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Baldur's Gate Heroes #013


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#1 Guest_Coutelier_*

Posted 04 August 2007 - 08:32 PM

Baldur’s Gate Heroes #013
Life on Earth, Part One


Imoen felt very positive this morning. Even though it hadn’t actually risen quite yet, she was sure that somewhere out there Mister Sun was smiling down on the world as he bathed us in harmful ultra violet radiation. For Mister Sun who gave us all life was actually very evil; tragically that’s what came of having so much power. But none of that was going to get Imoen down today.

For today would be the dawn of a new life. In fact, two new lives.

There was Aerie, who was really seeing our world for the very first time. Previously, all she’d got to see was a little bit of desert some research labs and whatever books or TV were approved for her to view, which apparently mainly consisted of cartoons. Imoen felt it very important that the blonde alien see that there is more to life on Earth than badly drawn characters using crude implements of torture on each other.

The fact was that there was very little chance of Aerie ever being able to return to her home. It was certainly well beyond Imoen’s abilities to help her at all with that. But what she could do was show her things that would make being stranded on this primitive little rock bearable. The red head knew that was a momentously difficult challenge, especially if the cartoons hadn’t been quite enough. But it was a challenge she welcomed.

Why? Well, Aerie was a nice enough person. Kind, loyal, brave and all that. Perhaps Immy felt that in some small way she needed to try and make up for the barbaric behavior of others of her species. It was a responsibility most humans would shun from, since it meant feeling guilty in some small way and if there was one thing people hated it was being made to feel guilty, especially when they were. But that was not and had never been Imoen. She had, she hoped, always tried to think of others before herself; been kind and felt sympathy for the people who needed it.

The truth however, was that her actions were not entirely unselfish. Thing was, Imoen had come to realize what it was that had been making her so desperately unhappy. All her life someone had been looking out for her, but she had been looking out for them too even if most of the time all she achieved was being in the way. And then that person was gone. Now though, she had a chance to look out for someone who really needed her and this time she was going to do it right. So it was the dawn of a new life for her as well. This would be a new, responsible, but naturally still adorable Imoen.

“Morning Aerie!” The red head chimed. She was sat at one of the consoles and heard the Avariel faintly yawn. She swiveled about to see Aerie lying on the floor (although she’d found the beds were more comfortable, Aerie still found it easier to sleep on the floor), the blondes eyes seemed fixated on her own feet for some reason. “You getting up? There’s something I want you to see…”

“I… I-I can’t move,” Aerie answered quietly.

“What? Why not?”

“Because the ra… Boo… appears to have nested… i-in my hair.” It was then Imoen saw that Aerie wasn’t staring at her feet but at a small lump of her yellow strands gathered close to her chest and made into a ball.

“BOO!” Minsc stood up and roared. The hamster poked his head out of the improvised bedding and answered ‘Squeak?’ “This is very rude,” the huge Russian scowled disapprovingly, before turning to Aerie and scratching his bald head nervously. “Er… this… this is most embarrassing. It is just that Boo likes you… likes you a lot,” he grinned toothily.

“I like Boo a lot too,” Aerie gently smiled.

“You do?”

“Of course… h-he saved my life.”

“Ah... yes. Well then, this is joyous news indeed! Good that we heroes will all get along… er, Boo?” The hamster squeaked and reluctantly untangled himself, leaving a very bemused Aerie, but at least now she could stand without fear of disturbing any creature. The bruises she’d had when they’d carried her unconscious body from the chemical plant had almost completely vanished after just one night. The Avariel’s ability to heal, even recover from injuries that would prove fatal to any human, was something Sorel lauded very often in the diary she’d been reading. It made it easy for him to cover up what he’d been doing when the inspectors called.

“Hey Aerie, what’s this?” Imoen grinned and wriggled her finger through the air in front of her, bemusing Aerie further.

“Um… i-it’s your finger,” she said obediently.

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say,” Imoen slumped back, “I know it’s my finger.”

“Well, t-then… why did you ask me?”

“We’ll be arriving in the city today, so I was telling you a traditional human joke. Gee… they must have humor where you come from?”

“Oh, y-yes, we do,” the Avariel nodded emphatically, “Only… w-where I come from, it’s traditional for it to be funny,” she said biting her own lip to suppress the giggle.

“That’s good… you’re having fun already,” Imoen rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I-it’s just… I trust you, Imoen. I feel able to relax in your presence.”

“Eh… I hope you don’t relax too much. You might do something weird and alien, like the waste comes out of your ears… remind me never to sit next to you in a theater or… ever.”

“Hmmm… b-better than it coming out of my mouth, I suppose… like some species I know…”

“Great… I see we really are going to get along!” Immy giggled and put an arm around the slightly smaller woman’s shoulders. “Anyway, the finger thing wasn’t really what I wanted to show you.”

“You… s-seem far more content this morning, ma’am.”

“Yeah, I am… I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve had any nightmares. Well… there was the usual one about Scooby Doo getting rabies… but nothing about any bald men or deceased friends going all evil dead on me. So yeah, I feel pretty good this morning.”

“That’s good… h-has Sorel’s computer been of any use to you?”

“Well… I’ve deciphered some data. Looks like his diary, but I’m still about ten years behind on it. He says lots about you…. Lots of deeply creepy stuff,” they both involuntarily shuddered. “Anyway, he’s dead now, right? Let’s not worry about all that stuff… it’s time we both had a break. It’ll be the first one you’ve had in thirty six years,” the Avariel nodded affirmatively, “Course; we didn’t find any money so we’re as poor as rats… no offence Boo.”

“Fear not friends, for Minsc has been poor before!” The cyborg sat back in the control chair, which creaked as it could barely support his weight.

“You were poor?”

“Yes… in his youth, back home in Russia, the only things Minsc owned were the clothes on his back and a potato. The harsh winters lasted forever and the shrouded, wailing women would have babies just so they could give their families something to eat.”

“That’s terrible!” Aerie said, aghast.

“Ah, yes. But the story, it does have a happy end, for one day Minsc met a member of the communist government and traded his potato for an oil refinery in Siberia.”

“Right,” now Imoen and Aerie were both bemused. No matter how long you knew Minsc, he still had that bemusing effect. “Well… we don’t have a potato, I’m afraid,” the red head managed to say through her bemusement.

“I-is there not some way we can receive monetary remuneration i-in exchange for helping people?” Aerie offered.

“Could be… I can’t say for sure until I find a dictionary. Don’t worry about it anyway… I’ll think of something. Now, Aerie… kid. Let’s go outside.”

“O-outside?” Aerie gasped. She glanced to and fro as if searching for an escape route. Unfortunately the only escape routes led outside.

“Yeah… outside. Don’t worry, there’s no one around so it’s safe… mostly. Anyway, you said you trusted me, right?”

“Y-yes,” the blonde swallowed her fear and followed Imoen through the sliding door to the outside, where she saw daylight for the first time in a few decades.

Spring was approaching, but at this time the morning sun still cast the sharp light of winter over the surrounding trees and fields and glittered on the small stream nearby. Although not strong yet, it still evaporated all that was left of Aerie’s trepidation and her eyes glanced to and fro in wide eyed wonderment.

“Grass!” She exclaimed, falling to her knees and enthusiastically running her fingers through and gathering up the stuff, “I didn’t realize how green it can be…”

“Oh, yeah, we’ve got lots of that here,” Imoen beamed.

“It’s amazing… t-there’s nothing else like it in the entire galaxy!”

“Wow… I guess we really take the stuff for granted.”

“Be… being a prisoner as long as I have, I-I don’t think I’ll ever take anything for granted. The universe is so… big, b-but every world in it is unique and… s-special in some way. It took hundreds of millions of years for all this to evolve… and if the smallest thing had been different… l-like some ancient insect decided to go somewhere else for lunch then the entire surface we stand on now wouldn’t be the same. S-so you see you shouldn’t take anything you have for granted… What’s that?” Aerie leapt up and ran a short distance.

Imoen wondered if maybe showing her all this at once was a bit too much and if it hadn’t caused some kind of sensory overload. Maybe she should have broken the Avariel in more gently… you know, started just by showing her a few blades of grass, then a potted plant and gradually worked her way up to an entire garden and so on.

“What’s what?” she asked when she caught up with the alien girl. The girl was pointing at a field in the far distance. “I can’t see what you’re pointing at.”

“It’s… a large four legged animal… th-there’s a few of them. They… they’re eating the grass,” Aerie noted a touch unhappily. Imoen could just about make out some dots.

“Probably cows,” the red head shrugged. “Cows say ‘moo’. That’s an important fact. Every human learns it even if they never set foot on a farm in their entire lives. But what I really brought you out here to see is the other way.”

The two faced the horizon in the opposite direction. There in all it’s… splendor, for want of a better word, not-quite-sparkled the brick and stone skyscrapers that made up the skyline of Baldur’s Gate. There actually weren’t that many tall buildings in the city and what there were where clustered almost at the exact center with everything else sprawling outwards from them down to the ocean. It was one of the oldest cities in America, which while nothing compared to the likes of London or Rome, meant it was just old enough for everything to have that lived in feel you get from buildings that have had to be retro-fitted several times to keep up with changes in technology and society, such as the invention of electricity and the passing of laws intended to create standards of health and safety in the workplace.

“Baldur’s Gate… my home town,” Imoen did that side ways wave people do when they want to show off something grand.

“It’s wondrous,” Aerie whispered. Immy could swear there were almost tears welling up in the blonde’s eyes at this point.

“Well, now we’ve both had genuinely new experiences today.”

“We… we have?”

“Yup. Most people are only happy to see the city in the distance like this when they’re leaving it.”

“But… you live there, so… i-it can’t be that bad…”

“I gotta share it with about two million other people. They’re not all as wonderful as I am.”

“T-tw-two million?” Aerie gasped. The Avariel’s stance suddenly went all panicky again.

“Yeah… it’s not a particularly large city.”

“I can’t even imagine that many…” she said, backing away from the sprawling monster.

“Sheez… it’s not like you’ll have to share a bathroom with all of them,” Imoen sighed, “Look kid, I know it’s a big change for you. An astronomically huge change, and it’s going to take long time to adjust. But the important thing is not to panic… I’ll be there to help every step of the way.”

“I… I’ll try my best not to let you down,” Aerie said, straightening up.

“Great, now lets… woe…” The sun suddenly hit them at full strength and Imoen had to shield her eyes.

“Is something wrong ma’am?”

“Oh… nothing. I just… didn’t realize how white you were.”

“Oh… is-is that a problem?”

“Not so long as you avoid standing in direct sunlight.”

“Hmmm… can I ask, w-why is the city called Baldur’s Gate?”

“Well, it’s named after the original Viking settlement that was found there,” Imoen was impressed that she knew that factoid. No one, including her self, believed she ever really paid attention in school. “Strange thing is though… they found the settlement but no-ones ever found any settlers. Not even a note to say they were out… weird huh?”

“Well… i-it was my understanding that Vikings didn’t write anything… anyway…”

“Really? You read that in a book did you… well I guess it will forever be a mystery then…”

“Er… m-ma’am…”

“It’s not the only mystery around here though. Every night people see a bright light in the sky close to the ocean… right about where the lighthouse is. Now that’s very strange…” Imoen felt Aerie tug on her arm, and when she looked she found that they were not alone. It was an elderly man, but in pretty good shape. Probably someone who worked one of the nearby farms. He was leaning against a post watching the two women, with a flask full of coffee and a newspaper by his side.

“Some vehicle you got there,” he nodded to Dynaheir, Minsc’s heavily armored truck sized little car.

“Isn’t it?” Imoen smiled widely. “We’ve driven it here from Hollywood. We’re making a new science fiction movie near here.”

“Really? And who’s she?” He nodded to the blonde with the large eyes and pointy ears.

“This… is our leading lady. We were just doing a make up test… good isn’t it?”

“Um… h-hello,” Aerie shuffled furtively.

“I’ve never seen her in anything,” he spat.

“Probably just don’t recognize her because of the make up,” Imoen was becoming annoyed now; especially as she realized she was up against that rare and most dangerous of creatures. An intelligent farmer.

“She don’t act much like any Hollywood actress I know…”

“And how many Hollywood actresses do you actually know?” Imoen threw her hands up in frustration. “As it happens, a lot of them are very shy, nervous people with low self esteem. That’s why they become actors… so they can escape from themselves and pretend to be someone else for a while.”

“So what’s this movie about?”

“You’ll like it… it’s about a simple farmer who asks too many questions and gets assassinated by a very attractive red head.”

“Not a comedy then?”

“No,” Imoen sighed, “Aerie, go inside. I’ll, er, be there in a moment to take off the prosthetics. Look,” the red head said to the farmer, “are you done with the newspaper? I kind of need to catch up with what’s been happening.”

“You gonna pay for it?”

“What?”

“I figure with you all being such successful people from Hollywood you can afford to pay for a newspaper.”

“Course,” Imoen forced herself to grin, “it’s only money…”

Moments later, Imoen boarded Dynaheir ten per cent poorer than she was before. Minsc was plugged into the cigarette lighter recharging and Aerie had found a small mirror and was examining her ears.

“I’ll just see what’s happening in the world,” the red head lay back on the bunk and started to read. “Microsoft has declared war on Norway… Oh look, a feel good article about cats stuck up trees and not being rescued. And that phony philanthropist Nalia De’Arnise is suing an old lady she ran over yesterday for scratching her car… nothing new really.”

“Phony philanthropist?” Aerie raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah… she always makes sure she’s seen doing stuff for charity.”

“But why phony?”

“Because she only does it to raise her profile, not because she really cares about poor, homeless people like us.”

“D-do you know her?”

“Well, I’ve never met her or anything…”

“So… how can you be sure that she doesn’t really care?”

“You defending her? It was the company her family owns that kept you locked up on that island.”

“I-I’m afraid I don’t know enough about how these companies work,” Aerie conceded. “D-do you think she would have known?”

“Well, I guess probably not. It’s her father who actually runs the business… but she’s still a spoilt bitch. And what are you doing with that mirror?”

“Oh, I… I-I need to memorize my facial features so that I can… w-well… I’ll show you,” Aerie’s covered the crystal that shone in her hands. Seconds later, the energy flowed into her body and began to alter her. The change was only small really… the points of her ears became small and round and her eyes shrunk a little and lost some of their slant. When it was done however, she looked like a perfectly normal albeit very pretty young human woman. “D-did it work?”

“You look good, kid,” Imoen smiled.

“T-thank you… I based my ears on yours.”

“Well that’s… flattering, I guess…”

“Hmmm… Do you think the eyes are still a bit too big?”

“They’ll do… so long as you can pass for human not every detail has to be perfect. If you ask me, you’re still just a bit too thin though.”

“I’m afraid I can’t alter my body very much… and m-my captors only fed me enough to keep me alive.”

“That’s the first thing we’ll do when we arrive then… get you a sandwich the size of a cow. The second thing I think you should do is get a hair cut.”

“Yes…”

“You can borrow some of my clothes… they should all fit you as well. Oh, and the final thing… we probably shouldn’t call you ‘Aerie’ when we’re outside and other people are around. Just because the military doesn’t approve of torture anymore it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t still lock you up in a lab if they find you. So you should have a new name for your new life…”

“Arthur!” Minsc woke up suddenly.

“Er… what?!”

“Arthur is a good name.”

“Arthur’s a boy’s name… Aerie is definitely a girl.”

“But Minsc once kissed a woman named Arthur!”

“It was a drag act, okay? Please just be quiet for a minute…”

“What about Bob?”

“No! Just… right, I think she looks like a Laura. Is that okay?”

“There was a lab assistant named Laura,” Aerie nodded, “she was quite kind to me, really.”

“You can always change it later anyway… but for now it’s settled. Minsc, meet our new companion, Laura.”

“Ah… another hero! Let us rejoice!”

“Later… for now take us into the city.”

“Ah, yes, but… what about little Aerie?”

“What?”

“We cannot leave little Aerie alone up here!”

“Er… Laura is Aerie…”

“Minsc fears you have taken one too many blows to the cranium. Aerie has the big eyes and the pointy ears.”

“Right,” Imoen sighed resignedly, the positive feeling she’d started the day with having been driven away within an hour. “’Laura’, you’d better sit down. It doesn’t look like we’ll be making it to the city today after all… I hate you so much Minsc…”




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