We were back at the Friendly Arm Inn once more, but this time we were magnitudes more powerful than before.
The results of this trip to Durlag's Tower were massive, to say the least. By the time we were done with Durlag's Tower upper levels, only I and Neera had not maxed out our levels.
I was a level 5 fighter/level 6 thief before Durlag's, and level 7 fighter/ level 7 thief after. With the Sling+1 my Thac0 was 7, 8 to 11 damage and APR 2. With the Staff Spear +2 my Thac0 was 9, 10 to 17 damage, APR 2. My thief skills of note were Set Traps 90, Hide in shadows 90, Move Silently 75, Open Locks 60, Pick Pockets 55 and Detect Illusions 20. I had one more level of thief to gain. With my 84hp and AC0, I was no slouch in melee combat though I should not attempt to be the main tank, so to speak.
Khalid's level increased from 6 to 8. While wielding Varscona +2, he had a Thac0 of 8 and did 6 to 13 damage per swing, not including the +1 cold damage. His APR was 2. He had 104hp and AC-4, making him a great main tank. I had in mind to find him a nice pair of Gauntlets to help improve his strength in the near future.
Jaheira was level 5 fighter/level 5 druid before Durlag, and level 7 fighter/level 8 druid after. She had gained level 4 spells which included Call Woodland Beings and more, but she was going to mostly cast Call Woodland Beings. Her spell slots in level 1/2/3/4 spells were 5/3/3/2 respectively. She was also a decent fighter Thac0 11 using her Scimitar +2 or Club +2, 89hp and AC-6. She'll be using potions a lot to shore up her strength in the future.
Branwen level increased from level 6 to level 8, unlocking her level 4 spells such as Defensive Harmony, Free Action, and Protection from Evil (10 foot radius). Her attacks decent enough (Thac0 13 with sling, 5 to 8 damage), but she with the Ring of Holiness equipped her spell slots were in level level 1/2/3/4 spells were 6/6/4/3. We used the Tome of Understanding on her, raising her Wisdom to 17 and giving her another level 3 spell slot.
Neera's level increased from level 6 to 8, not maxed, but getting there. She now had access to level 4 spells, which included, uh, just Stoneskin for now. We were going to fix that soon.
Imoen had the biggest increase, from a level 1 mage to a Level 8 mage and Level 7 thief. Imoen only knew level 1 spells (Sleep and Spook) in spite of having a lot of higher-level spell slots. Again, we would fix that soon enough.
A trip to the Sorcerous Sundries in Baldur's Gate was in order! We would have to pass by some farmlands teaming with deadly monsters to get there, but that wasn't going to be an issue for this party. Soon. First, we had stopped by the Friendly Arm Inn to get some rest. There, we check on Rill and the survivors from Cloakwood.
"So you're going to Baldur's Gate already?" Rill asked. "It hasn't been a week yet. Just five days."
He was looking much better now, certainly fit for travel. So were the other survivors, really. Officer Jai and her platoon of Flaming Fist mercenaries were here as well, watching over them as promised.
"Yes, got some shopping to do. Adventurers got to prepare and equip ourselves properly for the challenges ahead," I explained. "You guys don't have to follow us up just yet. We'll come down and get whoever wants to go."
Rill looked to the other survivors, then went over to them to discuss something. He then went to talk to Officer Jai as well. Finally, he came back to us, grinning. "We'll follow you up then. Five days was enough for us to rest, and we don't mind going early. Officer Jai is in agreement as well."
Behind Rill, all the survivors were looking at our ongoing conversation, nodding their heads. Officer Jai sat near us as well. "I've talked to my men. We're all ready to leave when you are."
Well, that's definitely convenient for us. "Great. How many of the survivors are going to Baldur's Gate to testify by the way?"
Rill looked back to them. As one, all of them nodded again. Then he looked back at me. "All of us. We figured there is safety in numbers, and we can't let go of our grudge."
Branwen stood up. "You are all extremely brave men. Know that your courage will be remembered by Tempus, come what may," she said. She raised he mug to them. "To the brave! To justice!"
"To the brave! To justice!" everyone cheered, raising their mugs. Even Dorn raised his mug, though he didn't say the words. Dorn may be a jerk, but he does believes in payback if not justice.
---
The farmlands on the way to Baldur's Gate is stupid crazy perilous because of a huge Ankheg infestation. Our party acted as the vanguard of the contingent of travelers, clearing the way of Aknhegs while the Flaming Fist soldiers focused on escorting the survivors safely through. For now, since we were doing this escorting, I was purposely avoiding various quests in this area.
As we were now though, Ankhegs really were not such a big issue. With their save vs death of 10, Sleep has a 60% chance of landing on Ankhegs. It didn't always connect, but often enough to make even packs of ankhegs a non-issue.
If we were lower level, ankhegs are a huge threat. The Ankhegs just north of Friendly Arm Inn were probably placed by the developers as a sort of soft barrier to Baldur's Gate city. The huge insectoid creatures were incredibly dangerous for low level parties to tackle. They hit extremely hard, 4d4 (missile) + 4d4 (acid) (save vs Death negates) at range and 3d6 (crushing) + 1d4 (acid) (no save) in melee, accurately Thac0 11 (or 14 at range), APR 3 (or 2 at range), and had good AC 2 (0 vs slashing). Players who went north of Friendly Arm Inn at the start of the game instead of south to Beregost and Nashkel would have been crushed.
What players did sometimes do is briefly visit these northern farmlands to pick up a certain companion close to the entrance of the map, Ajantis Ilvastarr. Ajantis is the only paladin companion in the game. He worships Helm and makes sure everyone knows it every second (ugh), but is otherwise a very decent warrior with 17 Strength and 16 Constitution. His only poor ability score was his 13 Dexterity.
Ajantis is actually the squire of the better known Keldorn of Baldur's Gate 2, and thus also a member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart. I'm quite fond of Keldorn myself so for continuity reasons it's quite nice to travel with Ajantis in the first game. This time though, we and our contingent passed Ajantis by.
The entrance to Baldur's Gate city consisted of a massive bridge. A contingent of Flaming Fist mercenaries, having been pre-informed of our arrival by Officer Jai's messenger, was waiting at the bridge for us. At the head of the contingent was an officer.
Officer Jai saluted this senior officer, who nodded to her and looked to me. "First off, let me introduce myself. I'm Scar, second-in-command of the Flaming Fist," he said, and eyed the survivors behind us. "I must say, I have been eagerly waiting for your arrival."
As expected, Scar had been informed of the results of our investigation and he was to receive the survivors from us to be placed under their protection.
"Have the Dukes been informed?" I asked Scar. "It would be absolutely scandalous if the survivors who had been openly received by the Flaming Fist were to disappear under mysterious circumstances."
I wasn't that worried, truth be told. Yeslick was with the survivors this time, keen on making sure that Rieltar is found guilty for his crimes.
"The Dukes have indeed been informed. They will want to hear the testimony of the survivors themselves, in fact. If the Iron Throne itself is responsible for the very crisis they are offering to solve, there is no way the Dukes will let such a travesty stand," Scar explained. "That is assuming these survivors are truly here to testify."
Officer Jai asked for permission to speak, which was granted. "I have spoken to them myself, sir. My report of their testimony is prepared, and they are also willing to testify again before the Dukes themselves."
"Excellent work," Scar said to her with a big smile. "We'll get to the bottom of this iron crisis yet. Also, welcome back to Baldur's Gate, Officer Jai."
"It is a pleasure, sir."
"I notice you never said the Dukes were interested in the welfare of the survivors," Jaheira said, her face grim.
"One of the Dukes, Duke Eltan, is. I cannot speak for the rest," Scar said. "Duke Eltan is the leader of the Flaming Fist. He will see to it personally that the survivors from Cloakwood are well taken care of. Do you have any other supporting evidence to show me?"
We showed the various letters we had, from Davaeron giving orders to Tazok, to Rieltar giving orders to Tazok. Scar's face brightened up. "Well, well, well. Rieltar himself is thoroughly implicated. And what's this? The letters speak of placing agents in the Seven Suns trading coster!"
"How's that relevant?" Jaheira asked. Khalid leaned in as well.
Scar pulled us aside, out of earshot of everyone else. "What I'm about to tell you must be held in the strictest confidence. The Seven Suns leadership has been acting strangely of late. They've been selling off valuable assets and neglecting many of their more profitable trading ventures. Considering the importance that the trading coster holds over the economy of the city, the Grand Dukes are noticeably upset."
"So something is amiss with the Seven Suns trading coster."
"More than amiss. I've gone to talk to the coster's head, Jhasso. He rudely rebuffed me, telling me to mind my own business. I've known Jhasso for many years, and this isn't his usual behaviour," Scar said. "I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't start up an official investigation as there is no real reason for doing so. With the document you showed me, now I'm certain I need someone to investigate them. Eventually."
He winked at us while saying the last bit. Hint taken. Quest received! Investigate the Seven Suns trading coster in the southwest side of the city.
"In the meantime, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold you all back. We need a written statement of from you covering your investigation into the iron crisis, as well as the original documents which we need to show before the Dukes," Scar said apologetically. He held my shoulder. "Fear not. With this much evidence piled up, there shouldn't be any issue convincing the Dukes of the guilt of the Iron Throne."
---
As Scar guided us and his contingent towards Baldur's Gate entrance we passed by Quayle, another possible companion. Quayle was a cleric/mage, specifically an illusionist mage. Having 17 Intelligence and 10 Wisdom, Quayle is a useful for parties which wanted more martial focus since he was both a mage and a cleric combined. Probably his main failing was his availability so late in the game. At this point in time, he hadn't met Aerie who features in Baldur's Gate 2 yet.
Like Ajantis, we had no need for Quayle and moved on past him.