*Spoilers* Cloakwood remains, untold stories of the fallen heroes in the Cloakwood!

Skarose

So I've always wondered the story behind the remains/loot you find in the Cloakwood Forest. Specifically the suit of leather, Rashad's Talon and the cursed zombie ring. Whose remains has the child of Bhaal stumbled upon? In my imagination I think of some adventurous rogue who didn't stock up enough antidote potions.

Perhaps she was an accursed zombie who only sought an end to her suffering?

I rather think she was carrying the cursed ring in her pouch either as a curio or part key piece to some nefarious scheme she planned later, but there would be no later for her because the rest of her party had been caught in the web traps by ettercaps. She managed to slay the one that had attacked her, but it had nicked her and their healer, Kennair had already fallen. So she staggered away dying to the sounds of waves, gull cries and the sound of the sea led her to her final resting place. She spent her last moments of life watching the sun set on the sea. Poor Azora of Waterdeep, died alone, forgotten and unmourned. Until the child of Bhaal reflects upon the grim scene of her passing.

Rest in Peace Azora of Waterdeep, if only Kennair had lived so he might cure you of the ettercap's deadly venom.

*Original Artwork 'Duelliste' by Remton remton.deviantart.com/art/Duelliste-92232874

Does anybody else know another story behind the remains?

If not, who do you imagine died there and how did they die?

Jarrakul

I've always thought it looked like a suicide. Someone walked to the edge of the cliff, dropping their armor and weapon (not much call for either one), and jumped off. The key piece has to be the ring, but why? If our unfortunate soul had been wearing the ring, that'd be an understandable reason for the suicide, but then the ring would be at the bottom of the cliff. So it must be more complicated than that. Maybe... maybe the ring belonged to someone our jumper cared about. Maybe that someone put on the ring, and, driven mad by pain and unholy hunger, hurt someone. Maybe our jumper killed that person to stop them, choosing the life of an innocent over that of a loved one. And maybe, driven mad with grief, they couldn't stand to live with themselves afterwards, so they look the ring, walked to a remote cliff, and ended it.

Well that got dark.

FinnTheHuman

I think it was suicide too. The poor boy was an outcast, unattractive and unloved by his peers. He would have had a decent life if he hadn't been so driven to fit in and be admired. In a ill fated twitch of decency, a pretty girl from his village was nice to him one day as they bonded briefly at the fairground; the magic of a show dispelling their daily pretenses. When later her friends sniggered to her of what they saw she was determined to regain face. A gift, the magical ring would protect him she said. Ten minutes of ridicule later, their game turned serious as she found her self frantically explaining to the guard why not to kill the zombie boy. When the priest came to cure him she stayed and cried an apology but the boy would hear none of it. He set out at dawn determined to prove himself to everybody, keeping the ring as a dark reminder which would drive him forward. When faced with the adversity of Cloakwood however, the ring became a reminder of his failings. Folding his borrowed belongings neatly he placed the ring on top; his suicide note. Stepping to the edge, he leapt.

Skarose

Lest we not honor all those brave adventurers who preceded the Child of Bhaal into the Cloakwood Forest, can we not spend a little time in reflection upon those two brave souls found amidst the Wyvern's cavern. The carcass of a fallen beast riddled with spears/javelins lies before two bodies. The child of Bhaal finds plate armor a few gems and a wand of fear. Who were these two heroes? What brought them to this desolate cavern deep in the wilderness to face such dangerous foes? Were they motivated by the promise of thousands of pieces of gold from the mayor of Beregost? Were they driven to aid the people in this area and remove terrible threat? Who were they?

I like to think they were a noble spirited pair of adventures who got in over their head. The plate armor and obvious wounds to the dead wyvern indicate that at least one of them was a warrior with some experience. The wand makes me a little curious about the other. I don't think he was mage. I think he was a bard in particular a skald, Merridos the magnificient! Merridos would buoy the confidence of his fellow adventurers. Perhaps he gave this fallen warrior, Valas the confidence to journey deeper into the cloakwood after they barely survived the ettercap ambush. Their healer died and they lost their rogue when her morale broke after she was webbed and poisoned. They searched deep into the forest for her but never found any sign of her passing. Valas was proud warrior, scion of a line of knights, but he never could quite measure up to his Cavalier father no matter how he tried(Valas was NG fighter). He grew up with tales of his father's exploits against flights of wyverns and he must prove himself against such beast. Merridos knew the deadly skill of Valas, hadn't he fought his way out of the ettercap's trap? Merridos had his reputation to keep, he had made sure everybody in Baldur's Gate knew that he and his band were going into the Cloakwood and collect the Mayor of Beregost's reward. They couldn't retreat, his reputation would never recover from being "Brave Brave Merridos the Magnificent who fled the Cloakwood". There they fell after felling one of the beast. I imagine Merridos was the first die, but Valas managed to heroically fight on, but the poison and other wyverns were too much and so he too fell almost forgotten until the Child of Bhaal succeeds were he had failed. The Child of Bhaal can take moment and praise these fallen heroes, whoever they were.

Rest in peace Valas Leonhardt, you ever had the spirit of a questing cavalier, just not the immunity to poison.

*Original Artwork 'The Sleeping Knight' by Susan Carr susanmcarr.co.uk/pre-raphaelite-style-paintings

Rest in peace brave 'Merridos the Maginificent' , you never fled the cloakwood!

*Original Artwork 'Bard' by dashinvaine.deviantart.com on @deviantART

FinnTheHuman

I can't help but think Peter of the North was involved somehow. Perhaps as a member of the party of Merridos and Valas. If not an outright betrayer, then someone who made the best of his situation when he saw the battle was lost. He stole a few eggs and left the rest of his party to their doom.

ikuseni

I was really happy to find this conversation, finding the remnants was a great moment in Baldur's Gate (!), and made me think.

A poor young soul, ready for adventure, unhappy to look like a zombie, killed himself, a perfect spot for the deed.

So sad...

PsicoVic

I always thought that the owner of the zombie cursed ring commited suicide. When the party was ambushed and webbed by ettercaps and spiders she managed to survive thanks to the zombie ring. The ettercaps found her zombified corpse distateful, rotten meat. So she survived while her companions were devoured in front of her. When the spiders left, she managed to escape to the cliffs, but survivors´guilt made her chose to undress and jump of the cliff, unable to cope with the dead of her party.

Kind of like more your story.

Maybe it was the hamadryad of Cloakwood forest the one that tricked poor Valas and Merridos to enter the cave of the wyverns, and they were murdered there. When the spell of the wand of fear vanished, the poison and a lounge of wyverns overran the lone surviving warrior. Only the coward Peter of the North managed to escape with the eggs while his companions were slaughtered.



The Hamadryad never thought that the mighty wyvern could lose against mere humans. She was horrified when she found the corpse of the speared beast and the rage drove her crazy. In her blind rage she attacked the baalspawn party, finding peace in defeat at last when she died and became one with the forest again.