Baldur's Gate
Prologue
The soft moonlight poured into the high windows of the Great Library. Countless books lined shelves that went from floor to ceiling. The halls and large chambers of the library were empty. Except for the laughter. The cold, hard laughter.
Abdel ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He dashed through open doors and large open libraries, past empty work tables and towering shelves with books as thick as his arm. Behind him came the heavy sound of metal boots, the soft clink and scrap of metal, and the laughter. The horrible laughter.
Abdel gathered the courage to look back. Far in the distance, yet close enough that he could not escape were the pale yellow eyes. They met his and Abdel felt a shiver ran through his body. Another deep, terrible laugh escaped from the darkness with the eyes. Abdel screamed and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to get to the roof, he knew. The light of the dawn would save him.
Abdel came to a hall that split two ways; one left, one right. On the wall of the crossroads, he knew he would find an ancient tapestry that told of the Tree of Life. Instead, he found Gorion. The old man had been nailed to the wall by a massive two-handed sword that had impaled him through the chest. Blood leaked from his mouth and tears were in his eyes.
“Father!” Abdel cried. He grabbed his father, desperate to find a way to save him, but knowing that he couldn’t.
HIs father raised his head. “I...I tried to keep him from you...but...he has found you...run boy...run!”
Cold laughter echoed from behind. Abdel turned and saw the pale yellow eyes. They had grown closer. Abdel looked to his father, but his head had fallen lopsided. He was dead. Abdel turned and ran. He had to get to the roof and the light of dawn. It would save him and his father.
Abdel reached the spiral stairs of one of the towers of the Great Library. Hope sang in his heart and the laughter turned into a snarl.
“You cannot escape me!” the voice screamed in fury.
Abdel grinned as if in answer. He always did. Abdel raced up the spiral stairs. His heart pounded. Halfway up, he tripped on a pair of bodies. Abdel did not recognize them, but pain stabbed him nonetheless. Behind him came the clink and scrape of metal. Alarm grabbed his heart. There had never been bodies there before. Abdel crawled over the bodies and ran for the top of the tower. He found the heavy old wooden door to the balcony that would overlook dawn and set it all right.
Abdel stopped short. Nailed to the door by knives was the withered body of Imoen. Her red hair had been chopped short and cuts covered her body. She stirred at his coming. Her dull green eyes found his blue. “Abdel…” she said weakly, “Why did...you leave me? He...he murdered me...he cut me…it hurt...it hurt so bad...he took it from me...he took it…”
Shocked and terrified, Abdel took a step back.
“And now…” the tears flowed down her face, “He’s found you…”
A deep, dark laughter came from behind Abdel. He spun around and saw the thing that had haunted his dreams for years. It at first seemed like a demon of iron and spines that stood like a man. It had a massive head with large curved horns and a jaw full of teeth, in which the pale yellow eyes sat. Upon its breast were the skull of a man and around it were tears of its victims. It took Abdel a moment to realize that the monster was a man inside a plate of armor.
It laughed. “I have you. There will be no dawn now.”
“No. No!” Abdel screamed.
Abdel turned and shouldered into Imoen and the door. Both disintegrated upon his impact an Abdel stumbled onto the balcony. He had reached the top of Candle Keep and the dawn. Or so he had thought. Abdel realized that he was no longer in Candlekeep, but upon a large many story building that overlooked a great and massive city. Abdel stared at the sight, dumbfounded.
“Where...where am I?”
“The end.”
The deep voice was behind him. Abdel felt his heart skip a beat. A strong, heavy hand of iron slammed him across the back. Abdel was thrown across the flat roof of the building and rolled like a rag doll. For a moment he was dazed. Terror seized him, but he could not make his body move. The killer was going to get him.
Abdel looked around for an escape. The killer was between him and the stairs. A tall iron fence twice his height surrounded the roof. With horrible realization, Abdel knew that there was no escape. He looked up to the towering killer. Hot tears rolled down his face.
“Please...please don’t.” He begged.
Blood dripped from the clawed gauntlets. “There is no escape. I will find you.”
Abdel’s limbs began to shake. “No...please...there are others...take them…take them first...”
A thick, powerful hand took him up by the throat. Abdel tried to pry the hands off him, but he could not weaken its grasp. The killer held him over the side of the building. The iron fence had vanished. Below him loomed the city, as if the top of the building were in the clouds. Abdel kicked and screamed.
“No, no!” he wailed. “Please! I can help you! Take the others! Take them first! Please!”
There was a deep chuckle. The pale eyes flared with glee. “I shall be the end. You are the beginning.”
Abdel heard a sickening snap. He didn’t feel it, but he knew that the killer had snapped his neck. Abdel screamed. The killer laughed and released him. Abel plunged down. The city had vanished, replaced instead with a hellscape. Abdel screamed as he fell. The flaming ground rushed to meet him.
Abdel screamed as he hit the floor of his room. He leapt to his feet, body sweating and heart pumping. At once he had known that it hadn’t been real. Or had it? Abdel shuddered. The dream had been both fantastic and believable at once. For a brief moment, Abdel was not sure what was real and what was not.
“Abdel? Abdel, is everything alright?”
A gentle light filled the room. Abdel turned to see Gorion, his father, in the doorway of his room. His father held a small glowing orb in his right hand. His father was a skilled magi, served within Candlekeep as one of its most learned sages. At what seemed like it’s own will, the small orb of light floated to the ceiling and highlighted his foster father’s concerned face.
“Abdel?” he repeated. “What happened?”
Abdel breathed easier. “Nothing. Sorry. Nightmare.”
His father frowned. “I have never heard you scream like that. What was it?”
The image of is father’s throat being torn open returned to him. The pale yellow eyes the instant that they had dropped Abdel from the building burned in his mind. He shuddered. “I-I don’t remember.” He lied.
His father seemed concerned. “You don’t remember anything?”
“I...there was…” Abdel shook his head. No, he did not think he could explain the nightmare to anyone. “I can’t remember. Sorry. Goodnight.”
His father seemed suspicious, but he let it pass. “Goodnight.”
He and the ball of light left the room and plunged it back into darkness. Abdel got back into bed and rolled over. He tried to get back to sleep, but the laughter echoed in his mind and he slept fitfully for the rest of the night.
Prologue
The soft moonlight poured into the high windows of the Great Library. Countless books lined shelves that went from floor to ceiling. The halls and large chambers of the library were empty. Except for the laughter. The cold, hard laughter.
Abdel ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He dashed through open doors and large open libraries, past empty work tables and towering shelves with books as thick as his arm. Behind him came the heavy sound of metal boots, the soft clink and scrap of metal, and the laughter. The horrible laughter.
Abdel gathered the courage to look back. Far in the distance, yet close enough that he could not escape were the pale yellow eyes. They met his and Abdel felt a shiver ran through his body. Another deep, terrible laugh escaped from the darkness with the eyes. Abdel screamed and ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He had to get to the roof, he knew. The light of the dawn would save him.
Abdel came to a hall that split two ways; one left, one right. On the wall of the crossroads, he knew he would find an ancient tapestry that told of the Tree of Life. Instead, he found Gorion. The old man had been nailed to the wall by a massive two-handed sword that had impaled him through the chest. Blood leaked from his mouth and tears were in his eyes.
“Father!” Abdel cried. He grabbed his father, desperate to find a way to save him, but knowing that he couldn’t.
HIs father raised his head. “I...I tried to keep him from you...but...he has found you...run boy...run!”
Cold laughter echoed from behind. Abdel turned and saw the pale yellow eyes. They had grown closer. Abdel looked to his father, but his head had fallen lopsided. He was dead. Abdel turned and ran. He had to get to the roof and the light of dawn. It would save him and his father.
Abdel reached the spiral stairs of one of the towers of the Great Library. Hope sang in his heart and the laughter turned into a snarl.
“You cannot escape me!” the voice screamed in fury.
Abdel grinned as if in answer. He always did. Abdel raced up the spiral stairs. His heart pounded. Halfway up, he tripped on a pair of bodies. Abdel did not recognize them, but pain stabbed him nonetheless. Behind him came the clink and scrape of metal. Alarm grabbed his heart. There had never been bodies there before. Abdel crawled over the bodies and ran for the top of the tower. He found the heavy old wooden door to the balcony that would overlook dawn and set it all right.
Abdel stopped short. Nailed to the door by knives was the withered body of Imoen. Her red hair had been chopped short and cuts covered her body. She stirred at his coming. Her dull green eyes found his blue. “Abdel…” she said weakly, “Why did...you leave me? He...he murdered me...he cut me…it hurt...it hurt so bad...he took it from me...he took it…”
Shocked and terrified, Abdel took a step back.
“And now…” the tears flowed down her face, “He’s found you…”
A deep, dark laughter came from behind Abdel. He spun around and saw the thing that had haunted his dreams for years. It at first seemed like a demon of iron and spines that stood like a man. It had a massive head with large curved horns and a jaw full of teeth, in which the pale yellow eyes sat. Upon its breast were the skull of a man and around it were tears of its victims. It took Abdel a moment to realize that the monster was a man inside a plate of armor.
It laughed. “I have you. There will be no dawn now.”
“No. No!” Abdel screamed.
Abdel turned and shouldered into Imoen and the door. Both disintegrated upon his impact an Abdel stumbled onto the balcony. He had reached the top of Candle Keep and the dawn. Or so he had thought. Abdel realized that he was no longer in Candlekeep, but upon a large many story building that overlooked a great and massive city. Abdel stared at the sight, dumbfounded.
“Where...where am I?”
“The end.”
The deep voice was behind him. Abdel felt his heart skip a beat. A strong, heavy hand of iron slammed him across the back. Abdel was thrown across the flat roof of the building and rolled like a rag doll. For a moment he was dazed. Terror seized him, but he could not make his body move. The killer was going to get him.
Abdel looked around for an escape. The killer was between him and the stairs. A tall iron fence twice his height surrounded the roof. With horrible realization, Abdel knew that there was no escape. He looked up to the towering killer. Hot tears rolled down his face.
“Please...please don’t.” He begged.
Blood dripped from the clawed gauntlets. “There is no escape. I will find you.”
Abdel’s limbs began to shake. “No...please...there are others...take them…take them first...”
A thick, powerful hand took him up by the throat. Abdel tried to pry the hands off him, but he could not weaken its grasp. The killer held him over the side of the building. The iron fence had vanished. Below him loomed the city, as if the top of the building were in the clouds. Abdel kicked and screamed.
“No, no!” he wailed. “Please! I can help you! Take the others! Take them first! Please!”
There was a deep chuckle. The pale eyes flared with glee. “I shall be the end. You are the beginning.”
Abdel heard a sickening snap. He didn’t feel it, but he knew that the killer had snapped his neck. Abdel screamed. The killer laughed and released him. Abel plunged down. The city had vanished, replaced instead with a hellscape. Abdel screamed as he fell. The flaming ground rushed to meet him.
Abdel screamed as he hit the floor of his room. He leapt to his feet, body sweating and heart pumping. At once he had known that it hadn’t been real. Or had it? Abdel shuddered. The dream had been both fantastic and believable at once. For a brief moment, Abdel was not sure what was real and what was not.
“Abdel? Abdel, is everything alright?”
A gentle light filled the room. Abdel turned to see Gorion, his father, in the doorway of his room. His father held a small glowing orb in his right hand. His father was a skilled magi, served within Candlekeep as one of its most learned sages. At what seemed like it’s own will, the small orb of light floated to the ceiling and highlighted his foster father’s concerned face.
“Abdel?” he repeated. “What happened?”
Abdel breathed easier. “Nothing. Sorry. Nightmare.”
His father frowned. “I have never heard you scream like that. What was it?”
The image of is father’s throat being torn open returned to him. The pale yellow eyes the instant that they had dropped Abdel from the building burned in his mind. He shuddered. “I-I don’t remember.” He lied.
His father seemed concerned. “You don’t remember anything?”
“I...there was…” Abdel shook his head. No, he did not think he could explain the nightmare to anyone. “I can’t remember. Sorry. Goodnight.”
His father seemed suspicious, but he let it pass. “Goodnight.”
He and the ball of light left the room and plunged it back into darkness. Abdel got back into bed and rolled over. He tried to get back to sleep, but the laughter echoed in his mind and he slept fitfully for the rest of the night.