38Chapter Eighteen: Angst and Mass Slaughter
They did not see Ajantis on their way out. They slept at one of the more frugal inns and headed out into the morning. The mists were rising around them, and they headed past the Burning Wizard Inn.
Imoen looked pretty cheerful, as usual, while Neera just looked tired. She was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Jaheira was pretending to be awake, while Charname was just fine. He'd slept fitfully last night and was looking forward to inflicting more violence.
"Alright, here we go! Onto adventure at once!" said Imoen.
"Adventure, child?" said Jaheira. "You realize we are already below full strength, and one of our numbers is not yet to be trusted."
"Speaking as a wild mage, I find that offensive," said Neera. "Just because my magic may randomly turn all of us yellow for two hours doesn't mean I'm not reliable."
"But approaching us under false pretenses may well," noted Jaheira. "In any case-"
And then a halfing walked up to them, muttering to himself. "What's a thief to do, huh? You invest in some Boots of Stealth, you set up shop in the badlands to the south of
Beregost and then, wham! Along comes a tribe of hobgoblins, and they tear the boots from right off your feet!"
"You're lucky they didn't behead you," said Charname.
"Damned, blasted bullies is what they are, and I'll pay one hundred gold to whoever can get them back to me, I will." said the halfing. "I'm Zhurlong, by the way, and you'll find me at the burning wizard. Oh, look! It's Drizzt Do'Urden."
Charname didn't look and instead focused on Zhurlong as he rushed off. "...He stole my gold, didn't he?" He checked his wallet and looked at it. "Yes. Yes, he did. How did he..." He shook his head. "Fine, let's go get those boots, and maybe he'll give us our gold back."
"Or we could beat him to a pulp, take all his gold, get the boots and use them for ourselves!" said Neera.
"Neera, I'm ashamed of you. We're adventurers, not bandits," said Charname.
"Well, what's the difference?" asked Neera.
"Bandits kill people to take their stuff," said Charname. "We kill monsters to take their stuff and return some of it to people. It's okay because they have fangs, and we don't."
"Well yeah, but what about bandits?" asked Neera. "You kill them and take their stuff."
"They don't count as people," said Charname.
"What standard-" began Jaheira. "Nevermind. On to High Hedge."
And so they began their journey. For some hours, they went on, cutting out into green lands with dreary clouds above them. Light rain pelted down on them for a bit, and soon they came into a series of hills and trees. Ridges could be seen around.
"So, do you think we'll run into the undead out here?" asked Neera.
"I hope so. If we don't, we'll be out a job," said Charname.
"Indeed," said Jaheira. "Our purpose is the destruction of these creatures. Were we not to encounter them, it would run contrary to our plans."
And then they heard the rattling of bones and out of the trees surged many skeletons. Each one held battered shields of wood and carried daggers. Hurling them, they sent blades spinning toward them.
Charname knocked one aside as he rushed forward.
"For the fallen!" cried Jaheira.
Together they rushed forward. An arrow from Imoen hit one of the skeletons and rattled amount the bones. Jaheira brought down her staff to cave in the creature's skull. At the same time, Charname assaulted with duel blades. Then Neera ran into things and started smashing about with her staff.
A skeleton swung around a sword and nearly took her head off.
Neera ducked under and hit the thing, only for her staff to bounce off. "Eating flaming, and possibly frosty, death!"
Charname brought down his swords to cleave through the thing several times. Jaheira, at the same time, destroyed the last one.
"That deals with this group," said Charname. "But there are probably others around. Neera, why are you using that staff?"
"Oh, um, I figured maybe I could save my spells?" said Neera, nervously.
Charname picked up the throwing daggers from the daggers and looked at them. "...These are of recent make. They're not broken or rusted at all.
"Someone must be supplying these skeletons."
"Who?" asked Neera. "Some kind of nuts magician?"
"Maybe," said Charname, "if we can find a local, we could find out more about this. Take these throwing daggers and use these instead." He tossed a belt of blades to her.
"But I have no idea how to use these," said Neera.
"Just believe in yourself and aim at things far away from me," said Charname. "At least you won't be within sword reach."
"There is wisdom in this decision," said Jaheira. "The mage ought to be kept away from the battle."
"Fine," said Neera.
And so they journeyed on.
They headed east for some hours, and soon the sun began to set. Distantly, Charname could see the hills in which Ajantis had headed. He wondered if they might run into Tazzok and the others?
"Look there, I can see lights," said Imoen. "Does anyone live in these places?"
"Yes, there are scattered farmsteads all throughout the Sword Coast," said Jaheira. "Before Cloakwood became more dangerous, my fellow druids and walked these lands. We'd best head there, they may be able to tell us more."
Soon enough, the house came into view. And with it were several shadows. Imoen set an arrow to her bow and drew it back. "Giant spiders!"
An arrow was loosed and struck one of the beasts as they scuttled forward.
Charname moved forward, drawing his swords and striking off a leg. As he did, however, the creature bit his hand. The chain held up, but the pain caused him to drop his sword. Stabbing it with the other, he saw Jaheira striking down another.
The other spiders turned and fled. Neera hurled a dagger, that went wide, while Imoen drew her own arrow. Launching it, one of the beasts howled and fell dead with an arrow in it. The other was blasted by a bolt of red light.
Charname pulled back his sleeve and saw a bloodied wound. The pain made him feel more real.
"Charname, are you hurt," said Jaheira.
"A bit," admitted Charname, before sending forth his power and healing it.
Imoen, meanwhile, came out of the house carrying a bag of gold and several pieces of jewelry. "Um, Charname, nobody is home, but the fire is still burning. From the looks of things, someone left this place in a hurry."
"Put that back, Imoen," said Charname.
"Oh come on, this is probably the hunting lodge for some stuffy noble or something," said Imoen. "Ordinary people wouldn't have this kind of stuff lying around."
"Or it might be the home of a merchant who had to flee in a hurry," said Charname. "We're not robbing them. Put it back."
"Fine," said Imoen with a sigh.
And then, out of the shadows walked a young man with a short sword at his side. He wore a hood over his head, and was very handsome, but seemed to be shifting. "Hold where you are, travelers! I'm in the beginnings of the grandest of tales. Yet I cannot hear my muse with all the endless clamor of this place!"
Charname didn't know what to think of this.
"Of course you can't hear your muse," said Imoen quickly. "You have to say your thoughts out loud first."
"Very well then, fair damsel," said the man. "Then I shall recite: There's a powerful mage living just over that rise. Magic items are scattered like rain on a field.
Yet two hideous golems of flesh guard the mage him, and there is not a shadow where this noble thief can hide. No sword or axe can pierce such powers. Yet there must surely be a way for a Bard such as myself to outwit the witless...
"No, I shall find some fair maiden to guard. This cup is yours to take up if you will."
And he wandered off into the middle of the undead infested night.
"What is wrong with people in this country!" said Charname finally.
"Adventuring tends to attract... eccentrics," said Jaheira.
"I'd say your one of them, Charname." said Neera.
"That's not true," said Imoen. "Charname is perfectly sane. So what are we going to do now?"
"Wander aimlessly killing things until we find the right thing to kill," said Charname. "It will reduce the surplus populace of monsters and also get us things we can sell for money."
"Perhaps that mage he mentioned can tell us a thing or two," said Imoen. "He might know where all these bandits are hiding. I mean, as long as we're here anyway."
"And maybe I could learn from spells from him," said Neera. "Assuming he's not a Wizard of Thay who wants to dissect me."
"Fine, we'll take our murder spree down that direction," said Charname. "We head north."
"The bard motioned south," said Jaheira.
"Does it really matter?" asked Charname. "South it is."
"It is night," said Jaheira.
"What of it?" asked Charname.
"Darkness falls, and nature sleeps. Why do we tramp about?" snapped Jaheira.
And then a knife flew past his left shoulder. Charname whirled around, drawing his sword and saw still more skeletons coming. These were in larger numbers than before.
"More skeletons! Death to you all!" cried Charname before rushing into the fray.
And so began a skirmish which ended with a lot of bodies and a lot of valuable experience gained. Charname didn't find any really good loot, but he had killed a lot of things, so that was nice.
He could have stopped to sleep, but he wasn't tired, and he judged that the others could still fight. Nobody had been hurt, after all. And so it was that Charname led them further south, into the darkness of the night. They ran across several more patrols of skeletons and killed them all.
Then, just as Charname was about to call for them to rest, Jaheira stiffened. "Wait...
"Something is coming." She threw herself to the ground and listened. "Wild dogs and gnolls."
Rising up, Jaheira raised her staff.
"Jaheira, you and I will form a front line," said Charname. "Try to catch them in entanglement. Neera, cast your magic as they come, Imoen will shoot her arrows!"
"Die scum!" came a snarling voice.
Then out of the trees came dogs and gnolls. The humanoid dog-headed monstrosities each carried a halberd and move toward. As they rushed forward, three things happened. First, Jaheira sent forth a spell of light. Vines reached up to take hold of the gnolls as they moved forward, leaving the dogs to attack alone.
Then Neera sent out a bolt of fire. Yet instead of shooting forward swift and sure, it launched out in a beam of light. Imoen let out a cry, and Neera fell backward. Then the dogs were on them.
Charname sidestepped one and ran it through. Then he brought around his other sword to cleave down another. Jaheira beat in the skull of a dog, before sending it falling down. Then the gnolls were free, and they rushed forward.
The beasts attacked as one unit, jabbing with coordinated strikes. Charname soon found himself having difficulty holding his own. And he worried that Imoen or Neera might have been killed.
And then more bolts of energy came at them and arrows too. The gnolls were burned, howled, and Charname took his chance. Two fell to the arrows and spells. Another died to his swords and a third to Jaheira, until, at last, all were dead.
Turning, Charname saw Imoen drinking a healing potion as Neera ran up to her. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"What happened?" asked Jaheira.
"I didn't mean to... the spell got away from me," said Neera.
"It's fine, nobody is seriously injured," said Charname. Best to cut their losses now. "Jaheira, you're right. We ought to rest for now. I'd say we've done enough damage to our enemies for now."
"Yes," said Jaheira, looking at the dogs.
"What is it?" asked Charname.
"These animals were bred into monsters," said Jaheira. "Such a thing is an abomination."
Charname could have said something like 'we are all monsters', but that would have seemed pretentious. So they made camp and rested after a hard day of murdering.
The next day, they made breakfast using water from a nearby creek. Jaheira had pronounced it safe, of course. As they ate, Neera was oddly silent. Then she spoke. "All this traveling, all this adventure... how do you manage it? Until now, I was barely able to keep my head above water. Yet here with you, it seems almost... easy."
"Easy?" asked Jaheira. "We face our share of danger, Neera."
"Oh well, yes, there's obviously that," said Neera. "I just meant that ordinary things are easier. I'm not constantly worried where my next meal is coming from or whether a kobold will sneak up and slit my throat as I sleep."
"And that was your life before we met?" asked Jaheira.
"Yes, rocks for a pillow, eating clay," said Neera. "My fortune seems to have come in waves. Has ever since High Forest."
"High Forest?" asked Charname. "Is that where you come from?"
"That's me, born and raised in the thicket," said Neera. "At least until my mistakes piled up high enough to come crashing down on me."
"What drove you out of your home, child?" asked Jaheira.
"You know, this and that," said Neera. "I was never a very good student of magic, and part of that could be attributed to never studying. I ended up flubbing a few spells, and, uh... here I am!"
"It would appear that you glossed over some of the finer details," noted Charname, eating some roasted dog.
"A maiming or two, if you don't count the second-degree burns," said Neera. "Completely accidental, and everybody lived. At least, I'm pretty sure everybody lived."
"I find most of the deaths around me are rarely accidental," said Charname. "These people crossed you, didn't they?"
"You really know how to get someone to open up," said Neera. "Why, yes, let me just share intimate details of my past. You put me right at ease."
"You joined our party by leading the Wizards of Thay to try and murder us," said Jaheira flatly. "Wanting to know where you came from is not an unreasonable request."
Neera sighed. "During our magical training, we were supposed to summon a sphere of fire, and mine got away from me somehow. One moment I was concentrating, the next moment, my classmates were rolling on the floor screaming."
"I know the feeling," said Imoen, who still seemed bitter. "Remind me to stand back when you cast a spell."
"You don't need to rub it in," said Neera. "I know better than anyone the harm I caused."
This dog meat was actually quite good. If you properly seasoned it, roasted dog could be just as popular as cow and chicken. Charname was going to have to see if he could get more of this stuff. He found thoughts on that subject far more interesting than Neera's backstory. Though of course, he put on the appearance of being interested. It was only polite.
"So you blame yourself?" he guessed, feeling resigned to playing therapist.
"Of course, I can blame myself!" said Neera. "Accident or not, I should have been more careful. I could have taken responsibility, or at least fetched a bucket of water.
Instead, I ran away, terrified of what I've done."
"That seems like the right time to scarper off if you ask me," said Imoen.
"It's kind of you to put it that way," said Neera. "There are times when I've wanted to think that way. It was confusing, and I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Still...
"Afterwards, I ran into the woods and couldn't bear to go back to face the consequences. I snuck back into the village now and then for food, and once to leave a not for my parents. But eventually, I had to leave.
"I took to wandering High Forest, but I kept running into the wrong people and doing the wrong thing. Eventually, Turlang the treant grabbed me and said, 'Take a hike.' Well, maybe not in those words, exactly." Who was that exactly?
Oh right, Charname didn't care.
"And so you left on your journey." guessed Jaheira.
How long was she going to keep talking like this?! Did anyone seriously care about what she was saying? Granted, Jaheira seemed to have a professional interest. This was not a good social interaction. You had to intrigue people by offhand comments, not dump your backstory at once.
"And so I left High Forest. I've been wandering for a while now," said Neera. "I've got a few ideas for a destination, but I'm still considering them. Come, let us continue this journey together."
"Hey! Charname! This gnoll had silver fillings too!" said Imoen, checking one of the corpses.
"Neera, hand me your knife, this is actually pretty important," said Charname. "If we don't get those silver fillings out of the corpse, we won't make as much money from this murder spree."
Neera looked a little annoyed at this. For his part, Charname was just glad they could get back to killing things.
Author's Note:
Can I just say that I deeply resent the way the making of the Enhanced Edition introduced Neera as a character? While I don't dislike her per se, there are serious issues with how she is written. For one thing, her character is foisted on you in a way that a Lawful Good character must help her.
I also dislike the way her character is written. And I also dislike the responses afforded to my character.
Also, I don't see any reason why Baldur's Gate 3 needs to exist.
And I have a simple way of demonstrating as much:
Is the main character of Baldur's Gate 3, the protagonist from Baldur's Gate 1 and 2? If so, why are you writing off a perfectly good ending? If so, it is not Baldur's Gate.
Neverwinter Knights, Knights of the Old Republic, these games had a different protagonist in each installment. So, it is acceptable to switch protagonists.
However, Baldur's Gate is the saga of YOUR protagonist. Every game revolves around Charname and their developing relationship with the cast. You can't just slap Minsc and Boo into a game and call it Baldur's Gate.
What they are doing is like replacing Optimus Prime with Hot Rod. Or replacing Daniel Jackson with Jonas Quinn. Or killing off Arthas to replace him with Bolvar. It is a sacrilege of a sort because the whole identity of the franchise is caught up in that character. To kill them off and expect the audience to accept an inferior substitute is insulting.
Baldur's Gate is the saga of the player character. If you switch characters, it is not Baldur's Gate.
And the idea that they are bringing back Baal...
No.
God no.
Just... no.
Do I even need to explain why that's a terrible idea? What the hell was the point of the entire series if Baal is just going to reappear out of nowhere and be perfectly fine! It renders the whole game series totally pointless! It destroys all the player's achievements. And for what? So some story writers can live out his power fantasies through the villains.
And boy, if that doesn't sum up game stories in the past ten years. A bunch of idiots with no qualifications are handed a franchise they didn't create. Not because of what they did but because of who they know. They ruin it by putting in a bunch of author insert mary sues and then call people entitled when they say as much. Then they are surprised when it fails.
So I will not be buying Baldur's Gate 3, or even acknowledging its existence henceforth.
