bodies, steam pouring from their freshly spilt bodies. The only sign of life here were two people, sitting on a fallen tree near the pile of corpses. On the left was a large Aumaua, her skin a deep blue and her brown hair tied into a messy ponytail.A bloodied sword laid resting against her thigh, the blood dripping onto the freshly laid snow. Her name was Caswen, but the title she went by was more recognizable to the denizens of the White March; the Watcher. The woman sitting next to the Watcher was another woman, or rather what appeared to be a woman. It was hard to tell, given her entire body was made of bronze, a sneer etched onto her metallic face.

"Hey Caroc...you okay over there?" Caswen inquired with a frown. "You've haven't said a thing since we dealt with Harmke."

"...Fifteen years. Almost fifteen years, I've been looking for him." The Devil of Caroc sighed. "All that fretting, all that wondering...and the deed is over in less time than it takes to tell."

The Devil just stared straight ahead, the ink-blank marbles of her eyes fixed on some distant point. Her essence swells and swirls in the throes of contemplation.

"Well...how do you feel now?" Caswen inquired.

Instead of a proper response, the Devil of Caroc responds only with silence, continuing to stare straight ahead. The only sound that could be heard was the dull clicking of something within Caroc's chest. A tired sigh soon escaped from the Devil, as she slowly turned to face Caswen.

"I've killed a lot of people, in my time. Felt their blood slick in my hands, smelled their flesh as it burned." Devil muttered, looking down at her hands as they twitched and spasmed. "And always I used to imagine what it would be like to have Harmke under my knife, feeling his breath come hot and fast smelling the fear ooze out of him…"

"And?"

"Couldn't feel a thing. His fading pulse weren't no more than a patter of rain to me." The Devil shrugged, letting her arms clatter to her sides. "This body...it weren't made for feeling. Gouging my fingers into Harmke's wasting flesh, his screams just a buzzing in my skull...all it did was remind me."

"Remind you of what?" The Watcher asked, head tilted in confusion.

"That this, all of this? Its just a madman's fever dream. Like in a prison - but no, cause in a prison, you lay your head down and feel the straw soft beneath you, your flesh prickling in the cold, black bread crumbling on your tongue…"

The Devil of Caroc turned her arms in front of her, examining the scrollwork on the back of her hands. Her bronze face, normally devoid of most emotions, had contorted into a look of horror and wonder.

"I still dream I'm folk. I wake up some mornings wondering why I can't feel the floor beneath me. Thinking I must've fallen or gone crippled. But then...then I lift my head. See a bronze corpse stretching out in front of me."

She lowers her head, a tremor running through her. Caswen stares at the Devil of Caroc, unsure of what exactly to do, before slowly reaching over and enveloping her into a tight hug. Her bronze body felt cold against Caswen's skin, but the Watcher held the hug tightly. The Devil froze at the contact, before awkwardly reciprocating the hug.

"Im so sorry, Caroc." Caswen stated, letting go of the hug. "It's not fair, what happened to you."

"Bleeding heart, it's not pity I want. It's a choice." The Devil of Caroc stated, drawing back from the Watcher. "I dream, ya know? I dream of what Galvino did that night. Those moments...I'd endure another Cold Morn, if it would spare me this fate."

She rubs her hands together, tracing her even joints with her fingertips.

"What happened, exactly?" Caswen inquired.

"Was after I got caught in Stalwart. They'd locked me in a little house by the inn - the old mayor and his cronies. A crowd of 'em came for me in the dark of the night. I was only surprised it had taken them so long." The Devil dips her head, looking at the ground beneath her bronze feet. "Only they didn't march me to no gallows. No, they snuck me to another house on the edge of town, real shady-like. That's where I met Galvino."

The Devil of Caroc faltered a bit here, the words seemingly dying on her lips, her perfectly sculptured hands slowly rubbing at her knees. Caswen slowly reached over, patting the Devil of Caroc on her shoulder, a sign of understanding and comfort. A smile, or what Caswen thought was a smile, appeared on Caroc's face for a split second, before she let out a small sigh.

"Galvino...he was fiddling with some machinery in his workshop. Had his sleeves rolled up even thought it was cold enough to see your breath." The Devil continued on, having found her courage again. "Never actually looked at me til he started fitting some copper helmet over my head. By that time, the mayor's goons had me trussed up good and tight. Galvino was haivng himself a grand old time barking orders at that lot, that bastard…"

"What did the mayor have to do with this?" Caswn asked.

"He'd agreed to hand me over to Galvino for an 'experiment'." Caroc waves her hands at the word, metal flashing. "Claimed it was a fiar punishment but the townfolk were none too pleased at being denied their stone-pitching. Didn't help that they heard the jangle of copper in the deal. In the end, that's what sent Galvino and the old mayor packing."

"So while Galvino's fastening that helmet over my head and them copper bands 'round my arms, I'm staring to look at his contraption. And that's when I see it." Her black eyes are fixed on some indefineable point, her essence dimming. "It's this metal suit, strapped into the machine just like me. A cold, dead-eyed thing, all done up with fancy carving and such."

"I'm guessing you had no idea what was about to happen?" Caswen asked.

"I had this terrible cold feeling in my gut, but I still couldn't figure…" The Devil slowly shook her head. "I start asking Galvino aand the rest of them what the fuck was going on, but they're too busy to answer. Then, suddenly, they're waiting, staring at me with that fixed, horrified look. But they ain't watching me, they're watching for something to happen. Galvino tells the woman nearest the machine to flip the handle."

"And then? Then...just pain. Being torn apart, every which way, feeling my soul peeled straight from my body." The Devil's limbs twitch and shudder, as if she was back in that lab that fateful night. She pauses, waiting for her body to fall still. "By the tame I came to, I couldn't feel a thing. Just this dull, distant sort of ache. I heard the old man cackling and chattering. When I saw him looming over me, looking down at me with hungry eyes, I tried to scream. Tried to swing at him. Think that was when I knew."

The Devil slowly shakes her head, falling silent. Her black eyes stared straight ahead, staring at something in the distance. Caswen sat there silently, trying to formulate a proper response to what she had just heard. After all, what exactly could you say to such a story? Instead, Caswen reached over, wrapped an arm around Caroc's shoulders. Caroc went stiff at the contact, but slowly relaxed into the sideways hug.

"Listen, Caroc…" Caswen started.

"Don't you dare get sentimental on me, bleeding heart." The Devil of Caroc sighed. "I can't stand it."

"Just hear me out, please?" Caswen asked.

Silence fell between the two for what seemed like an eternity, before the Devil sighed and nodded her head slowly. A small smile graced Caswen's face, before she continued on with what she was saying before.

"I know...well I know you don't like all this heart to heart shit, so I'll keep it brief. You're my friend, and when all this stuff here is done and dusted, I want you to come with me back home to Caed Nua. I think you'd like it there."

"You mean that old fortress that's haunted?" The Devil inquired, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Oh sure, sounds like a perfect place for me to rust away in."

"Oh I doubt you'll rust away, given how busy you'll be." Caswen continued, smiling. "After all, I want you to be my personal bodyguard."

The Devil slowly turned her head, her black eyes burrowing holes into the Watcher's skull. As seconds seemed to stretch out into hours, the Devil threw her head back and let out a loud laugh, clutching at her sides. After what seemed like an eternity, the laughter finally died down, before the Devil of Caroc finally responded.

"All this cold must've finally gotten to you, bleeding heart." Caroc stated, shaking her head. "You want me, a murderer locked inside of this metal suit, to look out for you? Oh yeah, that'll definitely go over well back home."

"I'm being serious, Caroc. I trust you a lot, and I've seen how you fight. You're just as good, maybe even better, than Pallegina or Maneha. So it only makes sense to have someone as tough and skilled as you, looking out for me." Caswen explained. "But also...well, you're my friend, Caroc. And I want to help you out."

"Help me out?"

"There's gotta be someone that can fix you, in this world." Caswen answered. "If not getting you a proper body back, but letting you feel things again. The wind in your face, the taste of food, the grass beneath your feet, all of that. I promise you we'll find you a solution, I swear it."

"That all sounds good and all, but that's all it is right now; words and promises." The Devil muttered, shaking her head. "For all I know, that bastard Galvino is the only person in the world who figured out how to do that shit and Im stuck like this til I fall apart."

"I know it may seem like a long shot, but I'm not going to stop my friend." Caswen answered. "I want to help you out, help you feel things again. Please Caroc, trust me when I say I just want to help you."

"...oh you bitch." The Devil of Caroc muttered, her voice sounding warbly. "I told you not to get sentimental."

Caswen let out a small chuckle, before she enveloped the Devil of Caroc into a tight hug. The hug felt a bit different this time though, at least to Caswen. It felt warmer, somehow. The Devil let go of the hug, before looking up at the sky.

"We better head back before night falls." Caroc muttered, as she slowly stood up. "I don't want the others getting any ideas about the two of us, especially that Hiravias. Little mongrel already spends too much time pondering about Pallegina, I don't need him starting up on me…"

And What To Do Now? is done and dusted! I hope y'all enjoyed it!

Love,

The Desert Dancer