"Heya, it's me, Imoen!" the girl dressed in pink said, and quickly added, "Don't shoot!"
I had been twirling a bullet in my sling with lethal force for the slightest hint of trouble. Right then the trajectory was aimed in Imoen's direction, who put her hands up in surrender.
I knew she was coming, of course. Eventually. In my defence, I had been hyper vigilant the whole night knowing that my hunters could still be out there. Keeping out of sight may have been a requirement for surviving the horrible night that was not shown in-game. I wasn't in the mood to take chances.
Eyebags had formed under my eyes and I was definitely not in a good mood. I stopped twirling my sling and sighed, mostly in relief. The fact that I had survived until Imoen arrived meant that the danger of being discovered by the armoured figure had passed. Probably.
Anyone's who's played Baldur's Gate 3 knows who the armoured guy is, of course. When I first played the game, I didn't have a name to my nemesis. Right now, all his plans, his motivation why he wanted ME dead in particular, were known to me. But based on my experience with trying to prevent Gorion's death, it didn't appear I could be any greater a thorn in his side than the original main character was. Certain things were fated to happen. I just had to get there by patiently following the process.
…or did I?
Meeting Imoen in person gave me the opportunity to ask her some questions I always had in the original game. "You really didn't think to buy your own set of armour and a shortsword? Before leaving everything to go on a dangerous adventure, I mean."
"Ye're kidding, right? I came for wild adventure, not danger and death. Not as soon as we step 10 yards outta Candlekeep!" Imoen replied, "Besides, ye're the one with the knack of finding money, not I."
No kidding on that last part. She only contributed 2gp to our party's funds.
Imoen went silent when I pulled out a set of studded leather armour from my pack, as well as 4 stacks of arrows and a shortsword, then handed it to her.
"…you knew I'd come for ya," she said quietly as she eyed the gear in her hands. The armour was her size.
Wow. In-game Imoen never put me on the spot like this. Got to keep that in mind when I use my foreknowledge to my advantage. "You did say you wanted to come. Has anyone ever managed to stop you before?"
I was quite proud of that response. Good thinking on my part, if I do say so myself.
"And ya knew I didn't save enough to buy my own stuff," she added under her breath, her cheeks turning red.
Yeah, didn't need to answer that one. I put my hands on my sides and looked at her with a knowing, gentle smile. Because you're my childhood friend. I know you.
Seriously, you're the dedicated thief here Imoen. Only reason you've not built up a nest egg for yourself is because you enjoy the good things in life. You did take after ol' puffguts, Winthrop in that regard. Those thoughts I kept to myself. What I did say was, "Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me. After all that has happened, I could use the company."
And I meant it too. I was Sonny, after all. Not just the isekai-ed person from another world. And I was really, truly in the pits right now. Having my childhood friend with me made a world of difference.
She blushed some more, and equipped the gear I had prepared quietly.
Meanwhile, I was considering another conundrum. My childhood friend had left everything behind for me. Candlekeep was closed to her as far as she knew, closed to Winthrop. That's how Candlekeep functioned, to enter you donate a tome of appropriate rarity. No exceptions even for me or Imoen.
Considering all Imoen sacrificed for me, was I going to prove worthy of that loyalty, or turn my back on her?
In spite of my teasing, where she lacked cheap basic equipment like armour and shortswords, Imoen made it up with other, more eclectic preparation of her own. Other than the shortbow, she had 3 healing potions (bringing our total healing potions to 6), an Oil of Speed, and a Wand of Magic Missiles. The Oil of Speed was a potion which emulated the effects of a haste spell; move movement and more attacks for a whole hour. Very solid. The Wand of Magic missiles shot out a single magical missile that ALWAYS hits for 1d4+1 magic damage. It had a minimum Intelligence of 9 which I had made sure to meet all the way back in character generation. That minimum Intelligence requirement of 9 was going to come up a lot. Moreso if I ever reached the Throne of Bhaal expansion content.
"Ya know," Imoen said as we moved along with eyes wide open, looking out for trouble, "When I said I saw the letter on Gorions body, I don't mean we gotta get it back. Are you sure it's safe?"
"No. But we need answers," I replied. "I've been watching for the movements of the ambush party. They're long gone. But we're in the wilderness, so we have to watch out for the local wildlife."
I hadn't actually taken the risk of watching them leave from a distance to make sure they were gone, of course. Returning to the site where Gorion was murdered might seem like a terrible idea, but from in-game experience I knew that the perpetrators had long left the area, perhaps in search of me. In-game, even if the player purposely searched for the ambushers, the armoured guy and his female cleric who survived the battle with Gorion were nowhere to be found. Not yet.
I was counting on the fact that if the ambush was fated to happen, so was not meeting the armoured stranger as of right now. As long as I didn't go out of my way to break the order of what was fated, things should proceed smoothly.
Case in point, trying to avoid the ambush party worked against me. In the original game, the fated event happened in a circle of rocks that was devoid of hostile creatures. Since the ambush site shifted due to my intervention, I wasn't so certain the new ambush site was clear. These minor differences with the game could literarily be the death of me in the future, so I had to regard them carefully.
Scenic-wise, a romp through the countryside of the Sword Coast wasn't particularly different from medieval Europe. I've heard game journalists call Faerun aka the Forgotten Realms the most generic fantasy setting available. That sentiment is ENTIRELY mistaken. That would be like saying Bram Stoker's Dracula is a generic vampire novel. Faerun was THE high fantasy setting that most of the high fantasy settings are based on in some form or another. It may not have been the first, but it was the most influential on the RPG scene and the other media which came after, more so than the Lord of the Rings which inspired the Forgotten Realms.
So be it the trees, grass, rocks, road, nothing we encountered wasn't any different from Europe. Think oaks, beeches, and birches; not coconuts, mangrove or bamboo. The air was cool and dry, in spite of the sun blaring. Pseudo-Europe, not Asia or Africa.
Thankfully, the new ambush site of clear of threats as well. Small mercies.
"Would have been awkward having ya stand in front of me anyway," Imoen said in agreement with my sentiment, while literally looking down at me.
"Hey! Dwarves are shorter than you too, and they're plenty tanky!" I snapped back.
"Tank-y? You mean… be like tankards?" Imoen cocked her head quizzically like a curious dog.
Whoops, people of Faerun don't know MMORPG terminology. "Yeah. Big, round, tough enough to take hits like a champion. I coined the term myself. Anyway, we can't stay long and should move quickly."
We worked as a team to salvage what we could of value, me prioritising the letter on Gorion. The damage to his corpse, the look on his face…
I drew back at first, looking away and cringing. I could feel bile gathering at the back of my throat. Gathering my strength, I forced myself to look, close his eyes which were frozen in terror and laid his body as dignified a pose as I could. There was no time to bury him, so this would have to do.
We made off before putting together what we had scored.
"98 gold pieces, letter, an unidentified magic belt, horn coral gem, a dagger, leather armor, a longsword, a morning star, a shortbow," Imoen recounted, "I get why we took the stuff in the beginning, but why the trash we won't use? We really going to loot all the stuff, all the time?"
The unidentified belt, if I recall, was a belt which gave immunity to cold damage but doubled damage from fire. Why did Gorion even wear such a thing?
"For now. We can stop when we're overflowing with money."
"We got 2000-over gold. We are overflowing with money."
"Enough to hire an army of mercenaries to take out our tall, armored friend with the scary teeth helmet?"
Imoen raised an eyebrow. "Is that an option? No joke, serious question."
"I wish. In fact, that's what that armored guy's doing. I fought off two assassins back at Candlekeep yesterday already."
"WHAT?!?" Imoen exclaimed, "You, you should 'av said something-"
"Shush! Back away quickly!" I said in hushed tones, leading her back, "Wolf ahead. Avoid, move around."
We quickly skirted around, keeping our distance. It was difficult to move stealthily in broad daylight, so we had to rely on staying aware and moving out of sight quickly instead. What I'd give for an auto-pause function that automatically pauses the game when enemies were sighted right now.
I had opted for the security of splint mail due to the difficulty of stealth in the day outdoors. Funnily enough, with my crazy high dexterity score, I was pretty well protected from harm. So together, we could probably take a wolf or two. The bigger issue was that it was imperative to avoid fights as far as possible for now. The priority was to conserve resources until we find a safe haven to which we can return to rest safely and engage with challenges at our own pace. Baldur's Gate wasn't a hack and slash game, it's a CRPG. Exploring the whole map was a dangerous affair, even if you wanted to find all the best hidden stuff in the game.
Besides, I already know where the most notable items are.
I couldn't really think of a way to explain how I knew I'd find a diamond is hidden in a hole in the tree next to the main path (x=4419, y=1955)*. So I just went with, "I got lucky."
Imoen put her hands up in the air in defeat. "See what I mean? You literally find treasure out of nowhere. How am I supposed to compete?"
Hard to argue with that, considering the current context. I decided to keep my mouth shut instead.
Concerning the letter Gorion had, it was addressed to Gorion from a mysterious "E". The letter yields a lot of interesting information while not giving everything away. E had advised Gorion to escape Candlekeep since those under Gorion's care were being targeted.
I already know who E was exactly and what was going on, of course. Heck, I knew E wouldn't resist visiting me in person.
Another bit of advice E gave was to seek aid from travelers along the way, even strangers. A party is stronger than going solo. E was familiar with Khalid and Jaheira as well who were, again, currently holed up at the Friendly Arm Inn. But for the meantime, a larger party was stronger.
Which brings us to the two people coming up the road ahead. A man in green wizard robes with a wild look in his eyes, and a male halfling with a sinister countenance. It was obvious just by looking at them that they were not appropriate choices for traveling companions. The truth was even worse.
These two were Xzar and Montaron. They hate each other, but have to work with each other because their boss said so. Their boss being…
I stopped short when we reached them. Montaron, the halfling, and I both looked at each other. He was looking down, I was looking up.
WHY IS MONTARON TALLER THAN ME?!? And why doesn't he have a baby-face?
Montaron sniggered at my expense, apparently amused by the fact he wasn't the shortest person around anymore.
Ugh, these two stooges. First, they offered us a healing potion since it's obvious I've been roughed up lately. My armed was patched up and didn't give me any trouble, but the bandages were pretty obvious and hard to deny.
There's really no issue with accepting the free healing potion, and the pair insist they won't even hold me in debt for it.
"Though your conscience knows otherwise," Xzar added slyly.
"Just like all good people," Montaron said.
And immediately after that they suggest what I can do to repay them. Bring them to Nashkel down south, the opposite direction we were going. Their, ahem, acquaintance, is very concerned about the iron shortage. Specifically, who is getting blamed for it.
Imoen pulled me aside. "Not a chance. Give 'em back their healing potion, if your conscience bothers you. They be giving me bad vibes and I want no part of it. They be slimy as they come. Bad news with a capital B!"
I rubbed my chin. "You're correct on both points. All three points. Well, it's all the same point really. They can't be trusted."
"Yeah!" Imoen did a slight fist pump.
"But we're still taking them with us, I'm afraid," I said, giving her a teasing grin.
"What?" Imoen glared at me. "You gone daft? Montaron says he gonna off me in my sleep! Twice already!"
"E said we should travel in groups, remember? Bigger parties are safer."
"Ol' friend that got fiddle faddle killed, that's what E is!" Imoen snapped back.
"True. He indeed bears some responsibility for what happened to Gorion," I nodded.
Imoen peered at me with her eyes, squinting.
I frowned. "What?"
"You called E a he," Imoen said, giving me a knowing look.
She IS smart, isn't she?
"He, she, that's not the point. You said you wanted to support me, so please accept my judgement call here," I said, "And if it's the truth you want, the simple truth is I'm expecting trouble. Big trouble. I want the insurance… uh, the assurance that we have more options to work with. That means we can't be picky right now who our traveling companions are."
I took a deep breath after my tirade. "We'll just need to sleep with one eye open."
Xzar and Montaron added 10gp more to the party funds. Montaron was armed with a shortsword, had studded leather armour, and like Imoen also had his own Healing potion and Oil of Speed. Xzar, a dagger. Xzar also had two mage scrolls; Larloch's Minor Drain (quick guaranteed 4 damage at range. Useful) and Chill Touch (make a melee attack to inflict 1d8 damage and -2 THAC0 penalty, save negates. Useless).
Mage scrolls aside, we now had 8 healing potions total, 2 Oils of Speed, a Potion of Clarity, and a Wand of Magic Missiles. How we used these consumables resources could be critically important quite soon.
Or not. That depended on the path we take at the upcoming crossroads.