Baldur’s Gate Heroes #014
Life on Earth, Part Two
The next day, and they had eventually managed to explain things to Minsc. She’d told him that Aerie was still Aerie but she was pretending to be Laura, like people on TV pretend to somebody else. That confused Minsc more, since he had no idea his favorite soap stars were all played by actors. But eventually Boo explained it and they were able to move on.
It was better to travel under the cover of darkness anyway. Numerous caves lined the coast north of the city, and they managed to find one big enough to conceal Dynaheir. Leaving Minsc there to perform minor repairs, Imoen and Aerie set off for the city. Since it was Aerie’s first time anywhere, Imoen pointed out the sites of interest. The first they came across on the outskirts of town was an old stone building enclosed by a high stone wall. Sculptures either side of the entrance depicted lit candles.
“Candlekeep… the orphanage I grew up in,” Imoen pointed. Aerie’s ears had picked up the rumble of high pitched laughing and chatter and running around some time ago, although she was puzzled about it was but felt assured since it didn’t worry Imoen. She had never heard children playing before, and certainly not so many all in one place.
It almost brought a genuine smile to the Avariel’s face, so many people enjoying their freedom. And yet, they were all contained behind this big wall… but she sure the intention couldn’t be to contain them. But then, the only other purpose a wall like this could serve was protection. Wild animal’s maybe… but then most of the surrounding area was domesticated farmland, and there were more than enough adult humans around to deal with any creature that strayed. Human children surely wouldn’t need to be protected from other humans? She remembered years ago, when she’d come across a boy in the desert who was being chased, although she hadn’t really understood what was happening then and had never been able to find out… but while she silently pondered the meaning of the wall, Imoen continued her tour.
“Used to be a tree on the other side of that wall. I could climb up it and escape sometimes, but they cut it down after a while. And just there is where the other girls would pin me down and put honey in my hair… happy days. I think that’s where Sister Margaret had her nervous breakdown…”
“You don’t want to look inside?” Aerie asked. Truthfully, she wanted to learn more about how human’s learn and how they take care of their children… but she supposed there would plenty of time for that, if Imoen was in a hurry.
“Nah… wouldn’t want her to have another one. Besides, very few people there who’d remember me now.”
Aerie nodded and took one last look back at the gates of the orphanage.
“You… you never found out about your parents?” She asked. Avariel didn’t really have parents, but most humans she’d talked to seemed to regard their families as very important.
“Hmm?” Imoen looked back. Considering where they were, Aerie’s question wasn’t that surprising. “No… someone just brought me in one day, when I was baby then they left. No one knows who they were. And me… well, why would I wanna know about people who obviously didn’t wanna know about me? So, I don’t worry about it. Now there’s a lot more to see…”
They carried on, but a few paces behind Imoen, Aerie started to frown. Something about what Imoen had said seemed wrong, perhaps the way she’d said it… in any case, she had what she believed was called a ‘gut feeling’, that Imoen was trying to convince herself that she didn’t care at all where she came from. The Avariel also remembered how the Rauko had looked at her new master…
‘What are you?’ it had said. It must have seen something in the energy surrounding her that was very different from other humans. But if Imoen didn’t want to discuss these things then there was nothing the Avariel could do.
As they moved into the city they started to encounter more and more people, and the rumbling grew louder as the pair approached the epicenter. But it was not laughter and playing this time… Aerie noted that the sound of laughter had stopped almost entirely. This was the loud murmur of two million voices speaking at once; the tooting of horns and the growl of primitive combustion engine vehicles… there seemed to be at least as many of them as there were people. Like the people they came in all shapes and sizes… but they were just machines, totally apathetic to the world they existed in.
Aerie found herself drawing a little closer to Imoen, not wanting to take any chance of the red head getting out of her sight. But she continually found her eyes drawn to some of the other sights’, and had to snap them back to make sure she hadn’t lost her friend. She had no idea how she’d cope if she found herself lost here by herself… the noise was deafening, and none of the people she saw seemed very friendly. They had a purposeful but severe look to them, like they wanted to get somewhere and didn’t have time for anyone to get in their way.
Many of them though did look extraordinary to Aerie. She saw a very tall dark skinned woman with colorful beads in her hair… her dress wasn’t really anything of the sort, but it showed off a very well toned and muscled body. She had a confidence about her, which was probably well earned. She certainly made Aerie feel woefully inadequate.
Then she saw a man with a long reddish beard, purple robes and wearing all kinds of odd looking jewelry. He was actually one of the few people who didn’t snarl when she passed… instead he raised his hand at her, making a ‘V’ with his fingers and said ‘Peace sister’. Aerie thought to return the gesture although she had no idea what it meant, but Imoen seemed to be in a hurry herself and he was gone.
By now they were near the center of the city. On the crowded streets they started to see shops with colorful banners advertising their wares. In the window of one she saw Chiktikka Fastpaws, or a fluffy representation of him anyway. Aerie wanted to stop and look at more, but Imoen pressed on.
Above the streets also was an extraordinary sight, as they were now surrounded by towers so high they nearly touched the sky. Some were taller even than the towers of War and Wisdom on Faenya Dail.
The Avariel sighed… there were so many wonderful things here, and yet she felt that she was the only one who appreciated them. She continued looking. Walking towards them now was a woman with a ring through her nose and makeup that made her eyes look sunken. Her head was bald, except for a green spike in the middle. It wasn’t a look Aerie wanted to imitate, but still it was extraordinary…
“Hey,” Aerie’s heart jumped suddenly. It was just Imoen placing a hand on her shoulder, but the Avariel had momentarily become lost in her own thoughts. “Don’t stare,” the red head said, “it’ll get us into trouble. Well… it’ll get you into trouble and me because I’m the only one who knows that all this is new to you so I’m kind of responsible for you.”
“Um… s-sorry…” the blonde flushed and lowered her head, although she didn’t quite understand what harm looking at something could do. Anyway, the green haired woman walked by without incident.
“You got change?” It took Aerie a moment to realize that the raspy male voice had been addressing her. He was sat on a rag on the pavement beside her, with a filthy graying beard and patchy clothes, which probably were once green; she couldn’t be sure. He was holding out a similarly grimy cap.
“I… I don’t have any money. I’m sorry…”
“Hey Bill!” Imoen grinned. “Laura, this is old Bill. He’s sort of a fixture around here,” the old man responded to her greeting by turning away and spitting on the pavement. “See, people like to come by here sometimes and drop a quarter in Bills cap… convince themselves they’ve done some good. Only, their charity doesn’t help make Bills life better, does it Bill? Soon as he’s collected enough he’ll spend it all in this very store that he practically lives in front of.”
“W-why this store?” Aerie asked.
“Cheapest damn beer in town,” Bill grinned and took a swig from the bottle he currently had.
“Oh… this man, has an addiction?” Really it more of an observation… Aerie could probably smell the alcohol from across the street, despite the cacophony of other smells there were.
“I can quit any time!” The old man protested.
“That’s what you told your wife, wasn’t it Bill?” Imoen said. She seemed to be mocking him, but her tone remained friendly. “That was fifteen years ago.”
“Never liked the old witch anyway,” he snorted. “I let her keep the house because it was a dump…and don’t get me started on them kids…”
“Yeah, old Bill is lots of fun,” Imoen smiled persistently, “he can be useful though, because he hears things, don’t you Bill? Maybe like, about Mason’s gang?”
“Don’t know anything,” he shrugged.
“I’ll buy you a drink,” Imoen held out a dollar bill, for Bill. Although she herself had stated many times that she was broke, it transpired that Minsc had kept quite a bit of money stored away. Bill snatched the bill.
“He wants you dead. Put a bounty on your head for twenty thousand dollars.”
“Thanks Bill,” Imoen’s smile never faded, until she had rotated her body away from the drunk. Then she looked very worried.
“There are people who wish to do you harm?” Aerie asked, also very worried. She couldn’t let any harm come to Imoen.
“What? Oh… it’s nothing. Just a silly misunderstanding… I’ll get it cleared up in no time. True, we did fire missiles at them, but… no, it’s no problem. Anyway, Laura, welcome to the USA,” Imoen swept her arms around the shopping precinct. “A country composed of fifty states; all united by one goal… truth, justice and cash.”
“Forty six,” Bill called out. Apparently, he knew things because he was a very good listener.
“What?”
“There are actually only forty six actual states… Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are officially commonwealths. Virginia was the first to declare itself so in seventeen seventy six… no longer a royal colony but a state governed by the common consent of the people and the others all did likewise after…”
“You’re not getting paid for that, so why don’t you be quiet?”
“Suit yourself… old Bill just thought you’d like to get your facts straight. So, you’re not from round here girlie?” He said to Aerie.
“N-no.”
“Yeah… you got the look of someone who don’t belong. Probably Canadian or British… bah!” Bill seemed to lose interest in Aerie and resumed spitting on the pavement.
“He’s probably right though,” Immy shrugged, “he does have a doctorate in history after all.”
“He’s a doctor?” Aerie was surprised.
“Sad isn’t it? But that’s what drink does to you I guess… well, you don’t have to worry, not for yourself anyway. Here look… we’re slap bang right in the middle of the city. You see that?”
Aerie nodded. There was really no missing the object Imoen pointed it. It was the largest building around… a massive construct of glass, steel and concrete that towered over everything else.
“De’Arnise Industries international headquarters,” the red head explained, “the family lives way up there at the top, looking down on all us little folks.”
Aerie said nothing, but there was denying it was awesome spectacle. If they could build that, then it was no surprise at all that they could snatch her away from under the noses of their own government. In this world, wealth clearly made one powerful.
Imoen led her onwards, to the train station. Apparently there was a man near there she could talk to about purchasing a primitive combustion engine vehicle for not very much money. They found the man outside the station itself, waiting for his cousin. They soon got into some very heated negotiation.
The Avariel decided to take in more of her surroundings. The rumbling wasn’t so bad, once you got used to it. The city was certainly a very lively place… she supposed she could get used to that as well, in time. It was then she saw another sight that mad her sad… a woman just came out of the station, and cursed when she saw that she had to negotiate a lot of steps with a lot luggage and a very tiny human in a pram.
Aerie stared in wonder at the baby… so tiny and vulnerable, and yet one day it could grow up twice as big as her. Perhaps to humans such things seemed mundane and ordinary, but few Avariel these days would ever get to see the miracle of life evolving naturally, the life they had once existed to serve. But she then turned her attention back to the mother’s predicament; she was foolishly attempting to push the pram down the steps whilst holding on to all her luggage. What was disturbing though, was how many people passed her by, paying her no heed despite the obvious danger. Aerie turned to suggest to Imoen that they should help, but the negotiation had gotten even hotter. It fell to the blonde then, but before she’d taken a step the handle slipped from the woman’s grasp…
Aerie gasped… the woman cried out as the pram sped away from her and others only slowly turned to see what was happening. By then it was too late for them to help. The wheels bounced on the steps, and then a second time. The third time, it soared high into the air. The Avariel’s heart beat faster and faster… no time to think. Her bracelet started to glow as she imagined herself reaching out and catching it…
The pram stopped. In mid air. Onlookers, including the mother, watched in shocked silence as it lowered itself to ground. A few took pictures of it. It was only after it had touched down that the mother rushed forward to check on her baby. She had tears in her eyes when she held the child close to her bosom, although the child itself giggled happily, unaware that anything had happened. Others instantly began to speculate.
“It’s a miracle!” One man fell to his needs, “God sent one of his angels to keep the child safe…” but not everyone was convinced.
“So why doesn’t God send his angels for every other kid who falls?” Said another, “Nah… there’s gotta be a scientific explanation. Like a freak atmospheric occurrence… Eddie’s or something…”
“Uh-huh… right, so by some billion to one chance this child was saved by an atmospheric anomaly that has never before been seen. Right. That’s very likely.”
“Well… it’s more likely than some invisible winged creature swooping down and catching it. You’re so ignorant.”
“No, you’re ignorant! And when you’re standing before the almighty you’ll be sorry too…”
“Right… give me some proof it was an angel then. You can’t can you?”
“You can’t disprove it! And you certainly can’t prove your Eddie nonsense either…”
“Right… so you wanna fight about it?”
“I have God on my side. You won’t have a chance.”
“Don’t have the guts to go one on one, huh?”
But as science and religion were about to engage in a bout of twelve three minute rounds, the mother of the child had no interest in which was right and was presently only thankful that her child was safe. Her tear stained face looked back up the steps, before her eyes met those of the Avariel’s.
Aerie stepped back, surprised. She thought for a second that the woman had smiled and nodded at her, but why would she do that? She couldn’t possibly know it was her… Besides, she hadn’t done anything that any being with a conduit to another dimension couldn’t do.
“Hey kid,” Aerie jumped again, but again it was only Imoen. “Why you so nervous? You haven’t done anything have you?”
“No… o-of course not.”
“Good. Well, I’ve got us some wheels, so let’s go.”
The ‘wheels’ Imoen referred to turned out to be a small, two doored, sandy colored automobile. Aerie assumed it was sandy and it wasn’t just that that’s what it was covered in. As soon as Imoen turned the key and the engine exploded, luckily not quite literally, to life, a cloud of black smog blocked their sight in the rear view mirror.
“Still, it’s not bad for one hundred dollars… and look, we’ve got a radio,” the red head turned a dial. Only static at first, but after much twisting she managed to get voices. “Back Ground Noise,” she said.
“This is BGN – Baldur’s Gate News,” the man on the radio said. But Imoen was right. Shortly after she’d pulled out of the lot, neither of them was really, although being able to hear the man’s voice was somehow reassuring. A least, they weren’t listening, until:
“Now, following on from the report earlier that significant numbers of the US military are, well, for want of a better word, defecting, but no one knows to where. At first we thought it was just an unsubstantiated rumor but it seems to have been confirmed, and I have to tell you that all branches of the military have been affected… army, navy and air force.
President Michaels has recently issued the following statement to all press agencies. I’m, er, not sure how I should read this out, but… ahem… it says, ‘There may be trouble ahead, but while there’s moonlight and music, and love and romance…”
***
“… Let’s face the music, and dance!” President David Michaels, the youngest President ever elected into office, or so he was told, grabbed his secretary and they twirled through the doors into his office. That was of course, the Oval Office. Who ever would have thought that an ordinary, if slightly insane, farm boy would one day be the most powerful man on the planet.
“Before the peddlers have fled…” he went on with the song, all the way across the room until he was finally sat in the chair and sent the secretary away with a slap to the tush.
“Mister President,” a stern looking military man said. He was surrounded by all the usual very important people. “If I can be serious for one moment…”
The President blew a raspberry at him.
“If I can be serious for a moment!” The general demanded, his face turning red. While he, and many others in the room, couldn’t be happy with the notion that the most powerful man may well be mad, the truth was that despite his eccentricity Michaels had so far proven a very competent President with regard to policies.
“Yes, let’s be serious general,” The President assumed a very officious position, leaning over the desk with his fingers joined. “This country,” he began, “faces a threat like no other in its history… and yet none of you actually know what that threat is or where it comes from. So, you see this… this is my angry face… I’m very angry right now.”
“I’m so sorry!” An elderly woman hung head and looked about to break into tears.
“That’s okay, Secretary for Education… I don’t think you’re actually supposed to be in this meeting. Anyway, it’s the head of the CIA I’m mad at… it’s his job to know… things. And I’m mad at the Attorney General, but that’s just because he looks like one of the Nazi villains from the first Indiana Jones film…”
“Ahem,” the head of the CIA took off his glasses, “as it happens, sir, there has been some progress.”
“Oh, good.”
“Yes sir,” the general butted in. “Some time ago, we sent a black ops team to follow a group we suspected were affiliated with this new organization. Unfortunately, they were all identified and eliminated.”
“This doesn’t sound like progress…”
“No sir… but we believed they were all dead. Until, a few nights ago, we received word that one of team, A Colonel Carter, had survived but was incapacitated and in need of urgent medial assistance…”
“Wait… if the colonel was incapacitated then who sent word?”
“That we don’t know. The Colonel himself had been heavily drugged and tortured… but, he does remember having a conversation with a fellow prisoner named Aerie.”
“Oh good. Aerie. And who the hell is that?”
“Sir,” the head of the CIA again, “Aerie was the name given to a specimen we had in our possession some ten years ago.”
“But you just said it was a gi… just what kind of specimen?”
“An extra terrestrial, sir.”
“An alien… had… ten years ago?”
“She was stolen sir, along with several other artifacts. We had believed she was dead.”
“And what makes you sure it’s her now? It could just be some hippy chick…”
“We don’t think so sir… you see, Doctor Sorel was in charge of the operation to research the alien technology.”
“I see… and where does this leave us? Is the threat we face extra terrestrial in origin?”
“That’s a possibility sir.”
“A possibility…”
“It’s unlikely that she herself is involved with the Cowl. But it could be that another alien thought this one could be a threat and wanted it removed… but you see, these Avariel have the entire library of their people downloaded into their brains when their born. Most of the stuff in there was well beyond the understanding of our best guys, but she could still be immensely valuable to anyone.”
“So all we have is more speculation. We don’t know anything new… or indeed, anything at all. Except that may be at least one creature from another planet running around our planet and we can’t be sure what its intentions are.”
“She’s not actually from a planet, sir… she’s from a city ship…”
“Well… that’s okay then isn’t it,” the President finished sarcastically. He sat back, furrowing his brow in concentration. “Gentleman,” he said at last, “I have to say I am appalled but what a lousy job you’re all doing. That’s why I’m taking you all off the case. You can all return to your other duties.”
“You can’t do that, Mister President.”
“Can’t I? Well, that’s a shame. Because I’ve already appointed the man who’ll be taking your place… come in please,” The President spoke into the com. When the door opened and the new man in charge of operation and the man in charge of Operation Find Our Who The Hell Is Taking Our Troops, the room collectively gasped, not in awe, but in disgust.
“You cannot be serious Mister President!” The Secretary of Defence was almost physically sick. “This man is guilty of treason…”
“This man, has contacts all over the underworld,” Michaels explained, “The underworld all over the world in fact. Not to mention that unlike other people I know this man has a history of getting results. This, gentlemen, is the man who is going to save our country.”
Aran Linvail took a bow.
