Thrawn would have liked to stay a little longer to study the local culture, but duty had called up away. The day before leaving, Thrawn had made sure to scan local artwork into holographic replicas, for later study. He also left with several local books about culture, history and lore, finding the paper books rather quaint. In his studies, he had come across art depicting humanoids with fangs, much like Astarion. Quickly latching on to this, he had gathered more art of such beings, and cross-referenced them with a book he'd bought.

Vampires. Creatures of darkness, who fed on blood to survive. All the artwork and lore said that vampires couldn't stand the sun, for it burned them. Yet Astarion had been walking around in the day. Still, the teeth and the matching scars, and his aversion to food, all pointed to Astarion being a vampire.

He had also found artwork of mind flayers, giving him more insight into them, as well as Drow, and other races of Faerûn. The history of Baldur's Gate was particularly eventful.

Two weeks later, they returned to Faerûn, the Chimaera hovering over Baldur's Gate once more. Initial scans immediately caught his attention. Something had happened, and he was determined to go down and see for himself. This time he put more effort into blending in, having his synthweavers craft him false elf ears and Drow armor.

He surveyed the damage to the city, immediately recognizing an orbital bombardment when he saw one, which left him confused. How could such a primitive world suffer from an orbital bombardment? What had caused this damage?

During the walk, he spotted a cart full of mind flayer corpses, and ordered Pik and Waffle to take a couple back to the shuttle, for dissection later. With them occupied, Thrawn made his way to the Elfsong, hoping to overhear rumors and gather information from the bartender. That was when he spotted a familiar head of curly white hair.

"Hello again, my elven friend."