Out of the Light, Into the Dark



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Author: Megan

Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'Baldur's Gate' related.

Feedback: Yes, please: shy_grrl@hotmail.com

Summary: Two girls fighting for their souls in a cruel world.

Author's Notes: I'm not very familiar with the game itself. I know the story of BG 2, as I watched my sister play it. The idea I have is, that I'll play the game, and write the story as I go along. The problem is, I'm not much of a gamer, so it could take me forever to play it (At the moment I'm in Friendly Arms). Anyways, I'm planning on concentrating in the relationship between Imoen and my own character, Shae'Lynne. Or in short Shy. And also, everything is told in Imoen's pov.



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Chapter One: Good-bye



Chapter Notes: This is told in excruciating detail. I just wanted to give a bit of an overview of the characters. I realize Imoen might not be what you're accustomed to. But this is how I see her.



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Shy is leaving. She is leaving and I'll probably never see her again. How can it be? One day we're wasting away our youth, with no worries in the world, and the next she's leaving. Without me none the less.

"Why can't you take me?", I whine again. We're in her room, and she's packing up her stuff, while I sit on the bed and furiously try to come up with a reason why I cannot be left behind, "Shy? Take me with you!", she just throws her spell book into her bag and glances at me, "Give me one good reason why you can go but I have to stay here?"

"What are you complaining to me about?", Shy says while looking around for stuff she might have forgotten, "I'd love it if you came. Go convince Gorion."

She seems so distant now. She gets that way sometimes. All gloomy and silent. It's weird, because when she's happy, she's SO happy. But that's Shae'Lynne for you. Everything is either or, there is no middle ground. I suppose it's got something to do with her heritage. She's half-elven. With pointy ears and all. Human and elven qualities don't mix that well in my opinion. Elves are used to long age, used to living within the nature. Humans have short lives, they build things to separate themselves from nature. If you mix these two, you got one messy thing in your hands. Add to that the fact that both races look down on these half breeds and you really have no idea what these poor creatures will grow up to be. Well, okay, I'm too young to really know anything about anything. So these are just my own stupid thoughts. Maybe Shy's moodiness has nothing to do with them.

"He won't listen to me", I say, still with the whiny tone. Gorion really dislikes me. He hates it when Shy spends time with me. If it were up to him, the girl wouldn't do anything but read his stupid books up here, locked away from the real world. 'Real world' meaning the rest of Candlekeep. Not much of a real world, just a bunch of stuffy wizards, some military people and a handful of merchants. The only interesting people are the occasional visitors we get.

Shy sits down next to me and places a hand on my shoulder, "Maybe it's better you stay, I really don't like the idea of constantly having to protect you", she grins wickedly.

"You? Protect me?", I laugh, "With what? I'm sure your dagger looks mighty scary to these Candlekeep kids, but it ain't gona help you much against ogres and such. Most likely you'll be running back here before nightfall."

Her grin softens into a smile, "Most likely", she says in a sad tone. She wants to believe the words even though we both know it ain't gona happen, "I've gotta go Imoen", she goes on and gives me a timid hug, "Have to get a new and shiny dagger from Winthrop, so it'll scare off all the bad people."

I smile back at her, "Wouldn't worry about that, if I were you. Gorion can probably blast away every nasty being from here to where-ever you're going."

"Bye then Imoen."

"Bye", I whisper fighting back the tears that swell up in my eyes. I watch her stand up and walk out the door. I've known her for as long as I can remember. She is my family. My only family. Sure Winthrop has been a father figure to me, but I've never felt that close to him. But Shy... there is a connection between us, it's stronger than anything else in my life.

At that moment I decide I won't leave her. I won't!

I quickly jump on my feet and take a couple of steps towards the door. Then something catches my eye. Shae'Lynne's bloodstone necklace. It's hanging from a nail by the door. But she never leaves it. It's the only thing left of her mother. Or so she insists, I'm not a hundred percent sure cause she also claims she doesn't remember anything from her life before Candlekeep. Be that as it may, it is a fact that the girl wore the necklace on the day she was brought to this town. Everyone agrees to that. Gorion may be the only one who knows the truth, but he has never revealed it. Not even to Shy, which in my opinion sucks. What right has he to deny Shy's past from herself?

I grab the jewelry and head out the door before Shy has a chance to get too far. No fear of that I realize when I close her door behind me and start towards the staircase. Shy's room is on the second floor and the stairs lead straight to the main hall and to the front door. That is where I spot Shy talking to her foster father. She doesn't look too happy but agrees to something the man has said by nodding her head. The words are spoken too quietly for me to hear though. I consider shouting to Shy, telling her she forgot the necklace, which is still hanging on my left hand. For some reason I don't though, but instead hide it into one of the pockets in my cloak Quietly I wait there while the two exchange a few more words and then separate, Gorion taking the door to the left, which leads into his private study, and Shy leaving through the front door. The second the coast is clear, I rush down the stairs, and to the front door. There I force myself to wait at least half a minute before opening it, giving Shy just enough time to make her way out of the inner yard and to the streets.

I half run, half walk through the yard, as quietly and as fast as I can, without drawing any attention to myself. Not that there is much danger of that, the only person occupying the space is Tethoril, and he seems lost in his studies under an oak tree. I decide I don't want to take any chances and use my finely toned skills to hide in the shadows. The skill I'm most proud of. I love the fact that I can move around town, and no one knows about me, no one sees me. It is probably not as useful a thieving skill as picking locks, or disarming traps but I love it. I love the freedom it gives me. That is why I've practiced and developed that particular skill above all. I'm very capable in it by now. Sometimes I can hide even in areas where there are no shadows at all. It's all about creating an illusion, picking the right moment to move, and the right moment to stand still. Shadows only make it that much easier, but they are not necessary.

When I reach the walls, and the gateway, that separate the rest of the town from the keep, Shy has already moved on. She has decided to go around the entire inner yard from the north side, using the city streets. Why she didn't just go around the keep and use the back route, which leads straight to Winthrop's inn, I don't know. But then again Shy's decisions tend to be rather hasty, and not very well thought out. I quickly scan the street to see who else is on the move. It's pretty quiet. One of the guards, can't tell which one from this distance, is walking south along the street, probably heading for the barracks. Then there's that old booze hound Hull, who's sleeping at his post by the gate. Honestly, I don't know why they bother to pay for these city guards. They are so useless! Certainly the mages at the keep can defend the town from the occasional raid that sweeps this way.

Well, not my problem anymore, if everything goes right. A small plan has already formed in my wicked mind. I'll just follow Shy around without her knowing, so she won't be able to slip away without me. Then when she finally leaves town with Gorion, I'll follow them from a distance for a day or two. And when we're far enough so Gorion won't send me back alone, I'll make my appearance. Okay, it's a stupid plan, but it better work!

Shy is moving with speed that is uncharacteristic for her. Usually she just slouches around, taking like an hour to get across town. But now, she's walking like a normal person. And with such grace to her movements, I almost don't recognize her for the girl I've known for almost ten years. She only manages to move some fifty yards before being interrupted by Reevor, the dwarf merchant who supplies the town with much of it's food. He's standing by the storehouse he owns, near the town walls. Actually it's built right next to the wall. I quickly skip across the street and edge myself as near the dwarf as I can with still feeling secure about my hiding place. Shy isn't looking very cooperative though.

"I don't have time to do it now, Reevor", she yells from a distance, in response to a question I didn't hear.

"Ye promised to doit yesterday!", Reevor shouts back and isn't very happy himself, "Ive already paid ye forit!"

Shy turns to look along the road towards the temple, where the street turns to west. For a second I think she's just gona start running, but then she turns back, "Fine, I'll do it. Rats again?"

Reevor nods, "Big meanies this time", he says and lights up his pipe.

Shy shudders slightly with disgust, and that makes me smile. How is she supposed to make it out there if she can't face even a couple of rats without feeling squirmish? She gathers herself and walks straight past Reevor into the warehouse, leaving the door open. I follow her in while Reevor pulls in a long breath of his tobacco.

Once inside, Shy makes her way between the piles of boxes to the center of the room taking a firmer hold of her staff. I follow her few feet behind and stay out of sight, why though I don't even know myself. Why did I even follow her inside? There's only one way into and out of this place. No way could she have left without me knowing. But I'm in now, so that's that.

Shy crouches slightly and bangs her staff against one of the boxes. Something furry leaps from behind it scaring the living day lights out of her, "Eeek!", she screams and almost falls on her back as the creature misses her by inches and then falls to the floor, some six feet from her. It's a cat I realize. And so does Shy, "Son of a...", she chuckles and kneels down, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!", Shy tries to encourage the cat to come closer. It is reluctant at first but then takes a few unsure steps. A loud bang from behind us all makes the cat run for cover though.

"Meow", comes a low growling voice from the now closed door. Shy jumps onto her feet and spins around with speed I didn't think her capable of. I follow her example and find a grotesque man standing in front of the door. He has messy brown hair and the face glistens with sweat. His black beard is unattended and his eyes have big black circles around them, clear signs of sleep depravation. Slowly he starts to move closer to Shy and that is when I notice the sword in his hand, a short sword that looks almost rusted through, but it is a sword none the less, "What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?", he asks in that same low voice. Shy takes a step back but doesn't show any other signs of panicking. She still has a good hold on her staff and now she lowers it a little to show she's ready to use it. The man notices this and grins, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?", he says still moving. I start to tiptoe my own way behind the man, just as a precaution. Shy shouldn't have any trouble disposing of a lout like this, if she has her spells ready.

A slow muttering tells me she is about to cast something, so I take a step back, so as not to get caught in the crossfire. The man also hears the muttering and springs into action. He takes a leap over the small box, that separated him from Shy, and raises his sword for a strike. Meanwhile Shy's muttering reaches it's peak and she unleashes a magic missile which strikes the man in the chest, "Ugh!", he growls and loses his momentum for the attack. This gives Shy just enough time to take a step back and raise her staff for protection. I would've thought the missile enough to take him out but apparently I was wrong since the man keeps on going. He swings his sword in a wide arc aiming for Shy's head but she's faster, blocking the strike with the staff. Still the shear strength of the swing is enough to knock Shy's weapon from right off her hands. Oh, for crying out loud! If she can't beat one lousy drunken son of a bitch, how the hell is she gona survive out there? Not the time to wonder about that though, it's time to save my girl.

"Oh boy!", the man bellows and raises his weapon for another strike, "Seems I just won me a nice big, fat reward!"

I rush to close the distance between us, and at the same time pull my dagger out of my belt. Even with leaping the last steps, I'm able to conceal my presence from the two. My interference comes just in the nick of time as the man has already began his attack on poor Shy, who is covering herself with her arms, trying to protect any and all vital organs. I plunge my dagger in the man's defenseless back, striking it with all my strength.

I watch in horror as it sinks deeper and deeper, the whole blade disappears into his soft flesh. It goes in with such ease that it almost feels like I'm not doing anything wrong. But I am. I'm killing a person. A human being, a being with feelings, with thoughts, hopes, dreams. No matter how evil the man now is, he was still born as pure as anyone else. This all floods into my mind after my attack, after it is done. Before it, all I could think of, was that I had to save Shy. I had to kill this man. The thought of killing him even exhilarated me a bit. This weird power rush, I never felt before. But it's gone as soon as the deed is done. Only guilt remains.

As my dagger drains the life out of him, his attack loses all it's strength. The sword only grazes Shae'Lynne's left arm before falling to the floor with it's owner. I stand there with my bloody dagger and gaze over Shy. She seems slightly out of it. Slowly lowering her hands she takes a step backwards and raises her eyes to me. They are full of bewilderment, "It's okay Shy", I try to calm her down.

"You..", she starts to stutter and her gaze flicks between me and the dead man, "You killed him, Imoen."

"Shh..", I say and step closer. Shy jerks back, she would move farther away from me if the wall didn't block her passage, "It's all right Shy. It was him or you."

"I know", Shy says. I realize she's not actually that upset, more like amazed, "Still... I didn't think you could ever kill a man."

And I didn't think I'd have to. At least, not within these walls. And I've never thought of my life beyond these walls. Sure I've fantasized about it, traveling across the realms and all. But I've never went as far as to think about all the dangers. Life on the outside is different, it is full of danger, full of death. We hear the stories, but in Candlekeep that's all they are, stories. And now we're being thrust out there. Or rather Shy is. I'm just following her.

"I didn't do anything wrong", I get a little defensive. I did save her life, the least she could do is thank me. I feel guilty enough on my own.

She turns to look at the body again and keeps her eyes on it for a while. And then she nods, "No you didn't", she says, smiling a little, "You saved me", damn straight.

I observe as she kneels down to take a closer look at the body. She starts to roll it over so as to get a better look at his face, "Let me help", I say and kneel beside her. The man isn't that big, but Shy is really weak as anything. Not only strength wise, but she also has no stamina worth mentioning.

"Your dagger is all bloody", she says when I set it down next to me. I turn and look at it. It's disgusting, covered in the man's blood. I pick the weapon up again and wipe it clean against his ragged shirt, "How did it feel?", Shy asks while watching my cleaning performance with disturbing interest. I don't answer her. I don't want to think about it, I only want to forget it, "Killing the man I mean?"

"I don't wanna talk about it", I finally say putting the dagger back to it's place on my belt. She keeps looking at me a while longer and then let's it go. Together we have no trouble turning the man over. His eyes are still grotesquely open, and it's almost as if he's staring straight at me. I quickly look away.

"He knew me", Shy says.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear his words?", oh yeah the reward talk.

"No, he probably just meant your money."

Shy looks at me. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again. Instead she only shrugs and picks up her staff, "You're right. What do you wanna do with the body?"

"Me? I don't want anything with it", something about the reward thing keeps nagging in my head. If the man was only after Shy's money, he sure picked the strangest place. There are no thieves in Candlekeep. There's no place for them to hide in here.

"Fine. Let's leave it for the rats then", she says and stands up

"Talking about rats...", I say and grab the man's sword before getting up. It is rusty, but I'm sure still worth a gold piece or two. What with the rumors of the iron shortage and all.

"Aww! The rats!", Shy cries out in frustration, "Stupid rats!"

I have to smile at her reaction. It is so genuine. I hardly ever see Shy showing her emotions so openly, "Look, why don't you take care of the rats, and I'll go buy your dagger and stuff?"

She spreads her arms, "I guess there's not much else I can do", she says and starts to mope. Sometimes Shy can be so adorable it breaks my heart, "Bring me some darts too. And maybe..", she reaches in her cloak and pulls out a pouch. She then opens the pouch and starts counting the money. Darts... who uses darts as a weapon? That's just the stupidest invention ever. I make a mental note to bring throwing daggers instead, "If Winthrop has any spell scrolls.."

"He doesn't", I answer quickly.

"Oh", Shy looks up disappointed, "Well, bring me a healing potion from the temple then. There should be enough money here", she tosses the pouch to me.

"Okey dokey", I answer, with mock enthusiasm and turn to leave, "Maybe you should let Reevor know about the body when you're done", I throw in as a last comment before escaping. I hate to leave her alone but I can't stand the sight of the body one second longer. No matter how justified, the fact remains: I killed a man. And it felt good, it felt empowering. And that scares me.

Once I hit the streets again, I'm quick to slip into the shadows. I don't wanna face the angry dwarf and his questions. But his so busy smoking his pipe that I have no worries. And it's a good thing, cause in my agitated state the skill fails me. My step isn't light enough and my moves are not smooth enough. Even a blind man would detect me.

Candlekeep's outdoor temple is only about fifty yards from Reevor's storehouse so I head there first. I don't recognize the priest on duty. That's weird, I know almost everyone in town. Must be a newcomer. There have been more of them during the past months than usual.

"Hey!", I greet him a good distance away.

The priest lifts his gaze from his book and smiles, "Hello child. It is always good to see the young seek the guidance of the wise Oghma."

"Eh.. sure", I'm not much of a worshipper. Not of any deity, and certainly not this one. And I always find it peculiar how the temple charges such outrageous sums for aiding the injured, "I'd like to buy a healing potion if you have any for sale."

"Of course we do. But wouldn't you first like to make a donation to the temple?", this new priest is a slick one. He has the most charming smile.

Luckily, I'm immune to it's power, "No. Just the potion, thank you."

The smile disappears and the priest's eyes narrow slightly, "Fine. A hundred gold pieces."

"A hundred?!", I shout. And the smile works it's way back onto the man's face. He thinks I can't afford it. I hope Shy counted her money right. I'd hate to give this bastard the satisfaction of leaving empty handed. I sigh and count the coins. Ninety. I grin at the priest evilly, "Here's ninety", I say and hand out Shy's pouch.

"But I said.."

"And here's another ten", I throw my own pouch to him.

He isn't happy. Snubs his nose at me and counts the money himself. Twice. Finally, he has no choice but to sell the potion, "All right then", he says and fetches the bottle from a chest, "Please come back anytime"

I place the potion into my pack and keep on grinning, "Oh, I will. Count on it", being able to show the snobby priest his place sure puts a happy swing into a girl's mood. But there's still the slight problem with Winthrop. I have no money. None. A good knife and some ten throwing daggers are not that expensive, maybe ten, fifteen gold. But I have none. And Winthrop doesn't give out things out of the goodness of his heart, not even to me. I ponder on this most enigmatic of problems while making my way through the town streets. I meet a few familiar faces along the way, namely Dreppin and Phlydia, but I only nod and smile in recognition. Have to hurry. Don't wanna miss Shy and Gorion. I don't think she would leave without her equipment, but with Shy you can never be too sure.

Strangely enough the answer to my problem is inside Winthrop's inn. That old elven wizard, Fire-something Elvenhair, who is always making Shy run the stupidest errands. He's standing by the fireplace. Quickly a plan forms in my mind. The geezer never pays Shy properly, so she's entitled to a decent compensation. And seeing as I just spent a fair sum of my money on Shy's purchases, I'm entitled to that same compensation. Now, if I remember right, the wizard always stays in the downstairs room..

"Imoen!", Winthrop interrupts my thoughts, "Where in the nine hells have you been?! You have things to do here!"

"Yeah in a minute..", I answer not giving him a second glance. He's always yelling at me for something.

"In a minute..", he scoffs like it was the stupidest thing he ever heard, "Now! Go clean master Elvenhair's room."

I stare at him with my mouth open. He couldn't have said that.. Oh come on! You're making this too easy! It's no fun! But I am in a hurry, "Okay Winnie", I say and storm past him into the old man's room, grabbing the broom he's handing out to me along the way.

My trained thief-eye scans the room quickly. Not many places to hide your valuables here. There's a big drawer by the bed. That is where his stuff has to be. Unless his carrying everything with him. Doubtful. I take a quick glance out the open door, and when the coast is clear I try the lid. Locked. Hmph. Oh bother.. well, not a problem. Granted lock picking isn't my best skill, but I should be able to deal with anything in Winthrop's inn. He really doesn't invest that much on safety, and he has no need to. I'm the only thief around, and I don't steal from here. That much anyways.

I pull out my tools and set to work. It only takes a few seconds till I hear the satisfying click-sound the lock makes when opened. I take another glance at the door before opening the drawer. Inside there's a small sack that I quickly retrieve and then close the drawer again. I pocket the contents of the sack, some twenty coins and two scrolls. Magical probably, seeing as how they belong... used to belong to the geezer. Seems Shy is gona get her magic after all. And that is on top of the healing potion. The thought makes me grin. I know how much she loves magic, she's gona be so happy, and I love making her happy. I love it when she smiles.

But I still need to get to her.

I walk to the doorway and lean to look around the corner, "Hey, Winnie?", I chirp and grin at him, "I promised Shae'Lynne I'd bring her a new dagger. She and Gorion are leaving today."

The expression on Winthrop's face softens a little. He knows how much the girl means to me, so he thinks I'm gona be heartbroken. And I would be, if I weren't in fact going with her, "Yes, Gorion told me about that", he says, "Sure you can go say good-bye to her", his worried eyes still keep staring at me, "Are you.. all right?"

"Hey! It's me, Imoen!", I laugh, "I'm always all right. Now, let's talk shop. I need a good knife and a couple of sets of those throwing daggers..."



End of Chapter One