The Legacy of Bhaal: Tales of the Sword Coast

Chapter One: A Flight in the Night

"Edward."

I groaned and stirred slightly as my name rang out, but remained fast asleep regardless.

"Edward!"

Slowly, my eyelids opened, and I realised that the person shouting my name was standing in front of my bed, and not a figment of my dreams. The familiar surroundings of my small bedroom at the top of the keep came into full allumination, and my darkness-accustomed eyesight made me wince momentarily at the burning candlestick Gorion held in his right hand.

"Gorion...?"

I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I glanced to the small window at my right which revealed an outside world of complete darkness. It was still the very early hours of the morning.

"What is it?" I asked irritably, unaccustomed to being woken at such an ungodly time.

"Pack away your things."

I flinched suddenly suddenly at this seemingly random revelation. I leaned forward, and wondered if my ears were deceiving me.

"What?"

"You heard me," he replied sharply. "We are leaving Candlekeep. Now."

"Father..." I began, still exhausted and begging for reason, "it's... it's the middle of the night."

"Yes. I know."

"Well, can you tell me why we must leave right now?"

"I do not have time to explain," he replied.

"Well, where are we going?"

"I have not yet decided. Perhaps Bereghost or Nashkel. Or maybe even the city of Baldur's Gate itself. I have good friends and associates in all of these places. We will be safe."

Why Gorion and myself had to go anywhere to be 'safe' I had no idea. Candlekeep was probably one of the most secure places in all of the Sword Coast after all.

"Well... what about Imoen? Is she coming?"

"No, child. She will be safe here."

"And I won't?"

"Precisely."

"What's this all about, Gorion? I… I don't understand."

"Dammit Edward!" he shouted, in a fit of impatience which took me aback. It was unlike him to lose his temper so.

"You do not need to understand! Just do as I say! Gather your things and meet me at the town gate!"

He thrust the candle onto my bedside table and then stormed towards the doorway. He turned his head back over his shoulder.

"Do not let anyone see you," he warned.

Deeply confused and still half-asleep, I got dressed, grabbed my sword which lay against the wall in the corner, fastened my brown leather backback onto my back and exited my bedroom. As I came out onto the fourth floor landing I saw that there were still a few monks milling around the place, but it was past midnight and most were fast asleep in bed. I descended the stairs down to the ground floor and exited the keep. The darkness largely engulfed my view of the grounds, but the gentle moonlight which shone down from the night's sky meant that I wasn't completely blinded. Walking briskly down the steps, I entered the courtyard gardens and headed past the flowerbeds round the corner. It was there that I bumped into a figure in the darkness, who let a high pitched squeal, and then giggled as we became illuminated to one another.

"Imoen!" I breathed, startled. "You scared me."

The young lass grinned cheekily.

"Sorry, Edward," she replied.

"What are you doing out this late?"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I stepped out for a wee midnight stroll..."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You haven't stolen anything?"

"No…"

So she said, but I couldn't help but notice there seemed to be a large bulge in her right pocket which she was currently fumbling with.

"But hey, never mind me!" she exclaimed. "What about you, sonny Jim! You always were a good boy. It en't like you to be out and about at this hour. And, uh..."

Her gaze lowered to my belt, where my sword sheathe was held.

"...what's the sword for?"

"Nothing," I lied. "I mean… Gorion told me to…"

I sighed. Lies had never been my forte, least of all in front of Imoen. You'd be forgiven for thinking she was naive, but she could smell a rat from a hundred miles away.

"Look, Imoen. Gorion says I've got to get out of Candlekeep. I don't know what's going on, but don't tell anyone you've seen me."

She blinked.

"Huh?"

"I'm just as confused as you are," I replied, truthfully.

Imoen furrowed her brow in a mix of disapproval and perplexion.

"Hmm... weird."

Then her eyes lit up as a sudden notion came to her.

"Can I come?" she asked, excitedly.

I shook my head.

"I asked him about that, but he said you would be safe here."

"Oh," she mouthed in disappointment.

"Well… that's okay, I guess."

I suddenly remembered Gorion, standing at the town gate waiting for me.

"Look, I've got to go, I conceded. "Bye, Imoen."

I turned away from her and walked towards the exit of the gardens.

"Yeah... see you..."

I turned back and faced her again.

"Remember, if anyone asks, you didn't see me tonight, okay?"

She nodded.

"Bye, Edward..."

Gorion was already waiting for me, leaning on his staff at the gate.

"There you are," he said sternly. "What took you?"

"Oh... nothing."

He stepped towards me.

"Listen closely."

Gorion laid his hands on my shoulders and lowered his face until it was an inch from mine, as though the next thing he would say was the most important thing in the world.

"If anything happens to me, it is imperative that you head North to the Friendly Arm Inn," he said, slowly. "There you will find Khalid and Jaheira. They have long been my friends and you can trust them."

"Gorion..." I whispered. "When are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Do you understand?" he said.

But of course, I didn't understand. I didn't understand why I had to flee my home of twenty years in the middle of the night like a common thief who had been tracked down by the authorities. I didn't understand why I wasn't being given a chance to say goodbye to any of my friends. I didn't understand why I was being told to meet with supposed friends of Gorion I had never heard of or met before in my life. I didn't understand what Gorion meant by 'If anything happens to me'. I didn't understand a single thing. It was like being a confused little ten year old all over again. But I knew that Gorion would give me no answers. So I simply gave in.

"Yes," I replied.

"That is all that matters."

He turned towards the gate.

"Come. We have many roads to walk before dawn, and the night awaits."

Review Feedback:
(For some reason I'm having trouble getting line seperators to work, so this has to remain part of the main bulk of the story unfortunately. I'll go back and change it later probably when I've gotten it to work again)

First off, I can't believe I spelt Bhaal wrongly initially. Argh! How embarassing. Thanks to those who pointed that out.

Inconspicuous Acuity: Thank you very much!

Charlie: Thank you! Yes, I noticed that most of the Fics on here appear to have female PCs, which I suppose is probably because the majority of Fic writers are female (though I could be mistaken in that department). Yes, I'm planing on keeping the whole story in First Person View, or at least in every scene that Edward is actually in (i.e. most of them). Yeah, the Imoen thing really irked me as well. If there's anything more annoying in a story its overly-vague details about character's pasts!

Starx: Thanks.

Arabellaesque: Thank you, and as a sidenote, it's nice to see a fellow Scot on here!

Kyubak: Thank you, I intend to. :-)