The Heroes of Baldur's Gate... and Me

Part 3: The Gith in the Trap

The morning sun rose slowly over the camp, the tents casting long shadows across the clearing. The birds began their morning chorus, singing in the new day from their perches in the silver birch trees surrounding camp.

I sat on one of the logs, my hands around a hot cup of lavender tea, watching the sunrise across the lake.

Last night had been another sleepless night. I had tossed and turned,chasing sleep, but gave up just before dawn. I left my tent and stoked up last evenings embers to restart the fire. I boiled a pot of water and proceeded to make a cup of the tea Gale had given us.

I watch the sun slowly rise, the sky turning from dark blue and purple, to orange to pink. Wispy clouds dotted the skyline like pieces of cotton as they reflected the changing colours.

I sigh deeply, enjoying the early quiet. Just myself and the birds, as they flit between the trees.
However my enjoyment feels hollow. I miss my daughter. I have never been away from her for so long.

She used to love watching a "pink sunrise" as she called them.

Both of us would sit on the back steps that led from the kitchen to the small patch of dirt we called a garden. We'd huddle under the same blanket, a cup of warm milk in our hands. We would look out and make a game of naming shapes in the clouds. She would point out ducks, puppies and one time; a sleeping dragon. She was always very good at this as she had such a creative imagination.

I decide to look up at the clouds and see what I could see. A wispy cloud looked like a gull in flight. A bigger fluffy cloud looked like a sheep with a hat.

I chuckled to myself, thinking of what my daughter would say if she was sat next to me.

"May I enquire what is up in the sky that has you so entertained this fine morning?"

I turn to see Gale standing behind me, also looking up to the clouds.

"Just a game I would play with my little girl." I explained. "We would see what shapes we could see in the clouds, like that one looks like a gull and that one a sheep. She was much better at it than me."

"Well that sounds like a jolly way to pass time!" he smiled "May I? He indicated the space on the log next to me. I nodded and he sat down and helped himself to some of the hot tea in the pot on the fire.

He looked back up to the clouds, his brow furrowed as if in concentration. "That one looks exactly like a bearded wizard" he points out to me. "Almost like an old acquaintance of mine..."

I smile and point to another cloud. "That one looks like a duck flapping his wings!

He looks to where I point and laughs. "I see it too! A very white fluffy duck!"

"My daughter would always see ducks, they were her favourite" I grin, the memory of Lyra excitedly pointing to the clouds played in my minds eye.

Gale turns and looks at me. "You must miss her very much." He says softly, his warm eyes searching my face.

I nod. "More than I could ever describe. I feel like a part of me is missing - a part of my heart is gone. She should be here, in my arms." I sniff back a tear.

I look back at Gale "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put a downer on your morning.." I begin to say but he cuts me off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't apologise. I understand on some level what you are going through. I also miss someone special to me. My Tara" He lets out a sad sigh as he gazes at the fire. "She always loved a fire like this, she would stretch out and lie in front of it to warm herself. We spend many an evening in front of a fire like this, just the two of us with a magical tome between us."