[ Resilience is one word for it. Conditioning might be another. For 200 years, Astarion has endured every torture Cazador's depraved imagination could conjure and more often than not, still be expected to go out and hunt the following night so long as he was able to walk. Suffering and fear were never impediments to his charm—they were the drive behind it. Be charming enough and he could keep Cazador fed. Content. And most importantly, not as inclined to amuse himself with Astarion the following day.

There is no guarantee his master is here and even if he is, Astarion no longer knows what might stay his hand. But there is another reward being dangled before him now, one that is perhaps even more precious than a single day's reprieve from his master's wrath:

An ally. And a powerful one at that. Of course Astarion will do what he can to show himself to be worth the man's help. ]

That's reality for you, isn't it? It doesn't sound too much different from Baldur's Gate, truth be told. It was easy for a man like Cazador to thrive there.

[ His expression darkens on that last thought, his gaze low. But that flash of bitterness is shuttered away soon enough. He adds, primly: ] I don't have much firsthand knowledge on the rest of Faerûn; I'm afraid I'm not the most well-traveled. [ A wry smile. ] But tell me: what does one deem a "mystical animal" in the kingdom of Ravka?