The Sticky Situation
Heya
Member Posts: 55
Since some folk wanted some more insight into the perils of replaying BG (EE) in multiplayer with a complete newbie in tow (and even worse, letting him host the game), I present to you a recollection of the tale so far, from the perspective of the bard Dandelion (Human Jester, my character, created along with CHARNAME at start).
1368 DR, annual visit to Candlekeep
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Every year I make the journey North from Athkatla to the quaint fort town Candlekeep to entertain the dusty old farts there. I'd love to do my own stuff once in a while, but covers of Jonstan The Rover and the Elfsong theme are where the money is, so I put up with it. Anyway, I get there this year to find the party's cancelled, and everyone's in a flap about Gorion having to leave immediately with that thieving gnome kid Halen.
The kid's inexperience is plain to see but there's this magnetic aura about him that says 'stick with me, and we might eventually turn a profit'. And as inspiration for new songs is running dry, I decide to tag along. A mentor, if you will.
The first thing to do was to teach him how to use his diminutive stature to his advantage. I'm no thief, but I've been mugged by plenty of them, so I know a bit. He was a natural at lockpicking, but in hindsight perhaps I should have told him that lockpicking the guards' chests in the barracks right under Fuller's nose wasn't the right way to go about it. Luckily the guards didn't follow us out, but I could tell this relationship was going to be bad for my popularity right there.
1368 DR, annual visit to Candlekeep
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Every year I make the journey North from Athkatla to the quaint fort town Candlekeep to entertain the dusty old farts there. I'd love to do my own stuff once in a while, but covers of Jonstan The Rover and the Elfsong theme are where the money is, so I put up with it. Anyway, I get there this year to find the party's cancelled, and everyone's in a flap about Gorion having to leave immediately with that thieving gnome kid Halen.
The kid's inexperience is plain to see but there's this magnetic aura about him that says 'stick with me, and we might eventually turn a profit'. And as inspiration for new songs is running dry, I decide to tag along. A mentor, if you will.
The first thing to do was to teach him how to use his diminutive stature to his advantage. I'm no thief, but I've been mugged by plenty of them, so I know a bit. He was a natural at lockpicking, but in hindsight perhaps I should have told him that lockpicking the guards' chests in the barracks right under Fuller's nose wasn't the right way to go about it. Luckily the guards didn't follow us out, but I could tell this relationship was going to be bad for my popularity right there.
Post edited by Dee on
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Comments
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Finally, some intrigue! This is going to be great inspiration for my next song. Last night, Imoen and I saw Gorion cut down by some kind of giant porcupine man. They were after Halen, who managed to escape. We caught up with him and helped him to fend off a pack of wolves that must have been following him. His tactic of rushing them with an oversize sword might work for folk like Minsc, when a short sword is oversize for the warrior it's probably a bad idea. I encouraged him to use his bow while I put into practice the wolf-confusing dance this Skald in Greenest swore would work.
On the way to the Friendly Arm, where Gorion said he had friends waiting, the gnome decided to investigate the scene of his foster father's murder and pick up that frightening pair of Zhents that were hanging around Beregost on my way North. We encountered some bloke in a red robe calling himself Elminster, waving his hands about like we should all know who he is. Jerk.
Shortly after entering the Friendly Arm, Halen started a friendly conversation with a friendly man who nearly took his face off with a volley of friendly magic missiles. After taking a minute to regroup, I advised he waited around the corner whenever, well, whenever we went around a corner. After all, he is the one they want - no him, no adventure. With my tactical nous the gnome scraped through the fight. Xzar and Montaron weren't so lucky, but with a temple close by, they were able to be rescued.
Gorion's friends were at the inn as promised - Jaheira, a headstrong, sexy half-elven maiden, and Khalid, a quivering wreck of a man but a decent sword-arm. Imoen, feeling the party was becoming an army, opted to stay at the inn. In the morning we set out for Nashkel.
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Both Xzar and Monty (as he had come to be affectionately known) and Jaheira and Khalid agreed the best course of action would be to go to Nashkel. They didn't know that I knew that the former were Zhents and the latter were Harpers. I told the gnome there may be fireworks, but we agreed that we weren't going to say anything just for the sheer fun of it.
Halen wanted to skip through Beregost but I insisted we at least stayed to rest at the inn. That inn proved to contain an angry dwarf who wanted to kill us, which was to prove a running theme. We helped Silke murder a bunch of innocent men, but she has photos of me, so what can you do? I'm beginning to think that the gnome's malevolent aura is beginning to unhinge me. When some travelling fool in an audacious hat starting rambling on about soirees in Neverwinter on the road to Nashkel, I suggested we run him through and plunder his apparently deep pockets. Sadly he didn't appear to have any cash on him, and I'm sure Noober must have been watching because I don't think the guards have looked at us the same ever since.
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RIP Montaron. We never loved you.
So it turns out, all of the iron coming out of the Nashkel Mines has been tainted with some kind of corrosive poison, and some big, ugly git called Mulahey is behind the operation. Playing pest controller with the kobolds in the mines was easy, and Halen soon learned the trick of luring ranged attackers around corners to get in close. The mines opened up into a great crevasse, seemingly aeons deep. A stone bridge over the abyss, riddled with booby traps, stood between us and Mulahey's lair. A particularly dextrous kobold let loose an arrow of such velocity that poor Monty's body exploded into a hundred gristly chunks, slapping against the walls of the cavern.
A Red Wizard of Thay we encountered earlier in Nashkel took his place and helped us clear out the mines and eventually separate Mulahey's head from his shoulders. Halen proved himself quite the assassin, running undetected across the eyeline of a pack of kobolds with enchanted arrows to stab them in the back. I spent an awkward few moments with Mulahey's captive, Xan, while the gnome searched the half-orc's things for any sign of who's behind all this. We eventually emerged from the mines in a haze of soot and sinew, thoroughly ready for a warm bath and kind hosptality.
We were sorely disappointed on our return to Nashkel. The town guards were swarming around the palace, baying for our blood. The gnome's a bit anti-social but this is ridiculous. He had to literally sneak into town to collect our reward for the Nashkel mines and the tiny amount of goodwill it took for the guards to stop attacking us on sight.
On the way back to Beregost we met a Blackguard, Dorn Il-Khan, who Halen seemed to take a shine to. Xzar just hadn't been the same since his companion bit the dust, so we left him in the middle of a field for japes and headed with Dorn to Beregost and Tranzig.
I know it's an immensely sad thread, but still.
;Defines hasinterest as boolean
;Attributes hascomment the value false
;Attributes hasinterest the value true
;Attributes haswit the value true
;If haswit returns undefined and hascomment returns true
;Executes weeptoselfsoftly module
;Ends
;Ends
I'll shake out my silver and by your time. All I want to hear about is loving and wine.