After the Thieves' Maze, we walked into the Undercity. I guess we were technically in the Underdark by now, though this underground cavern did not connect to that infamous part of Faerun. I think.
Undercity was crawling with undead, sure. If the developers had not run out of time, the whole Undercity could have been a long dungeon. Instead, other than random packs of undead creatures, there was only one more confrontation awaiting us before the the final confrontation with Sarevok.
The confrontation in question was with mercenaries sent by the Iron Throne from Sembia.
Rahvin, Haseo, Wudei, Carston, Shaldrissa and Gorf were their names, and they were one of the most challenging fights in the game. Not Ducal Palace challenging, just, well.
-Rahvin is a level 9 fighter armed with ARROWS OF DETONATION. Yes, freaking arrows that explode in a fireball each shot! He has two of these, as well as 10x Arrows of Piercing (+4 bonus to hit, +6 damage if target fails a Save vs Death), and 20x Arrows+2. Considering his great Thac0 of 4, allowing Rahvin to unload his arsenal of arrows is quite the death sentence.
-Carston is also a level 9 fighter equipped with speciality arrows; 10x Arrows of Fire, Ice and Biting each. He had a Thac0 of 5. Allowing him to unload his arrows was quite deadly too.
-Gorf is a level 9 ogre with 19 strength, and has Grandmastery in his Morning Star, somehow. He has an incredible Thac0 of -1, 3 attacks per round, hits for 2d4+13 damage.
-Haseo is a level 9 fighter armed with a Longsword+1. He has 68hp, a great Thac0 of 1, APR 2.5 and hits for hits for 1d8+10 damage thanks to his Grandmastery in Long Swords.
With such incredible Thac0s, both Gorf and Haseo were incredibly significant threats.
Shaldrissa is a level 11 mage with spells such as Mirror Image, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Confusion, Horror, Cloudkill, Remove Magic, Lightning bolt and more. She starts pre-buffed with Mirror Image. Her spells could end the fight immediately.
Wudei is a level 7 priest with Hold Person, Glyph of Warding (electric damage), and Animal Summoning. Hold Person can spell the doom of one or more of our number, of course.
---
Rahvin spotted a party of four backed by three skeleton warriors and two Nymphs. A formidable band to be sure, but Rahvin wasn't afraid of high numbers of enemies. He nocked an Arrow of Detonation into his bow, just in case. "A rather strange place to meet living members of the sunlit realms. I am curious as to why you are here. Could I rightly assume that you have something in common with the man Sarevok Anchev?"
"Good morning! I am from Calimshan!"
"What? That's not what I asked-"
"I am sorry, I no hear you well! I go closer!"
"Wait, stop! Listen to me!" Rahvin demanded. With the Calimshite in his face, he put away his bow and pulled out his blade instead. "My friends and I are mercenaries in the employ of the Iron Throne. We've been sent to hunt down Sarevok. Seems as if he went crazy and started murdering all who got in his way, including Rieltar, and the Throne don't take too well to having their high-ups killed."
Those skeleton bulls were getting too close for comfort. Rahvin's eyes narrowed. "You're with Sonny, aren't you? Well, well, well… it seems as if we've gotten lucky. Killing you will give us a nice hefty bonus. Sorry 'bout this, but you're not wanted dead or alive, only dead."
They drew their weapons, and Shaldrissa and Wudei started incanting.
"Works for me," Sonny's voice sounded from behind Shaldrissa, he appeared with a dagger stabbed in her back, ignoring all her images.
I had been invisibile earlier, picking out which was the real Shaldrissa.
Our opening strikes were my Dagger of Venom, Imoen's Arrow of Biting, and Neera's Dart of Wounding, all of which hit Shaldrissa, but she resisted the poison all three times. She had a save vs poison of 6, so this was kind an expected result but it was worth a try. At least we managed to interrupt her opening spell, Mirror Image to replace the one we had seen through. So she was utterly vulnerable to our strikes.
Rahvin and Carston had Skeleton Bulls next to them, so they couldn't bring their ranged weapons to bear. That pretty much made the two insignificant. Wudei was casting Hold Person, but the spell completely bounced off me and Khalid. We were both wearing Rings of Free action.
As for Gorf and Haseo, they were engaged with Khalid and Jaheira respectively. I had messed around with Khalid and Jaheira's equipment a bit. Khalid (AC-6) was wearing the Girdle of Bluntness and had drunk a Potion of Absorption and Potion of Agility earlier to help him tank Gorf. Similarly, Jaheira (AC-9) was tanking Haseo with the Golden Girdle. Branwen had prebuffed them both with Protection from Evil and Defensive Harmony as well, so Gorf and Haseo would need to roll a 20 or better to hit Khalid and Jaheira respectively.
This bought us the time we need for Imoen and Branwen to cast Greater Malison and Chant, followed by Neera's prepared Minor Sequencer: Horror and Web. I and Khalid were already immune to web thanks to our rings, whereas Branwen had cast Freedom of Movement on Jaheira earlier.
Their savings throws reduced by a total of 5, the mercenaries from Sembia were either frightened by Horror or caught in the Web. That would have ended the fight right there, if Shaldrissa hadn't managed to bring up her Minor Globe of Invulnerability first, rendering her immune to both Horror and Web.
No matter, Neera had Secret Word memorised for this precise reason. With the rest of her party disabled by Webs and Horror, Shaldrissa fell quickly enough to blade and arrow. To add insult to injury, the two nymphs were throwing out their own disabling spells such as Hold Monster and Hold Person all the while, but it was mostly superfluous by that point.
Still, having Rahvin paralyzed by Hold Person from the nymphs did give me the opportunity to taunt 'im good.
I stood in front of him with staff resting on my shoulder and pointed at him. "You wanted to collect the bounty on us AND Sarevok?" I said, then gave him a thumbs down. "Ya got too greedy, fool! Your only prize is your own death!"
Imoen cringed. "Eh, not one of your better taunts."
Neera shook her head. "I don't think any of them were any good, really."
"I thought the one he did for Nimbul wasn't bad," Khalid offered.
"Dear, that time it was Rasaad doing the taunting. Not Sonny," Jaheira said gently.
"Hey, it isn't easy to come up with good lines!" I yelled back at them, red with embarrassment. "I'd like to see you do better-"
Branwen cleared her throat, and pointed at Rahvin.
In spite of the paralysis from the nymphs Hold Person, he had a rather despondent look on his face.
"Ah, right. Sorry, I nearly forgot about you," I said to him.
A quick love tap, and it was lights out for mercenaries from Sembia.
---
I could have just blown them all sky high with our assortment of Necklaces of Missiles and Fireballs, I suppose. The best way to do this would be to start firebombing the group from afar. But I don't think my party would have let me get away with starting the firebombing before establishing hostilities.
Loot: Long Sword +1, Arrow of Detonation x2, Arrows of Piercing x10, Arrows +2 x10, Arrows of Fire x10, Arrows of Ice x10, Arrows of Biting x10,
Plate Mail Armor x2, Studded Leather Armor +1, Traveler's Robe,
Ring of Protection +1 x2
---
We stood before a large temple with lots of skull and bone motifs. Eh, if I didn't already know this was a temple of Bhaal I would have mistaken it for a temple of Myrkul, Lord of the Dead. I think Bhaal needs a new theme or decor style at least if he wants to stand out more.
At the entrance however, a familiar woman from Kara-Tur waited for us.
"Hello again, Sonny," Tamoko said. "I fear this tie I have not come to speak, and must take up arms against you. You have… you have done what you must, I suppose. Sarevok knows of my treachery, you know. He has forsaken me, left me to die in your path. I must fight to regain his trust, his… attention. And so I stand before you, knowing that if I defeat you he will continue his plans elsewhere and I shall lose him, and if you defeat me, you shall go on to kill him. He will not yield to either of us. I have… I have no choice."
Without taking my eyes of her, I said to the rest of my party, "Does any of what she just said make any sense to any of you?"
"Not I," Branwen said. "Warriors should choose their own battles carefully. Not throw their life away. Any priest should know this."
"There may always be choice, but the choosing has become unbearable. I have but two duties, and both leave me little hope. No young one, I must face you now," Tamoko insisted.
Tamoko is actually equipped with a unique item, the Full Plate Mail +1.
"Don't tempt me, Tamoko," I said to her. "Your role in Gorion's death is fresh on my mind. You hurled deadly spells and dismantled his defences."
"Have your vengeance then! I stand before you, I block your path! I am an obstacle that holds you back!" Tamoko cried out. "You will free… you will fight me!"
In spite of her words, Tamoko was shaking. She was biting back against tears which refused to stop flowing.
I could hear Imoen whisper, "Sonny..."
Even without looking, I just knew she was crying.
It's not as if she was sorry for her role in murdering Gorion. The only thing Tamoko regret was failing to stop her lover from pursuing a suicidal path, then being cast aside by him.
I clenched my fists. I was bloody mad with her. Furious. And yet...
"Do your own dirty work if you want to die," I snapped back at Tamoko. "I shall do you no favors, woman."
Tamoko looked at me in surprise. The shaking stopped, and the tense energy in her entire body deflated.
"You… you are not so alike after all. He would not have hesitated for an instant. Perhaps… perhaps it is more than his blood that makes him the way he is. I have been a fool. Go! Your path is clear and I wish you well. One last word in passing: Beware of the blindness of those who would follow, and the damnable lure of those who would lead. A fool I was, and others are still. Ready yourself for the fire to come."
She moved to leave us there, at the entrance to the Temple of Bhaal, but I had one thing to say to her, "A wise woman once told me that it was the duty of the living to grieve for the dead, and then move on with their lives. Do you understand why, oh priest?"
Tamoko turned to me in surprise. "I, I confess I do not."
"Many reasons. But to me, the grieving ones left behind are the only ones who care enough to hold on to the memories of those who have passed. As long as the grieving ones continue to live, and do there best to live well, those who have passed on will not be forgotten."
Tears flowed freely from Tamoko's face. She nodded, and broke into a run, away from the terrible temple of Bhaal.
---
The entrance Temple of Bhaal, barred by two gigantic double doors. Very sturdy looking, really. Somehow I doubt Sarevok built this temple himself.
Herein lies the Final Confrontation with Sarevok.
What should we do now? Well, it's time to bring out those stupid things that I've been lugging around from the docks. I had borrowed Khalid's Gauntlets of Ogre power, in order to pull an actual cart. I threw the tarp of the cart, to reveal it was full of bricks and buckets of mortar. Getting that cart down the stairs was no joke.
The party may have had some idea what I was up to, but it was becoming clear as I started to unload the cart in front of the entrance. They stared at me, incredulous.
"Sonny," Jaheira said, "You're not really going to…"
I looked her straight in the eye. "What?"
She shook her head. "Nevermind."
Under my guidance, the party got to work. Neera and Imoen mixed the mortar ingredients together, while the rest of us laid out the bricks and spread mortar between them.
The doors to the temple would opened outwards, but the wall we erected now prevented these doors from opening. A bricks and cement wall wasn't impassable, of course. Sarevok and his goons would get out eventually. But this should buy us some time to seek other quests without having to worry about Sarevok and his gang suddenly appearing to attack us like Winski promised me he would.
I'd say a few months.
Such precautions were not necessary in the game. Sarevok and his gang would await us for as long as we wanted in the game. But I entombing Sarevok for the meantime instead of giving him the confrontation he expected gave me a certain level of satisfaction.
We'll come back later. In the mean time, you can stay here and rot, Sarevok!