Twin Peaks
Stupid_Puns
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Twin Peaks 1: Legacy of Bhaal + Sword Coast Stratagems: The Life and Times of Dougie Jones
Not a fan of role-play-esque stories? Prefer someone just getting mad at nonsense? Well, then you may wanna skip series and move to Series 2 on page two. Regardless, we continue.
Oh boy. Well, after trying and failing numerous times to complete the BGEE Trilogy on Legacy of Bhaal with Sword Coast Stratagems Solo, I've decided to do something different. I've decided to beat LOB+SCS with a full party, the leader of which will be Dougie Jones (From Twin Peaks: The Return). I will try my best to roleplay the character as much to my ability, but, you know, the character doesn't really talk that much... so... yeah. I will also try to incorporate as many ideas you you guys advise me; party members, which quests to do, that stuff. Wanna have me dual class Xzar to a cleric, fine! Let's have Safana the Thief-Mage. Hell, I might as well have Eldoth in my party so I can die that much faster. I will be playing the mod BGEET with the only mods being Sword Coast Stratagems, Ascension, XP Cap remover, and aesthetic mods. Regardless, let's begin.
The class of Dougie Jones was a tricky one to figure out, in the show he doesn't really use a weapon, he has some weird seventh sense about everything, he's all about peace and kindness, and when he does fight he's quite deadly. So, maybe a Human Shaman whose Neutral Good? Or a Paladin? Maybe a Monk? No... after an hour or so I came to the conclusion that Dougie Jones is a Kensai, he doesn't use armor, helmets, or bracers, but is fast and deadly. In fact, I might dual class him at level 13 to a Mage, just to incorporate his more "outer-worldly" powers. While Dougie Jones himself is smarter than he appears, he lacks wisdom, often acting like a child. So... here ya go.
Now what would Dougie's proficiency points be? Being a Kensai (my personal favorite class), I am a bit partial to Two-Weapon Style and Katanas. While that would be powerful in BG2, it would take me quite some time to get good (just like the plot of Twin Peaks: The Return). As a Kensai I can't use missle weapons so those are out, I won't use Axes, Two-Handed Swords, Hammers, Quarterstaves, or Maces, simply because the other npc's in this game are better with those. Bastard Swords are to slow and are better with Ajantis, Clubs are just stupid, same with spears, and short swords are helpful either. All in all, Katanas, Long Swords, Flails, or dagger are the best way to go. I'd prefer to give daggers to Jaheria, so the choice I made was Katanas, which I will achieve Mastery with. If anyone has a better idea/reason to use Long Swords or Flails, or anything else, please don't hesitate to tell me. I'm perfectly fine with using EE Keeper. The last two proficiency points go to Two-Weapon Style, it's too helpful. So that's our little Author's Note, now to Candlekeep. Later, I'll be naming these Parts, simply because Twin Peaks: The Return calls the epsiodes Parts, not episodes, so instead of Chapter, I'll say Part.
The Sounds and Portraits are lower in the Discussion here.
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Prologue
Alright, Candlekeep, AKA Easytown USA. I'll simply buy a Katana, steal some items, and head off to FAI. Talk to Winthrop and... Katanas are unbelievably expensive. Well... maybe I can raise some money in the town here. Dougie goes upstairs, grabs some jewerly, a potion of clarity, and some gold, talks to Fire-beard over their, and heads out. I have no wish to fight anyone, be them man or rat, so I loot some gold, do the quests. We've all done it a thousand times before so I won't make up some any cool story bits here. Yadda-yadda, alright... I still don't have enough gold, so I'll talk to our main man Gorion over here, and the adventure truly starts.
After the attempted assassination of Dougie Jones, and the assassination of Gorion, Imoen says that escaping Candlekeep is extremely easy and that she'll help us no matter what dialogue choice you choose. I don't plan on having Imoen for long, but I need back-up. Dougie decides to see if Gorion is still okay, only to find upon a rock a note, covered in blood, written with blood, the says, "Fire Walk With Me."
Looting the bodies, Imoen finally gets some armor, and Dougie decides to equip a Morning Star for protection. After getting back to he main trail, they come across a man by the name of Kolssed.
"Well a busy day for me indeed. Strange noises throughout the night, and now a plethora of people strolling about the wood. You do look a touch mroe hospitable than the last two I met though. Well met, stranger. I am called Kolssed."
Dougie earnestly replies, "...stranger..."
A couple seconds go by then Imoen says, "We could use some advice, sir."
"I have little to give besides goodwill. Make friends where you can, as traveling alone is almost certain death. You will want to surround yourself with like-minded companions lest you risk making enemies in your own party. Aside from this little tidbit of wisdom, I'd say you're on your own. Luck be with you."
"...with you..."
"Fare thee well, as they say.
Man, that took way longer to type then you think it would. I'll try to limit long speeches like that for only party members and important conversations. Sadly, there are a lot of important conversations for the first chapter of this game. For length sake I'll cut this section short. Any ideas for party members, gear, all that is appreciated, and telling me my class sucks is fine too because, you know, it does suck in this game. Well.. I just wait here in awkward silence...........................
"A child wandering the wilderness? Surely you must be one too bright to be traveling these roads."
"And ye look a bit scuffed, too. A fine pair of troubles all your own."
"Indeed. I can offer you healing potions, if you wish, as a token of goodwill."
Dougie's kindhearted response, "Goodwill."
"Nothing to fear from these simple potions, and I'll not even hold you in debt, though your conscience knows otherwise."
"Just like all good people."
"Perhaps as payemnt you would go with us to Nashkel. It is a troubled area and we mean to investigate some disturbing rumors surrounding the local mines. Some acquaintances are very concerned about the iron shortage. Specifiaclly, where to lay blame in the matter. You would be useful, though I'll not hold you to it. We are to meet the mayor of this town, a man named Berrun Ghastkill, I believe."
"Your conscience be your guide."
Just then, Dougie sees the ghost of Gorion, waving his hand in an inviting motion, mouthing the words "Your Guide."
Then Dougie let out a, "My Guide."
Then the halfling of the groups speaks up, "Aye we'll guide ye. Ye owe us fer our time though."
Together, the motley crew traveled down the trail together, until Dougie stopped, halting everyone else. It was Gorion again, this time almost fused with some tree. His hand/branch wave still waving Dougie over to him, mouthing the words, "Your guide."
Dougie walked over, and saw a glowing rock in the tree, he then grabbed it, and put it in his pack. Everyone else, who were patiently waiting, grabbed Dougie by the shoulders, and began walking back on the trail. After 8 hours or so of walking and Dougie having to go to the bathroom every twenty minutes, the came across an old man in red.
"Ho there, wanderer. Stay thy course to indulge an old man. If thou wouldst pardon my intrusion, may I inquire which pertains to thee?"
Xzar then spoke up, "Not to imply anything, but how do you measure up to your own standards? Pestering strangers about their mental state doesn't seem all that well adjusted to me."
The old man replied, "Point taken, and thou hast answered for your friend most adequately. You shall think of thee as your guide instead, and I shall trouble thee no more. Fare thee well."
Dougie then let out a polite, "Fare the well."
The group continued walking until Dougie once again had to use the little boys room, Imoen lead him to a secluded rock, and left the area Dougie was in. After relieving himself, Dougie noticed something, something very shiny in the rock. He out his ear up to it and heard an angelic voice say, "Let me be your guide."
Dougie put his hand inside the rock to find a ring, which he immediately put on.
I have to stop putting so much deatil into this, were three posts in and we haven't even been at the Inn. So, once again, big long dialogues will be far and few between once we reach Beregost, they'll be much more like paraphrasing, but his is the beginning, and hopefully the theme is becomeing more clear of what this play through will be. Question: Montaron, Xzar, Imoen, and Khalid, should I keep them? I do have plans to pick up other npc's, and I wasn't planning on keeping them, however, if anyone can give a good enough reason to keep them, then I shall. This is going to become a little bit more from a gaming perspective rather than the first-person these last two posts have been. After all, a semi-big fight is coming up, and that's no good!
They cross the draw-bridge and go up the stairs to the Inn, when a man in all black speaks up, "Hi, friend. I've not seen you here before today. What brings you to the Friendly Arm?"
The ghost of Gorion once again appears, but now he is pushing away, mouthing the words, "Not the guide."
Dougie speaks up, "Not toda..."
Then Imoen cuts him off, "Just travelers looking for a place to rest."
"I see, I see. Pardon my being too forward. Might you have traveled from Candlekeep, by any chance."
Imoen looks at Dougie, then Dougie talks, "...Never heard of it..."
Dougie goes back to staring off into space.
Now, this is the part where Dougie and friends kill Tranesh, but this is LOB+SCS, this isn't your daddy's Baldur's Gate, ok? So, Montaron stands behind Tarnesh ready for a backstab, while Dougie uses wand of magic missles, Xzar uses magic missiles, and Imoen uses her bow. A guard attacks Tarnesh while Monaron back stabs for 19 damage. Then Dougie uses the wand and Xzar casts his spell to fail his Mirror Image. Then Montaron back-ups while everyone in my party walks towards the entrance to the Inn. We enter and Tarnesh follows, Xzar casts a Magic Missle, Dougie uses the wand, and then we exit. Xzar then uses a Larloch's Drain and Dougie uses a wand. Tarnesh begins to cast Sleep, as soon as Tarnesh begins doing this I run back into the Inn. I follow this method until I run out of spells and wand charges, in which I then being to attack using Imoen and Montaron leading them back to the guards outside. Eventually, when I say eventually I mean after and hour and 15 minutes of attempts, you'll get the hang of it. My reward is low amounts of xp, some xp, but more importantly, satisfaction.
"Greetings. You... you look familiar, though it's not your looks. I am not sure what I expected, but I believe you are Gorion's child. I am Jaheria; this is Khalid."
"G-good to know you."
"We are old friends of your adopted father. He is not with you? I must assume the worst. He would not permit his only child to wander without his accompaniment."
"If... if he passed, we share your loss."
"Gorion often said that he worried for your safety, even at the expense of his own. He also wished that Khalid and I would become your guardians, if he should ever meet an untimely end. However, you are much older now, and the choice of your companions should be your own."
"We could t-travel with you until you get settled, help you find your l-lot in life."
"It would be a fitting last service to Gorion, though we should first go to Nashkel. Khalid and I look into local concerns, and there are rumors of strange things happening at the mines. No doubt you have heard of the iron shortage? You would do well to help us. It affects everyone, including you. We are to meet the mayor of the town, Berren Ghastkill."
Dougie, still staring at what he assumes to be the source of the coffee smell, responds sincerely, "nashkel."
"I think we should definitely travel as one. You can never be too careful about the dangers of the open road. Wherever they may spring from."
Part 1: Preparation
After which, a choice arises, do I keep Xzar and Montaron? If Occam's Razor is correct, the simplest answer being the correct answer, then I should remove Xzar and Monatron. Xzar is only good if you decide to both dual class him and Imoen, and Montaron, well, Montaron sucks, besides, Coran is way better. Now, I rarely use Khalid, but I'll keep him for the time being. Jaheria however, is almost a required npc in this game, so, yeah. (Spoiler Alert, not really) I feel like the best party I'm gonna get is with Dorn, Edwin/Baeloth/Xzar, Kagain, Myself, Jaheria, and either Imoen or Viconia. Or maybe I'll have Ajantis, Minsc, Dyanheir, hell, I might have Xan. Anyway...
Dougie walked over to Bentley, the inn keeper, and said, "coffee."
"Iron is the lifeblood of this whole region and it's sure painful when it gets scarce. So what can I do you for?"
"...coffee..."
"Apologies, we don't have coffe..."
The diamond that Dougie had found in the tree had now slipped out, and Bentley began to pick it up.
"Oh boy, is this..." Dougie stares off blankly. "Oh my, it is. Here sir, I'll give... 300 gold for it!"
Dougie is still staring off.
"Alright then sir, you leave me no choice, 400 gold."
Dougie begins to turn around.
"Wait no, please! I'll...I'll give you 500 gold, and a mug a coffee, on the house."
Dougie, now interested, gives in. "...coffee."
"Alright! I'll get the coffee made in a Jiffy."
Dougie grabs the bag and begins to walk upstairs. He waltzes into rooms, seeing both the good, the bad, and the ugly, and heads to the third floor. He walks into a room, only to be given a pair of pants and thrown back out, and is also asked if he could head to Beregost to help regain some precious items. Although, when Dougie is about to remove the pants, seeing how he already has some, a small robot picks at his hair, then begins to fold the pants. After doing so he speaks to Dougie in a scratchy, almost as if through a Walky-talky, robot voice, "You feel like the pants, but your legs bend back. Keep them, and I'll see again in 2.5 games, meanwhile..." The robot then melts into the floor. Dougie, UN-phased, walks out of the FAI with company and coffee in hand. Side note, I bought Jaheria some Splint mail, a club, medium shield, sling, bullets, and some arrows for Imoen, as well as an extra long sword of Khalid. They walk out, get the quest to grab the flame-dance ring, leave. Now, onto Beregost.
"'Ere now, get out! I don't like your type in here!"
"Heh! You tell 'em, Marl."
Dougie walks up to Marl.
"Hey! I told you to get lost! Ain't no room here for ye troublemakin' strangers!"
Dougie responds, "Room here."
"I'm sick of you freakish adventurers going out, consorting with gods know what, and dragging your trouble into my hometown! What do you say to that?!"
Dougie replies with, "...trouble."
"Oh, you think it's funny, do you?! You mess up the local economy with your treasure, you upset the balance of nature, you flash your magic around, and because of it maybe somebody's son thinks it's fun and goes out and gets himself killed! It's a bad example and somebody ought to kick your ass for it!"
Dougie, now whispering, says, "Fate..."
"He was a good boy till your kind came trough town! Filled his head with nonsense they did, and becasue of it he's dead! Now why shouldn't I take THAT out of your hide?!"
Dougie, whispering even quieter, speaks, "Good boy... born with it."
Marl and Dunkin argue for a bit. Then Dougie pitches in, "Fine lad...sorry."
Then Marl heads out to drink. Dougie buys History of the Fateful Coin, heads across the street, and gives it to old Fire-Beard. I rest up, then head off to High Hedge to grab Kivan.
I'm going to cut this one short to do some research on gear, party members, what not. Once again, any and all ideas are welcome.
Then I head to Peldavale, offer to help Viconia, charm the Flaming Fist guy, tell him to get killed by wild dogs, grab his Plate Mail, get Viconia, and give her the Ankegh Mail.
Then I head back to Beregost, get to the 2nd level of the Burning Wizard, grab the Stupifier, leave, go to Nashkel Mines, help Dorn with way-laid enemies, loot bodies for more plate mail and a Small Shield +1, get Dorn in my party, and remove Imoen in the FAI, so anytime I need her, I know where to go. Then I buy a sling +1 for Viconia, and go to the temple and get my reputation up to 7.
That all took me three hours or so.
So there you go. I'm thinking of removing Edwin for Baeloth down the line, and might remove Viconia for say, Safana, Coran, maybe even Tiax. As you see however, my party has one major, and I mean MAJOR, down fall. I have no thief, and in LOB that's an issue. However, if I'm careful, play my cards right, and possibly remove Viconia for a thief, I may survive. All-in-all I'm doing pretty well, not exactly good, but I'm still alive. Jaheria leveled up to Level 2, and now she's my best party member. As such, any advice is GREATLY appreciated. I'll go back to the usual format next time, it's just that this was a little, "Okay, here's where the game starts, let's play catch-up and get myself in order," sort of deal. Next time, however, we see the developments of Dougie Jones, and hope that one day he'll remember that he's actually... Special Agent Dale Cooper.
Part 2: Time to Git Gud
So, it's time to actually explore, first off I go to the top of the FAI to get Joia's flame-dance ring, which, after using a combo of charming, command, magic missles, and every spell and innate in my book, I defeated the Hobgoblins and got the ring back, easy stuff.
After selling all my loot, I decide to head to the coast way, charmed the Ogre, told him to go battle some Xvarts, afterwards I decided to just kite him around until my slings will him, and gave the girdle of piercing to Jaheria. Then I head to South Beregost road, charm and kill the Orgrillions, and give Miriam her letter back, giving this Ring of Protection to Dorn. Then I headed into the Red Sheaf, used 2 commands, and defeated the assassin. I rest, and have a dream, now Dougie has the ability Larloch's Drain, I head to High Hedge, say hi to Thalantyr, then I go the Gnoll Stronghold via Fire Leaf Forest and Druid area. There, I do Rufie's quest, and Drienne's dead cat quest. I head to the Gnoll bridge, kill the orgrillions, giving the Gauntlets of Dexterity to Jaheria, and give Dorn 2 potions of invisibility, then head up to the top. I kill Dynaheir, drink another potion, and come back down. Then I head to Nashkel carnival, and kill the Amazing Opplah. Then I head off to the bottom of outer Nashkel Mines, I charm Greywolf, send him to fight some wolves in the forest, kill him at the last second, and give the Varsona to Khalid. Then I head to Nashkel, tell Oublek I'm not Greywolf, and give him the emeralds from Prisms body. This section I've typed really is just about getting the necessary gear and xp to tackle our main adventure. Last, I head off to the Nashkel Inn and kill Neira simply by luring her out, attack, going back inside the inn, rinse, wash, repeat. Now that we're almost level 2, next time I'll do a couple more throw-away quests, level up (hopefully), maybe grind a little for better gear, and then we'll get back to the original format. Until then... any advice is always appreciated.
"Steady, Telman. You seems like good people, we're being harassed by a priest of the Bitch Queen Umberlee. We don't even know why, but whenever we try to fish, she turns the weather sour. Two of us were washed away just walking to the docks, but we cannot prove to the guard it was her. We be needin' someone to strong-arm her into leaving us alone. We've not much money, but I'll gladly give you a... magical weapon from me grandfather's adventuring days. It's a meager amount for your trouble, but it would be a great service to us. Will you help a group of poor fishermen?"
Dorn, now the leader of Dougie's group, answers, "It's not worth my time, but with a little extra gold..."
"Another 20 gold! That's fair, ain't it?!" Said another fishermen.
Dorn looked at Dougie, who answered quite fairly, "...fair..."
"Perhaps I shall after all." Was Dorn's reply.
In that moment, Dougie covered his eyes and spoke, "Look ...away."
A group of men, carrying axes, dirt and muck on their face, wearing lumberjacks clothing, came out of thin air, and walked to the fishermen. One lumberjack spoke up, "Gotta light?" Then, the group covered their eyes and turned away. After hearing some pretty gross sounds, Dougie looked back, and saw all the fishermen, now dead.
Afterwards, Dougie grabs a Flail +1 and bowl from the body, and closes his eyes. "...fair...the well." Dougie equips the Flail in his off-hand, dodge Ankhegs, and head up to Wyrm's Crossing. The head up to a priest living in a small cottage.
"Stop, you are trespassing on my land-home-"
Before she continues, Dougie reaches out and hands her the gold bowl he picked up.
"You will be paid... in time." She then teleports out.
And from that quest, Dorn, Khalid, Viconia, and Dougie all level up, what a world! Life is good, and here are the new hit points.
I'm now in Shipwreck coast, and for god reason. After traveling south the Sword Coast, the travelers came across a beautiful Nereid, which approached Khalid.
"Please to help me, will you? I'm alone on this desolate dry-land and who knows what lurks in these woods.'"
"Ac-accompany us and I-I will make certain you are safe!"
"Wonderful! Perhaps a kiss to show my appreciation.?"
Jaheria was frowning, ready to walk up and murder that Nereid at a moments notice, Dougie however, has smiling as big as the sun.
"F-Far be it from me to turn down a kiss from a c-c-comely lass-s."
Khalid's childish stutters quickly turned to shrieks of terror, as the Nereid killed him then and there. Shoal then tells Dougie that she'll bring back Khalid if he helps her from her captor. Being the eccentric gentleman he is, Dougie agrees, "Help."
Khalid is brought back, grabs his gear, and is approached by an Ogre Mage. Now here's where things get fun. After charming the Ogre, I cast almost all his spells except Charm, Ghost Armor, and mirror image, on Shoal. Then, when casting the other spells, I tell him to walk, interrupting his own spells. Then I save, use poison weapon on Dorn, and cast Bless, along with somewhat healing up Khalid. Then I cast command on the Ogre, attack him, back up, use another command, which doesn't work, then another one which does work. I attack him again. Then I kite him around until Edwin's Magic Missiles, Dougie's and Dorn's Larloch's Drain, Dorn's poison, and Viconia and Jaheria's slings eventually kill him. I save, get the helmet and give it to Khalid, and finally get a katana for Dougie. I rest, beat up Shoal until she's at one bar of health, charm her, talk to her, then kill her. All for over 6000 experience, and Edwin levels up to level 2.
Now we're looking good. Next time, we'll explore some of this great land we call Twin Peaks.
Edwin speaks up, "Hold a moment! Ekandor? Is that you? Why do you pursue such a disreputable-looking woman?"
"Edwin! That girl is worth more to us than you can imagine! Help us capture her, and I will overlook that you've fallen in with a group of barbaric ruffians."
"Fallen in?! If anything, I have uplifted these uncouth louts with my mere presence! They serve me, not the other way around! And what use is this girl?"
"I have no time for this, Edwin! I have pursued her kind for too long to be hindered by your foolish questions! Die with the rest of them for all I care, just get out of my way! You there! Stand aside and give me the girl. Surely you won't risk your life for a stranger?"
Dougie replied, "...stand aside."
"If you wish to die for this wild mageling, so be it!"
And then, the sky went dark. Dougie covered his eyes, as did everyone else in the party. All that could be heard was, "No, Not again," and the sound of electricity. Ekandor was gone, and his followers soon left. Dougie grabbed the gem bag and gave her traveler's robe to Edwin, and Neera went to the FAI. Then Dougie went off to South Beregost Road, and headed west to a cave. After entering the cave, grabbing 5 potions, then fighting the Hobgoblins outside for Boots of Stealth and leave the map west. I go back to Beregost, walk to Zhurlong in the Burning Wizard, give his Boots back, then kill him.
Go to the Red Canyons, leave south, go to Xvart village, then head to Fisherman's Lake. In the middle of the map you'll find Drizzt Do'Urden.
As Dougie walked to the legendary hero Drizzt, he noticed something, something bothering him for way too long. The lumberjacks came back, and Dougie and rest still covered their eyes. This time, however, only the Gnolls died, and Drizzt stood their, motionless. Then, Dougie saw something, the little robot from earlier, only this time he was even smaller, half melted in the ground. Now speaking extremely loudly it spoke, "NON-EXISTENCE!!!" Dougie, and the others, then walked up Drizzt, he has unable to defend himself. They started to attack Drizzt, though he still wasn't moving. The robot spoke again, "SQUEEZE HIS HAND OFF! SQUEEZE HIS HAND OFF!" Dougie then began to squeeze Drizzt's hand until Drizzt eventually died.
Alright, so, LOB sometimes gives you a break, this being it. Legacy of Bhaal makes Drizzt so powerful that he's unable to attack, the game can't handle it. As such, killing the gnolls then him is quite an easy way to level up. After killing Drizzt, everyone levels up, Dorn puts a proficiency point into crossbows, Jaheria to daggers, Khalid to Long Swords, Viconia to War Hammer, Dougie into Two-Weapon style, and Edwin can use level 2 spells now. I give Drizzt's Mithril Chain Mail to Khalid, his plate mail to Jaheria, and both his scimtars to Dougie, as they're better than his katana. I head to the Temple, identify the items, get my reputation to 10, and head back to Beregost.
Next time we'll be grinding/farming for cash so we can buy some better gear the folks here. Until then, git gud.
First, charm Silke and have waste all her spells except haste which she'll cast on your main party. Then I chant, bless, poison weapon, and armor of faith up. Dougie attacks Silke in her charmed state until she uses a minor sequencer on him, almost killing him. Then I command Silke, attack with everything, heal Dougie, retreat anyone hurt until the drink a potion and re-enter the fight, I command Silke again, then the poison damage along with Edwin's Magic Missiles takes her out. Then I grab her quarterstaff, give it to Edwin, pocket the potion, and ask the gentlemen for my reward.
"Please, kind spirits, a wondrous ancient oak is in peril. It is about to be attacked by two who would defile the majesty of nature. They have avoided my charms and must be stopped before irreparable harm is done. Would you heed my plea?"
Dougie spoke, "My plea..." Jaheria then burst in action, "Only the basest villains would take advantage of nature! Lead on, and we will deal with them."
After charms, command, and sheer power, we killed the assailants and looted them for a Girdle of Bluntness for Dorn, and a Club +1 for Jaheria.
Then, after telling the dryad that they had saved her tree, that same oak tree shake, then shake more, and shake until the ground was itself was moving, then, as if in an instant, the tree and the dryad were gone, sucked up into god-knows-where. (This means I killed the Dryad for extra experience.)
Traveling south, Dougie Jones found a cave, inside were 2 dire wolves, and a halberd +1. Dougie headed north, killed a gnoll called Ingot, then made his way to Fire Leaf Forest, there he battled Sendai and her group. They're quite easy once you lure out Sendai, kill her, charm an archer and tell them to kill each-other until you come in and snatch the xp. Head south and up to Vax and Zordal, who, after using command, charm, magic missiles, and every ability you have, resting, and killing the other one, you get the Bracers of Archery which I'll slap on Dorn for the time being. Then I head to the top of Red Canyons to rescue a talking chicken, then I kill a skeleton outside High Hedge, grab its skull, leave, rest, return, and giving Thalantyr the chicken and the skull reward Dougie with 2000 xp and a reputation point. Then I sell all my loot, bringing my total gold to 7500. Now, I'm going to farm Ankhegs and raising my reputation at the church. Until then however, stay clean.
So, now we're finally ready, to do a couple more quests, until then, Tight Bois Take Their Time.
"I am Hafiz bin Watat, astrologer, scientist, and mage. Please, tell me your name."
Dougie points at his chest, "Dougie Jones."
"Douglas Jones! Yes, that's the name I remember. I've seen your face in my dreams. Mmm. The dreams of you are always ones of blood and death, and there is another man who watches, and evil man. They always end with your death or mine. Is it so strange that I should meet you, the focus of these dreams. You must be very special. Tell me about yourself; perhaps I can help you."
Dougie begins to speak, "Hafiz.."
Then Dorn speaks, "It's not personal gnome, but perhaps you should not be talking at all. Dougie should be the one who comes out of the dream still breathing."
"Perhaps what you say is true. It becomes obvious to me that you have a demeanor of evil. If it is combat you desire, then that is what you will have."
Then, we we slaughter him.
Then we head East to find an old partner of Dorn, who after a try or two I defeat, and Dorn says he must now fight Simmeon. Further East I find Samuel and bring him to back to the FAI for some xp.
Then I had back to Beregost at the bottom to Landrin's house. After returning Landrin's items, I go back to Ankheg farming, and then Dorn approaches Dougie.
"Hrmm. You take much time to talk with people we could more easily sweep from our path. You cannot trust their words, only their actions."
Dougie gives a thoughtful answer, "...motive."
"You cannot be so credulous! Everyone Lies."
Dougie asks, "...You?"
"My blade talks for me, and it always speaks truly."
Dougie talks, "...speaks..."
"You dare talk to me like that? You put yourself in danger."
The little robot from earlier, still half melted, begins climbing Dougie's leg. Dougie then replies, "I am the danger."
The robot climbs to Dougie's ear and whispers, "Doppelgänger." Then melts back to the floor.
Dorn speaks up, "Hrm. Yes, you are right. You alone could defeat me. That is why I choose to remain with you."
During my ankheg farming, Dougie, Dorn, Jaheria, and Khalid go to level 5, and with that xp, I went to Larswood near the stone tower. Their were some infinite spawning Gibberlings, as such I had to change a global variable or, but I will NEVER do anything like that again. Regardless, while in the center of the opening, a drow spawned and spoke to Dougie.
"Oh, hello. Well, this is awkward."
Dougie pointed at himself and said, "Dougie Jones."
"Greetings, friendly, ah, surface-dweller. You wouldn't happen to know the direction of the nearest entrance to the Underdark, would you?"
Dougie spoke, "...would you..." then continued to stare off.
"No, I suppose you wouldn't. This is particularly problematic for a popular power player such as myself!"
Khalid then asked, "Who a-are you?"
The drow referred to himself as Baeloth, and went on to gloat for a minute or two. Then Viconia spoke, "Stay your hand a moment, Dougie. Drow do not typically leave the Underdark of their own accord, and I do not wish to see one of my kind slain without good reason."
"Oooooh, I LIKE this one." Spoke Baeloth.
"Check your tongue, male. Clearly you do not know what I consider to be "good reason."
"But of course, slender one. Anything for a lady of such grace. What house did you say you were from again? Please don't say Do'Urden."
"House Do'Urden?! The depths of their treachery cannot even BEGIN to-- Ahem. Consider your hand unstayed, Dougie."
One things leads to another, of Baeloth decides to join our party, instead of Edwin. Simply because I like his Magic resistance and he's a sorcerer, whom I prefer over mages.
FINALLY!!! Now, after years of preperation, we can head to the Nashkel Mines, and begin the Life and Times of Douglas Jones, next episode of course. Until then, stay frosty.
Mulahey then tells him to search the chest for evidence. Dougie sees Xan in the corner, but while Dougie enjoys Xan's company and has played through the game many times with Xan, Dougie decides not to talk to him this play-through. Mulahey, seeing that the party has not moved, asks, "Are you with Tazok, or.. are you with..."
Mulahey then shows them the ring on his finger.
Upon seeing the ring, Dougie backs up, looks worried-some at his partners, but then he grows stoic, straightens his back, combs his hair back, clears his throat, and begins to speak, "It is happening...again."
He then looks at Mulahey, "It is happening...again."
Dougie then returns to his normal self, and now Mulahey looks terrified, even sweating. He then immediately calls for reinforcements, and then begins to attack our heroes. After the use of charms, dodging, hiding, summoning, magical spider webs, the battle raged on for over 16 hours. Until, finally, Mulahey fell. Upon his body, they found a series of notes, one of them being of special interest.
"Mulahey, I send this message only out of force. After talking with boss, I must warn you. A man my come to the town of Nashkel, and soon after he'll come to the mines. He will kill every last creature in that mine, including you. You must not leave if he comes, for a have created a trap. I traveled to another place, a place most unfamiliar, for there's always music in the air. I have hired the help of a giant. In this envelope you will find the ring of an owl. Where it, and never take it off. It was given to me by the giant, and if you show the ring to the man, the giant will come, and tell you that it is happening again. Should you fail this mission, you too will find yourself in the company of J, just like our good friend, Mr. Strawberry."
-From, Semaj and J.
Dougie then asks the group if they know of a J, specifically he asked, "... J?"
They take the owl ring off of Mulahey, and give it Viconia, and then search the chest Mulahey spoke of earlier. It is certain that the death of Mulahey will relieve the fears of the terrorized folk of Nashkel, but Dougie remains uneasy. While the half-orc may indeed have caused the evils that befell the mine, the shortage of iron is too widespread to be his doing alone. His letters confirm Dougie's suspicions, and thought they give little indication as to who and where his cohorts are hiding, they may have links to the bandits that currently plague the Coast Way. Dougie then sees something in the back, behind the throne of Mulahey, a small, tube-like rock, with symbol of the owl at the end. Dougie then turns back to the group, each of them curious, and speaks, "I have no idea where this will lead up, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both
wonderful
andstrange
."The party in shock and awe that Dougie said a coherent sentence, they all leave, dumbfounded. After leaving the mines and crossing the Valley of Tombs, they returned Mulahey's badge to the mayor, then later returned Joseph's greenstone ring, and killed the assassin Nimbul, giving the boots to Dougie. Where will Dougie go, what is the importance of the ring, who is Semaj, whose J and Mr. Strawberry, while the symbol behind the throne, and most importantly why leave Xan? Perhaps we'll never know, but here's what I can say, soon after leaving the mines, another traveler arrives, although he is not as polite. He kills every Amnish Guard and miner, leaving behind only corpses. He arrives at Mulahey's room, knocking over the throne. We then hear a laugh, and then he turns the owl rock upside down, and hold a torch to it. The rock then slides in, revealing what seems to be a corridor. At the end of this corridor we see then see what seems to be Dougie, but he's older, heavier, and has longer hair. The strange Dougie look-alike then speaks, "Huh? Where am I?"
The figure speaks, "Someone, my boy, has manufactured you."
"What?"
"For a purpose, but now that purpose has been fulfilled."
"Umm, okay."
The man begins to laugh. The Dougie look-alike then begins to shrink, and shrink, and forms into floating black-fire, and then, nothing, but a blue rose. The laughing man then leaves.
END OF PART 2
Listen... to these three things. If I tell them to you, and they come true, will you believe me?"
Dougie spoke, "Who are you?"
"Think of me as a friend."
"Where do you come from?"
The giant nods left and right, "The question is, where have you gone? The first thing I will tell you is, there is a man in a smiling bag."
"Man, smiling bag." Dougie repeated.
"The second thing is, the owls are not what they seem. The third thing is, without chemicals... he points."
"What do these things mean?"
"This is all I'm permitted to say."
The dream ends, and Dougie finds himself in his bed, now able to use Cure Light Wounds.
There's your little teaser trailer until tomorrow.
Part 3: May the Giant Be with You
Upon reaching Beregost, Dougie was approached by Elminster. "Well now, our paths cross once more. I suppose proper introductions are in order, as we will no doubt meet again. My name is Elminster. I've heard nothing but tales of thy exploits in the tome we have been apart. It would seem that thou art destined to have quite the impact on the Sword Coast. Quite the burden for one so young."
Dougie spoke, "...burden."
"Thou hast certainly taken it upon thyself to straddle the morality fence, but I cannot truly fault the results. I shall leave the future to thy discretion, and we shall see what happens. I do have one piece of information before I go, though 'tis hardly a surprise I am sure.The bandits that thou dost seek make a habit of traveling in the north-east, what...AHHHHHHHH!"
After a puff of smoke and the sound of electricity, Elminster was gone, no trace of him here. Khalid spoke, "He's gone! Dougie he's gone! Someone find the Flaming Fist, he's...he's..."
Dougie then spoke up, "...Flaming...Fist..."
Then they turned to Dougie, and Dorn asked, "Dougie... what's happening?"
The group then made their way to the Jovial Juggler. Their, they were approached by a woman in armor, "Ah, Douglas Jones, I though it might be you. These southern parts are set quite afire with talk of your work in Nashkel... I am officer Vai of the Flaming Fist and, to be honest, I could use your help."
Dougie replied, "Officer."
"My contingent and I are cut off from Baldur's Gate. We haven't received new orders for close to a week and, to be honest, I don't like the feel of this at all."
During all this, Dougie tries to touch her armor, but Jaheria and Khalid swat his hand away before he does. Vai continues, "The bandit raids have been getting worse since you returned from Nashkel. I used to think that they were just your usual brigands out to make a quick buck in troubled times, but not anymore. They're working for someone... One way or another, I've got to get my troops back to the Gate. I'll pay 50 gold pieces for every bandit scalp you can bring me--and spread the news. I want this whole region cleared before winter comes."
Dougie and crew rest and head outside. They were going to head northeast to find the bandits and maybe see what happened to Elminster, but Dougie looks at Feldpost's Inn. Their, Gorion is in a room with red curtains and a zebra striped floor, waving and Dougie, once again mouthing the words, "Your guide." Although, this time, Gorion only has one arm, the other one just... missing. They go inside the inn and to they second floor where Tranzig, a mage, tries to run by them. But thanks to Dorn's charm (Algernon's Cloak) and wasting all his spells, they kill Tranzig fairly easily and discover the location of the bandit's camp. They then travel to Shipwreck's Coast, where Jaheria and Khalid enter a little chat, "Khalid, my dear, 'twould take a sailor to untie that tongue."
P-please, Jaheria, you needn't be so... so... oh..."
"Beautiful?"
"Ye... no, no, no, no! Stay beautiful. Despite yourself."
Last, they go the mad gnome, agree to get his ring, kill some carrion crawlers, get the ring, give it to him, then kill him for experience. Then the group heads down to the lighthouse area. Then, Dougie sees it, a dead man, stuffed in a cloth bad, the bag, almost...smiling. Dougie then speaks, "Man...smiling bag."
Look alright! I promised myself I get one of the riddles answered today and their isn't exactly a lot of ways to incorporate a man in a smiling bag into Baldur's Gate! So, just... you know... let this one go, give me a break. The other riddles will be answered in a much more interesting way, it's just, you know, I had to get that one out of the way. Elminster though, that was cool...ish. Many next time more thought will go into that, but you'll have to wait. (Dun Dun DUUUN! That was a musical cue, I don't know if that came across right, so...it isn't exactly easy to write sounds you know...)
Edit: Alright, little heads-up. I figured out what was causing the game to crash, remember how a while back in Larswood, when I we got Baeloth, I said I "changed some variables" because the gibberlings were infinity re spawning? Well, I got changed them back and that seemed to work, then that druid at the top of the map, everytime he cast a spell the game crashed, so I had to ctr-Y. Now, for the day or so now, I finally got around to doing everything you can in Spider's Nest, Fisherman's Lake, Valley of the Tombs, High Hedge, and Mutamin's Garden. I also used a potion of invisibility and went through the sirene's cave and got the tome of constitution for Dougie. Then, after a little ankheg grinding, I got Jaheria to a level 5 fighter, and Khalid and Dougie up to level 6. Last, but not least, SCS also has a component where when you go to the Bandit Camp, everyone there goes and attacks you. So, what I did, is that I killed one or two bandits, left the map to Pedvale, rest, and went back. I then repeated that exact process for almost 4 hours now. I did take a break once or twice, and I finished Westworld. So, with all of that mumbo-jumbo out of the way, we continue.
Dorn spoke to him, "Time for what? Explain yourself."
My execution, what do you think? You're not with her, are you, though? No, I'd smell her on you."
"You're right, we're not Tazok's lackeys. What's going on here."
"Apologies, but I wasn't talking about Tazok. There be others who know whom I speak of, such as Mulahey, who went to poison the mines of Nashkel. Set himself up as a kobold god returned and legions of the brainless barking fools believed him, ready to do his bidding till death do they part..."
"Mulahey's dead. He was working for Tazok, I understand. Question is, who's Tazok working for?
"Now you're catching on. But, if you killed Mulahey, then..."
The man now looks at Viconia's ring, the one with the owl symbol. "Oh...oh I see. You must be Douglas Jones then, I presume."
Dougie points at himself and says, "Dougie Jones."
"You see, the leaders of the Blacktalons think Tazok getting orders from the Zhentarim, but I know better. I can tell you dead as leather that the Zhentarim aren't involved."
Viconia asks, "How can you tell?"
"Because, I work for such. The only reason I'm here is because of the Iron Throne."
Dougie asks, "...Iron Throne."
"Aye. I were in the mines of Cloakwood, when I stole some papers. Papers, I think you should see. That's why I'm here."
He hands the papers to Dorn, then the man talks again, "These papers are sent through dimensions at random, do to some funky spellcaster at cloakwood. Usually when they come back, they're just random numbers and letters. But then, a mate of mine saw this."
He points at a line towards the bottom, it reads, "The owls are not what they seem."
Jaheria asks, "Why show this to us?"
"Because of this." He grabs another piece of paper, and shows them another line, "Dougie. Dougie. Dougie."
"Aye, and there's only one Douglas I know of 'round here."
Dorn then asks, "Then answer us, whose Tazok working for, what's that ring, and who's J?"
"Ah...J. Where'd ya hear that?"
Khalid then spoke, "On one of Mulahey's letters"
"Well then, I'll say this, and then we will speak no more. Whatever it is you're looking for, it's down in Cloakwood. The ring, I only know that it used to belong to the Iron Throne. And as for Tazok's employer, I believe it to be BOB."
Dorn, now angry, asks, "Wait a minute! Whose BOB? And whose J?"
"To find Bob, you'd have to find Philip Gerard, the one armed man, and J, well, I once met J up in Waterdeep, told me she'd been to one of their meeting places...I apologies, but I've said too much, adieu."
There's a puff of smoke, and then, nothing. Dougie is sitting on the ground, concerned, and speaks, "...Bob..."
Dorn, still angry, decides to rant, "Damn it! That weasel did nothing but bring up more questions, why, if I ever see that toe-headed cun..."
Khalid then searches the chest, finding one letter of interest, saying that whoever "J" is, him/her/it has sent a mage to collect information in the abandoned Cloakwood mines, hopefully we'll figure out what this is all about. Mulahey and Tazok have proven to be nothing but more than puppets; the true master if this unfolding story continues to elude Dougie. One thing is certain; Someone has taken a very personal interest in seeking Dougie's death, though why, Dougie is not sure.
Dougie and pals make their way back to Beregost, when during a rest, Dougie has a dream.
Dougie is old, much older, sitting on a leather chair wearing a suit. Across from him are two other chairs, a lamp, a marble statue, and the room is surrounded by red curtains, and the floor is zebra striped. Next to the lamp is a little man, shaking. He continues shaking. Then, after the zapping of electricity, a voice speaks up. "Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see. One chance out, between two worlds, Fire Walk With Me."
A man with one arm then appears in what seems to be a green boiler room. "We lived among the people, I think you say... convenience store. We lived above it. I mean it like it is, like it sounds. I to, have been touched by the devilish one. Tattoo, on the left shoulder. Oh, but when I saw the face of god, I was changed. Took the entire arm off. My name is Mike, his name, is BOB."
Now, in a red boiler room, a man in a denim shirt with dirty white hair begins to speak, "Mike? Mike? Can you hear me? Catch you, with my death bag, you may think I've gone insane, but I promise, I will kill again."
Back in the red curtained room, the little man is still shaking, and shaking, and shaking, and then sees Gorion in one of the leather chairs. The little man then turns around, claps, and speaks in the reverse-reverse, "Let's rock!"
He then sits down,a begins to rub his hands together, emitting a strange, loud noise, as if you had tinnitus. Gorion then touches his nose, then sets his hand back down. The little man then speaks, "I've got good news. That gum you like is going to...... come back in style."
Dougie looks at Gorion, and the little man speaks again, "He's my cousin. But doesn't he look almost exactly like Gorion?"
Dougie then says, "But...but it is Gorion."
He looks at Gorion. "Are you Gorion?"
He speaks in the reverse-reverse, "I fell like I know her, but sometimes.."
Gorions looks like he's in excruciating pain. "My arms bend back."
The little man talks, "He's filled with secrets. Where we're from, the birds sing a pretty song, and there's always music in the air."
Jazz music then begins to play, the little man stands up and dances, and flashes of electricity begin. Gorion walks over to Dougie, kisses him on the forehead, and whispers into his ears. Dougie wakes up, waking everyone else up as well, and speaks, "I know who Bob is. I'll tell you in the morning at the Burning Wizard."
Dorn then speaks, "What! Speak, we can't wait till morning!"
Dougie speaks again, "No. It can wait till morning."
Dougie then snaps his fingers in beat to the jazz music from the dream.
End of Part 3
Part 4: Northwest Passage
OH! After half a month of training, thinking, and other excuses, Dougie Jones is back. Now, let me tell you what happened in the last twenty days. Dougie woke up later that night, and as his usual self. No information for Dorn or anyone else. Dougie left the town of Beregost and made his way to the forest of Cloakwood. After killing Tasloi's, they found Gurke's cloak. They went north to find a man in his lodge by the name of Aldeth. Aldeth's lodge was surrounded by sycamores, tens of hundreds of the things, in front of Aldth's laid a small puddle of black ooze, something now-a-days we'd call oil. The stuff was pouring out of the ground, and the scent of scorched oil permeated the area. Aldeth say the adventurers and introduced himself. "Aye their. I am Aldeth, and this is my home. May I ask who you few are, and why your here at my lodge?"
Dougie answered, "Lodge."
Viconia spoke, "We're looking for the mines, male."
Aldeth didn't care, but asked, "I see. Well, how much do you guys like money?"
"...Money..."
"That's right. Tell you what, if you can defend me from these barbaric fools who approach, I'll pay ya', deal?"
After careful consideration, Dougie told him, "...deal."
Soon after, three, what looked to be, Druids came, and said that they will take this land from Aldeth, with or without his cooperation. Jaheria told the group this, "Dougie, in this world you may fearless, but there are others out there. We Har...Druids believe that there is a place called the White Lodge, a place where the spirits that rule man and nature here reside. There is also a place of legend called the Black Lodge, the shadow self of the Black Lodge. Legend says that every spirit must pass through their on the way to perfection. There, you will meet your own shadow self, but it is said that if you enter the lodge with imperfect courage... it will totally annihilate your soul. I believe it would be in all of our best interests to make sure we avoid this lodge at all costs. I trust the druids much more than I trust this Aldeth. But, the choice is yours Dougie."
Dougie, with careful though and contemplation, drew his swords on Aldeth and spoke, "Leave..."
Upon seeing the treachery, Aldeth attack Dougie. Quite easily, Dougie killed Aldeth, and the druids thanked him. They then went through the Spider's Nest, Druid Area, all the way to the foreboding Cloakwood Mines. After using charms, hastes, and invisibility, they killed the guards, took the boots of speed and gave them to Khalid, and entered the mine. After making their way through two levels, they met the dwarf Yeslick, a kind man who wants revenge for this mine enslaving all his people, or something like that. (Quick aside: I removed Viconia for Yeslick simply because I like his fighting abilities more. Then I removed the Gauntlets of Dexterity off Jaheria, gave them to Yeslick, then have Jaheria use the gauntlets if weapon whatevery. I'm not keeping Yeslick, for there is another who'll take over my position as cleric later in the game. I also didn't mention Coran simply because I'm not sure if I'll ever use him or not. ) After falling in-love with the spell Slow, and spending half an hour trying to cross a hallway,
And then I finally did kill them. I left, saved, rested, and
I don't use the word impossible when talking about BGEE because people have beaten BGEE LOB SCS solo and no reloads. But what am I supposed to do against infinite guards? As such, I cheated...and killed them. I will create a back-up save at this point in case it IS possible, but until then, I'm only going to beat "Daevadorn" fair and square, not infinite guards. Unless of course their is supposed to be infinite guards, in which case, that's stupid.
So, I lure out the first group of guards that spawned simply because I believe that to be fair. After killing them I lure out a battle horror, then the other one. The strategy I used to beat all these groups was haste my party, slow the enemy group with Slow, use Ray of Enfeeblement on a battle horror/bandit who was causing to much trouble, and magic missile. I did charm one the the battle horrors and just put him in the corner because I can't rest or else guards magically appear. Then Daevadorn appears and casts stoneskin, then uses mirror image and globe of minor invulnerability, which doesn't matter because Baeloth will use no magic here. Nope, just Poison Weapon on Dorn, and after hitting Daevadorn and interrupting all his spells, he went down.
After killing Daevadorn and stealing his stuff, observant Khalid found a letter of interest. It reads, "Daevadorn,
all is according to plan. Tazok has prevented any iron from entering from Amn or Waterdeep, and the only iron the Sword Coast does have in tainted by Mulahey. However, as you've heard, both the Camp and the Mine have fallen, and we believe whoever caused these is coming after you. Most likely this is an inside job done by the Zhentarim. Our best plan of action is to inform the Iron Throne, and then see if W.E wants a change of plans. Last, we must find Elminster. He has been missing for damn near two years, and he may have knowledge on J."
"God Damn It! Nothing but more questions and no answers!" Roars Dorn.
"Aye, maybe the leader knows something." Chirps Yeslick.
They all turn to Dougie, but all he does is stare at the Wand of Lightning in the corner. All we know is this, Dougie has caused a huge blow to the corporation known as the Iron Throne, a defeat the certainly won't go ignored. Dougie must now travel to the city of Baldur's Gate, and investigate the Iron Throne. Upon flooding the mines, Dougie speaks, "W.E."
Dougie looks at the ring taken from Mulahey and mumbles to himself, "...owls...lodges..."
Dougie goes back into the flooded Cloakwood mine, and swim down to the mechanism, and travels back to Daevadorn's room. Their, he finds an air pocket, and then looks in the sunken room. Under the thick, dirty water, Dougie finds what seems to be a latch, after attempting to pull the latch, Dougie breaks the latch to find another room. The room, now quickly filling up with water, has thousands of papers in it, and, more importantly, a small hole at the end of the room. Dougie puts his ear the hole and hears the soft sound of music filling up the air. He attempts to look in the whole, water almost to the top, and just before Dougie leaves to get air, he sees that inside there was a room, a room with two couches, some sort of mechanical light, a green, Formica table, and on the table was a sign that says, "Out, be back in 5." another that says, "Meetings, every Sunday," and on top of both signs laid nothing more...than... a strawberry.
End of Part 4
A shorter chapter than the others, but hey, can't complain. For the say of your guys' curiosity, I'm going to show you the gear I have so you understand by play-style and all that juicy stuff. While I do that, I have to say that I got Quayle in my party, but more on that later. For now, what did you think? I decided to bring back the character of Mr.Strawberry from Part 2 because of how much I love the name. That, and with all these questions about W.E, BOB, the apparently missing for 2 years Elminster, Lodges, Owls, J, and the Blue Rose, the least I could do is tell you where the papers from Part 3 come from and where Mr. Strawberry is.Anyway, here's the gear:
Dorn
Khalid:
Jaheira:
Dougie Jones:
Quayle:
Baeloth:
Part 5:Gotta' Light
After making their way out of the treacherous Cloakwood Mines and learning that The Iron Throne has a key part in the Sword Coast economic failure. Upon reaching the bridge to Baldur's Gate, they were approached by Scar, a Flaming Fist officer. "First off, let me introduce myself. I'm Scar, second-in-command of the Flaming Fist. Though it is not necessary for you to reveal your names, please answer me this: Are you the group that was involved in the trouble at the Nashkel mines?"
Dorn answered, "Yes, that was us."
Well, I have to say you've made quite the commotion up here in Baldur's Gate. I can't really put my finger on a single source, but there have been many strange happenings going on within the city. Wait a minute..."
Scar walks up to Dougie, "C...Cooper? Is that you? Where have you been?"
Khalid speaks up, "That's not any C-Cooper, that's D-D-Dougie Jones."
Scar backs away, "Oh, I apologize. You reminded me of someone I knew. Regardless, I need outsiders to do some investigations, people with no connections to anyone within the city. Would you be interested in working for me in such a capacity?"
Dorn again answers, "If it pays well, sure."
"I need you to begin an investigation of the Seven Suns trading coster. The Seven Suns leadership has been acting strangely of late. They've been selling off valuable assets and neglecting many of their more profitable trading ventures. Considering the importance that the trading coster holds over the economy of the city, the Grand Dukes are noticeably upset. I've gone to talk to the coster's head, Jhasso. He rudely rebuffed me, telling me to mind my own business. I've known Jhasso for many years, and this isn't his usual behavior. I can't start up an official investigation, as there is no real reason for doing so. That's why I need you."
Before Scar leaves, Jaheira asks, "Excuse me, sir, exactly who is "Cooper?"
"Cooper? That would be Flaming Fist Agent Dale Cooper, who went missing, oh, I don't know, 40 years ago."
Khalid asks, half jokingly, "How old does that make you?"
"That makes me 67 years old, I may be old, but I could still end you in a heart beat. Yeah, well, that's really it. He pursued the man who killed his wife, he followed him somewhere in the woods, and never came out. Some say he died, but Cooper always had something under his sleeve, I think he's still out there."
Now intrigued, Dorn asks, "Who killed his wife?"
"Unknown, pal. Unknown."
Scar leaves, and the party goes on to the city of Baldur's Gate. Upon reaching dry land, they meet a gnome by the name of Quayle. The gnome asks the group, "Hey ho there, fellow travelers! You look to be wanderers of the adventuring sort. Tell me, what direction calls you?"
Dougie looks to his left and sees Gorion, still human but whose arms are branches, and while swaying in the wind, speaks, "Your... ... gu...ide."
Dougie then points east at the Gorion ghost, and Quayle speaks, "It is the same for me! Surely this lends us a familial bond of sorts. The smart move would be to travel as one, especially with the number of bandits in the area. You probably need the counterbalance of my intelligence as well."
Dorn answers, "I suppose you could join us, just don't call me Shirley."
"Well, I suppose I'll be on my way you idi- You said YES! I mean, of course I'll come with you. My intellect and skill as a cleric will undoubtedly make your group much better than it is. Onward."
Upon entering the city of Baldur's Gate, Dougie whispers to Khalid, "Khalid...it's 10:10 and 430 days of traveling without Gorion."
Khalid begins to look up at the sun, then back at Dougie. Dougie reminds Khalid, "I was worried about today because of the dream I told you about."
Khalid nods. Dougie then asks Baeloth to cast Dimension Door on the ground, Baeloth does this, and nothing happens. Dougie asks again, and once again, nothing happens. Dougie now asks if Quayle could cast Detect Illusion while Baeloth casts. They cast their spells at the same time, but this time... nothing happens. Distraught, Dougie walks away from the group towards the fountain in the center. Dougie looks behind him and sees himself, still standing in the same position, drinking some coffee he had gotten while traveling up here. Then, Dougie sees Elminster walk out of a house and speed-walking toward Jaheira. The Dougie clone disappears, and Dougie runs back to the group yelling, "Khalid! JAHEIRA!"
Jaheira asks, "Elminster? Is that you?"
Dougie asks, "Elminster?"
Jaheira tells him, "Dougie, meet Elminster, you of heard of him from Candlekeep."
Dougie speaks, "I know, we've met before."
Elminster speaks, "Well now, I'm not gonna talk about Judy, in fact we're not going to talk about Judy at all, we're going to keep her out of this."
Dougie, worried, looks at Jaheira, "Jaheria?"
"I know Dougie."
The sky turns black, and the clouds disappear, Elminster points at Dougie, "Who do you think this is there?"
Khalid walks up to Elminster, "Suffered a f-few bumps in the head, eh El?"
Jaheira asks, "What was that Khalid? That's Gorion's ward Dougie Jones."
Elminster walks up to Jaheira, and she asks, "Where they hell have you been Elminster, you've been gone damn near two years?"
"I sure as hell want to tell you everything, but, but I ain't got a lot to go on. But I will tell you one, itty-bitty thing. Judy is positive about this..."
Khalid chimes in, "How interesting. I Th-thought we were going to leave J-Judy out thi-"
Jaheira warns him, "Khalid!"
Elminster now talks, "Listen Khalid, listen carefully, I been to one of their meetin's, it was a above a smithy."
Elminster points up when he says this. Khalid asks, "Whose meetings? Where've you b-b-been?"
"It was a dream. We live...inside a dream."
Elminster says this while putting his hand on Khalid's heart. Khalid speaks, "And i-it's raining ale and w-women from the sk-ky."
"Hell god baby damn no! I found something! At Waterdeep, at Judy's. Then, there they were, they sat quietly for hours. Oh believe me, I followed...uhhhmmm..."
Elminster begins groaning and rests his head upon the ground. "Ohhhhhhh....mmmmm....ohhh...ring...ring..."
Jaheira speaks, "Khalid, I'll take that second bottle of spring water. Elminster, let's calm down here and let's get all this interesting story on paper."
Khalid rummages through his bag and Jaheira looks for paper. As she looks around, there is no one in the area. She screams, "Hello? Hello? Hello? Give me some good news. Dougie, there's no one here. Can anybody here me?"
Dougie walks away, and as Jaheira turns to see where Dougie's gone, Elminster has seemingly disappeared. "He's gone! He's gone! Khalid, find the Flaming Fist."
The skies returns to normal and people and officers alike roam the city. Khalid and Dougie run back to Jaheira and the group, "We talked to the Flaming Fist, he was never here. And new from Beregost, Officer Vai has disappeared."
Quayle asks, "Dougie, what's going on here?"
Dougie speaks, "He was here..."
So now, Khalid can finally tank like a true fighter.
And Jaheria has a decent Thaco and does actual damage now...hurray.
Dougie thinks for a moment, "Tutors...were...fine...how was...work?"
"Work...work was good." Gorion said these words while eating what seemed to be a slice of pie.
"Gorion?"
"Yes Dougie?"
"What is it exactly that you do?"
"Well...that's classified."
Gorion said those words just after a drink of coffee. Dougie spoke again, "Oh..."
"Dougie, would you... care for a slice of pie? The huckleberries are particularly delicious today. Particularly fresh... and delicious."
"No thanks."
They stared at the table for a few moments in awkward silence. "Dougie, may I share something with you?"
"Okay."
"A vision I had in my sleep last night. As distinguished from a dream, which is the mere sorting and cataloging of the days events by the subconscious. This was a vision, fresh and clear as a mountain stream. The mind...revealing itself to itself. In my vision, I was on the veranda of a... a vast estate, a beautiful palazzo of some fantastic proportion. Their seemed to emanate from it a... a light from within, in this... gleaming... radiant marble. I had known this place, I, in fact, had been born and raised there. This was my first return... ... a reunion with... the deepest wellsprings of my being. ...Wandering about, I saw happily that the house had been immaculately maintained, and there had been added a... a number of additional rooms, but, in a way that blended in so seamlessly with the original construction, that one would never detect any difference. Returning to the houses grand foyer, there came a knock at the door... ... ... my son was standing there, he was happy and... carefree...clearly living a life of...deep harmony and joy. We embraced, a warm and... loving embrace, nothing was withheld. We were, in this moment, one... ... ... ... My vision ended and I awoke with... a tremendous feeling of optimism and confidence, about you and your future. That was my vision, of you..."
Dougie was smiling, ready to cry, "Really?"
"I'm so glad to... of had this conversation and to... share this with you."
Gorion stood up, and shook Dougie's hand, "I wish nothing but the very best, in all things."
"Thank you... ... Dad."
"I'll see you late."
"Okay..."
Dougie awoke, back to being his usual self, while the other members of his company still laid asleep. He began to smile, then went back to sleep.
"...come with me..."
"Just follow me, I'll take you to the Flaming Fist compound. The Grand Duke is waiting for us."
The enter a small room on the second level of The Flaming Fist, the walls are lined with shoes.
"Let me introduce you to Grand Duke Eltan, one of the lords of the city, commander of the Flaming Fist, and member of the Lord's Alliance."
"I am glad to see that you have come. I know that such a meeting is unusual, but in these circumstances it is necessary. I would first ask what involvement you have had with the merchant society known as teh Iron Throne?"
"...Iron Throne..."
Duke Eltan goes on to say that he believes that the Iron Throne is behind the iron shortage both here and against the Zhentarim, and believes only Dougie can stop it. Afterwards, Dougie meets good-ol' Marek, and after deceiving some Umberlee priestesses, killing Marek's geas buddy for an extra pair of boots of speed for Dougie, and then killing Marek himself, Khalid, Dougie, Baeloth, and Jaheria all leveled up to level 7. After that, I do every side-quest in Baldur's Gate except for the Cloak of Balduran.
Dougie then made his way to the top floor of the Iron Throne, and there, he saw a group of mercenaries, along with Emissary Tar. The leader raised his hand, pointed at Dougie Jones, and spoke, "Blue Rose."
Another spoke, "Doesn't get any bluer."
After killing everyone there, and discovering the body of the real Emissary Tar, they found letters that indicate the leaders of the Iron Throne are in Candlekeep. Another letter was also in the back, this one about how The Harpers and Zhentarim may be behind the attacks at Cloakwood and Nashkel. One last letter was here, one of unknown origin, the paper was red, and the writer only credited themselves as W.E, they wrote this, "Dear Grand Duke,
These... these evil sorcerers, Roses, they're called, they cultivate evil, around evil, for thee... the sake of evil, nothing else. The express themselves in darkness, in darkness without a leveling motive. This ardent purity allows them to access a secret place, where the cultivation of evil proceeds in exponential fashion, and with it the furtherance of evil's resulting power. This place of power is magical, and as such it can be found, entered, and utilized in some way or fashion. The Roses have many names for it, but chief among them is, the, uh, is the Black Lodge. You don't believe me do you, you think I'm mad... overworked..."
The paper is ripped there. Now, the group has a goal they can work towards, Get to Candlekeep, stop the Iron Throne, and stop this W.E from entering the Black Lodge. Dorn speaks, "Finally! Answers! Took us damn near long enough!"
Jaheria also speaks, "Dougie, Khaild and I know of the place this W.E is going, please Dougie, you must stop him."
Dougie speaks, "Stop him."
The group quickly heads to Beregost, to see what happened to Officer Vai, the Flaming Fist in the area said they headed of the Firewine to check up on a missing persons case, upon reaching the area, she left to investigate the entrance to the ruins, she never came back. The group heads to the Ruins, only to find Kobolds and rocks, no officer. However, Quayle sees something across the valley, they heads to the ridge south of Gullykin, written in red on the ridge are giant letters that spell out the phrase, "Let's Rock."
They head back to Duke Eltan, who tells them that they must travel to the Great Library of Candlekeep.
Dougie's journey has come full circle. While it is troubling that such evil men now make use of the great library, and he wishes the circumstances of your visit would be different, it will still be a pleasure to return to Dougie's former home.
In Firewine Ruins, a single egg lays in a field. Out of it, a creature crawls out.
After climbing out, a bearded man walks into the Flaming Fist Head Quarters, he walks up to Furgus and asks, "Gotta Light?" He crushes Furgus' skull in. He walks to the roof, where Scar is looking upon the people, the man walks up to Scar, "Gotta Light?" He puts his hand on Scar's skull, not crushing it, put enough pressure to cause Scar to kneel in pain. The Bearded Man speaks for all to hear, "This is the Water. And this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and the Dark within. This is the Water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and the Dark within. This is the Water, and this is the well. Drink full, and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes, and the Dark within."
Afterwards, every citizen in the South West quadrant falls down, never to get back up. It would later be remembered as The Massacre at Fist. Scar, still somehow alive, gets his skull crushed in seconds later by the bearded man. The bearded man, walks of the building, only to turn into thin air. Duke Eltan also remains alive, bleeding however, with his left arm completely severed off, and the creature from the Ruins crawls into his mouth, down into his stomach.
End of Part 5
Part 6: There's Some Fear in Letting Go
Upon entering the Great Library, Dougie is warned by Karan that a stranger by the name of Earle has been asking questions about Dougie. Upon reaching the second floor, Earle greets us, "Ah, I thought I might find you somewhere around here. Allow me to introduce myself..."
Dougie remains silent, staring directly into Earle's eyes. "My name is Earle. I used to work for your father, running messages to his Harper friends in Waterdeep. Before he passed on, he entrusted this ring to me and asked that I give it to you should evil ever befall him... let me ask, Do you remember me?"
Jaheria speaks up, "What evil befell him, Earle?"
"Dougie was there. He saw it all. A woman, an armored figure, two ogres wielding clubs, and two archers. But Gorion's petty magic was of little use against them, was it not? And you," Now looking at Dougie you fled with your tail between you legs, hiding amidst the trees until dawn broke. And now it comes full circle, doesn't it? The iron Throne so close that you can almost touch them wreak your revenge for that night."
Dorn asks, "You're right, Earle, he was there. Where were you, if you know so much?"
"If you be so void of trust, I am suprised you have made it this far. It is of little matter. Go seeks your vengeance or your doom at the hand of the Iron Throne. I wash my hands of it."
Upstairs, Dougie encountered the leaders if The Iron Throne. And let me tell you, that's a tough fight. Three uses of the Wand of Summoning later and I finally defeated them. Now that our job is over, we can leave, but before we do, the Gatewarden tells us that we are being charged with murder. Now in jail, Ulraunt tells us that Earle saw us leave the scene of the crime, and that we are assassins from Amn sent to blame this all on The Iron Throne. Finally, Tethtoril enters, "Hello young one, I am sorry to see thee in such terrible circumstances. Make thy way through the catacombs beneath the library, disturb them not. I have your possessions with me, you must take them and go with haste. It is now time for you to go Dougie Jones. I can teleport you to the secret room that leads to the catacombs, but from there you are on your own. You must be careful within the catacombs, as there are many guardians and traps, and perhaps whoever planned these murders. However, I will report the following information to Gordon Cole, a member of the Blue Rose. Take this paper, for it explains all you need. Trust me, child, this is the only way."
Upon hearing the name Gordon Cole, Dougie freezes, and is then teleported to the catacombs. He reads the letter Tethroril gave him. "Hello, Dougie Jones,
If you are reading this, it means I have met an untimely death. I would tell you not to grieve for me, but I feel much better thinking that you would. There are things I must tell you in this letter that I might have told your before. However, if my death came too soon, then I would have never been given the chance. First off, I am not your biological father, for that distinction lies with an entity known as Bhaal. He was somehow forewarned of the death that awaited him during this time. For reasons unknown to me, he sought out women of every race and forced himself upon them. Your mother was one of those women, she was part of a cult known only as, The Roses. The progeny of Bhaal were given a code name from us Harpers, Blue Rose. The leader of this Blue Rose task force was a Bhaal-spawn named Gordon Cole, the chief of the Flaming Fist. Among the group was Officer Vai, Elminster, Albert Rosenfield, and you. I apologize, but in order to protect you from a man who calls himself Windom Earle, I removed your previous memories. Your real name, my son, is Dale Cooper.
-Gorion"
Upon reading this, Dougie crawled to one of the book cases and pulled out a book, a lightning bolt flew across the room, directly hitting Dougie. Upon waking up from the blast, Dougie saw the ghost of Gorion again, know almost an entire tree, with the only thing left being Gorion's face. Gorion began to speaks, "You... are awake."
Dougie spoke, "One-hundred percent."
Gorion spoke again, "Finally... the other spawn, he hasn't... come back in. He's still out. Take this."
He summons another Owl Ring into Dougie's hand.
Dougie asks, "Do you have the seed? Do you have the seed?"
Gorion shows him The Blue Rose.
Dougie pulls a piece of hair out and gives it to Gorion, "I need you to make another one. For later."
"I understand."
Gorion takes the piece of hair, then disappears.
Everyone in Dougie's party looks in shock.
"Dorn, give me some sandwiches, I'm starving. Jaheira, my swords. Quayle, keep this ring safe."
Baeloth speaks, "You sure came through that pretty strong. You do remember that the Flaming Fist are after us right?"
Dougie puts on The boots of speed, a golden girdle, grabs Drizzt's scimitars and a katana.
"Quayle, see if you can dimension door to the Friendly Arm Inn."
"I'm sorry, I can only dimension door small things, like paper or weapons."
"Alright, send this note to Bentley Mirrorshade, it tells him that Neera needs to meet us outside Candlekeep."
"Sure thing. Let me just..."
Quayle teleports the note away.
Back at the Friendly Arm, a note bursts out of thin air. Bentley grabs it, "What the?!"
He reads it, then hands in to Neera, who also then reads it. She turns to Bentley, "Bentley, suit up the horses, I'm headed to Candlekeep."
Bentley opens the stable doors, "Let's go for a horse ride! What do you think Dougie's up to now?"
Neera shrugs.
"Let's go!"
In the catacombs again, Dougie/Cooper now ready to leave, is interupted by Baeloth. "Dougie! What about the Flaming Fist?"
Dougie turns to Baeloth, and gives him a thumbs up, "I am the Flaming Fist."
Gorion stands there, no talking. And then... Cooper wakes up from a nap, now able to use Draw Upon Holy Might, and then goes back to sleep.
"Cooper will be fine Dorn."
Jaheira asked, "So, uh, was Dougie even real?"
"He was real as you or me, I simply asked Gorion to remove most of my memories in case Windom ever caught me. I thank all of you for helping me, I will not soon forget your kindness and decency."
Khalid now asked, "S-so what do you know of all of th-th-this? Someone must of hurt you very badly if you needed to erase your memories"
"No, someone was hurt by me... I'll never let that happen again."
Baeloth spoke," What, your girlfriend die or something?"
"As a matter of fact she did. Want to know how? Back when I was a part of The Blue Rose Task Force, there was a material witness to a federal crime, and we were supposed to protect her, 24 hours, every day and night. Windom Earle, was this mans name, taught me everything I know about being a Flaming Fist Agent, and when the attempt on this woman's life was finally made, I wasn't ready, because I loved her. She died in my arms, I almost died, bleeding in a forest, and my partner lost his mind."
Baeloth spoke, "...Oh..."
Neera rode up to Cooper, "Have you finally decided you need my help?"
Cooper snapped his fingers and pointed at Neera, "Neera! I hope you're ready, we need you to take us somewhere only you know about."
"Where's that?"
"Adoy's Enclave."
I get rid Quayle, complete her quest, yadda yadda. On the way back from Adoy's, Cooper tries to cheer Neera up, "Hey, I'll know what'll cheer you up."
"What?"
"A joke."
"No."
"Two penguins are on an iceberg..."
"Oh no..."
"Two penguins are on an iceberg, one says, 'You look like you're wearing a tuxedo.' The other one says, 'Maybe I am."
They both lightly chuckle. Long-story short, slowly but surely Cooper falls in love with Neera and vice versa, they kiss, go on a boat ride, look I'm not an author, I can't write that well. Anyway, Coop tells Neera to stay at the Friendly Arm Inn until he returns, she agrees, and we get Quayle and head back to BG. We talk to Husam, promise Tamoko we won't kill Windom Earle, and we go through the sewers into the Iron Throne. Here's my Iron Throne experience in a nutshell,
If you can't tell, I'm fighting a golem, because now, instead of ogre berserkers, she summons golems, Thanks Sword Coast Stratagems! Later, we get arrested by Angelo, and tell Neb to let us out. Upon escaping, we cast haste, drink a potion of invisibility, and make our way to Duke Eltan. After rescuing him from a Doppleganger, we head to The Harbor Masters. "Ah, Duke Eltan, give him here, I'll give him the medicine and keep him safe."
Duke Eltan, with one arm still severed off, bleeding severely lies on the Harbor Master floor. Cooper speaks, "No! Wait! Don't give him that medicine!"
"I have too! He'll die without it!"
Duke Eltan begins convulsing on the floor, entering some sort of seizure. Cooper whispers, "The man with one arm."
Cooper speaks loudly now, "Wait, Wait for it!"
The harbor master begins to give Duke Eltan the medicine, but Cooper holds them back. Dorn shouts, "Cooper are you crazy?!"
Dorn and everyone else begin to pry Cooper away, Duke Eltan begins foaming at the mouth and then...
he gets up. He has stopped convulsing, stopped foaming, stopped bleeding. He deeply exhales, and then, "There is no need for medicine, I am not in pain."
Cooper leans forward, "Without chemicals, he points... who are you?"
"My name... is Mike."
"What are you?"
"I am an inhabiting spirit."
"Who is Duke Eltan?"
"He is host to me."
"You spoke to me in my dream, about Bob."
"Mmm... he was my... familiar."
"Where does Bob come from?"
"That... can not be revealed."
"What does Bob want?"
"Mm... he is Bob, eager for fun. He wears a smile... everybody run... Do you understand a parasite? It attaches itself to a life form and feeds, Bob requires a human host, he feeds on fear, and the pleasures. They are his children. I am... similar to Bob... we once were partners."
Cooper and The One Armed Man begin to talk in unison, "Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see. One chance out, between two worlds, Fire Walk With Me."
Mike speaks, "But then, I saw the face of God, and was purified. I took off the arm, but remained... close to this vessel, inhabiting from time to time for one single purpose."
Cooper shows him a crude drawing of Bob from his dream and asks, "To find Bob?"
Mike yells, "To stop him!"
He points at the drawing, "This is his true face, but few can see it. The gifted... and the damned."
"Is Bob near us now?"
"For nearly forty years."
"Where?"
"A Lodge house made of brick, surrounded by people. The house is filled with many people, each alike, but occupied by different souls. Time after time."
"The Ducal Palace."
Mike and the Harbor Master leave, and Dale feels in his hand a third and final Owl ring. Dorn speaks, "Yes! Finally! Answers!"
Cooper speaks, "Dorn, Jaheria, Khalid, Quayle, Baeloth, I've brought some baggage to town I'm not proud of. Windom Earle was my first partner. Everything I know about the law and The Flaming Fist I owe to him. Forty years ago I was on the task of protecting a material witness as you all well know. She was a beautiful, very gentle woman, her name was Caroline, she and I fell in love. One night I failed in my vigilance, an attack was made, I wasn't ready, I was wounded and lost consciousness. When I awoke I was somewhere in Cloakwood, and Caroline was on my lap...dead. The killer was never found, I removed my memory, Windom Earle went mad, working for The Iron Throne until now."
Khalid asked, "So why is he after you?"
"Khalid, Caroline was Windom Earle's wife."
"So, he blames you for her death?"
"It's much worse than that, I think he killed her, tried to kill me, killed Gorion, and I think he committed the crime she originally witnessed. Khalid, Windom Earle's mind is like a diamond, it's cold, and hard, and brilliant. I think he faked the insanity that kicked him out of the Flaming Fist, but at some point he lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong. You don't know what he's capable of Khalid. You don't know...
End of Part 6