With our preparations complete, it was time to find the bandit camp. With the information we got from Tranzig, we knew that we had to check out either Larswood or Peldvale to the northeast.
Since I've played the game before, I knew that we had to find a group of bandits in either one of these locations and attempt to join the bandits so that they'll bring us to their camp.
Larswood was closer than Peldvale, so we tried going there first. After clearing through some trash mobs along the way ("What's a trash mob?" Imoen asked), we finally found ourselves a group of bandits who actually try to threaten us before shooting!
"Drop ye weapons and mayhaps ye outlive the day! I'll no be sayin' it twice!" The leader shouted at us, himself surrounded by bandits wielding bows. This was Teven, and he was our ticket to the bandit camp!
"We'll not fight you. In fact, we want to join your group!" I shouted back.
Teven took one look at me, then the whole gang of bandits burst of laughing.
"Bwahahaha! Oh, my sides!" Teven cried out, rolling on the ground and tears forming in his eyes. "The wee widdle halfling wants to play bandit!"
The entire platoon of bandits was incapacitated with laughter, pounding the ground in hysteria.
I bit back against the tears forming in my eyes. No matter how many times this happens, it still hurts!
Convincing the bandits that you are worthy of joining them may however require for your party leader to impress them with their bloodthirstiness ("This is a bloodthirsty job you have, and we like the killin'!", requires strength 15+) or trying to flatter them ("You're too good at your job!", no requirement).
The bandits are NOT supposed to fall over laughing immediately. Harumph.
Thankfully, we would get another try in Peldvale. After dealing with these idiotic bandits, we left for Peldvale. This time Jaheira would be doing the talking.
We were getting tired from the journey and close to Friendly Arm Inn, so we stopped by there for rest, and purchases! The Temple of Wisdom there had 19 more scrolls of Stone to Flesh, as well as stock of Potions of Genius and Potions of Mind Focusing (+3 Intelligence and Dexterity). Using both the potion of genius and Mind-focusing in combination would allow Neera a 100% guaranteed chance of scribing her new scrolls. I wished I remembered this Temple stocked them both before. I bought out the entire stock of Stone to Flesh scrolls…
"Just how many do you even need!" Imoen shrieked. "We've got 54 total now!"
"That had better be the last one!" Neera shrieked together with her.
It wasn't.
I also bought another potion of genius and another 2 Potions of Mind-focusing. Neera drank one Genius and Mind-focusing potion each and scribed Fireball, Detect Illusion, Cloudkill and Knock. I still had one of each potion leftover, and 10k gold.
"If we do it this way, we don't even need the Red potion with all those horrible side effects," Neera pleaded.
"The Red Potion only cost us 50gp. Even with the best discounts, using both a Potion of Genius and Mind-focusing sets us back 536gp," I replied. "Can you pay me the difference?"
Neera pouted, then said, "Fine, but make sure you all take good care of me when I'm weakened by red potion." She looked to the rest of the party. "No exceptions!"
Jaheira, Khalid, Branwen and Imoen looked at me with dissatisfaction in their eyes.
"You guys, feel free to pay me the difference if you don't want to be part of Neera's personal maid squad together with me when she drinks it," I told them, arms crossed.
They looked away again, mumbling "Over 10k gold and still so stingy with money…"
We had just reach Peldvale when we heard a woman screaming, "Help me! If you don't help me, they'll kill me!"
We turned to see a beautiful elven woman with obsidian skin and white hair running towards us.
…ah. It's everyone's favourite romance in Baldur's Gate 2.
She stopped right at Khalid, took his hands into her own and looked into his eyes. "My name is Viconia. I-I'm not from around here. Thank you so much for helping."
Khalid, naturally, was flabbergasted. In spite of his mahogany complexion he turned beet red. "Uhhhhhh…"
Why did she take his hands and not mine?!?
"What- When did we agree to help you?!" Jaheira slapped away Viconia's hands. "Explain yourself, dark one!"
Viconia would not have to. Before long, we heard another voice booming, "Step aside, travelers!" A man in Flaming Fist standard issue plate mail stepped forth. "The woman you are haboring is wanted for murder of the foulest sort. She is a dark elf, it should be obvious that she is evil."
Ah! I've always wanted to say something in this specific situation. "Uh, you've heard of the great dark elf hero, Drizzt Do'Urden, right? We can't just assume folks are guilty based on their race these days."
"Though I have certain doubts the present company is so innocent," Jaheira muttered.
To be fair to Jaheira, her instincts would be spot on. Viconia isn't a particularly innocent, in so many meanings to the word. Whether or not Viconia is guilty of the current crime she is accused of was the big question though.
The Flaming Fist officer glared at me. "You doubt my word? This woman is wanted for killing a farmer, his wife and his children. The brutality of the murder could only be borne out of malice equal to that of a dark elf. Drizzt Do'Urden is a rare exception."
"Did you witness the crime? Were there witnesses, evidence?" I asked. When no answer was forthcoming, I turned to Viconia. "Did you do it?"
"They lie. I've done nothing wrong," Viconia replied with confidence. She looked at me curiously, now realizing I was the leader of the group probably. She's too astute not to notice things like that.
Ugh. Did she do it? From meta knowledge, I know that Viconia is evil with a capital E. But did she kill the farmer and his family? I had no idea. Why would she even do such a thing and draw such attention to herself? She is alone in a world that hates her, so such an act would be folly for a woman so cunning. For all I know, the farmer may have done something horrible to her to cause her to go so far. She is enchantingly beautiful, after all...
I sighed. "Will this woman receive a fair trial to determine her guilt or innocence for this brutal crime?"
The Flaming Fist officer glared at me some more. "I am the law in these parts. It is my judgement that she is guilty."
To emphasize his point, he drew his weapon and leveled it at me.
"Put that away, officer. I'll only warn you once," I said, equaling his glare.
His gaze met mine with chilling intent. "For harboring a murderer, I sentence all of you to death."
He swung his blade, but his blade never reached me. He instead fell over unconscious from a Command spell by Viconia, who then smashed his head in with her mace.
I winced. Did you even need us? I had to wonder.
She turned to me this time, not Khalid. "I thank you for risking yourself on my behalf. I know what you are thinking: You see my dark skin and won't trust me for it. I am a dark elf, but I'm an outcast."
Viconia looked like she was about to reach for my hands, but thought better of it. "I need your help. I no longer receive my powers from the spider-gods you surface-dwellers fear so. The goddess Shar grants me wisdom, and she is a surface divinity. If you'd let me join your group I would be most grateful. I have nowhere else to go."
I looked to the rest of the group.
"It has nothing to do with race, we just don't need another person along to worry about," Imoen said with a shrug. "Sorry."
Jaheira just shook her head, as did Neera and Branwen. Khalid for the most part was standing behind Jaheira.
"If we are in need of a cleric, we will consider taking you in," I said to Viconia.
Viconia snorted and walked of. As she did, she said, "You surface dwellers are so weak. I should be glad that you turned me down."
Viconia is the other cleric one can get this early in the game. Evil parties will likely want go straight to Peldvale to pick her up as her cleric spells are indispensable at this stage of the game. Being a dark elf (aka drow), Viconia also has a natural 50% magic resistance. And just by virtue of being a drow, accepting Viconia into the party would reduce our group's reputation by two points. That is just a reflection of the many horrible crimes committed by the drow against the people of the surface. I guess Drizzt really is the exception.
Someone has described Viconia as the Shadowheart of Baldur's Gate. She starts off as an evil priest of Shar, but throughout BG2 her alignment can change for the better. Just like Shadowheart of BG3. (Oops! Spoilers!) Also like Shadowheart, she's gorgeous and a very popular romance option.
The next group of bandit leader had more or less the spiel as the last, "It's your choice which hits the ground first: your swords or your heads! Be smart now, and you'll all live to grow wise!"
This was Raiken. He speaks better than Teven, oddly. Did he go to bandit school?
Jaheira was heading the group this time instead of me, as planned. "We're here to join you, not fight. Looking for more killin'." She gave them a sinister grin. "If you're not agreeable, we're all too happy to kill you instead."
"We've been collecting scalps," Branwen said, matter-of-fact, and tossed our little collection of scalps at Raiken's feet. "Want to add yours to the pile?"
Damn. I'm not the one being threatened and even I'm getting chills.
Raiken stared at the chopped off scalps and gulped. "Ahhhh…. Consider your application accepted!" he said quickly, and added, "I'm sure you'll all be a great addition to our cause. Oh yes. We'll take you to the boss right away!"
True to his word, Raiken brought us straight to the bandit camp. Tents were set up in a clearing in the woods, nearby an outcrop of rock. There was a particularly large camp was at the end.
The bandits weren't particularly happy to see that Raiken had taken the initiative to bring a party of armed warriors to their camp. After some arguing, they decided to pass the decision to their boss, Tazok. A familiar name; that's the same guy who wrote threatening letters to Mulahey and ordered Tranzig about.
Tazok turned out to be an ogre. Yeah, one of those humongous things, but clad in plate mail and wielding a two-handed sword. And he did not look happy.
"Recruits?! Secret operation and you hire those you rob?!" Tazok hollered. "By the lower planes, why do we pay Blacktalons to do stealth if you almost light signal fires?!"
Holy hell, Tazok looks more intimidating in person. Granted, all ogres look more intimidating in person but Tazok was worse on so many levels. The height, build, armor and huge sword all painted a picture that I didn't care for right now.
Raiken shrunk back, and whimpered out a response. "We-we need to keep our numbers up! Besides, we-we checked them out pretty good. I think they'll do fine."
"YOU DON'T THINK! I THINK! I question them myself and if they are not as you say, you die too!"
…wait, this guy does the thinking in this camp? In the first place, since when were ogres smart enough to read and write?
For obvious reasons, Jaheira was doing the talking at the head of our group. Tazok gave her a quick look-over, then the rest of us. He snorted. "I say now I don't like you! Give me reason to not have you broth-boiled and use your skin to swaddle my small-kin! Who are you that I should let you join?!" he yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth.
Jaheira, on her part, didn't so much as blink. Standing her ground, she said right to Tazok's face, "We're strong, well armed, and we know opportunity when we see it! What better job be there for us? Dungeon crawling? That's fools' work!"
Tazok paused, looked at Jaheira again as if seeing her for the first time. "Hmmm. You have some sense, but I have many a strong back here already. What for I need you?!"
Jaheira cocked her head. "Would you rather have too few and need more, or have too many and not need them at all?"
Tazok blinked. The puzzlement was evident on his face. "Eh? You, uh, you sure are big on words. You, uh, you better be big on the battlefield too, 'cuz if you're not, you die!"
Huh. I guess he's not particularly smart after all, heh.
Tazok gestured to the camp. "You have run of the camp. If I hear ONE bad thing from Ardenor and Taurgosz, I personally feed your lives to the crows!" He then left with these parting words, "I take patrol and leave for mine tonight! Keep pressure on trade routes and there be extra gold for all when we are done! I leave soon."
Thank goodness Jaheira is savvy enough to pick the EXACT CORRECT SEQUENCE of lines to say to avoid a battle, otherwise we'd get into a pointless fight with Tazok where he tests our strength and we can't kill him for plot reasons. Folks who play the game should follow that EXACT SEQUENCE of lines.
Also, fortunately Kivan isn't with us. Kivan's vendetta is against Tazok specifically, and he would have started a fight right then. As it was, we had managed to infiltrate the bandit camp successfully. For now.
Imoen gave me a nudge. "You hear that? They have a mine of their own," she whispered.
I nodded and whispered back, "That's going to be important, for sure."