Elfsong backstory - is there a quest?

dreamrider

Is there anything that the player/protagonist can/may/should do to investigate/restore the haunting/haunted ghost elf maiden song that has disappeared recently from the Elfsong Tavern?

It seems a rather elaborate backstory to not have a quest connected to it.

TheArtisan

Not in this game, I'm afraid - the story behind it is expanded in the hack and slash Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

Taken from the wiki - The ghostly elven woman who sings in the Tavern sings for her husband who had worked for the Company of the Crescent Blade, her husband had left to defend Baldur's Gate and promised one day to return but never did. In the Onyx Tower the three adventurer's met a ghost who revealed himself to be the husband of the Elf Woman and the reason that she sings is because she is still waiting for him to come home. The destruction of the Onyx Tower freed the ghost and brought the elf woman to peace.

It isn't confirmed to be canon (and honestly, those games shouldn't be) but there aren't any other sources of the same story. I'm guessing this means that in the timeline the DA plot happened before BG.

dreamrider

Thanks. I suspected it might be something like that.

elminster

Its just something that is probably a reference to Volo's Guide/Canon. The following are excerpts from Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast.

scriver

And to clarify further: Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast was a in character book that serves to describe the the area and suggest interesting places, characters and set-ups for your own campaigns. Elf-ghost is one of those examples. BG did nothing with her/that plot, but it seems BGDA did (I've never played them).

element

the elfsong in dark alliance was really cool it was a shame it was only in a relatively small part of the game. This's the song if anyone is interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt-z8PiENl4

elminster

I liked the first 25 seconds of the song. Just because for the most part (besides a bit of light piano playing) it was just one person singing. After that it got a bit ridiculous (is there like a ghost symphony playing along with her?).

the_spyder

scriver said:

And to clarify further: Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast was a in character book that serves to describe the the area and suggest interesting places, characters and set-ups for your own campaigns. Elf-ghost is one of those examples. BG did nothing with her/that plot, but it seems BGDA did (I've never played them).

Further, the character of Volo is written so as to be not the most reliable of sources for "Historical" events. Anything reported in character by him should be taken with a little (read titanic) pinch of salt.

elminster

For anyone interested this is a quote from the game on the ghost (from "Lady" Alyth Elendara).

"We have lost more than the average citizen; we have lost the Lady. Often we are blessed by a strange phantom voice. It is an elvish maiden lamenting a lost love drowned at sea. Her voice is quite beautiful, and the reason I purchased this establishment in the first place. She has not uttered a note for nigh unto several tenday. Surely it is an omen of sorts, though I canna say of what. I would have thought the economic troubles of the land too paltry to affect the concerns of the dead, but matters are often more complicated than they seem. I suppose they are often simpler as well, though that truth does not support my argument quite as well. Forget I mentioned it. Enjoy your stay."

and this is her charmed dialogue

"I wish I could help you friend, but I have many problems of my own, not the least of which is the loss of our phantom singer."

scriver

@the_spyder - We have to go deeper!

tennisgolfboll

Ive played bg dark alliance and probably the best part is that tavern

dreamrider

Alyth Elendara should sponsor an elven folk music contest each year, focused on laments. The winner gets a year's contract as the Singer of Elfsong Tavern, with all the contacts THAT brings (and 10,000 XP for the young bard.)

Magical enhancements of the song ARE allowed, provided they are the work of the artist.

Dang! You could do a whole mini-plot around that.

jackjack

@elminster‌ You sure do like reading Volo's Guide. I thought you two didn't get along?

dreamrider

Elminster just appreciates Volo for EXACTLY what he is, no more no less.

Anyone must note, however, that Volo seems to be able to SURVIVE almost anywhere, at least long enough to see the sights then get out in one piece. He usually gets someone to buy his drinks, too. His Charisma, and his Illusion and Abjuration mastery must be extraordinary.

kcwise

The Singer apparently returned at some point, and even managed to survive the Spellplague and was around during the initial beginnings of the Sundering in the modern day Realms:

From Murder in Baldur's Gate:

One of the most well-known establishments in Baldur's Gate is located a few blocks from the Basilisk Gate in Eastway. The name of this tavern comes from its unearthly tenant - a disembodied elven voice whose song occasionally fills the tavern. The singing isn't loud enough to disrupt conversation, but it is clear, beautiful, and lamenting. The ballad's lyrics make clear that the ghostly lady is lamenting a lover lost at sea, but no one is sure how she came to haunt the tavern.

The song often moves folks to tears, even when they can't understand the archaic dialect. Many customers frequent the tavern just to hear the melancholy ballad. During the song's infrequent occurrences, a customary hush overtakes the crowd, and any noisy patrons find dangerous looks leveled at themselves. Customers are expected to be armed, and the known custom is that all patrons need to watch their backs except when the sad lady's singing.

Elves hearing her song for the first time often appear stunned. By tradition, the bartender silently serves a first-time elf customer a free tallglass of elverquisst. First-time customers of any race who weep upon hearing the song usually find regular patrons putting comforting arms around them. By tradition, music of any sort is not sung or played in the tavern. The ghost lady has the audience to herself.

From looking at the earlier post from @elminster most of the material about the tavern in the Murder in Baldur's Gate adventure was lifted from the earlier Volo's Guide.

Here's a bit more Elfsong Lore from Ed Greenwood himself (EDIT: Eric Boyd, not Ed as it turns out) about the various older bardic colleges in the Realms:

The college of Cli once lay within the eastern reaches of Baldur’s Gate, but its buildings have long since been torn down and replaced. The only remnant of this school is Elfsong Tavern, an adventurers’ drinking-place and hiring house notable for the ghostly elven female voice (once a student at the college) that can be heard from time to time.

scriver

@kcwise -
She was probably never gone, BG isn't canon.

That is a very interesting Greenwood quote, though. Where is it from?

kcwise

I grabbed that last bit from a Candlekeep forum post: http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9507

Looking into it a bit more here: http://www.candlekeep.com/library/articles/misc_lore_2006.htm
I discovered it was information from designer Eric Boyd's notes, not Ed's as I previously said. Also "some is canon, some is speculation, some may have been invalidated by more recent products"