Chapter 32
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cliffc999
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My momentary panic was quelled by the immediate realization that Gortash would never have risked himself as the bait when he had so many disposable minions potentially available. Not unless there was something else to be done here that he couldn't trust anyone else to do for him...
"If this were an ambush then your archers would have fired into our backs the instant they had a clear shot." I stated flatly. "So if it's not an ambush, then what is it?"
"Oh, capital!" Gortash clapped his hands approvingly. "I didn't even have to explain myself! Yes, you clearly are the man I need to talk to."
"Hold tight, everyone." I ordered the team. "It appears that Lord Gortash is inviting us to a parley."
"Lord Gortash most certainly is." he grinned. "And if we'll all peace-bond our weapons - metaphorically speaking, not literally - then I would be delighted to invite you upstairs to continue this discussion in a more congenial venue."
"If you're certain there's no doppelgangers hiding among that crew of yours, I'd rather do it down here." I replied. "There'd be no guessing who might possibly be overhearing us in a more public venue."
"Valid point." Lord Gortash conceded. "Gauntlet, have your men fall back to the prison level entrance and wait for me there. My guests and I will be privately conferring in the guards' break room."
"As you command." one of the priests of Bane bowed to him, and all his men obediently trooped away.
"I thought people like you weren't so quick to take people like us at our words." Wyll said venomoously as we headed into the nearby break room. Gortash didn't sit down, and neither did we.
"I pride myself on being a practical man, young Ravengard, and also on being able to recognize when others are the same." Gortash smiled at him politely. "Saer Hawke is far too practical to overlook the fact that he still doesn't have a viable escape route. As well as the inconvenient fact that even if he were somehow able to take my Netherstone by force and escape Wyrm's Rock with it, it would still do him no good without Orin's stone and the knowledge of how to use them to control the Crown... neither of which you currently possess."
"You don't possess one of those things either." I observed calmly, while Gale and I both restrained our smiles on how we had already obtained that other thing just recently from the Annals of Karsus.
"And so we come directly to the crux of our discussion." Gortash agreed. "The elder brain grows restive - and without all three Netherstones reunited, no one can give it new commands. Soon enough it will finish completing all of the orders it's currently operating under... and the instant it does, it will be free. I trust I don't have to belabor what that means?"
"Baldur's Gate will be destroyed." Shadowheart answered him.
"Not just the Gate, but the entire Sword Coast... and it won't stop there" Gortash replied somberly. "Perhaps you don't know how many True Souls we've been seeding into neighboring cities as well as here, but we certainly haven't been idle. The first thing the elder brain will do if freed is turn all of them into illithids immediately... with you foremost among them. The Astral Prism won't shield you indefinitely." Gortash began to pace with vexation. "With that many mind flayers as well as the power of an elder brain boosted by the Crown, the Sword Coast won't last long. And once all the people who live here have also been converted, the brain will command the largest illithid army ever seen since the original githyanki rebellion. And with that army it will reinstate the Grand Design - the illithids' ancient empire reborn, eventually to spread across all the known planes. If we're lucky, we become mindless thralls. If we're not, well..." He shrugged. "Not the most attractive set of choices, is it?"
"So what's your third option?" I followed the straight line.
"We work together, to restore our authority over the brain." Gortash answered unhesitatingly. "By killing Ketheric and claiming his Netherstone, you've put yourself forward as a worthy candidate for his position. And by everything else you've accomplished against the Cult of the Absolute to date, you've only confirmed and reconfirmed that worthiness."
"I thought this was an alliance of the Chosen of the Dead Three." I observed. "Who I don't worship."
"It was... but if Myrkul's Chosen couldn't defend his position adequately then that's just Myrkul's ill fortune, isn't it?" Gortash observed nonchalantly. "Granted that he was an entirely serviceable ally... but that only makes you even more impressive for having been able to surpass him."
"And Orin?" I probed.
"Is not a serviceable ally." Gortash replied darkly. "She is-"
"A moment, please." I interrupted. "You're trying to recruit me as an ally primarily because I was successful in killing off one of your original two allies, and unless I entirely misunderstand you the first joint project you're suggesting we embark upon is that we go kill off your other surviving ally. To phrase it as politely as possible, this is coloring my expectations."
"Orin isn't one of my original allies." Gortash replied calmly. "In fact, she got the position by betraying and murdering the original Chosen of Bhaal in our triumvirate. Unfortunately for us that sort of behavior only earns you the approval of the God of Murder, and so Ketheric and I were powerless to act against her so long as our respective divine patrons were commanding us to cooperate with the new Chosen of Bhaal." He smiled widely. "Which is a particular limitation that you do not suffer under."
"And when your lord Bane commands you to dispose of me after the hard part is done, so that you may rule alone? As Ketheric had been so commanded by Myrkul?" I questioned him.
"Ketheric was going to betray us?" Gortash raised an eyebrow. "That's... actually a bit disappointing. We weren't exactly warm to each other personally but except there at the very end, when you were outmatching him, the man was more than competent at his job. And much, much less prone to wearisome histrionics than Orin is."
"If it's any consolation, he said it wasn't personal with him either. Myrkul had commanded him to do so, therefore he would. As simple as that." Shadowheart shrugged.
"The man certainly did know the value of discipline." Gortash agreed, surprising me more than a bit with how angry he wasn't at the revelation that one of the divine allies of his patron had commanded his death and how one of his longtime partners had been willing to obey that order. "But to answer the question you originally asked, my divine patron did not command me to betray any of my fellow Chosen and I do not anticipate him ever doing so in your case. Contrary to popular belief, Bane highly values the concept of alliance."
"Isn't he the god of tyranny?" I asked politely.
"Entirely." Gortash acknowledged matter-of-factly. "Also the deity of ambition and control. To worship Bane is to commit oneself to the idea that the world when left to its own devices naturally tends to chaos and is always in desperate need of a strong hand to provide order. And also the idea that those of superior accomplishment – such as ourselves - should be allowed to rise as high as they can on their own merits, instead of being stifled by enforced mediocrity. But absolutely none of that requires, or even welcomes, the willful destruction of one's own worthy allies. It's Myrkul who dreams of ruling an entire world of the dead and Bhaal who delights in massacre, not Bane. Bane believes that it is by making an ally that you best deny that potential alliance to others." He raised a hand. "And since I already know you've spoken to Karlach, let me point out that the situation then was entirely different to the situation you and I are in at present. As well as that even without your Netherstone you still present a far more unique value as an ally. And she's not the only one who got sold into infernal slavery at a young age. I was honestly expecting her to escape much more quickly than she did and to ultimately be better off for the experience. I'd managed to, after all."
I blinked as Raphael's voice suddenly echoed in my memory. ""Why, it was only a decade or three ago that I was dealing for yet another 'teenaged cutpurse', and today that young man is poised to enter the highest ranks of nobility."
"Have you ever been in the House of Hope?" I asked.
"How did you know that?!?" Gortash startled.
"Because its owner can't help but drop little boasts and innuendos into every speech he makes, and he's been annoying us since right after we got off the nautiloid." I said. "And he'd once mentioned someone who'd gotten away from him decades before who was now 'poised to enter the highest ranks of nobility'... and I doubt there's two incipient Archdukes who'd escaped fiendish slavery as adolescents."
"Please tell me you didn't pact with Raph- with him." Gortash asked urgently... while inconspicuously sidling over so that he was between us and the door, I noticed.
"Dear gods, no." Wyll shuddered. "He hasn't even said what he wants from us yet. But he's been popping in and out, trying to stoke our desperation and play on our fears. So that we're all softened up when he finally makes us the offer he doesn't want us to refuse."
"That sounds very much like him." Gortash relaxed. "Well, I can tell you what he almost certainly wants - the Crown of Karsus. He's been lusting after it for centuries. He just didn't have any hope of obtaining it while it languished in the vaults of the Archdevil Mephistopheles... but the Crown is of course no longer there."
"You robbed an archdevil?" Gale couldn't help bursting out.
"That was largely the work of Orin's predecessor." Gortash smiled. "He was exceptionally talented, and a positive genius at his job. This whole grand scheme was originally as much his conception as mine." He sighed. "I'm still not sure how Orin managed to defeat him, even from ambush. Then again, given how much sick amusement Bhaal takes at having his children murder each other maybe he was sabotaged by his patron. At any rate, the quality of our work fell off more than a bit when Orin replaced him." He grinned. "One of the many reasons why I now find Orin excess to needs."
"You mentioned your divine patron having originally commanded you to work with her. Has Bane given you freedom to work against her now?" I asked.
"Sadly, no." Gortash answered. "Because Bhaal has not yet given Orin freedom to work against me. Orin really hasn't been subtle about the fact that he will soon, though... and given that murdering people is the one thing she's actually competent at, I don't want to wait and give her the first shot."
"What a coincidence, neither do I." I said affably.
"Then I propose a pact." Gortash smiled. "Sworn in the name of my divine patron and your Oath. I and my followers do no harm to you, so long as you and yours do no harm to me. In addition, you will have nothing to fear from my Steel Watch while our pact stands. Ketheric's stone remains yours to keep. After you slay Orin and take her Netherstone, you bring it to me so that the three are united once again. And then we work together to reaffirm our control over the elder brain and rule Faerun as kings. No, more than kings... living gods. We rule together as the Absolute."
"Two heads can't share one crown... particularly not when one of those heads is the Chosen of Bane, who cannot ever submit himself to anyone save his patron." I observed. "So, this alliance would still involve you being paramount."
"Well, yes." Gortash freely admitted. "But when dealing with a fellow bearer of a Netherstone - or at least one who isn't a cackling madwoman with the self-control of a spoiled toddler - I would be entirely amenable to a 'first among equals' relationship rather than demanding that you kneel before me. Particularly since I don't think you actually have a burning passion for grand administrative projects to begin with... you'd be more amenable to the 'field commander' role, am I correct?"
"You're already aware that I'm a paladin. How do you think that I'll even be able to reconcile my Oath with helping raise up a tyranny over Faerun?" I asked him.
"Minthara was a paladin as well... Oath of the Crown, as I recall." Gortash replied mildly. "She was not forsworn by following the Absolute, so neither should you be by helping rule as the Absolute. We would simply be doing what you've already been doing but on a much grander scale - enforcing order, and bringing peace."
"Your methods in Baldur's Gate to date have not been entirely peaceful." I demurred. "And stooping to outright slavery at the Steel Watch Foundry and other places." I guessed.
"Necessary emergency measures only." Gortash waved his hand. "Up until you came along I was constrained by my two fellow Chosen and their own respective agendas. We could barely agree on a minimum set of instructions to give the elder brain, let alone do anything visionary with it. But with you and I working together more closely, then we wouldn't need to keep using so much of the iron fist. The power of the Absolute, if wielded with subtlety and restraint, could be the softest and kindest of velvet gloves instead. Just think about it, Hawke." Gortash said soothingly. "A world without war. Without poverty. Without hate or despair or fear. Bane is the god of tyrants, yes, but a tyrant does not always have to be a despot. There can be strength without justice, but there can never be justice without strength. No one can bring about change without first obtaining the power to change things. And with us two in command of the elder brain... we would have more power than any other mortals in the history of the world."
I looked at Gortash for the longest time, then I looked back at my allies. I called on my tadpole to speak mind-to-mind
Trust- I began.
Of course I trust you. Shadowheart's mind-voice replied ahead of anyone else's.
My gorge rises at the thought of taking this devil's bargain. Wyll thought back. But after the last time I saw you bargain...
Gale simply nodded, with no words necessary on his part.
"By my Oath I swear to uphold this pact as proposed while you remain true to your dealings with me and my party." I said formally.
"By the Black Hand of Bane I swear to uphold this pact as proposed while you and your party remain true to your dealings with me." Gortash accepted. "And so the pact is sealed."
"How much help can you give us in tracking down Orin?" I immediately proceeded to business.
"No direct aid, regretfully. I'm still constrained by Lord Bane's commands at present." Gortash said. "I can, however, promise a complete lack of official interference with your doings and movements in Baldur's Gate while you and your allies track her down. In fact, I have something to aid you with that." Gortash reached into his robe and came out with a scroll, which he then handed to me.
It is on my orders and for the good of Baldur's Gate that the bearer of this letter has done what they have done.
Archduke Enver Gortash
"Very useful." I acknowledged.
"I'd also have given you an invitation to my coronation tomorrow, but whatever chance you have of stealing a march on Orin will evaporate in an instant if we are publicly linked." Gortash smiled. "Pity."
"Needs must." I shrugged. "Where can we get in touch with you once the job is done, or if something else comes up?"
"I will be making my headquarters in Wyrm's Rock for the duration." Gortash answered. "The elder brain is at present located in a cavern beneath the Upper City, you see, and until after we have all three Netherstones safely in hand I'd prefer to keep it at a distance. I'd advise you not to prematurely go too near it as well... as mentioned, the Astral Prism's protection can potentially be overwhelmed if the brain can concentrate on you strongly enough."
"If you would... a minor matter, to satisfy my curiosity." Shadowheart asked politely. "Your gambit with the councilor deliberately set us a very narrow time window. How did you know that we'd already made it into the city?"
"I didn't." Gortash admitted frankly. "I suspected, particularly when none of the Zhentarim survived to report back after their failure at the Guildhall, but I wasn't entirely certain. But if you hadn't shown up tonight Councilor Florrick would simply have received a procedural delay on her trial, and then another if need be."
"And just where is Councilor Florrick?" Wyll asked harshly.
"Under house arrest in much more comfortable quarters upstairs." Gortash replied amiably. "Now that we're allies, I could even see to having her released into your custody if you could guarantee her... lack of interference."
"We'll take you up on that, and thank you." I said politely. "Is there anything further we need to discuss tonight? If not, it'd be best if you had the Councilor brought back down here and then we'll smuggle ourselves out the same way we smuggled ourselves in. If one of Orin's spies sees us leaving, hopefully they'll mistake it for a jailbreak."
"Excellent plan, and I'll have her sent for immediately." Gortash smiled. "And you have my most earnest wishes that this will be the beginning of a very long and profitable partnership."
"I don't fucking believe this!" Karlach howled... as she literally rolled on the floor convulsing in laughter.
"Is it my fault Gortash is such a conscienceless bastard that he honestly seems to think he didn't really screw you over when he sold you to Zariel?" I smirked back. "After all, my oath to him only holds while he remains true to his dealings with me and my party... which includes you. And since he's already screwed you over in a way that he can never make up for..." I smirked. "I've had a free license to break my pact with Gortash since ten years before it was actually made."
Now that we didn't have to worry about evading Gortash's checkpoints, we'd moved out of the cavern underneath Jaheira's house - which hopefully he hadn't found - and rented the penthouse of the Elfsong Tavern, a famous Baldur's Gate landmark. Given that Duke Stelmane had been ritualistically murdered in this same tavern just the other day they were temporarily having problems with finding people willing to rent the luxury suite, so we were able to book it for the next two weeks at a mere one hundred gold a week instead of its usual hundred per night. We'd all welcomed the first chance to finally sleep in real beds with actual stuffed mattresses and get a bath in somewhere other than a river or pond that we'd had since this journey began.
"You got him just like you did Mizora." Wyll agreed amiably. "Got them so busy congratulating themselves on how they'd hooked you that they weren't paying attention to how you hadn't actually promised what you sounded like you were promising." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, now that I think about it, there's more than a surface similarity between how Raphael was trying to work us and how Gortash was."
"Not entirely surprising, given who he apparently had ample opportunity to learn from as a young man." Gale shrugged. "That having been said, Gortash was far more charming in person than I was expecting. I was honestly quite amazed at how reasonable he sounded even when he was talking about the most unreasonable things."
"The really frightening part is that I'm normally very perceptive, as is Shadowheart, and neither of us caught even the slightest hint that he was lying." I admitted. "I'm still not certain if he genuinely believed everything he was saying or if he didn't believe anything he was saying, and I'm equally uncertain as to which would be more frightening."
"Sometimes I think he doesn't even know when he's full of crap or not." Karlach snorted. "But yeah, that's the funniest part! What he did to me back then gave you a free license to screw him over whenever you want, and he hasn't even caught on to it!"
"We hope he hasn't caught on to it." Shadowheart corrected Karlach mildly. "But even in the worst-case scenario where Gortash has already spotted our sudden yet inevitable betrayal coming ahead of time, we've still gotten him off our backs while we deal with Orin. So we're still ahead of where we were previously."
"I still can't believe that fucker thought selling me to Zariel was giving me an opportunity." Karlach snorted as she drew upright again. "If that wasn't just him trying to snow you then he's twisted reality around in his own head so much I'm surprised he knows what plane he's on."
"The sad thing is, given all the people he's hurt or killed without a backward glance the fact that he apparently needed to justify what he did to you-" Shadowheart thought out loud. "Well, either he was just playing to his audience or else he actually cared for you on some level."
"Eugh." Karlach shuddered. "Please let's hope it's just him playing up to you."
"Hawke? Shadowheart?" Isobel's voice interrupted us, as her and a disguised Aylin entered the room. We'd asked Mol to run a message out to Rivington telling Isobel where we were and asking to meet up, along with a written pass for them to enter the Lower City that the nearest guardhouse had gladly provided us with the instant I showed them a copy of Gortash's warrant.
"Ah, there you are." Aylin said sternly. "What precisely is this that we heard about your having reached an accomodation with Gortash?"
A brief explanation of exactly what our true intentions were and how we had lawful reason to void any pact with Gortash even before we'd made it settled Aylin down from affronted divine paladin mode, and we hurriedly caught up on what they'd discovered.
"The ritual killing of Father Lorgan at the temple of Ilmater in Rivington was a tragedy, but we discovered several clues at the crime scene that the Flaming Fist's investigator hadn't." Isobel explained.
"He was a drunken, lazy incompetent." Aylin sniffed disdainfully. "The task of rooting corruption out of the Flaming Fist appears to have been... incomplete."
"Father always called it the 'never-ending battle'." Wyll agreed ruefully.
"We were then interrupted by several doppelganger assassins, who were attempting to remove evidence from the crime scene ahead of any follow-up." Aylin continued matter-of-factly. "We dispatched them readily enough, and clues on their persons led us to the domicile of the murderer - a hidden chamber in a local flophouse."
"Where we discovered the corpse of the murderer's own mother. He'd apparently caught her looking through his belongings and discovering the true activities of her son, and..." Isobel trailed off sadly.
"A mad dog and a kinslayer." Aylin said thunderously. "But also a careless and reckless one. He'd left this in his quarters." She withdrew a bloodstained sheet of parchment from her pouch and laid it out for our examination.
Those wishing to face the Dread Lord's Tribunal and enter the Temple of Bhaal must slay the targets on this list and frame the corpses as a murder by the cult of the Absolute.
Bring the victim's hand as proof of the killing. Walk in blood, Aspirant.
Duke Belynne Stelmane - Elfsong Tavern, Lower City. (Killed)
Father Lorgan - Open Hand Temple, Rivington. (Killed)
Dribbles the Clown - Circus of the Last Days, Rivington. (Killed)
Alexander Rainforest - Office near the Counting House, Lower City. (Killed)
Franc Peartree - Abode near Feolgyr's Fireworks, Lower City. (Killed)
Cora Highberry - Large home near Baldur's Mouth Gazette, Lower City.
Figaro Pennygood - Facemaker's Fashion, Lower City.
Chef Roveer - Elfsong Tavern kitchen, Lower City.
Nesha Leesha - Blushing Mermaid, Lower City.
Varri Vanthampur - Vanthampur Villa, Upper City.
Fridrik Hhune - Hhune House, Upper City.
"So, the murderer is not Orin or one of her servants, but is one who aspires to join them. And these written orders prove that they have at least been in contact with them. If you have the murderer's address, do you have his name?" Lae'zel asked.
"A dwarf dressed in red, named 'Dolor'." Isobel said. "That's all we have."
"How long has Father Lorgan been dead?" I thought out loud.
"He was killed shortly before our arrival in Rivington." Isobel answered. "This 'Dribbles the Clown' as well."
"Duke Stelmane died the day before we arrived at Baldur's Gate." Gale said immediately. "Father Lorgan and Dribbles died the day we arrived, or one day after..."
"... and Rainforest and Peartree just yesterday." Wyll realized. "We were out checking crime scenes while you were busy at Sorcerous Sundries, and we'd gotten there only several hours behind the Flaming Fist."
"We'd already given the target list to the chief investigator and his assistant, but they said they'd been ordered to 'prioritize coverage' on the Upper City." Isobel said disgustedly. "So the last two targets on that list will have augmented security, but none of the rest will."
"And Gortash already said he's not giving us any direct help against the Bhaal cult, so I can't even use his warrant to try and prod more action out of the Fist. Which means we have four possible targets in the Lower City to cover ourselves and at least one of them is getting hit today." I agreed. "Right. With Jaheira and Minsc still off working with the Guild there's only eight of us available, so we'll split up into a pair each. One of the targets is right here in the Elfsong, so Isobel and Aylin will keep an eye on things here. Wyll, Karlach, you two cover the Blushing Mermaid. Lae'zel and Gale head to Facemaker's Fashions, and Shadowheart and I will watch Cora Highberry. It would be nice if we could take Dolor alive enough to question,, but he's a Bhaal cultist and a psychopath being aided by doppelgangers. So if you can't take him alive without risking yourself even slightly, then dead is just fine."
"We've still got the Amulet of Lost Voices, after all." Shadowheart observed sweetly. "So dead men will tell tales."
"If something goes down then check back in at the Elfsong with Aylin and Isobel. They'll be our message center. And we sadly won't have time for a leisurely breakfast, so let's move." I ordered.
The Highberrys turned out to be vintners, and we arrived just as a small wine tasting festival was starting. We paid our gold to be admitted and circulated around, mingling with the crowd. There were few nobles in attendance that we could see... mostly it was prosperous tradesmen and curious passers-by who could afford the modest fee to be admitted.
"This is a lovely festival. What's the occasion?" Shadowheart asked our hostess politely when we finally had a chance to speak to her alone.
"Oh, all admissions are being used to raise funds for refugee relief." Cora Highberry replied. Her and her husband Roger were both halflings, which explained their name. "And we're also featuring the special collection of Master Metzli, a wine connoisseur from the Upper City. He generously paid to help set up this festival."
"He sounds like a very interesting fellow." I said amiably. "But I don't see him with you?"
"Yes, he's running a little late." Cora apologized. "But I'm sure he'll be here soon, and his vintages with him. In the meantime, we do hope you're enjoying the tasting."
"It's wonderful." Shadowheart soothed them, and we moved on.
"Do you know a spell for detecting poison?" was the first question I asked Shadowheart as soon as we got out of immediate earshot.
"Already cast it." she reassured me. "The wine's clean. But you'd better believe I'll be checking this 'special collection' when it arrives."
"We're lucky that it was us that ended up covering the wine tasting." I agreed. "I'm not sure Gale even knows that spell."
"He doesn't, it's clerical magic." Shadowheart agreed.
"Excuse me, priestess." an elderly man interrupted us. "I couldn't help but notice your robes and your silver-touched hair. You follow the Moonmaiden, do you not?"
"I do." she greeted him. "Initiate Shadowheart, of the Church of Selune. And you are?"
"I'm Belvor, my lady." he smiled. "A lay worshipper of the church. I haven't seen a true priestess of the Moon in the Lower City for years and years, not since the temple here closed down after all those accidents. If I want to attend services I have to find one of the few shrines that still exist in neighboring villages. Dare I hope that your presence here means the temple will be re-opening?"
"That... will have to be the High Initiate's decision." Shadowheart temporized. "I'm just here with some friends to explore possibilities."
"Even that much is still a ray of hope to those of us who remain." he smiled gratefully. "Our Lady bless you."
"Our Lady bless you." Shadowheart smiled back at him, and he departed. Shadowheart's smile fell off her face the instant he turned around.
"It's understandable that your new role feels awkward, but I'm certain that you'll grow comfortable with it in time." I reassured her.
"It's not that." she sighed. "I was just... we already know that a substantial congregation of Sharrans have been operating secretly in this city for years. Which leads to an obvious conclusion as to how the temple of Selune here was harassed into closing down. And now here's someone eagerly hoping that my presence means the temple will be re-opening, when I can't even remember if I was one of the people helping cause those 'accidents' in the first place."
I drew her into a hug and kiss. "At least two goddesses have already made it explicitly clear that you are no longer that person. It's all right to let yourself believe them."
"I'm still going to be a little clingy on that topic for a while, if you don't mind." Shadowheart tried to joke.
"Sweetheart, you have an open invitation to 'cling' to me as much as you like." I grinned back wickedly.
"Insufferable." Shadowheart joked back, before playfully pretending to kick me in the shin.
"Everyone!" an effusive new voice burst out. "I am pleased to welcome you all to my public debut as a connoisseur! Please, come forward and help yourselves to my special vintage!"
"Damn, we missed his arrival-" I said, only to break off as we both turned around and saw the figure of 'Master Metzli' standing next to the Highberrys at the front of the crowd - a dwarf, dressed in red. A large wine keg stood next to him behind a newly-erected table, which was gilled with goblets. "Oh come on." I swore.
Shadowheart muttered hurriedly under her breath. "That entire barrel is poisoned to the gills!" she swore. "Get me to the front of that crowd now."
I immediately moved forward and started plowing the road. Several people muttered disgruntledly at being shoved aside, but upon seeing a large armored man with a greatsword insistently clearing a path for a robed priestess they decided not to make a point of it.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Shadowheart gushed effusively as we arrived next to the Highberrys, both of whom were interrupted as they were raising full goblets to their lips. "I apologize, honestly."
"Late for what?" Cora asked us puzzledly.
"Why, you asked me to bless the tasting, don't you remember?" she said charmingly. "In the name of our Lady in Silver, let all who would share in this bounty be cherished in moonlight!" she intoned before anyone could stop her... and the clerical spell of Purify Food and Drink radiated outward from her, cleansing all traces of poison from the nearby wine glasses and barrel.
'Master Metzli's' genially smiling expression shattered into a mask of rage as realization set in. "No. No! Nonononooo!" he fumed madly at Shadowheart. "You ruined it! It was perfect... perfect! But you have sullied it with-"
Dolor's mad ranting cut off as I got an arm around his neck from behind and started to choke him out, hauling his dwarven feet clear off the ground as I did so. He'd been so focused on Shadowheart's taunting of him that I'd had a free opportunity to get behind him, and I was now taking ruthless advantage of it. An attempt on his part to activate some sort of escape spell was cut off by a channelling of my templar powers, but then several other bystanders shifted into copies of Dolor and attacked.
The first doppelganger's attempt to backstab me was dealt with by my using Dolor as a human shield, leaving him dying of a short sword in the lungs. I then dwarf tossed the corpse on top of the doppelganger and cut down his partner, then stabbed the first doppelganger before he could shove Dolor's dead weight off of him and get up. Meanwhile, Shadowheart readily dispatched the third one.
"What the hell is going on here?" demanded an arriving patrol of Flaming Fist, who'd been attracted to the disturbance.
"We just caught your serial killer and his friends." I told them. "The one who killed Duke Stelmane and several others. We got a tip he was going to attack at the wine festival today."
"Is that why you came here?" Roger Highberry asked us. "But why didn't you warn us?"
"We weren't certain you were in danger until we saw this man, who matched the killer's description." Shadowheart said. "That's why I purified the wine."
"A likely story, but all I see is two adventurers who-" The Flaming Fist's tirade was cut off as I held up Gortash's warrant in front of his eyes, and his jaw gaped open helplessly at the sight of the elaborate archducal seal.
"You were saying?" I couldn't help but drawl at him derisively.
"I'm- I'm sorry, sir!" the arrogant guardsman rushed to apologize.
"Eugh." Shadowheart said as she went through Dolor's pockets. "He actually kept trophies." A small leather wineskin on his person turned out to hold several severed hands - one of them still having a ducal signet ring on its finger.
"Well, it looks like you've caught the killer red-handed." one of the other Flaming Fist joked, and we all groaned.
"Are you keeping that for evidence, sir, or am I?" the lead Flaming Fist asked me.
"Let's see what else he had on him first." I decided, and we strip-searched Dolor down to his underwear. In addition to his bag of hands he had a pair of apparently magical daggers, a set of magical boots that apparently allowed the wielder to teleport - so that's what he'd been trying to get away with - several flasks of poison, and another bloodstained parchment. This one wasn't a copy of his target list but something new.
'Neath Candulhallow's quiet tombs
Lies a path to murder's boons.
If entry down below's your aim
seek trigger hidden by a frame
'Sicarius' the door awaits
To admit those who seek their fates.
If to continue you insist
Show a trophy rent from wrist
Of sacrifice for our lord planned
Present death's knight a bloodied-
And then a splotch of blood obscured the last word, but from the context it was obviously "hand".
"And now it's time to see if dead men can tell tales." Shadowheart said. We had the Flaming Fist move everybody back out of easy earshot, and Shadowheart got out the Amulet of Lost Voices and began her interrogation.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Dolor... a most glorious aspirant... of Bhaal..."
"Where is Orin?"
The corpse remained silent. He didn't know.
"What lies beneath Candulhallow's tombs?"
"Murder... Tribunal..."
"Who presides over this tribunal?"
Again, silence.
"Why did you kill all those people?"
"To prove myself... be named an Unholy Assassin..."
"That's it." Shadowheart said, putting the amulet away.
"We'll be keeping this evidence, except for Duke Stelmane's ring." I told the Flaming Fist as we walked back over to them. "You dispose of all these corpses, and then make sure the Archduke's office is personally informed of what happened here and that Saer Hawke is handling it. Don't let any public notice of this be taken unless the Archduke allows it, and their office can handle returning the ring to the Stelmane family."
"They'll all vanish straight off the face of Toril, sir." the lead guardsman assured me, and they sent off one of their own as a runner to fetch a wagon and got to work with the clean-up.
"Gods, he's only been being coronated just today and already his people have solved those dreadful murders." Roger Highberry gushed. "Thank you for saving all our lives, sir and madam, and praise the Archduke!"
"Yes." I mouthed the words hollowly. "Praise the Archduke indeed."
"A Murder Tribunal." Jaheira said disgustedly as we all met up back in our new headquarters at the top of the Elfsong. "One of those has been re-opened in Baldur's Gate, after a century and more, and I missed it!"
"Then we must go and crush these dogs at once!" Minsc boomed. "Boo says that the evil of Bhaal must be rooted out from top to bottom!"
"Candulhallow." Wyll observed. "I know that name. It was in the papers of one of the previous murder victims - Alexander Rainforest. He'd been a minor official amongst the city bureaucracy, and he'd been conducting an investigation into a business known as Candulhallow's Tombstones which apparently had mysteriously been lacking proper ownership documents, paper trails, or tax records."
"A cult of murderers put their hideout underneath an undertaker's shop?" Gale asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, but are they even trying?"
"I'm beginning to understand why Gortash has such a low opinion of this Orin's intelligence." Karlach groaned. "And gods, I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with the prick on anything."
"Well, if this is where Orin is hiding then I propose we officially abandon subtlety - especially since she might move as soon as she hears Dolor was taken out of circulation, and even if the Flaming Fist keeps it under wraps that wine ceremony was full of gossiping tongues so it'll be all over town by tomorrow."
"It's already been hours." Isobel observed. "So they might have moved already. But yes, we should definitely waste no time."
"Let's not even try to be subtle this time." I proposed. "Everybody suit up. We all stick together so nobody can get swapped out for a doppelganger at the last minute, then we just go there, find the secret door, and clean out the basement by main force."
"YES!" Minsc roared. "No more skulking and sneaking! Let us go straight to the crushing of evil!"
"A man after my own heart!" Aylin boomed joyously. "It will be good to stretch my wings again!"
"... are we certain it was a wise idea to introduce them to each other?" Jaheira whispered to me.
"Let's hope Isobel can keep hers reined in at least as well as you can keep yours." I answered.
"Better than I can, hopefully." Jaheira agreed.
Candulhallow's Tombstones turned out to be less of a shop and more of a false front pretending at being a shop. Documents we found as we searched the empty office indicated that they deliberately set their prices high above market value to discourage as much business as possible - the only reason it was kept open as a storefront was to have a valid explanation for why people could occasionally be seen entering or leaving, as opposed to possibly attracting attention by having regular traffic in and out of an 'abandoned' building. Saying the password 'Sicarius' to the painting in the owner's office opened a secret door leading to a set of tunnels below, and an antechamber guarded by three undead knights was easily passed by showing the bag of severed hands to them.
"They're not even mildly curious about the celestial paladin accompanying us, or the two priestesses of Selune in full regalia?" Wyll snarked.
"The dangers of poorly programmed automatons, my friend." Gale replied.
"Focus." I reminded everyone. "We're entering the main sanctum."
We arrived into a solemn chamber - it looked like an underground temple, except there was no altar. A low speaker's platform at the center of the room was faced by two sets of steps leading up to a throne on a raised platform, with three lesser thrones on a secondary platform that lay in-between the first and second set of steps. Three women - a human, an elf, and a drow- sat on the three lesser thrones, each of them soaked head to foot in blood. A large dark-skinned man, dressed in elaborate plate armor and menacing horned skull-helmet sat on the raised throne.
"Sarevok!" Jaheira gasped incredulously at the man. "First Ketheric, now you?"
"Minsc remembers all of you women!" he looked at the three members of the tribunal. "Amelyssan, Illasera, Sendai! Boo helped kill you all, one by one!"
"You know, for the gods of Death and Murder they both seem to really have a fetish for resurrecting people." I snarked.
"Not resurrected, but mere revenants." Aylin said scornfully as she resumed her true form. "Ghosts made solid, echoes of pain and loss rematerialized in a mere illusion of life."
"So this is what the infamous Sarevok Anchev has been reduced to." Jaheira spat. "A marionette animated by a fallen god as a mere distraction and scapegoat. Where is Orin?" she demanded.
"Harper." Sarevok's sonorous voice was as calm as an open grave. "You swallowed the bait just as you were supposed to. Bhaal's Chosen remains beyond your grasp, and now you and your allies will die here. As you should have died a century ago."
"Bullshit." I snorted. "You're doing a great job of bare-faced spinning in the face of an unexpected reversal, but if you'd known who was coming down your stairs even as soon as two minutes ago you wouldn't be standing out in the open. You're servants of the god of assassins. Four of you versus all of us, and you didn't attack from stealth? You didn't plan this at all - we caught you entirely by surprise."
"Arrogant mortal." Sarevok glared at me. "We are all Murder's progeny, and we are eternal. We have all passed beyond the veil of death already - why should we fear it?"
"Boo says too much talking! Come, Sarevok, face the fury of Rashemen again! Let us see how quickly you die this time!" Minsc roared.
"Man of Stone. For decades you stood as a statue, a helpless ornament, while your city warped all around you. For all your crusading all you did was to cultivate a rotten fruit, now ripe for Bhaal's plucking. And your partner the self-abdicating Harper, who always prided herself on her keen sense for the city... while blind and deaf to all the true threats around her until it was far, far too late." Sarevok mocked them. "Last time you had the mightiest of my brothers to help save you from my wrath. This time you have no one, save these nameless and bloodless tagalongs. And so at long, long last, you both will be Bhaal's offering... by my hand."
"Earlier this week we beat the Avatar of Myrkul." Karlach scoffed at him. "If you think you can do better than that, then come right on down here and try!"
For all that this man had once been a legendary threat to the entire Sword Coast, he had very little recourse left to him in the end except to die acquitting himself as best he could. Oh, he was vastly skilled and powerful enough that he'd readily have defeated any of us in single combat, and most combinations of two or three of us. His strength was absurd, his speed magically augmented by his fallen god, and his very aura seemed to cause wounds to bleed more and heal less. Aylin took enough damage helping keep Minsc alive to put her on the ground with what would have been fatal wounds for anyone else, and wasn't able to get back into the fight until it was largely over.
But the simple fact was that the odds against him were ten to one. His trio of supporters turned out to be there simply to channel power into him, and once we saw that Gale, Shadowheart, and I simply concentrated on counterspelling everything they did while Aylin and Minsc tanked Sarevok from the front and everybody else tore into his flanks and rear. And so the once-infamous Sarevok died not in glorious single combat but instead piece by piece, harried to death like a titan being devoured by rats. The three women drew unholy blades and leapt to the attack as soon as their master had perished, but were nowhere near as formidable as Sarevok had been.
After we finished cleaning up the mess we did a vigorous search of the Murder Tribunal's sanctum for clues. Outside of several unholy magical weapons and armor that our priestesses fully intended to deconsecrate at the earliest opportunity, the only thing of significance we found was an elaborate amulet of Bhaal on Sarevok's corpse... along with a scroll in his pocket.
Use a round street hatch to enter the City Sewers. Proceed [...] to find your way into the Undercity Ruins. Blood the skull to pass the door. Follow the trail of murder to the Bhaal Temple Door. Praise Bhaal!
The part of the scroll where a sketch map had been drawn had been deliberately torn off, with just enough of a corner left to let us know there had been a map there. Likewise, a strategic part of the message had been obliterated with blood.
"The bitch is taunting us." I swore. "Sarevok wasn't even intended to kill us, although he certainly was intended to try. But if we defeated him, we'd get just a vague invitation to head town into the sewers without the slightest idea of where to go once we're there. Oh yes, we're entirely going to chase the invisible shadowy doppelganger assassins into a twisting labyrinth of dark tunnels!"
"Don't lose that amulet." Jaheira said. "I have seen one like it before - it is used to open the inner sanctum door of a Temple of Bhaal. If we figure out how to narrow down where the hell they have built the Temple this time, then we'll need that amulet to get in to where Orin is hiding."
"I don't suppose we'll have it easy and they simply rebuilt the temple where you originally destroyed the first one?" I sighed.
"Hah!" Jaheira laughed. "I already checked for that earlier and no, they are not that stupid to make it that easy for us. Although it would have been much more convenient if they had."
"Well, at least there won't be any more unholy aspirants doing a murder spree to seek the approval of the Murder Tribunal for a while." Shadowheart said. "And we did at least get the key to the temple sanctum. That's not bad for a first day's work."
"Thank you." I said to her. "Come on, let's burn these corpses and then hopefully find something to set the rest of the place on fire with. Then we'll all head back to the Elfsong. If Orin hasn't already known we're in town she'll know it now, so we might as well all get a good dinner before we find out what her second round of attacks will look like."
"Boo agrees." Minsc said amiably. "Whenever evil does its utmost to drown you in darkness, that is when heroes must let their light shine the brightest! Also, Boo is very hungry because it has been a long day."
Our victory celebration at the tavern was refreshingly incident-free, and the food really was excellent here. We even had the amusing coincidence of recognizing our waitress - Lakrissa, one of the tiefling refugees who'd been with Zevlor and Alfira's girlfriend. Despite the 'no refugees' policy Alfira had managed to play on the tradition of giving bards free passage to get herself and Lakrissa through the gates, and she was now waitressing here while Alfira was out looking for work.
"Next time you see Alfira, please ask her to come look us up so I can apologize to her." Shadowheart insisted. "I said some very hurtful things to her back at Last Light out of... well, 'idiotic delusions of jealousy' is the kindest description. Let her know that I agree she didn't deserve a bit of it, and that I'd love the opportunity to reassure her of that to her face."
"I will." Lakrissa said. "And you're lucky you apologized, because I was trying to figure out if I could get away with spilling your dessert on those fancy robes before the end of the night. But now I don't have to." she smirked.
"Devious. Fiercely defending a loved one. And just a tiny bit petty on occasion." Shadowheart observed loftily, before breaking out into a grin. "A woman after my own heart."
"Hah! You're all right, priestess." Lakrissa smiled and left to go fetch our second courses.
After dinner Shadowheart and I headed up to the rooftop to watch the stars together - the Elfsong had a very nice lounging area up there, complete with ornamental plants. We took the opportunity to just decompress a bit, just relax and lets ourselves be, before the moonrise was joined by a welcome visitor.
"Alfira!" Shadowheart greeted her with a happy hug. "You got my message?"
"Yes, I did." Alfira hugged her back with more than a little confusion. "Look, I'm still sorry about-"
"You did nothing wrong." Shadowheart shut her down. "I was in a very bad place, and saying incredibly stupid and hurtful things to people who didn't deserve them. But none of that excuses my using you as a target of opportunity or accusing you of things you were innocent of, so I'm sorry."
"It's all right." Alfira soothed her. "Even at the time you weren't actually mad at me, I could tell. And I'm delighted to see that you and Hawke have made up. You two are beautiful together."
"You certainly won't hear me arguing with that." I smiled at her. "How have you been? I've been learning that Baldur's Gate can sometimes be a little rough on newcomers."
"Lakrissa and I have been fortunate enough to duck most of that." Alfira reassured us. "And she's got a very good job here."
"What have you been doing?" I asked.
"Well I'd originally hoped to get a job here tavern singing while Lakrissa was waitressing, but then we found out that the famous Elfsong Tavern is famous precisely because of their elven ghost that keeps breaking out into song here." Alfira said. "And apparently that means no other bards are ever hired to sing on the premises. So..." she shrugged.
"I hope you're not street busking. I really don't recommend that with the local crime rate being what it currently is." I advised.
"Agreed." Alfira nodded. "But I've actually got something else going... or I will have something else going, once I talk just a few more people into helping fund it. I'm going to open a school!" she gushed. "A school for performers, to teach the joy of music to anyone who wants to learn. One day it'll be the finest bards' school in Faerun. And I'm going to name it after Lihala, my old teacher." We all paused for a quiet moment of reflection on the tieflings who hadn't survived to make it here.
"That's wonderful!" Shadowheart smiled at her. "How long have you wanted to do this?"
"I haven't." Alfira blushed. "The whole trip here from Elturel I was just praying to get here alive. The biggest I was thinking was that maybe I'd get a nice job singing at a tavern, where I could sit down whenever my feet hurt and live decently on just a few hours of work a day instead of being out on cobblestones from sunup to sundown praying for people to pitch coppers into a hat. But then I met this impossible man and his lovely girlfriend who kept doing the most amazing things right in front of me. And in the process making me realize that I wasn't daring to dream big enough." She fake-pouted at us. "So when I'm miserable working fourteen hours a day and frantic that I'm going to go bankrupt, I'm blaming both of you! Just so that's clear!"
"I accept your calumny in advance with pride." I laughed. "And right now we're busy trying to track down and deal with the Cult of the Absolute, but after that's done with we'll hopefully have plenty of loot to invest in places."
"No, you've already done more than enough!" Alfira demurred. "And if you haven't checked in with Zevlor and the others yet, they'd be delighted to know you made it too. They're still stuck out in Rivington, unfortunately. I could only get myself and Lakrissa in."
"Mol made it inside too, she's with the local thieves' guild now." I said. "Next time I see her I'll tell her where you are."
"Hopefully they'll do better at keeping her from getting in over her head than I ever managed." Alfira said ruefully.
"And..." I continued reluctantly. "Alfira, the danger might not be over yet. I'm not going to get into details of what the Cult has planned, but if we swing and miss then you do not want to be inside the city walls at the time. We'll be staying at the Elfsong while we're working this, so make sure you or Lakrissa check in with us every day. And if we say get clear... then get clear."
"Damn." Alfira sighed. "I was hoping it'd all be over once we got here, but-" She angrily waved a hand. "You know what? To hell with the Absolute! We survived the Grove. We survived the Shadow-Cursed Lands. And Lakrissa survived Moonrise as well! So we can survive whatever this is too, and we will. Thanks for the warning."
"Hmm." Shadowheart thought out loud. "If bards are good at one thing, it's spreading news. I'll try to think of a way you can help warn other people, if we can figure out what sort of warning might be useful. Ask me about it later."
"Anything to help." Alfira agreed.
After she left we decided that it would be best to turn in, and did so. The next morning we renewed our 'is anybody a doppelganger' checks, refreshingly received a round of negatives, and headed down to get some breakfast - only to be stopped before we even got started by the sight of a note pinned by a dagger to the wall just opposite to the door to our suite.
"Oh, hello there Orin." Karlach groaned. "What blood-soaked nonsense have you got planned for us today?"
"I don't think this is from Orin." I said gravely, having opened and read the note. "Somebody else has just found out that we're here."
I held up the note for everyone else to read. It was very short and to the point.
Shadowheart
You will face your fate before noon today, at the House of Grief.
You may bring only one other with you, and it may not be the moon's daughter.
If you disobey or delay, then they will pay the price in your stead.
The only signature was the symbol of Shar.
Author's Note: Gortash really is good at making things sound reasonable, isn't he? And in-game he actually is sincerely intending to keep the deal - even if you use Detect Thoughts on him and succeed, he's not planning treachery. Or at least, he's not planning treachery first.
Fans of the classics will recognize Richelieu's letter from the original Dumas version of the Three Musketeers in Gortash's warrant. Remember, if you're stealing from a literary classic that's in the public domain it's not plagiarism, it's a homage!
Minthara is Oath of Vengeance in-game, not Oath of the Crown, but that's because the latter isn't mechanically supported. Lore-wise her actions fit Crown far more than Vengeance - she really puts the 'lawful' in her lawful evil. Likewise, Detect Poison and Purify Food and Drink are on the 5e spell list for clerics, even if not in BG3.
You are entirely intended to hear this sound effect in your mind at a certain point in the murder investigation. I confess to that being 100% deliberate.
You get a map straight to the Temple of Bhaal once you defeat Sarevok. I took that out because in-character Hawke has no reason not to go straight there, and I got shit I need to plot progress before that confrontation can happen. So Orin plays cat-and-mouse instead... which is entirely IC for her, so no problem.
And I'm still not sure how a reunion with a nice side character got more wordcount devoted to it than the defeat of Sarevok. I suppose it's my meta commentary on how the Murder Tribunal really does feel kinda shoehorned in there. Also on how the 'Ignore Party Limit' mod trivializes content if you really do roll around with 8-10 people all the time. But to quote poster @Dr Squid from the Jumpchain thread, "If Jujutsu Kaisen taught us anything, it's that jumping a motherfucker with the homies is always a valid tactic."
But yeah, Alfira needed her appearance - not only does Shadowheart owe her an apology, but her arc in-game is how the game shows you how Tav is affecting the lives of the tieflings he sheltered all the way here (if, y'know, your Tav actually did that.)
"If this were an ambush then your archers would have fired into our backs the instant they had a clear shot." I stated flatly. "So if it's not an ambush, then what is it?"
"Oh, capital!" Gortash clapped his hands approvingly. "I didn't even have to explain myself! Yes, you clearly are the man I need to talk to."
"Hold tight, everyone." I ordered the team. "It appears that Lord Gortash is inviting us to a parley."
"Lord Gortash most certainly is." he grinned. "And if we'll all peace-bond our weapons - metaphorically speaking, not literally - then I would be delighted to invite you upstairs to continue this discussion in a more congenial venue."
"If you're certain there's no doppelgangers hiding among that crew of yours, I'd rather do it down here." I replied. "There'd be no guessing who might possibly be overhearing us in a more public venue."
"Valid point." Lord Gortash conceded. "Gauntlet, have your men fall back to the prison level entrance and wait for me there. My guests and I will be privately conferring in the guards' break room."
"As you command." one of the priests of Bane bowed to him, and all his men obediently trooped away.
"I thought people like you weren't so quick to take people like us at our words." Wyll said venomoously as we headed into the nearby break room. Gortash didn't sit down, and neither did we.
"I pride myself on being a practical man, young Ravengard, and also on being able to recognize when others are the same." Gortash smiled at him politely. "Saer Hawke is far too practical to overlook the fact that he still doesn't have a viable escape route. As well as the inconvenient fact that even if he were somehow able to take my Netherstone by force and escape Wyrm's Rock with it, it would still do him no good without Orin's stone and the knowledge of how to use them to control the Crown... neither of which you currently possess."
"You don't possess one of those things either." I observed calmly, while Gale and I both restrained our smiles on how we had already obtained that other thing just recently from the Annals of Karsus.
"And so we come directly to the crux of our discussion." Gortash agreed. "The elder brain grows restive - and without all three Netherstones reunited, no one can give it new commands. Soon enough it will finish completing all of the orders it's currently operating under... and the instant it does, it will be free. I trust I don't have to belabor what that means?"
"Baldur's Gate will be destroyed." Shadowheart answered him.
"Not just the Gate, but the entire Sword Coast... and it won't stop there" Gortash replied somberly. "Perhaps you don't know how many True Souls we've been seeding into neighboring cities as well as here, but we certainly haven't been idle. The first thing the elder brain will do if freed is turn all of them into illithids immediately... with you foremost among them. The Astral Prism won't shield you indefinitely." Gortash began to pace with vexation. "With that many mind flayers as well as the power of an elder brain boosted by the Crown, the Sword Coast won't last long. And once all the people who live here have also been converted, the brain will command the largest illithid army ever seen since the original githyanki rebellion. And with that army it will reinstate the Grand Design - the illithids' ancient empire reborn, eventually to spread across all the known planes. If we're lucky, we become mindless thralls. If we're not, well..." He shrugged. "Not the most attractive set of choices, is it?"
"So what's your third option?" I followed the straight line.
"We work together, to restore our authority over the brain." Gortash answered unhesitatingly. "By killing Ketheric and claiming his Netherstone, you've put yourself forward as a worthy candidate for his position. And by everything else you've accomplished against the Cult of the Absolute to date, you've only confirmed and reconfirmed that worthiness."
"I thought this was an alliance of the Chosen of the Dead Three." I observed. "Who I don't worship."
"It was... but if Myrkul's Chosen couldn't defend his position adequately then that's just Myrkul's ill fortune, isn't it?" Gortash observed nonchalantly. "Granted that he was an entirely serviceable ally... but that only makes you even more impressive for having been able to surpass him."
"And Orin?" I probed.
"Is not a serviceable ally." Gortash replied darkly. "She is-"
"A moment, please." I interrupted. "You're trying to recruit me as an ally primarily because I was successful in killing off one of your original two allies, and unless I entirely misunderstand you the first joint project you're suggesting we embark upon is that we go kill off your other surviving ally. To phrase it as politely as possible, this is coloring my expectations."
"Orin isn't one of my original allies." Gortash replied calmly. "In fact, she got the position by betraying and murdering the original Chosen of Bhaal in our triumvirate. Unfortunately for us that sort of behavior only earns you the approval of the God of Murder, and so Ketheric and I were powerless to act against her so long as our respective divine patrons were commanding us to cooperate with the new Chosen of Bhaal." He smiled widely. "Which is a particular limitation that you do not suffer under."
"And when your lord Bane commands you to dispose of me after the hard part is done, so that you may rule alone? As Ketheric had been so commanded by Myrkul?" I questioned him.
"Ketheric was going to betray us?" Gortash raised an eyebrow. "That's... actually a bit disappointing. We weren't exactly warm to each other personally but except there at the very end, when you were outmatching him, the man was more than competent at his job. And much, much less prone to wearisome histrionics than Orin is."
"If it's any consolation, he said it wasn't personal with him either. Myrkul had commanded him to do so, therefore he would. As simple as that." Shadowheart shrugged.
"The man certainly did know the value of discipline." Gortash agreed, surprising me more than a bit with how angry he wasn't at the revelation that one of the divine allies of his patron had commanded his death and how one of his longtime partners had been willing to obey that order. "But to answer the question you originally asked, my divine patron did not command me to betray any of my fellow Chosen and I do not anticipate him ever doing so in your case. Contrary to popular belief, Bane highly values the concept of alliance."
"Isn't he the god of tyranny?" I asked politely.
"Entirely." Gortash acknowledged matter-of-factly. "Also the deity of ambition and control. To worship Bane is to commit oneself to the idea that the world when left to its own devices naturally tends to chaos and is always in desperate need of a strong hand to provide order. And also the idea that those of superior accomplishment – such as ourselves - should be allowed to rise as high as they can on their own merits, instead of being stifled by enforced mediocrity. But absolutely none of that requires, or even welcomes, the willful destruction of one's own worthy allies. It's Myrkul who dreams of ruling an entire world of the dead and Bhaal who delights in massacre, not Bane. Bane believes that it is by making an ally that you best deny that potential alliance to others." He raised a hand. "And since I already know you've spoken to Karlach, let me point out that the situation then was entirely different to the situation you and I are in at present. As well as that even without your Netherstone you still present a far more unique value as an ally. And she's not the only one who got sold into infernal slavery at a young age. I was honestly expecting her to escape much more quickly than she did and to ultimately be better off for the experience. I'd managed to, after all."
I blinked as Raphael's voice suddenly echoed in my memory. ""Why, it was only a decade or three ago that I was dealing for yet another 'teenaged cutpurse', and today that young man is poised to enter the highest ranks of nobility."
"Have you ever been in the House of Hope?" I asked.
"How did you know that?!?" Gortash startled.
"Because its owner can't help but drop little boasts and innuendos into every speech he makes, and he's been annoying us since right after we got off the nautiloid." I said. "And he'd once mentioned someone who'd gotten away from him decades before who was now 'poised to enter the highest ranks of nobility'... and I doubt there's two incipient Archdukes who'd escaped fiendish slavery as adolescents."
"Please tell me you didn't pact with Raph- with him." Gortash asked urgently... while inconspicuously sidling over so that he was between us and the door, I noticed.
"Dear gods, no." Wyll shuddered. "He hasn't even said what he wants from us yet. But he's been popping in and out, trying to stoke our desperation and play on our fears. So that we're all softened up when he finally makes us the offer he doesn't want us to refuse."
"That sounds very much like him." Gortash relaxed. "Well, I can tell you what he almost certainly wants - the Crown of Karsus. He's been lusting after it for centuries. He just didn't have any hope of obtaining it while it languished in the vaults of the Archdevil Mephistopheles... but the Crown is of course no longer there."
"You robbed an archdevil?" Gale couldn't help bursting out.
"That was largely the work of Orin's predecessor." Gortash smiled. "He was exceptionally talented, and a positive genius at his job. This whole grand scheme was originally as much his conception as mine." He sighed. "I'm still not sure how Orin managed to defeat him, even from ambush. Then again, given how much sick amusement Bhaal takes at having his children murder each other maybe he was sabotaged by his patron. At any rate, the quality of our work fell off more than a bit when Orin replaced him." He grinned. "One of the many reasons why I now find Orin excess to needs."
"You mentioned your divine patron having originally commanded you to work with her. Has Bane given you freedom to work against her now?" I asked.
"Sadly, no." Gortash answered. "Because Bhaal has not yet given Orin freedom to work against me. Orin really hasn't been subtle about the fact that he will soon, though... and given that murdering people is the one thing she's actually competent at, I don't want to wait and give her the first shot."
"What a coincidence, neither do I." I said affably.
"Then I propose a pact." Gortash smiled. "Sworn in the name of my divine patron and your Oath. I and my followers do no harm to you, so long as you and yours do no harm to me. In addition, you will have nothing to fear from my Steel Watch while our pact stands. Ketheric's stone remains yours to keep. After you slay Orin and take her Netherstone, you bring it to me so that the three are united once again. And then we work together to reaffirm our control over the elder brain and rule Faerun as kings. No, more than kings... living gods. We rule together as the Absolute."
"Two heads can't share one crown... particularly not when one of those heads is the Chosen of Bane, who cannot ever submit himself to anyone save his patron." I observed. "So, this alliance would still involve you being paramount."
"Well, yes." Gortash freely admitted. "But when dealing with a fellow bearer of a Netherstone - or at least one who isn't a cackling madwoman with the self-control of a spoiled toddler - I would be entirely amenable to a 'first among equals' relationship rather than demanding that you kneel before me. Particularly since I don't think you actually have a burning passion for grand administrative projects to begin with... you'd be more amenable to the 'field commander' role, am I correct?"
"You're already aware that I'm a paladin. How do you think that I'll even be able to reconcile my Oath with helping raise up a tyranny over Faerun?" I asked him.
"Minthara was a paladin as well... Oath of the Crown, as I recall." Gortash replied mildly. "She was not forsworn by following the Absolute, so neither should you be by helping rule as the Absolute. We would simply be doing what you've already been doing but on a much grander scale - enforcing order, and bringing peace."
"Your methods in Baldur's Gate to date have not been entirely peaceful." I demurred. "And stooping to outright slavery at the Steel Watch Foundry and other places." I guessed.
"Necessary emergency measures only." Gortash waved his hand. "Up until you came along I was constrained by my two fellow Chosen and their own respective agendas. We could barely agree on a minimum set of instructions to give the elder brain, let alone do anything visionary with it. But with you and I working together more closely, then we wouldn't need to keep using so much of the iron fist. The power of the Absolute, if wielded with subtlety and restraint, could be the softest and kindest of velvet gloves instead. Just think about it, Hawke." Gortash said soothingly. "A world without war. Without poverty. Without hate or despair or fear. Bane is the god of tyrants, yes, but a tyrant does not always have to be a despot. There can be strength without justice, but there can never be justice without strength. No one can bring about change without first obtaining the power to change things. And with us two in command of the elder brain... we would have more power than any other mortals in the history of the world."
I looked at Gortash for the longest time, then I looked back at my allies. I called on my tadpole to speak mind-to-mind
Trust- I began.
Of course I trust you. Shadowheart's mind-voice replied ahead of anyone else's.
My gorge rises at the thought of taking this devil's bargain. Wyll thought back. But after the last time I saw you bargain...
Gale simply nodded, with no words necessary on his part.
"By my Oath I swear to uphold this pact as proposed while you remain true to your dealings with me and my party." I said formally.
"By the Black Hand of Bane I swear to uphold this pact as proposed while you and your party remain true to your dealings with me." Gortash accepted. "And so the pact is sealed."
"How much help can you give us in tracking down Orin?" I immediately proceeded to business.
"No direct aid, regretfully. I'm still constrained by Lord Bane's commands at present." Gortash said. "I can, however, promise a complete lack of official interference with your doings and movements in Baldur's Gate while you and your allies track her down. In fact, I have something to aid you with that." Gortash reached into his robe and came out with a scroll, which he then handed to me.
It is on my orders and for the good of Baldur's Gate that the bearer of this letter has done what they have done.
Archduke Enver Gortash
"Very useful." I acknowledged.
"I'd also have given you an invitation to my coronation tomorrow, but whatever chance you have of stealing a march on Orin will evaporate in an instant if we are publicly linked." Gortash smiled. "Pity."
"Needs must." I shrugged. "Where can we get in touch with you once the job is done, or if something else comes up?"
"I will be making my headquarters in Wyrm's Rock for the duration." Gortash answered. "The elder brain is at present located in a cavern beneath the Upper City, you see, and until after we have all three Netherstones safely in hand I'd prefer to keep it at a distance. I'd advise you not to prematurely go too near it as well... as mentioned, the Astral Prism's protection can potentially be overwhelmed if the brain can concentrate on you strongly enough."
"If you would... a minor matter, to satisfy my curiosity." Shadowheart asked politely. "Your gambit with the councilor deliberately set us a very narrow time window. How did you know that we'd already made it into the city?"
"I didn't." Gortash admitted frankly. "I suspected, particularly when none of the Zhentarim survived to report back after their failure at the Guildhall, but I wasn't entirely certain. But if you hadn't shown up tonight Councilor Florrick would simply have received a procedural delay on her trial, and then another if need be."
"And just where is Councilor Florrick?" Wyll asked harshly.
"Under house arrest in much more comfortable quarters upstairs." Gortash replied amiably. "Now that we're allies, I could even see to having her released into your custody if you could guarantee her... lack of interference."
"We'll take you up on that, and thank you." I said politely. "Is there anything further we need to discuss tonight? If not, it'd be best if you had the Councilor brought back down here and then we'll smuggle ourselves out the same way we smuggled ourselves in. If one of Orin's spies sees us leaving, hopefully they'll mistake it for a jailbreak."
"Excellent plan, and I'll have her sent for immediately." Gortash smiled. "And you have my most earnest wishes that this will be the beginning of a very long and profitable partnership."
"I don't fucking believe this!" Karlach howled... as she literally rolled on the floor convulsing in laughter.
"Is it my fault Gortash is such a conscienceless bastard that he honestly seems to think he didn't really screw you over when he sold you to Zariel?" I smirked back. "After all, my oath to him only holds while he remains true to his dealings with me and my party... which includes you. And since he's already screwed you over in a way that he can never make up for..." I smirked. "I've had a free license to break my pact with Gortash since ten years before it was actually made."
Now that we didn't have to worry about evading Gortash's checkpoints, we'd moved out of the cavern underneath Jaheira's house - which hopefully he hadn't found - and rented the penthouse of the Elfsong Tavern, a famous Baldur's Gate landmark. Given that Duke Stelmane had been ritualistically murdered in this same tavern just the other day they were temporarily having problems with finding people willing to rent the luxury suite, so we were able to book it for the next two weeks at a mere one hundred gold a week instead of its usual hundred per night. We'd all welcomed the first chance to finally sleep in real beds with actual stuffed mattresses and get a bath in somewhere other than a river or pond that we'd had since this journey began.
"You got him just like you did Mizora." Wyll agreed amiably. "Got them so busy congratulating themselves on how they'd hooked you that they weren't paying attention to how you hadn't actually promised what you sounded like you were promising." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, now that I think about it, there's more than a surface similarity between how Raphael was trying to work us and how Gortash was."
"Not entirely surprising, given who he apparently had ample opportunity to learn from as a young man." Gale shrugged. "That having been said, Gortash was far more charming in person than I was expecting. I was honestly quite amazed at how reasonable he sounded even when he was talking about the most unreasonable things."
"The really frightening part is that I'm normally very perceptive, as is Shadowheart, and neither of us caught even the slightest hint that he was lying." I admitted. "I'm still not certain if he genuinely believed everything he was saying or if he didn't believe anything he was saying, and I'm equally uncertain as to which would be more frightening."
"Sometimes I think he doesn't even know when he's full of crap or not." Karlach snorted. "But yeah, that's the funniest part! What he did to me back then gave you a free license to screw him over whenever you want, and he hasn't even caught on to it!"
"We hope he hasn't caught on to it." Shadowheart corrected Karlach mildly. "But even in the worst-case scenario where Gortash has already spotted our sudden yet inevitable betrayal coming ahead of time, we've still gotten him off our backs while we deal with Orin. So we're still ahead of where we were previously."
"I still can't believe that fucker thought selling me to Zariel was giving me an opportunity." Karlach snorted as she drew upright again. "If that wasn't just him trying to snow you then he's twisted reality around in his own head so much I'm surprised he knows what plane he's on."
"The sad thing is, given all the people he's hurt or killed without a backward glance the fact that he apparently needed to justify what he did to you-" Shadowheart thought out loud. "Well, either he was just playing to his audience or else he actually cared for you on some level."
"Eugh." Karlach shuddered. "Please let's hope it's just him playing up to you."
"Hawke? Shadowheart?" Isobel's voice interrupted us, as her and a disguised Aylin entered the room. We'd asked Mol to run a message out to Rivington telling Isobel where we were and asking to meet up, along with a written pass for them to enter the Lower City that the nearest guardhouse had gladly provided us with the instant I showed them a copy of Gortash's warrant.
"Ah, there you are." Aylin said sternly. "What precisely is this that we heard about your having reached an accomodation with Gortash?"
A brief explanation of exactly what our true intentions were and how we had lawful reason to void any pact with Gortash even before we'd made it settled Aylin down from affronted divine paladin mode, and we hurriedly caught up on what they'd discovered.
"The ritual killing of Father Lorgan at the temple of Ilmater in Rivington was a tragedy, but we discovered several clues at the crime scene that the Flaming Fist's investigator hadn't." Isobel explained.
"He was a drunken, lazy incompetent." Aylin sniffed disdainfully. "The task of rooting corruption out of the Flaming Fist appears to have been... incomplete."
"Father always called it the 'never-ending battle'." Wyll agreed ruefully.
"We were then interrupted by several doppelganger assassins, who were attempting to remove evidence from the crime scene ahead of any follow-up." Aylin continued matter-of-factly. "We dispatched them readily enough, and clues on their persons led us to the domicile of the murderer - a hidden chamber in a local flophouse."
"Where we discovered the corpse of the murderer's own mother. He'd apparently caught her looking through his belongings and discovering the true activities of her son, and..." Isobel trailed off sadly.
"A mad dog and a kinslayer." Aylin said thunderously. "But also a careless and reckless one. He'd left this in his quarters." She withdrew a bloodstained sheet of parchment from her pouch and laid it out for our examination.
Those wishing to face the Dread Lord's Tribunal and enter the Temple of Bhaal must slay the targets on this list and frame the corpses as a murder by the cult of the Absolute.
Bring the victim's hand as proof of the killing. Walk in blood, Aspirant.
Duke Belynne Stelmane - Elfsong Tavern, Lower City. (Killed)
Father Lorgan - Open Hand Temple, Rivington. (Killed)
Dribbles the Clown - Circus of the Last Days, Rivington. (Killed)
Alexander Rainforest - Office near the Counting House, Lower City. (Killed)
Franc Peartree - Abode near Feolgyr's Fireworks, Lower City. (Killed)
Cora Highberry - Large home near Baldur's Mouth Gazette, Lower City.
Figaro Pennygood - Facemaker's Fashion, Lower City.
Chef Roveer - Elfsong Tavern kitchen, Lower City.
Nesha Leesha - Blushing Mermaid, Lower City.
Varri Vanthampur - Vanthampur Villa, Upper City.
Fridrik Hhune - Hhune House, Upper City.
"So, the murderer is not Orin or one of her servants, but is one who aspires to join them. And these written orders prove that they have at least been in contact with them. If you have the murderer's address, do you have his name?" Lae'zel asked.
"A dwarf dressed in red, named 'Dolor'." Isobel said. "That's all we have."
"How long has Father Lorgan been dead?" I thought out loud.
"He was killed shortly before our arrival in Rivington." Isobel answered. "This 'Dribbles the Clown' as well."
"Duke Stelmane died the day before we arrived at Baldur's Gate." Gale said immediately. "Father Lorgan and Dribbles died the day we arrived, or one day after..."
"... and Rainforest and Peartree just yesterday." Wyll realized. "We were out checking crime scenes while you were busy at Sorcerous Sundries, and we'd gotten there only several hours behind the Flaming Fist."
"We'd already given the target list to the chief investigator and his assistant, but they said they'd been ordered to 'prioritize coverage' on the Upper City." Isobel said disgustedly. "So the last two targets on that list will have augmented security, but none of the rest will."
"And Gortash already said he's not giving us any direct help against the Bhaal cult, so I can't even use his warrant to try and prod more action out of the Fist. Which means we have four possible targets in the Lower City to cover ourselves and at least one of them is getting hit today." I agreed. "Right. With Jaheira and Minsc still off working with the Guild there's only eight of us available, so we'll split up into a pair each. One of the targets is right here in the Elfsong, so Isobel and Aylin will keep an eye on things here. Wyll, Karlach, you two cover the Blushing Mermaid. Lae'zel and Gale head to Facemaker's Fashions, and Shadowheart and I will watch Cora Highberry. It would be nice if we could take Dolor alive enough to question,, but he's a Bhaal cultist and a psychopath being aided by doppelgangers. So if you can't take him alive without risking yourself even slightly, then dead is just fine."
"We've still got the Amulet of Lost Voices, after all." Shadowheart observed sweetly. "So dead men will tell tales."
"If something goes down then check back in at the Elfsong with Aylin and Isobel. They'll be our message center. And we sadly won't have time for a leisurely breakfast, so let's move." I ordered.
The Highberrys turned out to be vintners, and we arrived just as a small wine tasting festival was starting. We paid our gold to be admitted and circulated around, mingling with the crowd. There were few nobles in attendance that we could see... mostly it was prosperous tradesmen and curious passers-by who could afford the modest fee to be admitted.
"This is a lovely festival. What's the occasion?" Shadowheart asked our hostess politely when we finally had a chance to speak to her alone.
"Oh, all admissions are being used to raise funds for refugee relief." Cora Highberry replied. Her and her husband Roger were both halflings, which explained their name. "And we're also featuring the special collection of Master Metzli, a wine connoisseur from the Upper City. He generously paid to help set up this festival."
"He sounds like a very interesting fellow." I said amiably. "But I don't see him with you?"
"Yes, he's running a little late." Cora apologized. "But I'm sure he'll be here soon, and his vintages with him. In the meantime, we do hope you're enjoying the tasting."
"It's wonderful." Shadowheart soothed them, and we moved on.
"Do you know a spell for detecting poison?" was the first question I asked Shadowheart as soon as we got out of immediate earshot.
"Already cast it." she reassured me. "The wine's clean. But you'd better believe I'll be checking this 'special collection' when it arrives."
"We're lucky that it was us that ended up covering the wine tasting." I agreed. "I'm not sure Gale even knows that spell."
"He doesn't, it's clerical magic." Shadowheart agreed.
"Excuse me, priestess." an elderly man interrupted us. "I couldn't help but notice your robes and your silver-touched hair. You follow the Moonmaiden, do you not?"
"I do." she greeted him. "Initiate Shadowheart, of the Church of Selune. And you are?"
"I'm Belvor, my lady." he smiled. "A lay worshipper of the church. I haven't seen a true priestess of the Moon in the Lower City for years and years, not since the temple here closed down after all those accidents. If I want to attend services I have to find one of the few shrines that still exist in neighboring villages. Dare I hope that your presence here means the temple will be re-opening?"
"That... will have to be the High Initiate's decision." Shadowheart temporized. "I'm just here with some friends to explore possibilities."
"Even that much is still a ray of hope to those of us who remain." he smiled gratefully. "Our Lady bless you."
"Our Lady bless you." Shadowheart smiled back at him, and he departed. Shadowheart's smile fell off her face the instant he turned around.
"It's understandable that your new role feels awkward, but I'm certain that you'll grow comfortable with it in time." I reassured her.
"It's not that." she sighed. "I was just... we already know that a substantial congregation of Sharrans have been operating secretly in this city for years. Which leads to an obvious conclusion as to how the temple of Selune here was harassed into closing down. And now here's someone eagerly hoping that my presence means the temple will be re-opening, when I can't even remember if I was one of the people helping cause those 'accidents' in the first place."
I drew her into a hug and kiss. "At least two goddesses have already made it explicitly clear that you are no longer that person. It's all right to let yourself believe them."
"I'm still going to be a little clingy on that topic for a while, if you don't mind." Shadowheart tried to joke.
"Sweetheart, you have an open invitation to 'cling' to me as much as you like." I grinned back wickedly.
"Insufferable." Shadowheart joked back, before playfully pretending to kick me in the shin.
"Everyone!" an effusive new voice burst out. "I am pleased to welcome you all to my public debut as a connoisseur! Please, come forward and help yourselves to my special vintage!"
"Damn, we missed his arrival-" I said, only to break off as we both turned around and saw the figure of 'Master Metzli' standing next to the Highberrys at the front of the crowd - a dwarf, dressed in red. A large wine keg stood next to him behind a newly-erected table, which was gilled with goblets. "Oh come on." I swore.
Shadowheart muttered hurriedly under her breath. "That entire barrel is poisoned to the gills!" she swore. "Get me to the front of that crowd now."
I immediately moved forward and started plowing the road. Several people muttered disgruntledly at being shoved aside, but upon seeing a large armored man with a greatsword insistently clearing a path for a robed priestess they decided not to make a point of it.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Shadowheart gushed effusively as we arrived next to the Highberrys, both of whom were interrupted as they were raising full goblets to their lips. "I apologize, honestly."
"Late for what?" Cora asked us puzzledly.
"Why, you asked me to bless the tasting, don't you remember?" she said charmingly. "In the name of our Lady in Silver, let all who would share in this bounty be cherished in moonlight!" she intoned before anyone could stop her... and the clerical spell of Purify Food and Drink radiated outward from her, cleansing all traces of poison from the nearby wine glasses and barrel.
'Master Metzli's' genially smiling expression shattered into a mask of rage as realization set in. "No. No! Nonononooo!" he fumed madly at Shadowheart. "You ruined it! It was perfect... perfect! But you have sullied it with-"
Dolor's mad ranting cut off as I got an arm around his neck from behind and started to choke him out, hauling his dwarven feet clear off the ground as I did so. He'd been so focused on Shadowheart's taunting of him that I'd had a free opportunity to get behind him, and I was now taking ruthless advantage of it. An attempt on his part to activate some sort of escape spell was cut off by a channelling of my templar powers, but then several other bystanders shifted into copies of Dolor and attacked.
The first doppelganger's attempt to backstab me was dealt with by my using Dolor as a human shield, leaving him dying of a short sword in the lungs. I then dwarf tossed the corpse on top of the doppelganger and cut down his partner, then stabbed the first doppelganger before he could shove Dolor's dead weight off of him and get up. Meanwhile, Shadowheart readily dispatched the third one.
"What the hell is going on here?" demanded an arriving patrol of Flaming Fist, who'd been attracted to the disturbance.
"We just caught your serial killer and his friends." I told them. "The one who killed Duke Stelmane and several others. We got a tip he was going to attack at the wine festival today."
"Is that why you came here?" Roger Highberry asked us. "But why didn't you warn us?"
"We weren't certain you were in danger until we saw this man, who matched the killer's description." Shadowheart said. "That's why I purified the wine."
"A likely story, but all I see is two adventurers who-" The Flaming Fist's tirade was cut off as I held up Gortash's warrant in front of his eyes, and his jaw gaped open helplessly at the sight of the elaborate archducal seal.
"You were saying?" I couldn't help but drawl at him derisively.
"I'm- I'm sorry, sir!" the arrogant guardsman rushed to apologize.
"Eugh." Shadowheart said as she went through Dolor's pockets. "He actually kept trophies." A small leather wineskin on his person turned out to hold several severed hands - one of them still having a ducal signet ring on its finger.
"Well, it looks like you've caught the killer red-handed." one of the other Flaming Fist joked, and we all groaned.
"Are you keeping that for evidence, sir, or am I?" the lead Flaming Fist asked me.
"Let's see what else he had on him first." I decided, and we strip-searched Dolor down to his underwear. In addition to his bag of hands he had a pair of apparently magical daggers, a set of magical boots that apparently allowed the wielder to teleport - so that's what he'd been trying to get away with - several flasks of poison, and another bloodstained parchment. This one wasn't a copy of his target list but something new.
'Neath Candulhallow's quiet tombs
Lies a path to murder's boons.
If entry down below's your aim
seek trigger hidden by a frame
'Sicarius' the door awaits
To admit those who seek their fates.
If to continue you insist
Show a trophy rent from wrist
Of sacrifice for our lord planned
Present death's knight a bloodied-
And then a splotch of blood obscured the last word, but from the context it was obviously "hand".
"And now it's time to see if dead men can tell tales." Shadowheart said. We had the Flaming Fist move everybody back out of easy earshot, and Shadowheart got out the Amulet of Lost Voices and began her interrogation.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Dolor... a most glorious aspirant... of Bhaal..."
"Where is Orin?"
The corpse remained silent. He didn't know.
"What lies beneath Candulhallow's tombs?"
"Murder... Tribunal..."
"Who presides over this tribunal?"
Again, silence.
"Why did you kill all those people?"
"To prove myself... be named an Unholy Assassin..."
"That's it." Shadowheart said, putting the amulet away.
"We'll be keeping this evidence, except for Duke Stelmane's ring." I told the Flaming Fist as we walked back over to them. "You dispose of all these corpses, and then make sure the Archduke's office is personally informed of what happened here and that Saer Hawke is handling it. Don't let any public notice of this be taken unless the Archduke allows it, and their office can handle returning the ring to the Stelmane family."
"They'll all vanish straight off the face of Toril, sir." the lead guardsman assured me, and they sent off one of their own as a runner to fetch a wagon and got to work with the clean-up.
"Gods, he's only been being coronated just today and already his people have solved those dreadful murders." Roger Highberry gushed. "Thank you for saving all our lives, sir and madam, and praise the Archduke!"
"Yes." I mouthed the words hollowly. "Praise the Archduke indeed."
"A Murder Tribunal." Jaheira said disgustedly as we all met up back in our new headquarters at the top of the Elfsong. "One of those has been re-opened in Baldur's Gate, after a century and more, and I missed it!"
"Then we must go and crush these dogs at once!" Minsc boomed. "Boo says that the evil of Bhaal must be rooted out from top to bottom!"
"Candulhallow." Wyll observed. "I know that name. It was in the papers of one of the previous murder victims - Alexander Rainforest. He'd been a minor official amongst the city bureaucracy, and he'd been conducting an investigation into a business known as Candulhallow's Tombstones which apparently had mysteriously been lacking proper ownership documents, paper trails, or tax records."
"A cult of murderers put their hideout underneath an undertaker's shop?" Gale asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, but are they even trying?"
"I'm beginning to understand why Gortash has such a low opinion of this Orin's intelligence." Karlach groaned. "And gods, I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with the prick on anything."
"Well, if this is where Orin is hiding then I propose we officially abandon subtlety - especially since she might move as soon as she hears Dolor was taken out of circulation, and even if the Flaming Fist keeps it under wraps that wine ceremony was full of gossiping tongues so it'll be all over town by tomorrow."
"It's already been hours." Isobel observed. "So they might have moved already. But yes, we should definitely waste no time."
"Let's not even try to be subtle this time." I proposed. "Everybody suit up. We all stick together so nobody can get swapped out for a doppelganger at the last minute, then we just go there, find the secret door, and clean out the basement by main force."
"YES!" Minsc roared. "No more skulking and sneaking! Let us go straight to the crushing of evil!"
"A man after my own heart!" Aylin boomed joyously. "It will be good to stretch my wings again!"
"... are we certain it was a wise idea to introduce them to each other?" Jaheira whispered to me.
"Let's hope Isobel can keep hers reined in at least as well as you can keep yours." I answered.
"Better than I can, hopefully." Jaheira agreed.
Candulhallow's Tombstones turned out to be less of a shop and more of a false front pretending at being a shop. Documents we found as we searched the empty office indicated that they deliberately set their prices high above market value to discourage as much business as possible - the only reason it was kept open as a storefront was to have a valid explanation for why people could occasionally be seen entering or leaving, as opposed to possibly attracting attention by having regular traffic in and out of an 'abandoned' building. Saying the password 'Sicarius' to the painting in the owner's office opened a secret door leading to a set of tunnels below, and an antechamber guarded by three undead knights was easily passed by showing the bag of severed hands to them.
"They're not even mildly curious about the celestial paladin accompanying us, or the two priestesses of Selune in full regalia?" Wyll snarked.
"The dangers of poorly programmed automatons, my friend." Gale replied.
"Focus." I reminded everyone. "We're entering the main sanctum."
We arrived into a solemn chamber - it looked like an underground temple, except there was no altar. A low speaker's platform at the center of the room was faced by two sets of steps leading up to a throne on a raised platform, with three lesser thrones on a secondary platform that lay in-between the first and second set of steps. Three women - a human, an elf, and a drow- sat on the three lesser thrones, each of them soaked head to foot in blood. A large dark-skinned man, dressed in elaborate plate armor and menacing horned skull-helmet sat on the raised throne.
"Sarevok!" Jaheira gasped incredulously at the man. "First Ketheric, now you?"
"Minsc remembers all of you women!" he looked at the three members of the tribunal. "Amelyssan, Illasera, Sendai! Boo helped kill you all, one by one!"
"You know, for the gods of Death and Murder they both seem to really have a fetish for resurrecting people." I snarked.
"Not resurrected, but mere revenants." Aylin said scornfully as she resumed her true form. "Ghosts made solid, echoes of pain and loss rematerialized in a mere illusion of life."
"So this is what the infamous Sarevok Anchev has been reduced to." Jaheira spat. "A marionette animated by a fallen god as a mere distraction and scapegoat. Where is Orin?" she demanded.
"Harper." Sarevok's sonorous voice was as calm as an open grave. "You swallowed the bait just as you were supposed to. Bhaal's Chosen remains beyond your grasp, and now you and your allies will die here. As you should have died a century ago."
"Bullshit." I snorted. "You're doing a great job of bare-faced spinning in the face of an unexpected reversal, but if you'd known who was coming down your stairs even as soon as two minutes ago you wouldn't be standing out in the open. You're servants of the god of assassins. Four of you versus all of us, and you didn't attack from stealth? You didn't plan this at all - we caught you entirely by surprise."
"Arrogant mortal." Sarevok glared at me. "We are all Murder's progeny, and we are eternal. We have all passed beyond the veil of death already - why should we fear it?"
"Boo says too much talking! Come, Sarevok, face the fury of Rashemen again! Let us see how quickly you die this time!" Minsc roared.
"Man of Stone. For decades you stood as a statue, a helpless ornament, while your city warped all around you. For all your crusading all you did was to cultivate a rotten fruit, now ripe for Bhaal's plucking. And your partner the self-abdicating Harper, who always prided herself on her keen sense for the city... while blind and deaf to all the true threats around her until it was far, far too late." Sarevok mocked them. "Last time you had the mightiest of my brothers to help save you from my wrath. This time you have no one, save these nameless and bloodless tagalongs. And so at long, long last, you both will be Bhaal's offering... by my hand."
"Earlier this week we beat the Avatar of Myrkul." Karlach scoffed at him. "If you think you can do better than that, then come right on down here and try!"
For all that this man had once been a legendary threat to the entire Sword Coast, he had very little recourse left to him in the end except to die acquitting himself as best he could. Oh, he was vastly skilled and powerful enough that he'd readily have defeated any of us in single combat, and most combinations of two or three of us. His strength was absurd, his speed magically augmented by his fallen god, and his very aura seemed to cause wounds to bleed more and heal less. Aylin took enough damage helping keep Minsc alive to put her on the ground with what would have been fatal wounds for anyone else, and wasn't able to get back into the fight until it was largely over.
But the simple fact was that the odds against him were ten to one. His trio of supporters turned out to be there simply to channel power into him, and once we saw that Gale, Shadowheart, and I simply concentrated on counterspelling everything they did while Aylin and Minsc tanked Sarevok from the front and everybody else tore into his flanks and rear. And so the once-infamous Sarevok died not in glorious single combat but instead piece by piece, harried to death like a titan being devoured by rats. The three women drew unholy blades and leapt to the attack as soon as their master had perished, but were nowhere near as formidable as Sarevok had been.
After we finished cleaning up the mess we did a vigorous search of the Murder Tribunal's sanctum for clues. Outside of several unholy magical weapons and armor that our priestesses fully intended to deconsecrate at the earliest opportunity, the only thing of significance we found was an elaborate amulet of Bhaal on Sarevok's corpse... along with a scroll in his pocket.
Use a round street hatch to enter the City Sewers. Proceed [...] to find your way into the Undercity Ruins. Blood the skull to pass the door. Follow the trail of murder to the Bhaal Temple Door. Praise Bhaal!
The part of the scroll where a sketch map had been drawn had been deliberately torn off, with just enough of a corner left to let us know there had been a map there. Likewise, a strategic part of the message had been obliterated with blood.
"The bitch is taunting us." I swore. "Sarevok wasn't even intended to kill us, although he certainly was intended to try. But if we defeated him, we'd get just a vague invitation to head town into the sewers without the slightest idea of where to go once we're there. Oh yes, we're entirely going to chase the invisible shadowy doppelganger assassins into a twisting labyrinth of dark tunnels!"
"Don't lose that amulet." Jaheira said. "I have seen one like it before - it is used to open the inner sanctum door of a Temple of Bhaal. If we figure out how to narrow down where the hell they have built the Temple this time, then we'll need that amulet to get in to where Orin is hiding."
"I don't suppose we'll have it easy and they simply rebuilt the temple where you originally destroyed the first one?" I sighed.
"Hah!" Jaheira laughed. "I already checked for that earlier and no, they are not that stupid to make it that easy for us. Although it would have been much more convenient if they had."
"Well, at least there won't be any more unholy aspirants doing a murder spree to seek the approval of the Murder Tribunal for a while." Shadowheart said. "And we did at least get the key to the temple sanctum. That's not bad for a first day's work."
"Thank you." I said to her. "Come on, let's burn these corpses and then hopefully find something to set the rest of the place on fire with. Then we'll all head back to the Elfsong. If Orin hasn't already known we're in town she'll know it now, so we might as well all get a good dinner before we find out what her second round of attacks will look like."
"Boo agrees." Minsc said amiably. "Whenever evil does its utmost to drown you in darkness, that is when heroes must let their light shine the brightest! Also, Boo is very hungry because it has been a long day."
Our victory celebration at the tavern was refreshingly incident-free, and the food really was excellent here. We even had the amusing coincidence of recognizing our waitress - Lakrissa, one of the tiefling refugees who'd been with Zevlor and Alfira's girlfriend. Despite the 'no refugees' policy Alfira had managed to play on the tradition of giving bards free passage to get herself and Lakrissa through the gates, and she was now waitressing here while Alfira was out looking for work.
"Next time you see Alfira, please ask her to come look us up so I can apologize to her." Shadowheart insisted. "I said some very hurtful things to her back at Last Light out of... well, 'idiotic delusions of jealousy' is the kindest description. Let her know that I agree she didn't deserve a bit of it, and that I'd love the opportunity to reassure her of that to her face."
"I will." Lakrissa said. "And you're lucky you apologized, because I was trying to figure out if I could get away with spilling your dessert on those fancy robes before the end of the night. But now I don't have to." she smirked.
"Devious. Fiercely defending a loved one. And just a tiny bit petty on occasion." Shadowheart observed loftily, before breaking out into a grin. "A woman after my own heart."
"Hah! You're all right, priestess." Lakrissa smiled and left to go fetch our second courses.
After dinner Shadowheart and I headed up to the rooftop to watch the stars together - the Elfsong had a very nice lounging area up there, complete with ornamental plants. We took the opportunity to just decompress a bit, just relax and lets ourselves be, before the moonrise was joined by a welcome visitor.
"Alfira!" Shadowheart greeted her with a happy hug. "You got my message?"
"Yes, I did." Alfira hugged her back with more than a little confusion. "Look, I'm still sorry about-"
"You did nothing wrong." Shadowheart shut her down. "I was in a very bad place, and saying incredibly stupid and hurtful things to people who didn't deserve them. But none of that excuses my using you as a target of opportunity or accusing you of things you were innocent of, so I'm sorry."
"It's all right." Alfira soothed her. "Even at the time you weren't actually mad at me, I could tell. And I'm delighted to see that you and Hawke have made up. You two are beautiful together."
"You certainly won't hear me arguing with that." I smiled at her. "How have you been? I've been learning that Baldur's Gate can sometimes be a little rough on newcomers."
"Lakrissa and I have been fortunate enough to duck most of that." Alfira reassured us. "And she's got a very good job here."
"What have you been doing?" I asked.
"Well I'd originally hoped to get a job here tavern singing while Lakrissa was waitressing, but then we found out that the famous Elfsong Tavern is famous precisely because of their elven ghost that keeps breaking out into song here." Alfira said. "And apparently that means no other bards are ever hired to sing on the premises. So..." she shrugged.
"I hope you're not street busking. I really don't recommend that with the local crime rate being what it currently is." I advised.
"Agreed." Alfira nodded. "But I've actually got something else going... or I will have something else going, once I talk just a few more people into helping fund it. I'm going to open a school!" she gushed. "A school for performers, to teach the joy of music to anyone who wants to learn. One day it'll be the finest bards' school in Faerun. And I'm going to name it after Lihala, my old teacher." We all paused for a quiet moment of reflection on the tieflings who hadn't survived to make it here.
"That's wonderful!" Shadowheart smiled at her. "How long have you wanted to do this?"
"I haven't." Alfira blushed. "The whole trip here from Elturel I was just praying to get here alive. The biggest I was thinking was that maybe I'd get a nice job singing at a tavern, where I could sit down whenever my feet hurt and live decently on just a few hours of work a day instead of being out on cobblestones from sunup to sundown praying for people to pitch coppers into a hat. But then I met this impossible man and his lovely girlfriend who kept doing the most amazing things right in front of me. And in the process making me realize that I wasn't daring to dream big enough." She fake-pouted at us. "So when I'm miserable working fourteen hours a day and frantic that I'm going to go bankrupt, I'm blaming both of you! Just so that's clear!"
"I accept your calumny in advance with pride." I laughed. "And right now we're busy trying to track down and deal with the Cult of the Absolute, but after that's done with we'll hopefully have plenty of loot to invest in places."
"No, you've already done more than enough!" Alfira demurred. "And if you haven't checked in with Zevlor and the others yet, they'd be delighted to know you made it too. They're still stuck out in Rivington, unfortunately. I could only get myself and Lakrissa in."
"Mol made it inside too, she's with the local thieves' guild now." I said. "Next time I see her I'll tell her where you are."
"Hopefully they'll do better at keeping her from getting in over her head than I ever managed." Alfira said ruefully.
"And..." I continued reluctantly. "Alfira, the danger might not be over yet. I'm not going to get into details of what the Cult has planned, but if we swing and miss then you do not want to be inside the city walls at the time. We'll be staying at the Elfsong while we're working this, so make sure you or Lakrissa check in with us every day. And if we say get clear... then get clear."
"Damn." Alfira sighed. "I was hoping it'd all be over once we got here, but-" She angrily waved a hand. "You know what? To hell with the Absolute! We survived the Grove. We survived the Shadow-Cursed Lands. And Lakrissa survived Moonrise as well! So we can survive whatever this is too, and we will. Thanks for the warning."
"Hmm." Shadowheart thought out loud. "If bards are good at one thing, it's spreading news. I'll try to think of a way you can help warn other people, if we can figure out what sort of warning might be useful. Ask me about it later."
"Anything to help." Alfira agreed.
After she left we decided that it would be best to turn in, and did so. The next morning we renewed our 'is anybody a doppelganger' checks, refreshingly received a round of negatives, and headed down to get some breakfast - only to be stopped before we even got started by the sight of a note pinned by a dagger to the wall just opposite to the door to our suite.
"Oh, hello there Orin." Karlach groaned. "What blood-soaked nonsense have you got planned for us today?"
"I don't think this is from Orin." I said gravely, having opened and read the note. "Somebody else has just found out that we're here."
I held up the note for everyone else to read. It was very short and to the point.
Shadowheart
You will face your fate before noon today, at the House of Grief.
You may bring only one other with you, and it may not be the moon's daughter.
If you disobey or delay, then they will pay the price in your stead.
The only signature was the symbol of Shar.
Author's Note: Gortash really is good at making things sound reasonable, isn't he? And in-game he actually is sincerely intending to keep the deal - even if you use Detect Thoughts on him and succeed, he's not planning treachery. Or at least, he's not planning treachery first.
Fans of the classics will recognize Richelieu's letter from the original Dumas version of the Three Musketeers in Gortash's warrant. Remember, if you're stealing from a literary classic that's in the public domain it's not plagiarism, it's a homage!
Minthara is Oath of Vengeance in-game, not Oath of the Crown, but that's because the latter isn't mechanically supported. Lore-wise her actions fit Crown far more than Vengeance - she really puts the 'lawful' in her lawful evil. Likewise, Detect Poison and Purify Food and Drink are on the 5e spell list for clerics, even if not in BG3.
You are entirely intended to hear this sound effect in your mind at a certain point in the murder investigation. I confess to that being 100% deliberate.
You get a map straight to the Temple of Bhaal once you defeat Sarevok. I took that out because in-character Hawke has no reason not to go straight there, and I got shit I need to plot progress before that confrontation can happen. So Orin plays cat-and-mouse instead... which is entirely IC for her, so no problem.
And I'm still not sure how a reunion with a nice side character got more wordcount devoted to it than the defeat of Sarevok. I suppose it's my meta commentary on how the Murder Tribunal really does feel kinda shoehorned in there. Also on how the 'Ignore Party Limit' mod trivializes content if you really do roll around with 8-10 people all the time. But to quote poster @Dr Squid from the Jumpchain thread, "If Jujutsu Kaisen taught us anything, it's that jumping a motherfucker with the homies is always a valid tactic."
But yeah, Alfira needed her appearance - not only does Shadowheart owe her an apology, but her arc in-game is how the game shows you how Tav is affecting the lives of the tieflings he sheltered all the way here (if, y'know, your Tav actually did that.)
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