BBG: Chapter 38

Lower Chionthar was a small fishing village on the River Chionthar, a great artery of water and trade that ran through the Western Heartlands, winding its way from its source in the Far Hills in the east of Sunset Vale before flowing into the Trackless Sea near Baldur's Gate. The unimaginatively-named Lower Chionthar was a small fishing village on the South Bank of the River Chionthar, just a few short hours to the southwest of Wyrm's Crossing, the long bridge over the River Chionthar that led to the City of Baldur's Gate Proper. The Village contained a small dock with a number of fishing boats tied up at the dock, a farm to the south that wasn't yet infested with Ankhegs but would be in a week or so, and a few small buildings, mostly homes, along with a small, one-storey, one-room tavern called the Drunken Silverling.

As I stepped off the Speedy Drake onto the Dock of Lower Chionthar, the late afternoon sun beginning to slide toward sunset, I nodded back at Cap'n Bernardo. Cap'n Bernardo nodded back at me, lighting up a white Meerschaum Pipe carved with a wave and seashell motif as he did so. He took a puff of imported Maztican Tobacco and blew out a plume of smoke from his lips like a dragon breathing flames as he tossed off a jaunty wave at me. I returned that wave with one hand, even as I tucked my Sea Chest under the other arm.

"Good Luck with your business, Lad." Nodded Cap'n Bernardo.

"You as well, Cap'n. Smooth Sailing." I returned.

"Aye, it's appreciated. Word of warning, there's a Bandit and Gnoll problem, and some business involving Iron Ore turning out poorly out here. Watch yourself, could be a whole mess of trouble you're walking into." Warned Cap'n Bernardo.

"I'll be careful. Thanks." I affirmed.

Then, with that done, I headed toward the Drunken Silverling to get the lay of the land. Inside, a few fishermen, having already brought their catches in for the day, were sitting at the bar, eyeing me as I walked in, as a fat man wiped out a horn mug with a linen bar towel from behind the bar. I couldn't really blame them, of course. It wasn't every day a no-name fishing village like this got any visitors who were equipped and armed like I was. A redheaded Fisherman in a blue tunic scowled at me as I entered and spat on the rush-covered floor. I frowned at that and stared down the Blue-Dressed Fisherman. Unfortunately for him, he seemed not to have the nerve to handle that, as he looked away first.

"Don't mind Sonner, he's a bit antsy about wanderers these days. Not since that Priest of Talos came to town a week and a half or so back and Miss Tara wound up dead." Offered a Blonde Man wearing a black and red tunic.

"That's his problem? He thinks I'm a priest of Talos?" I questioned.

"No, Stranger. It's the fancy outfit. That Priest wore a suit of magic armor when he showed up, too." Responded the Blonde Man.

"Aye, he promised we'd have the storm God's Favor, but it ain't rained for going on eight days and we're starting to get worried." Scowled the Redhead, Sonner.

"Have droughts been a problem locally, then?" I queried.

"Not usually. The River tends to provide a certain level of water, but it has been unreasonably warm lately on top of a lack of rain. I've had to pay to cart in water from the river for my crops. That's an expensive proposition." Sighed the Blonde Man.

"Are, and Poor Brun has another mouth to feed besides him." Added Sonner.

"Don't you worry, Ben and I have enough coin set by to ride this out, never fear." Scoffed the Blonde Man, Brun.

That would make Ben his son, who was scheduled to be attacked by Ankhegs in a week or so. Sonner was also the person who led the Fishermen of Lower Chionthar to attack and kill Tenya's Mother, Kenya, being the Twelve-Year-Old Priestess of Umberlee, at the instigation of a Wandering Priest of Talos. If I had to guess, then Tara would have been Tenya's mother's name, which meant that Sonner wasn't mad because of outsiders, but he was mad about killing Tenya's Mother while the Priest of Talos seemingly didn't hold up his end of the bargain. I'd be pissed too in that situation. Of course, I wouldn't have killed the Woman to begin with. Not only the say-so of a random wandering Priest of Talos, at any rate. Still, my first priority couldn't be sorting out Lower Chionthar. It had to be hooking up with Mei, the Bhaalspawn. I couldn't get bogged down here.

"Well, I'm sorry for your troubles. If you need, I can offer a bit of cash?" I asked.

"No, thank you. It's generous, but Ben and I can manage a little drought." Refused Brun.

And like that, I had depleted my options. I couldn't very well stay to help sort things out. I was on a time limit after all. I offered Danter, but it was refused. That was the end of that story. At least for now, anyway. Instead, I bellied up to the Bar and bought a Horn Mug of Baldur's Gate Pale Ale, before buying a round for the house. That seemed to turn the mood a bit, and after buying another round, the rumors began to flow as easily and as readily as the drinks. It seemed that while Sonner and his friends were taciturn and surly before, a few rounds had them fairly obliging with information, though it had been helped along a bit by my diplomatic skills. Brun was always that obliging from the start, but I still included the farmer in the rounds.

It seemed that the Bandit and Gnoll Problems were both very bad, with the Bandit problem only being a touch worse than the first time around. The Gnoll Problem, however, was a lot worse. Bad enough that there was a bounty on Gnolls from the flaming fist the same way there was a bounty on Bandits. Apparently, the Gnolls had been hitting caravans heading to and from Nashkel and had even razed a few villages in the foothills of the Cloudpeak Mountains, at least one of which had been repurposed by a group of goblins the Gnolls had pushed out of the Cloudpeaks. The Flaming Fist was offering a bounty of Thirty Danter per dead Gnoll, though you had to bring an ear for proof, similar to the bounty on Bandits. Beyond that, the locals knew nothing more about the Iron Crisis that I didn't already know.

By the time I was ready to leave Lower Chionthar, the Sun had fully set, and night had fallen across the Western Heartlands. I made my way out of Town South for the Friendly Arm Inn. Traveling at night while alone, however, proved to be a mistake. Around three and a half hours into my journey, just before I managed to reach the Friendly Arm Inn, I was waylaid. I didn't see them at first. Instead, I was attacked from the shadows. It began with a beam of red, crackling energy firing at me from out of the shadows. Somehow, I had missed the man who fired it hiding in a copse of trees. I couldn't miss the beam, nor fail to identify it as I tried to dodge. A spell of Enervation. Unfortunately, I failed to dodge and suddenly found myself down four levels as my assailant emerged from the copse of trees.

The Man who emerged was large and built like an MMA Fighter from back on Earth. He wore dark razored armor with a spiky helm. As he put his hand down after firing the spell, he drew a two-handed Greatsword and grinned behind the open, fanged face of his helmet. Looking around, I found he wasn't alone. Instead, he was accompanied by a Kara-Turan Woman in Black Leathers with a Katana and an Auburn-Haired Man in a Red and Yellow-colored Robe. As I looked behind me, I saw an Ogre in Plate Armor with a Horned Helmet move to cut off my route of escape. This, then, was Sarevok Anchev, Tomoko, Semaj, and Tazok, the masterminds behind the Iron Throne and the current issues in the lands around Baldur's Gate. Unfortunately, as I had been hit with the full brunt of Sarevok's Enervation Spell, and thus was currently Level Six instead of Level Ten, where I belonged, I was looking at a bad time.

"So, you are Robar the Red? The Northman who recently defeated the Umberlant assault on the Jannath's Tears Archipelago?" Questioned Sarevok.

"He doesn't look like much, does he?" Queried Tamoko.

"No, my love, he does not." Sneered Sarevok.

"I will crush him and take his fancy weapons!" Boasted Tazok.

"Be warned, he has the Favor of other Powers. Tymora, plus at least two more." Cautioned Semaj.

"The Goddess of Luck favors him, eh?" Rumbled Sarevok. It took me a minute to realize the rumbling was laughing instead of growling.

"Perhaps he'll even survive what we're about to do to him?" Wondered Tamoko.

"It is possible. You never can tell with Tymora." Insisted Semaj.

"Enough talk, let us finish this!" Scowled Tazok.

"Indeed, we have other matters to attend to." Nodded Sarevok.

"Apologies, but we cannot allow such a potent Wild Card to remain in play." Offered Tamoko.

"Come get some!" I challenged, though I wasn't nearly as confident as I made it sound.

I sang out as I reached into my bag of holding and pulled out a trio of Danter, allowing my spellsinging abilities to allow me to cast a spell to infuse them with power to try and fire at Sarevok's Group. My only hope here was to hit them hard and fast before fleeing through the woods, after all. As I sang out, I dredged up mystic power from my core. Thanks to being hit with the level drain of Enervation, though, there was unfortunately a lot less of it than usual. My access to Second Circle Magic was cut off. Thankfully, the spell I was currently casting with spell singing was a first circle one.

"Money, it's a crime. Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie. Money, so it's said. It's the root of all evil today. But if you ask for a rise. It's no surprise that they're giving none away!" I sang out, infusing my song with the mystical energy to cast a spell of Coinshot.

With that, I flung the handful of Danter at the least likely opponent to avoid them, hitting Sarevok and blundgeoning and piercing him, making him miss his second spell of Enervation. I charged forward, cutting out with Discordant Note, the weapon screaming into Sarevok's front leg between the plates of his cuisse and greave and slicing into the tendons in the side of his knee in a blow that brought Sarevok down to one leg. I snapped off a textbook Swordplay Deflection Parry as Tomoko came in with her Katana, but her follow-on strike with the pommel of her blade smashed into my chin even as she slammed a sudden blow into my torso with an off-hand mace. Her barrage of hits hurt me bad and sent me stumbling, but I still managed to tuck myself into a roll to avoid the lightning bolt that Semaj sent my way.

Unfortunately, when I stood up, I was smashed into by Tazok, the large Ogre bull rushing me into, and through, a tree. With my reduced levels, I was already close to death. As Tazok stood over me, grandstanding, I realized I would have to stick him and run, possibly even through the copse of trees. I lashed out with Discordant Note as the arrogant Ogre stood over me, sneering and jeering at me, the blade howling into his leg. Tazok howled in pain as Discordant Note sliced through his femoral artery in a spray of dark, thick, ogre blood. He dropped his blade in favor of clamping down on his leg to avoid bleeding out. Meanwhile, I was able to kip up to my feet and begin to make space between the Ogre and myself. I began to run for the trees, dodging the thrown, poisoned knives from Tomoko that came whistling through the air at me. They thudded into the trunk of an Oak Tree instead of my back.

Unfortunately, Sarevok chose that moment to get his second wind, or maybe he healed himself using Bhaalspawn powers. As soon as Tomoko missed her thrown attack, Sarevok flung a second, crackling, red beam at me. The third Enervation Spell slammed into my back and robbed four more levels from me and sent me to my knees, barely alive, just inches away from the treeline. Sarevok snarled as he stalked forward, blade out and ready to strike me down as I huffed and puffed, there on my hands and knees. With a snarl, he hefted his Two-Handed Greatsword, the Iconic Blade of Chaos, above his head. I looked over at him, even on my hands and knees. I could see Tomoko and Semaj behind him, though Tazok was on the ground, a slowly spreading pool of blood underneath him soaking into the dirt track that served as a road.

"At. . .least. . .I got. . .one of you." I huffed.

"We will just raise Tazok from the dead later. I will admit, though, you almost managed to escape." Snarled Sarevok.

"Do it, My Love. Finish this business." Intoned Tomoko.

"Indeed, we are expected in Candlekeep soon in our other guises." Intoned Semaj.

"Any last words?" Questioned Sarevok.

"Fuck Bhaal." I spat from my knees.

Then the Blade of Chaos came down and cleaved into me, and I fell to the dirt as Darkness took me. . .

XXXX

I found myself in Tymora's Casino once again, the Goddess of Luck gazing at me from a craps table. She had a pair of dice in her hand as she shook her head at me, rattling the dice around in her palm. I frowned as I sat up from the floor near where I had been sitting and made my way over toward the table where she was. I nodded at the Dice that Tymora was rolling around in her hand and asked her a pair of questions

"Am I dead? And what's with the dice?" I queried.

"Fortunately, you're not dead. You just about managed to cling to life, though you weren't exactly doing well before you stabilized. Sarevok may be further advanced as a Bhaalspawn than we had thought to be able to cast Enervation so many times, but he is apparently getting sloppy with the new power. Fortunately, you were saved by a pair of fellow travelers who were making their way to the Friendly Arms Inn. Unfortunately, you were almost completely robbed of your equipment." Informed Tymora.

"Almost completely?" I asked.

"They took everything you had on you except your coin purse, thinking that you kept your Danter in your bag of holding. They also left the pieces of Tymora's Song and Yenoghu's Bane you collected, as a pommel and a basket hilt are not worth much to them. I believe Sarevok divided your stolen equipment and coin up between his minions." Informed Tymora.

"And my lost power?" I questioned.

"That is what the dice are for. Have you ever heard of the expression playing dice with death? This is like that. We will roll for each of your lost levels. Should you get a seven or an eleven, you will regain that level. Should you roll anything else, we will move on to the next roll. If you roll snake eyes at any point, that's it. Any remaining levels yet to roll for will be lost." Answered Tymora.

"That's a bit complicated. Why all the extra admin? Couldn't you just give them back regardless?" I queried.

"Then you would have learned nothing." Frowned Tymora.

"What was I supposed to learn from Sarevok bushwacking me with his whole group by surprise?" I asked.

"To run when you're outmatched, obviously." Scoffed Tymora.

"Fine. Let's get this over with." I nodded.

"The dice are yours." Agreed Tymora, handing me the pair of dice.

They were interesting, ivory with tiny beads of jet inset into them. Clearly, these dice were special. I could feel the power emanating from them. I looked over at Tymora, but her grin just widened. I frowned at that, but shook my head. Tymora seemed to delight in my confusion because she didn't even try to mention the dice again, just gestured at me to hurry up and toss the dice. I did so, and the dice bounced along the felt, hitting the leather cushion at the back of the table and coming up seven. Suddenly, I felt myself grow stronger as I felt one of my Bard Levels Return. The dice reappeared in my hands by a quirk of divine magic, and I wound back and threw again. This time, the dice skipped across the felt with a vengeance, rebounding and landing eleven. I felt a Rogue-level return, confident in my chances now.

Unfortunately, the next pass I threw wound up coming up six. I frowned as nothing happened and looked over at Tymora. She just shrugged and gestured for me to throw again. This time, as the dice landed, they came up six again, the hard way this time, as three and three instead of four and two. Tymora frowned at that, putting her hand to her chin in thought before she nodded at me.

"All right. That's impressive. I'll grant you a good plus one blade for that." She offered a razor-sharp Adamantine Rapier of Thundering, appearing on the table. It wasn't exactly Discordant Note, but it was good enough for the time being.

"Thank you." I nodded, sincerely meaning it.

"Now throw again." Insisted Tymora.

I did, and this time, it came up four. Three and one. The dice reappeared in my hand and I threw, four the hard way coming up, two and two. Tymora snapped her fingers, and a Magical Bandore appeared next to the Rapier. My Spellcraft Ability told me that it allowed a bonus to Performance, but also that it could cast Barkskin three times a day. I looked over at Tymora, who gave me a cocky grin and nodded at me.

"It's something that I won off of Silvanus in a Dice Game a while back. Apparently, one of his Druids out near Kuldahar made it for a local bard around two centuries ago. Both being humans, they died, and Silvanus repossessed the Bandore." Offered Tymora.

"Interesting." I mused.

"You still have two throws remaining." Reminded Tymora.

So I did. As I threw, however, the first throw came up seven and one, eight. The final throw came up four and two, six. Unfortunately, it seemed I would only be getting two of my levels back, though I had also been somewhat equipped in the process as well. In a flash of light, the ivory and jet dice reappeared back in Tymora's Hands, and she simply shook her head with a soft, sad laugh at the outcome of my rolls. I couldn't help but give a soft chuckle of my own at how it had all turned out. In the end, I would wind up only being level four at the end of all this. It was sad, but what were you going to do? It wasn't like I could complain to Tymora, after all. Not without possibly being smote in the process, at any rate.

"Unfortunately, it seems you won't be able to fight at your former capabilities." Chuckled Tymora.

"It is what it is." I sighed.

"Indeed. Our time grows short, however. You've almost woken up. Thankfully, you're right where you need to be in order to meet with Mei. At the Friendly Arms Inn." Intoned Tymora.

Before I could say anything, however, there was a flash of light as Tymora's Casino vanished from sight and I was yanked backward into the land of the living. . .

XXXX

When I woke up, I would find myself in a bed at the Friendly Arms Inn, with the Rapier and Bandore that Tymora had granted me leaning up against the bedframe. My chest was swathed in bandages, and I frowned at the light that was streaming in through the windows. What surprised me was that my chest didn't hurt as much as it should have after being hacked into like I had, though I was clearly going to have a major scar across my torso after this. That wasn't the worst thing that might have come of this, though. I wasn't dead or trapped in some level of the Abyss by Bhaalspawn Powers or anything, so I would call this a decent way to wake up after getting your ass kicked and almost dying. I'd have preferred to wake up next to a woman, but what were you gonna do? It wasn't like I got to choose, after all.

Unfortunately, looking under the covers revealed I was also named. Fortunately, it seemed there were spare clothes laid out next to a note. Apparently, the room, new clothes, and treatment had been paid for with some of the coin in my purse. Judging by how much was left, I should have enough left over in my purse to purchase armor, a shield, and a helmet. That should get me as equipped as I could be right now. The note also told me to meet my saviors downstairs when I was finished re-equipping myself. It was signed by Jaheira and Khalid. I grinned as I realized that. Tymora was right, I was exactly where I needed to be to meet up with Mei. That was fortunate, as dictated by my primary patron. Tymora was the Goddess of Luck, after all.

After getting dressed, I made a brief trip to Bentley Mirrorshade's Store Later, and I found myself equipped with a pair of Boots of Striding Plus Two, which I managed to purchase for for-thousand-four-hundred-fifty Danter, a Chain Shirt Plus One purchased for one-thousand-one-hundred-seventy Danter, and an Amnian Soldier's Morion purchased for three Danter. I wanted to purchase Buckley's Buckler as well, but I couldn't justify the expense, instead purchasing a large shield plus one for one-thousand-one-hundred-seventy Danter. That left me with six-hundred-seven Danter remaining, but I was as equipped as I was going to be. I had pretty much exhausted the coin I still had on me, though. The overwhelming majority of the forty thousand Danter I had on me at the start of my trip to the Mainland had been in my Sea Chest and Bag of Holding, after all. It was a damn shame, but that's how it went down.

With that finished, I made my way over to the corner table, where Jahiera and Khlaid were sitting and eating, ready to meet the Canon Characters. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. Apologies for any errors, I wrote it on my phone on the plane to Ireland. Here we see exactly how I brought Robar down to level and equipment standards for BG One. I did set up that level drain was a thing Sarevok could do as a Bhaalspawn a while ago, after all. He and his group ambushed and looted the vast majority of what was on Robar, though he put up a good fight. Now Robar is back to level four, about on par with Jaheira and Khalid.

Yes, I know Enervation allows a later Fortitude Save after a maximum of fifteen hours to regain your lost levels. However, Robar was unconscious and thus couldn't make his saves. Tymora was being nice in helping him out with the dice game. It's just that he didn't manage to regain everything with that, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve Robar meeting with Jaheira and Khalid. I'll also have an updated Character Sheet and some more images out before then

Stay tuned. . .