Chapter 2
I had a lead. The man of mysteries, Gaelan Bayle, said he could enlist the help of his "friends" who were apparently some powerful organization within the city that I knew nothing about. Judging by the amount Gaelan would charge me for their assistance, whatever they do must be illegal.
20,000 is a lot of money, but Gaelan's nephew Brus told me that there's a boy from the Umar Hills in the Government District looking for a ranger like me to help out his village. After finding him, we learned his story and headed out to the hills to find his village. We all stopped to rest in a clearing in a forest that night. Yoshimo lit a fire, Minsc sat down and played with Boo again, and Jaheira stood away from the rest of us, still brooding over Khalid.
She'd begun talking to me about it but that really didn't tell me much, since Jaheira's fighting prowess was matched only by her ability to remain stoic in the face of almost anything, even extreme grief. I'd previously decided that I wouldn't initiate any conversation about the subject until she felt like it. I was going to ask Minsc to help me hunt for tonight's dinner but he had already fallen asleep with Boo in his hands. I thought I'd just have to go by myself but then I saw Aerie sitting alone by the fire Yoshimo built. "Want to come with me?" I asked, my hand extended.
"Um, okay," she said timidly as she took my hand as I pulled her up. "Where are we going?"
"Into the woods," I said. "We need to get something to eat and I get lonely by myself."
She smiled, seemingly happy that she could cure my loneliness. I took her hand and we wandered into the woods. She lifted the skirt of her robe to avoid getting twigs caught in it. Her other hand held mine as we walked down the trail with me keeping my eyes open for a deer or other wild game. She kept her eyes on me, however. She finally asked, "Have you ever heard of my people? The Avariel?"
I turned to face her. "The winged elves? Very little. I thought they were all gone."
"Most of us were," she began, "according to what I remember my mother telling me. Killed by dragons before the First Flowering. But some of us still survive in isolated places. My own people live high in the mountains to the far south, in a place called Faenya-Dail, separated from contact with others. It is...was...a grand and majestic place. My memory is dim, but whenever the thought of it crosses my mind, my eyes still blur with tears."
"Tell me more about your people, Aerie," I said while still leading her through the forest.
"Our...our homes were open places of marble pillars and vistas from which you could watch the entire mountain range below. There was no place you could not spread your wings... We cherished the wind and the rains...we breathed in life, Jeffix, and lived in peace with each other. There were distinct societies among us, as I remember. There were...great aerial warriors who defended us, possessing glass weapons that radiated in the sunlight... And my own class pursued art and knowledge, building the great buildings and filling them with glorious wonders. It...it was... ...I am sorry, Jeffix, I can speak of it no longer. I think of my lost home and I am reminded of my poor uncle Quayle. It...it simply wrenches my heart..."
I squeezed her hand. "I know how you feel. I lost my home and I can never go back. Now I have no choice but to find a new one."
"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I don't know your story. I've been too busy telling you mine."
"Did I ever say I didn't want to hear your story?" I said with a smile. "Don't be sorry. It's okay."
"Why don't you tell me about your home?"
"Candlekeep? Okay, I guess..." I stopped.
"What's the matter?" Aerie asked.
"Shh! Look over there." I had spotted a wild deer, a doe, not ten feet away. "That will work perfectly to feed five of us!" I exclaimed. I then readied my bow and knocked an arrow. I was about to let the arrow fly when another creature stepped out of the bushes. It was a young fawn, obviously the child of the doe. he went to his mother and she leaned her neck down and nuzzled the fawn's nose.
"Awww..." I heard Aerie whisper. I slackened my arrow. I had always had a soft spot for kids.
Suddenly, I heard growling from the bushes where the fawn had emerged. I redrew my bowstring. Sure enough, a white wolf leaped from the bushes and lunged at the young deer. I stood up and fired one shot at the wolf. It collapsed on the ground, its life now over. The doe had already placed herself between the wolf and her child and looked confounded at the sight of her assailant now dead on the ground. I stepped out of the bushes so the deer could see me. I placed my bow on the ground and stood there. I reached for Aerie's hand and pulled her up to stand next to me.
The doe looked suspicious of us. I pulled an apple out of my pack and extended my hand to her. She inched close enough to smell the fruit in my hand, then took a bite of the apple. I knelt down to offer some to the young deer. He approached me eagerly and bit out of the apple. I stroked the fawn's head as he ate. I turned my head to Aerie. "Here, come try feeding him," I encouraged her.
"What? I can't do that!"
"It's okay. Look at me," I smiled. She knelt down beside me and I handed her another apple. The fawn turned to try and eat the new one in her hand. Aerie slowly put her hand on the fawn's head and began to stroke it while he munched on the apple. After a minute, I saw her worried look turn into a smile.
She began to giggle. "I would never have thought I could get any animal to eat out of my hand. I guess I have your ranger skills to thank for that."
I smiled. "Why don't we leave them be? We still need to find something for dinner."
"Okay," she said. "Bye, little one!" She took my hand as I picked my bow back up and we wandered again into the forest. The two deer walked away in the opposite direction. I picked up the carcass of the wolf I shot and slung it over my shoulder.
We eventually made it back to camp before it got too dark. I managed to bring home a pheasant and a big one at that. When Yoshimo saw me enter the campground with a pheasant in my left arm and a white wolf on my shoulder, he cocked his eyebrow at me. "Long story," I said.
"Well, as long as I can cook it, I won't ask questions," Yoshimo replied. I handed him the pheasant. Aerie sat back down by the fire while Yoshimo and I cleaned the bird for cooking. Every minute or so, I took a glance back at Aerie just to see how she was doing. Yoshimo must have noticed because he said "So you do anything while you were out?"
"Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening."
"Anything happen while you were out hunting this thing down?" His voice got quieter. "Say, with a young, innocent, elven lass?"
"I...uh..."
"Aha! Now I've ensnared your attention! Your eyes wander back and forth from her form like a weighted pendulum on a grandfather clock, my friend."
"Am I really that obvious?" I asked.
"Perhaps not to her," he continued, "but with my discerning eyes, I never miss any change in a man's face. Sometimes that can be the deciding factor between whether you live or die."
"Wise advice. I'll have to remember that."
"So what happened? Does it have anything to do with that wolf?"
"The wolf was a complete coincidence."
"Well never mind, I think I can figure it all out myself," he laughed.
I was about to go on but looked back at the carcass I had brought back. "It makes me wonder, though."
"Wonder what?"
"You're from Kara-Tur, so I doubt you've ever seen a wolf like that before."
"You're right. I've never seen a wolf with so white a pelt."
"That is a Winter Wolf. They're pretty common up North in the Sword Coast where I grew up. I've been wondering what one them is doing so far South."
"Haha!" Yoshimo laughed. "You are a strange man, Jeffix. You wonder about everything you encounter," Yoshimo said smiling. "Tell me, how did you get into adventuring? It is a dangerous business as you know. Any one of us could die without a moment's notice."
"I didn't so much get into adventuring as it was forced upon me."
"Forced upon you? What do you mean?"
"A man, who was looking to kill me, killed my stepfather. It was just Imoen and I with no place to call home when I started on the road."
"Tell me more about this man who killed your stepfather."
"His name was Sarevok. He was obsessed with the power of our father, and wished to kill me to prevent me from taking it."
"Who was your father?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I have seen many strange things here in this land. I have very little incredulity left in my mind."
I let out a hefty sigh. "As you wish, my father is the dead god Bhaal. He had premonitions of his death before the Time of Troubles, and arranged to have children. Sarevok and myself were the only two that I know of."
"Bhaal? The god of murder?"
"Yes."
"But there could be others? Other children of Bhaal?"
"Why the sudden interest in Bhaal?"
"It is an interesting fate. I wish to hear more."
"Then, to answer your question, yes. There could be other children of Bhaal. I know of none personally, but never gave it any thought 'til now."
"You haven't? Very interesting. We now have something to think on. Thank you," Yoshimo said. "Perhaps now you should get to cooking this thing and keeping your lady-friend some company," he said with a devilish grin on his face. I gave him a friendly punch in the arm.
I walked over to the fire and sat down next to Aerie. "I hope you're not hungry yet because this thing will take a little while to cook," I said.
"Do you know how strange you are?" she asked me out of nowhere. I couldn't tell what she was getting at.
"No," I said. "How strange am I?"
"You and Yoshimo forgot about being quiet over there. I heard about what you are."
"Oh, you mean how I have the blood of a god in me?"
"In particular, a god of murder!" she cried.
"Look, Aerie. I can't help if gods' blood runs through my veins. I don't want it there but I can't do anything about it."
"I know. What is so baffling about you is that with all that evil wound throughout your very being, you're still the nicest and most amazing man I've ever met."
"I am?"
"Of course you are." She got up on her knees and gave me a hug. "It just proves to me how strong and resilient you are." She pulled away from me and said "Jeffix, you're bleeding."
"Hm?" I wiped at my cheek. Sure enough, there were a few drops of blood. But I wasn't cut anywhere. I looked at Aerie's cheek and saw that she had a small cut just below her eye. "Um, you're the one who has a cut."
"Oh? Where is it?"
"Just below your eye. Let me take care of it."
"I am a healer, Jeffix. I can handle one little scratch."
"Yes but I can heal it without an incantation."
"How?" she asked. I then placed my hand close to her face, not quite touching, and my hand glowed blue. Slowly, her flawless skin began to repair itself and the blood receded into her now closed wound.
"Ironically, that's one of the few 'gifts' I've received from my father," I said.
"You continue to amaze me, Jeffix," she said. She let her head rest on my shoulder while I finished cooking the pheasant.
"Let's just hope I don't give you any food poisoning," I joked. She giggled.
Once everyone had eaten and Aerie had fallen asleep, I laid her head down on a bedroll so she could rest comfortably. Then I stood up, looked at the Winter Wolf carcass and said "Now what am I going to do with you?"