Chapter 6 -:o No greater love... o:-

"There is a storm brewing."

Ged looked up in alarm, and saw his that Gorion had been correct, as usual.

A horizon spanning bank of dark clouds was quickly approaching from the sea. It was as if Candlekeep was pushing him away now that it was finally rid of him, Ged thought. They had stopped for a moment for a quick supper after travelling the whole day, and now even that was going to be cut short.

"We have no way of outrunning that. It's best we continue on, try to find some shelter amongs the trees." Gorion said, glancing at Ged from the corner of his eye. The boy was gathering up their left over rations and shoving them into his backpack with a little too much strength.

"Hurry Ged! There is something sinister at work, I can feel it in my heart!" Gorion yelled against the rising winds which rustled the leaves of the trees and bushes and whistled between the rocks.

"This time, it might not be some hapless beggar-assassin and his imbecile compatriot."

Ged, already shaken by the attempt on his life earlier, was nearing the end of his patience with his foster father's secrecy: "Please father, tell me where we're going. I-I'm very confused, the other one of those... men said there was a price on my head!" he shouted with sudden anger.

"What price and for what reason?"

The old sage recoiled from his foster child's anger. But he knew that his own delaying and avoidals were to blame here. "I promise you, when we reach the Friendly Arm I will tell you everything. You shall meet two of my good friends there, Khalid and Jaheira. They shall accompany us to..." Gorion's words trailed off as he swung his pack over his shoulder and started towards the woods, even as the first drops of rain fell on Ged's arms and head.

"Where? Where are we going? Won't you tell me at least that?" Ged demanded, running after the old wizard and trying to keep his cloak around him to shield against the wind.

With a deep sigh, Gorion turned to face the boy he had taken as his own son and apprentice. There was weariness in his answer, but his tone was kind and heartfelt.

"Alas, I cannot, for I have not truly decided yet. All that is certain is that we will be far safer on the move. Perhaps the woods might offer some secluded security, or perhaps the city of Baldur's Gate would offer cover amidst its teaming throngs of people. I do not know where we shall end up, but I have a few friends here and there."

Gorion smiled wearily, and tapped Ged on the cheek.

"I know you are tired of my secrecy. Tomorrow, when you know the whole story, I hope you will forgive me for everything. The story is rather long, and as I have some explaining to do to my friends as well, it will be easier to tell you all at the same time. Please, Ged, we should really be moving on."

Ged answered his smile with one of his own. "I trust your judgement father, I always have. You are the wisest and kindest man I know. With you by my side, I shall never be afraid of anything. Lead on and I shall follow."

Gorion nodded and turned quickly to hide his sudden tears from Ged.

The old sage felt the ice tendrils of fear seep through his body. Not fear for his own sake, but for the safety of Ged. He felt almost an electric current of danger in the air, all his old adventuring instincts told him that they were being tracked.

Stalked.

Hunted.

As they hurried forward, the rain was quickly increasing in it's intensity and furious gusts of wind whipped their cloaks about them like the red banners atop the ramparts of Candlekeep.

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Complete darkness had fallen, the sun had set and the overcast sky hid the moon and the stars.

The rain was still pouring, and occasionally a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, briefly illuminating everything around the two wizards. Ged was feeling tired to his bones, being somewhat unused to this kind of exertion. Gorion seemed to be full of energy, however, and kept a brisk pace.

"Let's hurry child!" he hollered above the crack of thunder, stopping to look back where Ged was picking himself up after slipping up on some wet leaves.

"The night can only get worse so we must find shelter soon." he continued, worriedly observing his foster child as the panting apprentice wizard reached him.

"Look, there seems to be a sort of clearing. There, do you see?" Ged tried to peer to the direction Gorion was pointing, but saw nothing.

"Those stone patterns, do you see them? Follow me." The old sage started towards the direction he had indicated.

"Let us head there and see if we can find anything that might shield us from this storm." he continued talking, as Ged slipped and nearly fell down again on the wet earth.

A flash of lightning.

Ged saw a clearing, where four large circles, with crosses inside of them, had been formed into the earth with small round stones.

"Yes! There, I see it! A funny thing, who do you-" Ged's talking was cut short by his father.

"Wait!" Gorion hissed.

The sage turned to face him with alarm in his eyes, even as another flash across the sky revealed to Ged what had alarmed his father.

Four figures, three of them huge in size, were approaching. It looked like they were all armed, but Ged couldn't be sure.

"There is something wrong..." Gorion continued, his voice trembling.

"We are in an ambush. Prepare yourself!" he yelled to Ged, and showed him back as light flared from the direction of the clearing. Magical, brightly illumating light.

A terrible voice spoke then, words that Ged would remember as long as he lived:

"You're perceptive for an old man. You know why I'm here."

The voice was that of a man, powerful and filled with hate.

"Hand over your ward and no one will be hurt. If you resist it shall be a waste of your life!"

The speaker was a tall figure dressed in black full plate mail. He was almost as tall as the two other brutish members of his group. Those two were almost certainly ogres, but horrifying as they were, the speaker held Ged's total attention. He only barely noticed the fourth member of the ambushers, as Gorion had called them, a short and slender woman dressed in black and standing behind the speaker and the ogres.

"You're a fool if you believe I would trust your benevolence." Gorion shouted, his voice powerful again. He made a threatening wave with his staff towards the ogres.

"Step aside and you and your lackeys will be unhurt." Gorion continued. He didn't shout these particular words, which made them all the more menacing. Gorion's eyes glittered like two icicles, promising a terrible death to anyone who dared to stand against him.

The tall armored figure acknowledged Gorion's challenge with a nod of it's helmeted head.

Even as Ged frantically fumbled around his pouches for the cured piece of leather that was the material component for his protective Armor spell, the imposing dark form made a quick gesture to the ogres, who eagerly hefted their huge morning stars and advanced towards the seemingly frail sage.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, old man." the voice thundered, this time tinged with amusement.

Gorion however, was already spell casting.

A bolt of lightning flew from his finger tips, striking the first ogre squarely against it's broad chest before it had taken it's third step towards Gorion and Ged. The monstrous humanoid fell down without making a sound, and Ged could smell burned hair and something other, more horrifying.

Burning flesh.

The other beast hesitated, and thus sealed it's own doom.

Gorion snapped his fingers and pointed. The ogre was hit by ten red bolts of magical energy, released by some way of instantaneous casting Ged had never heard of before. The brute fell down, shrieking and bellowing at the pain caused by the invisible but deadly Magic Missiles wounds.

"Run child, get out of here!" Gorion shouted frantically, even as he prepared to face the armored leader of their enemies. A lightning flared and Ged saw to his terror that the towering warrior's helmet was shaped like some sort of monstrous, horned skull.

"Get that brat, I will finish the old fool!" The dark titan yelled to it's remaining ally as it advanced toward Ged's father, it's huge blade ready.

The slender female took a single step, but fell down in a heap as Gorion's third spell took effect. A Holding spell similar to the one he had once used to bring down a dragon.

Ged didn't see what had happened, he was running away as fast as his legs could take him.

He had wanted to stay, to disobey his father and bravely (if futilely) fight by his side but something had taken over his senses and he had fled. Whether it was fear or something else, he couldn't say.

The ground was slippery and more than once he almost lost his balance on the wet leaves. Branches hit his face and rocks mangled his toes, but he kept on running.

He could hear thundering blasts of Gorions magic behind him, even over the din made by the storm.

Then, a single cry of terrible pain followed by silence, broken only by the sound of rain. Even the storm had stopped.

It had been Gorion, who had screamed.

Ged ran after his senses left him and he collapsed amidst the bushes, the dying rain soaking his torn clothes and fevered skin.

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I was a beautiful morning, one a painter or a poet might have cherished.

In normal circumstances, Ged might have enjoyed such a morning. Indeed, it would have been a lovely view from the ramparts of Candlekeep that morning. Normally, the young wizard would have been shaken out of bed by his adoptive father to view such a spectacle. Today was different, and Ged was instead woken up by someone shaking him urgently and not very tenderly. He opened his eyes and sneezed. He couldn't remember where he was, and shakily rose up, helped by the yet unseen person who had woken him up.

He turned and saw Imoen's worried face.

Then he remembered where he was and what had happened.

A feeling of complete, utter helplessness and horror took over and he collapsed, burying his face in his hands and weeping bitterly.

It took several minutes for Imoen to get any sense out of him and after that, she was weeping with him. Imoen had loved Gorion too, if not quite as much as Ged had, and despite her sneaky anti-authoritarian ways, had always respected the old man.

"What are you doing here, Imoen?" Ged demanded after several moments of bitter despair, observing his friend in amazement.

The girl was dressed in her best clothes: deerskin breeches and a clean white linen shirt, a green silk sash around her slender waist and an equally green cloak over her shoulders. She also had a backpack, a dagger on her belt and slung over her shoulder a short bow and a quiver of flight arrows.

"Didya think I was going to let you slip away and have all kinds of adventures with Gorion while I was left to rot with Winthrop? Ged, what were you thinking?" she asked him, somewhat incredulously.

"But-"

"No buts!" Imoen cut her friend off, wiping the last tears from her eyes.

"I'm coming witcha, ya rumjake fool and that's it! If what ya told me happened, you need someone with some sense to look after ya now that Mr. G's..." her voice trembled a bit at the mention of Gorion, but Ged could see Imoen's eyes filled with resolve now that her tears had dried.

Ged sneezed again. He felt sore all over and sort of feverish. Shakily, leaning on Imoen, he stood up.

"What are we going to do?" the girl asked him.

"Father spoke of going to the Friendly Arm Inn... He was supposed to meet someone there, Khalid and Jaheira I think they were called..." Ged answered her after a moment's thought.

"Do you... Do you think we should go back to where Gorion was..." Imoen asked in a small voice, looking at her boots.

"I have to, but it might be dangerous, Imoen. If that- that killer is still there, we might very well meet Gorion's fate. They were after me, not him." he said.

"If you think I'm gonna let you go alone to face down some tin plated maniac with a sword you're sillier than I thought!" Imoen snapped, her voice uncharacteristically fierce.

"If that... that BASTARD shows his face I'll put an arrow in him faster than- faster than candied apples vanish around Drep. Which as you remember-"

"-Is pretty fast." Ged finished her quip with a fond, if a bit sad smile.

He hugged her and they remained embraced for a while, alone in Faerun as the two orphans that they were.