Butch Baylen, 4th BG1 installment
Butch and his companions traveled from Beregost to Baldur's Gate to fetch Ordolath's candle for 2,000 Guilders. Their journey was smooth until a few hours north of the Friendly Arm Inn their progress came to temporary halt. A large Ankheg population had been terrorizing the lands bordering the river Chionthar. According to a Ranger the giant insects had been extra aggressive as it was their mating season. She begged the party not to slay more than ten, but the companions nevertheless ended up killing about twice that number, both on the surface and in their nest underground. Kagain would lock the creatures in close combat, and the others would pelt them with their missiles.
Along with some random loot, they found a fresh corpse in the nest - the body of a local farmer's son, they would later discover.
The band was asked by three fishermen to slay an evil priestess of Umberlee for them who was said to dwell further north in a small cottage east of Wyrm's Crossing. Butch and Imoen scouted the area and found the bridge to Baldur's Gate guarded by a group of Elven warriors. With Butch's history of being hunted wherever he went, the companions considered themselves warned. Nonetheless, Butch and Kagain snuck past the Elves to confront the priestess of Umberlee. She was young, fifteen winters at the very most, and a bit overconfident. She attacked Kagain when he asked her what her business with the fishermen was. The Dwarf then hit her with the blunt side of his axe to teach her some manners, which helpd the girl come to her senses. She explained that the fishermen had slain her mother and stolen a bowl from her.
Butch and Kagain felt betrayed by the fishermen. They promised the girl they would help her get her bowl back.
On their way back Butch and Kagain found the Elves still guarding Wyrm's Crossing. If the party were to enter Baldur's Gate and retrieve Ordolath's candle, they would have to get past them. As soon as they spotted Butch it became clear that they were indeed looking for trouble. Butch and Kagain sped toward their companions, with the Elves at their heels. The battle didn't start off well for the party, for Imoen was soon brought down by a vicious backstab.
But the tides turned very shortly after that, with Finch successfully Holding two of the Elves and Butch injuring most of them with snares he tossed at his foes from behind.
He then slew Imoen's attacker with his trusty crossbow, and saw the others take care of the rest.
On the corpse of one of the Elves they found a bounty notice, signed "M.S.", finally a first (if vague) lead as to who wanted Butch dead.
As the party crossed the bridge, they saw the gate to the city closed and guarded by a single Flaming Fist Mercenary.
"Sorry traveler, but the entrance to Baldur's Gate is closed. With all the bandit activity about, we've been forced to keep the gate closed. Perhaps if you return later, things may have changed and we may be able to re-open the city."
"But this is the city of Baldur's Gate! You have the mighty Flaming Fist to defend you. Why woud you be afraid of bandit incursions?"
"Normally what you have said would be true, but most of the Flaming Fist is down to the south, and the Grand Dukes feel that the city is exposed. I apologize for any inconvenience, but there's nothing I can do."
So we had journeyed all the way to Baldur's Gate for nothing, or almost nothing. We did eventually retrieve the bowl for the priestess (and got no reward, which I guess was to be expected from a child), and Kivan had kept an Ankheg cuticle. Back in Beregost Taerom Fuiruim the smith offered to work it into a suit of armor for 4,000 Guilders, an offer we accepted. Also at the smithy we bought a Returning Throwing Axe +2 (note: probably Item Randomized) and a Helmet of Charm Protection for Kagain. We rested at the Jovial Juggler and prepared for a trip to Nashkel the next day.
Just south of Beregost we encountered a Drow Elf, a priestess, hunted by a Flaming Fist Mercenary. The latter told us she was wanted for murder, so we decided to ignore her pleas for help.
Further south we slew a Vampiric Wolf and we ran into a tall and imposing warrioress, a woman named Shar-Teel. She challenged Kagain into a duel for the mere reason he was a male. Should she lose, she would join the party. Well, lose she did. It was a bloody affair and Shar-Teel fought to kill, but in the end it was heavily armored Kagain that nearly killed her instead.We took her to the temple of Helm in Nashkel where we had Nalin heal her. However, rather than being grateful and a bit more modest, she had a practice fight with Kivan and went way overboard. Kagain and I told her off. An unruly woman like that in our midst was only likely to cause strife. I was surprised with her reaction though. She said she respected Kagain and me and that she didn't consider her debt paid yet. I told her to go the Jovial Juggler in Beregost, so we might talk there later.
The rest of us visited the Nashkel Carnival for some shopping, before we would head to the Mines at long last. We cast Stone to Flesh on a petrified woman, a nordic battle priestess of Tempus, Branwen.
She was most thankful, and even offered to travel with us, but with Finch already in our midst we politely declined. The woman told us she would travel to Beregost, and that we might find her there should we not linger too long. She also warned us of a wizard named Tranzig, the man who had entrapped her.
In the area surrounding the Nashkel Mines we faced the same Dwarven bounty hunter that had attacked us days before. This time we fought back. Kivan almost single-handedly dispatched our foe.We also ran into Prism, an emerald thief we had been told of by Oublek the bounty handler in Nashkel. Prism was carving the face of his muse, Ellessime the Elven queen, in a rock wall, while a female Paladin stood watch. She explained that as a Paladin of Sune, she was more lenient than your average Paladin in the interpretation of laws, and very appreciative of the arts. She had decided to wait for Prism to finish his work and then deal with the legal aspects of the matter. But then a bounty hunter appeared, Greywolf, intent on taking the prize on Prism's head. We defended the sculptor against this Greywolf, but soon after the latter went down, Prism too, collapsed.Isra joined us after we explained to her that we had come to investigate the Nashkel Mines.
Inside the Mine the miners spoke of demons oppressing them, but Kagain's nose told him that it had to be Kobolds.
He was soon proven right; the creatures had the second level of the mines firmly in control until we set things straight.
Much more problematic was a band of Duergar on the third level. Hidden in shadows, I spotted four: two warriors, a priest, and a rogue. Sensing trouble from their evil ilk, I preventively set a number of traps, and I asked Kagain to check what they wanted. They might or might not respond better to a Dwarf. The Duergar turned out to be yet more bounty hunters.
They recognized Kagain and came straight after him. My snares killed their leader,
but that did not deter the others. Kagain got repeatedly poisoned by their assassin, until I downed the rogue.And then it was their turn to wreak havoc. They had not one but two priests in their midst, it turned out. In no time they held Isra, Imoen and Kagain, and they dominated Kivan.Packs of Kobolds must have heard the clamor of battle. Apparently they were in league with the Duergar, turning the odds even more against us. With only Finch and me left, I decided to distract our foes so that she could look after my comrades. I applied an oil of speed, returned to the second level, and saw dozens of Kobolds follow me there (effectively blocking the way back to the third level).With my Ring of Energy I thinned their ranks until I found a way down to the third level. There I took on the Duergar priests with sneak attacks. One of them cast a Cloak of Fear, forcing me to swig a potion of clarity, but in the end I prevailed.
I threw a snare onto a narrow path that was blocked by many Kobolds,
but otherwise kept myself hidden. Deeper down, I encountered a large round structure with a single entrance, surrounded by an narrow underground canal. The area was quiet, allowing me to rest from my battles with the Duergar and the Kobolds before entering the edifice. Inside, I spotted a few more Kobolds and, in a ratherly nicely arranged chamber, a Half-Orc priest of Cyric. Unseen I set three snares near the entrance, but I was dicosvered soon after by the priest. He attacked but got severely injured by my traps (just like a pack of Kobolds that had come to his aid). A Ring of Energy-scorcher finished him off.I then released an Elven prisoner, Xan, a battlemage of Evereska, and together we dealt with Elite Kobold warriors and Skeletons that the Half-Orc, Mulahey, had summoned. I was most pleased to find a Bag of Holding amongst his possessions for it enabled me to carry my companions' gear with me. I also found an enchanted Short Sword (+2), a pair of Gauntlets of the Faithful Warrior (+3 Thac0/Dmg, priests only), and a letter from one Tazok, linking the sabotage of the Nashkel Mines to an unnamed bandit faction. We left the mines through a barren area that was infested with Undead. I resolved to revisit the area later.
Back in Nashkel, Xan and I visited Nalin. He told us that Finch had left Imoen, Isra, Kagain, and Kivan in his care to pursue her own clerical duties in Nashkel, and that my comrades were all in dire conditions. They might take months to fully recover, if they were to recover at all.
I paid Nalin a few thousand gold for his good work.
To be honest I felt very bad about the suffering their association with me has brought upon my comrades, but there was nothing I could do for them apart from praying for their sound and speedy recovery.
Butch and Xan then visited the Nashkel Carnival to barter with some of the merchants. The carnival was an interesting place where many people came and went: nobles, traders, adventurers, and peasants alike. This time there was a stunning Half-Elven Skald, Keiria Silverstring, who was eager to join Butch and Xan. She said she had been looking for adventure, for heroes with feats to immortalize in song. Two Gnomish Illusionists, Skeezer and Quayle, joined as well. Both were apparently heading north. Skeezer wanted to go to Baldur's Gate (in spite of Butch's assurance that the city gate was locked). Quayle was less specific but at least seemed quite pleased to be accepted into the party. It was quite a different experience for Butch to travel with no less than four arcane casters (whereas his previous companions had almost exclusively been warriors, rogues and priests). Berrun Ghastkill rewarded the party for their efforts with 900 Guilders.
The new party of five ran into an assassin in Nashkel, but the Amnish soldiers and a critical hit from Butch, finished him off without anyone suffering any harm.
On the assassin's body they found an interesting letter, from what was likely the same Tazok that had also been in a correspondence with Mulahey. The letter mentioned Tranzig, a name Butch remembered from his meeting with Branwen. According to the letter this Tranzig was staying at Feldepost's Inn in Beregost, so that's where they headed.
They first visited the Jovial Juggler, where a Flaming Fist Enforcer named Officer Vai offered Butch 50 Guilders for every bandit scalp he'd bring her, and where Shar-Teel (after a short talk about party discipline) and Branwen rejoined the party. Skeezer left, to continue his journey to Baldur's Gate.
At Feldepost's Inn, Tranzig was more a pest than a danger to the party. He put Shar-Teel to Sleep, injured Branwen and blinded Xan. But with a devastating blow the latter ensured Branwen's revenge on the wizard.
One of the rogues struck Keiria down with a devastating backstab, while one of priestesses Commanded Branwen to sleep.
Not much later, the other priestess Held Shar-Teel and Branwen, and somehow Slowed Xan. At the same time Quayle successfully Held two of the women (one rogue and one priestess).
Xan was then held as well, and the Held priestess was released by her colleague with a Remove Paralysis. It left Butch and Quayle up against two priestesses and a rogue. Butch warded off a Hold Person with a potion of freedom, and finished the rogue. Quayle in the meantime managed to Blind both Priestesses.
I'm pleased to have found what seem to worthy companions after the (temprary?) loss of Kagain, Kivan and Imoen, and to a lesser extent Isra. Branwen especially seems have taken a liking to me, entrusting me with personal tales of her past. I wonder why.
(Konalan used to use that spell whereas I used pfm).
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