Baldur's Gate
The Lord of Murder shall parish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos shall be sown in their footsteps.
Disclaimer: I do not own Baldur's Gate, the Forgotten realms or any of the characters from the game or the R.A Salvatore novels. I'm just borrowing them and I'm not making any money off of it. Andromeda, however, is mine, so don't use her without asking first. Come to think of it, so are Noochie and Kalen.
Summery: The story of Baldur's Gate told with a female protagonist.
By: Lhianann-Sidhe
Chapter One
Out of Candlekeep
When Andromeda had been ten years old, Gorion had suggested that she learn to ride. Winthrop, the tavern keeper, whom Imoen affectionately called "puff-guts", had taken her to the stables to begin lessons. Andromeda doubted that the large man could haul himself up onto a horse, at least without great difficulty on his part, and great suffering on the part of the horse. Wisely, she had kept those thoughts to herself.
Imoen had chosen to tag along. Imoen always tagged along.
Winthrop had led her to a quiet bay gelding. Andromeda looked up at the horse and the horse looked down at her. The dislike was immediate and mutual.
All her life Andromeda had loved animals, unfortunately most animals carried a strong dislike for her. With the exception of the keep's few cats (she had difficulty getting rid of the small loving group of felines that always seemed to be following her around) all the animals she encountered seemed to either back away from her, or immediately prepare to attack. Over the years and after several painful reminders Andromeda had developed a fear of dogs.
Looking in to the horse's eyes, Andromeda knew what its first action would be if she ever attempted to mount it.
"Umm, Winthrop, I don't think he likes me." She stuttered, backing away.
"Nonsense! There's no one old Chester doesn't like, there isn't. Nicest horse I ever met, he is!" Winthrop gave Andromeda an affectionate pat on the back. "And there's no way you're getting out of this that easily!"
"Yeah, Andi, don't be a coward!" Imoen chirped
Andromeda gave Imoen one of her best glares.
"Now then, come one miss, lets us take him outside and see if we can't instruct you in the basics." Winthrop said, as he took the horse by the reigns and ushered them all outside.
Standing in the sunlight, outside of Candlekeep's stables, Andromeda took another look at the horse, it seemed to be daring her to try and ride it. She set her jaw resolutely, and gave it a glare, just for good measure. She looked up at Winthrop took a deep breath and said, "Okay, so now what do I do?"
"Now you just put your foot into that stirrup there, that's a good girl, take the reigns and pull yourself up into the set. There we go, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He asked helping her get settled into the seat.
The moment she was firmly in place the horse reared up and then gave one powerful buck. For a brief second Andromeda saw Winthrop's frightened face as he was tossed aside. The horse gave a second heave, and it took all of Andromeda's strength to stay on. She felt as if all her bones were being slammed together and then jolted apart. She tightened her grip on the reigns and held on with her legs. She was going to show that stupid horse who was boss!
The horse gave one final buck, and she felt the reigns snap. Oh no, she though to herself as she was finally thrown free. She landed in a pile of hay and would have been uninjured, had some foolish stable-hand not left a pitchfork in the pile.
Andromeda first felt the jolt from her fall and then a searing pain in her shoulder. One of the prongs slashed through the skin on the outside of her arm, the other went strait though her shoulder.
She remembered looking at it in disbelief as blood poured out of the wound. Then she blanked out. When she awoke she found herself lying on the bed in her room. Her shoulder was recently healed and bandaged, and Winthrop lay in the chair near her, snoring. Since that day the tavern keeper had been oddly protective of her. He had felt responsible for her injury, and apologized profusely when he awoke.
Since that day she had been very careful to avoid horses.
* * * * * * *
What Andromeda remembered the most clearly was the searing pain.
She now found herself awaking to a similar pain. She fought the gradual rise to consciousness, it was so nice to sleep and dream! But something at the back of her mind was bothering her, dragging her back to the waking world. Slowly the dull ache in her arm gave way to a horrible burning. Still she fought it; consciousness meant pain, though in her current state she couldn't understand how or why.
Finally, she could sleep no longer. She opened her eyes to a leafy green blur. Andromeda blinked a few times, then brushed the branch out of her face. She tried to straiten herself up, but a horrible pain in her right arm stopped her. She turned her head slowly, to look at the injury. The magical arrow was gone. Fortunately there was very little blood. The heat from the burning arrow had automatically cauterized the wound.
With careful effort Andromeda stood up from the bed of branches and walked out of the underbrush. She looked around the area in confusion.
In an instant her memories of the previous night came back. Andromeda called out in grief and collapsed to her knees.
After she had fled the battle with the armored man and his servants, she had escaped into the thicker part of the woods and hidden herself there. Through most of the night she hid in the underbrush, as figures searched for her.
Footsteps approached her location, accompanied by the heavy clang of armor. Though the leaves she could only see their feet. As she had years before, she stood as still a possible, knowing that this time, if someone came towards her, she would have nowhere to run to. Carefully, wound her arms around her legs and pulled them closer. Despite the summer warmth, she stared to shiver. And I thought I was a great warrior, so why am I hiding? Heroes don't run away! They face their enemies! She tried as hard as she could not to sob. I'm such a coward, a stupid coward! She froze in place as she heard the armored man speak.
"Have you found her yet?" the monster asked, his demonic armor squealing.
"No my lord, we have not." Replied his servant in a noticeably shaking voice. She could hear the leaves cracking as he shifted his feet.
The monster growled, "I need not remind you of the consequences if she escapes."
"No my lord!" the voice responded in obvious fear. "Please my lord, what of her father?"
"Foster father!" the monster snapped, and the more calmly replied "The old fool is dead."
Afterwards she had fallen asleep in the brush.
Andromeda stood up and wiped away her tears. She wanted to be strong, but she did not know what to do. The hunters seemed to have departed, but Gorion was dead, a product of her own cowardice. If only she hadn't run away! They wanted her, not Gorion. If she had stayed would they have killed him? Her mind was filled with questions. Why did they seek her out? What could they possibly want with a penniless orphan?
Andromeda decided that she would be strong, for Gorion. She would find that armored fiend and… and… She found that she had clenched her fists in rage, and her nails had cut shallow gouges in her palms. She brought her hand up in front of her face and looked at the marks. Dark red blood slowly oozed out of the cuts. Andromeda turned away and cleaned her hands off on her tunic. It was already so stained and tattered that she didn't think that a little more blood would do it any harm.
She adjusted her sword belt, slung her pack over her shoulder, and chose a direction at random. She knew she was lost, having no idea where the stone circles or the main road were in relation to her current position. The walk proved to be long and boring. Her feet were starting to hurt, she longed for a bath, and the pain in her arm was maddening. She was however content that the wound was no serious, it was not bleeding and it seemed to be healing quickly. She carefully flexed her arm to ensure that the muscle would not go stiff. As she stood still she listened carefully to the sound of the wildlife. Something did not sound quite right. It took her a moment to realize that the something was the sound of footsteps, human footsteps.
She cursed herself for her carelessness and prepared to draw one of her swords, the action was cut shot by the appearance of a familiar blond head.
Imoen smiled at Andromeda and waved, before running up to her friend and speaking, "Sorry I followed you, but I never get out of Candlekeep and those monks are such a bore! Never have any decent coin in their pockets…"she cut off the sentence at the look Andromeda gave her. "I…I saw Gorion and I'm so sorry! I kind of figured something bad must have happened to you out here."
Andromeda sighed and looked away from her friend before asking, "How could you have known? Gorion didn't even tell me."
"I… accidentally… read a letter on his desk the other day. Can't remember exactly what it said, but he might still have it… it might still be on his… his body. Anyway, I'm not going to let you wander around here all alone." Imoen grinned shyly, as if not knowing what to expect from her closest friend. "Friends stick together, right?" She asked.
"Imoen," Andromeda began, "It could be dangerous. Someone already tried to… to… kill me, twice, and now Gorion is dead. I don't want you to get hurt" It didn't take her long to see that she had absolutely no chance of talking Imoen out of accompanying her.
"I'm going, like it or not." Imoen said stubbornly.
"Alright, alright, but what is Winthrop going to do without someone to help him keep the inn clean?" Andromeda asked with a tense smile.
"Yuck! Old Puff-Guts can just find someone else to do his dirty work for him. I'm going with you!" Imoen laughed.
"Thank you Imoen, I don't know what I'd do with out you." Andromeda looked around the forest. "We'd better get moving, those men might still be here."
Imoen nodded, and guessing that Andromeda had no idea where they were, she started to lead her towards the circle of stones.
* * * * * * *
Andromeda and Imoen walked between the bodies, the remains of last night's battle. Andromeda walked past the body of the girl mage she had killed and tried not to look at the corpse or remind her self about what she had done. Imoen bent down next to Gorion's remains, and carefully turned him over. Andromeda looked at the man who had raised her, and reflected that nothing could be more painful then this. His face, at least, was serene in death. She almost didn't notice when Imoen pulled a letter out from under his belt and handed it to her. Andromeda unrolled the parchment and began to read.
* * * * * * *
My Friend Gorion,
Please forgive the abruptness with which I now write, but time is short and there is much to be done. What we have long feared may now come to pass, though not in the manner foretold, and certainly not in the proper time frame. As we both now forecasting these events has proven increasingly difficult, leaving little option other then a leap of faith. We have done what we can for those in thy care, but the time comes we must step back and let events take what course they will. We have been, perhaps, a touch too sheltering to this point.
Despite my desire to remain neutral in the matter, I could not, in good conscience, allow events to proceed without some measure of warning. The other side will move very soon, and I urge you to leave Candlekeep, this very night if possible. The darkness may seen equally threatening but a moving target is much harder to hit, regardless of how sparse the cover. A fighting chance is all that can be asked for at this point.
Should anything go awry, do not hesitate to seek aid from travelers along the way. I need not remind thee that it is a dangerous land, even without our current concerns, and a party stronger that an individual in all respects. Should additional assistance be required, I understand that Jaheira and Khalid are at the Friendly Arms Inn. They know little of what has passed, but they have ever been thy friends, and will no doubt help however they can.
Luck be with us all,
I'm getting too old for this,
E
* * * * * * *
"E?" Imoen asked when she was given a chance to read the scroll, "Who's 'E'?"
Andromeda shook her head to show that she didn't know. She had too much to think about. She wasn't certain what to do now. Heading back to Candlekeep was out of the question. The guards would never let her in without Gorion. Besides, it was Candlekeep, after all, where she had first been attacked.
"Imoen," Andromeda said, breaking the silence. "Do you know how to get to the Friendly Arms Inn?"
"Um, you just go north, along the great west road. Why? Is that where we're headed from here?"
Andromeda nodded. "Which way do we go from here?"
"Well, we can either go south until we get to the Lion's Way and take that until we reach the main road"." Imoen stopped when she saw Andromeda shaking her head. "Why not?" She asked.
"Those men might be searching along the road, it would be safer to head directly east, until we find the road north. Do you think you can get us there?"
"Yeah, sure, I don't see why not." Imoen stopped to get an idea of where she was. "East should be that way." She said pointing. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes," Andromeda said, "I'm sure."
Imoen looked down at Gorion's body. "We should bury him." She said quietly.
Andromeda pressed the tip of her boot against the ground, it was hard, and they had nothing to dig with. She gazed down at her foster father, with regret in her eyes. She bent down to touch his cheek. "I'm sorry father. I'll make you proud of me!" She stood up tall and looked at Imoen, "No," she said. "We don't have the time and if we remain here we'll be placing ourselves in danger." She looked over to Imoen. "Come on, let's go."
* * * * * * *
"We are lost."
"We are not lost, I know exactly where we are."
"We are lost"
"Look, I've told you a bunch of times, we're not lost!"
"Imoen, admit it, we're lost."
"No we're not!"
"Yes we are."
"No, we're not!"
"If we're not lost, then where are we?"
"Umm…"
"Well?"
"Gimme a second, I'm thinking." Imoen stopped to survey her surroundings, while biting her lip. It was getting dark already, and she honestly had no clue where they were. Not, that she was going to admit it. "Look, if we just keep heading that way, then we should…"
"Imoen?" Andromeda interrupted.
"Yeah?" she looked over to Andromeda, who seemed to be sniffing the air. "What?"
Andromeda turned to look at Imoen. "Do you… smell something?"
Imoen stared at Andromeda in surprise. "Smell something? Like what?" she asked.
"I don't know, something bad. It's like… like…" Andromeda shook her head, as if trying to place the smell. "It's like wet dog." She decided.
"Wet dog? No I don't smell anything like that." Her eyes widened. "Wait a second, I do smell something bad."
"I wonder what that is?" Andromeda said as she started to draw a blade with her left arm, as she put her pack on her arm. The sound of crunching underbrush, and strange barking voices answered the question. A group of strange half-man half-dog creatures stepped out from between the trees. Their large jaws were filled with sharp teeth, and over the smell of dog, came the smell of carrion. They seemed to be wielding a vast assortment of weapons; most likely salvaged from whatever other unfortunate travelers they had come across earlier.
"What are they?" Andromeda asked, as she took stock of the situation. There were more and more of the beasts coming out from all directions; she counted twelve so far. They were surrounded.
"They're gnolls." Imoen said looking over the large and vicious assortment of weaponry. She drew her bow and started to string and arrow.
"What do you think they want?" Andromeda asked starting to back away.
"I don't know, and I really don't want to find out." Imoen responded, as the leader of the gnoll band lifted a halberd menacingly in their direction. The sound it made may have been a laugh, but to the two young adventurers it sounded much more threatening. With a startled outcry Imoen released her arrow at the large gnoll. The arrow struck him exactly between the eyes. The great beast's eyes rolled upwards in disbelief, and its body fell backwards.
"Um, Imoen? Nice shot, but I think you made them mad."
* * * * * * *
"Suren Captain Deudermont will be waitin' for us in Baldur's Gate. We canna take too long on this errand " Catti-brie told her companion as they headed south, towards Beregost.
"We have a few weeks yet, before he plans to set sail again." Drizzt told his human friend. "Harkle's letter did say he had something important to tell us."
"Ach! By the time we get there that daft wizard will most likely have forgotten what it 'twas he wanted to speak with us about in the first place." She slung her sack over her other shoulder, before speaking. "What could it possibly be that would require us to come all the way down here fer?"
Drizzt shook his head. He certainly didn't know. Harkle Harpell's letter had been surprisingly vague. The two of them, along with Guenhwyvar, the panther, continued on in silence for a time. The trip had been uneventful, despite reports of growing bandit activity in the area. The warm summer sunlight shone through the trees in soft patterns lending a quiet, peaceful air to the forest. Guenhwyvar's growl and the sound of a distant battle soon shattered the peace.
Drizzt rested his hands on his scimitar hilts and looked over to Catti-brie, who was readying her bow. The panther began to advance towards the noise and the companions carefully followed.
As they reached the edge of a small ridge they were greeted by the sight of a good sized group of gnolls advancing on a pair of travelers. Though a large number of gnolls already lay dead, it was obvious that the battle was not going well for the two humans. The smaller light-haired one was mostly unhurt, having taken only a few blows, but she was running out of arrows. The taller of the two stood protectively in front of the other, and seemed to be taking the most damage. She held only one blade, though her belt was designed for two. She held her single long sword in her left hand, and her right arm hung uselessly at her side, coated with blood. She was covered in a myriad of cuts; blood soaked though her tattered tunic in various places. Catti-brie was surprised that she could still walk much less fight.
A moment after they arrived, the dark-haired warrior let out a shriek and charged the nearest gnoll, a bastard sword wielding giant. With incredible strength she slammed into the creature, knocking it off balance. The moment the gnoll tried to regain it's footing, the warrior stepped in and put her sword in its gut.
As she stepped away another gnoll came up behind her raising its axe. Already exhausted from battle and wounded, the woman was too slow to respond. The smaller human, who had until that time been attempting to hold off the other gnolls with her bow sent an arrow at the beast, but it stuck harmlessly into the gnoll's axe handle. The blade-wielding human was saved by one of Catti-brie's arrows. The sheer force of the blow sent the creature up into the air. The human woman, startled by the attack, barely had time to move out of the way of the gnoll's falling corpse.
By that time Drizzt and Guenhwyvar were already down the slope and making short work of the remaining beasts.
Catti-brie slung Taulmaril, her bow, over her shoulder and made her own way down the slope. When she reached the bottom she turned to look at the two young warriors and found that she had over estimated their ages. They looked to be no more then fifteen, or sixteen at the most. The smaller of the two was clutching her bow and looking at Catti-brie with a mixture of joy, confusion, and amazement. Catti-brie turned to look at the taller warrior as Drizzt came to approached the girl. The taller of the two seemed to be gazing at nothing at all. Thinking that the approaching dark elf was another gnoll she spun around suddenly, launching an overhead slash. Startled, Drizzt automatically bought up one of his scimitars to parry the blow. He felt his arms shudder with the force of the blow and though to himself that this child was nearly as strong as Wulfgar. With a single twist of his blade, Drizzt sent the girl's sword out of her hand. She swayed slightly and looked up at him. Her eyes were oddly glazed over. A thin trickle of blood escaped from above her hairline and ran down the side of her face. For a moment she looked strait at Drizzt and Catti-brie, with an odd sort of clarity. Then she smiled faintly and collapsed.
* * * * * * *
Andromeda opened her eyes slowly. She could hear a campfire crackling near by. It seemed to be early evening. She was lying on a bedroll. Her wounds had been bandaged and she was wearing a clean, though somewhat large tunic. She tried to prop herself up on her elbows in order to get a better look around, but a series of sharp pains in her arms, back, and head warned her against it. So instead she turned her head to the side to try and find out where she was. Imoen lay to her left, wrapped in warm blankets, and sleeping like a rock. To her right a tall woman with bright auburn hair was tending the fire. Andromeda tried to say something, but found that a pain in her chest prevented her speaking above a whisper.
As she watched, the woman stood up and walked over to the other side of the camp. Andromeda tried to turn her head further to watch, but found she could not. She heard at least two more sets of footsteps, and then muffled voices. As they got closer Andromeda found that she could pick up a little of what they were saying. The woman asked if there were anymore gnolls in the area and a male voice responded that he and someone called Guenhwyvar had not found any. He then asked if she had bandaged the girl. She replied that she had.
As they moved around the campfire, Andromeda got her first good look at the two new arrivals. The first was an elf, dark-skinned and light-haired. Andromeda knew at once that he was a drow, a dark elf. For a brief moment she was frightened, before she realized that he was carrying twin scimitars, and knew at once who these people must be who he must be.
Gorion had told her stories of the heroes of Icewind Dale when she was a child. They were well known along the sword coast. That meant that the drow was Drizzt, the dark elf ranger, and the woman was Catti-brie, daughter of Bruenor Battlehammer. So, then Guenhwyvar would be…
A large, black, feline face came up over the mound of covers and looked Andromeda strait in the eye. If she weren't in so much pain, she might have screamed. Guenhwyvar just stood over Andromeda and sniffed at her as if unsure what to make of her.
As if sensing her distress, Drizzt walked over to Guenhwyvar and carefully moved the cat away. He knelt next to her. "You're awake. Good evening." He watched the girl; curious to see how she would respond to seeing a drow. Strangely, she just smiled weakly and tried to say something, but her voice came out in a ragged whisper.
"Hush, little one," Catti-brie said, as she came to sit next to Andromeda. "Here, drink this, it will take the pain from your bones." She held a flask up to Andromeda's mouth for her to drink. Andromeda took a sip and winced at the sweet taste. She forced herself to drink the rest of the potion, recognizing it for what it was. As she drank Drizzt went to sit by the fire. She felt a strange tingling sensation as the potion did its work. In a moment she was able to breathe normally again. "Now why don't you tell me your name?" Catti-brie said, as she sat down next to Andromeda.
Andromeda looked up at Catti-brie told her that her name was Andromeda and thanked her, knowing the cost of healing potions.
"Ach, I'm not for letting a child suffer, and it's no great thing." Andromeda frowned at the word "child"
"I'm not a…" She began automatically.
"Not a child?" Catti-brie finished for her with a smile. "Yes, you are, and more so fer not realizin' it." She gently admonished.
Andromeda frowned at that, but decided to change the subject. "Is Imoen okay?" she asked Catti-brie.
"Yes she's fine. A bit frightened, that's all. Now how did you and your friend get it in your heads to takes on so many gnolls by yourselves?" Catti-brie asked.
"I wouldn't have if I'd had a choice." Andromeda responded, miffed. "I…I don't like to fight," She looked down at the blankets covering her legs. "Or kill." She added quietly. Liar! Liar! Her mind screamed at her. You love to fight. You love to kill. She did her best to ignore it.
"Aye, that's a heavy burden to bare, especially fer one so young." Catti-brie told her sympathetically.
Annoyed by the reference to her age, Andromeda snapped at Catti-brie. "What does it matter?" she asked, "They were just gnolls, it's not like they were people or anything. The world's better off without them!"
"Aye, that it might be." Catti-brie replied, saddened by the girl's response.
"Tell, me then, Andromeda, what makes a person." Drizzt asked from his place by the fire.
She looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.
He trained lavender eyes on her. "What is it, that makes you a person, and the gnolls not?"
She looked at him, confused "I… I don't know," she stammered. "I guess because they're mean, and evil, and stupid."
"So are a great many humans, and elves as well." He said to her, "And some would say a great many drow."
"I'm sorry!" she stuttered, as she realized she was wrong. Gnolls are people? What about ogres? She tried to ignore the implications "But you're none of those things!" she protested
"Oh really?" he laughed, "Do you know me?"
"I know about you," she admitted. "My father told me stories about you. You're Drizzt, the ranger."
"That I am, but who are you Andromeda? What are you doing out here alone? Your friend, Imoen didn't tell us much before she fell asleep." He asked, as he turned to face her, resting a hand on the panther's back.
Andromeda watched the panther for a short while, decided that since it was a cat, she was safe, and responded. "My father and I were traveling to the Friendly Arms Inn, and we were attacked by bandits. Imoen sort of just followed us. She's my friend from home." She hoped the lie would do, she didn't want them to start asking questions that she couldn't answer, questions she'd already asked herself.
"When did this happen?" Drizzt asked. Andromeda almost felt that he could see that she wasn't telling the whole truth. If he did, he didn't say anything about it.
"Last night." Andromeda said quietly, sitting up and crossing her legs.
"What happened to your father?" Catti-brie asked, fearing she already knew the answer.
Andromeda turned her head down and bit her lip. Don't cry. Don't cry in front of these people. Heroes don't cry, she though to herself. She turned to Catti-brie. "They killed him." she told them. Andromeda looked away. She didn't want to see their sympathetic looks. "It's not as bad as you think," she found herself adding. "He wasn't my real father. Just my foster father."
Catti-brie watched the girl carefully. The child was trying to bury her grief, not a good idea under any circumstances. Catti-brie herself had been orphaned at a young age and taken in by the clan of dwarves that lived in Icewind Dale. She understood the pain of losing a parent, and she also understood that losing a foster parent could be just as bad. "Where are your real parents?" she asked, afraid to offend the girl.
"Don't know," Andromeda said, looking up at Catti-brie intently, "My mother died a very long time ago. I don't know who my father is, or was. I never met him. I think he's also dead." She shifted uncomfortably, waiting for their responses.
"I'm sorry." Catti-brie said sincerely. "Where are you going to go now?"
"To the Friendly Arms, my father had friends there. He said that if we ever became separated, I should find them." Andromeda responded. She was glad that they weren't going to question her about it any more.
"Then we will accompany you and your friend there." Drizzt said starting to stand.
"No, I can't ask you to do that. It's too far and you must have something more important to do. Please, just show us where the Coast Way is, I'm sure we can find our way from there." Andromeda looked at him, startled. She already owed them too much. She couldn't take any more of their time. She was certain they had more things to do than look after stray children.
"I'm not fer leavn' you here all alone, not with bandits about." Catti-brie told her firmly. "Now, get some rest and we'll talk about it in the morning."
"But…" Andromeda began and was cut short by Catti-brie. "No arguments, just get some sleep." The older woman told her as she lay down to sleep.
"Alright." Andromeda said too tired to argue. Her eyes shot open in an instant. "Wait, my pack. I dropped it when I fought the gnolls." Drizzt smiled as he lifted a small sack and handed it to her. "Oh," she said, "Thank you." She reached into the bag looking for her mother's portrait. She found it. It was only slightly crumpled.
"Your mother?" Drizzt asked her.
"Yes," Andromeda responded. She sniffed. A tear ran down her cheek and fell on the picture. "She… She wanted me to be a warrior, just like her, but I'm not good enough." She felt ashamed, she had told herself that she wasn't going to cry.
"No, I think she would be proud of you." He told her.
"No she wouldn't, I needed help with those gnolls. With gnolls! A real warrior wouldn't need help, ever." He laughed at that. For a second she thought she was teasing her, but the laugh was not unkind. "What?" she asked.
"You sound almost like I did. But I found out that every warrior, no matter how skilled, needs help sometimes. If you do not admit that to yourself then you place yourself and your friends in danger" She took comfort in that. Andromeda had almost convinced herself that he had always been a hero, but every warrior must start somewhere.
"Still," she said, "I wish I knew what I was doing wrong."
"You seem to be unusually strong, and while it's good to use your strength to your advantage, it isn't wise to relay on it completely. You will find that doing so may be effective against unskilled opponents, but a better-trained swordsman will not be defeated by such an attack. You will also find that it is too tiring." She waited, absorbing his words. "Now," he said starting to walk away. "Get some rest and maybe I'll be able to give you a lesson in the morning."
Author's Note: Wow! That took longer then I expected! Chapter one is finally finished. I was originally going to go with the chapters in the game, but I decided against it. It would have made the chapters either too long or not detailed enough.
Well, please tell me what you think. Was it too long or too short? Did you like my portrayal of Drizzt and Catti-brie if you read the books by R.A. Salvatore or if you didn't, go out and read them! I know, I know, I changed some bits from the game. I did this for a number of reasons. First: I don't think that Drizzt would need the help of a low level character with a bunch of Gnolls, so I reversed it, by making the protagonist into the one being attacked. Second: I'm pretty certain that the game takes place during the time that Drizzt and Catti-brie were travelling together. And last but not least: I don't think that either Drizzt of Catti-brie would leave a pair of sixteen-year-old girls to travel by themselves.
Well, goodbye for now; please review this story since I like to know what people think of my writing, and of my characters. Constructive criticism is always accepted. If you want to e-mail me, my address is FairySweetHeart@Yahoo.com.
As always, thank you for reading,
Lhianann-Sidhe