Part 4: New allies, dead men, clones of queens, and lots and lots of death! Also the exit!

Chapter 3 - New allies, dead men, clones of queens, and lots and lots of death! Also the exit!

For this update, all character assignments will remain the same, but Yoshimo will be played by and the NPC Frennedan will be played by , for a good reason that will become apparent eventually, and Ulyvaryl will be played by . After this update, I'll try using the small versions of the character portraits for the party, actually. No promises if I'll like it, though.
On the other side of the Stargate portal, we encountered a man named Yoshimo, who said he was an escaping prisoner, like ourselves.

A fair line easily used by servants of the sorcerer themselvels. We have been imprisoned and worse, and given many reasons to distrust strangers we encounter.
I share your sentiments. I have seen much here that has disturbed me. I, myself, am a warrior with no evil intentions. Please, I would welcome any assistance you might offer.
Then assistance you shall get, Yoshimo. What ails you, friend?
I am not sure how I came to be here... like you, I suspect. I have been trying to find my way out, but I was wounded in my attempt to do so.
Do you know a way out of this place?
I do not know a way to escape this place. Perhaps we should search for this exit together.
I would be pleased to have you join me.
I shall be happy to lend my blade to your cause. There are two things that I have discovered about this place that may help us escape. In the next chamber beyond the one in which we stand, four portals lie. Each of these portals releases a little, cackling fiend which tries to kill me. These little beasties keep coming in through the portals. Perhaps if the portals are destroyed, one could defeat the beasts that have already come through. Shortly beyond that chamber there is a hallway that contains several wands mounted in pedestals. They blast all that walk before them. I have noticed that each wand is locked into the pedestal and could be removed if one had the proper key. I know not where these keys are. Let us begin!


We rather easily destroyed the portals. Apparently, destroying each portal caused the mephit it had spawned to die. Interesting... The other thing in that room, however... Not so welcome, no.


Yeah, we found Khalid. Really quite dead.
Kha... Khalid? Khalid! No... this... this is an illusion... a dream... a bad dream... Where are the mirrors... The switches to show where he is hidden.. Khalid! Damn... damn you... Damn you! I will have the heart of who has done this! I will tear their blackened heart from their... I will... I... no.
This... This is Khalid? What happened to him?
Shut up! No more words! Words are nothing!
Yes, words are nothing as to meaning! We must throw off our verbal oppressors and attain the ultimate level of psionic communication!
SHUT UP, M'NARDRAN'M. NOW.
I knew him not, but I mourn for your loss.
Stranger! Nobody! I will not hear your words! Leave me!
See, if we had the ultimate level of psionic communication, this wouldn't be -
SHUT. UP. M'NARDRAN'M.
Okay, gods, I'll shut up. _{I'm right, though.}
A brave man has fallen here, but that is no cause to hurl insults at the living. Here, Boo shall comfort you.
Imebicile! Affront to nature! What do you and your rodent know?! What can you know?!?!
Those who appear insane are often simply more enlightened than the rest o-
SHUT. THE FUCK. UP. M'NARDRAN'M.
Okay, okay. _Jerks.
No words! No more words!! Save your save your speeches, save your proverbs!! The only voice I wish to here is... is dead!! No more!! No... No... Sil.. Silvanus guide the light... to the source. Take this man to what he justly deserves. By... nature's will, what was given is returned, what was turmoil is now... is now peace. Khalid of my heart, let my love... my love guide the way. We... we must hurry before we are noticed. We must get out of this... this grave... and seek the light above. Let us go.
There may be a way to get him returned to life. Should we not try?
He... Khalid... is dead, and has been so for some time! Beyond a point there can be no raising, especially if the body has been... has been desecrated! We live in a time of miracles, and nature allows the rebirth of many that have passed beyond the veil, but there is a time when... when it is better to let go.
Then we will not disturb his body further. We will honor his loss with future deeds. Also with the repeated stabbing of Irenicus, but we were going to do that anyway.
That is the way of things. There will be... there will be payment for this crime, and I shall not rest until it is collected. When we are able, there will be... Enough, I would leave this place.
Jaheira... I want to say how sorry I am about Khalid. I know this is hard...
No! You do not know. This is not the time for this conversation, child.
Stop calling me child. I'm as old as M'nardran'm, and besides, I can tell you that Khalid did not suffer.
What are you babbling about, Imoen? I am not in the mood.
I'm not babbling! I saw him do this! Khalid was dead when our captor started... doing those things to him!
You saw this? You watched as it was done?
He... he showed me. He cut and... and showed me. He forced my eyes open and made me look as he...
Stop, I don't want to hear this.
He said I should see, so I would understand, but I don't know what he wanted! He would cut and say "Do you see?" Cut and say "Do you see?"
Be quiet, child! No more!
Okay, seriously. No matter how I look at that, it still doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.

As we explored further, we encountered something... Odd.

I am not your master, dear lady. Is there ought that I can do for you?
Do for me? Do for me?! After all that thou hast already done!
But we have done nothing to you, lady. We have only just come upon you... perhaps if you calm yourself, we could--
Thou hast created me in HER image, but I am not HER! I am not! And I shall ne'er let thee touch me again! No more death to rise again not her!
She then attacked us, and we defeated her.
What a tortured creature that clone-thing was. She was a copy? A copy of another person? I wonder why Irenicus made her? I doubt he took pleasure in her company, he's beyond that. He's fascinated with death. He showed me... over and over...
Hey, Imoen. Do you remember that carving that Prism of Nashkel made? The one that he died right after we protected him from Greywolf while he finished it?
Yeah, why?
When I look at her face, it looks like that. Remember how Prism died with the name "Ellesime" on his lips?
Oh, my gods, M'nardran'm, you're... you're right. But... but why would he make a copy of Ellesime? What's going on here?
I really, really wish I knew, Imoen.


Fun, random, out of character note - learning spells gives you experience equal to 1000 times the level of the spell. This leads to a lot of people buying a lot of level 9 scrolls and scribing/erasing them over and over for unlimited experience.

Anyway, you know what's fun?

Fireballing lots of goblins and mephits is what's fun. _{Tell us, what we would like to do?
Burn it. Burn it all...}


Yoshimo took care of this little trap, no problem.


He also went through with all the keys we'd been finding and unlocked all the wand holders.
Note to self - Identify these wands. _{Magical power, magical power! Muahahahahahaha!}


Also, there was a ring at the end of the passage in a little ruined shrine dedicated to no god I could recognize.



We encountered some more Duergar. They fell before my mastery of Wild Magic, which I employed to summon an air elemental to destroy them. NONE MAY SURVIVE THE WRATH OF M'NARDRAN'M, MASTER OF WILD MAGIC! Eeehehehehe.


Where is your master, fiend? We seek Irenicus. Give us the upstart and you shall survive!
Already I am dead, thief. Join me in darkness...
Enough! Kill this creature and raze the guild. Irenicus shall learn of what it is to betray the shadow thieves!

Well, the vampire slaughtered the fuck out of the two shadow thieves. Big surprise there, huh? Then she disappeared, like vampires do.


No, I am not your captor. I was recently a prisoner, myself.
Oh, glorious praise to you, then, that you have freed yourself. Can you not see your way to helping an old man to his own freedom, then?
Of course I will do everything I can to help you. Do you know how I can remove you from your cage?
There is a key in one of the chests that will open up this door. Please hurry!
One brief search later, we had the key in our possession (and a few other interesting minor treasures) and opened the door up.
Thanks for freeing me! I am not being troublesome, am I? I mean no harm.
No, it is nothing.
I cannot wait to finally be free of this horrible place. Thank you for allowing me to follow you out, my Lord.

We walked a good bit further, and encountered MORE FUCKING SHADOW THIEVES goddammit fucking shadow thieves.

I'll just put an end to this here and now. We'll see the end of Irenicus and your little guild war before this day is through.
I am no friend of Irenicus. I will fight him with you.
I will not believe you. To take an ally from the heart of the beast would be foolish, to say the least. You'll not escape without a battle here. Your master dies above and you shall join him!
Get out of my way! I don't want to fight any of you, I just want to leave!
You and your guild dies, no matter your words!
I find it truly amazing that you made it this far, tasty one, seeing as you can be so easily fooled!


Yyyeah, Frennedan was a doppleganger. However, between Minsc's sword, Jaheira's summoned weapons, Imoen and Yoshimo's arrows, my powerful spells, and my summoned elemental, the doppleganger and the shadow thieves were easily dispatched.

We journeyed a little more and found the exit to that damnable cave! Huzzah!

However...
Video - there was a... problem.

edit - party emotes, portraits, etc