Baldur's Gate update, anyone?

So, when last we left our group of six heroes (* see next paragraph), they had finished slaughtering the bandit camp (learning that the bandit leader, Tazok, of the two mercenary tribes, was off somewhere in the Cloakwood, where he goes quite often), had bought a really cool cloak (Robes of the Neutral Arch-Magi) for Xan from High Hedge, and were about to go and track down this Tazok character!

The six heroes, of course, are; Penelope Farhaven, the half-eleven female Ranger who was raised by her foster-father, the now deceased scholar and Wizard Gorion, in Candlekeep; Imoen, the human female Thief who was also raised by her foster-father, the Innkeeper whose name escapes me right now ("Winthrop"!), in Candlekeep, and was for all intents and purposes Penelope’s sister, they were so close; Branwen, the human female Battle-Cleric whose goddess-granted battle spells have come in handy since Penelope rescued her from a lifetime spent as a statue in the Nashkel Carnival; Kivan, the male elf who is also a Ranger, who wants revenge on the bandits for killing his wife; Kagain, the (sometimes) drunken male dwarf, a Fighter who started out as a caravan-supplier but who all but lost his business due to the bandit raids; and finally, Xan, the mostly morose and depressed male elf Wizard.

Entering the huge Cloakwood (which is a very large forest, named, appropriately enough, the Cloakwood – appropriate for a wood named Cloakwood to be called the Cloakwood, don’t you think?), the party killed a group of tasloi that attacked them, one of which had a Cloak of Magical Non-Detection. They then killed some wolves (yummy – good eating!). Then the six sided with some rich hunters from Baldur’s Gate in a disagreement with some uppity druids who wanted to kill them – had to waste the four druids, unfortunately. Thank goodness Jaheira is no longer part of their group (I wonder how she is doing, down in the lowest level caves of the Nashkel Mines where they left her?)! Next, they met Coran, a male Fighter/Thief who is hunting the dangerous wyverns. He wanted to join with them, but Penelope told him they were full up, and the six pushed on.

They travelled back to Beregost to rest. Officer Vai has just received orders to return to Baldur’s Gate. She thanks the six heroes for their heroic and valiant efforts against the bandits.

Back in the Cloakwood forest, a man named Tiber tells a tale of how he and his brother were going to clear out the ‘giant-spider colony’ in the forest with the sword “Spider’s Bane” that his brother found. The brother, Chelak, has now been missing somewhere in the woods for a week.

The six heroes tracked down the spider’s lair and defeated the Spider Queen (yuck!) and her minions. After returning Chelak’s body to Tiber (who told them to keep the magic sword, which Kivan gladly did), they returned to the nearest temple, at the Friendly Arm Inn, to revive the deceased Branwen and rest up ("Oh, my aching head!" declares Branwen. "Is it still on my body?").

Back in the massive Cloakwood forest, some stupid Bard named Eldoth wants to join them; but, he is so busy bragging about himself that Penelope insults him and the heroes walk away. They cross a wooden bridge, there to meet a Druid of this forest called Laskal (the Druid, not the forest – this is the Cloakwood, remember? It is appropriately named the Cloakwood, which is appropriate based upon the fact that this is, after all, the Cloakwood forest). He (that’s Laskal the Druid, NOT the Cloakwood forest – it would be presumptuous to think that the Cloakwood forest is a ‘he’, wouldn’t it?), too (meaning, as well as the six heroes), hates the Iron Throne, and tells us their fort is located to the East.

They soon meet another Druid, named Izefia. He has a big attitude problem. Izefia tells the six of an ‘infidel’ in a cave to the NE, and commands them to deal with him. The six go into the cave, and are attacked by Peter of the North; he is a wyvern-trainer working for the Iron Throne, and the two ferocious beasts attack them as well. The wyverns were to be used in the mines here in the Cloakwood (so says Peter before he is killed, along with his deadly pets).

Back out of the cave (back outside, that is; not meaning to say that the heroes backed out of the cave, there was plenty of room to turn around, after all!), two more Druids confronted the party of adventurers, wanting to know just why Penelope and friends are here in the woods. Luckily, the Druids approve of their campaign against the bandits. The Druid Faldorn wishes to join them, but they refuse the offer.

Continuing on to the East, eventually they find the Cloakwood Mines. The Cloakwood Mines entrance is surrounded by a small wooden fortress, which in turn is surrounded itself by a high wooden wall, allowing only one narrow way in; a perfect deathtrap. The six, led by the always heroic (and stunningly stunning, lol) Penelope Farhaven, Ranger extraordinaire and heroic adventurer supreme, fight off a few guards topside, and then face off against and annihilate four tough adventurers who evidently were hired specifically to keep the six away.

Into the mines they go!

On the 1st level of the mine, along with a few guards, they discover many slaves, people who were kidnapped from wagon caravans and such; it seems that the Iron Throne is working these mines so that they have plenty of good ore to turn into weapons to sell when Amn and Baldur’s Gate go to war (with each other, not together)!

As a brief aside, after having read the last paragraph, I would like to point out that the guards (together with the six heroes) did not discover many slaves, but that the six adventurers discovered both guards and slaves on the mine’s first level - obviously, the guards already knew there were slaves there; the slaves were, after all, the whole reason to have guards there!

A miner shows (the lovely and strong) Penelope a huge metal door that keeps the river from flooding the mine tunnels; if Penelope agrees (and she does!) to free him and the other slaves, and get him the key to said door, he will flood the mines and put the Iron Throne out of business here. A friend of his, named Rill, on another level of the mine, might know how to help the miners all escape. This miner also says that the “master of the mine” (does that make him some sort of clever mastermind/mastermine?) has the key to the door, and apparently he is truly one bad and dangerous dude!

Down to the 2nd level of the mines (seems almost superfluous to have to say “down”, since it is a mine, after all, and therefore is below ground), where they find more prisoners, this time in cages and cells. The six slaughter a Mage, some guards, and a couple of ghasts (don’t you hate it when those things cough all over you?!), but they spare the life of an innocent cook. The six find the slave leader (more of an honorific title, really), Rill, who requests 100 gold pieces to bribe a guard that he knows to let them escape; Penelope gives it to him, but only after giving him ‘the evil eye’ stare to ensure that he realizes how much of a poor decision it would be to run off with her gold and think it funny how he tricked the big bad heroic adventurer...

Next, they meet a dwarf named Yeslick, whose people (the dwarves, that is) started these mines a long time ago (more than a week ago, but less than a billion years ago). Yeslick wishes to join the squad, but they refuse him (or do they call him a pile of refuse?).

The next level (which, strangely enough, you have to go DOWN to reach. Also strangely, this next level, following as it does the 1st and 2nd levels, seems to be the 3rd level.) is full of guards (“full” being a silly word to use, as there is still room to walk around and swing ones arms, or sword), hobgoblin (not goblins with a limp, but much bigger goblins with semi-more intelligence) archers, a Wizard named Natasha (hey, she’s cute! - for a evil, occultist, death-dealer, that is), and an ogre Mage who is in charge of slave torturing. They all die (dang it! Sorry, Natasha, my love...sniffle sniff...).

On to the next (4th) level of the Cloakwood Mines. Here they encounter the “mastermine, keeper of the mine” (why does he want to ‘keep’ the mines, exactly?), Davaeorn. Ol’ Davaeorn kept teleporting around, which was pretty dang annoying; Kagain kept yelling at him to “stand still, confoundablast it, so’s I can hit ya”. Eventually, with patience and persistence, the six killed him. His apprentice spills his guts (verbally, not literally), hoping to save his own life (“what’s the point, it’s hopeless...” sighed Xan), filling them in on the fact that the Iron Throne organization are headquartered in Baldur’s Gate, and that there are three regional leaders there in the SW portion of the city. Penelope digested this new information for a moment (burp!), then lopped off the apprentice’s head (“told you...” intoned the ever cheerful Xan). “Now that’s more like it” shouted Kivan enthusiastically.

The six heroes used Davaeorn’s key to open the metal door on level one and flood the mines (the miners escaped first, of course). After they exited, the slaves thank them for setting them free, then trudged off to go back to their homes. Documents from Davaeorn’s body show “Rieltar” to be one of the Iron Throne leaders, and the name “Sarevok” is also mentioned.

The six head back to the Friendly Arm Inn for some R and R; they are quite pleased with themselves, as they have dealt the Iron Throne yet another blow, and now have the pride of knowing they are the heroes of both the Nashkel and Cloakwood Mines.

After a nice rest (which is always much nicer than an arrest), the six head North. Already, even though the rest was short, Branwen is grumbling loudly about how “warrior-born” people such as herself do not take kindly to resting about when there are battles to be fought elsewhere. Imoen, always the cheerful (and antagonistic?) little Thief, points out that Branwen didn’t seem too “warrior-like” when she was being used as “a bird-pooping platform” in the Nashkel Carnival. After Imoen ducks a mighty swing from Branwen’s magical war hammer (that may or may not have taken off the top of her head), she dances her way back up to the Battle-Cleric and hands her back the purse full of coin that Branwen seems to have ‘dropped’ somewhere along the way. Branwen’s face turns an even darker shade of purple while Imoen looks her full in the eyes and smiles playfully, and the two do not speak for the rest of the day (ah, the joys of travel!).

The six heroic figures have now entered farmland, up past the Cloakwood Mines and the bandit encampment that they previously raided and destroyed to much internal delight. Some settlers there tell them that they are under attack by a Priest of Umberlee (the sea and storm goddess) who lives to the North, and they ask for our help (“I don’t trust them” mutters Kivan softly, and Kagain nods his agreement). They six go into a nearby underground cavern, kill some evil ankhegs (damn those evil, spitting, monstrous worm-spawn!), and rescue an injured person therein. Up top, they meet a Waterdeep Paladin named Ajantis, but do not allow him to join them, despite his pleading (how sad when a mighty and noble Paladin is reduced to begging in the very presence of the heroic six). The injured man passed away, but they returned his lifeless body to his grateful farmer pa.

They find the Priestess of Umberlee (“Oh ho! Not a Priest at all. Already, the settlers’ lies begin to fly...” said Kagain, with his usual dwarven tact), who lives in a home near the bridge that passes over the river and into Baldur’s Gate (the bridge passes over, not the home of the Priestess – have we gotten that all clear?). She (the Priestess, not the bridge or the home or the river) says the farmers killed her mother, and they stole her sacred bowl. She seems young and more than a little scared (“won’t last more than a day, then she’ll be dead...dead dead dead...” intoned the helpful Xan), and the six tend to believe her. They return to the settlers and talk with them. As soon as they admit what they have done, the six slaughter them (Branwen turns a pale shade of white at killing the unskilled-at-combat farmers, but Penelope intones that “Evil is its own reward, and what these people have doled out shall be returned to them, if not at our hands than by another. Better we should let their evil and folly end here, before it claims another victim”, and not much is said after that); they take the sacred bowl of Umberlee from a fresh corpse, and bring it back to the young Priestess, who thanks them and tells them that Umberlee herself will pay them back in time.

It seems it is time to enter the city of Baldur’s Gate and explore its inner workings. As they step foot onto the bridge leading to the city, they get to talking; Kagain and Branwen admit to having travelled here before, although not in a while and not very often. Xan laments that “Surely any city this large is doomed to collapse in upon itself at any second, and we will be just as likely be crushed to death as to do any lasting good in this place.” Kivan shudders as he gazes at the city, and all near him know that as a true Ranger of the woods he wants no part of this piece of civilization. Penelope gazes with pure and unadulterated fascination at the city looming up before her, but is cognizant enough to turn swiftly to the bright-eyed Imoen and remind her sternly to not get them into any trouble by filching purses within the city walls.

Before they can reach the city, while still on the bridge itself, Scar, the second-in-command of the Flaming Fist for Baldur’s Gate, recognizes the six as the heroes of Nashkel (“Oh sure, not a word of the bandit camp we scuttled, or the Cloakwood Mines we eradicated” muttered the slightly-grumpy Kagain, his mouth salivating at the thought of all the inns and pubs within the walls of the city). Scar says that there are many strange happenings within the city, and wishes for the six to investigate things. He asks them in particular to investigate the Seven Suns trading company, as they have been behaving oddly, and the head of the Seven Suns, Jhasso, is not acting at all like himself. They are to break into and investigate the Seven Suns compound, and then report back to Scar at the Flaming Fist compound. Penelope takes a liking to this Flaming Fist officer, as he reminds her of Officer Vai (from Beregost’s Jovial Juggler inn), very straightforward and honest and unafraid. Penelope tells Scar all about the Iron Throne and their dealings in other part of the land, and Scar thanks her for sharing that information with him. He tells the six that the Seven Suns is on the SW side of the city, and that the Flaming Fist barracks are just to the West of it.

They take their leave of Scar and finish crossing the bridge. Just before the gates to the city, there is a bespectacled gnome called Quayle, who claims to be an Illusionist and wishes to join them; once again, they decline, liking the current makeup of their group very much (which is not to suggest that any of the group wear makeup – these are heroes, not the rock group KISS! Besides which, any who have beheld the glorious and radiant beauty that is Penelope Farhaven know full well that her exotic good looks brought by her half-elven - and half-human - unknown parentage has blessed her with natural beauty that makes many a man’s - and some women’s, too - knees grow weak and his lips to murmur “ninner nanny, muh huh huh huh...thbpttt...whoa...” as he drools upon his ‘frock and pantaloons’ in a most unmanly of ways).

The city of Baldur’s Gate, as the worldly Kagain explained to Penelope, is divided into 9 different sections, and is basically circular shaped. The six enter the city by its only gate (that gate should rightly be named Baldur’s Gate, should it not?), arriving in the East section. There, they are blasted by the noise and stench of the large city. They stand still for a few moments to adjust themselves accordingly, Imoen slapping away the nimble hands of a Thief as he reaches for Kivan’s pouch of gold, only to miss the hand that soundly slaps her bottom. She whips out a dagger and glances around, but the mad-groper has already returned to shadows so deep that not even her eagle-eyes can spot him. Penelope turns to glare at Imoen, who realizes she is standing in the city gates holding a bared blade (something that does not help in her trying not to draw undo attention to the party), and as Imoen puts the dagger away and Penelope opens her mouth to speak, a semi-familiar voice declares, “Ho there, child, stay thy course and set awhile. Well met, once again...”

Lo and behold, it is Elminster once again, great Mage and sage and all-around awesome guy of mystery and intrigue! Elminster declares that he was long a friend of Penelope’s foster-father, Gorion, even from before he came to look after his foster child. He goes on to say that Penelope has “bad blood “ in her, and says that we can implicitly trust Scar, as well as his superior, Duke Eltan. He then wanders off, having no more to divulge to them at this time.

The six wander into the nearby Shop of Silence, a store and inn run by a man named, appropriately, Silence. There, they stock up on magical stones for the slings of Branwen and Xan, and then take a rest upstairs.

The next morning, they start to take a look around the East section of Baldur’s Gate. Xan’s eyes actually light up for a second as they near a huge shop called Sorcerous Sundries, but then he mutters “Probably not a thing worth buying, and what is worth it will be too expensive...” with a sigh. “Oh, come on, you gloomy, pointy-eared mutterer,” says Kagain, and the dwarf drags the elf into the shop, the rest of the crew following. The six take a look at what is for sale, then go up the stairs to the next level, where they encounter four very cranky Red Wizards of Thay, who are performing some sort of secret spell/experiment, and definitely do not wish to be disturbed. After rudely speaking to the six, the four Wizards attack, forcing the heroes to kill them all, which they promptly do.

Outside in the street again, the six spin in circles, wondering which area to visit next, as there seems to be mainly houses in this section of the city. Kagain is all for visiting the nearby Pub rather than leaving the area, and Imoen bites her bottom lip at the thought of all the coin she could potentially procure within a crowded public house; but the wise-beyond-her-young-years Penelope says that they “have no need of going to a crowded pub at this time; thanks anyways, Kagain”.

A man named Niklos walks up to the group of six. Nikos invites them to go for a short walk and come and visit his boss, who wishes to speak with them. Next thing they know, the six are deep within the Thieves’ Guild headquarters of Baldur’s Gate. “Play it cool, you guys,” whispers Imoen to her companions. She glances warningly at Branwen. “And make sure you keep your tempers, and your manners, here in this place. The Thieves’ Guild, can we get on their good side, could be a great boon to us in this city. And they could be a great curse to us, if we piss them off; so don’t!”

they meet a thief named Narlen, who says that his boss wishes to speak to them. However, he takes them aside for a moment, and tells them that he wishes to “test” their “talents”; apparently, he wants some help breaking into a house. Penelope says she will think about it, and the six heroes step away. Imoen sidles up to Penelope. “Pen, I’d take that job, were I you. Anytime a member of the Guild wants to test you, take that as a good thing, and do what they ask.” Penelope nods her thanks.

Alatos is the guildmaster who wishes to speak to them. Alatos wishes to involve them in a matter between some Wizards, one of whom is selling plans to a flying ship which the others do not wish sold. The plans are in the possession of the three daughters of the Mage who is selling the plans.

The six adventurers head out to the Central section of Baldur’s Gate next; they zip through it and head into the North section of the city. Here, a Mage accosts them, wishing them to break into another Mage’s home and bring him the Nymph that this other Mage has captive. Penelope told him that they would think about it, as they are pretty busy right now. Kivan can barely contain himself, bristling with fury at the thought of a captured Nymph. Penelope puts a calming hand onto his shoulder.

In the North-East section of Baldur’s Gate, the six enter the Blushing Mermaid Inn. “About time”, hollers Kagain, heading straight for the bar. It is only the quick reactions of Branwen, grabbing the dwarf by the shoulder and hauling him backwards in one solid jerk (oddly enough, Kagain has often been described as “one solid jerk”), that saves his life, as the bellowing and lumbering ogre assassin tries to pound the party into little flat pancakes. The six take him out, permanently. As Imoen heads outside on her own mission, Penelope says to Kagain, “One drink, and only one. Keep your back to the wall, stay in the shadows, and keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut. Let’s try to get out of this town alive, shall we?”

Imoen meets up with Narlen the Thief, who goes to rob a house with Imoen acting as the lookout (“I can’t believe that my obvious skills are being wasted this way”). A Flaming Fist soldier appears, and Imoen gives the warning cry and runs off. Narlen leaps out a window and flees the house to safety.

The six go back to the Thieves’ Guild headquarters in the East section of the city, where Narlen rewards them, then asks Imoen to meet him for another task by the Blade And Stars in the South-East section of town. Meanwhile, Penelope speaks with a drunken Thief named Husam, who doesn’t like the Iron Throne much. He tells Penelope that the Iron Throne has three leaders; Reiltar Costashek, plus Brunos and Thaldorn. Also, there is Reiltar’s son, Sarevok. Husam says the Iron Throne wants to make money, and that they have plans, big plans, involving going to Candlekeep.

There is a Thief-merchant within the Thieves’ Guild. In a barrel near her, Penelope finds a hidden magical manual (tome); she gives it to Branwen, who reads it, and her dexterity score is permanently raised by one point.

Outside the Blade And Stars Inn, Narlen and Imoen break into a house, and Imoen steals the Rogue Stone, and then she goes back to the Blade And Stars to meet the other five. Not much action at the Blade And Stars that night, so they call it a night and head back to the Thieves’ Guild headquarters. There, Narlen rewards them again, with a meagre three pearls this time, and then states that as far as he is concerned the six adventurers are all part of the Guild now.

The six heroes now head to the Central section of Baldur’s Gate, to the estate of Oberon, whose three daughters guard the plans to the flying ships. Imoen goes in by herself. On the top (third) floor, the three daughters spot her and attack her, but she quickly drinks an invisibility potion and goes into the next room, where she grabs the plans for the air-ship from a drawer. She then drinks another invisibility potion and leaves the estate.

Alatos welcomes the six adventurers back to the Guild. Resar, the Wizard who hired the Thieves’ Guild for this particular job, is there, and Alatos tells him he can kill the six heroes now. Resar says that they must be silenced so they can never talk about this to anyone, and he attacks while Alatos stands by and watches. Narlen jumps in and helps Penelope and friends to kill Resar, and then he and Alatos argue over the way that the six heroes have been treated. Narlen wins the argument when he tells Alatos that, as full members of the Guild, it was wrong for him to betray the six. Penelope and companions leave the Guild, with a penitent Alatos left behind them.

Next, the mighty six go to the west section of Baldur’s Gate, and track down the home of the Mage called Ragefast, he whom has captured a nymph and keeps her held captive within the city. They enter the home, and immediately see the Mage arguing with his captive nymph, Abela. The six kill Ragefast forthwith (“Verily, he did practically fall upon my axe in his hurry to turn himself away from thy ferocious sword-thrusts, my good elf Kivan” remarked Kagain). Kivan’s smile turned to a snarl, as Penelope calmly remarked to the nymph that they were taking her and delivering her to “the Wizard called Ramazith”, and Abela shrieked in terror. Penelope grabbed Kivan’s shoulder and took him aside to speak with him, and although his rage abated somewhat after that, he still took care to walk close with the nymph as they went, as if he were her personal bodyguard.

They take the nymph and head off to the Northern section of Baldur’s Gate; entering the Tower of Ramazith, they present to him the nymph, and he amply rewards them. Ramazith tells Penelope that he will kill Abela in order to make spell components from her lifeless body parts. At this, Penelope looks at Kivan and simply says the word, “Go.” Next thing anybody knows, Ramazith’s head is on the floor, separated from the rest of his body, and Kivan is telling the shuddering nymph that she is now free, truly free; she rewards them with a lock of her hair, then leaves. The six heroes then climbed the tower, killing the monsters inhabiting each floor, until they reached the top of the tower, which they then looted of all its goodies.

Back to the Eastern section of town, for a quick rest at Silence’s place (ah, the sweet sound of silence...). Then off to Sorcerous sundries, to sell off all the stuff they have collected - all except for the magical tome that raised the intelligence of Xan by one. Xan, or has the others now jokingly refer to him as, “Brainiac Elf”.

Wanting a little fresh air, Penelope suggests they head out of the city and check out some surrounding farmland. “Heya! What a great idea, Pen!” says Imoen.

The heroes exit Baldur’s Gate. Instead of crossing the bridge over the river, they head North instead. They arrive at some farms, which the farmers say are plagued by zombies. A farmer hires them to kill the score of zombies, and they do so in short work.

Penelope leads the group back south, this time crossing the bridge and moving away from the city. They turn and head NNE, up near the home of the young Priestess of Umberlee. After being attacked by a marauding ankheg, they move past the house and continue on North to the small village of Ulgoth’s Beard, on the banks of the River Chionthar.

In the Ulgoth’s Beard Inn, a dwarf tells them that his grandpa was a friend of Durlag, of the haunted and infamously deadly Durlag’s Tower. Durlag was supposed to return his friend’s dagger, Soultaker, but never did – it is still in the haunted tower. This dwarf, Hurgan, wants the crew of six to retrieve the dagger for him. Penelope smells adventure and daring in the air, and volunteers the group for the deed. They all take a rest in the Inn.

Back outside, a gnome merchant is going out of business, and sells them all of his wares for 500 gold pieces. Included in this is a mysterious dwarven runestone, which may or may not grant them entrance into the darker and deeper portions of Durlag’s Tower...

They meet a man named Mendas in the town. He claims to be from Waterdeep, and has a strange accent. He says the Merchant League has discovered an island to the West of here, which has an old shipwreck on it. Some sailors saw the wreck, and sold maps to it to the Merchant League in Baldur’s Gate. The Merchant League wants to turn the big harbour on this island into a new stop on their shipping lanes, says Mendas. They also hope that the shipwreck is form the last (lost) voyage of Balduran, the founder of Baldur’s Gate, and that it is full of treasure. Meanwhile, Mendas says he wants to recover the ship’s logbook and any artefacts for historical purposes.

The six agree to help; Durlag’s Tower, and the Seven Suns trading company in Baldur’s Gate, will just have to wait a bit longer. Mendas says he will charter a boat, while they re-enter Baldur’s Gate and grab the Sea Charts from the Counting House in the North-East section of the city.

On the way out of Mendas’ house, a sailor named Calahan tells us that that the accent of Mendas is different than that of people who come from Waterdeep, and that Mendas has lived in Ulgoth’s Beard for a bit now but he sticks completely to himself.

A Mage named Shandalar accosts us before we can leave for the Counting House in Baldur’s Gate. This Mage teleports us to an Ice Island, saying that powerful Mages are trapped there and cannot leave, and one of them has his magic cloak and he wants it back. We go below ground on the island, and after several pitched battles with half-crazy trapped Mages (“Ah, they are all crazy, anyways, these Mages, regardless of being trapped here or not” says Kagain, to which Xan eloquently replies “We’re all doomed, anyways...”), they retrieve the cloak and are teleported back to Ulgoth’s Beard, where they return the cloak to Shandalar.

Off to Baldur’s Gate once again, they are approached by men named Marek and Lothander, employees of the Iron Throne. Marek warns them to get out of the city and not come back, that any more interference by the six will result in them “seeing much more of” Marek and Lothander...

The six go into the Counting House, slaughter the guards, and steal the Sea Charts from the captain’s bloody corpse. Xan slips in the blood on the floor and falls on his elven arse, bringing a smile to the face of Penelope, remembering Winthrop (the merchant at Candlekeep and the foster-father of Imoen) and his merry saying; “My inn is as clean as an elven arse.”

Back at Ulgoth’s Beard, they give the Sea Charts to Mendas, who says he has hired a boat and will meet them at the docks. The six heroes board the boat, Mendas wishes them a good voyage, and off they go!

Twenty days into the voyage, a bad storm arises, and the ship breaks apart. The six adventurers grab floating debris (incidentally, watching a dwarf trying to stay on a barrel is not nearly so funny when you know his life may depend on it – any other time, hilarious!)...and they wake up face down on the sand, with footprints near them...

“Well, the sun still shines, and I can hardly believe I will live to see another day!” sighs Xan.

“Should have stuck to wagon caravans,” muttered Kaigan. “Stupid boats!”

“Heya! Isn’t that a little girl over there, o fearless (but slightly damp and bedraggled) leader?” sung out the always-chipper Imoen.

Sure enough, a little girl stood not far from them. Penelope approached her and learned that her name was Solianna, and that there is a village nearby. Solianna says it was founded five generations ago, by shipwreck survivors. She talks of “mean beasties” on the island that hate the villagers, and that the six castaways should go and speak to Kaishas, who leads the village while the chieftain is away.

As they approach the village, most of the villagers refuse to speak to them. An armed man named Jorin tells them to speak to Kaishas, as well.

They speak with this Kaishas Gan, and she reveals that the villager’s ancestors were shipwrecked here long ago, and the shipwreck is still here on the island. Kagain asks if this could be Balduran’s ship, the one that they are searching for. Kaishas responds that Balduran was not known to be one of the founders of the village (strange how all the villagers have a peculiar accent...), and that their island is cursed by beasts and so it is not safe to go to the wreck site. The villagers have built a ship, so that they can leave this island, but have been cut off from it by the beasts. Kaishas asks us to help her, as the chieftain disappeared looking for help for them and never came back. The beasts are a cross between wolf and man, and are very dangerous, and the leader of the beasts is called Karoug.

Exploring the rest of the village, they meet 6 people of interest, all with stories to tell.
1. Maralee tells them that two months ago her husband was killed by the beasts and her son, three months old, taken by them. He was taken by the beasts NE of the village, and she wishes for the six newcomers to find him and return him to her.
2. A little girl, 5 years old, has lost her dolly in the woods, and wants it back.
3. Evalt, the village fisherman, says the island is fairly small. There are natural harbours to the North and to the East. The Balduran wreck, if that is what it really is, is in the North, and the ship that the villagers have built is in the East. The beasts live in the shipwreck. A witch (or a sirine) has taken Evalt’s brother, luring him away from the village, somewhere on the island’s West coast, and there is nobody who will leave the village walls to rescue him...
4. Jorin has fought the beasts, the wolves, before. He says that they can take the form of humans, but are beasts; they kill for pleasure, and for food. The younger beasts have dark brown fur, are weaker than the elders, and attack on sight. The older beasts have black fur with some slight silver colouring; they are powerful, can cast spells, live on Balduran’s wreck, and the oldest can only be injured with special, magical weapons.
5. Durlyle, a historian, says an important cloak was lost in the storm that caused the shipwreck of Penelope and companions. The cloak is from the shipwreck that brought their ancestors to this island, and is very special to the village. Would they please search beyond the village for it?
6. Lahl, the village gardener, wishes for Penelope to revenge him, as the wolf-monstrosities killed his wife.

The six head North of the village, and are met by a man named Palin who needs their help. Of course, he is one of these “wolfweres”; he leads them into a trap, where they are attacked by five of these beasts. The companions defeat them in a tough battle, and find the little girl’s lost dolly. Licking their wounds (and there are many to lick! “Never did care for wolves overly much” says the taciturn Kivan), they return to the village to return the dolly and to rest.

Travelling North (and a little West) once more the next day, they find the Sirine Queen and two more sirines and the dead body of the missing villager. They take down the evil trio, garb the loot and the corpse, and head back to the village to return the body to his brother, Evalt. Remarks Xan as they travel to the village, “Is it just me, or for such a small island is there an awful lot of Dire Wolves and other magical beings? Oh my...this can’t be good...we are so going to die here...”

In the village again, they meet another shipwrecked sailor who has since made the village his home. He tells them that Balduran and his guide, Dradeel, went missing in the battle on the island that happened not long after the shipwreck. The sailor warns them that NOTHING on this island is what it seems...”no’ ev’n me”, he says.

Exploring again, the party is ambushed by two more wolveweres. “Man, are these things ever hard to bring down!” remarks Penelope afterwards, looking at her companions’ wounds. Once again, it is back to the village to rest up and heal, then back to the North to explore yet again!

They find a shack, and inside is Dradeel, the slightly-crazed elf Magician/Cleric who was Balduran’s guide so long ago. He knows nothing of what befell Balduran, just that when they stopped at this island they discovered some of their crew were beasts in the form of men, and they were attacked and the ship set fire to.

“Wait a moment!” interrupted Branwen. “I thought the ship wrecked itself on the island!”

“No, no, no! Did I already say no? Oh, where was I? Would you like some soup? Well, you can’t have any! Oh yes; no, the ship stopped here because our supplies went bad and we were running out of food; food, food, dood, attitude. It was mainly the setting-the-ship-aflame that caused it to be all burned and such.”

Dradeel went on to explain how he fled to this shack, and has held off the beasts since with the few spells the goddess grants him as a minor Cleric. He wants Penelope to retrieve his spell-book from the shipwreck. As he goes into one of his babbling and mumbling spells that the companions have already begun to look forward to so much (not!), Imoen searches the shack’s interior, where she finds the cloak that the villagers are looking for, a magical staff/mace that Branwen claims, and two wolfsbane charms.

The six heroic figures entered the wrecked ship through a hole in the hull (“That is one hull of a hole!” cracked Imoen), and are attacked within by a wolfwere, two vampire wolves, two worgs, three dread wolves, and three dire wolves. Branwen summons some skeletons that come to life between the companions and most of the beasts, and they manage to take them all down with only a modicum of difficulty. Back to Dradeel’s shack to rest up, and then back to the wreck, to creep up the ladder to the next level!

The next level contained six wolfweres and one vampiric wolf. A fairly easy fight. They found a silver dagger here, which they believed to be the only weapon they currently have which can harm the wolfwere leader, Karoug.

Up the ladder, to the next level, which saw them face off against three wolfweres and two vampire wolves. Branwen and Xan summoned some skeletons and monsters, and the six took out the beasties, and then they all headed back to the shack to rest.

On the last (uppermost) level of the shipwreck, they find Karoug, and a Spellcaster who changes into a wolfwere. Karoug tries to convince them that the villagers are the truly evil ones on this island, but Penelope rushes him with the silver dagger outstretched before her. Karoug summons five or six more wolfweres, which are held back by the summoned skeletons and gnolls of Xan and Branwen. Kivan and Imoen begin to pick them off with arrows of ice and acid and fire, Kagain attacks the spellcaster wolf, and Xan helps to distract and annoy Karoug with his spells. Meanwhile, Branwen stands directly behind Penelope and keeps her alive with her healing spells while Ms Farhaven and the mighty Karoug go at it, Karoug in massive wolfwere form and Penelope with her slashing and stabbing silver dagger. Branwen keeps her sufficiently alive and well, and Penelope stands in triumph over the fall of the pack leader. The rest of their enemies here perish shortly thereafter. Imoen disarms a few traps, and they pick up Dradeel’s spellbook, Balduran’s Log Book, Balduran’s Butter Knife, The Sword of Balduran, the missing toddler, a magical Cloak of Protection, and a Shield Amulet.

“That’s it for Balduran’s ship, and for the lair of the wolfweres” remarked Branwen.

“About time, too” said Xan. “This place smells like wet doggies, and poop, and we are probably going to get feces all over our boots! Just you mark my words…”

They go back to Dradeel’s shack, to give him his spellbook. They give him the book, and he uses a ‘dimension door’ spell to take off from that place, without even a thank you! The tired six head back to the village; they were unable to find the boat the villagers built, as high cliffs surround the East side of the island.

Lahl, the gardener, is glad the six killed the wolfweres. He says they would make great additions to the village…only, he says “pack” instead of ‘village”, but then corrects himself. To Penelope, that is ‘worrisome’; the wheels behind her eyes begin to move faster and faster…reaching some nasty conclusions.

They next return Maralee’s son to her, for which she is very grateful. Then, the village’s ancient cloak is returned to Durlyle. Penelope tries to convince Durlyle to leave the island with them when they find a way off of it; he grows angry, says that Penelope is an animal, and he storms off.

Time to talk with Kaishas Gan again.