A mysterious encounter
FrdNwsm
Member Posts: 1,069
Having brought everybody back to the good old Copper Kettle for some well deserved R&R, Jaheira and I were heading off to buy me a new gem bag when we were suddenly accosted by Terminsel, who was the same dude who gave me the note some time ago about Jaheira going back to Harper Hold for a trial. Apparently, his name is an anagram of Elminster. (I suck at puzzles, this went TOTALLY over my head the first time around! Doh!)
He made some of his typically enigmatic utterances to Jaheira, who seemed uncertain of her answers, then came out with yet another vague statement about how her uncertainty would be her punishment, and then vanished back into the shadows. I then got a message to the effect "Journal updated: Jaheira judged". However, when I looked in my journal entry page, there was absolutely NOTHING about this entire encounter, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened.
Am I to infer from this that Jaheira's pursuit by the Harper's is over? Too bad, actually, if true. Their threat level had dropped, and they were giving us decent experience and some items to sell for cash, which I desperately need after my impulse buying spree at Trademeet. And what exactly WAS the judgement anyway? "We sentence you to ... uncertainty". Ooooh, how terrible! We went back to the Harper Hold, but both floors were totally deserted. No help there. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
More puzzling to me is "Terminsel"/Elminster's motivation. MyChar has met him at least 3x before (in BG1), so to carry off this masquerade he must have used an assumed name and then disguised not only his face but his appearance and voice as well. Why bother? What was to be gained by pretending to be a total stranger? After all those centuries, is he starting to get senile? A disturbing thought, given the fact that he has power approaching that of a lesser deity. Who knows what other mischief could he get into? Does he need a keeper, and if so, "Qui custodiet custodies?"
Assuming that he is not senile, then there is only one thing I can come up with. He doesn't actually give a Philadelphia Flying **** about Justice or The Balance or any of that stuff. After all these years, he's bored as heck, and amusing himself by playing mind games with all the lesser mortals. "Ok, today I think I'll disguise myself, make some pretentious but actually meaningless statements, then hang around invisibly and laugh as they try to figure out what's going on".
Elminster is much too full of himself. Get some therapy, buddy!
He made some of his typically enigmatic utterances to Jaheira, who seemed uncertain of her answers, then came out with yet another vague statement about how her uncertainty would be her punishment, and then vanished back into the shadows. I then got a message to the effect "Journal updated: Jaheira judged". However, when I looked in my journal entry page, there was absolutely NOTHING about this entire encounter, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened.
Am I to infer from this that Jaheira's pursuit by the Harper's is over? Too bad, actually, if true. Their threat level had dropped, and they were giving us decent experience and some items to sell for cash, which I desperately need after my impulse buying spree at Trademeet. And what exactly WAS the judgement anyway? "We sentence you to ... uncertainty". Ooooh, how terrible! We went back to the Harper Hold, but both floors were totally deserted. No help there. Guess I'll have to wait and see.
More puzzling to me is "Terminsel"/Elminster's motivation. MyChar has met him at least 3x before (in BG1), so to carry off this masquerade he must have used an assumed name and then disguised not only his face but his appearance and voice as well. Why bother? What was to be gained by pretending to be a total stranger? After all those centuries, is he starting to get senile? A disturbing thought, given the fact that he has power approaching that of a lesser deity. Who knows what other mischief could he get into? Does he need a keeper, and if so, "Qui custodiet custodies?"
Assuming that he is not senile, then there is only one thing I can come up with. He doesn't actually give a Philadelphia Flying **** about Justice or The Balance or any of that stuff. After all these years, he's bored as heck, and amusing himself by playing mind games with all the lesser mortals. "Ok, today I think I'll disguise myself, make some pretentious but actually meaningless statements, then hang around invisibly and laugh as they try to figure out what's going on".
Elminster is much too full of himself. Get some therapy, buddy!
Post edited by FrdNwsm on
4
Comments
As for the encounter you're referring to, all Jaheira quests (curse, Reviane, Dermin and Terminsel) appear if you just have Jaheira in the party, no matter if you romance her or not.
The output of the last encounter with Terminsel depends completely on your party reputation.
If your reputation is 9 or lower, Terminsel says that Jaheira is not as much in the right as she thought. He leaves her with that thought.
This what seemed to happen in your playthrough.
If your reputation is 10 or higher, it will have completely different dialogue. I won't give you any spoilers about it.
We been accosted by the third group of Harpers, headed by a guy named Dermin, back in Trademeet. This took place as I was preparing to go and recruit Korgan, Viconia, Hexxat and Yoshimo for some of the lesser NPC sidequests, but before I had actually added them to the group.
Recently, I seem to be spending more time reading the forum and typing posts than actually playing the game. At this rate, I'll die of old age before completing even one play-through.
Given the fact that I just turned 67, this is not necessarily that much of an exaggeration. I better buckle down and concentrate!
About Elminster hiding his name, it is because of Jaheira who knows his name because of his relations with the Harpers, not you.
About Viconia, I think she waits in the end of the north west alley.
Now, I am not about to romance anyone. As a prospective deity myself, I am holding out for a minor fertility goddess, or at the very least a Valkyrie. And what if the protagonist is female and no romance is possible? If that's the case, that whole outcome is pretty biased.
Reputation; I don't think I saved that position, or I could test that theory by dumping a bunch of coins in a temple. Let me see.
i find it weird that you need a somewhat high rep for the best outcome when Jaheira is a druid, shouldn't you need a neutral rep?
I'm almost tempted to help poor Rasaad out with his problem, before I leave Trademeet. I am planning to come back for more shopping later on, though, so I can do it then.
Also, my gem bag vanished yet again! Is there a pickpocket hanging out in the town? I had it when I got back from the Rakshasa mission, but when I headed out retrieve the Mantle of Waukeen it was gone again. That's rather puzzling.
On the way back we made a stopover to rest and Elminster showed up. Strangely enough, the extra 2 reputation also seems to have sharpened Jaheira's eyesight! She perceived that Terminsel was an anagram of Elminster and recognized him. She got pinned, and yes it's a decent item. The main thing for me, however, was that Elminster himself totally confirmed my suspicions about his motivations! Yay me!
If you scroll back, you can see that I speculated that he was just bored; well, his exact words to Jaheira this time around are "Yes, well, one must keep amused in one's old age."
I SO nailed it!
::Does a little Happy Dance::
Ever seen a 350 LB half-orc Berserker do a happy dance, btw? It's pretty scary.
Neera: "I don't like where this is going"
Jaheira: We must strive to maintain the Balance"
Well, kiddies, the Balance is going to shift a lot very soon. Hope you're happy traveling with a vampire and a psychotic mage!