2415 Nightal, 1369: I went to try & help the Knights of Solamnia that are stranded in the Planar Sphere. I found a Mage, apparently a Cowled Wizard, @ the Council of Six Building. He didn’t want to be bothered but he did point me Ribald (where I’d just come from). Ribald said he knew a Sorceress who’s been known to be able to help others return to their home plane…but it would cost me 9000gp for three travelers. I don’t have the gold now so I wasn’t able to do it immediately. Tyris expressed interest when she heard about the Sorcerous just as I feared. My heart dropped.
I remembered the Amnish Guard in front of the Circus Tent & that there was some trouble there. I thought maybe I could earn some gold by helping there if the situation wasn’t yet cleared up. The Guard told me they were waiting for the Cowled Wizard’s over two months ago so obviously it wasn’t high on their list b/c nothing had changed. I told him I’d check it out, so I went in w/my lance/retinue & came face to face w/a Genie. He asked me a couple of riddles that we blew both times & that caused him to attack. Tyris fired off a Fireball, Anomen Dispel Magic, Auren used her Dancing Sword ability from Ras +2, Yoshimo cast Blur on himself & then went on the attack & Valygar used his Samurai’s Kuatoray Technique. I just attacked & the Genie was dead & vanished in no time. He was so easy to hit, I wonder if Anomen’s Dispel Magic didn’t bring down some defenses for us. Then we ran into an Ogre that had the voice of a female Elf. It /she claimed that it was an illusion & that she was actually a Winged Elf & that a Gnome Illusionist named Kalah had turned everything to an illusion. She said I’d find a couple of peasant’s on the other side of the tent who were not peasants & that they would have a sword on them that was really an illusion. In fact, it was a key to the ‘chains’ that kept her illusion as an Ogre in place. We found a woman that looked like a Huge Spider before we found the peasants. They weren’t openly hostile but then suddenly I, then Anomen, the Yoshimo took damage. When attached they turned hostile & we destroyed them, found the sword & took it back to the Ogre/Winged Elf. Sure enough, in no time, a petite, blonde elf named Aerie stood before us offering to join & destroy Kalah. I told her to remain where she was & that we’d take care of it. Aerie was particularly concerned about her Uncle Quayle. Could it be? Last thing Quayle said in Baldur’s Gate was that he wanted to go back to Athkatla to be w/his niece. Hmm. There wasn’t much to the mystery in the tent. We went into the next room & were attacked by & killed five Werewolves & a Shadow. Then we started up a staircase & were met by another Genie but I wasn’t ready to play games. I blew by him & then into a room where stood Kalah, three Werewolves & a Green Slime (my old companion Quayle). I let Auren lead the others while I went for Kalah. In no time he was dead, the illusion was dispelled & we were standing over the nearly dead Kalah, now just a particularly runty Gnome again, in the original Circus Tent. Aerie was so happy to see Quayle, as was I. He has definitely changed – he actually wanted Aerie to travel w//me but I’ve no room as it stands now. I told her I might return & she said she’d be there. It was good to see Quayle again…he seems to have softened…no really!
Not much loot after all there so I moved over to the docks to wait on nightfall & try to link up w/this Mook from the Thieves Guild. We got there in plenty of time & when night fell, sure enough, Mook was there. We decided to watch her back while she approached whoever it was she was worried about. When she did she was attacked & killed by a powerful looking Vampire. We jumped on him & it wasn’t long before he was almost dead. He turned into a mist & left threatening that this wasn’t over. We reported to Linval & then he had me go find two of his Shadow Thieves that were getting ready to defect to the other Guild. He told me I’d find them @ the Five Flagons upstairs & I did. Auren tried to smooth talk them but it failed so we ended up killing the two of them & just as we did their contact from the other Guild showed & attacked us so we took him out too.
BATTLE @ THE DOCKS
After that I had to head back to Castle De-Arnise. One of my servant’s came of behalf of Major Domo to let me know that Lord Roenall has come to see me & that I am needed immediately. I returned as soon as possible, leaving Roenall waiting a few days. He demanded that I turn the castle over b/c I’m not of noble blood & that Nalia was too young to name me Lord of this keep & its lands. All of that is guff. I told him to get out of my castle & he & his retinue left but not w/o threatening to return w/a larger retinue. Major Domo is good @ his job, so I wasn’t surprised that he & Captain Cernick were already preparing my Guard to defend my keep & lands against attack by Lord Roenall’s forces. I’ll be ready to return to lead my troops on a moment’s notice.
HOLDING COURT @ DE'ARNISE. NEXT UP, LORD ROENALL.
Afterword, we took the news back to Aran Linval about what happened @ the Five Flagons. We had a note that we found on the contact. W/this information he deduced that the leader of his rival Guild was a Vampire named Bohdi that we would find in the catacombs under the Tombs in the Graveyard District. He said she will have undead minions, which I suspect will be other Vampires in great numbers as we’ve seen 10-12 already @ night (hence the reason I try not to travel by night). He said we would find a huge blue door that led to her lair under the tombs which will also be the heart of the Shadow Thieves rival guild. He said we wouldn’t be able to open the door ourselves – he will send a Mage w/a Golem to take care of that for us.
MEETING W/ARAN LINVAL
And so we went straightaway. Not knowing where to go we just started investigating tomb to tomb & the first we entered was the haunt of two Skeleton Warriors that we defeated easily. The next tomb we went into wasn’t a tomb, at least not where we were but there was a tunnel leading out of it. We only just got started before we were blasted w/a Lightning Bolt! We didn’t lose anyone but a couple or three of us had some serious burns & we needed to heal. . Outside we were approached by a man who was screaming about an old uncle whose ghost was chasing him. The Uncle was just a really angry Zombie & I’m not sure who was in the right but we killed the Zombie. On the way out of the cemetery, I heard a man mumbling & realized that he’d been buried alive. We saved him & he didn’t really know what happened except that someone had dumped him in this grave & he woke up like this. He thought I might check w/the caretaker of the graveyard & we found him. He sung like a canary under pressure & told me I might find the guy that paid him to look the other way in the Bridge District. The man that had been buried alive had a piece of red cloth that he thought might be a clue & that’s the same thing he caretaker mentioned about the color of his clothing. I’ll check it out. He also said there were three kidnappers involved. We took some rest @ The Inn of the Seven Vales.
Afterward, I went right back, avoiding the door we knew led us to the tunnels but found another nearby that also led into more tunnels (or possibly the same ones). We didn’t get far there before we were attacked by a Sword Spider, a Phase Spider, A Giant Spider & three ‘big’ spiders. We killed ‘em but both Tyris & Valygar took some serious poison damage. Time to go back & load up on Antidotes & get ‘em in our girdle pouches for quick access. We have a few in our Medicine bag but they weren’t available when we needed them. It was back to Waukeen’s Promenade for more rest & healing.
I went down to the Docks to try & hook up w/an armorer there. At this time he was only able to strengthen Tyris’ armor (by +1), give it 50% Magic Resistance & increase her spell casting speed. On the way back I went by the Government District as I was told I might find a capable Rogue there. I really need a real rogue. Yoshimo’s skills are just not enough. I found the rogue I was looking for, a Gnome who got arrested before I could finish talking to him. I couldn’t lie when the Amnish Guard asked if he try to sell me something. After they hauled him away, I went to see about bailing him out but got sidetracked by a mob trying to kill a Drow instead. She obviously had committed no crime but was being convicted to burn by a crowd of fanatics who hated her for her race, not by proper authorities who had convicted her of a crime. I couldn’t let that happen so I went over & blocked the crowd. I got surprising support from both Auren & Anomen so I freed her but didn’t take her in obviously. I had to kill three fanatics who attacked us for freeing her.
I decided that for this mission, & this mission only, I’d bring Jan along so I returned the following morning to bail him out & put him in debt to me. He actually proved to have fantastic Thieving skills, especially Find/Remove Traps, & he was an Illusionist like Quayle too…only more powerful & less cantankerous. (Note: For those that don’t read me regularly, I limit Specialist Mages, e.g., Illusionists, Conjurer’s, etc., to writing/learning only spells from their own discipline but I do give them the ability to cast spells from scrolls of any discipline. So Jan only has Illusionist spells, sometimes many of the same memorized & in his spellbook). I stopped in Bridge District to see if I could find the man in red. I almost missed him but he was on the docks & & when we questioned him, he ran into a house. There his two partners killed him as soon as they realized he’d messed up their scheme. I ran them down to & we took them out. I needed to let the Guards know but neither those in the district not the officials in the Council of Six building seemed to be interested.
Back to the Graveyard the following day, we killed a Crypt King before moving back inside the tunnels where we killed a total of five sword Spiders, three Phase Spiders, two Ettercaps, three Giant Spiders & six ‘big’ spiders. I saw Aram’s Mage & Golem but I wanted to make sure everything outside was safe first. I didn’t want an army of spiders attacking us while we were fighting vampires too. It quickly became apparent that inviting Jan into my lance for this mission was a wise decision – he can detect a trap all the way down the hall & a locked chest is barely a nuisance.
I continued us around the rock ledge that circled the cavern, circling a large dome like thing that was similar to the Cloakwood Nest in more than one way. In front were three spiders (rolled up in the numbers above). We took time to cast a few spells/quaff potions, as usual, before entering a cave, an obvious combat situation, just as we did, e.g., when we entered the main tent in Bandit Camp or walked into the Cloakwood Nest. Here it was a good thing b/c there was what appeared to be a Half-Drow but there was no doubt she was a Druid b/c she whipped out an Insect Plague that really made things tough. She also called 22 ‘big’ Spiders. Anomen was swarmed under & fell unconscious. Every one of us, @ times, were completely overwhelmed w/the bees & other flying, biting insects. We finally killed her & got out of there but the treasure was nothing to write Candlekeep about.
BATTLE W/THE HALF-DROW DRUID & FRIENDS
After a much needed rest, (we keep needing rest after only a short time in the Graveyard District), we cleared out another tomb & destroyed two Shadow Fiends & a Mummy. Then we moved into the tunnels we’d found. We killed three Sword Spiders, a Phase Spider, two Ettercaps a Giant Spider & two ’big’ Spiders. Then I led us back to where we’d seen Aram’s Mage & the Golem. He immediately had the Golem smash the blue door & then the Golem started kicking tail…on our side before he finally succumbed. Inside the door we battled hard against two Grimwarders & two Grimward Archers. Then I had Jan use one of his Invisibility Spells on himself while simultaneously using his Find Traps ability to scout a large banquet hall in front of us. Inside he spied a Vampire (Note: Gellal) & as directed came right back to us thinking the Vampire had seen him & started to chase. The Vampire didn’t follow after all, so we coaxed him out into the foyer where we were & then we destroyed him in a ambush. I found out something. Tyris’ fire spells do big damage to Vampires – THAT is useful information. We confirmed that in our next fight as we entered the banquet hall & battled a Fledgling Vampire & a Greater Ghoul. The Fledgling Vampire/Greater Ghoul gave us a tougher fight than the obviously more powerful Vampire we’d just destroyed. Both Tyris & Auren fell unconscious before we destroyed them. Back to The Inn of the Seven Vales to cast Raise Dead on them which will bring them out of the false sleep they’ve both lapsed into.
Key Event:Then I got sidetracked, we all did. Jan had a family issue involving the woman he loved but lost to another. It seems she was abused by her husband & was living w/Jan’s family. Lissa, the woman had a child w/her husband, who’d hurt their child, Jaella, so badly she was in a false sleep hanging on to life. Jan’s uncle sent us to a woman in the Government District who further directed us to the sewers beneath The Copper Coronet to speak w/someone called ‘The Hidden’. Jan, understandably, stayed behind w/Lissa & Jaella while the rest of us headed out to find these sewers. This actually took a little work, especially w/o Jan’s skills, because more than once we had to purchase Stone to Flesh scrolls b/c of a repeating trap that would Petrify passersby. In the sewers we found and defeated or destroyed a Mustard Jelly; two Hobgoblin Captains, two Hobgoblin Shaman’s, four Hobgoblin Elite, two Hobgoblins Archers, two Hobgoblin Warriors, a Kobold Shaman, two Kobold Commando & six Kobolds. While all of that was happening we met a hermit with his friend, a Carrion Crawler. He said there was a sword here & that he would help me w/the clues to secure it but I’d need to find them first. I already had a Staff of Goodberry’s that was one of the four ‘keys’ I needed which he said would ‘seal the deal’. Close by was a room where pipes spilled sewage into the sewers. There were four of them w/inscriptions on three of them that provided clues as to what I was looking for. I kept trying w/just the staff but Lightning kept shooting out so I had the others stay outside the room w/the door closed while I conducted my trial & error (mostly error). Luckily, my Cloak of Reflection protects me completely from electricity! Continuing we found a huge sewage room where we killed an Otyugh & destroyed Mustard & Ochre Jelly’s. We eventually found a severed hand in a sewer grate in that room which turned out to be the second of the four keys to the sword. We were doing two things @ once but the priority was this ‘Hidden’ fellow. While looking, we went through a door into a wooden room & fought a pitched battle against Slavers including a Priest of Cyric, a Captain of the Slaver Guards & seven Slaver Guards. Tyris & Valygar were so injured that they fell unconscious from the wounds they suffered so we had to return & rest & allow time for Anomen to revive them. I think now that that room is part of a dry-docked Slavers Ship that we were pointed to a bit later. Up a stairway in the sewers was another wooded bramble w/the Myconid King & two Myconids that we killed but, even so, a couple of us, Auren & Valygar for sure & I think Tyris, were overcome w/the Myconids Confusion ability created by the spores. We found the third key to the sword, a ring on two Skelton lovers that were embraced on a wall. But then, finally we found the ‘Hidden’ after killing a Carrion Crawler. The ‘Hidden’ already knew we were looking for him & what we wanted, i.e., to heal Jaella. The Hidden asked us to help him first, by killing two people who were searching for him. I didn’t question b/c I just wanted to save Jaella. I had to go the The Docks District to the Sea Bounty Tavern. We were told to address the barkeep, who we’ve talked to a few times before, & this time tell him we are ‘seekers’. We did & he, in turn, sent us to the Bridge District to the Five Flagons Inn, where we stayed when we first arrived in Athkatla. There we’d find the two we were looking for in a room on the second floor. We did as directed & found two Githyanki that we defeated but we had to avoid Auren for a while as she was Dire Charmed & attacking anyone she could get close to - she hit every one of us at least once. We spend the night there & then headed back to the sewers. We found The Hidden & he had already healed Jaella. Upon questioning him about why two Gythyanki would be following him, he shapechanged into a Mind Flayer. He then promptly left & we headed back to find Jaella healed. Sadly for Jan, Lissa promptly broke his heart again & left w/her abusive husband who’d showed up when we did. I led us back to the sewers, now w/Jan rejoined, & he immediately Removed the Petrification Trap. It dawned on us that the fourth key we needed for the sword was to kill the Carrion Crawler that was the hermit’s ‘true friend’. One of the clues was that the riddle would be solved w/the blood of a true friend. Sure enough, that did it & we left a saddened hermit but solved the riddle; severed hand first; the ring, the blood & then the Shaman’s Staff. We got a slightly cursed but powerful Two-Handed Sword +3 (Lilarcor) but sold it.
THE 'HIDDEN'
While doing all of that, having been given entrance to the seediest parts of the Copper Coronet, we found a Gladiator Fighting Pit: We were attacked by a Winter Wolf before finding the kennels for all of the animals used in the pits. Unfortunately, the Beast Master turned them all against us & we killed a Minotaur, a Grizzly Bear, a Panther, two Leopards, a Black Bear & two mutilated Gibberling’s. Had he not turned them on us, the Minotaur & the Gibberling’s might have perished but the animals certainly would not have. As we killed the animals I thought of Jaheira who I lost to my lance these months ago now. I wonder how she would have reacted.
We found the area where the brothel was but spent little time there, although we did tell an angry wife where her husband could be found. J The other thing we found, most importantly, were the cells where prisoners were kept. There were a boy & a girl in these & a burly dude named Hendak obviously from the Norheim Isles, or one of the other Monshae Isles situated between islands Norland and Aralom (where my first love Branwen is now – but I’ve moved on & I love Tyris dearly now). Back to Hendak, we freed him & the children (as well as another friend of his) w/a key we found on the Beast Master. Hendak immediately went to work killing all of the Copper Coronet Guards but he really wanted that creepy guy Lehtinan who is the owner of this place & the director of all of the seedier goings on. He’d captured Hendak & made him a slave for the fighting pits & Hendak was ready to tear him a new one, which he did in no uncertain terms & then claimed the Coper Coronet for himself as payment for Lehtinan’s cruelty to him & others. He promised to clean the place up & started by giving us a discount on anything we purchase there from now on. He then asked us to do him one more favor – destroy the Slaver’s here in Athkatla – right around the block in a dry-docked ship. He advised not to attack headlong & said he’d heard of a secret entrance from the sewers that would be less risky. I know where that is & we’ll go there quickly. We need gold for the Knights of Solamnia & for armor, weapons, potions, etc., to fight the Vampires. I’d also like to purchase a ‘Spellcasting License’ from those crooked Cowled Wizards.
I took us back to Castle De’Arnise where I consented to the marriage of one of my household servants, Chanelle, to a local Ranger over a suitor from Roenall’s lands. When I found out where he was from he was handicapped already but then he spoke & had the same haughty, boastful, self-important vainglory that I’ve dealt w/from Lord Roenall & his snotty son. Sounds like the Ranger hits the ale more than the average Ranger but Chanelle understands that & obviously loves him anyway. I granted her a 500gp dowry, honoring a promise Lord De’Arnise made to her when he alive.
PREPARING FOR BANQUET @ DE'ARNISE
Treasure of Note: (Purse = 8,651gp) Armor/Weapons: Girdle of Piercing (Auren); Battle Axe (sold); Staff of Curing (Anomen); Two-Handed Sword +3; (Lilarcor)(Sold); Jewelry/Gold: 4,000 (De’Arnise Tax Revenue), three Emeralds, 1,287gp, 724gp; Diamond, Water Opal, 100gp; Potions: Scrolls: Chain Lightning, Contingency, Stoneskin, Magic Missile; Wands: None
Current Disposition: Rejuvenating & resting @ De’Arnise.
Next Steps: I need to get back onto Bohdi’s trail but I feel that stopping the Slavers will help me to do that more than another foray into her lair would right now. It’ll help me release the Knights of Solamnia & between that & stopping the Slaver’s I think I’ll be better ready to go after her.
Level Up:
· Auren has increased her skills to those equivalent to a Lady (Fighter- Apprentice/11). Should she have any interest in it she would be equivalent to me as Lord but the title is only given to people like she & I when we become landowners. She remains 2nd in my Lance’s Chain of Command.
· Lord Gawain: My fighting skills continue increase as does my resistance to spells, polymorph, death magic, etc. I am now graded as a Lord/12 (Fighter/12) & added Warhammer as my second weapon since I’ve topped out @ Grand Master w/the Bastard Sword & Anomen doesn’t have the strength to use the Hammer of Thunderbolts +3.
· Anomen has incurred further favor from Helm & has been raised to High Priest of the Watchers of Helm 10 (Cleric/10). As such, he prayed for & tells me he received both Cure Serious & Critical Wounds.
Current Party (In Order of March): (Reputation: 13 – Popular)
· Gawain: Ftr/12, (HP119); Full Plate Mail w/Large Shield, Helm of Balduran, Ring of Protection +2, Ring of Invisibility & Girdle of Bluntness, Cloak of Reflection & Periapt of Proof Against Poison ; Bastard Sword +1*****, Hammer of Thunderbolts +3*, Flail of the Ages (Acid); Bastard Sword***** (Bone Golem)(1)
· Auren Aseph: Ftr (Apprentice//11), (HP77); Studded Leather +2, Girdle of Piercing w/ Long Sword (Ras +2)***** (SWS**); (Shade Lord)(SCS Ease of Use, Setting 1)(2)
· Tyris Flare: Fighter (Amazon/9)//Mage [Fire Only]/10; HP31; Tyris’ Leather Armor, Cloak of Protection +1, Buckler +1; Rings of Acuity, Fire Control; Sling +2**; Spear +2** Spear**; (Skeleton Warrior)(Mage Aggressive)(4)
Anomen: Ftr/Watcher of Helm//9/10, (HP56); Plate Mail w Large Shield & Amulet of Power; Mace (Mauler’s Arm +2)***, Warhammer**, Staff of Curing, (SSS**); (Greater Fire Elemental)(Cleric Aggressive)(3)
· Valygar: Samurai (Ranger/10), (HP75); Studded Leather +2 w/Scimitar +2 (Rashad’s Talon +2)*****, Scimitar +1*****, Scimitar*****; (Vampire - Gellal)(SCS Ease of Use AI, Setting 1)(5)
· Jan: Illusionist/11//Thief/12 (HP34); Jan’s Adventure Wear, Jen’s Techno Gloves, Jan’s Spectroscopes & Flasher Launcher w/Flasher Master Bruiser Mates; (Thief Adventurer)(Spider)(6)
Mods Used: BG2 FixPack _v10; Amber_v4; Auren Aseph_v9; Sarah_v4; Haldimir_v2; : Tyris Flare_v6; Gavin_v20 & Hotfix; scs-v30 (- Tactical Challenges); MegaModKits v1.01L (Anti-Paladin, Charming Rogue, Priest of Sylvanus, Bladesinger, Amazon, Apprentice, Ninja, Samurai); Divine Remix_v8 (Nightcloak of Shar, Holy Strategist of the Red Knight, Batleguard of Tempus, Strifeleader of Cyric, Bowslinger, Forest Runner, Wilderness Runner) ; Rogue Rebalancing; bg2_tweaks-v16; Item Randomizer-v6.8; level1npcs-v1.9
Blue Font: New information;
Red Font: Monster encounters (first use)
(Best kill)(Current AI)(Chain of Command)
* Name Levels are ancient, AD&D titles that used to represent each new level in a class
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Some time later I remembered that with Polytweak mod //Ulitharids gain six attacks per round (as they should have) and "Supra-genius" intelligence that allows them to ignore low level illusions.//. At least we discovered in a hard way (at the cost of Imoen's and Viconia's lives) that simple Mind Flayers still can't see through the Invisibility and Pro vs Magic Energy nullifies Detonate damage.
