It began... when to begin? I suppose I'll start in front of Winthrop's inn, that is as good a place as any. Not much of a place, but visitors are few and far between in Candlekeep, as few are even allowed entry.
Winthrop himself isn't quite as funny as he thinks he is. No sense in correcting him on that end, though; he's a decent person, and deserves to have his fun. I knew I'd miss him. But before I bought what I needed from him and left him behind forever, I'd need to find a few more gold pieces; Gorion... I haven't introduced Gorion yet, have I? He was- don't worry, I'll get to him.
Anyway. He hadn't left me with much money, so perhaps making one last round of the keep would help me make a bit more. Besides, I needed to make a few goodbyes.
"It's hard to find, decent folk nowadays..."
Ah, Firebead. A link to the outside world. If I never returned, perhaps I would still see him from time to time at his Beregost home.
A few people didn't quite keep their possessions upstairs secured enough. I certainly didn't feel good about it, but it was necessary... I needed the help. I needed all the help I could get. I learned that quite painfully soon enough.
Phlydia could always be relied upon to forget something! Today it was a history of the southern land of Halruaa. Why Halruaa? Ah, well... trying to understand Phlydia's mind is a foolish task for anyone to undertake.
One of the buildings along the way contained a man I didn't recognise. Someone new, in Candlekeep? I knew to be suspicious, and I was correct. He lunged at me with a knife and cut me above the eye... thank the gods I had my staff with me, and with one strike I killed him. He would, sadly enough, only be the first of many.
Parda was outside to meet me after it happened. He always knew when something was wrong.
: "Oh Parda! There was a man in there, he smelled like the stables, and he - and he tried to kill me, it was horrible..."
Parda: "Hurry then, child. Equip yourself at the Inn and go join Gorion on the steps of the library... I had a sense something like this might happen."
I didn't listen. I never did.
Dreppin knew where Phlydia's book was, of course, and it was simple to return the book. Her reward was a nice little gem... just that much more toward my preparations.
Dreppin had told me to return, and had his own task for me once I did. Perhaps it would be longer than I thought before I had a chance to leave! But I wasn't about to let anyone down. These were the people I grew up among. They deserved a few helping hands for one last time.
[
I cut out a bit of Jondalar giving purely gameplay control information about how to attack people.]
Jondalar offered a "fair" fight. Probably trying to teach me a lesson about expecting the unexpected, but as his friend Erik who was the "unexpected" was glad to point out, I already knew that. Still, that was something to keep in mind for the days ahead, if I were to be outside the safe walls of the keep. Gorion, I knew, would be happy that I was still learning even as I was preparing to end my education there.
Reevor, that old taskmaster, had a different education in mind, intentionally or no. One in disappointment. A task, dealing with rats, and a tiny reward at the end.
Hull. He had spent the night drinking, not too unexpected; he and Fuller were always at it. But he wasn't a bad person, either. No reason to get him into trouble.
I figured to take the opportunity to walk over to Gorion and make sure he knew I was making progress towards getting ready, but I was intercepted along the way. Imoen. Of course. If there was something for her to learn or discover, she would, and if that had something to do with the halfling she had grown up alongside, so much the better. I wasn't about to tell her to go back to Winthrop - if she wanted a bit of time off, she deserved it.
: "I'm afraid I cannot chat today, little one. My foster father wishes for me to prepare for a journey, but will not say to where."
No reason to try and hide anything from her. She was far too bright to fool like that.
: "Little one? I'm not much younger than you, though you sure got tall fast. Relatively, anyway."
:
"I suppose I invited that remark...": "A journey, eh? I never get to travel. Wish I could go with ya. Yep, I really wish I could. Yessir. Really do."
: "There is no way you can come. Gorion would never allow it."
: "Oh, I know. Old stick-in-the-mud that he is, all worried about nothing, I'm sure. Better go now, 'cause you've got a long ways to travel... not... not that I would know, especially since I didn't peek at old Mr. G's private letters. No sir. Better go now, byebye."
She was going to come along. I could tell right then and there, and she wanted me to know it. She was too smart to let things like that slip otherwise.
"Oh, my child, I am glad I have found you."
There was Gorion. My father. Not by blood, of course; but since before I could remember, since the very day I had been brought from the halfling land of Luiren and from my dead mother to Candlekeep. He had guided my education. He had introduced me into the circles of the Avowed. He was everything that had shaped me during all my years growing up. If I didn't know better, I would say that
he was the one who made who I am, but of course it is never that simple. Still... he had his own part in it, and quite an important one.
: "Please, father, tell me where we will be going."
Gorion: "Alas, I cannot, for I have not truly decided yet. All that is certain is that we will be far safer on the move. Perhaps the woods might offer some secluded security, or perhaps the city of Baldur's Gate would offer cover amidst its teaming throngs of people. I do not know where we shall end up, but I have a few friends here and there. Hmmm... I will think on this...
: "What could possibly harm us here? This place is a fortress, and guarded beyond measure."
Gorion: "Candlekeep is indeed a formidable obstacle for ne'er-do-wells, but it is not insurmountable. No matter how thick the mesh, at least one mosquito always finds its way through. No, my child, we must leave as soon as possible, for our safety, and for that of our friends here."
I had learned that well already, as the cut above my brow proved.
: "What should I bring with me on this journey? If you would just give some clue as to what I will need..."
Gorion: "My dear child, you should know yourself well enough to purchase the gear you need. I have given you what I can spare, so hurry off to the Inn and speak with Winthrop. Use your skills as a reference and buy what basics you must, though spend wisely. His prices are fair, but you may not have enough gold to purchase all that you would want."
: "Just wait a little longer. There are a few more things I must do."
One of them, apparently, being letting the Gatewarden and his odd manner of speech try to pull me into another bit of training. I didn't have time for it, though... Hull needed his sword, Dreppin his antidote, and Gorion me. Still, I told him to keep the door open just in case I changed my mind.
Then, inside another building, I heard a disreputable-sounding voice:
"I've a blade with your name on it."
He was not difficult to kill, but he got a couple more cuts in on me. Gorion was right. It wasn't safe here anymore. A few more tasks, then it was time to leave.
Karan, my main teacher, agreed. Everything was conspiring to drive me out of Candlekeep, for reasons that would only become clear in time.
But one final task appeared as I entered the barracks to get Hull's sword and the antidote. I was to go in that direction to deliver the antidote in any case, after all, it would not be out of my way to get those bolts.
The next few minutes flew by. My mind was elsewhere. On the men who had attacked me. On Gorion's concern. Something was going on that I simply had no chance to understand, not on my own. Distance and time were all I had to learn with. Any more moments spent in this place would only count towards my own end, I knew that now.
Fuller had given me an enchanted dagger, though the exact nature was unknown to me. Still, a very useful gift, even if I couldn't use it myself without breaking my vow not to use a weapon that spilled blood directly.
Hull's sword was the last task remaining in Candlekeep. My time here was at an end. Time to return to Winthrop.
I equipped myself with the best he had to offer. Splint mail, large shield, morning star, helmet. I felt safe inside the armour. As though nothing could touch me. At the same time, I knew better, but that basic confidence would be sorely needed once I stepped out of the only safe place I had ever known.
Tethoril, the First Reader of the keep and second man in the Avowed under Ulraunt himself, had the scroll I nearly forgotten to get next to those chanting the prophecies of Alaundo. Alaundo! The wisest man to have ever set foot within the walls of Candlekeep, the man for whom the place was famous. He had not written the Roll of Years, but it was his name with which that great document that names the years past and future is most often and most fittingly conntected. After I hastily returned with the scroll to Firebead and allowed him to give me his own little boon, I decided to listen to the chanting one last time:
"When shadow descends upon the land, our divine lords shall walk among us as equals. So sayeth the great Alaundo."
:
"The Time of Troubles, during the Year of Shadows, only a decade ago... I am glad the destruction that came with the gods being cast from their places for a time did not reach Candlekeep.""In the Year of the Turret, a great host will come from the east like a plague of locusts. So sayeth the wise Alaundo."
:
"The Tuigan Horde, if my memory serves correctly... this year has also passed, eight years ago, and the horde defeated, yet they still chant it?""The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos will be sown in their passing. So sayeth the wise Alaundo."
:
"That one certainly hasn't come to pass yet. Though Bhaal is dead, certainly. But if his presence in this world is not yet gone, there will be chaos indeed.""When conflict sweeps across the Dales, the great lizards of the north shall descend with fire and fury. So sayeth the great Alaundo."
"The wyrm shall wander the earth, and such a pestilence shall follow in his wake that all who know of his passing, shall be struck down by the plague. So sayeth the wise Alaundo."
Those last two I wasn't familiar with, but I kept them in mind. Who knew what Alaundo's prophecies might bring in the future? Perhaps I would ask Imoen sometime what they were, she might know... but not yet. If she did follow - she undoubtedly would - I could always ask in the future.
It was, finally, time to leave. As we stepped through the gate, however, Gorion stopped and turned to me:
Gorion: "Listen carefully. If we ever become separated, it is imperative that you make your way to the Friendly Arm Inn. There you will meet Khalid and Jaheira. They have long been my friends, and you can trust them."
He also made sure to heal my wounds. Did he already suspect something?
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Topic: Let's Play Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast (Read 10430 times)