A/N: And with this chapter, we reach an important landmark. Remember how I mentioned that this fanfic is actually a heavily edited version of the journal I've been keeping in-game? Well, about halfway through this chapter is the point where the journal got so big that it crashed the game and would not let me leave Beregost unless I deleted all entries. That's right, I literally broke Baldur's Gate by writing too much. After that point, I had to painstakingly transfer the whole thing to a Word file and write all further entries in the file after each play session. This also means we're getting closer to the point where I stopped playing to edit what I had so far for publication here. You may be getting real-time updates pretty soon. But I'm sure you're not here to listen to me ramble on. You're here for the chapter. Here it is.
Day 67, Hour 8
Morning, Mr. Journal. We had a kind of fragmented sleep last night, as we got ambushed by gnolls halfway through. Luckily, it weren't the gnolls attacking what woke us up, but Branwen, who was on watch. Got woke up by the sound of her shouting that by Valkur's strapping buttocks she would see them all dead. And most of them were dead before we'd managed to get out our weapons. Branwen is the most badass. Anyways, we're about to continue our search, so I'll write later.
Day 67, Hour 22
We started heading north this morning. Nothing much has happened. We've hit the Wood of Sharp Teeth. We should probably start heading back south now. We canvassed this area pretty thoroughly just recently. I get the feeling that if this Bassilus fellow had been hiding out up thisaways, we would have run into him by now.
There's nothing really exciting to report right now, Mr. Journal. I mean, I suppose we have gotten into a couple of fights. Immy and Xan are both hurt a little bit, but it's nothing serious. Scratches, really. Xan's convinced he's going to die from it, and Immy's been going on about how she hopes hers will leave behind "awesome battle scars." So, business as usual.
We did have to fight some spiders, though. Did I mention how much I hate spiders, Mr. Journal? Because I hate them lots.
Day 68, Hour 6
Morning again. We've decided that once we're done eating, we're headed back to Beregost to restock our supplies and see if we can't get some more info. Clearly, we've gone way off course. Bassilus was supposed to be hiding out fairly close to the town, and we're getting pretty far from it.
I made breakfast today, Mr. Journal. Swiftwing helped, though. So did Kivan. He went and foraged for some fruits, because rangers are good at that kind of thing, I guess. Then me and Swiftwing mashed them up and spread them on toast. Swiftwing helped with the toast – he can breathe fire, after all. It's a very small fire, and I doubt it would do much damage in battle, but for cooking, it works. It turned out pretty well. I mean, it was kind of ugly, but it tasted fine, and no one seems to be getting sick, so I think I did all right.
Day 69, Hour 6
Took us a whole day to get to Beregost, Mr. Journal! We're all exhausted, and the sun's coming up already. Well, Kivan's not exhausted, but he is alone in that. I swear, I'm starting to think that elf just doesn't get tired. Or maybe he's tired all the time and he's just used to it. That would explain why he's always so scowly. Sleep deprivation will do that. Or not-sleep deprivation, in this case. Anyways, we're going to check into the inn, sleep a bit, except for Kivan and Xan, who are going to not-sleep a bit, and then get supplies and information once we're rested. I'll write you in the evening. Right now, I can hear the beds at Feldepost's Inn calling, and it would be right rude of me not to answer.
Day 70, Hour 0
After we were all rested up – about early afternoon or so – we split into groups to go out and do what we needed to. Immy and Xan went off to restock on supplies, since they're both real good at haggling. Immy knows how to turn on the charm and her appraisal skills are top-notch, and Xan can be surprisingly persuasive when he wants to be, even without relying on his enchantment spells. Immy also has sticky fingers sometimes, though, so it's a good thing Xan was there to keep an eye on her. Me and Rasaad, we went and asked around town about Bassilus, as we were the ones folks'd probably be most willing to talk to. Rasaad always has this lovely aura of calm about him, makes people feel at ease. And me, well, folks around these parts are always glad to see a bard. You'd be surprised how much people will tell you in exchange for a story or two. That left Branwen and Kivan to stay behind at Feldepost's, drinking and milking the barkeep for information. Honestly, that was probably for the best, as they're the only ones around here what can hold their booze for more than a few rounds.
I was kind of hoping I'd get to talk more with Rasaad, since we were kind of alone together, but he was all quiet and focused when we weren't talking with the townsfolk, and I just got nervous again. Only talked about stuff to do with the info we were looking for, even when I wanted to ask him more about himself. We got some good info, at least, but I wish I'd been able to, I don't know, just be more sociable and whatnot. It's usually not this much of a problem for me, you know?
When we all met back up, Kivan and Branwen were both totally smashed. It turns out Branwen is a pretty fun drunk. She's all loud and likes singing about epic battles. We kind of got distracted with those a bit before getting down to business. Now that is my kind of drunk. Kivan, on the other hand, is a real serious drunk. You know, the kind what seems totally coherent, and you wouldn't be able to tell he was drunk but for his near inability to stand.
Immy was pretty tipsy too. She and Xan had gotten back several hours before us, and by the looks of it, she'd had a few drinks and then gotten bored. When we walked in, she was braiding Xan's hair and he looked for all the world like he wanted to go jump off the nearest cliff, but had instead resigned himself to his fate.
Anyways, Mr. Journal, Kivan and Branwen didn't find out too much about Bassilus's whereabouts, just more about his undead hordes and some unrelated stuff about farms getting messed up by giant bugs or something. So, this is where me and Rasaad saved the day. We'd talked to a man earlier what had seen an unusually large number of undead from a distance atop the cliffs south of High Hedge. It's the best lead any of us have found, so we're going with it.
We just finished dinner and we'll be heading to bed soon. Xan's still trying to undo all the braids in his hair, and he's grumbling about it loud enough that the whole damn inn can hear him. Immy looks real pleased with herself. I don't know whether to be amused or to feel sorry for the poor guy. Not much time to think about it now, though, Mr. Journal – Branwen says she wants to "shing us the shong of her people," and I kind of want to listen.
Day 70, Hour 10
Morning, Mr. Journal. Everyone's just about finished with breakfast, so we're like to be leaving for the cliffs soon. I sure hope we find Bassilus out there. We were discussing this morning that if we can't find him and bring him to justice soon, we may just have to give up, as much more delay before going to Cloakwood could be dangerous. After all, Mr. Journal, there is a chance that those prisoners what Tazok took with him when he left the bandit camp were Khalid and Jaheira. We can't forget that. Wish us luck, Mr. Journal!
P.S. Branwen isn't hung over at all, even after all that mead she had last night. I wish I could hold my booze like that!
Day 71, Hour 11
We've finally made it to the cliffs! It's been a pretty tough trip, that's for sure. In the interest of saving time, we only stopped a couple hours to nap before moving on. Wasn't much, but at least it's enough to keep a girl from falling asleep where she stands. Xan's been complaining all morning about how two hours of rest isn't enough to get spells prepared, but I don't see what he's so worried about, seeing as none of us used any spells yesterday, so we've still got those. Maybe he's just tired. He sure looks tired. Then again, Xan always looks tired, even when he's not. He is like the opposite of Kivan, who never looks tired, but may still always be secretly tired.
We're stopping here real quick to get a meal in us, but we're on a tight schedule, so I expect we'll be moving again soon.
Day 71, Hour 17
Swiftwing is gone. Killed by hobgoblins. I. I can't do this, Mr. Journal.
Day 71, Hour 19
I suppose you have the right to know how the day went, Mr. Journal. After all, anything I don't write down, I'm like to forget, and that's not at all good. I promised myself I'd keep a record of everything what happens on this journey, after all. Even the painful things. That way, one day when this mess is all over and taken care of, I can look back on all this and maybe laugh. Maybe learn a little.
So, when we finished eating this morning, we set off. Xan wasn't looking too good. Real tired. Asked him if he was okay, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer, just that he was never okay. He really is an odd bird, Mr. Journal. And speaking of odd birds, soon after we started moving again, we ran into some crazy guy what wouldn't stop blathering on about some sort of possessed talking chicken. He was clearly not all there. We tried to get more information from him, but he seemed to be too terrified of the chicken to get his thoughts in order. And before you get your hopes up, Mr. Journal, no we have not seen any sign of this talking chicken the man was so scared of. Immy suggested we go look for it, but Kivan would have none of it, as we were on a tight schedule. As much as I would have liked to meet a talking chicken, I was like to agree with him on this one.
Right past the guy, we past this sign what said "Watch for Wolves". I remember because Immy loudly announced it was about an hour too late for that once she saw it. Oh, right. I forgot to mention. We got attacked by some dread wolves earlier in the morning. One of them bit Immy, but it was nothing Branwen's spells couldn't handle. It was a pretty easy fight, and like a lot of fights we've had before, so I guess it kind of slipped my mind.
Anyway, it turned out that it is never too late to watch for wolves, because soon after we passed the sign we got attacked by more wolves. At least they were considerably less dread than the last ones. Around noon or so, we got to this little copse of trees and we were attacked by a bunch of skeletons. I thought for sure that meant Bassilus was just ahead and we had to be ready for a big fight and all, but it turned out it was just skeletons and nothing more. It was almost disappointing, Mr. Journal. I admit, I'm a bit disturbed that I could be disappointed about not having to fight. It's just, I've been right scared over this Bassilus guy, he seems real dangerous, and I really, really want this over with. Now more than ever. It's all too much.
It started raining around that point. Normally this would be where Xan'd start complaining about how we were all going to catch colds and die, but he was just real quiet. Was starting to look a bit like an undead abomination himself, Mr. Journal. He really doesn't do well without the right amount of rest, does he? Not that I can blame him. I don't exactly feel very alive right now, either. Still, I asked again if he was okay, because I really didn't want to go on if it'd push him too hard. I don't want a repeat of the Cloakwood incident. After I pestered him a bit, he admitted he was tired, just about ready to drop, in fact. Despite that, he insisted we keep going on, as the increase in undead probably meant we were getting closer to our goal, and if we rested now, Bassilus might catch us off guard and "murder us all in our dreamless sleep." Though, I suppose in his case, it would be his not-sleep. Xan sure has a way of wording things, Mr. Journal. I'll give him that much.
Everyone else was doing all right, at least. We walked for a while more before anything else happened. Not much to say there. Most of us were pretty quiet the whole walk, excepting Branwen and Kivan, who were discussing strategy and whatnot. We'd started heading towards the base of the cliffs by the time the rain let up. That was when it happened.
We were ambushed, Mr. Journal. There were a couple of hobgoblins, and a lot of ghouls. The battle started out pretty well, I'd say, but then some of the ghouls managed to separate Xan from the rest of us and paralyze him. I broke off from my part of the fight and ran at the ghouls, blasting them with some magic missiles. Immy noticed when I ran past and she came to help too. We managed to beat them before they could hurt Xan too bad. The rest of them went down easy. It was the aftermath what was the bad part.
As soon as the paralysis wore off, Xan collapsed right there. Was pretty clear he wouldn't be able to go any farther until he'd had some rest. So, we stopped to set up camp, a little ways from the site of the battle, of course, as no one wants to camp in the middle of a bunch of rotting ghoul corpses. Rasaad helped Xan get up and walk over to where we were. That's when I noticed, Mr. Journal. Swiftwing was missing. I went back to where we'd fought the ghouls to look for him, and
and and and he was there with a hobgoblin arrow sticking out of him
just lying there
all lifeless and
I can't
I can't talk about this one, Mr. Journal. It's my fault, you know. If I hadn't run off during the fight, he wouldn't have been all alone. He wouldn't have -
-The rest of this paragraph has been scribbled out.-
I'm never summoning another familiar again.
A/N: And we're stopping here. I actually didn't know Swiftwing had died until loading up my save the next play session and realizing he wasn't there. At first I thought he'd just been left behind, sometimes he didn't get selected when I tried moving the party. But he wasn't anywhere on the whole map. I checked Linn's stats, and sure enough, she was showing the constitution loss associated with the death of a familiar. I had to rewrite the entry after that. It was a sad, sad day. The cute little animal friend is not supposed to die, dammit. But, I decided I shouldn't break my playthrough rules. Out of respect for Swiftwing's memory, I decided not to summon another familiar after that. Sorry for all the sad. Anyways. Tune in next time as our heroes maybe confront Bassilus? As always, please leave a review if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you just want to smash keys, that's totally fine too. And, if you like what you see, don't forget to follow and fav! See ya!