Dungeoneering

After emerging from Candlekeep catacombs, laden down with unreadable books that looked precious (really Edwin, 18 intelligence and you can't bloody read books? oh yeah, must be those anti theft enchantments again... that the Bard hanging around in Beregost can break without even trying), first stop was obviously the chicken killing mage. Then Beregost to pick up Branwen and Kivan.

Coran was very quiet and subdued on the journey, with an odd haunted look about him.

"Viconia, I think you've broken him, what did I say about being careful with your toys?"

"Is it my fault the Darthiir has no stamina"

"That's a little unfair considering the amount of traps he stumbled into and then being turned to stone, that's got to take it out of a person"

"He should be grateful we wasted a scroll on him, at least he would be of some use as a garden ornament"

So looks like we will be losing Coran the moment Viconia has her back turned. Perhaps I should suggest that he visit Brielbara and see his daughter? Settle down and not risk meeting somebody like Viconia ever again as it would be bound to end in tears. With that in mind I gave him a generous share of the gold we had, an invisibility potion and pointed him towards Baldurs Gate.

Kivan and Branwen were pleased to see us, then I had to tell them the news about my parentage. They took it well, Branwen pointed out that she did actually worship a God who was up to his neck in slaughter and Kivan said he followed a God who would really like to be when it came to Drow (glaring at Viconia). The words "houses", "glass", "stones" and "throwing" pretty much summed it up.

So where to next, what's the plan? Return to Baldurs Gate, beard the lion in his den? Run like crazy in the opposite direction? Get drunk?

It was really no contest.

We were kicked out of the Fieldpost on the third day, the Wizard wouldn't let us in, the Juggler called the guards as we approached, so that left the Red Sheaf and nobody wanted to go there.

"Let's go and check out some ruins, we're good at that"

"Why?"

"Treasure and stuff and nobody will think to look for us there"

"They probably have more sense, let the dungeons with their assorted horrors do the work for them"

"Nah, we're experts, we should advertise "Dungeon Masters R' Us"

So it was with high hopes and aching heads we approached the Ulcaster School Ruins. Or we would have had we not bumped into a spectacularly bad tempered ghost on the way. He wanted our blood, we just wanted him to talk a bit quieter. He had a few tricks up his sleeve (which was clever as he was a skeleton and had no sleeves, not really anything to fill them either). He called lightning but Branwen was wearing the boots of Talos and we have a ton of absoption potions and Protection from Undead scrolls and it took him too long to figure that out. And when he finally did, well Edwin has a 100 charge monster summoning wand. Expensive but worth every penny.

The next ghost we met was Ulcaster himself who was far more reasonable. Kept his voice down, practically whispered his request for us to fetch him a book from the ruins below us. So down we went into the ruins. We dealt with some wolves and giant spiders near the entrance without too much trouble. Then sent a protected Viconia ahead to trigger the traps as she was responsible for scaring away Coran, though she grumbled about it a lot. It was all going nicely until we disturbed a Super Wolf and then the Super Wolf called his undead friends. But we were prepared, and had already called up our own bony undead friends. They kept each other engaged while we dealt with the vampiric SuperWolf. It was a hard fight and we didn't emerge unscathed. But it did cure the hangovers. We picked up an obviously important dead body and the book requested by the softly spoken Ulcater ghost at the entrance. Then we found another ghost wandering around the ruins who wanted to repell the invaders. We didn't have the heart to tell him he was a bit late and gave him the dead body as a sort of consolation. That was very convenient. We handed over the book to the ghost of Ulcaster up top when we emerged and he mumbled his gratitude and went off to start another school...with one book...as a ghost...

Buoyed with our success, Firewine Ruins next. We traveled to Gullykin, come on, who wouldn't want to visit a cutesy Halfling Village full of Happy Halflings? Viconia and Edwin for starters. We met a super cheerful Halfling called Alora who offered her services as a thief. But told her we didn't need a thief as Viconia was doing a grand job triggering traps all on her own, (Kivan stop sniggering in the background). It turned out there was a Halfling traitor working for an Ogre Mage, who was using his house as a back entrance to murder the Halflings. How incredibly evil can you be? That's pantomime villain level evil. The entrance to the lair of the "so evil I can't believe it" Ogre Mage was blocked so we had to go through the entrance in the Temple's wine cellar. Of course the obvious question that nobody liked to raise (as Halflings are so cute) was "why the f*ck are there so many entrances in your cutesy Halfling Village to sinister, dangerous ruins?".

It was rather refreshing to meet kobalds again, felt a bit like coming home. And with Edwin and a charged wand of fire, we really did "keep the home fires burning" (and the kobalds, ogrillons, mage and ogre). Some more ghosts who wanted an old suit of armour from another skeleton, armour envy? I jest, it was tragic, a bard told us why when we emerged on the ruined Firewine Bridge. There was betrayal, murder ect. and he had made a poem out of it which he insisted on reciting to us. Though again with these artist types, why are you creating your art where nobody comes to see/hear it in the middle of nowhere? Try the town, even the worst busker can figure that out.

We came across a deranged woman with a jar fetish, it didn't end well. She died then Khaark another Ogre Mage turned up, so we ran. We prepared, we came back. He was good, I'll give him that, but not that good and there are five of us. Though Branwen took a little nap until we could get her back to the temple when I shot her while confused. Sorry Branwen, but you were pretty confused yourself at that point. Least said, soonest mended. Again arrows of dispelling and plenty of summons to soak up the pressure. And there was a lot of pressure, so much that some of us not dead basically hid and let Edwin and Kivan deal with it.

So wearily we returned to the cute Halfling Village, resurrected Branwen, warned Alora about Edwin (or was that Edwin about Alora). Made a fuss of Viconia because her trap triggering skills are getting very good. She wasn't mollified in the slightest and I hate to imagine what the stream of Drow she was directing at me was about. But then, how bad can it be being cursed, even in Drow which is by far the best cursing language? Considering "Daddy" being who he was, that's pretty much already taken care of.

Later that evening, as the wine was beginning to flow, we discussed our next move.

"We have to go back to Baldurs Gate to confront Sarevok and clear our names"

"Don't look at me, as a RWofT, my name is far above anything this barbaric country could affect"

"As a Drow, I doubt anybody will believe anything other than the worst"

"Well technically, we weren't there"

"Great, so I'm on my own then... arseholes"

"We didn't say that, of course Kivan and I will stand by you"

"They put me in a jail, such indignity I will not stand, your name is of little consequence but it suits me to show them the error of their ways"

"I will enjoy showing them what a Drow can do when riled"

"Awww, you guys, I'm tearing up here, come on, gather around, group hug, group hug,"

"Can I withdraw my earlier offer?"