A/N: Sorry for the wait! These "Checking In" chapters always take so much longer to write because there's barely any gameplay to go off of, so when I write up notes during my playthrough, they tend to be shorter. Stretching like a paragraph or two of notes into four pages of writing is never an easy task.
Day 111, Hour 8
Good morning, Mr. Journal! Oh, but last night were a good night! Full of food, stories, and cheer! This halfling what let us stay the night, name of Rainier, he's a real good cook, he is. And an even better adventurer, back in his day. He's been all over Faerun! He told us a real epic story about the greatest adventure he'd ever been on – a few decades ago, he joined up with some adventurers in Luskan and headed north to answer a call to arms from Ten-Towns up in Icewind Dale. They ended up in Targos fighting this ridiculously large horde of goblins, and things just got out of hand from there. That's a pun, by the way – the epic battle at the end of their journey took place in a tower shaped like a giant hand. Haha. Get it?
...Okay, yeah, you're right, that was bad.
Anyway, they ended up pitted against this group called the Legion of the Chimera what were made up of monstrous creatures from all over the realms what wanted to live in peace but ended up declaring war on Ten-Towns because the mayor of Bryn Shander were a huge arsehole. The adventure took the group all over the place – Rainier told us about a choked-up river with fire on the horizon, a towering fortress full of goblins, and a temple carved straight into the side of a great iceberg. He even rode in a ship what flew through the sky! I can hardly even imagine! I mean, it crashed, and his group were stranded in an icy wasteland and had to go down into the Underdark to find a way back where they'd come from, but still! They even went through a portal and ended up in Chult once! Gods, but I only hope after this is all over our adventures are half as interesting in the telling.
He didn't seem to mind the smaller scope of our travels, though, when we told him our stories in exchange for his. He seemed just as much on the edge of his seat listening to us as we'd been listening to him. All in all, it were a great night. I haven't had a night so full of stories since I were back in the library at Candlekeep.
It's morning now, though, and time to move on. Rainier has insisted we join him for breakfast before we leave, but after that, it's back to Beregost for us, and to the Friendly Arm after that. It's been nearly a tenday, and we need to go back to meet with the others.
Day 111, Hour 23
Gods, but it's late, Mr. Journal. We just now made it into Beregost, and I think I'm just about ready to drop! We've booked some rooms in the Jovial Juggler for the night, and it's taking near all my willpower not to drop you right now and pass out on the bed. But, I've got to record the day's events, Mr. Journal. Those are the rules, after all. What rules? Why, my rules, of course! Got to do something to keep myself from slacking on the record-keeping and all so I got something to remember this by when I'm old.
We left Gullykin in the late morning. Nearly the entire town came out to see us off. It were a bit of a shock, really. I mean, all we did was get rid of some kobolds and an ogre mage, and they're treating us like great heroes or something. It were right nice of them to give us such a big send-off either way, though. Everyone in that town is real nice. I hope things go well for them in the future.
The trek through the woods back to Beregost were long and dangerous. Also, loud. Viconia would not stop complaining about the sodding sun. I admit, it's one of the brightest days I've seen since she joined, but you'd think she would have started to get used to it after being on the surface for several months like she has. Being a drow must suck. You know what else sucks, though? Being ambushed by hobgoblins. Did I mention we got ambushed by hobgoblins? One minute we're walking through the forest, birds are singing, and everything's all calm and peaceful-like, and the next, we've got arrows flying at us from the bushes! Immy barely managed to dive out of the way of two of them, one caught Yeslick in the shoulder, and that was before the fight had even started! By the time we managed to take down the last of those buggers, half of us looked like so many sodding pincushions. Luckily, we've got two healers with us and none of the hobgoblins were using poisoned arrows, but all in all it was not one of our best performances. At least we all made it to Beregost in one piece, thank Tymora.
Anyways, now that you're all good and caught up, I'm going to hit the hay. It's been a long, long day.
Day 112, Hour 8
Morning, Mr. Journal. We're just finishing up breakfast, and then we'll head for the Friendly Arm Inn. I wish I could say it's been a normal, boring morning so far, but no such luck. Ajantis got into an argument with that drunk paladin what's always hanging around the bar in here and they've been in a shouting match ever since. Something about what is and isn't the appropriate way for a holy knight to act. It's right embarrassing, it is. Everyone's staring at us, Mr. Journal. I don't like it one bit. I...think I'll put you away for now. It feels weird to write with everyone's eyes on us like this. It feels weird to do anything with everyone's eyes on us like this. I'm not even sure if I can finish eating.
Day 112, Hour 22
We're all safe and sound at the Friendly Arm now, and we've got our next tenday all planned out! And the best part is, by the time we get back here again, the gates to Baldur's Gate are like to be open at long last! Ooh, I can't wait, Mr. Journal! It's all so exciting!
We left the Jovial Juggler soon after I last wrote, and let me tell you, after what Ajantis pulled, I were right glad to get out of that den of awkwardness. The trip to Beregost were pretty easy, and we didn't really run into any trouble. Though I did see two squirrels chittering angrily at each other up in a tree by the side of the road. I wonder what they were arguing about. Nuts, probably. That seems to be a thing squirrels would care about. Erm. Anyway. The sky were overcast most the entire day, much to Viconia's relief. Immy also took the opportunity to make a few lighthearted cracks at me about getting lost and ending up in Larswood, even though there were next to no chance of that happening this time, not with the road right there. Everyone laughed. It were terrible, Mr. Journal! A great offense to my honor, and all that other melodramatic bunk.
When we made it into the common room at the Friendly Arm, everyone else were already there waiting for us. Well. Except Xan, but seeing as he's not due in for another five or six days, that weren't at all surprising. There actually were news of him, though. Couple of elves what came here from Silverymoon have been staying in the inn for the last few days. They say they were attacked by bandits on the road just south of the Serpent Hills several days back, and they would have been done for if not for a moonwarrior what stepped in and saved them. Apparently he used a fear spell on the bandits and they all ran off screaming. I talked to them for a bit, and from their descriptions of the guy – especially the part where he told them not to thank him because they were probably doomed not to reach their destination anyway and some other obstacle would probably come up later what he wouldn't be around to help them with – they were definitely talking about Xan. I'm glad to hear he at least made it through the first few days of his journey all right, and it were a right nice thing of him to do, helping these people and all. I only hope he made it to Evereska safe. Gods, but I'm still worried.
Oh. I guess I should probably mention that the Neera army's not around right now, either. I asked old Bentley about it, and he said they'd gone on an expedition to the Ulcaster Ruins. Apparently, the place used to be a real famous school before it were abandoned and fell into disrepair. It doesn't have near the same sinister reputation as Durlag's Tower does for eating adventurers alive, so hopefully Neera and her clones will be a bit more successful this time. No such luck with that sodding half-orc, though. He were right there in the common room the whole time, and it were all I could do to try to avoid him. Gods, but I wish our paths would stop crossing.
Um, anyways, where was I? Oh, right. Touching base with the others. Khalid and Jaheira report that everything still seems to be going forward right on schedule, and Baldur's Gate is like to open the gates sometime in the next tenday or so. Kivan and Branwen still haven't found any leads on Tazok, though it sounds like the bandit death toll is on the rise thanks to them. At this rate, they're going to hunt the entire bandit population into extinction within a couple moons. Boy, I'd love to see the looks on those Iron Throne guys' faces when they hear that even the stragglers from their operation are getting decimated by a priest and one very angry elf. And, speaking of how angry Kivan is, you should have seen his face when we walked through that door with Viconia in tow. The man practically iced over when he saw her. I swear, Mr. Journal, you could even feel it get colder in the common room as he walked over to us. He demanded to know what we were doing traveling with a drow, so me and Immy told him the whole story, though there weren't all that much to tell.
Well, he didn't like that one bit, and he sure let us know it. Told us Viconia's kind couldn't be trusted, that she would betray us as soon as we had the chance, all that bunk. I swear, the way he were carrying on, you'd think she ate babies or something. Anyways, Viconia started talking back at Kivan, basically told him off, called him narrow-minded, and implied that if she'd had ill will toward us she'd have acted on it by now. She also called him some other things, but they were all in drow language or something so I don't know exactly what she said. I'm pretty sure they were insults, though. Remind me to ask her what iblith means at some point, Mr. Journal. She seems to use that one a lot to describe folks and stuff what she doesn't like, and this time were no exception.
Ahem. Long story short, tempers flared and Kivan started getting agitated after that and looked like he were about to get violent, but before he could, old Bentley climbed straight over the bar and marched right between the two of them. He gave Kivan a real stern reminder that the Friendly Arm were a safe haven what welcomed everyone so long as they behaved themselves, and if he couldn't check his issues at the door and leave Viconia the Hells alone, then he were going to have to leave. Kivan grudgingly backed down, and Bentley apologized to Viconia and got her a drink on the house. She seems to be in a much better mood now. I think she likes it here, and I don't blame her, Mr. Journal. Aside from the crap what Kivan pulled, no one else here has so much as batted an eye at her presence. I imagine she hasn't really gotten the chance to sit down and enjoy a drink or anything in peace since coming to the surface. That's the great thing about the Friendly Arm, Mr. Journal. Long as you mind yourself and don't hurt no one, everyone here treats you like family. Doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, they won't turn you away. Not if you've got assassins after you, not if you're a drow, Hells, not even if you're that one huge scary arsehole of a half-orc.
So, anyways, that's about where we are now. We've finished up dinner, made our plans, and all gone up to our rooms for the night. Oh! Right! I nearly forgot! I've got to tell you about our plans, Mr. Journal! For the next tenday, we're going to be exploring up and down the coast! I'm real excited, as it's something I've always wanted to do. I mean, I've lived on that coastline my whole life, and I've never even seen it. Well. I mean, I've seen it, but not much of it, and never close up. There were this one time Immy and me scaled the central library building to see if we could get a look over the keep walls. Nearly gave old Tethtoril a heart attack when he saw us up there, and Gorion scolded us something fierce when he found out, but the view we got of the ocean were all worth it. Those were simpler times, Mr. Journal. I miss them.
But now isn't the time to get all misty-eyed over the past. Now is the time to get excited for the future! By this time tomorrow I'll be breathing in the sea air and seeing that ocean up close! Gods, Mr. Journal! This is going to be even better than the beach at Ulgoth's Beard! Imagine! Walking down the length of the Sword Coast all the way from the Candlekeep Coastway to the Cloudpeaks! I'm getting chills just thinking about it!
I should try to get some rest now, Mr. Journal. I've got a big day ahead of me tomorrow. I'm not sure if I can sleep, though. I'm too excited! Still, I'll do my best.
Good night!
A/N: And I think this is a good place to stop for the night. Oh man though, it took me a while to figure out what to do with the retired adventurer halfling they stayed the night with, since Linn promised she'd write back about the tale swapping. And, though there IS a retired adventurer halfling who offers to swap tales with you in game, he never actually does it and he's a nameless NPC to boot. I decided the best way to go was to reference another IE game, and plugged in a party member from my last Icewind Dale II playthrough. I hope it worked out all right. Anyways, tune in next time as our heroes walk down the Sword Coast and have grand adventures at the ocean's edge! Toodles!
