#eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee progress!

Dammon grins. "Only one way to find out." He glances at Hector.

Pull her into a hug.

As if he was going to do anything else the moment he was capable of it. One of the first things she told him, almost as soon as they met, was how desperately she wants a hug, and he has spent the intervening weeks realizing how desperately he does too - from her specifically.

He steps forward, reaches out his arms; for a moment she hesitates, as if uncertain that this is really happening. His arms settle on her shoulders, closing around her, pulling her tight into his body. There is no more of that deadly, obliterating heat; she feels warm and solid and real.

When was the last time he gave anyone a hug? He realizes abruptly that he can't remember...

He hears her breath catch next to his ear. Her arms come up around him, enfolding him; she's both taller and broader than he is and the sense of encompassing safety for a moment is entirely complete. She feels it too; sagging into him, she presses her face into his shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispers, muffled into the cloth of his shirt. Her voice trembles. He can feel her shaking with held-in tears. How alone must she have felt, all this time, unable to reach out...

How alone has he been, for so long...

They have to let go. There's so much more to be done. But he holds on, just slightly too long, and he feels her fingertips dig into his back as if unwilling to release him either.

Then it's over. The moment passes.

He draws back, lets his arms fall. The air around them feels monstrously cold after the heat of her body. But he meets her eyes and sees her smile and a shiver goes all through him that has nothing to do with the chill.

He smiles back shyly, then coughs, looks around abruptly. Shadowheart has turned and walked out of the stable. Gale is watching him with a heavy, regretful expression. Dammon, alone of their observers, seems quite pleased.

Karlach, too, seems to become abruptly aware that they are being watched, and turns to the blacksmith with that grin still wide across her face.

"I can't believe it. Thank you, Dammon. So much."

"It's the least I could do," Dammon says with a smile. Then the expression fades, and he looks more serious. "Before you go - there's something I need to tell you."

The bad news from earlier, Hector assumes. He feels anxiety pierce through the warm glow of contentment.

"That engine of yours," Dammon goes on. "It's contained for the moment, but it's just too hot to exist here in the material plane indefinitely. I know you know that, but the thing is...there's a cure."

His eyes flick to Hector, regretfully, apologetically, then back to Karlach. "I wasn't making any headway with the mechanics, none at all. The environment here is just too cold to sustain metals like the ones inside you. You have to return to Avernus - for good - or this thing is going to burn you up from the inside out. And sooner than you think."

Hector suddenly feels as if someone has punched into his chest and removed his heart. Emptiness slashes through him, the warmth gone completely in an instant. In this same moment of finally being able to reach out to her, he's being told that...what? That she will have to leave forever? Return to the hell plane? How can he follow her there?

How can he be without her here?

When did that start feeling like such an appalling thought?

Karlach's shoulders stiffen and she sets her jaw furiously. "The minute I set foot back in Avernus, Zariel will force me back into service. I'm not doing her bidding again. I'd rather die."

Dammon nods, smiles sadly. "I get that. But don't rule it out. The world just might be better with you in it - even in Avernus." He glances again to Hector, then back to her. "I won't stop trying to figure out a cure, but...at this point, I think we all have to face the inevitable."

Hector's fists are clenched at his sides with the effort not to let himself shake with this revelation. They will find a way to fix it, he promises himself. Karlach will not be forced back into that place. He is facing so many other challenges - this one, at least, he will face gladly, if it makes her happy. If it keeps her safe.

"We'll just have to make the inevitable evitable, then," he says firmly.

Karlach looks towards him, and her eyes brighten, seeing his determination matching her own. "You read my mind," she says.

Turning towards the blacksmith, she reaches out and takes his hands in both of hers. "Thanks, Dammon," she says, and her voice trembles again. "You've given me more than I could ever repay."