The Adventures of Naomi and Shoe

Return to Baldur's Gate.

Naomi slept until around 8pm in the morning. Her head was pounding from the drinking the night before. As she looked around the bunkroom, she realised that it was empty, only the two cots that her and Shoe slept on were left. As she explored the rest of the facility, she found that the lab and the area under the graveyard had been purposely collapsed in on themselves. The evidence that anything had been going on had been mostly hidden. Inside Crackmor's private room there was a ring with a lapis lazuli gem in the centre, the decanter of ale, and a map marking out the last known location of Kimoore the Mad. The location circled was a small cabin due East of Candlekeep hold. Crackmor had not managed to go far from his old master after all. Lastly there was a letter which read.

Adventurer's,

We felt it best to let you sleep off the ale and wine ye drank of last night. The bodies that are to pass for us have been scorched and prepared for transport. The other bodies for your, pet, were also taken out. It fed on them and seemed rather pleased with the meal. I thank you for the mercy you showed us last night. May your days be grand. Perhaps our paths will cross again one day, until that day, I wish ye the best of fortune.

Brother Crackmor Doodlebus

Naomi made her way back to the cots and woke Shoe up. The two collected their belongings and made their way outside. It was around eight in the morning and the light hurt Naomi's eyes. Shoe seemed unfazed by any form of hangover. Maybe it was because he was new to drinking or maybe it was because he was dragonborn. Whatever it was, it annoyed Naomi because she now had to suffer alone. The pair was greeted by the Gelatinous cube, filled to the brim with decomposing bodies. Next to Jelly was a makeshift sled with a heavy-duty rope for pulling it along. On the sled was a collection of five burnt and charred bodies wearing the remains of the cult robes. The graveyard in front of them was an even sadder sight today than it was yesterday. It was collapsed in on itself. Where it had been brought down on the room underneath it just looked like a big sad crater. It was essentially a manufactured sinkhole. It didn't look like it had been done on purpose which was good. Less likely for anyone to go snooping around. Naomi placed the false boulder over the entrance to the hideout. She pulled three rations out of her adventure pack, handed one over to Shoe, threw one into the cube, and began to eat the last one herself. After the meal Shoe pulled the sled and the three adventurers made their way back to Baldur's Gate to claim their reward.
It didn't take long for the city to come into view. The party made their way through the border town of Rivington to the gate of Wyrm's Crossing into the city proper. As they did so the various people around town kept a cautious distance from Jelly. As Naomi approached the gate, she was stopped by one of the guards posted there.
"Ay up, that, thing, isn't allowed in the city!" He snapped while giving an angry look toward Jelly. Naomi quickly replied, with an air of authority.
"We're here to see the mayor, let us pass." The guard shook his head.
"I know, we were told to look out for a party matching your description. But, well, see I'm responsible for these people's safety, I can't well be letting a monster in here can I now?" The guard said dismissively. At this point Shoe decided to try and explain the situation.
"The cube is friendly sir, I know it's scary, but it really is friendly."
"I don't care how friendly it is, no monsters are getting into this city on my watch!" The guard said while laying his hand on his weapon. Naomi stamped her foot in frustration and disappeared to the west. Her plan was to try and find some sort of abandoned boat or ship along the riverbank to sneak the entire party, including Jelly, into the city. After a two-mile hike along the riverfront, she had found nothing more than pebbles, sand, and mud. The group then began the two-mile walk back to Rivington. Naomi kept her eyes peeled for anything she may have missed before. To her surprise there was a buried makeshift raft with a single oar. She quickly uncovered as much of it as possible. Her heart sank. It was too small for her, Shoe, and Jelly.
"Damn it, too small!" She snarled as she snapped the oar in half and tossed it into the river. As they re-entered town Naomi looked around for a tailor's shop. To her delight she quickly found one. She rushed inside and Jelly, trying to follow her got stuck in the doorway. This left Shoe trapped outside.
"Oh my goodness, what is that thing?" The frail old lady before the counter squawked.
"He's friendly." Naomi quickly asserted before asking. "Do you have any clothing large enough for a gelatinous cube, something fancy?"
The old woman looked at the giant monster, too large to fit through her doorway. She felt every hair on her body stand up with fear. Being brave, and just wanting this strange woman and her pet monster to leave her shop she answered.
"I doubt it, how large is it?"
"About 10 foot by 10 foot" Naomi answered.
"Blimy, that's big! But I do have a fancy outfit. Custom ordered by a fellow four tendays back, it's been long enough that I'm willing to part with it now. It's not large enough for your pet but it's plenty fancy. He offered me 100 gold, what can you offer me?" The little old lady said as she disappeared into the back of her shop. After a few minutes she reappeared with a beautiful blue silk outfit with golden lace trim. Naomi looked through her pack, only 5 gold.
"I can offer 5 gold, but I get paid 60 gold today, if you look after the cube I can come back with the money!" Naomi offered but the little old lady seemed horrified at the very idea.
"I can't look after that, that, that, thing, that monster, it'll eat me!" Her voice notably raised at this.
"Come on, it's friendly, it'll just sit around and chill as long as I feed it." Naomi insisted.
"NO! If you leave that thing with me, I'll call the guards!" The shopkeeper continued. Naomi went to ask something, but the little old lady left the counter and began to run upstairs. That did not go well. Naomi saw the outfit just sitting on the counter, unattended. Without thinking she snatched it up, told Jelly to unblock the doorway and disappeared into the street. She was joined by Shoe and Jelly looking confused. Just then the upstairs window of the tailor shop swung open, and the little old lady appeared calling for the guards.
"GUARDS! GUARDS! MONSTER!" She screamed as loudly as possible. She then spotted Naomi holding the fancy outfit in her arms. "THEIF! GUARDS! MONSTER! THIEF!" She started screaming again. Naomi grabbed Shoe's arm and then darted into an alleyway. She didn't stop at one alley, right down another one, left up one more. After a few minutes of this she stopped and allowed herself to catch her breath. Shoe and Jelly were still with her. Good. The sounds of a crowd could be heard, locals gossiping, and several guards checking the perimeter. Naomi looked at the beautiful outfit in her arms. This better work. She threw the hat onto the top of Jelly and gingerly placed the jacket, shirt, and trousers into it. They instantly began to sizzle and dissolve. Bits of the fine gold trim burnt away and came loose. It was better than nothing. Naomi guided Shoe and Jelly through the backstreets and alleyways until they once again reached the gate.
"I thought I told you no monsters within the city!" It was the same guard as earlier.
"Look, he's friendly, would a monster be wearing such a fancy outfit?" Naomi tried to reason with the guard. The outfit had holes in it, much of the golden trim had dissolved, and the fabric bubbled and warped as the acid ate away at it. The once beautiful set of clothes were little more than expensive rags now.
"People dress dogs up. Yet I've seen dogs rip men apart. No monsters. But." He began, willing to compromise. "If you leave the monster, out of town, to the west, I give you my word that no harm will come to it. I'll even assign a man to watch over it."
"Fine, I accept." Naomi said to the guard, turning to Jelly she continued. "Jelly, you be good. We won't be long, and these men will look after you." She said as the guardsman led the monster away to the fields to the west of Rivington.
"If you hand over those there bodies on your sled, we'll confirm it's the cultists and then come to collect you." The guardsman said as he took the rope attached to the sled away from Shoe. Naomi and Shoe then turned and crossed the bridge over the river. As she entered the outer city she was surprised by the number of beggars, and homeless peasants littering the streets. She had been in the city just yesterday and the number had doubled since then. Something had happened since her and shoe had left town yesterday afternoon. Something that made her stomach turn and twist in on itself.